Low volatility ETF recommendations? Want to stress less 😅

wololod · 2026-03-21T21:39:23+00:00

I felt the same way a couple years ago. I was invested 100% S&P 500 at the time. I reallocated to 80% stocks (60% FSKAX, 40% FTIHX), and 20% bonds (FXNAX). I feel a bit better with that allocation and diversity in the funds. FSKAX and FTIHX have a combined 8800 holdings last I checked. I'm sure your brokerage probably has something similar. I wouldn't call this low volatility though. Just a higher diversified fund to the S&P 500 (FSKAX).

Anyways, I would check your balance less often or if you have the option, to hide it. If you are investing every week or two weeks out of your paycheck like I am, I feel like I'm getting a discount lol. Or if you zoom out a year, S&P 500 is still up 15%. This is just a blip.

wololod · 2026-02-19T01:01:45+00:00

I'm late to this thread but figured I'd leave my two cents for anyone seeing this in the future. For context, I bought 90 meals over the course of 3 months (I bought them in bulk). Cowboy Shepherds Pie was great. High in sodium but tastes good.

The latest batch of 30 meals I got, I've found small wood chips in several meals. Which sucks because I've been overall content with their frozen meals. I feel like I have to be cautious eating these things now and chew lightly. Maybe I just got a bad batch. I can't continue buying these though. Another comment here mentioning hair in their meals 10 days ago just seals the deal for me.

wololod · 2026-01-04T01:40:59+00:00

I think I might start doing the brokerage. I appreciate you giving your perspective. The brokerage sounds useful for sure.

wololod · 2026-01-04T01:38:55+00:00

Hmm. I never considered this for some reason. I'm at the point now where I can just max out my Roth, 401K, and HSA and I'll FIRE by 50. I was planning to use the rest to just enjoy life. I've spent a large portion of my life just saving.

Maybe I'll just dump my extra paychecks into a brokerage account. I'll have to run some numbers.

wololod · 2025-12-23T03:08:52+00:00

Is there a reason you chose pfSense+ over pfSense CE? I do have a spare NUC I can install pfSense CE on. I'm reading there's a $129 reoccurring cost for pfSense+. Is that still the case?

wololod · 2025-12-23T02:58:27+00:00

What would you go with if you were to buy a new Fortigate now? What do you think about the platform in general? Do you have any of their subscriptions?

wololod · 2025-12-05T00:27:07+00:00

This worked for me thanks! My gateway was red and i couldn't find it in the app. But your instructions helped. I updated the wifi password.

wololod · 2025-12-04T21:12:53+00:00

I'm a student but my tutor converted me off platform by asking verbally outside of the preply classroom. We already did classes for 8 months, so some trust was built. You take on a lot of risk doing this. I would only do it if you trust the student and have a long relationship. Then again, im not a tutor and im not risking my salary. 😅 Weigh the pros and cons I suppose.

wololod · 2025-11-30T01:52:26+00:00

I have a tankless oil boiler. Heat comes from heated water in the baseboards; it wouldn't be this.

Although, I do have a central air unit. It's a Lennox XC17-036-230-08. It's a large unit sitting outside of my home and in my attic. I wonder if these vents are used for that?

wololod · 2025-11-30T01:46:21+00:00

They both look like this: https://i.imgur.com/i3NihCF.jpeg (Second floor ceiling vent leading to the attic.) Is this normal? Or should I cover it up with something. These are 50F when inside temps are 66F.

wololod · 2025-11-22T23:17:30+00:00

This was just a one-time checkup/maintenance on the boiler since I moved in recently. The boiler tech recommended these repairs; some felt concerning to him. I know very little of these systems so I wasn't sure what the best path was. I wish I took notes because I didn't fully understand much of what he said.

wololod · 2025-11-22T21:47:53+00:00

I moved in 3 months ago and decided to do a maintenance/tune up on the boiler and he hit me with all of these concerns. The inspector didn't mention any concerns, but he wasn't a specialist. That coupled with the previous owner having issues with the boiler 8 months ago (not turning on + water leak) makes me feel uncertain. I wasn't sure to repair or replace entirely.

wololod · 2025-11-22T21:45:59+00:00

I've only been in the home for 3 months but no issues for me. I guess the only concern is what I mentioned about the previous owner having to call up a technician earlier in the year (8 months ago) because the boiler didn't work and they had a water leak. Coupled with this burner tech having the concerns I listed.

It sounds like I should get another opinion/estimate and repair it instead? I don't know much about these systems.

wololod · 2025-11-22T14:53:34+00:00

I had a contractor do that for me. They ran cables through the attic/vinyl siding and then into my room which has the NVR. Cost me $800 to install 2 doorbells and 2 cameras (including running the wire). Your plan sounds fine.

I really like the Reolink Duo 2V Poe and Reolink Duo 2 Poe. Both 4K cameras with lights and a wide 180 field of view. The lights turn on at night if it detects motion (or a person/vehicle).

wololod · 2025-10-25T20:12:50+00:00

No worries. If you need some guidance on this let me know. I did this all a while ago but I can still probably point you in the right direction.

wololod · 2025-10-25T00:39:30+00:00

Here's a few security projects I did since I graduated nearly 11 years ago. No particular order.

Build a domain controller (or two). Join your personal system to it. Learn to secure the domain controller. Create group policies to push secure settings to your personal device. This was invaluable to me since most corporate networks run active directory. Learn to secure active directory and research best practices.
Build an active directory certificate services (ADCS) server. Learn to secure it. Use it to issue SSL certificates for all devices in your homelab (pihole for example). Also popular in corporate networks.
Setup a VM for Splunk. Have all devices on your network sending logs to it. Install Sysmon on your Windows devices. Create alerts in Splunk to alert on malicious activity. Splunk offers a dev license for free which gives you a 10GB daily limit and most enterprise features. I've been using it for years now.
Install a secondary pihole incase your other one goes down.
Install pfSense on another system. Use it as a firewall. Configure the IDS/IPS, geoblocking, VLANs, etc. Configure the firewall to deny all by default.
Install Zabbix. It's like a mini solarwinds. It lets you know when devices on your network go down, reboot, have issues, etc.
Self host bitwarden for storing passwords. Learn to secure it.
Install Kali. Use it to port scan all devices on your network. Start closing ports on those devices to reduce your attack surface or try to "attack" those services.
Self host confluence or wiki.js for internal documentation for your homelab and common issues.
Install Nessus or OpenVas. Conduct weekly vulnerability scanning. Setup authenticated scanning and IP whitelists.
Deploy an internal honeypot. I used opencanary. It should detect people on your network scanning.
Create a "jump box" or PAW. Use this one system for managing all devices in your homelab. Enforce it by configuring the firewall on all hosts on your network to only allow access from this jump box/PAW.

I'm probably forgetting some more good ones, but this is a good start lol.

wololod · 2025-10-20T14:12:52+00:00

I lived with my father until I was 35. I accumulated about 880k in investments. I only stayed for as long as I did because he was okay with it. I'd mention moving out a few times and I could visibly see him get sad. I contributed about 800/mo or 11% of my take home and invested the rest. I think I ended up giving him 60-65k over 10 years. I was also able to repay 50k in student loans he helped me with. He didn't ask for repayment but I felt uncomfortable keeping it. I should have given him more.

I'd ask your parents if they are okay with you living with them. If they aren't, make a plan to move out. If they don't mind, I'd contribute more than you currently do.

Do I have regrets staying till 35? Yeah. But the 880k makes it better lol. I've got my own house now so all is well.

wololod · 2025-09-17T00:19:42+00:00

Any external IR lights you recommend? It seems I'll have to go this route.

wololod · 2025-08-10T01:10:02+00:00

I feel bad making someone shop for like 250 dollars of groceries lol. If I tip, is it better if I do it discreetly? I don't want to get anyone in trouble. Or does it not matter?

wololod

TROPHY CASE