I started this a couple weeks ago, and I just cannot get into it. I got thru the first two, and enjoyed them, despite some really overdone parts in the second book (the imaginary girlfriend—OMG, I thought it would never end!) but I keep re-starting Death’s End and it’s just not working. The end of The Dark Forest works for me as the end of the series, I’ve decided.43. Death's End - Liu
I Saved Some Money, Accumulated So Good
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EdithKeeler
- Posts: 1099
- Joined: Sun Sep 01, 2013 7:55 pm
Re: I Saved Some Money, Accumulated So Good
Re: I Saved Some Money, Accumulated So Good
I also am reading Death's End at the moment and am enjoying it 1/4 of the way in. I wasn't as bothered by the girlfriend portion in Dark Forest but agree that it could have been shorter. Death's End has a lot to live up to after Dark Forest but so far I don't feel let down.
Re: I Saved Some Money, Accumulated So Good
Edith, yeah that imaginary girlfriend thing was downright bizarre.
theanimal, On the whole I feel like the trilogy is pretty great, but I feel the packaging could have been vastly improved. I'll be interested to see hear what you think once you finish it. It lost me a bit in the last 3rd, though did pick up in the final couple chapters.
theanimal, On the whole I feel like the trilogy is pretty great, but I feel the packaging could have been vastly improved. I'll be interested to see hear what you think once you finish it. It lost me a bit in the last 3rd, though did pick up in the final couple chapters.
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Kriegsspiel
- Posts: 952
- Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2012 9:05 pm
Re: I Saved Some Money, Accumulated So Good
I don't even remember the imaginary girlfriend and I read the trilogy a year ago, so I probably would have agreed with you all. But damn, that dude spun a GOOD yarn.
Re: I Saved Some Money, Accumulated So Good
September Update
Spending
275.69 - Car Parts*
212.5 - Rent
131.49 - Groceries
74.95 - Thrift Store Cloths**
Eating Out - 35
Electricity - 22.47
Golf - 21
Phone - 20.55
Textbooks - 19.7***
Internet - 17.5
*ugh, still haven’t actually performed the maintenance. Need to borrow a few tools from a few different folks before I’m ready. Will be a whole weekend of getting to play mechanic.
**Got 4 pair of pants, a pair of shoes, and a flannel shirt. One of the pairs of pants were an unworn pair of black Levi 505’s. Those alone were probably as much or more new as I spent the whole trip!
***bought the “Economics” and “Investments” textbooks from the ERE Curriculum. Slowly making my way through Economics atm. Was never a great book learner so I have a little trepidation about the project. Already a couple extremely basic concepts jumbling my brain.
"School"
Only another 8 months of plumbing “school” left. I cannot stress enough how much of a joke it is. I’m so sick of it. And I’m even more sick of everybody pretending like it is anything but a joke. Can’t wait to have my T/TH nights back.
I’ve been giving it quite a bit of thought and I think the mismatch between the reality of school and everyone’s attitude towards it is a post-hoc justification for our high wages. Under any meritocratic system our wages are wildly out of line. Our job is simply not that hard, hence lots of really poorly educated folks making just fine plumbers. But we are all privileged to benefit from our union which has successfully advocated on our behalf. Of course the entire union mission is completely antithetical to a meritocratic ideal, but non of the union members actually understand this, which leads to a baked-in assumption that the job is hard and takes lots of skill and training. When in fact the skill and knowhow associated with the job isn’t much greater than many other lesser paid jobs.
Personally I don’t think the meritocratic framework has resulted in very fair income distribution. I don’t see any reason why any job someone is unwilling to do themselves shouldn’t be paid well. In the end cleaning the rooms is one of the most important job in the entire hotel, yet it’s not recognized in the wages.
Fractions
I’m 2 for 3 today.
1st was a win: Needed laundry detergent. I normally get a bucket of off brand detergent for 7/16 the price of name brand. Today I noticed that tucked away on the very bottom row, disguised in a bag instead of box or bucket, was the Mexican brand detergent. Less than a 1/4 the price of a name brand box and has about 1.5x more than my off-brand bucket. Fuck yeah.
2nd was a loss: A couple spokes broke on my rear wheel on my bike and it’s out or true now. Went to the bike shop and they didn’t have the correct sized spokes, said these ones are old enough they’ll probably just keep breaking if I fix one or two at a time, also said the cheaper they could get me a new set of spokes was nearly $60!!!!. I bought a whole new wheel for $85 + another $20 for a cassette. I haven’t switched anything out yet as I need to do some more research. I thought I could walk in there with $40 and be good to go. As it stands I spent 1/4 of the price of the whole bike just to replace one wheel. Kinda miffed.
3rd was another win: Obtained a perfect yarn color for my mom’s hat and perfect pompom to go with it. Very happy with the combo I came up with.
Reading
44. 2312 - KSR
At first I thought this was set in the same universe as the Mars Trilogy. The worlds are very similar but by the end of the book it was apparent they don’t share a world. I think the core story could have fit in 200 pages, but KSR is really good at interspersing long stretches of cool sci-fi exploration that I do not mind at all. His worlds are so complete and fully realized I just love being taken on strolls through what it’s like.
Running
DR: 87 +4
MR 490 +22
Spending
275.69 - Car Parts*
212.5 - Rent
131.49 - Groceries
74.95 - Thrift Store Cloths**
Eating Out - 35
Electricity - 22.47
Golf - 21
Phone - 20.55
Textbooks - 19.7***
Internet - 17.5
*ugh, still haven’t actually performed the maintenance. Need to borrow a few tools from a few different folks before I’m ready. Will be a whole weekend of getting to play mechanic.
**Got 4 pair of pants, a pair of shoes, and a flannel shirt. One of the pairs of pants were an unworn pair of black Levi 505’s. Those alone were probably as much or more new as I spent the whole trip!
***bought the “Economics” and “Investments” textbooks from the ERE Curriculum. Slowly making my way through Economics atm. Was never a great book learner so I have a little trepidation about the project. Already a couple extremely basic concepts jumbling my brain.
"School"
Only another 8 months of plumbing “school” left. I cannot stress enough how much of a joke it is. I’m so sick of it. And I’m even more sick of everybody pretending like it is anything but a joke. Can’t wait to have my T/TH nights back.
I’ve been giving it quite a bit of thought and I think the mismatch between the reality of school and everyone’s attitude towards it is a post-hoc justification for our high wages. Under any meritocratic system our wages are wildly out of line. Our job is simply not that hard, hence lots of really poorly educated folks making just fine plumbers. But we are all privileged to benefit from our union which has successfully advocated on our behalf. Of course the entire union mission is completely antithetical to a meritocratic ideal, but non of the union members actually understand this, which leads to a baked-in assumption that the job is hard and takes lots of skill and training. When in fact the skill and knowhow associated with the job isn’t much greater than many other lesser paid jobs.
Personally I don’t think the meritocratic framework has resulted in very fair income distribution. I don’t see any reason why any job someone is unwilling to do themselves shouldn’t be paid well. In the end cleaning the rooms is one of the most important job in the entire hotel, yet it’s not recognized in the wages.
Fractions
I’m 2 for 3 today.
1st was a win: Needed laundry detergent. I normally get a bucket of off brand detergent for 7/16 the price of name brand. Today I noticed that tucked away on the very bottom row, disguised in a bag instead of box or bucket, was the Mexican brand detergent. Less than a 1/4 the price of a name brand box and has about 1.5x more than my off-brand bucket. Fuck yeah.
2nd was a loss: A couple spokes broke on my rear wheel on my bike and it’s out or true now. Went to the bike shop and they didn’t have the correct sized spokes, said these ones are old enough they’ll probably just keep breaking if I fix one or two at a time, also said the cheaper they could get me a new set of spokes was nearly $60!!!!. I bought a whole new wheel for $85 + another $20 for a cassette. I haven’t switched anything out yet as I need to do some more research. I thought I could walk in there with $40 and be good to go. As it stands I spent 1/4 of the price of the whole bike just to replace one wheel. Kinda miffed.
3rd was another win: Obtained a perfect yarn color for my mom’s hat and perfect pompom to go with it. Very happy with the combo I came up with.
Reading
44. 2312 - KSR
At first I thought this was set in the same universe as the Mars Trilogy. The worlds are very similar but by the end of the book it was apparent they don’t share a world. I think the core story could have fit in 200 pages, but KSR is really good at interspersing long stretches of cool sci-fi exploration that I do not mind at all. His worlds are so complete and fully realized I just love being taken on strolls through what it’s like.
Running
DR: 87 +4
MR 490 +22
Last edited by Cheepnis on Sun Mar 28, 2021 7:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: I Saved Some Money, Accumulated So Good
I find how little a housekeeper is valued much more objectionable than how much a plumber is paid.
When I have a plumbing problem, especially if it is dealing with waste removal, I am more than happy to pay the $100+ an hour for their immediate fix. I once delayed a water heater replacement to shop services, going almost a week without hot water. In hindsight, the couple hundred bucks saved was probably not worth it.
The union and schooling serve as barriers of entry, avoiding dilution of the labor pool. As a consumer, my hope is keeping those wages elevated supports a higher standard of service than might otherwise exist. A 1 in 10 chance of a bad plumbing job would not be acceptable to me, even if that cut the cost by 50%.
When I have a plumbing problem, especially if it is dealing with waste removal, I am more than happy to pay the $100+ an hour for their immediate fix. I once delayed a water heater replacement to shop services, going almost a week without hot water. In hindsight, the couple hundred bucks saved was probably not worth it.
The union and schooling serve as barriers of entry, avoiding dilution of the labor pool. As a consumer, my hope is keeping those wages elevated supports a higher standard of service than might otherwise exist. A 1 in 10 chance of a bad plumbing job would not be acceptable to me, even if that cut the cost by 50%.
Re: I Saved Some Money, Accumulated So Good
Scott, unfortunately I think you might be overly optimistic. Union dogma dictates that the union supplies a more highly skilled labor pool through better schooling/training than the our non-union counterparts, but I just don’t see it. I work with plenty of perfectly good plumbers, but there’s plenty of terrible ones too. If that dogma was ever justified it died once it became near impossible to fail a term of “school”.As a consumer, my hope is keeping those wages elevated supports a higher standard of service than might otherwise exist.
Running
DR: 94 +7
MR: 528.5 +38.5
I think my 700 mile bonus goal is out of reach at this point. Had lost my mojo a bit toward the end of the summer and the 2 week extended break imposed by nature in September didn't help. These past couple weeks I've gotten my motivation back a bit. My pace is increasing with the dropping temperatures and I've been feeling very good and strong on my runs. That has been motivating.
Reading
45. He, She, and It - Piercy
I really enjoyed this book. It explores ethics in science through a love story between a human and an illegal passable cyborg. My one critique is the primary conflicts resolve pretty early and the last 1/3 of the book is spent wrapping up the b stories. Kinda drug on for a bit. The world is interesting and the characters and complex, relatable, and believable, though.
46. The Crying of Lot 49 - Pynchon
This was much more obviously a satire than Inherent Vice (having now read this leads me to realize that IV was as well), about what exactly I’m unsure. Individual scenes are interesting, funny, or absurd, but I don’t know what the connecting thread is that pulls everything together.
On to…
47. A Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide - Powers
I believe this was a recommendation on this forum from the late great Jason. It sounded like a thorough bummer so I naturally had to place a hold request. 1/5 into it and it’s quite interesting. Very accessible without being overly simplified.
Accumulation Phase Roadmap
I’m obviously very much still in the midst of the accumulation phase. At current expense I’m a little over halfway to a 3% SWR. On the whole I try not to get too fixated on any one outcome because the way forward is so fraught with unknowns and my barely existent understanding of how the world actually functions on a day-to-day basis leaves with a sense that things could fall apart tomorrow just as easily as they could go on as normal. However, I also understand things have been “going on as normal” despite everything for centuries. That fact + some recent local developments (which have led to a much clearer path forward on my accumulation roadmap) has lead to this post, in which I will lay out a few broad outlines I could see my future turning towards.
But first: the roadmap.
As I have mentioned previously in this journal work has been thinning for a while around here. I survived all the layoffs due to my apprentice status. The big project that was supposed to start a year ago ran into permitting issues with the city after the architects put the emergency exits in places the city wouldn’t approve. This last week two buildings at the new build site have been officially demolished and there are excavators breaking ground. There’s another similarly large project that has been on the books since last year, but wasn’t slated to start until spring, so now it’s looking like we’ll be double-fisting these projects only a few blocks from each other. At the same time there’s still work on campus slated to go through 2023, another medium-rise apartment building east of campus, and word on the street is a giant multi-building retirement complex was awarded to us after the non-union shop that won the bid couldn’t cut the mustard.
TL;DR, it’s still a little early, but it’s looking like work will be fat-rat again relatively soon. If all the above work should come to pass it will see me through to 3% (at current expenses).
Then what?
Scenarios with a house
The house scenarios come in two basic flavors: buy the house now or buy the house later.
The allure to stick it out in this apartment until I hit 3% (at my current expenses) is strong. At that point I would have enough saved for a hefty downpayment and, depending on the work horizon, could then spend a couple additional years working to pay-off a significant portion of the mortgage and also re-stock my liquid assets.
However, buying now could be good because I could lock in a rock-bottom interest rate and at the rate house prices are appreciating I could very well find myself worse-off in a couple years, my savings not keeping up with the appreciation, despite the rate I’m socking it away.
Either way, the house will significantly raise my expenses and I do not think I have it in me to work full-time until hitting 3% at the new burn rate. So it would follow I will need to make up the difference the new housing expenditures will incur.
Options
- Re-tooling. I could quite plumbing, get a new certification or qualification, and do something else for a while. I don’t have a ton of ideas of what that would be. One potential that comes to mind is tax-preparation. I could definitely be the guy in the back punching buttons and crunching numbers, but my capacity for client interaction would be low. I don’t know how the industry is organized, but if a pretty face needs a grunt in the back for a couple months every spring that sounds like a pretty sweet gig I could pick up.
- Part-time plumbing. I think the chances of the company going for this are extremely low, so when I go to have that conversation I would need to have the ace of being prepared to quit in my pocket. I suspect only under that threat they will even consider it, but it is something I think I’ll try eventually. This option has lots going for it. It’s easy, pays well, would keep my current insurance, continue to accrue pension credits (in the event the pension lasts until I’m eligible). 3 8’s or 5 5’s would be amenable to me. Of course, if I have to follow through on the threat, I’ll be right back at another option on this list.
- Teaching Apprentice Class. If I were to get on as an instructor I’d have 8hrs/w for 9 m/y that would more than net me enough to cover the cost of a house. Not sure I want to continue to deal so closely with union bureaucracy at the moment, but put a few years between me and having to attend class as a student I might go for it. Busting my into the instructor circle would take a little luck, but it’s not out of the question.
- Partial re-tooling/start a small business. I had my back-flow preventer tester certification prior to entering this trade that I’ve since let lapse. I would have to take a class again and pay the licensing fees, but it’s easy enough to get (harder to maintain than a plumbing license, ironically), and by way of state-mandated annual testing of installed devices, there’s a demand for testers. Not technically plumbing, though I’d have to check the small print to make sure I’m not breaking any union rules, and I could take as much/as little work as I liked. This is the only remotely viable entrepreneurial idea I have. It still sounds like a lot of work getting everything up and running, and I don’t really want to live that life, but perhaps it wouldn’t seem so bad if I wasn’t tied up all day every day with the normal grind.
- Partial re-tool option 2: get inspector qualified. A few classes and tests and I could become a substitute inspector for the city. This could potentially net me a few weeks worth of well-paid work per year. It would act as a super easy income supplement, though probably not quite enough to cover extra expenses. This combined with the instructor option would work very well.
- Low qualification/low pay job. Work part-time at low pay with maybe a perk or two. Golf course = free rounds. Before entering the trade I dived quite a bit and was planning on going through divemaster > dive instructor training, but when I entered the trade my apprenticeship “school” conflicted with divemaster school. Since then I’ve fallen out of that hobby as my dive friends have moved away, but who knows what could happen.
Scenarios without a house:
- My last remaining grandparent and step-grandpa are in their mid 80’s and take care of their 25 acre property by themselves. It’s his property. He’s got a big shop with the skeleton of an apartment in it that he’s been meaning to finish for as long as he’s been in the family, going on 20 years. I plumbed it a couple summers ago. I’ve already floated the idea to them of me coming up there, providing the labor to finish it, and then living in it for a while afterword while acting as groundskeeper. The place is really becoming a bit too much for them in their advanced age. There would probably be family politics and drama to overcome, but they’ve wanted to get that thing finished for a long time so I think that provides strong incentive to consider the idea.
This is a great option for me as I would get to spend more time with Grandma than I’ve ever gotten to so far in my life, I’d have free rent in exchange for my labor, it’s a beautiful quiet property, and would have ample time to work on re-tooling. It would obviously necessitate an extended break from plumbing and I don’t see myself, in this situation, being able to go back to it once the gig is up. So getting my CPA on the side or devising some other game-plan for part-time work while I’m on partial sabbatical there would be the plan. I’ve obviously thought about this one a lot, and it is a possibility, but it’s all up in the air and I’m not counting on it one way or the other.
- Similarly, the attic space in my dad’s shop could easily be converted into a studio apartment. If I were to convert that and live there, paying rent for the space, my dad could retire. This one wouldn’t really work since I don’t the the GF and I could swing it in a studio.
Re: I Saved Some Money, Accumulated So Good
October Update
Spending
Rent - 212.5
Car Insurance - 130.59
Groceries - 116.99
New Car Battery - 94.48*
New Rear Bike Wheel - 55**
Eating Out - 51.95
Car Repair Related - 32.07
Gas - 26.8
Gifts - 26.5
Electricity - 21.6
Phone - 20.55
Internet - 17.5
*I had “room” left in my monthly $833 average burn-rate and was considering spending a little on some jazz records and then bam! Car battery takes a shit, putting me out another hound and within $25 of the ceiling. I did complete the big car repairs this month, it feels good having those out of the way.
**New free-hub wheel + cassette = $105. Called around and found a replacement free-wheel wheel = $55. Initially was hoping I could re-spoke the old wheel, but 36 new spokes were nearly as expensive as a whole brand new wheel.
Reading
47. A Problem From Hell - Powers
The book drug on a little bit, but only because almost every chapter detailed the same story (with different names and dates): genocide was occurring, we had good intelligence, but political will simply wasn’t there. Not using the “g-word” turns out to be a great method to refute intelligence or otherwise excuse inaction. The book lays clear that intervention would and does come with its own costs, but many times we couldn’t even be bothered with a condemnation.
48. Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder - Taleb
Concepts in this one seems a little more actionable than Black Swan. Not that deep yet.
—
I’m still working slowly through the Econ textbook. I’ve decided to fit that within my larger reading goal I’ll count 300 textbook pages as 1 book for my book count. Things are at a temporary standstill in regards to that because the library has reopened in some capacity and a deluge of hold requests all got returned at once. 4 of them I just picked up have no renewals on them so I’m racing to finish those before the 17th.
Work Hours
Since this project is on campus and students have been back for a while we’ve had to shift to an 8 o’clock start time (with an hour of quiet time til 9). Getting off work at 4:30 is not ideal. I mentioned in another journal a while ago how all adult responsibilities, 9+ hours for work foremost among them, really just get in the way of getting anything else done. If I want to actually accomplish anything, such as my running or reading goals, I have to really work to get them done. They’d happen much more naturally, a byproduct of me living my life, should I not have such a huge time-suck obligation in my life. This start-time shift is another layer of complication to contend with. I no longer have time to run after work and before class on T/TH, meaning I have to extra vigilant to get my runs in on M/W/F.
This week my car battery gave up the ghost Monday, I had errands to run on Wednesday, and a last minute apprenticeship related engagement on Friday. = no runs this week. However, it’s not all bad. I’ve been getting up at my standard time around 5:15, making a cup of tea, and getting a solid hour n change of reading in most every morning. That new routine has been very nice and relaxing.
Running
DR: 98 +4
MR: 550.5 +22
New Project
I’ve got a new engine project! It’s a 3hp Stover Type W weighing in at a conservative 600lbs.
No serial number or tag on the engine, but the oil wells (as opposed to grease cups) on the crankshaft babbitt bearings tell me it’s pre-20’s. Perhaps even late aughts. This was the last project my grandpa undertook before he lost his health. It was extremely beat up. He welded the cracked head back together, unstuck it and put a new sleeve in it, and poured new babbitt’s. As pictured you can see the piston is chipped on the top and bottom, and the con-rod was busted at one point, though I don’t think he made that fix.
It’s still got a lot of issues, but I don’t think anything above my skill level/current workspace-limited capabilities. It’s got a couple fun features. Here’s the fuel pump, with thumb-press for manual priming of the carburetor before startup.
And here’s the Webster magneto, the little carb (the gray thing), and manual priming cup (to suck a little fuel into the chamber for easy startup).
The first order of business before making any fix is getting it off this janky-ass cart. I'm going to build a new skid for it, rig up a column in the carport to hoist it from (borrowing a chainfall from work), then get it sitting on its new skid on a durable cart.
Spending
Rent - 212.5
Car Insurance - 130.59
Groceries - 116.99
New Car Battery - 94.48*
New Rear Bike Wheel - 55**
Eating Out - 51.95
Car Repair Related - 32.07
Gas - 26.8
Gifts - 26.5
Electricity - 21.6
Phone - 20.55
Internet - 17.5
*I had “room” left in my monthly $833 average burn-rate and was considering spending a little on some jazz records and then bam! Car battery takes a shit, putting me out another hound and within $25 of the ceiling. I did complete the big car repairs this month, it feels good having those out of the way.
**New free-hub wheel + cassette = $105. Called around and found a replacement free-wheel wheel = $55. Initially was hoping I could re-spoke the old wheel, but 36 new spokes were nearly as expensive as a whole brand new wheel.
Reading
47. A Problem From Hell - Powers
The book drug on a little bit, but only because almost every chapter detailed the same story (with different names and dates): genocide was occurring, we had good intelligence, but political will simply wasn’t there. Not using the “g-word” turns out to be a great method to refute intelligence or otherwise excuse inaction. The book lays clear that intervention would and does come with its own costs, but many times we couldn’t even be bothered with a condemnation.
48. Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder - Taleb
Concepts in this one seems a little more actionable than Black Swan. Not that deep yet.
—
I’m still working slowly through the Econ textbook. I’ve decided to fit that within my larger reading goal I’ll count 300 textbook pages as 1 book for my book count. Things are at a temporary standstill in regards to that because the library has reopened in some capacity and a deluge of hold requests all got returned at once. 4 of them I just picked up have no renewals on them so I’m racing to finish those before the 17th.
Work Hours
Since this project is on campus and students have been back for a while we’ve had to shift to an 8 o’clock start time (with an hour of quiet time til 9). Getting off work at 4:30 is not ideal. I mentioned in another journal a while ago how all adult responsibilities, 9+ hours for work foremost among them, really just get in the way of getting anything else done. If I want to actually accomplish anything, such as my running or reading goals, I have to really work to get them done. They’d happen much more naturally, a byproduct of me living my life, should I not have such a huge time-suck obligation in my life. This start-time shift is another layer of complication to contend with. I no longer have time to run after work and before class on T/TH, meaning I have to extra vigilant to get my runs in on M/W/F.
This week my car battery gave up the ghost Monday, I had errands to run on Wednesday, and a last minute apprenticeship related engagement on Friday. = no runs this week. However, it’s not all bad. I’ve been getting up at my standard time around 5:15, making a cup of tea, and getting a solid hour n change of reading in most every morning. That new routine has been very nice and relaxing.
Running
DR: 98 +4
MR: 550.5 +22
New Project
I’ve got a new engine project! It’s a 3hp Stover Type W weighing in at a conservative 600lbs.
No serial number or tag on the engine, but the oil wells (as opposed to grease cups) on the crankshaft babbitt bearings tell me it’s pre-20’s. Perhaps even late aughts. This was the last project my grandpa undertook before he lost his health. It was extremely beat up. He welded the cracked head back together, unstuck it and put a new sleeve in it, and poured new babbitt’s. As pictured you can see the piston is chipped on the top and bottom, and the con-rod was busted at one point, though I don’t think he made that fix.
It’s still got a lot of issues, but I don’t think anything above my skill level/current workspace-limited capabilities. It’s got a couple fun features. Here’s the fuel pump, with thumb-press for manual priming of the carburetor before startup.
And here’s the Webster magneto, the little carb (the gray thing), and manual priming cup (to suck a little fuel into the chamber for easy startup).
The first order of business before making any fix is getting it off this janky-ass cart. I'm going to build a new skid for it, rig up a column in the carport to hoist it from (borrowing a chainfall from work), then get it sitting on its new skid on a durable cart.
Last edited by Cheepnis on Sun Mar 28, 2021 7:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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mooretrees
- Posts: 763
- Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2019 1:21 pm
Re: I Saved Some Money, Accumulated So Good
Looking at your roadmap options in a previous post, how will you decide which way to go? The grandparents aren't getting any younger so that option has a limited timeframe. What about the gf and moving? Would she stay or come with you? I've found it interesting that you don't seem to have options as a couple. Is she interested in a buying a house? Anyway, it just shows my bias towards relationships, I've got a fairly traditional set up where we share expenses and so on. It's always neat to hear how other people organize their relationships.
Plumbing school finishes in 8 or so months, that's pretty cool! The buy or not buy a house is a tough one. Interest rates are really low, but prices are getting much higher, so it's a tough call.
Plumbing school finishes in 8 or so months, that's pretty cool! The buy or not buy a house is a tough one. Interest rates are really low, but prices are getting much higher, so it's a tough call.
Re: I Saved Some Money, Accumulated So Good
I've just read your journal and wanted to leave a comment saying how impressed I am with your guys dedication and consistency. It looks like you're making strides every month. It's really impressive and inspiring to read. Also please keep those engine pictures coming.
Re: I Saved Some Money, Accumulated So Good
@mooretrees, I think I'll choose whichever one happens most naturally or most easy. Any option that involves large changes, while not off the table, will require a high degree of confidence on my part as I'm not a big changes kind of person. Hell even this house buying adventure, which I've obviously thought about a lot (perhaps too much?), isn't a step I'm fully comfortable with. So whatever happens will either happen slowly and gradually or I'll have to be very confident in my assessment of the benefits of a big change.
As far as fitting the GF into this, I'm kind of the de-facto leader in these areas. She's even more of a status-quo person than I am and doesn't have a ton of ambitions of her own. She is interested in buying a house, but we have a somewhat severe mismatch of living standards. The reason this apartment/house is so run-down is because it's been neglected since the minute it came into her family. She grew up around that behavior and has acquired it herself. Housekeeping standards are an area of relationship friction even though this is just a crappy apartment I don't own. We've hashed it out and she knows that my frustrations will become more acute once we do own a place. At the same time I won't stand for being solely responsible for all housekeeping, maintenance, and yard-work.
At this point she's also making some financial decisions we don't agree on. To date she has passed up two good job offers so she can stay below the income threshold for required payment on her income based student loan plan. As far as I know those loans are accruing interest and she has yet to make any payments on them. I've made sure she knows she'll never be in a better position to pay on her loans than she is now, yet (as I see it) she's still just trying to avoid the problem. For this reason I'm the one with the money and if we do get a house it'll probably be under my name only. If I'm being completely honest I'm still waiting for her to take a little responsibility in her life. But I also know I can't/shouldn't require her to change for me. We've got stuff to work on...
@disk_poet, thank you. I am on ERE "easy mode" for now, but I'm also trying to make good on the circumstances without getting too overzealous with the frivolous spending
In Other News
So despite those reservations elucidated above I put an offer in on a house on Tuesday. It's the perfect little house. 960ft2, perfect location, wide two-deep garage, backyard already converted completely to garden space, it checks every. single. box. Even the little boxes, except the price of course. Anyway, it went on the market last Friday, I spent all day Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday stressing out to get everything together. Showings were scheduling through Tuesday at noon, offers had to be in by Wednesday at 9am, and you'd find out Thursday by noon. Asking price was 315k, which was already within my uncomfortable zone, but based on watching that neighborhood for the past year was definitely priced to sell. I offered 25k over, never expecting to get it (spoiler: I didn't), and gave them 8 weeks rent-free after the closing date. There were 18 offers on it.
This has kinda galvanized for me that this is not the time or place to be buying, low interest rates be damned. I realized that if I just continue renting in some capacity until I either move somewhere lacking this insanity, or until everything implodes again, then I'll either be able to buy for cash or have reached FI minus housing expense, and could therefore put all my job income toward a mortgage, effectively neutralizing a potentially much higher interest rate. I know I miss out on the low-interest-mortgage inflation hedge in either of those scenarios, but I just don't see myself going through with it in this hot market.
As far as fitting the GF into this, I'm kind of the de-facto leader in these areas. She's even more of a status-quo person than I am and doesn't have a ton of ambitions of her own. She is interested in buying a house, but we have a somewhat severe mismatch of living standards. The reason this apartment/house is so run-down is because it's been neglected since the minute it came into her family. She grew up around that behavior and has acquired it herself. Housekeeping standards are an area of relationship friction even though this is just a crappy apartment I don't own. We've hashed it out and she knows that my frustrations will become more acute once we do own a place. At the same time I won't stand for being solely responsible for all housekeeping, maintenance, and yard-work.
At this point she's also making some financial decisions we don't agree on. To date she has passed up two good job offers so she can stay below the income threshold for required payment on her income based student loan plan. As far as I know those loans are accruing interest and she has yet to make any payments on them. I've made sure she knows she'll never be in a better position to pay on her loans than she is now, yet (as I see it) she's still just trying to avoid the problem. For this reason I'm the one with the money and if we do get a house it'll probably be under my name only. If I'm being completely honest I'm still waiting for her to take a little responsibility in her life. But I also know I can't/shouldn't require her to change for me. We've got stuff to work on...
@disk_poet, thank you. I am on ERE "easy mode" for now, but I'm also trying to make good on the circumstances without getting too overzealous with the frivolous spending
In Other News
So despite those reservations elucidated above I put an offer in on a house on Tuesday. It's the perfect little house. 960ft2, perfect location, wide two-deep garage, backyard already converted completely to garden space, it checks every. single. box. Even the little boxes, except the price of course. Anyway, it went on the market last Friday, I spent all day Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday stressing out to get everything together. Showings were scheduling through Tuesday at noon, offers had to be in by Wednesday at 9am, and you'd find out Thursday by noon. Asking price was 315k, which was already within my uncomfortable zone, but based on watching that neighborhood for the past year was definitely priced to sell. I offered 25k over, never expecting to get it (spoiler: I didn't), and gave them 8 weeks rent-free after the closing date. There were 18 offers on it.
This has kinda galvanized for me that this is not the time or place to be buying, low interest rates be damned. I realized that if I just continue renting in some capacity until I either move somewhere lacking this insanity, or until everything implodes again, then I'll either be able to buy for cash or have reached FI minus housing expense, and could therefore put all my job income toward a mortgage, effectively neutralizing a potentially much higher interest rate. I know I miss out on the low-interest-mortgage inflation hedge in either of those scenarios, but I just don't see myself going through with it in this hot market.
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mooretrees
- Posts: 763
- Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2019 1:21 pm
Re: I Saved Some Money, Accumulated So Good
That sounds so stressful! This market is crazy. But good to have the understanding of what you feel comfortable with and have that question settled.
Every relationship has stuff to work on, the successful ones navigate that reality mostly smoothly. I could write pages about DH's poor financial decisions....
Every relationship has stuff to work on, the successful ones navigate that reality mostly smoothly. I could write pages about DH's poor financial decisions....
Re: I Saved Some Money, Accumulated So Good
It really sounds like you gained some clarity re buying and checked that "what-if"-scenario off your list. I have the same question coming up for me regularly but I am also choosing to wait.
I've been in relationships with similar issues and I made some bad financial decisions in the past myself. It just takes time if you're not financially inclined. At least it seems you are talking about it and are aware that it is something to work on. As @mooretrees said: Every relationship has issues and things to work on. I wish you good luck!
I've been in relationships with similar issues and I made some bad financial decisions in the past myself. It just takes time if you're not financially inclined. At least it seems you are talking about it and are aware that it is something to work on. As @mooretrees said: Every relationship has issues and things to work on. I wish you good luck!
Re: I Saved Some Money, Accumulated So Good
Thanks for the encouragement @mt & @dp.
Reading
48. Antifragile - Taleb
I was reading this as I was putting together the offer on that house. That timing was somewhat ironic as I was in the process of making myself vastly more fragile while the book was elucidating to me exactly the implications therein. Like BS, this was an very thought provoking read. Definitely has a place on the eventual re-read list.
49. Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty - Acemoglu & Robinson
This was a somewhat dissapointing read, perhaps more properly titled “How Nations Failed”. The central thesis, that inclusive/pluralistic political institutions foster prosperity, didn’t seem controversial enough to justify the 400 page length. The controversial part might have been their assertion that those institutions are the only factor that matters, but they didn’t present much evidence to refute any opposition to that point other than briefly detailing the same story over and over: that serfdoms, feudalism, or other “extractive institutions” don’t foster widespread prosperity. The book basically beat that drum for 400 pages.
50. The Paranoid Style in American Politics - Hofstadter
The edition I have of this is a collection of multiple essays by the author, the named one of most import. With only some name changes this reads quite contemporary, leading me to conclude that Hofstadter accurately put his thumb on the undercurrents in American political organization.
Running
MR: 580.6 +30.1
DR: 103 +5
The Hat
I finished my Mom's x-mas present. I only made one mistake and it's not even visible from the outside. Sometimes you'd rather be lucky than good.
Confidence? Assholes? Social Stuff?
The other day somebody made a small mistake on the bike path that caused the need for me to course correct so I wouldn’t hit them. I didn’t think anything of it, I had time to veer out of the way and it was just a dumb split second mistake. Then, as I was passing them, this person had to gall, with maximum passive-aggression, to admonish me. “You need to be more careful, you almost hit me.”
It sounds so stupid writing it out, but it was one of those things things so absurd and so unbelievable it provoked nearly a flight or flight response in me. Not only was it his malfeasance and, had I been a few seconds further along in my journey, would have barreled into him through no fault of my own, but it wasn’t even very close! As I said I moved out of the way once he got in mine.
In general my MO when somebody is being an asshole is to remove myself from the situation. I rarely rebuke this sort of behavior. I don’t know what it was about that day, but I pulled around him, stopped my bike so that he had to stop his, squared my shoulders, and told him “fuck off”. Part of me feels like that’s a juvenile response, the other part can’t accept that being treated poorly is a burden I must bear.
Any true burden I bear is that of being an over thinker. Though I’m confident standing up for myself in that situation was appropriate, it still set me on edge. Yet ironically this man apparently thought nothing of making remarks such as his in the first place. I fundamentally don’t understand how someone can make it through life with, what it looks like from the outside, no self awareness whatsoever. And on he other end of the spectrum here I am typing paragraphs about the experience.
So that’s my social life in a nutshell. Some folks just say and don’t think and get along just fine. On the other hand I think, then say, then think about all the obscure misinterpretations I didn’t think of before I spoke. It’s kind of paradoxical because I don’t have much of a problem with anybody thinking negative of me as a person, but I’m quite acutely sensitive to someone thinking negatively of the things I say. Not sure how that came to be.
Reading
48. Antifragile - Taleb
I was reading this as I was putting together the offer on that house. That timing was somewhat ironic as I was in the process of making myself vastly more fragile while the book was elucidating to me exactly the implications therein. Like BS, this was an very thought provoking read. Definitely has a place on the eventual re-read list.
49. Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty - Acemoglu & Robinson
This was a somewhat dissapointing read, perhaps more properly titled “How Nations Failed”. The central thesis, that inclusive/pluralistic political institutions foster prosperity, didn’t seem controversial enough to justify the 400 page length. The controversial part might have been their assertion that those institutions are the only factor that matters, but they didn’t present much evidence to refute any opposition to that point other than briefly detailing the same story over and over: that serfdoms, feudalism, or other “extractive institutions” don’t foster widespread prosperity. The book basically beat that drum for 400 pages.
50. The Paranoid Style in American Politics - Hofstadter
The edition I have of this is a collection of multiple essays by the author, the named one of most import. With only some name changes this reads quite contemporary, leading me to conclude that Hofstadter accurately put his thumb on the undercurrents in American political organization.
Running
MR: 580.6 +30.1
DR: 103 +5
The Hat
I finished my Mom's x-mas present. I only made one mistake and it's not even visible from the outside. Sometimes you'd rather be lucky than good.
Confidence? Assholes? Social Stuff?
The other day somebody made a small mistake on the bike path that caused the need for me to course correct so I wouldn’t hit them. I didn’t think anything of it, I had time to veer out of the way and it was just a dumb split second mistake. Then, as I was passing them, this person had to gall, with maximum passive-aggression, to admonish me. “You need to be more careful, you almost hit me.”
It sounds so stupid writing it out, but it was one of those things things so absurd and so unbelievable it provoked nearly a flight or flight response in me. Not only was it his malfeasance and, had I been a few seconds further along in my journey, would have barreled into him through no fault of my own, but it wasn’t even very close! As I said I moved out of the way once he got in mine.
In general my MO when somebody is being an asshole is to remove myself from the situation. I rarely rebuke this sort of behavior. I don’t know what it was about that day, but I pulled around him, stopped my bike so that he had to stop his, squared my shoulders, and told him “fuck off”. Part of me feels like that’s a juvenile response, the other part can’t accept that being treated poorly is a burden I must bear.
Any true burden I bear is that of being an over thinker. Though I’m confident standing up for myself in that situation was appropriate, it still set me on edge. Yet ironically this man apparently thought nothing of making remarks such as his in the first place. I fundamentally don’t understand how someone can make it through life with, what it looks like from the outside, no self awareness whatsoever. And on he other end of the spectrum here I am typing paragraphs about the experience.
So that’s my social life in a nutshell. Some folks just say and don’t think and get along just fine. On the other hand I think, then say, then think about all the obscure misinterpretations I didn’t think of before I spoke. It’s kind of paradoxical because I don’t have much of a problem with anybody thinking negative of me as a person, but I’m quite acutely sensitive to someone thinking negatively of the things I say. Not sure how that came to be.
Re: I Saved Some Money, Accumulated So Good
very cool hat.
Based on the topic of your reads: have you encountered this? https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/book ... es-sexton/ yay/nay?
I also feel you on the house/antifragility thing as someone who also recently bought property.
I guess this is exactly how they make it through life: deflecting blame onto others and hoping enough people would have the common decency and aversion to bullshit to let them get away with it. I agree with past cheepnis, fwiw: rude person should piss off.I fundamentally don’t understand how someone can make it through life with, what it looks like from the outside, no self awareness whatsoever. And on he other end of the spectrum here I am typing paragraphs about the experience.
Based on the topic of your reads: have you encountered this? https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/book ... es-sexton/ yay/nay?
I also feel you on the house/antifragility thing as someone who also recently bought property.
Re: I Saved Some Money, Accumulated So Good
ertyu, Thanks for the recommendation I have nod encountered that book, though sounds like it'd fit it flawlessly. I went ahead and put in a purchase suggestion at the library for it. Fingers crossed
November Update
Spending
Rent - 212.5
Groceries - 150.49*
Records - 96.45**
Eating Out - 45.19
Gifts - 35.30
Electricity - 28
Phone 20.62
Internet 17.5
Thrift Store Tools - 11.24
Books - 10.50
* Decided to initiate some bulk food storage. This number includes two buckets + gamma lids and 25lbs each of oats & rice. I haven't decided exactly what products I will wind up keeping on hand. I'll be cycling through my stores and only plan to keep things I use weekly/bi-weekly. Oats & rice were an easy place to start. Likely additions will be beans, quinoa, and flour. Maybe a few 3 gallon buckets for a couple other things.
** In a night of weakness I went a little crazy. I've been listening heavily lately to the Thelonious Monk record "Misterioso". It was recorded during a residency at the Five Spot in 1958 with Johnny Griffin on tenor. I could listen to that guy play the saxophone all damn day... Anyway, there's one other release from the same residency, named "Thelonious in Action" that I decided I needed so I went online to look for it. Lo and behold I found a seller that not only had it, but had a bunch of European jazz re-issue overstock he was selling for $9.99 each, with a buy 5 get 20% off + free shipping. That's an unbelievably good deal and I couldn't resist. In the same sesh I ordered a few records from another seller as well and there you have it: a crisp hundo out the door. But the music is real damn good.
Reading
51. Stowaway to Mars - Wyndham
1930's sci-fi book set in 1981. Not exactly sure what the state of physics was at the time or the author's understanding thereof, but it was rather humorous to read a book about the first attempts at interplanetary flight and have it detail the shortcomings of prior attempts such as "didn't pack enough fuel" or "got stuck and starved to death in Earth's orbit. To cut to the chase: they made it to Mars, the Russians weren't far behind, there are Martians, inter-planetary-copulation occurs.
Running
MR: 592.2 +11.6
DR: 105 +2
More Audio Hobby Talk
I bought another pair of speakers... I'm not counting it as an expense because I'm financing it with the sale of some other equipment. I know that's not the proper way to do it because opportunity cost and math and such, but hey, it's my life. Besides, the opportunity cost of not having bought the equipment I'm now selling (expense tallied, btw) is I'd never have got to use it. I've been on the lookout for this particular model speaker for a couple years now and I had to make a 4 hour round-trip drive to get them. I probably would not have made the trip had I not been purchasing them from the original owner who bought them in 1970. Being from only a single home they're in great condition. So the cost of these speakers will be the gas I used and the new parts* required of a 50 year old piece which, all told, will come out to a little over $100.
This pretty much follows my MO in my little audio hobby: wait for a good enough deal on vintage tlc-necessary gear, fix/repair/refurb, use, decide to keep or sell. Wash, rinse, repeat. I fully expect to keep these as I currently have their little brother and the consensus is the big brother takes all that goodness and ups the game.
*new capacitors for the crossover, special sealant for the cloth surrounds, and new gasket material for mounting the drivers.
November Update
Spending
Rent - 212.5
Groceries - 150.49*
Records - 96.45**
Eating Out - 45.19
Gifts - 35.30
Electricity - 28
Phone 20.62
Internet 17.5
Thrift Store Tools - 11.24
Books - 10.50
* Decided to initiate some bulk food storage. This number includes two buckets + gamma lids and 25lbs each of oats & rice. I haven't decided exactly what products I will wind up keeping on hand. I'll be cycling through my stores and only plan to keep things I use weekly/bi-weekly. Oats & rice were an easy place to start. Likely additions will be beans, quinoa, and flour. Maybe a few 3 gallon buckets for a couple other things.
** In a night of weakness I went a little crazy. I've been listening heavily lately to the Thelonious Monk record "Misterioso". It was recorded during a residency at the Five Spot in 1958 with Johnny Griffin on tenor. I could listen to that guy play the saxophone all damn day... Anyway, there's one other release from the same residency, named "Thelonious in Action" that I decided I needed so I went online to look for it. Lo and behold I found a seller that not only had it, but had a bunch of European jazz re-issue overstock he was selling for $9.99 each, with a buy 5 get 20% off + free shipping. That's an unbelievably good deal and I couldn't resist. In the same sesh I ordered a few records from another seller as well and there you have it: a crisp hundo out the door. But the music is real damn good.
Reading
51. Stowaway to Mars - Wyndham
1930's sci-fi book set in 1981. Not exactly sure what the state of physics was at the time or the author's understanding thereof, but it was rather humorous to read a book about the first attempts at interplanetary flight and have it detail the shortcomings of prior attempts such as "didn't pack enough fuel" or "got stuck and starved to death in Earth's orbit. To cut to the chase: they made it to Mars, the Russians weren't far behind, there are Martians, inter-planetary-copulation occurs.
Running
MR: 592.2 +11.6
DR: 105 +2
More Audio Hobby Talk
I bought another pair of speakers... I'm not counting it as an expense because I'm financing it with the sale of some other equipment. I know that's not the proper way to do it because opportunity cost and math and such, but hey, it's my life. Besides, the opportunity cost of not having bought the equipment I'm now selling (expense tallied, btw) is I'd never have got to use it. I've been on the lookout for this particular model speaker for a couple years now and I had to make a 4 hour round-trip drive to get them. I probably would not have made the trip had I not been purchasing them from the original owner who bought them in 1970. Being from only a single home they're in great condition. So the cost of these speakers will be the gas I used and the new parts* required of a 50 year old piece which, all told, will come out to a little over $100.
This pretty much follows my MO in my little audio hobby: wait for a good enough deal on vintage tlc-necessary gear, fix/repair/refurb, use, decide to keep or sell. Wash, rinse, repeat. I fully expect to keep these as I currently have their little brother and the consensus is the big brother takes all that goodness and ups the game.
*new capacitors for the crossover, special sealant for the cloth surrounds, and new gasket material for mounting the drivers.
Last edited by Cheepnis on Sun Mar 28, 2021 7:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: I Saved Some Money, Accumulated So Good
Provided you enjoy the transaction part of recycling the hobby stuff (ie it's another part of the hobby), I think keeping it out of your tracking makes sense. If buying and selling used becomes like a chore, I'd encourage treating it as another set of income and expense transactions.
There are times in life when you find a floor on the minimum number of hours you can work. During those windows, it can be worth over-paying on hobby stuff to get the time you would have spent making deals back. Firewalling that time within the hobby hides the opportunity.
I've noticed frugal people sometimes move away from a grain heavy diet as they progress into their 30's. You are pretty active with work and the running, but it's worth considering as you ramp up bulk storage. 25lbs of flour makes a lot of baked goods.
There are times in life when you find a floor on the minimum number of hours you can work. During those windows, it can be worth over-paying on hobby stuff to get the time you would have spent making deals back. Firewalling that time within the hobby hides the opportunity.
I've noticed frugal people sometimes move away from a grain heavy diet as they progress into their 30's. You are pretty active with work and the running, but it's worth considering as you ramp up bulk storage. 25lbs of flour makes a lot of baked goods.
Re: I Saved Some Money, Accumulated So Good
Scott, I'd like to reiterate how much I appreciate your down-to-earth practical advise. Always spot-on. That metric for judging transactions seem wholly appropriate. As it stands right now I won't go as far as to say I enjoy it, but the pieces I've got are generally nice/well-regarded enough that selling them is easy and painless. It also helps I'm not out to gouge people, the reasonable certainly help.
---
Reading
52. Assholes: A Theory - James
Ironically I'd had this book in my pile from the library for some time before my bike path run-in. I thought it might be a short fun read, turned out to not be that great. Had a couple interesting tidbits, but mostly skippable.
Running
MR: 606.8 +14.6
DR: 108 +3
Life
I have been absurdly busy for this time of year that has ground my reading/running nearly to a halt. I've had some additional weekend apprenticeship commitments on top of what is traditionally crunch time for gift-figuring. At this point the 8 o'clock late start at work puts me home once it's dark which definitely puts the kibosh on running motivation most nights, not to mention particularly shit weather the past couple weeks. Anyway, most of my free time has been spent either with the supplementary apprenticeship crap or making gifts.
I don't mind gift buying/making so much, but that's only a function of the relatively few people I need to gift to, which comes down to only the people I really care about: my parents, brother, last remaining grandparent, and gf. I find it extremely satisfying surprising them with something I know they'll love. I'm on the lookout year-round for good ideas/items for those people.
---
Reading
52. Assholes: A Theory - James
Ironically I'd had this book in my pile from the library for some time before my bike path run-in. I thought it might be a short fun read, turned out to not be that great. Had a couple interesting tidbits, but mostly skippable.
Running
MR: 606.8 +14.6
DR: 108 +3
Life
I have been absurdly busy for this time of year that has ground my reading/running nearly to a halt. I've had some additional weekend apprenticeship commitments on top of what is traditionally crunch time for gift-figuring. At this point the 8 o'clock late start at work puts me home once it's dark which definitely puts the kibosh on running motivation most nights, not to mention particularly shit weather the past couple weeks. Anyway, most of my free time has been spent either with the supplementary apprenticeship crap or making gifts.
I don't mind gift buying/making so much, but that's only a function of the relatively few people I need to gift to, which comes down to only the people I really care about: my parents, brother, last remaining grandparent, and gf. I find it extremely satisfying surprising them with something I know they'll love. I'm on the lookout year-round for good ideas/items for those people.
Last edited by Cheepnis on Sun Mar 28, 2021 7:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: I Saved Some Money, Accumulated So Good
First attempt at steamed pork buns tonight.
Easier than I expected, still room for improvement, but feeling pretty good about this initial venture. They taste delicious as they're basically lumps of salt ha!
My diet is far from terrible, but I could also improv in a couple areas, mainly I could be better about eating raw veggies as a snack food. I eat quite a bit of veggies, mostly in things. As Scott the second noted above 25lbs of flour makes a lot of baked goods. I'm still currently in my can-eat-whatever-I-want-and-stay-within-a-10lb-window phase, which is nice, but those days are numbered and I am taking steps to develop the habits I'll need to have in ten years to maintain a healthy weight. In a nice web-of-goals intersection I find portioning out my bulk meals an effective way to regulate food intake and meal cost. If I make a batch of soup it's pretty easy to split it into 6 instead of 5 portions. In general I'm phasing in smaller portion sizes and attempting to grow accustomed to light hunger.
Easier than I expected, still room for improvement, but feeling pretty good about this initial venture. They taste delicious as they're basically lumps of salt ha!
My diet is far from terrible, but I could also improv in a couple areas, mainly I could be better about eating raw veggies as a snack food. I eat quite a bit of veggies, mostly in things. As Scott the second noted above 25lbs of flour makes a lot of baked goods. I'm still currently in my can-eat-whatever-I-want-and-stay-within-a-10lb-window phase, which is nice, but those days are numbered and I am taking steps to develop the habits I'll need to have in ten years to maintain a healthy weight. In a nice web-of-goals intersection I find portioning out my bulk meals an effective way to regulate food intake and meal cost. If I make a batch of soup it's pretty easy to split it into 6 instead of 5 portions. In general I'm phasing in smaller portion sizes and attempting to grow accustomed to light hunger.
Last edited by Cheepnis on Sun Mar 28, 2021 7:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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2Birds1Stone
- Posts: 1606
- Joined: Thu Nov 19, 2015 11:20 am
- Location: Earth
Re: I Saved Some Money, Accumulated So Good
That Bao looks delicious! Would you mind sharing/linking to the recipe you used?