I’m not arguing in favor for house prices going up but just wanted to point out how a lot of people use the value of their home. You can pull out money from your house and your interest payments don’t change when the value of your house goes up.
I’ll give the example of my neighbor. They bought their house 10 years ago at about $250k. Interest rates were around 4.5%. We’re in a location that got really hot during the pandemic and the house value jumped to about $700k. At that moment, they had the same payments as 10 years ago. Then interest rates dropped down below 3%. His balance on the original mortgage is probably about $175k and now he refinances the house with a mortgage of $325k, pays off the old loan, and pockets $150k out of the house. But due to the lower interest rates, his payment is the same as it was 10 years ago. He just has $150k in his pocket. Meanwhile, I’m the schmuck who had to buy the identical house at $700k at 5% and pay 3x for the same house.
I bought at the peak myself to have stable housing while raising kids.
If house prices just stayed flat until wages caught up and then only increased similar to match wage increases (not inflation) that might be a reasonable compromise between the middle class who have a house and don’t. Those who own will still be paying down a mortgage so increasing your equity that way without being decimated if you have to move. Unfortunately at this point, that could take awhile before wages caught up.
I lived adjacent to a neighborhood like this. It was much quieter than middle aged neighbors with Harley’s. Little Cessnas and Pipers are not that loud.
So for our kids, who are still quite young, instead of opening an entire other savings account for them, we decided to do “virtual” savings accounts....
Yesterday, as I stepped out of the elevator on the atrium level of my building, I turned left. Simultaneously, a woman and a child exited the elevator next to mine and walked ahead of me in the same direction, heading towards the main corridor. Almost immediately, I could hear the woman engaged in a heated phone conversation...
This was my mom. Lots of therapy and 20 years later I’m good now. One major thing I do differently as a parent is apologize to my kids when I screw up.
If you do something against the rules then you have an appropriate punishment. Yelling and berating is never an appropriate punishment. If yell at my kid because I’m mad I always apologize. Hopefully it will lessen their therapy bills.
I’ve been using You Need a Budget for family budgeting and I like it but it is expensive. I’ve played with Buckets a little bit and looks like a contender. Anyone move from YNAB to Buckets?
Specifically in the USA, but feel free to share your status quo. We live in the internet age, doesn’t that cut overhead with filing and make things cheaper?
There are not a lot of incentives to make things easier/cheaper. Changing government processes is slow and hard. Take immigration. It is currently a long and hard process to legally immigrate to US unless you fall into certain categories. I’ve heard politicians on both sides say my entire life that we need to improve the process for legal immigration yet little has been done.
One time 20+ years ago I was at a Sonic and there was an empty lot next door. A helicopter landed and 2 kids ran out and went over to the sonic and ordered food. Became a core memory.
I think flexibility is key. There are days where I peak my productivity at 4 hours. There are days where I get in the flow and can be productive for 12.
Visible is pretty great. I don’t really have any issues with it. I pay $25/month. Spouse has upgraded Visible plan of $45/mo and an Apple Watch $5/mo. My 3 kids have Tello $9 plans which gives the unlimited text/talk and 500MB of data. That’s just enough to track their locations, Otherwise they tether for free on our phones. Everyone has an iPhone.
25+45+5+3x9 = $102 all in. No additional fees or taxes.
Hate to see local business fail but there are a ton of breweries in this town. To be successful you really need to nail both the quality of the drink and the atmosphere.
I use YNAB which I guess is technically zero based budgeting but we refer to the categories as envelopes. In my mind I’m doing the same thing as when I had cash in envelopes I just don’t have to deal with cash. I group my categories by the 50/30/20.
I think that’s it. His vision is to try and make a WeChat competitor. As much as I hate it, I fear that if he can string along the investors for long enough he could actually maybe make it successful if he adds everything else to it.
But the Fediverse is growing too which is better. Let Musk and Zuck have their dick measuring competition and let’s build something better over here!
I take pictures. I use apps. I listen to podcasts. If I want to watch something I typically use my TV , laptop, or iPad. But I don’t want a monstrosity in my pocket. Insert penis size joke here
Oddly enough, it doesn’t use Bluetooth. It’s a light sensor on the door. The phone actually flashes the screen at the light sensor to program it. I’m sure by being a native app it gives them more control over the screen but still….
There are exceptions and I think Apple Music is one of them. They’ve been playing catch up with Spotify. I only have Apple Music because it’s with the bundle of everything else.
I’m trying to assess if this is worth it before talking to contractors. I’ve done a lot of DIY remodels and hired out some but never anything of this magnitude. I want to build an addition on top of the garage and connect to the rest of the 2nd floor. Here’s some assumptions I have....
More than likely. Because it means I’m not moving. I’d pay 20k in realtor fee easily. But my questions were less about the value and more about the experience. Did you do any of it yourself or use a GC?
To be more specific, my parents raised my siblings and me to “respect” them, saying "yes sir, and “no ma’am” to everything they said. Spankings, all of that. Typical super conservative evangelical parents. Before I learned better, I was that way too. I went to college and since then have embraced the left more and...
Found this question on an Instagram reel as dating advice for girls if they don’t know what to talk about and that men have a lot of opinions about this. Let’s see if she’s right.
In high school I worked on a ranch. On a couple of occasions I got to round up cattle on horseback. My friends were competitive ropers and I tried it a couple of times. I couldn’t rope anything.
Honestly, the most fun I’ve ever had at a job though there’s no way I would spend all day on a hot horse with my 30 something body.
Fellow home owners, are you ready for the housing market to crash?
I know I’m supposed to want it to keep going up as a wealth generator or whatever....
Austin's Peter Pan Mini Golf is doing whatever it can to stay open (www.kut.org)
change.org petition
How did indigenous people survive hurricanes in the carribean
The Winds and flooding can do so much damage with modern construction. Seems like it would wipe out entire villages if they were more primitive.
Calls for Starbucks boycott grow amid aggressive union-busting activities (www.theguardian.com)
An "airport neighbourhood" where people can store their planes in their yard and taxi directly to the runway (lemmy.ml)
Location on a map: www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=42.1486108&mlon=-…
Calculating Interest on a "Virtual" Savings Account
So for our kids, who are still quite young, instead of opening an entire other savings account for them, we decided to do “virtual” savings accounts....
Abusive Parents
Yesterday, as I stepped out of the elevator on the atrium level of my building, I turned left. Simultaneously, a woman and a child exited the elevator next to mine and walked ahead of me in the same direction, heading towards the main corridor. Almost immediately, I could hear the woman engaged in a heated phone conversation...
YNAB vs Buckets (www.budgetwithbuckets.com)
I’ve been using You Need a Budget for family budgeting and I like it but it is expensive. I’ve played with Buckets a little bit and looks like a contender. Anyone move from YNAB to Buckets?
Why is the legal system so expensive?
Specifically in the USA, but feel free to share your status quo. We live in the internet age, doesn’t that cut overhead with filing and make things cheaper?
I am very mildly infuriated by the fact that thinking "I am not a fish" genuinely works to stop Hiccups
Ok, here me out, this is so small compare to other c/mildlyinfuriating that people would not casually read what I have to say....
Guy uses Village parking lot as his personal helipad (www.kxan.com)
The FAA will be very interested I am sure.
“Highway to hell” (www.austinpolitics.net)
81% of full-time workers want a 4-day work week – and they're willing to make sacrifices to get it (www.cnbc.com)
What are your best tips to save money?
Following the credit card thread, I’ve learned that some people use credit card points and miles to pay for hotels, that seems pretty interesting....
Thirsty Planet Brewing Co. to close taproom, suspend operations (communityimpact.com)
Thirsty Planet Brewing Co. is closing its taproom and suspending distribution.
What is your favourite budgeting method?
A Vanguard video (m.youtube.com/watch?v=1nprZjV_6FM) refers to 4 budgeting methods...
Weekly Ask Austin Thread
Weekly thread to post any Austin or surrounding area questions. Looking for answers or advice? Ask the community here....
The American civil war wasn’t about slavery. (lemmy.ca)
As Twitter destroys its brand by renaming itself X, Mastodon user numbers are again soaring | TechCrunch (techcrunch.com)
It’s not just lemmy that’s benefiting from Elon Musk.
If the body's natural temperature is about 98 degrees (F), why does it still feel really hot when the ambient temperature is 98F?
Shouldn’t it be the most comfortable temperature? 🤔
iPhone SE 4 Rumored to Feature Action Button, USB-C, Face ID, and More (www.macrumors.com)
Not everything needs an app
I have an app for programming my chicken coop. My 401k company just created an app for onboarding new participants....
“Apple Music launches a Discovery Station to help you find new songs” (www.theverge.com)
“The new station will play a curated selection of songs based on what you’ve been listening to but haven’t heard before.”...
Open OS Ecosystem on Apple Silicon Macs (github.com)
Building over garage. Is it worth it? (lemmy.world)
I’m trying to assess if this is worth it before talking to contractors. I’ve done a lot of DIY remodels and hired out some but never anything of this magnitude. I want to build an addition on top of the garage and connect to the rest of the 2nd floor. Here’s some assumptions I have....
Weekly Ask Austin Thread
Weekly thread to post any Austin or surrounding area questions. Looking for answers or advice? Ask the community here....
This tick’s spit can make you allergic to meat (www.vox.com)
News Video: Movement to restart the Lone Star Rail District from Austin to San Antonio (youtu.be)
Those with parents who hold opposite political views than you, how do you go about disagreeing?
To be more specific, my parents raised my siblings and me to “respect” them, saying "yes sir, and “no ma’am” to everything they said. Spankings, all of that. Typical super conservative evangelical parents. Before I learned better, I was that way too. I went to college and since then have embraced the left more and...
Would you rather be a cowboy, a pirate or a samurai?
Found this question on an Instagram reel as dating advice for girls if they don’t know what to talk about and that men have a lot of opinions about this. Let’s see if she’s right.