• 2 Posts
  • 52 Comments
Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: July 14th, 2023

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  • If you’re not overweight and simply want to become more athletic I personally think the most important thing to do is to find an activity you enjoy. That’s something you have to discover for yourself.

    For example, I can’t stand working out for the sake of working out at a gym. But I do get really motivated by climbing, hiking, trail running, and skiing. Climbing builds strength and has a certain level of problem solving involved too so it’s mentally stimulating. Hiking and trail running are excellent cardio and have clearly defined goals to reach a certain summit or some endpoint. And skiing is just a blast in all forms. All of that keeps me active and having fun while I’m doing it. That makes me want to do it more which allows me to set bigger objectives and then it builds on itself.








  • Your question seems to be confusing between browser and search engine. These are two separate pieces of software.

    But to answer both:

    • Browser: Firefox. Google has demonstrated clearly that they cannot be trusted as the sole owner of the web which is what is about to happen as Chromium (which Brave is based on) fully takes over. Mozilla (makers of Firefox) is the last holdout. If you care, this is case in point about how Google having a monopoly on browsers will kill the free web: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_Environment_Integrity.
    • Search engine: Another +1 for Kagi. It has completely replaced Google for me.





  • I’m sure it is, but when you throw in property taxes, insurance, HOA dues, PMI, and the big one: maintenance costs (which will vary dramatically on a case-by-case basis), comparing mortgages to rent becomes an apples-to-oranges comparison. For me personally, I spent $50k in the first six months of owning my home on maintenance & repairs alone. That could have paid for 2+ years of rent. Not to mention the ~$30k or so you’ll pay to sell it if you’re only going to be there for a few years.

    Keep in mind too that the mortgage interest deduction is now capped at the first $750k. For people in HCOL areas, that’s starting to become a fairly low limit.

    But yeah, I’m with you on the sense of stability is worth something too and that’s hard to put a dollar figure on. Most people want that stability, but there’s also people that want flexibility or may move around a lot such that buying a home every other year doesn’t make sense. My overall point is that it’s not always cheaper to buy and that renters can and do come out ahead, especially when they’re also investing excess funds appropriately.


  • For sure, I’m not trying to say that buying a house is a bad idea by any means, just that for some people you can rent and still come out ahead of a homeowner. It seems like people always compare a mortgage payment to their rent and think “wow, owning is so cheap compared to my rent!” and then forget about all the other costs associated with owning that can easily result in monthly costs double that mortgage rate. For example, I pay much more for my house now than I did when I was renting. Yes, it’s building equity but if I took the difference in costs and invested it in index funds over the long term could easily be equal to or exceed money earned from property appreciation. Plus, index funds are far more liquid than real estate is and I never have the mow the lawn of my portfolio. But on the other hand the stability and sense of ownership in a home is worth something as well which is harder to put a dollar figure on. If that’s worth something (as it is to me) then buying is likely worth the premium.