Solar tax credit? Fair or unfair?

[Recovering EE]

If there is to be any subsidy, make it a cash rebate, as retirees can't do crap with a tax credit, but the cash back would be a nice touch.

Do a Roth conversion from a 401k or traditional IRA to bulk up taxable income to the point were the year's tax liability covers the credit. Of course, this assumes that while working, the employee took advantage of 401k or IRA contributions, and any employer matching.

 

[justgary]

I'll also say, I don't think back in your day, you had to deal with your salary being capped because the people who were going to retire at 60 are now retiring at 65. or later. If only the economy were strong enough to allow those peopel to retire, too bad it's on life support because it's been left to run by billionaires since the 70s or so.

Old guy here. I'm not going to ride you like a pony like a few others have. I'd prefer to help you solve your problem. Calling you names isn't useful.

Your statement above made me want to reply. First, your salary should be based on your performance, not the fact that the company happens to employ someone else. It may be time to zip up your spine and discuss your compensation with your boss. Second, the fact that those near the ends of their working days might *need* to keep working suggests that they did a poor job of planning (which really means saving for retirement).

I quiz people of all ages with the following question: What is the single most expensive thing you will buy in your lifetime? They all tell me, "a house." Well, that's dead wrong. The most expensive thing you will buy in your lifetime is your retirement. A house is simple. You put down a little money, you move in, and you pay as you go. Your retirement is much more expensive, and the catch is that it has to be fully paid off *before* you are allowed to move in.

You mention that you are "saving for a house." Is that a sock drawer, a bank account, or a brokerage account? How you save can make a huge difference. Short term, it doesn't really matter. Long term, it can be a huge difference.

Just for kicks, I'll tell my story. I finished school, got married, and moved to Los Angeles for a new job. My starting salary in LA was $31,000 a year. I borrowed $5,000 from my mother to be able to pay first and last months' rent and buy a bed and kitchen table. We lived in an apartment for two and a half years, then decided we couldn't raise kids in LA, so I got a job in FL and we moved. In the time we were there, we paid mom back (in the first year), and saved $25,000 by the time we moved away. We put it all down on a house at 9.25% interest, then refinanced at 6.75% (15 year) seven years later. We paid the house off the year our oldest finished high school.

Granted, we didn't have cell phones or internet to pay for, but we had much higher interest payments. It sure seems like you should be able to plan a path to success. What part of Dallas are you in, and is that the part where you are seeking a house to buy?

 

[didapper]

Old guy here. I'm not going to ride you like a pony like a few others have. I'd prefer to help you solve your problem. Calling you names isn't useful.

Your statement above made me want to reply. First, your salary should be based on your performance, not the fact that the company happens to employ someone else. It may be time to zip up your spine and discuss your compensation with your boss. Second, the fact that those near the ends of their working days might *need* to keep working suggests that they did a poor job of planning (which really means saving for retirement).

I quiz people of all ages with the following question: What is the single most expensive thing you will buy in your lifetime? They all tell me, "a house." Well, that's dead wrong. The most expensive thing you will buy in your lifetime is your retirement. A house is simple. You put down a little money, you move in, and you pay as you go. Your retirement is much more expensive, and the catch is that it has to be fully paid off *before* you are allowed to move in.

You mention that you are "saving for a house." Is that a sock drawer, a bank account, or a brokerage account? How you save can make a huge difference. Short term, it doesn't really matter. Long term, it can be a huge difference.

Just for kicks, I'll tell my story. I finished school, got married, and moved to Los Angeles for a new job. My starting salary in LA was $31,000 a year. I borrowed $5,000 from my mother to be able to pay first and last months' rent and buy a bed and kitchen table. We lived in an apartment for two and a half years, then decided we couldn't raise kids in LA, so I got a job in FL and we moved. In the time we were there, we paid mom back (in the first year), and saved $25,000 by the time we moved away. We put it all down on a house at 9.25% interest, then refinanced at 6.75% (15 year) seven years later. We paid the house off the year our oldest finished high school.

Granted, we didn't have cell phones or internet to pay for, but we had much higher interest payments. It sure seems like you should be able to plan a path to success. What part of Dallas are you in, and is that the part where you are seeking a house to buy?

I've nearly doubled my compensation at my current job, I've hit a ceiling at my current job. I don't have a degree, and all of my skills are self taught. My employer basically started off thinking "this person with no experience can only be a basic tech". In under 6 months I totally remade all of the infrastructure enabling full WFH and they fired the old admin. Unless the business I works for starts pulling in more money, they can't even afford to give me a raise. This is also why I'm somewhat uncertain about the future of my job and saving more than I probably need.

You mentioned retirement, and that is something I'm not focusing on as much as I should. Maybe mistakenly, I'm trying to get a house ASAP because I'm afraid it'll become even more expensive.

I'm saving in a bank account where I get 4% or so returns. Nothing crazy, but I feel safe with the money there.

You mention kitchen table, I don't even own one of those. I've mentioned it, but I really live like a monk. I have only what I actually need, and most of my spending goes to survival, and after that, self enrichment. I do at least own 4 forks, a bowl, 2 spoons and 4 plates though. Luxuries for people in my age range.
About interest rates, I get they are low right now, but I don't want to buy an overvalued home and overpay for it.

I'm kinda sorta between parts of DFW, kinda the Irving area. Home values can vary a lot in this area. I haven't seriously started looking at a target, I'm in the prep phase where I just want to make sure I have enough to even consider it. I'm not married to the area either. Ideally, I'd live somewhere reasonably cheap, with good internet access, and close enough proximity to "places I want to go" like Micro Center, if I need, or "actual" grocery stores. I'm not gonna live somewhere where my only options are walmart and dollar general.

 

[Hedges]

Maybe mistakenly, I'm trying to get a house ASAP because I'm afraid it'll become even more expensive.

This is why prices keep going up. Couple years ago in my area they popped 40% when interest went from 2% to 7%

I'm saving in a bank account where I get 4% or so returns. Nothing crazy, but I feel safe with the money there.

OK for 1 year, not for 5 in our crazy inflation period.
You know inflation is has recently been much higher than 4%.
For 5 years, stock market will probably keep up with inflation. It has been a bubble too, so no guarantees.

like Micro Center, if I need, or "actual" grocery stores. I'm not gonna live somewhere where my only options are walmart and dollar general.

I liked Micro Center, then it closed, now it is returning.
Mostly I buy through eBay. On-line is more efficient than bricks & motor, just doesn't give instant gratification.

Which would you rather have, access to an "actual" grocery store (rather than getting food at Walmart), or your own house?
Are you giving up owning a house to be near a grocery store?

as i've said multiple times, starlink is not suitable for my work. they "carrier grade NAT" all connections so it's impossible to host anything from it. It's also not nearly as reliable as i need, and the latencies are too high. also apparently their "lite" plan is 80/mo. that's more than I pay for my 2gbps symmetric fiber connection with super solid latency (and an actual IP address) with no usage limits.

I do a lot of hosting, and a lot of it is "donating". I have extra storage and bandwidth with a super fast and stable server, so i provide free hosting for open source projects, and act as a mirror. I can't do that in the middle of the woods.

I'm not living my life just for me, I care about other people than myself, and I'm not maxing out my life's design for my personal gain. I think people should be able to live in a "happy balance" where they are supporting themselves, and can do things to help those around them.

Is this what you choose to do rather than owning a house? Pay to give other people computerized services?
Does this have to be a computer in your living room? Why not cloud based, then you could get by on 110 baud dial-up like the rest of us did in our early years. (And yes, I did walk to school barefoot. In the snow. Uphill. Both ways.)

I'll be having a rough time and/or will be living with friends.

Probably your greatest mistake. Expensive apartment all for yourself.
Once I moved out of my parents place and bought my own, I've always lived with someone. Even in a mobile home, my first home.
Except when I lived in an 18' trailer on my own mountain acreage. Then it was just me and the cat, and wild animals around.

No degree, you said. Apparently your IT or similar skills are in sufficiently high demand.
Lack of a degree, and these days an advanced degree, will hold you back.

By the way, I know someone in similar work circumstances as you. More on the security end. He is making twice what you do. Without a degree.
I think that extra little bit of money is making a big difference for him.

 

[didapper]

OK for 1 year, not for 5 in our crazy inflation period.
You know inflation is has recently been much higher than 4%.
For 5 years, stock market will probably keep up with inflation. It has been a bubble too, so no guarantees.

Unfortunately yes, and because of that I've wanted to get into stocks more, but don't feel comfortable investing it anywhere until some dust has settled.

I liked Micro Center, then it closed, now it is returning.
Mostly I buy through eBay. On-line is more efficient than bricks & motor, just doesn't give instant gratification.

I prefer to get stuff locally, if at all possible. I use ebay occasionally but most of the stuff on there is ultimately from overseas, I don't want to eat tariff costs.

Which would you rather have, access to an "actual" grocery store (rather than getting food at Walmart), or your own house?
Are you giving up owning a house to be near a grocery store?

It's more that I could easily afford a home in a food desert, but don't want that. I don't eat anything that fancy, but actually having more than one option can be great. I'd live with just a HEB but I have to drive 45m rn to go to one.

Is this what you choose to do rather than owning a house? Pay to give other people computerized services?
Does this have to be a computer in your living room? Why not cloud based, then you could get by on 110 baud dial-up like the rest of us did in our early years. (And yes, I did walk to school barefoot. In the snow. Uphill. Both ways.)

I don't pay anyone for computerized services. I host all of my own, so the only cost is the hardware (which i already own and most of it was AWS hardware that was being thrown out), and electricity. The electricity cost is mostly covered by a small solar array at this point. I actually let people use my server for free though, and have no plans on charging them for it.

I could not get by on a slow connection for a cloud hosted server, and it would cost FAR more. I'd be paying literally hundreds a month to have a cloud server comparable to my current one. Like factor of 10+ increased running costs.
My server has 96 cores, half a tb of ram, and about 100tb of storage. It could run this website a hundred timed over without flinching. I mostly use it as my home router though lol.

Probably your greatest mistake. Expensive apartment all for yourself.
Once I moved out of my parents place and bought my own, I've always lived with someone. Even in a mobile home, my first home.
Except when I lived in an 18' trailer on my own mountain acreage. Then it was just me and the cat, and wild animals around.

I work from home and have tried having roommates but none of them respect that I need things to be reasonably quiet to do work.

No degree, you said. Apparently your IT or similar skills are in sufficiently high demand.
Lack of a degree, and these days an advanced degree, will hold you back.

By the way, I know someone in similar work circumstances as you. More on the security end. He is making twice what you do. Without a degree.
I think that extra little bit of money is making a big difference for him.

I'm well aware i could make 2x or even 3x as much as I do now with my skillsets. I'm reasonably comfortable with my current job and enjoy it. I believe I'm in a position where I can actually make an impact, and am constantly dealing with people who would be down shit creek without a paddle without someone like me being willing to learn and help with this stuff. In mot cases, it's easier to just sell a new product than make things work. I would never work for a MAANG company because I do not agree with their values. I could make much more money at something flashy like a startup, but I'm not really super concerned with "making a lot of money", especially if the work I do for that doesn't align with my values.

Personally, I find it sad that I have to kinda choose between sacrificing my values and being financially comfortable. I guess that's the point things are at though...

Also WRT hardware, I do a lot of security research, especially with respect to "boot security" and "network security". That sorta stuff basically requires hardware on hand to learn that stuff. You can use VMs to some degree, but it's not really the same thing.

 

[time2roll]

this works for people who don't value their own time

Or maybe he does value his time. Half the rent could be equivalent to working an extra 20+ hours a week once taxes are deducted. Commute may only add 5 hours commitment per week.

 

[didapper]

Or maybe he does value his time. Half the rent could be equivalent to working an extra 20+ hours a week once taxes are deducted. Commute may only add 5 hours commitment per week.

did you see my explanation on cost?

Imagine you're getting paid $20/hr and work 8 hours. If you factor in (unpaid) transportation costs, and things like the cost of gas and car maintenance, that turns to 12-15/hr compensation. Anyone with a brain can use this equivalent amount of time to idk, fix up their junker home, learn a new skill, take some classes. anything but "holding a wheel and watching the road".

My commute to work right now is ~30m. I live in the "same city". If i were to get a cheap home outside the city, that would turn into a 2 hour drive without traffic 3 hours with (one direction)

If I spent an extra 25 hours a week driving, >1000 hr a year. I'd lose my mind. You know they say it takes 1000 hours to become an expert? Imagine becoming an expert at something new every year, or you can drive. It's not even about becoming an expert, basically anything but "driving" is generally a better use of your time, driving is also one of the most dangerous things people do on a regular basis. The need to drive is also why city design has turned insane.

 

[justgary]

I'm saving in a bank account where I get 4% or so returns. Nothing crazy, but I feel safe with the money there.

You mention kitchen table, I don't even own one of those. I've mentioned it, but I really live like a monk. I have only what I actually need, and most of my spending goes to survival, and after that, self enrichment. I do at least own 4 forks, a bowl, 2 spoons and 4 plates though. Luxuries for people in my age range.
About interest rates, I get they are low right now, but I don't want to buy an overvalued home and overpay for it.

Perfect. The table and bed we bought was as cheap as we could find. When her parents visited us the next year, we bought a sofa bed and love seat. The neighbors in the apartment noticed we didn't have a coffee table or end table, so they lent us theirs. When the in-laws left, the neighbors wouldn't take the tables back. We moved them to Florida with us and kept them until our kids were around 16 or so.

Unfortunately yes, and because of that I've wanted to get into stocks more, but don't feel comfortable investing it anywhere until some dust has settled.

Please open an account on bogleheads.org, a financial investment site dedicated to the work of John C. Bogle, the founder of Vanguard. His mantra was, "simple is good." You could posit your situation there in the personal finance forum and the great folks there will give you excellent advice, and they won't insult you (unlike here). They have convinced me that a one-fund investing solution does exist if you want true simplicity.
See https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/index.php

By the way, I think you have handled yourself very well here in spite of getting told to "suck it up" or other great advice. You seem to have your head on your shoulders. If it weren't for the old guy at work (RIP, Bernie Asner) that taught me about investing, I wouldn't be enjoying life nearly as well as I am now (because I would still be working 40 hours a week and wondering how I can retire). With a bit of advice from him, I honestly don't think we can spend all of it in our lifetimes. I now try to pay it back to young folk who want to learn.

You are doing great, and your anxiety is normal. As you said, you are much better off than your peers. Most of them would not want to listen to good advice, so make sure that you have what you need before you try to save anyone.

 

[Hedges]

Unfortunately yes, and because of that I've wanted to get into stocks more, but don't feel comfortable investing it anywhere until some dust has settled.

Don't be like me. I've been doing that since crash of 2009. "The market is too high".

Back in the 90's I met a guy who pulled out of the market when it was too high and didn't get back in. The market passed him by.
I was trying to buy some land, a half-section (320 acres) of Santa Cruz Mountains. We didn't reach an agreement on price, opposite sides of $300k.
I decided to park my money in Schwab S&P 500 fund and Schwab Wilshire 4500 fund until I found something I could buy. I put in a lot, like $thousands/month.
Few years later I looked at the balance and gains, realized I didn't want to sell to move money into real estate. The market would pay for my retirement.

But laid off in 2008 I sold enough stock to cover PITI for 5 years. They rang the bell to call market bottom before I was back in the workforce and that money has remained on the sidelines ever since. While the market has what, doubled? Tripled?

Once again employed, after the rebound, I put 401k money into money market waiting for the next dip. Eventually (like after 5 years more) I finally began contributing to a life-cycle balanced fund.

"Dollar cost average". Start doing it now. Then you will only have partial regrets, not total regret, for mis-timing the market.

It is probably OK to not get in the real estate market, especially in Dallas rather than Bay Area, if you put the same money into maxing out deductible 401k and mega-back-door Roth 401k. I've been doing that since available to me in 2019, like $70k per year.

I prefer to get stuff locally, if at all possible. I use ebay occasionally but most of the stuff on there is ultimately from overseas, I don't want to eat tariff costs.

Right, Tariff very recent.
eBay happens to be first place I go to. Not just to buy junk. I've bought SMA Sunny Island, HP instruments, CATL batteries that way.
Also auto engine and appliance parts, e.g. enter part number from a washing machine timer and find exact match.

Do you pay other people for automobile and appliance repair? Would you pay for computer repair?

It's more that I could easily afford a home in a food desert, but don't want that. I don't eat anything that fancy, but actually having more than one option can be great. I'd live with just a HEB but I have to drive 45m rn to go to one.

And therein lies your problem. You should be able to order premium ingredients and have it arrive in Styrofoam with dry ice.
How much do you spend eating out?
This is NOT a reason to rent in a (relatively) high cost market.
(You pay $1500 for an apartment. We charge $2400 for a 632 sf. one bedroom condo. Money is flowing in the opposite direction in our case.)

I don't pay anyone for computerized services. I host all of my own, so the only cost is the hardware (which i already own and most of it was AWS hardware that was being thrown out), and electricity. The electricity cost is mostly covered by a small solar array at this point. I actually let people use my server for free though, and have no plans on charging them for it.

I could not get by on a slow connection for a cloud hosted server, and it would cost FAR more. I'd be paying literally hundreds a month to have a cloud server comparable to my current one. Like factor of 10+ increased running costs.
My server has 96 cores, half a tb of ram, and about 100tb of storage. It could run this website a hundred timed over without flinching. I mostly use it as my home router though lol.

This server with high bandwidth to its users doesn't need to live at your home.
If you want to own the hardware, you should be able to locate it somewhere in the country, in a rented closet or whatever with T1 or OC192 or whatever you need.

Then all you need is internet for your remote log-in to support it.
And you can live in a more reasonable place.

I work from home and have tried having roommates but none of them respect that I need things to be reasonably quiet to do work.

Fair enough, except you should be pushing 1/4 $million before you think you can call the shots.
If you make $100k that's less than starting salary for someone with good technical education.

I'm well aware i could make 2x or even 3x as much as I do now with my skillsets. I'm reasonably comfortable with my current job and enjoy it. I believe I'm in a position where I can actually make an impact, and am constantly dealing with people who would be down shit creek without a paddle without someone like me being willing to learn and help with this stuff. In mot cases, it's easier to just sell a new product than make things work. I would never work for a MAANG company because I do not agree with their values. I could make much more money at something flashy like a startup, but I'm not really super concerned with "making a lot of money", especially if the work I do for that doesn't align with my values.

Personally, I find it sad that I have to kinda choose between sacrificing my values and being financially comfortable. I guess that's the point things are at though...

Meaning it is entirely a choice.
You've decided to live as a Monk to better the lives of others, some of whom make more than you do.

In our society, most things we do can be valued based on dollars. It may not be a perfect metric, but it makes comparison across disciplines and products easy.

Your choice, your life.

Also WRT hardware, I do a lot of security research, especially with respect to "boot security" and "network security". That sorta stuff basically requires hardware on hand to learn that stuff. You can use VMs to some degree, but it's not really the same thing.

You say you are self-taught, apparently IT or closely related.
That is mostly pounding keyboard, maybe plugging cards.
The security stuff can get deep and is important. Few if anyone know the low-level guts.
It was so simple 40 years ago when I could ask the computer to insert a super-user login into the password file for me.
I used to design computers. Now I don't understand them at all.

You may complain about what we've done to you, but you miss the fact that we gave you everything you have. We are the ones who created everything you take for granted.

Me personally, I designed state of the art microprocessors used in business and technical computers. I worked on telecom networking (short haul city to city). Cellphone cameras. Now improving performance of semiconductor fab equipment necessary for the latest Apple and nVidia processors.

The out of control real estate prices are overseas investors (who can't actually own where they come from) and huge armies of programmers working for social media and related companies like LinkedIn, Google, Facebook, etc. There are 100 of them for every one of us who builds the underlying technology, all focused on promoting more consumer interaction. And earning way to much for mundane work. Half a dozen companies in Silicon Valley pay median salary > $200,000.

 

[didapper]

Perfect. The table and bed we bought was as cheap as we could find. When her parents visited us the next year, we bought a sofa bed and love seat. The neighbors in the apartment noticed we didn't have a coffee table or end table, so they lent us theirs. When the in-laws left, the neighbors wouldn't take the tables back. We moved them to Florida with us and kept them until our kids were around 16 or so.


Please open an account on bogleheads.org, a financial investment site dedicated to the work of John C. Bogle, the founder of Vanguard. His mantra was, "simple is good." You could posit your situation there in the personal finance forum and the great folks there will give you excellent advice, and they won't insult you (unlike here). They have convinced me that a one-fund investing solution does exist if you want true simplicity.
See https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/index.php

By the way, I think you have handled yourself very well here in spite of getting told to "suck it up" or other great advice. You seem to have your head on your shoulders. If it weren't for the old guy at work (RIP, Bernie Asner) that taught me about investing, I wouldn't be enjoying life nearly as well as I am now (because I would still be working 40 hours a week and wondering how I can retire). With a bit of advice from him, I honestly don't think we can spend all of it in our lifetimes. I now try to pay it back to young folk who want to learn.

You are doing great, and your anxiety is normal. As you said, you are much better off than your peers. Most of them would not want to listen to good advice, so make sure that you have what you need before you try to save anyone.

thanks for the well thought out and helpful advice. I may check that out. In a few months I can properly setup my 401k. I double checked on that today because I know I've been sleeping on it.

Interestingly, I feel a lot of people in my age range have more financial literacy than people give them credit for. I'd say the critical issue is a HUGE portion are looking to be wannabe stock brokers/game stuff. I like the concept of the stock market, but I've kinda come to see it as a game, and one I don't have the time to watch nonstop. My dumb ideal fantasy is that I can invest into things which I believe in, and help support those things grow. I know the reality is that I want to put my money where it grows the most, because that will become my retirement.

 

[Hedges]

The stock game is rigged. If you really have personal knowledge a company serves its customer well, that is worth investing in.
Otherwise, stock price fully weights all knowledge, whether publicly known or not. With random noise added in.

The Vanguard approach of low cost investment in the broad market works.
It may not make you rich, but it will make you comfortably well off.

I've been rich. I've been poor. My only mistake was not knowing when to pull the trigger, or to get off the elevator.

Now I'm older and wiser, and just hold the broad market. Including domestic, foreign, and bonds.
(That's recent positions, still holding what's left of my older picks. And gradually selling off what came from incentive stock options decades ago.)

 

[didapper]

Don't be like me. I've been doing that since crash of 2009. "The market is too high".

Back in the 90's I met a guy who pulled out of the market when it was too high and didn't get back in. The market passed him by.
I was trying to buy some land, a half-section (320 acres) of Santa Cruz Mountains. We didn't reach an agreement on price, opposite sides of $300k.
I decided to park my money in Schwab S&P 500 fund and Schwab Wilshire 4500 fund until I found something I could buy. I put in a lot, like $thousands/month.
Few years later I looked at the balance and gains, realized I didn't want to sell to move money into real estate. The market would pay for my retirement.

Yeah, I'm looking to get more into investing, I've just become a bit disillusioned to stock market stuff with the volatility and "gaming" (look at game stop).

Right, Tariff very recent.
eBay happens to be first place I go to. Not just to buy junk. I've bought SMA Sunny Island, HP instruments, CATL batteries that way.
Also auto engine and appliance parts, e.g. enter part number from a washing machine timer and find exact match.

Yeah ebay has a funny reputation but some very high quality/well priced stuff is on there. You just have to know how to navigate it a bit.

Do you pay other people for automobile and appliance repair? Would you pay for computer repair?

No. I haven't had to repair my car but would probably try to do it myself. I have several friends who are into that stuff as a hobby who would help.
I would never, in a million years pay for a computer repair lol. I repair all of my stuff, I even modify some of my hardware to add new features. You can do a LOT slapping a pico or ESP on a device. For anyone non technical following this, TONS of devices have ESP32s or similar in them, especially if they are cheap and have wifi/bluetooth.

And therein lies your problem. You should be able to order premium ingredients and have it arrive in Styrofoam with dry ice.
How much do you spend eating out?
This is NOT a reason to rent in a (relatively) high cost market.
(You pay $1500 for an apartment. We charge $2400 for a 632 sf. one bedroom condo. Money is flowing in the opposite direction in our case.)

I spend next to nothing eating out. I spent $30 last week which was the first time I ate out this year, because a friend was in town.
It's not about premium ingredients, it's about "if i want something to eat, can I reasonably stop at a local store and get materials". I'm not very interested in getting all of my food in the mail. I'm already indoors 90% of the time and only really need to leave once a week or so. The second I stop doing that, I'm a total shut in

This server with high bandwidth to its users doesn't need to live at your home.
If you want to own the hardware, you should be able to locate it somewhere in the country, in a rented closet or whatever with T1 or OC192 or whatever you need.

I don't want to colo, as I mentioned, I also do research on the hardware. I also want access to it. I've written my own boot code to handle system encryption, and want to keep all of that near me. If I had to reboot my server at a colo that would be hell.

Then all you need is internet for your remote log-in to support it.
And you can live in a more reasonable place.

I live around my servers because it's a hobby of mine and it interests me, again, not something I'm trying to trade. And if the argument is "so I can move somewhere with worse internet", then the answer is that I wouldn't be able to do my job that way. Maybe I could "live" like that, but not work, at least in the field I'm in.

Fair enough, except you should be pushing 1/4 $million before you think you can call the shots.
If you make $100k that's less than starting salary for someone with good technical education.

Except it's not, I know a lot of people with college degrees making less than this.

Meaning it is entirely a choice.
You've decided to live as a Monk to better the lives of others, some of whom make more than you do.

Everyone who uses my server personally could not afford a host otherwise, and it costs me next to nothing. The fact of the matter is that this is my "home router", which is made of parts largely donated by a friend. I'd basically be wasting it otherwise. I think 95% of the people I'm "helping" are worse off than me, so if 5% are better off, that doesn't even bother me a bit. If people aren't volunteering resources for projects like this, they die. If they die, then things break. I'm going to guess at least 90% of this website, and the systems they are running are are "free and open source". Good things exist because people care and want them to exist. If it weren't for that, we'd be stuck with only proprietary, licensed, telemetry ridden systems.

You say you are self-taught, apparently IT or closely related.
That is mostly pounding keyboard, maybe plugging cards.
The security stuff can get deep and is important. Few if anyone know the low-level guts.
It was so simple 40 years ago when I could ask the computer to insert a super-user login into the password file for me.
I used to design computers. Now I don't understand them at all.

I would not call it IT related. The stuff I do is sysadmin/network admin related. Other than that, I do a lot of coding to create tools to solve new problems. my job largely encompasses "monitoring industrial equipment" so it's very multidisciplinary. Being able to copy and break open system images, decompile code, and recompile it for specific architectures can allow you to make a device do literally whatever you want.
As a side note, the bit that got me obsessed with computers was multiplayer games when I was young. when I was 11 or 12, I was making minecraft servers back when it was in alpha/beta, and from there, I started self hosting anything I could. The only hosting I've paid for is VPSs to make VPNs for when I had CGNATted internet and wanted to host stuff. Too bad the line was half duplex...

You may complain about what we've done to you, but you miss the fact that we gave you everything you have. We are the ones who created everything you take for granted.

Me personally, I designed state of the art microprocessors used in business and technical computers. I worked on telecom networking (short haul city to city). Cellphone cameras. Now improving performance of semiconductor fab equipment necessary for the latest Apple and nVidia processors.

The out of control real estate prices are overseas investors (who can't actually own where they come from) and huge armies of programmers working for social media and related companies like LinkedIn, Google, Facebook, etc. There are 100 of them for every one of us who builds the underlying technology, all focused on promoting more consumer interaction. And earning way to much for mundane work. Half a dozen companies in Silicon Valley pay median salary > $200,000.

Yes, if only they were paying people these salaries to fix rotting infrastructure, but that isn't flashy and doesn't get investor dollars.

If I had to choose between faster microprocessors/social media, and being able to reasonably survive/have a place to live, I'd pick the later any day. I don't mean that to discount the effort people have put into improving things, especially technically, but I think some of the driving forces for that have been negative (not talking about you specifically). I appreciate and see how a lot of things have gotten better, it's just a bit of a monkey's paw thing imo. "you get to talk to your friends wherever they are" but "an advertising company gets backdoor access to your phone"

“Localhost tracking” explained. It could cost Meta 32 billion.

You just can't finish off Zuckerberg.

www.zeropartydata.es

(proud social media quitter of 9 years)

 

[time2roll]

Unfortunately yes, and because of that I've wanted to get into stocks more, but don't feel comfortable investing it anywhere until some dust has settled.

There is always dust swirling and blowing. Never truly settles. Open an account at Vanguard or other broker with a low cost SP500 fund. Get the same amount in there as your savings and let them race for a year or five. Keep adding equal amounts. The odds are strong the gains of the SP500 will be at least double the interest gained in the savings. I did this decades ago with 5 equally funded different funds and savings. SP500 kept winning by a large margin. Kept dropping the losers and guess where I have been for the last 20 years? Yup, SP500. Buy high, buy low just keep buying.

 

[didapper]

There is always dust swirling and blowing. Never truly settles. Open an account at Vanguard or other broker with a low cost SP500 fund. Get the same amount in there as your savings and let them race for a year or five. Keep adding equal amounts. The odds are strong the gains of the SP500 will be at least double the interest gained in the savings. I did this decades ago with 5 equally funded different funds and savings. SP500 kept winning by a large margin. Kept dropping the losers and guess where I have been for the last 20 years? Yup, SP500. Buy high, buy low just keep buying.

yes, I didn't plan to invest anywhere but an index, at least for the majority of my funds.

 

[klystron]

your generation took our future, enough said.

Why do you believe this? - I've heard it before and don't understand it. You make your own future and sometimes it requires real sacrifice. You should focus on what you need to do to get to where you want to be and then do it, including working two jobs if necessary, relocating, and giving up things you don't really need.

Changing jobs can be a good thing even if it's a sideways move in income. The reason is that if you are good at what you do you will develop a network of people who know you, and this can increase your value over time. You want to find an employer where you can see a path to advancement, and you have to make yourself worth more by taking on additional responsibility.

You have to make it happen though. Nobody can do it for you.

 

[ncsolarelectric]

I've got the cost of grid-tied solar down to $1/Watt DC, and for a Hybrid battery system between $2-$3/Watt DC, depending on the number of batteries. IMO, the 30% tax credit is no longer needed for DIY systems. However, who it hurts are the homeowners who need installers who have to charge 2X to 3X more for their labor and overhead. Rent and insurance are expensive! The 30% credit helps the homeowner's who can't DIY a system. We're a group of self-sufficient individuals here, but a lot of homeowners are not. They need installers and they are the ones that will be hurt by removing the tax credit.

 

[didapper]

Why do you believe this? - I've heard it before and don't understand it. You make your own future and sometimes it requires real sacrifice. You should focus on what you need to do to get to where you want to be and then do it, including working two jobs if necessary, relocating, and giving up things you don't really need.

Changing jobs can be a good thing even if it's a sideways move in income. The reason is that if you are good at what you do you will develop a network of people who know you, and this can increase your value over time. You want to find an employer where you can see a path to advancement, and you have to make yourself worth more by taking on additional responsibility.

You have to make it happen though. Nobody can do it for you.

I believe it because older generations had a lot more "green fields" as in undeveloped things to buy for cheap, and sell for a profit. People in my age range are walking into a world where real estate is inaccessible, the stock market is a game, and the only way to make enough money to EVER retire is to engage in grifts. Everything is poisoned now, and there is no "reasonable" way to get by unless you're fucking people over, as billionaires are doing now.

There is no future like this, things are on a path of destruction, if you don't see that, you're in a bubble.

 

[solar8484]

I've got the cost of grid-tied solar down to $1/Watt DC, and for a Hybrid battery system between $2-$3/Watt DC, depending on the number of batteries. IMO, the 30% tax credit is no longer needed for DIY systems. However, who it hurts are the homeowners who need installers who have to charge 2X to 3X more for their labor and overhead. Rent and insurance are expensive! The 30% credit helps the homeowner's who can't DIY a system. We're a group of self-sufficient individuals here, but a lot of homeowners are not. They need installers and they are the ones that will be hurt by removing the tax credit.

Just curious, how are tariffs impacting your business?

 

[Zwy]

There is no future like this, things are on a path of destruction, if you don't see that, you're in a bubble.

I live in reality, not a bubble or delusions.

Most young people today have not experienced severe hardship. Many of us have. I came of age during the Farm Crisis which coincided with the decline of the Rust Belt and US manufacturing. In this small part of Iowa, we saw farmers failing daily, manufacturers cease to exist, packing plants close and many businesses were close to failure. High unemployment and very low wages paid with inflation much higher than today coupled with high interest rates. I ended up joining the Marine Corps as even entry level jobs were taken by workers out of their higher paying job and trying to keep their home from foreclosure. Before I was done with the Corps, I was sent into combat and suffered from physical and emotional issues as a result. As I told my children, life is never easy, you learn to take the good with the bad. It makes you a stronger person.

Only you can decide your future and destiny. It might take determination on your part to achieve those goals. It might take severe hardship. But it can be accomplished. Looking at the glass as half empty when it is half full shows either a positive attitude or a negative one. Your current situation and those of your generation is the test that determines winners or losers and will define your generation.

I've always looked at any setback in life and business as an opportunity. Taking advantage of that opportunity is looking to the future and not dwelling on the past. Each setback in the end improved my future and destiny while allowing me to reach my goals.

 

[BerndL]

Yeah nothing to see here...I'd like to know how a bunch of wet behind the ears young engineers not even alive when these plants were running NOT VERY WELL suddenly have the experience to:
1) Know why they didn't run then or whether they ever could (now) without billions more invested
2) Would ever be able to troubleshoot them in the first place before another 3 Mile (predictably) happens once again.
I just retired after my last stop at a major corporation tasked with performing extremely dangerous 'stuff'.
I wouldn't trust...I'll just leave it there.

MSN

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/holtec-targets-us-wide-nuclear-reactor-fleet-using-learnings-palisades-2025-06-05/

An entire generation of nuclear plants were built, tested, but never run commercially because the green lawfare strategy was to sue to prevent operation *after* construction finished. Especially with the high interest rates of the time, a few years of delay could push the company into bankruptcy.

Sadly many of the completed plants were torn back down, but I believe there are still several that are perfectly usable.

 

[Oakley]

Today's ordinary prices are tomorrows bargains, just as the price of a house from 40 years ago was just what it sold for and looks like a windfall today. Don't live in the past, learn from what has prospered and what reality is.

 

[didapper]

Today's ordinary prices are tomorrows bargains, just as the price of a house from 40 years ago was just what it sold for and looks like a windfall today. Don't live in the past, learn from what has prospered and what reality is.

Next time I'll remember to get into the market when I'm 2.

You're ignoring the part where from 1960 - 2002 the home price to income ratio never went above 5, and was closer to 3-4 for most of that time. Now it's double that.

The goal posts have moved.

 

[time2roll]

Next time I'll remember to get into the market when I'm 2.

You're ignoring the part where from 1960 - 2002 the home price to income ratio never went above 5, and was closer to 3-4 for most of that time. Now it's double that.

The goal posts have moved.

If my parents were alive they would tell you the difficulty of purchasing that first home for $27,000 on a good aerospace salary of $8,500 in 1964. We never had a new car and most furniture was hand me downs for the first 15 years. They were very much on the edge to make the payments for the first decade. Don't underestimate the difficulty to get ahead in the years past. There was definite sacrifice by many.

Yes some have it easier than others today on the back of the parents that made the effort. And it was like that back then also.

Choose your own path.

 

[klystron]

I believe it because older generations had a lot more "green fields" as in undeveloped things to buy for cheap, and sell for a profit. People in my age range are walking into a world where real estate is inaccessible, the stock market is a game, and the only way to make enough money to EVER retire is to engage in grifts. Everything is poisoned now, and there is no "reasonable" way to get by unless you're fucking people over, as billionaires are doing now.

There is no future like this, things are on a path of destruction, if you don't see that, you're in a bubble.

Maybe you are overlooking the decades of hard work and sacrifice many of us have gone through to get to where we are and instead only see the result and think it was easy. Based on your previous posts I can tell you that you enjoy luxuries that I denied myself while working my way up and that's fine as long as you realize that it is YOU making those choices.

Nobody controls your future unless you allow them to.

 

[solar8484]

Next time I'll remember to get into the market when I'm 2.

You're ignoring the part where from 1960 - 2002 the home price to income ratio never went above 5, and was closer to 3-4 for most of that time. Now it's double that.

The goal posts have moved.

No sure why you attributed the comments to me ... I didn't make the comments ... but I agree with you. In general, I have little sympathy/patience for Boomers complaining about how hard they have had it compared to other generations.