Money Matters
bmo88
member
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
NMMR: What other boards and forums do you frequent?
Just really curious. I have found the MM board is one of my favorite boards for discussion because although most of us are frequenters, we are still very welcoming overall to newcomers and are not super controlled on how the board is structured.
In posting on other boards (on the Nest and the Bump), I have realized that the board culture and "rules" are largely dictated by the members of the board. Not surprisingly, some boards out there are just crazy to post on at times. They do not welcome anything outside of their standard posts and almost gang up or bully posters that happen to "break the norms" (but not necessarily the TOS). I get that board's like to create systems and continuity, but I feel like it crosses a line at a certain point. But hey, that's their choice and they can be that way I guess.
Anyway, I am just curious. What other topics/forums/boards do you frequent? Which one is your favorite?
In posting on other boards (on the Nest and the Bump), I have realized that the board culture and "rules" are largely dictated by the members of the board. Not surprisingly, some boards out there are just crazy to post on at times. They do not welcome anything outside of their standard posts and almost gang up or bully posters that happen to "break the norms" (but not necessarily the TOS). I get that board's like to create systems and continuity, but I feel like it crosses a line at a certain point. But hey, that's their choice and they can be that way I guess.
Anyway, I am just curious. What other topics/forums/boards do you frequent? Which one is your favorite?
Re: NMMR: What other boards and forums do you frequent?
If I'm really bored, I'll stalk thebump, but I haven't been there in ages.
I read the bogleheads forum, and I read white coat investor.
I occasionally look at MMM, but after reading a post that was subtley anti-working mom (which then had reader posts following it that were aggressively anti-working-mom) it sort of turned me off. MMM is fun to read on occasion, but the whole approach is really too intense for me.
Bogleheads and WCI are better suited for me in the sense that they address a lot of issues for people who are high income/high debt, and who aren't necessarily looking to retire as quickly as possible (which I appreciate). WCI is specifically geared toward doctors, but a lot of the advice translates to lawyers, accountants, business people, etc. There is a lot of advice on those two forums about wealth building, debt management, taxes, estate planning, and insurance.
I also read several subreddits, more for entertainment than anything else. r/personalfinance is generally a shitshow but kind of fun to read, and it makes me feel like I have my life together lol. I also read r/churning for credit card deals and a couple threads on flyertalk for award travel.
There is also a Getting Pregnant Moms board and 40 of us have branched off to a private Facebook page. We're a very close knit group and talk multiple times a day. 1 of the girls is seriously my best friend. She lives 3 hours from me.
I'm also on a Dave Ramsey Budgeting FB group as well and give advice on there.
I just started on TB BMB board yesterday. Not sure how involved I'll get though.
TTC since 1/13 DX:PCOS 5/13 (long, anovulatory cycles)
Clomid 50mg 9/13 = BFP! EDD 6/7/14 M/C 5w6d Found 11/4/13
1/14 PCOS / Gluten Free Diet to hopefully regulate my system.
Chemical Pregnancy 03/14
Surprise BFP 6/14, Beta #1: 126 Beta #2: 340 Stick baby, stick! EDD 2/17/15
Riley Elaine born 2/16/15
TTC 2.0 6/15
Chemical Pregnancy 9/15
Chemical Pregnancy 6/16
BFP 9/16 EDD 6/3/17
Beta #1: 145 Beta #2: 376 Beta #3: 2,225 Beta #4: 4,548
www.5yearstonever.blogspot.com
I still frequent TK, though I hear you all that many of the regs can be too intense with other posters. Especially new ones. Not that the advice is bad, but why give info with an "iron fist" when a "kid glove" will also get one's point across.
As mentioned by @jtmh2012, I frequent Bigger Pockets, which is a forum all about real estate investing. I read a lot of the articles and listen to some podcasts/webinars, but probably only frequent the boards about 1-2x/week. @jtmh2012, I'm sorry to hear you didn't like the vibe! I've usually found the posters to be helpful and encouraging, even to newcomers. But it definitely isn't a "chit-chatty" board, like this one.
Probably an unpopular opinion on The Nest but I lurk on the proboards occasionally. I'm only active on this board thou.
I like reading blogs and listen to podcasts so I'm not on a ton of forums anymore. Just have less time. I've been on here less simply for the fact that I got a new cell phone in Aug or Sept (???) and I've been too lazy (or haven't had the time) to remember my log in info and sign in from there.
Sure.
The answer is that we aren't prepping for anything in particular beyond the likely event of a massive snow storm here in our neck of Minnesota or the possibility of a tornado.
It's more of a desire to be self-sufficient, to rely on ourselves and to provide for our little kids if there was a longer-term power outage or disaster of some kind.
In addition, we have emergency supplies as well as food and water in our vehicles. And, since DH travels for work both domestically and abroad, he carries emergency items in his travel bags...things like a water filter, first-aid, water proof matches, etc.. We have 72-Hour bags as well.
We are of the opinion that this is physical insurance. On MM we talk all the time about insurance, but it is an untouchable entity in that you cannot hold it. The water filter in my van, is physical insurance against having to drink dirty water.
This all began a few years ago, when I nearly got stuck in a snow storm in CO with nothing in my vehicle. Thankfully, I made it home, but just barely. A handful of folks died in their cars during that following week because they couldn't get out and no one could get to them. Now, our goal is to be able to support ourselves in or around our vehicles if we had to be stranded or snowed in.
We are some what avid hikers and this self-sufficiency has also altered what I put into my pack and always carry regardless of how short our hike is. I have read a lot of stories about people succumbing to the elements on basic day hikes because they weren't carrying proper gear and clothing.
IMHO, this is part of a family's basic insurance plan. For example, having enough water on hand for each person for at least 7 days makes sense to me and it's not that tough or pricey to do.
The federal government advises all citizens to be able to survive for a minimum of 3 days without assistance in the case of an emergency (and 72 hours is preferable). There is a great list here for disaster planning. We keep a plastic tub in our basement that holds most of these items, because our biggest risk is tornadoes and getting trapped in our basement while being dug out. We do add blankets, etc. to our cars in the winter also:
https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/90354
I also keep a weather radio on at all times. That thing is so loud it can wake the whole house if we get a storm near us at night. The last time it went off it was a full 10 minutes faster than any of our local weather channels. No joke. That is critical time when trying to herd family and pets to the basement.
@MommyLiberty5013 and @hoffse, those are some good ideas. I do a lot of emergency planning during hurricane season, but it falls off the radar the rest of the year.
Our house has a generator. I keep a lot of canned goods in the cupboard. I have 12 gallons of water in my shed. I have a first-aid kit in my car and a large one at home. I need to add a blanket/jacket and tennis shoes/socks to my car trunk, just in case I get stuck somewhere and have to walk for help. Where I live, I won't freeze to death in the winter, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to be super whiny and unhappy if I sit in 40 degree weather for a few hours. I also have a hand-crank radio/flash light at the house.
Oh! An emergency tool many people don't think about. Keep a "car glass breaker" in your glove box. You can get ones that are about the size of a tire gauge. There were three incidents (that I know of) in my area just this year where people accidentally drove into a body of water, drowned, and died.
One of them was especially sad. It happened during daylight on a busy street. Tons of people immediately ran down to help them. Only the front half of the car was submerged, but that was where the driver and her 2-year-old were and the driver was unconscious. Nobody could break the glass in time to save them.
I agree on the radios. We have three. One for home, car (minivan) and one of the 72 hour bags. All are hand crank, battery operated and also can be powered/recharged via sunlight. I think they were about $40 each. I recharge them every 6 months.
Don't forget can openers in your emergency locations!!!
If you're short on space for blankets, you can get those mylar ones. The downside is they tear easily. But as long as you are insulated from a cold ground, they use your own body heat to keep you warm.
Three other things to consider for tools are: a hatchet (with sheath), a foldable shovel (also called an entrenching tool), and a folding knife. If I were to choose only one, I'd go with the knife. You can buy a fairly decent one for around $50.