patrick.net

I have returned to the Gig Economy, because I don't want to deal with Commies that dominate the HR departments in South Florida. Or the know it all idiots in requirement gather meetings, injecting input that is not feasible, for software that I and I alone have to write.
I'm specializing in Electrical work in Old Florida houses, where people still have wiring from the 30's through the 70's, and have plaster walls, but don't want to have some moron come in and rip their walls out, and put up toxic Chinese drywall. I had develop my own techniques to knock holes to get at the wires, and patch the holes with a solid mortar and plaster patch. My house was the perfect lab to perfect those skills. All of the other electricians I know avoid those types of situations.

I have been living the last two years on a modest financial cushion we managed to save up. Now I'm ready to get out there and make some money doing what I enjoy.

Tenpoundbass says

I had develop my own techniques to knock holes to get at the wires

Hammer?

my income has grown 20x since the pandemic started

Onvacation says

Tenpoundbass says

I had develop my own techniques to knock holes to get at the wires

Hammer?

The size and shape of the hole and then how new wall boxes get installed, then patched over to look like it was always there.

Most people want to knock a 1 to 2 foot square hole, then screw in a bit of 2x4 and then patch it with drywall. Drywall to Plaster transitions look like crap, no matter how skilled you are, it creates a reveal after you paint over it. The ones that realize this sells the idea of ripping out all of the plaster walls(they call it updating) and replacing it all with drywall.

Lots of people don't get their wires changed because they believe it will be too intrusive.

We ended up taking on a bit of debt to to remodel house, hopefully pay it off by the end of year. We have gone from needing to have two incomes to only needing one. It has made it a lot easier to be more selective with our careers. Wife and I were both able to take large amounts of time off between jobs without stress and take the time to find higher paying jobs we like.

If we were in CA still the inflation and gas would have been rough.

To rap up, making more than in CA, added a golden retriever to household, kids happier, made a bunch of new friends, almost half of income disposable. Doing much better than pre covid. Covid might have been a blessing in disguise, not sure if we would have moved without the extra push it gave us.

Tenpoundbass says

Lots of people don't get their wires changed because they believe it will be too intrusive.

So you do "arthroscopic wiring". I like it. You should market it as such.

11

We're doing something like the permanent portfolio, which is evenly divided between Treasuries, cash, stocks (index funds) and PM/commodities (mostly gold, silver, CanRoys). Up through the end of '21, we were probably up nearly 50% across the entire portfolio (stocks and PMs provided most of the kick). We're down about 20% from the peak investment-wise.

I'm still employed, but raises are meager, and inflation is costing us more - since we do grass-fed and other real foods, which have always been 2X the cost of garbage food, the food increases haven't been as shocking. Like TBP, we're learning practical skills - mostly maintenance and DIY stuff. This covers everything from auto repair through carpentry, furniture and upholstery restoration, gardening, shot shell reloading, and expanding our cooking repertoire

If I had more cash on hand, I would load up on what I think I'll need over the next 10 years wrt appliances, vehicles, tools, etc. Shit is going to get incredibly more expensive once the supply chain disruptions settle into a new equilibrium.

Blew nearly 20K moving from CA to TX this year. Will break even in one year from the tax savings alone.

stereotomy says

If I had more cash on hand, I would load up on what I think I'll need over the next 10 years wrt appliances, vehicles, tools, etc. Shit is going to get incredibly more expensive once the supply chain disruptions settle into a new equilibrium.

Pretty much what I've been trying to do. I repair 90% of my own stuff and have friends for the other 10%. Pretty much have a electronics repair setup on one of my garage work benches for my hobbies.

Plenty of biotech stocks on discount, the sector will do better than the rest 2023.

mell says

Plenty of biotech stocks on discount, the sector will do better than the rest 2023.

whats worth buying and holding?

The pile still has quite a safety margin, but just hoping that inflation doesn't wreck it entirely. I suppose we'll just have to tuck in and adapt if it does. I doubt anybody will starve in USA. This is an instance in which owning at least one house outright can be viewed as a good thing, as long as one can pay the taxes and maintenance.

FortwayeAsFuckJoeBiden says

mell says

Plenty of biotech stocks on discount, the sector will do better than the rest 2023.

whats worth buying and holding?

I posted one stock in the paid thread (10 cents). So far only Patrick has paid and viewed it. It's a short write up for a stock I havbe been holding at least 50k shared at all times, anywhere between 50-125k shares: https://patrick.net/post/1378136/2022-12-29-small-cap-biotech-stock-idea-1. I swing trade the rest. I have more recommendations. ADMA is one worth buying and holding for example imo, though it traded for.a 1/3rd if its current price not long ago. Regardless I keep holding. there are so many small cap.biotechs that are just about to.turn profitable (6-18 months), you just have to read their Financials and earnings trajectory. Many trade for less than their 1 year forward revenues. Reading the.idea and doing your follow up due diligence takes less than 45 minutes. I would appreciate if others would post their ideas as well (paid or unpaid). The economy may be shitty in 2023,.but many stocks have sold.off 50% if not more easily, and many of those will recover, even in a sideways or bear market.

I spend at least 4 hours per week on researching biotech stocks. May expand that work for a fund.

We recently paid off our debt with the stock sale from my yearly vesting. Didn't have much, but it's gone now. Added to my long term investment, put something into the emergency fund, and added another gun. The rest has gone to enjoying many things in the Southwest we still hadn't done, despite having lived here for so long. Never get so caught up in the future you don't enjoy the present.

We have more financial freedom than we've ever had, and that's mostly due to raises that keep up with inflation, or just ahead, and living within our means, and I mean housing. Refusing to spend more than 25% of my net income on housing is the best decision we've ever made, and the only reason California hasn't whipped us for coming back. And if things ever changed, we'd just move to a cheaper locale.

CBOEtrader says

my income has grown 20x since the pandemic started

@CBOEtrader - How the hell did you do that?

GNL says

CBOEtrader - How the hell did you do that?

Its called crony capitalism.

I sell health insurance. The ACA expanded subsidies across the board, and added a yearround SEP for under 150% earners... meaning i pile on thousands and thousands of clients who pay nothing for their policy, while i am paid for administering their application process.

im hunting for food.

Dear diary... it is day 56 of my hermit existence in the mountains. Disappointed but eager I've been unable to hunt down elk or deer, only water fowl. But luck finally shined upon my misfortune as I came upon 3 realtors... so killed them and ate their livers.

FortWayneAsNancyPelosiHaircut says

Dear diary... it is day 56 of my hermit existence in the mountains. Disappointed but eager I've been unable to hunt down elk or deer, only water fowl. But luck finally shined upon my misfortune as I came upon 3 realtors... so killed them and ate their livers.

Eww, I understand killing them, but eating them is just asking for a nasty venereal disease!