Simple Living

I want to increase my cash on hand to $840.  I presently have $430.  This is separate from my regular savings and retirement accounts.  I just like having some physical cash on hand. I squirrel it away in several locations and rarely keep more than $150-200 in my wallet.  Most stashes are small about $40-60. Goal are 7 stashes: Wallet - $200 Safe - $300 Med Stash - $100 Med Stash - $100 Med Stash - $100 Small Stash - $20 Small Stash - $20 I like to grow them slowly about $20 per week so it’ll take me half a year to reach $840.  I should reach my goal by July 7, 2024 (28 weeks @ $20 per week). If this goes to plan, I’ll do this for 3 more years adding $400 per year until I max out at $2,080 physical cash by 2027 with: Wallet - $400 Safe - $1,000 Med Stash - $200 Med Stash - $200 Med Stash - $200 Small Stash - $40 Small Stash - $40

I’m going to stick to a budget around $500 for 2024.  I’m getting better as I’m on track to hit $740 for 2023. My planned items will be mostly clothes and shoes: Shoes - $225 Air Jordan 1 Low 10.5M - $125 Stan Smith White/Green 10M - $100 Clothes - $260 Bomber Jacket - $200 Polo Letterman Navy - $160 -  Done Uniqlo T-Shirts 5x - $100 Watches - $40 Casio A168WG - $40 -  Done Tech - $40 iPhone 16 -TBD Anker 10k - $40  -  Done That’s basically it.  I may kick it up a bit to $800 if I need to replace other clothing items, but don’t anticipate needing much more. The only unknown is I may upgrade to the iPhone 16, if it turns out to be worth a swap from my 14 Pro.  I kinda want to standardize to Type C. Future Budgets - $300 As I near completion of my wardrobe and finish upgrading to higher quality items, I can slow down my purchases to replacement items only.  I’ll consider $175 for clothing essentials like new shirts and $125 for a new pair of shoes each year. If not for the $200 Bomber

Hit 100k miles today on my 2015 Camry.  Granted it had 88k miles when I bought it in 2022, so really I only added 12k miles in last 22 months or about 600 miles per month. I’m driving about half the rate of the previous owner who would have to hit 1k miles per month to reach 88k in 7 years. Decade more to go…2032 Ideally, I want this car to last me an additional 70-90k miles or 10-13 more years if I continue to drive 7k miles per year. 170-190k seems reasonable as I test drove another 2015 Camry before buying this one that had that much mileage and it drove effortlessly.  I opted for the 88k mile Camry for obvious reasons.  My greater concern is not the mileage, but the number of years and it’ll hit 8 years of age in 2023 and 15 years by 2030.  That seems to be the max age for a typical Camry…and that was about when I sold my Lexus (2007-2022) so it’s plausible. Maybe 2 Decades…2042 I’m willing to be ambitious and go for 20 years or 2042 with 233k miles.  The Camry would be pushing 27

The Casio A168 has a certain charisma and charm that once it hits, you can’t get enough of this inexpensive gem.  I’m debating rocking this again as my daily driver. Update - 10/14/23 So I tried wearing the A168 for several days and I’ve learned I actually rely on the Apple Watch for quick updates on the weather and other information that required me pulling out my iPhone to check. While at home, the A168 is ideal as I just need to know the date and time.  But when outdoors the Apple Watch is useful. At least I gave it a go and while it messed up my 3 rings and exercise records, does it actually matter if it’s logged on my Apple Watch so long as I keep doing the exercise routines?  Of course not.

Starting a maintenance log for my 2016 Toyota Highlander. 10/10/2020 - New Tires - $750 04/02/2021 - Oil Change & Tire Rotation - $120 09/03/2021 - Oil Change & Air Filter - $259 02/03/2022 - Oil Change - $126 06/01/2022 - Oil Change, New Brakes & Rotors - $1200 They did a terrible job on the brakes.  Had to go back 5 times until they finally fixed most of it.  Still squeals, so never going back to this shop. 10/05/2022 - New Battery - $122 Car died and suspected the battery so got a new one at Costco and installed it myself. Part# 852154 Group# 24F 07/07/2023 - Oil Change - $140 Standard oil change and asked to check the brakes. 09/03/2023 - New Tires - Michelin - $900 Didn’t realize I need to perform a wheel alignment and never did it when I bought tires back in 2020.  So I learned  the hard way to do an alignment. 09/09/2023 - Trans Flush, Coolant Flush, Wheel Alignment - $650 Did the wheel alignment as well as trans and coolant flush as I hit 70.8k miles. 11/04/2023 - O

I’ve owned various iPhones starting with the iPhone 5 in 2012 and now in my 12th year enjoying my current model the iPhone 14 Pro. 2012 - iPhone 5 2016 - iPhone 6s 2020 - iPhone 11 2022 - iPhone 14 Pro 2027 - ? I was upgrading every 4 years until the iPhone 14 Pro was released and picked it up only 2 years after buying the 11.  I decided to do so as I was previously buying older models  2 years past their original release date so I figured buy the latest and greatest so I can enjoy it for 4-5 years. I will likely save money in the long run by changing my iPhone less often if I upgrade to the latest model available.  So on that theory I won’t upgrade until 2026-2027.  But I may buy iPhone's every 2 years if there are good deals, so who knows. My hunch is to wait 5 years til 2027 as that’ll be the 20th anniversary iPhone. Favorite iPhone?  iPhone 5 In terms of favorite?  I really loved my iPhone 5.  It was the perfect size and design wise was why I wanted the 14 Pro as it looks so m

I hit my weight goal of 170 and decided to splurge on a pair of Airpod 2nd Gen.  They were on sale and got them for $60.  I also scored a free pair of PowerBeats 2 from a friend so I wanted to compare them after several weeks of use. In short, they are very different form factors so hard to really compare them as they serve different purposes.  The PowerBeats are more rugged and designed for outdoors and exercise, while the Airpods are more for casual and indoor use.  Airpods are packaged nicely in their carrying case making them easy to slip into a pocket or backpack. The Power Beats are more substantial in size, but that is the benefit of having it on a wired cable that you can hang around your neck and also manual inline controls.  Perfect for outdoor exercise, especially my daily morning walking sessions. 1. Battery Life - Power Beats wins I only use the Power Beats for 30-60 minutes at a time, but don't charge them for several days and know they outlast the Airpods that requir

As a souvenir I bought a 2000 Yen ($14.50 USD) Casio F-91W.  This is a very basic watch and the black resin version is ubiquitous and even cheaper in the states, but these translucent color ways are more for the Japanese market and sell for double on Amazon. I’m not seeking to sell it and more as an inexpensive souvenir of my time in Japan.  I’m not quite sure when I’d wear this as my A168 is actually better. But it was less than $15. Same time, I don’t think I’ll count it towards my collection and just something I’ll have on the side.  Which is something I may do as well for my other Casio watches as they are so inexpensive and maybe just focus on my luxury Swiss watches as my actual ‘collection’. I’ve already done so for my old Apple Watch Series 2 as it’s dead and sitting in my junk drawer of old electronics.  It’s not counted in my collection, but I still have it.

As I plan for the future it's time to think what types of computers I'll want or need.  I don't want to have a large collection and am considering the following: Windows 11 Linux - Touchscreen Thoughts on Current State of Collection & Plan for Next 2 Years My current HP i7 6th Gen is not eligible for Windows 11 meaning it'll no longer be supported by Oct 14, 2025 and I'll need to find something else to run Windows 11.  The Dell 7530 should be able to run it.  Seems Windows 11 only support 8th gen processors or higher. So my plan is: Dell i5-8400H - setup as Windows 11 PC. HP i7-6th Gen - run on Windows 10 until 2025, then switch to Linux. HP i3-4010u - Linux - Touchscreen until 2025, then retire . I'm on the fence of actually retiring the HP i3-4010u, but same time its getting old and in terms of 'retirement' I'll just put it into cold storage.  I won't actually throw it away.  This will however streamline me to 2 machines, and I always pref

I've tried for years to lose weight and each attempt has ended in failure.  While I was able to see short term gains, I would lose focus and give up in a short period of time.  I've decided once again to try as my weight has hit 184 lbs and it’s making me feel depressed as I look and feel bloated. Old goal 155, new goal 150 My original goal was to reach 155 lbs.  I'll need to lose 29 pounds or 101,500 calories.  I'm budgeting 2 pounds per week so about 15-29 weeks to realistically achieve this. After learning 155 lbs is BMI 22.2.  I’m going for 150 lbs or another 5 lbs for 34 lbs total weight loss. Outline, Plan & Log Summary - Weekly Vacation Perspective of 20k steps/day Diet Strategy Goal - 10k steps/day Diet - Avoid Junk Food & Eat Healthier Diet - Limit Alcohol Reward - AirPods Journey Log   I. Summary Starting Weight - 184 lbs Week 01 - Goal 182 - 4 lbs lost - 180 lbs Week 02 - Goal 180 - 5 lbs lost - 175 lbs Week 03 - Goal 178 - 0 lbs lost - 175 lbs Week 0

Going to skip watch buying this year and stick to my set of 6 watches. Rolex 114270 Omega 2531.80 Zenith Cal 126 Casio A168 Casio G-Shock 5600 Apple Watch SE2 I’m fairly content with this collection.  Typically, I’m wearing the Apple Watch most days and sometimes swap to my A168 or G-Shock.  It’s surprising how versatile is the humble A168. Added a silicone case protector and screen cover.  The Apple Watch screen is unfortunately easy to scratch.   Update - 6/12/23 - 2 Watch Shuffle - Rolex and Apple I've been in the habit now of wearing the Apple Watch for most of the day to hit my 3 rings and for workouts then swapping for my Rolex in the evenings.  I'm missing the Rolex as it's the most comfortable watch in my collection.  In many ways my Rolex Explorer is the 'perfect' watch and I've grown to love it.   Especially as I get older, sometimes having a Rolex to glance down at makes me feel like I at least did something good in life.  Sometimes you need that pic

I scored on EBay a laptop for ~$250.  Picked up a Dell Precision 7530 Workstation running an 8th Gen Intel i5-8400H processor. Single word to describe the 7530 --> customizable.  This is a business model designed for easy configuration changes and replacement of components by professional IT staff. Overall, impressive machine.  Many go for more at least $350-500 depending on configuration and components.  I opted for mid-tier P2000 (higher end versions use the P3200 6GB GPU).  I also opted for the mid-tier i5 instead of i7.  So $250 is an acceptable price.  If you got a similar configuration with Windows OS then $275-300 would be reasonable. Update 7/24/23 - Selling the Dell It's too over-powered for what I need.  My older 4th and 6th Gen HP's are bottom spec machines but still serve me fine.  It was premature of me to buy a 3rd laptop and I'll wait a few more years before buying a new machine...but then again my old 4th gen HP might last me 11 more years! The 6th gen th

I had bought some items on Temu and had some credits from a refunded purchase so I decided to give one of their bluetooth headsets a try.  I settled on a pair of Voulao V8 headphones in black. For $16, its an excellent deal and in first few hours of use have worked perfectly.  Paired with my iPhone and I was able to control the volume buttons and so on.  The sound signature is on the softer side vs. the JBL 510's, but it feels more accurate representation and I'll keep trying them. They have Type C charging (same as JBL 510) and also permit use of a 3.5mm jack in event it runs out of power, but these are supposedly rated for 80 hours of battery life, which is impressive if true. I've fully charged them up and will evaluate if they live up to the hype. Review - 1 week I’ve had a chance to try the V8’s and they seem to clearly segment music especially in the mids and remind me of Grado SR80’s.  Bass is not as punchy like on the JBL 510BT. The only unpleasant sensation, it fee

For $5 you can buy a pair of wireless Bluetooth earbuds from Target Stores. Vivitar brand is known for basic headphones and you shouldn’t expect more than something that just works in the model WE-ES62-WT headphone earbuds. It’s shaped and designed to look like a pair of Apple AirPods and from a distance can be mistaken for a pair of AirPods. Pairing Process — follow instructions These are not AirPods, so don’t expect Apple experience in pairing.  This is one of the few times you must read the instructions to avoid frustration. A lot of negative reviews are because people don’t bother to read.  For cheap tech, it’s cost of buying cheap. Design & Form Factor — Good Vivitar wins.  They look and feel decent and actually amazing for the low price of $5.  Makes you wonder how much Apple marked up their earbuds? Sound Quality - Poor, but Ok for $5 How did they sound?  Tinny.  Harsh at times for treble heavy music.  Bass is almost nonexistent. Honestly, they sound awful.  But remind yours

Scored a deal and got the JBL 510BT Bluetooth Headphones for half off and paid $30.  They are decent and so far suit my needs as a cheap pair of wireless headphones. AirPods are awesome, but the charging case is an additional thing you need to carry and I sometimes have to move quickly that causes earbuds to fall out. For $30.  I’m not worried about knocking about the JBL. I’ll need to use them for a few days to give them a proper review. One Week Review - Buy this headphones for $30. Buy them for $30.  The JBL 510’s are worth it at that price, I wouldn’t get them at full retail as there are many other choices in the $60 range. What makes it good at $30?  Sound quality is decent and pleasant; remind me of wired Sony ZX310s. Battery Life - Good Battery life is excellent.  I haven’t tested its claim of 40 hours but have been able to use it for a week without recharging.  Typically, I use them 30-60 minutes music listening or several hours when streaming movies and shows.  Probably racked