I just put the question in equation form- 20= 0.75x. Then divide 20/0.75.
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I just think “he stands on his head into another fraction, heeheehee” 
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I need a shared calendar that isn’t too complicated. Ideally people can add to it and see it without necessarily having a Google account. We do not need to find times when everyone can make it to a thing - this is to coordinate everyone helping water someone’s garden at a separate time.
I might just make a google calendar I can write in and be the master coordinator if all else fails.
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So, I don’t like video games, to the point where I don’t even have anything on my phone, like not even candy crush. But train time gets too tempting to doomscroll news or my Instagram feed. When I’m too tired to read an ebook or something, what low brain effort game app should I use? I’m using “game” loosely like ideally something where I just tap randomly and it has pretty colors lol
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I Love Hue sounds like exactly what you’re looking for. Pretty colors and you never “lose.”
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You perfectly described Happy Color, which has gotten me through SO much.
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Yessss this is such a soothing game
Only downside is when the levels get harder (the color changes get more subtle) I have to turn my brightness up to 100% which makes it not great before bed
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Dots is my go-to for that sort of thing. It has an endless mode that’s very soothing.
Also - I like physical fidget toys for that kind of downtime.
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I like slide matching games with pretty colors and sounds. Switchcraft and Alien Hive are my go-to’s right now.
Recommendations for/experiences with pet health insurance? Percy turned ten this year so it’s on my mind. I called my vet and they said they work with Trupanion and Pet Assure. We know she has a chicken allergy* and is starting to get arthritis, I suspect the arthritis will count as a preexisting condition but all well.
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I could use some advice on car management things, from people with used cars. Not technical question but a money question.
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Here’s my situation: we have a 2007 car (100k miles) which has needed some various work this year. The cost so far has not exceeded what this car is selling for (comps are between $5k-$10k) If we were to buy a different used car we would only be able to spend like $8k ish.
Basically what I want to know is how do you figure out when it’s time to replace a car? Like, do you add up the total cost of repairs over a year? And when it exceeds a certain amount you know it’s better to get a new car? I know that a car is “totaled” when the cost of repairs exceeds the cost of the car, but it also matters if you can afford to get a nicer car, right? Because the prices are insane rn. And isn’t it true that I might spend more for a slightly newer used car and then still pour money into it?
My feeling is that as long as the annual cost of repairs is not regularly exceeding the cost of the car we should keep it. How reasonable/unreasonable is this?
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Your last paragraph is more or less how I’ve thought about it.
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That’s so good to hear, thank you! 
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I have pretty similar thinking in regards to used car repairs. I have a 2003 Honda with over 200K miles. I bought my car for $6700 in 2014, and I’ve probably spent about $5-6k on repairs since then…some people might say that is too much to spend on such an inexpensive car, but it’s a GOOD car, and I couldn’t buy a comparable car for nearly as cheap right now. I’ve replaced a ton of the wear parts (suspension, starter, ignition, control arms, etc) so I don’t expect those will fail again for the rest of the time I have the car. Now, since it’s almost 20 years old now and over 200k, I’d probably place a limit on like…replacing the engine, haha. But I have it serviced regularly to ensure that hopefully doesn’t have to happen.
IDK I tend to think it’s better to keep servicing a good, reliable car, especially if the services are reasonable (something is worn out) vs. it keeps having issues due to unreliability.
ETA: I might be alone in this, but I am always really nervous about the thought of buying a new used car. Like, my car is really old and worn out, but at least I know ALL of the problems it has now, at least currently. Buying another used car doesn’t mean that I’m escaping problems, it just means there are new ones to find. ofc this does not apply if you are planning to buy new, but that’s never been something I could consider! haha
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So, I’ve never been in this position on a car, but in my day job (full disclosure - talking about gov’t commercial real estate so my numbers are usually in the millions) we evaluate whether to do a project on a building to fix it, or dispose of the building, by looking at the % of the functional replacement value of the building. I think I would approach a car the same way. If the cost of doing the needed maintenance for the next 5 years is more than ___% (75-80%?) of the functional replacement value of the car, then I probably wouldn’t do it. I would also look at the cost of the new car, net of the proceeds from selling the car in it’s current state. You could do a quick 5 year NPV (net present value) analysis of the expected cost of ownership of your current car, doing the needed work, vs a new (or used) car and the work it would need within 5 years to determine which one has the lowest NPV.
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My 2004 Saturn Ion has over 238K miles on it and even though I’ve had to replace a few things over the years-radiator fan (2x), alternator, sway bar bushings, etc I agree with @mountainmustache29 I’d rather keep servicing a reliable car than pay big $$$$ to buy another car that might not be so reliable. I do agree about the engine though. I’d probably get rid of it if it needed a new engine.
Also it helps that its not the car I drive anymore. I keep it for my folks to use since it’s better on gas and has working a/c and heat.
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I 100% agree, I don’t think it’s as simple as how much money you can get for it if you sell it plus the amount in repairs per year being greater or lesser than buying a newer car. You probably know the complete history of that car, if you are looking to buy anything other than brand new you do not, and you cannot predict if and when it will need repairs.
In addition, insurance is higher on newer cars, and if you live in a state with property tax on autos (like I do) that is higher on newer cars as well. The only upside to a newer car is maybe it doesn’t need emissions testing as frequently (I’ve lived in states where newer cars were every 2 years but older cars were every year). My car is 15 years old (107k miles) - it is extremely reliable and gets excellent gas mileage, and I plan on driving it (and repairing it) forever (lol), or until it becomes really expensive to fix.
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when the monthly repair bill starts to be equal to a car payment, then we start to look at replacement
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Thanks all! Great take @mountainmustache29 - I am also nervous about buying a new used car. How often do you take yours in for service?
@Economista Wow, what a great way to look at it! So…I went to art school. Meaning I’d like to make sure I understand this. I get the 75%-80% functional replacement value part. I don’t know what a NPV is or how to figure out what the expected costs are of my car (since they are usually unexpected things) versus another car I don’t even have yet. Could you ELI5?
Thanks @AmandaS1989! Nice job on that mileage, haha, you’re giving me hope!
@CalBal You’ve said what I was trying to say much better than I did! It feels like not only a money question. We knew the people we bought this car from so we know the entire history going back like 10 years. We won’t be so lucky on the next replacement so it feels like such a gamble.
@Star I don’t think we are considering a car payment, but thank you!
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we avoid car payments too, but when it gets to the point where for the same price it could be a new car or keep maintaining, we generally head to find a new-to-us vehicle territory. That’s usually the impetus that it’s time to find a new vehicle
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