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Ask HN: What are the changes you made in your life and never look back?

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Re: Ask HN: What are the changes you made in your life and never look back?

#111

Post by krmmalik »

artmageddon wrote: post #87
krmmalik wrote: post #74

* Gym in the evening => Gym during the day (extended lunch break) * One monitor => Two monitors as an extended desktop * Never checking my finances => Using Zetabee cashflow to manage my finances * Reading blogs only => Reading books (on anything) and audiobooks (in the car) * Hot showers => Occasional Cold Water dips * Cow's Milk => Goat's Milk * Microsoft Outlook => Gmail * Wasting time on the internet => Writing a…

Not boring in my book. The more the better - I use Zetabee cash flow for money management, too!

If you have any personal finance tips, i'd love to hear them ;-)

Re: Ask HN: What are the changes you made in your life and never look back?

#112

Post by jasonkester »

maayank wrote: post #105
jasonkester wrote: post #84

I hit my singularity when I realized that you can take as much time off as you want if you are prepared to take it unpaid. 1996: 3 weeks 1998: 10 weeks 1999: 4 weeks 2000/1: 20 weeks 2002: 6 weeks 2003: 36 weeks 2004: 32 weeks 2005-2010: ~36 weeks (9 months)/year The work equation changed to: (how much do I need to travel for another 9 months) / (hourly rate) = (hours I need to work on this next contract)

Do you succeed doing that with sensible savings, health care, etc.?

Yes. During my heaviest years of contract/travel/contract/travel, I found I came out between $10k and $20k ahead in savings at the end of each year.

Contracting pays so well, and traveling in the 3rd world is so cheap that there's just no way you can burn through your savings before boredom sets in and you need to work again for the mental challenge.

Catastrophic coverage health care is $100/month if you're young and healthy. Travel Medical is on the order of $500/year to get you airlifted home when you get shot in the Congo. Those in combination will keep you alive for the duration.

Re: Ask HN: What are the changes you made in your life and never look back?

#114

Post by bluesnowmonkey »

smhelp wrote: post #94
edw519 wrote: post #72

English literature ----------> mathematics cook ------------------------> programmer newspaper -------------------> internet mall ------------------------> internet land line -------------------> cell phone phone -----------------------> email desktop ---------------------> laptop 14" CRT ---------------------> 19" flat screen CDs -----> thumb drives -----> cloud radio -----> CD player ------> Ipod ie --------> Firef…

Why "eggs ---------> fruits" Isn't there more benefits of eating a protein rich breakfast ?

There are for me. Having eggs in my breakfast, instead of just foods like fruit or breads, easily adds 10 points to my IQ that day. Easily.

Re: Ask HN: What are the changes you made in your life and never look back?

#116

Post by mark_l_watson »

Working 40+ hour weeks > permanent switch to part time work

Local email client > Gmail

Paper calendar > Google Calendar

iTunes purchases > full CDs (sometimes as MP3s) on Amazon

Leased servers > Amazon EC2s

Mostly paper books > Kindle

Stopped trying to do the Linux desktop thing > Mac laptops, SSHing to Linux servers

Mostly Lisp and Java > more Ruby

Re: Ask HN: What are the changes you made in your life and never look back?

#118

Post by artmageddon »

krmmalik wrote: post #111
artmageddon wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not boring in my book. The more the better - I use Zetabee cash flow for money management, too!

If you have any personal finance tips, i'd love to hear them ;-)

Haha I doubt I'm the best person to ask since I try to be frugal with most things... but then go and spend a ton of money on running, flying, and skydiving in bursts :-/

Re: Ask HN: What are the changes you made in your life and never look back?

#119

Post by artmageddon »

edw519 wrote: post #109
mason55 wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Curious about weight lifting --------------> bodyweight exercises Is there a specific reason or is it just tied to your switch to a home gym?

I had a chronic injury (rotator cuff) caused by years of weight lifting. It got so bad, sometimes I couldn't put my shirt on. The only "treatment" was laying off exercise. I thought I was doing something wrong until I realized that I had selected a "less than optimal" form of exercise. I also had plantar faciitis, caused by years of improper running. In 2005, I was recommended this book: http://www.amazon.com/Pushing…

I'm a runner who's just recovering from a injured Achilles tendon. Do you know what specifically caused your plantar faciitis? I want to avoid it, and I know someone who's suffering through it right now.

Re: Ask HN: What are the changes you made in your life and never look back?

#120

Post by cmos »

normal american diet -> no meat, no dairy, no processed foods.

dumb phone -> dumber phone

4 hours TV nightly -> no tv

workaholic -> socialholic

self doubt -> awesomeness

technology lover and collector -> less is more

friendster -> nothing

Daily motto: "I'm the luckiest guy in the world, and it's a beautiful day"

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