u/bradykp

Question/Seeking Ideas: Our spending is out of control despite using YNAB. I want to do some sort of analysis and I'm sure lots of you smart folks out there have already done something similar. I have my YNAB categories and i tried compressing categories about 2 years ago, and of course have slowly expanded yet again. I have numerous credit cards i use. and i have more than one primary checking account so multiple "sources" of spend.

I also use Morgan Stanley advisors so they have a budget tool as well that I could import data into - I have connected some but not all accounts.

So: if i want to do a spending analysis and figure out where I can truly cut spending (i have a target in mind but it's a bit fluid - could get bigger or smaller depending on what I learn). What's the best way to use all of this information I have and analyze? My go to is a google sheet/excel file. Export 24 months of YNAB data and go from there. But if anyone has a better idea - i'm all ears!

Wife and I work from home. We have a gas boiler furnace (hardwired) and we have a tankless water heater. Unifi router. Wife’s workstation and my workstation. She’s wired Ethernet to the router. I’m WiFi. Looking for good battery backup to power essential devices in the home if there’s an outage. We’d need to keep internet and would probably want the boiler to be able to operate as well as our hot water. Fridge. And maybe some small appliances.

I have a home renovation happening and likely installing an Emporia Vue monitor plus a EV charger. Wondering - what sort of Jackery products should I consider if I wanted some battery backup and possibly supplemental solar power? Am I in the right place?

Hi - we just purchased a backpack at dick’s and the associate sold us the no sweat protection saying if it’s stained or damaged we could come in for a refund of the original price - even though we bought it at a deep discount ($24 versus $65.00).

But after reading the stuff she gave me - it seems to be original purchase price - not original tagged price. Which is still fine if it truly covers stains it’s worth it. My kids will destroy a backpack in a school year. But just curious what the reality is.

Hi we are a family of 5 and have a dog. Hardwood floors (no carpets). We want a good stick style vacuum that has attachments to easily use in our cars (messy kids and dog hair). I’m looking at the Dyson v10, v11, v15 and Gen5detect and I just started looking. I should mention we have a roomba on first and second floor and they’re great but sometimes we need heavier duty cleanup or want to vacuum the furniture or just get to spots the roomba couldn’t reach because of the paths being blocked. Also - want to use in our cars so the detachable features and the attachments are helpful.

I don’t want to spend more than I need to but I want a good quality brand with a good warranty. I’ve had a kenmore canister vacuum for 15 years. It still works but can tell it’s on its way out. If i can spend $300-$500 thats great but if going more expensive is ‘worth it’ thats okay. Though i cant imagine spending $800-$1,000 if i dont have carpets.

Any suggestions? Thanks!

We attended our first Savannah Bananas game in 2025 at Yankee Stadium. I'm a huge MLB fan (Yankee season ticket holder) and I like the idea of the Bananas and my kids had a blast so I applied for K-club membership and got invited. Paid today. But I never paid close attention.

Do most people try to buy tickets near where they live? We may be in Hilton Head Island the week of April 17-24 for spring break, how likely is there to be games in Savannah that week? I'm looking to learn as much as possible now before tickets for next season go on sale. Thanks for your help! Can you point me to any good places to consume a bunch of info and be ready?

Question about the AmEx travel credit since i am using it for the first time. I booked THC hotel Kimpton Taconic last night using the prepaid stay. What's interesting is it still shows me that it's fully refundable. That's not exactly my question here but since I booked on 6/30 i should consume the first half of the year $300 credit, right?

Can i book a second room today or after for the other couple we are traveling with and get the second credit? or because it's identical nights, is that not permitted since I am the cardholder and obviously am not using two rooms?

Hi all - we're looking at a couple of places that fall into either AmEx Platinum FHR/THC or Chase Sapphire Reserve "The Edit" to use our travel credits. Searching, we like Scribner's near Hunter Mt., The Whiteface Lodge in Lake Placid, and Kimpton Tatonic in Manchester VT.

We love the outdoors. Love the beach and lakes. Love hiking. Love being in nature and calm/serene environments. Just want to keep it within a 4-5 hour drive of North Jersey.

Anyone familiar with those 3 properties or have a recommendation for others to consider?

So during the presales, i think i had an opportunity to do this whole right to buy and the FIFA collect, but i chose not to. But in case this is used again in 4 years - where can i read the basics about this?

My understanding was you could buy "packs" which may include a ticket or a right to buy a ticket? Is this correct? So if you ended up getting a ticket - did you have to pay for the ticket? or you just scored an amazing deal by buying a $49.99 "pack" that ended up including a ticket?

I'm so clueless - i'll start browsing this sub - but if there's like a general overview somewhere....that would be awesome

What time does Noah typically go on stage on this tour and what time does he wrap up? He plays about 2 hours?

Hi all - i am so bad at this but I just booked a crazy itinerary to go to the USMNT game in LA friday june 12. What lounges can/should I hit?

Flying out of EWR at 6:42am Terminal C
landing in SNA then taking an uber to SoFi stadium

after the game flying LAX>CLE. I upgraded myself to first class but my son will be with me (he's 15) and flying in the main cabin.

I have American Express Biz Platinum, Chase Sapphire Reserve, and Capital One Venture X

I don't really fully understand what lounges i have access to with each card other than CSR has the chase lounges like The Cub in cleveland and i can bring 2 guests, and CSR also has priority pass lounge access. i can just look in the app right?

AmEx has lounge access too, but that's just me - no guests?

CapOne Venture X also has lounge access for just me and no guest?

If i book a miles flight with united airlines and pay the taxes with my united quest for the perks, then after i book i pay to change my seat to economy plus with my amex platinum - would that trigger the travel credit? what if i pay to select economy plus at checkout - and pay with amex plat?

Okay, i live in NJ so have not paid attention but what are transportation options to SoFi from:

1. LAX

2. Downtown LA hotels

3. Long Beach hotels

Do I have to get my all season drink bottle at my
Home park or can I get it anywhere? Was considering visiting dorney pArk this Saturday. Haven’t been to six flags yet this year.

So instead of pursuing an all of the above strategy and getting as much affordable energy as possible on the grid, Republicans want to make cheap energy more expensive.

Free market?

We are booked on the August 10th, 2026 sailing and it's our first Disney cruise. Tomorrow is our 75 day window and I am at a loss of what to even look at. We have two staterooms: My family of 5 in one and my in-laws in the other. Kids are 15, 14, and 12.5. DVC members so we've been to WDW numerous times and Disneyland once. Looking forward to this trip - but we don't really know what, if anything, we should try to reserve.

In-laws are around 75 years old.

I know about Palo and Enchante. Not sure if we'll do these.

Beverage tastings

Picture package - we probably definitely want that?

Any excursions we should think about?

Anything else we need to know in advance?

Hello all. We like the Peloton classes and Peloton has a sale that ends today that's one of their "best" sales historically so we are trying to decide today.

A friend has the Horizon 7.8 AT and suggested I take a look. I can check out the 7.4 in person today. I'm reading online that you can connect the peloton app and get metrics live in the peloton workouts (speed, incline, distance....). I don't really know if I would be missing any metrics, but the appealing differences:

Horizon 7.4 much better warranty than Peloton. 7.0 has "better", just not much better.
Horizon 7.4 and 7.0 - 15% incline vs Peloton 12%

Horizon motors are better (3.5hp on 7.4 vs peloton's 3.0....7.8 is 4hp, 7.0 is 3hp)

Horizon 7.4 and 7.8 have a 22" width versus 20" on the Peloton and the 7.0

Weight capacity is different but mostly irrelevant. None of us are approaching 300lbs and really hope to never be close to that.

Right now they are all on sale:

Horizon 7.0 - $934
Horizon 7.4 - $1,599
Horizon 7.8 - $1,899
Peloton Tread - $2,695 (i'd get 10x points with chase sapphire reserve and 2% cashback on Rakuten)

Obviously the peloton has the screen which is a big part of the price difference between the Tread and the 7.8 - whether that's "worth it" or not is obviously debatable so let's just set the screen aside. We have an iPad and phones and can put a TV near where this will live.