u/deerhunter0321

Looking for some honest advice from people who have been in the propane industry longer than I have.

I’m in my late 20s and have been involved in the propane business since I was in college. Over the years I’ve worked in multiple areas of the industry and have tried to learn as much as possible. I’ve done service work, sales, operations, customer service, logistics, and back-end P&L/business management responsibilities.

I know I still have a lot to learn, but I feel confident that I understand the business and have the work ethic to eventually run my own company.
This isn’t something I’m planning to do tomorrow. My goal is to spend the next 5-8 years continuing to learn, building relationships, and saving capital so I can put together a solid plan.

My question is: if you were in my position, would you recommend starting a propane company from scratch or buying a small existing operation?
Starting from scratch seems like it would require giving up a steady income while building a customer base, installing tanks, and creating cash flow. On the other hand, purchasing a small company would provide customers, equipment, and revenue from day one, but it would likely require a larger investment and possibly relocating to wherever the opportunity exists.

For those of you who own propane companies or have been involved in acquisitions:

Would you start from scratch or buy?

What are the biggest challenges people underestimate?

How many customers would you want an acquisition target to have?

What level of capital would you consider the minimum to make either option realistic?

If you could go back and do it again, what would you do differently?

Hi everyone,
I’m a 27-year-old male and I believe I may be dealing with pelvic floor dysfunction.
For the past several months, I’ve had an aching pain along the underside and side of my penis, along with weaker erections than I used to have. Recently, I realized that I’ve been unconsciously clenching my pelvic floor throughout the day, and I also noticed that I tend to keep those muscles tight during any sexual activity. I’m wondering if that may be contributing to my symptoms.

I’m planning to schedule an appointment with my doctor and, if appropriate, see a pelvic floor physical therapist.

In the meantime, I’ve been working on hip mobility and stretching because my hips are extremely tight. I can’t even perform a squat while keeping my heels on the ground. Since starting to focus on relaxing my pelvic floor and improving my mobility, I’ve noticed some improvement in my morning erections, which gives me a little hope.

For now, I’m also taking a break from sexual activity for a month or two to give my body time to recover.
Has anyone here experienced something similar? If so, did pelvic floor physical therapy, stretching, breathing exercises, or learning to stop clenching help? I’d really appreciate hearing any success stories, as this has been pretty stressful and I’m hoping recovery is possible.

Thanks for taking the time to read.

Hi everyone,
I’m a 27-year-old male and I believe I may be dealing with pelvic floor dysfunction.
For the past several months, I’ve had an aching pain along the underside and side of my penis, along with weaker erections than I used to have. Recently, I realized that I’ve been unconsciously clenching my pelvic floor throughout the day, and I also noticed that I tend to keep those muscles tight during any sexual activity. I’m wondering if that may be contributing to my symptoms.

I’m planning to schedule an appointment with my doctor and, if appropriate, see a pelvic floor physical therapist.

In the meantime, I’ve been working on hip mobility and stretching because my hips are extremely tight. I can’t even perform a squat while keeping my heels on the ground. Since starting to focus on relaxing my pelvic floor and improving my mobility, I’ve noticed some improvement in my morning erections, which gives me a little hope.

For now, I’m also taking a break from sexual activity for a month or two to give my body time to recover.
Has anyone here experienced something similar? If so, did pelvic floor physical therapy, stretching, breathing exercises, or learning to stop clenching help? I’d really appreciate hearing any success stories, as this has been pretty stressful and I’m hoping recovery is possible.

Thanks for taking the time to read.

I’ve been with my wife since we were in high school, so I’ve had a front-row seat to her family dynamic for almost a decade.

Throughout that entire time, it’s been very obvious that her brother has always been the favorite child (at least to their dad) and the favorite nephew in the extended family. He was a star athlete growing up, and in my opinion it completely went to his head. My wife’s sisters keep a face value relationship, just to keep their mother happy.

He’s incredibly manipulative and always seems to control the narrative. Whenever there’s conflict, he convinces everyone else that the other person is the problem. Over the years he’s managed to convince much of the family that my wife is “crazy” and that she’s always the one starting problems. From my perspective, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

He’s also cheated on his wife multiple times (at least 3-5 woman that I know of) and somehow has manipulated her into believing everyone else is the enemy. He’s done the same thing with friends who have distanced themselves from him. Anyone who challenges him somehow becomes the bad guy.

The worst example was on his wedding night. He was caught with another woman by members of his own family, and nobody told his wife. They all stayed quiet. That’s the level they’ll go to in order to protect him.

I honestly think he’s the type of person who could become violent if someone seriously threatened the image he’s built. Whether that’s true or not, he’s someone who intimidates and manipulates the people around him.

Now my wife has been setting boundaries with him because of everything that’s happened between them. Instead of asking him to take responsibility, members of her extended family keep calling my wife and telling her that she needs to stop taking her issues out on him. They tell her that his wife doesn’t deserve the “cold shoulder” and that she needs to make things right. We do not care about what 90% of them think nor do we think they are great people. We really only care about her mother and sisters. But the fact that my wife’s father and extended family are all taking his side hurts her greatly.

It’s incredibly frustrating watching someone who has repeatedly lied, cheated, manipulated, and hurt people continue to be protected by the entire family, while the person setting boundaries is treated like the problem.

My wife and I want to go no contact but are kind of in a sticky situation. We live in a family owned apartment, we pay rent but we can’t really afford to move right now. We live in the same town as everyone, but have plans to purchase a home in the next year about an hour and a half away(work reasons, distance has nothing to do with the location)

Lastly, I know it’s wrong but I have this desire to blow u his life. Just expose everything, I know more than likely he will just paint me as the bad guy. But I want to send everything I have to everyone. I just hate that he lives his perfect little life manipulating everyone.

Has anyone else dealt with a family where one person seems to control everyone else’s perception of reality? How do you support your spouse when they’re constantly being painted as the villain? How has going no contact with your wife’s whole family gone?

I’ve been with my wife since we were in high school, so I’ve had a front-row seat to her family dynamic for almost a decade.

Throughout that entire time, it’s been very obvious that her brother has always been the favorite child (at least to their dad) and the favorite nephew in the extended family. He was a star athlete growing up, and in my opinion it completely went to his head. My wife’s sisters keep a face value relationship, just to keep their mother happy.

He’s incredibly manipulative and always seems to control the narrative. Whenever there’s conflict, he convinces everyone else that the other person is the problem. Over the years he’s managed to convince much of the family that my wife is “crazy” and that she’s always the one starting problems. From my perspective, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

He’s also cheated on his wife multiple times (at least 3-5 woman that I know of) and somehow has manipulated her into believing everyone else is the enemy. He’s done the same thing with friends who have distanced themselves from him. Anyone who challenges him somehow becomes the bad guy.

The worst example was on his wedding night. He was caught with another woman by members of his own family, and nobody told his wife. They all stayed quiet. That’s the level they’ll go to in order to protect him.

I honestly think he’s the type of person who could become violent if someone seriously threatened the image he’s built. Whether that’s true or not, he’s someone who intimidates and manipulates the people around him.

Now my wife has been setting boundaries with him because of everything that’s happened between them. Instead of asking him to take responsibility, members of her extended family keep calling my wife and telling her that she needs to stop taking her issues out on him. They tell her that his wife doesn’t deserve the “cold shoulder” and that she needs to make things right. We do not care about what 90% of them think nor do we think they are great people. We really only care about her mother and sisters. But the fact that my wife’s father and extended family are all taking his side hurts her greatly.

It’s incredibly frustrating watching someone who has repeatedly lied, cheated, manipulated, and hurt people continue to be protected by the entire family, while the person setting boundaries is treated like the problem.

My wife and I want to go no contact but are kind of in a sticky situation. We live in a family owned apartment, we pay rent but we can’t really afford to move right now. We live in the same town as everyone, but have plans to purchase a home in the next year about an hour and a half away(work reasons, distance has nothing to do with the location)

Lastly, I know it’s wrong but I have this desire to blow u his life. Just expose everything, I know more than likely he will just paint me as the bad guy. But I want to send everything I have to everyone. I just hate that he lives his perfect little life manipulating everyone.

Has anyone else dealt with a family where one person seems to control everyone else’s perception of reality? How do you support your spouse when they’re constantly being painted as the villain? How has going no contact with your wife’s whole family gone?

I’ve been with my wife since we were in high school, so I’ve had a front-row seat to her family dynamic for almost a decade.

Throughout that entire time, it’s been very obvious that her brother has always been the favorite child (at least to their dad) and the favorite nephew in the extended family. He was a star athlete growing up, and in my opinion it completely went to his head. My wife’s sisters keep a face value relationship, just to keep their mother happy.

He’s incredibly manipulative and always seems to control the narrative. Whenever there’s conflict, he convinces everyone else that the other person is the problem. Over the years he’s managed to convince much of the family that my wife is “crazy” and that she’s always the one starting problems. From my perspective, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

He’s also cheated on his wife multiple times (at least 3-5 woman that I know of) and somehow has manipulated her into believing everyone else is the enemy. He’s done the same thing with friends who have distanced themselves from him. Anyone who challenges him somehow becomes the bad guy.

The worst example was on his wedding night. He was caught with another woman by members of his own family, and nobody told his wife. They all stayed quiet. That’s the level they’ll go to in order to protect him.

I honestly think he’s the type of person who could become violent if someone seriously threatened the image he’s built. Whether that’s true or not, he’s someone who intimidates and manipulates the people around him.

Now my wife has been setting boundaries with him because of everything that’s happened between them. Instead of asking him to take responsibility, members of her extended family keep calling my wife and telling her that she needs to stop taking her issues out on him. They tell her that his wife doesn’t deserve the “cold shoulder” and that she needs to make things right. We do not care about what 90% of them think nor do we think they are great people. We really only care about her mother and sisters. But the fact that my wife’s father and extended family are all taking his side hurts her greatly.

It’s incredibly frustrating watching someone who has repeatedly lied, cheated, manipulated, and hurt people continue to be protected by the entire family, while the person setting boundaries is treated like the problem.

My wife and I want to go no contact but are kind of in a sticky situation. We live in a family owned apartment, we pay rent but we can’t really afford to move right now. We live in the same town as everyone, but have plans to purchase a home in the next year about an hour and a half away(work reasons, distance has nothing to do with the location)

Lastly, I know it’s wrong but I have this desire to blow u his life. Just expose everything, I know more than likely he will just paint me as the bad guy. But I want to send everything I have to everyone. I just hate that he lives his perfect little life manipulating everyone.

Has anyone else dealt with a family where one person seems to control everyone else’s perception of reality? How do you support your spouse when they’re constantly being painted as the villain? How has going no contact with your wife’s whole family gone?

For some background, we've always planned for my wife to eventually become a stay-at-home mom. We actually wanted to start trying sooner, but financially it just wasn't realistic. I recently received a promotion that increased my income from about $75k to somewhere between $150k-$250k depending on performance, so we finally feel like we're in a position to start our family.

We're also planning to buy a house. We want to move about an hour away from where we currently live and will begin seriously house hunting around December/January. As anyone who's bought a home knows, that could take 10 days or it could take 10 months.

The dilemma is my wife's job.

She currently works for a small business making about $73k. The commute is less than a mile, the work isn't very difficult, and it's in the field she's worked in for the past six years and genuinely enjoys. The downside is that the owner is somewhat unpredictable, and the position was originally described as temporary. The agreement was that she'd work through this year and then they'd reevaluate her role when they return from their annual 8-week shutdown in January. So there's a real possibility she may not even have a job next year.

Recently she was offered the chance to interview for a position with a much larger company. The role is fully remote, permanent, and appears to be relatively low stress. However, it's outside of her career field and pays around $55k, which is a significant pay cut. One advantage is that it offers 12 weeks of maternity leave, while her current job would basically just provide FMLA protections.

Our current thinking is that she'd continue working until we have a baby so we can maximize savings before transitioning to one income. We already have roughly a 50% down payment saved for a home, but we'd like some additional cushion. We also both drive older vehicles that will likely need to be replaced within the next couple of years.

The question is: if your long-term plan was for one spouse to become a stay-at-home parent within the next 1-3 years, would you stay in the higher-paying job that's less stable but in her field, or take the lower-paying remote job that offers more stability and maternity benefits?

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Are we overlooking anything?

For some background, we've always planned for my wife to eventually become a stay-at-home mom. We actually wanted to start trying sooner, but financially it just wasn't realistic. I recently received a promotion that increased my income from about $75k to somewhere between $150k-$250k depending on performance, so we finally feel like we're in a position to start our family.

We're also planning to buy a house. We want to move about an hour away from where we currently live and will begin seriously house hunting around December/January. As anyone who's bought a home knows, that could take 10 days or it could take 10 months.

The dilemma is my wife's job.

She currently works for a small business making about $73k. The commute is less than a mile, the work isn't very difficult, and it's in the field she's worked in for the past six years and genuinely enjoys. The downside is that the owner is somewhat unpredictable, and the position was originally described as temporary. The agreement was that she'd work through this year and then they'd reevaluate her role when they return from their annual 8-week shutdown in January. So there's a real possibility she may not even have a job next year.

Recently she was offered the chance to interview for a position with a much larger company. The role is fully remote, permanent, and appears to be relatively low stress. However, it's outside of her career field and pays around $55k, which is a significant pay cut. One advantage is that it offers 12 weeks of maternity leave, while her current job would basically just provide FMLA protections.

Our current thinking is that she'd continue working until we have a baby so we can maximize savings before transitioning to one income. We already have roughly a 50% down payment saved for a home, but we'd like some additional cushion. We also both drive older vehicles that will likely need to be replaced within the next couple of years.

The question is: if your long-term plan was for one spouse to become a stay-at-home parent within the next 1-3 years, would you stay in the higher-paying job that's less stable but in her field, or take the lower-paying remote job that offers more stability and maternity benefits?

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Are we overlooking anything?

Hey everyone,

My wife (27F) and I (27M) have been through one of the hardest periods of our lives over the last two years. Lately, I find myself constantly wishing I could go back three years—to a time when everything felt normal. I dream about that period often and sometimes wish I could wake up and find myself back there.

Three years ago, my wife and I were living in another state with our dog. We were a young, engaged couple renting an apartment and building our life together. Our dog wasn't a puppy anymore, but he wasn't old either. He still had plenty of life left, and everything felt simple.

About seven months after moving, everything began to change.

My mom became seriously ill, and I traveled back home to help take care of her. She fought for three months before passing away. Even now, I struggle with the reality that she's gone. I miss her more than words can describe. She was one of my best friends and the best mother I could have ever asked for.

After returning home, my wife and I had about six months before we ultimately moved back to handle my mom's estate. During that time, our dog suffered a serious injury. We poured everything we had into helping him recover. Through months of rehabilitation, we nursed him back to health, but the injury aged him. He was no longer the same dog—he had become an elderly dog much sooner than we expected.

The next 18 months were consumed by lawyers, court proceedings, and the exhausting process of settling my mom's estate. Just when we thought things were beginning to settle down, my grandfather and my godmother passed away only days apart. Their deaths hit hard because they were the first major losses I experienced after losing my mom. Still, I felt like I was handling things better. Therapy seemed to be helping, and I thought I was finally making progress.

Then came this week.

Our dog's health had been steadily declining, and we finally had to make the heartbreaking decision to put him to sleep.

The loss has devastated me. In many ways, it hurts just as much as losing my mom. He wasn't just a dog—he was our baby. We adopted him when he was about five years old and spent seven incredible years together. He was with us through some of the most important moments of our lives. He meant everything to us.

I still can't fully accept that he's gone. The grief is so overwhelming that I've even caught myself thinking about cloning him. More than anything, I struggle with the thought that I have to spend the rest of my life without ever seeing my mom or my dog again.

Since his passing, I've become fixated on those seven months we spent living in that other state. My mom was alive. Our dog was healthy. Life felt normal. If I could go back to that time, I would do it in a heartbeat. Everything seemed so much simpler, and I didn't realize how much I had to lose.

Now, I think about my dog constantly. Every day. Every hour. I don't know how to imagine life without him.

My wife is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me, and I am incredibly grateful for her. We've been through all of this together. But we are both completely lost without our boy. I would give up almost anything just to have him back.

Right now, I feel like I'm grieving not only my dog and my mom, but also the life we had before everything changed. I miss them both so much, and some days it feels impossible to imagine moving forward without them.

What can I do? I know I will see them when I get to heaven but it seems so far away

My wife and I had to make the heartbreaking decision to put our dog down. We got him when we were 19 years old, and for more than 7 years he wasn't just our dog—he was our baby. As a couple without children, he was at the center of our world. He was there through so many milestones, changes, and memories that helped shape who we are today.

Over the years, we cared for him through every challenge. When he was diagnosed with IVDD, we refused to give up. He fought incredibly hard and, against the odds, regained so much of his quality of life. For 18 months, we were blessed with more time than many thought we'd have. We cherished every day.

Recently, though, his condition took a turn. He became almost completely paralyzed, and the medications that once helped manage his pain were no longer enough. As much as we wanted to keep him with us forever, we couldn't ask him to continue suffering. Loving him meant making the decision that was best for him, even though it broke our hearts.

The house feels different now. I still catch myself looking for him in his favorite spots. I listen for his footsteps. I expect to see him waiting for us when we walk through the door. The silence is overwhelming.

What hurts the most is knowing he won't be here for the next chapter of our lives. I always imagined him meeting our future children and being part of our family for years to come. Letting go of that vision has been incredibly difficult.

The depth of this loss has surprised me. I've missed him so much that I've even caught myself looking into things like cloning, just wishing there was some way to have him back. But the truth is, there will never be another him.

Thank you for seven beautiful years of unconditional love, loyalty, and companionship. You were with us as we grew from teenagers into adults, and you left paw prints on our hearts that will never fade.

We love you and miss you every single day.