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Tried normal grocery store vinegar and it doesn't work. Nor does vodka. Or gin or creme de menthe. The neighbors were cleaning out their liquor cabinet and we poured all the old booze on various patches of weeds as an experiment. Not only did none die, the creeping charley seemed to thrive on the vo...

Re: DeBeers Back in the 1920s DeBeers did a lot of promotion specifically targeting children of immigrants, portraying the diamond engagement ring as an American custom and symbol of success in this country. The implication was that by presenting one's beloved with a diamond ring you were showing he...

We've lived in our home for 15 years now and have done a fair amount of work on the place. Everything from new roof, siding and insulation, to new mechanicals and landscape improvements. I have a large file drawer absolutely crammed with receipts for everything major and minor, the latter spanning f...

I get prescriptions for my dogs filled at a local grocery pharmacy with a similar rewards program. The vet puts the prescriptions in my name. I can only imagine what sort of information about me is floating around in databases. "Holy cow that woman has a lot of yeasty ear infections!"

Close behind was the stuttering and "deer-in-the-headlights" look of the one guy when asked about "fiduciary responsibility" and the unbelievable statement by the Prudential lady that she'd never seen any studies that show indexing consistently outperforms. Hi Mel, If this was a...

This thread is like a Boglehead braintrust of information and advice on laundry soap! I'm actually taking notes as I read it.

Terrific program! Thanks to those of you who contributed so eloquently to it! And thanks to those who recommended it.

The obfuscating of the JPMorgan guy was truly priceless. My jaw dropped at the responses of the Prudential lady. None of the information was new but it was sure a good time.

We were getting strange bleach stains on clothes at one point. After many months, trying different detergent, dryer sheets, and everything else we could think of by process of elimination, we finally isolated the cause: the water softener was dying! After we replaced the water softener the bleach l...

Hi, Munchkin Man! Glad you posted this thread. I use Arm & Hammer powdered detergent and I too have recently noticed discoloration spots on my black T-shirts. I don't use bleach because I'm extremely allergic to it. However my husband does periodically, and I thought perhaps some of it may have ...

I've tried the ointment, the soap and the shampoo and it made absolutely no difference in a chronic bacterial skin infection I was trying to clear up. It's supposed to have anti-bacterial qualities. But I think it was a waste of money.

This seems very BH appropriate: http://dilbert.com/fast/2011-08-12/ Enjoy! Thought this also BH appropriate: http://www.dilbert.com/strips/2013-04-17/ :D It does make one wonder what a hedge fund would be like if it were managed by one's dogs. "Quick! Short everything that doesn't involve Fris...

I have to laugh at this discussion. When I think of splurging on a meal, I think of eating lots of fat and chemicals. I believe in the importance of healthy eating, but every now and then I splurge and get my absolutely favorite meal: a hot dog, onion rings and a sundae. Cookie You and me both! Eve...

You have proof that you mailed it on time, so I don't think they can charge you interest or penalties. You mean proof that SOMETHING was mailed. Brian Well yes, proof that SOMETHING was mailed. Whether one's state revenue dept. will take that as proof that a payment was included depends upon the st...

You have proof that you mailed it on time, so I don't think they can charge you interest or penalties. I would sit tight for another month and see if they cash the check. It may just be sitting in a state revenue dept. mailbag somewhere. If you receive a tax bill, mail in a copy of your proof of mai...

I don't know if this is germaine to your decision, but I was recently talking to an ESL teacher. We live in a large university town with a large foreign-born population of researchers and professors and their families. She was telling me that there is a shortage of ESL-certified teachers in town, bo...

I've even seen postings on other forums where CPAs have forgotten to file it for their clients. Kinda silly to pay tax twice on that money :cry: I had a tax preparer forget this form about 17 years ago. Does anybody just happen to know if that is fixable? My bet is "not fixable" at this p...

... Just finished "The Dilemmas of an Upright Man: Max Planck and the Fortunes of German Science" by J. L. Heilbron (Harvard Univ. Press, 1996). An account of Planck's ethical struggles during World War I and through the rise of Naziism on whether to speak out against or placate the barba...

I just started re-reading A Confederacy of Dunces. I've never laughed out loud while reading a book as much as this one. This is one of my favorite books too and I try to re-read it once a year. Just finished "The Dilemmas of an Upright Man: Max Planck and the Fortunes of German Science" ...

I have washed 100-percent wool garments in the way you've described and they've almost always shrunk. Maybe not a lot, but enough to affect the fit. Hand-washing sweaters in Woolite can also potentially shrink them which is why it is recommended that they be blocked, i.e., stretched with pins on a s...

The Munchkin Man has a terrible history of getting stains on the Munchkin Man's clothes. The most frequent stains that have appeared on the Munchkin Man's clothes have been of the following types: __________ Food stains Ink stains Toothpaste stains __________ The Munchkin Man has never mastered the...

Store assistants always look at my as if I'm crazy when I refuse the store credit card for 10% off (or whatever it is that day). But to me, the more cards you have, the greater the risk that you'll forget to pay one of them one month. Besides, I don't shop at any one store enough to really make it ...

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2013/03/14/business/ap-us-of-mutual-interest-trading-costs.html?ref=aponline The study's authors found that the typical fund's trading-related expenses take a bigger bite out of investment returns than the separate fund management costs reflected in the expense ratio....

My Mom (who was not a hoarder) threw out or gave away things from my great granddad's bottling company, including a wooden case of bottles. Agh. I have managed to get quite a few bottles from ebay saved searches, but no wooden case. It's amazing what turns up on ebay. Who would save and put up for ...

Yes, I do believe that you hit the nail on the head about my husband being very risk-averse....maybe as he has gotten older and the portfolio has grown due to his hard work and sweat (NO THANKS to our current advisor), he has become more so and we are just now realizing this fact. He tends to do ev...

We transferred IRAs from Janus to Vanguard. Very easy. No medallion signatures required. Janus was easy to work with and did the transfers quickly. We sold the Janus funds first then transferred the cash. You can transfer the Janus fund holdings to Vanguard, but I think Janus will change the stock c...

Females often carry some of this stuff in a PURSE which is not firmly attached to one's person. Can we agree that this is the source of the problem? My mom used to carry a big purse with all kinds of stuff in it. She actually walked tilted, trying to hold it up on her shoulder. Today, I see all kin...

Is there anything else she should do? Did she have any medical or dental insurance cards in her wallet? The insurance companies will want to be informed and will probably issue new subscriber I.D. numbers and I.D. cards. Ditto for any hospitals that may have issued any medical records cards. Even si...

Hey, guys, here's a suggestion. Before my husband and I were married he would hire a college student to one day a week do the grocery shopping and prepare a week's worth of meals-with-salads that he could simply take out of the frig and microwave. Congratulations, Munchkin Man, on your amazing weigh...

Read the article the other day. Have to admit I found none of it new or shocking. In fact, I'm surprised that any regular reader of this site did. This is the way the medical industry works. What's astonishing to me is the degree to which someone with lousy insurance, or insurance from a small comp...

This has to be the most financially horrifying article I've ever read.

Calm Man, Your first responsibility is your disabled son. And then to your other child. Your said your disabled child is in a state-funded group home. Many states are cutting back funding for those accomodations. Some states are sending disabled adults and children back to their families after they'...

nisiprius wrote:Look, I found ANOTHER rainbow!

But do you see any puppies anywhere? I don't invest in rainbows unless there are puppies involved.

I mean I see a few dogs here and there, but they all look full grown. I don't think any of them would qualify as puppies.

[img]https:%20//%20mylifeticker.com/static/img/stock_pictures/Vanguard_Life_Ticker_Nature_Animals_66.JPG[/img] Walruses. I love walruses. They're the primary reason that I invest. To save the walruses. They're an endangered species (well, some of them anyway). Did you know that? If there was a walr...

It will be used primarly for printing checks, billing, letters etc. About 200-250 pages per month. Its going to be replacing an HP LaserJet V I have an old HP LaserJet 5. I recently replaced the fuser for about $40-$50 (from thelaserguys.com). Easy repair, just pop out the old one and screw in a ne...

My mom and her elderly friends used to go to these free lunches all the time. As mom said "We all get dressed up and pretend we have money! They never seem to mind if you bring friends along." Until the lunch where they all got food poisoning, and that ended the free lunches.

A more important question: Do you both love each other? Do both find the thought of going through life without the other utterly absolutely unbearable? Will you both do whatever it takes to make the other happy and to make your life together work? If the answer is yes to all of the above then of cou...

Ask HR what this change will mean for you in terms of contributions, investments, and costs. Or call the Fidelity 403(b) specialists at 1.866.418.5173, and ask the same questions. http://workplace.fidelity.com/403b.html Will certainly do this. Although according to the letter the change means no ch...

You should do some reading at http://www.diychatroom.com/ & then ask the question over there, if you haven't gotten an answer. A lot of professionals contribute to that board. Many professionals disagree with CR's evaluation of Behr paints, and some will argue that there are problems with consi...

Travellight: Great concept! In these times of "Groupon", that might be a great way to see how she reacts ....... Shawcroft It might help to appear a little more hardcore than Groupon. It's almost trendy to buy Groupons. I know people who buy Groupons who would never in a million years cli...

Just received a bewildering jargon-filled letter from Fidelity. It says that my husband's employer has changed his 403(b) account from an "Individual Custodial Account Agreement" to a "Group Custodial Account Agreement." According to the letter this was done in anticipation of fu...

When you're looking for someone to spend your life with you don't necessarily want someone who is exactly like you are. You should be more interested in finding someone who will be a joy to grow and change with in the years ahead, for surely change will come to both of you. You want someone who will...

They seem to have access to a lot of personal info. Mortgage apps now ask about educational level. I think the lesson here is "there is a whole lot more info. in databases about you than you realize". I think that's very, very true. About a year ago I took my husband to the bank because I...

How do insurance companies know a driver's income? Or educational level? http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/01/29/auto-insurance-premiums-tied-to-credit-score/ talks about education level being a factor so apparently, the insurance companies have a database they use. "Age, how long you've been l...

How do insurance companies know a driver's income? Or educational level? I recently shopped around for car insurance and none asked my income or education level. Is that routine? Or are those things stored in some massive database somewhere? In shopping for insurance I did find the quote from Geico ...

What a wonderful thought thing to do for your daughters! :D Here's an idea which you can feel free to dismiss if it seems to you just too dumb. I recently inherited a vintage ring of about 50-60 years old, an elaborate confection of 15 diamonds in bead-and-bright settings and in two colors of gold, ...

What type of roaster do you have? I've considered doing this for a long time but what little research I've done into roasters has seemed overwhelming and the decent roasters uber-pricey. For the first nine years I used hot air popcorn poppers that I bought at Goodwill stores for $2.99 each. When on...

I roast my own coffee beans that I buy green for between $2.50 to $4.00 a lb., depending on variety. The quality is as good or better than gourmet whole bean coffee that you might buy at Starbucks or elsewhere for $15/lb. and up. I never drink coffee that's over a week old (since roasting). I gener...

... Wait just a minute there, I don't want to be blamed if you try doing your own taxes and wind up in IRS prison or something :wink: . ... Uh oh...now that you've mentioned "prison," I'll probably never do my own taxes. :wink: I've been doing our taxes for oh, 14-15 years now. Ever since...

I do many of the frugal activities already described. I've also learned some new tricks after reading this thread. How does one reuse sandwich baggies? Do you wash them? If so, how to dry them? You can drape wet sandwich bags over the plastic spikes in the dishwasher to dry, assuming the dishwasher...

Part of the fun is in figuring out what you find fun. As an introverted person, I realized that the things I enjoy the most are not part of living life "on the edge". Another introvert here who can say the same thing. The bliss-filled moments in life for me are the quiet ones spent with f...