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We are a muscle car family. Perhaps my hubby thought he was going to get rich off of these cars some day but that would actually involve him selling something. That isn't going to happen any more than he would sell his right arm. Good intentions have a way of becoming an old wives tale! Our "i...

You're taking a gamble on a modern car becoming a classic and holding value. There aren't a lot of cases where that's happened over the past 30 years. Buick GNX, Cobra R, the Ford GT are about the only domestics off the top of my head I can think of that actually appreciated in value beyond the infl...

In 2004 I spent $7500 on the stone buying it from a diamond trader, which was a decent discount for what it would retail at. I think the setting was another $400. To be honest I struggled with it. I'm an engineer and it's my nature to be excessively logical, to a fault, yet the wife is one of those ...

I suspect this is overly simplistic math and maybe I'm off, but would it be correct to say the maximum tax benefit by deducting the 10K would be $680 in a given year?

With all respect, I don't feel $1K will buy you a quality ride on mower. And I'm saying this out of experience. I moved from a townhome to our house with ~2 acres of flat lawn in '09. My father, who is very thrifty, nonetheless bought me a nice housewarming gift: a 42" Craftsman ride on with a ...

This would be a very helpful tip - I'm a pretty strong male, and there is no possible way that I could generate the same force with my arms on that bar, but it was very easy to do with the small jump. I did the same thing in reverse to tighten, just with a smaller jump, to make sure ... Lug nuts ty...

Building near moving water brings good energy. Again, whatever. But about 700 yards from my house is a very large creek (think 100 feet wide) that, on a quiet evening, is an audible rushing sound on my deck. Very relaxing white noise. Until that creek overflows! Starting to move off topic from the ...

If you really want to bogglehead this out, take that 75K for 2 years and pay off the mortgage, and then in year 3 buy the Porsche ;) I was the reverse - my "sports car" purchase was 12 years ago fresh out of college and spent about every penny I had saved and lived like a pauper for 3 year...

CVT's are great for efficiency. The challenge is making a pully and belt mechanism that can handle the torque of larger engines - I suspect this is why Nissan is having issues with the CVT behind their V6's like the Murano and Maxima. Off the top of my head I don't believe any other manufacturers pu...

Certainly years of a contact sport like Football/Hockey are hard on the body. But it's pretty rare for people out of High School to still be playing football with pads or hockey in a checking league. Weightlifting if done properly with good form, even with moderately heavy weights is not going to ha...

I helped a couple cut loose from an advisor who had the portfolio custodied with Schwab. When Vanguard pulled it over, the basis came over with it. You have your choice of telling the advisor you are leaving, or initiateding a "pull" from Vanguard and not speaking with the advisor. My Rot...

Perhaps with US markets performing quite well a lot of money is chasing performance there (here).

Have successfully fought two tickets in the past 10 years, one speeding (true) + "loud exhaust" and several years later one running a red (bogus). Both cases my driving record was pristine. In the first, it took about 21 months to get the court date. An officer (not THE officer) approached...

I did, but more out of recommended strategy from reading here and the wiki, not in any attempt to respond to a political climate or time the bond market. I moved from the Vanguard long-term index into the intermediate term index.

eschaef, I had a similar discovery when trying to finally enroll my wife in a tax-advantaged account - the 403b plan was horrendous, and adding to the sting the administrator (Omni) had recently dumped Vanguard and Fidelity. That was when I discovered the 457 option, which is basically a state run 4...

Pleats are about as cool as talking in the 3rd person.

Are they funds-of-funds? Sometimes you'll see an expense ratio for those ignores the expense ratios of the underlying funds. It's not very honest, but it happens. On a side note, there was a disgraced actively-managed fund a year or two ago offering a negative expense ratio -- the fund company was ...

FYI in the newest issue of Motor Trend, they do a 3-car comparison between the Avalon, Azera and Nissan Maxima. They found the Avalon and Azera quite close, with the Avalon taking the win, though they did not care for the seats. Also felt the Azera rode harder than the Avalon, though the Avalon was ...

Serie1926 wrote: 2013 Lamborghini LP550-2.

Want a roommate to help offset your housing costs in a boggleheadian fashion?

I did it in 2 bathrooms recently. The first I used the spray gel + scorer and a scraper. It did not go well. When I went to do the second bathroom, I spent $60 for a steamer from Lowes. I kicked myself for not buying it the first time. Much, much better. In my opinion it is not a job worth paying fo...

Well I did the timing belt at 90K so that is a start. And I have followed the maintenance manual up to this point of 123K; so time will tell. As to determining when different parts "are nearing the end of their useful life," is a bit of a challenge for me. For me it is a bit like the nece...

I just spoke with Vanguard at length. They basically told me that the school had to offer Vanguard as a provider or I was out of luck. I'm definitely curious how and what year those of you who got around this did so (without mobilizing the entire school to petition the HR office to add Vanguard bec...

There is a new Impala due out shortly. That can mean one of 2 things for you: 1. The new version is much more stylish then the ancient outgoing model, as well as improved economy, better features, etc 2. There are some incredible deals (7,000 off or so) to be had on the outgoing model, and with the ...

so basically if the school offers a 403b or a 457 I should be able to do it through Vanguard, not Mutual of America, regardless of what the HR person tells me about it being a group plan etc. And in order to make this happen, I should call Vanguard if that's what I'm understanding? I don't know abo...

Can't thank the board enough for the feedback. Definitely makes me feel more comfortable in knowing I'm making the correct move. :beer One last question - is that correct that one individual can utilize both the 403 and 457 and thereby double his/her tax exempt space? I was under the impression that...

Just a little background - I'm 33, wife 32. I've been funding a 401K (Fidelity with quality low-cost fund choices) since the start 12 years ago, and for the past couple of years to the max contribution. I have been maxing my Roth IRA in that entire timeframe also (following general bogglehead guidan...

NHRA, you seem to be the one that is taking it personally, with your own personal recommendations somehow overriding what an owner's manual might say, because you know better. And I never said engineers were perfect. As to some of your other comments, some of them are just wrong, particularly the s...

I disagree with much of the advice in this thread, particularly the "treat it gently for the first 1000 miles" type of advice. I don't know that anyone said to treat anything "gently" for the first 1000 miles. While some of the article you referenced may indeed be true, I'm not ...

I disagree with much of the advice in this thread, particularly the "treat it gently for the first 1000 miles" type of advice. I don't know that anyone said to treat anything "gently" for the first 1000 miles. While some of the article you referenced may indeed be true, I'm not ...

Always take the non moving violation and always fight your "first" speeding tickets. If you keep your record clear of moving violations, you're far more likely to be let go with a warning, or just given a non-moving violation the next time you get pulled over. And if you do get a ticket, y...

I continue to see divergent opinions on this Personally I don't believe it matters. That's not based on any evidence however. I've seen new engines get broken in on a chassis dyno running wide open and run many miles and drag strip passes for years after. Many car guys I know believe in the theory ...

Folks: I have identified a used Acura MDX 2009. I am about to start negotiations with the dealer. The car is not In my town, so a physical inspection / test drive is not possible. Need some advice on: 1. Other than Edmunds and KBB, how do I determine the price is fair? 2. How do I make sure it is n...

Of the 3 DI can be the most problematic. For one, as the gas is injected into the cylinder, it does not pass the intake valves and have a cleaning effect. Some manufacturers (I believe Porsche was one of the more prominent) are having issues with intake valves getting fouled. GM claims they are awar...

I still don't understand what your own personal IRA has to do with this bank or how your employer can dictate who you chose to open it with? Unless somehow they are directly funding it for you?

Oy vey. So I did see in the Kindle FAQ that there is 30% with holding for non-US residents, but when I had searched elsewhere it seemed as if that withholding applied to US residents also. But if you've been down this road I'll take the voice of experience. I suppose when the first check shows soon ...

Yes, looks like quite a bit more research on my part is in order. Though having dug around, I think I've at least found some information making my original post moot. Wife did the Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), and from the literature I am finding online, they will automatically withold 30% of roya...

My wife has self-published a novel which has provided a decent windfall in the past 2 months of around 30K. Going forward certainly the book (and possible others) will continue to provide some more income over the course of the next few months and beyond. The royalties, which do not begin being pai...

My wife has self-published a novel which has provided a decent windfall in the past 2 months of around 30K. Going forward certainly the book (and possible others) will continue to provide some more income over the course of the next few months and beyond. The royalties, which do not begin being paid...

Is it possible to run a wifi hotspot in your home to avoid internet service and charges? Sounds too easy, right? crowdsourced wi-fi --> http://corp.fon.com/en/this-is-fon As mentioned above, I suspect that the terms of service for some broadband providers prohibits something like this. I know mine ...

Starting next year, IBM's contributions, which generally range from 6% to 10% of pay, will take place Dec. 31. Workers who leave the company before Dec. 15 won't qualify for the match, unless they retire. I am always somewhat befuddled when there is a generous employer contribution (such as "f...

I second A Random Walk Down Wallstreet, I found that to be a great beginners book. For one it gets into some investing history (going back the the Tulip investing boom in 16th century England!) as well as laying out some of the basics of boggleheadian investing strategy (at least with respect to sto...

what a stupid move by IBM! I don't think it will save much considering the low interests at which companies like IBM can borrow money. But what it will do is to encourage departing employees to leave at once at the end of the year instead of naturally over a year. Such exodus of employees will caus...

Will the workers be extra productive on Dec 15th, since they're being paid more for working that day? Will there be a free lunch of shorting the IBM stock on 15 Dec? Victoria Heh, you know, that's an interesting point I hadn't considered. Far too many of my fellow employees are loaded in IBM stock ...

investor1 wrote:Haha, I think I know who you work for. I have the same thing in my inbox.

Yeah, make that 3 of us.

I received news today my employer is changing the way which they contribute to my 401(k). Rather than contributing each pay period, they are going to make one big contribution at the end of the year. Is this is common approach? It is the first I have heard of it, but then again I'm no 401(k) plan e...

Just got a corporate email within the past half hour. Starting 2013 our employer provided 401K match to the contribution will now no longer be paid into the 401K at each pay period (when the employee contribution is made). Instead it will be a lump sum deposit into the account on December 31st. Just...

I'm looking to finally get my wife enrolled in her 403b, and saw a similar thread just below which spurred me to create this one. Background is I've been maxing my Roth IRA for about 10 years (and both ours for the 6 we've been married). The last 2 we have finally hit a financial position to max my ...

travellight wrote:2008 Cadillac STS-V. About 70K miles on it.

Very nice. I considered buying a used '08 or '09 for awhile. But I already have a fun car and needed something somewhat snow worthy. The gas mileage was a bit a of bummer too.

Semi-metallic brake pads can squeal. That's why I went with ceramic pads on the brake job I'm doing now. I also always take it easy on the brakes for the first several miles so the pads can bed in with the rotors. To properly bed the pads to the rotors actually, you need to bring them to the point ...

I drive a 1992 GMC Sierra pickup truck with 161,000 miles. It still runs reliably and looks almost like new. The body is in perfect shape and has never been in an accident. I had it repainted about 5 years ago and the paint still looks like new. After 20 years of driving in Arizona, it does not yet...