Bogleheads.org

That way, you can invite your organic/green friends over for a picnic and just have them chow down by grazing your enriched lawn. You do know where milorganite comes from, right? Nice. I used to have a rule of thumb that I didn't spread anything on my lawn that I couldn't spoon up and eat (soybean ...

Instead, find a feed store and spread 20 or more pounds per 1,000 square feet of feed grains on the lawn about every six weeks or so. I spread the following in the following sequence: cracked corn, soybean meal, Milorganite (from big box hardware store or florist), cracked corn, soybean meal. This ...

Here is a great place to start: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/orglawn/ I have been using an organic program for years with excellent results. Cheaper, easier, just as effective, and no concerns about letting the kids roll around in the grass. Organic programs feed the ecosystem of microorganism...

Loan basics: Get pre-approved and find a lender who not only has great rates but is extremely responsive. If you face a bidding war, you don't want a lender who will take days to verify your borrowing ability with your seller. Put at least 20% down; if you can't afford 20%, wait and save. House cha...

Did Chase return the money to your account immediately? Chase indicated that the missing funds would be posted to my account within 24 hours. They asked a series of questions before agreeing to this, but I think the fact pattern was such an obvious case of skimming that they did not seem overly ske...

My wife was a victim of a debit card skimming incident a few days ago. When reviewing my checking account activity online this morning, I noticed 5 consecutive $100 withdrawals from yesterday at the same ATM location in a neighboring suburb that we do not frequently visit. I immediately called Chase...

I believe Pen Fed will refinance the loan. My understanding, however, is that they may not pay for the closing costs. If this is the case, it may make sense to shop any of the other mortgage sources recommended on these boards.

Perhaps a bit off topic, but one thing I learned after the death of my last living parent is that beneficiary designation forms are absolutely crucial for all financial accounts. Several posters have referenced the complexities associated with probate proceedings. It is worth noting that financial a...

1) If the forum software allows it, can you add an option: I don't know. If I were forced to predict, I'd say "about the same," because the very best predictions are rarely much better than that. The weather forecasts for tomorrow are better than predicting that tomorrow will be the same ...

Where do you believe interest rates will be in 5 years? I'm curious to know how this translates into fixed income allocation strategies.

Age 39 Equities/Fixed Income = 80/20 US Equities/Int'l Equities = 60/40 Domestic Large Cap Equities/Domestic Small Cap Equities = 60/40 Fixed Income: Treasuries/Fixed Income: TIPS = 50/50 All this works out to the following (all Vanguard index funds): Equities: 28.8% large cap us index 19.2% small c...

mikep wrote:Its not impossible. If the fraudster gets a hold of your PIN, I think you are out of luck.

Don't let "perfect" become the enemy of "very good." Credit freeze is a great way to protect yourself.

I tax adjust my retirement goal so that I don't have to keep track of every holding. It's not accurate, but you can't be accurate about future tax rates. e.g. If I want $5k/month spendable from my portfolio I use 4% annual withdrawal rate and 25% tax so, $5000*12/0.04/0.75 = $2,000,000 portfolio. S...

I agree, this is not a problem to worry about unless VG would not accept the transfer, and that is very unlikely. The IRS only requires that the name of the decedent AND the beneficiary be shown in the title with identification of both in no particular order. CGM's wording is sufficient, since it s...

Bob's not my name wrote:The forum has several IRA experts. I suggest you retitle your thread to get their attention (e.g., "Correct titling of Inherited IRA").

Thanks - done.

I'm having a dispute with a financial adviser (from a large brokerage firm who wants my business, but will not get it) over the proper way to title an inherited IRA. Obviously, I want to get this exactly right to avoid any confusion with the IRS, since the rules for an inherited IRA are complex. My ...

hicabob wrote:Sprinter passenger van with a turbo-diesel is a practical, easy to drive and relatively economical people-mover with gobs of space.

+1.

A friend owns one. Very practical, great mileage.

Thanks to all for the valuable suggestions.

Best,
TO

Unfortunately, my brother and I recently lost our last surviving parent. We are the beneficiaries of the estate, and will each receive a sizeable inheritance (mid to high six figures). While I don't plan to make any significant changes to my lifestyle or investing approach (essentially a strict Bogl...

When I took the CPA exam many moons ago, I volunteered as a campus rep for Conviser Duffy. This duty consisted of hanging posters around campus and arranging a few informational meetings/happy hours to allow a CD representative to make his pitch in front of a group. As compensation, I was able to at...

I recently had an excellent refi experience with Amerisave, followed by a disappointing experience securing a HELOC (strictly for backup liquidity purposes) from Pen Fed. The Amerisave loan closed within 30 days of my initial inquiry with no surprises and prompt attention throughout from the loan of...

I'm in the process of applying for a HELOC with Pen Fed, and have had a very poor experience. The short story is that they ended up forcing me to unfreeze my credit twice for credit inquiries. The title company reportedly requires a credit score less than 30 days old, and Pen Fed processing delays c...

Another option: sell the rental. I don't know when you last lived there, but you may be able to realize a tax free capital gain upon sale, which won't be possible once the property becomes officially classified as an investment property for tax purposes. I also don't know what your other operating e...

Federal - 23.7%
Property - 2.6%
State - 2.5%
SS - 1.3%
Medicare - 1.3%

Total - 31.5%


All amounts are 2010 actual taxes paid expressed as a % of gross 2010 income. Married filing jointly, AMT victim.

Have you considered refinancing the primary property? It appears you have a high rate (4.875%) due to a Jumbo loan (>417k unless you are in one of a very few high cost locations). By putting 10k into this property to get under the 417k threshold, you could refinance at somewhere around 4% which wou...

For what it's worth, I believe I've traced the source of my telemarketing troubles back to a suspect website called "netquote.com." Somebody appears to have entered my contact information including name, phone number (which is listed and publicly available), and a bogus e-mail address, ind...

Langkawi wrote:Have you upset anyone recently? Someone who could "opt-in" for you on various internet sites?

I sure hope not, but this would be a great form of revenge if anyone is shopping for ideas.

My wife called to let me know that she has fielded a series of phone calls (~10) from telemarketers today. The calls were directed at me, and came from a variety of sources - online schools, insurance salesmen, tax audit protection schemes. We are on the national do-not-call list, and do not receive...

try removing grains and/or dairy from diet... sorry i do not understand " removing grains and dairy" you mean do not eat grain like oat, brown rice,corn so on and milk,cheese, yogurt I believe this is exactly what is being suggested, although removing flour and sugar would be the obvious ...

Banker.

Late 30's: 70%. Up from 55% 7 years ago (as far back as I have reliable data).

Net Worth Composition:

Cash - 2%
Taxable Savings - 31%
College Savings - 8%
Tax Advantaged Savings - 31%
Automobiles - 2%
Home Equity - 18%
Other - 8%

More than you asked for, but I had the info handy.

I assume 3% real for a ~70/30 portfolio over a 20 year horizon. There are a lot of valid and interesting points being raised for discussion, but at the end of the day you need to plant a flag for planning purposes to avoid paralysis by analysis. I love this forum, but some of the threads remind me o...

Started using a maid service 2x/month at ~$20/hour. I felt good about a "brand name" service and their ability to screen employees, maintain proper insurance, etc. Turns out we became friends with the girl cleaning our home. One day we mutually struck up a conversation about cutting out th...

I know many posters on this board monitor their personal finances on a periodic basis using excel spreadsheets or similar tools. I'm curious to know what metrics (beyond simple net worth) you monitor to track your financial health. FWIW, I track the following metrics on a quarterly basis: - Investa...

Excellent responses. I will be modifying my spreadsheet to incorporate many of these ideas.

Thanks to all.

I don't like any of these. What is the point of comparing debt to changing annual income? That should be zero or as close as you can get it. What will you do with this info? If you don't like any of them, feel free not to use them. I compare debt (which consists exclusively of a mortgage) as a mult...

I know many posters on this board monitor their personal finances on a periodic basis using excel spreadsheets or similar tools. I'm curious to know what metrics (beyond simple net worth) you monitor to track your financial health. FWIW, I track the following metrics on a quarterly basis: - Investab...

I use the Merrill+ Rewards card - a Visa Signature card. 1 point per dollar, 25,000 points for domestic flights with no blackout dates. No annual fee. On a standalone basis, these rewards are not dissimilar to other offerings. However, if you are a heavy user ($50k+ annually), the card offers a lot ...

duplicate post.

If I understand correctly, the OP is saying that the best deal he can negotiate on the 4k mileage car is $3k better than the best deal he can negotiate on a similar brand new car. IMO, you should feel safe buying the car after having a trustworthy mechanic inspect the vehicle. The rental car story d...

Also make sure that the definition of "Competing Business" is appropriately narrow.

My PITI is ~20% of my gross income including bonus compensation, and roughly 34% of my gross monthly income excluding bonus compensation.

tc101 wrote:I just found a deal at prime less .25% at a credit union I intend to join. If you live in Georgia you should look into this. There is a good chance you qualify:

https://www.georgiasown.org/membership.html

??? Pen Fed - Prime minus 0.50%.

I recently opened a HELOC with Pen Fed after a fair amount of shopping. I suspect it will be tough to find a better deal - Prime minus 50 bps with no floor. Up to 80% LTV. 15 year draw period with balance due at the end. Relatively painless process, mostly through the mail.

...borrow relatively strong dollars, repay with the same number relatively weak dollars I'd imagine that the lenders factor inflation risk into the loan rate (no free lunch), but due to recent events I've stopped assuming that the bankers know what they are doing. I agree that in theory this is tru...

I'd look at the mortgage associated with the house as a better inflation hedge than the house itself. Long term, low fixed-rate debt is a great thing to have during an inflationary period (borrow relatively strong dollars, repay with the same number relatively weak dollars).

Sorry to hijack the thread, but does anyone else use Mint.com with Pen Fed accounts? My $5 checking account shows up, but I can't get Mint to recognize my mortgage...

very interesting. if i understand correctly, real return for each security class is intended to reflect the CAGR of this class in excess of inflation for each time period, correct?

nicely done.

Never underestimate the "pain in the neck" factor of dealing with a condo board. Be prepared to have a small, potentially highly political, group of people making decisions on your behalf that you may or may not agree with. Also, be prepared for the dreaded special assessment if something ...