Bogleheads.org

I have no idea. I suspect a product called a "high rise condo" would work. :D There there are snake repellents - http://lmgtfy.com/?q=snake+repellent - perhaps you could order something from Amazon using that link over there on the left! [edit] I love the u-tube video that comes up on the...

Yes, I'm sure it's a garter snake. We back to a woods and there are a lot of them back there. With all the bushes and trees around our house I'm sure it has no problem finding food sources. I did see it coming out of a hole by the garage once, but that's been mortared in since then. If this was one ...

I don't know about Frigidaire, but my last two GEs had air gaps on the outside right where the water enters the DW. If the entry hole gets partially plugged water will overflow the air gap, run down the side of the DW, and drip onto the floor. If the DW is sitting on a wooden floor this could damage...

Could it be not enough water getting to the dishes? Either a defective water valve on the DW, or plugged holes in the rotating arms? Do you have hard water? Maybe that might plug up some holes. Generally local appliance shops are less expensive than the manufacturer. The one potential advantage to u...

I have a BIG garter snake problem, 2 feet long or more. I’ve already caught two and transported them deep into the woods behind my house to give them good homes. Now I see another one crawling around by the house. Actually I don’t know if it’s three separate ones or the first one just keeps finding ...

At TIAA you need to determine if your deposits would be subject to the 1% or the 3% rate minimums; the 3% rates are obviously more attractive, although TIAA may engineer their way out of those 3% guarantees for at least some existing contracts at some point. They're already working on that http://w...

Two quick comments... This appears to be an administrative matter, not a medical issue. The administration should handle it and not pass the buck to you, IMHO. I don't understand why you don't just ignore these Emails and put them into the trash like any other spam. Does the administration require y...

I have both, But I prefer VG. The ERs are generally lower, there's a wider choice of funds, and their processes are more automated (on-line). Still a lot of paper forms with TC.

When I see the term "wall street casino" it makes me wonder which insurance salesmen you might have been listening to.

How would I expect it to work? And why would I expect it to work differently? Because unlike TV's, cars are generally traded. It's one of the few (only?) consumable items that generally retains a substantial portion of the original purchase price and is sold before it becomes worth nothing. I guess...

Maybe not as much as in the '50s or 60's when a new car was the ultimate status symbol, there are still many people who have to have the latest model whenever styling changes make their current one look a little old. They're going to buy the new model because they want it badly enough to pay the sal...

I get that. I am just trying to confirm that the state gets the full sales tax rate on the full sale amount every time someone buys any car, new or used? There is never a credit for the value of the used car. Wow. That chills the car market. In Michigan at least, that is correct. If a car is sold t...

medicare part d plans are similiar to the insurance you had prior to medicare but do have some differences. I'm glad you used the word "similar" because the plans I had before Part D covered more brand names and didn't have stages 1, 2, 3 with different levels of copay. But that was awhil...

You also have to pay sales tax on the full purchase price every time you buy a car in Michigan. No offset for the trade in value of the old vehicle. How can this be? If this is true, there would be huge advantage in the used car market. And how much is this sales tax? If just a few percent maybe it...

You also have to pay sales tax on the full purchase price every time you buy a car in Michigan. No offset for the trade in value of the old vehicle. How can this be? If this is true, there would be huge advantage in the used car market. And how much is this sales tax? If just a few percent maybe it...

You also have to pay sales tax on the full purchase price every time you buy a car in Michigan. No offset for the trade in value of the old vehicle. How can this be? If this is true, there would be huge advantage in the used car market. And how much is this sales tax? If just a few percent maybe it...

I switched my wife's plan from Coventry to Humana this year and tried it. However they both get their drugs through Medco, and Medco was smart enough to know she wasn't due for a refill yet. I also switched from Coventry to Humana. In my case Coventry was using Medco but I signed up with RightSourc...

You also have to pay sales tax on the full purchase price every time you buy a car in Michigan. No offset for the trade in value of the old vehicle.

Actually I see it as an opportunity to stockpile just a bit , because the new plan will usually let you order right away even if you have a few weeks left in the 90-day-supply bottle. I'm not doing anything sleazy, but I like to have a little cushion for trips and such and I don't like having to wa...

I'll use cheap rather than inexpensive to describe myself. First I narrow my choices down to vehicles that will meet, but not exceed my needs. Then I choose a new, inexpensive vehicle. I buy new, pay cash, and drive them forever. (I still adhere to the old warning about buying a used car being buyin...

Nabisco Pinwheel Marshmallow cookies. In fact I just finished a package earlier tonight. I usually buy store brand foods, but I've not been able to find a store brand marchmallow cookies that's as good as the Nabisco Pinwheels. I often do the grocery shopping for my 88 year old mother in law. She is...

This thread has gone in a much more positive way than I thought it would. Very nice, and I got a bit moist-eyed this morning catching up on the thread. OP, the best of luck to you and your family. It’s interesting to follow the evolution of the plan as it evolved from one focused on regimented cont...

Is there a cap on the "freedom fund"? If not, this is a hot deal. Sounds like she's already up about $500 vs. where she'd be with a 4.0. I agree with the comments about possibly lowering the 3.0 requirement or at least reconsidering it if she attends an especially difficult school. You're...

The only times I would return a used item to the store is if it's defective or turns out to be not as advertised.

This is exacerbated by the fact that her relatives like to send her money, which has made it difficult to reinforce money management lessons. An example of this: we sent her to college with fully paid housing (even in a coveted single room in her dorm) and a generous food plan. She blew through the...

Many CC students are there because they cannot afford a four year college, at least not the entire four years. So I would speculate the CC peer group might be more economically diversified than the four year crowd and she might learn a lot from them.

we have her assertions that she thought she was doing fine and that this was wholly unexpected. But that was a common refrain with her throughout high school (that and "everyone got bad grades in that class" and "the teacher didn't like me" and so forth) whenever there were issu...

..... and their incentive to help us lies in the house's proximity to their own. And that's a good thing for you? I'm sure they're well intentioned and thinking of it from a social perspective, meaning they will be able to get together with your family and help out more often than if you lived furt...

Bungo, I was an early commenter but I hadn't realized it was a stepdaughter. There are different varieties of stepchildren. Some you might have come into their lives at a very young age so you are almost like a father. But if you came in when she was older and/or she has a father, I really advise y...

Just wanted to add - I asked this very question, sort of in a retrograde way last year when my parents gave my wife and myself a sizeable gift for downpayment on our first house a few years ago, The difference between your situation and OP's is the word " gave ". Your parents gave you the...

Can you afford to just pay the PMI? That way your in-laws can keep their money, and you can keep your integrity. I bought my first house paying PMI, but as soon as my equity built up to 20% they cancelled the policy.

I might think about encouraging her to move six hours away and live on her own for a while with no help from you. This might sound sexist, but I would not encourage my 19 year old daughter or stepdaughter to try to make it on her own six hours away from home. There are a lot of people out there who...

Consider Community College? Absolutely, if she wants to do so, but we still expect her to work and pay the "rent" as outlined above. Come on! If she carries a full load in community college it's the same as carrying a full load at a 4 year college. Working part time and paying a small ren...

"As is' means as is. You take the property as is with no regress if you find any problems. I heard somewhere that the realtor ALWAYS represents the buyer, even if you think he is working for you. Are you paying him a finder's fee? The seller pays his sales commission. So who do you think he rep...

You didn’t say why she flunked most of her classes. In many cases it’s just because a person spent his/her college time partying and fooling around, but not always. Sometimes kids who have had it easy in school aren’t prepared for the demands of a college education, and they may need help adjusting....

cjking wrote:I think what some people are overlooking is that this excess wealth comes from extra years spent in a job one wouldn't have been doing if one weren't being paid. There has to be something to spend the money on, or we have to admit that time was wasted!

+1

I suggest picking the winning stocks . . . find the 10 stocks that made up all the gains, and go with those." "Were you able to pick those 10 stocks last year?" "Eight of them... I have a secret weapon: an 18-point system that I have been developing since the early 1990s that ha...

I am confronting exactly this issue right now. I had what looked like more than enough, then I worked three more years. I think I can now afford to spend much more than I spent while saving. I've looked around for ways to spend the extra, and have come up with nothing. Unless you're real close to c...

Maybe this should be a poll with an "I don't know, and I don't care" answer. What I do know is that I'd rather give my 1% to a good charity.

chaz wrote:I like ASUS laptops.

Asus will be coming out with a Chromebook soon.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2037572/ ... -2013.html

I have no problem spending it as long as my long term financial projection continues to predict it will last as long as I do.

Best Buy will recycle much of that stuff free.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/null/Recycl ... 9900050025

I have used PayPal for years without any problems and pay with my credit card. I don't have any security concerns about linking it to my bank account, I just like to get the rebate dollars from my credit card.

I have an Acer Chromebook, and it's great for web surfing and attaching to my HDTV to watch sports. Chromebooks don't have as wide a range of applications as Windows PCs so you need to be more specific about which applications you want. I might be wrong, but I believe Google does not allow sales on ...

Ged wrote:

cheese_breath wrote:5. Choose a wife based on her mind and values rather than her face and body.

I don't think men choose their wives. They choose us. I got very lucky.

Then maybe I should ask my wife why she chose me. There were a lot better options available to her.

@rixer... Thanks for the info. Guess I'll head to Lowes next week and see if they can help me out.

CheeseBreath, I would prefer the portland cement and latex adhesive mixture because I think the tile grout compound you're talking about would be more brittle and tend to crack away. Perhaps the dry tile grout mixed with latex as an alternative. I think the latex is the key though as it will be a b...

@magellan… Thanks for the videos. Unfortunately I’m already past that point with the Sika, and I’m trying to come up with a cosmetic ‘fix’ to make it look a little better. When I applied the Sika with the caulking gun I pressed it deep into the cracks with a putty knife which most likely added to th...

These immediately come to my mind. 1. Get educated about investing and pay more attention to my investments earlier than I did. 2. Don't rely on company pension and social security to provide for my retirement. 3. Don't hold too much company stock. 4. Don't be greedy. 5. Choose a wife based on her m...

I have some minor cracks in my basement floor (less than 1/8” wide) that I want to repair before painting it. I’ve patched the cracks with Sikaflex® Concrete Fix ( http://usa.sika.com/en/solutions_products/02/02a024/02a024sa011.html ), but the crack area is still visible. There’s a little depression...