Bogleheads.org

Fun little thought exercise: short of keeping the auction secret until the end, which would change ebay fundamentally, what else could they do to ward off sniping? Here's my proposal: keep the exact auction ending time secret, say within an hour (or maybe 10%) of what the buyer chose, and only give...

I trust this isn't too far off-topic. But in regards to Ebay bidding, I've had some success purchasing discounted gift cards from certain vendors, Corner Bakery and Starbucks would be two. However, can anyone explain to me why people would pay more than face value for gift cards? For instance, here...

I completely fail to understand what advantage you supposedly gain from waiting until the last few seconds. I just bid the amount I am willing to pay at the time when I see the item... and forget about it until the auction has finished. I have been an active ebay member since 99 here are a few reas...

I have no need or desire to track expenses, so I have no idea. Even if I did, I'm not sure what I would do with information like this. Brian If you don't care about planning for future real returns vs. nominal returns, you don't have to. [Snarky comment removed by admin LadyGeek] Or maybe he doesn'...

Costco pricing is "ok" when compare to most of the big chain tire stores. What you get from Costco is a really good warranty if tires fail pre-maturely. They tend to replace faulty tires for free or pro-rated towards new set of tires. However, I have never purchase tires from Costco becaus...

discount tire and I am sure other big chain tire store will gladly patch your flat for free assuming it's not leaking through sidewall which is not repairable.

If your tire needs to be replaced, you might need to repair a pair at a time depending on the wear.

uh....ok...sure

If you want a new, better car go for it but if you are doing it to save money on fuel then don't do it.

The amount you save on gas wont even cover 50% of the depreciation.

Ketawa, Unfortunately, share buybacks won't get you the magic of compounding. It will deplete your portfolio. (And let me congratulate the CEO of Citibank who recently stated that they wanted to do one billion of buybacks to support their management option programs. No happy talk of benefiting the ...

I do not understand why people get "snobby" about certain types of assets. Given a long enough timeline, any investment could end up being junk in the end. I am interested in gold, but it seems to still be over-hyped and in a bubble, but unfortunately so do other major investment instrume...

As I explained, assume stocks trade at book value, if you own stock at $100 and it earns $4 and pays a $4 dividend, your stock is now back to $100 and you have $4 in cash. My stock pays no dividend and is worth $104, and I paid no tax. Now if I want to raise $4 in cash I simply sell that amount of ...

If I could perfectly time recessions, I wouldn't be jumping into 1 month treasury bill.

The problem is you are way overpaying in the first place.

We are only paying $63/month for 2 phones with 3G data at 2GB limit/each and sharing 1000min with Tmobile.

Consider yourself blessed that you make enough money to save for retirement and only have to forego appetizers when you go out to dinner to reach your goal. Most of the citizens of this country do not have that opportunity, under those circumstances. They have no matching 401 (k), no surplus income...

Taylor re your quote: The 2010 Toyota Corolla is the most reliable car sold in the United States, according to a report released today. Read more: America’s Most Reliable Cars - 24/7 Wall St. http://247wallst.com/2012/11/13/americas-most-trusted-cars/#ixzz2LP84cqg9 I am trying to identify from amon...

Golf tdi good low end torque, good fuel economy, small turning radius and here is the best part it's not a Toyota or a Honda.

So basically it's a coin toss then? The reason I asked the original question is because I fail to see why the car loan is the overwhelming favorite among the members here. To me the difference is pretty marginal and if op's goal is paying down debts then the end results should be fairly similar whi...

Why car loan when mortgage interest is 1.01% higher? Even assuming you can deduct all the mortgage interest at about 30% marginal rate, the mortgage rate is slightly higher than car loan (3%*(1-0.3)-1.99%) = 0.11% I also favor tackling the loan with the highest interest rate first. While the car lo...

Why car loan when mortgage interest is 1.01% higher?

Even assuming you can deduct all the mortgage interest at about 30% marginal rate, the mortgage rate is slightly higher than car loan (3%*(1-0.3)-1.99%) = 0.11%

Hum...interesting

I have some Canadian stocks in the form of paper certificates, this may be a good way to get rid of them.

If we are long term buy and hold investors, does it really matter if asset classes are overvalued? And what does that mean exactly. Does it mean a crash in values is imminent or long term low returns are expected? Answer to your questions are yes and yes depending on how long is long term . Try to ...

You might as well change the thread title to "Chase Freedom 1000% cash back". You could do it, couldn't you. I don't think so, nobody is going to allow 1 cent credit card charges due to the fees. But sub dollar credit card charges are not completely unheard of. It's doable you can pay eba...

You save payroll tax (social security 4.2% this year, 6.2% next year + medicare 1.45%) when using FSA where 401K you have to pay the payroll tax. If you know you are going to spend the money on medical expenses then it's definitely worth it. I guess one I way I view it is that my break even point is...

Briefly, it involves setting up multiple accounts and making "purchases". However, there is great risk in that you might find yourself being asked why there was no tax paid on the "business", as well as having Amazon shut down your account permanently. I caution that nobody ough...

Just FYI 250 is not a Vancouver number, it's actually an Vancouver Island number, i.e Victoria.

I am sure there are Chinese business in Victoria, just want to make sure you are approaching the right audience.

Thanks for the post, I've always want to learn how to swim properly and I noticed the Y next to work has adult classes starting in two weeks.

This will give me something to do after work instead of gluing to the TV.

I have been thinking about getting an Acura the next time. It is very nice to see a brand-new Acura (the ILX) available for $26,000 -- nearly the same price as a new Honda Civic Natural Gas. I haven't seen the ILX in person yet, but it looks like a much better deal than an overpriced 3-Series BMW. ...

I am actually looking for a similar spec car as you and here is a few things you should consider. 1. Time is on your side, F32 coupe will be coming out next year so once it comes out, E92 coupes will depreciate more. 2. Most of the CPO cars are 3 year leased vehicles coming back to the dealer, so if...

Hi Charley: I love the idea of leaving money to grow, to someday accomplish bigger things. How would one do this today? What will last 200 years? I think it is reasonable to believe that in our capitalistic society that on average , our great business corporations will continue to grow and prosper ...

You might want to apply for those credit cards soon, limited time offer.

I know it's only a short term band-aid but at least that'll get you through the holiday season.

This. Sell both cars, buy a single used reliable car with cash, and eliminate those loan payments that are just killing you. You have what MMM calls a "debt emergency" in the second link below. Maybe a second car re-enters your life later when you're more financially sound (i.e., you have...

Here is a trick for you: If you have an ING account do a transfer of $500 each month and transfer the money back to ING the next day. The ACH push counts as direct deposit. Also, if you are really upset about chase, you can open various bank accounts/credit cards to get the opening bonus off them. I...

I am pretty sure the crown you got is not the same as what you would/should get in the USA. I just had this discussion with my dentist last week about crown making as he makes his crowns. He was telling me that the gold alone in a molar crown costs between 3-400 and that's just the material cost. He...

$100 is a bit low in my opinion. If the wedding is hosted at one of the bigger hotels, you are looking at probably $100/head and that's not open bar. Since you are the groomsman you'll also receive gifts, I would at least give the groom $200 (but that's just me).

If you know you will be living in the same area for 30 years then the answer is probably yes because you are leveraging using today's dollars for thirty years. However, how many of us can be really certain that we are going to stay in the same area for that long? Heck I don't even know if I will sta...

We stayed at five places . Will give a review when i am home tomorrow That would be highly appreciated. Thanks. Just checked out Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge.. Looks very nice, but the rate seems a bit excessive.. Or am I too cheap? Fairmont in general are overprice IMO and my gf agrees (she used to ...

I didn't read through the whole tread so I might be repeating some of the info offered by other people. I used to live in Calgary for 15 years before I move to the US and the know the area pretty well as I do a lot of mountain biking around that area. A couple of recommendations: When you visit Lake...

Out of curiosity is this a T5 or just a naturally aspirated 2.4L

99 Subaru Legacy GT 160k (bought it new)

One thing I have heard from my previous company's IT people is that people who are good at Linux are harder to find than Windows people. So one thing you can do is start learning on Linux on your own, setup a little email/file server at home. Learn how to do some scripting that may help you with you...

Here is your answer

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=88789

Sorry no advice here, just a comment. I like the desk you made better than the one you are going to buy and I think for $300 you can't really lose.

Shoot, we only think we keep our vehicles long enough, consider the age of Cuba's private vehicle fleet. They know how to squeeze every dollar's worth of value from their vehicles, by need. Check out these beauties: http://www.hagerty.com/classic-car-articles-resources/Features/News/All-Articles/20...

But explain this to me: why are there so few rich widowed men? One possible answer: they remarry, so they are no longer classified as widowers. Another: In a marriage the male is likely making most of the money so they mistakenly assume they need less life insurance on the female. Why is it a mista...

Something like this happened to me last year. There was some sort of lawsuit with regards to a former employer's stock. Since the company match in my 401K was in employer stock, I received a settlement from the lawsuit. Since it less than $20, I just took the lump sum and will report it on my 1040 ...

I've owned my Honda over 15 years. In the last 6 months, I've replaced my wheel bearings, brakes, exhaust system. All items I consider to be routine maintainance. I took the cost of those repairs and divided it by 12 (the first 3 years are on the manufacturer if parts fail). If spending less than $...

PizzaOnTheMind:

just out of curiosity what set of metrics do you use to determine when to get out of a stock.

For example, say coke is trading at 1/4 of its book value you back up the truck and load it up, when do you sell? at 2x the book? 3x the book?

Can you use to call long distance or use it to text?

Also, I wonder if you use your phone to make donation i.e. text special number to red cross will that deduct off your balance.

Last resort: call 1-900 numbers, that should do the trick.

At the end of 2010, Albersons had similar promotion where you get 20 dollar shopping coupon when you buy $100 worth of gift cards (which including as gift cards). We bought over $4000 worth of gift card and we haven't need to buy any cleaning/personal hygienic supplies (toilet paper, shampoo, laundr...

early in 2011, Buffet said treasuries are the last place you want to be. Long term treasuries went on to return 30+ percent in 2011. So Buffett was completely wrong. for an alternate view on treasuries going foward, see this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65NXbnfNDBU One year return doesn't r...