Bogleheads.org

We are learning that Fidelity has account closing fees of $50.00. So we leave our money in their accounts (earning nothing) and they charge $50.00 for the privilege. Vanguard does not charge for closing retirement accounts, thankfully. You betcha. Schwab does the same thing. That's why I'm with Van...

I would put it in totally safe stuff, but that's just me. Even at a measly 2% return, that's $140,000 a year for her. It's her money, not yours. She should be able to sleep at night, not watch two or three million disappear some day.

HardKnocker, WIth all due respect, you clearly aren't a physician. The last thing I would look at when deciding on surgeon or doctor for a procedure is their Med School. I moved to the boonies. After a few experiences with doctors from the University of the Third World or the University of the US W...

I'm not a doctor. I got a full financial ride to grad school at MIT, and an offer for half at Harvard. I chose MIT because of the debt issue, but in retrospect from years down the pike, I wish I'd gone to Harvard. The people in the department there were just more impressive and I think I would have ...

I wish we had a bit more of that where I live. Unfortunately, paving over wide swaths of farm and forest pushes externalities on neighbors, especially those on the downhill side of watersheds. When something is priced at zero, like stormwater runoff, people don't do the cheap and easy things that c...

I would suggest this is indeed actionable. Yet another tax/fee that doesn't exist elsewhere. I believe you are wrong. A relative who lives in NC mentioned to me some time ago that his locality was taxing impermeable surfaces. There is an environmental reason for this, of course, and it encourages p...

In my day, the hiring company forked out for the moving costs.

Depending on your situation, you might also consider solar screens: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_screen It seems like these can only be put up as one would install screens? Thanks to Pella, there is no way to install exterior screens on these windows, unfortunately. (I didn't pick the windows...

Thanks for the replies.

I also meant to mention, I don't want them to become a problem for birds hitting the window, i.e. if they act like mirrors. I have decals all over my windows now, which more or less works.

In another thread, someone mentioned window tinting. I have a bank of South facing windows, which was fine when there were big trees in front of them, but the neighbor took down the trees and now that room is an oven in summer. I've read different things about window films (is this the same as windo...

want to know If Vanguard will pull a credit check to open a Roth IRA. if so i will just stick with Schwab as since I have a brokerage they will not pull my credit to start a roth. What's so bad about pulling credit? And why would that dictate where you should open your Roth? I would think Vanguard ...

Who sets the pay for your position? The person you like in your group, or the distant upper manager, or both? I don't see anything wrong in briefly mentioning to the local person that your salary is out of whack and when her time permits, you'd like to discuss that, before the distant performance re...

There's little point in asking general questions about specifics of your plan. Your plan administration can answer those, no one else. As noted, in retirement you can just roll the whole thing out and no longer worry about it. The only time that would be a problem is if you left at age 55, and less...

What annoys me even more is that I call into their toll-free number and they ask me to punch in the last 4 digits of my SSN and my birthdate including the year. I punch it in, and then the customer service rep promptly asks me for the same information again. They are not the only company that does ...

Set aside a bundle for unexpected expensive maintenance that will show up quickly, even with a good house inspector having gone over the house before purchase. Also ongoing maintenance, which will be expensive. Look at the history of property taxes in the area, not just what the homeowner last paid....

1530jesup wrote:Two) I have an anatomical problem that limits the time I can spend on a bike

Bicycle seats were designed by some lunatic. There's a business opportunity for some inventive person.

a third option was presented to me -- get my windows tinted. I was very sceptical about this, but did enough research and decided to give it a try. It worked. Our 2nd floor now stays at whatever temperature we set the thermostat to, and our AC doesn't work continuously from 10am to 10pm any more. W...

I would go with the bike, but put off the house renovations until you have saved up more, like $5000 more. The job insecurity worries me.

Bogleheads think that old cars are people killers. Well, new cars are wealth killers. I would continue to run the '92 Honda to the ground. If it works, why buy new? Your car probably has ABS, and you can probably replace the airbag for a few hundred dollars. If you have deep pockets, then buy a new...

Need a new heating a/c system or other ultra efficient home improvements? Some are tax deductible dollar for dollar up to 30% such as Geothermal heating and cooling. If you need a new system anyway (or close to it) you will get to deduct 30% of the total cost dollar for dollar from your future taxe...

I would just send them a letter saying the form was unnecessary.

Various colleges provide permanent email addresses to their alumni, which forward to the current actual email address. It actually isn't that difficult to switch between regular email addresses. I've had to do it a couple of times. After I'd done changes/sent out notices I kept the old one for awhil...

A shredder the size of a wastebasket is $25 to $30. Why accumulate all this stuff instead of using a home shredder as needed.

I think that calling our phone crosses a line that emails and snailmail don't. And yes, I'm just a cranky old man who didn't want to get off the couch. I've probably been somewhat desensitized by the daily phone calls from the FBI trying to sell me a free alarm system, and those ilk. Also, I have m...

Good point! But I do think your eyes are all the evidence you need. This is true. Here's what I saw with my own eyes: Just to give a (former) latchkey/daycare kid perspective: Both of my parents worked; my siblings and I were placed in daycare at very early ages. I earned a full academic scholarshi...

+1... Brilliantly said. Ask each other 1) Why you chose to have kids; 2) Who did you hope would be the dominant influence in their upbringing (good daycare - the primary one raising your kids will be the provider; bad day care - primary will be their peers 8-10 hours/day - 5-6 days/wk; 3) What will...

We give 5000 to our church every year but do not itemize. Our daughter also attends the church and also gives. Can we just gift our 5000 to our daughter and she give it to our church and get the deduction? She would still make her donation. She already itemizes and has her own house and family. The...

I've always wondered why women would go to college, go to grad school, work like heck to develop a career, then quit when the first or second kid is born. I've seen it happen dozens of times in my own life experiences, and I just don't get it. When I was a young woman in engineering the "you'l...

DualIncomeNoDebt wrote:College = federal taxpayer corporate welfare.

How? A lot of an endowment comes from donations.

When my son signed up for his PSATs and SATs, I guess we indicated that we didn't mind receiving emails and mail from interested colleges. If I had known how much of this mail would be generated, we would have said "no thank you." Emails are easy to delete, and physical mail is sometimes ...

Did you get the letter from UT-Dallas offering full tuition and $40,000 subsistence per semester for 4 years? We kept that even though I would not have wanted my son to go to a school that has to bribe you to attend. ($400K per semester would have been a different matter.) About 10 days later came ...

It can take a lot of money to live a minimalist lifestyle like this. Anytime you need something, you need to buy it. You won't have room to store much of anything. I lived in 400 sq ft or less for about 10 years. Can't recall a lot of things that I needed to buy. On top of that just because one nee...

My SS is $1400 a month. Prescriptions (after Plan D pays for some) cost me about $500 a month. Medigap premium is about $100 a month. There are microapartments opening up at about $550 soon, but they have a huge waiting list, so let's say rent of $800 for an apartment. No buying gas, so I have no id...

Dollar Rental is apparently in the business of ripping people off, according to the New York Times. Take your business elsewhere.

Your kids will never regret having a mom at home... neither will you or your wife. Actually, that's probably not true, days it will drive her crazy, but you will be blessed in the long run. Kids will probably also be happier and healthier and won't bring home the junk that other families allow to s...

not to be a bummer but something to consider, especially her, is the strength and faith in the longevity of marriage. Number of marriages that end in divorce is coin flip and the potentially disproportionate, negative financial effects on women. At least in our earlier scientific careers, if my wif...

I've used Osmocote in the past with no problems. Last Fall the Lowe's near me was closing and had a half price sale. I went crazy and stocked up on a lot of gardening stuff, including 5-6 of the three lb. containers of Osmocote vegetable and flower granules. I went to use them yesterday, and about h...

More that puzzled why the real estate agent is not taking the initiative in this matter & instead is indictaing that I should carry the ball forward ?!? jdruz I had an agent like that once. She seemed to expect me to do all the work. Fortunately I had not signed a contract and she had not intro...

What's a subcontractor insurance company? Are they farming stuff out to smaller companies?

It's time to be an adult. You're 23, a college graduate, and making quite a nice salary.. That means paying your parents rent and having an emergency fund. From your comments, it's clear they are not wealthy, and if you use them as an emergency fund, you are endangering their retirement. Plus your r...

Part of the Arcade Providence's 225 sq ft $550 a month apartments in downtown Providence. I'd live in this in a minute if I weren't living in the old family homestead. A lot of what I have is superfluous. Maintenance on a house is a real headache. Living area, full kitchen except no stove - has a mi...

I would have no confidence whatever in any of his work after this. I would also talk to them about whether you owe them a payment for such a mess of a return.

Like another person, I wonder if this was outsourced to India.

I would do some in depth medical stuff to see if there is a fixable reason for the deafness. My Mom was deaf in one ear due to a benign growth.

Made some bad investments (ex-wife's undergrad and dental school, real estate development) that will take some time to overcome. My net worth is slightly less now than it was at 25 because of those two sizable investments that resulted in zero return. Luckily, at 31 I have plenty of time to recoup....

Now I'm remembering why this has been in my jewelry box this long :-) The 24K remark was interesting, because I have the dim idea that my class ring is 24K. I find that I can't read the tiny info inside even with a magnifying glass, so I got obsessed enough to email the manufacturer out of curiosity.

I got forms of will, living will, etc. from the internet for my state. I noticed that 3 witnesses are required for a will, for others 1 or 2. That means I could complete my will only when I could find 3 witnesses at the same time, which I could not, so I have to see a lawyer and pay him for basical...

goldbug wrote: there is a trust/ investment entity that receives 1% annually.

I don't know what this means.

I stopped in at a Planet Fitness a couple of weeks ago and I think they charge something like $10 a month and $29 annual fee. The place was full of machines.

I have a will and a revocable living trust. Anything in the trust does not have to go through probate, saving a lot of time and hassle. The will contains a provision that anything not in the trust goes into the trust at my death. I have put my house and non-IRA financial accounts into the trust anyw...

You stated that it is rather wide, do you mean that it is a wide band or it fits a large finger? Then you ask if it can be widened? Yah, that was confusing. When I say it's wide, I mean it extends some length on the finger towards the fingernail. It does fit a fairly large finger, I am not a petite...