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This is my first year with an HDHP. Prior to this, we paid very little for health care costs because of a generous insurance plan. The other day someone in the family ended up at the ER. I am very nervous as to the bill. Haven't received it yet. Does the insurer negotiate a good rate for customers w...

I am trying to cancel an unnecessary term life policy with Northwestern Mutual Life. The agent says I cannot do it mid-year because I paid in full at the beginning of the year. He said I must wait until the renewal date and then ignore the bill letting the policy lapse. I would like to cancel now an...

Thanks. So if I'm in the 28% tax bracket under the regular system and also in the 28% tax bracket for the AMT, then I still get the same amount of deduction either way?

I am debating whether or not to pay off my mortgage which has a rate of 2.875% with 11 years left on a fifteen-year. I am in the 28% federal/8.25% state tax bracket. Every year, I have been hit with the AMT. This is due to high property taxes, high state income taxes, and two dependents. If I have n...

update - I talked to them and they reversed the fees for Jan-April. For some inexplicable reason, they refused to refund the fee for May. It was too much trouble to stay on the phone any longer so I didn't argue the $3. What's important is that the balance is now above $5000 and they will no longer ...

I bet you got hit with the $3 fee for the first month since you started with less than $5K and that the fee in the first month reduced your balance below $5K for the remaining months. The only month I got his with the $3 investment fee was the last month I had a balance under $5K on one day during ...

Anyone using HSA Bank for their HSA? In January, I deposited $6450 into an HSA with them. I kept $5000 in a minimally paying savings account and transferred $1450 into their investment account with TD Ameritrade. I have been charged a monthly fee of $3 since then. My understanding was that $3000 in ...

Michaels charges way too much.

Thank you for your thoughtful responses. Yes, I am the child of immigrant parents and a lot of the guilt comes from the cultural expectations. I would actually like to help out but am really put off by his sense of entitlement, greed, and evasiveness. When I helped him with the home purchase, he was...

One of my parents made a good living while I was growing up and saved a good deal as well. My parents paid for most of my college education too. However, as a result of some poor financial and personal decisions starting about 15-20 years ago, this parent is living on social security and a small pen...

Bump.

Thanks for all the replies. I looked at the rental contract and the only thing it says regarding cleaning is: Cleaning once a week is provided. Daily maid service can be provided for an additional fee. We encourage guests to tip the cleaning staff. A dollar per visit is a guideline. We did not opt f...

I recently went on vacation and rented a condo through VRBO. At the end of the stay, we left some dirty dishes (no dish washer in the place), garbage in the bin (no cover on the trashcan, not made aware of any garbage chute), and some crumbs on the floor and surfaces. We left no spills, stains, or a...

I don't know about laws in Wisconsin, but my family has 8 x 529 plans for a $2500 state tax deduction for each account (total of $20,000 a year). I have two children. I opened one for myself, my spouse, son, and daughter. My spouse opened one for himself, for me, son, and daughter. When the children...

Interesting. Had not considered induction. What do you like about induction over gas?

I have my new car fund rolled up in my asset allocation rather than in a segregated account. When I need a car, I'll just withdraw the money and then rebalance. Question is which account should I withdraw from? I have a 401-K, Roth IRA, traditional IRA, I Bonds, regular savings and checking account,...

I am looking for a new kitchen range/oven - 30 inches. Any recommendations for brand? I have a gas range/oven right now - GE Profile Performance. I heard it's better to have gas stove-top, electric oven. Any other features to look for? I am a foodie and can use something high performance.

Thanks gtaylor. Interesting, I assume I have to pay taxes on any gains, if any, while in the 401-K? Where will that be reported?

I wrote in a couple of weeks ago regarding an accidental overcontribution to the after-tax 401K portion of my $51,000 limit. Although the limit had not been reached yet, the amount contributed to the AT portion would have prevented me from filling up my pre-tax $17,500 space and my employer match sp...

Thanks. I only have a copy of the SPD, not the whole PD. I will request one. Alan, my after-tax contributions are close to $40,000 already, which does not leave enough room for me to maximize my $17,500 pre-tax deferral or the employer match (only matched during pay periods for which there is a cont...

Every year, I try to make sure that my contribution to a pre-tax 401-K, employer match, and after-tax contributions equal $51,000. By mistake, due to an unusually large bonus, the after-tax portion is greatly overfunded and will necessarily shrink the pre-tax ($17,500) and employer match space. I ha...

Thanks for helping to clarify this. I already roll out all my after tax contributions to a Roth so I realize now that any amounts that I am allowed to withdraw for the Inservice ER (I'm guessing part of the employer contributions) will have to be taxed. I might as well leave them in the account in t...

I recently discovered that my 401-K allows something called an "inservice ER". Apparently I am able to rollover a portion of my 401-K balance (about 10%) to an IRA. I am in my mid-40's. I max out the 401-K and also make after-tax contributions (to the 51,000 max) that I subsequently rollov...

Ooma uses your existing phones whatever they may be.

I got the Ooma on sale at Amazon for $130-ish. Chose to port phone number for another $40. Very simple to set-up. Excellent voice quality. Excellent customer service. Tax of about $3.50 per month, but when I had Verizon, I had to pay the tax anyway on top of $30/month.

I use Talkatone on my iPad Mini and it works very well. At home, I have FIOS 15/5 (which actually gets around 5 down/7 up). On the road I have AT&T 4G LTE. Both work well on either speaker phone or with earPods. I have a basic phone with prepaid minutes as a back-up, but I greatly minimize my ce...

Thanks for the recommendations. I'll check out the Fellowes from Walmart.

The last paper shredder I had broke within a couple of uses. Any recommendations for a durable cross-cut shredder? I don't care if it takes too many sheets. Just home use.

On top of a $5500 contribution to a Roth IRA, I am also able to deposit approximately $26,000 per year into the Roth via an after-tax 401K conversion. I am already maxing out contributions to the 401-K. Not having the funds to max out both Roth IRA and $20K (joint) in I-bonds, where should my priori...

I have on order an iPad Mini with LTE. After my iPhone got stolen more than a year ago, I switched to a basic month-to-month phone. I miss having a data plan and having internet access on the go, however. I also tend to get lost a lot and would like turn-by-turn navigation. I had a Garmin, but that ...

I also have a 2.875% 15 year mortgage. Regarding TFB's recommendation to contribute the max to I bonds (which we are currently doing) and then selling off other bond funds to pay off the mortgage, does the recommendation apply to contributions to TIPS (in 401K) and G Fund (in TSP)? The TIPS/G Fund a...

She can check if her public library has an online course such as Rosetta Stone or Mango Languages. Both are very good introductions to the language. My public library offers these courses to residents for free via their website.

Have done two refi's with them. Some of their processors are unresponsive or inexperienced but I finally got one who was good and will only work with him in the future. Good rates and no surprises at closing. I like that they send a settlement person to your house at your convenience (even weeknight...

The dividends are for unvested stock so I did not pay for them. I typically sell as soon as they are vested.

For restricted stock awards, do you recommend having dividends reinvested in the company stock or taking the cash?

6% groceries - Amex Preferred cash (can buy gift cards to Home Depot, Lowes, and many stores at grocery store)
5% gas - PenFed
5% restaurants, movies, bookstores (incl everything at Amazon), video rentals - Citi Forward
1.5% everything else - Capital One Preferred

I am trying to figure out what sum of money to put in my emergency fund for unforeseen events. Many of the foreseeable events, such as medical bills and unemployment, can be planned for due to insurance and severance pay, and the occasional need for a new car or home repair can be reasonably budgete...

I transferred from a Fidelity traditional IRA to the TSP recently. I had Fidelity write a check for the non-basis amount directly to the TSP FBO "my name" and TSP account number. There is the TSP incoming rollover form that you have to fill out which also has a section that Fidelity has to...

Would you consider Northwest Mutual DI to be a bad option for someone not in the medical profession? For example, someone who is in the legal profession? Yes. Why choose NWM over another company with a better policy? What is wrong with the NWM policy? We have own profession, COLA, 6 month wait peri...

Would you consider Northwest Mutual DI to be a bad option for someone not in the medical profession? For example, someone who is in the legal profession?

Intrigued by the Toto washlet. Saw some in Japan and Hong Kong but never tried it. Does it work well?

Will be remodeling our master bath (narrow and small). I got a lot of good ideas from this old thread. Anyone else recently been through a remodel and have ideas or product reco's to share?

If you have a lot of short term losses but no short term gains, only long term gains, does the short term loss come off your ordinary income up to $3000. And then you just pay taxes on the long term gains? No. The net short-term loss will offset the long-term gains. Then if there are still any gain...

If you have a lot of short term losses but no short term gains, only long term gains, does the short term loss come off your ordinary income up to $3000. And then you just pay taxes on the long term gains?

Not as bad as Groupon but worse than the market as a whole. That was pretty bad luck that it would fall so much right after it vested but before I could sell. What is the difference between ST capital loss and LT capital loss?

On May 31, a chunk of restricted stock in my company vested, and on June 1 the price dropped a good amount. Does this mean, my basis is the high price on May 31, and I can take a capital loss when I sell? Unfortunately, I must wait a few days to sell because of the brokerage.

If you have a pour-over will does this protect some accounts left out of the trust?

I have refinanced twice with Amerisave and never had an issue with them adding the lender credit back into the loan. You should call the person you're working with and talk to them for clarification. One of the things I liked best about them was how they laid out the exact fees before you commit (th...

I like the www.nerdwallet.com website. Found a lot of great offers and could compare the features of each card.

I live in a state where electricity is deregulated and I am being bombarded with phone calls and mail promising lower rates. There are many different companies and I don't know where to turn to research which is the most economical and reliable provider for electricity. A google search of many of th...