Search found 866 matches

by German Expat
Sun Jan 28, 2024 3:26 am
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: Seeking Guidance on Currency Conversion for Retirement Funding with IBKR
Replies: 7
Views: 2155

Re: Seeking Guidance on Currency Conversion for Retirement Funding with IBKR

When I started with IBKR I used the account mainly for currency conversions (from and to USD) and did get the same email. I did also have some investments in the account but not much trading activity. I did write back to them asking about an explanation but never got a reply. In the meantime I added more funds, had a margin loan and participate in their stock yield enhancement program. For smaller amounts I went back to use Charles Schwab or Wise and accept the worse exchange rate. For larger amounts I still use IBKR but try to combine it with investments and not just send the same amount out. E.g. transfer 20k CHF, exchange to USD and invest 10k into VTI and transfer the rest out. At the time I got their email I saw various posts in other ...
by German Expat
Fri Jan 05, 2024 4:18 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Transfer money from our Vanguard account to adult child's separate Vanguard account?
Replies: 3
Views: 841

Re: Transfer money from our Vanguard account to adult child's separate Vanguard account?

You can gift from your Vanguard account to your child:

https://investor.vanguard.com/gifting-stock

Follow the link and it will guide you through the process. You can try it with a small amount first.
by German Expat
Sun Dec 03, 2023 3:14 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Are newer Kindles any faster?
Replies: 52
Views: 7130

Re: Are newer Kindles any faster?

I had the same issues with my older Kindle. A full reset (deletes all content) made it much better. While not fast it is usable again.
by German Expat
Mon Aug 21, 2023 7:04 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Switzerland - is cash required?
Replies: 19
Views: 2328

Re: Switzerland - is cash required?

It will make it easier if you use Apple Pay or Google Pay because then you don't need to sign and can mainly pay touch free. A lot of US cards still require a signature and it will just add time to the check out.

Also if you want to tip at a restaurant tell them the tip ahead of time (before they enter the amount into the credit card terminal) because you can not add a tip after they run the amount (or have some cash available).
by German Expat
Fri Aug 04, 2023 4:31 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Cost of transport in Switzerland
Replies: 23
Views: 2151

Re: Cost of transport in Switzerland

You have to do the math what works best for you but the Half Fare Card is probably your best (lowest price) option. Most of your costs are for special things not included (Jungfraujoch etc.) in the Travel Pass.
Switzerland is expensive and with the current exchange rate to the USD got more expensive the last couple of month.
by German Expat
Thu Jul 27, 2023 4:09 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: If/when to fly business class? (Length of flight vs. cost)
Replies: 207
Views: 27394

Re: If/when to fly business class? (Length of flight vs. cost)

Credit card points got mentioned when it comes to travel. I always feel it's easier for me to get cash back instead of points from credit cards. My curiosity is how much I lose out by not using points for travels. For example, 100 points typically translate to 1 dollar cash. When it comes to air tickets or upgrades, does it really worth much more, say, 100 points worth 2 or 3 dollars?? Mind you that I have never flown business class, and my Chase UR points were used only for booking at most 3- star hotels for 1.25 cents per UR point --- With that disclaimer out of the way, I did see some claims to really crazy valuations like 7 cents per mile (obviously award travel of business class tickets compared to their cash price), and if those UR p...
by German Expat
Tue Jul 25, 2023 8:24 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: If/when to fly business class? (Length of flight vs. cost)
Replies: 207
Views: 27394

Re: If/when to fly business class? (Length of flight vs. cost)

When I can upgrade into it. Or find a good mile redemption. Or I have to pay it to retain status, but that is a fools game. Or when I want to sample FRA first class terminal by upgrading into that from business. But mostly when I can upgrade into it. Today, premium economy seems to be the sweet spot. And easier to upgrade to business from! Slightly better than domestic first seat. And near enough to the front of the plane. I probably don't value it at more than $100/hr, if that. I am curious about the premium economy experience/value, having never flown it. I'm doing a 14 hour flight soon on United (unfortunately) and could upgrade my economy seats to premium economy for about $300 per seat (compared to thousands more for business, at this...
by German Expat
Tue Jul 25, 2023 7:50 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Chip and Pin when in Europe [Greece and Italy specifically, Europe in general]
Replies: 65
Views: 6636

Re: US citizen traveling to Italy - credit card pin number required?

If you can add your card to Apple or Google Pay then you can use it a lot easier via the phone (or watch) and you don't have to sign as often. US cards usually still require a signature (over a certain amount) and not a PIN and a lot of times have to be put into the reader (and even if they have a wireless symbol it might still not work).

On a side note you can not add a tip after the amount was entered into the credit card machine. Please tell them beforehand (before they enter the amount) if you want to put a tip on the card (and not use cash for the tip) and what amount it is.
by German Expat
Fri May 12, 2023 4:10 am
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: Should I open an IBKR account before being an expat.
Replies: 24
Views: 3778

Re: Should I open an IBKR account before being an expat.

You can still buy a lot of the widely traded US ETF's via options (e.g. sell in the money puts). It is a bit more complex because you have to trade an option and then wait for the ETF to be assigned. I did not do it myself yet but its my backup plan. You will need to have 100k in the account and be approved for option trading (pass an online test). Here is a link with an explanation:

viewtopic.php?p=7118355#p7118355
by German Expat
Thu May 11, 2023 1:52 am
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: Should I open an IBKR account before being an expat.
Replies: 24
Views: 3778

Re: Should I open an IBKR account before being an expat.

I had an IBKR USA account with a Swiss address assigned to it. IBKR eventually told me to close it and move to IBKR UK (also does Switzerland). I had to reopen an UK account and then transfer the ETFs (was not a problem, just took a while). I would not take it for granted that IBKR allows you to keep your US account if you report a foreign address to them. Do they allow adding new positions to your US-domiciled ETFs following such a transfer? What if your portfolio had US money market funds or cash in other currencies? Is there a cost to transfer a whole portfolio? I can still add US positions but this might eventually become a problem with KIID even for Switzerland. It will depend what country you plan to go to if it still works. My accou...
by German Expat
Tue May 09, 2023 5:31 am
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: Should I open an IBKR account before being an expat.
Replies: 24
Views: 3778

Re: Should I open an IBKR account before being an expat.

I had an IBKR USA account with a Swiss address assigned to it. IBKR eventually told me to close it and move to IBKR UK (also does Switzerland). I had to reopen an UK account and then transfer the ETFs (was not a problem, just took a while). I would not take it for granted that IBKR allows you to keep your US account if you report a foreign address to them.
by German Expat
Sun Mar 05, 2023 3:06 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Anyone make use of securities backed loans for house down payments?
Replies: 15
Views: 2276

Re: Anyone make use of securities backed loans for house down payments?

You can do box spreads and there is a long thread how to do it. Best margin rates are with Interactive Brokers except if you manage to negotiate well with your existing Broker. Here are the current rates at IBKR: https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/trading/margin-rates.php If you do a margin loan stay way below the limits so you won’t get called. IBKR is known to sell without asking. Stay at 25 percent or not much above. You could also look at pledged asset lines e.g. at Schwab. You can negotiate the rate down. https://www.schwab.com/pledged-asset-line We have a CHF margin loan at IBKR (for a place in Switzerland and we have Swiss income) for part of a downpayment but plan to pay it back soon. Worked very easy transferring VTI etc. to IBKR.
by German Expat
Fri Jan 06, 2023 2:50 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Interactive Brokers (Best Kept Secret)
Replies: 925
Views: 208935

Re: Interactive Brokers (Best Kept Secret)

I have a question about margin interest rates with multiple currencies. Suppose I have a margin account with USD as the base currency. Further, suppose I have a negative balance of USD 10,000 and a positive balance of GBP 10,000. So my total cash balance is approximately USD +1,900. In that case, do I earn USD interest on USD 1,900? Do I pay margin interest on USD 10,000 and earn interest on GBP 10,000? That is, does the total cash amount matter for margin interest, or is the balance/interest determined individually for each currency? Each currency is looked at separate and the interest is calculated separately. So in your example you pay margin interest for USD 10,000 and would get interest paid for 2000 GBP (you only get interest on GBP ...
by German Expat
Fri Dec 30, 2022 9:23 pm
Forum: Forum Issues and Administration
Topic: Bogleheads and ChatGPT
Replies: 325
Views: 44544

Re: Bogleheads and GPT

Write a haiku about bogleheads:

Financial wisdom blooms,
Bogleheads gather to share,
Investing truths abound.

I still find it more of a parlor trick for a lot of real world problems. We brainstormed a bit about finding any application at work but up to now didn't come up with anything useful.

It works well for doing essays, poems, Marketing stories (e.g. why are our products better than the competitors) but it's still hard to see anything that helps the bottom line of a company.
by German Expat
Thu Dec 29, 2022 8:35 pm
Forum: Forum Issues and Administration
Topic: Bogleheads and ChatGPT
Replies: 325
Views: 44544

Re: Bogleheads and GPT

GPT3 can be wrong and give you answers that look correct. There are plenty of funny examples, e.g. what weighs more, 1kg of air or metal? Q: what weights more? 1kg of air or 1kg of gold? A: 1kg of gold weighs more than 1kg of air. and its pretty stubborn :D Q: is 1kg of gold not the same weight as 1kg of air? A: No, 1kg of gold is substantially heavier than 1kg of air. It can help write better answers to questions though, I tried one post here as the question: https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=393567&newpost=7032355&view=unread#unread and the answer was: "The short answer is that it depends. It really comes down to a risk/reward evaluation. On one hand, if you keep him on your policy, you will be exposed ...
by German Expat
Sun Dec 11, 2022 4:36 pm
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: How to move USD from US to GBP in UK?
Replies: 24
Views: 3144

Re: How to move ~1M USD from US to GBP in UK?

Just to add about IBKR. You will need to open a new IBKR account in the UK and can not just change the address. It is a different legal entity. Not a big deal and you will habe 2 accounts for a short while until you transfer all to the UK account.
by German Expat
Fri Dec 02, 2022 1:15 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Margin loan - comfort level
Replies: 28
Views: 2312

Re: Margin loan - comfort level

Assuming you have Portfolio Margin enabled with total stock market I would feel comfortable with 35%. Without portfolio margin I would stay further away. Why so? What's the difference between Portfolio Margin and normal margin? Read the details at Interactive Brokers here for the difference: https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/general/education/pdfnotes/WN-UnderstandingMargin.php Quote: IB Margin Accounts Reg T Margin: Margin requirements are computed in real-time under a rules-based model, with immediate position liquidation if the minimum maintenance margin requirement is not met. Portfolio Margin: Margin requirements are calculated based on a risk-based model. Customers must maintain account equity of USD 100,000. Also IBKR is known t...
by German Expat
Thu Dec 01, 2022 9:59 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Margin loan - comfort level
Replies: 28
Views: 2312

Re: Margin loan - comfort level

Assuming you have Portfolio Margin enabled with total stock market I would feel comfortable with 35%. Without portfolio margin I would stay further away.
by German Expat
Mon Nov 21, 2022 2:01 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: iBonds [How are they viewed as part of your portfolio strategy?]
Replies: 35
Views: 3919

Re: iBonds [How are they viewed as part of your portfolio strategy?]

My emergency fund is not part of my asset allocation. I do consider iBonds part of my fixed income allocation (with the low limits not a large part but plan to keep buying). I like the additional flexibility after 1 year and also the option being able to use them for education expenses.
by German Expat
Wed Nov 09, 2022 5:23 am
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: High Earners in Europe - What do you do for a living (and are there jobs with similar pay as in the US)?
Replies: 118
Views: 20104

Re: High Earners in Europe - What do you do for a living (and are there jobs with similar pay as in the US)?

Somebody else above already made the same point. In a lot of European countries the salaries for the top earners tend to be lower while the 'middle salaries' tend to be higher. Also Europe the differences between the countries are very high for the same job with Switzerland being the highest one. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_European_countries_by_average_wage There are jobs with similar pay and the jobs tend to be the same ones as in the US. Top management, doctors, IT at e.g. Google. You can see those salaries e.g. for Google on glassdoor if you look at them for Zurich, Switzerland. Here are examples of salaries in Switzerland: http://www.salaryexplorer.com/salary-survey.php?loc=210&loctype=1&job=18&jobtype=2 https://w...
by German Expat
Tue Oct 25, 2022 1:54 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: proper modern way to make international voice call?
Replies: 6
Views: 896

Re: proper modern way to make international voice call?

You could also download the google voice app to your smartphone and use it from there. If you follow the link inside the 2 links I posted below you can see Hungary is 4 cents per minute to call a regular landline.

Here is the link for Android setup:

https://support.google.com/voice/answer ... %3DAndroid

Same link for IOS:

https://support.google.com/voice/answer ... form%3DiOS

I also prefer google voice for 2FA because of no SIM swap is possible. Obviously protect your google account very well. Also sometimes (not recently at least for me) there were issues with SMS not arriving if you used google voice for 2FA.
by German Expat
Mon Oct 24, 2022 3:00 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Divorce Sposal Social Security
Replies: 7
Views: 1204

Re: Divorce Sposal Social Security

Here is the respective information on the social security website:

https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement ... or%20older.

Assuming high income she might not be able to claim based on her former husband's PIA.
by German Expat
Sat Oct 22, 2022 8:19 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Interactive Brokers and finding Cost Basis for Capital Gains/Losses
Replies: 1
Views: 402

Re: Interactive Brokers and finding Cost Basis for Capital Gains/Losses

You can try to go to 'Performance and Reports' and then select Flex Queries. You can then add a new flex query with + and select Trades as an option. You can just select all fields with lot details and export it as a CSV file and use Excel afterwards. Then run it. It probably won't go back far enough though because I can only see 365 days back but my (new) account is not even 1 year old.
by German Expat
Thu Oct 20, 2022 4:48 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: US family potential relocation to Zurich
Replies: 21
Views: 3597

Re: US family potential relocation to Zurich

I was going to start my own thread on this, but OP might find it valuable as well (if not, feel free to tell me to buzz off). Does anyone have recommendations for things to do before moving? We intend on our pre-transfer visit to look at schools, daycares, and the cities around her work. What else should we be looking at? With a car included, will that typically be a better option than the train for normal commuting? The answer to your commuting question will depend on the employer with availability of parking, easy access to public transportation and the traffic during the time you commute. Where is the company located? Zug? If so the city is a very expensive area for renting. I would have a general look at housing via e.g. this web site:...
by German Expat
Sun Oct 16, 2022 8:25 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: US family potential relocation to Zurich
Replies: 21
Views: 3597

Re: US family potential relocation to Zurich

I would reconsider the Montessori school if you want to stay for the long term. Swiss public schools are pretty good and free. Obviously your kids will need to learn German but it can also be an advantage because younger kids tend to pick it up quicker. This should save a substantial amount of money. Schools in Switzerland stayed open during most of Covid (only closed a couple weeks) and therefore required barely any homeschooling. You will need to make yourself familiar with the school system though because as MH2 wrote in Zurich itself Gymi is highly selective (a bit easier in neighboring cantons). Taxes MH2 posted a better link already. But don't forget that there are some issues that will hit you with US taxes: - Switzerland has a wealt...
by German Expat
Fri Oct 14, 2022 5:45 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: US family potential relocation to Zurich
Replies: 21
Views: 3597

Re: US family potential relocation to Zurich

Anyone with school-age kids living in Zurich? There is a potential job offer and we would love to know if any other US families have moved there and ask about costs for private school and housing (any way to get a backyard?). We would like to understand if the potential salary would allow us to have our desired lifestyle there. We moved to Zurich in 2014 and our son is now a senior at the Zurich International School (somebody did already post the link). We are on what is called the 'Silver coast' right outside Zurich near the international school (walking distance for our son). Our son was a bit too old for the Swiss school and we were not sure if we stay until or return to the US while he is still in school. Private schools are expensive ...
by German Expat
Mon Oct 10, 2022 4:18 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Which currency should my bond funds be in, if I don't know my future home currency?
Replies: 4
Views: 472

Re: Which currency should my bond funds be in, if I don't know my future home currency?

We are US citizens in Switzerland and plan to stay until retirement but then probably return to the US. We did stay with US bonds in our investments because I could not stomach the negative interest rates in Switzerland. Also we will get a (small) pension in Switzerland do have our 2nd pillar (similar to a 401k except you can not choose your investments, it is relative conservative) as well.

We are 70/30 in our investments so the bond portion does not make a huge difference.

You could split between Euro, USD and Yen and hedge your bond investments. What is the percentage of bonds in your asset allocation?
by German Expat
Wed Oct 05, 2022 8:23 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Variable Percentage Withdrawal (VPW)
Replies: 2256
Views: 608571

Re: Variable Percentage Withdrawal (VPW)

First longinvest thank you very much for your detailed work and the spreadsheets. We plan to use VPW knowing it is variable and having relative small social security payments (being in 3 countries and not creating larger social security balances does not help). A lot of our savings are in taxable and some in 401k plans. We are ok with a 50% drop and will then act accordingly and reduce our spending. Obviously this only works if a lot of our spending is variable. If the market drops another 50% then we will have to drastically downsize (sell house, cars, move to a lower cost of living area into a cheap rental) but we still will eat more than Ramen every day. If it drops another 50% we all have a different issue anyway. I am aware that no wit...
by German Expat
Fri Sep 09, 2022 5:25 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: I bonds worth it as emergency fund?
Replies: 17
Views: 2143

Re: I bonds worth it as emergency fund?

Yes it is worth it assuming you have enough emergency funds available to bridge the 1 year. We started in May 2021, bought again in January 2022 and kept an emergency fund available but lowered the amount. We also have credit cards and worst case portfolio margin at IBKR. By January 2023 our emergency fund will be 0.
This might change later on if I-Bonds get less attractive but as somebody else already showed in the math we will still be ahead.
by German Expat
Tue Sep 06, 2022 12:07 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Absurd water bill
Replies: 38
Views: 4754

Re: Absurd water bill

How much water is used in one irrigation cycle? Compare the meter before and after and use minimal water in the house during this time. Then multiply it by the number of cycles you use in the quarter and see if this roughly matches the difference.
by German Expat
Sun Aug 28, 2022 4:26 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How to find a fiduciary financial advisor in my area?
Replies: 10
Views: 1726

Re: How to find a fiduciary financial advisor in my area?

Rick Ferry offers a flat fee consultation and you can see the details on his web site. No personal experience. Looks like there is a longer wait time though.
by German Expat
Fri Aug 26, 2022 9:08 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: PSA - LastPass breach!
Replies: 718
Views: 65096

Re: PSA - LastPass breach!

Whoever stole their code probably threatened to go public if they don’t pay up. So they had to go public.

As long as nobody inserted malicious code via the dev login that was hijacked and this code made it into production things should be safe. The company is able to figure this out and I assume it did not happen so your passwords and master are ok as long as they are not blatantly lying (doubt this very much).
by German Expat
Mon Aug 22, 2022 6:49 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Nomadic lifestyle to avoid (not evade) state income taxes
Replies: 52
Views: 5374

Re: Nomadic lifestyle to avoid (not evade) state income taxes

I assume she / he is not a US citizen, correct? Did you want to write 'state' or did you mean 'country'?

For country there are enough countries with no income tax and if you are not a US citizen pick one of those. e.g. Bermuda, UAE, Quatar, Bahamas, Monaco (e.g. a lot of Formula 1 drivers moved there). Residency requirements can be different but you could use those as a base and then travel the world (not staying long enough to have tax issues).

I know somebody that did move to Dubai and also know somebody else that moved to Hongkong (0 tax for him because his income is not territorial sourced) for tax reasons but both are not US citizen. Also not exactly low cost countries if you want a US standard of living.
by German Expat
Fri Aug 19, 2022 5:42 am
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: Consequence for SWR estimates of _not_ having USD as home currency.
Replies: 8
Views: 1112

Re: Consequence for SWR estimates of _not_ having USD as home currency.

We are currently in Switzerland might retire here. Actually with the current plan I will retire here and only when my wife retires a couple years later we will have a decision to make. We are investing still in the US with a high international portion of our stock part. Bonds is US only in our IRA's in the US but we do have some forced retirement plans in Switzerland (2nd pillar) in Swiss Francs. While the Swiss Franc is a currency that usually strengthens to the USD the inflation rate is much lower (3.4% in June 2022). This can offset some of the currency gains. We don't do anything special to hedge for it but plan to retire with more then we strictly need so there is a reserve in our numbers (while I plan to use VPW when we retire I use 3...
by German Expat
Wed Aug 17, 2022 10:55 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Auto drip coffeemaker optimized for 10-20 fl oz (300-600 ml)?
Replies: 44
Views: 3869

Re: Auto drip coffeemaker optimized for 10-20 fl oz (300-600 ml)?

One more vote for fully automatic and making it fresh but a carafe might not fit below but its not a big deal because you get the fresh coffee. If I go for a longer drive this is how I do it, get 2 cups from the automatic and fill them into a Contigo portable.
by German Expat
Sun Aug 07, 2022 3:14 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Banking in the US when outside of the US?
Replies: 41
Views: 3626

Re: Banking in the US when outside of the US?

The short version is keep an US address on file with them and don’t tell them you are not in the US. Also get a google voice number for 2FA.
by German Expat
Sat Jul 23, 2022 3:29 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Potential expat assignment: what happens to Fidelity & Vanguard accounts?
Replies: 1
Views: 632

Re: Potential expat assignment: what happens to Fidelity & Vanguard accounts?

Hi Bogleheads, I am in the midst of interviewing for a potential expat assignment which will take me to either Tokyo, Singapore, or Sydney. The expat duration will be 3-4 years long. In the event it works out, what happens from an investing standpoint? Specifically: (1) I have retirement & brokerage accounts at Vanguard & Fidelity. I presume that I can leave those accounts as is? (2) Do I need a US address on those accounts? (3) Can I contribute to either the retirement and/or brokerage accounts while I am abroad? Any guidance from former/current expats on how investing works from abroad would be greatly appreciated! You can leave those accounts but use a US address and don’t tell them you are abroad. Get a google voice number and ...
by German Expat
Sat Jul 23, 2022 12:03 pm
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: Switzerland- paying back the house
Replies: 1
Views: 838

Re: Switzerland- paying back the house

I would invest it and only pay off the mortgage if the investments did well. Actually I would not pay it off. There is really no point to pay it back except if you can’t get a mortgage high enough after you retire. As you know savings accounts have no interest and cash in some banks is negative (might change soon).

Also you only have to pay it down to 2/3 and not 60 percent.
by German Expat
Wed Jul 20, 2022 2:12 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: convert Vanguard mutual funds for IB margin loan?
Replies: 11
Views: 1152

Re: convert Vanguard mutual funds for IB margin loan?

I would convert, ETF's are a lot more portable in case you want to change later on. I had a similar issue just recently and did convert to ETF's and then transferred those to IBKR to be able to get a margin loan if needed (looking at a home purchase).
With ETF's it is easier to transfer them to other brokers, they are easier to trade at IBKR (fees) and allow a higher margin.
It is one phone call to Vanguard and the change was quick.
by German Expat
Fri Jul 15, 2022 4:25 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Nashville Trip in Fall - Looking for High End Restaurants
Replies: 27
Views: 2519

Re: Nashville Trip in Fall - Looking for High End Restaurants

Etch is good near broadway. 12th south Locust is interesting.

You also have your usual high end steakhouses, e.g. Morton’s. Bourbon steakhouse has a nice location high up. Didn’t eat there myself yet.
by German Expat
Tue Jul 12, 2022 9:44 am
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: Safe(r) acct. where to move euros from Wise to hold short term?
Replies: 16
Views: 2946

Re: Safe(r) acct. where to move euros from Wise to hold short term?

I would assume you can move Euro's from Wise to IBKR but never tried it myself. I did move various currencies to my IBKR account from other banks and it works flawless. I would assume as long as you can transfer money from Wise it should work ok.

But keep in mind that currently at IBKR above 50k Euro there is a negative interest rate on Euros (on the Pro account it is -0.821%):

https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/a ... -rates.php
by German Expat
Tue Jul 12, 2022 6:04 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: The Fridge Fiasco
Replies: 34
Views: 3719

Re: The Fridge Fiasco

The main mistake you made is turning the fridge off and leaving the doors closed. As you discovered this will lead to mold. Best would have been to turn the fridge off (unplug), dry it out as good as you can and open both doors (make sure they stay open, put something in the doors so they won't close). Never leave a fridge closed when not running.

This way after your return you could have gotten the repair sorted out with a mold free fridge. Dependent on the repair you might have still needed a new fridge.
by German Expat
Tue Jul 12, 2022 5:20 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Land/Property value with homeless housing construction nearby
Replies: 46
Views: 4460

Re: Land/Property value with homeless housing construction nearby

Put it on the market and try to sell it. Assuming the property is worth 900k getting 3700 rent per month is not worth to keep it. Also except if you want to manage it for them you have to subtract a property management fee. It also sounds like they have no reserves so what happens if the air conditioner breaks on the rental or its empty for a while?

The new construction might not change the value at all except if its right next door. But then even a luxury high rise condo building could take the value down.

You did not state what the value of the house is, you only write about 900k sales price in order to keep the equity? How much equity do they have in the house assuming a 900k sales price (deduct the realtor fees)?
by German Expat
Mon Jun 13, 2022 8:55 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Au pair vs Nanny vs other option?
Replies: 19
Views: 2400

Re: Au pair vs Nanny vs other option?

You are looking for help/daycare from 6am to 8pm. That's 14 hours per day, which is a lot - probably close to the entire waking hours for the kids. I would consider looking for a full-time nanny that is willing to work long hours as a starting point. Asking someone to work anything close to 6am - 8pm hours would be insane, but you could probably find someone willing to work from say 8am-6pm regular hours and perhaps flex a bit more as needed. It will be more expensive than 2 kids in daycare, but it may not be that much more and if you find the right person it very well could be worth it for your situation. And if that full-tine nanny isn't enough then maybe find a neighborhood kid who is willing to work as a "mother's helper" on ...
by German Expat
Sun Jun 12, 2022 1:51 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Au pair vs Nanny vs other option?
Replies: 19
Views: 2400

Re: Au pair vs Nanny vs other option?

We had many Au Pairs over the years and if you have the space and select well (and have some luck) the arrangement can work well. We had a spare car for them and part of the task was to drive from and to daycare and later on school. We mainly picked Germans because of language but also driving education is quite good there. For us driving was a big help and needed. There were some issues over the years but nothing major. You will have somebody at your house all the time so be aware that you are almost getting a 3rd older child. Also usually they stay for 1 year so you need to get used to new ones. Costs went up since then and you can see them on the Au Pair websites (e.g. au pair in America). Also there are maximum hours per week and vacati...
by German Expat
Tue May 10, 2022 8:04 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Unique Europe Travel Opportunity
Replies: 33
Views: 3276

Re: Unique Europe Travel Opportunity

Can you tell us what your 'home base' is and how many weeks you have? Dependent where you are you could also look at low cost airfare options. If you are ok with lower cost lodging options you could add a lot more countries. Close to Germany are Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland, France, Denmark, Poland, .... Also a lot of cities in Germany are nice dependent what you like, or country side e.g. in Bavaria looking at castles or mountains. Do you prefer nature or city or like to see both? Germany Berlin and Munich are great options for other larger cities in Germany. If you book train rides (a bit tricky with their pricing model to figure out the lowest costs) or flights early enough you can get very good deals. I would plan ahead of tim...
by German Expat
Tue May 10, 2022 1:34 am
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: Charles Schwab brokerage funding in foreign currency
Replies: 16
Views: 2838

Re: Charles Schwab brokerage funding in foreign currency

Those are the steps I did as well but I use now IBKR since quite a while because of the low limits for the free Revolut account. Seems like they did add outbound ACH fees / not waive it anymore for USD. This is what I found on their web site and looks like you get charged a max. of 6 USD for the ACH transfer. Can you confirm? Interested to know it for the future in case IBKR is not useful for me anymore. https://www.revolut.com/en-US/help/making-payments/sending-money-to-a-bank-account/will-i-be-charged-for-transferring-money All Revolut users will get ten international transfers or domestic transfer of non USD currency per month without incurring the following fees. Any number of transfers above ten each month will incur charges at the fol...
by German Expat
Wed May 04, 2022 3:36 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: I've never seen anything like this listed on Slickdeals [US Treasury I Savings Bonds]
Replies: 12
Views: 3578

Re: I've never seen anything like this listed on Slickdeals

Missing fatwallet finance as well and never found a replacement for it.