Search found 682 matches

by NoVa Lurker
Thu Mar 31, 2016 8:58 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Do you pay for yardwork?
Replies: 71
Views: 11225

Re: Do you pay for yardwork?

I do the weekly work myself. I like to mow. We have a little over 1/4 acre plot, but our house has a big footprint, we have a semi-circular driveway, lots of mulched, planted areas, etc., so the grass areas are not that big. We pay once a year, usually around $600, for some combination of tree-trimming, mulching, edging -- usually in the fall if trimming is the priority, spring if edging is the priority. In addition to the mowing, I do a ton of other work myself - leaf gathering year-round (we have a huge evergreen magnolia that mostly drops in the spring and early summer, and a bunch of conventional elms/oaks/birches); re-seeding and overseeding; occasional weed-killer, fertilizer and lime treatments; pulling weeds and moss; and collecting...
by NoVa Lurker
Wed Mar 30, 2016 11:51 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Europe Trip in August
Replies: 99
Views: 11449

Re: Europe Trip in August

Don't cancel if you're otherwise looking forward to it! Went to Italy, France and Switzerland in October 2001, after my friend found very cheap airfare. I remember how worried our families were, still shaken by 9/11. We had an amazing trip, and most of the touristy places were not that crowded. I am not a risk-taking person, but I travel outside the U.S. for work about eight weeks a year, almost exclusively in developing countries that always have travel warnings. I have been close to a couple of incidents, but nothing ever that directly involved me. I take reasonable precautions (I wouldn't walk at night in a bad neighborhood by myself, anywhere) would never cancel a trip unless an area was truly on the brink of war. Even during elections,...
by NoVa Lurker
Wed Mar 30, 2016 8:19 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How to decide how much to spend on a house?
Replies: 22
Views: 4539

Re: How to decide how much to spend on a house?

If I were you and had the money in non-retirement accounts, and were otherwise in good shape financially, I would probably spend the money to improve the commute, if the rest of your family is on board with moving. But you should understand that you are losing liquidity and probably taking on more risk in the bargain. Something to consider is that the price of a "home" really has two components - the land and the structure. The structure is certainly a depreciating asset. There is no question about this - things break down over time, and fashions change. With land value, the future change is uncertain. If the local economy prospers, a particular area is seen as a desirable place to live (good schools, good access to jobs/transit, ...
by NoVa Lurker
Tue Mar 29, 2016 2:37 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: .
Replies: 20
Views: 2277

Re: Competing Offers when Selling Home

Just put our vacation home on the market today; crossing our fingers that there will be interest.

OP - Your problem is a good one to have!! My vote would be along the lines of what bigred77 suggested. It is hard for me to imagine any legitimate, prospective buyer who will take the trouble to bid and then pull the offer in less than a week, simply because you did not accept it prior to a previously-scheduled open house.
by NoVa Lurker
Tue Mar 08, 2016 2:16 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: We paid off our mortgage ...what to do with the extra money each month?
Replies: 28
Views: 5290

Re: We paid off our mortgage ...what to do with the extra money each month?

"Whatever you do with the extra cash, TELL NO ONE about the paid-off mortgage," is the best advice in this thread. It also might be the hardest to follow.
by NoVa Lurker
Fri Feb 19, 2016 7:20 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Best Way to Save for New Larger House
Replies: 3
Views: 773

Re: Best Way to Save for New Larger House

I agree with your approach of paying down your mortgage. Even factoring in the tax benefit on mortgage interest, you're getting a no-risk return over 2.5% on amounts you pay off. Right now, any investment that beats that is going to come with risk, and you don't want to take much risk with funds that you may need in 4 years. The only other factor is that, by paying down the mortgage instead of keeping your savings liquid, you'll need to sell Home #1 in order to buy Home #2. But I assume you've already concluded that you need to do that anyway. You may also want to look into a no-cost refinance into a 15-year mortgage, or some type of ARM, to lower your rate. 3.5% is great historically but not great right now, and since you're only planning ...
by NoVa Lurker
Thu Feb 11, 2016 1:48 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The 10 Year Treasury is at 1.60
Replies: 25
Views: 3688

Re: The 10 Year Treasury is at 1.60

10 year treasury is down something close to 20% since Fed Funds rate was bumped up. What is the end result, at least right now, of the fed funds bump if all other interest rates are falling? It seems like it only hurt Borrowers borrowing off that rate and conversely helped commercial banks. If all other interest rates are falling, has there been any benefit to bond-buyers due to the fed funds rate increase? We can't really say it has helped consumer home owners with their Mortgages as those are more governed by middle term rates from my understanding. Genuinely interested in understanding this situation and who benefits/who is impacted currently. You might be interested in reading Ben Bernanke's blog, starting with this post: http://www.br...
by NoVa Lurker
Thu Feb 11, 2016 1:40 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The 10 Year Treasury is at 1.60
Replies: 25
Views: 3688

Re: The 10 Year Treasury is at 1.60

patrick013 wrote:The rates can't go lower to "help" the economy
that's for sure.
Why not?
by NoVa Lurker
Thu Feb 11, 2016 7:35 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Boglehead mentality re todays oil price
Replies: 85
Views: 9862

Re: Boglehead mentality re todays oil price

If you think the price of oil is bound to go back up, you may want to read the following before putting your money behind that bet:

http://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/pdf/sp ... r-dale.pdf

This is the Chief Economist of BP, making a solid argument that low oil & gas prices may be here to stay. This is largely due to (1) the massive increase in shale oil production (mainly from fracking in the US, but there are lots of sources around the world that remain to be tapped), where supply can be increased or decreased rather quickly, at low marginal costs, and (2) impacts from climate change-driven regulation, which may be aimed to further depress demand for fossil fuels.
by NoVa Lurker
Mon Feb 08, 2016 10:24 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Adult Coloring Books
Replies: 16
Views: 2881

Re: Adult Coloring Books

I have no experience with adult coloring books, but I can see the appeal. When I offer my four-year-old son a bunch of options of what to do together (read, play soccer, build something with legos, etc.), I have been surprised to realize recently that I always hope he picks coloring. It's very relaxing, and I just don't have the energy for most of the stuff he wants to do. It's so nice to just sit and color with him.
by NoVa Lurker
Mon Feb 08, 2016 9:05 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Sibling's destination wedding?
Replies: 137
Views: 22126

Re: Sibling's destination wedding?

As long as your spouse is okay with spending the money, I would go, bring your whole family, and just look for some ways to limit the cost. This is your sibling, and it really is a once-in-a-lifetime thing.
by NoVa Lurker
Wed Feb 03, 2016 9:31 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Anybody budget for daycare like it is college?
Replies: 54
Views: 5897

Re: Anybody budget for daycare like it is college?

I don't have kids, but my wife and I have one on the way so we will be facing this issue head on. My main question as we address this is "what do the people who can't afford college-tuition-level daycare expenses do for their kids?" Just because I can afford it doesn't mean every problem should be solved by throwing money at it. People use in home or church daycares in my area if they can't afford more expensive options. Of course like most things, you get what you pay for. Friends of ours tried to save some money by using a in home daycare and all the person did was put their infant in a swing in front of the TV all day. Yep, there's a whole spectrum of options, but relying on neighbors and relatives is just impossible with babi...
by NoVa Lurker
Mon Dec 28, 2015 10:13 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: A week in Lake Como, Italy
Replies: 10
Views: 2264

Re: A week in Lake Como, Italy

Jealous. Was in the Lake Como area for just a few days, 15 years ago. Still have very fond memories of those days. I imagine any advice I would give is outdated. Have an amazing time!
by NoVa Lurker
Mon Dec 14, 2015 1:34 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Dealing with rental house we don't want anymore but is profitable
Replies: 22
Views: 3647

Re: Dealing with rental house we don't want anymore but is profitable

magneto wrote:"I mostly want to not have the house because we don't want the maintenance liability hanging over us anymore when we are not there in person to make sure we're getting a fair shake."

Think that probably answers the question.
Yep, life is short, and a rental property is not a completely passive investment; it can be a huge pain when a major maintenance event occurs. In my view, OP has the right instinct to sell and move on.
by NoVa Lurker
Mon Dec 14, 2015 12:14 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Any Biglaw attorneys on the board?
Replies: 53
Views: 13196

Re: Any Biglaw attorneys on the board?

My current schedule is much more docile - typically in office by 8, leave between 5:30-6:30; work a few evenings at home after kids / wife go to bed. Sometimes a bit of work on weekend, but generally nothing that ruins the weekend. Wow, it looks like you've got things figured out and should stay in biglaw! I work roughly the same hours that you do, and I'm in-house at a large organization after leaving biglaw in 2009. We keep timesheets for internal billing purposes (it's quite depressing to still be filling these out), and I'm around 2200 hours "all-in" -- but that includes stuff you wouldn't bill out in a firm, like going to conferences, and it also limits billable travel time to a max of 8 hours per day. So if I fly from DC to...
by NoVa Lurker
Wed Dec 09, 2015 8:28 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Pay-off Car Loan or Pay-down Mortgage?
Replies: 21
Views: 4037

Re: Pay-off Car Loan or Pay-down Mortgage?

I don't necessarily disagree with any of the advice above, but 2.9% on the home loan is not that bad. Your time has value too, and I wouldn't devote a ton of effort to trying to get that 2.9% down to (for example) 2.625%, when you only have 7 years left on it (and maybe less, if you prepay a bit). I am as debt averse as the next boglehead, but $163k at 2.9% for a home mortgage and $17k at 1% for a car loan sounds pretty reasonable to me. I mean, if you said $180k for the home mortgage, nobody would question it. I would have voted to pay down the 2.9% loan ahead of the 1% loan, just because the 2.9% interest rate is more expensive. But it doesn't matter much in your situation, and it will be nice for you to have the extra cash flow once you ...
by NoVa Lurker
Wed Dec 02, 2015 11:58 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What am I missing ? ... Smart Phones $100 vs. $600
Replies: 65
Views: 12070

Re: What am I missing ? ... Smart Phones $100 vs. $600

Let's say the price difference is $480, and you only have the phone for 2 years. That's $20/month. (That's not exactly Boglehead-ish thinking, but it's very common thinking, and there's some logic to it.)

Many people can easily afford the luxury phone but find it tougher to justify/"afford" the luxury car.

I have an iphone 6, but my work pays for both the phone and the plan. I can pick any phone from a list. I have no real incentive to pick the cheaper model. I like the iphone 6. Not sure what I would buy if it was my own dime.
by NoVa Lurker
Thu Oct 15, 2015 12:43 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Bicycle commuting
Replies: 91
Views: 10150

Re: Bicycle commuting

But whether I'm a pedestrian or driver I hate cyclists... :) The safety rule-of-thumb I always go by is that if you're on a motorcycle, you should drive as if the cars can't see you. If you're on a bicycle, you should drive as if the cars can see you... and are actively trying to kill you. :P This is actually true. I can't tell you the number of times cars will try to play "chicken" with me. Sometimes it is bleeding over into the bike lane. Sometimes it is pulling way over the line at a stop light. Sometimes it is pulling to the side to block me from passing them at a turn. Sometimes it is honking randomly just to scare me. Drivers really *do* feel entitled to lanes and get weird enjoyment out of trying to slow you down or scare ...
by NoVa Lurker
Thu Oct 15, 2015 12:30 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 50% pay increase to move from family, 5 years from retirment
Replies: 27
Views: 3393

Re: 50% pay increase to move from family, 5 years from retirment

Echoing the other responses - will you have your weekends free? If so, a 3-hour drive is not a bad distance.

My wife and I have young boys, and my parents are 2.5 hours away. It's a good distance for a bunch of reasons. They have their own lives, and they honestly don't have the stamina to spend hours with the boys on a regular basis. We see them a little more often than once a month, and I think everyone regards that as about the right amount of time.
by NoVa Lurker
Wed Sep 30, 2015 8:41 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Car seat for 2+ year old
Replies: 16
Views: 1977

Re: Car seat for 2+ year old

In our two cars right now, we have three Britax Roundabouts and one Britax Frontier. They are all great. The Frontier feels like more of a "big kids" car seat, but even for our 4-year-old, we actually like the Roundabout better, because he can rest his head to the side more easily, and sleep in it on long car rides. A couple years ago, we bought a Diono Radian, and we returned it. It has a slimmer profile, so you can fit an adult plus two kids in the backseat, but it is less comfortable for smaller kids on long rides, exactly because it's so narrow. We had Graco Snugrides when the kids were younger, and the installation (whether LATCH or seat belt) was a lot more difficult than the Britax. I would suspect that things have improved...
by NoVa Lurker
Mon Sep 28, 2015 7:42 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Hiring plumber before house purchase
Replies: 11
Views: 1053

Re: Hiring plumber before house purchase

climber2020 wrote:Absolutely a case of nerves. This is a first home purchase, so of course I'm expecting the house to crack in half the minute they hand over the keys. Thanks for calling it like it is :beer
When we bought our first home, the basement flooded the morning we moved in. (It was - and is - a nice, finished basement.) We will never forget the deflating feeling of looking at a huge wet spot on the carpet at the bottom of the basement stairs.

More than five years later, we think we've finally solved our basement water issues, but it took a few years, thousands of dollars, and a lot of effort and uncertainty.

Enjoy home ownership!
by NoVa Lurker
Mon Sep 21, 2015 7:45 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: I simply want to beat inflation with my cash savings
Replies: 34
Views: 5781

Re: I simply want to beat inflation with my cash savings

Carpentermaass84, maybe you need a new approach. We always recommend investors hold an emergency fund. This is for money that may be needed immediately, or in a week, or a month, or even longer if employment suddenly disappears. Depending on a few factors such as job security and spouse working, the fund should hold maybe 3 months expenditures and up to 6 months or more. You might also have a separate account to save up for some goal other than retirement. It would be pretty difficult to beat inflation by much, if at all, in these types of accounts because the money must be available. If you have several months of needed income saved up, you could add some type of fund that would boost returns a bit, but you don't want dividend-paying stoc...
by NoVa Lurker
Wed Sep 16, 2015 8:21 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Should I leave Federal Job for a Private Sector Job?
Replies: 40
Views: 9023

Re: Should I leave Federal Job for a Private Sector Job?

So, please excuse this rather blunt question; but, what specifically in your background qualifies you for this job and a 65% increase in pay? I don't doubt your competence; I'm more concerned about why they want you. And, to a more important matter, how long do you think that your competitive advantage will last. Until the next election? Until ... Just to note that it's not really a 65% pay increase. Once you factor in pension, leave, and other benefits, and assuming that the hours will be longer in the private sector job -- especially with up to 50% travel -- the per-hour compensation is probably roughly equal (and may even be higher at the federal job, depending on the assumptions you use to present-value the pension) UNTIL you factor in...
by NoVa Lurker
Tue Sep 15, 2015 11:39 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Bids on Home Project
Replies: 6
Views: 835

Re: Bids on Home Project

Certainly, if you got a better impression from the $3400 bid and want to work with them, it is fair to explain that you want to use them, but you got another bid for $2700, and ask can they lower the price a bit?
by NoVa Lurker
Tue Sep 15, 2015 11:36 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Pay mortgage up front for a year?
Replies: 23
Views: 16167

Re: Pay mortgage up front for a year?

Let's say I have a $1,000 / month mortgage at 4%. I have $12,000 in the bank for the mortgage payments earning 1% interest. Is there an option to pay 12 months of mortgage payments all at once and would it be worthwhile? I have pre-paid my mortgage a few months ahead of time when I was traveling by making a payment then the next day making another online payment. You have to make sure that the right box is checked to have the payment applied to your next mortgage payment and not to principal. I don't know if that saved me any interest or not. Even if it did it likely would not be much since 1/12 of 4% for $1,000 would only be about $3. Years ago, I had the reverse experience with PenFed - I intended to apply a prepayment to principal, but ...
by NoVa Lurker
Wed Sep 02, 2015 2:53 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Can the market go up forever?
Replies: 80
Views: 10102

Re: Can the market go up forever?

Stonebr wrote:If M2 money supply grows at a real rate of 2% per year, in about 4000 years there will be more dollars than there are atoms on planet Earth. Get the picture?
I am not much for predictions of the future, but physical money will likely be phased out in much less than 4000 years.

I don't see how M2 could possibly be a growth constraint, as you seem to be implying. It's simply a unit of account.
by NoVa Lurker
Wed Sep 02, 2015 1:54 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Home Equity When Estimating Savings for Retirement
Replies: 47
Views: 5437

Re: Home Equity When Estimating Savings for Retirement

Right, we don't count home equity at all. We might downsize a bit in retirement, especially because we currently live in a relatively high-priced metro area, but we don't want to depend on that.

However, we do assume that our mortgage will be fully repaid. As a result, our projected expenses in retirement include property taxes, insurance, and maintenance/repairs, but they do not include mortgage principal or interest payments.
by NoVa Lurker
Wed Sep 02, 2015 12:51 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Large short term market swings - why?
Replies: 10
Views: 1242

Re: Large short term market swings - why?

You may enjoy this somewhat old academic paper -- Why Does the Stock Market Fluctuate?, by Robert Barsky and Brad Delong -- which I believe still holds up well:

http://delong.typepad.com/fluctuate.pdf

Basically, the idea is that stock prices are derived from the present value of dividends that will be paid on the underlying shares (or the present value of profits that are retained as earning instead of being paid as dividends on the shares). But nobody really knows what those future streams will be. Changes in information today can have massive impacts on our expectations (both rational and irrational) of these future streams.
by NoVa Lurker
Mon Aug 24, 2015 11:48 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Tax deduction on co-owned property?
Replies: 4
Views: 487

Re: Tax deduction on co-owned property?

Answer to your actual question (with the caveat that I am not a tax expert, but we did co-own a property for 7 years): it depends on who pays what. For example, if you are splitting everything 50-50 on the second unit (including property taxes and interest), then you would split the deductions 50-50 on the second unit as well. What I really want to say (similar to inbox788's second half): you probably should not co-own with "some friends." The problem is that it can be hard to make decisions together with co-owners, and people's interests can change over time. What if somebody loses their job and wants to sell? What if they just realize they want their principal back, at a time when you don't want to sell and can't easily buy them...
by NoVa Lurker
Thu Aug 20, 2015 8:12 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: (Seriously) What exactly is meant by the phrase "interest rates," plural?
Replies: 9
Views: 1291

Re: (Seriously) What exactly is meant by the phrase "interest rates," plural?

Well, I can tell you what I always thought it meant. I could be misunderstanding it, though.

I have always taken this to mean that, when the Fed takes action, the effect is to raise/lower interest rates for many different types of instruments and trades. So the phrase "interest rates" makes sense regardless of the direct action taken by the Fed.

Technically, the Fed doesn't even set the fed funds rate, which is the rate it "controls" most directly. (It controls it primarily by buying and selling securities, but it has other tools, as well.) But if the Fed takes action that results in the fed funds rate increasing, you can bet (and the Fed very well understands) that interest rates will increase across the board.
by NoVa Lurker
Mon Aug 17, 2015 12:03 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Cash in the house
Replies: 80
Views: 10381

Re: Cash in the house

I always have ~$1k on my person. Especially when travelling. Just hope you're not stopped by the police. They'll confiscate it under "forfeiture" laws. Any more then about $300 is considered to be suspicious and they can and will take it. Baloney. This is quite untrue in the US as regards being stopped for a moving violation. In fifty years of driving, I've been pulled over a few times and never did they check my wallet to see how thick a stack of $100s I had. Now if they discover a quantity of illegal drugs along with a pile of cash, it's a different story... You may not have seen the rash of articles on abuse of civil forfeiture laws over the past few years, including where police have taken cash from people at routine traffic ...
by NoVa Lurker
Tue Aug 11, 2015 11:22 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: SS withholding
Replies: 22
Views: 2439

Re: SS withholding

I don't see how SS withholding is particularly advantageous, vs. quarterly estimated payments. Quarterly estimated tax "filings" are not required; you just pay. To be clear, you can use a worksheet to estimate what you owe, but you don't actually file the worksheet. In this respect, our state (Virginia) works the same as federal. You can pay online very easily (using the EFTPS site for federal). Here's the publication for federal: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040es.pdf I don't even use the worksheet anymore. I just make rough-ballpark federal and state payments every quarter, and it takes me about 10 minutes each time, 4 times a year. I over-estimate so we won't owe any penalties, and then we get it back with a refund every ye...
by NoVa Lurker
Mon Aug 10, 2015 8:27 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Should I buy a car?, baby on the way.
Replies: 28
Views: 3330

Re: Should I buy a car?, baby on the way.

As others have said, it depends on where you live and how good the public transit is. And, in any case, you can certainly wait and buy a car later. We live in Northern Virginia. We have a metro stop a 10-minute walk from our home and two bus stops closer than that. I bike or metro to work in DC (have literally never driven in to work since we moved to our house). My wife only works 2.5 miles from our house, but it's a tangle of freeways and off-ramps to get there, so she drives - it would not be a pleasant bike ride or walk. We stuck with one car for the family after becoming parents, and when I needed the car I would just drop off my wife at work. We finally "admitted defeat" when our first kid turned 2 years old and the second k...
by NoVa Lurker
Wed Aug 05, 2015 3:20 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Have you ever encountered hostility because people think you're "rich"?
Replies: 71
Views: 9085

Re: Have you ever encountered hostility because people think you're "rich"?

Index Fan wrote:
JW Nearly Retired wrote: If you have anything remotely like comfortable retirement savings tell no one. Especially gossipy friends and family.

Truer words were never spoken.
Yes, this is absolutely an actionable topic, and the action is: do not say anything that gives friends and family a sense of your assets and liabilities.
by NoVa Lurker
Wed Aug 05, 2015 3:12 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Recently Became Landlord
Replies: 24
Views: 2494

Re: Recently Became Landlord

Advice above is good.

Other stuff depends a lot on what you mean by landlord. What's the property? How many units and what kind of rentals? Do you have/need a property manager? Are you doing this full-time? How dependent are you on the cash flow? What's the rest of your financial situation?

For example, if it's one unit in a nice area, and a long-term rental (let's say you inherited a SFH, and a family lives there, and you don't want to kick them out), I would not form an LLC. It just wouldn't be worth it. But in other landlord scenarios, it might be a very good idea.
by NoVa Lurker
Tue Aug 04, 2015 8:19 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Crab Grass
Replies: 33
Views: 4900

Re: Crab Grass

Also, here is an example of a simple aerator: http://www.amazon.com/Yard-Butler-ID-6C ... ds=aerator

It takes some effort to use this, especially in the fall, but it makes a big difference for the yard.
by NoVa Lurker
Tue Aug 04, 2015 8:17 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Crab Grass
Replies: 33
Views: 4900

Re: Crab Grass

Lots of good advice in this thread, but Boglegrapher matches exactly what I would do. If you don't want to rent equipment, you can do the following (in the place of step 1 in Boglegrapher's post): 1. If you haven't already, buy and use a simple aerator at the end of August. 2. Around the beginning of September, after a rainfall, just use a regular rake around your yard to pull up the grass and crabgrass a bit, and loosen the soil a bit. 3. Lay the new grass seed over your entire yard, and make sure you have enough good soil to cover it. 4. Water throughout September, and try to keep your yard free of big leaves. 5. In the spring, follow step 2 from Boglegrapher's post. Your yard may look weird all winter, since the new grass will probably b...
by NoVa Lurker
Wed Jun 24, 2015 9:41 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Money arguments with spouse and how did you resolve
Replies: 72
Views: 14841

Re: Money arguments with spouse and how did you resolve

did you have money issues with your spouse and how did you resolve and how quickly. Yes, we talk about money issues after the kids go to sleep. We have never had anything we could not resolve relatively quickly. We are lucky that we have similar views in general. The only exception was after we got engaged but before we got married. I got a big year-end bonus at work, and I gifted my brother the exact amount of money to buy a good used car - he was just about to buy a used Honda Civic, but he was going to get a loan, except it was at a high interest rate because it wasn't through a dealer. So I just gifted him that money. I did not tell my now-wife until after the fact. [As brief background, my brother was valedictorian in high school and ...
by NoVa Lurker
Wed Jun 24, 2015 9:25 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Rent or Sell House with ~$300K capital gain?
Replies: 14
Views: 4224

Re: Rent or Sell House with ~$300K capital gain?

Unless you want to move back into the house I'd probably sell. Being a LL is anything but passive income even if you use a PM. It's not just the tenant issues but on-going maintenance and capital repairs. Right now I probably have the best tenants I've ever had. My husband and I have three full-time rentals and one vacation rental which is managed by a PM. Between managing the tenants, repairs and the bookkeeping I have a part time job. I'm not complaining; I told my husband before we got married that I wanted to own real estate. But it is a fair amount of work. In addition, there is the market risk of the asset. For sure we will go through another business cycle like we do about every 10 years. Now is an up cycle. I'd take the money and r...
by NoVa Lurker
Wed Jun 17, 2015 10:58 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Disney World Orlando Advice
Replies: 36
Views: 12121

Re: Disney World Orlando Advice

Get familiar with DISboards.com and easywdw.com. Those are great resources and, if you spend enough time, all of your questions will be answered.

Even then, I am not sure it is possible to have a fun, reasonably-priced trip to Disney World between Xmas and New Year's - the crowds may just be too overwhelming - but at least the advice on those sites will give you the best shot. For starters, "the park" is really four parks, at least.

On your specific questions, there are pluses and minuses to every option. I would certainly not do a meal plan.
by NoVa Lurker
Fri Jun 05, 2015 8:37 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: One million dollar home
Replies: 37
Views: 12281

Re: One million dollar home

Five years ago, we essentially did A ($700k old home plus about $200k in expected work), even though we could have done C ($1.1m or so new-build McMansion). We should have done C. Financially, we've spent much less than expected in doing the remodeling that we knew was necessary, but that has been offset by unforeseen problems. Our house was built in 1947, but it had 3 or 4 significant additions/remodels between then and when we bought it. We have learned that the original house had pretty good build quality - the remodels, not so much. We love our neighborhood and our neighbors, and the house is now in much better shape, but we know there will be more unpleasant surprises in the future. Overall, we don't want to move, but in retrospect we ...
by NoVa Lurker
Thu Jun 04, 2015 1:51 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Divorcing over finances.
Replies: 70
Views: 9654

Re: Divorcing over finances.

We are doing all of the divorce paperwork through a paralegal in CA. She wants 35K and nothing else. She will be literally cashing that check today. We did not have kids. She has agreed not to take any of my increased 401K balance or pension, and nothing else. I haven't seen anybody else mention this, but have you already filed your Marital Settlement Agreement? You probably want to make sure to get that filed, in the hope of avoiding any future claims, especially if you think you are paying 35k and then nothing else in the future. Depending on a number of factors (the length of marriage, your relative incomes, her ability to work in the future), she may be able to claim a LOT more than 35k over time. In that sense, you are escaping cheaply.
by NoVa Lurker
Wed Jun 03, 2015 12:56 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Quit high paying job to be stay at home parent?
Replies: 44
Views: 11338

Re: Quit high paying job to be stay at home parent?

OP - What you suggest seems possible, but it doesn't seem like the best approach, for a few reasons. If you are planning to have your first child in three years, and you are unhappy in your job now, that means either three more years of working in an unhappy job, or it's three years to find and establish yourself somewhere else. Why not try really hard to find a new job, even at the expense of a drastic pay cut? You don't seem to need a ton of money, but relying on only your husband's income doesn't make sense, over the long-term. Your potential working career is long, compared to the number of years that you'll likely be happy and satisfied as a stay-at-home mom. Now, you might love it, but you might not. Similarly, it might end up working...
by NoVa Lurker
Wed Jun 03, 2015 10:27 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Going to Disney during "Jersey" Week
Replies: 6
Views: 1712

Re: Going to Disney during "Jersey" Week

The weather will probably be great.

Jersey week is still better than a lot of other times, but it will feel crowded to you. The parks are just a lot busier than they used to be, the resorts are actually more full in November than June (due to discounts and promotions), the new "Fastpass Plus" system has resulted in longer lines for a lot of the medium-sized attractions, and Disney has done a better job of convincing people to go year-round.

Do a ton of advance planning, especially with easywdw.com and disboards.com, and you will be fine. Have a great time!
by NoVa Lurker
Fri May 29, 2015 11:12 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Best Kid Toys
Replies: 32
Views: 9183

Re: Best Kid Toys

I have a son who turned 4 in April. For his birthday party, one of his friends gave him this Bat Cave: http://www.toysrus.com/buy/favorite-characters/fisher-price-imaginext-batcave-x7677-21655226 It is an understatement to say it has been a huge hit with our son. This is not the kind of toy we normally would have considered for him (our son is already kind of a "boy's boy," and my wife is kind of anti-superhero), but the friend's parents have three boys, and they obviously know what they're doing. My son has played with it non-stop for the past 6 weeks. He plays with it imaginatively, by himself or with friends when they come over. My wife forces him to stop occasionally to play with other stuff, go outside, read books with us, et...
by NoVa Lurker
Tue May 26, 2015 9:01 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Kitchen Remodeling and Microwave Food
Replies: 30
Views: 3432

Re: Kitchen Remodeling and Microwave Food

We did a full kitchen remodel last year. We lost our stovetop, oven, and built-in microwave for 4 weeks (they had estimated 5 weeks, and the work ended up taking almost 6 weeks, but they put in the appliances before the kitchen was completely done, so we could start using them again). OP, eight weeks seems like a long time for your kitchen appliances to be unusable. We have a pretty big kitchen, and it was completely gutted. The only things we kept were the existing lighting and some of the appliances, so it was a lot of work, and most of it was done by only two guys. We have an outdoor grill that we use about four times a week for half the year, but the remodel was in November-early December, and it was unseasonably cold most of the time, ...
by NoVa Lurker
Thu May 21, 2015 11:43 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Deleted
Replies: 17
Views: 6092

Re: homeowner vacancy insurance - yikes

Tell us more about the house, the neighborhood, and how long you expect the house to be on the market. Also, do you know whether the insurance is pro-rated, so that it would be around $600/month until you sell?

Without knowing more, since this was your family home, my initial thought is that you should just take the risk and self-insure. Vacancy insurance seems like it must suffer from the classic moral hazard -- the only people who will buy that insurance have a high expectation that the house will be victimized in some way while it is unattended. If we were to sell our home, for example, I could not imagine a squatter being able to enter the house at all, much less burning the house down.
by NoVa Lurker
Tue May 12, 2015 9:07 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is this a dumb thing to do? [Pied-a-terre to share with daughter]
Replies: 41
Views: 7107

Re: Is this a dumb thing to do?

Seems like you have the money to buy it in cash, without changing your lifestyle or retirement plans. Both you and your daughter would benefit from it, and it's hard to see any scenario where you'd be forced to sell any time soon due to financial circumstances. Do you have any other big-dollar purchases on the horizon? Also, mhc makes a good point -- might your daughter get annoyed with having dad as a roommate fairly regularly? If the answer to both of those is no, then - to answer your question - this does not seem like a dumb thing to do. Incidentally, I am surprised the real estate taxes and condo fees are that low in Cambridge, but that's definitely a plus. Your daughter's monthly payments would more than cover the marginal costs, if y...
by NoVa Lurker
Mon May 11, 2015 11:57 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Advisor: buy a nicer home pre-retirement
Replies: 31
Views: 7427

Re: Advisor: buy a nicer home pre-retirement

The other factor in his recommendation was to get a home we can live in even if we aren't in top physical shape years down the road, because our current home isn't great in that regard. He said if we wait until we're really in need of a home that's more senior-friendly, we're going to find it much more challenging and stressful to pull it off (fixing current home, finding new home, selling current home, moving, setting up new home, etc.) The latter part of the recommendation (quoted above) makes some sense to me. It's at least worth thinking about. The rest of it? No. Nice job paying off your mortgage. Buying more house than you need at this stage, as a financial investment, is generally a bad idea. There are many reasons why this is a bad...