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PVW

Just wait for the next bear market and all the "smart" money will flood back into active managed funds.

PVW

Back on February 23rd I made a $5000 additional principal payment on my mortgage. I used Chase's payment form and checked the box "additional principal." I did not include the regular mortgage payment of $1052.39 in the remittance. I recently looked at my payment records and noticed that instead of...

PVW

Almost all of my online shopping takes place at Amazon. Over the years, I've glanced at the sales tax calculation and it always looks accurate. Today, I placed an order online with a company that I believe is outside the US. I went to look at my invoice in my inbox after the purchase and noticed th...

PVW

Bitcoin makes you rich ???? Pls share your experiences. The last get rich scheme was GT Advanced Technologies. That was a real company that made real things. It didn't turn out well for the "investors". We're all gonna be rich: http://forum.thecontrarianinvestor.com/index.php?threads/gt-advanced-te...

PVW

I personally think investing is gambling. Agreed. And gambling is investing. We often see the following position in this forum: only Boglehead-style investing counts as real investing, whereas everything else is simply "speculating". I've wrongly perpetuated this falsehood myself, but I know now th...

PVW

If you are a mtn bike rider, there are many options. For a physical challenge, do a vertical mile starting in Tesuque and ride up the Windsor trail then to the top of the Santa Fe Ski area. You can also go the other direction. If you need a hot soak, take a scenic trip up to San Antonio hot springs ...

PVW

First, decide if you really want those 15 feet. Your actual house lot didn't change - it's just that your perceived size changed. Do you get any enjoyment out of those 15 feet? Do you think giving up those 15 feet will decrease your value?

PVW

Someone else mentioned that your mother likely qualifies for social security benefits on her ex husband's record. One aspect of this is survivor benefits - so a loss of alimony due to death might be somewhat offset by an increase in social security benefits.

PVW

https://finance.yahoo.com/video/hospitals-could-kill-health-insurance-173400158.html Woow, would this be a game changer? What do you think? It already happened in Pennsylvania with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center getting into the health insurance industry. Initially you might expect tha...

PVW

retire57 wrote: Thanks PVW for the suggestion. RLI worked out.

You're welcome.

PVW

pshonore wrote:I don't think window wells are designed to be water tight and in my case compounded the problem.

Right, but they should be designed to easily drain water out of the bottom so reducing the rate of water infiltration into the window well might solve the problem.

PVW

Hi- My neighbor's driveway is sloped towards my house and in heavy rains, I can see water running from his driveway straight into my window well. A few years ago, he replaced the driveway and it is higher than my window wells. In heavy rains, I've had water in my basement and have it documented tha...

PVW

My annual contribution equals about 4% of my portfolio. I expect annual market changes in the range of 10%, so 4% is significant. When daily or weekly market swings are equivalent to my annual contribution, then I might not notice the effects of my contributions. In another light, my annual savings ...

PVW

retire57 wrote:Must you have your vehicle insurance with one carrier in order to obtain umbrella insurance?

No
https://www.rlicorp.com/personal-umbrella-policy

PVW

So you don't want to talk to anyone in the Government about this? Some good info here. m Given your options, the best coyote deterrent would be stopping your neighbors from attracting them. If they are purposefully feeding wildlife, it's probably against the law and talking to someone in the govern...

PVW

Overstock has paid bitcoin bonuses to their employees.
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/bitcoin-friend ... es-1459424

PVW

IRS considers Virtual Currencies as property.

https://www.irs.gov/uac/newsroom/irs-vi ... y-guidance

PVW

Scenario, you want any assets that remain after you die to essentially vaporize so no one (person, institution, Government, Church, Charity) can benefit from them. Take it with you. By this I mean convert your estate value into cash and have it buried with you. Might have to do something elaborate ...

PVW

but you are aware that your employee committed fraud and you have done nothing to rectify the situation. If you do nothing you are aiding in fraud which would make you an accomplice. No, it wouldn't. There is no 'failure to report' law in Illinois that applies to this situation and to be an accesso...

PVW

As mentioned above, your dad has to use the IRS rules to determinewhether you are an independent contractor or an employee: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/independent-contractor-self-employed-or-employee If he follows the rules, he cannot arbitrarily pick one vs the ...

PVW

I am not a lawyer, but you are aware that your employee committed fraud and you have done nothing to rectify the situation. If you do nothing you are aiding in fraud which would make you an accomplice.

PVW

If it doesn't need to be that exact size, then aluminum sheet pans (full, half, quarter) are generally very reasonable at restaurant supply stores. But be careful, they can be a bit expensive for name or department store brands.

PVW

pascal wrote:Hindsight bias I suppose.

If you want to cure yourself of hindsight bias, make some predictions now and see how they do in the future. But then I guess there is the possibility your predictions will work out and you can easily mistake luck for skill.

PVW

Almost all "tax efficient" posts and articles point to Federal and state taxes. I have read nothing that refers to SS taxes efficiency (while working as an employee). Is there such a way to have this tax reduced? Trying not to be too political, but I'm happy to pay SS tax. This is one cas...

PVW

MP173 wrote: Is there an arbitration service to take this to, or should I contact a lawyer?

What does GM owe you? They weren't obliged to extend your warranty and they are not obliged to retroactively honor it.

PVW

Why? Is it a showstopper that MNF doesn't start until 8:30pm?? Everything seems to run "late", including the sunrise time. It is hard to explain in words, but every time we visit somewhere in the eastern time zone, things just feel "off." I agree. I lived most of my life in the ...

PVW

deskjockey wrote:If mitigation is needed, how quickly do I need to get it repaired

The EPA explains risk in terms of Radon levels and exposure over a lifetime. Given that timescale, as a tenant, I wouldn't be too concerned about a few extra months of exposure.

https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/fi ... _radon.pdf

PVW

Calculus, and the closely related field of differential equations, are what separate STEM from non-STEM. You don't need precalc to be successful, but I think it would be a shame to remove that opportunity just because some people on the internet said you should give up on helping your kid succeed in...

PVW

I was once billed for 15 minutes of time ($90) for a lawyer sending me a bill... but the bill had nothing on it except that 15 minutes of time for sending me that bill (for no services provided; hadn't talked to him in months). Charged to send me a bill for nothing else but the act of sending an ot...

PVW

I don't want to get lawyers involved In many cases, lawyers can help figure out who is in the wrong, but in this case I agree you probably don't want a lawyer. When it comes to drainage issues, you probably don't want to stick to the letter of the law and, without knowledge of your local laws, it's...

PVW

For an average 69 year old male, you have about a 71% chance of living to age 79. Your average life expectancy is about 15 years and you have about a 28% chance of living to 89. m Giving up some income to guarantee your pension payout for 10 years will not result in the highest expected return, but ...

PVW

If your other assets are (or will be) significantly greater than the value of this house, I recommend doing whatever feels right - e.g., if you both want to be "invested" in owning a home, then put both your names on the deed and mortgage, maybe you 2 are more comfortable with a landlord t...

PVW

I used to be an avid mountain biker in challenging terrain. The best piece of encouragement/advice I ever got was "learn to love the uphill ride". If your job is technical support, learn to love the incompetent people. They are job security. You will get noticed by both the incompetent peo...

PVW

If you are asking what you would expect to pay for healthcare if you didn't rely on any kind of insurance, then these studies might be useful (but a bit dated). Prudential estimates that from age 65, the average couple would spend about $200K. Which seem reasonable to include in your retirement savi...

PVW

I guess moth balls have pesticides in them that kills the moths. The poison is bad stuff and can kill all kinds of things. See below for links. I will be more careful putting them out to drive away animals. m m Good Luck. Thanks. Learn something new everyday. I had no idea mothballs were pesticides.

PVW

FWIW- Had a skunk give birth under our sun room. Threw 10 to 15 moth balls under the sun room porch and that night we watched the mother carry two babies, one at a time in her mouth out from under the porch. Also had a racoon move into our boat, and after scattering a bag of moth balls in the boat ...

PVW

No major problem with the amount of the bill. The concern is with the time with the doctor which was 5 minutes (no procedures, only talk, ordered some tests). What are you appealing? This statement indicates you are dissatisfied with the amount of time you spent with your doctor. What do you expect...

PVW

First be sure whether or not she would appreciate a gesture. I know an assistant (who is the brightest star in my sky) that is quite insulted by the special day.

Edited to add: Sorry OP, I didn't mean to attract the pedants and derail your thread.

PVW

RudyS wrote:BUT, I never complained to anyone other than my wife!

I agree with the general consensus that complaining about the boss is bad, but it can be very cathartic, especially if your boss is causing you stress. Find someone you can trust to complain to.

PVW

Another consideration is future inflation rate. A mortgage is an inflation hedge because you are paying off today's expenditures with tomorrow's inflated dollars. If you expect high inflation, then keep a low rate mortgage and vice versa.

PVW

Assuming this is just procrastination and your son will eventually file his own taxes, the IRS won't be too harsh and might provide the right motivation for your son. If your son is evading taxes, then this comes down to parenting advice for any other criminal behavior and each situation and parent/...

PVW

Without knowing the pension benefit, I would value it as 3% of salary. So it's worth about $3K per year.

PVW

The CEO's goal is probably to get in touch with average employees and to find out how they feel about working at your company. Give him what he wants. Prepare yourself (mentally or with notes) to discuss your role at the company and what you like and dislike about your work process. If you have any ...

PVW

If you want to hide the truth, you need a PR firm not a lawyer. Maybe some paid advertisement on Yelp will help improve your ratings.

PVW

Many of the benefits you are asking about are based on company policy, though there might be state laws for items like accrued leave. In any case, the details are probably in your employee manual or other company policy statements. At my company, there are no differences for employees terminating wh...

PVW

I am letting her be as much an adult and as independent as she can be for someone that still has no recognizable way to make a living. gasdoc Most adults in the US don't have college degrees and many of those that do have done it on their own financing, so "no recognizable way to make a living...

PVW

Since there is no indication on your w-2 that this is reimbursement for actual moving expenses, then this is just a bonus. Don't get confused by any mention of relocation or gross-up. They gave you $XX and withheld $YY for taxes. These numbers will be correctly reflected in your w-2 statement and th...

PVW

Your relocation bonus is taxable. But if you itemize, you can deduct actual moving expenses.

In short, the total amount of the bonus is treated like income.

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p521/ar02.html

PVW

I'm curious if, heading into retirement, how many people felt differently than their spouses about the necessary level of income? And if so, how did you reconcile? Because of some job changes and decisions in our 50's we now have two mortgages, and even in retirement don't see being able to elimina...

PVW

While property taxes may feel like a kickback that must be paid for the privileged of owning a home, you actually get something of value (public services) in return for the taxes. These things are part of the value of your home and it's location. When you sell your home, hopefully the value of these...

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