Search found 203 matches

by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Fri Apr 09, 2021 12:31 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Helping Mom With Social Security
Replies: 9
Views: 1258

Re: Helping Mom With Social Security

I used opensocialsecurity.com which is widely used and highly regarding on Bogleheads and got different (lesser) results than you did. This may of course be an input error on my part. I have included a link that encapsulates the data entered so that you can look at it and edit it if needed. Benefit calculated at 62 is $13,017 annually ($1085 monthly) comprised of $9,388 personal benefit and $3,629 spousal benefit. You will need to scroll to the bottom of the page to properly compare an age 62 start for your Mom and a start date for your Dad. The tool actually suggests age 65 and 1 months for your Mom with a benefit that closely matches what you believe she will get at 62. https://opensocialsecurity.com/?additionalInput=false&&disab...
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Fri Apr 09, 2021 10:20 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Helping Mom With Social Security
Replies: 9
Views: 1258

Helping Mom With Social Security

Howdy Bogleheads. I'm helping my mom claim social security soon and I want to sanity check against you guys to make sure she uses the best strategy. About her situation: My mom and dad were married for plenty of time (more than 10 years) and my dad was the breadwinner. They are now divorced. My mom has a serious health condition and is in a nursing home. She only worked a few years in her career. My dad has been working continuously at a professional job since graduating college and is still working. My mom wants to take social security as soon as she is eligible (next month). I wouldn't be able to persuade her otherwise even if I wanted to- I think in her situation it does make sense to claim as early as she can. The data: from https://www...
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Tue Apr 14, 2020 3:20 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Senators still Underperform When Stock-Picking
Replies: 1
Views: 408

Senators still Underperform When Stock-Picking

Per the academic paper abstract here:

https://www.nber.org/papers/w26975#fromrss

Notably "Stocks purchased by senators on average slightly underperform stocks in the same industry and size..." is interesting to me. Even with access to a certain amount of privileged information, senators still have not outperformed the market.

(Please stay away from politics w.r.t. forum rules in this thread). I find it notable that the folks in high office are more similar to than different from John Q. Public in this regard. I would have expected different results.
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Mon Mar 09, 2020 10:40 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The Liquidity Trap
Replies: 0
Views: 396

The Liquidity Trap

In light of currently low and falling bond yields, I thought it would be good to post about the liquidity trap. It is theoretically (per wikipedia):


a situation, described in Keynesian economics, in which, "after the rate of interest has fallen to a certain level, liquidity preference may become virtually absolute in the sense that almost everyone prefers holding cash rather than holding a debt which yields so low a rate of interest."


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquidity_trap


I see myself being averse to bonds in the current moment and I figure that this is relatable.
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Fri Feb 21, 2020 12:42 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How much should a college student save for when he graduates?
Replies: 14
Views: 1448

Re: How much should a college student save for when he graduates?

Probably oughta have $5k in the bank to cover an "oh crap" moment on top of security deposits, etc when you move. Amounts larger than this are gravy; amounts smaller than this are stressful.
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Thu Feb 20, 2020 10:46 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: "The "Everything Rally" Continues - Will this end badly?
Replies: 144
Views: 14916

Re: "The "Everything Rally" Continues - Will this end badly?

See that drop that just happened 10 minutes ago? Down about .8% now. You guys spooked the market! Please stop, don't need this spookiness today.
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Thu Feb 20, 2020 6:38 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Pet Peeve: Bar Keeper's Friend Clumping
Replies: 15
Views: 3867

Re: Pet Peeve: Bar Keeper's Friend Clumping

I really like the parmesan cheese container idea.
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Mon Feb 03, 2020 1:13 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Social Security Strategy for Divorced Mother
Replies: 7
Views: 1011

Re: Social Security Strategy for Divorced Mother

Thanks, folks, this is just the sort of information I was looking for.
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Mon Feb 03, 2020 10:38 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Social Security Strategy for Divorced Mother
Replies: 7
Views: 1011

Social Security Strategy for Divorced Mother

Howdy again Bogleheads. I'm power of attorney for my mother, and she is coming up on the age of 62 pretty soon. I have tried to research the best social security strategy for her and I have come up short on information. Please help me advise on this matter. Her situation: She and my father are divorced after a multi-decade marriage. My father is 5 years older than my mother. He is remarried but my mother is very unlikely to remarry. My father has a significantly larger earnings record than my mother. He has worked continuously in a professional career for over 40 years, my mother worked roughly ~10 or 15 years before becoming a housewife and ceasing employment. I've spent hours trying to find articles addressing similar situations and I've ...
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Wed Jan 08, 2020 7:55 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Firm mattress recommendations
Replies: 37
Views: 3651

Re: Firm mattress recommendations

My experience: I bought a very simple firm Haugesund mattress from IKEA. I did this knowing that it would likely feel too firm once I tried it for a while. This ended up being true, and I then added a memory foam mattress topper. If/When the mattress topper wears out, we can replace it inexpensively. The mattress underneath will still be fine. In my opinion the foam breaking down is what causes a mattress to sag, so if you get a simple spring mattress without a lot of foam, it will never sag. The Haugesund fits this profile.

The mattresses IKEA sells are perfectly fine, easy to transport, and are low-markup compared to a lot of products out there.

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/haugesund- ... -00307415/
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Tue Dec 17, 2019 12:05 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How to “file” a Sole Proprietorship?
Replies: 14
Views: 989

Re: How to “file” a Sole Proprietorship?

How does an independent contractor establish themselves as a sole proprietorship? Is there a form to fill out? It seems to me that most posters have not answered this question. So: -In most states in the U.S, you can file with your county register of deeds to get an "Assumed Business Name." Also known as a DBA (Do Business As). It might cost about $30 to file. If you are creating a sole proprietorship, this is the only paperwork- the entity that is your business is identical to yourself. -If your name is Jane Smith, and you want to create a business called, for example, "Jane Smith Architecture" you (generally) do not need to file for an assumed business name. If the name is "Synergistico" (does not include yo...
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Mon Dec 02, 2019 7:08 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: How to Understand Bond ETF Long Term Returns
Replies: 3
Views: 363

How to Understand Bond ETF Long Term Returns

Howdy Bogleheads. I've got 2 questions about the long term returns of bond funds. For our example, let's look at BLV (https://investor.vanguard.com/etf/profile/BLV). A naive investor might expect the total return graph would be a shallow exponential growth curve. In reality, when you look at the graph, it has a good bit of volatility up and down. I know that this volatility is because when interest rates change, the value of the bonds owned by the fund (for which the interest rate is already locked in) grows or shrinks because they will have more or less return than a newly purchased bond. It's also true that, maybe coincidentally, the price per unit has trended up over the last ~10 years. I don't know whether this is a coincidence or wheth...
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Mon Oct 28, 2019 3:12 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Popeyes Chicken Sandwich [is it a good value]
Replies: 40
Views: 2936

Re: Popeyes Chicken Sandwich [is it a good value]

Last I checked, the sandwich had a P/E (poultry/eating) ratio approaching 1.00. Almost every sandwich produced has been eaten.

The technicals here show a strong value.
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Fri Oct 18, 2019 11:33 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Key Ring
Replies: 11
Views: 1770

Re: Key Ring

Buy this 5-pack, wait 2 months for shipping, then enjoy them.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/5PCS-Stainless ... I&LH_BIN=1
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Wed Oct 16, 2019 2:57 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Mediate or Arbitrate?
Replies: 17
Views: 2857

Re: Mediate or Arbitrate?

Wow, thanks for the update. I'm curious, how much did the GC try to charge you for all the work that was done?
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Fri Oct 11, 2019 1:38 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Seiko Watch
Replies: 37
Views: 5049

Re: Seiko Watch

I would say that they are identical for most people, the solar charging is mostly a vanity feature. That being said, most features on watches are vanity features. Go for the solar, it's got better features at a lower price.

You may appreciate the solar more if you get it wet often- after changing my watch battery, the o-ring is a bit less trustworthy. It hasn't failed me yet, but every time I take it in a pool I get a wee bit of worry. With the solar, it will probably be over a decade before you have to change the battery.

Seiko makes a good watch at a good price.
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Tue Oct 08, 2019 2:09 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Gnarly defaulted Puerto Rico muni bond cost basis question
Replies: 3
Views: 800

Re: Gnarly defaulted Puerto Rico muni bond cost basis question

It is unclear to me whether the 38 cent payment represented 100% of the payments the insurer intends to pay. Could you clarify this?

(My thinking is that) if the insurer intends to eventually make the bondholders 100% whole,38% whole, or, for example, 60% whole, your tax question's answer will be different.

I'm not an expert on this topic though.
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Fri Aug 23, 2019 7:00 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: RE-OPENED for Good LightRoom Equivs: Best FOSS for Video Production, Audio Production, Photo Editing, and Office Suites?
Replies: 19
Views: 1895

Re: Best FOSS for Video Production, Audio Production, Photo Editing, and Office Suites?

I second Audacity for being an excellent audio editor. Free. I second GIMP for being an excellent photo editor. Free. Paint.net is another excellent photo editor. It is more lightweight/ less capable than GIMP, but still very capable. Free. Inkscape is an excellent vector graphics editor (to compare to Illustrator). Free. Open Broadcaster Studio is an excellent video recording software, with some video editing capabilities. Free. VLC Player is an excellent video player, with some (very limited, such as cutting individual clips, extracting/inserting audio, and changing formats) video editing capabilities. Free. ShotCut is an excellent video editor. It is sufficiently powerful to make almost any video you want. Free. As a general comment, I w...
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Fri Aug 16, 2019 11:46 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: GE shares tank more than 13% after Madoff whistleblower calls it a ‘bigger fraud than Enron'
Replies: 101
Views: 12958

Re: GE shares tank more than 13% after Madoff whistleblower calls it a ‘bigger fraud than Enron'

A Thursday evening filing with the SEC revealed that Culp bought 252,200 shares for about $7.93 each. Culp has roughly doubled his holding of GE shares this week, according to the filing. I'm more alarmed the CEO of GE only had $2m worth of stock before yesterday. Per, I think, this morning's WSJ, he'd bought $3M worth the day before. So if the statement is true that he's doubled his holdings, it's more like he went from $5M to $10M. And given that GE has been falling hard for a long time, his $5M may have been $8M or $10M or whatever, a year or so ago. GE stock is up 9.50% today as I write this, so it may end up recovering all of its losses from yesterday. Culp may make good on his bet. Price discovery is a heck of a thing...
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Fri Aug 16, 2019 9:50 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Any retired person have stocks and cash I was thinking about a 70/30
Replies: 61
Views: 6076

Re: I live a frugal life. I have 37 years annual expenses. What allocation would you pick? Age 50 Retired

[replies from the OP's duplicate topic were merged into this thread - moderator prudent]

Assuming you live in the US, I would recommend 30% US Total Stock Market Index, 30% World Ex US Total Stock Market Index, and 40% US Gov't Bond Index.
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Thu Aug 15, 2019 11:21 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: GE shares tank more than 13% after Madoff whistleblower calls it a ‘bigger fraud than Enron'
Replies: 101
Views: 12958

Re: GE shares tank more than 13% after Madoff whistleblower calls it a ‘bigger fraud than Enron'

Vanguard Fan 1367 wrote: Thu Aug 15, 2019 11:15 am There are so many laws about insider trading and other things involved with knowledge about how a stock could go. How could it be legal for a company to take a short position and then publish information that might make the stock tank?
I believe that there is a fairly large amount of case law about this, and it is fairly nuanced. Speculatively, it is probably fair to say that all of Markopolos's research material was sourced from publicly available documents. All he did was interpret this information in a more accurate way than most other researchers.

If he had access to priveleged internal documents it would be an issue.
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Thu Aug 15, 2019 11:04 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: GE shares tank more than 13% after Madoff whistleblower calls it a ‘bigger fraud than Enron'
Replies: 101
Views: 12958

Re: GE shares tank more than 13% after Madoff whistleblower calls it a ‘bigger fraud than Enron'

I do not have much to add to the story, more info is at the link below. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/15/ge-shares-drop-after-madoff-whistleblower-harry-markopolos-raises-red-flags-on-its-accounting.html The guy that did the whistleblowing is an interesting fellow- he is a forensic accountant. His claims should be credible. The market obviously thinks these claims are credible. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Markopolos You should edit to add that he has a short position against the stock. There is a financial interest here and that should be stated in the post. Edited, with a bit of additional detail. Yeah Markopolos seems to be quite a "finance vigilante." If he is accurate in the long run, he stands to profit by performing ...
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Thu Aug 15, 2019 10:42 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: GE shares tank more than 13% after Madoff whistleblower calls it a ‘bigger fraud than Enron'
Replies: 101
Views: 12958

GE shares tank more than 13% after Madoff whistleblower calls it a ‘bigger fraud than Enron'

I do not have much to add to the story, more info is at the link below. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/15/ge-shares-drop-after-madoff-whistleblower-harry-markopolos-raises-red-flags-on-its-accounting.html The guy that did the whistleblowing is an interesting fellow- he is a forensic accountant. His claims should be credible. The market obviously thinks these claims are credible. EDIT per advice of MichCPA: Markapolos also has a short position against GE. His general strategy of forensic accounting seems to involve researching companies heavily to discover potential fraud, and if found, taking a short position before releasing a report. His long run motives are obviously to be as accurate as possible to be believable, but his interests are app...
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Tue Aug 06, 2019 10:02 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Calibrating your Confidence and Why It Matters for Investing
Replies: 9
Views: 1147

Re: Calibrating your Confidence and Why It Matters for Investing

I am not sure I agree with this assessment. In fact, I have been a highly "confident" investor my whole life and consider myself a Boglehead. I am highly confident that over the extremely long term stocks will outperform bonds. So far, so good. Highly active traders very often have the same exact level of confidence, just in difference instances. As such, Bogleheads, in my opinion, have a much better calibrated confidence, in my opinion, not less confidence. This is a more fine grained distinction than I laid out in my original post, and I think it's worthwhile to break it down further. I think it is difficult to disentangle these four things: 1. How often you like to make predictions (informally, highly confident people often te...
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Mon Aug 05, 2019 9:03 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Calibrating your Confidence and Why It Matters for Investing
Replies: 9
Views: 1147

Calibrating your Confidence and Why It Matters for Investing

You may or may not have heard of the concept of "calibrating your confidence." It is a formal process to determine whether you successfully predict outcomes of events in proportion to how likely you believe these outcomes to occur. On another level, it also lets you know whether your model of the world is providing you useful, actionable, accurate information. You can imagine formalizing your predictions as follows: 1. "I have 70% confidence that the S&P500 will close at a higher level on August 6, 2020, than on August 6, 2019" 2. "I have 30% confidence that my incumbent state senator will win his reelection campaign." 3. "I have 5% confidence that Seabiscuit will win the triple crown." Let's imag...
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Fri Jul 26, 2019 11:58 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Equifax settlement: how to file claim?
Replies: 156
Views: 18100

Re: Equifax Settlement Claims

I imagine that capital one's free CreditWise service counts as "credit monitoring" by whatever criteria the settlement defines it by. It would be good to know for sure though.
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Fri Jul 12, 2019 2:56 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: A good name for a donor advised fund
Replies: 25
Views: 6712

Re: A good name for a donor advised fund

I sat here thinking about what to say, and "The Altruistish Fund" made me chuckle.
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Wed Jul 10, 2019 9:20 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: U.S. stocks continue to soar!
Replies: 22381
Views: 2119849

Re: S&P 500 hit 3,000 today

Today I will celebrate by eating 2 peanut butter sandwiches, not just 1.
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Tue Jul 09, 2019 9:03 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Buying a Smoker
Replies: 154
Views: 16994

Re: Buying a Smoker

I do not have direct experience with a smoker, but I basically smoke chicken legs when I grill them on my weber kettle charcoal grill. Grilling at 250°F for 2 to 2.5 hours is basically smoking.


So for folks that want to experiment, and who already own a charcoal grill, start by playing around with low temperatures on your grill. Results have been good for me.
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Wed Jun 19, 2019 8:37 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Bandaid that doesn't absorb medicine?
Replies: 9
Views: 1004

Re: Bandaid that doesn't absorb medicine?

I can also vouch for tegaderm. I got sent home with extra tegaderm after a doctor visit a few years ago, and I've been using it for medium and large wounds ever since then. Great stuff.

Does anybody know of a cheaper off-brand name for the same sort of stuff? I'll need to re-up my supply soon.
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Wed Jun 12, 2019 7:57 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Changes to 401(k) and IRAs, SECURE Act - It's signed
Replies: 292
Views: 27610

Re: "Help Is Almost Here for Retirement Savers"

Compare that with the current system, under which Americans with individual accounts must currently decide how to invest their retirement savings as they are accumulating them.

That was an insane idea. Why did we turn ordinary Americans into money managers, burdened with the task of figuring out which funds to invest in or, even crazier, which individual stocks to buy? How many of us would fix our own plumbing or take out our own appendixes?
I find this quote to be very frustrating. We here know the failure modes of trusting your money with an advisor. Obviously managing your own investments is a task that no individual is fit to do :annoyed
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Wed Jun 05, 2019 1:51 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: How do you talk to investment advisors socially?
Replies: 31
Views: 2586

Re: How do you talk to investment advisors socially?

I met an investment advisor while my wife and I were flying on a plane to the Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders Meeting, which he also happened to be attending. Considering the nature of the event, we were both able to size each other up pretty quick, and that helped a lot. It was very funny some of the things he said. -"Oh you guys are both engineers... engineers are scary. They're always asking questions." -"I don't charge 2 and 20 like some of those other guys. Much more modest fees." -To the flight attendant: "I'll give you a stock tip if you give me a beer!" -"If somebody can't tell you whether they're beating the market, they're not beating the market." (I really wanted to ask him whether *he* is ...
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Mon Jun 03, 2019 12:05 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Reliable Wireless Mouse?
Replies: 31
Views: 2201

Re: Reliable Wireless Mouse?

I think all mice have an good chance of randomly dying. The best way to guarantee reliability is to buy a mouse that is made by the millions. Also, the M310 can be had for <$10, so just grab a couple of them and let them die randomly for the next decade-and-a-half.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R ... m301+mouse
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Fri May 31, 2019 2:17 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Your thoughts on a hydrid CS-design degree
Replies: 5
Views: 589

Re: Your thoughts on a hydrid CS-design degree

If he is at all enamored with video game design, it may be worth informing him that drones of lowly-paid programmers slave away at video games, and accept low pay because of the idea that it is their passion; and if he wants to be an indie developer, it is a high stakes game where 99% of them fail to earn more than a few dollars on their game, and 1% succeed marvelously.
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Fri May 31, 2019 1:57 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Chipped windshield getting worse
Replies: 16
Views: 1277

Re: Chipped windshield getting worse

For future reference, you can get an easy DIY kit to fix a small chip yourself. Costs about $12 at the usual auto parts stores, and can fix a star or bullseye up to 1.25 inches in diameter. I did this myself the other week and had good results. Most importantly it prevents spreading. I would even be willing to try it on larger cracks up to 3" probably.

If you do a good job (watch the ChrisFix video about chipped windshields on youtube for extra good tips) you cannot even see the chip anymore.

You could, in a real pinch, try buying "UV glass resin" and fixing a large crack yourself. Past a certain crack size growth probably cannot be stopped.
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Mon May 20, 2019 11:48 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Wiper blade replacement
Replies: 30
Views: 3652

Re: Wiper blade replacement

You can still get the rubber refills. I recommend rockauto.com or ebay.

You have to have the whippletree-style wipers that look like this. You can buy these in many places if you look. https://i.imgur.com/YhF1oQ1.jpg
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Wed May 01, 2019 6:45 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting - Anyone Going?
Replies: 16
Views: 3551

Re: Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting - Anyone Going?

I'll be traveling with one of my friends whose investment philosophy is much more similar to a day trader than a boglehead. You may be able to convert him :)
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Mon Apr 29, 2019 11:24 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting - Anyone Going?
Replies: 16
Views: 3551

Re: Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting - Anyone Going?

I am reviving this thread to hopefully see if anybody around here is going this year.

I'm going and would be glad to hang out with some Bogleheads who are in attendance.
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Wed Apr 17, 2019 3:03 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 61 days holding period for qualified dividend
Replies: 10
Views: 1346

Re: 61 days holding period for qualified dividend

Usually in situations like this, LiveSoft shows up to dispense wisdom, as the oracle of wash sales.

You can PM him for clarity if desired.
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Fri Apr 05, 2019 2:38 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Where do you pay quarterly taxes?
Replies: 36
Views: 5365

Re: Where do you pay quarterly taxes?

If you use the citi double cash credit card, you can pay your quarterly taxes with a 1.88% fee and earn 2% cash back.

Other credit cards that have signup bonuses can also be used if you are into churning.
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Thu Apr 04, 2019 1:44 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Landlord looking to buy out my lease. Whats a reasonable price?
Replies: 75
Views: 7323

Re: Landlord looking to buy out my lease. Whats a reasonable price?

IMO some of these responses are well north of nuts. This isn't 11 months remaining on a new lease, this is four months and the OP already knew the lease would end and would have to move before now. OP already has to look for a new place in presumably less than four months. OP was already going to incur moving expenses. LL has no obligation to make up increased rent OP will pay in the future. Doubtful LL is ready to move on demo except for lease, at least right now. To expect thousands of dollars to move out 120 days early is, well, dumbfounding. OP, please let us know what you decide and what happens. I'm curious who is right. Given the fact that all other tenants have been kicked out at this point, I would think the landlord is trying to ...
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Fri Mar 15, 2019 8:52 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Smoking tire/wheel/brake one week after wheel alignment
Replies: 24
Views: 2611

Re: Smoking tire/wheel/brake one week after wheel alignment

Yeah parking brake is possible. Hard to believe that the driver did not notice the lack of get up and go. > or a bad wheel bearing Usually this causes a very noticeable shrieking sound. My money is on the calipers or brake cylinder or parking brake. Some parking brakes are surprisingly weak once you start moving a little. Or maybe OP's wife didn't stomp it down or pull the lever very hard. My SUV wont budge with the brake set, my other car will move but its still noticeable. My moms older lumina would barely hold the car in place in idle. By the way, if you have a weak parking brake, you need to adjust its cable tension. This usually is a pretty simple job you can DIY. Imagine the terror scenario when your hydraulic (normal) brakes go out ...
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Fri Mar 15, 2019 6:58 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Does Fidelity Premium Services cost anything?
Replies: 4
Views: 13495

Re: Does Fidelity Premium Services cost anything?

Thanks, Strayshot. Looks like so far we have avoided getting "out of the frying pan, into the fire."
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Fri Mar 15, 2019 6:54 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Does Fidelity Premium Services cost anything?
Replies: 4
Views: 13495

Does Fidelity Premium Services cost anything?

Howdy Bogleheads. I am currently in the process of transitioning my mother out of a financial advisor that charges ~1% AUM fee. I have now been set up as Power of Attorney for my mom. I am migrating her assets to Fidelity. One of my mom's friends suggested a person at Fidelity in her area we should contact to help with the process, so we did. He is a financial advisor. Earlier during the transition process I told him my intent that I intend to invest in low cost index funds, etc. and avoid fees at all cost. He has been helpful with the transition. We simply set up two retirement accounts and a brokerage account. If the advisor did any paperwork with my mom that created an explicit advisor relationship, I was not involved. Now that the accou...
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Wed Mar 13, 2019 11:31 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Are my parents' finances a disaster waiting to happen? Seeking advice.
Replies: 105
Views: 13148

Re: Are my parents' finances a disaster waiting to happen? Seeking advice.

Thank you for the many quick replies. To address some of the comments: How do people that old get a 30 year mortgage? They have a VA loan. I understand you are concerned, but their (very secure) income is about 2x the average US household income. Their income looks to be pretty safe (unless the pension is in trouble). They don't have a lot of tomorrow, especially your father. If he dies, your mother may have to sell the house. If they need assisted living, they'll blow through any savings very quickly. How is saving money NOW going to materially help them? Especially since they don't seem to want to do so? My father's physical health is very good. If he follows the same course as others in his family, then there's an increased likelihood o...
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Wed Feb 27, 2019 10:45 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is it possible to set up automatic montly security sales in a Fidelity account?
Replies: 8
Views: 813

Re: Is it possible to set up automatic montly security sales in a Fidelity account?

You asked if there were any drawbacks. The primary ones I can envision is that this seems like a tax nightmare and a rebalancing nightmare to me (assuming a taxable account). If it were me, I would just transact manually maybe once per year. That way it is easier to keep track of the tax impacts and rebalancing. It is pretty easy to give someone access and authority to make transactions for a relative. Thankfully, my mom's medical expenses + standard deduction exceed her income by a good bit, so her taxable income is 0, basically regardless of whether we set up this withdrawal scheme. So it would be a good way to max out "time in the market." Even with zero taxable income, you still have to "show your work" for the IRS....
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Wed Feb 27, 2019 10:07 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is it possible to set up automatic montly security sales in a Fidelity account?
Replies: 8
Views: 813

Re: Is it possible to set up automatic montly security sales in a Fidelity account?

megabad wrote: Tue Feb 26, 2019 3:24 pm You asked if there were any drawbacks. The primary ones I can envision is that this seems like a tax nightmare and a rebalancing nightmare to me (assuming a taxable account). If it were me, I would just transact manually maybe once per year. That way it is easier to keep track of the tax impacts and rebalancing. It is pretty easy to give someone access and authority to make transactions for a relative.
Thankfully, my mom's medical expenses + standard deduction exceed her income by a good bit, so her taxable income is 0, basically regardless of whether we set up this withdrawal scheme. So it would be a good way to max out "time in the market."
by PrettyCoolWorkshop
Wed Feb 27, 2019 10:05 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is it possible to set up automatic montly security sales in a Fidelity account?
Replies: 8
Views: 813

Re: Is it possible to set up automatic montly security sales in a Fidelity account?

Murgatroyd wrote: Tue Feb 26, 2019 1:28 pm I believe the key word under point #1 is ELIGIBLE. To probably mean only Fidelity brand funds.
This is likely true, that only fidelity mutual funds would be eligible. I'll confirm this soon.