Search found 1758 matches

by new2bogle
Tue Jan 16, 2024 2:10 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Hunting the elusive endocrinologist
Replies: 37
Views: 4006

Re: Hunting the elusive endocrinologist

Thank you all for the responses; I'll try and respond to them here: 1. The PCP: we've so far been unable to contact the PCP person to person; we've been unable to get past his office staff and their statements that the practice is not endocrinology and they have no skills or experience in authorizing insulin pump supplies. The PCP in person has been caring and considerate, but he runs a large and busy practice. The office staff seems very incentivized to discourage non-routine interventions. Now that we have an appointment in Aug 2024, we plan to try and contact the PCP again to see if he might be able to shorten the wait. As much as we've liked the PCP over 40 years, it does seem that it's time to seek an alternative that has a practice c...
by new2bogle
Fri Dec 08, 2023 8:37 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Cutting Cable, Recommendations?
Replies: 34
Views: 4789

Re: Cutting Cable, Recommendations?

Which of the streaming services have the best picture quality? I am finding YoutubeTV to be disappointing - especially for football (ncaa and NFL) - the compression is bad that some games are barely watchable. Instead, I've download individual apps (like Fox Sports), login using my YTTV id and the picture quality is much better. Of course I need youtubeTV id to be able to use the Fox Sports app, but I'd rather just use the streaming TV app instead of having to switch over.

Is Hulu Live TV better? Sling?
by new2bogle
Sun Jun 25, 2023 9:12 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What should my financially illiterate wife do if I die?
Replies: 121
Views: 13294

Re: What should my financially illiterate wife do if I die?

ScottyDog wrote: Sun Jun 25, 2023 7:08 pm I recently moved from VG to Fido due to them having a local office with someone she could sit down with to review things vs. a phone call to VG.
Was given a nice transfer bonus-able to keep my VG funds-am not paying any service fees. Am setting up an appointment for her to meet with the rep soon to start the relationship.
Put together about a 5 page document that outlines all details I could think of that she will need which we review couple times per year.
Yeah, there is a nice fidelity office in town which I've utilized exactly once. Maybe it is time to develop that relationship more.
by new2bogle
Sun Jun 25, 2023 2:11 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What should my financially illiterate wife do if I die?
Replies: 121
Views: 13294

Re: What should my financially illiterate wife do if I die?

How financially illiterate is she? My spouse is perfectly capable of buying things online with credit cards, paying light bills online, setting up autopay for the electric bill, accessing bank accounts online, and intelligently choosing CDs based on terms and interest rates. But their eyes glaze over with anything resembling "investments." I have simplified our accounts and strongly resist ever opening a new one unless we can close an old one. (If you open a new one every couple-three years... do the math.) Every so often I ask her to repeat from memory all of the places where we "have money" which is nine items--including banks, a brokerage, insurance companies, paper savings bonds, Treasury Direct, and Social Security...
by new2bogle
Sun Jun 25, 2023 2:02 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What should my financially illiterate wife do if I die?
Replies: 121
Views: 13294

Re: What should my financially illiterate wife do if I die?

Very interesting Q and discussion. Some folks (widows) step up and raise their game., some chose to “possibly” suffer due to poor financial knowledge/plan. Like someone earlier mentioned - if male-widow doesn’t learn to cook healthy-food, maintain good hygiene/health etc., he may suffer longevity/health impacts - while Portfolio may be doing just-fine (Kids and charities will thank you however!!) Similar fate awaits - some financially-illiterate divorced folks too. But chances are if someone is young, likely they may remarry (higher chances) and hopefully find additional brain/help to rely on. In real life however - chances are one of the kids/grand-kids may offer some assist along the way .. hard for someone to see/control future from gra...
by new2bogle
Sun Jun 25, 2023 1:56 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What should my financially illiterate wife do if I die?
Replies: 121
Views: 13294

Re: What should my financially illiterate wife do if I die?

My wife is financially illiterate. That will not change. I can get her to keep on a budget and for me that is good enough. However, if I were to die, with three kids 12 and under right now, she will have no idea what to do. She needs a step by step plan of what to do in the days/weeks/months/years after an untimely death. Is there a template or some guide that I can follow? Just thinking about it seems like there is so much information that it might bring an untimely death in itself. What have you folks done for your spouse? Maybe consider a trust that “activates” on your death? Not cheap, but if you were to pass away, the assets could go into a trust that would be professionally managed. The trustee could pay bills, invest, etc. I am thin...
by new2bogle
Fri Jun 23, 2023 5:28 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What should my financially illiterate wife do if I die?
Replies: 121
Views: 13294

Re: What should my financially illiterate wife do if I die?

steadyosmosis wrote: Fri Jun 23, 2023 5:27 pm Read bogleheads.org.
HAHAHAHAHAHA :shock:
by new2bogle
Fri Jun 23, 2023 5:28 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What should my financially illiterate wife do if I die?
Replies: 121
Views: 13294

Re: What should my financially illiterate wife do if I die?

mhc wrote: Fri Jun 23, 2023 5:21 pm She could remarry someone financially literate.
Yeah, that is true, but then I'd need to make sure the money goes to my kids only. Will right now is pretty simple.
by new2bogle
Fri Jun 23, 2023 5:25 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What should my financially illiterate wife do if I die?
Replies: 121
Views: 13294

Re: What should my financially illiterate wife do if I die?

KlangFool wrote: Fri Jun 23, 2023 5:18 pm
new2bogle wrote: Fri Jun 23, 2023 5:11 pm
My financial plan is pretty simple, there are two funds to invest in if my untimely death occurs.
new2bogle,

Are you investing in that 2 funds now?

If not, it is not simple enough.

Simple = "Do Nothing".

If not, why not? What is stopping you now?

KlangFool
Yes, my 401k + personal + roth are in the two funds from Fidelity. I do have my "play" stocks (AAPL, TSLA, TQQQ, etc) which is ~7% of my total right now. Directive would be to sell everything that's not those two funds and put proceeds equally in the funds.
by new2bogle
Fri Jun 23, 2023 5:13 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What should my financially illiterate wife do if I die?
Replies: 121
Views: 13294

Re: What should my financially illiterate wife do if I die?

02nz wrote: Fri Jun 23, 2023 4:56 pm
new2bogle wrote: Fri Jun 23, 2023 3:28 pm My wife is financially illiterate. That will not change. I can get her to keep on a budget and for me that is good enough.
Financial literacy is not an optional life skill, regardless of marital status.
Agreed. I am tired of broaching the subject now. Just hope I don't expire before the kids are out of college (14 years!)
by new2bogle
Fri Jun 23, 2023 5:11 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What should my financially illiterate wife do if I die?
Replies: 121
Views: 13294

Re: What should my financially illiterate wife do if I die?

KlangFool wrote: Fri Jun 23, 2023 3:33 pm OP,

The options:

A) Simplify your financial plan

B) Get a trusted financial advisor.

C) Do both.

KlangFool
My financial plan is pretty simple, there are two funds to invest in if my untimely death occurs. I'm not sure if you mean anything else... because otherwise there are kids' colleges to pay for, life insurance to claim (term life and from work), getting fidelity and etrade accounts, financial plan of how to live without my income, etc.

For B), several folks have mentioned similar. Is getting a regular Fidelity FA good enough? I suppose I can start using a CPA for taxes as well to create a relationship there.
by new2bogle
Fri Jun 23, 2023 3:28 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What should my financially illiterate wife do if I die?
Replies: 121
Views: 13294

What should my financially illiterate wife do if I die?

My wife is financially illiterate. That will not change. I can get her to keep on a budget and for me that is good enough.

However, if I were to die, with three kids 12 and under right now, she will have no idea what to do. She needs a step by step plan of what to do in the days/weeks/months/years after an untimely death.

Is there a template or some guide that I can follow? Just thinking about it seems like there is so much information that it might bring an untimely death in itself. What have you folks done for your spouse?
by new2bogle
Fri Jun 23, 2023 3:24 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Please review Mega-backdoor Roth approach
Replies: 11
Views: 1018

Re: Please review Mega-backdoor Roth approach

teaman wrote: Fri Jun 23, 2023 3:10 pm Transfer both the contributions and earnings from your after tax 401k to the Designated Roth account. Earnings that occur before the conversion are taxed at ordinary income rate. Now, rollover the amount from Designated Roth to a Roth IRA. This way Trad IRA or Roth 401k are out of the equation.

If you transfer the earnings from your aftertax account to a Trad IRA, you’ll have to worry about the prorata rules when you do a Backdoor Roth.
This approach comes with a tax consequence on the gains, correct?

I think what OP is doing is putting the taxable portion into a trad IRA to avoid the tax on the gains.

What I do is move the entire thing to my personal Roth IRA and pay taxes on any gains.
by new2bogle
Thu May 11, 2023 4:37 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Home theater suggestions: projector, AppleTV, speakers
Replies: 1
Views: 333

Home theater suggestions: projector, AppleTV, speakers

It's time to finally refresh our home theater room. For now, I'll stick with the 720p projector I have as it's good enough for what we watch. Currently, I have a PC hooked up to it via HDMI and we load up netflix, etc from the PC. The sound is through the PC sound card driving one of those really old/cheap "all in one" surround sound system, but really only left and right speaker work. For the speakers, I was thinking about a soundbar that has a separate woofer and two rear speakers. We're not audiophiles at all and really I think this is the best for our needs. I don't think we need Dolby Atmos unless there are suggestions that it is SO worth it...? I'm thinking something like this: https://www.amazon.com/SAMSUNG-Soundbar-Bluetoo...
by new2bogle
Wed May 10, 2023 10:27 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Strange buzzing coming from inside my wall
Replies: 59
Views: 8661

Re: Strange buzzing coming from inside my wall

Today's update - I did hear the buzzing again today, right around 3pm, but just one time today so far. Previously, it was several times in concurrence. This time, the w/d were not on. The a/c at the time was not on either. So now I have my pest company coming out Monday morning to take a look. That will decide the second theory - electrical. I spoke to two electricians and both said it would be odd if that were an electrical problem. They both suggested to rule out pests first, and then open up the wall myself to see what's behind it - and if there is a junction box then they will come out. I also found that you can get a snake inspection camera for $20-$40 on amazon - that might be first thing I do before taking out the entire wall. Any r...
by new2bogle
Sat May 06, 2023 8:35 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Strange buzzing coming from inside my wall
Replies: 59
Views: 8661

Re: Strange buzzing coming from inside my wall

I hope you didn't seal a squirrel in your soffit like I did. ohh, yeah I hope not. I've had a squirrel up there before and it sounded a lot more like scratching. The house squirrel we have usually just goes from the front to the back (to drink from the pool) but often I will see it walk over the roof to go back and forth. Also makes a very loud sound walking across the roof for such a small animal. What is your siding material? Horrors. It's made of horrors. The way my youngest screams running down the stairs when he hears it you would think it was Pennywise :D This wall in particular is an interior wall, my guess is that if it is an animal/pest then it is coming through the roof. I would say the majority of my house is stone, there is a s...
by new2bogle
Sat May 06, 2023 8:25 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Strange buzzing coming from inside my wall
Replies: 59
Views: 8661

Re: Strange buzzing coming from inside my wall

sunsetting101 wrote: Sat May 06, 2023 5:38 am I've had this less than a year ago, sound exactly as mine. I never saw them but I believe they're baby birds. After about 2-4 months, they'll go away.
Interesting that baby birds will sound like a buzz... We have never heard these in the mornings (one of my kid's room is right next to this wall), which is when I would expect baby birds to be active. But, it is definitely happening around the same time of day when it does happen (but why not every day? I guess we could be not noticing some days).
by new2bogle
Fri May 05, 2023 4:15 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Strange buzzing coming from inside my wall
Replies: 59
Views: 8661

Re: Strange buzzing coming from inside my wall

Today's update - I did hear the buzzing again today, right around 3pm, but just one time today so far. Previously, it was several times in concurrence. This time, the w/d were not on. The a/c at the time was not on either. So now I have my pest company coming out Monday morning to take a look. That will decide the second theory - electrical. I spoke to two electricians and both said it would be odd if that were an electrical problem. They both suggested to rule out pests first, and then open up the wall myself to see what's behind it - and if there is a junction box then they will come out. I also found that you can get a snake inspection camera for $20-$40 on amazon - that might be first thing I do before taking out the entire wall. Any re...
by new2bogle
Fri May 05, 2023 4:09 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Strange buzzing coming from inside my wall
Replies: 59
Views: 8661

Re: Strange buzzing coming from inside my wall

goblue100 wrote: Fri May 05, 2023 8:43 am
raisinsaregrapes wrote: Fri May 05, 2023 8:23 am Electrical buzzing will probably be at a frequency of 60 hz. You can listen to that tone and compare to the sound when you hear it.
If you suspect it is electrical, have someone turn off breakers while you listen. Should prove or disprove that theory.
This is a great idea, thanks!
by new2bogle
Thu May 04, 2023 8:59 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Strange buzzing coming from inside my wall
Replies: 59
Views: 8661

Re: Strange buzzing coming from inside my wall

Tonight's update - no buzzing whatsoever! I checked all day today, including the same time as yesterday when it was going nuts. I guess the animal could be taking a breather or is only temporarily out of the attic? (If it even is an animal/insect). Things I did last night: turn off the computer in the adjacent room that serves as the plex video server. Unplug the stereo system in an adjacent room that is part of my home theater. Things I took note of: the laundry room is diagonally below the section of the wall that is buzzing. Now, yesterday the W/D were on when the buzzing was there. Today, the W/D are on again (3 kids - lots of laundry) but there is no buzzing. I'm still not ruling W/D out just yet though. Other suggestions above are ver...
by new2bogle
Thu May 04, 2023 8:55 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Strange buzzing coming from inside my wall
Replies: 59
Views: 8661

Re: Strange buzzing coming from inside my wall

GTBuzz wrote: Wed May 03, 2023 8:42 pm Thank you for posting this! I have the EXACT same noise in the wall of my home office, and have been unable to put the noise into words well enough to get a good answer from Google. Following.

What part of the country are you in? I'm in Central Florida.
I'm in Austin, TX. My kids are scared shirtless since it's close to their bedrooms. I'll have to find a solution.
by new2bogle
Wed May 03, 2023 8:41 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Strange buzzing coming from inside my wall
Replies: 59
Views: 8661

Re: Strange buzzing coming from inside my wall

No subwoofer - but that was an interesting read!

Carpenter bee - yes, my first thought was some sort of bee/wasp nest. But wouldn't I be able to always here some sort of buzzing going on? At least a low buzz sound.. I guess if the nest is still being built and there aren't too many bees yet it won't be too loud. Also, not sure if this the right time of year for this in Texas?
by new2bogle
Wed May 03, 2023 8:26 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Strange buzzing coming from inside my wall
Replies: 59
Views: 8661

Strange buzzing coming from inside my wall

There is a strange, intermittent, buzzing coming from inside my wall. It sounds almost like a muffled dentists drill. I'm worried it's a wasps nest (but wouldn't the buzzing be more consistent..?) or worse some type of trapped animal. I've uploaded a short video that has the audio of the buzzing sound. The video portion is just my wall: https://imgur.com/4Gred6S It's a wall on the 2nd story, with a huge a/c inlet on the ceiling next to it. The sound is there whether the a/c is on or off. The sound itself will go on for about a minute or two and then stop. Putting my ear to the wall I can hear absolutely nothing when there is no buzzing. Then after a while (maybe 5-10 mins?) it will start up again. Knocking/banging on the wall doesn't seem t...
by new2bogle
Sun Feb 19, 2023 1:48 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Costa Rica Questions
Replies: 56
Views: 7086

Re: Costa Rica Questions

We took our 10 year old out of school for a month and went to Costa Rica in 2013. Arenal was no longer erupting at that stage and while an interesting town and a gorgeous volcano, it was not that interesting really. What was interesting was a 7ish hour hike to the ranger station on the Oso Peninsula where we spent a few nights. It was an experience we all still talk about as it was challenging to hike that far given much of it was in sand. Great experience. Overall though, CR seemed quite overpriced at the time for what you get. We traveled via bus and plane mainly, which was also very interesting (and we traveled huge portion of the country) but did rent a vehicle for a day to drive to see another volcano as our son was really into volcan...
by new2bogle
Fri Jan 20, 2023 11:51 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Stay The Course
Replies: 33
Views: 5117

Re: Stay The Course

CoAndy wrote: Thu Jan 19, 2023 2:47 pm Be strong. Not peeking at my accounts has helped me stay the course.
This is me completely. I looked at them once, said some curse words, and did not look at them for the remainder of 2022.
by new2bogle
Fri Jan 20, 2023 9:32 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Mega back door roth with gains on the after-tax contributions
Replies: 18
Views: 1528

Re: Mega back door roth with gains on the after-tax contributions

Thanks all for the pointers. My plan allows for moving the contributions to my personal Roth IRA as I knew, but I can also move the gains into my rollover IRA which I currently have open with them as well. Then, I can move the Rollover IRA back into my 401k. The fidelity rep said that moving the Rollover IRA back to my 401k requires about 15 minutes on the phone to go over additional paperwork, etc. At this point, I'll probably only do the rollover back to 401k on a semi-yearly basis. The only advantage I see to moving this back to my 401k is access to institutional level vanguard funds.
by new2bogle
Thu Jan 19, 2023 7:35 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Mega back door roth with gains on the after-tax contributions
Replies: 18
Views: 1528

Re: Mega back door roth with gains on the after-tax contributions

AllMostThere wrote: Thu Jan 19, 2023 7:20 pm Yes, your plan is very viable and hopefully will be confirmed as allowed by Fidelity. I did exactly the same thing when working (rinse & repeat many times). Only issue I had is that when I FIRED, I was no longer able to roll gain from my tIRA back into my 401K, so I just rolled all to my Roth and paid the tax on the gain come tax time. Keep us updated on Fidelity feedback.
As another poster mentioned, what was your reasoning to rolling the Rollover IRA back into your 401k vs. just leaving it there?
by new2bogle
Thu Jan 19, 2023 6:09 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Mega back door roth with gains on the after-tax contributions
Replies: 18
Views: 1528

Re: Mega back door roth with gains on the after-tax contributions

MrJedi wrote: Thu Jan 19, 2023 2:20 pm Yes. In my plan it is called a split rollover, contributions to Roth IRA and earnings to traditional/rollover IRA.

Step 3 depends on your plan allowing roll in of IRA. It is allowed by IRS but not required to be allowed by plans. If your plan allows step 1 and 2, I think there's a good chance it allows step 3. Check with your plan though to be sure.
Ah ok. Let me call up Fidelity and see what exactly my plan allows. Thanks for the terminology.
by new2bogle
Thu Jan 19, 2023 6:08 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Mega back door roth with gains on the after-tax contributions
Replies: 18
Views: 1528

Re: Mega back door roth with gains on the after-tax contributions

sfchris wrote: Thu Jan 19, 2023 3:54 pm And the reason you don't want to leave it in a rollover IRA is because it messes up your ordinary backdoor roth?
I'm not doing an ordinary backdoor roth. So you have a good point there. Is there a preference on whether to leave it in the Rollover IRA or, if allowed, move it back to my 401k? I'm not sure how/why one would be preferred.
by new2bogle
Thu Jan 19, 2023 2:17 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Mega back door roth with gains on the after-tax contributions
Replies: 18
Views: 1528

Mega back door roth with gains on the after-tax contributions

I've got a 401k plan which allows for in-plan conversion of after-tax contributions to an out of plan personal Roth IRA.

This year, I've got about $2k of gains on $33k of contributions. Is this something I can do, assuming my plan allows this:
1) Convert after-tax contributions (but not gains) to personal Roth IRA (have done this before but have included small gains)
2) Put the after-tax contribution gains into a Rollover IRA
3) Convert the Rollover IRA back into my 401k.

I've done #1 numerous times, but was wondering on #2 and #3. Can it be done in the above order to prevent paying the taxes on the gains?
by new2bogle
Fri Dec 23, 2022 11:42 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: FZDXX money market fund hitting 4.10% yield
Replies: 139
Views: 23887

Re: FZDXX money market fund hitting 4.10% yield

LazerBeams wrote: Thu Dec 22, 2022 11:00 am
zero_coupon wrote: Thu Dec 22, 2022 1:01 am
nalor511 wrote: Thu Dec 22, 2022 12:34 am How many times has there been a problem? Historical track record. If you don't trust it, buy tbills instead. I keep everything that I need within 6mo in tbills and about $1000-2000 in fzdxx
Good strategy. If you were seeking an equivalent tax-exempt strategy, what might you consider?
FZEXX as far as I can tell is the only Fidelity option. Not sure of others. New to exploring tax exempt funds.
What do you think of FMOXX vs. FZEXX or FZDXX? is the "tax free" feature enough savings to forgo 1% on yield? This will be for a cash/EM allocation, say yearly avg of $80k.
by new2bogle
Tue Nov 29, 2022 12:01 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Toilet repair - tank to toilet gasket leaking
Replies: 31
Views: 2305

Re: Toilet repair - tank to toilet gasket leaking

@niagara_guy - definitely outside. I did also replace the valve coming out of the wall as that wasn't stopping the water fully

@lthenderson - yeah, I will search for something that says it fits the make of the toilet. There was no debris for sure, though it wasn't bone dry when I put it back on.

@bob60014 - the tank isn't cracked, I made sure of that. The tank itself isn't leaking at all (not even into the bowl or outside) until I flush. So the leak is from the tank to the bowl only. Bolts/Washers are new. I'll tinker with reseating the tank/gasket onto the bowl and also with a different brand of gasket.

Thanks all for your replies.
by new2bogle
Tue Nov 29, 2022 11:56 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Toilet repair - tank to toilet gasket leaking
Replies: 31
Views: 2305

Re: Toilet repair - tank to toilet gasket leaking

Apparently you changed the complete assembly instead of just the "flapper". Is that true? So, you disturbed the tank to toilet gasket existing setup/seal. Install the unit better and seat the tank to toilet "donut" rings very well. You can also use plumber's putty in a ring like play dough in addition to the ring but that is really "old school" and requires some experience. Suggest, look for a similar unit that has better "tank to toilet" rings, thicker and gushier. Seat it very well and don't forget the tank bolt washers. Tighten everything up as best you can without breaking the porcelain. Very common: be sure your tank bolts are tightened evenly, not one side more than the other or the "donut...
by new2bogle
Tue Nov 29, 2022 11:51 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Toilet repair - tank to toilet gasket leaking
Replies: 31
Views: 2305

Re: Toilet repair - tank to toilet gasket leaking

avidlearner wrote: Tue Nov 29, 2022 9:24 am May be time to call a plumber :)
ncbill wrote: Tue Nov 29, 2022 9:36 am After changing out a half-dozen toilets myself I have decided that in the future I will pay Mario & Luigi to install a ONE-piece Toto.
That was my first thought until the estimate was $339!
by new2bogle
Tue Nov 29, 2022 9:07 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Toilet repair - tank to toilet gasket leaking
Replies: 31
Views: 2305

Toilet repair - tank to toilet gasket leaking

A few days ago I attempted a repair on the toilet in my rental home. The complaint was that the tank was leaking into the toilet in a small trickle. I changed the flapper and the leak was still there so I decided to get a flush valve repair kit (this one https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-2-in-Universal-Complete-Toilet-Flush-Valve-Repair-Kit-222101/312258779) After installation the leak went away and everything seemed fine until I test flushed the toilet - there was a huge leak between the tank and the seat now. I tried wriggling the tank to get it to sit better and while the leak was smaller it was still there - again, only while flushing (and definitely between the tank and the seat). I had already spent 90 mins so told the tenants I’d ...
by new2bogle
Wed Oct 26, 2022 3:15 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Auto accident- premium increase
Replies: 17
Views: 1672

Re: Auto accident- premium increase

Use your insurance. Your rates will go up regardless since you are at-fault and your insurance is paying the other person anyways.
by new2bogle
Wed Oct 26, 2022 3:10 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Roth 401k in 2023 for 35% tax bracket?
Replies: 38
Views: 3380

Re: Roth 401k in 2023 for 35% tax bracket?

I am pretty stoked that the employer-plus-employee contribution goes up to $66,000. With a max out of 401k pre-tax + employer contribution I will be moving something like $37k into my Roth IRA (via mega back door roth) in 2023.
by new2bogle
Thu Oct 20, 2022 3:20 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Dentist Cleaning Prices
Replies: 77
Views: 9700

Re: Dentist Cleaning Prices

Cleaning + Fluoride = $219 listed price and what I pay (out of network dentist). No xrays but dentist comes and does a checkup
by new2bogle
Fri Sep 30, 2022 11:21 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Please comment on my elderly father's allocation
Replies: 15
Views: 1623

Re: Please comment on my elderly father's allocation

Chris K Jones wrote: Fri Sep 30, 2022 11:15 am Obviously he is in good shape. If it were me, I would probably have 30% or so in bonds. I would also dump the real estate fund.
Yes, my initial reaction was to combine the Intl Stock Fund and Real Estate Fund into a quality Total Market Bond fund, which would be 25%.

Is your comment based on no Bond fund in the allocation or also because you don't care for RE funds (and why)?.

Thanks for your comments.
by new2bogle
Fri Sep 30, 2022 11:20 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Please comment on my elderly father's allocation
Replies: 15
Views: 1623

Re: Please comment on my elderly father's allocation

Bagels wrote: Fri Sep 30, 2022 11:12 am For those who hate initialisms as much as I do, it’s not the first google hit but SAHM is probably stay at home Mom.
yeah, my bad. Stay At Home Mom is correct.
by new2bogle
Fri Sep 30, 2022 11:17 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Please comment on my elderly father's allocation
Replies: 15
Views: 1623

Re: Please comment on my elderly father's allocation

vineviz wrote: Fri Sep 30, 2022 11:08 am
new2bogle wrote: Fri Sep 30, 2022 11:01 am My father is 79 and still kicking it pretty good. He is still a full professor, teaching and having a couple of grad students. He plans to retire in 2-3 years, currently earning about $110k/year. Mom has always been SAHM. Collecting SS at something like a bit over $50k/year.
How much of this $160k/year in income are they currently spending?

How old is Mom?
My dad claims he needs $100k/year after he quits working. Aside from house payment (they will downsize once he stops working), they should be able to live within $75k/year. They are almost Silent Gen, so live very frugally (aside from high quality food). But let's go with $100k/year. Mom is 72.
by new2bogle
Fri Sep 30, 2022 11:01 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Please comment on my elderly father's allocation
Replies: 15
Views: 1623

Please comment on my elderly father's allocation

My father is 79 and still kicking it pretty good. He is still a full professor, teaching and having a couple of grad students. He plans to retire in 2-3 years, currently earning about $110k/year. Mom has always been SAHM. Collecting SS at something like a bit over $50k/year. Current fund allocation: 11% Vanguard Target Retirement 2035 Fund[VTTHX] 16% Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund Institutional 64% Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Institutional 09% TIAA Real Estate Total invested is about $3 million. Has an additional about $300k in cash and positive equity in an almost paid off house (estimate another $300k in equity on low side, if can even sell in this environment). His TIAA provided FA (not paid by father) is saying...
by new2bogle
Tue Aug 02, 2022 2:23 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Interview - Asked about Salary
Replies: 314
Views: 22861

Re: Interview - Asked about Salary

epictetus wrote: Thu Jul 28, 2022 5:22 pm ... You are just asking what the job pays. That is all. That is a very reasonable question.
Exactly - and what the new job pays has no basis on what you currently make. The new employer has a budget/range for the position that they have chosen based on their affordability and market pay range, which for larger companies is valuable information that they pay a lot of money for.

What you are currently being paid should have no basis on a new job. They don't have to pay you higher than their budget and you don't have to accept an offer lower than yours.
by new2bogle
Mon Aug 01, 2022 10:55 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Should I upgrade my Verizon plan?
Replies: 30
Views: 2974

Re: Should I upgrade my Verizon plan?

I regularly use 20gb/month on my Verizon plan so having unlimited is a must. During vacation, I used 75gb. On the unlimited family plan (4 lines), each line is averages $40/month + tax/fee (+ device payment if you have one, protection plan, etc). The unlimited plan has 25GB/month of "fast" hotspot and then unlimited "not-fast" hotspot. We haven't exhausted the fast hotspot yet so don't know how slow it will get. Cell provider marketing is very confusing. 5G and LTE are the same speeds (tops around 50mpbs). Now different carriers have 5G-ultrawide or 5G-ultracapacity. This is where the real speed improvement is and I've gotten as high as 300mbps download. Maybe not too useful for a single phone but works well when used as...
by new2bogle
Mon Jun 27, 2022 11:56 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Roth In-Plan conversion vs Roth IRA rollover
Replies: 26
Views: 2422

Re: Roth In-Plan conversion vs Roth IRA rollover

My plan allows for automatic in plan rollovers to Roth 401k. But there is not a similar option for the Roth IRA option for me, only phone call initiated. The automatic feature was enough to tip the scale to just do the Roth 401k route. The main downside for me (not for all plans) is that I cannot invest my Roth funds differently than pretax, everything is prorated. My plan also does not allow further in service rollover once it's in the Roth 401k, but some plans do allow that. My plan is the same - I have to call to transfer my after-tax to my personal/external Roth IRA. I feel it is worth it, based on what you want to do with your funds. In my personal Roth IRA, I am able to take this money out whenever I want (after 5 years) with no pena...
by new2bogle
Wed Jun 15, 2022 11:01 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Has anyone stacked Southwest Airlines credit cards in 2022?
Replies: 1
Views: 331

Has anyone stacked Southwest Airlines credit cards in 2022?

I got the 100,000 bonus from the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus credit card earlier this year. Previously (years ago), I know people on fatwallet were stacking personal + business cards from Southwest to get the companion pass bonus.

Has anyone tried this in 2022 (i.e., post Covid)? I am thinking of getting the business card based on DW's home based business. This has a bonus of 80k points which will get me the companion pass for rest of this year and all of next.
by new2bogle
Sun May 29, 2022 8:31 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Critique my summer Hawaii vacation plan (plus camera?).
Replies: 51
Views: 5237

Re: Critique my summer Hawaii vacation plan (plus camera?).

Material Guy wrote: Thu May 26, 2022 10:59 am Just returned from a 10 day trip to Honolulu (conference + vacation) last week. Decided to ditch the DSLR and just use my 13 Max Pro, which worked really well. I did not miss the DSLR at all and got some amazing pictures. I recommend you do the same.
Oh thats great - so wide/landscape shots were just as good as the closer face shots?

Was it crowded? We're going in about a month so I suppose it will be more crowded with families off for the summer.
by new2bogle
Fri May 20, 2022 3:40 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Critique my summer Hawaii vacation plan (plus camera?).
Replies: 51
Views: 5237

Re: Critique my summer Hawaii vacation plan (plus camera?).

Aloha What a great trip you have planned! This camera will do it all, while it can be and is constantly argued that a cell phone is fine, yes it is, but . ., .if you want a do all family camera that you can put in your pocket and is just plain fun to buy and have and use. . . this might be it. It is the best in its class: Sony RX100 VII https://smile.amazon.com/Sony-Premium-Compact-1-0-type-DSCRX100M7/dp/B07VPQV7BY/ref=sxts_rp_s_a1_0?crid=27KIV0RYGLFCE&cv_ct_cx=sony%2Brx100%2Bvii&keywords=sony%2Brx100%2Bvii&pd_rd_i=B07VPQV7BY&pd_rd_r=62255c96-b3b2-4ba9-b10b-0250736d22bf&pd_rd_w=YZUhY&pd_rd_wg=ZcweL&pf_rd_p=ae71c5d9-0355-41f0-ae0d-6fe5c47bc5dd&pf_rd_r=W7P9GGRE45YV2EFN98EE&qid=1653008332&sprefix=sony%2...
by new2bogle
Thu May 19, 2022 4:21 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Critique my summer Hawaii vacation plan (plus camera?).
Replies: 51
Views: 5237

Re: Critique my summer Hawaii vacation plan (plus camera?).

I agree with the posters that say there is a lot planned. It's basically what we would do if the kids are agreeable to it all. I have more things planned and am happy to not do everything rather than have an open day trying to figure out what to do next because the kids are bouncing off the walls. All our condos are close to the beach, so that is the default activity :D

ETA:
really appreciate everyone's thoughts and suggestions.
by new2bogle
Thu May 19, 2022 2:01 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Critique my summer Hawaii vacation plan (plus camera?).
Replies: 51
Views: 5237

Re: Critique my summer Hawaii vacation plan (plus camera?).

FeesR-BullNotBullish wrote: Thu May 19, 2022 1:53 pm #11 Road to Hana - My wife and I drove to the Garden of Eden which is 1/3 of the way to Hana. She did the entire drive to Hana on a previous trip and said the road begins to feel tedious after a while. I understood what she meant and was happy to turn back after visiting the garden. I highly recommend the Garden of Eden. It offers beautiful views and whimsical delights for the kids. Heck, being there made me feel like a kid!
Last time we went, we probably also did about 1/3 of the way (before kids). Want to be more adventurous this time, but will turn around as needed..