Search found 1205 matches

by sls239
Sat Mar 16, 2024 9:24 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: “Bellys” on sewer scope for new house
Replies: 41
Views: 2352

Re: “Bellys” on sewer scope for new house

If I were the seller in this situation I’d tell you to pound sand. You have one thing that was already disclosed and one thing that the experts can’t even agree that it is a potential problem let alone an existing one.

Furthermore I’d doubt your good faith intention of completing the transaction so might see you breaking it off at this juncture as better than getting to closing and not closing.
by sls239
Tue Feb 27, 2024 1:05 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Older, clean title vehicle or newer rebuilt vehicle?
Replies: 26
Views: 2372

Re: Older, clean title vehicle or newer rebuilt vehicle?

All else equal - I’d go newer car high miles.

I wouldn’t touch a salvaged title car - I just don’t have that kind of expertise to evaluate.

Newer car is likely to have safety features and people who spend a lot of time in their car tend to maintain them, and the miles are more likely to be highway miles.
by sls239
Tue Feb 27, 2024 10:44 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Talk me out of buying a Nissan Armada!
Replies: 29
Views: 1943

Re: Talk me out of buying a Nissan Armada!

Basic defensive driving means always having an escape route. The expectation is that over a lifetime of driving, you will need to use these skills.

Why not take a refresher course? Or even an advanced one?

Think of it this way - if it were a cyclist or a pedestrian or a fiat driver that had a bad moment- would you still want to be in an Armada?

Because you cannot control who you have those kinds of interactions with.
by sls239
Mon Feb 26, 2024 2:53 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: 2024 Honda CRV Hybrid mileage
Replies: 73
Views: 15684

Re: 2024 Honda CRV Hybrid mileage

Was this 330 miles round-trip?

Because I have certain drives I can make on one tank in one direction but can’t in the other direction, consistently. And not what you would consider significant topography either.
by sls239
Mon Feb 26, 2024 12:39 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: I am not seeing how bonds have mitigated losses during downturns
Replies: 27
Views: 4337

Re: I am not seeing how bonds have mitigated losses during downturns

Bonds are not *inversely* correlated with stocks.

But they are close to *zero* correlation, a small positive correlation.

Which is what you want. If they were inversely correlated, you would lose way too much since the long term trend for stocks is to go up significantly. Anything actually inversely correlated with stocks would be a horrible long-term investment.
by sls239
Sun Feb 25, 2024 11:42 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What email address is "okay/acceptable" to use then?
Replies: 168
Views: 18039

Re: What email address is "okay/acceptable" to use then?

Frankly which email address I give you says more about you than it does about me.
by sls239
Thu Feb 08, 2024 10:50 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Paying for A Car Boglehead Style
Replies: 64
Views: 7113

Re: Paying for A Car Boglehead Style

There is no large predicable difference between these options.

Focus your efforts on selecting the right vehicle for you and getting a good price for both the vehicle you buy and the one you sell.
by sls239
Wed Feb 07, 2024 1:00 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: going gluten-free
Replies: 55
Views: 4502

Re: going gluten-free

My teenage son has celiac. So volume matters! Also, I’m trying to get him ready to fend for himself - first in a college dorm, then in real life. So I’ve taught him how to make baked potatoes in the microwave which you can top with anything. And he can make guacamole. And then we do chicken with pan sauces - sometimes if I need a thickener I’ll use just a bit of cornstarch. We cook fish wrapped in foil with seasoning. And chili. The trickiest part has been overnight school trips. It is expensive, but there are pouches of gluten free food that don’t need to be refrigerated - Somos makes some Mexican ones. Mexican cuisine and Native American cuisine are great go-to because wheat is not native to the Americas. Also BBQ as long as there is no g...
by sls239
Fri Feb 02, 2024 9:29 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: college decision: UIUC or UF for ECE?
Replies: 339
Views: 31722

Re: college decision: $63k UIUC ECE or full-ride UF ECE?

Well there is a certain comfort and freedom that comes with going to the in state school, having supportive parents not too far away, knowing it isn’t costing an arm and a leg, being the student who has been courted, being the bigger fish in the smaller pond.

And I would suggest that for a young woman with an interest in engineering - which can still be a jarring experience frankly - there is value in that kind of support and safety net.

And at UIUC, a lot of her classmates will have precisely those advantages - because it will be their state school - and she will not.

It does of course depend on personality though, so my advice is just talk about it.
by sls239
Thu Feb 01, 2024 5:45 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Early Retirement Plan - Age 38 w/over $2 million
Replies: 120
Views: 28651

Re: Early Retirement Plan - Age 38 w/over $2 million

I think the main “gotcha” here is that your plan assumes health insurance will remain available and affordable and effective.

There’s 20 years until you are Medicare age, and the ACA has only existed for 13 and is still politically charged.
by sls239
Wed Jan 17, 2024 12:46 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Egregious Financial Advisor Mistake - Help!!
Replies: 54
Views: 5099

Re: Egregious Financial Advisor Mistake - Help!!

What friend needs is an accountant.

And not a tax-preparer mind you, an actual accountant.
by sls239
Fri Jan 05, 2024 2:51 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: UPDATE: Offered a Larger Rental - Please Help Me Decide
Replies: 67
Views: 10339

Re: Offered a Larger Rental - Please Help Me Decide

I would say get whatever space you want for yourself. As for visitors - especially if it is the off season, consider that they may have a more pleasant and longer visit if they are staying in their own place - maybe an air b&b.

I could give you a million reasons why, because people may have a million little incompatibilities even if they really like or love each other.

But imagine one person lactose intolerant, one person with celiac, and another diabetic. Or a hard of hearing night owl and a light sleeping toddler.

People love to have their *own* private space - especially when it comes to food prep, restrooms, and sleeping space.
by sls239
Sun Dec 17, 2023 9:04 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The Target-Date Fund Problem That Indexing Can’t Solve
Replies: 18
Views: 4167

Re: The Target-Date Fund Problem That Indexing Can’t Solve

Seems to me that the problem TD funds can’t fix is that even people running 401k plans seem to panic and make changes when they should stay the course.
by sls239
Sun Nov 26, 2023 7:54 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Niece is Recieving Life Insurance Lump Sum $1M
Replies: 153
Views: 17835

Re: Niece is Recieving Life Insurance Lump Sum $1M

Nothing too quick other than a lawyer to represent her in getting the rest of the estate settled.

It will likely be nice to do a few things in memory of her father that reflects their relationship.

And anything necessary to help assure her that what killed her father does not have to happen to her, as that is a common worry.

And if school goes off track for a bit, some low-key tutoring. It can be hard to be the girl at school whose dad died.
by sls239
Tue Nov 21, 2023 12:57 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Six Times Renting Is Cheaper Than Owning
Replies: 115
Views: 16476

Re: Six Times Renting Is Cheaper Than Owning

I think it is likely if you want a single family house that buying is a good choice.

But there are significant benefits to multi-family housing - from a personal financial perspective and a city financial perspective (public transit) and an environmental perspective, even a community perspective .

If multi-family housing is chosen, the rent / buy picture to me becomes quite murky.
by sls239
Mon Oct 02, 2023 6:20 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Hybrid or non-hybrid vehicle?
Replies: 42
Views: 4735

Re: Hybrid or non-hybrid vehicle?

I don’t think you should pay attention to what “feels like going backwards.”

There is financial analysis and there’s environmental analysis.

Environmental analysis would favor you minimizing your driving, smaller vehicle, and buying a used car. Because brand new hybrid is still brand new car. And less driving is going to be a bigger factor than hybrid / not.

A used ICE Mazda 3 is a lot more environmentally than a brand new Toyota Sequoia hybrid. But I’m sure the sequoia “feels” advanced.
by sls239
Wed Sep 27, 2023 1:08 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Visiting Bentonville AR
Replies: 16
Views: 2660

Re: Visiting Bentonville AR

Eureka Springs is about an hour from Bentonville - a pretty drive, and a fun one. It is kinda a rural artist community a tad on the aging hippie side.

If you want to hike - Devils Den state park has been a favorite since childhood.

I personally love driving the little twisty roads and letting the bottom drop out of your stomach. Just be careful if there’s fog at night.

IME - every little town has a diner - that’s where you go to people watch and talk.
by sls239
Wed Sep 27, 2023 12:46 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Private school offering no AP courses in high school
Replies: 139
Views: 13689

Re: Private school offering no AP courses in high school

Colleges want to know if the student took the most challenging courses available to them.

The easy way to know that, what most schools facilitate, is a raft of AP and / or IB offerings.

For schools that don’t do that, there needs to be another way - a private school should be able to explain how that is shown in a way that you understand.

If they cannot explain it, I would assume that the responsibility will fall on the student.
by sls239
Wed Sep 27, 2023 11:33 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Job workload completely unmanageable
Replies: 33
Views: 6347

Re: Job workload completely unmanageable

My advice is a little different because you mentioned that you usually have support staff available in other departments.

My advice would be to start delegating, even if it isn’t the people you normally work with.

I think you’ve probably hit a point in your career where success is going to include getting good work from others instead of doing it all yourself.

Talk with other department heads and be clear about the information needed and then put placeholders for that information and fill it in as you get it.

And of course that advice is probably highly colored by my own work experience - but I offer it as something to think about.
by sls239
Thu Sep 21, 2023 12:53 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Aren't you an above-average investor?
Replies: 169
Views: 17521

Re: Aren't you an above-average investor?

That isn’t the theory.

The theory is that what you actually get isn’t your investment return, it is your investment return *minus cost.*

Even when investment returns are “above average” that is no guarantee of low cost, and generally the opposite is true.

So the only way to guarantee near “average” returns is to index and keep costs low.

That is, you get to keep an above average amount not by getting above average returns, but by having below average cost.
by sls239
Wed Sep 13, 2023 12:45 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Tires - replace or wait?
Replies: 115
Views: 7573

Re: Tires - replace or wait?

Given how little the car is driven, my general suggestion is to get new *decent* tires more frequently rather than really nice tires less frequently.
by sls239
Mon Sep 11, 2023 3:41 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Gym etiquette [exhausted-put a fork in it]
Replies: 82
Views: 8537

Re: Gym etiquette

I would just say oh I didn’t know, I’m almost done.

If someone got in my face and yelled and made me afraid physically, I would call local law enforcement.

They will talk to everyone involved, including the manager.

Then you have a police report to help convince the gym to give you a refund if you want.
by sls239
Thu Sep 07, 2023 12:41 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Mortgage broker says to not pay a larger downpayment?
Replies: 134
Views: 13172

Re: Mortgage broker says to not pay a larger downpayment?

So instead of fully explaining the features and options of actual mortgages for your actual purchase he instead tried to sell you an investing philosophy?

Get a new broker - one who will actually talk about mortgages.
by sls239
Thu Aug 17, 2023 2:36 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Lessons from 2007 -2009
Replies: 143
Views: 18250

Re: Lessons from 2007 -2009

Lesson was I don’t want to be a landlord, so I’m gonna price my house to sell.
by sls239
Fri Aug 11, 2023 12:05 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: [HOA issue - Excessive water usage]
Replies: 32
Views: 3403

Re: Urgent HOA issue

Can the HOA not vote on watering restrictions and fines for violating those restrictions?

I mean you may need a quorum, but if the HOA sends out a letter and a copy of the bill, you might be able to get a quorum.
by sls239
Wed Aug 09, 2023 10:23 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Hail damage to both vehicles - insurance offering lowball settlement?
Replies: 22
Views: 3062

Re: Hail damage to both vehicles - insurance offering lowball settlement?

Hail damage doesn’t show up well in photographs.

Start with taking it to a shop and getting an actual quote.
by sls239
Mon Aug 07, 2023 11:23 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Fire Blanket
Replies: 13
Views: 2324

Re: Fire Blanket

I used a fire extinguisher when something caught in my oven - it was not hard to clean up at all.
by sls239
Fri Aug 04, 2023 10:42 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: suggestions for how to upgrade my car
Replies: 21
Views: 2310

Re: suggestions for how to upgrade my car

I strongly recommend waiting until baby / child is at your home safe and reasonably healthy before making any major vehicle upgrades.

Two reasons for that -

1) How much you have available to spend can be affected by such a major event

2) It is hard to guess at what the needs will be until you are actually dealing with it. It wouldn’t be fun to spend a bunch on a vehicle only to find out that your particular needs are different.
by sls239
Tue Aug 01, 2023 5:55 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: AZ landlord. Renter refused to pay the last month's rent. What next?
Replies: 117
Views: 14173

Re: AZ landlord. Renter refused to pay the last month's rent. What next?

Am I right in thinking the property manager both kept the security deposit and demanded August rent?

Because that would be enraging for a tenant.

And it is a liability for you. Because they could demand double the security deposit and they could argue that there wasn’t a good-faith effort to re-rent, because of the 2 or 3 week delay in listing it and it being above market at that.

I think the safest bet is to send the remaining $2250 as a *settlement of all claims.*

And to fire the property manager - and demand the $750 be returned to you.
by sls239
Tue Aug 01, 2023 3:51 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Talk Me Out Of (Or Into) Selling Off My Bonds And Moving To Equities
Replies: 88
Views: 6029

Re: Talk Me Out Of (Or Into) Selling Off My Bonds And Moving To Equities

FIREGuy88 wrote: Tue Aug 01, 2023 3:21 pm
sls239 wrote: Tue Aug 01, 2023 2:57 pm I think you should give half of it to charity.
No.
Why not? If you are OK with half your money disappearing in a downturn, why would you not be OK with half your money going away and doing some good?
by sls239
Wed Jul 26, 2023 5:15 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: College Funding Vs Investing in Children; A proposal
Replies: 19
Views: 1533

Re: College Funding Vs Investing in Children; A proposal

It is much better to foster good judgment than to try and impose it.

And as someone who chaperones teens - if it isn’t my money and it isn’t my kid - shrug - could be the next Facebook.
by sls239
Wed Jul 26, 2023 11:35 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Renting for life - a bad idea?
Replies: 735
Views: 87752

Re: Renting for life - a bad idea?

Is renting less stable? Yes.

Is it therefore bad? No.

I think there is another set of questions in there - is homeownership as stable as it used to be, or is it becoming less stable?

And another one - is homeownership equally stable across the geographical and economic spectrums?
by sls239
Mon Jul 17, 2023 12:28 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Help rationalize loss / exit strategy
Replies: 9
Views: 967

Re: Help rationalize loss / exit strategy

I’m confused by the “don’t like the location” and “ want to stay in the same area”

I would caution you that there tend to be trade-offs no matter what.

But in general what PP said is right, since the “market has dipped” then whatever you buy will have gone down in cost as well.

Your real loss would just be the transaction and moving expenses.
by sls239
Tue Jul 11, 2023 10:55 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: SAT Prep Tuitions - Opinions needed (timing/cost/etc..)
Replies: 101
Views: 8362

Re: SAT Prep Tuitions - Opinions needed (timing/cost/etc..)

That is ridiculous. It is much more important that they prepare themselves for college than they prepare themselves for the SAT.

That said - freshman year is a good time to work on SAT vocabulary. It is no substitute for being widely read, but a few minutes a week can give a little boost.

The other thing to do is since they’ve already taken a test of that style - they should review any questions they got wrong and think about why. The people who make the SAT and related tests know “bright kids” and are very good at predicting what will trip them up and they use that to differentiate. So self-awareness is a huge help.
by sls239
Mon Jun 26, 2023 2:08 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Iphone vs Android
Replies: 181
Views: 11086

Re: Iphone vs Android

When I went looking for a phone, the 2020SE was a nice phone with good water resistance at a reasonable price. And since then, I’ve been very happy. I ended up giving that one to my son, and getting an iPhone 12. Both have held up almost perfectly, drops that cracked a budget phone didn’t crack my iPhone. And they have since added new features to my phone that I feel are significant. And it is easy to look up how to do something - there aren’t a million possible variations. My iPhone started very responsive and has stayed very responsive - something I cannot say about the budget phones and truly annoyed me. And my brother had gone Apple years ago and had a habit of giving little iTunes gift cards that I didn’t use - they can be used on anyt...
by sls239
Thu Jun 22, 2023 3:44 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Help - lay-off in Nov 2022, rollover in cash
Replies: 15
Views: 1564

Re: Help - lay-off in Nov 2022, rollover in cash

Well you aren’t screwed - you have a good income, a nice house and a million dollars.

What you have is a choice.

So was it being all cash a straight oversight, or did it comfort you to not have it in the market?
by sls239
Thu Jun 22, 2023 3:15 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: I missed the train! Now what? (Bonds and a bull market)
Replies: 25
Views: 4865

Re: I missed the train! Now what? (Bonds and a bull market)

You lost a few dollars on some bonds and now you wan to to go to an even more volatile allocation?

No, that does not sound like a good idea at all. What are you going to do when there is a real market crash?

If you want to have more money for retirement, leave your allocation alone and put more money in.
by sls239
Thu Jun 22, 2023 8:59 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: [Location of Safe] in house without basement
Replies: 27
Views: 2911

Re: [Location of Safe] in house without basement

Mine is in the coat closet - it is for documents not valuables.

I’ve experienced a fire and for air flow reasons and because drywall is fire resistant, closets are pretty good and the coat closet is near the door so it would be easy to access after the fact.

PP jokes about “glorified cash boxes” but even things in just plastic boxes that were in a closet came out not too bad if burning stuff didn’t land right on top of them. Because much of the destruction was not the fire per-se but smoke and the stuff they have to use and do to put out the fire.

So I do use the safe for things like my passport, but I also tend to keep a lot of less crucial things in plastic boxes in the closet.
by sls239
Thu Jun 22, 2023 8:11 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Family vacation ideas (kids 3, 6yo)?
Replies: 38
Views: 3537

Re: Family vacation ideas (kids 3, 6yo)?

Washington DC - and as they get older you can go back and see new things - even see new things at the same places. Best for youngest kids - National Zoo and the Mint. And nearby - MT Vernon.

And further away and more expensive - I really liked the Disney cruise we took to Alaska - super kid friendly but still Alaska.

And it may sound strange - but I found Stockholm to be very kid friendly, in general.
by sls239
Thu May 25, 2023 1:56 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How to internalize what you read
Replies: 38
Views: 3665

Re: How to internalize what you read

Generally other than rolling an idea around in my mind, no.

I read a fair amount of non-fiction but it is important to remember that non-fiction… well it doesn’t always remain non-fiction. Even if the facts and observations remain the same, the addition of new information and advances in interpretation mean that it is prudent to double check with current sources before relying on what was read in a book however long ago.
by sls239
Thu May 25, 2023 10:05 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Teaching College Students about Personal Finance
Replies: 20
Views: 2511

Re: Teaching College Students about Personal Finance

Each student is in a unique situation which you may or may not be able to speak directly to. But you could use professional athletics as a case study - they have particular challenges like they often have family members they want to support, often their more distant relatives see them as someone with money and want to offer them a chance to “invest,” their careers generally aren’t going to last their full adults life, and so forth.

The players unions I believe have developed some curriculum in this area.

I think it is interesting and engaging and students are likely to think more about their particular situation and what strategies might work for them.
by sls239
Wed May 17, 2023 4:56 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is paying debt a saving?
Replies: 243
Views: 12006

Re: Is paying debt a saving?

I would say no, that doesn’t count as saving.

Money you save is available for a future use - people save for retirement, save for a rainy day, save for a vacation.

But that doesn’t mean that paying of debt is a lesser goal.
by sls239
Mon May 15, 2023 3:54 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Need few sentence rationale for why people should avoid financial advisors
Replies: 187
Views: 15822

Re: Need few sentence rationale for why people should avoid financial advisors

I would say something like - even for those with an advisor, it is important to understand what you are invested in, how much and what kind of risks your money is subject to, and how your advisor is being compensated.
by sls239
Fri May 12, 2023 10:15 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Wife wants to keep money losing condo - should I pay off a 4.5% fixed or recast?
Replies: 74
Views: 7484

Re: Wife wants to keep losing money on condo - should I pay off a 4.5% fixed or recast?

I think if you are going to cede to wife about keeping the condo, you should probably just cede to wife about paying off the mortgage on the condo - the difference on that is not going to be large either way.
by sls239
Wed May 10, 2023 2:39 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Help with decision (a) $2700 fix (b) selling my Honda Odyssey.
Replies: 20
Views: 1876

Re: Help with decision (a) $2700 fix (b) selling my Honda Odyssey.

Are you close to either not needing a minivan anymore or to wanting an additional car for an additional driver?

If neither of those, assuming you want and can afford a new one - why not go for it?
by sls239
Thu Apr 27, 2023 2:59 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Low hanging fruit to lower travel costs?
Replies: 48
Views: 5615

Re: Low hanging fruit to lower travel costs?

Get food from a market. This can be instead of a sit down restaurant or for like snacks in case you aren’t used to the local custom dining times.
by sls239
Tue Apr 04, 2023 12:47 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Is Costco meat worth it?
Replies: 79
Views: 16068

Re: Is Costco meat worth it?

Family of two here - For saving money purposes I plan the meat containing meals around what is on sale or discounted at the grocery store for the most part.

I don’t freeze raw meat - I have no desire to keep track of it and I don’t want a freezer full of expensive stuff and work I haven’t done just sitting there.

I might make a larger dish - like a roast or chili and freeze some leftovers though.
by sls239
Thu Mar 30, 2023 3:28 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Pre-nup / Asset Protection Trust for HNW individual / advice
Replies: 60
Views: 6830

Re: Pre-nup / Asset Protection Trust for HNW individual / advice

Are you ready for this person to be an equal parent with you?

Like have an equal say in if, for example, your hospitalized child is given opiate painkiller?

The non-financial decisions aren’t any easier than the financial ones. In fact, they can be a lot harder.
by sls239
Thu Mar 30, 2023 2:17 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Should I buy a house?
Replies: 22
Views: 2541

Re: Should I buy a house?

No.

Having kids, getting a different job, those things can drastically impact what your housing needs and desires are.