Search found 607 matches

by csm
Fri Mar 15, 2024 10:10 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: "22 of the funniest novels since Catch-22" (acc. to the NYT)
Replies: 29
Views: 2899

Re: "22 of the funniest novels since Catch-22" (acc. to the NYT)

protagonist wrote: Thu Mar 14, 2024 7:45 pm
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4, by Sue Townsend (1982)
Thank you for reminding me of this wonderful, delightful series. I read the first few and then it somehow dropped off my radar - probably when my reading time had dwindled significantly during high-stress work years.

I am chuffed to discover that the entire series is available on Kindle Unlimited to which I have a subscription.
by csm
Mon Feb 26, 2024 12:16 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: FIRE-ing In, Quitting versus Getting FIRE-d - Talking to Boss Tomorrow
Replies: 148
Views: 22535

Re: FIRE-ing In, Quitting versus Getting FIRE-d - Talking to Boss Tomorrow

Ha, I guess that is what I may find out! I have no idea truly. I'm a VP with just over $300K total compensation. But I'm also technically still a "new hire" after 2.5 years with the firm so it's not like I've been there long term. I think you've received a lot of good advice in this thread. I just wanted to comment on this one statement. If you've only been with the company for 2.5 years and they consider anyone with the company less than 3 years still to be a "new hire," are you absolutely certain that the company will actually give someone with so few years of service a severance package? In my experience, severance is usually given based on years of service and someone who is still a new hire, as defined by the compa...
by csm
Fri Feb 09, 2024 2:12 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Lagoon communities in Florida - Thoughts/personal experiences?
Replies: 58
Views: 6362

Re: Lagoon communities in Florida - Thoughts/personal experiences?

Are alligators an issue with man-made lagoons as they are with other bodies of water in FL? Absolutely. One can expect alligators and snakes in any body of water in Florida. I'm in MD. No gators but I've fished snakes, snapping turtles and various mammals out of the (chlorinated) pool. The mammals often die from the cold but the snappers and the snakes are unfazed by it. IMO one should not be put off by wildlife but be aware and respect their space. They were here first (except the invasives - in which case, no mercy) I agree with you. I find the alligators delightful in our small Florida town. I was only commenting that they should be expected. We see one or two nearly every day on our walks past manmade lakes and retention ponds, the wat...
by csm
Thu Feb 08, 2024 12:34 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Lagoon communities in Florida - Thoughts/personal experiences?
Replies: 58
Views: 6362

Re: Lagoon communities in Florida - Thoughts/personal experiences?

HomeStretch wrote: Thu Feb 08, 2024 5:52 am Are alligators an issue with man-made lagoons as they are with other bodies of water in FL?
Absolutely. One can expect alligators and snakes in any body of water in Florida.
by csm
Thu Feb 08, 2024 10:48 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Frustrated with PersonalCapital - any suggestions?
Replies: 49
Views: 8382

Re: Frustrated with PersonalCapital - any suggestions?

My Fidelity accounts have been updating regularly. Just logged in and it refreshed immediately without a hitch.

I'm still having serious issues with my Ally accounts where all my individual holdings (several CDs) within my single log-in are not being retrieved. It's pulling my checking, savings and several CDs, but missing several CDs (those opened latest - within the last year or two). On advice from support, I've manually refreshed the log-in information multiple times, but it doesn't help.
by csm
Wed Feb 07, 2024 10:12 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Intuit's Mint App Shutting Down...Replacement Recommendations?
Replies: 754
Views: 141283

Re: Intuit's Mint App Shutting Down...Replacement Recommendations?

For those using Empower / Personal Capital, do any of you also link an Ally account to it and, if so, any issues with it retrieving all your accounts? I have an Ally log-in with a savings, checking, and six different CDs. For the past couple of years, Empower can't seem to retrieve the most recent CDs added even after refreshing the account. So I'm only seeing my savings, checking and three of the CDs in my dashboard. I've had an ongoing open support ticket with them that they respond to about every six months telling me it is now fixed and to refresh the account. Each time, nothing changes. Most recently, they wrote last week to force a refresh and it should work - no joy. Just wondered if any of the Empower users here are having similar i...
by csm
Wed Feb 07, 2024 9:35 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Bad Debt - Sell Investments?
Replies: 48
Views: 3944

Re: Bad Debt - Sell Investments?

Your budget is quite bare bones already, but perhaps look at these two areas: 15 Internet 25 J phone 88 phone (until July, then reducing cost) Total of $128 for phone and internet. I see you are already planning to reduce the 88 phone, but look for a bundle for phone and internet service and you may be able to reduce this further. 1000 Food For just you and your daughter, you should be able to reduce this, perhaps even significantly (saving $300-400?) while still purchasing healthy options, especially if she is taking an interest in food prep. Do you have access to a store like Aldi? Excellent prices including a lot of healthier and/or organic options. Walmart also now carries a lot of organic brands so don't ignore the option to shop groce...
by csm
Sat Feb 03, 2024 7:21 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Fish at Costco
Replies: 43
Views: 6087

Re: Fish at Costco

My preferred fish is Atlantic salmon sourced from Norway. At my Costco, I can get that in the 'fresh' area (no doubt it's really thawed and has been previously frozen) but I will cut it into filets, vacuum seal and freeze portions that I don't cook immediately. Costco used to carry the individually frozen Atlantic salmon filets from Norway, but my Costco has switched to those sourced from Chile which I won't buy - but check the package because your Costco may still stock the Norwegian-sourced frozen salmon filets. Most people do recommend the Alaskan wild caught salmon which is available in the frozen section at Costco, so I don't think you can go wrong if you like the taste of Alaskan salmon. I have also purchased the frozen Barramundi at ...
by csm
Wed Jan 17, 2024 1:46 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Fidelity Visa Payment Reversal Issue
Replies: 13
Views: 2227

Re: Fidelity Visa Payment Reversal Issue

The response from Fidelity was not terribly helpful.

It was basically a repeat of how to format the account (the 17-digit method as I posted above) and she provided it with my specific account details "for my convenience" as if I was stupid or had not already written to her that that was exactly how I formatted it. No explanation for why it was reversed or considered invalid despite that it was entered as required.

So I have taken the multi-step process of withdrawing the cash to my Ally account and once deposited there, will make a payment back to Fidelity. Seems absurd.
by csm
Mon Jan 15, 2024 7:50 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Fidelity Visa Payment Reversal Issue
Replies: 13
Views: 2227

Re: Fidelity Visa Payment Reversal Issue

You have configured your Fidelity (Elan) VISA account to automatically pull your monthly payment from your CMA account? Is there a benefit to doing it this way rather than using billpay to send from CMA to Elan? Not sure if you're asking me, but no, my Fidelity Visa autopay comes from my Ally bank account. However, I had a large balance on my Fidelity Visa - deliberately - the card had 0% interest for a year and I used it to spread out the payments on an unexpected large special assessment on our condo. I was ready to make a significant payment on the balance from the cash balance available in my Fidelity brokerage account (what Fidelity classifies as FCASH). To my knowledge, this is not a CMA. When I set up the VISA payment in the system,...
by csm
Sat Jan 13, 2024 3:47 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Fidelity Visa Payment Reversal Issue
Replies: 13
Views: 2227

Re: Fidelity Visa Payment Reversal Issue

I don't have paper checks. These were the instructions to use when one doesn't have check-writing and clearly says that it will be a 17-digit account number.

The system accepted the account number when I established the link, and in fact, the account is still showing as set up when I attempt to create a new payment. There is a dropdown menu with my existing Ally account as well as this Fidelity account that I can choose to make a payment.

This isn't a CMA account, it is the free cash in my individual [brokerage?] account. When I walk through the steps to make a payment, it shows the value of this account as available cash to use to make a payment.
by csm
Sat Jan 13, 2024 9:58 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Fidelity Visa Payment Reversal Issue
Replies: 13
Views: 2227

Re: Fidelity Visa Payment Reversal Issue

I pulled up this thread via a search because I've just had a similar issue. My autopay is set up to pay my Fidelity Visa from my Ally bank account, so I have no issues with my normal autopay and nothing is late. However, last week I wanted to make a large payment from the cash available in my Fidelity brokerage account to the Fidelity Visa. I had gotten the Visa last year with 0% interest for a year in order to pay some high unexpected condo assessments and spread the payments out - I otherwise never pay credit cards over time, and always pay off balance in full every month. I set up the payment method using the instructions on the Fidelity website: Don’t have the checkwriting feature? Your account number will be 17-digits and you’ll add 39...
by csm
Tue Jan 09, 2024 11:28 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: SFH purchase: keep or sell owner-occupied 2-unit
Replies: 11
Views: 884

Re: SFH purchase: keep or sell owner-occupied 2-unit

Since you have been living in the 2-unit home, you may not have to pay any capital gains tax on the profit from the sale, whereas you would need to if you sell it after it has been solely a rental after some years. Although please research this yourself as I'm not sure if this applies to a multi-unit property where you've had some rental income.
by csm
Tue Jan 09, 2024 11:18 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Medical Insurance Options for Returning US Expat
Replies: 2
Views: 318

Re: Medical Insurance Options for Returning US Expat

If you are going to remain residents of Europe and only spend ca. 2 months per year in the U.S., and you are only looking for something to cover emergency medical needs (i.e. not planning to establish health care with a primary physician or do your preventive check-ups and exams), you may wish to look into an American Express Platinum International Dollar card issued out of AmEx in the UK. My experience is several years ago, so you will want to research this to be sure the current terms and conditions meet your needs, but I'll share my experience. When I had the AmEx IDC, the medical insurance was excellent as was the car rental insurance (covering both CDW and ALI). I am a US citizen who was working abroad in Denmark, living with my Danish...
by csm
Sat Dec 30, 2023 12:40 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Intuit's Mint App Shutting Down...Replacement Recommendations?
Replies: 754
Views: 141283

Re: Intuit's Mint App Shutting Down...Replacement Recommendations?

I considered just continuing to use Personal Capital and to just delete mint, but I've been really wanting to be the customer and purchase a solution, instead of being the product. I am discouraged at how many Personal Capital aggregation issues I've had at Personal Capital , so I think I'll just continue to use that as a backup. So I've been trying Quicken Simplifi (3 month trial -> a year free if you import some mint data) and Quicken Classic for Mac Deluxe (50% sale so $30 for a year). I like being the customer instead of the product, and they have decent customer chat and phone support. They do have issues but I've settled on Quicken Classic, but since I got Quicken Simplifi for a whole year I'll keep checking it out. Simplifi is the n...
by csm
Fri Dec 29, 2023 10:42 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 12/29 Sale of Index Funds?
Replies: 10
Views: 1287

Re: 12/29 Sale of Index Funds?

Thank you both. I think maybe I shouldn't panic and just hold the course. I've been frustrated with how poorly the bond fund has done when looking at performance over 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, 10 years. So I was going to cash it in and shift to even more CDs (already have funded I-Bonds for 2023 and 2024). But I also see that my AA has shifted with a higher weight to equities than I normally hold.

I'll take a pause and make the decision in the coming months rather than in the next two hours!
by csm
Fri Dec 29, 2023 10:19 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 12/29 Sale of Index Funds?
Replies: 10
Views: 1287

Re: 12/29 Sale of Index Funds?

I intended to sell some Fidelity Bond index funds this week but lost track of time. If I place an order before close of business tomorrow, 12/29, will the gain or loss on the sale be reflected in 2023 or not until 2024? Thank you. I believe the bond market will close early at 2pm EDT tomorrow, 12/29. However I believe the equity markets, which you probably care about, will trade until the usual 4pm EDT. Thank you! This is important because I was considering selling Bond index mutual funds - Fidelity FXNAX to be specific. I just can't figure out if I do so, what the tax implication will be. I wanted to lower my taxable income and this fund is reflecting a net loss (i.e. current value less than cost basis), but I'm uncertain how this will re...
by csm
Thu Dec 28, 2023 8:51 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 12/29 Sale of Index Funds?
Replies: 10
Views: 1287

Re: 12/29 Sale of Index Funds?

livesoft wrote: Thu Dec 28, 2023 8:39 pm In 2023. but before close of markets and not close of business
Thank you. Yes, I'll put the order in tonight or first thing in the morning.
by csm
Thu Dec 28, 2023 8:38 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 12/29 Sale of Index Funds?
Replies: 10
Views: 1287

12/29 Sale of Index Funds?

I intended to sell some Fidelity Bond index funds this week but lost track of time.

If I place an order before close of business tomorrow, 12/29, will the gain or loss on the sale be reflected in 2023 or not until 2024?

Thank you.
by csm
Thu Dec 28, 2023 1:23 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Frustrated with PersonalCapital - any suggestions?
Replies: 49
Views: 8382

Re: Frustrated with PersonalCapital - any suggestions?

I'm looking for an alternative to PersonalCapital after many years of use due to the problems with login/access issues, syncing accounts and accurately updating. I love the Dashboard and being able to quickly see the overall position (provided it is accurately retrieving all data). It is also useful for keeping an eye on credit cards, to monitor charges, credits, payments, etc. as well as search transactions, categorize expenses, etc. But lately with the errors, I'm missing the value of some assets and some liabilities. PersonalCapital's advice is to add these manually, but this kind of defeats the purpose. I access my dashboard multiple times a week, so this isn't something I only look at infrequently that could be supported by Excel sprea...
by csm
Fri Dec 15, 2023 10:41 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Refreezing Salmon?
Replies: 20
Views: 2221

Re: Refreezing Salmon?

I had a similar issue a few weeks ago. I had ordered frozen salmon filets from an online seller who ships in dry ice so that it should arrive still frozen solid (and usually does). The seller contacted me even before it arrived to say that UPS had made an error and shipped it ground instead of air, so he anticipated it would be too risky to keep and was sending a replacement shipment. Upon arrival, the salmon was mostly thawed but still icy cold, and when I opened a pack, there was no fishy smell at all so appeared and smelled safe and fresh. I decided to make the following recipe for salmon cakes: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/239541/chef-johns-fresh-salmon-cakes/ They were excellent. We ate a couple immediately, but once the extras co...
by csm
Tue Dec 12, 2023 1:23 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What are the best credit cards to use in Europe?
Replies: 39
Views: 3354

Re: What are the best credit cards to use in Europe?

For Denmark, debit/credit cards are widely used, although as already mentioned, some may not take AmEx (many will, but not all). Carry a VISA/MC with no foreign transaction fee. I can't think of anywhere you will have to have cash (I lived in Denmark for 30 years and now visit annually). Even buying an ice cream at a kiosk can be done with a card, as can purchasing a ticket for public transportation (bus, S-train, etc.), petrol, street food, groceries, restaurants, etc. You will most likely be asked to sign a receipt when using the POS terminal at supermarkets, restaurants, museums, etc. since you won't have a 4-digit PIN code for your US-issued credit card. It still may be convenient to have a bit of Danish kroner in cash in the rare insta...
by csm
Tue Dec 12, 2023 1:04 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: So what are you cooking
Replies: 945
Views: 107617

Re: So what are you cooking

My local Costco had Lobster ravioli again, at least for the holiday season! https://www.costco.com/rana-maine-lobster-ravioli%2C-13-oz%2C-2-pack.product.100574423.html [Ok, maybe boiling it in a pot of water for 4 min is not really cooking, but I count it.] I bought this as well - a favorite for a quick meal when it's late or I'm tired and don't want to cook. It was on sale at my Costco for $10.70 for the 2-pack, which gives my husband and I two meals. I'll pair it with some Rao's marinara and shredded parmesan, or alternatively with some basil pesto. I get this a couple times a year when it's on sale. I made the following recipe for guests this past week and everyone enjoyed it - Spinach Artichoke Chicken Bake - simple and tasty: https://...
by csm
Sun Sep 24, 2023 9:05 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Saving on Seafoood! Suggestions
Replies: 21
Views: 3008

Re: Saving on Seafoood! Suggestions

I've purchased from both KnowSeafood.com and FultonFishMarket.com as well as Costco and been happy with all of them. Full disclosure - I prefer Atlantic salmon which is only farm-raised, but I will only buy it sourced from Norway, Faroe Islands, or similar -- not farmed in Chile. I've had scallops from KnowSeafood.com and enjoyed them as well. I usually buy when KnowSeafood has their Norwegian salmon in packs of 14 individually packaged filets for $99 or $119. They don't always have it on their website. I find it a good value. I'll also buy the Norwegian salmon at Costco in the 'fresh' (unfrozen) area. Costco sells the individually wrapped frozen filets as well, but a couple of years ago, my Costco switched from Norwegian-sourced to Chile i...
by csm
Fri Jun 23, 2023 12:36 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Where to find new kitchen counter stools
Replies: 15
Views: 1242

Re: Where to find new kitchen counter stools

We recently renovated our kitchen and purchased these from Ikea. They are very nice, comfortable and good quality for the price. These are the high bar stools; they also have a shorter version, depending on the height of your counter.

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/bergmund-b ... -10451997/

Shorter version:
https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/bergmund-b ... -20451992/
by csm
Tue Jun 06, 2023 2:02 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Cooktop on/in Counter
Replies: 18
Views: 1542

Re: Cooktop on/in Counter

We had a single 220 v plus for the range, so my husband had to do a splitter and created the option to plug two 220 volt appliances in. It wasn't a problem, just something to keep in mind. This isn’t up to code. The larger circuit breaker that the range had might not trip if there’s a short in one of the appliances, as they may have been designed with a smaller wire size and breaker in mind. The smaller wire isn’t enough to draw the current necessary to trip the breaker, but is large enough to start a fire in the event of a short circuit. Thank you. He checked all the breakers / wiring, etc. and spoke to an electrician to be sure he made the modification to code. It is possible that the way I wrote it (e.g. splitter) wasn't the right way t...
by csm
Mon Jun 05, 2023 9:56 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Cooktop on/in Counter
Replies: 18
Views: 1542

Re: Cooktop on/in Counter

We just renovated our kitchen and swapped out our range (single unit oven and cooktop) with a built-in oven and separate induction cooktop. I love both the aesthetics and functionality.

One other thing to keep in mind is that since these are two separate appliances, you will need to be able to accommodate two separate plugs. Our units required 220 volt. We had a single 220 v plus for the range, so my husband had to do a splitter and created the option to plug two 220 volt appliances in. It wasn't a problem, just something to keep in mind.
by csm
Mon May 01, 2023 3:25 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Where do you buy your steak from these days?
Replies: 52
Views: 5672

Re: Where do you buy your steak from these days?

Mostly Butcher Box these days, once every few months, but I add a lot of their deals to the order to bring down the price per serving of protein. My account also includes several "free for life" offers, e.g. 2 lb. ground beef, a flank steak, a pack of bacon - each order includes one of each of these every time I place an order.

I've also bought in the past from Costco and agree the filet mignon from Trader Joe's is excellent, but we rarely get to TJ's because it's inconvenient.
by csm
Thu Apr 27, 2023 10:14 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Who is right? Me or the wife? (Business class tickets)
Replies: 193
Views: 17801

Re: Who is right? Me or the wife? (Business class tickets)

Anyway, we called back, the guy confirmed the price, asked if we wanted them, we said yes, and he said "Oh, they are all sold out. Sorry". They were probably all sold out the first time we called, but they don't check until you say yes. What a stupid policy. Lesson learned about flights and fares - if you see something with a reasonable price, grab it when you see it. Things change by the minute and a good fare you see now, may be gone in hours (or less) or overnight. And the revised price is often substantially more. I've never heard of not being able to see availability until saying 'yes' to a price - although I have seen a price change between putting a flight in the itinerary and going through the steps to finalize it. Odd th...
by csm
Sun Apr 23, 2023 11:20 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Who is right? Me or the wife? (Business class tickets)
Replies: 193
Views: 17801

Re: Who is right? Me or the wife? (Business class tickets)

I'm the wife and I'm the one who insists on business class, or if it isn't reasonably affordable, at least premium economy. We haven't flown trans-Atlantic in economy in over 15 years - which as been many trips because we lived abroad, had homes at both ends until a few years ago, and now visit family annually. My husband has a bit the same attitude as your wife, that it is money wasted on a +/- 10 hour or so journey vs. using that money for something longer lasting. I'm just miserable flying in economy which has gotten worse over the years. I spend a lot of time researching to get us a decent fare and good connections (no more than one connection if I can't get a direct flight), no insanely long layovers, lounge access at each airport. I a...
by csm
Wed Jan 25, 2023 9:14 pm
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: 🎊Happy 99th Birthday to Taylor Larimore🎉
Replies: 247
Views: 15715

Re: 🎊Happy 99th Birthday to Taylor Larimore🎉

Happy Birthday, Taylor. :sharebeer
by csm
Wed Dec 28, 2022 2:55 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation
Replies: 324
Views: 28921

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Congrats on your discipline and accomplishments!
by csm
Sun Dec 04, 2022 1:18 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Umbrella Insurance help
Replies: 8
Views: 875

Re: Umbrella Insurance help

talzara wrote: Sun Dec 04, 2022 12:59 pm If you only drive when you rent, consider dropping the non-owner car insurance and the umbrella.
Just to clarify, we don’t only drive when we rent. We drive two RVs as well, but those policies specifically say they only cover us when driving each specific respective vehicle, i.e. would not cover a rental car. So I’d need to raise liability limits on the RV policy, but max is $1 million (which is a bit less than half of net worth).
by csm
Sun Dec 04, 2022 1:08 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Umbrella Insurance help
Replies: 8
Views: 875

Re: Umbrella Insurance help

If you only drive when you rent, consider dropping the non-owner car insurance and the umbrella. 85% of the umbrella risk is excess auto liability, and the other 15% is excess homeowners liability. Drop-down coverage is rounding error. Therefore, you don't need an umbrella. You just need the auto and homeowners coverage limits to be close to what you'd get with an umbrella. Most rental car companies will sell you $1 million of supplemental liability insurance, and a few will sell you $2 million. Some insurance companies also sell supplemental liability insurance for rental cars, although they usually bundle it with CDW. Most homeowners insurers will write $1 million of homeowners liability, and a few of them will write $2 million. If you c...
by csm
Sun Dec 04, 2022 1:05 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Umbrella Insurance help
Replies: 8
Views: 875

Re: Umbrella Insurance help

Thanks all - this is sort of what I did / have continued to do from the beginning (i.e. shop around, try to consolidate, use an agent, etc.) We’re in Florida which presents its own challenges, particularly for the condo insurance. We used an agent but were pretty limited with options for that, and they were not able to add umbrella with the company that had our condo insurance, nor as I recall, the RV insurance. Hard to understand why Progressive won’t add umbrella insurance to the RV policy. I had one idea which was to significantly increase the liability on the RV policy from its existing $300k to $1 million (maximum offered) which would at least be better protection should something happen while we’re driving the RV. I could probably inc...
by csm
Sun Dec 04, 2022 10:43 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Umbrella Insurance help
Replies: 8
Views: 875

Umbrella Insurance help

We currently have a $2 million umbrella policy via Geico for which the premium is $480 per year. In order to have that policy, we were required to purchase a Named Non-Owner auto policy because we currently do not own a traditional automobile. The NNO policy is now a shocking $618 every 6 months, which I find insane. The only thing we may need it for is if we rent a vehicle, which is rare. We have collision damage waiver via AmEx plus the AmEx premium rental insurance (we usually decline the insurance via the rental agency). I believe it is prudent to have umbrella insurance, but am having difficulty finding an option for it without the NNO policy. My research has failed me so I'm hoping for some ideas from the community. Our other insuranc...
by csm
Sun Nov 20, 2022 8:39 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation
Replies: 324
Views: 28921

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

I know we've had the Costco discussion earlier in this thread and the OP decided it wasn't the right fit in her case, but I can't help myself with the discussion of nuts to again bring up Costco. I get their walnuts which come in 3 lb. bags - right now $10.92 for a 3 lb bag delivered from Costco via Instacart, which is a slightly higher price than in store (my guess, about a dollar less in store). Really good quality, to my taste. I also buy their organic Brazil nuts and fancy mixed nuts (available in both unsalted and lightly salted options). Two pounds of pecans are currently ca. $15, three pounds of almonds are $11. They also have shelled pistachios, sprouted pumpkin seeds, peanuts, cashews. I have not found a better price for nuts. I do...
by csm
Wed Nov 09, 2022 12:30 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What do 55+ retirees do with their windfalls?
Replies: 102
Views: 9597

Re: What do 55+ retirees do with their windfalls?

sailaway wrote: Wed Nov 09, 2022 8:21 am
David Jay wrote: Wed Nov 09, 2022 8:18 am
sailaway wrote: Tue Nov 08, 2022 7:47 pm Factory fresh, semi custom 40' sailboats don't come cheap…
Blue-water Catamaran?
Nah, Sirius monohull. Everyone likes them so much they usually end up being sold to friends and family, so they rarely come on the market used.

https://www.sirius-yachts.com/yachts/40ds/
Those are nice sailing boats! When we lived in Denmark and sailed, this was on our wish list of a dream boat to buy and almost made a trip to Germany to see the 35DS at the factory. They are a rare sight - did see one in a Danish harbor when we were there in September.
by csm
Fri Oct 28, 2022 10:09 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: My incredibly stupid I Bond mistake
Replies: 34
Views: 6610

Re: My incredibly stupid I Bond mistake

Thank you for this thread. I posted a month ago that I had made the similar mistake: https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=386791 I am encouraged by the posts by Tarkus and RubyTuesday that I may be able to transfer all the gifts I purchased for my husband at once. It was an honest mistake. I never saw any warning on the TD website when I purchased the gifts that I was not buying his current year limit, regardless of whether or not I delivered them. I had tried to create an account for him earlier today but the site was unavailable, so I'll wait until next week when presumably the site will be settled back down and then attempt to transfer the gifts. Tarkus and RubyTuesday , Please post any updates if you hear back from TD on the...
by csm
Mon Sep 26, 2022 10:17 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Help! - Did I mess up I-Bonds (Gifts)
Replies: 19
Views: 1859

Re: Help! - Did I mess up I-Bonds (Gifts)

When you create the registration for an I-Bond purchase you can add a beneficiary as part of the registration and then check off the gift box. See the TD FAQ “How do I buy a gift bond…” on this TD page: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/help/tdhelp/howdoi.htm Then check out at TD how to change an IBond registration so you can add a beneficiary as part of a new registration to see if you can change the registrations for the bonds already in your gift box. From the TD site: How do I add a secondary owner or beneficiary to my securities? Adding a secondary owner or beneficiary to securities registered in single ownership form is simple in TreasuryDirect. You can edit securities being held in Current Holdings; however, you cannot edit savin...
by csm
Mon Sep 26, 2022 9:50 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Help! - Did I mess up I-Bonds (Gifts)
Replies: 19
Views: 1859

Re: Help! - Did I mess up I-Bonds (Gifts)

csm specifically asked earlier in the thread what happens with i-bonds in a gift box if a death occurs. We don't know her situation that caused her to ask that, but it seems to be on her mind. So, I think it would be only fair to explain to her what happens with settling i-bonds in a trust in the event of a death, before encouraging her to get all gung-ho into opening self-created trusts. Thank you for the input. To clarify why I asked the question about what happens with I-Bonds in a gift box if death occurs, I was thinking that I would set up my husband's TD account and start purchasing the $10K per year for him in his own account rather than transferring the gifts which would limit our options to make new purchases for the next six year...
by csm
Mon Sep 26, 2022 7:30 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Help! - Did I mess up I-Bonds (Gifts)
Replies: 19
Views: 1859

Re: Help! - Did I mess up I-Bonds (Gifts)

Tdubs wrote: Mon Sep 26, 2022 6:44 am
csm wrote: Mon Sep 26, 2022 6:32 am
GuyInFL wrote: Mon Sep 26, 2022 6:12 am Create a trust and start buying in that for him. Then start transferring the gift purchases to him at $10K per year.This allows you to continue purchasing $20K per year and unwind your situation..
https://thefinancebuff.com/buy-more-i-b ... trust.html
Thank you, I will read this link to see if it is an option for us.
BTW, this is astonishingly easy to DIY. It will allow you to buy $10k in new I Bonds for the trust each year, but you won't be able to deliver the existing gifts you have to the trust account. Gifts are only for individual accounts.
Would I be correct that once the gifts are cleared out, we would then be able to purchase $30K a year ($10K each to me, husband and trust)?
by csm
Mon Sep 26, 2022 6:38 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Help! - Did I mess up I-Bonds (Gifts)
Replies: 19
Views: 1859

Re: Help! - Did I mess up I-Bonds (Gifts)

This is a disaster. I'm in tears over this. I don’t know the answer to the question but you need to slow down. Worst case scenario you don’t buy 10k of ibonds for next 6 years. 60k. You’ll find another investment and the money already invested is still earning gains. Best case you’re fine and it works as you hoped. Either way, don’t get so worked up over what is at worse a very small mistake. You didn’t lose any money. You didn’t invest your life savings at the top of the market. Life is way too hard to be in tears over government bonds. Find the answer and take next steps after that. This had felt like my best / smartest investment from the past 10 years because of being both risk-free (no possible loss of capital) and inflation-protected...
by csm
Mon Sep 26, 2022 6:32 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Help! - Did I mess up I-Bonds (Gifts)
Replies: 19
Views: 1859

Re: Help! - Did I mess up I-Bonds (Gifts)

GuyInFL wrote: Mon Sep 26, 2022 6:12 am Create a trust and start buying in that for him. Then start transferring the gift purchases to him at $10K per year.This allows you to continue purchasing $20K per year and unwind your situation..
https://thefinancebuff.com/buy-more-i-b ... trust.html
Thank you, I will read this link to see if it is an option for us.
by csm
Mon Sep 26, 2022 6:31 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Help! - Did I mess up I-Bonds (Gifts)
Replies: 19
Views: 1859

Re: Help! - Did I mess up I-Bonds (Gifts)

Not an ideal situation but it’s not a “disaster”. Your spouse missed out on $60k of past I-Bond space which is probably not a significant % of your total portfolio. The good news is that you are earning the interest on the bonds. Instead of waiting until 2023, your spouse can open a TD account in 2022. Then deliver $10k of gifts annually from 2022-2028 to your spouse. For gifts that remain in your gift box, you can add yourself as beneficiary. If you die first, your Executor contacts TD to have the remaining gift bonds transferred in bulk to your spouse. If your spouse dies first, you contact TD to transfer the I-Bonds to you as beneficiary. The TD website has good FAQs about gifts. The Finance Buff also has a good post about them: https:/...
by csm
Mon Sep 26, 2022 5:34 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Help! - Did I mess up I-Bonds (Gifts)
Replies: 19
Views: 1859

Re: Help! - Did I mess up I-Bonds (Gifts)

I'm searching the TD website for any kind of warning whatsoever that the purchase is not counted as the recipient's limit in the year of purchase rather when delivered and can find nothing.

Here are instructions on buying and delivering: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/instit/s ... psheet.pdf

And it provides this information about delivering gifts:

Keep the bonds in your account until you're ready to deliver them.
When you deliver the bond to the recipient's TreasuryDirect account, we send him or her an e-mail announcing the gift.


Again, nothing explaining that it will count against a future year limit if not delivered in the year of purchase.
by csm
Mon Sep 26, 2022 5:01 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Help! - Did I mess up I-Bonds (Gifts)
Replies: 19
Views: 1859

Re: Help! - Did I mess up I-Bonds (Gifts)

This is a disaster. I'm in tears over this. I thought I was securing us $10k each every year since 2016. So I basically wasted all those years, as if we never made those purchases? Is there any way to fix this? What if these stay forever in my gift box? When I pass and he is the sole beneficiary, what happens? If I open his individual account in 2023 and purchase $10k every year from now on, retaining the $70,000 that sits now in my gift box, what happens to it? Please, if anyone has any ideas for how to fix this, I'm desperate. EDITED TO ADD: There was never a notice when making these purchases that they would be counted toward the limit in the year of transfer. I would have thought that there should be a warning on the TD website when pur...
by csm
Mon Sep 26, 2022 4:28 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Where to park cash?
Replies: 3
Views: 899

Re: Where to park cash?

I'm in a similar situation, i.e. have cash being held for a possible home purchase that could happen next week or next year.

How easy is it to cash in the Treasuries being referred to if suddenly pulling the trigger on a purchase and needing the cash immediately? I have both a Fidelity and Schwab account - would either of these be preferable? What would the difference be between buying Treasuries via one of these brokerages vs purchasing via the Treasury Direct website?
by csm
Mon Sep 26, 2022 4:23 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Help! - Did I mess up I-Bonds (Gifts)
Replies: 19
Views: 1859

Help! - Did I mess up I-Bonds (Gifts)

I just stumbled across the long thread about I-Bonds gifting, and my heart sank. I'm not sure if I've done something really stupid and/or if I'm misunderstanding how the gift box works. I opened a TreasuryDirect account back in 2014 to start buying the max. I-Bonds every year initially for myself. Then in 2016, when my husband became a US citizen with an SSN, I wanted us both to have $10,000 per year in I-Bonds. Rather than open an account with his details, I saw I could buy $10,000 in his name via my account and later transfer to an account for him, so I've been doing this since 2016 ($10k per year for each of us, retaining his in my account as gifts). For administrative ease, I've just been keeping all the I-Bonds, mine and his, in my sin...
by csm
Sun Sep 25, 2022 3:38 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Zillow agents?
Replies: 22
Views: 3124

Re: Zillow agents?

We had a similar situation about a month ago. A home was listed on Zillow and our regular agent was out of town. We knew it would sell quickly and wanted to see it quickly, so I clicked the link on the Zillow listing to set up a time to see it. I assumed I was contacting the listing agent, and that, if we were interested in moving forward, he/she would understand that we would bring in a buyer’s agent. If we had been asked to sign anything by the agent showing us the home, we would have immediately stated that we were already working with an agent. However, the agent who showed us the home was very casual and did not ask us to sign anything, nor ask for any detailed information, so basically, the opportunity never really came up to state we...