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Trism

Honestly, I think you're over-complicating it. I've been working from home for 12+ years, and spend nearly all day looking at email, online meeting presentations, etc. I have a 15" laptop (as it came out of the box) connected to a $10 wired Microsoft mouse, and a desk that is as aesthetic as it is f...

Trism

I have a long weekend in Chicago with friends planned for late April/early May.

At this point, chances of actually going are practically zero, but I see no reason to cancel my lodging until the date gets closer (I haven't booked the flights).

Trism

My experience with GoodRX wasn't that great. I didn't have medical insurance at the time. I went to buy my two meds. One med wasn't offering a discount. It took the clerk 45 minutes to navigate the system to give me $3 off my other med. Meh. My understanding is that GoodRX is entered into the pharm...

Trism

I have a coffee maker at home and at work. I make plenty of purchases that others would find illogical, but I will never understand the appeal of driving out of one's way, parking the car, and waiting in line to pay a premium for someone to serve hot brown caffeinated water. Hmm... I might have to ...

Trism

All three of the rug mats we have under our large area rugs have ruined (discolored) the carpet underneath. How so? Just curious. The mats eventually wear out/deteriorate and have to be replaced. As I mentioned above we've used them on 100% wool and silk orientals for 30 years and never a problem w...

Trism

All three of the rug mats we have under our large area rugs have ruined (discolored) the carpet underneath.

Trism

This is my favorite way to see Chicago.

https://www.chicagohelicopterexperience.com/

Last time I was there I picked up a deal on Groupon, but it's well worth retail price.

Trism

I have a coffee maker at home and at work.

I make plenty of purchases that others would find illogical, but I will never understand the appeal of driving out of one's way, parking the car, and waiting in line to pay a premium for someone to serve hot brown caffeinated water.

Trism

Pet food is not a necessity, because neither is a pet. The word "necessity" is subjective in this post. Since my cats are family members to me, feeding them is a necessity. If you do not feel this same way, then it's not a necessity to you. I doubt that we all have the same lists. - Tim We have two...

Trism

timboktoo wrote: ↑
Tue Feb 25, 2020 7:22 pm

Necessities:

Pet Food

Probably not material here, but I just went through this with a friend who is having financial problems.

Pet food is not a necessity, because neither is a pet.

Trism

This isn't directly responsive to your question, but your wife can be on the deed but not the mortgage. If you don't need her income to qualify, just leave her off the application, but put her name on the deed with yours. You should still start building her credit, and it only takes one trade line r...

Trism

Several waitresses have told me that tips added to credit card payments frequently aren’t credited to the waitress or to the wrong waitress. Therefore, I tip in cash even if I use a credit card or a gift card. I am a good tipper; consequently, I receive excellent service at all of the local establi...

Trism

Name variations don't matter. How new is the account that isn't reporting on one of the bureaus? The CC not reported is about 20 years old. We stopped using it years ago, but it is still open. A reason to add it would be to tweak our average credit age and get a slightly higher FICO score. Does not...

Trism

Name variations don't matter.

How new is the account that isn't reporting on one of the bureaus?

Trism

This post reminded me of the 1990s when I used credit cards. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Sadly, I have no advice for you on this topic as I no longer use credit cards. I save up and pay cash for things that I need. If I do not have the cash, I do not buy it. I don't buy anything without h...

Trism

CreditWise, one of the credit score companies, says that credit utilization has a very high impact on score and that 0-10% is excellent, 11-30% good, 31-60% average and higher below average. It also says taht 46% are excellent, 20% good, 16% average and 18% below average, which seems an odd use of ...

Trism

dknightd wrote: ↑
Thu Feb 27, 2020 9:17 am
I have no plans to take out a loan.

Nothing else matters. Leave your money in the bank and take the float. This is what credit cards are for.

If you needed to get a mortgage next month and your scores were borderline for getting the best terms, I would have offered different advice.

Trism

one thing my brother in law suggested was that she take out a loan against her car for a small amount (maybe 1/2 the value) and find a credit union with very low rates, and make monthly payment for 6-9 months and then pay it off in full. This would help thicken her credit file and may marginally he...

Trism

Best way to maximize a cash back card is to stack it with more cash back offers. I'd look into pairing it with the Rakuten shopping portal. Converting to ThankYou points isn't really a good deal unless you want to earn jetBlue points. I agree with the sentiment, but Rakuten (formerly Ebates) genera...

Trism

The Double Cash is one of a number of 2% cards on the market, but it's the only one that makes 2% back confusing to some people.

Trism

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/billhardekopf/2018/07/16/do-people-really-spend-more-with-credit-cards/amp/ Several studies indicating it cost a person more using a credit card than cash. Cash is king. Here's a survey that shows that the average American household has $16,420 in s...

Trism

This article isn't about my health insurance cost, it's about the out-of-pocket expenses a guy in Miami had to pay as a direct result of canceling a higher-quality health insurance policy because he prioritized other expenses over the $400/month the plan was costing him. The topic also isn't actiona...

Trism

We have accidental death and dismemberment coverage on our coffee maker for only $1.99 a month.

Trism

So you want to go through the hassle of calling the attention and take the undue risk they might not accept your explanation? OK, go for it. (And yes, they are victims, dear blame-the-victim.) There are bigger risks to carrying around wads of cash, and zero purchase protections on the things you bu...

Trism

People who realize that they are less likely to be victims of fraud and can preserve some privacy when using cash. I know there are safeguards against credit fraud and privacy is a quaint notion but who wants the attendant hassles? I use cash for small purchases and in certain establishments. Credi...

Trism

I hope the EU forces Apple to change to USB-C. Heaven forbid letting the market decide. Market doesn't get to decide anything in an oligopoly. Most people aren't carrying around a Samsung phone and an Apple phone. Let's say I'm wrong, though. How much space do two different cords take up? My phone ...

Trism

OP: This is horrible. At first, I was blaming you as you did not report the damage. Then I saw that you had CDW. Now I blame them. I always assume that it covers everything. I learned something new here. Next time I will ask them for a list of exceptions. The C in C DW stands for collision . I don'...

Trism

I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment.

Try to ask yourself, "What can I learn from this mistake so I can avoid making it again?"

And...

"How can I apply this lesson to other situations?"

I'm by no means perfect, so I always try to look for my share of the blame... which is rarely zero.

Trism

OP: This is horrible. At first, I was blaming you as you did not report the damage. Then I saw that you had CDW. Now I blame them. I always assume that it covers everything. I learned something new here. Next time I will ask them for a list of exceptions. The C in C DW stands for collision . I don'...

Trism

OP: This is horrible. At first, I was blaming you as you did not report the damage. Then I saw that you had CDW. Now I blame them. I always assume that it covers everything. I learned something new here. Next time I will ask them for a list of exceptions. The C in C DW stands for collision . I don'...

Trism

I hope the EU forces Apple to change to USB-C. Heaven forbid letting the market decide. Market doesn't get to decide anything in an oligopoly. Most people aren't carrying around a Samsung phone and an Apple phone. Let's say I'm wrong, though. How much space do two different cords take up? My phone ...

Trism

Only three kinds of people use cash: Old fashioned people who can't change their habits Paranoid people who think cash is more secure People who fear their spending would go wild with credit cards People who realize that they are less likely to be victims of fraud and can preserve some privacy when...

Trism

Only three kinds of people use cash: Old fashioned people who can't change their habits Paranoid people who think cash is more secure People who fear their spending would go wild with credit cards People who realize that they are less likely to be victims of fraud and can preserve some privacy when...

Trism

Well, looks like Shell has cancelled my account, supposedly they sent a letter. I don't remember getting a letter stating basically that because of an AUDIT they would not send new cards, is what customer service said????? It's my oldest CC Dec 2004, last statement was Aug 2017.... I know i had rea...

Trism

I use cash at those hole-in-the-wall places when I order take out so that the owners don't have to pay the transaction fees for credit cards. I also tend to use cash for small purchases (anything below $10) so that I don't have so many items to verify on my credit card statement when it comes aroun...

Trism

GeoffD wrote: ↑
Mon Feb 24, 2020 6:59 am
I hope the EU forces Apple to change to USB-C.

Heaven forbid letting the market decide.

Trism

Why not just buy the beemer you are leasing? BMW residuals are inflated to keep the lease payments low. It's hard to imagine a scenario where buying a BMW at lease end makes financial sense. It would be wiser to buy a different, similar car for market value instead. BMW = Bring Money Withya I B rou...

Trism

Costco has high quality tires and good prices, especially on sale. I have bought there before but found it inconvenient when getting tires rotated. Also, they do not do front end alignments which are often desired when buying new tires. I have found my dealership to be a good option. I can get tire...

Trism

Once in a while, run with scissors.

Trism

Where do you people live that you’re burning through car batteries? Venus? I’m in a cool climate. Batteries last 8+ years. If I need a battery, I drive to the local auto parts store with a coupon from their web site, unbolt my battery, bring it into the store, buy a replacement, and install it. I b...

Trism

Tire life is inversely proportional to how engaging a car is to drive.

Trism

Spend money on: *books - they don't take up a lot of space and have more benefit than another random toy that won't be used (and whose parts will be lost) Make sure the kid likes books. No amount of wishing a kid would like books will make a kid who doesn't like books like books. I was one such kid...

Trism

MN-Investor wrote: ↑
Thu Feb 13, 2020 12:42 pm
Make the children buy the cords? They might last longer.

This was going to be my suggestion.

Or let them trade in the old cord for a new one instead of something else they hoped to receive (pizza lunch planned for Saturday, for example).

Trism

Where do you people live that you’re burning through car batteries? Venus? I’m in a cool climate. Batteries last 8+ years. If I need a battery, I drive to the local auto parts store with a coupon from their web site, unbolt my battery, bring it into the store, buy a replacement, and install it. I b...

Trism

If you need to replace or repair a tire later it may take several days to get an appointment, or you''ll have to wait forever (HOURS) if you just drop in.

And their prices are no better than Discount Tire, where they excel at service (at no additional cost -- and they're usually even less).

Trism

Additionally, the plan is to put 10K down and finance the remainder on a ~20K vehicle. This makes sense in my head as it brings the monthly payment down, unsure if there's anything I might not be factoring in. Assuming good credit (and therefore low APR), putting 10k down doesn't reduce your overal...

Trism

Gas prices at Costco will also help pay the membership. Wife and I drove over this morning to fill up our cars - $2.099 versus $2.359 at the cheapest alternative in the area. Saved 7 bucks. This is heavily dependent on where you live, and is absolutely not true where I am. I have multiple options a...

Trism

mhalley wrote: ↑
Sun Feb 23, 2020 7:41 pm
Why not just buy the beemer you are leasing?

BMW residuals are inflated to keep the lease payments low.

It's hard to imagine a scenario where buying a BMW at lease end makes financial sense.

It would be wiser to buy a different, similar car for market value instead.

Trism

What is the approximate daily/weekly cost to rent a suitable van when you want to use one? With anticipated usage in an average year, how does that compare to annual costs of owning (including depreciation, maintenance, repairs, insurance, etc.)? Not sure how to answer this other than saying, the c...

Trism

What is the approximate daily/weekly cost to rent a suitable van when you want to use one?

With anticipated usage in an average year, how does that compare to annual costs of owning (including depreciation, maintenance, repairs, insurance, etc.)?

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