Search found 1452 matches
- Mon Jan 05, 2015 11:37 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: new self employed person late on taxes
- Replies: 6
- Views: 1087
Re: new self employed person late on taxes
I don't have any personal experience with self-employee tax, but looking at the forms, I would think that you file the quarterly payment on the 1040-ES for both federal withholding and self-employ tax and then file schedule C and SE at tax time. If you think you won't get a penalty because it's less...
- Mon Jan 05, 2015 11:00 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Forums for parents with Children
- Replies: 12
- Views: 4720
Re: Forums for parents with Children
I was mostly thinking of forums on child development. We are not friends with kids the same age. For most of my friends, their kids are in high school. For most of my wife's friends, the are mostly single. Majority of my church group are of advance age, but there have been younger family members. Th...
- Mon Jan 05, 2015 2:43 am
- Forum: US Chapters
- Topic: Hobbies + Free Time
- Replies: 11
- Views: 3219
Re: Hobbies + Free Time
I used to have a wide range of hobbies including reading, hiking, cycling, investing, bird feeding, etc. After kids, I find that I have less free time and concentrated on hobbies that are still compatible. I still do bird feeding and gardening, but not to the extent I used to. I still cook, but is m...
- Mon Jan 05, 2015 2:38 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Bilingual households
- Replies: 39
- Views: 7167
Bilingual households
I speak a second language other than English. My wife also speak a totally different second language. My thought was wouldn't it be nice to teach each other and the kids each other's language. This may be a good time to do it when they are pre-Kindergarten. For Bilingual or even Trilingual household...
- Mon Jan 05, 2015 2:32 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Forums for parents with Children
- Replies: 12
- Views: 4720
Forums for parents with Children
Are there good forums for parents? We have been winging it with reading books for the past couple of years, but often I have questions that needs answers. I find that my mom's knowledge appears to be out of date. While Bogleheads forum is great, it is not necessary the place for these types of quest...
- Mon Jan 05, 2015 2:26 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Lightbulbs in Fully Enclosed Recessed Fixtures
- Replies: 57
- Views: 39240
Re: Lightbulbs in Fully Enclosed Recessed Fixtures
Incandescent and Halogen tend to run really hot to begin with, so the issue is not with the bulb but with the material in the enclosed space. CFL don't generate a lot of heat and has the opposite problem with cold temperature. They tend to be dim until they warm up. LED are more sensitive to heat th...
- Mon Jan 05, 2015 2:10 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Social Security election change? Q for my 71 yr Mom
- Replies: 21
- Views: 2895
Re: Social Security election change? Q for my 71 yr Mom
To the original poster, make sure that you do check if the 1/2 benefit is higher than your mom's benefits. If this is the case, this is a no brainer. The benefit will only increase on the death of the ex-spouse and SSA do not need permission from the ex-spouse to process the claim. The benefit is li...
- Mon Jan 05, 2015 2:01 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Do you keep manuals/packaging for products you buy?
- Replies: 34
- Views: 3230
Re: Do you keep manuals/packaging for products you buy?
If possible, I download the manual in PDF format and recycle the paper form.
Paul
Paul
- Mon Jan 05, 2015 1:30 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Company Stock in 401k
- Replies: 7
- Views: 971
Re: Company Stock in 401k
My company matches in stock, so every year or so, I sell off the company stock so that I have about 4-5% max. I would strongly advise anyone to diversify. I know several people who held most of their money in their company stock because their company was doing so well. As a result, they end up not h...
- Wed Dec 31, 2014 1:47 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Can I fund Vanguard purchases with my Target REDcard?
- Replies: 40
- Views: 7246
Re: Can I fund Vanguard purchases with my Target REDcard?
I thought Redcard only allow you to purchase items from Target. Are Vanguard funds available for purchase now at Target :-p.
Paul
Paul
- Wed Dec 31, 2014 1:26 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: How Much Do You Sacrifice?
- Replies: 82
- Views: 8729
Re: How Much Do You Sacrifice?
The goal is not to save everything and then live like a king at retirement. The idea is flawed, since you may not reach that goal due to early death and by the time you retired, you may be too old to enjoy some of the activities that you would have enjoy when you were younger. What you should thinki...
- Tue Dec 30, 2014 9:35 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: How have elderly parents affected your retirement?
- Replies: 29
- Views: 5842
Re: How have elderly parents affected your retirement?
Would you considered having them spend down their asset instead of contributing your own? Retiring early means you can give them better oversight as someone else said. If they are in their 90's, you may not have much time left to spend with them.
Paul
Paul
- Mon Dec 29, 2014 12:43 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Transfer money from India to US
- Replies: 3
- Views: 1360
Re: Transfer money from India to US
How much are they wiring per year? If it's less than the annual gift exclusion, then there's There is hot much to worry about. Just do a wire transfer. For large amounts, if the giver is not a Us Citizen, you may not incur a gift tax, but make sure you wire it from a non-US bank from outside of the ...
- Mon Dec 29, 2014 12:15 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: 529 and Roth IRA withdraw and financial aid
- Replies: 12
- Views: 3168
Re: 529 and Roth IRA withdraw and financial aid
(EFC counts retirement contributions as part of income, because they are discretionary spending.) This is so true and was a real eye opener when I learned this 5 years ago. Bogleheads are so used to the mantra of maxing out retirement plan contributions that they treat these as a mandatory expense ...
- Mon Dec 29, 2014 12:09 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Any Cyclists With a Brooks Saddle?
- Replies: 37
- Views: 5617
Re: Any Cyclists With a Brooks Saddle?
Mines is quite comfortable. I had mines since the early 90's, so it's pretty broken in. One issue with leather saddle is that you have to maintain it. If you let it sit in water and dry it out it will be ruined. If treated well, leather saddle last a pretty long time. One note with saddle is that no...
- Mon Dec 29, 2014 12:03 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Protecting your Windows system from malware
- Replies: 44
- Views: 6671
Re: Protecting your Windows system from malware
JRE is JAVA Runtime Environment. Think of it as a component on your computer that Java program has to call to do its functionality. Frankly, I don't know of too many sites that uses Java. I notice an article dated back in 2012 that 0.2% of all worldwide site still uses Java. When I think of Java usa...
- Sun Dec 28, 2014 11:52 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Helping Mom Healthcare
- Replies: 19
- Views: 2120
Re: Helping Mom Healthcare
Hi Paul, yes her care is #1 priority. Even mom knows she isn't ready because she isn't crying to go home yet like she did before. I could get the money (post tax retirement investments) or since I have excellent credit could get a mortgage and seriously considered it but then started to think of al...
- Sun Dec 28, 2014 10:16 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: 529 and Roth IRA withdraw and financial aid
- Replies: 12
- Views: 3168
Re: 529 and Roth IRA withdraw and financial aid
Strategy will depend on a lot of factors. I am trying to figure out each factor. This is why the question was specific. http://www.forbes.com/sites/troyonink/2013/01/02/2013-simplified-guide-to-expected-family-contribution-efc-and-college-aid/ According to the site, I will be in the yellow area, whi...
- Sun Dec 28, 2014 9:27 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Helping Mom Healthcare
- Replies: 19
- Views: 2120
Re: Helping Mom Healthcare
I would advice that she apply for the medicaid and you do not buy her house (unless it is a good investment). If you had a lot of cash to spare, then it would be doable, but it appears this is not the case. In the end, a house is just a house. The house will give her a place she is used to living, b...
- Sun Dec 28, 2014 9:18 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: 529 and Roth IRA withdraw and financial aid
- Replies: 12
- Views: 3168
Re: 529 and Roth IRA withdraw and financial aid
I have read the moneycrasher article but was suspicious of the accuracy because it runs counter to the other articles. Basically what I can determine is: * 529 are counted as an asset, which mean it gets counted as roughly 5.6% if it's under the parent's name. The withdraws are not counted in the EF...
- Sun Dec 28, 2014 2:08 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: 529 and Roth IRA withdraw and financial aid
- Replies: 12
- Views: 3168
529 and Roth IRA withdraw and financial aid
The consensus on this board appears to be that contributing to an Roth IRA is superior to a 529. Roth IRA can be used to pay education expenses tax free.
However, I did notice that Roth IRA withdraw are counted as income for financial aid and 529 is not. is this true?
Paul
However, I did notice that Roth IRA withdraw are counted as income for financial aid and 529 is not. is this true?
Paul
- Sun Dec 28, 2014 1:39 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: IL 529 question- creating an account question
- Replies: 2
- Views: 828
Re: IL 529 question- creating an account question
The IL Schedule M does not ask who contribute the 529, just how much, so I imagine that it doesn't matter who contributed the 529 when it's joint owners.
paul
paul
- Sat Dec 27, 2014 12:00 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Medicare - what if you were given the wrong information
- Replies: 2
- Views: 764
Re: Medicare - what if you were given the wrong information
Based on a lot of searching, I was able to find the term for this type of appeal "equitable relief". Basically, you have to file an "equitable relief" indicating that you were misled by an agent of the federal government. Here's the social security page on this: https://secure.ss...
- Sat Dec 27, 2014 1:41 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Protecting your Windows system from malware
- Replies: 44
- Views: 6671
Re: Protecting your Windows system from malware
It's always good practice to keep up with the security updates. This mean OS patches, flash, PDF, java, etc. If you don't install a component like Java, you can probably uninstall it and reduce your target. The problem is that some product comes with their own embedded JRE, which may not be up to da...
- Sat Dec 27, 2014 1:18 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Snow blower maintenance and repair
- Replies: 26
- Views: 4732
Re: Snow blower maintenance and repair
OK, I decided to just drop the snow blower off at Ace Hardware to be tuned up. It's been 6 years since I got the blower, so a tune up is overdue any way and I barely have time to work on it. Frankly, I am happy to just shovel the snow by hand. I did this for decades, but my wife insist that I get on...
- Sat Dec 27, 2014 1:12 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Medicare - what if you were given the wrong information
- Replies: 2
- Views: 764
Medicare - what if you were given the wrong information
This is a followup with a medicare issue I previously posted. Basically, they retired a year and a half ago. Their former employers offers some sort of retirement benefits in the form of retiree insurance. They visited the Medicare center in person and ask about how to proceed. The medicare person i...
- Thu Dec 25, 2014 3:39 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Cheap cell phone for security gate
- Replies: 10
- Views: 2300
Re: Cheap cell phone for security gate
How often do people ring the door bell. There are a number of Pay as you go plan that charges about $0.02 to $0.05 per minute. Wifi over 1/4 mile is possible using a really large dish type setup. http://www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Get-WIFI-Signal-From-14-Mile-Away-or-more/ Another possibility is...
- Tue Dec 23, 2014 10:57 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Cost to ship a car
- Replies: 19
- Views: 2812
Re: Cost to ship a car
When my mom moved from the East to the West Coast, she used DAS because it wasn't a lowest bidder type shipper. I can't recall the cost, but I thought it was roughly $1000.
I'll ask my mom.
Correction:
My mom said it was $1295.
Paul
I'll ask my mom.
Correction:
My mom said it was $1295.
Paul
- Mon Dec 22, 2014 11:34 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Getting dual health insurance
- Replies: 13
- Views: 1474
Re: Getting dual health insurance
There's nothing wrong with dual health insurance. When you go to the doctor, they will ask if you have additional insurance. What is not covered by the primary insurance gets covered by the other.
Paul
Paul
- Mon Dec 22, 2014 11:30 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Snow blower maintenance and repair
- Replies: 26
- Views: 4732
Snow blower maintenance and repair
My Toro snow blower stopped working after a few years. Based on what I read, I am supposed to do a tune up every year and drain the gas. Of course, I didn't do that :D . However, my father-in-law indicated that he never maintain his Toro for 20 years and it never seems to failed to work. I have drai...
- Mon Dec 22, 2014 2:11 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: How often do you get an appraisal on jewelry
- Replies: 0
- Views: 620
How often do you get an appraisal on jewelry
I noticed my insurance recommend an appraisal every 2 years for Jewelry and the nearby Jeweler quoted me a appraisal fee of around $90-$100. What are your opinion of how often the appraisal should be and how much it would cost? Is there a certification that the appraiser must have to make it accepta...
- Mon Dec 01, 2014 2:33 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Daycare payments - a way to get further discount?
- Replies: 11
- Views: 3003
Re: Daycare payments - a way to get further discount?
The sibling discount is 10% for the older child, while the corporate discount is 10% for both child. Apparently, they won't give out both discounts
.
Paul

Paul
- Mon Dec 01, 2014 12:45 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Daycare payments - a way to get further discount?
- Replies: 11
- Views: 3003
Re: Daycare payments - a way to get further discount?
The following is a summary of what I have tried so far: 1. Check for corporate discount. Kindercare does have a 10% corporate discount for my wife. Good for about $250 per month. 2. File for dependent care FSA for my workplace. The limit is $5000 a year, which would only cover about 2 months of expe...
- Fri Nov 21, 2014 5:19 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Daycare payments - a way to get further discount?
- Replies: 11
- Views: 3003
Re: Daycare payments - a way to get further discount?
Thanks.
Daycare only takes discover and debit cards, they won't take the citibank card.
I already maxed out my flexpay. The problem is that there's a $5k limit per family even with 2 children. As a result, it pays for may be 2 months of tuition.
Paul
Daycare only takes discover and debit cards, they won't take the citibank card.
I already maxed out my flexpay. The problem is that there's a $5k limit per family even with 2 children. As a result, it pays for may be 2 months of tuition.
Paul
- Fri Nov 21, 2014 4:49 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Daycare payments - a way to get further discount?
- Replies: 11
- Views: 3003
Daycare payments - a way to get further discount?
My daycare takes several forms of payment: check, discover card, debit card, and bank account transfers. Since the amount is like $2500 a month, I am wondering if there's some way to get additional cash back or what would be the cheapest way to pay. The discover card appears to give you 1% cash back...
- Wed Nov 19, 2014 2:57 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: What to prepare for first baby due next month?
- Replies: 55
- Views: 8929
Re: What to prepare for first baby due next month?
Congrats: Set up baby crib area so that baby will be ready to settle in. Setup trash can, wipes and diaper around the changing area, because you will need to do that a lot. Get diaper cream, since baby will likely need it. Make sure you have ample supply of diapers, wipes and baby clothes. Even if y...
- Wed Nov 19, 2014 2:26 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: How much is saved by taking mass transit to work?
- Replies: 51
- Views: 6453
Re: How much is saved by taking mass transit to work?
These type of question is very location specific. The best I can suggest is to work out the math. For the car, calculate: Cost of car insurance Cost of registration fee per year Cost of gas (take miles driven x price as a rough) Parking Fees - if you live in the city, you may need to pay for a parki...
- Mon Nov 17, 2014 1:02 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: 75w LED bulb in a 60w socket?
- Replies: 14
- Views: 6552
Re: 75w LED bulb in a 60w socket?
While LED uses a lot less power than a regular bulb, it can generate a bit of heat. Notice that the cooling fin on the bulb? Check the package to see if the bulb indicate that it should not be used in an enclosed space. On the plus side, the led bulb probably doesn't generate so much heat that it wi...
- Mon Nov 17, 2014 12:44 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?
- Replies: 180
- Views: 43234
Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?
I am midway through my 40's. I gotten married later in life so didn't have that much of a opportunity to settle in before starting a family, so the 40's have been more challenging than my 30's, especially since I also relocated and essentially have to restart my life in my 40's. On the plus side, my...
- Mon Nov 17, 2014 12:25 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Late medicare enrollment if you switch from insurance
- Replies: 10
- Views: 1567
Re: Late medicare enrollment if you switch from insurance
I did some further research: http://www.medicareinteractive.org/page2.php?topic=counselor&page=script&script_id=20 Based on what I can determine, if you are working and on your employer's insurance. As long as your insurance is considered primary (some insurance forces you to make medicare p...
- Mon Nov 17, 2014 12:11 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Experience with Target Redcard?
- Replies: 43
- Views: 8020
Re: Experience with Target Redcard?
I tried to signed up for the Debit version. The credit version probably start with a crappy $200 limit, we certain spend more than that at Target each month on groceries and supplies. In the middle of processing, she told us that she needed a blank check, which I don't carry with me. I came back lat...
- Wed Nov 12, 2014 6:01 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Life insurance coverage if you leave employer
- Replies: 15
- Views: 1938
Re: Life insurance coverage if you leave employer
Check with the insurance company. Your rate will not be the same as when are employed, the conversion rate is often not very good.
Paul
Paul
- Wed Nov 12, 2014 4:08 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Life purpose revisited
- Replies: 55
- Views: 12638
Re: Life purpose revisited
In my 20's, I am an insecure individual making my way through the world. High school was a terrible time, but college was somewhat better. As I get older, I feel that I grow into the person I was meant to be. I still have more questions than answers, but now I am less bother by the lack of answers. ...
- Wed Nov 12, 2014 3:22 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: When do you know it is time to switch jobs?
- Replies: 37
- Views: 6151
Re: When do you know it is time to switch jobs?
Are you looking for a new job or a career change? I am a bit puzzled by your desire to try other careers. IT to accounting is a bit odd. I am pretty sure accountants are in demand, but will you like the job enough to work for several decades on it? In any case, you should think about if you like the...
- Wed Nov 12, 2014 3:04 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Experience with Target Redcard?
- Replies: 43
- Views: 8020
Re: Experience with Target Redcard?
It appears the debit card version is something call a Decoupled debit card. Supposedly you can't really gain access to your bank account through the card. The card apparently send information to a server at Target, which contains the actual bank account info and then collect the money using ACH. Not...
- Tue Nov 11, 2014 11:57 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Experience with Target Redcard?
- Replies: 43
- Views: 8020
Experience with Target Redcard?
Anyone have experience with Target Redcards? They seemed to come in two different version, a credit and a debit version. In the past, I was always resisted getting one, but I am thinking of using their subscription service since some of the prices appear to be better than Amazon mom and it cost noth...
- Tue Nov 11, 2014 11:30 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Late medicare enrollment if you switch from insurance
- Replies: 10
- Views: 1567
Late medicare enrollment if you switch from insurance
My over 65 in-laws used to be on what is term "pension" insurance. I don't think that's the proper term for it, but it's health insurance provided by their former employers as part of their retirement package. Recently, they have been told that their insurance was ending and they hire a fi...
- Wed Nov 05, 2014 8:36 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Is this $20 pre paid phone from Amazon a good deal?
- Replies: 13
- Views: 1840
Re: Is this $20 pre paid phone from Amazon a good deal?
For an emergency phone, why not considered a dumb phone. One advantage is that their battery life measures in a week vs. a day. That cheap android phone probably has a crappy battery life.
Paul
Paul
- Wed Nov 05, 2014 11:55 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: "Gut Feelings," Our "Backup Brain"
- Replies: 22
- Views: 2885
Re: "Gut Feelings," Our "Backup Brain"
You could say buy and hold has to do with the good kind of 'guts,' i.e., courage to fight the panic and stay the course in a market crash. Otherwise, buy and hold is a way to help control emotional gut feelings after one has invested wisely based on rational decision-making. I tend to feel that it'...
- Wed Nov 05, 2014 11:49 am
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Interest is so low that Germans have to pay for savings
- Replies: 19
- Views: 2526
Interest is so low that Germans have to pay for savings
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/11210057/Interest-rates-are-so-low-that-Germans-are-paying-to-keep-money-in-banks.html Interest rate has dropped so much that people now has to pay to keep money in the bank. The US had some deflation in the past as well. Did it ever ge...