Search found 375 matches

by carguyny
Thu Dec 02, 2021 9:48 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Very high earners ($400k+), how did you do it?
Replies: 563
Views: 63884

Re: Very high earners ($400k+), how did you do it?

Trying to come up with something actionable is kind of interesting. I've been on a 7 figure base for about 10 years now. I'm mid-40s and in private equity. How did I do it? I was lazy at college so found a major I had to do very little work for and get good grades. That major was finance. Talent and results matter FAR more than what school you went to, what degree you did etc. Communication skills are critical, I will hire a great communicator before I will hire a 4.0 GPA from an Ivy (normally end up letting them go after a few years as they have limited progression). The biggest skill I would say I have is you can drop me in a situation and I will make decisions and get positive outcomes within days. So many people are afraid of making dec...
by carguyny
Thu Nov 25, 2021 10:01 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Question about quality audio and the weakest link
Replies: 61
Views: 4766

Re: Question about quality audio and the weakest link

The major streaming services are capable of delivering something near high-fidelity. There are even lossless services (like Tidal Hifi) that will deliver the exact same bits as your CD player did of the same album. So streaming doesn't have to be the weakest link. In fact, some of the streaming services offer high-res streams, up to 192kHz/24 bits, so significantly more bits than traditional CDs which are 44.1kHz/16 bits. Whether this translates to an audible difference is a subject of debate even among audiophiles. My current setup, Qobuz lossless streaming service -> Bluesound Node 2i streamer -> Focal Arche DAC/headphone amp -> Focal Stellia headphones, is giving me the best audio quality of any system I've owned in 30+ years as an audi...
by carguyny
Wed Nov 10, 2021 7:59 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: High end shower system purchase
Replies: 46
Views: 6133

Re: High end shower system purchase

How high end do you want to go? We went with the Milano line by Fantini. Have a waterfall shower head vs a rain shower head which I much prefer.

https://www.fantiniusa.com/ricerca_seri ... O&lang=ING

I think we spent about $10k on their shower and vanity fixtures. So not cheap, but you said high end.

Another option is a steam shower (we didn't do as our master as we have it elsewhere in the house).
by carguyny
Tue Nov 09, 2021 5:32 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Please suggest my next car
Replies: 144
Views: 12633

Re: Please suggest my next car

Here is a list of the top safety picks and that would be a good starting point. https://www.iihs.org/ratings/top-safety-picks What are available and reasonable cars to buy now with a wide enough and high enough door opening to get the baby in and out easily? Bonus point: if the baby can view the road while in her seat! Budget: $35k (preferably brand new) Bigger may not always be better, some large SUVs can be hard to get a kid into because they are too tall, especially if either of you are shorter. I bought a new Subaru Forester last spring and I have car seats for my 3 and 5 year old grandkids in the back seats and it is easy to get them in and out. I bought it before the car shortage got so bad but I vaguely follow the car market still o...
by carguyny
Mon Oct 25, 2021 7:41 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Should I redo my landscaping? Part II
Replies: 14
Views: 1315

Re: Should I redo my landscaping? Part II

+1. People don’t seem to get this. If you love working on your yard, this is probably worth it. If you love a great looking yard, and don’t mind laying landscapers to keep it up, it’s probably worth it. If you’re just going to write a one time check, then think it will take care of itself, it will look like total crap within 2 years. The only landscape products that doesn’t need upkeep is concrete. +1 but I would change that paying landscapers to keep it up it will look like crap within 4 years. In our experience landscapers want to sell you another plant, they do a pretty minimal job. We've paid between $10k to $15k/year in maintenance for over 10 years and now just do it ourselves. Never looked better and once you have it down it's not m...
by carguyny
Thu Oct 21, 2021 5:09 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Verizon is ridiculous [Looking for alternatives]
Replies: 65
Views: 6332

Re: Verizon is ridiculous [Looking for alternatives]

I pay $50/month for Optimum 1 gigabit. It's true 1 gigabit fibre directly to your home - right now over Wifi I'm getting 939 Mbps download and 944 Mbps upload. Verizon was twice the price and half the speed even though it was supposedly gigabit internet. We change streaming services based on what we're watching. Optimum gave us 1 year of HBO Max free to switch, but other than that we're in and out of most other products. I'm a big F1 fan, so will sign up to some service to watch that based on what is cheaper. Disney+ for the kids and rest we're just in and out of. I'd say we're at about $70/month most months, higher during F1 season. Ported the landline years ago to Google Voice, my wife needs a land line to work from home so has a Google V...
by carguyny
Thu Sep 30, 2021 6:55 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What do with steps,railings, banisters - Hardwood floors
Replies: 11
Views: 1950

Re: What do with steps,railings, banisters - Hardwood floors

We had new hardwood floors installed on one floor and replaced some stair railing/banisters. It involved 3 Trades:
1. Flooring company to do the floors, including sanding and whitewashing
2. Stair Company to replace the Banister and Railing
3. Painter to sand and finish the railing in the same whitewashing as the floor, the banisters were pre-painted but they also painted them to match trim color correctly. They also removed and repainted the trim on the wall.
by carguyny
Wed Sep 29, 2021 2:07 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Protecting cars on driveway
Replies: 176
Views: 16504

Re: Protecting cars on driveway

Sorry to hear about the problem.

No experience myself, but one option is Deep Sentinel. I think someone live talking to them would stop them coming back.

https://www.deepsentinel.com/

There are some negative reviews out there of it which has stopped me from buying.
by carguyny
Thu Sep 09, 2021 4:53 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Wifi connected devices / IoT - what's useful?
Replies: 46
Views: 3614

Re: Wifi connected devices / IoT - what's useful?

IMO, Investing in a good Mesh Wifi network is better value than hard wiring CAT 5e/CAT 6 in each room. I have wires in every room and honestly just don't use it. I would pick 3 or 4 locations to have it wired and be done with it. Nice but not a must have for 4k streaming, probably still not needed yet on 8k either if you have a top of the line wifi mesh setup. Take a look at Thread compatible devices as they offer a lot more functionality - the old WiFI only approach or dedicated hub/controller is now out dated. I've started switching and using Apple Home Pods/Apple TV as my Thread hubs. Using Nanoleaf A19 bulbs in key locations and will install some new smart switches when Thread switches come to the US. The Nanoleafs are great and virtual...
by carguyny
Wed Sep 08, 2021 7:25 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: 2013 BMW X3, repair at 90,000
Replies: 68
Views: 8364

Re: 2013 BMW X3, repair at 90,000

Yes in hindsight leasing at $450 for 36 months would have been cheaper and hassle free. I always lease modern daily drivers and buy more special cars. They just don't last anymore and all have major issues. I can't think of a problem free car in the last 15 or so leases that I would have been happy to own. Porsches, BMWs, Audis, Volvos etc all have problems. Most trouble free car was a first factory run Porsche Macan Turbo that was built very carefully while the factory was starting up. A second Macan S, 1 year newer, was almost lemon lawed with so many problems. Our Jaguar has probably been the most reliability despite their reputation. Even my McLarens which get a bad rep for reliability are better than the modern dailies we've leased. 2...
by carguyny
Sun Aug 22, 2021 7:25 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Do solar panels really increase house value?
Replies: 143
Views: 13448

Re: Do solar panels really increase house value?

Second, the cost of a single solar panel is de minimis in comparison to the cost savings. So even if I have to buy my own non-LG solar panel that fits (and 60-cell panels are still readily available), so be it. I have a microinverter system, and the microinverters could care less about the brand of the solar panel. Third, worst case, I have 26 panels instead of 27. With a microinverter system, a dead panel has no effect on the other panels. So I lose 4% of energy production, which is $140 per year of lost savings. Again, de minimis. Wow, how many “get off my lawn” Bogleheads showed up for this thread? I’m also a fat coffee drinker, so here’s my story. We have an assortment of 72 cell panels, 44 panels are 9 years old and 80 LG panels are 3...
by carguyny
Sat Aug 21, 2021 12:41 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Do solar panels really increase house value?
Replies: 143
Views: 13448

Re: Do solar panels really increase house value?

Taking a LG 335W panel warranty claim as a hypothetical: It looks like LG has already discontinued the 335W panels installed 4 years ago.

Did you have this one? https://www.lg.com/us/business/solar-pa ... g335n1k-v5

It was a 60 cell, 6x10 panel. Dimensions of 1686mmx1016mmx40mm

The closest might be the current 355W panels. The current LG 60 cell panels (6x10 layout) seem to be 1768mmx1042mmx40mm.

So in a real world panel failure situation - if you make a warranty claim they will send you a new panel that won't fit. You probably have to live with a broken panel, find a used panel that will fit/match or change the layout to make it fit and buy even more new panels.
by carguyny
Sat Aug 21, 2021 12:02 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Do solar panels really increase house value?
Replies: 143
Views: 13448

Re: Do solar panels really increase house value?

I would certainly pay less for a house with solar panels installed. Many companies have come and gone and it still face similar financial risks. Solar panels themselves change over time, W-peak ratings, panel dimensions etc. To really feel comfortable, you should keep spare panels somewhere so when one breaks you can replace it. Large projects always have a number of panels that need to be replaced on a rolling basis, ratio of a homeowner system should be the same/worse so you need to either factor in higher degradation than what the salesperson is telling you or reduce the energy savings. Focus on the easier to achieve energy savings - LED bulbs, smart lights, smart blinds on key windows, better window insulation, smart thermostats, geothe...
by carguyny
Fri Aug 20, 2021 6:17 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Car might be a total loss per insurance, but can be fixed as pre-accident
Replies: 18
Views: 2408

Re: Car might be a total loss per insurance, but can be fixed as pre-accident

I had a couple of cars fixed that had pretty minor/mostly cosmetic damage that were hit while parked, mostly paint and some minor dents that required some panels to be removed. Each car was about $20k to fix.

Both cars developed rattles after the repairs, I don't think they can ever get cars back to factory perfect. This was one of the best shops in town and they were certified with both cars and took their time to do the work.

We lease our daily cars for this very reason. I would 100% take the total loss and replace it with something else.
by carguyny
Fri Jul 30, 2021 5:48 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: How much Gold do you own and why?
Replies: 522
Views: 56723

Re: How much Gold do you own and why?

I starting buying equal weight in 2016 of Physical Gold, Platinum, Palladium and Silver on a fixed monthly basis.

My holdings are up approximately 25% CAGR.

If I put the money into VTI over the same period with the same period is about the same CAGR (23.74%).

But more importantly, the correlation is about 0.27 if I use ETF proxies. I like the diversification benefit above all else.
by carguyny
Tue Jul 20, 2021 8:05 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: [Getting a promotion, how do I negotiate a raise?]
Replies: 107
Views: 10504

Re: [Getting a promotion, how do I negotiate a raise?]

I've promoted many people of my career (think of me as a C-level executive and Board Member). I've never had one person try to negotiate the comp change as part of it. Come to think of it, I've never had any try to negotiate a year on year comp raise. They trust my judgement and know I've put a lot of thought into it and gotten support from the various stakeholders. I don't have a typical range of salary increase on promotion as it is very employee specific. If someone is doing a great job and getting promoted vs being overdue for promotion and only just limping over the line. We also use salary survey data to factor in what market changes are out there and where people stand - you might be able to get a hold of that for your industry. Hone...
by carguyny
Tue Jul 20, 2021 12:00 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Best inflation hedge besides gold, real estate, stocks, and crypto
Replies: 136
Views: 16127

Re: Best inflation hedge besides gold, real estate, stocks, and crypto

Historically speaking - Gold is one of the worst performing commodities during above average and rising inflation. The run up in Gold is normally anticipatory and demand falls during the rising inflation. The other bottom two are Cocoa and Feeder Cattle. The best performing are Iron Ore, Soybean Oil and RBOB Gasoline. Using imperfect proxies you can see YTD performance pulled rough numbers on some ETFS: SLX (Steel ETF as a proxy for Iron Ore): +35.52% UGA ETN (Gasoline): +48.35% SOYO.LN (Wisdomtree Soybean Oil): +72.64% IAU (Gold): -3.66% NIB (Cocoa): -9.07% COW (Livestone ETF): +8.45% Comes down to how complicated you want to get, but essentially the high performing commodities are staples and the worst performing are luxury items. Steak d...
by carguyny
Tue Jul 13, 2021 7:17 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Adjustable Desk (Sit/stand desk)
Replies: 23
Views: 1723

Re: Adjustable Desk (Sit/stand desk)

02nz wrote: Tue Jul 13, 2021 4:01 pm
The reviews I read suggest that the Knoll Hipso is pretty limited in adjustability, and that Jarvis (also owned by Knoll) would be a better choice.
I assume they're referring to limited memories of positions? I don't really move it very often, I use a balance board (mine is a fluid stance) to avoid standing in place all day.
by carguyny
Tue Jul 13, 2021 7:14 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: New Home Build - Major Delay Issues
Replies: 78
Views: 9540

Re: New Home Build - Major Delay Issues

You need to stop spending money - first step to get out of a hole is to stop digging. The reality based on what you've posted seems to be: 1) You paid the builder $7.5k, the builder has this as leverage 2) The builder owns the land, this gives the builder additional leverage 3) You agreed to a very builder friendly delay clause, including the pandemic, right now the builder isn't legally delayed at all due to this clause 4) You've spend additional money on improvements to land you don't own (trees) and to order appliances etc, more leverage to the builder You should check the termination clause, but I suspect the above are lost. I'm sorry, but the builder has no incentive to prioritise your build with the delay clause. I disagree that his b...
by carguyny
Tue Jul 13, 2021 10:05 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Adjustable Desk (Sit/stand desk)
Replies: 23
Views: 1723

Re: Adjustable Desk (Sit/stand desk)

I purchased the Knoll Hipso - largely because I have a more expensive Knoll at the office and the number one issue for me is stability when standing.

https://www.knoll.com/product/hipso-hei ... desk-24x51

The Hipso is rock solid, my budget was as much as it took but I found the perfect desk for my needs for less than $500 as it was on sale at the time. Full retail is only $660.

My only complaint is the Oak laminate is pretty ugly vs real wood, but as are a lot of laminates. Benefit is you can scrub it clean when you need to.

Purchased one for my son as it's great to be able to adjust it as he grows and my wife as well.
by carguyny
Sat Apr 24, 2021 6:16 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: 2019 Porsche Macan Excessive Tire Noise: Options?
Replies: 84
Views: 9310

Re: 2019 Porsche Macan Excessive Tire Noise: Options?

I've had a Macan S and Macan Turbo. I don't recall ever having excessive road noise but I did run Michelin tires on both. I also ran summer tires and winter tires. I'm generally not a fan of all seasons.

Are you somewhere warm or prepared to run winter/summer tires? The current Michelin Pilot Sport 4 SUV is amazing levels of grip and very quiet - I'm running a set on a Jaguar I-Pace and EVs obviously make it much tire nose more noticeable. I know they're not NO rated, but the Pilot Latitude Sport is out of date and that's what my launch pre-order Macan Turbo came with and the Pilot Sport 4 SUV replaces them.

I generally find road Pirelli tires pretty disappointing so worth looking at the Michelin options.
by carguyny
Sat Mar 27, 2021 10:05 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 2.5 mil house with 5 mil net worth, too much?
Replies: 74
Views: 11200

Re: 2.5 mil house with 5 mil net worth, too much?

My wife and I purchased a similarly priced house about 10 years ago on similar income (which is fortunately much higher now). We only took out $1.1m mortgage though and now don't have one. It's really important to understand the upkeep of a large house/keeping it current and looking good. I would budget about $20k/year in general maintenance and a major remodel of $200k+/10 years. We're redoing our kitchen, some of our bathrooms etc and total project is going to be about $400k. It was all brand new when we purchased the house, but modern appliances (all wolf and subzero) get very expensive to maintain at that age. In hindsight, my wife and I both would have rather stayed in a lower value property and see everything cost much else tbh. We wi...
by carguyny
Sat Feb 13, 2021 10:50 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: crypto hardware wallet
Replies: 43
Views: 28733

Re: crypto hardware wallet

I use two BitBoxes for cold storage, one for BTC only and one for other coins. I keep them and the SD backups in different safes. I have Steel Wallets with the seed storage also located elsewhere. I picked my seed storage based on tests here: https://jlopp.github.io/metal-bitcoin-storage-reviews/ I feel much safer about it than any money I have in brokerages/banks etc given the lack of YubiKey support in the US. I have about $100k in various software wallets/exchanges that I leave out for Yield Farming. I very rarely touch my cold storage and wouldn't do it when not in a 100% secure location. I get BTC back on a couple fo debit cards I have and I just leave them with the financial institutions that those cards are with. One of them is a loc...
by carguyny
Wed Feb 26, 2020 4:50 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How Do you Exercise Indoors?
Replies: 127
Views: 12525

Re: How Do you Exercise Indoors?

I'm a big fan of things that I can take with me these days. Four low costs options are:
1) Resistance bands used as a ski erg - attach them to anything sturdy above head and easy to travel with. I'm on the road in a Hotel and will do 45 sec off, 45 sec on intervals for my cardio with it. (Take a look at some videos on youtube)
2) Jump rope - again super easy to travel with.
3) Sprint intervals
4) Burpees

I love Rowing and Mountain Biking, but not good travel options.
by carguyny
Wed Jan 15, 2020 6:56 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Accurate heart rate monitor wearable recommendation?
Replies: 11
Views: 1160

Re: Accurate heart rate monitor wearable recommendation?

For relative seady state activity wrist technology is ok, for sudden spikes the lag and accuracy is pretty poor. As suggested, start with your doctor. There are chest strap ones that will communicate to your phone and are probably a better option.

I train with a wrist monitor out of sheer laziness 99%, but if I'm really doing HR training and interval work I will put on a chest strap for better tracking.

I also notice the wrist approach gets less accurate with certain wrist articulation - e.g. handstands, I certainly wouldn't bet my health on their accuracy.
by carguyny
Thu May 30, 2019 7:25 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can I afford this 2.3 million dollar home?
Replies: 273
Views: 34768

Re: Can I afford this 2.3 million dollar home?

I was at about $1 million income and Low $2 millions net worth and I bought a $4 million house about 3 years ago. I had similar concerns but went for it, even though many on the board told me not to. Since then net worth is up to about $5.6M and the home has appreciated from $4M to $5M. If you love the home and feel good about price stability or growth in the market, go for it. Unless you’re living frivolously elsewhere you should certainly be able to afford it. Not the right way to think about it IMO. Im now many years past my first home and have owned many. I'm in the mid 8 figures net worth and the biggest purchase I hate is our house. The $75k in property taxes per year + transaction costs makes it by far the worst purchase and we purc...
by carguyny
Mon Mar 25, 2019 10:03 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Family man who misses driving a fun car
Replies: 181
Views: 18151

Re: Family man who misses driving a fun car

Add a highly depreciated fun car like a Porsche 964 C2 manual. The whole sporty SUV thing is a joke (owned a Macan S and Macan Turbo as an example) vs a real sports car.

You will just need to pay maintenance and insurance if you buy the right car.
by carguyny
Thu Mar 21, 2019 5:55 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Best Bank for Newlyweds
Replies: 27
Views: 3344

Re: Best Bank for Newlyweds

The big banks are terrible - I've tried them all as a top tier client. Pick a bank to use for a safe deposit box and nothing else.

I like Fidelity for checking as I just buy a money market account and it's a combined savings/checking in one with free everything (including domestic wires). Not sure if they have tiers for perks, but been using it for many years without issue. They also refund international ATM fees and use wholesale fx rates on the exchange.
by carguyny
Tue Mar 19, 2019 8:14 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Men's travel shoes. One pair for hiking/biking/walking/dining
Replies: 56
Views: 7117

Re: Men's travel shoes. One pair for hiking/biking/walking/dining

Which is the highest priority? Ever worn minimalist/barefoot shoes?

check out for more casual focus:
https://www.vivobarefoot.com/us/mens/ev ... Light+Grey

or if you want to focus more on hiking:
https://www.vivobarefoot.com/us/mens/ev ... our=Indigo
by carguyny
Wed Mar 06, 2019 7:14 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Anybody have a vehicle with ventilated driver's seat?
Replies: 25
Views: 1932

Re: Anybody have a vehicle with ventilated driver's seat?

Had many cars with them - I run hot (high metabolism) and for me I would take vented seats over normal AC any day. Way more effective than cooling the air around you. Every car I've had with them has been a Porsche, so not sure how other brands compare.
by carguyny
Fri Feb 15, 2019 6:56 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Which sports car ride in Nice, France?
Replies: 10
Views: 1115

Re: Which sports car ride in Nice, France?

As others have said, you need to drive the car or it's no different to sitting on a roller coaster.

Hot lap on a race track in a proper race car is a different story where you will get to experience a very different sensation.

I would suggest renting a 911 for 2 days and doing some touring yourself. See some sites, enjoy a great car and create memories.

911 is still a great car (I've owned many and have several still). I've owned McLarens and Ferraris but I'm not a lambo fan. I keep coming back to 911s (just spend over $600k on 2 new ones).
by carguyny
Tue Feb 05, 2019 7:21 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Besides your core.. anyone also hold a play account?
Replies: 61
Views: 4574

Re: Besides your core.. anyone also hold a play account?

I have a 7 figure treasury portfolio that I use as margin to trade futures. Average about $30k/mth in additional income. Both Dec and Jan we're great for me at $50K+ each. I never take more than $100k in exposure and will stop loss if I need to. It will probably be my mental stimulation in retirement.
by carguyny
Wed Jan 30, 2019 8:36 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Why doesn't a lot of money feel like a lot of money?
Replies: 205
Views: 26184

Re: Why doesn't a lot of money feel like a lot of money?

I grew up very poor, visiting relatives that lived in trailer parks, my parents ultimately lost the family home to foreclosure etc. These days I make 7 figures every year - have for more than a decade.

It still doesn't feel like a lot, largely because other than cars I don't spend any of it. While I can retire today, I'm just too young and would be bored - instead I spend on some things that make me very happy (cars/vacations) but I still maintain a minimalist lifestyle.
by carguyny
Sat Jan 26, 2019 10:47 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: New Home Computer of Some Kind
Replies: 40
Views: 3294

Re: New Home Computer of Some Kind

Pixelbook is the best laptop I've ever owned. I've owned 10+ MacBooks over the years, probably similar number of Dell and Lenovo. Also Sony, HP etc - tried to get back into a MacBook recently but they've not changed in many years now and iOS seems as bad as Windows.

If you can get what you need to run on the Pixelbook - very highly recommended. I still have a Lenovo Laptop for work, so that gives me a bit more flexibility.
by carguyny
Wed Jan 16, 2019 12:48 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: When would you stop being a Boglehead?
Replies: 95
Views: 10161

Re: When would you stop being a Boglehead?

As my wealth has grown I get less and less interested in paying fees and more interested in protecting wealth. I refuse to even use market orders, pay fees on owning individual bonds, buy secondary bonds vs auction as I want to avoid any hidden spreads etc.

I get marketed to by Goldman, Morgan, Citi, JP Morgan etc. pretty regularly but just can't see the value - I'm a professional investor as my day job so they somehow always find my name.
by carguyny
Tue Jan 15, 2019 8:49 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Are You Dumping Netflix?
Replies: 218
Views: 22981

Re: Are You Dumping Netflix?

I use Starz ($5/mth), Youtube Preium ($10/mth), Hulu ($1/mth) and Amazon Prime Video. Netflix original content was always pretty average to me having subscribed and cancelled a couple of times. Lots of free content/movies on things like Vudu, Sony Crackle, Tubi etc.
by carguyny
Fri Jan 11, 2019 11:47 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Who's flying?
Replies: 83
Views: 12498

Re: Who's flying?

Flew Wed and Thu this week - saw no difference.
by carguyny
Thu Jan 10, 2019 4:32 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Disciplined with finances, but not so with diet
Replies: 242
Views: 19006

Re: Disciplined with finances, but not so with diet

Intermittent Fasting - take a look at some of the Thomas Delauer videos on youtube as a start. Lots of research on it and benefits to general health.

I would go with a 16 hour fast, 6 hour eating window to get started. For example - skip breakfast, time lunch so it's 6 hours before dinner and have dinner with family.

Overtime start to reduce things like sugars, carbs etc. Replace processed foods with unprocessed alternatives and just make changes you can stick to very incrementally.

Any major wholesale change is less likely to stick for the very long term.
by carguyny
Sun Jan 06, 2019 8:26 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: United, American Airlines, Delta--about the same?
Replies: 144
Views: 16221

Re: United, American Airlines, Delta--about the same?

I'm going to rank it a bit differently with Delta > American > United. I'm top tier status with all 3 (though United will drop this year to Platinum), I travel about 100 days/year.

United has really gone down hill, I went from flying them exclusively to only when I have to for the best options. Delta has the worst Frequent Flyer program and American/United have very good programs. I was just looking at 3 business class tickets to Europe on AA for 315,000 points for all 3 people. Last year on United we booked 3 business class tickets for 340,000 points to Europe. Delta's currently quote on the same dates is 1,200,000 miles.
by carguyny
Fri Dec 28, 2018 6:08 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Superautomatic espresso machines
Replies: 37
Views: 4537

Re: Superautomatic espresso machines

They make an average crema, cost too much and things break. I do mine the old fashioned/manual way (including a manual grinder for the beans).

I used to pay $6.75/coffee in NYC and now make much better espresso at home for about $0.15/double. I use a lot of sole source beans from different local roasters, get the real flavor notes and have some go to bags that I buy. Right now I'm using coffee from https://www.devocion.com/ and have a subscription incoming from https://www.alabastercoffee.com/

It takes me about 2-3 minutes to make an espresso including grinding the beans by hand etc.
by carguyny
Sat Dec 15, 2018 7:58 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Berkshire Tempting
Replies: 64
Views: 10320

Re: Berkshire Tempting

How have you treated cash and goodwill in coming up with the P/B? I certainly wouldn't apply a multiple to those thinking that 1.3x is cheap. You're paying $130bn for $100bn of t-bills in the corporate calculation. The business assets are more like 1.75x P/B doing it in my head from memory of about $200bn in non-productive assets. Goodwill is highly likely to be impaired this FY so you're getting closer to a 2.0X P/B. Been a little while since I've studied it in depth but don't follow free website ratios as they're normally flawed.
by carguyny
Fri Dec 07, 2018 11:26 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Marriott data breach, what are you doing about it?
Replies: 11
Views: 1623

Re: Marriott data breach, what are you doing about it?

The only data in my profile is my physical address, email address (tier 2 website one that I will delete in a year or two for rotation) and cell phone.

My real emails (statements from banks etc) all go to an email that is never given out. I never put anything but the minimum required to open an account on any website.

I've stayed 66 nights at Marriott properties this year, I can still do mobile checkin, get free upgrades etc with them only having this data.
by carguyny
Sun Dec 02, 2018 6:39 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Please Recommend a New Car for Me
Replies: 53
Views: 5941

Re: Please Recommend a New Car for Me

Ride share (Uber/Lyft/Via) - rates will keep coming down and used car values will continue to tank.

Rent a car on specific days you need it and I'm sure you're better off. If in a busy city, can you rent out vacant car parking spaces? I used to make $850/mth renting out two spaces I wasn't using at the time.
by carguyny
Thu Nov 29, 2018 7:22 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How did YOU choose your career?
Replies: 149
Views: 13419

Re: How did YOU choose your career?

I was very good at maths and physics in HS, so thought I wanted to do computer science, which was a newish field still. Very very early internet days. I enrolled in the program and hated my professors and didn't want to spend my life working with people like them. I switched to Finance because it was super easy for me. My family was very poor so no idea what finance even was at home.

Got OK grades but partied more than anything. Finished and took my first job, apparently it didn't come super easy to everyone got promoted quickly, moved to another company and got promoted quickly again. These days I run my own fund and have since my mid 30s.
by carguyny
Tue Nov 27, 2018 7:02 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Is good, quality luggage worth the price?
Replies: 94
Views: 9587

Re: Is good, quality luggage worth the price?

I'm on the road a lot and average about 100 flights a year. I have a huge hatred of any wheeled bags. I refuse to let my team memebers that travrl with me bring them. They just slow you down and don't fit in all aircraft. My current bag is a small duffle with a suit carrier that drapes over it. It can go in the overhead of any aircraft, including regional flights and hold 5 days of business clothes (3 pairs pants, 5 shirts, gym gear, gym shoes) for longer trips and I just get things laundered on the weekend.

Focus on how to pack and how to travel well, then look for luggage that fits. If you always carry it on quality doesn't matter. My last bag lasted 15 years on this schedule before my wife gifted me a new one.
by carguyny
Fri Nov 23, 2018 8:46 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: New TV Recommendations Please?
Replies: 80
Views: 7677

Re: New TV Recommendations Please?

Best options when I was looking were the Samsung Q9FN (QLED) and LG OLED 8 series. We went the Samsung for the simple reason our room is very bright and the picture in the middle of sunlight is outstanding. No regrets on the decision, but next one we will buy is likely the LG OLED Wallpaper TV as that room is dark. I don't know if the Panasonic OLEDs have arrived here yet, or ever will, but that would be my number 1 choice.

Both LG and Samsung are great options - go with what works best for your situation.
by carguyny
Thu Nov 22, 2018 6:44 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Men's crew neck t-shirts
Replies: 47
Views: 5174

Re: Men's crew neck t-shirts

canderson wrote: Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:01 am RibbedTee. You’re welcome.
+1 - I'm a huge fan of their EVO Tencel Tan V-Necks, won't buy anything else now.

Before that I wore Merino for years and regular cotton for 10+ years. RibbedTee only these days, unless I'm heading to say Calgary in the middle of winter, then I throw on a Merino one instead.
by carguyny
Tue Nov 20, 2018 6:57 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Good oil for cooking and salad?
Replies: 38
Views: 3180

Re: Good oil for cooking and salad?

Trader Joe's Tunisian Olive Oil for salads and flavor. Go with Coconut for high temp cooking - TJs has it in spray form etc.
by carguyny
Tue Nov 20, 2018 5:34 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Can someone explain what's going on [with the stock market]?
Replies: 96
Views: 15273

Re: Can someone explain what's going on..........

Many leading indicators right now continue to point to a global and US slowdown. Corporate debt to me has been the most likely cause of a next 50% drop and that is still getting worse.

I don't read the financial press, so not sure what they're saying.