Search found 624 matches

by palaheel
Tue Nov 07, 2023 10:22 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Legal Separation, Trying to Divide an IRA
Replies: 12
Views: 1437

Re: Legal Separation, Trying to Divide an IRA

bob60014 wrote: Tue Nov 07, 2023 10:00 am
BogleTaxPro wrote: Tue Nov 07, 2023 9:55 am Do you have a QDRO? That might be what Fidelity would recognize.
https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ ... erview.pdf
I thought QDROs are not used for splitting IRAs? For 401k, 457s, etc yes. But this may be part of Fidelitys confusion -resistance.
This is also my understanding. They did execute a QDRO for my 401k, and hopefully they will execute it for my mega-corp pension, too.

(Edited to fix typo.)
by palaheel
Tue Nov 07, 2023 9:23 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Legal Separation, Trying to Divide an IRA
Replies: 12
Views: 1437

Re: Legal Separation, Trying to Divide an IRA

tibbitts wrote: Tue Nov 07, 2023 9:17 am Roll the affected part of the IRA over to somebody else (Vanguard, Schwab...) and try again?
Once my wife and I agreed on the division of assets, I can't touch it.
by palaheel
Tue Nov 07, 2023 9:20 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Legal Separation, Trying to Divide an IRA
Replies: 12
Views: 1437

Re: Legal Separation, Trying to Divide an IRA

Is this an issue for fidelity or your CPAs to work out with the IRS? Could this be an issue of the person at fidelity thinking they know the answer but not actually knowing the answer? I've got to believe that Fidelity sees this situation very frequently, and that the answer should be well known, clear, and explainable. But I'm not seeing that "well known, clear, and explainable" part. One question that's come up recently is that there might be a difference between being "separated" and being "legally separated." The latter has a Court document that the former does not. Either is sufficient for divorce purposes. Maybe that's the hang up, but if it is, Fidelity should be able to explain that; they haven't even ...
by palaheel
Tue Nov 07, 2023 8:58 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Legal Separation, Trying to Divide an IRA
Replies: 12
Views: 1437

Re: Legal Separation, Trying to Divide an IRA

pizzy wrote: Tue Nov 07, 2023 8:40 am When will the divorce be final?
Maybe never. We're in North Carolina, and there is a mandatory separation-to-divorce period of one year. But the separation could go on indefinitely. Given our specific situation, I don't see that actually filing for divorce provides either of us any benefits beyond what the separation gives us.
by palaheel
Tue Nov 07, 2023 8:38 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Legal Separation, Trying to Divide an IRA
Replies: 12
Views: 1437

Legal Separation, Trying to Divide an IRA

My wife and I are legally separated, but not divorced. We have a Court approved Consent Order recognizing that we're separated and specifying the division of assets between us. One of these items is a Rollover IRA I have at Fidelity. I expected that her portion of the IRA funds would be rolled over into an IRA in her name, and that this would not be a taxable event. Fidelity insists that without completing the divorce and providing a Divorce Decree, dividing this IRA may be a taxable event. They are thus refusing to execute the request. I pointed out that this position contradicts Fidelity's own documents, and was told I was only "technically correct." I found IRS Publication 504 that says "The transfer of all or part of your...
by palaheel
Sat Oct 28, 2023 8:21 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Your ****Coffee Bean*** discoveries and preferences: Brand-type-source? Grinds? Brews? Presses? Drips? Perks? Pour overs
Replies: 272
Views: 26538

Re: Your Coffee Bean discoveries and preferences: Brand and type and source?

What are your Coffee Been discoveries and preferences? What does it taste like? Where do you buy them from? What kind of bean? (Arabica, what?) Burr Grinder and pour over, or drip/perk? I recently discovered this brand and type. Lavazza Expresso Italiano Whole Bean Coffee (amazon.com) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00P0ZMWEC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 There are a lot of selections as well. https://i.postimg.cc/qv8DkzCj/Screenshot-2023-10-28-at-5-44-21-AM.png As Hawaiian Kona Coffee (hugely expensive now) is an Arabica Bean, I've been exploring all the different flavors/nuances/etc. of the Arabica Bean from other sources. The "San Francisco" "Hawaiian Blend" beans from Amazon are very bitter ...
by palaheel
Tue Oct 17, 2023 10:26 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Differences between cheap and expensive cell phones
Replies: 12
Views: 1434

Re: Differences between cheap and expensive cell phones

Among some of the other reasons listed, when the phone's software stops receiving updates, I replace it.
by palaheel
Fri Sep 15, 2023 8:42 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Mobile Phone Plans
Replies: 80
Views: 7016

Re: Mobile Phone Plans

I am happy with the $25/month unlimited data Visible plan. It includes taxes and fees. It also has an unlimited one-device hotspot feature, which I find surprisingly useful when I'm toting my Chromebook around. The speed isn't great, but it's very usable and I avoid questionable public Wi-Fi.
by palaheel
Thu Jul 27, 2023 5:47 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: T-Mobile, Xfinity, AT&T now requiring bank accounts to retain auto-pay discount
Replies: 177
Views: 21406

Re: T-Mobile, Xfinity, AT&T now requiring bank accounts to retain auto-pay discount

This move by T-Mobile accelerated my move to Visible (which has been great).
by palaheel
Wed Apr 26, 2023 1:10 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: High-quality chocolate
Replies: 54
Views: 6196

Re: High-quality chocolate

jlawrence01 wrote: Tue Apr 25, 2023 11:24 pm Leonidas chocolates out of Belgium is one of my favorites ... and is pretty reasonable.
https://leonidas-chocolate.com/
Same here. When I've recommended them to friends I've always been thanked afterwards.
by palaheel
Tue Feb 28, 2023 1:55 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: US Civil War Books: Enlisted Soldier's Experience
Replies: 11
Views: 1166

Re: US Civil War Books: Enlisted Soldier's Experience

Jeff Toalson has written several books based on letters to and from Confederate soldiers and their families. One is No Soap, No Pay, Diarrhea, Dysentery & Desertion
by palaheel
Fri Feb 03, 2023 7:07 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: First timer - London in June?
Replies: 66
Views: 5727

Re: First timer - London in June?

For the "must see" things (like the Tower of London), purchase tickets well in advance. Doing it now would not be too early. Last fall we walked past a line (err, "queue") of over a hundred people at the ticket booth, up to the gate, flashed our tickets on my phone, and walked right in.

Play reservations and tickets should be taken care of well in advance, also.

Check to see if there are any interesting events during your stay (you already mentioned Wimbledon). We caught the Farnborough Air Show on one trip.
by palaheel
Wed Jan 18, 2023 3:47 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Why very high speed internet?
Replies: 168
Views: 13813

Re: Why very high speed internet?

rockstar wrote: Wed Jan 18, 2023 2:44 pm By me you have to pay for 1Gbps down to get 35Mbps up. You have to pay for more down to get above 10Mbps up. It’s the upload speed that I can’t get without upgrading to faster down than I need.

My down use case is roughly 60Mbps down. Now, huge game updates benefit from faster down speeds. For example, the patch for Witcher III was 50GB. But for streaming on multiple devices, I don’t need more than 60Mbps.
Is your service fiber? In my area, fiber is symmetric--1Gbps down, 1Gbps up. It's the uploading of large data that I really notice.
by palaheel
Wed Jan 18, 2023 1:04 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Why very high speed internet?
Replies: 168
Views: 13813

Re: Why very high speed internet?

The thing I noticed most when moving from cable to gigabit fiber was upload speeds. I sometimes make youtube videos, and the upload had to be babysat with cable. With fiber, uploads are so fast that I checked the first few so make sure that they really succeeded. And the monthly charge is roughly the same.
by palaheel
Sun Jan 01, 2023 12:07 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: REGISTRATION FOR THE 2023 BOGLEHEAD CONTEST
Replies: 672
Views: 40222

Re: REGISTRATION FOR THE 2023 BOGLEHEAD CONTEST

3820.13

(it worked last time)
by palaheel
Thu Dec 08, 2022 4:40 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard quits net zero climate effort, citing need for independence
Replies: 32
Views: 3570

Re: Vanguard quits net zero climate effort, citing need for independence

rossington wrote: Thu Dec 08, 2022 4:31 am
nedsaid wrote: Thu Dec 08, 2022 12:20 am I suppose the question here is if Vanguard's prior commitment just went too far.
Well it just appears Vanguard decided they made a bad business decision and have corrected it, can't argue with that.
Agreed.
by palaheel
Wed Nov 23, 2022 2:12 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Tax prep software sharing sensitive financial data with Meta
Replies: 54
Views: 5259

Major tax-filing sites routinely shared users’ financial info with Facebook

[Merged into previous discussion - moderator oldcomputerguy] From https://www.popsci.com/technology/tax-prep-share-information-facebook/ A deep dive from The Markup and The Verge published this morning explains in detail how some of the country’s most popular tax prep software makers, including H&R Block, TaxSlayer, and TaxAct, utilized the popular Meta Pixel tracking tool to amass sensitive data including names, email addresses, incomes, refunds, filing statuses, and even dependents’ college scholarship amounts from annual filings. and Since the joint investigation, several of the surveyed sites of since deactivated some of Meta Pixel’s features, according to The Markup. TaxAct continued to send dependents’ names to Facebook, while H&...
by palaheel
Thu Nov 03, 2022 12:32 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Specific reasons *not* to switch to Android?
Replies: 105
Views: 8301

Re: Specific reasons *not* to switch to Android?

Until recently, my 2016 (as I remember) iPhone SE was getting updates and they came straight from Apple. I don't know if the Android channels have improved how long they support their hardware.
by palaheel
Sat Oct 01, 2022 6:44 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: New Refrigerator - Samsung vs LG - need to decide in 2 days
Replies: 129
Views: 8364

Re: New Refrigerator - Samsung vs LG - need to decide in 2 days

We have a Samsung French door fridge with the iced-up ice maker problem. Never again. I know they claim newer models are fixed, but they did nothing for us victims.
by palaheel
Wed Sep 21, 2022 5:59 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What was life like when interest rates were 13% ?
Replies: 85
Views: 9351

Re: What was life like when interest rates were 13% ?

We were just starting out.

Buying a first house was scary. We could only afford a 13% variable rate mortgage. The 13% really cut into the amount of house we could buy. The variable rate meant that we took on the inflation risk.

Prices changed a lot faster than income, and the price hikes at fast food restaurants took the fun out of eating out.

The CD etc. rates were high, but only if you had money to invest; those of us just starting out were just trying to get through.

The least expensive meat in the grocery store was turkey drumsticks. DW did a masterful job of cooking those things in more ways than I could imagine. But she won't touch turkey now for any reason or occasion.
by palaheel
Wed Sep 14, 2022 8:47 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Recommend me a new wireless system
Replies: 29
Views: 2201

Re: Recommend me a new wireless system

We put in a TP-Link X20 system when they were first available and WiFi 6 was rare. It's a low end WiFi 6 mesh, but it's worked great. No problems and performance is more than we need. We're not interested in parental controls, but their HomeCare appears to be free (https://www.tp-link.com/us/homecare/).
by palaheel
Sun Sep 11, 2022 5:51 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: SPIA question...
Replies: 104
Views: 8617

Re: Wow I've been watching Stan the annuity Man videos ...

inflation risk? If inflation continues at the rate its been at the last year? I guess I thought that was a black swan and will stabilze in the next year or two? As they have in the past. It will hit again to be sure as people that retired in the '08 and the 70's describe. What about a COLA but after running the numbers if we survived 15 years we'd have come out ahead. I hope you're right about it stabilizing in the next year or two. But it might not. The '65-'82 inflation sure didn't seem like a year or two event. We bought our first house around 1978, and we had an adjustable rate of 13% ('cause I couldn't afford a fixed rate). People were talking about "the death of equities." See the graph at https://www.federalreservehistory....
by palaheel
Sat Sep 03, 2022 6:38 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Europe Trip 2023 Summer
Replies: 63
Views: 5744

Re: Europe Trip 2023 Summer

I agree with others that this is too much. By a lot. Traveling with just one kid really affected everything for us. Can you try a "dry run," visiting a nearby city and trying to simulate what you might want to do in one of the places you want to visit? Are there any major interesting events that you could take in? We've attended both the Paris and Farnborough air shows 'cause we like big, fast and loud. Pick your interests--I expect you can find a fun event that will be more relaxing and let you rub shoulders with non-Americans. (Meeting non-Americans is one of the best, most interesting, and most memorable things you can do.) Just like the insides of all hotel rooms look the same, all planes, airports, trains and train stations l...
by palaheel
Sun Aug 28, 2022 6:47 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Call from debt collector, but no outstanding debt
Replies: 26
Views: 3131

Re: Call from debt collector, but no outstanding debt

Consumer advocate Clark Howard tells how to send a "drop dead" letter to a collection agency: https://clark.com/consumer-issues-id-th ... on-agency/
by palaheel
Sun Aug 28, 2022 6:37 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Call from debt collector, but no outstanding debt
Replies: 26
Views: 3131

Re: Call from debt collector, but no outstanding debt

I had an on-going run-in with a collector. When I explained that he was calling the wrong person, the response was "yeah, buddy." An attorney pointed out that such people had the right to sue me, but not the right to harass me. The next time they called, I told them to never call me again and to put whatever they had to say in writing. I made sure to give them no information, such as my mailing address. If they were after me for a credit card bill, they would know that without my "verifying" it. I had to repeat the demand to several people, but they eventually went away.
by palaheel
Sun Aug 28, 2022 4:13 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 401K to Roth 401K Conversion question
Replies: 20
Views: 1402

Re: 401K to Roth 401K Conversion question

Are you vested in all three sources?

Since Roth 401Ks have RMDs, I converted some of my regular 401k to a rollover IRA, and plan to convert that to a Roth IRA.
by palaheel
Mon Aug 15, 2022 5:20 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Help! 25 Maxed out credit cards.....
Replies: 268
Views: 34198

Re: Help! 25 Maxed out credit cards.....

toomanysidehustles wrote: Sun Aug 14, 2022 10:34 pm
fmzip wrote: Sun Aug 14, 2022 9:48 pm Open for suggestions
Dave Ramsey!
This was my thought as well. People on this board understand money, math and controlling impulses. Ramsey is for the others who are having financial catastrophes.
by palaheel
Tue Aug 09, 2022 12:54 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: IRS wants me to call them
Replies: 13
Views: 2685

Re: IRS wants me to call them

Color me paranoid, but I'd verify any phone number on a correspondence before calling it.
by palaheel
Tue Aug 02, 2022 6:51 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Death of Investment Spouse options
Replies: 48
Views: 5152

Re: Death of Investment Spouse options

Fidelity and Schwab both offer a range of services, from full advisor to hybrid to robo to diy, all at varying price points. I've never asked the question, but that might be a way she could move up and down the service/cost scale as necessary.
by palaheel
Tue Aug 02, 2022 9:37 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Do you use a password manager?
Replies: 361
Views: 34109

Re: Do you use a password manager?

Does anyone have any experience with NordPass?
by palaheel
Sat Jul 30, 2022 4:37 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Backpacking/Camping gear for the family
Replies: 19
Views: 1643

Re: Backpacking/Camping gear for the family

Many years ago I bought a factory second tent from the Eureka! outlet (https://eurekacamping.johnsonoutdoors.com/outlet). It served us well for many years.

It sounds like you'll wind up car camping, which is cheaper.
by palaheel
Thu Jul 28, 2022 9:05 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Solved as VPN issue: Internet speed at cable modem, router, and wired connections
Replies: 31
Views: 2735

Re: Internet speed at cable modem, router, and wired connections

Does your router have a QoS (quality of service) setting? When I significantly upgraded my internet service, my router speed test showed the expected increase, but my computer speed test showed no change. It turned out to be that my router QoS was still throttling the endpoint bandwidth to match my old service speed.
by palaheel
Wed Jul 20, 2022 7:14 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Working with a financial advisor
Replies: 37
Views: 4589

Re: Working with a financial advisor

If an advisor keeps you from bailing out of the market, it's money well spent. It sounds like this person is helping with non-managed accounts for no extra fee, so the net cost is probably less than 1%. You might want to calculate the effective rate over your entire portfolio.

As others have pointed out, there are cheaper ways of getting an advisor--Vanguard's hybrid PAS, for instance. Fidelity and Schwab also have hybrid services.

And I agree that living off your money is a lot harder than the accumulation phase.
by palaheel
Wed Jul 06, 2022 10:13 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?
Replies: 11037
Views: 2066445

Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

My wife's favorite movie is "Diva," a French cult thriller made in 1981 about a young Parisian moped messenger and his obsession with an opera soprano who has always refused to have her work recorded. The film opens with the messenger attending her recital and making a reel-to-reel tape from his seat for his own enjoyment. Music bootleggers sitting just behind him watch and understand the significance of what he is doing. The multi-layered plot proceeds from there with intense suspense, dark humor, unlikely romance, and a cast of usual and unusual characters (mostly) well-portrayed. Of note is that the opera diva is played by Wilhelmina Wiggins Fernandez, a gorgeous American soprano who wows with her beautiful voice as she sings a...
by palaheel
Mon Jul 04, 2022 11:36 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: North Carolina’s Piedmont Region places to live?
Replies: 19
Views: 2784

Re: North Carolina’s Piedmont Region places to live?

Shire hobbit wrote: Mon Jul 04, 2022 9:56 am We have driven down 321, so off this highway would be perfect, its a nice drive, BIL lives in Boone, I have a brother in Durham as well so northern part of the state would be nice.
I think Winston-Salem would have all of the things you're looking for, or maybe Greensboro. Winston-Salem has a medical school, which tends to attract good medical care. Both Winston-Salem and Greensboro have good access to highways to Boone and Durham.
by palaheel
Sun Jul 03, 2022 11:37 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: North Carolina’s Piedmont Region places to live?
Replies: 19
Views: 2784

Re: North Carolina’s Piedmont Region places to live?

Shire hobbit wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 10:59 am Thinking about moving to NC Piedmont area to be closer to DW brother (mountains of NC) we don't want to live in the mountains but foothills so we are close (ie 2 hours or less). We are retired so decent healthcare available is a concern, of course we would have to visit maybe even rent for a bit to make sure area to our liking. thoughts
thanks in advance.
Is DW's brother in the south (Asheville) or north (Boone)? Winston-Salem would be hard to beat, probably.
by palaheel
Tue Jun 28, 2022 7:38 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Looking for input on my sister's financial situation
Replies: 10
Views: 1539

Re: Looking for input on my sister's financial situation

Nvielbig wrote: Tue Jun 28, 2022 7:33 pm She's my older sister.
I'm still the snot-nosed idiot little brother to my older sister, and I'm 68.
by palaheel
Mon Jun 20, 2022 7:17 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Bridgewater shorting European Stocks and saying stocks and bonds have terrible prospects
Replies: 81
Views: 10690

Re: Bridgewater shorting European Stocks and saying stocks and bonds have terrible prospects

Blue456 wrote: Sat Jun 18, 2022 11:41 am
"This time it's different" are also called the four most expensive words in English language.
"New normal" are also costly.
by palaheel
Sat Jun 18, 2022 10:49 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Help English major apply to colleges that might offer merit scholarships
Replies: 125
Views: 8975

Re: Help English major apply to colleges that might offer merit scholarships

Have you had the "difficult conversation" with her? Before future-DW went to college, her mechanical engineering Dad asked about her major. She replied "French." He asked her how she was going to use that degree, and if she wanted to teach high school French. The answer to that latter question was a clear "No." After a very uncomfortable hour discussing future plans and alternatives, she decided to major in Chemistry.
by palaheel
Thu Jun 16, 2022 2:03 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What happens if mortgage rates hit 10%?
Replies: 36
Views: 3663

Re: What happens if mortgage rates hit 10%?

As I remember, my first mortgage was in 1978 at a 13% variable rate. The fixed rate at that time was 18%, and I couldn't afford that. I was in grad school, and DW provided our sole income. The only meat we could afford were turkey drumsticks; DW can't stand turkey in any form now. We survived, but it wasn't fun.

We only bought a house because we had the down payment and our rent jumped to be more than our mortgage payment. The rental market will also affect people's rent/buy decisions, and have some affect on the housing market.
by palaheel
Wed Jun 01, 2022 7:32 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Movies for 10 year old
Replies: 70
Views: 5440

Re: Movies for 10 year old

Any of Disney's Fred MacMurray movies, especially the black and white ones. Jerry Lewis The Nutty Professor.

(Yeah, I'm showing my age.)
by palaheel
Wed Jun 01, 2022 4:59 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: [Moving from Chicago to Charlotte? Pros / Cons]
Replies: 26
Views: 3154

Re: Chicago to Charlotte?

Be sure to visit in August before deciding that the weather is ok. Also, my opinion of Charlotte traffic is that they're crazy; plan housing and commuter routes carefully.
by palaheel
Mon May 30, 2022 8:16 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Question about smallcap value funds?
Replies: 83
Views: 7416

Re: Question about smallcap value funds?

Anyone bothered by 10 year performance shouldn't tilt. Or 15, for that matter.
by palaheel
Fri May 27, 2022 6:27 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What movie should I show for a movie in the park event?
Replies: 63
Views: 4871

Re: What movie should I show for a movie in the park event?

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension

It has a bit of everything--a rock band, comic book hero, fast cars, space travel, lost loves, brain surgery ("don't tug on that--you ever know what it might be attached to") and saving the earth. I'm sure I've forgotten some stuff.
by palaheel
Sun May 22, 2022 7:31 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: When stocks and bonds drop at the same time, what do you do?
Replies: 98
Views: 12714

Re: When stocks and bonds drop at the same time, what do you do?

In times past I rebalanced into equities. Now our situation has changed. We're funding our retirement to delay taking Social Security. In this environment, I'm keeping all of my bond funds to make sure they're available so I make it to 70 and will augment Social Security for several years after that.

I don't expect to buy equities in the future, but to harvest them after a good appreciation. (See Michael McClung's Living Off Your Money.)

I guess the answer to your question is "stay with the plan."
by palaheel
Sat May 14, 2022 8:23 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Apple CarPlay
Replies: 44
Views: 3263

Re: Apple CarPlay

Cosmo wrote: Sat May 14, 2022 6:27 am
livesoft wrote: Sat May 14, 2022 6:23 am Welcome to 2015!
Exactly. I kind of feel ripped off. Why didn't I get this sooner?!? I have an old 2010 Mazda CX9 that I recently installed a newer double DIN stereo with CarPlay and a rear back up camera. Great for teens.
Adding CarPlay to an older car, like my 2006 Mazda 3?? That had never occurred to me. Thanks for the tip. (DW doesn't like it, but I sure do.)
by palaheel
Thu May 05, 2022 3:03 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Why do I need international stock
Replies: 199
Views: 22360

Re: Why do I need international stock

Looking at my portfolio performance from 2009 to now, I cant help but wonder why do I bother with international. Seems US total stock outperformed by a huge margin. On Vanguard personal performance over last ten years says its 13% vs 5% annualized (VTSMX vs VGTSX) I do realized history does not guarantee future performance, but isn't 15 years a long enough period to look at this holistically? This sustained period of under performance make me wonder if I should reduce my international This has been debated too many times in this forum, I suggest doing a search to read the answers. The short answer is you don't need it. Those of us who hold it do so for diversification and protection from the risk of an economic decline here in the US. I do...
by palaheel
Wed May 04, 2022 3:30 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Photography Gear - Feedback Needed
Replies: 161
Views: 10302

Re: Photography Gear - Feedback Needed

If you are gonna spend that kind of money on a camera (AND you haven't even mentioned lenses yet - should spend more on lenses than the camera to get the best results) you should certainly spring for the 9.99 a month for an Adobe photo cc subscription (Lightroom/Photoshop) for organizing and editing. You need to check the specs on your MacAir to see if it has enough juice for the job. Is there any alternative to the Lightroom subscription? I've tried a bunch of other editing apps like Affinity, Gimp, Luminar etc. but none of them quite hit the spot when you compare to Lightroom. I read in another forum that the last CD version of LR, 6, is still available from Adobe but that one has to "dig it out" of their www site as Adobe want...