Search found 1072 matches

by jminv
Sat Nov 12, 2022 3:11 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Converting from gas water heating to electric heat pump?
Replies: 13
Views: 2323

Re: Converting from gas water heating to electric heat pump?

I installed one six years ago in a similar climate. The economics made sense at the time and the realized savings were similar to what was claimed. Another benefit of the heat pump is that it cools the area it is placed in.

I considered pairing it with a solar heater but did not do so.
by jminv
Sun Apr 10, 2022 9:13 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Smart Thermostats - Venstar? Ecobee?
Replies: 12
Views: 1494

Re: Smart Thermostats - Venstar? Ecobee?

I have three ecobees and had a nest until recently at another property. I would recommend the ecobee, the installation is not difficult, the display is easy to use, the app is good, and the temperature sensors work well (with the batteries lasting a long time). The wifi link is good and the portal's uptime is high (I monitor it from overseas quite a bit). We received a significant discount from the utility company for installing the ecobee plus a yearly amount off of the electric bill, but I could have chosen any smart thermostat. The ecobees were nearly free upfront and the yearly discount meant I broke even after the first year. Now the utility company is paying me to have the thermostats. It's in exchange for agreeing to let them cycle t...
by jminv
Mon Dec 27, 2021 6:07 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Interpreting HOA docs
Replies: 29
Views: 2084

Re: Interpreting HOA docs

What does section 6.7 say?
by jminv
Tue Jul 27, 2021 5:43 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The Final, Definitive Thread on Brokerage Transfer Bonuses
Replies: 7737
Views: 1337661

Re: The Final, Definitive Thread on Brokerage Transfer Bonuses

Anyone else get a 2020 1099-MISC from M1 this week for a transfer bonus? Fairly irritated with them. They don't deposit transfer bonuses into the IRA accounts which is what makes transfer bonuses interesting, instead, it has to go to taxable, unlike other brokers. This was annoying back in 2020 since had I known that at the outset, I would probably have done a different transfer bonus. Or at least when I took them up on it. I asked them about this early this year and they responded by saying that the promotional bonus was not a taxable event since I didn't invest it in their taxable account and instead withdrew it. No 1099 would be issued. Now they're sending out 2020 1099-MISCs. If they are giving you money and it's not in the IRA, I don'...
by jminv
Tue Jul 27, 2021 12:12 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The Final, Definitive Thread on Brokerage Transfer Bonuses
Replies: 7737
Views: 1337661

Re: The Final, Definitive Thread on Brokerage Transfer Bonuses

Anyone else get a 2020 1099-MISC from M1 this week for a transfer bonus?

Fairly irritated with them. They don't deposit transfer bonuses into the IRA accounts which is what makes transfer bonuses interesting, instead, it has to go to taxable, unlike other brokers. This was annoying back in 2020 since had I known that at the outset, I would probably have done a different transfer bonus. Or at least when I took them up on it.

I asked them about this early this year and they responded by saying that the promotional bonus was not a taxable event since I didn't invest it in their taxable account and instead withdrew it. No 1099 would be issued.

Now they're sending out 2020 1099-MISCs.
by jminv
Thu May 27, 2021 9:38 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Annual travel insurance
Replies: 38
Views: 4892

Re: Annual travel insurance

Reviving this thread to post about my own experience with an annual travel insurance plan and how it was the best financial decision I've made in awhile. I have had an annual travel insurance plan for several years now. This is not a USA based plan but is essentially the same and covers worldwide travel. What I was most concerned about was my medical expense risk considering how expensive medical care can be in certain countries, including the USA where I travel to periodically. My plan covers trips that do not exceed 60 days in duration, although you can travel for 60 days, return home for a day, travel for another 60 etc. That's essentially what we have been doing for the past two years so already we were the people who these insurance pl...
by jminv
Sun Jan 10, 2021 2:33 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Regrets postponing retirement too long?
Replies: 171
Views: 19467

Re: Regrets postponing retirement too long?

My father, for one. He never did retire, despite being able to do so and becoming less and less happy with work. Before he passed, I was encouraging him to retire. He was very happy when he wasn't at work, with family, pursuing his hobbies which included writing, and on vacation. I wish he had gotten to experience retirement on his own terms. One of my grandfathers absolutely loved his retirement and wished he had done it sooner as the pension would have been essentially the same. The other never retired and would have hated retirement. My father-in-law retired late and wouldn't have done it differently since for him it was all about the money even though he has far too much to use in one lifetime and even though he didn't enjoy the last 10...
by jminv
Sun Dec 27, 2020 5:44 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Alaska Flight costs (maybe flights generally)
Replies: 27
Views: 2930

Re: Alaska Flight costs (maybe flights generally)

Prices haven't dropped on many routes. They've increased prices on some where other carriers reduced flights or are trying to hold pricing even with empty seats. My US flights this year have been disappointingly expensive. It's the same on some international routes - we paid about twice as much for an international flight 2 months ago than we did 12 months before that to the same destination - to top it off that flight was practically a ghost flight given visa restrictions and quarantine requirement. 6 months ago I paid around 1.5 times what I had paid before for a USA to EU flight despite it being mostly empty given tourist restrictions. Another flight between two EU countries was twice as much as it was before. Other routes have been quit...
by jminv
Sun Dec 27, 2020 5:36 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Check my steps: U.S. to Europe cell phone plan switch
Replies: 25
Views: 1752

Re: Check my steps: U.S. to Europe cell phone plan switch

When we are back in the U.S. to visit occasionally: * Buy U.S. prepaid SIMs or short-term plans (can I buy these ahead of time and have them sent to Europe so I have them ready to use? We’ll want U.S. cell service each time we land back “home”. Thoughts? I didn't see anyone answer this but many European providers offer USA roaming free or for a marginal fee. Depends on the country you're buying the plan in, though, as some countries in the EU are more competitive than others. I pay 18 euros a month for unlimited data, voice, SMS and free roaming in a lot of locations including the USA and Canada. Works fine. Before this was included, we would use prepaid sim cards in the USA. We also have free unlimited calling while we are in the EU to an...
by jminv
Wed Sep 09, 2020 8:16 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Repair plasma television or get new TV?
Replies: 76
Views: 9791

Re: Repair plasma television or get new TV?

I have and really like my Samsung PN51F8500, the last generation plasma model before it was discontinued. It's been our main display for over five years with no issues, and probably has 8000-10000 display hours. It's now started to display some issues that likely indicate some internal electronic issues (difficulty powering on, random restarts). Samsung is well known for using cheap capacitors, and either a bulging capacitor or cold solder joint is the most likely culprit. My dilemma is whether it's worth repairing the plasma or not. If the issue is the most likely case, it can probably be fixed for $100-200, and we would be looking to get at least 2 extra year out of it. (I'd pay someone to do it, as I have neither the equipment nor exper...
by jminv
Tue Sep 08, 2020 8:37 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: House sale quandary - under contract!
Replies: 71
Views: 10846

Re: House sale quandary - got offer from neighbor before agent listed house

I could use some advice here, because I think we're in a bit of a gray area. We are selling our house. Last week we contacted a real estate agent about selling it, but the listing has not gone up yet. She's done some prep work and the plan was to list next Saturday. In the meantime a neighbor heard we were leaving and just offered us basically the full asking price minus commission. We've tried to reach out to the agent to figure out what happens in this situation, but she's on vacation for the next week. A partner from her firm reached out and basically said they wouldn't hold us to the contract, but did make sure to point out if we go on our own we're at risk of making legal mistakes, and recommended at the least getting a real estate at...
by jminv
Tue Sep 08, 2020 8:30 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Replacing a 20-year-old central air conditioning
Replies: 66
Views: 7382

Re: Replacing a 20-year-old central air conditioning

I am thinking about replacing my 20 year old central AC. What are my options? What are the brands or models bogleheads recommend? I read many people are happy with their mini splits AC. It sounded like a good energy efficient option. Then I realized the installation requires the drilling of a hole to the external side of the house. This option might not work well for me because (a) I live in a town house. It is a hassle to get HOA approval to drill a new hole on the wall (b) I live on a busy street. I worry that traffic noise might be louder if a new hole is added to the wall. What are the other options to replace an old AC? Thank you. Why do you want to replace your central AC? Is it not working or is it just because it's 20 years old? If...
by jminv
Tue Sep 08, 2020 8:26 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Dog Bite Case (for real - and I own the dog)
Replies: 56
Views: 10859

Re: Dog Bite Case (for real - and I own the dog)

Use the homeowners insurance. It will simplify your life.
by jminv
Mon Aug 31, 2020 7:19 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Home Warranty
Replies: 20
Views: 1622

Re: Home Warranty

Anyone using home warranty plan? Someone recommended for Sears home warranty, looking for other options and feedback. My appliances are 6-7 years old and I have started having issues with different appliances. One I was able to fix with help; others end up costing 300-400$. The part was 50$ but labor is expensive. Yes, I can self insure and replace appliances but I find it wasteful to change things which can be repaired. I don't want to spend time learning to repair every appliance that has an issue. They're not worth it. My own recent experience with appliances and Sears was a Kenmore oven that stopped working. Helped them out remotely. Had the sears repair tech out (something like $75 or $95 non-refundable charge) and he ordered the part...
by jminv
Sat Aug 29, 2020 8:10 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: First time considering AirBnB or VRBO
Replies: 23
Views: 2231

Re: First time considering AirBnB or VRBO

I have used Airbnb for around 400 nights now worldwide, only 'entire places' though never rooms. It usually works out well but you have to read the reviews, look at the pictures, and make sure it has the amenities you want. To re-iterate, read all of the reviews. Plus look at the area it is in and figure out if that's exactly where you want to be. Beware of cleaning fees. You'll see the actual total on the list if you compare that way but if you're looking at the map only you might exclude a property with a higher nightly rate that is actually cheaper all in since cleaning fees can really vary. I always check booking.com to see if 1.) the property on airbnb is cross listed since it is sometimes cheaper on booking.com if it is on there (I sa...
by jminv
Thu Jul 23, 2020 7:59 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Mosquitos! Mosquitos! Mosquitos!
Replies: 139
Views: 16673

Re: Mosquitos! Mosquitos! Mosquitos!

Most of the mosquito control services use Bifenthrin in a backpack blower, although Bifenthrin doesn't work all that great. Bifenthrin is available online that you can purchase yourself although I think you might not be able to buy it in NY. Lookup Talstar. It kills a lot of things besides mosquitoes but in my experience it doesn't work all that great. Good but doesn't solve the problem fully. It works a lot better if you add an insect growth regulator (or go with another insecticide). You can find these kits on DoMyOwn (pest control). If it's shipping to NY your options are more limited but they have some. Or you can pay a company to spray you since they have an applicator license. If it's a local company instead of one of the national one...
by jminv
Tue Jul 07, 2020 2:30 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: small upgrades to rental property?
Replies: 10
Views: 940

Re: small upgrades to rental property?

RevFran wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 12:36 pm Here's a question about residential rental property. A tenant in a duplex I own has just requested I put in window screens -- most of the windows don't have them. This is obviously not a needed repair. What are landlords' thoughts about doing this kind of thing?
Does the property have ac or not? If it doesn’t, window screens are a need.

In any case, adjustable window screens will cost you $10 or less per window or you can go with more expensive fitted screens. If you have a tenant that either doesn’t like ac and there’s quite a bit of that still or doesn’t want to spend the money on ac, it’s needed from their point of view - which matters if you want to keep them as tenants or not.
by jminv
Mon Jun 08, 2020 5:23 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Looking at buying house with in-ground pool. What questions should we ask?
Replies: 62
Views: 4984

Re: Looking at buying house with in-ground pool. What questions should we ask?

Get a pool company to check out the condition of the pool. Preferably a company that actually repairs/builds pools not just a weekly service company. You'll want an opinion on the condition of the pool itself but also on the equipment - pump, filter, etc. Ask whether the equipment is right for the pool. Figure out how much extra the pool adds to your home insurance costs by quoting the address with and without a pool. Part of the insurance/liability angle is that you need to have a sufficiently high fence around the pool/backyard so consider that as well. Are there trees/shrubs around the pool? If there are a lot of trees around the pool consider whether you'll enjoy the extra maintenance that entails or whether you'd take them out/trim the...
by jminv
Fri May 29, 2020 10:07 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: 55+ communities - with or without golf course?
Replies: 13
Views: 2068

Re: 55+ communities - with or without golf course?

When looking at homes in a golf course community, check whether you are forced to belong to the golf club by virtue of owning the house. This happens most frequently with homes built along the golf course. This can become a problem when membership declines and the only remaining members are those that are forced to belong - rates rise.

Also, if you're looking at a home in a community with a golf course - and especially along a golf course - think carefully about what would happen if the golf course closes. This can seriously degrade property values.
by jminv
Thu May 28, 2020 1:10 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Economic Impact Payment: Wrong Last Name
Replies: 5
Views: 1276

Re: Economic Impact Payment: Wrong Last Name

I don't really want to go one of their in-network ATMs to withdraw cash over a number of days and then deposit it in my bank account (the other option). The cash machine is in a pharmacy far from where I am at the moment and the withdrawal limit on that machine is low. So while there's a $1000 daily withdrawal limit, the in network ATM limits you to $200. The best solution to this problem is to simply donate the money. Clearly you don't need it because you wouldn't be complaining about this if you did. Wanting to avoid many trips to an out of the way atm, and then going to a local bank to deposit the cash into my bank account does not equal not 'needing' the money. I have a lot of other things to do in the next week besides shuttling betwe...
by jminv
Wed May 27, 2020 2:38 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Economic Impact Payment: Wrong Last Name
Replies: 5
Views: 1276

Economic Impact Payment: Wrong Last Name

I finally received our economic impact payment in the form of a debit card yesterday, which is odd considering the IRS does have my direct deposit information on file. The debit cards can be used to withdraw cash for free at certain in-network ATMs, used at stores, etc but can you can also send the balance via ACH to your bank account (in amounts that don't exceed $1000 which is not made clear in their FAQ). I want to transfer the money to my bank account. Unfortunately, the Treasury apparently doesn't know how to issue EIP debit cards to married couples with different last names so they just went ahead printing the debit cards anyway where in this case, both spouses are given one single last name and this is encoded into the account inform...
by jminv
Sun May 17, 2020 10:40 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Dual citizen, USA passport expiring, how to travel internationally
Replies: 72
Views: 5951

Re: Dual citizen, USA passport expiring, how to travel internationally

Looking for any advice & solutions. Family member: Born in USA (American citizen by birth) Has USA passport, expiring July 2020 Turned 18 two months ago, thus… Received last passport when under 18 years old (can’t renew by mail) Wants to travel to South America in August Is also a citizen of said South American country (naturalized via parents), and… Has passport for said South American country valid until 2024 As per the USA State Department website, because he was under 18 when the last USA passport was issued, he cannot renew by mail. However, he can submit the paperwork, fees, & photos to a Passport Acceptance Facility. There are several near him. Due to Covid-19: we have extremely limited U.S. passport operations… if you apply...
by jminv
Sun May 10, 2020 5:57 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: United Airlines miles and bankruptcy
Replies: 46
Views: 4668

Re: United Airlines miles and bankruptcy

They would likely devalue further way before they zeroed out miles since they need their frequent flyers are valuable and they wouldn't want them to defect to a competitor. Devaluing them is also easy, there's no protection against it.
by jminv
Sun May 10, 2020 5:54 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Mesh Wifi
Replies: 130
Views: 12429

Re: Mesh Wifi

I recently bought the MeshForce M3S system but wouldn't recommend it. Although it works it's not great. Requires too many units to get a good mesh network (I ended up buying more). So if you see that on amazon, I'd avoid it. If you are going to buy it anyway, it's cheaper directly from MeshForce as there are some 10% off promo codes you can find easily.
by jminv
Sat May 09, 2020 11:01 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What are you up YTD? [Year To Date]
Replies: 5249
Views: 900093

Re: What are you up YTD? [Year To Date]

I'm up 30.86% in half of my portfolio which is a little similar to what's been going on in the hedgefundie thread. That's half my portfolio and is volatile, at one point I was down 41%. The other half is up 24.88% and was TLT for most of the period although I started changing my allocation by selling TLT in the last few weeks. Also paid off a property I own. Been a weird YTD.
by jminv
Thu May 07, 2020 12:58 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: When to sell low? Buffett sells entire airline stake
Replies: 81
Views: 12912

Re: When to sell low? Buffett sells entire airline stake

I think Warren is loosing his touch. He swore he would never buy airlines way back when because he thought airlines were a terrible business. Then in 2016ish he buys 10% of four airlines at high prices when things were going good. So totally against his precept of getting good businesses at a good price. Then now he is selling out at a huge loss rather than picking a winner in the airline shake out and buying more. So more of not following his play book and buying a whole company and keeping it for 30 years. He is facing a similar giant loss situation with his Occidental loan for preferred stock. That deal is a total mess and Occidental is close to BK. And after listening to him for an hour this afternoon I see big changes from previous Be...
by jminv
Tue Apr 28, 2020 12:56 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: how to go around ATM daily limit to withdraw cash for emergency
Replies: 25
Views: 3856

Re: how to go around ATM daily limit to withdraw cash for emergency

You need to have an account at bank's local physical branch. You would then send a domestic wire transfer from your brokerage and withdraw cash from the teller at your local bank same day. Schwab makes sending domestic wires very easy (and free under certain conditions). That's what I do when I need cash.
by jminv
Sun Apr 26, 2020 6:19 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Toyota vs. Kia Quality & Longevity
Replies: 82
Views: 9767

Re: Toyota vs. Kia Quality & Longevity

Have you ever seen a KIA being driven in the desert or forest by terror groups?? Seriously all they drive are Toyotas. I have owned a few Toyotas, very reliable. A Tacoma had 180K on it and I sold it in 2 days when I was ready to upgrade. Toyotas are driven by them because of the Toyota spare part network in these regions being superior to other brands, the base models preferred by these groups are easier to repair, and people have experience repairing these types of Toyotas. If you get something other than the landcruiser pickup you'll have trouble fixing it and if you pick a fancy Toyota model like the Americans like, it'll be a nightmare in the environments these groups are in or any place with terrible roads. The Toyota these groups us...
by jminv
Sun Apr 26, 2020 6:06 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Italian traffic fine with U.S. debt collector-revisited?
Replies: 26
Views: 8418

Re: Italian traffic fine with U.S. debt collector-revisited?

Today I was contacted by a Ceders Business Services, a debt collection agency in CA, regarding a traffic violation from April of 2018, from Siena, Italy. I was not aware I had entered or parked in a restricted area at the time and no violation was on my vehicle; the ticket was issued from a video camera file. I am a handicapped veteran and thought since I showed a Policeman near by I had a Handicapped parking pass it was ok to park there at the time. The Policeman did not object to me parking in a spot where another car had just vacated, close to where we were going for a picture. No citation was on the car when we returned 20 min later. When I did get my first notice of this violation from the Italian Police it was September of 2019. It a...
by jminv
Sun Apr 26, 2020 1:10 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: [Anyone found] amazing shopping deals now?
Replies: 30
Views: 4470

Re: Amazing shopping deals now

Some clothing is on sale but often the 'list' deals aren't where the value is you need something like Honey or Wikibuy installed so you can automatically try all the coupon codes. There's some great coupon codes since discounting is in early days and they are trying to price discriminate rather than wholesale markdown more than their sales would already suggest. Ebay is often a much better deal than amazon now which seems to be because so many items have no inventory on amazon or are shipping far into the future so prices for similar listings with stock that ships fast are high. I've saved a lot buying on eBay and through manufacturer's websites. For things that amazon has a lot of stock across similar listings, though, it's more mixed. Law...
by jminv
Sun Apr 26, 2020 12:53 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Italian traffic fine with U.S. debt collector-revisited?
Replies: 26
Views: 8418

Re: Italian traffic fine with U.S. debt collector-revisited?

Today I was contacted by a Ceders Business Services, a debt collection agency in CA, regarding a traffic violation from April of 2018, from Siena, Italy. I was not aware I had entered or parked in a restricted area at the time and no violation was on my vehicle; the ticket was issued from a video camera file. I am a handicapped veteran and thought since I showed a Policeman near by I had a Handicapped parking pass it was ok to park there at the time. The Policeman did not object to me parking in a spot where another car had just vacated, close to where we were going for a picture. No citation was on the car when we returned 20 min later. When I did get my first notice of this violation from the Italian Police it was September of 2019. It a...
by jminv
Fri Apr 24, 2020 2:11 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: physician/APC pay cuts
Replies: 133
Views: 12328

Re: physician/APC pay cuts

It’s ‘voluntary’ in the sense that if you don’t willingly agree to their new proposed salary you run the very real risk of being terminated instead. If that’s ok with you, then refuse the cut. Read the medscape article a few posts before mine. Your group is trying to get people to voluntarily agree to cuts so they don’t have a legal basis for suing them for violating their contract with forced cuts. I’m stuck in the USA and my next door neighbor is a primary care doc. Talked to her a couple weeks ago and it was business is bad etc etc and employer wanted her to accept a temporary voluntary paycut. She told me that it would blow over, she had a contract, and she wasn’t going to let them intimidate her. She was fired on Monday and is in disbe...
by jminv
Sun Apr 19, 2020 3:09 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Life Insurance in the age of Corona
Replies: 18
Views: 1841

Re: Life Insurance in the age of Corona

Spouse is a medical professional. I applied for a new policy and was approved without a home exam, applied to get a better rate than what I had before. About a week later (yesterday) spouse applied using same company for the same policy value and a home exam is required for her to be approved. Spouse is years younger and in better health. Only other difference is our professions, which they asked for. It's not a denial just not instant approval and I'm sure if we did the home exam visit she'd be approved but it has the effect of delaying and decreasing the number of people being approved.
by jminv
Sun Apr 19, 2020 10:19 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Neiman Marcus to file for bankruptcy
Replies: 67
Views: 7940

Re: Neiman Marcus to file for bankruptcy

There are going to be a lot of retail bankruptcies and some great liquidation sales. Although this accelerated a long-term trend in retail, it's not great because there are going to be a lot of people out of work for an extended period of time, there's not going to be an instant recovery. Lot of businesses in many sectors are going to disappear, merge, etc.
by jminv
Sun Apr 19, 2020 10:17 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: North American Oil - Should I buy?
Replies: 31
Views: 2256

Re: North American Oil - Should I buy?

I've been doing some research into the market over the past month. Obviously NA Oil companies have taken a huge hit, as well as many other industries. There's a lot of chaos in the energy sector at the moment. Would it be a worthwhile long term (10+ years) investment to buy these stocks while there at all-time lows? I've noticed a lot of them are offering high yield dividends as well right now. I have some money to play with and was thinking that a long term energy sector buy may pay off over the next year. I'm young enough to recover so why not go aggressive now? Thanks! What you're really betting on is oil prices recovering so that they can maintain their dividends. Otherwise, that high dividend yield will readjust lower because dividend...
by jminv
Sat Apr 18, 2020 11:51 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Issues with face masks?
Replies: 92
Views: 7570

Re: Issues with face masks?

You might also have been light headed because of the stressfulness of the situation. First time in awhile and having to use a mask where everyone else is too. It’s a bit disconcerting. Happened to me when I went into a store with a N95 mask the first time.

I wear KF94 masks now. They’re more comfortable than their American counterpart. Look into that if you want something better than a surgical mask.

I wear N95 masks often for work related things for years and never light headed. Just mask in the store the first time during coronavirus was but stressful. I also used to wear a half face respirator with dual cartridges in confined spaces for a whole shift and that was fine too.
by jminv
Fri Apr 03, 2020 6:48 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Help for Landlords in the Stimulus Bills?
Replies: 198
Views: 17274

Re: Help for Landlords in the Stimulus Bills?

If landlords simultaneously evicted millions of tenants, how long do you think it's going to take you to find a new tenant? Many months? All of these eviction landlords will be competing for the same small pool of available tenants with jobs in the middle of a severe recession. If you evict your tenants you are likely guaranteeing months of no rent, locking in a loss. If you keep your tenants, you have a good chance of recouping your rents in a month or two. (Does this sound familiar?) This is one of those panic situations where everyone races to be the first out the door, evicting before everyone else does so they can re-rent before all of the qualified tenants are gone. Investors should be familiar with this sell low, buy high phenomenon...
by jminv
Fri Apr 03, 2020 6:42 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Buy a house now or wait?
Replies: 42
Views: 3607

Re: Buy a house now or wait?

After being widowed last year, I decided to retire from my psychotherapy practice and move 150 miles south to where my son and his family live. I’m 62. I listed my house, it sold, closed, and I should be moving 4/13, first to my son’s trailer and then possibly to an airBNB while I house hunt. When I buy, I don’t plan to sell unless I need to go to assisted living. Housing costs a bit more in his area, so it’s a little harder to find something that I like, especially in the current market which was tight before COVID My son thinks that real estate is going to go down substantially, and he thinks I should wait to buy a house. If he’s right and it went down drastically, then I would supplement my retirement money, which at this moment is cert...
by jminv
Thu Mar 26, 2020 4:08 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Effect of COVID19 on Real Estate
Replies: 42
Views: 7001

Re: Effect of COVID19 on Real Estate

What do you guys think? If this does not prolong, I think it won't have major impact on RE (as people need a place to stay) but if COVID19 does prolong and people starting to run short of emergency fund to pay mortgage/rent/etc, this can lead to RE price coming down. Any thoughts? My opinion 1) Stock 2) Luxury Goods 3) House will be affected in order. It will lower the demand for houses in the near term and probably increase the supply of them, which will vary by region, since people will be moving. This will be somewhat counteracted by all the different support measures that are in place either through lower interest rates or the stimulus package. Prices will be less than they otherwise would have been in much of the country. Lot of peopl...
by jminv
Thu Mar 26, 2020 3:15 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What is with the printer paper delivery times on Amazon?
Replies: 39
Views: 2837

Re: What is with the printer paper delivery times on Amazon?

There are some interesting things that they are not prioritizing/allowing to be restocked in their warehouses. Paper seems like something they should be, though, with all the kids at home and parents wanting to print off activity sheets, tests, etc. It seems like it's not very thought through yet. I was noticing yesterday that I couldn't buy a specialized type of led light bulb that I need in a kitchen. I found that one brand with stock that would ship now instead of April 23rd but it isn't the brand I would have normally picked. Light bulbs for the home seem like a no brainer. There's been some other household necessities that I've wanted and most of the items were out of stock till late April. I wasn't all that surprised when I was buying...
by jminv
Sat Mar 21, 2020 4:44 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Why are private student loan rates still high
Replies: 11
Views: 877

Re: Why are private student loan rates still high

I was looking to refinance my student loan with online lenders like Sofi. Interest rates have not dropped despite Fed fund rate dropping to 0. What's going on? The risk on these private unsecured loans has gone way up, not down. So while on the one hand the Fed decreased the fed fund rate, that's counteracted by the fact that the Fed did it because millions of people are losing their jobs and economic output is contracting. If you're a private lender, it's a scary time to be refinancing unsecured debt to people who might be losing their jobs in the near future. You also have to think that some people who are looking to refinance private student loans are doing so because they need to reduce their expenses...because they have lost their job...
by jminv
Fri Mar 20, 2020 11:37 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Coronavirus and the market
Replies: 4089
Views: 392325

Re: Coronavirus and the market

COVID-19 is of course the elephant in the room in terms of what the market is doing, but my impression is that the market downturn was made significantly worse by the oil war going on between Russia and Saudi Arabia. Noticed that during the few years leading up to this, the market seemed to react negatively when oil went below $50 a barrel. Also, noticed that the oil pricing war was brought up during the administration's press conference today, and President Trump said he would get involved when he thought it was appropriate. Any thoughts on the price war's effect on the market. 'Oil war' of the last week probably had something to do with a global slowdown. Preceeding this 'war' was a 30% drop in prices this year since demand is decreasing...
by jminv
Wed Feb 26, 2020 5:22 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Avis charging for existing damage on rental car
Replies: 111
Views: 13647

Re: Avis charging for existing damage on rental car

It's a good idea to take pictures and video of their rental car before driving off. You don't necessarily have to go back to the rental car person to note damages and in any case they're usually dismissive of small things. Pictures have gotten me out of a damage claim a few times now. The OP was rushed but could have taken this step. I'd imagine that the reason the OP didn't do anything about this is that they thought they had a LDW (but now turns out to be roadside assistance? I might focus my complaints to them here too since that's not what you asked for). Not all damage is always on the contract and the customer is responsible for noting pre-existing damage. The location was also in a mall parking lot, not an airport location, and it's ...
by jminv
Sun Feb 23, 2020 7:05 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: WSJ: Intuit Near Deal to Buy Credit Karma for $7 Billion
Replies: 7
Views: 1622

Re: WSJ: Intuit Near Deal to Buy Credit Karma for $7 Billion

https://www.wsj.com/articles/intuit-near-deal-to-buy-credit-karma-for-7-billion-11582433880 Intuit's probably thinking 'hey, if we've been charging people $35 a year plus $20 a year for state e-filing, and a competitor company is offering tax filing completely free - why don't we just buyout the competitor company?' Probably more about Intuit wanting to strengthen their core product while adding additional features and services that they can eventually charge for. Credit Karma purchase maybe says they want this money to come by being an intermediary and since they already have tons of customer data, Credit Karma helps them monetize it without becoming a financial services provider. Intuit needs to grow since they are already dominant in th...
by jminv
Thu Feb 20, 2020 5:21 am
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: online Euro bank accounts
Replies: 13
Views: 1369

Re: online Euro bank accounts

For those talking about N26 deposit insurance, theirs is the German scheme which is 100k euros. Not sure why you'd keep more than 100k in a N26 current account so OP should be fine. As far as the OP's security concerns, I'd be more worried about a local Italian bank's online banking vulnerabilities than N26's. N26 had a vulnerability a few years back that a researcher identified and it was closed. There is perhaps a small concern if the OP is American, at least when I last looked into opening an account with them. The issue is that N26 won't open a savings account for an American so your money will be in the current account linked to your card. N26 isn't exactly a place where you'd keep significant amounts of money anyway though so I don't ...
by jminv
Wed Feb 19, 2020 6:04 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Fidelity Privacy Concerns
Replies: 19
Views: 3098

Re: Fidelity Privacy Concerns

Hey all I recently rolled my 401K money over to Fidelity. It took me about 2 weeks to decide what Fidelity funds to put the cheese into but in that time I got a voicemail from someone at Fidelity saying they noticed I had a large amount of cash and if I needed any help. I never responded but it had me wondering how this person knew that. 2 days ago I decided to meet with an advisor just to see if they could provide some value. Well this advisor had full access to my account and I never gave them permission, it was as if I had logged on. I don’t see anything in the terms that would allow this. Another item of interest is that now when I log onto my account the advisor I met with is now being shown as my advisor. The Customer Protection Guar...
by jminv
Wed Feb 19, 2020 5:44 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Potential sue - Loss of money
Replies: 128
Views: 14218

Re: Potential sue - Loss of money

Addition is back of the house, attached, no one can see. I use it daily b/c after my surgery, I have pain issues that's is why I built it. My response to him was, we will use it for our personal use and maybe when in-laws visits, but no renting it out (if what he was looking for) If you are not part of an HOA, then the homeowner can enforce the cc&r's directly by suing you and forcing compliance. Also when you closed on the home, you would have received the cc&r's. how old is the home ? Is it in a planned community ? The cc&r's could have expired if its an old community. When he asked you who was going to live in the new addition, what was your response ? Also is the addition in the back of the house where nobody can see it or ...
by jminv
Wed Feb 19, 2020 3:05 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Progressive Auto Insurance
Replies: 24
Views: 3625

Re: Progressive Auto Insurance

I’ve used them for more than a decade now. At least for me, they’re the cheapest option and I have the loyalty benefits. I also like that my premium isn’t jacked up every year unlike my experiences with other insurers. I still compare rates annually. I had a car damaged in a storm when I was working on the other side of the world and progressive claims took care of everything. Was actually really pleased. When my family had geico and another family member got into a crash, the claims process was not good. That and the car should have been totaled. Other insurers would have totaled it but instead we were stuck with a rebuilt car that was never the same. Same family member got into another accident that wasn’t nearly as bad and progressive to...
by jminv
Mon Feb 17, 2020 11:35 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Father-in-law "trapped" in a "teaser" interest rate deal from Merrill Lynch
Replies: 34
Views: 4058

Re: Father-in-law "trapped" in a "teaser" interest rate deal from Merrill Lynch

My father-in-law asked me to sit down with him over this long weekend to go over some of his financials. He knows my wife and I have been long standing happy Bogleheaders, and wanted some insight. I've always shied away from helping him with his affairs, but since he asked, I'll help. Here's his situation. Recently, his Merrill guy (young guy who inherited his account after his former guy died of old age) has been pushing him very aggressively to go into structured products, insurance annuities, managed accounts, A share actively managed funds, and God knows what else. It has been aggressive enough to set off my father-in-law's, normally an easy-going relaxed guy, "spidey sense". The issue is that my father-in-law also owns and o...
by jminv
Sun Feb 16, 2020 8:19 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: NRIA.NET - Real Estate Private Placement - 16% return
Replies: 34
Views: 38871

Re: NRIA.NET - Real Estate Private Placement - 16% return

I remember this thread from 2018 and it's something I would avoid. There's two business insider articles on these folks if you want to read more about exactly what's going on here. You can find them by searching for NRIA in biggerpockets. Two big issues with NRIA: First: They've advertised 'guaranteed' returns in the past. There's no such thing with what they're doing. I guess now they use 'targeted' returns? I haven't heard the recent ads but in the past that's apparently how they were advertising them. Second: If you want to know where the risk is in this deal, it's really simple - they're shifting all of the risk to you and to your personal credit rating. What's going on is that they get you to take out a loan out to buy the land and bui...