Search found 76 matches

by milo minderbinder
Thu Sep 21, 2023 9:25 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: First Time Snowboarding..Should I?
Replies: 41
Views: 4829

Re: First Time Snowboarding..Should I?

Nope. I did it for the first time at 40 And after a few days, thought I had it down pretty well. I didn’t do it again until 50 at which point I had apparently forgotten the technique and severely bruised a rib. The problem is that in skiing when you fall you fall down the hill. When snowboarding when you fall, you fall hard on your body To the point where you feel the reverberation every time. It hurts. 50 is too old to learn. Your daughter, however will be just fine. Aging sucks.
by milo minderbinder
Tue Sep 19, 2023 6:17 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: retirement laptop?
Replies: 146
Views: 14103

Re: retirement laptop?

WHAT file system??!! Whenever I've been forced to work with people who only have an Apple laptop whenever I ask them how do we get to this file a la Windows File Explorer I get an I don't know. We seem to always have to take a long winding road to get to a file. Also does not seem to have any simple Page Up / Page Down buttons on the keyboard? My most recent experience with one of these laptops was when I was trying to review a document and it was simply taking forever trying to use the fingers on the pad to try to keep scrolling down. All my limited experiences with Apple laptops have been fairly negative. I have no idea how to get things done and, seemingly, neither do the users. because 99% of users know to scroll documents using 2 fing...
by milo minderbinder
Sat Feb 25, 2023 6:02 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Aging Potential of Moderately-Priced Wine
Replies: 15
Views: 1685

Re: Aging Potential of Moderately-Priced Wine

Guigal’s CDR is probably an exception. Always a good wine and great value.
by milo minderbinder
Sat Dec 31, 2022 6:44 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Your thoughts on these bond funds for my family member?
Replies: 6
Views: 691

Re: Your thoughts on these bond funds for my family member?

They should also know that while these are conservative investments they can decrease in value, particularly over a short period.
by milo minderbinder
Wed Nov 02, 2022 9:22 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Why is E*TRADE not popular here?
Replies: 77
Views: 12958

Re: Why is E*TRADE not popular here?

You can’t sweep cash into a MM fund and their cash sweep accounts pay close to zero. Their UI is pretty good but assess to tax information and transaction info could be better.
by milo minderbinder
Tue Nov 01, 2022 9:05 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Mortgage REITS juicy dividend yield anyone?
Replies: 25
Views: 2771

Re: Mortgage REITS juicy dividend yield anyone?

av111 wrote: Tue Nov 01, 2022 9:00 pm
milo minderbinder wrote: Tue Nov 01, 2022 8:42 pm These do not perform well in times of rising interest rate .
Corrected. If interest rates start falling, watch them fly up
Nope. Look at the 10 year charts. Generally falling interest rates and generally falling prices.
by milo minderbinder
Tue Nov 01, 2022 8:42 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Mortgage REITS juicy dividend yield anyone?
Replies: 25
Views: 2771

Re: Mortgage REITS juicy dividend yield anyone?

How's the merit of this agency REITS for early retirees who needs income The dividend yield is JUICY SIXTEEN TO EIGHTEEN PERCENT! Ticker AGNC https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/AGNC/ TICKER NLY https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/NLY/ I wonder what are the risk consideration comes with this juicy dividend These funds went down 60% over the course of the 2010s when the S&P500 grew 200%. The "dividends" they are paying just appear to be them giving you your money back. Do they actually make any money? AGNC all-time high: $35 in 2012, now $8.22/share. NLY all-time high: $83 in 2008, now $18.55/share. And that abysmal performance does not even take account of NLY’s recent 4:1 reverse split! These do not perform well in times of interest...
by milo minderbinder
Sat Oct 08, 2022 12:50 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How to sell a used car?
Replies: 42
Views: 4102

Re: How to sell a used car?

edge wrote: Fri Oct 07, 2022 12:10 pm
jebmke wrote: Fri Oct 07, 2022 6:40 amCarmax
I’ve found that Carmax does not make market offers for older cars (5+ yr).
They made an offer on my 14 year old car.
by milo minderbinder
Sun Dec 19, 2021 1:36 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: F.I.R.E?
Replies: 210
Views: 18595

Re: F.I.R.E?

WVWildflower wrote: Sun Dec 19, 2021 11:13 am
Firemenot wrote: Sun Dec 19, 2021 11:11 am
WVWildflower wrote: Sun Dec 19, 2021 11:09 am
milo minderbinder wrote: Sun Dec 19, 2021 11:01 am
I signed up for Ameribar. I took it over the pandemic when we were remote, March a few years back. Apparently, everyone is going UBE. Go figure, but FL and TN, two places we were considering going, aren't part of the UBE. The laws are also totally different where our vacation home is located, so I'm looking for used Barbri or Kaplan books.
The Florida bar is absurdly protectionist. They are scared of semi retired attorneys from other states lowering legal fees.
by milo minderbinder
Sun Dec 19, 2021 11:01 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: F.I.R.E?
Replies: 210
Views: 18595

Re: F.I.R.E?

You’re a trust and estates lawyer? That is the legal specialty with the greatest opportunity to structure a reasonable life style. You could set up your own practice or hook up with a small firm and work whatever number of hours that suits your life.
by milo minderbinder
Wed Feb 24, 2021 10:39 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Fidelity 2% Credit Card: [Update on Experiences, drops two benefits]
Replies: 169
Views: 20113

Re: Fidelity 2% Credit Card: Update on Any Issues or Experiences

Wouldn't umbrella insurance accomplish the same objective as a credit card's collision damage waiver protection?
by milo minderbinder
Tue Dec 29, 2020 1:06 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Vehicle quality (the real data, not anecdotes)
Replies: 139
Views: 11355

Re: Vehicle quality (the real data, not anecdotes)

This thread is one of the reasons I think car discussions should be banned under the religion/politics rules. Everyone has an opinion, much of which is largely based on their personal experience or bias w/o any other real facts, and trying to use logic to explain/persuade just gets brushed off, or worse, taken as confrontational. Some facts: - The view point of the Japanese OEMs being a magnitude or more better than American is a 40 year old story. It's almost 2021; not 1980. The world has changed, but some like to live in the past. - Globalization is real. Auto manufacturers generally favor purchasing parts and assemblies from suppliers, and make less and less of their own proprietary parts as the years tick by. This means less and less o...
by milo minderbinder
Thu Dec 24, 2020 1:28 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Too much in house and retirement. Worried about skew
Replies: 90
Views: 8706

Re: Too much in house and retirement. Worried about skew

[

Our annual expenses are ~100k. So as per 4% rule we need 2.5m. But just seems so weird to have so much in 401k which I can withdraw only in 59.5.
If we did FIRE, how do we live from 40-59.5?

Overall happy with what we have achieved. We lived very very frugally in our 20s. Overall expenses were 40k per year (outside housing). And saved a lot. But unhappy due to all the upcoming expenses in our 30s and just feels like FIRE is getting away and away as we live in this VHCOL area.
[/quote]

The 4% SWR is intended for 30 year retirements - not 50plus year retirements. You should plan on a lower withdrawal rate.
by milo minderbinder
Sat Aug 22, 2020 12:52 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Stage 4 Cancer and Young Family
Replies: 105
Views: 17123

Re: Stage 4 Cancer and Young Family

That place that you've always wanted to go but haven't? Plan a trip there while you can enjoy it.
by milo minderbinder
Wed May 06, 2020 3:40 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Notary Signature Amidst COVID 19
Replies: 22
Views: 1758

Re: Notary Signature Amidst COVID 19

First try asking them to waive it. Notarization is an artifact of a bygone world. It provides no protection.
by milo minderbinder
Sat May 02, 2020 12:20 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Car Dealers not really wanting to make a deal
Replies: 245
Views: 40054

Re: Car Dealers not really wanting to make a deal

I'm in the process of buying a Subaru Crosstrek to replace a totaled vehicle. Dealers are definitely not going out of their way to compete for my business.
by milo minderbinder
Wed Apr 01, 2020 11:24 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Wine Club Recommendations?
Replies: 15
Views: 1647

Re: Wine Club Recommendations?

Not exactly a wine club but WTSO can be good. Do your own research on the wines and pricing before buying though.
by milo minderbinder
Sun Feb 16, 2020 11:54 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: I'm 40 and when do I retire? first world problem?
Replies: 62
Views: 13335

Re: I'm 40 and when do I retire? first world problem?

Can you just say no to the overtime and night shifts? This might be an easy way to transition through the next two years to the max pension.
by milo minderbinder
Mon Feb 10, 2020 2:39 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Am I crazy to consider quitting my job?
Replies: 128
Views: 16463

Re: Am I crazy to consider quitting my job?

No, it wouldn't be crazy to quit. But reading your post it doesn't really sound like you want to, and it might be difficult to get this kind of job after some time out of the market.
by milo minderbinder
Fri Jan 31, 2020 12:51 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Trump acquittal effect?
Replies: 7
Views: 1559

Re: Trump acquittal effect?

Zero because it is already baked in.
by milo minderbinder
Thu Jan 30, 2020 2:04 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Mazda 3 v Civic Si
Replies: 46
Views: 4390

Re: Mazda 3 v Civic Si

I am in the OP's situation as I am considering moving on from my Mini Cooper S which is very fun to drive. Mine has been pretty reliable, but I think that is a function of luck. I find the Mazda 3 hatch to be a nice car with more luxury than typical in the class but a fairly sedate drive. The Civic Si would be a lot more fun but you have to ask yourself whether you want to drive something that plug ugly for a large number of years. It looks like a tonka toy. I'll probably get the Mazda.
by milo minderbinder
Wed Jan 22, 2020 11:55 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How Do I Buy Some BitCoin?
Replies: 46
Views: 26280

Re: How Do I Buy Some BitCoin?

JonnyDVM wrote: Tue Jan 21, 2020 7:06 pm There’s a fund GBTC. Grayscale bitcoin trust. It tracks bitcoin but you don’t need to mess around with the exchanges. Feels a lot easier than owning the actual stupid things and holding them in a virtual wallet or whatever with a password you put in a little glass bottle implanted under your skin for safety.
The tradeoff is that you will pay a significant premium over GBTC's actual holdings of bitcoin.
by milo minderbinder
Mon Jan 20, 2020 4:48 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: If you could only listen to one podcast...
Replies: 185
Views: 24130

Re: If you could only listen to one podcast...

My vote is for Hardcore History. Dan Carlin provides what feels like a first person view on historical events.

Another good history podcast, albeit with a more academic feel, is Revolutions by Mike Duncan.
by milo minderbinder
Sat Jan 18, 2020 12:06 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Inherited IRA Questions
Replies: 13
Views: 1017

Re: Inherited IRA Questions

This is wrong. He can designate his own beneficiaries and change them at will.
by milo minderbinder
Sat Jan 18, 2020 12:01 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Should I use Turbo Tax?
Replies: 22
Views: 2771

Re: Should I use Turbo Tax?

You should definitely do it yourself. Since you are just starting out I would look for a company that is a little less evil than Intuit. Intuit uses its significant lobbying muscle to stifle any legislative attempts at tax simplification. Perhaps TaxAct, which I have used for my son's simple returns.
by milo minderbinder
Thu Jan 09, 2020 2:41 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 1 yr ban of 401K contribution?
Replies: 66
Views: 7958

Re: 1 yr ban of 401K contribution?

However, from an employer plan design perspective I find this inexplicable. I would understand having a vesting schedule for the employer match but what is gained from preventing new employees from contributing their own money? Any incremental per employee cost for administration is vastly outweighed by the disincentive to accept employment. It may be inexplicable to you, but many companies view it as a retention tool and to minimize employer contributions for short duration employees. Not to mention, in order to exclude part-time employees < 1,000* hours/year, an employer must have a time of service requirement (usually one (1) year). *The recent enactment of the SECRURE Act reduces this to 500 hours/year for employees with 3+ years of se...
by milo minderbinder
Thu Jan 09, 2020 11:47 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 1 yr ban of 401K contribution?
Replies: 66
Views: 7958

Re: 1 yr ban of 401K contribution?

I agree that this should not be the deciding factor in determining whether to the the job.

However, from an employer plan design perspective I find this inexplicable. I would understand having a vesting schedule for the employer match but what is gained from preventing new employees from contributing their own money? Any incremental per employee cost for administration is vastly outweighed by the disincentive to accept employment.
by milo minderbinder
Tue Jan 07, 2020 4:17 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Using severance health insurance on new job
Replies: 8
Views: 521

Re: Using severance health insurance on new job

Relative should check their severance agreement to make sure the insurance benefit does not terminate upon accepting employment that offers insurance coverage. This is not uncommon.
by milo minderbinder
Tue Dec 24, 2019 10:50 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: NYT: "Want a Bigger Say on Corporate Behavior: Move Your Money"
Replies: 45
Views: 2887

Re: NYT: "Want a Bigger Say on Corporate Behavior: Move Your Money"

DriftWood wrote: Tue Dec 24, 2019 10:02 am Leave investment as investment as it is and keep those social justice propaganda out of my investment choice. Thank you!
This isn't about what they invest in. Its about how they vote the shares in the companies they own. Should Vanguard vote against excessive executive compensation plans? I think they should.
by milo minderbinder
Sat Dec 14, 2019 4:11 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: 2015 Mini Cooper Questions
Replies: 15
Views: 1326

Re: 2015 Mini Cooper Questions

I have a 2008 Mini Cooper S. Its quick and very fun to drive. Mini does not have a great reputation for reliability but mine but hasn't had significant problems. It only has 42,000 miles though.
by milo minderbinder
Tue Dec 03, 2019 11:29 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Monovision contacts?
Replies: 23
Views: 2642

Re: Monovision contacts?

I have had natural monovision for about 30 years. Works great. (And I can play baseball.)
by milo minderbinder
Fri Nov 08, 2019 1:40 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Weddings - The good? The bad?
Replies: 47
Views: 5463

Re: Weddings - The good? The bad?

I went to a wedding that had no alcohol and only served vegan food. Don't do that.
by milo minderbinder
Fri Oct 25, 2019 12:22 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Who does your tax returns?
Replies: 103
Views: 7710

Re: Who does your tax returns?

I used to do it by hand many years ago but now use turbotax. The ability to download from financial institutions is a big help.

A question for the folks who do it by hand: how difficult is the AMT calculation?
by milo minderbinder
Wed Oct 23, 2019 12:42 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Need some proof reading on my Roth IRA back door plan. My first time.
Replies: 10
Views: 996

Re: Need some proof reading on my Roth IRA back door plan. My first time.

HomeStretch wrote: Wed Oct 23, 2019 12:13 pm
milo minderbinder wrote: Wed Oct 23, 2019 12:01 pm So if one has substantial traditional IRA funds and no ability to roll them into a 401K, he is effectively precluded from utilizing a backdoor Roth?

He is always able do a backdoor Roth. But a 12/31 pretax IRA balance will make a portion of the Roth conversion taxable due to the pro rata rule. That makes the backdoor Roth less attractive tax-wise (which is perhaps what you meant by “effectively precluded” but wasn’t sure).
It was. Thanks.
by milo minderbinder
Wed Oct 23, 2019 12:01 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Need some proof reading on my Roth IRA back door plan. My first time.
Replies: 10
Views: 996

Re: Need some proof reading on my Roth IRA back door plan. My first time.

So if one has substantial traditional IRA funds and no ability to roll them into a 401K, he is effectively precluded from utilizing a backdoor Roth?
by milo minderbinder
Tue Oct 22, 2019 3:55 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Inside Fisher Investments
Replies: 123
Views: 15823

Re: Inside Fisher Investments

Count yourself lucky. I get tons of junk mail from him. Goes straight into the recycling bin.
by milo minderbinder
Tue Oct 22, 2019 2:33 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: should my son negotiate paralegal offer?
Replies: 28
Views: 2877

Re: should my son negotiate paralegal offer?

As this is a first job and he has no leverage he should take the offer. After he gets some experience he can interview and subsequent offer may be more negotiable. Also, $42G is a reasonable offer, especially out of the city.
by milo minderbinder
Wed Oct 16, 2019 12:30 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: learning about consulting side job - taxes, etc.
Replies: 6
Views: 1030

Re: learning about consulting side job - taxes, etc.

Consider setting up an LLC to conduct your consulting out of. Consultants can incur liabilities employees generally don't and you will want to keep you personal assets out of reach.
by milo minderbinder
Thu Oct 10, 2019 12:50 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Filing tax returns for deceased uncle.
Replies: 6
Views: 1005

Re: Filing tax returns for deceased uncle.

Are there assets? If so someone should apply to become a court appointed administrator. That person should do the tax returns. No one else has authority to do them. If there are no assets there is no need for anyone to do anything.
by milo minderbinder
Mon Sep 23, 2019 10:13 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How does a bank make money off you? How to ensure they don't
Replies: 69
Views: 9449

Re: How does a bank make money off you? How to ensure they don't

Katietsu wrote: Sun Sep 22, 2019 3:57 pm Personally, I do not consider occasional emails to be aggressive marketing. But then, I do not really even read them but just skim it to make sure they do not contain important customer service notifications.

But, you have decided that your current situation does not work for you. Many people on BH transfer $100 k of investments to Merrill Edge in order to receive Preferred Reward benefits at B of A and ME. With this approach at ME, there are no fees. And as long as you manage your cash well, you are not giving up any earnings. Will your bank allow a similar approach with a no or low account maintenance fee?
This is what I do. It works well and I get zero commission trades.
by milo minderbinder
Thu Sep 19, 2019 12:46 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Median employee compensation challenge
Replies: 13
Views: 2143

Re: Median employee compensation challenge

This metric as contrived by Congress (thanks Bob Menendez) is too useless to allow an apples to apples comparison. It includes part time workers and international workers without accounting in any way for the amount of time the former work or the pay scale in the countries of the latter. Unless two companies are similar in the number and location of such employees (and there is no way for us to know this) all comparisons are meaningless.
by milo minderbinder
Fri Sep 13, 2019 12:39 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Escrow account between neighbors?
Replies: 11
Views: 1777

Re: Escrow account between neighbors?

In my view demanding an escrow for this is ridiculous. A legally binding agreement to do the maintenance should be sufficient.
by milo minderbinder
Wed Sep 11, 2019 11:50 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Early exercising NSOs
Replies: 11
Views: 1648

Re: Early exercising NSOs

If you really have 7 years left to exercise you should let it ride. Most of the value off an option is the time value. With 7 years of volatility to go you would be sacrificing a lot in terms of black scholes or lattice binomial valuation if you exercised now. But read the option agreement and plan carefully! That's if you go by option value, but it has issues, which were laid out in the original post. The dream is for the company to do really well and for these to be worth a lot. Let's say it goes up 1000x and now they're worth millions. Taxation as ordinary income would hurt, as compared to long-term capital gains, but that's secondary to the possibility of immense taxation risk if there's no liquid market for its shares b/c the company ...
by milo minderbinder
Mon Sep 09, 2019 11:19 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Early exercising NSOs
Replies: 11
Views: 1648

Re: Early exercising NSOs

If you really have 7 years left to exercise you should let it ride. Most of the value off an option is the time value. With 7 years of volatility to go you would be sacrificing a lot in terms of black scholes or lattice binomial valuation if you exercised now. But read the option agreement and plan carefully!