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Bammerman

My daughter, who lives in North Carolina, is preparing to start 529 college saving plans for her children, ages 9 and 4. I know very little about 529 plans, having paid for our children's college out of current income a long time ago. She's a busy, single working mom and I'm trying to save her some ...

Bammerman

I've also been thinking about having a checkup on my heating system recently, since our last "checkup" was some eight or so years ago (no central AC in this house, just heating). But our natural gas-fired furnace and boiler (11 years old) and radiators (original to 1925 construction) keep on tickin'...

Bammerman

a temporary hand-hold that gripped the side of the tub to help her climb into the tub. But frankly it was less than satisfactory because it was still very difficult for her to get into the tub. Did that seem safe? I have thought about those, but I can just see them coming off. All I can give is our...

Bammerman

When my wife had her knees done we only had a bathtub on the ground floor (she could not go up the stairs to the bedroom for several weeks after surgery). We installed a hand-held shower wand on that tub, and a temporary hand-hold that gripped the side of the tub to help her climb into the tub. But ...

Bammerman

Two things re: the Blue Ridge Parkway: 1. Be aware that sections of the Parkway may be closed from time to time for weather or other reasons with little or no notice, especially this time of year. It pays to frequently check the National Park Service's Realtime Closure Map. https://www.nps.gov/maps/...

Bammerman

The general opinion, across many reviewers, is that iOS13 is one of the best operating system upgrades in years. I’m finding it chock full of improvements, myself.

Bammerman

The iPhone 7 is an excellent phone, in my opinion. I very happily used one for three years until two weeks ago when I upgraded to an iPhone 11 Pro. Unless you are very much into using your phone for photography (In which case, you might want to get an iPhone 11), I would go with iPhone 7 — of course...

Bammerman

MIcrowaves are disposable items. Send it to the landfill. No, don't do this, instead donate it to your Habitat for Humanity ReStore! They can sell non-working appliances, including microwave ovens, to metal recyclers for the metal content. My local Habitat makes thousands of $$ each year this way.

Bammerman

I'm not sure if this is a personal finance issue or a consumer issue. We own and live in an old home that hasn't had a termite inspection since we bought it some 12 years ago. I'd thought about this fact every now and then, wondering if I should have the house inspected again, when a friend told me ...

Bammerman

RudyS wrote: ↑
Sat Jul 20, 2019 3:26 pm
If you use your card to buy it outright, then many credit cards will give you an extended warranty benefit.

+1

Bammerman

If the garage has a dark, flat "membrane" type roof, you could paint it with a white elastomeric roof paint. This is what I did, and it reduced the heat inside/under the roof significantly. A can of this stuff is about $25 at Lowes and is enough to cover a one-car garage.

Bammerman

I admit that I didn't read through every single post here, and that this is slightly different from OP's question, but what about places where you order at a counter and they bring out your food to your table when it's ready? We visit various restaurants like that. That takes just a small fraction o...

Bammerman

[Post removed by admin LadyGeek]

I'm blaming that glass of wine. Sorry if I'm using up valuable cyberspace.

Bammerman

I have a feeling that I'm going to get slammed for this question but I'll go ahead anyway. I feel like Vanguard, and now USAA, are really pushing ETFs. I'm happy with mutual funds. What's the big advantage, if any, of Exchange Traded Funds over mutual funds? And Vanguard also keeps pushing me to cha...

Bammerman

Not an expert, but I don't think so. I've never heard of this being raised as an issue anywhere.

Bammerman

My asset allocation has been essentially the same since I retired 12 years ago: 27% equities, 10% bonds, 63% cash (actually the TSP G fund). The bulk of the investments are in the TSP L "Income" Fund, and the rest are spread across a number of balanced index funds, and the too-good-to-miss Vanguard ...

Bammerman

One other thing you can do to avoid burn in of logos in some situations: on the LG B7 anyway, and perhaps other models, you can "zoom" into the picture, and I use this feature to exclude/crop out the PBS logo when I watch the PBS News Hour. And, for what it's worth, on my LG OLED, there's also a fea...

Bammerman

Sending that letter was very nice of you. Very very nice. Above and beyond nice. [/i] I don't see it that way -- just as basic golden rule stuff. I had nothing to gain by not sending the letter, and by sending it, the proper recipient got his/her money quite a bit sooner. No, I didn't make any inte...

Bammerman

Just to close the loop: the credit union took out the mistaken deposit today, finally. They called me day before yesterday and said the money had been intended for another credit union member whose account number was one digit different from mine. They asked me to send them a signed letter stating t...

Bammerman

As others here have said, it's been shown (e.g., by rtings.com, here: https://www.rtings.com/tv/learn/real-life-oled-burn-in-test ) that people who use their OLED tv's for "normal" viewing -- i.e., a mix of stuff, and no hours-long static screens with logos in the same place -- will not have any bur...

Bammerman

I asked about that, but with interest rates these days it's not worth fiddling with. But: in 1983 I moved to France and bought a car there (a new Peugeot) with an $8,000 check in francs from a local bank account. After a week or so and the car dealership hadn't yet cashed the check, I had the bank m...

Bammerman

As of May 25 the money is still there, but I noticed that it's not "available" to me (to spend). Presumably the credit union has put some kind of hold on it. I think I'll write them and ask for a status update.

Bammerman

Yesterday morning I checked my credit union checking account and had quite a surprise: the balance was almost $15,000 higher than it should have been! Talk about a nice surprise! Until, that is, I had time to think for a moment and to remember that I don't have any rich uncles or aunts who've died r...

Bammerman

It looks like the TSP Modernization Act will be implemented on September 15 of this year, according to this TSP bulletin: https://www.tsp.gov/PDF/bulletins/19-03.html. I hadn't seen a specific date previously. Sorry if somebody else has already posted this.

Bammerman

Yeah. They're consuls , as stated in the article. In the United States there can't be any, because contracts must have an end date, and bonds are contracts. That doesn't mean US people can't buy foreign bonds, unless the issuing sovereign is under sanctions. Consuls do not fit into the Yield to Mat...

Bammerman

FYI, according to my recollection, if you are a resident of North Carolina, and benefit from the Bailey Rule, transferring the Roth into the TSP may render all of your TSP disbursements subject to NC income taxation. Normally, TSP disbursements would be subject to the Bailey Rule and exempt from tax...

Bammerman

I've always done my own taxes and this year, for the first time, I need to file an amended return (stupid error of forgetting to enter one 1099-R). On the return that I filed electronically I owed taxes, and so I set things up so that the IRS will take the money out on April 15 in an electronic fund...

Bammerman

How about this: (1) select the area of interest in Google Earth; (2) print out that area (maybe using four area selections = four print-outs); (3) use tracing paper to trace the outlines of the roads, houses, streams, etc. (if necessary, glue/tape the tracing paper sheets together); (4) photograph, ...

Bammerman

You would need to accumulate wealth before you worry too much about how to transfer it. I'd say the best investments in the next generation would be (in order of priority): 1. Quality of childhood and parenting: - Having happy parents who are able to spend time educating and passing values to their...

Bammerman

I haven't read through all the posts here, so please excuse me if someone else has said this already. I used to score and rank-order candidates for foreign service appointments, and to that end, read many, many of their personnel applications. I never cared where someone started their education. Wha...

Bammerman

Is this guy's death a BLACK SWAN ???????

Bammerman

Seems like the first step is establishing whether there is a leak or not. I have no experience or knowledge to contribute there*. I do have electric heat tape (controlled by a thermostat) wrapped around water supply (metal) pipes at one point in my old house, and that simple technology does work to ...

Bammerman

I have been thinking of getting an Apple watch 4, because of the health-related features it has. I even asked my doctor about it and he said he too is interested in one for the same reasons. I'm not all that interested in the various other possible reasons for having one. One possible first-world ob...

Bammerman

I spent one very long government shutdown down in our half-finished basement, stripping bright royal blue paint from the knotty pine paneling, and then refinishing the paneling. It was hard work but I was proud of the results. Maybe you can find something similar to do around your house. I also spen...

Bammerman

Interestingly, after posting this question a few days ago, I found that I had posted a related question about rebalancing about 11 years ago, (https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8703) which also garnered few responses. I would note that the last person to respond there said something t...

Bammerman

I was listening to the news tonight and it talked about another "wild ride" that took the Dow down 400 or so points before it ended up 14 points. That led me to wonder about my TSP-L Income fund, which, like all the L finds, rebalances daily. But WHEN does it do that rebalancing? If we take today, f...

Bammerman

[/quote] You can pick up a 1996 era Mazda MX-5 Miata for $2,000. Make that a gift to yourself after you max out your retirement accounts. [/quote] That's just what I was going to say! The Miata is a great, fun, and reliable sports car. I owned one for seven years and still regret selling it. Get you...

Bammerman

My TSP Lifecycle Income fund has dropped about 6% over the last couple of weeks. That fund makes up the bulk of my investments; the rest are in a variety of balanced passive index funds, and I haven't looked to see how they're doing. They'll do whatever they'll do. I certainly don't plan to make any...

Bammerman

OP: You made a very good decision when you bought the LG OLED. I bought my LG OLED a year ago (B7a) and have not regretted the high cost one moment. I had my previous lcd tv 10 years, and expect to have this one that long as well. Amortize the cost of the OLED tv over a decade of 2 to 3 hours OF YOU...

Bammerman

My preference for a smart thermostat was to be able to check everything remotely and make changes as necessary. If that is the main reason, perhaps you should consider a device like the Leeo (https://www.leeo.com/product). I have had one of these for a year or so and have found it useful. Using the...

Bammerman

Similar situation, except that I had only one old round Honeywell thermostat (i.e., one "zone"). I solved the situation by buying a $20 programmable thermostat (uses AA batteries that last at least a year). It is only smart enough to change the set temperature several times a day 7 days a week, but ...

Bammerman

I can't believe that no one here has mentioned that absolutely guaranteed method, EMP (electromagnetic pulse). But, more seriously, how about subjecting the phone to a powerful magnetic force? I remember, as a boy, constructing an electromagnet by wrapping many turns of insulated copper wire around ...

Bammerman

Actually, I think the agent misspoke, or I misunderstood, because the amount I'm to receive matches what I had calculated that I would receive plus almost exactly 8%. It's a little complicated because I am subject to WEP. But I still have no idea what the agent was referring to when she talked about...

Bammerman

I delayed filing for my social security benefits until age 67, one year past my full retirement age (FRA). When the SS agent took my application over the phone she told me what my benefits would be, based on my FRA, and said that they would start in September (one month after I turn 67). She then sa...

Bammerman

I've been reading a lot lately about Dolby's "spatial" sound effects from their new Atmos technology, and I'm wondering if I should spend the high premium for a Dolby Atmos-capable sound bar. My new tv is capable of passing Dolby Atmos through to capable sound systems. We've been using a fairly inex...

Bammerman

I like a glass or two of red wine in the evening, but my wife doesn't drink, so making a nice bottle of wine last longer is important to me. I've been using rubber stoppers with a vacuum device for years (like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000GA3KCE/ref=dp_cerb_2) and have been satisfied. I would...

Bammerman

I am very happy with my 2013 Volt, and would recommend that you consider a used Volt for your commuting purpose. With a Generation 1 Volt (such as mine) a 25 mile round trip commute would be no problem. Even in the middle of winter, I get at least 33 miles out of my Volt's battery (batteries don't l...

Bammerman

I'd been using a very, very heavy Black and Decker cordless mower that I bought, used, at the nearby Habitat ReStore about five years ago. But recently I decided to buy something lighter, and went with a Kobalt that I picked up from Lowes for $287. It has a 40 volt, 5 amp battery. I've only used it ...

Bammerman

Hi Ken, welcome (soon) to retirement. I'm a retired Fed and have wrestled with TSP decisions myself. I would say, first of all, don't make any sudden decisions about what to do with your TSP -- take your time, you have plenty of it. Personally, I'm a big fan of the L Funds, and have used them for qu...

Bammerman

I was a U.S. foreign service officer for 26 years. A great career. In my case, I spent about 14 of those years overseas, in a variety of cities/countries/continents. That's the key word, in fact: variety : Job variety, location variety, boss/subordinate variety, cultural variety. Variety can be bad ...

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