Bogleheads.org

DJZ

Try The Economist.

You can get an introductory 3 mo subscription inexpensively. It tends to have a bit longer, more in depth articles. Social media and ad-based content have their problems that subscription-based content does not.

DJZ

I recently purchased a lifetime number from Hushed for $20. It’s a VOIP line, which means that some online sites will not accept it as a real number. But it works the vast majority of the time and I’m very pleased with it. I also liked Google Voice but I have moved away from Google products. I have ...

DJZ

No, manual (unpowered) treadmills don’t really go downhill. Unless you walk backwards?

DJZ

I completely agree with that.

Another way to look at it: Treasuries are purely bond, without other components or risks, so in a sense you need fewer treasuries in dollar terms to get the same protection as corporates would offer.

DJZ

Big fan of the DAF. It changed my giving dramatically.

Note that tax law re: charitable giving is ideal right now Pease limitation gone, higher maximums for deduction, etc), so if there are no changes by year end, consider doing it this year. The current admin hopes to make things more restrictive.

DJZ

At your age, I would max out Series EE bonds first (3.5% return if held for 20 years; no state tax; tax deferred until you sell) then Series I (inflation adjusted with better returns than TIPS). You might just stop there at $20k per year. These are two of the only “free lunches” available anywhere. ...

DJZ

armeliusc wrote: ↑Fri Dec 18, 2020 11:27 am Series I Saving Bond: inflation protected.

+1. Seriously look at this!

DJZ

As I was entering the charities in HR block under: "Tell us about your Cash donation", I am supposed to indicate if the charity is Private Foundation (which it is not) or Donor Advised Fund (which I don't understand). Went to the IRS website (ww.irs.gov/teos) as indicated but didn't find ...

DJZ

Hello, I have a 3 year old Apple iPhone SE. The battery only lasts about 6 hours now before needing a recharge. Would you suggest a new battery through Apple store for $50? I am not sure if that will fix battery drain since I have heard the newer iOS versions drain the battery faster. Appreciate an...

DJZ

I am bumping this thread. Long story short, this trip was canceled due to an unexpected addition to our family. :D Fast forward 3 canceled work trips (2 - Atlantis & Euro cruise - due to Covid) the last 3yrs and my wife and I want to press play again on this trip. Starting from scratch on itine...

DJZ

I have used TransferWise to send money to England and India and several African nations and had an excellent experience in each of about five cases. They are excellent. I haven’t used the other services you mentioned.

DJZ

I think quicken is great. It’s a little cheaper than $90/yr:

https://www.quicken.com/compare

DJZ

It might allow you to donate more to support some of your interests/causes.

DJZ

+1 for Quicken for Mac. Really great. I generally hate subscription software but I can see where they are putting the $.

DJZ

My internet provider gives me free VOIP. Is there a way to make an international call? My phone card has expired and don't know if they still exist. What exactly do you mean by “my internet provider gives me free VOIP”? VOIP can be used for international calls so you should explore your internet pr...

DJZ

I am looking to add municipal bonds to taxable brokerage Vanguard account. I am looking at VWITX, VTEAX and possibly VTEB but likely will stick with mutual fund to set up monthly contributions so the etf is less likely of 3. Anyone have any recommendations regarding these funds or am I splitting ha...

DJZ

I too have accounts at Vanguard, Schwab and Fidelity, but chose Vanguard Charitable for my DAF because most of my assets are at V, and fees are low at VC. I’m very happy with them. Their customer service is leaps and bounds better than Vanguard itself. The $500 minimum is not an issue as I thought ...

DJZ

I haven’t used that particular function but overall I think Quicken for Mac is amazing, my favorite version of quicken in the 30 or so years I’ve been using it, and one of my fave Mac programs.

DJZ

In case you haven't heard enough yet about why a house should not be considered an investment: https://jlcollinsnh.com/2013/05/29/why- ... nvestment/

To be really terrible:

[Content in excess of copyright fair use removed by admin LadyGeek]

DJZ

I too have accounts at Vanguard, Schwab and Fidelity, but chose Vanguard Charitable for my DAF because most of my assets are at V, and fees are low at VC. I’m very happy with them. Their customer service is leaps and bounds better than Vanguard itself. The $500 minimum is not an issue as I thought i...

DJZ

I’m going to agree with doctorgonzo. I have used many versions of quicken for about 20 years now, and switched to Quicken for Mac about two years ago. It’s incredibly good. Best version by far. The most common complaint is the subscription model. I usually hate the subscription model, but this one’s...

DJZ

I may be the last person on earth not using the cloud to back up my MAC. I worry about identity theft and hackers. If credit firm Experian got hacked, any Company can get hacked. I'm thinking of buying a new MAC and its so easy to set up if it's backed up to time machine. But alas I'm not on the cl...

DJZ

I'm an effective altruist. So far, 48% of my lifetime after tax expenditure has been for global health advocacy, and minimizing the existential risks of advanced artificial intelligence. I also develop mathematical models of effective altruism investing. Effective altruism investing is different fr...

DJZ

iPads are super versatile, last forever, and the basic one is highly capable for $299 when it’s on sale, which is often. At full price ($330) it’s still a deal. That said I have recently bought Kindle Fire HD 10 for $79 on sale and it’s quite good. I would recommend it. I did eliminate the advertise...

DJZ

IANAL but I did look into this closely when I moved. Interestingly, *intent* matters; that is, if you intend your new condo to be your actual permanent home. Of course, that’s a bit subjective. If you Google this issue you will find things such as: A change of domicile requires: 1. Abandonment of a ...

DJZ

OK, thanks for checking! That brings clarity to my end-of-year donation planning too. I just heard from my accountant about this. See below. She confirms 50% of AGI max to DAF. However I believe that additional cash donations can be made directly to charities and would still be deductible, up to 10...

DJZ

I’ve been kicking the tires on putting a tax exempt muni fund in my taxable account moving forward. The fund I am looking at is DUALX...which holds high quality Alabama munis. Expenses are a little rich at .70...but the return overall return has been rock solid for years. Background: High earner, A...

DJZ

I have to admit that I'm quite stupid when it comes to math. We just refinanced our home and I'm trying to figure out what I'm missing here. To simplify the math, I'll twist the numbers a bit. Bought the home in summer of 2017, so roughly 36 months ago. 30-year, $495K mortgage at 4%, P&I paymen...

DJZ

Addendum: my personal experience, and the latest Publication 526 text, are both from tax year 2019 when the TCJA applied, but the CARES act did not exist yet. I just checked out the text of the CARES act , and although it's even harder to understand than an IRS publication, my interpretation of it ...

DJZ

All, I have a standup desk at home (we're 100% wfh). I think having a small manual treadmill under me might help me get some steps in while working and in Teams meetings all day. Any opinions on this? I see that they exist but unsure if they'll really work or last a season. If by manual treadmill y...

DJZ

Bluquark,

In the meanwhile, assuming you are still using TurboTax (which I do not) would you mind running a simulation, trying to deduct 30% as appreciated stock and 30% as cash to a DAF when the 2020 version becomes available? Appreciate it in advance. D

DJZ

bluquark, I really appreciate those links, and your experience. It's important to me as I've already donated the 30% of AGI as appreciated stock, but not the cash portion and I'd like to get it right. For those interested in the text of the CARES Act referred to: (B) EXCEPTION.—Such term shall not i...

DJZ

I understand that the rules for charitable donation were changed by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and the CARES act. Can someone confirm that one can donate *to ones DAF* (and deduct from one’s taxable income):

1. 30% of AGI as appreciated stock *plus*
2. 30% of AGI as cash

Thx

D

DJZ

"What did you lawyer's say about this?" It's no problem writing the will to say 'it all goes to the DAF'. The question is what I can get the DAF to do. (Thanks for the Fidelity DAF links. Most of our investments are at Vanguard, which would make using the DAF during our lifetime convenien...

DJZ

I have used quicken for those purposes for more than 20 years; about two years ago switched to the Mac version, it is excellent. Many hate the subscription model but since starting that, their product has really taken off with stability and features. It’s great for reconciliation and budgeting. Some...

DJZ

Hi all. Currently I'm with ATT. I want to upgrade our two phones to the Iphone 12 Pro. I've spoken with T-Mobile and they can offer me two lines and two Iphone 12 Pros on their unlimited plan for approximately $125 a month (incl. taxes). I called ATT and they can offer me two Iphone 12 Pros and req...

DJZ

Is it worth it to get a DAF if you plan to donate less than $5k per year? Fidelity questionnaire seems to indicate no, don’t bother. I’m not sure why? Maybe. I can see two cases: 1. A DAF allows you to separate the timing of your donations (to the DAF) from the distributions to the ultimate chariti...

DJZ

I was all equity until I retired, age 58, when I started to buy bonds.

DJZ

AirPods!

DJZ

If you want to learn about them, www.tipswatch.com

He’s very knowledgeable. My opinion, buy the max of both I and EE every year. Very safe, plus other interesting characteristic that others described here. You will need less of your bond mutual fund if you do.

DJZ

I am considering opening a DAF account, mostly to simplify record keeping. I plan to disburse the assets as quickly as I move them into the plan at this time, and not keep them invested for long. Are there particular DAFs that are better than the others for this? As there wouldn't be substantial as...

DJZ

Hi guys, I recently came across two podcasts that I'm finding quite useful: Peter Attia: Drive Rhonda Patrick: Found My Fitness They seem balanced and trustworthy for getting health related knowledge. Wondering if any fans of these podcasts can recommend other similair podcasts please? (I like the ...

DJZ

I have been selling so-called “way out of the money covered calls” for many years now. I have not done a formal analysis, but my impression is that this strategy *seems* like free money, but in fact is about neutral or perhaps a slight loser. The problem is that they are properly priced, or slightl...

DJZ

You can very likely find your biggest files by going to the Photos app on your Mac, choose “Videos” as the media type, then it will show them all with duration. If you want you can get actual size by right clicking and choose “get info” but that’s probably not necessary. The oldest ones are shown f...

DJZ

So, I've been an investor for a long time but I've only recently in the past year or so started learning about options. One thing I've started to do is sell weekly covered calls on SPY, AAPL or TSLA. Basically every Friday afternoon or Monday morning, I sell covered calls that expire the following ...

DJZ

I'd like to use software to track my investments. I know Personal Capital is really popular right now, but I really don't like the idea of "free" services in general. Right now I'm using Quicken, but I find it underwhelming. Does anyone have any recommendations? I do like how Personal Cap...

DJZ

mega317 wrote: ↑Sat Oct 17, 2020 1:27 pm I don’t agree with the privacy/surveillance arguments. Like Apple couldn’t use your pictures?

Apple could, but that’s not their business model. They like to differentiate themselves from FB, Google etc in that they are not in the business of making money from your data. Might even be true!

DJZ

You can very likely find your biggest files by going to the Photos app on your Mac, choose “Videos” as the media type, then it will show them all with duration. If you want you can get actual size by right clicking and choose “get info” but that’s probably not necessary. The oldest ones are shown fi...

DJZ

I did use Q for W on my intel iMac for quite some time, using Oracle’s (free!) Virtualbox. It did work well but if your Mac is hardware constrained it was a pain. Worked fine on the iMac, but on the MacBook Air it was too slow to use.

DJZ

I too have surveillance capitalism concerns, so eliminated all Google products including my beloved Google Voice. If it’s free, then you are not the customer, but the product. So I now pay for iCloud storage, Protonmail, and so forth. All told it’s under $100 per year. With all those GB you have sto...

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