Search found 18 matches

by whiskers
Tue Jan 29, 2013 7:45 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Credit card swipe fees start Sunday 1/27
Replies: 121
Views: 18315

Re: Credit card swipe fees start Sunday 1/27

Silly me, thinking that the fees have already been incorporated into the product prices. I recently spent several hundred dollars at Ikea without planning on doing so, we just happened to stumble onto things we needed for the house that we've been looking for. I wouldn't have made that purchase if I had to pay with cash or had to pay an extra 4% credit card fee on top of sales tax. I absolutely refuse to use my debit card anywhere. It's not secure - 2 weeks ago someone cloned one of my credit cards and attempted to use it in person in another state. The credit card company alerted me to it, but had it been my debit card, I'd have to deal with the bank to get my money returned. Face it, digital currency is convenient and is a way to go. We n...
by whiskers
Tue Oct 11, 2011 11:52 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How much is short-commute worth?
Replies: 57
Views: 9781

Another way to ballpark the value of a short commute is to think about property prices around urban centers . . .I am in Boston; the price of a single family home an hour outside of the city might be ~$300K, while something comparable right near the city might be ~600K. Obviously there are many factors affecting home values, but a prospective buyer who worked in Boston might have to pay big bucks for a short commute :). This brings up another geographical/driver habit point that doesn't involve money. I, too, live and work around Boston, and had to deal with the rush hour ever since starting to carpool with my GF (my hours are flexible, so I can plan around the rush hour, but not hers). The drivers are very aggressive and will break any la...
by whiskers
Fri Aug 19, 2011 7:08 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: $825 for a tune up!
Replies: 46
Views: 8289

I know most people on here probably make more than me (27k a year) but this is why I've learned to do my own auto maintenance. Not everyone is handy enough or has the space/time. I used to do my own oil changes, brake changes, and I did a tranny drain & flush once, but I have since moved to a condo that doesn't allow any auto maintenance on premises. How is the 06 civic holding up so far? I have a 06 with 70k on it. Only thing to go wrong so far has been a wheel bearing and battery. My GF traded her 06 DX in recently - having no AC in the country wasn't so bad, but it's unbearable in the city. No major problems with the car, the driver side lock went, the battery died (surprised it lasted 5 years for how tiny it was), but that's it. Th...
by whiskers
Fri Aug 12, 2011 8:20 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: refinance to 15 year mortgage
Replies: 9
Views: 2217

I went to a 15 year mortgage 8-9 years ago. Something I did not consider was the reduction in interest for my itemized deduction. I liked that I was paying less interest, but it did affect my income tax calculation. I make 13 payments a year and pay an additional $100 in principal each month. I see people making this point quite often and I just don't get it. Let's say you take out a loan for $200K for 30 years at 5%. We'll ignore the fees, insurance, taxes, etc. to simplify things and because they're (the fees) not that much in the grand scheme of things. If you carry your mortgage to completion, you will pay $1073 monthly $386,510.4 paid total $186,513.24 paid in interest Assuming 25% federal tax bracket and 5% state, you will deduct 31%...
by whiskers
Fri Aug 12, 2011 7:27 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What car would you own if you didn't have children?
Replies: 50
Views: 5198

If I had the money or one I can afford?

If I had the money - one of Aston Martins.

One I can afford - will be looking at a 'hot hatch' soon, waiting to see what the new (uglier) Subaru Impreza, Mazda3 with a Skyactiv engine bring; interested in a VW Golf TDI but not sure about reported reliability problems.

Also, don't have kids yet, but probably will. A hot hatch will do fine.
by whiskers
Fri Aug 12, 2011 7:16 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Time Machine - Travel to Year 2030
Replies: 43
Views: 5850

All right, so it's a hypothetical exercise and let's assume that I do indeed have 10 seconds and no more.
The scenario depends on what your goal is. Here's one possibility, this doesn't necessarily guarantee a payout right away - look up the most successful/valuable companies, big names that are easily recognized. For example, Fortune provides a list.
Today, that'd be Google, Apple, Berkshire Hathaway. Then, you could just invest in those.

For a quick payout, lottery numbers, but I'm not sure you could find those in 10 seconds. Although in 2030, who knows.
by whiskers
Wed Aug 10, 2011 7:31 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: When do Bogleheads get a new(er) car?
Replies: 55
Views: 9001

A month ago, when my GF bought her new car, Honda had 0.9% financing.

I say, that's a good deal if you NEED to buy a car. They might still have that promo (if you qualify, of course, which you should if you are a Boglehead)
by whiskers
Wed Aug 10, 2011 7:24 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Google..... how does it know?
Replies: 40
Views: 6112

Google could keep every search you ever did on its disk storage. It does not need your cookies or any local storage on your side at all. Your computer is uniquely identified by at least its MAC address, but add in your IP address and you are pretty much a well-known quantity. I, too, got "blinking red light on ps3" as a suggestion, and I don't even know what that means - I don't own a PS3. Let me add to the discussion by saying that Google doesn't (or, rather, shouldn't) know your MAC address. Your MAC address is known only locally to your modem - perhaps to your ISP, but no further. Google sees your IP address and through advancing improvements in algorithms, it can pinpoint the location of your IP with greater accuracy than bef...
by whiskers
Tue Aug 09, 2011 2:36 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Party is over - Stocks are up
Replies: 54
Views: 8204

Lbill wrote:I think it's one of these:

Image
Done in one, I believe.
by whiskers
Tue Aug 09, 2011 9:05 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Senate Launches Investigation Into S&P
Replies: 11
Views: 2348

And, nothing is going to come out of this, maybe a slap on the wrist. Given what I read about the mortgage credit ratings from S&P, this is just a symbolic gesture.
by whiskers
Tue Aug 09, 2011 8:53 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Planning to go 100% long stocks today
Replies: 52
Views: 6392

Re: Planning to go 100% long stocks today

What if stocks open up 5% or so? Will you still do this?:?: And they did open 5% up but are pulling back. I am young, so I can accept the risk. Here's my 0.02 - invest conservatively. There is a crazy amount of volatility and panic out there right now. This morning I devised a plan to DCA a little more funds into equities over the next couple weeks. However, we're in very rough waters right now and the general populace is grasping at every straw on the surface - job reports, fed reports, etc., all these are big market movers IMO. Actually, looking at this year's performance, in hindsight, the public doesn't have much confidence in the market given how it moved in response to Middle East/European news. DCA when the waters are calmer and jus...
by whiskers
Tue Aug 09, 2011 8:44 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: U.S. stocks in free fall
Replies: 36221
Views: 4652187

I started my IRA a little over four years ago. Buy and hold all the way. My portfolio is now down 1.74% for that entire period. That's over four years of gains wiped away in the last two weeks. I'd imagine many people who started investing ten or twelve years ago have had similar experiences. If you ask me, the last ten years are going to drive a whole lot people permanently out of the stock market. And frankly I wouldn't blame them. Over 4 years ago puts you in Spring, 2007 - that's a peaking area before the 2008 crisis. The DOW is down 20% over that time period, so I say you've done pretty well. I've been investing for about 2 years and the irrationality of the market has made me want to close all of my positions and throw my computer ou...
by whiskers
Mon Aug 08, 2011 1:21 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: When do Bogleheads get a new(er) car?
Replies: 55
Views: 9001

campy2010 wrote:If you're ever on the other side of the river take your car to this guy. He strives to treat everyone equally with similarly fair prices, has a busy shop but does fast repairs, and charges me about 50-75% of what you are paying for similar repairs on my Subaru.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/clm-auto-repair-cambridge

ETA: $102 for a serpentine belt? wow that's usurious. They cost $15 and take about 30 minutes max for a complete novice to put on, probably half that time for a professional.
Thanks for that link, I've been looking for a good mechanic, I'll check that place out.
by whiskers
Mon Aug 08, 2011 1:19 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: When do Bogleheads get a new(er) car?
Replies: 55
Views: 9001

@555 - My mechanic charges $85 an hour (not bad for Boston - the Independent BMW shop charges $125 and the BMW dealer charages $140). 2010 - Front Brake Pads ($400) That is insane. I live in the 'burbs of Boston and a year ago I swapped the front rotors + pads on my 03 Galant for $130: $80 for rotors + $40 for pads: CENTRIC 12046061 (120.46061) Rotor $ 40.79 $ 0.00 2 $ 81.58 WAGNER MX866 Brake Pad $ 39.79 $ 0.00 1 $ 39.79 Discount $ -6.07 Shipping Ground (FedEx or UPS) $ 12.76 Order Total $ 128.06 (that's from rockauto, btw) A pad job would take me maybe 2 hours because I'd have to jack up each side individually, clean the clips/etc. very thoroughly (which I doubt your mechanic does), then use manual tools to bolt/unbolt things. Given the ...
by whiskers
Mon Aug 08, 2011 10:58 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Calling the bottom
Replies: 48
Views: 6455

tipswatcher wrote:I don't pick tops or bottoms, but I am human ...

Dow 10,000 doesn't look impossible.

It is sort of the sacred benchmark, isn't it? Remember when we first crossed 10,000 back in March 16, 1999 ... what a great day! (CNBC's ratings must have been through the roof!)

Oh, yeah.

I guess it is worth mentioning that the Dow was at 10,000 on June 11, 2010, not so long ago. It certainly could visit that hallowed benchmark once gain.
The thing is, at least in my limited understanding, that the 2010 10K benchmark is equal $10,351.56 today, and the '99 benchmark is equal $13,548.74 today after taking inflation into account.
by whiskers
Fri Aug 05, 2011 9:27 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: U.S. loses AAA credit rating from S&P
Replies: 286
Views: 34464

Well, I am young and I bought in today because I saw an opportunity to snap a couple of seemingly-discounted stocks with a solid future and dividends - for the long term. Hoping Monday won't be too bad, but I am expecting a very long road to recovery.

But for the last two weeks, having watched my tiny portfolio fall to the ground, I've been thinking of those who are nearing the retirement age. First, the 2008 crisis, and now this - for some people this will be very hard to deal with. There are those who say the downgrade has already been priced into the market, but the panic rollercoaster is in full swing, so the 100% assurance of the downgrade is going to throw a lot of fuel on the fire.
by whiskers
Tue Feb 08, 2011 8:09 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: +18,000% in one day (Feb 8)?
Replies: 7
Views: 1853

Oh, pink sheets. I learned my lesson, too bad I didn't listen to the advice.
by whiskers
Thu Oct 14, 2010 4:18 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Transmission flush vs. drain & add
Replies: 33
Views: 7608

I ran a transmission shop for several years (great cash flow biz BTW),for a friend. @15k on TM there is no need to do anything,when it needs service do the drain and fill (about 5qts of TM fluid).As others have posted flush does way more damage then good (loosens things in areas that would be best left where they where) A drain and fill-on Toyota can be done on your own,in fact easier the an oil change but no filter to change. It does not remove much of the fluid (about 1/3) as the torque converter holds (along with upper trans) holds much of the fluid. As long as that fluid smells ok (sweet not sour) and you do the drain and fills ever year or so after 70-100k you should be fine . HTH's I got a 2003 Mitsubishi Galant with 49K miles. After...