Search found 1227 matches

by Khanmots
Wed Apr 28, 2021 10:23 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Magic Cards: How to sell with taxes in mind?
Replies: 49
Views: 7784

Re: Magic Cards: How to sell with taxes in mind?

alex_686 wrote: Wed Apr 28, 2021 8:42 am
aristotelian wrote: Wed Apr 28, 2021 7:17 am Say you spend $100 on 1000 cards to get that one rare card. Is your basis $100 or $.10?
Ten cents
So there's solid reason to convince a retailer to take them all and have them dispose of unwanted ones then?
by Khanmots
Tue Apr 27, 2021 6:31 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Magic Cards: How to sell with taxes in mind?
Replies: 49
Views: 7784

Re: Magic Cards: How to sell with taxes in mind?

LadyGeek wrote: Tue Apr 27, 2021 5:47 pm This thread is now in the Personal Consumer Issues forum (cards).
LadyGeek, while the thread has seemingly devolved into discussions about the game and the cards themselves, I'm seeking advice on how to structure a sell of a presumed collectable in order to minimize the impact of taxes and what's needed in terms of filing in order to pay my SIL her eventual cut above board.

Not sure that's a good fit for Personal Consumer Issues?
by Khanmots
Tue Apr 27, 2021 1:27 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Magic Cards: How to sell with taxes in mind?
Replies: 49
Views: 7784

Re: Magic Cards: How to sell with taxes in mind?

Morris wrote: Tue Apr 27, 2021 6:07 am I was in the same boat, I sold off over a few years. PayPal only sends a tax form if you sell more than 20k In a year.
Well, regardless of if it's reported or if you get a tax form or not you still owe taxes.

I'm not looking for how to avoid the law, I'm looking for how to potentially abuse the regulations (but work within the system) to minimize what I owe.
by Khanmots
Tue Apr 27, 2021 1:24 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Magic Cards: How to sell with taxes in mind?
Replies: 49
Views: 7784

Re: Magic Cards: How to sell with taxes in mind?

Initial research has me shocked at the valuations selling to retailers -- over $50k -- much less the valuations selling direct to end-buyers. Evidently, really old cards in mostly rather good condition has served me well. ...... My sister-in-law has taken on the work of doing all of the cataloging, research, listing or otherwise selling the cards, etc., for a percentage of the net proceeds. I'm in the US. If you can get a retailer to write you a check for $50K then I would be real tempted to just take that. A huge risk that you have is that it could take years to sell them yourself and by the time you do the market could change and you might not get anywhere near what you are hoping to get. You will also likely find that the less valuable ...
by Khanmots
Mon Apr 26, 2021 7:45 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Magic Cards: How to sell with taxes in mind?
Replies: 49
Views: 7784

Magic Cards: How to sell with taxes in mind?

So, I've got a large collection of magic the gathering cards from my younger years. Initial research has me shocked at the valuations selling to retailers -- over $50k -- much less the valuations selling direct to end-buyers. Evidently, really old cards in mostly rather good condition has served me well. So... dealing with taxes has suddenly taken on much more importance than I thought it would and I'm looking for advice on how to best approach this. My sister-in-law has taken on the work of doing all of the cataloging, research, listing or otherwise selling the cards, etc., for a percentage of the net proceeds. I'm in the US. So, some questions: 1) What are responsibilities for collecting and remitting sales tax? Does it differ between sel...
by Khanmots
Fri Aug 02, 2019 3:59 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Why won’t anyone hire me?
Replies: 156
Views: 18368

Re: Why won’t anyone hire me?

I'm going to echo other's here. Look at what's going on in the interview. You're getting a solid number of interviews, so your resume is likely not the issue. Regarding the interviews, there's a few thought exercises that I've found helpful. 1) Pretend to be the hiring manager. If you were interviewing people what would you be valuing and looking for? It's not necessarily in the job-req... 2) Identify things that you've done in or outside of work that illustrate this. You're not going to put the non-work stuff on your resume, but you want to have thought of how to use them to answer questions in an interview. For instance when I was fresh outta school and interviewing I was asked about leadership experience: I joked with them that they were...
by Khanmots
Fri Aug 02, 2019 2:11 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Do you buy the highest trim car ?
Replies: 120
Views: 11137

Re: Do you buy the highest trim car ?

I put a number on how much I value certain features. i.e., if I could buy dual zone climate control as an stand-alone add-on, what would I be willing to pay for it? Then I look at what the trim levels offer, and buy accordingly. My first car that meant I bought the top trim level as that was the only way to get the really sweet 6-sp tranny. That tranny alone was worth what they asked for that trim. The extra power and leather seats were bonuses. :mrgreen: My most recent car I went for next to lowest trim. That got me the LSD, better brakes, and slight bump in power. The higher trims had some features I wanted, but I wasn't willing to spend $6k extra for climate control and blind spot warnings. Most of the other features offered were "m...
by Khanmots
Thu Apr 18, 2019 12:45 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: SIL looking at a MLM "opportunity" - how to protect her?
Replies: 20
Views: 4577

Re: SIL looking at a MLM "opportunity" - how to protect her?

Resurrecting an ancient thread, but wanted to let y'all that helped with advice know how things ended. (Shoulda posted long ago XD)

She had fun for a while (then it turned into a major source of stress), learned a lot, and got out after most of a year. She wound up making a bit even after liquidating her inventory for cheap... but given the time it took it sure wasn't minimum wage.
by Khanmots
Mon Aug 06, 2018 1:11 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Best way to lose $200 in taxable income?
Replies: 96
Views: 9090

Re: Best way to lose $200 in taxable income?

drawpoker wrote: Sun Aug 05, 2018 4:26 pm What is rather shocking also about this thread - are there really BH's who buy CD's :?:
:shock: :shock: :shock:
I've got a good chunk in a penfed no penalty CD. Planning some house remodeling prior to a sale and need liquidity.

The fact that I've been able to break and reestablish to take advantage of rising interest rates has been nice as well.
by Khanmots
Thu Jun 21, 2018 4:16 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: is Ed Jones always bad news?
Replies: 29
Views: 4335

Re: is Ed Jones always bad news?

This is likely a rhetorical question I am guessing, but -- does EJ offer any low-cost index funds? I've never heard of EJ recommending index funds, but I suppose it's not impossible. Most often, when I read about EJ investing someone in mutual funds, it's been in American Funds offerings. You can find a list of American funds here . Note that there are no passively-managed (i.e. index) funds shown. The trigger for me bailing out of Ameriprise was reading through *all* of the fine print... one thing (of many) that I discovered were that their advisors are only allowed to bring up funds from two internal lists. The preferred list averaged a 1% 12b-1 fee (i.e., the max allowable). The other list was funds with a 0.75% 12b-1 fee. They could on...
by Khanmots
Thu May 31, 2018 3:04 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Need some advice in regards to A/C System
Replies: 29
Views: 2754

Re: Need some advice in regards to A/C System

My AC is from 1983 and still running strong. In Texas.

I bought the house with the expectation I'd be replacing it... and have had 8 years service so far with only 2 service calls needed. 1 to replace a capacitor and 1 to replace a rusted connector where the increased resistance had caused the breaker to consistently flip. Think they lubed the fan bearings at the same time.

Other than that I've replaced filters semi-regularly and try to pull grass outta the outside radiator and hose it down every once in a while. No periodic service agreement or anything.

The guy I use for AC repair recommends not doing anything until something expensive breaks.
by Khanmots
Tue May 01, 2018 4:19 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Daughter and Girlfriend, age 19, taking cross country road trip. Advice?
Replies: 187
Views: 15339

Re: Daughter and Girlfriend, age 19, taking cross country road trip. Advice?

As a dad, I would not only ask to be notified daily, I will demand it. Their experience and freedom will not be compromised if they take 5 seconds out of the day to send a text. You can even make a code word for them to send you once a day. The word will be their way of telling you everything is going fine. And it could also be used if things are not going well. Either way, it will give you peace of mind and them enough freedom to experience this trip and staying safe on the road. I would make this mandatory and if my daughter didn't agree to this, she would not be going. This is just hilarious. What control do you have over what they do? They're adults. When I turned 18 I moved away and and never looked back. I called my parents whenever ...
by Khanmots
Tue May 01, 2018 10:14 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Daughter and Girlfriend, age 19, taking cross country road trip. Advice?
Replies: 187
Views: 15339

Re: Daughter and Girlfriend, age 19, taking cross country road trip. Advice?

Just browsing through these comments shows the huge generational gaps between common users of this site and the mentioned 19 year old travelers. I mean, printing out atlas maps? Cmon, they have a phone right? Then they have maps and know how to use them. The US is not so desolate that they won't be able to load their route prior to heading out in the morning. They'll be hard pressed to find an area that doesn't have a cell signal or wifi. Make sure they have a reliable car and they have a credit card for hotel/airbnb stays as needed. Ask her to send pictures as she's able. Be excited for her. I'm a so-called millennial and I've spent a lot of time driving through Texas, New Mexico, CO, Oklahoma, and Arkansas in recent years. There's multip...
by Khanmots
Mon Apr 30, 2018 1:02 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Daughter and Girlfriend, age 19, taking cross country road trip. Advice?
Replies: 187
Views: 15339

Re: Daughter and Girlfriend, age 19, taking cross country road trip. Advice?

As someone that had a tire turn into two pieces on a mountain road with no cell service... I'm going to reiterate that they need to know how to put the spare on and not rely on AAA or fix-a-flat. Along with the idea of no cell service, remind them that (at least with google maps) they can download areas to be accessible (including directions) offline. GPS on their phone will be just fine anywhere, but knowing you're at point X doesn't help much without a map to put it in context :) Might also be worth it to gift them a copy of a road atlas . Finally, they're almost certainly going to take lots of photos and share the experience on social media. See if they're willing to add you, let them know you're interested in hearing what they've been u...
by Khanmots
Sat Apr 28, 2018 11:45 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Auto loan or dip into emergency fund?
Replies: 48
Views: 5181

Re: Auto loan or dip into emergency fund?

I wouldn't only look at financing through the dealer. They don't always have the best rates. Last car I financed through penfed. That said, do make sure to get two quotes from the dealer. One with you paying cash (outside financing would fall here), one with you financing through them. Sometimes the two will be significantly different. Sometimes using their financing qualifies for a credit, sometimes there's a cost to it. When I bought my car last spring, using the dealerships 0% promo rate would add ~$1000 to the purchase price. Any info on how to go about shopping for loans? Not done this before so is there a way online or do I need to contact a bunch of credit unions. I've always just researched rates online. Most banks will publish the...
by Khanmots
Sat Apr 28, 2018 8:49 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Auto loan or dip into emergency fund?
Replies: 48
Views: 5181

Re: Auto loan or dip into emergency fund?

I wouldn't only look at financing through the dealer. They don't always have the best rates. Last car I financed through penfed.

That said, do make sure to get two quotes from the dealer. One with you paying cash (outside financing would fall here), one with you financing through them. Sometimes the two will be significantly different. Sometimes using their financing qualifies for a credit, sometimes there's a cost to it.
When I bought my car last spring, using the dealerships 0% promo rate would add ~$1000 to the purchase price.
by Khanmots
Fri Apr 27, 2018 11:00 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Ameriprise :(
Replies: 64
Views: 13555

Re: Ameriprise :(

Help me understand one thing - many of you suggest to go to Vanguard for example. I have it now, but those low funds are not gaining as much. In some cases 1 year best options at Vanguard has say 12% return for 0.07% fee vs 17% in sps option with .5% fund fee and 1% ameriprise fee. So whats the logic saying go to Vanguard low fee funds when they are over performed 5% or even more? What am i missing here? P.s. most mutual funds im talking about that are with ameriprise arent on vanguard. Thanks Buying the winning lottery ticket outperforms your measly 17% from that sps option. It's the same problem. It's easy to know the winning numbers (or fund) looking backwards. Good luck knowing it ahead of time though. As someone else pointed out, 80%+...
by Khanmots
Thu Apr 26, 2018 8:58 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: "Tax-Adjusted Asset Allocation: Is It Necessary?"
Replies: 51
Views: 6588

Re: "Tax-Adjusted Asset Allocation: Is It Necessary?"

I value monies in my Roth more than other locations when figuring out if I'm at my allocation. The other types of accounts I assume it's close enough to a wash and don't worry about.
by Khanmots
Mon Apr 23, 2018 12:45 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How much off MSRP should one expect?
Replies: 23
Views: 12840

Re: How much off MSRP should one expect?

MSRP is irrelevant. Negotiate down from Invoice +$200. 15 years ago, invoice was meaningful. However, car manufacturers realized that the internet made it easy to find and use to negotiate. So the spread between MSRP and "invoice" has steadily decreased over the years. About 5 years out of date, but it shows the trend . And the trend is continuing... think for the car I bought last year, the manufacturer was around 2-4% delta between "invoice" and MSRP. It's not because they're setting the MSRP to make less profit, it's because the invoice isn't real anymore; they've been inflating it for years. What can you do? Figure that the real invoice is still 10-14% below MSRP and negotiate accordingly. I purchased a new car 13 m...
by Khanmots
Sat Apr 21, 2018 10:22 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Best Way to Decline an International Job Assignment
Replies: 23
Views: 3057

Re: Best Way to Decline an International Job Assignment

Lot depends on workplace culture and your value to the company. If you're easily replaced and/or management views people as cogs in a machine then a lot more care is required than when you're hard to replace and management views people as resources to be developed. I've turned down opportunities (with the same employer) for a variety of reasons (excessive travel, work-life balance disruption, mismatch of technical skills, etc), and found that it hasn't stopped new ones that have been a better fit from coming my way. Could my career be "further along" if I'd accepted every opportunity provided? Probably... but it'd be a career that I don't want. On a side note, in retrospect I do kind of regret turning down the opportunity for a 6-...
by Khanmots
Tue Apr 17, 2018 11:52 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Got hit with a $2800 Medical bill. Can I negotiate?
Replies: 187
Views: 19530

Re: Got hit with a $2800 Medical bill. Can I negotiate?

adamthesmythe wrote: Tue Apr 17, 2018 9:21 pmAsking for a payment plan if you can't handle a large unexpected payment seems reasonable. Expecting a further price concession is not.
Discounts for payment in full seems common enough and such an accepted thing that in my case the ER stopped me from paying the full price and worked to ensure I got a discount. I wasn't the one that breached the subject.

I've got no issue with the OP asking the provider if they'd rather do a payment plan for however many years, or if they'd rather have $X today and consider it paid in full. Provider can accept either choice as they see fit.
by Khanmots
Tue Apr 17, 2018 6:37 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Got hit with a $2800 Medical bill. Can I negotiate?
Replies: 187
Views: 19530

Re: Got hit with a $2800 Medical bill. Can I negotiate?

Recently went through this with an ER visit. Called to ask if I could pay online rather than mailing a check or some such, and was told don't pay online if I'm going to pay in full, they can give a discount for that over the phone but not online. Got 25% off the bill if I paid in full, or could set up a no-interest payment plan. Paid in full and was the easiest $400-500 I ever made :P

Have had varying luck with smaller associated bills.
by Khanmots
Wed Apr 04, 2018 4:08 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Travel (Or any other specific) fund - How do you budget and save it?
Replies: 18
Views: 1825

Re: Travel (Or any other specific) fund - How do you budget and save it?

No budget here. I aim for a certain degree of positive cash-flow (counting savings as an expense) and so long as I'm hitting that I'm good. If cash-flow is too little or negative I figure out why and fix it. If cash-flow is too high (approaching that now, but just got hit with $4-6k of surprise medical) then I'll increase my automated savings to get it back down. For vacations I don't treat those as a large expense and pay without budgeting or real planning. But my vacations are $1-2k, not $10k+ :wink: For truly major stuff (like a car or major house work) I'll let my cash-flow get more positive than I would otherwise and let it accumulate. I'll periodically move the accumulated excess into a liquid investment like pen-fed's no penalty CD. ...
by Khanmots
Mon Mar 19, 2018 5:21 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: 9th grade earth science honors or biology honors
Replies: 28
Views: 4472

Re: 9th grade earth science honors or biology honors

If there's even a remote chance you will get a C, the honors class probably isn't for you. I strongly disagree with this. I earned Cs in most all of my high school honors english/lit classes. However I came out of it, even having earned Cs, with an ability to write that exceeded anything asked from any uni course I took. Never did get good at analyzing poetry though... I did get a chance to see what the standard level classes consisted of when one of my english/lit teachers was out having a baby for a few weeks. My class was taken over by a teacher for the standard classes who fit us into her normal curriculum. We were bored witless, learned nothing, and confused the hell outta the teacher (she set expectations far below what we set for ou...
by Khanmots
Wed Mar 14, 2018 6:57 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Pay cash or go crazy (and take 2.5% loan and invest
Replies: 30
Views: 3407

Re: Pay cash or go crazy (and take 2.5% loan and invest

One other investment to consider, and what I would have done if I didn't have the liquidity need... put the money into your mortgage and take the car loan in it's place.

Depending on rates and your tax situation, this could be a guaranteed return.
by Khanmots
Wed Mar 14, 2018 6:43 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Pay cash or go crazy (and take 2.5% loan and invest
Replies: 30
Views: 3407

Re: Pay cash or go crazy (and take 2.5% loan and invest

I've found that if I qualify for the ~2% auto loan, I also usually qualify for the 0% loans offered through the manufacturer. Is that an option for you? Be careful with those. This time last year when I bought my car, I asked for two quotes from most every dealer in Texas, one with 0% financing and one if I self-financed/paid cash... result was that you were paying $800-1500 more to get the 0%. Every dealer that responded had the delta. Instead I got a 3yr 1.5% loan, and now have that money invested in a no-penalty CD at 1.75%. I'm coming out behind after taxes, but I have a potential need for a lot of liquidity in the next 1-2 years, and this was really cheap liquidity. That said, incentives differ, sometimes there really isn't a cost to ...
by Khanmots
Wed Mar 07, 2018 1:54 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: In-law advice?
Replies: 24
Views: 3398

Re: In-law advice?

Discussions I've had with various people I focus on: 1) The importance of compounding and investing early 2) That they don't have better information and analysis tools than the army of analysts out there working as parts of large teams with huge amounts of computing power. Don't try to day-trade or play with individual stocks/options/whatnot, you're not on an even playing field. 3) You can't predict which funds/managers are going to outperform, studies show that (with the exception of really BAD ones), it's random luck from year to year on who beats the average. You can't ID the "good" ones until afterwards. 4) Focus on what you can control. Reducing costs and taxes while investing in the market as a whole (so you get that army of...
by Khanmots
Wed Mar 07, 2018 1:29 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Switching to online bank. Keep brick/mortar bank account open?
Replies: 54
Views: 6333

Re: Switching to online bank. Keep brick/mortar bank account open?

SuperGrafx wrote: Wed Mar 07, 2018 11:49 am Absolutely keep your brick and mortar account open.
If nothing else, for the convenience of having the ability to walk in and conduct business in person.

These 'online only' posters really worry me sometimes.
I just don't see the convenience of doing things in person. Online lets me do things on my schedule, without any line or hassle, and there's no people in the loop to screw things up. That it also keeps my banks costs way down is just gravy; B&M bank customers are paying a lot for that physical presence.
by Khanmots
Wed Mar 07, 2018 7:51 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Switching to online bank. Keep brick/mortar bank account open?
Replies: 54
Views: 6333

Re: Switching to online bank. Keep brick/mortar bank account open?

I used online banking only for the first 15 years or so of my financial life. It's only in the last 5 years that I got an account at a local brick and mortar bank so I could get a free safe deposit box.
by Khanmots
Sat Mar 03, 2018 9:25 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Finally get it, Step 2 - Get rid of FA at Fidelity?
Replies: 65
Views: 6619

Re: Finally get it, Step 2 - Get rid of FA at Fidelity?

Thanks everyone for confirming what I was thinking. I just don't get it, how do these FA's sleep at night? I find it very upsetting now that I finally understanding it at a very high level. I've got a friend who used to be a youth pastor but is now starting off as a FA at one of these firms. Had quite a few discussions with him along this transition and what I learned is that he honestly believes that he's helping and doing good things. Problem is that all of his training/schooling has been by the firm. He didn't go get a degree then apply, they spent a lot of time training him (months!) with only what they want him to know. They hide the way that commissions work from him so he's not aware just how much he's siphoning off (and from his de...
by Khanmots
Fri Mar 02, 2018 3:02 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Simple question regarding caring for elderly parents
Replies: 16
Views: 3047

Re: Simple question regarding caring for elderly parents

What do you think is the best thing to do for them? For me, the best thing to do would be to ask Mom and Dad how you could help. Then listen. They may want advice, they may want to turn over their financial lives to one or more of their children, or they might just want to spend down their assets for the remainder of their lives. The last thing I would do is to jump in with investment suggestions before I knew how much (if any) help was wanted. My parents were the same age as yours. Mom died a few weeks ago. Dad is doing well. I have offered to help in the past, and again recently. My Mom knew, and my Dad knows now that I'm happy to help any way I can. They didn't feel that they needed help with their finances before (even though they clea...
by Khanmots
Fri Mar 02, 2018 9:53 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Vanguard High Dividend Yield Index Funds vs ETF
Replies: 13
Views: 5207

Re: Vanguard High Dividend Yield Index Funds vs ETF

The difference between the mutual fund and ETF is .07. So on a $10,000 balance that would be $7. That's immaterial. If you're buying $500,000 of VHDYX that difference is $350 per year and that might be worth it. I've still never understood this thought process; It is all relative. To you, $500K may feel like a lottery win. To Bezos or Gates, that is like paying a half a week's worth of S&P500 ER on their net-worth. I am not saying a 7bp difference is too high to me to be worth something like the ease of a MF, but it certainly shouldn't be viewed differently based on the dollar amount, IMHO. The reason that it should is that my time has a value. If it takes me 15 extra minutes to get on and place an order during market hours than I woul...
by Khanmots
Wed Feb 28, 2018 3:35 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Google Pixel 2 Users-Experience So Far?
Replies: 37
Views: 4155

Re: Google Pixel 2 Users-Experience So Far?

I have a pixel 2 xl and my wife has a pixel 2. We both love our phones. Personally, I think the blue shift issue is way overstated. I can see it if I'm looking for it. It could be improved. But in everyday use I don't notice it. All phones have some color shift off angle. Some phones have it worse. I'm not sure anyone cared until this phone for some reason. I try not to look at my phone off angle all the time. If you're particularly sensitive to the blue shift issue, maybe it is unique to each individual, then the smaller pixel 2 doesn't have the issue near as bad. I think most of the uproar was this issue in combination with the color profile when it first came out. They made the colors on this phone very accurate and natural. It turns ou...
by Khanmots
Wed Feb 28, 2018 12:58 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Google Pixel 2 Users-Experience So Far?
Replies: 37
Views: 4155

Re: Google Pixel 2 Users-Experience So Far?

I had the Pixel 2 XL at release, but returned it after a few days. Screen had massive blue-shift with very small deflections from perpendicular and was told it wasn't a defect. If that's no longer an issue, then it seemed to be a great phone.

I wound up getting the OnePlus 5t a few months later and put the lawnchair launcher on it (gives it pixel look/feel) and am quite happy with it. Wish it was waterproof, and that the camera was a bit better, but it's handled everything I've thrown at it so far.
by Khanmots
Tue Feb 27, 2018 4:39 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What are overstock phones?
Replies: 23
Views: 5880

Re: What are overstock phones?

LiterallyIronic wrote: Tue Feb 27, 2018 4:06 pm I'm with Bloom. I use my phone to make phone calls, send texts, and check exactly two websites (reddit.com and bogleheads.org) using my phone's built-in browser. No apps. Not a chance I'd ever do any banking-related thing on my phone. Hence, I'm not interested in software updates. I've taken maybe two dozen pictures with my phone over the six years I've had it, so it's not being used in place of a camera. And it's definitely not being used in place of a laptop or tablet, because I have no use for a laptop or tablet - both are too weak for my taste. Can't properly game or code on either. Give me a bleeding edge desktop and a garbage-level cell phone and I'm good to go. :wink:
Hey, to each their own use case! :sharebeer
by Khanmots
Tue Feb 27, 2018 3:37 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What are overstock phones?
Replies: 23
Views: 5880

Re: What are overstock phones?

These Motorola phones look very interesting. And the price point is very affordable as well. I wasn't aware of them at all. In Android, I was under the impression that the Samsung Galaxy S phones are the best and no point looking elsewhere. I'm going to look into the Moto X4 and G5, have you compared them to the older Galaxy S7? I'm guessing that the Moto X4 and G5 compete with the Galaxy J series perhaps? I'm not sure. I've heard that Galaxy J is the lower price tier of Samsung phones. There's some other non-$1k phones you may want to look at... Motorola is a good choice though. Nokia just announced their new lineup of phones. The new Nokia 6 and 7 plus look to be quite capable for the price. Think the 6 will be around $300-350 and 7+ I t...
by Khanmots
Tue Feb 27, 2018 3:27 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What are overstock phones?
Replies: 23
Views: 5880

Re: What are overstock phones?

My question is, how old/far back do you want to venture? The S7 Edge is still a very good phone. When it stops getting updates, is that the point to consider moving up? Others like when phones stop getting updates or refuse to update as they tend to slow older devices down. New versions require more RAM/disk space and may make older phones not seem so zippy. Security updates are as important for your smartphone as they are for your computer. Ever check email? Use a banking app (deposit checks, online bill pay, etc.)? A compromised phone gives access to all of that and more. I don't understand how setting a base price of $800 to $1,000 can work long term. That is more than a very nice laptop or tablet. It just doesn't seem sustainable as th...
by Khanmots
Mon Feb 26, 2018 10:45 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Custom shades from Home Depot
Replies: 13
Views: 3629

Re: Custom shades from Home Depot

Don't know anything about cellular shades, but have you looked into selectblinds.com as a possible source?

When I purchased blinds for my home they were a good price (better than home depot). Everything was ordered as a custom width so they fit the slightly screwy framing of my windows. They all came to the specified sizes, installed easy, and have worked fine over the years.
by Khanmots
Thu Feb 22, 2018 8:30 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Caribbean Cruise 1st timer Cash or Card?
Replies: 32
Views: 2683

Re: Caribbean Cruise 1st timer Cash or Card?

1st cruise ever. Taking whole family. Meals are included in price of cruise. How much money do you need for other stuff? Is it best to take cash or use plastic? Will be going to Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Jamaica. Only cruised the Caribbean twice, but here's my take. Are you doing excursions through the boat or doing your own? I've had success both ways. If you do your own you'll want a good chunk of cash to pay taxi drivers, guides, etc. I don't think I ran across any that could take plastic. If you're doing everything through the boats excursions, then your need for cash will be rather limited, mainly tips to the guides, etc, on excursions. Realize that gratuities for the cruise staff is normally applied as a fee on your fare. Tipping ab...
by Khanmots
Wed Feb 21, 2018 2:31 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Mental Accounting -- How to solve problem
Replies: 32
Views: 3987

Re: Mental Accounting -- How to solve problem

Several people have mentioned the "net worth" approach which I think has some validity for my circumstances. For instance, if I was looking at net worth, the past three months look fantastic because I have paid off all of my student loans! But if you look just at the savings/expense statement, it hasn't been as good because I have been spending a bit more than usual. Of course, I could have just "shifted" some of the money I used to pay student loan to expenses elsewhere and come up with a higher savings rate, but my net worth would be lower. Which I think is the point of several people who responded. I'm concerned from the way you worded things that you're not counting savings and/or debts in your NW, taking $X and app...
by Khanmots
Wed Feb 21, 2018 12:21 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Need VISA - 1.5% plus mobile alerts
Replies: 4
Views: 639

Re: Need VISA - 1.5% plus mobile alerts

ddurrett896 wrote: Wed Feb 21, 2018 12:10 pm Looking for a Visa card with atleast 1.5% and must be able to get mobile alerts on charges. Wanted Capital One Quicksilver but CO hates my churn with them. Thanks
If you have access to USAA they had and I think still offer a 2.5% visa
by Khanmots
Wed Feb 21, 2018 9:14 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Mental Accounting -- How to solve problem
Replies: 32
Views: 3987

Re: Mental Accounting -- How to solve problem

Unfortunately the mental gymnastics we put ourselves through are all different (and we've all got them! :mrgreen: ) So... dunno if it'll help you, but I do a modification of tracking net worth. I don't try to track expenses, don't keep a budget, and don't keep a separate emergency-fund per se (well, have a few IBonds that I don't touch but would if a big emergency hit). I have a general checking account that I keep roughly $10-15k in and automated all my retirement savings (incl. taxable investments allocated to retirement) doing a bit of math based on historical expenses etc so that I expected to not be exceeding my income. Then I keep an eye on the checking account balance. I'll look across multiple months (generally look-back around 6 mo...
by Khanmots
Wed Feb 21, 2018 7:59 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: [What UN-frugal thing do you do? What do you splurge on?]
Replies: 785
Views: 82856

Re: What UN-frugal thing do you do?

I keep the thermostat comfy
I eat out for lunch most every day
I go through a set of tires every 15-20k miles
by Khanmots
Tue Feb 20, 2018 11:06 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Furnace Setting for Vacation
Replies: 23
Views: 3045

Re: Furnace Setting for Vacation

I recently read online that 50-60 is OK for vacation/unoccupied homes. Should prevent any pipes from freezing. We have a vacation home in the Northern Neck of VA. Generally leave T-stat at 60. Son was out there with some friends in early December. No one had been out there since then. Electric bill was normal for December but was surprised to find January bill was almost $600.00. Bill should have been $100-150 for the month tops. Drove out to the house find out what the problem was, fearing a door had been left open. Found out that the thermostat was mistakenly set to emergency heat (heat pump with electric resistance backup). Turns out that VA Dominion Power didn't read the meter in December. Did an estimate based on last year's usage. Ja...
by Khanmots
Mon Feb 19, 2018 1:46 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How to handle cashback bonuses?
Replies: 8
Views: 1705

Re: How to handle cashback bonuses?

A surprisingly hard lesson to learn is that money is fungible.

In other words, the dollar in your pocket doesn't care where it came from, it spends the same as any other dollar. Trying to spend differently based on the source is purely an exercise in mental gymnastics. Sometimes that's good, sometimes that's bad.

Personally I'm frugal to a fault (putting away something like 40% of my gross) and knowingly delude myself with windfalls that they're somehow different and I can spend them on myself without (or with less) guilt. :beer
by Khanmots
Sat Feb 17, 2018 12:49 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Questions to ask a siding contractor...what are 'red flags'?
Replies: 8
Views: 1158

Re: Questions to ask a siding contractor...what are 'red flags'?

Not exactly what you asked for, but I screwed up on a contractor doing some siding replacement a while back and didn't get up on the roof and inspect transitions.

His contractors hadn't put any flashing in and had even cut slots through the siding for the shingles to fit in... I've not got to hire another contractor to come in and fix it.

Lesson I learned, is to inspect everything before I sign over the last of the funds.
by Khanmots
Fri Feb 16, 2018 9:04 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How to get child's skin in the game for college?
Replies: 135
Views: 10982

Re: How to get child's skin in the game for college?

ramsfan wrote: Fri Feb 16, 2018 7:29 pm Great story for parents of soon-to-be college students to read. Thank you for sharing!
Not exactly the most fun story to tell, but thought there were some good lessons in it that should be heard. Your feedback that it was useful means a lot. Thanks!
by Khanmots
Fri Feb 16, 2018 3:14 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Wheel alignment new tires
Replies: 15
Views: 1318

Re: Wheel alignment new tires

Op, by narrow tires, I assume you're talking about the sidewall thickness (i.e., low-profile) and not the width of the tread?
denovo wrote: Fri Feb 16, 2018 2:37 pm 20k is unusual wear for tires. Has someone been jamming that acceleration?
Depends on the tires. I ran ultra high performance summer tires only for over 10 years. Depending on exactly which tire I ran I got from 15-22k from a set. I just treated a new set of tires every 1.5 years as an entertainment expense. And yeah, I had fun with the car or I might have gotten 25-30k if I drove like a Prius owner, but why have a sporty car if you're not going to have fun and abuse the tires at least a little bit? :D