Search found 2494 matches

by SimonJester
Tue Jan 30, 2024 11:27 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Thinking of moving to Denver
Replies: 59
Views: 6674

Re: Thinking of moving to Denver

mhc wrote: Tue Jan 30, 2024 9:47 am
m@ver1ck wrote: Mon Jan 29, 2024 9:25 pm What’s a good time to come visit? We were thinking late feb or April during kids spring break
Strangely, I find the spring to be the worst time of the year here. It can be sunny and warm one day, and a wet heavy snow the next day. Spring is strange here. I feel like winter goes until mid-May and then summer starts.
We have two seasons in Colorado... Cold and Hot... We get a week of spring and a week of fall...
by SimonJester
Mon Jan 22, 2024 1:22 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Plumbing question for the plumbers in the group.
Replies: 7
Views: 1059

Re: Plumbing question for the plumbers in the group.

fortfun wrote: Mon Jan 22, 2024 10:43 am
SimonJester wrote: Mon Jan 22, 2024 10:04 am How / where is the ice maker connected to the drain? That matters, do you have a photo?

Edit, the best way to connect this and required by code in most places is via an air gap into the sink drain before its P trap.
Just looked it up. I think I'll install one just to be safe! Thanks,
Always the best route to go since it could come up as an issue when you goto sell your house down the road.
by SimonJester
Mon Jan 22, 2024 10:04 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Plumbing question for the plumbers in the group.
Replies: 7
Views: 1059

Re: Plumbing question for the plumbers in the group.

How / where is the ice maker connected to the drain? That matters, do you have a photo?

Edit, the best way to connect this and required by code in most places is via an air gap into the sink drain before its P trap.
by SimonJester
Fri Jan 05, 2024 3:04 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 529 withdrawal questions
Replies: 7
Views: 738

Re: 529 withdrawal questions

I agree with others...

What I did for my son living off campus; he sent me a screen shot of his rent payments (they were all made online). I saved those with my paperwork for college expenses. For food I sent my kid a set $ amount each month, I noted it in my spreadsheet. The combined rent + food did not exceed COA for his school. We did not bother with receipts for his mac n cheese. Sometimes we would also load up a Sams club run for him as well. I think I might have saved these receipts but not 100% sure.

Because he was in a high COL area for rent, food was not a large dollar amount of the 529 withdraw.
by SimonJester
Thu Jan 04, 2024 10:13 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Rolling I bonds into a 529
Replies: 8
Views: 1758

Re: Rolling I bonds into a 529

calvin111 wrote: Thu Jan 04, 2024 1:03 am Hi, I am into similar situation and want to redeem my iBonds. I can rollover into 529. But I am on high income side. So will I be able to take this benefit ? My end goal is to redeem iBonds but avoid paying taxes if possible.
The interest exclusion phases out for 2023 income (MAGI) between $91,850 and $106,850 for single filers and between $137,800 and $167,800 for taxpayers who file as married filing jointly.

If your MAGI is above 167,800 MFJ then you cannot exclude any interest.
by SimonJester
Mon Jan 01, 2024 9:13 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Rolling I bonds into a 529
Replies: 8
Views: 1758

Re: Rolling I bonds into a 529

toddthebod wrote: Mon Jan 01, 2024 5:53 pm
gclancer wrote: Mon Jan 01, 2024 4:58 pm
toddthebod wrote: Mon Jan 01, 2024 11:44 am]

You do not need to worry about sixty days.
You DO need to worry about the 60 days if you’re wanting to roll the proceeds in to a 529 in order to avoid federal income tax on the I Bond interest.
No. There's no such thing. It has to be the same calendar year.
This is correct, I have done this many times, you are spending the I-Bond on Qualified education expenses. The instructions on form 8815 explain how to code the expense for 529 aka "QTP" qualified tuition program .
by SimonJester
Thu Dec 28, 2023 9:34 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 15 year old son getting learner's driving permit considerations
Replies: 19
Views: 1537

Re: 15 year old son getting learner's driving permit considerations

popoki wrote: Wed Dec 27, 2023 3:20 pm
SimonJester wrote: Wed Dec 27, 2023 2:44 pm In my state 16 vs 18 does not matter as the first 3 years drivers are considered a higher risk and have a higher premium. So each insurance agent I spoke with said it would not matter for their pricing.
I think the point of waiting until 18 is that the parental assets are no longer at risk in lawsuit. The parents could still have the option of paying for the son's insurance at 18 or beyond.
This might not be the case if the parent is paying the insurance, if the vehicle in registered in the parents name, if the parent is providing all living expenses for the child...
by SimonJester
Thu Dec 28, 2023 9:33 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Wife's 401k plan termination, company not sending check
Replies: 11
Views: 1474

Re: Wife's 401k plan termination, company not sending check

As a Final update, we received the 401K check in the mail on the 26th. We mobile deposited it into Fido and the funds were put into her current 401k as of the 28th as a rollover. One annoying issue her previous 401k provider said the check would come with the final statement / distribution report, It did not. Online her old 401k account also shows no distribution reports even though the account activity shows a distribution. We shall see what shoes up for the end of year statement. Even more annoying after taking a large last quarter admin fee from her account (she was paying really high admin fees with the old provider) they also charged a $75 distribution / check fee. These smaller 401k providers / administrators are really charging a lot...
by SimonJester
Wed Dec 27, 2023 2:44 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 15 year old son getting learner's driving permit considerations
Replies: 19
Views: 1537

Re: 15 year old son getting learner's driving permit considerations

Consider waiting until later to get his license (not at age 16) as the cost associated with the additional insurance premiums would cover many uber / lyft rides. [/quote] In my state 16 vs 18 does not matter as the first 3 years drivers are considered a higher risk and have a higher premium. So each insurance agent I spoke with said it would not matter for their pricing. Something else to consider is the type of vehicle you son is going to drive. You might speak to your insurance company to get an idea of kind and years of vehicles are cheaper to insure a young new driver. Our insurance doubled once I added my oldest son, then doubled again when the youngest son started driving. They are both out of the house now and on their own policies s...
by SimonJester
Fri Dec 22, 2023 2:10 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Wife's 401k plan termination, company not sending check
Replies: 11
Views: 1474

Re: Wife's 401k plan termination, company not sending check

BogleTaxPro wrote: Fri Dec 22, 2023 10:45 am ...and make sure you tell Fido it's a rollover, not a contribution.
sport wrote: Fri Dec 22, 2023 10:39 am Once you receive the check, you are going to put it into an IRA, correct? If you put it into a taxable account, it becomes taxable income.
Its going into her current 401k and the check is being make out to Fidelity FBO My wife's name, per Fidos instructions. We started the Rollover online and stopped at the part where it instructs you about the check while we awaited the arrival of a check...
by SimonJester
Fri Dec 22, 2023 10:35 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Wife's 401k plan termination, company not sending check
Replies: 11
Views: 1474

Re: Wife's 401k plan termination, company not sending check

As a follow up; my wife was told today the plan now has closed and checks will be mailed in a "few days" due to the holiday. She is now able to get into her account and see that actually did the distribution on 11/30. So they have sat on her money for 22 days now. I estimate the loss in her investments between 11/30 and today is ~4,000. A little disappointing but I guess there is not much we can do. Of course the market could have gone the other way and I would be celebrating. Best to put all of that our of my head as she has years to make up this move. Time in the market beats timing the market... We plan on following up after the holiday to see if the check has indeed been cut. Hopefully it will arrive and we can electronically ...
by SimonJester
Thu Dec 21, 2023 9:48 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Wife's 401k plan termination, company not sending check
Replies: 11
Views: 1474

Wife's 401k plan termination, company not sending check

In October 2023 my wife's company was purchased, all employees were made to re apply for their job. They were basically all terminated from the old company and hired new with the purchasing company. Her status in the old 401k plan, held by Ascensus, was marked terminated. She was mailed paperwork about transferring her 401k. However the plan administrator at her work told everyone not to fill out that paper work that that a new paper would be filled out due to the entire plan being shut down. So she waited and when they received the new paper work she filled it out and it was submitted early November. The plan went into black out on November 22nd and she lost access to her online account. The blackout period has no end date, it just said th...
by SimonJester
Thu Dec 07, 2023 11:37 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: TPMS with new tires
Replies: 12
Views: 1340

Re: TPMS with new tires

Yah those all seem to be similar kits for TPMS senors. I would ask the shop why they need three different kits that all appear to be the same.
by SimonJester
Sun Nov 26, 2023 10:40 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Reduced Caffeine or Decaffeinated/Half Caffeinated?
Replies: 34
Views: 3731

Re: Reduced Caffeine or Decaffeinated/Half Caffeinated?

runner540 wrote: Sun Nov 26, 2023 7:26 am Quit cold turkey. Then any kind will taste good.
This! Due to a health issue I had to quit caffeine cold turkey several years ago. I since have gone through several brands and found Seattle's best decaf to be the one I go back to most often.

Going cold turkey was not fun for the first week or two but I had no choice, now I do not miss the caffeine...
by SimonJester
Mon Nov 20, 2023 10:21 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Quicken on Two Computers
Replies: 14
Views: 1608

Re: Quicken on Two Computers

FYI, I store my quicken file with 14 years of data 120Mb file size on a home LAN based Linux server. I share it between my wife's PC and mine, you can only have one quicken open at a time. There is a noticeable slow down in opening the quicken file and performing transactions on it on the LAN based (1 Gig connections) server vs when the file is on my local SDD. So I would think opening the file from google drive would be painful.
by SimonJester
Mon Nov 20, 2023 10:12 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 529 to Roth conversion rules
Replies: 7
Views: 893

Re: 529 to Roth conversion rules

shess wrote: Mon Nov 20, 2023 12:21 am
VerbalK wrote: Sun Nov 19, 2023 5:08 pm Why isn't this a bigger deal? Seems like I could get $10K a year state tax deduction plus tax free growth.
Note that this is a FEDERAL regulation. Your state may attempt to clawback the deductions when you convert to Roth. There is precedent for this, some states clawback deductions if you rollover to a different state's plan:
https://thecollegeinvestor.com/35111/52 ... 9D%20Taxes

Also, your state may simply decide not to mirror the federal regulations WRT state taxes:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertfarr ... to-an-ira/
My state has already said they will claw back for this...
by SimonJester
Fri Nov 17, 2023 8:38 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 401k Rollover check lost in the mail
Replies: 38
Views: 6696

Re: 401k Rollover check lost in the mail

I agree with calling or visiting your local post office and letting them know about the missing mail.

I had several pieces of mail and packages go missing over a period of a few months one year and I complained to the local post master. Mail delivery got slightly better for a while, and I know the carrier was talked to because he said something to me about it. Unfortunately it was the sorting machines / folks that were dropping the ball for my mail...

So while it might not do a lot of good its still might shed some light on an ongoing issue...

As far as the check let us know how this plays out. My wife is in the process of moving her old 401K and they are mailing out a check soon as well...
by SimonJester
Mon Oct 30, 2023 2:18 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Laddering emergency fund
Replies: 8
Views: 1949

Re: Laddering emergency fund

Hi, I am laddering my emergency fund and I am curious if anyone has a laddered emergency fund currently, what type of ladder? I know emergency fund is not to "make extra money" but I do want to protect it against inflation too. Right now, I have a 50K 6 months emergency fund: -30K in MMF will be bouncing back in between my MMF and HYSA whichever has the highest rate at my unfrequent random check -10K in CDs. Rates are currently good over 5%. -10K will be in upcoming I bonds In case of an emergency: I use the 30 K first then the CD money and at last the I bond. In case the emergency money I bond is not used long term, it will be part of my fixed allocation This is exactly how I am setup for my emergency fund. However I do not both...
by SimonJester
Fri Oct 27, 2023 11:53 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: severance package negotiating
Replies: 46
Views: 6558

Re: severance packaging negotiating

People get severance when they quit/retire? if you play your hand correctly, yes. Very situation specific. Interesting. I assume "situation specific" when it's resign/retire in lieu of termination. What does a company expect to gain from offering rewards to those walking out the door on their own? To open a flood gate of resignation? Have they worked for free? I have seen many long time employees leaving without anything from their employers. The only exception was a company with a policy of accelerated vesting of equity compensation for those over a certain advanced age. I am looking at RSU worth a few years of my t-comp. I have worked at Mega Mega corp for 26 years now and I have seen a few VRIFs ( voluntary reduction in force)...
by SimonJester
Fri Oct 27, 2023 11:32 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Funding College
Replies: 9
Views: 1457

Re: Funding College

As someone who just completed sending two kids through college paying for it with ESAs/ 529s here is my advice... Lean towards under funding the 529 not over funding it. You have 17+ years to go but in today's world if you qualify for the AOTC you want 16K per child outside the 529 to take advantage. Kids plans change, not every kids goes to a 4 year school or even to college at all...

Make sure you are maxing out your 401k and Roth IRA before the 529s!
by SimonJester
Thu Oct 26, 2023 10:33 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How much to pay for these electrical installs ?
Replies: 44
Views: 3917

Re: How much to pay for these electrical installs ?

I wanted to install a 220V 50 amp welding circuit last year as well as a 120v 20 amp circuit. These would have been directly below my panel with short wire runs. However my panel is full so I need a new panel. Due to multiple new code requirements; new panel, new breakers, additional grounding rod, new riser mast, outside disconnect, upgraded to 200 amp service. All quotes from multiple providers were running between 7K and 10K. We decided to postpone the install. If your panel is full they make double (half size?) breakers that turn a single slot into 2. They also exist in various combinations so you can squeeze a 220v circuit in between 2 120v breakers. They are just as safe and an easy option if you dont risk tripping the main breaker. ...
by SimonJester
Wed Oct 25, 2023 10:54 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How much to pay for these electrical installs ?
Replies: 44
Views: 3917

Re: How much to pay for these electrical installs ?

I wanted to install a 220V 50 amp welding circuit last year as well as a 120v 20 amp circuit. These would have been directly below my panel with short wire runs.

However my panel is full so I need a new panel. Due to multiple new code requirements; new panel, new breakers, additional grounding rod, new riser mast, outside disconnect, upgraded to 200 amp service. All quotes from multiple providers were running between 7K and 10K. We decided to postpone the install.
by SimonJester
Thu Oct 12, 2023 9:41 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Free in-home Covid test Kits
Replies: 360
Views: 41962

Re: Free in-home Covid test Kits

Received mine as well with a 7/7/23 expiration date... extended out in 02/24. The cynical part of me thinks they are extended the expiration dates because Uncle Sam purchased so many of these are didn't want to throw them all away...
by SimonJester
Thu Oct 12, 2023 9:31 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Mortgage paid off, questions on documents I need to keep
Replies: 14
Views: 2563

Re: Mortgage paid off, questions on documents I need to keep

When I paid my mortgage off years ago it was during a time period when there was a lot of mortgage fraud going on.
I received the letter from my mortgage company stating the loan has been paid off, I kept that. The mortgage company filed a release of lien with my county which officially clears their lien.

I then to be extra paranoid and just to see if it would work sent a written request to my mortgage company requesting they return the original wet ink mortgage note marked paid in full. Much to my surprise after a few weeks they sent it... Ive kept that more as a novelty and a just in case...
by SimonJester
Wed Oct 11, 2023 11:29 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Planning a 14-day honeymoon trip to Italy: Any tips/suggestions?
Replies: 27
Views: 2849

Re: Planning a 14-day honeymoon trip to Italy: Any tips/suggestions?

In Rome I highly recommend booking the Borghese gallery. It was a highlight of our recent trip.
We also did a day trip to Naples and Pompeii from Rome, that was really fun.

In Florence you might want to book Uffizi Gallery and Accademia Gallery.
Food in Florence we had the Bistecca alla fiorentina which is a really nice steak...

In Venice we did the Cicchetti Pub crawl.
https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-l ... etti-crawl
by SimonJester
Tue Oct 10, 2023 2:07 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Educational 529 plan OR Treasury bills
Replies: 9
Views: 1409

Re: Educational 529 plan OR Treasury bills

aparan wrote: Mon Oct 09, 2023 6:11 pm No 529 tax deduction by state.
May be invest in relatively safe Money Market funds like VMFXX and look at other options if rates drop?
Without a state tax deduction I see very little reason to use the 529. Will you qualify for the AOTC? If so you want to pay 4K per year (max 4 years) outside a 529 either pay.

I second the previous opinion for treasuries.
by SimonJester
Tue Oct 10, 2023 1:44 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 19 yr old son, not living at home, do I really need to put him on my Auto Insurance?
Replies: 19
Views: 5105

Re: 19 yr old son, not living at home, do I really need to put him on my Auto Insurance?

Dont be shocked if your rated do not drop that much... i just removed my oldest from our auto policies as has has moved out of the house :D :beer

My total yearly savings for dropping him $28 :confused

When I added him to the policy the rated doubled, then doubled again when I added my second child...


The youngest is now also talking about moving out, so we will be selling the "kids" vehicle to him and having him setup his own insurance policy... Crossing my fingers the rate does drop a little once he is off.... Otherwise its time to shop insurance again...
by SimonJester
Wed Sep 27, 2023 11:07 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is a tax lien certificate a good investment?
Replies: 8
Views: 1541

Re: Is a tax lien certificate a good investment?

I had a boss that was inverting in this in my area... They were ok 30 years ago but not anymore. You would bid at auction to purchase the tax lien / back taxes. You then paid the bid amount plus the back taxes. The owner then had 3 years to pay you back the taxes owed plus a set interest rate. If they failed you could file for a tax deed on the property. Best case scenario you only paid a small amount to purchase the back taxes and the owner paid you back in a year or so, then you made a profit. Worse case scenario you bid too much on a property that was un-buildable land that was also land locked in by other properties with no easements. You now have a worthless lot. Then about 25 years ago or so people started thinking this was a great wa...
by SimonJester
Thu Sep 21, 2023 9:30 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Credit Card Debt at the Time of Death
Replies: 75
Views: 10638

Re: Credit Card Debt at the Time of Death

Just be aware that USAA may issue a 1099-C in your late MIL SSN. We had this happen with my FIL two years after he passed. We had already filed his last tax return and had closed probate. His estate was insolvent so we did nothing with the form....
by SimonJester
Wed Aug 30, 2023 10:59 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How to adjust a 529 for delayed entry to college
Replies: 17
Views: 1677

Re: How to adjust a 529 for delayed entry to college

I went 85% cash when my kids hit their junior / senior of High school.
by SimonJester
Mon Aug 28, 2023 12:05 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Curious Amazon Fraud?
Replies: 26
Views: 4167

Re: Curious Amazon Fraud?

Dispute the charges with your credit / debit card. Last week I also receive a fraudulent amazon charge on my amazon prime card for Kindle Service. Amazon has no record of the transaction on my account. I disputed the charge and it was taken off and a new card sent to me
by SimonJester
Thu Aug 10, 2023 8:32 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Home/Auto Insurance Deductible Advice
Replies: 14
Views: 1332

Re: Home/Auto Insurance Deductible Advice

Divide the increase of deductible by the yearly savings... This is how long you need to go without a claim to break even. At 10K for home that is 12.4 years, 5K would be 9.4 years. That's a pretty big gamble for home, but I live in an area that gets yearly hail storms that wipe out your roof... 2K Auto would be 2 years. So that might be a better gamble. Edit: Corrected numbers for current deductible I am now in my 44th year of owning my house. Never came close to ever making a house insurance claim for any reason. That's a good record, again where I live they say our roofs average age is about 5-6 years due to how may large hail storms we get each year. We have had 4 or 5 major hail storms this year with golf ball + size hail. I am quite a...
by SimonJester
Thu Aug 10, 2023 1:44 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Home/Auto Insurance Deductible Advice
Replies: 14
Views: 1332

Re: Home/Auto Insurance Deductible Advice

Divide the increase of deductible by the yearly savings... This is how long you need to go without a claim to break even. At 10K for home that is 12.4 years, 5K would be 9.4 years. That's a pretty big gamble for home, but I live in an area that gets yearly hail storms that wipe out your roof...

2K Auto would be 2 years. So that might be a better gamble.

Edit: Corrected numbers for current deductible
by SimonJester
Thu Aug 10, 2023 1:24 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: No 529 - Best pot/source of money to pull from for kid's college expenses
Replies: 10
Views: 1265

Re: No 529 - Best pot/source of money to pull from for kid's college expenses

My vote #4, then #1 or #3 but only if you qualify to exclude the interest. Also see if you qualify for the AOTC.
by SimonJester
Thu Aug 10, 2023 1:22 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Car insurance with teens through the roof!
Replies: 65
Views: 8806

Re: Car insurance with teens through the roof!

I'm guessing that total car accident is probably the teens fault? And if so that is likely causing your premiums to sky rocket.

All you can do at this point is shop around.
by SimonJester
Wed Jul 26, 2023 4:31 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Equipment breakdown coverage from home insurance - too good to be true?
Replies: 7
Views: 966

Re: Equipment breakdown coverage from home insurance - too good to be true?

I would go pull a CLUE report for yourself and your home and see if that previous claim is reported. If so you know for sure it can count against you... It is already in CLUE. I am wondering about this: Will the insurance company treat this as any other claim? Or be a bit more flexible? Two things: 1-Equipment breakdown has lower deductible ($500 for almost all insurance companies I saw). So it is definitely being treated differently by the insurance company itself (vs. several thousand deductible for all other things). 2-Unlike fire damage, hail storm damage, pipe bursting and flooding you home, which may or may not happen even once during your lifetime, equipment breaks a lot. My two ACs alone broke down 10+ times in the last 18 years si...
by SimonJester
Wed Jul 26, 2023 10:53 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Equipment breakdown coverage from home insurance - too good to be true?
Replies: 7
Views: 966

Re: Equipment breakdown coverage from home insurance - too good to be true?

I would go pull a CLUE report for yourself and your home and see if that previous claim is reported. If so you know for sure it can count against you...
by SimonJester
Thu Jul 20, 2023 11:20 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Selling home to son, we be the "bank" for mortgage
Replies: 83
Views: 6956

Re: Selling home to son, we be the "bank" for mortgage

3. The plan is to structure so the house is entirely son's - without going into too many details there are so many divorces/remarriages/multiple marriages etc. in DIL family that they talk about who hasn't gotten divorced yet and how much longer before they do. Way over the 50% chance in that family. But yes, we would always take care of our grandchildren and if that meant helping (ex) DIL we would do that. Ouch, if I was your DIL this would cause a LOT of resentment. I would tell my husband hard pass on this deal, what is in it for her? She puts her money into a house that is not hers? What happens if your son passes away? She no longer has a home? This has disaster written all over it.. Any $ put in by her she would receive. They need to...
by SimonJester
Thu Jul 20, 2023 9:44 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Selling home to son, we be the "bank" for mortgage
Replies: 83
Views: 6956

Re: Selling home to son, we be the "bank" for mortgage

557880yvi wrote: Tue Jul 18, 2023 8:49 pm 3. The plan is to structure so the house is entirely son's - without going into too many details there are so many divorces/remarriages/multiple marriages etc. in DIL family that they talk about who hasn't gotten divorced yet and how much longer before they do. Way over the 50% chance in that family. But yes, we would always take care of our grandchildren and if that meant helping (ex) DIL we would do that.
Ouch, if I was your DIL this would cause a LOT of resentment. I would tell my husband hard pass on this deal, what is in it for her?

She puts her money into a house that is not hers? What happens if your son passes away? She no longer has a home?

This has disaster written all over it..
by SimonJester
Tue Jul 18, 2023 10:09 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Selling home to son, we be the "bank" for mortgage
Replies: 83
Views: 6956

Re: Selling home to son, we be the "bank" for mortgage

My advice would be not to become your child's mortgage lender... If everything goes right it works out. But if anything goes wrong it will change the relationship you have with your child. They can get a loan from a bank and you can sell them the house at a reasonable price...
by SimonJester
Mon Jul 17, 2023 10:40 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Resolved 7.19.23 Plumbing mystery - Toilet
Replies: 52
Views: 6238

Re: (Update 7.16.23) Plumbing mystery - Toilet

PoppyA wrote: Sun Jul 16, 2023 11:17 am 7.16.23 Toilet continues to run in short bursts as outlined above. We left town yesterday & turned the water to the house off. Upon returning home we discovered The water level in the tank remained constant. The problem doesn’t appear to be coming from a leak from that area.
The problem with this approach is that if the toilet flapper valve leak was small enough there might have been enough water in the house pipes to continue to feed the toilet. This is why folks suggest just turning off the toilet valve itself. Much smaller volume of water to refill the toilet with...
by SimonJester
Mon Jul 17, 2023 9:58 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Overfunded 529 solutions
Replies: 17
Views: 2212

Re: Overfunded 529 solutions

Just keep in mind you can only pay certain expenses for International programs. You cannot pay for transportation costs, lodging, meals, and other daily expenses. Basically only the cost of the tuition . My youngest is currently away in such a class... Do you have a source for the lodging and meals not being covered, only tuition? A quick search that I did says otherwise. For example: https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/070815/using-your-529-savings-study-abroad.asp KEY TAKEAWAYS 529 savings plans can be used to pay for study abroad programs but not to cover day-to-day expenses or travel costs , which can be substantial. The host school must be approved by the U.S. Department of Education to be eligible for 529 funds. Th...
by SimonJester
Thu Jul 13, 2023 9:48 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Overfunded 529 solutions
Replies: 17
Views: 2212

Re: Overfunded 529 solutions

kgw wrote: Wed Jul 12, 2023 9:04 pm I recall Ric Edelman on his podcast mentioning a college program that had developed some sort-of course in Europe that would qualify for use of 529 plan funds. In his example, some retirees were taking international classes in art history, culture, architecture … or something like that.
Just keep in mind you can only pay certain expenses for International programs. You cannot pay for transportation costs, lodging, meals, and other daily expenses. Basically only the cost of the tuition. My youngest is currently away in such a class...
by SimonJester
Mon Jul 10, 2023 10:44 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Need Help on 529
Replies: 1
Views: 371

Re: Need Help on 529

Depending on your income you might qualify for the American Opportunity Tax credit. If so you will need 16K (4k per school year) per child outside of the 529. We put this money in I-bonds as a safe place while my kids were in middle school / high school. For my own kids 529 I used the aged based options which got more conservative as they got older. However starting in High school I began moving towards the cash / stable value option in their 529. While this strategy probably sacrificed some gain it was what I could sleep best with at night. Just keep in mind things change and while you can plan on you kids attending a 4 year college they might have other plans. You need to be ok with all of that money being tied up in a 529 and your kids n...
by SimonJester
Thu Jul 06, 2023 10:23 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How Can I Self-educated on Airline Points/Miles
Replies: 166
Views: 13298

Re: How Can I Self-educated on Airline Points/Miles

With the recent devaluation of points with my main hub carrier (United) I am considering ditching the points game and going back to a 2% card. In the past it was pretty easy to score some really good deals using points, however the game is up. Every one their brother is now trying the point game and massive bonuses from a few credit cards, plus hundreds of bloggers and social media influencers hocking points really ruined the game.
by SimonJester
Thu Jun 29, 2023 11:58 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: International Long Haul Flight - Premium Economy?
Replies: 61
Views: 6271

Re: International Long Haul Flight - Premium Economy?

the_wiki wrote: Wed Jun 28, 2023 10:34 pm
bob60014 wrote: Wed Jun 28, 2023 9:24 pm 10 hours +? Having been on excruciating cramped flights in economy, economy plus, premium economy or whatever term they now fool folks with, its now Business Class every time.
Last international flight I took the difference was $4000 per ticket! I can suffer a little for $200 savings per hour. I never made that much working.
The current flight I am looking at to Europe in May of 20204; Economy is $1484, Premium Economy is $4386 Almost $3,000 more. And business class $7571, more then $6,000 then economy. We flew Business class last August to Europe with miles so we got spoiled but I just cannot justify the PE or Business class tickets. Prices are insane right now...
by SimonJester
Fri Jun 16, 2023 2:59 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Stuck bolt on oil pan?
Replies: 137
Views: 9047

Re: Stuck bolt on oil pan?

tibbitts wrote: Thu Jun 15, 2023 10:25 am
SimonJester wrote: Thu Jun 15, 2023 8:55 am If they refuse I would sue them in small claims court.
But you would have no proof who damaged the plug.
Common sense says its the last person who changed the oil. Since the plug appears to be epoxied onto the oil pan... Its not like they can claim it was like that when the vehicle entered the shop. And yes it would be upto the judge to determine if they are at fault but that is a gambol I would be willing to make...
by SimonJester
Thu Jun 15, 2023 8:55 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Stuck bolt on oil pan?
Replies: 137
Views: 9047

Re: Stuck bolt on oil pan?

I would continue to try and find an honest mechanic that can replace the oil pan without removing the engine. Have them document with multiple photos the current condition of the oil drain plug and write up in their estimate what happened. If the plug was really cross threaded and epoxied back on (as it appears to be the case). I would have the shop replace the oil pan, then go back to the previous shop that performed your last oil change and demand to be reimbursed for the oil pan replacement. If they refuse I would sue them in small claims court. By the way their previous mistake of not putting back in the oil filter media on your other vehicle could very likely shortened the life of that engine. That should have been a major warning to s...
by SimonJester
Fri Jun 09, 2023 9:39 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How has 60/40 worked out in retirement ?
Replies: 84
Views: 13659

Re: How has 60/40 worked out in retirement ?

OP, you might want to take a look at Early Retirement Now's exhaustive series on safe withdrawal rates at different AAs: https://earlyretirementnow.com/safe-withdrawal-rate-series/ There's a lot to get through, and of course you don't have to read every post, but I found it helped solidify my thinking about my own AA. Wow what is the cliff notes version for that? I'm 10 years from early retirement and working to get to a 70/30, currently 75/25... I think I want to start out at 70/30 and see how it goes. I will have a pension providing ~50% of my needed income in retirement before social security and a projected SWR of 2%. Ive been investing for the past 26 years and I am now starting to see there is a light at the end tunnel so to speak...