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C4NT

Just a periodic financial checkup question. Is holding $64K in cash is too much? Given that: - Annual expense varies. In 2020, was less than $50K IMO, how much cash to have on-hand is driven by your emergency fund needs. So the fact that I could one day need to pay for a home down payment shouldn't...

C4NT

I'm not sure if this is a trick, but we don't have any extra money to do anything dumb with.

We invest in retirement accounts.

Leftovers go for saving for:

(1) Renovations that we want to do in ~1 year
(2) newer car we will need in ~2-3 years

Maybe I'll get to do something dumb in few years

C4NT

Hyperchicken wrote: ↑Wed Jan 13, 2021 11:54 am Stock market is not economy.

+1

The local eatery that just closed down the street was not a publicly traded company.

The dozen or so employees probably didn't have a 401k or much money in the market.

This impacts the local economy, not the stock market.

C4NT

squirm wrote: ↑Wed Dec 09, 2020 10:49 pm The Moto G series is probably the best value.

+1

C4NT

It would be in a card. I'm not going to palm them a $100 bill...there is a pandemic going on.

C4NT

we've never given any our kids teacher any money, the thought never even entered my mind... very weird idea. We help out at the schools or have our kids help out after class or write thank you cards. I would say it is very common in our area. All of our friends give either gifts or gift cards. I am...

C4NT

I teach in a public high school, and I have never received anything valued over about $15. I write 5-15 recommendation letters a year and appreciate a small gift, but I value the conversation with the student who drops it off much more than the gift itself. If it's more than say $20 something for m...

C4NT

It's basically bribery, or at the very least the appearance of impropriety. I would say a small gift worth a few bucks would be a better move. -TheDDC I don't think any teacher will see it as an attempt at bribery. My kids are in grades that don't even get letter grades yet. Do they I am trying to ...

C4NT

OP, One year a parent pooled together resources from other parents to give teachers a cash gift. Rather than getting 20 boxes of $10 chocolates this is much better. Perhaps pool together with other parents? We had a home room volunteer do this for the end of the year gift once or twice. There are n...

C4NT

we've never given any our kids teacher any money, the thought never even entered my mind... very weird idea. We help out at the schools or have our kids help out after class or write thank you cards. I would say it is very common in our area. All of our friends give either gifts or gift cards. I am...

C4NT

Side note - I suggested cash instead of a gift card because it would be easier to use, especially if they don't like the retailer we choose (we usually go with Amazon or the major grocery store in our area). On this side tangent, I don't see the point in gift cards. If you're going to give someone ...

C4NT

Thanks everyone for your comments. I've got some thinking to do, and I will share your comments with my wife as well. In Massachusetts , public employees cannot accept cash gifts over $50, and must report all gifts. Please check with your local district (assuming this is a public school) to be sure ...

C4NT

I second the LL Bean recommendation. I lived in the Midwest for a while and had some brutal winters. Lots of mornings in the negative temps. I had a three in one parka with gortex that was incredibly warm. I could take out a layer and wear it on the slightly warmer days too.

C4NT

We usually gift our kid's teachers $25-50 gift cards before winter break each year. This year, I would like to give them more because of the amazing job they are doing with everything that is going on. I suggested $100 cash for each teacher. My wife had some reservations, not that they don't deserve...

C4NT

I've got a similar issue. Our kitchen has two ovens, and we never use both at the same time. I've wanted to remove one and put in a pull-out trash/recycling can drawer.

Anybody have a ballpark guess about how much this would cost to have a pro do?

C4NT

My auto insurance has roadside assistance. It is terribly inexpensive. +1. I've heard Clark Howard, the radio show host, mention several times that a lot of insurance providers will count the use of this service as an insurance claim. This may cause your future insurance rates to rise, and potentia...

C4NT

Normchad wrote: ↑Mon Oct 05, 2020 6:05 pm I can’t think of anything more important than taking care of your children. Ensuring they have access to a quality education is part of that.

Yes, you should save for the education. Don’t count on anybody other help.....

+1

C4NT

RJC wrote: ↑Fri Oct 02, 2020 8:50 am It allows us to be more aggressive during the accumulation phase (100% equities).

This is about the only way my pension causes me to change my thinking. Although I only go to 90% equities.

C4NT

Do Bogleheads recommend withdrawing from stocks and moving money somewhere else to stay safe? Or will “Stay The Course” prevail? You know the answer to this question. You started a thread in the middle of March, at just about the bottom, asking if you should get out. Did you? If you didn't, then yo...

C4NT

Call the cc company (like on the phone) and tell them what's going on. You are their customer and they want you to be happy. Sellers not playing by the rules are typically not happy when they get a charge back, which is usually the full amount paid plus $35. Call them on my phone....and actually ha...

C4NT

I ordered an item from a website that did not fit properly. The link to their return form is not working. I emailed customer service twice about this issue. Can I dispute the charge on my CC for not being able to return the item. Two possible options on my CC's online form would be: 1) Goods / servi...

C4NT

Hello OP, I was able to invoke life event (Reason: Change in Dependent Care provider Cost) in our HR system and able to stop any further contributions for child care. HR originally was not sure but after escalation, HR confirmed and approved that anyone can change DC-FSA if cost/availability change...

C4NT

Similar question asked a couple of months ago: https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=310631&p=5156909#p5156909 There are likely other threads on this board as well, haven't tried to search extensively... Thanks for this. I did do a search, but didn't find this one. There is s...

C4NT

Our kid's summer camp was cancelled. We also didn't need to spend money for after care for most of March, April, and May. Who knows if we will need it in the Fall. So, as I was finishing up our 2019 taxes I realized that we probably won't spend the $5000 we allocated into the account. So far, we hav...

C4NT

I look at my investments once a month (on the 15th). I use a 5% band to make changes. I've done this for years.

I bet I will be making some moves tomorrow.

C4NT

I teach at a state college, and one small thing that is nice is that we have time off at the same time. For instance around Christmas and New Years we both (kids and I) have a couple of weeks off. My wife who works for a private company usually only has Christmas and New Years Day off, thats it (unl...

C4NT

I can't imagine storing passwords in Google or anywhere else for that matter. The only place my passwords are stored is in my password manager. Yup. I don't keep any passwords in the browser password store. Only in 1Password. Is there a difference in terms of liability if either had a security issue?

C4NT

I've seen it posted here before that some users do not think it is a good idea to use mint.com because when you provide them with your username and password you may violate the terms of service with your financial institution (you are not allowed to share this information with anyone else). This vio...

C4NT

So I have 6K sitting in my credit card cashback.. I was hoarding it to use it on gift cards which come at 20% discount. What would you guys do with it?? Should I put it in the market ??? If you can get gift cards at 20 % off that you would normally use any way, that is a good deal. If you are tryin...

C4NT

If you're looking for a cheaper tax software alternative, credt karma offered free tax prep last year.

My capital one card gave me free tax prep through HR Block.

C4NT

I know you said you were worried about privacy issues, but I just save all my contacts to my google account. I've switched phones and reset phones several times over the past few years, and I never have to worry about my contacts.

C4NT

What exactly do you want to back up?

The only files I want a copy of are my pictures. For that, you can just drag and drop the files onto a computer.

C4NT

Check out Lenovo Miix tablet/laptops. I think they are designed to compete with the MS Surface, but are a little cheaper.

C4NT

Check out Treetop Cottage, Lighthouse Park, St. Augustine on AirBNB. A friend of ours stayed there and highly recommended it. Not sure how far it is from the Amphitheater. We reserved for late November so we can see the Christmas lights in St. Augustine. Thanks for the recommendation. I checked out...

C4NT

Hi all, I'm looking for some leads on where to stay in St. Augustine. My wife and are staying there for a weekend in the fall. I'm looking for something reasonably priced, but worth staying at...as we don't get away by ourselves very often. If it is within walking distance of places would be nice, b...

C4NT

Deleted.

OP already purchased ring.

C4NT

I highly recommend at least one night in downtown Des Moines...best smaller big city I've ever been to (also lived there for a few years).

C4NT

I like mint.com and the corresponding app better. It is free too.

C4NT

I thought I would start the Amazon Prime Day thread for 2018. If officially starts today, 7/16, at 3PM and goes through tomorrow. Remember, if you shop through the link below money is raised for the John C Bogle Center For Financial Literacy. https://smile.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=13887280011&a...

C4NT

Try SPRXX. Current 7-day yield is 1.85%. Thanks, I should be looking at the 7-day yields, shouldn't I. Although the more I look at MM funds, I see they often have pretty high expense ratios. SPRXX has an ER of 0.42%. Wouldn't that subtract from the yield, ultimately making it a lot lower than a hig...

C4NT

Delete repeated post.

C4NT

telemark wrote: ↑Sat Jul 14, 2018 11:02 am American Express Personal Savings. No credit check and they were at 1.75% before Ally was.

Actually, I think Ally is pretty much alone in requiring a credit check for a savings account.

Thanks, I almost went with them over Ally.

C4NT

Try SPRXX. Current 7-day yield is 1.85%. Thanks, I should be looking at the 7-day yields, shouldn't I. Although the more I look at MM funds, I see they often have pretty high expense ratios. SPRXX has an ER of 0.42%. Wouldn't that subtract from the yield, ultimately making it a lot lower than a hig...

C4NT

Please reassure us that you're paying off your entire credit card balance each month. A cashback total of $4266 over five years (assuming average 2% rebate) equates to $42,660 of credit card spending per year. That's quite a lot, and $10,000 higher than most PhD-candidate annual stipends. I track m...

C4NT

This is silly, but I love it.

If you want to go for the long haul, I would open a taxable account or a separate IRA and fund it with this money. When you retire, blow it on an awesome vacation or new car or both!

C4NT

I just tried to open a savings account with Ally.com. They need my wife and I to thaw our TransUnion credit reports. In addition to the $10/person fee, it will also require my wife and I to call TransUnion because we haven't been able to thaw or even receive a credit report online from TransUnion in...

C4NT

I would NOT transfer (or rebalance) any of your company stock in your 401k until you read up on Net Unrealized Appreciation (NUA) and find out whether or not it could eventually apply to you and work in your favor to use that. If your company stock has been held a long time and appreciated a lot, t...

C4NT

AtomicCash wrote: ↑Thu Jul 12, 2018 10:56 am
"Better Investing with Bogleheads"

Marc

I like that one.

C4NT

I would NOT transfer (or rebalance) any of your company stock in your 401k until you read up on Net Unrealized Appreciation (NUA) and find out whether or not it could eventually apply to you and work in your favor to use that. If your company stock has been held a long time and appreciated a lot, t...

C4NT

JustinR wrote: ↑Mon Jul 02, 2018 5:30 am I'd do "Nationwide S&P 500 Index Fund - Class R 0.77%" since it's the cheapest. Easy choice.

That is what I would do as well, only after maxing out your IRAs. If you want bonds or international in your asset allocation, you can put them in a traditional IRA or Roth IRA.

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