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Smurf

This board cracks me up. I bet everyone looks elegant in their fancy pants getting out of their 26 year old multi-colored Camry with missing hub caps.

Smurf

I do have an update, but not the one you're probably expecting. We did not build the pool, but only because ~30 days after we decided to move forward I accepted a ~3 year rotation for my job and moved to Iowa. Life changes fast. However, we still own the house in the Carolina's and will build the po...

Smurf

[/quote] My experience has been that riding is an excercise in risk mitigation, or this is how I look at it. [/quote] Of all the things you've read this is what you need to focus on and ignore all the cliche responses from people who have never ridden. Lots of activities are extremely dangerous and ...

Smurf

1.Take a beginner course even though you already know the basics. You will still learn something and you will be a better rider at the end. Many many motorcycle accidents are 50 year old guys getting back into riding after the kids are gone. They're not all 22 year old's on sport bikes. 2. For a bik...

Smurf

2. I would not hesitate to use the phrase 'elder fraud'' when communicating w/ Ed Jones. Best of luck This is exactly what you need to do in complaints to EJ and FINRA. Elder abuse is serious business in the industry and heads will roll. There are way too many cases of crooked advisors taking advan...

Smurf

CIT does not automatically adjust your rate as their rate increases. If you open an account and receive 1.05% they keep you at that even as they raise the rates for others. This has been my experience as well and it's annoying to say the least. When they raised the rate to 1.55% a few months ago I ...

Smurf

Question for Dottie57 that is slightly off topic, but did you consider the new Honda Accord? If so, what made you choose the Camry over the Accord? I only ask as I'm considering purchasing one and am torn between the two.

Smurf

Just pull it out and plant a new smaller shrub. Likely nobody will ever know and if you do get a nasty letter, then write back saying "huh, what shrub". Alternatively, a few doses of round up will do the trick. Then you have a dead shrub that nobody will object to removing.

Smurf

It is a monstrous ripoff. Your new Camry probably would only need ~3 oil changes during that 30k extension and no other maintenance. You're paying $400 per oil change. Look at the owners manual and see what the manufacturer requires. I guarantee you it's not much if anything.

Smurf

Toons wrote: ↑
Wed Nov 01, 2017 9:49 am
Keep Investing.
As Much as you can,
As often as you can
Compounding is the
Mother lode

Keep eating.
As Much as you can,
As often as you can
Compounding is the
Mother lode

Smurf

I agree with the Titan Fitness recommendation. You get essentially the same rack as Rogue for 1/2 the price. I've had a T-3 for several years and love it. You will however need to bolt it to the floor or plywood to keep it from shifting. You can build a simple 8x8 platform with 4 sheets of OSB board...

Smurf

Is there a quick/easy way to look at what cars are available locally? Is there a way to see what cars are available in the near by states? Someone mentioned the California state tax of 7.5-10%....maybe I can avoid that if I decide on the car and then look at neighboring states? Autotrader is a grea...

Smurf

You need at a minimum a CRV or Rav4, but realistically with another child on the horizon (potentially 2 more) you should go ahead and buy a minivan. If you buy a sedan you will be sorry when Thing #2 arrives. Yes you can squeeze everyone into a Camry, but that double stroller, cooler, groceries, pac...

Smurf

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Smurf

I wouldn't worry too much about reliability ratings. Within reason, these days they are all excellent. It's like saying the Olympic runner who came in last can't run. Personally, I wouldn't get a Lexus, Acura, or similar for a car to hand to a teenager in 4 years. However, since you have to drive it...

Smurf

Tread carefully when moving anywhere to be closer to family. What if you move and then 6 months later your son/DIL's job gets transferred to another city and they relocate? Nothing is forever and now you are alone in a place you may not enjoy. Most LCOL areas have plenty of Residence Inn's. Can you ...

Smurf

I think your allocation is perfectly fine and only part of the picture. You need to choose the allocation that is most likely to get you where you need to be at the end of the day. Your savings rate and expense management is far more important. If you make $100k/yr and save $50k/yr at a 60/40 alloca...

Smurf

Nicely tell the neighbor that the fence is rotten and you are going to replace it. You pay for it and make sure it's 6" on your property. Then it's your fence and you can do what you like going forward and won't be in this situation again for repairs and replacement. You never know who will move in ...

Smurf

As said earlier, with the help you have it's most definitely a do it yourself job and likely cost less than 50% of quoted prices. It will be tough work, but as with most things it will make you appreciate it more. Every time you go out back you'll look at the fence and have some sense if internal pr...

Smurf

It won't change a thing. The guy is trying to make a living. Most people have to. Just so happens he is in sales. Move on :happy +1 as always, Toons is right on the money! :beer Agree completely. Not everyone loves their job and for all you know this guy hates EJ and is a boglehead. I'd try to sell...

Smurf

I'd recommend a system from rearviewsafety dot com. I bought one that goes in the mirror for my wife's car (through Costco at the time) and it is very clear and works great. It even had the lines in the mirror that you could adjust via remote to show sides of the car and depth of the objects behind ...

Smurf

Use Carvana. I bought a car from them a couple weeks ago and holy hell was it fantastic. I bought a $500 off referral coupon on eBay to further reduce the price. They delivered the car to my door and we did the paperwork in my driveway. The car was in better condition than described and looks almost...

Smurf

We built a pool last year. It's still new to us, but it has already created great memories for our family. I'd ignore "pools kill" and all the other generic statements you'll hear on here. They are all made by people who have never owned a pool and watch too much TV. If you're on track for retiremen...

Smurf

Question for those selling vehicles on Craigslist that requires buyers to come to your house. I've sold vehicles on Craigslist before that were <$10k without issue. However, would you sell a more expensive car on Craigslist? I am not as worried about getting scammed because that is easily avoidable...

Smurf

Question for those selling vehicles on Craigslist that requires buyers to come to your house. I've sold vehicles on Craigslist before that were <$10k without issue. However, would you sell a more expensive car on Craigslist? I am not as worried about getting scammed because that is easily avoidable,...

Smurf

I'm glad I spent some time in the area, but I wouldn't move back for double my salary. I live in Texas now. I agree 100%. I've spent extensive time in NY/NJ as well as Washington D.C. I now live in North Carolina and wouldn't move back for double salary. I never understood why people (who are indep...

Smurf

I can hardly believe what I'm reading from this group! $150 for a family of 4 (w/kids) to go out to dinner! For a community that goes to great lengths to reduce expense ratios by 1 basis point it is shocking how much many of you spend at restaurants. I certainly understand that people spend their mo...

Smurf

I second Moab. I spent a week mountain biking and hiking there a few years ago and with the hobbies you list it would be paradise. Arches National Park and Canyonlands are wonderful as are the world famous mountain biking trails. There are endless bike shops to rent from so it's very easy to plan. I...

Smurf

Get her a pre-paid annual subscription every year for Christmas. It's not worth the hassle of sharing an account and worrying about it for $100. Plus you will never again have to think about what to get her for Christmas.

Smurf

The only advantage the Frontier would have is maneuverability and parking in tight spaces. If you have a lot of city garages and small lots that you routinely need to park in, then the Frontier would be better. However, as you've previously driven the Ram you'll know if that's an issue or not as the...

Smurf

I was considering downgrading my Ram 1500 for a car, but changed my mind this weekend. Now reading these posts I consistently see comments about Ram being poor quality compared to the others. What is the basis for these comments? Are they all "my brother's boss had friend who's Ram fell apart," or ...

Smurf

I was considering downgrading my Ram 1500 for a car, but changed my mind this weekend. Now reading these posts I consistently see comments about Ram being poor quality compared to the others. What is the basis for these comments? Are they all "my brother's boss had friend who's Ram fell apart," or a...

Smurf

It doesn't matter which brokerage firm holds your securities. For example, a S&P 500 index fund at Fidelity is the substantially the same (or maybe exactly the same) as a S&P 500 index at Vanguard. You would trigger a wash sale using these two funds as it's based on the underlying securities. The ti...

Smurf

I've been reading too much Mr. Money Mustache where using anything beyond an e-bike will leave you homeless and responsible for the demise of polar bears. Cooler heads prevail here. I'll stick with the Ram.

Smurf

Thanks for the responses so far. I am married and my wife has a CRV (great car) so I'd rather not add a 3rd vehicle simply due to the hassle of another to maintain. If I would sell the truck I would pay cash for a commuter and have money left over that would be invested in my taxable account. I woul...

Smurf

I currently have a wonderful full size Ram 1500 that I purchased used a few years ago. It met all my family's needs at the time as I'm a big DIY'er around the house and enjoy wilderness activities. However, my glorious work from home part time situation has changed and I'm now required to commute to...

Smurf

I'd definitely recommend buying a gaming system. For that age I'd recommend a Playstation 3 since it's got a lot of kid friendly games and you can get them cheap now that the PS4 is out. Don't go the PC route right away because he/she will want to play with you not solo. We are looking at a wii U fo...

Smurf

I did. I sold a chunk of investments on Monday. However, based on the advice I received in another thread in 60 days I'll be converting that cash to pool surrounded by a paver patio! Woot woot!

Smurf

Thank you for all the very diversified replies. It's interesting to see that most with a pool, recommend the pool and those without suggest avoiding one. It was so hot in the Carolinas this weekend. We packed 30lbs of water guns and food and made our weekly trip to the neighborhood pool. It was not ...

Smurf

Thank you for all the replies. To the cost question I came up with the $200k "15 year cost" based on $45,000 initial outlay and $3,000 yearly maintenance related to the pool. If I earned 7% on that money it's like 199k. Maybe $3,000 is too high, but even if it's $0/yr maintenance it's still a huge s...

Smurf

I'm seeking feedback on building a pool in our backyard. We are in the SE USA where we'd get 5-6 months of use. The pool was quoted at around 40k, but I know it'll be 45k by the time they're done and I have the landscaping, irrigation, and fence fixed. The design looks fantastic and I think my famil...

Smurf

NWFCU is awful. After you submit paperwork expect weeks/months without any contact from the originator. They won't return emails, phone calls, etc. 3-4 months to close a basic refinance is absolutely horrid. They also service the loans they make, so this is likely not a one time service issue you wi...

Smurf

As with most tests, if you study hard you will easily pass.....if you don't study, then you will likely fail. Most do very well with professional exams paid for by employers as failing would cause quite the embarrassment at work and in the securities industry can cost you your job. Failing these exa...

Smurf

I recently refinanced my mortgage and referred my lender to a relative. She has completed the application and started to submit documentation to the lender. On Friday she received her loan estimate and was not happy at all with the closing costs and feels as though while she's getting a big credit, ...

Smurf

I recently had the same question. I was shopping for insurance and found widely varying replacement costs from insurers. Some of them were ~25% higher than others. In speaking with my agent he basically said everything already stated in the threads. It changes from building costs, demo can be expens...

Smurf

I am locked at 2.75% with a $2,000 credit on closing costs. They also offered 2.625% with $1,100 credit. I don't owe millions on my mortgage so opted to pocket the $900 difference and take the higher rate. My payment goes down like $8/month (pays for Netflix) and I'll save about $900 in interest a y...

Smurf

I commute to a city in a crew cab Ram 1500 and there is no denying it's a PITA sometimes. You will have to make adjustments like avoiding tight parking garages, uturns, etc. However, I work to support my family and hobbies and my truck allows me to do those hobbies. If my hobby was commuting then a ...

Smurf

I think you should be nice to the neighborhood kids and get to know them. One day those kids will be teenagers and you don't want to be the guy on the street that is on the losing end of pranks.

Smurf

I once owned a 2004 Nissan Frontier 4x4 crew cab. In 2005 it was a beauty and I loved that truck. Had no major issues through 75k miles. Today I drive a 2012 Ram 1500 4x4 crew cab which I bought used. Let me just say that there is no comparison. The Ram is 1000 times nicer and handles everything fro...

Smurf

I am in a similar position and decided to proceed with the refinance. I have a 20 year fixed with 16.5 years left at 3.5%. I'm moving to a 15 year at 2.625%. After all closing costs over the life of the loan I will save about ~17k in interest and cut one year off the loan. Even though we're only tal...

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