Search found 150 matches

by MattE
Wed Aug 09, 2023 9:26 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Who is correct ? [Can my cousin retire early?]
Replies: 141
Views: 13061

Re: Who is correct ? [Can my cousin retire early?]

Lol, this guy wants to be right so badly and just is not.
by MattE
Wed Aug 09, 2023 1:07 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Who is correct ? [Can my cousin retire early?]
Replies: 141
Views: 13061

Re: Who is correct ? [Can my cousin retire early?]

This isn't even a question, with expenses in that range he probably could have comfortably retired a few years ago let alone now.
by MattE
Mon Feb 20, 2023 9:59 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Reject or Accept a Counter Offer?
Replies: 50
Views: 5500

Re: Reject or Accept a Counter Offer?

I was counteroffered and accepted the first time I got a wandering eye at my first job, told management above me it was conditional on a number of stipulations, and when they didn't live up to them and continued to slow roll me on salary actions I left for a much better company and a 20% raise ~15 months later.
by MattE
Wed Sep 28, 2022 8:48 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Mulling Hypothetical Career Move (Private -> Civil Service); Implications?
Replies: 5
Views: 739

Re: Mulling Hypothetical Career Move (Private -> Civil Service); Implications?

I was in a somewhat similar situation to 10-15 years ago, although I was ~10 years older. I started by cutting my hours by 20% for a 4 day work week and that helped make the job more bearable, I pondered this arrangement and reached the conclusion that with none of the fundamental issues resolved and in fact potentially worsened in that situation (vis a vis pressure to do more work than the hours allow for) I'd probably be just as miserable for 20% less money. That's a point where it probably just makes sense to take the lower-paying job as you did. You may or may not have a similar experience and it is fine to have a vague plan to coast/FIRE in your 40s, but I would think very carefully about making decisions with long-term implications b...
by MattE
Wed Sep 28, 2022 2:27 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Mulling Hypothetical Career Move (Private -> Civil Service); Implications?
Replies: 5
Views: 739

Mulling Hypothetical Career Move (Private -> Civil Service); Implications?

Context: 33, married, DINK with no desire for kids (from either of us), household gross income ~$275K ($150 + $125), gross savings rate ~40%, retirement savings ~$1.1M exclusive of emergency funds and home equity, and both of us are set on hitting our number and quitting The Game as early as feasible without living a Mr Money Mustache lifestyle (hopefully in our early 40s). Had a much longer post typed up, but decided it was cathartic ranting and most of it was ultimately not relevant so saved it off to a text file. :) Bottom line: I currently work for a DoD contractor in an EXTREMELY stable position that has an excellent pay/benefits package but is also extremely demanding to the point of complete burnout at the moment with limited hope fo...
by MattE
Fri Jun 03, 2022 8:35 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Should we buy a cheap home for a mentally ill family member?
Replies: 61
Views: 8939

Re: Should we buy a cheap home for a mentally ill family member?

My family went this exact route a decade or so ago. My mother is a severe paranoid schizophrenic whose disassociation from reality prevents her from holding steady/meaningful employment and for related reasons also had trouble holding down lodging when left to her own devices. After being evicted from a few low-income housing options, several of my well-off uncles all pitched in and bought a run-down-but-livable ~$50K home for cash in a LCOL living area near where she and my younger siblings moved after I left for college that is exactly as you describe (dead-ish blue collar town that never fully recovered from the collapse of the coal industry in the area 100 years ago). She qualifies for Social Security disability payments which provides ...
by MattE
Wed Jan 27, 2021 10:51 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [GameStop GME trading mega-thread]
Replies: 5086
Views: 396926

Re: GameStop GME: anyone joining?

I am incredibly entertained by the fact the retail activity on this has basically brought Vanguard, TD, Schwab, and a couple other major investment companies' websites to their knees. TD just instituted restrictions on allowing their users to trade GME, AMC, and BB which seems to have some ethical questions to answer as well.
by MattE
Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:34 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Career question
Replies: 12
Views: 1671

Re: Career question

I strongly disagree with management making use of such internal move veto power even when it's potentially in their short term interest, because it ultimately does nothing but sow dissent and is incredibly unfair to the employee. I would have a very frank discussion with your immediate manager, preferably with your new manager in the room, where the conditions, timelines, and expectations for your move being authorized are outlined and agreed to. I would also make it clear to your current manager that her actions are not appreciated and at some point it will create an untenable working environment. You would call a meeting of your immediate and future managers, have a "frank discussion" with them, and demand they outline and agre...
by MattE
Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:28 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Who else is working longer hours from home with frozen/reduced compensation?
Replies: 26
Views: 3526

Re: Who else is working longer hours from home with frozen/reduced compensation?

8foot7 wrote: Sun Apr 12, 2020 2:19 pm
I suspect the wished-for outcome is not necessarily “pay more” but rather “staff commensurate with the workload” — this could be clearly conveyed by repeated warnings that schedules are not possible, deadlines will slip etc. I think that in many cases extra hours from existing employees is expected to cover up these manpower holes particularly in times of crisis.

Not recommending it. But it is an approach.
Bingo. If I was paid beyond 80 hours per pay period I'd consider it, but that's not a long term solution; the answer is properly staffing the task.
by MattE
Sat Apr 11, 2020 8:51 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Career question
Replies: 12
Views: 1671

Re: Career question

I strongly disagree with management making use of such internal move veto power even when it's potentially in their short term interest, because it ultimately does nothing but sow dissent and is incredibly unfair to the employee. I would have a very frank discussion with your immediate manager, preferably with your new manager in the room, where the conditions, timelines, and expectations for your move being authorized are outlined and agreed to. I would also make it clear to your current manager that her actions are not appreciated and at some point it will create an untenable working environment.
by MattE
Sat Apr 11, 2020 8:42 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Who else is working longer hours from home with frozen/reduced compensation?
Replies: 26
Views: 3526

Re: Who else is working longer hours from home with frozen/reduced compensation?

I work at a STEM research lab where are the technical and management staff are OT exempt, and compensation stops at 80 hrs per 2 week pay period. While it is not required and almost never explicitly asked, let alone directed, the culture in general somewhat encourages people, especially those that are critical contributors or leaders for whatever their current tasking is, to put in the hours necessary to have the tasking completed well. This is especially true now, as people are trying to adapt to the sudden shift to the WAH environment while also ensuring efforts that require people to still be physically in the office are being accomplished. I very, VERY strongly disagree with that, and generally agree with the sentiment OleMiss shared ab...
by MattE
Wed Apr 08, 2020 11:29 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Refinance Mega Thread
Replies: 12862
Views: 1265751

Re: Refinance Mega Thread

1.1 points, ~$3100 on that size loan. Could have done 2.875 with no points but needed the lower rate to make it worth my while since our existing mortgage was already only 3.25% and we pre-pay it fairly aggressively.
by MattE
Wed Apr 08, 2020 11:04 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Refinance Mega Thread
Replies: 12862
Views: 1265751

Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Didn't know anything about the Amex offer till you said that -- don't have one and wouldn't have opened one just for the credit anyway. A+B+C total was 100% of that. Total cash to close is a $110 recording fee, 8 months tax escrow, 2 months insurance escrow, 15 days prepaid interest on top of that.
by MattE
Wed Apr 08, 2020 9:52 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Refinance Mega Thread
Replies: 12862
Views: 1265751

Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Just locked with Better for 2.5% on a $285K 15 year fixed with $4800 in total closing costs, $550 of which will get refunded at settlement since we didn't need an appraisal. The online rate quote originally came back with $5800 in closing costs, but the mortgage agent assigned to me got another $1K knocked off almost instantly when I told him my tripwire for moving forward with anything was 2.5% with < $5K in closing costs. Aimloan had them slightly beat prior to that ($5600 in closing costs on 2.5% 15 year fixed) but was not willing to negotiate on points or fees to lower that.
by MattE
Sat Apr 04, 2020 9:35 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Why Do So Many Recommend 70% - 100% Stocks?
Replies: 167
Views: 11656

Re: Why Do So Many Recommend 70% - 100% Stocks?

The logical fallacies in action this topic are...significant. OP, your personal risk tolerance is not in alignment with any of the investment profiles being discussed, and that's perfectly fine, because that's a personal, subjective decision based on your own emotional and mental state. But do not try to rationalize it and claim everyone else is wrong, because the math and collective sum of historical data simply and objective does not support your point. Your reliance on what's available through Portfolio Visualizer, whether you realize it or not, is causing you to heavily cherry pick data sets.
by MattE
Sun Mar 22, 2020 9:10 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Easiest way to file child's taxes
Replies: 11
Views: 871

Re: Easiest way to file child's taxes

I've used CreditKarma's online tax software the past two years and it 1) is totally free 2) will let you file for pretty much any situation 3) also does state filing for free and 4) is at least as easy to use as TurboTax.
by MattE
Sun Mar 08, 2020 9:18 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Re: Refinance Mega Thread
Replies: 23
Views: 2564

Re: Refinance Mega Thread

NASA Federal Credit Union 15 year fixed @ 2.375% with no points. Waiting to get a quote on final closing costs but looking like the $1-$2K range.
by MattE
Fri Nov 15, 2019 9:22 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Tax Optimization
Replies: 12
Views: 1737

Re: Tax Optimization

https://www.i-orp.com/ Probably closest you're going to get
by MattE
Mon Apr 15, 2019 10:39 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: When should i invest in my taxable account?
Replies: 6
Views: 1199

Re: When should i inevest in my taxable account?

I do a once-a-month sweep after I know the big bills have been paid where I move all of the excess in our checking accounts to Vanguard, leaving a ~$1K buffer in our checking accounts at all times in case something hits off-cycle or unexpectedly.
by MattE
Mon Apr 15, 2019 9:14 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Next Steps Help
Replies: 5
Views: 677

Re: Next Steps Help

Seems like your tIRA contributions are non-deductible\after-tax and therefore should be looking at backdoor Roth conversions.
by MattE
Mon Apr 08, 2019 4:02 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How far from retirement should you start adjusting asset allocation?
Replies: 14
Views: 1685

Re: How far from retirement should you start adjusting asset allocation?

I think the "early retirement" part here might be being overlooked. You're basically in the exact same situation my wife and I project being in ~10 years and I've recently been thinking and reading up quite a bit on adjustments that need to be made from conventional retirement rules of thumb to support the very long (50+ year) time horizons someone trying to retiring in their early 40s has as a reality. One of the more interesting studies\arguments I've seen is that for those type of time spans, you actually incur the lowest sequence of returns risk by having a reverse glide path once you hit retirement -- that is, follow the normal rules of thumb (e.g., age or age - x where x is typically between 10 and 20 in bonds) to draw down ...
by MattE
Fri Apr 05, 2019 11:09 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Married couples: can you have a team mentality with separate finances?
Replies: 183
Views: 12646

Re: Married couples: can you have a team mentality with separate finances?

My wife and I have separate personal checking accounts that our paychecks go into, but a joint savings account linked to those, joint credit cards, and tied-together accounts for everything else (e.g., our Vanguard accounts are set for either person to be permitted to make transactions on them, even for things like IRAs that are required to be in one person or the other's name). The amount that remains in the personal checking accounts is really a matter of trust between the two of us -- I rely on her being honest with me about what her balance is and vice versa, and we take a team approach to paying bills and taking savings out of those accounts. For example, we typically pay the mortgage out of her checking account and most of the other b...
by MattE
Tue Mar 19, 2019 8:58 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Struggling with debts and upcoming events, what are my options?
Replies: 51
Views: 5179

Re: Struggling with debts and upcoming events, what are my options?

I always have to roll my eyes at the people in these topics that look at significant problems like this where large sums of money need to be moved or drastic options need to be explored to meaningfully tackle the problem and their response is to worry about $10\mo Netflix subscriptions. Yes there's the whole "an elephant gets eaten one bite at a time"-type trope, but that kind of advice is really fundamentally unhelpful and useless in these type of situations.
by MattE
Thu Jan 17, 2019 8:58 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What to do this weekend in Tokyo?
Replies: 19
Views: 2059

Re: What to do this weekend in Tokyo?

How old are you and how adventurous are you willing to get? The Metro system is incredibly easy to use for English speakers (everything is co-signed and audibly announced in Japanese and English) with the only catch being that there's 3 different subway companies so not all the lines are interconnected or have interchangeable fare cards. caffeeperfavore hit some of the general things I'd suggest -- dinner in Omoide Yokocho in Shinjuku followed by drinking at one of the foreigner-friendly bars (obvious on the basis of having English signs) in Golden Gai is a good way to kill an evening. Tsukiji fish market used to be a must-do morning till lunchtime (get breakfast then wander the stalls) activity, but they just relocated the commercial whole...
by MattE
Fri Dec 28, 2018 11:40 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Help with understanding wash sale
Replies: 4
Views: 389

Re: Help with understanding wash sale

ossipago wrote: Fri Dec 28, 2018 11:03 pm
My question is, if I sell all shares associated with the most recent four lots, and make no further purchases of shares in this mutual fund for the next 30 days, do I face any wash sale issues?
No.
by MattE
Fri Dec 21, 2018 1:27 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Tax Loss Harvesting, Wash Sales, and Target Date Funds
Replies: 7
Views: 1246

Re: Tax Loss Harvesting, Wash Sales, and Target Date Funds

That's not really the issue in question, though. This also specifically becomes a problem if you own a Target Date fund in a tax-sheltered account like a traditional or Roth IRA. For example, let's say you own shares in VTSMX originally purchased for $1000 in a taxable account, and later sell them at $900 for TLH purposes. If you make a purchase of or have dividends reinvested in VFORX (of which 51% is directly comprised of VTSMX shares) within 30 days of the VTSMX sale, does that trigger a wash sale? Edit: Though I suppose I'd be interested in hearing the rationale for considering TR2020 and 2025 not substantially identical, given that the only portfolio difference is the addition of TIPS to 2020 and that they otherwise carry the same perc...
by MattE
Fri Dec 21, 2018 12:39 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Tax Loss Harvesting, Wash Sales, and Target Date Funds
Replies: 7
Views: 1246

Tax Loss Harvesting, Wash Sales, and Target Date Funds

There's been a plethora of topics on TLH in general since it's that time of year, but searching the board I couldn't find anything covering this exact question. Vanguard Target Date funds are composed of a scaling percentage of Vanguard's Total Stock, Total International Stock, Total Bond, and Total International Bond investor funds (e.g., Vanguard TR2040 [VFORX] is currently composed of 51% VTSMX, 34% VGTSX, 11% VTBIX, and 4% VTIBX). Let's say you own one or more of the individual funds that compose the target date fund, and sell it for TLH purposes at the end of the year. Is the target date fund considered "substantially identical" enough to trigger a wash if purchased within +\- 30 days of the sale given that it is partially di...
by MattE
Mon Jun 11, 2018 1:25 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: daughter wants a college transfer?
Replies: 65
Views: 7419

Re: daughter wants a college transfer?

Omsbudsman moment: Cornell doesn't actually have an elevated suicide rate relative to other colleges, it's just the high visibility, makes-the-news nature of suicides at the gorges that makes it seem so.
by MattE
Thu Jun 07, 2018 12:01 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Top Shelf Liquor Overrated?
Replies: 191
Views: 25904

Re: Top Shelf Liquor Overrated?

I see Cardhu, Glenfiddich 12-yr, Glenmorangie 10-yr, Laphroaig 10-year, and Glenlivet 12-yr in that $40-45 range (tax included). Yet I know not enough whether any of these are the MD 20/20 of Scotch... Pretty much everything you listed is firmly in the "this is perfectly acceptable but not particularly distinguishable" category. With the exception of maybe Laphroaig which is known for being a bit more heavy-handed on the smoky\sea-salty flavors, you can drink all of those neat and go "Yep, this is scotch" without being offended, thrown off by harsh notes, or particularly wowed by any interesting\noteworthy flavor profiles. I personally keep a bottle of Glenfiddich 12 around for common consumption when I have friends ove...
by MattE
Thu Jun 07, 2018 8:34 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Top Shelf Liquor Overrated?
Replies: 191
Views: 25904

Re: Top Shelf Liquor Overrated?

Once a brand becomes "the latest and the greatest" the quality is sure to suffer. A recent example in my experience is Angel's Envy bourbon, which is aged in port wine barrels. I received a bottle as a gift a few years ago and found it to be a pleasant bourbon to drink neat. According to my local liquor store manager, it was unavailable for awhile. When it became available, I bought a bottle and discovered that it was a typical wholesale bourbon sold by many distilleries to commercial bottlers. There are many more labels for booze than there are distilleries. DMW Something terribly wrong, there. To legally be labeled "bourbon" the mash cannot be aged in anything but new oak barrels. That's the law. I'll also point out t...
by MattE
Sun Jun 03, 2018 10:24 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Any aerospace engineers? Pros v. cons of working for NASA v. private sector
Replies: 50
Views: 12160

Re: Any aerospace engineers? Pros v. cons of working for NASA v. private sector

I got my B.S. in Aerospace and worked as a satellite operations and systems engineer for a Fortune 100 company as a NASA contractor for 5.5 years out of college before completing my Master's (in Systems Engineering) and moving on to better position in a different field at a non-profit research lab. Working for the contractor I did was awful, and was ultimately the reason I left. Employees were faceless numbers, raises were small, standardized, and issued on a forced bell curve system amongst teams regardless of their size (so a high-performing 4 or 5 person project team was still going to have 1 or 2 people forcibly rated 'below expectations' on performance evals), promotions were handed out based on time-in-service rather than merit, and H...
by MattE
Fri Apr 06, 2018 5:53 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How often do you replace your office shoes?
Replies: 58
Views: 8244

Re: How often do you replace your office shoes?

I replace mine probably once a year because I wear my every-day, beat-'em-up Nikes to my office 'cause I couldn't possibly concur more vigorously with FlyAF. Any day that doesn't involve customer interaction has no need for a dress code.
by MattE
Fri Apr 06, 2018 11:13 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Did I Just Do? (Possible Scam)
Replies: 13
Views: 3991

Re: What Did I Just Do? (Possible Scam)

It sounds like you got a text from a legitimate fraud prevention system and the most likely explanation is that the phone number on file for the person that card actually belongs to is wrong.
by MattE
Thu Apr 05, 2018 3:12 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Asking for a raise/promotion with another offer in hand
Replies: 103
Views: 10719

Re: Asking for a raise/promotion with another offer in hand

My manager's boss stopped by and said he is working on something for me, but I'm going to go ahead and accept the other offer unless I have something official in writing today. I've never been in this situation before, what happens if I accept the offer from the other company and afterwards my current company counters with something I would be satisfied with? I feel like it would be rude/unprofessional to not follow through on a job offer I accepted. It's really up to you. On one hand I agree it's definitely not a good look to renege on a job offer you've accepted and signed, but things happen and unless it's a particularly small industry where that could circle back on you or you feel it's likely you might want to pursue employment with t...
by MattE
Thu Apr 05, 2018 2:29 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Asking for a raise/promotion with another offer in hand
Replies: 103
Views: 10719

Re: Asking for a raise/promotion with another offer in hand

They are willing to pay more because of perceived value. The OP has to deliver. Higher pay comes with higher expectations. That’s just the way it is. And higher performance comes with higher expectations in terms of pay, and it's absolutely not true that (most) employers will elevate that amount to match the employee's performance or actual value if they think\know they can get away with not doing so. Employment is a two-way street and if the employer isn't going to take action to pay the employee what they're worth, the employee has absolutely no reason to not force them in that direction rather than just eating it with a smile. I find a lot of your comments in this topic infuriating if not borderline insulting on principle. They're certa...
by MattE
Fri Feb 23, 2018 10:54 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Should I ask for a larger raise at yearly review?
Replies: 37
Views: 4229

Re: Should I ask for a larger raise at yearly review?

Personally, I'd push in that situation as well. In software remote work isn't exactly a rare extravagance and most STEM firms offer some level of reimbursement for continuing education including graduate school, so they're not really separating themselves from the pack there. If you're an above-average employee being paid a below average wage, make a play for what you reasonably think you're worth. IMO, the people telling you to deal with it in this topic are the people that either a) are the people who get trapped below their value or b) trap others into staying below their value. I wouldn't be hostile about it, but I would come into your review armed with facts about where you on the wage scale relative to your performance and be honest a...
by MattE
Mon Aug 14, 2017 4:44 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Aug. 2017 US total eclipse hotel reservations.
Replies: 83
Views: 12281

Re: Aug. 2017 US total eclipse hotel reservations.

The eclipse is only going to last for 2 to 3 minutes. To me, it seems excessive to travel and rent hotel rooms for 2 to 3 minutes. To each her own. It's a celestial event creating irreproducible natural phenomena (360 degree sunsets, visible solar corona and chromosphere, fauna going totally silent due to the unexpected day\night shift, etc.) that's visible in a given region generally 2-3 times in a lifetime at most. This isn't going to Times Square to watch the ball drop or any of the other similarly inappropriate analogies I've seen. Anyway, for people traveling in the Pac NW, it's also worth noting that several wildfires in central and and southwestern Oregon are also threatening to either close only-route highways or reduce visibility ...
by MattE
Mon Jul 31, 2017 2:05 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Cheap "starter" home or stretch "forever" home?
Replies: 18
Views: 2680

Re: Cheap "starter" home or stretch "forever" home?

Are you working in the city proper? Is commuting from one of the bedroom communities just not a plausible option? $350K total \ $2400 per month gets you goodish schools, great communities, and 2000+ square feet, 3+ BR, 2+ BA with land up the Red Line or out in Howard County....even up the Silver Line towards Chantilly you can do much better than that real estate-wise though my understanding is the schools are so-so.
by MattE
Mon Jul 31, 2017 11:19 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Your "at peace" moments.
Replies: 144
Views: 22313

Re: Your "at peace" moments.

Sitting at the top of an uncrowded ski slope, strapped in and ready to drop on my snowboard, but taking a minute or so to just look out over the vista before doing so.
by MattE
Tue Apr 25, 2017 2:58 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Car troubles?
Replies: 18
Views: 2115

Re: Car troubles?

Strong second\third\however-th to the people that also said to do the spark plugs and brake pads yourself. You can do them yourself in an afternoon with absolutely zero prior car knowledge, YouTube, and a socket wrench set, and save yourself probably close to $500 in the process. I'm not a car guy at all and have relatively limited insight to the purpose of most things under the hood or in the undercarriage, but I still always do that maintenance myself because it's so straightforward.
by MattE
Fri Apr 21, 2017 8:11 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Why never speak badly about boss? [Need Bogleheads' wisdom]
Replies: 138
Views: 18779

Re: Why never speak badly about boss? [Need Bogleheads' wisdom]

The extent to which people on this board are willing to eat **** with a smile is totally baffling to me. A large portion of a manager's job is to facilitate ways to make those under them more effective\productive. If there's something about them that's causing that to be not true, then they're now actively hindering your production and are a roadblock you need to address if possible in order to do the best job you can, just like any other problem that may arise. If provided an opportunity to give them feedback, take it, and make your own opportunity if not given it. If it's a particularly hostile situation, take it up for HR or your next level. If you're worthwhile as an employee, something will be done to rectify the situation. Or you need...
by MattE
Tue Apr 11, 2017 10:40 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Dream vacation spots?
Replies: 81
Views: 12421

Re: Dream vacation spots?

My wife and I are looking at having our first spawn in the next year-ish, so I made a concerted effort to knock out at least one true bucket list-type trip before that happens. Spent two weeks in Japan this past February: 4 days sightseeing in Tokyo, 1 day sightseeing in Sapporo during Yuki Matsuri, and 8 days sidecountry snowboarding all over western\northern Hokkaido in snow conditions unlike anything else I'll see in my life. Worth every cent and every minute of planning (which was substantial).

I'd very much still like to do backpacking trips in Patagonia and Denali and heli-snowboarding in Alaska or the Canadian Rockies.
by MattE
Fri Apr 07, 2017 12:57 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Cost of Booze on a Cruise
Replies: 68
Views: 10179

Re: Cost of Booze on a Cruise

I've done a half dozen Carnival and one Norwegian cruise, and on every single trip my wife and I stashed at least one 1.75L bottle of a "utility liquor" like vodka that can be mixed with just about anything in our bags and had them pass through security without any issues. Several friends have done the same and the only time they've had anything confiscated was when they tried to carry glass than rather soft\hard plastic bottles. And even if gets confiscated, the cruise line will generally return it to you on the last day of the trip along with anything they had on hold from duty-free purchases. It's really a no-lose situation to try and bring some with you to mix cocktails in your stateroom.
by MattE
Fri Apr 07, 2017 12:46 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Packing cubes for travel
Replies: 60
Views: 6709

Re: Packing cubes for travel

I travel frequently for work, and several times a year provide engineering support for field tests that last up to a month. During that time I might be staying in field quarters where the space provided for personal items is at an absolute minimum (think: a single drawer under a bed) for up to two weeks at a time. I've gotten quite adept at fitting 3 weeks+ worth of clothing into a single carry-on bag on my own (you'd be shocked at how little space a shirt can take up when you roll it into a tiny cylinder), but after having used packing cubes for my last trip I wouldn't go back to packing everything loosely into a bag for anything.
by MattE
Sun Jul 10, 2016 9:29 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: August vacation to Glacier NP
Replies: 21
Views: 3878

Re: August vacation to Glacier NP

Depending on when in August and where in the park you're at, be prepared for cold weather. In late August there's a very real chance Logan Pass and part of the park east of the Divide can be in the highs 30s\low 40s with snow at the higher elevations, even on days where the west side may be in the 60s and sunny. We saw several children not much older than your daughter tackling some of the popular longer day hikes like Grinnell Glacier (with their parents carrying all of the daypack load, of course), but those are still fairly long and I'm not sure someone quite that young would make it the whole way without getting exhausted and\or cranky. As someone else said, the Hidden Lake trail at Logan Pass is a solid one if you're driving\riding GTT...
by MattE
Mon Apr 04, 2016 3:03 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Five Best National Parks to Visit?
Replies: 99
Views: 13610

Re: Five Best National Parks to Visit?

I spent a week backpacking in Glacier late last August and thought it was the most breathtaking place I've ever been even with the haze from the historic fire season the northwest had last year, which is saying something because I've backpacked and snowboarded some pretty awesome places.
by MattE
Sat Mar 26, 2016 12:03 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Financially, how have you done/doing vs. your parents?
Replies: 134
Views: 18428

Re: Financially, how have you done/doing vs. your parents?

My parents were\are uneducated blue collar workers and were\are fiscally irresponsible dolts on top of that. At 27 I make more than both of them combined at any point in their lives and I'm pretty sure I passed their peak net worth within a year or two of graduating college. I'm the oldest of four, though, and the outlook for my siblings is less rosy. One of my sisters finishes college next month and is putting herself in position to do relatively well for herself long-term, but the current trajectory for the other two has them fitting right in with our parents.
by MattE
Sun Mar 20, 2016 8:42 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Removing mildew from vinyl siding
Replies: 25
Views: 6306

Re: Removing mildew from vinyl siding

ThankYouJack wrote:The grime is really stuck on my driveway, so it's really tough to pressure wash evenly (much tougher than my vinyl siding). I was thinking a solution could help loosen up the really tough stuff. Or I may need a gas power pressure washer or pro to do the whole driveway evenly without it taking forever.
Electric pressure washers may as well not exist for how useless they are at anything other than rinsing cars.
by MattE
Sat Mar 19, 2016 4:23 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Removing mildew from vinyl siding
Replies: 25
Views: 6306

Re: Removing mildew from vinyl siding

I've always had great success with just regular dish soap, hot water, and a scrub brush on the end of a pole (I got a 10 foot telescoping one from Home Depot that works great and lets me reach all the way to my roof from the top of a 10 foot ladder). Doesn't even take that much force\pressure, comes right off. Works a lot better than my 3000 psi pressure washer ever did.
by MattE
Tue Mar 31, 2015 3:17 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Honeymoon Ideas
Replies: 31
Views: 5190

Re: Honeymoon Ideas

When my wife and I got married in 2011, we did a 7-day Carnival cruise of the southern Caribbean that left out of\returned to San Juan, PR and stopped in St. Kitts, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, St. Lucia, and Barbados. Cruise + airfare (round trip from PHL) + ground transportation ended up something like $1400pp including an upgrade to a balcony room on the boat; it would've been like $250pp less with a cheap interior cabin. We went kayaking in St. Kitts, scuba diving in St. Thomas, zip lining at a restored cocoa plantation in St. Lucia, jet skiing in St. Maarten, and on a catamaran trip that included lunch, booze, and snorkeling and sea turtles in Barbados for what totaled up to something like $400pp more. You can hang out on beaches and do ch...