Bogleheads.org

I like to ask the recruiter/HR person for the compensation of a position during the initial screening. With multi-round interviews so common, this can save you a lot of time. It is law they disclose this for a few states. It's almost certain they have created a budget for the position when they created it.

If you're at the point of having an onsite, then you'll have to wait for an offer. You'll need to understand the market to see if it's fair. They probably will have some wiggle room, but not a lot. Playing hardball (that some people strongly advocate for) can get an offer rescinded as they likely have a pool of candidates to choose from.

rockstar wrote: ↑Mon Mar 13, 2023 11:52 am Greyhound from rescue.

They’re not small. But they’re the calmest dogs I’ve met.

I agree with this, 100%. I know someone that surrendered their greyhound for being "too calm".

Sometimes the decision comes down the amount of disruption a pro will cause. For example, if I DIY, I don't have to move all the furniture like a pro would require. I can just do things piecemeal when I DIY and shuffle things around the room. (Obviously it takes a lot longer this way.)

If you need safe money set aside for a fixed period of time, the rates of brokered CD's seem hard to beat. I just bought a 14 month CD at 5.3% via Vanguard.

I put Douglas tires on an old car of ours that is used in town and they are excellent. They are made by Goodyear and ours had a date code of one month old - factory fresh. No complaints.

All of our mattresses were made in a mattress factory located in our state which sells in their own outlets. We have been very happy with the quality and prices.

I don't think a $3k mattress is generally worth it or vastly different than a far cheaper mattress. The expensive mattress may even be identical to cheaper ones, and simply adds an extra layer of foam, different color, etc. (Classic price differentiation.)

My all time favorite mattress was cheap and firm, bought on clearance at a furniture store.

runner3081 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 12, 2023 7:58 am Have <$250K in Ally, they are our main bank, not worried.

Went through this w/WaMu back in the day

Same. Stay under the FDIC limit and all is good. Having been through one bank failure, you'll get a letter and a new name on your bank statements if something happens.

I never thought we'd go through this kind of thing (early 1980's inflation) again in my lifetime.

evelynmanley wrote: ↑Thu Mar 09, 2023 7:52 am I have had the most horrible experiences with Honda with my last two cars. I don't trust any of the dealers and will never buy a Honda again. I found that the only way to resolve any issues with a dealer is to contact corporate. The most recent number I have for corporate is 888-234-2138.

Every dealer is different, but I found Honda to be the "least bad" out the major brands for purchasing a new car. Honda seemed to do better than others as far as having vehicles in stock at the time and selling at volume. Warranty repairs have been hit and miss.

I would also want a 20% - 30% increase to make it worth it. (And maybe even a little more to cover the pain of moving my family.) If you didn't have a job, then things would be different. You need a hiring bonus to cover loss of unvested benefits, bonus etc.

You need enough upside to cover the risk of having a bad manager or walking into a bad company. Keep in mind bonuses can be $0 in a bad year and there's nothing you can do about it. Money isn't everything and plenty of people make regretful job hops.

AlwaysLearningMore wrote: ↑Thu Mar 09, 2023 7:05 pm

ClevrChico wrote: ↑Thu Mar 09, 2023 6:50 pm Great podcast, thanks! I thought inflation was going to be shorter-term....

Holding inflation-protected bonds can be a wise move.

Thanks! What would be the potential downside/risk of exiting total bond and replacing it with a TIPS fund?

Great podcast, thanks! I thought inflation was going to be shorter-term. We'll see. I'll stay the course and continue buying some i-bonds.

I'm in a city and that link is generally very accurate. But, the website doesn't know about the biggest noise offenders I encounter at home: Neighbors with modified trucks that like to warm them up on winter mornings.

One has a non-stock diesel truck that high idles, sounds like a giant vacuum, and fills the air with diesel fumes for a good block.

There's a few houses in my neighborhood that have built a second garage behind their primary garage (on which they added a pass through door and short drive). That might be something to consider.

When interest rates were low, that might not have been a mistake at all.

eldinerocheapo wrote: ↑Thu Jan 06, 2022 11:02 am ... where Jim Cramer was in his early twenties, and a local reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat newspaper. His work on the Ted Bundy murders and trial, were worthy of the Pulitzer prize. Fast forward a few decades, and here he is as a financial analyst and pundit who is both entertaining and informative. I see him as the heir to Louis Rukyeser who hosted Wall Street Week on PBS for years, and was a giant in the industry....

I didn't realize that, very interesting. Cramer is very talented. I usually catch the Mad Money podcast a few times a week for "business news" and "entertainment". It's my replacement for Wall Street Week on PBS. I don't act on any of Cramer's recommendations.

Upgrading windows and insulation could likely fix the sound issue for far less than the costs of moving in the same area.

Alternatively, if you have no office to go to, you could relocate to a lower cost of living area, upgrade the house, and pocket a lot of cash.

asset_chaos wrote: ↑Sat Mar 04, 2023 6:44 am Just do the jury duty. It's not that bad.

I agree. It's usually a once in a lifetime experience and the odds are slim you'll get chosen for a trial. Ignoring this type of thing never works out well.

Some charities will reimburse for mileage or pay for gas if you submit receipts. The charity I was involved left the option up to the volunteers. They could "donate" their transportation expenses or get reimbursed. It was the least we could do for hard working volunteers.

The hype around ChatGPT is interesting. Having used it a lot, it seems to be an advanced Clippy. It can be very helpful and also very wrong. Imagine dumping index funds in the 1990's due to Clippy. Companies spending huge amounts of money on hype and acquisitions often doesn't work out well.

I'll keep "doing nothing" and "chilling".

Fence/gate is common here. Even better, build a garage.

pizzy wrote: ↑Mon Feb 27, 2023 4:13 pm Quickly? Throw it all away.

Whatever you decide, do everyone a favor and don't donate junk. It's a burden, not a benefit.

This is the way. Toss what you're not going to use in the near future without regret.

When you're gifted/given things you'll never use, toss/recycle asap. Don't take them to your attic or basement for long term storage. Gifting culture seems to have reached the same level of craziness as tipping culture.

It's very accurate for my neighborhood. There's only a few variations of housing plans and Zillow seems to correctly adjust for lot sizes. Also, the market is active here, so there's lot of data on actual sales.

In a slow market with lots of custom homes, I would guess its accuracy is not as good.

Immelmann wrote: ↑Fri Feb 24, 2023 4:26 pm
- Buy a couple years worth and hold until holding period met, try to time the sales (reduces tax burden, but lots of market risk).

You would need to calculate this out for your tax situation. But, if there is no lookback and it's a slow growth stock, the tax benefits of holding for a qualified disposition are likely very small. In my similar situation, it was < $10/lot benefit.

leeks wrote: ↑Wed Feb 22, 2023 11:42 amK-12 school.

So true, regarding school!

To add another - The base model Bosch dishwasher. It's a fantastic appliance and only gives up a few db of quietness over higher priced models.

I felt like I peaked in my late 20's, but still feel mostly the same into my middle age. Avoiding bad habits and staying active seems to work. I'm not sure if it's real, but I joke with my kids that I have "old man strength" when I'm able to do something I wasn't sure was possible.

With the VIN number (which is displayed under the front window), a dealer can lookup the key codes to cut a new key. I can't imagine anyone would go to the trouble to do this/risk their dealer job, but you never know.

I've found Glassdoor to be invaluable. Looking at my own Megacorp, the total pay is accurate, but the component breakdown very is flawed. (Profit sharing, commissions, and stock aren't even available.)

I'd only pay attention to Glassdoor total pay and also compare Blind, Levels, and H1B databases.

There is a lot of tech hiring happening outside of "pure tech" companies. Salary, benefits, and WLB can still be great. (Although, there are no RSU's and you won't get a senior VP title at age 35.)

It's easy enough to look up a company on Google Finance and check their profitability. Being rejected by "big tech" companies got me here, so there wasn't any navigation. It's worked out well.

I've had a check similar to the amount I made during a summer job when I was in school. We got a good laugh out of it at the house.

If it's too much to stomach, you can back off at anytime and replenish your reserves.

I've had refunds of $15k and underpayments of $15k. It's a big moving target with changes in tax law and payroll providers. My goal is $0 owed by either party.

The ability to easily get into and out of the car might be at the top of the list if you're older.

I buy name brands, sometimes new old stock (instead of knock offs), and never had a problem. If a lithium battery has had trauma, I store it outside until I can get it to the recycler.

Parking outside is fine. The paint and body are going to get a lot more wear and tear with constant UV exposure and no chance to "dry out" sheltered, but it's not the end of the world. Minor vandalism is more likely, such as "egging" or getting a busted tail light. Keep the car locked. It takes noticeably longer to warm up in the winter.

Mechanically, I doubt there's much impact.

Larger non-profit events and fundraisers might be what you're looking for. You'll get to meet and socialize with some movers and shakers. After the big wigs were seated, we got to dine on a very nice meal in a fancy venue.

They usually love volunteers and it's not physically demanding.

On a naval theme, Batfish: The Champion "Submarine-Killer" Submarine of World War II by Hughston E. Lowder. It's an entertaining, quick read, unlike some WW2 books that tend to be dry history.

US WW2 naval power was absolutely amazing.

The real modern James Bond is likely dailying a Casio G-Shock or Timex Ironman. He'd save the luxury watch for attending weddings.

This has been my experience with ALL banks. You'll want to claim it.

I let the cars drip dry in the driveway before moving them into the garage as much as possible. I also take a ball-peen hammer to major accumulated snow and ice on the undercarriage and wheel wells while outside. (Just be careful! ) This takes care of most of the problem.

I like option three. KISS

As far as M1, I'd worry about the risk of them getting acquired and changing fees. I also had an M1 sales person call me, and I got the feeling they would be getting their transfer bonus back in fees somehow. Their credit card seemed like a fad. Pass for me, but I know some people love them.

It seems unusual to get a discount on a co-pay. Why was there a discount?

I do sympathize with you, as I've been told twice that a procedure was covered 100% for the kids by the dental office, only to get it covered at 0%. They wouldn't budge a cent. They can't understand all the quirks of everyone's insurance, so they probably also shouldn't give any indication of coverage. Our megacorp switches insurance providers every few years, which is maddening.

In the end, I paid it, claimed it on my HSA, and didn't stress about it anymore.

While not delivery, our regional "old fashioned" chain has curbside pickup which is amazing - Zero markup for curbside pickup, great brands, and fast service. Prices are slightly cheaper to slightly more than Wal-Mart depending on the item. I've stopped using Instacart as it was more hassle than it was worth.

I bought identical "Evenflo Chase Harnessed Booster" when my two kids were old enough for front facing carseats. It had very high ratings on Amazon and was very happy at the quality and price. Having identical carseats that operated the same way was nice.

Obviously the game hasn't started yet for you, just passing on some dad advice. I'd avoid anything bulky, complicated or super expensive, as kids have a way of destroying everything.

I'm still waiting on blockchain to do this. The best answer I've heard regarding chatgpt disruption is "we don't know yet".

At most companies, you aren't going to get strong every year, as there is a quota on ratings. Higher level ratings get rotated around to make things fair and keep the peace. Performance reviews are mostly theater. Adjust your effort accordingly.

As others stated, only be concerned with negative ratings.

water2357 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 23, 2023 9:53 pm So, has anyone else who has signed up for e-delivery but also want a mailed copy of their tax forms had this same thing happen to them?

I'm signed up for e-delivery for everything except my tax forms. The setting is still showing correctly on the website. I've received no emails indicating otherwise, so in my case everything is fine. My tax forms are available electronically now too.

Did you accidentally switch everything to e-delivery perhaps?

I would wait for a severance and work on keeping your skills current as much as possible. I've seen F500 coworkers in your situation eek it out over a decade of not really doing anything and keeping their job. I know that sounds crazy, but it happens all the time.

When I was on a board with about 1/10th your assets, we put them into CD's and never had any drama. (If you're on a board, you'll understand the benefit of one less thing to cause drama. Who is going to argue about a nice, safe CD at a local brick and mortar bank? ) That might be something to consider for a portion/all of your funds.

I also like the idea of paying Vanguard .3%. Or, pay a fiduciary an hourly rate. Definitely avoid the typical insurance salesman/FA.

My two cents from years of being free labor for a non-profit.

I've found the best deals at garage sales for name quality, name brand, pro tools. Of course there's a time component there. I also have a retired neighbor that gives me his duplicates of pro-grade tools. (Awesome neighbor! )

Insurance is for risks that you cannot self-insure against. If you can afford a one-time, expensive plumbing bill, pass on the insurance.

If it's company-provided parking, then no. I don't tip the workers in our company cafeteria.