Search found 1233 matches

by TSR
Mon Mar 18, 2024 3:54 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Lawn care for first time home buyer
Replies: 32
Views: 1417

Re: Lawn care for first time home buyer

If the only trees are in the back of the back yard, you may also be a decent candidate for a plug in mower. They are very powerful compared to battery, much cheaper, very quiet, easy on/off, etc. As a general matter, I'd try to keep all your tools of the same "type" - gas, battery electric, plug-in electric. I have a plug in edger and plug in hedge trimmers as well. Batteries tend to die right in the middle of a job, though I understand that those Ego ones are pretty good. But if you go gas I'd go ALL gas. A lot of this depends on how seriously you want to take all of this. For example, I don't care too much about having leaves in my yard, and I don't need immaculate grass (I'm a "mow the weeds" kind of guy). I usually j...
by TSR
Thu Mar 14, 2024 11:54 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: 2022 Ford Maverick Megathread...;-)
Replies: 179
Views: 25061

Re: 2022 Ford Maverick Megathread...;-)

Watty wrote: Thu Mar 14, 2024 11:31 am
TSR wrote: Thu Mar 14, 2024 10:39 am I'll say that this will be a replacement for my wife's 2004 Mazda 3,
If it is running OK now the Mazda 3 will likely sell for a non-trivial amount now.

If you wait to replace it for six months or a year there is a non-zero chance that it will have an expensive problem which might not be worth fixing which could put you in the position of needing to replace it quickly, and not get more for it than a trivial amount that a junkyard might pay your for a non-working 20+ year old car.
Another good point here. It's also a manual, which has a little bit of a niche market, so maybe that'll be worth $200 bucks more or something.
by TSR
Thu Mar 14, 2024 10:39 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: 2022 Ford Maverick Megathread...;-)
Replies: 179
Views: 25061

Re: 2022 Ford Maverick Megathread...;-)

I appreciate everyone's comments here. I likely phrased my question poorly, but the information I was looking for and think I have received is that (1) the hybrid models of this vehicle are still in short supply and moving quickly, (2) the price is sort of within the ballpark of rationality, and (3) it would not be totally crazy to move on this thing if this is the particular vehicle and trim we're looking for. I didn't have any information about the 2025 changes and I appreciate that. Regarding Watty's comments about possibly saving a couple hundred bucks on gas, I'll say that this will be a replacement for my wife's 2004 Mazda 3, so I don't anticipate a huge upgrade in gas mileage. However, I do anticipate a huge upgrade in safety feature...
by TSR
Wed Mar 13, 2024 5:22 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: 2022 Ford Maverick Megathread...;-)
Replies: 179
Views: 25061

Re: 2022 Ford Maverick Megathread...;-)

We are pretty sure that we want to purchase a 2024 Ford Maverick Lariat Hybrid. We have found one on a dealer lot that was a delivery that was not accepted by the buyer (per the dealer, the buyer ended up ordering a different vehicle). We have an out-the-door offer at MSRP, which is stated at $38,230 (plus tax/title/etc). With the full appreciation that some people think the "fancy" Maverick is not worth it, my question is whether we should try to negotiate the price below this. There is not a single hybrid Maverick on a lot near us aside from this one, so my inclination is just to go for it at this price. Any thoughts would be appreciated. You have to be willing to walk away and it doesn't sound like you are Right. I mean, there...
by TSR
Wed Mar 13, 2024 5:10 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: 2022 Ford Maverick Megathread...;-)
Replies: 179
Views: 25061

Re: 2022 Ford Maverick Megathread...;-)

We are pretty sure that we want to purchase a 2024 Ford Maverick Lariat Hybrid. We have found one on a dealer lot that was a delivery that was not accepted by the buyer (per the dealer, the buyer ended up ordering a different vehicle). We have an out-the-door offer at MSRP, which is stated at $38,230 (plus tax/title/etc). With the full appreciation that some people think the "fancy" Maverick is not worth it, my question is whether we should try to negotiate the price below this. There is not a single hybrid Maverick on a lot near us aside from this one, so my inclination is just to go for it at this price. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
by TSR
Mon Mar 11, 2024 9:06 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Wool slippers worth it?
Replies: 53
Views: 5217

Re: Wool slippers worth it?

Lot of good recommendations here but I want to answer a few of your more specific questions directly. I wear wool slippers all day throughout the fall, winter, and early spring. They get too hot after that, although they are firmly "three-season house shoes" where I live, which I think is pretty good value. I have never once had a problem with odor in them. It's not even remotely a consideration. So I can strongly recommend wool if that's your concern. Mine are Giesswein, which I purchased on the recommendation of someone here. Good product. I suspect the Glerups or other brands would be good as well. My strongest recommendation, however, is that you purchase the slip-on rather than the shoe. The reason for this is that my Giesswe...
by TSR
Mon Mar 11, 2024 8:43 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Looking for upright piano in northern / central NJ
Replies: 17
Views: 1240

Re: Looking for upright piano in northern / central NJ

Pianos are mechanical instruments, and as such they do not improve with age. Quite the opposite. The problem with most free and very cheap pianos is that they are usually more than 60 years old, which coincides with the shelf-life of the typical piano. A piano that old will struggle to be tuned properly unless it's refurbished. You can have pianos refurbished, but it's very expensive and you'd only do it for the finest instruments. I think the sweet spot for your son would be a used piano (15-20 years old?) in excellent condition. Think Yamaha, Kawai, etc. I'd also consider a "studio upright," which is the tallest variety. It's obviously the heaviest as well, but once you get it situated, it doesn't really take up any more footpri...
by TSR
Mon Mar 04, 2024 9:07 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Tom Bihn briefcase worth the money? Looking for a quality, lightweight laptop briefcase.
Replies: 21
Views: 2399

Re: Tom Bihn briefcase worth the money? Looking for a quality, lightweight laptop briefcase.

tm3 wrote: Mon Mar 04, 2024 6:27 am Researched Tom Bihn years ago, finally decided that the price wasn't justified. Since then have heard some CS anecdotes that justify my decision.

The bag I bought was a Filson, kind of limited in style options but well made and has held up very well.
I'm a little confused by this. I'm a big fan of Filson, but the current cost of their briefcase is $495. The two briefcases OP is asking about are ~$185. Do you think the Filson has that much more value to justify the cost?
by TSR
Thu Feb 29, 2024 1:10 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Best water heater with solar
Replies: 55
Views: 5233

Re: Best water heater with solar

Great thoughts here. Unfortunately, we are fairly committed to gas heat through radiator/boiler at this point. I don't know that it would make sense to switch to a heat pump. At least, it would be logistically very difficult. I think we're in a climate that could sustain it though (i.e., it gets cold, but not THAT cold). We also have a gas oven, though it would not be too difficult to switch to electric/induction I suppose. If I'm reading you right, you're suggesting that the above facts might make switching water heat to electric less appealing, just because it's not getting us closer to zero gas, and we're already paying the service charge, right? Not that that decides it, necessarily. Exactly right. I have solar and gas and with the sit...
by TSR
Wed Feb 28, 2024 8:47 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Best water heater with solar
Replies: 55
Views: 5233

Re: Best water heater with solar

couple of considerations. Free is free! Power wise that's not a bad deal. You have the options of cheap or complex water heating but for YOU the cost of usage is zero. I would tend towards the non-heat pump. Heat pumps steal heat from the air so if they are in a used conditioned space it will get chillier there. Do you have any other gas appliances? Many areas have minimum basic charges and a gas water heater doesn't even make blip most of the time so kinda free if you will still have gas heating. Are you in an area that would benefit from heat pump technology when the time comes(HVAC replacement)? EVs use a decent amount of juice but it sounds like you're in a great position with work charging. Overall these are all shades of great choice...
by TSR
Wed Feb 28, 2024 8:39 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Best water heater with solar
Replies: 55
Views: 5233

Re: Best water heater with solar

TheGreyingDuke wrote: Tue Feb 27, 2024 9:16 am Not to be a PITA but if you have radiators you have a boiler not a furnace.
No no, you're correct. Definitely a boiler! :beer
by TSR
Wed Feb 28, 2024 8:38 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Best water heater with solar
Replies: 55
Views: 5233

Re: Best water heater with solar

Some old and new information for you here. I had been using a 50 gallon straight electric resistance water heater. In October 2012 I think I had a $200 repair to it. A few months later a friend told me about a GE 80 gallon hybrid water heater that sold for $1,000 and came with a $1,000 state rebate. So, why not but it, especially since the current had started having issues. Bought it for that $1,000, got the $1,000 rebate, leaving a net cost about $62.50 in sales tax. Installation costs were $375. Already had 220V setup from the prior electric water heater. This all took place in December 2012. Sometime in 2020 it was flashing a code. Finally looked it up and it told me that the fan was not working. In January 2021 someone was in my house ...
by TSR
Tue Feb 27, 2024 8:11 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Best water heater with solar
Replies: 55
Views: 5233

Re: Best water heater with solar

This discussion has been incredibly helpful. Thank you to everyone. Just to flesh out the situation, the unit would go in a large, mostly finished basement. The house is heated by radiators (gas), and the basement is not specifically heated, but it does obviously get a little climate controlled just by virtue of it being under the rest of the house. It does not necessarily need to be significantly cooler in the winter, but it does get very humid in the summer and would benefit from dehumidifying. We are technically in the Northeast, but climate-wise we're more in the mid-Atlantic "humid subtropical" zone. I'd be curious to know what kind of noise output we're talking about here. The unit would likely be below the living room, whic...
by TSR
Mon Feb 26, 2024 10:15 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Best water heater with solar
Replies: 55
Views: 5233

Re: Best water heater with solar

We had solar+battery installed last year and also (separately) happened to put in a heat pump water heater. I would strongly recommend this approach; it is incredible how little electricity it uses for our daily needs, maybe 2 kWh per day on average. We had a propane water heater previously, so I can't compare to conventional electric, but at this rate the payback period vs replacing what we used to have will only be a few years. You can play some games with smart water heaters and mixing valves to use solar energy or time of use electric rates to heat water at advantageous times, but depending on your particular use case, it might be easier to do this with charging an EV battery. Even with an 80 gallon tank, we have far more flexibility i...
by TSR
Mon Feb 26, 2024 10:15 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Best water heater with solar
Replies: 55
Views: 5233

Re: Best water heater with solar

https://www.supplyhouse.com/ I don't see your $500 water heater in there (and trust me - don't buy one from HD / Lowes). If I'm an electrician it's probably about $500 to add a 220V outlet (assuming you don't make me pull a permit, which you shouldn't). I think you're $700-800 on a decent baseline electric heater. I see about $1000 more for a heat pump version. At least in my state you get $750 back as a rebate for the heat pump as well as getting 30% back from the feds (in this case let's call that $500) so you are ahead $250 with the heat pump. As noted it will dehumidify the surroundings (is this in your basement?). Dehumidification makes the area feel cooler, which is what is noted above. Have you been changing your anode every 5-7 yea...
by TSR
Mon Feb 26, 2024 9:35 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Best water heater with solar
Replies: 55
Views: 5233

Re: Best water heater with solar

hicabob wrote: Mon Feb 26, 2024 9:28 am The "hybrid" heaters that use a heat pump are the most efficient but have increased complexity. They will cool and dehumidify the area they are installed in significantly which can be good or bad depending.
Interesting. "Dehumidify" would be good, "cool" is likely not needed. Thank you!
by TSR
Mon Feb 26, 2024 9:21 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Best water heater with solar
Replies: 55
Views: 5233

Best water heater with solar

We are about to have solar panels installed. The system should cover about 150% of our current electricity needs, although we plan to install a car charger that will use some of that extra 50% (we mostly charge at work, but will do so at home sometimes). Our state has net metering. No battery panel in the current configuration. As it happens, our 40-gallon gas water heater is past its 12-year "lifespan," so we will need to replace it soon. This seems like a good opportunity to increase the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of our current water heating, but I would love your thoughts on the following options: 1. Install 40-50 gallon electric water heater. This seems to be the cheapest, easiest solution, but I may be missing somethi...
by TSR
Fri Feb 23, 2024 8:30 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What are some of the things that improved YOUR quality of life?
Replies: 254
Views: 41936

Re: What are some of the things that improved YOUR quality of life?

People have mostly covered mine, but I'll add this one:

Taking lessons/classes. I've always tried to take a lesson in something, usually a musical instrument (but this is specific to me -- you may have other interests). I've found that the enforced routine of practice and the accountability to another person really push me along, and it is satisfying to get better, even if slowly. You also have a forced weekly (or bi-weekly, or whatever) social interaction with the teacher, which is healthy, and depending on the activity you may be forced to socialize with other people learning the activity.
by TSR
Fri Feb 23, 2024 8:12 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Should I pay off my car loan now?
Replies: 11
Views: 1083

Re: Should I pay off my car loan now?

I'll let you do the math on the after-tax difference between paying it off and investing, but I suspect it'll be on the order of $100-200/yr. I think you should ask yourself whether that return is worth the (admittedly low) extra effort. If it is, then do that. If it's not, pay it off now. You're in a good spot and have two good choices.
by TSR
Thu Feb 22, 2024 7:50 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Has anyone invested in marijuana stocks?
Replies: 92
Views: 12454

Re: Has anyone invested in marijuana stocks?

DukeLecker wrote: Thu Feb 22, 2024 12:48 am My wife and I have many marijuana stocks in a joint account.
For me it's part of my "sleep well at night" portfolio.
by TSR
Tue Feb 13, 2024 1:51 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: should i pay off a car at 1.9% or invest in a cd at 5.5%
Replies: 67
Views: 6280

Re: should i pay off a car at 1.9% or invest in a cd at 5.5%

Let's quantify this. Assume your effective fed+state marginal tax rate is 25% (substitute your actual numbers there). 5.5% yield on your CD post tax equates to 4.1%. So the differential yield over your car loan is (4.125-1.9) = 2.225% 2.225% on a 17K loan approximates to $380/year. You can decide if that amount extra per year is worth the extra hassle of maintaining the CD, stress of not being debt free, the slight risk of having a car with an loan (insurance hassle if totalled, sales hassle if you need to sell quickly etc.). It's a close call, but for me, I would take the free money. It would be about $380 for the first year. But decrease after that. These are the only calculations that matter in this discussion. The hassle of continuing ...
by TSR
Tue Feb 13, 2024 1:39 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is an elderly care lawyer fitting for this situation, or something else?
Replies: 10
Views: 1477

Re: Is an elderly care lawyer fitting for this situation, or something else?

If you go to any elder law attorney and the first words out of his/her mouth are not, "You have a conflict of interest and I can't represent both of you," then turn the other way. Your mother may well need an elder law attorney, but it sounds like her interests are currently in conflict with yours. It is *possible* that there might be some competency issues with your mother, in which case you may be able to work with a single attorney for your collective benefit, but it sounds like she's just having an emotional response to a difficult discussion. It is possible that an elder law attorney could recommend a counselor, social worker, therapist, or other form of mediator to help you have this discussion. It will be a difficult one, a...
by TSR
Mon Feb 12, 2024 10:02 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Wire Fraud in Real Estate Transaction - What Next?
Replies: 122
Views: 14279

Re: Wire Fraud in Real Estate Transaction - What Next?

I would add one simple piece of advice that you have hopefully already been practicing, which is to take contemporaneous notes on every interaction related to this incident. Especially any in-person meetings or phone calls. As soon as the call or meeting ends, write what happened down with the date and time. Keep everything in a binder of some sort until you are made 100% whole. I wanted to highlight this very good advice. If you want to ratchet up the pressure, you might also consider writing these notes down in an email and sending them back to the parties involved, introducing it with, "I wanted to send this email to memorialize our conversation today. Please let me know if I have misstated anything." At that point, they will ...
by TSR
Mon Feb 05, 2024 8:38 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is paying off a 2.99% mortgage always a bad idea?
Replies: 332
Views: 24659

Re: Is paying off a 2.99% mortgage always a bad idea?

Two perspectives, realizing that you may already have the answer you're looking for: 1. I live in a paid-off house. This was due to some luck in one high-flying real estate market followed by a move to a more stable market. I could have taken out a loan to buy my next house (arguably should have), but I paid cash. I absolutely do not regret it. Every month when I don't devote one of my paychecks to a mortgage payment I have a little happy thought and just sock that money away or use it on things other than paying debt. It's pretty great. May or may not be financially optimal, but I don't really care. THAT SAID, I probably would pay off a 2.99% mortgage in your situation if I had cash, but I probably would not if I had to incur a tax hit to ...
by TSR
Fri Feb 02, 2024 7:57 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Microwave venting or over the range hood vent?
Replies: 16
Views: 1923

Re: Microwave venting or over the range hood vent?

Will you be actually venting it outside? I think a hood vent is an incredible upgrade, but only if it's actually venting outside. We got the Hauslane Chef Series PS18, and it's been a life-changing addition to the kitchen, but we paid a decent amount of money and had it vented outside. I'm not sure adding more suction for a non-vented-outside hood is going to change the situation in your kitchen much with searing meat, for example.
by TSR
Fri Feb 02, 2024 7:51 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What video games are you currently playing?
Replies: 528
Views: 86678

Re: What video games are you currently playing?

That's incredible. I imagine you could have bought a very nice steamdeck for less than that, but you wouldn't have had the big monitor. Steamdeck? That's the tiny little handheld device? With a screen about as big as a deck of cards? I need mouse/keyboard for all games and my eyesight stinks. I just CANT get used to using joysticks/controllers/etc. I feel like I'm learning to figure skate for the first time. I'm useless when using playstation with my nephews for example, even though I've been playing games longer than they've been alive. ;) If it makes you feel any better, I have a PS5 but can't play for that long because the controller KILLS my hands -- just like tendonitis flare-ups after an hour or so. The many indignities of age and te...
by TSR
Thu Feb 01, 2024 5:26 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What video games are you currently playing?
Replies: 528
Views: 86678

Re: What video games are you currently playing?

Baldur's Gate 3 -- the big one. This is about as good as video games get. This along with Elden Ring will surely be candidates for "Game of the Decade." Just a true masterpiece. Talk about value for the money, you're looking at 180-200 hours of meticulously thought out yet wildly free gameplay, all for $70? Incredible. I'm shelling out $20 a month for GeForce now in order to play this on my 2010 PC and my surface pro (each of which is connected to an ultrawide monitor). I'm not sure what the graphics would look like compared to a new 4080 card or whatever, but it looks great and plays flawlessly on computers that otherwise wouldn't work at all. I only get to plan a few minutes a day, so at this rate I'll likely not finish before ...
by TSR
Thu Feb 01, 2024 8:15 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Echoes of Dot Com Bubble?
Replies: 230
Views: 23992

Re: Echoes of Dot Com Bubble?

I agree that today does not seem as extreme as it did back then (I was in college and too young to be an investor then but old enough to know that things were pretty strange). For me, the closest it has gotten to feeling like we might be in that same problem area was Super Bowl LVII (Feb 2022), which has been referred to as "Crypto-Bowl" for all of its crypto ads, especially for the now-infamous FTX. That followed a year where a bunch of wealthy celebrities were showing off their six- and seven-figure acquisitions of jpegs of monkeys, and the "stonks" (referenced in posts above) took over the market. To the extent that Super Bowl was "important," it was because it echoed Super Bowl XXXIV (Jan 2000), which was k...
by TSR
Fri Jan 26, 2024 2:58 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Yosemite vs Smokies vs ...
Replies: 58
Views: 5433

Re: Yosemite vs Smokies vs ...

I'm from Tennessee and a big fan of the Smokies, but Yosemite is otherworldly. Maybe the most spectacular place I have ever been was Iceland, but Yosemite is at worst a close second. Yes, there are a lot of crowds. One can look at this as a bad thing, but getting on a crowded shuttle and hearing a bunch of Chinese, Russian, Argentine, UAE, etc. voices is really inspiring to me: all of these people came from thousands of miles away just to see this incredible thing in our country. The funniest part is then to see people who are INCREDIBLY poorly dressed for a hike start off on a 14-mile hike straight uphill. As others have said, the crowds thin out very quickly. With Yosemite, there are a TON of long full- or half-day hikes that are extremel...
by TSR
Thu Jan 25, 2024 8:49 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Washington Post: "That 'free' annual checkup might cost you"
Replies: 112
Views: 11772

Re: Washington Post: "That 'free' annual checkup might cost you"

I went in for my ACA sanctioned yearly physical. I am perfectly healthy but hey... if it's covered... why not? The doc told me to go across the hall to get some blood drawn. He called me the next day to tell me the results were good. A month later I got a bill for a $50 lab. Can I afford $50?? Sure. Do I feel duped by the health system. Yes. I would strongly recommend appealing these to the insurance company. I get $500 bills for preventive labs, and I've paid them out of pocket before. This year I finally just appealed one. They came back and said, oops, it should be $0. I am certain that they do this on purpose. Note that my insurer is a "nonprofit" that only covers government employees, and yet they inexplicably own the naming...
by TSR
Thu Jan 25, 2024 8:18 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Washington Post: "That 'free' annual checkup might cost you"
Replies: 112
Views: 11772

Re: Washington Post: "That 'free' annual checkup might cost you"

I went in for my ACA sanctioned yearly physical. I am perfectly healthy but hey... if it's covered... why not? The doc told me to go across the hall to get some blood drawn. He called me the next day to tell me the results were good. A month later I got a bill for a $50 lab. Can I afford $50?? Sure. Do I feel duped by the health system. Yes. I would strongly recommend appealing these to the insurance company. I get $500 bills for preventive labs, and I've paid them out of pocket before. This year I finally just appealed one. They came back and said, oops, it should be $0. I am certain that they do this on purpose. Note that my insurer is a "nonprofit" that only covers government employees, and yet they inexplicably own the naming...
by TSR
Wed Jan 24, 2024 1:28 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Washington Post: "That 'free' annual checkup might cost you"
Replies: 112
Views: 11772

Re: Washington Post: "That 'free' annual checkup might cost you"

I've had the experience of going for a preventive annual checkup and making the mistake of answering questions about how I was doing ("well, I'm having a little shoulder pain"). My visit was then billed as two separate office visits: one preventive (covered, no cost to me), the other a full-price regular old office visit ("covered" but charged to me because I had not met my deductible for non-preventive care). If I had done this as a lawyer I'd be disbarred, but when I posted about it on bogleheads I was told that it was entirely normal and ethical to say I had two office visits when I only had one. It's validating to hear from the guy in the article who says that from now on he'll tell the doctor that he's fine even if ...
by TSR
Tue Jan 23, 2024 3:35 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What video games are you currently playing?
Replies: 528
Views: 86678

Re: What video games are you currently playing?

Love to see this thread bumped. A few recent ones: Baldur's Gate 3 -- the big one. This is about as good as video games get. This along with Elden Ring will surely be candidates for "Game of the Decade." Just a true masterpiece. Talk about value for the money, you're looking at 180-200 hours of meticulously thought out yet wildly free gameplay, all for $70? Incredible. The Horizon DLC, Forbidden Shores? Burning Shores? I forget. Anyway, it was good, but I didn't think it was long enough. I do really enjoy that game, and it was nice that they added an optional bit of romance (not, er, of the BG3 variety, I should note) to liven up an otherwise oddly impersonal storyline in the main game. Really enjoyed it but too short. PGA 2k 2023...
by TSR
Tue Jan 23, 2024 11:15 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Best cookware to buy
Replies: 143
Views: 13728

Re: Lodge, China

Plus, Lodge is made in the USA. “Currently, all of Lodge’s enamel cast-iron cookware, including its enamel Dutch ovens and enamel skillets, are made in China.” Why even use enamel cast iron? Any decent cook can cook well and nearly stick free on USA made Lodge "uncoated" cast iron. Enamel is the outlier, not the norm, when it comes to cast iron cooking. Good cooks don't need enamel on cast iror or on steel. I love cooking in cast iron and carbon steel. However, I must respectfully disagree with your position here. My non-name-brand enamel dutch oven is my single most used piece of cookware in my home. It is great for making sauces and braises that I would never cook in cast iron, especially things with high acid contents (tomato/...
by TSR
Fri Jan 19, 2024 9:27 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: It Does not Seem to Make Sense for Me to Ever Pay Home off Early
Replies: 51
Views: 5595

Re: It Does not Seem to Make Sense for Me to Ever Pay Home off Early

we have 55% equity in the house (346k purchase price, but honestly worth closer to 400k now) and owe 156k on it. We do not make enough to max out all our retirement accounts. I max my roth tsp and my roth ira and then my wife puts in about 11k a year into her traditional 401k (inclusive of match). She does not have a roth ira either. It adds up to about 25% of gross being invested each year. As such, we have never had an excess to put into taxable. I think your goal --- WELL before paying off your mortgage --- should be to max out all tax-deferred savings vehicles, including your wife's 401k and Roth. After that, you might look into the GEHA HDHP at work, which will open up an HSA for you guys (you and/or your wife may already have one). T...
by TSR
Sat Jan 13, 2024 4:01 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Pay down mortgage? Invest?
Replies: 96
Views: 8852

Re: Pay down mortgage? Invest?

Max the 401k. This is easy. That's the answer.

It probably won't get you there, but note that you can also decrease your MAGI by making pretax 401k contributions. So if you had a low-income year you might help yourself become eligible for regular Roth IRA contributions (i.e., not backdoor contributions).

Good luck!
by TSR
Fri Jan 12, 2024 9:44 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Decisions on Windfall of $160k
Replies: 17
Views: 2256

Re: Decisions on Windfall of $160k

I'll go ultra-conservative here and say that I'd be really tempted to immediately knock out the mortgage and then make all of these other decisions with the extra $900 per month that you have just freed up in your life. I get that this may not be the financially optimal decision, but it is very simple and you'll feel great owning your home (trust me, I know). You can do a lot of travel/retirement/college saving with an extra $900/month. 2.1% is hilariously low, but I suspect those HYSA's aren't going to be paying double that for long. Whatever you do, don't stress too much about it. You're in a great position and all of your options are good. I always have a hard time appreciating the motivation when people say things like “wow I will have...
by TSR
Fri Jan 12, 2024 8:38 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Decisions on Windfall of $160k
Replies: 17
Views: 2256

Re: Decisions on Windfall of $160k

I'll go ultra-conservative here and say that I'd be really tempted to immediately knock out the mortgage and then make all of these other decisions with the extra $900 per month that you have just freed up in your life. I get that this may not be the financially optimal decision, but it is very simple and you'll feel great owning your home (trust me, I know). You can do a lot of travel/retirement/college saving with an extra $900/month. 2.1% is hilariously low, but I suspect those HYSA's aren't going to be paying double that for long.

Whatever you do, don't stress too much about it. You're in a great position and all of your options are good.
by TSR
Thu Jan 11, 2024 5:59 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Passport renewal time is now much faster
Replies: 10
Views: 2206

Re: Passport renewal time is now much faster

I am no critic of their process and had a great turnaround time in November 2022 (although I did request expedited service). But I would be cautious with this and assume that it's a lot faster to get your passport in January than it is in, say, May.
by TSR
Thu Jan 11, 2024 8:08 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Guest sleeping options
Replies: 39
Views: 5446

Re: Guest sleeping options

I own this product and it's "pretty good": https://www.amazon.com/Milliard-Folding-Mattress-Removable-Non-Slip/dp/B07KWFNHMH?pd_rd_w=aLtl5&content-id=amzn1.sym.80b2efcb-1985-4e3a-b8e5-050c8b58b7cf&pf_rd_p=80b2efcb-1985-4e3a-b8e5-050c8b58b7cf&pf_rd_r=Q2225V0GGVAMT5BZM8C7&pd_rd_wg=LbIGT&pd_rd_r=da57a5cb-f436-4df6-86ba-64894c583d9c&pd_rd_i=B07KWFNHMH&psc=1&ref_=pd_bap_d_grid_rp_0_1_ec_pd_gwd_bag_pd_gw_rp_4_t (Note that there are a bunch of different companies making these, mostly Chinese, and they're probably all fine. I have no loyalty to this company.) I have personally slept on it and it's totally, totally fine. It's a good solution for that one extra guest you didn't expect, someone bringing their ...
by TSR
Tue Jan 09, 2024 9:28 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Learning Violin as an adult? 7 years, new recording
Replies: 350
Views: 60000

Re: Learning Violin as an adult? 7 years, new recording

I've been following this for all 7 years (yikes!), and I'm so happy you're still at it and still posting about it. You've received some good new data about your response to public performance -- that's a good thing to know about yourself. Just as you can study and practice to get "substantively" better at the instrument, you can study and practice to get "procedurally" (?) better at the performance aspect. There are plenty of things you can do to affect your reaction to nerves, especially pre-performance routines. Congrats on sticking with it. This has been fun to be a very remote bystander to. The funny thing about this is that for my megacorp job I often present to large groups of colleagues, do client technical prese...
by TSR
Mon Jan 08, 2024 9:01 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Learning Violin as an adult? 7 years, new recording
Replies: 350
Views: 60000

Re: Learning Violin as an adult? 7 years, new recording

I've been following this for all 7 years (yikes!), and I'm so happy you're still at it and still posting about it. You've received some good new data about your response to public performance -- that's a good thing to know about yourself. Just as you can study and practice to get "substantively" better at the instrument, you can study and practice to get "procedurally" (?) better at the performance aspect. There are plenty of things you can do to affect your reaction to nerves, especially pre-performance routines.

Congrats on sticking with it. This has been fun to be a very remote bystander to.
by TSR
Fri Jan 05, 2024 10:00 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Hot Water Heater (Good deal or did I get scammed?)
Replies: 51
Views: 7246

Re: Hot Water Heater (Good deal or did I get scammed?)

I was given a quote for $2500 to replace the 40 gallon unit or $3200 to go ahead and replace both units. I opted to replace both units to save labor costs down the road. They showed up and in about an hour, came down from the attic and said that they could not get the new units to the attic and recommended a tankless option. I had not have time to research the tankless option, but it was $4200. It was installed and seems to be working well. Sorry, I'm having a little trouble following your math and your description here. Were both units in the attic? Did they still do one of the tanks and make one a tankless, or did you go from two tanks to two tankless heaters? Was the cost $4200 for the whole job, i.e., replacing two water heaters with s...
by TSR
Thu Jan 04, 2024 10:00 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Devices to Increase Hand-Grip Strength
Replies: 49
Views: 7588

Re: Devices to Increase Hand-Grip Strength

There are a ton of products on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=grip+strengt ... nb_sb_noss

I have the adjustable black plastic type. For these, they are all poorly rated, and they all work about the same, which is to say "ok." Remember that you can also work in the other direction by placing a rubber band around your fingers and expanding them. That's good for wrist issues and carpal tunnel. Best of luck!
by TSR
Thu Jan 04, 2024 8:38 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: worth to spend the nignt in memphis on the way to nashville?
Replies: 23
Views: 2726

Re: worth to spend the nignt in memphis on the way to nashville?

I'm originally from Nashville, so I'm a little biased. If I were advising a friend on this subject, I'd tell them that it's well worth it to stop in Memphis, but unless you've got some highly specific goals I might not spend the night. Can recommend BBQ* lunch, and then honestly I'd tell you to stop by the Bass Pro Shop just to gawk. I'm not a "Bass Pro Shop" kind of guy, but it truly is a bizarre monument to capitalism, a certain outdoor lifestyle, and, inexplicably, alligators? Anyway, it is actually worth it, which I say as a guy who would be indifferent if there was a regular old Bass Pro Shop five miles down the road from me. There is plenty to be seen in Memphis, including many of the things named upthread and of course its ...
by TSR
Wed Jan 03, 2024 4:28 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Car accident, getting sued
Replies: 76
Views: 13234

Re: Car accident, getting sued

tibbitts wrote: Wed Jan 03, 2024 3:39 pm
SevenBridgesRoad wrote: Tue Jan 02, 2024 6:44 pm She should have her own attorney at least notified.
I'm reading this in several replies and I'm surprised. Virtually nobody has their own attorney, in particular not one who has this kind of liability as part of their practice. So we're actually suggesting to go out and find an attorney - and start paying them, outside of the insurance company - to deal with this?
I am a lawyer and I would be happy to leave a case like this to my insurance company's lawyers unless I started to get rumblings that someone was suing for more than my coverage. I can imagine other contingencies that might make me use another lawyer, but not in this case.
by TSR
Thu Dec 07, 2023 8:49 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Hey Men, what are you wearing to the gym?
Replies: 123
Views: 17386

Re: Hey Men, what are you wearing to the gym?

I think it's important to have some segregation between workout clothes and normal clothes, if only for laundry purposes. I agree with others that you wash them relatively delicately and then you hang to dry. Here's the list: I jog to the gym, so I work out in running shoes. Currently Brooks. I wear shorts unless the weather is crazy cold. I VASTLY prefer unlined shorts, though they are harder and harder to find these days. My logic here is that if you're not running a marathon in 90-degree heat, I feel comfortable re-wearing a pair of wicking quickdry shorts a number of times prior to washing, but obviously the underwear is only worn once. Some might think I'm way off base here, but I'm fine with it. Anyway, search "unlined gym shorts...
by TSR
Wed Dec 06, 2023 9:47 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How respond to recent graduate from my alma mater asking about "opportunities" at my company?
Replies: 93
Views: 10415

Re: How respond to recent graduate from my alma mater asking about "opportunities" at my company?

I don't get a lot of requests like these, but I'm always flattered when I do. I went to a small college and I have not lived in NYC or LA for a long time, so they're usually people looking for specific positions in specific places. I'm always happy to do what I can, though I'm not sure it's ever resulted in employment. OP, one of the reasons I've gotten such requests is that my school's alumni department allowed people to give information about what line of work they're in and maybe check a box or something if they were willing to be contacted. I often forget that I've done this. Does your school have any of this information? I think in this case if you don't feel that you have career advice for the person, you might say that and tell them ...
by TSR
Tue Dec 05, 2023 4:12 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Funding college late
Replies: 58
Views: 5702

Re: Funding college late

This may be an obvious point, but sometimes the advice about college savings falls into two varieties: (1) save a lot in advance, or (2) cash-flow during college. Otherwise your kids pay everything.

There is a third option that people forget about: cash-flowing college after college. Just because your kids take out loans for college doesn't mean that they have to pay for it. You can help them pay their loans after college. I agree that you should be focusing on your own retirement for now, but once you've got your finances a little more figured out you can offer (if you can afford it) to help then. I hope this takes some of the time panic out of the equation.
by TSR
Mon Dec 04, 2023 2:52 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Did anyone regretfully save a lot of cash before investing?
Replies: 23
Views: 4941

Re: Did anyone regretfully save a lot of cash before investing?

My now-wife, then-girlfriend did. She was a grad student and felt really good about having saved a surprising amount of her fellowship money in extremely low-interest CDs. I actually played her the Bogleheads videos (truly a great series) and she literally slapped her forehead when they got to the "invest you must" part about how inflation competes with bank interest. I assured her, as I'd assure you, that nobody gets this stuff right when they're just getting started, and that the second best time to plant a tree is today. As it turned out, those savings habits worked extra well when it came to "real" investing, and she is (and we are) doing great. I suspect you'll do the same. Best of luck!