Search found 1192 matches

by whomever
Fri Mar 22, 2024 5:25 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: New homeowner advice
Replies: 32
Views: 2286

Re: New homeowner advice

A better alternative to this is to get a lockbox like this. If you need to you can give someone the combination over the phone. Secure it somewhere which is out of sight. I have locked myself out a few times and used it but I will so sometimes do things like go for a walk without a key since I know that I can use it. My wife an I have a hard rule that if we use it then we will immediately put the key back into the lockbox so that it will be there if we need it. With Murphy's Law you could lock yourself out and use it then go back outside while the spare key is still on the kitchen counter. https://www.amazon.com/Kidde-AccessPoint-001413-Combination-Permanent/dp/B000GTQU22/ref=sr_1_4_pp?crid=1PUNSZ7E8A627&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.19Zo2H4t4594HS...
by whomever
Fri Mar 22, 2024 1:46 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: New homeowner advice
Replies: 32
Views: 2286

Re: New homeowner advice

Learn to do at least some DIY. You will have a certain amount of stuff to fix - minor drywall patching, simple wiring like swapping an outlet, simple plumbing like replacing the stuff inside the toilet tank or whatever. Being able to do some of that yourself can be a lot lot cheaper than hiring someone for all of it, and if you are working you can avoid taking time off to be there waiting for the plumber.
by whomever
Fri Mar 22, 2024 1:38 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Dedicated Financial Computer Master Thread
Replies: 207
Views: 9528

Re: Dedicated Financial Computer Master Thread

We use one. It's a raspberry pi 400 running ubuntu, so if you have an old monitor the cost is $100. For an added bonus, the only storage, user or OS, is one microSD card. If you wanted to use it for something else most of the time you could pull the SD card and put the card in your safe. Whatever got hacked on the general use SD card would stay with it when you swapped cards (modulo a few exotic attacks). This is specifically only for financial stuff, or more specifically transactions with treasury direct/brokerages/banks. I don't use it for email, looking at bogleheads, doing our general financial planning, or whatever. The only traffic is using a browser to go to vanguard.com or whatever. or click t The benefit is that if I (or my better ...
by whomever
Tue Mar 19, 2024 7:35 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: IRS slow this year (2024)
Replies: 27
Views: 2914

Re: IRS slow this year (2024)

I'm a masochist and thus file paper returns. I order the appropriate forms and instructions in January. This year ... I'm still waiting. They can't even get the bleeping forms mailed.

(Yes, I know I can print them out or buy turbotax or whatever. I just kind of figure that if you want me to write you a check for thousands of dollars, you ought to be able to send me the appropriate paperwork. Grrrr...)
by whomever
Mon Mar 18, 2024 4:59 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Financial implications of long jury duty
Replies: 24
Views: 2020

Re: Financial implications of long jury duty

I got picked for a multi-month jury :-(. What does or does not count as a hardship exemption is ... up to the judge. A couple of examples: -someone had a long planned vacation to Paris. The judge said 'ahhh...springtime in Paris ... dismissed!' -someone else pleaded they were in a really busy time at MegaCorp. The judge - for one of few times in the trial - got an edge in his voice, and gave an impromptu speech that MegaCorp was no stranger to the courts and didn't mind compelling others to serve on juries for their cases, so he denied the request. That person didn't return after lunch and the judge had the marshals go to her place of work and fetch her back. I dunno what happened to her. It was probably not as unpleasant as serving on the ...
by whomever
Fri Mar 15, 2024 3:47 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Medicare premium credit card auto-pay??
Replies: 5
Views: 1078

Re: Medicare premium credit card auto-pay??

Thanks! We'll try it and see if VEBA objects...
by whomever
Fri Mar 15, 2024 5:59 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How Much Cash Do You Keep In Your Home?
Replies: 207
Views: 15481

Re: How Much Cash Do You Keep In Your Home?

"That seems odd as electronics generally don't draw that much electricity." That seemed odd to me as well. I wouldn't be surprised if you need some intra store networking stuff, plus a computer that aggregates across the checkout lanes and talks to the remote credit card processor, plus a modem for whatever link they have to the outside world. Some of that might be split into a couple of machines for security or other reasons, I really don't know. You could have one machine doing the money, one doing inventory, etc, etc. It's possible the checker got it wrong and there was some other reason, like their link was carried on the same poles that carried power and went down when the power did. I can't remember if the conveyor belt (and...
by whomever
Fri Mar 15, 2024 5:46 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Medicare premium credit card auto-pay??
Replies: 5
Views: 1078

Re: Medicare premium credit card auto-pay??

Eagle33 wrote: Thu Mar 14, 2024 10:41 pm You can pay for more than 3 months at a time. I paid my Medicare Part B premiums for Mar'24-Dec'24 in Feb24 and won't get another bill until Nov24 for Dec24-Feb25 period.
That would make things easier!

What are the mechanics of doing that with a credit/debit card? Was this online or via the mail?

We just sent in the bill, dang it, so I can't look at the slip where you enter the card number. Can you just write in a higher amount there?
by whomever
Thu Mar 14, 2024 11:58 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How Much Cash Do You Keep In Your Home?
Replies: 207
Views: 15481

Re: How Much Cash Do You Keep In Your Home?

Enough to get by if there’s a regional power outage, internet outage, etc. what would you do if your credit cards don’t work? How are you buying anything in a power outage? The cash registers won't work. And what did we do before cash registers. I have literally lived for multiple weeks with no line power multiple times. Guess what, people find a way to make cash work. Don't forget often folks will have generators to run the store but the necessary connecting infrastructure to make CC work is down. It's irrelevant what we did before we had cash registers. Modern grocery stores run on electronic POS systems. You can't buy stuff if the clerk can't ring it up. And the clerk can't ring it up if there is no electricity. I'll repeat what I said ...
by whomever
Wed Mar 13, 2024 4:56 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Medicare premium credit card auto-pay??
Replies: 5
Views: 1078

Medicare premium credit card auto-pay??

Is it possible to have medicare auto-bill to a credit card? We have something called VEBA, which is sort of like an HSA. It comes with something that acts like a credit card, but only for health care expenses. We can use that to pay the quarterly snail mail medicare bill by writing the CC# on the bill and mailing it back (we could also do that online). But that requires action every 3 months, and we might be traveling or whatever when the bill comes. You can have medicare auto-deduct from a checking or savings account. We'd like to have medicare just automatically bill the VEBA CC#. As far as I can tell, though, medicare will auto-deduct from a bank account, but won't auto-bill a credit card. If anyone has figured out a way to do that, much...
by whomever
Sun Mar 10, 2024 9:22 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How Much Cash Do You Keep In Your Home?
Replies: 207
Views: 15481

Re: How Much Cash Do You Keep In Your Home?

"For those who keep cash at home, why do you do this? Why not keep it in a bank and use a credit card when you want to buy something?" Two answers: 1)We had a week long power outage a couple years ago. The local supermarket had a small generator, just enough to run one register, but apparently not enough to run whatever they needed for credit cards. The freezers were all off and there weren't any lights - you had to bring your own flashlight. But, if you had cash, you could still buy non-perishable groceries. 2)Some years ago my wife had her wallet stolen in a Florida airport. The nice policemen got her through security for her flight home, which had a connection in Texas, and let her call me on his phone. I immediately canceled a...
by whomever
Thu Feb 22, 2024 5:06 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Anyone use Shoe Goo to increase the life of their shoes
Replies: 38
Views: 3892

Re: Anyone use Shoe Goo to increase the life of their shoes

I use it all the time and it works great :-)

I clean carefully before applying with isopropyl alcohol.
by whomever
Wed Feb 21, 2024 7:57 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Who keeps original will?
Replies: 68
Views: 6677

Re: Who keeps original will?

We have done two wills in WA state, both with lawyers who say wills are one of their core competencies. Both advised we keep the original in a fireproof container in our house, and tell the executor that, and give the executor the key. Neither advised that they keep the original (and we asked). I was surprised; having the lawyer keep the original, and telling the executor who the lawyer is, seems good to me - but neither lawyer advised that.
by whomever
Wed Feb 21, 2024 7:03 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Car Advice Needed
Replies: 34
Views: 3345

Re: Car Advice Needed

"Unfortunately I'm seeing more and more that the only way to maintain a high mileage car economically is to DIY." I agree; you either need a good mechanic, which are pretty thin on the ground, or DIY. I replaced the clutch on our Civic at something like 260K. The only expense was the clutch. I don't remember how much, but I'd guess < $100 at NAPA. It is a big job; you have to pull the transmission, so you have to pull the driveshafts and whatever else is in the way. My strategy to keep high mileage cars is to, generally speaking, replace anything I take off. For example, if I pull the driveshafts to replace the clutch, and they had more than 50K on them, I'd replace them. Rubber hoses or belts more than 3 or 4 years old, replace, ...
by whomever
Wed Feb 21, 2024 5:40 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Windshield Chip - Insurance claim or Self Fund
Replies: 61
Views: 5719

Re: Windshield Chip - Insurance claim or Self Fund

It sounds like the answer depends on the insurance company and/or the state.

FWIW, USAA pays for chip repair with no deductible (our deductible is $500, so without that we'd be paying out of pocket). I asked why and their answer was 'we really want you to get chips repaired, because if you don't in a few months we'll be buying you a new windshield instead'.

I dunno if that would change if I was getting a chip every couple of months, but we get one maybe every 5 years or so and AFAICT it hasn't affected our rates.
by whomever
Tue Feb 20, 2024 8:50 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Do you use a second refrigerator/freezer?
Replies: 74
Views: 4802

Re: Do you use a second refrigerator/freezer?

We went most of our lives with just the fridge, but got a freezer about the time we qualified for Medicare. The convenience is really, really nice. When we run out of frozen blueberries for our oatmeal, hey, just get the new bag from downstairs. This is especially true because when we were working stopping at the store on the way home was no problem, but now it's a special trip (for frozen food; we walk to the store all the time for the exercise, but except in winter don't want frozen stuff thawing on the walk home). For another example, you can keep some chopped onions frozen, and never face the first world horror of 'I want to cook XXX, but we don't have an onion'. We keep the Costco walnuts and pecans there so they don't go rancid, etc, ...
by whomever
Sat Feb 10, 2024 12:49 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Furniture - It's glued, right?
Replies: 95
Views: 8545

Re: Furniture - It's glued, right?

Lot's of good suggestions. If there are visible screws, taking them out and applying judicious force will tell. If there is trim and so on it might come off easier.

In the just-before-you-give-it-away-for-free heroics department, an oscillating tool can make really thin, like 1/32 inch kerf cuts. That might let you get some protruding piece off. Then you get to figure out how to get it back together.
by whomever
Tue Feb 06, 2024 6:19 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: No Need for More than 6-Month Emergency Fund?
Replies: 27
Views: 3248

Re: No Need for More than 6-Month Emergency Fund?

Obviously, your money, your choice. 3 or 6 or 9 months are just arbitrary numbers. Anecdote: years ago (1980's) we were sitting pretty - no kids, both had stable state gov jobs, no debt (we were renting). Then out of the blue the news was all 'State tax revenues down! Budget Crisis! Layoffs coming!'. We were both low seniority. I sharpened my pencil and figured we could keep a roof over our head - rent, insurance, rice and beans - for $1K a month (1980's!). I was till worried by all the dire headlines. Then one night while laying awake fretting in the wee hours, I had an epiphany: we had $60k in savings. If the worst came and we both lost our jobs, we had 5 years to get back on our feet. That is the last time I ever worried about money. Tha...
by whomever
Sun Feb 04, 2024 7:25 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Automatic Water Shutoff Valves: brands, installation, experiences?
Replies: 40
Views: 4209

Re: Automatic Water Shutoff Valves: brands, installation, experiences?

Our nightmare scenario is a winter power failure and subsequent pipes freezing, so I was interested in the Moen Flo battery backup.

As a PSA, there has been a fire risk recall for those, and my brief google didn't find anyone currently selling them.

The specs say 12V, 13k mah, and 3 day coverage. That's not a huge battery - I'm guessing you could just use a 13+Ah lead acid gel cell and a small trickle charger.

Has anyone tried that? Have an opinion? Plugged the valve into a Kill-a-watt to measure wattage draw?

Thanks!
by whomever
Fri Feb 02, 2024 9:24 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Microwave venting or over the range hood vent?
Replies: 16
Views: 1994

Re: Microwave venting or over the range hood vent?

Amen to hating over-the-stove microwave/vents. A couple of months after we bought our house the microwave part of ours stopped working (the vent still does, as much as it ever did, as mentioned they aren't great fans). The two possible boards are $150 each, no way to know which. We got a perfectly serviceable microwave from Costso for $99. Grrrr. We haven't had a problem plugging the microwave into a non-dedicated counter outlet. Most modernish kitchens will have at least two 20A circuits. We have the usual array of microwave, coffee machine, electric teapot, toaster, mixer, etc, and haven't tripped a breaker yet. An older house might provide a different experience. Generally, we don't run the microwave for long periods at a time, so the op...
by whomever
Sun Jan 28, 2024 7:49 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Quality of insulation found in SFH of different vintages in the Upper Midwest and possible remedies
Replies: 23
Views: 1901

Re: Quality of insulation found in SFH of different vintages in the Upper Midwest and possible remedies

Sometime ????prior to 1990???? walls changed to 2x6's to allow for thicker insulation; this is visually obvious. Prior to that .... it depends. We've has houses with 2x4 walls and fiberglass insulation, and houses with no insulation.

N.b. that, as mentioned, windows, air sealing, attic insulation, yadda, yadda matter as well/

Around here it's common for the seller to supply a year's worth of utility bills to the prospective buyer.
by whomever
Sun Jan 28, 2024 9:27 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Insurers Perspective on Windshield Chip Repair Claims
Replies: 17
Views: 1975

Re: Insurers Perspective on Windshield Chip Repair Claims

I once asked USAA about this, and their answer was they were happy to pay for $50 chip repairs to prevent paying for $500 windshields (adjust numbers as appropriate).
by whomever
Sun Jan 28, 2024 6:34 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: House and land purchase
Replies: 6
Views: 849

Re: House and land purchase

"set up a permanent easement for the landlocked piece of property?"

That's the ticket!
by whomever
Sat Jan 27, 2024 12:33 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: House and land purchase
Replies: 6
Views: 849

Re: House and land purchase

A non-exhaustive list of possibilities: 1)You buy the land/house, and rent the house to Mom. You could give her a life lease, perhaps. 2)You subdivide the land so she gets a small piece around the house, and you get the rest. You will want to check out the local rules for subdividing, e.g. if it's a 10 acre parcel zoned for 10 acre minimum, you won't be able to subdivide. 3)You buy it jointly with an agreement, formal or informal, about who does what with which part. 4)Land and buildings can be owned separately. I have known people that had such arrangements on tribal land - they owned the building, while the tribe owned the land. There are similar situations when people build houses on mining claims on public land. These are problematic - ...
by whomever
Fri Jan 26, 2024 6:28 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: TIAA single life annuity payout of 9.45% - OMG!
Replies: 35
Views: 7021

Re: TIAA single life annuity payout of 9.45% - OMG!

" I'm mostly just thinking about the hassles of RMD from this old TIAA account. "

My inlaws took what I think was the 'MDO' option for their TIAA account. That was 'Minimum Distribution Only', as in TIAA just sent them the RMD every year automatically.

Dunno if it's an option for all TIAA accounts.
by whomever
Wed Jan 24, 2024 9:06 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: New house replacing locks
Replies: 36
Views: 4128

Re: New house replacing locks

"Combined, it all cost less than calling the locksmith once... and it isn't going to be just once. "

+1

I got a rekey hit (<$20 on amazon) and spent an hour carefully learning how do do one. I thought I was just saving the locksmith price to rekey a couple of locks. But then I realized I could put door locks on sheds, our cabin, jadda, yadda, and shrink the number of keys I have to deal with. You can even get padlocks that will take a Schlage or Kwikset key (though they aren't cheap).
by whomever
Tue Jan 23, 2024 11:03 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Best car for icy weather? Advice about driving in snowy conditions?
Replies: 113
Views: 7618

Re: Best car for icy weather? Advice about driving in snowy conditions?

I don't think Illinois allows studded tires. If so, for ice, the buzzword you are looking for is 'studless ice and snow'. Deep snow and ice are somewhat different problems. The soft rubber compounds that help in gripping ice wear quickly when rolling down the freeway on a hot August day, which is why you want different winter and summer tires. 'All Weather' tires are just what the name implies - a compromise. They may be a reasonable compromise, but they aren't as good as dedicated winter tires. Personally, I'd carry chains as well. If things are so bad I need chains I'm going to stay home if at all possible, but if you have to go, or are trying to get home, you might really really want chains. The various flavors of AWD help a lot, duh :-)...
by whomever
Mon Jan 22, 2024 7:25 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Shatter my Van Life Dreams
Replies: 65
Views: 8547

Re: Shatter my Van Life Dreams

"Honda Odyssey minivan" My only caveat is to check the ground clearance. Some of the minivans don't have much, and that can be a problem on rougher roads. Ours was intended for plumbers or the like and had a beefed up suspension, which had the happy side effect of giving more ground clearance. You bought a Honda Odyssey minivan that served as a plumber’s work vehicle, and he had put in a lift kit? The ground clearance of an Odyssey is 4.5”. You should be able to lift it to 6.5” without much trouble. I didn’t get the sense from the OP that off-roading was needed. That’s what hiking is for. To my knowledge, Honda and Toyota don't make utility flavors of their minivans, but other companies do. I don't know what kinds of places the O...
by whomever
Sun Jan 21, 2024 5:47 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Shatter my Van Life Dreams
Replies: 65
Views: 8547

Re: Shatter my Van Life Dreams

One important question: do you like to stay in campgrounds? If you don't, I would stay on the smaller side of things, and avoid trailers. I dunno about back east, but in the Rockies you can find your own campsite just by poking around on forest service roads, but if you go down some back road and need to turn around, you don't want a huge vehicle or trailer. We had summers off and for most of our lives spent a couple of months every summer car camping and backpacking across the Rockies. We would have loved a Westphalia, but the budget got us one of the minivans for tradesman, i.e. no seats or interior in the back. I fixed it up and we loved it. It sounds like you want something bigger than that, like maybe a Sprinter van or something like t...
by whomever
Fri Jan 19, 2024 11:54 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Blocking Extreme Sun/Heat in Window
Replies: 33
Views: 2840

Re: Blocking Extreme Sun/Heat in Window

"Do solar screens work well?" They do. We have motorized ones - flip a switch and they go up or down. Ours were hardwired when the house was built, but you can get solar powered ones that don't need wiring (google 'sunsetter' for the first one I found). Low-E glass really makes a difference (if you don't already have it) but of course replacing windows is expensive. There are solar films that you apply to the inside of the window. I looked at them, and found some cautions about cracking glass if they trapped too much heat in the window. Presumably that's not common or people wouldn't be using them, but it's worth asking, lest you end up going with option 'replace the window'. We also have the triple honeycomb cellular blinds. In f...
by whomever
Wed Jan 17, 2024 3:27 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: cross country ski recommendations
Replies: 13
Views: 1337

Re: cross country ski recommendations

"I may end up with multiple sets as I'll be doing both in the future I expect." My name is Whomever, and I have waay too many pairs of skis :-). And poles, and boots :-) Skating skis aside, perhaps, there is a fair amount of overlap. i.e. if you have lighter gear that's great for groomed trails, it's not like you can't go off trail. With the skinnier skis and lighter boots, you will just sink in farther, and not be able to turn with as much authority. With heavier gear you will still be able to use groomed trails, you'll just be working a bit harder, like walking in hiking boots instead of running shoes. So don't sweat it, get gear for whatever you think your most common use case will be and use it everywhere. If you are into it e...
by whomever
Wed Jan 17, 2024 6:36 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: "Floor" squeaks coming from wall?
Replies: 9
Views: 1285

Re: "Floor" squeaks coming from wall?

" how ugly is the end product likely to look?" No idea on the squeaks, but as to the drywall: if it's textured, matching the texture can be tough. That's why I hate textured drywall :-). If it isn't textured, you can make a repair that is invisible even if you look hard. The more experience/skill you have the easier it is, but with enough tedium :-) anyone can do it. I'm not very good, so I put on a lot of mud, sand it off, put on more, sand most of it off, repeat ad tedium. Get a selection of drywall knives (which are the paddle thingys you use to smooth the drywall mud). 4 inch, 6 inch, 12 inch, 18 inch if you want to go that far. For a topcoat use the 'lightweight' stuff that's easier to sand. There is a little bit of technique...
by whomever
Wed Jan 17, 2024 6:25 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: my daughter got an 1099-INT form from IRS for 2023 but she never received any interest from IRS
Replies: 15
Views: 4270

Re: my daughter got an 1099-INT form from IRS for 2023 but she never received any interest from IRS

We have also gotten them for interest on a refund.

But the OP's daughter paid $31, so she didn't get a refund, and got a 1099 showing $643 in interest. That doesn't add up.
by whomever
Mon Jan 15, 2024 9:26 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Dark sky parks or similar? Eastern United States/Texas
Replies: 23
Views: 2813

Re: Dark sky parks or similar? Eastern United States/Texas

The darksitefinder site posted above seems like a great resource.

What is the OP hoping to see?

For example, take the Milky Way. From the darkest areas on that map, on a clear moonless night, the Milky Way is an awesome splash across the night sky - you can't miss it. But it is significantly attenuated even in the second darkest areas (we have a cabin in one or those areas). You can see the Milky Way, but it is already a pale shadow of it's full glory. I'm not sure at what level you can't see it at all.

But at the cabin, you can see enough stars that it's hard to pick out the familiar constellations that stand out from town.

Is there anywhere east of the Mississippi where you can see the Milky Way?
by whomever
Fri Jan 12, 2024 8:45 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: cross country ski recommendations
Replies: 13
Views: 1337

Re: cross country ski recommendations

For 'ski hiking', which is what we have always done, you want heavier gear then the usual groomed trail equipment. Poles are easy, anything that doesn't have the teeny baskets will be fine. I looked at the REI 'Cross Country Ski Boot' page; you're looking at the ones labeled 'Style: Backcountry' My skis aren't new. Just taking a quick glance at the REI 'Metal-Edge Touring Skis' page, I'd be looking at maybe the 'Fischer S-Bound 98 Crown/Dual Skin Xtralite' skis. Take all this with a yuuuge grain of salt: it's not like I keep up on the latest ski gear, and there is also a considerable range in gear. A ten day off trail (because there aren't any trails :-)) trip in the Wind River Range will call for heavier (longer, wider) gear than an aftern...
by whomever
Fri Jan 12, 2024 8:27 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Kohler 20 KW - Doing Own Maintenance - Warranty
Replies: 31
Views: 3704

Re: Kohler 20 KW - Doing Own Maintenance - Warranty

"I found this statement on my last oil change paperwork...."

I'd ask Kohler what their position is. I'm assuming here that the warranty is actually from Kohler. As in, a Ford is warrantied by Ford, not by the local Ford dealer.

Things might be different if you bought an extended warranty separately from the dealer, as opposed to Kohler.

There may be a practical problem if they are the only dealer you have access to.
by whomever
Fri Jan 12, 2024 1:26 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Leaving home unattended for extended periods?
Replies: 37
Views: 4951

Re: Leaving home unattended for extended periods?

We bought a retirement home a couple years before we retired. Something about our insurance changed (higher deductible? Some kinds of exclusions? can't remember) if we didn't visit every 90 or 120 days. So check with your insurance company. We had an alarm (burglar and freeze). Absolutely do shut off the water. A water leak is one of the catastrophic things that could go wrong. I would want either an alarm, or neighbors that would notice e.g. someone moving in. We had friends who had a house hidden in the woods back east, and spent the summers out west. One time they went home and found the house empty ... burglars had rented a u-haul and spent a few days emptying everything. If you have a nice neighbor, having them give the house a walkaro...
by whomever
Fri Jan 12, 2024 9:54 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Kohler 20 KW - Doing Own Maintenance - Warranty
Replies: 31
Views: 3704

Re: Kohler 20 KW - Doing Own Maintenance - Warranty

It might be worth carefully reading the manufacturer's warranty paperwork, or contacting them via email or snail mail. IANAL a lawyer, but in the absence of some kind of consumer protection law a company could have warranty terms requiring dealer service. I don't have a non-portable generator, but I do most of my own car maintenance. I'm social security aged and have never paid for an oil change - I do it myself and record the maintenance in a notebook for each vehicle. I don't save oil or filter receipts either. One time we were looking at new cars and the sales critter was pushing an extended warranty or something and said DIY maintenance would void the warranty. I contacted the car company (American Honda, IIRC) and asked about that. The...
by whomever
Thu Jan 11, 2024 10:28 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Delaying SS - The math doesn't seem that great.
Replies: 25
Views: 6104

Re: Delaying SS - The math doesn't seem that great.

For my wife and I, delaying to 70 is both longevity insurance and LTC insurance: if for example I am unlucky enough to end up in LTC, her (larger) SS will matter if much of the communal assets get sucked into LTC. Each state has rules on how marital income and property get divvied up to pay for one spouse's LTC. For us, the larger SS is part of ensuring neither of us ends up eating dog food because the other is in LTC.

Of note, we don't have kids, so we don't have a bequest motive. If we did the 'how big an estate can I leave' question would matter. With no bequest motive, 'what is the best worst case income across all eventualities' is the question we're answering.
by whomever
Wed Jan 10, 2024 2:02 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is anyone here a WA state employee with SBVIP?
Replies: 5
Views: 744

Re: Is anyone here a WA state employee with SBVIP?

I was in this:

https://hr.uw.edu/benefits/retirement-p ... t-program/

That worked great for us; we retired rather early and Roth converted most of it.

Your links aren't working for me (they just spin forever). Is this the same thing:

https://www.tiaa.org/public/tcm/sbctc/r ... lan-101307


(ETA: your page finally loaded. Looks like you ought to be able to do it to me. If your benefits people are clueless, the 'Enroll, Stop, or Change' section has a TIAA number; maybe they could help)
by whomever
Wed Jan 10, 2024 12:08 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How to fix my roof leak?
Replies: 33
Views: 5020

Re: How to fix my roof leak?

I meant to say: you ***might*** be able to sneak something like this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086X1XGN1 up into the attic and save a drywall repair. There are smartphone attachment ones that are cheaper, as well. The 'might' is because sometimes these work like a champ, and sometimes not - you can't steer it once it goes through the insulation, for example. But sometimes they are the cat's meow. "This product looks similar to what was originally installed, doesn't it? It's a black rubbery plastic piece with a metal boot screwed on top of it." No the 'permaboot' is specific to fixing leaks caused by the rubber boot failing. They don't help it water is leaking under the metal piece. See the pics at: https://permaboot.co/h...
by whomever
Sun Jan 07, 2024 7:36 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How to fix my roof leak?
Replies: 33
Views: 5020

Re: How to fix my roof leak?

1)I'd sure try and crawl up there if at all possible. We used to have a low pitch roof, attic mostly filled with blown in insulation .... not fun. 2)The flashing on that vent seems all wrong ... I don't think that kind of flashing is meant to just be nailed down over a hot tar roof like that. It looks like they just spread some tar or roofing cement and squeezed it down, but among other issues, what's sealing the lower two nails? 3)The cheap DIY would be to slather on lots of roofing cement over the whole mess. That might buy you time until the next re-roof. 4)For a permanent fix, I think your roofing contractors are likely correct. Depending on how long it has been leaking, the roof deck might be OK, which would make for a small repair. Or...
by whomever
Sat Jan 06, 2024 3:45 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Winter Gloves and Socks for camping
Replies: 37
Views: 5341

Re: Winter Gloves and Socks for camping

I have lost track of how many below zero nights we spent out in out misspent youth :-). Two thoughts: cold feet are a symptom of a cold body. What are using for insulation from the ground? The ground, or worse snow, is a giant heat suck. When we started winter camping we'd notice the snow had that half melted look in the morning. We started using two full length half inch ensolite pads (each), and another running crossways under our torsos. We slept warm down to -40. Also, have a big dinner :-). Your body heat comes from food. Second: personally, I never use gloves in winter. One reason is that mittens are way warmer. Another is that by the time you get thick gloves, you don't have any more dexterity than a pair of equally warm lightweight ...
by whomever
Thu Dec 28, 2023 4:06 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: HVAC filter and pressure drop
Replies: 19
Views: 2152

Re: HVAC filter and pressure drop

We have used 1 inch thick MERV 11/12/13 filters in our 1992 furnace for years without problems. These are 20x25x1 filters. It's possible that whoever did our system oversized the ducting relative to the air flow, I dunno. We figured if the fan motor failed we'd replace either it or the furnace (this is an older less efficient furnace, so we wouldn't have cried about replacing it). In any event, the high MERV filters have been fine. YMMV. FWIW, this has a chart of MERV/CFM/pressure drop that says the difference isn't always large: https://www.pickhvac.com/hvac-filter/merv/pressure-drop/ Amazon has a bunch of gauges to measure this in the under $40 range, or a water filled clear tube. ETA: our thermostat has a 'constant fan' setting that will...
by whomever
Fri Dec 22, 2023 1:21 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How can I get merchant to stop charging us?
Replies: 84
Views: 8147

Re: How can I get merchant to stop charging us?

"Send a letter by certified mail to the company stating you no longer desire their services and to please remove you as a member (or however it's termed)." +1, that's my old school approach. We had a similar problem tears ago with Earthlink...when it got to the point of contacting our state AG, having the letter and post office delivery confirmation was proof they had been notified. It stops any 'we never got an email' shenanigans. (more recently, had a friend with a similar-but-different problem. The state AG's office replied to friend 'We can't help with individual cases, but we are very interested in AcmeCorp's response', and the AG's office cc'd that letter to AcmeCorp. In what was surely just a coincidence, AcmeCorp suddenly ...
by whomever
Mon Dec 18, 2023 6:49 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Protecting Assets Nursing Home Care
Replies: 64
Views: 9525

Re: Protecting Assets Nursing Home Care

I'll repeat the advice above: "An elder law attorney should be consulted.".

The rules are state specific. It's great that you already know an elder care attorney; now's the time to talk to them.
by whomever
Sun Dec 17, 2023 6:16 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Mom has additional 0% tax space - Exceed RMD to fill 0% space?
Replies: 39
Views: 4976

Re: Mom has additional 0% tax space - Exceed RMD to fill 0% space?

If you don't decide on the Roth, the other no-brainer is capital gains harvesting at 0%, if she has room for that.
by whomever
Thu Dec 14, 2023 7:17 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: When Did You Feel Financially Secure and Comfortable?
Replies: 134
Views: 30058

Re: When Did You Feel Financially Secure and Comfortable?

I dunno about FI, but I stopped worrying about money at about age 30. I worked for the state gov't, and there was a revenue crunch, and layoffs were being mentioned. We had about 60K in the bank (this was the 1980's). One night at 0300 while I lay awake worrying about being laid off, I realized we had $60K in the bank, and our barebones (rent, food, insurance, basic utilities) expenses were $1k a month. So if the worst happened, we had 5 years to find some income. We had both worked grunt jobs before, so getting a job as a ditch digger or Walmart stocker wasn't unthinkable at all. We never stopped being frugal, but I haven't *worried* about money since (we've been retired for a few years now).
by whomever
Wed Dec 06, 2023 5:30 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: T5 engineering school or in-state T35 with full-ride?
Replies: 285
Views: 41394

Re: T5 engineering school or in-state T35 with full-ride?

I think Deserat and Valuethinker have hit on the right answer: if your daughter's ambition is to be a CEO or senator or whatever, then the name brand schools are valuable for the networking effects. OTOH, if she thinks engineering is the coolest thing ever and wants to work on whatever her generation's equivalent of the Apollo program or build the SR-71 or design atomic clocks at NIST or the world's fasted signal processor, I don't think it matters. Better off focusing on getting the best internships/summer jobs/whatever, and studying like heck. Also, it's perhaps worth focusing on graduating first of all. When I went to school eons ago, engineering was referred to as 'pre-business' because quite a few people couldn't hack thermo or calculu...