Search found 454 matches

by Johnny Thinwallet
Mon Feb 19, 2024 9:52 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Daughters employer 401K vendor is changing
Replies: 19
Views: 1551

Re: Daughters employer 401K vendor is changing

My employer uses Empower, and we are happy with them. The two big questions will be: 1) What will the recordkeeping fees be? 2) What funds will be included in the plan design? Those two big questions are mostly employer-specific. For us, Empower's recordkeeping fees are reasonable given our employer's plan size (we're a small organization). We could probably save maybe 5 additional basis points in recordkeeping fees by moving somewhere else, but it'd be a headache to change and we'd lose some helpful features. Generally, our plan design options are fairly wide open within our Empower framework. We have a mix of low-cost index funds and actively managed funds in our plan. We also easily have the ability to use the basic three fund portfolio ...
by Johnny Thinwallet
Wed Feb 14, 2024 1:24 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: FDLXX 90.39% state tax exempt in 2023
Replies: 29
Views: 2978

Re: FDLXX 90.39% state tax exempt in 2023

Thank you for the post - I've been waiting for this.

FDLXX at 90.39% and SPAXX (Fidelity Government Money Market Fund - All Classes) looks to be 41.18%.
by Johnny Thinwallet
Tue Feb 06, 2024 8:24 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What is your HSA strategy?
Replies: 52
Views: 6793

Re: What is your HSA strategy?

We max family HSA annually via payroll contributions. This means there's always money going in twice each month every month. We reimburse medical expenses once each month. Despite this, the HSA still grows at a decent clip. We've never had a year where we had more distributions than the family HSA contribution max. In fact, most years our distributions are much lower than the annual contribution limit. Last year, for example, we had $2,600 in distributions (vs. $7,750 in contributions). We maintain a cash balance minimum of around $2,500. When the cash balance gets up between $3-4k, we sweep some dollars into the investment account to bring the cash balance back down to $2,500. I do this manually as needed throughout the year. The exception...
by Johnny Thinwallet
Wed Jan 31, 2024 8:37 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Love my job, told re-lo for RTO or no advancement [Return To Office]
Replies: 128
Views: 9920

Re: Love my job, told re-lo for RTO or no advancement

My suggestion on what to do might depend on your retirement trajectory. Are you aiming to retire early, say by 50? Or planning to work much longer than that? If aiming to retire early (and on track), I might suggest trying to stick it out. Remote work seems to be another item that employers want to use for whatever benefit they can get out of it. Booming economy and can't find talent? Offer remote work as an incentive to attract and retain people. Oh, the economic picture might be looking rough? Pull the remote work rug out from under your staff and use it as a tool to force people out the door w/out paying severance and/or unemployment benefits. Employers are ruthless. Stuff like this is one reason why we save as much as we can and we're t...
by Johnny Thinwallet
Tue Jan 30, 2024 6:07 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: The "Hot Upstairs" Topic
Replies: 90
Views: 13574

Re: The "Hot Upstairs" Topic

Our house was built in 2005 and we purchased it in 2018. Based on documentation (and looking at the attic myself), the original insulation was installed to R30 in 2005. We had an infrared home inspection done when we bought the house and later had a (free) energy audit done, paid for by the utility company. Based on those two separate reports we had a good idea of the trouble spots, the primary of which was that attic knee wall. Additionally, prior the getting the attic insulation addressed, we also had issues with birds in our attic and a leaking vent pipe. This meant contractors up there walking around to resolve those issues but in doing so they disrupted the original insulation and in some instances compressed it down to less than four...
by Johnny Thinwallet
Tue Jan 30, 2024 12:48 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: The "Hot Upstairs" Topic
Replies: 90
Views: 13574

Re: The "Hot Upstairs" Topic

Hey everyone, giving this a bump with an update and seeking a little more wisdom. As mentioned, the quote is right under $3000 for insulation and air sealing. The guy can't give me any specific guess on energy bill reduction, but if I'm saving $40/month... that's going to be a 6-8 year payback, which is not exactly quick, and I question if I'll see that savings. I reached out to see if he can do (or thinks we should do) a blower test - but if that's several hundred dollars, maybe it's not worth the trouble. Googling around, even though I'm in a fairly large metro area, I am really struggling to find anyone who actually advertises blower tests and true energy audits. This particular insulator mentions them, but even on the phone he sorta po...
by Johnny Thinwallet
Thu Jan 25, 2024 11:30 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Paying for things with a phone
Replies: 18
Views: 1359

Re: Paying for things with a phone

Not really a fan of this as I see it opening up new avenues for scamming people. I also generally try to keep as much financial stuff off my phone as possible. There are certain venues or things that I intentionally prefer to pay cash instead of CC at all since I've grown tired of lax financial security measures. Similar to this, our local MLB team now only provides game tickets via the MLB Ballpark app on smartphones. If you buy a ticket - including at the stadium ticket gate - they send the tickets to you electronically via the app. Fine - I'll begrudgingly do it. But then I asked the ticket clerk how my 61-year-old dad who doesn't have a smartphone (he carries a very basic flip phone) could come down and attend a game by himself. The tic...
by Johnny Thinwallet
Wed Jan 24, 2024 8:29 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Banking questions: is your savings at the same bank, and moving assets to avoid fees?
Replies: 14
Views: 1240

Re: Banking questions: is your savings at the same bank, and moving assets to avoid fees?

We have our checking account with a local brick and mortar credit union that has roughly 1 month of expenses, and we also have a small savings account at that same credit union. We keep roughly $1,000 in that small savings account on top of the checking account funds. All other "liquid cash" savings is held in Fidelity MM or Marcus HYSA. The $1,000 that we keep in the brick and mortar savings account (on top of checking) matches what the ATM daily max withdrawal limit is at our credit union. It's mostly in case we might need some extra cash over a weekend and/or holiday when banks/ACH are closed. I can transfer between savings and checking instantly within that credit union - including weekends/holidays - so it's a just an extra b...
by Johnny Thinwallet
Fri Jan 19, 2024 6:33 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Blocking Extreme Sun/Heat in Window
Replies: 33
Views: 2839

Re: Blocking Extreme Sun/Heat in Window

We live in Ohio so not as hot as Arizona, but we have 14 windows on the back of house that face west-southwest. In the heat of the summer months, that afternoon sun pounds those windows and it'll get hot fast.

We put 1% openness solar shades on those windows and we specifically chose white color solar shades to help reflect sunlight back out. It works fairly well, plus the white shades help maintain some natural light rather than darkening the house.

Next step would be low-E glass on the windows, but that'll be a project when the windows start to fail and need replacement (which is coming soon enough). I'm not necessarily proactively replacing the windows yet though.
by Johnny Thinwallet
Wed Jan 03, 2024 6:03 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: The "Hot Upstairs" Topic
Replies: 90
Views: 13574

Re: The "Hot Upstairs" Topic

We also had "hot upstairs" issues when we bought our house. And since I can't sleep in a hot room it would force to turn the thermostat way down in the evening just to cool the upstairs enough to sleep. The problem turned out to be subpar attic insulation. The best areas were R30. But two areas had zero insulation, including an attic knee wall along our master bedroom that had nothing but a 5x5 spot of uninsulated drywall separating the bedroom to the attic. In other areas the 10ish inches of insulation was compressed down to 4 or 5 inches due to contractors walking around doing work on previous projects. Two years ago we addressed the attic insulation. R60 now everywhere, radiant barriers installed, soffit ventilation improved, g...
by Johnny Thinwallet
Wed Jan 03, 2024 7:21 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: HealthEquity transfer balance and close account?
Replies: 6
Views: 907

Re: HealthEquity transfer balance and close account?

We dealt with almost this same exact scenario two years ago. HealthEquity acquired the HSA custodian that my wife's employer was using, and at the close of the calendar year my wife's employer decided to dump HE. We immediately transferred almost the entire HE balance to Fidelity, leaving barely more than $25 in the account. The only way we could navigate around the $25 account closure fee was to actually spend the account balance down to zero. We had a PCP office visit bill that was due at the time so we called the PCP billing office and asked them to charge a precise amount of money to the HE debit card that matched our remaining HE balance (with the remainder of the PCP bill balance charged to a separate credit card). It worked. It's bet...
by Johnny Thinwallet
Tue Jan 02, 2024 9:08 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Miele OR Bosch Dishwasher?
Replies: 89
Views: 10987

Re: Miele OR Bosch Dishwasher?

Just bought a Bosch 300 series through a Black Friday sale and had it installed a month ago. We have very hard water here so opted for a model with a water softener. It replaced an old (19 years?) GE Triton that was with the house when we bought it in 2018. So far the Bosch is awesome. Dishes come out cleaner than I ever thought dishes could be, and we can feel the impact of the water softener. I told my wife earlier tonight we need to make a point to check the filter soon as it's coming up on a month since getting it installed. It's also very quiet - that old GE we had was a loud tank. The only frustration has been Bosch not honoring the $50 rebate they advertised. They keep saying the serial # is incorrect on our submission, though I've t...
by Johnny Thinwallet
Thu Dec 28, 2023 10:14 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: $2000 a year for $1M umbrella insurance
Replies: 73
Views: 9693

Re: $2000 a year for $1M umbrella insurance

We are paying $1000 a month for two cars 😢 You pay $12,000 a year for auto insurance??? Yeap. That’s the new premium for two cars and three drivers (including a teenage boy). I know, insane! I want to cry. There is a clear answer to this whether you want to believe it or not. In short, your son is responsible to pay for all of this. I have a first grader so I'm not yet in your shoes, but I remember being a teenage driver. The only thing provided to me was a beater car, nothing more. I was responsible for paying the car insurance, gas, maintenance, you name it. If I had an accident, the cost to repair/replace was on me. If I got a ticket, the cost of a ticket was on me. If my insurance costs spiked because I was at fault for something, that...
by Johnny Thinwallet
Wed Dec 27, 2023 10:32 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: $2000 a year for $1M umbrella insurance
Replies: 73
Views: 9693

Re: $2000 a year for $1M umbrella insurance

We are paying $1000 a month for two cars 😢 You pay $12,000 a year for auto insurance??? Yeap. That’s the new premium for two cars and three drivers (including a teenage boy). I know, insane! I want to cry. There is a clear answer to this whether you want to believe it or not. In short, your son is responsible to pay for all of this. I have a first grader so I'm not yet in your shoes, but I remember being a teenage driver. The only thing provided to me was a beater car, nothing more. I was responsible for paying the car insurance, gas, maintenance, you name it. If I had an accident, the cost to repair/replace was on me. If I got a ticket, the cost of a ticket was on me. If my insurance costs spiked because I was at fault for something, that...
by Johnny Thinwallet
Wed Dec 06, 2023 9:15 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Should I take job offer? Commute concerns
Replies: 50
Views: 7305

Re: Should I take job offer? Commute concerns

100 mins a day, 4 days a week, 50 weeks a year is 333 hours or two full work months every year. An ungodly amount of time to be stressed vs spending quality time with family. There's also the extra vehicle wear and tear/gas expense and the increased exposure to motor vehicle accidents. This is a no brainer to me but we all have our own priorities in life. Fully agree with this. Pre-COVID I was in the office 4 days per week with a 35-40 minute commute each way. The vast majority of days I'd come home and be utterly exhausted. At the time I thought it was just typical work day stress. Once COVID hit then WFH full-time all 5 days kicked in. And a funny thing happened ... rarely do I sign off the work laptop and feel utterly exhausted like I w...
by Johnny Thinwallet
Thu Nov 30, 2023 2:27 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 529 in Ohio
Replies: 12
Views: 1331

Re: 529 in Ohio

I think I understand this better now. Thanks everyone. So the Ohio 529 is not administrated by any of the big investment companies, such as Fidelity or Vanguard or Chase etc. but this CollegeAdvantage website!!? That website I took for some kind of scam initially :D It's always good to question things that you fear may be a scam, even if they are ultimately legit. Better safe than sorry! But yes, https://www.collegeadvantage.com/ is very much legit and is the website for the Ohio Tuition Trust Authority, which is a state agency within the Ohio Department of Higher Education. They have tremendous resources and outstanding transparency on the full details of Ohio's 529. They send out a newsletter a few times per month that is also a good res...
by Johnny Thinwallet
Thu Nov 30, 2023 11:31 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 529 in Ohio
Replies: 12
Views: 1331

Re: 529 in Ohio

We are Ohio residents and use the Ohio 529. Fees are low, transparency is good and we're happy with it. Right now we're using a four fund portfolio via Vanguard funds since our son is in elementary school (500 index, extended market index, total international index and total bond index). I believe the recordkeeping/asset fees are 12.5 basis points (plus underlying expense ratios of a few basis points) so the fees are fairly low.

The state tax break is a nice bonus. Ohio has been systematically reducing income tax rates the last several years so the 529 tax break is quite low (3.688% max tax bracket starting in 2024) but it's still better than no tax break.
by Johnny Thinwallet
Wed Nov 29, 2023 3:12 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: I Bonds Mega Thread (I Bond Heads Rejoice!)
Replies: 6658
Views: 1239379

Re: I Bonds Mega Thread (I Bond Heads Rejoice!)

prettybogle wrote: Wed Nov 29, 2023 2:08 pm If i buy i bonds today, will i get it settled with this month issue date ?
Don't bank on this as it's a sample size of only one (me), but we hit submit on our I Bond purchase at 10pm eastern time on 11/27. The settlement date finalized as 11/28, and the ACH debit processed out of our checking account first thing in the morning on 11/28. It was quicker than I thought.

So you might have a chance to purchase this evening and still get a settlement date of 11/30, which obviously gives you an issue date of 11/01.
by Johnny Thinwallet
Tue Nov 28, 2023 6:05 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: I Bonds Mega Thread (I Bond Heads Rejoice!)
Replies: 6658
Views: 1239379

Re: I Bonds Mega Thread (I Bond Heads Rejoice!)

We purchased $20k in I Bonds today ($10k for me and $10k for my wife) for our 2023 allotment. They've settled and posted in our TD accounts with issue dates of November 1, just as planned.

Our long-term IPS plan is to hold $40k (plus interest) in I Bonds so we sold off our 0% fixed rate I Bonds 1-2 months ago with an eye toward reinvesting them at the higher fixed rate. I'm going to wait until April to make a decision on our 2024 allotment, using the info we'll know at that time to make a decision on buying prior to April 30th or waiting until later in the year.

The plan with this batch is to hold them long-term (5+ years). It's nice getting that 1.3% fixed rate.
by Johnny Thinwallet
Tue Nov 28, 2023 11:59 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Does IRS currently pay 8% for overpayments?
Replies: 11
Views: 2529

Re: Does IRS currently pay 8% for overpayments?

This likely doesn't answer your question, however, there was one time I've had the IRS pay me interest. Back in 2010 I was a first time home buyer and qualified for that $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit. When the US Treasury mailed me a check, I opened it expecting it to be an $8,000 check. Instead it was something along the lines of $8,100. That extra amount was interest (x rate at y time period) that the IRS paid me on that $8,000.
by Johnny Thinwallet
Mon Nov 27, 2023 7:44 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Taxes: savers credit: worth it?
Replies: 8
Views: 1609

Re: Taxes: savers credit: worth it?

My parents have taken the full saver's credit each year for at least the last decade. But their situation is unique and not very repeatable. In short, they didn't really know what "retirement accounts" were until they were in their 40s and I educated them on it. Up to that point they just saved money in bank accounts, CDs, etc. So they were in their mid 40s with no "standard retirement" savings but a stack of cash sitting in banks. They also have low expenses. Starting about 12 years ago, what I had them do then is just redirect a pile of their income into retirement accounts. Max out 401k, max out IRAs, etc. Their cash buffer in bank accounts was large so they did not have to stress about taxable savings. Their newfound...
by Johnny Thinwallet
Tue Nov 14, 2023 8:10 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: New Set of Tires
Replies: 77
Views: 8645

Re: New Set of Tires

Normchad wrote: Tue Nov 14, 2023 7:52 pm
zonester wrote: Tue Nov 14, 2023 6:40 pm
sport wrote: Tue Nov 14, 2023 6:11 pm You might want to consider Michelin CrossClimate2 tires. Instead of "all season" they are "all weather". They are good all year around, but are much better than "all season" in the snow. I bought a set of them at Costco last year and I have been very pleased with them.
+1 for Michelin CrossClimate2 tires
+2. I love these tires.
+3. I put CrossClimate2 tires on my wife's car and they're terrific.
by Johnny Thinwallet
Tue Nov 14, 2023 1:01 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Coast FI jobs
Replies: 66
Views: 10001

Re: Coast FI jobs

My wife is a teacher and will make $74k this school year. Through years of experience (and learning the hard way), she's learned to structure her day-to-day in a manner that minimizes the work (such as grading papers) she has to do at home during evenings/weekends. But she still comes home most days utterly exhausted. Honestly my only advice is to think about if your software engineer skills can be used in a way for you to run your own business. That way you're your own boss and can decide how much work to take on, what projects to work on, etc. Of course, there's other details involved in running a business (marketing, accounting, operational stuff, etc.) that makes that very challenging/stressful too. When I think of coasting jobs, I thin...
by Johnny Thinwallet
Sun Nov 05, 2023 8:27 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Space Heaters?
Replies: 62
Views: 5337

Re: Space Heaters?

Years ago when we were in a smaller 1,100 foot condo with an electric furnace, we would oftentimes be able to use an oil-filled heater that would sufficiently heat most of the entire living area enough to keep the furnace from regularly running. I'll note that we only ever ran the oil heater when we were home, and we'd turn it off (and unplug) when going to bed. Now we're in a much larger house with a 96 percent efficient gas furnace so the oil heater usually stays in storage. But I do have a Vornado Tempa space heater, which is designed as a baby nursery space heater. During the week I WFH and am the only one here during the day so I'll turn the furnace down and use that space heater in my home office with the door shut during the workday....
by Johnny Thinwallet
Thu Nov 02, 2023 2:53 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: I Bonds Mega Thread (I Bond Heads Rejoice!)
Replies: 6658
Views: 1239379

Re: Redeeming IBonds on Treasury Direct

[Post merged into here --admin LadyGeek] Can anyone tell me how long Treasury Direct takes to redeem an electronic IBond from the day you place the redemption order to the day that the money appears in your bank account? Thank you for any information that you might have on this! In my experience, two business days. Also I recall the site showed the redemption date at the last step before final submission, so you could back out if you didn't like what you saw. Hmmm, I thought I remembered the notice being more along the lines of "Your sale is complete; proceeds may take up to two business days to appear in your bank account.' That sounds like the notice after final submission. I am basing my statements on recalled experience from a few...
by Johnny Thinwallet
Wed Nov 01, 2023 10:14 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Home Sellers Win $1.8 Billion After Jury Finds Conspiracy Among Realtors
Replies: 421
Views: 47218

Re: Home Sellers Win $1.8 Billion After Jury Finds Conspiracy Among Realtors

We had a miserable experience in 2018 dealing with realtors, first when house shopping (and eventually buying our current house) and then selling our existing condo. We went through 3 realtors in the process, and the common theme we experienced is they wanted us to bend to their will. They'd get mad when we stood up for ourselves in price negotiations, or didn't want to buy one of the first two houses they'd show, or didn't want to stretch our budget, or walked away from a home that we discovered had mold and water damage, or didn't want to cave on all buyer inspection requests, etc. It just went on and on. We're in a house now that I hope we're in for a long time. By the time we sell it, I hope the industry will have been turned upside dow...
by Johnny Thinwallet
Wed Nov 01, 2023 3:14 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: I Bonds Mega Thread (I Bond Heads Rejoice!)
Replies: 6658
Views: 1239379

Re: I Bonds Mega Thread (I Bond Heads Rejoice!)

If I’m going to sell old I-Bonds (0% fixed) and re-purchase new I-Bonds in the same year, is there anything special I’ll need to do or can I just sell and buy? I saw a comment up-thread about gift boxing but I was not sure if that process is required or not to do this type of exchange. Always sell at the beginning of the month (i.e. today or tomorrow is a good day to redeem, if you want to redeem anytime in November). Always buy about 2-3 business days before the end of the month (i.e. November 27 or 28 is a good day to buy, if you want to buy anytime in November). The way it works is Treasury Direct only posts interest once at the end of the month. So it doesn't matter if you redeem on 11/1 or the last week of November - you still get the...
by Johnny Thinwallet
Wed Nov 01, 2023 9:24 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: I Bonds Mega Thread (I Bond Heads Rejoice!)
Replies: 6658
Views: 1239379

Re: Redeeming IBonds on Treasury Direct

Regnor wrote: Wed Nov 01, 2023 9:10 am [Post merged into here --admin LadyGeek]

Can anyone tell me how long Treasury Direct takes to redeem an electronic IBond from the day you place the redemption order to the day that the money appears in your bank account? Thank you for any information that you might have on this!
I did a redemption in October and another redemption this morning.

For the October redemption, I placed the order during the morning of Monday, 10/2. The money appeared in my bank account in the evening of Tuesday, 10/3 (roughly 6pm eastern time).

I just did another redemption this morning. Based on my experience last month, I suspect that money will appear in my bank account tomorrow night.
by Johnny Thinwallet
Tue Oct 31, 2023 1:55 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: I Bonds Mega Thread (I Bond Heads Rejoice!)
Replies: 6658
Views: 1239379

Re: I Bonds Mega Thread (I Bond Heads Rejoice!)

sperry8 wrote: Tue Oct 31, 2023 1:32 pm So now with 5.27% APY - basically the same as VMFXX (Vanguards sweep MM), would it be just as good to buy on Nov 1? Or is there a benefit to wait until Nov 30?
It takes a few days to process so you want to do it a bit earlier than 11/30. Treasury was able to post the fixed rate today because anybody buying today will post no earlier than 11/1 (rather than 10/31). I'm planning on making my purchase on 11/28. So long as it posts by 11/30, you'll still get credit for the entire month as if you bought on 11/1.
by Johnny Thinwallet
Tue Oct 31, 2023 11:52 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: I Bonds Mega Thread (I Bond Heads Rejoice!)
Replies: 6658
Views: 1239379

Re: I Bonds Mega Thread (I Bond Heads Rejoice!)

All real yield data for the Nov 1st fixed rate except the final 5 trading days is now available. With that I can make a prospective prediction that the new fixed rate will be 1.3%. How did I get there? ... Great prediction!! :sharebeer Do you care to tell us where the S&P 500 index will be 12 months from now? :wink: Haha, I wish I could predict the S&P500! Still I have been waiting to purchase my 2023 I-bonds based on these trends so I will be maxing my i-bond purchase later this month at the new 1.3% fixed rate. Congrats to everyone who predicted or will benefit from the higher fixed rate. Moreover, discounting the average of last 6-months of 5-year real rates by 65% definitely seems to give solid insight into where the Treasury w...
by Johnny Thinwallet
Mon Oct 30, 2023 2:08 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Are there important long-term benefits of parking a car in the garage?
Replies: 130
Views: 12897

Re: Are there important long-term benefits of parking a car in the garage?

Having parked our cars outside our garage for years (it was a tiny one car garage that was too small to fit even one car) and then moving to a home with a large attached oversized garage (25x30 feet) that actually fits two cars, we can really appreciate the improved quality of life it has given us. Aside from all the obvious benefits noted by others here, coming and going from a home without having to step outside into the weather and within view of neighbors has been amazing. EVs make it even better. We both drive EVs so there is zero risk of carbon monoxide build up in the garage or oil dripping on our garage floor. Even our door between the garage and the house is automatic (remote controlled with a motor). So when we come home we liter...
by Johnny Thinwallet
Mon Oct 30, 2023 1:36 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Manual Aprilaire humidistat setting for HVAC humidifier?
Replies: 31
Views: 5438

Re: Manual Aprilaire humidistat setting for HVAC humidifier?

I think the key is to have a couple of small digital humidistats, easily found on Amazon, in the house. Humidity can change dramatically if someone boils and drains a pot of pasta or if a kid takes a steamy shower and leaves the door open. If it's too humid in the house, or if the windows are getting condensation in the winter we dial the Aprilaire down until we hear the "tick" on the dial. And vice-versa if the humidistats show it is too dry. I'm not sure how accurate it is, but our Nest thermostat on the main level says the humidity is 40%, which (according to the Google machine) is ideal in the winter. But that's without the humidifier running at all. Until I turn the dial up past 40% it doesn't click on and start humidifying....
by Johnny Thinwallet
Mon Oct 30, 2023 8:33 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Are there important long-term benefits of parking a car in the garage?
Replies: 130
Views: 12897

Re: Are there important long-term benefits of parking a car in the garage?

We have a 2-car garage and own 2 cars. Both cars are parked in the garage. When it comes to deciding what goes in the garage, the two cars (+ bikes and mower) are the priority items. The only time we bumped a car out of the garage temporarily is two years ago when we had our composite deck built. We had the materials delivered a few weeks prior to our contractor coming out to build the deck so I moved our older car out of the garage and put the materials in that spot. Once the deck was built, the car went back in the garage. Prior to our house, we had a condo with a 1-car garage. We kept the newer car garaged and the older car sat outside. We have countless neighbors who have a mountain of junk piled high in their garage while their cars si...
by Johnny Thinwallet
Sat Oct 28, 2023 10:12 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: I Bonds Mega Thread (I Bond Heads Rejoice!)
Replies: 6658
Views: 1239379

Re: I Bonds Mega Thread (I Bond Heads Rejoice!)

Drew31 wrote: Fri Oct 27, 2023 5:19 pm
TheTimeLord wrote: Fri Oct 27, 2023 5:18 pm
Drew31 wrote: Fri Oct 27, 2023 5:14 pm
TheTimeLord wrote: Fri Oct 27, 2023 5:11 pm Looking forward to Wednesday and seeing the new fixed rate.
Could be Tuesday if Treasury is consistent with what they did in May. Any transactions entered on 10/31 will have Nov rates.
Excellent, even better, new fixed rate for Trick or Treat.
Fingers crossed it’s a Treat :sharebeer
Really hoping for a surprise on the upside. If we only get 1.1% or thereabouts for the fixed, I'll be a bit disappointed.
by Johnny Thinwallet
Thu Oct 26, 2023 3:02 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Spouse about to loose job, should she quit instead
Replies: 35
Views: 6243

Re: Spouse about to loose job, should she quit instead

You mention she has a specialized role - I wonder if this could be used to her advantage. How many other people in the company can do what she does right now, and does she provide value to other leaders in the organization outside of her bad apple boss? If the answer to those two questions are "none or not many" to the first and "yes" to the second, then I might suggest going above and/or around the bad apple boss. Go in attack mode. It may or may not work, but once you're at the point where you have nothing to lose you may as well give it a shot. What's the worst that could happen ... you go on a PIP and get fired anyway? Well if you're already on that road ... I've seen examples of great employees who have broad value ...
by Johnny Thinwallet
Thu Oct 19, 2023 9:27 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Buy I-Bonds today or wait 2 weeks?
Replies: 9
Views: 1792

Re: Buy I-Bonds today or wait 2 weeks?

I'll be buying the last week of November, circa 11/28 or thereabouts. The issue date will be listed as 11/1 no matter when you purchase in November so better to wait until a few business days before the end of the month.
by Johnny Thinwallet
Thu Oct 12, 2023 10:05 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: I Bonds Mega Thread (I Bond Heads Rejoice!)
Replies: 6658
Views: 1239379

Re: I Bonds Mega Thread (I Bond Heads Rejoice!)

When redeeming I Bonds, has anybody opted to have Treasury Direct withhold federal income taxes per the guidelines illustrated in Harry Sit's recent article?

https://thefinancebuff.com/tax-withhold ... bonds.html

I had no idea this option existed until reading that article just now. Any pitfalls to be aware of? If it's clearcut and straightforward, I might opt to have TD withhold taxes on my next I Bond redemption.
by Johnny Thinwallet
Tue Oct 10, 2023 9:50 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Western Virginia suggestion (not West Va.)
Replies: 8
Views: 1190

Re: Western Virginia suggestion (not West Va.)

I'll throw another vote in for Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. It's worth a stop for a few hours if you're driving through (and to get your national park passport book stamped if you have one of those). There's a trail called Tri-State Peak Trail within the park that's roughly 2+ miles roundtrip. It will take you to a spot where you can stand in 3 states at once (KY, TN and VA). The Pinnacle Overlook area has some good scenic viewpoints too looking out over the gap in the Cumberland Mountains and the Cumberland Gap Tunnel. The paved trails are short, only a few hundred yards from the parking lot. Funny enough you'll park in KY and walk across the state line to VA during that short walk (there are markers). The last half of October ...
by Johnny Thinwallet
Tue Oct 10, 2023 9:10 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Health insurance for child born in December - delay until Jan?
Replies: 39
Views: 3892

Re: Health insurance for child born in December - delay until Jan?

Shortly after our son was born, once I had enough functioning brain cells due to lack of sleep, I was doing everything I could to make it easy on my wife to reach out to her employer and make sure our son was added to our health plan retroactive to the date of his birth. I forget the details, but I double and triple-checked that her employer had all the info they needed and that he was added correctly.

I wouldn't mess around trying to save one month of a premium. Rather I'd make it a priority for you to get your baby added to the insurance plan promptly and correctly.
by Johnny Thinwallet
Tue Oct 03, 2023 3:05 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How much do you spend a month on food?
Replies: 336
Views: 30405

Re: How much do you spend a month on food?

Two adults + 1 kid (6 year old) in LCOL ...

Groceries are running $600/month so far this year. I'll note that this does include toiletries, etc.

Dining out is around $200/month, though every once and a while that'll be higher if we go to a nice place.

Beer/wine (from grocery stores) is about $20/month so far.

This doesn't include any food/drinks spent on vacation. That's tracked as part of vacation spending.
by Johnny Thinwallet
Mon Oct 02, 2023 10:08 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: I Bonds Mega Thread (I Bond Heads Rejoice!)
Replies: 6658
Views: 1239379

Re: I Bonds Mega Thread (I Bond Heads Rejoice!)

I just redeemed $20k in I Bonds purchased in January 2022. The cash will head to MMF for a bit, and then my plan is to strongly consider "reinvesting" that $20k (spouse + me) with new I Bonds purchased on 11/28.

We have another batch of $20k in I Bonds purchased in December 2021. I'll likely redeem those in January (trying to spread the tax hit across two years) and will consider reinvesting that batch next year too, depending on how things look at the time.

I had no plans of keeping the 0% fixed I Bonds long-term and instead just took advantage of short-term high variable rate. But if I can reinvest those dollars into I Bonds paying near 1.5% fixed, then those are I Bonds I may elect to keep long-term.
by Johnny Thinwallet
Mon Sep 25, 2023 12:14 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Full solar ECLIPSE April 2024!
Replies: 80
Views: 9589

Re: Full solar ECLIPSE April 2024!

Our house is maybe in the path of totality as we are right on the southern edge line. Depending on the interactive map I use, our house is either in or outside of the path. The maps I've seen literally cut the southern border right through the yards just a few houses away.

I'll probably hop on my bike and ride a mile or two northwest in our neighborhood.
by Johnny Thinwallet
Wed Sep 20, 2023 8:43 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: South Carolina Vacation
Replies: 10
Views: 1527

Re: South Carolina Vacation

Isle of Palms and Folly Beach are close to Charleston. We spent a few hours at each beach when we visited Charleston 10 years ago (just driving out from our hotel in Charleston). Within Charleston, the historic buildings are neat to see and they had a nice selection of rooftop bars/restaurants for outdoor dining. If I remember correctly, we mostly walked from our hotel through the downtown district and/or rode a trolley to get to most places to/from our hotel (allowing us to avoid the aggravation of finding parking everywhere we went). What I remember about Isle of Palms is it just shut down once it got dark. Restaurants closed up shop early and folks went in for the night. Fort Sumter is also worth a visit when you're in Charleston. A tour...
by Johnny Thinwallet
Wed Sep 13, 2023 12:49 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Gifting with a Warm Hand
Replies: 44
Views: 6306

Re: Gifting with a Warm Hand

I don't really have any advice other than to echo the sentiment of others to be careful. And this probably varies by kid.

My only story is a sample size of 2; my wife has 2 cousins (brothers who are both early-to-mid 20-somethings) who each inherited $200k a few years ago from the unexpected passing of a relative.

"Kid" 1: Mid 20s. He has largely saved/invested his inheritance and from all accounts I've heard is continuing to manage this windfall in a prudent way.

"Kid" 2: Early 20s. He dropped out of school, bought a high-end luxury car, remains unemployed and mostly sits in his apartment playing video games and ordering DoorDash.
by Johnny Thinwallet
Sun Aug 27, 2023 8:52 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Car auto stop/start - actual savings vs. wear and tear on car?
Replies: 126
Views: 13998

Re: Car auto stop/start - actual savings vs. wear and tear on car?

Our 2022 Accord Sport has this "feature" on it - it's annoying. I've just gotten into the habit of turning it off each time I start the car. The only time I find it helpful is if I catch a train or something similar where I'll likely be stopped for several minutes.
by Johnny Thinwallet
Sun Aug 27, 2023 12:39 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: I Bonds Mega Thread (I Bond Heads Rejoice!)
Replies: 6658
Views: 1239379

Re: I Bonds Mega Thread (I Bond Heads Rejoice!)

I Googled and FAQ-checked TD without getting an answer, so I'm asking the good folks here. Is it possible to place an I-bond sell order at TD for the bond to be sold at a defined future date? I'd like to sell a bond on Sept 1 without having to remember to do this on that exact date. Thanks for asking this question. I’ve been trying to figure out how to do this without success. I’d also like to know if federal tax can be withheld. I'd really like to know the answer too whether federal tax can be withheld upon redemption. There's a small conversation about this in the comments section on a financebuff post here: https://thefinancebuff.com/switch-old-i-bonds-better-fixed-rate.html (do a find text search for "withhold" and it'll take...
by Johnny Thinwallet
Thu Aug 24, 2023 12:13 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: I Bonds Mega Thread (I Bond Heads Rejoice!)
Replies: 6658
Views: 1239379

Re: I Bonds Mega Thread (I Bond Heads Rejoice!)

Have you already redeemed the bonds? If so, all I can add to your list is to look for capital losses. If not, and you meet the qualifications, use the I bonds to pay education expenses. Or, redeem half of them in 2023 and half in 2024 - spitting the interest income between two tax years. Haven't yet redeemed any. The "exit strategy" based on the composite rate change would have me redeeming half on 9/1 and the other half on 10/1 if I did so strictly based on the rate decreasing to 3.38 percent. I know one other option is I could do nothing and just keep them. Our taxable dollars is all cash so no capital losses. And my son is only 6-years-old so still far away from educational expenses. :) My initial thinking is probably redeemin...
by Johnny Thinwallet
Wed Aug 23, 2023 12:07 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How to accept payment for a private vehicle sale
Replies: 148
Views: 11754

Re: How to accept payment for a private vehicle sale

Always cash for me. When I sold my old vehicle last year for $3,800, I insisted on cash in the listing. I used a pen to help confirm the bills. The most cash I've ever held in my hand at one time has been about $65k, though it wasn't my cash. About two decades ago while in college I had a part-time job at a local bank. This bank had about 10 locations around town. The owners were terrified about bank robberies so they kept the cash levels in their bank vaults as low as possible. Occasionally a branch would get low on cash, to which they'd jump through hoops to get more cash. One day I was working at the main branch when it got low on cash so their solution was to move money from one branch location to another. This is where I enter the pict...
by Johnny Thinwallet
Mon Aug 21, 2023 1:55 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Advice for teachers
Replies: 9
Views: 1668

Re: Advice for teachers

Number one tip for teachers from me is not to let the salesmen in the cafeteria sell you a tax deferred indexed annuity inside a tax sheltered 403b because they have fees as high as 2-4% annually. It is sad how many have been taken advantage of by being sold those high fee products. +1 to this big time. My wife is a teacher. Be wary of the "school district's" 403b offering and avoid the sales tactics of the guy in the cafeteria offering free lunch. Check to see if your state has a state run 457 as an alternative to any 403b. And if you have a state pension, research it to become more knowledgeable on the ins and outs, including how it's governed and managed. You do not necessarily have to actively get involved in how it's managed...
by Johnny Thinwallet
Sun Aug 20, 2023 6:13 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: I Bonds Mega Thread (I Bond Heads Rejoice!)
Replies: 6658
Views: 1239379

Re: I Bonds Mega Thread (I Bond Heads Rejoice!)

I'm curious how folks who are redeeming I bonds are managing the tax hit. Is anybody doing something they otherwise wouldn't do to accommodate the tax hit for redeeming I bonds? We have $40k that we bought in Dec21 and Jan22. That $40k has generated nearly $5k in interest income for us. And in the 22 percent tax bracket, that's essentially $1k in fed taxes due upon the year of redemption. Have you already redeemed the bonds? If so, all I can add to your list is to look for capital losses. If not, and you meet the qualifications, use the I bonds to pay education expenses. Or, redeem half of them in 2023 and half in 2024 - spitting the interest income between two tax years. Haven't yet redeemed any. The "exit strategy" based on the...