Search found 113 matches
- Sat Nov 23, 2019 9:34 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Good waterproof ear plug?
- Replies: 4
- Views: 365
Re: Good waterproof ear plug?
Have you tried this type of moldable earplugs? https://www.swimoutlet.com/p/macks-soft-moldable-silicone-putty-ear-plugs-kids-size-1181/?&color=10881 Have some of them leftover from when my kid surgically had ear tubes placed. Looks like the kid ones would work for myself, and I suspect they have l...
- Tue Oct 15, 2019 5:14 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Why are Mazda CX-5’s sales so much less than other brands?
- Replies: 69
- Views: 8001
Re: Why are Mazda CX-5’s sales so much less than other brands?
For whatever reason, it seems like each Mazda vehicle is somewhat smaller than competing vehicles in the same class, which may have an impact.
- Wed Oct 02, 2019 12:33 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: How to find the best credit card promotion?
- Replies: 47
- Views: 3839
Re: How to find the best credit card promotion?
Agree that Doctor Of Credit and ThePointsGuy are good places to start. If you're willing to spend a good amount of time reading up on info, the churning sub-reddit already linked has lots of info on approaches and good Q&A discussion. However, be aware that the churning sub-reddit members expect pos...
- Wed Oct 02, 2019 10:31 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Ceiling soffit removal
- Replies: 4
- Views: 635
Re: Ceiling soffit removal
I agree with lthenderson. You need to see what's actually in the soffits to see what's there. We removed soffits when we remodeled our kitchen. We needed an electrician to move some wiring and a plumber to move a water pipe that went through the soffit (for no apparent reason). However, there was a ...
- Fri Jun 21, 2019 8:23 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Passport photos cheap
- Replies: 55
- Views: 3456
Re: Passport photos cheap
I've done DIY for my and my wife's passports and the kids 2x over the past 5 years and had no issues.
- Wed May 29, 2019 7:28 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: [What TV Show Have You Recently Watched?]
- Replies: 1571
- Views: 170469
Re: [What TV Show Have You Recently Watched?]
Bosch , Season 1, on Amazon Prime. I haven't read the books, as I'm mostly into sci-fi. My first impression - Bosch is a modern-day incarnation of Joe Friday. The short back-and-forth "just the facts" dialog is eerily similar to the Dragnet TV series I watched when I was kid - I watched every episo...
- Thu May 09, 2019 9:44 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: [What TV Show Have You Recently Watched?]
- Replies: 1571
- Views: 170469
Re: [What TV Show Have You Recently Watched?]
Season 3 of Sneaky Pete on Amazon Prime was just released, so that's my current binge.
- Thu Apr 11, 2019 1:59 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Trader Joe's Fans - good value?
- Replies: 148
- Views: 22783
Re: Trader Joe's Fans - good value?
I go to TJ once a month for one product only. Their dark chocolate covered almonds, 73 percent cacao, from Belgium. Worth the trip for that product. And I can use the express checkout lane. Good luck. Interestingly, I'm a huge fan of TJ's "regular" dark chocolate almonds (comes in a 16 oz clear pla...
- Wed Mar 06, 2019 10:25 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?
- Replies: 4884
- Views: 1263575
Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?
Layer Cake on Netflix. Very strong cast. Daniel Craig (of James Bond fame) is a middleman in an organized crime group, and plans to get out. Mayhem ensues and drags him into things he can't avoid.
- Tue Mar 05, 2019 12:22 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Riding lawn mower recommendation
- Replies: 12
- Views: 915
Re: Riding lawn mower recommendation
We just bought a new Simplicity Regent lawn tractor to replace one that was about 15 years old. Have had good experience with Simplicity in the past. We have about a 1/2 acre of grass and a decent amount of hills and it does well. It was just under $2,500
- Fri Mar 01, 2019 10:17 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Is the Bonvoy Boundless card worth the $95 annual fee?
- Replies: 20
- Views: 1856
- Sat Feb 23, 2019 10:50 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: [What TV Show Have You Recently Watched?]
- Replies: 1571
- Views: 170469
Re: [What TV Show Have You Recently Watched?]
Currently watching The Umbrella Academy on Netflix and it's pretty good. Kind of a combination superhero/mystery series.
- Tue Feb 12, 2019 3:25 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Preparing Your Own Taxes
- Replies: 13
- Views: 1469
Re: Preparing Your Own Taxes
If you get the forms and associated instructions from the IRS and don't have super complicated tax situations (e.g. depreciation, etc.) it's not hard to do your taxes yourself. I have a spreadsheet setup where I actually estimate my taxes in advance based on expected income and available tax forms (...
- Tue Feb 12, 2019 10:42 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Bad Idea or Good Idea? - Investing in 529 College Savings Plan
- Replies: 70
- Views: 4553
Re: Bad Idea or Good Idea? - Investing in 529 College Savings Plan
529 plans are not a great idea if you are not wealthy, expect financial aid, or you have not contributed maximums possible to your retirement plans. Let me address each item. Let me start by saying I have used a 529 account that had a balance that reached a little over $300K for my 3 kids. 1) I am ...
- Thu Feb 07, 2019 9:43 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Deleting scanned pages with Brother multifunction printer
- Replies: 7
- Views: 748
Re: Deleting scanned pages with Brother multifunction printer
Am I correct that you just want to delete one or several of the pages of the PDF that was created by the scan? If so, just open the PDF with Google Chrome, select "Print" from the menu (or hit CTRL+P) and then print to PDF instead of your printer and enter the page numbers you want to keep. That wil...
- Tue Jan 22, 2019 12:16 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Bogleheads Drink Up! [Bogle Vineyards Wine]
- Replies: 35
- Views: 9385
Re: Bogleheads Drink Up! [Bogle Vineyards Wine]
The Bogle wines listed above are pretty solid, especially for the price. Bogle also produces a "Phantom" red blend and a Chardonnay that are even better and are still reasonably priced, around $15.
- Mon Jan 21, 2019 12:37 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: [What TV Show Have You Recently Watched?]
- Replies: 1571
- Views: 170469
Re: [What TV Show Have You Recently Watched?]
Finished season 1 of a new series on Amazon Prime, "Informer" and thought it was very good. In some ways, it reminded me of the series "The Night Of", where someone who seems like a really nice guy is in the wrong place at the wrong time and subsequent events really mess with his life. I also have ...
- Mon Jan 21, 2019 10:22 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: [What TV Show Have You Recently Watched?]
- Replies: 1571
- Views: 170469
Re: [What TV Show Have You Recently Watched?]
Finished season 1 of a new series on Amazon Prime, "Informer" and thought it was very good. In some ways, it reminded me of the series "The Night Of", where someone who seems like a really nice guy is in the wrong place at the wrong time and subsequent events really mess with his life. I also have t...
- Thu Jan 17, 2019 3:26 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Swimming, do you? Advice sought.
- Replies: 76
- Views: 7516
Re: Swimming, do you? Advice sought.
+1 more to the many posts mentioning how important technique is when swimming. You can pick up a lot from watching YouTube videos of swimming. Also, the website https://www.swimsmooth.com has lots of videos and tips as well. However, getting at least a few lessons and/or coaching sessions would like...
- Thu Jan 17, 2019 2:07 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Netflix Recommendations
- Replies: 53
- Views: 6071
Re: Netflix Recommendations
I'd suggest checking out two existing topics on the board, which have lots of great suggestions for Netflix and Amazon Prime: -What TV Show Have You Recently Watched? https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=181257&start=1000 -What Movie Have You Recently Watched? https://www.bogleheads...
- Tue Jan 01, 2019 10:58 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Snow Plowing
- Replies: 54
- Views: 2800
Re: Snow Plowing
We've got about a 1/2 acre of grass and a 400' hilly driveway, so we have a lawn tractor that does double duty as a lawn mower in the summer and a snow thrower in the winter. We used a plowing service our first winter in the house, but it was a pain as they usually wouldn't come until a storm was cl...
- Tue Jan 01, 2019 10:51 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: [What TV Show Have You Recently Watched?]
- Replies: 1571
- Views: 170469
Re: [What TV Show Have You Recently Watched?]
Just finished Patriot (2 seasons) and Homecoming on Amazon Prime. Both were very interesting and different.
- Mon Dec 31, 2018 10:36 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Tips on preventative home maintenance?
- Replies: 46
- Views: 6076
Re: Tips on preventative home maintenance?
Good point. Also try the water cut off valves behind the toilets and sinks to make sure they actually work too. If they have not been used in years they may not. Also locate the natural gas cutoff and know how to turn it off in an emergency, especially if you live in an earthquake prone area. You c...
- Sat Dec 15, 2018 11:04 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Annoyingly Expensive HP Ink Cartridges
- Replies: 34
- Views: 2919
Re: Annoyingly Expensive HP Ink Cartridges
We gave up on ink cartridges years ago due to some of the same frustrations. Have been really happy with our Brother laser printer. Initial cost is about the same as most inkjet printers, the toner lasts a long time, and have been able to use 3rd party replacement toner. We just go to Walgreens or C...
- Sat Dec 08, 2018 10:39 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Portable Bluetooth Speaker Recommendations (loud and good sound quality)
- Replies: 33
- Views: 2264
Re: Portable Bluetooth Speaker Recommendations (loud and good sound quality)
My kids have the JBL Flip 3 and Sony (not sure of the model number) bluetooth speakers and both of those do a very good job of sounding good, no matter where they're placed or where you are relative to the speaker. I have the Oontz XL and while it sounds great if it's pointed right at you, the sound...
- Thu Dec 06, 2018 3:29 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Quality Kitchen Faucet Recommendations?
- Replies: 36
- Views: 3111
Re: Quality Kitchen Faucet Recommendations?
Not a fan of Delta. Our Delta Ashton faucet looks great and worked great at first, but within a few months, it gets to the point where there is only a single spot you can put the handle or else it drips and the spray always comes on regardless of if you pushed the spray button or not. Delta provides...
- Sat Dec 01, 2018 4:58 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: declining employer benefits?
- Replies: 36
- Views: 4189
Re: declining employer benefits?
A former employer of mine would give you like $200/month if you declined their health insurance and showed proof of coverage elsewhere, but did away with the "rebate" around the time that Obamacare came out. Similarly, my employer would give any employee that declined healthcare benefits $1,000, bu...
- Sun Nov 25, 2018 2:41 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Best LED lights for Kitchen Cabinets?
- Replies: 5
- Views: 953
Re: Best LED lights for Kitchen Cabinets?
When we remodeled our kitchen, I replaced the fluorescent under-cabinet lights with MaxLite LED bars and we really like them. Was able to use existing wiring and the light bars are very low profile.
https://www.prolighting.com/brands/maxl ... tbars.html
https://www.prolighting.com/brands/maxl ... tbars.html
- Tue Oct 23, 2018 12:47 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Best location to rent in Rome for vacation?
- Replies: 7
- Views: 828
Re: Best location to rent in Rome for vacation?
We also stayed in an apartment (HomeAway) near Campo de Flori and thought it was a great location. Easy to walk to most of the sites you'd want to see and lots of restaurants nearby. Most places within the historic center (aka Aurelian Walls) are good locations and easy to walk to, though the area n...
- Fri Oct 19, 2018 1:01 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: When to change tires; and what brand
- Replies: 131
- Views: 9671
Re: When to change tires; and what brand
Sometimes at Costco - they do not always have the desired tires in stock. It can make sense to check with them a bit before you need to have the desired tires installed. If they don't have the tires in stock, you can usually buy them on their website and they'll be delivered to your local Costco wi...
- Wed Oct 17, 2018 12:24 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Sneakers with good arch support
- Replies: 33
- Views: 2070
Re: Sneakers with good arch support
I agree with the suggestion of just getting insole inserts if you're just looking for insoles with good arch support and which can be moved to most shoes (as long as their insoles are removable). I have several pairs of the green SuperFeet insoles (picked them up on sale over time) as well as custom...
- Sun Oct 07, 2018 10:42 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: What purchase saved you the most money?
- Replies: 136
- Views: 13814
Re: What purchase saved you the most money?
Also, appropriately named for this forum, any of the Bogle wines. They're surprisingly good without even needing to throw in the qualifier "for the price" (they're great for the price)
- Sat Oct 06, 2018 9:19 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Boglehead Beer
- Replies: 909
- Views: 170309
Re: Boglehead Beer
If you like beer and you like bourbon, you'll like Founder's Backwoods Bastard. Tyranena's Rocky's Revenge is another good beer with bourbon hints, a brown ale aged in bourbon barrels. Not sure if it's available outside Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana.
- Fri Aug 17, 2018 8:24 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Costco penny install sale & road hazard terms
- Replies: 31
- Views: 3408
Re: Costco penny install sale & road hazard terms
We bought a new set of tires from Costco earlier this year. Two weeks later, one of the tires got a nail in it. When I took it in, they replaced that tire for free because the nail was too close to the edge of the tire to patch. The warranty only covers the damaged tire(s) and is prorated based on t...
- Tue Aug 07, 2018 11:45 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Maui Hawaii Trip - How to save money?
- Replies: 52
- Views: 5743
Re: Maui Hawaii Trip - How to save money?
While you're at Costco, check out their restaurant gift cards. They usually have gift cards for Roy's and a few other restaurants for $79 (with a value of $100).
- Sun Aug 05, 2018 10:27 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: What’s your Value Colombian coffee?
- Replies: 53
- Views: 4082
Re: What’s your Value Colombian coffee?
I'm a big fan of the Colombian Supremo coffee beans at Costco. Very good flavor, about $5/lb. Haven't noticed any off or stale flavors. barreg, How do you brew your coffee? Expresso? Costco store roasted coffee bean tend to be over-roasted because they use a big 1,000-pound coffee roaster. If you d...
- Sun Aug 05, 2018 10:13 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: What’s your Value Colombian coffee?
- Replies: 53
- Views: 4082
Re: What’s your Value Colombian coffee?
I'm a big fan of the Colombian Supremo coffee beans at Costco. Very good flavor, about $5/lb. Haven't noticed any off or stale flavors.
- Wed Aug 01, 2018 9:15 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: How to Learn Italian (a little) Before Trip to Italy
- Replies: 34
- Views: 2448
Re: How to Learn Italian (a little) Before Trip to Italy
I took an Italian class at a local community college before our trip to Italy and it came in quite handy. While you can get along with English in most of the major tourist cities, knowing Italian came in very helpful at the small train depot in Tuscany when the person behind the counter understood n...
- Mon Jul 02, 2018 8:01 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Insight Card (APY 5%) full personal review
- Replies: 63
- Views: 8440
Re: Insight Card (APY 5%) full personal review
I'm withdrawing the full balance (ACH originating from Ally Bank)
- Fri Jun 15, 2018 1:36 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Why is the cost of renting private rooms in San Francisco Bay Area so cheap?
- Replies: 26
- Views: 4481
Re: Why is the cost of renting private rooms in San Francisco Bay Area so cheap?
The 4th link is just barely inside San Francisco and not exactly in a desireable area
- Wed Jun 06, 2018 6:49 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: New AC Unit broken or "feezing". HVAC company says it's my fault for "running it too hard". What can I do?
- Replies: 55
- Views: 5936
Re: New AC Unit broken or "feezing". HVAC company says it's my fault for "running it too hard". What can I do?
The line from our compressor to our condenser froze right shortly our new A/C unit was installed a few years ago. It turned out that there was a leak in the condenser and the HVAC company replaced it for no cost.
- Fri May 11, 2018 3:45 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Insight Card (APY 5%) full personal review
- Replies: 63
- Views: 8440
Re: Insight Card (APY 5%) full personal review
My wife and I each have 2 Insight cards and we were able to link to/ACH from both Ally and Discover checking accounts. We're using Ally to avoid inactivity fees, since they'll allow scheduled $1 ACH transactions, where Discover has a minimum of $25 for scheduled ACH transactions.
- Sat May 05, 2018 9:14 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Converting my (financial) Excel spreadsheets to MS Access DB?
- Replies: 17
- Views: 1733
Re: Converting my (financial) Excel spreadsheets to MS Access DB?
If you could post some specifics on issues you're having, we might be able to provide more helpful suggestions. Another option is just to "import" the spreadsheets as linked tables, so the data doesn't really live in Access, but Access can query the spreadsheets, but depending on what problems you'r...
- Thu Apr 26, 2018 10:58 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Kitchen Faucet & Sink recommendations?
- Replies: 55
- Views: 7933
Re: Kitchen Faucet & Sink recommendations?
I hate our Delta faucet. It was great for about 6 months, but eventually it got the point where it was really difficult to find the exact handle placement to turn the water completely off. The handle has wide range of movement but there is only one place where it won't drip, and that place is not ea...
- Wed Apr 25, 2018 12:02 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Traveling to italy.........
- Replies: 19
- Views: 2807
Re: Traveling to italy.........
There are few good ways to limit/minimize tourist hordes when visiting Cinque Terre. -We stayed at a VRBO apartment in Sestri Levante, just north of Cinque Terre. There were a good number of rental/hotel options there, lots of restaurants, a beach, and it's an easy train ride to either Cinque Terre ...
- Tue Mar 20, 2018 12:26 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: [What TV Show Have You Recently Watched?]
- Replies: 1571
- Views: 170469
Re: Netflix, Your Current Favorite Show
I just finished the Frankenstein Chronicles, which I thought was very good. Following the political players wasn't always easy, but Sean Bean was great.
- Mon Mar 05, 2018 9:07 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Rome-Florence-Venice-Prague summer vacation
- Replies: 54
- Views: 4031
Re: Rome-Florence-Venice-Prague summer vacation
I did not read all of the replies. My advice two weeks in Rome and maybe go to Pompeii. I've been to Italy four times as well as Venice and Prague. You will spend a lot of time travelling and not learn to understand one place in depth. I spent two weeks in Rome once. I stayed at an inexpensive plac...
- Wed Jan 31, 2018 1:23 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: How to think about your house from a financial perspective
- Replies: 89
- Views: 8967
Re: How to think about your house from a financial perspective
I think about my house as a money pit. There's always another expense coming down the road (though if I could just get my wife to stop watching HGTV, that would help). When we eventually sell, if we make money off it, that would be a bonus, but not something I'm counting on. We've made lots of impro...
- Wed Jan 31, 2018 12:59 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Frequent Flier Miles 101
- Replies: 53
- Views: 7728
Re: Frequent Flier Miles 101
If you’re someone who can go with the flow then rewards points are great. If you’re someone that has to travel on exactly X day, to Y location, and stay at Z hotel, you will be less frustrated with cashback. What he said! I've struggled to find flights on several airlines for less than 40k round tr...
- Thu Jan 25, 2018 3:09 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Your bond allocation when you were 48
- Replies: 125
- Views: 8942
Re: Your bond allocation when you were 48
Roughly 35% bonds at 48. Putting most new money into bonds since stocks keep going up so much