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I would call the Social Services office of the county where your friend resides and ask them first. Second, I think direct payment to an educational institution, whereby it does not go through the parent's hands, "may" be treated differently. A call to the VA 529 plan may again provide some guidance...good luck.

Two things an attorney offers: 1) expertise and 2) time. You get what you pay for with #1 and pay a base cost with #2 with additional charges for complexity and responding to client requests. I am all for comparison shopping and reasonable expenditures but legal advice, akin to medical advice, is not something I mind paying for excellence.

A few big ticket items have been replaced under a Platinum VSA (vehicle service agreement/warranty) for my Lexus RX350. If I had to pay out of pocket the cost would have been roughly double what the VSA paid the dealer. Very similar to medical bills covered under insurance and those that are not. Another saving for a warranty holder. It will be a new ball game when my VSA expires next year...

You may wish to consider a buyer's agent. The agent works for YOU but is paid by the seller at closing. We employed one and she was great - knew things we never thought of before...

Two things lives in vehicles literally depend upon: good brakes and tires. I would never scrimp on either one....

I want to know where the staff CFO and Risk Manager were. I can easily imagine lawsuits showing up next week or shortly thereafter......

You might 'interview' Paul Cocozza at 703.276-1243. Good luck..

My physician says, "motion is lotion" for all our joints...

I think it imprudent to plan on a tax regime 20 years from now that resembles the present. Current tax rates and amounts sunset by law in 2025. We have to service a Gi-nourmous federal debt with many shaky state debts (pensions). Congress could always introduce a VAT tax alongside an income tax (as in Europe). I am not suggesting the future will necessarily be worse, but it will almost certainly be different. Five years out for tax planning is about as far as I can see and plan.

With all the recent travails in crypto world (SBF et.al.) and this week's near insolvency of a major crypto lending BANK (Silvergate Bank) I can't understand why bitcoin and the rest still catch a bid and have not collapsed.....

I find it helpful to turn to Youtube videos of mechanics working on the make and model you are interested in. I would trust a mechanic before anyone else....

Things most young people do NOT want today: 1) fine china, 2) crystal glassware, 3) sterling silver and 4) 'brown' furniture (walnut, oak, cherry, mahogany, etc). Think simple, white Ikea as their model. We are donating a LOT of stuff to Salvation Army, Goodwill, Vet groups etc that will come and PICK UP for a tax deduction. Win-win for us....

Wife and I have established multiple 529 plans for our grands and mail their parents (my children) a copy of the official statements every quarter. No guesses, no questions, just a lot of thank you's. Open, transparent communication forestalls a lot of heartache down the road....

I find these discussions helpful and interesting but am also cognizant that bond results of the last 40 years reflect a steadily dropping interest rate from the early 1980s until recently. Now bonds are moving up from artificially low rates to a more 'normal market rate'. I wonder how this will skew results going forward....

And isn't it odd that as an 'owner' of Vanguard I have no idea what Mr. Buckley's compensation is or any encouragement or venue to find out....

I missed the part where Mr. Buckley confessed that he found his purpose in improving Vanguard's client experience....

Individual radiators and whole house piping can also develop scale/calcification over time and reduce efficiency. A good hot water boiler HVAC tech can test the water in the line and treat accordingly. Do you regularly 'bleed' the radiators? Also good to do on an annual basis.

I live in the DC metro area. The Baltimore-DC stretch is one nightmare and the DC-Richmond stretch is another. One accident or inclement weather and you are SOL. Personally, I would fly......

This appears to be a 'slice and dice' high expense fund. You can invest in basically the same way by using the VA529 Vanguard Total International low expense fund. I fail to see what value the added complications adds. Simpler is usually better, good luck.

Yep, "contractor grade"....

+ this!

Or perhaps you live in a 50 yr old neighborhood like mine where all the sewer lines were installed by the same developer using "Orangeburg" pipe and you have already witnessed five close neighbors replace their lines for $20K + each. I have asked each plumber/contractor what my odds are and they all say "it's only a matter of time and time is short". Sewer line insurance figures to be a good investment whether I need it or the next owner will....

A really eye-opener for me was several months ago when my RX350 needed a new water pump due to a bad bearing (well known and documented flaw). The first quote was out of pocket for about $1500. When I reminded my Service Advisor I held the Toyota/Lexus Platinum extended warranty the final bill (free to me) under warranty was about $700. Much like a medical bill, the in network or insured vs. out of network or uninsured was about a 1:2 ratio. I DID have the serpentine belt replaced at the same time since I was not charged labor, only the belt cost and I DID have the work performed at my Lexus dealer using OEM parts. More grist for the mill.....

Most helpful, thanks

Fool me once - shame on you. Fool me twice - shame on me. As others have suggested, perhaps you would be happier with Fidelity or Schwab.

Everyone's experience is different. I purchased the Toyota factory 'platinum' extended warranty when purchasing my 3 year old CPO Lexus because one defect with all the electronics, chips and controls could easily exceed its cost. Already it has covered a new exhaust heat shield, radiator and water pump on my 10 yr old Lexus saving me more than I would have paid out of pocket and I have still have more time and mileage left under warranty. I doubt many Bogleheads have suffered through a house fire, but I bet 99%+ of us carry homeowner's insurance just in case.

I concur with the Ramsey on Youtube recommendation. While he is not everyone's cup of tea and some of his business relationships are suspect he is good for those needing the 'baby steps' in a financial recovery plan. You could even gift your friend a one year membership in Ramsey's Financial University (for those getting started) and hope for the best.

I suggest you consult some of the postings by "Car Care Nut" on Youtube specifically on the Prius - very helpful and informative....

My long serving plumber recommends sewer line insurance - that is where the real $ liability lies (pun intended)...

Do a search on Grabiner (contributor) and foreign tax credit. He is one of the best BH advisors I know of on this subject...

And don't forget that hundreds of "YouTube" plumbing and other videos are your friend....

I did this with a Toyota Sienna and it was the best covered pickup I ever enjoyed.

Combine large amounts of hedge fund and institutional money with super fast computers running algorithms and you get these big instantaneous swings.....

Put a concentrated amount of Sea Foam gas treatment in the gas tank and run it through. Worked for me. Try it and report back. Simple and inexpensive fix and I add a little Sea Foam to every tank now....

Does your insurance reimburse you for lost time?

You definitely want to dry out any moist areas. Mildew mitigation is a much more expensive and difficult remedy.

Mine arrived yesterday....

Color me cynical, but with all the talk about deficit reduction I strongly suspect a subsequent congress will eliminate this provision. Need for taxes will be too great to ignore.....

Make sure you have good supporting documentation; you are now in the IRS audit target zone. They have stated three priorities for audits are: 1) pass through entities (such as yours), 2) offshore accounts and 3) capital gains/losses that are self reported with no 1099B support (e.g. crypto, art, collectibles). Good luck!

I try to make sure both the cars we own and where we park them do not become "catalytic converter thief magnets".

Responding to KlangFool's post: Do I surmise that you are a descendant of Kong Qiu/Kung Fu-tse/Confucius? I visited his hometown several years ago - quite the sage. Congrats on your distinguished lineage....

There is always legislative risk. What one congress gives another subsequent congress can take away. Recall the 'stretch IRA'. In addition the corrosive effect of inflation makes carry forwards less valuable, but not worthless.

Insurance is risk pooling. If you have no insurance you carry all the risk. As you add more insurance the risk shifts more to the insurer. How much risk do you want to carry and how much do you want to offload (but not entirely) to the insurer?

My HVAC engineer suggests that if your heating system supports it to leave the blower fan running at low continuously rather than cycling on and off in the auto mode. He says it better distributes the heat and humidity - works for me.

2023 prediction: with the proliferation of online betting and the implosion of crypto, the 2022 filing season is going to be a doozy and we will enjoy MANY more posts such as this one,,,

First of all, please thank him again for penning "Winning the Loser's Game" - one of the BEST investing books available. I have profited (no pun intended) from it enormously. He already mentioned that he is now investing for his grandchildren's benefit, his own needs met otherwise. What does he see as reasonable returns for the next decade: domestic, international, bonds and inflation? I am not asking him to PREDICT the future but am curious as to what he sees as reasonable for investors to expect.....gracias.

WOW! The MOST important thing is that you have a teen who is interested in investing! I wish I could bottle his youth for compounding in MY account - but that ship has sailed. IIRC my teens were interested in girls, sports, and "occasionally" school.They came around but well after adolescence....congrats!!

Sad to say, I wonder how many assessments will be coming in the next year due to Hurricane Ian and for how much?

This discussion reminds me of the mental and financial gymnastics many have to go through when choosing Medigap coverage. There are so many (seniors and others) who are overwhelmed by all of this and find it very difficult to choose a plan that is best for their personal situation. My heart goes out to those who don't or can't do the research and fill out the spreadsheets...

To be clear, most sewer line "insurance" (which I have as a small amount added to my monthly utility bill) only covers REPAIR, not REPLACEMENT. Even so, my plumber recommends it as POSSIBLY saving $Ks of dollars but plumbers will only patch/repair the affected area and not give you a super duper full trench full line replacement pipe. Replacement landscaping not included either. Better than nothing I figure...