Search found 9473 matches

by Kenkat
Wed Mar 27, 2024 4:36 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Washington DC trip ideas
Replies: 20
Views: 808

Re: Washington DC trip ideas

One thing that I did when I was in DC for a work conference was to take a guided tour of the major monuments at night. You get to see a lot of the major attractions and don’t have to worry about parking, driving, etc. You spend 15-20 minutes at each over the course of 3 hours or so and transportation was by one of the mini-bus / party bus style vehicles. Mine picked me up right at the hotel, which was Gaylord National Harbor but there are probably other options as well. It was a good way to see a lot in a short time.
by Kenkat
Wed Mar 27, 2024 8:29 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Amazon "eligible for return" cost
Replies: 30
Views: 1906

Re: Amazon "eligible for return" cost

texasdiver wrote: Tue Mar 26, 2024 9:56 pm Select a reason for return that makes it their fault not yours. Then return shipping is free.

I usually select "inaccurate web site description" and always get free return shipping. That is an ambiguous enough reason. You are only interacting with computers when you do this. The process is automatic.
I will second this. There isn’t really a category for “I didn’t like the item” or “it didn’t meet my expectations” so this is what I use for this situation. I keep most of what I order on Amazon, so I’ve never run into an issue with returns using this reason.
by Kenkat
Tue Mar 26, 2024 9:33 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: 3 month rental in Destin FL area?
Replies: 7
Views: 1164

Re: 3 month rental in Destin FL area?

That whole area is a very popular tourist / beach vacation destination. I’d look to stay off the actual beach itself - Navarre, Fort Walton Beach are both nice areas and reasonably close to Niceville. A quick look on VRBO shows you might be able to find something in your price range but it will be very date dependent - for example: https://www.vrbo.com/3358394?chkin=2024-05-01&chkout=2024-07-31&d1=2024-05-01&d2=2024-07-31&startDate=2024-05-01&endDate=2024-07-31&x_pwa=1&rfrr=HSR&pwa_ts=1711463599454&referrerUrl=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudnJiby5jb20vSG90ZWwtU2VhcmNo&useRewards=true&adults=2&regionId=6135&destination=Niceville%2C+Florida%2C+United+States+of+America&destType=MARKET&latLong=30.51...
by Kenkat
Mon Mar 25, 2024 4:08 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Cancer Diagnosis Hubby
Replies: 39
Views: 5811

Re: Cancer Diagnosis Hubby

When I helped my son apply for SSDI, we were able to do everything online; no visit to the social security office was required. Put down everything you know about doctors and medical conditions - doctor name / address / phone, patient ID, medical record number, etc. Whatever you have. Social security will contact the providers as they work on the case.

We did retain an attorney to help with the process; in retrospect, we probably didn’t need him as he was approved on the initial application, but I considered it an “insurance policy” in case we were denied or had difficulty with the process. He was helpful in telling us what to expect and how to get started.

I wish all the best for you and your family.
by Kenkat
Mon Mar 25, 2024 3:40 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Hospital not following up with my insurance for large claim
Replies: 24
Views: 2261

Re: Hospital not following up with my insurance for large claim

Based on things I have read about, I’d be worried that two years from now, the hospital is going to send a bill saying “where’s the $250k you owe us?”.
by Kenkat
Sat Mar 23, 2024 1:54 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Help with Social Security [Earned income limits on SSDI payments?]
Replies: 4
Views: 341

Re: Help with Social Security [Earned income limits on SSDI payments?]

After the trial and extended periods that grampy mentions end, any earnings above $1550/mo. for 2024 will disqualify her from SSDI. The $1550/mo. level is considered “Substantial Gainful Actviity (SGA)”: https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/sga.html I have an adult son who is receiving SSDI; he is not currently working but given that he is also high functioning, it is a possibility again some day (he worked for a period of time). One very important consideration is the date on which your child was determined to be disabled. If it was before age 22 (my son was), she would be able to qualify under your and/or your spouse’s earnings record when you begin receiving social security. This is likely to be a substantial increase over what she currently re...
by Kenkat
Sat Mar 23, 2024 12:17 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Toys Have You Bought That Have Been Worth it?
Replies: 253
Views: 18250

Re: What Toys Have You Bought That Have Been Worth it?

lazydavid wrote: Sat Mar 23, 2024 6:54 am
CascadiaSoonish wrote: Fri Mar 22, 2024 9:51 pm
vxdx wrote: Thu Mar 21, 2024 11:38 pm A Miata as a second car.
We just bought an '08 hardtop Miata and I'm teaching our oldest how to drive stick with it. We paid waaaaay over KBB for it because it's a hardtop in great condition. Price didn't matter, it's a great experience with my kid.
You mean it came with the hardtop accessory. All Miatas are softtop convertibles, except for the newer RF which is kind of an auto-targa. They only ever built one hardtop coupe, and Mazda still owns it.
There was a retractable hardtop option on the NC starting in 2007.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazda_MX- ... d%20Canada.
by Kenkat
Sat Mar 23, 2024 11:31 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: VBILX vs MassMutual Stable Value Diversified HELP please
Replies: 12
Views: 821

Re: VBILX vs MassMutual Stable Value Diversified HELP please

Do you have 15, 20 or more years before you expect to need this money and are willing to ignore short term ups and downs to potentially earn an extra 1-2% per year above the stable value fund? Then the intermediate bond fund might be best. If an investor does have 15, 20 or more years, why would you NOT invest in stocks? Why bond fund? Because there are no guarantees that stocks will outperform bonds over those time periods. If you are bothered by a 15% loss in a bond fund, how will you react to a 50% loss in your equities? Maybe you will be fine, saying “well it’s equities so I expect that kind of loss but do not expect any losses from my bonds”. More than a few people may panic and sell. Sometimes bonds go up and stocks go down. Sometime...
by Kenkat
Sat Mar 23, 2024 11:21 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: VBILX vs MassMutual Stable Value Diversified HELP please
Replies: 12
Views: 821

Re: VBILX vs MassMutual Stable Value Diversified HELP please

Vanguard Intermediate Term Bond Index is more risky than your stable value fund. When you take more risk, in the short run you might end up worse off than the safe option (stable value) and might even lose money. In the long run, you would expect to achieve a higher return from the more risky option (intermediate bond). The longer the timeframe is, the more likely it is that this will be true. But there is some risk there and there is no guarantee it will pay off. Intermediate bond had a very bad year in 2022 when interest rates went up. As you can see, the yield of intermediate term bond has gone up and is now higher than the stable value fund, but it will take a few years for it to make up the loss that was incurred in 2022. Some people w...
by Kenkat
Fri Mar 22, 2024 1:38 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Toys Have You Bought That Have Been Worth it?
Replies: 253
Views: 18250

Re: What Toys Have You Bought That Have Been Worth it?

Camaro
Miata
Hot tub
Home theater (probably modest by some standards but I am happy with it)
iPad
by Kenkat
Sat Mar 16, 2024 3:15 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Quit claim deed has a lot of room for fraud
Replies: 28
Views: 3316

Re: Quit claim deed has a lot of room for fraud

Just signed my wife and I up for email alerts on our county’s recorder web site. Thanks Bogleheads!
by Kenkat
Sat Mar 16, 2024 3:11 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Concern for Possible Fraud... New Account Needed?
Replies: 29
Views: 2163

Re: Concern for Possible Fraud... New Account Needed?

Some things sneak through. It’s not a perfect system as others have said.

I was “incentivized” to switch to one of the newer type checking accounts at my bank and part of that was sunsetting the ATM card and replacing it with a debit card. I have the option to lock this card through the online banking app, which blocks any charges to it. Since I really only use it infrequently at the ATM, I just keep it locked all the time. It is probably worth checking to see if your bank offers that capability.
by Kenkat
Sat Mar 16, 2024 10:22 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Buying an Expensive Car
Replies: 101
Views: 8719

Re: Buying an Expensive Car

To clarify, you are talking about the M3 (sedan form factor), not the X3 (SUV form factor), correct? I wouldn’t buy an X3 as a single 30yo personally. But since you have previously owned an M2 and loved it and having a good idea of why you want the features this car offers, I’d say go for it. Obviously you should drive one first and I would be drawn to the RWD/6M model personally, but AWD/Auto is probably more versatile for everyday driving.

You can sell it in 5 years if the bug leaves you and while it will be an expensive means of transport for the time you own it, YOLO.
by Kenkat
Thu Mar 14, 2024 12:56 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Help with open social security results please
Replies: 11
Views: 885

Re: Help with open social security results please

Your benefit (PIA) will be increased 8% for each year after your full retirement age if you don’t claim at your FRA; this is referred to as delayed retirement credits.

https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement ... ayret.html
by Kenkat
Thu Mar 14, 2024 10:17 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Navigating Speakers for in home theater
Replies: 44
Views: 3354

Re: Navigating Speakers for in home theater

It was many years ago but I ran wiring for our home theater when we built our house. Obviously, run the wires while the walls are still open and I’d add buy some “better grade” wire as this is one thing that you can’t go back and upgrade later. I ran the wires to the location of the TV and installed wall plates so you could connect the components easily. I installed 4 Paradigm in wall 2 way speakers in each corner of the room, have a Klipsch center channel speaker and a Sony subwoofer after the original Paradigm sub started sounding “boomy”. Yamaha receiver. It’s a 5.1 system which was the standard back when I did the original install, it sounds great still after many years. There are many good brands of speakers, amps, etc. so I’d shop bas...
by Kenkat
Sat Mar 09, 2024 12:20 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How could I have known dental claim would be denied?
Replies: 43
Views: 4595

Re: How could I have known dental claim would be denied?

I am sure the insurance company is looking at this as an expensive procedure from a new plan member and looking to deny it somehow. A pre determination of benefits is always a good idea but I have also heard situations where those are approved and then the insurance company comes back and says oops, turns out that’s not covered after all. I would be sure to exhaust the appeals process. I am sure the initial appeal will be denied but usually there is a second level third party appeal process with someone outside of the insurance company. I would focus on the fact that the procedure code is covered per the information provided to you and the denial is based on materials not available to you the consumer. I’d also focus on the definition of “n...
by Kenkat
Thu Mar 07, 2024 10:37 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Argument against people that say stock market is rigged, so don’t invest in it
Replies: 80
Views: 5750

Re: Argument against people that say stock market is rigged, so don’t invest in it

Of course in real life, organized legal gambling is only honest in the sense that the casino isn't stealing from you by using inside information or rigging games. But it is still taking money from you by shaving the odds. State lotteries are probably honest in the sense of doing what they say they will do, but even in Idaho, the payout percentage is only 78.53%, so if they take in $1 million in bets, they pay out only $785,300 in jackpots. While state lotteries are fair in the sense the published odds are accurate, they do things to manipulate behavior. I was once working for a state lottery. They wanted an example of one of their games converted to a Flash application. (So, yes, quite some time ago. Flash was the only way to do it.) It wa...
by Kenkat
Thu Mar 07, 2024 10:24 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Taking Social Security Disability Temporarily
Replies: 14
Views: 988

Re: Taking Social Security Disability Temporarily

...So, when it comes to applying for disability, does one simply apply online or is it wise to use an attorney? There is likely little value gained with an attorney until the claim has been denied. The medical application process is relatively simple, just names and addresses of doctors and dates of treatment/evaluation and some questions about how the disability impacts you and limits your ability to work. The medical evaluators are primarily interested in medical records. Since attorney fees are often related to the amount of retroactive benefits awarded it is believed by some people that an attorney has no financial incentive to get benefits awarded quickly, they make more money the longer the case takes to progress through the appeals ...
by Kenkat
Thu Mar 07, 2024 10:08 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Emerging Markets Stocks have been a complete disaster
Replies: 175
Views: 17684

Re: Emerging Markets Stocks have been a complete disaster

EM was a bet that did not pay off because investors did not understand that rule of law underpins all valuations and the bulk of EM are not rule of law countries. The investable world is the Anglosphere, western Europe, Israel in the middle east, Japan, Korea and a few others. Most of the rest of the world is not investable since you are at risk that your assets will be confiscated. Though of course you can be lucky if you get in and out at the right times. Then why does it have the largest returns for the past 25 years? You can invest in EM markets, clearly, and “rule of law” discrepancies should be priced in to the risk story. EM is not a single country EM doesn’t have the largest returns for the past 25 years according to PV. Real EM re...
by Kenkat
Thu Mar 07, 2024 8:48 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Argument against people that say stock market is rigged, so don’t invest in it
Replies: 80
Views: 5750

Re: Argument against people that say stock market is rigged, so don’t invest in it

As others have said, sports betting has a negative expected real return. The book maker sets the parameters of the game such that there are an even number of bets for each side of the bet, takes a percentage of the bet and pays out the rest. This is the key to the book maker’s job; the only thing that can go wrong is that they get too many bets on one side and that side wins. That’s why betting lines change as you get closer to the actual game.

Contrast that with the stock market which has a positive expected real return. The economy grows and the stock market grows with it. Your only job is to stay invested and collect the lumpy but eventual returns.
by Kenkat
Wed Mar 06, 2024 9:24 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Taking Social Security Disability Temporarily
Replies: 14
Views: 988

Re: Taking Social Security Disability Temporarily

Thank you for your input. I'm 52 and am already past the second bend point, so any future earnings at this point have minimal impact. If you have a social security online account, you can change some of the assumptions on future earnings to see the impact on your future benefits. I am not sure you can stop and restart using social security’s tool on the main account screen but I think there’s a tool that you can post your yearly earnings into and get more granular. I will say that when I was looking into retirement, the impact of zeroing out future earnings in my situation was minimal. I had 35 years of “career” / full time job post college earnings, so the impact of retiring at 58-1/2 instead of FRA was only decreased my PIA by $100/mo.
by Kenkat
Wed Mar 06, 2024 9:12 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Taking Social Security Disability Temporarily
Replies: 14
Views: 988

Re: Taking Social Security Disability Temporarily

The primary impact is that you will not receive benefit credits while you are on disability, so this would potentially impact being able to earn the 35 years of credits to avoid zeros in your benefit calculation as well as potentially limit your lifetime earnings. This would ultimately lead to a lower benefit amount or PIA. The positive news is that social security benefit calculations put a greater weight on lower earnings amount than higher, commonly referred to as bend points, so the impact would be somewhat lessened depending on your particular situation. It’s quite complex but here is an explanation of how the benefit is calculated: https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/Benefits.html#:~:text=Social%20Security%20benefits%20are%20typically,are%2...
by Kenkat
Tue Mar 05, 2024 10:57 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Giving (unequal) money to adult children
Replies: 90
Views: 8407

Re: Giving (unequal) money to adult children

I will give my perspective from that of one of the adult children. My sister is much less well off than my wife and I. Some of that is poor decisions, some of that is due to a divorce and some of that is due to having a job in a declining industry which led to declining income which led to mental health issues and disability in her early sixties. Tack on a cancer fight to that. My parents have helped her financially by sending $500/mo. for several years. We did not know this initially but my parents eventually told me as their health declined and I started helping my sister with her finances. While they’ve done a few nice things for us as well, I am sure they helped her more as she needed more help. My mom always said she was keeping track ...
by Kenkat
Mon Mar 04, 2024 8:46 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Parents responsible for SSDI repayment?
Replies: 11
Views: 1263

Re: Parents responsible for SSDI repayment?

SSDI - Social Security Disability and Medicare are earned benefits. BIL paid into the system through payroll taxes My apologies, I meant the BIl was on SSI, he never really had the type of jobs that paid into SS, stuff like working on someone’s car for cash or scrapping metal or having garage sales. The state is Iowa. That is a little different then. Two people can live at the same address but be separate households from a Medicaid and SSI perspective, but there are steps that need to be taken to insure this is the case. MIL should not claim BIL as a dependent on taxes. BIL should pay rent or cover his share of household expenses. If he does not have sufficient income to cover his share, that’s ok but his SSI would be reduced by 1/3: https...
by Kenkat
Sun Mar 03, 2024 7:35 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Lost car key - Best replacement options ?
Replies: 14
Views: 2014

Re: Lost car key - Best replacement options ?

popoki wrote: Sun Mar 03, 2024 6:48 pm Batteries Plus sells one for your vehicle.

FOB11403 Replacement Transponder Chip Key for Mazda Vehicles.

Price Plus Non-Refundable Programming Fee: $100.98.

https://www.batteriesplus.com
This is about what I paid for a key and fob (different make) at a locksmith. Batteries Plus is also fine, just providing another data point.

In my case, they cut a new key from my remaining key. The locksmith said “by the way, if you ever lose both keys, here’s your key code, you could get a replacement key from the dealer if you have this code”. Then he used the new key to start the car and was then able to program the fob from there. Pretty straightforward.
by Kenkat
Sun Mar 03, 2024 12:30 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Reasons to keep an old 401(k)
Replies: 4
Views: 592

Re: Reasons to keep an old 401(k)

If you roll your old 401k plans into your existing 401k, you can have access to the full balance if you want to utilize the Rule of 55.
by Kenkat
Sun Mar 03, 2024 12:28 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: The Psychology of Retirement (Your thought and experience, please!)
Replies: 38
Views: 5181

Re: The Psychology of Retirement (Your thought and experience, please!)

One thing that I found helpful was to pick a date in the future and set a countdown to that date. I started thinking about retiring when I was 55 but knew it was too soon both financially and I was not really ready to give up the career at that point. So I set a date shortly after I turned 59 and said “that’s my target”. I downloaded a retirement countdown calculator from the app store and put in my date. 1400 something days to go. Wow, ok, it’s something at least.

Then I just kept working. I was amazed how quickly that countdown went. Due to a few events that occurred after I set my date, I retired a little early at 58-1/2. I am now happily retired.

Good luck with whatever decision you make!
by Kenkat
Sun Mar 03, 2024 10:59 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Does healthcare remain a significant concern for retirement before 65, even with a well-planned budget?
Replies: 66
Views: 6556

Re: Does healthcare remain a significant concern for retirement before 65, even with a well-planned budget?

Each situation is going to be different. I can tell you how I am handling this and my rationale for my choices. I’ve been retired now closing in on two years, turned 60 recently, spouse will turn 58 later this year. I chose to continue my employer coverage under their “retiree” medical. I pay all the premiums, about $1200/mo. for my spouse and I. $3500 deductible, $5000 out of pocket max. individually with family deductible/OOP of $5000/$7500. Large PPO network. HSA eligible. I chose this route instead of the ACA route for the following reasons: I take an expensive brand name medication that my plan covers for a small co-pay that would be about $600/mo. without coverage Most of the lower tier Bronze and even Silver plans do not cover this d...
by Kenkat
Sat Mar 02, 2024 3:49 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Parents responsible for SSDI repayment?
Replies: 11
Views: 1263

Re: Parents responsible for SSDI repayment?

SSDI - Social Security Disability and Medicare are earned benefits. BIL paid into the system through payroll taxes and received benefits from the system. There is no clawback or asset recovery from earned benefits. There are no income or asset restrictions. BIL could have had $10M in the bank and received $1M a year from a trust fund and he’d still have been entitled to those benefits. It’s just like social security retirement benefits - they are yours.

Contrast that with Medicaid and SSI - Supplemental Security Income which both can have asset limits and/or income limits as they are need based assistance. But that doesn’t sound like what we are talking about here,
by Kenkat
Fri Mar 01, 2024 9:58 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: DRIP Broadcom denied and Vanguard Brokerage account
Replies: 34
Views: 3768

Re: DRIP Broadcom denied and Vanguard Brokerage account

Someone at Vanguard probably knows why they restrict dividend reinvestment based on price. It might be because they want to avoid fractional shares that are too small - for example, a $7 dividend on a $700 stock is 0.01 shares. Or maybe it is a legacy policy from days gone by that no one has ever bothered to change. I would focus on the fact that you ultimately did get an answer from Vanguard about why the dividend reinvestment wasn’t available on that particular holding, so ultimately service was provided. The issue is that there are no fractional shares. It's an accounting slight of hand by the brokerage. The brokerage owns the leftovers. Essentially, by offering fractional shares, the brokerage is letting the customers dictate a small p...
by Kenkat
Fri Mar 01, 2024 8:42 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: DRIP Broadcom denied and Vanguard Brokerage account
Replies: 34
Views: 3768

Re: DRIP Broadcom denied and Vanguard Brokerage account

While it would be great if the front line customer service people knew how everything worked in a large and complex organization like Vanguard, it’s probably not realistic. The customer service people are typically lower paid employees with limited years of service. They just don’t know how everything works yet. With a problem like this, you need to somehow get to the old, grizzled veteran in the back office who knows the how and why of the particular question. Hopefully that person hasn’t retired yet and not passed that information on to someone else. Prior to retiring myself, I would occasionally get calls from one of my “people” - aka people I had a strong relationship with - asking me to look at something. This usually came with a sorry...
by Kenkat
Fri Mar 01, 2024 8:19 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Do small-cap funds purge their winners
Replies: 29
Views: 3458

Re: Do small-cap funds purge their winners

They do, especially index small cap funds, which have more rigid rules around buy or sell decisions. Some indexes use gates to prevent excess churn of companies exceeding the cap and then falling back below the cap, causing the fund to have to sell and buy back repeatedly, leading to excess expense and hurting overall returns and tracking. So for example, if a fund had a market cap maximum of $1B, it might not sell a particular company until it hits $2B or $3B in market cap. But yes, you are correct that a small cap fund would sell a Microsoft at some point and not capture those gains. The philosophy overall I think is that there will be a number of companies that grow rapidly as small caps, with only a few exiting the index, so small caps ...
by Kenkat
Fri Mar 01, 2024 8:09 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: I want to pay off car using money from Roth IRA
Replies: 40
Views: 4638

Re: I want to pay off car using money from Roth IRA

There are lots of good thoughts above so I will just add one more comment. This one falls into the mental accounting bucket but I’m going to say it anyway. I assume you had a lease payment on the car you want to buy and that will end with the lease. Whether you realize it or not, that lease payment had an interest rate associated with it as well, also known as the money factor. One option is to buy the car when it comes off lease and finance it with a loan. The money you used to use to make the lease payment now pays the loan instead. Is this optimal? I don’t know, probably not unless the stock market does really great. But it leaves the Roth alone to grow. I always worry that once that Roth money is gone, it never gets replaced. Financing ...
by Kenkat
Thu Feb 29, 2024 8:07 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Has anyone appealed a drug price with Kaiser? Mine quadrupled.
Replies: 22
Views: 2715

Re: Has anyone appealed a drug price with Kaiser? Mine quadrupled.

Medicare does not negotiate drug prices with manufacturers, hence the higher prices. This is a public policy issue that has been in the news quite a bit if you care to read more on your own. Medicare started negotiating prices for some drugs last year. https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/29/politics/medicare-drug-price-negotiations/index.html Kaiser does negotiate prices, though. Op is probably on Medicare Advantage. They are working on negotiating the first 10 drugs effective for 2026 but there are pending lawsuits attempting to block this. Here’s a good summary of the current status of this effort for anyone interested in reading more: https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/faqs-about-the-inflation-reduction-acts-medicare-drug-price-negotiatio...
by Kenkat
Wed Feb 28, 2024 6:30 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread
Replies: 1514
Views: 169492

Re: Does Vanguard offshore its CS?

One thing a career in IT taught me is an ability to communicate with people all over the world. If they’re willing to learn and speak English, I’m willing to learn different accents and occasionally translate for others. :D
by Kenkat
Wed Feb 28, 2024 9:01 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Live Symphony to Star Wars movie.
Replies: 9
Views: 1379

Re: Live Symphony to Star Wars movie.

We saw Disney’s Fantasia 2000 performed by the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra and enjoyed it very much. If you like Star Wars and the Star Wars soundtrack / score, I think you would enjoy it.
by Kenkat
Tue Feb 27, 2024 9:42 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: FIRE-ing In, Quitting versus Getting FIRE-d - Talking to Boss Tomorrow
Replies: 148
Views: 22995

Re: FIRE-ing In, Quitting versus Getting FIRE-d - Talking to Boss Tomorrow

It’s been an interesting read and I will just add that given your level of assets, any severance is going to be fairly meaningless so I wouldn’t spend a lot of emotional energy trying to secure one. If it falls into your lap, sure, take it. Otherwise, it’s not worth it. Do a mic drop on your terms and walk out when you want to walk out. It is a liberating feeling that everyone should experience at least once in life.
by Kenkat
Tue Feb 27, 2024 9:10 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Zelle Questions: safety, speed, uses?
Replies: 57
Views: 5603

Re: Zelle Questions: safety, speed, uses?

It can be safe if you are well informed on how it works and aware of any potential pitfalls. The feature of Zelle that makes it a fraud target is that it is directly and instantly linkable to your bank account through the bank’s app or website. The scammer calls the targeted victim, spoofs the caller ID so that it shows “Megabank National Bank”, knows the basic customer service fraud script, maybe knows some details about the victim and prompts them to sign up for Zelle in the banking app and then send money to correct a “fraudulent” transaction, all in under a minute or less. Contrast this with something like Venmo where there is a process to link and then verify a bank account over time - so there is a circuit breaker to slow down any fra...
by Kenkat
Mon Feb 26, 2024 5:37 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: I am not seeing how bonds have mitigated losses during downturns
Replies: 27
Views: 4426

Re: I am not seeing how bonds have mitigated losses during downturns

rkhusky wrote: Mon Feb 26, 2024 5:10 pm
Kenkat wrote: Mon Feb 26, 2024 1:07 pm If you expand the timeframes a bit, bonds considerably mitigated losses in the 2000 and 2008 downturns. They did not in 2022.

2000-2002:
VFIAX: -22.10%
VBTLX: +8.32%

2008-2009:
VFIAX: -10.66%
VBTLX: +5.59%
Above numbers are CAGR, not total loss. And numbers are incorrect for 2000-2002, you need to use VFINX and VBMFX.

On a monthly basis, max drawdown for 2000-2002 was -45% for VFINX (CAGR=-14.60%) and -1.5% for VBMFX (CAGR=9.35%). The former lost about 40% for the period, while the latter gained 30%.

Max drawdown for 2008-2009 was -37% for VFIAX and -3.9% for VBTLX. The former lost about 20% for the period, while the latter gained 10%.
It’s good somebody’s checking this stuff :beer
by Kenkat
Mon Feb 26, 2024 1:07 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: I am not seeing how bonds have mitigated losses during downturns
Replies: 27
Views: 4426

Re: I am not seeing how bonds have mitigated losses during downturns

If you expand the timeframes a bit, bonds considerably mitigated losses in the 2000 and 2008 downturns. They did not in 2022.

2000-2002:
VFIAX: -22.10%
VBTLX: +8.32%

2008-2009:
VFIAX: -10.66%
VBTLX: +5.59%
by Kenkat
Mon Feb 26, 2024 11:04 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Dental crowns
Replies: 60
Views: 8079

Re: Dental crowns

My regular dentist quoted $2000. My understanding is that it's a "common" crown. Its the last upper molar and there is no corresponding lower tooth. I'm thinking why not just extract it; what use is it? Dentist says they're in the business to save teeth. While pulling teeth is not my favorite activity, it might be a significantly lower cost. I had my back lower molar crack. It was not able to be saved with a root canal, so I had it extracted in preparation for a dental implant. Since that is a long process, I had a period of time with no tooth in that spot. Turns out I missed my tooth. I hated eating with no tooth in a spot where I was used to there being a tooth. I love the implant and resulting crown. It wasn’t cheap but when m...
by Kenkat
Sun Feb 25, 2024 3:29 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: HR Block Data verification problem for inherited IRA Distribution
Replies: 5
Views: 474

Re: HR Block Data verification problem for inherited IRA Distribution

I got this message as well. I did not do any QCDs so I ignored the verification flag and filed. The verification flags are not hard errors, they are just warnings / alerts telling you to be sure you have considered something prior to filing. I believe I had four of these on my return this year and didn’t need to do anything about them.
by Kenkat
Sat Feb 24, 2024 1:50 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: GE Dryer Stopped Mid-Cycle and Leaked Water
Replies: 11
Views: 2099

Re: GE Dryer Stopped Mid-Cycle and Leaked Water

It’s worth taking a little time to see if you can figure things out on your own as calling a repair person these days has gotten pretty expensive. With a service call built into the price, it wouldn’t surprise me if a repair started at the $300-400 range and possibly went up from there. Depending on how old the dryer is and what you paid for it originally, you maybe in “new dryer” territory.
by Kenkat
Sat Feb 24, 2024 1:44 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Dental crowns
Replies: 60
Views: 8079

Re: Dental crowns

I’d plan on something in $1200-1400 range based on fairly recent experience albeit not in SWFL. That’s a standard crown on an existing tooth - no root canal or implant included.
by Kenkat
Sat Feb 24, 2024 1:30 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Handling Inheritance In A Marriage
Replies: 49
Views: 5655

Re: Handling Inheritance In A Marriage

There is the business part of the marriage and the emotional part of the marriage. A misstep in one of these parts can have negative effects on the other part. Taking things from the business side perspective, trusts to insure the money stays in the family makes sense. As my grandmother used to say, “the money should follow the bloodline”. Unfortunately, what this signals to the emotional side is that in spite of co-mingling your entire life with your “person” - house, mortgage, children, the whole catastrophe - maybe this whole thing won’t work out. Realistic? Yes. Signaling your commitment? Not so much. When my wife received an inheritance, I mentioned to her that hey, you know, this is your money and you can keep it all separate if you’d...
by Kenkat
Fri Feb 23, 2024 4:22 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Very Recent TIPS Fund Price Movement
Replies: 7
Views: 1015

Re: Very Recent TIPS Fund Price Movement

Interest rates are always bumping up and down in response to various macro trends like inflation, economic outlook, etc. In the long run, these things tend to not matter; next week or next month there will be a new set of numbers released and everything will change again.
by Kenkat
Wed Feb 21, 2024 6:16 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Full solar ECLIPSE April 2024!
Replies: 80
Views: 9594

Re: Full solar ECLIPSE April 2024!

Tim_in_GA wrote: Wed Feb 21, 2024 4:34 pm Our home in central Ohio is in the totality zone. So glad I can watch from the yard instead of driving like we did in 2017.
What's your address over there? You're on Briar, right? (inspired by your avatar) :D
by Kenkat
Wed Feb 21, 2024 3:55 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Tax question - Overpayment of Social Security and Medicare taxes
Replies: 6
Views: 492

Re: Tax question - Overpayment of Social Security and Medicare taxes

Yes, you will receive a refund for the overpaid taxes when you file. This is a fairly common occurrence whenever higher paid people switch jobs mid-year.
by Kenkat
Mon Feb 19, 2024 11:46 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Let me retire! Please?
Replies: 62
Views: 8169

Re: Let me retire! Please?

When considering withdraw rates, you also have to remember that you will be receiving social security income in 8 years at 62 and then additional social security income in 14 years at 70. So a 4% / 3.5% withdraw rate does not need to last 30 years. I’d also expect health care expenses to drop after you both turn 65 and your child (hopefully) moves to their own health plan at some point.
by Kenkat
Thu Feb 15, 2024 6:52 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Large share of apple in my portfolio
Replies: 14
Views: 1616

Re: Large share of apple in my portfolio

I would look to reduce your position over a multi-year period, shooting for staying in the 15% capital gains bracket which is good up to roughly the 1/2 million dollar mark. While no one wants to pay taxes on gains, there’s not a lot of options short of giving it away to charity or leaving it to an heir.