Search found 2557 matches

by oneleaf
Fri Jan 26, 2024 1:59 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Advice for Miami and Keys Trip?
Replies: 22
Views: 2526

Re: Advice for Miami and Keys Trip?

After you are finished with Miami, you can catch a flight to Key West. Again skip a car while you are there as there is a shuttle. When done, rent a car and drive back to Miami for your flight home. I can suggest more as I was in the Keys last year. How much time are you planning for this trip? Thanks for the suggestion! Thinking of about a one week trip. Hmm, for sure I was thinking I'd only drive one way, but any reason why you recommend doing it on the way back from Key West? Sounds like you're coming for spring break - pretty busy time on Miami Beach (and Ft. Lauderdale beach, and Daytona Beach, etc!) I assume Key Largo is for John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park for snorkeling. I'm not sure about parasailing at 9 years old, but check ...
by oneleaf
Thu Jan 25, 2024 9:38 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Advice for Miami and Keys Trip?
Replies: 22
Views: 2526

Re: Advice for Miami and Keys Trip?

rule of law guy wrote: Thu Jan 25, 2024 7:54 pm "Miami Beach without a car (any suggestions for a family friendly place to stay?"

not South Beach. north of about 17th street is ok even though that might be technically be called South Beach. a little known fact is that the best beach in the Miami area is on Key Biscayne, the public Crandon Park...though you would need a rental car unless you stay at the pricy Ritz Carlton adjacent to that beach.
I appreciate the recommendation, thanks! I will be sure to look in that area... also was definitely planning to check out Key Biscayne.
by oneleaf
Thu Jan 25, 2024 6:55 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Advice for Miami and Keys Trip?
Replies: 22
Views: 2526

Advice for Miami and Keys Trip?

We are considering taking our daughter (9 years old) to the beach and snorkeling in March, and was considering Miami Beach and the Keys. Would love some advice on where to stay and how best to plan the trip. I'd like to do as little driving as possible, but I know that it's not feasible to enjoy most of the keys without a rental car. So I was thinking of flying into Miami, spend a couple days in Miami Beach without a car (any suggestions for a family friendly place to stay?), and then rent a car... go to Key Largo and middle keys for a night or two. And then ditch the car when we get to Key West. We'd then spend another night or two, and then take a shuttle back to Miami before heading home. Parasailing and snorkeling are the main activitie...
by oneleaf
Sun Dec 10, 2023 1:42 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Peter Attia podcast alternative?
Replies: 41
Views: 5472

Re: Peter Attia podcast alternative?

The reality is, the topics he is discussing are "experimental". People want concrete answers, but when it comes to nutrition, exercise, supplementation, etc. we don't really know all that much and every human is unique and responds differently to input. If you want someone to give absolute answers instead of change their mind with the latest research (and their clinical/anecdotal experience and the situation of the individual patient/client they are working with), then you would be asking for a cult leader. One of the reasons many of my MD colleagues like Attia is because he isn't married to his ideas and is willing to alter his perspective with the evidence. Fair enough. It could be that the Attia followers hang onto his advice ...
by oneleaf
Sat Dec 09, 2023 11:31 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Peter Attia podcast alternative?
Replies: 41
Views: 5472

Re: Peter Attia podcast alternative?

I stopped listening to Peter Attia after I got tired of hearing about his sauna in nearly every episode (only half joking). Hah, kinda with you... for me, I feel like Attia's advice and beliefs are way too experimental, yet he seems to be way too overconfident and to an alarming level of precision. Attia-heads praise him for being willing to change his mind when the research leads him elsewhere, but shouldn't you be skeptical as to why he was so gung-ho and precise about his recommendations, and why wouldn't you be skeptical about it now? Like exactly how many minutes of Zone-2 is necessary? And how many millimoles of lactate exactly is Zone 2? We all need pharmacology to hit what level of ApoB exactly? What were his precise recommendation...
by oneleaf
Sat Nov 25, 2023 10:57 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: TurboTax 2023 offer
Replies: 282
Views: 51760

Re: TurboTax 2023 offer

Just ordered the Amazon Cyber Monday Deal. The link above takes you to the Disc version but if you want the PC/Mac Download version it's there as well. $45.99 for Deluxe + State PC Download with $10 gift card, making it $35.99 for the software. After subtracting the gift card, I paid $34.99 last year and $29.99 the year before, so I think this is good enough for me. Thanks everyone!
by oneleaf
Fri Nov 24, 2023 3:39 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: TurboTax 2023 offer
Replies: 282
Views: 51760

Re: TurboTax 2023 offer

pizzy wrote: Fri Nov 24, 2023 3:33 pm
Wwwdotcom wrote: Fri Nov 24, 2023 2:55 pm
rsundaraz wrote: Fri Nov 03, 2023 5:31 pm I used to buy the Desktop version from Costco around Nov-Dec as they always seemed to have a better price. Last couple of years I had switched to the online only version even though it's expensive as the UI was much better. Need to think about it this time. I was wondering if I was missing out on potential tax savings by not having a local in-person tax advisor.
I like the online version as well, but the desktop version allows for multiple e-files.
But maybe not for multiple people this year.
Wait... how does that work? I usually buy an e-file for myself and my parents all using the same installation. Does it not come with up to 5 e-files now?
by oneleaf
Sat Nov 18, 2023 4:03 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Help w/response to IRS letter (bank account bonuses)
Replies: 53
Views: 4904

Re: Help w/response to IRS letter (bank account bonuses)

pizzy wrote: Sat Nov 18, 2023 3:55 pm It’s only incorrect if the bank determined it was interest. Which they didn’t. An account opening bonus for a bank account doesn’t default to being classified as interest. The qualifications for the bonus are critical in determining whether a 1099-INT or a 1099-MISC is appropriate.

You seem to be making the assumption that all bank account bonuses can and should be classified as interest income. That is a false assumption.
Yep, can confirm. I work in this space and manage several types of campaigns and it all depends on how one qualifies for the campaign. Most of ours results in 1099-INT's, but a few will be reported on 1099-MISC.
by oneleaf
Mon Nov 06, 2023 7:28 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Your ****Coffee Bean*** discoveries and preferences: Brand-type-source? Grinds? Brews? Presses? Drips? Perks? Pour overs
Replies: 272
Views: 27224

Re: Your Coffee Bean discoveries and preferences: Brand-type-source? Brews?

My typical routine is a hand grinder (1ZPresso) to pourover (Kalita or V60). Occasionally mix it up with an aeropress or french press. 30g/day. Most often in one go. Would love to find one of the immersion pourovers that can hold up to 500g of water to add another toy to my coffee shelf. The original burr grinder and drip maker are in the closet for large groups and guests. Beans from a local roaster, purchased on trips from cafes / microroasters and often have a drinktrade subscription going. I like the variety and the pricing is ok. Looking forward to checking some of the recommendations here. S&W on my list now. As the only coffee drinker I don't drink enough to cope with a bigger subscription or something like a 5 lb bag. Doing my ...
by oneleaf
Fri Oct 06, 2023 10:23 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Now that long TIPS yields are 60 bp off their highs I will…
Replies: 2949
Views: 623171

Re: Now that long TIPS have pushed past 2.50% I will…

I started moving my short term TIPS and nominal bonds over to SCHP and VAIPX (both intermediate term TIPS funds) this year. Just did another big chunk today. I would buy LTPZ but that 0.20% expense ratio is pretty ridiculous IMO.
by oneleaf
Sat Jun 17, 2023 11:30 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Best Coffee Machine?
Replies: 59
Views: 6685

Re: Best Coffee Machine?

BogleWogle wrote: Sat Jun 17, 2023 9:01 am My set up after growing tired of the French press:
1. Chemex - size that fits your needs, 6 or 8 cups ~$60
2. Grinder - I’m using a Cuisinart Burr grinder ~$60
3. Kettle - I’m using a Cosori Gooseneck kettle ~$65
My setup is also very simple:
1. Clever Dripper (after brewing, I just put on top of a carafe to drip, and can usually serve two cups with it)
2. Grinder - 1Zpresso JX manual grinder
3. Zojirushii Hot Water boiler, which we use for tea as well

It's all very easy to clean and I can get consistent results.
by oneleaf
Wed Apr 05, 2023 4:29 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Logging onto Vanguard
Replies: 8
Views: 677

Re: Logging onto Vanguard

eonny wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 3:25 pm To log on to Vanguard I enter userid and password. Vanguard accepts but asks me to enter userid and password again. The second request is on a new screen.

Anyone else?
This happened to me for months. And then stopped happening one day and has been fine since. My bookmarks never changed either.
by oneleaf
Mon Feb 13, 2023 1:15 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Why Do People Like Linux?
Replies: 254
Views: 19139

Re: Why Do People Like Linux?

JupiterJones wrote: Thu Jan 19, 2023 9:33 am
anoop wrote: Thu Jan 12, 2023 12:36 am Unfortunately, there is no tax software that runs on Linux so I cannot opt for it now.
There's OpenTaxSolver. It won't eFile, but it does create PDFs of the forms which can be printed out and mailed in, as in olden days of yore.

(I have not used it and can't vouch for whether it's any good or not.)
I still keep a dedicated Windows machine for TurboTax. Everytime I get a new PC, my old PC gets Windows installed, my old license transfers over, and I use that for TurboTax. I literally only use it for TurboTax and the occasional proprietary software I need for one-off uses.
by oneleaf
Mon Feb 13, 2023 1:11 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Why Do People Like Linux?
Replies: 254
Views: 19139

Re: Why Do People Like Linux?

My approach is similar except that I upgrade to the latest LTS instead of waiting till EOL. I don't know Mint's lifecycle, but on Ubuntu even Ubuntu 14.04 (released in 2014) is still technically supported. But as you can imagine, packages are way out of date by now, even though security vulns are fixed. I just checked the release cycles, and I realized I meant "End of Standard Support", not EOL. You're right, that would be a little too long! I have to admit, My PC tends to get pretty long in the tooth by the time I do an upgrade. But flatpaks and ppa's tend to get my most important packages going for long enough that I can make do this way. Mint follows close to Ubuntu's LTS life cycle. I distrohopped a lot until I landed on Mint...
by oneleaf
Mon Feb 13, 2023 11:43 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Why Do People Like Linux?
Replies: 254
Views: 19139

Re: Why Do People Like Linux?

Been using Linux as a daily driver for about 15 years now. I've had my ups and downs with it and enough of a journey, that I am pretty agnostic about OS's these days. I no longer like to tinker, and I always just setup new machines with Linux Mint Mate Edition (whatever the newest), and barely do any customizations. I never upgrade OS's (i.e. from Mint 21 to 21.1) and use until it is EOL. Of course I keep my packages/security/kernel updated. Reasons I like Linux: I like the commandline tools and am very used to them. I like the ext4 filesystem. I like its use of symlinks and hard links, and utilize them for advanced rsync usage. I run servers, so I am so used to ssh'ing into systems, and am in familiar territory in the shell. I like tmux (m...
by oneleaf
Mon Feb 06, 2023 3:23 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Question about possible minor error 1099-R (MegaBackdoor)
Replies: 9
Views: 633

Re: Question about possible minor error 1099-R (MegaBackdoor)

MrJedi wrote: Mon Feb 06, 2023 2:40 pm I'm not sure you can rollover that lost basis into the IRA...so it would just stay in the 401k. If the 401k is still tracking that basis somewhere, then any future gains within the 401k would eat into that and reduce the taxable amount. Just my thoughts, could be wrong.
Ah, that would make sense. Hope that's the case!
sailaway wrote: Mon Feb 06, 2023 2:42 pm Box 5 is the portion of the distribution that is not taxable. This cannot be more than the distribution.
Hmmm, I see... For some reason, I thought I remember seeing people mention otherwise when they had a small loss, but I could be mistaken. I'll go ahead and let this go and file it as-is.

Thanks!
by oneleaf
Mon Feb 06, 2023 2:35 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Question about possible minor error 1099-R (MegaBackdoor)
Replies: 9
Views: 633

Re: Question about possible minor error 1099-R (MegaBackdoor)

bernina wrote: Mon Feb 06, 2023 2:33 pm Here's mine if this helps.

Box 1: $32,707.00
Box 2a: $7.00
Box 5: $32,700

I had a $7 gain and not a loss, but box 5 correctly matches my contributions and box 1 my distribution.
Yep that mirrors mine the last few years as well.
by oneleaf
Mon Feb 06, 2023 2:22 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Question about possible minor error 1099-R (MegaBackdoor)
Replies: 9
Views: 633

Re: Question about possible minor error 1099-R (MegaBackdoor)

MrJedi wrote: Mon Feb 06, 2023 2:07 pm Is the lost basis still in the 401k?
Not that I am able to see. I start every year with a zero balance in the After-Tax subaccount. And then I contribute for half the year, and then distribute it in its entirety. Beyond that, I don't have any basis visibility.

I thought that Box 5 would show the full contributed amount, and of course the Taxable Amount would still be $0, so it seems like a minor detail that no one is going to care about.
by oneleaf
Mon Feb 06, 2023 2:07 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Question about possible minor error 1099-R (MegaBackdoor)
Replies: 9
Views: 633

Re: Question about possible minor error 1099-R (MegaBackdoor)

sailaway wrote: Mon Feb 06, 2023 2:03 pm You gave two different numbers for what is in box 5. Which is actually there?
Sorry, I rewrote it to show what the form says, with a bolded note showing what I think it should be.
by oneleaf
Mon Feb 06, 2023 2:00 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Question about possible minor error 1099-R (MegaBackdoor)
Replies: 9
Views: 633

Question about possible minor error 1099-R (MegaBackdoor)

So I did an in-service rollover from After Tax account to Roth. This is my 3rd year doing it, and I just got the 1099-R. The most important boxes look correct, but there is one number that I believe is off. The situation is pretty simple: I put $22,250 into my After Tax account and distributed the full amount. After investment losses, I distributed $22,165.03. Here's my form, with notes on the possible error in Box 5: Box 1 (Gross Distribution): $22,165.03 Box 2 (Taxable Amount): $0.00 Box 2b (Taxable amount not determined): Not Checked Box 5: $22,165.03 (This, I believe, should be $22,250.00) Box 7 (Distribution Code): G Everything is correct except for Box 5, which shows $22,165.03, but I think it should be $22,250.00. So someone interpre...
by oneleaf
Mon Jan 09, 2023 10:31 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What to do when your 401K does not have true-up
Replies: 29
Views: 2824

Re: What to do when your 401K does not have true-up

My company does true ups but doesn't happen until end of Q1 the following year. I try my best to spread it out but with bonuses and such, I always tend to forget until the last couple paychecks. This year, I am down about $600 so I am glad they will eventually do the true-up.
by oneleaf
Wed Dec 28, 2022 3:16 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: TurboTax 2022 [purchase discount thread]
Replies: 394
Views: 52295

Re: TurboTax 2022 [purchase discount thread]

Yep ordered it. Thanks everyone for keeping this annual tradition going! I was actually online at 12:01 AM PST and refreshed the Amazon page and was happy to see the deal!
by oneleaf
Wed Dec 21, 2022 11:26 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Getting rid of Phone Landline, but I want to keep the Number
Replies: 35
Views: 7010

Re: Getting rid of Phone Landline, but I want to keep the Number

I tried a few call forwarding services, and ended up with CallCentric. I ported our landline over to it, and pay $7.90 for the incoming number and a modest outgoing plan. The features are great, and I use a standard VoIP Cisco box you can buy on eBay to receive the number.
by oneleaf
Wed Dec 14, 2022 6:46 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Robinhood launches 1% match for IRAs
Replies: 15
Views: 2573

Re: Robinhood launches 1% match for IRAs

the magic here is people hear 1% match and equate it to their match at work. They think wow thats a pretty good deal! not realizing that 1% of $6k is much much less than 4% of $60k. getting 60 bucks to invest at a brokerage that doesn't seem serious or at this point to have the longevity to be around come retirement time (for a 20-30 yr old i guess) seems imprudent. I would bet that less than 1% of Robinhood investors put more than $6k in their 401k. That is not their original customer base. No, but even 100% match of 1% of your salary is still $500 from your employer, where you only need to contribute $500 to get it. And most company matches are higher than 1%. You need to contribute $6000 to get $60 at Robinhood. hnd is absolutely right ...
by oneleaf
Tue Dec 13, 2022 10:23 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Interactive Brokers (Best Kept Secret)
Replies: 925
Views: 208918

Re: Interactive Brokers (Best Kept Secret)

IB no longer has inactivity fee including for PRO accounts. As for cas transactions, you can check Transaction History in the App under Transfer& pay menu or just ust the account statements. Any thoughts as to whether Lite vs Pro is a better account these days? Without the inactivity (or minimum monthly fee), it seems the Lite account is no longer that important. I have a hard time believing trade execution will matter for most buy-and-hold investors. Looking through the comparison, it seems the biggest reason to with Pro is if you tend to have a large balance in your cash settlement account. Pro gets benchmark minus 0.5% whereas Lite gets benchmark minus 1.5%. I do have a Lite account that I haven't used in awhile and I've debated mov...
by oneleaf
Fri Dec 02, 2022 12:07 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Question about I-Bond Redemption (Taxable Interest?)
Replies: 3
Views: 781

Re: Question about I-Bond Redemption (Taxable Interest?)

Mel Lindauer wrote: Thu Dec 01, 2022 12:11 pm My guess is that your wife will get the 1099. You'll need to remember to log on and download it, since TD doesn't mail 1099s.
Good to know. I prefer not waiting for mail, so glad we can just log in next year and check for the form. Thanks!
by oneleaf
Thu Dec 01, 2022 10:27 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Question about I-Bond Redemption (Taxable Interest?)
Replies: 3
Views: 781

Question about I-Bond Redemption (Taxable Interest?)

I did a very small I-Bond redemption today (just $200 partial redemption of a bond). I wanted to see how it worked.

When doing it, it showed $187.20 principal, and $12.80 total interest. But for "taxable interest", it showed $.00.

Is that normal? I assume I will get a 1099-INT showing the total interest, but was curious why it showed as $.00. Does the 1099-INT become available online or just via snail mail next year?

Thanks!

edit: I just realized something. I did it from the account of the non-primary. For instance, it was my wife's I-bond, and I am on the registration, so I did it from my account. I wonder if the lack of taxable interest is because it will be reportable to the primary and not mine?
by oneleaf
Sun Jul 03, 2022 11:59 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Tales from this insane real estate market [Home sales]
Replies: 2923
Views: 521116

Re: Tales from this insane real estate market

When will Redfin and Zillow acknowledge it's a different market from several months ago??.. Probably never, :) they'll do all they can to prop it up. I've noticed several closings from April( contracted in Feb/March) Redfin has conveniently added 5% to sale price for their estimate. That # would not happen right now. There are houses in the same neighborhood priced for less and lingering. That is an interesting issue. It is in their interest to keep those estimates high and keep people believing in any purchase being a smart investment. And many use it as a source to value their home. Almost all the Zillow “future 12 month” estimates are high single digit growth in my area - wonder if I could even find any showing negative growth. I know w...
by oneleaf
Fri Jun 03, 2022 6:43 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What is your Work Life Balance like in Corporate America?
Replies: 27
Views: 3816

Re: What is your Work Life Balance like in Corporate America?

OP, Can she says no and set boundary? Or, she needs her boss to do that for her? I know folks that cannot set boundary. Hence, they worked long hours even in a company/team with a good WLB culture. Meanwhile, I had seen the reverse too. Folks that achieved good WLB in a place that demanded a lot more. KlangFool Having worked for several large tech companies and a few smaller ones, I have found this to be exactly true. I must also admit, it takes extremely thick skin to achieve a good work/life balance and to set boundaries, and it's easier said than done. One of my favorite jobs was on a team where two of my colleagues ended up in the hospital due to stress-related issues, yet I was able to find my balance. These are the same people who ca...
by oneleaf
Wed Apr 06, 2022 11:27 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Tales from this insane real estate market [Home sales]
Replies: 2923
Views: 521116

Re: Tales from this insane real estate market

Can anyone explain what the heck happened at the end of 2020 that made it take off. I feel like the conditions that led to this crazy housing market has been in place for much longer than 16 months, but from December 2020, things went absolute crazy around here (Pacific NW). Here is the house we bought. We made the offer in November 2020 and closed right before Christmas. We did the following, all of which would be laughed at today: Offered $30K under asking Asked for washer and dryer (they initially wanted to keep them) Asked for 1 year home warranty Inspection contingency After inspection we had them do several things (HVAC tune-up, crawl-space cleaning, and a few other small items). They asked for a month rent-back. We declined. Just mon...
by oneleaf
Sun Mar 13, 2022 2:34 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Tales from this insane real estate market [Home sales]
Replies: 2923
Views: 521116

Re: Tales from this insane real estate market

Living in a suburb in PDX area... bought a house in December 2020. Less than 15 months later, and both Redfin estimate and Zestimate are almost identical, and are at 25% above our purchase price. The crazy thing is that a couple homes on the same block just sold for way above the Redfin estimate. One is smaller than ours (and by all measures, is worth less than ours) just sold for 33% above our 2020 purchase price. So I am quite certain that the Redfin/Zestimate's are under pricing our home.

This is just insane, and seems very unhealthy. This is a very nice community and has awesome schools... Other neighborhoods haven't gone quite as parabolic and have actually slowed down in the past year. So it still depends a lot on the neighborhood.
by oneleaf
Tue Mar 08, 2022 4:38 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Alternative to Google Workspace now that free version is ending
Replies: 93
Views: 11646

Re: Alternative to Google Workspace now that free version is ending

I am pretty familiar with AWS (my day job, not my family IT job :beer ). Do you have a cookbook for a simple AWS configuration with SES as an email relay? I can figure it out, but just wondering what you have done. Also, do you have any estimates for the annual cost of running the service? I am most likely going to move to a forwarding service (was considering forwardmail.net) but their send as feature in gmail is less than ideal (works, but some providers treat the messages as potential spam). It's fairly simple. You first verify your domain by making some DNS entries (CNAME DKIM). I also recommend setting up a Custom MAIL-FROM domain, which is part of the SES settings. The DNS entries you set up are pretty straightforward. But here's whe...
by oneleaf
Mon Mar 07, 2022 2:16 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Alternative to Google Workspace now that free version is ending
Replies: 93
Views: 11646

Re: Alternative to Google Workspace now that free version is ending

Yes, I do need to "SEND AS" with my domain. Otherwise I might as well just use gmail and call it a day. However whenever I receive an email from a business that does not have their custom domain in the business I immediately wonder about the professionalism of that business. PLEASE tell me more about Amazon. I was looking into Mailgun, but it seems like I may not pass their "grilling." When I'm not doing consulting work, I send maybe 20 emails A YEAR! Do you have a link to this Amazon service??? Any info would be greatly appreciated. https://aws.amazon.com/ses/ Warning though... if you have not used Amazon Web Services, it can feel a bit overwhelming to get started. But you can easily open an account (or just activate i...
by oneleaf
Fri Feb 18, 2022 2:04 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Alternative to Google Workspace now that free version is ending
Replies: 93
Views: 11646

Re: Alternative to Google Workspace now that free version is ending

I'm going through this myself. I'll likely pay for one user and migrate most people off of it into a personal Gmail account and forward email to it. A few things to watch out for: I would be wary of using whatever email hosting is available at your registrar. Webhosting and registrar companies are notorious for having problematic IP's that make their SMTP servers unreliable, mainly because it is not their core business. Your sent emails may end up in other people spam boxes. Instead of email hosting, you might consider email forwarding to a free email provider (like Gmail), which is often free at registrars. But this can be problematic as you may occasionally have an email be undeliverable because of DMARC policies. A lot of forwarders use ...
by oneleaf
Mon Jan 24, 2022 12:10 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard website unuseable lately?
Replies: 12
Views: 1389

Re: Vanguard website unuseable lately?

OK, I am back to having spent half an hour to no avail trying to do a very basic transaction (sell some bonds shares). This is on both Firefox and Chrome. I would say the website has been truly terrible for a week now. Does anyone know a trick to trigger the old site rather than this abomination of a redesign?
by oneleaf
Wed Jan 19, 2022 8:04 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: ex-US Stocks Continue to Soar!
Replies: 574
Views: 72412

Re: ex-US Stocks Continue to Soar!

bogledogle87 wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 7:28 pm Does it also count as “soaring” if ex-US is mostly flat while the US is down over 5% YTD? 8-)
Yes it better count! I’ll take anything at this point…
by oneleaf
Tue Jan 18, 2022 12:40 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard website unuseable lately?
Replies: 12
Views: 1389

Re: Vanguard website unuseable lately?

Hmmm, I just finally got it working with Firefox and it went smoothly. Chrome was unuseable on two different machines. I guess I should remember to use other browsers next time I run into issues. Thanks for the reports, everyone!
by oneleaf
Tue Jan 18, 2022 12:21 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard website unuseable lately?
Replies: 12
Views: 1389

Vanguard website unuseable lately?

Has anyone had an awful experience with the Vanguard website? I've tried to do some trades last Friday as well as today. What would normally take me about 5 minutes has now taken me an hour and I'm not even done yet. I have to try logging in and navigating through creative ways to get to the page I want. Friday was like this, too, but I just waited a couple hours and tried again later in the day.

I am wondering if anyone else has had the same experience? I do hope Vanguard knows about their technical problems, but I also don't feel like sitting on the phone just to let them know.
by oneleaf
Sun Jan 16, 2022 11:14 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Why the disdain for managed funds like ARKK that destroy total market funds?
Replies: 1587
Views: 211639

Re: Why the disdain for managed funds like ARKK that destroy total market funds?

I also occasionally check FAIRX just for fun. Berkowitz was manager of the decade on Morningstar. The fund's downfall may be the best example for me to learn never to even consider active management again (luckily, I never invested in it, but it was tempting). If you take a look at the portfolio today, it is like 76% one stock (JOE), 10% cash, and like 7% bonds. Oh and it still has a 1% expense ratio just for holding pretty much one stock. Not sure how anyone would still be holding on.
by oneleaf
Wed Dec 22, 2021 12:22 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: looking for a different way to view my international investments
Replies: 22
Views: 1797

Re: looking for a different way to view my international investments

When investors start asking for help hallucinating into seeing good results from an asset class, it's probably a good time to invest in it.
by oneleaf
Fri Dec 17, 2021 11:35 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: General Advice on Online Shopping for Quality (I find shopping exhausting)
Replies: 19
Views: 1684

Re: General Advice on Online Shopping for Quality (I find shopping exhausting)

I do think the sheer quantity of choices and the likely high quantity of fake reviews is what bogs me down the most. I do think maybe it's time to do more in-person shopping. I'll also consider Wirecutter. I appreciate the responses!
by oneleaf
Fri Dec 17, 2021 7:02 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: General Advice on Online Shopping for Quality (I find shopping exhausting)
Replies: 19
Views: 1684

General Advice on Online Shopping for Quality (I find shopping exhausting)

I'd love to get some thoughts and advice on general shopping. This might be too broad of a question, so I'll do my best to make it a bit more specific. Basically, with the exception of groceries, books, pantry stuff, I find it extremely time-consuming and difficult to do even the most simple shopping. I have been online shopping since the mid-nineties and I have increasingly found it more confusing and time-consuming. Examples of products that took me way too much time: An alarm clock. I just want the most simple one alarm clock. I have old GE and timex ones that are decades old that still work. I go online, and I see way too many choices. When I look at 4.5 star review ones on Amazon, I see 73% 5-stars and then a bunch of awful reviews whe...
by oneleaf
Wed Dec 08, 2021 9:31 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Uber/Lyft vs Car Rental for vacation (San Diego)
Replies: 7
Views: 1354

Re: Uber/Lyft vs Car Rental for vacation (San Diego)

Thank you for the responses!
rob wrote: Wed Dec 08, 2021 4:29 pm Why not try at similar times to you trip, opening the app and changing the pickup & drop off to SD locations.... see how long your waiting and if there is surge stuff.... I would be tempted to not rent because it's expensive recently but you then have car you have to park.
Good call, I'll try it over the next week to see how it looks.
quantAndHold wrote: Wed Dec 08, 2021 6:58 pm Where are you staying when you’re in San Diego? If you’re staying downtown and most of your activities are going to be nearby, Uber/Lyft should be fine. But San Diego is pretty spread out. If you’re not right downtown or right at the beach, you might want to have a car.
We'll mostly be between downtown San Diego, Balboa Park, and La Jolla,
by oneleaf
Wed Dec 08, 2021 4:04 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Uber/Lyft vs Car Rental for vacation (San Diego)
Replies: 7
Views: 1354

Uber/Lyft vs Car Rental for vacation (San Diego)

Before Covid, I was in the habit of using Uber or Lyft instead of renting a car if most of our activities are not far. We haven't traveled since Covid, but I have used Uber/Lyft in town and noticed that it is taking a bit longer to get a car these days.

Anyone have any experience with San Diego these days? Are Ubers and Lyfts plentiful, and fares reasonable for a 2-3 short trips a day? I don't mind paying more for fares vs renting a car unless it is much harder to get a ride these days.

Thanks!
by oneleaf
Wed Dec 01, 2021 11:53 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Dispersion b/w US vs Ex US has never been this stark
Replies: 128
Views: 11031

Re: Dispersion b/w US vs Ex US has never been this stark

I don't know how both of these statements can be true at the same time: ex-US have no diversification benefit because the US has global exposure. The dispersion between US and ex-US returns have been huge over the past decade. And yes, Bogle himself made that first point, so it deserves consideration... but in a way, the huge dispersion in returns seems to show that ex-US did in fact offer huge diversification, just in the wrong direction that one would normally want. If the dispersion was in the right direction, people would say that ex-US proved to be a good diversifier (and that Bogle was wrong). Instead, we got the wrong direction (and so Bogle was right). But ex ante, either outcome was always possible, and the "truth" was al...
by oneleaf
Tue Nov 16, 2021 1:14 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: An Easy Way to Frontload (temporarily exceed) I/EE Bond Annual Limit?
Replies: 218
Views: 42397

Re: An Easy Way to Frontload (temporarily exceed) I/EE Bond Annual Limit?

absolute zero wrote: Tue Nov 16, 2021 7:58 am
ivgrivchuck wrote: Sun Nov 14, 2021 10:05 am A very interesting trick. I wasn't aware of this. I'm considering using this.
I’m interested in this too, but it’s not clear to me
1) whether interest is earned immediately upon purchase vs not until the gift is delivered and
2) whether the 1 year minimum holding period begins when the bond is purchased vs when the gift is delivered
I don't know the exact details about the holding period (item 2)... But regarding the interest (item 1), I know you can hold the bonds until they mature (with all interest and proceeds) and then deliver it... so presumably they start earning interest right away. I couldn't find any more definitive info on the website though.
by oneleaf
Sun Nov 14, 2021 12:45 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: An Easy Way to Frontload (temporarily exceed) I/EE Bond Annual Limit?
Replies: 218
Views: 42397

Re: An Easy Way to Frontload (temporarily exceed) I/EE Bond Annual Limit?

langelgjm wrote: Sun Nov 14, 2021 10:25 am Pretty clever. I don't see a reason it wouldn't work. I considered doing it myself, but I really doubt I bond rules will change in the next 60 days, and for EE bonds I don't want double the amount "maturing" (hitting the guaranteed doubling) in the same year 20 years from now.
Yep, that is why I decided not to do this with the EE bonds. All doubling in the same year and redeemed is a big tax bill.

I think March 2020 was the only obvious time it made sense to do this with I bonds. It was so obvious that rates would be zero in the following month, but we still had a month to front load on stale fixed rates.
by oneleaf
Fri Nov 12, 2021 10:30 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: An Easy Way to Frontload (temporarily exceed) I/EE Bond Annual Limit?
Replies: 218
Views: 42397

Re: An Easy Way to Frontload (temporarily exceed) I/EE Bond Annual Limit?

absolute zero wrote: Fri Nov 12, 2021 7:28 pm Bumping this old thread to see if anyone has done something similar to what OP has described? Seems like a very effective way to put a significant sum of money into i bonds all at once.
I ended up not doing this, but I sorta wish I did. In 2019, fixed rates were 0.5% and then 0.2% in early 2020... I had a feeling those were the best rates we'd see in awhile, so I wanted to front load a few extra years worth. But now at 0%, I'd probably not bother front loading and just buy annually as normal.
by oneleaf
Tue Jun 08, 2021 3:20 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Anyone regret paying off mortgage early?
Replies: 2483
Views: 294042

Re: anyone regret paying off mortgage early

todaysBob wrote: Tue Jun 08, 2021 1:00 am Is there a chance you might move from the current house in next 15 years? That would be another reason not to pay too much into current mortgage.
Why would that matter?
by oneleaf
Mon May 24, 2021 9:36 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Are we in a housing bubble?
Replies: 687
Views: 181207

Re: Are we in a housing bubble?

willthrill81 wrote: Mon May 24, 2021 10:46 am
moneywise3 wrote: Sun May 23, 2021 10:27 pm Can't explain in technical jargon, but something is wrong with the housing prices. The purchase process is crazy too - no inspections, no worry about appraisals - makes it sound not normal. Hopefully that's not the new normal.
The only time that no appraisal can be done is when the buyer is paying cash. No bank that I've ever heard of is going to grant a mortgage on a property without an appraisal.
I got a mortgage last year without an appraisal but I had a 35% down payment.