Search found 1989 matches

by Goal33
Wed Mar 13, 2024 6:26 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 401k Beneficiary Designations - Directing Pre-Tax vs Post-Tax?
Replies: 7
Views: 859

Re: 401k Beneficiary Designations - Directing Pre-Tax vs Post-Tax?

Interesting post. Something I didn’t consider when deciding to do in-plan conversions rather than conversions to a Roth IRA.
by Goal33
Thu Feb 22, 2024 11:14 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Has anyone ripped out a deck and replaced it with a patio?
Replies: 26
Views: 3465

Re: Has anyone ripped out a deck and replaced it with a patio?

Depends on your lot.

Deck can nicely avoid a step down from the door, to enjoy the outdoor space.

I don’t like that I can’t observe the drainage being effective since the ground is covered.

My preference is concrete and the step.
by Goal33
Mon Jan 22, 2024 10:20 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: At what point of the accumulation process (DCA), do you hope the market goes up?
Replies: 24
Views: 1959

Re: At what point of the accumulation process (DCA), do you hope the market goes up (from a practical basis)?

Market doing well is good for my employment opportunities and compensation. So I want the market to always be going up.
by Goal33
Mon Dec 25, 2023 6:50 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can I negotiate a 'new patient' bill from doctor?
Replies: 57
Views: 8318

Re: Can I negotiate a 'new patient' bill from doctor?

Pay what your eob says and drop it. I would hope the doctor would not negotiate that rate with you further as they are contracted by it. I believe they are not supposed to (somebody else would know more than me on this). If I was a doctor, I wouldn’t. If you came in as cash originally, maybe.

There are times when I feel like the procedure code doesn’t 100% align with the service received. Although in this case it does. It can annoy me especially when I haven’t hit the deductible yet. But now that I hit the deductible every year early, I don’t care anymore.
by Goal33
Sun Nov 19, 2023 11:07 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 401k loan interest…How is this calculated?
Replies: 8
Views: 854

Re: 401k loan interest…How is this calculated?

You confused the system by not just sending the full amount.

Call them.
by Goal33
Mon Nov 13, 2023 9:44 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: City wants "Temporary Limited Easement" from me
Replies: 42
Views: 8010

Re: City wants "Temporary Limited Easement" from me

Seems a lot easier to say no.
by Goal33
Sun Sep 24, 2023 9:53 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Spouse is expecting...and has been offered a big new job
Replies: 18
Views: 3954

Re: Spouse is expecting...and has been offered a big new job

1. No, they can keep her on even if job not protected.
2. No, and it’s too early to say anything at all.
3. Don’t know.
by Goal33
Mon Sep 18, 2023 1:55 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Water heater replacement . One or both?
Replies: 19
Views: 1629

Re: Water heater replacement . One or both?

If they’re in series… then bypass the leaking one, uninstall it, and just keep using the one that’s working. Do you need 100 gallons of hot water?
by Goal33
Tue Aug 15, 2023 9:10 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: crawl space under a house
Replies: 24
Views: 2787

Re: crawl space under a house

Pro is easy access to plumbing / drainage pipes.
by Goal33
Tue Aug 15, 2023 9:09 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: crawl space under a house
Replies: 24
Views: 2787

Re: crawl space under a house

chemocean wrote: Tue Aug 15, 2023 9:00 am I don't think builders are building houses with basement in earthquake-prone areas.

Misconception. CA doesn’t have common basements because the frost line isn’t deep. So it’s not necessary to go down very deep.
by Goal33
Mon Aug 14, 2023 12:04 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Asking price for a house
Replies: 26
Views: 4493

Re: Asking price for a house

Sounds like you should take the offer from opendoor, unless they also deduct fees.
by Goal33
Sat Aug 12, 2023 2:01 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Would you buy a house in our situation?
Replies: 34
Views: 4988

Re: Would you buy a house in our situation?

I make a good salary like yours but once I got a few dogs I became an undesirable tenant. Sometimes it’s easier to own and not deal with coordinating your living situation with a landlord.
by Goal33
Mon Jul 31, 2023 1:11 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: AZ landlord. Renter refused to pay the last month's rent. What next?
Replies: 117
Views: 14167

Re: AZ landlord. Renter refused to pay the last month's rent. What next?

You should let them go. They aren’t living there and it’s only one month you’re out. Could be way worse.
by Goal33
Fri Jul 14, 2023 8:49 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Home Downpayment
Replies: 8
Views: 1173

Re: Home Downpayment

I’d do the 90%. Get in the house. Make a principal payment later if you decide you want to pay less interest.

Recasting is probably an option too, but even if not, I’d start with the 90%.

You probably can’t pull money out at the 4.75% rate. The refinance rate will be higher.

If rates go up, you’ll be happy. If rates go down, you’ll have more to refinance at the lower rate.

If you end up with a cash flow issue, you’ll have quite a bit more liquidity by putting less down.

My advice may change if you got a better rate for more down.
by Goal33
Wed Jul 05, 2023 10:05 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Car upgrade dilemma
Replies: 25
Views: 3823

Re: Car upgrade dilemma

Sell dads car. Upgrade your car when ready.
by Goal33
Tue Jul 04, 2023 6:57 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Discount Backsplash Tile
Replies: 7
Views: 938

Re: Discount Backsplash Tile

Backsplash tile is so cheap anyway…. Think I spent $400 on materials including the wet saw for a nice sized kitchen. How much are you trying to save in the context of a kitchen job?

I got my tile at Lowe’s and the grout at a tile shop with more options.
by Goal33
Mon Jun 26, 2023 1:09 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 6.35% fixed rate or cash offer?
Replies: 51
Views: 4855

Re: 6.35% fixed rate or cash offer?

With that income and house price, it doesn’t matter.

But I’d not be willing to pay taxes on any gains in this scenario.

Take mortgage. If you want, pay it off quickly with new money. You could probably take care of the whole balance in a couple years and it’ll give you more flexibility.
by Goal33
Thu Jun 22, 2023 9:20 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Mortgage Payoff (<2 years) High Interest Rate (+6%)
Replies: 10
Views: 1032

Re: Mortgage Payoff (<2 years) High Interest Rate (+6%)

What’s the question?

Looks fine if you’re happy with it. Except the home warranty is a scam and you’ll have a hard time getting value out of it in an emergency.
by Goal33
Mon Jun 19, 2023 10:38 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Home fire safe or safe deposit box?
Replies: 59
Views: 5371

Re: Rethink safe deposit box?

Waste of $45 for this stuff IMO
by Goal33
Mon Jun 12, 2023 11:07 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How much home should we afford as first-time buyers and when?
Replies: 10
Views: 1800

Re: How much home should we afford as first-time buyers and when?

If you’re looking to have kids, you should be working on that first. I’m 100k into trying to have kids. It could impact your finances.

Fertility drops off a cliff past 35. I’m not saying it’s impossible, I’m just suggesting to look at the statistics.
by Goal33
Sun Jun 04, 2023 7:58 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Cooktop on/in Counter
Replies: 18
Views: 1540

Re: Cooktop on/in Counter

It costs more in the sense that you have to buy two appliances.

If it breaks, you'll be able to find one to fit the hole.

Induction is awesome. I got my 30" for $1000. I dropped it into the hole in the quartz and didn't secure it down. It's fine. I can easily replace it. There's a spring that keeps it tight.
by Goal33
Fri Jun 02, 2023 6:09 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Medical provider seeking additional $937 from 2021 activity
Replies: 7
Views: 821

Re: Medical provider seeking additional $937 from 2021 activity

Check to see if you have a newly issued explanation of benefits that pulled back that amount. If you do, then that explains it. It’s not your medical provider’s fault unless they billed incorrectly.
by Goal33
Thu Jun 01, 2023 8:29 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How to annuitize inheritance for 63 yr old son with no assets
Replies: 66
Views: 6742

Re: How to annuitize inheritance for 63 yr old son with no assets

smectym wrote: Wed May 31, 2023 9:52 pm
Goal33 wrote: Wed May 31, 2023 4:18 pm 63 years old? I'd recommend giving him his share the same as the rest. It's spendthrift brother's problem. You said no dependents but I wasn't sure if that means there are no grandkids on that side. Another idea is to just skip entirely and leave that money to his kids.
Well, yes it is his money, but if he were amenable to having it managed for him, that’s the better course.
If he was amenable to it, I missed that. Sounds unrealistic to me. This is just going to create drama.
by Goal33
Wed May 31, 2023 4:18 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How to annuitize inheritance for 63 yr old son with no assets
Replies: 66
Views: 6742

Re: How to annuitize inheritance for 63 yr old son with no assets

63 years old? I'd recommend giving him his share the same as the rest. It's spendthrift brother's problem. You said no dependents but I wasn't sure if that means there are no grandkids on that side. Another idea is to just skip entirely and leave that money to his kids.
by Goal33
Tue May 30, 2023 12:46 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: The Benefits of Being Underemployed
Replies: 25
Views: 4794

Re: The Benefits of Being Underemployed

I have been in this position before.

All it takes is a few re-orgs or a new manager and it’s over.
by Goal33
Wed May 24, 2023 9:16 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: What to do with old 401K
Replies: 25
Views: 1780

Re: What to do with old 401K

Jack FFR1846 wrote: Wed May 24, 2023 7:50 am,
You are now trapped in that 401k until you quit
Not true (at least in many cases). In both my account and my wife’s account, the rollover portions have always been available to withdraw/rollover again.
by Goal33
Wed May 17, 2023 4:03 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Talk me out of my idea to sell our old rental house and use it to recast our new mortgage
Replies: 14
Views: 1189

Re: Talk me out of my idea to sell our old rental house and use it to recast our new mortgage

bh1 wrote: Wed May 17, 2023 12:51 pm
Goal33 wrote: Wed May 17, 2023 12:43 pm Ok, how about this?

Ask yourself why you paid $8000 in points if you were going to accelerate pay off. Wasted a nice chunk of that if this was the plan.
Sunk cost fallacy. The $8K is gone.
Right, but since OP paid that, they now have an under market mortgage rate.

And they asked to be talked out of the plan :D
by Goal33
Wed May 17, 2023 12:43 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Talk me out of my idea to sell our old rental house and use it to recast our new mortgage
Replies: 14
Views: 1189

Re: Talk me out of my idea to sell our old rental house and use it to recast our new mortgage

Ok, how about this?

Ask yourself why you paid $8000 in points if you were going to accelerate pay off. Wasted a nice chunk of that if this was the plan.
by Goal33
Sun May 14, 2023 12:02 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Fix old car, replace old car, or add a 2nd one?
Replies: 13
Views: 1280

Re: Fix old car, replace old car, or add a 2nd one?

If there is no parking issue consideration, I’d go for 2 cars.
by Goal33
Thu May 11, 2023 9:34 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Wife wants to keep money losing condo - should I pay off a 4.5% fixed or recast?
Replies: 74
Views: 7483

Re: Mortgage payoff decision

That 18k swing is either fuzzy math or it’s almost paid off anyway in 6 or so years. I wouldn’t bother with paying it off.
by Goal33
Sun May 07, 2023 2:50 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Letter from IRS
Replies: 22
Views: 2878

Re: Letter from IRS

Sounds like a scam to me
by Goal33
Sat May 06, 2023 8:32 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Auto insurance, full coverage vs liability?
Replies: 23
Views: 2461

Re: Auto insurance, full coverage vs liability?

Your 07 f150 with 90k miles is worth more than 5k. Probably more like 10-15k
by Goal33
Fri May 05, 2023 2:51 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Estate Matters - selling vehicles
Replies: 74
Views: 5304

Re: Estate Matters - selling vehicles

If a beneficiary is complaining, can they just be sold the car at the carmax price?
by Goal33
Sat Apr 29, 2023 4:13 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Student Loan @ First Republic Bank
Replies: 10
Views: 1638

Re: Student Loan @ First Republic Bank

It’s going to get lost in the shuffle :wink:
by Goal33
Thu Apr 06, 2023 11:16 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Laid off from tech job
Replies: 84
Views: 11290

Re: Laid off from tech job

HawkeyePierce wrote: Thu Apr 06, 2023 11:13 pm I don't see the emergency here. You've got plenty of assets to float yourself for a long time. Just keep looking for a job, even if it takes another six months you'll be fine.
Not to mention the wife is still making 125k. He will be fine even if it takes years.
by Goal33
Sun Mar 12, 2023 5:28 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Bank failure discussion mega-thread]
Replies: 2482
Views: 211978

Re: Can the FDIC run out of money?

Sounds bad. :twisted:
by Goal33
Sun Mar 12, 2023 1:44 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Downsizing to One Car
Replies: 21
Views: 2269

Re: Downsizing to One Car

I would suggest doing nothing. You have enough going on and this is just a distraction. You can sell a car anytime, don’t need a letter from the dealership.

I think your last post said you don’t want to make emotional decisions. Worrying about what are basically two low value cars right now is an emotional decision.
by Goal33
Thu Mar 09, 2023 11:50 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Parents Real Estate Deal - Say something?
Replies: 130
Views: 11535

Re: Parents Real Estate Deal - Say something?

Tridentine wrote: Wed Mar 08, 2023 7:27 pm "he has the right to spend every last dime he made before he dies and nobody including his kids are entitled to it"...
Sounds like my dad. Sorry to tell you my friend but you aren’t getting a penny. Worst of it is he won’t get to enjoy those last dimes that he has a right to spend.
by Goal33
Mon Mar 06, 2023 12:37 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Landlord died, advice on purchasing condo from heirs
Replies: 11
Views: 2281

Re: Landlord died, advice on purchasing condo from heirs

What if the value is up 100k by the time it’s available for purchase? What if it’s never available for purchase?

Just buy a condo you want and don’t put your life in pause for this deal. In fact, right now, you have great flexibility with a month to month lease… go home shopping.
by Goal33
Sun Mar 05, 2023 11:26 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can we buy this home?
Replies: 20
Views: 2413

Re: Can we buy this home?

aristotelian wrote: Sun Mar 05, 2023 5:39 am
Goal33 wrote: Sun Mar 05, 2023 4:59 am I think you can afford it. But I think you need to buy somewhere where you’re happy with public school.
Why is that? The wife is fully committed to private school and they can afford it, especially if they save $300k on housing.
They don’t want the cheaper house.
by Goal33
Sun Mar 05, 2023 4:59 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can we buy this home?
Replies: 20
Views: 2413

Re: Can we buy this home?

I think you can afford it. But I think you need to buy somewhere where you’re happy with public school.
by Goal33
Thu Feb 23, 2023 12:19 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can I afford our “dream” home
Replies: 36
Views: 6083

Re: Can I afford our “dream” home

Typically you can afford it but not in this case unless you can explain why your networth is low compared to your income.
by Goal33
Wed Jan 18, 2023 3:58 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: New Mortgage: Why would anyone choose ARM when ARM is [more] expensive than 15 year fixed ?
Replies: 41
Views: 3765

Re: New Mortgage: Why would anyone choose ARM when ARM is expensive than 15 year fixed ?

ARM is self-insurance. I've never had one, because the 15 year fixed was at a lower rate. However, I would have taken an arm at a lower rate, if available.
by Goal33
Tue Jan 17, 2023 3:21 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Windshield replacement $1,800. Would you use insurance?
Replies: 45
Views: 4681

Re: Windshield replacement $1,800. Would you use insurance?

I'd go for $0. $1800 worth more now than later, and we don't even know about later.
by Goal33
Fri Jan 13, 2023 2:41 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: writing a personal check to a married couple
Replies: 28
Views: 3458

Re: writing a personal check to a married couple

Write them 2 checks. Half the amount, to each. Or give one more than the other, make it interesting.

:D
by Goal33
Wed Jan 04, 2023 12:46 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Are you seeing home prices go down in your area?
Replies: 49
Views: 4640

Re: Are you seeing home prices go down in your area?

in the Tri-Valley / East Bay of SF Bay Area. We are down 15-20% from the peak.
by Goal33
Fri Dec 23, 2022 1:19 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Amazon Order Not Received and They Won't Make Right (UPDATE: RESOLVED)
Replies: 161
Views: 15056

Re: Amazon Order Not Received and They Won't Make Right - Consumer Advice?

Is it possible you gave them the wrong address and it was delivered to the (correct) wrong address?

I have multiple addresses on my account from previous residences to addresses of family that I’ve sent gifts to.