Bogleheads.org

OK, sorry I wasn't taking any notes, but I ate a few times in the restaurants in the piazza behind the Duomo in Florence. Prime tourist turf, but good food anyhow.

@Chadnuj. Thanks for these. Did take notes. Will be in Firenze later this year.

I can only pass along what I learn/read online, as I'm can't possibly determine if any holding is Shariah compliant or not. (Well, I probably can guess pretty accurately about a lot that are *not* Shariah compliant... but that's as far as my persoal abilities go.) This goes for any religion/ethics-guided selection process. One person's idea of ethical investing will probably not match that of their friends. Ditto for religious rules. Which sect of Islam OP's friend adheres to is probably relevant. Synching investments and religious strictures is an issue older than the stock market. One thought: Observant Muslims will buy at Kosher markets since the rules of slaughtering and avoidance match. Might there be "kosher" investments av...

a_posteriori wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 2:53 pm Hah!
You want hard... do them the old fashioned way... with paper and pencil and a calculator. <snip> My method: Do them fairly early... let them marinade for a few weeks. Check everything before your deadline... and git'er done.

+1

Tom_T wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 1:23 pm Hire a good accountant to do your taxes. Why stress every year?

Because I have little enough that paying a preparer isn't a reasonable expense if I can do it on my own.
No, OP, it's not really hard. It is a royal PITA though.

If you have enough have you considered a full service CCRC where you can live amongst others with full care including memory care? A CCRC would help significantly with your physical needs, but their staff won’t manage your finances or pay your bills. The bank trust department that managed my mother’s investments took over her bill-paying the last year or so of her life. The bills were her CCRC fee, her medical bills, and a couple newspaper subscriptions. One of the first signs of her dementia was that she was no longer about to fill out a check properly. They also aren't cheap and not an option for people of modest means. All the talk of trusts and attorneys and accountants seems aimed at those with more, 2 commas at least? And, close frie...

My Insignia is even less smart than yours. It doesn't have any Input buttons. The remote was always a PITA, buttons frequently non-responsive, TV jumps to wrong channel and/or just shuts down when it gets too confused, etc. Finally bought a replacement on eBay. Cheap, fast (2 days I think), works fine.

Appointments for these services are not that easy to get - at least not in NYC. The appointments fill up quickly.

If Vanguard was as zealous about improving their IT infrastructure and website as they are about trying to sell me on using their Financial Advisory services, then Vanguard would have an absolutely spectacular website indeed. Amen!! Why give people who can't reliably handle the basics any more responsibility for my money? Another 30-year VGer here. I remember when I first called to open the acc't. Knew almost nothing. Growth or income? Huh? Short version - if that rep had been anything like today's phone squad I never would have done it. I think I posted in September briefly about doing the platform transition dance - VG's numerous emails gave no useful info; everything helpful came from this list - and reported success after relatively mi...

8301 wrote: ↑Sat Feb 18, 2023 7:27 am

legio XX wrote: ↑Sat Feb 18, 2023 6:52 am Spring Break. I sit down with a colleague and we get to work. This year it's my turn to have the pencils and erasers handy. If we manage to wrap on time (before the copy shop closes) we go out to celebrate.
Whooppee! Old academics at play.

Do you have a colleague to share your personal financial info with?

We don't share details any more than we would drink from the same glass. We work together and occasionally ask "do you have an extra schedule __??" or "did you file form XXXX last year?" or "Want a refill?"
Gets the job done, or at least started.

Spring Break. I sit down with a colleague and we get to work. This year it's my turn to have the pencils and erasers handy. If we manage to wrap on time (before the copy shop closes) we go out to celebrate.
Whooppee! Old academics at play.

No bad, but the pitch for investing in shares of artwork really didn't fit well in a vita of St. Jack.

When was this? Our first trip outside the USA (other than India of course), we got blindsided in both France and Germany (Berlin to be specific). Granted, it was a decade ago almost, but we were plastic rich cash poor :oops: We had to carefully find places - few and far between - that took credit cards :-(. Hopefully situation is different in those locations today... Things have changed, at least in Italy. 20 years ago I made sure to clear my credit cards before I left so I wouldn't have to worry about having enough available credit. Oops. A lot of places wouldn't take credit cards. I had to go to a bank to buy euros on my credit card and was terrified that I was walking around with so much cash :dollar :dollar :dollar in my pocket. Things...

Capella University is for profit and has a number of controversies listed on its Wikipedia page. Are there any other options? A local community college? This is about the age I returned to grad school. Add some fits and starts and a research field that needed things like three foreign languages to begin and 20 years to a PhD in an obscure field that didn't exist when I started. What I remember most is long sessions of just talking things over with classmates - wide-ranging conversations that seemingly had no goal but led to lines of inquiry that were productive years later. I've taught online and studied online. It is possible to profit from a great online presentation, but can an online degree be equated with a campus experience? Not in m...

Bogle7 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 03, 2023 8:06 pm Citizen eco-drive that my daughter bought for me.

Me too, but I hadda buy it for myself. Somehow forgot to have children. The backup is a brown leather band Fossil of similar vintage.

celia wrote: ↑Tue Jan 24, 2023 5:42 am So, yes, you can have e-delivery as well as just tax forms sent in the mail, since they are different settings.

Does that hold for those with less than a million dollars with VG? Or will we get dinged $20 per acc't?

The last word I got from a live human VG employee was that I could call and request mailed "duplicate" tax forms but if I didn't sign up for eEverything I would be dinged $20 per acc't since I do not now - and likely never will - have a 2 comma portfolio. This was only a slight variation on what I got from other such people - one of whom clearly said that I would get my tax info on paper. The lack of clarity and consistency is annoying. The "We're trying to go green," mantra was seriously annoying. The recent paint-by-numbers "survey" :annoyed went beyond annoying. Having to decide between wasting time on a telephone minefield to maybe get my tax forms mailed and wasting my time/money/paper to download and prin...

This has got to be the creepiest thread in a long time. Mailing original docs Can't remember the last time I had to show an SS card, but it's sitting there just in case.
OK, time to get moving on that Real ID thing I've been putting off. Whoopie! A trip to DMV . . .

Happy birthday, Taylor!

And thanks for all the good advice - finally went 3-fund in 2010 and never looked back.

Legio

Four Winters (Julia Mintz, 2022) - a group of elderly Jews chatting about their days as partisans surviving in the woods of eastern Europe during WW II. Some archival footage, but mostly the guerillas themselves. Really glad I made the time to go see it.
(now running at Film forum in New York until Thursday)

Silk McCue wrote: ↑Mon Oct 17, 2022 6:25 am
Yes, the COLA is based on the the gross amount of your current benefit. Here’s to nice round numbers that make you happy!

Cheers

Thank you! I am more cheerful already.

OK, for those of us on the lower end of the scale - my current modest income is still more than I was earning during my off-the-books youth so I see modest annual increases. Gotta love these .

So, is the COLA based on the now-current figure? (The recalc check is an annual surprise present, comes in Oct.) The actual $ difference would be small, but it just edges past a nice round number that would be cheering to see.

Another working prof here - Some years back I got a query from someone I knew via a mutual interest asking about an online PhD relevant to that interest. Since this guy was running a business, etc. the traditional route was out of the question. He had already done a significant amount of related work on his own, would have been far better prepared than I had been to undertake a degree program. I looked into the info he sent and saw some names I recognized so I contacted my colleagues. Neither had anything to do with the actual program. They had been paid to help set it up, whatever that meant. They had no further relationship with the institution in question. Needless to say, I advised against wasting his time, the one thing this guy was sh...

Some posters have mentioned repairs. Not easy to get repairs, at least not in Manhattan. (Don't get me started on Mr. Appliance.) Any suggestions from NYC Bogleheads about finding a repair person? My Samsung has been a dud from the start.

Also, there are possible power issues for those living in older buildings. Don't know about their refrigerators, but I am looking for a washing machine, and almost settled on a Bosch, but it needed wiring that I don't have. Am currently contributing to the retirement and/or college funds of the local laundry . . .

Filed on paper just before the deadline. Received refund (electronically) mid-September. So, 5 months.

Folks, Thank you all for the info. Went the phone route and was surprised, pleasantly, at how little time it ate. Now all I have to do is reset the RMDs which I've done before so ... (famous last words). Funny thing was that while I was online with the rep, the same "could not complete" popups still popped, but the transition was completed anyway; the new accounts show on the accounts page, etc. No idea. BUT - the rep I spoke to verified that if I wanted my tax forms on paper they would charge me $20 per account. Needless to say, I am beyond POed. :evil: There is a workaround - so they said - which is simply to call up and ask for a duplicate set by mail - pay in time instead of money. Cumbersome PITA, but better than shelling out...

Thanks,
that looks like the page I need - now if I can only get it to complete the process. Filled it out twice and got a "something went wrong" popup. Will try again later.

At least it's a start. Thanks,

Sorry to raise what is by now a dead horse topic, but ... I finally decided to act on this. The "transition now" emails and threats of charges have been coming since July or August - Sorry to raise what is by now a dead horse topic, but ... I finally decided to act on this. The "transition now" emails and threats of charges have been coming since July or August - the emails also kept saying how easy all this is - so, I logged on to my VG account and - after the pain of seeing the numbers - looked for how to do it. There were no messages or guidance - if there's a "transition center" I managed not to see it. When I risked clicking on the link in the email it took me to the same page that came up when I logged in...

delamer wrote: ↑Wed Aug 31, 2022 10:46 am That is disturbing, I’d guess many of us have had the experience of getting someone else’s paper statement or bill via snail mail. But getting access to someone’s account online is a whole other thing. Please keep us posted on VG’s response.

Yep, I once got someone else's statement with mine. Assume it was next alphabetically and got stuck in the processing machine. Shredded.
I have also logged on to a faculty computer and had someone else's email come up. The uni response has been to set up a lot of security to protect us from ourselves. Royal PITA. Gee thanks, dear colleagues.
Seriously unhappy that this could happen with VG - when the other person was not even on the same computer or system - WTF!!!

I'm with you. I hate when I find a shoe that works for me, only to have them change the design or the last. That's why I stock up when I find something that works. I wish I had done this any number of times!!! "I want another pair of these" probably sends experienced sales people into silent giggle fits while they run the explanation that the new version really is better. (The younger ones probably can't understand why old people would want to buy the same thing again.) For me, it's really noticeable with workout clothes - hard to find lightweight cotton sweats since Mo's closed, and forget about socks the right weight. The half-dozen I bought when I had the chance are down to two beat up pairs and no replacements in sight. Many ...

Since 2012 it would have more than doubled your money in real terms, 2.3X. That's about 8.6%/year, real terms. And that, in turn, is more than the historic average for the United States. Which, in turn, is "enough." I'm not trying to hide the obvious--over the same time period, US stocks more than tripled your money, averaging about 12.6% real, but doubling your money ain't all that bad. Thanks for putting up this great informative post while I was deciding whether or not to look it all up. ... When I finally indexed every thing 10-12 years ago I put a modest chunk into total international and, except for switching to ftse ex-us to tlh at one point, there it sits. Will start the day off by congratulating myself with some hot choc...

Valuethinker wrote: ↑Mon Dec 06, 2021 4:13 am French you want to read George Simenon (in translation) https://www.fantasticfiction.com/s/georges-simenon/ Inspector Maigret. Not sure if there has been a good televisual adaptation (the Rowan Atkinson one (Mr Bean) was panned).

This was shown on a no longer OTA channel with English subtitles. I enjoyed it. Maybe that channel (Sorry, really can't remember the call letters.) is still active elsewhere in the country?
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107221/fullcredits
I enjoyed it, watched regularly. I absolutely can't see Rowan Atkinson as Maigret! And reading the books is worthwhile.

My work (academia) involves massive amounts of printing but I don't like sending personal documents to a printer shared with 20+ coworkers. Another academic here. I was able to print much of the stuff I want at work because it was job-related, if you're not too fussy about definition, but since the pandemic I'm bleepin' glad I have the printer and also was able to find a driver for the old scanner that hadn't seen use in a while. Reading articles in multiple languages on screen just doesn't work for me. I'm not thrilled about doing anything that takes concentration on screen. I like a sheet of paper I can scribble on. I know there's something called a "sticky" and one of these days I may have to learn to do it, but until then I'l...

I can't find the original thread, but I asked a similar question a while back - I had to send a small payment in euros using an IBAN, and the bank wanted way more than the amount being sent. There were any number of suggestions, but all had problems, such as, only sending to people not to businesses or needing the recipient to have an account as well. I was missing the good old days of international money orders and snail mail. Someone here suggested wise.com. It not only worked, but there is a phone number on the site - you will have to look for it - and a nice young person to answer questions. A genuine coherent human being! :shock: I sent the payment, using a credit card although the bank acc't and/or debit cards were choices, and it arr...

This reminds me of the days of illegal loft living in Soho - the large spaces were zoned commercial - and were ideal for all kinds of creative people except for such pesky details as heat and other things one takes for granted in a living space. This was before the personal computer became a factor, but cold hands and feet were an issue for visual artists as well as musicians and dancers of all stripes. The solutions were as creative as they were illegal and unsafe. The tents already mentioned were one that I remember, but of limited use. The whole point of lofting was light and space, right? Siiigh! Those spaces are worth megabucks today, all legal and safe and no doubt full of all the latest amenities. Not very useful for the OP, but when...

I decided to go to the Y. Was originally reluctant because they required a year's commitment, but three different people (and yes, I recorded their names) assured me I could cancel without hassle. I think they need current income since the usually active space was very quiet. The Y's monthly fee is a lot higher than PF or Blink but a downright bargain compared to Equinox - and way more equipment than I need for a simple set of PT exercises - so the trust factor was determining. My thinking was that not having to worry about access to a bank account or hassles to end credit card auto-payments was worth the cost. [Yes, it's true that anyone I ever sent a check to has the routing info, but from the bank's viewpoint that is a different situatio...

I should know better than to read this thread, or the movies/TV/sci-fi threads, since I can't keep up with what I'm supposed to be reading. One excuse is that things like Dan Simmons' Hyperion , structured like the Canterbury Tales, or Sinclair Lewis' It Can't Happen Here might be shoehorned into some of the courses I teach. Hey, if I even mention them in class I can tell myself it was research, right? What I'm reading, that is not work related, is Richard M. Bookstaber, A Demon of Our Own Design . Kind of surprising myself since I have nowhere enough math to know what he's talking about, but then apparently people who were handling serious amounts of money didn't either and couldn't bring themselves to admit it or to care whose houses they...

I found I can stay fit by just walking while listening to Audible books, free podcasts, or Pandora. If weather sucks, I go to a large indoor mall and walk there. With good headphones I don’t even hear all the annoying things at a mall. That's just what I want to avoid. For basic fitness there are beautiful parks to walk in, and weather has to be pretty crappy before Central Park and Riverside Park empty out. I'm spending time and money on PT so that I can keep up with much more age inappropriate, strenuous and fun exercise, and the PTs have said, "Go to the gym . . . ." I just don't want to add financial aggravation to physical pain. My local Planet Fitness charges my credit card each month. They don't have my bank information. I...

I am reviving this old thread because my PT is (still) bugging me to get to the gym. There are some "recommended" exercises that are just easier with a machine. I really should get on it. I had reasonably-priced access to a uni gym before Covid, but the current restrictions leave us "associates" out of the loop. OK. So, I did my due diligence and looked for a place to do a simple, basic workout. Quickly remembered that gyms are a kinda shady business. Close to home, E'nox wanted "official" ID before setting up an "appointment" with a whatever "specialist." And the kids at the desk were not wearing masks, as legally required. I left. NY Sports/Fitness looked kind of run down - OK for a nearly...

Be aware there is a Times basic and premium subscriptions. The basic gives you access to read the newspaper while the premium lets you access the archives, the recipes, soon Wirecutter, and more. The library access is only for the basic version. Does anyone know where the Times educator subscription fits in this scheme? I have a free personal subscription based on my uni email address. I need to renew it each academic year. I log in at the Times site, not through the school site. So will I still have access to Wirecutter? I don't usually use either Wirecutter or Consumer Reports to determine exactly what I buy - because the models they review are often not available - but the information in useful in giving a heads-up about what to look fo...

Speak for yourself! My security questions/answers are things like: What was the first concert you attendded? Potato cabin 49 nicotine What is your mother’s maiden name? Sugar 34 Westheimer persistence You get the point. :happy I haven't set up voice ID for similar reasons - too easy to get samples of my voice and what's to keep anyone from grabbing it, just like those pesky security questions? I've been with VG so long they have actual answers :( so one more thing on a looong to-do list. (On top right now - get that last gd credit report frozen and raise 401k contribs) When I finally realized that giving real answers wasn't the way to go I looked up snarky responses in dead languages and then did some simple character substitutions. Also h...

I, too, wonder what will happen if I lose my voice or get old and quaver-y. My mother's checks bounce because her hand shakes when signing...people don't stay the same forever. Your bank actually looks at the checks? I had my dominant hand in a cast several years ago and had to write with my off hand. No problems due to the messy writing - except for my students who were actually grateful because I had to write big and slow so less went on the board ... they coerced me into printing before I got my hand back. But, there was that time when I put some payment checks into the wrong envelopes :oops: No, I didn't miss payments because the bank processed a check made out to ABC Corp when it was deposited by JKL Inc ... No, I'm not making that up...

legio XX wrote: ↑Fri Jul 23, 2021 1:35 pm I won't even try to guess when the refund and missed stimulus will crawl in.

It crawled in on August 3. Now, if only NY State would get its act together ...

I bought a pair of Brooks Glycerin which are advertised to have very soft heels. They have been excellent shoes and are very comfortable. However, the best shoe for you will also depend the shape of your foot and gait. The Glycerin has a wide toebox which I need but may not work for you. I advise going to an athletic specialty store (not a big box store) to find the best shoe for you. +1 on this; have arthritic feet/knees that need pampering. The Glycerins were ideal for a while but the last iteration I bought (think it was Glycerin 17) had gotten too soft. I could feel the concrete! Am now using Saucony, sorry don't remember the model but roomy toe box, lots of cushion and designed for high arch not flat foot - that one. Walk a couple of ...

I work for a small regional law firm.... Hmmm. An employer that might actually understand the liability of offering such a poor plan. :happy There have been a number of lawsuits the last few years about poor 401k plans. As I recall, most have been academic employers. This might catch the eye of whoever is in charge (who may have no idea the plan is as poor as it is). You may not be able to get an overhaul, but you should be able to get this plan to offer a 500 index fund and maybe a decent low cost bond fund. The lack of a 500 index fund, combined with the presence of a mid cap and small cap index, is a notable (almost startling) absence. I can't claim I had anything to do with it, but just before covid my academic employer added some VG i...

Godot wrote: ↑Tue Jul 27, 2021 3:27 pm . . . In NY teaching two courses a term qualifies you for health insurance.

There are many schools in NY City/State and each has its own rules. Don't know the current situation for CUNY/SUNY adjuncts. My institution gives 401K w/ (before pandemic) 5% matching to all faculty, but you have to teach six courses per academic year to qualify for medical.

The availability of jobs varies from field to field, and each field has its own pipeline/network/opportunities. As is often said for folks asking for portfolio review, "Without more information ...."

OK, here's one: I mailed my paper return on 4/15 and the PO's tracking said it was delivered it on 4/21. Not speedy for 1st class mail, but not awful. I got the return receipt postcard in yesterday's (that's 7/22) mail. According to the stamp on the postcard it was delivered 7/15. So, either the PO delivery info is jiggered or the IRS has returns piled up untouched for months. Can't imagine the PO showing that much initiative, so ...

I won't even try to guess when the refund and missed stimulus will crawl in.

Bmac wrote: ↑Sat May 08, 2021 6:34 pm Yes, I’m in the “spread my ashes somewhere meaningful and special to me” camp. There are actually two specific locations I have in mind. Is it weird to consider spreading cremains in 2 or more spots?

Weird tho it may seem,yes. I divided my mom's ashes with her surviving spouse of 3 yrs. No idea what he did with his share. I scattered mine at the grave of her previous spouse of 50 years. Have been having some second thoughts about not arranging an urn burial, but too late now.

My parents lived the last few decades of their lives in Phoenix. Unless you know you can tolerate the heat ... I swear it shortened my mom's life by giving her an excuse to become sedentary and gain a lot of weight. ... I haven't been there since her memorial ...

In addition to what has already been suggested - https://www.addall.com/
They give price comparison and can actually can find things other than textbooks. I was wondering why eBay offerings - which I check first - didn't show up on their site; didn't know Azo had acquired them.

I've used Abe a lot and - bricks and mortar w/ online presence - https://www.strandbooks.com/

Powell's, yes!

While we're at it, I use amazon.de and amazon.it for current scholarly books that I live on. If there's an alternative I'd like to know about it.

cheese_breath wrote: ↑Mon May 10, 2021 12:12 pm As soon as I could afford it I was gone.

Siiiigh! This isn't likely to happen in the time remaining to me, so either the job will go away or I will ... a sudden and unexpected, relatively modest, increase to my net worth would work too. The time to FI is inversely proportional to my age.