Search found 3445 matches

by jharkin
Wed Feb 28, 2024 3:16 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Jeep Grand Cherokee problem with starting and quits
Replies: 11
Views: 1717

Re: Jeep Grand Cherokee problem with starting and quits

Has your mechanic checked the battery for how many amps it’s running at? Battery issues can cause all sorts of problems, especially since your dashboard is lighting up. Batteries don't "run at a certain number of amps" The cars electrical system will pull varying levels of amperage depending on what the vehicle happens to be doing at any given instant. Starting the engine is the worst, and can pull hundreds of amps for a few seconds, but once running the steady state draw may only be a couple amps to power the ignition and basic onboard electrics... up to maye a few 10s of amps with the headlights on, radio blasting, etc. - HOWER - once the engine is running the alternator is powering all those loads and charging the battery so t...
by jharkin
Wed Feb 28, 2024 3:08 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Jeep Grand Cherokee problem with starting and quits
Replies: 11
Views: 1717

Re: Jeep Grand Cherokee problem with starting and quits

Need to know what the code was to have any idea where to start. If a mechanic tells you just resetting the code is the fix you need to find a new mechanic.
by jharkin
Thu Feb 22, 2024 7:45 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Funding a New Vehicle
Replies: 33
Views: 3372

Re: Funding a New Vehicle

Might you start having more repairs? Sure... as the car gets older, things wear out. Even on Hondas (and we have been driving Hondas since the 70s in my families so Im no Honda critic). Thing is, its not going to suddenly go from a once year oil change for $30 to the transmission failing. Whats going to happen is small things will start to need replacing, often with a lot of warning signs rather than leaving you stranded. It should have had its first replacement set of spark plugs by now, but that's cheap. You will need to do the timing belt soon if it hasn't already and replace the water pump for good measure while its open. That might cost a grand. Honda V6s can develop valve noise as they get older but hte fix is just a valve lash adjust...
by jharkin
Thu Feb 22, 2024 7:27 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Auto Insurance Increases in CA with Amica
Replies: 127
Views: 15178

Re: Auto Insurance Increases in CA with Amica

I live in CA and have Amica auto, home , and umbrella insurance. For auto, I only take the liability insurance. Mine went up 6.5 % When I saw the increase on my bill I called to ask why. Customer service rep told me they were losing money in California and that most people's insurance went up by something like 20% and mine went up by only six and a half percent because I have a good driving record. I live in Los Angeles. A few years ago I switched to Amica for all my insurance because at the time I read they had high customer service ratings. I've had so many problems with insurance companies when trying to get paid on a claim I decided to quit shopping based on price and look for companies that had a good reputation for customer service s...
by jharkin
Thu Feb 22, 2024 5:32 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: The Shrinking Lifespan of Large Appliances
Replies: 108
Views: 10476

Re: The Shrinking Lifespan of Large Appliances

I think I've seen evidence that more recently made cars are lasting longer than ever (at least it seems to be the consensus on this forum). I wonder why large appliances would be going in a different direction. I'm a renter, so I've never had the same appliances for more than a couple years, but my Boomer parents have complained to me about this. They talked about replacing a couple 30+ year-old appliances, and being disappointed that the expected lifespans (based on I'm not sure what) of the new ones were only 7-10 years. But I'm doubtful that any manufacturer or salesperson back in the 1980s would have suggested a 30+ year lifespan either. My hunch is that with more global markets, people have better access to cheaper goods, which skews ...
by jharkin
Thu Feb 22, 2024 5:32 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: The Shrinking Lifespan of Large Appliances
Replies: 108
Views: 10476

Re: The Shrinking Lifespan of Large Appliances

I think I've seen evidence that more recently made cars are lasting longer than ever (at least it seems to be the consensus on this forum). I wonder why large appliances would be going in a different direction. I'm a renter, so I've never had the same appliances for more than a couple years, but my Boomer parents have complained to me about this. They talked about replacing a couple 30+ year-old appliances, and being disappointed that the expected lifespans (based on I'm not sure what) of the new ones were only 7-10 years. But I'm doubtful that any manufacturer or salesperson back in the 1980s would have suggested a 30+ year lifespan either. My hunch is that with more global markets, people have better access to cheaper goods, which skews ...
by jharkin
Thu Feb 22, 2024 5:17 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: The Shrinking Lifespan of Large Appliances
Replies: 108
Views: 10476

Re: The Shrinking Lifespan of Large Appliances

If you want something that is built to last, then buy a brand that is built to last AND pay to have it repaired. This is way easier said than done. It's not really clear what will last, and paying for a repair is probably just good money before bad as it needs a second repair then a third repair. Many of us have been down that road before. An appliance needing an expensive repair after 5 years is probably not worth fixing in the long run. If you are even somewhat handy, most of those repairs you could probably DIY. YouTube and the online appliance parts vendors have great how to videos that show you the most common causes of typical failures and in most cases the part is a small fraction of the cost of a repair call. Often the tools needed...
by jharkin
Fri Feb 16, 2024 9:43 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Continued tIRA Growth Undermines Roth Conversion Plan - A Real Life Example
Replies: 81
Views: 7879

Re: Continued tIRA Growth Undermines Roth Conversion Plan - A Real Life Example

smitcat wrote: Thu Feb 15, 2024 12:55 pm
Your post, cut and pasted...
"Call it whatever you want but the effect is the same. You deferred current spending in favor of future spending. That future spending is now proving to be unnecessary or undesired and hence the saving you did to fund it was unnecessary."

We did not defer past spending for future spending.
We did not work longer than we wanted.
We are paying taxes now, they are not excessive.
We did not max out all savings vehicles in the past.


Uncle.

I give up. I forget that this forum doesn't tolerate any suggestion that saving is not always good and spending is not always bad.

I take it all back. moving on.
by jharkin
Thu Feb 15, 2024 12:47 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Continued tIRA Growth Undermines Roth Conversion Plan - A Real Life Example
Replies: 81
Views: 7879

Re: Continued tIRA Growth Undermines Roth Conversion Plan - A Real Life Example

That makes no sense. I deferred past spending so I could retire; if I hadn't deferred past spending, I'd still be working. My current spending is both necessary and desired. The saving I did was far from unnecessary. "You deferred current spending in favor of future spending." I do not agree, we did not defer past spending in favor of future spending. You believe the result is the same because you are looking at the past thru present day lenses. You have no idea what anyone's future spending will be going forward. That over saving could very well turn out to be insufficient. We make reasonable choices and let life's chips fall where they may. Also, for many of us the options available today did not even exist for maybe 1/2 of our...
by jharkin
Thu Feb 08, 2024 12:42 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Depreciate Solar Panels If Electric Utility Issues 1099 Misc
Replies: 47
Views: 5872

Re: Depreciate Solar Panels If Electric Utility Issues 1099 Misc

Reopening this thread as it was the first good hit on a seach for Solar and 1099. --- I live in Mass and have had solar on my roof for two years now, and participate in the SMART incentive plan. In my case administered by Eversource, but NatGrid is basically the same. For the first time this week I got a 1099-Misc from the SMART administrator. Its a little under $700 of income in my case. I think I didn't get them the prior year because the total was under the $600 reporting threshold due to bad weather reducing output. The income is the value of my SMART incentive payments, which are completely unrelated to net metering over generation. These are incentive credits paid out at a flat rate for every kWh of solar power generated, regardless o...
by jharkin
Thu Feb 08, 2024 12:08 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Continued tIRA Growth Undermines Roth Conversion Plan - A Real Life Example
Replies: 81
Views: 7879

Re: Continued tIRA Growth Undermines Roth Conversion Plan - A Real Life Example

+1 These threads on RMD taxes come up a lot here. The root "problem" (and it really is a first world problem) is that they over-saved to begin with. They probably worked years past the point they didn't financially need to anymore so now they have more money than they know how to spend. It may be an annoyance but it was their choice to work/save so much to begin with. No, they (we) didn't oversave; they (we) fell in love with every tax-deferral opportunity that came along. And in our defense that was sort of the prevailing thinking of the era when we began investing, and some of us were slow to adapt when changes came long. Call it whatever you want but the effect is the same. You deferred current spending in favor of future spen...
by jharkin
Wed Feb 07, 2024 9:36 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Continued tIRA Growth Undermines Roth Conversion Plan - A Real Life Example
Replies: 81
Views: 7879

Re: Continued tIRA Growth Undermines Roth Conversion Plan - A Real Life Example

...It's my annual tax bill that brings on the tears, not to mention the monthly IRMAA penalty where I get to pay five times as much as everyone else for Medicare. :oops: As they say about aging, it is better than the alternative. The effective marginal tax rate on RMDs is not, in fact, over 100% (except in a narrow window at an IRMAA cliff). I never suggested that the marginal tax rate on RMDs is anything approaching 100%, so I'm not sure where that comes from. However, the tax rate can be intolerably high depending on one's income. And there is no conceivable situation in which "continued tIRA growth" (subject line) makes one's financial situation worse , except if one is right at the bleeding edge of an IRMAA cliff. I did not s...
by jharkin
Wed Feb 07, 2024 8:15 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Recently laid off from FAANG, should I go work for a non-profit or try to stay?
Replies: 65
Views: 9321

Re: Recently laid off from FAANG, should I go work for a non-profit or try to stay?

You have 1.4M saved. Your house is paid off. Your kids are young. If you really like the work at this non profit I would take it and never look back. You are basically coast FI already and all the money in the world cant buy back lost time with your kids. Ive been in software 25+ years now, always in specialized small-midsize scientific/engineering software firms. Ive never made the kind of money you do, but I also haven't had a single day without a paycheck since I was a teenager. I've watched all the big waves somewhat from the outside - the dotcom boom, the great recession, and now the covid tech boom. Its always going to be a roller coaster at the FAANGs -or whatever group replaces them and every time I had some silicon valley type tell...
by jharkin
Wed Jan 31, 2024 8:49 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: The "Hot Upstairs" Topic
Replies: 90
Views: 13601

Re: The "Hot Upstairs" Topic

5500 square feet and its all one zone? Thats just really bad construction practices. period. full stop.

A house that massive should have every floor on its own zone. In fact it probably needs multiple zones per floor. And the contractor should have done a proper Manual J sizing for each level. Whether its zone valves in the ducts or separate upstairs and downstairs air handlers, it needs to be split. Everything else is a bandaid.

This is why I hate new construction... all the corner cutting and shoddy workmanship.
by jharkin
Wed Jan 31, 2024 8:39 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Restaurant prices - 'I won't be back anytime soon" list
Replies: 28
Views: 2525

Re: Restaurant prices - 'I won't be back anytime soon" list

+1 we avoid chains in general other than for quick takeout. Remember pricing is not simply a matter of cost+ fixed margin... its a business decision that also takes into account what the market will bear. Meaning, if people keep paying theyhave no incentive to charge less even if they are making (and this is subjective) "excess" profits. Given how many small, non-chain restaurants go out of business I doubt most of them we patronize are making a killing. In many cases long established joints kept price growth way below inflation for a long time prior to the last few years and hit a breaking point where they had to increase prices to survive. Not to mention that they can no longer get away with paying below living wages to the staff.
by jharkin
Wed Jan 24, 2024 1:31 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What is your Effective savings rate
Replies: 50
Views: 4893

Re: What is your Effective savings rate

Effective Savings rate calculation: Numerator : money i have now that was saved with post tax dollars plus home equity. In my case current balances from checking, high yield savings plus post tax brokerage account plus Roth IRA plus home equity. No pre tax money in these calculations. Any balance from post tax dollars can go in the numerator. I included home equity because it is ‘real dollars’ in the account rather than estimated value of house. Denominator: Sum of net pay over years worked. In my case 30 years. My effective savings rate Numerator/Denominator : 17%. This is a very strange formula as your numerator contains gains and interest earned on the actual "savings" and your denominator excludes a lot of the actual income y...
by jharkin
Fri Jan 12, 2024 7:47 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Concerned my elderly parents are spending too much of retirement portfolio
Replies: 69
Views: 10571

Re: Concerned my elderly parents are spending too much of retirement portfolio

Just spending RMDs is a totally reasonable method. He's 93, not in great health, and she's 87 and they have $3M+ ($2M portfolio and $1M house)? What are you worried about? After SS, they're pulling less than 10% a year and they have life expectancies of less than 5 years. So what if one of them lives 10 more years though? Something really terrible would have to happen here. Like their house value is cut in half AND their portfolio is cut in half AND one of them lives to 105 etc. I spend all my effort trying to get my parents to spend more, not less. Yours seem to have it about right to me. The 4% rule is for people who are 65, not 93. I have to completely agree with this. Unless you are hoping for a big inheritance what do you care how muc...
by jharkin
Mon Dec 25, 2023 9:05 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Is Solar Worth It?
Replies: 193
Views: 49321

Re: Is Solar Worth It?

I just skimmed the thread but from what I have seen you have not provided enough info to answer! You need to know: 1- How much power you use (in kWh) per year and what your cost per kWh is. 2 - a proposal that shows: - how many panels are to be installed - cost - expected annual production in kWh (can be estimated using the free online pvwatts tool) 3- amount of utility subsidies (if avail), state and federal tax credits to offset install cost 4- how are you going to finance the out of pocket ( cash, solar loan, HELOC, leasing? What rate?) 5 - estimate of any utility state production credits per kWh generated and how long those last (often called SREC or similar) 6- Do you have netmetering and exactly how it works (there are different arran...
by jharkin
Sat Dec 23, 2023 9:08 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Home Insurance is Increasing 60% This Year
Replies: 70
Views: 9152

Re: Home Insurance is Increasing 60% This Year

talzara wrote: Fri Dec 22, 2023 2:35 pm
jharkin wrote: Fri Dec 22, 2023 7:12 am Let me guess, Florida?
The OP has already said that this is in Virginia. However, several people did guess Florida.
HappyPappy wrote: Thu Dec 21, 2023 5:58 pm Virginia
Ooops... missed that. I guessed Florida as there have been a couple high profile news stories of Insurers pulling out of the state due to hurricane and flood loss rates becoming unsustainable. And I have a couple of good friends who live down there and pay something insane like 5-10x what I do on insurance
by jharkin
Thu Dec 21, 2023 8:19 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: how much do you think you need to retire?
Replies: 296
Views: 62820

Re: how much do you think you need to retire?

OP: So you got answers that ranged from "a coffee shop and my SS check" to 30 million (I guess to fund hte private jet??).

What did you learn?
by jharkin
Tue Dec 19, 2023 12:18 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Buying a luxury car (how dumb would it be to do this?)
Replies: 236
Views: 36745

Re: Buying a luxury car (how dumb would it be to do this?)

It funny what 6 years of inflation will do. You can spend as much on a top of the line Highlander today as the OP was originally gong to spend on the X5.
by jharkin
Mon Dec 18, 2023 1:45 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Shifting my tIRA to DW...make sense?
Replies: 19
Views: 1990

Re: Shifting my tIRA to DW...make sense?

Option 3: Take distributions from that 4million TIRA and fly first class on that bucket list vacation you have been putting off.


Said another way, if you cant think of what to spend the money on now, you are not going to magically find a use for millions when you are 90 and facing mobility issues...
by jharkin
Mon Dec 18, 2023 12:31 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Telling our children about your net worth - pros and cons?
Replies: 181
Views: 27867

Re: Telling our children about your net worth - pros and cons?

So Im starting to really feel old... I had to go look up "magnificent 7 companies"... I guess this is the latest take on FAANGs.... Anyway, if I bottom line htis. you have an 8 figure portfolio. You child is 24 and is probably already making mid-6 figure income and doesn't even manage her own money, much less have any idea what you are going to leave to her. I guess you have to ask yourself what kind of lifestyle you want for your family. Im sure you realize you are asking, not even 1%er questions... these are like 0.5%er questions. Between what she will earn in her career and what you are going to leave if you don't spend it you could probably create the kind of family trust that would ensure none of your descendants ever has to ...
by jharkin
Mon Dec 18, 2023 11:43 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Anyone Bored in Retirement ??
Replies: 131
Views: 30349

Re: Anyone Bored in Retirement ??

Interesting necropost but definitely a perennially relevant topic. I'm still 10 years out, so take this with a grain of salt - but the one common denominator I see in all these "Im bored" threads is folks who don't have a plan for what they are retiring to. If you have no hobbies, or your 'hobby' is just doing the same thing as your job but not getting paid for it, and don't have a good circle of friends and family in a similar situation than that is a recipe for stagnation. There is only so much mindless TV watching and book reading you can do before you go nuts IMHO. And if you plan to fill the time with constant travel, that needs to be factored into the retirement budget $$$ Our working plan is to fill our retirement up with i...
by jharkin
Mon Dec 18, 2023 11:29 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Industry // Salary and Annual raise // bonus (% and absolute)
Replies: 38
Views: 6059

Re: Industry // Salary and Annual raise // bonus (% and absolute)

Midcap, privately held software.

Around 3% base raise . Profit sharing bonus was about half of usual (wont know for sure till Q1 but looking to be about 25% of base all up this year - was 40% year prior) but that was due mostly to over hiring the year before hurting margins. gross revenue is still up year over year.

I cant complain because last year in the boom I got almost a 15% increase in base and got bumped into a higher bonus tier that more than doubled my annual payout.
by jharkin
Thu Nov 02, 2023 7:39 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Home Sellers Win $1.8 Billion After Jury Finds Conspiracy Among Realtors
Replies: 421
Views: 47258

Re: Home Sellers Win $1.8 Billion After Jury Finds Conspiracy Among Realtors

I havent ready every reply yet (halfway though page 10=)... but I am really curious how these damages would be paid out. Do folks really think every homeowner that sold in the past is going to get a check refunding hte buyer agent half of the commission? How would that even work? Most agents are employed as independent contractors. They get the commission check and then give the percentage to the owner/broker of hte branch who in turn I imagine gives a slice to the franchise if its a national chain.

Are the courts going to go after a million individual agents and make them pay damages out of their own funds?
by jharkin
Wed Nov 01, 2023 7:24 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Schwab Layoffs (October 2023)
Replies: 81
Views: 15451

Re: Schwab Layoffs (October 2023)

THe report is 2000 employees out of 35,000. That's not even 5%, hardly "mass"

My company 401k is held at Schwab, but one little round of layoff doesn't scare me. If the companies stability gets dicy we will just move our assets elsewhere. there are lots of legal protects to prevent them from raiding customer accounts to cover business losses.

Bigger picture, Ive worked in tech for close to 30 years now, though at least 3 big industry wide meltdowns. A single round of layoffs is nothing. When they get to round 5, 6, 7, affect double digit % of workforce each time, and the severance packages start to get reduced ? ... then you can panic.
by jharkin
Tue Jun 13, 2023 10:49 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Too much tax deferred?
Replies: 21
Views: 2354

Re: Too much tax deferred?

+1 you can have too much deferred. I'm late 40s and already have a few years gross in deferred. Im also at an age that between the kids activities, college looming in 5-6 years and travel we want to do with them before they grow up we have a lot of current and near term spend that is more valuable to us than leaving a lot of money to heirs someday.

So I have actually cut back to contribute just to the match (and even that will get us to a couple M in deferred by retirement) and instead throw more into Roth, college fund and building a taxable cushion for early retirement.
by jharkin
Tue May 23, 2023 8:49 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Costs of maintaining a ~2000 square foot 3-2 home
Replies: 109
Views: 13217

Re: Costs of maintaining a ~2000 square foot 3-2 home

With the exception of the roof and a couple others… most of those items are FAR too often. Siding should outlive you. If it’s failing it’s because you didn’t maintain the paint. Similarly windows should last a long time. Yes modern windows are garbage compared to the woodwork of 100 years ago but like siding if it’s kept dry and well painted… 10 years on appliances? I left the 20year old whirlpool washer behind at my last house, only needed repair once ($20 motor coupling) in that time. After 20 years of home ownership, I very strongly disagree here. I think the mechanical/appliance estimates are probably low. Yes, appliances built before roughly 2000 often lasted 20 years. Appliances aren't made to last as long anymore. I've got a 25ish y...
by jharkin
Tue May 23, 2023 8:32 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How Much Do You Spend on Lawn Maintenance Services?
Replies: 64
Views: 7073

Re: How Much Do You Spend on Lawn Maintenance Services?

Massachusetts.

I have a 2 acre lot. About an acre of it is grass, and we have flower beds etc that take 3-5 yard of mulch to top dress.

I do all my own mowing. Takes about an hour once a week with the rider.
We have a service that does fertilization, weed control, tick/mosquito control, fall aeration and overseeding - about $1200/yr
Spring cleanup I do myself - usually just one pass with the lawn sweeper 1-2 hr
I have a different landscape contractor that does fall cleanup - $600 for 2 visits and they mow/rake blow everything
When we mulch (typically every other year) we order 3-5 yards for ~$200 and the entire family spreads it (about an afternoon)
by jharkin
Fri Mar 10, 2023 8:55 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: how to compare property tax rates (massachusetts)
Replies: 10
Views: 1215

Re: how to compare property tax rates (massachusetts)

If taxes go up. its because the town is spending more money. If property values are increasing, the mill rate should be decreasing (in an ideal world) :happy . They do. When I bought my current house a few years ago, the assesed value was about 60% of the market price I paid. Mill rate was almost 2.1% Enter the pandemic and prices went nuts. Market value of my house is up at least 30-40%. Assesed value make a couple big jumps and is now higher than the market price I paid when I bought it. But the town budget has not grown nearly as fast (prop 2.5 limits, etc) so the mill rate has actually adjusted down significantly to about 1.5% on my last bill. Through all those ups and downs my annual tax bill in absolute dollars has risen only about 1...
by jharkin
Thu Mar 02, 2023 1:22 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: PSA - LastPass breach!
Replies: 718
Views: 65086

Re: Last Pass Security Bulletin

Easiest way to make it go away is to dump Last Pass.

https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and- ... passwords/


This isn't the first, and likely wont be the last, issue with them. I used to love this service but stuck with it way too long.
by jharkin
Tue Feb 28, 2023 9:14 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Renting an old house.
Replies: 12
Views: 1540

Re: Renting an old house.

I got a chuckle that we know call 1976 "old" Ive live in houses closes to 1776.... LIttle to be concerned about here.... Lead pipes stop being installed long before that house was built. Lead paint was technically not yet fully banned but they already knew the ban was coming in 78 so not likely. I think most asbestos had been phased out by then as well, though there is a chance you still may find popcorn ceiling tiles or flooring contaminated with it. The other thing that sometimes causes an issue from that time period is aluminum wiring (which can be safe when done right, but at the time they wired entire houses with it and didn't use the precautions we have today like anti-corrsosion coatings for the terminals when aluminum serv...
by jharkin
Tue Feb 21, 2023 1:06 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Toyota Sienna hybrid or Grand Highlander hybrid
Replies: 26
Views: 5502

Re: Toyota Sienna hybrid or Grand Highlander hybrid

+1. Last year was a miserable time to buy a new car from ANY brand, with wait lists and markups for almost anything. Limited production or new models are particularly bad. If you want something super trendy like a Ford Bronco, Mustang Mach-E, Toyota TRD Pro anything,Audi E-Tron, etc it can get truly insane. To add to what Chris Said Toyota and Honda never allowed customer ordering the way American and German cars do. If you go on Toyota.com and play with the configurator sure you may see all kinds of options and packages and colors, but its just an illusion. Its really the regional distributor that is picking from that menu, and they distill it down to a few particular combos and as mentioned dealers have to pick from that. The dealer puts ...
by jharkin
Sun Feb 19, 2023 5:55 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Have the Cash. Should I purchase/finance my car
Replies: 64
Views: 6859

Re: Have the Cash. Should I purchase/finance my car

OP: you don’t have to finance at the dealer. Look at local credit unions.

I just paid $55k for a 2023 4Runner Pro in December. Put half down (Traded in my 9 year old Tacoma for 70% of what I paid new + loaded up a couple rewards CCs :mrgreen: ) and financed the rest with Mass Bay CU for 2.49%

Could I pay cash? Sure, but why bother when I can get a rate well below inflation on one of the few new cars that will actually appreciate for the first few years of ownership :sharebeer :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
by jharkin
Sun Feb 19, 2023 6:34 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Have the Cash. Should I purchase/finance my car
Replies: 64
Views: 6859

Re: Have the Cash. Should I purchase/finance my car

Wow… Jacks story makes BMWs sound as reliable as Toyotas… woah.


OP:
If you must have a status symbol car that is luxurious and looks off road worthy, there are better alternatives to look at: Mercedes G Wagon, Lexus GX/LX, Toyota Land Cruiser.

As to paying for it, if you refinance after leaving the dealer and can get <3% it’s a no brainer in this high inflation environment. But you need to have the discipline to invest the money saved.

And your “savings” should be invested in low cost index funds. If you just park it in a 2% savings account you are wasting an opportunity.

I assume you max out all tax deferred/ retirement account space you have each year?
by jharkin
Sat Feb 18, 2023 8:31 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: New Car Advice - midsize SUV or Tesla Model 3? Or hold off?
Replies: 29
Views: 3807

Re: New Car Advice - midsize SUV or Tesla Model 3? Or hold off?

I’d reiterate the question - why an SUV? If you are cross shopping small sedans and big SUVs you need to ask yourself if you actually need the carrying capacity and AWD of an SUV or if you just want what’s trendy.

If the answer is you do and you prefer EV then look at thinks like the Model Y, Audi E-Tron, etc. lots of electric SUVs coming now.

Otherwise look at EV sedans. Model 3 isn’t the only option, it has the best charging network but as noted beyond that advantage Teslas are kinda blah.,,,
by jharkin
Sat Feb 18, 2023 7:08 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Need to spend $10,000 stat!
Replies: 147
Views: 14345

Re: Need to spend $10,000 stat!

Jags4186 wrote: Mon Feb 06, 2023 6:51 pm
miamivice wrote: Mon Feb 06, 2023 6:49 pm
z3r0c00l wrote: Mon Feb 06, 2023 6:45 pm Sounds like a huge amount to spend in 90 days. What is your normal monthly spending?
Around $4,000 per month on my Costco card. Not hard to shift to a different card for a few months.
So not sure why you’re asking? Seems like 75 days of normal spend will get you to your goal.
+1. Whenever I get a new card with a bonus target I just put all my other cards in a drawer until I hit it.
by jharkin
Sat Feb 18, 2023 6:54 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Tech and other layoffs - how to navigate?
Replies: 12
Views: 1543

Re: Tech and other layoffs - how to navig

I moved out of public tech to a midsize privately held firm pre-pandemic. I couldn’t be happier. The lack of RSU compensation is more than made up for by the order of magnitude better job stability. We don’t grow very fast but have never had layoffs, ever. Not even during the dot com and Great Recession. I wonder where all the tech bros who liked to tell me I was underpaid are now? —— Now to make my reply actionable: The answer is to make yourself as valuable and high profile as possible. Don’t assume that because you have a pulse and passed a hacker rank challenge you are anything but a number. Don’t hide in your cube all day coding. Get out and socialize. Network. Take on the hard/challenging/PIA tasks nobody else wants. Volunteer for mor...
by jharkin
Mon Jan 30, 2023 5:41 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Holy moly my credit score dropped like a rock!!
Replies: 84
Views: 11720

Re: Holy moly my credit score dropped like a rock!!

I had the same thing happen. Last year we travelled a TON, making up for lost time. Really started raking up some decent points and decided to make use of the 5/24 rule while I could to open up a couple new rewards cards and maximize sign up bonus points getting us to a higher tier one one program and a free week at a certain hotel chain. A couple cards had long 0% offers as well so I decided to let it float and dump much of our free cash into IBonds while the rates where 6%+ Coincidentally, at the same time I get a notice from Discover card that they closed a card for lack of use. It’s one I had since college that doesn’t offer much and I literally forgot I had it, but being such an old account that probably hurt. I looked at CK and my 790...
by jharkin
Thu Jan 26, 2023 2:18 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: H&R Block 2022 software offer
Replies: 281
Views: 33625

Re: H&R Block Tax Software Deluxe + State 2022 Price drop

Thanks!

I just put it in my cart and i had enough no rush shipping rewards saved up it only sot me 69 cents in tax. sweet.
by jharkin
Thu Jan 26, 2023 1:18 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Liquimoly and Seafoam Engine Flush?
Replies: 39
Views: 4873

Re: Liquimoly and Seafoam Engine Flush?

It seems that for Liquimoly you pour it into the fuel tank just before the next oil change and run or idle the car for 15 minutes or so to let is circulate through before draining. Then you pour in cheap oil and use a cheap filter, let it run one more time for another 10-15 mins, and then drain again. And after that, replacing with whatever normal oil + filter you normally use. If a product is instructing you to pour an additive into the fuel tank, and then drain the oil ... RUN... do not walk ... away. Most of these additives are snake oil. Oil additives should not be necessary if you are using high quality motor oil, and most of them (if they are anything at all) are actually concentrated packages of wear modifiers, like Molybdenum, that...
by jharkin
Thu Jan 26, 2023 9:50 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Switch from Propane to Natural Gas
Replies: 61
Views: 4858

Re: Switch from Propane to Natural Gas

Back when we had solar it was not allowed to have a disconnect of any kind from the grid (per the NEM agreement.) This was common years ago for safety reasons, but these days the ability to automatically "island" homes with solar, batteries, or generators so that people working on the grid remain safe during power outages while you get to enjoy ongoing electricity is pretty standard. While I have no doubt that some localities or electric providers may not have updated regulations, they would be pretty far behind the curve. Not standard at all. To be able to disconnect and keep the house powered you either need to have batteries + a smart inverter that can run without the grid (not common other than Tesla installs), or an inverter...
by jharkin
Thu Jan 26, 2023 9:46 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Toyota Extended Warranty
Replies: 62
Views: 7395

Re: Toyota Extended Warranty

MangoMama wrote: Thu Jan 26, 2023 9:30 am That's probably because the manufacturer only gives the dealer a fixed number of hours to do warranty repairs. Anything over that, the dealer (or tech) has to eat. For the thermostat change, the advisor mentioned Toyota gives them 2 hours.
Correct. They have a warranty repair schedule that specifies exactly how many hours of labor is paid per job. If they run into trouble or are short staffed and its takes longer the dealer eats it. But if the tech rushes and finishes fast I believe conversely they get paid the same the same rate = Unfortunately this could be seen as an incentive for careless work when its on the warranties dime....
by jharkin
Thu Jan 26, 2023 9:24 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Toyota Extended Warranty
Replies: 62
Views: 7395

Re: Toyota Extended Warranty

I just traded in my Tacoma at 9 years old. Never did anything but fluid changes and tires. It was even still on the original brake pads. Dealer bought it for about 65% of what I paid new in 2014.

I have had odd things happen on older Honda and Toyota's (we had an '08 pilot that developed a valvetrain tick at 120k) but not with anywhere near the frequency to make me think there is a positive ROI buying an extended warranty.
by jharkin
Thu Jan 26, 2023 8:25 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How to safely transfer large home down payment funds?
Replies: 21
Views: 1669

Re: How to safely transfer large home down payment funds?

FWIW I have always done a wire transfer or got a cashiers check for large 5-6 figure payments like that.
by jharkin
Wed Jan 25, 2023 9:11 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Switch from Propane to Natural Gas
Replies: 61
Views: 4858

Re: Switch from Propane to Natural Gas

Back when we had solar it was not allowed to have a disconnect of any kind from the grid (per the NEM agreement.) This was common years ago for safety reasons, but these days the ability to automatically "island" homes with solar, batteries, or generators so that people working on the grid remain safe during power outages while you get to enjoy ongoing electricity is pretty standard. While I have no doubt that some localities or electric providers may not have updated regulations, they would be pretty far behind the curve. Not standard at all. To be able to disconnect and keep the house powered you either need to have batteries + a smart inverter that can run without the grid (not common other than Tesla installs), or an inverter...
by jharkin
Wed Jan 25, 2023 9:06 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Switch from Propane to Natural Gas
Replies: 61
Views: 4858

Re: Switch from Propane to Natural Gas

Valuethinker wrote: Tue Jan 24, 2023 4:55 am Without checking, it's my guess that New England has the highest NG prices in the USA?

Propane prices should be much more even between regions (cheaper in the Texas-OK-LA area, because that's where the main wells and refineries are)? Local factors probably quite important (competitiveness of suppliers, who owns the tank etc)?
Probably - which means that if the conversion makes sense here (and I feel it does), it easily makes sense anywhere...
by jharkin
Mon Jan 23, 2023 5:57 pm
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: 🎊Happy 99th Birthday to Taylor Larimore🎉
Replies: 247
Views: 15943

Re: 🎊Happy 99th Birthday to Taylor Larimore🎉

Happy birthday Taylor!