Bogleheads.org

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I use the AfterShokz titanium. About $80 and have held up well. The best part is that they do not cover your ears. You can still hear what is going on around you if you keep the volume at a reasonable level. https://www.amazon.com/Aftershokz-Trekz-Titanium-Pink-One/dp/B07DMDD776/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1ALT...

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Great thread. Reading with interest since our oldest is a senior in HS this year and we are engaging this process for the first time. Of course, if the child is unwilling to take ACT/SAT due to covid this year, I wouldn't expect much of merit scholarships. And if OP has a high family income, just no...

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OP - the NET earnings from self-employment are also reduced by the employer portion of self-employment taxes. So the net earnings per your tax return reported to SS are usually lower than the amount reported on Form 1099. The $2k difference you are seeing could be due to the 7.65% employer share of...

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In many cases the self-employment earnings posted by social security will not agree with the 1099 information. As long as the earnings posted for her by Social Security agree with the NET earnings from self-employment reported on the tax return she should be okay. In filing the tax return she repor...

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Thanks for the clarification. So you applied prior to July 9th and didn't close yet??? We applied Aug. 7 and the banner was not present at that time. I saw it at some point prior to our app date and it came back not too long afterwards. I guess there was a window when they were accepting new apps.

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Hi all, Hope someone might have some relevant experience for this situation. My wife went back to work last year after years as a stay at home Mom. She was employed as an independent contractor and her income was reported on a 1099. We received her 1099 for 2019, filed our tax return, and have alrea...

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That's sorry to hear. But, not to blame you specifically, their website clearly says that they are not accepting new applications due to high volume and the fact they are a small house. Is it fair to criticize them for not being responsive when everyone here has been applying through a back door, a...

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We have been trying to get a refi done with LenderFi for a couple of weeks. So far, the process has not been smooth. They failed to lock the rate when they were supposed to, so we've been through that twice. Multiple signing of the same documents. I am not really confident at this point, but it seem...

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I converted to the DE razor 15+ years ago. It does a lot better for my skin than the multi-blade razors. Took a little trial and error to find the right razor and blades that I liked. Now I'm all set. Of course, a couple of years ago I decided to try a beard for the first time in my life. Now I just...

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You will need to teach your child to sleep. Yes, teach him/her to sleep. ... There are books out there. I learned from a popular Spanish-language one, "Duérmete Niño." But there are others in English. It's not that complicated (basically if it's dark outside it is time for baby to sleep) ...

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I agree with all of the above. Just wanted to add if you're considering buying a house, wait until you (think you) are done having children so you know how much space you'll need/want. Good suggestion. I would take that comment even further. When you consider your long term family house, envision y...

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I think a 529 makes sense regardless of your tax bracket. Not sure I understand the question on income limits. You can fund a 529 regardless of your income. There is no limitation or phase out like a Roth IRA. You will almost certainly not qualify for need based financial aid with an income of >$200...

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We were planning on buying the car with cash but are now thinking about taking the car loan and paying off the student loan. This part confuses me. It sounds like you don't actually have the car loan yet. If not... I would ask yourself if you really need, what I assume is, a $40k brand new car. Wit...

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I started with an electric Brinkmann smoker. It was an okay starting point, but I found the cooking times to be really inconsistent. It seemed to lose a lot of cooking heat in cold weather, even when using an insulated jacket. I bought a large Big Green Egg about 15 years ago. It is one of my favori...

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Good thread. Probably time for me to upgrade my phone as well. No way I would pay the price for a new one. I'm probably looking at either an iPhone 8 or XR. As you might expect, refurbished iPhones from Apple are the top price point. Thoughts on where to get the best deal on a used iPhone? I have su...

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I have been using PIAA Super Silicone blades and have been happy with them. They last a long time.

You have to buy the wiper blade (frame) the first time you switch. After that you can buy just the refills.

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unstartable wrote: ↑Tue May 21, 2019 9:52 am Does anyone have any experience with condensing/ventless dryers? How well they dry, and how long clothes last?

We had one of those when we lived in Europe. The one we had took forever to dry.

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I have Speedplay Frogs on both my mountain and road bike. I found them easier to clip in an out of than SPDs. For a hybrid bike, I might go with combo pedals that are two sided, something like the Shimano PD-EH500. One side is is a platform and the other a clip. Seems like that would be versatile an...

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We solved our WiFi issues with a mesh system also. We went with the Linksys Velop. Costco had the best deal at the time and came with 4 modules.

Our main purpose was to enable coverage for Ring cameras outside the house. The Linksys was easy to set up and has worked flawlessly for us.

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1st Comment: Thanks for sharing your experience. However, I never understood the reasoning for investing with a 529 over investing in a Roth IRA if I have the space available (which I do). I know I can only pull my own contributions out of the Roth, but if I am saving with a 16-year timeframe, I do...

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You are doing great. Staying out of debt is a big key. If I could go back in time and give myself advice as a young father, there are two big things I would change: Start 529 accounts for your children at birth. This was the biggest financial mistake we made. 529 plans had only been around a few yea...

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If there is nothing about the car that would make it inherently unsuitable for Florida (no A/C for example) and doesn't have any major problems, I would keep the car through the move. I would prefer to be settled in the new living situation before making a decision on a car. That would allow me to b...

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I’ve been a dedicated buyer of Japanese cars ever since I had enough money to pay cash for something above “beater” level —and had substantial equity in my home, an emergency fund and was maxing out retirement contributions. My quality and reliability perceptions also meant that there hasn’t been a...

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I'm going on month 5 with keto. I've lost 25 lbs at this point. I'm not counting calories or macros. Pretty much just keeping my diet low carb and a somewhat higher fat, although I'm not going extreme on the fat. I haven't been able to stay 100% keto all the time, but I've been pretty good. I only g...

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We were planning to get a mortgage on the new house and invest about $600K of our savings into a diversified portfolio (80/10/10 or 70/15/15), except for about $50-100K as an emergency fund which we'd keep in a high interest savings account. However, after re-reviewing the blog, I'm having second t...

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We have a Mazda 3 that was purchased as a kid's first car. It was 9 years old and 72k miles when we bought it. Nice little car that has been good for us. My biggest concern with driving a Mazda in the snow would be ground clearance. I think the Subaru would do a little better clearing piled up snow ...

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I am betting about zero home warranty companies will replace an AC unit. They will all do the cheapest possible repair and make you wait for as long as possible:) Home Warranty of America replaced two units in two years in a previous home for us. The first unit was replaced during our first year of...

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We did a Gray Line tour of DC that included Mt. Vernon, Arlington, and the memorials. It was a little expensive, but it was an efficient way to see a lot in a short amount of time. It was great to be shuttled right to the sights and not fuss with parking, directions, etc. Also, the driver or guide w...

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Curious to ask. For those of you who use YNAB or other apps, is it worth the monthly fee? I've only read about them and not used any before--The NYT recd YNAB pretty enthusiastically. What is its real added value? I would really just use it to improve my savings. We use YNAB. It has been a huge hel...

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I've owned a Miata. The total opposite of boring while at the same time being reliable and not very expensive. With acknowledged trunk storage and rear seat problems. :thumbsup The most fun car I've ever owned was a Miata with a 6 speed manual transmission. Very reliable and easy to drive. I was ev...

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We went with the Nevada 529. Accessible directly through the Vanguard website. More than enough investment options. ERs are very close between UT and NV. My impression is that ERs in 529s are under continual competitive pressure so the absolute lowest cost provider probably changes over time. As lon...

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Would I ever do a cash-out refi to invest? No. I would not create debt on my home to invest. By the time you pay expenses of selling the $540k property and buying a $650 property, the mortgage to cover difference is probably ~$140k. Going with a mortgage of $200k is would only put an additional $60...

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Apparently the new Body Shop (Dealers) has found it is broken on both ends. So the 5K includes: - new door - remove front end of car - to get to the area where it is broken by the Apiller. - paint etc. Have you thought about trying to get a door from a salvage yard? Don't know if that is practical ...

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I tend to dislike machines that create unnecessary material waste, i.e., Keurig and Nespresso. I am interested in an automatic espresso type machine, like the Jura J8, I guess. A question for those users: do those machines make a cup of regular joe, in addition to the lattes, capuccinsos, etc.? Yes...

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I think it depends on how close to your funding goal you are at this point.

If you think you have sufficient funds to cover your target school(s), then I would certainly move to a more conservative AA. Maybe not all cash hut semester between 30-70 and 50-50 would be my suggestion.

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Never hurts to ask but if they paid your repair and rental car costs, they made you whole to the best of their ability. I wouldn't expect any further compensation for time or inconvienence.

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We have a Samsung for about 8 yrs. No issue. Sis in law had a different brand and handle kept pulling loose. Check for a sturdy handle. Love the design. Weight not a problem. We bought a Samsung about 5 years ago. The ice maker on the french door models has a design problem. There is a class action...

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This really hits home with me. I think this is great advice and makes sense. Paying down debt and saving up the cash will take some time. That is a good thing. Use the time to thoroughly plan what you want in the remodel/addition before you ever bring in architects and contractors who may try to se...

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Our other cookware is Lodge Cast Iron (large and small skillet) and Debuyer carbon steel pan for fish and crepes . We have too much cookware, but we are a family of 5 with three teenagers. Keeping the crew fed is an ongoing challenge. My favorites are a Debuyer carbon steel skillet and what Debuyer...

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We can wait 2 years and have the cash plus a cushion, but not sure my wife will have the patience (I don't blame her, we have a bad layout) Think about what puts you in the best position 5-10 years from now. You love the location, the property is workable long term with some improvements, and have ...

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I am feeling that our plan could be something like the following: 1) Put away enough to max backdoor Roths immediately in Jan 2019 2) I have a highly variable income and am having what is considered an anomaly year (Our W2s will be near 400K this year, but I anticipate we will sit around 200K next ...

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The age of the grandchildren at the time of inheritance matters to me. At the current age (10 years old or younger), I would split it 50-50 between the children. I wouldn't want to bestow a significant amount of money to grandchildren who are less than 30 years old. That money might not help them an...

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I do it at each oil change. No particular logic to that other than it is easy to remember.

I rotate mine front to back.

I also have a hydraulic jack and impact wrench at home, so it is easy for me to do myself when necessary.

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Overall, we shop more at Costco but keep memberships at both for different things. (3 teenagers in the house , economizing our grocery bill is important.) We have been really happy with Sam's Optical. Pretty good prices and the staff at our local one is awesome. One thing I really like is that they ...

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My sister (that lives in the house) is trying to buy our part out and does not yet know if she will be approved for the mortgage (she had to get a co-signer). ... She has asked us to take 100K AND turn around and give her 5k from each of our share so she can fix the house. Definitely do not agree t...

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Edit: One additional question, would you have the builder finish the basement for an additional $26k for 1000 sq ft space? We built a house with an unfinished basement 5 years ago. Haven't had any problem with moisture. We considered having the builder finish it and decided against it because it wa...

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Does your plan offer a self-directed brokerage window?

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I don't have a lawyer. How do you find a good lawyer? We updated our will and estate planning documents this year. We were way overdue and I'm glad we finally got it done. I asked friends for recommendations and found an attorney we were happy with. The biggest hurdle for us (and the reason we wait...

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I will not be having any more children - even if I remarry again. If you remarried, the new spouse could bring children into the relationship. Unless the premium is a financial strain, I would reduce the coverage to $1M for right now and reevaluate it when you turn 50. See what your life looks like...

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The way we manage our finances has evolved over time. We didn't used to budget. When we were dual income with no kids, we didn't feel it was necessary. When we went down to one income after kids, we managed a little more closely but didn't have a formal budget. For a little over a year, we have been...

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