Search found 209 matches
- Mon Apr 05, 2021 4:19 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: New State Farm Coverages
- Replies: 53
- Views: 23484
Re: New State Farm Coverages
Just received our HO invoice from Mercury Insurance. $37 annually for home systems protection. Covers mechanical & electrical breakdowns, but excludes normal wear & tear, old age, rust, corrostion, deterioration, gradual loss of efficiency, leakage and seepage from connections or valves. $37...
- Tue Mar 23, 2021 2:30 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: budget espresso maker
- Replies: 67
- Views: 3746
Re: budget espresso maker
Just a tad out of your budget. Breville Bambino (not plus) and a Baratza Encore grinder would be about $300-400. The Bambino is a basic machine, makes decent espresso. AFAIK, the difference between it and the "plus" model is automated frothing, which is really not necessary. After experime...
- Wed Jan 27, 2021 2:15 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: PSA for 3 funds folks: Did you pass the "Buy, Hold, and Rebalance" Test on March 2020?
- Replies: 135
- Views: 4950
Re: PSA for 3 funds folks: Did you pass the "Buy, Hold, and Rebalance" Test on March 2020?
Yes, rebalanced per IPS. In March, we sold total bonds for total market. Later half of 2020, rebalancing bands were triggered and we rebalanced again, total market sold for more total bonds. Thanks to BH, our investment approach is boring and glad to stay boring.
- Sun Jan 17, 2021 5:25 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Where do you buy coffee beans?
- Replies: 191
- Views: 17090
Re: Where do you buy coffee beans?
We go through 1lb a week. For mud to open our eyes in the morning, Kirkland Sumatra is good enough, it's 6lb per order from Costco online. We supplement a few lbs from local roasters (Philz, Blue bottle) for variety. Also some Ruta Maya dark roast decaf for after dinner coffee, also from Costco onli...
- Sun Jan 17, 2021 4:03 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: What have you baked recently?
- Replies: 336
- Views: 39710
Re: What have you baked recently?
Baked jackfruit mochi muffin this morning. Inspired by this https://3jamigos.com/wp-content/cache/all/muffin-been-the-mochi-that-caught-my-eye-butter-mochi-muffins/index.html , added shredded jackfruit to the batter. Texturally interesting, flavour is good but it was a bit too sweet for breakfast fo...
- Mon Jan 04, 2021 11:36 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Official Registration For The 2021 Boglehead Contest
- Replies: 642
- Views: 15977
- Wed Nov 11, 2020 11:31 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Taylor Sends His Best to Fellow Bogleheads
- Replies: 334
- Views: 26750
Re: Taylor Sends His Best to Fellow Bogleheads
Best wishes!
- Tue Nov 10, 2020 12:25 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: How do YOU make coffee?
- Replies: 342
- Views: 24374
Re: How do YOU make coffee?
Pour overs mostly. French press when several cups are needed simultaneously. Occasionally, south east asian style kopi made in a "sock", served with a lot of condensed milk. This week, we finally replaced the Zassenhaus manual burr grinder with a Baratza Encore electric grinder. After 20+ ...
- Tue Oct 27, 2020 8:45 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Amazon Prime Retention Rates
- Replies: 69
- Views: 6479
Re: Amazon Prime Retention Rates
Can you share an account? We all use own addresses and credit cards. Of course we get to see what we all ordered but it's not a problem for us though. If you want to share but would like your privacy, you can link separate individual accounts as an Amazon household. The primary person pays for a pr...
- Tue Oct 27, 2020 1:04 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Amazon Prime Retention Rates
- Replies: 69
- Views: 6479
Re: Amazon Prime Retention Rates
In lieu of retention discount, a possible solution might be Amazon Household Program. Prime benefits are shareable with others designated as Amazon Household members, up to 2 adults, 4 teens. That's what I do, with an adult son who lives with us. Our personal accounts are separate with separate logi...
- Wed Sep 30, 2020 3:36 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Thoughts on college and aid for National Merit Semi Finalist
- Replies: 52
- Views: 3847
Re: Thoughts on college and aid for National Merit Semi Finalist
You mentioned wanting to stay in NJ area, but in case you're amenable to looking outside of that region. UFlorida (6th best public college according to US News) gives a full-ride scholarship to any National Merit finalist who choose UF as their first choice. This is non-competitive, not restricted t...
- Mon Sep 28, 2020 1:29 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Vacuum for mostly hardwood floors...
- Replies: 48
- Views: 2928
Re: Vacuum for mostly hardwood floors...
We have cats and all hardwood flours. A light soft straw broom for quick daily sweeping, damp mop fortnightly. Dyson vacuum for the rugs used during winters. This has worked well for us.
- Tue Sep 15, 2020 8:43 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Coping with Wildfire smoke
- Replies: 111
- Views: 7369
Re: Coping with Wildfire smoke
Fire season is a regular thing now. Our windows were kept closed and we stayed indoors as much as possible. Last year, we had N95 masks, but this year we used cloth masks with pockets for filter inserts. Each of us has a set of 7 PM2.5 reusable filters, for rotating through the week. I don't know if...
- Tue Aug 04, 2020 11:06 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Overcoming the fear of an early retirement
- Replies: 117
- Views: 9136
Re: Overcoming the fear of an early retirement
.. I too have golden handcuffs in the form of unvested stock thats worth a pretty penny right now, but it vests only 20%/yr. My wife is supportive of me retiring, I just cant summon the gumption to do so. Good luck on your exit plan though, I hope things improve for you. You've gotten lots of good ...
- Sun Aug 02, 2020 12:38 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Gardening 2020
- Replies: 227
- Views: 18095
Re: Gardening 2020
My 2 tomato plants are planted in an earthbox, the water reservoir is topped up once every few days. This is working out well. Do you like the EarthBox system? Yes I do. I'm not good at remembering to water & these self-irrigating pots have been life-savers for plants that like even watering. T...
- Sun Jul 26, 2020 3:49 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Gardening 2020
- Replies: 227
- Views: 18095
Re: Gardening 2020
My 2 tomato plants are planted in an earthbox, the water reservoir is topped up once every few days. This is working out well. The only problem is I thought I bought a Sungold & Early Girl seedling. Right now, they are both looking like determinates with red, medium-sized tomato. The plants were...
- Thu Jul 16, 2020 6:05 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: What surprised you the most once you retired?
- Replies: 267
- Views: 31858
Re: What surprised you the most once you retired?
What surprised you the most once you retired? How quickly I quit caring about my old job. +1 Given how many years were spent building & using those skill set, I had thought that retirement might see me dabbling in fun research or part time consulting related to the old job. Those opportunities ...
- Mon Jul 13, 2020 2:13 pm
- Forum: US Chapters
- Topic: Post your Financial Milestone Announcements Here
- Replies: 2311
- Views: 274189
Re: Post your Financial Milestone Announcements Here
Congrats! :beer Be sure this is a letter that releases you from the mortgage (paid in full), a.k.a. mortgage satisfaction letter. When you get that, call your insurance company and remove the mortgage company from the homeowners policy. You want to change the loss payee from the mortgage company to...
- Sat Jul 11, 2020 5:20 pm
- Forum: US Chapters
- Topic: Post your Financial Milestone Announcements Here
- Replies: 2311
- Views: 274189
Re: Post your Financial Milestone Announcements Here
Congrats! :beer Be sure this is a letter that releases you from the mortgage (paid in full), a.k.a. mortgage satisfaction letter. When you get that, call your insurance company and remove the mortgage company from the homeowners policy. You want to change the loss payee from the mortgage company to...
- Sat Jul 11, 2020 2:53 pm
- Forum: US Chapters
- Topic: Post your Financial Milestone Announcements Here
- Replies: 2311
- Views: 274189
Re: Post your Financial Milestone Announcements Here
Our home is paid off. We didn't request a payoff quote, but online account showed the loan as paid off with a balance of 0. A customer service rep confirmed that the loan balance was so low (<1k), the mortgage servicer used the escrow funds to pay it off. A nice congratulatory letter & check for...
- Fri Jul 03, 2020 11:53 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Face *Shields*?
- Replies: 14
- Views: 2269
Re: Face *Shields*?
This diy shield from a plastic folder is simple to make, and if it works, has the bonus of being easy to store when not in use. I was thinking of making one for use on a flight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu441SMQiNU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu441SMQiNU
- Tue Jun 16, 2020 1:10 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: House cleaning in Covid
- Replies: 25
- Views: 1683
Re: House cleaning in Covid
Ours wear masks & gloves when cleaning our home, we also stay out while they are cleaning. I was initially nervous about it, but have gotten more comfortable.
- Sat Jun 13, 2020 2:12 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: What have you baked recently?
- Replies: 336
- Views: 39710
Re: What have you baked recently?
Speaking of waffles. Waffled a tuna cheese sandwich for lunch, yum.
Found some forgotten nutritional yeast at the back of the cupboard. Added some to the current batch of sandwich bread dough, it gives a hint of cheese flavor. Not sure if I like it enough to continue using it that way.
Found some forgotten nutritional yeast at the back of the cupboard. Added some to the current batch of sandwich bread dough, it gives a hint of cheese flavor. Not sure if I like it enough to continue using it that way.
- Sat Jun 13, 2020 1:58 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: So what are you cooking
- Replies: 461
- Views: 36305
Re: So what are you cooking
Our family likes Japanese food, so I'm learning to cook them. This website is a godsend https://www.justonecookbook.com/ Tried her chawanmushi & ramen egg recipes, worked beautifully.
- Thu Jun 04, 2020 10:51 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Amazon Prime Membership Question [Considering to drop membership]
- Replies: 136
- Views: 10678
Re: Amazon WITHOUT Prime?
Prime card rebate, streaming service (music, video) are the main reasons we kept Prime. Even when fast shipping was available, we sometimes choose a slower option to bundle the items into fewer deliveries. It helps that membership cost is halved for us, as we share it with a household member. Two ad...
- Tue Jun 02, 2020 4:13 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Tea supplier comparison
- Replies: 74
- Views: 6207
Re: Tea supplier comparison
For those who want to use loose leaves but like the convenience of tea bags, you can get disposable tea filter bags. I keep a stash filled with my favorite loose tea in an airtight container. When I feel like a cuppa, a bag is ready to go. This is the filter bag I use: https://www.amazon.com/Rishi-L...
- Tue May 26, 2020 12:22 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Pandemic buys that have improved quality of life?
- Replies: 185
- Views: 19912
Re: Pandemic buys that have improved quality of life?
Ooni Koda pizza oven. Gas rather than wood fired. Bit of a learning curve but great pizza. Now if I could only find bread flour :( I buy all purpose flour in 25lb bags (local mills, Costco have them) and add vital wheat gluten if I need bread flour. Vital wheat gluten can be bought in multi-pounds ...
- Mon May 25, 2020 4:54 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Gardening 2020
- Replies: 227
- Views: 18095
Re: Gardening 2020
Huh, didn't know that either. Did you try it? Was it good? I gave up on hostas due to deersMr. Rumples wrote: ↑Mon May 18, 2020 5:48 pm Anyone ever heard of or have you eaten hosta plant leaves. Apparently the leaves are edible. I never have too much luck with summer greens, but hosta leaves would help with that.
- Wed May 20, 2020 4:20 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Safely disinfecting frozen food packages from corona virus?
- Replies: 51
- Views: 3947
Re: Safely disinfecting frozen food packages from corona virus?
When loading grocery items into the car, anything that can be wiped gets wiped with disinfectant, including frozen food packages. Items are also sorted into boxes in the car, eg. a box for non-perishables that will be quarantined in the garage for a few days. DH usually help unload the boxes when I ...
- Mon May 18, 2020 1:39 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Gardening 2020
- Replies: 227
- Views: 18095
Re: Gardening 2020
Glad you were able to identify the culprit, hopefully someone more knowledgeable will offer a solution. There are some holes in my greens, basil and pepper plants too, but I have yet to figure out who's nomming on them.
- Mon May 11, 2020 11:35 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Reacting to low interest rates
- Replies: 80
- Views: 6727
Re: Reacting to low interest rates
We came into some extra cash recently and had a similar question. Decided to use it to pay down the mortgage. I can't find anything that gives a comparable TEY (>5%) with equivalent risk/duration. A longer term benefit is being mortgage-free gives us more flexibility to managing cash flow, which wil...
- Tue May 05, 2020 11:11 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: How to get Toilet Paper ? seriously.
- Replies: 684
- Views: 58253
Re: How to get Toilet Paper ? seriously.
Home Depot had toilet paper over the weekend. I never saw that in the store before. Same at our Home Depot (Bay Area peninsula), saw them in some carts. There was also a table near the entrance, full of hand sanitizer. And even more amazingly, most people were walking by it without taking a second ...
- Mon Apr 27, 2020 12:29 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Gardening 2020
- Replies: 227
- Views: 18095
Re: Gardening 2020
It's my first time growing greens & I learned that I started the vegetables too late. The catnip may truly be dead now that the neighbor's cats have repeatedly nommed it to nothing. I will plant another if the stores carry them again, and will resolve to protect it better. Otoh, Julia Child rose...
- Mon Apr 27, 2020 12:12 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: What have you baked recently?
- Replies: 336
- Views: 39710
Re: What have you baked recently?
I make this cake regularly using my sourdough discard. It's heavenly, however it took me a few tries and tweaks to get it right. https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/sourdough-chocolate-cake-recipe Thank you! I baked it after reading your post, this choc cake is Delicious. I followed the KAF rec...
- Wed Apr 15, 2020 5:00 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: What are you doing for haircuts due to coronavirus shutdown?
- Replies: 258
- Views: 22818
Re: What are you doing for haircuts due to coronavirus shutdown?
Flowbee lol. My kids have bad memories of flowbee haircuts when they were little. The men in my family are letting it grow, despite my offers to mow the lawn.
- Sun Apr 12, 2020 3:17 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Does anybody have an IPS that says 'I will sell all equities when X happens'?
- Replies: 92
- Views: 4247
Re: Does anybody have an IPS that says 'I will sell all equities when X happens'?
Our IPS has a floor for fixed income that we will not rebalance from. Theoretically, if the market drop 80%, a rebalance would hit that floor. If the market stays down for many years, we would end up selling all equities to fund spending. Otherwise it's just rebalancing when bands are triggered to m...
- Sat Apr 04, 2020 11:39 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Coronavirus (Consumer Issues) How you are preparing?
- Replies: 1775
- Views: 150820
Re: Coronavirus (Consumer Issues) How you are preparing?
I was wondering if lawn service is regarded as an essential service in states that have stay-at-home orders? If it is not regarded as an essential service, how are you going to cut your lawn? In Michigan lawn service is not regarded as an essential service. The governor's stay-at-home order expires...
- Thu Apr 02, 2020 11:45 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Coronavirus (Consumer Issues) How you are preparing?
- Replies: 1775
- Views: 150820
Re: Coronavirus (Consumer Issues) How you are preparing?
Anyway, I think if I were to feel the need to wear an N95 mask in public currently, I like the idea of having it concealed by a bandana or similar. Are there any drawbacks to this approach from an N95 performance standpoint? Could it reduce the effectiveness of the N95 mask? I think it's fine, if u...
- Tue Mar 31, 2020 2:58 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: How to get Toilet Paper ? seriously.
- Replies: 684
- Views: 58253
Re: How to get Toilet Paper ? seriously.
2 weeks ago on a midweek early morning, we were able to get TP at Costco. One week ago, our neighborhood Whole Foods delivered TP to my home (bought them for a friend who couldn't find any in her neighborhood). Saw TP today morning at Trader Joes, nobody seem to be interested in them. Maybe some san...
- Sun Mar 29, 2020 7:25 pm
- Forum: US Chapters
- Topic: [Archived] Bogleheads community discussion - Coronavirus
- Replies: 4963
- Views: 200189
Re: Bogleheads community discussion - Coronavirus
Folks, Could you please recommend any DIY washable face mask design with a pocket that I can insert tissue paper? Something that I can watch a video and do it. I do not know how to use a sewing machine. So, I have to manually sew it. Thanks. KlangFool I have made these for my family. They are washa...
- Sat Mar 28, 2020 9:14 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: What will you do first, once COVID pandemic is over?
- Replies: 271
- Views: 18367
Re: What will you do first, once COVID pandemic is over?
If my mother makes it, see her and the rest of our family in Asia
- Tue Mar 24, 2020 7:26 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Coronavirus (Consumer Issues) How you are preparing?
- Replies: 1775
- Views: 150820
Re: Coronavirus (Consumer Issues) How you are preparing?
Interesting report from Stanford. Baking a N95 mask in a regular oven at 158F for 30min works to disinfect it. E Coli was used as the surrogate for SARS-cov-2 in their test. https://m.box.com/shared_item/https%3A%2F%2Fstanfordmedicine.box.com%2Fv%2Fcovid19-PPE-1-1 Might be one way to address the sho...
- Tue Mar 24, 2020 6:05 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: What have you baked recently?
- Replies: 336
- Views: 39710
Re: What have you baked recently?
I bake bread regularly and preferred flours are King Arthur's white whole wheat and Central Milling's all-purpose. Ran out of white whole wheat and the flour aisle was empty. Found a 20lb(!!) bag of chakki atta at Costco. It's Indian whole wheat, 12% protein but several bloggers mentioned that bread...
- Sun Mar 22, 2020 10:31 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: How are you supporting your community?
- Replies: 60
- Views: 3412
Re: How are you supporting your community?
https://www.canyonlandquilts.com/make-a-mask.htm Kacang - I'd be interested in your opinion on the mask pattern from Moab. Maybe try making one and post? Interesting. Moab probably has reviewed the design and deemed it suitable for their use. From watching the Youtube, I probably won't make this ma...
- Sat Mar 21, 2020 9:22 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: How are you supporting your community?
- Replies: 60
- Views: 3412
Re: How are you supporting your community?
I have made and worn cloth masks, with the understanding that they will not give the same level of protection as N95 masks, but could protect against large droplets if used properly. Here's my tutorial for how to make it. If you want the pdf, pm me. https://imgur.com/a/1JQGGZD Mine is based on the m...
- Sat Mar 21, 2020 8:43 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Coronavirus (Consumer Issues) How you are preparing?
- Replies: 1775
- Views: 150820
Re: Coronavirus (Consumer Issues) How you are preparing?
I’m concerned by the number of people on this thread who bought masks and gloves, and now there are not enough in the hospitals. Why do you need one? Not the poster you're quoting. Agreed that PPE should be prioritized for medical workers. Some Californians may have N95 mask leftovers for when ther...
- Sat Mar 21, 2020 6:51 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Coronavirus (Consumer Issues) How you are preparing?
- Replies: 1775
- Views: 150820
Re: Coronavirus (Consumer Issues) How you are preparing?
While we're taking steps to take care of ourselves, if we have capacity to, it would be good to think about our community needs as well. Eg. if you/your employer/school lab have PPE supplies that are not needed immediately, your local hospitals may be accepting donations. Hospitals in my area (SF Ba...
- Thu Mar 19, 2020 11:11 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Pay cleaning lady during coronavirus pause?
- Replies: 73
- Views: 6106
Re: Pay cleaning lady during coronavirus pause?
Our area is under shelter-in-place order, lots of people are hurting. We plan to continue paying our cleaning lady and yard guy. They have been with us for years and have not raised their fees a single time and even declined when we offered to pay more. It's the least we can do to support them throu...
- Thu Mar 19, 2020 10:07 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Gardening 2020
- Replies: 227
- Views: 18095
Gardening 2020
Searched but looks like we do not have a thread started for this year yet. Started some seeds for swiss chards, mustard, collards, kale. First time growing these vegetables, been checking daily for sprouts. Fig cordon experiment continues. Last November, I cut the trunk of a young fig plant to 16&qu...
- Thu Mar 19, 2020 3:46 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Coronavirus (Consumer Issues) How you are preparing?
- Replies: 1775
- Views: 150820
Re: Coronavirus (Consumer Issues) How you are preparing?
Now that our college kid is home as campus is closed, I'll have to adjust our grocery shopping. Forgot how much food a male teenager can eat. Maybe the mad hoarding is over, my Costco (Bay Area) was very orderly. A line formed outside before the store opened, everyone was standing ~6 feet apart. The...