Search found 203 matches

by T4REngineer
Wed Jan 10, 2024 12:08 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Potentially selling a great house
Replies: 101
Views: 12332

Re: Potentially selling a great house

I personally would not - Sounds like ALOT of risk, hassle and cost to get life from 97% success to 99%.........Ask yourself why 97% is not enough for you and your family and are there other ways to deploy $3100 to bump that number up that have less long term unknowns.

That said, a house is a home and the perfect home in the perfect spot with the perfect neighbors is priceless (but sounds like you essentially have that now) :beer
by T4REngineer
Fri Dec 01, 2023 8:34 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Water Heater Replacement
Replies: 87
Views: 9841

Re: Water Heater Replacement

While I understand it always surprises me to see labor costs, I recently replaced our NG 50gallon heater with a like for like unit - For us (YMMV) the efficiency units did not pay for themselves assuming reasonable appliance life. I installed a "commercial" AO Smith water heater for $700 and called it a day. Got me in the plumbing mood so installed a water softener at the same time that I had been putting off for years (only 6grain/gal) Interesting to me that the plumber and handyman quotes are flipped when comparing tank vs tankless I like the idea of tankless but we are a 3 person household who do not run out of water with the new 50gallon units and since it was a late afternoon project - like for like (unless it was going to be...
by T4REngineer
Thu Nov 02, 2023 12:37 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: laid-off - tips for interviewing
Replies: 51
Views: 7134

Re: laid-off - tips for interviewing

Lots of folks will have more sage advise but I would take to heart, never lie - but there is a large grey area to play in with regards to what details you share, and how you share them. Having this be a 1x event I doubt there is much to be lost of being upfront (if it comes up) that you are no longer with the firm and then a brief explanation of why it was not a good fit - That said don't use this as a venting session on what was wrong with your old boss or your old company. Be prepared to elaborate if asked questions along the lines of "anything you would have done differently etc. and if you say something along the lines of "the job was not what I was looking for or not what they explained it to be" you better be ready with...
by T4REngineer
Wed May 17, 2023 3:19 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Total monthly car cost
Replies: 53
Views: 4496

Re: Total monthly car cost

I know mine is way over that, Toyota 4runner I paid 40kish for it new, 9 years old, likely worth 15-18k, 83k miles (at ~13mpg....best case) and a hell of a lot of good memories the true costs of the 4runner is irrelevant to me but I am curious so lets play Looks like roughly $230/m based on purchase and resale value but add in $200 annual plate fee and ~$600 annual insurance we are at $296/m now taking 83k divided by 9yrs assuming ~2.75$/gallon adds another 162$ in fuel costs so I am at $458/m for the privilege of driving one of the worlds most reliable, yet boring SUVs.......not sure I appreciate this thread anymore...... Honestly this is more then I expected , my commute is very short however for years this was are primary trip car and 3k...
by T4REngineer
Thu Apr 27, 2023 1:10 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Helping kids buy a home
Replies: 182
Views: 15310

Re: Helping kids buy a home

I think its great you are considering passing some of your wealth to your children while you are still alive to enjoy it with them and see the amount of help/happiness it brings. I can assure you they would much rather this then another Million at your death.

P.S. Just make sure they have room to keep the chickens in the back so they know the value of hard work and can be protected from eggflation..........
by T4REngineer
Thu Feb 09, 2023 8:54 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Turo vs Car Rental Company?
Replies: 34
Views: 6212

Re: Turo vs Car Rental Company?

Since its already a moving Necro thread I'll add my 2cents as I have a decent amount of experience with Turo TLDR: No longer cheaper then rental companies, still useful for unique cars but make sure details are worked out and watch mileage limitations For renting fun, unique cars on trips (think Sports cars to Exotics or things like Ford Raptor, Jeep Gladiator, Ford Bronco etc.) its been perfect however it seems they are traveling the path of Airbnb and lots of providers have a reasonable "daily rate" but crazy fees on the back end. I canceled my last Turo rental - a new Toyota Tundra , nothing exotic but wanted to do a week long test drive during our next vacation because it was almost double the daily rate once the fees were add...
by T4REngineer
Thu Feb 02, 2023 1:32 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Kitchen reno: General advice?
Replies: 23
Views: 2892

Re: Kitchen reno: General advice?

A lot of great advice and I think this will mostly be an echo chamber but we did a complete gut job, however minimal layout change mostly ourselves (had a handy man friend provide guidance during cabinet install and we did not do the granite) total cost was between 20-25k Things we Loved/did right: *We got a higher end fridge, not SubZero but kitchen aid top end - wooden shelving, silver interior, nice lighting, dual compressor, ice and water outside. All matching appliances but this is essentially a given unless you going crazy *We spent good money on a 5 piece crown molding that was worth every penny (~$800) - we have a small kitchen/house *We removed some overhead cabinets above the peninsula to "open the space" , well worth th...
by T4REngineer
Wed Sep 28, 2022 1:45 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: New house builder upgrade advice additional option 4
Replies: 40
Views: 3464

Re: New house builder upgrade advice

I am in the process of purchasing a retirement home in Bethany Beach, Delaware and am looking for advice on builder upgrades. I am going with mostly the standard builder options but am considering the following upgrades: 1. 4' garage length extension 6k. Current garage is 19.7x20.7. An extra 4 feet would be nice for trash cans and bikes but not necessary. I assume a longer garage would be nice for resale purposes. I would consider costs to go even larger, many full size pickups are already over 20ft. You will never regret extra space in the garage imho - assuming you use the garage. If your walls and garage are empty and its just trash cans, cars and bikes - i can see the extra space being wasted cost 2. Upgrade carpet to builder grade eng...
by T4REngineer
Wed Jul 27, 2022 10:24 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How much to pay neighbor for house sitting?
Replies: 144
Views: 12857

Re: How much to pay neighbor for house sitting?

If I was asking a neighbor kid to do work for me - I would choose an amount that was immediately and obviously generous, not spend time debating to paying X or Y.
by T4REngineer
Tue Jul 26, 2022 12:15 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How much to pay neighbor for house sitting?
Replies: 144
Views: 12857

Re: How much to pay neighbor for house sitting?

Tip $30 at the end if you are satisfied with the results

The goal should be to encourage the younger generations and share our wealth with them not accumulate it aimlessly
by T4REngineer
Wed Jul 13, 2022 4:18 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: AC Condenser Fan Motor Replacement Cost
Replies: 79
Views: 7721

Re: AC Condenser Fan Motor Replacement Cost

Yuck, I bet that $100 gets you half way to a brand new fan motor and capacitor online.

Never done the job but I assume its essentially plug and play if you get like for like parts and if not at worst case its 3 flying lead wires you have to wire in.

I would watch a YouTube and DIY. my guess is you wont get someone out for less than $500 but that's a blind guess
by T4REngineer
Wed Jul 13, 2022 4:12 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Am I off Track with my Thinking about a Plan?
Replies: 40
Views: 4698

Re: Am I off Track with my Thinking about a Plan?

I don't think your thinking is out of line and you sound a lot like me ten years ago. I will give you some advice my father gave me (it actually hurt a bit at the time) but it was essentially - you can not accurately plan 4 decades outs, its not that its useless information but don't lean on that plan. All I can say 12 years later is he was/is dead correct in that time I was married, had a kid, moved out of state, moved back in state, owned 2 homes, rented an apartment, experienced a global pandemic, wife has worked at multiple companies, had (small) periods of job loss, I have a slow but growing career etc. Thankfully the main idea of living within yours means, saving first and a relatively amazing decade of returns has put me pretty much ...
by T4REngineer
Thu May 26, 2022 9:03 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: New baby - conflicted on paternity leave??
Replies: 123
Views: 10041

Re: New baby - conflicted on paternity leave??

I'd take 2 weeks. That's more than generous and more than you need. One part of me says take it all. Your are paying for it with a lower salary and why let the slackers be the only ones to benefit? Megacorp may fire you in six months anyway. The other part of me recognizes that 12 weeks leave is crazy ridiculous. As a responsible adult, taking that much would make me feel irresponsible, and I suspect this is what you sense. I agreed to be paid to do needed work. If my employer can get by without me for 12 weeks and not have to hire someone else to replace me, I would have serious questions about how meaningful my work really was. It's a personal decision of course. But I understand where you're coming from and can also almost understand th...
by T4REngineer
Thu May 26, 2022 8:51 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: New baby - conflicted on paternity leave??
Replies: 123
Views: 10041

Re: New baby - conflicted on paternity leave??

:oops:

TAKE IT - Not for your child (they will not remember any of this time) but for your wife and yourself.

If any of my employees told me they were not taking it I would walk them out the door and deactivate their badge for 12weeks (only half joking)

That said, I have seen folks work it out where they spread it out over longer periods so say work Tuesday and Thursday and then spread out the leave over a longer period - maybe that would be an option for you?

Edit: Yes, the first thing I would want to know is WHY, they don't want to take it - if its work load - we will work on a plan to put minds at ease but nothing at work is more important then helping raise your child in those times of adjustment
by T4REngineer
Fri May 13, 2022 8:20 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Stone patio really costs $15K?
Replies: 78
Views: 12449

Re: Stone patio really costs $15K?

While I think its high compared to DIY with the limited details in the quotes its about like me asking "Buying a a new car, is 40k high" The material cost will vary widely and you really need to nail that down in the quote to get an idea of where the cost is coming from. Also as already mentioned wood burning vs. natural gas ( either way plan for a place for the water to go and/or a cover on that fire pit if you live in an area that sees rain). The lights are also a potential huge adder if that's trenching for electric, paying an electrician to tie into the panel - if they didn't etc.) - my guess is they assumed no lights, battery lights or solar lights as without a site visit - pending location of your breaker box just the instal...
by T4REngineer
Sun Apr 10, 2022 8:53 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Building new custom retirement home
Replies: 10
Views: 1631

Re: Building new custom retirement home

I only have second hand experience with this as my parents are building a custom home with a construction loan. Things that we have discussed - Many more draws then 4 have happened with their builder and they get it with ~$300 every time a draw happens. Not a big deal in the dollar figures we are all talking but can be frustrating if not expected. - The construction process has a good chance to hit a delay of some sort , x2 in the current supply chain environment. The construction loan has timeframe limits. While these can be extended at the banks discretion those conversations are not always pleasant (they are on extension #2) - There are two ways to do this one is a time and materials multiplied by the builders/GCs take or there is fixed ...
by T4REngineer
Mon Apr 04, 2022 2:24 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: liquidity as happiness
Replies: 135
Views: 14358

Re: liquidity as happiness

Seems to me this is 100% personal and could be better stated as "Choose an asset allocation that allows you to sleep at night" At 20 I was virtually cashless, at 30 I was migrating to strong emergency fund and now at 34 with a 3 year old I spend mostly in cash and have a *Heavy EM in the local Bank (to much tbh but a large chunk is slated for house projects) *Reasonable sum in House safe (<5k) *Car cash in glove boxes (<200) *Wallet cash (<200) I sleep very well, the rest of our assets are invested in Boglehead fashion , low cost diversified equities - The way I see it is the higher the cash reserves the lower return on those assets to you trade peace of mind for potential returns - everyone's balance there is different but I can ...
by T4REngineer
Mon Apr 04, 2022 2:06 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Thoughts on house upgrade (inherited assets)
Replies: 86
Views: 9297

Re: Thoughts on house upgrade (inherited assets)

As a broad answer to your question: I do not think you should "upgrade" because it is unlikely to provide you any more enjoyment and come with a host of headaches - 100+ year old home unless updated correctly is a nightmare compared to a modern energy efficient build.

With that out of the way. Holy h** this thread is all over the place - I mean wow
by T4REngineer
Sat Apr 02, 2022 6:28 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Family hounding me for a dog
Replies: 24
Views: 1668

Re: Family hounding me for a dog

Pass on the dog, if you can't get a small human to turn off lights and put dishes away there is no chance you can train a dog.......passing no judgement

In before lock
by T4REngineer
Fri Apr 01, 2022 5:36 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Wanting to purchase a fun vehicle
Replies: 106
Views: 8919

Re: Wanting to purchase a fun vehicle

I am a car guy to the core - although we are a 2 4runner family I have rented a Rubicon for a week and while its not for me, I get it - They are fun I love vehicles I can use - we have gone all over the US on trips and are able to go many places that are off the beaten path due to the vehicle choice I'll admit the boglehead in me is a little hesitant because of the second car loan but Its not to the level I could not sleep at night (and your the one who will be sleeping not me anyways) Once the 4runner hits 10yrs old in a couple years considering an upgrade to a full size truck for more room and the bed.....I use the inside of the 4runner like a pickup truck bed, it works but is less than ideal Obvious downside is the extra wheel base would...
by T4REngineer
Wed Mar 30, 2022 9:37 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Bathtub Reglaze vs. Full Remodel
Replies: 9
Views: 1389

Re: Bathtub Reglaze vs. Full Remodel

Remodel - 5yrs is a long time and I hate doing things half way. Spending 20k to get exactly what I want is better to me then spending 2k for something I go "meh"

Your mileage may vary. I have no experience reglazing a tub but I have plenty of DIY full bath/kitchen/home remodel experience

I also enjoy making choices with next to no real information about the situation so take it all with a grain of salt :happy
by T4REngineer
Thu Mar 24, 2022 10:21 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can we afford 5M house with ocean view?
Replies: 480
Views: 52034

Re: Can we afford 5M house with ocean view?

I want to see the actual listing if your willing to share (curiosity that's it - from a LCOL Midwest area these discussions fascinate me both at the income levels you are in and the housing costs)

All I will say is each of our lives are our own and that includes our own unique enjoyments and how we choose to balance life and its far to easy for us to judge others who do things differently. I wish you and your family the best in finding a home, regardless of this one or not. Finally , if you do not get this house, your future happiness is not tied to concrete and wood on a a parcel of dirt I assure you so don't sweat it.
by T4REngineer
Mon Feb 21, 2022 11:58 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: When to take Social Security
Replies: 35
Views: 4421

Re: When to take Social Security

I think your logic is sound - Its a very personal choice on where you want your "risks" to be (note the risks I am referring to in this case are generally small for bogle heads because of the affluence of this group). I also agree that 10% is bold I am 34, so spending much time thinking about SS at this age seems like a waste and we are not planning for any but will adjust that plan accordingly as time grows near. I think I will want to take it at early but I have no real rational there other then if you let me take a tiny but actuarily neutral benefit tomorrow but pay no more into the system I am willing to bet I would. I always wonder if they system would let folks delay indefinitely for that 8% return when would the people who ...
by T4REngineer
Sun Feb 20, 2022 7:58 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Has anyone ever made an official loan to their child? (for home purchase)
Replies: 75
Views: 6619

Re: Has anyone ever made an official loan to their child? (for home purchase)

We live in a HCOL area. Son decided to stay and has a relatively well paid job nearby that he loves. He floated around for a few years after finishing masters, renting with friends. At 28, he found a nice older house about 10 miles from us for 250k. Its small but solid. A good start. We decided to offer him enough cash gift toward down payment to avoid PMI. He financed the rest through a bank offering a first time homeowner rate that made the payment manageable. Five years in, he's married with child. He's talking about upgrading and will still remain close to us and sibling. This was important to them and us. We won't be involved in this process. I think families have long helped children get started in life. There's lots of different way...
by T4REngineer
Sat Feb 19, 2022 4:00 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Splitting Vacation Expenses?
Replies: 158
Views: 13733

Re: Splitting Vacation Expenses?

You can be right and still lose
by T4REngineer
Fri Feb 18, 2022 7:37 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Career Question: Stay or Leave
Replies: 25
Views: 2603

Re: Career Question: Stay or Leave

Accept the offer today - As a side note - is there a chance you could do side consulting for your current company while at Mega Corp on some insane hourly rate? (they MIGHT actually like that because they only use you when they get desperate and they don't have to pay benefits) While I don't normally agree with him I am onboard with KlangFool - To much risk for non guaranteed pay imho, it's also unclear how certain/much you would benefit from an IPO - I have a friend who spent 12 years out of school at various startups in the valley and finally got with one as a founding member which was sold for ~300million and his payout was in the low single digit millions as a member of the founding team (think less than 6 people) if you are just employ...
by T4REngineer
Mon Feb 14, 2022 3:06 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 28 y/o Firefighter looking to maximize retirement plan and savings, I want to beat everyone else with awesome retirement
Replies: 38
Views: 5574

Re: 28 y/o Firefighter looking to maximize retirement plan and savings, I want to beat everyone else with awesome retire

I am curious what you hourly rate is - Is that gross number due to an insane amount of overtime or is that just the average annual salary for 2080hrs worked. I have no issues with you making what you make! Just curious because its certainly a number I would never have guessed, not even for a VHCOL area and that pension....o my the gravy. You will beat 90% of everyone else with that pension alone, tack on your savings rate and only those with the most successful or tech, sales , leadership or medical fields are going to come close. (yes I left out many other areas you can make lots of money) If I was you I would focus on my career path and what another 20+ years in the system looks like - Do you want/expect to go running into burning buildin...
by T4REngineer
Mon Feb 14, 2022 9:38 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: New and Confused
Replies: 9
Views: 1359

Re: New and Confused

I think you are in the right place but with your latest post I think its good to understand what you are trying to do - it can be a combination of things *Simply learn more about investing (note much of what you hear or read about is more akin to gambling then investing imho) *Turn 10,000 dollars into 100,000 (this happens with investing but only over long time horizons, not to be negative Nancy but at your age you will need to gamble to reach this goal) *Turn 10,000 dollars into something that can be used to live off later in life or passed on to heirs *Other? The first place I started before all the investment lingo was building an excel calculator to understand impacts of amount invested, time frame , rate or return and costs - once you ...
by T4REngineer
Sat Feb 12, 2022 10:16 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Multiple Remote gigs
Replies: 64
Views: 5855

Re: Multiple Remote gigs

Yes, I know someone who is doing this with 2 remote engineering gigs , oddly enough they work from home yet both have centers within 20min but since Covid everyone is allowed to work from home. While it started somewhat innocently as they took a longterm unpaid leave of absence with one employer while they "trialed" a new job with another so they could go back if it didn't work out..........well not only did it work out they realized they had time to do both rolls , at least for a while. So they are collecting 1/4 million in annual salary while doing 2 supposed full time role. Neither employees knows and I am sure neither would support the idea - they know which role they will move to full time when it starts to get un manageable....
by T4REngineer
Fri Feb 11, 2022 10:49 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Paying for Car Repair - still not fixed - next steps?
Replies: 30
Views: 1538

Re: Paying for Car Repair - still not fixed - next steps?

Autoclimate control and the drivers side is set to max cold (only semi joking but a 2012 CRV may not have auto climate control) - Also are you talkin ga 5F degree delta or 50F degree delta? Its a 99% chance its a blend door $600 seems very high The heater core coolant is the same liquid that flows through the block and the radiator No idea how the core flush is $600 and then the coolant flush (same fluid) is $169 - you can normally only flush the core but it makes no since not to go ahead and replace the remaining coolant in the rest of the system while you are at it if is old. not that is causes your issue but once flushed with water did they use coolant to flush the water out or the core and lines or just hook it all back up and dilute th...
by T4REngineer
Wed Feb 09, 2022 2:18 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: $100,000 in Savings
Replies: 22
Views: 6063

Re: $100,000 in Savings

The reality is you cant go wrong with any of your options - some may not be the most "value" but if it helps you to sleep at night paying the mortgage down or front loading your kids college there is NOTHING wrong with that. To put it in perspective we have a bit over seven figures in our retirement accounts and just crossed 6 figures in our checking account (the majority of that was a very recent event) so now we have similar choices - while in the past I was very much adverse to having much of an EF because we had lots of other potential backups/low risk of need and I thought that money should be allocated to better uses (aka getting a reasonable return) seeing that its now <10% of our assets and the rest is Index funds that's a...
by T4REngineer
Tue Feb 01, 2022 1:02 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How many hours do you work? How many hours do you actually want to work?
Replies: 171
Views: 18385

Re: How many hours do you work? How many hours do you actually want to work?

While I make six figures I earn every bit of it in manufacturing main line leadership of a chemical plant. We are drowning, the global supply chain issues have caused chaos on the inbound/outbound side so manufacturing schedules are being constantly adjusted. What was once a 1x per week thing at most can be multiple times per day because drivers simply do not show up as scheduled. These organizations leaned out so much in the past couple decades that there ability to absorb change is minimal and its showing - that said, before the supply chain issues it was still a stressful role we have all kinds of regulatory and safety standards (For good reason) to adhere to, projects to implement , unexpected issues to address and the work load is weig...
by T4REngineer
Tue Jan 25, 2022 11:44 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Property Survey Issue
Replies: 22
Views: 2009

Re: Property Survey Issue

What does your potential new neighbor say?
by T4REngineer
Mon Jan 24, 2022 8:18 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Help me diagnose a mystery - motor noise in the house
Replies: 34
Views: 4466

Re: Help me diagnose a mystery - motor noise in the house

I would get a inspection camera drill 1-3holes (carefully) in the ceiling and find out what it is - I really have no idea - but am very curious.

It sounds like the original owner was practical along with wealthy and intelligent ( a man/woman I can get behind!). So I highly doubt they would place a critical item (honestly I am shocked any mechanical system) in a non accessible area of the house.

Makes Zero since

Keep up posted
by T4REngineer
Thu Jan 20, 2022 8:47 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Signed agreement for new house build -- NOW told we are required to pay for a deck? How to handle?
Replies: 37
Views: 3991

Re: Signed agreement for new house build -- NOW told we are required to pay for a deck? How to handle?

There is completely valid reasons to not like decks but a lot of the maintenance issues people are referring to are from decades past. Modern composite decks with hidden fasteners are different animals then what you grew up with. Maybe its already said but I don't see how you are REQUIRED, I can see how the builder would have to put in stairs due to height of an exit door but maybe you already addressed this. Personally I love decks - I love being elevated while looking over a back yard vs. being "on the yard" with a typical concrete or paver style patio. If you like the house plans, area and don't mind a deck I do not think I would kill myself ruining a relationship with the building or pursuing legal action. Would I ask , absolu...
by T4REngineer
Thu Jan 13, 2022 1:46 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Anyone ever seen performance review used in Interview
Replies: 8
Views: 1448

Re: Anyone ever seen performance review used in Interview

Thanks for the replies - pretty much what I expected as I had never heard or seen it myself ( even internally ). The easy answer is to use the information from my review In talking points, resume or CV and it essentially does the same thing.
by T4REngineer
Thu Jan 13, 2022 1:04 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Anyone ever seen performance review used in Interview
Replies: 8
Views: 1448

Anyone ever seen performance review used in Interview

With our yearly performance achievement cycle completed I recently received my annual performance review, while they are usually good this one was absolutely loaded (all true and well earned). The only reason this is even a thought in my head is A) The review is detailed and glowing - hats off to my current leader and B) The direction(s) I could see myself taking are not within my technical background so I have to convivence a hiring manager that my problem solving/execution and leadership skills are enough to make me a valued member of the team.

Is this seen as non value added? Tacky? Easily faked so why bother (so are resumes......and CV contents...)

Just curious on folks experience and thoughts.
by T4REngineer
Tue Jan 04, 2022 6:29 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Fractional ownership of a vacation home
Replies: 11
Views: 1330

Re: Fractional ownership of a vacation home

I think you would be better off (huge assumption on my part) buying the entire thing, renting it out on AirBNB/VRBO for all but 6wks ( I understand the "peak season" is not every week of the year but my gut says you will come out better then paying a 30% premium on a 1/8 share and it has the ups (and downs) of full ownership.

Its obviously a part time job if you AirBnB but we have family that has done this with a part of their primary residence in a vacation mild spot and done amazingly well when you consider the additional income it brings. Of course its like land lording, not everyones cup of tea and not without risks and headaches
by T4REngineer
Fri Dec 31, 2021 12:38 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How to minimize financial risk for driving au pair?
Replies: 29
Views: 4255

Re: How to minimize financial risk for driving au pair?

Weird, never heard of an Au Pair (expect yours) who didn't drive, but I only know of a few/ Isn't that kind of the point, I mean their value to the family would increase drastically if they were able to drive...errands, take the kids places etc. Everyone has different risk tolerances but If I am trusting someone with my children , I trust them to drive my cars. Seems risky around here but I am not sure how people leave the house with this extreme conservative approach ( I am not saying give them keys to a 700 super car the first day......there is being smart and there is being afraid ) Regardless of what you do I am shocked this was not worked out before hand and shame on everyone involved if expectations were not clarified .Au pairs were a...
by T4REngineer
Thu Dec 02, 2021 8:22 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Should I include social security in my retirement planning?
Replies: 80
Views: 7187

Re: Should I include social security in my retirement planning?

I completely ignored it in my planning. Now that I’m closer, I’m looking at it. And wow, what a pleasant surprise! It should make a huge difference for us. Suppose you and your spouse will eventually get $60K from SS. That is probably worth 1.5M or so…. OP, We are taking Normchads approach - saving for our goals assuming nothing because we are in our early 30s and who knows what happens between now and then. With that said, I am not ignorant of its potential value and when we get closer I will ABOSULTLY be taking it into account. If your retiring at 35 I can understand not making that choice based on SS but if you are retiring at 55 and wondering if you have enough I think it would be foolish to not take into account SS potential that is o...
by T4REngineer
Sat Nov 20, 2021 6:31 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: New Truck Purchase.. Should I do it?
Replies: 75
Views: 7445

Re: New Truck Purchase.. Should I do it?

You can afford it - you are of similar financial situation as us (although 4 years younger which is huge given thats almost 50% less working years and we have no rentals - slightly less income Aswell).

What you shouldn't afford is a new truck for you, a new BMW for her, a 500k house a 20k vacation and maybe a boat although I expect you could likely "afford" all that.

PS I know you didn't mean it but this is about the definition of a humble brag - 30, 250k+income, 2 duplexes, 7 figure net worth.......Can I buy a 40-50k pickup? I mean at some point you have to ask yourself what its all for and how much is going to be enough.
by T4REngineer
Sat Nov 13, 2021 5:30 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Winter gear & frugality
Replies: 41
Views: 4536

Re: Winter gear & frugality

I had a very long reply typed but it was coming across as nasty so in short - Lots of good advise above about options to buy gear

You do not have to go crazy and spend thousands ( I wouldn't!) but you also are talking about buying gear to spend time with your son outdoors - Spend some G*SDAFASCERFDSGF money - If thats not something we should spend money on then what is the point in all this?

From a dad with a 3yr old in a snowy climate who loves all 4 seasons - Our time with our kids is to short enjoy all of it you can
by T4REngineer
Mon Nov 08, 2021 7:45 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: When is it worth it to risk health to make more money in job?
Replies: 100
Views: 11106

Re: When is it worth it to risk health to make more money in job?

Would you trade your portfolio to be 20 again? Maybe not in your 30s or 40s but I bet anyone over 60 would

In discussions like this you have to realize the bias - those who likely didn't get the good end of that trade are no longer around, just like SS early threads - the people who benefited most from taking it early are not around because they died early while the folks who benefited the most from delaying are still kicking around in their 90's.

I think you are far past needing to trade more stress and health effects for money :sharebeer
by T4REngineer
Tue Nov 02, 2021 12:00 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 38 yr old with a question about structured settlement
Replies: 65
Views: 8567

Re: 38 yr old with a question about structured settlement

No knowledge of how settlements work but it appears you have two major options with some "smaller" variations if I understand this correctly *Lump sum now: 1million, tax free to do with as you please, lets assume you invest and get a 7.75% return on this money over 2 decades and then start to sell at unknown long term capital gains - $4,449,852 starting value *Defer with settlement company and they do the investment for you, but charges you 1.25% so your return is now 6.5% but that money is going to come to you tax free over X years. - $3,523,645 starting value I would be solving the problem to understand what my break even numbers look like taking into LARGE account I much prefer the idea to have full control over my investments ...
by T4REngineer
Wed Oct 27, 2021 1:20 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Auto Battery Question [tipping for installation]
Replies: 16
Views: 1225

Re: Auto Battery Question

Vanguard Fan 1367 wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 1:14 pm
JoeRetire wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 1:11 pm
Vanguard Fan 1367 wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 12:58 pm I bought a battery for $200.00 at an auto parts chain store. I gave the man who installed it 5 bucks. Was that ok or would my fellow Bogleheads have done something different?
I don't believe there's any Boglehead-approved method for tipping or not tipping auto battery installers.

Besides, it's already done. Why would it matter what folks here think of it?
I felt a little guilty of not giving the guy enough. I wanted to know what the folks here thought.
I am sure you gave him more then most and it was appreciated. You could have paid the dealer 4-500 to do it so I think for $205 you did just fine. This member approves
by T4REngineer
Wed Oct 27, 2021 1:06 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Buying a Cow?
Replies: 43
Views: 5010

Re: Buying a Cow?

I have a lot of questions but the main one is, Why? For reference we buy 1/4 cow annually and store in the deep freeze - this gets a family of 3 by for essentially all of our beef usage for the year. We tend to wish we had more steaks (who doesn't) and less roasts/ground but that's just the nature of the beast. Remember your going to get roughly 40% of the raw weight to meat in your freezer but that said - better be a big freezer for a whole cow. We do this for a few reasons -It tastes better (to us) -Its a fair value (this is changing and depends highly on how you currently buy meat), we end up paying a bit more for our ground then we would at the store (higher quality) but far lest for our steaks/roasts on a $/lb basis -convenience - this...
by T4REngineer
Wed Oct 27, 2021 12:34 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Vacation – Turn off water main?
Replies: 112
Views: 9708

Re: Vacation – Turn off water main?

Unless you have an exception such as back up sump, plants etc. I would strongly urge you to turn your water off if being gone for an extended period. Consider it cheap insurance and don't we love to delay SS because its cheap longevity insurance?

If you do not trust your shutoffs I suggest you get them proactively replaced
by T4REngineer
Wed Oct 27, 2021 9:07 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Can we please stop talking about recessions being bad in retirement?
Replies: 86
Views: 8157

Re: Can we please stop talking about recessions being bad in retirement?

While I agree most of the talk in the news in simply click bait/attention giving I am not sure I follow along that a recession is a good thing in retirement. I can buy that it could work out just fine and generally speaking has worked out ok in the past. Sure, if the timing is right you could even make money but I don't think I would say given two options: Having a recession during retirement or not - give me the recession. However given the length of most retirements and the frequency of recessions has there ever been a 30yr stretch without a recession? (maybe a dumb question, its been a awhile since I looked at market history in that regard) as always past performance does not dictate future returns or however it goes Are they something t...
by T4REngineer
Tue Oct 26, 2021 11:47 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Trade in expensive car or run it into ground
Replies: 42
Views: 4491

Re: Trade in expensive car or run it into ground

I have 2 5th gen 4runners you can pick from (Grey and White) I am sure we can work on some sort of trade :sharebeer In all seriousness it is likely the best time to sell a used luxury SUV or any used car for that matter. HOWEVER you are going to end up spending more then you previously would have on a replacement so I am not sure its as much of a win as people make it out to be. Likely your easiest bet is to find a Toyota Dealer who will give you MSRP or slightly better on a new SUV (note the two you mentioned are due for a redesign any moment) while still giving you a solid locked in Trade in value for your BMW until it arrives. All that said, if you have any DIY skills/interest or have a good Indy shop you can very likely keep that BMW ru...