If the white dust is indeed limescale, which is common in this kind of appliance, white vinegar should address it. There are also a number of commercial descalers, typically made for coffee machines, that should be effective here. You can usually find some at a nicer grocery store or your favorite megastore.
Edit: Some instructions for a coffee machine that may also work for you, at https://www.kitchenaid.com/pinch-of-hel ... maker.html
Search found 423 matches
- Thu Feb 22, 2024 10:33 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: On demand water boiler (for beverages)
- Replies: 4
- Views: 510
- Thu Feb 22, 2024 10:26 am
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Difference in Value Based On When You Realize Capital Gains?
- Replies: 10
- Views: 1350
Re: Difference in Value Based On When You Realize Capital Gains?
Thanks Burbank, that example helps a bunch. I think where I got started down this path was debating doing a Roth conversion. If your money grows more when you wait to tax it until later, why do financial advisors suggest doing Roth conversions and paying taxes on your 401k’s now instead of deferring? Roth conversions are fundamentally different, because by paying taxes on a Roth conversion, you are making those assets tax free forever. When you pay capital gains and reinvest the proceeds, you're going to pay capital gains on the next investment proceeds, too. The easiest way to intuitively understand this is that you want to pay taxes as few times as possible. With a tax advantaged account (either Roth or trad), you pay taxes once. With a ...
- Mon Feb 12, 2024 10:21 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Who In Their Right Mind Files Gift Tax Returns? And Why?
- Replies: 114
- Views: 16549
Re: Who In Their Right Mind Files Gift Tax Returns? And Why?
"If there be no penalty annexed to disobedience, the resolutions or commands which pretend to be laws will, in fact, amount to nothing more than advice or recommendation." Alexander Hamilton
- Fri Feb 09, 2024 12:19 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Spice My Chicken
- Replies: 15
- Views: 2349
Re: Spice My Chicken
For a wide variety of ideas, I recommend The Wok by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt. A 2023 James Beard award winner. The website has some sample recipes, and many others can be found by searching for Kenji's recipes online, principally at SeriousEats.com, NYT Cooking, and his Youtube channel. For a great start on chicken with a kick, check out his Kung Pao Chicken recipe . It uses Szechuan peppercorns for a real kick that's much different than traditional peppers. In fact, it's such an odd sensation that these peppercorns were banned from the US until relatively recently! One of my favorite stir fries. (Okay, the ban wasn't because of the kick, but the spice is still worth checking out and new enough that some aren't yet familiar with its brilliance.)
- Wed Feb 07, 2024 10:59 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Law School Debt: Is It Worth It?
- Replies: 115
- Views: 10662
Re: Law School Debt: Is It Worth It?
How confident are you that you actually want to be a lawyer? How familiar and comfortable are you with BigLaw life? Legal salaries are a long tail distribution, and a degree from a good school substantially increases your shot at the higher end. It also creates connections that are massively valuable in the field. So, if you're confident you can hack it in BigLaw (or even a mid-size firm with coastal salaries), and you're confident that you'll do well at the T20 school, do that. (Obviously getting scholarships or other discounts is great, too.). If you'd rather have better work/life balance or work in an area of law that's not as lucrative (e.g., many types of immigration and family law), then the smaller school makes sense. If you're not s...
- Sun Feb 04, 2024 12:36 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: You will not get index return - but do you?
- Replies: 15
- Views: 2260
Re: You will not get index return - but do you?
Forum-member the WhiteCoatInvestor has a website with a good post about this: Does Expense Ratio Really Matter?.
One factor that many don't realize is that index funds sometimes make money, such as by lending shares to short-sellers. This can offset expense ratios and, in some cases, lead to returns nominally higher than the index. Bottom line: yes, for sufficiently large and diversified funds you generally do get the index return (or close enough that it does not matter).
One factor that many don't realize is that index funds sometimes make money, such as by lending shares to short-sellers. This can offset expense ratios and, in some cases, lead to returns nominally higher than the index. Bottom line: yes, for sufficiently large and diversified funds you generally do get the index return (or close enough that it does not matter).
- Sat Dec 30, 2023 10:24 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Article: How to Subsidize Unsubsidized Student Loans
- Replies: 3
- Views: 693
Re: Article: How to Subsidize Unsubsidized Student Loans
I'm not sure I follow you completely, but to the extent that I do: this strategy does not involve taking in-school deferment. It involves entering repayment early, while still in school. Due to the SAVE plan, if you are not earning income during school, the result would be a $0/month payment and interest forgiveness.Gubshu wrote: ↑Fri Dec 29, 2023 10:34 pm You can only choose not to take the in-school deferment on loans that have already been in repayment. This means that a student who has continuously been attending school and has never reached repayment (six months after graduation) would not be eligible to do this. Any loans currently being borrowed for the school year would not be eligible, since again, they have never been in repayment.
- Fri Dec 29, 2023 9:27 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Article: How to Subsidize Unsubsidized Student Loans
- Replies: 3
- Views: 693
Article: How to Subsidize Unsubsidized Student Loans
I don't know how many Bogleheads are in school with loans, but I thought many of us might know those who are and find this article interesting: Subsidized Grad PLUS Student Loan. The article advertises that "This loophole would let graduate students pay no student loan interest under the SAVE plan while enrolled in graduate school."
The TLDR is that if you have an unsubsidized plan that allows voluntary repayments during school under the SAVE plan, you can do so with a likely $0/month payment and interest forgiveness. As a result, the unsubsidized plan becomes, in effect, subsidized. Details in the link.
(I am not endorsing this and I have no idea if it works as advertised, but it seems plausible to me.)
The TLDR is that if you have an unsubsidized plan that allows voluntary repayments during school under the SAVE plan, you can do so with a likely $0/month payment and interest forgiveness. As a result, the unsubsidized plan becomes, in effect, subsidized. Details in the link.
(I am not endorsing this and I have no idea if it works as advertised, but it seems plausible to me.)
- Mon Dec 11, 2023 10:31 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: New to Costco
- Replies: 239
- Views: 60889
Re: New to Costco
Around here, the Costcos open around 15 minutes before their stated opening time. If you arrive early with a list and a plan, you get a prime parking spot and can beat the traffic through to get to a cashier with little or no line. This weekend, I checked out from a full run ($350 work of bulk items) at 9:35 am, only 5 minutes after they "opened." It's the only way I can shop there, now.DSInvestor wrote: ↑Sun Dec 10, 2023 10:28 amArriving 15 mins before the open is good too. Gas up first, then go into the store.
- Sun Nov 19, 2023 10:54 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Drip Coffee Machine recommendations - Simple, easy, "Super automated"
- Replies: 41
- Views: 5214
Re: Drip Coffee Machine recommendations - Simple, easy, "Super automated"
If you don't like drip, that's totally fine, but don't pretend that there aren't objectively good drip machines out there for those of us who do. SCA Certs are a great place to start. I only see one "grind and brew" on there, the Cafe Grind and Brew. I don't have experience with it, but all of the other SCA Cert machines I've tried (principally the Bonavita and the Moccamaster) brew really great drip coffee.
- Sat Oct 21, 2023 10:51 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: "No bonds in taxable"
- Replies: 44
- Views: 6414
Re: "No bonds in taxable"
[quote="Rocky Mtn Man" post_id=7514291 time=1697945553 user_id=185133] There's a convincing argument bonds should be in taxable: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/asset-location-bonds-go-in-taxable/ [/quote] I'm not sure that article has aged well. The editor's note at top of the article "recommend[s] you skip this one entirely" and the logic in the article is based on "our current low interest rates." I'm not saying it's wrong, but I agree with the editor's note that there are better discussions about optimal placement. That said, the point here is that sales worries should not drive the decision at all, as one can always shuffle things around to "sell" an asset class from whatever account you want.
- Sat Oct 21, 2023 10:36 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: "No bonds in taxable"
- Replies: 44
- Views: 6414
Re: "No bonds in taxable"
Bonds in taxable means tax drag, reducing overall returns. If you need to “sell bonds” in a tax advantaged account, sell stock in taxable and buy an equal amount in your tax advantaged account (selling bonds to fund this purchase). The result? You have effectively sold your bonds from your tax advantaged account.
That said, if holding bonds is part of your AA, won’t you want to rebalance anyway after selling bonds? If you do the math, selling bonds vs stock doesn’t matter if you then rebalance to revert to your AA, so it doesn’t matter if you sell bonds or stock, and consequently doesn’t matter what you hold where for selling purposes.
The result? Tax efficient placement is really the main thing to think about.
That said, if holding bonds is part of your AA, won’t you want to rebalance anyway after selling bonds? If you do the math, selling bonds vs stock doesn’t matter if you then rebalance to revert to your AA, so it doesn’t matter if you sell bonds or stock, and consequently doesn’t matter what you hold where for selling purposes.
The result? Tax efficient placement is really the main thing to think about.
- Mon Oct 16, 2023 6:58 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Best Small Drip Coffee Machine
- Replies: 77
- Views: 8585
Re: Best Small Drip Coffee Machine
Question for Moccamaster fans: Since we started talking about Moccamaster, I got curious to look it up. Online I read that Moccamaster will create a "crater" and its flat shower head could be better? What do you think? (I found that there are a couple of 3rd party shower head replacements being sold). The original Moccamaster brew head from like 25+ years ago had a single hole in it and would certainly do that. It's been 8.5 years since I last used it, but I don't recall the revised brewheads having that problem. Mine was the (2nd generation?) version with 9 flat holes. It looks like they have a v3 with 9 dimpled holes That's the one I'm familiar with. Minimal issues in cratering (comparable to my Bonavita). There is a "half...
- Sat Oct 14, 2023 10:15 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Best Small Drip Coffee Machine
- Replies: 77
- Views: 8585
Re: Best Small Drip Coffee Machine
For automated, I would go for the Moccamaster.
If you want a slightly different direction, consider a Espro insulated paper-filtered French press. Hear me out. It's not automated, but it isn't much (any?) more work than an automated machine: add coffee, wait, press, drink. It's got a paper filter, so the taste is not traditional French press--much more similar to drip or aero press. And don't sweat the brew time--I find that it's nearly impossible to over extract an immersion brew (see James Hoffman's French press recipe on this point, for example).
I use a Bonavita or Moccamaster at home, but my Espro is the go-to travel option for larger groups.
If you want a slightly different direction, consider a Espro insulated paper-filtered French press. Hear me out. It's not automated, but it isn't much (any?) more work than an automated machine: add coffee, wait, press, drink. It's got a paper filter, so the taste is not traditional French press--much more similar to drip or aero press. And don't sweat the brew time--I find that it's nearly impossible to over extract an immersion brew (see James Hoffman's French press recipe on this point, for example).
I use a Bonavita or Moccamaster at home, but my Espro is the go-to travel option for larger groups.
- Sun Aug 13, 2023 1:42 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Accessing Converted Funds.
- Replies: 18
- Views: 1327
Re: Accessing Converted Funds.
This is confusing mostly due to terminology. Check out the colorful chart on the wiki . You'd be in the second to last column, meaning all funds are accessible penalty free, and all funds except earnings are accessible tax free. As I understand it, "earnings" here are earnings in the Roth account. So what you propose ("convert a TIRA to a Roth and then access the converted funds immediately without taxes and penalty") seems possible. As the balance grows in the Roth, the earnings won't be accessible w/o tax until the 5 year mark elapses. (Not a tax expert, just relaying what's in the wiki.) Edit to add: Conversion would mean that the untaxed portion of a Trad IRA would be taxed at the time of conversion , so take that in...
- Tue Aug 08, 2023 4:08 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Personal Finance Without Sharing Username/Password
- Replies: 16
- Views: 1374
Re: Personal Finance Without Sharing Username/Password
I use Mint.com and am not concerned with sharing authentication information for that purpose.
- Sat Jul 29, 2023 10:58 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Best Purchase < $1000?
- Replies: 231
- Views: 28749
Re: Best Purchase < $1000?
I can almost guarantee this will end up costing more than $1000.jumbo shrimp wrote: ↑Sat Jul 29, 2023 9:20 am Mountain Bike. Actually I haven't purchased it yet, but I will in the coming weeks. I've been renting different ones and I finally found a hobby that I enjoy to go outside everyday as I work remote. Even long trips for bikepacking.
- Tue May 16, 2023 5:30 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Vanguard Patent Expires
- Replies: 28
- Views: 3954
Re: Vanguard Patent Expires
its amazing that this was something that you actually could patent. You mean unlike a patent on the layout of a telephone keypad or patent on the concept of having an enter key? How about a patent on a stick as a dog toy ? It's important to remember that the Patent Office is a bureaucracy with all the uncertainty that brings. While all issued patents are presumed valid, courts and administrative agencies regularly rule that issued patents are invalid. I'm not aware of anyone actually challenging the Vanguard patent. (This is most assuredly not any opinion as to merits (or demerits) of the Vanguard patent.) Edit with some additional comments: The Patent Office says that: "The recently signed America Invents Act includes Section 14 whic...
- Tue May 16, 2023 4:39 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Vanguard Patent Expires
- Replies: 28
- Views: 3954
Re: Vanguard Patent Expires
I would be very surprised if this moved the needle. US law provides various mechanisms for challenging a patent, and post a Supreme Court decision in 2014 "financial-type" patents have been subject to extreme scrutiny. If the patent was really blocking anyone I would have expected them to challenge it in court by now.
- Tue May 16, 2023 3:03 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Would you pay an attorney a higher rate than quoted?
- Replies: 24
- Views: 2032
Re: Would you pay an attorney a higher rate than quoted?
Attorney here--no, I wouldn't pay the increased rate. You were almost certainly quoted 2022 rates: consider it a windfall.
It's always great to see people happy with their lawyer. If you're happy with the work the associate did, mention that to the billing partner. Refer the attorneys to others for similar work. If appropriate, post reviews on referral sites, LinkedIn, etc. Legal careers live and die on reputation--these acts will benefit them far more than the extra $45/hour (which the associate especially will almost certainly see none of).
It's always great to see people happy with their lawyer. If you're happy with the work the associate did, mention that to the billing partner. Refer the attorneys to others for similar work. If appropriate, post reviews on referral sites, LinkedIn, etc. Legal careers live and die on reputation--these acts will benefit them far more than the extra $45/hour (which the associate especially will almost certainly see none of).
- Tue Apr 18, 2023 7:08 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: When Is A New M.2 SSD Needed For PC?
- Replies: 26
- Views: 2511
Re: When Is A New M.2 SSD Needed For PC?
While I do not have any indication that this is the present case, I will note that in some rare cases viruses can survive reformatting. See this Kapersky page ("Some rootkits infect the BIOS, which will require a repair to fix. If you still have a rootkit after a repair, you may need to get a new PC.") That type of virus is quite rare and often makes the general news. Honestly, few people need to worry about this kind of thing, but it seemed relevant to note.
- Sat Jan 28, 2023 11:43 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards
- Replies: 7054
- Views: 890755
Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards
So I recently transferred about $100k over to BoA to shoot for Platinum Honors and the CC rewards bonus. My expectation from this thread was that it would take 3 months to get there. Surprisingly, I was granted PH status basically immediately--it now shows that I've been Preferred Rewards member since "February 2023." Is this expected behavior? Am I now locked in for a year? I had intended to transfer in an extra $10k or so as buffer to deal with market drops, but didn't due to an error on my part. If I'm locked in, seems like I don't have to worry about this for a while? Did you open a new Merrill Edge account with the brokerage bonus offer? Part of that offer is early enrollment in Preferred Rewards: Promotional Early Enrollmen...
- Sat Jan 28, 2023 11:16 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards
- Replies: 7054
- Views: 890755
Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards
So I recently transferred about $100k over to BoA to shoot for Platinum Honors and the CC rewards bonus. My expectation from this thread was that it would take 3 months to get there. Surprisingly, I was granted PH status basically immediately--it now shows that I've been Preferred Rewards member since "February 2023."
Is this expected behavior? Am I now locked in for a year? I had intended to transfer in an extra $10k or so as buffer to deal with market drops, but didn't due to an error on my part. If I'm locked in, seems like I don't have to worry about this for a while?
Is this expected behavior? Am I now locked in for a year? I had intended to transfer in an extra $10k or so as buffer to deal with market drops, but didn't due to an error on my part. If I'm locked in, seems like I don't have to worry about this for a while?
- Sun Dec 11, 2022 11:38 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Portable Pour Over?
- Replies: 44
- Views: 3685
Re: Portable Pour Over?
Aeropress when it’s just me, Espro French press (w/ paper filter) for a crowd. Porlex mini grinder.
- Fri Nov 25, 2022 2:24 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Scenario where taxable account wins over tax-deferred
- Replies: 18
- Views: 2213
Re: Scenario where taxable account wins over tax-deferred
So taxable is cap gains + ordinary income taxes because when investing in a taxable account the money being invested has already been subjected to ordinary income taxes, it's not pretax like a traditional 401K or IRA. Then when shares are redeemed in the taxable account, the cap gains are taxed at cap gains rates. There is no ordinary income tax to pay when you redeem shares. It was already paid. This is my understanding of it. Is this correct? Correct! Isn't this the wrong comparison? The correct comparison is between taxable and after -tax tax-advantaged account, such as Roth 401(k). Comparing taxable to tax-deferred is the red herring here. I think the thing that sometimes people struggle with is that a trad 401k and a Roth 401(k) are t...
- Thu Nov 24, 2022 11:12 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Scenario where taxable account wins over tax-deferred
- Replies: 18
- Views: 2213
Re: Scenario where taxable account wins over tax-deferred
Assume you will be in the same tax bracket (Fed+State) when contributing and withdrawing from your tax-deferred account (401K). Withdrawals from 401k are ordinary income vs potential for cap gains in taxable. Over long periods, equity in taxable can very easily be better than equity in 401k as cap gains taxes are very favorable, at least for now This is a misconception--assuming equal contribution and withdrawal rates, the ordinary income tax you pay on 401k withdrawals is exactly offset by the ordinary income tax you saved by deferring tax in the first place. So, it's not cap gains (taxable) vs ordinary income taxes (401k), it's cap gains+ordinary income taxes (taxable) vs ordinary income taxes (401k). In other words, cap gains are an abs...
- Thu Nov 24, 2022 3:59 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: XBOX 1
- Replies: 6
- Views: 612
- Sat Nov 19, 2022 10:21 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Are Kona coffee beans really worth $40/pound?
- Replies: 22
- Views: 2182
Re: Are Kona coffee beans really worth $40/pound?
The general consensus in the fancy coffee community (read: Light Roast, high acid, pour overs, etc.) is no. But you can’t know until you try
- Wed Nov 16, 2022 5:00 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Ben Felix is back.... The Index Fund "Tipping Point"
- Replies: 44
- Views: 16858
Re: Ben Felix is back.... The Index Fund "Tipping Point"
Question. Quoting Ben, "If everyone turns into a passive index investor, the market can't be efficient." If that were the case, wouldn't there absolutely, positively be active investors who would try to exploit that inefficiency? Thus, wouldn't active investing once again restore efficiency to the market? Total layman here asking a sincere question. Yes, @ 2:00 "If the active management industry gets too small, there will be alpha opportunities for investors and capital should shift from passive index funds to actively managed funds." His idea is that if you reach that "tipping point", you might be better off switching to active funds. But he argues we're nowhere near that tipping point (if it exists) and that...
- Tue Nov 15, 2022 1:32 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: How to invest in Web 3.0/Blockchain (NOT cryptocurrencies)
- Replies: 29
- Views: 3882
Re: How to invest in Web 3.0/Blockchain (NOT cryptocurrencies)
1) What's so great about an "immutable ledger," and how is it different from 1970s-technology "databases?" My bank account isn't stored on a blockchain, but I don't have the ability to write new values into it. 2) In 2019, the Ethereum blockchain was rewritten to roll back a theft. Certainly this was all in the public good, but nevertheless the "immutable" ledger was changed. Why do people say these things are immutable? On point (1), as Alex's post above notes, the key "benefit" of current blockchains is that they are decentralized . No one party gets to determine what's correct or not, and that is the key difference to a database. If you trust some individual entity to say what's correct, you don't...
- Tue Nov 15, 2022 12:16 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Money Market Fund for a newbie
- Replies: 10
- Views: 2267
Re: Money Market Fund for a newbie
Welcome to the forum :) . I am newbie to the forum and I am amazed on the wealth of knowledge and experience. THANK YOU for sharing. I have a question, I took HELOC when the rates were low at 3.99% and the money is sitting the bank doing nothing. I saw forum discussions on parking the money in Money Market Funds. I have $290k to move to Money Market Funds. Which fund would be advisable to offset the interest payments that I am paying for the cash. You might not like the answer, but the right thing to do here is pay off the HELOC. There's nothing safe that on an after-tax basis is going to earn you more than the 4% you're paying to borrow the money. Put it back. You're borrowing money against your home with the notion of investing in risk a...
- Sun Nov 13, 2022 11:03 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: How to invest in Web 3.0/Blockchain (NOT cryptocurrencies)
- Replies: 29
- Views: 3882
Re: How to invest in Web 3.0/Blockchain (NOT cryptocurrencies)
This threads responses is exactly the issue with blockchain and exactly what the OP did not ask... it's been corrupted by the crypto nonsense... The tech for immutable ledgers will have a huge future IMO (once it's split from the nonsense) as the potential uses are important. Unfortunately, I don't know how to invest in that particular piece - and neither does anyone else. One issue is that no one has yet found a "killer app" for verifiably immutable, distributed ledgers aside from cryptocurrency. And even companies that think they have end up issuing a coin, at which point their valuation is driven by speculation rather than the supposedly killer app (see Helium). This of course makes sense from their point of view--not issuing ...
- Sun Nov 13, 2022 1:11 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Money Market Fund for a newbie
- Replies: 10
- Views: 2267
Re: Money Market Fund for a newbie
Perhaps a silly question, but you’re sure that the heloc is fixed rate? Most are floating—fixed rates are rare in helocs so far as I know.I took HELOC when the rates were low at 3.99%
- Sat Oct 29, 2022 11:07 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Mixed Types of RAM in Laptop
- Replies: 10
- Views: 863
Re: Mixed Types of RAM in Laptop
What model of laptop? Assume you could look up the specs to answer this question. Two things going on: memory speed and channels. First, if you install two different speed memories, typically the motherboard uses the lower speed. Here that’s not an issue as both are the same speed. Second is potential for “dual channel mode” where the motherboard uses two ram slots in parallel, which is often much faster. This is why people are typically advised to install ram in pairs. I don’t know whether this laptop has such a mode. One way to check would be to run a benchmark (such as Passmark) under both configurations and see whether the 8gb stick results in slower speeds. If not, I’d use the extra ram.
- Thu Oct 27, 2022 4:42 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Am I investing too Much?
- Replies: 26
- Views: 3916
Re: Am I investing too Much?
Real returns are no easier nor harder to predict than nominal returns, but they are more useful.
ETA: Assuming you have a typical portfolio of things like stocks and bond funds, and not merely one of pure bonds.
- Thu Oct 27, 2022 12:04 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Roth 401k in 2023 for 35% tax bracket?
- Replies: 38
- Views: 3415
Re: Roth 401k in 2023 for 35% tax bracket?
FiveK, thank you for your measured and clear responses here! This kind of post makes the forum great.
- Thu Sep 22, 2022 1:24 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Roth IRA vs Conventional IRA
- Replies: 24
- Views: 1580
Re: Roth IRA vs Conventional IRA
Just to clarify, I think the intent here was to say that traditional IRA distributions count? I don't think Roth distributions count, but let me know if I'm misunderstanding.iflyjetzzz wrote: ↑Thu Sep 22, 2022 12:26 pm And yes, IRA distributions count in calculating taxes on SS. https://faq.ssa.gov/en-US/Topic/article ... 2425%2C000.
- Thu Sep 22, 2022 11:49 am
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Roth IRA vs Conventional IRA
- Replies: 24
- Views: 1580
Re: Roth IRA vs Conventional IRA
OP, You've basically got it. Two extra considerations: There is a tax arbitrage available due to our progressive tax system: you always contribute at your current top rate, but at least some taxable income in retirement will be taxed at the lowest marginal rate. So, until your pre-tax retirement nestegg supports withdrawals in your current marginal tax bracket, you get a tax advantage from a conventional account. Basically, you always want some pre-tax income during retirement. Conventional provides optionality, in that it can convert to Roth. The opposite is not true. If you happen to have low income years, you can do conversions then to maximize tax savings. I agree with others that a mix is ideal, but I personally prefer conventional and...
- Wed Apr 13, 2022 8:44 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: New outdoor gas grill?
- Replies: 54
- Views: 5272
Re: New outdoor gas grill?
I have an order in for a Napoleon Prestige 500. It hasn’t arrived yet, but I’m excited in particular for the infrared burner. Advertised at 1800 degrees—that will sear some steak! I found the reviews at amazingribs.com to be very helpful. They give the Napoleon a “platinum” rating, along with variety of other grills mentioned here, such as MHP and Weber models. The reviews there may help decide, but it seems like all are great grills. BTW where did you buy it? My local Lowes says they don’t offer assembly somehow. Amazon has a weird statement ‘assembly available in some areas’ without listing such areas and, as usual, it’s impossible to chat with a love person :oops: I bought from Amazon, primarily due to the 5% discount given by my Amazon...
- Tue Apr 12, 2022 11:32 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: New outdoor gas grill?
- Replies: 54
- Views: 5272
Re: New outdoor gas grill?
I have an order in for a Napoleon Prestige 500. It hasn’t arrived yet, but I’m excited in particular for the infrared burner. Advertised at 1800 degrees—that will sear some steak!
I found the reviews at amazingribs.com to be very helpful. They give the Napoleon a “platinum” rating, along with variety of other grills mentioned here, such as MHP and Weber models. The reviews there may help decide, but it seems like all are great grills.
I found the reviews at amazingribs.com to be very helpful. They give the Napoleon a “platinum” rating, along with variety of other grills mentioned here, such as MHP and Weber models. The reviews there may help decide, but it seems like all are great grills.
- Wed Mar 02, 2022 3:15 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: How to wipe an SSD drive
- Replies: 29
- Views: 2153
Re: How to wipe an SSD drive
newbie003, You don't understand how an SSD works. You CANNOT get to parts of the drive that may have your data without the manufacturer tool. There may be some tools that claim to be able to access these hidden areas, but I wouldn't trust that to be true. And you will never know. No format or partition commands are going to get to that area. I disagree with this. The "Secure Erase" command used by hdparm or other 3rd party software is an ATA command built into the spec to conduct a complete wipe. It's handled by manufacturer firmware. Of course there may be manufacturers who implement it incorrectly and thus don't delete hidden areas. But that's the manufacturer's fault, and if you can't trust them to do a secure wipe in firmware...
- Wed Mar 02, 2022 1:27 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: How to wipe an SSD drive
- Replies: 29
- Views: 2153
Re: How to wipe an SSD drive
On the linux side, I believe many ubuntu distros come with hdparm built in. So once you're running, you just need to get to a terminal and switch to root (tutorial here). Linux isn't for the faint of heart, though. If you're not familiar with it, and there is a non-Linux solution, that might be best.
I've never used it, but if your drive is a Samsung you might try "Samsung Magician". It seems to include functionality to create a bootable USB that conducts a secure wipe.
I've never used it, but if your drive is a Samsung you might try "Samsung Magician". It seems to include functionality to create a bootable USB that conducts a secure wipe.
- Wed Mar 02, 2022 12:44 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: How to wipe an SSD drive
- Replies: 29
- Views: 2153
Re: How to wipe an SSD drive
That seems like a good use case for a wipe. The linux route I mentioned above should work regardless of brand, but if you need to find the brand and the unit isn't bootable, you can probably figure it out from the BIOS. Usually it's F12 or DEL during the first part of the boot to get into that. Go into the "boot" section and look for the identifier of the drive. Manufacturer may be apparent, or you can Google the identifier to find the manufacturer.
- Wed Mar 02, 2022 12:29 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: How to wipe an SSD drive
- Replies: 29
- Views: 2153
Re: How to wipe an SSD drive
I think this depends on what you mean by "wipe." A normal windows installer will allow you to delete the boot sector and any partitions, creating new ones in their place. This will mean that any new software installed will consider the drive "wiped," though the actual bits will still be there.
If you want to secure erase an SSD, you could boot a USB linux distro (many are available) and use hdparm to do a secure erase.
FWIW, I'm not aware of many situations that require secure erase, outside of disposing of the drive. Recreating the partition table should be equivalent for software functionality/fixing problems.
If you want to secure erase an SSD, you could boot a USB linux distro (many are available) and use hdparm to do a secure erase.
FWIW, I'm not aware of many situations that require secure erase, outside of disposing of the drive. Recreating the partition table should be equivalent for software functionality/fixing problems.
- Tue Jan 11, 2022 10:08 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Rolling earnings on non-deductable traditional IRA into 401k in prep for Roth conversion
- Replies: 5
- Views: 510
Re: Rolling earnings on non-deductable traditional IRA into 401k in prep for Roth conversion
Yep, my bad. Read the post and missed the title.Doc7 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 11, 2022 10:04 pmPost title states this is non deductible basis.bryanm wrote: ↑Tue Jan 11, 2022 10:01 pmIs this right? Doesn’t it matter whether the trad IRA contributions a pre- or post-tax? If they are pre-tax, then wouldn’t tax be due at the time of conversion?Duckie wrote: ↑Tue Jan 11, 2022 9:51 pmIf done right, yes.2021reset wrote: ↑Tue Jan 11, 2022 7:37 pm My understanding of the way to make this happen is that all the gains (which are essentially pre-tax) in the IRAs needs to be moved out of the way (rolled into 401k/403b), then the remainder (the contributions) can be converted to Roth at no cost/impact to our taxes, is that correct?
- Tue Jan 11, 2022 10:01 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Rolling earnings on non-deductable traditional IRA into 401k in prep for Roth conversion
- Replies: 5
- Views: 510
Re: Rolling earnings on non-deductable traditional IRA into 401k in prep for Roth conversion
Is this right? Doesn’t it matter whether the trad IRA contributions a pre- or post-tax? If they are pre-tax, then wouldn’t tax be due at the time of conversion?Duckie wrote: ↑Tue Jan 11, 2022 9:51 pmIf done right, yes.2021reset wrote: ↑Tue Jan 11, 2022 7:37 pm My understanding of the way to make this happen is that all the gains (which are essentially pre-tax) in the IRAs needs to be moved out of the way (rolled into 401k/403b), then the remainder (the contributions) can be converted to Roth at no cost/impact to our taxes, is that correct?
- Fri Jan 07, 2022 4:18 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Contractor finished the job last July but I can't get them to send me a bill.
- Replies: 56
- Views: 6287
Re: Contractor finished the job last July but I can't get them to send me a bill.
If you're satisfied with the work send a check for balance due based on the estimate. Place a notation on the check such as "Final payment for work done for GeoMetry". They'll either cash it and you'll be done or you'll hear further. If you're following this route—and I'm not making a recommendation either way—be aware that you're treading into legal territory where specific words might matter a whole lot. The concept of writing "payment in full" (or maybe "final payment" or the like) is not just a "memo": many states have adopted positions where it actually has legal ramifications, such as considering cashing the check legal acceptance of payment in full. You may want to do some research on the law ...
- Thu Dec 30, 2021 6:04 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Is Sine Wave UPS Required for Dell 7010 SFF computer?
- Replies: 19
- Views: 1672
Re: Is Sine Wave UPS Required for Dell 7010 SFF computer?
What they have to gain is CYA. The actual wave being put out varies across individual UPSs. The sensitivity to that wave varies across individual PSUs. So might as well say it's required and avoid the headache. Doesn't mean it's actually required.whodidntante wrote: ↑Thu Dec 30, 2021 2:46 pm Yes, it's required. They have nothing to gain by making it up.
- Thu Dec 30, 2021 2:36 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Is Sine Wave UPS Required for Dell 7010 SFF computer?
- Replies: 19
- Views: 1672
Re: Is Sine Wave UPS Required for Dell 7010 SFF computer?
Bottom line: no, a sine wave UPS is probably not required. How can you tell for sure? Buy the modified sine wave UPS, connect the PC to it, and pull the plug. Does the PC reboot? If not, you're good. If so, you need the sine wave UPS. (In most cases, the PC will be just fine.)
Super detailed technical explanation here: When do I need a pure sine wave UPS?
Super detailed technical explanation here: When do I need a pure sine wave UPS?
- Fri Nov 12, 2021 4:26 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: "Non-Poaching" agreements - handling communication with former co-workers
- Replies: 16
- Views: 2620
Re: "Non-Poaching" agreements - handling communication with former co-workers
Does your new company have legal counsel? Perhaps you could ask them?