Search found 396 matches

by nepats
Fri Feb 02, 2024 9:52 pm
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: 🎁 🎉Happy 100th Birthday to Taylor Larimore 🎊🎂
Replies: 429
Views: 43337

Re: 🎁 🎉Happy 100th Birthday to Taylor Larimore 🎊🎂

Happy Belated Amazing Birthday!
by nepats
Mon Aug 14, 2023 10:15 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Rental cars in Portugal or Spain
Replies: 45
Views: 4343

Re: Rental cars in Portugal or Spain

Here are my suggestions - 1. Unless money is an issue, get the full coverage in order to not deal with Insurance back home. If you use a consolidator like Auto Europe, look out for insurance details in the contract. The liability amounts/converage are all over between companies. Insurance is sold by by the Booking compaines or the auto company. I prefer the auto company insurance. I believe Europcar via AutoEurope has insurance via Europcar. I have found that going via consolidator has been cheaper for me. 2. Sign up for an electronic toll device via Rental agency in Portugal. In Spain, you can just pay by contactless credit cards. I think you have to declare that you will be visiting Spain from Portugal while renting but not 100% sure. 3. ...
by nepats
Thu Aug 10, 2023 12:19 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How to Block Ads, Web sites etc.
Replies: 21
Views: 1243

Re: How to Block Ads, Web sites etc.

Look into NextDNS. It's a DNS SasS that works with configurable "lists" to block ads etc across devices/wifi/routers. Costs is about 2/month and is pretty easy to setup. It took me 10 min :)

(Assuming you have checked for viruses and or reset the phone first)
by nepats
Thu Aug 10, 2023 11:54 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: The HVAC sales guy is on his way over...
Replies: 107
Views: 10423

Re: The HVAC sales guy is on his way over...

Congrats on almost getting through the HVAC replacement torture chamber! As a data point, we paid about 14K in 2021 for a Carrier infinity series 16SE AC/Furnace combo in NoVA. But this was for almost top of the line series with multi stage AC and heat. I highly recommend multi stage units. Update... So far we have had 4 companies give us bids. At this point we are leaning towards a... Bryant Gas Furnace, 2 stage 120,000 BTUs 96% AFUE 10 year parts warranty 10 year compressor warranty Lifetime heat exchanger warranty Bryant 5ton 16.2 SEER Air Conditioner, 1 stage Bryant Coil 5x61x24 10 year labor warranty Furnace and A/C $14,260 total installed incl. tax and fees Can be done anytime without the need to decide right now. DW and I are complet...
by nepats
Fri May 06, 2022 5:26 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Ford Lightning EV
Replies: 308
Views: 31135

Re: Ford Lightning EV

I hope this truck is as advertised! I have never owned a truck but I am seriously considering this after 8 years of Tesla ownership.
by nepats
Wed Oct 20, 2021 4:22 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Verizon is ridiculous [Looking for alternatives]
Replies: 65
Views: 6330

Re: Verizon is ridiculous

I pay about $110 for Gig speed internet, TV package that includes ESPN and home phone via FIOS tripe play bundle.

I sign up for a two year contract and use a cable card with TiVo and my own router.

I don’t think I can get anything cheaper or as reliable for the cost.

If you can’t do that then subscribe to Some TV subscription service and get the lower tier internet service. It will eliminate DVR costs.
by nepats
Sat Oct 02, 2021 8:35 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What’s your favorite web browser…and why?
Replies: 51
Views: 5966

Re: What’s your favorite web browser…and why?

I second Brave for browser and DuckDuckGo for search. I use that primarily on my iPhone along with VPN for privacy and security.
by nepats
Fri Sep 17, 2021 4:31 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Do provider "rebates" on smart phones provide real value?
Replies: 23
Views: 2382

Re: Do provider "rebates" on smart phones provide real value?

There are some great deals for trade ins on iPhone 13 on major carriers. They all require you to be in “unlimited” plans and stay locked in for 24-40 months with them to get the monthly trade in credits. Best option would be on shared account with multiple lines(5+) to bring the cost of unlimited plans to $35-45/month and upgrade via carrier offers every 2 years for almost free upgrades!

If not look into Apple Upgrade program where you can upgrade every year if you upgrade frequently. Some people think of it as “monthly leasing” the phone for a year!
by nepats
Sat Sep 04, 2021 9:45 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: High per month retirement withdrawals?
Replies: 42
Views: 5536

Re: High per month retirement withdrawals?

MnD wrote: Fri Sep 03, 2021 11:20 pm Retire earlier!
Spend more!
Or both!

It's not rocket science..............
Agreed and I am planning on early retirement however my wife is not. She enjoys her work and is of type that won’t entertain the idea even if she could easily retire. Unfortunately, that cuts my lower tax bracket window significantly. Also, we do not want to pass on large IRA balances to our kids. We will leave reasonable amounts so that means higher withdrawal rates in the future. All great problems to have but this though exercise helps me plan as best as I can.
by nepats
Sat Sep 04, 2021 9:33 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Reduce AA in Accumulation Phase?
Replies: 32
Views: 3815

Re: Reduce AA in Accumulation Phase?

I have been helping my young adult son in a different way that makes sense to him. We discussed AA for retirement bucket (85/15), AA for emergency fund (0/100), and AA for a home purchase (50/50 approx) for home purchase goal 10 years away. This makes sense to him, and allows him to consider how much to save in each bucket. Overall would likely come to 80/20 assuming more goes to retirement than anything else, and to me that seems good for a young adult, but this bucket approach motivates my son to save by having specific goals. And having 85/15 only in ira/401k accounts means one can sleep at night when the market corrects, knowing you don’t need that bucket for a long time, making it easier to “stay the course” for both AA and ongoing sa...
by nepats
Sat Sep 04, 2021 9:32 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Reduce AA in Accumulation Phase?
Replies: 32
Views: 3815

Re: Reduce AA in Accumulation Phase?

After a certain net worth, the difference between 90/10 and 80/20 or even 70/30 is negligible in the time it takes to reach your final goal. I don’t quiet understand this. Wouldnt higher risk portfolios get you there faster? It would shorten the expected time needed to reach a goal, yes. dbr is just making the simple point that when someone is mostly done with their accumulation journey (high NW), they are already close to their target so the AA doesn’t make much of a difference. As an analogy, if you race a mile on a bike vs on foot, you can complete the race much faster on bike. But if you only have 100 yards left to go in the race, the difference between using a bike vs running is only going to change the (expected) time to complete the...
by nepats
Fri Sep 03, 2021 1:55 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: High per month retirement withdrawals?
Replies: 42
Views: 5536

Re: High per month retirement withdrawals?

Thank you all for great conversations. It’s given me some new ideas that I need to model with my numbers.
by nepats
Fri Sep 03, 2021 1:43 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Reduce AA in Accumulation Phase?
Replies: 32
Views: 3815

Re: Reduce AA in Accumulation Phase?

dbr wrote: Thu Sep 02, 2021 8:07 am

After a certain net worth, the difference between 90/10 and 80/20 or even 70/30 is negligible in the time it takes to reach your final goal.
I don’t quiet understand this. Wouldnt higher risk portfolios get you there faster?
by nepats
Thu Sep 02, 2021 12:23 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: High per month retirement withdrawals?
Replies: 42
Views: 5536

Re: High per month retirement withdrawals?

It's really hard to say without knowing the specifics, but there are a lot of ways to potentially address this. The answer is rarely to stop saving, and also rarely to save less in retirement accounts and put more in taxable. The retirement account benefits are just too good. Options usually include starting to favor Roth more than traditional now (assuming Roth is available) or planning for a window after retirement of doing Roth conversions before RMDs kick in. In my experience a lot of people are unnecessarily worried about RMDs, or overweight that concern to the point they're ready to pay a whole bunch more in taxes now to avoid the taxes they dread later. Maybe you're not one of those, but if you give us some approximate numbers we ca...
by nepats
Thu Sep 02, 2021 11:56 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: High per month retirement withdrawals?
Replies: 42
Views: 5536

Re: High per month retirement withdrawals?

lawlopez wrote: Thu Sep 02, 2021 11:11 am RMD money is taxed earned income rates.
long term gain money is taxed at 15 % (mostly)
and only the gain is taxed.
This isn't too bad.


short term gain is taxed at the earned income rate.
Thanks! Aren’t any withdrawal from IRAs/401Ks taxed at income rates? Long term lower rate will affect only taxable withdrawals.
by nepats
Thu Sep 02, 2021 10:53 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: High per month retirement withdrawals?
Replies: 42
Views: 5536

High per month retirement withdrawals?

I am curious to see if anyone withdraws or is planning/forced via RMD to withdraw more per month in retirement than current income? If so, how do you deal with taxes? Though we are not there yet, I feel like our retirement accounts are growing rather rapidly than anticipated. It's definitely a great problem to have but I fear that we may end up in a higher tax bracket due to lack of deductions in the future like mortgage deductions, child credits etc. Should we slow down retirement savings? I have seen the famous Mad Fientiest article that talks about saving in the retirement accounts vs taxable, so I am hesitant to slow down retirement savings. We already save via Taxable as well to potentially bridge to the retirement age if we decide to ...
by nepats
Sat Jun 12, 2021 4:42 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Easy short term cell data plan on Verizon or ATT network?
Replies: 8
Views: 867

Re: Easy short term cell data plan on Verizon or ATT network?

We are traveling to northern Wisconsin later this summer, where our Tmobile plan has little to no reception. What is the easiest way to get temporary prepaid data on the Verizon or ATT network just for a few weeks? I don't want to port our number out of Tmobile. Can we purchase a prepaid sim cards with a temporary number to use for a short time without having to port our number to another provider? We have iphones direct from Apple, so not locked. Which phone do you have? Newer iPhones/androids have two SIMs so you can have two numbers. If you have that capability then just “buy” a plan for a month ($20+)for MVNOs like Visible (Verizon) or H2O witless (ATT). Those are just two of the many MVNOs that operate in the US. Easiest is to switch ...
by nepats
Wed Jun 02, 2021 10:00 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Rent Fios router ($15/mo) or use my own?
Replies: 49
Views: 5788

Re: Rent Fios router ($15/mo) or use my own?

Buy. You always want to buy equipment like this unless it’s for a very short term use
by nepats
Sat May 22, 2021 9:19 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: 14 days Portland Oregon Coast road trip.
Replies: 45
Views: 5673

Re: 14 days Portland Oregon Coast road trip.

I am amazed how much more you can learn here at Bogleheads! I am grateful for all the suggestions. Next thing on my list is figuring out all the hotels! It’s easier said than done for a trip this long with 1/2 night stays with kids…
by nepats
Sat May 22, 2021 9:11 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How much do you target for a 529 plan?
Replies: 93
Views: 13628

Re: How much do you target for a 529 plan?

4 years of private tuition. If they don’t use it, we will either give them to the grandkids if any or donate it.
by nepats
Sat May 22, 2021 12:58 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: 14 days Portland Oregon Coast road trip.
Replies: 45
Views: 5673

Re: 14 days Portland Oregon Coast road trip.

RudyS wrote: Sat May 22, 2021 12:53 pm As someone suggested already, the Redwoods are worth extending the trip
Thanks. We have been to the Redwoods already so will skip them for this trip. Can you recommend any hotels along the way that you liked ?
by nepats
Sat May 22, 2021 12:43 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: 14 days Portland Oregon Coast road trip.
Replies: 45
Views: 5673

Re: 14 days Portland Oregon Coast road trip.

privateer79 wrote: Sat May 22, 2021 11:52 am -pacific city has a nice brew pub right next to a massive dune that's fun to climb.
- if you're into sushi try "yatai" in lincoln city.... if you're into hipster pizza and a retro bowling alley, check out old-line lanes.


enjoy!
Keep em coming! Added to the list 😀
by nepats
Sat May 22, 2021 12:41 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: 14 days Portland Oregon Coast road trip.
Replies: 45
Views: 5673

Re: 14 days Portland Oregon Coast road trip.

chipaway wrote: Sat May 22, 2021 11:46 am The Adobe Resort in Yachats, OR (prounounced Yah'-hots).

The Oregon coast is spectacular! Hope you have a safe and memorable trip.
Great! Will check it out!
by nepats
Sat May 22, 2021 10:18 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: 14 days Portland Oregon Coast road trip.
Replies: 45
Views: 5673

Re: 14 days Portland Oregon Coast road trip.

weirdsong1 wrote: Sat May 22, 2021 9:37 am Stop everywhere along the coast...there's nothing not worth the time. My main suggestion will be my favorite place to stay: Tu Tu' Tun Lodge where the Rogue River and the coast meet.
Thanks!
by nepats
Sat May 22, 2021 9:25 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: 14 days Portland Oregon Coast road trip.
Replies: 45
Views: 5673

14 days Portland Oregon Coast road trip.

Hello,

We are doing the Portland, OR coast trip in Summer. I am looking for places to stay along the way and suggestions for must do/see things. We will start in Portland, travel along the coast from Cannon beach to Florence and then loop back from Crater lake, Bend and Mt Hood back to Seattle. We have young children with us so not all hikes or activities will be appropriate but shoot away anyway. Appreciate any input and off the track places to stay or activities.
by nepats
Sat May 22, 2021 9:15 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Form 5500EZ Now Available for online filing
Replies: 4
Views: 716

Re: Form 5500EZ Now Available for online filing

HomeStretch wrote: Sat May 22, 2021 12:39 am Beginning with calendar year 2020, Solo 401k plans must use Form 5500-EZ (which can now be e-filed through EFAST2) and can no longer use Form 5500-SF. There are some past forum threads about this change.
Thanks. I am wasn’t aware of it.
by nepats
Fri May 21, 2021 9:04 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Form 5500EZ Now Available for online filing
Replies: 4
Views: 716

Re: Form 5500EZ Now Available for online filing

BolderBoy wrote: Fri May 21, 2021 7:31 pm
nepats wrote: Fri May 21, 2021 10:40 amI was able to submit form 5500EZ online today. Unless, I was doing this wrong the whole time, I don't think this version was available for online filing in the past :wink:
I filed my my 2020 5500EZ back in January.
May be it’s new for 2020? I was filing 5500SF because Ez wasn’t available for online.
by nepats
Fri May 21, 2021 10:40 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Form 5500EZ Now Available for online filing
Replies: 4
Views: 716

Form 5500EZ Now Available for online filing

I was able to submit form 5500EZ online today. Unless, I was doing this wrong the whole time, I don't think this version was available for online filing in the past :wink: Big advantage of this form is that it's not publicly available
by nepats
Mon May 17, 2021 8:50 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: No longer separate charge for Amazon HD music!
Replies: 16
Views: 3205

Re: No longer separate charge for Amazon HD music!

I wonder if Amazon will refund the difference for the yearly HD sub 🤔
by nepats
Sun May 02, 2021 5:46 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How Much Did You Budget for Travel in Retirement?
Replies: 122
Views: 14735

Re: How Much Did You Budget for Travel in Retirement?

Instead of taking vacations, does anyone live overseas for part of the year in retirement? I am thinking 6 months a year at least. I am interested in what the typical budget would like in different parts of the world? I Imagine the budgets are completely different.
by nepats
Tue Apr 27, 2021 9:50 pm
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: Post your Financial Milestone Announcements Here
Replies: 3621
Views: 568859

Re: Post your Financial Milestone Announcements Here

willthrill81 wrote: Tue Apr 27, 2021 9:28 pm We joined the two comma club today! This is our net worth, slightly over half of which is in our investment portfolio, and most of the rest of which is in our home. I didn't think that our home would take up such a large proportion of our net worth by this point, but its value has nearly doubled over the last 6 years. :shock:

Next stop, two commas in our portfolio!
Congrats! Also, thanks for providing valuable insights on the forums.
by nepats
Mon Apr 26, 2021 12:16 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Apple watch for 10 year old?
Replies: 95
Views: 9598

Re: Apple watch for 10 year old?

We gave one to my daughter for the same exact reason and it has worked out really well. She texts or calls when she gets to her friends places in the neighborhood. She is responsible with her things so I don't worry about having to replace it. It's pretty hard to break the glass on the Apple watch anyway. Apple family setup along with Screen time works well. Highly recommend it over other watches if you are in the Apple ecosystem.
by nepats
Wed Apr 21, 2021 11:58 am
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: Post your Financial Milestone Announcements Here
Replies: 3621
Views: 568859

Re: Post your Financial Milestone Announcements Here

Darth Xanadu wrote: Tue Apr 20, 2021 11:51 pm
More importantly, I've come to realize that it's hard to overstate the value of a community like this. The benefit of free education (no membership fees), free guidance (no ads), and a generally nontoxic environment (thanks mods!) in which to vet a wide range of opinions is...well....hard to overstate.
Well said!
by nepats
Tue Apr 20, 2021 4:36 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Young Twenties Seeking Financial Independence
Replies: 40
Views: 4383

Re: Young Twenties Seeking Financial Independence

You certainly are on the right path since you are 24 and asking these questions on the Bogleheads! You make a good salary and have reasonable student debt.

1. Work to Increase your income as fast as possible
2. Save as much as possible in your 20s
3. Invest in broad Index funds with 80-90/10-20 stocks to bonds (401K and then Taxable)
4. Enjoy your 20s :D

Compounding will take care of the rest!
by nepats
Tue Apr 06, 2021 7:16 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Vanguard solo 401k to allow incoming rollovers?!
Replies: 57
Views: 10510

Re: Vanguard solo 401k to allow incoming rollovers?!

mstrcvdstr wrote: Tue Apr 06, 2021 6:56 pm Everything was done electronically except the mailing of the check.
Thanks for the info. Why not electronic direct funds transfer? Is that a limitation of Vanguard?
by nepats
Tue Apr 06, 2021 4:06 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Vanguard solo 401k to allow incoming rollovers?!
Replies: 57
Views: 10510

Re: Vanguard solo 401k to allow incoming rollovers?!

I don't see any updates on this yet. The website hasn't changed and lacks any options to initiate a rollover online.
by nepats
Fri Feb 12, 2021 9:05 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Vanguard solo 401k to allow incoming rollovers?!
Replies: 57
Views: 10510

Re: Vanguard solo 401k to allow incoming rollovers?!

Thanks! I was hoping for this and will help to further consolidate.
by nepats
Sun Jan 17, 2021 9:42 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Anyone have the new Apple M1 MacBook?
Replies: 28
Views: 4005

Re: Anyone have the new Apple M1 MacBook?

I got the base Air model and I like it so far. Microsoft Apps like Word work pretty well as MS has native apps for the M1. The fanless experience is awesome! It’s plenty fast even with 8GB of RAM for everyday tasks though I have not really run any memory intensive tasks on it so far. Only issue for me have been work related software that only runs on MS windows 10 and IE.
by nepats
Sat Dec 26, 2020 8:50 am
Forum: Forum Issues and Administration
Topic: Time to give to this website
Replies: 91
Views: 13573

Re: Time to give to this website

Done. Thanks for the reminder!
by nepats
Thu Dec 10, 2020 1:09 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: We won the game…then we rolled the dice
Replies: 201
Views: 27761

Re: We won the game…then we rolled the dice

Great post! Thank you for sharing your story and good luck with the business.
by nepats
Wed Dec 09, 2020 12:04 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: What’s “your number” for each kid’s 529?
Replies: 439
Views: 36129

Re: What’s “your number” for each kid’s 529?

I think 300K should do it even for the most expensive private schools :oops:
by nepats
Thu Dec 03, 2020 9:45 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Self/Career Improvement Monthly/Yearly Cost
Replies: 7
Views: 694

Re: Self/Career Improvement Monthly/Yearly Cost

Training can be career specific cost but I thought Bogleheads would spend on the non career "self" improvement categories. For example, Audible memberships, Personal training, Self help seminars etc.. I was thinking in more of general terms
by nepats
Thu Dec 03, 2020 7:14 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Self/Career Improvement Monthly/Yearly Cost
Replies: 7
Views: 694

Self/Career Improvement Monthly/Yearly Cost

I was contemplating about spending more than I had ever spent on training recently, and I was curious about the average cost Bogleheads spend on improving their skills/self etc. There are lots of successful people on here, so I am guessing it's going to be way more than average. My historical cost has been $100-150/month on books, training site subscriptions etc in normal years.
by nepats
Wed Oct 07, 2020 7:20 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Tesla maintenance cost?
Replies: 167
Views: 13460

Re: Tesla maintenance cost?

My out of warranty costs are increasing now as the Model S is approaching her 7th birthday and 100k miles! So far here are items that have been replaced out of warranty ($)

3 door handles ( and 3 in warranty)
1 12 volt battery (and 1 in warranty)
Trunk Motor/latch
Rear axles/hubs
Rear motor ( in warranty)

I also think the MCU computer is on it’s last legs so will need that replaced as well soon. So far my approx costs are closer to 3.5K for the above repairs.
by nepats
Thu Aug 27, 2020 5:35 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How much did you save?
Replies: 102
Views: 17321

Re: How much did you save?

We haven’t won the game yet. We started our 401k contributions early in our careers and saved between 20 to 70k annually as the limits and matches improved. In addition, I think we have saved equally in our taxable accounts over the years.
by nepats
Wed Aug 26, 2020 1:31 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Looking for audiophile Wireless Powered speakers suggestion
Replies: 7
Views: 1037

Re: Looking for audiophile Wireless Powered speakers suggestion

I had Audioengine desktop speakers and they were pretty good. I hear the new A5+ powered wireless speakers are good. Amazon HD is great!
by nepats
Tue Jul 28, 2020 6:43 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Tesla Model 3: Leasing the way to go?
Replies: 30
Views: 4087

Re: Tesla Model 3: Leasing the way to go?

manatee2005 wrote: Tue Jul 28, 2020 2:54 am Long rage model Tesla 3 lease cost over 3 years is $21k. I bought a brand new Mazda cx-5 for 27k. And after 3 years I’ll still have a car worth probably 20k. Seems like a better deal than leasing Tesla 3.
Comparing apples to oranges.
by nepats
Mon Jul 27, 2020 8:15 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Tesla Model 3: Leasing the way to go?
Replies: 30
Views: 4087

Re: Tesla Model 3: Leasing the way to go?

I would lease it if you don’t want to bother selling it after the lease period. The Tech is moving fast, and Tesla service is going down hill unfortunately. Also, Tesla’s do not hold their value any better than other cars based on my experience as a long time Model S owner. Just know that their lease terms are not great.