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jebmke

First Snowy Egret of the season showed up in the creek today. Great Egrets have been here for a while. Green Herons should be here soon as well -- we normally have a nesting pair each year.

jebmke

Have you reviewed the condo association balance sheet? The biggest risk could be lack of reserves for common expenses.

jebmke

I wouldn't water more than twice a week for trees. As someone said already, watering too much is worse than watering too little. A good soak twice a week is fine. A lot of people plant at the wrong time of year, also. Can't speak for the northeast but in mid-Atlantic, planting trees and shrubs othe...

jebmke

I don’t fertilize new shrubs or trees until second year. Then only a single dose of something like milorganite around the base in mid winter. Once established I cut back frequency, not every year. Some plants like boxwood I rarely feed because they don’t need it.

jebmke

I have a rule now. If I acquire something (unless it is something that is deemed "emergency" as in a medical emergency, or similar) then two things have to go. I do the same with my files. If I file something, I have to remove two and shred/recycle. We also adopted a policy with immediate ...

jebmke

^^ I think the Arctic Tern migrates from the Arctic to Antarctica and back every year. One of the longest migration paths. A lot of shorebirds also migrate pretty far. They fly up to the arctic/northern latitudes, breed and leave right after the chicks hatch. Chicks are left pretty much to fend for ...

jebmke

I retired in 2007 at age 55 with almost no cash in portfolio. Never was an issue.

jebmke

Should be all spelled out in IRS Pub 590a.

jebmke

One surprise for me was dental expenses. I have good retirement health coverage from employer and Medicare but oh those dental expenses are on me. I had 3 crowns in the first few years and my wife has major dental issues - the latest will cost about 20k. Make sure to get a dental checkup and tell t...

jebmke

H-Town wrote: ↑Mon Apr 12, 2021 10:47 am Other benefits of filing: stimulus check, Roth IRA contribution, ACA premium tax credit, saver credit, etc.

Also blocks someone else from filing (successfully) with same SSN

jebmke

Maybe a cat?

jebmke

Are you willing to keep paying for phone service for a phone that is rarely used? Do you really want everyone in your address book to have to change their records of what your phone number is? not that familiar with authenticator apps but perhaps it only needs home WiFi. I have an old phone that st...

jebmke

They have a mountain of paper to process.

jebmke

That is correct. Gross proceeds is counted as income for purposes of "need to file" Correction. Gains are counted but not losses. I'm not sure what the IRS WOPR would do it it had a 1099-B with a large gross proceeds on non-covered shares that exceeded the filing amount. It doesn't know t...

jebmke

I kept a fairly steady allocation for the first 10 years; Once I started my pension I have shifted my plan to only withdraw dividends (this is a micro sale of equity) and sell bonds, if necessary to raise cash. In other words, I have no plans to ever sell equity again. I will re-balance on the downs...

jebmke

I don't know the exact amount - I didn't retain my analysis of spending prior to retiring. If I had to guess, I am spending less. Major differences would be taxes (income and property tax) with other minor differences like travel (we travel much less than we did when I was working) and health care (...

jebmke

According to a notice I received yesterday, TaxSlayer Pro is doing this correctly. I don't know if the retail version has been updated yet. Is the TaxSlayer Pro what some paid tax preparers use? We use it for AARP TaxAide. Not sure but I think Vita uses it. Don't know how widely it is used in the p...

jebmke

According to a notice I received yesterday, TaxSlayer Pro is doing this correctly. I don't know if the retail version has been updated yet.

jebmke

I solved this whole problem by not trying to predict investment returns.

jebmke

H-Town wrote: ↑Fri Apr 09, 2021 2:48 pm The card is too easy to fake and should hold no water as far as a "passport to travel".

I’d really be surprised if other countries accepted it.

jebmke

They might be shortening their maturities in order to have the flexibility to roll off their balance sheet later if the economy continues to improve and inflation picks up.

jebmke

Just happened to look at Portfolio Watch this morning (curiosity). It reports that I have 16% in international bonds but the only funds I hold that have any non-US bonds is Investment Grade (short and intermediate) and the fund report shows that international is < 5% for those funds alone; my total ...

jebmke

retired since 2007. (1) no; expenses jump around mainly due to "capital" items (home improvement/replacement) and income taxes but no discernible downward trend (2) pension is about 45% of expenses but didn't start until 2018 so too early to tell.

jebmke

The CPA has entered the information into the software and is just going with what the software says. I would do not consider it an unforgivable mistake to assume the software default is correct. I do consider it unacceptable that when you explained the problem and the solution, he did not research ...

jebmke

BD w/ Kung-Fu Grip wrote: ↑Fri Apr 09, 2021 7:03 am Option C, drop the CPA now and don't pay him for a job not done?

This. I train non-professional volunteers with no accounting background to prepare taxes and this is standard stuff.

jebmke

No plans any time soon. Even before the pandemic we avoided flying.

jebmke

Federal tax returns for 2020 are due May, 17 unless you file for an extension.

The first quarterly Federal estimated payment for 2021 taxes is due April 15.

States vary; mine rolled everything out to July 15.

jebmke

I have a need for a fairly wide toe shoe as well. I've been happy with Saucony. They were recommended by a former podiatrist/shoe store owner after I had a podiatrist visit (practicing) referral. He spent a fair amount of time watching my gait and feet from front, back and side as I walked. Recommen...

jebmke

To calculate this for yourself, go onto your state’s ACA website, and plug in your location and look at the plans. A good proxy for your expenses would be the cost of the premiums, plus the full deductible. ACA plan premiums vary widely across the country. Also remember that as you age, the ACA pre...

jebmke

probably, yes. They have a lot to do this year in addition to the backlog and I suspect that the processing centers are slower than prior years due to safety protocols.

I always recommend people e-file unless there is some specific reason why they cannot.

jebmke

You have to pay for them. They are not a free service.

jebmke

It’s always interesting to me that people are surprised at how other people spend their money. Some (certainly not all) of that may be that some people end up spending money quite differently in retirement than they expected to when they were still working. I know for us, there are a couple of cate...

jebmke

I have used up my carryover losses but my tax software used to produce a worksheet that showed the carry over from this year to next year. When I prepared a new return for the next year, if I used the same software it would pull this from the prior year file along with a host of other useful stuff.

jebmke

I've been using Evernote for several years now. Lately I've been unhappy with it. I use it across platforms and they seem to frequently have replication conflicts now. I am actually considering ditching it if I can figure out what to do with all the stuff I already have in Evernote.

jebmke

Once I narrowed my choice to a probable candidate, I asked to take the binocular outside for a "test drive." Agree; have to take outside. We went to a Leica shop in downtown DC. I gave them my DL and a credit card and they handed me a $3,500 spotting scope and directions to the nearby park.

jebmke

When we were still using our HSA plans I had our major providers give me an annual statement that listed all the charges and payments. You can also produce an annual report from your pharmacy. That cuts down a lot on the volume of receipts to retain.

jebmke

rick51 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 06, 2021 9:40 am Does the CSRS federal pension qualify for the pension exclusion for Maryland income taxes?

yes it does, if you meet all the other criteria.

jebmke

This is one of the reasons why I never file early.

jebmke

Does the cost of the kitchen renovation matter? In 2018, when it became investment property you would have declared the market value for depreciation purposes. That is the basis you use when you eventually sell. Not an expert but my understanding? I think it is the lesser of the FMV at date of conv...

jebmke

I second others' recommendation that it's ideal if you can visit a store that has a bunch of brands to try them out side by side. There is really no substitute for trying different brands. The specs can be enough different on critical items like eye-relief and inter-pupilary distance that a perfect...

jebmke

Coffee and chocolate

jebmke

one added thought. If you plan to be hiking much distance and the light levels are fairly normal (not overcast, early or late in the day), consider trying some that are more compact like 8x32; the weight can make a difference on longer treks. Make sure to get a harness in any case, walking with bino...

jebmke

"vanguard 800 number" - Google Search

[link formatted by admin LadyGeek]

jebmke

Leupold is another good brand but it might be above your price range. I use these for birding. Very fast focus control, excellent optics and good close-focus. When we compared these with, say, Nikon in the $400 range the difference was noticeable; the Nikon's were good but they demonstrated a sligh...

jebmke

Wouldn't their power be to vote for board members who support their viewpoint? Wouldn't a potential board member be more than willing to do the bidding of an anonymous fund manager if it means their election to the board is guaranteed? Perhaps; but your interests may not be the same as my interests...

jebmke

complicated subject. For general use I would stick with 8x42. There are a lot of good bransds but the specs vary and the only way to make sure they work for you is to try them. I've found a broad range of specifications on eye-relief and some work and some do not - it is a bit like fitting a shoe. V...

jebmke

For radar, I've found that MyRadar Win10 app is the best solution.

jebmke

Badly run companies, indolent boards, excessive CEO compensation packages to loss making enterprises, Funds needs to speak on my behalf because the Fund is investing my money. This is going to become a more relevant issue as Funds become the largest shareholders of many corporations. The problem I ...

jebmke

Very few sites that I use don’t have alternatives. If something dot com goes wonky, I shift to something else dot com. Some exceptions like bank, Vanguard but I don’t need them daily so it usually resolves itself. I have five browsers installed so chances are good I can switch browsers and get it to...

jebmke

We just had a correction a year ago. That isn't very long ago in the scheme of things. And one in 12/2018. I have no idea what that means. Are we due for a V shaped crash every year or so? Does it mean the market prices are pretty accurate? I hate the market. It feels like it is 1999 or worse again...

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