Search found 66 matches

by kbjeffrey
Thu Sep 29, 2022 8:39 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Geico Premiums Doubled
Replies: 40
Views: 7969

Re: Geico Premiums Doubled

My Geico premium went down by $1. This period…
by kbjeffrey
Mon Apr 25, 2022 5:26 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: All Inclusive Caribbean Resort With Kids
Replies: 25
Views: 4239

Re: All Inclusive Caribbean Resort With Kids

I've had good experiences at Club Med Resorts. Great kids clubs, great food and lots of activities for all.
by kbjeffrey
Mon Apr 25, 2022 5:23 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Applying to CS colleges the Boglehead way
Replies: 163
Views: 14703

Re: Applying to CS colleges the Boglehead way

You might want to consider IIT, Loyola, DePaul as well. They all have good programs too.
by kbjeffrey
Sun Apr 24, 2022 8:51 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Implications of allowing PNC to increase my credit line
Replies: 3
Views: 472

Re: Implications of allowing PNC to increase my credit line

Thank you from all for the advice! Happily because of my of my company's "A rating" at PNC the credit line is for my company this time around. Improving my companies credit rating is more valuable to me that improving my own.
by kbjeffrey
Tue Apr 19, 2022 11:16 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Implications of allowing PNC to increase my credit line
Replies: 3
Views: 472

Implications of allowing PNC to increase my credit line

I head up a small software company that banks with PNC and currently have a credit line for $50,000. It is quite useful and in 20 or so years we've never needed more. A manager from PNC has gotten in touch and offered to double the credit line to $100,000. I don't feel the need for the extra credit, but the manager says that since I have a substantial amount of money in my account right now, the increase is available. It may not be available later on. The guarantee for the credit line is currently provided by me personally. I'm not sure if the extra credit is really worth much to me or what the implications are to my personal credit if I were to accept the extra credit. I would appreciate advice from folks here that know more about this sor...
by kbjeffrey
Mon Mar 28, 2022 12:12 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Going back for a PhD while also having a mortgage
Replies: 19
Views: 2545

Re: Going back for a PhD while also having a mortgage

I did something similar. I had a series of programming jobs at large corps in my 20's, but never had taken any formal coursework. After a while I decided that I would like to learn more than I was learning at work. I got accepted to a handful of PhD programs, sold my house and moved to NY to study Design and Implementation of Programming Languages. It took me a year longer than my stipend paid for to finish, so I stepped off my stipend for a year and worked part-time at Citibank. I haven't regretted any of it for a minute. After graduating, I worked as assistant prof, but when I came up for tenure, I knew that it wasn't where I wanted to be. I started up a small software company that I'm still working at many years down the road. I have abs...
by kbjeffrey
Sat Feb 19, 2022 12:27 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: iPhone user - How to blacklist solication calls/txts?
Replies: 14
Views: 1469

Re: iPhone user - How to blacklist solication calls/txts?

You might want to check what your carrier offers. T-Mobile provides an app "Scam Block" that has worked reasonably well for me. Your carrier might provide something similar as well.
by kbjeffrey
Sun Jan 30, 2022 9:27 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Please help me understand paying extra on mortgage monthly vs. lump sum
Replies: 31
Views: 3332

Re: Please help me understand paying extra on mortgage monthly vs. lump sum

When you make the extra monthly payment, make sure to apply it to the principal for the loan. As you pay down the principal, it changes how much you owe on the loan and how much of your payment goes to paying interest on the loan vs. the loan itself. So not only are you paying off the loan faster, but your regular monthly payment will shift overtime from paying more toward interest to paying more towards paying off the principal (how much you owe).

It is a personal choice whether to payoff your mortgage early. I want the extra security of not having the expenses of a mortgage when I retire and also so that I can tap the equity in the house, when I can't manage it on my own any more.
by kbjeffrey
Thu Dec 30, 2021 3:20 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: David Swenson on asset allocation
Replies: 18
Views: 3077

Re: David Swenson on asset allocation

I didn't watch the video but Buffet's S&P bet with a hedge fund manager back in 2008 seems to point that this isn't always the case. Maybe things have changed? https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/030916/buffetts-bet-hedge-funds-year-eight-brka-brkb.asp Also, the Yale endowment has trailed the S&P over the last 10 years. https://www.barrons.com/articles/yale-endowment-only-2-percent-u-s-stocks-51630535033 All very interesting! A little while back I read "Winning the Losers Game Timeless Strategies for Successful Investing by Charles D. Ellis", He seemed to think that the investing world is a lot different now because everyone has quick access to much more information. It is harder to get an advantage than it us...
by kbjeffrey
Thu Dec 30, 2021 11:46 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: David Swenson on asset allocation
Replies: 18
Views: 3077

Re: David Swenson on asset allocation

The talk was interesting, thanks for sharing it! It seemed a lot like he was telling us that we should invest in diversified index funds, since this is the best we're going to do. And also that Yale and the best hedge fund managers are in a privileged position and richer than us, so they will always be able to do better than we ever will. Near the end, he also seemed to say that because they are they exploiting their privileges, it will mean that the market won't perform as well for the rest of us.

I'm sure what he said is true, but it was still unnerving.
by kbjeffrey
Wed Dec 22, 2021 8:37 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Road trip from Syracuse - Ohio - Nashville - St Pete
Replies: 58
Views: 3707

Re: Road trip from Syracuse - Ohio - Nashville - St Pete

I remembered another fun activity, Megacavern, an underground zipline in a cavern; https://louisvillemegacavern.com/attractions/mega-zips
by kbjeffrey
Mon Dec 20, 2021 9:41 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Road trip from Syracuse - Ohio - Nashville - St Pete
Replies: 58
Views: 3707

Re: Road trip from Syracuse - Ohio - Nashville - St Pete

Not far from Louisville is Kentucky Down Under. (https://www.kentuckydownunder.com/). Petting and feeding baby kangaroos is really fun. Great for a road trip stop. I was able to get discounted tickets on groupon.

Mammoth Cave is also worth visiting.
by kbjeffrey
Tue Dec 07, 2021 8:39 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Temporary Insulation for Window
Replies: 9
Views: 989

Re: Temporary Insulation for Window

I had a similar 2 inch gap with a window and went to Home Depot to find something to seal it. The very helpful person working there recommended the Replaceable Caulk Cord Weatherseal. It was really easy to use and is working well so far.

https://www.homedepot.com/s/md%2520repl ... eal?NCNI-5
by kbjeffrey
Fri Nov 26, 2021 3:33 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How would you rate the following cities?
Replies: 183
Views: 17932

Re: How would you rate the following cities?

I've lived in both Madison and Chicago, as well as Long Island for 5 yrs in Grad School for CS PhD. My family is mostly in NYC. I've been in Chicago now since 1985 (not including 5 yrs in grad school). Like many things, my reasons for loving Chicago might not apply to others. I love that Chicago is very diverse and people are almost always kind to each other. There are good opportunities in tech here and for a big city it is reasonably affordable. For me it is just the right size city; big enough to always have lots going on and easy to travel to many places. The winters can be brutal at times, but it scares away the whiners. :-)
by kbjeffrey
Sun Nov 07, 2021 10:13 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Have you seen a recent jump in home insurance premiums?
Replies: 17
Views: 1673

Re: Have you seen a recent jump in home insurance premiums?

I also have my home insurance with Liberty Mutual and had the same experience. The only difference for me was that the support person on the phone tried to convince me to switch over other policies to them, so that I could get a discount (didn't do it). I do have replacement coverage and she said that was the reason for the increase, costs have gone up.
by kbjeffrey
Sun Oct 24, 2021 9:35 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??
Replies: 226
Views: 19657

Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

I loved the books and found the movie enjoyable and also disappointing. It seemed like they were trying to make sure they made enough money on Part 1 in order to get funded for Part 2. I wish it had more substance.
by kbjeffrey
Sun Oct 10, 2021 8:48 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Annual Homeowners Insurance Property Coverage Increases
Replies: 12
Views: 1186

Re: Annual Homeowners Insurance Property Coverage Increases

I was also surprised by the increase in my home insurance costs this year. The agent told me that the increase is because of the cost of materials to do repairs after claims have gone up substantially. That seems to make sense... Hopefully the costs will go down next year or I will be shopping around.
by kbjeffrey
Thu Oct 07, 2021 12:38 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: [Should I ditch] Google Chrome[?]
Replies: 77
Views: 7808

Re: Are Bogleheads ditching Google Chrome

I was under the impression that quite a few browsers nowadays are built on chromium. I have noticed overtime that fewer web apps are fully supporting Firefox (not built on chromium). For example, I can't print invoices from Quickbooks online with Firefox. Is there really that much of a choice?
by kbjeffrey
Sun Sep 19, 2021 2:51 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Investment Advice for my Mother in Senior Living Facility
Replies: 18
Views: 1712

Re: Investment Advice for my Mother in Senior Living Facility

L82GAME wrote: Sun Sep 19, 2021 2:39 pm
kbjeffrey wrote: Sun Sep 19, 2021 2:07 pm
lws wrote: Sun Sep 19, 2021 1:51 pm Are you her agent under a durable power of attorney?
Not yet, but I know now that I need to get to work on that.

Thank you!
In addition to HomeStretch’s advice, specific to a PoA and Health Care Directive, my advice is do not dally. In my experience helping my wife with in-law’s finances, executing all required paperwork prior to documented cognitive decline is essential.
L82GAME,

That is really helpful. I'll try my best...
by kbjeffrey
Sun Sep 19, 2021 2:48 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Investment Advice for my Mother in Senior Living Facility
Replies: 18
Views: 1712

Re: Investment Advice for my Mother in Senior Living Facility

Homestretch, Thank you! This is all very helpful. My mother just wants me to reinvest her money for her. From your post, I'm realizing that there is a lot more I need to do.I will do more research, so that I understand better what is involved. I'll have to travel down to Florida and meet with her in person to get most of this done. It will probably take some time... While you are talking with your mom about a durable power-of-attorney to help with her financial matters, ask if she has a written healthcare representative designation/advance directives (and a will if you are her executor) in place too. I helped my parents get these documents executed and within a couple years I began to need them in order to help them with financial and heal...
by kbjeffrey
Sun Sep 19, 2021 2:44 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Investment Advice for my Mother in Senior Living Facility
Replies: 18
Views: 1712

Re: Investment Advice for my Mother in Senior Living Facility

What is her health like? Planning this out will be very different if you think her life expectancy is closer to five years versus 15 or more years. Can you clarify whether her living arrangements are in independent living, assisted living, or a nursing home? Does she have full mobility or does she use a walker or scooter? It is pretty normal for a parent around this age to ask for help. Stan1, That is a difficult question to answer. My mom has a fairly unhealthy lifestyle that affects her health. However, she has also been like this my whole life and always just keeps going along. She is currently in independent living, but it may be that she will need to move to assisted living. She is supposed to use a walker, but she often doesn't use i...
by kbjeffrey
Sun Sep 19, 2021 2:07 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Investment Advice for my Mother in Senior Living Facility
Replies: 18
Views: 1712

Re: Investment Advice for my Mother in Senior Living Facility

lws wrote: Sun Sep 19, 2021 1:51 pm Are you her agent under a durable power of attorney?
Not yet, but I know now that I need to get to work on that.

Thank you!
by kbjeffrey
Sun Sep 19, 2021 2:06 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Investment Advice for my Mother in Senior Living Facility
Replies: 18
Views: 1712

Re: Investment Advice for my Mother in Senior Living Facility

Start by asking your mom what area(s) she is looking for help with. My mom was around the same age when she asked me for help first with investments (and extricating herself from an AUM advisor), then taxes, then bill pay, and finally insurance renewals, Medicare renewals, etc. Your mom should file a durable power of attorney or agent authorization with each financial institution so they recognize your legal authority to act on behalf of your mom. Assuming your mom first wants investment help, more information is needed for best advice. Post your mom’s financial summary using the “Asking Portfolio Questions” format found here: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Asking_portfolio_questions. You will learn a lot too about your mom’s finances by ...
by kbjeffrey
Sun Sep 19, 2021 1:32 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Investment Advice for my Mother in Senior Living Facility
Replies: 18
Views: 1712

Re: Investment Advice for my Mother in Senior Living Facility

I checked in with my Mother and was able to get some more details. She has something around $800k total. Some is in a CD that is coming due next week, some is in cash in the bank and some is in T-Bills. She says her annual expenses are $60k per year.

She was kind of tired, so I wasn't able to get anymore information right now.
by kbjeffrey
Sun Sep 19, 2021 1:02 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Investment Advice for my Mother in Senior Living Facility
Replies: 18
Views: 1712

Investment Advice for my Mother in Senior Living Facility

My Mother is 79 y.o. and in a Senior Living Facility. She's having trouble managing her own finances and has asked me to help. I would appreciate advice from people here with more experience and knowledge. My mom has a CD that is coming due this week and also a friend paid back a loan. All together the money at hand adds up to around $350,000. I believe she has some more money as cash in the bank too. She is relying on her money to pay her expenses. The CD wasn't earning much interest before and some advisors from Schwab have evidently made some questionable suggestions to her. What would be your recommendation for what to do with her money? The most important thing is to make sure her money lasts long enough to for her to be able to live c...
by kbjeffrey
Tue Sep 07, 2021 11:10 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Best deals on NYT All Access digital subscription
Replies: 14
Views: 3991

Re: Best deals on NYT All Access digital subscription

Whenever my digital NYT subscription comes up for renewal I ask to cancel. They have always offered me a deal. Yesterday the offer was for $4 for 4 weeks of All Access that last for a year: Enjoy unlimited articles on any device, plus the Crossword and more from NYT Games and thousands of recipes from NYT Cooking. Hopefully they'll include Wirecutter too... I'm addicted to the "Spelling Bee" and happily that is included.
by kbjeffrey
Mon Sep 06, 2021 8:19 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Gauging Risk to Personal Safety While Traveling [Chicago]
Replies: 105
Views: 12361

Re: Gauging Risk to Personal Safety While Traveling (Major American City)

I live in Chicago, just south of the Loop. There have been a bit more shootings and car jackings than usual, but during the day it is safe. During the day there are still tons of tourists around and many families enjoying everything there is to do. The EL and buses are safe during the day. My two daughters are in high school and take the bus and train to get to school. If I was traveling at night, I might not take public transportation. I do take both without any problems during the day. If my daughters want to visit a friend and they'll need to travel home at night, i do pick them up in my car.

With that all said, Chicago is a wonderful city and a great place to visit. I've lived a lot of places but Chicago is my favorite.
by kbjeffrey
Sun Aug 29, 2021 4:00 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Books that changed your life!!
Replies: 159
Views: 24700

Re: Books that changed your life!!

AnEngineer wrote: Sun Aug 29, 2021 3:22 pm
kbjeffrey wrote: Sun Aug 29, 2021 3:19 pmThe Dune Trilogy
You know there are six Dune novels by Frank Herbert, right?
Yeah, but the trilogy changed my life... The rest not as much.
by kbjeffrey
Sun Aug 29, 2021 3:19 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Books that changed your life!!
Replies: 159
Views: 24700

Re: Books that changed your life!!

Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid, by Douglas Hofstadter

The Fractal Geometry of Nature, by Benoit B Mandelbrot

"Polyhedron Models" and "Dual Models" by Magnus Wenninger

A several articles and books by Harold Scott MacDonald Coxeter. I even made a trip to the library at Cambridge (in UK) to see his original Ph.D. thesis and the physical models he built as a part of it.

All beautiful!

and also, The Dune Trilogy and the Foundation Trilogy (rereading them before the movie/tv show(?), come out.
by kbjeffrey
Wed Jun 30, 2021 9:03 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Checking Accounts for a Start-Up
Replies: 4
Views: 466

Re: Checking Accounts for a Start-Up

Congrats on starting up a small business! I founded a small business almost 20 years ago now. I've had a good experience with PNC, but I'm sure other banks are good too. I think some of the things that helped were that they make providing equal support to women business owners a priority. https://www.pnc.com/en/about-pnc/corpor ... pment.html and they also have a branch near my house, so the people at the branch know me and have been very helpful.
by kbjeffrey
Sat Apr 03, 2021 1:30 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Duolingo
Replies: 41
Views: 5010

Re: Duolingo

I find it very useful for learning basic vocabulary and grammar. I did the French course before I visited Paris and it did give me a the head start I needed to be able to learn enough French while I was there and talk with people at a basic level. I did the same thing. when I went to Italy. I did already speak Portuguese and Spanish though...
by kbjeffrey
Thu Mar 04, 2021 10:14 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: New HSA Vendor, Pls help me pick new investment fund
Replies: 4
Views: 580

Re: New HSA Vendor, Pls help me pick new investment fund

I agree the user interface and capabilities are limited. Benefit wallet was a bit better (also about the choice of funds). In any case, the tax benefits with the HSA are great. The target date fund is appealing too...
by kbjeffrey
Tue Mar 02, 2021 11:01 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: New HSA Vendor, Pls help me pick new investment fund
Replies: 4
Views: 580

New HSA Vendor, Pls help me pick new investment fund

The PEO my company is with just switched HSA's from Benefit Wallet to Connect Your Care. I currently have around $25,000 in my HSA account. I don't spend the funds from my HSA and consider it part of my retirement savings. I was thinking of investing the money in a stock fund, perhaps Schwab S&P 500 Index (SWPPX) expense ration: 0.02 Below are all the funds they offer that have low expense ratios. What do you advise? Schwab S&P 500 Index (SWPPX) 0.02 Schwab Small Cap Index (SWSSX). 0.04 Schwab Target 2020 Index (SWYLX) 0.13 Schwab Target 2030 Index (SWYEX) 0.13 Schwab Target 2040 Index (SWYGX) 0.13 Schwab Target 2050 Index (SWYMX) 0.13 Schwab Target 2060 Index (SWYNX) 0.13 Vanguard Equity-Income Adm (VEIRX) 0.18 Vanguard Extended Ma...
by kbjeffrey
Thu Feb 18, 2021 9:44 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Help: Small business (non-profit) credit card with no personal guarantee
Replies: 5
Views: 496

Re: Help: Small business (non-profit) credit card with no personal guarantee

We have the Brex Card for our small business. Their model is one where they dynamically check with your bank to see what your balances are in order to dynamically set your spending limit. We bank with PNC and their software worked well at first but then they started having trouble accessing our account and would decline all payments to vendors. When I would login to our account, they would display our 6 figure balance and then have a list of declined charges, often for less than $500. I tried working with them, but it took up too much of my time and they continued to decline charges.

Hopefully Brex will play well with your bank.
by kbjeffrey
Sat Feb 06, 2021 11:03 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Replies: 7203
Views: 1421901

Re: Favorite Credit Cards

I'll be an outlier here... I don't spend enough in general for the cash back cards to make a noticeable difference in my life. I really like my Sapphire Preferred card. Chase support has always been great, unlike Capital One. The points accumulate quickly and are useful for many purposes. I mostly use them for travel. I haven't paid for a rental car or hotel in a long time. Also their points can be used on a wide variety of purposes. Chase also offers a lot of nice benefits, trip interruption insurance, car insurance for rentals with points (or their card), extended warranties on purchases... The annual fee is quite reasonable too. I do like to fly Southwest, so every two years I apply for a new Southwest card in order to be able to get eno...
by kbjeffrey
Fri Jan 15, 2021 8:36 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: HBO Max Issues?
Replies: 31
Views: 3678

Re: HBO Max Issues?

I have had similar issues too and have had to download shows sometimes to avoid the annoyance.
by kbjeffrey
Wed Jan 06, 2021 7:15 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Emergency Cell Phone or Cheap Cell for Seniors?
Replies: 19
Views: 1380

Re: Emergency Cell Phone or Cheap Cell for Seniors?

I've had similar issues with my mother as she's gotten older. The biggest challenge is that she had trouble learning how to use the phone and then remembering how to use it. Unless she uses it regularly, she forgets how to use it and it doesn't help when an emergency comes up. It might be worth paying the extra to get a phone that will be easier to use and something she could be use on a regular basis.

I've bought cheap and disposable phones for my kids when they were younger and weren't all that easy to use. Fine for modern kids, but my mom would never be able to use one.
by kbjeffrey
Fri Dec 25, 2020 6:56 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What NON-frugal thing did you do today?
Replies: 161
Views: 13632

Re: What NON-frugal thing did you do today?

Bought a $1,000 treadmill. Winter is coming!
by kbjeffrey
Fri Dec 04, 2020 10:38 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 8% APY with Anchor-Too good to be true?
Replies: 25
Views: 8942

Re: 8% APY with Anchor-Too good to be true?

The 8% is only on the first $5,000 and so not as good as it might seem at first. I have an account and get more interest every month than I do at my other "high interest" account with $30,000. After researching Anchor, I was willing to take the risk. Some info here: https://www.investopedia.com/news/ibm-l ... red-banks/
by kbjeffrey
Tue Dec 01, 2020 9:29 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Identity Theft just happened to me
Replies: 31
Views: 5122

Re: Identity Theft just happened to me

Oddly, I've had a problem with reverse identity theft. A woman in New Zealand has the same name as me and thinks that she registered my gmail address. She regularly signs up for all sorts of accounts and I get the notifications and access to them. This has been going on for years.

Sometime back, one of the accounts she signed up for included her husband's email address. I contacted him and explained what was happening and he told me to leave him alone and stop bothering him. Recently she's signed up for accounts to trade cryptocurrency with my email address as well.

It is understandable why people don't want to have to learn about basic security, but it is essential.
by kbjeffrey
Sat Nov 21, 2020 7:08 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Any way to exclude FAANG company from S&P index fund?
Replies: 20
Views: 4395

Re: Any way to exclude FAANG company from S&P index fund?

By chance the Animal Spirits podcast recently had an episode about "Direct Indexing." It seems to do what you're asking and I got the impression that you'd have to work with advisor to get access to it. Probably not worth your while, but still interesting.
by kbjeffrey
Sat Nov 14, 2020 7:50 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Consequences of closing 25y/o checking account?
Replies: 15
Views: 2034

Re: Consequences of closing 25y/o checking account?

This is generally more relevant for women, but if your name has changed over the years then it is convenient to have been with the same bank. I'm not a fan of Citibank, but I'll keep the account because I can easily cash checks for all the past versions of my name. Other banks have required documentation to prove my identity.
by kbjeffrey
Tue Nov 10, 2020 8:40 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Tips or devices to improve posture
Replies: 19
Views: 1870

Re: Tips or devices to improve posture

My yoga teacher once said to me, "remember, ears over shoulders" and that has been really helpful. Most of what other people say or suggest has to do with how slouching looks to them. "Ears over shoulders" gives me something to focus on that has been more helpful.
by kbjeffrey
Mon Nov 02, 2020 8:54 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Credit Card for 700 and above
Replies: 21
Views: 2264

Re: Credit Card for 700 and above

You might want to check out "the points guy" website. They regularly publish reviews of what credit cards are best depending on your credit score and how you use your card.
by kbjeffrey
Wed Oct 28, 2020 1:18 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: For the self employed business owners on here....
Replies: 8
Views: 850

Re: For the self employed business owners on here....

1. How did you get your start? Is it a family business? I was an Asst. Professor at a Computer Science Department when the Palm Pilot Launched. I was very excited about the actualization of ubiquitous computing and started teaching classes on Palm OS program. My first sabbatical leave came up and Palm hired me as a consultant to teach developers from corporations. I started up a company doing custom Palm OS programming and never looked back. (not a family business, not doing Palm OS anymore...) 2. Do you offer a product or service? We offer services. Some are products (Software as a Service) and some is developing custom educational assessment systems that we then license to the client and support for them. 3. Did you start off part-time an...
by kbjeffrey
Tue Oct 27, 2020 7:44 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Amazon Prime Retention Rates
Replies: 69
Views: 8539

Re: Amazon Prime Retention Rates

I’ve cancelled several times and was never offered a retention rate. Yesterday they offered one month free if I would join again and I’m enjoying that while it lasts.
by kbjeffrey
Fri Oct 16, 2020 9:06 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Refinance Mega Thread
Replies: 12862
Views: 1277101

Re: Refinance Mega Thread

I refinanced yesterday (10/15) with a local mortgage broker in Chicago that was recommended by friends. I was 5 years into a 30 year mortgage at 3.5% and I refinanced to a 30 year mortgage at 2.75% with a $1,500 lender credit and the appraisal waived. The mortgage is for $347,800, my house is valued around $950,000. The mortgage has been sold to Wells Fargo. The process has been challenging, mostly because so many people are refinancing right now. My mortgage broker says that they are doing 10 times more refinances right now than in a typical year. It seems like it is effecting everyone in the pipeline. My home insurance info that was sent by Liberty Mutual to my mortgage broker was incorrect, but happily my broker caught it. The person doi...
by kbjeffrey
Tue Oct 13, 2020 8:13 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: New business owner - need help with experience Bogleheads!
Replies: 37
Views: 2917

Re: New business owner - need help with experience Bogleheads!

You might want to consider joining a PEO (Professional Employment Org), it won't provide accounting, but it has made running a small business much easier for me. A PEO administers the human resources functionality you choose. PEO's can be expensive, but there are more choices now. I head up a small software company and used to do admin for payroll service, 401k provider, HSA provide, Health Insurance... It was time consuming and I didn't have many choices. There are quite a few PEO solutions out there. I chose Justworks two years ago and it has been affordable and really helpful. They have a nice UI for configuring benefits and reporting on payroll etc... I've gotten access to better prices and resources than I was able to on my own. As iss...