Search results

I have a relative who inherited stock in a closed corporation from her deceased spouse. She’s not too good with technical matters (including finance) and made some spectacular mistakes with her stock that resulted in couple of lawsuits from an aggrieved co-investor. The anxiety associated with...

A relative recently pointed out that the portion of mutual fund dividend income from U.S. obligations is exempt from state tax. I've never paid attention to this in the past (and probably left a few bucks on the table), but with the recent rise in interest rates this now matters. It's...

Question: How much annual income did you give up the first full year after you FIREd? ??? Background: • I gave up six figures of annual income back in 2007 when I transitioned from full-time W-2 employment (megacorp) to semi-retirement. The drop in annual income was shocking but the...

Here is my annual list of places for armchair storm watchers: • https://www.nhc.noaa.gov • https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/GOES/sector_band.php?sat=G16&sector=gm&band=GEOCOLOR&length=150 •...

Fed watchers: here's your chance to predict the direction of the next change in the Federal Funds Rate. Timing and magnitude are excluded. Some of us lived through the inflation battle of the late '70s / early '80s, and some of us didn't. Is 5 to 5.25% really enough? :popcorn:

I'm debating whether to opt-in to the IRS IP PIN program. My overall goal is to minimize contact with the IRS (highly empowered agency + under-resourced = a nasty combination ;D ). Acting proactively to greatly reduce the probability of someone successfully submitting a fraudulent tax return in...

For those of you with a New Year’s resolution to do a little estate planning, here is what my dad did right and wrong regarding his own estate (IMO): What he did right: • he hired a lawyer specializing in estate planning to draft his will & revocable trust, and kept the documents up-to-date •...

I’ve been living inside a BMI 19 body since 2004, and love it. What’s my strategy for maintaining my desired body weight (no yoyo-ing in my world!)? Some highlights: • I eat either one or one-and-a-half times a day. My one reliable meal - the major meal - is around 11 am. The optional snack...

This poll gauges the extent to which folks who visit ER.org need economic stimulating. The mods will probably edit or delete posts that pontificate upon whether "economic stimulus" is (in general) a good idea. :popcorn:

The official IRS notice has just been published for folks who don't fully trust the media. Here are key excerpts: You can read the complete notice for the details. :popcorn:

I was sick a couple of weeks ago (mild cold / fever). I needed some mindless distraction to help pass the time until I got better. Fortunately, I had already checked out season 1 of Two and a Half Men from the library - perfect! :) The real-life story of Charlie Sheen (Charlie Harper in the...

• the first time I received a summons for jury duty, I was living in far suburban Cook County in the Chicago area. I was impressed by the power of the state to force me to make the hour-long journey downtown, stay for the day, and make the hour-long journey back. I had never had such an...

OK, I’m being a tad facetious - we aren’t supposed to love cheating. However, I have to admit to a grudging admiration for the pretty young lady who showed up for a Computer Science exam at a major Midwestern university back in the ‘80s for which I was a proctor. She managed to score an 85...

The kitchen in my house is going to need a total redo at some point: new cabinets, countertops, sink, and appliances. The question is whether I should consider going further and converting from an L-shaped galley kitchen to an open kitchen (probably big bucks involved - removing walls, etc.)...

Yesterday I received a call on my landline which caller ID indicated was from my area code and exchange. Many phone scammers are now spoofing the area code and exchange in order to fool victims into thinking they are local callers. Unusually, there was also a name associated with this call...

Placeholder in case Tropical Storm Michael becomes a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico as predicted. Here is a convenient place to watch the action: GOES-East : Gulf of Mexico. :popcorn:

You are outside your residence when a kid (around 8 years old) from a neighborhood family you don't know walks up. She asks for money so that she can attend a local educational attraction. What do you do?

It's rare to read in the popular press about the plight of median-income self-employed folks under the ACA. Blue Cross of Idaho is one of the rare major insurers acknowledging our plight, and trying to do something about it, as the following article describes: Blue Cross of Idaho Non-Obamacare...

My second book is in the final stages of publication. There are a couple of open questions in this book for which I'd love to have an answer. I'm thinking about offering prize money (not a huge amount - maybe $1,000 per question - TBD) to the first person to provide a satisfactory answer. I...

Would ER.org be a more pleasant place to visit if non-moderator accounts were limited to (for example) three posts per 24-hour period? Limited resources tend to be more highly valued. Would the quality of posts go up as the quantity goes down? I'm not going to state an opinion on this topic...

Last week, I sold my 2004 Toyota Camry using a post on craigslist.com as my only marketing approach. The car sold after only 4 days online. This is the 3rd old Camry I've sold using craigslist (the others were a 1992 and a 1995). Craigslist has the reputation of being overrun with flakes and...

The first year I purchased home insurance, there was no inspection by the underwriter AFAIK. The second year, the inspector walked around the house but didn't go inside (the underwriter complained about the empty pool, an issue since resolved). This year, the inspector also poked around inside...

I just watched the movie The Intern (2015). It's about a retired 70-year-old guy (Robert De Niro) who finds retirement unfulfilling and thus returns to the workforce as an intern at a Brooklyn internet startup founded and run by a young woman (Anne Hathaway). Some comments: I liked De...

A house in my neighborhood hosted a party Thanksgiving evening. It had the following elements: • a large group of men singing loudly in a language I couldn't identify • the singing was accompanied by a piercingly loud, wailing musical instrument (perhaps a trumpet?) • the group became...

My mother inherited interest in a partnership from her second husband. A couple of years ago, she made a $230k mistake with respect to this partnership. She can afford it, but nevertheless feels badly about her mistake. I've been fortunate in my own financial affairs. The two major mistakes I...