Recent content by Animorph

We've used an Eight Sleep Pod for a couple of years now. In addition to the price, we had to have the hub (pump) and cooling topper (Pod) replaced under warranty for leaks. The warranty service was fine. They claim constant improvements and no more leaks. That said, it does perform a unique...

I don't worry much about signal-stealing thieves, but I do have a faraday pouch from Amazon that prevents my car from turning off and on as I walk around or while sleeping at night near the car. We stay in a room right over our car at one son's house. Nice for hotels if your room is close to the...

I did not enjoy Zion as much as #1 Bryce and #2 Arches. Gobblin Valley was very unusual and maybe #3 for me though we walked in a lot of mud. Catching Goosenecks State Park while in Mexican Hat would be a nice little side trip.

There's still plenty of time to schedule estimated taxes to cover a Roth conversion using taxable account money. That keeps all your eligible retirement account funds in a tax-advantaged retirement account. Not a bad time to do it now with the market still down.

I use ramipril 2.5mg just to nudge my blood pressure under 120/80. DW is on lisinopril with no obvious side effects.

If you need to reduce your international allocation to rebalance, it would be nice to have some in an IRA that can be sold without tax consequences. If it is all in taxable you may need to let your asset allocation vary a bit. International was great before I retired. It's a diversifier. You...

We bought a Bissell TurboClean DualPro Pet Carpet Cleaner a month ago. We have old carpets and a new dog. We were happy with the results for the two rooms we have cleaned so far. The water/shampoo flow is controlled by a trigger that you can pull as needed. Bissell starts with two passes with...

I use Channels extensively using a QNAP NAS server. You can also use a PC or RPi or other options. It will only be useful if you can receive OTA broadcasts (via an HDHomerun or similar compatible tuner) or subscribe to a "live TV" service like Sling TV that gives you access to "TV Everywhere". I...

I'm with naggz. We are introverts. We enjoy sitting on the balcony, out of the room but still our private space. Totally worth it for us. If the cost looks prohibitive you might be able to wait for a sale on balcony rooms.

We were supposed to be on an Iceland cruise right now. I tested positive for COVID, couldn't board the ship, and the entire cruise will be refunded (they say!). Although I bought trip insurance via World Nomads, the only cruise related travel was from Iceland back home. I payed for a refundable...

$130/day for one dog and two birds, live-in pet sitter all day and night, highly recommended by people in our breed rescue organization.

I created my own computer program, unsuitable for use by others (and becoming unsuitable for older me!). Optimization is a tricky thing to program and to run, and taxes (and future taxes) are not far behind. Which is why there aren't any great reasonably priced calculators available. However, I...

Don't worry about paying the taxes "early", or the dollar amount. Only the percent of each dollar withdraw taken in taxes counts. By converting gradually you minimize the tax brackets the withdrawals fall into. By converting too much you may leave potential low tax brackets unfilled late in...

Once the contributions are in, an HSA is like a Roth for us. I have saved receipts and eliminated any that were deducted already on our income taxes, a little twist I hadn't caught on to before I started. When our financial planning calls for Roth withdrawals (and it does eventually), we will...

I bet exiting out the back avoids bending the envelope.