Recent content by bdk

May I ask what model Mazda you have? I am on my 2nd one, and they have served me well. My first was a 1989 626 which I gave away at 211k miles (it was a stickshift and still had its original clutch!); I currently drive a 2002 Protege with 140k miles. I was going to change the timing belt last...

There was a good discussion on buying a new car, on the FatWallet site a couple of weeks ago: How to buy a new car, FWF style

Did you mean "wary"? Both words make sense in this context, but I think "wary" would be more appropriate here.

Ooma Hub vs. Ooma Telo I am just about ready to pull the trigger and drop my landline with AT&T and switch to Ooma. I have been spending the last few days reading up this thread, as well as various Ooma discussion boards. One thing I am still unsure about, is the advantages/disadvantages of an...

I also wonder how much it has changed from my days... One thing which I found rather astounding, from talking to a French high-school teacher who retired in the US: when grading a written paper (good old rédactions or dissertations), teachers are not to grade on poor grammar and spelling. So...

Bonjour NW-Bound. Like you, I am a product of the French education system. Did you go through the "Math Sup/Math Spé" prep classes? (For US readers who may not familiar be with the French system: in France, if one wants to get into an elite school ["grandes écoles", literally "great schools"]...

Is Master Card like a bank, where everybody is either a VP or assistant VP? (am asking, not questioning).

If you google the error message, you'll see pages and pages of results. I have skimmed some of them, and the cause can be anything from a bad driver to overheating to cards that were not seated right. This little piece of freeware is very useful to identify exactly what is installed on your...

This site has recent photos of Vietnam: Vietnam Photos | TrekEarth You can use the search box on the top right-hand ("Featured Destinations") to filter by city such as Hanoi, Saigon, etc. I left in 1980 and went back once, in 1997. I don't want to go back - I prefer to remember Saigon as it was...

Have you tried CCleaner? It usually does get rid of things fairly efficiently. If you go to Majorgeeks.com or Sourceforge.net and search for "uninstall", you'll probably find several freeware utilities for uninstalling products. In Majorgeeks.com, look at the ratings and comments, that'll give...

Hunger, welcome to this forum. It is, by far, the most professional and useful forum that I frequent. Re Ameriprise, please read this article, and draw your own conclusions as to the expertise and value-add of Ameriprise advisors: Ameriprise Free Financial Consultation Experience » My Money Blog

Axtec, welcome to this board. It is by far the most professional and helpful board that I've ever been on. And thank you for your reply. It prompted me to go back into TaxAct and scrutinize all the screens. I finally found the 529 deduction in the NC version, and it was semi-hidden on the same...

Question for those who use TaxAct (state) and have a 529 plan: does TaxAct correctly handle the 529 deduction, if one exists? The reason I am asking is because NC recently changed its tax law and allows you to deduct up to $5K from your income if you have a 529 plan. I use TaxAct and can't find...

You can do it, and it's very straightforward. If you buy one of the newer wireless routers, they usually include a "wizard" to walk you through all the steps. Basically you'll have one cable going from the DSL wall outlet into your router, and all your laptops can connect to the router over...

I am a new user of the download version of TaxAct, and I find that I can access most input screens with one or two clicks. So it sounds like the download version is a bit better than the online version in that regard. BTW, TaxAct just released their 1.0 version today. The previous one was v0.9...