Recent content by BrianB

We paid $203 (full year) in 9/2023 for a $2M umbrella with State Farm in a suburb of Minneapolis. We are renters, not owners. We have two vehicles (one is our home-built campervan with stated value 2x the book value) but no 4-wheelers, snowmobiles, or other risk factors. Daughter is on her own...

For 2023, our rate was 7.9% Federal 1.3% State 9.2% Total. 2023 was our last year using the ACA. For the next 7 years we'll be paying more as we crank up Roth conversions ahead of RMD's. Our plan is to convert as much as possible each year while keeping our Total tax rate under 15%...

For the two of us: $600 / month for groceries & cleaning supplies & paper supplies from the supermarket / Costco. (My wife is a great cook, so it is a rare occasion we don't make our own meals.) $90 / month wine beer and spirits. (We do like a nice glass of wine with dinner!) $60 / month...

My bicycle speedometer has a clock built-in that I never change. Here in MN the bike doesn't get used in the non-DST months so it's never a problem for me! BrianB

Goathead burrs! We never heard of these until this winter in Arizona. Four flats on our bicycles - a complete set - after less than 25 miles of riding. We got replacement tubes with Slime and I've already seen little dots of green goo coming through the outer tire, but it seems to be working as...

I understand the strategy of buying a lower coupon rate CD from the secondary market at below par. It's much less likely to be called if rates start to drop, while still giving a greater total return. If I do this then is the difference between my purchase price and redemption value considered...

teej1985 said: "When i searched I saw a $20 discount only - I am not PCG, that's for people with $500k+, right?" I found this Fidelity response to a customer on Reddit: I don't know if PCG is necessary - or - sufficient to get the better offer. In prior years some posters have said they did...

I went ahead and did the download, even though we're in a campground with really poor WiFi right now. If you get the offer the precedure is simple: - Click on the link to go to the Intuit site. - Choose the on-line version or the download version. The download is discounted to $5.00 if you...

I logged into Fidelity today and found this: "Fidelity is pleased to offer you a free federal and state tax return using TurboTax Online Premium, or for $5 use TurboTax Premier desktop download. Select the link below to access your offer." The offer didn't show up on the home page, but a...

Wells Fargo just dropped a (very large) boatload of CD's into the market. 1 to 5 year terms, non-callable, monthly pay with 20000+ quantities of each. Yields are .05% (5 bp) higher than comparable non-callables listed on Fidelity. Does this mean that they are desperate for money to loan out...

Even worse, the entire web site can be taken over by scammers. Here's what happened to me a few months ago: I was looking for an obscure part (wheel hanger bolts) for our van and found one auto supply company that carried them in stock. I ordered on line, but immediately things got sketchy...

The National World War II Museum is great. It's right in the city and easy walking or streetcar access. We spent about 4 hrs going through it. Lots of displays and history about the European, Asian, and African campaigns. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/ We also enjoyed the Mardi Gras World...

We own a few shares of WFC-L. I'm considering adding some more, and maybe some BAC-L. Just one thing bothers me: WFC-L and BAC-L are non-cumulative. If the big guys at Corporate HQ just decide to stop paying the dividends, there isn't any recourse. Is this a concern for any of you looking to...

This is from the Ring Terms of Service as published on their web site: Your images could end up in their advertising, or be given to anyone or any company that they want to - including law enforcement with no need for a warrant. I wouldn't have one. BrianB

Again today there is one offering at Fidelity for a 3 yr / 5.0% / non-callable CD. It's from Discover Bank (same as the one yesterday - I just couldn't remember the bank name). Quantity 3105 available as of now. We'll see how long they last. BrianB