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I went the entire year without making quarterly tax payments to the CA Franchise Tax Board. I'm retired so I knew the total amount due wouldn't be much. Turbotax assessed my penalty at $40 so I included that in my payment. Today the FTB sent me a refund check for $40, which shows up as a...

Is anyone waiting for New Year’s to roll around so they can take advantage of the EV tax credit? I currently have a Tesla Model 3 but I’ve been wanting to swap it for the Model Y. I’m retired so I have zero income which means not much tax liability so I couldn’t really take advantage of the...

Is anyone here impacted by the recent protests and sub shutdowns on Reddit? I participate in one in particular that has decided to shut down indefinitely. It seems the mods feel the new fee structure will make their job too difficult if they want to use third party mod tools. Also curious if...

I haven’t been on a cruise in more than five years, so my last experience was pre-COVID. I’m fully vaccinated and boosted so not really worried about COVID, but wondering what may have changed since COVID came along on cruise ships. Has anyone taken a recent cruise that could share your...

I've tried e-filing twice through Turbotax and received two rejections. Last year we filed separately. He filed his tax return on paper. I'm required to enter both my and my spouses 2020 AGI for verification, which I did. I confirmed the amount matches the amount on last year's tax returns...

I was under the impression that from 67-70 my annual benefit goes up an even 8% each year but my latest statement shows these figures. Does this make sense? There is almost no increase from 67-68, a more modest increase from 68-69, then a huge jump from 69-70. This was pulled off of my...

I woke up at 4am this morning with a rapid heartbeat that felt really weird. it was not only beating hard but irregularly. I lied in bed for about 10 minutes to see if it would go away, but it wouldn’t. I put on my Apple Watch and ran an ECG and it immediately came up as AFIB. I’ve run the...

I’ve been eyeing those Segway electric scooters for over a year since they first showed up at the local Costco, and after thinking about it for the past year I placed an order for two Segway Max G30 scooters. I really wanted to buy them from Costco because of the great return policy but I...

I picked up two prescriptions at Costco today. In both cases the pharmacist told me it was cheaper to pay the Costco direct price than the copay on my insurance. This has happened to me several times now. Which leads me to wonder what the purpose of my prescription insurance is. Both of my...

I’ve never owned a pair of binoculars that cost more than $50. Now that we are spending a fair amount of time sailing, I would like to invest in a good all around pair. The more I research the more confused I get. There are literally hundreds of models out there, and each website claims a...

I’ve been an Amazon shopper for many years, so I’m not surprised when I see something that I bought on Amazon later on for a better price. But lately, I’m seeing the prices on things I need changing on an hourly basis. I buy a lot of Franklin X40 pickleballs from Amazon. Two days ago the...

I’ve made the final transition from older USB-A devices to an all USB-C environment. All of my portable devices now use USB-C for recharging. These devices include: MacBook Air Iphone 13 (USB C to lightning) IPad Pro DJI Mini 2 Drone The last holdout is my Apple Watch, but when the Series 7...

Has anyone watched the TV series “Dr. Pimple Popper”? It’s a show where people with serious body deformities go to visit Dr. Sandra Lee, a dermatologist and cosmetic surgeon. The show gives a profile on the individuals seeking treatment, and then they proceed to show Dr. Lee performing...

I received an email stating that “ Someone has tried to log into your account on Early Retirement & Financial Independence Community with an incorrect password at least 5 times. This person has been prevented from attempting to login to your account for the next 15 minutes.” I was not trying to...

Has anyone installed a smart door lock in their home? The door knob on the door that leads from our laundry room to the garage failed and I need to replace it. We currently have a Schlage digital lock that we installed years ago. It’s just a simple four digit password. It does not have WiFi...

Has anyone worked with a company called Jewelers Mutual (https://www.jewelersmutual.com/) to insure jewelry? MIL has a policy for her jewelry with them and her Rolex watch was recently stolen. She is insured for $5,000 with zero deductible. A local jeweler is offering to sell a used...

Movie theaters in California are open now, but with reduced capacity. You are required to wear a mask while watching the movie, although you are allowed to remove it while eating or drinking. I was never a big movie theater patron even before COVID, and I haven’t been to a theater in well over...

Does anyone have experience with being a member of a fractional sailboat program? We are looking at one that allows us to pay a flat monthly fee with a one year commitment to have scheduled access to a sailboat. The program guarantees 3.5 days per month, consisting of one weekend and several...

Apple announced their long anticipated Air Tags today. The technology has been available from other companies for years but I haven't paid much attention to it. But as we begin to think about traveling again, I think I like the idea of planting a tag in my luggage so that if it gets lost I...

I dined in a restaurant last week for the first time in a year. It was a really nice experience and something I’ve truly missed. Restaurants just started serving indoors again recently in California. Capacity is limited to 50% right now so the restaurants I’ve been to have not been crowded...

https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/09/business/bjs-wholesale-club-ceo-death/index.html Very sad to see a talented person leave us at such a young age.

I'm dealing with an ongoing issue where a former employer issued me a 1099 claiming they distributed funds from my 401K in 2020. It was an attempt to correct a plan error regarding an excess contribution. I believe the 1099 was in error. I have had some limited communication with the company...

I find myself needing to assemble a lot of things lately. Furniture, TV stands, etc. And I’ve been installing a bunch of dimmer switches to replace the standard light switches. So far I’ve been using a good old fashioned screwdriver to do everything, but my hand is getting tired from holding...

I’ve been wanting to upgrade our web cameras to provide better coverage outside of our home. I currently have the Arlo Pro battery powered cameras covering the front door and garage. They are convenient but I have to recharge the batteries every few weeks, and they only record when there is...

I know that trying to time the market in equities is generally thought of as being a bad strategy. But I’m wondering if this thinking also applies to real estate purchases. I have some friends in their 20’s who are trying to buy their first home together. They have been looking at homes in...