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  1. MichaelL

    I think I torpedoed myself ...

    I got concerned when I read "Tax Torpedo" but after reading more it seems that this applies to people in the 10 - 12 % tax bracket who don't want to get pushed to 22%. I'm in the 24% so I'm already torpedoed for the duration.
  2. MichaelL

    Examples of current inflation - add yours!

    To follow up on this, I got the bill and they charged $1,890. The insurance paid $820 and I took $800 from my medical savings plan which emptied it. I'm not sure why they adjusted the bill. I did look it up and found that crowns can vary from $900 to $2,400 depending on the type of material and...
  3. MichaelL

    I've Called It Quits From Selling on Ebay

    There are a lot of scammers on Facebook Marketplace and no shows. I see items all day priced 1/10th of what they should be and the pictures are clearly not from my area, but I still get 10 times the action there than I do from Craigslist.
  4. MichaelL

    I've Called It Quits From Selling on Ebay

    I used to sell on eBay but also decided that it wasn't worth it. I used Craigslist for some things, but now I've found that Facebook Marketplace gets more action.
  5. MichaelL

    Dave Ramsey rips the 4% rule again today.

    The linked article makes sense. They did a more realistic calculation. DR's idea that you will make 12% or so from stocks over the term of a retirement isn't realistic. Downturns can go for 5 years and recovery can take another 5 years. While you can sell stock and spend the capital gains that...
  6. MichaelL

    Traveling with eBikes?

    I ride my e-Trike a lot and have learned a few things. I carry tools for common adjustments and to tighten anything that gets lose. I carry a small electric pump. I have batteries to recharge the lights. I put sealant in the tires. I had a lot of flats from thorns. I have tire changing tools...
  7. MichaelL

    Examples of current inflation - add yours!

    I just got quoted $1,300 for an exam and a pair of glasses and my co-pay is $595.
  8. MichaelL

    Examples of current inflation - add yours!

    I just got a quote for a crown on a molar, $2,450. The last time I had one, about 5 - 6 years ago it was $800. My insurance will only cover part of it.
  9. MichaelL

    The 6 Most Common Retirement Income Sources

    If the money isn't in a restricted retirement account like a 401k and the person isn't yet retired they could spend the money before retirement.
  10. MichaelL

    The 6 Most Common Retirement Income Sources

    That yahoo!finance survey indicates that 88% of people have no savings to just a little savings. Breaking out how much income is coming from personal savings indicates how much people have beyond tax defered accounts so it's interesting to know.
  11. MichaelL

    The 6 Most Common Retirement Income Sources

    The type of account holding the savings is relevant as an indicator of how much money people saved beyond the limited 401k deductions as people with high value non tax defered accounts earned much more than they spent.
  12. MichaelL

    The 6 Most Common Retirement Income Sources

    Something can be part of retirement income without being a retirement account. Most people don't have savings outside of retirement accounts. If I have a regular savings account or broker account it isn't a retirement account. It just an account.
  13. MichaelL

    At What Age Do You EXPECT Your Nest Egg $ To Peak?

    I don't expect my investments to peak in my life time. I expect to withdraw about 2.5% and I anticipate earning more than that. I'm not a penny pincher and I go out as much as I want. I just don't have that much that I want to spend money on. I don't have a mortgage or debt and I live in an...
  14. MichaelL

    Paying cash for your gas vs credit card...

    I typically fill up at about 1/2 empty or so and that's about 8-9 gallons. I'm not going to walk inside and stand in line for 80 cents and I don't drive around looking for cheaper gas. It just isn't worth the trouble. Remember when you go in to pay lock your car and hide your valuables as...
  15. MichaelL

    The 6 Most Common Retirement Income Sources

    I consider the term "personal retirement accounts" to mean tax deffered such as 401k, IRA, etc. I have personal savings and brokerage accounts that are not tax deffered and I accumulate dividends and interest from them.
  16. MichaelL

    ...and You Thought the Nigerian Prince Scam was Lame. Look at this Amazon Scam

    I've got that same email several times, and not just for Amazon, but for Venmo too.
  17. MichaelL

    ...and You Thought the Nigerian Prince Scam was Lame. Look at this Amazon Scam

    I've heard that theory but it doesn't make sense. Competent people would not fall for the scam even if it was properly written. These scams are fake on their face. They are relying on naive people who are frightened. The scammers are not native English speaking people. They are in Internet...
  18. MichaelL

    ...and You Thought the Nigerian Prince Scam was Lame. Look at this Amazon Scam

    I got a phone call the other day where the recording said that it was Amazon calling and someone was trying to buy an iPhone 11 using my accounts. Shortly a person came on and asked me for some personal information. I hung up and did a search and found that this is a common scam.
  19. MichaelL

    Collecting SS before FRA and still working question

    The answer is simple, no need to do the math. The second job sucks, SSA pays more, quit the second job and take SSA and relax.
  20. MichaelL

    JP Morgan fund not paying interest and dividends

    I am down about 14% since last December as far as the value of my shares. I expected that. Much of the 8% was due to an increase in NAV. This is an income fund with a large percentage in bonds. Some of the payouts were due to an increase in NAV but many were interest payments from the bonds...
  21. MichaelL

    JP Morgan fund not paying interest and dividends

    I have had this fund for about ten years and it has returned about 8% on average including interest, dividends and capital gains, until this year. It was my 401k from a job that I left in 2011. Given the recent increase in interest rates I ran a trend report on all of my investments to see if...
  22. MichaelL

    JP Morgan fund not paying interest and dividends

    At this point it doesn't matter. Their quarterly statements show that they didn't make any disbursements so far this year and that they are only making a .22 cent per share disbursement in December which represents 1.5%. It isn't worth keeping.
  23. MichaelL

    JP Morgan fund not paying interest and dividends

    I've been laddering CDs, agency bonds and treasuries with the money that was sitting in a savings account. I will probably do the same with this money in January.
  24. MichaelL

    JP Morgan fund not paying interest and dividends

    In past years the dividends were pretty good and so were the capital gains. This year my return will be about 1.55%. Previously the dividends were 3 - 4% and with capital gains the return was much higher. This is an income fund with no income. I'm not sure what is going on with these people but...
  25. MichaelL

    JP Morgan fund not paying interest and dividends

    I asked that question to the person who I talked to at JP Morgan. They didn't have an answer. I told him that he should be asking the fund manager what is going on and that I was really disappointed and would likely close my account.
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