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    Eight Sleep - Great Idea, Too Expensive…

    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...
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    Should I be putting my car's keyless fob in a Faraday cage?

    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...
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    Utah's "Mighty Five" National Parks in May

    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.
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    Non RMD IRA withdrawal to rollover Roth

    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.
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    What do you take for high blood pressure?

    I use ramipril 2.5mg just to nudge my blood pressure under 120/80. DW is on lisinopril with no obvious side effects.
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    International stock in taxable or IRA?

    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...
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    Carpet Cleaning Machine

    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...
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    Update on Cord Cutting (Cable TV) - 2021 version

    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...
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    First cruise question

    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.
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    trip cancellation/delay insurance??

    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...
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    How much do you pay your pet sitter?

    $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.
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    Traditional 401K Roth Conversions - How to determine the Benefits?

    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...
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    Traditional 401K Roth Conversions - How to determine the Benefits?

    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...
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    HSA Security

    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...
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    Brother Multi-Function Printers

    I bet exiting out the back avoids bending the envelope.
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    Withdrawals from IRA

    I take tIRA withdrawals each year in a way that maximizes my yearly spending over the rest of my (estimated) life. Mostly it's making withdrawals at the lowest tax rates available, This is where future tax rates, income limits for tax breaks, QCD's, and all the rest of the stuff needs to be...
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    Beginning Roth Conversions/Mechanics

    I have our tIRA's and Roths at the same brokerage. There, a Roth conversion is as simple as specifying which shares I want transferred to the Roth account. Just one simple transfer transaction. No selling and buying required. Very seamless. A little difficult to hit an exact dollar number since...
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    For those who are waiting to get back into the market...

    Monday I shifted from 75% stocks/ 25% bonds to 80%/20% since the market was down over 20%. I'll shift another 5 percentage points at 25%, 30%, 35%, and 40% down if that becomes a possibility. I'll return to my normal 75/25 after a full recovery. I've done something similar with individual...
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    Roth Conversion From Taxable Account

    Not anything to do, exactly, with compounding. It's the extra value of having $300k in the Roth instead of $300k in the tIRA. $36k of that Roth amount is what was added by using the taxable account to pay the conversion taxes. The longer that $36k is in the Roth account, the more taxes you save...
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    Artificial Turf?

    We got our first quote Saturday for our backyard grass, about $7-$8/sqft. They can use a specific underlayment for dog pee for about $0.40/sqft. They said it really only lasts about 2 years for controlling smell, depending on how much pee you have to neutralize. After that you spray it with...
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    Roth Conversion From Taxable Account

    With a large taxable account and a smaller tIRA account I'm pretty sure Roth conversions would be worthwhile if your tax rates are currently low enough. $300k withdrawn from a traditional IRA at a 12% tax rate is $36k in taxes. Pay those taxes from the taxable account and it's like a $36k Roth...
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    Did I make a mistake with a managed Vanguard portfolio?

    Everything looks OK to me. Start managing it yourself when you get tired of paying for it. At 0.3% there's no big rush, but you'll probably see that they aren't doing much after the initial setup.
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    Poll:How many here have a defined benefit pension?

    DW had a pension but we took a decent lump sum and rolled it into her tIRA. So I went with no pension.
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    Roth Conversion or Not

    I have two reasons for my Roth conversions: 1) Withdrawing from the tIRA at the lowest possible tax rates. You will be better off by taking advantage of your lowest marginal tax rates. This benefit is independent of the timing of your withdrawals/conversions, so don't be afraid of paying taxes...
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    Picking a maximum tax bracket for Roths.

    My DW is five years younger than me. I converted all of my tIRA first and we're working on hers now. Converting all of my tIRA delayed RMD's for five years, which helped reduce future taxes and gave us a little more income flexibility. We'll still have some RMD's throughout retirement, but they...
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