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Hi, all. While I haven't been spending a lot of time posting on the boards lately, I thought I'd check in to share a change in my life that our FI/RE approach has made possible. I just resigned from a dream job. On paper, this is not a logical decision. The pay was good, the work schedule...

Hi, all. We're electric car shopping right now and have narrowed it down to two contenders: a used Kia Soul EV or a used Nissan Leaf -- 2016 models or newer. Right now, I'm leaning towards the Soul because we are tall and it is more comfortable to get into and out of -- and also has a bit more...

I am in need of "how to deal with all the paperwork" advice. What system do you use to: 1. Keep track of multiple financial accounts 2. Keep track of statements for these accounts 3. Keep track of tax returns 4. Keep track of expenses for real property (primary residence / rental properties)...

We had a medical crisis with our beloved (otherwise healthy if senior) lab over the weekend. Just her emergency care and diagnostic testing ran up a multi-thousand dollar bill. There's more to come, I'm sure, since it sounds like treatments exist for each of the potential diagnoses that are...

Hi, all. I went to place a market order on VXF tonight through our TD Ameritrade brokerage account and saw the following bid-ask spread: Bid: $73.30 Ask: $175.23 :crazy: Any ideas about why it's this level of crazy? I normally see bid-ask spreads of a couple of dollars, at most. Luckily, I...

Hi, all. Every year I choose 12 habits or skills I'd like to develop in that year, and work on them over the course of the year. In theory, I add one habit or skill a month. In reality, I develop four or five new habits / skills a year. I'm OK with this because hey, 4 or 5 new habits that I now...

Hi, all. Due to an interesting combination of part-time jobs (one at an educational institution and one at a local govermental agency), I have access to both a 403(b) and 457. Both have low-cost index funds from Vanguard in all of our asset allocation categories; both are reasonably equivalent...

Hi, all. Midlife is officially upon us and we are re-evaluating our aa. I'd love some outside opinions. DH and I are now both in our early 40s with about 20 years until retirement. We have a very high risk tolerance and have had no trouble staying the course over the past decade. We anticipate...

I'm heading to a cousin's wedding in Ft. Lauderdale in June. I'll be there for five days total and four of those days are available to use at my discretion. We are already planning a visit on one of those days to a historic plantation/gardens -- and I'm wondering if anyone has other...

Question for those of you who have (or have not) used Vanguard's Wellesley/Wellington funds. DH and I are planning to RE (late 50's, about 20 years away). Right now we are 95% in index funds, and 95% in stocks. (Aggressive portfolio, high risk tolerance). However, we are ready to move to more...

Happy Friday, everybody! After our recent move (and the ensuing filing chaos that erupted) it's become clear that our current flatbed scanner is much too slow for our financial organizational purposes. I'd like to put all of our financial records (currently in piles of paper) into digital format...

Hi, everyone. Oh, it's good to be back on the boards. I bowed out a couple of years ago because our financial plans changed due to family. In the intervening time, we've refinanced our condo and turned it into a rental and purchased a larger family home in the same neighborhood (wonder of...

Hi, everyone! A couple of years ago I plunged back into lurk mode on the boards here because our plans to buy a larger home and then work towards FI altered considerably due to challenges and needs in our extended family. Two years and a very helpful mortgage broker later, and we've been able...

Hi all. This post is in the "be careful what you wish for" category. DH and I have been aggressively paying off debt and saving for a down payment for a bigger house. It was really looking like we might be able to buy a place in our neighborhood this summer -- and I was excited. Then, my MIL...

I need some ideas regarding my MIL's house. She has come on hard times lately and cannot afford to keep making the payments on it. DH and his siblings have come into their inheritance from his dad (FIL and MIL divorced some time ago) and would like to pool their inheritances to pay off part of...

Last Monday I bought a new Nikon D90. This is my first DSLR and I had done some research prior to buying it. I want a camera that will allow me greater experimentation than my P&S and autofocus (which my Nikon EM film body does not have). I also wanted a camera that would allow me to push myself...

Since I've been 16 or so I've kicked around the idea of running a B&B someday. I have favorite memories of small inns and B&Bs I've stayed in, and am wondering what other people have particularly liked about their experiences in similar types of lodgings. So I'm asking for your stories, your...

Got a "change of terms" notice from Capital One today (we have the so-called "no hassle" card with them). Effective July 2, 2009 they are calling our current purchase/balance transfer rate (currently 13.9% APR) a "promotional rate." Effective April 10, 2010, they will be changing our...

What would you do? We have a 2 bdr condo, purchased 6.5 years ago. In May of 2008 we refinanced the condo from an ARM to a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and a HELOC. We've always thought that we would try to keep this place as a rental, and once the HELOC is paid off rent will cover all expenses...

Short version: DH and I were prescribed Levaquin to combat a recurring sinus infection. I hadn't heard about the drug before, so read the label. A potential side effect was tendonitis, tendon rupture, and other related tendon effects, though they were mostly confined to elderly people. OK...

As some of you may remember, we lost my FIL suddenly and unexpectedly a couple of months ago. He was retired in South America and died at his home there. Since that time, we've been working on getting his estate taken care of, a process that isn't terribly complicated but will take time...

We have family in another country to whom we're considering giving a substantial sum of money (over $10K). Our family are not US citizens and are not US residents and so do not have US taxpayer ID numbers. My thought at this time is to open an account at Citibank or HSBC and put one of the...

Yesterday I spent an hour or so talking (in two separate conversations) to a couple of mortgage brokers. We're thinking about moving into a larger house and want to know if we'll be able to keep this place as a rental and still buy a larger place. The difference between the brokers was...

This thread was suggested by Maurice on the Hot Dog thread. What's the best street food you've ever had? To define, "street food" must have been obtained from a vendor without a fixed address. So, carts of all varieties, trailers, taco trucks, festival booths, etc. all count. To begin: I...

I can't get my user CP to let me put my location below my avatar. When I go to "edit details" it has me type in my location... and then doesn't post it under my avatar. Any ideas for how to fix this? Thanks.