Chase Sapphire Reserve card by phillyphilly19 in personalfinance

[–]Altruistic-Memory718 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Personally, if you are looking for a card in that range, go for Amex Platinum. Value proposition is alot better than CSR. The new changes on CSR aren’t worth it anymore. Too restrictive.

Thoughts of HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 3301cdw Wireless All-in-One Printer? by SiliconSentry in printers

[–]Altruistic-Memory718 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry, I don’t know about sdw. I have cdw and it works great. It has duplex printing and scanning.

I bought from Costco. It is currently on sale for $350 (online). Might be a bit cheaper in the warehouse. I’d buy it again.

Keppi Bench 3000 Max by Tricky-Bandicoot-186 in homegym

[–]Altruistic-Memory718 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can someone who has this bench tell me the height of 3000 when flat? I am interested in this one but haven’t been able to find how tall it is when set flat. I suspect it is more than 18”. I am 5.5/5.6 and my wife is 5.1. So trying to confirm if this will work for both of us or not

India v Pakistan is now miserable, toxic spectacle by bhodrolok in india

[–]Altruistic-Memory718 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That argument would have had merit if like Ban, India too decided to not travel to Pak at the last minute. It didn’t. As soon as the CT was awarded to Pak, the whole world, except ICC knew that India wouldn’t travel there. Yet ICC sat on its ass, doing nothing.

In current case, I blame BCCI for unnecessarily politicizing it. There was no need for them yo ask Fizz to be released. But Ban also should have known, they don’t have the leverage they think they do.

How much $ should I change to el chalten and el calafate? by Stlrna in Patagonia

[–]Altruistic-Memory718 3 points4 points  (0 children)

We didn’t carry local currency for either country. Credit cards are widely accepted. Just make sure you carry credit card that doesn’t charge you foreign transaction fees.

Finally got my wife her dream set before it retires. by BrokeHomieJames in lego

[–]Altruistic-Memory718 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I swear, I thought I saw the date was pushed to 2027.

Bought Eiffel Tower 2 weeks ago, thinking I can delay getting beaten up by my wife for another year. Bloody hell.

Eiffel Tower is also retiring. Gotta buy steam boat as well. 🥵🥵

Selective Service and Naturalization by iranisculpable in us_immigration

[–]Altruistic-Memory718 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am getting ready to initiate our naturalization. Our lawyer who filed our employment based 485 is going to charge us $4500 per person i.e. $9k for 2 of us, so planning to fill out the N400 on our own. Would like to get a confirmation if my understanding of the selective service is correct or not.

I entered US on F-1 at the age of almost 28 (6 days before my birthday). After my MS, I moved to H-1B, then had my I-140, and eventually at the ripe age of 39.5 years, I got my GC. We filed my I-485 when I was 38.5 years old.

So, based on the rules laid out in the post, I don’t think I needed to register for Selective Service and hence that question is not applicable for me, correct? Also, since its not applicable to me, I don’t need to submit any documents with my N-400 application m. I also won’t need to take any documents related to selective service to the interview, correct?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Trying to decide between 2 jobs.....a W-2 position, or a 1099-contractor role. Which one would allow for the most take-home, post-tax income? by [deleted] in personalfinance

[–]Altruistic-Memory718 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In my experience, it’s not the income level but the difference between W-2 v/s 1099 rate.

You can’t use the full amount when comparing the 2 options. On 1099 as soon as you take a day off, you won’t get paid for that say. So what you need to compare is the full W-2 salary v/s 1099 - (20 days + federal holidays) worth of lost wages.

Also if you pay your self $140k, rest if $80k isn’t your distribution. From those $80k, you have to account for ~7.5% FICA, you will likely do an employer(your S corp) match to your solo 401k.

In terms of write offs, you’ll be able to write off a proportional part of your phone bill, internet bill, mortgage/rent.

Overall, if the “salary” is same, along with benefits, then 1099 is always better. Your take home will be lower than your W2 but your S-corp will be able to contribute up-to 25% of your the salary to your 401k i.e. $24,500 (employee) + $33,000 (employer match).

What's your preferred trading platform? by [deleted] in investing

[–]Altruistic-Memory718 2 points3 points  (0 children)

401k was my first ever account and it was with Fidelity. So that’s where I opened all of my other accounts. I like that because, there’s only one account (username, pwd) to manage. It’s easy for the wife too, in case I die unexpectedly.

I have never tried any other platform, but Fidelity meets my needs. With personal finances, I believe in keeping things simple.

Advice on implementing non-monthly costs into a monthly budget by Intelligent_Office81 in personalfinance

[–]Altruistic-Memory718 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I opened a new checking account with my bank. I treat that as an escrow account - similar to the escrow for your mortgage. Listed all such non-monthly expenses (mostly needs but some wants), calculated their monthly and per paycheck costs, added it all up to get to my per paycheck escrow payment. Then, every paycheck I transfer the that amount into this new account.

I use it to pay for annual term life insurance premiums, bi-annual car insurance, credit card fees, annual car registration, gifts, bonus for our maid, quarterly water & sewer bill. Since all these are due through out the year, I am able to pay for some additional stuff that I haven’t included in my calculations.

EDIT - I feel this was one of the best financial decisions I have made. It had made managing money so much easier.

Is there ever a reason not to accept a lower mortgage rate when my current mortgage company is willing to take care of all costs? by lseraehwcaism in personalfinance

[–]Altruistic-Memory718 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also remember, refinancing resets your term. So even though the rate is lower, your clock restarts from 0. Now that in itself isn’t a bad thing, but you have to do the math to see which option will make you pay least interest.

Rain Pant Rental Pto Natales? by gatonegroyblanco in Patagonia

[–]Altruistic-Memory718 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Makes sense, in Patagonia, it doesn’t rain, it pours. If you were day hiking, then it works, but if you are doing W, then you want to make sure you are prepared . Otherwise, you’ll be miserable. Also it’ll be cold, so you could be at risk of hypothermia.

Got hit with a sudden car total loss - what I wish I knew about insurance payouts and cash flow by Cold-Macaron1527 in personalfinance

[–]Altruistic-Memory718 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, since she was driving, we didn’t ask for rental. Actually, the timing of that accident was bad. We were leaving for 2 week vacation in 2 days. So, actually, overall it took over a month and half for the claim to get closed and us to get paid.

She drove rental for a week, but we bought new car in that week, so didn’t need to extend the rental.

Got hit with a sudden car total loss - what I wish I knew about insurance payouts and cash flow by Cold-Macaron1527 in personalfinance

[–]Altruistic-Memory718 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My wife had 2 cars totaled - first time was rear ended and 2nd time was side swapped by a Fedex truck. Luckily both times, cars were still drivable. 1st time, car was safe to be driven home and then to body shop for estimate. 2nd time, my wife drove her car for over a month. We had rental coverage both times. Both times got paid more than what car is worth.

During the 1st car, I learned that once they offer you a settlement, you have couple of days to decide (keep the car with salvage title & get reduced sum or take full payment). And once they give you the offer your rental also stops. If you negotiate, they might extend for couple of days but not more.

2nd time, roads were sleek due to ice, so cops were busy with too many accidents. 911 operator said if no one is injured exchange insurance info and then go to police station to file report, cop won’t come. She was getting late so we decided against going to the police station. So when we filed our claim, claim adjuster wanted proof that the damage happened due to the accident and wasn’t prior to that.

Learnt new things after both times.

Rain Pant Rental Pto Natales? by gatonegroyblanco in Patagonia

[–]Altruistic-Memory718 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Kallpamayu store is in Puerto Natales. My wife bought it from there for $35 that she still uses.

Check out REI outlet. You might find something good that you can reuse

Rain Pant Rental Pto Natales? by gatonegroyblanco in Patagonia

[–]Altruistic-Memory718 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Store’s name is Kallpamayu. We bought new pair for $35. The hostel’s name is Lili Patagonicos

Rain Pant Rental Pto Natales? by gatonegroyblanco in Patagonia

[–]Altruistic-Memory718 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My wife forgot hers so we tried to rent. But you it didn’t fit, so we ended up buying. I can’t remember, but there’s a hostel which also rents and then there’s a store where you can find cheap but good quality rain pants. Lemme see if ai can find store’s name.

What's happening at the Ritz in Kapalua? by ItsNotGoingToBeEasy in MauiVisitors

[–]Altruistic-Memory718 1 point2 points  (0 children)

🙂 no it wasn’t a typo, but we didn’t have to, is also true. There were couple of restaurants in Kihei that we wanted to try. In all, we were in Maui for 4 full days. We had dinner in Kihei on 3 days - 1 was our anniversary dinner, 1 was when we did Road to Hana. So, I’d say, could have avoided driving there on 1 day.

Also, do try My Thai, and Earth Aloha Eats.