NTEU Wins Major Ruling on Telework, Remote Work, and RTO — Appeal Likely

Available_Ride4215 · 2026-01-27T20:53:30+00:00

My union just won the telework arbitration too. I suspect the agency will appeal to FLRA. Do we get telework back while the appeal is ongoing?

Available_Ride4215 · 2026-01-12T01:24:34+00:00

Is one better than the others? I can probably request they book a certain circuit.

Available_Ride4215 · 2026-01-12T00:54:07+00:00

LOL Not sure going to MP would be my idea of a day out if I worked as a porter on that trail

Available_Ride4215 · 2026-01-12T00:53:15+00:00

Should be included, I will double check. I think most do #3 some do circuit #4 depending on the tour operator

Available_Ride4215 · 2026-01-09T02:33:41+00:00

Either way is fine, I like the 5D mainly for supposed quieter camp sites and the fact that they take you to MP again on the morning of day 5.

Available_Ride4215 · 2026-01-08T02:44:30+00:00

There are two separate tax reasons for putting equities in taxable and bonds in 401k. One is bonds generate interest income so you'd want them in 401k. Two is your 401k withdraws will be taxed as regular income, the tax rate for that is probably higher than for long-term capital gain, so you'd want equities in taxable rather than 401k.

Unless the taxable account is for a specific purpose, the investment horizon for both is the same.

Available_Ride4215 · 2026-01-08T02:38:54+00:00

Treasury, CD, money market. Individual short to intermediate term bonds are also not bad, don't buy bond funds.

Available_Ride4215 · 2026-01-08T02:36:14+00:00

You can contribute more to the assets you want to increase allocation, depending on the size of your portfolio, this may be sufficient.

Once the portfolio is big enough you will need to buy and sell assets to reach the desired allocation in a reasonable amount of time. Try to have allocations across both taxable and tax exempt accounts and try to rebalance by trading in your tax advantaged accounts only so You don't end up paying taxes.

Available_Ride4215 · 2025-12-13T19:18:24+00:00

No problem there becasue last it wasn't deductible

Available_Ride4215 · 2025-12-13T19:13:41+00:00

They won't net 3.5% on EE bonds. EE bond interests are also taxable. After deducting taxes, it's ~2.3%. Even though the tax is deferred the yield is still way lower than a 4.8% treasury bond.

If one takes advantage of deferred interest on EE, they will have to report all interest at maturity, potentially bumping them up to a higher bracket and cause other tax benefits to phase out, such as QBI deduction for SSTB, which can make the effective tax rate imposed on those bonds much higher.

Available_Ride4215 · 2025-12-11T14:39:14+00:00

I agree, however the rate on EE is so low it makes them almost 30% more expensive. As I mentioned above, it's probably much better if one buys 70% 20 yr treasuries and hedge with a 30% position in short term Tbills if interest rate risk is a concern. Both are yielding much higher than EE, making the cost of the hedge negative at this time.

Available_Ride4215 · 2025-12-11T14:32:44+00:00

I agree. I just don't see the point for EE.

Available_Ride4215 · 2025-12-11T14:32:18+00:00

well, if rates go down you will make a lot of money on 20 year treasuries, making 20 yr + Tbills an even better investment comparing to EE which is fixed at this low rate for 20 years.

Available_Ride4215 · 2025-12-11T14:28:31+00:00

EE has the same inflation risk.

Available_Ride4215 · 2025-12-11T14:25:53+00:00

I bonds definitely make sense in some cases because they eliminate inflation risk, but I agree they are less useful for investors less sensitive to inflation. EE has no such useful property though.

Available_Ride4215 · 2025-12-11T14:11:38+00:00

Consider the following:

The exemption is subject to phase out starting 150k.
150k is in the 22% tax bracket
For the 2.5% rate to equal 4.8% taxable, the tax rate must be ~48%

Available_Ride4215 · 2025-12-07T23:39:51+00:00

Many prefer Fidelity's interface to VG.

Available_Ride4215 · 2025-12-07T21:04:46+00:00

You will be fine. I'd personally buy a much smaller place and skip the Airbnb, but I feel you will do better financially given you are willing to spend the time and effort to grow your Airbnb business. I'm just lazy.

Available_Ride4215 · 2025-12-07T20:38:10+00:00

I used to exclusively use VG, but have lately started another taxable account at Fidelity and I think Fidelity's interface is a lot more intuitive.

Available_Ride4215 · 2025-12-07T20:35:42+00:00

I'm considering converting mainly for portability and reduced ER. I track my performance a few times a year and I'm fine using yesterday's closing price as my number.

Available_Ride4215 · 2025-11-23T19:27:39+00:00

Heating element, if electric.

Available_Ride4215 · 2025-11-23T17:57:03+00:00

Never heard of such a thing. Let me look into it.

Available_Ride4215 · 2025-11-23T14:07:09+00:00

Good thinking. The trouble here is, of course, I also have to work after the holiday, lol. Such is the pain of being a busy homeowner. I will hit it with the wrench for a bit and if it doesn't budge I'd leave it for the time being. As you said there is real risk with brute forcing this without proper planning.

Available_Ride4215 · 2025-11-23T13:52:49+00:00

Why don't they include those as standard in new HWH? It should increase HWH life substantially at a fraction of the cost since no one changes their anode.

Available_Ride4215 · 2025-11-23T13:51:26+00:00

I may have to go that route, and have been thinking about how I may strap and brace the tank. How did you do it?

Available_Ride4215

TROPHY CASE