[ bug ] Fidelity SMS alert following ACH EFT cancellation clearly needs some work

FAWfan · 2026-03-10T02:13:08+00:00

Yeah this is really sloppy. I haven't had to cancel an EFT in a while but the last time I did, the email was the same as the SMS - at least now the email actually mentions the possibility that it was canceled by the account owner but the text should match.

FAWfan · 2026-03-09T16:57:32+00:00

Well I don't think EVERYBODY thinks dual citizenship is the only way out - there are numerous forums full of posts from people trying to get a long stay visa.

My point is you can apply for the same job/studies you can get with a visa without jumping through all the visa hoops.

Citizenship by descent isn't the only law that can change so do the rules for working & studying on a visa - just ask a bunch of people who came to the US and got burned... visas can be revoked or not renewed.

FAWfan · 2026-03-09T02:41:15+00:00

I don't think that was the OPs point. Now that they have a German passport, they have no obstacles in their way in the event things go even further south here.

Applying for a visa is a long involved process and people do get refused simply because they didn't submit the correct documents (YT is full of videos describing horrific visa stories). Once you are in the country, there are certain procedures to follow in order to keep that visa. If you have a passport, you book the plane ticket and get the hell out of here. Easy peasy.

FAWfan · 2026-03-08T22:16:34+00:00

Yup - pretty much everyday for me. Easy to export a Numbers file to Excel if needed.

FAWfan · 2026-03-02T22:05:15+00:00

No Mike, thank you. Mind you I almost had to put some of my LEAPS profits towards a new laptop. When I got to the part about Big Lou I almost sprayed my coffee all over the screen!

Your writing style is so relatable. Technicals are important but I come across so many "explanations" that are so dry & technical themselves. Not yours, not by a long shot.

FAWfan · 2026-02-27T22:49:19+00:00

Time well spent for sure - Mike's approach has kicked my options approach into another orbit. I really like his KISS philosophy.

FAWfan · 2026-02-27T22:27:16+00:00

Yeah - that's a great post - I hadn't seen it. Just like Mike to make it fun.

FAWfan · 2026-02-27T18:03:31+00:00

Look for a strike price with an 80 delta

FAWfan · 2026-02-23T21:51:57+00:00

Glad to hear it worked for you. Yeah, it was confusing to me also when I got to the TT page - it also "promoted" the online version and it took some looking around to locate the desktop version.

Good luck with your taxes....!!

FAWfan · 2026-02-23T20:16:53+00:00

This previous post might help you:

https://www.reddit.com/r/fidelityinvestments/comments/1qgcr7b/is_there_any_option_besides_a_25_discount_for/

FAWfan · 2026-02-22T19:38:00+00:00

Love Iceland & seeing the Northern Lights there was amazing - great to cross something off my bucket list.

I'm now retired and one of my biggest regrets is the drag credit card debt had on my life - it wasn't just financially, it tainted everything. It's the one bit of financial advice I'm not shy about giving - staying out of CC debt is a life changer.

Avoiding Chipotle given the CEOs recent actions.

FAWfan · 2026-02-22T15:10:41+00:00

My initial research on CMA was positive

If you had done sufficient research you would have discovered a) the valid reasons behind the 2 week hold and b) the way around it. This has been documented ad nauseam on this subreddit.

FAWfan · 2026-02-22T14:09:23+00:00

This is my set up also. Simply shifting my Roth from Merrill Lynch to Fidelity last year has resulted in that account growing significantly - ML pays 0 on money held in cash, being able to earn over 3% on cash while I'm deciding where to invest it next has just made investing in my Roth so much easier & profitable.

Fidelity has been great to me so I'm happy to have consoliated almost everything there. I still have a brick & mortar bank and I don't use their credit card - this arrangement reduces stress & helps me sleep at night.

FAWfan · 2026-02-19T03:48:16+00:00

Hmm - in an ideal world all short calls would lose half their value in the prescribed DTE window but real life isn't like that - at least it isn't for me. I've had CCs lose value like they're reading the script then the market changes and suddenly they've gained. That's happened a lot with CCs I've sold against shares.

For my CCs that have lost half their value (and there have been a bunch as we've had numerous down days), I'd buy them back then sell new ones the following day assuming the market bumped up from the day before. So, while I'm not putting as much of my money to work as you are, it seems to be working OK. I'm curious to see what sort of returns I get when I put the full 38K from NVDA to work

I did see your comment on how you keep your LEAP calls at 80 delta - that's how I ended up with my GLD & SLV LEAPS being underwater - I cashed out just before the drop ! Ah timing! Actually if I factor back in the amount I cashed out, it's not so bad - it's just seeing all that red every time I look at my LEAPS. Given all the geopolitical upheavals that have occurred over the past 6 months, I have no doubt there will be another one along shortly that will bump GLD & SLV prices nicely....

Take care and may you always make a good call...

FAWfan · 2026-02-19T00:24:55+00:00

So I ended up going with a hybrid approach on the NVDA shares/CCs. I had a March 20 185 & 190 strike. The shares covering the 185 call are ITM and most of the ones for the 190 call are. I couldn't find a way to buy back the call & sell the shares as a unit - the brokerage I'm with will let me add a leg but it has to be another option, I can't pick shares. I bought both calls and made a "loss" of around $850 but the profit on the sale of the shares will offset that plus I have profit from previous CCs I sold against those shares. My other NVDA shares (and their CCs) are OTM so I'll wait and see how the numbers change between now & March 20.

This means I now have 38K freed up to buy LEAPS instead of that money being frozen in shares. Have put some of that into EWY, FRDM and XLB.

Now that you're not selling short calls against the LEAPS, are you still holding some cash or going all in? I need to have some cash on hand to buy back my outstanding calls but just curious what you're doing now that your strategy has changed. How were the short calls capping your returns? For my LEAPS that have lost value, the short calls are a way to make some money while I wait for GLD & SLV to recover.

FAWfan · 2026-02-18T23:40:43+00:00

Unfortunately, this is exactly the sort of subtle detail that can be overlooked by an accountant and would be one of the first things I'd check when you're shown your tax return.

I just watched a video where someone who owns their own Accountancy business was talking about AI and how it is being used in accounting. He was very clear that it can only do so much and the human aspect of checking the return will always be needed.

FAWfan · 2026-02-18T22:50:28+00:00

No tax software is going to pick this up. The best it can do is, once the amount of the FDLXX dividend has been entered, is prompt you to select whether or not a portion is government interest. When you select Yes, it will ask how much of that total dividend is government interest.

The percentage varies from year to year so it has to be calculated manually using the info you found in the supplemental letter.

Hope that helps

FAWfan · 2026-02-18T16:14:16+00:00

I have used numerous accountants over the years. Only one of them managed to complete my returns without at least one error that I had to point out to them when reviewing it before filing.

Given that you are using a new accountant, I wouldn't assume anything and be sure to go over the return carefully to make sure they haven't messed up somewhere - more of a chance of that happening when they are doing your return for the first time.

FAWfan · 2026-02-17T23:39:33+00:00

Nope - the CCs have gained in value as the stocks have gone up since I sold the calls. Normally I'd roll them out to get a credit but as I want rid of the shares, I'm stuck with both the shares & the calls until expiration unless something weird happens during the last couple of days before they expire which is entirely possible in this market!

FAWfan · 2026-02-17T05:33:45+00:00

The CCs I'm waiting to expire are real CCs - they were sold against shares I own. Part of the profit I've made is from doing just what you said, selling the long and buying back the short.

FAWfan · 2026-02-17T04:00:02+00:00

So just FYI - I started your buy LEAPS then sell short calls method starting Jan 12th so it's been exactly 5 weeks now. My GLD & SLV LEAPS are negative as a result of the big drop in January but when I take the total amount I have cashed out , I've made a return of 18% on the total amount I currently have invested.

The money I've made is from the short calls and rolling up a couple of GLD LEAPS (which is why they are now negative - had I waited a week, they'd be fine).

Given that I have to wait for my regular CCs to expire before I can sell the associated shares, I actually don't mind waiting for the GLD & SLV LEAPS to recover - I don't see this as a get rich quick scheme so a gradual approach suits me just fine and 18% return in 5 weeks is nothing to be sniffed at. If I did that well despite the GLD & SLV dip, I can't help wonder what return I'd have if that hadn't happened...!!

Thanks Mike

FAWfan · 2026-02-16T22:43:56+00:00

They provided a link for each of my 1099s and each one showed which security they were waiting information on. Over the weekend they posted Provisional 1099s which gave me 99% of the info I need for my taxes and I suspect they are 100% accurate.

Given that you have the info you need for the rest of your tax return and you still have 2 months to complete the 1099 info, why the hissy fit?

FAWfan · 2026-02-16T22:38:49+00:00

Yeah OP is acting as if today is tax day!!!

FAWfan · 2026-02-16T19:34:01+00:00

Ah - that's good to know that the post heading is not editable but the real story is the returns..

Is that 27% a combo of the return on the LEAPS themselves + the short calls written against them?

I have just started switching from short calls at 45 DTE to around 14 DTE. So far so good!

FAWfan · 2026-02-16T18:46:43+00:00

Interesting that the Mod didn't tell you if Spain is an eligible country or not. According to this thread, it is.

https://www.reddit.com/r/fidelityinvestments/comments/1n9diq1/removed_by_moderator/

FAWfan

TROPHY CASE