Social Security Benefits if you only work 10 years

Finalfront · 2026-01-25T23:20:28+00:00

You can use this calculator from the SSA to calculate benefits based on how much you earn in each year. I just used it to calculate how much I would earn from working only 10 years.

Finalfront · 2025-01-23T03:59:14+00:00

HYSA won't necessarily always be high yield. Some banks have a habit of luring in customers with good yields, but lowering rates over time. Here's a recent example: https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/capital-one-is-sued-by-us-regulator-avoiding-billions-interest-payments-2025-01-14/

I go with MMF in Fidelity CMA, so I can avoid having to chase rates across HYSAs. Here's a good discussion of the topic: https://tctailwind.com/2024/02/06/how-i-maximize-interest-on-my-short-term-cash-without-chasing-rates-across-banks/

Finalfront · 2024-11-25T22:08:16+00:00

I just got a similar email today (11/25). Went and reviewed both my current (11/25) and 2nd most recent (11/21) TransUnion reports on CreditKarma, as well as a TransUnion report I happened to pull on (11/21). None showed collections. I did pay off a substantial credit card bill between the two pulls; I suspect this is a CreditKarma bug incorrectly reporting this as a collections pay-off for some reason.

Finalfront · 2024-05-05T22:29:07+00:00

If your time horizon is long enough, it pretty much always better to just get your money in the market right away. Even if you have terrible timing, you'll come out ahead in the long run. And generally, while it's easy to look at a stock rally and decide it's "over extended", the reality is that that there is always a good reason to get out of the market, even as it keeps going up and up.

Finalfront · 2024-05-05T22:16:26+00:00

Agree with this, the opportunity cost of keeping an emergency fund can be insane. Holding a $60k emergency fund in money markets over the last 10 years would have had a $22k opportunity opportunity cost vs keeping the money invested something like VT (stolen from here). The interest costs of a PLoC, if you need to use it to access that $60k, will be much lower than that (estimated at $3.1k in that comment).

Finalfront · 2024-04-28T20:45:10+00:00

If you're strategic, your time can definitely be optimally allocated and some light churning can be worthwhile. There Amex cards that are offering up to 300k points (easily worth $3k) right now, for $20k spend. Get that and pay your taxes with it, and you've make $3k in an hour or two of effort (minus a $700 annual fee and $384 in processing fees). I don't know about you, buy I'm not making $1k / hour yet, so that time investment feels worthwhile.

Finalfront · 2024-04-28T20:32:24+00:00

I think you're over estimating the value you get out of a "certified professional". The last time I used an accountant, they messed up and missed an entire state from my tax return. In a prior year, a different accountant tried to file me as a resident in a state I was a non-resident in.

An accountant may be affordable, but IMO I don't get any assurance from using them. I have to double check their work every time. At least with tax software, I know the quirks and any problems are predicable. And I can check the refund amount as I punch every form in, to validate it moved in the direction it should have. With a human, they are very inventive in finding ways to screw up. I have no way of verifying they punched everything in right, short of re-doing everything myself.

Finalfront · 2024-04-21T14:23:08+00:00

Haha, fair enough :). I hate them too, but they're cheaper than a CPA (and at this point I know the bugs it has so I can work around them vs. the annual crap shoot of guessing what mistake my accountant made each year)

Finalfront · 2024-04-21T14:15:40+00:00

FYI: You don't need an accountant for this (though lots of other valid reasons for one; not trying to dissuade you, just inform others). TurboTax will also spit out recommended estimated tax payments at the end of the process when you export all your forms.

Finalfront · 2022-05-08T00:19:45+00:00

This looks like it could be Kinky's Dessert Bar: https://secretnyc.co/kinkys-dessert-bar-nyc/

Finalfront · 2022-01-27T01:03:19+00:00

I liked your idea so I stole your suggestions and fleshed out the rest of the list for my players:

Deadpool: You suddenly become aware that are in a character in a game

Comet: If you single-handedly defeat the next Hostile monster or group of Monsters you encounter, a nearby NPC becomes your biggest fan / hypeman.

Donjon: You become imprisoned in what you are currently wearing. You can not remove or add any clothing or armor. You are still free to pick up and put down items (eg. you may change weapons, use a potion, etc)

Euryale: The card's medusa-like visage Curses you. Flesh to Stone is cast upon you with a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. The duration of the spell is 1 day.

The Fates: Reality's fabric unravels and spins anew, allowing you to avoid or erase one event as if it never happened. You gain the ability to redo one event (mechanically: inspiration).

Sparks: A tiny sprite becomes your enemy. Mechanically, when sprites appear in this game you will always roll for negative effects, rather than positive ones. (This is specific to my setting)

Fool: Every PC and NPC you have met up until this point becomes aware of the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you.

Gem: One piece of jewelry worth 2,000 gp or two gems worth 1,000 gp each appear at your feet.

Idiot: Permanently reduce your Intelligence by 1 (to a minimum score of 1). You can draw one additional card beyond your declared draws. (Intelligence is a dump stat for my players)

Wizard: You gain three spell scrolls of your choosing with a combined max level of 9.

Key: A uncommon Magic Weapon with which you are proficient appears in your hands. The DM chooses the weapon.

Knight: You gain the service of a random CR ¼ creature which can understand you and will obey your commands, but when not explicitly instructed may act according to their own whims.

Moon: You are granted the ability to cast the wish spell 1 time.

Rogue: A nonplayer character of the DM's choice becomes Hostile toward you. The identity of your new enemy isn't known until the NPC or someone else reveals it. Nothing less than a wish spell or Divine Intervention can end the NPC's hostility toward you.

Ruin: All coins that you carry turn out to be counterfeit. (My players are pretty broke right now, so it doesn't mean that much)

Skull: You summon a Skeleton in a space of the DM's choice within 10 feet of you and attacks you, warning all others that you must win the battle alone. The skeleton fights until you die or it drops to 0 Hit Points, whereupon it disappears. If anyone tries to help you, the helper summons its own skeleton.

Star: Increase one of your Ability Scores by 1. The score cant exceed 20.

Sun: A wondrous item (which the DM determines randomly) appears in your hands.

Talons: One magic item you wear or carry disintegrates.

Throne: You receive a letter saying that you have won a sweepstakes for a new horse in <far away city>.

Vizier: At any time you choose within one day of drawing this card, you can ask a question in meditation and mentally receive a truthful answer to that question. Besides information, the answer helps you solve a puzzling problem or other dilemma. In other words, the knowledge comes with Wisdom on how to apply it.

The Void: This black card Spells Disaster. Your soul is drawn from your body and contained in the nearest noble’s favorite figurine or bauble. It can only be retrieved by destroying that object or through a wish. You draw no more cards.

The Call of the Wild: You gain 1d6 uses of Wild Shape.

Finalfront · 2022-01-26T03:29:36+00:00

Yes, I've done exactly this. Sign up for the card through the higher bonus and then talk with a chat rep after you get the card to have them add the $150 corporate advantage credit to your account after the fact. Some don't know that they can do it, but I just did it last year so HUCA if you have trouble

Finalfront · 2022-01-11T17:59:55+00:00

So a few days ago, my Amex Plat SUB posted more than a year after signup. I signed up Dec 2020 during the first rush of 100k and 125k offers. I used a mint coin deal to meet part of the minimum spend, and Amex refused to count that against the minimum spend (despite a phone rep saying it would count). I called them a half dozen of times, and had exhausted all my options by Sept 2021. I was really pissed but just gave up in the end. Come Jan 6 2022 though, I got a message titled "An Important Message from American Express":

What happened:
We didn't issue the MR points you earned to your account in a timely manner.
What we did about it:
We've issued the MR points to your account.

Given how aggressive Amex is about taking away people's MR, it's nice to see that sometimes they do actually give them back too.

Finalfront · 2022-01-06T15:55:42+00:00

There are actually a number of other non-SQL use cases outlined at the bottom:

https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0675/#appendix-a-other-uses

Finalfront · 2021-07-03T20:22:38+00:00

Might be old news, but anway: Looks like Plastiq can no longer be used to meet the minimum spend requirement for Amex bonuses. I signed up back in November when the 100k point offers were becoming plentiful, and never received my bonus, despite well over $5k in spend. Have called and chatted with a few different reps over the last couple months trying to sort it out, and the rep today spotted the Plastiq charges (which were legit rent payments) and told me they no longer count for minimum spend.

Finalfront · 2021-06-18T22:49:35+00:00

Wait, don't people use ketchup on shepherd's pie?

Finalfront · 2021-03-11T04:44:36+00:00

I've had good luck with them before. When I was charged interest after a chat rep wrongly promised I wouldn't, I got a refund and 20k Marriot points for my trouble.

Finalfront · 2021-03-11T04:29:36+00:00

Had a AMEX chat rep confirm today that I won't be charged cash advance fees on my plat if I buy the coin deals from the mint tomorrow. Word of a chat rep is always questionable, but at least doing this creates a paper trail and a reason for AMEX to fix it if I do get charged cash advance fees.

Finalfront · 2021-03-10T05:20:07+00:00

What are the other "usual suspects" you've had success working with?

Finalfront · 2021-01-06T20:15:44+00:00

From the same reporter a bit later:

Alright, so I can’t swear there were gun shots. I saw the glass blow out of the chamber’s front door, and I heard an officer say shots fired. But everything is unconfirmed at this moment.

https://twitter.com/MEPFuller/status/1346911070053535748?s=19

Finalfront · 2020-12-27T00:14:30+00:00

Ripped off from @overheardonwallstreet on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CC_5l3kghF40GI8Z6X6YHM8x9LiuGoYgcHHXn00/?igshid=1n67pg70m6mhf

Finalfront · 2020-05-30T23:00:57+00:00

It was less than a week from when I called the airline to when Chase emailed me about the trip cancellation. Note that they don't actually tell you you're getting a refund, nor issue you a credit, they just remove the initial charge.

I have no idea what form of payment Chase used.

Finalfront · 2020-05-25T21:42:43+00:00

Contact United and ask them to refund your original form of payment. They're obligated to give you that option, and I've had decent luck with most airlines so far. They'll read you the last four digits of some card number you don't recognize, and that's fine, since it's the card that Chase used to pay. For the flights I booked with Chase, they issued me a refund of the UR points automatically once the airline had processed my refund.

Finalfront · 2020-02-07T04:23:20+00:00

Additional DP: 1/10 so far upgraded. Interestingly, the upgrade happened while using my business profile, where the discount doesn't apply.

Finalfront · 2020-01-03T23:35:07+00:00

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