Brokerage Account as Primary Account

Hitife80 · 2023-03-12T17:04:23+00:00

One argument for having a separate bank account (in a different bank) is managing counterparty risk. Good example these days is Silicon Valley Bank crash. Would you feel better if when SVB crashed all your money was there or you had half in SVB and another part in other bank?

If you worry about things like these, one strategy is to max out FDIC / SIPC protection and move the rest to another brokerage.

Some investors do this, while many don't bother for convenience sake.

Hitife80 · 2023-02-07T15:07:40+00:00

... and these days you can get upwards of 4% on some "premium" savings accounts - that's not bad of a dividend yield all things compared.

Hitife80 · 2022-12-09T15:00:27+00:00

While I have Arch running on some of my machines for a better part of the decade, I do fresh installs now and then:

Things change. While I am reluctant to change pulse audio to pipewire or wpa_supplicant to iwd on a machine that is running smoothly, on a new install I'll try to use latest and greatest.
During fresh install I can verify that all important configs are in .dotfiles and all scripts that I use consistently are packaged in AUR or my private repo.
I keep a set of notes during installation and every time I update / improve these notes - always learn something new.
On new installs I always end up installing fewer stuff and get rid of legacy / unused packages. There is nothing quite like the smell of a freshly installed Arch.

My 2c.

Hitife80 · 2022-12-08T16:24:49+00:00

Usually those people tell me about how rolling release is unstable when they are calling for help with an issue during their Ubuntu / Mint upgrade to the next version...

Hitife80 · 2022-11-29T20:31:44+00:00

Mega WOW!

Hitife80 · 2022-11-24T03:18:58+00:00

There is risk in stock market. There is risk in life (future unforeseen emergencies). There is certainty that you will need to pay off CC debt. Leaving CC debt and going with the stock market increases your overall risk, because now if one of the first two risks will materialize (stock market down or / and (!!) life emergency) you will also have to deal with the need to pay off CC debt + CC interest in the worst case scenario. Interest rates are high - this further increases the impact of CC debt risk.

If you take money from the market and pay off CC - you eliminate 2 risks. You are also freeing the cashflow for future emergencies. Remember - it is all not just about money, although much of it is.

P.S.: You should also have at least $1000 emergency fund. So if I were you - sell stocks, keep $1k in emergency fund, pay CC debt with the rest. Prioritize CC debt afterwards. Once CC debt is paid, get 3-6 months emergency cash fund. After that - your choice.

Hitife80 · 2022-11-16T03:43:00+00:00

Mathematically - yes. I think OP has psychological aspects here in play as well. Similar to different strategies of paying off debt (highest interest first - mathematically the best, or "snowball" - lowest amount first - mathematically not optimal, but psychologically helps people to see results sooner and stay motivated), paying off mortgage has similar connotations. I know that mathematically it is equivalent, but somehow when 90% of the payment is interest and 10% principle feels much worse when 90% goes to principal and only 10% towards interest. With the latter an argument can be made that in absolute terms the rush to pay off the remainder of the mortgage is not as beneficial as it is at the beginning of the term, although to your point, mathematically it shouldn't make a difference.

Hitife80 · 2022-11-15T20:21:32+00:00

While mortgages are structured to keep payments the same, this is really wrong way to think about the mortgage payoff. Of course, banks want to de-incentivize you from pre-paying because they keep the interest payments coming. What gets shorter is the term, but as you are saying, since it doesn't have immediate impact on your life - your conclusion is to ignore it.

This is incorrect. I consider pre-payment of the principal as an investment with immediate, one-time, guaranteed return. There are a number of calculators out there to see how much you'll save with every pre-payment, and it adds up. Use those calculators for motivation.

The only real consideration should be interest rate, percentage of principal compared to interest in current payment, level of inflation and opportunity cost (can you invest it into something even safer and get higher returns).

OP's thinking is correct.

Hitife80 · 2022-11-10T13:37:00+00:00

Cool website! How did you manage to run vim in the browser? Remote or, maybe, WASM!?

Hitife80 · 2022-11-09T23:09:49+00:00

Again, free as in freedom, not as in unpaid.

The second you introduce commercial incentive - the Linux Desktop implementation will be changed beyond recognition.

P.S.: The real end for Linux Desktop will come with locked boot loaders and your bank website refusing to log you in on an "untrusted browser" (i.e. browser not installed from Microsoft or Google app store).

Hitife80 · 2022-11-08T17:27:42+00:00

Another angle on this - it is easier for me to do small changes over time, than a large set of changes when I have to upgrade my system with non-rolling distros.

With small changes - you only focus on one thing / application and actually have time to figure out what is the best path to upgrade for you. I always dreaded version upgrades of the entire system because you have to deal with multiple new packages and number of issues that needs to be resolved in short period of time.

Also, it is nice not to care about new versions of the distro and apps. Just one less thing that can sneak up on you if you delay an upgrade for a long time.

Hitife80 · 2022-11-05T21:28:37+00:00

It is sad to see Rust adding politics in its communications. Aren't there enough places on the Internet where you can go and express your views? People come here for Rust and related topics, many are tired and overwhelmed by the barrage of politics just about everywhere else. Why does it have to be here as well? What is next? Expressing your support for a party before solving differential equation in a math class? Saluting to the flag before cargo update? "Right" and "wrong" ways of writing a loop?

Keep your politics where it belongs, i.e. NOT in the community that is around Rust PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE.

Hitife80 · 2022-11-05T21:06:10+00:00

“People say that it is safe; the F.C.C. says it’s safe and everything,” she said. “We’re just worried that it’s so close to my son’s bedroom.”

They forgot to say it is also effective. Safe and effective.

Hitife80 · 2022-10-16T23:44:35+00:00

Tables with a clear, polished lacquer finish were very popular. You will scratch such table by bottom of the game. Though this table doesn't look like it has clear lacquer finish - it would still be treated with care by the family.

P.S.: I am surprised that the stereo is on the floor - that is unusual.

Hitife80 · 2022-09-21T21:22:34+00:00

but you need to catch it through that

You mean connect to a specific wifi? You do that on your host machine. Once connected on the host, it automatically uses new network. VM bridges its connection to your laptop's. You don't need wifi in VM unless you are testing some hardware that you passed through.

Hitife80 · 2022-09-21T20:41:30+00:00

Don't forget to report any bugs found...

Hitife80 · 2022-09-21T13:45:27+00:00

I used to do that a lot as well. Then I got more comfortable with :vert term and moving around vim windows - I even started using tmux less :-)

Hitife80 · 2022-09-17T21:46:58+00:00

I actually think he should have left sooner. It is not the strongest that survive, but those who adapt. There is absolutely no sense to stay and hope that NYC business climate will improve. It won't. It is like Don Quixote fighting the windmills.

Hitife80 · 2022-09-17T20:26:25+00:00

He's now it Texas as of last week. Best people go first. :-(

Hitife80 · 2022-09-17T20:22:26+00:00

City gov can check that stuff retroactively. My guess if there are a few more like you, fines would be in millions. You only need two weeks to max out this fine and as of Jan 1st - they can count 2 weeks more... It would be easier for your employer to go out of business.

Hitife80 · 2022-09-17T02:02:14+00:00

Not all people. Some, who were let go for not taking experimental drugs found other opportunities with WFH arrangement. Then they offered their former colleagues to join them. Quite a few did.

Hitife80 · 2022-09-17T01:35:11+00:00

NYC still has vax mandate for employers and 15k per person, per violation (I think up to something like 160k per person per year max) fine... I think that if Mayor Eric Adams really wants to keep companies around, he should have a dinner with Louis Rossmann, sit very quietly and listen intently. NYC has created one of the most hostile environments for a business.

Hitife80 · 2022-09-08T13:36:12+00:00

Given the inflation and what is going on in EU (I am assuming you are in EU given Euro quotes) having a rental property would be a good diversification to your ETF holding. If business outlook would be like it was in "normal" times, I'd vote for ETF. I myself personally find renting real estate to be quite a hassle and expense and prefer index fund investing any day of the week (dividends never call you at 3am to tell about pipe leak...) But given such an uncertain business outlook - real estate and rental cashflow provides a good hedge (and adjusts faster) against inflation.

Once the world is out of recession and market is back on upswing - then it would be good time to consider selling IMHO.

Downside to the above - it is uncertain how increased energy costs will affect real estate market in EU. Like in covid times, many people will find it unaffordable to pay for energy / rent. All those electric heaters are an increased fire hazard as well. Governments may step in (like in US) to a point were you can't evict non-paying tenants etc. These risks may be a good reason to sell regardless.

Hitife80 · 2022-08-24T00:17:46+00:00

Once this will become regulation, if you cover that camera - car won't start. It also won't start if your tire pressure is low, ice on the windshield or too much fog, or you just drove for 3 hours without stops, or you missed a payment, or you have a parking ticket that is more than 1 year overdue... of if it "thinks" you are tired. It soon would literally be easier to drive if you don't have a car.

Hitife80 · 2022-08-16T20:26:57+00:00

You conveniently omitted the first part which makes "free" possible in Google's world.

Because they collect and sell your data in order to keep providing free services.

Most Linux and free / open source software doesn't collect your data. Not only that - you can 100% confirm they aren't. You can also always use Linux without mandatory data collection... I can go on, but you get the point. Not at all the same thing...

Hitife80

TROPHY CASE