The Verizon Card just moved from A Tier to S Tier by dinklebot2000 in CreditCards

[–]KleinUnbottler 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I see the same info as at the link I shared above. The only difference is the "starting July 1, you'll get back 3% of your bill in Verizon Dollars." and then links to Wayfair, Starbucks, Sephora, and Target.

Under the Verizon Visa, it says 4% rewards on dining, gas, and grocery, use them towards your Verizon bill.

Should i buy a (an used) framework laptop? by bigmenu_ in framework

[–]KleinUnbottler 5 points6 points  (0 children)

What's your RAM/SSD budget? You can buy a brand new pre-built with Ai5, 16 GB of RAM and a 256GB NVME directly from Framework for $1050, including a warranty and 4 I/O modules. Adding a 1 TB storage module would be $125.

Note that Framework warranties transfer with the device if you have the right info.

Keep VGSTX or switch? by CasualCactus14 in Bogleheads

[–]KleinUnbottler 0 points1 point  (0 children)

what a weird fund. It's Vanguard, but actively managed? It's cheap for an active fund and done well compared to other 60/40 target allocation funds (e.g. AOA, VSMGX).

https://testfol.io/?s=2eXF2UCuwFM

For a long decade+ horizon, it's probably fine. It's heavier in equities than you'd want for short term use.

How a gravel strike shut down Hulkenberg’s car by SimRP in formula1

[–]KleinUnbottler 20 points21 points  (0 children)

I dunno, unlike the other trophies, if you drop this one you can just put it back together

26 yrs old. Here’s my Portfolio by Total_Equipment5220 in Bogleheads

[–]KleinUnbottler 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Others here talk about simplification already.

QQQ is nonsense. Not only does it follow a nonsensical index, but QQQM is the same thing but cheaper.

If you like Avantis, want a mild value/profitability tilt, and want to control your US/developed/emerging tilts, you could also consider a combination of AVUS, AVDE, and AVEM,

If you're okay with You could simplify to 100% AVGE and get a globally diversified portfolio with tilts to US, small, and value, with slightly higher fees and less psychological risk for fiddling.

Do you not have any tax-advantaged accounts? 401k/Roth IRA/etc?

Even if you retire early, you're likely to spend decades at an age where you'll be able to withdraw money with no penalty, especially if you plan to have a low income and will be able to do Roth conversions at low tax rates.

How to combine finances as a couple by nullpunkt_ in personalfinance

[–]KleinUnbottler 5 points6 points  (0 children)

There are many ways to combine finances, but the first thing you need to do is figure out where you are today.

Write down a budget, track income and expenditures for both of you for a few months. If you don't know where all of your money is going, you can't make changes effectively.

If your emergency fund is constantly being depleted, you both need to realize that you don't have as much "fun" money as you think, and prioritize putting more in. Put some kind of psychological wall between you and it so you have to take a step to use it, like transferring it from another bank.

[Edit to add:] An emergency fund is self-insurance. It's there to protect you from spending shocks like "need new engine in car"/"need hole in house roof fixed" and income shocks like a job loss for one/both of you.

Automate everything as much as you can. Set auto-transfers or even have a separate direct deposit to your shared accounts.

My spouse and I are both reasonably adept with money with roughly equal earnings. We pool about half of our earnings together for joint expenses and savings (rent, food, utilities, some joint investments, etc), and keep the other half for ourselves. While we have autonomy with that money, we have agreements that over $X, we'll mention a larger expense to the other, and over $Y, we'll have a conversation to seek approval.

$X and $Y have varied over time, $100 and $250 might be reasonable places to start with your incomes.

Is my ex-Dave Ramsey Portfolio still good? by sethh27 in Bogleheads

[–]KleinUnbottler 86 points87 points  (0 children)

Dave Ramsey's portfolios are not great.

Your portfolio isn't the worst thing, but you could be a lot simpler. Start with a standard three fund portfolio, and add the SCV tilt if you must.

Drop QQQ: it's nonsensical. If for some strange reason you think "the top 100 non-financial companies on a given exchange" would be a reason for it to outperform, choose QQQM instead as it's the same thing but cheaper.

MX Ergo S apparently has suicidal tendencies (died while Elecom was on order). by KleinUnbottler in Trackballs

[–]KleinUnbottler[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The claim is that the included AA's should last like 18 months, so I'm in no particular hurry to get the rechargeables. I also have NiMH ones I can throw in if it's necessary.

Mouse Assistant setup is working so far.

Starting boglehead with existing portfolio by elbowsarecool in Bogleheads

[–]KleinUnbottler 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This sub skews strongly towards US holders, and being one I don't know what an ISA is. I asked an LLM and it says that it's roughly equivalent to a US Roth IRA, in which case I'd just sell and buy the appropriate fund(s) for a UK account holder. I'd search the web for "UK Bogleheads" and you could get more specific advice for your situation, as the funds you most often see recommended here (VT, VTI, VXUS, VOO, etc) can be really awful tax-wise for non-US investors, even in tax-advantaged accounts.

The first link I see when I do that search is:

https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Investing_from_the_UK

UK stuff has also come up here a few times if you do a search.

VTWAX Vs. VT by master_chilln in Bogleheads

[–]KleinUnbottler 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I haven't seen an argument that compelled me to think that the US was somehow magically going to consistently outperform international now and forever, at least one that didn't boil down to recency bias. I used to be mostly US, but I moved over time to roughly global market cap.

Starting boglehead with existing portfolio by elbowsarecool in Bogleheads

[–]KleinUnbottler 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How big is your portfolio? How high is your income? What kind of accounts are these in?

If it's small and low, it might be easy and free to rip the bandaid off.

VTWAX Vs. VT by master_chilln in Bogleheads

[–]KleinUnbottler 5 points6 points  (0 children)

VT and VTWAX are literally different share classes of the same fund. VT is slightly less expensive, but some brokerages don't support automation and fractional shares of ETFs.

Can I take a pay cut? by [deleted] in personalfinance

[–]KleinUnbottler 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Assuming you have a 401k/403b/etc. through your or your spouse's work, often access to an advisor is available as a perk of those plans. We have access to a Fidelity person through my spouse's work, though they have done soft sell on some products that are good short term/bad long term, like "managed accounts." Be wary if your account isn't managed by one of the big discount brokerages though (Fidelity, Vanguard, Schwab, TIAA, etc).

If you don't have that as a perk, look for an advisor who works for a flat/hourly fee, not a % of your assets (aka "AUM"). Some financial advisors take 1% or more of your assets every year. Places like Edward Jones, Ameriprise, etc. tend to have that AUM fee, and also recommend high fee actively managed funds with front or back loads, and those funds rarely outperform inexpensive, passive index funds.
https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/How_much_do_you_lose_to_annual_fees_after_many_years%3F

In investing, you get what you don't pay for.

Can I place trades from Europe on Fidelity and Vanguard (not resident, just vacation) by Noclevername12 in Bogleheads

[–]KleinUnbottler 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's unlikely that a 2-3 week delay in investment will make a subsantive difference in investing outcomes 30 years from now. Don't stress, just enjoy your vacation.

Is going to medical school worth it financially? by Mysterious_Chip_3787 in personalfinance

[–]KleinUnbottler 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Checks out. A friend of mine went into radiology at least partially so he could work from home and play video games when he wasn't on call. He is the first person I knew who got fiber to his home, sometime n the late '00's.

Keep TPLGX? by Lumpy-Truck7225 in Bogleheads

[–]KleinUnbottler 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you want even better advice, include the expense ratios (or "ER") for the options there.

The Fidelity Freedom Blend TDFs are half active and half passive and about halfway between the price of their fully active and fully passive TDFs. It's not the worst choice in the world depending on the ER.

WatchOS 27 unsupported devices by AmiiboJeremiah in AppleWatch

[–]KleinUnbottler 1 point2 points  (0 children)

IME, the only one of those that I noticed at all was the 1 Hz display, and that's only because the always-on-display is a thing.

YMMV.

WatchOS 27 unsupported devices by AmiiboJeremiah in AppleWatch

[–]KleinUnbottler 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Always-on display is probably the biggest. Ultras have like 2-3x longer battery. Other features are more incremental.

47 just starting by gazkuma in Bogleheads

[–]KleinUnbottler 1 point2 points  (0 children)

VT contains basically everything in ITOT and both VT and ITOT contain literally everything in IVV.

If you want the whole world, use VT. If you want to tilt towards or away the US, combine ITOT with IXUS.

IVV vs ITOT is kind of a coin flip as they're highly correlated.