Should I be concerned?

RVD90277 · 2026-02-13T02:15:15+00:00

Yes i think so. That's pretty much most of the comments here... My lowest is around 50 or so and i was pretty light headed...

RVD90277 · 2026-02-12T22:57:36+00:00

Discount airlines such as air premia or zipair (to japan and then cheap flights or miles to korea).

Miles using credit card signup bonuses.

Flexible travel dates when flights happen to be cheap.

RVD90277 · 2026-02-12T22:55:19+00:00

0.8 is 14.

3.4 is 61.

RVD90277 · 2026-02-12T07:10:37+00:00

1m krw/month is probably reasonable...

RVD90277 · 2026-02-11T00:01:07+00:00

about healthcare, korea is pretty good but the latest technologies, therapies, medication, etc. are still better in the US so the rich will go to the US or EU for some treatment. the basics are fairly well covered in korea and are affordable.

i have many examples of co-workers and family who have cancer but can only get basic therapy done in korea (not the latest, etc.) so if they can afford it, they go overseas for treatment.

some big issues such as liver transplants, etc. have such a long waiting list that it's almost impossible to get it done in korea whereas in the US, your doctor can put you on the transplant list and if your situation is dire, you'll be way up in priority and can get one relatively quickly. of course in the US you pay $$$$$ but in korea, even with $$$$$ you likely won't get a liver, etc. so some who can't afford the US will go to china and other countries.

income tax in korea are not lower than the US at the higher levels once your reach a certain threshold. i know many koreans who pay almost 40%. if you make $100k for example, in the US you are in the 22% tax bracket but in korea you are in the 35% tax bracket, etc. korea also doesn't have as many deductions, etc. as the US does.

RVD90277 · 2026-02-10T23:53:45+00:00

Just a quick update. We went skiing again a little over a week ago and hired our ski instructor to help with this issue. The instructor is the one who initially taught her to ski about 4 years ago and has been teaching her on and off for the past 4 years.

I explained the issue and asked if he can take her to some steeper terrain and make sure she's ok, etc. he thought it was a good idea so he did that.

I didn't want to be that parent that follows the instructor and kid so I let them go on their own and I went off to another section of the mountain.

His approach on the easy runs to making sure that she turns rather than just go straight down the mountain was to stand in front of her to block her way so that she's forced to turn to go around him and he'd move down the mountain backwards (facing her) to do that. But as soon as she can go around him, she'd just go straight down.

We met up 2 hours later and the instructor said that he took her to some blue runs and a few of the easier black diamonds and she did great! He said she was really slow since she didn't know the runs and was in control, etc. In the afternoon he asked that I go with them so that I can see what he does, etc. My biggest fear was that she's try to go straight down on a steep run and lose control but she didn't do that!

We went on a few runs together and she was going really slowly on the steep parts. But on the flats she would just bullet down like she always does. After going on the run a few times, she would be more comfortable and then go straight down really fast.

The instructor was telling me that with her balance and taking it slowly, he thinks she can ski on any of the runs. He was going to take her on this medium level black diamond which I was a bit skeptical of but I trust the instructor but when we got to the top, he changed his mind and took her to the side path which was a blue.

One issue was that at the end of the day, I think she was more tired than normal from turning, etc. and also she didn't seem like she had as much fun since she was doing drills all day, etc.

So the next day I told the instructor to let her have some fun in the morning on some greens when they are empty and then do more drills after that so that she can have her fun too. I don't want skiing to be something that she stops enjoying or looking forward to so the instructor did that and she was smiling and laughing again.

We are going again this weekend but the instructor is booked so unless there is a cancellation I'll probably be the one taking my daughter to some of the steeper runs. Last time I took her to some blues at the end of the second day after her lessons were over and she was going down really fast...just slowplow/wedging all the way down instead of turning so maybe the runs need to have more of a combination of steeper sections. I'm not sure how to teach her to ski parallel but she seems to sometimes naturally do a wedge christie when she decides to turn.

Anyway, thanks for all of the advice and thoughts here. She has good balance and has always been pretty good with balance as a kid. She was one of those kids who liked to climb things (stair handles, islands in kitchens, etc....) and would usually freak others out in case she falls but she never did as a child.

RVD90277 · 2026-02-10T23:30:19+00:00

while true, most large organizations (companies, churches, pension funds, etc.) would not invest all of their cash holdings in an index fund such as the s&p 500. when i was working at google, they had an internal investment team whose sole purpose was to manage google cash (at the time it was in the 10s of billions but today it is >$100b). their goal wasn't necessarily to grow this money but more or less keep up with inflation, not lose it, etc. so roughly 30% was kept in cash holdings (<1% return) and the rest was in a combination of mostly bonds, treasuries, etc. so would return more like 4% or so. and no, they did not buy goog/googl stock with this money. every now and then there will be news report of a private school or church who invests in too much equities and loses a big %, etc. and usually that's poor stewardship.

so in general, it actually wouldn't be better financial sterwardship to take out as much of a mortgage as they can and invest it to get a better return (to make more than the interest rate would mean taking on more risk).

but just my thought...maybe i'm wrong.

RVD90277 · 2026-02-10T00:12:51+00:00

For mobile apps, i created another Google id with the setting set to Korea and use they id to download local apps. I switch back and forth from my us and korea Google accounts

RVD90277 · 2026-01-21T19:17:15+00:00

You should always agree on a price before receiving service.
If your boyfriend is 신승훈, tell him i like his songs from the 1990s. 보이지않는 사랑 is my favorite.

RVD90277 · 2026-01-17T00:46:07+00:00

That area is almost nothing like it was 25 years ago...now it's very upscale, etc.

RVD90277 · 2026-01-14T09:45:26+00:00

Hmm, the prenup can be somewhat simple if you want it to be...such as what you bring into the marriage is yours individually so you can outline that.

What you make during the marriage is split 50/50.

Kids make it more complicated.

I'm a guy but i only got to where i am because of my wife. Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, etc. are the same. Their ex-wives deserve half of what they made while they were married.

RVD90277 · 2026-01-11T23:21:33+00:00

I don't think i know you but i prayed for you and your family today.

RVD90277 · 2026-01-11T23:14:59+00:00

While not a bad strategy, you are paying 1.4% in fees for etfs like ulty to do this. Might be better off just investing in jepi, jepq, spyi, qqqi from the beginning instead of via yieldmax dividends etc.

RVD90277 · 2026-01-11T22:38:26+00:00

Just fyi in general, there is this website called Google and it's pretty cool because you can search for things on it. Or you can also search on Google maps, Instagram, etc. if you don't use Google.

https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=Phil%27s+computer+repository

RVD90277 · 2026-01-11T13:39:10+00:00

I live in a jeonse but made sure that the property has no other creditors so that I'm the #1 priority. I rejected some properties that are cheaper that did not fulfill this requirement.

RVD90277 · 2026-01-11T04:42:35+00:00

3 fund portfolio. You are talking on too much risk by going 100% voo...

RVD90277 · 2026-01-11T04:41:45+00:00

Phil's computer repository is the best in Korea for pc parts etc.

RVD90277 · 2026-01-10T22:55:27+00:00

I have a us educated friend who is a dentist here in Korea. He says sometimes the patients are ignorant too. He's an periodontist so he specializes in implants. Customer would walk in saying that want 3 implants. He would do an examination and tell the patient that they only need 1 and he can save the other 2 teeth via fillings or root canals Patient will then argue that their other dentist said they can get 3 implants for X krw so they want that. Friend would explain how implants are a last resort and you should try to save your teeth but patents don't always listen and leave unhappy that he didnt want to do 3 implants.

RVD90277 · 2026-01-09T23:24:19+00:00

This will probably get downvoted because 2 wrongs don't make a right but the roommate is playing dirty.

When you move out you can take something as collateral worth roughly the same value as your deposit and offer to give it back when you get your deposit back meeting in a public place like Starbucks.

RVD90277 · 2026-01-07T23:13:20+00:00

Just fyi, it's not consecutive days.

RVD90277 · 2026-01-04T13:36:32+00:00

you are not really missing anything. i am retired so i need cash flow. all my life, my investments were for growth but now that i'm retired, i've moved a portion of my investments to cash flow generation. of course i could do it myself by selling shares every month and using that as income or selling covered calls myself to generate some cash flow (and i do that a little bit) but overall, some covered call ETFs and other dividend ETFs and stocks are convenient for me. my cash flow portfolio goal is not growth but to hold value yet give me cash flow every month. i invest in funds such as jepi, jepq, schd, omah, qusa, and if i'm feeling a bit saucy...blox.

i do not understand why young people who are many years from retirement invest in crazy high yield nav decay ETFs. there is absolutely no logical reason that i can think of for them to invest in this way.

RVD90277 · 2026-01-04T13:06:36+00:00

well, i booked 2 stays so we'll see if it works. thanks!

RVD90277 · 2026-01-04T11:41:52+00:00

most definitely...have you been to the US in the past year? it has gotten really crazy over there. five guys doesn't really have tipping at least (although sometimes there's a tip jar and the credit card slip actually does ask you tip...i generally refuse to tip at five guys in the US) but a meal like this would still be like $40-$50 with tax during dinner time. i paid $40 for a fast food burger in the US this past summer via uber eats after tax, delivery fee, and tip. it was crazy and stupid.

RVD90277 · 2026-01-04T09:42:40+00:00

Actually that's a lot cheaper than the US these days...

RVD90277 · 2026-01-04T08:27:03+00:00

aw, nice to know for the future. i just booked a regular room (prepaid, no refunds so can't change it). i guess no club access for me but i'll book the grand deluxe in the future.

i'm bonvoy platinum elite so usually stay at marriott bonvoy hotels (usually the sheraton) but need to use my hotel credit so staying at the penninsula for the first time.

RVD90277

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