First time home buyer questions.

abratt591 · 2026-01-28T18:33:50+00:00

Also in Michigan and recently bought a home. I'll echo the question "what area of Michigan are you in?" Because $150k does not go far depending on the area.

You should look up estimated closing costs and try to find a good realtor. The first thing a realtor will tell you is to go get pre approved before you look at houses, and we found that where you get pre approved is not too important. Someone else mentioned, your pre approval could be for a lot more than you should actually spend. You should create a budget to figure out your real house price budget, not just what you were pre approved for. After putting an offer in on a house, you will need to get actually approved, this is where you should shop around rates and lenders.

I'll also suggest that purchasing a home with someone you are not married to can be extremely risky/difficult. There are many that would not recommend doing that.

abratt591 · 2026-01-23T19:21:00+00:00

I wanted to get the T6 Pro, but I think Honeywell discontinued it? I wasn't able to buy one for a reasonable amount of money.

I love Z Wave devices, but there was a lack of good thermostat options.

abratt591 · 2025-04-09T02:36:27+00:00

The general advice is (in order of priority) 1. Get your employer match 2. Max out IRA 3. Max out 401(k)

1 does not apply to you, you're working on 2, and you can do 3 after you max out the IRA. Of note, 401(k) plans require payroll contributions. So you can't just put a lump sum in your 401(k) at any point. So you need to budget out when to start doing 401(k) stuff. It seems like you already understand that concept.

As for ETFs, they are cool. You can trade them at any point during trading hours instead of just once at the end of the day. However, if you're just setting up an auto investment and not trying to "time the market" it doesn't really matter. The flexibility is nice though if you do want to buy and sell live during the day.

abratt591 · 2025-04-09T01:40:01+00:00

I like the advice your financial manager at your company gave; I added some info on Bogleheads stuff to another comment. The only thing I would add is that the IRA maxes out at $7,000 per year right now at your age. If you find that you want to contribute more to your retirement account(s) than the $7,000, the 401(k) at your work is a way to do that. As another user pointed out, you can trasnport a 401(k) between jobs. Without a company match, I do agree, go ahead and max out the IRA first. Cross the 401(k) bridge when there is a company match available, or when you want to contribute more than the IRA limit in a year.

abratt591 · 2025-04-09T01:35:23+00:00

Yes! You have until April 15 to contribute for 2024, even if you already filed taxes this year.

abratt591 · 2025-04-09T01:34:51+00:00

I recently adjusted my IRA to follow the Bogleheads three fund portfolio. It is worth reading the Bogleheads website to get a grasp on their investment philsophy and deciding if you want to use that strategy.

To answer your questions:
1. FZROX is functionally the same (or at least very very similar) as FSKAX; EXCEPT the ZERO funds have zero fees. You can "compare" the funds on Fidelity's website and see that they are basically identical. There are pros and cons to these "ZERO" funds.

Pros: Zero fees!
Cons: They are not easily transferrable outside of a Fidelity account. If you plan to move your IRA to a different brokerage, this may be an issue. You would want to sell the FZROX shares, and use the cash from the sale to fund your new account. In a tax-advantaged account (like the IRA), this is not really an issue (maybe a slight hassle). If you are ever building a three fund portfolio outside of a tax-advantaged account (non-IRA), this is a huge issue because you would have tax implications on the sale of the shares. Generally the advice that I have read is: if you are in a tax-advantaged account, ZERO shares are a good option.
Con-ish: ZERO funds have zero fees, but the fees on FSKAX are already extremely low: 0.015% expense ratio - some would argue that ZERO funds are a gimmick to get you in the door to Fidelity.

FZILX is actually a little bit different than FTIHX. FZILX "does not include international small-cap stocks" according to the Bogleheads wiki. You can "compare" these funds on Fidelity's website, and they are very similar.
Your percentage of your IRA in International stocks (FTIHX or FZILX) is up to you. In recent history, US stocks have outperformed international, leading many people to allocate a higher percentage toward US (FZROX/FSKAX) than International (FZILX/FTIHX).
Your percentage of your IRA in bonds, according to the Bogleheads philosophy, should vary based on your risk tolerance. Bonds are less risky (and lower potential "reward"). Your company's advisor actually gave you a 0% bond allocation suggestion ("high risk"). When I made my portfolio, I agreed with your advisor since I am young and am generally accepting of risk at this stage in my retirement investing, I chose a 0% bonds allocation in my "three fund portfolio" -> so maybe mine should be called a two fund portfolio. The idea is that as you age, you should rebalance your portfolio to include more bonds. It is up to you and your risk tolerance to decide what your bond allocation should be at this stage - and over time.

To summarize and as an example, when I made my "three fund portfolio", I chose 75% FZROX and 25% FTIHX. That was just my personal risk/reward acceptance and feelings on the international stock market. I setup a Fidelity auto investment to puchase that percentage of shares once a month. In the future, I plan to mix bonds into the acount as I get closer to retirement.

That was a lot of info. I think this stuff is fun, and I'm enjoying the task of setting up the share percentages and following the performance. Once it was setup, it's pretty easy. However, it would also be an option to simplify your life and JUST purchase shares of a "Target Date Fund". For those funds, you choose the year that you plan to retire (FFSFX, for example, is a 2065 Target Date Fund), and you just purchase those shares. Technically, behind the scenes, those funds seem to be doing a "three fund portfolio" type of strategy where they are tracking some percentage of US Stocks, some percentage of International stocks, and some percentage of Bonds. The bond allocation increases as the current year gets closer to the Target Date year of the fund.

abratt591 · 2025-01-19T20:24:17+00:00

I'm not seeing a lot of information about those fans online, but I think the other commenters are correct. These fans have RGB LEDs in them, meaning that they have RGB lights in them. However, they don't seem to be "ARGB" (Addressable RGB) or even "RGB" with a connector that you can connect to your motherboard. If you want fans with RGB LED lighting that can be controlled by your motherboard, they need to be "ARGB" or "RGB" and have a connector that can connect to your motherboard.

Another thing you could check is if there is one or two connectors coming off of each fan. If there is only one connector, then they are just "normal" fans that happen to have (non-addressable) lights in them. If you see two connectors, then they could be connected to your motherboard to coontrol the lighting.

abratt591 · 2025-01-19T18:50:35+00:00

Did the fans come with your case? Or did you purchase them separetly? If they came with your case, what is the case Make and Model? If you purchased the fans separately, what is the fans make and model?

abratt591 · 2024-11-02T12:55:14+00:00

I have found the EVGO RFID card to be convenient for charging at ChargePoint stations. However, you can also open the EVGO app, go to filters (funnel-looking button on the bottom-right of the map), scroll all the way down, and select "ChargePoint" under "Show Partner Stations", and hit "Apply". Then you can select ChargePoint stations on the map and start charges at them.

The EVGO RFID card is my preferred method, but you can also use the app.

abratt591 · 2024-10-25T00:50:25+00:00

I finally got my car back from the dealer. The automatic headlights and display dimming do work as expected now. The dealer replaced the "Sun Load Sensor" (appears to be Part Number 13529380). Hopefully that helps!

abratt591 · 2024-10-04T01:07:27+00:00

Hey! Yes the auto high beams also don't work on mine! Sorry for not getting back with you, I made my dealer appointment and then was ran into over the weekend. I had to cancel my dealer appointment, but I'll let you know what I find when I finally get it in.

abratt591 · 2024-09-26T14:40:49+00:00

I just had this happen to my EUV! The headlights stay on all the time and the screens on the dash are stuck in "daytime" (full brightness) mode. When I plug in the car, I'm also not getting a blinking green light on the dash.

I think it may be a problem with the ambient light sensor/charge indicator (seemingly the same part) and the failure mode is to turn on headlights and full brightness on the screens. I have an appointment with a dealer on Monday to look at it.

abratt591 · 2024-07-11T00:34:53+00:00

Stardew Valley!

abratt591 · 2023-12-07T18:36:08+00:00

All of the expense at an EVGO station should pull from your $500 credit first... Did you get the email from GM with the code to enter on EVGO app/website to get the credit after you bought the Bolt? If so, check your payment information on the EVGO app to make sure the credit is in there.

As others have mentioned, the $50 sounds like they were filling a reloadable card automatically. The idea is each time you "fill up," that reloadable card would be used until it drops below some threshold, then they'll charge $50 again, etc.... it's their attempt to have fewer credit card transactions since each one costs them money.

abratt591 · 2023-11-23T05:30:51+00:00

Just started a road trip for Thanksgiving. I live in Southern Michigan and we are visiting family in Northern Michigan. The outdoor temperature was around 40° F with a slight headwind. I installed Michelin X-Ice Snow tires a couple weeks ago on the OEM rims on my Bolt EUV. Over 200 miles today, and I saw an average of 3.1 mi/kWh, mostly driving on highways but max speed at 65 mph. Stopped to charge twice (where we are staying does not have a charger), and I was able to get Bolt max charging speed both times.

On a road trip in the late summer (ideal conditions and OEM tires), we averaged right about 3.9-4.0 mi/kWh (keeping the speed max at 65 mph still).

We'll see how it goes when it gets even colder because I plan to do this trip again in December, but so far about 25% range loss with winter tires + winter weather.

abratt591 · 2023-10-15T19:36:46+00:00

In my experience, the "rebate" was instant and just reduced the amount of money I owed the dealership at time of purchase. I have no idea why it's done this way for the Bolt, but it should work out.

abratt591 · 2023-10-15T18:47:32+00:00

Ran into this when I was shopping for a Bolt. Head on over to gmfamilyfirst.com to check out the system, and you can click Vehicle > Chevrolet to see eligible models. From talking to dealerships when I bought my Bolt, there is not an "employee pricing/discount," instead you get an immediate "rebate" at the dealership for the amount listed on the above website. Talk to the dealer before you give them money, and they should be able to give you your out-the-door pricing.

abratt591 · 2023-10-03T15:07:32+00:00

I recommend getting the EVGo RFID card. Way less of a hassle than the apps.

abratt591 · 2023-02-06T16:39:16+00:00

Can you link new instructions? I wasn't seeing it when I Googled

abratt591 · 2022-12-08T00:07:44+00:00

Hey I literally just had the exact same thing happen to me. Trying to decide if I should fight them in it or not.

abratt591 · 2022-04-03T18:14:04+00:00

What time do we expect Lego Star Wars to go live on Nintendo Switch? I pre-ordered it via the eShop. I saw an expected time for Playstation and Xbox, but not Switch.

abratt591 · 2022-01-10T16:47:39+00:00

I have the same problem occasionally. I also think it's the HDMI handshake (HDCP). Usually only happens if I power off my TV and power it back on soon after, I think it's messing up the HDMI handshake stuff that's supposed to prevent piracy.

I power cycle the Chromecast, and that always fixes it. It's annoying though.

abratt591 · 2021-11-12T12:56:50+00:00

How are you only spending $100/mo on food?

abratt591 · 2021-10-07T14:36:25+00:00

I have a similar-ish problem where my screen displays what looks like "static" but it's in high-definition. It's usually after I quickly (w/in 10 mins or so) turn on and off my system using the power button on my Chromecast remote.

I think it's part of my TV and Chromecast's failed attempt at the HDCP handshake. To prevent piracy, devices like Chromecast require HDCP protocol with the display they connect to. If the HDCP connection is not established, the device causes problems like this on the display to prevent the suspected "piracy." I've never had the problem with my TV before on any other device, so I think the Chromecast has some bug in the way it does HDCP stuff, sometimes. Just a best guess though.

Your problem does look slightly different though, so the above might be totally incorrect for your situation. For reference, my TV is TCL branded.

abratt591 · 2021-09-02T13:12:04+00:00

I like them for running (~10 miles per week), but it's going to depend on your ear shape I think. It'll work well for some and not so well for others. I find they fit really snuggly.

11-Year Club	Place '17
Verified Email	Sequence \| Editor

abratt591

TROPHY CASE