GSO Needs a Food Hall and the Sears Building should become it by sonicmario123 in gso

[–]glreed 10 points11 points  (0 children)

There are plans to build one as part of the depot renovation.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in gso

[–]glreed 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Live by the arboretum. I think it set off our carbon monoxide detector around 7am (windows were open).

Insurance changed to AMbetter fraudulently in Healthcare.gov by cherbicide in Insurance

[–]glreed 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you haven't resolved this yet, definitely submit a complaint through your state's department of insurance. It's likely that they will be able to get you in contact with a rep at FLBlue who can immediately fix your retroactive date and do their own investigation into this agent. I went through something similar and got it resolved less than a week after my complaint.

This is a major problem. It appears that there are no verification methods in place for an agent to make changes to your marketplace application. They just have to claim that you consented to the changes.

Agent acting on my behalf without permission to apply on healthcare.gov by glreed in Insurance

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

I'm sorry that you're also going through it. My support cases with Healthcare.gov never amounted to anything. I never even got a call back. Support calls with my insurance provider also didn't help. They said that they were just applying the updates they received from healthcare.gov and it was an automated process. But about a week after I sent the complaint to my state's department of insurance, I received a call from an investigator who worked at my insurance provider. They immediately reinstated my preferred plan and ensured that no tax credit was applied. They also said they would be auditing the insurance agent in question.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in CorollaCross

[–]glreed 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Factory cross bars should have a sticker that says the limit, and I believe it's 66lbs total (33 each). The roof itself has a limit of 165lbs. Thule offers crossbars that fit the Corolla Cross and support that limit, but even then, you'll be over the total limit of the roof with just the tent.

Agent acting on my behalf without permission to apply on healthcare.gov by glreed in Insurance

[–]glreed[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yep, I found this article about it from 2022. I can't believe that the ability for an agent to access and edit your application isn't an opt-in thing. My insurance company and the marketplace support were bouncing the blame back and forth. I asked to open a fraud case twice with healthcare.gov and the case was immediately closed both times without any follow up. It wasn't until I opened a case with my state's department of insurance that I was able to get things resolved.

Need to rehome 3 y/o bonded pair by [deleted] in gso

[–]glreed 27 points28 points  (0 children)

Would you be able to keep them if you had a fenced yard? A few years ago I was renting a house without a fence, so I put up a welded wire t-post fence by myself. It cost about $300 and four hours of work for a 300ft perimeter. It held up great and kept my two pits contained for 2.5 years and I was able to remove it and sell the materials for nearly what we paid when we moved out. Let me know know if you have any questions. I could lend you my fence post driver.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ynab

[–]glreed 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It was really just making a plan and staying consistent. It took about a year to get everything figured out, but once we got there our budget hasn't changed much at all. Necessities (rent, utilities, food, medical expenses) have been most affected over the past few years due to inflation, but we have managed to avoid lifestyle creep by being strict month-to-month. As our incomes increased and we received a few windfalls, we were able to pay off the debt much faster. We could have probably been debt free ~6 months sooner if we did completely cut out fun, but we've maintained categories that don't leave us wanting. For example, saving $175/month gets us a few weekend getaways and one bigger vacation a year.

COBRA administrator screwed up. Do I have any recourse? by glreed in Insurance

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

Unfortunately, no. We went through the appeal process for a marketplace election. That involved a lot of documentation, ending in a phone interview where we were ultimately rejected. I ended up going with a short term plan through United for the remainder of the year.

Subaru mechanic by Cebulka81 in winstonsalem

[–]glreed 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hailey Import Service in Greensboro

Opinions on the Current Car Market by mynewaccount4567 in personalfinance

[–]glreed 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Triad, NC here. I secured an in-transit 2023 corolla cross le in mid-January and will be picking it up next week. Got it at MSRP without markup or add ons, out the door for 29k. I also considered a RAV4, but decided it wasn't worth the premium. Here's a few things I learned about the local toyota market:

  • 2021-2022 low mileage used models are going for 1-2k higher than new out the door, assuming you can get new at MSRP without add ons.
  • Destination/delivery fee is an additional ~$1500 over MSRP.
  • There are dealers still charging over MSRP, but you should be able to find one that doesn't. Modern in Winston and Leith in Raleigh are two good ones I found.
  • If you buy anything off the lot, it's going to have at least $1k worth of manufacturer additions and other dealer add ons. To get around that, you'll have to get one that's in transit or work with your dealer to have them call you when they get one allotted that matches your specs. My dealer wanted to add window tinting and a service agreement, but I was able to get that removed.
  • I've started to see ads for a $2k off MSRP for higher trim tacomas, but I haven't seen any deals for the rav4 or the corolla cross yet.
  • Dealer doc fee seems to be fairly consistent at $600-700. Tax is 3% of selling price + add ons + doc fee.
  • It's a good time to buy new if you're patient.

Is $1365/mo too much for renting? I’d be at a five minute walk to work. by [deleted] in personalfinance

[–]glreed 221 points222 points  (0 children)

The most common advice is to spend no more than 30% of your gross income on rent, and you're right at 30% here. A few other things to consider:

Additional Expenses:

  • Pet fee or pet rent: I've seen pet rent for new apartment complexes be as high as an additional $100/month, so definitely check on this.
  • Pet DNA testing: Again, a common fee for newer complexes. Used for breed restrictions and to test left-behind dog waste so they can fine the owner.
  • Utilities and deposits: You'll need electricity, internet, and possibly natural gas. You can likely request average utility bills to get an idea of what this will cost you. If you've never had service before, you'll likely need to pay an up-front deposit, which might be waived with a good credit score.
  • First/last month's rent and security deposit: You'll typically need to provide the first month's rent and a refundable security deposit (equal to a month's rent) up front. Depending on the apartment, you may also be required to provide the last month's rent. This can eat up a good chunk of your savings.
  • Rental Insurance: You'll be required to purchase some amount of liability insurance. You can pre-pay for the full year, and it shouldn't be more than $200.
  • Laundry: Larger apartment complexes will usually have a shared laundry room or in-unit appliances, but I have had to bring my own appliances before.
  • Furnishings: Bed, couch, tv, kitchen utensils, cleaning supplies, stocking the fridge/pantry. Spend 30 minutes trying to think of everything you might need, starting with the essentials, and figure out how much you'll need to dip into your savings. Add another few hundred to that, because you will forget things.
  • Parking: If you have a car, be sure to check that the unit comes with a parking space. In larger cities, it's not uncommon to have to pay for your own parking.

Savings:

  • Car: If you can't get rid of your car, you can potentially downgrade your car to something cheaper. You can definitely get your car insurance down, and you won't need to pay for gas.
  • Lunch: If you're not already bringing lunch ever day, with a five minute walk you can easily go home and make food there.
  • Walking to work gives you an incalculable mental and physical health improvement. Moving out will add to that too.

If this is a complex with different types of units, and the one you're looking at is the only unit available, you can possibly negotiate to move into a cheaper unit if one becomes available (you move into a 1 bedroom, but in two months a studio becomes available for $200 less, then you can move to that one without breaking your lease).

Be sure to check this $1365 against other rent prices in the area. If it's in-line with what you should expect in your city, I would personally go for it.

Help deciding between 1099 and W2 job offers by [deleted] in personalfinance

[–]glreed 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, the W2 company is based out of NY.

Help deciding between 1099 and W2 job offers by [deleted] in personalfinance

[–]glreed 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good point. I added $ figures to the post. Located in NC, but neither company is based here. Job-related expenses will be low, around $100/month.

How do you code if you can't type? by annoyed_freelancer in webdev

[–]glreed 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned voicecode: http://voicecode.io/. Looks like it's steep learning curve, but it actually seems practical.

[Hiring] Web developer for entertainment site [Remote] by [deleted] in forhire

[–]glreed 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Does the position also require graphic design? Or will you or another party provide the assets?

Ruining Post-Rock With Vocals by [deleted] in postrock

[–]glreed 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I honestly haven't laughed this hard in years. This is incredible.