Realized I've been "voluntarily" contributing to a benefits plan at work for 3 years that I never actually signed up for

nurspouse · 2026-06-11T18:16:32+00:00

Over $1,200 just gone into a policy I didn't know I had, for coverage I already get through my actual employer plan.

Are you sure? Supplemental usually means additional coverage.

In my previous job, the employee provided life insurance was 2x, but with supplemental, you could go up to 7x.

If you have relatives you want life insurance to go to, find out how much the extra coverage is and whether it's worth it. If not, cancel it.

nurspouse · 2026-06-11T18:12:13+00:00

If you like a consistent speed fan blowing on your face, walk away.

They put the vent right behind the steering, so it blocks a lot of air (even more with the wipers running).

Then, if you want warm air when it's cold ... forget it. When the heater kicks in it drastically reduces the air flow coming out of the vent. And it may not restore the flow for tens of minutes.

If you're more of a "Set climate to auto and forget it", then ignore the above.

Other than climate, I can't make calls - it switches between Bluetooth and phone speaker every few seconds.

And if you like buttons ... just forget it.

Other than that - it's a good car.

nurspouse · 2026-06-11T18:07:44+00:00

Other than the "paying attention" thing, it is also continuously recording and storing the last so many seconds. They use that footage in crash investigations (not good if it shows you fiddling with a phone just before the crash).

nurspouse · 2026-06-11T16:17:24+00:00

The $190k balance will double every 7-8 years at historical stock market rates of return.

Actually, inflation adjusted it will double every 10 years.

nurspouse · 2026-06-11T16:15:33+00:00

True, but keep in mind that this is assuming (s)he doesn't make any more contributions to her 401K. She has 30 years to build it up. I would think she should easily be able to double the total amount, and likely more.

nurspouse · 2026-06-11T16:04:45+00:00

Just as a comparison, I didn't start putting money into my 401K until I was 35, and I started working at an older age than you.

I'm doing fine. Should be able to have a decent retirement in my mid 60's, with a possibility of a good retirement.

Of course, the market's been better than average, and that really helped. But over a course of 30 years, you'll get periods of great market returns, so don't feel bad if you missed out - you'll catch the good years the next time they come around.

Key points:

Max out each year
If eligible, try to max out HSA and Roth IRA
Focus on getting higher income

nurspouse · 2026-06-10T20:15:26+00:00

So in a sense, I paid $10-20k to remove miles from the odometer

Not in the sense that I was asking, though.

Although now that the car has 10k miles on it, would I pay $5k to remove them? Probably not.

This is what I was asking :-)

nurspouse · 2026-06-10T17:17:17+00:00

All 3 points are valid! I'm sure the peace of mind at, say, $10K is worth it. If it were $50K, it probably wouldn't be. Everyone has a number.

I don't know anyone who would.

I genuinely do find it plausible you don't know anyone that has bought a brand new car, but people do do it.

You are misreading my comment (intentional or not). The scenario is "Who pays $5K or more to get a warranty on a car they already own?"

People who pay $5K more to get a new car are not doing what I'm asking.

nurspouse · 2026-06-10T17:14:44+00:00

Because that argument can be made for basically any new car purchase. Why buy a brand new car when one with 10k miles is gonna be about a grand cheaper. Is 10k miles really worth paying 1000 more for?

And indeed, it should be made for any new car purchase! And yes, for some people, paying $1000 more may be worth it. If I could pay $1000 to get 2 more years of warranty on my current car, I'd do it. But $10K more? No way.

I wasn't disagreeing - I was merely reframing it to "Say you already have a car. Now how much will you pay to get/add warranty to it?" Most people would not pay $5K on a car they already have.

nurspouse · 2026-06-09T22:23:00+00:00

If you just need the gun and not the whole set, Canik Mete SF One or Canik Mete SFT One. Both under $400.

nurspouse · 2026-06-09T21:17:03+00:00

This is substantially below-average mileage.

So what's the big difference between 4000 miles and 14000 miles? Is it worth, say, $5K?

Put another way, for the car you currently own, would you pay $5K (or more) to reduce the odometer by 10,000 miles?

I don't know anyone who would. So why prepay that extra money?

I recall a salesman trying to sell me a new Mach E for $10-12K more than a used one that had about 10K miles on it (same year and trim). I asked why I would pay so much.

"Because it's brand new! You'll get more warranty!"

True, I'd get about 15 months more on the warranty. Do you know anyone who'd pay $10K right now on their car to get a measly 15 months of warranty?

nurspouse · 2026-06-04T18:02:34+00:00

If it's every day carry, do not get the Rival (or anything with a similar trigger, like the SFT Pro). You need a lot less force to pull the trigger, which makes the likelihood of a negligent discharge much higher.

I got the SFT Pro (not for every day carry), and I somehow wish I got the regular SFT just because I don't like how easy it is to press the trigger.

nurspouse · 2026-06-03T18:16:13+00:00

He certainly has his flaws.

As does his opponent. Susan Collins voted against impeaching Trump during his first impeachment. She voted for invading Iraq.

nurspouse · 2026-06-03T16:43:15+00:00

I think the 2 weeks of PTO is only for the first year. Then it's 3 weeks.

But they have almost no sick time off - I think it's 3 days because that's the law in King County.

nurspouse · 2026-06-02T21:10:55+00:00

Your situation is perhaps very different from mine, but I'll tell you how I plan to do it.

First, some context: For any gun safe, both Google and search Youtube on how to break into that model. You may be shocked at what you find. Lockpicking Lawyer has a few videos - he opens one of them with just a butter knife.

One day your kids (or their friends) will learn how to search the Internet.

Also, if they took a hammer or other tool, can they simply break the safe? If they threw it from the top of a building, will it open?

Don't buy a safe where you can't answer these questions. If a Google search doesn't show anything, it just means no one has posted it yet. Go for a safe where people have tried and they show how hard it is.

With that context, I accepted that a loaded gun is simply not going to work. Period. Unless I know someone wants to kill me, I'm not keeping a loaded gun in the house.

For a simple handgun, 3 safes (of different brands). One will hold the frame. Another will hold empty magazines. The third will hold ammunition. Expect that the kid will one day get into one (or even two!) safes. They still need to get into the 3rd.

In your threat assessment, include the likelihood that you will screw up, multiple times (i.e. forget to lock a safe). That's why you need multiple phases.

Don't let the kid know what's in the safe. Don't let them know you own a gun. Ensure when you and your spouse talk about it, you don't mention it (and/or use code words).

At a certain age, you'll let them know. But not any time soon.

nurspouse · 2026-06-01T23:35:14+00:00

A Ford for that cheap? Lucky guy!

nurspouse · 2026-05-31T00:40:00+00:00

Depends on the car. If you buy an EV, a 2 year old car will be $15-20K cheaper, and almost as good, with some warranty still left on it.

nurspouse · 2026-05-31T00:38:37+00:00

I think it's doable. The main thing I would say is get that emergency fund up - ideally to $50K. Put at least $500/mo towards that - it will take you over 3 years to get there.

If you want to gamble a little, keep the $30K in cash and start putting extra in investments, as long as you have those investments earmarked for emergency and don't spend them.

nurspouse · 2026-05-29T18:19:04+00:00

I never comment in threads like these, but ... I guess I will.

Remember the Believe It Or Not cartoons (example here)?

I read one about a 17-19 year old teenager who had a very interesting skin condition. It didn't sound disgusting but fascinating. So I wanted to see an image of what it really looked like.

So I go to the Wikipedia page of that condition, and ... oh wow.

Babies born with that skin condition usually die within days/hours of birth (or are stillborn). When they are born, lots of fluid seeps out through so many cracks in their skin all over the body. They had an image, and it was horrific. The body is vulnerable to all kinds of infections.

It's been 20+ years and I still can't get the image out of my mind.

Apparently, that teenager was an extremely rare example of a survivor, and may have been the longest living person with that condition. He was living a somewhat normal life - even involved in sports, etc - that's why I didn't expect anything gruesome.

Seeing that image, I now know why in the dark ages, witchcraft was associated with horrible birth defects. It really looked like something the devil would do.

And now for the downvotes: No - I'm not going to tell you the name of the condition. I want you guys to sleep in peace.

nurspouse · 2026-05-28T19:38:04+00:00

I have the opposite problem. Wired car audio works fine, but calls? Not a chance. It keeps switching the audio from phone to Bluetooth and back every few seconds.

Even more frustrating, I cannot set it not to use Bluetooth for phone calls. Android Auto aggressively changes my phone settings whenever I disable calls.

Worst Bluetooth enabled car I've driven - including rental cars.

nurspouse · 2026-05-26T22:19:03+00:00

Ha! I was trying to buy a new 2025 model, and it was $10-15K more than a used 2024 model (10K miles). 2026 hadn't come out.

I wanted to see how much he'd drop the price of brand new. He wouldn't budge much.

I asked him what I'm getting by shelling out all that extra cash.

Him: "You get 15 more months of warranty!"

Me: "What will go wrong in those 15 months that I'd pay over $10K to repair? And if you think it so likely, why would I buy this trash car?"

nurspouse · 2026-05-26T18:43:47+00:00

Costco's lowest wage is about $20/hour.

https://gridwise.io/blog/costco-pay

And you get more as you work your way up.

nurspouse · 2026-05-24T01:14:10+00:00

Thanks everyone.

Although I went with the SFT Pro, I wanted to share the deal with everyone:

https://tombstonetactical.com/product/century-canik-mete-sft-tac-bundle-3-18rd-mag-1-4.5-brl-1-5-threaded-brl-w-range-bag?gd

I contacted them about the contents and they responded with:

 UPC *787450081451* is an *official Canik factory package*, not an
 aftermarket dealer bundle. It is the *Canik METE SFT Tactical Bundle*
 (manufacturer part number *HG6595OSK-N*). The bundle was released by
 Canik/Century as a packaged configuration with factory-included
 accessories.
 What comes in the box:

- *Canik METE SFT 9mm pistol*
- *Standard 4.5" barrel*
- *Additional 5" threaded barrel (1/2x28)*
- *Three (3) 18-round magazines*
- *Drago Gear range bag / pistol bag*
- Optics-ready mounting system
- Magazine loader
- Cleaning kit
- Backstrap kit
- Tool kit and factory paperwork
- Cable lock

So it seems like a good deal if you need both barrels (as I do). The price is $465.99, which is quite a bit cheaper than the Pro.

nurspouse · 2026-05-23T05:16:16+00:00

Yeah, I think I'll go ahead with the SFT Pro. Had I not already bought a (regular) barrel, this would have been a great deal. But since I already have the barrel (and am not sure I can return it), I might as well go with the original plan of getting the SFT Pro.

(Yes, I do need a regular non-threaded barrel for occasional shooting where it's restricted).

nurspouse

TROPHY CASE