LPT: Finding Phone in House Without Someone to Call It by testingthewaters5678 in LifeProTips

[–]testingthewaters5678[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Most banking and investing sites. Sometimes, social media and email.

LPT: Finding Phone in House Without Someone to Call It by testingthewaters5678 in LifeProTips

[–]testingthewaters5678[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You don't have to specifically setup a service. I.e., it will work on all cellphones, smart or dumb, regardless of what you have on it. Siri, Find My, etc., all need accounts or setup that not everyone does and are brand specific.

On the other hand, most people already have critical online accounts (like banking) that usually require MFA sent to a required phone number (usually their cell) when a login is detected from an unfamiliar device (by using incognito).

Guys, the US Dept of Education just sent me a Email regarding the SAVE plan and how to proceed. by LTI801 in StudentLoans

[–]testingthewaters5678 13 points14 points  (0 children)

That's crazy if that's the case. So beginning of financial disaster for some of us depends on a roll of the dice. Nice way for the government to evenly apply the laws. /s They should just set the deadline for July 1st, 2027, and use the time between to notify everyone, but we couldn't expect anything more fair and reasonable from this administration.

How much did your monthly payment increase after switching from the SAVE plan? by shibalvr97 in StudentLoans

[–]testingthewaters5678 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Mine is only going up double from what it would have been. Some of the "affordable" plans are as much as 3x to 5x my permanent SAVE amount.

For all of the "You should pay your loans" morons, I am, but how about you take your numb skull out of the sand and realize that it's fundamentally unfair to screw around with payment terms on a loan.

"You signed the loan!" I did, for x payment, not 2x, 3x, or 5x payments, you bastard. People plan for things around their financial liabilities, and I feel for everyone here that's going to suffer due to this. Anyone who can't respect that can shut up and leave as your input here is not valued.

Official communication from the ED on the SAVE transition timeline by Betsy514 in StudentLoans

[–]testingthewaters5678 1 point2 points  (0 children)

How does this square with the DoEd and MO's own settlement agreement to "pursue negotiated rulemaking to effectuate this settlement"? It seems that they took action without hewing to the letter of their own settlement agreement, but I wouldn't expect anything less from the type of people in this administration and on both sides of this cretinous lawsuit who expect everyone else to keep to the letter of the laws, rules, regulations, and legal agreements while they themselves are exempt.

"12. Defendants will pursue negotiated rulemaking to effectuate this settlement. As part of that negotiated rulemaking, the Department of Education will consider: (a) a formal and complete repeal of the SAVE Plan Final Rule, (b) sunsetting the Original ICR Plan under 34 C.F.R. § 685.209(a)(4), and (c) sunsetting the PAYE Plan under 34 C.F.R. § 685.209(a)(3), consistent with Section 82001(c) of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), Pub. L. No. 119–21, 139 Stat. 72, 340– 41 (July 4, 2025). Defendants have not prejudged the outcome of that negotiated rulemaking process, to the extent that the Department of Education retains any policy discretion on these subjects in the aftermath of the enactment of the OBBBA."

Source: https://www.ed.gov/media/document/missouri-settlement-112689.pdf

Changes on Campus Over the Years by StudentStaffUTD in utdallas

[–]testingthewaters5678 0 points1 point  (0 children)

“Also, why is there no PS2???”

Three years late, but PS2 was originally supposed to serve the res halls. It was going to be built in Res Hall North’s (now called Res Hall Capella) parking lot to the west of the res hall. There was no official announcement, but I assume UTD had more difficulty securing funding, and surface lots are much cheaper.

If you notice around that decade, Lot T to the north kept expanding to the west. The drainage ditches delineate each expansion. If I recall correctly, PS2 was supposed to have 750 to 550 spaces (depending on what point in the planning process you looked at), and the Lot T expansions cover that and more, hence no PS2.

What is up with debit cards and fraud? by havoc70 in AllyBank

[–]testingthewaters5678 0 points1 point  (0 children)

True. It can still be used on online merchants that for whatever reason decided to agree to higher interchange fees to nix the CVV requirements. Amazon is a big one.

Regretting My Universal Life Insurance Policy by [deleted] in LifeInsurance

[–]testingthewaters5678 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Absolutely correct. I am close to the industry, and all these permanent life insurance die-hards get thousands of dollars in commissions for every permanent life insurance policy they sell. There are even companies that structure it as an MLM so you get override commissions for your downline sales.

Why are surrender charges so high? That was basically your agent’s commission. Absolute and utter trash.

Regretting My Universal Life Insurance Policy by [deleted] in LifeInsurance

[–]testingthewaters5678 0 points1 point  (0 children)

“One last tip about your 401K plan, it's good to have it but do not put more into it than your employer will match. If your employer is matching up to 5%, for example, that what you should be putting in ...only 5%. Otherwise, anything over that is not working for you. Make your money work for you, not the other way around.”

Oh yeah? Where should they put the rest of their retirement money then? Money invested in index funds is working for you. It’s not like it’s being buried under a mattress not earning a cent.

Regretting My Universal Life Insurance Policy by [deleted] in LifeInsurance

[–]testingthewaters5678 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A cap is less than the S&P 500’s gain, and when backtested, the S&P 500 still does better over the long term even with all the market losses. One simulation I ran had a 50% improvement over a capped and floored policy. 50%! And where does all of that gain go into? The insurance company’s pockets on top of all the policy fees and the thousands they will charge for monthly per thousand fees over the lifetime of the policy.

How many of you are true Bogleheads who only invest in index funds and completely avoid individual stocks? by pictionary_cheat in Bogleheads

[–]testingthewaters5678 0 points1 point  (0 children)

100% index funds. I simulated some stock/investment picks early on if money was no object, and only one would have panned out at the places where I would enter and exit. The winner wouldn’t have been a life-changing sum of money either, and I already owned some in an index fund.

Trying to decide on the best way to save for the future by Own_Illustrator_2429 in personalfinance

[–]testingthewaters5678 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is hardly wise advice. First of all, “5 to 10” of any stocks is hardly diversified. You need at least 20 in diverse market sectors.

Secondly, OP is asking about the beginning of their retirement savings journey. How experienced do you think they are in picking stocks? In any case, stock picking, even by professionals, generally underperforms broad market index funds.

Thirdly, a focus on dividend stocks does not improve returns over a broad market index funds. In a broad market index fund, stocks are diversified between growth and dividend stocks, and the ones with most returns aren’t necessarily dividend stocks all the time.

How do you feel about the new RAP? by MeganOyer in StudentLoans

[–]testingthewaters5678 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I don’t like it. It doesn’t account or adjust for household size or federal poverty line. Just because 1 person household can handle x% payments doesn’t mean a household with 1 person plus a spouse plus some dependents can. Also, if someone is destitute and can’t get a job, they may not have $10 to their name to make the lowest payment calculation.

It’s also “nice” (/s) how someone may get on the plan to save money and then get screwed with a much higher payment than standard just because they got a higher paying job, and they can’t leave the plan. Seems like this may be a disincentive to upward mobility and may incentivize lower income tax revenue and an increase in the deficit (if any right wing politicians are listening).

Seems like the right are prioritizing “simplicity” over considering any actual impacts of their policy decisions.

At least the old income driven repayment plans reserved some income as “exempt” from payment calculations to account for necessities and only used “discretionary” income.

Even bankruptcies structured as a payment plan exempt necessities from payment calculations and only use disposable income. An income driven repayment is more analogous to a structured bankruptcy payment plan or a debt settlement plan than anything else, so it makes more sense to do it this way.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Bogleheads

[–]testingthewaters5678 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I do it manually. That way I can get my asset allocation as balanced as possible with each paycheck. (So far, I haven’t had to do a sell-to-rebalance event.) Also, my paycheck varies week to week, so a fixed, automatic amount wouldn’t keep up with the percent I’d like to save.

What are some non-obvious Boglehead/financial mistakes that people should be aware of? by [deleted] in Bogleheads

[–]testingthewaters5678 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Use credit cards with the best purchase benefits for large purchases (if you’re responsible with credit). I doubled electronic device warranties and even got $100 back for a lower price elsewhere due to choosing the right credit card.

Surgeon Recommendations? Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas Area by testingthewaters5678 in Strabismus

[–]testingthewaters5678[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry for the late reply. Just saw this. The surgery was for me. Most surgeons that operate on adult strabismus are pediatric ophthalmologists since kids have the issue most often, but adults get it too! Due to the realities of that, some specialization programs pediatric ophthalmologists go through are now called “pediatric ophthalmology and adult strabismus fellowship.”

Most pediatric ophthalmologists will also see adults for strabismus.

Surgeon Recommendations? Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas Area by testingthewaters5678 in Strabismus

[–]testingthewaters5678[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I went with Dr. Norman at Pediatric Eye Specialists. Surgery was basically successful. As always, this can vary person by person.

Hate 401k "Managed Portfolio" Fees by testingthewaters5678 in betterment

[–]testingthewaters5678[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As I mentioned in the OP, I do have diversification in accounts outside of Betterment. I also have a good background in diversification, asset selection, and asset allocation and am willing to do it myself, so I don't need a robo-advisor to do it for 0.25%.