Messages

1

General Discussion / Re: LIFE INSURANCE

« on: April 30, 2021, 12:29:12 AM »

Perfect response! Life insurance is not mandated but Auto insurance is. Home insurance is almost always needed because the mortgage company won't let you borrow without it. And of course we see that the one that isn't mandated is the one that some people don't bother with, but that's only because they don't feel any pressure from society:

It's true that seatbelts are required by law but what's your reaction when someone doesn't wear one? Is it just a casual, "hehe that's against the law y'know" or do you have a more visceral reaction because the person is endangering themself and other people near them? Surely even without coming onto seatbelt laws - at this point it's ingrained in us that driving without a seatbelt is irresponsible and dangerous. Having no life insurance is too for a family.

Only auto liability is required, and only a very small amount depending on the state. Collision and comprehensive is not required and that is more comparable to life insurance.

2

Destination Guides And Trip Planning / Re: National Parks Master Thread

« on: April 30, 2021, 12:08:33 AM »

Anyone know the secret to finding availability at Many Glacier Hotel?

3

On The Road / Re: Hotel with private pool/jacuzzi

« on: April 28, 2021, 01:14:59 AM »

Are there any hotels within driving distance from NYC that have an in room pool, hot tub or jacuzzi? Preferably not too expensive

Courtyard in Paramus has a room with a small jacuzzi.

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General Discussion / Re: LIFE INSURANCE

« on: April 25, 2021, 04:52:29 PM »

Also, if a spouse is not working for pay but takes care of the house and/or kids etc..., make sure to take a policy out on them as well! The cost of replacing their work can approach $100,000 per year.

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Credit Cards And Finance / Re: Retirement Funds

« on: April 25, 2021, 10:53:42 AM »

SCHH is a REIT ETF.

true. Meant to write SCHA

6

General Discussion / Re: E-Z Pass

« on: April 23, 2021, 05:56:57 PM »

Is this the EZ pass method?
Reload on a account then close and get refunded to another card on file then cash out. Lol 😆

No, it was refunded to original card. EZPass method is something else, but will only inform over PM.

7

Deals/Deal Requests / Re: Looking to get a nice men’s leather band watch.

« on: April 23, 2021, 04:40:48 PM »

Any suggestions for a place that sells brand names watches for decent prices?

Jomashop

8

General Discussion / Re: E-Z Pass

« on: April 23, 2021, 04:39:33 PM »

EZPass NJ raised my threshold to $170 for no apparent reason, obviously there is no CS. I am already in the process of using NY EZPass, what happens if i close the account do they write me a check or refund the amount? If so how long does it take?

I know it's a different state, but I recently closed a NY account and I got a refund for my balance about 3-4 weeks after mailing in the account closure form and transponder. To the credit card that was on file.

9

Credit Cards And Finance / Re: Retirement Funds

« on: April 23, 2021, 09:47:06 AM »

I aim to allocate my roth IRA per the below. Note that:

- I'm an amateur so please do your own research before investing. Just figured it might be helpful to some.
- I see inflation as a bigger risk over the next decade than deflation. Some very smart people see the opposite in which case you'd want to invest differently.
- For allocations where there are multiple ETF's to choose from, I chose the lowest expense ratios.


- US Large Caps (VOO) = 35-40% (Perhaps allocate 10-15% to the equal weight index (RSP))
- US Small Caps (VTWO) = 10-15%
- Emerging Markets (IEMG) = 15% (Consider allocating 3% to India (split between large caps (EPI) and small caps (SMIN)))
- Bitcoin (GBTC) = 5%
- Gold Bullion (GLDM) = 5%
- Gold Miners (GDX) = 5%
- Commodity Complex (BCI) = 5% (Perhaps allocate some to equities in this space (GUNR?)).
- Fixed Income = 10%
- Misc plays = 5%

Nice!

Just curious why you decided yo go with VTWO over SCHH for small cap. I understand they don't track the same index, but they are both broad small-cap  ETFs'.

10

General Discussion / Re: NYC parking fines

« on: April 22, 2021, 05:27:41 PM »

Looking for meter ticket 4/22/21 shomrei hadas area between 10-11
Please pm

Parking ticket two days in a row? 

11

Credit Cards And Finance / Re: Retirement Funds

« on: April 22, 2021, 05:16:46 PM »

https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/150-portfolios-better-than-yours/

check out #59

Nice! Isn't the 1/3 reserve supposed to be cash though?

12

Credit Cards And Finance / Re: Retirement Funds

« on: April 22, 2021, 05:15:36 PM »

I’m in similar boat - I was advised to use M1 and invest in SPY QQQ and DIA.
any thoughts?

Those three ETF's are all large cap. You may want to consider adding other asset classes like small-cap, real estate or international. Perhaps even fixed income or MLP's (MLP's can actually be taxed in an IRA so you should know what you're doing.) The Vanguard retirement funds posted earlier are a great idea actually. I'm also not sure what DIA adds to the diversification to be honest.

13

Credit Cards And Finance / Re: Retirement Funds

« on: April 22, 2021, 12:05:04 AM »

I just read through this thread.

I know the most important thing is to educate myself, but I don't have much time to read books or listen to podcasts, and the size of my investment isn't worth hiring a financial advisor.

So it would be great if someone here can educate me. I want to open a Roth IRA for 2020 (First time contributing). Which brokerage should I use? I will not be actively involved in managing the portfolio since I'm not knowledgeable enough, and I don't want to pay high fees.

Any recommendations are appreciated.

(I googled "top 10 roth IRA brokerages", but that's not called education. That's called reading a biased list based on affiliate commissions)

I agree with previous poster about just buying passively managed ETF's. The three mentioned are great ones. For extra diversification, I'd also consider VTI (total US stock market), VT (US + international stocks), and a REIT ETF such as SCHH or VNQ. All of these are well diversified and have very low expense fees. I'd recommend you set it up that dividends get reinvested automatically, so you can truly forget about it.

There are several brokerages that have no trading fees. Schwab and Fidelity are great as previous poster mentions. I have both and I like Fidelity better due to having easier fractional share purchasing and for having no account closure fee, though Schwab mobile app is superior. People seem happy with TD as well. It really doesn't matter all that much which brokerage you use to be honest. 

14

Credit Cards And Finance / Re: Amex Offers Discussion Thread

« on: April 20, 2021, 08:55:46 PM »

Anyone know if I purchase something with an interest-free payment plan with Affirm, if it will activate an Amex offer for the merchant?

15

Amazon & Walmart Deals / Re: Free Amazon returns is not Free

« on: April 19, 2021, 01:32:56 AM »

It's not an exception. Just because they make certain methods available in certain situations, doesn't mean they are obligated to make it available to you.

It says that returns are free from the shipping address being used which implies that can be picked up from the delivery services