Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)

[crocheted_stache]

DH just got a pretty nice bonus and a stock grant amounting to about an extra year's salary, vesting over three years. We're FI and then some already, and not RE mainly because it's tough to leave with the fire hose still gushing, and his employer just cranked it up. Time to top up the DAF, I guess.

I posted more details on this one somewhere else here (FU money stories, maybe) and I don't feel like hunting for them, so here's a recap. DH's company declared at the end of February/beginning of March that they all needed to take off a week before the end of March to get some of those pesky liabilities off the books before the next quarterly report. Astute observers will note that this approach is the fiscal equivalent of cleaning your room by cramming the mess in the closet before company comes.

DH did the math, found this edict left him short for our planned vacation in May/June, and, knowing we don't need more money, pushed back on the policy to be able to either save a day or borrow it later.

Employer correctly interpreted DH's objections as restlessness and figured out how to give him an the day the wanted in June, and also followed on with this raise and bonus in an (unnecessary and ineffective) effort to retain him. Astute observers will note that promising to pay people more is a poor strategy for reducing liabilities. (We're FI but not yet RE.)

Cut to the present day. Employer is closing the local office entirely in a few months. DH could apply for a job at headquarters, out of state, but we have no plans to move. No part of the stock grant will have vested by the time he departs. It's an awfully nice thing not to need the money. He's already on my insurance, so nothing to do there, either.

At this point, the MPPs will be pretending to be disappointed when commiserating with co-workers and fending off the recruiters who would love for him to start Monday. (One recruiter contacted him just now, as I was writing this. I guess it's good to be in demand.) He's a little disappointed that all the time and trouble he's put in there will mostly be discarded, so the first part won't be tough.

Mainly, he'd like a little more time off between this job and the next one. I've suggested, for opportunities that are relevant, "Sure, this sounds great. I'll be available next June." Better suggestions are welcome.

My MPP will be deciding whether to hang on a little longer or try to take some extended time off with him.

FIRE drill time, I guess.

[zolotiyeruki]

Is this also a way for the company to weasel their way out of actually paying out the stock grant?

[crocheted_stache]

Is this also a way for the company to weasel their way out of actually paying out the stock grant?

I doubt it. They're shutting down the whole office here. The kind of weasel-y MO seems to be that they buy up smaller outfits with adjacent technologies, operate them as (under-resourced) subsidiaries for a while, and absorb the intellectual property into HQ, without actually keeping (m)any of the intellects. The past year or so, HQ has been demanding that DH's outpost integrate some of their business systems, without actually letting them/helping them do that integration. It's never a fun model if you're working for a subsidiary that gets consumed, but I expect DH's particular stock grant was the furthest thing from their minds when they decided when to pull up stakes here.

Sooo glad we do not depend on having the income: https://giphy.com/gifs/like-a-boss-pirates-of-the-caribbean-ship-o0eOCNkn7cSD6

DH reports that he just got the most irrelevant recruitment message ever. He's an engineer, and they're recruiting for a CFO. In another state. I can only imagine that someone, somewhere is getting paid for "contacting a nationwide pool of 150,000 qualified prospects," never mind whether their qualifications are remotely related to the position. Are irrelevant, bulk cold contacts becoming the recruiting equivalent of the pointless, rambling preamble that precedes every recipe on the Internet these days? I smell a misaligned incentive.

[BicycleB]

Just had a conversation with my boss about possibly going full remote. My husband already works full remote. Which means the entire lower 48 states could be available to us. And I'm almost frozen with indecision. It's just too many options. The reason this is an MPP is that money is basically no problem. We make about 200k between us with 0 debt (we rent). I even have 900k invested so can very easily just coastFI if I'm happy enough otherwise.

I threw out the idea to my manager and was not expecting to get a "we could probably make that work" back.

Congrats, @glacio09!

[crocheted_stache]

I'm signed up for the Fidelity feedback surveys and sometimes get around to completing them. They're currently test-flying an emergency savings benefit where you get a savings account and can make direct deposits. The thing they're apparently trying to sell is that there would potentially be an employer contribution, contingent on making some contribution per paycheck/quarter/year. They were also floating an option to earn another couple hundred bucks by taking a financial literacy class.

My MPP: there was no text box on today's survey to tell them that I'd sign up for the monetary incentives, not because I need the savings help or the class. For me, maximize the employer contribution and let me skip or test out of the dang class. I'm envisioning something every bit as riveting as the various required safety and compliance classes. Worth it even for $200? Maybe if I can test out without sitting through hours of stuff I already know.

[pasadenafr]

I'm signed up for the Fidelity feedback surveys and sometimes get around to completing them. They're currently test-flying an emergency savings benefit where you get a savings account and can make direct deposits. The thing they're apparently trying to sell is that there would potentially be an employer contribution, contingent on making some contribution per paycheck/quarter/year. They were also floating an option to earn another couple hundred bucks by taking a financial literacy class.

My MPP: there was no text box on today's survey to tell them that I'd sign up for the monetary incentives, not because I need the savings help or the class. For me, maximize the employer contribution and let me skip or test out of the dang class. I'm envisioning something every bit as riveting as the various required safety and compliance classes. Worth it even for $200? Maybe if I can test out without sitting through hours of stuff I already know.

This sounds like the new PLESA account from Secure Act 2.0.

[Alternatepriorities]

We started a house addition yesterday. I am planning to do much of the work myself, but I've lined up contractors for a couple of things. My MMP? It's really strange watching others do something I "could" do, even if they are better at it and bring much better tools to the job than I have. I've spent so long doing it myself I'm a little uncomfortable not doing.

[crocheted_stache]

I'm signed up for the Fidelity feedback surveys and sometimes get around to completing them. They're currently test-flying an emergency savings benefit where you get a savings account and can make direct deposits. The thing they're apparently trying to sell is that there would potentially be an employer contribution, contingent on making some contribution per paycheck/quarter/year. They were also floating an option to earn another couple hundred bucks by taking a financial literacy class.

My MPP: there was no text box on today's survey to tell them that I'd sign up for the monetary incentives, not because I need the savings help or the class. For me, maximize the employer contribution and let me skip or test out of the dang class. I'm envisioning something every bit as riveting as the various required safety and compliance classes. Worth it even for $200? Maybe if I can test out without sitting through hours of stuff I already know.

This sounds like the new PLESA account from Secure Act 2.0.

I'm honestly glad to learn this thing exists, or will. I'm glad Fidelity is looking (ahead) at how to support it. Being that I'm not the target demographic, I'd mainly be interested in contributing to the extent that there's some monetary advantage, like an employer contribution. I'd like the recommended employer contribution at least high enough that it's worthwhile over the cash bonus for opening a new savings account at a bank down the street. I'd like not to need to sit through irrelevant-to-me financial education to take advantage of it. That's assuming I'm not over some income threshold, of course.

For the people it's meant to help, I wonder how it's supposed to be any likelier to not get spent on a new TV, or just  keep getting applied to "emergencies" by someone with chronic car trouble or who was otherwise barely making ends meet. Maybe there's a little "out of sight, out of mind" factor, if it's labeled "emergency" and going somewhere besides the main checking account. I guess we'll know when it rolls out and has existed for a few years.

[ProxyRetired]

Have two vehicles, work vehicle (which is essentially a lease), and the 10 year old family van. Work  vehicle is almost our daily driver now (but we don't drive daily being a WFH family).

Family van has starts throwing dashlight errors (brake, airbag, and fuel gauge dies). I troubleshoot for a bit, finally drag to shop to be checked over. TIPM is corroded. Dodge recalled them years ago. New one would cost $2,000, but Dodge doesn't manufactured them currently. Resell shops might sell them, but not guaranteed to work.

Checked out used prices online for a new van. Guess we're gonna have a van without a working fuel gauge for a while. Just have to train the family drivers to reset the trip mileage every fuelup...

[fuzzy math]

I got a significant raise this year, but it barely registers in the brain as something exciting. Its all just going to the same place (retirement savings and paying for stuff). Money as a concept (to me) has just become ridiculous, especially when compared to people I know who are scraping by on shit wages.

[Dicey]

Have two vehicles, work vehicle (which is essentially a lease), and the 10 year old family van. Work  vehicle is almost our daily driver now (but we don't drive daily being a WFH family).

Family van has starts throwing dashlight errors (brake, airbag, and fuel gauge dies). I troubleshoot for a bit, finally drag to shop to be checked over. TIPM is corroded. Dodge recalled them years ago. New one would cost $2,000, but Dodge doesn't manufactured them currently. Resell shops might sell them, but not guaranteed to work.

Checked out used prices online for a new van. Guess we're gonna have a van without a working fuel gauge for a while. Just have to train the family drivers to reset the trip mileage every fuelup...

It might be a reasonably good bet that the majority of them were replaced. Therefore, your local pick-a-part might provide you with the needed part for a small price. That van was popular for a very long time (I had two of them and loved 'em). They're old now and junkyard parts might be more readily available than one might expect. Good luck to you!

[pasadenafr]

I'm signed up for the Fidelity feedback surveys and sometimes get around to completing them. They're currently test-flying an emergency savings benefit where you get a savings account and can make direct deposits. The thing they're apparently trying to sell is that there would potentially be an employer contribution, contingent on making some contribution per paycheck/quarter/year. They were also floating an option to earn another couple hundred bucks by taking a financial literacy class.

My MPP: there was no text box on today's survey to tell them that I'd sign up for the monetary incentives, not because I need the savings help or the class. For me, maximize the employer contribution and let me skip or test out of the dang class. I'm envisioning something every bit as riveting as the various required safety and compliance classes. Worth it even for $200? Maybe if I can test out without sitting through hours of stuff I already know.

This sounds like the new PLESA account from Secure Act 2.0.

I'm honestly glad to learn this thing exists, or will. I'm glad Fidelity is looking (ahead) at how to support it. Being that I'm not the target demographic, I'd mainly be interested in contributing to the extent that there's some monetary advantage, like an employer contribution. I'd like the recommended employer contribution at least high enough that it's worthwhile over the cash bonus for opening a new savings account at a bank down the street. I'd like not to need to sit through irrelevant-to-me financial education to take advantage of it. That's assuming I'm not over some income threshold, of course.

For the people it's meant to help, I wonder how it's supposed to be any likelier to not get spent on a new TV, or just  keep getting applied to "emergencies" by someone with chronic car trouble or who was otherwise barely making ends meet. Maybe there's a little "out of sight, out of mind" factor, if it's labeled "emergency" and going somewhere besides the main checking account. I guess we'll know when it rolls out and has existed for a few years.

The FAQ says that contributions count towards the annual limit, so it probably won't work for someone is already maxing out their 401(k) or equivalent, unless it increases their match (through employer contribution instead of a %). But people who reach that limit are probably not the main target here.

In addition, contributions to a PLESA count toward the Code section 402(g) limit on elective deferrals ($23,000 for 2024).

Contributions must also be invested in a cash-like vehicle - I'm going to go ahead and assume interests are going to be very low most of the time.

I agree it seems like a good idea, but one that sounds overly complicated to me.

[crocheted_stache]

@pasadenafr , I guess I'm not surprised that there are income limits. Thanks for the research and the summary.

[crocheted_stache]

DH answered the door today. Someone saw our old car in the driveway and offered to buy it. Yes, it's old enough to vote. We're mustachian like that. Yes, it hasn't moved in two weeks or so. We've been riding our bikes. Yes, it's getting pretty grubby. We actually wash it maybe every other time we take it out, which again, is not very often, and it's under a tree, which drops crud and houses little birdies that drop other crud. No, our neighbors have not complained. I'm pretty sure that's just a hustle so you can low-ball us on the car.

When we use a car, this is the one, and we're not letting it go yet. This is an only car. We're not driving enough to justify an upgrade.

DH told the guy to pound sand, but I think the guy just knocked on the door of the next neighbor with an older car.

[PhilB]

Have two vehicles, work vehicle (which is essentially a lease), and the 10 year old family van. Work  vehicle is almost our daily driver now (but we don't drive daily being a WFH family).

Family van has starts throwing dashlight errors (brake, airbag, and fuel gauge dies). I troubleshoot for a bit, finally drag to shop to be checked over. TIPM is corroded. Dodge recalled them years ago. New one would cost $2,000, but Dodge doesn't manufactured them currently. Resell shops might sell them, but not guaranteed to work.

Checked out used prices online for a new van. Guess we're gonna have a van without a working fuel gauge for a while. Just have to train the family drivers to reset the trip mileage every fuelup...

It might be a reasonably good bet that the majority of them were replaced. Therefore, your local pick-a-part might provide you with the needed part for a small price. That van was popular for a very long time (I had two of them and loved 'em). They're old now and junkyard parts might be more readily available than one might expect. Good luck to you!

In the meantime, keeping a jerrycan with a gallon of fuel in the back of the van will hopefully get you to a gas station if you run dry.

[GuitarStv]

Have two vehicles, work vehicle (which is essentially a lease), and the 10 year old family van. Work  vehicle is almost our daily driver now (but we don't drive daily being a WFH family).

Family van has starts throwing dashlight errors (brake, airbag, and fuel gauge dies). I troubleshoot for a bit, finally drag to shop to be checked over. TIPM is corroded. Dodge recalled them years ago. New one would cost $2,000, but Dodge doesn't manufactured them currently. Resell shops might sell them, but not guaranteed to work.

Checked out used prices online for a new van. Guess we're gonna have a van without a working fuel gauge for a while. Just have to train the family drivers to reset the trip mileage every fuelup...

It might be a reasonably good bet that the majority of them were replaced. Therefore, your local pick-a-part might provide you with the needed part for a small price. That van was popular for a very long time (I had two of them and loved 'em). They're old now and junkyard parts might be more readily available than one might expect. Good luck to you!

In the meantime, keeping a jerrycan with a gallon of fuel in the back of the van will hopefully get you to a gas station if you run dry.

Just use the odometer and odometer reset button.  Top it up with gas whenever it gets close to half of how much mileage it usually uses to empty a tank, reset the counter.

[NorthernIkigai]

Have two vehicles, work vehicle (which is essentially a lease), and the 10 year old family van. Work  vehicle is almost our daily driver now (but we don't drive daily being a WFH family).

Family van has starts throwing dashlight errors (brake, airbag, and fuel gauge dies). I troubleshoot for a bit, finally drag to shop to be checked over. TIPM is corroded. Dodge recalled them years ago. New one would cost $2,000, but Dodge doesn't manufactured them currently. Resell shops might sell them, but not guaranteed to work.

Checked out used prices online for a new van. Guess we're gonna have a van without a working fuel gauge for a while. Just have to train the family drivers to reset the trip mileage every fuelup...

It might be a reasonably good bet that the majority of them were replaced. Therefore, your local pick-a-part might provide you with the needed part for a small price. That van was popular for a very long time (I had two of them and loved 'em). They're old now and junkyard parts might be more readily available than one might expect. Good luck to you!

In the meantime, keeping a jerrycan with a gallon of fuel in the back of the van will hopefully get you to a gas station if you run dry.

Just use the odometer and odometer reset button.  Top it up with gas whenever it gets close to half of how much mileage it usually uses to empty a tank, reset the counter.

My MPP is that I've never had a car, so my first thought was that an "odometer" is something you measure smells with. Then I scrolled up a bit and saw wha the actual topic was.

[GuitarStv]

Have two vehicles, work vehicle (which is essentially a lease), and the 10 year old family van. Work  vehicle is almost our daily driver now (but we don't drive daily being a WFH family).

Family van has starts throwing dashlight errors (brake, airbag, and fuel gauge dies). I troubleshoot for a bit, finally drag to shop to be checked over. TIPM is corroded. Dodge recalled them years ago. New one would cost $2,000, but Dodge doesn't manufactured them currently. Resell shops might sell them, but not guaranteed to work.

Checked out used prices online for a new van. Guess we're gonna have a van without a working fuel gauge for a while. Just have to train the family drivers to reset the trip mileage every fuelup...

It might be a reasonably good bet that the majority of them were replaced. Therefore, your local pick-a-part might provide you with the needed part for a small price. That van was popular for a very long time (I had two of them and loved 'em). They're old now and junkyard parts might be more readily available than one might expect. Good luck to you!

In the meantime, keeping a jerrycan with a gallon of fuel in the back of the van will hopefully get you to a gas station if you run dry.

Just use the odometer and odometer reset button.  Top it up with gas whenever it gets close to half of how much mileage it usually uses to empty a tank, reset the counter.

My MPP is that I've never had a car, so my first thought was that an "odometer" is something you measure smells with. Then I scrolled up a bit and saw wha the actual topic was.

Wait until you run into your first taco meter.

[LennStar]

My MPP is that I've never had a car, so my first thought was that an "odometer" is something you measure smells with. Then I scrolled up a bit and saw wha the actual topic was.

Haha, that happened to me too when I first encountered that English word.

Wait until you run into your first taco meter.

Do you mean the German Tachometer, or Tacho for short?

[GuitarStv]

Wait until you run into your first taco meter.

Do you mean the German Tachometer, or Tacho for short?

Yes . . . we had an engineering prof who always pronounced it 'taco' and 'taco-meter'.  It used to drive me nuts.

[LennStar]

Wait until you run into your first taco meter.

Do you mean the German Tachometer, or Tacho for short?

Yes . . . we had an engineering prof who always pronounced it 'taco' and 'taco-meter'.  It used to drive me nuts.

There are some... interesting dialect differences, especially around the ch sound. Like some people(tm) pronounce "Kirche" like they want to rip out their chords, while they pronounce "Chemie" like Kemie. The real way to pronounce is of course Chemie like you are a choo-choo and Kirche like you are snake hissing.

[crocheted_stache]

Wait until you run into your first taco meter.

Do you mean the German Tachometer, or Tacho for short?

Yes . . . we had an engineering prof who always pronounced it 'taco' and 'taco-meter'.  It used to drive me nuts.

There are some... interesting dialect differences, especially around the ch sound. Like some people(tm) pronounce "Kirche" like they want to rip out their chords, while they pronounce "Chemie" like Kemie. The real way to pronounce is of course Chemie like you are a choo-choo and Kirche like you are snake hissing.

The audio button here is more or less how I'd pronounce it in English: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tachometer
versus https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/taco

Vowels and stress are different. The consonants stay the same.

[ChpBstrd]

Received a letter that my dear spouse's IRA from an employer they left 4 years ago was moving to another servicing company. I thought that account was zero'd out.

So I dug up the old username / password, and was shocked to find almost $3700 sitting in the account, which I had carefully rolled over into a brokerage rollover IRA months after their last paycheck / PTO payout. I did some initial investigation to find out how I missed rolling over this money.

Turns out a "conversion" resulted in the deposit of $2050 into the account months after employment ended. The money fell into the markets and grew to almost $3700 three years later.

Conversion of what, you ask?

I have no idea.

The rollover was done after all PTO was paid out, my spouse was fully vested in their employer contributions at the time of their departure, and there was no defined-benefit pension.

I immediately processed paperwork to roll over the remaining amount into spouse's brokerage IRA, which cost me an hour on a beautiful Saturday.

But now I have this mystery gnawing at me: What "conversion" did I miss that could account for this windfall? Our best guess is that the spouse was somehow eligible for an annual bonus (despite quitting) that was deposited 100% into the IRA. But I'd have to invest hours into researching this to verify why it happened.

So my MPP is do I invest this time to solve the mystery so that I can learn something potentially important, or should I just accept that I uncovered a "community chest" card in the monopoly game of life and move on?

[crocheted_stache]

My electric bill last month was $37 plus another $5 of assorted taxes and fees.

My MPP: while our conservation habits are excellent for saving money and making solar panel salespeople lose interest, it's going to be tough to justify adding solar panels, and especially to justify adding capacity for the future, before we electrify cooking, space heating, and water heating. We don't drive enough to upgrade to an EV soon or to need much additional power for it when we get there.

I will be picking the brains of various people I know who know how this stuff works here.

[NorthernIkigai]

So my MPP is do I invest this time to solve the mystery so that I can learn something potentially important, or should I just accept that I uncovered a "community chest" card in the monopoly game of life and move on?

For me, the answer to these kinds of question depends on how much other stuff I have going on in my life at that very moment. If a lot, yeah whatever, but if I have more time, yay a challenge!.

[PhilB]

So my MPP is do I invest this time to solve the mystery so that I can learn something potentially important, or should I just accept that I uncovered a "community chest" card in the monopoly game of life and move on?

For me, the answer to these kinds of question depends on how much other stuff I have going on in my life at that very moment. If a lot, yeah whatever, but if I have more time, yay a challenge!.

Could it be the 'conversion' of an investment you were holding?  Something similar to what can happen if you move an investment after the price goes ex-div, but before the dividend is actually paid, so the company has the dividend as payable to the old fund manager.

[ChpBstrd]

So my MPP is do I invest this time to solve the mystery so that I can learn something potentially important, or should I just accept that I uncovered a "community chest" card in the monopoly game of life and move on?

For me, the answer to these kinds of question depends on how much other stuff I have going on in my life at that very moment. If a lot, yeah whatever, but if I have more time, yay a challenge!.

Could it be the 'conversion' of an investment you were holding?  Something similar to what can happen if you move an investment after the price goes ex-div, but before the dividend is actually paid, so the company has the dividend as payable to the old fund manager.

This is a good guess. I thought I left plenty of time for things to sort out prior to rollover, but maybe I rolled right after the ex-div dates for all the investment funds? We're talking half a percent of the account value, so that fits with the expected size of a quarterly dividend.

The information conflicting with this possibility is that the "conversion" occurred almost a year after the end of employment, not in or after the quarter the rollover occurred. Maybe someone had to go in and manually fix the accounting long after the fact? IDK. It's a mystery.

[APowers]

Was driving home from having dropped the kids at school. Stopped at the gas station and grocery store, and then two blocks out of the grocery parking lot, the car refused to go out of neutral in 1st gear.

I had noticed it felt a bit stiff going into gear earlier, but figured I'd look into it when I got home. I pushed the car out of traffic into the next parking lot (hardware store), and checked under the hood. I think my clutch master cylinder is slowly leaking, and the fluid juuuust crossed the critical low level where there wasn't quite enough to operate the clutch fully.

My immediate thought was: Finally, an *easy* problem to solve! Haha! ...I've been working through a self-education on interpersonal relationships, which have altogether waaaaaay too many moving pieces and trying to navigate high school as a parent (communication issues galore). So a problem with clear boundaries felt like heaven.

Just walk into the hardware store (Lowe's), buy some clutch fluid, and then fix it properly at home. Turned out that Lowe's was out of stock. The nearest gas station/convenience store was ¾mile around the corner.

Also no problem, just grab my hat and walk. The whole way, reveling in the true luxury of a straightforward problem with a $5 (immediate) fix, and a $50 (complete) repair. AND the luxury I had of time free to just walk to the store. AND on top of that, planning how to use this to enrich the relationships I'm working on building-- if it would need to be replaced in the parking lot, I would call some new neighbours and ask for help (I know I would LOVE the opportunity to give this kind of assistance to a new friend, if positions were reversed); or if I can limp it along by adding fluid for a couple weeks, I will take a day to teach my kids and visiting niece some (easy but less common) auto repair.

[Catbert]

ChpBstrd - I would not spend more time and energy trying to figure it out.  If it were something you'd run into again then maybe I'd recommend trying.  One shot deal with a probable explanation (ex-div), no need to figure it out.  Plus unexpected money.

Kaiser seemingly randomly sends me either bills or checks (mostly checks) for $10 or $40 dollars.  The date of the original charge is often years ago.  The most recent one was a check for $10 owed from 2019!  $10 is my lab copay and $40 is my medical appointment copay.  I just can't be bothered to try and figure it out.

[Reynold]

ChpBstrd - I would not spend more time and energy trying to figure it out.  If it were something you'd run into again then maybe I'd recommend trying.  One shot deal with a probable explanation (ex-div), no need to figure it out.  Plus unexpected money.

Kaiser seemingly randomly sends me either bills or checks (mostly checks) for $10 or $40 dollars.  The date of the original charge is often years ago.  The most recent one was a check for $10 owed from 2019!  $10 is my lab copay and $40 is my medical appointment copay.  I just can't be bothered to try and figure it out.

My DW spends 10-20 hours each week tracking things like this down, since more often than not we are owed money, not the reverse.  Making sure that rewards points are properly awarded, frequent flier and hotel points are applied, etc. . .   We don't NEED to do this any more, but she was in the habit for years, which is one reason I was able to retire somewhat early and her much earlier. 

And sometimes I have darker suspicions; on at least two occasions, she was checking her parents accounts when they were still around, and found $10 charges on their checking statements from Chase bank, with no explanation on the statement.  On calling the bank to inquire, they quickly said "oh, we'll just remove those from your account, no problem!"  So how much do they make each year by "accidently" adding extra charges onto accounts that people don't notice or challenge? 

[crocheted_stache]

DH answered the door today. Someone saw our old car in the driveway and offered to buy it. Yes, it's old enough to vote. We're mustachian like that. Yes, it hasn't moved in two weeks or so. We've been riding our bikes. Yes, it's getting pretty grubby. We actually wash it maybe every other time we take it out, which again, is not very often, and it's under a tree, which drops crud and houses little birdies that drop other crud. No, our neighbors have not complained. I'm pretty sure that's just a hustle so you can low-ball us on the car.

When we use a car, this is the one, and we're not letting it go yet. This is an only car. We're not driving enough to justify an upgrade.

DH told the guy to pound sand, but I think the guy just knocked on the door of the next neighbor with an older car.

DH washed the car today because he drove the car today. He said, "I feel like I'm turning into one of those people who washes the car every time I drive it." It's kind of true, but the car often goes 2 weeks or more between outings in fair weather, and it might only get washed every other time.

[sonofsven]

DH answered the door today. Someone saw our old car in the driveway and offered to buy it. Yes, it's old enough to vote. We're mustachian like that. Yes, it hasn't moved in two weeks or so. We've been riding our bikes. Yes, it's getting pretty grubby. We actually wash it maybe every other time we take it out, which again, is not very often, and it's under a tree, which drops crud and houses little birdies that drop other crud. No, our neighbors have not complained. I'm pretty sure that's just a hustle so you can low-ball us on the car.

When we use a car, this is the one, and we're not letting it go yet. This is an only car. We're not driving enough to justify an upgrade.

DH told the guy to pound sand, but I think the guy just knocked on the door of the next neighbor with an older car.

May I ask what year and model it is?

[Taran Wanderer]

Washing the car once a month?  In California?  That seems like overkill.

[zolotiyeruki]

A month ago, someone backed into our minivan in a parking lot. The damage isnt terrible--the front door and front fender are toast, but everything underneath was spared, except for a small distortion in the door hinge pillar. That small distortion, however, doubled the estimated repair cost, and the insurance company has declared it a total loss.

The MPP: our van is 18 years old, but only has 100k miles, has no rust, is a higher trim level, and I just finished doing a bunch of maintenance (timing belt, spark plugs, fluids, etc). It is really, really hard to find a comparable replacement for any amount, let alone for what the insurance company is offering. Also, it's yet another project on my to do list.

[Alternatepriorities]

A month ago, someone backed into our minivan in a parking lot. The damage isnt terrible--the front door and front fender are toast, but everything underneath was spared, except for a small distortion in the door hinge pillar. That small distortion, however, doubled the estimated repair cost, and the insurance company has declared it a total loss.

The MPP: our van is 18 years old, but only has 100k miles, has no rust, is a higher trim level, and I just finished doing a bunch of maintenance (timing belt, spark plugs, fluids, etc). It is really, really hard to find a comparable replacement for any amount, let alone for what the insurance company is offering. Also, it's yet another project on my to do list.

We had some similar happen to our Honda fit in early 2020. I took the insurance payout for totaling it, bought it back for $700, did an 80% fix for 5% of the estimated cost and drove it three and a half more years. The clutch went out this summer, so I'm either selling it broken our putting it aside until winter when I can fix it. Knew i should of sold it last spring :)

[eyesonthehorizon]

... But now I have this mystery gnawing at me: What "conversion" did I miss that could account for this windfall? Our best guess is that the spouse was somehow eligible for an annual bonus (despite quitting) that was deposited 100% into the IRA. But I'd have to invest hours into researching this to verify why it happened.
...

If there was a sales component to the role, the term can refer to a completed sale upon which one is eligible to be paid, so that was my first thought. Sales conversions might be paid separately from bonus eligibility & might well happen after termination of employment. Referrals often work the same way.

My MPP tonight is I favor tea which re-steeps well & have formed assumptions about the longevity of my leaves measured in brewings, which is an illogical metric.

I’d brewed these leaves six times, which is very usual, but it’s warm out, so I’m consciously trying to hydrate & using more water than usual. I forgot that in addition to diluting it by brewing it weakly in the first place it also wouldn’t stand up to as many steepings as usual (I have a headache interfering with higher cognitive functions, in my defense), so that by the time I sat down with this last cup, it was essentially tinted water.

Now I have to choose between contenting myself with a cup of warm, slightly green water or standing up again with a headache to make more tea. This is also the worst adversity I’ve faced today, so I feel pretty lucky about it all told.

[sonofsven]

I closed a bunch of bank and CU accounts (churning).
Some had small balances that were mailed to me as a check.
One of them was for thirty five cents, but my online bank will not let me mobile deposit less than $1 😕

[ixtap]

Today is my partner's last day of work!

They paid him his final paycheck today, rather than the normal schedule. This means the changes I made to his contributions didn't take effect and they made an after tax contribution, which I am not entirely sure he will be able to roll out since he will no longer be in service by the time it is deposited... I guess we can do an in plan conversion?

[crocheted_stache]

DH answered the door today. Someone saw our old car in the driveway and offered to buy it. Yes, it's old enough to vote. We're mustachian like that. Yes, it hasn't moved in two weeks or so. We've been riding our bikes. Yes, it's getting pretty grubby. We actually wash it maybe every other time we take it out, which again, is not very often, and it's under a tree, which drops crud and houses little birdies that drop other crud. No, our neighbors have not complained. I'm pretty sure that's just a hustle so you can low-ball us on the car.

When we use a car, this is the one, and we're not letting it go yet. This is an only car. We're not driving enough to justify an upgrade.

DH told the guy to pound sand, but I think the guy just knocked on the door of the next neighbor with an older car.

May I ask what year and model it is?

It's a 2004 Toyota. We think the guy thought if it was that covered with grime, it was disused because it was our old car and/or wasn't working. It's little used because we bike everywhere, but it's running just fine.

Washing the car once a month?  In California?  That seems like overkill.

If we choose to see through the windows on days we do drive, we need to remove the dust and everything the tree and the birds in it drop. Lately, we have been taking it to an automated car wash, because they are set up to collect the water and do whatever is the right thing with it. I doubt it's really once a month. It just feels like it because we drive so rarely in summer.

[Metalcat]

MMM problem of the day.

I have too many really good avenues to make really good money working part time. And I can't decide which I want, because I refuse to make room for multiple because I need to make time for NOT working as well.

[Turtle]

Received a letter that my dear spouse's IRA from an employer they left 4 years ago was moving to another servicing company. I thought that account was zero'd out.

So I dug up the old username / password, and was shocked to find almost $3700 sitting in the account, which I had carefully rolled over into a brokerage rollover IRA months after their last paycheck / PTO payout. I did some initial investigation to find out how I missed rolling over this money.

Turns out a "conversion" resulted in the deposit of $2050 into the account months after employment ended. The money fell into the markets and grew to almost $3700 three years later.

Conversion of what, you ask?

I have no idea.

The rollover was done after all PTO was paid out, my spouse was fully vested in their employer contributions at the time of their departure, and there was no defined-benefit pension.

I immediately processed paperwork to roll over the remaining amount into spouse's brokerage IRA, which cost me an hour on a beautiful Saturday.

But now I have this mystery gnawing at me: What "conversion" did I miss that could account for this windfall? Our best guess is that the spouse was somehow eligible for an annual bonus (despite quitting) that was deposited 100% into the IRA. But I'd have to invest hours into researching this to verify why it happened.

So my MPP is do I invest this time to solve the mystery so that I can learn something potentially important, or should I just accept that I uncovered a "community chest" card in the monopoly game of life and move on?

Some employers do not deposit their 401k match right away.  It’s possible this was outstanding 401k match money which they owed her but had not yet been paid at the time that you did the rollover.  It’s good that it at least went into the market and didn’t just sit there doing nothing.

[never give up]

Mustachianism has allowed me to go part-time in my 40's of which I am very grateful. This makes all sorts of things easier. The "Calling all downshifters!" thread on the Post-FIRE board is testament to how people can shape their lives in extraordinary ways a lot earlier than full-FIRE, while still earning.

One such benefit created a Mustachian People Problem for me this week. I had a dentist appointment. Instead of booking around work, having to rush for an appointment in-between meetings or having to use annual leave allowance, I was able to book an appointment on my regular day off. Not only this, but there was no need to set an alarm. I could cruise into the dentists between 10am and 11am instead. Perfect. Yay for stress-free Mustachian living.

Unfortunately arriving at the dentists between 10am and 11am meant I clashed with the local radio stations "smooth tunes" hour.

Note to dentists:

Presumably to be able to do your job effectively, efficiently and with the minimum of stress to you, you require your patients to sit still? If so, why on earth would you turn your radio to a station that randomly plays songs such as “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees? Have you any idea how much willpower it took to keep my head still and not do the arm movements? Have you any idea how hard it was to control myself and not leap out of the chair and move my hips like I just don’t care? How on earth are you meant to do your job with such an eventuality? Were you testing me? Was this meant to be a challenge? If so I was very challenged I can assure you. Next time, if you must have the radio on please tune it into the shipping forecast or something.

Next time I have a dentist appointment I'll book if for the same slot on my day off that I used to use when working full-time. I can't clash with "smooth tunes" hour again.

[LennStar]

Maybe you could have asked to change the channel? Probably marks you as "annoying patient" though to the nurse :D

I did the first responder training (job requirement, not the professional one if the translation is different, the 1-day one you also do for your driver's license here) at Wednesday, and yes, that song is catching. It does not prevent me from getting a headache after 2 min external breathing training unfortunately.

[clarkfan1979]

I teach community college and get 3 months off during the summer. My wife is a part-time substitute teacher at my son's school. His summer break is 2 months and 1 week. We have the money and time to do many cool things. However, you can't be in two places at the same time. We consider many different options, but eventually have to make a decision on final destinations. It's a problem, but it's also a fun problem.

[crocheted_stache]

Update on DH's job wind-down, which started this page. The recruiter who got him into his current place got word (likely from another coworker she placed) that it's shutting down, and she's now eagerly trying to recruit him again.

He tried explaining that he was planning to take it slow, and either he was too understated or she's too eager to let him think like that. She told him he needs to jump on the opportunities because "future you" will thank "present you" for earning the money to do all the fun things.

Nope, that's backwards. Future DH needs present DH to push back on this recruiter, to have time off to do fun things before taking the next job. The income is no longer the limiting factor. MPP will be convincing her that he's not starting a new place before taking time to decompress from the old place.

[LennStar]

Reminds me of the story of the capitalist and the poor fisherman.

The fisherman sits at the beach, angling. The capitalist is on vacation and watches that for a while., Then he strikes up a conversation. Turns out the fisherman sits here 4 hours a day, that is enough for his meager income which pays for his very modest life.

The capitalist starts to dream and teels the fisherman: If you work 8 hours a day, you can save for a boat. If you have a boat, you can catch more fish. With the increased income you can afford another boat, and then a fleet and then a factory, and why! In 30 years time the fisherman might be so rich he can just sit at the beach angling and enjoying life.
At which the fisherman replies: But I am already doing that!

[zolotiyeruki]

A month ago, someone backed into our minivan in a parking lot. The damage isnt terrible--the front door and front fender are toast, but everything underneath was spared, except for a small distortion in the door hinge pillar. That small distortion, however, doubled the estimated repair cost, and the insurance company has declared it a total loss.

The MPP: our van is 18 years old, but only has 100k miles, has no rust, is a higher trim level, and I just finished doing a bunch of maintenance (timing belt, spark plugs, fluids, etc). It is really, really hard to find a comparable replacement for any amount, let alone for what the insurance company is offering. Also, it's yet another project on my to do list.

An update: we chose to keep the van. The MPP: because the insurance company declared it a total loss, the repair shop (part of a national chain) said it was unsafe to drive and we couldn't drive it home. We'd have to get it towed. Never mind the fact that a few weeks earlier, we had driven it 1200 miles across the country.

So what's a muatchian to do? Well, I checked to make sure they'd be closed on Saturday, and told them we'd "get it picked up" then, and they let me sign the paperwork. At 6am the next morning, I was dropped off, reinstalled the headlight the shop has removed (they wouldn't even reassemble the non-broken stuff!) and drove it home sans bumper cover and grill. For some reason, they had also moved the license plates, and those screws were nowhere to be found.

A couple days before, I found a matching-color van being parted out on FB marketplace, and snagged some parts. I spent much of the day yesterday putting the van back together (again, made harder by the large number of parts they unnecessarily disassembled). To my frustration, I found that the techs had somehow forgotten to give back the interior door panels, so I'll have to make another trip to the shop tomorrow.

All because I'm too cheap and stubborn and lazy to go car shopping.

[NorthernIkigai]

Reminds me of the story of the capitalist and the poor fisherman.

The fisherman sits at the beach, angling. The capitalist is on vacation and watches that for a while., Then he strikes up a conversation. Turns out the fisherman sits here 4 hours a day, that is enough for his meager income which pays for his very modest life.

The capitalist starts to dream and teels the fisherman: If you work 8 hours a day, you can save for a boat. If you have a boat, you can catch more fish. With the increased income you can afford another boat, and then a fleet and then a factory, and why! In 30 years time the fisherman might be so rich he can just sit at the beach angling and enjoying life.
At which the fisherman replies: But I am already doing that!

I hate that story. Usually it also contains so reference to the fisherman’s family. I bet they and he would appreciate the security being able to afford health care, education, and elder care brings. Sitting on the beach angling is not the only good thing in life.

[Sibley]

I was doing some spreadsheet updating and realized there was a formula error. Minor. But in fixing it, realized that the fee % calculation on my 401k changed and was now 0.13%. Which is high. Then went down the rabbit hole of fixing that, only to realize that maybe my math is wrong because I'm an idiot today, but indeed yes my 401k fees are high. Then wondered how the heck I missed that for 3 years?!? Then went down the rabbit hole of what's the employer match, because I forget, but that's on the work computer and I do not want to open that up.

Anyway, when all is done, I need to:
1. figure out what the employer match is
2. figure out how to change my contributions
2a. reduce my contributions to the employer match amount
3. open a separate IRA account
4. set up contributions to new IRA account to max out per IRS limits.

None of which is happening now. Later. To take effect in January 2025.

[jeninco]

Maybe you could have asked to change the channel? Probably marks you as "annoying patient" though to the nurse :D

I did the first responder training (job requirement, not the professional one if the translation is different, the 1-day one you also do for your driver's license here) at Wednesday, and yes, that song is catching. It does not prevent me from getting a headache after 2 min external breathing training unfortunately.

I just got certified to teach this course (in the US) and I'm currently building a playlist so I can implant students with what we call an "earworm" here -- a tune that sticks in your head. "Stayin' Alive" is on my list, but so is Death Vader's March from Star Wars (Actually called "The Imperial March")  .... (anything that's about 110 beats per minute will work, so you could also use "Eye of the Tiger", Brittany Spears "Stronger", and even "Baby Shark"...)

First class is this evening, so I'll know what types of music I should add!