Search found 995 matches

by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Mon May 11, 2020 7:52 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: SIM Card Hack
Replies: 23
Views: 4153

Re: SIM Card Hack

I check my financial accounts often on my cell phone. All the accounts, including my cell phone, use facial recognition ID. Is this considered a safe set up? Checking financial accounts from a mobile device is at least as safe, and possibly safer, than checking from a computer. I read this morning about a SIM card hack and became concerned. Then call your carrier and add whatever extra protection/two factor authentication/etc you can to the account. For example some carriers allow you to optionally set a PIN that is needed to log in online or talk to support over the phone or in person. However as another poster below alluded to even this can be bypassed by social engineering or a rogue carrier employee. Going beyond this, for really good ...
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Sat May 09, 2020 6:43 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Will a vpn complicate or improve my internet experience?
Replies: 55
Views: 5927

Re: Will a vpn complicate or improve my internet experience?

My only two cares for using it are: 1.) To hide/alter my location. I assume this works accurately as I've been able to defeat certain video providers I subscribe to from blocking me while traveling. Some of these providers like Hulu, Netflix, etc. seem to want the blood of your firstborn to verify your location to watch your favorite show. To me this is a reasonable use as you have a clear goal that the VPN achieves for you. For anyone using a VPN for this use case only I recommend disconnecting as soon as your video watching is over. 2.) To hide my information from my ISP. I know my ISP collects and sells information and I also don't think it's any of their business what I'm doing on my connection. It was my understanding that my informat...
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Sat May 09, 2020 1:01 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Choosing not to correct all billing/financial errors
Replies: 68
Views: 5700

Re: Choosing not to correct all billing/financial errors

And my point was more that I woke up to the fact I was overreacting to that event (i.e. an emotional reaction instead of a rational reaction). Now, I try to be more rational and less emotional about financial matters. There are still a few time indulgences that aren't purely rational, like having a spend-tracking spreadsheet when my salary now vastly exceeds my expenses or going after small overcharges when it's clear the vendor/merchant has a habit of doing that to people from online reviews, but for the most part I try to determine if the cost of the time spent is justified by the benefits of the money recovered. I wouldn't beat yourself up over the spend-tracking spreadsheet, to me it's easy to justify as a rational pursuit even if your...
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Sat May 09, 2020 12:00 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Will a vpn complicate or improve my internet experience?
Replies: 55
Views: 5927

Re: Will a vpn complicate or improve my internet experience?

1) I would prefer my emails sent through SMTP not to be read by anyone else, but hey maybe that's just a personal preference. 2) If I could afford a data link layer VPN to my ISP I would do it. Network layer will have to suffice for now. Unless you are sending emails from yourself on your laptop to yourself on an email server in your house, this does not solve your problem. Because when it hairpins back out your router, the data is still unencrypted. Plus, who uses unencrypted SMTP anymore? lazydavid is right on, and proving to not be very lazy :happy Walking through the two main ways folks send email from laptops nowadays: 1) Webmail. The emails you send aren't sent to your email provider via SMTP in this case. (Once they get to your emai...
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Sat May 09, 2020 11:03 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Will a vpn complicate or improve my internet experience?
Replies: 55
Views: 5927

Re: Will a vpn complicate or improve my internet experience?

It’s a real threat if you are on a public WiFi network. The “false sense of security” is such a boogeyman. Do you wear a seatbelt in a car? Doesn’t that give you a “false sense of security”? What threats? I'll save you the time: they don't exist. The dangers of public WiFi are massively overhyped. HTTPS gives you everything you think you need from a VPN without the risks that come from trusting a VPN provider. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/01/why-public-wi-fi-lot-safer-you-think I VPN into my own home router. Problem solved. What are you protecting against by doing this? Encryption for all my data packets, not just http Two points: 1) That doesn't answer my question unfortunately. Let me phrase this differently. What are you gaining b...
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Sat May 09, 2020 10:57 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: SIM Card Hack
Replies: 23
Views: 4153

Re: SIM Card Hack

I check my financial accounts often on my cell phone. All the accounts, including my cell phone, use facial recognition ID. Is this considered a safe set up? Checking financial accounts from a mobile device is at least as safe, and possibly safer, than checking from a computer. I read this morning about a SIM card hack and became concerned. Then call your carrier and add whatever extra protection/two factor authentication/etc you can to the account. For example some carriers allow you to optionally set a PIN that is needed to log in online or talk to support over the phone or in person. However as another poster below alluded to even this can be bypassed by social engineering or a rogue carrier employee. Going beyond this, for really good ...
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Sat May 09, 2020 10:39 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Will a vpn complicate or improve my internet experience?
Replies: 55
Views: 5927

Re: Will a vpn complicate or improve my internet experience?

HEDGEFUNDIE wrote: Fri May 08, 2020 9:39 pm
HawkeyePierce wrote: Fri May 08, 2020 9:27 pm
ScubaHogg wrote: Fri May 08, 2020 9:17 pm
HawkeyePierce wrote: Fri May 08, 2020 5:28 pm TheDDC's point is that a VPN gives users a false sense of security and doesn't address real threats.
It’s a real threat if you are on a public WiFi network. The “false sense of security” is such a boogeyman. Do you wear a seatbelt in a car? Doesn’t that give you a “false sense of security”?
What threats?

I'll save you the time: they don't exist. The dangers of public WiFi are massively overhyped. HTTPS gives you everything you think you need from a VPN without the risks that come from trusting a VPN provider.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/01/w ... -you-think
I VPN into my own home router. Problem solved.
What are you protecting against by doing this?
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Sat May 09, 2020 7:03 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: IE, Chrome or Firefox, that is the question.
Replies: 53
Views: 4363

Re: IE, Chrome or Firefox, that is the question.

One Ping wrote: Thu May 07, 2020 6:02 pm Updating a few things on the old 'confuser' (PC) and, at the risk of starting a war of opinions, was wondering if there was a general consensus among the cognoscenti on which browser is the best for a non-techie ... IE, Chrome, Firefox ... and why?
IE is end of life so definitely don’t use that.

Just flip a coin to choose between Chrome and Firefox. Use it and move on with your life.

They are both fine choices and will both work fine for a non-techie. Not worth spending much time on this decision.
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Sat May 09, 2020 6:48 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Choosing not to correct all billing/financial errors
Replies: 68
Views: 5700

Re: Choosing not to correct all billing/financial errors

I frequently weigh the cost of my time against the benefit of what I'm trying to recover. For example, when I was in college, my credit card number was stolen and someone went on a shopping spree. For years afterwards, I would spend hours each month recording every receipt and validating my credit card statements against the receipts. At some point, I realized this was overkill. I had detected the original fraud without such a system and I was wasting so much time on it. I went back to just reviewing the statements before paying them, and I only spend more time if something seems amiss. I completely agree with this sentiment, and I find it shows up in other areas for me. Where the total time spend on a regular repeating task doesn’t provid...
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Sat May 09, 2020 6:08 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Trying to understand Merriman portfolio options
Replies: 32
Views: 3384

Re: Trying to understand Merriman portfolio options

jadela wrote: Wed May 06, 2020 5:34 pm
Forester wrote: Wed May 06, 2020 1:23 pm The question of the 'value premium' is up in the air, even for those of us who have invested in it based upon historical pedigree. IMHO your main equity investment should be VTI (or VT).
Can you say more about this—why the 'value premium' is up in the air?
Heres some recent discussions about this and small cap value:
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=313688

And tilts in general:
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=313485
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Fri May 08, 2020 10:55 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Will a vpn complicate or improve my internet experience?
Replies: 55
Views: 5927

Re: Will a vpn complicate or improve my internet experience?

dodgy55 wrote: Thu May 07, 2020 4:18 pm Received an email from the folks at McAfee offering free vpn service. A casual internet search indicates I would be better off going with a fee for service vpn provider. While I am comfortable using a computer I still hesitate installing or dealing with any new software. Can someone advise me as to the degree to which a vpn will complicate my life or improve the quality of my internet experience?
What goal are you trying to achieve by using a VPN?
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Fri May 08, 2020 10:53 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Trading Baskets of Stocks
Replies: 27
Views: 2122

Re: Trading Baskets of Stocks

If you need the simplicity, Motif investing changes either $20 for real-time trades of a basket of stocks, or $10 if you're willing to be batched in with other trades. Motif is also going out of business. So.... I don’t recommend going that route. Schwab is buying Motif and they explicitly state it is so they can offer thematic investing and direct indexing. https://riabiz.com/a/2020/5/7/to-leapfrog-ahead-in-direct-indexing-schwab-to-buy-motif-technology-and-hire-hardeep-walia-and-much-of-his-staff https://www.barrons.com/articles/charles-schwab-buys-motifs-technology-51588886300 Did you bother to read the second sentence in the first link you posted? If you did you would see that you are wrong. “The San Francisco company gets all of the S...
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Wed May 06, 2020 5:23 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Looking for alternative to Vanguard
Replies: 107
Views: 9340

Re: Looking for alternative to Vanguard

Strong passwords and 2FA won't protect you from a Vanguard employee embezzling money from your account. So are you saying that strong passwords and 2FA isn’t worth it then? What’s your point? My point would be no one seems to be able to produce any real world examples of individuals losing money to hacking. Okay, I found one and that was using a SIM swap. On passwords, if you read the Microsoft article I posted above, Microsoft makes the argument passwords don't matter. In 15 seconds of Googling I found: https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/1/28/21080122/avoid-hack-hacker-theft In your example, the bank refunded all the money. You didn't read closely, obviously. Yes, the bank refunded all the money, but there were other consequences: But just b...
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Wed May 06, 2020 4:58 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Looking for alternative to Vanguard
Replies: 107
Views: 9340

Re: Looking for alternative to Vanguard

I wonder whatever happened with this: https://www.inquirer.com/business/vanguard-escheat-scott-capps-lance-tobin-us-attorney-bill-mcswain-stolen-dead-customers-20190315.html Strong passwords and 2FA won't protect you from a Vanguard employee embezzling money from your account. So are you saying that strong passwords and 2FA isn’t worth it then? What’s your point? My point would be no one seems to be able to produce any real world examples of individuals losing money to hacking. Okay, I found one and that was using a SIM swap. On passwords, if you read the Microsoft article I posted above, Microsoft makes the argument passwords don't matter. In 15 seconds of Googling I found: https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/1/28/21080122/avoid-hack-hacker-t...
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Wed May 06, 2020 3:24 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Looking for alternative to Vanguard
Replies: 107
Views: 9340

Re: Looking for alternative to Vanguard

oldfort wrote: Wed May 06, 2020 1:17 pm
bondsr4me wrote: Wed May 06, 2020 1:00 pm I wonder whatever happened with this:
https://www.inquirer.com/business/vangu ... 90315.html
Strong passwords and 2FA won't protect you from a Vanguard employee embezzling money from your account.
So are you saying that strong passwords and 2FA isn’t worth it then? What’s your point?
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Wed May 06, 2020 7:38 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Can I save this tree? (Mulberry Tree SF Bay Area)
Replies: 10
Views: 918

Re: Can I save this tree? (Mulberry Tree SF Bay Area)

JPH wrote: Wed May 06, 2020 7:34 am Are you asking for medical advice? :D
Do you have any to offer? :sharebeer
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Wed May 06, 2020 7:25 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Can't log on [to Vanguard website]
Replies: 242
Views: 22040

Re: Can't login to Vanguard website

I can't login to Vanguard website. Everything was fine until this evening. I'm using Mac and used Safari and Chrome and I'm getting same message. We're sorry. The page you requested could not be found. If you used a bookmark or a favorite place to access this page, the link is no longer effective. Please go to the Vanguard homepage and navigate to the desired page. If you continue to experience difficulty accessing pages on our website, you may need to delete your temporary Internet files or adjust your browser settings. Please visit our Technical Help - Browser Issues page to learn more about the software and settings that work best with our website. Did anyone had a similar problem? Thanks, Sam Call Vanguard support and ask them. Does Va...
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Wed May 06, 2020 7:24 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Can't log on [to Vanguard website]
Replies: 242
Views: 22040

Re: can't log on [to Vanguard website]

HueyLD wrote: Wed May 06, 2020 6:10 am This is one of many reasons that I don’t put all my eggs in one (brokerage) basket.
Have you, or anyone else, ever lost anything as a result of these short random website outages that have affected basically every single online operation at one time or another?

Can you, or anyone else, show me any evidence of this?

I firmly believe that those spreading their assets across multiple brokerages in the name of "redundancy" or "not putting all my eggs in one basket" are choosing to make their lives more complicated - a constant, ongoing tax - for very, very little reward.

DiWORSEification at it's finest.
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Wed May 06, 2020 7:20 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Looking for alternative to Vanguard
Replies: 107
Views: 9340

Re: Looking for alternative to Vanguard

critical passwords...should be ... stored in your password manager. If you're worried about cyber security, your password manager is just another piece of software that can be hacked. A ticking time-bomb. It's convenient, but is it wise to keep all your critical passwords in one place, on a computer, and only on your computer? Yes. Yes, absolutely . There is no question about this. The reason it is wise is that it's much more likely to be compromised via an attack on an account secured with easy-to-guess, weak passwords that you have memorized, VS. accounts secured with passwords that are long strings of random characters stored in a secure reputable password manager, and then being compromised by an attack on the password manager. Securit...
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Tue May 05, 2020 11:44 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Looking for alternative to Vanguard
Replies: 107
Views: 9340

Re: Looking for alternative to Vanguard

Northern Flicker wrote: Tue May 05, 2020 11:34 pm 2. Use your password safe offline— unplug from the network, reboot, open your password safe, get the password you require, reboot, reconnect to network.

3. Or, use a strong password you can memorize for your Vanguard account and don’t store it in a password safe.
What attack does #2 protect against?

#3 is just plain bad advice. Your critical passwords, especially ones for financial accounts, should be long strings of totally random characters, that are as long as the max allowed by the provider, and that are stored in your password manager. It’s much more likely that your easily memorizable, weak password gets brute forced than your (hopefully reputable) password manager gets breached.
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Tue May 05, 2020 11:06 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard 2-factor authentication becoming mandatory and available for non-US
Replies: 104
Views: 26395

Re: Vanguard 2-factor authentication becoming mandatory and available for non-US

I consider accessing a financial institution via their app to be *more* secure than using their website, especially on an iPhone. You can't get phished, the OS guarantees all communications are encrypted, no risk of rogue browser extensions stealing data. There are other nuanced considerations. For example, I use a password manager for every account I have. Using Firefox's built-in password manager, I'm guaranteed I only submit the password to the correct site. Using a password manager with mobile apps generally requires a cumbersome and insecure process of using an independent password manger to copy a password to the clipboard and then paste into the app. Not on iOS. Password managers are integrated with most app authentication prompts. ...
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Tue May 05, 2020 10:57 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Looking for alternative to Vanguard
Replies: 107
Views: 9340

Re: Looking for alternative to Vanguard

Vanguard supports hardware keys if you want that. You can also set options to ALWAYS require 2-factor authentication includes every login. I understand the possibility for SIM swap, but that's why SMS is the second factor, not the only factor. It seems like it would have to be a quite targeted attack with a lot of baseline information to succeed, and I just don't spend time worrying about being important enough to be so targeted. https://investor.vanguard.com/security/security-keys It's not really a second factor, it's the only factor because you can skip the hardware requirement outright and go to SMS. Found a suggestion to use google voice for this, which solves all my issues Google Voice solves many, but not all, of the issues with SMS ...
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Tue May 05, 2020 10:55 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Looking for alternative to Vanguard
Replies: 107
Views: 9340

Re: Looking for alternative to Vanguard

I looked at some others like Fidelity and I don't really like their options. They require Symantec VIP for 2FA (much rather use traditional tokens like Authy). No financial company uses Authy, so good luck with that. Companies that use Authy can also just reset it with a phone call if they want. Has nothing to do with Symantec vs. Authy. Yea for sure its a separate topic, but Symantec doesn't really offer any way to protect your device in case its lost like other authenticators do. They just reset it for you if you call lol Symantec doesn’t do the resets, you are wrong about that. The actual company does. So in case of Fidelity, you need to call Fidelity, authenticate with their support reps, and then they will do the “reset”.
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Tue May 05, 2020 10:52 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Can't log on [to Vanguard website]
Replies: 242
Views: 22040

Re: Can't login to Vanguard website

I can't login to Vanguard website. Everything was fine until this evening. I'm using Mac and used Safari and Chrome and I'm getting same message. We're sorry. The page you requested could not be found. If you used a bookmark or a favorite place to access this page, the link is no longer effective. Please go to the Vanguard homepage and navigate to the desired page. If you continue to experience difficulty accessing pages on our website, you may need to delete your temporary Internet files or adjust your browser settings. Please visit our Technical Help - Browser Issues page to learn more about the software and settings that work best with our website. Did anyone had a similar problem? Thanks, Sam Call Vanguard support and ask them. Does Va...
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Tue May 05, 2020 10:49 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Can't log on [to Vanguard website]
Replies: 242
Views: 22040

Re: Can't login to Vanguard website

Sam2 wrote: Tue May 05, 2020 10:01 pm I can't login to Vanguard website. Everything was fine until this evening. I'm using Mac and used Safari and Chrome and I'm getting same message.

We're sorry. The page you requested could not be found. If you used a bookmark or a favorite place to access this page, the link is no longer effective. Please go to the Vanguard homepage and navigate to the desired page.

If you continue to experience difficulty accessing pages on our website, you may need to delete your temporary Internet files or adjust your browser settings. Please visit our Technical Help - Browser Issues page to learn more about the software and settings that work best with our website.

Did anyone had a similar problem?

Thanks,

Sam
Call Vanguard support and ask them.
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Tue May 05, 2020 10:48 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Can I save this tree? (Mulberry Tree SF Bay Area)
Replies: 10
Views: 918

Re: Can I save this tree? (Mulberry Tree SF Bay Area)

Hello, New homeowner here... truly out of my league with the gardening here. I have what I am told is a mulberry tree, and I believe it is unhealthy. Would love if anybody with more knowledge could give me some tips or let me know if they believe this tree is a goner or has a chance with some love (and what are the odds it can make it). There looks to be some fungus on the roots, as well as kind where all the branches initially fork off the trunk. There is also what appears to be an area that had a branch break off the truck... The tree was trimmed back this season, and 2 months ago there was basically nothing on the tree. So, all the green leafs on the tree are new within past 6 weeks. From afar, tree seems healthy to me, it's just on clo...
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Tue May 05, 2020 5:56 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Years of service
Replies: 5
Views: 880

Re: Years of service

mushyyy wrote: Tue May 05, 2020 5:53 am Having gone through a recent company restructuring, the severance packages were great for people with long tenure in the company.

Has anyone negotiated to maintain the years of service when changing job/company?
I’ve never heard anything like this and don’t expect that to fly with any company.

Much more common is employment contracts for senior executives which may spell out things like severance, etc.
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Tue May 05, 2020 5:49 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How long is this profit sustainable as a New Trader?
Replies: 61
Views: 5000

Re: How long is this profit sustainable as a New Trader?

kabob wrote: Mon May 04, 2020 8:21 pm Have you read anything about Technical Analysis and Fundamental Analysis of Markets and Stocks?
They are the 2 Big Schools of thought on investing. Bogleism is more of a disciplined methodology and well balanced approach using indexed funds (and a good one), Using the Best of all the above is probably the most advantageous...
What?

Really?

Ok kabob, if you think you technical analysis voodoo is “probably” the most “advantageous”, what are your returns from this method compared to SPY?
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Mon May 04, 2020 8:20 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Risk Parity ETF launched (RPAR)
Replies: 71
Views: 11184

Re: Risk Parity ETF launched (RPAR)

What is the true, compelling argument against this strategy? Are you going to invest in it? The co-founder of the fund Alex Shahidi has a book published "Balanced Asset Allocation". This summarizes a number of the same principals as Ray Dalio has in his own publications but I found Shahidi's book to read a bit easier. I would recommend reading publications by both. In any case, I adhere, at least partially, to the concept of risk parity in my own investment decisions. I think one can utilize the strategy without going all in and create a hybrid if you will between this and other strategies such as the 3 fund or whatever. The argument against is that most people do not want or need to manage their investments akin to a hedge fund ...
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Mon May 04, 2020 8:11 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Getting 300k cash. What should we do with it?
Replies: 23
Views: 4568

Re: Getting 300k cash. What should we do with it?

jak3812 wrote: Sun May 03, 2020 10:05 pm We will net about 300k cash when our house closes in a few weeks (June 1, 2020).

- Ages: 52 & 45
- 4 kids (2 in college, 2 at home).
- No debt.
- Emergency fund (12 mos) fully funded.
- Tax advantaged accounts fully funded for 2020.
- 529s fully funded.
- Will not be buying another house for 6+ years (renting at our next location).

Given the current economic situation, what should we do with the cash?

- Lump sum in taxable brokerage immediately (our original plan)?
- Dollar cost average?
- Hold onto the cash until things settle a bit?

What would you do?
Maybe take a decent chunk, say $20k, and do something nice for you and the family, if that appeals to you.

Life is for the living!
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Mon May 04, 2020 7:34 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Powdered Soy Milk
Replies: 39
Views: 2831

Re: Powdered Soy Milk

Why soy milk? It's not good for you. https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/soy-alert/the-ploy-of-soy/ I don’t have an opinion about soy milk, but here is what one MD thinks about the general validity of nutritional information provided by the weston a price foundation (which was founded in 1999 and not by Weston A. Price, a dentist who died in 1948). https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/sbm-weston-prices-appalling-legacy/ From a more reputable source, here’s what Harvard Medical Schook says about soy: https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/confused-about-eating-soy “One caveat: some soy products contain estrogen-like chemicals that could have adverse effects. So stay away from soy isoflavone supplements and foods made with texture...
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Sun May 03, 2020 7:59 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Closing Chase Bank Account
Replies: 11
Views: 2009

Re: Closing Chase Bank Account

snowman wrote: Sun May 03, 2020 2:17 pm I do it every year after I get the bonus and minimum holding period is met. It's very easy and straightforward:

1. ACH all money out of Chase.
2. Send secure message to close the account.

Works every time, 1 or 2 business days. Just make sure you do it in the same billing cycle to avoid any (potential) monthly fee. You can skip step #1, but then you have to wait for paper check in mail.
A variant of this worked for me. I took my money out then sent them a message. I believe in my case I needed to mail them a letter but that’s easy enough.
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Sun May 03, 2020 7:55 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Mesh Wifi
Replies: 130
Views: 12548

Re: Mesh Wifi

Wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole. You’ve got to be kidding me. Asus is renown for abandoning even relatively recent router models as “end of life”, meaning no security updates. See for yourself, on their end of life product list: https://www.asus.com/event/network/EOL-product/ For example look at the Asus 4G-AC55U. It’s end of life, no more security updates, yet as far as I can determine it was introduced in 2015. “Great” is not the word I would use here. This is something very few people will ever care about. And the folks that “need” the capabilities offered by third party firmware have many other well-supported hardware and software options to choose from. ... Instead you get Asus and Trend Micro spying: https://www.computerworld.com...
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Sun May 03, 2020 7:25 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Risk Parity ETF launched (RPAR)
Replies: 71
Views: 11184

Re: Risk Parity ETF launched (RPAR)

Maestro G wrote: Sun May 03, 2020 6:59 pm What is the true, compelling argument against this strategy?
Are you going to invest in it?

If not, then that’s the case against it. Ultimately the proof is in the pudding.

If you are, then good for you. In uncertain environments I take even more comfort in the diversification provided by a three-fund portfolio. To each his own.
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Sun May 03, 2020 7:18 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Mesh Wifi
Replies: 130
Views: 12548

Re: Mesh Wifi

Any Asus router with AImesh. Wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole. Great security updates You’ve got to be kidding me. Asus is renown for abandoning even relatively recent router models as “end of life”, meaning no security updates. See for yourself, on their end of life product list: https://www.asus.com/event/network/EOL-product/ For example look at the Asus 4G-AC55U. It’s end of life, no more security updates, yet as far as I can determine it was introduced in 2015. “Great” is not the word I would use here. Third party firmware. This is something very few people will ever care about. And the folks that “need” the capabilities offered by third party firmware have many other well-supported hardware and software options to choose from. Not ...
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Sat May 02, 2020 10:08 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: [recommend a basic] refrigerator
Replies: 22
Views: 2348

Re: [recommend a basic] refrigerator

It appears I may have to replace my old amana refrigerator/freezer. I want a simple machine: no icemaker, no coldwater faucet, nothing through the door, etc, Not connected to the internet, don't want it to talk to me or light up when someone's in the room... One refrigerator door, one freezer door. no more than 67" tall. Mine is 33" wide. What else? I haven't looked at refrigerators in years. I want a bottom freezer. Home depot is probably where I'll get it. What do you recommend? Thanks! Asking people here is pointless because people just recommend the refrigerator they own, and tell you horror stories about other brands which are irrelevant because it’s all just anecdotes. There are two good sources you should look at 1) Free -...
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Sat May 02, 2020 7:58 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How long is this profit sustainable as a New Trader?
Replies: 61
Views: 5000

Re: How long is this profit sustainable as a New Trader?

Sounds like you substantially underperformed passive stock investing for the month of April. So rather than think in absolute percentages, imagine continuing to underperform by about a third, and think whether there might be a better (and simpler) way. I believe this is to another person? SPY closed at 257.75 at the end of March and closed at 290.48 at the end of April, for a gain of 12.7% during the month of April. If you made 8-9% in April by trading in and out of SPY, you would have made an additional 4-5% by just remaining in SPY for the entire month. So you underperformed the market by trading in and out. You won’t get much support here for trying to time trades by jumping in and out based on news and Trump’s tweets. Thank you. I don'...
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Sat May 02, 2020 7:44 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Finally simplified. Looking for feedback on my lifelong portfolio.
Replies: 57
Views: 4203

Re: Finally simplified. Looking for feedback on my lifelong portfolio.

DoubleClick wrote: Sat May 02, 2020 12:51 pm
ARoseByAnyOtherName wrote: Sat May 02, 2020 12:10 pm Even if you continue to tilt small cap value (which is a perfectly understandable thing to do!) it's good to read dissenting viewpoints.
Great point. Overall, reading dissenting viewpoints is something we should encourage everyone to do.
:sharebeer
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Sat May 02, 2020 7:01 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The Collapse in Global Inflation Expectations
Replies: 106
Views: 8587

Re: The Collapse in Global Inflation Expectations

Chicken Little wrote: Sat May 02, 2020 1:23 pm The chairman just made it explicitly clear that he thinks we're in a terrible fiscal position.
I missed this. Can you post a link to where he said this?
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Sat May 02, 2020 6:20 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder meeting]
Replies: 52
Views: 5611

Warren Buffett says the economy will overcome coronavirus

[Thread merged into here, see below. --admin LadyGeek]

Warren Buffett says the economy will overcome coronavirus: ‘Nothing can basically stop America’
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/02/warren- ... erica.html

The money quote:
“In my view, for most people, the best thing is to do is owning the S&P 500 index fund. There are huge amounts of money people pay for advice they really don’t need. If you bet on America and sustain that position for decades, you’d do far better than buying treasury securities.”
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Sat May 02, 2020 12:10 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Finally simplified. Looking for feedback on my lifelong portfolio.
Replies: 57
Views: 4203

Re: Finally simplified. Looking for feedback on my lifelong portfolio.

Nothing insane to my eyes, just a couple comments: I believe strongly in the small cap value tilt My personal bias is to not tilt. My portfolio has US total market, international total market, and bonds. Easy peasy. That out of the way, you might want to check your assumptions regarding small cap value: https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=313688 And tilts in general: https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=313485&start=50 Even if you continue to tilt small cap value (which is a perfectly understandable thing to do!) it's good to read dissenting viewpoints. Regarding your international allocation, Taylor posted a very reasonable default suggestion here that's well worth reading: https://www.boglehe...
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Sat May 02, 2020 6:44 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Netflix - New Way Of Throttling [DVDs]?
Replies: 94
Views: 19520

Re: Netflix - New Way Of Throttling [DVDs]?

Here we are in May, and all of the discs below are still “short wait.” :( Might be time to cancel our $9.99 plan for a while before it renews in mid-May. Three or four Redbox rentals a month might make more sense, especially with the streaming and premium cable subscriptions we have. Not sure if this is COVID-19 related, shrinking Netflix inventory in general, or my current interest in popular, new releases, but these same discs have been at the top of my queue for weeks. I keep getting my six, seventh, or even eighth choice sent to me. I got tired of waiting for Knives Out and ended up getting it from Redbox last weekend. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49751595138_0eb23e9bc3_z.jpg $10 a month and you’re not getting any of your top fi...
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Sat May 02, 2020 6:31 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Trying to lower tax on short term capital gains. Do conservation easements work?
Replies: 137
Views: 11548

Re: Trying to lower $800k tax on short term capital gains. Do conservation easements work?

Yep, get a good CPA. The conservation easement investment is shady, opperuntity zones might not be much better. I wonder if there is some real business investment like in a farm, where you could buy a bunch of equipment and then take accelerated depreciation? I have decided not to do CE. But accelerated depreciation I was pitched a fund where I invest in atm machines at 104k per fund and it pays passive income over 7 years or so or gas and oil drilling equipment. Does this sound legit? I could definitely use passive income since I am unemployed and the future is uncertain This is total garbage. Someone is trying to take advantage of you by pitching you all these crazy schemes. If you throw your money at any of these you will end up very, v...
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Sat May 02, 2020 5:42 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Quitting a job after two weeks: relocation expenses
Replies: 196
Views: 22361

Re: Quitting a job after two weeks: relocation expenses

fatFIRE wrote: Fri May 01, 2020 11:54 pm
ARoseByAnyOtherName wrote: Fri May 01, 2020 8:30 pm
fatFIRE wrote: Thu Apr 30, 2020 11:04 pm
oldfort wrote: Thu Apr 30, 2020 11:07 am Based on earlier threads, it looks like the OP is 33 or 34, had a net worth of 2 million at one point, and was making 350k in tech, so might be making 700k-1M now.
WHAT??!!! SWE ICs do not get paid that much! You'll need to be top 0.5-0.1% even in FAANG to get that much.

I seriously doubt hedge funds are paying SWEs that much. That sounds more like the total comp for an experienced quant.
$350k for tech? Yes, SWE ICs do get paid that much in tech. At least some, and at least at FANG.

And no, not just the top 0.5% - 0.1%.
I know that most SWE ICs glass ceiling out at $300-500k (including stock appreciation). I was referring to >1M as IC.
Oh, yes that is much more rare, the percentages you gave seem roughly accurate.
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Sat May 02, 2020 5:39 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is it safe to store financial statements in the cloud?
Replies: 48
Views: 5810

Re: Is it safe to store financial statements in the cloud?

siriusblack wrote: Fri May 01, 2020 9:46 pm I use OneDrive extensively, along with LastPass.

OneDrive has a "personal vault" which is basically an encrypted container in your OneDrive storage. (I've never used it though... my stuff is just in the normal OneDrive space.)
OneDrive Personal Vault does give extra protection in the form of needing 2FA to access anything inside it, but as far as I can tell it is not end-to end encrypted. This is a subtle but important distinction.
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Fri May 01, 2020 9:23 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is it safe to store financial statements in the cloud?
Replies: 48
Views: 5810

Re: Is it safe to store financial statements in the cloud?

Check out this free service by Fidelity Labs (?)... fidsafe.com Otherwise, if using Dropbox, etc, I would first encrypt the files/folder using something like TrueCrypt.. just make sure that you keep the keys safe on several places (office, home, other relative's PCs). My 2cents. Pax beat me to it, but if using a cloud service like Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, or Box Sync, simply keep all sensitive files in an encrypted container and put the encrypted container in your cloud folder. Pax mentioned TrueCrypt, which for years was the go-to, free, strong encryption software. Several years ago, the creator stopped maintaining the project, and another open source developer continued the project as VeraCrypt. So, if you go this route, I'd down...
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Fri May 01, 2020 8:44 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: How to I invest in the self-driving car industry?
Replies: 64
Views: 4498

Re: How to I invest in the self-driving car industry?

I’m a former software engineer and now a doctor (MD). My nephew who has a doctorate in computer science and works in machine learning agrees with me. Self-driving cars are never ever going to happen. As in never be able to get in your car and drive you to work. Never ever as in not in your lifetime. The human brain is far more complex than we can figure out enough to create an AI that could learn to do something as complex as drive a car and understand infinite variations of obstacles. The human brain evolved from a much bigger number than billions of cycles of evolution. You would have to duplicate that in software, where the software evolved on its own and made errors in writing its own code over countless iterations. And the result, if ...
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Fri May 01, 2020 8:30 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Quitting a job after two weeks: relocation expenses
Replies: 196
Views: 22361

Re: Quitting a job after two weeks: relocation expenses

fatFIRE wrote: Thu Apr 30, 2020 11:04 pm
oldfort wrote: Thu Apr 30, 2020 11:07 am Based on earlier threads, it looks like the OP is 33 or 34, had a net worth of 2 million at one point, and was making 350k in tech, so might be making 700k-1M now.
WHAT??!!! SWE ICs do not get paid that much! You'll need to be top 0.5-0.1% even in FAANG to get that much.

I seriously doubt hedge funds are paying SWEs that much. That sounds more like the total comp for an experienced quant.
$350k for tech? Yes, SWE ICs do get paid that much in tech. At least some, and at least at FANG.

And no, not just the top 0.5% - 0.1%.
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Fri May 01, 2020 8:21 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Trading Baskets of Stocks
Replies: 27
Views: 2122

Re: Trading Baskets of Stocks

IndexCore wrote: Fri May 01, 2020 8:15 pm If you need the simplicity, Motif investing changes either $20 for real-time trades of a basket of stocks, or $10 if you're willing to be batched in with other trades.
Motif is also going out of business.

So.... I don’t recommend going that route.
by ARoseByAnyOtherName
Fri May 01, 2020 8:11 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The NYSE floor is closed...how do they reopen?
Replies: 14
Views: 1800

Re: The NYSE floor is closed...how do they reopen?

tvubpwcisla wrote: Fri May 01, 2020 7:42 pm The market has been up and running with the NYSE floor closed. I wonder what their plan is to reopen? Everytime I see it on TV it is packed with people screaming at each other to place orders.

:D
Why do they need to reopen?