Beancounter

Just sharing in case it's helpful to anyone... I messaged RM support on March 1 about the payment options, and this is what they replied to me:
 

If you are currently at an age where you’re taking RMDs from your IRA you might want to consider a Qualified Charitable Distribution.  There is an upper limit to the amount you can give as a QCD ($108,000, I think) and the stock must be transferred directly from your IRA to the charity.  Using a QCD allows you to meet your RMD and is not taxable as income to you.  Make sure the organization is a registered charity and that it can accept stock as a contribution.  Many small non-profits and charities don’t have a brokerage account to accept stock transactions.   

I’m amused at how easily people are angered and riled up over Dollar Tree’s proposed 25% base point price increase.  I’m the first to admit I shop there routinely for specific items.  Examples of what I call bargains include:
1.  Greeting cards.   Many times they’re 2 for a dollar.  Why pay $4-5 for a Hallmark card?  People remember the personalized note I write in the card and then usually toss the card. 
2.  Gift bags.  Another inexpensive item.  The gift I put in the bag is where I spend my money, not the gift wrapping vessel.
3.  Special occasion balloons.  Admittedly, I’ve only purchased one in the past year.
4.  Foil roasting pans. $4.00 at Kroger. $1.00 at Dollar Tree. 
5.  Seasonal decorations. 
As an accountant I look behind the numbers.   On the surface a 25% increase sounds outrageous.  When viewed as 25 cents it doesn’t seem so bad.  Conversely, a 25% increase on a $100,000 item is something to take notice of.  
At the end of the day I’d tell you that Dollar Tree sells a lot of junk.  They also sell some one-use items that are truly bargains. If someone is shopping exclusively at Dollar Tree then they probably have a very difficult life and perhaps a quarter won’t severely impact their life.  I would assume their life is already extremely difficult.  

There are many clients in my corner. They detest the over perfumed glamped up provider. Won’t touch them, much less have them touch them. Just the overpowering smell of cologne is enough to turn them off. And licking deodorant from a hairy pit is dreadful. The chemicals are enough to turn a stomach. Give me nice clean natural smelling skin. Even sweaty is alright in some circumstances.

If you are currently at an age where you’re taking RMDs from your IRA you might want to consider a Qualified Charitable Distribution.  There is an upper limit to the amount you can give as a QCD ($108,000, I think) and the stock must be transferred directly from your IRA to the charity.  Using a QCD allows you to meet your RMD and is not taxable as income to you.  Make sure the organization is a registered charity and that it can accept stock as a contribution.  Many small non-profits and charities don’t have a brokerage account to accept stock transactions.   

If you are currently at an age where you’re taking RMDs from your IRA you might want to consider a Qualified Charitable Distribution.  There is an upper limit to the amount you can give as a QCD ($108,000, I think) and the stock must be transferred directly from your IRA to the charity.  Using a QCD allows you to meet your RMD and is not taxable as income to you.  Make sure the organization is a registered charity and that it can accept stock as a contribution.  Many small non-profits and charities don’t have a brokerage account to accept stock transactions.   

If you are currently at an age where you’re taking RMDs from your IRA you might want to consider a Qualified Charitable Distribution.  There is an upper limit to the amount you can give as a QCD ($108,000, I think) and the stock must be transferred directly from your IRA to the charity.  Using a QCD allows you to meet your RMD and is not taxable as income to you.  Make sure the organization is a registered charity and that it can accept stock as a contribution.  Many small non-profits and charities don’t have a brokerage account to accept stock transactions.   

Yes, I have donated mutual funds directly to my church.  These were mutual funds I owned for several years.  I was able to deduct the full amount amount of my contribution (I itemized deductions), and never had to report capital gains.  The church had it set up so that I would transfer the funds directly to the church, and then the church would cash them out.

If you are currently at an age where you’re taking RMDs from your IRA you might want to consider a Qualified Charitable Distribution.  There is an upper limit to the amount you can give as a QCD ($108,000, I think) and the stock must be transferred directly from your IRA to the charity.  Using a QCD allows you to meet your RMD and is not taxable as income to you.  Make sure the organization is a registered charity and that it can accept stock as a contribution.  Many small non-profits and charities don’t have a brokerage account to accept stock transactions.   

Thanks for the advice....yes, short business trip but I'll have some free time in between.  Thanks

Just an observation here and certainly no reflection on his escort skills but if you’re going to post pictures of yourself in a speedo thong it would be preferable to remove the sales tag from the thong before you take the picture.  Surely he wasn’t thinking of returning t this swimwear, was he?  

Hi, BigDMike!  I live in Iowa (southeast Iowa) but have been to Des Moines too many times to count.  The metropolitan area of Des Moines is roughly 750,000 to 800,000 people.  It’s very laid back but a nice place to live and raise a family.  However, as others have noted, it doesn’t have a WOW factor.  If you’re only going to be in town for a short period of time you might want to check out the State Capitol building.  It’s truly a historic and beautiful building.  If memory serves me you can take a self-guided tour of the building.  It sits atop a hill on the east side and overlooks the downtown area.  Also, it’s not too far from Blazing Saddles, the city’s oldest gay bar.  If you really want to be a tourist you can go to Living History Farms in Urbandale, a suburb just north of Des Moines.
There’s not much happening gay wise there and even less so when it comes to RM guys.  Have a great time in DSM.  I think you’ll enjoy your time there.

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Love the ink. 

Nope. Totally disagree. Kids today are just as much exposed to the real world as they were in the early 1970s. That was a half-century ago! The real world has changed radically since then, not least in the ongoing, disruptive transformations from an analog to a digital society, plus the epic transfer of trillions of dollars in assets from the poor and middle classes to the wealthy. These two alone have created a seemingly unbridgeable gap that dramatically alters expectations. Kids didn’t do that - we did. So of course the resulting differences between 19 year olds then and now are vast. It is a common if huge mistake for an older generation to lament “Kids today!! Why, back in my day, we…”. To reference a single example that was mentioned and that relates directly to today’s horrific news: Kids didn’t abolish the early ‘70s draft, creating a huge, over-funded private army that now fights endless wars that drain the treasury and make profiteering corporations richer, all while spilling blood. We did that. Instead of complaining about what 19 year olds do, it is way more productive to complain about - and reform - what adults are doing. Indicting an entire generation on the basis of a terrible experience with one loser just perpetuates the problems.
Sorry, but the kids are all right. End of rant. 

Is it too soon for pizza?

Finally, some common sense in the stock market last week.  It seemed like a delayed reaction to events in the middle east.  I expect further reductions this week.  With the recent job losses, increasing unemployment, ongoing affordability issues and surging oil prices...the US economy is in a downward spiral.  

You’re not reading the room here very well.

Maurice based on the novel by E.M. Forster. Great movie.

AmbroseGould - Pornstar Performer, Rentboy, Gay Massage in Atlanta, GA | RentMen
RENTMEN.EU Pornstar Performer & Rentboy in Atlanta, GA - AmbroseGould: It’s Always A Good Time  
I’ll be passing through Atlanta in the near future and this gentleman has piqued my interest.  Any 411 Intel would be appreciated.  Thanks, men.  

Andrew Justice was the quintessential man for me.  

Andrew Justice was the quintessential man for me.  

Andrew Justice was the quintessential man for me.  

Do these discerning gentlemen of good character call you on your white slimline telephone with last number redial facilities?
  

I’m comfortable either way. A while ago, in the post encounter bliss, both the provider and I forgot about payment. A frantic phone call 20 minutes later from him culminated in my turning around and going back in very heavy traffic. I was a return customer and he was more amused than annoyed but I was embarrassed. Now I usually take the envelope out of my pocket at the outset and I think they’re often relieved to see it. If I’m less than delighted, I won’t be back. What does really turn me off, is to watch them count it.