jawjateck

September CPI was released this morning. So I geeked out, crunched the numbers, and made my guess about the I-bond rate that will be announced November 1. So here's my estimate: The I bond rate will be 5.17%, but that includes my wild guess that the fixed component will rise from 0.9% to 1.2%. I'll circle back to this in 3 weeks and evaluate the accuracy of my prophecy. 😋

That's my family too. My mother died of cancer at a younger age; she was a tough southern woman, but I knew she always loved us and had our best interest at heart. That's also when I realized just how much my Dad loved her. His grief was sweet and painful to behold. However, it transformed him from a rugged outdoorsy southern man into a very affectionate soul. He was huggy and "I love you" to all of us for the rest of his life. He certainly made it possible for me to care for him the last couple of years when he was significantly affected by senile dementia. I knew what kind of man he was, and that lightened the burden of the difficult days. I could not have done that if he had been a cold, disconnected father.

As long as the yield curve remains inverted, I'm staying on the short end of it. I buy 3-month, 4-month, and 6-month T-bills every week.

Great thread, azdr! I employed interns for many years. About 10-15 years ago, I stopped hiring them. I could no longer deal with the semi-illiteracy of graduate students! All of them were graduate students at well-known universities. I marveled how they could advance so far academically but were not capable of basic composition. Very few were able to do the technical writing I needed. Occasionally, one of them would give me an academic paper to proof and/or comment. Most of them were difficult to read, marred by poor grammar and sentence construction. I was honest and usually hurt their feelings with my comments. I retired many years ago, but I recently accepted a temporary job for which I have to read, evaluate, and produce technical documents. I had to revive my own skills after years of dormancy. I enjoy the mental stimulation. P.S. Composition, sentence structure, and grammar tips are all welcome! 😋

23 years in the hobby, I have never made arrangements with a third party. On a couple of occasions, I sensed that I was dealing with someone other than the advertised provider and that ended the negotiations.

What is this discount stuff? I'm more likely to be hit with a price increase between the first and second encounter. 🤣

I'm an old fashioned client. I expect a provider to find out what I like and make me happy. Seems simple enough, but it's too demanding for alot of the younglings who advertise these days.

MB is usually a timewaster, but I hired a local from that site and had a sensational overnight success during the long holiday weekend. It was a very happy 4th!!

IBM spunoff KD because it was the worst division in a crappy conglomerate. I immediately sold those shares. That was a good decision too. KD isn't profitable and the shares have been awful ever since.

I owned T going into the WBD spinoff. I immediately sold all WBD shares in the low 20s. I eventually sold T around 20. I made a little money but only because of my timely trading. If I continued to hold the shares in T and WBD today, I would have a sizable unrealized loss in my account. GE spunoff GEHC. I sold GEHC immediately. GE has had a great year. I finally sold all my GE shares about a month ago, satisfied with my gain in it. Sometimes, these spinoffs are successful. Often, they are attempts by the CEO and board to juice stock gains in companies that have been poorly managed for years. My trading decisions, luck and timing made money for me in these examples. But I've had spinoffs that were dogs, finally had to cut 'em loose and admit the investment was a mistake.

I was not lucky at the Santa Monica location. I went twice and had the same experience both times. Lots of local dads/clients were there, so the providers swarmed them while I sat at the bar having a drink. Each night I went back to my hotel still carrying a pocket full of cash. 😛

Indeed.....Happy birthday westcoaster! Cheers! Well wishes! to one of the finest gentlemen on the planet. From the first time I met this man, I have admired him, and after all these years, I still say I want to be westcoaster when I grow up! 😀🤗

I met him two months ago. Yeah, seems like he's over 40, but wow, he's in great shape. The younger pics show him leaner. He is more muscled and nothing flabby on any side of him. Very passionate and fun in bed too. 😘

He is taking a break from advertising for new clients. He needs some personal time, and is focused on his academic life and existing client relationships. I expect you will see him again in the future.

Today's destination is......... OH . . . . . IO

Day 2 through the mountains of Utah and Colorado.....just spectacular! So many amazing scenes, and varying weather including falling snow and frozen lakes at 11000ft just east of Vail. Wednesday, we move on to a university town.....Columbia, MO, and we promise to stay out of significant trouble while we are there. 😁 🤭

Day 1......mission accomplished. Beautiful scenes along the way! Today, we drive to Limon, Colorado. Wave if you see us pass by. 😋

We shall miss thee......until our sweet reunion in 2024. 🥰 Oliver and I hit the road within the hour. Tonight's stop will be Richfield, Utah. Feel free to comment on the sights and scenes and make recommendations along our journey back to Ohio. See y'all!

The provider never provides a rate to my proposed scenario, but is clear that an (sometimes unknown) upfront deposit will be required to book the session. Those are time wasters and scammers.

I underestimated by 8 basis points.....dang it! Effective Monday......4.3%, including 0.9% fixed component.

March CPI is out, so we know the inflation adj rate for I bonds will be 3.39% beginning May 1. Darn it, I missed my estimate by 3 basis points. Haha. I do expect the bump up in the fixed component. Invest accordingly gentlemen. You can get the current 6.8+% for next two weeks and it will pay that for 6 months, then adjust down.

February CPI came out last week and was hotter than expected, so the article's variable interest rate calculation/estimate is low. My estimate is that the May rate will be 3.42% (variable) + 0.8% (fixed) = 4.22%. I'll have to re-visit this in May to assess my prediction. We will definitely know the variable interest rate when the March CPI is released in the second week of April.

I've ended sessions early numerous times. Depending on circumstances, I have occasionally paid the full fee because I accepted the risks of procuring unknown talent or the reason for the shortened meeting was on me, but more often, I have prorated the fee for time spent. When I've done that, no provider has ever objected to my payment, because in all of those cases, the provider performed poorly and knew it and knew that I was unsatisfied. I have never withheld the entire payment in any circumstance.

This happened to me last year for a different reason. The card on file to pay for my premium membership is a VISA. They have charged it numerous times, but when I decided to sponsor an escort (for the first time) using that same card, which they already know is valid, RM sent me that BS message.

You can create an account at treasurydirect.gov. For those who caught last year's I-bond mania; it is the same account. It is linked to your bank account, and you can purchase bills, notes, or bonds directly from the US treasury on the days they auction the securities. It is considered a non-competitive purchase, but I started buying bills and notes last fall (3 month, 4 month, 6 month, 1, 2, 3 year), and I have always been assigned an interest rate a few basis points above where those securities are trading on the open market at the time. There are no fees. If it's a bill (one year or less), the bill is discounted on the date of issue, and then that amount plus the interest are automatically returned to your bank account when the bill matures. If it's a note (2 to 10 years), an interest payment is made to your bank account every 6 months, and the principal is returned to your bank when the note matures. Easy peasy! You can view the list of upcoming auctions, and decide what you want to buy and when. They post interest rate results almost immediately after the auction, and the minimum purchase of any security is fairly modest. I've bought as little as 200 at a time; pretty sure you can go lower, and I've bought 10,000 at a time. Like I-bonds, the interest is subject to federal income tax, but exempt from state/local income taxes.