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ex post facho posted:1. Complete an electrical panel upgrade, which includes the following: I'm in NJ, but going from 100 amp to 200 amp was $2075 for me. It was $200 cheaper to do 150A instead, or $400 cheaper to just go with a new 100A panel. (Our existing panel was water damaged, and needed replacing). We went with 200A, because why wouldn't you at that point!
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Apr 13, 2017 03:02
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We know that we will have to replace the AC, a fence, and probably the roof in the next 5 years. But we don't allocate anything into separate budgets, we each keep $5-10k in checking and put all of our extra money into mutual funds. If the stock market totally collapses then we're mostly screwed but it seems like we would be facing bigger problems before that would occur... Probably Should we be putting a bunch of money into a money market or something? That seems like a lot of lost potential earnings for a small measure of security. If our mutual funds become worthless then the housing market has probably already collapsed and what's the purpose in continuing to pay the mortgage if you are deep underwater with 28 years to go? QuarkJets fucked around with this message at 06:00 on Apr 13, 2017 |
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Apr 13, 2017 05:57
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QuarkJets posted:Should we be putting a bunch of money into a money market or something? That seems like a lot of lost potential earnings for a small measure of security. If our mutual funds become worthless then the housing market has probably already collapsed and what's the purpose in continuing to pay the mortgage if you are deep underwater with 28 years to go? The way I look at it, the stock market gets money I'm not touching for 10 years or more. Anything I need sooner goes in savings. While my 1% doesn't seem like a lot compared to the way stocks have been performing in the longest continuous economic expansion in the history of this country, that money's protected. I don't have to pay expense ratios on it or pay capital gains when I do need it. I don't have to worry about a 5% correction happening just when I need to buy a new roof. In terms of actual dollars "lost" in saving vs. investing, it's not that much. To put it another way, if I'd had all my down payment savings in the stock market in 2008, I couldn't have bought my house in 2009. In the very long term you can ride out a correction or even a recession. In the short term you don't often have that option. I realize I'm inherently conservative with my money, but to me "guaranteed to make x" vs. "might lose 30% of its value in a year" is way more than a small measure of security.
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Apr 13, 2017 06:52
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QuarkJets posted:We know that we will have to replace the AC, a fence, and probably the roof in the next 5 years. But we don't allocate anything into separate budgets, we each keep $5-10k in checking and put all of our extra money into mutual funds. If the stock market totally collapses then we're mostly screwed but it seems like we would be facing bigger problems before that would occur... Probably I would pull a 3-6 month emergency fund out of your taxable market account. It's high risk / high reward to be in say a S&P 500 mutual fund. Capital One 360 offers 0.75% in savings (FDIC insured) or 1.00% on money market (FINRA insured.)
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Apr 13, 2017 15:46
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H110Hawk posted:I would pull a 3-6 month emergency fund out of your taxable market account. It's high risk / high reward to be in say a S&P 500 mutual fund. Capital One 360 offers 0.75% in savings (FDIC insured) or 1.00% on money market (FINRA insured.) Man, remember back around '07 or so when these were at like 4% interest rates instead? 
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Apr 13, 2017 15:55
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Get a 200a service. If you ever decide to get an electric car, you'll thank yourself. If you don't, having the overhead on the main panel to put in a charging circuit is a selling point for a house.
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Apr 13, 2017 16:03
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Totally random, but this is a good point to mention that if you have gate valve cutoffs (many turns to shut) for your toilet and sinks, give them all a quick close/open cycle once a year so they don't get seized with crud. Sucks when you need to replace a toilet and the valve only closes 1/2 way.
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Apr 13, 2017 16:43
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QuarkJets posted:We know that we will have to replace the AC, a fence, and probably the roof in the next 5 years. But we don't allocate anything into separate budgets, we each keep $5-10k in checking and put all of our extra money into mutual funds. If the stock market totally collapses then we're mostly screwed but it seems like we would be facing bigger problems before that would occur... Probably If you each have $10k in cash, that's a $20k emergency fund which should probably cover you for most big house things unless you have a really big expensive house. I think $10k probably isn't enough for most people, but it really depends on your other liquid/semi-liquid assets, your available credit, the other kinds of emergencies you need to be prepared for, etc. And the risk isn't that your mutual funds become "worthless" but rather that you're forced to sell to cover an emergency at a moment when the market is temporarily down by a lot. You could wind up swallowing a 25% loss of your money just because you needed it that particular month. You might not be financially ruined, but it'd be an ugly cost to swallow. As general advice for everyone: Your long-term retirement savings should be diversified and as tax advantaged as you can get it. "Mutual funds" does not tell us much or anything about your actual diversity. If it's entirely stocks, that's not sufficiently diverse - you should certainly have at least a little in bonds, for example. I suggest if you want advice on that, check the long-term investing and retirement thread. For medium-term investing - and by this I mean any money you might need in the next ten years - being entirely in stocks is probably too risky. The risk here is volatility. A medium-term investment is probably for some planned large expense, right? Like, say, buying a house, or a child's college tuition fund, or you know that in 10-15 years you're going to need $20k for a major renovation, or something like that. For a planned expense with a known year, you are just taking a huge risk that just before that expense, the market is in retraction and you wind up having to "sell low" to pay for it. But there are plenty of options that lie between the crappy interest on a savings account, and the volatility risk of a stock-based mutual fund. You could invest in CD ladders, bonds/bond funds, or perhaps a mix of stocks/bonds/money market that you frequently rebalance. Each year that you get closer to that known expense date, you should adjust your risk downward, so that when you're (say) one year away from the big expense you should be in all cash at that point, or whatever. Putting your medium-term money into medium-risk positions lets you be flexible, too. If you decide that you aren't going to have that big expense after all (your kid is going to go into a trade instead of university; you decide you're selling your house instead of building an addition; you decide not to buy a house after all) you can move this money into more aggressive investments and recategorize it as part of your long-term/retirement funding. The one universal key point in all of the above is that you should never attempt to time the market. There's a whole lot of research and evidence that people are actually worse at timing the market than a device that buys and sells at random... that is to say, on average, people attempting to time the market do worse than if they'd just let their money ride. You can't predict when the next bull or bear market will happen, or how long it will last, or how the gains or losses will be distributed across asset classes. The only smart thing to do is to take advantage of the long-term trend (over the last century, markets have generally gone up) and protect yourself from short-term trends (if you need your money in the next 10 years, it should not be exposed to much market risk, period). Leperflesh fucked around with this message at 17:07 on Apr 13, 2017 |
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Apr 13, 2017 17:03
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I have a question about the pros and cons of a water softener system. All I see reading is that it saves on lime buildup on pipes. All the information comes from water softener companies, which means I need to take everything with a grain of salt. We have a new construction home, and as far as I know all of our pipes are not metal and there is no lead so I have no concerns about heavy metals leaching into my water. I live in Southern California with harder water. Is a water softener worth the upfront costs of a water softener, and maintenance costs?
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Apr 13, 2017 17:05
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Manwich posted:All I see reading is that it saves on lime buildup on pipes. All the information comes from water softener companies, which means I need to take everything with a grain of salt. 
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Apr 13, 2017 17:07
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I thought this also. Our house came with a water softener, it's kind of a PITA to keep it salted up but you can really tell with taste and feel when the water's hardening up again.
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Apr 13, 2017 17:12
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Manwich posted:I have a question about the pros and cons of a water softener system. Overly hard water will also leave calcium deposits on dishes, fixtures, shower doors, etc. and won't have the same "feel" as softened water. Have a few companies come out and do free water tests/sales pitches to find out what your water chemistry is.
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Apr 13, 2017 17:16
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Manwich posted:I have a question about the pros and cons of a water softener system. Yes, water softeners are absolutely worth is from a quality of life standpoint. If you have hard water soap barely lathers and you have white chalky poo poo in every sink 15 minutes after you've cleaned it and run the water once. It will also reduce maintenance/extend the life of your hot water heater.
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Apr 13, 2017 17:16
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Motronic posted:Yes, water softeners are absolutely worth is from a quality of life standpoint. If you have hard water soap barely lathers and you have white chalky poo poo in every sink 15 minutes after you've cleaned it and run the water once. And dishwasher.  Living in Pasadena CA where the water appears to be 10% calcium by volume I wished we could install a softener.TooMuchAbstraction posted:Man, remember back around '07 or so when these were at like 4% interest rates instead? Remember in aught nine when those chickens came back to roost?
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Apr 13, 2017 17:49
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Motronic posted:Yes, water softeners are absolutely worth is from a quality of life standpoint. If you have hard water soap barely lathers and you have white chalky poo poo in every sink 15 minutes after you've cleaned it and run the water once. We love ours. Softeners also allow you to use about half as much soap (dish soap, laundry soap, bath soap). If you have any issues with dry skin softer water will help that as well.
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Apr 13, 2017 17:53
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I'll play the opposite and mention that I hate soft water. Makes my shower take twice as long.
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Apr 13, 2017 18:45
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I've lived in the Great Lakes region my entire life. I don't understand what anyone's talking about when they're complaining about hard water, soft water, wells, water softeners...I just give my municipality money and I get water.
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Apr 14, 2017 03:59
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I too live in the great lakes region. Municipal water where I'm at is extremely hard. If you're not actually getting water from the lakes, you're probably drawing from a limestone aquifer, which means lots of dissolved calcium.
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Apr 14, 2017 05:24
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brugroffil posted:I too live in the great lakes region. Municipal water where I'm at is extremely hard. If you're not actually getting water from the lakes, you're probably drawing from a limestone aquifer, which means lots of dissolved calcium. I guess Great Lakes region is a little broad. I've lived in municipalities with a coast on the lake, so, yeah. Love that fresh water 
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Apr 14, 2017 13:38
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minivanmegafun posted:I guess Great Lakes region is a little broad. I've lived in municipalities with a coast on the lake, so, yeah. Love that fresh water Yeah lake eerie water is surprisingly good considering what Cleveland did do it for the last two hundred years. Can't wait for that delicious carcinogenic sludge taste once Pruitt is done with the EPA.
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Apr 14, 2017 15:06
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Got a quote back from the installer, said it would be an additional $400 if I wanted to go to 200A. So final price, taxes and labor, to go from 100->200A, install the wiring and circuit, AC unit and coils, about $7200. I'm thinking that is fairly reasonable for the panel install but considering trying to negotiate down the AC price a bit.
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Apr 14, 2017 16:24
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minivanmegafun posted:I guess Great Lakes region is a little broad. I've lived in municipalities with a coast on the lake, so, yeah. Love that fresh water If you homebrew, moving from a lake sourced water supply to an ultra-hard limestone supply is incredibly painful. Chicago city water is actually amazing for brewing.
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Apr 15, 2017 13:01
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Thats something I never considered. Does it affect the brew at all if the water source is snow melt?
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Apr 15, 2017 16:10
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HEY NONG MAN posted:Thats something I never considered. Does it affect the brew at all if the water source is snow melt? Have you never seen a beer commercial?
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Apr 15, 2017 16:27
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Yeah but I don't believe beer ads (shocking) and I'd rather someone who clearly brews tell me what they think.
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Apr 15, 2017 16:39
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Natural spring water makes the best moonshine and wine I've ever tasted. It's not snow, but starting water quality absolutely affects final product quality.
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Apr 15, 2017 16:49
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baquerd posted:If you homebrew, moving from a lake sourced water supply to an ultra-hard limestone supply is incredibly painful. Chicago city water is actually amazing for brewing. My circle of friends includes a few people from the south side brewclub, their Oktoberfest is off the chain
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Apr 15, 2017 17:08
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Droo posted:Yeah I was talking about an impact driver, useless was a strong word - I have used mine occasionally but as a homeowner doing small stuff I pretty much just predrill and then just switch the bit on the same drill I grabbed when I started. I did blinds for 20 windows and it's not really a hard job but the impact driver made it way way better.
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Apr 16, 2017 00:19
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So here's a question of my own: the handrail on the front steps is metal and the paint has chipped in a couple places and it's gotten rusty. I can't just paint over it, right? I have to do something about the rust, I'm guessing. But what?
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Apr 16, 2017 00:23
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RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:So here's a question of my own: the handrail on the front steps is metal and the paint has chipped in a couple places and it's gotten rusty. I can't just paint over it, right? I have to do something about the rust, I'm guessing. But what? Wire wheel until it's not rust. Prime + paint, use a rust resistant primer if you like.
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Apr 16, 2017 00:26
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There are also chemicals that will unoxidize that iron. Wire brush and rustoleum though will probably do it. Unbolting them and taking them to a powder coater would be the ballerest move.
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Apr 16, 2017 12:34
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Do you have one of those neighbors who is brilliant, well meaning but has the memory of a sieve? I do. My first year in the house, I bought a snowblower and as the season was winding down, I was bemoaning how to pick up the gravel on the lawn from the blower. I didn't think any rake would do a reasonable job and he agreed. "You know what I use? A shopvac! Get's 'em all!" It worked like a champ even if it's tedious as hell. I can't imagine in a million years I'd ever have thought of that idea. Fast forward two years to today. We had a lovely snow storm on the 1st, a Saturday. The snow was so wet and sticky and my blower wouldn't move anything. Given that the forecast was the 60s by Monday, I made the rare risk calculation that it would melt enough by then. I shoveled the walkway and the road apron where the town plow had pushed stuff. Come Monday, indeed the weather had warmed and the driveway was clear or mostly clear. Today I talk to my neighbor and he said, "Remember that storm? I snowblowed (he uses his lawn tractor) and it was a BIG mistake! I throw a ton of gravel onto my lawn! Know how I got it off" Having spent yesterday day clearing the lawn around my walkway, I responded knowingly, "Shopvac!" "No." he said with a look that suggested he'd thought I'd lost my mind, "I used a thin kids rake. Shopvac doesn't have enough power for that!"
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Apr 16, 2017 18:35
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My old man neighbor Alberto is an octogenarian guy who plays in a Mariachi band; he falls in that category, but I would classify his advice as strange rather than brilliant. Last summer we had a lot of issues with ants and he was of the opinion thay we needed to get rid of them ASAP because "they can get up in there... in the women... crawl into their private areas." Without fail, whenever I'm talking to him he sighs that he's "too old for this" without referring to anything in particular and then predicts the imminent downfall of the neighborhood due to "the kids and people you see these days." He's actually a good neighbor, since he's almost always sitting out in front of his house "keeping an eye on things" to the point that an alarm system would be redundant. He's probably mentioned on 100 occasions that building a chain link fence around my house like he did would be a good idea to "to keep the kids out." I just finished a split rail, which i can tell he thinks is a half measure. Sometimes he and his marriachis will sit out and rehearse in the afternoons, which is a pretty nice ambiance and perhaps counterbalances his chain link. Thesaurus fucked around with this message at 20:54 on Apr 16, 2017 |
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Apr 16, 2017 20:47
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I live in New England. I'm wondering if anyone knows anything about various low-maintenance lawn solutions because I did some reading on maintaining your lawn and I can't see myself doing as much mowing and watering as these people recommend. I'm going more for "green and not totally out of control" than "golf course" here so I don't mind some other plants getting mixed in if that helps.
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Apr 17, 2017 00:47
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I live in the Midwest (Chicago proper) and am looking really hard at clover. Also just tearing the grass out and replacing it with gravel and pavers. That might happen too.
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Apr 17, 2017 00:49
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Hm, clover does sound like an interesting choice. I bought this house in the winter so the leaves were never cleaned up and the yard is all newly planted so there are huge patches where there's nothing at all so I probably have to do something.
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Apr 17, 2017 01:14
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RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:I live in New England. I'm wondering if anyone knows anything about various low-maintenance lawn solutions because I did some reading on maintaining your lawn and I can't see myself doing as much mowing and watering as these people recommend. I'm going more for "green and not totally out of control" than "golf course" here so I don't mind some other plants getting mixed in if that helps. How abut you leave whatever happens to be there there if it's vaguely grasslike and mow it when necessary? That will likely result in what you are asking for. If you are having a specific problem right now with the lawn that prevents this from being the case you should describe it.
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Apr 17, 2017 02:11
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Motronic posted:If you are having a specific problem right now with the lawn that prevents this from being the case you should describe it. This. Wed probably need a bit more info. Generally, you'd probably want to start off with a soil test (often like  from your state ag extension), then maybe apply a round of fertilizer as needed, and maybe reseed if you have a lot of patches. In New England, that'd probably be some kind of cool season mix (e.g. rye/fescue/bluegrass), clover mixed in also good, and plant in the fall.
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Apr 17, 2017 02:20
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RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:I live in New England. I'm wondering if anyone knows anything about various low-maintenance lawn solutions because I did some reading on maintaining your lawn and I can't see myself doing as much mowing and watering as these people recommend. I'm going more for "green and not totally out of control" than "golf course" here so I don't mind some other plants getting mixed in if that helps. Mow at 3-1/2" when the grass is no more than 5" high. Spread Milorganite on the lawn 4x a year (Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving). Overseed in September. Mix in some white clover seed as suggested.
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Apr 17, 2017 02:36
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Motronic posted:How abut you leave whatever happens to be there there if it's vaguely grasslike and mow it when necessary? I have large patches where it's just dirt because after the leaves fell nobody did anything about them until now (this is a new house and I guess they trucked in all the soil or something so anyway the grass is new and not very well established). So I need to seed them with something (don't I? I assume I do if I want them to, you know, not just be dirt) and I was wondering if I should consider something beyond plain old grass seed. RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS fucked around with this message at 03:12 on Apr 17, 2017 |
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Apr 17, 2017 03:10
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