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I managed to fix my car AC/fan today despite not being mechanically inclined at all for just 26 bucks in parts. Took it to a small mom & pop shop a few years ago and they said they needed something special to fix it that only dealerships have. Decided not to do go that route because I didn't want to spend a fortune or go to the dealer on the opposite side of town. Found a guide to fixing the problem online a few days ago, and decided to give it a shot today. Took a few hours and got my hands/arms scraped the gently caress up, but now I have a car with working* AC again. No wonder the first place I took it to is out of business. The system does need a recharge, and it looks easy enough to do on my own, so I'm going to do that in a few days, or maybe later today. But it feels good saving a couple hundred bucks on doing this poo poo.
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May 27, 2019 21:23
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Is anyone here an independent consultant? How did you get started, how is it going, and any advice you would give to someone looking to do something similar? I am working towards establishing my credibility in a certain industry/region, and people are beginning to ask for my advice to help them make informed decisions about their business plans. Pretty much weekly I meet up with or take a call from someone looking for my opinion on some grand venture they are considering, market entry, or whatever industry trends and such. Emails arrive daily asking for similar. I am being interviewed by a magazine next week, so I expect more inquiries will come my way. It's taking up more and more of my time. I have a full-time job that's completely unrelated, family commitments etc. Though I provide advice for free at the moment, via email, phone, or in-person, I've been wondering recently if I can and should be charging people for my time. Does anyone here do anything similar? On the technical side, I suppose there are lots of freelance platforms online for things like web design, coding, translation, and so on. Then there are also independent consulting platforms for things like digital marketing, startup advisory, accounting, and more business skills. Is anyone using any of those platforms? I'm not looking for a "marketplace" where I go and find work to fill my days. People already come to me looking for advice via my established channels. Instead I was wondering if there's something that could help with the actual booking/billing/etc.
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May 29, 2019 05:28
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I've bought three, and only three (I'm pretty sure) extended warranties in my life and all three have ended up paying off big time. All three were purchased as part of a promotion, the most recent one was you buy an appliance (fridge in this case) and the $400 5 year warranty and we give you a $300 gift card. The icemaker took a dump 6 months ago and they fixed that for free (invoice showed ~600 dollars) but then a few months later it stopped cooling adequately. They came out and fixed it and it worked okay for a month or two and then started doing it again. Came out and determined that it wasn't worth fixing (something about an internal condensation channel/drain being clogged that they'd have to tear the entire fridge apart to get to?) so the warranty company (sears home services) is cutting us a check for the full cost of the fridge. So while statistically I know these warranties are bwm (because the companies obviously profit off them) I think they can be gwm if you tilt the odds in your favor: 1. Some warranties never get used due to being forgot about, losing the receipt (technically this isn't supposed to matter anymore I think but they said they couldn't find the record of the warranty until they magically found it after I gave them the 16 digit code off the receipt), moving and leaving the appliance in the house, dying, etc. So don't do any of those things and you've already tilted the odds towards yourself, possibly by quite a bit. 2. Don't buy the short warranties. I'm shopping for a new fridge now and it looks like BB only offers 3 years which would have done jack poo poo for us. This extended the warranty to a full five years and the fridge is currently 4.5 years old. 3. Don't buy them for simple/cheap things. Obviously the $12 warranty on the $60 blender is moronic but I also wouldn't buy them for a basic ~$1000 fridge just because there's not as much to go wrong with them. So in this case buying the $2500 fridge is bwm but getting the warranty was gwm.
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May 29, 2019 13:01
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zmcnulty posted:Is anyone here an independent consultant? How did you get started, how is it going, and any advice you would give to someone looking to do something similar? For the basics see a local attorney. They should be able to get you going with a llc and contract templates for your clients. If you have options try to get them as checkboxes so you do less free hand writing on them. They can probably give you some tips on what to keep track of for the accounting side (miles, expenses, how you definitely cannot deduct that home office unless some very specific circumstances are met. ) They should also be able to refer you out to an accountant. For booking personally I would start with a dedicated Google calendar and make sure it syncs everywhere. Billing is 99% an exercise in discipline - making sure to take the time to write down what you did, when, and for how long. Do this whatever way you will stick to, physical journal, onenote/Evernote, whatever. It's part of the job but overhead is boring. Edit: And remember, this may all suddenly evaporate, or a huge % of it could, when you put a price on it. The value of your work product to other people is infinite right now because your cost is $0. People may suddenly balk at it being $500 for you to tell them their app is dumb and they are dumb or whatever it is you specialize in, this is why I'm not in sales. H110Hawk fucked around with this message at 18:25 on May 29, 2019 |
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May 29, 2019 16:00
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H110Hawk posted:For booking personally I would start with a dedicated Google calendar and make sure it syncs everywhere. Billing is 99% an exercise in discipline - making sure to take the time to write down what you did, when, and for how long. Do this whatever way you will stick to, physical journal, onenote/Evernote, whatever. It's part of the job but overhead is boring. When I was still doing freelance work I switched to Freshbooks. With the phone app to start/stop a billing timer I made more money than it cost by far from the very first month (accurate time keeping, rather than me going back several days later going "I think I was there for 3 1/2 hours.....we'll just call it 3 to be fair".
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May 29, 2019 18:19
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My wife got a job offer today with a rate of $16/hr after being a stay at home mom for 1.5 years, and we’re slated to be debt free and shopping for a house this time next year (maybe sooner) since her entire paycheck will now be going towards debt and savings. Feeling pretty good about it all - we’re not going to adjust our lifestyle at all until we’re in a house. It won’t be much of a shock then either since we’re so used to living on one income now (and plan to keep it near enough to one income permanently.
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May 30, 2019 00:57
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zmcnulty posted:Is anyone here an independent consultant? How did you get started, how is it going, and any advice you would give to someone looking to do something similar? if it's weed make sure your business account is housed somewhere like wells fargo or a local credit union in a state where it's legal.
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May 30, 2019 01:16
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Where is the BWM thread at the moment? vv Thanks Per fucked around with this message at 22:41 on May 31, 2019 |
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May 31, 2019 22:26
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Per posted:Where is the BWM thread at the moment? Traditional games. Here's the link.
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May 31, 2019 22:39
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IMHO the Forum Tour is even worse for that thread than my posting. Will we ever get it back?
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May 31, 2019 22:43
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GoGoGadgetChris posted:IMHO the Forum Tour is even worse for that thread than my posting. Will we ever get it back? Let's not say things we can't take back
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May 31, 2019 23:06
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Thanks for the encouragement everyone. So I told my boss I couldn't work Saturdays anymore and he did exactly what I was afraid he would do, which was to ask about what I was doing, tell me he hadn't actually approved me taking the day off yet, and went on about how it put him in a tough spot to have to take care of everything with no one else around, etc. He let off after I kept insisting I wouldn't be in, which was a relief. Spent all day Saturday playing board games with my friends.  I know this seems like a bit of a silly situation to some of you, but it's just the perfect storm of stuff to set off my anxiety, especially since the line between 'business' and 'personal relationship' is kind of blurred here. I'm honestly A-OK with busting my rear end, working hard, working on weekends, etc. But I just can't justify that for a non-benefited minimum wage job. It just feels like I have to make up a bunch of excuses when really I just want to tell him "This job sucks, you suck, and the only reason I'm still here is to have some minimal level of income and current employment while I try to get the hell out of here ASAP." Oh well, I've done everything I can here and remained professional through it all. BAE OF PIGS posted:Can you get the input of your friend? The one married to your manager? We obviously don't know all the intricacies of the situation so it's hard to give advice. It sounds like a lovely situation though. moana posted:No is a complete sentence. "Sorry, that doesn't work for me." if you want to be nice. I've got two more interviews on Monday. The first is for a job I'm not particularly interested in (a commissioned insurance sales position, ugh), but it'll be great practice for my second interview, with the city government. I'll have to call in sick to work to make them, though. He's not going to like that, but oh well. Thanks for the help everyone, and wish me luck.
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Jun 2, 2019 21:27
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At least you learned the important lesson of don’t mix work and friends/family unless you’re prepared to get screwed for the sake of that relationship.
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Jun 2, 2019 21:49
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Is there anything special I need to do to form an LLC and give it some money to start with? I just want to spend $500 to start an LLC and throw $500 into it to start a business. Seems like such a simple thing that hiring a tax lawyer to tell me how to deposit money would be an unnecessary pain in the butt but the google searching I do just tells me to do that so wtf? What makes it so complicated? Iwould think that I could just set up a business bank account and then transfer some money into it, keeping rexord of the fact that I did so, and then only ever use business money to pay for business expenses and at the end of the year take my records to an accountant to tell me what to do for taxes.
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Jun 3, 2019 01:06
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oliveoil posted:Is there anything special I need to do to form an LLC and give it some money to start with? I suppose it could depend on what state you live in but when we opened an S-Corp from being a sole proprietorship previously we just closed the SP accounts opened the S-Corp accounts (all at the bank) and had the money "wired"/e-deposited into the business account. For our purposes this was a loan given to the business but the same principle would apply. My dad did a similar thing when he started a LLC. If you have a CPA in mind now for your accounting needs you can just ask them and they would know you don't need a tax lawyer (presumably).
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Jun 3, 2019 01:36
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oliveoil posted:Is there anything special I need to do to form an LLC and give it some money to start with? IANAL, but you can find draft LLC docs on the internet (you'll probably get what you pay for to a certain extent). You will likely need an EIN to open a bank account, but the good news is you can do it online via the IRS for free and it's relatively easy. Keep good records of cash in and out, I liked GoDaddy bookkeeping when I was doing sole prop stuff, but there are a ton of options out there for tracking receipts and expenses.
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Jun 3, 2019 01:41
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oliveoil posted:Is there anything special I need to do to form an LLC and give it some money to start with? Go to the Secretary of State website for whichever state you live in and you will probably find instructions for what you have to file with the state. In California it’s 2 forms, a couple filing fees, and you have to pay an $800 annual tax.
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Jun 3, 2019 02:02
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I can't remember if it was this thread or some other BFC thread where people were recommending books like The Big Short. Anyone have that list?
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Jun 3, 2019 15:48
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There's a basic list of personal finance books at the top of the Long Term Thread, not sure if that's what you're thinking of?
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Jun 3, 2019 16:05
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Doccykins posted:There's a basic list of personal finance books at the top of the Long Term Thread, not sure if that's what you're thinking of? No, these were not educational books but books about historical financial events. I vaguely remember Flash Boys and maybe Barbarians at the Gates being on the list. I'll post this in in the long term investment thread also.
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Jun 3, 2019 16:08
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I know a list like that was discussed in the BWM thread at some point because that’s where I saw all of them. Bad blood Barbarians at the Gate The smartest guys in the room The big short
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Jun 3, 2019 16:14
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Ah, the one thread I didn’t think of. Thanks!
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Jun 3, 2019 16:15
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ah yes, it was in the BWM thread - I'm reading When Genius Failed right now (very slowly) because of it e: chat starts here Doccykins fucked around with this message at 16:21 on Jun 3, 2019 |
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Jun 3, 2019 16:19
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Doccykins posted:I'm reading When Genius Failed I, too, read the zaurg thread
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Jun 3, 2019 16:40
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Simpsons Reference posted:I, too, read the zaurg thread Notable genius zaurg
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Jun 3, 2019 20:03
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Furia posted:Notable genius zaurg You can't have a decade long streak of consistency without being the most stable kind of genius.
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Jun 4, 2019 02:10
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What is the go to online (or not) bank for checking with no fees, atm reimbursement, FDIC, no international atm issues, etc? I have savings with Ally and a checking with them for a property I own. I have my main checking and an old credit card with Chase (since 2006) but the BS arbitration that you have to opt out of for the credit card (by snail mail no less!) Is kind of it for me. I have been thinking of making a change and now is the time.
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Jun 5, 2019 18:01
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spwrozek posted:What is the go to online (or not) bank for checking with no fees, atm reimbursement, FDIC, no international atm issues, etc? I have savings with Ally and a checking with them for a property I own. I have my main checking and an old credit card with Chase (since 2006) but the BS arbitration that you have to opt out of for the credit card (by snail mail no less!) Is kind of it for me. I have been thinking of making a change and now is the time. If that is your oldest card don't cancel it. They will cancel you if you "opt out" of the arbitration. I bet you every new card has that clause in it.
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Jun 5, 2019 18:10
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spwrozek posted:What is the go to online (or not) bank for checking with no fees, atm reimbursement, FDIC, no international atm issues, etc?
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Jun 5, 2019 18:26
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I dunno about international stuff,, but Ally reimburses six ATM fees per statement period.
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Jun 5, 2019 18:50
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Happiness Commando posted:Schwab +1 to this I got it on recommendation of a friend who had it for 10 years and it's an amazing card
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Jun 5, 2019 18:53
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H110Hawk posted:If that is your oldest card don't cancel it. They will cancel you if you "opt out" of the arbitration. I bet you every new card has that clause in it. I have zero cares about it being my oldest card honestly. I don't foresee needing credit for at least 2 more years. Current score over 800, own my car, have property already, etc. I will check out Schwab. Ally I believe is only $10 a month. I don't have a debit card/ATM for that account. Just looked it up and yeah $10, no fees at Allpoint ATM. 1% foreign transaction fee (which is not bad honestly). But could end up over the $10 quickly. I find it is easiest and cheapest to get foreign can via atm at the country you go to even with a small fee. spwrozek fucked around with this message at 19:21 on Jun 5, 2019 |
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Jun 5, 2019 19:17
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if you have any family members who are or are yourself a veteran usaa is very solid
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Jun 5, 2019 21:46
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spwrozek posted:I have zero cares about it being my oldest card honestly. I don't foresee needing credit for at least 2 more years. Current score over 800, own my car, have property already, etc. IIRC the catch with Schwab is that you also need to open a brokerage account with them, but you could just never fund it.
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Jun 5, 2019 23:08
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Sock The Great posted:IIRC the catch with Schwab is that you also need to open a brokerage account with them, but you could just never fund it. This is what I have done. The Schwab account is fantastic.
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Jun 6, 2019 00:02
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I'll also chime in and say Schwab is great. I was already a brokerage customer before opening a bank account just for the ATM rebate. Can't beat all fees being refunded.
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Jun 6, 2019 08:48
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sparkmaster posted:I'll also chime in and say Schwab is great. I was already a brokerage customer before opening a bank account just for the ATM rebate. Can't beat all fees being refunded. It's always nice when you find a bank that does this. My credit union refunds all ATM fees, I now fear no ATM. Oh, the ATM owner will charge me a $6.50 fee? I don't think so!
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Jun 6, 2019 13:07
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Sock The Great posted:IIRC the catch with Schwab is that you also need to open a brokerage account with them, but you could just never fund it. I keep $1.00 in it
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Jun 6, 2019 13:49
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You could be investing that $1. The BWM is coming from inside the thread.
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Jun 6, 2019 14:32
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EugeneJ posted:I keep $1.00 in it you aren't required to
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Jun 6, 2019 14:58
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