Cody Mercurio

Comments:

• I live in a 55+ development and find a good number of my fellow neighbors are driving fancy high priced vehicles, such as the Bentley, Porsches, and Mercedes What some of them do is rent the vehicle for a few years to enjoy the car. After they get the Bentley out of their system the leasee will move onto another fancy automobile.

  Post: Quinn is considering buying a Bentley 🤑

  Link to comment from September 8, 2024

• Well, I'll be damned! It turns out to be one hell of a great country in which to live, after all. As a baby boomer, I think there is always opportunity in this great nation. Regardless of our occasional economic dislocations this is the best economic machine that mankind has been able to develop, so far. I am still in disbelief that our unemployment rate is below 4% for so long.

  Post: Youth May Triumph

  Link to comment from May 17, 2024

• I am sincerely sorry to hear about the many times you were fired, let go, or laid off.  I was fired once. That was once too many. When I was 12 years old I was hired to work in the evening at a local delicatessen. The owner of the store wanted me to restock the beverage freezer two hours before the store closed and to restock some shelves with canned goods. The job required me to go downstairs into the basement where the soda and beer were stored. I recall when turning on the basement light I would observe a scattering of many cockroaches running on the floor. The owner had a bad leg and could not go up and down stairs well. Hence, he hired a young boy to do the job. My pay was $1 per hour. I worked from 6-8pm. Legally, I was not supposed to work after dark. Boy, was I happy to make two bucks a night, too.  After two weeks on the job I finished for the evening. The owner handed me the $2 dollars for the night and announced that his regular stock boy was returning from vacation and he would no longer be needing me. In other words, the owner had no intention of permanently hiring me I was only hired for the two weeks. I stood there stunned with a perplexed look on my face. I was in disbelief. To this day, I can still sense the feeling that came over my mood and body. I had been f___ed.  I am a meek, mild, and sensitive type of person and can not forget that experience. However, from that day onward I swore to myself I would never allow another man to have control over my paycheck or income. I swore that I would guide my career and money to never let this happen to me again (remember I was 12 years old).  From that point on I have never been broke, without an income, and never been fired, laid-off, or left a job other than voluntarily. I am now contently retired. What an experience that was for me.

  Post: My Unemployed Life

  Link to comment from October 22, 2023

• During the covid crisis my wife and I decided it was time to replace two of our three vehicles. First, we purchased an Acura RDX at dealer’s list price. Second, my wife had her heart set on a new Subaru Crosstrek in gray color. Due to the shortage of vehicles in the middle of the Covid crises it took about six months of surfing the internet to find the exact Crosstrek from a dealership within driving range. My wife had her heart set on the Subaru Crosstrek, especially in gray, her favorite color. Visiting the dealer, we found the exact car. I knew when I saw the car in the back lot that I was going to make this purchase. The mark-up this time was $3,000 over the dealer’s invoice. In my mind, I knew I was going to pay the piper as this could be that last car we buy. I hope not, but it could be. Returning to the salesperson’s desk I questioned the $3,000 mark-up. Naturally, he had to check with the sales manager to see if there could be an adjustment on the mark-up. The salesperson stated that if we could fully pay for the car that day they would shave $500 off the $3,000 mark-up. The deal was completed . Today, we are both loving our beautiful Subaru, Crosstrek. In fact, I like driving it more than the more expensive Acura, RDX. Go ahead and enjoy yourself!! So, you die leaving a few dollars less in the kitty.

  Post: My Car Journey

  Link to comment from September 5, 2023

• In 1971 I enlisted for the draft as my lottery number was low and my local draft board advised that I was to be called within months. So, I decided to speed-up the process. After Army basic training I was assigned for Military Police duty (95B). After MP training i was shipped to W Germany. I only spent 21 months in the service since I was released early to attend college (early out and GI Bill). Those 21 months proved to be a rewarding experience. Going into the Army changed the entire direction of my life for the better. I am forever grateful for the opportunity my government gave to me to serve my country and improve the rest of my life as well.

  Post: Learned in Uniform

  Link to comment from August 23, 2023

• Mike, you stated, "It’s yet another instance that underscores the value of ignoring the experts. . . ." It's a wonder why we bother to call them "experts." Maybe we should label them fortune tellers?

  Post: Egg on Their Faces

  Link to comment from February 13, 2023

• Mike, thank you for this review of these stock market valuation metrics. I have noted and saved your article on my computer so that I may occasionally review the valuations mentioned. I enjoy studying the stock market movements and tend to watch the Buffet indicator using the market's GDP ratio. Do you have any thoughts on using the Buffet Indicator as a guide for stock valuations? Thank you. Cody

  Post: Yardsticks for Stocks

  Link to comment from January 2, 2023

• What to do with $44 billion dollars? Think of what good could have been achieved with that money. Andrew Carnegie was responsible for establishing and building almost 1700 libraries across America. I lived in two cities where Carnegie library buildings were built. One is still in operation, today. The other is still standing but is no longer used as a library. “In 1889 Carnegie wrote an article called "The Gospel of Wealth," in which he spelled out his views on philanthropy: "In bestowing charity the main consideration should be to help those who help themselves." The rich should give, so the poor could improve their own lives — and thus the lives of the society. Giving was a code of honor. "The man who dies rich dies in disgrace," Carnegie said.” https://www.npr.org/2013/08/01/207272849/how-andrew-carnegie-turned-his-fortune-into-a-library-legacy I bet many of us here, at Humble Dollar, could have found a better use of $44 billion dollars.

  Post: My Confession

  Link to comment from December 23, 2022

• Greg, love our topic. What’s unfortunate is that our tax system takes honest people and creates the circumstances to convert honest people into tax cheats, which robs the entire federal system of billions of dollars in revenue every year. Our tax laws need revision. Very easy. Eliminate this regular abuse of the tax system. Eliminate all (ALL!) deductions for everything and every group who thinks they are entitled. NO BREAKS for any individuals or businesses.  All income, working income, tips, dividends, capital gains, interest, regardless of what form it is received is taxed at the same individual’s personal marginal tax rate.  Keep the progressive marginal tax system. The more one earns the higher percentage one pays. —— By eliminating all the deductions the marginal tax brackets will be reduced benefitting every taxpayer. We will all pay lower taxes as a result, except for the wide spread abusers and those groups that believe they are entitled. —— Additionally, the incentive to cheat is erased from the system. Additionally, there will be less need for a IRS audits. It would even be possible that without deductions the IRS could total your income reports and just send the taxpayer an annual bill. The taxpayer would no longer need to spend many hours accumulating paperwork, hiring an account or paying for online tax service programs. Of course, none of this is likely to happen as the tax lobby industry will make certain that our chaotic tax system - which no one fully understands - will remain intact. As for me, I have managed my finances so that I now take the standard deduction. This has made it much easier. Although, this year, I made 1 stock trade and will have to file a schedule D. And, by the way, what can we do with the huge underground shadow economy? That’s another story. 

  Post: Yellen About Taxes

  Link to comment from December 19, 2022

• Thank you for the tip. I will look for shoes with a toe bar. By the way, my podiatrist was not too helpful either. His advice was extra padding or an operation. This is after a few expensive tests and 3/4 office visits.

  Post: Just What I Wanted

  Link to comment from December 17, 2022