Warren Grafer

Comments:

• David-your mention of Robert Moses and the disruptions caused by his Cross Bronx Expressway construction reminds me that there are always two sides to every story. I remember the absolute pain in the neck traveling from the GW Bridge to get to visit my grandmother in the East Bronx used to be when we had to use surface streets. My parents rejoiced when the Cross Bronx finally opened in 1955 and cut the drive time to grandma's in half!

  Post: The Greater Good

  Link to comment from August 27, 2024

• We also had a 'free' SDB from Wachovia before Wells Fargo took it over. But WF honored the old Wachovia benefits, so I got a free box at a WF in SW FL and all was well...Until Hurricane Irma flooded the bank and WF decided to close that branch! Fortunately ours was high enough to avoid damages, so after WF said they didn't have any available we moved to a Truist SDB at a discounted $20. Good place for a few gold coins and paper bonds.

  Post: Do You Own a Safe?

  Link to comment from August 27, 2024

• Jeff - Just curious if this title change has affected the real estate tax situation. If your Mom has owned the house for a number of years her assessed 'Save Our Homes' valuation for tax purposes is most likely way below current value. New buyers in FL are often surprised to find their local county tax bill becomes based on the purchase value resulting in taxes 3,4,or even 5+ times what the previously titled owner paid.

  Post: House Keeping

  Link to comment from December 15, 2023

• Great article! My wife is a retired teacher, and your mention of the "lounge lizards" struck a chord. Many years ago she signed up with school board approved lounge lizard for a school board approved 'dual tier annuity' 403b. The 'dual tier' moniker was beautiful - the first tier was an imaginary number that reflected how much the account was supposedly worth if you left it with the insurance company (Great American Life Insurance Company), and the way lower tier was the value if you transferred it out of their hands! We finally bit the bullet and moved it into a mutual find company when it became available and eventually transferred it into Schwab. BTW, much later we read about certain school board members and administrators being brought up on bribery charges in return for authorizing those lounge lizards!

  Post: My Money Education

  Link to comment from October 23, 2023

• Jeffrey-you were indeed blessed to get such advice from your father so early in life. Unfortunately my Dad, a hard working delivery driver, had no financial advice for me before he passed. But fortunately, as a young newlywed, I had a boss who had a mission to share financial wisdom he had learned with young folks just starting out. He gave me a copy of 'The Richest Man in Babylon' by George S. Clason. While the book is probably a work of fiction, I picked up enough ideas about saving/paying yourself first ('10% of all you earn should be yours to keep'), living within your means, investing for the future, etc. that we managed to avoid the typical financial pitfalls so prevalent today. I make it a point to try to share these principles with young people wherever and whenever I can.

  Post: Wisdom of My Father

  Link to comment from August 31, 2023

• Mr. Quinn, you simply can't leave us hanging! "those excursions were great until..." UNTIL WHAT?

  Post: Not Quite Magic

  Link to comment from May 30, 2023

• As the song says, "Hats off to Larry"! You made the move! Been dreaming of a new Highlander Hybrid for a while, but our 12 year old Highlander and our 19 year old Accord refuse to give us any reasons to upgrade! Maybe next year... Just wondering how the purchase experience went and if the promised MPG is real. Just saw a new arrival at my local dealer with a supplementary sticker of dealer 'add-ons' of over $4k (very necessary stuff like 'dent protection', 'appearance protection', 'value package', and even 'running boards'!). Can't blame them for trying...

  Post: It Also Has Wheels

  Link to comment from April 16, 2023

• Having AAA for 40+ years, when the annual bill comes I always wondered if it was worth it but end up just paying it, mostly out of habit. Last year my membership came in Very handy twice - once when my spouse backed off the road into a ditch requiring a tow, and once when we were out to eat and my friend realized he had locked his keys in his car. In both incidents AAA came through promptly, even in a somewhat rural area. As they say, better safe than sorry!

  Post: No Help

  Link to comment from July 4, 2022

• Not sure I understand why it would be better to buy an I-bond in April rather than wait to buy until May when the new higher rate is in effect? In April the underlying interest rate is zero, and might it not go up slightly in May?

  Post: How to Use I Bonds

  Link to comment from April 19, 2022