60+ year old thread.

Interesting Scam last week.

I had gotten a google appointment reminder on my email. Odd, but it was "if this time works, fine. Otherwise, reschedule.
I figured it was the Costco driver confirming I'd be home. The date and time worked, so I left it for Thursday.

The Costco guy showed up on Tuesday. He sent a text 30 minutes out and showed and unloaded into the shop. I got a couple of texts (all from different numbers) to remind me of that appointment time with "click to accept or click to reschedule." Never click on a text from an unknown number; at least, it is a scam to access your bank account. A voice message was also left with the same time and date. Everyone always leaves a name/number/office name but not this time. I called back the number, got some business. I hit "0" and got "you'll be transferred to next available Sales Associate." Spier Innovations. So I asked if it was a medical office or who they were. Solar Installation Company. Hmm.

Sure enough, the time came around, and I hear the doorbell. Hot afternoon, the sun bearing down on us. I go out the side door to see who is at the front door. Solar Salesmen to sign me up for a free solar installation. WTF?

He has my name, cell number, email, and obviously my home address. Not a clue who this person is or anything about the company. He starts with, "can we go inside" I said no(you can hear the dogs raising a fuss). He explains he got my name and number via their Facebook link when I filled out a solar interest form. Stop right there; I hate FB. It kills my battery, and I deleted it. Huge red flag and he starts to backpedal. Red flag two. That's it, and I am getting pissed. Like the Ray Charles song says: "Hit the road Jack, don't you ever come back!"

I got his name and did some reverse look-ups. He is legit, the company does do solar installations. His LinkedIn page stated "$1000 paid for every referral that results in installation." The kicker is the email he had was an old one. FB breach released a ton of personal information. That was my old email address for years ago (when FB was new).

Started asking everyone I knew about the company, as something wasn't adding up. Well, they sign you into a reverse Home Equity Line of Credit. So a 12,000 installation is now a $25,000 installation with 8% and reverse equity adding to the principal. So by the time you have a $40,000 ballon 15 years later they are long gone. A friend's mother almost fell for the scam.

My electricity isn't too bad. 150kWh winter, peak at 350kWh summer. About $150 to $350. 400kWh panels, fixed position, are probably good for about 200kWh over 8 hours. The pool pump and a water well pump at 600' are big users. I'd like solar to offset electrical and reduce the grid but I'm coming up with a 10-year payback with a low cost (self-installed) of about $10K.

Very slick scam. Still pissed off about the whole thing. Maybe I need a green Gran Torino (a great movie).

 

Afternoon all:
I recently read a comment that I also have first hand experience with when it comes to investing, the guy was talking about brokers/financial advisors who recommend a stock after a significant rise from the bottom after a correction, I want to buy with a substantial profit potential, not the crumbs left at the top after a run up well above it's lows!

Interesting story there Tom, unbelievable how many scams are out there.

 

Two ways to invest. Try to make a quick buck. 2008 proved that isn’t a great idea. Or invest in products with a lower return but safer.

I have always followed the second. I didn’t get burned in 2008.

Now maybe if I had been more aggressive I’d have a bigger boat. More likely I’d have been like many others who ended up sleeping in their car until that was repossessed too.

 

Me too!
I like PPL stock, won't make me rich, but makes me a few $$$$!
PPL was down to 18 and went up to 29+ after that, probably the pros would recommend buying it at 26/27 with an upside potential of 10-15%, I would have rather bought it at 18-20 with an upside potential of 50% or more plus it would be paying a good dividend while waiting for it to appreciate.
I am out of it right now and grabbed some capital gains that I am happy with, now waiting to buy it back at a cheaper price and hopefully tack on some more capital gains, if not I can live with the dividend which is WAY WAY better than just having the money sitting idle in an account paying NOTHING!

 

Too many people wait to sell, wanting to reach the top of the market and not being satisfied with a decent profit. Then they get caught in the crash and burn and blame timing the market for their loss... when they didn't time the market and it was their own fault.

 

My first impression of the meeting with the financial advisor is that it was a bust. He doesn't do anything except what his bosses tell him to do. Very personable guy, but no real skills.

 

Good morning everyone!! It was a scorcher here for northeast PA yesterday. I worked on caulking the greenhouse for about 2 hours and gave up since it is in the sun most of the day. We hit close to 100 here - registered 98 on the front porch. Lynn and I went for a swim after dinner - pool water was 96. Heavy thunderstorms last night - lots of lightening and thunder.

I'll try to get some more caulking done today. We have the paint ready for the greenhouse and the mower garage. Lots of showers in the forecast for the coming days, though.

Lynn and I currently have 3 financial advisors working for us - probably going to pare that down to two in the next few months. Lynn is a CPA and very adept at finances. She closely follows how much we're paying in fees and holds the advisors accountable. One of them refers to her as the "nicest person he's afraid of."

Stay safe out there!

 

Many many years ago my parents found a financial advisor they really liked, and he has taken very good care of their nest egg. He charges a lot! But my folks don't really have to think about it, he just handles it. My wife has a woman doing that job for her, and she's good too. Also charges a lot. I do my own. One of these days I need to compare them to me; I suspect I will come out at the bottom of the heap! But I work cheap.

@Devious6 will like this one. I took a road trip last weekend, visiting a certain Dragon in Tennessee (with a wee bit in North Carolina) and another Dragon in Virginia, among other places. Had a very twisty time of it!

 

My oldest son likes the Dragon, and riding as fast as possible on it. Trailers his bike up from FL just to risk everything, IMO. He says sometimes there will be a police car safety escort, but they can't keep up. He's talked to some of the officers, like minded guys interested in speed, bikes, etc. They clock speeds, trying to win the office lottery.

 

Tail of the Dragon, The Snake, The Diamondback...and many, many others.

 

I know nothing about this investment stuff.
I was surprised when I had to switch my 401 to a ira. They were going to charge like 50 bucks a transaction if I didn’t.
So I did. They rattled off some good numbers on a certain plan.
I said sure.
So now I wait. Haven’t made a dime since I switched.
So I was reading about their investment help and they have no repercussions if they
Make mistakes. It’s thousands of dollars if they help me and if it’s the wrong decisions they
Still get paid. So I lose. I have minimal savings so anything I lose it’s a big hurt. So right now
I’m going to let it sit and after I finish with my cobra stuff for Carol I’ll start to go to school on this stuff.
Don’t know….

 

I am interested in your final build thoughts. Also how you handled the permitting process with the county and city if you need a permit , which I will.

I looked at the Costco offerings for the 14X14 offering. $1800.00 is not too expensive. The Costco offering looks to be constructed so much better than the BJ's Club offering for $1300.00. I should be in a position to purchase one next year. First I need to replace a small shed in the back yard.

Today is a music lesson in the AM then research replacing the WIFI system. I replaced all 3 of the dumb 8 port switches yesterday. They now support the FIOS Gigabit speed. I needed a better router and I chose a Synology RT2600ac. Although this is a WIFI 5 router the cost of $111.00 on Prime Day was appealing and an inexpensive way for me to learn how to install a full featured router. There is a lot more to the install, to do the install properly, than I thought. I am more concerned with the security aspect of the router than ease of installation. I currently have a Synology NAS from 2012 and it is built like a brick out house.

 

Welcome to the club. It seems like the market is a big gamble but remember when was the last time the market dropped and did not come back past the point it dropped from, never. Timing the market is sort of foolish. The only ones that really make a lot of money are institutional investors. They always sell high and buy low. Us peons on the other hand just have to wait it out.

I took a plunge into the managed account arena and glad I did. So far I am making 8% after fees over the last 12 years. I did purchase an annuity, from my broker, almost 10 years ago, and it has increased 100% in that time. I have two riders on the annuity that are not inexpensive. Overall I am happy. I have to start taking deductions from the annuity this December.

 

Good Morning Porchites! Looks like I can put away for a couple days, and mow again on Friday! Dentist and yard chores today, back to wrap up the project tomorrow.

My son helped me with the "extra hands" part yesterday, then helped me wrap it up too. I'm not as limber as I wanted to be moving around in the bed all bent over, so it went much quicker with his help.




We have some folks with Raymond James whose job it is to manage our retirement monies. They've weathered every storm so far with minimal losses, and always earn back what I've chosen to spend (solar, 1/2 down on the RAV) and more. They charge 1%, and I consider that low. We also have a couple smaller annuities, just to say we do. We ignore them, and let them make that 10 year money they are supposed to.

Have a great Hump Friday!

 

I have managed my money ever since my first financial advisor told me I should buy Sunbeam... and the following day Barron Magazine came out with an article saying that Sunbeam's CEO was the most over-rated CEO in the country... and the stock immediately TANKED.

It was a good lesson in life, and ever since I've followed my own advice and done well. But mostly in real estate, especially after 2008. So now I've sold some properties and am looking for something that is more liquid. Being out of the stock market for over ten years makes me a little nervous. I know there will be costs involved with a money handler, but I haven't the energy or resources to delve into researching every little nuance of stocks the way I once did. I'd be happy to turn some of my cash over to a competent, honest manager. The problem becomes, how to find that person. I fear they are as scarce as a good, honest dentist or mechanic.

 

Morning all:
Wish I could help you Mike, but can only give you a couple things to ponder!
When the market corrects there are usually NO SACRED COWS as far as individual stocks, a portfolio can take a pounding and the only thing that someone can do then is wait for it to hopefully go up again, and remember that most mutual funds are just a basket of stocks. If you are fortunate enough to time the market and get out before a major correction, and then buy back in at a much lower price, that will make you money, lots of luck on that on a consistent basis!
Just having money in an account paying nothing or almost nothing is a sure way to lose purchasing power due to inflation.
There are other options such as buying rental properties, I had thought about that years ago but some of the stories I heard about tenants made me cringe, think about the owners of some of those bio hazard vehicles you worked on!

Good post by Travlr, I also experienced something similar!
Wanted to buy a stock at $1.50 that had been over $100, broker advised against it, then at $13 called and recommended to buy it, shortly later the company was sold and I got $11 a share!
That's when I decided to dump the full service broker, go with a discount broker, and live or die with my own decisions.

 

I'm in the county. Two separate cities have annexed us over the years (requiring permits), but we sued with "annex is fine, run water and sewer lines". Too much rock, houses spread too far apart (1.5 to 5 acre lots). It never happened, so only permit required in a country septic perk testing.

Most of the feedback on Costco is positive. Some have issues with "wood not looking good after a couple of years," but red cedar is a softwood and will need to be preserved. The full roof helps with elements, but maintenance is expected.

I used to live in the Pacific Northwest, so used to red cedar and Thompson's water seal. Timber Seal was done annually, and no problems. Our deck (built before we move here) was too close to the dirt, so not good airflow.

Work in progress. The 25' tall crepe myrtles dwarf the 14' sidewalls of the shop. My wife bought four little plants at the end of August in gallon pots for $2.00 each. They looked dead, but she was like, "worth a try." I planted them 5' from the wall of the shop, thinking "small bush." The shop provided a windbreak from cold Northerlies. The southern sun meant good growth. Any rain waters them.

Trying to get sod established with 100F temperatures is a challenge. Thankfully cooler and wet for two weeks, which delays building but will help with sod.

I still would like to modify the shed (18'x 24') into two sides. One side for yard stuff, the other side as a small cottage for cyclists traveling across the county. If you are doing a 4,000-mile bike ride it's nice to have a place to shower and relax before getting back on the road the next day.

 

99deg/111deg heat index right now.
Good Times!

 

Mike people like us (older, retired or close to retirement, some $$ to invest, mostly fixed income) really really need a financial adviser. I compare people like us who are not finance experts and doing their own investing to a person charged with a serious felony, know nothing about the law and decide to defend themselves in court with out an attorney. The are plenty of excellent financial advisors. You may have to interview a few to find the one that’s right for you. I would start by getting a book called The Truth About Money by Ric Edelman. It’s an easy read and will tell you everything you need to know about personal finance. It’ll even help you to find the financial advisor that best fits your needs. Ric also has a radio show that is nationally syndicated that’s on either Saturday or Sunday’s that’s very interesting and you can learn a lot from the show.
You definitely want an advisor who is a fiduciary. The definition of a fiduciary is -A fiduciary is a person or organization that acts on behalf of another person or persons, putting their clients' interest ahead of their own, with a duty to preserve good faith and trust. Being a fiduciary thus requires being bound both legally and ethically to act in the other's best interests.
If they do not act in your best interest and act ethically there can be legal action against them, they can be sued, and lose their job. Being a fiduciary does not mean that they are an effective advisor. You still have to find an effective advisor you like.

Wise investing is complex and tricky. Investing on your own you can lose all or a large part of your $$ and never be able to recover. Or your money may provide poor returns so you are earning little or even sliding backwards. Then there are the tax consequences you need to be aware of. Read the book and you’ll be armed with information.