Best advice you received in 2022?
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Comments (23)i dont agree with Stanley .... these zone 8 people just have no clue about zone 5 ..... if the plants are budded out ... and tender.. you will have to protect them until late may in zone 5 ..... which is simple.. if you put them in a wagon and pull them in and out of the garage from 4/1 thru 6/1 ... hard frost or freeze can kill tender new growth .. and on most first year grafts.. you may only have one bud .... i really screwed this up this spring.. got an early delivery from SS ... spring was real mild.. and i got so geaked.. i planted them straight into the ground... a few weeks later.. we got a few good frosts.. which destroyed half of my 1500 hosta[they spring back though] .. and it killed 3 of my SS plants ... i am out 50 to 75 bucks .... ouch ... if i was thinking straight.. i would have put them int he wagon ... if you contact SS and ask them when the plants are still COMPLETELY DORMANT .. up/over in the confer god's heaven [oregon] ... and have them ship them to you completely dormant.. they can go straight in the ground when workable in your zone... if zone 5.. that is early april .... unfortunately .... at that time in oregon .. the plants are breaking bud.. no time to ship to a colder zone.. and is it really good to ship tender growth .. it breaks too easily .... anyway ... i vote for shipping when Stanley says the new growth has hardened off ... and you are near your last frost free date .... mid to late may ... which means they may be out of stock of some of the rarer things.. but that is half the fun of collecting.. some dream plants i have ordered 3 to 5 times.. and i am still hoping to get one someday ..... others do other things... and if they mess up and lose the plant.. they understand .... and accept the loss .... as a newbie .. i want you to truly understand that the costs and risks are very high ..... and i wish you all the luck in the world .... ken PS: if you have to hold them over .... water them once at delivery [they tend to ship dry ... no need to pay freight on water] .... and then not again until they are bone dry ... which in spring might not occur until the heat of june .... i have killed more conifers with too much water than i care to admit .. the only exception is if the plant is completely root bound .... and sucks up the water as fast as you can put it on .... when you water the first time ... feel the weight of the pot .. and dont water again until you nearly throw it over your head when trying to lift it.. because it is so dry, and you expected a heavy pot.. lol ... PPS: what are you getting???? have i enabled you????...See MoreBest financial advice you've received? why?
Comments (47)"As I've said in other postings, any advisor that won't give you the names of at least 3 long-time clients to call and talk to, isn't worth considering." The problems are 1) he cherry picks clients and 2) clients have no clue what they are paying or how they are really doing. They just know they 'like' they advisor and he 'seems' to be doing great. The people I have helped all thought initially that their advisor was their dear friend that was doing wonderful things with their money. They would have given glowing recommendations. I think EF Moody said it well: "And that's the same critical problem with referrals as well- and the reason that they are so effectively used in the business. Literally every salesperson is told/taught to get referrals to friends, neighbors, relatives, co-workers, Martians, whoever, since that is a great lead in. Unfortunately, the person getting the referral believes- or wants to believe- that the agent has already been critically and thoroughly analyzed and must be of the highest caliber and competency. Invariably they do NOTHING themselves to check out whether such knowledge or ability exists- and nothing was done before. Then this happens to the next person and the next, ad infinitum, as the referrals continue. It ends up that no one did any checking on anyone at all and then they later wonder how it all went wrong. They end up buying the wrong product at the wrong risk level at the wrong time- and certainly from the wrong person. They get little or ineffectual service, etc. Now referrals may work with physicians and certain other professionals (sometimes with CPA's or attorneys- but not all the time) since they at least have a degree and other background and training. Even here, people are finally recognizing there are problems. But referrals to agents who have essentially nil background (read further) is illogical. It is for these many reasons that I feel that referrals to brokers, insurance agents, financial planners, attorneys and most other entities is a waste of time unless a comprehensive review of the individual is commenced before any product is purchased or any fee paid. And such review is NOT calling the SEC/NASD or your State offices to see if any formal arbitrations or law suits have been instituted. Only an infinitesimal number of agents have ever been sued. That still says NOTHING about competency. You need to do a LOT more to assure yourself of some reasonable competency." "That seems to set you off in a very strident manner." Because I know what a scam these people are probably in for. Unless they find an honest, knowledgable, hourly fee-ONLY planner. I would totally love to see ignorant investors finding good, honest, low-cost advice. I could then turn my attentions to all my hobbies. The fact is, these people need advisors because they are ignorant and have no confidence. Salesmen will snap them up and manipulate them and hurt them. I see this over and over and over. "But any good CFP who has been in business for 10+ years should be able to show a track record of at least 6-8% after expenses." Should, but they don't. Numbers don't lie. "Yes, it is hard to track all expenses (whether you use an advisor or not), but a rough total can be managed by diligent clients and figuring out the ROI is easy after that." First, why should a client have to hunt down elusive fees? Shouldn't a financial ADVISOR (!!!!) be telling the clients all about the fees? This alone is very telling. And I can't even track down all the fees! Fund turnover is not in the prospectus let alone the expense ratio. Take a look at this: "Mercer Bullard, president, Fund Democracy and assistant professor of law at the University of Mississippi, added: "This study demonstrates conclusively what consumer groups have argued for years: fund expense ratios are misleading. Expense ratios exclude portfolio transaction costs that on average equal 43 percent of the total expense ratio. In some cases, hidden portfolio transaction costs are five or six times the total expense ratio. Congress should act promptly to ensure that America's investors are provided with full disclosure about funds' portfolio transaction costs." Even if you find the turnover, figuring out the cost from there is a bear. Can't you see what a problem this is? "People also need to consider that many CFPs offer their clients purchases at NAV and reduced management fees on funds." From the BCT study: "Do advisors help clients find funds that are lower cost (excluding distribution costs)? After analyzing several trillion dollars worth of transactions, the answer is no." "He changed all his clients over to a fee basis " Yes, the new and improved way to get big fees from clients. This is usually more expensive than loads for the client in the long run. Fee basis means he can get commissions (probably from 12b-1 fees) and a percent of the client's assets. That percent of assets gets subtracted from the client's investments year after year after year after year. Never to compound. And for what? "But I don't make the mistake of thinking that everyone enjoys doing this type of thing;" They don't have to. They can buy a target retirement date fund (very low expense ratio, no load, no percent of asset fee, no 12b-1 fee, index funds, automatically rebalanced) or have a salaried Vanguard planner do it (often at no cost) or hire a fee-ONLY planner by the hour to set up a simple portfolio. I am saving amazing amounts of money and spend less that 8 hours a year on my investments. Had I been better able to dig through the industry BS when I first started, I would have been able to set up a great portfolio in a weekend. "In the end, all we are doing here is trading opinions. " Hard numbers are not opinions. This is not an opinion: "the BCT study found that the raw returns of equally weighted mutual funds (net of all expenses) for 1996 to 2002 were 6.626% for the investors working on their own and were 2.924% for funds provided by advisors." I know that I'm passionate about this. It's because I have looked at enough evidence over the years to reach certainty. And, I have seen so many people that have lost years of retirement to fees they were never told about by their trusted financial ADVISOR. Maybe it's just my opinion, but I think that if someone pays for a service he should get a value from that service - not badly hurt. And the worst is that all those clients initially defended their broker like crazy. It was only after I took them out to Morningstar and showed them reality that they started realizing what was being done to them....See MoreAre you receiving too much unsolicited advice?
Comments (22)Ladies and Gents... I just fixed a rum and diet soda and am wiping tears of hysteria at this topic. I can now speak two...no three words to anyone that offers any opinion or advice on how to finish my kitchen. Anyone that hears me say these words listens and obeys without further comment. Those three words, spoken with the same tone that I use speaking to my DD's silky terrier (visiting our home indefinitely) to control his behavior are, "DROP IT." Followed by, "Now." PS I am going on a THREE YEAR anniversary since my saga began. I am going to finish before I hit that point. It's been an absolute nightmare since this all happened. And I have had to deal with so much stress that I've taken to medicating with alcohol on occassion. It helps. And so does GW. THIS is why I've been 'here' so much lately. MOTIVATION! Do keep your rum handy. When you've had a drink or two, start practicing, "Drop it. Now." You'll be laughing in no time. Especially funny when you're practicing with your spouse after a frustrating day of people wanting to interfere but not help. As for planning your kitchen: why not ask them to do a layout for you and so you can really understand what they're saying. I think I'd egg it on even more to ask them to send you info and drawings by email. This way, you'll be able to 'think' more clearly about their ideas. Tell them you're a visual learner and you just hear buzzing in your ears when people start trying to explain what they mean to you. Don't forget to be sipping your drink when people do start talking. I had a repairman in my home today. He is going to have to replace a fan on a new U-Line undercounter fridge/freezer. He said, "Wow! You've got a lot of neat stuff in your kitchen! I don't get to see stuff like this often." I said, "David, sweetie. DON'T TELL ME THAT. I'm sure you do not mean that you haven't worked on appliances like mine before." He said, "Yes, 'mam! You're right! I haven't worked on these types of appliances before." I'm drinking tonight. Surely he's brighter than his speech....See MoreBest Advice thread: online retailers you recommend
Comments (26)Rather than repeat a few that have already been mentioned, there are a few others I've dealt with that I absolutely love: Sinks Gallery - These guys have the largest array of sinks I have seen anywhere. ...and not your typical selection that you find at big box stores, Espray or even plumbing showrooms. Their customer service is outstanding. Copper Sinks Online - I've sung their praises before. I believe they have other websites for stone and glass as well. I see a few posts about Ebay, but here is my $0.02 on that. To say "Ebay is great - check out sinks/lighting there" doesn't consider that Ebay is really only like a "mall". There are countless different sellers that range from borderline fraudulant to excellent. I have found that the ratings don't always ensure a good experience... Personally for things like fixtures, I prefer to shop local or with a few larger online companies that can afford to have their own websites, real people to answer the phone and provide some semblance of customer service, etc. (like the ones I've mentioned above)....See MoreElmer J Fudd
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