Many products these days are unrepairable or hard to repair. Some cheap TVs are all sealed and you cannot even open it to check or fix anything.
This is slowly getting to cars too.
I have read that in many car models, to replace the headlights, they have to disassemble the entire front portion and then put it back. So, that's what adds to the time and labor.
I had a car once that had a difficult access for battery and required special tools to replace it.
Even DIY oil changes in some cars are tricky.

To be fair "the entire front end" is mainly a plastic facade (bumper cover) that can be removed in about 15 minutes if you know where the fasteners are located.
And even if you could open that cheap TV, there would be nothing inside you could fix. Just a couple circuit boards, with very minute components baked on. Though I did help a neighbor replace a soldered-in-place fuse on a cheap TV, that got taken out in a lightning event a few years ago.
Most people do not want to hear it, but things like TVs are basically obsolete in about 6-8 years nowadays. I had a 10 year old TV that failed (again lightning). I was not sad to see it go, all the smart functions were basically useless. The world had moved on from the hardware embedded inside, years ago.

The cost to fix damaged cars has increased by 28% since 2021.
Seemingly minor damage to vehicles
Tell me about it. I recently was in a fender bender (my fault, first time in over two decades and I wasn't at fault for that earlier one). 2MPH. Front fender dented, minor scratch to side mirror and some scratches along side of car (more dust than scratches). Cost to repair? Almost $7K.
Fortunately I never dropped my collision insurance. And after 5 years without accidents, I supposedly have accident forgiveness. I'll see what my premium is in six months.
The shop did a magnificent job, and they were really helpful. (And I feel sorry for the workers who did the repairs in near 100 degree heat.) Still, numbers like this show why insurance costs are so high.
(This happened one block from home. Statistics show that 75% of accidents occur within 25 miles of home, 52% within five miles. I've made the grade, I'm another statistic.)
https://hutzlerlaw.com/what-percentage-of-car-accidents-happen-close-to-home/

Even in this day and age, I'd like to think that James R. Schlesinger was right when he paraphrased Bernard Baruch as: “Everybody is entitled to his own views. Everybody is not entitled to his own facts.”
And that's my opinion :-)
How does the IRS know that the checks you wrote out of your IRA were actually charitable contributions? If you're not concerned about the IRS ever checking (pun not intended) except in a "deep audit", why hold onto receipts?
(N.B. cancelled checks are not sufficient evidence of a QCD payment, esp. since 100% of a QCD must be an eligible contribution; no benefits received. Which is why QCDs cannot be used for MFO membership.)
I've gotten my share of letters from the IRS over the years CP2000s and others. With only one exception I can think of, they've all been because of IRS mistakes. No matter. You never know what will trigger an inquiry from the IRS.
One time (back when returns were submitted by mail) the IRS lost my Schedule B. Which was interesting because they had my Schedule A that was on the flip side of the page.
 
I'd guess (i.e. IMHO) the chances are virtually certain that the IRS will penalize you if it discovers that you made an excess contribution as Yogi explained. My own experience with a penalty was when, due to my error, I accidentally underpaid my taxes due and was assessed an interest penalty.
The IRS was sympathetic to the fact that I'd paid in much more estimates than was owed and even left the refund money with them as an estimate for next year. But because that money was now in a different IRS pocket, the IRS refused to waive the interest penalty.
Personally, I have issues with the idea that if one won't get penalized, breaking the law is okay. Right now where I live, we have a new regulation that says we must place compostable waste in a separate bin for collection. But the city is waiving penalties this year. IMHO that is not a license to mix compostables with other trash (regardless of whether one considers it wrong for environmental or legal reasons).

YUP, $7 or $8 for 10oz of spinach. Crazy... well at least bananas are still cheap. In a few years that 10 oz of spinach will be about $20. Time and costs march on....

The current numbers don't accurately represent the effect of tariffs.
Get back to me after the September, October, or November numbers are released.
Thank you for your attention to this matter!

The number right now is great.
After Sep we can discuss other matters. Why wait for Sep? Why not wait for 1-2 years from now and claim other stuff?
Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I could be wrong, but it seems to me that FD1000 said at one time he had a (fee) pass at Schwab. That's off the top of by head, so.......

Or you could be spot on ...

For me.
... 4. Here come the biggest advantage for Schwab. I trade only mutual funds and preferably Inst shares. Schwab waves the $49.95 fee while at Fidelity I hardly ever got that. 4 switches annually for 5 accounts is a $1000.

That post was in June 2024.
In that same 2024 thread, another post:

All I'm going to say is that Schwab reps have been waiving my I share fees for over 7 years. I'm not going to tell you how. It's not a policy you will find anywhere, just as they will match other brokers offers for cash rewards when you transfer money.
I ask for the moon and get a lot.

Yet this (fee) pass doesn't seem apply to all $49.95 TF Inst shares:
When I tried PIMIX, I see a fee of $49.95.
No confusion again.
I'm not so sure about that "no confusion" part.
As to how to get fee waivers at Schwab, other posters have provided information. In that same thread:

I got the fee waived when I told my rep that I wanted to move VTMFX over from Vanguard but would not because of the fee. He waived it

More recently (about a year ago) I believe I posted something about Schwab being interested in getting investors who were leaving Vanguard (VG had just added more fees). They would consider waiving TFs on Vanguard funds and perhaps a few other fund families if an investor brought over enough money. The rep said that Schwab didn't want the TF to be an impediment to moving assets.
I didn't ask for the moon. But I did open the door by asking simply what can you do for me if I bring in these assets?
FD specifically mentioned getting VG NTF. So that's one family where Schwab is waiving FD's fees. Given that, the description FD gave above about how to see what one's personalized TFs looks correct. The fees are personalized; YMMV.

When I looked at VWINX=Vanguard Wellesley at Schwab, the Schwab site says up to $74.95
I entered a buy for $10K for VWINX. The transaction says zero. Same for DODGX.
I haven't used VG or D&C for decades. I can't remember one fund I was interested in the last 20 years that I paid $74.95.

On the Schwab “Enter Order” page, there are two options under Transaction fee:
Deduct fee from total
Add fee to total
The next “Verify Order” page shows a Transaction Fee of $0.00 but under the fund description next to Transaction Fee there is a “Yes”.
When you click on “Place Order” the “Order Received" page properly accounts for the transaction fee.
It’s just a poor implementation as the exact TF should be disclosed on the Verify Order page.

When I click on info only at the bottom it's clear. It says
. The transaction fee for this buy order is $ 0.00.
Then I placed the order. The total is only $10K.
Remember, I selected to add fee to the total, but there is no fee. BTW, I don't have any shares in VWINX.
Bottom line there is no fee for me. I don't see any confusion.
When I tried PIMIX, I see a fee of $49.95.
No confusion again.

Equities may well be in a bull market, but TACO boy cannot stay out of his own way. He is the major risk to the health of this bull. Markets should persevere, or so we hope. They have shown much resiliency this year in eeking out gains.
I'll maintain some allocation to gold for the next 3 years regardless of price.
Most interesting will be how our credibility takes a hit once Powell is no longer the Fed Chairman, and it's just some lackey cutting rates at TACO's discretion. Something to look forward to.

Hi @hank Change the year to 1970, enter the $2,800 cost then and select Calculate. the calculator is based upon CPI, not PCE.
We can't do magic with this, especially with vehicles and the changes over the years for adds to vehicles (i.e., anti lock brakes and everything else that has become standard equipment.)
Standard CPI calculator

Isn’t that why we invest? To keep up with inflation? My first new car, a ‘70 full sized Plymouth Fury in 1970 cost $2,800. My second new car, a beautiful ‘73 Mercury Montego in ‘73 cost $3,200. I bought a beautiful new F100 pickup in ‘82 for $8,000. A slightly larger new F150 in ‘90 cost a bit over $11,000. In 2005 I bought a similar sized GMC Sierra for just under $20,000. In 2018 a new Honda Accord cost me $26,000, and in 2024 I paid nearly $40,000 for a new Toyota Camry. From 1970 to 2024 the cost of a brand new vehicle for me went from $2,800 to nearly $40,000.
OK - you can knock a few K off the last one. It has AWD. None of the others did. And knock another few K off to compensate for the latest safety and driver comfort items on cars today compared to 1970. However, cars in 1970 were designed to get you from point A to point B just as they are today. And the ride might have been a bit better in those days before weight was reduced. And even in 1970 with proper maintenance a car would go 100,000 miles or more. For some perspective, a good friend recently related that his latest new vehicle, a ‘24 Chevy pickup, cost him around $60,000. I haven’t bought a new truck in recent years, so thought that worth noting.
You can do the same thing with houses, hamburgers, paper towels or whatever. As Gomer Pyle would say: “Surprise!” - Paper currencies over time lose value. Reason we invest.

Thanks@Observant1.
The first manager was highly regarded and ran the fund a long time. I’ll guess 15+ years. Very low-key individual. There was much worry among investors when he retired. My thoughts are that it was a much different fund in the early days (even more conservative then today) - but to speculate further would be unwise. Larger highly successful PRFDX was more talked about in the press and touted by “authorities” back then under famed manager Brian Rogers .

"The Fund’s positive return streak and investment approach has been sustained over the years
by several managers. Prior to Messrs. Arricale and Giroux, who became co-managers in July 2006,
the Fund was managed by Stephen Boesel from August 2001 to June 2006
and by Rich Howard from January 1989 to July 2001."
I don't know who managed PRWCX from June 30, 1986 through December 1988.
https://investors.troweprice.com/news-releases/news-release-details/t-rowe-price-capital-appreciation-fund-extends-unmatched

When I looked at VWINX=Vanguard Wellesley at Schwab, the Schwab site says up to $74.95
I entered a buy for $10K for VWINX. The transaction says zero. Same for DODGX.
I haven't used VG or D&C for decades. I can't remember one fund I was interested in the last 20 years that I paid $74.95.

On the Schwab “Enter Order” page, there are two options under Transaction fee:
Deduct fee from total
Add fee to total
The next “Verify Order” page shows a Transaction Fee of $0.00 but under the fund description next to Transaction Fee there is a “Yes”.
When you click on “Place Order” the “Order Received" page properly accounts for the transaction fee.
It’s just a poor implementation as the exact TF should be disclosed on the Verify Order page.

I thought it would be entertaining and potentially instructive to go over the list of talented managers who have run PRWCX since inception. While none attained the notoriety of Giroux, all excelled. If memory is correct Giroux came in about 15 years ago along with a co-manager of equal status. That lasted only a year or two. ISTM the fella’s name was Jeff Arackle or something similar. It later came out he had some serious personal issues (financial ?) but I can’t recall the nature of such.
I even resorted to Bing’s AI asking about the history of managers for this fund. All AI could provide is this:
“Publicly available sources do not list any named individual managers prior to David Giroux (2006). Earlier reports consistently highlight Giroux as the first lead manager since founding. T. Rowe Price has not disclosed earlier stewardship or predecessor managers in public filings or press materials.”
Surely AI isn’t providing a very intelligent answer! I’d also love to know how much the fund has grown in AUM under Giroux? I’d guess it’s doubled since he became co-manager - perhaps even adjusting for asset growth..

When I looked at VWINX=Vanguard Wellesley at Schwab, the Schwab site says up to $74.95
I entered a buy for $10K for VWINX. The transaction says zero. Same for DODGX.
I haven't used VG or D&C for decades. I can't remember one fund I was interested in the last 20 years that I paid $74.95.

My parents have a slug of american funds in a capital group 403b. if I take their 25 years of investing in it and compare that to a risk adjust index portfolio its basically cost them about 100bps a year. some of that is because they are in R2 shares which are i think the most expensive share class. (they don't pay much in 403b fees so I assume thats the reason) When I ran it with F1 it was much closer.

Since the 80s, about 40 years, wars didn't influence the markets short-mid term, why would it happen now?
The period of 2000-10 SPY lost close to 10% in 10 years, nothing to do with war.
Several institutions suggest the next 10 year about 5-6% for stocks and 4-5% for bonds, that's great for my style of mostly unique bond funds. I will take 6% for the next 10 years.

As I said before, no need to complicate things, just invest based on your age, goals, and style.
The war started on June 13th, 10 days ago.
SPY is up over 1%
The iShares MSCI Israel ETF (EIS) is up 9.5%. Did anyone predict that?

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/80248/000199937125007852/nhf-497_061725.htm
497 1 nhf-497_061725.htm DEFINTIVE MATERIALS
T. Rowe Price New Horizons Fund
Supplement to Prospectus and Summary Prospectus dated March 1, 2025
In the Summary Prospectus and Section 1 of the Prospectus, the portfolio manager table under “Management” is supplemented as follows:
Effective July 21, 2025, Shaun Michael Currie will join Joshua K. Spencer as the fund’s co-portfolio manager and cochair of the fund’s Investment Advisory Committee. Effective September 30, 2025, Mr. Spencer will step down from his role on the fund and, effective October 1, 2025, Mr. Currie will become the fund’s sole portfolio manager and sole chair of the fund’s Investment Advisory Committee. Mr. Currie joined T. Rowe Price in 2016.
In Section 2 of the Prospectus, the disclosure under “Portfolio Management” is supplemented as follows:
Effective July 21, 2025, Shaun Michael Currie will join Joshua K. Spencer as the fund’s co-portfolio manager and cochair of the fund’s Investment Advisory Committee. Effective September 30, 2025, Mr. Spencer will step down from his role on the fund and, effective October 1, 2025, Mr. Currie will become the fund’s sole portfolio manager and sole chair of the fund’s Investment Advisory Committee. Mr. Currie joined the Firm in 2016, and his investment experience dates from 2010. During the past five years, he has served as an equity research analyst and, beginning in 2023, as a portfolio manager and associate portfolio manager.
The date of this supplement is June 17, 2025.
F42-041 6/17/25

I'm looking at CDs available at Schwab (login required)
https://client.schwab.com/Areas/Trade/FixedIncomeSearch/FISearch.aspx/CDs
I set no restrictions on the search (i.e. secondary market included), except for "best offer only" and maturities from 0 months to 30+ years. I then sorted on coupon (smallest first). There were no CDs with 0.00% coupons. The smallest coupon shown was 0.25%.
When restricting to new issues, all of the CDs offered by Schwab are priced at 100 (par) and pay coupons a bit north of 4%. Many of the short term (12 months or less) CDs are shown by Schwab to pay their coupon "at maturity". As I explained above, you can call those zeros if you wish.
To see the same thing at Vanguard, go to its fixed income search page (no login required) and click on the CD tab.
https://fixed-income-trading.web.vanguard.com/
Go to "advanced search" and for "payment frequency" select "interest at maturity". You may as well select the "new issue" checkbox as well.
Vanguard reports 39 bank CDs that pay interest at maturity.

If you include short term (1 year or less) zero coupon CDs, I used these when CD rates were better than T-bills (after tax).
Assuming that you hold the CD to maturity, conceptually a zero coupon CD is no different from a CD that accrues interest but pays it all at maturity.
For example, consider a 1 year CD with an APY of 4.0%. If you invest $1000, then at the end of the 12 months you get $1,040 including interest. The coupon (interest) frequency doesn't matter assuming you don't withdraw the interest. All that matters is that 4.0% APY. It's just as if you purchased a 1 year zero coupon CD with a face value of $1,040 at the discounted price of $1,000.
---
For tax purposes, if a CD matures in 12 months or less, it does matter whether it pays interest periodically or just at maturity. You owe taxes on interest as it is paid, even if you reinvest. So it is preferable that the CD not pay accrued interest until maturity. It doesn't matter whether you call this a discounted zero coupon CD or simply a CD that pays interest at maturity.
However, if a CD maturity is longer than a year (and it doesn't pay accrued interest more frequently than annually), then it is taxed as if it paid accrued interest yearly. Even if it doesn't pay out accrued interest until maturity.

Short-Term: Interest earned on CDs with terms of one year or less is considered taxable income in the year that the CD interest is paid out.
Long-Term: CDs with terms over a year are taxed as interest is earned over the CD term. Interest is considered taxable income in the year that you are legally entitled to it. For example, if you have a CD with a term of five years, you will owe tax on the interest paid in each of the years that you hold the CD before maturity.

https://www.seattlebank.com/about/updates/updates-detail.html?cId=84542&title=understanding-tax-implications-of-certificates-of-deposit
Zero coupon CDs, like zero coupon bonds, are taxed on their annual accrued interest (imputed interest, aka phantom income).