Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

kyfdx

The old vaccine was one dose, I think. Shingrix 2nd dose isn't a booster. It's a two-dose vaccine.

Also, the old vaccine was only 50% effective vs. 90% for Shingrix

Michaell

kyfdx said:

The old vaccine was one dose, I think. Shingrix 2nd dose isn't a booster. It's a two-dose vaccine.

Also, the old vaccine was only 50% effective vs. 90% for Shingrix

Thanks - I do know she got the vaccine a few years back, so it's likely the original formula.

stickguy

Great timing people. We are going in for first dose Monday! I actually had a minor case in 2008 but it was no bother. Probably because f all the other meds I was getting at that time which would kill anything.

Michael, that was the old vaccine which was one for. My wife had that. But the recommendation is that if you got that one, to get both doses of Shingrex anyway. So take her with you!

Michaell

stickguy said:

Great timing people. We are going in for first dose Monday! I actually had a minor case in 2008 but it was no bother. Probably because f all the other meds I was getting at that time which would kill anything.

Michael, that was the old vaccine which was one for. My wife had that. But the recommendation is that if you got that one, to get both doses of Shingrex anyway. So take her with you!

I'm already fully vaccinated. I'll mention to her that she should get the Shingrex shots pronto.

ab348

Michaell said:

Question - has there ever been a time where there wasn't a second shot necessary? My wife has only received one dose of the vaccine. She was surprised when I told her I was getting the booster.

Probably a time before the manufacturer realized people would gladly pay twice for protection.

kyfdx

ab348 said:

Michaell said:

Question - has there ever been a time where there wasn't a second shot necessary? My wife has only received one dose of the vaccine. She was surprised when I told her I was getting the booster.

Probably a time before the manufacturer realized people would gladly pay twice for protection.

In the US, it is now covered by health insurance, 100%.

A few years ago, it was pretty expensive ($hundreds)

ab348

kyfdx said:

ab348 said:

Michaell said:

Question - has there ever been a time where there wasn't a second shot necessary? My wife has only received one dose of the vaccine. She was surprised when I told her I was getting the booster.

Probably a time before the manufacturer realized people would gladly pay twice for protection.

In the US, it is now covered by health insurance, 100%.

A few years ago, it was pretty expensive ($hundreds)

Not covered up here in the land of "free" healthcare. It cost me a little over $300 for the pair of doses, plus a charge for the pharmacist to do the injections.

I figured this year I would finally get a deduction on my taxes for such costs, since I had close to $1500 in uncovered charges I had to pay. No such luck. I discovered that you need to have incurred costs something in excess of 3% of your income to get a deduction. Grrr.

jmonroe1

ab348 said:

kyfdx said:

ab348 said:

Michaell said:

Question - has there ever been a time where there wasn't a second shot necessary? My wife has only received one dose of the vaccine. She was surprised when I told her I was getting the booster.

Probably a time before the manufacturer realized people would gladly pay twice for protection.

In the US, it is now covered by health insurance, 100%.

A few years ago, it was pretty expensive ($hundreds)

Not covered up here in the land of "free" healthcare. It cost me a little over $300 for the pair of doses, plus a charge for the pharmacist to do the injections.

I figured this year I would finally get a deduction on my taxes for such costs, since I had close to $1500 in uncovered charges I had to pay. No such luck. I discovered that you need to have incurred costs something in excess of 3% of your income to get a deduction. Grrr.

Is cheating on your taxes illegal in Canada?

jmonroe

clm8

My mother had shingles in her late 70's. It ruined and shortened her life. She was never the same and never recovered from the neuropathy caused by it. She died at 81, her last two years were not pleasant. I encourage everyone to get the vaccine.

kyfdx

ab348 said:

kyfdx said:

ab348 said:

Michaell said:

Question - has there ever been a time where there wasn't a second shot necessary? My wife has only received one dose of the vaccine. She was surprised when I told her I was getting the booster.

Probably a time before the manufacturer realized people would gladly pay twice for protection.

In the US, it is now covered by health insurance, 100%.

A few years ago, it was pretty expensive ($hundreds)

Not covered up here in the land of "free" healthcare. It cost me a little over $300 for the pair of doses, plus a charge for the pharmacist to do the injections.

I figured this year I would finally get a deduction on my taxes for such costs, since I had close to $1500 in uncovered charges I had to pay. No such luck. I discovered that you need to have incurred costs something in excess of 3% of your income to get a deduction. Grrr.

Medical expenses have to exceed 7.5% of your gross, to be deductible, here.

venture

Michaell said:

kyfdx said:

venture said:

I got my second dose of Shingrix yesterday. I had forgotten how sore your arm gets what with all the jabs I have gotten for Covid, flu, and shingles.

Still - way worth it.

Yeah, got that last Fall. Kicked my butt.

Hearing other senior citizens relating their struggles with shingles is terrifying, though.

Maybe I'm just lucky - I had my second Shingrix shot in December and had no issues.

My dad had shingles when he was 70 - the after effects were with him the rest of his life.

And a childhood friend is going through it now, in her early 60's. I'm afraid of what she's in for.

Glad to hear we're getting vaccinated.

Question - has there ever been a time where there wasn't a second shot necessary? My wife has only received one dose of the vaccine. She was surprised when I told her I was getting the booster.

I got one shingles shot many years ago that was a single dose. My doctor said to get the newer Shingrix because it is much better than the old one. So, yes, at one time it was only one. She should probably check with her doctor.

ab348

kyfdx said:

Medical expenses have to exceed 7.5% of your gross, to be deductible, here.

I did not know that. Both there and here, I find it hard to understand why health care expenses are not fully deductible. The tax codes are such a mishmash of patchwork provisions and complexity that very little makes sense.

kyfdx

ab348 said:

kyfdx said:

Medical expenses have to exceed 7.5% of your gross, to be deductible, here.

I did not know that. Both there and here, I find it hard to understand why health care expenses are not fully deductible. The tax codes are such a mishmash of patchwork provisions and complexity that very little makes sense.

With the last tax reform act, the standard deduction was doubled, so the number of filers who can itemize has dwindled, anyway. Add in the cap on state and local taxes at $10K (SALT), and that has just about killed it.

driver100

It would probably cost less for the government to pay for your Shingrex shot than it is to cover your hospital costs plus any ongoing health issues caused by getting Shingles!

venture

I got my second set of Covid test kits in the mail today. Much faster than the last time.

snakeweasel

venture said:

It's on the window sticker as something you pay for, but if they can add ADM's, the weasel-bastards can do about anything.

It's called what the market can bear.

tjc78

@kyfdx said:
With the last tax reform act, the standard deduction was doubled, so the number of filers who can itemize has dwindled, anyway. Add in the cap on state and local taxes at $10K (SALT), and that has just about killed it.

I just handed my stuff off to the accountant. I’m pretty sure with two houses on fresh mortgages we will be itemizing this year.

snakeweasel

kyfdx said:

ab348 said:

kyfdx said:

ab348 said:

Michaell said:

Question - has there ever been a time where there wasn't a second shot necessary? My wife has only received one dose of the vaccine. She was surprised when I told her I was getting the booster.

Probably a time before the manufacturer realized people would gladly pay twice for protection.

In the US, it is now covered by health insurance, 100%.

A few years ago, it was pretty expensive ($hundreds)

Not covered up here in the land of "free" healthcare. It cost me a little over $300 for the pair of doses, plus a charge for the pharmacist to do the injections.

I figured this year I would finally get a deduction on my taxes for such costs, since I had close to $1500 in uncovered charges I had to pay. No such luck. I discovered that you need to have incurred costs something in excess of 3% of your income to get a deduction. Grrr.

Medical expenses have to exceed 7.5% of your gross, to be deductible, here.

Not only that but it has to be enough to get you over the standard deduction.

kyfdx

tjc78 said:

@kyfdx said:

With the last tax reform act, the standard deduction was doubled, so the number of filers who can itemize has dwindled, anyway. Add in the cap on state and local taxes at $10K (SALT), and that has just about killed it.

I just handed my stuff off to the accountant. I’m pretty sure with two houses on fresh mortgages we will be itemizing this year.

Aren't you still restricted to just $10K in SALT?

explorerx4

You can still write off mortgage interest.

28firefighter

We refi'ed last year down to 2.375% - this is the first year that our return is going to end up going with the standard deduction.

venture

I just got gas in Mrs. venture's Ascent. $4.46 for regular.

kyfdx

explorerx4 said:

You can still write off mortgage interest.

Mortgage?

jmonroe1

snakeweasel said:

venture said:

It's on the window sticker as something you pay for, but if they can add ADM's, the weasel-bastards can do about anything.

It's called what the market can bear.

I’d say it’s more like what you can get away with.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

kyfdx said:

explorerx4 said:

You can still write off mortgage interest.

Mortgage?

Man, am I glad those days are over.

I can’t tell you how many mailings I get from banks about refinancing. Those go right in the round file.

About a month ago I made the mistake of answering the phone. In my defense I was expecting a call about the flip house so I had to answer the phone. It was a lending institution wanting me to refinance. I told the guy I no longer had a mortgage. He didn’t miss a beat and said, “sir, that tells me you could walk away from the table with a LOT of money. Just think what you could do with that kind of money. Like buy a car and not have a car payment go on a vacation and not have to put it on your credit card”. I kept telling him I wasn’t interested but he kept talking. I finally had to hang up on him.

I’m still kicking myself for not getting a car without car payments and a sunburn I wouldn’t have to pay for. What’s wrong with me?

jmonroe

explorerx4

@kyfdx,
Mortgage is pretty cheap money.

kyfdx

explorerx4 said:

@kyfdx,
Mortgage is pretty cheap money.

Made that calculation two years ago. Paying 3% interest I couldn’t deduct vs. earning 2.4% on cash that I had to pay tax on? Easy call.

Of course, my mortgage was small by that time, and I had excess cash from a rental real estate sale. 🤷‍♂️

Rates are great, if you have somewhere to put it to work.

explorerx4

Until this year we were always able to go long form.
It's still cheap money made better if you invest it in something that provides a decent return.

ronsteve

@qbrozen said:
Do you have a 220 in your laundry room? What size breaker and wire go to it? If it is there, and if sized properly, you can certainly T off it; however, if you try to run a 220v dryer while your car is charging, you'll have a problem.

220, 221… whatever it takes.

tjc78

@kyfdx said:
Aren't you still restricted to just $10K in SALT?

Yes, but our mortgages are new and even at low interest rates it adds up.

snakeweasel

jmonroe1 said:

snakeweasel said:

venture said:

It's on the window sticker as something you pay for, but if they can add ADM's, the weasel-bastards can do about anything.

It's called what the market can bear.

I’d say it’s more like what you can get away with.

jmonroe

Pretty much the same thing, just a different way to put it.

roadburner

An attorney friend has a wife who is a teacher. She has a particularly bad class this year. He told her that she should have me talk to the class and give them the speech I used to give in juvie court:
"If I ever see you in my courtroom again I am sending you to a detention center in eastern Kentucky where sunshine has to be piped in and your most prized possession will be soap on a rope. There you will remain until your decaying flesh drops from your bleached bones."

tjc78

@ronsteve said:

@qbrozen said:
Do you have a 220 in your laundry room? What size breaker and wire go to it? If it is there, and if sized properly, you can certainly T off it; however, if you try to run a 220v dryer while your car is charging, you'll have a problem.

220, 221… whatever it takes.

I’ll make us all feel old. I said that in a meeting a few weeks back and it bombed. Too young an audience.

The conversation was perfect too, it was about adding electrical drops.

stickguy

I don’t get the reference. And I’m definitely old.

snakeweasel

stickguy said:

I don’t get the reference. And I’m definitely old.

maybe this would help.

stickguy

Nope

snakeweasel

tjc78 said:

@ronsteve said:

@qbrozen said:

Do you have a 220 in your laundry room? What size breaker and wire go to it? If it is there, and if sized properly, you can certainly T off it; however, if you try to run a 220v dryer while your car is charging, you'll have a problem.

220, 221… whatever it takes.

I’ll make us all feel old. I said that in a meeting a few weeks back and it bombed. Too young an audience.

The conversation was perfect too, it was about adding electrical drops.

A little while ago we had a little impromptu meeting and when we broke up the meeting one of the attendees left saying "so long and thanks for all the fish". I was the only one that got the reference.

qbrozen

snakeweasel said:

A little while ago we had a little impromptu meeting and when we broke up the meeting one of the attendees left saying "so long and thanks for all the fish". I was the only one that got the reference.

Ya lost me on that one

sda

Long post about residential real estate market:

From the Charlotte Business Journal:
The median sales price of a home in Mecklenburg rose 18.3% over the course of 2021 to $355,000, up from $300,000 at the end of 2020, according to data from Canopy Multiple Listing Services Inc. The average sales price posted a similar increase, jumping 17.4% to $440,275 at year's end from $375,062 in 2020.

And prices aren't showing signs of a slowdown to start the new year either. In January, the median and average sales prices of a Mecklenburg County home soared year over year by 21.8% and 18.4%, respectively, to reach $375,000 and $451,904.

In fact, all but two ZIP codes in Mecklenburg County saw the median price of a home sold in 2021 jump year over year. That growth ranged anywhere from 4.7% to 32.2%.

This is mind boggling. A lot of these homes are nothing special, just standard cookie cutter houses that were originally modest in price. My sister who works in a realtor's office says a lot of buyers are being shut out by investment groups. All cash deals with no inspection are becoming common from those that have the resources. She also said earnest money didn't have the influence it once did as I may have this wrong, a 'Due Diligence Deposit' is made instead. That means a buyer may offer $25k as a deposit to hold the property and to keep it off the market. If the buyer changes their mind for any reason, such as bad inspection report, they forfeit the deposit. The first time buyer is finding it extremely difficult to afford and compete in this market.

kyfdx

stickguy said:

Nope

The movie, Mr. Mom, with Michael Keaton and Teri Garr.

It's a great movie.

tjc78

@kyfdx said:
The movie, Mr. Mom, with Michael Keaton and Teri Garr.

It's a great movie.

And somewhat car related (at least the beginning).

tjc78

@sda said:
Long post about residential real estate market:

From the Charlotte Business Journal:
The median sales price of a home in Mecklenburg rose 18.3% over the course of 2021 to $355,000, up from $300,000 at the end of 2020, according to data from Canopy Multiple Listing Services Inc. The average sales price posted a similar increase, jumping 17.4% to $440,275 at year's end from $375,062 in 2020.

And prices aren't showing signs of a slowdown to start the new year either. In January, the median and average sales prices of a Mecklenburg County home soared year over year by 21.8% and 18.4%, respectively, to reach $375,000 and $451,904.

In fact, all but two ZIP codes in Mecklenburg County saw the median price of a home sold in 2021 jump year over year. That growth ranged anywhere from 4.7% to 32.2%.

This is mind boggling. A lot of these homes are nothing special, just standard cookie cutter houses that were originally modest in price. My sister who works in a realtor's office says a lot of buyers are being shut out by investment groups. All cash deals with no inspection are becoming common from those that have the resources. She also said earnest money didn't have the influence it once did as I may have this wrong, a 'Due Diligence Deposit' is made instead. That means a buyer may offer $25k as a deposit to hold the property and to keep it off the market. If the buyer changes their mind for any reason, such as bad inspection report, they forfeit the deposit. The first time buyer is finding it extremely difficult to afford and compete in this market.

The market is wild, our home is showing a value over 100K more than we paid in late 2020 (based on some more recent sales I believe it). Our shore home is up nearly 60K since last summer. When will it end?

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

snakeweasel said:

A little while ago we had a little impromptu meeting and when we broke up the meeting one of the attendees left saying "so long and thanks for all the fish". I was the only one that got the reference.

Ya lost me on that one

Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy.

oldfarmer50

kyfdx said:

stickguy said:

Nope

The movie, Mr. Mom, with Michael Keaton and Teri Garr.

It's a great movie.

I found it too close to reality to be enjoyable.

ab348

sda said:

Long post about residential real estate market:
This is mind boggling. A lot of these homes are nothing special, just standard cookie cutter houses that were originally modest in price. My sister who works in a realtor's office says a lot of buyers are being shut out by investment groups. All cash deals with no inspection are becoming common from those that have the resources. She also said earnest money didn't have the influence it once did as I may have this wrong, a 'Due Diligence Deposit' is made instead. That means a buyer may offer $25k as a deposit to hold the property and to keep it off the market. If the buyer changes their mind for any reason, such as bad inspection report, they forfeit the deposit. The first time buyer is finding it extremely difficult to afford and compete in this market.

Those are bargain prices compared to other places. Up here it has gone nuts for more than a year. There is similar chatter about outside "investors" buying things up and driving prices crazy-high, but very little factual info on that one way or the other. To me it doesn't seem like a very smart strategy to buy property at an already inflated price and then leave it vacant hoping for an even higher price. But what do I know.

This community is rather far out in the boonies with little in the way of anything close by other than other subdivisions. Lots of newish development the last few year, like this place. It's nice enough, and well-presented, but I cannot see the value here. This is just one example of many.

https://www.point2homes.com/CA/Home-For-Sale/NS/Eastern-Shore/Greater-Halifax/95-Birch-Hill-Court/118627232.html

qbrozen

tjc78 said:

The market is wild, our home is showing a value over 100K more than we paid in late 2020 (based on some more recent sales I believe it). Our shore home is up nearly 60K since last summer. When will it end?

Ours was appraised last summer for about 40% more than we paid in 2015. Made for a nice refi. Zillow claims it is up another 10% since then.

Michaell

Ours is up 40% (or so say the on-line tools) from when we bought ours 4 years ago.

I am skeptical about it, but it would be nice if it were true. And, if we were in the market to sell it.

henryn

snakeweasel said:

tjc78 said:

@ronsteve said:

@qbrozen said:

Do you have a 220 in your laundry room? What size breaker and wire go to it? If it is there, and if sized properly, you can certainly T off it; however, if you try to run a 220v dryer while your car is charging, you'll have a problem.

220, 221… whatever it takes.

I’ll make us all feel old. I said that in a meeting a few weeks back and it bombed. Too young an audience.

The conversation was perfect too, it was about adding electrical drops.

A little while ago we had a little impromptu meeting and when we broke up the meeting one of the attendees left saying "so long and thanks for all the fish". I was the only one that got the reference.

You should have come back with, "And 42 IS the answer!"

henryn

Just saw this in one of my newsfeeds. Is gas really that expensive in Los Angeles?

Michaell

henryn said:

Just saw this in one of my newsfeeds. Is gas really that expensive in Los Angeles?

Yes, it is.

There were a couple of ambitious stations in and around Beverly Hills charging north of $7/gal.