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bearishgurl
Participant[quote=XBoxBoy]It’s probably worth noting that there is very little if any evidence that working out leads to weight loss.
http://www.vox.com/2016/4/28/11518804/weight-loss-exercise-myth-burn-calories
[/quote]The thing is …. cardio and weight-bearing exercise turns fat into muscle. The more muscle you have in your body, the higher your metabolism.Second to running 5-6x per week, I still think Body Pump 3-4x per week is a great way to build muscle and overall fitness. Especially if you have knee issues from running in your younger days. The classes are only one hour:
http://www.lesmills.com/us/workouts/fitness-classes/bodypump/?_ga=1.215949970.422054149.1443998245
edit: I wear knee supports under my clothes for this class.
Participant[quote=flu][quote=bearishgurl][quote=FlyerInHi]Flu, I think you’re saying that “no cost” loans are better because they allow you to refinance again and again, guilt free (loss avoidance. You’re not “throwing away” out of pocket fees. That’s the marketing angle.
But past is past. Make decisions based on what you know today.[/quote]
In response to the italicized portion, maybe so. But a person who is a “serial refinancer” is still starting over again at 30 years every single time they refinance … that is, unless they choose a 15-year loan (with much higher payments). However, the vast majority of refinancers do so for the express purpose of lowering their monthly payments (thereby increasing monthly cash flow).[/quote]
God, I am not saying no cost loans are always better. I am saying it depends on your situation which depends heavily on whether you want/can pay more up front or want to pay over the long term, and use more of your upfront cash for something else.
Sheesh.[/quote]I agree that if they truly come at “no cost” to the consumer, than they are “better” for most people who won’t hold the property for the long term (meaning 12+ years).
How much the broker does or doesn’t make for procuring, preparing, processing and submitting a borrower’s mortgage loan app and supporting docs and placing their rate lock is immaterial because there is nothing the consumer can change about this system. As of April 1, 2011, an independent mortgage broker’s lender-paid compensation has been based upon loan amount only, NOT terms … as it was in the past. This provision was put in place to keep this group of brokers from being tempted to put unsophisticated borrowers in mortgage programs they have no business being in for the sole purpose of earning a higher YSP.
The new rule is known as the Loan Originator Compensation amendment to Regulation Z, part of a strengthened Truth in Lending Act passed by Congress in 2008. Designed to prevent consumers from being steered into high-cost, risky loans, it covers how a loan originator — or any person or company that arranges, obtains and/or negotiates a mortgage for a client — is paid.
Under the new rule, a lender can no longer pay a loan originator a lucrative rebate known as a yield-spread premium, which is tied to the rate or terms of the mortgage. Banks and other lenders can continue to pay commissions to brokers, but these payments must now be based solely on the loan amount.
In the past, the higher the interest rate and points, the more money a broker stood to earn….
(emphasis mine)
A borrower either wants to work with a mortgage broker who will shop the best loan for their circumstances … or they don’t. A borrower can’t have it both ways, i.e. all of the above highly specialized services for “free” (to make them look good on paper to an underwriter), plus expect a kickback on closing costs (or zero closing costs) while also expecting their broker who did all the work for them to make little or nothing.
There are very few institutional lenders anymore. And even their mortgage loan officers get paid by the institutions relative to their production. A mortgage borrower also has far fewer choices today on the types of mortgages actually available on the open market and the terms under which they can get them. If a borrower doesn’t like how the new “system” works, they are always free to pay cash for their RE purchase :=]
Participant[quote=FlyerInHi]BG, are you saying life for Blacks is more wholesome in the South?. . . [/quote]Yes, I would say Black families are surrounded by “wholesomeness” in flyover country, especially if at least the family matriarch is still alive, active and influential. SoCal blacks have “wholesome” lives as well if those living in lower income areas can successfully keep their kids out of gangs and band together with law enforcement to successfully keep the gang influence from infiltrating their neighborhoods. And many are. It takes a village and many of these tight-knit communities have that “village” in place. Black families want the best for their kids and most want them to get accepted into college just like all parents.
The Black community in Oakland and surrounds (NorCal – Alameda Co) is far more entrenched, well-established and prosperous than those of SoCal cities (except maybe west/NW LA and SF Valley cities where entertainment industry workers and celebrities typically choose to live). RE has gotten so expensive in Oakland in the past decade+ that rents have skyrocketed, leaving out a lot of prospective tenants who have Section 8 vouchers and other marginal low-income groups whose kids were/are more prone to fall prey to gang influence, mainly due to lack of supervision after school. Due to its superior location, gentrification has taken hold in Oakland to such an extent that all but the most established longtime homeowners and other residents with good incomes have been priced out of the area forever.
The Oakland I knew as a elem/jr high schooler living in Alameda Co in the mid-late ’60’s is night and day from the Oakland we know today. It’s gone from a burned out city (in many areas) which was dangerous to even drive in during the day to a vibrant, exciting city with breathtaking views that anyone would be fine with walking around in at night ~50 years later.
What keeps the black communities together and successful is living near extended family, having decent-paying jobs to go to and their faith. Most Blacks could care less whether the immediate area they call “home” is 2 miles from the beach, 25 miles from the beach or in the middle of “flyover country.” Living in “coastal locations” isn’t as coveted by this group as it might be for members of some other ethnic groups or nationalities.
Participant[quote=FlyerInHi]Flu, I think you’re saying that “no cost” loans are better because they allow you to refinance again and again, guilt free (loss avoidance. You’re not “throwing away” out of pocket fees. That’s the marketing angle.
But past is past. Make decisions based on what you know today.[/quote]
In response to the italicized portion, maybe so. But a person who is a “serial refinancer” is still starting over again at 30 years every single time they refinance … that is, unless they choose a 15-year loan (with much higher payments). However, the vast majority of refinancers do so for the express purpose of lowering their monthly payments (thereby increasing monthly cash flow).
Participant[quote=no_such_reality]Interesting read. I’ll put this here since many think this person winning or that person winning means that or this.
Why has there been an exodus of black residents from West Coast liberal hubs?[/quote]Great article, NSR. Thanks for sharing! CA’s well known NIMBYism and agencies such as CEQA DO have the effect of dampening runaway growth (as it should be) but the article focuses too much on “housing costs” when this phenomenon really only affects mostly Gen Y who are just starting out in life (as it does with ALL races). Most black families in CA now headed by boomers and older bought their homes a long time ago and never felt a need to “move up” repeatedly like other cultures do because they want to feel “comfortable” in their areas and neighborhoods. That’s more important to most Black families than paying top dollar for a newer “mcmansion.” I don’t think the article delves into the true reason why the Black population has gone down in what is now dubbed as “west coast liberal-enclave metropolises.”
In the ’80’s and ’90’s, I used to book months in advance to fly Southwest (instead of drive) just days (or 1 day) before TK and X-mas to be with my peeps in TX, AR and OK because I was working FT and didn’t have the time to drive or stay away from home for very long. In addition, I had many Black longtime co-workers and old friends whose residences mostly seemed to be concentrated into ONE approx 3 x 4 mile section of SD and bordering areas of 2-3 adjacent small cities (which I initially found odd since many of my co-workers made very good money and had many choices on where to live). These areas had several churches but didn’t have a lot of services (grocery, cleaners, gas stations and other retail establishments) at the time, causing this population to have to drive out of their neighborhoods to obtain basic services. The truth is, the typical Black family is “set up” primarily to help each other, especially if both the matriarch and patriarch are still alive who assign “expectations” to other members of the family. Meaning this culture provides child care for each other, including religious education and imparting a sense of peace and continuity among their children, nieces, nephews, grandchildren and great grandchildren. They check on each others homes while they are away, provide pet care, housekeeping, lawncare, cooking, care of a sick family members, transportation to doctor’s appts, job interviews, help to move, etc. Unlike some other cultures who are “okay” with living a long way away from family for a lifetime, I feel that Blacks feel most comfortable around family and others who are of their same culture as well as prefer living in areas with their churches nearby, which also serve as a social anchor.
As you all know, SW Airlines’ longtime hub in and out of CA is at PHX. Once passengers from all the airports in CA converge at PHX, they are rerouted on planes to smaller cities throughout “flyover country.” Without this type of system in place, there would never be enough passengers to fill a plane to Little Rock, Tulsa or Memphis, etc, and SWA is still the only carrier who offers regular, consistent service to flyover country’s “secondary markets” thru their “hub system” and multi-stop flight routes.
Once I typically boarded my plane in PHX to TX, OK or AR airports, I always tried to get a seat near the front of the cabin in the front row where six seats on each side of the plane face each other, conducive to a nice visit with other passengers for the 2-3 hr flight. In all cases, my (pre-holiday) plane filled with 75-90% Blacks (mostly all from CA) going “home” for the holidays. The entire rides were spent laughing and reminiscing about the important role our grandparents or a favorite aunt/uncle had in our lives, the mint leaves our mom grew on the back porch for “sweet and unsweet” iced tea, 3 layer chocolate cake with a warm hard-shell frosting poured over it and long toothpicks holding it together, pecan pie, fried okra in cornmeal with red-eye gravy, hamhock and beans, grits for breakfast, collard greens, fried eggplant, homemade fried chicken, the clothes our mother’s and grandmother’s sewed for us (and the fact that they taught us dressmaking skills), the veggie gardens we had to tend, the small baptist colleges they attended, playing outside until midnight in the summer with the crickets singing and fireflies buzzing and going fishing at the local lake, etc. There were never any complaints about their early lives from the passengers … just reminiscing and yearning to be “back home.”
I’ve been to several “Black” funerals in SD and have felt not only very inspired but also included. To this day, my memories of these gatherings still move me. In my mind, the Black culture of the south and southwest part of this country knows how to “do it up right,” even if the family is now headed by a matriarch through the death of their spouse. Children are raised to feel like they have a “village” which cares about them day to day. Even though the MSM paints a different picture with single Black parents in large cities who are living away from family, the Black culture doesn’t seem to me as “fragmented” as other cultures.
Some cities and towns where my peeps have lived all their lives have a Black majority and I have found these people to be the nicest and most helpful people you could ever meet. I have had to have help from neighbors a few times and they are willing to step right up, no questions asked. (Actually, ALL races are this way in certain parts of the country.)
I’ve spent several days in Baltimore, as well, taken hired “cars” to different tourist traps and eaten at all the local haunts, recommended to me by the locals and had the best time ever there.
CA is a melting pot where Black dust bowl refugees and southern dwellers came here for the (primarily defense) jobs during and after WWII. They carved out niches in cities for themselves to keep their culture alive and their kids (the boomers) stayed here and raised their kids. Now that these niches are being slowly “gentrified” into crowded, multi-unit nightmares (ex: Compton, parts of Downey, Norwalk and even the western part of SESD), I can’t blame the boomers (who don’t need high-paying jobs anymore) for wanting to go back “home” to retire. I disagree with the author in that I don’t believe Black families strive to live and raise their families in multi-unit nightmares. They (esp the boomers and beyond) prefer a SFR in a quiet neighborhood with a large backyard for their pets and garden. I don’t blame Blacks for feeling like a Martian living in isolation in (inhospitable) west coast cities (ex: Oregon) where their culture doesn’t exist anywhere and where they can’t even find the groceries to create the dishes of their youth.
And yes, Blacks vote both R and D for candidates whom they feel will act in their best interests, just like everyone else. We’re not going to be able to predict precisely where the “Black vote” will be cast in this election.
Participant[quote=FlyerInHi]Middle America might think of us as the land of fruits and nuts but deep down they are envious of our sunny lifestyle. They need us (our businesses, tech, innovation, universities, music, movies) more than we need them, so they don’t really figure in our attention span. We lead American culture.
Rubio will not be Trump’s running mate. Rubio is positioning himself for a remake of the Republican Party.[/quote]It’s not just “middle America.” People residing in the eastern seaboard and FL have also stated to me that they think Cali is the “land of fruits and nuts.”
The videos just showed the nation that we over here on the “left coast” don’t have the capacity for decency and are unwilling to allow candidates their right of free speech. What I saw on u-tube tonight was appalling … much worse than what has happened at Trump rallies earlier in the year … AFTER Trump was already in the process of delivering his address. Here, the melee began in full force BEFORE he even arrived at the venues.
Yes, I’m aware that Rubio is the darling (freshman) of the “old guard” GOP, who purportedly has him earmarked for “great things” down the road.
ParticipantAs a 50-year resident of CA, I am beyond embarrassed by the protestors at the Costa Mesa Trump rally on Thursday night and at the CA GOP membership meeting in Burlingame on Friday, where Trump gave an address.
In my travels across the nation, I constantly hear people calling Cali “the land of fruits and nuts” and these people are not necessarily all Republican! What happened this week just makes Cali look chaotic, difficult, at best, to actually navigate day to day and “full of `illegal aliens'” out in the open sporting Mexican flags acting “violent.” The front of both venues were jam packed with police in “full riot gear” (likely nearly the entire force of the small city of Costa Mesa and tiny cities of Burlingame and SSF). WTF?? And Trump hadn’t even arrived yet at either venue or said one word!
The whole sordid mess played right into what Trump has been saying all along about why America needs a “wall” on its southern border.
Only near windy SF (known as the most “liberal, left-wing bastion” of the country) would you see on national television dozens of topless college students circling a convention center in broad daylight in body paint and wearing pasties. What’s wrong with these kids? Don’t they have midterms coming up? And then the nation sees Trump and an entourage of 12 all wearing expensive suits and shoes ditch their expensive SUVs on the side of the fwy to make their way around temporary concrete guardrails, down a few makeshift stairs, across iceplant and weeds with ties blowing up into the wind, running onto the asphalt around high pallets of construction materials, and into the back door of the venue all the while surrounded by armed guards with their legs in guard stance and hands on their holsters with helicopters swirling overhead. Good L@rd! Certainly, it wasn’t a good impression of the “Golden State” on national TV.
Why should a political rally which is scheduled to move all over the state (possibly over two dozen stops in 4-5 weeks) take up so much municipal and county resources? It is utterly ridiculous.
Both sets of protestors managed to turn Trump’s important message he came here to deliver into a freak show and were so, so disrespectful of the election process. Their antics also cemented Cali’s reputation with the rest of the country as another planet full of lunatics which will most certainly fall into the ocean whenever the “Big One” hits . . . and good riddance!
It was all so disgusting. No wonder Trump decided to take today off. He’s probably rethinking the logistics of his campaign in Cali in light of these surreal events. That brings me to “Little Marco.” I think it’s time for Trump to consider Rubio for a running mate. I think Trump and Christie are a better match and would be fine together but they hail from the same part of the country and likely share many of the same values so he is not a very “diverse” choice. For many reasons, Trump needs Rubio right now if he is interested. I predict that Trump will ask Rubio to be his running mate in the next two weeks but I cannot predict what Rubio’s response will be.
ParticipantI forgot to add to my prediction for the RNC that if Rubio isn’t brought back in by the PTB (unlikely now that the RNC has stated publicly that they will “follow the rules” at “their” convention), the potential votes from his 163 soon-to-be-unbound delegates who will also be roaming the convention floor (not that this will change much of anything, either). Nonetheless, it’s going to be very interesting this July!
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On another note, this piece just came out yesterday:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/significant-premium-hikes-expected-under-074315185.html
Due to all the “new” insureds (those who were uninsured for years before signing onto an “obamacare” plan) having a multitude of health issues due to not seeing a health provider for years … even decades (as well as not taking care of themselves over the years), carriers on the ACA’s exchanges are apparently losing money hand over fist.
Who wouldda thunk it?
I suspect the premium on my Gold plan will go up another ~$300 month for 2017 so I’ll likely have to drop down (again) to Silver 70 or 73 this fall when renewing for 2017 unless we can get some more carriers here in Region 19 (SD County) who will offer reasonable individual PPO plans “off-exchange” which are higher than Bronze.
Hopefully, this will just be a temporary measure until our new Prez (anyone but Hillary) can successfully dismantle obamacare and bring back all these carriers who fled the individual market in the wake of obamacare (or develop a viable “single payor” system with optional supplements for purchase).
Then again, maybe dismantling obamacare and coming up with a fair alternative could take so long that I’ll be on Medicare before it happens and will no longer give a rat’s a$$ :=0
It certainly DOES make more business sense for the major carriers to “sit on the sidelines” (sit out obamacare as well as the individual market under the ACA, while keeping their “enterprise clients”) rather than jump in and be forced to cover a much sicker population (esp the 50-64 age group). After all, we’re all aware that money keeps indefinitely without refrigeration :=0
Who do y’all think is going to win at this game??
Hint: it’s NOT going to be Joe and Jane 6pAmerican who are currently “mandated” to buy coverage :=0
Folks, this unfortunate “obamacare debacle” is and will be the single largest impediment to full “retirement” for those born in or after about 1952 up to 1964. That is, unless the prospective retiree has access to a decent and reasonably priced healthplan administered by a major carrier through FERS, their state or local govm’t retirement assn, their union, their private longtime employer or the military.
Obamacare is a very unpredictable “gotcha” for those on fixed incomes (even w/nominal annual COL raises). I can completely understand why many in the 55-64 age group are still working FT and will continue to do so until they have successfully signed up for Medicare, received their cards in the mail, and, in many cases, have become eligible to receive their first full SS check (currently age 66).
Younger FT worker-bees should take heed that those boomers blocking their promotional path at work are still occupying their positions for a very good reason and should endeavor to vote accordingly in this very interesting election year IF they would like to see that path cleared.
Participant[quote=no_such_reality]Here’s my prediction.
On Wednesday November 9, 2016, roughly 1/3rd of of our country is going to be really pissed off.
If Trump wins, they’re be stuff getting smashed and protests in the streets.
If Hillary wins, they’re be more of the bitter animosity that has plagued President Obama.[/quote]
Sounds like a lose-lose proposition :=0
ParticipantOk, the following are MY predictions, NOT a pundit’s!
RNC
Trump will be the “presumptive nominee” with 1382 delegate votes.
Cruz will have 610 votes and Kasich will have 199 votes (if he’s still around by then).
These numbers don’t take into account the votes of the apparent 162 unbound roaming delegates from PA who will be on the convention floor.
DNC
Clinton will be the presumptive nominee with 2945 delegate votes.
Sanders will have 1648 votes.
Not sure if that includes the math of all the “Superdelegates” cuz I don’t quite understand how to figure all that out. But it doesn’t change anything.
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We’ll see how close I am on June 8 or thereabouts :=0
ParticipantFIH, it’s not the healthcare industry’s fault that new patients come to them with serious problems who may have not seen a doctor in years. This is what happened in 2014, when millions of people were “insured” for the first time in many years (or even in their entire lives). The providers can only do so much. At the end of the day, the patient has to go home and endeavor to stop smoking, vastly improve their diets and exercise much more than they are if they really want to improve their health.
Yes, dental insurance is almost worthless. In many cases, it’s cheaper to be a cash-paying patient. A typical dental PPO plan would cost me $456 to $504 year and would cover 2 cleanings and exams and one x-ray per year. Plus 80% of fillings and extractions with a $50 deductible. And 50% of the allowable cost of “restorations.” That is ….. IF your dentist will accept your plan’s “allowable cost” of the procedure. Dentists who have recently spent well over $100K on a machine to make in-house restorations and underwent the extensive training necessary to competently operate it typically will not cuz they can’t afford to. In the past 20+ years, I haven’t needed any fillings or extractions and in the past 2 years have needed “deep cleanings” every 3 months (like scaredy). In the past 5 years, I have needed several expensive restorations of multiple old fillings and old-school crowns which all turned out perfect with a CAD/CAM-like machine with makes “CEREC” restorations in under one hour!
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CEREC
It’s a fascinating subject!
You pay for what you get in this life. For me, having dental insurance no longer makes sense.
Participant[quote=gzz]If it is a legit listing, it is likely a family lives there and rents it when they are out of town.[/quote]Yes, I believe in all cases, that was true. In some cases, it was a duplex or granny flat on a family’s property who resided there and they stated the guest’s dog could use the backyard and could play with their dog(s) (after being “vetted,” of course). The Airbnb rooms/baths in private homes or granny flats were nicely appointed and some had separate entrances but it wouldn’t make financial sense to stay there unless you just had a really big dog that hotels wouldn’t take (mine is only 10-11 lbs). Also, the owners’ weekly and monthly discounts made the Airbnb unit more financially feasible for a longer-term guest (one week to 4 months). Perhaps one looking to buy or rent a home there in an extremely tight, expensive market or work on a short-term contract. I don’t plan on being there any longer than 4 nights and will spend 3 more nights elsewhere in the state in private homes of friends.
I’ve belonged to the Best Western for years where I earn free nights so I just booked with a member multi-night discount at one of my old mainstays where I know exactly what to expect.
ParticipantI’m going to have to go back to CO in a few months and thought of bringing my dog. I was looking at Airbnb places online which allow dogs (whole houses/units as well as a room/bath in a house) last week and found them to be every bit as expensive if not moreso than a local hotel room (even with a “dog fee” and TOT tacked onto the bill). TOT is only 10.5% in CO.
So I ended up getting a hotel room for a few days with a very nice pool and jacuzzi, for which I’ll share costs with another person for half the time I’m there. Even though the place I booked allows pets for a nominal fee and a refundable deposit, I decided to leave my dog at her usual dog sitter back home so she can have canine friends to play with.
ParticipantI have a feeling the OP here who perhaps “represented” his elder client at one time (w/estate planning services?) does not practice in the state of CA. OP??
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