Posts by Joshua Gray75

Thanks in advance—I’d really appreciate it if this could be sorted out as soon as possible.
My mind is made up...

I would like to request a permanent ban for my profile.
Thank you.

Copying this here: "Leukocytosis is a remarkably common occurrence—usually surfacing as a byproduct of things like bacterial or viral infections, allergic reactions, or even certain types of tumors. It can also be triggered by various medications (for instance, corticosteroids or beta-adrenergic agonists), as well as stress—emotional or otherwise—physical exertion, or intense manual labor."

restlessdriver said:It’s been established that dietary fat isn't what drives up cholesterol and triglyceride levels—it's actually the excessive intake of carbohydrates, refined oils, and things along those lines.
...
I used to have cholesterol and triglycerides hovering around 5, but once I overhauled my diet, the numbers improved significantly—cholesterol sits at 4.2, and triglycerides are down to 1.7.

....

Saying cholesterol is "around 5" doesn't really tell us much... total cholesterol should ideally be under 5, but even that isn't the most critical metric—it's more about the balance between LDL and HDL.
Roughly speaking—you want LDL under 3, and HDL above 1.
As for triglycerides, "around 5" is actually quite high, given that the normal range tops out at 1.7...

Furthermore, the ratio of HDL to total cholesterol is arguably even more important.

Regarding diets high in carbohydrates and triglycerides... 😂
I consume a relatively low amount of fat and a fair amount of carbs, yet my triglycerides sit at 0.6... honestly, they're so low I'm starting to wonder if that might actually be some kind of abnormality itself.😂

Oh, and my total cholesterol is slightly north of 5 (so, technically elevated), but my HDL is sitting at 2... and that’s—again—while following a fairly carb-heavy diet...

(By the way, my BMI is roughly 19... ☕)

steeleagle37 said:Sunday morning, a quiet neighborhood in Washington, D.C., and things will just sort themselves out...

If you aren't from New York City, I highly doubt that’s even a realistic option for you...
You might want to try selling those clothes on Poshmark 😉

Is anyone else having a hard time logging into the IRS portal? 🙂 🙂

I enter my token number and PIN... and then it just spins... and spins... "please wait a moment"... which has been going on for about ten minutes now, and that’s already my second attempt...

I've cleared my cookies, wiped the browser history... nothing works.
I sent them an email about half an hour ago—no response yet.

🙂🙂🙂🙂

Could someone please define what we actually mean by "soon"? Because clearly, we aren't all operating on the same timeline—are we talking days... weeks... months...?

☕

Nathan Booth53 said:Honestly, if you can't pull that kind of money from a major bank, I’d suggest looking into a reputable local credit union instead. Sure, the interest rates might be a bit higher, but as long as you stay on top of your payments, everything is completely transparent and stress-free. I’ve used a credit union back in the Midwest a few times—specifically ŠKZ sjenica—and I never had a single issue; everything was notarized and I had the cash in hand the very same day. I’ve taken out loans up to $3333 before, paying roughly $2,000–$3,000 in interest each time (which I know sounds steep, but when you're in a pinch, you don't really have a choice), and last year I took out $8333 and finished paying off $10333 within a year. I could have just borrowed the money from a relative to dodge the interest, but you never know how life might throw a curveball at you. Personally, I’d much rather owe a financial institution than a family member; you don't want people spitting on you in the street or acting like they don't know you just because you couldn't meet an informal agreement. Some might call me foolish, but I see it this way: business is business, and family is family, and I try my hardest to never let those two worlds collide.

Great... so we're looking at something like a 25% APR...
☕

Personally, I’d suggest sticking to savings... if you could just tuck away $2000 annually instead of bleeding interest... especially if you use a high-yield CD, you might actually build some real capital over time...

To be honest, I'm struggling to follow the logic above... the issue isn't whether you can afford to pay $2000 in annual interest... 🤷

I simply can't fathom why anyone would opt into that kind of borrowing—unless we're talking about a literal life-or-death situation!!!

OT: money is borrowed from a bank

Dana Fox5 said:They didn't even give me a phone call.

Pretty much everything in life is a sales pitch—it just depends on how they wrap it up before it hits your hands. 🙂

So, I suppose this is fine: 🤔

Nicole Taylor81 said:...but they dressed it up as "certain changes we as citizens need to be aware of," mentioning something about tax breaks blah blah......

In other words, it’s perfectly acceptable if they sell you chocolate, provided they package it like an expensive box of truffles... 🤷

A while back, I was offered one of those "consultation" sessions... I agreed, mostly because I was doing a favor for an acquaintance who was being onboarded into the industry (he didn't actually stick with it later, though☕)... anyway, after they ran through every single one of "my" financial products—including my savings—which at the time were earmarked for a down payment on a house... along with money market funds... life insurance... and my 401(k)... their grand piece of advice was simply to increase my life insurance premiums...

Yeah, right... I'm trying to save for a home, and their brilliant suggestion is to hike up the payments on something that might actually pay out in twenty-five years...

So, there you have it... that's what passes for expert advice these days.

I guess it's easy to talk big when you aren't the one footing the bill...

Could someone with a legal background please walk me through how—and on what specific grounds—they would actually initiate a garnishment proceeding? It’s because hasn't provided a receipt for the payment yet. 🤦

Look, the money was paid; there’s a clear transaction ID on the payment order... I just don't understand how the bookkeeping works over at the Office of Management and Budget... 🤦

Fine, it isn't exactly rocket science to send that damn confirmation, so we'll send it... (the bit above is purely a hypothetical question, just out of curiosity...)
Still, I fail to see why the government feels entitled to treat us like complete idiots... nobody should have to go out of their way to send proof of payment to the Office of Management and Budget...

🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂

Dana Fox5 said:Well, yeah, obviously—since that’s literally their entire business model (investments, life insurance, and all that). Brilliant deduction on your part. 👍

Look, if you aren't looking for their advice or services in the first place, then just stay home.

.

I think there's been a bit of a misunderstanding here...
First of all, the woman who called me wasn't talking about wanting to "offer consultation on savings programs" or anything like that... she was rambling on about "changes regarding pension funds due to America joining the EU"—literally something along those lines—which, in my view, is complete deception. That's why I posted the question here, thinking perhaps someone else had received a similar call...

Second, it isn't even a matter of me needing to go anywhere🤣—quite the opposite, this "someone" would be coming to my house for maybe ten minutes to "advise" me... which is actually even more distasteful than having to visit an office myself...

So, while I don't need their advice or services, they are essentially misleading the people they call; they don't mention they are selling products—because most people would probably hang up immediately if they did—but instead, they claim they are calling because of certain changes they want to—well, they *must*🤔—inform us about... so, to me, it feels like pure marketing deception... I even find myself wondering if this is even legally sound... 🤔🤔

Dana Fox5 said:I honestly think you could use the help—you clearly have no idea what's going on, yet you're an adult in the workforce who really ought to understand things like "retirement funds," or how the whole social security system functions, not to mention a mountain of other essentials (taxes, banking, loans, investments) that you could pick up during a session like that...

Are you actually being serious right now?

No, I am not uninformed. I know perfectly well what retirement accounts and banks are, and I understand taxes, loans, and investing—thank you very much... 🙄, and there is absolutely no way I’m going to learn anything meaningful in a ten-minute window (which was the duration she claimed the briefing would take)—instead, they'll just spend that time trying to convince me to dump money somewhere—likely into some private 401(k) scheme or something similar...

Personally, what bothers me is the way they approach people, acting as if everything changed overnight because of new regulations passed by the USA... implying they are doing us a favor by introducing us to these "updates"... (the way she tried to explain it to me was completely incoherent, though I suspect that might be the actual goal—to confuse people enough to make them feel like they've missed out on something vital due to legal shifts...)

Terry Collins9 said:Hmm, I suspect this thread might belong better over in the economics section or somewhere similar 🤔

That’s a fair point...
Yes, I think I'll just stop taking their calls once they start ringing—I have absolutely no use for those financial gimmicks... It is just a shame how they've managed to wrap all of it up in various pension funds and USA regulations... blah blah... honestly, I couldn't make heads or tails of any of it...

Does anyone actually know what this is about? I’ve developed a bit of an allergy to anything labeled "free"... apparently, it was a phone call—she spent quite a while droning on about some new pension regulations within the EU (which I assume was her attempt at being impressive)—claiming it was just a "complimentary" ten-minute consultation (yeah, right...). She even insisted it didn't matter that I'm not even with Vanguard... anyway, since I'm out of town, I pushed the meeting to next week—unless, of course, I figure out their game before then and give them a piece of my mind... (I have zero interest in a new pension fund, a new tier, or anything of the sort, though I have a nagging suspicion that's exactly what this is all about...)

Matthew Watson7 said:And at the end of this whole ordeal, we’re still left staring at a blank wall because nobody can name a single soul who would actually lend money on a short-term basis with reasonable interest rates?

Oh, really? I know someone.😠
Actually, some people seem to harbor this peculiar delusion—that I’m just sitting on a mountain of cash waiting to hand out a few thousand dollars... 😠 interest-free and for just a couple of weeks... which inevitably stretches into several months...😠

Banks lend money.
Period.
If a bank (or any legitimate lender) won't give you the cash, there is usually a very obvious reason for that...

brisknomad2 said:It’s been 16 days since I signed the contract. The paperwork arrived at my house, but the card hasn't shown up yet. Since my waiting period is technically over according to the policy, can I actually use my benefits without the physical card in hand? Should I just mention it during an exam, or will GEICO simply reimburse me later if I submit the hospital bill I already paid out of pocket?🙄

Your best bet is to give them a call or shoot them a message—they have a contact form right here:

They haven't exactly been the most responsive lately...☕

Joshua Gray75 said:I still haven't received my updated billing statements, even though my first payment deadline is coming up fast on January 15th... ☕

The statements arrived on the 15th—which means the due date for that very first one is, naturally, also the 15th.☕

It would have been significantly easier if they had just sent a quick note saying everything remains unchanged and I should continue using my existing payment info—especially since I handle everything via online banking.

I really expected a bit more professionalism from GEICO... but whatever... my contract keeps me locked in for another year... ☕

I still haven't received my updated billing statements, even though my first payment deadline is coming up fast on January 15th... ☕

David Flores23 said:If you have a premium fan package, you can actually get 5 or 7 accounts for free, depending on which one you’ve got. It's worth checking with JPMorgan Chase to see what your specific perks are before you file a claim.

With the dynamic tier, it's fifteen.☕

stormyraven14 said:

I'm not sure if I should be saying this out loud—it feels a bit strange to bring up here—but I’ve been thinking about everything lately... it just stays on my mind more than it used to. It’s hard to find a sense of balance when everything seems to be shifting at once, isn't it? I try to stay grounded, really I do, but sometimes the noise of it all just gets a little too loud... anyway, I guess I'm just processing things as they come. stormyraven14 says:
I'm bringing this topic back up, but I really need a quick answer on this one...
So, here’s the situation—someone from Microsoft is asking me to co-sign a loan for them. We're talking about monthly payments that would be around... $667My mortgage payment is sitting right around that same amount too... $667My pay is around... $1933...and of course, I just want to be certain that she... I just can't... I'm not planning on being a guarantor—mostly because I have absolutely no desire to get tangled up in something like that...

I hope I’m reading this right—and that I haven't totally misjudged the situation—but I really don't think I can act as her guarantor. I mean, if I were to give her my Social Security number, which she was actually asking for... her bank could easily run a credit check on me... so it just feels like too much of a risk...🙄 But honestly, I'm not making any moves just yet—not until I can be absolutely certain about my credit score and everything else...

Is anyone around?

Just say no—plain and simple. Tell them you aren't handing over your Social Security number... because honestly, you never really know when you might need to protect your credit score down the road...
You don't owe anyone an apology—honestly, someone demanding that from you probably can't even be certain about their own job security right now, much less yours. With wages dropping every single day and layoffs becoming all too common... well, if I'm reading this right, the person asking you to justify yourself is just being incredibly rude and, frankly, exhausting...
If they're really that reliable, I bet they've got at least five more backups just sitting in the warehouse...

That is essentially the exact approach I took... ☕
I simply told them I wasn't looking to take on any more consumer debt right now.