Cash or mortgage explained

Posted on September 20, 2019 by Aunty

A friend of our has a small remaining mortgage (~$65,000) at 2.75% interest. Monthly payment is almost $1000/mo for 7 more years.

Aunty thought that paying this off with available funds would be a smart move because then he won’t be paying $1000/month anymore. However, a visit to a trusted financial advisor (Jason Wong of Shiraishi Financial) changed that strategy because Jason said that the interest cost was so low, it would not be a good use of funds to pay it off and would result in lost opportunity to grow money. This sounded a bit confusing and it was bothering Aunty because she didn’t understand what that meant.

Until… a recent email post from Paul Tamashiro. Aunty doesn’t really know who Paul Tamashiro is. She just subscribes to his almost daily email updates because he used to have current mortgage rates at the end of each post. Well, he doesn’t have that anymore, but his articles are pretty good, and this one was excellent. It was titled “The Opportunity Cost of Paying Cash”. Aunty’s comment about this follows the article.

Here it is:

THE OPPORTUNITY COST OF PAYING CASH

When you pay cash for a property, you are missing out on the opportunity to earn a rate of return on that cash. In the illustration below, Option 1 is to pay cash for a $200,000 house. Option 2 is to use $100,000 of cash, and a $100,000 mortgage. If you go with Option 1, you’d be losing money by giving up the ability to earn a rate of return in an outside investment (such as stocks, bonds or another real estate property). If you go with Option 2, you’d be losing money by paying interest. You’d lose money either way.

These are the two questions you could ask yourself in order to find out which option would cause you to lose the least amount of money:

Question #1: What would be my after-tax interest rate if I used a mortgage? Mortgage interest may be tax deductible. For example, a 4.5% tax-deductible mortgage for someone in a 24% income tax bracket may only cost 3.42% after-tax (4.5% minus 24% tax benefit = 3.42% after-tax cost). For more details, please see my article called, When is Mortgage Interest Tax Deductible?
Question #2: What would be my after-tax rate of return if I keep my cash invested? Please see a financial advisor for more details on this.

If your rate of return on investments is greater than the after-tax cost of a mortgage, it may make more sense for you to use a mortgage and keep your funds invested.

Please contact me for more details, or if you’d like for me to run a cash vs. mortgage analysis for your situation.

Source: CMPS Institute

Funeral pictures and the new iPhone X

Posted on September 12, 2019 by Aunty

from “Miss Granny”

Miss Granny is still Aunty’s favorite Korean drama movie. A grouchy old lady who sacrificed her youth and life to raise a son who loves her – but still, she is a grouchy old lady that not too many people liked. One day she decides to get her funeral picture done because Korean funerals all have a nice 8×10 photo of the deceased looking their best surrounded with rows of flowers. She walks into a very good photo studio with amazing results.

Over a year ago, Aunty and a few friends hired Jalna to take our individual funeral pictures – several shots in various poses, and all in clear perfect flattering focus. These would come in handy for “that” day when a funeral picture is needed so our families don’t have to go scrambling around to find a smiling picture to put in the frame. Most local funerals that Aunty have gone to show a nice color photo of the deceased that has been cropped from a group photo, and not in the best of focus or setting because most local people don’t go to photo studios for individual head shots.

Then came the iPhoneX with portrait mode

And now, everyone can have a funeral picture of themselves, their family members, their friends, their dogs, etc. that is of Korean drama funeral worthiness.

Awesomesauce, really awesomesauce. Aunty is still learning how but all kinds of filters are available at the touch of a finger, sliding this way, that way, making backgrounds diffuse, disappear, get brighter, cartooney, etc.! There is more to find out – and one of the best bonuses of having an iPhone is the support at the Apple Stores and the nice folks there.

If you are ever at Kahala Mall and stop in the Apple Store there and say hello to Kale. Cracked Aunty up when he spelled his name K-A-L-E after pronouncing it Ka-lay. Super nice young man who would even make Miss Granny feel special.

An OOOPS update!!!

A few days AFTER Aunty got her new iPhoneX, guess what happened. Apple released its news of the newer iPhone 11! Aaargh!

However, because of poor timing, Apple will offer a credit of $100 to offset the pain. Or, better yet, if Aunty returns her “old” iPhoneX within 14 days, the entire charge will be reversed and Aunty can start over again and purchase the newest Apple phone beginning on Sept 20 either online or at the store. Aunty will do that but will be without a phone for a week. That is rather scary but then we didn’t have portable phones back in the day and meanwhile all the files will be stored in that mysterious iCloud until the new phone arrives.

Will it be worth the wait and inconvenience? Maybe so. The new iPhone has 3 (THREE) crazy looking lenses under super tough glass and longer battery life. Potentially Aunty can do awesome videos to post here. Potentially, possibly, perhaps. Another “we’ll see” in another chapter of Miss Aunty’s life.

Breaking solar deal, Craft Swap signup

Posted on August 31, 2019 by Aunty

Aunty had bought these solar LED accent lights on sale at Costco a few months ago for $20. It came with 4 glass box lights that could be screw mounted to fences, walls, etc. and powered by the sun. Since Aunty LOVES solar powered anything, it was a gotta try thing, and instead of mounting it on a wall, one was put next to the house in an area that only gets some morning sun. Well, lo and behold, it was enough of a “charge” and it helped to light up that dark section of the pathway all night as soon as it got dark!

This was good stuff and sort of expensive so Aunty had to be manju and kept the other 3 in the box to figure out where to put them for maximum use. The body was of metal and glass so sticking it on rock walls or in the garden where it could rust or break from a fall was out, and possibly mounting it on certain walls were options that Aunty procrastinated upon. After all, $20 for the 4 meant that they were $5 each, and these were special!

Until …. yesterday, when Aunty did a Costco Hawaii Kai trek and saw the boxes and a clearance price of $4.97 each! $4.97???? OMG, Aunty grabbed several boxes and told everybody in the store that this was the best deal EVER. Fo real! So now, Aunty is telling you readers (especially you, Jalna) about this super duper deal while it lasts. *note: these solar lights are sold out.

Craft Supply Swap II

This next one is also for Jalna because she is such a craftaholic. Kaimuki Library is having their second Craft Supply Swap session on Sunday, October 20! Aunty signed up for their inaugural one in February and scored great supplies for free.

First thing, though, is to get put on the list by dropping into the library and signing up or calling the reference desk 733-8422 by October 11 (do it sooner). Then, drop off craft supply stuff that you DON’T want or use according to their rules – i.e. new and unused good stuff by the drop off deadline of October 14.

Then you show up on October 20 from 2-3:30 in the basement meeting room and you receive your “tickets” for the stuff you dropped off, and with your precious tickets, you go shopping! *note: you must be registered with the reference desk and in order to get tickets, you need to drop off supplies in good condition at least 6 days prior to the swap day. There weren’t too many sewing supplies but had lots of scrap booking papers and plenty doo hickies and doo dads.

The best part about this Swap session was de-accessing Aunty’s stuff not being used but yet was good stuff. The bonus was going home with more stuff with possibilities – that might end up back at Kaimuki Library, lol.

Jalna’s nephew Colin’s Pork Chops

Posted on August 19, 2019 by Aunty

Pal Jalna has a great blog with travel journals, recipes, and photos that have so much joy that Aunty is a Jalna fan.

Recently, she posted about her 9 year old nephew Colin’s Vietnamese Garlic Pork Chop. It was so cute – his handwritten recipe, and looked so ono, Aunty had to try it because it looked easy.

It was harder than it looked and Aunty was missing several ingredients such as chicken powder, shallots, and fresh garlic, so Aunty made do with mushroom powder (Umami from Trader Joes), stalks of green onion, and some old chopped garlic in a bottle in the back of the refrigerator.

Harvesting and using lemon grass was treacherous. That plant is killer because of super fine, super sharp little needle hairs that plunge into the skin, even through surgical gloves. Ouch ouch ouch! To remove those dang prickles after the laborious process of peeling off the hairy leaves from the stalk and chopping into bits, Aunty slathered Elmer’s white glue on arms, hands, wrists, and wherever else came in contact with the plant from hell. After the glue dried, Aunty peeled it off in sheets and pieces. Note to Aunty – freeze the dang lemon grass next time or use something else.

Times Super Market had pork chops on sale for $2.59/lb so for $5.30, Aunty had 4 nice pieces to work with. It was super wonderful to clean the pork chops first with water, vinegar and salt in a large bowl, and then rinse and pat dry. That winner first step made the pork seem almost kosher and less stinky. Great tip, thanks to Colin!

Putting all the other ingredients together after the battle with lemon grass was easy except the Umami powder (as replacement for chicken powder) was so fine and dusty, Aunty had a coughing fit after shaking out a teaspoon of it. Actually, what IS chicken powder?

Aunty kind of coated each chop with the sauce, laid them flat in a single layer, covered them with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator for several hours. It was easy to fry them with a bit of oil on medium heat (not too hot or it gets black) and, after plating it, put whatever sauce left in the pan over the pork chops.

It was SO soft, moist, and delicious! Not sure what did it, but it was! Thank you Jalna, thank you Colin! It was a great and successful learning experience.

Here is Colin’s recipe and his broiled version:

Caprese Salad

Posted on August 4, 2019 by Aunty

Aunty’s version before the olive oil, salt, and pepper.

If you one local like Aunty, you say “Capreez”. However, the proper way to say it is like one Italian, “Ca prez eh”, with the emphasis on the 2nd syllable and a rolling “r”.

On Saturday’s class at the Hawaii Potters Guild, pal Becca (from the East Coast) corrected Aunty’s pronunciation and Aunty told her that we say “capreez”. She couldn’t believe that, so Aunty asked a group that was gathered nearby if they knew what a “ca prez eh salad” was. One girl nodded gleefully and said she loved it. Others looked at me like, “huh?” until I said “capreez salad” and smiles broke out because now they understood. That was pretty funny.

Anywho, Aunty now makes ca prez eh salads because of how darn easy it is, and how delicious it is! It also helps that Aunty has basil growing like crazy in the garden.

How easy? Like 1, 2, 3 after cutting slices of tomato, slices of mozzarella logs or balls and trimming basil leaves.

After the ingredients are cut in their respective piles:

lay down a slice of tomato
put a slice of mozzarella cheese on it
put a basil leaf on the cheese.
Repeat 1-3 until done.

Then, sprinkle a little bit of Hawaiian salt and pepper (optional) and drizzle good quality olive oil on the salad. Many people also like balsamic vinaigrette drizzled. That’s it!

It looks pretty, is probably healthy, and when you pronounce it properly, you can kiss your fingertips and sound like an Italian chef.

Buon Appetito!

Another Epiphany

Posted on July 25, 2019 by Aunty

Epiphany definition: a moment when you suddenly feel you understand, or suddenly become conscious of, something that is very important to you.

(another definition is a powerful religious experience but that isn’t the one for Aunty’s epiphany today…. or maybe it is.)

Realizing that Aunty is in her final third phase of life, from Youth, to Working Adult, to Oldster is quite wonderful. Life in these golden years (with good health) equals freedom to choose to do the things I want to do and not do the things I don’t want to do. For example, Aunty does NOT want to babysit grandchildren on a regular basis and DOES want to pursue creating art and weeding. This is a not quite an epiphany but more of a philosophy.

Recently, several small and big changes and events have occurred and Aunty has sailed smoothly through them. Answers and inspiration seemed to show up randomly, or perhaps on purpose. Sometimes a chance conversation leads to a train of thought that helps solve a riddle. Sometimes making a wrong turn becomes the right destination. Sometimes flipping a book open on a page reveals a wisdom at the exact perfect moment of understanding.

This is exactly what happened this morning, as Aunty was clearing her ever cluttered desk of papers, bills, and books. “27 Flavors of Fulfillment, How to Live Life to the Fullest” is a book gifted from author Nathan Cain whom Aunty helped sponsor in his film “Cancer – The Integrative Perspective”. It was flipped and opened up on page 90. This section was written by Shelly Wilson with a paragraph titled, Tools to Discover the Truth of Who You Are. Skimming through, a statement jumped out at Aunty and became today’s epiphany:

I am a spiritual being having a human life experience.

Whoa. It was as if all the jumbled up building blocks suddenly clicked into place. Each of us is a spiritual being having a human life experience. Aunty read and re-read Shelly’s 5 pages and felt as if a great understanding of how life works was revealed.

Okay, so maybe Aunty is a bit off and people like my best and worst friend Cookie will roll her eyes because more evidence of Aunty’s weirdness has just show up. Regardless, Aunty just had to share her most recent epiphany which actually does feel like a powerful religious experience.

Amen and Namaste,

Aunty

Shorting out Short Term Rentals?

Posted on June 19, 2019 by Aunty

section of map showing current unpermitted short term rental units in the Kapahulu area

It is with mixed feelings that Aunty reports the passing of both Bills 85 and 89 at Monday’s City Council meeting. Bill 85 would have been the one to pass to totally stop the illegal short term rentals with strict enforcement and fines. Bill 89 allows for homeowners to apply for permits allowing them to rent out 2 rooms in their homes on short term basis. Everything else will be penalized and fined if they get caught. The Mayor will probably nix Bill 85 and pass Bill 89 because it is more in line with what he first proposed this year to allow more short term rentals.

The hundreds of testimonies of those who wanted to have all short term rentals legalized and permitted would admit to having unpermitted short term rental businesses and justify it by how great they are by supplying what tourists wanted and paying their taxes. Some of them were very brazen, some were humble. All were breaking the law.

How many of them, and how big a deal is it to them? Check out melekomo808.com for one of the illegal whole house rental units currently banking it. It is a drop dead gorgeous place on the beach in Kailua and looks like a high end Maui resort hotel. Rates are $5,000 per night with 6 night minimum stay ($30,000 for 6 nights). That kind of money motivates the push for legalizing short term rentals and encourages more investors to bid up our island properties out of reach for local families to buy and live in. Hopefully, when Bill 89 passes, enforcement and fines kick in – big time, and their profit motivation disappears. Otherwise it will be business as usual as the players in this field flaunt their illegal activity because civil action becomes a non event as it has in the past.

How invasive is our current situation? Check out airdna.co for a map of what is currently available as short term rentals through Airbnb and Vrbo rental sites. Enter “Honolulu” or whatever area you are interested. A map of the area will show purple, blue, or green dots indicating whole house, room, or shared room rentals. Most of the sites listed are for whole house rentals (purple dot). Each dot can be clicked on for details about nightly rates, but addresses are not listed, though you could do a guess on which house it is by the location on the map.

Just in the city area of Honolulu from Hawaii Kai to the airport, there are 7,527 active rentals, 86% of them are entire home rentals. The rental growth chart shows a history of the expansion ~ 2,500 units in 2016, and has grown to 7,527 units today in less than 3 years time. Some are legal because they exist in Waikiki, with special district status. All others are illegal.

These numbers are current to Airbnb and HomeAway rental sites. There are more sites that do not report to this market minding overview, so actual numbers are higher than shown. For example, right around the corner from Aunty is a short term rental house with tourists staying for a few days, coming and going constantly. This house is not listed on the map. A property on the next block with 2 big ornate houses that occasionally have large groups staying for a week or so are also not listed on the map. These might be listed on Craigslist or other rental sites that airdna does not track.

Aunty testified that the expansion of illegal short term rentals was not only because of investors’ motive for profit, but also because of the non-enforcement of our existing laws and piddly consequences.

Slowly, and insidiously, our residential neighborhoods have been invaded. They are not as obvious as monster houses, but they are just as, or more detrimental to our local lifestyle. Hopefully, with the passing of Bill 89 and proper enforcement that follows, we can protect our neighborhoods from unwanted changes.

***Want to protect our neighborhoods on the State level? Governor Ige has before him a Senate Bill – SB1292 – which will undermine our city county laws and recognize renting platforms such as Airbnb as registered agents of Hawaii, giving more legitimacy to illegal rentals by collecting taxes. Attached are 3 ways to reach Governor Ige. Aunty just did the second option and sent a comment to Governor Ige. He responded (a robo response but still informative) immediately. He has until June 24 to send in a notice of intent to veto, and then until July 9 to veto. Please ask him to veto SB1292!

FIRST – Phone GOVERNOR IGE’s office IMMEDIATELY [(808) 586-0034] before his voice mailbox fills up. Ask him to VETO SB1292 and tell him why. Let his office know that you are a voter, a taxpayer, and are upset that SB1292 might become law. Remind him of his 2016 veto message (attached)
SECOND – Send the governor your online opinion right now. Ask him to VETO SB1292. Click Comment to Governor Ige to be directed to his website. Remind him of his 2016 veto message (attached)
THIRD – Phone GOVERNOR IGE’s office [(808) 586-0034] again in by Friday. Ask him to VETO SB1292 and tell him why.

What do you love to see in Hawaii?

Posted on May 29, 2019 by Aunty

Aunty loves to see the ocean, mountains, sky, trees, and wonderful old buildings with character. What do you love?

If you love those modern buildings made of mirrored glass popping up higher and denser, then good for you – because that is what the developers are building, with the blessing of our city council, mayor, and departments.

If you don’t like them and want a rather easy way to say so, then please fill out an online survey that the Department of Planning and Permitting is conducting for the island of Oahu – called the Honolulu Public Views Study. They are collecting this information until this ~~Friday, May 31~~, so time is of the essence. Survey extended to June 15, 2019, hurray!

The link is:808ne.ws/citysurvey

Maybe this will help us keep our island saner and safer from the skyscrapers that threaten to turn us into a metropolitan concrete and glass corridor. Maybe, or maybe not. At the very least, we get heard.

Be Careful Out There!

Posted on May 22, 2019 by Aunty

Just got this in an email from a friend, a purse snatching from a car in Aiea.

This is the reason why Aunty used to have a PO Box listed on the driver’s license – but our State changed it to being our physical place of residence, giving thieves more info to use.

Please be aware and safeguard your personal belongings from the bad ones.

Here is the text:

FYI – May 9th about 3:15 pm, this guy came & grabbed Jayna’s bag (was on her lap) thru the open car window, passenger side! I was sitting in driver’s seat. We were killing time & waited in the shaded area across McDonald’s; had to pickup granddaughter at Aiea Library in an hour & take her to Pearl City for her last band concert.

We got back home around 9:30 pm our house was burglarized!!!

OMG! They had the house key & car key, too!!! My other daughter took my car home, her boyfriend stayed the night, we filed credit fraud alerts. That night Jayna heard a car slowly pause & took off. The next day she brought my car back & I went to Servco Toyota to have my key & car reset. We had the main deadbolts all changed & cameras installed.

Then, 5/11, Saturday this haole man called: found her bag across Kaiser Moanaloa by military housing! cards, license, credit cards there except: money & new glucose monitor, etc.

Then 5/13, this slim haole guy tried to take the car! Jayna heard something & peeked out the kitchen window & saw someone sitting in the car; she also saw the red brake light go on so he was trying to start the car. She called 911 & later told me to sound the car alarrm! Our neighbor came out & saw him run up the street to a parked car & turn left to St. Louis side. (waiting for a part; someone can open car but not start it. Part just came in; will be installed tomorrow.)

Please, please be careful, check your surroundings & stay safe! Tell everyone you know so they can be aware. I don’t want them to go through this, too. These guys work fast. Basically looking for money.

A friend’s mother wasn’t so lucky; they broke in her house, stole her keys & later stole her car!

My Servco consultant said IF you must wait, lock door, windows up, & run the AC! He also advised me to take everything out of the car til it’s completely fixed.

Scary. Be aware. Be safe. Aunty got a little more paranoid, but sometimes paranoid works in our favor.

Good bed = good sleep = better all around

Posted on May 4, 2019 by Aunty

Aunty and Mary

When Uncle and I first got married we had a cheap full size bed with springs that squeaked and sagged in the middle right away. Of course we were younger and didn’t know better or have money to spare. It costed less than $200, brand new.

As we got older, we become pickier, and one of the most important purchases we made was buying a good bed.

At Slumber World (702 S. Beretania St in Honolulu), beds are everywhere on the entire 2nd floor and the choices seem to be confusing. Not to worry, Mary Racca-Ventura to the rescue. Mary is the bed sales manager of all the stores. Petite, dynamic, and personable, Mary will listen, process what she hears, and then steer you to the best bed for YOU. This means lying down on many beds to test them out.

Back then, it was hard to choose because Uncle liked to lie on his back and have a firm mattress, and Aunty was a stomach sleeper and liked the soft beds. We settled for an in-between compromise of a TempurPedic king bed with a slightly firm mattress that was too hard for stomach sleeping but perfect for side sleeping and better for the back. A better option might have been separate twin mattresses – one firm, and one soft – put together with a bridge like joiner.

Those commercials are true

The bed felt like a cloud. Sleep came easily and bodies felt great in the morning. The bed was rather pricey but came with a 20 year warranty. 8 years is the average life span of regular spring mattress beds – though most people do tend to keep the same bed for ages longer. If your body, especially your shoulders, ache in the morning, it could be because your bed is too old and you need a good new one.

The nice staff at Slumber World

Honorable Warranties

The next ~~good~~ great bed Aunty bought was a smaller bed with a very soft mattress. Such a delight to face plant and sleep stomach down from time to time! Mary suggested a special mattress protector that zipped on and off and had dri-cool technology. This was quite expensive at $130 because Aunty was used to getting cheap ones on sale at Ross. However, Aunty splurged because of the convenience of zipping off the topper to wash, and then zipping it back on after. That was 5 years ago.

This past week, when changing out the sheets, Aunty noticed some flaking from the mattress protector after zipping off the cover. Hmmm. It was just the underlayer and didn’t affect the top at all but Aunty decided to call Slumber World to ask about it. After a few minutes of explaining the issue, the salesperson pulled up Aunty’s purchase history and said that the mattress protector had a 10 year warranty and that she would have a brand new dri-cool mattress protector to replace the old one. What a pleasant surprise!

Satisfaction all around

There is a saying that you get what you pay for. Slumber World is not a place for bargain shopping but it is the place to buy quality beds with great customer service and good warranties. As we get older, we need to spoil ourselves. One of the best ways to do that is having a bed that feels like a cloud.

Just writing this makes me want to go to sleep, and so I will. Make a wish, close your eyes, and good night!