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I always lease. Unless you are going to keep a car for 10+ years, leasing should work out better. In NJ, if you buy a car you pay 7% tax on the whole thing. On a lease, you only pay tax on the part of the car that is leased, so something like 1/3 the value of the car. Just make sure you try to lowe...

I often find myself with no cash at all. Almost everywhere takes card, I get points for using card, reduced liability vs. cash if lost/stolen, and easier to track spending on Mint Exactly. I try to have a few ones in there for valet when I need it, but otherwise am often cashless. I'm too anal abou...

I'm trying to reduce my monthly spending to be able to save more. I came across Republic Wireless , which boasts $19 per month for unlimited calls, texts and data - and no contract. Has anyone heard of them? The only "catch" seems to be that you have to use it with the phone that comes wi...

Very recently I bought a new car for my wife using " Fighting Chance " technique. It works; I recommend it to anyone buying a new car. I didn't have to negotiate with any salesperson at all, and the whole process took less than two days. When we made the decision to buy the car from the s...

How long is the presentation?

Seems like a lot of topics!

What does difference of millionare or broke at 50?

Maybe you can introduce mint.com and go over all the topics which will give a broad overview and something tangible for them to take away.n

wesleymouch wrote:Nest thermostats. Pure luxury and saves money in the long run.

+1.

Love my nest. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone!

I think having quality faucets, and sinks (american standard) are worth it.

Anyone have any feedback on Sls Miami? Looks like a terrific hotel, but then on trip advisor it has some mixed reviews.

I want to thank you so much for this information.

This is easily one of my favorite books I've ever read.

Anyone have any thoughts on it?

I highly recommend it.

Sounds like a great plan! When I do intervals typically I am running for 3 minutes at 8 min mile, then walking for 1 minute. Repeating for 4.5 miles. Sounds good?

Generally the savings people claim to get from discount clubs are over-rated. You can find same or better deals from many retailers nowadays. Adding in the membership fee to your equation further reduces your "savings". They do carry some unique items. Couldn't have Said it better myself....

I've been training for about a month now to run a 5k at under an 8 mile a minute pace. I can run for about 2.5 miles below an 8 mile pace. However the remaining distance I usually run closer to 9 min miles. For instance, today I ran a 5k in 26 minutes. How can I run a 5k closer to 24 minutes? I run...

Wow, great feedback and you both provided very similar advice.

Should the longer run this weekend be in addition to my running from Monday to Friday? Or should I Run mon to thurs, take Friday off and do distance Saturday.

-A

I've been training for about a month now to run a 5k at under an 8 mile a minute pace. I can run for about 2.5 miles below an 8 mile pace. However the remaining distance I usually run closer to 9 min miles. For instance, today I ran a 5k in 26 minutes. How can I run a 5k closer to 24 minutes? I run ...

Thanks for all the posts. Will update once I attend the meeting.

Really opened my eyes to a different strategy. Since they are both okay with money and health insurance it may be best to get a smaller level 20 term policy which will be remarkably cheaper.

My dad is 55. The survivor benefit is almost half his pension. We were thinking 30 year term insurance, he is in good shape. My mother is 54 and is doesnt plan on retiring for a few years. She will also have a pension from NYC and full health benefits. Her pension will more than cover living expens...

Option 4‐2—100% Joint and Survivor with “Pop‐Up” Upon the member’s death, the designated beneficiary receives 100% of the member’s total monthly benefit for the rest of his or her life. Only one beneficiary may be named and may not be changed. If the beneficiary predeceases the member, pension paym...

The term insurance may cost them $3k a year each , but they are going to be losing much more than that if they elect a beneficiary. Have you actually gotten quotes for term insurance? $3K for a 55 year old man in NY sounds low to me, but I'm no expert. As a matter of fact, I would go through the wh...

We are planning on taking full no survivor benefit pension and supplementing it with term life insurance to essentially maximize the pension. Good strategy? It really depends on the difference in benefits if a survivor benefit is elected and his present age and health. Some plans are more favorable...

All, My father is planning on retiring as a NYC police officer. His union provides pension consultations before retirement. I am attending the meeting with him next Friday. Are there any important questions beyond the basics (pension amount, survivor benefit, inflation, etc) that I should ask? We ar...

There are quite a few threads on mint. Personally, I am a huge fan of mint. I've been 100% dedicated to mint for roughly the last 4 years. I am fully convinced that I wouldn't have been able to buy a house without mint. However, mint is terrible when it comes to my investments.I only use mint to tra...

26 years old, 100% of wife and I retirement accounts in equities.

We contribute 4 times a month automatically through vanguard to max our Roth's.

Intend to buy in major in event of a dramatic drop.

Have you checked out squaretrade for warranties?

I bought a washer and dryer from sears and purchased a warranty from squaretrade on a Tuesday when they have significant savings on their warranties.

Try this site: https://www.chase.com/home-equity/home-value-estimator

It's so easy to use, and for my house the value is in line with the true market value.

Zillow seems to be about 10% lower in my neighborhood.

I recently purchased my first house. So many great posts in this thread! I've found the biggest expense to come from our pride in owning a house, and the constant need to improve it, For example, if we are going to spend $200 on Maintenance many times we will take a step back and go for the superior...

Hi. I'm wondering if anybody has a good recommendation for an hourly financial planner who might help mediate spousal spending issues (i.e., my wife and I have different views about how much we can prudently spend). A good hourly financial planner who can be evidence-based and logical on this front...

Sorry, since your parents are claiming your sister as a dependent she can not take the student loan interest deduction. Neither can your parents if the loan is your sister's legal obligation. As for the tax owed, this is what I got: your sister's taxable income is $11,749 - $950 = $10,799. ($950 is...

Turns out that our parents claim her as a dependent. Also, that $529 figure was from only one 1099. There are more 1099's. She received a total of $11,749 in taxable interest, line 8a on 1040. Lastly, I see no student loan interest deduction on line 33. We are going to look into the accounts online ...

Bill, that's what we are thinking.

I am going to look it over myself today and find out if she is a dependent or not.

As far as the Series HH totally agree with the discussions of interest in this thread.

Just find it hard to believe that she owes so much

Box 3 says $529. She is filing single. I will find out tomorrow whether they are claimng her as dependent.

Thanks for the help so far !

My sister last May graduated with a degree in engineering. She spent a year traveling and had $0 income in 2012. She cashed in $15,000 of series HH bonds in 2012. She used the money to pay down student loans. She went to our CPA and he says that she owes $1200 federally because she traded in the bon...

My reasoning is that I want coverage for my whole life. I don't want to be in a hospital dying kicking myself at any age saying I wish I had done more to protect my family. I almost view it as an expense and a sacrifice that I'm making for the future generation. This is flawed thinking! Sounds like...

I am almost in the exact same situation as you with 400k of whole life insurance from nwm, and some on my wife as well. I am 26, and my policies were purchased also as an intern beginning in 2007. I vote to keep them. I also struggle with this same question from time to time. My reasoning is that I...

I am almost in the exact same situation as you with 400k of whole life insurance from nwm, and some on my wife as well. I am 26, and my policies were purchased also as an intern beginning in 2007. I vote to keep them. I also struggle with this same question from time to time. My reasoning is that I ...

It's hard to tell what discount you might expect off MSRP. My wife and I used the "Fighting Chance" system, which is essentially soliciting e-mail bids from dealers - they know better than you how low they're willing to go to make the sale. A particular dealership may be willing to sell f...

With all due respect, are you trying to get different answers to the question of what to do with $550 every month than you received to the question what to do with $1500 one time that you asked just 5 weeks ago, or am I missing something? http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1088...

OP, here is my suggestion, which I just executed for my daughter who is your age and who I give an annual gift of the ROTH contribution (well this is actually the second year, 2012 being the first). I am looking at the contribution opposite the way others are in that you pretty much know that you w...

I have a separate 12 month emergency fund in a savings account. These contributions will be coming out of our monthly budget surplus. I've never taken a contribution out of my Roth in 5 years (even when closing on my home). I never intend to, just like the idea of Roth vs 401k at this point in our ...

dickenjb wrote:Please be sure you will be Roth eligible. I think best practice is to make 2013 contributions in Q1 of 2014 unless you are 100% sure you will fall below the income limit for direct Roth contributions.

We are definitely roth eligible...maybe not in a few years, but this year for sure.

I'm not contributing to 401k at this time, expect to pick it up in future, job isn't 100% stable, and we like Roth IRA so can pull it out any time, in a true emergency (have 12 month emergency fund). If there is any match on the 401k I'd do that first. Then, since the Roth is doing double duty as a...

Just a brief observation. I would work on a separate emergency fund with low risk, low return investments (ST CDs, MMA (FDIC insured), etc. Everything you're investing in now has a risk of decline, including the total bond index (since rates are at historical lows). I would not want to be in a posi...

His 401k. 20% of Total Portfolio. 100% S&P 500. Her Roth IRA. 30% of Total Portfolio. 17% vbmfx. Vanguard total bond market index fund investor shares 83% vtsax. Vanguard total stock market index fund admiral shares His Roth IRA. 50% of Total Portfolio. 12% vexmx. Vanguard extended market index ...

Allan12 , as YDNAL says, make sure all of your IRA/401k funds are set to reinvest all dividends/capital gains distributions. You shouldn't have a money market in your IRAs anymore. That should all have been fed into the other funds. You don't need to buy any new funds, just put the extra into the c...

November 2012, 55k Portfolio His 401k at New York Life -- 19% 19% ( MSPIX ) MainStay S&P 500 Index Fund Class I (0.44%) His Roth IRA at Vanguard -- 51% 18% ( VTSMX ) Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares (0.18%) <-- Your next contribution will get this to cheaper admiral shares....

Had a few questions for you guys. Trying to figure out itemizing vs standard deduction since my home was purchased in Sept.

Can I deduct the home inspection fee?

Also can I deduct refrigerator loss from Hurricane Sandy as a casualty loss?

Had a question about step 3. We won't meet the $3000 minimum investment. Should I go ahead and buy the eft instead (bnd)? Can anyone help in case I go ahead and purchase the bond fund? I don't understand. If you have $55K in retirement assets, then 10% ($5.5K) is more than enough to meet the $3K mi...

Allan12 wrote:
Love the 7 step plan. Will work on steps 1 and 2 today. Had a question about step 3. We won't meet the $3000 minimum investment. Should I go ahead and buy the eft instead (bnd)?

-A

Can anyone help in case I go ahead and purchase the bond fund?

Hi Allan12, Duckie's recommendations look great. Portfolio basics are pretty simple: you want to achieve maximum diversification (total market funds or approximations thereof) at minimum cost (expense ratios). Are you still contributing to your cash value life insurance? Do you need a permanent dea...

Hi Allan12, Duckie's recommendations look great. Portfolio basics are pretty simple: you want to achieve maximum diversification (total market funds or approximations thereof) at minimum cost (expense ratios). Are you still contributing to your cash value life insurance? Do you need a permanent dea...

Allan12 , since your assets are tax-sheltered there is no financial reason to wait. You can do it all at once. However, if you are determined to do it piecemeal, then this is the order I would choose: 1. In His 401k move everything to the 500 Index fund. 2. In His Roth IRA sell the DIG ETF because ...

Allan12 , you want an AA of 90% stocks, 10% bonds (that's low), with 30% of stocks in international. That breaks down to 63% US stocks, 27% international stocks, and 10% bonds. Here is a possible retirement portfolio: His 401k at New York Life -- 19% 19% ( MSPIX ) MainStay S&P 500 Index Fund Cl...