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Half of that is non-federal at about 7% interest variable. I am currently paying around $1000 a month on student loans and am making little progress. About half goes to interest. This is a math-challenged thread. Mostly because we don't know the OP's true situation so we're all guessing. +1. I also...

Does it require you to commit to anything? I don't recall signing anything for my preapproval.

I wonder why Vanguard didn't go with a TSM + Intl fund-of-funds approach - that combo would have been cheaper to implement, and reuses 2 of their already excellent indexing implementations. Sunny,I agree. VG uses the 70% TSM /30% Tint Stock Component in all the TR and LS funds.You would think that ...

This was very recently addressed in the following two threads:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=116253

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=115929

I'm a fan of Total World, but I use the cheaper ETF (.19%).

One thing you lose by having all equity in 1 fund - is the ability to preferentially place international funds in taxable - to take advantage of the Foreign Tax Credit. If most or nearly all of your investments are in and WILL BE IN tax advantaged accounts, then this is not a huge issue. If you are...

What are the rates on her loans, and what do you expect her salary to be after residency? Most likely, the tax-advantaged space will be very valuable to you in the long-run, so I would probably focus on maximizing that for now. That said, the debt will certainly be hanging over her/you.

In your opinion is it sufficient to own the Vanguard Total World Fund along with the Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund 50/50? If so how do the returns compare to the 3 fund ( total stock market index fund, total international and total bondmarket index fund) 33/33/33 portfolio over time? Yes, a...

I guess I'm wondering this: am I being too debt averse? Ha! You are keeping on to debt because of fear that you might incur debt. I'm not sure thats being debt averse as much as being illogical. Not only that, keeping debt a higher rate to avoid debt at a lower rate! I agree with 2stepsbehind and S...

I used them during my last refi a few years ago and am about to use them again. My lender was skeptical the first time, but everything progressed smoothly. Things seem to be going well this time despite a rather compressed time schedule. I'd highly recommend them. I especially like that they can per...

If your debt were at a lower rate or if it looked like it might take you several years to pay it off, this would be a more difficult question. But it's at a high rate and you should be able to knock it out in a couple of years. I vote to pay it off after maxing out your Roth IRA.

I would also recommend the Newseum as far as paid attractions go. It's fantastic. Have fun!

Boggler,I thought you wanted the 100% VT portfolio (or VT + BND) for simplicity. It's perfectly fine for that. Tilting adds complexity. Do you want that? Will you be able to stick with it? I would suggest more reading and reflection before you invest anything else because right now you're looking li...

Vanguard says the sweet spot is around 30% https://personal.vanguard.com/pdf/icriecr.pdf From the executive summary: Although there is no right answer for all investors, empirical and practical considerations suggest a reasonable starting allocation to non-U.S. stocks of 20%, with an upper limit ba...

And you're really splitting hairs when you talk about a .11% ER v. .19% or 4900 stocks v. 9400.

I've long thought that the best Bogleheads portfolio is the two-fund portfolio of VT + BND (or whatever fixed income you prefer). It's a market-cap-weighted portfolio that is agnostic as to everything else, including country weightings (no one knows what's ideal, and the Vanguard study people like t...

And second most contentious is probably whether or not include a small and/or value "tilt." With regard to small-caps, if the idea is "total market" investing it's theoretically better to have them just because that makes the portfolio a better approximation to the total market,...

VT is great for all of the reasons you've listed. Plus, it has an ER of only .19% and includes small caps. You've listed the small downsides people mention and appear to be OK with that. I say go for it. It is my single largest holding.

Hi there, I've had 2 "hard pulls" on my account recently, so I'd not like any more. But it's also been almost 2 years since I requested a credit limit increase, and my memory is those are (or can be) soft pulls. Right now I have a visa wit ha $15,000 limit and an AmEx wit ha $8,000 limit ...

You could also buy the mutual fund and exchange for ETF shares. That would solve the purchase problem and the ER problem, but not the selling problem.

boater07 wrote:Anyone familiar with the Eldon Luxury Suites? I booked there for 3 days in May.

Never heard of it, but Google Maps shows that it's within walking distance of lots of good stuff.

I thought about this thread earlier tonight when the check came for my dinner here: http://www.littleserow.com/ (considered a value!)

A splurge would be its sister restaurant next door: http://komirestaurant.com/

Both are excellent and I will happily go again .

Some of you have said $500-$800. Wow. I wouldn't even know where to go or how to spend that much on a meal. That's very nearly a mortgage payment for me. Haha, look for places with multicourse (sometimes 20+ if the courses are primarily small plates), prix fixe menus that have a wine pairing option...

Every other week, sometimes more frequently. But the wife and I are late-20s DINKs who live in a large coastal city. Eating out is our primary social activity, and food is expensive (hello, $10-20 small plates and $14 cocktails) but very good. No, it does not get old because the restaurant scene is ...

aguy wrote:Is an authorized agent required for a BrokerageLink 401k account?

Nope.

Problem is, we've had a bunch of moderately GOOD days in the past couple weeks prior to today. So the market is just back to where is was a while ago (the beginning of April?) Yeah I judge my RBDs relative to my last contribution. That was during the first week of April, and it seems we are now mor...

I think I'm saving so aggressively because - probably irrationally - I'm worried about job stability. This is one of my first jobs, and even having worked it for more than a year it still just doesn't seem "real" to me. Every time a pay check gets deposited my eyes pop and I rush to stash...

Are you an associate at a law firm? If so, how long do you plan to do it? What are your realistic chances of making partner? My advice is to continue to do what you're doing. Cut back later if you meet financial security early and/or find yourself in a well-paying, long-term position. You'll probabl...

People weren't raving about the restaurant in the hotel to say the least Poste? That's odd because it's actually pretty good and is a popular lunch destination among the law firm crowds. They also have a great happy hour that takes place in their courtyard, so I would recommend trying that out. You...

Phineas J. Whoopee wrote:A) Total World's 0.35% expense ratio versus 0.11% for the two-fund portfolio (or 0.20% if a person doesn't qualify for Admiral shares like you);

Clarification: The expense ratio for the Total World ETF, VT, is only .19%.

I would probably structure:

$1 million VT (total world)
$1 million VBR (U.S. small cap value)
$1 million VSS (international small cap)
$2 million BND (total bond market) and VWLUX (long-term tax exempt)

If you're not a fan of tilting:

$3mm VT
$2mm BND/VWLUX

ofcmetz wrote:Ok, I have to ask. What is WF? Wells Fargo?

Yes

Cash, why lunchtime? And do you mean you put the limit order in halfway in between the spread? Maybe if I can find a way to do this more systematically, I could make the Etf thing work. Lunchtime simply because that's when I'm usually free :). I can't say that I consistently pick the midway point i...

Thanks fir the input Cash. I have to say I love WF for everything else. My problem seems to be that every time I need to buy with an ETF, I am getting consumed with trying to get the right price, worrying about the bid ask, the premium to nav, etc. Seems like buying at the end of the day's nav woul...

I had planned to switch from WF to Vanguard and even opened accounts to do so. Buying a mutual fund at VG is simple enough, and I would probably recommend it for that purpose. I still might buy international small there and periodically convert the holdings to VSS to avoid the bid-ask spread problem...

Rather than readjust your holdings as your balance gets higher, you could just use ETFs. A simple mix of VT and BND could approximate your desired domestic/international/fixed income split.

Turning again to my hopelessly poor intuition, at these market highs I now I really can't resist waiting for a RBD to invest accumulated income. RBD is about TLH and rebalancing. Sure, if you happen to have some uninvested cash, might as well invest that on an RBD too. But what you are doing is mar...

I would leave them alone and wait for opportunities to tax-loss harvest or to donate appreciated shares to charity.

I've had similar thoughts lately. No spending patterns left to optimize. No new sources of income. Just waiting for time to pass and numbers to (hopefully) go up. In other words, I'm bored. But I guess that's not a bad thing. I just need another hobby.

Looks like you have a very well-thought-out plan. I would echo the advice to contribute to your traditional 401(k) rather than splitting with the Roth. You might also consider holding some of your bond allocation in munis in your taxable account. See: http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=...

I say buy the watch. But before you do so, spend some time somewhere like timezone.com or the Rolex Forums to learn what makes your purchase special. If you buy one without doing so, then you will probably wonder whether it was really worth the premium over the random Timex. It doesn't even beep! (a...

These retirement plans seem much more attractive than the backdoor Roth IRA since I can contribute greater than 5k. As noted above, they are not mutually exclusive. You should aim to max out your 401(k), a backdoor Roth IRA, AND contribute to a taxable brokerage account (and 529s when/if you have k...

I would recommend poking around whitecoatinvestor.com for a while. You're not going to find many tax savings in your income bracket. Will you have an employer-sponsored retirement plan, such as a 401(k) or a 403(b)? You should definitely max that out to save on taxes. Other terms with which you shou...

I've noticed this last week too and decided to wait rather than execute any trades. It seems like what Doc is saying is correct: VG mutual funds account puts 7 days hold on money transferred from the checking account. So, while you might see the number on your account statement, you can't really us...

As a word to the wise, the job market for general commercial litigators (often called "complex business litigation" in biglaw) and to a lesser extent securities litigators is very rough and will likely remain so for the forseeable future. If you go down that path, be prepared for the poss...

Well, before this thread gets locked again, I think I'll add a bit of positivity. The OP is going to a t14 law school and believes that s/he will more likely than not be able to land a biglaw job. Law firms are still hiring, so it's certainly not impossible, esp. from an upper t14 school (i.e., hope...

If I were to retire in the area, it would probably be somewhere with high density, where everything I need (including a Metro station) is within walking distance. Most of Northwest DC fits the bill. Arlington and Old Town Alexandria fit the bill. I'm less familiar with Maryland (I live in DC, and it...

Congrats! Keep up the good work

The simple fact is that very few law grads get a job that pays even $100K pre year, even after 5 years of experience. Most law grads end up working for the government at some level, earning between $40K and around $90K. Others end up in small firms, where they can earn from little or nothing up to ...

I have to interject here as a partner at a mid-sized, well, fairly big, firm. Unlike most of the posters, my work is 100% transactional, not litigation, and I actually really like it after 10+ years. Getting a nice merit scholarship helped with the law school debt part. You may want to consider the...

Right, the ETF. Although the mutual fund continues to get cheaper as well. Reading through the thread, I'm pleasantly surprised to see people embracing Total World. Now that VT is below .2%, I predict we will see more people adding it to their holdings.