Search found 305 matches

by FullYellowJacket
Fri Feb 12, 2021 3:39 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Space X Starlink Internet
Replies: 117
Views: 10361

Re: Space X Starlink Internet

Anyone that thinks that SpaceX has done any overpromising or underdelivering has not been paying attention. I promise you that Starlink will be faster, more reliable, and lower latency as time goes on not only from more satellites, but constant improvements to the software that the satellites and user terminals use.
by FullYellowJacket
Tue Oct 09, 2018 10:47 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: RSUs of Private Space Company
Replies: 3
Views: 683

Re: RSUs of Private Space Company

Apparently they offer buybacks a few times a year.
by FullYellowJacket
Mon Oct 08, 2018 12:30 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: RSUs of Private Space Company
Replies: 3
Views: 683

RSUs of Private Space Company

Hi Bogleheads,
I've been awarded RSUs that will vest over the next few years from one of the exciting new space companies. I don't want to say who, but I think they are going to change humanity (and especially so with my help). I plan on just letting the RSUs ride until the company goes public sometime in the mid-to-distant future. The base pay I'll be getting by itself is enough to help fund an early retirement, so I see the RSUs as icing on the cake.

What would you do?
by FullYellowJacket
Wed Sep 12, 2018 1:27 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: 1 year old birthday
Replies: 42
Views: 2648

Re: 1 year old birthday

livesoft wrote: Wed Sep 12, 2018 12:44 pm What is the purpose of the 1-year-old party? I'm asking a serious question. Do you feel you have paid for many of the parties that you have attended and now want some payback?

Just take your adult friends to a movie or dinner and leave the little ones at home. Seriously. Make it a tradition.
Bottlecap had a great explanation to your question below. Also, how would anyone be celebrating their baby going to the movies alone with other adults? :?
by FullYellowJacket
Wed Sep 12, 2018 12:43 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: 1 year old birthday
Replies: 42
Views: 2648

Re: 1 year old birthday

bloom2708 wrote: Wed Sep 12, 2018 12:39 pm
FullYellowJacket wrote: Wed Sep 12, 2018 12:25 pm Thank you all for your suggestions. I guess my final question at this point is, would you attend your baby's friend's birthday party if you knew it was to be held at someone's small condo? Would you think this is strange at all?
Condo/house/apt size would not factor in. Do you have any outdoor/shared space in the complex? A deck/patio? I don't think you are talking about inviting 20+ people/kids, so your condo is your condo. Small, big or in-between.

If you do the "messy cake" thing, you will want a bathtub close by. Cleanup, cleanup, everybody, everywhere....
Our complex unfortunately has no common room/shared space area. This would have been a great location to throw the birthday.
by FullYellowJacket
Wed Sep 12, 2018 12:25 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: 1 year old birthday
Replies: 42
Views: 2648

Re: 1 year old birthday

Thank you all for your suggestions. I guess my final question at this point is, would you attend your baby's friend's birthday party if you knew it was to be held at someone's small condo? Would you think this is strange at all?
by FullYellowJacket
Wed Sep 12, 2018 12:11 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: 1 year old birthday
Replies: 42
Views: 2648

Re: 1 year old birthday

Are there any parks nearby with picnic areas? Where I live, we can reserve the picnic area at the local park through the city website. That's typically what we do for our kids' birthdays. I have really fond memories of both my kids' first birthday parties. First birthday parties are really more for you and your spouse than they are for your child. Enjoy it and don't worry too much! Yes we do have a park nearby, however it does not have any picnic areas/pavillions. So it would consist of us finding chairs and tables, and we would have to rent a large car to drive it over/back, etc. If no family in the area, a 1 year old party consists of making a cake, covering it with frosting and then letting the child attempt to eat it while being filmed...
by FullYellowJacket
Wed Sep 12, 2018 12:00 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: 1 year old birthday
Replies: 42
Views: 2648

1 year old birthday

Hello BH community, I woud like some advice on how to go about throwing a birthday for my soon to be 1 year old. We currently reside in a small condo and do not have any family in the area. We do have some family friends and friends from daycare , however I am not sure if it is a good idea to have them over in our condo. We are not fully baby proofed, and I worry it would be too crowded for the children/adults as we have no outdoor space (only a small patio). We are also new to our area so I am not very familiar with the venues, although I am not sure if this is worth it either as our baby doesn't walk yet. A few kids birthday parties we have attended have all been in houses with a yard or at a grandparent/family member's house with some ou...
by FullYellowJacket
Mon Aug 06, 2018 2:40 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Your opinion on online courses?
Replies: 26
Views: 2935

Re: Your opinion on online courses?

I received my MS in engineering completely online, but all my classes were shared with on campus students. None of the online classes were standalone. I could have attended any of my lectures in person if I wanted to. When I took these classes I was a more mature person than in Undergrad. I feel that I have retained knowledge very well. Online education can be great if from a quality university.
by FullYellowJacket
Thu May 24, 2018 9:55 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Am I crazy to pay off my 30-yr fixed 3.625 mortgage?
Replies: 139
Views: 21181

Re: Am I crazy to pay off my 30-yr fixed 3.625 mortgage?

I have adjacent questions regarding the setup of your post. What are the mechanics of a condo building selling the entire building? A majority of owners need to agree? Every homeowner needs to be bought out separately? What happens if you don't want to sell?
by FullYellowJacket
Wed May 23, 2018 11:18 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Paid Family Leave - California
Replies: 26
Views: 6739

Re: Paid Family Leave - California

You have to fill out a request for payment for each block of leave. Your return to work date should be every time you return to work.

I took 3 weeks off when my baby was born then months later 9 weeks off. I filled out two forms, one to get paid the first 3 weeks, then another to get paid the first 3 weeks of my 9 week leave.

If it is confusing then they will contact you to confirm what you want.
by FullYellowJacket
Fri May 11, 2018 11:52 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Anyone buy carbon offsets when flying?
Replies: 111
Views: 8077

Re: Anyone buy carbon offsets when flying?

Rainier wrote: Fri May 11, 2018 11:38 am For those of you saving the planet by walking to work, what makes you think that emits net less carbon than driving? There is no free energy and cars are remarkably efficient at burning fuel (humans, not so much).
The carbon footprint of driving is far greater than just the gas burned.
by FullYellowJacket
Fri May 11, 2018 11:48 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Anyone buy carbon offsets when flying?
Replies: 111
Views: 8077

Re: Anyone buy carbon offsets when flying?

runner3081 wrote: Fri May 11, 2018 11:46 am The plane is likely making that flight whether I am on it or not. I see no need to contribute.
If multiple people do not fly, less flights per route per day are flown.
by FullYellowJacket
Fri May 11, 2018 10:34 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Anyone buy carbon offsets when flying?
Replies: 111
Views: 8077

Re: Anyone buy carbon offsets when flying?

https://www.terrapass.com/projects/project-list https://nativeenergy.com/our-approach/carbon-offsets/ For the most part, it looks like real projects get built. And at the very least, carbon offsetting is not expensive. $170 offsets your carbon usage for the year. If someone is concerned then isn't what they should is not fly AND also buy offsets to contribute to these product (taking the money they would have spent on the flight/vacation - give it to the project)? Possibly. Not to head this thread into climate science territory, but (according to IPCC) models show we need to have massive negative CO2 emissions in the future to keep below 2.5-3 degrees C warming. Frankly the numbers are too mindbogglingly big for a few hundred dollars in ca...
by FullYellowJacket
Fri May 11, 2018 10:15 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Anyone buy carbon offsets when flying?
Replies: 111
Views: 8077

Re: Anyone buy carbon offsets when flying?

https://www.terrapass.com/projects/project-list

https://nativeenergy.com/our-approach/carbon-offsets/

For the most part, it looks like real projects get built. And at the very least, carbon offsetting is not expensive. $170 offsets your carbon usage for the year.
by FullYellowJacket
Fri May 11, 2018 10:02 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Anyone buy carbon offsets when flying?
Replies: 111
Views: 8077

Re: Anyone buy carbon offsets when flying?

I think the actionable part of your question is about the effect of purchasing carbon assets. I'm a little skeptical. I think your money is probably better spent making your home more efficient and your own carbon footprint smaller, i.e. not flying (or driving much). Purchasing carbon assets from a 501(c)(3) may be tax deductible so check in to that. I don't know why this post should be locked? It's not really discussing politics, only what is the best way to reduce one's carbon footprint.
by FullYellowJacket
Wed May 09, 2018 11:30 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How to pass life insurance proceeds from my parents' second to die policy on to my children tax free?
Replies: 17
Views: 1742

Re: How to pass life insurance proceeds from my parents' second to die policy on to my children tax free?

If you don't want to dip so far into your lifetime exclusion, you can gift it to them over a 10 year or so period. Most people will never need their lifetime exclusion.
by FullYellowJacket
Sun May 06, 2018 1:33 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Start 529 Plan?
Replies: 45
Views: 3770

Re: Start 529 Plan?

If it helps, I've run several simulations to help determine how much a 529 is worth for my situation (high income in CA), and it looks like our net worth will be 30k higher due to 529 use through tax savings. Another way to think about it is that we would need to save about 15% more per month for college if we do not use a 529.

Having said that, we are targeting 8k per semester for 4 years inside of a 529. Everything above and beyond will hopefully be cash flow rolled.
by FullYellowJacket
Mon Apr 09, 2018 11:54 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Cash flow problems - best way to handle?
Replies: 151
Views: 15382

Re: Cash flow problems - best way to handle?

I would go with the zero interest credit card. There are some cards with 15 months or so of 0% APR. Be sure you can pay that off in 15 months. Make sure you can pay the camp with the CCs. Either that or put all expenses on the credit card and pay the camps with check if required. In a bad situation I'd rather have some CC debt than HELOC or 401(k) debt. Worst case scenario, down the line you can pay the CC before the 0% APR period is up with a 401(k) or HELOC.

Otherwise you need a 100% reliable car. A new Camry is sensible. There just isn't that much payoff for getting a 3-4 year old Camry to save 5,000.
by FullYellowJacket
Tue Mar 13, 2018 11:03 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Purchasing a Very expensive home in HCOL Area
Replies: 42
Views: 7115

Re: Purchasing a Very expensive home in HCOL Area

OP- Just start saving for the DP even if you don't know all the details of how much you need. Your income is $180K, which you think will grow. Can you save $18.5K X 2, plus $11K Roth, and $25K per year right now? Set your DP savings goal per year and try to get there without sacrificing retirement savings. Maybe next year you save $50K for the DP. Every year set your DP goal and focus on it. It will happen. (I'm a left-coaster and appreciate the joy and struggle of home-buying in HCOL area.) :beer This is exactly what we are doing right now. We are still in our 20s and both doing very well in our respective careers so I do expect income to keep increasing. My field specifically is heavily concentrated in Southern California. Moving to a LC...
by FullYellowJacket
Mon Mar 12, 2018 10:46 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Purchasing a Very expensive home in HCOL Area
Replies: 42
Views: 7115

Re: Purchasing a Very expensive home in HCOL Area

WannabeEarlyRetiree wrote: Mon Mar 12, 2018 12:37 am Rather than reducing 401k, can you reduce your expenses to increase saving for down payments?
I think we could reasonably cut 100-200 per month before getting truly painful. I have a mental list of things we could cut under a black swan event. I’d rather work more overtime than cut that amount for now, and I hate working OT!
by FullYellowJacket
Sun Mar 11, 2018 8:14 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Purchasing a Very expensive home in HCOL Area
Replies: 42
Views: 7115

Re: Purchasing a Very expensive home in HCOL Area

I'd like to send this in a slightly different direction: what are you looking for in a house? I get the 3BR part, and I imagine some square footage. I bought a 3BR townhouse in Pasadena less than a year ago at cost well under your budget (I can send you details if you want). I believe the schools nearby are good, although that wasn't a criteria for me. I wonder if you can accomplish your goal on less than you might be worrying about. 3 BR, 1500 sqft, detached house. I'd be OK with condo for life and eventually move to a 3 BR condo, wants at least a townhouse. Out-of-date is OK as long as it is livable. Good public schools (which is the real cost driver). It doesn't have to be city of LA exactly, but it needs to be close enough that the cul...
by FullYellowJacket
Sun Mar 11, 2018 6:58 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Purchasing a Very expensive home in HCOL Area
Replies: 42
Views: 7115

Re: Purchasing a Very expensive home in HCOL Area

If I kept our retirement savings at the downshifted amount, I’d expect to be able to retire in mid-50s. At our current pace we could retire in our 40s. See, here I am confused. How could one be saving enough for retirement, in an expensive area, without maxing out the, limited, amounts one is able to put into tax favored accounts? If you were saving 50% of income and considering taking that down to 40% then the discussion would be worth having. That does not seem to be the case. You can live in the LA area, but at this point it does not appear that you can buy the kind of house you want in that area without severely compromising your long term financial future. If you have kids, do you plan to help them with college? Painful as it can be, ...
by FullYellowJacket
Sun Mar 11, 2018 4:17 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Purchasing a Very expensive home in HCOL Area
Replies: 42
Views: 7115

Re: Purchasing a Very expensive home in HCOL Area

The concept of "maxing" out your retirement accounts is somewhat arbitrary since for some couples that could be over $100K a year or only $11,000 a year. Getting the employer match is always a good deal but you might think of your retirement account contributions as a percentage of your gross income. I would be very cautious about saving less than 15% of your gross income not including any employer match. You seem to be on the borderline of the 24 and 22 percent federal tax bracket. If possible you might try to contribute enough to deductible retirement accounts to get below the 24% tax bracket. A 1mm home with 300k DP will be affordable (by LA standards). By sumo wrestler standards I am downright skinny, but that does not make i...
by FullYellowJacket
Sun Mar 11, 2018 3:05 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Purchasing a Very expensive home in HCOL Area
Replies: 42
Views: 7115

Re: Purchasing a Very expensive home in HCOL Area

Once again, I don’t factor House appreciation at all in my retirement planning. I’m just trying to figure out how we are going to manage to stay in LA long term. If I kept our retirement savings at the downshifted amount, I’d expect to be able to retire in mid-50s. At our current pace we could retire in our 40s. Put another way: the housing market tanking after we purchase wouldn’t significantly change our retirement picture.
by FullYellowJacket
Sun Mar 11, 2018 11:19 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Purchasing a Very expensive home in HCOL Area
Replies: 42
Views: 7115

Re: Purchasing a Very expensive home in HCOL Area

I'm thinking a better way of asking my question is this:
Does it make sense to lower future retirement savings in order to lower future cash flow needs?

In essence I would be looking to lower current 401(k) contributions for the next few years in order to reduce future expected mortgage payments.
by FullYellowJacket
Sun Mar 11, 2018 11:15 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Purchasing a Very expensive home in HCOL Area
Replies: 42
Views: 7115

Re: Purchasing a Very expensive home in HCOL Area

OP, there is no way to forecast home prices 5-7 years forward. Are kids in your future? As others have mentioned, if you are in 22% tax bracket buying a home $1.5M will make you house poor even with a large down payment. What areas are you considering, many parts of LA are considered VHCOL and your price point will buy perhaps a starter home needing upgrades, how will you cover those costs? Currently we are in the SFV, so it is only HCOL here, not VHCOL quite yet. Kids are in the future, which is why we are thinking we will need 3 BR at some point. The task now is making that work. I revised to say that we are in the 24% bracket and are quickly growing our incomes. A 1mm home with 300k DP will be affordable (by LA standards). Obviously 1.5...
by FullYellowJacket
Sun Mar 11, 2018 11:10 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Purchasing a Very expensive home in HCOL Area
Replies: 42
Views: 7115

Re: Purchasing a Very expensive home in HCOL Area

I'll admit that we are projecting ahead income wise. We both expect our incomes to grow quickly. And I should clarify that we are technically in the 24% bracket, but the new standard deduction puts us into the top of the 22% bracket. So income in 170-180 range, but we have quickly grown our income and expect to do so for the next six or seven years. I'll expect income in 250-300k range by the time we make a purchase. If we can't afford it we move.

I don't see how buying a 3 BR house to live in would make me a real estate speculator. We like and want to remain in LA, and we know it takes $$$.
by FullYellowJacket
Sat Mar 10, 2018 9:11 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Purchasing a Very expensive home in HCOL Area
Replies: 42
Views: 7115

Re: Purchasing a Very expensive home in HCOL Area

Klangfool,
We currently don't have any amount saved for the down payment, because we just spent a significant amount on the DP for our current condo. That is apart of the 150k in proceeds I would expect from selling. I think we could have 200k + whatever money from selling for a DP saved up in seven or eight years without changing our retirement savings. We would have 300k ready if we adjusted downward on our 401(k), or have the 200k in six or seven years. We will meet our retirement goals either way.
by FullYellowJacket
Sat Mar 10, 2018 4:00 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Purchasing a Very expensive home in HCOL Area
Replies: 42
Views: 7115

Re: Purchasing a Very expensive home in HCOL Area

1) The new 22% federal bracket, 9.3% state bracket.

2) Less 401(k) contribution means more cash-in-hand, even at a combined 31.3% marginal rate.

3) That's what we are doing, but i wouldn't mind having more cash-in-hand come house shopping time. Really we are looking at "boosting" after tax savings.

4) No, we are not financially independent yet. Currently we are saving about 40% of our gross income. This move would make it more like 35% of our gross income, but the benefit is we could more easily get the house we want to raise the family we want. We will be saving significant money other way. With employer match we would still be saving 10% of gross income each into 401(k), we just won't be maxing 401(k)s.
by FullYellowJacket
Sat Mar 10, 2018 1:05 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Purchasing a Very expensive home in HCOL Area
Replies: 42
Views: 7115

Purchasing a Very expensive home in HCOL Area

Hi all, DW and I purchased a condo in LA a few years ago, and leading up to the purchase we dropped our 401(k)s down to the level where we would get company matches, but no more. This accelerated our savings to the point where we had enough of a DP to purchase a condo that we felt was below market value in a hot market. Since then, we have focused on paying off some debts (which are gone) and catching back up on retirement savings. I know that we eventually want to live in a nice SFH in LA, and not achieving this likely means leaving the City, which I am hesitant to do. Realistically in the next 5-7 years we will want to purchase a 1-1.5 million dollar home. Assuming the market stays competitive, it may be necessary to have a lot of the pay...
by FullYellowJacket
Mon Feb 05, 2018 2:46 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: U.S. stocks in free fall
Replies: 36221
Views: 4652476

Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

I made an unscheduled purchase for our Roth IRAs today. I thought about it on Friday, but I am glad I held off one more day!
by FullYellowJacket
Sun Feb 04, 2018 12:35 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Relearning Calculus
Replies: 81
Views: 12147

Re: Relearning Calculus

My reasonings for wanting to tackle this are more personal than professional. I'm a Materials Engineer, so actually needing to know advanced math beyond statistics and manipulating rate equations is questionable. What I think this is going on is I am having an early mid-life crisis, where I regret not using all the time and resources I had in my college years (and earlier) to really learn about the world of math, science, and humanities. I've already made up for the major slacking off I did while earning my BS in MSE with getting my masters and really applying myself and excelling at it (all A's and some papers i am very proud of). I really worked hard at learning Math, up until middle high school when an apathy set in towards learning in g...
by FullYellowJacket
Fri Feb 02, 2018 5:03 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Relearning Calculus
Replies: 81
Views: 12147

Re: Relearning Calculus

if you are interested in the physical meaning of flux, that is more like what some physics courses teach. It takes some vector calculus, which is beyond the first-year calculus required of many students, so many physics programs take some time out to teach that bit of math inside the physics course. But usually the motivating subject is electromagnetics, so the examples are of electric and magnetic flux, and how to go between the integral and differential forms of Maxwell's equations. Ramo, Whinnery, and Van Duzer, "Fields and Waves in Communication Electronics", once the all-time most popular engineering book, was excellent. But you probably want something which uses flux in a diffusion application. Maybe Schaum's Outline of Hea...
by FullYellowJacket
Fri Feb 02, 2018 5:02 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Relearning Calculus
Replies: 81
Views: 12147

Re: Relearning Calculus

rocket354 wrote: Fri Feb 02, 2018 4:30 pm How deep of an understanding do you need? It sounds like you might want an undergraduate Real Analysis course. You start really basic, recreating all aspects of math (literally addition and subtraction), and culminate with definitions of derivatives and integrals.

Real Analysis is not basic at all--many math majors struggle with it. But you will get as behind-the-scenes as you can get. Typical calculus sequence courses hand-wave a bunch of stuff and it's easy to think you've gained understanding when you haven't completely.
Interestingly MIT's OCW for Real Analysis lists Multivariable Calculus and Differential Equations as prereqs. Maybe this is something to look at if I still have an itch to scratch when I am done.
by FullYellowJacket
Fri Feb 02, 2018 2:39 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Relearning Calculus
Replies: 81
Views: 12147

Re: Relearning Calculus

Epsilon Delta wrote: Fri Feb 02, 2018 2:17 pm Do not learn calculus from an engineer.

Fortunately the things engineers have to deal with are relatively benign. If they weren't the entire built world would vanish in an uncountable number of infinite discontinuities.

To be fair you should not learn engineering from a mathematician. They spend far too much time worrying about an uncountable number of infinite discontinuities.
I am an engineer so you can see my predicament. This whole exercise was prompted because I had to calculate flux during diffusion at an interface.
Even though I could calculate the flux, I'm still not able to convince myself that I'm sure of what flux is. I figured this stemmed from my lack of Understanding calculus, even if I could solve the problems.
by FullYellowJacket
Fri Feb 02, 2018 11:23 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Relearning Calculus
Replies: 81
Views: 12147

Re: Relearning Calculus

This depends on what you want to learn and what you mean by "from the ground up". The foundations go well below ground level and get deeper every decade. You don't need to go all the way down to have a good understanding. In my experience a "calculus" course is a mathematical methods course. It teaches you how to solve problems using calculus. The text book is often mathematical methods for physicists or some permutation. You can substitute for "physics" if you have a subject area preference. If you want the foundations it's typically in a "real analysis" course. This should teach you about limits, proofs, Riemann and Lebesgue integrals. The text book will be called something like A first introductio...
by FullYellowJacket
Fri Feb 02, 2018 11:05 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Relearning Calculus
Replies: 81
Views: 12147

Re: Relearning Calculus

ThriftyPhD wrote: Fri Feb 02, 2018 11:02 am
FullYellowJacket wrote: Fri Feb 02, 2018 10:21 am So far I am starting with Spivak's Calculus.
*cringe*
Why so? From what I have read it's one of the best, but perhaps a little dense.
by FullYellowJacket
Fri Feb 02, 2018 11:04 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Relearning Calculus
Replies: 81
Views: 12147

Re: Relearning Calculus

Anything that involves a lecturer is probably a non-starter for me, unfortunately. I'll keep the youtube channel in mind.
by FullYellowJacket
Fri Feb 02, 2018 10:21 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Relearning Calculus
Replies: 81
Views: 12147

Relearning Calculus

Hi everyone! I've decided to go on a personal endeavor to relearn calculus from the ground up. I've realized in the past few years that I am a product of the 2000s USA education system, and I only know how to solve Calculus problems. The issue is I don't understand the why behind a lot of it. This resulted in passing Calculus 1-3 with trouble.

Does anyone have a good recommendation for Calculus books/text books that will help me truly understand calculus (Single Variable through Differential Equations)?

So far I am starting with Spivak's Calculus.
by FullYellowJacket
Wed Jan 31, 2018 5:40 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Why do many bogleheads feel they can time the housing market but can't time the stock market?
Replies: 63
Views: 6917

Re: Why do many bogleheads feel they can time the housing market but can't time the stock market?

Statements such as: "I'm going to rent for now and wait for the market to crash before I buy a home". I see these sentiments specifically for VHCOL locations such as SF, LA, NYC.
by FullYellowJacket
Tue Jan 30, 2018 11:03 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: The housing nowadays
Replies: 64
Views: 8807

Re: The housing nowadays

I can say that in Los Angeles, the market has no where near peaked. All cash offers are still rolling in. 2 BR/1BA fixer uppers are quickly selling for 800k (or more) in the right neighborhood. DW and I purchased a condo a few years ago, and we think we should have stretched to a SFH.
by FullYellowJacket
Thu Jan 25, 2018 11:37 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: 401k millionaires
Replies: 158
Views: 32118

Re: 401k millionaires

I performed some quick excel analysis. It looks like a 28 year old making $55,000 just starting a 401(k) needs to contribute about $9,765 real per year until age 65, keeping up with inflation in order to have a $1MM 401(k). 4% real rate assumed. This assumes a 4.5% 401(k) employer match. This is about a 18% contribution rate, rounding up. It seems doable. Maxing out a 401(k) is not required.

Nominal it's $3,627 annually for a 7% savings rate to make it to $1MM, but a million 37 years from now isn't as impressive.
by FullYellowJacket
Thu Jan 25, 2018 11:15 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: 401k millionaires
Replies: 158
Views: 32118

Re: 401k millionaires

willthrill81 wrote: Thu Jan 25, 2018 11:11 am
Nate79 wrote: Thu Jan 25, 2018 10:43 am
onourway wrote: Thu Jan 25, 2018 10:11 am I wonder what percentage of people with access to a 401k are maxing it out though? It's got to be low single digits.
The median household income in the US is ~$55k. As a family income there is no way most people can max out a 401k.
Mr. Money Mustache, Justin from Root of Good, the 'Frugalwoods' family, and many others would dispute the validity of that statement.

Don't forget that millions of American households live on $35-$40k a year. If they can do it, a family making $55k can do it too.

The problem is that lifestyle inflation impacts people of all incomes, including those with very high incomes.
MMM and RoG were making wayyyyy more than 55k per year while maxing out their retirement accounts.
by FullYellowJacket
Thu Jan 25, 2018 11:09 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: 401k millionaires
Replies: 158
Views: 32118

Re: 401k millionaires

If I include my Rollover IRA that was built through a 401(k) plus my current 401(k), I am projecting an age 65 nominal balance of $3,902,828.13 given a 6% nominal growth rate and 2% inflation. That's $1,941,577.202 real (2018 dollars). If I include potential employee match it will be well over $4MM nominal. I'll never actually accumulate that much because I will retire long before then.
Given that I am expecting we will see articles in 15-20 years on super 401(k)s with near $10MM or over balances.

To make this actionable for myself, is there a point where it doesn't make sense to save in a 401(k) anymore because I am going to be causing myself to have a very high income in retirement?
by FullYellowJacket
Fri Jan 19, 2018 10:13 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Any downside to having a low property (house) assessment from the town?
Replies: 11
Views: 1395

Re: Any downside to having a low property (house) assessment from the town?

CT-Scott wrote: Fri Jan 19, 2018 10:04 am The bank assessor appraised it around $410K (if memory serves). But I'm not sure how much stake to put into that, since I suspect the mortgage broker / bank / appraiser probably have a way of getting things to appraise the way they want them to, unless the value was significantly less than the target number they were looking for.
I think all appraisals work that way, unless the agreed upon price is clearly out of whack. It was fun looking at all the +$1000 for being on 2nd floor and $-1000 for old bathroom, and having the whole thing work out to the agreed upon sale price.
by FullYellowJacket
Thu Jan 11, 2018 3:11 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 2018 Withholding Tables
Replies: 88
Views: 15526

Re: IRS announces new withholding tables for 2018

I'm going to wait until the IRS and maybe some third party websites publish updated withholding calculators. If I overpay the first few months of 2018 that is OK.
by FullYellowJacket
Fri Oct 27, 2017 5:26 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can I retire today?
Replies: 132
Views: 12884

Re: Can I retire today?

Teague wrote: Fri Oct 27, 2017 5:25 pm
FullYellowJacket wrote: Fri Oct 27, 2017 5:24 pm The only thing I can think is that perhaps you should consider Roth conversions of that tax deferred money up to the top of the 15% bracket until SS kicks in and your tax bracket may go up.
Thanks, but I think I'm squarely in the 25% bracket from now until eternity.
Not a bad problem to have! :sharebeer
by FullYellowJacket
Fri Oct 27, 2017 5:24 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can I retire today?
Replies: 132
Views: 12884

Re: Can I retire today?

The only thing I can think is that perhaps you should consider Roth conversions of that tax deferred money up to the top of the 15% bracket until SS kicks in and your tax bracket may go up.

Edit: Congratulations! Above assumes you are retiring.
by FullYellowJacket
Fri Oct 27, 2017 10:47 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How Well Do You Know About Retirement Income?
Replies: 40
Views: 6175

Re: How Well Do You Know About Retirement Income?

I have a firm belief in understanding things you take a stance on. If you think annuities are bad, one should take the time to understand them. Having said that, I got 36/38 missing the two questions on who pays the most for LTC and what % needs LTC. I did know that the largest burden of elderly care falls on family members.