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Portlandhead While I am not a fan of using leverage for investments, it is a viable strategy. In my opinion, you are underestimating the amount of returns you need to break even, forget making a profit. I am not going to do the math for you but here are a few thoughts: Create a spreadsheet that show...

No answer on the planner front but one thing we did was go the allowance route. It has controlled the spending quite a bit but my wife has gone into a smallish amount of debt (overspent her allowance). :oops: That said, we talk about it and the approach has worked in that it helps her see and manage...

Hey There, First time poster (long time lurker). My wife and I are perfect candidates for a backdoor Roth IRA (combined AGI too high, no other TIRAs, etc.). I'm understanding the mechanics...it all seems pretty simple, but I have a newbie question. Once the TIRA is converted to the Roth IRA, can I ...

Be careful what you wish for with regard to school districts. Determine your objective and then work back from there. Is your goal to have your kid get into the best college possible or to get the best education? I submit that it is possible that the best district for each of those goals may be diff...

livesoft wrote:So the new strategy is to attend a great school until the last semester and move the family to some far-fetched geographic location in the hopes of getting into a top-tier university. Ooops, it worked for me.

Let's hear more about this please

My 7 year old got $7 (far too much...no raise when he turned 8). We pay for food and clothes and he pays for everything else. He is very tuned into finance and financial consequences. My only regret is he can be very focused on money and has a tip box in the house (thanks Starbucks) and keeps a note...

Don't save anything for college for your kids. Then you/they will get more financial aid. Have about $5k in savings and investments. In addition, buy a boat, three cars, have a expensive RV (all by loans) and a large mortgage. Don't forget to buy other consumables on credit like big screen TVs, car...

Bigmantenor-

What kind of business are you thinking of starting? How does the second degree help? I say you forgo another degree until you figure out what you want to do.

I have heard quite a bit about various student loan forgiveness programs. Are you eligible for any of them? What about the concept of the income based programs or other programs where you pay for 10 years and the rest of the loan is forgiven? I know nothing about these programs but the information i...

I've been exceeding the $50K limit (the "415(c)(1)(A) limit") every year for my 401k. Intentionally. My company allows 50% of pay to be contributed. Contributions are automatically switched from before-tax (or Roth) to after-tax when I hit the $17K limit. But all of the contributions are ...

You have an "Excess Annual Addition" to the plan. If you rolled out after tax contributions to a Roth IRA, you would probably still have enough in the plan to get your corrective distribution from the plan and thereby avoiding an excess Roth contribution. Here is the Pub 525 paragraph on ...

If you're earning enough to max out the 401k at 50K, then check that you haven't earned too much to contribute to a Roth. I find we hit the Roth limit before the 50K limit, but YMMV. I am "backdooring" the $5K traditional IRA max and the in service withdrawals of my after-tax contributions.

This year I was in a position (and made a point) to maximize pre-tax, after-tax and employer contributions up to the 401K total contribution limit (50K). For various reason, I cannot change my contribution rates during the year in order to ensure stay under the maximum. Additionally, my employer has...

Has anyone tried doing this with Fidelity? I see the option for both "rollovers" and "in-service withdrawals". The "rollover" option only says "IRA" (doesn't mention a Roth). Yes. Fidelity holds my 401K and Roth. My employer allows 4 in-service withdrawals a ...

When the money is distributed to you, is it taxed at your marginal rate? If so, you will have turned what would have been capital gains (lower tax rate) into ordinary income (higher tax rate). I'm just talking about the earnings, not the contributions which would be taxed at your marginal rate eith...

I Has anyone tried doing this with Fidelity? I see the option for both "rollovers" and "in-service withdrawals". The "rollover" option only says "IRA" (doesn't mention a Roth). Yes. Fidelity holds my 401K and Roth. My employer allows 4 in-service withdrawals a...

Wow what a great deal for colleges. They get to keep prices rising without correlation to earnings power and this makes it much more attractive for students to take on debt without worrying about paying it all back. I guess the correction in higher education pricing will continue to be on hold a whi...

For my refi I used Absolute Mortgage about 2 years ago and I have a closing tomorrow on a refi from Amerisave. I would imagine they would be competitive for first mortgages as well. Amerisave has a mixed record but for me the process so far has been very good. That said, my loan is very easy to fina...

I don't have much to add other than a word of encouragement to keep doing what you are doing. At your age, thinking about and modeling this information can only be helpful. Yes, your assumptions will mostly turn out to be wrong and other life events will be exponentially more influential on the fina...

As others pointed out, it does get discussed a fair bit but I'm not sure many people have plans that allow in service withdrawals and, more importantly, I'm not sure how many people have the ability (and need) to stash away the incremental amount in the Roth (via 401K) up to the $49K+ limit. Persona...

Yahoo

It seems most of the responses are focused on whether or not private school is a good investment for a future harpist.

As far as funding strategies go, it looks like you have it covered in your original post. Good luck with the decision and funding.

My previous megacorp employer offered something like 50% up to 8% of my contribution to my 401k. There was also a minimal pension plan. I would characterize this type of setup as "standard". My current smallish company contributes 25% of my gross salary to my 401k whether I contribute any...

There is debate out there on whether this is allowed. My plan does allow 4 in-service withdrawals a year. I put in after-tax funds and roll the funds (and earnings) into my Roth (held at the same broker). I can invest different types of contributions into different types of assets so I invest the af...

One issue not discussed is the effect of the new Obamacare taxes that begIn in 2013. I do not recall all the details but there is at least one new tax that may/may not impact this transaction.

It's not clear what was discussed but the objective is the same. It sounds like you have multiple options for continuing to contribute past $17k in order to keep the matching contributions flowing. At my company, if you max your pre-tax contributions before the end of the year without making an elec...

Eagerly awaiting the plan docs. If the plan does work the way OP says it is one crazy plan. More employers should use it (while still providing real matching contributions). One could argue that the OP's company just pays employees more and allows them to stash more away pre-tax. Pretty cool if it w...

How long will it take for you to get to a comfortable EF if you used the $10k for the loans? If your expenses truly are $4k a month then you should have available a decent amount in after tax funds which will allow you to use the $10k for debt pay down. However, one could argue the rates are not too...

I do very few chores on my own and outsource most. Sure, I could save the money I spend and put it toward retirement. However, I trade the money for time I can spend with my family or doing something I find much more enjoyable than say, mowing a lawn. Jives- It sounds like your hobbies entail all th...

Investigate whether or not a 15 year mortgage presents her with a comfortable payment. If not, consider a 30 year and calculate the payment necessary to pay the mortgage in 20 years. Essentially, pay the required amount and have the extra amount go to principal. Another way to approach it is to get ...

Thank you Taylor for your service. Fortunately there are people in this country who serve when many of us are unwilling or unable to do so.

BlueHenBoglehead- I appreciate you answering questions on this topic. I once read an article(?) in the New York Times or Wall Street Journal wherein a financial aid administrator told one of his staff to get the 529 money because it was "theirs." I am paraphrasing but that was what I took ...

I agree with Livesoft's opinion here, but Livesoft, you had advised me a couple of years ago: ... A clarification is needed I suppose: One should not contribute to 529 plans until one has maxed out retirement plans, preferably for many years in a row, so that retirement is all set. If one is going ...

We bought 5 years of prepaid tuition at/before birth for each child. We also save $10,000 each per year. Where exactly are you planning to send them to school that you expect to need $180K per child (plus gains) in addition to 5 years of tuition? Seems like way too much. Why not put some of that sa...

Janet- Recently my wife went through a few months of research and shopping for an upright that would be acceptable for her but would not break the bank and be appropriate for our 6 year old who just started lessons and may lose interest in playing. After research at pianoworld.com forums and visits ...

As an owner of a Sonos Play 5, I assure you a PC/Mac will work fine to control the music. Before I purchased it I knew a "remote" was required if I wanted to remotely control the music so I'm not sure why anyone would use a picture to determine what's in the box. That said, the Sonos is gr...

I don't think it's wise to prepay a mortgage for a house you know you're not going to stay in. Just curious, why not? Inflation (paying off the debt with inflated $s)? Assume you do not know how long you will stay in a home and it could be 2-10 years. Other than liquidity issues, why is it not wise...

I know people with a BA's in English, Philosophy, Socialogy, ect that will not even CONSIDER a job that pays 40k per year. They just think thats insulting to work for that kind of money. Where are there $40K per year jobs for people with those degrees? I've got a 27 year old daughter, with a BA in ...

I could care less what parents or children do (savings of many types, cash flow, work, downgrading the college experience etc.) Bottom line - whatever gets the bills paid. I'm just pointing out the steady mantra on this board of "fund your retirement in full - because the kids always have the ...

MnD My point of view is the child (along with his parents) needs to make a choice regarding education and whether it is worth it to go into debt to get that education. I assume nothing will change and there will be parents and children who decide it is worth it to borrow lots of money for education ...

I like my Bodium French Press for the best tasting coffee at a reasonable price. I grind the beans for each pot. Typically, I use it one weekend a month. However, my daily driver is a Keurig k-cup single serve brewer. Given the fact that my wife and I have different tastes in coffee and she likes th...

I agree with MnD. You really can't borrow for college. We see lots of posts here from people with huge student loan debt at high rates, who can't really start saving for retirement until they're in their thirties or even forties. So if you don't have a plan for your kids' college you're taking care...

$0 for takeout $2-3 per person for buffet Anyone notice 18% is the new 15%? For those with experience waiting tables, did you expect your tip on the total bill or pretax? Even further, did you expect it to exclude the liquor? I was in restaurant once that included the tip calculator at the bottom of...

Given the numbers as presented, can the OP's question be boiled down to this: Is $175K ($850K mortgage - $675K value of equivalent home) worth it to him to walk and damage his credit (FWIW) and whatever ethical value he places on the mortgage contract (maybe $0)? IMO, I think the working assumption ...

snip........ On the other hand, I understand the basic notion that one should pay his debts and honor his obligations. I'm that sucker too. I also do not understand (maybe because I have never had an ARM, but I know some discussions above are based upon a fixed IR) why a leveraged asset dropping in...

No one else has thoughts on whether I should do the rollover or keep my existing funds with Fidelity? I have a 401K with an old employer and I am glad I kept it there so I can do a backdoor Roth IRA with minimal tax consequences. Your options are good and while it is complex to have money in multip...

We (mostly me via cash/stock and collectively via debt) would have had to pay for our wedding and I convinced my wife to "locally elope" (just a few immediate family members at a church). We planned a traditional event and then it started to get out of control including inviting people who...

In the mid-2000s there was a blackout in NYC. It CC machines did not work although most stores were willing to take credit card numbers. Cash was king during that time.

I voted yes but there is 0% chance I would pay for an "app."

I read the forums and use the Amazon link and may consider a direct donation but paying for an app is a bit much regardless of how cheap it is.

Ok - so I'm still in disbelief over this. The more people that say 'separate' the more I realize how common this must be, but really it seems odd. So let me ask another question, one some have already answered, are you making about the same amount each? If one spouse makes 25k and the other 50k and...

Am I the only one here shaking their head reading all of these 'all separate' or even partially separate posts? Isn't marriage supposed to be about doing these types of things together? I don't want to cause a huge problem or anything, but how many of the 'separate' people have been divorced previo...