Bogleheads.org

The concerns you have aren't the ones that should stop you from taking it and seeing what happens. As someone mentioned, you have an in demand skill set so you'll either do great things at Google and fall in love with the area... or you won't and you'll have the ability to go back to where you are (...

Dulocracy wrote:I am led to believe that babies cost money, so there is that. Thoughts?

Absolutely correct.


Let's start here:

How much money do you have, or expect to have available to pay towards these debts in the next year? How much time left on that car note?

Sounds like a lot of hassle. I think the 0.9% savings is perfectly fine for the short-term time you are talking about. I'd recommend just adding to your monthly payments (automatic deduction), but in a lesser amount than you intend to contribute if all goes well with job. For example, if your end of...

Your intent is noble. You could be at risk if you are giving investment advice without a license or without parental permission if they are a minor. I would check with a lawyer to make sure your good intentions don't backfire. I've dealt with people's money and they often get very irrational and an...

I would not change a thing given 1) the amount of uncertainty in your future income and earnings situation; and 2) the fact that you are already hedging well between the pre-tax and Roth. It's possible that you may even want to consider adding more to Her pre-tax 401(k) on an annual basis before fil...

I cringe hearing these stories. Another good reason, for those that are able to do so, to get your payroll w/h set such that you will either owe; or will have a refund that is at a level where it isn't critical to receive in order to make ends meet for a period of time.

Reasonable, yes. This isn't one of the outrageous quotes that show up from time to time. However, you can probably do a bit better if you shop around. Might be worth your time and effort, might not. In any case, you should move forward with something to capture the rate difference. Yes, difference b...

Am I the only one who thinks that this ER war has gone a bit too far? Total Stock for example went from 0.06% to 0.05%. Thats $10 on a 100,000 portfolio. I would rather that Vanguard spend the $10 on improving some features like adding performance history beyond 5 years. 16% reduction - I'll take it.

Advice would be - get used to the majority being influenced by the investment salespeople. It's an uphill battle to get cost effective funds, but best of luck. Work on them slowly buy surely.

$600k needed for $18K w/d at 3%

About $750K needed 2% inflation adjusted $18K w/d at 3%.

I wouldn't bother with a negotiation of such a small amount. Just pay it and be done. My experience is that it is standard to clean before you leave - not scrubbed, but cleaned up.

If that E-fund is really earning 6%, I wouldn't bother touching it.

Hi All - I'm trying to work out the benefits of a ROTH vs. a Traditional 401K and think I may be doing the math incorrectly. Here are my assumptions and math: Traditional: Pre-tax/Pre-contribution Monthly Pay: $6,500 401K Contribution (6%): $390.00 Taxable Income (Pre-tax/Pre-contribution pay - con...

I would move on as of the next significant bill. $2,000 - $2,500 per year is my target cost on cars... but to each his own!

No, you aren't paying double since there isn't a cost per account. You are just paying x% times the total assets... which would be the same if 1 account of all money or 2 accounts that split the money up. You could have a situation where you can qualify for lower cost if, collectively, the assets he...

Combo of eliminating PMI and interest rate reduction on the refi make this an easy one - pay it down.

I wouldn't buy more i-bonds at the moment... just not worth it unless maybe you can stretch into your CD's expiration (and assuming that amount is significant enough to get you another year or two).

I like the suggestion to get it into something paying ~1% that is very accessible.

Hello everyone, I am looking for advice on estimating retirement expenses. I know enough to not use the "percent of income" as a guide, but rather rely on expenses, but I don't know about whether to (and how to) factor in inflation and there are so many variables like average and unforsee...

I like option #1 - pay the $55K - but only if you plan to keep it in cash. Not sure if you have any interest in doing so, but even better I'd prefer to see that $55K put into something FDIC covered that might yield 1.5% or 2%. Then you are paying very little (net) for the ability to keep that money ...

Tax deferred

I did the contributions annually - since it's a Friday afternoon - but anyway came up with something like $225K versus $900K

1. How can I break out of using Target funds for retirement and start to have a more effective asset allocation? Keep in mind that the Vanguard TR funds that you are in are 3-fund portfolios, so you already have an 'effective' asset allocation according to most on this board. You can break out if y...

How profitable will it be compared to current expectations? That is usually the key... well, that and the human side of buying and selling (i.e., are markets really efficient).

I would definitely cancel the 2. As you say, you have no need... the financial interests are minimal. I'd do it just out of simplification and putting those funds to more relevant use. I'd vote the same on the 3rd as well, for the same reasons, but I'm not a whole life insurance financial whiz so no...

I currently own highly appreciated company stock in my old 401K which I have not rolled over yet. If the stock is in your 401k, I'm not sure I understand the reason for you to be worried about capital gains. Am I missing something? Can't you just exchange it for another offering in the old 401k wit...

Analysis looks right to me

More cash doesn't necessarily equal bigger discount. ALL cash has a better chance of getting a lower price since some sellers will like that you can close more quickly without having to involve a lender. You are right that that monthly payment situation will be based on cash you can bring up front. ...

You barely have any equity in the current home. Save your cash - chances are whatever home you purchase in the future will require a mortgage to finance it and pay off the current home. This is the one time I don't recommend pre-paying, when you are about to sell - if you need to bring cash to the ...

If you lose coverage eligibility (doesn't matter if due to part-time or contractor), you have COBRA coverage that will take you to Medicare. It will be quite pricey as compared to your current (I'm assuming) subsidized coverage. Check with managers to see about subsidized coverage if you are going i...

This seems reasonable and allowable. The annual in-service withdrawal is a good way to go about it and not more frequently. I've seen some people do this on a per paycheck or monthly basis, which is fine financially if there was no withdrawal fee, but is really extreme and pretty unnecessary. I thin...

Slightly off-topic, but I've been thinking lately about how I'll be shifting my asset allocations over the next 20 years as I start to approach retirement. This Target Date fund discussion inspired me to check into the underlying assets for the various funds and I was surprised to see how aggressiv...

Yes, you should be fine. Enjoy!

I'd do it if it is that straight forward.

Only concern I'd have is if your tax situation is complicated enough that it might trigger an audit; in which case it might not be worth the bother just due to the increased chance of an audit.

Definitely look outside of your workplace policies. In most cases, you should be able to find a similar or better rate. Similar is still fine... since you then avoid the worry of losing your job and coverage. In cases of poor health or pre-existing conditions that get screened in underwriting, you m...

Just a matter of preference. Have the talk. I'd be in the court of having something to take the burden off of the mortgage, etc... especially if you can afford the policy easily. Most fixed costs remain when the household goes from 2 incomes to 1.

Go with a 20 or 30 year term policy outside of your employer. If all your life insurance if with your employer and you are laid off or have to quit working due to illness you might end up with no life insurance. Also group policies through work would be a yearly renewal thus subject to rate increas...

You're right - you do have a good choice of Spartan funds that you could build a solid, lower cost portfolio with for your desired allocation if you so choose instead of the 2050 Freedom fund. The added ER for the 2050 fund isn't a huge deal right now at your portfolio, so don't fret if you need som...

Hello! Questions: 1. Asset allocation –90% stocks is pretty aggressive according to asset allocation tools I’ve looked at online. But I really think I’d be OK with a ~45% drop in my portfolio at this point since I have so much time (40+ years) before I intend to make withdrawals and I know the big ...

Very enviable position. I look at it this way - high cost of living area or not - what are your fixed expenses to live there once you hit retirement? Compare that to your nest egg and expected annual draw. You're probably in a better position than 95% of people. And, worst case, you can sell your ap...

Trying get opinions on the best approach. When I retire I will have a choice between taking a defined benefit payment of $5,085/month starting at age 62 or lump sum payout of $785,000. If i choose 100% survivor benefits the monthly payment will be $4,100. I'm currently 52 and I will have have a pro...

This is a lot to take in... I'll answer the items I am comfortable with -Please provide suggestions on how to better allocate our 401K and 457B to be more efficient. I'm thinking we are probably more risky than we should be?(We don’t contribute to the IRA’s.) See next bullet -Does our desired asset ...

Too much? Not necessarily - you've just covered the savings portion at full strength. I wouldn't necessarily pull from those savings if you don't feel the strong urge to do so, but now it's time to start using tax-advantaged retirement accounts and build there. Once you buy that house you're downpay...

I don't think they'll recover for a long, long time in situations like this. Good news (depending on who you are) is that it seems like many are starting to come to grips with this reality, including the banks, so short sales and the like will become more common... giving people a way out. Still bog...

your reservation can probably still be cancelled, so I will recommend still looking at Hotwire and Priceline (name your own) for your particular airport rental locale. You already have a reservation/price locked, so check with these sites to see if you can beat it. They use only the major providers ...

Can you possible gain by bluffing? Sure. Will you gain anything by bluffing or actually following through? No. You've signed up to turn it over to them, unfortunately. They'd have to be incredibly negligent to have any worry. You'll win some years and lose some years with this service, but very very...

0.75% interest savings in each of 8 years on a balance at that level... yeah, that checks out to me and sounds like a no-brainer even for your accelerated schedule.

Doing fine in my opinion. Assuming age 65 retirement, you are on pace to add an additional $500K into the TSP. Combined with some asset growth, that gives you a very solid retirement savings account. Throw in a couple of homes that could be sold if absolutely needed and it sounds like a comfortable ...

Don't know of a particular site, but can tell you without looking that you'd be better off paying the 1% and getting the lower rate rather than just paying the add'l towards principal now. 60 basis points for 18 years is nice. But, agree with the other poster that you should just look for a good 15 ...

You're in good/great shape. Maybe pull out that $50K if it makes you comfortable, but you have a 35% allocation to Stable Value so I really don't see a huge need to pull them out now since it's a 'just in case' pool. With your backloaded withdrawals, you should be fine as well... so just monitor it ...

I don't think I've seen a very important piece here - what are your expected expenses? Or is that the 'major capital expenses'? Also, is the pension figure as of 'now' (i.e., at termination)? I'll provide responses regardless... 1) Whether to take about $50-75K from the total amount and hold it in ...