Bogleheads.org

Right after we bought our townhouse (about 5 years ago), I decided that I wanted to build out the basement as a home gym, so that I wouldn't have to worry about a gym membership ever again. - Power Rack - Bench - Homemade Lifting platform (plywood center with rubber matted sides for the impact of we...

Mortgage + Property Taxes + insurance = ~14% gross income.

We're still in the accumulation stage in NoVA, but I imagine that we'll retire before the kids are out of school. We'll probably stay in the area. There are some nice neighborhoods in the area, great parks within 1-2hrs drive, lots of free museums, the enormous diversity of cuisine that comes with b...

I'm not totally up-to-date on my self-employment perks, but doesn't a SEP IRA allow for $51,500 of deductible contributions? This might be another avenue to pursue.

I maintain 3 years of expected withdrawals in low risk investments, such as money market and short term bond funds. I use dividend payouts to maintain the level as I make withdrawals. If dividends are not enough, I will sell some during good market times. My goal is not to have to withdraw from sto...

BBL wrote:

I don't see where he says he'll retire early or in 10 years

I was including that info on the OP due to the signature line. Maybe I was reaching by including that - wouldn't be the first time

You weren't reaching. Maybe not as soon as 10, but I'm hoping not later than 15

It appears that the TIRA deduction limit is $115k MAGI. Seeing as we're edging on the 28% bracket... that's not happening. So, I guess the question becomes, is Roth IRA more useful than a non-deductible TIRA?

If you anticipate a lower marginal tax bracket when you er you will have plenty of time [presumably many years] to convert to ROTH in lower marginal brackets. The deduction now, the conversion later in lower brackets. We do. I mean, our expenses have been 45-60k/yr with a mortgage for the past seve...

I know that the Roth vs. Traditional IRA is talked about ad nauseum, but I wanted some advice specific to my situation. Rough picture: We're 31, 1 kid, skirting the line between 25%-28% tax bracket while my wife is working 60%FT (for 3-5 more years, when she'll go FT). Max contributions to 401k's ea...

Mint.com said that in 2012 we spent $39,000 in non-mortgage(and tax) related stuff. That's $750/wk, 2 adults & 1 baby in a fairly high COL area.

Mint.com said that in 2012 we spent $39,000 in non-mortgage(and tax) related stuff. That's $750/wk, 2 adults & 1 baby in a fairly high COL area.

RobInCT wrote:I would pay off the student loan. That is a high interest rate.

Agreed. That is a high interest rate. OP, consider paying it off is like a 6.8% return on your money.

I don't really define RBD's, as I just tally up our "extra" income at the end of the month and invest in post-tax funds accordingly. My Roth IRA purchase post in the middle of the month, and 401k is every Friday. *shrug*

BoA has some particularly shady business practices, and terrible customer service in my experience. We ditched them over a year ago when they tried to institute all of those debit card fees. Switched to the local credit union, and couldn't be happier. I don't usually pay attention to the rates on th...

I think you might find that if you left the post up for a while you might get some more serious analysis, one that takes more than a few minutes. I was trying to work on one when you removed the data. Assume 200,000 at age 30. Allow it to grow for 35 years, but start removing $37,500 real (that is,...

I'm 31 now, so lets say... 2 years ago, my situation was roughly the following (compared to now): - Had ~$80k in equity in a $370k home (now it's ~$100k in $380k) - Between the wife and I, we had ~$120k in pre-tax retirement accounts (now, we're over 200k. Yay market rally!), though we only just sta...

The 30yr refi rate at my CU has held at 3.25% for 2 months now, and just as we're getting the paperwork going, I've seen it go to 3.375, then 3.5 in the last 2 days. UGHHHH

You guys really ARE missing his point. What if we have a $5M port to start, some of it tax sheltered. So w/ d $200K per year but don't necessarily SPEND all of it. I don't see how dog food chat factors in here... Well, we're in the "theory" forum here. I think we're debating optimal strat...

Back to the issue at hand. This paper includes the constant percentage formula among others. Maybe this is helpful: http://corporate.morningstar.com/ib/documents/MethodologyDocuments/OptimalWithdrawlStrategyRetirementIncomePortfolios.pdf So, call me ignorant as I am a fresh-faced noob to these foru...

Valuethinker, a lot of great points that I've thought about at one point or another. I do know that roof overhangs can prevent a lot of the overheating issues you mention for passive houses. I've talked with an architect in the area that actually does certified 'passivhaus' homes. I want to think t...

I'm not sure if I'm misreading this... but you bought the house 2 months ago for $359k and are selling today? Anyways, as far as I know, the only reason that cash offers are king is because it decreases (to zero) the chances of the deal falling through due to financing issues. So, take that as you m...

Valuethinker, a lot of great points that I've thought about at one point or another. I do know that roof overhangs can prevent a lot of the overheating issues you mention for passive houses. I've talked with an architect in the area that actually does certified 'passivhaus' homes. I want to think th...

A thread that was resurrected from 2011 about building a new home reminded me... My wife and I currently live in a townhome, and have plans to move into a single-family home sometime in the next 5 years (no firm date). I'd really like to have a home that is energy efficient. Home prices in our area ...

My parents are terrible with money. If I learned anything from them, it was the ridiculousness of moving credit card balances from one card to another ad infinium is such a silly idea. After I graduated college and moved in with my wife (then girlfriend), I was fairly focused on crushing my student ...

Age 31. We have our Vanguard assets (IRA's and taxable) and our current 401k accounts (one at ING one at Fidelity). We aim for Roughly 80% Total Stock Market funds and 20% total bond market funds (or an approximation of whatever our 401k's allow). We have a few carryovers of miscellaneous funds in o...

The young people who started in the 2000s are accumulating at a steady price... When the next bull market begins (2018?), they will have a nice nest-egg that might grow 5-10 times by 2035. 1913-1929 - Bull Market - 16 years 1929-1946 - Bear Market - 17 years 1946-1966 - Bull Market - 20 years 1966-...

I'm curious how those who save over 50% of gross do it. Taxes (federal+state+payroll) alone comprise about 20% of our gross income. Therefore total expenses must be less than 30% of gross income. Amazing!!! Sacrifice. My mother would always tell me "either you pay now or you pay later" - ...

We're saving ~50-60% depending on how you calculate with pre/post tax money. It'd be more if my wife was working full-time. Age 31.

zotty wrote:It doesn't get mentioned much, but outright home ownership of your family home is one of the best asset protection moves you can make with taxable money.

Explain this to me like I'm young and ignorant?

Can't you just deduct the education expenses? They should qualify if you are enrolled in a course in an accredited educational institution. You can deduct education expenses even if you do not itemize. You can't deduct any education expenses, if they are being reimbursed by your employer. No educat...

I don't know where all these "no-cost" refi's are coming from. When I refinanced 2 years ago(3.375%, 15y)) to take out some equity (2 weddings, one in Italy) there were unending fees, including appraisal, all kinds of insurances, taxes, etc, and I'd estimate that about 3% of my equity dis...

Do you do your taxes by hand, software, or online? If it is either of the later, there really is no extra work involved, maybe 10 minutes. And, it is as easy as filling in your W2 information. Yeah, it's not very difficult. You get your tax form from your broker (mine is Vanguard) and enter it into...

I'm not sure I fit in those categories exactly. We're refi'ing from 5% to 3.25% (this week in fact). We plan on socking away the difference in payment, for the time being, on a future potential down-payment for our next home. We're trying to have enough after-tax money to pay for 20% on a home in th...

31 and accumulating here. With any bit of luck, we'll be either fully retired or semi-retired in our early 40s.

I'm 31 and decided that ER is for me when I started reviewing my father-in-law's retirement life. He retired at age 50, along with his wife, and they've had such a relaxed and carefree lifestyle since (they're 65 now). I only recently started looking at the math. Up until now, my wife and I have bee...

My 401k - $17500
My 401k Match - $7140
Her 401k - $17500
Her 401k Match - $1500
My Roth IRA - $5500
Her Roth IRA - $5500
529 - $5000

Total - $59640. We should be utilizing 100% of this in 2013 which will be equal to ~1/3 our gross income.

I pay $52 for FIOS internet, and $1.50 for a free google-voice phone number hooked up to an Obi110 for E911 (unlimited local and long distance).

Don't do cable.

I always like to see charts like this which are inflation adjusted. I assume this is simply the index price, right? That is, it does not show the effect of reinvested dividends? Does anyone have a link to a chart of the SP500 WITH dividends and inflation adjusted? I'm still a fairly novice investor...

If you use an RSS Reader of any kind, you can also subscribe to any Craigslist Search as an RSS-feed, therefore showing many different searches and their results all in one place.

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...

I'm 31, wife is 31, have a 9mo child, and we're all healthy. I'm working full-time, and my wife is working 60%, but we have roughly the same earning potential these days (assuming her full-time salary). Both of our employers offer the standard 2xSalary Employee Term Life Insurance, and 2xSalary Spou...

Boglenaut wrote:I do not include it.

However, having no mortgage reduces the amount I say we need to live.

Which means, if you intend on staying put, you are sort of including it.

You can only take a deduction on the traditional IRA if your AGI is 115k or less, and you can only get the full deduction if your AGI is 95k or less. I would stick with Roth IRA regardless, but in your situation it may be the only IRA option. Ahhh, I actually didn't realize that the TIRA income req...

Hi, when using a retirement calculator which determines how long your assets will last, I'm trying to figure out what you all typically do. Let's say you have equity in your home which is at least equal to your portfolio value. When the calculator asks how long do your assets need to last and let's...

I'm much earlier in the process than a lot of posters here (31, our son is 9mo old), but we expect to offer to pay him to go to whatever college he desire, and pay up to the cost of the average state school here (for 4 years). We'll certainly encourage him to go to a state school (Virginia has a lot...

Long time lurker of this site, and long time user of other PF sites. Figured I'd give a post and take any constructive criticism. Me (31) and my wife (31) currently gross ~$150k/yr (with her working part-time, as she is home most of the week caring for our 9mo old son). Only debt is the mortgage. In...