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Taking out entrepreneurship, and just focusing on jobs where you get a paycheck for a living (although I don't know how to categorize doctors). I actually think law is the easiest path. Med school just doesn't seem to leave you with a lot of margin for error in the sense that you have to have good g...

Trent at TSD has never really struck me as a "retire early" blog but rather a frugal living/ financial independence blog. I believe he writes/blogs full-time, but does consider that a job (though one he enjoys much more than the corporate grind). Forgot if his wife works as well. Similar ...

Interesting thread! MMM is one of three similar-ish blogs I visit. The others are retireby40.org and thesimpledollar.com. They have differing approaches than MMM. It's been a while since I read their backgrounds so I could be mistaken, but I think the RB40 author (Joe) IS "retired" and is ...

You have to work very hard to get a new normal-sized (26cu.ft.-ish) refrigerator delivered to your house for $750. We've bought scratch and dent, year old display models, etc. but not for $750 in many years. Especially if you want some common convenience features like water/ice in the door (ok, ice...

Well, that was certainly enlightening...and a bit depressing on a cold rainy day. But, no one said all days would be bright and sunny, nor that all would have returns which exceeded the market. We are really setting up for a retirement disaster down the road. The government pensions will require fu...

Thanks for all the responses. I think I'll just write that polite letter to the CEO or whatever, if for no other reason than to allow my parents an avenue to vent their frustration a bit. But I'll tell them not to expect the manufacturer to do anything. Now, I already questioned their wisdom in buyi...

This is one of the main reasons we want to ER and do something about this situation instead of working until 80 to pay for everyone else. Agreed 100%. Taxes are only going to go up on those working and especially the high income workers. The best thing to do is retire early so the strong lobby grou...

Asking this question for a friend, as I've found Bogleheads to be knowledgeable and helpful on a variety of topics! The lease on my friend's apartment ends at the end of this month. He received notice from his landlord (a large management company) about the end of his lease, and gave him the lease r...

Well this is my parents' refrigerator. But I'm helping them out as English is not their first language. The purchased a $1500 refrigerator roughly 2 years ago. The warranty period is 1 year. A couple of days ago the refrigerator just broke (my mom said it just stopped cooling). My parents called the...

Moral Hazard. People saw how easily you can just walk away from an underwater home in the last crisis, so why not? Pocket the gains, dump the losses on your fellow taxpayer. Someone I know bought a condo during the height of the boom, saw the value decline by about 70%, so just did a "strategic...

Lately, I've become more and more worried and stressed out about my financial future. But this fear is not from what many would consider "typical" - such as fear of not saving enough, some kind of health crisis, job loss, etc. Sure I have those concerns too, but I have a much much larger a...

Some people (I was one of them in the past) do need them for work. However if this is the case, the employer usually provides the phone and pays for the plan (at least mine did). So for strictly personal use, I don't see why anyone would "need" a smartphone. It's convenient as heck though ...

That recent Trulia article and thread got me wondering. I'll use where I live (Bay Area) as a specific example. After the housing crash, I'd say price-rent ratios were still pretty high in San Francisco and the Peninsula area because rents dropped as well. During the period 2010-2012, rents rose rap...

Sometimes I think I am the only person under 40 who has zero interest in foreign travel. feel guilty since I'm the one who started this thread and foreign travel has been popular advice, but I don't have much interest in it as well. Traveled a lot as a child so I think that completely rid me of the...

(1) Most of the employers that would care about the degree also would care about the pedigree. The big tech companies everyone has heard of- the Googles, Facebooks, Oracles, etc of the world want the degree AND they want it from an elite institution with good grades. They are looking for students f...

I'd say it's going to come down to priorities for you and the spouse. Do you feel it's more important to save for a house right now, or to save for retirement? I would not try and combine the two, as it seems you may be doing. If you want to start saving for a house, do that completely separate. As...

I'm not quite 40 yet, but I would recommend taking the opportunity to travel if you finacial situation allows you to do so Thanks, I hear this suggested a lot as something to do when young. Do you think it's a matter of physical ability (fatigue/ energy from long plane rides or whatever as you get ...

I have spent the last 2 years looking at this option myself off and on because I'm dissatisfied with my current career path. Almost every person working in the industry that I've met with and/or discussed this with have said it's a bad idea. Their reasoning was remarkably similar and pretty much boi...

Delayed gratification is the name of the game for this 30 year old. But I would love to hear the experiences of those in their 40s and beyond. Are there things you would suggest someone in their 30s to go ahead and buy/ experience while in their 30s because it might be difficult to enjoy or apprecia...

Great topic and OP! It has been mentioned before, but I believe that some people are truly hardwired to be savers, and others spenders. Unfortunately i think I'm the latter, so being frugal is not natural but rather a constant fight/ struggle. I find that if I get too drastic with my cutting/ frugal...

CR-V is in it 2nd year of production for the current model. RAV4 is all-new. So that would favor the CR-V imo, but that's just because I have an aversion towards purchasing cars in its first model year. That being said, I do not think there is a "wrong" decision here. I'd say you test driv...

Thanks Norcaldad. Not sure if your question was rhetorical :D , but if it wasn't, I guess the answer is it's really not necessarily in the sense that I need more space or a good school district or anything like that (no kids). I guess it would be partly a lifestyle decision (that's fairly low too as...

I received some terrific advice on an earlier thread about whether I should invest in a 401k vs Roth IRA. I'm leaning towards 401k because of the high tax rates here in California. That being said, some posters mentioned the use of a Roth IRA to save for a home down payment. I have some torn feeling...

My parents are 1st generation immigrants and they work hard. They are also, in my opinion, the textbook definition of "penny wise pound foolish". That being said, I would not presume, nor think it is my responsibility, to offer them any financial advice unless they asked for it or their me...

I know it does not directly address OP's question, but shouldn't their personal capital (or whatever the correct terminology is, I forget) be considered here as well? OP is a BIGLAW partner and spouse a medical doctor. My guess it either one of them could jump back into working if need be and make a...

Thanks livesoft!

Bob's not my name wrote:Here's a handy list that is, unfortunately, a little dated (2011) and a little inaccurate (not all the phaseouts listed as inflation-adjusted are actually inflation-adjusted): http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing ... seouts.cfm

Great resource, thanks!

Thanks so much for the great suggestions/ advice. I'm sorry I can't provide more advice about the business, my parents are a bit apprehensive about too much detail. That being said, it's a franchise, so they can't create an individual website for that particular location. They sell a product/service...

This was an interesting article, and I've read similar stories over the last few years. I also frequent two simple-living/early-retirement geared blogs by young-ish folks around my age (30s). I believe it is a product of the nasty recession and woeful unemployment among my age cohort, but I have tal...

Many local businesses here bribe people in exchange for yelp reviews or facebook likes. For one thing, it wouldn't hurt to make sure the business's website is up-to-date and clearly states what the business offers. Also, clearly stating the address is good so that Google knows where the business is...

OK, then you may wish to consider some Roth IRA when you drop into the 15% bracket, even though your state tax is still high, but if your early retirement plan involves moving to any other state you should stick with the 401k's. For example: $110,000 gross income - $16,000 401k contributions - $3,0...

InvestorNewb wrote:

countofmc wrote:I'm not an MBA so I don't have any good ideas.

There is something fundamentally wrong with this line. The first step is to acknowledge that good ideas can come from anyone - regardless of education.

Sorry. Should read, "I'm just dumb so I don't have any good ideas."

I believe there are some successful current and past owners of small businesses on this forum, so I thought I'd ask the question here. My parents run a small business. They work very hard, but do not really care about marketing the business. They approached me and asked whether I may have any ideas ...

I'll just join the chorus in suggesting, no, PLEADING for you not to do this.

Cliche, but if you have the smarts/ work ethic to get into a T-14, there are so many other things you can do with your life that is much better than law.

OK, then you may wish to consider some Roth IRA when you drop into the 15% bracket, even though your state tax is still high, but if your early retirement plan involves moving to any other state you should stick with the 401k's. For example: $110,000 gross income - $16,000 401k contributions - $3,0...

Since you refer to 401k in the singular you may be eligible for deductible spousal TIRA contributions for the spouse not covered by an employer plan. Perhaps you both work for the same employer and that's why you used the singular. Given your very high tax rate and your plan to retire very young, p...

Wrestling with this decision. We file MFJ, combined income of roughly 110k. 25% Fed / 9.3% State (CA) marginal tax rates. Due to the relatively large marginal tax burden of living in California, along with the fact that we have access to a solid 401k plan (we are offered Vanguard Target Retirement F...

My wife and I work for the same employer. We have access to the same solid 401k plan: we are offered Vanguard Target Retirement funds. We both contribute up to the match. Beyond that, we have enough extra to max out just one person's 401k. I want to focus on maxing my wife's 401k, as she has been at...

I have a renter's insurance policy with AAA. I have some fairly valuable items added as a personal property rider to my policy. Covers theft/damage/loss away from the home, and didn't add much cost to the policy. However, I have been reading some stuff online that suggests these riders may not be ve...

I'm just a bit stumped as I thought CR's own policy (correct me if I'm wrong) was not to recommend cars in the first year of a substantial redesign. Seems strange they'd make an exception for the Accord. Not sure about CR's policies, but JD Power and Associates had this to say in their 2013 Vehicle...

I drove a 2013 Accord and liked the CVT much better than the one in the 2013 Altima. I may wind up buying the Accord later this year. Me as well (liking the CVT, not buying one). The 2013 was very impressive, favorite Accord i've driven yet (have owned or driven the previous 4 generations). I'm jus...

So everyone agrees with the results of the best Midsized sedan being Honda Accord? Well one issue I'd have with this is that I thought CR doesn't generally recommend cars in the first year of a major redesign mainly for unknown reliability reasons. Now granted Honda has a solid track history in thi...

My friend is comparing two job offers. Job A pays 50k with ok but not spectacular benefits, including a 401k with no matching. Job B pays 60k with NO benefits. Friend says the monetary value as he calculates it of the benefits for Job A are around 3-4k, so I guess it's more like 53k vs 60k. But he's...

Depends on new/used and your budget. There's a fairly soft riding car in every segment. Of the cars I've driven over the last 5 years or so, by FAR the softest riding car was a 2008 Cadillac DTS. Those cars can probably be had for a song on the used car market now. Huge comfortable seats as well. Th...

Something I do not believe has been mentioned yet. It's something I've been wrestling with personally as well so hopefully we can get some feedback. Two issues here that I think MAY be relevant, and highly dependent on the state you wish to purchase in. Whether first mortgages are considered non-rec...

justus wrote:Have you checked out something like liveops.

I have, reviews on this seem mixed, I still can't tell whether it's legit or a scam.

Basically a 2-part question. Right now my biggest luxury is having a lot of time. I work a very set 8-5, 40 hrs/ week job. No kids, not a lot of outside work responsibilities. I want to find opportunities to make some side income. I don't have a career/ job skills that can be monetized outside of my...

I am looking to increase our stock allocation. Right now we are at 30 stock/70 bond, we want this to be 40/60. Our current retirement savings are all in our employer's 401k, which offers Vanguard Target funds. For simplicity sake, we've been keeping all our money in the Target Retirement Income Fund...

I agree on prioritizing retirement. A bigger question, you say costs upward of $400k or more reasonable and cheap at $200k. Where in the Bay Area is this? I lived there for 7 years and recently moved away. The places I was looking at were 600k+ for 2-3 bedrooms $400k would probably be a minimum for...

Thanks everyone!