Bogleheads.org

Congratulations, Rick, for this honor. It's a pleasure reading your insightful and helpful comments on Bogleheads.org.

That's not how I read. I think the conclusion was that you could push money from Vanguard to TD so that you would have money at TD to buy I bonds. That doesn't mean you can redeem an I bond at TD and push the money back to Vanguard. TD will push the money back to your linked checking account, which...

Oh okay. So it sounds like I do need to transfer back to my checking first, then. I appreciate the information.

Yes, thank you. That answers my question. I was only wondering if I could transfer the money *from* my Vanguard MM directly to a Treasury Direct account, or to an online bank CD account -- to use Vanguard as the hub rather than my checking account. I realize it's easy enough to transfer the money ba...

If I would like to purchase iBonds from Treasury Direct or a CD from an online bank, is it as simple as transferring some available funds directly from Vanguard to TD or the bank? Or would I need to fill out paperwork and/or transfer the money from my local bank?

Happy Birthday, Taylor. I appreciate your insights (always worded with care and to the point) and your quotation collections.

Maybe one day I'll discover at least one of the roads to Dublin!

Regards,

Ryan

Thanks all. I think I'll plan to put the money into the retirement accounts since that's where I really need it the most at this time (though I understand why some would pay off the loans). I really appreciate your replies.

If you pay off your loans you will have more money to put into your retirement accounts every month. You will also be earning the 1.5% interest on the money you would have been paying to the loan holder. IMHO I would pay off the loans, increase my monthly retirement contributions and be very thankf...

Thank you for your replies. I definitely need to prioritize whether or not I should (or could) pay off one or both of the auto loans. I have thought about just paying off one loan as well. A big part of what I do regarding the loan payments will be the amount received on the house, but I do want to ...

The problem is that you would might have more cash flow than you are allowed to put into the retirement accounts, and be forced to invest in taxable accounts. If you won't have that problem, then paying off the low-interest car loans is a good idea. But if you have to put $11,500 in a taxable accou...

OP, I'm sorry for your loss. As for contributing more to tax-advantaged retirement accounts, versus paying off debt at that very low rate, I'd put money into the retirement accounts. You only get to shelter so much per year in 403(b) and IRAs, and once that year's gone, then you've lost that opport...

Maybe it's just me, but I would absolutely pay off the debt. Debt is still debt, and debt is bad, no matter how low the interest rate. I don't buy into that "good debt," or "free money" BS. I would pay off the debt and park the rest in either I-bonds or a taxable account. Then, ...

I am a recent Boglehead in practice (though not in intellect). My mother passed away recently and left me a small inheritance, which was all she had left. It's about 1 ½ – 2x the amount of my EF. I'm wondering if anyone could offer suggestions as to what to do with it. I do have a plan idea (see bel...

I'm sorry that I phrased my post in a way that you read as judgmental, since my point was exactly the opposite of that. I did write "if it were me I would do this", but I was postulating that I shared your #1 priority (I actually have no strong feelings about homeschooling), and advocatin...

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At all my past houses I had surveyors mark my property to avoid any future problems with neighbors and property lines. I had read that such a property dispute led to killing of a neighbor in the 1970s in NY. In one of my houses a neighbor used to move his boat across my yard twice a year, no proble...

I could be less aggressive, yes. But I'm also far behind and have other things coming up. I'm concerned that waiting any longer will be continuing down the same path of not saving enough, but now happens to be when expenses are on the rise. It doesn't sound like you have an idea of how much you nee...

I disagree some with others to suggest to move closer. The drive costs you probably around 250$ - 350$ per month dependent how you calculate depreciation on the car. Only if you can get close enough to get rid of 1 car then it would save enough. Dependent where your work is you might pay more for h...

You asked about ooma earlier. I moved straight to google voice (it is still free until the end of the year and they did extend this pretty much every year before). Why don't you just try it with your pc or laptop and see what the quality is. I bought an obi100 and use it with google voice and our p...

Thank you, very helpful comments. Question: does the Ooma work well (reliably)? I've heard/read bad things about MajicJack in the past, so I'm leery about that kind of thing. But maybe Ooma is different. I did read about this on another thread and linked the website for review. In a little over yea...

Fellow home schooling family here. Stan's post is right and you need to listen to your wife on this decision. She is in a position to know best the impact swim is having on your daughter and in the context of her other activities/curricula/social interactions. If your wife thinks your daughter is b...

Back in 2009, I freaked out. My business that had done extremely well from 2003 - 2007 had evaporated. I had gotten laid off from the cushy job I got in Jan. 2008. My investments were 90% in equities, and their value was down in proportion with the overall drop in the stock market. I decided to get...

Ok, to avoid beating the same issues to death, perhaps this is a good place to stop and consider the ideas that have been offered. Thankfully, there's a whole month ahead to think about this and weigh possible options/alternatives. It's entirely possible that something which seems unreasonable to me...

In theory, I agree with your post; however, if you've read his previous posts, you'll realized his house is way under water and by selling his house, the loss he would have to take will probably be enough to pay for one of his cars if not both. So financially I am not sure if he will come out ahead...

stan1 wrote:My summary, and then I'll leave you alone:
Go with your wife's intuition on the swimming.
You've already told us she's smarter than you, as well as a good manager of money (frugal).

There's a lot of wisdom in this consideration. I can't deny the statement.

VictoriaF wrote:Terminate the swim team and compensate your daughter with an expensive one-time gift. For example, you could buy her a bicycle or an iPad.

Victoria

Actually, we do plan to buy her a new bicycle as her birthday is coming up. And she does have a Nook.

As DualIncomeNoDebt has pointed out, the swim team is not your major problem in the budget. Your choices of living location and employer (e.g. your personal lifestyle choices) are the problem. You seem to have resigned yourself to this, thinking you could not sell the house or you would take a loss...

Hi all -- for some reason my IP was blocked and I had to enter the CAPTCHA and log in 3 times to get in. So if I abruptly stop responding, that's why ...

Yes, you are correct about my retirement situation, which factors into this. But alongside of that are the other looming expenses which could be more than typical EF money. Thus, the overall budget has to be examined. Isn't this how hard choices are made (and sometimes, better alternatives found)? ...

Is it something your daughter lives for -- or is it a fight to get her into the car every day? 10 is old enough to have some input. Swimming 6 days per week for a 10 year old isn't just recreational, its starting her on track to be a future NCAA athlete if she is excelling. If she is doing well the...

This might be heresy here, but perhaps you need to be less aggressive in your savings goals now with the plan to be more aggressive in your 50s. That's the plan most Americans use. That's why there are catch-up provisions in 401Ks and IRAs. What percentage were you saving before toward retirement a...

I think everybody here can find something to cut on this list. But all those cuts would come from our own biases . For example, no way in heck would I pay for ..... Well, since the list disappeared, it's moot, huh? (Probably a good decision to delete.) One thing I think you and your wife (and maybe...

I'm still getting the impression part of this is a time management/life complexity issue for you: Will your employer let you telecommute 1 or 2 days per week? Could your parents sell their house and move into the foreclosure down the street? And from a perspective we haven't heard yet: How do your ...

In my experience with budgeting, it's the big things that sink you, not the small things. Unfortunately, the big ones are hardest to change. When I'm talking big things, I'm talking about the house and the cars. I have lots of room in my budget because I spend a tiny percentage of it on housing and...

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Sounds like you have an income problem, not an expense problem. You're wife home schools....so she can get an overnight job at Fed Ex or UPS. When do you get home from work? Can she leave for her job at that point? Is there an upscale restaurant nearby? If so, she could work 4-5 hours at dinner tim...

There are so many suggestions going on here that it would be easy to think "I've already thought that one out" or "this won't work for our family because...." And for the most part, you're probably right. Just be sure you don't go into defensive mode and begin to reject everythi...

I think about budgeting a little bit different then most. I think folks focus on the smaller expenditures too much, i.e. cell phone, cable, internet, etc... That is good if your trying to save a few dollars here or there. If one is trying to make big changes in their financial bottom line then you ...

How much are swim lessons and how much have you set aside for your daughter for college? Tell her you need her to chip in a few hundred dollars a month from her college fund if she wants to keep swimming. Or, better yet, maybe have her get an income generating hobby instead of swimming. She is only...

Also what are you trying to get out of this post ? Help looking at how to cut expenses or justification to cut your daughters swim team ? Can you talk to the swim team and ask for a reduction of their fees because of hardship. Unfortunately, we don't qualify for assistance so that they'll reduce th...

Just another take on the cell phone situation, although the discussion has moved away from that. We pay $16/month combined for two prepaid phones (T-Mobile 1000min refills) and another $15 for the cheapest iPad data plan for cases when I want/need to read my email, use a map or check some websites ...

To me this is a clear income problem. I cannot imagine in this day and age that a $200 monthly expense for a kid is too much. It's your kid. I don't know much about home schooling but I never met somebody who was home schooled in my education and good institutions. (That doesn't mean it doesn't hap...

------------------- As a distant observer, I don't know the layout of the land. But I can tell you that it might be possible for the family to move within walking distance of her work. Then you can drive the one car to your work and the swimmer might be able to take a bus. What's wrong with taking ...

sscritic wrote:Professor Emeritus and crboone:

Thank you for using my name, but I didn't write what you claim I wrote. There is an edit button where you can correct your errors of attribution.

?? What did I claim you wrote? It was completely accidental and unrealized, so I apologize.

My line of work in the hospital IT isn't something you find at every hospital. I do intergration/interface work, and some hospitals outsource that kind of work. Other hospitals already have an integration developer, and yet other hospitals use a different interface engine than the one I'm trained o...

No offense meant but it was not listed as an expense in your original post, which was my only point. You stated you were "one income" family. But you are not. Your wife is working as a teacher and you are paying private school tuition to her. yes it's tax free imputed income and expenses ...

Others have touched on this but it sounds like a significant part of your problem is your location. It forces you to spend a lot of your income on transportation costs including the necessity to have 2 vehicles, gas, etc. to say nothing of the time that you and your wife spend driving. You said ear...