Bogleheads.org

Thank you for taking time to read and respond to this question. I am protesting the change in appraised value by the county for our home. I would like suggestions on what evidence would most support our position. The 'structure and improvement market value' on our single family was increased 5.5% ov...

I have some major goals (paid off house, two State U college educations fully funded, retirement mid-50's) that happen to require a lot of money. I set our savings and frugality at just the level to reasonably meet those goals and no higher. The objective of money is to meet our goals, not a contes...

My challenge is balancing saving a responsible amount for a retirement I can enjoy at 60, versus enjoying life TODAY. I struggle spiritually with it as well (please do not take this thread in a direction that will be banned) because I find my ultimate question is this: What is the balance between b...

1. 8.5%

2. No

7.5%, and decreasing I expect (unless my gross income goes down)

crowd79 wrote:I have to say I am really amazed at the savings rates of some people.

And I thought I was saving enough at 30%!

You very likely are saving enough. For you.
Don't compare yourself to others, in savings rates or other ways. That's a competition that no one ever wins.
30% is great!

[color=#FF8040][color=#FF8040]am still puzzled by something you wrote. You don't spend more than $40k/year and yet you feel that $6m is not enough. Is this a psychological quirk or there is logic behind it? A part of being a Boglehead is knowing when to quit. Victoria To tell you the truth, I don't...

1210sda wrote:

travellight wrote:I enjoyed your story,Abe. Congrats!

Ditto

Ditto Ditto

Congratulations and welcome back. From 327lbs to 167lbs? That is admirable and inspiring. I look forward to hearing how you did it as well as the financial implications involved in the lifestyle and diet changes you had to make.

I have to catch up, stopped reading at page two. I want to THANK YOU ALL for all of the replies, support and kind words. I feel so much better knowing that I am in the majority with my financial state, though I do not have the benefit of an MBA or Doctorate. :happy I wish I could "enjoy life m...

fcox85 wrote:

Yipee-Ki-O wrote:I think luck is a very underappreciated element of life!

I 2nd this!

What the heck, I'll 3rd it. And even add that luck is under-acknowledged and under-recognized. It is a part of any success story.

I calculate our net worth quarterly. I calculate our household spending monthly I peek at our checking and credit card accounts every couple of days. They are our first line of defense so I want to know more quickly if anything unusual happens there. Because of decisions made in the past and the com...

My question is when I look at putting 50k of the cash to work in the near term and and new money to work in the future, how would you view your "overall" portfolion and asset allocation in my situation. Is the 450k in home equity considered a part of my/your "asset allocation" o...

Just one, a B of A Visa rewards card. You know the commercials for the 1-2-3 card? That one. 1.1% everything, 2.2% restaurant, 3.3% gas. It was 1, 2, and 3 percents, but there's a 10% bonus on rewards when deposited into a B of A checking account (which I have, although the rewards don't stay there...

According to Money magazine (March 2013, p.62) , taking from Dr. Pfau's work, this is the foolproof savings rate that Americans should use: "Wade Pfau,....., has crunched the numbers to find a safe level of saving that would have worked in every historical market stretch going back to periods b...

The enterprise revenue is much larger than $3M / year. If I could hire someone for $250k to 100% confidently run and grow the business the way I do then I would hire them in a New York minute. Alas, that person is EXTREMELY hard to find. That still wouldn't address my issue of a $3M bird-in-the han...

With great luck and emotion, which is not how I manage our portfolio. Recommend you don't confuse the two either. My wife makes my life fuller, my portfolio makes my, now our, life more secure. She doesn't give a hoot about investing but she does understand personal finance - LBYM, etc.

KISS Guide to Home Improvement

21% in 2012. 20-25% is our happy zone where we feel we're saving enough for retirement and spending enough today.

Money It can buy a house, but not a home. It can buy a clock, but not time. It can buy you a position, but not respect. It can buy you a bed, but not sleep. It can buy you a book, but not knowledge. It can buy you medicine, but not health. Jerry[/quote] +1. Like how you distinguished what money is a...

Wow. I think some of yall just get paid too much. Trust me, I don't -- I'm below median for my town. I knew I would never be able to afford a home in the SF Bay Area so I have no mortgage and no money to buy one outright but have healthy retirement accounts. But while I may have a nice amount in a ...

1551.69

May the best Bogleheader win.

Portfolio return came in around 16% on an 85/15 portfolio. I don't know about the rest of you but I do not include primary or vacation home in our portfolio value.

We looked at getting into the landlording business for single family homes in 2011 as it was clear that winds (low mortgage rates, low home values, etc.) were still blowing in our favor. We worked with a very good agent and saw a lot of houses. We made offers on a couple of them and even had one off...

We'll transfer $11K from our taxable to our Roth accts. Didn't even know that Roth contributions increase by $500 in 2013 until I read two days ago the article written by Mel L. that was linked to Oblivious Investor's weekly email. Once again BHers have made me a better household finance manager. Th...

Wealth Addiction by Philip Slater. Never thought of wealth as an addiction before reading this book, and now I wonder whether I'm an addict. I may not be a "pack-a-day" addict but some of his criteria struck a cord. Scott Burns referenced and recommended it a few times, including not too ...

Per skylar's note, it would be interesting to accompany this money-based poll with a time-based poll. Some people give one or the other, and some like skylar give both. Would a time-based poll measure # hours volunteered? I wouldn't be proud of my results in either poll.

Not giving as much as I would like to, especially in these difficult times. Can't imagine how difficult it must be to want a job and not be able to find one month after month after month. One that can pay the bills.

I understood the OP's query the same as Viking65, and agree with his ideas to maximize your rental income - deductions/exemptions gap. His ideas were ones I used living overseas for many years. The two years before moving back to the States I sold off cap gains to the extent of my gap without payin...

Too many!

I understood the OP's query the same as Viking65, and agree with his ideas to maximize your rental income - deductions/exemptions gap. His ideas were ones I used living overseas for many years. The two years before moving back to the States I sold off cap gains to the extent of my gap without paying...

Too many usernames and password I have. Every site seems to need them nowadays, and if you only use the site once a month/quarter, then you have to write it down somewhere. And because you have so many you need them frequently and so where you write them down has to be easily and quickly accessed. I...

2008 Prius bought in 2011 with 22K miles. Now at 42K. We both love it both for its carbon footprint and stealth mode.

Ages: 47/39
Stocks/Bonds: 85%/15%

Spend Til The End by S. Burn and L. Kotlikof. Gave me a broader understanding of personal finance. This it is about more than investing, and that we have more control over our living standard than the financial industry gives us credit for - where we live, how big a house (and taxes, utilities, etc....

Odd, to me, that this would be my first post after years of lurking. But there you go. I have asked myself this same question, and thank those that have responded so far. I don't know if your responses would change if the reason for being a part-time CFP was not to earn any money but just to help lo...