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It seems one key factor is the assumed price appreciation across all scenarios (and varying by metro area). This is their example in the Detailed Methodology section: In the Seattle example, the upfront costs include a $54,193 downpayment and $10,839 in closing costs – which are 20% and 4%, respecti...

Congratz!

This question comes up a lot and common themes I've observed are: ⋅  High-Interest Savings and/or CDs (high liquidity for Savings, even if interest is low) ⋅  I-Bonds (stuck for one year, then inflation-protected) ⋅  Roth IRAs (since contributions can be withdrawn tax-f...

Congrats!

I'm pretty much an 80/20 Core Four portfolio using all Total Market MFs.

In 2012, I converted my Traditional IRA to Roth. My contributions to the Traditional were no longer tax deductible and I figured I could do the backdoor Roth. However, I am not going to contribute to my IRA in 2012 or 2013. Should I recharacterize and wait until I can contribute, putting off the tax...

On the insurance front, you might want to grab some international travel insurance from STA . Less than $300 for three months and covers lots of things, including health. http://www.statravel.com/international-travel-insurance.htm I broke my leg while backpacking Europe and the travel insurance took...

I would definitely consider a tablet if you primarily surf, email and do media things (watch movies, read books, audio books etc.). I no longer need to travel with a laptop. If you really want a laptop, I'd vote macbook air. Super light and Mac has a great user experience. I switched from PC years a...

+1 on Tax Act, which you can do online without needing software. It also saves key info from previous return (they all do) so the next year makes things much faster. It even made three state returns pretty painless :) Some comments talked about CPAs giving good general tax advice. Do those who use C...

Thanks for all the thoughtful responses everyone! Really helpful.

exoilman, this article is worth reading: 52 Year Old Bourbon? . Note that in the comments someone mentions a 60-year-old Fitzgerald and to sell it as treasure! I echo the others in that you should try a couple other bourbons first. A $20 bottle of Maker's Mark, or see if you can find a local tasting .

Hi all, I'm getting a windfall next year that would pay off all my student loans, which are at 2.5% interest. I've heard arguments that this rate is so low, I should pay it off as slowly as possible (e.g., inflation), and invest the windfall somewhere else. I've read through the Paying_down_loans_ve...

Here is a link to a discussion forum on this issues.

One ideas is to change preferences in Outlook (make it NOT the default email client):

How do I change the mailto in Chrome?
http://productforums.google.com/forum/# ... ngTaedzxWc

+1 on Nexus 7. Loving mine!

I live in a high-priced area as well, and sometimes wonder if I'll ever be able to afford a nice home. But right now, I am able to rent the lifestyle I can't afford to buy. I live in a great neighborhood, where I would have to pay 1.6x my rent for a mortgage on the same house . So I'm with the other...

Great, thanks for the suggestions!

Good catch, letsgobobby. I edited my OP to show it's Admiral, not Institutional.

That's a good point. I guess I'm less concerned about big swings in the Roth since I'm a long ways from retirement. I like your suggestion about the Bond placement. It inspired me to post my overall portfolio choices for guidance from you and the other fine people here! So thanks! http://www.boglehe...

First of all, I want to thank everyone on this forum for teaching me so much about investing! I have been following a Boglehead-inspired portfolio design for a couple years now, but I think I’m ready for a review! I also cross-posted about REIT placement and livesoft 's response got me thinking: Eme...

I'm planning to rebalance soon and wondering if I've got the best tax efficient placement going on. His and Her Roth IRAs: Total Bond (100%) His 401k: REIT Fund (7%); Total Bond (26%), Total Intl (22%); Total Stock (44%). Is it better to have the REIT Fund in a Roth IRA , or does it matter? Thanks!

Looks like Vanguard is going to offer a new TIPS fund by the end of 2012.

https://personal.vanguard.com/us/insights/article/fund-announcement-07242012

If you are looking at a 4+ year horizon, why not go with an I-Bond ? I=Bonds are inflation-protected, and offer no penalties for withdrawals after five years (and only three month's earnings after one year. Other pros from an article on Motley Fool : * I Bonds are backed by the full faith and credit...

Quicken has a mac version called Quicken Essentials for Mac for $40. It is not as fully-featured as the PC-version (for example, it doesn't have check writing functionality or advanced investment tracking), but it does link to most online accounts for tracking your checking, savings, credit cards an...

I was reading a Forbes article on backdoor IRAs , which suggests that some employer-sponsored 401ks allow you to "roll-in" a traditional IRA into the 401k. This lets you clear out before opening a new nondeductible IRA to do a backdoor. Does the roll-in count towards the 16,500 (or 17,000 ...

Khan Academy is awesome! The founder (Salman Khan) was an investment banker who left to try and improve the education system by making it free to anyone in the world. He actually teaches a lot of the courses.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khan_Academy

+1. Savings offers safety and liquidity. Getting money into your Roth as soon as possible will pay more in the long run.

Thanks for the advice!

First off, I have been reading this Bogleheads forum for a few months now and have learned so much! Thanks for all your contributions to this community! I am about to receive a small windfall and wondering if I should pay off my highest student loan, of around 8k and with a 5% interest rate. The bul...