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Comparing a plan with a $6,350 OOP max to the "average small group health plan" doesn't make much sense since the small group plans probably have a much lower OOP maximum. Will be curious to see what the family rates and rates for ages 20-35 look like. I don't know that that's necessarily...

Hi everyone, I'm 30 yrs old and have been saving/investing for a few years now, thanks to a lot of the great advice/information that I've seen here. I've spent the last 5 years working abroad for my company (I'm an engineer). During this time I've been enjoying several big allowances and bonuses (n...

I'm no real estate genius. But the way I would look at it personally, is that if you sold the house for $350k, give or take, you'd be able to spend about $1166/month based on a 4% SWR. So personally, I'd probably keep it & rent it, at least for now, if you expect that $2300-Monthly Maintenance C...

Thanks all, it's clear as mud. Just kidding, it makes more sense now. Nothing's easy around here. I try not to love Chicago so much, but it's not working... Appreciate the insight.

Hoping some fellow IL Bogleheads could help me out with our first home purchase. A lot of houses I see have homeowner exemptions applied to the rate. My understanding is that this exemption basically caps the amount your assessed basis can increase annually to mitigate the effect of rising prices. O...

What about Washington state. No income tax, does it rank as favorable? It's on our list of possible someday-retirement places--but because we like Washington, not because it has no income tax, although that's a "background" consideration. It does have a high sales tax, and among the natio...

We traded in our 2009 Jeep Liberty (16/20 approx) for a 2010 Toyota Matrix (28/33 approx) last November. My key reasons were reliability concerns (I come from a family of Toyota owners & the Jeep purchase predated me) and fuel economy. Most of our driving is around the city and we haven't seen a...

donaldfair71 wrote:(heck, my best man and best friend at the time even won, and got a trip to the Cleveland Federal Reserve as a prize)

That's a quality prize right there.

IL doesn't tax retirement income and Chicago is a world class city, but property taxes are quite high here, at least in the Chicagoland area.

Thanks for all the replies. I want to give gift cards for both wedding & shower presents, and we're in the mid-Atlantic area. Not sure what the family is spending on the wedding, but I think it will be pretty casual. If you're going to the shower, giving a gift card seems a little weird to me. ...

I read a wedding forum often & my sense is that the answer to your question varies greatly by both location & social class. In the Northeast, the common answer/expectation is that you cover your plate, $100/person. In other places like the Midwest, gifts are often more modest, maybe $50 or $...

Assuming you're itemizing, your effective rate on the mortgage is close to 4.1275, so the rates are pretty close to the same. With the car already being paid off relatively soon, I'd probably focus on the mortgage & see if you can pay it down enough to refinance, but that does seem pretty far of...

Got engaged in December (wedding next week!). Fiance and I sat down together one day before hand & looked at our savings accounts. We subtracted how much we needed to leave as an emergency fund & for other goals and were left with about $10k. We decided, mutually, to spend no more than $3k ...

Got engaged in December (wedding next week!). Fiance and I sat down together one day before hand & looked at our savings accounts. We subtracted how much we needed to leave as an emergency fund & for other goals and were left with about $10k. We decided, mutually, to spend no more than $3k o...

You will not be able to get around the astronomical insurance rates though, because you will want to have your insurance address as Chicago in case anything happens. I am 26 and pay $114/mo for a beater, with no tickets or accidents in >3 years. Would probably be cheaper for you on a family plan th...

I used to work at chain steakhouse & once had to ask a chef to butterfly a 6 oz filet to cook one half medium and the other half medium well. I got an earful but the customer got what they wanted. Mudpuppy is right that the waitstaff bear the brunt of the chef's frustration, not the customers.

jwblue wrote:
Now, I just have to have in the back my mind something might have been done to my food.

This doesn't happen in any kitchen that I've ever been in, despite what TV shows might say.

At chains like Buca & Ruby Tuesday, there's much less cooking, especially during dinner service, going on than some of you seem to think. Chain restaurants vary in how much they cook on site vs. truck in & microwave, but very little is made during the busy times; most is precooked & &quo...

At the least, if you plan to park on the street regularly, you'll still need a city sticker. And if you live in an area with permit parking & try to get one for out of state plates I suspect it will not work.

I work in an office where we have 5 people who travel about 75% for 6 months out of the year, 3 in the spring & 3 in the fall. They are all young; the oldest is probably 26. After travel season, they just look worn out. I thought it sounded glamorous and fun when I started there, but I see how m...

As someone who has moved 24 times, please take my advice on this: It is almost never, ever, worth moving furniture if you are going more than 500 miles. You can get to the destination and typically buy *brand new* furniture cheaper than it cost to pack, move, and unpack the old stuff (which also ma...

If you live in a city with Redfin, you might not even need the MLS. I live Redfin and it pulls from FSBO sites in addition to normal listings.

When my fiancé and I moved from MD to IL last fall we hired movers to load and unload our Uhaul, but I can see how this would be a tough choice if you have a family.

I ordered custom cut frames from WholesalePosterFrames.com a few months ago and am happy with both the quality & price, but these are not super fancy posters I was framing. Another option is that local framing places seem to incessantly have Groupons for offer. You could save a good deal going t...

My fiancé used to work full time for a company with HQ in WV and an office in MD. We moved from MD to IL last year but he stayed on as a part time remote employee. He owed IL taxes on the portion earned while living in IL. This worked out well for us because they paid out his vacation time (over 3 w...

My fiancé knows ASP but is primarily a SQL database developer. He always seems to be in demand.

You get a deduction for the education expenses when they're incurred via the Lifetime Learning credit and the American Opportunity Credit.

No. It's a scam for 100% of investors.

I think you guys are reading it wrong. I think OP meant that there are two ways to have a vegetarian meal: one would be something like a plate full of pasta, the empty carbs; the other would be a "bowl full of vegetables". I don't think OP meant to imply that a bowl full of vegetables woul...

OP, I am also 23. Personally, I have a plan just as you do. Comments like this one drive me crazy: There are simply too many things to happen to think of retirement at age 23 when you just started. If you are really thinking that way, maybe also consider a different job as you should like and look f...

Did you watch Frontline on PBS tonight: try it online: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/retirement-gamble/ Good plug for index funds! There is a thread about it here on the message board. I watched this and it seriously scared me. I have a question: I did not experience the market crashes an...

Put focused heat in the bathroom. Maybe a small wall heater, maybe an infrared bulb, maybe a heated floor. Kids will use a lot of shower hot water to warm the room up. If the bathroom can be toasty quickly you're less likely to heat the whole house up early in the morning. When I was in high school...

My fiance and I are shopping for our first home. -We're getting married in less than a month, so no warnings about making life decisions w/a fiance necessary. -We can afford the payments on a 15 year or 30 year mortgage while maxing out our 401k & IRA contributions annually. -My fiance works in...

Why not consider a compromise - go for a 5/5 hybrid ARM, or a 7/1 hybrid ARM. You will have better cash flow in the event of an emergency, and a lower interest rate. You could also just make the same payment as a 15-year FRM and pay it down more quickly, while having the insurance of a lower paymen...

With a 30 year loan for 5 years in a starter home, you are effectively renting your house from a bank (ie you will not be building much equity). Why not just keep actually renting and not be on the hook for repairs, transaction costs, etc? Save more money and in 5 years buy a better "permanent...

I can understand why the OP would like to buy. It's a big imperative in America to be a home owner. But for 5 years I wouldn't. You are setting yourself up for two rounds of closing costs plus the hassle of selling while trying to buy the next home, plus the risk of potential large maintenance cost...

With a 30 year loan for 5 years in a starter home, you are effectively renting your house from a bank (ie you will not be building much equity). Why not just keep actually renting and not be on the hook for repairs, transaction costs, etc? Save more money and in 5 years buy a better "permanent...

My reaction is different than the other replies you have received. You said that your fiance has been able to find a new job within a short time in the past. This does not guarantee he could do this in the future. As one gets older, and earns a higher salary, finding new employment can take longer,...

My fiance and I are shopping for our first home. To address all your objections up front so we can focus on my question: -We're getting married in less than a month, so no warnings about making life decisions w/a fiance necessary. -We're making the decision purely on a consumption & lifestyle ch...

Fiance called Fidelity; apparently his plan is set up such that only an "active" plan participant can bring in a rollover and he will be moved to inactive when he leaves the company. Their default is not to roll over or cash out the account (he has between $1,000-$5,000); it will just sit ...

By forced out, do you mean they roll it into a TIRA, or they cash it out completely & cut you a check minus the withdrawal penalty & taxes?

We've managed to bring our monthly grocery bill down another $100 by paying more attention to what cuts of meat we were buying, keeping a better eye on price cycles and making sure to ask if we should be buying an item at all given it's cost rather than just if it's a good price for that item. Our ...

Thanks to both, and thanks for the heads up Hoppy; I will encourage my fiance to call Fidelity. He hasn't been at the company very long and I'd be very frustrated if they closed the account.

My fiance is leaving two jobs on the same day to start a new one. (One full time, one contracting). At his old jobs, one 401k is with Fidelity; the other is with Hartford. His new 401k will be with American Funds. I expect in future years we'll need to do a backdoor contribution to a Roth, so I'd ra...

HardKnocker wrote:To the OP: I suggest waiting until you are officially married before making large financial commitments together.

Only 30 days to go, so I think we're ok!

LL Bean and Ally.

For humors sake I like to check my YTD return once every week or so but I record the numbers once a month. Whatever works for you though!

"Also, the assessor site provides an estimated market value which was 121k for 2011 and and 77k for 2012. Why would the estimate go down so much in one year, especially If the property is currently listed at 130k?" While the assessor's values should reflect market values, they usually lag...

Greatness wrote:You need to get a used phone on eBay or Craigslist with a good ESN and add it to your account. The pre-paid phones will not work.

+1

I'm looking more for a "staging area" bank, with funds coming in monthly from Vanguard. My dream checklist (I have a few accounts each with a subset of these features): - Detailed texting options for events... -- ie, any payment over X -- balance below X -- international payment made -- o...