Search found 160 matches
- Wed Dec 02, 2020 8:34 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: At what milestone did you feel secure?
- Replies: 156
- Views: 20839
Re: At what milestone did you feel secure?
There was something about hitting 100k in taxable accounts that felt really good. Retirement accounts have always felt off limits and taxable feels like I could access it if i absolutely had to. All in all that's about 12 months of expenses if i really hunkered down so maybe it's the safety net and not the amount that matters?
- Mon Oct 12, 2020 6:13 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Recommend a mattress?
- Replies: 70
- Views: 10902
- Mon Oct 12, 2020 6:12 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Equifax - need advice regarding logging in (refi)
- Replies: 9
- Views: 598
- Mon Sep 14, 2020 10:22 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: How much are your 529 Contributions
- Replies: 133
- Views: 11960
Re: How much are your 529 Contributions
Started at $250/mo and i'm not up to $400/mo /child. We also set annual goals for the account and do a catchup if we don't meet the goals.
I set it for 3/4 of a nice public school paid for over 20 years. My thought is I can either have the kids take 1 year of student loans as motivation or pay for it when the time comes as a graduation gift. This also gives me some flexibility down the road.
I set it for 3/4 of a nice public school paid for over 20 years. My thought is I can either have the kids take 1 year of student loans as motivation or pay for it when the time comes as a graduation gift. This also gives me some flexibility down the road.
- Tue Jul 28, 2020 2:04 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Ultra high deductible auto/home/umbrella insurance?
- Replies: 43
- Views: 3769
Re: Ultra high deductible auto/home/umbrella insurance?
Your $1100 is for all three (auto, home, umbrella). You do not have a 1% chance of getting in a car accident over the next 50 years. Looks like the average driver files a claim every 18 years. So in 50 years you're paying for three car accidents.knightrider wrote: ↑Tue Jul 28, 2020 10:53 amIt's not cheap which is why I started this topic. ~$1100/year over a lifetime would be ~$60k.
Ask yourself which is better:
100% chance of paying $60k over a lifetime
or
1% chance of paying $100k over a lifetime
If you're only talking about your umbrellla then it costs you $300, not $1100. Which IMO is not a big enough drop in the bucket to worry about.
- Thu Apr 09, 2020 11:16 am
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: What percentage of your paycheck do you invest?
- Replies: 268
- Views: 22412
Re: What percentage of your paycheck do you invest?
25% pre tax, 35% post tax.
We crunched the numbers to figure out our spending rate so we could figure out when we could retire early. Added bonus is we were able to back into our savings rate.
This is pure savings, not Principal reduction on homes which i guess is a form of savings as well.
We crunched the numbers to figure out our spending rate so we could figure out when we could retire early. Added bonus is we were able to back into our savings rate.
This is pure savings, not Principal reduction on homes which i guess is a form of savings as well.
- Tue Dec 10, 2019 5:22 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Tree roots growing into sewer lines
- Replies: 62
- Views: 20956
Re: Tree roots growing into sewer lines
I did the inflatable epoxy liner last year. The city replaced a phone poll and i think 'bumped' my sewer line in the process which caused it to slip from the main. Good times all around. I was told that I would need permits to go into the street but we're a 2 lane street and closing off one side is really difficult to do. Called in the plumber who ran the camera and found out the pipe had slipped. Showed me on the monitor which was really cool. He epoxied from the house to the street and was able to refit the pipe into the main. Basically it came to a setup fee. Then a cost per 20 foot of pipe. Total cost for me was around $7,000 and they went roughly 65 feet. A bit of a PITA since it wasn't something I was expecting but oh well. That's wha...
- Tue Oct 08, 2019 10:41 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Find my phone -- easy way to find it when lost in the house?
- Replies: 38
- Views: 3579
Re: Find my phone -- easy way to find it when lost in the house?
Android has the "Android Device Manager" that will let you ring or lock your phone from any computer. You have to have it setup before you lose your phone though.
I also have a google home speaker and you can ask it to ring your phone and it will (even if its on silent). Both options work great for me.
I also have a google home speaker and you can ask it to ring your phone and it will (even if its on silent). Both options work great for me.
- Thu Feb 21, 2019 12:40 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Help Rent Condo or Sell?
- Replies: 3
- Views: 264
Re: Help Rent Condo or Sell?
Personally I would sell it. I have two rental properties myself and love them. But i did not become an accidental landlord. I did it by choice. Since you're not making the choice yourself but reacting to your situation it will likely cause you nothing but trouble and anguish. Not worth having for a maximum upside potential of $20,000 / yr which is just about the 4% value return that you'd be guaranteed long term regardless.
Good luck,
Good luck,
- Tue Nov 20, 2018 6:18 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Two month plunge in oil- again today
- Replies: 5
- Views: 872
Re: Two month plunge in oil- again today
Uggh. That really puts the CA gas tax into perspective. Costco gas here is $3.15
- Tue Aug 28, 2018 2:34 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Mega Downsize....
- Replies: 113
- Views: 15414
Re: Mega Downsize....
I read Marie Kondo's book, "the life changing magic of tidying up". It was a great motivator.
As far as throwing things out. Take a room a week and go through it. I wouldn't trust someone else to throw out your things.
As far as throwing things out. Take a room a week and go through it. I wouldn't trust someone else to throw out your things.
- Wed Aug 15, 2018 5:51 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Plan us a trip !
- Replies: 17
- Views: 2618
Re: Plan us a trip !
Hawaii, specifically Maui, seems to hit a lot of your wants. Plenty of hikes, relaxation, ocean fun for the whole family. I'm sure they have a Hilton too. If you end up going, make sure to take a day and drive around the back side of the island. It's very beautiful. I would go in April over February to try and hit some nicer weather.
My parents used to take me there as a kid and i remember loving it.
My parents used to take me there as a kid and i remember loving it.
- Mon Jun 11, 2018 10:04 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: How to calculate Real Estate in your Asset Allocation
- Replies: 20
- Views: 3538
Re: How to calculate Real Estate in your Asset Allocation
I do 92% of my Zillow/Redfin Price Estimate. It's hopefully taking into account a sale and some randomness of the valuation. I wouldn't fault you for 100%, or anything else really.
- Wed Feb 28, 2018 4:17 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Move to Orange County
- Replies: 50
- Views: 6716
Re: Move to Orange County
I've lived in So Cal for years. My wife and myself started out making around $100k/yr. We now make over $200k/yr.
We were able to save quite a bit to our 401k's (we didn't max them out in the beginning but do now), buy an investment property out of state, and travel. So by no means were we living like paupers.
For renting, I recommend checking out private landlords on Craigslist or Zillow vs. the large rental complexes. We rented a 3 BR house in a great city for $2,500 / mo three years ago. I have friends now who rent 2 BR condo's in complexes for more. There is value to be had if you're willing to look for it.
My favorite cities in OC are, Fullerton, Tustin, Newport Beach, and Mission Viejo.
Enjoy the excellent weather
We were able to save quite a bit to our 401k's (we didn't max them out in the beginning but do now), buy an investment property out of state, and travel. So by no means were we living like paupers.
For renting, I recommend checking out private landlords on Craigslist or Zillow vs. the large rental complexes. We rented a 3 BR house in a great city for $2,500 / mo three years ago. I have friends now who rent 2 BR condo's in complexes for more. There is value to be had if you're willing to look for it.
My favorite cities in OC are, Fullerton, Tustin, Newport Beach, and Mission Viejo.
Enjoy the excellent weather
- Wed Sep 27, 2017 1:02 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Verizon TravelPass
- Replies: 45
- Views: 5979
Re: Verizon TravelPass
I travelled to Japan for a few weeks twice this year. The first time I went I used GoogleFi. Worked like a charm. Worked almost everywhere and was very reasonably priced. Ended up paying roughly $40 for the two weeks i was there and didn't skimp on data. Second time I travelled i tried to restart my GoogleFi sim to find out that you can't do that. They'd overnight a new one but i'd procrastinated and it was too late. Oh well. My fault. I call to enable Verizon TravelPass. Cost $30 for the three days I used it. It was garbage. It would basically send texts but Maps and almost anything else wouldn't work. Or would work very slowly. I ended up renting a MyFi hotspot and just keeping it in my backpack as I walked around. The Verizon Travelpass ...
- Mon Jul 17, 2017 6:41 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Personal Capital - Net Worth?
- Replies: 22
- Views: 4379
Re: Personal Capital - Net Worth?
I'm definitely no expert. But if you got to the main screen and click the "+" button in the upper right hand corner of the Net Worth side bar it brings you to a "link your account" screen. The bottom of that has a "Add Home Value Zillow" tab. That will add your real estate. Or click "More" and it has Car, Home, Jewelry, Art, etc to link a bunch of other options.
- Wed Jun 14, 2017 6:17 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Am I too far into the rabbit hole? (email with Gmail)
- Replies: 28
- Views: 6286
Re: Am I too far into the rabbit hole? (email with Gmail)
You can turn off most google tracking functions here:
https://myaccount.google.com/activitycontrols
You can also stop them tracking you for ads here:
https://www.google.com/settings/u/0/ads/authenticated
Do I turn it off? No. Do I worry that they track me? Not really. They have over a billion users now so I argue that i'm a needle in a haystack. Also I have more of my life online now vs. offline but to each their own.
But if you're worried I'd just disconnect from the big G. It really shouldn't hurt your day to day functionality within the Android Ecosystem too much.
https://myaccount.google.com/activitycontrols
You can also stop them tracking you for ads here:
https://www.google.com/settings/u/0/ads/authenticated
Do I turn it off? No. Do I worry that they track me? Not really. They have over a billion users now so I argue that i'm a needle in a haystack. Also I have more of my life online now vs. offline but to each their own.
But if you're worried I'd just disconnect from the big G. It really shouldn't hurt your day to day functionality within the Android Ecosystem too much.
- Wed Jun 07, 2017 3:32 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Earthquake insurance in SOCAL
- Replies: 28
- Views: 3738
Re: Earthquake insurance in SOCAL
My structural engineering teachers at USC used to say it's a waste of money. In their words, "unless your home is built on top of a fault then wood construction is very redundant and handles earthquakes quite well". Basically they're saying that unless there is a chance that the ground literally falls out from under you the house should be fine.
You may seem some cracking in the walls or some minor damage if you're particularly close but I doubt it's enough damage to cost you one years worth of insurance costs.
I guess my answer is to pull up the fault maps and see how close you are to an active fault. I did that with my house and chose not to purchase the extra insurance.
You may seem some cracking in the walls or some minor damage if you're particularly close but I doubt it's enough damage to cost you one years worth of insurance costs.
I guess my answer is to pull up the fault maps and see how close you are to an active fault. I did that with my house and chose not to purchase the extra insurance.
- Fri Mar 10, 2017 10:41 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: What to do with all these passwords ?
- Replies: 125
- Views: 24060
Re: What to do with all these passwords ?
I use Keepass 2 and store the encrypted password database on google drive. There are android and apple apps to open the keepass from my phone if need be (and a cpu version).
It works well for me.
It works well for me.
- Wed Mar 08, 2017 7:02 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Are we ready to buy a house? What should our price range be?
- Replies: 56
- Views: 6345
Re: Are we ready to buy a house? What should our price range be?
You have 20% down, a really good retirement for your age, and enough income to cover it. Yes, you're ready to buy your house (and i also agree to the happy wife happy life mentality). I've always liked the 2-3 times household income for your mortgage that "The Millionaire Nextdoor" recommended. You'd be closer to the 2.5* household income so you're right in that range.
I don't see any red flags here. Enjoy!
I don't see any red flags here. Enjoy!
- Wed Mar 08, 2017 10:22 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: 27yr curious about my investment personel and strategy
- Replies: 61
- Views: 8671
Re: 27yr curious about my investment personel and strategy
Is the 3rd prty money management set up just a big waist of money through fees? Would it be more beneficial to set up something like a 3-4 fund Lazy portfolio? Yes. You'll save much more in the long run. At the very least you can move your money to fidelity and invest in the same funds without the overhead and save 1-2% each year. But lazy portfolios would be fine too. Is the Life insurance plan a total waist.. or since i got in early and the cost of insurance is super cheap is it something worth keeping as part of my portfolio? Yes. Total waste. But you're lucky since you found this out at 27 instead of 57. If you need insurance , go get term life and invest the difference. Go to a different broker or find it online. I recently saw that C...
- Mon Mar 06, 2017 4:27 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Net Worth Calculation (Question/Opinion)
- Replies: 26
- Views: 3269
Re: Net Worth Calculation (Question/Opinion)
Yes. I back out 8% to account for 6% of buyer/seller fees and 2% for taxes/insurance/misc. It may not be spot on but I feel i'm pretty close.
- Tue Feb 28, 2017 12:38 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Store Important Documents Online?
- Replies: 51
- Views: 4760
Re: Store Important Documents Online?
I store important documents in Google Drive in an encrypted "Boxcryptor" folder. It provides AES 256 bit encryption and RSA Encryption. I have 2 step verification on my phone to access my google drive.
Just never lose your password for Boxcryptor because there is no way to crack it. It works well for me and there are enough levels of defense that i'm not worried.
Just never lose your password for Boxcryptor because there is no way to crack it. It works well for me and there are enough levels of defense that i'm not worried.
- Wed Feb 08, 2017 5:32 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Windfall, but need to withdraw
- Replies: 9
- Views: 1561
Re: Windfall, but need to withdraw
I have a few questions.. If you instead paid off your mortgage would you be able to live on your salary only? Can you cut back and save elsewhere? Eating in more now that the wife is at home. I think you're overinvested in XOM. I would consider moving that to a more balanced portfolio. Do you mean a 20% stocks / 80% bonds portfolio or the other way around? I think the wife staying at home is a noble pursuit. I'm just trying to see if there can be some cost savings with these numbers. They seem pretty high in my opinion. Regarding an 80/20 portfolio, this seems a little risky given the fact that you'll be on a solo income and relying on the money. I would set aside any money you need in the next 5 years into Money Market/CD's/ or short term ...
- Tue Nov 29, 2016 11:46 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: New 401k w Fidelity has high fees
- Replies: 10
- Views: 1763
Re: New 401k w Fidelity has high fees
My company went with Fidelity too. Although they do have some funds with higher fee's, I found plenty with low fees and my company let me add them onto our plan. I would ask your 401k administrator if you could add a few low cost funds onto the plan.
- Mon Aug 08, 2016 5:06 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: A lawyer and my will
- Replies: 8
- Views: 1379
Re: A lawyer and my will
My wife and myself just had our firstborn and decided it was time to do this as well. We're half way through. The first part took about an hour with him asking questions.
He said that the 2nd part would take about an hour as well. Total cost quoted was $900. Not bad in my opinion.
He said that the 2nd part would take about an hour as well. Total cost quoted was $900. Not bad in my opinion.
- Fri May 20, 2016 12:58 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: series/ movies filmed in your home town?
- Replies: 87
- Views: 7337
Re: series/ movies filmed in your home town?
I live in Los Angeles and also work with some entertainment productions. A majority of shows are filmed where there are tax breaks. It's crazy to see where they'll film for the tax breaks. A lot of mid-town america city shots are actually the Warner Brothers Back Lot. They also have a NY street, New Orleans, Western, and more. A lot of NY shots are the Fox Studios Back Lot (How I met your mother) CSI NY is also filmed here. Life of Pi was filmed on an airport runway in Taiwan. The Titanic was filmed in Mexico. A lot of the boat shots for Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed in Palmdale or off the coast of Redondo Beach (some of the more tropical shots were filmed in the caribbean). Tropic Thunder was filmed in Hawaii. A LOT of post apocalypt...
- Wed Mar 02, 2016 1:18 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Umbrella policies?
- Replies: 33
- Views: 4440
Re: Umbrella policies?
You have a single umbrella policy? Make sure that you don't need a separate personal and business/commercial umbrella policy. We needed to get a separate business/commercial umbrella policy to cover our rental properties. Our "regular" umbrella policy that we had for years before purchasing the rentals would not have covered *anything* that happened on the rental properties. It may well be different in your case, but please do check (if you haven't already, of course). RM I have a single umbrella policy with additional riders for my rental properties (not a regular and business policy). $330 or so for Primary House, 2 Rental Properties, and 2 cars. 1 million coverage. It sounds high but my Primary Home is in So. Cal. so home valu...
- Fri Jan 15, 2016 5:26 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Best place to live in CA for a young family
- Replies: 82
- Views: 12180
Re: Best place to live in CA for a young family
San Diego/LA/San Fran have a lot of life but cost an arm and a leg.
Parts of North LA and South OC are great. I currently live in OC and love it. It depends what you're looking for.
Parts of North LA and South OC are great. I currently live in OC and love it. It depends what you're looking for.
- Tue Jan 12, 2016 10:51 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: What Manga/Manhwa Have You Read Recently?
- Replies: 40
- Views: 6255
Re: What Manga/Manhwa Have You Read Recently?
Currently Reading:
- Tower of God (My goodness this is probably the best story I've ever read even if its a little slow at times)
- UQ Holder
- Witch Hunter (very good but it is published very very slowly)
- Annarasumanara (If you haven't read any manga start here and see how artsy / great it can be)
- Hoshi no Samidare
- Ares (really interesting war manhwa)
- Wed Jan 06, 2016 6:10 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: umbrella insurance - why so expensive?
- Replies: 34
- Views: 5063
Re: umbrella insurance - why so expensive?
That sounds high. I have 2 drivers (we're both in our 30's), primary home + 2 rental properties and it's around $300 / yr for 1 million. Got my insurance through the same company that does my primary home + car insurance (state farm).
- Wed Oct 21, 2015 12:33 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Travel rewards credit card?
- Replies: 100
- Views: 19110
Re: Travel rewards credit card?
Plenty of good cards have been recommended. If you want to go a slightly different route I recommend waiting until Southwest has a few of their cards for 50k points up. What you do is apply for 2 southwest cards at the same time. I got a personal card and a personal preferred card. The deal will be that you will get 50k each card if you spend $3,000. This deal is good for three months. So I spent $6,000 to get 106k points. Now all you need is to spend enough to get 110k points within one year and you get something called the Southwest Companion Pass. Basically this pass is a BOGO for Southwest flights. I have my wife signed up. Any flight I buy through Southwest she gets to fly on for free. The companion pass is good for the year you get it...
- Wed Apr 03, 2013 6:16 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Bogleheads' accomplishments
- Replies: 72
- Views: 8492
Re: Bogleheads' accomplishments
Since the wedding about a year ago the wife and I have been flying through previous financial hurdles. So the excitement right now makes me say that I'm feeling better than I expected.
- Wed Jan 09, 2013 7:02 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Pay raise for young engineer
- Replies: 18
- Views: 2664
Re: Pay raise for young engineer
With the edition of a PE and a 3.5% increase in the cost of living, I would ask for $75,000 and hopefully settle around $72,500. Fingers crossed they take the initial offereffillus wrote:I think he's making about $60,000 now in Nashville and is interviewing in Pittsburgh.
- Tue Nov 13, 2012 1:30 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: What % of Employers Allow Rollovers into 401ks/403bs/...
- Replies: 9
- Views: 795
Re: What % of Employers Allow Rollovers into 401ks/403bs/...
I agree 100%. If anything I wish I could take my 401k away from my employer and add it to vanguard.cyfan wrote:Just curious why anyone would want to roll their qualifying funds into an employers 401K. You will be limited to a smaller number of funds inside a 401K while a self directed IRA using a brokerage account will allow you access to virtually anything. Every time I change jobs I roll over into my self directed IRA brokerage with Fidelity which gives me access to anything I want. Even if your companies 401K has great funds today, those can change for a myriad of reasons, such as the company being taken over by another.
- Mon Oct 01, 2012 3:19 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Gurus having a tough year
- Replies: 12
- Views: 2284
Re: Guru's having a tough year
You're still closer than Goldman Sachs & Morgan StanleyGrt2bOutdoors wrote:Thankfully I don't invest the way I bet (currently #301 in a field of 400+).
- Mon Sep 24, 2012 5:23 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Understanding the Gen Y investor.
- Replies: 15
- Views: 2545
Re: Understanding the Gen Y investor.
Gen Y here. Since most people my age don't seem to know what bonds are, I consider myself more conservative than most.
- Thu Aug 30, 2012 7:05 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Your Favorite [Travel Destination] on Earth: Where and Why?
- Replies: 184
- Views: 25036
Re: Your Favorite [Travel Destination] on Earth: Where and
Either Hong Kong or Istanbul. Both are absolutely amazing cultures.
- Mon Aug 20, 2012 6:40 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: How to invest when starting with almost nothing
- Replies: 17
- Views: 3824
Re: How to invest when starting with almost nothing
Wow, lots of responses - thanks for all of them! Sadly, most of the above is nothing new to me, whether something I've done already or something burned into my brain growing up. Really, the problems are one of two things as most of you suggested: debt and budgeting - I have put together a budget already unfortunately it doesn't seem to be enough for husband and he will end up spending more. It goes to him getting $80 a week, me getting $20. He smokes a pack a day (maybe more, I don't like it around me), is a coffee addict and has the appetite of a hungry bear - couple this with the fact that he doesn't work in an office and have easy access to stuff and everything is about convenience because of that. He did start carpooling to save gas wh...
- Tue Aug 14, 2012 4:00 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Hot Mail Problem
- Replies: 11
- Views: 1638
Re: Hot Mail Problem
Windows has decided to move email from hotmail.com to outlook.com. My guess is you might be experiencing some issues with that transition. I'm not sure though since I haven't used hotmail in a very long time.
- Thu Aug 09, 2012 10:28 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: What was Your Starting Salary Out of College?
- Replies: 151
- Views: 14466
Re: What was Your Starting Salary Out of College?
$56,900 adjusted for inflation to today's dollars. On an interesting side note I believe my firm now hires on above that.
- Mon Aug 06, 2012 6:58 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Are credit card companies starting to overreact?
- Replies: 32
- Views: 3064
Re: Are credit card companies starting to overreact?
I had my credit card shut down for suspicious charges because I got $5 of taco bell 1 mile from my house... Yes, I am looking for a new card. Trying to weigh my options and see what is best for my spending habits.
- Tue Jul 24, 2012 2:22 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: My Hello and my first question
- Replies: 8
- Views: 1679
Re: Should I dump my Variable Life Policy?
So do I continue to pay in or is there any other viable alternative? Check out term4sale or one of those other websites that can get you quotes for term life insurance. You'll probably be looking in the 15-20 year mark. See if you would have significant savings over your universal policy. So is it worth the cost to change from the traditional IRA to a SEP? A SEP-IRA will allow you to save much more in tax-free accounts than a traditional IRA. (I believe a SEP is up to $49,000). Since Bogleheads love tax-free investment space this is a big win. Maybe something to counter the stock market I wouldn't say counter the stock market but you want to hedge against it. Bonds are a great method to hedge your money. At your age, it would normally be r...
- Thu Jul 12, 2012 9:33 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Any bogleheads have a franchise?
- Replies: 18
- Views: 4065
Re: Any bogleheads have a franchise?
Interesting. I see it as the opposite. If you own stocks you are already a small business owner. Mr. Graham spends a lot of time in Intelligent Investor describing that association. If you own REITS it is similar (ageed not the same) as owning private real estate. I think either of the other two is an UNcompensated risk. You are taking on a lot of geographical risk with either owning your own real estate and/or small business. That risk does not come with an increased expected return. Also, in both situations one is competing with professionals. IF you were a SBO or real estate guy during your working life makes sense, but if you have never done it and want to start at the end of your career you are competing with A LOT of experts. Also, i...
- Wed Jul 11, 2012 1:42 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Any bogleheads have a franchise?
- Replies: 18
- Views: 4065
Re: Any bogleheads have a franchise?
I've always felt that way as well. Eventually I'd like to find myself in a place where I have 33% of my wealth across each of the following: real estate, businesses, and stocks/bonds. Currently I'm 60%/40% stocks and real estate respectively but this is a very long term goal. I feel that if each one of those three investments could support me retiring I would be pretty stable. Only time will tell.tonsofthorns wrote:I think it is very important to diversify, thus we have a small business, rental properties and retirement funds. In my opinion, I believe these three are key to wealth building.
- Thu Jun 28, 2012 4:26 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Laptop recommendation - under $500
- Replies: 32
- Views: 4580
Re: Laptop recommendation - under $500
I would just use one of those Social Bargain websites and find what suits your needs. Here is one I use that seems to find great deals.
http://www.dealigg.com/story-Acer-Aspir ... -7-Premium
A quad core with Windows 7 and 4 gigs of ram should be more than enough to get you through most programs.
http://www.dealigg.com/story-Acer-Aspir ... -7-Premium
A quad core with Windows 7 and 4 gigs of ram should be more than enough to get you through most programs.
- Thu Jun 28, 2012 4:21 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Extra money for college
- Replies: 3
- Views: 707
Re: Extra money for college
Hi,
I would always put money towards my primary residence before my rental. Also, with mortgage + taxes on your rental at 1457 and rent at 1600 you're barely making it there. I would consider selling the rental unless you see the area appreciating in value considerably and you're trying to get from point A to B (that $300/mo will be eaten up quickly if anything went wrong with the rental/tenants). Other than that if you're still torn then split the difference, put $150 towards your home and $150 in a savings account for college. $150 a month for the next 18 years will still amount to a good amount of money for college.
Good Luck!
I would always put money towards my primary residence before my rental. Also, with mortgage + taxes on your rental at 1457 and rent at 1600 you're barely making it there. I would consider selling the rental unless you see the area appreciating in value considerably and you're trying to get from point A to B (that $300/mo will be eaten up quickly if anything went wrong with the rental/tenants). Other than that if you're still torn then split the difference, put $150 towards your home and $150 in a savings account for college. $150 a month for the next 18 years will still amount to a good amount of money for college.
Good Luck!
- Wed Jun 27, 2012 11:52 am
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: How to fire your adviser
- Replies: 46
- Views: 8935
Re: How to fire your adviser
I guess I got it easy. My financial adviser fell off the face of the earth so I didn't have much of a choice. Very lucky turn of events since that led to me doing my own research and eventually finding this forum.
- Wed Jun 20, 2012 11:19 am
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: [POLL] Net worth to income ratio - how do you compare
- Replies: 38
- Views: 5355
Re: [POLL] Net worth to income ratio - how do you compare
Not very high. But at the same time I'm 27 so I have some time to increase it
- Mon Jun 11, 2012 4:55 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Newlywed Investment Help
- Replies: 19
- Views: 1684
Re: Newlywed Investment Help
100/0 , 90/10 – definitely willing to take some risk. This is not a good idea. At a minimum you should do 80/20. If your portfolio fell 50% would you jump out? If so then 100/0 is way to risky for most people. -Student loan ~$13,000 – 6.55% Current portfolio: Taxable (~$15,000) 80% Cash – ready to be invested 20% Vanguard Dividend Appreciation - VIG First, I would payoff the 6.55% student loan with your taxable funds.. A nearly risk free 6.55% is a great deal. Questions: 1. I am looking towards setting up a portfolio that we can start putting my wife’s salary in from month to month. However, this is where I need help. I have considered having a core fund holding of a Large Cap Blend, Dividend paying fund somewhere between 50%-70% of the en...