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mega317

Well you pulled numbers out of thin air. That $2500 loss reflects about a decline of 3% if you bought at the peak last year. There aren't too many 30 day periods where the NAV moved 2.4%. But fair enough, it could happen. By opportunity cost I meant both dividends and capital gains. When it comes ti...

mega317

That's roughly 5.5x your high estimate of income. Too much. Plus your income is high-risk. It's a much bigger number than I'd like to spend Yeah. Walkable is nice but could you get a house in a different neighborhood for a few hundred thousand less? That difference will more than pay for a lifetime ...

mega317

It really doesn't matter. The opportunity cost is very little. If you live in California that is an obvious answer. Going to limited- or long-term or cash for one month would all end up about the same.

When you make a decision, please update this thread in a month with what actually happened.

mega317

For actual helpful advice please post in this format:
viewtopic.php?t=6212

It will take some work to get it complete and right.

"All of it in real estate" sounds insane to me but I know nothing about you or real estate.

mega317

For those who strive to keep the absolute minimum necessary in checking at all times, and move money in at a regular schedule, have you calculated your benefit of doing this? Many people didn't say where they are stashing the next month or few months of expenses, but many said high-yield savings or ...

mega317

All one big bucket that includes 2 employer accounts, 2 Roth IRAs, a HSA we're using as a "stealth" IRA, and a taxable account. I use the lowest cost fees available in all the different funds - so since my husband doesn't have a cheap total US stock in his, I keep all that in mine. And his total bo...

mega317

There is no science behind this but I have felt abs are overrated. There have been at least a handful of times I approached a red light too fast in ice and kept sliding and fish tailing until I started manually pumping. I decided to play it extra safe and moved to SoCal

mega317

1. No
2. Sure, that's one benefit of the plan -- smaller RMDs from tax-deferred.
3. I wouldn't, but it's not really much more work.

mega317

I suppose it is a no-brainer if you already have a Vanguard account. If I was 80 I would put a premium on making things as simple as possible--I certainly wouldn't be opening new accounts to chase a few hundred bucks a year, and I probably wouldn't move things around too much either.

mega317

The thing is interest rates have risen , that doesn't mean they will rise in the future. No one can predict interest rates or really anything else. You don't like debt and can pay it off in a year--just do that, then you never have to think about it again. I'm guessing a physician with a mortgage of...

mega317

You can only gift shares of a mutual fund that has a minimum if you are giving that minimum or the recipient already owns the fund. But one share of an ETF is no problem.

mega317

That's a pretty good example of how nothing in the world can be completely risk-free.

mega317

For simplicity sake and rebalancing purposes, it would be nice to have this mix for each investment vehicle (401k, 403b, 457, roll over etc). Your question has basically been answered, I just want to point out that I think this is precisely wrong. I much it much simpler to have one fund in most of ...

mega317

I agree you need to post a complete portfolio review. With posts like this I always wonder why so much "savings" (which I assume is in cash or something similar)? Some people just had a windfall, others are very risk-averse, still others have simply been clueless and are now getting a clue. The reco...

mega317

What investments are held in the UTMA? If stock, and nothing has changed in 10 years, you have a lot of capital gains. It might be worth it to sell and pay off the loan anyway depending on all the numbers. Please update the original post with the holdings, cost basis and/or capital gains, your loan ...

mega317

Okay, I guess you guys convinced me! If I put $1k every other week away I'll have $130k in 5 years. That should do. You also don't have to stay "out of the market". Depending on how much retirement savings you have, you can save the down payment in bonds, counting it as part of your overall asset a...

mega317

I'm confused by one thing you wrote -- your state bracket doesn't matter for that fund. Regardless the plan is good if you are comfortable with some fluctuation which you probably should be for being in a high bracket and having a multi tier emergency fund.

mega317

Tax exempt funds have been mentioned a couple of times but they only make sense in higher tax brackets, what's yours?

I'm all for simplicity but you shouldn't make any decisions based on share class, the difference is negligible. Much more important to get your asset allocation right.

mega317

Extremely surprised if Lansing is ranked a top place to live, or if Austin is in the midwest.

mega317

Get a job. Any job. It doesn’t have to pay well, and it doesn’t have to be your life’s work. It’s just a job, not a life sentence. Do it for awhile. If you want to move to LA, get a job in LA. This post is well done. I can't think of anything lower-risk than for the OP to get any job in LA. He shou...

mega317

The length of many prior threads along the same lines should tell you what you're up against.

mega317

Kathys wrote: ↑
Tue Apr 17, 2018 6:18 pm
she said once I roll it into my current employer’s plan I can’t get that money out until I leave my current employer

I'm almost sure this is not correct. You can take your money out of any 403b without penalty after 59.5 regardless of whether you're still working.

mega317

Some of my goals are: 1. Get an MBA at a good business school in the area 2. Find a good paying job in LA after graduating 3. Find a beautiful woman to marry who has a high net worth, and hopefully being in a big city like LA I’d find someone 4. Buy a very big house Plenty of good business schools,...

mega317

1. I'm sure they have MBA schools. 2. "Good paying" can be defined a number of ways. 3. Counterpoint--in LA there are lots of beautiful men with high net worth competing for those women. (Edit: I don't like how I phrased this. I think the point I was trying to make is apparent, but I didn't do it we...

mega317

I love the Bogleheads. OP asks for a PC, clearly meaning a windows computer, and gets 5 suggestions for a Chromebook and one nomenclature correction. I swear by refurbished/used computers. I have had great luck with Ebay--make sure you understand the seller's return policy. I agree to get an SSD. My...

mega317

Riley15 wrote: ↑
Tue Apr 17, 2018 1:09 pm
If you are in the 12% tax bracket for ordinary income, any amount of QDIV/LTCP should be taxed at the 0% rate correct. Whether it is 20k or 200k.

That is not true. Work through a dummy 1040 line 44 and schedule D.

mega317

1. No HSA. Wife and I have separate health insurance because she has a serious, chronic health condition and really great coverage through her employer. I am healthy and have a plan that's pretty darn affordable and works well for me. I considered an HSA, but if she were to lose her job, it would n...

mega317

realistically your likely outcomes are "Never dip into the emergency fund" and "Liquidate the majority of the fund". Good post, which I agree with except for this specific sentence. The most like scenario, for someone who needs an emergency fund and maintains a certain number of months expense, is ...

mega317

DWesterb2iz2 wrote: ↑
Mon Apr 16, 2018 3:32 pm
I think I'd need to have 3-4 years expenses in cash, and at that point it should probably be in bonds.

OK but if you're retiring with a fairly typical 4% withdrawal rate, 25x expenses, then your asset allocation is 84/16 at retirement. Are you good with that?

mega317

What's your situation? There are other ways to see animals, probably best if you want to entertain little kids for a little while. Free Flight, in Del Mar, has a bunch of exotic birds that you can hold on your hand. Sunshine Gardens in Encinitas is a nursery that randomly has some animals scattered ...

mega317

Investing this lump sum in that taxable account is just about the only BH option, correct? What other options do we have to invest this money that would be in line with BH thinking? The only BH option (other than pay down the mortgage) is low-cost index funds according to an appropriate-for-you all...

mega317

Bond funds will help put your portfolio asset allocation on the so-called Efficient Frontier. Livesoft, can you kindly post some links on what you mean by the above? I am trying to find links to diverting funds to bonds but navigating the forums to glean information is a bit tricky. https://www.goo...

mega317

Can we just put this in perspective that you are talking about a difference of no more than 2.68%, minus 1%, times 10k = 168 taxable dollars a year

mega317

I think 25% of your portfolio, and half of your bonds, in munis is totally within reason. Also note that in the 24% bracket the yields on VWIUX and VBTLX are close. If you're uncomfortable just add in a little total bond in taxable.

mega317

65??? Sounds like a waste to me. There are plenty of things someone between the ages of 1 and 64 might want to do with money. School trips, tuition, car, wedding, house, kids' education, early retirement.

mega317

Nothing like the word guarantee to pop a thread.

would likely be very low risk of defaulting

That's quite a qualifier.

This is basically a bond, I don't see how it diversifies.

mega317

Are there really only 2 fixed income options? What is the rate on the stable value? Probably would keep the 401k at Fidelity because you have very good options. Normally I'd say bonds in 401k rather than Roth but if you don't have good options then bonds in Roth is totally fine. And to be honest wit...

mega317

oinkyboinky wrote: ↑
Sun Apr 15, 2018 2:03 pm
25k is indeed my entire taxable account.

What are you going to do about an emergency fund? Where will you get money to fix the major problem that happens in the first few months of owning this?

mega317

I don't know if anyone can analyze your numbers in a market defined as "Houston or Florida".

Also we don't know anything else about you. Is 25k your entire taxable account? Or do you have 250k?

mega317

Get a juice squeezer. I don't know if it will save you money but it will taste better and you won't feel bad about getting ripped off.

mega317

Yeah there is no such thing as "baby gear". I'm interested to hear your list. Diapers, wipes, clothes, a few rattles or something? Nursing pillow? Pumping supplies? Even a pack-and-play and stroller will easily get into almost any trunk/back seat. Do you have a 90 pound dog like me? They of course n...

mega317

Looks good to me with the information available. Any improvement would just be at the fringes. Setting aside the fact that I would never want 2-3 years of cash, you could put it in treasuries with higher yield and no state tax. Even 1 month treasuries beat, after taxes, some of the best high-yield s...

mega317

Treasuries are not taxed by the state, are liquid, and have higher yields than CDs at the shorter terms.

mega317

If you REALLY want to bet against active management.... Find a hedge fund manager. Let them pick a basket of hedge funds. Bet them a million dollars that the return on the S&P will beat the return on the hedge funds over the next 10 years. To date, this strategy has a 100% success rate. :happy No h...

mega317

There are no i bond funds, and I bonds can only be bought at Treasury Direct. IMO Vanguard has the best municipal bond funds, certainly with the lowest expenses, although I haven't evaluated even a fraction of the options out there in the world so I suppose I am not actually qualified to say that. O...

mega317

The new options are a better fit, seems like an easy decision. Plus you're talking about similar investments--types of bonds, real estate funds. I doubt this is even as consequential as the decision to change your stock/bond ratio by 10%.

mega317

It seems likely to not be worth the effort unless you invested a significant amount in January some time, or late Feb to early March. Bonds on the other hand....

mega317

Depending on your state tax situation, Treasuries of the same term may be better for you than CDs. 4.25%, so nope. Well the 52-week is at 2.09% which, accounting for your state tax, beats 2.1%. I think the points to be made here are that #1 it is totally reasonable to move your fixed income to CDs ...

mega317

Given today's market and the fact we could be coming to the end of good times Or we could be at the beginning of a 300 year bull market. My point is no one know what's going to happen at any point in the future and so whatever plan you come up with should not be based on "today's market" and "could...

mega317

Welcome to the forum.

I wouldn't think of it as a percentage of the portfolio invested in a single fund, because the funds are nothing more than collections of LOTS of stocks or bonds. What benefit do you think you could possibly gain from splitting it up like you suggested?

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