Bogleheads.org

steadyeddy

If you define "worth it" as paying for itself, then no. If you define "worth it" as being able to order a single tube of toothpaste with free 2-day shipping, then definitely. My toilet paper, laundry soap, car parts, dog food, lawn care supplies, tools, underwear, garage shelving...

steadyeddy

Umbrella insurance serves 2 purposes: A) Protect you when you are not at fault. B) Compensate the other party when you are at fault without financially ruined you. KlangFool My understanding is that a typical umbrella policy provides no protection when you are not at fault. If you suffer a major lo...

steadyeddy

I travel roughly 30%. If the entirety of my job was the travel and the client meetings, I wouldn't dislike my job so much. But every minute I am on a plane or in a client meeting is a minute I am not tackling my overflowing inbox. For me, travel means staying up half the night getting my "real ...

steadyeddy

I think you asked your question too early. Nobody seems willing to acknowledge that your income has increased and your expenses declined only very recently. Go ahead and work your plan. Come back in two years and say, "I have income of $210k, net worth of $700k, no non-mortgage debt, contribute...

steadyeddy

Thanks for the feedback and responses everyone. That is why I came here in the first place. To give everyone an update... I am not going to be selling it. Over the past week, the offer went up to 1,250,000. It bottomed out there as a takeout or leave it. I am leaving it. To play devil's advocate an...

steadyeddy

Here is what I would do. I would keep the structured settlement and live off of it. That's my GUARANTEED cash flow that I can use to eat for the rest of my life. Next, I would work hard in my day job and save money. I don't need that salary to eat, so I can invest all that "extra" money to...

steadyeddy

She thinks you are controlling and/or judging her spending. You do not believe this is true. That is a serious disconnect.

A fun money budget might be a good logistical solution, but you need to address the feelings apart from any financial action items.

steadyeddy

Are you saying to pre-pay all 4 years in a lump? Not just tuition due? Yes, pre-pay all total in a lump, not just tuition due. This specific program is a grad program with fixed hours and numbers of courses over 2 years. I can see why institutions should do this (reduced attrition), but I doubt you...

steadyeddy

I would like to buy a new 2017 or 2018 small SUV, and keep it until the year 2030 and beyond. I recognize that some repairs will be required to keep a car running this long, but I'd like to minimize expensive repairs, and I certainly don't want to be regularly stranded on the side of the road as the...

steadyeddy

I've been a happy Ally Bank customer for checking, savings, and CD's for a few years now, but I just discovered a hole in their billpay service that I find very annoying. I want to use Ally's billpay service to send two monthly checks to the same vendor for two different services. I would like to pu...

steadyeddy

I have had insurance with Geico, Progressive, The Hartford, and most recently State Farm. I quickly check prices online annually to make sure my rates are in the right ballpark and switch if it makes sense. While reading Bogleheads last year, I learned that very few umbrella policies cover UM/UIM. ...

steadyeddy

I have had insurance with Geico, Progressive, The Hartford, and most recently State Farm. I quickly check prices online annually to make sure my rates are in the right ballpark and switch if it makes sense. While reading Bogleheads last year, I learned that very few umbrella policies cover UM/UIM. I...

steadyeddy

Whole life insurance salesman, selling exclusively to bogleheads.

$0/yr

steadyeddy

None of us know what the future holds (SS, market returns, health, etc), so we do whatever seems prudent. I expect social security will pay 100% since it keeps a huge number of people off the streets, but it's a very uneducated guess.

steadyeddy

Insurance is not the devil. Bogleheads typically have life, health, disability, home, auto, umbrella, etc. The vast majority of insurance companies do not sell directly to consumers. If you want (highly competitive) quotes from these carriers, you need to work with an agent. I would say that P&C...

steadyeddy

OP, saving $11k of a $95k income for retirement seems like a prudent amount to me. I personally would not want reduce this amount to save for a down payment. Instead, I would try to increase my income or decrease my expenses if I could. But I'll also fess up that we did decrease our retirement contr...

steadyeddy

We have quite a few immigrant-run restaurants that I suspect make the owners less than minimum wage if they were to do the math. But with limited language skills, the proprietors have few other options. A $20k/yr profit for two full-time owners wouldn't keep me from closing the doors, but they can l...

steadyeddy

You only save $250,000 per year?! Enjoy your cat food in retirement! I think you should downsize to save more money. But seriously, if you truly love the house, there is no need to over analyze the financials. You make good money, you save great money, and no matter how much we even plan, market mov...

steadyeddy

When income is high but volatile, its best to make large purchases in cash. I would rent if you're not ready to do that.

steadyeddy

What's interesting to me is that folks on this forum state the market has things "priced in." It seemed the rate increase would have been priced in yesterday, yet markets are down today. But is that the only factor influencing the market today? No, but isn't it the main factor cited today...

steadyeddy

When faced with similar options, I popped the total costs of each mortgage over 30 years into Excel and found my best available 30 year fixed rate option would be a better than deal than my best 5/5 ARM option after 13 years, assuming the worst-case rate increases. I took the ARM knowing I am unlike...

steadyeddy

I think your plan to save as much as you can while you are young is a good one. My only caution is that if inflation averages 3% over the next 37 years, your $75k income 37 years from now will only be worth about $25k in today's dollars. So you might need to save more than you think over the course ...

steadyeddy

I haven't yet had issues with delayed prime shipments, but I do remember when Amazon began putting non-prime fulfillment at the back of the line several years ago. What used to take three days to receive began taking three weeks because Amazon would not pack it until two weeks after the order was pl...

steadyeddy

Definitely worth it if you do even a moderate amount of international and domestic travel. It's $20/yr for hours of your life back.

Now whether I feel happy about having to pay to avoid what's been proven to be ineffective security theatre is another story...

steadyeddy

4% isn't based on the past 30 years. Returns have to be lower than they were during the GREAT DEPRESSION (which is possible of course) for 4% not to work going forward. But it doesn't matter if the 80s and 90s don't repeat. 4% is not relying on good times to work. I think the 4% is overrated myself...

steadyeddy

Roughly a 4% withdrawal rate is conservative enough for me. I'll annuitize in old age if things start getting tight. I feel very comfortable risking my estate to retire a few years sooner.

steadyeddy

Thanks again everyone! This has been very helpful to me as I think about where to allocate funds. I currently live in a very modest house and have no kids, so the vast majority of our income is just piling up in savings. I'd like a bigger house someday and definitely ought to spend more on somethin...

steadyeddy

Thanks again everyone! This has been very helpful to me as I think about where to allocate funds. I currently live in a very modest house and have no kids, so the vast majority of our income is just piling up in savings. I'd like a bigger house someday and definitely ought to spend more on somethin...

steadyeddy

Thanks again everyone! This has been very helpful to me as I think about where to allocate funds. I currently live in a very modest house and have no kids, so the vast majority of our income is just piling up in savings. I'd like a bigger house someday and definitely ought to spend more on somethin...

steadyeddy

[...] Gross Income Maximum Monthly Housing Payment [...] $150,000 $3,500 [...] Please feel free to specify whatever reasoning you desire for how you arrived at your numbers, but please state numbers in terms of gross income to maximum monthly housing payment if possible. Thanks in advance! This is ...

steadyeddy

Thanks again everyone! This has been very helpful to me as I think about where to allocate funds. I currently live in a very modest house and have no kids, so the vast majority of our income is just piling up in savings. I'd like a bigger house someday and definitely ought to spend more on something...

steadyeddy

It's clear I did a horrible job asking my question, so I'd like to start over. I'm not asking for the answer, but rather your answer. What percentage of your income would you feel comfortable spending on a home? What is the tipping point where you would begin feeling uncomfortable? Let's assume ther...

steadyeddy

The other poster was not shouted down, they had posted on multiple different threads the same question. Going to sink all their assets into this new house. What did the new house solve for that the current house did not? Oh, it had extra space and it also cost $1.1 million and they were assuming th...

steadyeddy

I don't understand how a maximum payment would not have anything to do with income. It's self evident. steadyeddy, Why? Are you a real estate agent? If it is self-evident, it should be easy enough for you to explain to us. I may choose to pay more or less for housing. It has absolutely nothing to d...

steadyeddy

At an annual salary of $300,000, after taxes, health insurance, saving for retirement, saving for college, FICA, etc you might clear $15,000 a month and you have $8,000 towards mortgage. No thanks! How did you come up with these numbers? I think you have to look at your own needs and wants and make...

steadyeddy

This is very area specific. If you live in a HCOL area, you may very well have to spend more than a prescribed formula, unless you want to do a 1-2 hour commute each way. Just as KlangFool said - you should get something that meets your housing needs and makes financial sense in terms of rent-vs-bu...

steadyeddy

With that said, what do you propose is the maximum monthly housing payment a Boglehead should consider at any given income level? steadyeddy, Unless you are a real estate agent and you make money when someone buys the house, why does the maximum monthly payment has anything to do with income ? My g...

steadyeddy

20 percent of gross income or no more than 28 percent, preferably between 25 and 27 percent of net take home monthly pay. All inclusive costs of principal, interest, hoa, insurance, taxes, utilities including your cable and phone bill and water/heating. This calculation would then permit a healthy ...

steadyeddy

We get a lot of questions on this forum that boil down to, "Can I afford this home?" I recently read one such thread where the original poster intended to take out a mortgage of ~2.5x annual income. Many responses advised this was too risky and a smaller mortgage should be pursued. Frankly...

steadyeddy

If you have that big of a lot, you could potentially just build a new house next to yours, then move into it and knock the old one down. Is that financially feasible? I like this suggestion the best! I love that idea!! That way you can build your house with less disruption to your everyday life. Ha...

steadyeddy

I'm trying to retire early. My approach is similar to magicrat's description of maxing tax advantaged space and spilling all extra into a taxable investment account. On top of that, I don't intend to have a $0 income stream in the years up to 59 1/2. The thread you referenced had a ton of discussio...

steadyeddy

I apologize for starting another LTD thread, but I couldn't find one evaluating a group plan like mine. I am completely lost, and can't seem to find any good, unbiased information. I can purchase LTD coverage through work: ⋅ 60% wage replacement up to $15,000 ⋅ 13 week eliminatio...

steadyeddy

I was a very regular buyer and seller on eBay in their earlier days. Then one day I realized the ratio of scams to legitimate transactions had grown too large to make the platform usable for an honest person. I'm convinced eBay management is facilitating a very profitable crime platform that caters ...

steadyeddy

Wow, I hadn't heard about this change! I curently have an app container labeled "apple bloat" that I wouldn't mind deleting completely. The stocks app is definitely in that container.

steadyeddy

Very linear. Surprisingly straight considering it's comprised mostly of equities.

steadyeddy

Exactly. The Verizon line charge after the $650 reimbursement remains $20/mo (the BYOD rate) rather than the $40/mo line charge for subsidized contracts. Verizon is simply paying $650 for an asset worth about $300 and not directly recouping the cost...just vying for market share. It's a pure win fo...

steadyeddy

I would blame travel costs and decline to participate.

steadyeddy

I wasn't going to upgrade to the iPhone 7 but since T mobile is essentially offering me $650 for my old iPhone 6+ to trade in, I cannot turn it down. 8-) This is huge and very good boglehead deal. I think everyone in this forum who currently owns a iphone 6 should jump on this deal and upgrade to i...

steadyeddy

I also planned to keep my iphone 6 for another year or two until I had a compelling reason to upgrade, but with Verizon offering a $650 trade-in credit, the only cost to upgrade is the sales tax which is less than the cost of replacing the battery to keep it running well for another two years. And t...

steadyeddy

This is person specific and dog specific, so no amount of reading can help you. If I were in your shoes I would shoot for a foster to adopt situation where you can test drive the dog and vice versa. Most volunteer rescue organizations (as opposed to shelters) use his model in my area.

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