Search found 2796 matches

by Tamarind
Sat Mar 09, 2024 4:42 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Move or renovate ugly but functional house in great location?
Replies: 73
Views: 9605

Re: Move or renovate ugly but functional house in great location?

As someone about to drop more on a renovation than my functional but shabby older home in a great neighborhood is currently worth... You should wait. We moved in knowing the issues and lived with it for 10 years, then started to seriously plan the reno after we couldn't find a better house elsewhere. Demo will start 14 years after we bought. When I'm done I'll have the same great location & solid bones with a nearly new house designed for us. But we're able to do that because we lived with it long enough to really pin down what we needed and what annoyed us. Also we've been saving for it since we moved in. You talk about being more frugal with your housing, and part of that is not throwing money at every little thing. Especially somethi...
by Tamarind
Sun Mar 03, 2024 9:41 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Timing & type of loan for renovation
Replies: 2
Views: 331

Re: Timing & type of loan for renovation

If I’m understanding, you have 186k (cash saved plus taxable). I’d convert the taxable to cash now so you can use without risk of loss. With your added rent, it looks like you won’t have much available extra cash each month. You could look at cutting back 401k to minimum, and not doing Roth yet. If you could have 2k extra cashflow per month, that gets you to just about 200k, and needing to borrow 250k. If you tap the family loan and heloc, you’ll need to come up with 62k. You could look at a 401k loan. I’d also look at opening credit cards with 0% introductory rates for 18 months or so. Before doing any of that, I’d figure out what your debt service costs will be after completion. The family loan will be at least 1k per month. Basically, w...
by Tamarind
Sun Mar 03, 2024 7:38 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Timing & type of loan for renovation
Replies: 2
Views: 331

Timing & type of loan for renovation

Hi Bogleheads, looking for your expertise on renovation loans. DW and I have lived in our home which "needed some work" for 14 years, waited through the pandemic delays, architect/builder waiting lists, and supply chain snarls, and are finally starting our major renovation on April 1. We have full construction drawings and permits are in flight. My question is, which approach for funding seems best and what loans do I need to be applying for now? ******* Our numbers: $120k cash saved for this reno $41k cash emergency fund $790k retirement savings, of which $66k is in a taxable account Current access to financing: ~$100k family loan not yet initiated(at AFR rate for 9 years) $88k existing HELOC at .75 below prime with Third Federal...
by Tamarind
Mon Feb 19, 2024 1:58 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is a mega backdoor worth it for young investor?
Replies: 30
Views: 3367

Re: Is a mega backdoor worth it for young investor?

I don't think you can really go wrong maxing out your available tax advantaged space (made larger by the availability of the mega backdoor Roth) unless you would be pressed to cover your expenses on the resulting takehome pay.

Roth contributions are worth more the younger you are because you have more time to accumulate tax free earnings.

If I were you I'd do it. I have never had an employer who made it available.
by Tamarind
Sun Jan 28, 2024 4:34 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is paying off a 2.99% mortgage always a bad idea?
Replies: 332
Views: 24659

Re: Is paying off a 2.99% mortgage always a bad idea?

I would not incur taxable gains to pay it off if I were in your shoes. But assuming every last option for tax advantaged investing is maxed out I would absolutely pay extra against it in place of some of your taxable investing for the year - basically whatever is over and above your retirement/college savings goals.

When I had a 3.09% mortgage I paid extra against it - not a lot, but I did.
by Tamarind
Sun Jan 21, 2024 9:06 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Shatter my Van Life Dreams
Replies: 65
Views: 8427

Re: Shatter my Van Life Dreams

You have two cars now, which seems excessive in a retirement with few responsibilities. Why not trade one of them out for a vehicle that can actually tow a camping trailer? You'll mainly use it while traveling, just like you would a van, but you could in a pinch. Your van wouldn't be fuel efficient either so that's no difference. A standard SUV/truck with towing capacity would be much easier to find service for. They also make light camping trailers that one of your current SUVs would probably be able to pull. There are teardrops out there that can be pulled by my hatchback. This might be too frugal on weight/comfort but worth a look. Seems like the main divider is plumbing - bathroom and sink are a lot of weight and maintenance. Is that wh...
by Tamarind
Tue Dec 26, 2023 2:48 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Social Security For Second Wife
Replies: 6
Views: 1667

Re: Social Security For Second Wife

I think the confusion is coming from conflating the 10-year marriage requirement (which applies to divorced spouses or survivors) with the more general rules for spouses or survivors. Your cousin's wife currently cannot claim on her ex-husband's record because she has remarried. Your cousin's wife can claim spousal benefits on your cousin's record whenever she is eligible. If your cousin dies while they are still married, she can claim survivor benefits. It does not matter that they have not yet been married 10 years so long as they remain married. In the event your cousin and his second wife divorce before they have been married 10 years, she will lose her ability to claim spousal or survivor benefits on his record. However, since the seco...
by Tamarind
Tue Dec 05, 2023 2:58 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Anyone familiar with 401k Voluntary Correction Plans (VCP)?
Replies: 1
Views: 304

Anyone familiar with 401k Voluntary Correction Plans (VCP)?

Looking for anyone who has been through one recently for their 401k (whether as employer or employee) or who is familiar with the IRS's side of the process. My W2 employer failed to deposit some employee withholdings to the 401k for several months after the issue was brought to their attention. The employer has stated that they are undergoing a VCP process that will resolve the issue by the end of the year. I'm not going to get more specific than that unless it's directly relevant to the VCP. I don't need advice on whether to stay/go, but I do want to understand as much as possible about what the VCP requires my employer to do and when, and what I should expect to see happen to know whether the employer is still on track to meet their commi...
by Tamarind
Mon Nov 20, 2023 6:54 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Exercise planning for first year of retirement
Replies: 71
Views: 9220

Re: Exercise planning for first year of retirement

I can't say enough good about weight lifting for long-term health. It's changed the way I think about my body. My mother (67, retired from a desk job) has taken it up too and is reaping significant benefits in muscle retention, stability, and range of motion.

Unless you get exposed to gym rats as a young person (usually man), our culture doesn't do a great job explaining why resistance training is good for everyone, that it's not necessarily about powerlifting, or that weights can be a fun and consistent route to healthy physical activity for folks for whom cardio is not a good fit.
by Tamarind
Wed Nov 08, 2023 10:48 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Permission to Do Something Scary (to me)
Replies: 57
Views: 6715

Re: Permission to Do Something Scary (to me)

It sounds like you are considering making a change just because some tool said it might work out. Don't do it. Don't consider it. Move on. With all due respect, I'm considering making a change because I'm unhappy in my current situation and I've finally reached a stage where I can possibly do something about it. I'd suggest you plan to do it. What do I mean by that? Keep working a bit longer while you make a concrete financial and career plan for what comes next. Actually work out the impact to your social security and health insurance and household budget, determine what your runway is for finding the new job, or actually start the new business as a side gig and work on fine tuning your business plan with some real data. If at any point y...
by Tamarind
Tue Oct 17, 2023 9:04 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Home exercise / fitness app you recommend
Replies: 26
Views: 2452

Re: Home exercise / fitness app you recommend

I use Macrofactor to provide advice on food and weight, and work with a remote coach to provide a workout plan. I walk and lift weights.

Many fitness app features are not usefully accurate - i.e step counters, calorie estimates etc. Energy expenditure varies so much from person to person even given the same exercise. Everything that's useful about an exercise app can really be replaced by a spreadsheet or free generic tracker app - what exercise did I plan to do and what did I actually do?
by Tamarind
Sun Oct 15, 2023 3:53 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Starter home struggles
Replies: 51
Views: 6008

Re: Starter home struggles

oldlongbeard wrote: Sun Oct 15, 2023 3:22 am $~400k is a starter home? Wow. I live in a different world.
PS.....keep saving. Unless you've left something out, you cannot afford to move up a lot from the starter home life yet.
The pandemic-era spike in prices has erased the starter market in many places.
by Tamarind
Sat Sep 23, 2023 5:47 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Quitting a high paying job and retiring early
Replies: 118
Views: 16313

Re: Quitting a high paying job and retiring early

It all depends on your expenses. If I were in your shoes I would quit now because I would have exceeded my target for financial independence already. But maybe you have higher fixed expenses. When your current savings exceed 33x your desired spending, then no advisor would tell you it'd be reckless to stop. If you aren't there yet, you and your wife can assess how much you value the additional spending against your time (and health). Figure out what is "enough" for you and don't be swayed by how much more than that you could have. An extra $1000/month will not provide you much value if you have dropped dead, been disabled by a stroke or heart attack, gotten divorced or had your relationship with your kids permanently damaged, etc.
by Tamarind
Wed Sep 20, 2023 3:53 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Examples of Down-Shifting Work (Coast-FIRE?)
Replies: 31
Views: 4149

Re: Examples of Down-Shifting Work (Coast-FIRE?)

This is just a plan and not fully executed yet, but maybe you'll find it helpful. I'm a consultant in the IT industry. This means I have an unusual degree of flexibility because contract work is extremely common in my field and my skills are in high demand. I work ~100% remote with occasional travel. I'm about 10 years from hitting the second SS bend point and my wife has qualified for SS on her own record. We are about halfway to our FI portfolio goal, and saving at least one year of target FI expenses each year. Aggressive prepayments mean our mortgage payment is only $9k per year, though that will go back up after a big renovation next year. Still expecting to have less than 1.5 years current income in mortgage debt afterwards, and have ...
by Tamarind
Tue Aug 22, 2023 4:09 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Ever Work for a Micro Business?
Replies: 56
Views: 4587

Re: Ever Work for a Micro Business?

Working for a family owned business with less than 50 employees is simply qualitatively different from working for a larger business. So you know where I'm coming from, having worked for employers with 4 employees and 20,000+ employees, I found that I didn't like either. The sweet spot for me personally is between 50-150 people. Large enough to be subject to some rules but small enough to not be rigid. But you don't know for sure what you'll like unless you try it out yourself. You've gotten some pretty good advice already. Very small businesses are not subject to the same rules as larger ones, so things that you are accustomed to as norms (health insurance, retirement plans, FMLA leave, HR practices, employee/manager boundaries) may simply...
by Tamarind
Mon Aug 21, 2023 11:03 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: ARM rate arbitrage
Replies: 7
Views: 833

Re: ARM rate arbitrage

a. Given that we KNOW that our rate will jump to 7% in 2027, and higher in later years, is there a better way to do things? Higher allocation to VTI/VOO given the 4+ year time? I am OK with slightly more risk. b. Should we try hard to ramp up our monthly 'House Fund' accumulation over the next few years If we end up with ~$80K - $100K (say) by 2027, what are the refinance breakpoints? Would it be better to recast (thus reducing effective interest payments). c. Would it be better to consider paying more towards the mortgage? I expect we'll have to itemize taxes and get the full mortgage deduction the next few years. How should this factor into our thinking? Is it then better NOT to pay extra towards the mortgage. You definitely do not know ...
by Tamarind
Tue Aug 01, 2023 8:11 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Work trip Per Diem question
Replies: 18
Views: 2000

Re: Work trip Per Diem question

My company uses per diems and we are not required to provide receipts, however we are asked not to claim particular meal allowances if we were fed at no cost to us (i.e free breakfast included by hotel or lunch provided by client) because our travel expenses and per diems are often billable to the client and it's not a good look to bill the client for the lunch they bought you.

But there is no rule you can enforce on your new company about how per diems should be done. Instead, refer to your company's policy for the answer.
by Tamarind
Thu Jul 27, 2023 7:51 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Term Life: How Much and For How Long
Replies: 77
Views: 7338

Re: Term Life: How Much and For How Long

I bought enough to cover our conservatively projected time to early retirement - i.e if I pass away before we reach FI, the policy will put my wife there immediately. My reasoning is that after that point we are no longer dependent on me having an income. This worked out to be $1.5M for 15 years, which was very affordable for a 37-yr old in good health.

Of course we might not reach it on schedule, for example if my career takes a downturn, but that's not a matter that can be resolved by me dying. :twisted: I also carry an individual LTD policy with COLA that would cover our expenses at our planned FI rate until age 65 if I could no longer work.

If we reach our number early, can always let it lapse.
by Tamarind
Mon Jul 17, 2023 6:02 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: First time home buyer stress (high downpayment?)
Replies: 15
Views: 2444

Re: First time home buyer stress (high downpayment?)

You're in great shape to buy given the financials you list. Hold tight to your budget. You can "afford" more but underspending on housing is one of the big secrets of financial independence. Rates are highish, but not actually all that high compared to living memory. My parents initially had a 12% mortgage. It worked out okay. As suggested above, seems like "do both" could be the right answer - you have ready cash in the form of your RSU vest to put down 20%. But there's less incentive to put down a much larger down payment, and you could keep the rest invested. Since you aren't married, and given the discrepancy between your financial situations, it doesn't make sense to me to have your GF on the deed/mortgage. In your ...
by Tamarind
Fri Jul 14, 2023 6:29 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: When Did You De-risk?
Replies: 77
Views: 8784

Re: When Did You De-risk?

37 here. I took less risk the whole time, but intend to keep a similar level of risk in retirement. I've had 25% fixed income in my portfolio from day one. I bought one cheap house, took a 15-year mortgage, and paid extra from month one until my HYSA interest rate exceeded my mortgage rate this year. All debt targeted to be paid off by the time I'm ready to reduce working hours for coastFI (currently targeting 45). I don't see any particular reason to increase fixed income at retirement, as the market swings I've experienced since 2008 have not been troubling to me. I suppose it will depend on whether I hit my FI target amount or overshoot it, which is not really predictable at this time. I'm less worried about attaining the theoretical opt...
by Tamarind
Sun Jul 09, 2023 6:29 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Gym accessory Gift suggestions for college girl
Replies: 18
Views: 1860

Re: Gym accessory Gift suggestions for college girl

Weight clips. The ones at the gym are always bent.

Or just cash and a kind note. She'll know best what she needs.
by Tamarind
Thu Jul 06, 2023 3:28 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Substantial in-the-money NSO after leaving job (Non-qualified Stock Options)
Replies: 5
Views: 655

Re: Substantial in-the-money NSO after leaving job (Non-qualified Stock Options)

I've researched non-recourse financing before when leaving a private company with in-the-money options (ISO in my case). They won't disclose their methods to you, but there's no harm in reaching out. If they say yes you'll give up most of the potential upside but get to keep some and have the downside covered. If they say no, in my opinion the average employee would be advised to let options lapse, as these groups have considerably more experience in how to assess odds of a good exit. This is what happened to me - I exercised $500 worth just as a lottery ticket, and my current estimate of their value is $0 but it's likely many more years before the owners give up and I can claim the loss. However, 6M in other net worth makes you not the ave...
by Tamarind
Sat Jun 24, 2023 3:56 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Hired remote, forced into office. Should I stay or go?
Replies: 118
Views: 9566

Re: Hired remote, forced into office. Should I stay or go?

I appreciate the responses. Allow me to add a few clarifications: Office attendance will be tracked via keycard swipes, and failure to meet the weekly quota will affect eligibility for performance bonuses. So by ignoring the policy, I would potentially be forfeiting substantial income. My manager said none of the allowed exceptions apply to me. My sense is that they will not fight for me, as they have no discretion. This policy is coming down directly from the C-suite. There is no employment contract per se, but rather an offer letter. This isn't uncommon for "at-will" W2 employment in the US. My entire team has always been fully remote and is spread across the world, so this is not a "return to office." Thanks again fo...
by Tamarind
Fri Jun 23, 2023 7:20 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Don’t want to be house poor
Replies: 27
Views: 3692

Re: Don’t want to be house poor

Is there a problem with your current rental? $2500 rent seems pretty good for the area if its big enough for you and in the right place.
by Tamarind
Sun Jun 18, 2023 9:20 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Disappointed in TSP
Replies: 85
Views: 9221

Re: Disappointed in TSP

burritoLover wrote: Sun Jun 18, 2023 8:48 am Try having a crappy employee 401k plan where they are all actively managed over 1% ER except S&P 500 trust at 0.59% ER and the only bond fund has a front end load and an ER over 1%.
+1
by Tamarind
Sat Jun 17, 2023 7:15 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Advice/thoughts on buying and renovating a fixer upper
Replies: 24
Views: 2330

Re: Advice/thoughts on buying and renovating a fixer upper

I did it backwards - bought the fixer-upper and then lived in it for 14 years before renovating. Did the really important stuff a bit at a time - roof, electrical, foundation etc and coped with the rest. We know exactly what needs to change to suit us from long experience. Now I have the mortgage nearly paid off and can pay for about half of the reno in cash. We're gutting the house. When it's done we'll have a dream house (for us) without ever carrying more than $200k of debt at one time and the whole thing will be paid for by the time I'm 45, without preventing me from retiring early. But on the other hand we've spent 14 years living in a house with unreliable appliances, damaged floors, patched drywall, etc. Pretty extreme case of YMMV. ...
by Tamarind
Wed Jun 14, 2023 5:10 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Land Purchase Sanity Check
Replies: 62
Views: 5165

Re: Land Purchase Sanity Check

Question about your income forecasting. Your plan relies on maintaining a significant gap between income and expenses so you can pile up cash in a very short time. If you plan to start building family soon, what happens to your income? Will both you and your wife be able to maintain full time work while caring for an infant? Does that change if you have more than one in the next few years? Also, does your wife have LTD insurance? To me it feels like you'd be stretched pretty thin. Having kids changes a LOT about your financial situation even if all goes well. Unexpected medical events such as an emergency around the birth or a child needing extra care could really derail your plan and leave you paying on the land but unable to build. I thin...
by Tamarind
Mon Jun 12, 2023 9:25 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Retirement Planning - have I made a royal mistake?
Replies: 100
Views: 18845

Re: Retirement Planning - have I made a royal mistake?

you likely have a very nice match. read the details of you either opt into the pension or you take a match of “x” percent I don't know if I'll be able to opt into the pension option now; we'll see but it seems final. The solo 403b plan (my current plan) is: - now-age 35: I contribute 5%, they match 5% - 35-50: I contribute 7.5%. they match 7.5% - 50+: I contribute 10%, they contribute 10% If I would/could enroll in the joint plan, those individual contributions in the 403B remain the same but you have the option to increase your contributions during later years up to the 20%. But apparently you cannot change these percentages after enrollment. I don't expect you will be able to change now, so you might want to prepare emotionally for accep...
by Tamarind
Sat Jun 10, 2023 4:11 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Grated Ginger?
Replies: 17
Views: 1504

Re: Grated Ginger?

Definitely microplane.
by Tamarind
Fri Jun 09, 2023 6:26 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Moving $ into 3 low-cost index funds - take a loss?
Replies: 13
Views: 1650

Re: Moving $ into 3 low-cost index funds - take a loss?

You should almost certainly sell. On the scale of your entire investing lifetime as a Boglehead, this is one of the smaller losses you'll ever experience. That's because over time, you're going to invest so much more and also go through more severe market downturns. Consider this a cost of learning, pay it, and move on. There's a couple of cognitive biases pulling on you - anchoring on the price you paid, and pain in anticipation of a loss - but neither is a good guide to investing success. In 10 years this experience will feel absolutely insignificant - I can confirm this is true because 10 years ago I was here asking what to do about my tIRA losses. If for some reason you can't bring yourself to sell all the lots right now, even though yo...
by Tamarind
Fri Jun 02, 2023 8:47 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Why are no REIT funds attempting to proxy the real estate market?
Replies: 43
Views: 3825

Re: Why are no REIT funds attempting to proxy the real estate market?

How about VMBSX, Vanguard's index fund for mortgage-backed securities? In theory this is the most direct way to invest in residential housing since a huge fraction of homes are mortgaged and pass through one of the corporations that issue the securities this bond fund holds.... In practice it's just another proxy for mortgage interest rates, which you can see from the recent performance. IMO the idea that housing increases in value non-speculatively is mostly an artifact of the post-WW2 economy & policy which combined to make the debt required to build and maintain an otherwise depreciating asset much cheaper. The 30-year fixed rate mortgage is a historical anomaly, as is the restrictive zoning which drives a lot of the appreciation in ...
by Tamarind
Tue May 30, 2023 6:29 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Cat Water Fountains
Replies: 11
Views: 1204

Re: Cat Water Fountains

Good fountains are just a bowl, a spout, and a little inch-cubed electric motor identical to those used in small home aquarium tanks. Definitely not battery operated, but also there's very little to distinguish a cheap one from an expensive one other than looks of the bowl. The motor is likely to be the same regardless. The thing that mostly causes them to break down is that things grow in a pet's water bowl even when water is moving, and the biofilm and/or hard water deposits will eventually gum up the motor and fry it if not cleaned regularly. I don't recommend spending any money on a water fountain unless you are willing to take it apart and clean it weekly. This requires pulling the motor apart and cleaning a couple of tiny pieces witho...
by Tamarind
Tue May 23, 2023 3:22 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Hit the stock jackpot through neglect - need an exit strategy
Replies: 48
Views: 9047

Re: Hit the stock jackpot through neglect - need an exit strategy

What does the rest of your tax situation look like? How far are you from the 37% bracket? Are you in the 15 or 20% bracket for capital gains? There's definitely no market signal that can accurately tell you when to sell. Since these are single companies you pretty much have to assume they have the potential to become worthless on short notice. Are these big tech stocks that you already hold in your 3 fund portfolio or are they microcaps that have had surprising success recently? I would be inclined to treat this as found money - sell as much immediately as will not upset your tax plans, and repeat each year until done. Invest the proceeds into your taxable account according to your plans. If you were very certain you'd drop back into the 0%...
by Tamarind
Mon May 22, 2023 5:04 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Solo 401k - Mega backdoor or not
Replies: 33
Views: 1588

Re: Solo 401k - Mega backdoor or not

I can vouch that the Vanguard offering was very very simple to set up and maintain, but my account is much smaller.

Regarding mega backdoor Roth:
Your numbers seem odd to me but maybe I'm missing something about S Corps. You can elect to defer $22,500 per person as EmployEE and a further 25% percent of compensation up to $43,500 as the employER.

If you were a sole proprietorship (JQV) you'd need $480k in net income to max out for both of you. Not sure how different it is due to S Corp structure. If you have that much compensation from the S Corp, you are presumably in quite high tax brackets, so the pre-tax 401k and QBI would both be very valuable.
by Tamarind
Sat May 20, 2023 5:21 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: So we made the mistake of trying to build a home...
Replies: 170
Views: 29533

Re: So we made the mistake of trying to build a home...

After all these replies...I'm leaning towards holding on to the land another year, see how my bonus goes this year, see if rates come down and bid it out again in the winter when things slowdown. Could be another year wasted...but the used-housing market is pretty terrible right now also. I'm kinda favoring this approach actually. At your current comp, the cost of your rent and carrying the lot is tiny. The reason you're stressed is because you don't have enough saved yet to do what you want. Since your shovel is so huge, dig a couple more years while you keep renting. You can always sell the lot and move on if prices don't return to sensible levels, or pounce if there's a local slowdown that reduces building prices. So wait a bit longer a...
by Tamarind
Sat May 20, 2023 8:51 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Strategies for Permanently Reducing Speeding on Residential Streets
Replies: 139
Views: 13666

Re: Strategies for Permanently Reducing Speeding on Residential Streets

Police won't do anything to resolve this. You need things that narrow the road or force drivers to adjust to changing conditions. It's the uniformly wide, straight street that contributes to the sense that it's ok to speed - in Swedish a speed table is called a "sleeping policeman" because it always works unlike the cop or warning device that is only there sometimes. You need to know who owns the street. If it's the HOA, you may need to orchestrate a takeover of the board, because the Town can do relatively little about private roads unless there's a serious public safety (not annoyance) issue. In some jurisdictions this requires multiple pedestrian deaths to "prove" it before they feel they can intervene. If it's the to...
by Tamarind
Mon May 15, 2023 8:45 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Ally Online Savings/Money Market Rate Increases
Replies: 745
Views: 124423

Re: Ally Online Savings/Money Market Rate Increases

Ally's CDs have reduced somewhat but I managed to get my emergency fund into a 5% CD a few weeks ago. :moneybag

(It's an 18-month CD, but I'm sitting on a ton of other short-term cash for a home reno so the formal emergency fund is way down the chain of what I would actually access if needed.)
by Tamarind
Wed May 10, 2023 6:14 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Engagement Ring Thoughts
Replies: 101
Views: 7625

Re: Engagement Ring Thoughts

A diamond isn't an investment. It's a sentimental decoration. So don't buy something bigger or "realer" than she would want to wear, IMO, or it's just a waste. The engagement ring I gave my wife was made of paper and fell apart long before we married. Buying her a diamond would have made her seriously question my judgement. We "splurged" (by our standards, under $4k) on wedding rings that we think are beautiful, handmade with a very particular method by an expert, and which we both still wear every day. They contain no precious stones and less gold than the standard design. You could not ever get either of us to part with them. To me this was a great success in ring selection.......... Which means nothing to you two sinc...
by Tamarind
Wed May 10, 2023 4:09 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Recent job change and need for immediate renegotation
Replies: 52
Views: 5459

Re: Recent job change and need for immediate renegotation

I'll take you at your word for what you should be paid. You're still going to have to wait until the contract renews to attempt negotiation, and then you're only going to be able to bring it up a certain percentage. Unfortunately, by not negotiating up front and accepting you have pegged your comp to the initial number. To fix that you either need time to show higher value or a job at a different company. Probably the latter because if they understand what a steal you are compared to market they'll fight harder to keep you there. Hopping now would burn a bridge with new boss and potentially with the former boss who recommended you. Amazing skills don't go very far if no one will recommend you. Do the work very well, and gather your market d...
by Tamarind
Wed May 10, 2023 6:39 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Struggling with Roth Conversion decision
Replies: 44
Views: 4568

Re: Struggling with Roth Conversion decision

I'm watching my mother work through this currently. She and my dad have about half your amount, mostly in her IRA, with a couple hundred k in taxable & savings. This is clearly enough to support them barring major medical edge cases. She didn't have much in Roth prior to retirement, so tax diversification and income smoothing were of interest to her (and me who is advising). We ran some estimates of her income floor during RMDs and it was higher than she expected. Since she retired they have paid living expenses and tax on their conversions from the proceeds of selling their home & from taxable. She's delaying social security till 70, and has been converting to just below the first IRMAA bracket since she got Medicare and no longer ...
by Tamarind
Tue May 09, 2023 10:35 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Solo 401k: two works, double limits, spouse, 5500-EZ
Replies: 21
Views: 1572

Re: Solo 401k: two works, double limits, spouse, 5500-EZ

Before you do anything new, you need to go back to the year you opened a Solo 401k plan and your wife opened a 401k plan. If this happened when you were married and living in a community property state, then you each were deemed to have owned 100% of each other’s sole proprietorship and thus, under a Controlled Group. As a result, only a single Plan should have been opened, with 2 accounts. Talk to your provider about how this should be cured. It is a significant plan violation and could result in disqualification, which means that rollovers are taxable distributions and contributions and earnings are taxable. This is good advice, OP, though I'm sure it's not what you want to hear. For every year you had a solo 401k you need to be able to ...
by Tamarind
Tue May 09, 2023 12:28 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Help my niece choose a marketable college major
Replies: 173
Views: 14084

Re: Help my niece choose a marketable college major

Would she have any interest in geography / GIS? While not the most "marketable" degree it does lead well towards some interesting local/state/federal government positions. This is a great career. Skilled GIS people are in really high demand in large engineering consulting companies, federal/state government, environmental analysis, water resources analysis, demographic/income-type studies for developers, etc. This is a good point about different flavors of "good job". I would be unsuited to work w this kind of large/slow employer, regardless of technical skills, but it's incredibly stable work likely with superior benefits and low chance of layoffs. Folks reasonably differ about whether government work, or work for a me...
by Tamarind
Tue May 09, 2023 7:38 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Solo 401k: two works, double limits, spouse, 5500-EZ
Replies: 21
Views: 1572

Re: Solo 401k: two works, double limits, spouse, 5500-EZ

I'll answer the easy questions: any businesses you or your spouse own in a community property state are part of a controlled group and therefore share a single 401(k) plan (and limits). You mentioned that work has a 401(k): that's good, because a 403(b) would also be part of this controlled group. You file a single 5500 EZ for the plan , regardless of how many businesses and different accounts are part of it. consulting via self-employment and business via LLC do not overlap. If the self employment and the business LLC are 2 different entities i.e. 2 different unrelated businesses, would they still be part of "one controlled group"? My understanding is that is is not if they are unrelated. Now, I don't know if the OPs self-employ...
by Tamarind
Tue May 09, 2023 7:24 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Solo 401k: two works, double limits, spouse, 5500-EZ
Replies: 21
Views: 1572

Re: Solo 401k: two works, double limits, spouse, 5500-EZ

Answers based on my own past research into exact topic (spouse becoming a partner in a business which already has a solo 401k). However I am not a professional plan administrator. Since you are the administrator of your plan, you're responsible for getting the answer right or else your plan can cease to be qualified - be careful. If you're talking about your primary retirement vehicle, it's probably worth it to consult with a TPA (third party administrator) or even to move the plan to them and no longer DIY. This may be expensive but so is learning your plan has become a taxable account because you didn't follow the rules. 1) Do I understand correctly that even though activities #2 and #3 are not related and I have split of ownereship 50/50...
by Tamarind
Sat May 06, 2023 9:41 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Help my niece choose a marketable college major
Replies: 173
Views: 14084

Re: Help my niece choose a marketable college major

Case in point, I majored in a "qualitative" social science and have been very successful in IT. Job focused training at colleges for my job didn't exist when I was in school and still doesn't today. Tamarind, I disagreed. I worked part-time in the University Computer Center while I was studying for my BSEE and MSEE. There are plenty of part-time employment opportunities on college campus. I had 5 years of working experience when I graduated with my MSEE. KlangFool Hi Klang, I mean my particular job, not the industry more generally. The kind of software I specialized in barely existed when I graduated college and no colleges at all used it, so of course they couldn't teach it or provide exposure via campus jobs. Lots of folks work...
by Tamarind
Fri May 05, 2023 9:32 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Help my niece choose a marketable college major
Replies: 173
Views: 14084

Re: Help my niece choose a marketable college major

No major is marketable, IMO. Some are required for the real training, others make it easier to get a first job in the field of one's choice. Any major from a decent school will still distinguish an applicant from someone who didn't complete their degree. None are especially meaningful after your first year on the job. Case in point, I majored in a "qualitative" social science and have been very successful in IT. Job focused training at colleges for my job didn't exist when I was in school and still doesn't today. The performance boost a student gets from studying something they truly find interesting will help them to develop the skills that will actually be marketable. That doesn't mean one should pay any amount for any major at ...
by Tamarind
Tue May 02, 2023 5:59 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Roth IRA - use as a “emergency savings” account
Replies: 16
Views: 2068

Re: Roth IRA - use as a “emergency savings” account

I would suggest you use your taxable brokerage first. You can withdraw Roth contributions without tax or penalty, but you can't put them back. Opportunity cost is high. The cost of using the brokerage, unless you are so high income that no emergency fund is needed, is as low as nothing (losses or long term gains below income threshold) and at most is your marginal tax rate (all short term gains), but you only pay that percentage on the gains. As with Roth, withdrawal of basis is not taxed.
by Tamarind
Tue May 02, 2023 4:39 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 401K “highly compensated employee” limits
Replies: 14
Views: 2373

Re: 401K “highly compensated employee” limits

All good points, folks. Unfortunately I'm in a bind. Can't leave, because I'm a co-founder, and shares are a long way from vesting. Can't convince my fellow co-founders to budge, as they're go-go Silicon Valley wannabes who relish burning employees and cycling them quickly. The investors might be persuaded to do 401K matching as a recruiting tool, but the chairman of the board won't be swayed. Most of the employees are youngsters who prioritize "experiences" over saving for retirement, or H1-B folk who are one paperwork disaster from getting put back on to the proverbial boat. Sometimes I just hope that our Series-B fails, and the company folds. Somewhere in there, would be a salutary moral lesson. But the more salient personal q...
by Tamarind
Thu Apr 27, 2023 3:49 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: In a big investment hole
Replies: 70
Views: 9812

Re: In a big investment hole

q) Do you have these losses in your taxable account? This is a taxable account yes. I do not have traditional employment, so employee sponsored accounts or IRAs are not available to me. Curious about this: you are saying that you don't have earned income at all? Nearly anyone who works for pay can use some kind of tax-advantaged account. You can still use an IRA if you do gig work, are self-employed, intermittently employed etc. Just mentioning this in case you're missing out on a great opportunity to save for the future. In addition there are plans available for the self-employed specifically individual (solo) 401k, SIMPLE IRA, and SEP IRA. Vanguard, Small Business Retirement Plans . I do have an investment property in another state, mana...
by Tamarind
Thu Apr 27, 2023 8:28 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Treating children financially equal
Replies: 259
Views: 21244

Re: Treating children financially equal

IzItBo wrote: Thu Apr 27, 2023 8:25 am Is he maxing out all of his tax advantage spaces? Tell him that you have 130k to help filling out all those spaces until the 130k is gone.
This is an approach w the right focus.