Search found 92 matches

by AlwaysAStudent
Mon Jan 07, 2019 11:02 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: $40,000 in debt, bankruptcy seems to be the best option right now
Replies: 271
Views: 29430

Re: $40,000 in debt, bankruptcy seems to be the best option right now

Monthly budget Net Income: $4,300.00 (including wife's project net income) Bills mortgage $1,871.00 association fee $135.00 car lease $355.00 Buy a used Prius with a $5-6k loan, if you can get a loan. 2 car seats easily fit in them, I have put 3 (Diono) car seats in mine. Discover card $250.00 All other credit cards $463.00 car insurance $75.00 groceries/necesities $700.00 I would try to cut this to $500 gas $170.00 A used Prius will reduce this some also dining/misc $0.00 life insurance $35.51 student loan deferment ADT/Security $39.21 Stop this Wife's bills $365.00 Get your wife a pre-paid cell phone/plan Gym $0.00 Cable/Internet $80.00 Buy an antenna, and cut cable. The kids can still watch PBS with an antenna. FPL/electricity $140.00 W...
by AlwaysAStudent
Fri Oct 26, 2018 11:30 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How Much, How Long, and For Who Do I Need Term Life Insurance?
Replies: 11
Views: 846

Re: How Much, How Long, and For Who Do I Need Term Life Insurance?

We went with 10x our annual salaries and did the length of time based on when the kids would be out of high school. There is a ton of different advice out there and you have to figure out what is right for your family but this is what we decided would work for us.

I do not include what my employer offers in this decision because if something happens (layoff, cancer/car accident causing you to not work, change jobs) that you might not be able to use or replace that coverage.
by AlwaysAStudent
Thu Jul 26, 2018 3:54 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: GPS tracker app?
Replies: 14
Views: 1433

Re: GPS tracker app?

:sharebeer I looked at some apps on Android play store, but it looks they create a family circle where each member sees the other's location. Is there an app where the parents don't need to share their own location? We use Life360 for our teen, we turned off the location sharing feature on the parents phones. It does kill your battery. I had not heard of the google maps option mentioned by pp. Life360 is what I was looking at, along with another called "GPS Phone Tracker", by the same company. Any idea on the difference between the two? I couldnt tell by the description. I was also wondering about turning off location access for the app. Not sure if it would still work and show location of the family member's phone. I do not have...
by AlwaysAStudent
Thu Jul 26, 2018 10:24 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: GPS tracker app?
Replies: 14
Views: 1433

Re: GPS tracker app?

kayanco wrote: Thu Jul 26, 2018 9:32 am I looked at some apps on Android play store, but it looks they create a family circle where each member sees the other's location. Is there an app where the parents don't need to share their own location?
We use Life360 for our teen, we turned off the location sharing feature on the parents phones. It does kill your battery.

I had not heard of the google maps option mentioned by pp.
by AlwaysAStudent
Wed Jul 18, 2018 11:14 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Another student loan question
Replies: 24
Views: 1704

Re: Another student loan question

... making car payments and everything else. (The car payments are maybe more than I'd like, but I drive a lot for work and live in a rural area, so I need an incredibly reliable car.) ... ... full-time job in PR... You live on an island, how far is your commute (to a rural area)? If your car broke down, how long would it take you to walk to work or to get somebody to come give you a ride? If you are late to work once, will you be fired? What would happen at work if you didn't have a car, would you lose your job or would they allow you to rent one when needed? Could you ride a bike to work? I am assuming there is not a lot of money to trade the car in and pay for one in cash, so go trade the car in and get one that has payments that are ha...
by AlwaysAStudent
Tue Feb 27, 2018 10:24 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Job Change: Rollover 401k to new 401k or into tIRA
Replies: 1
Views: 268

Job Change: Rollover 401k to new 401k or into tIRA

I have recently changed jobs and need to think about what to do with my old employer sponsored 401k, can anybody help me determine what my best long term option is? If you want to take the time to explain why that would be great. In the past I have always rolled over everything to whatever the new plan is, just so that it was easier for me to keep track of a single account, but I am not sure that is my best option anymore. It seems pretty clear that I don't want to leave it in the old 401k at this point but I am not sure which of the other options would be more beneficial long term. Old 401k - Currently in a Target Date Fund with ER of 0.64% (this has only been since Jan, when company switched 401k vendor) New 401k - The Target Date Fund ha...
by AlwaysAStudent
Wed Feb 21, 2018 2:20 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Balance in Marriage and Student Loans
Replies: 36
Views: 4020

Re: Balance in Marriage and Student Loans

This is a very personal decision but below is what I would do. $25,000 to emergency fund $63,000 to Parent PLUS loan $12,000 to Private loan Let him then send the $1200/month to the private loan. I would not accelerate payments on a 1% interest loan. If you accumulated $100,000 in the last 5 years it sounds like you have an excess of $20,000/year. I would probably increase your 401k contributions to max and then start rebuilding your savings or add to the monthly payment to eliminate the Private loan faster, with the extra you have after that. Without knowing how much more you would have to contribute to max your 401k or your specific tax status I am not sure how much "extra" you will have every month but I would think this plan w...
by AlwaysAStudent
Tue Feb 13, 2018 4:39 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Emergency fund question - 3 vs 6 months and should I lower my 401k contribution to get there...
Replies: 74
Views: 5029

Re: Emergency fund question - 3 vs 6 months and should I lower my 401k contribution to get there...

I saved this a long time ago, either from here (Bogleheads) or from MMM, I don't remember, but I find it to be a very useful plan to follow. It doesn't not answer you initial question of 3 vs 6 months emergency fund because that is pretty personal for what your family is comfortable with but it will give good guidance for what else to do. WHAT 0. Establish an emergency fund to your satisfaction 1. Contribute to your 401k up to any company match 2. Pay off any debts with interest rates ~5% or more above the 10-year Treasury note yield. 3. Max HSA 4. Max Traditional IRA or Roth (or backdoor Roth) based on income level 5. Max 401k (if 401k fees are lower than available in an IRA, or if you need the 401k deduction to be eligible for a tIRA, swa...
by AlwaysAStudent
Tue Dec 12, 2017 1:46 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Year end review with less nerdy spouse
Replies: 72
Views: 10283

Re: Year end review with less nerdy spouse

As the nerdy spouse I would not be happy to sit through a ppt about our finances.

With my husband I usually just make sure he knows where all the accounts are, give him updates on totals, and make sure I listen if he has any suggestions on what our financial goals should include for the following year or that he agrees with the goals I would like to achieve.
by AlwaysAStudent
Tue Nov 28, 2017 2:24 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: National Park trip w/1 year old infant
Replies: 35
Views: 3438

Re: National Park trip w/1 year old infant

No matter where you go (and even at home) I would see if you can find a "Hike it Baby" group in the area. They focus on getting out and hiking with young kids, they would be a great resource for good hikes in the area you are going with your restrictions in mind.
by AlwaysAStudent
Wed Sep 20, 2017 11:54 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Calling out the not so rich bogleheads
Replies: 233
Views: 39193

Re: Calling out the not so rich bogleheads

The only thing that really puts me off about the Boglehead forums are those that have a monthly take home that is 5 figures and feel the are middle class. My stats Age: 34/35 Household income (before tax): <$100k Dependents: 2 Investment Accounts: almost $90k Debt: >$300k (but $110k of that is a house that we had to move from so it is rented out, another $170k is primary home) I do not feel that we are anywhere near the same playing field as most Bogleheads but love to read suggestions/advice on this forum. We are in a much better place than we were before I started reading the forums and hope to continue to get into an even better place. We are a young family that will hopefully see incomes start to increase substantially and debt decrease...
by AlwaysAStudent
Thu May 18, 2017 4:06 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Advice On Moving Up In House
Replies: 15
Views: 1893

Re: Advice On Moving Up In House

I am younger than the age group you indicated but I would agree with the advice given to wait. We are in our mid 30s and bought our current (bigger) house when it was just the 2 of us and most days I wish we would have waited. There were only 2 of us (plus the dogs) and we bought a 2700 sq ft, 4 bedroom house on 18 acres. The amount for regular, routine cleaning, increased utilities, extra furniture, maintenance, etc especially when you are not even using half of the house, is ridiculous. There are now 3 of us and there are still 2 bedrooms that are never used and the 3 year old still does not use the playroom/den like we had pictured in our head. I honestly think that a bigger house (anything bigger than 2 bedrooms) is not necessary until ...
by AlwaysAStudent
Tue May 02, 2017 3:48 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Where to Live on $60K or Less a Year?
Replies: 248
Views: 45963

Re: Where to Live on $60K or Less a Year?

How about Albuquerque NM ? I've been looking at it as a potential retirement location.... I'd be interested in your summaries of the list you already have.... I've got a handwritten chart that lists all of the possible locations, which then assigns each of them a score in about twenty categories (ranging from driving distance to family, average windspeed, if there is a Costco or Trader Joe's in town, number of days with highs above 82 and days below 20, number of days of sun, median housing price, and so on), and which ultimately force-ranks them against each other. The lowest-rated (and thus, the "best" according to my math) is Prescott, followed by Fayetteville, Grand Junction, Brookings, and Colorado Springs. The "worst&q...
by AlwaysAStudent
Fri Apr 21, 2017 9:36 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Calling for all the Moms: career and family.
Replies: 42
Views: 7419

Re: Calling for all the Moms: career and family.

I am a full-time working, breadwinner, mom (to a 3 year old) who is also a pursuing a Master's degree part-time. I feel strongly that the key for my family is that my husband and I work as 50/50 partners in our household. There are things that need to get done, who checks it off the to do list doesn't really matter. Currently it is easier for me to take the primary bill payer task (breadwinner), it is easier for him to take the pick up the kid, cook dinner, wash dishes role, laundry and mowing is an easy thing for me to accomplish when I get home in the evenings or on the weekends, etc. I can't stand how many dishes he creates when he cooks and I hate the way he loads the dishes but it doesn't really matter because everyone eats everyday an...
by AlwaysAStudent
Mon Apr 03, 2017 11:22 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Low-earners- What is your profession?
Replies: 371
Views: 62315

Re: Low-earners- What is your profession?

Although I agree that under $100k is not low-income when looking at the US as a whole, I do feel is it considered low for BH.

I am an environmental, health, and safety professional (mostly environmental) with 10 years experience, we are in a LCOL mid-west area and my salary is just under $70k. My husband has been working to start a business for the last few years so has had minimal income. Before that I think he topped out around $50k-60k. We are definitely under $100k now but there might have been 1 or 2 years in the last 13 that we topped $100k combined, unfortunately they happened before we really started focusing on our financial health and the extra money was mostly wasted.
by AlwaysAStudent
Thu Mar 16, 2017 11:53 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: should I baulk at this used plug-in hybrid? (Ford C-Max Energi)
Replies: 25
Views: 4107

Re: should I baulk at this used plug-in hybrid? (Ford C-Max Energi)

papito23 wrote: My utility is currently offering $10,000 off a new LEAF (excludes all other dealer incentive). Still can't justify a new one though when 2013's can be had for $8K. Thinking about eBay, given that I'm in flyover country with EVs far and few between.
I am assuming you are in the KC area, buy the LEAF! We are outside the KC area and took advantage of this in December. We are a 3 person family and have been able to use the LEAF for almost all weekend trips that are made into the KC area. We have found that there are plenty of chargers available when needed.
by AlwaysAStudent
Tue Mar 14, 2017 2:27 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: IRA and college savings advice needed
Replies: 38
Views: 2777

Re: IRA and college savings advice needed

teen persuasion wrote: Change your spouse's contributions to pre-tax. His paychecks should automatically have less tax withheld, giving him a larger take home check on the same contribution.

Next, you are adding a dependent this year. You can change your or your spouse's withholdings to compensate for the fact that you will have one additional dependent exemption when you file taxes next year...
+1 on this advice, do these things today.
by AlwaysAStudent
Tue Feb 21, 2017 11:54 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Do you replace your electrical switches/outlets or use an electrician?
Replies: 93
Views: 9473

Re: Do you replace your electrical switches/outlets or use an electrician?

Lynette wrote:I was wondering how many people (especially women) replace their own switches/outlets/dimmers etc.
Female, have changed/replaced/installed several switches/outlets/dimmers in my lifetime. I always research something like this before I do it the 1st time and refresh my memory if it has been a while since the last time.
by AlwaysAStudent
Wed Feb 15, 2017 4:24 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: -$280k Net Worth Has Me Up At Night
Replies: 68
Views: 11790

Re: -$280k Net Worth Has Me Up At Night

It's collective student loan debt at this point - she has 2 years remaining. Probably end around $100k total - regardless appreciate the constructive criticism re: the rental. Cut & dry, love it. Evening BH’s, Below is a complete snapshot of our financials and a brief explanation of what’s going on– while my wife is going through school to become a nurse we currently save 26% of post-tax income.... Are you taking on additional debt at anywhere from 3-6.8% right now, while your wife finishes school? Why not save 10% post-tax income instead of 26% and cash flow school (not take on more debt) for the next 2 years? After she graduates you can bump your savings back up to 26% and all her income can go towards paying off student loans.
by AlwaysAStudent
Tue Feb 14, 2017 3:28 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Bogleheads not the norm?
Replies: 116
Views: 15679

Re: Bogleheads not the norm?

Working Mom (33), Mostly Stay At Home Dad (34), Toddler (2.5)
~$70,000 income
~$70,000 401k
~$1,000 IRA
Smaller E-fund than 6 months
Student Loan Debt
Car Debt (interest rate under 3%)
Mortgage
Occasional CC debt (usually a 0% offer, paid off within a few months)

I come here to learn, grow, and hopefully contribute.
by AlwaysAStudent
Tue Feb 14, 2017 10:01 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: What to do with daughter's $100
Replies: 73
Views: 7130

Re: What to do with daughter's $100

...As for the rent I charge her? I charge about half of what she would be charged if she were on her own in our town. I'm not covering any of her costs at all. She pays for everything including her own food. ... I don’t cover any of her expenses now... ... I believe motivation to find a better paying job is what she needs. You ARE covering her cost/expenses, you are covering HALF of the rent she would be charged if she were on her own in your town. Motivate her by charging her real world rent. Does she split the utilities 50/50 with you? Also, you are are lying to yourself when you say she doesn't have time to find a 2nd job. She is working 35 hours per week, you mentioned somewhere that you would encourage her to date, so I am assuming sh...
by AlwaysAStudent
Mon Feb 13, 2017 10:34 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: What to do with daughter's $100
Replies: 73
Views: 7130

Re: What to do with daughter's $100

As a 33 year old, I would say you need to use that $100 to provide 1 last tool to teach her how to be an adult and then let her sink or swim. You are not helping her by continuing to treat her (and letting her act) like a teenager, unless you are are planning to be her crutch for the rest of her life. By you forcing her to finally agree "to let me do whatever I want with her $100" you are continue to manage her life for her and she is refusing to take responsibility for her own life decisions. If you did invest that money and it lost 50%, she would blame your decision on that loss not herself. It is her money and her life, let her live/spend it as she chooses and stop cleaning up the consequences of those choices for her. You can ...
by AlwaysAStudent
Mon Feb 13, 2017 9:39 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 1 pay check/3 people, making sense of LI
Replies: 3
Views: 985

Re: 1 pay check/3 people, making sense of LI

I am going to use some made up #s. This also does not consider any widow SS you might be able to claim or that you are investing the $ to just pull a SWR from. I purposely over simplified this math to try to make it very clear why somebody might want more than 1 policy. Let's assume that you currently need $100,000/year to live and you do not want to change your lifestyle for the 1st 10 years after your SO dies. You feel that after 10 years you will have figured something out that you could be bringing in an income and will only need an additional (on top of your future income) $50,000/year for the 10 years after that. After those 20 years your kid(s) will be moved out and you will be able to survive on your income/investments and won't nee...
by AlwaysAStudent
Tue Feb 07, 2017 9:42 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Insights for Long Distance Grandparents
Replies: 23
Views: 2398

Re: Insights for Long Distance Grandparents

I am not the grandparent but the mother of the grandchild. Learn now to use Skype/Facetime, don't ask a new parent to teach you over the phone how to use it. Don't wait for mom/dad to initiate the calls either, if you want to Skype/Facetime, send a text and ask if it is a good time. Do not plan to go and stay for 6 months at a time (as PP suggested). I am very close to my mom but that would have driven us apart, about a week is a good amount of time for us, you probably know your limits for your family. When you are there, do things that have to get done but nobody wants to do (laundry, cooking, washing dishes). Mom/dad don't need you to come and hold the baby all day so that they can do those things, they need you to come and do those thin...
by AlwaysAStudent
Tue Jan 31, 2017 1:08 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Anyone drop out of school in 30's or 40's?
Replies: 34
Views: 4473

Re: Anyone drop out of school in 30's or 40's?

I am in my early/mid 30s and I started a Master's program 1.5 years ago. I am 12 hours into to a 36 hour program, as you can see I am taking it very slow but it still has caused a lot of stress and frustration in my daily life. I also have a 2.5 year old at home that thinks she should be attached to be from the moment I walk in the door until she falls asleep, leaving little time for homework and even less time to take care of myself/enjoy hobbies. I have a strong desire to always be learning something new (as my name implies) but learning something for the fun of learning it and learning something because an assignment is due are completely different things. I have to remind myself of a few things pretty often, such as; why I am working on...
by AlwaysAStudent
Tue Jan 31, 2017 9:04 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Personal finance help for those below/near poverty line
Replies: 48
Views: 8631

Re: Personal finance help for those below/near poverty line

I second (third) utilizing the United Way as a resource, if nothing else make sure that the local non-profit you are working with is listed in the United Way database. I work in a union manufacturing facility and every year United Way comes and tells us about the programs they offer and the agencies in the area they work with (and solicit donations) during one of our all-hands training events. This gets information to people that need it and it gets donations from people that are able to give. Chances are that the United Way in your area will already have printed resources like you are trying to create. I would also like to recommend groups that choose to reduce expenses as low as possible as a resource to you. It might prove to be very ben...
by AlwaysAStudent
Mon Jan 23, 2017 10:36 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Should we pay off our student loan?
Replies: 44
Views: 5051

Re: Should we pay off our student loan?

...Do you really want to be paying your own loan while your kids are going to school?... My situation is not the same as yours or as other poster's but this quote is a lot of what we focus on in our house. Our goal is to be completely debt free (including mortgage) by the time our oldest is 16-18 years old. We are working towards this while trying to tuck as much money as possible into retirement and 529 accounts. So what I would do is determine what my SL payments need to be to pay it off by some goal date and set them on auto payment for that amount. I would then refinance my mortgage to a 15 year mortgage. The inheritance would then be separated to handle increased payments for the loans (if needed) and/or funneled into 401k over the ne...
by AlwaysAStudent
Tue Jan 17, 2017 10:28 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: HDHP switch? Feedback appreciated
Replies: 5
Views: 649

Re: HDHP switch? Feedback appreciated

This thread might help you answer some of your questions. viewtopic.php?f=2&t=207245

Personally, I have had an HDHP and HSA for many years (before, during and after being pregnant). At the moment I can not see a reason to switch for my family.
by AlwaysAStudent
Tue Jan 17, 2017 10:23 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Tracking our expenses
Replies: 40
Views: 4175

Re: Tracking our expenses

Another vote for YNAB.
by AlwaysAStudent
Thu Jan 12, 2017 10:23 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Portfolio Suggestions Requested - Vanguard 401k
Replies: 2
Views: 563

Re: Portfolio Suggestions Requested - Vanguard 401k

Duckie wrote:
AlwaysAStudent wrote:Should I move out of the Target Fund?
No. None of the separate options costs less. Since all you have are the 401k and Roth IRA, using the target-date fund in both accounts is just fine.
Are Target Funds a good long term plan?
They're good until you add a taxable account for retirement purposes. Then they complicate things.
Thank you! I find clear precise answers, very useful.
by AlwaysAStudent
Wed Jan 11, 2017 12:51 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Portfolio Suggestions Requested - Vanguard 401k
Replies: 2
Views: 563

Portfolio Suggestions Requested - Vanguard 401k

Emergency funds: Working on this. Debt: Rental: $112k @ 4.0% – Rent covers PITI, manager fee, maintenance/vacancies Mortgage: $133k @ 4.125% School loans: $10k @ 7% - Currently at 0% while taking Master’s classes Car loan: $26k @ 2.74% Tax Filing Status: Married Filing Jointly Tax Rate: 15% Federal, 6% State State of Residence: MO Age: 33 Desired Asset allocation: Currently - 90% stocks / 10% bonds Desired International allocation: Not sure Current retirement assets: $70k Her 401k 100% Vanguard Target Retirement 2050 Fund (VFIFX) Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares 54.3% Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund Investor Shares 35.6% Vanguard Total Bond Market II Index Fund Investor Shares* 7.1% Vanguard Total Interna...
by AlwaysAStudent
Tue Jan 10, 2017 11:29 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: How Bad was 2008, really?
Replies: 407
Views: 63824

Re: How Bad was 2008, really?

I was just barely attempting the whole adult thing at that time. I graduated in 2006, I had started putting money into a 401k around 2004 but it was probably only 1-3%. We bought a house in April 2007. Work was slowing down and we were getting home sick in the beginning of 2008 so in Aug of 2008 I got a job closer to home and we moved. The house was on the market for a few months before we decided to rent it out for a couple years, until the market turned around. I have no clue what was going on with my 401k at the time, I continued to contribute somewhere between 6-10% through 2008-2009 but my balance was probably too small for me to have see a big change anyways. I do know that I enjoyed several really nice increases over the last 3-4 yea...
by AlwaysAStudent
Wed Jan 04, 2017 4:14 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Medical Complaint + Switching to HDHP for Child Birth Costs?
Replies: 26
Views: 3026

Re: Medical Complaint + Switching to HDHP for Child Birth Costs?

OP Cost example: Let's use the example of delivering a child. Let us assume that it costs $10,000 for easy round numbers to use. I will assume that you will pay 20% once deductible is reached, as you did not state your co-insurance rate. Cost to deliver using PPO: $10,000(delivery yay baby is here)-$400 (individual deductable)=$9,600 left that you pay at 20% (which calculates to $1,920) Total cost to you is $1,200 (deductible) + $1,920 (your 20% until you reach the max). = $2,320 total cost to your bottom line ($1,080 left until your reach out of pocket max) Cost to deliver using HDHP: $10,000(delivery yay baby is here)-$2,700 (individual deductable)=$7,300 left that you pay at 20% (which calculates to $1,460) Total cost to you is $2,700 (...
by AlwaysAStudent
Wed Jan 04, 2017 12:28 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Medical Complaint + Switching to HDHP for Child Birth Costs?
Replies: 26
Views: 3026

Re: Medical Complaint + Switching to HDHP for Child Birth Costs?

OP Cost example: Let's use the example of delivering a child. Let us assume that it costs $10,000 for easy round numbers to use. I will assume that you will pay 20% once deductible is reached, as you did not state your co-insurance rate. Cost to deliver using PPO: $10,000(delivery yay baby is here)-$400 (individual deductable)=$9,600 left that you pay at 20% (which calculates to $1,920) Total cost to you is $1,200 (deductible) + $1,920 (your 20% until you reach the max). = $2,320 total cost to your bottom line ($1,080 left until your reach out of pocket max) Cost to deliver using HDHP: $10,000(delivery yay baby is here)-$2,700 (individual deductable)=$7,300 left that you pay at 20% (which calculates to $1,460) Total cost to you is $2,700 (...
by AlwaysAStudent
Wed Jan 04, 2017 11:23 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Medical Complaint + Switching to HDHP for Child Birth Costs?
Replies: 26
Views: 3026

Re: Medical Complaint + Switching to HDHP for Child Birth Costs?

My husband has MS with Rx costing thousands of dollars a month (if the drug company didn't offer an assistance program, independent of income) and we have a HDHP. The HDHP will continue to work the best for us due to the assistance program but if that ended we would have to recalculate the numbers. However, my deductible is slightly more than yours and my OOP is a lot more than yours. These are the 2 annual cost I look at when determining these for us. Absolute minimum cost. We know minimum cost is pretty unrealistic, especially with epilepsy and a baby on the way. PPO = $3,250 HDHP = $1,612 - $1,000 = $612 Maximum cost PPO maximum cost = $3,250+$6,000+$430(Rx co-pays)+$175(med co-pays) = $9,855 - I made a couple assumptions here. Med co-pa...
by AlwaysAStudent
Tue Jan 03, 2017 10:07 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Are Younger people funding 529 Plans?
Replies: 109
Views: 11951

Re: Are Younger people funding 529 Plans?

Geist wrote:Agreed with all the points by Chadnudj & bligh. Quite simply, there are numerous financial priorities for young parents more important than funding a 529.
Although I agree with what most poster wrote we started a 529 the year our daughter was born. There is less than $1k in there for now, as we are finishing off my student loans and focusing on increasing retirement the 529 just gets loose change and gift money deposited into it. We have also provided information for grandparents to contribute directly to it but grandparents are busy buying the gift that will get them the most hugs and smiles currently so that isn't really working either.
by AlwaysAStudent
Tue Jan 03, 2017 9:47 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Whats your number to walk away?
Replies: 360
Views: 63876

Re: Whats your number to walk away?

May be a little off track, but did you ever regret not having kids? We are at 29 and 28 ourselves and we both hate kids (other people's and the thought of our own). We agreed not to have any kids but everyone is telling us that we will feel differently when we get older. Did you? I am not that much older than you but if you don't want kids, don't have them. My husband always wanted kids, I always leaned towards no but it was not set in stone. We have a 2.5 year old now, she completely lights up my world and I love her like crazy BUT having her has allowed me to know without a doubt that if we would have decided not to have kids I would have been happy with that decision too. My husband knew that he would not have been happy without kids. I...
by AlwaysAStudent
Tue Dec 13, 2016 8:58 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How to pay for Graduate School
Replies: 33
Views: 3254

Re: How to pay for Graduate School

I agree with others that you should hold off on the MBA for a little while. Maybe Fall 2017? Hours in a week = 168 Full time job = 40 Part-time job = 20 Sleep = 49 (7 hours a night) Classes = 6 Homework = 9 Hygiene time (shower, dress, brush teeth, bathroom, etc) = 7 (1hr/day, do not cut this short, you have to take care of yourself!) Kids hygiene/bedtime routine = 7 (1hr/day, between bath, brushing teeth, bedtime story, and actually going to sleep it usually takes us 1.5 hr/day) Cooking/Eating = 7 (3 meals a day x 7 days, it takes longer than 20 min on average per meal to prepare and get my kid to eat or for me to go through the drive-thru) Commuting/driving = 7 (this is an hour a day, I bet this is more when you consider daycare pickup/dr...
by AlwaysAStudent
Thu Dec 08, 2016 10:21 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Double Oven Ranges
Replies: 13
Views: 2279

Re: Double Oven Ranges

We have this double oven range (or similar), not gas and love it.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-Profile-6 ... /204369893

We don't always need 2 ovens but being able to use the smaller top one when we are just making something small (1 pie, small casserole, 1-3 burritos etc.) is wonderful, less oven space to heat up. We have used the 2 ovens at the same time occasionally, both for different temperature and different start times. It has a delayed timer on it that we use regularly.
by AlwaysAStudent
Tue Dec 06, 2016 10:11 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Flying Across Atlantic with 98th Percentile 18-Month Child
Replies: 114
Views: 10880

Re: Flying Across Atlantic with 98th Percentile 18-Month Child

We went on 2 different (shorter than you are) trips when our daughter was about 12-15 months. The first one was short notice, husband and daughter joined me on a business trip, so we decided to just let her sit in our laps. The next one was a vacation that was planned so she had her own seat. Although she still ended up in our laps for part of the 2nd flight, I would highly recommend the extra seat. Not only did it allow me and my husband to take a break, it allowed more playing room and under seat storage for her even when she was in our lap. We took her car seat that she was used to also which allowed her to have something familiar besides my husband and I. On another note, the trip that she didn't have her own seat we had to check her ca...
by AlwaysAStudent
Tue Nov 15, 2016 11:14 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Stay at home parent vs. Daycare (personal question)
Replies: 19
Views: 5551

Re: Stay at home parent vs. Daycare (personal question)

My husband and I are currently making a decision to go the opposite direction you are talking about. Our child is 2.5 years old and we are hoping to add one in the next year or so. The kiddo has been going to daycare since about 8 weeks old when I went back to work full-time and my husband has been working to try to build a business. Unfortunately, over the last 2.5 years he has not been able to do what he was hoping to due as a business owner and so we have started to discuss either becoming a SAHP or finding a full-time job, we are leaning towards him being a SAHP. Some of the things we have included in our discussions are that we can see the kiddo gets a LOT of benefits from going to daycare that we will need to work at for her to receiv...
by AlwaysAStudent
Fri Nov 11, 2016 10:28 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Does a car downgrade make sense for me?
Replies: 19
Views: 3848

Re: Does a car downgrade make sense for me?

Why not replace the truck with a commuter car and an older (smaller) truck?

My husband and I each drive a Prius to work and have a 15 year old truck that is used for hauling stuff on the weekends (farm and DIY type of stuff). All 3 vehicles are paid off and the insurance on an old truck that doesn't see very many miles is pretty minimal.
by AlwaysAStudent
Wed Sep 21, 2016 1:52 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Baby deals
Replies: 43
Views: 5027

Re: Baby deals

Don't run out and buy a minivan and a four bedroom house tomorrow. No seriously, I know a lot of parents who go through a logical progression of 'gotta have the best'-ism. They look at 5 baby car seats, one is the size of an airline seat for an adult...they decide they have to get that one, because it is the 'best'. Then they discover that it doesn't fit in their car, so they buy a suburban to carry the best child seat. And so on. We got a crib 3 mos after we got the baby, b/c the bassinet was fine for sleeping. We bought a house when our two kids were little, not before they were born, etc. Avoid lifestyle creep in the name of 'what is best' for the children, executed years before the kids need the item in question. Avoid that and kids ar...
by AlwaysAStudent
Wed Sep 14, 2016 11:41 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Denied Term Life Insurance/A Reminder to Get Your House in Order
Replies: 40
Views: 6392

Re: Denied Term Life Insurance/A Reminder to Get Your House in Order

My DH was denied Term Life Insurance about a year ago due to health conditions. We were very up front with them and were originally told that didn't immediately disqualify him but the quote was pretty high. He ended up being disqualified due to an appointment/testing that was completed to be used as a baseline to monitor his progress in the future. The results of the testing were all great but it didn't matter, according to them the fact that he needed the testing alone disqualified him. Our situation is different than yours because I am the primary breadwinner and he is a part-time business owner and part-time SAHD but this is our plan. He has an old small 15 year term life insurance that he got back when he was in his early 20s, the 15 ye...
by AlwaysAStudent
Mon Sep 12, 2016 12:49 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: retiring with a mortgage
Replies: 35
Views: 4500

Re: retiring with a mortgage

... move to a LCOL area where they can purchase the house outright with the proceeds of the HCOL sale. ... We expect the purchase price to be about $250k-350k. ....That should give them almost $60k/yr That seems like a lot of house for a retired couple in a LCOL area. My mortgage (with a 20% down payment) is about what you are expecting your parent's will be , our income is higher than what your parent's is projected to be and I am in a LCOL area. I would not be comfortable in retirement with that mortgage (plus utility costs) and income but I might have different expectations from my retirement, my current budget includes a toddler and not nearly as much travel/hobbies as I would like in retirement. I still have 20-30 years until retireme...
by AlwaysAStudent
Tue Aug 16, 2016 9:22 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: vacation ideas - October
Replies: 42
Views: 5884

Re: vacation ideas - October

Naismith wrote:If I lived near Chicago, I would consider Amtrak for leisurely travel. You could take the Capitol Limited over to Washington DC, which can have glorious fall colors that time of year, lots of plays and restaurants.
I would take the Amtrak to Albuquerque and enjoy the balloon fiesta then check out Taos/Santa Fe. Not too many fall colors in NM but the train ride down might be fun and I love the southwest.
by AlwaysAStudent
Tue Aug 16, 2016 9:17 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Knowing what you know now...
Replies: 22
Views: 3877

Re: Knowing what you know now...

I am in my early 30s, we had our baby a week before I turned 31 (only kid at this time). I have two things I would have changed about my 20s.

1. Applied a true budget earlier. We always budged bills (and contributed to 401k) but never budgeted for things like clothes, gifts, oil changes/tires, etc. We just spent anything that we had left over after bills, mostly on going out to eat/bars/small trips. I would have loved to have paid off more of my student loans (only debt besides mortgage) and planned for more long distance travel.
2. Traveled more.
by AlwaysAStudent
Fri Jul 29, 2016 8:27 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Trying to help my retired parents
Replies: 16
Views: 2289

Re: Trying to help my retired parents

Are they currently in the 20% tax bracket? If not, why do they think they will have to pay 20% tax on the 401k?

They could pull out small amounts each year that keeps them in whatever tax bracket they are already in. I am assuming they are under 70 and are not being required to pull out a set amount each year.

They could convert it to a Roth IRA and find an AA they are comfortable with or they could use some kind of CD ladder they are comfortable with.
by AlwaysAStudent
Fri Jul 29, 2016 8:06 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Another can we retire...
Replies: 51
Views: 9104

Re: Another can we retire...

Philachild wrote:Can we retire?
We will spend about $195K per year.
Is that including what your tax liability is? If yes, that is a 3.5% WR so generally considered safe. Will there be any pensions, SS, etc income in the future?
by AlwaysAStudent
Fri Jul 29, 2016 7:53 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Stats on Americans 'cutting the cable' ?
Replies: 98
Views: 20086

Re: Stats on Americans 'cutting the cable' ?

Our friends in DC was amazed that they could cut the cord by using a cheap antenna (flat w/o amplifier for $7 shipped) to pick up all the local HD stations, thus saving $40 plus per month. They only live about 10-15 miles from their TV stations. As in my case, wife still needs her Food TV and HGTV fix but then she hardly spends much on anything else. Our internet bill has risen from $50 to $60 this year, not including the TV. Cable is the only game in town. She also hates ugly roof top antenna. We live about 50 miles from NYC and Philadelphia. I had tried using an amplified version. The younger generation has little need for cable TV. I'm also a HGTV addict. A colleague just told me about sling TV. I plan to check it out if it turns out I ...