Bogleheads.org

njfastlife

what states offers as much of or as solid a mix as possible of the following: decent job opportunities/economy good education favorable climate potential for outdoor activities/scenery relatively "fair" COL those that have lived or explored living in other states in the country, what are your though...

njfastlife

32 years old. wife and i are trying to save for our first home in the tri state area. we are somewhat opposed to buying a complete fixer upper or "starter home" but can be swayed. that said, the cost of living (and real estate, esp.) is very expensive in NY and NJ. modest homes in good areas are at ...

njfastlife

PFInterest wrote: ↑
Wed Sep 05, 2018 6:51 am
if you are <20% on rent, you should be fine.
less is better of course.

20% gross or net?

njfastlife

hi all, looking at a nice unit but the price is HIGH ~$2800/mo.

my wife and i make ~$210K combined in the NY region and i am curious what the current Boglehead-approved rule of thumb is as it relates to how much to spend on rent.

thanks!

njfastlife

Sorry to hear the car isn't your favorite. Can we get net worth and income figures? Single/married. Other debts? Might be able to answer better with that additional information... 32 Recently married NW incl. retirement accounts: ~$125k Salary: ~$115k/year No other debts other than car note.

njfastlife

The car is a mistake. You probably drive it every day. You shouldn't suffer. I just checked cars.com. Comparable 2017 Forester with high mileage are selling for 19k and up. So the Subaru guaranteed trade in at 21k is a very good one, esp considering you reduce your sales tax. I say go ahead and get...

njfastlife

Financially, it's a bad idea. But if you absolutely hate the vehicle or the seat, then perhaps you need a change. Have you considered just changing the seat? There are specialty shops who mostly cater to enthusiasts who have showrooms with aftermarket seats. A replacement seat is a heck of a lot ch...

njfastlife

I have a 2017 Forester that i am just not fond of. the main issue is the comfort of the driver's seat. i am in discomfort after 20+ minutes that doesn't go away no matter how much i adjust. additionally the CVT is bothersome, the infotainment is awful and the car is just incredibly sluggish. it's no...

njfastlife

You can get higher yield elsewhere, so maybe it's good if they reject you. better yield and as good/better user experience? i am all ears because right now my money is parked with Chase earning NOTHING. With Vanguard Prime Money Market earning more than most (all?) savings accounts, I've lost inter...

njfastlife

whodidntante wrote: ↑
Mon Aug 27, 2018 12:37 pm
You can get higher yield elsewhere, so maybe it's good if they reject you.

better yield and as good/better user experience?

i am all ears because right now my money is parked with Chase earning NOTHING.

njfastlife

9liner wrote: ↑
Mon Aug 27, 2018 12:22 pm
Do you have a credit freeze in place? I've been denied a high-yield savings account in the past due to credit freezes.

double checking with my wife now. she may have after the Experian fiasco.

njfastlife

Don't you just go onto their website sign up, link their account to your primary checking account, they send two small deposits to your primary checking, then you log onto Ally and verify those two deposits and you are then good to go. Couldn't be any simpler.... that is not how it worked for me at...

njfastlife

it's been over a week since i submitted my application online.

called up today and was told a letter was mailed out yesterday and i will get it within 7-10 business days.

she could not elaborate what that letter entailed.

seems like a long, drawn-out process to open a savings account, no?

njfastlife

Depending on the saving account interest rate yes it could be your best place. If its a low interest .05% you can open a high interest savings, or Money Market account (Ally, Capital One) getting around 2% interest on the money. I would put the money no where else if it was me. This is a short term...

njfastlife

PFInterest wrote: ↑
Fri Aug 10, 2018 8:42 am

njfastlife wrote: ↑
Fri Aug 10, 2018 8:35 am

PFInterest wrote: ↑
Fri Aug 10, 2018 8:08 am
yes. Ally is at 1.8% right now.
how much is 20%?
we'd feel good with $100K downpayment likely.
your home is only 500K? in NYC metro......

a starter home can be had in that range. and i said "as close to 20% as possible"

njfastlife

PFInterest wrote: ↑
Fri Aug 10, 2018 8:08 am
yes. Ally is at 1.8% right now.
how much is 20%?

we'd feel good with $100K downpayment likely.

njfastlife

hey all, my wife and i are in the midst of saving for a downpayment on our first house. unfortunately for us, homes in our region (NYC metro) are quite expensive and that's before you factor taxes into the equation. at any rate, we'd hope to put down as close to 20% as possible - and we're probably ...

njfastlife

once again a whole bunch of great information.

hoping that NJ has a similarly great 457 plan in place so that if/when we move that is an option.

njfastlife

thanks guys.

she's in the Vanguard TD 2035 which is 80/20 i believe.

we're both a bit more risk tolerant so she'd be good going to a 90/10 AA in this portfolio.

njfastlife

currently my wife only contributes to a Roth IRA, the Vanguard Target Date 2035. she is 31 years old. recently we learned (thanks to a helpful member here) of another low-cost option available to her, a 457. looking into this a bit more, it makes a lot of sense. these are her options. https://i.img...

njfastlife

currently my wife only contributes to a Roth IRA, the Vanguard Target Date 2035. she is 31 years old. recently we learned (thanks to a helpful member here) of another low-cost option available to her, a 457. looking into this a bit more, it makes a lot of sense. these are her options. https://i.imgu...

njfastlife

so is a 100% Vanguard Wellington allocation "Boglehead Approved"? if so, i think i will go that route in her 457. Most BHs consider Vanguard's Wellington to be a very well-run actively managed fund. It's asset allocation of about 60/40 is moderate. still need to figure out what to exchange the Oppy...

njfastlife

just bumping this thread hoping for any additional insight into my current AA.

njfastlife

i had my gf reach out to her benefits contact at the school and her response was: "i am not a financial advisor and neither is the school district nor can we provide financial advisors for our vendors. you have to do your own research or ask fellow coworkers". do they make this stuff purposely conf...

njfastlife

i had my gf reach out to her benefits contact at the school and her response was: i am not a financial advisor and neither is the school district nor can we provide financial advisors for our vendors. you have to do your own research or ask fellow coworkers". do they make this stuff purposely confus...

njfastlife

The NY 457 does not have any other % fees to my knowledge. Think it is 20$ per year. Google their paperwork and it is very clear and transparent. ( unlike the other 403b mess you are dealing with ) The Plan's administrative expenses are funded by two primary sources of revenue: the semi-annual part...

njfastlife

Looking back through this thread and I do not see any expense ratios (ER). The 403 and 457 should provide someplace on their websites or in available documentation lists of investments containing past rates of return as well as ERs. Wellington may well be a great choice. The admiral version of the ...

njfastlife

so is a 100% Vanguard Wellington allocation "Boglehead Approved"? if so, i think i will go that route in her 457. still need to figure out what to exchange the Oppy into; sounds like Lincoln is still the best. i wish i could get more plan details (expenses, etc.) but the website only lists the provi...

njfastlife

here are the 457 details

i assume the Wellington is the best option but doesn't that have a $50K min?

njfastlife

hey guys bumping this old thread. she now has all of her monies sitting in the Oppenheimer funds. i had her stop contributions and am thinking we should move it into the Lincoln Plan if we all seem to agree this is the best bet. unless we can roll all of this money into some type of Vanguard IRA bu...

njfastlife

just bumping this one last time in the hopes someone in NY can opine on the Lincoln Participant Directed.

no responses to my PM's as of yet.

thanks.

njfastlife

Good luck with the PMs. A PM generates an email unless the default setting is opted out of. Did you talk to the local Lincoln rep? Or to a regional Lincoln office? You haven’t mentioned how much your GF is able to contribute annually. Is it more than 18.5k (to state 457) plus 5.5k (to IRA)? Does sh...

njfastlife

If you talked to a local rep, then you may not have received informed information. It’s suggested to talk to someone in a Lincoln Investment Group regional office, not to a local rep. Several BH posters in NY have been able to use the Participant-Directed Platform. Here’s an incomplete list: A440, ...

njfastlife

is the low-cost Lincoln option better than just rolling the 403b into a Vanguard IRA? She is not allowed to rollover her employer sponsored 403b to an IRA unless she leaves that employer. I thought she had, but I was mistaken. Sorry for the confusion. Her best bet for escaping the Oppy high fees is...

njfastlife

good points all around.

surprised that switching into the Admiral isn't worth it - i thought most here agreed it was.

njfastlife

hi all, 31 years of age and currently in the Vanguard Target Retirement 2035 in both my 401K and Roth. i think i have the appetite for a bit more risk - at least more than the 2035 offers so i come to you for advice. any thoughts on which Target Date might work a bit better? additionally, might it m...

njfastlife

edge wrote: ↑
Tue Dec 12, 2017 11:56 am
Why in the world would you want to find one?

b/c unfortunately 403b choices are notoriously bad, and my fiancee's are no different. lincoln offers the best with the plan i listed above, but apparently you need to contact a regional office.

njfastlife

trying to get a PDF for Lincoln Investments "Participant Directed Platform". when i call Lincoln, all they are able to provide me with are local financial advisors - which I don't believe I want. from what i have been told, i need to call a Regional Office. i am in Westchester County, NY. any assist...

njfastlife

thank you, we will inquire - but is this a better idea than the 457? we were about to rollover her 403b into the 457. thanks for your patience and assistance along the way! If her 403b is with her current employer, she can't do a rollover to that employer's 457 . If the 403b was with a previous emp...

njfastlife

Sorry, I assumed your username indicated that you were in NJ when you first posted. If she has been in NY, at the same school district, that changes what she can do with the Oppenheimer 403b. She cannot move that account to an IRA unless she has changed districts. She can move it to another 403b pr...

njfastlife

JW, the OP is dealing with a K-12 school district, which are not involved in vetting the multiple vendors they allow or the vendor's offerings. Yeah, hard to believe. These are non-ERISA 403b and 457 plans. In this thread started last year, the OP and GF were in NJ and that list was for her NJ scho...

njfastlife

Yes, Vanguard's Wellington is an very good balanced fund and suitable for her 457 account. That assumes she is OK with the fund's asset allocation of about 60-70% stocks and 40-30% bonds. A 60/40 AA is not really "aggressive", in fact it's usually considered a moderate AA, depending on age of cours...

njfastlife

The first step is to find the list of providors for her district. It’s usually on the district’s website. Or it may be on the website of a Third Party Administrator that the district hires to help manage the 403b and 457 plans. If you can’t find the lists on the district’s website, call the distric...

njfastlife

would rolling into Vanguard Target Retirement 2050 Fund (VFIFX) make any sense?

njfastlife

just a follow-up here, is it possible and prudent to withdraw from the 403b entirely and roll it entirely into a Vanguard IRA? we now have a Roth IRA opened for her, but might it make sense to open a traditional IRA as well and just roll the funds over from the 403b? Yes, if she is no longer workin...

njfastlife

just a follow-up here, is it possible and prudent to withdraw from the 403b entirely and roll it entirely into a Vanguard IRA?

we now have a Roth IRA opened for her, but might it make sense to open a traditional IRA as well and just roll the funds over from the 403b?

njfastlife

31 years of age.

i know rule of thumb is typically age in bonds, but i think this fund might be slightly too conservative.

any thoughts or advice?

thanks!

njfastlife

for instance, me being 30 years old and playing catchup in my 401K (currently have $60K between 401K and ROTH IRA) but wanting to start saving for a house downpayment. seems to me, unless my salary increases relatively substantially, at some point i might need to bite the bullet and ratchet down th...

njfastlife

for instance, me being 30 years old and playing catchup in my 401K (currently have $60K between 401K and ROTH IRA) but wanting to start saving for a house downpayment. seems to me, unless my salary increases relatively substantially, at some point i might need to bite the bullet and ratchet down the...

njfastlife

i'm sure he'd be pretty happy, or at least more happy, with the CD strategy you suggested. can you tell me a little bit more (where to shop, who offers some of the "better" ones, etc.)? Sure. The place many of us find our CD (and savings and checking account) deals is Bank Account Rates | Bank Revi...

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