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Assume the contribution is manual and it is more complicated to contribute to multiple accounts than just one. Does your answer change?
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what about just putting your entire contribution to whichever one is the lowest that month? so for your first example contribute 100% to US stocks

i'm paying the mortgage off asap rather than trying to create a spread of maybe $1,000 per year (and that might change year to year.)

I think you're missing some details. you're not counting your rental mortgage as an expense. (you're going to need to cover it if rent isn't paid). also you might (will) have repairs in the next 7 years. there will be more expenses in the next 7-10 years...new car? house repair? move? bigger than expected health expense? children will begin sports, travel will cost more with 4 people, clothes might cost more, what if she doesn't qualify for forgiveness, etc.. sounds like you're killing it and will be close but I think you are underestimating your true expenses. maybe you'll make more in 7-10 years? maybe your real estate side gig turns into making a bigger than $185k salary? I love planning ahead and looking forward to things but for now I ...

retire AND spend more $ than you do now for enriching / fun things and experiences.

you earned it and you're still going to leave a lot of $ to the kids even if you spend $200k for a few years.

is there some kind of part time consulting gig you would really enjoy for a few years? (just to keep you in the game and ease your nervousness)

sell index funds and pay off the car...that leaves you ~$15,000.

never get another car loan

beef up your cash reserves to an adequate emergency fund. then decide if you want to pay your mortgage faster or invest.

I think it's too much money not working for you.

I agree you need to sleep at night so I'd keep it for now...but I would start using some of that $ towards some kind of training / certificates you can do to make yourself more valuable for the future. (or maybe work can pay for it).

then when you're more comfortable in your skills move the excess emergency fund into your investment accounts.

just me personally in your shoes...this will probably not be what you land on but I'll chime in because hey, it's the internet :) no brainer set aside $50k for the car just so you don't have to think about it or deplete your Cash reserves. throw another $30k into the 529s and you are basically most of the way done with that. I love living my life without debt. So I'm looking at that HELOC and the mortgage and I'd be ecstatic to have those knocked out regardless of interest. For the spread you might make on a high yield savings after paying taxes on $350,000, I'm enjoying being debt free way way more than that. Then you have $200k left and making the kind of $$ you make you can save up for the house in 3 years if you sell your house to upgra...

imo looks like you are close if everything goes as planned everything will work...but have minimal cushion. i'm just thinking we just had to re-do our roof. that was about $30,000 (would have been like $15,000 3 years ago). I dunno. I would get to the bottom of why you want to retire so young and fix that. you're in prime earnings years. and you're in the position where if you really wanted to retire, it looks like you could. so you can be EXTREMELY picky / selective in what job you're in. or start your own thing. I might in your situation take one year off and regroup, test your finances, maybe study up in a another field or area of expertise you want to pursue?, wake up with the sun, look at stars, get in good mental and physical shape, d...

thumbs up from me for Fido HSA

great customer service. free. great website. no idea what could possibly be better.

I'd put the 401k investment on automatic and forget about it as an option to ever stop - and just budget and save with the rest. (unless a emergency came up) 59 1/2 year old you will be happy you did that. personally I like to tinker with stuff so I try to put everything possible that is a smart idea on automatic - that way I can't outsmart myself. I don't think the percentage in your 401k matters if you have enough cash to cover what you need to in your life. agree it is definitely a nice (although very pricey) luxury to buy your new house while you own your current one - especially if you have some major renovations to do so you don't have to live through it. there is obviously all kinds of risk with that. I would not do this with any typ...

not sure on sizing but have you tried / considered an iPad Pro? get a nice case and you can put it on your lap and move it around and get comfy. can use earplugs if needed. pretty handy for other things too.

i have the ipad pro 12.9" with the keyboard case...so it sits horizontal no problem. I like being able to move around / vary my position if i'm watching something so i'm not sitting still too long.

another useful feature is it has a dimming mode for night time.

I had an issue also. I deposited $12,000 to the brokerage settlement fund last week so I'd be prepped for today for my wife and I.

In case it helps I called them this morning and they said if you have a very new brokerage account (under a year) new money has to wait 60 days before it can be contributed? Dunno if your account is new.

oh well..

I just bought another $6,000 each through my outside checking account...so it'll take a few days now.

I called Vanguard today at 4:30 pm (thursday) with a complete list of beginner questions. I waited under 90 seconds and the guy spent 25 minutes on the phone with me answering questions and walking me through where to click for things to make sure I got everything correctly.

I've had to call them like 2x a year for something or other. I can't remember one time waiting long or not getting my call expertly handled.

Not discounting your experience. I'd be frustrated too if I didn't get my call answered. (and tbh I'd be a little scared of leaving my money there). hopefully it was just a bad day they were having. you never know when a bunch of people call out or something and they are swamped with calls. hope they fix your issue fast.

So I do my best to NOT follow any news / stock reports / my stock balances / social media in general, etc. Last year I had a general sense that the market went down but I didn't even look at the account until I logged in today.

I just opened a Taxable Account for the first time. (I opened the account with Vanguard and I will own VTSAX and VTIAX with monthly auto deposits.)

I read on here and WCI about Tax Loss Harvesting I don't want to miss any opportunities. Is there any way to be aware of opportunities without checking it daily or weekly? If not, what's an appropriate / non-obsessive frequency to check in on this so I can start to get into a routine right away.

Thank you!

UpperNwGuy wrote: ↑Mon May 10, 2021 7:34 am If it makes you feel safer, go for it. I don't do most of that stuff.

i felt "safer" for a minute until every morning when I login to check my accounts I'm entering 6 passwords, getting my cell phone, touching my key. lol. seems like a huge pain now...and I'm thinking for no extra benefit.

I'm wondering if I'm going overboard with online security. I've been reading and watching youtube and tightening up every corner but I think I'm wasting some time here and there with no additional benefit. It seems like tightening up your email with good passwords and a yubikey is the most important (which I did). I have 2FA on all my bank accounts (preference to yubikey > app > SMS depending on what the bank allows). Outside of that, I really don't care if someone steals my facebook and posts something ridiculous. Nor do I really care if someone logs in to my fitness pal and sees how much I weight. Reallly I am not even worried about someone logging in to amazon and buying a bunch of stuff...I feel like those are easily reversible. - Has a...

hey sorry. didn't mean to seem angry at you. my tone didn't come across on internet. more like me calling a friend a knuckleheads for doing something I felt was silly. this all just seems like nonsense and you're not advancing your life with any of this. This one time might work but keep doing things like this and enough will not work that it'll be a net huge waste of time and energy. Sounds like you can either make decent money in more normal ways or enjoy the fruits of your labor rather than wasting time like this. what this reminds of me of was one year I did a thing where I moved money around to get bank bonuses...$200 here, $400 there. sometimes it was smooth...other times I was required to come into the branch in person and be given a...

I’d consider chunking a bunch of extra $ onto your mortgage.

Can you please not give the IRS more work? They are running slow as it is and are playing an important role to keep this country rolling. They aren’t there for people to find a way to make credit card points.

Who you’re hurting is whoever’s time you wasting there that has to have their salary paid. Also sounds like someone is going to waste a lot of energy trying to figure out how this isn’t fraud.

Find another game.

Every time I get a clever work-around idea like this to save time or money it winds up being a hassle. Keep it simple.

Just enjoy your car. Sounds like you’ll be in it a lot for the next 6 months...be comfortable. You deserve it.

heloc_question wrote: ↑Sat Mar 06, 2021 11:55 pm We won't have any revenue until later this year and without history/cash flow I assume it will be too difficult to get a business loan.

You’re assuming you’re 100% going to cash flow :/

Sorry to be negative and I hope you crush it..

Is there any way to start your biz with the cash you have? Can you make less product until it starts selling then use biz income to increase? I dunno. I would recommend just start thinking along those lines. How can you enter this biz with less upfront $?

You’re setting yourself up for a lot of risk on your house.

it's hard to fully understand Dave Ramsey if you take only one piece of advice in isolation.

it's part of his overall plan

stay put for now and keep listening to him and decide later.

imo he's a genius and there's a lot of nuance beyond just feeling safer with the mortgage being paid off.

if you trust him and he does good work just pay him.

if you think he's trying to pull one on you don't.

sounds like he just got a little bit sloppy with not communicating something. that's not really a reason to not pay him imo. (yes by the letter of the law you probably could avoid it...just talking from my gut / heart).

tell him to make sure that doesn't happen on the kitchen and to cut you a break somewhere there.

sounds like you might not like real estate. i might do some deep thinking and get out of it while the market is hot right now. sounds like those two rentals you have might not be cash flowing a ton? dunno just guessing from your language. also sounds like you like debt too much (just my personal opinion / risk tolerance level). if you're gonna keep the Property 2, I might just throw the $60k there and pay that off asap to just get that off my plate. or else right at your house works too. Thanks. Each property has a positive cash flow of around $700 month, CAP rates in the 7-8% range. Not sure what to make about the comment about liking debt; I bough real estate with 20% down which I think is pretty normal. I say that because you cash out r...

sounds like you might not like real estate. i might do some deep thinking and get out of it while the market is hot right now.

sounds like those two rentals you have might not be cash flowing a ton? dunno just guessing from your language.

also sounds like you like debt too much (just my personal opinion / risk tolerance level).

if you're gonna keep the Property 2, I might just throw the $60k there and pay that off asap to just get that off my plate. or else right at your house works too.

sorry but that's funny

tell the buyer what happened and ask them to donate $100 to a charity you cherish. then you at least "break even"

i wouldn't try to call ebay and deal with their customer service. if they paid me $100. they are beyond aggravating and you're gonna be in a 6 week long email thread.

just move on.

Regarding the scanner, do you have to feed two sided paper through two times for front and back? If you want to be able to scan double-sided documents without having to turn them over manually, look for a scanner with an automatic document feeder (ADF) AND duplex scanning. These will do the "flipping" for you. Some pricier models are "single-pass" - meaning both sides are scanned simultaneously (and thus more quickly), but probably not worth paying extra unless you value the speed. People here like to recommend the Fujitsu ScanSnap for $400 and up, but a better value is a $200 multifunction printer with duplex scanning. I just checked out the Brother and Fujitsu models (not with the duplex feature). What if I have a 40 ...

Regarding the scanner, do you have to feed two sided paper through two times for front and back? If you want to be able to scan double-sided documents without having to turn them over manually, look for a scanner with an automatic document feeder (ADF) AND duplex scanning. These will do the "flipping" for you. Some pricier models are "single-pass" - meaning both sides are scanned simultaneously (and thus more quickly), but probably not worth paying extra unless you value the speed. People here like to recommend the Fujitsu ScanSnap for $400 and up, but a better value is a $200 multifunction printer with duplex scanning. A dedicated scanner is so pleasant for this kind of thing. Fujitsu scan snap is way the best but it’s...

Fwiw I keep it simple. I personally don’t enjoy cooking or spending an hour to eat something in 10 minutes. (That’s just me..)

I just found a few simple things and stick to those day in and day out.

For lunch I like tuna salad. (Spinach, tuna and avocado mayo are the base...then whatever I have laying around I’ll add - peppers, cheese, olives)

For dinner I eat ribeye or ribs a bunch. I like to reverse sear them (google that for recipe). It takes a while but actual work time is minimal. Or else I’ll throw burgers on the grill and add cream cheese and jalapeño peppers.

I find the simpler I make things the more likely I’ll do it and stick to it.

I started to slowly walk barefoot and now I can easily walk on pavement and most hiking trails barefoot (unless there are sharp rocks). My ankles and feet have gotten a lot stronger and my balance has improved. If you go that route just start slow and start on grass.

When I need shoes (like when it’s very cold or I’m in public) I wear very minimalist ones with minimal support. I like vivobarefoot right now.

I just scan mine and save them to the cloud. Takes no physical space. Might be worth getting a scanner where you can feed documents through for other things also.

More of a lifestyle question I suppose but would love your input:

I don’t watch a lot of TV but find it a great way to wind down right before bed (30-45 min).

I find reading too engaging...where TV sorta numbs my brain quickly and helps me to get to sleep.

I recognize it is a massive waste of time though...even at 30 minutes.

Wondering what you all do to wind down at the end of the day instead of TV?

If you consider the work you do “unnecessary time accumulating wealth” start looking to switch gears to something more fulfilling. (In which case you’ll likely make even more money). I took a 5 year or so “retirement” where I pursued other things from my main career when I was about your age...lived some great experiences. (Actually made more $ than my career by a little bit)...met my wife....traveled...took on unusual hobbies. Then when I was ready and felt the calling, I returned back stronger than ever. Maybe you don’t return back? You’re making really insane money so I wouldn’t do anything hasty. Not like you can travel the world right now anyway. Maybe tough it out this year and start dreaming of what’s next. No matter what you’re goin...

Not saying this is true. But just asking:

Do you have too much house?

Maybe (again not saying it is...just throwing it out as a possibility). Maybe the answer is moving down in house a bit, knocking it out comfortably...and comfortably funding your retirement.

I would first shop for the doctor you think will be the best fit to actually help you. That's the most important thing. Then, their office should be able to answer all of your questions. Just tell them something like "your doc came highly recommended. I just want to make sure I don't run over budget. can you please help me understand what I'll be charged before we do anything?" They should be able to provide estimates and they should be able to check your insurance, handle billing and denials. I wouldn't really start off the bat with negotiating prices with your doctor. If you're paying cash / check you can ask if they will give you 2-3% off or something if you prepay since you're avoiding CC fees and avoiding billing. If you don'...

1) pay the car off as fast as possible. If $250 a month extra makes you comfortable, I’d try to pay an uncomfortable amount and knock that thing out right away

2) never buy a car on a loan again.

Creating spread on investing money you’d put into a car loan is going to be a small amount of money over the course of your life.

Never buying cars (or other things) on loans is a good way to live and create wealth.

I switched my office from SIMPLE to 401k this year.

It is “costing” me more due to higher employee matches. But at the end of the year it’s only a few thousand dollars.

But I am able to put away more for myself.

AND I’m happy to give my employees more $ And help them prepare for their futures. In a dental office you probably have like 5-15 employees or so working their tails off? I’d personally wanna take care of them as much as possible or else I’d question if they are the right employees for my office.

Not telling you what to do but it’s more than just a math equation.

Btw we are using guideline 401k and the administrative cost is super low. It was also extremely easy to set up.

I use PNC and they have a 100% liability protection...on top of what VISA offers. I'd imagine many banks have similar. So I'm worried about it zero. (perhaps I'm naive). I don't keep a ton in checking anyway...enough to get through a few months of expenses or whatever. the rest goes into a money market not linked to my debit card. I don't have stats and actual numbers. but my guess is A lot more people get burnt by using CC improperly and above their means... than those hit with fraud that they don't recover + those that use credit cards "properly" and track everything with spreadsheets etc and make a few $$ Just wanted to throw it out there as a possibility. you don't **have to** get a CC to be financially independent from your f...

you can do everything with a debit card and avoid troubles CC can potentially cause.

I know a lot of people on here are big fans of messing with CCs to get points and miles etc. You're not going to spend enough to make any substantial amount of money anyway with this. So I would start with a debit card. It will help you be more responsible and not spend what you don't have.

just a thought.

coming from an employer's point of view:

instead of asking for a raise, go in and tell them how you will provide the value that would make 10 or 12% raise a no-brainer.

even tell them "i'm not asking for more than 8%. I want to know what I can do to earn 10-12%. give me benchmarks to shoot for"

raamakoti wrote: ↑Sun Jul 05, 2020 8:04 am

ugaDAWGS09 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 04, 2020 10:29 am I may contact a local lawyer just to ask for their advice, but I'm not expecting anything to happen.

Just food for thought, when you already know and expecting nothing would happen why waste your precious time and energy to contact a lawyer. If you still want to contact a lawyer that means there is some hope you cherish with-in you that it may workout and get what you consider is your money.
Let it go for 2 weeks and see what changes in your life, does coffee states different, does your relationships change? Pretty soon you realize the worthlessness and you will become a more happy and contented person. Try it doesn't cost you a penny.

Best thing I read today. thank you!

just throwing this out there as an option...

you can also just hang tight and not buy anything right now and be completely debt free at like 33/34 years old while still maxing out your retirement.

I'd get pushing hard and leveraging to buy if prices were low...but just because interest rates are low? eh?

by 35 you'd have enough cash to buy a property with cash and have next to no risk. by 40 you could be sitting on a bunch of paid for real estate, >$1m in your retirement and piles of cash being thrown at you non-stop with 100% peace. that would be my plan.

sounds like you're killing it with your careers...and that could be just a starting point. I'd wanna keep focus there and see how high you can go there.

just an option. good luck.

I would cash flow the renovations and use your income to invest in stocks.

So no to both for me personally.

Why add unnecessary risk? It’s not like this virus is the only bad thing that will happen. Something else might happen tomorrow and magnify losses...who knows? Something might happen to you and your ability to work. The real estate market could crash and make you upside down.

I dunno. I hope none of these happen and I’m guess they won’t.

But you’re sitting pretty now with no mortgage and a great time to buy. Why risk a sure thing?

100% here

I haven’t had to look yet no idea what I’m down.

Hopefully all my deposits are going through ok. Everything is on auto.

I wish there was a service for like $2 per month for someone to just logon and tell me that my deposit went through ok and nothing funny happened in the account. Then I’d never look.

chevca wrote: ↑Fri Mar 06, 2020 9:18 pm Why sell it, if you want to own rental properties? Would you rather own a multi unit building? If so, you don't have to sell. You can do a 1031 exchange.

I really just want to make sure the numbers justify keeping it. I do want to be in real estate but from what I understand I'm getting a little below where you want to be with returns on investment. just double checking.

in my area I would have to put a bunch more money in or take out debt to move up not looking to do either right now.

I believe I have a close decision here but I'd appreciate wisdom. As background I am interested in having rental properties as part of my long term strategy. This one is about 15-20% of my net worth. It's been very easy to rent but I'm not sure if the numbers justify keeping it. Our Tenants are moving out shortly so I'm evaluating now. I would be able to sell for $275,000 or rent it for $1,900 (maybe $1,925) HOA is about $2,100 per year and taxes are $4,500 per year. It's a newer condo so repairs are minimal (appliances here and there and a plumbing issue here and there). So let's just say factoring in a little vacancy, paying the realtor for finding a tenant, and some repairs I am netting about $12,000 per year cash. it's in a good school ...

If you and I had a cup of coffee, and you asked me for advice here, here is what I’d ask: What’s your living situation? If you’re renting, I’d start saving on the side towards a house in case you ever want to go that route. What are your plans for what amount of your income you are investing? Is it done automatically in the background? Do you have a budget where you see how your money is being spent? Do you have anything automatically coming out that you’re not using? (Just random example: cable TV). Are you too heavy in your collectible cards? That’s a big part of your net worth. Are you comfortable with the ups and downs that your collection will face? I know nothing about the card industry (or any collectible industry). Sounds like you h...

I’d suggest a few things 1) nothing is on fire given your income...but I would make learning how to handle your money top priority outside of your biz and family for 2020 and start planning for 2021. There is no rush. I’d just say don’t make any large moves until you have your game plan set and you’re comfortable with it. I just went through the same thing last year where I dove into this forum weekly with coffee. I’m no expert but I have a game plan I understand and I’m on board with. 2) you either need to learn how to handle your money or learn how to pick a true expert. I’d prefer learning myself personally. It’s not THAT hard. WORST case you learn a lot and are better at picking and monitoring an expert. So I’d vote for learning yoursel...

Why would you take a job making less? Why not find a job making double? You’ve already proven you are worth $100k and you haven’t even shopped your skills around. (Or tried to run your own biz in a similar field) I think one thing that may help you...if you haven’t already...is to write out a budget with your wife. So you can see what you’re spending and both agree on what you can cut out in the WORST case scenario (to me that would be you not wanting to pull from your nest egg and you making $0) and still be comfortable. Other than that, what’re you going to do with the rest of your life? You’re not going to just sit around and watch Price is Right. Do some deep searching on what you WANT to do. Money will fall in place when you find a pas...

Personally I’d do option C

I’d refi and then pay even MORE than the $272 difference monthly. I’d want that mortgage gone just for my own peace of mind.

If having the money in taxable gives you the same peace, then do that.

Odds are the money in taxable will be better. But I’d personally take the 100% guarantee that paying my mortgage increases my net worth and decreases my debt.

That’s just me. I have risks in other areas of my life though...have 2 businesses and wife is self employed. So I’m taking that into account.

Just understand the risks and pick what’s best not just for numbers on paper but for your and your family’s personal peace of mind.