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Another vote for fisher house. Very tangible benefit for vets in our community.

You can help us out by providing the names as well as the tickets for less well known funds.

I’m interested in this topic as well. Just starting to invest in taxable accounts so it seems like the time is ripe to learn more.

Your business. But you're committing financial hara-kiri here. Together, the present combination of your finances is awful, but you're also planning an imminent purchase of a house and immediately having children. There is absolutely no positive financial spin to put on this. [OT comments removed b...

With kids that age Legoland is the place to be.

If you plan to head back to school in a couple years you could sell the single stocks at that time when you have low/no income.

Yes. Determine your asset allocation and proceed.

I don’t know about the twin cities area, but we pay our nanny $17.50/hr for 3 kids. She works 45-50 hours/week. She gets 4 weeks of paid vacation/year (almost exclusively when we take vacation). I use GTM as our payroll service and have been pleased. We do some summer camps to give the kids some tim...

I invest in international bonds because part of our retirement funds are in Vanguard target date. I am OK with this because I believe a currency hedged international bond fund allows for an effective way to obtain exposure to foreign interest rate cycles that are different from US interest rate cycl...

This is your girlfriends decision. She almost certainly knew the salary would be lower in this clinic when she signed the contract and has probably thought about it. She may/may not value your opinion on the topic — tread carefully.

Yes. And don’t get hung up on the post to get a toyota or Honda. I have the sienna and would comment vaunted toyota reliability is questionable. My brother has the Pacifica and it’s nice.

I will be that guy. More complete information from you will help folks to provide more informed and helpful opinions.

Asking portfolio questions:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6212

I would do two things. 1) start interviewing new realtors. Your current one is not helping matters. Listen to what they say about the condition of the house and it’s pricing. 2) get a book from the library on home staging. I strongly suspect a problem there. If your house is being compared to new h...

Good thing you wisely have your emergency fund?

Complex situation. Several thoughts. 1. Difficult to say what your asset allocation is without knowing the funds you are in. 50/50 target is reasonable if considering retiring in the near term (<5 years). 2. The taxable account may be difficult to unwind without substantial tax implications if there...

Thank you for the update. My wife and I have used (still do) a financial planner to help us talk through a financial plan. Really helped us get on the same page.

Probably somewhat discordant with the other comments, but don’t wait until you think you can afford kids before you have them. You’ll never feel like you can afford them. Kids will come with chaos which will impact your financial plan and your savings. Embrace it. It will probably even be years when...

No one has mentioned volatility risk which I think is important in assessing risk of a portfolio. Consider the following 2 examples investing $10,000: Portfolio A has an annual return of 5%. At the end of the first year you have $10,500. At the end of the second year you have $11,025. Compound annua...

My advice would be to get your fill of in-theater movies and nice restaurants now. Also, if you haven't gotten a rocker, I'd suggest one like this: https://chicago.craigslist.org/nwi/bab/d/portage-fisher-price-bunny-infant-to/6860796145.html For the first few months my son would only sleep on someo...

For what it’s worth his asset allocation may be appropriate if his goal is to transfer wealth to heirs.

70/30

As an Oregon resident I use the Oregon 529 though currently only contribute to the deduction limit. My view is that it offsets the *slightly* higher cost. Additionally, the fund selection is markedly improved with the new services. FYI: The deduction limit for married filing jointly couples in 2018 ...

Here's a contrarian view...I vote you keep your stuff, keep your house... Just stop buying new stuff. Get rid of the storage units, so your stuff is not costing you month after month. I agree with keeping the stuff. You wanted it at one time and might in the future. My garage has some items like th...

The first time I tried to do our taxes after hiring a nanny we were audited. We ended up getting approximately $3,500 cash back as I had over paid. Now we use an accountant. Money well $pent.

8foot7 wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 25, 2019 1:15 pm

Edit: I remember how I put it to my wife at the time, four years of a nanny is a paid-off rental home somewhere nearby.

This ignores that you are still paying for childcare somehow.

We have kids and live out of state from the grandparents. We have student loans and a home mortgage. We us much (though not all) of our tax advantaged retirement space. We still buy plane tickets to visit the our folks a couple times per year as their health could fail and the kids are growing up qu...

Kiwi crate for the 4 year old if you’re looking for something “pricier”. Or just a pile of art supplies including safety scissors.

At 2 a little people zoo or some board books.

The reason they are unlikely to negotiate is because you contractually owe them more. The negotiation on the principal has already occurred between you and the bank. Selling a loan to a third party is a different negotiation. The third-party still expects to see the full principal Plus collecting th...

My thought: necessary until financially independent (i.e. your kids are grown and your spouse is taken care of). A gross number is probably significant debts + annual expenses x 20 (or 25). Personally, I got 20 year term 5 years ago with first child. Having 3rd soon and going through the process aga...

Her school likely has loan counseling officers. Sometimes financial education (or at least an understanding of the loan burden and payoff options) can start there. This may also be a case for an hourly financial planner to help discuss and explain options (one with a fiduciary responsibility). Eithe...