Search found 9374 matches
- Wed Mar 20, 2024 2:14 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Advice on choosing 2/3 day side trip from Paris in September
- Replies: 18
- Views: 1303
Re: Advice on choosing 2/3 day side trip from Paris in September
I really enjoyed Lyon. Didn't have any issues with the quality of the food or wine.
- Mon Mar 18, 2024 10:14 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: The NAR settlement doesn't mean what you think what it means
- Replies: 44
- Views: 4295
Re: The NAR settlement doesn't mean what you think what it means
• Residential real estate (which I did not practice) has a median pay equivalent to a Starbucks worker in every survey I've ever seen, and is famously high-turnover. I've never heard of a 'cartel' which doesn't pay much and where the supposed conspirators churn in and out in large numbers. Real estate brokerages are mostly small to mid-sized businesses, and the publicly traded ones where we have actual numbers are not unusually profitable or anything. It's not some kind of 'cartel' guys, it's.... a normal sales job in a normal sales industry It was found in violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, so I think referring to it as a cartel is defensible. And the average narcotics dealer and even drug gang leaders made surprisingly little money...
- Sun Mar 17, 2024 10:32 am
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Awesome Portfolio: 20% Stocks..20% Bonds..20% Cash..20%Real Estate, 20%Gold
- Replies: 51
- Views: 6270
Re: Awesome Portfolio: 20% Stocks..20% Bonds..20% Cash..20%Real Estate, 20%Gold
Sounds basically the same as the Permanent Portfolio with the addition of real estate
https://portfoliocharts.com/portfolios/ ... portfolio/
Seems like a reasonable portfolio, especially if the real estate portion is directly held.
https://portfoliocharts.com/portfolios/ ... portfolio/
Seems like a reasonable portfolio, especially if the real estate portion is directly held.
- Thu Mar 14, 2024 7:27 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: 5M, probably enough to retire to a frugal lifestyle
- Replies: 180
- Views: 15687
Re: 5M, probably enough to retire to a frugal lifestyle
Obviously a huge part of it is whether or not one has a paid off house, but either way, it's laughable. You can live off MM distributions alone right now and still make more than 90% of the population does in 1 year. 30% of Americans have virtually $0 to their name when they retire and rely on SS. The majority of Americans just have no idea what's necessary and what's a choice/luxury. A "frugal" lifestyle is cooking at home (and not a bunch of premade/ready meals) all but maybe one night a week, driving a 10 year old car, not taking a bunch of trips, wearing 5+ year old clothes, etc. And yes, you can do all of those things in coastal California. It's out-of-touch and quite frankly cringey when people say this stuff. Doing all tho...
- Thu Mar 14, 2024 7:25 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: 5M, probably enough to retire to a frugal lifestyle
- Replies: 180
- Views: 15687
Re: 5M, probably enough to retire to a frugal lifestyle
Not everybody can just up and move to Arkansas. Few would consider it particularly luxurious to live near family, considering that's long been the norm of human existence . KyleAAA, As per your family experience. My ancestor comes from a place that suffered 800+ famines across 800+years. It is a norm to leave your family in order to survive. It is a luxury to stay in one place. To you as a norm. To others is a luxury. Your experience and point of view is not necessary shared by others. To each its own. KlangFool I wasn't referring to my family experience, or anybody in particular's experience. It's objectively true that the vast majority of humanity has lived near family, since the beginning of time. That there exist some small sub-populat...
- Thu Mar 14, 2024 7:22 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: 5M, probably enough to retire to a frugal lifestyle
- Replies: 180
- Views: 15687
Re: 5M, probably enough to retire to a frugal lifestyle
You may be underestimating just how expensive coastal California is. One will definitely need a strict budget to raise a family on $150-170k pre-tax there. You may be underestimating just how expensive coastal California is. One will definitely need a strict budget to raise a family on $150-170k pre-tax there. +1. Does that include a paid off house? If so, can you please share an example budget for those of us who don't understand and can make some sense of what you and KyleAAA are trying to convey. Even if your house is paid off, it can easily cost $40-50k per year in taxes and maintenance on a normal 3br/2ba home in a VHCOL area like coastal California. Income taxes are also high. The emphasis on VHCOL should be on the V. Until you move ...
- Thu Mar 14, 2024 6:57 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: 5M, probably enough to retire to a frugal lifestyle
- Replies: 180
- Views: 15687
Re: 5M, probably enough to retire to a frugal lifestyle
Even if your house is paid off, it can easily cost $40-50k per year in taxes and maintenance on a normal 3br/2ba home in a VHCOL area like coastal California. Income taxes are also high. The emphasis on VHCOL should be on the V. Until you move from a MCOL city to a VHCOL city, it's hard to fathom just how much of a price jump it is. I only live in Seattle, which is much cheaper than the bay area, and my usual response to seeing a $1.2m teardown house is that I should probably buy 3 because it's such a good deal. KyleAAA, And, if you make enough money to live in that area with your lifestyle, more power to you. But, it is choice. It is a luxury. It is not a frugal life style. KlangFool Not everybody can just up and move to Arkansas. Few wou...
- Thu Mar 14, 2024 6:56 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: 5M, probably enough to retire to a frugal lifestyle
- Replies: 180
- Views: 15687
Re: 5M, probably enough to retire to a frugal lifestyle
You may be underestimating just how expensive coastal California is. One will definitely need a strict budget to raise a family on $150-170k pre-tax there. Yes and no. One thing that people rarely account for in discussions like these is the nuance of mortgage payments. People either project them into perpetuity, or they deduct the entire sticker price of the home from the nest egg. The reality might be quite different. I haven't clicked the link to the article, but I suspect if this person has $5m just laying around and is talking about raising a family, they probably already have a home with significant equity in it and fewer than 30 years of payments remaining. So even if a significant amount of that retirement income is going towards h...
- Thu Mar 14, 2024 6:50 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: 5M, probably enough to retire to a frugal lifestyle
- Replies: 180
- Views: 15687
Re: 5M, probably enough to retire to a frugal lifestyle
You may be underestimating just how expensive coastal California is. One will definitely need a strict budget to raise a family on $150-170k pre-tax there. You may be underestimating just how expensive coastal California is. One will definitely need a strict budget to raise a family on $150-170k pre-tax there. +1. Does that include a paid off house? If so, can you please share an example budget for those of us who don't understand and can make some sense of what you and KyleAAA are trying to convey. Even if your house is paid off, it can easily cost $40-50k per year in taxes and maintenance on a normal 3br/2ba home in a VHCOL area like coastal California. Income taxes are also high. The emphasis on VHCOL should be on the V. Until you move ...
- Thu Mar 14, 2024 4:58 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: 5M, probably enough to retire to a frugal lifestyle
- Replies: 180
- Views: 15687
Re: 5M, probably enough to retire to a frugal lifestyle
You may be underestimating just how expensive coastal California is. One will definitely need a strict budget to raise a family on $150-170k pre-tax there.
- Tue Mar 12, 2024 12:23 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Website Provider Recommendation
- Replies: 14
- Views: 1199
Re: Website Provider Recommendation
Web hosting for small sites like that are a commodity. It doesn't matter which you choose. Almost all will offer what you're requesting. Buy based on price.
- Fri Mar 08, 2024 10:56 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Getting Vanguard website to work for me
- Replies: 11
- Views: 1340
Re: Getting Vanguard website to work for me
Is there an error on the Chrome developer tools console when whatever error you're running into happens? If so, that might be helpful to customer support. Vanguard is not going to be able to help diagnose computer problems. Unless other people experience the same problem , the assumption is going to be that it’s a unique issue with OP’s system. And I doubt other brokerages offer computer tech support either. OP, can you do other functions, like exchange between funds or buy shares? You can test these things up until you reach the Submit screen and then choose Cancel. Are you selling to your settlement fund or to your bank or via a mailed check? At a competent webdev shop it would be very helpful. No need for them to make assumptions. If my...
- Thu Mar 07, 2024 6:29 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Dot.Com Era/AI Era?
- Replies: 309
- Views: 29615
Re: Dot.Com Era/AI Era?
It was true in the last 90s though, wasn't it? There have been untold riches won from the internet. It will be the same with AI. Doesn't mean everyone will share in the riches equally.LaurenRose wrote: ↑Mon Feb 26, 2024 1:09 pm proclaims AI as the dawning of a new era, a change to overcome all previous changes with untold riches lying just ahead.
I remember hearing this....in the late 90s up to 2000 +, so I feel like I've seen this movie before.
- Thu Mar 07, 2024 2:52 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Getting Vanguard website to work for me
- Replies: 11
- Views: 1340
Re: Getting Vanguard website to work for me
Is there an error on the Chrome developer tools console when whatever error you're running into happens? If so, that might be helpful to customer support.
- Wed Feb 28, 2024 4:10 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: What inferior good do you love?
- Replies: 232
- Views: 25942
Re: What inferior good do you love?
I love my American Tele, but no way is it 10x better than the Bullet.Doctor Rhythm wrote: ↑Thu Feb 15, 2024 12:20 pmWent to a Guitar Center for the first time in many years, and realized I could now afford any guitar on the wall. Walked out with the cheapest guitar in the store: a red sparkle Bullet Tele.
- Tue Feb 27, 2024 1:00 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Feel like I won the "game" at 41---Thoughts on Future Asset Allocation
- Replies: 21
- Views: 3992
Re: Feel like I won the "game" at 41---Thoughts on Future Asset Allocation
Assuming you both want to remain retired, I'd up the equity allocation to at least 50%. Even with a 2% withdrawal rate I'd be uncomfortable with a super-low equity allocation given the time horizon you're looking at. Were I in that situation I'd probably be 60-70% equity.
- Mon Feb 26, 2024 12:28 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: 24 year old- money problems
- Replies: 50
- Views: 6493
Re: 24 year old- money problems
You're doing pretty well. I don't see any red flags here at all. The interest rate on your car loan is higher than you'd like to see, but it's a recent, reliable vehicle you'll easily be able to drive for 10+ years, so that looks fine. You have a 3-month emergency fund. You can move home if you'd like but it seems like you can manage just fine without moving back home. Have you considered getting a roommate to cut your housing expense rather that moving back home? Living with roommates for a lot of your 20s to save money is a time-honored tradition. But if you're willing and your parents don't mind sure, go for it. You should be able to quickly eliminate all your debt if you go that route.
- Sat Feb 24, 2024 10:14 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Tech Compensation
- Replies: 39
- Views: 5258
Re: Tech Compensation
Yes, it's true. Anf not just in the bay area.Whether or not it will still be true in 15 years, I don't know.
- Thu Feb 15, 2024 11:46 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: What inferior good do you love?
- Replies: 232
- Views: 25942
Re: What inferior good do you love?
Any guitar made by Squier.
- Tue Feb 13, 2024 6:28 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: First time owing federal taxes
- Replies: 45
- Views: 4456
Re: First time owing federal taxes
You can withhold a little more from your paycheck or make quarterly estimated tax payments. But an $800 overpayment isn't a big deal. Just set aside money each year and pay it in April. Why give up an interest-free loan? Owing a small amount each year is the best possible outcome.
- Wed Feb 07, 2024 3:19 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Why don't hiring managers offer their best offer?
- Replies: 9
- Views: 1171
Re: Why don't hiring managers offer their best offer?
I was changing jobs and had multiple offers in the area. I dropped a few from the get go and was interested in remaining three because I liked the team etc. I let all three of them know that I have competing offers and should give me their best offer. All of them gave me revised offer. I accepted one and, as soon as I finished the process, I let the other two know that I accepted another offer and will not be moving forward. Both are now saying they will match AND EXCEED the offer I accepted. Obviously I will not renege on the offer I accepted and am moving forward with it. Question : if hiring managers have the budget, why wouldn't they just give me their best from the get go?? Please help me understand this if you have some experience wi...
- Tue Feb 06, 2024 12:17 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: What's your allocation for International Stocks?
- Replies: 101
- Views: 7513
Re: What's your allocation for International Stocks?
International is 30% of total portfolio and 42.8% of equities. Within that international allocation, 41.67% is in VXUS, another 41.67% in AVDV, and the remaining 16.66% in DGS.
- Fri Feb 02, 2024 3:59 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: China trip paranoia [visa requirements]
- Replies: 68
- Views: 6532
Re: China trip paranoia
We are ending a cruise in Beijing area this April. I thought it would be good to stay in Beijing for a few nights on our own post cruise since we have never been to China. Now I see we need visa’s. I see everyone posting about them hacking our phones and iPad. I see some saying they won’t accept cc or cash. I am beginning to think we should just go home at the end of the cruise and forget the add on I booked at the Marriott. The cruise begins in Hong Kong and goes to Japan, Taiwan and S.Korea. I don’t believe we need visa’s for those. Thanks. I went to China on business and the visa was pretty easy to get. But you should apply now since it might take a few weeks. I didn't have any trouble using my credit card, but for small shops/restauran...
- Thu Feb 01, 2024 4:24 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Capital One 2 Factor verification
- Replies: 18
- Views: 14064
Re: Capital One 2 Factor verification
If you are referring to Capital One 360, I believe their terms only permit one checking account per person. This isn’t true. We have multiple 360 checking accounts. Maybe this? https://www.capitalone.com/identity-protection/swiftid/ I’ve never seen a way to enable this, alas. Maybe it’s what people are being invited to? They do offer push notifications to your mobile app where you need to confirm it's you if it detects a suspicious login https://www.capitalone.com/learn-grow/privacy-security/two-factor-authentication/ This is better than nothing, and it does seem to work. I’ve had it enabled for a couple of years. I don’t like that it basically never triggers. You can’t require it on every login. Yeah, I essentially need to connect to a VP...
- Thu Feb 01, 2024 12:28 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Capital One 2 Factor verification
- Replies: 18
- Views: 14064
Re: Capital One 2 Factor verification
They do offer push notifications to your mobile app where you need to confirm it's you if it detects a suspicious loginJeev1 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 01, 2024 12:04 pm seems like Capitol One is still without 2FA or similar option in 2024!
I called today, the rep took a while to understand what I was asking about; came back to say Capitol One only offers it case by case.
Anyone else is concerned about the bank not offering 2FA ?
https://www.capitalone.com/learn-grow/p ... ntication/
- Tue Jan 23, 2024 4:22 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: How much is owned real estate (primary/secondary homes) as a percent of your net worth?
- Replies: 113
- Views: 9016
- Fri Jan 19, 2024 1:51 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: At what invested net worth do contributions start to matter less?
- Replies: 48
- Views: 8342
Re: At what invested net worth do contributions start to matter less?
When your portfolio is 10-12x your annual contributions, investment returns will start outweigh new contributions most years. You might even have some negative years despite new contributions.
- Wed Jan 10, 2024 5:24 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: How big a portfolio is okay for 100% stock?
- Replies: 115
- Views: 21774
Re: How big a portfolio is okay for 100% stock?
I think it's okay for any portfolio size, but it may be unsafe if you don't have much wiggle room with your expenses. I think if you get down to a 1% withdrawal rate, it's probably safe to do so. I'd probably still keep 10% or so in short term bonds or cash no matter what, but that's just me.
- Sat Jan 06, 2024 10:27 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: 10 year old wants to sit with me when I do taxes . Should I let him?
- Replies: 98
- Views: 16779
Re: 10 year old wants to sit with me when I do taxes . Should I let him?
If the kid is interested, I can't think of a compelling reason not to let them sit with you. Seems like a great opportunity to teach them about something they'll need to know anyway. Who cares if they blab about how much you make? It's not like it would be difficult for people to figure out about how much you make if they're interested, anyway. The taboo against discussing money is irrational.
- Fri Jan 05, 2024 12:12 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: New to investing in taxable accounts. Help appreciated.
- Replies: 23
- Views: 6381
Re: New to investing in taxable accounts. Help appreciated.
I have a son who works for Google and gets RSU's. You would immediately sell those once they vest? If so why? I don't want to own individual stock, especially in my own company. While Google is probably not going out of business there is always Enron risk. The question your son should ask when his RSUs vest is "If someone gave me money right now would I use it to buy company stock?" If the answer is yes then leave the RSUs as company stock, otherwise sell. A little story. About 40 years ago my wife worked for a grocery store in Florida named Publix. They were allowed to buy stock in the company (it's not a public company). Her dad gave her $10,000 as a one time investment to buy stock for him. Today after splits that stock is wor...
- Thu Jan 04, 2024 11:14 am
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: How did you make your first $1M?
- Replies: 148
- Views: 35561
Re: How did you make your first $1M?
Got a decent paying job and saved 35-40% of gross income every year. Took 13ish years. Got very unlucky with real estate bought in the year or two before 2008 or it would have been much faster.
- Wed Dec 27, 2023 10:09 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: How to withdraw $430,000. for daughter's down payment gift.
- Replies: 36
- Views: 5859
Re: How to withdraw $430,000. for daughter's down payment gift.
The 15% capital gains tax bracket stacks up to $492k in 2023, so you might come close to filling that up given your need to raise $420k plus the income you already received. It might be beneficial to split the sales over 2 tax years. But you can net losses against gains so your total gain is probably a lot lower than that. The best course of action tax-wise would be to liquidate all $162k in credit union savings and taxable brokerage cash and then sell every tax lot with a loss from your taxable brokerage account. Can you make your RMD early in the year and use that as well? You're already paying tax on that money anyway. From there, pick the tax lots with the lowest gains to raise the rest of the funds. Paying some tax is probably inevita...
- Tue Dec 26, 2023 12:12 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: How to withdraw $430,000. for daughter's down payment gift.
- Replies: 36
- Views: 5859
Re: How to withdraw $430,000. for daughter's down payment gift.
The 15% capital gains tax bracket stacks up to $492k in 2023, so you might come close to filling that up given your need to raise $420k plus the income you already received. It might be beneficial to split the sales over 2 tax years. But you can net losses against gains so your total gain is probably a lot lower than that. The best course of action tax-wise would be to liquidate all $162k in credit union savings and taxable brokerage cash and then sell every tax lot with a loss from your taxable brokerage account. Can you make your RMD early in the year and use that as well? You're already paying tax on that money anyway. From there, pick the tax lots with the lowest gains to raise the rest of the funds. Paying some tax is probably inevitab...
- Sun Dec 24, 2023 1:20 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Men's travel pants recommendation.
- Replies: 76
- Views: 9285
- Mon Dec 18, 2023 7:19 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: I Messed Up How Do I Get Back In
- Replies: 97
- Views: 20954
Re: I Messed Up How Do I Get Back In
The market is definitely NOT “so high now.” It’s right around fair value if not just slightly undervalued. Just do it. Hello. Where can I find this information. Every metric I seem to find states the current valuation of the stock market to be significantly overvalued. https://www.morningstar.com/market-fair-value I note the following phrase in Morningstar's writeup: "Morningstar’s estimate of its fair value." Can I assume that there is, somewhere, an explanation of why Morningstar's estimate is more accurate than the actual prices set by the market? Do they expect market price to catch up to their value estimate? How long might that take? If your contention is that the market price always reflects fair value, there's no point us...
- Mon Dec 18, 2023 6:16 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: I Messed Up How Do I Get Back In
- Replies: 97
- Views: 20954
Re: I Messed Up How Do I Get Back In
https://www.morningstar.com/market-fair-value
- Sun Dec 17, 2023 12:18 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: I Messed Up How Do I Get Back In
- Replies: 97
- Views: 20954
Re: I Messed Up How Do I Get Back In
The market is definitely NOT “so high now.” It’s right around fair value if not just slightly undervalued. Just do it.
- Fri Dec 15, 2023 12:36 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: VPAS [is adding] fees [for smaller accounts] should I downgrade to robo?
- Replies: 59
- Views: 7325
Re: Vanguard new platform
What are the old and new platforms specifically you're referring to here? I think people assume you mean the old mutual fund platform and the new brokerage platform. If that's is indeed what you're referring to, they've been trying to get everyone off the mutual fund platform for years now. They are probably trying to force smaller accounts off by charging fees to offset the additional costs they generate for Vanguard. Expect the mutual fund platform to become less and less convenient/cost effective over time. It's probably worth letting larger accounts stay on the old mutual fund platform for now, but it's likely they'll eventually be forced off, too. If you're referring to one of the PAS platforms, I have no idea. Maybe the same general i...
- Sat Dec 09, 2023 9:47 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: How to convince parents of the dangers of financial advisors/fees?
- Replies: 147
- Views: 33581
Re: How to convince parents of the dangers of financial advisors/fees?
What dangers are you referring to? Your parents will likely underperform over time by about the amount of the added expenses. They are paying for a service. If the service is worth it to them, why are you getting involved? Arguing over a 1 year return is silly and counter productive.
- Fri Dec 08, 2023 3:31 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: What Will It Take for International Equities to Significantly Outperform?
- Replies: 69
- Views: 8567
Re: What Will It Take for International Equities to Significantly Outperform?
The dollar to lose value vs a basket of other currencies should do the trick.
- Thu Dec 07, 2023 3:48 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: T5 engineering school or in-state T35 with full-ride?
- Replies: 285
- Views: 41342
Re: T5 engineering school or in-state T35 with full-ride?
2. The big difference is going to to be in the "average" or below average students. I have a large network of GT alums, most in the 20-25 year post-graduate range. I'm struggling to think of anyone who likely makes less than $150k per year (I obviously don't know exact salaries, just going based on jobs and what I know about them), and most live in MCOL, not California, NYC, etc. Large majority are over $200k. Many had below average GPAs. Of the many UF grads I know, I can't think of any that likely make more than $200k - granted most were not engineering majors. 3. People regularly say school only matters for your first job. As a blanket statement, this is patently FALSE . It depends on the hiring manager, but I think this is so...
- Tue Dec 05, 2023 2:57 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: How to hedge cash?
- Replies: 13
- Views: 1820
Re: How to hedge cash?
I would argue stocks are objectively NOT overpriced, especially smaller and value stocks. But even the S&P 500 is not overpriced. If you want to partially hedge against dollar-denominated cash deposits I guess you could buy a basket of unhedged short-term foreign government bonds denominated in foreign currencies? Not sure that would be any worse than precious metals or commodities. Maybe a bit of all 3? Short-term TIPS would also be a good choice: VTIP has a duration under 2.5 years.
- Tue Dec 05, 2023 12:51 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Just saw harsh criticism of Vanguard VMFXX
- Replies: 36
- Views: 5696
Re: Just saw harsh criticism of Vanguard VMFXX
Vanguard is required by law to publish the 7-day yield, so that's not a valid criticism. Similarly, what goes into the published expense ratio is controlled by the SEC. Vanguard publishes what they are required to publish. Whether or not you should invest in a money market fund in general is of course a reasonable thing to debate. But as money market funds go, VMFXX is an excellent one.
- Mon Dec 04, 2023 12:15 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: T5 engineering school or in-state T35 with full-ride?
- Replies: 285
- Views: 41342
Re: T5 engineering school or in-state T35 with full-ride?
One other thought - I hate looking at these choices solely from a ROI standpoint. Which school is a better fit for DD? My son who went into Computer Science was not a great student in high school. I live in Georgia and he likely could have gotten into Georgia Tech because admission standards are lower for in state students which are about 60% of the students admitted. He would have struggled a lot and started out low in his class and in retrospect realistically there is a good chance that he would not have graduated from Georgia Tech. DS is at GT now and has really enjoyed his time. I will say that one downside of GT, which is the same for most publics, is that there will be a high percentage of instate kids and they will not be at the sam...
- Sun Dec 03, 2023 8:53 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Should I pay cash for a house or keep funds in the market?
- Replies: 30
- Views: 4189
Re: Should I pay cash for a house or keep funds in the market?
Everybody gets the standard deduction, so there's only a marginal benefit to deducting mortgage interest after you have enough deductions to exceed it. If you only paid $15k in interest and don't have any other deductions, you essentially can't deduct any of it.yosemite_mountain wrote: ↑Sun Dec 03, 2023 4:31 pmIs this the correct way to calculate how much mortgage interest can be deducted? Trying to understand why the standard deduction being high would matter.
- Sun Dec 03, 2023 10:24 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Should I pay cash for a house or keep funds in the market?
- Replies: 30
- Views: 4189
Re: Should I pay cash for a house or keep funds in the market?
At 7.5% I'd be tempted to pay cash, especially since the standard deduction is so high these days you might not even get to deduct a good chunk of the interest. If rates move down significantly you can always do a cash out refinance so it's not like you're permanently taking leverage iff the table.
- Fri Dec 01, 2023 5:12 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: T5 engineering school or in-state T35 with full-ride?
- Replies: 285
- Views: 41342
Re: T5 engineering school or in-state T35 with full-ride?
I moved from Atlanta to Seattle. I owned a house in Atlanta and bought a house in VHCOL Seattle. VHCOL wins by a mile in terms of ability to save.chinchin wrote: ↑Fri Dec 01, 2023 3:44 pmNow do home prices in the Bay Area and Silicon Valley vs Florida and Georgia.acegolfer wrote: ↑Fri Dec 01, 2023 2:01 pmOne of the main reasons why DW keeps arguing that we should pay $300k for UCB is because of this stat. But I don't trust these stats 100%.MMiroir wrote: ↑Fri Dec 01, 2023 11:26 am https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
For electrical engineering, the early career figures are as follows:
Florida: $91,478
Georgia Tech: $96,402
Cal: $202,911
- Fri Dec 01, 2023 5:11 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: T5 engineering school or in-state T35 with full-ride?
- Replies: 285
- Views: 41342
Re: T5 engineering school or in-state T35 with full-ride?
Undergraduate engineering ranking is pretty meaningless - overall ranking is more meaningful, but still you are right to not put too much weight on them. Stanford or MIT, because they are top 5 universities, are another tier (though not worth $300k), but Florida vs Georgia Tech or Berkeley is largely a matter of geography. For engineering, both Berkley and GT >> Florida. They are elite engineering schools, in the same neighborhood as Stanford and MIT. Florida is a decent state flagship. We can all look at rankings, but what do those rankings really mean? To me, it would mean that we paid $200K out of pocket for something that could have been obtained for $0 in state. How many years would it take to get a ROI of that $200K to say my piece o...
- Fri Dec 01, 2023 5:09 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Private equity being prioritized by ultra wealthy, but is that the right allocation for a couple w a net worth of 1.5m?
- Replies: 35
- Views: 6326
Re: Private equity being prioritized by ultra wealthy, but is that the right allocation for a couple w a net worth of 1.
Maybe Vanguard or similar upstart will disrupt private equity and drive down costs while increasing access just like they did for mutual funds, but that's a ways off. With $1.5mm to invest you probably won't even have access to the good private equity funds to begin with, and certainly won't be able to do so at reasonable cost. If you have $100mm, that's maybe a different story.
- Fri Dec 01, 2023 1:53 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: T5 engineering school or in-state T35 with full-ride?
- Replies: 285
- Views: 41342
Re: T5 engineering school or in-state T35 with full-ride?
+1 UF. It is also ranked #6 public university if that makes you feel better. The money you save by not going out-of-state can be used to help subsidize a co-op program or summer internships (either of which are *highly* recommended) or future grad school. Plus, don't discount the potential value of being in-state and having friends/family closer to help her when times get tough (which always happens). Good luck to your DD! Correct, it's true that, as far as overall university is concerned, UF is ranked higher than GT. But to us, that stat is not important. If we give any weight on ranking, it will be engineering undergraduate ranking, which is what my T5 vs T35 are based on. Personally, I (as a college prof) don't put much weight on these ...