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You mentioned earlier in the thread that the Lexus image wasn't your style. Given that, I'd take a hard look at the Toyota Venza. Many consider it a Lexus in Toyota clothing.

Am I correct that about 80% of equities should be in the C Fund and the other 20% be in the S fund? Should I be using only one of the G or F funds or a mix? And if it’s a mix, at what percentage should that be? If you're trying to mimic a total US market fund, then 80/20 C/S is a good analogue. If you're considering 100% equities, I assume you have a long investing career ahead of you or you have a significant amount of safe assets in other accounts. If not, maybe a 60/40 portfolio might be more appropriate. I've been 30% C, 15% S, 15% I, and 40% G since my mid 40s (last 13 years) and it has served me well. The diversification of the I fund has helped recently and the G fund allocation helps me not worry about the markets. I may not have d...

I had a set of Katzkin covers in my Tacoma and they were great. Very durable and you couldn't tell they were covers. They were pretty difficult to install since they fit so tight/precisely, but worth it. Held up great to all sorts of abuse. https://katzkin.com/what-do-you-drive/honda-seat-covers/ What did they cost? When I play with their website, it seems it wants me to submit info and get contacted by a salesperson. Just trying to get a feel for now. Did you self install? Snug fit, looks like OEM? How much time to install? Any rips/tears when you installed? Sewing needed, or zippers, or just slipover, or what? I did mine back in 2016. Looks like they no longer have a self-install option. They were around $800 at the time. Looks like a pr...

I had a set of Katzkin covers in my Tacoma and they were great. Very durable and you couldn't tell they were covers.

They were pretty difficult to install since they fit so tight/precisely, but worth it. Held up great to all sorts of abuse.

https://katzkin.com/what-do-you-drive/h ... at-covers/

MrJedi wrote: ↑Wed Jan 18, 2023 1:20 pm You don't want to take advantage of a federal tax deduction?

I agree--OP should reevaluate the benefit of the federal deduction as his salary and tax brackets increase.

Does NJ give any tax break when pulling money out of TSP, ie no tax on earnings? You still get the Federal tax deferral with Traditional TSP contributions. I believe they don't tax your contributions since they've already been taxed by the state. Earnings would be taxed. I remember hearing about this about 10 years ago from a former employee. It has something to do with the fact that the TSP wasn't established under the laws that govern 401Ks. NJ allows deductions for 401K contributions, but not traditional IRAs and treats the TSP as such. Pretty crummy for Feds in the state. The OP is correct that the match currently goes to traditional only. I think it's still worthwhile to make sure you're getting the full 5% match by contributing to th...

You might also consider a collectibles policy outside of your homeowners insurance provider. When I had a large gun collection, I found it was much more affordable than a rider on my homeowners policy.

I used Collectible Insurance Services https://collectinsure.com/

BizarroJerry wrote: ↑Thu Jan 05, 2023 8:57 am
I just took a look at the fees and it seems the SP500 index fund has an expense ratio of 0.015 and the small and mid cap funds have an expense ratio of 0.05. Those are the 3 funds I hold in the 401k with allocations to approximate total stock market.

Update: I checked the hidden fees and the all in fees make the TSP the natural choice. Or perhaps rolling it into a traditional IRA as a second option

I believe you said you were considering Roth conversions at some point, so make sure you look into the "pro rata" rule before creating a traditional IRA and rolling over deductible 401K funds.

If I were to do a rollover, would you recommend just rolling it into the traditional TSP? Yes, with an upcoming marriage and a new house on the horizon, I wouldn't prioritize a Roth conversion right now. If you really want to do a conversion down the road however, you probably need to leave the money in your current plan as the TSP doesn't allow for in-plan conversions. But, you've got lots of time to make Roth contributions in the future as well. Makes perfect sense! I wanted to check the fees I paid for my 401k in 2022. Looks like after maxing it out at 20,500, the fees were about 42 dollars. And the funds are in Vanguard Small Cap, Vanguard Mid Cap and SP500 index fund to approximate total stock market. Would it eventually make sense to...

BizarroJerry wrote: ↑Thu Jan 05, 2023 8:57 am If I were to do a rollover, would you recommend just rolling it into the traditional TSP?

Yes, with an upcoming marriage and a new house on the horizon, I wouldn't prioritize a Roth conversion right now. If you really want to do a conversion down the road however, you probably need to leave the money in your current plan as the TSP doesn't allow for in-plan conversions. But, you've got lots of time to make Roth contributions in the future as well.

Also, should I leave my traditional 401k I had with my old company, or should I try and roll it over into the TSP? I did not want to have to sell anything in the 401k to do so. Should I just leave it alone? It is not as if I could get more compounding from having it all in one account versus having my traditional old 401k, Roth IRA and now TSP? Also for the TSP, I am thinking of just doing the 2055 target date L fund. I'd take a look at the fees for your current 401K and decide from there whether or not to roll it into the TSP. You shouldn't be out of the market for long with a direct rollover. I believe the current expense ratio for the G and C fund is 4.3 bps. The L 2055 isn't a bad choice and has reasonable fees (4.8 bps), but I prefer ...

I think all of your goals are great, but I'd try to shift your thinking a bit and talk more in terms of financial independence versus retirement. Age 62 is a long ways off for you and lots of things can happen along the road of life. The sooner you can reach financial independence, the sooner you will control your life. Based on the fact that you're currently debt free and plan to save at a high rate, I think you can get there much sooner than 62. We can't really answer the question of "will this be considered “enough” to retire comfortably?" for you. You're going to have to "imagine" your future life and what expenses will look like at that point which is nearly impossible since many things can happen in 30 years (kids,...

Just one more thought regarding your dilemma. It sounds like the remote work aspects of the new job are important to you. While tools like Zoom, MS Teams, Skype, etc. have made interacting remotely easier, it hasn't helped employees make meaningful connections with co-workers and supervisors. Most of the people I interact with on a daily basis refuse to turn on their cameras, so you lose out on one aspect of communication. If your goal is to progress rapidly, you'll need to find a way to overcome the distance/unfamiliarity that comes with remote work. You'll need to get "face-time" not only with your supervisor, but also other leaders in the organization. Maybe that comes with traveling to in-person meetings or making sure you att...

Swansea wrote: ↑Sun Jan 01, 2023 6:51 amPromotions are very much an Agency specific, as some Agencies are more generously funded than others. So that is an issue which needs to be explored.

True. And it can be very regional. Places like the National Capital Region or the major DoD acquisition centers (Wright Patterson AFB, Warren MI, Huntsville, AL, etc.) will have different opportunities compared to a small GSA outpost or Corps of Engineers location in small town USA. It's very hard for someone to assess all of the complexities regarding agencies/locations from the outside.

I work in the DoD acquisition field alongside many 1102s. In our agency, the 7/9/11 development program folks spend those first 3 years in lots of training/rotations with low expectations regarding job performance. If you're enthusiastic/motivated, you will easily make it to the 11 grade. I've also seen many junior folks move up to the GS-13/14 level very quickly if they perform well. The ones that are average stay Contracts Specialists for most of their career at the 11/12 level doing contract modifications which require plenty of mundane analysis/paperwork/coordination. The ones that excel get moved into Procuring Contracting Officer positions at the 13/14 level where they're responsible for overseeing the work of the Specialists as well ...

Based on what you wrote, it doesn't sound like you have it in you to continue in your current situation. If you are financially able to take the cut, it sounds like you'd be far better off mentally/physically with the new job. You didn't mention what series the new position is, but if it's something that translates to the private sector well, you'd still have options to go back if you changed your mind down the road. I'm currently a Govvie getting close to retirement and while it hasn't been all rainbows and unicorns, I've enjoyed my career and the people I've worked with. I'm also a supervisor and wouldn't let everything you hear about the pitfalls of supervision in the Government put you off of considering opportunities should they arise....

Apparently, it's not just very small or rural areas. Somewhere around 6-8 months ago, our 2-3 day Prime deliveries started taking 8-10 days. I'm in a city of around 60K within a few miles of a larger city of 200K. In most cases, it's not the actual transit time that increased but the amount of time it takes to fulfill the order and get it to the post office that has gone way up. One of my sons is in a remote town of 35K and is still getting his deliveries in 2-5 days. The other son is in a major metro area and gets consistent 2 day deliveries. I don't understand why the time for them to process/fulfill the order at the warehouse would be so different based on the ultimate destination. For things I've needed fairly quickly, I've started goin...

For anyone reading this thread, there have been several posters that say you should just buy a DIY kit and plug it at home. While this can be fine for a short term fix, please don't install a plug for a permanent fix.

The link below is one of many sources that explain the risks:

https://ricksfreeautorepairadvice.com/t ... ug-a-tire/

Somethingwitty92912 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 30, 2021 7:34 am Freedom.

Yep, just like Rob Berger says: "The best thing money can buy is financial freedom".

Being that this is the Bogleheads forum, I expected to see more responses like "the $25K I invested in VTSAX 20 years ago that's now worth $125K"

It's got a pretty large capacity compared to a typical passenger car (8.5 quarts).

If you buy a quality Diesel oil like Rotella T-6 at $30/gallon and a good filter at $10, you're talking $75 or so in supplies. I'd think total price to have someone do it for you would be in the $125-$175 range depending on location and whether it's a dealer or independent shop.

exigent wrote: ↑Mon Dec 12, 2022 9:19 am Not that we’re voting, but… Another vote for Aeropress.

Hey! Trying to steal the election? You can't vote twice

I like the Hario Switch. You get the benefits of an immersion brew without the messiness of the Aeropress.

https://www.amazon.com/Hario-Coffee-Dri ... =8-26&th=1

Agree with the above poster--age can be just as damaging as high mileage.

Expect that many of the seals in the engine/transmission will leak and many of the plastic/rubber parts will be brittle/rotted. I'd also inspect closely for rodent damage as much as this car has sat.

I need to do a tooth extraction and dental implant for next year due to a root canal infection. Not urgent but would need to be done sooner than later. I am getting estimates of around $6,000 for everything as it's considered major procedure. Which Fed dental plan would be suitable for such procedures? I had an extraction/implant done a few years back when I had GEHA High. Although the literature said they pay 50% for major procedures, it's 50% of their allowable rate for the procedure. In my case, that was significantly less than what my Oral Surgeon charged for the work. They also would only cover local anesthetic instead of the light sedation/anesthesia my surgeon recommended for the extraction due to the condition of the tooth (he said...

If you do go plug-in, I'd recommend making sure your electrician installs a quality/rugged receptacle.

The Leviton 14-50 receptacle is around $15, but it's really best for things like ranges where you won't be plugging/unplugging on a frequent basis and wearing the components.

People that install EV chargers for a living recommend Hubbell or Bryant 14-50 receptacles as they're built to handle being used. I believe the Bryant will run you around $50 from Grainger and the Hubbell is closer to $100. I've read that they're nearly identical.

Not knowing you're current career trajectory, I'd just caution against any plan/timeline that might involve staying in past 20 years. During my time in the AF (1985-2006) I saw several folks get burned when they were depending on being able to stay past 20. The services do a poor job of projecting/managing their officer end strengths and they end up doing things like Force Shaping and Selective Early Retirement Boards. I knew several good dudes that didn't make the cut and were given a mandatory retirement date 6 months later. You became eligible during the 2011 boards if you were an O-5 twice passed over for O-6 or if you had 4 years in grade as an O-6. Some career fields where they were over strength got severely whacked. Regarding mainta...

Try going to

https://oam.tsp.gov

Login and then click on “more online account settings”

bloom2708 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 15, 2022 2:47 pm I put inexpensive Kasa brand switches in each bedroom. Alexa, turn off light XYZ.

We also have several Wemo brand wall plugs to turn on off lights via Alexa or Siri.

All have worked well with no connection issues.

Same. Kasa switches and Wemo plugs are working well for us after 2 years installed.

I Bonds aren't a good choice if you need the money in 12 months.

While you can cash them after holding for 1 year, you lose the last 3 months of interest if held less than 5 years. Not worth the hassle IMO.

Here's some good recommendations. Check out their other articles/forums for some solid info

https://dashcamtalk.com/best-dash-cams-of-2022/

boogiehead wrote: ↑Mon Aug 15, 2022 3:58 pm What about the times you bought the warranty and ended up not using it? Are you still coming out ahead when you add those up?

I think this is key. If you go without the extended warranty for everything, all the time, you're probably going to come out ahead in the aggregate.

I've contracted for them, but no user experience. Axon and Motorola are the big players in the LE market. They're really meant for large deployments and integration with other equipment like Tasers, light bars, door activations, etc. You might be able to buy one on ebay and run it in offline mode where it's not syncing up with a department evidence server. Patroleyes is another lower level player.

You'll probably get better answers if you list a few desired features: discrete, low light, video quality, auto-record, size, etc. Outside of the LE market, they're all likely to be some Chinese produced variations with their own software/firmware implementations.

nigel_ht wrote: ↑Wed Aug 03, 2022 8:18 am Most of his comments are based on his analysis in FICalc so the data is there to check his results for 1966 and 1990 and to do whatever analysis the viewer wishes to do.

The wiki page doesn’t indicate that the spreadsheet varies from the documented VPW strategy in any significant way…so there’s no reason for him to delve too deeply into it when FICalc (presumably) implements VPW as documented.

Does the implementation modeled by FICalc differ from the spreadsheet?

I understand the spreadsheet has some additional safeguards regarding bridge income, but shouldn't it produce the same results as using the table?

[Moved into a new thread from: Variable Percentage Withdrawal (VPW) Update: See below --admin LadyGeek]

Did anyone see Rob Berger's Financial Freedom Show this week (available on YouTube) where he provided his take on VPW? Short version is that he's not a big fan due to the potential large variability in withdrawals. He also didn't like the way VPW could push a large amount of withdrawal income to the late retirement years when you may not be able to enjoy it due to health concerns. I thought it was a fairly superficial review as he made several statements where he didn't show any data to back it up. I think the spreadsheet is one of the best features/tools for VPW and he gave it a very cursory mention. What did you think?

I'd suggest asking for a quote from Mark Dodge in Lake Charles, LA. They got me 11% off MSRP on a new Ram truck. Build your vehicle on the manufacturer's website and email the configuration to:

orders@markdodge.net

They deliver free within 250 miles of Lake Charles and will also arrange for carrier transport delivery anywhere in the US.

A few of the other Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram dealers I found selling below MSRP when I was researching my truck purchase:

Chapman in Scottsdale AZ

Granger Motors in Des Moines, IA

Best of luck!

If you decide to go the tape/mud route, you can add some white glue to your hot mud (90 minute quick set or whatever you're comfortable using) to make sure it sticks to the painted surface. Then, follow up with a coat of all purpose mud.

This works great for me and is available at Walmart:

Dove Stain Defense

https://www.dove.com/us/en/men-care/deo ... eodor.html

I completely disagree. Our VP is on maternity leave right now for 4 months. I don't think anybody is questioning her commitment to the company. I think it's heavily dependent on the company culture and the procedures they have in place for planned parental leave. I believe there are some companies where the culture supports work/life balance, but from what I have seen working with very large corporations, it isn't common. Is the example you mentioned at a megacorp? I'm prepared to have the BH flamethrower pointed right at me...but calling it work life balance is part of the issue. To me this creates a vision of a scale where one side is personal time and the other is work time and two don't mix but need to balance. In the team I lead we lo...

mervinj7 wrote: ↑Thu May 26, 2022 10:57 am

margaritaville wrote: ↑Thu May 26, 2022 10:55 am

mervinj7 wrote: ↑Thu May 26, 2022 10:49 am I completely disagree. Our VP is on maternity leave right now for 4 months. I don't think anybody is questioning her commitment to the company. I think it's heavily dependent on the company culture and the procedures they have in place for planned parental leave.

I believe there are some companies where the culture supports work/life balance, but from what I have seen working with very large corporations, it isn't common. Is the example you mentioned at a megacorp?

Yes, 32k employees. ~$150B - $250B market cap. But yes, 5-7 years ago it would have been harder to imagine.

I guess there are some good ones out there. I stand corrected.

Maybe it's sector specific.

mervinj7 wrote: ↑Thu May 26, 2022 10:49 am I completely disagree. Our VP is on maternity leave right now for 4 months. I don't think anybody is questioning her commitment to the company. I think it's heavily dependent on the company culture and the procedures they have in place for planned parental leave.

I believe there are some companies where the culture supports work/life balance, but from what I have seen working with very large corporations, it isn't common. Is the example you mentioned at a megacorp?

Assessments work in both directions. If an employee feels that their employer wasn't supportive of their paternity leave, a perk offered by the employer, than the employee might start looking around for a more supportive employer. Employers shouldn't offer benefits that they don't want their employees to take. That's fine and dandy if the balance is in your favor in the employee/employer relationship. In the real world, most people don't enjoy hopping around, have time/energy invested in their current position, and have to consider things like vesting in equity compensation plans and other benefits that accrue based on time with the employer. My point was just that C-level jobs automatically come with the expectation that you are going to ...

Based on all of the previous responses, I'm sure this will be an unpopular take on the situation . . . I think the answer depends on where you currently sit in the organization and whether or not you have C-level aspirations. No matter what the execs at your corporation say publicly about their support for families and work-life balance, they are judging you on your commitment to the company every single day. As crummy as it sounds, the people that can't stay late or come in on weekends to support a hot project/deadline because of a family commitment get judged as being less committed. Ask yourself honestly who is going to have the advantage when it comes promotion time--the person that put in the extra hours at the expense of their family ...

Came across this https://federalnewsnetwork.com/tsp/2022 ... uirements/

Apparently the "Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2021" would delay RMDs as well as require all catch-up contributions be made to the Roth TSP.

av111 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 17, 2022 9:05 am Not sure what you are paying 217 for Office 365 family subscription is like $100 per year, It is good for 6 different pcs or macs. It is available sometimes for 55 on deals. Maybe that will work for you

Probably because he's paying for Office 365 for Business. I don't believe you can use a home/family subscription for business purposes per the license agreement.

You can still buy a perpetual license for Office 2019 Home and Business for $249 retail if you want to avoid the annual subscription model. There are several resellers on the internet selling it for less, however I don't know how reputable they are. Looks like you'd be at a little over 2 years to break even and then zero annual costs if you pay retail price. You'd get maintenance/security updates, but would be stuck on the 2019 version.

Rajsx wrote: ↑Fri Mar 04, 2022 12:10 pm

margaritaville wrote: ↑Fri Mar 04, 2022 9:12 am Make sure you have Service Pack 2 as recommended on the PRC Gold page.

Note for Excel 2010 Users: Your Excel configuration needs to include Microsoft Service Pack 2 (SP2). Without this, Excel may tell you that the PRC file is corrupted.

I'd also try a different browser to download as well as making sure that the extension on the file is .xlsm and not .xlsx

Thanks for your help,

When I downloaded the SP2, it says the download did not affect any of the products I have on the PC. I dont know if I already have the SP2.

You mean try a different browser to download PRC ?

Thanks

Yes, I'd give a different browser a shot.

Make sure you have Service Pack 2 as recommended on the PRC Gold page.

Note for Excel 2010 Users: Your Excel configuration needs to include Microsoft Service Pack 2 (SP2). Without this, Excel may tell you that the PRC file is corrupted.

I'd also try a different browser to download as well as making sure that the extension on the file is .xlsm and not .xlsx

delamer wrote: ↑Thu Mar 03, 2022 12:29 pm
An undergrad student can’t take anything close to $30,000/semester in loans. The dependent student limit is $5500 for freshman year. The only option would be parental loans, in terms of covering the whole cost.

I believe the limits are higher for non-subsidized federal loans, but still not enough to cover the costs being talked about. From what I recall, they can go up to around $10K per year undsubsidized.

There's also private loans which can go significantly higher. Sallie Mae for example will loan up to the certified cost of attendance at rates as low as 3.5% As mentioned above, you would have to cosign.

I don't believe any of the options you're proposing would be considered cash flowing the cost of college. Cash flowing college costs assumes you have available income to "cash flow" the costs--not through paying the costs by tapping into home equity or pulling from retirement accounts. You're asking about approaches to finance college costs. Maybe semantics to some, but it's an important distinction. Even if you don't pull money from your retirement accounts, it sounds like you would be putting a hold on contributions for several years which is going to impact the amount of time it's going to take you to reach your retirement savings goals. If your child is going to a prestigious school to earn a degree (engineering, computer scie...

Homebrewing can be fun/educational. It can also be a good way to meet people if there's a club in your area.