Search found 26 matches

by takeabiteoflife
Sun Feb 04, 2024 12:59 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: DW Laid Off, I'm Panicking
Replies: 166
Views: 20731

Re: DW Laid Off, I'm Panicking

Thank you for all the feedback, everyone. I'm still reading through all the comments but wanted to provide some additional details and corrections. The total expenses include mortgage and property tax and it is after tax (edited in the original post). When I gross it to pre-tax to figure out withdrawal rate, I was disappointed that we were far off from 3%. Also, our stock portfolio # includes 529 investments of about $250K. Part of the stress is knowing that if I become unemployed, our insurance costs could skyrocket to maintain the care we've been receiving - there's been illnesses and kids sports related injuries. Also further delay chances of any retirement. Moving is not an option as we do not want to disrupt the kids and their school l...
by takeabiteoflife
Sat Feb 03, 2024 4:07 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: DW Laid Off, I'm Panicking
Replies: 166
Views: 20731

DW Laid Off, I'm Panicking

DW was recently laid off and I’m stressed about making sure I stay employed so there’s income coming in and also for the family to have health insurance coverage. Also worried that our hopes of retiring in the next 3-5 years are now dashed. Me: 53 yo, DW 51 yo Kids: 16 yo, 13 yo We still live in a VHCOL area in East Coast My Gross Income: $260K + 25% bonus Monthly expenses are ~$14,000-16,000 per month (~$5K for mortgage and property tax) Investments: Cash/MM/CD - $1.3M @ ~5% interest rate Stocks - $4.0M (includes ~$1.3M in 401K/ROTH/IRA and about $250K in 529) Bond - $200K Mortgage Debt of $550K (equity of ~$900K) @ 3% We’ve been average cost investing the cash into the market, which is what helps us sleep at night rather than a lump sum i...
by takeabiteoflife
Wed Jan 10, 2024 12:59 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Potentially selling a great house
Replies: 101
Views: 11728

Re: Potentially selling a great house

Personally I wouldn'tmake the move. Nothing guarantees you'll like the new neighbors or that the kids will get along. As your kids get older, they may get involved with competitive sports/activities that are outside of your neighborhood. It's also possible that there's turnover of your existing neighborhood and new families move in. The monetary difference is akin to funding their 529s so I would definitely think twice.
by takeabiteoflife
Thu Oct 19, 2023 12:43 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 529 - paying off a student loan for my daughter's husband? Pro / Con?
Replies: 58
Views: 5735

Re: 529 - paying off a student loan for my daughter's husband? Pro / Con?

It's commendable that the 529 fund can end up funding the educational needs for generations to come.

While the topic is about paying down debt for the SIL, just curious on your son's perspective on this. Is there a similarly funded 529 for his family and would you be open to paying down debt for DIL too?
by takeabiteoflife
Wed Jun 28, 2023 1:05 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: A financial check up please
Replies: 4
Views: 1154

A financial check up please

I last posted in 2019 and the community was very helpful. Fortunately, DW ended up finding a job so we have been investing more consistently in the market but continued to hold onto a substantial amount of cash due to job and economic insecurity. We are also very risk adverse and prefer to average cost our way into the market (probably not the BH way). The last post from 2019: https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=288435 NOW Me 52 yo, DW 50 yo, 15 yr old, 12 yr old We still live in a VHCOL area in East Coast Me Gross Income: $250K & 25% bonus DW Gross Income: $200K & 15% bonus Monthly expenses are ~$15,000-17,000 per month (~$5K for mortgage and property tax) Investments: Cash/MM/CD - $1.5M @ ~4% interest rate Stocks - $3...
by takeabiteoflife
Sun Jan 22, 2023 11:38 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What’s Your 2023 Budget?
Replies: 201
Views: 26115

Re: What’s Your 2023 Budget?

Family of 4 in VHCOL area
With inflation, food costs are up 20-30%+
Spent $13-14K / month last year and expect about the same this year, though we are traveling more now the kids are in teenage years so that could drive $$ up
by takeabiteoflife
Sat Jan 21, 2023 12:22 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can we retire in Bay Area?
Replies: 39
Views: 7207

Re: Can we retire in Bay Area?

Interested to know if OP divested his stock exposure.

If you conservatively exclude the value of the home, it's roughly $5M x 3% for $150k of gross income so the OP should be fine.
by takeabiteoflife
Thu Jun 09, 2022 12:29 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Couple finance
Replies: 15
Views: 1613

Re: Couple finance

It's smart that you"ve separated finances. However, what will happen when she is unable to support herself in retirement? Will you end up footing the bill or let her falter?
by takeabiteoflife
Wed May 25, 2022 12:49 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Lessons from 2007 -2009
Replies: 143
Views: 18237

Re: Lessons from 2007 -2009

Keep investing and DCA. Stay the course, especially if you have a long horizon ahead.
by takeabiteoflife
Thu Jun 24, 2021 2:36 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Hawaii Rental Car: Best Way to Book to Ensure Your Car is Actually There
Replies: 70
Views: 9640

Re: Hawaii Rental Car: Best Way to Book to Ensure Your Car is Actually There

Landed in OGG this past week and no issues with Hertz. There were many cars to choose from.
by takeabiteoflife
Thu Dec 10, 2020 2:41 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Relocation to Houston, Texas from SF Bay - Advice
Replies: 102
Views: 10955

Re: Relocation to Houston, Texas from SF Bay - Advice

With your net worth and lifestyle, why the move to Houston? Do you want more money? Is it because DW wants to advance her career? Are the kids ok/excited about the move? Is there a desire to leave CA? I would ask why you are considering this potential change.
by takeabiteoflife
Thu Sep 17, 2020 11:29 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How to get over finance envy
Replies: 377
Views: 57949

Re: How to get over finance envy

I am also guilty of finance envy. We live in a VHCOL area and all of our neighbors have beautiful homes, expensive luxury cars, dining/take outs, and have numerous trips/vacations, etc. I have wondered how do they have these lavish lifestyles and still be able to save. My DW says that most of them are probably not saving but I just don't know if that's true.

As we have recently changed from dual income to just one, this has created some additional envy and stress. As the only breadwinner now, I worry we are falling farther behind our "wealthy" neighbors. And even worse, what if I lose my job and we have to use our savings to support our family and pay for healthcare coverage?!
by takeabiteoflife
Fri Jun 26, 2020 1:18 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Are we financially okay?
Replies: 68
Views: 11364

Re: Are we financially okay? - Update

Thanks to all the feedback from the BH community, we took some actions based on the great advice. • We cut our monthly expenses to $9-10K (partly helped by refinancing to 3.25% from 4%) • Our investment portfolio is still comprised of ~$2M of cash in MM/CDs, ~$2M in stocks (half in retirement accounts and includes $150K in 529), and bonds of ~$100K • Home mortgage debt of $790K (equity of ~$610K) With COVID-19, we now think it may be prudent for DW to be a SAHP for a while and reassess down the road. It has been so helpful to have a parent available as the kids were home with remote learning and there’s very little clarity on what the new school year will look like when summer ends. I have been able to WFH and salary remains $200K (this yea...
by takeabiteoflife
Thu Mar 26, 2020 11:57 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Extended unemployment benefits under stimulus plan?
Replies: 4
Views: 669

Extended unemployment benefits under stimulus plan?

DW has been unemployed since September 2019. Her UI benefits will end in April. Is she eligible to extend her UI benefits under the new $2T stimulus bill to fight coronavirus? If so, any idea how to apply for an extension and the amount of the benefit?
by takeabiteoflife
Sun Feb 09, 2020 8:30 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How much money do you want to retire?
Replies: 1367
Views: 207774

Re: How much money do you want to retire?

HomerJ wrote: Sun Feb 09, 2020 7:24 pm
takeabiteoflife wrote: Sun Feb 09, 2020 7:16 pm I was hoping for $5M without any debt...that puts me about $800k away. Not sure I will make it. :?
Have you tracked your expenses?

Do you spend $150k (3%) or $200k (4%) a year with the house paid off?

Note I'm not asking you what your income is... How much do you spend?

You might be able to retire today.
Annual expenses are about 120-130k.
by takeabiteoflife
Sun Feb 09, 2020 8:23 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How much money do you want to retire?
Replies: 1367
Views: 207774

Re: How much money do you want to retire?

Annual expenses are roughly 120-130k per year.
by takeabiteoflife
Sun Feb 09, 2020 7:16 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How much money do you want to retire?
Replies: 1367
Views: 207774

Re: How much money do you want to retire?

I was hoping for $5M without any debt...that puts me about $800k away. Not sure I will make it. :?
by takeabiteoflife
Tue Jan 14, 2020 11:43 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: JPM Chase Reserve Card gets more expensive
Replies: 509
Views: 57433

Re: JPM Chase Reserve Card gets more expensive

Does the DoorDash credit only apply to delivery/service fees or can I essentially get $60 of free food if I go pick up?
by takeabiteoflife
Mon Aug 19, 2019 4:23 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Are we financially okay?
Replies: 68
Views: 11364

Re: Are we financially okay?

I've made edits to the original post to provide more details:

Investments:
Cash/MM/CD - $2M @ ~2% interest rate or ~$40K interest income/yr
Stocks - $2M (~$1M in 401K/ROTH/IRA and then $125K in 529)
Bond - $100K
Mortgage Debt of $800K (equity of ~$600K) @ 4%

Despite being negative cash flow until DW finds a job, we would ideally prefer to continue maxing out my 401K and investing in 529 (maybe $1-2K/month) as part of putting more cash into stocks. Is that a bad idea?

Also, we will try to examine our expenses and see if we can reduce it by $2-3K/month.

Thanks for all the advice!
by takeabiteoflife
Sun Aug 18, 2019 8:24 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Are we financially okay?
Replies: 68
Views: 11364

Re: Are we financially okay?

Thanks for the feedback, everyone.

We will look and see how we can shave some expenses.

Interest income should be about $40k this year.

Mortgage is @ 4%, will look into refi.

Within the stock portfolio, about $125K is 529.

When we rebalance our portfolio, will probably put cash into a Vanguard index fund given its low fees.
by takeabiteoflife
Sat Aug 17, 2019 9:17 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Are we financially okay?
Replies: 68
Views: 11364

Are we financially okay?

Me 48 yo, DW 46 yo, 11 yr old, 8 yr old We live in a VHCOL area in East Coast Monthly expenses are ~$13,000-14,000 per month (~$6K for mortgage and property tax) Investments: Cash/MM/CD - $2M @ ~2% interest rate or ~$40K interest income/yr Stocks - $2M (~$1M in 401K/ROTH/IRA and about $125K in 529) Bond - $100K Mortgage Debt of $800K (equity of ~$600K) @ 4% Wife was just laid off and got 3 months of severance. It’s unclear when she'll find another job and for what level of compensation. I really enjoy my job in financial services and gross income is $200K per year with potential for 15% annual cash bonus. We do not plan to move to a LCOL area since we love our neighborhood and great public schools. Plan would be to still max my 401K (4% emp...