Search found 405 matches
- Wed Jan 13, 2021 7:36 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: 2FA while overseas (Google Voice doesn't support short-SMS codes?)
- Replies: 22
- Views: 1586
Re: 2FA while overseas (Google Voice doesn't support short-SMS codes?)
Using a password manager is now considered best practice. We use 1Password. While storing all of your passwords in one place can make you uneasy, you're able to protect your password manager account with a strong password and 2FA (including a hardware key like Yubikey). It also means you can have ex...
- Sat Jan 02, 2021 5:04 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Best age for "bucket list" trips with kids
- Replies: 40
- Views: 2844
Re: Best age for "bucket list" trips with kids
The no timezone change in South America is amazing with kids. I really, really recommend renting a car. This means you can really travel at a pace that works for your family. Renting a car can also mean you get to more off-the-path places which can reduce cost and the car will certainly be cheaper t...
- Sat Jan 02, 2021 4:39 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Summer 2021 travel?
- Replies: 81
- Views: 5203
Re: Summer 2021 travel?
We're quite wary of any overseas travel plans in 2021 for this reason. It isn't yet clear when children will be eligible to be vaccinated, but current guidance is that BEST CASE would be summer. I think you should expect travel restrictions that are nearly impossible to anticipate through mid-2021 a...
- Sat Jan 02, 2021 4:28 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Best age for "bucket list" trips with kids
- Replies: 40
- Views: 2844
Re: Best age for "bucket list" trips with kids
My wife and I have travelled extensively in south America and a bit in to Europe, Africa, Nepal, China, and Antartica. We are non-conventional travelers, generally opting to self-serve as much as possible we find this really conduicive to travel with children. We did a large backpacking trip about 8...
- Sat Jan 02, 2021 2:13 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Advice for In-Laws who received windfall
- Replies: 34
- Views: 2982
Re: Advice for In-Laws who received windfall
Agree that this seems more about your hesitation than theirs. Have you had experiences that make you hesitant? I would have no issue advising my in-laws or parents if asked. We occasionally provide modest guidance on both sides of when asked. We never provide unsolicited advice. In this case they’ve...
- Thu Dec 31, 2020 10:25 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Refinance Mega Thread
- Replies: 9519
- Views: 664970
Re: Refinance Mega Thread
Well, for refi #2 in 2020 we just got an offer from LenderFi of: 2.125% for 15 years. 270k loan with 63% LTV in Illinois We're currently paying 1,209/month + 500 additional on principal @ 3.25% New payment would be 1,758.63, which is just a hair north of what we're already paying. In January 2020 we...
- Thu Dec 31, 2020 9:12 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: How do you calculate savings rate and what is your annual goal?
- Replies: 39
- Views: 1939
Re: How do you calculate savings rate and what is your annual goal?
30.5% I added what you saved vs your income. I did not include the company match. I do it this way too because it is then easier to also do an apples to apples effective tax rate (tax paid/gross income). Other methods are possibly more correct but I find this one most useful as a guide. I do this a...
- Thu Dec 31, 2020 8:30 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: how to transition to part time?
- Replies: 8
- Views: 747
Re: how to transition to part time?
Well, I'm the author of the thread you reference. I have not retired, but AM a COO at a small startup and have managed developers. So, I'll opine briefly on some routes that might be fruitful: I recommend thinking of you current role as a set of responsibilities. Some are closely tied together, othe...
- Thu Dec 31, 2020 8:12 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: How do you calculate savings rate and what is your annual goal?
- Replies: 39
- Views: 1939
Re: How do you calculate savings rate and what is your annual goal?
I calculate three separate rates in a spreadsheet we maintain: Gross Savings % = (All Savings + Debt Payoff) / Combined Income = 37.4% in 2019 Net Savings % = (All Savings + Debt Payoff) / (Combined Income - Federal Tax Witholdings - State Taxes) = 50% in 2019 Retirement Savings % = (Savings to IRA/...
- Tue Dec 29, 2020 5:02 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Transitioning to Part Time and General Update (35 y/o)
- Replies: 42
- Views: 3266
Re: Transitioning to Part Time and General Update (35 y/o)
Living on less that 28% of income seems unusual to me. We work to avoid 'lifestyle inflation'. As your income increases, for frugal folks, it is perfectly normal and easy to drive this number down. We live in the same house and drive the same $13,000 used car at 300k as we had at 200k. We still buy...
- Tue Dec 29, 2020 4:54 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Transitioning to Part Time and General Update (35 y/o)
- Replies: 42
- Views: 3266
Re: Transitioning to Part Time and General Update (35 y/o)
I would start thinking hard about whether you're going to end up with too MUCH money That is really what's driving this discussion around part time. The reality of our situation and what we want for our child is that we're going to likely be staying put for the next 15 years. Fifteen years ago I wa...
- Tue Dec 29, 2020 1:26 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Transitioning to Part Time and General Update (35 y/o)
- Replies: 42
- Views: 3266
Re: Transitioning to Part Time and General Update (35 y/o)
Nothing happens to your earnings - they move right over to your 401K. That's why this should be such a no brainer. A 401K and Traditional IRA receive the same tax treatment. In both cases, the money comes out and is taxed in retirement. The 401K actually lets you start drawing at 55 if you're still...
- Tue Dec 29, 2020 8:11 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Expected real rate of return
- Replies: 134
- Views: 6825
Re: Expected real rate of return
I find it useful to understand if my current savings can be expected to cover my future needs and thus do use a range of returns in my planning. I relied on these numbers from vanguard: https://investor.vanguard.com/investing/how-to-invest/model-portfolio-allocation To model this, I always subtract ...
- Tue Dec 29, 2020 7:31 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Portfolio Review and Advice Request
- Replies: 22
- Views: 1366
Re: Portfolio Review and Advice Request
So every non-retirement mutual fund I'm holding I'm going to get hit with heavy taxes when I decide to sell? In short, yes. Investments outside of your IRA/401k are in 'taxable' accounts. When you sell from these holdings you're taxed in one of two ways: long term or short term capital gains taxes....
- Mon Dec 28, 2020 8:43 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Transitioning to Part Time and General Update (35 y/o)
- Replies: 42
- Views: 3266
Re: Transitioning to Part Time and General Update (35 y/o)
If you are currently earning $300k and $220k of that is being consumed in a way that it won't when you retire, and you want that to be your lifestyle for the rest of your life, then you are indeed correct to target $80k. So the $80k in retirement is after taxes (as you are saying it is now)? You se...
- Mon Dec 28, 2020 7:48 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Transitioning to Part Time and General Update (35 y/o)
- Replies: 42
- Views: 3266
Re: Transitioning to Part Time and General Update (35 y/o)
It's strange in the difference between what you are living on now and what you intend to live on for the rest of your life, that's all. I don't know if you missed that or not. This is how much we’re spending today. 300k less taxes less savings less a couple significant expenses that won’t exist in ...
- Mon Dec 28, 2020 5:13 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Transitioning to Part Time and General Update (35 y/o)
- Replies: 42
- Views: 3266
Re: Transitioning to Part Time and General Update (35 y/o)
You are 35 now, make $300k and expect to live on $85k/year for 40 to 50 years of retirement? Yes. Is this strange in some way that I'm missing? It might make a good experiment to see if it would work out. Is 32 hours really that different/important for you? I mean, it is a 20% reduction in time wor...
- Mon Dec 28, 2020 2:56 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Transitioning to Part Time and General Update (35 y/o)
- Replies: 42
- Views: 3266
Re: Transitioning to Part Time and General Update (35 y/o)
As a data point my wife(40) and I(45)went p/t in June 2020. We've been averaging 17-24hrs/week. Rightly or wrongly we have 2 pots of money- Taxble which we'll spend from til SS and IRA/Roth which will sit for 20yrs growing hopefully. We'll pull about 3% +p/t income. I'd rather work p/t for 10-12 mo...
- Mon Dec 28, 2020 1:02 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Transitioning to Part Time and General Update (35 y/o)
- Replies: 42
- Views: 3266
Re: Transitioning to Part Time and General Update (35 y/o)
Other things that will be coming. Do you own a house. I had my roof redone last year. $15k. Will you buy replacement cars? Will your kid go to college? My older one is done and out and working. My checks to the college totaled $300k. We should have about 100k saved for the kids’ college. I do have ...
- Mon Dec 28, 2020 12:54 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Transitioning to Part Time and General Update (35 y/o)
- Replies: 42
- Views: 3266
Re: Transitioning to Part Time and General Update (35 y/o)
Are you not able to roll your tIRA money into your 401K at work? Cleanest way to get access to the backdoor Roth. We also plan on retiring early, and currently have a lot less than you in taxable - we each have mega backdoor Roth access and have been maxing that out, leaving less for taxable. Given...
- Mon Dec 28, 2020 12:52 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Transitioning to Part Time and General Update (35 y/o)
- Replies: 42
- Views: 3266
Re: Transitioning to Part Time and General Update (35 y/o)
Why don’t one of you just quit? Having a full-time parent is extremely important Neither of us want to be a full time parent. Our child is at an excellent daycare with great friends. We spend lots of time with her and neither of us are worried about how she’s growing up currently. Do you plan to st...
- Sun Dec 27, 2020 10:52 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Transitioning to Part Time and General Update (35 y/o)
- Replies: 42
- Views: 3266
Re: Transitioning to Part Time and General Update (35 y/o)
We’re contributing a lot to taxable because we expect to need a lot before we can touch our retirement accounts. word, You should check out this URL. https://www.madfientist.com/how-to-access-retirement-funds-early/ KlangFool Thanks, this is helpful. I was unaware of conversion ladders. I was aware...
- Sun Dec 27, 2020 10:14 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Transitioning to Part Time and General Update (35 y/o)
- Replies: 42
- Views: 3266
Transitioning to Part Time and General Update (35 y/o)
My wife and I are considering decreasing our number of working hours per week. This is something we're likely to decide on in the next few years. I suppose you'd call this an early partial retirement. I'm somewhat anxious about the idea of retirement, mostly because we're thinking it will be quite e...
- Fri Aug 21, 2020 4:31 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Financial Checkup for a 20+ Year Boglehead
- Replies: 25
- Views: 3130
Re: Financial Checkup for a 20+ Year Boglehead
Often overlooked, even on Bogleheads, is the 72t IRS rule which allows you to take withdrawals from your IRA, 401k, etc before you turn 59.5 but there are some catches. You don't pay the 10% early withdrawal tax but of course you do pay income tax on the withdrawals. You must take at least five “su...
- Fri Aug 21, 2020 9:49 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Financial Checkup for a 20+ Year Boglehead
- Replies: 25
- Views: 3130
Re: Financial Checkup for a 20+ Year Boglehead
I am earlier on the path (currently 35), but thinking similar to you on the retirement front. If seriously considering retirement soon I would: Shifting allocation closer to 70/30. I'm currently 90/10 (maybe even 95/5) and plan to get significantly more conservative in the blend in the 5 years pre-r...
- Wed Aug 19, 2020 7:32 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Really dumb Question - what does saving x% mean?
- Replies: 21
- Views: 2122
Re: Really dumb Question - what does saving x% mean?
Do most of you include your employer's 401(k) match in your total savings for the year? Say if your goal was to save $50k for the year. Would you include that match as part of your total savings for the year, or do you ignore it since it could go away if the employer chooses to? This hits close to ...
- Thu Jun 04, 2020 5:13 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Refinance Mega Thread
- Replies: 9519
- Views: 664970
Re: Refinance Mega Thread
Diisclosure info: Costs (A+B+C): 825.52 (did not shop) Other Costs (E+F+G+H): 5004.79 Paid by Others: 1289.92 (I don't really understand where this lender credit come from.... but :sharebeer ) Good deal word! What was the costs specifically in Section E? That is not prepaids not escrow, yes governm...
- Thu Jun 04, 2020 4:43 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Refinance Mega Thread
- Replies: 9519
- Views: 664970
Re: Refinance Mega Thread
One thing to keep in mind when you think about the savings. Yes you are saving $332.85 a month from your old loan for 25.25 years (303 months). But you are also adding 4.75 years (57 months) on to your mortgage and will be paying $1,209.87 for those extra 57 months. You are still net in the money o...
- Thu Jun 04, 2020 3:08 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Refinance Mega Thread
- Replies: 9519
- Views: 664970
Re: Refinance Mega Thread
We close tomorrow with Chase who also carries our old loan. No, this is not via their fancy letter thing that some people are getting. I requested a payoff letter sort of late in the process to try to trigger an offer after starting discussions with them and reading comments here, but nothing materi...
- Fri May 29, 2020 9:30 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: What are you up YTD? [Year To Date]
- Replies: 3409
- Views: 572278
Re: What are you up YTD? [Year To Date]
Down 7.6% YTD
93/7
This is just our Vanguard, I think overall asset are like 96/4 and I can't bother to do the math for loses on the other accounts combined.
93/7
This is just our Vanguard, I think overall asset are like 96/4 and I can't bother to do the math for loses on the other accounts combined.
- Thu Dec 27, 2018 1:01 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: 457(b) Questions
- Replies: 3
- Views: 360
Re: 457(b) Questions
Non-governmental, I'll take a look at your link.
- Thu Dec 27, 2018 12:43 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: 457(b) Questions
- Replies: 3
- Views: 360
457(b) Questions
My wife just received notification that we can participate in a 457(b) from her employer. I've done a little looking around and reading on the topic and I'm pretty sure we don't want to use it, but wanted some additional input. Current State: - Maxing out 401k plans in 2019 - Setting aside about 15k...
- Wed Oct 16, 2013 10:18 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Long Term Travel
- Replies: 61
- Views: 10236
Re: Long Term Travel
whilst Celine Deon screeches out at 11 on busted speakers To be clear, we never experienced this... it was always Party People, from a cellphone Just to expand on your insurance point: We sold both of our cars, but the insurance company let us keep our account in some kind of hibernated state where...
- Tue Oct 15, 2013 1:04 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Long Term Travel
- Replies: 61
- Views: 10236
Re: Long Term Travel
We didn't end up using any mail forwarding. We did a change of address to my parents home. They sifted through the junk and other assorted mail and brought anything pressing to our attention. If need be, they would take a picture and send that to us. Just in case, we drafted a power of attorney for ...
- Tue Oct 08, 2013 11:25 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Long Term Travel
- Replies: 61
- Views: 10236
Re: Long Term Travel
Long term venturers can always take up sailing, then one can see the world and have some of their stuff, cook own meals, and sleep in the same bed. I've actually thought about this a little bit, each time the biggest stumbling block is just the knowledge to get started. I've never driven a boat, so...
- Tue Oct 08, 2013 9:49 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Long Term Travel
- Replies: 61
- Views: 10236
Re: Long Term Travel
Thanks to flux for the PM which is what actually causing me to respond. I'm not as frequent a lurker these days. Also, this will be a long post I think, be forewarned. The trip went well. We met our timeline goal, leaving something like May 28th 2012. We ended up saving 60k for the trip and 30k for ...
- Mon Jun 10, 2013 9:18 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: New Job - 401k Kinda [Stinks]
- Replies: 9
- Views: 1461
Re: New Job - 401k Kinda Sucks
Thanks for the comments and the link. There is a self-directed option that I had essentially just written off, I'll look at that more closely. I don't believe I'll be at the job for much longer than the 2 year vesting period (if even that long), so it would make sense to invest in the 401k. Given ou...
- Mon Jun 10, 2013 8:48 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: New Job - 401k Kinda [Stinks]
- Replies: 9
- Views: 1461
New Job - 401k Kinda [Stinks]
It has been a while since I posted, but I'm starting a new job and I'm unsure which route to take for retirement options: The new employer doesn't have great options, the plan administrator is Nationwide and the only index fund present in the plan is GRMSX - Nationwide S&P 500 index . The expens...
- Mon Jan 02, 2012 12:31 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: On Budgets
- Replies: 19
- Views: 1959
Re: On Budgets
We use Mint and have budgets set up for a couple things. However, I ignore them quite a bit.Toons wrote:Need to keep a budget,start below(its free),let the software help you make smart decisions about what you do with your money![]()
https://www.mint.com/personal-budget-planner/
- Mon Jan 02, 2012 12:30 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: On Budgets
- Replies: 19
- Views: 1959
Re: On Budgets
... we've been living off something like 30% of our gross income and it looks like that might be down to 27% this year. Does anyone else do something similar? Any recommendations on improvements? You might be in the 1%! :D Seriously, anyone who can live off just 27 to 30 percent of their gross inco...
- Sun Jan 01, 2012 9:47 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: The Three-Fund Portfolio
- Replies: 3115
- Views: 1954784
Re: The Three Fund Portfolio
What makes certain individuals decide that TIPS, REITs and small cap value adds anything to passive indices other than recency bias or even some other type of bias? Additional risk means the investor expects additional return. As for TIPS, they function to reduce volatility in my overall portfolio....
- Sun Jan 01, 2012 9:34 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: On Budgets
- Replies: 19
- Views: 1959
Re: On Budgets
If you really worry about paying the mortgage, and have to move money around to make it happen, why not just build up a small cushion in whatever account you pay your bills out of? Keeping an extra few thousand in there isn't going to hurt you, and it might just give you some peace of mind. That so...
- Sun Jan 01, 2012 9:20 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: On Budgets
- Replies: 19
- Views: 1959
Re: On Budgets
This may be a little off beat but why dont you try paying off a little bit more of the mortgage principal each month instead of putting that extra money into other things. This will change your awareness of your monthly mortgage payment. Previous goals were to pay off our student loans (completed i...
- Sun Jan 01, 2012 8:33 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: On Budgets
- Replies: 19
- Views: 1959
On Budgets
Really, I'm curious if other budget in a way similar to how we do it, but I'm interested in hearing about all kinds of methods. We (my wife and I) don't really have the fortitude to build and track a typical budget. Instead, we just try to save as much as possible and spend the rest. We've establish...
- Sun Jan 01, 2012 2:36 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Is a home an "investment"?
- Replies: 72
- Views: 6112
Re: Is a home an "investment"?
A house is an asset. A house is not an investment.
- Sun Jan 01, 2012 2:23 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: credit, debit, or cash?
- Replies: 54
- Views: 3845
Re: credit, debit, or cash?
About 1.5 years ago we switched from strictly credit to strictly debit, this prevents me from having to constantly do mental math about what our account balances will need to be to cover our expenses. We certainly make more than enough to pay for these things, but I believe our spending went down as...
- Sun Jan 01, 2012 9:48 am
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: REGISTRATION FOR 2012 BOGLEHEAD CONTEST
- Replies: 408
- Views: 25124
- Fri Dec 16, 2011 10:29 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Activate iPhone on Christmas?
- Replies: 15
- Views: 4150
Re: Activate iPhone on Christmas?
You should be able to do it on Christmas day. Call or visit APPLE not ATT to confirm
- Sun Dec 04, 2011 11:32 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Use non-Apple backup drive with Time Machine software?
- Replies: 4
- Views: 810
Re: Use non-Apple backup drive with Time Machine software?
Yes, just turn time machine on and connect the external drive. You'll be asked if you want to use the drive as your Time Machine backup and the Mac will do the rest. Edit: One more thing, you may be required to reformat the disk, this is easy to do, if you need direction after you've gotten the driv...
- Tue Nov 29, 2011 10:48 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Boglehead Contest can end now right?
- Replies: 21
- Views: 1887
Re: Boglehead Contest can end now right?
Careful, I'm apparently #5, I've got my eye on you