Search found 26 matches

by fisher_man89
Tue Feb 11, 2014 10:52 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: USAA Auto Insurance?
Replies: 70
Views: 14154

Re: USAA Auto Insurance?

I had USAA until I moved states and from a city to a rural area.
They wanted to double the price of my car insurance.
After many conversations, USAA claimed their pricing model involved previous claims in the area and was non-negotiable.
So same vehicle, same driver, less cars on the road, but much higher cost.
It never did make sense to me.

I wouldn't rule USAA out, but I personally won't pay much purely for good customer service.
by fisher_man89
Sat Jan 18, 2014 9:57 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Low Income, High Net Worth - Stories Of
Replies: 76
Views: 17614

Re: Low Income, High Net Worth - Stories Of

6. Having kids is a huge financial drain. Even with all of the above, on a modest income, my view is, with kids, you have a choice - you won't be able to travel, save for retirement, buy a house, and have financial security (not including home & retirement). At best, you may have two of those (with 1 kid) or one of those (2+). Just be aware of the potential trade-offs. I disagree and speak from experience. Kids are people and need very little, yet want much. The great thing about children is that parents decided what they get and how much of a "financial drain" they are. What kids need most is free: love, encouragement, protection, boundaries, and instruction. If a parent buys their children everything they want or what their...
by fisher_man89
Wed Oct 09, 2013 9:51 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Getting access to ACA plan options?
Replies: 29
Views: 1974

Re: Getting access to ACA plan options?

The system has been overloaded and not working well.

I did create 1 account last week, but it took a while.
This week it is working better.
I helped someone today and it took still 3-4 tries.

If the account does not get registered and the email verification link does not complete, I would register a new account with a different username.
My many tries resulted in no account being created---due to system problems likely.
It simply got lost in the overload.

There is no reason to panic.
Mid-December is the deadline, not this month.
Coverage doesn't take effect until Jan 1st and prices won't change before coverage starts.

you might be better off waiting several weeks, if you do not want additional frustration.
by fisher_man89
Wed Jul 31, 2013 11:36 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Low-Income Investing
Replies: 100
Views: 10228

Re: Low-Income Investing

FannyBrawne wrote:
MnD wrote:Do you pay into and qualify for Social Security in addition to the state pension, or are you exempt?
I do pay SS taxes as a paycheck deduction. 2012 was the first year I collected a taxable salary, so I don't expect to receive much SS when I do retire (assuming it's still there, of course).
Only the highest 35 years of income count for social security, no matter at your age.
Filling most of those zeros on your record with income would put you at retirement age.
I think SS should figure heavily into your retirement planning.

(Those divorced, married for greater than 10 years, can draw on their spouses' record.)
by fisher_man89
Wed Jul 31, 2013 11:28 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Low-Income Investing
Replies: 100
Views: 10228

Re: Low-Income Investing

Assuming a high income is an unfortunate prejudice of this board. The assumption that if one is not maxing out their 401k, he is doing a bad job, is based on that assumption. But the basic investing advice is still applicable to your situation. It looks like you are doing really well, actually. My calculation is that you can save 7.6% of your income ($250/month). While Social Security can be ignored for high earners, it will be substantial for you. Calculate it based on your salary. It could easily be 40-50% of your current salary (based on your current salary I got 17,500/year in retirement) The benefit formula favors lower income earners: a) 90 percent of the first $791 of his/her average indexed monthly earnings, plus (b) 32 percent of h...
by fisher_man89
Fri Jul 12, 2013 7:08 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Sacrifices: Saving 50% of Take Home Pay?
Replies: 44
Views: 9349

Re: Sacrifices: Saving 50% of Take Home Pay?

As others have mentioned, getting your wife on board is critical. Your plan is perfectly doable and even commendable. Better to stretch your saving muscles early and young. With kids it becomes harder to focus and set habits, but if they are in place beforehand, you can always increase your standard of living. It's going the other way that is hard. And with a family the sacrifices will be many. You might as well start now. But it is well worth it. To other posters, please stop saying kids are expensive. That is simply not true. To make babies is free. Birth costs something, but there is no tax on children (quite the opposite, the tax bill will go down). Giving kids what other adults think they should have and not saying "no" to th...
by fisher_man89
Sun Jul 07, 2013 7:09 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Having a baby -- [PPACA]
Replies: 23
Views: 2882

Re: Having a baby -- [PPACA]

Insurance is not magic. The reason why some states (like Texas) do not have maternity health insurance is fairly intuitive. Insurance works by paying the premiums out in benefits, minus administrative expenses and profits. Only where there are many more insureds paying premiums than insureds receiving benefits, does insurance work well. But who wants to pay for an open market maternity policy? Males? Women over 45 or under 14? Women who don't want children? Only people expecting to collect benefits, so most do collect on private policies. Therefore the cost of insurance would be close to the cost of a normal birth, except for group policies, where the employer is paying for this benefit for all. It can only be cheaper under insurance when p...
by fisher_man89
Wed Jun 19, 2013 10:41 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Are hybrid cars cost effective?
Replies: 109
Views: 12394

Re: Are hybrid cars cost effective?

Hybrids undoubtedly get better gas mileage, but you are really prepaying or subsidizing your future gas cost with better and more costly technology. While 50mpg sounds great and is much better than 30, the difference is not so great in dollars (especially as gas cars push towards 40mpg). Comparing base models: Toyota Prius Two and a Toyota Camry (4cyl): The Prius has an average cost of $2461 higher ($23,410). Let's say 50% of the miles are highway, for an average of 49.5mpg and 30mpg. It would take over 46k miles to break even, just on gas cost (at $4 a gallon). At $6/ gallon, the Prius looks better: it takes just over 31k miles to break even. To put it another way, gas is a small part of the overall cost of a car. For 100,000 miles gas cos...
by fisher_man89
Mon Jun 17, 2013 8:23 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Article about young americans not using credit cards
Replies: 81
Views: 8310

Re: Article about young americans not using credit cards

Credit cards are for buying and spending, which says nothing about responsibility or irresponsibility in abstract. One's credit availability does not speak of employment, income, or savings. I think we can agree that one's saving rate and net worth tell of one's responsibility, not the particular piece of plastic with which one buys. People who brag of credit card rewards and "goodies" are amusing. They are really bragging about their great spending, which is necessary to get a little something back. One individual here boasted of $5,000 in rewards. At 1.5% cash back that is spending $333,333/year on a credit card. No matter the method of payment, that is still spending $328,333/year. I'm not impressed. Could the overall spending ...
by fisher_man89
Thu Mar 14, 2013 9:55 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 529 plan article suggests improvements
Replies: 12
Views: 1526

Re: 529 plan article suggests improvements

Not to be too disagreeable, but 529s are great for low income earners too. The tax rate is not the issue, but the loss of tax credits and financial aid benefits that can occur with saving for college outside of 529s. There is a limit to the investment income earned ($3,300 this year) at which the Earned Income Credit and Child Tax Credit is lost. 529s function like IRAs in that regard. Qualified distributions also do not affect income for financial aid, which many low income earners' kids get. Tax-free distributions from a 529 plan are excluded from this "base-year" income. http://www.savingforcollege.com/articles/five-things-to-know-about-529s-and-financial-aid Of course, most low earners are not high percentage savers, so many m...
by fisher_man89
Tue Mar 12, 2013 10:44 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: I despise the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)
Replies: 21
Views: 3908

Re: I despise the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)

robjer wrote: 76% in our case is correct as she gets caught at the very most WEP reduction of $396.00+
Are you sure?
It sounds like this note from the WEP chart I cited above might apply:
*Important: The maximum amount may be overstated. The WEP reduction is limited to one-half of your pension from non-covered employment.
So perhaps 50% is the absolute max, for those with a small pension?

SS is not about retirement benefits, per se, it is a welfare redistribution device favoring elderly who were low income earners.
The WEP re-enforces that purpose of SS.
by fisher_man89
Tue Mar 12, 2013 9:00 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: I despise the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)
Replies: 21
Views: 3908

Re: I despise the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)

The max reduction under WEP is ~40%, which is less than 76%. Maybe the OP meant the reduced benefit is 76% of the unreduced total. Also WEP does not apply to Railroad pensions (it must be something else): The Windfall Elimination Provision does not apply if: You are a federal worker first hired after December 31, 1983; You were employed on December 31, 1983, by a nonprofit organization that did not withhold Social Security taxes from your pay at first, but then began withholding Social Security taxes from your pay; Your only pension is based on railroad employment; The only work you did where you did not pay Social Security taxes was before 1957; or You have 30 or more years of substantial earnings under Social Security. http://www.ssa.gov/...
by fisher_man89
Fri Nov 09, 2012 6:42 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Short-term 529 Question
Replies: 3
Views: 1311

Re: Short-term 529 Question

VA has several programs which is confusing. From the wiki page, the money market might fit your needs: Virginia 529 Plan VEST is the traditional 529 program (state administered), which is worth looking at From the program overview: VEST: The Virginia Education Savings Trust – VEST - is another VA529 savings program and is available directly from VA529. Online enrollment at VA529.com takes about 10 minutes and features 17 investment portfolio options to select from, including six age-based evolving portfolios, with combinations of equity and fixed income asset allocations and active and indexed investment managers, and eleven static, or non-evolving investment portfolios, many featuring Vanguard® funds. I noticed on the disclosure document: ...
by fisher_man89
Sat Sep 29, 2012 12:37 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: buffett's outperformance
Replies: 28
Views: 4353

Re: buffett's outperformance

Buffett amplifies his returns using leverage to buy stocks, and on a much smaller scale this reminds me of the pay down mortgage versus invest for retirement debate. That's not true. Buffett claims to never have used debt in any significant way personally in the biography The Snowball . He doesn't care for it in business either, since he is into fundamental analysis. He works with large amounts of cash, float from his insurance businesses, but it's not borrowed money. Berkshire Hathaway has around $40 billion in cash right now. http://ycharts.com/companies/BRK.A/cash_on_hand So he has little reason to borrow money and pay interest. Warren Buffett does not like debt and does not like to invest in companies that have too much debt, particula...
by fisher_man89
Fri Jun 01, 2012 4:37 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Pay off mortgage because it FEELS good?
Replies: 125
Views: 12847

Re: Pay off mortgage because it FEELS good?

But many of the posts on the thread spoke of how it feels ... people tend to make impulse purchases for exactly the same reason: it feels great If people pay off a mortgage for the same reason people impulse shop, then people also stay faithfully married for 50 years and others hook up for one night stands for the same reason: they both feel "good." Clearly, both can make one feel good. With one there is likely to be less regret in the future though. Paying off a mortgage requires long-term sacrifice for most people---it is an achievement. Impulsive spending does not. The actual motivations and reasons are totally different, even if the stated emotional outcome sounds similar. Or to bludgeon the point some more: I run for the sam...
by fisher_man89
Sun May 13, 2012 8:12 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Cost of Capital Story is What Sells Me on Tilting
Replies: 14
Views: 1645

Re: Cost of Capital Story is What Sells Me on Tilting

I'm quite confident that it's reasonable to assume that small, leveraged, distressed companies have a harder time borrowing, and therefore higher costs of capital. And I'm sure this is especially true during financial crises. So how can there not always be an expected risk premium? Dave I tend think of companies as people, not machines, since they are run by them. Who would you rather loan money or invest capital in? You are more likely to get your capital back in a company that doesn't really need the money. "Small, leveraged, distressed" people, like companies, are more likely to go bankrupt. In real life, a CEO took them there or their business model failed for a tangible reason. Yes, the costs are higher, but why? Because the...
by fisher_man89
Wed May 09, 2012 6:59 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Does anyone own a Hyundai?
Replies: 71
Views: 9524

Re: Does anyone own a Hyundai?

I was looking at used cars on the Hertz rental car sales website. You can find a few 2011's with only 22,000 miles or so. And I saw 2011 Hyundais's at my local Enterprise rental car sales lot with less than 25,000 miles. Fleet cars are abused. Having worked for two rental car companies, I've seen it all. Drag races, neutral dropping, brake-stands. Customers smoke pot in the cars, leave needles in the cars...you name it... Cars are not like relationships with people. Once damaged or worn out, they can be easily fixed for a price. The question is whether the discount for buying a rental is worth the possible (and probable) problems. I bought a former Toyota Camry rental at ~30k mi. 4 years later it's at over 80k mi. and I've had not one issu...
by fisher_man89
Thu Mar 29, 2012 4:15 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: If I listened to Dave Ramsey
Replies: 194
Views: 30433

Re: If I listened to Dave Ramsey

Dave doesn't give much investing advice (though he personally prefers real estate), but his philosophy of money is quite good. He is against all risk , which is what debt represents. His investing advice may be shallow, but his wisdom on money is quite profound, in my opinion. If that were true, he wouldn't be suggesting a 100% equity AA with heavy growth tilts. Great point. Let me qualify that. It is helpful to understand where Ramsey is coming from. His advice is not "unrealistic" or "simplistic," but fundamentally and philosophically different than the world's. In Ramsey's view, the risk of debt morally represents something far grave than "a 100% equity AA with heavy growth tilts." To Ramsey debt is immoral...
by fisher_man89
Thu Mar 29, 2012 3:48 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: If I listened to Dave Ramsey
Replies: 194
Views: 30433

Re: If I listened to Dave Ramsey

Can anyone honestly say that they are certain they would spend the same amount using cash? Especially when the OP is bragging about what great incentives he got (win one for the CC). I can't say that I'd spend the same, because I wouldn't... I'd spend more if I was using cash only. I realize I'm strange, but to me cash isn't 'real' money. In my head my CC is linked to my bank account, and my bank accounts electronic balance is what is 'real'. Cash is 'real' only at the point I use an ATM to obtain it (and watch that electronic balance go down), but after that? It's just paper in my wallet, and no longer real money in my account. The fact that the CC company gives me a portion of the merchant fees they collect to use a form of payment that ...
by fisher_man89
Thu Mar 29, 2012 3:33 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: If I listened to Dave Ramsey
Replies: 194
Views: 30433

Re: If I listened to Dave Ramsey

SSSS wrote:
fisher_man89 wrote:Using and paying off a CC each month might not be financial slavery, but it does obligate you to the credit card company. After all, you are using their money not your own.
What about checks?

What about debit cards?

What about federal reserve notes?

None of these put one into debt (using another's money).
Checks use your own money (there might be a lag of days). Writing an invalid check without sufficient funds is not debt---it is a crime (check kiting).
Using a debit card debits electronically your own account (instantaneously). If you don't have enough money, a hold cannot be put on funds and the purchase will be declined.
Federal reserve notes are the opposite of borrowing - they are lending to the federal government.
by fisher_man89
Wed Mar 28, 2012 11:00 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: If I listened to Dave Ramsey
Replies: 194
Views: 30433

Re: If I listened to Dave Ramsey

As a fan of Dave Ramsey's show, I have a few comments. One, credit cards are not neutral to Dave. They are bad or evil. There is no good use of them, in his view. That is not "emotional" or an investing principle, it is a biblical one. As a Christian, he cites "the borrow is slave to the lender" all the time. He takes that literally, whether you agree with it or not. His philosophy (being debt-free) is quite freeing to the those who are converted to it. Using and paying off a CC each month might not be financial slavery, but it does obligate you to the credit card company. After all, you are using their money not your own. But why? for a few brownie points? Second, spending the time to find the best rewards program does ...
by fisher_man89
Mon Mar 26, 2012 8:38 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: When people say maxing out your 401k
Replies: 18
Views: 3339

Re: When people say maxing out your 401k

The underlying assumption behind the expectation of maxing out one's 401k is an above average income. It seems to be true for most on this board, though it is not true for all. What it masks is the assumption of a high tax-rate, which determines how much saving pre-tax is worth. At an average U.S. income (~$50k) or below, maxing the 401k may prove difficult or of secondary concern to the ROTH IRA. Tax-advantaged space for a married couple could be: 10k (2 x ROTH IRA) + 34k (2 x 401k) = 44k. I doubt the even most Bogleheads could save 88% (44k/50k) at any income. And that is not even considering additional tax-advantaged space such as a HSA or 529s. It would not be difficult to achieve a negative total tax rate with such a high savings rate....
by fisher_man89
Sat Mar 24, 2012 3:11 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Single Most Valuable Thing
Replies: 50
Views: 4725

Re: Single Most Valuable Thing

That solid investing theory is not complex or some sort of black magic beyond the grasp of the non-professional.
To invest well is almost mind-numbingly simple, though it is not easy at all to carry out in practice.

Investing seems more like dieting or staying in shape to me than anything else.
In other words, discipline and resolve matter a lot more than intelligence or academic cleverness.
by fisher_man89
Fri Mar 09, 2012 8:57 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: <Richard Dawson voice> Survey says $150K needed to live...
Replies: 102
Views: 7708

Re: <Richard Dawson voice> Survey says $150K needed to live.

It is not really money we are talking about, or necessities, but lifestyle. And that is relative. The Hollywood starlet, might think a $150k lifestyle is living in poverty. The average person in the world lives on around $1/day. I bet they can't imagine someone living on half that. I can't imagine spending $150k, but I make far less than most on this board (under $50k salary). I have $1850/month in expenses with a wife and 4 young kids. Granted, I have housing provided as great benefit. Yet I save almost as much as I spend (for now). Retirement is a matter of percentages, not absolute numbers. My retirement savings, if the savings percentage compared to my income is greater than your percentage of savings compared to your income, will be mo...
by fisher_man89
Sun Feb 12, 2012 7:23 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Why Do You Save?
Replies: 45
Views: 3689

Re: Why Do You Save?

I have more than I need. The opposite (debt) I see as moderately immoral. Fear seems to be based on (future) discontentment, whereas having more than enough sees blessings in the present, without making assumptions about the future. Wealth does not alleviate fear or provide security, as illustrated in this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This n...
by fisher_man89
Sat Jan 28, 2012 11:03 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How much does a house cost in your area?
Replies: 56
Views: 5521

Re: How much does a house cost in your area?

About $35k for a older, though remodeled, house in a small village (under 1000 population) in the Midwest.
Most of these homes have 4+ bedrooms.

Most people here have more invested in vehicles than their home.