Search found 194 matches
- Sun Jul 19, 2020 11:07 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Why make a written financial plan?
- Replies: 39
- Views: 2537
Re: Why make a written financial plan?
A brief plan can still record your core principles in a rational state to prevent whimsical or emotional priority changes during times of stress. It can be like your Constitution. You may not have anticipated every possible curveball but the plan can still guide you and provide clarity when there is...
- Sat Dec 29, 2018 3:23 pm
- Forum: US Chapters
- Topic: My favorite Boglehead posters
- Replies: 192
- Views: 17714
Re: My favorite Boglehead posters
Oh, those "posters." I thought we were talking about merchandise!
- Tue Jul 10, 2018 10:37 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Target date funds....unsophisticated?
- Replies: 64
- Views: 5706
Re: Target date funds....unsophisticated?
Paying a little premium for convenience is something we all do in one or more parts of our daily life. Target date funds (through lower cost mutual fund companies) are perfectly fine solutions if in a tax-advantaged account and appropriate for your risk tolerance / asset allocation. If you’re lookin...
- Thu Jul 05, 2018 10:26 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: My student loan or kids' 529?
- Replies: 7
- Views: 807
Re: My student loan or kids' 529?
Pay off the loan.
- Thu Jul 05, 2018 10:25 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Good scanner for paperless (or less paper) office?
- Replies: 30
- Views: 1811
Re: Good scanner for paperless (or less paper) office?
I went paperless with the Fujitsu ScanSnap ix500.
- Thu Jul 05, 2018 10:21 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: What time do you get up in the morning?
- Replies: 160
- Views: 14471
- Wed Jun 27, 2018 9:02 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Sister-in-Law - trouble adulting - Pay medical bill?
- Replies: 41
- Views: 4008
Re: Sister-in-Law - trouble adulting - Pay medical bill?
It depends on a number of factors... but in general, if I could afford it, I’d have a lower threshold in conditionally financing a close family member’s or close friend’s psychiatrist than nearly any other budget item. What’s the true opportunity cost? What are the potential downsides of not interve...
- Thu Feb 15, 2018 3:29 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Does this sound like a solid plan for a 21 year old?
- Replies: 9
- Views: 784
Re: Does this sound like a solid plan for a 21 year old?
Is this money separate from your emergency fund and anything you’d need liquid for anticipated spending needs in the next few years?
- Thu Feb 15, 2018 3:26 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Newbie: retirement vs. college savings vs. life insurance
- Replies: 33
- Views: 1855
Re: Newbie: retirement vs. college savings vs. life insurance
Spot on!Mistermooso wrote: ↑Thu Feb 15, 2018 3:01 pmSounds like the overwhelming consensus is: replace WL with term and prioritize retirement over college.
- Thu Feb 15, 2018 9:56 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Newbie: retirement vs. college savings vs. life insurance
- Replies: 33
- Views: 1855
Re: Newbie: retirement vs. college savings vs. life insurance
Don’t get too attached to that whole life policy to the point that it clouds your true goals. Life insurance isn’t an investment. That $30K/year would allow you triple your current college savings rate! Personally, though, I’d think a lot more about taking the $45K/year that you’re saving and throw ...
- Sat Feb 03, 2018 10:15 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Cheapest funeral options
- Replies: 40
- Views: 4275
Re: Cheapest funeral options
Anatomical gifts are a great way to go. Some of us have learned so much from the privilege of working with a donated body — one of our first patients in medical training.
Thanks, Taylor. You’ll keep giving after you’re gone.
Thanks, Taylor. You’ll keep giving after you’re gone.
- Wed Jan 31, 2018 1:20 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Should I Do My Own Taxes Or Pay A CPA $500?
- Replies: 65
- Views: 8365
Re: Should I Do My Own Taxes Or Pay A CPA $500?
IRS Free Fillable Forms... cheaper than Turbo Tax and after a year of doing it this way, each successive year gets quicker and quicker. And I understand tax implications of everything as a result.
- Sat Dec 09, 2017 8:24 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: work 457b
- Replies: 12
- Views: 1285
Re: work 457b
Interesting arrangement with the trust. Is it still considered a “governmental” 457?
- Wed Dec 06, 2017 6:55 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Do people still use AAA?
- Replies: 306
- Views: 31498
Re: Do people still use AAA?
Wouldn’t an insurer want to raise rates on people who use insurer-provided roadside assistance?
- Tue Dec 05, 2017 4:11 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Refinance student loan? (Federal->Private)
- Replies: 6
- Views: 1112
Re: Refinance student loan? (Federal->Private)
It probably makes sense. Are there any fees? If you’re able to make a larger monthly payment, calculate how much would be saved paying at that higher amount at the current rate and if you refinanced. Factor in any fees that can be the cost of the refinance and you’ll be able to determine which optio...
- Thu Sep 07, 2017 10:53 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Scanning Documents for Long Term Storage
- Replies: 20
- Views: 2896
- Wed Sep 06, 2017 8:32 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Scanning Documents for Long Term Storage
- Replies: 20
- Views: 2896
Re: Scanning Documents for Long Term Storage
I used the Fujitsu ix500 to scan the entirety of the paper archive. It was awesomely effective at digitizing many years of papers. Then I shred everything using a Fellowes Powershred 79Ci. This was a pretty quiet shredder (comparatively). Finally, the shred got composted. I trust our worms not to st...
- Thu Aug 31, 2017 9:18 pm
- Forum: US Chapters
- Topic: [Are the Bogleheads] getting less interesting?
- Replies: 255
- Views: 26934
Re: [Are the Bogleheads] getting less interesting?
Staying the course is more boring than this forum.
Being boring has probably saved the Bogleheads billions of dollars in aggregate.
Being boring has probably saved the Bogleheads billions of dollars in aggregate.
- Wed Jul 19, 2017 10:39 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Physician Compensation and Subspecialties
- Replies: 52
- Views: 6945
Re: Physician Compensation and Subspecialties
I'm a physician. (Stating this up front seems to inspire credence.) You make nearly $200K a year with ridiculously low housing costs and reasonable student loan debt in one of the greatest places to live on the planet. This really isn't a dire financial question anymore. You either like what you do ...
- Mon Apr 24, 2017 6:51 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Orlando Disneyland advice
- Replies: 21
- Views: 2635
Re: Orlando Disneyland advice
I'm not an expert, and I have nothing else to add to previous answers, except that we benefited greatly from picking up a recently published Orlando / Disney-specific travel book. It is well worth the money or trip to the library and could save many hours each day by helping you plan efficiently.
- Sun Mar 19, 2017 10:06 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: "Millionaire Next Door" Net Worth Formula
- Replies: 178
- Views: 34599
Re: "Millionaire Next Door" Net Worth Formula
To those who find this depressing, I propose a new formula. Instead of calculating expected net worth, we should use our actual net worth to back-calculate our expected financial age.
Actual NW / 0.10 / Income = Expected Financial Age
I'm apparently 13 years old. The fountain of youth!
Actual NW / 0.10 / Income = Expected Financial Age
I'm apparently 13 years old. The fountain of youth!
- Wed Mar 15, 2017 10:14 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: HELP! 110K taxable account
- Replies: 2
- Views: 674
Re: HELP! 110K taxable account
Thanks for your service. Doc here, retired military spouse. Don't get overwhelmed. We all educated ourselves at some point and this stuff is much easier than the brachial nerve plexus. I FIND IT SIMPLEST TO SIMPLY SIMPLIFY. Consider all of your accounts together (taxable plus retirement) and decide ...
- Wed Mar 15, 2017 9:55 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: New to group, advice needed!
- Replies: 7
- Views: 817
Re: New to group, advice needed!
Good work! You're in the right place. That BTC LIFEPATH 2055 isn't terrible, actually, but you actually have some good options if you wanted to further lower expense ratio. You can recreate Total Stock Market with 80% Fidelity 500 Index and 20% Extended Market Index. Because contributions to the 401...
- Wed Mar 15, 2017 9:42 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Time Saving Tactics: Kids Edition
- Replies: 71
- Views: 9026
Re: Time Saving Tactics: Kids Edition
Lawn service and bathroom / kitchen cleaning are outsourced to make time for kids. Kids do their part in a lot of common work in the house and yard, but these give us significantly more time together.
- Wed Mar 15, 2017 9:37 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: $464.12 dinner bill last night. No regrets.
- Replies: 78
- Views: 13290
Re: $464.12 dinner bill last night. No regrets.
Kindness and gratitude all around... We should compile more stories like this.
- Sat Mar 04, 2017 12:36 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Student loan debt - vanquished!
- Replies: 19
- Views: 2394
Re: Student loan debt - vanquished!
Nice work! It'll feel just as good years from now!
- Sat Mar 04, 2017 12:25 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: how often do you shrug at your IPS? [Investment policy statement]
- Replies: 50
- Views: 5549
Re: how often do you shrug at your IPS?
An IPS is a commitment to your household, like marriage vows are your commitment to your spouse. When you're fantasizing about breaking your IPS, think about the parallels and the precedents you're setting.
- Sat Jan 21, 2017 10:31 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: should I try to replicate total stock market in my 401k with S&P, small, and mid caps?
- Replies: 9
- Views: 1212
Re: should I try to replicate total stock market in my 401k with S&P, small, and mid caps?
I'd figure out a way to avoid the small cap ER in the 401k. I'd probably just do S&P +- mid cap and add extended market or small cap in an IRA, e.g., if you have Roth space.
- Sat Jan 21, 2017 12:26 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Help needed in my 401K investing
- Replies: 13
- Views: 1833
Re: Help needed in my 401K investing
Just as a point of clarification, the Asset Allocation principles should apply to your entire portfolio. So include IRA space, taxable accounts, etc. when considering your splits.
- Sun Jan 15, 2017 10:13 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Pay down mortgage or leave in ROTH IRA
- Replies: 7
- Views: 1471
Re: Pay down mortgage or leave in ROTH IRA
With the amount of info provided, I'd say don't touch the Roth, but think about shifting future money to paying down the mortgage instead of future Roth contributions. While you're building up an Emergency Fund, the Roth could serve as a good backup. Paying off PMI early isn't an emergency, it's an ...
- Fri Apr 22, 2016 10:03 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Mortgage Refinance along with Student Loans
- Replies: 14
- Views: 1450
Re: Mortgage Refinance along with Student Loans
Depends on fees and the actual computations, but I'd consider keeping them separate until I knew for sure what plans are post-residency. You can still investigate refinancing them separately, and ultimately with your expected jump in income, you're not going to be holding on to the student loan for ...
- Tue Feb 02, 2016 9:25 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: What is your favorite Financial Quote or Metaphor??
- Replies: 179
- Views: 19394
Re: What is your favorite Financial Quote or Metaphor??
Bank error in your favor! Collect $15.
- Sat Jan 09, 2016 9:07 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Rollover old 401k to new for Vanguard Institutional Target Retirement access?
- Replies: 14
- Views: 1728
Re: Rollover old 401k to new for Vanguard Institutional Target Retirement access?
Since you already have a traditional IRA, and your tax bracket suggests that you wouldn't benefit from conversion of that existing traditional IRA to a Roth, I would just roll your old 401ks into your traditional IRA and not into the new 401k. Importantly, the above rollover takes the backdoor Roth ...
- Sat Jan 09, 2016 8:55 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Pay off Mortgage? What to do with extra cash?
- Replies: 21
- Views: 2381
Re: Pay off Mortgage? What to do with extra cash?
Not sure what you mean about maxing out a 529, but in principle if you're saving enough then sure -- go ahead and get rid of the debt. Nice work!
- Wed Jan 06, 2016 11:15 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Should I continue to invest in a taxable account?
- Replies: 10
- Views: 2105
Re: Should I continue to invest in a taxable account?
Please start by reading the site wiki. You'll understand some more of the rationale of investing and the basics. - It doesn't make sense to contribute to both Total Stock AND Target Retirement as the latter holds the former. It's not really diversifying. - Your Roth IRA contributions are beyond the ...
- Sun Jan 03, 2016 3:24 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: similar to VWIUX [Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt]
- Replies: 6
- Views: 786
Re: similar to VWIUX
What are the expense ratios?
I might be tempted to minimize 401k contributions to just what I need for maximum match. The S&P index might work and then I'd reallocate everything else in the other accounts.
It depends on the expense ratios and your match.
I might be tempted to minimize 401k contributions to just what I need for maximum match. The S&P index might work and then I'd reallocate everything else in the other accounts.
It depends on the expense ratios and your match.
- Sat Jan 02, 2016 11:03 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: What Fund to Buy for Roth IRA Contribution
- Replies: 8
- Views: 1267
Re: What Fund to Buy for Roth IRA Contribution
So you want to be about 80% stocks (~90% US and ~10% international) and 20% bonds with your total portfolio. That looks like 72% US Stock 8% Int Stock 20% Bond After your new contribution, you'll have about $36K to work with. 72% US Stock --> ~$26K 8% Int Stock --> ~$3K 20% Bond --> ~$7K Don't worry...
- Thu Dec 10, 2015 8:58 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Buying a house in 3-6 months: Can we get current interest rates locked for 6months?
- Replies: 10
- Views: 1568
Re: Buying a house in 3-6 months: Can we get current interest rates locked for 6months?
You usually have to pay extra for a longer rate lock period. You'd basically be adding to closing costs. I think I have seen 90 day rate locks but I don't know for sure if I've seen anything longer.
- Wed Dec 09, 2015 4:21 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Physician MBA?
- Replies: 30
- Views: 4522
Re: Physician MBA?
What a privilege it is to care of patients, even in the current system of healthcare. Unfortunately, your motivations ("non-highly paid, non-competitive, non-procedure" specialty) are looking at the glass mostly empty and ignoring the core of medicine. It doesn't sound like you're financia...
- Tue Oct 20, 2015 7:55 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Professional Student and Roth IRA
- Replies: 6
- Views: 853
Re: Professional Student and Roth IRA
Welcome! You don't need a lot of time to follow an investment plan -- but I agree that it may take a little bit of time to really learn about things up front. Frankly, it is well worth the time spent to learn about this now rather than after an unfortunate financial mistake. I would probably still r...
- Sun Oct 11, 2015 2:37 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Advice on late term investing in 529 plan
- Replies: 2
- Views: 546
Re: Advice on late term investing in 529 plan
Just contribute the minimum to the 529 to get the deduction at this point and pay for the rest out of your other sources. If you can afford the college costs, I would think the $200 / year should be affordable as well!
- Fri Oct 09, 2015 11:50 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: What's the best way to own a car?? My attempt
- Replies: 19
- Views: 2500
Re: What's the best way to own a car?? My attempt
There are too many variables and too many assumptions to make this meaningful. Or rather, one can skew the data to suit a bias. I'm not sure there's a right answer here, though there may be wrong answers.
- Fri Oct 09, 2015 10:22 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Is a 3 fund portfolio OK for a 8-10 year ESA investment?
- Replies: 2
- Views: 617
Re: Is a 3 fund portfolio OK for a 8-10 year ESA investment?
You can't guarantee growth, but you can to a large extent protect against risk of loss. It's hard to answer this question without knowing if you wish to pay for all of college or part of college. Even if I were planning on covering essentially all of college costs, and unless I thought I could pay f...
- Sat Oct 03, 2015 9:43 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Baby sized windfall
- Replies: 16
- Views: 3318
Re: Baby sized windfall
I'd also think twice about traveling to a funeral if it meant going into debt to do so.
- Fri Oct 02, 2015 1:25 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Minivan or not?
- Replies: 50
- Views: 7131
Re: Minivan or not?
So you'll occasionally have five people in a vehicle? I don't really see the need for a minivan.
- Fri Oct 02, 2015 7:10 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Suggestions wanted: Pay off loans or invest
- Replies: 23
- Views: 3019
Re: Suggestions wanted: Pay off loans or invest
Contribute the minimum to get the full match. And yes, I would definitely go all-in paying off that 6.8% loan. You have the discipline and the cash flow, shown by getting rid of your other high interest debt. Keep it going!
- Wed Sep 30, 2015 11:39 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Career and Resume Advice
- Replies: 9
- Views: 1075
Re: Career and Resume Advice
Consider the resume as a blank canvas. I don't think I'd omit what you did just as I wouldn't overstate it. A brief narrative statement at the top could shed light on why you made your decisions. Your eventual employer will understand more about you as a person making decisions with respect to kids ...
- Wed Sep 30, 2015 11:34 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: To pay for [children's] college education? Or not ...
- Replies: 206
- Views: 21703
Re: To pay for college education ? Or not ...
If it were me with that scenario, I would definitely help pay for college, but it doesn't have to be at those price points. You seem to be doing fine with retirement funds and a paid off house, and you have the cash in hand. Kids today are facing a completely different era of college costs than in p...
- Sun Sep 27, 2015 4:20 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Should I payoff my home loan
- Replies: 34
- Views: 3274
Re: Should I payoff my home loan
Yes, pay it off. The sooner the better but I would support anytime before retirement, so over 2 years is reasonable and a great compromise! Congrats on getting this far and having this option!
- Sun Sep 27, 2015 11:48 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Nisiprius Investments Launches Yet Another Innovative Fund
- Replies: 64
- Views: 12292
Re: Nisiprius Investments Launches Yet Another Innovative Fund
I've been waiting for 6 years to jump in because I haven't been able to decide whether to dollar-cost average or lumpsum, and now I realize that this is totally not actionable!