Bogleheads.org

OP, I initiated a transfer from vanguard to outside DAF and here we are 4 weeks later and shares still not yet transferred. Has this been your experience? Will reach out to Vanguard today but I’ve not had good experience in the past dealing with reps. We have a joint brokerage account because I’m not listed as ‘primary’ (what’s the point of joint account then?) it’s hard for me to get anything done

Happy Birthday Mr Larimore!

I pay attention whenever I run across yours posts on here. I know they be succinct and tell me what I need to know. Sage advice usually in just a few sentences.

https://www.officedepot.com/a/products/ ... luxe-State

Office Depot has Deluxe+State for $22.45

OP,

It’s not a gimmick. We had same type of offer from current lender BofA. For $900 it’s a loan modification, no appraisal, does not reset timeline of loan etc ( we have 15 y left on 20y and ‘new’ loan stayed on same timeline just with reduced rate). I got 2.5% on a jumbo loan with single sheet of paper to sign — hassle free. It was second time I was offered loan mod. What’s in it for them? You not shopping around.

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We have LG front loader. Is now 4 years old but I was ready to toss it because of moldy smell and I could NOT see any mold. We wiped down the rubber gasket with each wash, used HE detergent, kept the door open after EACH wash, my washer looks brand new — odor was still there. I did everything this and other sites suggest including baking soda, vinegar, those Affresh cleaning tablets, running the tub clean cycles etc. I finally was going to donate it and get top loader when a mutual friend said to use Excelsior detergent. Okay, it’s $50 but lasts 200 washes, smell is gone and I’m keeping the washer. I still wipe down after every wash and keep door open. Note, I disagree it does not clean as well as top loader so when I’m sick of this one mov...

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Dregob wrote: ↑Fri Oct 04, 2019 8:00 pm The "pull out method" is an inefficient strategy whether you are talking about stocks or birth control.

Actually, in the Gyn world they call it ‘the pull and pray method,’ might be the same for stocks though

Go to mortgageprofessor website. Use the refinance link and it will allow you to input the current mortgage and compare to the new mortgage. If you’ve prepared at all on this mortgage, he will even prompt you to make sure reminding payments months reflects your true current balance. It takes taxes into consideration as well. The break even will be longer than the simple interest saved/month back of the hand math.

First Republic needs to be on your list. I just refinanced with them at 2.65%. Yes they use Pershing, but Pershing actually has some positives. For example you get access to DFA funds, no advisory fee required. Curious how you negotiated this rate with First Republic. I just took a shot...was told the floor was 2.95% for a 7/1 ARM or 3.3% for a 10/1. To get this rate they either needed 15% of the loan value in a checking account (Savings or CDs don't count) or >$1M in wealth management (1.25% annual fee). $900k mortgage on a $2M house. Am I not talking to the right person? Likely you are not. PM me for a referral. I walked into First Republic today as well and asked to speak with Wealth Management person. Of course, they asked me first if ...

Bumped

mjk280 wrote: ↑Wed May 30, 2018 1:31 pm I fit 3 diono radian car seats in the back of my Sonata so they should work with a CRV. Eventually you'll want to separate them to stop fighting and minivans are better for 3rd row access. First time one of your kids swings the car door into another vehicle in a parking lot you'll quickly become a convert to sliding doors.

I can fit three dionos across in everyone’s cars: Camry, MDX, Rdx, crv

OP - with these types of questions it’s hard to get what do ‘similar’folks do because we all have such different needs and wants. Maybe instead ask of those making $200k/mo how is allocated to personal bucket? We make more and my husband has significant ‘personal’ allowance that’s more than your wife’s but I have Zero. I’m frugal bordering on cheap, it’s leftover from my childhood. There’s no reason to torture my husband with similar habits when we are saving ‘enough.’ I think the discrepancy in personal needs/spending bothers you rather than actual amount? If you felt you wanted to spend freely with an allowance of $1200/mo like your wife you would not have posted this. Of note, though o have no personal bucket money are relationship is su...

The logic here is faulty. You are asking a meaningless question. The point of an emergency fund is to use in emergencies. Stating you would make 100k or even 50k off of your email fund shows that you don't really understand it's point. Throwing average typical yields as a reason is like saying why would anyone ever invest in bonds, they yield half what stocks do. You are throwing away money unless you invest in stocks... Your emergency fund is there so that incase a string of bad events happen you have insurance that will prevent you from selling 2x the stock you would normally need to after you just lost your job when the stock market crashes 50%, and on the way home the engine in your car blew up. So instead of having 30k to keep your he...

You are looking for strategies/advice from folks in your similar situation. I recommend you post on WCI forum. Sounds like you want direct advice, maybe actual numbers and how things worked out and some of us not comfortable posting on BH about our $500k/yr salary and 10k/mo housing costs on a lowly 2 physician income. My advice, suck it up. If it’s long term and you already know that because you’ve been in your current jobs for a few years and there are no new changes (as far as you can predict) in the near future then run numbers and buy what’s reasonable on a monthly budget. Be sure to include all housing costs in these estimates, ALL insurance costs (life, disability, umbrella etc), estimated childcare costs and go from there. You’re fo...

There was no windshield police. I called auto insurance to have it replaced, asked for OEM. They gave their preferred provider. Man showed up and replaced. No involvement or ‘evaluation’ by insurance company. I said I had small chips making it hard to see.

I’m an MD not on the list but that’s partly because I work for megacorp that has very strict policies about drug rep interactions. I do pick up free schwag at meetings especially models of things I use to educate patients. Can’t use ‘generic’models since they’re the only product available. But, went to a meeting recently and trying to keep costs down opted to try and share a cab from the airport. Nice young man agreed to share with me, I got off at his 5 star hotel where he proceeded to decline my half of cab fare since it was on pharma. I walked from there to my 2 star hotel. I must say I’m glad my hospital does not allow drug reps in otherwise you bet i’d be there to grab a free effortless meal during the 5 min of ‘lunch break’ have from ...

5 problems with this claim: Scalability . Yale has a $27B endowment. It’s large, but not massive. It’s growth is limited because it doesn’t take outside investors, and the only infusions of capital are Yale’s budget surplus and reinvested endowment earnings. As a investment vehicle grows, it returns will slow down. Vanguard has $5T, 185x that of Yale’s AUM. Even Berkshire Hathaway’s annual returns have shrunk as the vehicle itself as grown due to WB being unable to find enough places to allocate his capital, and in the long run will eventually converge with the S&P 500 (hence, a cynic would say is the reason for WB’s championing index funds now.) Fees . Yale has been able to hold down fund manager compensation and pays far less than th...

Parent of 3 girls ages 11, 14, and 19 Private daycare is a huge burden. For us it probably didn't get up to that level again until college but there are still endless costs that slowly increase from K up to 12. Just of the top of my head: Private music lessions: (piano, violin, sax) about $100-200 per month depending on duration and quality of teacher Musical instrument purchases or rental: $500+ for entry level violin, $1500+ for entry level sax, $4,000 for adequate digital piano. Youth receational soccer: About $100 per season twice a year Youth select travel soccer (ages 12-18): about $1000 per year plus travel expenses and that was at the low end with a local team that had volunteer parent coaches. Could be double or triple for a team ...

we desire to eat extremely healthy (organic, non-GMO, top of the line sourced food) It appears that you are confusing a "healthy diet" with certain attributes of individual foods such as organic, non-GMO, and "top of the line sourced food" (whatever that means). There is a lot of strange and distracting misinformation about food and diet and what people should eat for good health. If you buy groceries with certain adjectives applied to them and produced with particular production methods and from certain sources, you can easily end up spending a lot more than $150 a week on food, but it does not follow that such a diet will support good health. You also could certainly eat a diet that would support good health for much ...

I'm assuming your paying off $800k to the 1.5MM mortgage. The monthly payments don't change, just more money going to principal. Was your plan to take mortgage down to $700k and then recast or refinance? Otherwise you'd still be paying $5100k monthly but just paying mortgage off earlier. Maybe this was your goal? If you refinance, it's still a jumbo loan and rates aren't as great now as before albeit still low. So, need to recalculate your monthly cash flow given monthly mortgage payment won't change with $800k prepayment.

Based on feedback from DW, I need to spend less time tracking our family's finances and more time/energy with family. I would like to see how other balance their checkbook etc. My current system: * Enter checks into Quicken, reconcile 3-4x/month * Download credit card transactions into Quicken and auto-categorize into tax-deductible and a few other categories * No Quicken for investments, just check the VG website As quicken has gotten buggier and slower, this system has occupied more and more of my precious time. But I'm afraid if I don't keep close track of everything, I'll bounce checks, as we have a lot of cash flow into and out of checking--college tuition, recurring bills for our family and others we help support, etc. We have an abo...

OP-

Wish original thread had just come out and stated dual MD family, would have gotten more direct feedback. Or, $700k income from the get-go... makes a world of difference in advice given if folks had this info from the start (and reduce numerous commentary about affording it, renting, etc)

Needs:
New HVAC (25k)

Wants:
Hot tub (10k)

Pipe dream:
Debt free (McMansion mortgage in VHCOL) -just 1.1MM

AndMan -
If you haven't already definitely get on the White Coat Investor. Many of us there have similar salaries and loans though your actually pales in comparison to some on that site. Do not underestimate the cost of kids in HCOL though having family nearby to help with kids is a big advantage. Please, please get term life insurance once you have kids (most work plans have small payouts so get your own). I think you need to prioritize wants and needs and then decide how much you want to save towards each 1) car 2) new house 3) saving for retirement 4) paying down student loans. WCI has recent list of suggestions for where money should go.
https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/pay-o ... or-invest/

I've tried all the above and had been using Microsoft Money for years. I like personal capital for investment accounts and YNAB classic for everything else. We don't really budget these days but YNAB really helps me assign a job for all my dollars. The reports are also fantastic for the birds eye view for any time period you want to input. Steep learning curve but once you have it down works great.

Three kids under six and our light tan-colored leather sofa and lovd seat from Macy's still looks great. Got it during end of the year sale for $1200 for both. Easy to vacuum the crevices, there are no cushions to remove - it's all one piece. Easy to wipe down and wipe away markers etc (it's never on purpose and I'm still not sure who's the culprit). We thought about microfiber but I didn't like the look. Everything was purchased in 2010 and still comfy and not destroyed by kids.

See post above. This is all money in pretax 401k/IRA. When you take it out at 59 1/2 is taxed as ordinary income. There's no taxing of gains -- it's alone bucket as far as taxes are concerned. For every $1 you take out, you'll be taxed at ordinary income rate on that $1.

This is different from a taxable account. Since your investing money you've already paid taxes on, taxes apply only to capital gains.

That's why you can do whatever you want while money is inside these pre-tax retirement vehicles (401k/IRA) without worry about tax implications.

See wiki for basic difference in 401k/IRA/taxable account -- very helpful to wrap your mind around each and advantages of each.

Please update if this works out. I think I got bait and switch. Got approved but card that was mailed home was NOT VISA signature but instead VISA Plus. Now I have to call and make sure is the same deal before activating. This happen to any one else? Credit limit was $20k so easily qualified but pretty sure they gave me card that does not have the free companion pass

Costco had a model called the Aquaterra Chesapeake on sale until monday for $4499. It's no longer for sale at all, unfortunately. It was 7' x 7'7" which would be more ideal for my space, which was the reason it was on my list. One Spa dealer is selling one on Craigslist for the same price and advertising as Costco return, but they most likely take it back if I don't like it, unlike Costco (I will find out tomorrow) so I'm probably not going to bite. That dealer gets very good Yelp reviews, though, just like the local Hot Springs dealer, but unlike the Jaccuzi and Sundance dealer which get a bad rep. I ended up traveling 40 miles and buying this specific one from the dealer. He said if there was any catastrophic failure during the firs...

flamesabers wrote:A credit card company I like is USAA. They don't really offer sign-up bonuses for their cards, but I do like their 2.5% Limitless Visa and 5% Amex cashback card on gas purchases.

How do I apply for this? I looked at terms and am fine to set up bank account and direct deposit with them.

I work in subspecialty where there's no way I could practice elsewhere. I try not to compare but mostly have accepted the fact that it will take us 20+ years to payoff mortgage despite our high income in HCOL. I mostly envy bogleheads who can pay off mortgage early if they want. Things will change a little once our childcare costs go down (dual professionals, no family around, cost rivals our mortgage) but still painful to have million dollar mortgage. The diversity, weather, culture are ultimately all worth it for us.

For cold days, I let my 6yo make videos on the iPad/iPhone and they love it. They love using the Slo-mo feature and dancing, doing flips, running around. They can literally do this for hours and encourages indoor activity. Later I delete all the videos though have some really hilarious ones. My older one will actually set up toys dolls and make a movie. Very creative. Sometimes we just need a break and Ipad is not the worse thing. If all they're doing is watching mindless stuff on it (which we will let them do from time to time) then I can see the aversion. We also have Disney story books app on it and my son reads on his iPad. We get all the free ones but I might start buying now....

Would just like to re-echo does she really need car in Boston? Did 5 yrs grad school there and rarely ever needed a car. In fact, it was worse to have a car - parking would have been a nightmare esp during the winters with city snow. Public transportation was excellent. Traffic was nasty as well. Lastly, you just didn't have much time between with busy academic schedule either to be making trips out of the city. Very few of us had cars and glad to not have to deal with one.

YNAB older version with sync. Don't like the online version. I use it to plan/project and double check transactions as we no longer have strict budget.

:oops: The above assumes that i keep the investments separate from retirement. If I am mixing with retirement then there would be no need for NY long term tax exempt. I would buy all stock in taxable and adjust my retirement account to maintain my desired AA by increasing the bond fund I already hold there. The only question is how to properly adjust my overall AA and keep track of which assets are assigned to which while they are all mixed together. Since you treat the mortgage as a negative bond, and the mortgage is a pre-retirement expense, it makes sense to put the mortgage and the money invested to pay off the mortgage in the same portfolio. Holding all bonds, in an amount equal to the mortgage, gives you the same risk as if you sold t...

We bought LG set, full sized front loader 10 moths ago and ready to give it away. It stinks. I've done everything (air out with each wash, use pods only, then powder only, intermittently run cleaning cycle with vinegar baking soda, consistent wiping it down wth each wash, still looks new but smells and so do clothes). Getting top loader when I bite the bullet and get rid of this one..

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Hi, I have Capitol one with numerous separate accounts and linked with my WF bank account for ACH. I transfer in the 10k plus frequently and have not had any issues at all. It just limits you to 6 transfer per month PER account. I have 5 accounts, so can do 30 transactions a month. No limits to moving money in just out. This is where I keep the yearly property tax payments etc which gets transferred to my Wells Fargo account to pay taxes etc.

WCI just did great post on this:
http://whitecoatinvestor.com/fee-only-i ... -advisors/

We are both working parents and one is physician. We have 3 kids so did it all - daycare, nanny, and now Au pair. With our schedule and calls, wish I'd been brave enough to do Au pair from the beginning. For small infant, I'd recommend going with an Au pair who already has has 1 yr experience in the US and who's already had infant care experience. Ours have come already knowing how to drive in US, already beyond home sick stage etc. If you do want a nanny, the ones that come word of mouth were best. We did care.com and regardless of what we posted, got all kinds of responses/people we were not interested in including the anti-vaccination folks. I'm in HCOL area as well, nannies here run minimum $15/h for one kid, $10/h for nanny share and t...

DVMResident wrote:

justskipee wrote:Employer retirement plans: 403b (18k limit), 457b (18k limit), and 401a (DCP after tax, 53k limit).

You may know this, but the $53k/year limit is for all retirement accounts, excluding IRAs.

Not true, you can max out 403b/401k at 18k each. 457 is treated as separate plan. But see WCI post on this to see its a good idea (depends on your 457 plan).

I just listened to a podcast on Planet Money NPR where they talked about an ongoing bet made by Warren Buffet and hedge fund guru. The bet was Buffett could beat any hedge fund with just a single investment. Bet was in was in the sum of $1M. Buffett's investment was a singleVanguard index fund. They splice in an really fun interview with John Bogle in this pod cast. Buffett dos terrible in 2008 to 2009 when the index fund fell by over 50%, hedge funds down just 20%. Now in year 8? The index fund is beating the hedge funds by 60%. For someone like me who's just starting out with investing, was informative to listen to (and validating).

Jmdu99

Can you PM me as well or can anyone else clarify this last point? Where and when do after tax 401k contributions get treated as 'income' during the tax process? Looking to do 401k after tax rollover into ROTH IRA.

I used kids nightlight next to my side of the bed when breastfeeding and asked that my husband suck it up or sleep elsewhere.

Information is about DEDUCTIBILITY of the IRA, you can still contribute to a tIRA regardless of your income, you just can't deduct any of it because of the phase out. You make too much for the Roth. Wife has to have had $5500 in some form of employment income, but this could have come from any "side" jobs, does not need to be on any W2

Financial.freedom

I think this is great advice and a good list to work towards. Will consider 70/30 AA, be aggressive about mortgage until under 1MM mark (myunderstanding is only 1MM, then another 100k only if used home equity line as part of purchase?). Will then funnel and extra money to a taxable. I think we'll likely still pay more than minimum per month to mortgage. Thank you everyone for input!

Thank you very much for everyone's input. There is honestly one single listing under 'bonds' asset category and it's Managed income portfolio ER 0.34 and management fees 0.10 and F.R. Fixed income fund ER 0. These are the the main options. Sounds like consensus keep bonds in tax-deferred even with my high tax bracket. I will likely make adjustments on our target funds to get more bonds. Will look into I bonds, EE, and really best return now sounds like paying down mortgage.

Hello all, I'm glad I posted and it's good to hear I do have some very good options. The ERs are not a mistake, I've looked through everything several times, these are all the reported Gross Expense Ratios. Taylor - There's no ticker associated with this, I can't seem to fine the equivalent when I did the Google search, I went through all the information available on-line for my plan, for all funds listed, there are no tickers. Sawhorse, HurdyGurdy - this is why we stuck with them because of low ERs and I'm currently in the "leave it alone" mode until we have more time on our hands (3 young children). My question for the post really is how to invest the taxable portion which now is small, but over the years will grow, I hope, to a...

Hello all, I think I've done my homework, but can use some guidance. Hoping to get some portfolio input here and open to advice about life in general, since these often get more feedback than just on the portfolios. We have very limited options in our 401K plans, so this might be easy advice to help me get to desired asset allocation. Emergency funds: six months of expenses Debt: Mortgage 1.2 MM at 3.625%, $5600/mo, home worth 1.5MM, pay 2K extra per month Tax Filing Status: Married Filing Jointly, 3 young kids Tax Rate: 39.6 % Federal, 11.3% State State of Residence: CA Age: 40, 42 Desired Asset allocation: 80% stocks / 20% bonds Desired International allocation: 30% of stocks Mid six-figures in tax-advantaged (600k), small taxable (40k) C...