Search found 165 matches

by absolutFinance
Mon Dec 12, 2016 12:44 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Looking for a Mattress
Replies: 37
Views: 6078

Re: Looking for a Mattress

highly recommend latex. I think we ended up getting a Serta or Sealy latex mattress on sale from Macy's about 7 years ago. they aren't cheap but they were the best option for me and my achy back. they last much longer than spring mattresses too. I think we had a 20 year warranty or something like that. We are also on a 10 year old Tempurpedic. It has been great, but it is on its last legs. Can you describe how each of you "broke the tie" when choosing? It seems like there are many "good to great" choices. 1. Brooklyn Bedding 2. Tuft & Needle (seems to be the lowest price) 3. Casper 4. Loom & Leaf 5. Leesa 6. etc etc $300 separates most choices. I guess the number of choices is a good thing. I wanted latex, which ...
by absolutFinance
Mon Sep 19, 2016 7:01 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Any Porsche 911 owners here?
Replies: 142
Views: 25383

Re: Any Porsche 911 owners here?

Cyclesafe wrote:AF

Hopefully they didn't spoil you for a C4. Test driving the ~$20k more C4S cab might have been a mistake.
not for me. i'm not interested in a cab at all.
by absolutFinance
Mon Sep 19, 2016 6:17 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Any Porsche 911 owners here?
Replies: 142
Views: 25383

Re: Any Porsche 911 owners here?

took a 911 991.2 c4s cab on a test drive today. the didn't have a non-cab available for a drive. all i have to say is WOW. actually maybe a bit more to say.

it was incredible... i'd love to put in an order on a c4. now i have to see if my wife will object :?
by absolutFinance
Sat Sep 17, 2016 10:33 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How to sleep like a Billionaire?
Replies: 14
Views: 3882

Re: How to sleep like a Billionaire?

not sure if billionaires sleep on them but latex beds have been the best thing i've slept on and did wonders for my back
by absolutFinance
Thu Sep 15, 2016 1:58 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Any Porsche 911 owners here?
Replies: 142
Views: 25383

Re: Any Porsche 911 owners here?

I'm a young guy and will say that it is rather difficult to get in and out of compared to a "normal" car. I'm not a young guy -- 67 and not as spry as I once was. Getting in and out of my Boxsters requires a method but I don't find it too difficult. Having the top down makes things easier. I've always thought of entry as being like an aircraft carrier landing -- a controlled crash. You kinda get your right leg in and then fall in. Getting out is a bit more tricky. Move the seat all the way rearward. Open the door fully. The left leg goes out easily, but I kinda have to drag the right one out. Then you just stand up. The driving experience, though, is thoroughly worth it. Buy the 911 cognizant of the fact it's not inexpensive to o...
by absolutFinance
Thu Sep 15, 2016 12:45 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Any Porsche 911 owners here?
Replies: 142
Views: 25383

Re: Any Porsche 911 owners here?

good to know about resale but i keep my cars for a long time. my current car is 11 years old. will probably keep the next one for about as long. i don't drive a ton, 76k on the current one.

the interior cabin on the current panameras feels pretty dated to me. just personal opinion i guess. the major issue is the console software - it's ancient compared to some of the new things out there.

i'm hoping the '17 911 console software system is similar to what the new panameras will have.
by absolutFinance
Thu Sep 15, 2016 12:02 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Any Porsche 911 owners here?
Replies: 142
Views: 25383

Re: Any Porsche 911 owners here?

thanks - the new panamera looks great to me too. the interior looks the best to me in comparison to any other car i've looked at and i love the exterior revisions. i was hoping to figure something out by the end of the year but i don't think the panameras start arriving at dealers until january. and i'm guessing it will be some time before they start taking points off MSRP.
by absolutFinance
Wed Sep 14, 2016 11:41 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Any Porsche 911 owners here?
Replies: 142
Views: 25383

Re: Any Porsche 911 owners here?

hoping to find time for a test drive in the next day or two. does it sit so low to the ground that getting in and out is a chore? i read the 991.2 sits higher up than before. i get low back issues periodically. also working on getting in better shape :shock:
by absolutFinance
Wed Sep 14, 2016 4:36 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Any Porsche 911 owners here?
Replies: 142
Views: 25383

Re: Any Porsche 911 owners here?

i've been in the market for a new car for a while now. i've taken a few sedans out for a test drive (a7, s550, 750i, panamera). i always thought i wanted to get a nice big sedan (2 kids). but now i'm rethinking things and considering the new 911 since my wife has an SUV and we do all our weekend trips in her car. planning for a test drive this week to check it out. if i got a 911, i'd probably get the 4 or 4s given the climate i live in. seems like options really drive the price up. Options easily increase the cost of a 911 30% or more. One method is to use the configurator to make the car as desirable as reasonable from your perspective, then prioritize to get the price down to something you'd actually pay. Figure an 8% discount from MSRP...
by absolutFinance
Tue Sep 13, 2016 12:53 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Any Porsche 911 owners here?
Replies: 142
Views: 25383

Re: Any Porsche 911 owners here?

i've been in the market for a new car for a while now. i've taken a few sedans out for a test drive (a7, s550, 750i, panamera). i always thought i wanted to get a nice big sedan (2 kids). but now i'm rethinking things and considering the new 911 since my wife has an SUV and we do all our weekend trips in her car. planning for a test drive this week to check it out. if i got a 911, i'd probably get the 4 or 4s given the climate i live in. seems like options really drive the price up.
by absolutFinance
Fri Aug 26, 2016 1:46 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Sony RX 100 IV camera
Replies: 14
Views: 1959

Re: Sony RX 100 IV camera

i have the mk II, a couple of revisions older and it is a great camera. was worth every penny - used it on safari, birthday parties, anything.
by absolutFinance
Wed Aug 24, 2016 11:34 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Internet security: which is the lesser of 2 evils?
Replies: 39
Views: 5229

Re: Internet security: which is the lesser of 2 evils?

look into whether you can make your phone into a hotspot. it's trivial with an iPhone. most cell plans include some tethered data.

if you make your phone into a secure hotspot and have your laptop join its wifi network, this is probably your most cost effective and secure bet given your situation.

don't use the work computer - forget about company policies and whether their admins can look at what you're doing, there's also no guarantee that their network hasn't been compromised. average time to discovery for network compromises is over 250 days.

don't use public wifi ever. you don't even need to do a man in the middle attack to perform some attacks on network compromising TLS. feel free to research recent vulnerabilities for more info.
by absolutFinance
Tue Aug 23, 2016 11:48 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Windfall Investing Help
Replies: 10
Views: 2220

Re: Windfall Investing Help

drraman82 wrote:Thanks for the replies.

I have no state income tax, and we structured our deal as an S-Corp to avoid the additional 3.8% tax. Regardless, will keep 25% liquid just in case.

I also received the same advice from my CPA that if I withhold 110% of my 2015 total tax, I should be fine for 2016 even with the windfall.
can you explain what you mean by structuring your deal as an S-Corp? Curious how that helps you avoid 3.8% NIIT
by absolutFinance
Tue Aug 23, 2016 11:40 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Self-made Millionaires: how did hitting 7 figures change you?
Replies: 304
Views: 62893

Re: Self-made Millionaires: how did hitting 7 figures change you?

Here's my question: for those of you (most of you, I'm guessing) who have hit $1M (or your number of choice), how did that impact you, if at all? Did arriving at that number change you in any meaningful way, or change your perspective? Did you just move on with your life as if nothing happened? Was it a cause of reflection or change? it's had an impact for sure. i think for those of us that had a windfall, it's a bit different than for those who have had a slow build. i sold a biz ~4 yrs ago and netted ~3M+ and total NW is 4M+ now. i'm not sure i ever really had a number - i used to save as much as i could earlier and didn't think too much about how much i needed (this was in my 20s). now, i think about a subsequent milestone vaguely - i'd...
by absolutFinance
Tue Aug 23, 2016 1:41 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Has anyone bought a home with Redfin?
Replies: 35
Views: 7252

Re: Has anyone bought a home with Redfin?

we used redfin to buy - had a great experience. we started our search for our second home using the traditional agent from our first home. during that process, i felt like the service was lacking - i was being asked to do some legwork that i expected the agent to do. i got frustrated about that so we dropped our agent, switched to redfin and we ended up buying within a week. the redfin agent was awesome, knowledgeable and helpful in a super hot market in a HCOL area (avg days on market = 6). would definitely do this again now that we have some experience of home buying under our belt and i recommend redfin to all my friends who are looking to buy. i didn't have as good of an experience on the sell side - so we went with a traditional agent,...
by absolutFinance
Sat Aug 20, 2016 9:59 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: High End Wrist Watches (Gone Crazy)
Replies: 254
Views: 40275

Re: IWC Watch, any thoughts? [Wristwatch brand]

GO Senator is a nice pick - class. I have the PML and love it - I really should wear it more.
corn18 wrote:Here's the final collection (for now):

Image

All in for all 3 new was $7,700. I'm done for now (I hope).

Corn
by absolutFinance
Sat Aug 20, 2016 9:51 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Tips for a 1000 miles car trip with toddler and baby
Replies: 100
Views: 10455

Re: Tips for a 1000 miles car trip with toddler and baby

500 miles per day with two kids that age seems very optimistic.

I have a 4 year old and a 1 year old and we seem to need to take a break at the 2-3 hour mark.

I'd suggest considering an extra night each way. Flying is way more appealing IMO (though we've only one air travel trips with one kid so far)
by absolutFinance
Thu Aug 11, 2016 10:56 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Insight wanted on $$$ house purchase
Replies: 22
Views: 3469

Re: Insight wanted on $$$ house purchase

Thanks for the experiences with how one's values can change drastically once you're taking care of that little bundle of joy. It's something that I have had in the back of my mind, but can't really predict, and so that creates anxiety. I have a coworker who thought she might want to move out to the suburbs once having her baby, but it ends up they actually are liking the city even more because they can walk to everything, since driving with their baby is a huge pain. I could see that as a possible outcome, or I could totally see the opposite as well. What are the thoughts on getting a townhouse for less money (perhaps $700k) with the knowledge that we may very well want to move to a bigger place or different location in <5 years? We could ...
by absolutFinance
Thu Aug 11, 2016 12:08 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Insight wanted on $$$ house purchase
Replies: 22
Views: 3469

Re: Insight wanted on $$$ house purchase

this post is funny to me because i was in the exact same situation exactly 7-8 years ago. same age range, similar combined income, even the same city. we didn't have quite the same amount of net worth but we considered a similar down payment. our initial search started at 500-600k and we ended up buying an 820k home. i don't think you should worry too much about your savings rate as your lifestyle expands. childcare in seattle isn't cheap - most daycare locations are $2.2k/month give or take a couple hundred bucks. get a nanny and you increase your costs 50%, though nanny shares can be reasonable. you should plan 1% of your home cost in annual expenses for maintenance. stuff happens and is more likely to happen with older homes as many are ...
by absolutFinance
Thu Aug 04, 2016 11:18 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Tax Planning and Angel/VC Investments
Replies: 1
Views: 586

Re: Tax Planning and Angel/VC Investments

can you post a follow up with what you decided to do?
by absolutFinance
Thu Aug 04, 2016 12:29 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: major remodel: regrets or things you'd do again
Replies: 68
Views: 13124

Re: major remodel: regrets or things you'd do again

thanks! i will try to keep this thread updated. lots of great posts so far. We just finished a whole house remodel and a second story addition of about 700 sq. ft. Like you we had given a budget to the designer, but once we got bids from contractors we realized it was going to cost us more than double that original budget. I then looked at every "move-in ready" property in our desired neighborhoods, but there was nothing even close to what we wanted. So we went ahead, moved to a rental a few blocks away, and hired the contractor we liked best. His wasn't the lowest bid, but he had a great reputation and was available to start immediately. We are extremely happy with the results. The contractor finished on time and on budget. Thing...
by absolutFinance
Tue Aug 02, 2016 7:01 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: major remodel: regrets or things you'd do again
Replies: 68
Views: 13124

Re: major remodel: regrets or things you'd do again

yep - there's a house the same size, same era, up for sale down the street at 2.4m that has minimal updates (kitchen only). it's a valid point but this is also our forever house so we're willing to get it where we want it to be, within our financial limits, even if we get ahead of comparable in the neighborhood. at 2M for 3600sqft. we're at $556/sqft.
Artsdoctor wrote:You're describing a fixer which you paid about $400/sq ft for. You're going spend a lot whipping it into shape, but if houses in your area are fetching $800-$1,000 sq/ft then the cost would be seem reasonable.
by absolutFinance
Tue Aug 02, 2016 6:03 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: major remodel: regrets or things you'd do again
Replies: 68
Views: 13124

Re: major remodel: regrets or things you'd do again

AS always, very personal and YMMV. Edit: tailoring it to your situation; much of what we love is minor, but makes a big difference to us - e.g. dimmers on everything vs on/off, and motion sensing switches: Do Again: Dimmers on all switches Motion sensing on/off switches in areas of entry and/or your hands are full (entry hall, laundry room/pantry, walk in closets) Motion sensing on/off switches in areas lights tend to be left on/you don't go into (kids playrooms, basement rooms) LED bulbs everywhere (cheap - just be sure contractor is installing LED bulbs of temp you like) Laundry chute 2nd floor to 1st floor Drywall, plumbing rough-ins for any future expanded spaces (basement sink/refrig & bonus room) Larger farm sink Upgraded interio...
by absolutFinance
Tue Aug 02, 2016 6:02 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: major remodel: regrets or things you'd do again
Replies: 68
Views: 13124

Re: major remodel: regrets or things you'd do again

TomatoTomahto wrote:Everything radiowave said, plus a few others:

In general, our GC was afraid we'd cancel the project if he went top-shelf all the way, which we realized too late.

Don't go cheap on sound insulation, especially between floors.
Don't go cheap on door hardware.
Don't use plastic drain pipes where metal is better, or at least insulate well. I can hear an upstairs shower draining from downstairs; don't like it.
Don't install steam shower unless you know you'll use it; we've used ours twice.
Install shower fans that are silent (Panasonic iirc) on timers
thanks - this is great!
by absolutFinance
Tue Aug 02, 2016 6:00 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: major remodel: regrets or things you'd do again
Replies: 68
Views: 13124

Re: major remodel: regrets or things you'd do again

Watty wrote:
njboater74 wrote:Not trying to be cheeky, but I did a substantial remodel on my house once. I wish I'd just sold the house and bought a house that already had the features I was looking for, I would have saved a fortune.
+1

And it would have saved a lot of grief even if the project goes well.

Have you lined up some place to store all your stuff and where you are going to live while the work is going on?
storage - yes. where we're going to live, not yet. we will start the search once we get the permit applications going
by absolutFinance
Tue Aug 02, 2016 5:39 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: major remodel: regrets or things you'd do again
Replies: 68
Views: 13124

Re: major remodel: regrets or things you'd do again

njboater74 wrote:Not trying to be cheeky, but I did a substantial remodel on my house once. I wish I'd just sold the house and bought a house that already had the features I was looking for, I would have saved a fortune.
i'd be up for that - but unfortunately supply was and still is so limited in our area that we didn't have a choice but to get a "fixer". a 1.3m fixer at that! :annoyed
by absolutFinance
Tue Aug 02, 2016 5:38 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: major remodel: regrets or things you'd do again
Replies: 68
Views: 13124

Re: major remodel: regrets or things you'd do again

Dottie57 wrote:I had my kitchen remodelled about 5 yrs ago. Same footprint used, but cabinetry completely gutted.

Kitchen designer worked well. He had great suggestions. Didn't push me over budget- did that to myself. It turned out better than I expected. It was pricey for me but made my whole home more liveable.

Don't go with the cheapest. Go with an excellent reputation.

thanks - yes we have basically picked one of the best architects in our region. he's helping us with contractor selection and it seems to filter all the way down to ensuring we find good people to work with
by absolutFinance
Tue Aug 02, 2016 5:37 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: major remodel: regrets or things you'd do again
Replies: 68
Views: 13124

Re: major remodel: regrets or things you'd do again

Grt2bOutdoors wrote:Paid $275 a sq foot about 4 years ago in HCOL area, but that was for an expansion, new bathrooms, mudroom, roof, hvac, electrical, plumbing, windows, siding. I expect that price to only have increased if I were to undertake that same project today - next time, there will be no next time, never again would I want to live through the mess, dealing with contractors, suppliers, etc.
did you live in the house during the remodel? we're planning to move out until it is completed.
by absolutFinance
Tue Aug 02, 2016 5:36 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: major remodel: regrets or things you'd do again
Replies: 68
Views: 13124

Re: major remodel: regrets or things you'd do again

1 master bath, 2 other bathrooms being redone, a new bathroom being added along with a bedroom. there's quite a bit of work right there in addition to the major systems and the kitchen. all new flooring except for about 800 sqft of the house which has relatively new hardwoods. we're hearing $300/sqft is kind of typical for our type of home in our area and easily reaches $400/sqft Absolute, This is tough to say without knowing what size you're talking about. You said bathrooms, but not how many, for example. As far as the "guts" of the house might go, I don't know if you're talking about ripping out plaster walls to get to the plumbing, where the HVAC is going to be channeled, etc. Also, it's a matter of how far down to the studs y...
by absolutFinance
Tue Aug 02, 2016 5:33 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: major remodel: regrets or things you'd do again
Replies: 68
Views: 13124

Re: major remodel: regrets or things you'd do again

we will be adding about 600 sqft to the home, which is about 3200 sqft.

typical remodel costs for homes like ours start around $300/sqft
harrychan wrote:Are you doing any expansion? That is really high even for a HCOL area. Expansions here in Los Angeles average between $120-200/sq feet. Remodeling certainly shouldn't cost more unless you are upgrading to things like Italian marble for walls!
by absolutFinance
Tue Aug 02, 2016 5:32 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: major remodel: regrets or things you'd do again
Replies: 68
Views: 13124

Re: major remodel: regrets or things you'd do again

thanks! this is exactly the type of feedback I was looking for We did a new build a number of years ago, but relevant to your situation if you have "bare walls" to work with. Some considerations: - put a few Ethernet cables in areas where you will be working with a laptop to avoid using WiFi (and the security and performance issues with that) - speaker cables to a home media entertainment center (it's easy, and relatively cheap to put wires and junction boxes in the walls when the sheetrock is down) - hard wire doors and windows for a security system, wiring for motion detection. - consider replacing hose bibs if you are in a winter climate where it could get very cold - and consider your insulation status, may be time to replace ...
by absolutFinance
Tue Aug 02, 2016 4:22 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: major remodel: regrets or things you'd do again
Replies: 68
Views: 13124

major remodel: regrets or things you'd do again

we have a major remodel that we are planning to start later this year. we are finding that our plans and our budget may be at odds with each other. an initial estimate (before construction drawings) from a GC came back at more than 2x the budget we had in mind. our architect was a bit baffled so we are getting another bid right now from a builder he's worked with before on several occasions. i'm curious to hear from other BHs what things they regret not doing due to adhering to their budget. also curious to hear about things you're glad you splurged on, above what you had initially budgeted for. we are currently looking at a 400k construction budget but may stretch as high as 675k on a 50's midcentury modern home. we live in a HCOL area. al...
by absolutFinance
Sun Jul 31, 2016 12:22 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Net investement income tax
Replies: 4
Views: 871

Re: Net investement income tax

that's not correct. if you have total income over 250k, you get hit. investment income/gains count against your MAGI. see #20 on what you linked to: 20. Single taxpayer with income greater than the statutory threshold. Taxpayer, a single filer, has $180,000 of wages. Taxpayer also received $90,000 from a passive partnership interest, which is considered Net Investment Income. Taxpayer’s modified adjusted gross income is $270,000. Taxpayer’s modified adjusted gross income exceeds the threshold of $200,000 for single taxpayers by $70,000. Taxpayer’s Net Investment Income is $90,000. The Net Investment Income Tax is based on the lesser of $70,000 (the amount that Taxpayer’s modified adjusted gross income exceeds the $200,000 threshold) or $90,...
by absolutFinance
Mon Jul 25, 2016 6:46 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Affordable Bachelor party transportation?
Replies: 26
Views: 4486

Re: Affordable Bachelor party transportation?

3 uber SUVs may be cheaper. but that price isn't bad at all for a dedicated ride for a night hopping between locations
by absolutFinance
Mon Jul 25, 2016 6:26 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Rules of Thumb: Max House Value as % of Net Worth?
Replies: 114
Views: 46212

Re: Rules of Thumb: Max House Value as % of Net Worth?

this post is the best example of how there isn't really a rule of thumb for this sort of thing. it depends on your risk tolerance, living expenses, planned future earnings/savings, etc. most BH would disapprove of my NW % in my home (50% with NW 4M+) but it makes sense for our situation (HCOL, schools, age [mid-30s] and future earnings/savings) My grandparents are worth about $10MM and live in a paid off $200K home. I met a new client Friday (also retirement age) who is worth about $17MM but has a $4MM home and a $5MM second home (both paid off). Crazy difference in ratios, but both families can afford to ride out the rest of their lives without too much financial worry. It's impossible to establish a rule of thumb for this kind of thing be...
by absolutFinance
Tue Jul 19, 2016 12:02 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Message removed.
Replies: 72
Views: 11091

Re: Another Too-Much-House Thread....

my wife and i lived in a 3300 sqft home by ourselves for a number of years. it was too big for just the two of us, but perfect as we started bringing kids into our lives. while we were DINKS though, it was a source of friction in our relationship - cleaning, maintenance, costs, etc. this is coming from an only child who grew up in a 2500 sqft home and is used to having space around me... would highly recommend a smaller house with a killer design and amazing interior instead. a house design should be a function of your living needs. it's hard to see how a couple's needs could require 5k sqft unless there are some unusual living requirements. we're now a family of 4 and will end up with ~3700 sqft in a very efficiently designed home after ou...
by absolutFinance
Sun Jul 17, 2016 3:23 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Too much house???
Replies: 58
Views: 8654

Re: Too much house???

i see no issue. we will be into a 2M home with 50% less NW than OP's friend. we are also younger (mid 30's) with retirement further out and live in a very HCOL area.

retirement being further out gives assets more time to grow before we consider drawing down.

OP's 150k/yr living expenses includes a current mortgage or no?
by absolutFinance
Sun Jul 10, 2016 2:45 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Email compromised: How serious?
Replies: 45
Views: 9889

Re: Email compromised: How serious?

VictoriaF wrote:The password for my email account was and is unique.

Victoria
that's great - then after you change that one account's password, you are fine. nothing else to worry about.
by absolutFinance
Sun Jul 10, 2016 12:10 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Email compromised: How serious?
Replies: 45
Views: 9889

Re: Email compromised: How serious?

it's not a good assumption. if you have used the same password on multiple accounts with the same email address, you should make sure you go and change all those passwords and enable two factor or two step authentication wherever possible. if you don't change the passwords, any personal information in those accounts can be used by a hacker to impersonate you. this isn't good - there are a variety of ways your identity can be stolen from cell phones to future credit applications, etc. it's best to be safe and ensure you have unique passwords for each account. this is a good example for others of why you should never use the same password for multiple accounts. get a password manager like keepass (or keepassX for mac) to manage your passwords.
by absolutFinance
Fri Jul 08, 2016 4:45 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Picking College and College Scholarships
Replies: 650
Views: 96313

Re: Picking College and College Scholarships

HomerJ wrote:
absolutFinance wrote:Outlier opportunities will make 160k look like a drop in the bucket.
I agree... But what percentage of people paying the extra $160k get to take advantage of the outlier opportunities? All of them? 50%? 10%?
yeah probably less than 10%. but that's really where it's about knowing your kid and their drive. that's why i just pushed back on the general aversion to debt on principle. it didn't make sense to me.
by absolutFinance
Fri Jul 08, 2016 3:29 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Picking College and College Scholarships
Replies: 650
Views: 96313

Re: Picking College and College Scholarships

what industry is that? 160k difference for the 4 year cost is not much in relation to lifetime earning potential for an engineer, particularly when you consider the upside for the best opportunities. $160k invested from 22 to 62 at 7% turns into $2.4 million at retirement. But forget that. Graduating from MIT might mean you'll make $30k more at first than the guy who graduates from State U. Maybe. Comparing Georgia Tech and MIT , it looks like an average $20k-$30k difference... But that includes all the 20% people at Georgia Tech. The 0.01% people who went to Georgia Tech had a much easier chance of standing out to their professors (since the whole class wasn't 0.01% people, like at MIT), they got better grades than average, and they probab...
by absolutFinance
Fri Jul 08, 2016 3:29 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Picking College and College Scholarships
Replies: 650
Views: 96313

Re: Picking College and College Scholarships

i think you're making a mistake in assuming the best opportunities are just the same job at a higher salary. career trajectory can be substantially different - a good example is 2/3 of my graduating CS class going to Google pre-IPO and becoming millionaires. Pre-IPO recruiting was completely saturated by the best schools that if you were far enough down the list, they didn't bother coming to recruit there. But again, I'm kind of sliding into the same mistake you made. What I mean about best opportunities are things that come from the caliber of people you go to school with, that the schools brings into your purview and who you learn from. For me, that meant exposure to entrepreneurs at a level and scale that I would not have seen elsewhere,...
by absolutFinance
Fri Jul 08, 2016 11:57 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Picking College and College Scholarships
Replies: 650
Views: 96313

Re: Picking College and College Scholarships

thanks livesoft. this is a great example of the benefit of not optimizing for the average outcome. i bolded the most crucial part. if your kid has the drive, why interfere with their pursuit of the best outcome? my experience was similar. my parents wanted me to apply to the best schools but my dad pressured me to go to the local state school. for a variety of reasons, i just wanted to get away. i ended up having a choice between full rides at two great state schools (university of washington and georgia tech) or some elites (Stanford, MIT, etc). i knew going into to it i would have to work through school to make it all work and i did and still graduated with some loans which i was able to pay off within a year of graduating. 160k differenc...
by absolutFinance
Fri Jul 08, 2016 1:42 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Picking College and College Scholarships
Replies: 650
Views: 96313

Re: Picking College and College Scholarships

the problem with studies at scale is that they are talking about averages. and you can play averages all day long to get the best expected value. but for one child, with one choice of school, you may not want to optimize for the average outcome, but instead for an outlier. the best schools have opportunities that don't exist at other schools. UIUC has a great engineering program. sounds like it's 30k vs 70k (Stanford). 160k over 4 years is the differential. seems like a lot but over a lifetime of earnings that will probably exceed 5M for an engineer graduating today? not that big of a deal even if you end up with the same outcome as if you had gone to the lesser school. i know the comp packages for me and my classmates coming out of school ...
by absolutFinance
Thu Jul 07, 2016 11:42 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Picking College and College Scholarships
Replies: 650
Views: 96313

Re: Picking College and College Scholarships

i'll admit my bias up front, i'm a Stanford alum (in this century). had a great experience, graduated with an A- average and found life there very challenging but also very satisfying. i even got lucky and met my future wife there. the debt aversion seems penny wise pound foolish to me. college is about opportunity. the best schools present the best opportunities: classmates, professors, facilities, recruiters, etc. it's one thing if the funds aren't available or the demands create unreasonable compromises. but just avoiding debt for the sake of debt, particularly when your son is interested in pursuing lucrative fields in engineering, doesn't make sense to me. you could look at the debt as leverage for your child's future. could they screw...
by absolutFinance
Thu Jul 07, 2016 11:08 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: A nice wrist watch under $1500
Replies: 42
Views: 10418

Re: A nice wrist watch under $1500

you can get an entry level Nomos in that price range. I'd also suggest Hamilton, made in the US with swiss movements. both are phenomenal brands, much better finishing than a Tag IMO
by absolutFinance
Fri Jul 01, 2016 11:51 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Do we have enough to retire?
Replies: 87
Views: 9782

Re: Do we have enough to retire?

maybe I'll DM you to find out more about the seed fund if you're willing to share privately. I've look at becoming an LP in various funds like 500 startups or going the AngelList syndicate route but haven't pulled the trigger on anything. I'm 34, like you, and have NW of 4M+ after selling my last startup, the majority of it liquid. I'm not sure what you define as a life of luxury, but with a few major exceptions, I'm not living it by my definition of luxury. My exceptions: - 3200 sqft home on a large lot for a metro area in a great neighborhood with a planned substantial renovation - nanny for our 2 kids - we bought a 45k SUV to replace my wife's tiny old civic after we had our first kid, rationalizing the purchase as a safety measure. - we...
by absolutFinance
Thu Jun 30, 2016 10:31 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Do we have enough to retire?
Replies: 87
Views: 9782

Re: Do we have enough to retire?

interesting post and question. you'd have to liquidate and get to a conservative (and liquid) asset allocation to really have a path to retirement if you trust FIREcalc.

no one asked but I will, which seed stage fund did you invest in?
by absolutFinance
Mon Jun 27, 2016 3:17 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: I need a new mattress. Memory foam?
Replies: 53
Views: 7075

Re: I need a new mattress. Memory foam?

highly recommend latex. ours is probably the best home purchase we have made. it's 7 years old and feels brand new.
by absolutFinance
Mon Jun 20, 2016 5:40 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Was your nanny hired by the books?
Replies: 10
Views: 2233

Re: Was your nanny hired by the books?

we went by the book. using nannychex for handling payroll and tax payments. makes it pretty easy.