Bogleheads.org

PharmerBrown

If you're planning for the best, such as letting your money grow until 72, you can make the Roth look good every now and then. If things don't go as planned you'll likely be better with the traditional. My biggest risk to running low on money will be a nursing home stay. You would hate to pay for th...

PharmerBrown

If you multiply your average mortgage balance for the year X 0.0425, do you get around 35K?

PharmerBrown

Curious why I shouldn't discount the mortgage P&I? In 2021 dollars, my P&I payment is $25,003. In 2049 (the final full year of the mortgage), that payment is $14,362 in 2021 dollars using 2% / year inflation. This is useful for determining if I should keep my mortgage or not. If I don't dis...

PharmerBrown

Now that I have completely mucked up the terms, I need to verify what I am doing is correct. Maybe there isn't a name for it, but I need to know I am doing things correctly. My whole future depends on getting this right. Expenses: I put in what I am spending now in all 40 retirement years. Let's sa...

PharmerBrown

Anyone else feel like these terms are being interchanged throughout the posts? Yes. I ** think ** nominal means “current”. Real is adjusted for inflation. The inflation adjustment is a guestimate. This is exactly opposite. While there are many confusing definitions, I keep it simple. My planned exp...

PharmerBrown

Anyone else feel like these terms are being interchanged throughout the posts?

PharmerBrown

Tellurius wrote: ↑Mon Feb 22, 2021 5:19 pm Nominal. I don’t fully trust inflation measurements to capture the reality of my lived experience.

From Cyprus

This is how I feel. The inflation metrics don't reflect my actual cost of living. I'm more impacted by changes not tied to inflation, such as taxes.

PharmerBrown

Simple logic: 1. One has two accounts: one tax deferred and one tax free, of equal size 2. One has two mutual funds, one high growth and one low growth, of equal size Where should one place their high growth fund (given the option)? In the tax-free space, of course. Here is the complete Wiki articl...

PharmerBrown

an_asker wrote: ↑Wed Feb 10, 2021 6:08 pm
5. By putting the max into the 401(k), you move to a lower marginal tax bracket

Yes - for those in the stimulus phase out club, you'll get an extra $975 for each stimulus by maxing your 401(k) as opposed to your Roth.

PharmerBrown

I bought a 75'' Sony X90CH from Costco during Prime Days. I wanted the 85'' but they had a great deal on the 75 so I went with it. The picture is great, especially with some of the high resolution content. I wish I would have gotten the 85''. Sometimes my desire to get a deal gets the better of me.

PharmerBrown

Better question: do the parents know they’re rich? Yup, pretty much no American below like the top 0.1% will admit to being rich, they are "upper middle class." If they have 9 million, then 10 million is the cutoff for being rich. If they make 400k per year, then 500k/year is the cutoff. ...

PharmerBrown

I have always bought my firewood from a local landscaper. Never measured the moisture content, but I typically buy 2 face cords and then leave them outside for a year before burning them. My local guy ran out of firewood, so looking around at other options this year. One tree company sells their se...

PharmerBrown

I would guess ours was around 30% also......just the other way.
We haven't been following a budget for the last 6 months. We did a DIY home projects. We'll get back on track next year.

PharmerBrown

I was able to register for the new payment portal, but I keep getting an "invalid routing number" when trying to enter an account for payment. I tried multiple banks and I'm sure the routing numbers are correct. Did anyone else have this issue?

PharmerBrown

The more I make the higher I define it. It has nothing to do with a tax bracket though. Wouldn't want to become a high earner by stopping my 401(k) and HSA contributions.

PharmerBrown

I sold my car to Vroom in June. I had a pleasant experience. They gave me a better offer than the dealer offered as a trade (2k more). The car was in great shape. They gave me 16k and offered it for 18.3k, so not a ton of margin. They sold it within 2 weeks.

PharmerBrown

Also, any employer contribution counts toward the maximum.

PharmerBrown

This issue is not the prescription but the order on the MAR (medication administration record). Obviously the MAR was never updated when the order was changed. An order for chronic medications will generally remain on the MAR until it is discontinued or changed by the prescriber. A paper prescriptio...

PharmerBrown

The Mercedes AMG CLS if I was only going to own it while under warranty. I sat in one at the last auto show and it was impressive. The practical side of me remains a Lexus fan.

PharmerBrown

AZAttorney11 wrote: ↑Sun Oct 25, 2020 5:32 pm This does not look competitive. Go find the “Refinance Mega Thread” and get an idea of what you should be looking for.

I agree unless your credit isn't great. You can and probably should stop the process. Apply at LenderFi to get an idea of what is competitive.

PharmerBrown

Hello everyone. First post from a long time novice lurking and sucking up all the wisdom from everyone(thank you). I couldn’t help but finally create an account because I’m just failing at making progress on this one. I’m surprised at how everyone is able to get such low interest rates. I’m not abl...

PharmerBrown

nic3456 wrote: ↑Sun Aug 16, 2020 5:12 pm Watermark must be cross referencing my internet history and seeing BH lol- 3x I've filled out the form to get a free quote, but never get anything (checked spam).

Same thing happened to me!

PharmerBrown

Are you planning to track the car? If not, your power needs may be satisfied by a used Tesla. You'd have to research price/maintenance costs, but my guess is the overall costs will be much better with the Tesla. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfZQrKaK-Z8 I can think of nothing less interesting to ...

PharmerBrown

Hi all, I emailed Ryan at his direct email seeking a new RF (completed my 1st in March with LF at 3.25/30/no-cost) and then formally requested one via their portal and my LF log-in. This was 3-4 days ago now. I know they are busy but just checking if anyone has reached out to LF and gotten a respon...

PharmerBrown

Surprised you made it this long. My daughters shared a room (10 & 8) up until last year, but my oldest asked us to move her out last year. We had an empty room so it was an easy ask.

PharmerBrown

I got response back from lender fi guy on my $145k 3.25% refi in Texas. He basically said due to Texas fees it isn't worth it. He would run the numbers if I wanted but I declined the triple hard pull for an answer I knew I wouldnt like. I'll at least give him credit for being honest and not try to ...

PharmerBrown

econprof wrote: ↑Tue Aug 04, 2020 10:47 am Why would you buy a new car, which depreciates 1/3 when driven off the lot, as opposed to a low-mileage preowned?

Because the premium, which is not 50%, is worth the peace of mind to some people.

PharmerBrown

Don't want to digress this into a philosophical tangent. But it's not lying if he says that you can get 12% returns. Because that is infact the arithmetic mean. It would be lying if he was saying you can get 12% cagr. Democracy can also get things wrong. So polling adds little value in this case. &...

PharmerBrown

One of these days, a doctor with a flashlight will show us where Dave Ramsey gets his numbers from. As pointed out elsewhere in this thread, Ramsey uses the word 'average' in a way that would be illegal if a mutual fund did it. He opposes debt because he irresponsibly used debt when he was younger,...

PharmerBrown

He'll make cursory statements such as "if the markets down, well then you don't take as much" but he doesn't advocate a strategy.

He sounds like an Edward Jones salesman because he has the same conflict of interest as they do.
They won't try to sell you a Chevy at the ford dealer.

PharmerBrown

FiveK wrote: ↑Fri Jul 17, 2020 12:17 pm When your living expenses exceed your income.

PharmerBrown

You want to avoid making decisions based on what you think will happen in the market. That is different than taking action based on what has already happened (e.g. re-balancing).
You should unload those funds now and buy a low cost fund that matches your investment plan/goals.

PharmerBrown

Not sure what part of PA, but check out NCFCU. I assume you're talking about another 15 year so they're showing 2.5%. It's still not going to save you a lot of money with the amount you're paying each month and the benefit may not be worth the hassle.

PharmerBrown

We just purchased an Expedition Max and LOVE it. I’m pretty tall (6’7 or so) and we just had our second kid so wanted the maximum room possible. Has a ton of really nice features but most importantly a crazy amount of room compared to what I’m used to. It’s my wife’s car but when I drive I’m able t...

PharmerBrown

I'm not sure if I get more Medicare related mail, offers for hearing aids/tests, or retirement communities/assisted living. I've been getting it since my 30s. My Dad and I have the same name and I always assumed that was the culprit.

PharmerBrown

He recommends a no load s&p fund for taxable. He likes the TSP’s options. I’d say, he’s not against funds. Correct, he recommends to use Vanguard S&P500 index funds all the time. The only fund to hold in taxable accounts. Yes - rather than pick one of the funds that easily beats the S&P...

PharmerBrown

What does your pension/SS look like if one spouse passes? What about a few years in a nursing home? If you truly believe the money won't be needed for decades, why worry about all of the volatility over the next several years? If you believe that something will outpace stocks over the next 30+ years...

PharmerBrown

I would only touch the mortgage if you will do something productive with the money you save going forward. I don't have the details, but you may be spenders given your income/savings/age.
If there is a chance that your lifestyle will creep up without a mortgage payment, I would vote for #3.

PharmerBrown

Yes One big question about the limit on the SALT deduction is the impact of a state tax refund on a taxpayer who itemized personal deductions and deducted state and local taxes. Does such a taxpayer have to include the entire state or local tax refund in income in the following year? The IRS has ru...

PharmerBrown

Yes One big question about the limit on the SALT deduction is the impact of a state tax refund on a taxpayer who itemized personal deductions and deducted state and local taxes. Does such a taxpayer have to include the entire state or local tax refund in income in the following year? The IRS has rul...

PharmerBrown

Also, my bank isn't applying the extra payment towards the principal up front (super annoying....) so they basically just hold onto the extra money and once that amount equals the remaining balance, the entire balance gets paid off at once. The fact that they do this is questionable but given inter...

PharmerBrown

I realize being over the $199k married couple AGI limit means you don't the $2,400. But is the $500 per child also subject to that same AGI rule? The phaseout is expanded for an additional $500 for each child. Calculate the total you qualify for and then subtract $5 for every $100 your AGI is over ...

PharmerBrown

If I sell at price x, and the price goes below x, all the rest is noise as long as you get back in before x. Being optimal about the 2nd decision is a different argument. You only had to be right once. [/quote] That is two times you have to be correct. You have to get back in before X. It's still a ...

PharmerBrown

Everyone will always repeat the age old sayings, and one of them is that “you have to be right twice”. Technically, with an overall idea that the markets will always go back up long-term, had op went back in right at the 20% drop point, he would have avoided that dip point, and set himself up for a...

PharmerBrown

Agreed. But if it turns out you don't have enough funds to fully fund a Roth IRA, you could reimburse yourself for current medical expenses and use those funds to top up your Roth IRA. If you are fully funding your tax advantage accounts then this doesn't help. I'm not sure I see the point of deple...

PharmerBrown

If you have any Roth space available, you should convert the HSA funds to the Roth. This will simplify the paperwork process.

PharmerBrown

One of my favorites.....

My wife asked me why I was speaking so softly at home.

I told her I was afraid Mark Zuckerberg was listening!

She laughed. I laughed.

Alexa laughed. Siri laughed.

PharmerBrown

Thanks!
I had everything ready, so I filed today. I was able to e-file state and federal for $10.

PharmerBrown

Your net worth is relatively low for your age and income. You need to focus on your retirement savings. 80-90k per year in savings is not enough in your situation. That house is quite an anchor. I agree with reducing your 529 contributions. Prioritize your savings for now. Especially since you said...

PharmerBrown

Your net worth is relatively low for your age and income. You need to focus on your retirement savings. 80-90k per year in savings is not enough in your situation. That house is quite an anchor. I agree with reducing your 529 contributions. Prioritize your savings for now. Especially since you said ...

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