Search found 52 matches

by nashirak
Wed Nov 07, 2018 9:48 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Need help! 3 HVAC intstallation quotes
Replies: 24
Views: 2329

Re: Need help! 3 HVAC intstallation quotes

I would agree with the higher efficiency rated unit. It’s a negligible price increase over the cheaper less efficient unit. Potential home-buyers will like the respected brand name and the higher efficiency (I would).
by nashirak
Mon Oct 29, 2018 11:40 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Should I co-sign for relative?
Replies: 103
Views: 7130

Re: Should I co-sign for relative?

I feel this is worth echoing.

No. Hard pass. I would rather loan/give said relative $2000 to go buy a used Honda Civic and then tell them to sign up for a Capital One Quicksilver or similar “starter” credit-building credit card.
by nashirak
Mon Oct 29, 2018 7:05 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: USAA Multi Product Discount
Replies: 37
Views: 5553

Re: USAA Multi Product Discount

I don’t actually hold any usaa funds. I transferred in kind some American Funds that I inherited (not worth the taxes to sell them for lower ER funds) and have added a fidelity TSM fund. You can buy them commission-free, no fees other than the .0x ER.
by nashirak
Sat Oct 27, 2018 12:03 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: USAA Multi Product Discount
Replies: 37
Views: 5553

Re: USAA Multi Product Discount

We take advantage of this. Saved us lot of money when we rolled some stuff over to them. We have home, auto, valuable personal property, checking and brokerage, and our visa through them pays 2.5% on everything, unlimited since our pay direct deposits.
by nashirak
Sat Oct 27, 2018 12:00 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Car hit while parked, no note, just want damages as cash from insurance
Replies: 18
Views: 3342

Re: Car hit while parked, no note, just want damages as cash from insurance

As long as the vehicle isn’t financed then you can just ask to be paid for the damage that they can see. No requirement to fix the car. If the car is declared a total then you should have the option to keep the car (this is called a “retention” or “salvage buyback”, a couple other names out there too), “123” described that pretty well. As far as uninsured motorist, if you have it on your policy then your state may allow you to file under it provided some guidelines are met (even with an unknown other party). For example, in Arkansas you have to have filed a police report within 24 hours of the incident (date of loss) to file uninsured with an unknown third party (called a phantom hit and run). Your adjuster can give you more details dependi...
by nashirak
Wed Oct 24, 2018 2:10 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Seeking housing advice
Replies: 11
Views: 1469

Re: Seeking housing advice

KlangFool wrote: Wed Oct 24, 2018 1:21 pm
BolderBoy wrote: Wed Oct 24, 2018 11:42 am
leeks wrote: Wed Oct 24, 2018 8:58 am
Sandtrap wrote: Wed Oct 24, 2018 8:22 am Option C.
Rent a modest dwelling nearby at minimal cost.
In-laws move in there.
+1
+2. This is the least risky option. When FIL gains employment he should start contributing to the housing cost.
+3.

KlangFool
+4.

Find a cheap one-bedroom apartment. I don’t know how it is in your area, around here it would be nothing to find a safe, clean, convenient apartment complex and get a 1-br apartment for 500-600. Way cheaper than footing two mortgages.

Or just sell the current house and use proceeds to buy bigger house.
by nashirak
Sat Oct 20, 2018 11:39 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How much money do you want to retire?
Replies: 1367
Views: 207807

Re: How much money do you want to retire?

I would plan to retire between 55-60 (DW is about three years younger. If returns are conservative, I’ll net between $3-3.5 million if they are more in the 7% range I’ll net a little over $4 million. We are in a very low-cost area (Arkansas) so that will be more than enough to retire comfortably given that our needed annual expenses are only about 40k right now. We live well below our means and I think that trend will continue.
by nashirak
Thu Oct 18, 2018 2:54 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Local review of Truecar
Replies: 8
Views: 1340

Re: Local review of Truecar

I’ve shopped on their site casually, but we won’t be planning to buy a vehicle for several more months. My wife’s current vehicle will do just fine until there is a second child in the picture. To me they are just another resource like autotrader and other national sources like them.

To me that article needs to be taken with a BIG grain of salt: the “study” in question was done by a competitor and the article was full of cheerleading for said company.
by nashirak
Fri Oct 12, 2018 12:57 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: “$1000/month job is worth $300k in retirement funds” // What are some retirement jobs you would actually enjoy doing?
Replies: 103
Views: 11837

Re: “$1000/month job is worth $300k in retirement funds” // What are some retirement jobs you would actually enjoy doing

A $1,000/month job means after-tax. Which means it really needs to be more like a $1,200/month job after FICA, state, federal, health care, etc. At $15/hour that's 80 hours a month. That's definitely not full time but it also assumes $15/hour. One of the jobs mentioned in the thread is Enterprise rental car part-time driver. According to their website that job has "Starting pay $8.00 per hour!". So with that job, you're looking at full-time 40 hours a week to make that $1,200/month. I'm not sure there are actually that many decent, easy, flexible jobs that also pay $1,200 a month on a part-time basis. Honestly it wouldn’t even be about the money. If everything goes to plan (or even close to it) we shouldn’t NEED to work at all in...
by nashirak
Thu Oct 11, 2018 11:31 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: “$1000/month job is worth $300k in retirement funds” // What are some retirement jobs you would actually enjoy doing?
Replies: 103
Views: 11837

Re: “$1000/month job is worth $300k in retirement funds” // What are some retirement jobs you would actually enjoy doing

I wouldn’t mind getting back into being a scuba instructor. I actively instructed while I was in college and have been diving most of my life.

Or I would do something else low-key and part-time, like getting on with Enterprise as a driver to move cars from branch to branch or pick up customers.

Either way, something low/no stress I could do a couple/few days a week to help keep active.
by nashirak
Thu Feb 15, 2018 9:34 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: For BHs who actually like cars - [what car do you drive every day?]
Replies: 280
Views: 28826

Re: For BHs who actually like cars - [what car do you drive every day?]

My primary vehicle is a company car that I can keep for personal use (2017 Ford Fusion). Drives well, very comfortable.

Our personal vehicles are a 2006 Jeep Wrangler (my weekend toy), and the wife has a 2012 Hyundai Elantra.
by nashirak
Thu Feb 15, 2018 9:23 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Should I be paying $1300/yr. for under/uninsured motorist protection?
Replies: 99
Views: 11437

Re: Should I be paying $1300/yr. for under/uninsured motorist protection?

We have two vehicles with UM/UIM set to 100/300/100. We pay about $120/year for that portion. We pay about $1100 for the year total for the two vehicles. I think you need to shop around or get a better agent.
by nashirak
Thu Feb 15, 2018 9:11 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Any Creative Ways to Cut the Cable?
Replies: 49
Views: 6880

Re: Any Creative Ways to Cut the Cable?

We ditched cable TV. We just run internet, netflix/Hulu/prime, and an HD antenna.
by nashirak
Thu Feb 15, 2018 9:07 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: [What TV Show Have You Recently Watched?]
Replies: 5973
Views: 690138

Re: Netflix, Your Current Favorite Show

Another solid vote for Altered Carbon. Fantastic series.

I also liked Travelers. Great time travel-based sci-fi.

Pretty much all of their Marvel series have been really good.
by nashirak
Wed Feb 14, 2018 5:29 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Bonavita 1500 vs 1800/1900? (coffee)
Replies: 16
Views: 2799

Re: Bonavita 1500 vs 1800/1900? (coffee)

We have the Bonavita 1900TS and love it. It’s simple and it brews a perfect cup. As others have mentioned, the number of cups is based on the smaller, stronger, European style of coffee. So adjust your coffee/water ratio accordingly. Our 8-cup model is perfect for my wife and I to have two good full mugs each. The thermal carafe keeps it hit for hours. The “experts” say that the flat bottom basket and shower-head water dispenser does a better job of evenly brewing the grinds compared to the cone filters. I’m not enough of a coffee snob to know for sure. But I love ours.
by nashirak
Wed Feb 14, 2018 9:43 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Obligation to use car insurance proceeds?
Replies: 22
Views: 2470

Re: Obligation to use car insurance proceeds?

Speaking as an insurance adjuster for a major company:

1) No, you are not required by us to fix the vehicle. If the car is financed, your bank may require it.

2) No, cashing the check does not limit repair or injury options. If you cash the check then decide two weeks later to fix the vehicle and the shop finds hidden damage, the shop can report this to the insurance for supplemental payment. Injury claim payments are handled separately and one does not affect the other.

3) as has already been said, you may take a financial hit on trade-in or selling if you don’t repair it, or you may not get paid if you get hit again in the same area. That’s just a decision you have to make.
by nashirak
Thu Jan 25, 2018 7:10 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: How does everyone keep track of your portfolio?
Replies: 211
Views: 32943

Re: How does everyone keep track of your portfolio?

Quicken primarily tracks all of our finances (including investments/retirement accounts).

I also have a M* portfolio which is pretty handy. I also like the X-ray feature for breaking down the holdings. And I have never gotten spam/email from them. The only email I’ve gotten is a daily email with portfolio updates (plain text with no ads/pictures/etc)
by nashirak
Mon Jan 15, 2018 9:24 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Insurance: Who do you use? (Auto/Home)
Replies: 32
Views: 4474

Re: Insurance: Who do you use? (Auto/Home)

We have USAA for everything (banking, home/life/auto). They had the best rates, and they got even better when everything was bundled together.
by nashirak
Sun Jan 14, 2018 5:33 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Uber experience as worker?
Replies: 16
Views: 2263

Re: Uber experience as worker?

9liner wrote: Sun Jan 14, 2018 5:10 pm Lyft and Uber cover you for both collision and liability.
They are contingent on you maintaining your own full coverage on your vehicle, and your insurance company still needs to know even if you have an accident unrelated to carrying passengers. If they find out on their own that you are using your vehicle as a commercial transport, they can still black-ball you and you find yourself in a mess trying to get a new policy elsewhere.
by nashirak
Sun Jan 14, 2018 5:04 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Credit card cash reward for payment
Replies: 10
Views: 1746

Re: Credit card cash reward for payment

My USAA credit card give 2% back on everything. We have the option to get gift cards and other things, or just take a cash deposit to any of our USAA accounts. We usually just periodically dump the balance back onto the statement as a credit since there isn't any incentive to get the gift cards. That's our default card for most things, and we have a discover that we use for the quarterly spending categories that get 5% cash back.
by nashirak
Sun Jan 14, 2018 4:55 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Uber experience as worker?
Replies: 16
Views: 2263

Re: Uber experience as worker?

Also be careful with your vehicle's insurance. Most personal auto policies are not designed for the type of liability you can get yourself into if you have an accident with a passenger as a "commercial vehicle". You may find the claim will not be covered or your policy canceled, and then find it very hard/expensive to get a policy somewhere else. Make sure to check with your agent on what changes you need to make to your policy so you don't end up in a big financial hole should you have an accident with a customer in the car.

This is coming from a claims adjuster of a major insurance carrier.
by nashirak
Tue Dec 26, 2017 7:26 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Statefarm Auto Insurance goes up every 6 months without reason?
Replies: 50
Views: 12662

Re: Statefarm Auto Insurance goes up every 6 months without reason?

There are a lot of things that go into insurance rates in a particular area. It could be related to you personally or it could be related to any of a number of things in your market area. They could also be related to state insurance regulations as previously mentioned, or to the company itself trying to attract business or move business away as the company needs. The insurance company could also be trying to adjust the rates to match what other insurance companies have already done. You might find cheaper rate shopping around, or you might also find that other companies are now offering policies at that same price level. As others have recommended, you can raise your deductible’s to get a cheaper premium. That’s the only thing I see on you...
by nashirak
Thu Jan 15, 2015 7:18 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: This topic is causing stress in marriage we need some help
Replies: 81
Views: 18099

Re: This topic is causing stress in marriage we need some he

"You wake up in the morning, your paint's peeling, your curtains are gone, and the water is boiling. Which problem do you deal with first? None of them! The building's on fire!" - House MD I think the biggest concern right now is getting your spending in check. You need to find a way to live within your means. My wife and I considered moving to the NoVA area for a job for me, but we quickly realized that the position/promotion wasn't worth the crazy cost of living (Plus my wife hates traffic). Bottom line, even paying down the credit debt won't get rid of the problem of it coming back. You and the wife need to map out a solid budget. Places like Mint.com have great free services that help you map out where your spending is going. ...
by nashirak
Thu Jan 15, 2015 7:04 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: When your spouse isn't quite as frugal as you
Replies: 94
Views: 13045

Re: When your spouse isn't quite as frugal as you

Well I can relate to your husband. My wife and I sound similar to you and your husband. Except that I am the one who sets/monitors the budget/finances. My wife is the ultra-frugal, "pinch a nickel until the buffalo screams" of the couple, while I take a more realistic approach to spending. Don't get me wrong, we save as much as we can; but I also believe in paying yourself and we budget for shopping/vacations/hobbies/etc. I agree with you (and my wife) that we need to save whenever possible, but as someone who also spends a great portion of his work day on the road I agree with your husband that sometimes getting lunch out or a cup of coffee is going to happen.
by nashirak
Tue Jan 13, 2015 8:17 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What was your costliest investment mistake?
Replies: 162
Views: 38347

Re: What was your costliest investment mistake?

My only mistake is starting (relatively) late in terms of taking in interest in how my 401k and other retirement planning is set up. I was 27 before I even had a 401k; up to that point and a little after I wasn't as financially responsible as I should have been. Thankfully I didn't end up in crazy debt or anything like that. I didn't find this website until 6 months ago (age 31) and really took an interest in total financial setup (investing, banking, budgeting, etc).
by nashirak
Tue Jan 13, 2015 7:39 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: POLL: Homeowners Ins cost $/month per $100k home value?
Replies: 42
Views: 16662

Re: POLL: Homeowners Ins cost $/month per $100k home value?

We are at about 35/month for 180k in central Arkansas.
by nashirak
Tue Jan 13, 2015 7:16 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How Many Credit Cards do you have?
Replies: 101
Views: 1253479

Re: How Many Credit Cards do you have?

I voted for three, but I guess the wife and I technically have five. 1) Bank of America Cash Rewards Visa. great for gas/grocery rewards all the time. Cash back applied to statement. 2) Discover Cashback Bonus. General spending/expenses, or use for whatever 5% bonus category for that period. 3) Basic low-limit Capital One card. Used mostly when traveling out of country. The only plastic we carry out of the hotel or off the ship. If it get's lost or stolen the perp won't get very far with it. Otherwise it gets used once a month or so to keep it active. 4&5 are store cards (Lowes and Kohls, guess who's is who's). they offer pretty solid discounts to cardholders, and the lowes 5% discount is as good as cashback to me (plus it is ALWAYS 5%)...
by nashirak
Wed Dec 24, 2014 7:12 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: POLL: What are your monthly food expenses?
Replies: 67
Views: 8200

Re: POLL: What are your monthly food expenses?

Wife and I are about $450/month for groceries (incl non-food) and eating out. 31/28, no kids, mid south area.
by nashirak
Fri Dec 12, 2014 7:02 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: GEICO vs. USAA auto insurance
Replies: 59
Views: 29142

Re: GEICO vs. USAA auto insurance

I switched from usaa to geico as well. I had a couple bad claim experiences with them (both non-fault, just bad customer service). Geico was able to give me better rates with higher coverage limits (win win). I actually work for geico now and can say I am very happy with the switch (both personally and professionally).

The only argument I could make for usaa is they have access to a range of all-inclusive solutions (insurance/banking/investing) if you need or are interested in that sort of thing. My sister needs that simplicity so she is still with usaa.
by nashirak
Fri Dec 12, 2014 6:53 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Car Loan vs Cash Flow
Replies: 22
Views: 5714

Re: Car Loan vs Cash Flow

I would get rid of the car loan. Home loans are different in that they actually build equity and value (usually). Cars devalue like a rock falling from the sky. Unless. You put down a large down payment then you will be upside down on the loan for a couple years. Thats a bad place to be if the car gets totaled in an accident, since it means you get nothing.
by nashirak
Thu Dec 11, 2014 8:37 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: East Coast trip with kids (NYC, Boston, Washington?)
Replies: 40
Views: 8612

Re: East Coast trip with kids (NYC, Boston, Washington?)

I think you've gotten some good advice. I highly recommend DC for the duration. The metro is cheap and goes everywhere. Everywhere else is walkable. So many monuments, museums, the government edifices. The National Archives are not to be missed. Across the river to Arlington and the tomb of the unknown. If you are looking for a one week trip, I'd pick DC. Either spring or summer would be good.

I'll second the advice on the Udvar-Hazy complex of the air and space museum out at Dulles. It is not to be missed. The complex is huge with just about every major aircraft from history to modern you can think of. I could type/for hours about it. But you need the whole week for it. You would not regret it.
by nashirak
Sun Dec 07, 2014 11:20 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Who Paid for the wedding?
Replies: 94
Views: 12737

Re: Who Paid for the wedding?

My wife and I got married as little over a year ago. Her family paid for the service and reception, my family paid for rehearsal. When we have kids and they reach that age we will encourage the same. We both came from families with strong traditional values and strong homes/marriages. Her parents paid for her older sisters wedding and are about to pay for her younger sisters wedding.

Unless we are financially unable we plan to do the same thing.
by nashirak
Sun Dec 07, 2014 8:11 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Am I being cheap? [wedding/engagement ring]
Replies: 192
Views: 18846

Re: Am I being cheap? [wedding/engagement ring]

The reason for being a Boglehead is so that you have enough money for the things that really matter. If the woman you love wants the engagement ring, that's a pretty good use of your savings. For some people, the ring is meaningless. For others, such as your girlfriend, it means a lot. This this this. I have this discussion with my wife sometimes. We are both financially responsible (although she can make Lincoln squeal she pinches so tight) and neither of us is a spendthrift. But I do like to get an occasional toy (iPad for Christmas for example) and we budget and save accordingly. All that to say I have to remind my wife that the point of saving money on essentials and investing and such is for it to be eventually used. THIS IS ONE OF TH...
by nashirak
Thu Nov 20, 2014 7:04 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: New teenage driver - which car for insurance
Replies: 31
Views: 4914

Re: New teenage driver - which car for insurance

As has already been stated, they are better off in the cheapest of the vehicles. Likely that will be either the suburban or the camry. Just call up your carrier and and quote it in every variation.

Although, if all three cars are already insured on the policy, then that means that each vehicle HAS a driver assigned. I would think you could just add the teen as an occasional on the cheapest one.

Granted I am not an agent, but I am an auto damage adjuster for a major carrier.
by nashirak
Tue Nov 18, 2014 10:21 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: When do your account returns dwarf your contributions?
Replies: 51
Views: 10539

Re: When do your account returns dwarf your contributions?

To me this is all academic. My wife and I will contribute to retirement (assuming financially able) until the day we retire. Given our current DINK status enables us to squirrel away 40-50% of our annual income and still enjoy life. Like someone said earlier, why would I waste money on things that we don't want or need? We have a set budget we allocate for splurging and vacations, we budget our monthly expenses, everything else gets shifted to savings/401k/ira/etc.
by nashirak
Sat Nov 15, 2014 2:15 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How premium cable can cost $59K
Replies: 45
Views: 8051

Re: How premium cable can cost $59K

Get an HD antenna, high speed internet, and Netflix. Been running that combination for several years now and couldn't be happier. :sharebeer
by nashirak
Thu Oct 23, 2014 5:00 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How did you buy your largest home?
Replies: 25
Views: 3928

Re: How did you buy your largest home?

My wife and I are still in our our starter home, but thanks to a large down payment and a 15-yr loan we have almost 80k of the 180k value in equity after two years. We don't plan to move for a couple years (no kids), but will just roll everything from the sale of this house into our "family/forever/etc home when the time comes.
by nashirak
Tue Oct 21, 2014 12:34 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Benefits to a larger than necessary house (as children grow)
Replies: 31
Views: 4857

Re: Benefits to a larger than necessary house (as children g

I tend to ageee with the folks advising to stay put. I also grew up in a house that was 4br-2.5ba and under 3k square feet (plus an over-garage bonus room). Having a bigger house will not fix the issues you describe. Imagine what you describe in your first post, now throw in the hassle of packing/moving/etc.

I say stay put.
by nashirak
Mon Oct 20, 2014 1:22 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Debit Card was hacked. Should I just use cash from now on?
Replies: 56
Views: 6876

Re: Debit Card was hacked. Should I just use cash from now

I agree with most of these posts. Debit/ATM cards are only used at an ATM. We use credit cards and direct bill-pay for everything else. Credit cards are paid off monthly. As an added precaution, only one month's worth of expenses are kept in checking. The rest is kept in MM savings. There is no overdraft link to savings. Using cash-only would be too much of a headache for day-to-day spending.

I use quicken to track and budget spending. It's really useful for watching exactly where money is going and also for paying bills(apart from everything it can do). Although if you just need something to help track spending/budgeting, mint.com is a great free site.
by nashirak
Fri Oct 17, 2014 11:58 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Why are 401k plans expensive?
Replies: 39
Views: 5228

Re: Why are 401k plans expensive?

I guess I got lucky. I haven't seen any fees out of my 401k, so that's probably a combination of it being at vanguard and/or my company paying them. My wife's is through Schwab, and even her fees are pretty low, something like .2%. The funds in her 401k are low-cost as well.
by nashirak
Thu Oct 16, 2014 1:04 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Who should regularly contribute to taxable investments?
Replies: 34
Views: 4996

Re: Who should regularly contribute to taxable investments?

My wife and I have a taxable account simply because we had a glut of cash on hand after we got married. We weren't really savvy on how to plan for retirement (fixed thanks to these fine people). When we got everything set up, we were able to convert about 40k into everything and still have a year of expenses in reserves. We set up and funded two Roth IRA accounts and the rest went into vanguard funds. We add into it as we have leftover from the budget/goals here and there (after contributing to the tax-deferred accounts).
by nashirak
Tue Oct 14, 2014 6:41 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Investing Mortgage Payments
Replies: 11
Views: 1611

Re: Investing Mortgage Payments

My mortgage began as a 15-yr loan, and my rate is under 3% fixed. My gains in investing long term outweigh the low interest rate I'm paying. I would be better off putting the funds where they can do the most good. We already have a year's expenses in cash (that's including mortgage) so we're prepared if something should arise. Plus we are both 30 years from retiring, so our situation may be different.
by nashirak
Mon Oct 13, 2014 10:02 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Does your ROTH hold risky or stable items?
Replies: 56
Views: 6283

Re: Does your ROTH hold risky or stable items?

Both the wife and I hold 100% VTSAX in our Roths. But echoing others, they are relatively small portion of the total portfolio. They are also not really part of our emergency funding (unless all hell breaks loose and we manage to burn through all our cash, all our credit cards, and all our taxable account). They have a long time horizon. The only foreseeable need to pull from them before retirement would be to pull for future child education. However, since we don't even have kids yet, that is at least 18-20 years out. Once they are in the picture and getting to be ~10 years old, I'll start throttling back on the roths so the funds are more guaranteed once the kids are college age.
by nashirak
Wed Oct 01, 2014 6:01 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Do you deviate from the BH philosophy?
Replies: 64
Views: 6685

Re: Do you deviate from the BH philosophy?

I guess I do in a way. My portfolio isn't quite within the "one portfolio-one goal" philosophy. My tax-deferred accounts are all running 90/10 VFORX target funds, while my taxable accounts are funded by my excess on-hand cash my wife and I accumulated. That is running 3-fund style closer to 50/50 (using tax-exempt bond fund) since this is looking for more stable and less risky growth in case we need funds over and above our emergency fund. Combined they total out to my ideal overall 80/20 mix.
by nashirak
Tue Sep 30, 2014 12:07 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: need for a backup credit card?
Replies: 37
Views: 5291

Re: need for a backup credit card?

I concur with having more than one card. My wife and I have two all-around credit cards (BoA cash rewards visa and a discover. We also have two store credit cards (kohls and lowes) since they both offer instant savings that beat most rewards. I agree on having different cards. Our visa and discover often have different rewards at differenc times.

And of course, all of them are zeroed out every month.
by nashirak
Thu Sep 25, 2014 9:29 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Move to vanguard equivalents or leave alone?
Replies: 7
Views: 990

Re: Move to vanguard equivalents or leave alone?

And here's another wrinkle: most of the funds in her account show as being closed in the FundAccess system. Can they still be accessed if they are being rolled over in kind or is my only option to dump them from that account into entirely knew funds all at once?

I'll check through the wiki article and play with the spread sheet. Just trying to learn what I can being a little late to process of taking better control of my retirement/investment/etc.
by nashirak
Thu Sep 25, 2014 8:25 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Move to vanguard equivalents or leave alone?
Replies: 7
Views: 990

Re: Move to vanguard equivalents or leave alone?

She has been (and we, once we got married) have been paying taxes on the earnings/turnover/etc. It is just a basic investment/brokerage account, he just opened it for her in her name. It isn't any sort of 529 or custodial account. His contributions are just normal out of his own pocket. Once we get the next statement I'll see what sort of cost basis they use. I have spoken to vanguard and they can roll the funds over in kind and just put them into the same funds but through vanguard so it's all in the same account (so things are a little easier to track/manage/balance) and avoid the taxes. They'll still have the same E/R' but just get rid of the commissions and annuals fees from the other brokerage house.
by nashirak
Thu Sep 25, 2014 6:03 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Move to vanguard equivalents or leave alone?
Replies: 7
Views: 990

Move to vanguard equivalents or leave alone?

Hey folks, have a question that may be better posed to a CPA/tax-man. But I figured I would get some input here first. My wife and I have opened accounts at vanguard (his/hers Roths and a joint taxable account). Shortly we will be taking possession of an account for my wife. Basically her grandfather (in lieu of individual birthday gifts every year) has been contributing money to an investment firm at every cousin's birthday, each in their own name, obviously. My wife's account info can be seen below. My question is: would it be worth the potential tax burden to move the monies over to Vanguard and get them into lower-cost funds? The ratios themselves aren't bad, but there is also a $50/year account fee, plus another ~.25%/fund 12b-1 fee. S...
by nashirak
Sat Sep 13, 2014 10:36 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Need some advice on expanding my portfolio!
Replies: 6
Views: 1200

Re: Need some advice on expanding my portfolio!

The end of your post is kind of what I was suggesting/thinking. Let the ira/401k side of things be more aggressive, and let the taxable side run more conservative to net out a total of 80/20. Running the numbers, if I set up the 4 accounts to run 90/10 in their TRA's, and put a lower mix into the taxable to net out an 80/20 mix. I can tweak where I put my monthly contributions to the taxable account to each of the 2-3 funds to maintain the balance of 80/20. I like being able to get the lower e/r admiral shares, so I was thinking 10k each into VTSAX and VBTLX, then once I reach a good splitting point shift some of the stock into VTIAX. Again, I will admit to only having been reading/researching for a few weeks, so feel free to call me an idi...
by nashirak
Sat Sep 13, 2014 4:58 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Need some advice on expanding my portfolio!
Replies: 6
Views: 1200

Re: Need some advice on expanding my portfolio!

Kevin, I like both of your suggestions: simplicity, but also working things in the taxable account to maximize savings. I'm thinking for simplicity and minimizing rebalancing (especially since I'm looking at 5 different accounts (two 401k, 2 Roth, and the taxable account), I may just run the target retirement funds in the retirement accounts. I'm okay with the slightly higher mix in those as I have no plans to touch those for a couple decades. In the taxable side of things, what might be a good setup? I'm thinking here go slightly heavier in the bonds as we (my wife and I) are mainly doing this as a liquid/accessible way to get some better returns on our cash. I'm still good with a fair amount of risk here. Plus I'll be adding 1000-1500/mon...