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angelescrest

Age 61, Married. Retired in April of 2018. The following is just for me as I wanted to be able to compare now with 27 years ago. Mostly I had low stock allocations and was lucky to live through a good economy and a long period of pretty good bond returns. Was always a good saver but nothing crazy. ...

angelescrest

For those over 200k, I’d love to know what kind of maintenance and replacement you have done, and how much you think that was a factor. Does the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” motto work? Or were you very diligent on replacing parts as they aged? Our old Camry drives well at 150,000 miles, but t...

angelescrest

If the OP can’t get access to regular charging for an EV, why would a PHEV make more sense? cause if OP wants to drive on electric and can't charge some of the time, it makes sense. if op only has bev and needs a charge and it's not available, op is screwed. The OP may only be able to charge occasi...

angelescrest

If the OP can’t get access to regular charging for an EV, why would a PHEV make more sense? Having owned a condo, and considered living in one again recently, I have wondered when condo boards will consider how not having EV infrastructure might limit future buyers. It was a factor in our thinking. ...

angelescrest

For those over 200k, I’d love to know what kind of maintenance and replacement you have done, and how much you think that was a factor. Does the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” motto work? Or were you very diligent on replacing parts as they aged? Our old Camry drives well at 150,000 miles, but th...

angelescrest

Warby Parker was the best service and experience we have ever had looking for glasses. Couldn’t believe how well it went, for really nice style frames and lenses, for $95 total. I was so impressed that I wondered how I could invest in them, which of course I can’t yet. Really simple process. The oth...

angelescrest

I was in a similar situation last year and bogleheads advised to pay down the mortgage. After lots of research on what the actual net difference between CD (or whatever you chose) and mortgage I found it to be not worth it. Paying down the mortgage is guaranteed savings and also comes with a lot of...

angelescrest

We moved to Texas in 2014 from Knoxville, TN. Its funny, cause my neighbors do the same, but for me, I complain about property taxes being outrageously high and electric costs. Compared to TN, the cost of living is about 32% higher in Texas. TN has no state income taxes as well. People always want ...

angelescrest

I look around at all my neighbors in Texas and wonder if many are not in the same situation as you are. Housing prices are reasonable, but they all drive around massive, very expensive trucks that are as loud as ____. They all complain wildly about the water bills and all their monthly expenses, but...

angelescrest

My agent works for Northwester Mutual but he is also an independent broker. Northwestern Mutual is a huge red flag. I would be very suspicious that your agent, though supposedly independent, is somehow restricted to offering only to policies that provide large commissions to himself or his company....

angelescrest

You may also want to look doing a Solo 401k instead of a SEP. A Solo 401k won’t impact your ability to do backdoor Roth conversions. It will also give you the flexibility to shelter more money from taxes. You can set aside up to 19k for the employee portion plus 25% of profits for the employer port...

angelescrest

Sorry for the late reply, but it’s been a crazy week. These final posts are very thoughtful observations, and I especially appreciate the context provided. The uniqueness of the various households can result in very different choices. We have been able to max out our Roth IRAs I believe for the last...

angelescrest

When our children enter college, our first funding line for college will be to stop the mortgage overpayment, taxable investing and 529 contributions and redirect those funds towards college tuition, room and board. If that is insufficient (it will be), we then begin to use 529 savings and taxable ...

angelescrest

Take a gap to work and earn some money for school. More and more I'm convinced kids need to work BEFORE college, to help them learn whether the career they think they want is really a good fit. Most kids are blindly picking majors, with little real idea of what they lead to in the work world. DD1 h...

angelescrest

Please consider doing this useful exercise for homework: Find a PDF of the FAFSA form, print it on paper and fill the whole thing out. Some really good take aways I got from these seminars: 1) The income level to get grants is the government poverty line. If you're not below it, you're likely not g...

angelescrest

We haven't had to make any withdrawals, any payments we've made have been cash flowed. Scholarships, grants, the kids' earnings and the kids' loans have mostly covered things. So far, the loans haven't been an undue burden. DD1 paid her loans off in a few years. DS2 is taking a slower route, but he...

angelescrest

The majority opinion here on BH is to max out tax advantaged retirement accounts first before funding a 529. I don't agree that this is the "majority opinion", and I'd be worried if it was. There may be a subset of folks who think that maximizing retirement savings is a legitimate goal in and of it...

angelescrest

I’m listening here, and this is helpful. I can try to summarize my thinking along with how some of the feedback might apply to our situation. 1. I appreciate and agree with the idea of prioritizing retirement over college. We believe we are on track with our retirement savings, and as income goes up...

angelescrest

OP, do you receive any state tax reductions if you contribute to a 529 plan? I have always felt dedicated savings for college expenses were best and were preferable to hoping to cash-flow. I'm sure any who are planning to cash-flow the education expenses are sincere in their plans, but, life happen...

angelescrest

I think we are talking about different things. My statement, that you quoted, was referring to my W-2 income, not the retirement accounts. I do not know what our income will be in 10 years, and will have to wait and see if the income can directly cover college expenses. As for our retirement saving...

angelescrest

arf30 wrote: ↑
Tue Oct 08, 2019 5:14 pm
I'm an Android person myself but if I wanted to try an iPhone I'd get the newest model to make it a fair comparison.

That’s a very fair comment, though iPhone 7 is still compatible with iOS 13 according to Apple.

angelescrest

Am I just too used to Android? Yes. Yes. There are enough differences that if you don’t enjoy learning the operating system—which is certainly understandable—then I definitely suggest sticking with what you know. I don’t particularly like learning new software. A large number of the challenges you ...

angelescrest

I think we are talking about different things. My statement, that you quoted, was referring to my W-2 income, not the retirement accounts. I do not know what our income will be in 10 years, and will have to wait and see if the income can directly cover college expenses. As for our retirement saving...

angelescrest

It would be nice if we are in a position to fund college via our work income at that time, but we'll just see. This statement does not make any sense if you actually do the calculation. KlangFool, do you enjoy finding problems where they don't exist? My statement was a very general assertion. Yes, ...

angelescrest

It would be nice if we are in a position to fund college via our work income at that time, but we'll just see. This statement does not make any sense if you actually do the calculation. KlangFool, do you enjoy finding problems where they don't exist? My statement was a very general assertion. Yes, ...

angelescrest

Best way to go is to look at the actual EFC formulas: https://ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/2021EFCFormulaGuide.pdf Start on page 9. Then you can see if your "very modest" income will give you a high or low EFC. Then add your taxable assets OR 529 assets (they will count exactly the same ...

angelescrest

We are in the 12?% tax bracket at the moment, and would likely move up to 22% later when spouse is working more. angelescrest, Please verify that whether you qualify for the following tax credits if you max up your Trad. 401K. https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/earned-income-tax-cre...

angelescrest

I would max out your 401k before you put anything in a 529 or in the brokerage account. Assets in retirement accounts (401k, Roth, IRA) are not counted when applying for financial aid. Assets in a 529 can be counted up to ~6% of the value. Assets in a brokerage account will be counted at a much hig...

angelescrest

From a financial point of view, it makes no sense to sell the Tesla and buy a Honda Accord. A fully loaded Honda Accord is quite expensive imo, so I don't necessarily view someone driving a new Honda Accord as being a more humble consumer. If you really wanted to look less flashy, then maybe somethi...

angelescrest

I would keep the money in the brokerage account and fund a 529 account with new money. That is assuming you are putting away enough money for retirement. Your retirement is more important then your children's college fund. Definitely agree with saving for retirement first. I don't think, though, th...

angelescrest

I would keep the money in the brokerage account and fund a 529 account with new money. That is assuming you are putting away enough money for retirement. Your retirement is more important then your children's college fund. Definitely agree with saving for retirement first. I don't think, though, th...

angelescrest

I have about $90,000 in a taxable investment account. About 18k is in cash and 72k are in blue chip stocks. $29,000 in gains at this point. The cash is from some equities I sold off in the past year or two. The stocks have done ok but I recognize it affects how diversified I am. The rest of my retir...

angelescrest

I use a glue gun and glue dog food to the trap. Peanut butter they can lick right off. This way they pull on it, and bam. I researched heavily and went with Victor snap traps. I’ve got a half dozen around my garage now, after having a major infestation. Caught only two but since I also cleaned out t...

angelescrest

This is not a short term fad. Major meat companies like Tyson are making significant strategic investments in meatless foods. Restaurant chains are making lots of money off this. There seem to be a wide variety of different patties made by Beyond, and Impossible, no? I’ve tried a number at different...

angelescrest

JMacDonald wrote: ↑
Thu Aug 01, 2019 10:09 am
I try to avoid eating meat. I had a taco with Beyond Meat at Del Taco when it was first offered. I didn't care for it and won't order it again. Also the ingredients don't seem to be very healthy.

Del Taco...did you expect any of the ingredients would be healthy?

angelescrest

Age 72, retired with pension and wife has SS. AA is 30/70. Pretty conservative, but we have no reason to assume much risk. As long as we beat inflation by a few points, we're happy. Pension and SS take care of all the bills with some left over. Wouldn’t the opposite be true? If pension and SS cover...

angelescrest

arengarajsug88 wrote: ↑
Thu Sep 26, 2019 3:33 pm

3. Any idea about DSW shoes? Are they a good brand, and do they sell good leather shoes?

DSW is a retailer, they don’t make shoes.

angelescrest

Yes, definitely Allen Edmonds seconds. Go right now to shoebank.com, and search the inventory. Then call the outlet store that has that shoe, and place an order. You won’t find a better quality hand crafted shoe for the money. Now as far as which model to get...well, that’s another matter entirely.

angelescrest

So if your business has to close down, what is required of your solo 401k? You have to roll it over to a personal IRA (one certainly wouldn’t want to withdraw)?

angelescrest

Hi all. I'm looking into going the FIRE route with a target number of 700-800k and a planned 4% SWR. Planning to move abroad to a LCOL area. Currently have about 250 in Traditional IRA in Vanguard Target Date Fund 2040. Will likely move this. Have about 15 in Google/Apple. Have about 95 in differen...

angelescrest

letsgobobby wrote: ↑
Sun Nov 13, 2016 2:19 am

Physicians have both confirmation bias and sample bias to watch for.

This.

angelescrest

Thanks for the replies thus far. I'm leaning towards bringing in an electrician, and maybe adding a doorbell video camera (since it appears to already be wired).

angelescrest

There was one in my house when I moved in. I arranged with the monitoring company, which all these years later I guess may have been the installation company, to remove it. I plan on living here until I croak, and I didn't want a bunch of unnecessary wires, etc. around. That was the issue in my ori...

angelescrest

mmmodem wrote: ↑
Tue Aug 20, 2019 6:31 am

ponyboy wrote: ↑
Mon Aug 19, 2019 6:04 pm
When my mower runs out of fuel, takes less than 60 seconds to top off. Seems like a clear winner to me.
Way too long. Takes me 5 seconds to swap out the battery.

Yeah, you also need to keep getting gas at the pump station.

angelescrest

We have mower in very cold conditions in Michigan to the hottest temps in Texas without issue. But during the off season I make sure to store the batteries between 50-80% as all lithium ions should be stored. I also don’t keep them in the garage where temps are not always favorable. I have heard th...

angelescrest

We purchased a newish home and it has a Hawk security system installed in it. There's a panel, possibly a video doorbell, and every so often it makes noise. I called the company, and unsurprisingly, they could give me no instructions on how to remove it and just wanted to sign me up on an expensive ...

angelescrest

We have mower in very cold conditions in Michigan to the hottest temps in Texas without issue. But during the off season I make sure to store the batteries between 50-80% as all lithium ions should be stored. I also don’t keep them in the garage where temps are not always favorable. I have heard th...

angelescrest

FWIW, I think you should assume your SSN has been breached before this. At least I do. So I have taken the step to do a freeze with all of the credit bureaus, which was an inconvenience when buying a home this summer, but nonetheless it wasn’t too bad. I will maintain this practice probably forever.

angelescrest

I have the Ego 7.5 amp 21” mower. Been using it for 2 years now. I’ve only run into 1 issue. If the grass is tall and wet, even just from dew, it can get overloaded and unable to cut. I’d still recommend it over gas. I have a 0.25 acre lot and I can do front and back on 1 charge. This is my third s...

angelescrest

Telling us more about your lawn would help, like the size. But I’ve also used an Ego for many years and it is simply one of the best products of any kind I have ever owned. I highly recommend it. I’d also suggest having at least 2 batteries.

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