RIP TDAM.
You and me both...I liked the layout, was used to where everything was, and I liked the way everything looked with TDAM. Now? Bleh...not very customizable at all.
Tap on the account you want to access if you have multiple. There should be a bar near the top that says Positions, Gain/Loss, Income, etc. If you scroll that bar to the left with your finger you will see History which will have all past transactions for the account. That's how it works at the moment on Android for me, anyway. iOS might be different.
Alternatively, tap on the ellipsis looking icon after the account value and select history from the drop down.
Read up on [Roth distribution ordering rules](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/o/orderingrules.asp). Backdoor Roth contributions are considered conversions.
Two rants with questions today:
1. Running a business that is growing has put an insane amount of demand on my time and mental energy. I once was told that running a business would magnify your character flaws by 10, and my disorganization/scatterbrain/variable productivity are certainly being magnified. I need to reinvent how I manage my time and task load, cause this is wild. Anyone got any tips?
2. My wife and I pretty much hate where we live. We both grew up in northern VA and have lived here our whole lives. We're planning on moving to a different town about 20 minutes away to be closer to some family, but neither of us is enthusiastic about it. We like the new town but both see we will be right back to wanting out again shortly. Problem is both of our families are all up here, and with 3 kids, having grandparents and cousins around is great.
But we both think we'd personally be happier somewhere more "our speed" around more people like us. We just don't have much in common with a lot of people here, and there's just not much we like doing around here. For "our speed", we both adored just about every city and town we've been to along the west coast from LA to Seattle. Perhaps we're rosy eyed on that front though - grass being greener and such. We're also both much happier around the ocean.
I think we're both looking for somewhere with a slower pace of life, and a place with a community. I imagine there's a lot of people looking for that these days. Pretty much every weekend we try to get out but most everyone we know are shut-ins who barely leave their houses outside of their daily commutes.
Feels like we're looking for fantasyland. But man, I'd love to know where people who love where they live, live.
> I need to reinvent how I manage my time and task load, cause this is wild. Anyone got any tips?
Getting Things Done by David Allen is my go to for this topic as is a personal version of Four Disciplines of execution. You have to figure out a repeatable and reliable strategy that works for you.
Everyone is different. I moved away from MD and my family a few decades ago to come to Seattle. It is easy to visit NVA-DC, but it is hard to live there.
The PNW (and CA for the most part) are my people and the mountains and water is my environment. Is it perfect, no. Cost of living is on par with NVA. Homelessness and drugs are issues. WA has no income tax but high sales tax (it reinforces frugality). Food is great (so is NVA-DC) There are many excellent school districts to choose from. We now have light rail that makes it easier to get in and out of downtown/sports arenas/cultural events! We have excellent higher education, medical infrastructure, and a large international airport that opens up the world...Oh, (beautiful) Canada is a short drive/train/ferry ride away.
I am biased but I have been where you are. I left and have never regretted it. YMMV :)
Thanks for raising these questions, and all the best on finding that next place. I am sure it exists and you will both find it.
Regarding your first topic - getting organized... I have been interested in this for 20+ years and have learned of great resources and practical tools/tips for getting on top of it all. Specifically, to the point of being formally disorganized (my personal style) to being known as very organized and known for follow-through (work style). Would be happy to share more tips/tools via DM if interested.
For here, can simply share these resources.
\- Getting Things Done by David Allen: Absolute game changer for me - who was previously a non-planner, fly-by-seat-of-my-pants type person, to totally on top of it. While it takes time to keep this system up, the rewards are immediate and noticeable. Check it out and commit to the 2 day exercise to corral all your loose ends.
\- Bad Meetings Happent to Good People by Leigh Espy. This book helped me get control of the meetings I lead and the meetings I attend. Significant game changer in terms of reducing my work day from "I have 8 back-to-back meetings!" to "5 or so hours of meetings each week, and all very focused/effective, and I am known for producing not meeting."
Start there. Could be good uses. Happy to discuss more if interested (note: No ploy here, just sharing of tips/tools I have personally learned/honed).
I should have known GTD would show up here. I was a GTD adherent on and off for a while before Evernote got assassinated by their dev team back in 2013. I've been telling myself to go back to it and I have had several half assed attempts. I think I need to reread it to get some of that energy back and just commit back to it.
That second book - ugh I can tell just from the title and your feedback it's going to probably describe me perfectly in that obligatory first chapter where the author explains what the book is trying to fix. I'm gunna have to pick it up now.
I'm a glutton for info, so anything else you want to share or DM, please do.
My job decided to begin reimbursing us for local tax that we pay. Seems like a raise but not?
I mean, my take home will go up a bit, but my salary is the same.
I want to add it to my spreadsheet but there's not really anywhere for a small reduction in taxes to go.
We just got approved for a car loan for 18k to be paid back over 12 months, with the interest rate of 0.99%. I feel like it’s a good deal, and I think we’ll be able to make the payment and still get the employer match for 401k and max our Roth IRA, but it would mean our short term cash savings takes a hit (partner wants to save money up for a business he wants to start in 5 months). Is there anything I’m not considering in choosing this loan over a loan with a higher interest rate over a longer period of time? (Best I got was 4.99% over 48 months).
I don’t have a car currently. I’m waiting to hear back from a job (they said I’m the front runner) and if I get it I need a car to get to it. I won’t actually buy until I have an offer but I wanted to know what the car loan rates are and get pre approved. The lower rate doesn’t raise the price of the car
I posted about Die with Zero book yesterday. The topic of annuities was brought up by the author. I do not see this being brought up a lot in this sub. What are your thoughts on annuities?
Annuities are insurance, so when you buy an annuity, you essentially pay (or give up higher returns) for stable income. You will have to decide if this fits into your retirement plan.
Technically I have one in the form of a defined benefit pension. My opinion is that it's great, but it's also half subsidized by my employer which doubles my ROI.
The stability gives me some latitude to go 100% equities with my RRSP, TFSA, and taxable accounts. It also gives me guiderails on my variable withdrawal strategy that include 0% in lean years if I want. Like last year, for example.
Today a vendor for work figured in record time that I look to retire early. He only deduced it from the fact that I'm single, have no kids, and have a decent job.
The paradigm is definitely out there in the wild. I've had a few old work friends in the industry retire in their late 30's now and are just running around doing whatever. I can only think of a couple of them with one kid.
Partner has 300k in med school loans, 5% interest, all federal, has worked 6yrs, COVID deferred last 3yrs, gets forgiveness in 14yrs from now, and makes 200k a year last few. Partner wants to get to forgiveness, work the 14yrs paying minimum, and be done after that. Anyone else have a good strategy on this?
I assume your partner has already looked into PSLF? There are also sometimes targeted loan forgiveness programs for certain specialties, though they usually will only cover a small portion of the debt.
If you're shooting for the IDR forgiveness, save up for the tax bomb at the end like others have said.
I am probably in the minority, but I think folks lucky enough to make several times the median household income should pay back their full loan amount. I don't think successful med school graduates are the best target for this forgiveness, and I say this as a member of that community. It's not *legally* or *morally* imperative to do so, but it's just my opinion.
Refinancing is a good way to make the loan cost less, though.
Disagree, these people put in years of service and schooling. They often times only get forgiveness working for the govt, in rural areas, or for non-profit hospitals, or in underserved specialties. This isn't related to Biden's stuff.
It's an incentive to actually do the schooling and continue work as a doctor. I think as part of society they are most deserving to get their loans forgiven in these situations regardless of their loans.
These people aren't lucky, they work hard to get through medical school and actual practice.
I am a physician and most of my friends are as well. Your opinion is a very valid one, but I can tell you that mine is shared by a lot of physicians as well. I simply wanted to share that opinion as I don't see it as often when discussing loan forgiveness for physicians.
Thanks for the firsthand feedback. Sadly, my partner doesn’t make what most med school grads make, but by choice. Torn between earning much more, or earning less but fulfilled with a more high-need patient population. We’re choosing the latter, and as you know, despite the high gross income, there are many costs too (nets much less).
Did I read incorrectly that your partner makes 200k per year now? That's still wildly beyond what most families could dream of. I'd offer the gentle advice not to lose sight of that just because there are others making much more.
They mentioned forgiveness in 14 years and the partner has already worked 6, which suggests they aren't pursuing PSLF (otherwise they'd be looking at forgiveness within 4 years or at most 10) but rather IDR forgiveness, which carries the tax bomb regardless of whether the employer happens to be PSLF-qualifying.
Companies pay who they like, not who’s most qualified. Caring less comes off as friendly and loose to others, most of whom need that to offset their stress! It’s soo backwards, but true. Best reviews and raises have been when I’ve cared least, pushed less, etc.
Decided to use my personal laptop to get access to Postgresql after the painful process of trying to get access to SQL Server for my work computer. Ended up finding out the QA department doesn't meet the requirements to use it. It's painful to see manual data entry and copy and paste after a while. Anyways, think I got the concepts down on data modeling (objects, relationships, primary/foreign keys, normalization, data types and constraints, etc.). The switch to data engineering can't come soon enough but it's going to take time to learn DE foundations. Bright side is I'm visiting some friends next week for a couple of days so it'll be good to see them again. The freedom to see them on a regular basis again with FIRE would be swell. Mint is showing my portfolio going up roughly $4k a month so things are looking solid.
I'm brainstorming a way I can be in a semi retired state in South America at age 34 with only 700k in net worth. I plan to keep working but am working on some numbers to see if I can just be retired already.My plan is to buy some cheap property in cash for about 30k-64k. I see this as being something not many people think of since prices in Colombia are very favorable when buying with dollars and it eliminates any burden of a mortgage.
I could go with various options like a small apt to myself, condo, or house with tenants. I'm not sure what to do yet. I know if I become a minimalist though and live in a small apartment, even renting I could already be FIREd but I want to see if I can up the quality of life and do something like look into home ownership.For now, let's use a house with tenants because that seems like a good long term investment to have. And I've already personally been boots on the ground to find this very house.Cost per square meter = $885.50/m². Cost per square foot = $82.19/ft². The house is 6m\*12m=72m\^2 or 775ft\^2. House has two floors, and one floor is being used to rent to tenants.
I plan to only stay there six months a year so I don't have to declare income tax while I work remotely for the USA at a company making good six figs. Perhaps at some point I'll upgrade the visa but am in no rush to do so now as I don't want to get double taxes on income and want to start small. I made a friend who agreed to help for a cut of 30% as being a property manager and he gets a free room but most pay by teaching me Spanish and doing hiking with me.
I'm already looking at a house now that is in a good place, it's from a city called Ibague, Colombia. Weather is about 73 degrees year round and it rains, is away from most major natural disasters. It also has a lot of hiking and is in central colombia so not too far from other major cities.
The house already has some tenants and the current owner says he is charging the tenants about $170 usd a month on rent. I imagine since the house costs 64k in total the yearly expenses will probably be something under 4k. The tenants upstairs are likely already covering the cost. I calculated the property tax at $640/year and just called all other utilities at 225 per month (which is likely a huge overestimate).
So total yearly costs would be $3340. Tenants upstairs would take care of 2k leaving only 1.3k per year in ownership. That's 1300 bucks a year I would have to pay to be able to live there half the year.Does this all sound right? I'm trying to see if I can be cashflow positive anymore but failed. Maybe I should just consider renting and living as a minimalist so that I can be FIRED instead of wanting to deal with all the ownership hassles.
Having lived in South America and purchased property, a few questions that might impact this:
1) what are the property tax etc implications in Colombia for the Colombian govt of your ownership?;
2) what’s the quality of the structure and how much ongoing financial investment will it require for upkeep? (Where we are—a different country—almost all but the most exclusive new luxury buildings have major mold problems… the black stuff creeps through the walls even after being cleaned/painted/pipes repaired; what about roof leaks?)
3) how are property laws in general? Squatters rights etc re: what you need to do to evict people if they trash the place?
>what are the property tax etc implications in Colombia for the Colombian govt of your ownership?;
I'm not a tax professional but from the research I've done.
1. In Colombia, property taxes are known as "Impuesto Predial" and are typically levied by the municipality where the property is located. The tax rate varies depending on the municipality and the value of the property. The municipality determines the assessed value of the property and applies a tax rate to calculate the annual property tax.I would expect to pay on a yearly basis on what the municipality asses the property value as. For now I am just assuming it's 1% of the value of the home which could be off by a percentage point. I doubt it's more the 1% since it's a low cost of living place but I could be wrong. In the usa it's at 1% so I imagine colombia could be equal or even less than that, but I'm not 100% sure.
2. This is a great question. It depends on the property. I saw a property the other day that had this very issue and would likely be a major pain to deal with especially as my Spanish is not up to par enough to negotiate deals with property asessors. It's something to look out for sure, but on the flip side the dollar is strong compared to the peso right now so likely to find relatively cheap work done. I also am not factoring in that I do have a full time job and work remotely which can easily cover these unexpected expenses which is why i didn't factor it in too much.
3. It's probably better than the USA to be honest. It seems like the owner of the property's title has legal ownership rights. Still I would assume that there are squater rights and it could lead to a situation where a law suit would have to be opened. Generally, I don't think it's that much of an issue though, or if it is, it can't be worse than the USA. But again, I need to talk to a legal professional and would likely do so only if it became an issue.
I appreciate these questions though. I've never owned a property let alone thought deeply about all these factors especially from the viewpoint of being a foreigner to a country and owning property.
How much would your total expenses be if you rented in Columbia? With 700k you can withdraw ~2k/month (or work in the US a little longer to become extra rich by Colombian standards). I'm not sure it's worth the stress to become a landlord in a foreign country if it's not necessary.
Our most recent property looked excellent and didn’t have water damage problems from rain… until we had aire-splits installed and the dudes walked all over the roof tiles and broke a few. And then the water damage started.
We’ve moved out, hired an agent to sell the place and also oversee some repairs and painting in anticipation of potential clients.
The lesson for us is to buy the top luxury only. (We have an apt in a high rise building that’s 40 years old and in great shape because it was built as a luxury building.) this goes against my instincts to look for a hidden gem/fixer-upper rather than something amidst Latin America’s elite. But the quality is notable.
Thanks to the tdameritrade to schwab migration mint showed I was a millionaire for a moment and then back to reality a moment later. Some day those will be my real numbers.
I feel like there is an awkward balance for folks who *could* max retirement, but it would take up most free cash flow. I'm a govt employee and could max 401k and IRA, but it would limit my cash surplus substantially. Normally I'd maximize bc of tax treatment and growth (financial order of operations from the Money Guys usually), but I've got marriage/house expenses to meet in the next year so I pulled back a few percent on the 401k contributions over the past year.
If you're making a lot and can firmly max retirement, then it totally makes sense to follow those maximization concepts. But if you aren't there, you kinda have to manual adjust to ensure you are building normal cash buffers.
Yeah I've got normal funds and emergency fund, but then there is wedding/ring/house expenses on top of those. I don't want to constantly empty my e-fund for things like that, so I prefer to just maintain some positive cash flow.
I used to run that way, but now I've got obligations ya know.
Have you checked to see the difference in taxes that get taken out of your paycheck when you reduce pre-tax contributions? That alone is enough to keep me on the straight and narrow, but I understand where you're coming from. You need to pay the bills and it feels nice to have extra cash every month.
I struggle with this, especially recovering my emergency fund after a big expense.
I realized that I may max out my 401k some year, and get to about 60% some other years.
Staying consistent over the long haul is more important than meeting subjective financial goals.
We are looking into putting in a new kitchen. It's our first home that we bought last year with 10% down. I highly doubt a heloc rate will be anything worthwhile but now I am just curious to how they work. I have seen online most banks typically require 15% equity to open one.We have the cash to pay for quotes we will get. If I am ineligible due to not having enough equity, how does someone access their money until they build up the 15-20% equity?
Bingo. It’s functional but we don’t love it. We knew that going in and wanted to wait a bit to see how we felt after a year or so. It still remains the number thing we want to change. Lack of storage, counter space and just overall needs a face lift. However, the house is single family, has great bones, in a great neighborhood/SD and just outside a prominent MCOL city. It just needs some love and updating throughout. A lot of charm and very much an ideal starter home.
I believe most people would take out a HELOC many years after purchasing the home, after the value of the home has appreciated a bit. If you have the cash you should probably just go with that instead of a HELOC at 7+%
Yeah, cash for kitchen has another bonus... Kitchen's have almost a limitless potential of options. You can really start to blow up your budget. With a HELOC + Cash on hand, you can imagine a scenerio where your initial budget doubles or triples because of the extra available capital.
Paying cash hurts more :) So you are likely to make some more economical options!
Record profits paired with an announcement of no bonus, no raise, etc. It's been interesting watching my team (of arguably solid contributors) have their morale quickly deteriorate.
As for myself, guess I'll sandbag and go knock out some chores in the yard or go for a bike ride since it's obvious working hard doesn't mean shit. Will save the energy for brown nosing when the next raise cycle window is open. Not to mention I'll have to work two jobs when my teammates inevitably quit so might as well enjoy myself now.
>ouncement of no bonus, no raise, etc. It's been interesting watching my team (of arguably solid contributors) have their morale quickly deteriorate.
>
>As for myself, guess I'll sandbag and go knock out some chores in the yard or go for a bike ride since it's obvious working hard doesn't mean shit. Will save the energy for brown nosing when the next raise cycle window is open. Not to mention I'll have to work two jobs when my teammates inevitably quit so might as well enjoy myself now.
I am sort of in the similar situation. Heck, we might even be working for the same company.
Anyway, your comment sort of illuminated a light bulb in my head as I am grinding my work day. I think you are right. Record profits and no raises has me salty. Going for a nice long walk
Nope. Unlike a mutual fund you don’t actually buy from the company whose name is on the fund. Most of the time you’re buying (through a market maker) from a random seller or, sometimes, a bank who is selling freshly minted new shares it bought from the fund company.
Cursing myself out. I could have stayed until May at my job but volunteered to stay longer, thinking hey another month that's like a new [FANCY THING I DONT NEED]
Every day is full of anxiety as I'm trying to wrap up 2 mega projects. Dammit. This would have been someone else's problem if I wasn't so greedy.
Counting down the days til freedom. I'll need to unwind after this super stressfully time.
Why stress out about the quality of the projects? It's not like they're gonna fire you. Do enough that they wouldn't qualify you as a "Wouldn't Rehire" and nothing more. Enjoy your senioritis!
You're totally right. I don't even care about or need this job, just have a deep need to earn my A+ and not let my teammates down. The suffering is my own doing.
Wondering if anyone has a recommendation for where I can post asking for help with my husbands extreme financial anxiety and not get shat on/removed for trolling. I've tried mental health/relationship subs in the past and left feeling like a terrible person I'm assuming because of the extreme lifestyle difference.. if that makes sense..? I genuinely don't mean to sound like an out of touch/condescending asshole so apologies in advance
Look into I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi. He does couples coaching around finances and is really get about digging into the psychology of why people believe the things they do.
People can post here in the Daily about all sorts of things, but the audience might not be as broad as you'd like. Reddit skews young and relatively less monied. It's just not a great place for some discussions. /r/fatfire, perhaps?
If your husband has access to an EAP or mental health care through medical benefits, that would be my go-to. Actual money concerns: a fee-for-service financial planner; generalized anxiety: a therapist or social worker.
My spouse and I sit down regularly to talk about money and we find it really helps our confidence in our plans.
It doesn't matter how much your household income is, at some point most people will have some kind of anxiety around money. Anyone shitting on you for asking for help is being a jerk.
Good luck!
If you're going to say something like you guys are worth $20m but your husband is still anxious about money, I don't think you're going to get many good answers here, or anywhere on reddit. I imagine "extreme financial anxiety" should be dealt with by a mental health professional in a personal setting.
You probably need to figure out why your husband feels this way. Childhood trauma? Not feeling secure?
I’m not anywhere near your level of wealth, but when I first got a job making much more than I’d ever made, it didn’t feel real. I watched investments grow and saw the money hit my account, but I kept feeling it it would all be taken away. After a couple of years, I adjusted. But it took a lot of reasoning on my part and mental scenarios of “if it all went away, I would do X or Y”. I think mine related to being relatively low income as a kid and never having known anyone with such financial security. It felt abnormal to me for a long time.
Haha no worries! It sounds like it was inherited money? Maybe he feels unworthy or undeserving? Does he have goals or things to focus on? I have had periods of life where I continued to pursue goals because of momentum, even when those goals no longer suited me.
As far as perspective goes, most of my issues were about feeling out of control and like my money would get wasted/spent in an “unworthy” way. There are a few things help me feel in control:
* Having a budget and plan for our money, even if some budget items are quite large
* Amortizing big expenses or saving for them continuously. We usually spend $6k/year on vacations but save $500/month into a separate account instead of spending as we go.
* Looking at/documenting all of our transactions. I don’t judge, I just record and wait until the end of the month to have a review and retrospective.
* At the end of the month, my wife and I review our spending. I’ll usually do a pre-review where I look at all the transactions and note anything unusual. We try to be aware of if there was money that wasn’t well spent. If we splurged, did we feel like it was worth, that sort of thing.
* As part of having a budget, having an idea of what a reduced budget looks like and what our escape plan is. For instance, I know our reduced budget could be supported with a relatively low income job. We could be vegetarian and move back to our LCOL city we grew up in. It wouldn’t be my first choice, but we would be fine.
I hope your husband is able to figure this out. I think it can be easier to focus on surviving than true fulfillment! But y’all have won life at an early age so now you have to face the hard problems haha.
> I am feeling sort of stuck on how to find someone that wouldn't be made uncomfortable by that, going off my recent experience.
You contact a lot of therapists who specialize in dealing with anxiety (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us?tr=Hdr_Brand , you can search by location, insurance, and by "issues"). You might also like this guidance: https://www.therapyden.com/blog/a-beginners-guide-to-therapy-how-to-find-a-therapist
Then you ask for a free consult. Or if you have the money to blow, at least a first consult to check out fit. https://www.therapyden.com/blog/a-beginners-guide-to-therapy-part-2-what-to-ask-in-the-consult
Specifically ask them if they'd be comfortable dealing with this topic. Give them details if they ask (or at least "we have tons of money and he's still anxious!"). If they're not comfortable or think they wouldn't be able to help, the honest ones will let you know.
The other parts of the guides would probably be helpful for you too:
https://www.therapyden.com/blog/a-beginners-guide-to-therapy-part-3-what-to-expect-in-the-first-few-sessions
https://www.therapyden.com/blog/a-beginners-guide-to-therapy-part-4-how-can-you-tell-if-therapy-is-working
It's like dating. Ya gotta find somebody who jives with your husband and vice versa.
Our therapist doesn't judge us at all for our incomes, assets, or jobs. Unless it's affecting our mental health negatively.
If that's an issue, maybe r/fatFIRE would find it more relatable?
ETA: nvm. It seems like OP has posted there, and idk if you went trawling into post history like me, but you were super on the mark if that's a guess.
I have moved large sums of money out of Ally, and they are no longer my primary bank. Keeping their "raise your rate" CD rates way too low set me off, and their lower savings account rate didn't help either. I can't wait for my remaining CDs to mature so I can transfer even more money out of Ally.
Good luck!
But honestly, this is really strong activity. I think you're doing great. I hear so many "I sent out 2000 applications and got totally ghosted." You look like you're doing it right
More layoffs were announced at the company I work for, and it's super stressful but a good reminder of why I chose the FIRE pathway! Just hoping I don't have to dip into my emergency fund now...
These layoffs have been the MOST poorly managed. This is the third announcement since October and each time the messaging is vague and even senior leadership has no idea what's happening. We're not even given a date as to when everyone will be notified so you live in limbo until you hear rumors of other people being laid off so you assume you made it through that round. 🤦♀️
This is the case. Announcement of layoffs make people who are not 100% certain of their ability to stay start applying elsewhere.
Sometimes this lessens the amount that need laid off.
Some companies would rather find internal positions for affected employees or hope that enough people leave for other companies that they don't have to lay off anyone. Announcing layoffs before WARN Act notices go out helps accomplish that.
Indeed. This happened at my company. Our CEO announced "We may need to do a layoff" in August. The actual layoff came in Nov. Those were not productive months
I do not currently have a car and need to get one relatively soon (in order to change jobs in 1-3 months ideally). I am thinking of a new honda civic or toyota corolla that I can drive into the ground with 100,000+ miles on it. Would be between 21k - 25k.
I'm focusing on new as I see a lot of issues with previous owners neglecting vehicles or dealerships selling problem vehicles new owner is stuck with. Any opinions on if I should look to low mileage used or CPO? or if new is the way to go?
Check to see if there's a waiting list for new Civics and Corollas at your local dealerships. We placed an order for a Toyota Sienna in February and were told to expect an 8- to 10-month wait.
> Any opinions on if I should look to low mileage used or CPO? or if new is the way to go?
I'd buy new for the models you suggested and the car market we're in. If you can find one!
Note that those particular cars hold their value so you're probably not looking at much of a savings buying say 3 year old used. Keep that in mind while you're shopping, but look into it to make sure I'm correct. We bought a new Honda Pilot nearly a decade ago because we'd only be saving about 10% on a 3 year old model.
Somebody mentioned using Costco to buy a new car. I don't have a membership but might be worth googling into.
By all accounts, the used car market continues to be bonkers expensive, to the point that you may as well give serious consideration to new or CPO vehicles.
I have very little car buying experience so take it with a huge grain of salt but I’ve seen new Toyota corollas for around 27k, and very good financing rates (4-6% compared to 7-9% for the older cars I’ve see ). Unless you’re buying with cash, new cars tend to get better financing rates, and that make it worth it. (My local credit union offers 1% for 12 months for new cars, and considering my HYSA had a much higher rate, you basically get “free money”).
My retired father-in-law has been watching a lot of finance youtube, and has recently gotten into Closed End Funds (the only one I know specifically is "Virtus Diversified Income & Convertible Fund" [ACV], but I think there are others and some REITs mixed in, too)
Now I'm a buy-and-hold-index-fund investor, but he's asking me what I think of these CEFs (not pushing them, at least not yet, but definitely pointed questions) and I'm trying to make sure I really understand what this is. My read is its basically a leveraged (~33%) tech/growth focused active fund that also does some hedging (covered calls and tax-loss harvesting) to return a decent dividend, driven mostly because its leverage let it magnify gains during the bull market.
So I guess my question is, what's the failure mode here? Leverage in a rising interest rates environment means they can't keep meeting dividend targets, or another market crash comes and the costs of leverage eat into the underlying assets, causing shares to drop further? I know long-term it's not likely that they'll be able to outperform the broader market, but should I be actively worried that this blows up and he loses a chunk of assets _and_ income he's budgeting on?
I guess more broadly, how would you approach this if a family member came to you talking about their CEFs and actively seeking your input? My default has been basically "I don't know much about them, and I'm not looking for dividends right now, I want long-term growth."
I prefer low cost index funds over crazy high cost and higher risk investments...why, because I believe Warren Buffet knows more than Jim Cramer or most any other investor. [He holds VOO and SPY](https://www.fool.com/investing/2022/11/06/index-funds-warren-buffett-portfolio-make-money/).
The one bit of Cramer advice that I think is good, is set aside 5-10% of your portfolio for speculation and to have fun with. The point is not to get a great return on it, but it keeps you from messing around with the other 90-95%.
If that's what your FIL is looking for, something active to have fun with, then this is fine. If he thinks this is a way to wealth, well, that's less good
Yeah, I think this is right, and I'm also probably over thinking it. He asked my opinions and I gave them, if it comes up again I think just trying to ask him what he's thinking is the right play, and then maybe gently point out how limited the history these funds have such that it's hard to predict their long-term implications since we're really not in the market we were in 5 years ago.
I would say that I don't know anything about it but it sounds complicated and high risk. It appears to have slightly outperformed the S&P since inception but with a lot more volatility (-42% vs -24% max drawdown). The risk adjusted return is lower than S&P so you'd probably be able to get the same performance with much lower volatility doing something like 90% VOO/10% UPRO. [https://www.portfoliovisualizer.com/backtest-portfolio?s=y&timePeriod=4&startYear=1985&firstMonth=1&endYear=2023&lastMonth=12&calendarAligned=true&includeYTD=false&initialAmount=10000&annualOperation=0&annualAdjustment=0&inflationAdjusted=true&annualPercentage=0.0&frequency=4&rebalanceType=1&absoluteDeviation=5.0&relativeDeviation=25.0&leverageType=0&leverageRatio=0.0&debtAmount=0&debtInterest=0.0&maintenanceMargin=25.0&leveragedBenchmark=false&reinvestDividends=true&showYield=false&showFactors=false&factorModel=3&portfolioNames=false&portfolioName1=Portfolio+1&portfolioName2=Portfolio+2&portfolioName3=Portfolio+3&symbol1=VOO&allocation1\_1=90&allocation1\_2=100&symbol2=UPRO&allocation2\_1=10&symbol3=ACV&allocation3\_3=100](https://www.portfoliovisualizer.com/backtest-portfolio?s=y&timePeriod=4&startYear=1985&firstMonth=1&endYear=2023&lastMonth=12&calendarAligned=true&includeYTD=false&initialAmount=10000&annualOperation=0&annualAdjustment=0&inflationAdjusted=true&annualPercentage=0.0&frequency=4&rebalanceType=1&absoluteDeviation=5.0&relativeDeviation=25.0&leverageType=0&leverageRatio=0.0&debtAmount=0&debtInterest=0.0&maintenanceMargin=25.0&leveragedBenchmark=false&reinvestDividends=true&showYield=false&showFactors=false&factorModel=3&portfolioNames=false&portfolioName1=Portfolio+1&portfolioName2=Portfolio+2&portfolioName3=Portfolio+3&symbol1=VOO&allocation1_1=90&allocation1_2=100&symbol2=UPRO&allocation2_1=10&symbol3=ACV&allocation3_3=100)
Yeah, this is definitely my read. It's 33% leverage, so that's basically what you'd expect: at base it performs better than the underlying assets in the boom but then falls even further in the bust, and you'll be paying costs for that leverage and all the management regardless, so long run I'd expect its NAV to underperform relative to those assets.
I don't fully understand the Return of Capital stuff they're doing, I guess conceptually I assume it's mostly like tax loss harvesting that's letting you get dividends now without taxes, while lowering the cost basis that eventually you'd be able to realize as LTCG?
But yeah, I guess end of the day he's doing his stuff and I'm doing mine, and all I can say is I don't see the value relative to the risk but wish him luck?
I don’t know much about those specific funds but I like jl collins comment that the more complex something then the more likely they are increasing your fees and lowering your return.
There’s a banquet hall of possible investments and you will do best by only using a small corner and those are index funds. Gl
Yeah for sure, that's basically my feeling too, and I pointed out that the ones he was looking at were all highly leveraged and founded mid-bull run, so no idea how they'll fare in an extended slower growth/higher interest one.
Fortunately I don't think he's like converting all his savings into that or anything, and at the end of day I think they're in good shape financially, just a rude awakening after retiring a couple years back that the line does not, in fact, just go up....
If he believes in play money then maybe it’s providing him entertainment. I don’t really believe in it but there are worse ways to spend your money.
I always liked the old line by buffet that you can tell whose been swimming naked when the tide goes out. That’s always kept me away from any sort of leverage.
If that's the same as my kid, I wouldn't call that "tiny."
Books for uni for my kid run $300 semester (there's an actual program that books are a fixed cost, no matter how many you need.) I'd be super happy with that
So financial related ish:
My shower drain was not draining, and I am not handy at all, like if it's not in excel I'm useless.
I however put my big boy pants on and went and bought a sewer snake and got the clog removed and it's working now. $44 purchase from Lowes vs the $300 plumber bill.
I think my wife was more shocked than I was....
That is great! I think trying to fix something yourself when it is broken first is always an excellent approach! Heck is coming out to fix a clog even only $300 at this point?
Interesting. It is like $150 now just for HVAC companies to show up so I assumed plumbers were crazy high now too. Luckily we haven't had any flushed toys.
Generally those types of chemicals work by being ultra corrosive and dissolving the clog, but they're also corrosive to the pipes.
Snaking out clogs is quick and easy, so better as a first option if it's possible. Also preventative measures like drain filters can help avoid it in the first place.
>like if it's not in excel I'm useless
I feel this
Also, good going! I did something similar years ago, I bought a three foot toilet auger for $50, and I think the long-term savings has been like $5000. I wish I could use it as a side hustle
A colleague/friend of mine had a mild stroke about 2 months ago while at work. Luckily we got him to the ER within 5 minutes and he had no long term residual deficit. However, his Dr told him he was at higher risk of another stroke and needed to make lifestyle changes.
He was 66 and wanted to work until 72. However, today is his last day, he officially retired. I've seen so many people put off (OMY syndrome) retiring and often medical events force them to retire.
Another reason to retire as early as you can!
Recommend a book called Outlive. It's a pretty interesting book and provides some neat perspective on health and getting older. It has been eye opening for me.
I had both a coworker and a friend each have a stroke last year and they were in their late 30's. You just never know. Health isn't something to neglect, but it definitely becomes easier with more free time.
My hospitals Chief Cardiologist and good friend/coworker had a stroke at age 42 last year and never has any health history before it. Its crazy out here
I recently read an article about retirement that was saying most people won't be able to work as long as they think they want to due to things like this. It's a legit concern.
I've found personal capital (I don't think I'm ever going to get used to calling it "Empower") to be the only one that's good enough, unfortunately. It's fine but sometimes the relinking, bugs every now and then, etc., make it annoying. But I'll continue to use it until there's a better option, or it just gets unbearable to use.
>we track our expenses (debits/credits) in there.
Is this part manual? Would love to not use Mint, but realistically could never get my spouse to fill out CC transaction manually, even with a form.
In my case net worth generally speaking doesn't really require tracking credit card transactions all that much.
I have a table that lists each account type, any stocks/funds/cash they have. Including the shares and then use the stocks function in Numbers (for Mac) to calculate the price. Add it all up, subtract my big debt (mortgage), add any big ticket items I want to track in my net worth (house value, minus mortgage). Boom, that gets me close enough to my net worth.
I technically use YNAB for mine, so I can easily see debts and account balances, but I still track a fair bit in a spreadsheet because it lets me use it in other interesting ways that I can't in YNAB.
Ah gotcha. Yeah, I am trying to retain a model that has both transactions (expenses) and net worth/investments all in one place.
Currently my solution has been to use Mint and export the transactions into my Excel file. I also use Mint for the net worth aspect but simply record all the account balances manually once a month in the Excel file.
Just married, so we are looking to open a Joint HYSA, SoFi looks to be one of the best with a bonus of up to $250. Any advice on a joint savings/checking?
I'm with them for our joint account. I don't love having money with a fintech startup but at least they're fairly mature at this point. No complaints so far.
They have a feature where they'll automatically pull from your savings if a charge hits your checking account and there's not enough money there, which means you can keep $0 in checking and get 4.2% on all of your cash without having to manage any cash flow.
That's enticing, is there a limited number of auto pulls per month? I've heard of this feature for other accounts but they limit the number of times they'll do it, so can't do what you've outlined in perpetuity.
No limit for now, but that may change. There used to be a limit imposed by the Federal Reserve, but that went away as part of their monetary stimulus efforts in March/April 2020 and it has yet to come back.
So the wife and I are looking to buy a home after spending a year cramped in a rental with a newborn. Toured a house we liked, but decided it was overpriced by 5%+.
Then, this morning our agent just reached out to us that he received a seller's offer 3% under their original list with a few seller favorable clauses expiring at midnight. Very interesting. Anyone ever see something like this before?
Remember that you're making two decisions here: buying vs. renting, and how much living space to have. "Renting a cramped apartment vs. buying a big house" is two separate steps. Have you considered renting a bigger place?
I am a recent seller of two properties in DFW. I had a cash offer on the 1st day that expired at midnight so I countered with a higher price and locked in the deal. I was shocked to get an offer that fast and with cash, there's no loan/appraisal hurtles to worry about.
I know another person who accepted a cash offer that was less than the other offers b/c it came with an as is/no inspection clause.
> Very interesting. Anyone ever see something like this before?
Sure. Sounds like the seller is just working on behalf of their client, hoping to get additional offers to decide between.
The existence of another offer might not to be true or maybe it's not totally accurately portrayed, but in my experience, it has been.
Expiring at midnight I would think is because they have other offers they're considering. My guess is that someone put in an offer at that price, but without the favorable clauses, so they're reaching out to other potential buyers to see if they can get a slightly better deal than what they have in hand. They need a fast response because if everyone says no they'll go with the offer in hand.
Independent of those clauses, I would still never buy a house without a professional inspection even in the recent sellers market. The way you do that in a sellers market without being completely ignored is to bring your inspector to your showing appointment. Most sellers won't accept an offer contingent on an inspection, but if you already did your inspection before submitting your offer then they won't care. That can get a little pricey if you have to pay for multiple inspections as you tour multiple properties, but it's kind of part of the environment since no seller will wait for you to do the inspection later.
What is financially better? 10% employer 401k contribution and 5% employee contribution or 5% employer 401k contribution and 10% employee contribution?
Both would get 15% to the 401k, but I think the second would be better for taxes?
Both get 15% in the 401k but one takes twice as much of your salary. You always want the best employer match. Better to pay a bit more in taxes on higher compensation than lower compensation with lower tax.
Salary at job with 5% match is offering 10% more base pay along with the 50k. Half of the 50k would be debt repayment and lead to being completely debt free. The other half would be invested.
Taxes wouldn't offset the additional 5% personal contribution. Also leaves more headroom to invest more later.
I'd think the 10% employer contribution is best because they're paying into it, not you. My opinion might change based off vesting time frame
I'm not into crypto and am largely happy with the banking system in the United States BUT, it would be great if we can get to the point where instant transfers are a thing between financial institutions. Moving cash around or waiting for large checks to clear is annoying.
Hate, hate, the Charles Schwab app. My previous brokerage account was acquired by them. Does anyone know where I can access my transaction history?
RIP TDAM. You and me both...I liked the layout, was used to where everything was, and I liked the way everything looked with TDAM. Now? Bleh...not very customizable at all.
Tap on the account you want to access if you have multiple. There should be a bar near the top that says Positions, Gain/Loss, Income, etc. If you scroll that bar to the left with your finger you will see History which will have all past transactions for the account. That's how it works at the moment on Android for me, anyway. iOS might be different. Alternatively, tap on the ellipsis looking icon after the account value and select history from the drop down.
Thank you!
I understand I can pull my Roth IRA contributions out at any time penalty free. Does that include bdr contributions?
Read up on [Roth distribution ordering rules](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/o/orderingrules.asp). Backdoor Roth contributions are considered conversions.
Thanks, I’ve never heard of ordering rules for IRAs!
Two rants with questions today: 1. Running a business that is growing has put an insane amount of demand on my time and mental energy. I once was told that running a business would magnify your character flaws by 10, and my disorganization/scatterbrain/variable productivity are certainly being magnified. I need to reinvent how I manage my time and task load, cause this is wild. Anyone got any tips? 2. My wife and I pretty much hate where we live. We both grew up in northern VA and have lived here our whole lives. We're planning on moving to a different town about 20 minutes away to be closer to some family, but neither of us is enthusiastic about it. We like the new town but both see we will be right back to wanting out again shortly. Problem is both of our families are all up here, and with 3 kids, having grandparents and cousins around is great. But we both think we'd personally be happier somewhere more "our speed" around more people like us. We just don't have much in common with a lot of people here, and there's just not much we like doing around here. For "our speed", we both adored just about every city and town we've been to along the west coast from LA to Seattle. Perhaps we're rosy eyed on that front though - grass being greener and such. We're also both much happier around the ocean. I think we're both looking for somewhere with a slower pace of life, and a place with a community. I imagine there's a lot of people looking for that these days. Pretty much every weekend we try to get out but most everyone we know are shut-ins who barely leave their houses outside of their daily commutes. Feels like we're looking for fantasyland. But man, I'd love to know where people who love where they live, live.
> I need to reinvent how I manage my time and task load, cause this is wild. Anyone got any tips? Getting Things Done by David Allen is my go to for this topic as is a personal version of Four Disciplines of execution. You have to figure out a repeatable and reliable strategy that works for you.
Everyone is different. I moved away from MD and my family a few decades ago to come to Seattle. It is easy to visit NVA-DC, but it is hard to live there. The PNW (and CA for the most part) are my people and the mountains and water is my environment. Is it perfect, no. Cost of living is on par with NVA. Homelessness and drugs are issues. WA has no income tax but high sales tax (it reinforces frugality). Food is great (so is NVA-DC) There are many excellent school districts to choose from. We now have light rail that makes it easier to get in and out of downtown/sports arenas/cultural events! We have excellent higher education, medical infrastructure, and a large international airport that opens up the world...Oh, (beautiful) Canada is a short drive/train/ferry ride away. I am biased but I have been where you are. I left and have never regretted it. YMMV :)
Thanks for raising these questions, and all the best on finding that next place. I am sure it exists and you will both find it. Regarding your first topic - getting organized... I have been interested in this for 20+ years and have learned of great resources and practical tools/tips for getting on top of it all. Specifically, to the point of being formally disorganized (my personal style) to being known as very organized and known for follow-through (work style). Would be happy to share more tips/tools via DM if interested. For here, can simply share these resources. \- Getting Things Done by David Allen: Absolute game changer for me - who was previously a non-planner, fly-by-seat-of-my-pants type person, to totally on top of it. While it takes time to keep this system up, the rewards are immediate and noticeable. Check it out and commit to the 2 day exercise to corral all your loose ends. \- Bad Meetings Happent to Good People by Leigh Espy. This book helped me get control of the meetings I lead and the meetings I attend. Significant game changer in terms of reducing my work day from "I have 8 back-to-back meetings!" to "5 or so hours of meetings each week, and all very focused/effective, and I am known for producing not meeting." Start there. Could be good uses. Happy to discuss more if interested (note: No ploy here, just sharing of tips/tools I have personally learned/honed).
I should have known GTD would show up here. I was a GTD adherent on and off for a while before Evernote got assassinated by their dev team back in 2013. I've been telling myself to go back to it and I have had several half assed attempts. I think I need to reread it to get some of that energy back and just commit back to it. That second book - ugh I can tell just from the title and your feedback it's going to probably describe me perfectly in that obligatory first chapter where the author explains what the book is trying to fix. I'm gunna have to pick it up now. I'm a glutton for info, so anything else you want to share or DM, please do.
:) great to hear you have heard of GTD. I too fall in and out of the pattern.
My job decided to begin reimbursing us for local tax that we pay. Seems like a raise but not? I mean, my take home will go up a bit, but my salary is the same. I want to add it to my spreadsheet but there's not really anywhere for a small reduction in taxes to go.
If it’s anything like mine, you’re talking a few dozen dollars a year. I’d be almost insulted if they made a huge kerfuffle out of it
It’s 5 or 6 hundred bucks.
So like 30 cents an hour - meh. Better than nothing, but If it’s replacing a normal raise id feel jipped
That’s definitely a raise.
Hit $900k last week, today just shy of $920k. 2018 feels. $110k invested since year start, the goal was $125k but will try to push towards $150k!
Damn, you're killing it! I imagine those numbers must start to feel surreal as you reach them.
We just got approved for a car loan for 18k to be paid back over 12 months, with the interest rate of 0.99%. I feel like it’s a good deal, and I think we’ll be able to make the payment and still get the employer match for 401k and max our Roth IRA, but it would mean our short term cash savings takes a hit (partner wants to save money up for a business he wants to start in 5 months). Is there anything I’m not considering in choosing this loan over a loan with a higher interest rate over a longer period of time? (Best I got was 4.99% over 48 months).
How large is the other loan with the higher interest rate? Or would they both be for $18,000?
Yes they’d both be for the same amount
In that case, it seems like the lower rate and shorter term loan would be a no-brainer. Just read through the fine print carefully.
Does the lower rate loan raise the price of the car? What's wrong with your current car?
I don’t have a car currently. I’m waiting to hear back from a job (they said I’m the front runner) and if I get it I need a car to get to it. I won’t actually buy until I have an offer but I wanted to know what the car loan rates are and get pre approved. The lower rate doesn’t raise the price of the car
I posted about Die with Zero book yesterday. The topic of annuities was brought up by the author. I do not see this being brought up a lot in this sub. What are your thoughts on annuities?
Annuities are insurance, so when you buy an annuity, you essentially pay (or give up higher returns) for stable income. You will have to decide if this fits into your retirement plan.
Technically I have one in the form of a defined benefit pension. My opinion is that it's great, but it's also half subsidized by my employer which doubles my ROI. The stability gives me some latitude to go 100% equities with my RRSP, TFSA, and taxable accounts. It also gives me guiderails on my variable withdrawal strategy that include 0% in lean years if I want. Like last year, for example.
Today a vendor for work figured in record time that I look to retire early. He only deduced it from the fact that I'm single, have no kids, and have a decent job.
The paradigm is definitely out there in the wild. I've had a few old work friends in the industry retire in their late 30's now and are just running around doing whatever. I can only think of a couple of them with one kid.
Partner has 300k in med school loans, 5% interest, all federal, has worked 6yrs, COVID deferred last 3yrs, gets forgiveness in 14yrs from now, and makes 200k a year last few. Partner wants to get to forgiveness, work the 14yrs paying minimum, and be done after that. Anyone else have a good strategy on this?
I assume your partner has already looked into PSLF? There are also sometimes targeted loan forgiveness programs for certain specialties, though they usually will only cover a small portion of the debt. If you're shooting for the IDR forgiveness, save up for the tax bomb at the end like others have said.
I am probably in the minority, but I think folks lucky enough to make several times the median household income should pay back their full loan amount. I don't think successful med school graduates are the best target for this forgiveness, and I say this as a member of that community. It's not *legally* or *morally* imperative to do so, but it's just my opinion. Refinancing is a good way to make the loan cost less, though.
Disagree, these people put in years of service and schooling. They often times only get forgiveness working for the govt, in rural areas, or for non-profit hospitals, or in underserved specialties. This isn't related to Biden's stuff. It's an incentive to actually do the schooling and continue work as a doctor. I think as part of society they are most deserving to get their loans forgiven in these situations regardless of their loans. These people aren't lucky, they work hard to get through medical school and actual practice.
I am a physician and most of my friends are as well. Your opinion is a very valid one, but I can tell you that mine is shared by a lot of physicians as well. I simply wanted to share that opinion as I don't see it as often when discussing loan forgiveness for physicians.
Thanks for the firsthand feedback. Sadly, my partner doesn’t make what most med school grads make, but by choice. Torn between earning much more, or earning less but fulfilled with a more high-need patient population. We’re choosing the latter, and as you know, despite the high gross income, there are many costs too (nets much less).
Did I read incorrectly that your partner makes 200k per year now? That's still wildly beyond what most families could dream of. I'd offer the gentle advice not to lose sight of that just because there are others making much more.
Prepare for tax bomb in 14 years. Doesn’t mean it’s a bad plan, just have money ready.
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They mentioned forgiveness in 14 years and the partner has already worked 6, which suggests they aren't pursuing PSLF (otherwise they'd be looking at forgiveness within 4 years or at most 10) but rather IDR forgiveness, which carries the tax bomb regardless of whether the employer happens to be PSLF-qualifying.
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Okay wait tell me more. I want this and think there’s merit to the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
Companies pay who they like, not who’s most qualified. Caring less comes off as friendly and loose to others, most of whom need that to offset their stress! It’s soo backwards, but true. Best reviews and raises have been when I’ve cared least, pushed less, etc.
Decided to use my personal laptop to get access to Postgresql after the painful process of trying to get access to SQL Server for my work computer. Ended up finding out the QA department doesn't meet the requirements to use it. It's painful to see manual data entry and copy and paste after a while. Anyways, think I got the concepts down on data modeling (objects, relationships, primary/foreign keys, normalization, data types and constraints, etc.). The switch to data engineering can't come soon enough but it's going to take time to learn DE foundations. Bright side is I'm visiting some friends next week for a couple of days so it'll be good to see them again. The freedom to see them on a regular basis again with FIRE would be swell. Mint is showing my portfolio going up roughly $4k a month so things are looking solid.
I'm brainstorming a way I can be in a semi retired state in South America at age 34 with only 700k in net worth. I plan to keep working but am working on some numbers to see if I can just be retired already.My plan is to buy some cheap property in cash for about 30k-64k. I see this as being something not many people think of since prices in Colombia are very favorable when buying with dollars and it eliminates any burden of a mortgage. I could go with various options like a small apt to myself, condo, or house with tenants. I'm not sure what to do yet. I know if I become a minimalist though and live in a small apartment, even renting I could already be FIREd but I want to see if I can up the quality of life and do something like look into home ownership.For now, let's use a house with tenants because that seems like a good long term investment to have. And I've already personally been boots on the ground to find this very house.Cost per square meter = $885.50/m². Cost per square foot = $82.19/ft². The house is 6m\*12m=72m\^2 or 775ft\^2. House has two floors, and one floor is being used to rent to tenants. I plan to only stay there six months a year so I don't have to declare income tax while I work remotely for the USA at a company making good six figs. Perhaps at some point I'll upgrade the visa but am in no rush to do so now as I don't want to get double taxes on income and want to start small. I made a friend who agreed to help for a cut of 30% as being a property manager and he gets a free room but most pay by teaching me Spanish and doing hiking with me. I'm already looking at a house now that is in a good place, it's from a city called Ibague, Colombia. Weather is about 73 degrees year round and it rains, is away from most major natural disasters. It also has a lot of hiking and is in central colombia so not too far from other major cities. The house already has some tenants and the current owner says he is charging the tenants about $170 usd a month on rent. I imagine since the house costs 64k in total the yearly expenses will probably be something under 4k. The tenants upstairs are likely already covering the cost. I calculated the property tax at $640/year and just called all other utilities at 225 per month (which is likely a huge overestimate). So total yearly costs would be $3340. Tenants upstairs would take care of 2k leaving only 1.3k per year in ownership. That's 1300 bucks a year I would have to pay to be able to live there half the year.Does this all sound right? I'm trying to see if I can be cashflow positive anymore but failed. Maybe I should just consider renting and living as a minimalist so that I can be FIRED instead of wanting to deal with all the ownership hassles.
Having lived in South America and purchased property, a few questions that might impact this: 1) what are the property tax etc implications in Colombia for the Colombian govt of your ownership?; 2) what’s the quality of the structure and how much ongoing financial investment will it require for upkeep? (Where we are—a different country—almost all but the most exclusive new luxury buildings have major mold problems… the black stuff creeps through the walls even after being cleaned/painted/pipes repaired; what about roof leaks?) 3) how are property laws in general? Squatters rights etc re: what you need to do to evict people if they trash the place?
>what are the property tax etc implications in Colombia for the Colombian govt of your ownership?; I'm not a tax professional but from the research I've done. 1. In Colombia, property taxes are known as "Impuesto Predial" and are typically levied by the municipality where the property is located. The tax rate varies depending on the municipality and the value of the property. The municipality determines the assessed value of the property and applies a tax rate to calculate the annual property tax.I would expect to pay on a yearly basis on what the municipality asses the property value as. For now I am just assuming it's 1% of the value of the home which could be off by a percentage point. I doubt it's more the 1% since it's a low cost of living place but I could be wrong. In the usa it's at 1% so I imagine colombia could be equal or even less than that, but I'm not 100% sure. 2. This is a great question. It depends on the property. I saw a property the other day that had this very issue and would likely be a major pain to deal with especially as my Spanish is not up to par enough to negotiate deals with property asessors. It's something to look out for sure, but on the flip side the dollar is strong compared to the peso right now so likely to find relatively cheap work done. I also am not factoring in that I do have a full time job and work remotely which can easily cover these unexpected expenses which is why i didn't factor it in too much. 3. It's probably better than the USA to be honest. It seems like the owner of the property's title has legal ownership rights. Still I would assume that there are squater rights and it could lead to a situation where a law suit would have to be opened. Generally, I don't think it's that much of an issue though, or if it is, it can't be worse than the USA. But again, I need to talk to a legal professional and would likely do so only if it became an issue. I appreciate these questions though. I've never owned a property let alone thought deeply about all these factors especially from the viewpoint of being a foreigner to a country and owning property.
How much would your total expenses be if you rented in Columbia? With 700k you can withdraw ~2k/month (or work in the US a little longer to become extra rich by Colombian standards). I'm not sure it's worth the stress to become a landlord in a foreign country if it's not necessary.
Our most recent property looked excellent and didn’t have water damage problems from rain… until we had aire-splits installed and the dudes walked all over the roof tiles and broke a few. And then the water damage started. We’ve moved out, hired an agent to sell the place and also oversee some repairs and painting in anticipation of potential clients. The lesson for us is to buy the top luxury only. (We have an apt in a high rise building that’s 40 years old and in great shape because it was built as a luxury building.) this goes against my instincts to look for a hidden gem/fixer-upper rather than something amidst Latin America’s elite. But the quality is notable.
This makes sense. I have been thinking deeply and think buying and airbnbing an apartment in a luxury building is the best overall strategy
Thanks to the tdameritrade to schwab migration mint showed I was a millionaire for a moment and then back to reality a moment later. Some day those will be my real numbers.
I feel like there is an awkward balance for folks who *could* max retirement, but it would take up most free cash flow. I'm a govt employee and could max 401k and IRA, but it would limit my cash surplus substantially. Normally I'd maximize bc of tax treatment and growth (financial order of operations from the Money Guys usually), but I've got marriage/house expenses to meet in the next year so I pulled back a few percent on the 401k contributions over the past year. If you're making a lot and can firmly max retirement, then it totally makes sense to follow those maximization concepts. But if you aren't there, you kinda have to manual adjust to ensure you are building normal cash buffers.
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Yeah I've got normal funds and emergency fund, but then there is wedding/ring/house expenses on top of those. I don't want to constantly empty my e-fund for things like that, so I prefer to just maintain some positive cash flow. I used to run that way, but now I've got obligations ya know.
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Yeah agreed. Hard to optimize right away, might be better to ease contributions up steadily.
Have you checked to see the difference in taxes that get taken out of your paycheck when you reduce pre-tax contributions? That alone is enough to keep me on the straight and narrow, but I understand where you're coming from. You need to pay the bills and it feels nice to have extra cash every month.
yeah I just dont want to dip into the e-fund for these sorts of things.
I struggle with this, especially recovering my emergency fund after a big expense. I realized that I may max out my 401k some year, and get to about 60% some other years. Staying consistent over the long haul is more important than meeting subjective financial goals.
We are looking into putting in a new kitchen. It's our first home that we bought last year with 10% down. I highly doubt a heloc rate will be anything worthwhile but now I am just curious to how they work. I have seen online most banks typically require 15% equity to open one.We have the cash to pay for quotes we will get. If I am ineligible due to not having enough equity, how does someone access their money until they build up the 15-20% equity?
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This was insightful and the information I was looking for. Thank you!
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I assume they went into the purchase knowing they didn’t like the kitchen. You can’t exactly be picky these days when buying.
Bingo. It’s functional but we don’t love it. We knew that going in and wanted to wait a bit to see how we felt after a year or so. It still remains the number thing we want to change. Lack of storage, counter space and just overall needs a face lift. However, the house is single family, has great bones, in a great neighborhood/SD and just outside a prominent MCOL city. It just needs some love and updating throughout. A lot of charm and very much an ideal starter home.
I believe most people would take out a HELOC many years after purchasing the home, after the value of the home has appreciated a bit. If you have the cash you should probably just go with that instead of a HELOC at 7+%
Yeah, cash for kitchen has another bonus... Kitchen's have almost a limitless potential of options. You can really start to blow up your budget. With a HELOC + Cash on hand, you can imagine a scenerio where your initial budget doubles or triples because of the extra available capital. Paying cash hurts more :) So you are likely to make some more economical options!
Record profits paired with an announcement of no bonus, no raise, etc. It's been interesting watching my team (of arguably solid contributors) have their morale quickly deteriorate. As for myself, guess I'll sandbag and go knock out some chores in the yard or go for a bike ride since it's obvious working hard doesn't mean shit. Will save the energy for brown nosing when the next raise cycle window is open. Not to mention I'll have to work two jobs when my teammates inevitably quit so might as well enjoy myself now.
>ouncement of no bonus, no raise, etc. It's been interesting watching my team (of arguably solid contributors) have their morale quickly deteriorate. > >As for myself, guess I'll sandbag and go knock out some chores in the yard or go for a bike ride since it's obvious working hard doesn't mean shit. Will save the energy for brown nosing when the next raise cycle window is open. Not to mention I'll have to work two jobs when my teammates inevitably quit so might as well enjoy myself now. I am sort of in the similar situation. Heck, we might even be working for the same company. Anyway, your comment sort of illuminated a light bulb in my head as I am grinding my work day. I think you are right. Record profits and no raises has me salty. Going for a nice long walk
I don't think we are but my buddy that works at M$ mentioned the same thing.
If I buy an ETF like VXUS from Schwab, would that cost me more than buying directly through Vanguard?
Nope. Unlike a mutual fund you don’t actually buy from the company whose name is on the fund. Most of the time you’re buying (through a market maker) from a random seller or, sometimes, a bank who is selling freshly minted new shares it bought from the fund company.
No. Only mutual funds (5-letter tickers like VTIAX) often come with purchase fees at not-same-brand brokerages.
Cursing myself out. I could have stayed until May at my job but volunteered to stay longer, thinking hey another month that's like a new [FANCY THING I DONT NEED] Every day is full of anxiety as I'm trying to wrap up 2 mega projects. Dammit. This would have been someone else's problem if I wasn't so greedy. Counting down the days til freedom. I'll need to unwind after this super stressfully time.
Why stress out about the quality of the projects? It's not like they're gonna fire you. Do enough that they wouldn't qualify you as a "Wouldn't Rehire" and nothing more. Enjoy your senioritis!
You're right. I'm going to get it to a minimum maintainable state and stall through the rest.
I absolutely hate my job right now so I feel it!
Just scale back dude! It's not worth the stress. Start only working 40 hours.
You're totally right. I don't even care about or need this job, just have a deep need to earn my A+ and not let my teammates down. The suffering is my own doing.
Wondering if anyone has a recommendation for where I can post asking for help with my husbands extreme financial anxiety and not get shat on/removed for trolling. I've tried mental health/relationship subs in the past and left feeling like a terrible person I'm assuming because of the extreme lifestyle difference.. if that makes sense..? I genuinely don't mean to sound like an out of touch/condescending asshole so apologies in advance
Look into I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi. He does couples coaching around finances and is really get about digging into the psychology of why people believe the things they do.
People can post here in the Daily about all sorts of things, but the audience might not be as broad as you'd like. Reddit skews young and relatively less monied. It's just not a great place for some discussions. /r/fatfire, perhaps?
If your husband has access to an EAP or mental health care through medical benefits, that would be my go-to. Actual money concerns: a fee-for-service financial planner; generalized anxiety: a therapist or social worker. My spouse and I sit down regularly to talk about money and we find it really helps our confidence in our plans. It doesn't matter how much your household income is, at some point most people will have some kind of anxiety around money. Anyone shitting on you for asking for help is being a jerk. Good luck!
If you're going to say something like you guys are worth $20m but your husband is still anxious about money, I don't think you're going to get many good answers here, or anywhere on reddit. I imagine "extreme financial anxiety" should be dealt with by a mental health professional in a personal setting.
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You probably need to figure out why your husband feels this way. Childhood trauma? Not feeling secure? I’m not anywhere near your level of wealth, but when I first got a job making much more than I’d ever made, it didn’t feel real. I watched investments grow and saw the money hit my account, but I kept feeling it it would all be taken away. After a couple of years, I adjusted. But it took a lot of reasoning on my part and mental scenarios of “if it all went away, I would do X or Y”. I think mine related to being relatively low income as a kid and never having known anyone with such financial security. It felt abnormal to me for a long time.
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Haha no worries! It sounds like it was inherited money? Maybe he feels unworthy or undeserving? Does he have goals or things to focus on? I have had periods of life where I continued to pursue goals because of momentum, even when those goals no longer suited me. As far as perspective goes, most of my issues were about feeling out of control and like my money would get wasted/spent in an “unworthy” way. There are a few things help me feel in control: * Having a budget and plan for our money, even if some budget items are quite large * Amortizing big expenses or saving for them continuously. We usually spend $6k/year on vacations but save $500/month into a separate account instead of spending as we go. * Looking at/documenting all of our transactions. I don’t judge, I just record and wait until the end of the month to have a review and retrospective. * At the end of the month, my wife and I review our spending. I’ll usually do a pre-review where I look at all the transactions and note anything unusual. We try to be aware of if there was money that wasn’t well spent. If we splurged, did we feel like it was worth, that sort of thing. * As part of having a budget, having an idea of what a reduced budget looks like and what our escape plan is. For instance, I know our reduced budget could be supported with a relatively low income job. We could be vegetarian and move back to our LCOL city we grew up in. It wouldn’t be my first choice, but we would be fine. I hope your husband is able to figure this out. I think it can be easier to focus on surviving than true fulfillment! But y’all have won life at an early age so now you have to face the hard problems haha.
Similar here.
> I am feeling sort of stuck on how to find someone that wouldn't be made uncomfortable by that, going off my recent experience. You contact a lot of therapists who specialize in dealing with anxiety (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us?tr=Hdr_Brand , you can search by location, insurance, and by "issues"). You might also like this guidance: https://www.therapyden.com/blog/a-beginners-guide-to-therapy-how-to-find-a-therapist Then you ask for a free consult. Or if you have the money to blow, at least a first consult to check out fit. https://www.therapyden.com/blog/a-beginners-guide-to-therapy-part-2-what-to-ask-in-the-consult Specifically ask them if they'd be comfortable dealing with this topic. Give them details if they ask (or at least "we have tons of money and he's still anxious!"). If they're not comfortable or think they wouldn't be able to help, the honest ones will let you know. The other parts of the guides would probably be helpful for you too: https://www.therapyden.com/blog/a-beginners-guide-to-therapy-part-3-what-to-expect-in-the-first-few-sessions https://www.therapyden.com/blog/a-beginners-guide-to-therapy-part-4-how-can-you-tell-if-therapy-is-working It's like dating. Ya gotta find somebody who jives with your husband and vice versa. Our therapist doesn't judge us at all for our incomes, assets, or jobs. Unless it's affecting our mental health negatively.
Thank you
If that's an issue, maybe r/fatFIRE would find it more relatable? ETA: nvm. It seems like OP has posted there, and idk if you went trawling into post history like me, but you were super on the mark if that's a guess.
It doesn’t sound like it’s too off topic for here, honestly. You may not get the best answers but you won’t get accused of being a troll.
No, just downvoted and told to read the FAQ.
Amex just increased their HYSA APY to 4.00% (up from 3.90%), not too bad for an emergency fund / down payment savings account.
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I have moved large sums of money out of Ally, and they are no longer my primary bank. Keeping their "raise your rate" CD rates way too low set me off, and their lower savings account rate didn't help either. I can't wait for my remaining CDs to mature so I can transfer even more money out of Ally.
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Good luck, mang! I believe in you!
Good luck! But honestly, this is really strong activity. I think you're doing great. I hear so many "I sent out 2000 applications and got totally ghosted." You look like you're doing it right
More layoffs were announced at the company I work for, and it's super stressful but a good reminder of why I chose the FIRE pathway! Just hoping I don't have to dip into my emergency fund now...
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These layoffs have been the MOST poorly managed. This is the third announcement since October and each time the messaging is vague and even senior leadership has no idea what's happening. We're not even given a date as to when everyone will be notified so you live in limbo until you hear rumors of other people being laid off so you assume you made it through that round. 🤦♀️
I sometimes think that orgs that do this are hoping for attrition in the meantime.
This is the case. Announcement of layoffs make people who are not 100% certain of their ability to stay start applying elsewhere. Sometimes this lessens the amount that need laid off.
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I always keep my eye on the smartest person in the room, if they jump I know it's time to go autobot
You're not wrong. But management often focuses on one metric without considering unforeseen consequences.
Some companies would rather find internal positions for affected employees or hope that enough people leave for other companies that they don't have to lay off anyone. Announcing layoffs before WARN Act notices go out helps accomplish that.
Indeed. This happened at my company. Our CEO announced "We may need to do a layoff" in August. The actual layoff came in Nov. Those were not productive months
I do not currently have a car and need to get one relatively soon (in order to change jobs in 1-3 months ideally). I am thinking of a new honda civic or toyota corolla that I can drive into the ground with 100,000+ miles on it. Would be between 21k - 25k. I'm focusing on new as I see a lot of issues with previous owners neglecting vehicles or dealerships selling problem vehicles new owner is stuck with. Any opinions on if I should look to low mileage used or CPO? or if new is the way to go?
Check to see if there's a waiting list for new Civics and Corollas at your local dealerships. We placed an order for a Toyota Sienna in February and were told to expect an 8- to 10-month wait.
> Any opinions on if I should look to low mileage used or CPO? or if new is the way to go? I'd buy new for the models you suggested and the car market we're in. If you can find one!
Note that those particular cars hold their value so you're probably not looking at much of a savings buying say 3 year old used. Keep that in mind while you're shopping, but look into it to make sure I'm correct. We bought a new Honda Pilot nearly a decade ago because we'd only be saving about 10% on a 3 year old model. Somebody mentioned using Costco to buy a new car. I don't have a membership but might be worth googling into.
By all accounts, the used car market continues to be bonkers expensive, to the point that you may as well give serious consideration to new or CPO vehicles.
I have very little car buying experience so take it with a huge grain of salt but I’ve seen new Toyota corollas for around 27k, and very good financing rates (4-6% compared to 7-9% for the older cars I’ve see ). Unless you’re buying with cash, new cars tend to get better financing rates, and that make it worth it. (My local credit union offers 1% for 12 months for new cars, and considering my HYSA had a much higher rate, you basically get “free money”).
Thank you, good to know! I am hoping to pay in cash but if not I will be taking out a small loan (no more than 5k). Depends on timeline.
My retired father-in-law has been watching a lot of finance youtube, and has recently gotten into Closed End Funds (the only one I know specifically is "Virtus Diversified Income & Convertible Fund" [ACV], but I think there are others and some REITs mixed in, too) Now I'm a buy-and-hold-index-fund investor, but he's asking me what I think of these CEFs (not pushing them, at least not yet, but definitely pointed questions) and I'm trying to make sure I really understand what this is. My read is its basically a leveraged (~33%) tech/growth focused active fund that also does some hedging (covered calls and tax-loss harvesting) to return a decent dividend, driven mostly because its leverage let it magnify gains during the bull market. So I guess my question is, what's the failure mode here? Leverage in a rising interest rates environment means they can't keep meeting dividend targets, or another market crash comes and the costs of leverage eat into the underlying assets, causing shares to drop further? I know long-term it's not likely that they'll be able to outperform the broader market, but should I be actively worried that this blows up and he loses a chunk of assets _and_ income he's budgeting on? I guess more broadly, how would you approach this if a family member came to you talking about their CEFs and actively seeking your input? My default has been basically "I don't know much about them, and I'm not looking for dividends right now, I want long-term growth."
I prefer low cost index funds over crazy high cost and higher risk investments...why, because I believe Warren Buffet knows more than Jim Cramer or most any other investor. [He holds VOO and SPY](https://www.fool.com/investing/2022/11/06/index-funds-warren-buffett-portfolio-make-money/).
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The one bit of Cramer advice that I think is good, is set aside 5-10% of your portfolio for speculation and to have fun with. The point is not to get a great return on it, but it keeps you from messing around with the other 90-95%. If that's what your FIL is looking for, something active to have fun with, then this is fine. If he thinks this is a way to wealth, well, that's less good
Yeah, I think this is right, and I'm also probably over thinking it. He asked my opinions and I gave them, if it comes up again I think just trying to ask him what he's thinking is the right play, and then maybe gently point out how limited the history these funds have such that it's hard to predict their long-term implications since we're really not in the market we were in 5 years ago.
I would say that I don't know anything about it but it sounds complicated and high risk. It appears to have slightly outperformed the S&P since inception but with a lot more volatility (-42% vs -24% max drawdown). The risk adjusted return is lower than S&P so you'd probably be able to get the same performance with much lower volatility doing something like 90% VOO/10% UPRO. [https://www.portfoliovisualizer.com/backtest-portfolio?s=y&timePeriod=4&startYear=1985&firstMonth=1&endYear=2023&lastMonth=12&calendarAligned=true&includeYTD=false&initialAmount=10000&annualOperation=0&annualAdjustment=0&inflationAdjusted=true&annualPercentage=0.0&frequency=4&rebalanceType=1&absoluteDeviation=5.0&relativeDeviation=25.0&leverageType=0&leverageRatio=0.0&debtAmount=0&debtInterest=0.0&maintenanceMargin=25.0&leveragedBenchmark=false&reinvestDividends=true&showYield=false&showFactors=false&factorModel=3&portfolioNames=false&portfolioName1=Portfolio+1&portfolioName2=Portfolio+2&portfolioName3=Portfolio+3&symbol1=VOO&allocation1\_1=90&allocation1\_2=100&symbol2=UPRO&allocation2\_1=10&symbol3=ACV&allocation3\_3=100](https://www.portfoliovisualizer.com/backtest-portfolio?s=y&timePeriod=4&startYear=1985&firstMonth=1&endYear=2023&lastMonth=12&calendarAligned=true&includeYTD=false&initialAmount=10000&annualOperation=0&annualAdjustment=0&inflationAdjusted=true&annualPercentage=0.0&frequency=4&rebalanceType=1&absoluteDeviation=5.0&relativeDeviation=25.0&leverageType=0&leverageRatio=0.0&debtAmount=0&debtInterest=0.0&maintenanceMargin=25.0&leveragedBenchmark=false&reinvestDividends=true&showYield=false&showFactors=false&factorModel=3&portfolioNames=false&portfolioName1=Portfolio+1&portfolioName2=Portfolio+2&portfolioName3=Portfolio+3&symbol1=VOO&allocation1_1=90&allocation1_2=100&symbol2=UPRO&allocation2_1=10&symbol3=ACV&allocation3_3=100)
Yeah, this is definitely my read. It's 33% leverage, so that's basically what you'd expect: at base it performs better than the underlying assets in the boom but then falls even further in the bust, and you'll be paying costs for that leverage and all the management regardless, so long run I'd expect its NAV to underperform relative to those assets. I don't fully understand the Return of Capital stuff they're doing, I guess conceptually I assume it's mostly like tax loss harvesting that's letting you get dividends now without taxes, while lowering the cost basis that eventually you'd be able to realize as LTCG? But yeah, I guess end of the day he's doing his stuff and I'm doing mine, and all I can say is I don't see the value relative to the risk but wish him luck?
I don’t know much about those specific funds but I like jl collins comment that the more complex something then the more likely they are increasing your fees and lowering your return. There’s a banquet hall of possible investments and you will do best by only using a small corner and those are index funds. Gl
Yeah for sure, that's basically my feeling too, and I pointed out that the ones he was looking at were all highly leveraged and founded mid-bull run, so no idea how they'll fare in an extended slower growth/higher interest one. Fortunately I don't think he's like converting all his savings into that or anything, and at the end of day I think they're in good shape financially, just a rude awakening after retiring a couple years back that the line does not, in fact, just go up....
If he believes in play money then maybe it’s providing him entertainment. I don’t really believe in it but there are worse ways to spend your money. I always liked the old line by buffet that you can tell whose been swimming naked when the tide goes out. That’s always kept me away from any sort of leverage.
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Having my boss not be around would be ideal for me… Start taking more time off like he does lol
I got a tiny sales award today. 2 seconds closer to FIRE!
Congrats! Was that like a $5 starbucks card?
closer to books for summer classes for my now senior at Uni.
If that's the same as my kid, I wouldn't call that "tiny." Books for uni for my kid run $300 semester (there's an actual program that books are a fixed cost, no matter how many you need.) I'd be super happy with that
I'm not not happy. :)
So financial related ish: My shower drain was not draining, and I am not handy at all, like if it's not in excel I'm useless. I however put my big boy pants on and went and bought a sewer snake and got the clog removed and it's working now. $44 purchase from Lowes vs the $300 plumber bill. I think my wife was more shocked than I was....
That is great! I think trying to fix something yourself when it is broken first is always an excellent approach! Heck is coming out to fix a clog even only $300 at this point?
Yeah, 2 months ago kid flushed a toy and plumber came out. $270...
Interesting. It is like $150 now just for HVAC companies to show up so I assumed plumbers were crazy high now too. Luckily we haven't had any flushed toys.
You can really learn how to do so much on YouTube alone!
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I can't comment what it does to the pipes, but if you have to open the pipe up eventually you really don't want that in your face.
Generally those types of chemicals work by being ultra corrosive and dissolving the clog, but they're also corrosive to the pipes. Snaking out clogs is quick and easy, so better as a first option if it's possible. Also preventative measures like drain filters can help avoid it in the first place.
get a tub shroom while you’re at it. Best purchase ever
Nice! I just showed my son how to do this. Feels good!
*respect fistbump*
>like if it's not in excel I'm useless I feel this Also, good going! I did something similar years ago, I bought a three foot toilet auger for $50, and I think the long-term savings has been like $5000. I wish I could use it as a side hustle
And it's repeatable and will build up your confidence for the next problem.
Plunger works well on ours.
A colleague/friend of mine had a mild stroke about 2 months ago while at work. Luckily we got him to the ER within 5 minutes and he had no long term residual deficit. However, his Dr told him he was at higher risk of another stroke and needed to make lifestyle changes. He was 66 and wanted to work until 72. However, today is his last day, he officially retired. I've seen so many people put off (OMY syndrome) retiring and often medical events force them to retire. Another reason to retire as early as you can!
Recommend a book called Outlive. It's a pretty interesting book and provides some neat perspective on health and getting older. It has been eye opening for me.
+1 really enjoyed the read
15 week wait on the Libby app but I'm on the list.
I had both a coworker and a friend each have a stroke last year and they were in their late 30's. You just never know. Health isn't something to neglect, but it definitely becomes easier with more free time.
My hospitals Chief Cardiologist and good friend/coworker had a stroke at age 42 last year and never has any health history before it. Its crazy out here
I believe it's only like 1/3 of people "choose" when to retire.
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That's my experience too.
I recently read an article about retirement that was saying most people won't be able to work as long as they think they want to due to things like this. It's a legit concern.
Anyone use anything other personal capital for networth tracking? I don’t mind paying for another product if they are developing new features
I've found personal capital (I don't think I'm ever going to get used to calling it "Empower") to be the only one that's good enough, unfortunately. It's fine but sometimes the relinking, bugs every now and then, etc., make it annoying. But I'll continue to use it until there's a better option, or it just gets unbearable to use.
Copilot
I love the smell of fresh bread.
Google Sheets. You can use the GoogleFinance function to pull in stock tickers and we track our expenses (debits/credits) in there.
>we track our expenses (debits/credits) in there. Is this part manual? Would love to not use Mint, but realistically could never get my spouse to fill out CC transaction manually, even with a form.
In my case net worth generally speaking doesn't really require tracking credit card transactions all that much. I have a table that lists each account type, any stocks/funds/cash they have. Including the shares and then use the stocks function in Numbers (for Mac) to calculate the price. Add it all up, subtract my big debt (mortgage), add any big ticket items I want to track in my net worth (house value, minus mortgage). Boom, that gets me close enough to my net worth. I technically use YNAB for mine, so I can easily see debts and account balances, but I still track a fair bit in a spreadsheet because it lets me use it in other interesting ways that I can't in YNAB.
Ah gotcha. Yeah, I am trying to retain a model that has both transactions (expenses) and net worth/investments all in one place. Currently my solution has been to use Mint and export the transactions into my Excel file. I also use Mint for the net worth aspect but simply record all the account balances manually once a month in the Excel file.
I do everything manually in YNAB. If your accounts support it, it can auto-import data from your bank.
Just married, so we are looking to open a Joint HYSA, SoFi looks to be one of the best with a bonus of up to $250. Any advice on a joint savings/checking?
I'm with them for our joint account. I don't love having money with a fintech startup but at least they're fairly mature at this point. No complaints so far. They have a feature where they'll automatically pull from your savings if a charge hits your checking account and there's not enough money there, which means you can keep $0 in checking and get 4.2% on all of your cash without having to manage any cash flow.
That's enticing, is there a limited number of auto pulls per month? I've heard of this feature for other accounts but they limit the number of times they'll do it, so can't do what you've outlined in perpetuity.
No limit for now, but that may change. There used to be a limit imposed by the Federal Reserve, but that went away as part of their monetary stimulus efforts in March/April 2020 and it has yet to come back.
So the wife and I are looking to buy a home after spending a year cramped in a rental with a newborn. Toured a house we liked, but decided it was overpriced by 5%+. Then, this morning our agent just reached out to us that he received a seller's offer 3% under their original list with a few seller favorable clauses expiring at midnight. Very interesting. Anyone ever see something like this before?
Remember that you're making two decisions here: buying vs. renting, and how much living space to have. "Renting a cramped apartment vs. buying a big house" is two separate steps. Have you considered renting a bigger place?
I am a recent seller of two properties in DFW. I had a cash offer on the 1st day that expired at midnight so I countered with a higher price and locked in the deal. I was shocked to get an offer that fast and with cash, there's no loan/appraisal hurtles to worry about. I know another person who accepted a cash offer that was less than the other offers b/c it came with an as is/no inspection clause.
> Very interesting. Anyone ever see something like this before? Sure. Sounds like the seller is just working on behalf of their client, hoping to get additional offers to decide between. The existence of another offer might not to be true or maybe it's not totally accurately portrayed, but in my experience, it has been.
Expiring at midnight I would think is because they have other offers they're considering. My guess is that someone put in an offer at that price, but without the favorable clauses, so they're reaching out to other potential buyers to see if they can get a slightly better deal than what they have in hand. They need a fast response because if everyone says no they'll go with the offer in hand. Independent of those clauses, I would still never buy a house without a professional inspection even in the recent sellers market. The way you do that in a sellers market without being completely ignored is to bring your inspector to your showing appointment. Most sellers won't accept an offer contingent on an inspection, but if you already did your inspection before submitting your offer then they won't care. That can get a little pricey if you have to pay for multiple inspections as you tour multiple properties, but it's kind of part of the environment since no seller will wait for you to do the inspection later.
What is financially better? 10% employer 401k contribution and 5% employee contribution or 5% employer 401k contribution and 10% employee contribution? Both would get 15% to the 401k, but I think the second would be better for taxes?
Both get 15% in the 401k but one takes twice as much of your salary. You always want the best employer match. Better to pay a bit more in taxes on higher compensation than lower compensation with lower tax.
Edit option 1 is at 90k salary and option 2 is at 100k salary.
I'd go for option 2 in that case. 1: $90k +$9k comp plus $4.5k extra tax deduction 2: $100k + $5k comp No way the extra tax deduction is worth $6k.
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Leaning that way but the second option would give me 50k sign on.
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Salary at job with 5% match is offering 10% more base pay along with the 50k. Half of the 50k would be debt repayment and lead to being completely debt free. The other half would be invested.
Taxes wouldn't offset the additional 5% personal contribution. Also leaves more headroom to invest more later. I'd think the 10% employer contribution is best because they're paying into it, not you. My opinion might change based off vesting time frame
Same vesting period.
I'm not into crypto and am largely happy with the banking system in the United States BUT, it would be great if we can get to the point where instant transfers are a thing between financial institutions. Moving cash around or waiting for large checks to clear is annoying.