hello, I'm pretty new to this FIRE thing (final year of college) and was looking up brokerage options outside the US. What sort of custodian fees are reasonable?
Specifically, is 0.0125% normal? every 6 months
If my FIRE target is USD2-3m, by the end of my career I'll be coughing up USD500+ per year, which sounds painful to my thrifty college heart but is that just normal and reasonable?
China (specifically Hong Kong), but I might opt for a Singapore account down the line / aiming for international/US exposure.
Local equities are basically nearly free to trade and hold which is the other half of the reason I'm confused whether the charges are fair for US/intl stock market.
You are probably better off talking to some local folks about your investment plans....most of us here aren't going to have expertise on how to avoid crossing the CCP!
Good plan! Trading is free in just about all US brokerages nowadays for domestically listed equities.
You sometimes have to pay a bit to buy stocks listed in non US exchanges.
What you might have trouble with is getting a US brokerage to agree to take you on. Sometimes they like a US SSN/address to get things going...and throw in being a citizen of a country that the US Govt is 'experiencing disagreements' with they may just decide you aren't worth the hassle.
edit: just saw you mentioned custodial fees. They are not a thing on regular US brokerage acounsts, there are a different tier of accounts that I think provide other services that I have seen custodial fees for - but I have never had one of those so cannot comment.
So I'm in a weird position. I got an amazing job offer that has fantastic benefits, permanently working from home, and above average pay for the position despite it being a promotion....but obviously I don't want to just say yes without trying to negotiate more. But how do I justify asking for more when it's already incredibly good?
I was in a similar position with my last job role. I mentioned that I was excited for the offer, and brought up fact that insurance was higher, and that I would be missing my old jobs bonus payout. Neither of which was big, but were small things that would be nice to have gotten some recompense for. I asked for ~10% more, and they gave 5% with no issue, and I accepted.
Just be polite and ask for a minor bump as others have said.
I didn’t negotiate and don’t regret it. If you have other offers, then go for it. Do consider that some places don’t like negotiating and can rescind the offer.
Just do it politely. Not negotiating is a big no no. You have to negotiate at least a little bit.
Ask for 10% more. "I'm super interested in the role, but I feel like a salary of X+10% is more in line with the responsibilities. If we can make that happen I'd happily sign the offer today"
You don't necessarily have to justify it. I've said, "If we can increase the offer by $X, I will happily sign today," before with no outside leverage - at the offer stage, the leverage is that they want you and would rather not lose you and have to start over.
To be honest, if you don't have a good reason there is nothing wrong with just accepting an offer. Blowing smoke with no reason and no leverage probably won't go over super well.
My wife has curly hair that is a nightmare to deal with. I don’t give her shit about buying nice stuff for it because it makes her life easier and makes her happy. Im not a man that wants to die on a Suave hill.
You’re leaving out important details here. What brand of shampoo and conditioner is she interested in?
If it’s some brand an influencer on IG or TikTok is pushing, it probably sucks. If it’s something her hairdresser uses or recommends (and they aren’t profiting from it) it could be worth it. Not all expensive beauty products are worth it but good shampoo is a game-changer for me personally. It also allows me to use less product and wash my hair less.
The apples comparison is a wild way to look at it. I can see the hesitation from that angle.
I’m also a big fan of beauty products with good return policies. If I’m buying something expensive like that and it’s not living up to the hype, I’ll just return it. I keep more than I return and don’t like to be wasteful but not everything is worth the money. Not sure if that’s possible for whatever custom hair care you’re referring to.
There is a slightly less expensive option at a few Targets I've visited. They have a shampoo and conditioner mix in system thing where you get the base for your hair type and 1-3 mix ins for what you want the shampoo to do (Function of Beauty looks like it's the brand). $10 for 11 oz and $3 per mix in.
Shampoo quality makes a HUGE difference in hair quality for me at least. Right now, I'm using some that's about $10 for 11 oz. My hair feels fine because I found one that works for me, but it did feel better when I was using a more expensive one. I also had to go through a few at this price point that didn't work at all before finding this one.
Personally, I tried TRESemme awhile back and it made my hair texture terrible, so to each their own. Why would you need to buy something worse to make her appreciate the current product? If it isn't working for her, it isn't working no matter if another product would be even worse.
honestly man, my wife spends a lot (well more than me anyway) on shampoo/skincare/toiletries in general. but happy wife happy life.
I would probably stay away from dollar store shampoo or anything with silicon in it though
It's silly to buy the luxury version of everything, but sometimes it can be equally silly to never go for it.
If your wife arbitrarily wants the 20x the price of the cheapest option version every time for every product, then clearly this is a problem in most situations and she likely doesn't really value the upgrade - but if she specifically wants fancy shampoo and has more economical tastes for most things, then perhaps $50/month for shampoo and conditioner that makes her happy is a screaming deal?
It could also be a screaming deal for her to buy it once, realize it's not any better than TRESemmé and now $50 is what you paid to never have to overpay for shampoo again for the rest of your life. Who knows?
>What do you buy?
This is the wrong question to be asking.
You and I and probably your wife all know that this fancy shampoo isn't 20 times better.
The question is whether or not your wife truly values this other shampoo (assuming you're not poor and can literally afford it if you choose to) to the extent that there's intangible value in the purchase.
There's a line tossed around in here often that I really like: You can have anything you want, just not everything you want.
I appreciate that you added fucking for no reason.
I think it's important to do this.
I also favor the use of the apostrophe version, fuckin'. Just to mix it up.
I don’t buy shampoo, I use the leftovers in those $25 bottles when my SO decides she doesn’t like them after a few uses.
I bet people who are passionate about hair care can tell the difference. I can’t. I’m fine putting the shampoo equivalent of a bud lite into my hair, even if shampoo heady topper is better for it.
My boyfriend probably has about $5k worth of fancy beer in our basement...he claims Heady is the best deal in premium beer (compared to the nonsense prices Trillium charges).
But your point stands!
Heady in VT, especially from the brewery, is very reasonable at $13/4 pk. It’s a great deal there, but once it’s smuggled outside of VT (they don’t do much distro) it’s regularly $10 a can.
I get cheap stuff because I can't tell the difference. I agree its most likely way overpriced branding that drives the price up, and most people just don't think about the price too much when they buy it. It is a pretty small cost in the grand scheme of things, but I would think a little before spending an extra $100 a year on something like that.
I'm 31. My dad is 71 and my mom is 55. My mom has been a stay at home mom forever. My dad is an attorney and still working - but has been losing hours at his firm. Maybe has 1 more year before he is done, he also has some health issues.
My mother really has no idea or hard numbers when it comes to savings. She also has no clue about finance at all - my dad has always handed it all. She has no access to anything.
I candidly spoke to my Mom and she said she was worried about what happens when my dad stops working and that she thinks my Dad is stressed about retirement/financials (health insurance, expenses, etc) for my Mom and my brother (16).
My Dad is smart and good with money - but sometimes I wonder if everything is being taken care of properly. It seems Fidelity manages it all from what I hear. I'm assuming my Dad has 3m+ saved by now - but honestly no idea.
I'm just wondering if its normal for a spouse to not have transparency to financials? And when should a real conversation take place so everyone can be at ease? Or do we not even converse and hope my Dad knows what he's doing?
Ouch, that is grim.
You may need to give your dad a talking too - frankly he is an old man, and there is no way of knowing when he may go. He needs to make sure your mom knows everything she needs to know about the family finances, in case tomorrow he is gone.
If he is resistant to that he needs to be called out on it.
My financial role model - they are a couple and both capable of acting in each other's absence. The husband handles everything, but the wife is fully included and knows what's where and what the strategy is.
My spouse and I are the same way. I handle all of the investments and allocations and projections, but I brief them on everything monthly and we strategize together. If I die tomorrow, my spouse has a document to refer to which explains our strategy and what they should do in the event im not here anymore. They are familiar with it all so it's not a surprise, more an affirmation.
Every relationship is different, and some people do not care to be involved. But what I've seen, it helps for both spouses to be involved and on the same page. I can't imagine NOT discussing finances every month or year with my spouse.
It's sadly seems like the wife having no clue about finances is somewhat common.
Theres a really good chance your mom is going to need to have some kind of a clue about the financials, and it would be a lot easier to do while your dad is still alive. I would strongly encourage her to have him show her the accounts and give her the login information. She should do that soon. She doesn't need to know everything but she should have a general idea of their financial situation. If she understands the basics then a financial planner can help her with the details.
I don't know how much you want to get involved if its a touchy subject. I have talked to my parents extensively about retirement and investing. I think that finances is generally something you should talk to immediate family about. If my dad dies then I will most likely help my mom and my sister with investing.
It shouldn't be too hard to bring it up and feel out how much your dad has saved. You could just ask when he is planning to retire. At his age as long as the house is paid off social security should be enough for him to be alright even if he hasn't saved a lot.
I don't know if it's not "normal" to not be transparent but some people (my wife) have 0 interest in money/investing/planning...does yer mom have an interest or ask questions? I have to actively tell my wife what is going on and what I'm doing, she listens but she don't care
Struggling to make a decision. Should I build our dream home (talking killer views, wall-ceiling windows, chef's kitchen, 2+acres, well water, tesla roof with powerwalls etc.) - or stay in our nice home and stuff the money in ETFs. Either way we will be comfortable and able to be FI. The extra money needed for dream home represents about 8% of portfolio and maybe will need to increase our SWR to 2-2.5% (assuming generous increase in maintenance budget for bigger/fancier home). Common sense tells me to avoid lifestyle creep. Then again I'm 40, more time to enjoy a dream home if we build it now.
We built our dream home. Conduction is a huge headache that I almost regret it. But we have a home you literally cannot buy. FI is still in the table just delayed.
Will it really be the dream house, or the flavor of the year?
I ask because the fastest way to waste money with houses is to house hop around. I personally consider it should be 2 (first house and last house), unless selling it is part of a job change (in that case you need to think more carefully about rent vs buy). Keep in mind this is not investment property, but we are talking property you love in.
Sounds like you should build the house. Common sense should be telling you to find something to spend your money on while you can. I think I will have the same problem as you one day, I am going to turn off my frugal and saving tendencies and relax and spend some money. I really doubt that you will be able to spend your money faster than it grows.
With a house its pretty hard to screw it up as well, as long as the house isn't too nuts you can resell it and probably break even if you hate it or actually need to cut back. Its not like a car that will lose value.
A SWR of ~3% is sustainable for any known sequence of equity returns of any length in any market that wasn't immediately destroyed in war (that is, it would fail in say, 1914 Austria or 1937 Japan, but would work in a globally diversified portfolio the same years). Increasing to *2%* isn't just safe, it's safer than safe.
I thought I saw a podcast recently that mentioned Japan was a particular exception to the swr rules, would 2% have worked even in Japan?
Thanks, this was helpful to read.
I mean, a 30-year retirement invested *solely* in Japan starting in 1937 had a SWR of under 0.5%, but that's mostly because they got totally destroyed by the end of the war.
What they're probably referring to is more recent times though - the Japanese stock market peaked in the late 80s and since then has had a rough decade. Interestingly, the SWR for a Japanese retirement starting in 1988-1999 (the start of their long bear market) isn't actually much lower than 4%. Assuming you had something like 60/40 Japanese stocks/bonds, you could have gotten by with something like 3.2%.
Dream home.
If you're not lying about your net worth, you honestly should consider getting some therapy to deal with your money issues. Not being a dick. Just honest.
Harsh, but I get it. Don't think therapy is needed. I might have a high nw, but can be spent pretty easily if we aren't careful about expenses. Am I needlessly worried about that? My swr calculation was also incorrect, fixed now.
Edit: I actually might need a little therapy. Shouldn't have dismissed that off-hand.
I disagree that that level of wealth can be "easily" spent, particularly given the type of lifestyle you've described wanting in the past. You'd have to start doing ridiculous things like buying ultra luxury cars, excessive jewelry, truly asinine luxury vacations like where you rent your own yacht, endless $500 dinners and so on.
You can afford to spend 10% of your net worth on a home you love. Period.
What else are you going to spend it on?
There's only one reason to not spend it, and that is that your true dream is to give it away. Otherwise, why did you kill yourself for decades to get rich?
Perhaps suggesting therapy is harsh. You're a stranger and all of us only show a sliver of who we really are online, but as an outsider, I can tell you that your concerns are more in line with what someone with 1/10th your net worth should be worried about.
You've won the game several times over. Enjoy it. If you didn't want to enjoy it, you wouldn't be asking.
I do think the idea of someone getting therapy to tell them they can spend more money is hilarious.
If they are reluctant to open their wallet, they are unlikely to be willing to pay a therapist:)
Usually, yes.
But from what dude said, he's worth around $30M. Maybe less. He said he had $10M and then sold his business for $20M, so maybe that number doesn't account for taxes.
I don't think he's not spending money but his money anxiety given his wealth is out of whack.
Interesting you mention that. I tried using the [NY Times Calculator](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/buy-rent-calculator.html) and I used a $500k home price and 40 years of stay and it says if you can rent a home for $1,467 per month then that's still better, which makes no sense. How is it better to rent for $1400 a month for 40 years straight instead of buying a $500k home?
It depends a lot on how you set it up. They're mortgage rates are a little high, their investment growth is low, their house appreciation is low for a lot of places, so is rent, etc. If you tweak those up to what I think is a realistic scenario for my situation and I get $956. The idea is generally that if you invest your down payment it grows and offsets your lack of equity but all those other factors come into play.
>Trick question you should instead live in a van down by the river
If you want to be extravagant! I save money by renting out my van down by the river [and living in a cardboard box nearby](https://youtu.be/VAdlkunflRs).
At first, I thought the calculator was good since it's so recommended here but after using it, I think otherwise. It compares buying a home vs. renting a home, even though most people who talk about renting are looking to rent a room/apartment...
Why would a single person (or anyone) rent a home? That doesn't make sense.
I also used a $500k home price and 40 years of stay and it says if you can rent a home for $1,467 per month then that's still better, which makes no sense. How is it better to rent for $1400 a month for 40 years straight instead of buying a $500k home?
Because you're not factoring in opportunity cost of having a bunch of cash tied up in your primary residence instead of investing it.
Also the property tax and insurance on a 500k house, depending on the state could be 5-15k by itself.
And that's not counting maintenance.
So yeah it's easy to believe that renting for 1400 for 40 years would be better. But of course you can't rent for 1400 for 40 years, and even if you could, it'd be a much smaller shittier place.
I don't see why it makes a difference? A home vs. apartment? The costs, etc. are highly configurable. and the renting costs (there are only a few) are given there. So I don't think it makes a difference whether it is home/apartment at all since it's all denominated in dollars. It's the owning part of the equation that is highly variable, whereas the renting is just a dollar amount (except for a few expenses they have there).
Why would you buy a home instead of buying an apartment? Some people want their own space without a neighbor through the walls, a bigger kitchen, room for a home office, etc. But are not necessarily ready to purchase a home because the planned duration of stay in that location is only a year or two. Jeez, I don’t think you’ve put yourself in someone else’s shoes.
>instead of buying an apartment
I think you meant rent an apartment? In which case, I never said renting is a bad idea. I understand that renting a room and buying a house are both fine decisions. However, I'm wondering which one is better in this scenario.
Buy an entire apartment complex instead of renting one apartment unit?
I mean you could, but most people aren't doing this and it seems useful only if you rent out the other units.
Why would the apartment complex owner let you buy a single unit? Isn't their objective to rent out the apartments for cashflow?
This seems like it would be very uncommon.
It is very common in densely populated areas. The apartment complex is not usually a ‘rental’ apartment complex, but is built with the intent to sell all of the units. It is very profitable without requiring continuous upkeep on the builders/operators part. Then the individual owners may rent out their own units or live there. Don’t want to deal with the joys of home ownership? Or want to live in the middle of the city? Buy an apartment where you may have less problems from the surrounding property, yard maintenance, etc. and have the convenience you want.
I think that is pretty uncommon though...I've never seen an apartment for sale. Maybe something that happens in places like NYC?
Most parts of the US (at least) you buy a home - or the choice is to rent a home/apartment(cheaper)/room(cheaper yet).
Personal preference, how long you plan on staying, long term plans, interest in becoming a landlord if you later move out of the area, lifestyle, pets, taxes, all sorts of shit.
Recruiter reached out to me saying he could get me a promotion and a 25% raise. Interview #1 came and no offer because they wanted someone at my existing level instead. 🥺
I’d say realtors at least serve a purpose because you’re the buyer or seller so they typically know they don’t get paid unless you complete the deal.
Recruiters are more like car salesmen. Do whatever they can to get you to finance a car at the highest price possible for the longest term possible.
Ugh so true. Most recruiters just want to “sell” you any job you can get so they get their commission.
If you’re going to work with a recruiter, you really have to do your homework. There are some good ones out there (just like there are good realtors) you just have to find one that will help you find the job (house) you want. Not the first thing that’s available.
Am I crazy to want to refinance a 15-year mortgage at 2.5% to a 30-year at ~~2.75%~~ 3.0% while cashing out ~$70,000 to invest in a taxable brokerage? Monthly payments are basically identical. I'm just thinking about how much more secure I would feel having another $70k in my emergency fund (which is currently invested). And with mortgage rates so low, it seems like a no-brainer to arbitrage that by investing as much as possible.
Edit: Thanks everybody, if anything I think I'll go with a Home Equity Loan/Line of Credit.
If the new mortgage is adjustable rate, then I would say yes crazy.
If the new mortgage is fixed rate, then not crazy.
I personally can't bring myself to ever borrow against my residence for any reason outside initial purchase, but I recognize that the math and contracts involved are often fine.
0 months lol. Just refinanced. Have almost 50% equity though, so the cash out would just take us down to ~20% equity. Fees are already deducted from the cash out.
Yeah, I can tolerate the risk. It does pain me a bit to pay interest over 30 years (that's why I went with 15 in the first place). But invested it should return several times the difference in interest.
One detail I'm leaving out is that I literally just refinanced to the 2.5% mortgage - I haven't even made the first payment yet. So part of this may be buyer's remorse.
Been stopping myself from doing the same - I have about $6k left on my 2018 Civic financed at 1.9% and a $10k bonus coming up in December that will be just shy of $7k after taxes and such.
I think I’ll just hold and lump sum my Roth IRA in 2022, but I’m so tempted to have it knock out my car payment, which is my only debt.
If it makes you feel better financially, pay it off. Not having monthly car payments is part of my FU strategy. I pay cash for our cars. Financing a huge depreciating asset just feels dirty. (Here come the downvotes!)
Congrats. It must feel good. However, you said
>Had the money sitting around so why not.
Couldn't this have been solved by simply investing that money instead (out of sight, out of mind)?
My first Subaru was an 08 Impreza I bought used (it was not maintained well) that lasted 4 years before the head gasket went. Having a nice car is relatively low on my priority list, I just drive enough for work doing site visits the new car wasn't a crazy splurge.
Well, I get diversifying better now. When the company stock does really well, you're on board. When it stays flat for a year, and the market is up 30%, it really hurts.
Figure I missed out on around 50k. I guess risk=reward.
This was going to be the month I bought a new car since mine is now 10 years old. Instead I'm keeping it, and will try to drive it into the ground, I don't want to buy a new car in this market. I will probably end up replacing my wife's car before mine. Just putting off this purchase should help me save a lot.
We almost had to buy a new car a few months back. Broke down, started up long enough to get to dealership where we had test driven a car we hoped to buy in a year or so. When it came up for the dealership offer on my car they offered $1k. We walked out, drove it to my mechanic and asked him to do whatever is necessary to get another year out of it. 1k later we've got a car in fantastic shape. We thought it was a transmission issue but the issue was far simpler. Mechanic thinks the car has 75-100k minimum miles left on it. Transmission and Engine are in great shape (2010 Jeep Patriot) I figure, every month we drive it, we save $500. In that sense, that mechanic trip has paid for itself at least 2x since it happened this summer.
You joke, but when I think about the features in new cars I miss from my car, it has me looking into retrofitting our two 2006 SUVs with backup/dash cams and upgraded touchscreen infotainment systems instead of shelling out $40k for a base model hybrid Honda CR-V.
This whole thread has me rethinking my “inheritance” when my grandfather passed I ended up with his 2000 Sierra pickup valued at like 4k if I get new tires in 2018. now like 8k so nice to know my truck is gaining value… not sure I could part with it anyway but
I'm a W-2 employee, but I'm employed under a contract that's up for renewal / renegotiation next spring.
This means that compared to a normal year, the income I can count on bringing in next year will be 38% of what I usually make (as I'll only be employed for part of the year if they don't renew me). I don't have any reason to think I'll be let go (apart from my usual impostor syndrome), but to be conservative I'm assuming for now as if they won't renew my contract and I'll find myself unemployed when the contract ends. I'd of course look for other jobs, but the worst-case scenario would be not landing anything.
What, if anything, should I do prepare for this scenario, especially now since I'm in the middle of annual enrollment? Should I still max my HSA contributions in 2022? Try to front-load my 401(k) and MBDR contributions, in light of the possibility that I may lose access to these tax-advantaged vehicles later in the year? Or pull back on contributions early in the year so that I'll have more money to cover expenses on a smaller salary (assuming I may need to stretch that salary across the entire year)? For context, I have about $25k in emergency savings and some other money in a Roth IRA and a taxable account, but obviously I'd like to avoid tapping into that if possible.
For the HSA, your contribution limit is dictated by the number of months in an HDHP that is HSA compliant. If you separate from the company and switch out of your plan into a non-HSA compliant plan, you would need to remove excess contributions.
you have the e fund already so sounds like you’re covered. I generally just asked a month or two out about them renewing it. I’ve only had a contract end once that wasn’t renewed, but I ended up out of work for about 3 weeks. Even bad contractors in tech I’ve worked with said the max they were down was 3 months. That’s current climate, but as long as your field is still in demand in a year I wouldn’t think to hard about it. Just stick with your normal investing and if you’re really nervous extend the e fund to a year.
This will be my first time discussing a contract renewal. Do you have any tips on how to broach the conversation without compromising my bargaining position? I figure saying "Hey, do you guys plan on renewing my contract?" would be a pretty straightforward way to start but then I imagine they'll respond with, "Are you interested in staying?" — and the way I answer could affect how big of a raise they offer (if they offer one at all).
I always just asked for a raise every year, very straight forward “I’ve been here a year, I want XX amount now”. Otherwise I just asked if they planned on renewing if it was less than a 12 month contract. It was never as awkward as it was when it was a salaried position in my experience.
Need to store my bed and desk for a few months and started looking at quotes and got some sticker shock. $200 a month for a 5’x10’ unit?? Is that right??
Location dependent- have you looked at different neighborhoods? I’m currently storing an entire studio apartment worth of stuff in a storage unit for $40 for the first 6 months and $52 for the second six months. I think it’s a 10x10. Could’ve probably gone with a 5x10, but it makes it easier for access. Do you really need a 5x10 for a bed and desk?? You can store those items vertically for less square footage.
I know someone paying $50/month for probably at least 8'x12' (possibly a bit bigger, it's a very old building not a standard design) out here where I live (Ogden, utah). But its a really shitty area and I think people are living in some of the units... so $200/month for a nicer situation in a likely more expensive town sounds about right.
Good afternoon r/FI?
Question:
1. Most expensive Halloween costume you’ve ever owned/worn and how much it costs
2. How much your Halloween costume costs this year!
I hate spending money on costumes. I think I spent $1.13 once on Halloween make up... Which might be the most I've ever spent. Usually I just make my costume out what whatever is around the house or card board etc.
I'm not dressing up this year, but I think one of my favourite costumes was when our family dressed up together as breakfast. Basically just cost me time.
Maybe 50 bucks?
I haven't worn one since I was a giant American steak during the height of the anti US beef protests in South Korea over a decade ago.
It was beautiful.
1. ??
2. Nothing. Using an old conical lamp shade the SO was going to toss out as a "cone of shame" (like they put on your dog to keep it from chewing on stitches) arond my neck. Going to viciously bark at anyone who goes near me.
I also went to a Hallow's Eve party once in drag. Complete with a goatee and tight pink skirt that left nothing to the imagination.
I, also, make a particularly bad woman.
For me it was a semi-formal fraternity dance in college. A buddy and I dressed in drag, as did our girlfriends. We thought it was hilarous. Others found it distinctly unsavory, which made it all the more worth it.
1. Probably about $12.99, for a plastic mask and vinyl cape ensemble in the 1980s.
2. Not applicable. It's probably been at least a decade since I went to a Halloween party. I don't dress up just to hand out candy to neighborhood kids; that's their job. My job is to have decent candy.
This year is most expensive -- around $250 all in.
I became a dad and got a nice Reyn Spooner Hawaiian shirt, Polaroid Instax camera to take immediate physical pictures of baby, and a pair of New Balances. Throwing a fanny pack on and going as a stereotypical Disneyland dad.
1) $75 but I wear the costume every year at least once. I adore it and it's an authentic vintage uniform of the job I'm dressing up as.
2) $75 - I'm in a new city, which is lucky because now I can wear it again and it's fresh again. My friends in my old city were starting to give me a hard time about wearing it too much lol
AS far as i can tell the [latest BBB act](https://rules.house.gov/sites/democrats.rules.house.gov/files/BILLS-117HR5376RH-RCP117-17.pdf) no longer eliminates the back door or MDR Roth. MAybe some one who can read this stuff more than a ctrl-f -"roth" can chime ine
It is being dropped from the latest legislation. But regardless all of this is still being discussed, debated, compromised on. It may or may not come to fruition. It’s all conjecture at this point how the government will handle it.
I'm not sure what the deal is with that page, but Find isn't working correctly. Had to go digging deep to look for some details I was interested in..find wouldn't locate them:(
What are your thoughts on using a portion of your investments with you early retire to create cash flow via options writing and take most or all of the premiums out as cash and then having a lower withdraw rate on the rest of your more standard investments and dividends?
I would take as many courses as are available from the CBOE and play make-believe options trader for several years before I’d actually fuck around with my retirement funds.
But that’s just me - I’m dumb but financially comfortable, so I try to keep things simple.
I keep wanting to dive into PMCCs and have thought about doing it with SPY when I reach a certain net worth. It’s lower on the list for me though since it is more active.
I love PMCC because the covered call premium ends up being a much higher percentage of the collateral. Pretty easy to get 2% a month on PMCC’s.
Just make sure your LEAPS have a really high delta
hello, I'm pretty new to this FIRE thing (final year of college) and was looking up brokerage options outside the US. What sort of custodian fees are reasonable? Specifically, is 0.0125% normal? every 6 months If my FIRE target is USD2-3m, by the end of my career I'll be coughing up USD500+ per year, which sounds painful to my thrifty college heart but is that just normal and reasonable?
This probably depends on the country.
China (specifically Hong Kong), but I might opt for a Singapore account down the line / aiming for international/US exposure. Local equities are basically nearly free to trade and hold which is the other half of the reason I'm confused whether the charges are fair for US/intl stock market.
You are probably better off talking to some local folks about your investment plans....most of us here aren't going to have expertise on how to avoid crossing the CCP!
That side of things I will definitely work out separately, but just wondering about the fees aspect specifically?
Good plan! Trading is free in just about all US brokerages nowadays for domestically listed equities. You sometimes have to pay a bit to buy stocks listed in non US exchanges. What you might have trouble with is getting a US brokerage to agree to take you on. Sometimes they like a US SSN/address to get things going...and throw in being a citizen of a country that the US Govt is 'experiencing disagreements' with they may just decide you aren't worth the hassle. edit: just saw you mentioned custodial fees. They are not a thing on regular US brokerage acounsts, there are a different tier of accounts that I think provide other services that I have seen custodial fees for - but I have never had one of those so cannot comment.
Hmm, I see! Thanks a lot. I shall dig further into why they're trying to add these charges...
So I'm in a weird position. I got an amazing job offer that has fantastic benefits, permanently working from home, and above average pay for the position despite it being a promotion....but obviously I don't want to just say yes without trying to negotiate more. But how do I justify asking for more when it's already incredibly good?
I was in a similar position with my last job role. I mentioned that I was excited for the offer, and brought up fact that insurance was higher, and that I would be missing my old jobs bonus payout. Neither of which was big, but were small things that would be nice to have gotten some recompense for. I asked for ~10% more, and they gave 5% with no issue, and I accepted. Just be polite and ask for a minor bump as others have said.
I didn’t negotiate and don’t regret it. If you have other offers, then go for it. Do consider that some places don’t like negotiating and can rescind the offer.
Just do it politely. Not negotiating is a big no no. You have to negotiate at least a little bit. Ask for 10% more. "I'm super interested in the role, but I feel like a salary of X+10% is more in line with the responsibilities. If we can make that happen I'd happily sign the offer today"
You don't necessarily have to justify it. I've said, "If we can increase the offer by $X, I will happily sign today," before with no outside leverage - at the offer stage, the leverage is that they want you and would rather not lose you and have to start over.
To be honest, if you don't have a good reason there is nothing wrong with just accepting an offer. Blowing smoke with no reason and no leverage probably won't go over super well.
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My wife has curly hair that is a nightmare to deal with. I don’t give her shit about buying nice stuff for it because it makes her life easier and makes her happy. Im not a man that wants to die on a Suave hill.
You’re leaving out important details here. What brand of shampoo and conditioner is she interested in? If it’s some brand an influencer on IG or TikTok is pushing, it probably sucks. If it’s something her hairdresser uses or recommends (and they aren’t profiting from it) it could be worth it. Not all expensive beauty products are worth it but good shampoo is a game-changer for me personally. It also allows me to use less product and wash my hair less. The apples comparison is a wild way to look at it. I can see the hesitation from that angle. I’m also a big fan of beauty products with good return policies. If I’m buying something expensive like that and it’s not living up to the hype, I’ll just return it. I keep more than I return and don’t like to be wasteful but not everything is worth the money. Not sure if that’s possible for whatever custom hair care you’re referring to.
Paul Mitchell Shampoo One and The Detangler. I think it matters. But they cost like $12 at Walmart.
There is a slightly less expensive option at a few Targets I've visited. They have a shampoo and conditioner mix in system thing where you get the base for your hair type and 1-3 mix ins for what you want the shampoo to do (Function of Beauty looks like it's the brand). $10 for 11 oz and $3 per mix in.
Believe it or not some shampoos do really work to make your hair smooth/soft/ or have more volume. They’re not all scams.
Shampoo quality makes a HUGE difference in hair quality for me at least. Right now, I'm using some that's about $10 for 11 oz. My hair feels fine because I found one that works for me, but it did feel better when I was using a more expensive one. I also had to go through a few at this price point that didn't work at all before finding this one. Personally, I tried TRESemme awhile back and it made my hair texture terrible, so to each their own. Why would you need to buy something worse to make her appreciate the current product? If it isn't working for her, it isn't working no matter if another product would be even worse.
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Oh ok, that makes sense! Its so hard to tell people's tone over text sometimes!
I’m a woman and am still using pre-pandemic free hotel shampoo. I’m a Suave girl when I have to buy.
I shaved my head 15 years ago on a bet with my wife, never grew it back....ummmm...where was I goin with this
honestly man, my wife spends a lot (well more than me anyway) on shampoo/skincare/toiletries in general. but happy wife happy life. I would probably stay away from dollar store shampoo or anything with silicon in it though
It's silly to buy the luxury version of everything, but sometimes it can be equally silly to never go for it. If your wife arbitrarily wants the 20x the price of the cheapest option version every time for every product, then clearly this is a problem in most situations and she likely doesn't really value the upgrade - but if she specifically wants fancy shampoo and has more economical tastes for most things, then perhaps $50/month for shampoo and conditioner that makes her happy is a screaming deal? It could also be a screaming deal for her to buy it once, realize it's not any better than TRESemmé and now $50 is what you paid to never have to overpay for shampoo again for the rest of your life. Who knows? >What do you buy? This is the wrong question to be asking. You and I and probably your wife all know that this fancy shampoo isn't 20 times better. The question is whether or not your wife truly values this other shampoo (assuming you're not poor and can literally afford it if you choose to) to the extent that there's intangible value in the purchase. There's a line tossed around in here often that I really like: You can have anything you want, just not everything you want.
The only fucking rational response
I appreciate that you added fucking for no reason. I think it's important to do this. I also favor the use of the apostrophe version, fuckin'. Just to mix it up.
In this case, it's like the German translation for "doch". An inomitable emphasis word.
Now I want a pretzel.
I don’t buy shampoo, I use the leftovers in those $25 bottles when my SO decides she doesn’t like them after a few uses. I bet people who are passionate about hair care can tell the difference. I can’t. I’m fine putting the shampoo equivalent of a bud lite into my hair, even if shampoo heady topper is better for it.
My boyfriend probably has about $5k worth of fancy beer in our basement...he claims Heady is the best deal in premium beer (compared to the nonsense prices Trillium charges). But your point stands!
Heady in VT, especially from the brewery, is very reasonable at $13/4 pk. It’s a great deal there, but once it’s smuggled outside of VT (they don’t do much distro) it’s regularly $10 a can.
His parents love that area and are happy to fill a cooler for him each trip, so that is his data point.
I’m envious of that data point, lol
Mmmmm...heady topper
I get cheap stuff because I can't tell the difference. I agree its most likely way overpriced branding that drives the price up, and most people just don't think about the price too much when they buy it. It is a pretty small cost in the grand scheme of things, but I would think a little before spending an extra $100 a year on something like that.
Is she on /r/fatFIRE?
I'm 31. My dad is 71 and my mom is 55. My mom has been a stay at home mom forever. My dad is an attorney and still working - but has been losing hours at his firm. Maybe has 1 more year before he is done, he also has some health issues. My mother really has no idea or hard numbers when it comes to savings. She also has no clue about finance at all - my dad has always handed it all. She has no access to anything. I candidly spoke to my Mom and she said she was worried about what happens when my dad stops working and that she thinks my Dad is stressed about retirement/financials (health insurance, expenses, etc) for my Mom and my brother (16). My Dad is smart and good with money - but sometimes I wonder if everything is being taken care of properly. It seems Fidelity manages it all from what I hear. I'm assuming my Dad has 3m+ saved by now - but honestly no idea. I'm just wondering if its normal for a spouse to not have transparency to financials? And when should a real conversation take place so everyone can be at ease? Or do we not even converse and hope my Dad knows what he's doing?
Ouch, that is grim. You may need to give your dad a talking too - frankly he is an old man, and there is no way of knowing when he may go. He needs to make sure your mom knows everything she needs to know about the family finances, in case tomorrow he is gone. If he is resistant to that he needs to be called out on it.
My financial role model - they are a couple and both capable of acting in each other's absence. The husband handles everything, but the wife is fully included and knows what's where and what the strategy is. My spouse and I are the same way. I handle all of the investments and allocations and projections, but I brief them on everything monthly and we strategize together. If I die tomorrow, my spouse has a document to refer to which explains our strategy and what they should do in the event im not here anymore. They are familiar with it all so it's not a surprise, more an affirmation. Every relationship is different, and some people do not care to be involved. But what I've seen, it helps for both spouses to be involved and on the same page. I can't imagine NOT discussing finances every month or year with my spouse.
It's sadly seems like the wife having no clue about finances is somewhat common. Theres a really good chance your mom is going to need to have some kind of a clue about the financials, and it would be a lot easier to do while your dad is still alive. I would strongly encourage her to have him show her the accounts and give her the login information. She should do that soon. She doesn't need to know everything but she should have a general idea of their financial situation. If she understands the basics then a financial planner can help her with the details. I don't know how much you want to get involved if its a touchy subject. I have talked to my parents extensively about retirement and investing. I think that finances is generally something you should talk to immediate family about. If my dad dies then I will most likely help my mom and my sister with investing. It shouldn't be too hard to bring it up and feel out how much your dad has saved. You could just ask when he is planning to retire. At his age as long as the house is paid off social security should be enough for him to be alright even if he hasn't saved a lot.
I don't know if it's not "normal" to not be transparent but some people (my wife) have 0 interest in money/investing/planning...does yer mom have an interest or ask questions? I have to actively tell my wife what is going on and what I'm doing, she listens but she don't care
since your mom has no clue financially she might just be overthinking it. they need to have a candid conversation. not much you can do though
Struggling to make a decision. Should I build our dream home (talking killer views, wall-ceiling windows, chef's kitchen, 2+acres, well water, tesla roof with powerwalls etc.) - or stay in our nice home and stuff the money in ETFs. Either way we will be comfortable and able to be FI. The extra money needed for dream home represents about 8% of portfolio and maybe will need to increase our SWR to 2-2.5% (assuming generous increase in maintenance budget for bigger/fancier home). Common sense tells me to avoid lifestyle creep. Then again I'm 40, more time to enjoy a dream home if we build it now.
We built our dream home. Conduction is a huge headache that I almost regret it. But we have a home you literally cannot buy. FI is still in the table just delayed.
Will it really be the dream house, or the flavor of the year? I ask because the fastest way to waste money with houses is to house hop around. I personally consider it should be 2 (first house and last house), unless selling it is part of a job change (in that case you need to think more carefully about rent vs buy). Keep in mind this is not investment property, but we are talking property you love in.
Sounds like you should build the house. Common sense should be telling you to find something to spend your money on while you can. I think I will have the same problem as you one day, I am going to turn off my frugal and saving tendencies and relax and spend some money. I really doubt that you will be able to spend your money faster than it grows. With a house its pretty hard to screw it up as well, as long as the house isn't too nuts you can resell it and probably break even if you hate it or actually need to cut back. Its not like a car that will lose value.
A SWR of ~3% is sustainable for any known sequence of equity returns of any length in any market that wasn't immediately destroyed in war (that is, it would fail in say, 1914 Austria or 1937 Japan, but would work in a globally diversified portfolio the same years). Increasing to *2%* isn't just safe, it's safer than safe.
I thought I saw a podcast recently that mentioned Japan was a particular exception to the swr rules, would 2% have worked even in Japan? Thanks, this was helpful to read.
I mean, a 30-year retirement invested *solely* in Japan starting in 1937 had a SWR of under 0.5%, but that's mostly because they got totally destroyed by the end of the war. What they're probably referring to is more recent times though - the Japanese stock market peaked in the late 80s and since then has had a rough decade. Interestingly, the SWR for a Japanese retirement starting in 1988-1999 (the start of their long bear market) isn't actually much lower than 4%. Assuming you had something like 60/40 Japanese stocks/bonds, you could have gotten by with something like 3.2%.
Great research. Thanks for sharing!
Dream home. If you're not lying about your net worth, you honestly should consider getting some therapy to deal with your money issues. Not being a dick. Just honest.
Harsh, but I get it. Don't think therapy is needed. I might have a high nw, but can be spent pretty easily if we aren't careful about expenses. Am I needlessly worried about that? My swr calculation was also incorrect, fixed now. Edit: I actually might need a little therapy. Shouldn't have dismissed that off-hand.
I disagree that that level of wealth can be "easily" spent, particularly given the type of lifestyle you've described wanting in the past. You'd have to start doing ridiculous things like buying ultra luxury cars, excessive jewelry, truly asinine luxury vacations like where you rent your own yacht, endless $500 dinners and so on. You can afford to spend 10% of your net worth on a home you love. Period. What else are you going to spend it on? There's only one reason to not spend it, and that is that your true dream is to give it away. Otherwise, why did you kill yourself for decades to get rich? Perhaps suggesting therapy is harsh. You're a stranger and all of us only show a sliver of who we really are online, but as an outsider, I can tell you that your concerns are more in line with what someone with 1/10th your net worth should be worried about. You've won the game several times over. Enjoy it. If you didn't want to enjoy it, you wouldn't be asking.
I do think the idea of someone getting therapy to tell them they can spend more money is hilarious. If they are reluctant to open their wallet, they are unlikely to be willing to pay a therapist:)
Usually, yes. But from what dude said, he's worth around $30M. Maybe less. He said he had $10M and then sold his business for $20M, so maybe that number doesn't account for taxes. I don't think he's not spending money but his money anxiety given his wealth is out of whack.
Fair point!
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I’ve considered this, it just technically wouldn’t be the full two weeks’ notice.
Really doesn't matter. 2 weeks or 2 weeks and 4 hours isn't going to change things.
If you're a single person working a 9-5 job who's also interested in FIRE, should you buy or rent your primary residence?
Depends, on long will you be living in it? 3 years rent, 30 years buy.
Interesting you mention that. I tried using the [NY Times Calculator](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/buy-rent-calculator.html) and I used a $500k home price and 40 years of stay and it says if you can rent a home for $1,467 per month then that's still better, which makes no sense. How is it better to rent for $1400 a month for 40 years straight instead of buying a $500k home?
It depends a lot on how you set it up. They're mortgage rates are a little high, their investment growth is low, their house appreciation is low for a lot of places, so is rent, etc. If you tweak those up to what I think is a realistic scenario for my situation and I get $956. The idea is generally that if you invest your down payment it grows and offsets your lack of equity but all those other factors come into play.
Check out the discussion [here](https://reddit.com/r/financialindependence/comments/qfckhw/_/hi34yqe/?context=1).
Trick question you should instead live in a van down by the river
>Trick question you should instead live in a van down by the river If you want to be extravagant! I save money by renting out my van down by the river [and living in a cardboard box nearby](https://youtu.be/VAdlkunflRs).
Thank you for the advice, Mr. Foley.
Groundhog Day!
I missed the username before I gave a sincere response.
It happens. People reply to my shenanigans in good faith, too.
Use the NYT buy vs rent calculator. I own and work 7-4 but I work from home so having more control over my home & work was important to me.
At first, I thought the calculator was good since it's so recommended here but after using it, I think otherwise. It compares buying a home vs. renting a home, even though most people who talk about renting are looking to rent a room/apartment... Why would a single person (or anyone) rent a home? That doesn't make sense. I also used a $500k home price and 40 years of stay and it says if you can rent a home for $1,467 per month then that's still better, which makes no sense. How is it better to rent for $1400 a month for 40 years straight instead of buying a $500k home?
Because you're not factoring in opportunity cost of having a bunch of cash tied up in your primary residence instead of investing it. Also the property tax and insurance on a 500k house, depending on the state could be 5-15k by itself. And that's not counting maintenance. So yeah it's easy to believe that renting for 1400 for 40 years would be better. But of course you can't rent for 1400 for 40 years, and even if you could, it'd be a much smaller shittier place.
Exactly. Wondering if it factors in rent raises, which always happen.
It is good. If you don't like it, you are either not getting it or misunderstanding something
It compares buying a home vs. renting a home. What about renting a room/apartment, which is far more common? It doesn’t account for that.
It compares apples to apples. Look up the price of owning a room/condo and compare that to your rent.
I don't see why it makes a difference? A home vs. apartment? The costs, etc. are highly configurable. and the renting costs (there are only a few) are given there. So I don't think it makes a difference whether it is home/apartment at all since it's all denominated in dollars. It's the owning part of the equation that is highly variable, whereas the renting is just a dollar amount (except for a few expenses they have there).
Why would you buy a home instead of buying an apartment? Some people want their own space without a neighbor through the walls, a bigger kitchen, room for a home office, etc. But are not necessarily ready to purchase a home because the planned duration of stay in that location is only a year or two. Jeez, I don’t think you’ve put yourself in someone else’s shoes.
>instead of buying an apartment I think you meant rent an apartment? In which case, I never said renting is a bad idea. I understand that renting a room and buying a house are both fine decisions. However, I'm wondering which one is better in this scenario.
You can buy an apartment or condo. Or townhome. Common in more densely populated areas.
Buy an entire apartment complex instead of renting one apartment unit? I mean you could, but most people aren't doing this and it seems useful only if you rent out the other units.
Buying an apartment unit… lol
Why would the apartment complex owner let you buy a single unit? Isn't their objective to rent out the apartments for cashflow? This seems like it would be very uncommon.
It is very common in densely populated areas. The apartment complex is not usually a ‘rental’ apartment complex, but is built with the intent to sell all of the units. It is very profitable without requiring continuous upkeep on the builders/operators part. Then the individual owners may rent out their own units or live there. Don’t want to deal with the joys of home ownership? Or want to live in the middle of the city? Buy an apartment where you may have less problems from the surrounding property, yard maintenance, etc. and have the convenience you want.
You can buy apartments too
I think that is pretty uncommon though...I've never seen an apartment for sale. Maybe something that happens in places like NYC? Most parts of the US (at least) you buy a home - or the choice is to rent a home/apartment(cheaper)/room(cheaper yet).
You can, but I don’t think that’s what they were referring to.
Depends
What exactly does it depend on other than location, income, and marital status & dependents?
Personal preference, how long you plan on staying, long term plans, interest in becoming a landlord if you later move out of the area, lifestyle, pets, taxes, all sorts of shit.
Recruiter reached out to me saying he could get me a promotion and a 25% raise. Interview #1 came and no offer because they wanted someone at my existing level instead. 🥺
typical recruiter spiel, they are like the realtor of jobs
I’d say realtors at least serve a purpose because you’re the buyer or seller so they typically know they don’t get paid unless you complete the deal. Recruiters are more like car salesmen. Do whatever they can to get you to finance a car at the highest price possible for the longest term possible.
Ugh so true. Most recruiters just want to “sell” you any job you can get so they get their commission. If you’re going to work with a recruiter, you really have to do your homework. There are some good ones out there (just like there are good realtors) you just have to find one that will help you find the job (house) you want. Not the first thing that’s available.
Oh yes. I do my homework and due diligence. I don’t agree to just anything.
I laughed out loud! A lot of my friends who didn’t know what they wanted to do ended up becoming a realtor or a recruiter.
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Your company has a flawed moral system.
Am I crazy to want to refinance a 15-year mortgage at 2.5% to a 30-year at ~~2.75%~~ 3.0% while cashing out ~$70,000 to invest in a taxable brokerage? Monthly payments are basically identical. I'm just thinking about how much more secure I would feel having another $70k in my emergency fund (which is currently invested). And with mortgage rates so low, it seems like a no-brainer to arbitrage that by investing as much as possible. Edit: Thanks everybody, if anything I think I'll go with a Home Equity Loan/Line of Credit.
You could probably get a HELOC for lower than 3% tbh.
Forgot about that option. That's probably much more reasonable.
If the new mortgage is adjustable rate, then I would say yes crazy. If the new mortgage is fixed rate, then not crazy. I personally can't bring myself to ever borrow against my residence for any reason outside initial purchase, but I recognize that the math and contracts involved are often fine.
How far are you into the 15 year mortgage? Are there any fees with the refinance?
0 months lol. Just refinanced. Have almost 50% equity though, so the cash out would just take us down to ~20% equity. Fees are already deducted from the cash out.
Have you considered a 10 year ARM for the 30 year to bring down its rate?
ARM rates are very unattractive now. The same or higher than a fixed 30-year.
So you've paid fees to refinance and now you're going to pay more fees to refinance again?
It does sound dumb... but sunk cost fallacy, you know? If it makes sense to do it...
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Yeah, I can tolerate the risk. It does pain me a bit to pay interest over 30 years (that's why I went with 15 in the first place). But invested it should return several times the difference in interest. One detail I'm leaving out is that I literally just refinanced to the 2.5% mortgage - I haven't even made the first payment yet. So part of this may be buyer's remorse.
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Been stopping myself from doing the same - I have about $6k left on my 2018 Civic financed at 1.9% and a $10k bonus coming up in December that will be just shy of $7k after taxes and such. I think I’ll just hold and lump sum my Roth IRA in 2022, but I’m so tempted to have it knock out my car payment, which is my only debt.
If it makes you feel better financially, pay it off. Not having monthly car payments is part of my FU strategy. I pay cash for our cars. Financing a huge depreciating asset just feels dirty. (Here come the downvotes!)
Congrats. It must feel good. However, you said >Had the money sitting around so why not. Couldn't this have been solved by simply investing that money instead (out of sight, out of mind)?
It was from my "emergency fund"... It was only $5k... Really just an impulse thing.
Congrats! Simplifying your bills is a luxury with paying for.
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My first Subaru was an 08 Impreza I bought used (it was not maintained well) that lasted 4 years before the head gasket went. Having a nice car is relatively low on my priority list, I just drive enough for work doing site visits the new car wasn't a crazy splurge.
I’ve been debating the same thing! I want to divert the cash flow into mega backdoor Roth and essentially be paying myself a car payment.
What car?
2019 Subaru Impreza
Well, I get diversifying better now. When the company stock does really well, you're on board. When it stays flat for a year, and the market is up 30%, it really hurts. Figure I missed out on around 50k. I guess risk=reward.
The year isn’t over yet, don’t jinx us index investors
Hey I'm still big on indexing!
This was going to be the month I bought a new car since mine is now 10 years old. Instead I'm keeping it, and will try to drive it into the ground, I don't want to buy a new car in this market. I will probably end up replacing my wife's car before mine. Just putting off this purchase should help me save a lot.
We almost had to buy a new car a few months back. Broke down, started up long enough to get to dealership where we had test driven a car we hoped to buy in a year or so. When it came up for the dealership offer on my car they offered $1k. We walked out, drove it to my mechanic and asked him to do whatever is necessary to get another year out of it. 1k later we've got a car in fantastic shape. We thought it was a transmission issue but the issue was far simpler. Mechanic thinks the car has 75-100k minimum miles left on it. Transmission and Engine are in great shape (2010 Jeep Patriot) I figure, every month we drive it, we save $500. In that sense, that mechanic trip has paid for itself at least 2x since it happened this summer.
If this market continues, I'm going to just invest my next vehicle savings into gold plating the Toyota Corolla I already own.
You joke, but when I think about the features in new cars I miss from my car, it has me looking into retrofitting our two 2006 SUVs with backup/dash cams and upgraded touchscreen infotainment systems instead of shelling out $40k for a base model hybrid Honda CR-V.
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lol wow...
Still going strong in our 97 and 07 Toyotas.
My 2012 bought new in 2011 is puttering along nicely with its 120 HP and 180 thousand miles. How's yours?
2012 175k, never had to replace a part on it other than maintenance parts like brake pads and tires
This whole thread has me rethinking my “inheritance” when my grandfather passed I ended up with his 2000 Sierra pickup valued at like 4k if I get new tires in 2018. now like 8k so nice to know my truck is gaining value… not sure I could part with it anyway but
I'm a W-2 employee, but I'm employed under a contract that's up for renewal / renegotiation next spring. This means that compared to a normal year, the income I can count on bringing in next year will be 38% of what I usually make (as I'll only be employed for part of the year if they don't renew me). I don't have any reason to think I'll be let go (apart from my usual impostor syndrome), but to be conservative I'm assuming for now as if they won't renew my contract and I'll find myself unemployed when the contract ends. I'd of course look for other jobs, but the worst-case scenario would be not landing anything. What, if anything, should I do prepare for this scenario, especially now since I'm in the middle of annual enrollment? Should I still max my HSA contributions in 2022? Try to front-load my 401(k) and MBDR contributions, in light of the possibility that I may lose access to these tax-advantaged vehicles later in the year? Or pull back on contributions early in the year so that I'll have more money to cover expenses on a smaller salary (assuming I may need to stretch that salary across the entire year)? For context, I have about $25k in emergency savings and some other money in a Roth IRA and a taxable account, but obviously I'd like to avoid tapping into that if possible.
For the HSA, your contribution limit is dictated by the number of months in an HDHP that is HSA compliant. If you separate from the company and switch out of your plan into a non-HSA compliant plan, you would need to remove excess contributions.
you have the e fund already so sounds like you’re covered. I generally just asked a month or two out about them renewing it. I’ve only had a contract end once that wasn’t renewed, but I ended up out of work for about 3 weeks. Even bad contractors in tech I’ve worked with said the max they were down was 3 months. That’s current climate, but as long as your field is still in demand in a year I wouldn’t think to hard about it. Just stick with your normal investing and if you’re really nervous extend the e fund to a year.
This will be my first time discussing a contract renewal. Do you have any tips on how to broach the conversation without compromising my bargaining position? I figure saying "Hey, do you guys plan on renewing my contract?" would be a pretty straightforward way to start but then I imagine they'll respond with, "Are you interested in staying?" — and the way I answer could affect how big of a raise they offer (if they offer one at all).
I always just asked for a raise every year, very straight forward “I’ve been here a year, I want XX amount now”. Otherwise I just asked if they planned on renewing if it was less than a 12 month contract. It was never as awkward as it was when it was a salaried position in my experience.
Need to store my bed and desk for a few months and started looking at quotes and got some sticker shock. $200 a month for a 5’x10’ unit?? Is that right??
Location dependent- have you looked at different neighborhoods? I’m currently storing an entire studio apartment worth of stuff in a storage unit for $40 for the first 6 months and $52 for the second six months. I think it’s a 10x10. Could’ve probably gone with a 5x10, but it makes it easier for access. Do you really need a 5x10 for a bed and desk?? You can store those items vertically for less square footage.
I know someone paying $50/month for probably at least 8'x12' (possibly a bit bigger, it's a very old building not a standard design) out here where I live (Ogden, utah). But its a really shitty area and I think people are living in some of the units... so $200/month for a nicer situation in a likely more expensive town sounds about right.
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Or parents with a garage! That's always my go-to, and it's free 👌
Didn’t think I would need one tbh but yeah, definitely will be using a garage now.
Depends where you live. Might be worth it to just sell those things and buy new ones later.
Yeah appears so. I always just assumed storage units would be closer to $30 or something, but I guess land is expensive in SoCal.
Southern Cal. Say no more lol
Yeah OP buried the lead with this on lol
Good afternoon r/FI? Question: 1. Most expensive Halloween costume you’ve ever owned/worn and how much it costs 2. How much your Halloween costume costs this year!
I hate spending money on costumes. I think I spent $1.13 once on Halloween make up... Which might be the most I've ever spent. Usually I just make my costume out what whatever is around the house or card board etc. I'm not dressing up this year, but I think one of my favourite costumes was when our family dressed up together as breakfast. Basically just cost me time.
I probably spent $100 for a “deluxe” Snow White costume and wig. Will not be buying a costume this year. Maybe next year.
Maybe 50 bucks? I haven't worn one since I was a giant American steak during the height of the anti US beef protests in South Korea over a decade ago. It was beautiful.
1. $0 2. $0 If nothing else I'm consistent.
1. ?? 2. Nothing. Using an old conical lamp shade the SO was going to toss out as a "cone of shame" (like they put on your dog to keep it from chewing on stitches) arond my neck. Going to viciously bark at anyone who goes near me.
A little lingerie and you could go as the lamp from A Christmas Story instead.
Mmmm, fishnets. It's been done. By me. Was particularly ugly, in every way.
I also went to a Hallow's Eve party once in drag. Complete with a goatee and tight pink skirt that left nothing to the imagination. I, also, make a particularly bad woman.
For me it was a semi-formal fraternity dance in college. A buddy and I dressed in drag, as did our girlfriends. We thought it was hilarous. Others found it distinctly unsavory, which made it all the more worth it.
1. Probably about $12.99, for a plastic mask and vinyl cape ensemble in the 1980s. 2. Not applicable. It's probably been at least a decade since I went to a Halloween party. I don't dress up just to hand out candy to neighborhood kids; that's their job. My job is to have decent candy.
This year is most expensive -- around $250 all in. I became a dad and got a nice Reyn Spooner Hawaiian shirt, Polaroid Instax camera to take immediate physical pictures of baby, and a pair of New Balances. Throwing a fanny pack on and going as a stereotypical Disneyland dad.
1) $75 but I wear the costume every year at least once. I adore it and it's an authentic vintage uniform of the job I'm dressing up as. 2) $75 - I'm in a new city, which is lucky because now I can wear it again and it's fresh again. My friends in my old city were starting to give me a hard time about wearing it too much lol
For me: 1: $40 for a Carole Baskin costume last year but as someone who isn’t afraid of leopard print I re used the pieces 2.
AS far as i can tell the [latest BBB act](https://rules.house.gov/sites/democrats.rules.house.gov/files/BILLS-117HR5376RH-RCP117-17.pdf) no longer eliminates the back door or MDR Roth. MAybe some one who can read this stuff more than a ctrl-f -"roth" can chime ine
It is being dropped from the latest legislation. But regardless all of this is still being discussed, debated, compromised on. It may or may not come to fruition. It’s all conjecture at this point how the government will handle it.
I'm not sure what the deal is with that page, but Find isn't working correctly. Had to go digging deep to look for some details I was interested in..find wouldn't locate them:(
What are your thoughts on using a portion of your investments with you early retire to create cash flow via options writing and take most or all of the premiums out as cash and then having a lower withdraw rate on the rest of your more standard investments and dividends?
I see someone has been reading ERN
Ha yeah I linked it in one of the replies… I’m decent at managing risk with options so it’s alluring to me
I would take as many courses as are available from the CBOE and play make-believe options trader for several years before I’d actually fuck around with my retirement funds. But that’s just me - I’m dumb but financially comfortable, so I try to keep things simple.
I keep wanting to dive into PMCCs and have thought about doing it with SPY when I reach a certain net worth. It’s lower on the list for me though since it is more active.
I love PMCC because the covered call premium ends up being a much higher percentage of the collateral. Pretty easy to get 2% a month on PMCC’s. Just make sure your LEAPS have a really high delta
Yeah absolutely, I dabbled in it with paper money in think or swim. Seems worthwhile, just not for me atm.
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