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Wang posted:Does anyone have a good suggestion for a company to use for student loan consolidation? I have a grip of federal student loans with varying interest rates I'd like to merge into one fixed rate. Don't trust google to give me an unbiased suggestion so coming to goons.
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Apr 15, 2019 20:46
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I'm trying to spend down these IRAs before going back to work. How do I avoid this 10% early withdrawal penalty? Right now it's about half Roth, half trad, and of those, 2/3 were rolled over from 401k's about a year ago. I thought with Roth, there weren't early withdrawal problems? Also I think I owe somebody archives ITT, lost a friendly bet for calling the crash in '18. What a crazy business cycle it's been, up up up. Or something cheap on SA-Mart if he doesn't want to read Old GBS.
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May 12, 2019 16:48
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Mofabio posted:I'm trying to spend down these IRAs before going back to work. How do I avoid this 10% early withdrawal penalty? By being 59 1/2 or older. Mofabio posted:Right now it's about half Roth, half trad, and of those, 2/3 were rolled over from 401k's about a year ago. I thought with Roth, there weren't early withdrawal problems? Roth CONTRIBUTIONS can be withdrawn penalty free. Not gains.
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May 12, 2019 16:52
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Motronic posted:Roth CONTRIBUTIONS can be withdrawn penalty free. Not gains. Thanks, been out of the loop for a while... it's mostly contributions (when I left work I moved stuff over to bonds + money market). Do you know if it gets pro-rated when I take a distribution, like if it's 20% gains, 80% contributions, the tax is 2%? Vanguard withheld the full 10, and I didn't see a way to select 'only take out contribution money'.
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May 12, 2019 17:01
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I think 5 years has to pass before you can withdraw the amount converted without a penalty, if you did the conversion when you moved it to vanguard.
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May 12, 2019 18:49
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Mofabio posted:I'm trying to spend down these IRAs before going back to work. How do I avoid this 10% early withdrawal penalty? Right now it's about half Roth, half trad, and of those, 2/3 were rolled over from 401k's about a year ago. I thought with Roth, there weren't early withdrawal problems? Also, why are you specifically trying to spend down IRAs? e: yep: Ralith posted:Works for me! Formally stated: the winner shall be determined by whether the NBER determines that a recession is underway (i.e. a peak has been reached) at any point between now and the end of 2018. Ralith fucked around with this message at 00:26 on May 14, 2019 |
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May 14, 2019 00:22
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In north Austin in a couple weeks, they're screening an indie film called "Playing with FIRE". They'll only show it with enough presale tickets, but it looks interesting enough: https://www.playingwithfire.co/the-documentary quote:“Playing with Fire showcases a radical subculture known as FIRE, that embraces frugality and financial optimization to achieve financial independence. Follow one family’s journey to acquire the one thing that money can’t buy: a simpler — and happier — life.” Seems like it's got content from or with MMM, Mad Fientist, Vicki Robin ("Your Money or Your Life"), and Paula Pant ("Afford Anything"). The Austin/Pflugerville showing needs about 20 more tickets to do its thing: https://new.tugg.com/events/playing-with-fire-1yzj
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Jun 7, 2019 06:18
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Talking about retirement planning with my girlfriend who is a pharmacist, due to this her Roth IRA contributions are set to zero as she makes over the cap. Any good suggestions for a retirement program for those who make just over the cap for contributions to a Roth? Thanks!
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Jun 13, 2019 20:28
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Wang posted:Talking about retirement planning with my girlfriend who is a pharmacist, due to this her Roth IRA contributions are set to zero as she makes over the cap. Any good suggestions for a retirement program for those who make just over the cap for contributions to a Roth?
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Jun 13, 2019 20:32
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Hoodwinker posted:If she doesn't have any money in a Traditional IRA she can open one of those, contribute to it, and convert it to a Roth. This is called the Backdoor Roth and allows you to contribute to a Roth IRA at any income level.
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Jun 13, 2019 21:01
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Ralith posted:I think that was me; props for owning up. Hopefully you'll reconsider timing the market in the future. Archives will be fine! Sorry, I never check this thread. I dunno why Lowtax made this so complicated but looks like I'll either need a non-specific way to message you a gift cert, or your specific email to buy you archives. Let it be known: being right on the internet has fantastic ROI for the time invested!!
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Jun 21, 2019 16:48
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Mofabio posted:Sorry, I never check this thread. I dunno why Lowtax made this so complicated but looks like I'll either need a non-specific way to message you a gift cert, or your specific email to buy you archives. Let it be known: being right on the internet has fantastic ROI for the time invested!! Ralith fucked around with this message at 07:39 on Aug 2, 2019 |
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Jun 22, 2019 18:02
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Really been feeling the frugality kick recently after watching some Graham Stephan videos on YouTube and that Netflix documentary about minimalism. So when I replaced my bed I managed to snag a really nice one that was being thrown out as a refurb and am going to try to sell the old one plus some wardrobes I got with the new bed. Hoping to break even or even make a small profit just for the bragging rights of being paid to get new furniture.
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Aug 2, 2019 00:53
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Bumping this thread to say that, I'll be damned, I could be retired within 5 years at this point, though I don't work a high-paying job, and am thankfully healthy and privileged enough to have graduated (from Canadian university) without debt thanks to my parents' help. Financial planning with goons works.
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Dec 24, 2019 19:53
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"Olive Branch" posted:Financial planning with goons works. 
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Dec 24, 2019 20:21
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Olive Branch posted:Bumping this thread to say that, I'll be damned, I could be retired within 5 years at this point, though I don't work a high-paying job, and am thankfully healthy and privileged enough to have graduated (from Canadian university) without debt thanks to my parents' help. Financial planning with goons works. I think I'll be able to retire with my current mortgage in about 5 years, and will essentially be past FI by a fair amount. Although I've been thinking about paying off the mortgage just prior to when I retire.
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Dec 27, 2019 01:01
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Those of you with kids, what are your inheritance plans? Will your kids know, or do you want it to be a 'surprise' when you pass away? I'm absolutely at a loss and can see so many reasons to leave all/none/some, and to tell them everything/nothing about my plan. I'm particularly interested in this thread's views since it would reasonably be a "Work is unnecessary" level of inheritance.
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Jan 25, 2020 21:58
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There's a few ways to transfer wealth tax free to your children in Denmark, I can see using some of them if I end up having that kind of money. No reason they shouldn't get a head start.
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Jan 25, 2020 22:17
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I've got a Vanguard investment account going for each of them that I've been contributing what I think is a generous weekly amount to since they were born ($50 AU). The "giving it to them" part is waay off in the future but the vague plan is when they understand that saving for the future is an important thing to do, I can show them the headstart that I've given them, possibly with a bit of a discussion about the money I've actually put in vs the growth/dividends over time, etc. Kicking off a business or needing expensive education (or I guess *shudder* a house deposit) are also possible uses but I kinda want it to be the seed of their own FIRE plans (I acknowledge that they may have very different ideas about money and ultimately it's up to them). As for "I'm dead" level of inheritance, it would just go all go to Mrs and after that an even split between kids and I don't care what they do with it because I'm dead. Maybe by then I'll be more philanthropic and I'll nominate a fraction for the poors. Chadzok fucked around with this message at 01:27 on Jan 26, 2020 |
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Jan 26, 2020 01:22
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Chadzok posted:As for "I'm dead" level of inheritance, it would just go all go to Mrs and after that an even split between kids and I don't care what they do with it because I'm dead. This is my current strategy.
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Jan 26, 2020 02:44
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Motronic posted:This is my current strategy. Re: inheritance, hopefully he'll make good choices, but I'm really more focused on giving him a good start in life. The rest is up to him.
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Jan 26, 2020 03:25
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I think the time an 'inheritance' would help most is right when you're starting out on your own/early in your career and just starting a family, so like late 20s. Hopefully if you end up around the average life expectancy, your kids will already be well established and any additional money would be nice but not life-altering, unless the sum is something ridiculous. So my plan is to save in 529s to get them through college debt free, and to also invest small amounts over time in UGMA accounts so they'll have a chunk to use toward a house down payment or similar during a time when it's hard to have a bunch saved up early on. So enough that it'd be helpful, but nowhere near enough that they'd be able to blow off work, maybe like $20k in today's dollars. Sure, they could blow it on a fancy car, vacation, wedding, drugs or whatever instead of something useful, but at that point they'll be responsible for their own financial situation. Would plan to let them know about the money in both accounts as they start making decisions about college, since I'd plan to let them draw any excess from the 529s to do whatever they want with if they go to a cheaper college/get scholarships. As far as when we die, the goal is not to leave much of an inheritance, if any, and will let them know as much along the way.
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Jan 26, 2020 03:44
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Ersatz posted:Same. I'll teach my little buddy as much as I can about economics and personal finance as he grows up, and I'm planning to pay for his education and to assist with an eventual down payment. To expand on my answer......thank you for expanding on my answer. I mean......it's kinda you job to tech them these things so unless there is a really big problem just do your best and hope they learn. And if it's properly impactful before probate my wife and I are all good with doing that as well. Down payments and all.......but we can't know how that works out, so the "I'm dead"/"we're both dead" plan is just that. I hope to be able to help more before that, but you have to have a plan for when you can't plan anymore......... Motronic fucked around with this message at 03:51 on Jan 26, 2020 |
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Jan 26, 2020 03:48
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GoGoGadgetChris posted:Those of you with kids, what are your inheritance plans? Will your kids know, or do you want it to be a 'surprise' when you pass away?
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Jan 26, 2020 19:25
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I went out with some friends last night and got the drunkest I've been since before our baby was born (so at least a year). Somehow the conversation turned to personal finance and my loose tongue betrayed our FIRE plans. Of course the standard advice is to not talk about this because the potential for confused and/or negative reactions outweighs the likelihood of positive reactions. Fortunately, I found out that this whole friend group is on the same page (to varying degrees)! That was a pleasant surprise.
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Feb 2, 2020 16:30
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Had a close friend drunkenly announce to a room full of people I'd never met that I was super into FIRE during a Chinese New Year's party. It kind of worked insofar as a standard greeting at such events translates as "hope you get rich!" But considering that I've been keeping the whole endeavor off my colleagues' radar, the announcement was rather sub-optimal. Luckily there's no overlap between the party people and the people I work with, but the incident solidified for me that plans like these really ought to be hidden from anyone who isn't actively attempting to FIRE themselves.
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Feb 2, 2020 16:45
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Ersatz posted:But considering that I've been keeping the whole endeavor off my colleagues' radar, the announcement was rather sub-optimal. Why? It'd be a bad idea to get all FIRE-lifestyle-blogger about it and give people the sense that you're judging them. But where's the harm in your colleagues knowing that you're trying to save money, and you'd eventually like to retire early if you can? Unless you work for the kind of stereotypical small business owner who thinks that your personal finances are their business (and that if you have enough to save, you're being paid too much), or there are wild pay disparities between you and your colleagues to the point where you can save and they can't, it doesn't seem like it would be a big deal. People will likely just categorize frugal living as "your thing," like the person in the office who's really into cars, or a great baker, or a college football team superfan, or whatever. If you do work at a place where your boss gets really into your personal finances, or there are massive pay gaps, then maybe find a new job.
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Feb 2, 2020 19:42
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People everywhere think self improvement of any kind is a judgement on their own failures.
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Feb 2, 2020 19:48
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I lost 60-ish pounds forever ago and some people took it as an affront to their own lifestyles so yeah.
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Feb 2, 2020 23:14
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silvergoose posted:People everywhere think self improvement of any kind is a judgement on their own failures. Yeah, as long as you think about savings in terms of "self improvement" and "failures" then people are probably going to see you as judgmental. But that doesn't mean you have to keep your financial plans some deep dark secret. "Oooooh, I heard this guy is saving money for retirement, and if the stock market cooperates, he might even retire a bit early! We must hate him for that!" isn't going to be a thing outside of incredibly dysfunctional workplaces. Just... let it be a thing that you do, let other people do their thing, and don't get all "have you read my religious text, The Millionaire Next Door?" about it.
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Feb 2, 2020 23:18
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Space Gopher posted:Yeah, as long as you think about savings in terms of "self improvement" and "failures" then people are probably going to see you as judgmental. No, as long as the people you're talking to see it in those terms. Which many many many people do and will.
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Feb 2, 2020 23:24
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I just find people tend to start saying weird things to you when they know. Like my best friend knows that i'm set to be done in a few years and we were at a coffee shop one day and I was chatting with the barista about home machines and my friend blurted out "WELL SILICONE THRILLS CAN BUY WHAT EVER SHE WANTS BECAUSE SHES RICH" and im just like... welp ok then. We've been friends for a long time and it was just so random. Funny enough I went through the weightloss thing too and people weren't dicks but they were weird and some folks stopped talking and commiserating with me about the process.
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Feb 2, 2020 23:28
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If you work your whole life at a place with a pension plan, earning less than you could elsewhere, and retire at 50 with a pension that has a present value of $2M, everyone is all "wow that's cool, such great benefits, are you gonna take up gardening or go travelling?" If you instead work at a higher pay job doing the same thing but without a pension and save the difference to arrive at the same place, suddenly you're a rich psychopath who has deprived themselves of so many luxuries and also you're a dick for being retired while everyone else still has to work. If any of the money is liquid (ie not in retirement accounts) people assume you just don't have a budget and can spend whatever. It's completely irrational but that's how people view it and there really isn't anything you can do to change that. People that have actually RE'd have told me when I do it to just lie and say I've moved on to doing consulting work or independent contracting. Which is really sad since I want to be open with my friends/family.
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Feb 3, 2020 01:31
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drat, that is really true about people's attitudes toward pension vs. self-driven savings, and it never occurred to me.
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Feb 3, 2020 03:51
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The problem with discussing FIRE is that somewhere in the vicinity of 20-ish% of the US population has the ability to pursue it effectively (income in excess of $80,000), and people in that 20% are probably socializing predominantly with others in that 20%, so if you're talking to someone who's pursuing it, you yourself could also be pursuing it. If you're having that conversation and not trying to retire, you have to confront why in your own head at least. And why for most people in the US comes down to some combo of "complying with consumerist culture" and "not exercising financial discipline". Much easier to get salty and say the person you're talking to is a psycho, than to acknowledge that you'd like to make different decisions than you presently are for yourself.
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Feb 3, 2020 13:42
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Dwight Eisenhower posted:The problem with discussing FIRE is that somewhere in the vicinity of 20-ish% of the US population has the ability to pursue it effectively (income in excess of $80,000), and people in that 20% are probably socializing predominantly with others in that 20%, so if you're talking to someone who's pursuing it, you yourself could also be pursuing it. I used to be pretty open about money as a consequence of this subforum and the people in it - I think as a society we'd do well to talk more about income and wealth - but people who earn less/have less than you treat you like you're just exactly as wealthy as Jeff Bezos if you're wealthier and earn more than they do, despite the fact that it's been years of savings and discipline to get there. So now I don't really talk about it with anyone who doesn't need to know or hasn't broached the topic with me.
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Feb 4, 2020 14:29
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This really isn't strictly FIRE related, but I feel stupid for not doing bank account bonuses earlier. I've already made 1k since December, just moving money around in my emergency account.
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Feb 15, 2020 16:47
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(sorry/not sorry for bumping this thread) I found this thread from the Long Term Investing thread, and I slowly read it all over the last couple of months. I've always identified with the FI concept and love all the opinions expressed here. It's really got me thinking about what I want to do with my life when I hit FI in the next 5-10 years. Curious how everyone is doing and feeling now that we finally hit our market rollercoaster that we've been expecting for a while. Did anyone abruptly change course, go back to work, change their living habits or anything? Or were all you FI people comfortable enough that you're able to ride out this pandemic with out worrying too much about money? Anyway, thanks for a thread and now I'm caught up so let some new posts start rolling in!
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Apr 28, 2020 19:50
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dexter6 posted:(sorry/not sorry for bumping this thread)
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Apr 28, 2020 20:03
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dexter6 posted:Curious how everyone is doing and feeling now that we finally hit our market rollercoaster that we've been expecting for a while. Did anyone abruptly change course, go back to work, change their living habits or anything? Or were all you FI people comfortable enough that you're able to ride out this pandemic with out worrying too much about money? I think to ask this, you have to more specifically identify whether you're really talking about FI people (people who have financial independence) versus people who are the RE part of FIRE (that is, actually retired early).
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