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Gin_Rummy posted:This probably belongs elsewhere, but I don't see a "short term investment" thread and this seemed like the most relevant place for this sort of question. Fidelity has a CMA which should be about the same, I think? Reviewing details there is on my to-do list. Citi should be fine.
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# ? Aug 2, 2023 17:58 |
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# ? Jun 6, 2024 06:05 |
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Gin_Rummy posted:This probably belongs elsewhere, but I don't see a "short term investment" thread and this seemed like the most relevant place for this sort of question. If the money is already at Fidelity, why not put it into SPAXX? That's their government money market. Its currently yielding 4.9% and shouldnt be any more difficult to access than a savings account (maybe 1-2 extra days to sell and transfer). SGOV (an ultra short term treasury ETF) is a good choice too.
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# ? Aug 2, 2023 18:01 |
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Gin_Rummy posted:Alternatively, someone suggested a money market fund, but that is something I just have absolutely no idea how to navigate. If it makes any difference at all, this cash is all currently sitting in my Fidelity account. If you want to keep it really simple and not have to move money anywhere, just dump it into SGOV, which holds short-dated Treasury bills and pays interest monthly.
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# ? Aug 2, 2023 18:01 |
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drk posted:If the money is already at Fidelity, why not put it into SPAXX? That's their government money market. Its currently yielding 4.9% and shouldnt be any more difficult to access than a savings account (maybe 1-2 extra days to sell and transfer). SGOV (an ultra short term treasury ETF) is a good choice too. Agronox posted:If you want to keep it really simple and not have to move money anywhere, just dump it into SGOV, which holds short-dated Treasury bills and pays interest monthly. Is there a chance that I could lose money from either of these scenarios? I really want all this cash in the absolute lowest risk category for the time being. The additional access time to sell from the fund and transfer isn't really an issue for me, I just want to be protective of it while still giving it a chance to grow ever so slightly.
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# ? Aug 2, 2023 18:10 |
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Gin_Rummy posted:This probably belongs elsewhere, but I don't see a "short term investment" thread and this seemed like the most relevant place for this sort of question. drk posted:If the money is already at Fidelity, why not put it into SPAXX? That's their government money market. Its currently yielding 4.9% and shouldnt be any more difficult to access than a savings account (maybe 1-2 extra days to sell and transfer). SGOV (an ultra short term treasury ETF) is a good choice too. I'm not an expert, I mostly follow this thread to learn, but I have a Fidelity account set up to handle payments on my Fidelity credit card and it's just set to default all the money in it into SPAXX. I think there might be a delay of a day or two if I were transferring it into a non-Fidelity account, but that doesn't apply to paying the credit card, and it earns something like 4.95% currently. That might work well for you. Gin_Rummy posted:Is there a chance that I could lose money from either of these scenarios? I really want all this cash in the absolute lowest risk category for the time being. As I understand it the chance isn't zero but it's very low. Bremen fucked around with this message at 18:17 on Aug 2, 2023 |
# ? Aug 2, 2023 18:11 |
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Gin_Rummy posted:Is there a chance that I could lose money from either of these scenarios? I really want all this cash in the absolute lowest risk category for the time being. Federal government money market funds and treasury funds are in the lowest risk category. You could theoretically lose money if the government defaults, but in that scenario a savings account isnt really any safer (and very bad things are happening in the economy).
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# ? Aug 2, 2023 18:16 |
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Democratic Pirate posted:Any recs on the best set it and forget it HYSA? I’m getting in the weeds and probably just need to choose one with a bank I’ve heard of. Thirding Ally - been banking with them for years and only had good experiences. MJP posted:Elements FCU does 4.25% APY if you're $10,000 or over. Ally is also up to 4.25% as of yesterday BTW.
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# ? Aug 2, 2023 18:17 |
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drk posted:Federal government money market funds and treasury funds are in the lowest risk category. You could theoretically lose money if the government defaults, but in that scenario a savings account isnt really any safer (and very bad things are happening in the economy). So aside from the extremely unlikely chance that the government defaults and my money market cash becomes useless, what are the real downsides to money market vs HYSA? Like, why wouldn't everyone just go with a money market fund if the returns seem to be a bit better?
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# ? Aug 2, 2023 18:27 |
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Gin_Rummy posted:So aside from the extremely unlikely chance that the government defaults and my money market cash becomes useless, what are the real downsides to money market vs HYSA? Like, why wouldn't everyone just go with a money market fund if the returns seem to be a bit better? The same reason you've demonstrated, they're nervous about doing anything other than "put in bank"
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# ? Aug 2, 2023 18:29 |
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Also the legacy and increasingly irrelevant ability to write checks against a "checking account" or transfer money instantly from a "savings account" to the "checking account." Vs. a money market account which these days you can find one that has instant transfers to a cash account, and lets you write checks, if those matter to you. A lot of the way we do things is because we've been doing them that way for a hundred years and not because they're actually better in any meaningful way. e. just clicking around, it looks like many money market accounts limit you to a maximum of six withdrawals a month, with limited checking options. If you use it like a savings account that is probably fine. If you only had one account and needed to withdraw cash more than once a week regularly that could be a minor issue e2. to speak to the legacy issue, lol: quote:Why do some banks have limits on how many checks you can write? Leperflesh fucked around with this message at 18:39 on Aug 2, 2023 |
# ? Aug 2, 2023 18:33 |
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If your money's in Fidelity already just leave it there and make sure your core position is set to FZFXX/SPAXX. In that case Fidelity is already "investing" your unused funds in a money market fund that is currently yielding >4.9% interest
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# ? Aug 2, 2023 18:37 |
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Cool, thanks everyone! Ended up just putting it in SPAXX. It was very easy to just change my cash position. 10/10 would do again.
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# ? Aug 2, 2023 18:55 |
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SpartanIvy posted:Solar is a bad idea from any kind of investment stand point. It will never earn you money and it's a depreciating asset. If you want it because you are a solar enthusiast then that's a different argument, but from an economical sense it doesn't make any.* According to the proposal I got this morning the NPV of my solar system is $175k or something. ($40k cost after rebate, 25 year warranty, I use 7.5mwh/year in my current smaller house than where this solar is going.)
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# ? Aug 2, 2023 20:55 |
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I assume that proposal doesn't account for how solar panels produce less and less power over time, and assumes any net metering you get today (utility pays you/reduces your bill by the amount you put back on the grid) will continue forever? Maybe also assumes electricity costs will increase every year forever, too? What's your average number of sunny days per year? Will most or all of the panels be oriented pointing toward the south?
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# ? Aug 2, 2023 21:14 |
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I apologize if this is not the correct place to ask. Also, I'm not super well versed in the terminology, so please forgive my errors there. Last year I left my previous job of 5-6 years and I had about $40k in a 401k saved through T. Rowe Price. When I started my new job they started another 401k, also handled through T. Rowe Price. When I started the new job, I called and spoke with a CSR (from TRP) about combining the old 401k into the new, just so I wouldn't have to worry about 2 accounts. They said that it would actually be beneficial for me to keep both accounts separate. When they explained it, it made sense at the time, but now it's been another year, and I can't quite see the logic. It's the same kind of plan from both employers (401k savings), mild risk for mild gain, generic, off the shelf investment portfolio. I was vested at the first company, but it will be another 3 full years before I'm vested at the 2nd company. Obviously company 1 is no longer contributing to that 401k, and given that it's the same kind of investments, it's unlikely to change at any special rate or in a drastically different style. Does it make sense to keep these accounts separate? Is there a real benefit? Is there a downside other than needing to be aware that there are two accounts? Since both are handled by the same company, I imagine that there should not be any fees or penalties in condensing these accounts as I'm not withdrawing the money, right? TIA
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# ? Aug 2, 2023 21:27 |
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H110Hawk posted:According to the proposal I got this morning the NPV of my solar system is $175k or something. Please provide the series of cash flows and discount rates.
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# ? Aug 2, 2023 21:43 |
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SpartanIvy posted:Solar is a bad idea from any kind of investment stand point. It will never earn you money and it's a depreciating asset. If you want it because you are a solar enthusiast then that's a different argument, but from an economical sense it doesn't make any.* This post has strong "why does Apple include accessibility features in the iPhone that do not meaningfully translate into shareholder value" energy. jokes fucked around with this message at 22:14 on Aug 2, 2023 |
# ? Aug 2, 2023 22:06 |
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CzarChasm posted:I apologize if this is not the correct place to ask. Also, I'm not super well versed in the terminology, so please forgive my errors there. Combining or keeping split depends on the fees for each and the fund options & expense ratios in each. Even though they're both at the same place, the plan designs can be drastically different.
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# ? Aug 2, 2023 22:08 |
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pseudanonymous posted:Please provide the series of cash flows and discount rates. lol uh huh. Leperflesh posted:I assume that proposal doesn't account for how solar panels produce less and less power over time, and assumes any net metering you get today (utility pays you/reduces your bill by the amount you put back on the grid) will continue forever? Maybe also assumes electricity costs will increase every year forever, too? Sunny days per year: The average google result is 275. This number is probably going up with global warming, down with wildfires. The other thing is we use quadruple the electricity when it's sunny out compared to cloudy-to-dark days. Panels are warrantied to 85% generation at 25 years. Though pretty much every panel has been beating performance assumptions handily for degradation over time. Somehow they took my 7,500kwh/year for my current 1250 sqft house and converted it to 18,000 kwh/year in a 2250 sqft house, though I will have a LOT more electric appliances here. Biggest one will be a heat pump for heating instead of nat-gas, electric oven, pool pump (6 months old!), and a potential future EV. SCE (et al) and the CPUC have done one over on us, NEM2.0 was great stuff, now we're on NEM3.0 which is basically wholesale buyback. Estimates from California say a 60% reduction in credits back from the utility. This is why I'm buying 20kwh of battery so hopefully I draw from the grid nearly 0 power except for hot nights. Utility rates are going up forever I imagine. Time of Use billing now has 66¢/kwh (don't forget transmission!) during the peak-peak (4pm-9pm, M-F). If we're going to have 0 generation for days though due to whatever reason I can program the batteries to buy from the grid overnight when it's 26¢/kwh, then draw down from my demand when it's peak. All that to say, I want to use solar for "comfort" - power during outages, warm fuzzy feelings when my house is 72F when it's 105F outside, and generally being "green." Low-to-no power bills are just a perk. bid software lol posted:System Performance Assumptions: System Total losses: 15.2%, Inverter losses: 3.1%, Optimizer losses: 0%, Shading losses: 2.0%, Performance Adjustment: -5.0%, Panel Spec sheet posted:At least 98 % of nominal power during first year. Thereafter max.0.5 % degradation per year. At least 93.5 % of nominal power up to 10 years. At least 86 % of nominal power up to 25 years https://www.sce.com/residential/rates/Time-Of-Use-Residential-Rate-Plans
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# ? Aug 2, 2023 22:32 |
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H110Hawk posted:lol uh huh. quote:All that to say, I want to use solar for "comfort" - power during outages, warm fuzzy feelings when my house is 72F when it's 105F outside, and generally being "green." Low-to-no power bills are just a perk. SpartanIvy fucked around with this message at 22:56 on Aug 2, 2023 |
# ? Aug 2, 2023 22:53 |
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that system cost includes batteriesquote:This is why I'm buying 20kwh of battery and anyway, H110Hawk posted:Sunny days per year: The average google result is 275. this is the big number. We here in california have much, much, much more viable solar than a lot of the rest of the country. The main skepticism I'd have of that estimate Hawk posted is that it assumes 18,000kwh/year because the larger that number, the faster the savings pile up vs. (especially tiered) PG&E pricing. But the new home could be much better insulated than the old, it's not a super safe assumption. Run the numbers with, say, 16,000, 14,000, 12,000, and 10,000 kwh/year and see if it gets stupid or stays reasonably in the black.
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# ? Aug 2, 2023 23:11 |
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SpartanIvy posted:What's the total generation capacity of your system? I assume that quote is proposing that you can use every bit of solar energy to offset your bill when in reality it's only able to do that when the energy is immediately needed until you have batteries. I assume perfect consumption is assumed as well, this software is made to sell panels after all. 12kw system (30x 400W panels) I might reduce this slightly as 9 panels are on the front of the house - 6 west, 3 east. As much as I'm a "carpet bomb with solar" person, the WAF includes not having much visibility on the front of the house. He of course didn't break it out into panels + battery system so I don't see the unit cost there. A little less of the nickel and dime materials as well. They will also be covered in dust and pollen soon as well. I just really love solar.
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# ? Aug 2, 2023 23:12 |
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H110Hawk posted:I assume perfect consumption is assumed as well, this software is made to sell panels after all. 12kw system (30x 400W panels) I might reduce this slightly as 9 panels are on the front of the house - 6 west, 3 east. As much as I'm a "carpet bomb with solar" person, the WAF includes not having much visibility on the front of the house. He of course didn't break it out into panels + battery system so I don't see the unit cost there. A little less of the nickel and dime materials as well. They will also be covered in dust and pollen soon as well. This is the really important reason. Solar can be a decent investment, but it's probably not going to be a good investment, financial return wise (at least without very generous government programs). If it was then every commercial building out there would be covering itself with solar panels. But if you like solar, and/or it gives you peace of mind to know that's one less thing you're dependent on, it can be nice. Especially since you're also going with a battery system apparently, which is usually a much reduced return but means you're less dependent on things like net metering and also can have power if the grid goes down. Edit: Also according to your summary you're paying through the roof for power; that's like $.32 a kwh, which is more than twice what I pay. So that probably makes solar much more attractive alone. Bremen fucked around with this message at 23:45 on Aug 2, 2023 |
# ? Aug 2, 2023 23:43 |
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H110Hawk posted:I assume perfect consumption is assumed as well, this software is made to sell panels after all. 12kw system (30x 400W panels) I might reduce this slightly as 9 panels are on the front of the house - 6 west, 3 east. As much as I'm a "carpet bomb with solar" person, the WAF includes not having much visibility on the front of the house. He of course didn't break it out into panels + battery system so I don't see the unit cost there. A little less of the nickel and dime materials as well. They will also be covered in dust and pollen soon as well. Are you really averaging $600/mo in electric costs right now? I'm skeptical that a 12kW system will cover all use, but maybe electric is very expensive where you live. I'm curious, why are you going with a battery? Batteries and solar generally require external power connection to function unless you're going with a full off-grid solar setup. Those systems are very different, so be sure you understand exactly what you're buying and what will/won't work when power is down. I got a quote a few months ago for a 7.5kW system at $27k, or $17k after incentives. PNM offers long term net-metering contracts so this system should cover 100% of our annual electric expense long past the break even point. My electric bill will average $200/mo when I cut gas, so I'm looking at a ~7.5 year recovery (ignoring time-value). At a mile high and with 3500 reliable hours of sun per year, solar in NM is generally GWM if you're staying in the same home long-term. Magicaljesus fucked around with this message at 00:14 on Aug 3, 2023 |
# ? Aug 3, 2023 00:11 |
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Bremen posted:If it was then every commercial building out there would be covering itself with solar panels. Commercial buildings usually use far more electricity than houses. And, they pay a different rate than residential customers. That said, tons of commercial buildings are covering themselves with solar panels.
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# ? Aug 3, 2023 00:18 |
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H110Hawk posted:Time of Use billing now has 66¢/kwh (don't forget transmission!) during the peak-peak (4pm-9pm, M-F). If we're going to have 0 generation for days though due to whatever reason I can program the batteries to buy from the grid overnight when it's 26¢/kwh, then draw down from my demand when it's peak. That is wild. My relatively expensive (for the area) all wind energy plan is 11 cents/kwh. I think the non-green plans are around 8-9 cents/kwh, which is up about 10% from last year.
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# ? Aug 3, 2023 00:24 |
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for shits and giggles I opened google maps and looked at the commercial area near where I live, and just circled all the panels on commercial buildings I could find in 60 seconds. Electricity in California is very expensive, and we get a lot of sun. It's net positive in not that many years for commercial customers in particular if they either have a lot of acerage (you can see some dealerships here) or high power needs.
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# ? Aug 3, 2023 00:27 |
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Magicaljesus posted:Are you really averaging $600/mo in electric costs right now? I'm skeptical that a 12kW system will cover all use, but maybe electric is very expensive where you live. I'm curious, why are you going with a battery? Batteries and solar generally require external power connection to function unless you're going with a full off-grid solar setup. Those systems are very different, so be sure you understand exactly what you're buying and what will/won't work when power is down. As I understand it Solar + Battery usually works on its own. At least it does with mine. You'd probably still want a grid connection for cloudy days and what not, but unlike just a solar setup with no battery you will still have power (subject, obviously, to sun exposure and the capacity of your battery) if you lose the grid. That's one of the main reasons to get the battery in my opinion, unless you have really aggressive time of day billing at which point your battery might pay for itself too.
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# ? Aug 3, 2023 00:28 |
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Another feature of solar is that the more people get it, the more destabilized and unprofitable the grid becomes, so it puts the burden of cost and upkeep on less and less people and therefore increases prices and/or decreases reliability. Since most people that are getting solar are well-off individuals and corporations, the long-term socioeconomic impacts of this should be fun, and very similar to what happened when the automobile became widespread and public transportation all but disappeared in the US.
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# ? Aug 3, 2023 00:36 |
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H110Hawk posted:I just really love solar. I’ve enjoyed reading your plans - very exciting! I got solar last year and have loved it. In the last month our electricity cost had a massive rate increase of about 250% so it’s been nice to not really have to worry about it. One thing to add: you may want to check out the SREC program if it’s available in your state. You can’t count on it being around forever, or paying out at the same rate, but I’ve already sold a couple hundred dollars in credits in my first year - just working on chipping away at that ROI.
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# ? Aug 3, 2023 00:41 |
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Magicaljesus posted:Are you really averaging $600/mo in electric costs right now? I'm skeptical that a 12kW system will cover all use, but maybe electric is very expensive where you live. I'm curious, why are you going with a battery? Batteries and solar generally require external power connection to function unless you're going with a full off-grid solar setup. Those systems are very different, so be sure you understand exactly what you're buying and what will/won't work when power is down. Modern battery systems have what's called "grid forming" iirc which makes them work when the grid is dark. This will be spelled out before I sign anything. My most recent bill was $181 for 511 kwh, $0.3558 blended cost in a non-TOU plan. This includes a week of cooler weather, and I believe a week where my meter was broken and measured 0 draw. I averaged 19kwh/day. So this system will well exceed that generation amount as-is, it's a first draft. I will be going back and likely deleting a few panels, but also my new house is going to be MUCH larger. Leperflesh posted:Commercial buildings usually use far more electricity than houses. And, they pay a different rate than residential customers. That said, tons of commercial buildings are covering themselves with solar panels. California is mandating a lot of solar as well lately. Solar parking covers are a god send here. Cool cars and free* clean energy with no roof worries. SpartanIvy posted:Another feature of solar is that the more people get it, the more destabilized and unprofitable the grid becomes, so it puts the burden of cost and upkeep on less and less people and therefore increases prices and/or decreases reliability. Since most people that are getting solar are well-off individuals and corporations, the long-term socioeconomic impacts of this should be fun, and very similar to what happened when the automobile became widespread and public transportation all but disappeared in the US. Anything that kills SCE is good for consumers. They should have gotten on board with this 30 years ago.
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# ? Aug 3, 2023 00:46 |
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Bremen posted:As I understand it Solar + Battery usually works on its own. At least it does with mine. You'd probably still want a grid connection for cloudy days and what not, but unlike just a solar setup with no battery you will still have power (subject, obviously, to sun exposure and the capacity of your battery) if you lose the grid. That's one of the main reasons to get the battery in my opinion, unless you have really aggressive time of day billing at which point your battery might pay for itself too. Yes, Solar alone requires an online grid connection to function (although some of the new micro-inverters allow for solar production when the grid is down). But Solar and Battery should allow for use even when the grid is down.
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# ? Aug 3, 2023 00:57 |
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Democratic Pirate posted:Any recs on the best set it and forget it HYSA? I’m getting in the weeds and probably just need to choose one with a bank I’ve heard of. It’s not a bank per se, but betterment has a FDIC insured savings account at 4.75% right now. I have a few accounts with them so it was easy to set up. I get a strange thrill when that interest hits on the first of the month…
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# ? Aug 3, 2023 15:26 |
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MEIN RAVEN posted:betterment [..] I have a few accounts with them Do you find the 0.25% fee worth it? What do they invest you in? Betterment has a very laughable calculator for calculating fees that maxes out at account sizes of $40k. This seems to be intentionally picked so that no matter what number you pick fees are under $10/month, when in reality even modestly sized accounts could easily be paying $1000+/year (plus whatever expense ratios are being paid on the underlying funds).
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# ? Aug 3, 2023 17:40 |
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My mom asked me to help her with managing her retirement savings. She’s 60, receives ~$1169/month in disability, and hasn’t started taking social security yet. She currently pays ~$770/month in rent, so that cancels out most of SSDI. I included a brief outline of things below, and it’s a bit of a mess. I’m worried about what will happen after more than 5 years from now. She says she’s spending ~$1000/month out-of-pocket right now. My inclination is to look at the asset allocation on Vanguard 2015 or 2020 TDFs and buy VTI, VXUS, and US Treasury bond ladder. She’s not currently contributing to an IRA, so I assume a Roth would be best? (A traditional wouldn’t have any taxable income to reduce.) LIQUID Savings Bank #1: $8,500 4.3% Savings Bank #2: $61,000 4.30% Savings Bank #3: $4,000 Total: $73,500 SEMI-LIQUID *** I Bonds #1: $10,000 purchased on 12/13/22 *** I-Bond #2: $10,000 purchased on 1/18/23 Total: $20,000 ILLIQUID *** Annuity IRA:$97,021.39 it’s a 10-year variable annuity. Can only make allocations within 21 days after the anniversary date once/year. Would like to turn on income asap and invest at a higher interest rate. (Which is mostly bonds that get nullified by horrible fees) Income would be about $4,600 year/$383.00 month. *** TIAA $35,745.22 - Averages 3-4% but guaranteed. She doesn’t want to make changes to this. Total: $132,766.61 Total Retirement Assets: $226,266.61 Could I get everyone’s thoughts and suggestions? This thread has been a saving grace for getting my butt in gear on planning for retirement and researching finance.
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# ? Aug 3, 2023 19:37 |
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Valicious posted:My mom asked me to help her with managing her retirement savings. She’s 60, receives ~$1169/month in disability, and hasn’t started taking social security yet. She currently pays ~$770/month in rent, so that cancels out most of SSDI. I included a brief outline of things below, and it’s a bit of a mess. I really can’t speak to what to put where, but the longer she waits to start taking social security the better income she will get from that.
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# ? Aug 3, 2023 19:52 |
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What goals are you trying to achieve? What's a reasonable guess at her life expectancy? She's got almost 19 years of money if she's supplementing her SSDI with 12K a year from savings. Is she taking advantage of all the programs out there for someone on SSDI and with her income level? I'm not sure what she might qualify for, but housing assistance programs, utility assistance, food stamps, etc could lower monthly expenses. Is she capable of any work or income generation, even if it's only like 500 a month? I'm not sure on the exact number but generally you can generate some income without losing benefits.
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# ? Aug 3, 2023 20:20 |
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Valicious posted:mom retirement 2 thoughts: You need taxable "compensation" to contribute to a Roth IRA. If her only income is disability income and dividends/interest, she might not be eligible to contribute. There's a rather long document here on IRA contributions: https://www.irs.gov/publications/p590a I have a slightly hard time believing a disabled person in their 60s is really living on $1800/month inclusive of rent, utilities, food, medical bills, and all of life's other expenses. But, if this is true, retirement assets of $226k are going to last a long time - possibly indefinitely if she gets social security in the next 10 years and her expenses dont grow faster than inflation.
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# ? Aug 3, 2023 20:42 |
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A banker from my current institution called me unprompted to offer opening up a money market account instead of my standard savings account. He claimed he could get me a much better rate than my current savings account (I have no doubt this is the case) with the only downside being that funds aren't immediately transferable, and there is a next-day delay. Seems like a no-brainer to me but wanted to see if there was a chance I'm missing anything. Thoughts?
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# ? Aug 3, 2023 21:07 |
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# ? Jun 6, 2024 06:05 |
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Pungent Mammy posted:A banker from my current institution called me unprompted to offer opening up a money market account instead of my standard savings account. He claimed he could get me a much better rate than my current savings account (I have no doubt this is the case) with the only downside being that funds aren't immediately transferable, and there is a next-day delay. Seems like a no-brainer to me but wanted to see if there was a chance I'm missing anything. Thoughts? Is it fdic insured?
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# ? Aug 3, 2023 21:29 |