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Not exactly a newbie question, but need a direction to head in. Basics:
This is more money than I've ever been responsible for in my life, so I want to do something productive with it. I don't have any immediate goals. I eventually want a bigger house if we start making babies, but that's a few years down the road. I might want to open a bar instead. My priorities are: immediate financial security, making a decent 5-10 year investment, and retirement. gently caress, I'm going to be 40 in 10 years  Here is my plan. Please pick it apart (or tell me to go to another thread).
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Apr 7, 2010 00:14
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| # ¿ May 6, 2024 09:34 |
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slap me silly posted:This isn't such a useful way to conceptualize a portfolio, but you'll figure that out with a little more reading. Overall your plan sounds great, $10k to IRAs, $10k to 401k, $10k to emergency/ready cash. However, with the rest my thought would be to pay down the mortgage rather than putting it in taxable mutual funds. What is the rate on your mortgage, and what's the LTV right now? Assuming the house hasn't dropped too much farther in value, I'm probably at like 97% LTV. I didn't have any real down payment and took PMI. I guess that is something I should have mentioned. I don't even know how to get rid of the PMI at this point. The whole thing looks so insurmountable I don't even really think about paying it off early like a car. E: Engineer Lenk posted:Are there going to be some increased medical costs that you'll see down the line? You may want to guesstimate your expenses and put aside some money in an FSA or HSA, depending on what's offered. mike fictitious fucked around with this message at 01:12 on Apr 7, 2010 |
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Apr 7, 2010 01:08
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Engineer Lenk posted:You may want to make a refi with 80% LTV (or as close as you can get with 40k-closing costs) the first priority. If it eats the whole settlement, you'll miss out on 2009 contribution to your wife's IRA, but you'll end up with a lower monthly mortgage payment that should make upping retirement contributions going forward easier to do. Thanks (everyone)
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Apr 7, 2010 01:26
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slap me silly posted:USAA sold my mortgage on to US Bank pretty much immediately - same might happen to you. There were a couple of trivial miscommunications about the insurance, but it's really been fine so far. The US Bank mortgage web site gives you all info in copious detail. I called and talked to their mortgage dept to get some numbers. They will knock me down 1% to 5.25%. If I give them the $40k + $6k for closing, my payment will go down $500/month. That will put me at 70-something% LTV. I think I might call them back and figure out exactly what figure gets the 80% LTV and use the rest for the closing so I don't have to pay so much out of pocket. Then I just bank the $500 each month. In 8 years, I'll save back the $46k.
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Apr 7, 2010 03:33
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lwoodio posted:Can anyone give some advice? It's barely worth it at 1.99%, but if you just want to stash it somewhere, Ally Bank has a CD that lets you increase your rate one time if rates go up. It's only 2 years, but that's a start at least.
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Apr 10, 2010 00:05
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I just wanted to thank everyone in this thread for their advice a few weeks ago. After taking the thread's advice and looking at the mortgage (which I was content to just keep paying for the next 28 years), I figured out that the $40,000 settlement was almost exactly what I needed to get 20% equity and get rid of PMI. This evening we closed on a refinance into a 15-year fixed, lowering my interest rate by 2%. I kicked in the $40,000 as a principal payment and to cover closing costs. My payment went down $200/month. It's pretty exciting to think I will either own the house by the time I am 45 (vs. 58), or be in a good position to sell it much sooner than before. Thank you BFC > NPFT.
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May 26, 2010 04:42
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It has been a while since I've posted, but you guys always give me such good advice. I am trying to figure out where to start investing so that I just don't have a pile of money in the bank earning poo poo interest. [...] We are doing some home improvements this summer that should dip into our cash on hand, but not too bad. Our short-term goal is to travel more, possibly taking a sabbatical from work to travel the country. I am extremely risk averse at this point, more than I need to be. We have worked hard for the financial security that we have, and I don't want to burn it up on poor investments that I don't understand. It is amazing that when I was younger, interest rates were really high, but I had no money to save. Now that I have enough money, there's no interest to be earned. When I look at stuff like Ally Bank CDs, the return is so awful that I never bother. Is there some relatively safe way to invest this money instead of the terrible return from our money market account? mike fictitious fucked around with this message at 20:50 on Sep 6, 2011 |
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Aug 9, 2011 21:01
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| # ¿ May 6, 2024 09:34 |
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Chin Strap posted:~1% at an online savings account is about the best you are going to see right now. Thats just the way things are.
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Aug 9, 2011 21:16
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