Search found 47 matches

by Dicast
Tue Mar 30, 2021 9:45 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Tankless Water Heater - Struggling to Justify
Replies: 71
Views: 7859

Re: Tankless Water Heater - Struggling to Justify

We have a Navien. It keeps a little hot water internally circulating so it really doesn’t take any longer than our old tank did. With several children we can run bath for everyone and never have a problem. Definitely didn’t do it for cost savings but replacing an 80 gallon tank is not cheap either.
by Dicast
Sun Feb 21, 2021 12:07 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Revealing net worth
Replies: 251
Views: 22164

Re: Revealing net worth

My wife let our retirement account balance slip to her mother a few years ago. Her mother is a dentist and my wife had just assumed that she was doing better than us...so it became a little awkward when she found out we had larger savings. I don't tell my family what our NW is just because it breeds unnecessary discussions. I have tried unsuccessfully to move my parents away from Edward Jones. I let these conversations go for peace. I showed them the math and that is all I can do. A few years ago I found out my mother in law was paying 1.5% AUM fees but it was a near impossible discussion to start so I dropped it. Just not worth it. My wife knows our net worth. One of my friends has an idea as we make similar incomes, similar savings rates ...
by Dicast
Wed Jan 27, 2021 8:36 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Todays Market..
Replies: 59
Views: 7662

Re: Todays Market..

Rebalanced one account last week, another account yesterday and we started my wife's rollover on Monday (money in cash at the moment). We had drifted very high on stocks, 95/5. When the dip happened in March we had moved out of bonds a bit. Our goal is generally 80/20 to 90/10 and 95/5 just seemed a bit much.

So I figure this time works out for us but I prefer to stay invested. We don't keep dry powder. Not to say I didn't have gold one time...but I try to fight those tendencies as much as possible.
by Dicast
Sat Jan 16, 2021 4:47 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Old Apple iPhone - Worth Replacing Battery?
Replies: 33
Views: 2584

Re: Old Apple iPhone - Worth Replacing Battery?

I have fixed a few of my iphones and replaced a few batteries over time. Buy the tool kit from ifixit and then just buy the batteries if you want to save money. https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iPhone+SE+ ... ment/61303 It is worth having a magnifying glass and a good kit of tools if you want to try this. I do enjoy having a magnetic pad to place the screws while I am taking it apart.
by Dicast
Sat Jan 16, 2021 4:42 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: IRS Identity Protection PIN
Replies: 163
Views: 18439

Re: IRS Identity Protection PIN

I have had a pin since since a return was filed under my ssn. We were in Texas at the time and only I could get a pin since my wife did not have identity theft. I'm not sure if any of the rules have changed since. The IRS sends me a different pin number each year now. we are mfj so I think it stops most everything anyway.
by Dicast
Sun Jan 03, 2021 10:41 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Brokerage account for retirement vs 401k high admin cost
Replies: 42
Views: 2894

Re: Brokerage account for retirement vs 401k high admin cost

If you are at risk of lawsuits do not forget the asset protection provided by a 401k. In most cases your 401k is not accessible by a lawsuit while a taxable account is.
by Dicast
Sat Dec 05, 2020 1:29 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Saving $ on my coffee habit
Replies: 95
Views: 7922

Re: Saving $ on my coffee habit

I gave up on Keurig when mine broke during a move. I have Ninja coffee maker $200 and a braun burr grinder $70 now. I grind right before I brew. I figure it costs me about 30 cents a cup when I buy in bulk and maybe 50 cents specialty.

I like the Ninja because I can make like 6 different brew sizes from a small cup to a full pot.

I also like the grinder because I will grind coffee and take to work occasionally as a treat to share.

I buy my coffee in bulk from https://www.gilliescoffee.com/
by Dicast
Fri Dec 04, 2020 9:31 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How much can one reasonably negotiate on a new car?
Replies: 82
Views: 8027

Re: How much can one reasonably negotiate on a new car?

If you have Raynaud's I'd recommend you get a heated steering wheel! When we bought our last new vehicle we lived in a large metro area. I emailed about 10 Honda dealerships (I had to call some to get email contact information). I set the Make, model, trim and acceptable color. Wanted a towing package but other options were not required. Requested an out the door quote, and specified the financing to be the teaser 0.9% at the time. We gave a 48 hour window for the best offer. On day one we had 6 email back. I sent the best offer back out for counter offers. It only moved about $500 lower but we got to the bottom dollar quickly. Called to confirm the deal with dealer #1 and they went back on the financing deal (too many incentives is what th...
by Dicast
Thu Dec 03, 2020 9:04 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Got a good price on 2020 Odyssey EX-L but the 0.9% promo expired.
Replies: 54
Views: 4962

Re: Got a good price on 2020 Odyssey EX-L but the 0.9% promo expired.

We bought 2 minivans in 2018. A brand new Odyssey Elite and a one year old Pacifica (the next to bottom level that has automatic sliding doors). The Odyssey is a superior vehicle in most ways but we spent 40k after intense internet haggling. The Pacifica is was 22k with 17k miles on it.

I like to drive the Odyssey more but at the end of the day it doesn’t change my life to drive either one. If money is tight I would buy used and upgrade later. If you have room in your budget then sure, get a new Honda.

Both have had recalls but neither vehicle has left us stranded. No reliability issues either way.
by Dicast
Sat Nov 21, 2020 11:36 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Redacted
Replies: 12
Views: 918

Re: AZ Resident Seeking Vanguard 529

Kansas here using Nevada plan. I can deduct no matter which plan I have and I have had zero issues with using Vanguard thru Nevada.
by Dicast
Sat Nov 21, 2020 11:31 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How much money do you want to retire?
Replies: 1367
Views: 207819

Re: How much money do you want to retire?

Initial goal was 45 with 2.5 mil.

I'm sitting at 1.5 mil at age 38 and I just don't see myself retiring at 45 anymore. I seriously don't know what I'd do with myself. Maybe I will just keep cutting back hours and have the goal be FI at 45.

Now the retirement goal is more like 5 million by something like 50-55 but that is just arbitrary because my expenses just don't need 5 million and I doubt my wife will ever stop working. I'm not sure I'll ever stop working.
by Dicast
Fri May 22, 2020 6:55 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: The axe falls and I am prepared. What's next?
Replies: 407
Views: 46013

Re: The axe falls and I am prepared. What's next?

I think you have planned well. The biggest part to me would be the unexpected large amount of time off from retirement. If you can develop a plan for your time that gives you fulfillment, then you should forget about going back to work. If you find your work meaningful then I'd try to get another job. I've been working towards a goal FI date for when I'm 45. The only problem I have noticed with my plan is that I'll probably miss my job if I actually retire..so I think I'll just keep working anyway.
by Dicast
Wed May 13, 2020 6:26 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How to look for a good Primary Care Physician (PCP), and no price transparency...
Replies: 35
Views: 3041

Re: How to look for a good Primary Care Physician (PCP), and no price transparency...

If you know any doctors in your area you should ask who they see. I generally find that the doctor who doctors doctors to be the best doctor.
by Dicast
Wed Apr 22, 2020 9:36 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Eating out after lock-down is lifted
Replies: 112
Views: 11907

Re: Eating out after lock-down is lifted

I don't know why my wife and I always ate out so much with a 5 year old and a 2 year old. Now we have a third in the mix. Staying at home has improved stress quite a bit when it comes to eating out. I'll vote to keep staying at home!
by Dicast
Mon Nov 27, 2017 4:21 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Electronic Fidelity Solo 401k contributions?
Replies: 4
Views: 628

Re: Electronic Fidelity Solo 401k contributions?

I believe you can also make a business cash management account, electronically fund this account and then use it to transfer money to your solo 401k.
by Dicast
Sat Jan 14, 2017 6:56 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Stay in paid-off starter house vs. dream house+work a few more years
Replies: 51
Views: 5777

Re: Stay in paid-off starter house vs. dream house+work a few more years

One thing to consider is that with extra space you may see the family less during your at home times. When there is ample space to spread out, finding everyone in the same place occurs less often. The older the children get, the more likely they are to hole away somewhere else. Project the difference of cost of the house out to the time your kids graduate from high school and then ask yourself if you'd rather have the house or X amount at the end. Try to include all bills, taxes, 1-2% upkeep per year, yard management etc. With all of that said, I had a similar option over the last year. A house that was "just" about 170K more would have been my dream home but after running the numbers we decided we'd rather have an extra $500k lay...
by Dicast
Fri Jan 06, 2017 8:00 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How will the market perform in 2017?
Replies: 45
Views: 5561

Re: How will the market perform in 2017?

whodidntante wrote:
Dicast wrote:The bull will run for another year. I haven't seen enough "Why not 100% stocks?" threads yet. I'm overall 80/20 and I don't see why I'd change that now.
I was thinking of starting a thread about using trend following as a replacement for bonds. Might that trigger the downturn?
Following trends to the end is the surest way to trigger the next downturn. Stocks will never go down again! Its all up from here baby! Hatchimals are the next gold! Unless a resistance level is hit and then we have to pull out or something etc...
by Dicast
Thu Jan 05, 2017 4:52 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How will the market perform in 2017?
Replies: 45
Views: 5561

Re: How will the market perform in 2017?

The bull will run for another year. I haven't seen enough "Why not 100% stocks?" threads yet. I'm overall 80/20 and I don't see why I'd change that now.
by Dicast
Mon Dec 19, 2016 8:29 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Financial help for a new doc
Replies: 31
Views: 3609

Re: Financial help for a new doc

It looks like neurosphere has you covered here. I agree with Shackleton that the use of the word "may" does give plenty of room for the gov't to do what ever they want. I'm generally hopeful though that those already in a qualifying repayment plan will be able to proceed through PSLF. If I were just starting med school I think I would be reluctant to accumulate a large debt with the plan of using PSLF to pay for my schooling. I think finding a cheaper med school if I wanted to go into a lower paying speciality would be very important.
by Dicast
Sun Dec 18, 2016 3:11 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Financial help for a new doc
Replies: 31
Views: 3609

Re: Financial help for a new doc

The comparison of a 10 year 6% sofi refinance vs PSLF may not be quite the comparison you need. A 5 year refinance has rates as low as 3.375% fixed and lower for variable last I looked. You'll probably still be ahead with PSLF. There is quite a bit of debate as to whether PSLF will be around to forgive loans or if it will be changed. The general hope is that anyone already started in the program will be grandfathered in. The current news on PSLF has been discussed on the white coat investor forum recently and I don't think anyone really knows what will happen. I think the asset allocation is needlessly complicated. I use a three fund portfolio and have thoughts about adding a small cap tilt...but it is so easy to leave it to 3. //2 physicia...
by Dicast
Sun Dec 18, 2016 8:00 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Winter car safety kit?
Replies: 46
Views: 4660

Re: Winter car safety kit?

I think there are lots of good suggestions. A good leatherman type tool, window break/seat belt cutter tool, floor jack, ratchet set, tire pump are my starting set year around. I think it all depends on how remote you are expecting to be, how cold the area is. I'd scrap regular blankets and just go with a good cold rated sleeping bag. You can keep warm without running the car engine just fine. Get an oversized bag to replace the original stuff sack and use it to pack in some of the other supplies. I always kept one rated for 0 F in my car when I lived in a rural area in Kansas (not that much snow really) but now looking at the crazy polar vortex...50 car pile ups etc, maybe I should put one in my car in Dallas,Texas... Keep a book to read a...
by Dicast
Mon Nov 28, 2016 11:18 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Time to buy a vehicle - New vs Used Math Sanity Check
Replies: 24
Views: 5372

Re: Time to buy a vehicle - New vs Used Math Sanity Check

I would go with the new vehicle. Depending on your average mileage you may get an extra 2 years out of the new car if you hit 15k miles per year. 2 years for $3700 would be a pretty cheap deal to me (given the narrow options you have given).
by Dicast
Sat Nov 19, 2016 11:33 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Michelin Premier AS, anyone have them?
Replies: 13
Views: 3305

Re: Michelin Premier AS, anyone have them?

2012 Hyundai Genesis 3.8

I've put about 20k miles on these tires. Very quiet. I've only ever spun a tire on an oil slick. No experience on snow/ice but plenty of rain without any issues. Noise is only a factor on very certain patches of highway, mostly on diagonal/cross grain concrete but I can't remember what it was like before these tires and I would buy them again.
by Dicast
Thu Nov 17, 2016 5:16 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: "Stealth Wealth: I’m Just an Ordinary Average Guy"
Replies: 445
Views: 127234

Re: "Stealth Wealth: I’m Just an Ordinary Average Guy"

I wear a t-shirt that says "trust me I'm a doctor". You didn't pick yours up at a thrift store, by any chance, did you? I wouldn't purchase a shirt that says "trust me I'm a doctor" and nothing I own says "Dr." on it except my white coat, badge and stethoscope. A family member gave the shirt to me and I can't get myself to dispose of it. I'm still wearing shirts from high school 15 years ago. If they don't have holes or stains I don't stop wearing them. Side note - I do own a McMansion. Total value is approximately 0.8 times of our yearly take home so while affordable, still not "stealth". One neighbor has 2 Mercedes filling the garage, the other has a Land Rover. We have a toyota and a hyundai. Mayb...
by Dicast
Wed Nov 16, 2016 11:15 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: "Stealth Wealth: I’m Just an Ordinary Average Guy"
Replies: 445
Views: 127234

Re: "Stealth Wealth: I’m Just an Ordinary Average Guy"

I think you misjudge modern day physicians. The physicians who build the rep of being poor with money and extravagant lifestyles are from the golden era of medicine decades ago, when it was really a good time to be in medicine. Those guys could blow threw cash and didn't care cause they had extremely high paying jobs with excellent job security. Medicine has only changes in a negative way since those glory days, and all physicians I know are pretty down to earth and responsible with money. In fact, I don't know any that are very flashy or spend outrageously on frivolous stuff - at most they send their kids to private schools as they value education quite a lot and take decent family vacations. Medicine ain't what it used to be that's for s...
by Dicast
Wed Nov 16, 2016 4:47 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Cannot get myself to spend my savings
Replies: 75
Views: 16585

Re: Cannot get myself to spend my savings

Break the ice buy taking a 1st class plane trip to an all inclusive resort with some family or friends. Make sure you indulge yourself to all of the "free" stuff you get while on the trip.
by Dicast
Thu Sep 22, 2016 8:15 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: The Bogleheads' "100 Things Worth Every Penny" List
Replies: 275
Views: 56147

Re: The Bogleheads' "100 Things Worth Every Penny" List

Sonicare toothbrush
Saddleback leather bag for work (4 years old and still looks new with daily use)
by Dicast
Sun Sep 11, 2016 1:59 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: 2006 mazda miata for daughter, 42k miles, $10k?
Replies: 64
Views: 14394

Re: 2006 mazda miata for daughter, 42k miles, $10k?

I'd add the additional con that giving a teenager a convertible of any type is a dangerous endeavor. Even good kids do stupid things when they have the available options. I probably wouldn't buy it for her.
by Dicast
Mon Aug 29, 2016 8:42 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Good School District or Private School?
Replies: 77
Views: 8741

Re: Good School District or Private School?

My wife and I had this same discussion about a year ago. We settled on buying a more expensive house in a nice school district. You can always sell your house when the children are out of school. You cannot sell your child's education for anything. $20k a year for 10 years with just one child is already $200k (the difference between the different areas). Give it compounding and additional 4 more years and I'm sure your child would rather have a huge college fund than a private school education. If you plan to have a second child I think the math is even easier.

I don't think private school is necessary if there is an a good public school. Both my wife an I went to public schools and are both physicians.

Commute times do matter.
by Dicast
Wed Aug 17, 2016 2:49 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Medical Billing Question - Hospital Discharge Instructions led to acetaminophen OD
Replies: 69
Views: 9053

Re: Medical Billing Question - Hospital Discharge Instructions led to acetaminophen OD

Almost all hospitals have an email, phone number or contact for filing complaints with the administration of the hospital. Most of the time this information should be included with your discharge paperwork. It might only be a couple of lines and you can probably find it on the hospital website under complaints/grievance/quality headings. I would start with that point of access. You may find they are more than willing to make up for their mistake and even more so try to prevent it in the future. Your insurance company has much less power and incentive to help you. You would also want to track who you talk with and the responses you get from each individual. If you have to resort to an attorney for lack of response then having all the prior i...
by Dicast
Mon Aug 15, 2016 1:32 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: buying used car smarter than buying new?
Replies: 89
Views: 9562

Re: buying used car smarter than buying new?

One problem with getting a lower purchase price on used cars seems to be that the "best" used cars tend to be the most popular models, and that tends to drive up the price. If only you could find a great used car - that was very unpopular. I suspect that with ratings and feedback all over the online internet, that might be more difficult these days. I wonder, though, if there might be some "niche" models in that category? Perhaps a good manual transmission car where hardly anyone wants anything but an automatic? I tend to put a plug in for my used car in these topics. I drive a Hyundai Genesis. MSRP was $36k 2 years old with 40k miles, bought it for 17.7k, 19k all fees included. 330hp, 28-30 mpg on the highway, smooth, ...
by Dicast
Mon Aug 15, 2016 10:37 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: buying used car smarter than buying new?
Replies: 89
Views: 9562

Re: buying used car smarter than buying new?

I think the frequency that you switch to another vehicle is probably more important than whether you buy used or new.

A low mileage used SUV for 30% off seems like a good deal.

I bought my car used because it had depreciated 50% at 3 years old with 40k miles on it. Bought my wife's car new because the SUV we were looking at didn't depreciate much at 2-3 years old and my wife tends to drive vehicles well beyond 100k and I wouldn't be surprised to get 10+ years out of the vehicle.
by Dicast
Sun Aug 14, 2016 8:00 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: new chapter of life started - want to save and grow money
Replies: 84
Views: 11787

Re: new chapter of life started - want to save and grow money

I think you are going to need significant budgeting to realize your goals. Try http://www.youneedabudget.com to get yourself started. I've heard lots of good things about the budgeting software. The most mint.com will do for you is track your spending. You need a budget will make you accountable for every dollar. I'm sure it will be painful. You might not like it. Your spouse might not like it. Your wallet and bank account will love it. I'm also a physician and married to a physician. We're on track to use almost 50% of our gross income this year to retire debt and build retirement accounts and we have a 2 year old. We've planned our mortgage, cars and other expenditures with the goal of 50% in mind. If you don't have a goal or a target the...
by Dicast
Thu May 19, 2016 8:27 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Making an Outdoor Grill Last
Replies: 39
Views: 7082

Re: Making an Outdoor Grill Last

I'm not sure that the cover matters much. I haven't had one on my Weber for the last 2 years and it hasn't seen any new rust to the grill grates. I did however have a cover on it for the 2 years prior...during which time my cooking grates did have significant rust requiring replacement. I would like to point out that proper care of the grates was probably my downfall during the initial 2 years. They were porcelain coated and I probably ruined them with a steel wire brush trying to keep them clean.
by Dicast
Wed May 18, 2016 8:17 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Physician Retirement Savings
Replies: 464
Views: 109714

Re: Physician Retirement Savings

It's hard to find reliable information on physician's average retirement savings. Here's mine if it helps. I've been out for about 4 years. Made around 200k for 2 years, now around 400k for about the last 1.5. My wife is finally finishing a fellowship (we started residency at the same time) so she'll finally be getting the pay bump to attending (close to 200k). I'm maxing my SEP and she's been maxing her 403b. We've still got $225k of student loans but are seeking to eliminate them in the first year she is out. Next year we'll be bumping up the savings to about 90k tax deferred. Our plan is to save aggressively, limit fixed expenses and protect against future pay changes. Age: 33 Current Total Retirement Savings: $220,000 Goal: $5 million....
by Dicast
Wed May 18, 2016 1:32 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Elliptical trainer
Replies: 43
Views: 4742

Re: Elliptical trainer

We bought a NordicTrack model, similar to the SpaceSaver model currently for sale. It is about 7 years old and we've put millions of strides on it. It squeeks a fair amount (probably since year 2) no matter how many times I take it apart, grease the appropriate components and put it back together. We've decided to get a high end gym model off of craigslist when we move to our next home. Our gym was 15 minutes from home and we never went. It has been much much better for us to have it at home. Especially when we had a new baby during that time. We can put her down for naps and still get a workout in.
by Dicast
Tue May 17, 2016 8:51 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Emergency Preparedness
Replies: 75
Views: 10634

Re: Emergency Preparedness

I've thought about this in the past. I agree with most of what has been said already. I'd like everyone to consider http://www.solarcooker-at-cantinawest.c ... urner.html as a potential solution to cooking without fuel. I don't have any experience but it seems like a good option.
by Dicast
Tue May 17, 2016 6:25 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: My friend wants to invest money; please review my advice for her
Replies: 44
Views: 5505

Re: My friend wants to invest money; please review my advice for her

I agree with the others above. I think the goal for why she is investing needs to be investigated more. Is this to bump up the savings to buy a house, buy a car or long term retirement planning?

I think at a salary of $20k per year, spending that $40k on an educational/certificate/job training pursuit would probably be a better long term investment than the stock market. It is much easier to double that income in 2-4 years than it is to double the savings in the stock market.

If this is just a part time job along with having a family and a working spouse then it may be a totally different situation.
by Dicast
Tue May 17, 2016 2:06 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 15 vs 30 yr mortgage
Replies: 123
Views: 37286

Re: 15 vs 30 yr mortgage

I think in a situation where retirement is 15 years out, a 15 year loan would be my choice. If you subscribe to the idea of reducing risk as you approach retirement then I'd say the benefit of investing the difference of payments over years 0-15 of the 30 year loan probably would not outweigh the risk of a market collapse at year 15 and leave you with less money in the taxable account AND still having to make a payment.

It sounds like you could probably handle this anyway it goes.
by Dicast
Sun May 15, 2016 7:05 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Pay off student Loans or invest??
Replies: 12
Views: 1583

Re: Pay off student Loans or invest??

Why not refinance? It sounds as if you already have significant income at the moment. I would recommend checking out SOFI, DRB, Common Bond. I think SOFI is as low as 3.5% for 5 years right now. You might be able to save a significant amount of money in interest if you are not pursing loan forgiveness.
by Dicast
Mon Jan 25, 2016 10:52 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How to move from SEP IRA at Vanguard to Solo 401k?
Replies: 3
Views: 672

How to move from SEP IRA at Vanguard to Solo 401k?

I currently have a SEP-IRA at Vanguard with about ~120k in it. When I initially set up the plan, I chose the SEP for simplicity. I figured at that time I would just take any “extra” money after I maxed the SEP and use it to pay down student loans. At this point I’m starting to regret not starting a 401k so that I could utilize a backdoor roth option. Over the next year my household income is going to dramatically increase when my wife starts working her attending job as well. She will be on a 403b/457 (government) and we will easily max both of those in addition to my sep. That will give us around 88K (plus any matching) a year in retirement accounts. Our total income will be around 600K. 88k/600k*100%= 14.6% of gross income to retirement a...
by Dicast
Wed Jan 06, 2016 2:40 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Help me loosen the purse strings: need an intervention
Replies: 36
Views: 5435

Re: Help me loosen the purse strings: need an intervention

My wife and I went through a similar dinner table issue. We went through the first 7 years of our marriage eating at a small breakfast nook sized table. She would often talk about how she didn't like it. I would reply that it was solid wood and sturdy enough to last for years. Finally it started taking a toll on me when we had guests over and we couldn't even put food in the middle of the table because it was so small. We went out looking for tables at a number of name brand stores, ultimately we couldn't find something that we liked and/or wanted to pay for. We stalled for about 1.5 years and one day stumbled into an estate sale that had a great looking table. They wanted $2k for it. We managed to talk them down to $650 with 8 chairs and a...
by Dicast
Sun Jan 03, 2016 10:47 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Can you max 2 different 403b accounts?
Replies: 5
Views: 908

Re: Can you max 2 different 403b accounts?

Thanks for the replies. This has made me realize that my wife will not be vested for matching at her current job and if it is a combined 18K a across all accounts we should probably just wait and max the new one instead. She has a pretty nice pay rate so we should be able to max the 457 at the new job as well. Thanks again.
by Dicast
Sat Jan 02, 2016 11:53 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Can you max 2 different 403b accounts?
Replies: 5
Views: 908

Can you max 2 different 403b accounts?

My wife will be switching jobs from one 403b employer to another this summer. The first is a county run non-profit and the second is a University system. We can dedicate the majority of her pay to maxing out the $18k limit prior to switching jobs. If we do this, can the next job also have an additional $18k or is it combined?
by Dicast
Sun Dec 20, 2015 7:54 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: I would like to play the Boglehead car game too
Replies: 163
Views: 16874

Re: I would like to play the Boglehead car game too

I'm a doctor myself and make around $400k a year. I had a 15 year old Explorer up until about a year ago. Reliability was suffering and I put on about 80 miles per day so I decided to get a different vehicle. Was able to find a used 2012 Hyundai Genesis for $19k including all taxes and fees. I never knew what I was missing until I bought this car. I had been driving 45 minutes each way in a box that sounded like a wind tunnel, logging over 20k miles a year. Now I am less stressed, have a safer car, can hear myself think, get around 28 mpg and still have 330 hp under my foot. I wouldn't ever put money down on a BMW, Mercedes, or Lexus until I at least test drove the Hyundai.