Search found 1589 matches

by TheDDC
Thu Mar 21, 2024 8:50 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Long-Term Care/Protecting Assests
Replies: 89
Views: 5009

Re: Long-Term Care/Protecting Assests

I am in the camp of your assets should go to paying your care. A strategy I’ve seen a couple people pursue who had concerns of impoverishing a well spouse was pursuing divorce and that would be in legal terms only. They continued to live as spouses or in one case one in the family home and the other in a facility. I found this solution somewhat smarmy as well but throw it out there for those who are seeking solutions on this issue. A well spouse keeping half the family fortune would likely exceed the amount of assets they could keep in a Medicaid scenario. That sounds crazy. Look, I think when you've made money, saved it, and you can quite literally flush it away in a few years on a couple of these "institutions" later in life it...
by TheDDC
Thu Mar 21, 2024 5:40 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Anybody heard stories of well "prepared" retirees running out of money?
Replies: 210
Views: 23863

Re: Anybody heard stories of well "prepared" retirees running out of money?

You don't need to buy home insurance for instance. Are you serious ? US homeowners have a very significant part of their wealth as home equity in their primary residence. I found many sources of data that conflicted about just how much, but I think for homeowners, the percentage varies between 30-50% of net worth. It is about 48% for me. Many still have mortgages, even in retirement, which require carrying home insurance. Any HELOC or reverse mortgage requires it too. Dental issues, things that Medicare can't cover, can be prioritized or "whatever". The medical-industrial complex is setup to absorb costs. There is no legal requirement for dentists to work for free. They are not ER doctors. Some dental issues just cannot be put of...
by TheDDC
Thu Mar 21, 2024 5:38 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How much to tip movers?
Replies: 46
Views: 6187

Re: How much to tip movers?

When I moved 3 months ago from a small town to the outskirts of a big city, it was a massive task. I had a ton of stuff, and the move cost me around $2,500. For that price, 3 guys worked tirelessly from morning till late afternoon. Based on my experience and what I've learned, when tipping movers, the amount often depends on the quality of service and the move’s complexity. Generally, it’s suggested to tip around 20% of the total moving cost. For a local move, consider giving each mover $20 to $30, while for long-distance moves, $50 per mover is a common guideline. We gave our guys $40 each for moving, and there were three of them. But that number means nothing, as does 20% of anything. I would never use a fixed percentage for tips. It's b...
by TheDDC
Thu Mar 21, 2024 5:36 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Long-Term Care/Protecting Assests
Replies: 89
Views: 5009

Re: Long-Term Care/Protecting Assests

Very sorry... I was with you, and had an answer ready... until I got to this section of what you wrote: For those of you in a similar circumstance, how do you plan on sheltering your assets from the ravages of LTC and ensure they're passed on to your heirs where they rightfully belong? OUR plan is to find a good LTC facility that will keep us if we run out of money, transferring to Medicaid reimbursement. OUR money is for OUR care. YOUR money is for YOUR care. You want us, the taxpayers, to pay for your LTC so that you can leave your money to your heirs? Any money LEFT OVER will indeed be for your heirs. ... as will be any money you manage to get into the 5-year lookback. If you are able to get some money into a trust or something 5 years ...
by TheDDC
Thu Mar 21, 2024 5:33 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: In-laws 529 for grandkids, bite my lip or say something?
Replies: 58
Views: 5913

Re: In-laws 529 for grandkids, bite my lip or say something?

berg wrote: Thu Mar 21, 2024 11:27 am ...but we are high income and high network...
Hey, thanks for throwing that in...

Anyway, if your in laws are like my FIL, they may be interested in talking "costs of things" and how to save money and direct more of that money to the kids instead of fees. We geek out on conversations like that. Hopefully yours are like that? I also disagree with the general tone of conflict avoidance in this case.

-TheDDC
by TheDDC
Thu Mar 21, 2024 5:27 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Replacing Xfinity (Comcast) modem
Replies: 39
Views: 3086

Re: Replacing Xfinity (Comcast) modem

Can I use a splitter to send the Xfinity (Comcast) input to two separate modems? Or, am I only allowed only one modem connection? It is technically possible to do this and is done many times in commercial settings with multiple tenants in a building/floor. However, Comcast will not do this on a practical level since you would need a second billing account, and they will only allow one account per address for residential service. Now if you have a garage and would be willing to tell Comcast that is a "1/2" address, they might do it for you. Better question: why would you do this at all? Just go with gig speed... And also make sure the modem is not only approved but on the list for mid-split compatibility for higher upload speeds: ...
by TheDDC
Thu Mar 21, 2024 5:02 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Anybody heard stories of well "prepared" retirees running out of money?
Replies: 210
Views: 23863

Re: Anybody heard stories of well "prepared" retirees running out of money?

Hyperinflation would do it, I remember reading about folks in Weimar Germany whose life savings were wiped out by it. This is the big one. Even high inflation can do it. High (as opposed to hyper) inflation is only a major problem for a retiree if real returns on investments are bad or the retiree is largely dependent for income on a non-COLAed pension. That's why the worst historical 30 year period for SWR was something like 1966 -- a long period of poor real returns early in a retirement killed the portfolios. No, not necessarily a "non-COLA'd" pension as you mention. Most have NO PENSIONs. I would say if it were a non-COLAd pension could be a problem if it's a low dollar figure pension. But folks with pensions are fine. -TheDDC
by TheDDC
Thu Mar 21, 2024 5:00 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Anybody heard stories of well "prepared" retirees running out of money?
Replies: 210
Views: 23863

Re: Anybody heard stories of well "prepared" retirees running out of money?

Yes, I know lots of stories. Bogleheads are overly focused on stock market crashes and withdrawal rates. They like to think they can perfectly predict their expenses 50 years out. Some things I've seen push retired people into financial precarity: House insurance rises significantly faster than expected due to wild fires, hurricanes, rising sea levels, land slides, etc adding thousands of dollars of unplanned expenses per year. Property tax increasing significantly faster than inflation because of local gentrification or development of new amenities that become popular. Becoming sole caretaker of grandchildren after the death of their daughter and gaining all the related expenses and needing to set aside money for their college. Discoverin...
by TheDDC
Sat Mar 02, 2024 12:30 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Announces CEO Retirement and Appointment of President
Replies: 372
Views: 36471

Re: Vanguard Announces CEO Retirement and Appointment of President

anagram wrote: Thu Feb 29, 2024 9:22 pm
Mr. Buckley became a member of Vanguard’s senior leadership team in 2001 as head of Vanguard’s Information Technology Division.
:twisted:
I was going to say, he was the Chief Information Officer for 4 years... But that was several years ago. Not really much bearing on how things are today. OR maybe more so than we think?

-TheDDC
by TheDDC
Sat Mar 02, 2024 12:26 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Feels impossible to take the foot off the pedal of saving, but saving at the boglehead pace is stressful.
Replies: 88
Views: 13778

Re: Feels impossible to take the foot off the pedal of saving, but saving at the boglehead pace is stressful.

The income is ridiculously high to have to complain about this... People with half or a quarter of that are fine. You will be fine. You are doing a great job saving. Most do not do that and they are fine.

Again, rose colored glasses at bogleheads.

-TheDDC
by TheDDC
Mon Feb 26, 2024 11:05 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Mega Backdoor Roth Issues
Replies: 24
Views: 2563

Re: Mega Backdoor Roth Issues

I have not done a Mega Backdoor Roth myself, only a normal Backdoor Roth, but my understanding is that just as the Pro-Rata Rule applies to your Traditional IRAs for a Backdoor Roth, there is an equivalent Pro-Rata Rule that applies to your Traditional 401(k) for a Mega Backdoor Roth. Incorrect accounting for that is where the complication comes from. If there was an equivalent pro-rata rule for 401(k) then nobody would be utilizing the Mega Backdoor Roth Howso? Assuming you never had an employer match which goes into a Traditional 401(k), you could start a Roth 401(k) and never have had a pre-tax investment vehicle at all. I have a Roth 403(b) with no employer match, though I started out with a Traditional 403(b) which was my choice. -The...
by TheDDC
Sun Feb 25, 2024 9:19 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Vehicle damaged and liable party has low coverage limits
Replies: 45
Views: 4125

Re: Vehicle damaged and liable party has low coverage limits

I was involved in an MVA, the other vehicle was deemed 100% liable by both their and my insurance. No injury to me, only property damage. Their insurance advised me to file with my own insurance as the driver’s coverage limits are apparently unlikely to cover the full cost. I’m not wholly on board with this as I believe it will increase my premiums. If the insurance company is going to increase your premiums because you were in a no-fault accident, keep in mind that not filing a claim with them will not necessarily prevent them from doing so. They will most likely know whether you were in such an accident whether you file a claim or not. First, you just told them what happened. Second, some (all?) states require anyone who was in an accide...
by TheDDC
Sun Feb 25, 2024 9:17 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Vehicle damaged and liable party has low coverage limits
Replies: 45
Views: 4125

Re: Vehicle damaged and liable party has low coverage limits

H-Town wrote: Sun Feb 25, 2024 6:27 pm Your argument of 70k brand new trucks as the basis for changing the state minimum liability insurance is out of touch. Average Americans barely afford insurance premiums as it is, much less increasing 30/60/25 minimum to 50k or 100k, so that upper middle class Americans can fit their lifestyle. And that’s my point. I’m fully insured because I have plenty of asset to protect. But that’s not average Americans.
Yes. We are experiencing the clash of "rose colored glasses" on BH on the $50,000-100,000 car commentary... once again. I type out the ",000" instead of "K" so as to fully comprehend the amount of money we're talking about here. "$X,000" is a lot of money to normal America.

-TheDDC
by TheDDC
Sun Feb 25, 2024 8:32 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: From stunned, to appalled and terrorized. [Looking for financial advisor]
Replies: 23
Views: 4830

Re: From stunned, to appalled and terrorized. [Looking for financial advisor]

Something actionable regardless of who you choose to advise you (if anyone): Get yourself out of that Variable Annuity. This is a surefire sign of having been sold a "product" that benefits the salesman versus having been given sound advice that actually benefits you. I know this because I was sold one before I self managed my investments. I suspect you will hear a similar story from others here.

-TheDDC
by TheDDC
Sun Feb 25, 2024 8:26 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Accumulators, what's your response to inflation?
Replies: 146
Views: 13117

Re: Accumulators, what's your response to inflation?

A'sBud wrote: Thu Feb 22, 2024 9:05 am Cut back on *some* things like less meat and more organic vegetable protein...
Yuck. Okay... well not that. Next?

-TheDDC
by TheDDC
Sun Feb 25, 2024 8:25 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Accumulators, what's your response to inflation?
Replies: 146
Views: 13117

Re: Accumulators, what's your response to inflation?

I thought we were talking about Bogleheads. Of course the median skews much lower income. Wait, you are going to have to explain this. Bogleheads can't be median? By that definition you are excluding literally half the population from your club. It's kind of hard to argue that someone is just scraping by when they are making twice the median family in Nassau, the richest county in New York state. Then basically, respectfully, all these very good earners in the most competitive fields suddenly become ignorant rubes when it comes to spending? We just don’t have any good sense and are bellyaching for no reason? I face this a lot with friends from MCOLAs. They say things like, “just buy a starter home for $250k” and “how did you decide to pick...
by TheDDC
Thu Feb 22, 2024 7:03 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Thoughts on Fidelity Separately Managed Accounts?
Replies: 16
Views: 1597

Re: Thoughts on Fidelity Separately Managed Accounts?

Doesn't matter if it's a Separate Managed Account or Together Managed Account or whatever marketing terms they invent next. Around here we stay away from "advisors" (salespeople in a poor disguise). You will lose out with the high fees and unnecessary fund segmentation.

-TheDDC
by TheDDC
Thu Feb 22, 2024 6:58 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: IIRMAA - one time income and loss of salary - appealable?
Replies: 18
Views: 1882

Re: IIRMAA - one time income and loss of salary - appealable?

Appeal appeal appeal... No harm in doing so. They don't call IRMAA the stupid tax for nothing.

-TheDDC
by TheDDC
Thu Feb 22, 2024 6:49 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: VMFXX vs VUSXX
Replies: 15
Views: 2393

Re: VMFXX vs VUSXX

It's a good play for those who live in an income tax grabbing state. *raises hand*

I for one enjoyed exempting 80% of my interest from VUSXX from state tax this year.

-TheDDC
by TheDDC
Wed Feb 21, 2024 8:58 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How are you self-insuring for long-term care?
Replies: 167
Views: 22004

Re: How are you self-insuring for long-term care?

LTC is a ripoff. Best to not give up your fortune/estate to the medical industrial complex.

My response to the thread question: Nothing.

-TheDDC
by TheDDC
Wed Feb 21, 2024 8:46 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: The Shrinking Lifespan of Large Appliances
Replies: 108
Views: 10478

Re: The Shrinking Lifespan of Large Appliances

Everyone should have a whole house surge protector... would do a world of good for keeping these newfangled appliances with circuit boards alive much longer.

-TheDDC
by TheDDC
Mon Feb 05, 2024 5:33 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Accumulators, what's your response to inflation?
Replies: 146
Views: 13117

Re: Accumulators, what's your response to inflation?

I stopped drinking my favorite booze as it's now $75 vs $40 pre-covid. No more weekends in Miami where I could fly for $50 and stay there right at south beach for $100 a few years ago. Now weekend in Miami is $3000 vs $500 before. No more vacations in the US as I can hardly stomach paying $600 a day for 20sq. ft. Marriott at Cape Cod or LIS. Whatever my home needs I DIY. Basically I work two jobs: IS manager and carpenter. I just can't afford to pay someone $10k to remove/slap drywall or $50k to reno bathroom. My first salary in the US was $100 000 when I came here 10 years ago and my current $250 000 feel exactly the same now. I put more to 401k now but $250 000 3 years ago was a lot of money and now you can barely get buy on that. Give m...
by TheDDC
Mon Feb 05, 2024 5:30 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Accumulators, what's your response to inflation?
Replies: 146
Views: 13117

Re: Accumulators, what's your response to inflation?

Tamalak wrote: Mon Feb 05, 2024 12:36 pm Half of my net compensation goes into investments. It's my first "expense". The other expenses have to fit in the other half.
BINGO.

-TheDDC
by TheDDC
Mon Feb 05, 2024 5:28 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Investing In S&P 500
Replies: 14
Views: 2172

Re: Investing In S&P 500

shelterinplace wrote: Mon Feb 05, 2024 4:19 pm Hi,

I got to a certain level of monies in my 401K and switched my future contributions exclusively to S&P 500.

Letting it ride.

Anyone else favoring this strategy within a few years of retirement? I don't think I'll be needing the S&P 500 monies for 10 years.

Thanks!
I endorse this strategy. I put all NEW (non-inherited) money into VTSAX and chill.

-TheDDC
by TheDDC
Sun Dec 31, 2023 9:51 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Quality of Life vs. Saving More - How much to sacrifice?
Replies: 61
Views: 10219

Re: Quality of Life vs. Saving More - How much to sacrifice?

In your shoes, I'd take a lower salary and a LCOL any day over the situation you're in now. Forget the "lifestyle". If you want to save, save. You can do it on a lower salary somewhere else where you aren't fixated on the city lifestyle. People do it all the time on a lot less. Until you're married btw you are a "singleton". Maybe the girlfriend wants to go the same way maybe not, but that's your decision to make (until it's wedding time).

-TheDDC
by TheDDC
Tue Dec 26, 2023 10:38 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How to use a Virtual VISA Rewards Card?
Replies: 14
Views: 1661

Re: How to use a Virtual VISA Rewards Card?

Reload your Amazon gift balance with exactly $25 if you are an Amazon member. I hate these virtual GCs and just load them into my Amazon account within 10 seconds of receipt.

-TheDDC
by TheDDC
Tue Dec 26, 2023 10:36 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Is Solar Worth It?
Replies: 193
Views: 49348

Re: Is Solar Worth It?

Consider the social good by going to solar. You will be a much cleaner citizen. That said, if your local source is hydro, that is already clean power. For social good purposes, one can buy shares of PSE community solar for $20/share. ... Or switch to a generation provider that uses clean power. In my state we can choose our generation provider. Transmission and distribution (and maintenance of course) are handled by the incumbent provider. I shop for lowest price on energy usage, could care less about "social good" of energy use, sorrynotsorry. Some of the lowest cost providers use clean energy in my area. So win/win for all concerned. With being able to shop around, my generation costs are down to .079 per kWH which is nearing &...
by TheDDC
Fri Oct 27, 2023 6:41 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Any Home Upgrades You Regret Installing?
Replies: 179
Views: 23499

Re: Any Home Upgrades You Regret Installing?

mkc wrote: Fri Oct 27, 2023 11:47 am Heat pump water heater. The heat pump side failed twice in 3 years. It's not serviceable - you have to replace the entire water heater. State covered the units but not the labor or disposal. The State/AO Smith units don't have the ability to lock it into standard electric element mode; it reverts back to heat pump after 48 hours so you have to reset it every 2 days while you wait for a warranty replacement to arrive.
I have an electric water heater at our new house and I'm anxiously waiting for it to die so that I can install a tankless gas unit like we had at our old house. It was one of the best purchases and a tankless unit is the most energy efficient option.

-TheDDC
by TheDDC
Fri Oct 13, 2023 5:50 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Flat tires while on road trip
Replies: 70
Views: 6473

Re: Flat tires while on road trip

So for a relative's birthday, we took them on a long road trip to an museum 5 hours away. During the trip both cars suffered a flat and not one that can be repaired. For one car, there was some sort of blade damage. For the other car, the sidewall rupture after going over a nasty pothole. I am glad that the rim is intact. I curse the designer who decided that every car must have low profile tires. We end up installing spares on both cars and then getting the tires replaced at a local shop. What I discovered is that my car has an unusual size so I had to call around and until I got one that didn't required 3 days to get the tire. I wanted to use a national chain in case I need warranty repairs, but the only one with the tire in stock was a ...
by TheDDC
Fri Oct 13, 2023 5:42 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Feeling behind on 401K
Replies: 45
Views: 5166

Re: Feeling behind on 401K

I am wondering how many people my age and even younger have managed (as they claim) to have $1 million+ in their 401K. I'm 45 - I started investing in the first job I got that had a 401k, when I was 25. For the first 5-6 years I put in enough to get the full match (6%) and since then for the next ~15 years I've been contributing the max allowed by law. I invest mainly in target date funds appropriate for my age and normal retirement. My balance is a bit below $600k. What makes the difference here? Starting a job immediately after college with 401K? Maxing 401K every single year instead of just from from age 30 on? Where did I come up short? My excuse- I have a pension, so I started a 403(b) late. I didn't discover places like this forum un...
by TheDDC
Thu Oct 05, 2023 9:55 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Slogan for new PT side gig
Replies: 21
Views: 1618

Re: Slogan for new PT side gig

I like the following: Stay fit today, stay young forever
by TheDDC
Fri Sep 29, 2023 2:37 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Rent or Own Math
Replies: 22
Views: 3043

Re: Rent or Own Math

Is everyone counting on appreciation? This is all insane, right? Could there be some sort of tax dodge / money laundering thing going on, to support these new construction buildings are going for crazy high prices? Yeah... these are definitely stupid houses at stupid prices. But don't discount the local housing market issue impact. Where I am houses appreciate quickly mostly due to lack of supply more than anything else (God ain't making any more land), and the fact that it's a desirable area with a great school district that the tourists from states like New York and New Jersey like to move to. I just bought a new place and paid over three times what I paid for our current place in 2007. It seems like if I would ever get fed up with the h...
by TheDDC
Thu Sep 28, 2023 11:30 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What did work in the late 60's?
Replies: 82
Views: 13931

Re: What did work in the late 60's?

Answer to subject of OP: America.

-TheDDC
by TheDDC
Thu Sep 28, 2023 11:29 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Surprise Healthcare Bill
Replies: 33
Views: 4977

Re: Surprise Healthcare Bill

ekid wrote: Thu Jan 19, 2023 5:15 pm But 20% is small potatoes in that business. I wouldn't get excited until I see 50%.
You're way too generous. I would offer them maybe 10 cents on the dollar. And that's on one of my happy days.

-TheDDC
by TheDDC
Wed Sep 27, 2023 1:50 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Passive Income Streams
Replies: 96
Views: 14403

Re: Passive Income Streams

Side gig (LLC) - I do Microsoft 365 tenant creation, onboarding, configuration which includes Microsoft licensing sales. I make a % of invoice even after the customer has finished paying me T&M or per project. Plenty of other examples in the IT MSP realm. The only time the income stream gets reduced is when a customer cancels their licensing sub (which n ever really happens ... most every business large and small has a Microsoft 365 presence). -TheDDC Never say never. We just canceled O365 for Google Workspace. Google has been gaining year after year for the last few years. I see many orgs that have both in use (K12/higher ed mostly), and I have transitioned a bunch from Google Workspace as well. BTW even after you have cancelled your ...
by TheDDC
Wed Sep 27, 2023 1:48 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Passive Income Streams
Replies: 96
Views: 14403

Re: Passive Income Streams

Side gig (LLC) - I do Microsoft 365 tenant creation, onboarding, configuration which includes Microsoft licensing sales. I make a % of invoice even after the customer has finished paying me T&M or per project. Plenty of other examples in the IT MSP realm. The only time the income stream gets reduced is when a customer cancels their licensing sub (which never really happens... most every business large and small has a Microsoft 365 presence). -TheDDC Sounds like earned income to me. What is pasdi e about it? It depends how long I have to earn the income I guess. My typical engagement with a customer could be as long as a week. I have been earning "passive" income from the licensing that I established for many years now without...
by TheDDC
Wed Sep 27, 2023 1:45 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Tesla savings vs used ICE cars
Replies: 360
Views: 89975

Re: Tesla savings vs used ICE cars

Based on reliability, we would recommend having a backup ICE so you are not on ICE when trouble hits with your EV.

-TheDDC
by TheDDC
Wed Sep 27, 2023 11:35 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Flood insurance, should I get it and how much?
Replies: 28
Views: 3005

Re: Flood insurance, should I get it and how much?

Angel of Empire wrote: Wed Sep 27, 2023 9:23 am Severe weather patterns? As if major hurricanes, floods, fires, rains didn't exist 30, 50, 100, 200 years ago. History says otherwise.

Water in basement isn't considered a flood. If not in a flood zone, skip flood insurance.
+1 to this. Nice to see calm, rational thought on this one.

My recommendation: Decline flood insurance unless required to by the bank due to living along a flood plane.

-TheDDC
by TheDDC
Wed Sep 27, 2023 1:36 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Passive Income Streams
Replies: 96
Views: 14403

Re: Passive Income Streams

I'm 100% word of mouth. No advertising. I do have some strategic partnerships that take some work to bring me leads, but I really don't exert too much effort there. Very much a "cash on cash" business, no borrowing, no overhead or B&M presence. I did join a business networking/referral group this last year. I will wait and see how that pans out in terms of new business. I also offer other traditional IT services such as cybersecurity (which can also entail licensing), infrastructure design/build, MS Teams migration, etc. (bundled into Microsoft 365), most of which can be done remotely. Most of these services would would not meet the definition of "passive" since they do require periodic servicing or business developm...
by TheDDC
Wed Sep 27, 2023 12:35 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Larry Swedroe: Stocks Have Been a Poor Inflation Hedge
Replies: 69
Views: 11028

Re: Larry Swedroe: Stocks Have Been a Poor Inflation Hedge

If stocks have been a poor inflation hedge then American business has shown to have been a failed short term bet. If we aren't doing well on U.S. stocks then we aren't doing well as a growth creator. The cure for poor stock performance is better growth and a stronger balance sheet. That can be fixed from the top down in both business and political realms, though we don't like to discuss politics/policies. Generally laziness and lack of productivity do not lead to business growth.

-TheDDC
by TheDDC
Wed Sep 27, 2023 12:29 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Passive Income Streams
Replies: 96
Views: 14403

Re: Passive Income Streams

Side gig (LLC) - I do Microsoft 365 tenant creation, onboarding, configuration which includes Microsoft licensing sales. I make a % of invoice even after the customer has finished paying me T&M or per project. Plenty of other examples in the IT MSP realm. The only time the income stream gets reduced is when a customer cancels their licensing sub (which never really happens... most every business large and small has a Microsoft 365 presence).

-TheDDC
by TheDDC
Mon Sep 04, 2023 11:39 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: New 403(b) - Omni?
Replies: 25
Views: 2381

Re: New 403(b) - Omni?

My wife just got a new job and the 403(b) administrator is Omni. When filling out the payroll election form, they require you to select an investment provider or multiple providers. The options are: AXA Equitable Fidelity Management Trust Franklin Templeton Investments Horace Mann Companies ING Reliastar Lincoln Investment Planning Oppenheimer Funds Putnam Investments The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company My first (and I thought very obvious) question was where are the investment options? I'd like to hunt and peck for an S&P 500 index fund, but we can't even do that. We have to select a provider first. We selected Fidelity Management Trust. I am confident that's probably going to be the best of the bunch, but I really can't say f...
by TheDDC
Mon Aug 21, 2023 8:25 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Upgrade my lifestyle [is the math right for more expensive home]
Replies: 50
Views: 4233

Re: Upgrade my lifestyle [is the math right for more expensive home]

Short story: I want to upgrade our home and seeing if the math theory works. Long Story: The following math data is simplified from reality for ease of discussion. Let us assume that we are financially independent if we used a 4% SWR and we don't want to argue about what is the right SWR. We still work part time and therefor able to continue to increase our portfolio. We want to upgrade our home to a better location. The house for this example is about the same size as our current home, but the location is more expensive by about $300k. Property tax will go up ($300k * 1%) = $3k/yr home owners insurance up $1k/yr home upkeep costs considering 2% would increase an additional ($300k * 2%) = $6k/yr probably a slight increase in utilities / ya...
by TheDDC
Mon Aug 21, 2023 8:23 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Roth vs Traditional for high income + pensions
Replies: 20
Views: 2475

Re: Roth vs Traditional for high income + pensions

Wowie... My recommendations in bold below: Thanks for all of the advice, for those asking we're both age 31 and have about 415k in total retirement assets, so not millions yet but we're young-ish and striving to max all of our tax advantaged accounts despite crazy daycare bills so I do expect it to stack up quickly. How much would it take to max out all the retirement accounts? With just the TSP and Roth that would be about $29K a year each or almost $58K for both of you but you have a lot more retirement account options which most people do not have. Even without the pensions maxing out all your retirement accounts along with your current savings is likely a lot more than you would need to retire well before a typical retirement age. It wo...
by TheDDC
Mon Aug 21, 2023 8:08 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Withdrawal plan
Replies: 7
Views: 1106

Re: Withdrawal plan

I suppose you got your Roth conversions already figured out. Nope I’m in a gray area on conversions, I’m on a high priced drug that’s free as long as I don’t go over 100k income so I can’t do much but I suppose some is better then none. I never thought I’d be in a position to need such, I’m not a big $ player like most here. Even if you weren't on a high priced drug there's really no need to go 100k income anyway in retirement for a lot of reasons. Some could probably take a lesson on waste/consumption here as you have probably noticed. :) What is the drug company basing your income on? AGI? MAGI? Medical expenses are also deductible based on a formula, so I'm not sure what the drug would cost out of pocket, but if it were a deductible exp...
by TheDDC
Sun Aug 20, 2023 11:16 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Brand new teacher 403b advice
Replies: 63
Views: 5547

Re: Brand new teacher 403b advice

I would go with option A. She is 23 with 40+ years of accumulation ahead of her. Pile it all into VTSAX and let the compounding begin. Sock it away and forget about it. -TheDDC I can see doing that initially, but at some point a reasonable person would want to shift toward a more balanced AA as retirement approaches. Not necessarily. If her pension holds, she may be able to stay much more aggressive in her 403b than those of us without a defined benefit pension. I would probably go with option B anyway, for now. She can revisit it in a couple of decades. As mentioned before, let's see how long she wants to stay in education. If she stays, then I see no problem keeping it 100% VTSAX. At 41, all of my 403(b) and IRA assets are in VTSAX/FSKAX...
by TheDDC
Sun Aug 20, 2023 11:15 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Are people more blind to inflation that short term volatility
Replies: 78
Views: 8388

Re: Are people more blind to inflation that short term volatility

While I generally agree with the sentiment expressed in the question (that people misjudge deep risks like inflation), I'm not sure in what way this is actionable. Inflation is also down to 3.2%, and my savings accounts are paying at least 1% more than that. I didn't change anything about my finances last year when inflation was higher, and I don't intend to change anything now that it's lower again. Granted, I'm a ways off from retirement, and I don't hold a lot of cash. 3.2% is an AVERAGE, so that number in itself is an illusion. The areas that people spend the most on (more than likely food, transportation) is still way higher, and the borrowing costs for housing are much higher. So let's ditch that number. I focus my efforts on spendin...
by TheDDC
Sun Aug 20, 2023 10:57 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Brand new teacher 403b advice
Replies: 63
Views: 5547

Re: Brand new teacher 403b advice

I would go with option A. She is 23 with 40+ years of accumulation ahead of her. Pile it all into VTSAX and let the compounding begin. Sock it away and forget about it.

-TheDDC
by TheDDC
Sun Aug 20, 2023 10:53 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Primary care doctor that doesn't take insurance
Replies: 87
Views: 8561

Re: Primary care doctor that doesn't take insurance

This seems incredibly short sighted and wasteful. You have insurance. You have an insurance system for a reason. Use it. These docs are basically short circuiting the system with questionable results.

-TheDDC
by TheDDC
Sat Aug 12, 2023 9:42 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Retired Eight Weeks Ago, Just Sold Stocks For Rest of the Year. Bad Idea?
Replies: 209
Views: 81318

Re: Retired Eight Weeks Ago, Just Sold Stocks For Rest of the Year. Bad Idea?

With interest rates being where they are for the foreseeable future, there's really no wrong answer with regard to holding one year or three years' worth of cash. You are getting 5% interest on CASH with zero risk. If you are retired, your main concern will be inflation. Again, getting 5% on cash works there as well. Since OP did not mention a pension, or how SS factors into this.

I do sympathize with the "analysis paralysis" part of this which is "when do you sell X asset to pad your cash account". I would say put the sale on autopilot and sell once a month without your having any involvement.

Happy retirement! These are good questions/concerns to have. :)

-TheDDC