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psy1

My wife and I are a physician couple on the other end of the curve, financially independent and semi-retired since our mid-50's. I think you need to do some math and write out scenarios for yourself. That is what we did. I predict you would see that you are basically doing two jobs and the second jo...

psy1

I am surprised by the mindset here that equates Backdoor Roth contributions to gaming the system to obtain welfare (subsidized health insurance). The income I earn is not on loan from the government. It is my own property. Minimizing the tax on that income legally is my right (and responsibility). O...

psy1

A long thread so I did not read it all. What I got from the original post was: millionaire living in the most expensive part of the country, eligible for a $100K pension in a bankrupt state, trying to figure out how to get subsidized healthcare and I...give up. I'm not trying to figure out how to g...

psy1

A long thread so I did not read it all. What I got from the original post was: millionaire living in the most expensive part of the country, eligible for a $100K pension in a bankrupt state, trying to figure out how to get subsidized healthcare and I...give up. Our premiums are $1900 per month. That...

psy1

For age 19 you are doing great in terms of income, savings, investment and willingness to take risk relative you your age. I agree with all the advice about diversification.

I do wonder what grants you can get given your apparent income and assets? Can you elaborate on that?

psy1

FYI on the Roth IRA: you have until April 15, 2021 to contribute to the account but the account must be established in 2020. I am pretty sure on that and others can correct me if wrong. If you are considering a backdoor Roth for 2020 it would be a good idea to establish and account with a zero balan...

psy1

It all depends on the level of college that you are considering. Plenty of lower-ranked colleges offer merit money, i.e., to buy top scores. Heck, plenty of colleges ranked ~50 and below offer big merit money. But, one has to have great GPA & test scores. For example, Alabama is known to be gen...

psy1

Move/contribute as much into Roth as you can. Resist the urge to buy a house. If possible, even if you take a mortgage, buy a house that you could otherwise pay cash for without too much pain. Get the 529 to 125K and stop. Build a tax efficient taxable investment account. You will need that if you r...

psy1

Why be limited? Keep your place in Vegas (or downsize it if need be) and then just rent Airbnb's for months at a time wherever you like. Follow the weather, cultural activities, wildlife, sports - whatever suits you. Paris in spring, a lake house in the summer, foliage in the fall, snow or sun in th...

psy1

Layer with a base layer of merino wool. A mid-layer is needed. An outer layer of down, but not all down is equal. 850-900 fill goose down is the best and you will pay for it. The shell should be water/windproof like Gore-Tex or similar. A fleece balaclava under the down hood is bulletproof. If it is...

psy1

I found 529 plans to be over-rated. If you invest well over the years, you will be full pay at any school. Therefore, if you save enough in 529 for private schools and your child goes to public, you are vastly overfunded. I suggest adding to 529 funds, if you must, only the amount for an in-state sc...

psy1

The government and its proxies have all but criminalized gifts to physicians. So I would just avoid the issue. I think a heartfelt note and lunch for staff would be best. Most departing physicians know that those who remain in the practice deserve the gifts! A kind note would mean more than anything.

psy1

Reading this post reminds me - there is no free lunch.

psy1

I did not read most of the previous posts, FYI. I am in the process of unloading my 2010 F150 in order to buy a new truck. One thing to consider, given that you hang onto trucks for awhile, is whether you are likely to tow in the future. If so, you might get more truck than you were otherwise consid...

psy1

Forgive my replies. I am a psychiatrist, kind of like the curator of a museum of bad ideas and choices. I see everything that does not work, goes wrong, etc. Retirement is a big stressor for couples. The easy situation is when both retire at the same time with the same vision and goals, a full agend...

psy1

Things to consider: Disability insurance for your wife as sole breadwinner Unemployability in proportion to duration of retirement - consider part time work to stay in the game Divorce - retirement is a stressor, majority of marriages end, etc. This post is a downer. Just to make it worse: Life ins...

psy1

Things to consider: Disability insurance for your wife as sole breadwinner Unemployability in proportion to duration of retirement - consider part time work to stay in the game Divorce - retirement is a stressor, majority of marriages end, etc. This post is a downer. Well, when someone asks what fa...

psy1

Things to consider:

Disability insurance for your wife as sole breadwinner
Unemployability in proportion to duration of retirement - consider part time work to stay in the game
Divorce - retirement is a stressor, majority of marriages end, etc.

psy1

I would stick with two monitors. Or add a third in the middle.

psy1

A couple of things: Sous vide is not the way to go for steaks if you have a Traeger. Smoke them on the Traeger at low temp until rare, then nuke them in cast iron on an induction burner or on a hot charcoal grill. Sous vide looks pretty because they are perfectly done but without much flavor and wit...

psy1

Traeger's are fine but have a finite life. Trying to keep it in the garage or otherwise indoors is a major pain. Just leave it outside, cover it, keep it dry, and accept that it will fail at some point. Budget maybe $150/year as a replacement cost. Store pellets indoors in plastic bins. You will wan...

psy1

You will be tempted by 529 plans. My advice is to avoid them, max out retirement accounts first and then invest in taxable accounts. I say avoid them because they offer too many rules, too little reward, too few investment options, too few trading options, and limited tax benefits. Just do what you ...

psy1

We have used World Nomads although have never made a claim. However I did correspond with them regarding COVID. Basically, they cover you if you contract COVID and need care or have disrupted travel. However, they would not cover things like airlines cancelling flights, countries closing and forcing...

psy1

A BGE or Kamado Joe are excellent. But they are also a bit of a lifestyle as much as a grill/smoker. I have a BGE XL. Be aware that these grills are very heavy and require support. Mine lives under a 17' x 17' roof built for it. You also need a fair amount of room to store lump charcoal. In addition...

psy1

I would always focus on eliminating debt first. From a practical standpoint, the student loans are smaller and you could repay them first. Then tackle the mortgage. Few better feelings than a paid off mortgage! I ended up overfunding my 529. I would advise against too much in a 529. They limit you t...

psy1

Generally speaking there are no advantages of any kind living in NYC (oops I miss NC vs NYC). Nevertheless, I think 529 plans are overhyped and would rather invest in taxable accounts unless you get tangible state tax benefits and have good investment options. Be aware that 529 accounts limit you to...

psy1

The thing to do is pay $4000 of tuition with parents' cash and have the 529 distribution paid to the child's bank account which then pays the university for the rest.

psy1

The conventional wisdom is to contribute a "full" amount to a 529 account to cover education expenses. That is what I did and I regret it. There are not many rules, yet there are too many rules. The big limitation is 2 trades per year. Yes, it used to be one and now it has "deregulate...

psy1

You have received mostly good advice, but not all good. The problem with asking these questions is that you will get a zillion different answers, all of which work to a degree. One thing you mentioned that others have not touched on is that you want the computer to last as long as 10 years! That is ...

psy1

I have a Synology 5-bay NAS. If you get the 5-bay (i.e. more than 4) then you can set it up with 2 drives redundant if you want that level of security for backups. I have no experience with PLEX but Synology does that. Be careful not to be pennywise and pound foolish in regard to the number of bays....

psy1

The best way to save money is to crush the ACT or SAT. Students should study hard for those, the potential ROI is massive. Ha! Ha! That's also the best way to cost a parent the most money. In fact that is true. Multiple state universities, e.g. Alabama, will give out of state students free tuition ...

psy1

I meant they had not taken into account taxation, decrement in income, two physician couple, etc. Being a radiologist helps. I guess another way of answering the question is would he be willing to accept a 25% state income tax to move somewhere else (i.e. the equvalent of his future pay cut)? On top...

psy1

I think many posters are missing the fact that you are a doctor who wants to keep working while living abroad. That fact, your age, and your asset level are the issues I think. I would say that you do not yet have enough money to retire but that is your call. If you try to work as a doctor in anothe...

psy1

Imagine those 3 small kids all going to full pay private schools that now cost ~$70K per year. The entire cost of the cabin ($600K) would not even cover college at today's prices. I would pass.

psy1

I have had good luck with exercise equipment. Every contraption I have ever purchased is as good as new and appears unused.

psy1

It is good to correct the notes and make sure that the doctor is not fraudulantly upcoding the visit to bill at a higher level than the service performed. However, keep in mind that electronic health records are not designed for the physician, they are designed for billing, liability minimization, s...

psy1

There is no way that Costco chair is even close to an Aeron chair. I have had both. No doubt, an Aeron chair is overpriced but at the same time it is uniquely comfortable. I had a sedentary job and hate feeling hot or clammy. The Aeron chair is mesh which is as cool as a chair can be. It has good lu...

psy1

I am not a big fan of 529 accounts having invested quite a bit money in one. I over-invested which is generally a good problem to have. My chief complaint is that plan rules limit changes in investments to just two trades per year. That is ridiculous and nonsensical. In the next six months, I antici...

psy1

if you earned $12,000 a year for 10 years and have $120,000 in your retirement accounts you should give up on medical school and just invest you money. If your husband is as you describe, then I don't think "mitigating" legal fees in a divorce from him is wise. He will attempt to eat you a...

psy1

I have friends in Houston and recently lived briefly in Towson. If you travel anywhere by plane you have to get to DC which can take a long time. Both cities can have traffic but I thought it was worse in Baltimore area. Weather in Baltimore is not as hot as Houston but winters in Houston are very n...

psy1

I am guessing a new washer is on the horizon.

I wonder if this is true: the energy costs of running your existing Kenmore for another 20 years might be greater than buying two new washers at 10 year intervals. Not sure about that, but it's time to move on.

psy1

About 95+% of the country lies between the coasts and is affordable. I have lived in larger cities on both coasts and I think it is some sort of infectious disease that causes people to like living there. It is debilitating and immobilizing. I am kidding (half) of course, but I think it is crazy to ...

psy1

"Staying long term" does not connote Viet Nam citizenship. If he became a citizen, then he could open a local account etc. I was assuming that he remains a US citizen while living abroad long term. When I was in Viet Nam, I used a VPN through a USA server and had no problem accessing Schwa...

psy1

My understanding is that you pay state income tax in the state in which you make the money. As for selling a house, I would use a real estate agent and get it over with. If you are a DIY kind of person and are willing to do the leg work then you could sell it yourself and keep the difference. I am i...

psy1

Open an account with Schwab and use free ATM withdrawals for cash and credit cards for other purchases.

psy1

I would sell the house to your brother as a bargain. Worth a loss to escape. You should feel no guilt or obligation at this point. I have a friend with a different, but similar, situation. He is getting divorced at 66 and knows absolutely nothing about money. All he knows is that he wants a house an...

psy1

That is a very expensive policy! I would bail immediately. Your term plan is good. We got 20 year but in retrospect 30 year would have been better for us.

psy1

You don't mention if the $6000 annual premium is fixed or variable. If the payment goes up every year, the cost is probably self-limiting and you will drop it. If the premium is a flat $6000 a year and you are 65 then it could be a good deal. Perhaps, for example, 2 adult children would be willing t...

psy1

keep it simple and cheap - Rad Mini step through.

I have a Rad Mini and it is great.

psy1

The entire enterprise sounds risky. In our little town, most of the residents are covered by just a few insurance products. Each of the two largest insurance products excludes half of the providers. As a solo provider, if you accept private insurance in a small town you are subject to the vagaries o...

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