Search found 237 matches

by psy1
Sat Feb 03, 2024 5:49 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa [feedback, out of state and received merit]
Replies: 45
Views: 5255

Re: University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa

Our daughter received one of the full ride merit scholarships. We visited the campus. Very nice campus, great weather, industrial scale Greek scene. She decided not to attend but one of her high school friends attended and loved it. One drawback, depending on where you live, is getting to Tuscaloosa. We had to drive to our little airport, fly to a hub (or two) and then to Birmingham for the hour plus drive. Can make for a long and tedious travel day.
by psy1
Fri Jan 05, 2024 9:26 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Taking a "Sabbatical" of sorts - living off $1M - asset allocation advice
Replies: 21
Views: 3846

Re: Taking a "Sabbatical" of sorts - living off $1M - asset allocation advice

I would not make it too complicated. If you can live on $20K per year, and you have $200K in cash, you could just continue the same asset allocation and spend your cash. Rebalance every year.
by psy1
Sun Sep 17, 2023 1:05 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Turning 40. Would love getting feedback on my financial setup
Replies: 21
Views: 4163

Re: Turning 40. Would love getting feedback on my financial setup

Just to reiterate:
  • Disability insurance
    Term life insurance
    Umbrella insurance equal to or greater than net worth
    Backdoor Roth
    529 plan for kids
    Hire kids and get them going with Roth IRA's
If you have the time and interest, get started with travel hacking.
by psy1
Sun Sep 17, 2023 12:55 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Dump Annuity????
Replies: 30
Views: 3604

Re: Annuity help needed! Surrender?

I would surrender it and pay the stupid tax. Put the remainder in a 10 year T-Bill and she will still come out ahead when she retires.
by psy1
Sat Nov 26, 2022 9:31 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: What to do with 401k’s and a 457b
Replies: 8
Views: 1161

Re: What to do with 401k’s and a 457b

In general and when possible, do a direct rollover from your current institution to an IRA account at a new institution (e.g. Schwab, Fidelity, Vanguard, etc). Don't have the current institution send you a check - they should be transferring the funds electronically to the new institution.

In a traditional IRA, you will have lower fees and more investment options. That is true even if you chose to put your money in cash, T-Bills, etc.
by psy1
Tue Mar 15, 2022 6:02 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Career in Dermatology
Replies: 35
Views: 5529

Re: Career in Dermatology

Speaking as an observer, not a doer: Moh’s surgeries were the most lucrative and most stressful. However, if you live outside of a large city (yes, a few do), then you will be one of just a few providers - so referring the most lucrative cases to your competitors is not ideal. I would go with the flow, especially since you have not even matched to a residency yet. If you naturally excel, then add Mohs. If you decide that you really want to do it ahead of time, lower your goalpost a bit for the match so that you are likely to excel naturally.
by psy1
Mon Mar 14, 2022 8:53 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Career in Dermatology
Replies: 35
Views: 5529

Re: Career in Dermatology

I am an older psychiatrist now and have been a medical director for a derm department. Derm is a great specialty, especially if you are very organized, efficient, and have even slight interpersonal skills such that a slice of patients like you. Good income, no call, no weekends, no hospital work, relatively low acuity, relatively low chronicity, possibility for part-time work, high demand. Of course, you can work more if you want to. When you are starting out, you don't usually think of the arc of a career but it is relatively easy to age gracefully in dermatology.
by psy1
Sun Mar 13, 2022 9:01 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Do I need to document 529 plan withdrawals?
Replies: 9
Views: 968

Re: Do I need to document 529 plan withdrawals?

If using cost of attendance, how is that entered in TurboTax? TurboTax asks for line item expenses rather than a single line for cost of attendance.
by psy1
Fri Mar 04, 2022 4:36 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: life insurance recommendations
Replies: 21
Views: 1992

Re: life insurance recommendations

Your type of disability insurance is more of a trap than a benefit. Few are disabled for 5 years. Often, before you are completely disabled, you will get fired and lose the insurance. Likelihood of divorce skyrockets in disability cases. It would be better if your employer to pay you a bit more and then you buy proper disability insurance.
by psy1
Fri Mar 04, 2022 2:11 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: life insurance recommendations
Replies: 21
Views: 1992

Re: life insurance recommendations

You will get different advice. My advice is to get enough insurance so that each of you is replaceable. And get term life insurance for the longest term you can afford, e.g. 20-30 years. If you consider the 4% rule, then $1,000,000 of insurance will provide $40,000 a year indefinitely (not taking into account inflation). Therefore, consider a total of $1 million of term life for each of you. Subtract from that the amount of employer provided insurance. I don't think it makes sense to get 5-10 yr term and then redo. With time, each of you is more likely to develop conditions that make you more expensive to insure or even uninsurable. Instead, get the longest possible term you can afford, e.g. 30 yr. You should consider that a maximum. I agre...
by psy1
Sat Feb 19, 2022 11:27 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How to Buy a $1.5M House with no Income
Replies: 24
Views: 5727

Re: How to Buy a $1.5M House with no Income

Keep it simple. pay cash.
by psy1
Sat Feb 19, 2022 11:22 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 40% pay cut for gov job?
Replies: 91
Views: 12748

Re: 40% pay cut for gov job?

Haven't read all the posts. Federal government in medicine usually means the VA. If you need the pension and have enough years to make it worthwhile, then go for it. Otherwise, consider going the locums route which pays better but minus the pension option. Keep in mind the culture shock moving from private practice to government work. The federal government is absolutely genius at inefficiency and regulation. It will drive you crazy every day with the innovations and evolution of inefficiency and bureaucracy. You should first earn a Masters degree in redundancy PhD in acronyms. Keep in mind that the "single log in" to you computer will require six steps, all of which change regularly, and if you mess up your log in you will need t...
by psy1
Wed Jan 26, 2022 5:24 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Business Mileage Deduction Question
Replies: 2
Views: 286

Re: Business Mileage Deduction Question

OK, thank you.
by psy1
Wed Jan 26, 2022 5:13 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Business Mileage Deduction Question
Replies: 2
Views: 286

Business Mileage Deduction Question

My wife and I are self employed and we drive from our home to a distant work location where we will stay for a few months. We qualify for the mileage deduction for that. We drive together in the same vehicle and we do not use actual costs, just mileage. The question is: are we both allowed to take the mileage deduction? I have searched but can't find the answer.
by psy1
Thu Nov 25, 2021 9:34 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Primer on Paying Taxes With a Credit Card
Replies: 874
Views: 164636

Re: Primer on Paying Taxes With a Credit Card

It does not increase the credit limit. It effectively increases the credit limit for the purpose of paying an amount of taxes that exceed your credit limit. The alternative of making multiple smaller payments, each time quickly paying off the credit card, is more tedious.
by psy1
Thu Nov 25, 2021 8:20 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Primer on Paying Taxes With a Credit Card
Replies: 874
Views: 164636

Re: Primer on Paying Taxes With a Credit Card

I have not tried this before since I was using a 2% travel card (CapitalOne Venture) and so the 1.87% fee didn't provide much of a rate spread. But now I have the BofA Premium Rewards card with the 2.625% cash back. The problem is that my federal + state quarterly tax payment is about three times my credit limit. I will request an increase, but I doubt I can triple it, so alternatively, has anyone tried to make a partial payment, say 10 days before the tax due date, quickly pay it off, and then make a second payment before the tax due date? Yes. An alternative is to send a large pre-payment to your credit card account so that it has a negative balance. For example, if your credit limit is $5000 you could send a pre-payment of $10,000 which...
by psy1
Thu Nov 25, 2021 8:17 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Any reason not to take a pre-retirement pension lump sum payout?
Replies: 10
Views: 1374

Re: Any reason not to take a pre-retirement pension lump sum payout?

I personally don't like my money being tied to the well-being of a company in the distant future. Who knows how well the pension is funded anyway? Were it me, I would take the option to roll the lump sum over into a tax deferred account like an IRA. That way you can control your own money with low fees. I also don't like they way they describe the inflation adjustments in such a way that you have no idea whether there is a periodic inflation adjustment.
by psy1
Thu Nov 25, 2021 7:58 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Primer on Paying Taxes With a Credit Card
Replies: 874
Views: 164636

Re: Primer on Paying Taxes With a Credit Card

I had a huge tax bill this year and put part of it (10%) on a card to get the sign up bonus. It didn't make sense with the nearly 2% fee to use a credit card to put the rest on a card. I could have signed up for more cards but I got plenty and currently more points than I can use. And while getting maybe 1.5 points on a chase card probably exceeds the 2% fee (since they can be redeemed for 1.5 cents or more and 1.5 * 1.5 > 2) it wasn't enough for me to do it. (didn't really want to pay now for more points that I won't use for a few years and their likely devaluation). The remainder I just used a bank account transfer. You might be wrong on the "not making sense to pay a 2% fee" depending on how you use your points. For example, i...
by psy1
Thu Nov 25, 2021 7:44 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Primer on Paying Taxes With a Credit Card
Replies: 874
Views: 164636

Re: Primer on Paying Taxes With a Credit Card

I have not tried this before since I was using a 2% travel card (CapitalOne Venture) and so the 1.87% fee didn't provide much of a rate spread. But now I have the BofA Premium Rewards card with the 2.625% cash back. The problem is that my federal + state quarterly tax payment is about three times my credit limit. I will request an increase, but I doubt I can triple it, so alternatively, has anyone tried to make a partial payment, say 10 days before the tax due date, quickly pay it off, and then make a second payment before the tax due date? Yes. An alternative is to send a large pre-payment to your credit card account so that it has a negative balance. For example, if your credit limit is $5000 you could send a pre-payment of $10,000 which...
by psy1
Thu Nov 25, 2021 6:40 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Travel insurance company recommendations
Replies: 13
Views: 2037

Re: Travel insurance company recommendations

We always get travel insurance for international trips. Beware that travel insurance usually covers COVID expenses if you contract COVID but not other COVID related inconveniences. Read the fine print.

We use World Nomads.
by psy1
Wed Sep 08, 2021 1:20 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Maximum income tax savings on incomes above 130K
Replies: 28
Views: 5941

Re: Maximum income tax savings on incomes above 130K

I suppose that another question is: at what age do you move from California?

The state taxes you to such a degree that a commonly recommended investment is buying California debt! And of course you own a house while they will tax you to develop "affordable housing." There are so many infinite loops in logic required to stay in California that you will either leave or worst of all stay and try to figure out how to rationalize that decision.

Just my opinion. I used to live there myself.
by psy1
Fri Sep 03, 2021 12:01 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: High income physician seeking financial and life advice
Replies: 202
Views: 42777

Re: High income physician seeking financial and life advice

Long thread and did not read all the responses. My wife and I are both physicians and have been in similar situations. Sounds like you have had a linear career and that is an issue. Think of your career as if you are a pitcher rather than a catcher. Instead of playing every pitch and every out until your knees and your back fail (the catcher), you start as a young pitcher with a good arm. You throw a lot of complete games and have a good record. Then you get beat up a little, injured a little, and get a little older. You have to reduce your pitch count, maybe transition to being a reliever. If you can master a knuckle ball, you can pitch a long time. Find your knuckleball. Maybe it is locums, maybe a sabbatical, maybe part-time work. You sh...
by psy1
Mon Dec 28, 2020 1:15 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Physician: Take partnership vs relocate?
Replies: 21
Views: 2966

Re: Physician: Take partnership vs relocate?

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 job is taxed >50%. If someone offered you a third job at a >50% tax rate with greatly added stress would you take it? Of course not. You will also see that you are probably spending more in taxes than you are saving. Also, your child (I think you said one) will grow up faster than you can realize. It's not worth missing out on. We decided to move to a low cost of living area with good schools and a safe community with above average compensation. We...
by psy1
Thu Dec 24, 2020 9:34 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Running out of cash
Replies: 132
Views: 13295

Re: Running out of cash

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). On the other hand, figuring out how to use the government to force others to pay for my health insurance every year is wrong. Especially if I meanwhile chose to live in the most expensive part of the country and take advantage of a bankrupt pension system that will no doubt be "rescued" at some point in the future in exchange for political favors. Nevermind the fact that I am a millionaire with a big pension in the waiting. I will figure...
by psy1
Thu Dec 24, 2020 8:54 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Running out of cash
Replies: 132
Views: 13295

Re: Running out of cash

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 get subsidized health care. I have already been getting subsidized health care for a while. Since you said you stopped reading early, I will mention that I have decided to go with option 3 (doing a cash-out refinance). This will reduce my wealth as I am taking equity out of my home and plan to use the proceeds toward living a more lavish lifestyle. I am actively trying to make myself poorer. As a side-effect, it should also make you think the worl...
by psy1
Wed Dec 23, 2020 11:31 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Running out of cash
Replies: 132
Views: 13295

Re: Running out of cash

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 gets us a family deductible of $22,000 in network and $44,000 out of network. In other words, we pay for someone else's insurance before ours kicks in. We live in the middle of nowhere (compared to Bay Area) in order to save money and be self-sufficient. So I am a bit unmotivated to help someone figure out how to drive my premiums further skyward.
by psy1
Sat Dec 19, 2020 11:30 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Investment Advice - Small Portfolio - 19yo
Replies: 38
Views: 2041

Re: Investment Advice - Small Portfolio - 19yo

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?
by psy1
Sat Dec 19, 2020 11:22 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Backdoor Roth-- Please speak slowly and use small words
Replies: 24
Views: 1792

Re: Backdoor Roth-- Please speak slowly and use small words

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 balance right away.
by psy1
Sun Dec 13, 2020 2:20 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: College finance qs: Bogleheads or College Confidential?
Replies: 25
Views: 1640

Re: College finance qs: Bogleheads or College Confidential?

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 generous to out of state students: https://scholarships.ua.edu/freshman/out-of-state/ Yeah, but Alabama is more of a ~150 school than a ~50 one. (143 to be precise) I can say fairly confidently that merit money at a top 50 school is disappearingly unlikely, and also very hard to predict even for top stats candidate (as are admissions). We just went through this process with the elder and, for example, Purdue and Pitt (both 50+ USNWR) offered him not...
by psy1
Sat Dec 12, 2020 10:45 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Young Attending Check-In
Replies: 10
Views: 2260

Re: Young Attending Check-In

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 retire before age 59.5.
Save for your next new car to be purchased in 2030.
Keep you old 401k (rather than rolling over into an IRA) so that you can do backdoor Roth contributions every year without pro-rata issues.
by psy1
Sat Dec 12, 2020 10:00 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Where to Retire?
Replies: 262
Views: 29395

Re: Where to Retire?

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 the winter, and home base in between.

Las Vegas is a reasonably good travel hub due to cheap flights and proximity to LAX or SFO for international flights - once travel is back on the table. I would stay in Las Vegas until the dust clears.
by psy1
Wed Dec 09, 2020 11:56 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Warm coat recommendations
Replies: 93
Views: 7200

Re: Warm coat recommendations

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 super windy or snowy then ski goggles help a lot. If your legs get cold, use merino wool long underwear and Gore-tex pants.
by psy1
Wed Dec 09, 2020 11:38 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Tax penalty if 529 isn't spent on education - how does it work?
Replies: 16
Views: 1825

Re: Tax penalty if 529 isn't spent on education - how does it work?

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 school. If you overinvest then you can change the beneficiary to another child or relative. A big negative from my standpoint is that 529 plans limit you to 2 trades per calendar year. After 2 trades, they freeze you out. In that spirit, the custodian of the account usually limit the investment options. Then there is the record keeping requirements regarding expenses which are not onerous but they are tedious. If you feel compelled (as I did) to in...
by psy1
Mon Nov 30, 2020 9:36 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Gift for departing physician
Replies: 47
Views: 4972

Re: Gift for departing physician

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.
by psy1
Sun Nov 29, 2020 9:23 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Fabulous free things
Replies: 39
Views: 4499

Re: Fabulous free things

Reading this post reminds me - there is no free lunch.
by psy1
Sun Nov 29, 2020 9:19 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: New Truck Purchase
Replies: 105
Views: 10237

Re: New Truck Purchase

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 considering.

With that in mind, I am going from a 1/2 ton to a 1 ton 2021 RAM 3500 SRW Megacab Limited. Should be quite the truck. Be aware that inventory on some of these new trucks is nil. In my case I ordered in September and anticipate delivery to dealer in early January. All a matter of taste, but I think the new RAM trucks with higher trim levels are the nicest trucks aesthetically.
by psy1
Sat Nov 28, 2020 7:17 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Retire at 55? What should I think about?
Replies: 36
Views: 6728

Re: Retire at 55? What should I think about?

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 agenda of plans, good health, plenty of money, independent children, deceased parents, etc. Each deviation from that ideal is a stressor and depending on the resiliency of the couple, potentially misery making. These are just factors to be aware of and work on. Of course, there are couples who retire at different ages, are completely broke, have no mutual plans for happiness in retirement, have multiple dependent and chaotic kids, poor health and with...
by psy1
Sat Nov 28, 2020 6:34 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Retire at 55? What should I think about?
Replies: 36
Views: 6728

Re: Retire at 55? What should I think about?

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 insurance for DW. Maybe she has it through work. Probably only need it until the kid is through high school or perhaps college. Evaluate how much you'd receive via her social security survivors benefits to support the children when evaluating how much insurance to purchase. I don't think it's necessary based on the assets already accumulated and the moderate spending level stated in the OP. I disagree. I would get enough life insurance on the wife t...
by psy1
Fri Nov 27, 2020 8:19 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Retire at 55? What should I think about?
Replies: 36
Views: 6728

Re: Retire at 55? What should I think about?

Firemenot wrote: Fri Nov 27, 2020 8:06 pm
psy1 wrote: Fri Nov 27, 2020 5:59 pm 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 factors to consider when taking a risk, I assume he is asking about what rocks might fall on his head when not looking. Otherwise, don't worry, be happy!
by psy1
Fri Nov 27, 2020 5:59 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Retire at 55? What should I think about?
Replies: 36
Views: 6728

Re: Retire at 55? What should I think about?

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.
by psy1
Fri Nov 27, 2020 5:30 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Switch from dual monitors to one big one?
Replies: 39
Views: 4613

Re: Switch from dual monitors to one big one?

I would stick with two monitors. Or add a third in the middle.
by psy1
Sun Nov 15, 2020 1:18 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: New Traeger Pellet Grill - Super Excited!
Replies: 38
Views: 4171

Re: New Traeger Pellet Grill - Super Excited!

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 with no smoke. To each his own. As for chuck: Keep an eye out for chuck eye steaks. Those are fantastic on the Treager. Douse heavily with a dry rub and then smoke until done. They are like big ribeyes. If you really want to try something good with sous vide, find a heavily marbled chuck roast and sous vide for 72 hours, then remove and sear it with a blow torch. It is transformed into a huge ribeye. Some of the best meat I have eaten. But quite the...
by psy1
Sun Nov 15, 2020 1:11 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: New Traeger Pellet Grill - Super Excited!
Replies: 38
Views: 4171

Re: New Traeger Pellet Grill - Super Excited!

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 want a variety: hickory for ribs or pork shoulder, apple for pork, cherry for chicken, etc. Experiment with the smoke. Traegers are great for smoking, horrible for searing. They just don't get hot enough. If you need to sear, get an induction burner and sear in a cast iron pan at the beginning or end of smoking on the Traeger. Try doing some things on the Traeger for Christmas gifts. Cold weather in WI is a good time to smoke cheese. Also a good tim...
by psy1
Sun Nov 15, 2020 12:40 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: New baby financial checklist
Replies: 3
Views: 833

Re: New baby financial checklist

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 would otherwise do: minimize debt, maximize savings/investments. Make sure you have enough life insurance that if you die, the others could replace your income. Don't forget disability insurance for yourself.
by psy1
Thu Oct 29, 2020 7:07 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: travel insurance + covid
Replies: 7
Views: 1032

Re: travel insurance + covid

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 you home, etc.
by psy1
Thu Oct 22, 2020 5:36 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: New smoker recommendation?
Replies: 103
Views: 9888

Re: New smoker recommendation?

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 to the temp controllers (generally useful for temps lower than 350F) you will no doubt buy many accessories which can easily double to cost of the original device. And you need space to store them. If that trajectory does not fit the picture, consider a pellet grill. Pellet grills are dead simple - just plug it in, turn it on, and set the temp. Of course, you do need electricity and occasional cleaning with a shop vac to remove the accumulated a...
by psy1
Mon Oct 12, 2020 2:54 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Mid-40s, basically nothing in taxable, please advise
Replies: 40
Views: 7194

Re: Mid-40s, basically nothing in taxable, please advise

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 to two (2) investment changes in a year which I find ridiculous. Better to put the money in taxable and have freedom. If your children are able to get into UCLA or Berkeley (not to be assumed) then odds are they could get lots of merit aid at some private liberal arts colleges, making the cost of attendance on par with in-state. So don't over fund the 529. Also, you are doing well but not rich. You will get no financial aid for college. So that pr...
by psy1
Mon Oct 05, 2020 11:55 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 457 v 529
Replies: 3
Views: 605

Re: 457 v 529

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 2 trades per calendar year so they are not good accounts for trading. That might seem fine when you child is 2 and the economy is stable but it is definitely not a good thing in a crash. I also don't like 457 accounts even though I and my wife invested in them. As far as 457 accounts go, government 457's are much better than private. I think (but you should verify) that government 457 accounts can roll over into IRA accounts if you separate empl...
by psy1
Sun Sep 13, 2020 9:18 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How much are your 529 Contributions
Replies: 133
Views: 11966

Re: How much are your 529 Contributions

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.
by psy1
Sat Sep 12, 2020 10:00 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How much are your 529 Contributions
Replies: 133
Views: 11966

Re: How much are your 529 Contributions

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 "deregulated" to a max of two trades a year. Once you meet the threshold, the investments are stuck. The rules are too paternalistic for me.

Yes, you can do some generation skipping taxes and so on, but I would rather just put the money in a tax efficient but taxable account and retain full control.