Search found 1450 matches

by bling
Thu Mar 28, 2024 6:40 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Fidelity customer service: odd interaction re transaction fees; is this normal?
Replies: 9
Views: 515

Re: Fidelity customer service: odd interaction re transaction fees; is this normal?

NYCaviator wrote: Thu Mar 28, 2024 6:08 amI guess the best bet for transferring a Roth is to liquidate it unless you are all in ETFs?
Vanguard gives you the option to convert from a mutual fund into an ETF for a lot of their stuff, which is great for non tax advantaged accounts because you can transfer everything over in-kind.
by bling
Tue Mar 26, 2024 10:56 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Mega Thread on Speed of 2023 Tax Refunds
Replies: 52
Views: 6136

Re: Mega Thread on Speed of 2023 Tax Refunds

seems to be slower for me this year than prior years. efiled and accepted 3/17 and as of today the status is still processing.
by bling
Wed Mar 20, 2024 10:22 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Largest banks with worst rates....?
Replies: 33
Views: 1806

Re: Largest banks with worst rates....?

i diversify my banks like i diversify my investments. i have checkings accounts at big banks, credit unions, online banks, and brokerage accounts. they all have their uses.
by bling
Tue Mar 19, 2024 7:37 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Fidelity: using brokerage for cash savings or open separate account?
Replies: 7
Views: 935

Re: Fidelity: using brokerage for cash savings or open separate account?

sailaway wrote: Tue Mar 19, 2024 6:36 pm
bling wrote: Tue Mar 19, 2024 6:19 pm the brokerage account gives you a higher yield but it does have one disadvantage -- it does not reimburse ATM fees. however, last i heard, if you have over 250k with them, they can add this perk to your account.
Do you happen to know if that is specifically the brokerage account or aggregate? Seems Fidelity had some perk recently that excluded tax advantaged accounts in calculating the total.
i believe it's in aggregate. fidelity is really weird about this for some reason as you can't find any information listed on their website. it's the same as the free turbotax perk. some people have it, others don't.
by bling
Tue Mar 19, 2024 6:19 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Fidelity: using brokerage for cash savings or open separate account?
Replies: 7
Views: 935

Re: Fidelity: using brokerage for cash savings or open separate account?

the brokerage account gives you a higher yield but it does have one disadvantage -- it does not reimburse ATM fees. however, last i heard, if you have over 250k with them, they can add this perk to your account.
by bling
Mon Mar 18, 2024 10:41 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: TurboTax alternatives?
Replies: 23
Views: 2504

Re: TurboTax alternatives?

happy user of freetaxusa (also known as taxhawk) for years now.
by bling
Mon Mar 11, 2024 5:55 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What's your primary credit card?
Replies: 117
Views: 10618

Re: What's your primary credit card?

venture x. effective annual fee is -$5 so even if i use it just once a year to use the $300 travel credit it's worth keeping for other benefits it provides. savorone. no annual fee, free uber one membership, 10% off everything uber, what's not to like? amex gold. i can use both uber and dining credits, so effective fee for me is $10. however, i usually take advantage of 2-3 amex offers a year, so that $10 is easily taken care of. boa. i have multiple cash rewards cards giving me 5.25% on everything online. and i also have the 2.625% "catch all". us bank altitude reserve. tap is pretty ubiquitous these days, and so the 4.5% effective cashback on this card is pretty killer. my annual shopping at costco alone is worth the $75 effecti...
by bling
Sun Mar 10, 2024 10:57 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Bank of America Outbound ACH Fee now zero!
Replies: 22
Views: 2091

Re: Bank of America Outbound ACH Fee now zero!

i've had a BoA account for ages due to preferrred rewards. i've always thought the ACH fee was silly because Zelle was around. i just Zelle money to myself, which is free and instantaneous.
by bling
Sat Mar 09, 2024 1:03 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is HCOLA better than LCOL??
Replies: 62
Views: 3454

Re: Is HCOLA better than LCOL??

in a vacuum, in absolute numbers, yes, HCOL is better than LCOL, but this ignores everything else -- in particular, happiness. i grew up in a small town, LCOL. my parents encouraged me to "get out and explore the world". i went to a different state for college. after graduating i moved again. after working there, i moved again to where i am now. each time, it was to a higher COL area, but with it, also higher compensation and career prospects. by any objective measure, i'm doing very well in my career. i'm financially stable and on schedule for early retirement. but am i happy? that's harder to say. knowing what i know now, if i could go back in time i'm not sure i would have walked the same path. a natural consequence of moving a...
by bling
Thu Mar 07, 2024 6:44 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Argument against people that say stock market is rigged, so don’t invest in it
Replies: 80
Views: 5750

Re: Argument against people that say stock market is rigged, so don’t invest in it

what's the saying again? you can't reason someone out of something they weren't reasoned into....
by bling
Tue Feb 27, 2024 4:48 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Zelle Questions: safety, speed, uses?
Replies: 57
Views: 5605

Re: Zelle Questions: safety, speed, uses?

I like using Zelle to transfer money to myself. I link different phone numbers and emails between different bank accounts.

That way, paycheck goes into my big bank paying 0%, but I instantly transfer to a smaller bank paying 5%. Or...I need cash at an ATM so I instant transfer what I need to an account with ATM reimbursements.
by bling
Tue Feb 27, 2024 4:43 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Zelle Questions: safety, speed, uses?
Replies: 57
Views: 5605

Re: Zelle Questions: safety, speed, uses?

nisiprius wrote: Tue Feb 27, 2024 12:20 pm 1) I continue to resist, as best I can, apps which

a) are hosted on a portable device that can be lost or stolen, and
Zelle and Venmo are incredibly secure because the only way to use them is with my fingerprint. It doesn't matter if my phone is lost, nobody but me can use it.
by bling
Sun Feb 25, 2024 1:15 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Why Emergency Fund?
Replies: 80
Views: 8635

Re: Why Emergency Fund?

fourwheelcycle wrote: Sun Feb 25, 2024 11:38 am If OP faces a true emergency, it is very likely it will not be related to a large drop in the stock market. More likely, it will be related to an unexpected job loss, healthcare, or property damage event that requires immediate cash. If OP is 100% invested, they will face capital gains tax and a three to five day delay for their investment sales to clear. I recommend a healthy cash balance somewhere in OP's portfolio.
mutual funds clear next day. stocks clear in 2 business days. liquidity concerns with brokerage accounts are unfounded when you can take a margin loan to access funds same-day.

IMO, job loss is the only true emergency. with health and property, there's insurance. the deductible is known in advance.
by bling
Sun Feb 25, 2024 8:32 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Why Emergency Fund?
Replies: 80
Views: 8635

Re: Why Emergency Fund?

Third question is: emergency fund considerations are multidimensional, and involves how quickly you can get the money out and in a form that is acceptable to whomever you need to pay. I don't know the answer to this one, but it is probably not a good idea to have all of it in a brokerage. Think of the number of steps, and number of hours, it would take to get the money in a place where could get currency, or a teller's check, or Venmo-ready. Think of the possibility of cell phone service being on the fritz. No magic answers, but I don't like "all in a brokerage account." For some financial emergencies, you can just flash a credit card. For others, not. we're entering "what happens if a family member is kidnapped by a gang an...
by bling
Sat Feb 24, 2024 1:53 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: High Salary (>$500,000) careers
Replies: 244
Views: 29146

Re: High Salary (>$500,000) careers

From reading this thread it does seem like you have to be something of a star in CS to make >$500k. It was interesting on that levels link that engineer II was reported as a terminal career level for many people with highest paid at that level making $320-380k, and engineer 4 being less than 10% at that level. because it's true. the top tech companies make up less than 1% of all software engineering jobs but that's the only thing everyone ever talks about. the data points on levels also tend to be from top/second tier companies, so compensation is skewed higher. the average compensation for all software engineers in the US is $130k from most other sources. that's still a lot of money and is enough to provide a solid middle class lifestyle....
by bling
Thu Feb 22, 2024 9:31 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What does Schwab do better than Fidelity?
Replies: 305
Views: 50290

Re: What does Schwab do better than Fidelity?

i'm genuinely surprised how many people hate Zelle. i've been using it for years with no problems. the fact that transfers are instant means i can send money to myself between bank accounts instantly, which gives me tons of flexibility. without it, ACH takes at best one business day.

every single scam with Zelle requires an explicit action done by the victim.
by bling
Wed Feb 21, 2024 10:26 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What does Schwab do better than Fidelity?
Replies: 305
Views: 50290

Re: What does Schwab do better than Fidelity?

typical.investor wrote: Wed Feb 21, 2024 10:20 pm Speaking of which, one thing Schwab does better is phone verification. On several occasions, Fidelity has asked me for the codes sent to my phone for verification purposes (I was having trouble transferring an account and was somewhat expecting contact). Now I realize, wow they could have used that code to do whatever ...
maybe this is a newer feature, but Fidelity has it too now: https://www.fidelity.com/security/fidel ... e/overview

and on the tangent of fraud, Fidelity also has money lockdown. not sure if Schwab has the equivalent.
by bling
Wed Feb 21, 2024 9:56 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What does Schwab do better than Fidelity?
Replies: 305
Views: 50290

Re: What does Schwab do better than Fidelity?

This is not how Zelle scams work. Search for Wells Fargo scams and you will see how they do work. to save others the search, the scam works like this. 1) scammer texts victim, claiming fraudulent activity. victim replies, letting the scammer know that the phone is active/valid. 2) scammer pretends to be employee of bank and calls them. 3) scammer "verifies identity" of the victim by sending them one-time codes. what's actually happening though is they are linking the phone number to their own bank account. the victim telling the scammer the codes allow them to do this. 4) finally, scammer tells the victim to "Zelle to yourself" by putting in their own phone number to reverse the fraudulent transaction. except....their p...
by bling
Wed Feb 21, 2024 9:09 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What does Schwab do better than Fidelity?
Replies: 305
Views: 50290

Re: What does Schwab do better than Fidelity?

My problem with Zelle, there is no undo button. This is the banks super-power from a retail perspective, they can undo transactions that shouldn't have happened(in the case of fraud, etc). The banks purposely killed their superpower with Zelle, because they don't like using their super-power(it's a lot of work for them). IMO, that's not a problem, it's working as designed. Zelle is an electronic replacement for peer to peer cash transfers. and just like cash, if you get scammed, there's no recourse either. in both cases, you track down the scammer and ask for your money back. the bank never gets involved. How do you track down the scammer? Fly to Nigeria, Russia or India? it's a figure of speech. if someone manages to convince me to: 1) pu...
by bling
Wed Feb 21, 2024 8:55 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Tech Compensation
Replies: 39
Views: 5259

Re: Tech Compensation

yes, these numbers are real and there are many people who achieve them. but also realize that there are far more engineers that don't make anywhere close to that.

like other highly paid professions like doctors and lawyers, there's a huge range of income. if you're truly the top of your field, you will be paid handsomely.

that being said, i'd say the floor for a software engineer is absurdly high, so even if you're below average in the field, you can make a very good upper middle class income, enough to retire early with a modest nest egg.
by bling
Wed Feb 21, 2024 8:24 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What does Schwab do better than Fidelity?
Replies: 305
Views: 50290

Re: What does Schwab do better than Fidelity?

zie wrote: Wed Feb 21, 2024 8:52 am My problem with Zelle, there is no undo button. This is the banks super-power from a retail perspective, they can undo transactions that shouldn't have happened(in the case of fraud, etc). The banks purposely killed their superpower with Zelle, because they don't like using their super-power(it's a lot of work for them).
IMO, that's not a problem, it's working as designed. Zelle is an electronic replacement for peer to peer cash transfers. and just like cash, if you get scammed, there's no recourse either. in both cases, you track down the scammer and ask for your money back. the bank never gets involved.
by bling
Tue Feb 20, 2024 7:47 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What does Schwab do better than Fidelity?
Replies: 305
Views: 50290

Re: What does Schwab do better than Fidelity?

it won't really matter to the average BH, but in the earlier days of my investing career, when i liked to experiment/tinker with things more, thinkorswim is exceptional. fidelity's active trader pro is very disappointing in comparison.

i'm still waiting for my TDA account to transfer to schwab. and when it's done, i'll keep it active for two reasons:
1) to use thinkorswim when i need to
2) no foreign exchange fees on their ATM debit card

for everything else, it does appear fidelity has the better offerings.
by bling
Mon Feb 19, 2024 9:27 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: How to Plan for Health Expenses With Retirement Far Away?
Replies: 17
Views: 1603

Re: How to Plan for Health Expenses With Retirement Far Away?

probably a niaeve question, but is there anything to do other than to save enough to pay for healthcare insurance premiums/LTC? if you end up getting cancer it doesn't really matter how much saving/investing you did, you'll be wiped out. many people develop and get treated for cancer without getting wiped out. In addition to more effective treatments, insurance often covers the bulk of the costs. That isn't to say that some don't have serious financial hardship but it isn't a certain financial disaster. only if the treatment is covered by insurance, right? i'd have to imagine there are certain rare conditions that are *not* covered by insurance, and if that's the case it'll be out-of-pocket to pay for likely highly experimental (and expens...
by bling
Mon Feb 19, 2024 8:38 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: How to Plan for Health Expenses With Retirement Far Away?
Replies: 17
Views: 1603

Re: How to Plan for Health Expenses With Retirement Far Away?

probably a niaeve question, but is there anything to do other than to save enough to pay for healthcare insurance premiums/LTC? if you end up getting cancer it doesn't really matter how much saving/investing you did, you'll be wiped out.
by bling
Mon Feb 19, 2024 7:38 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Have you ever replaced a perfectly fine car just because?
Replies: 111
Views: 8666

Re: Have you ever replaced a perfectly fine car just because?

2) You make so much money that I wouldn't blame you for purchasing the vehicle. However, I don't think it's the best use of your funds. 3) When you get a newer vehicle the stress level rises in attempts to avoid having the vehicle get dings, scratches, road rash, etc. There is a direct correlation between the age of the vehicle and the stress level of owning it. That has always been my fear. For those of your who buy new or near new vehicles is this a stresser for you? you shouldn't let fear dictate your life, otherwise you'll end up depriving yourself. the best way to save money will pretty much always be to fix the car you already have. it's really not close at all. pretty much every repair will break-even with a single monthly payment o...
by bling
Sat Feb 17, 2024 10:16 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is anyone using cash for a discount on everyday items?
Replies: 83
Views: 6187

Re: Is anyone using cash for a discount on everyday items?

only time i use cash is ordering food from street carts. everything else, always on the card. if they pass the fee onto the card it merely breaks even with the points i would get.
by bling
Sun Feb 11, 2024 7:37 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Have you ever replaced a perfectly fine car just because?
Replies: 111
Views: 8666

Re: Have you ever replaced a perfectly fine car just because?

kumjan wrote: Sun Feb 11, 2024 9:26 am We can afford it (income 500+) but I consider that as a really bad choice. Wouldn't you??
you only live once. what's the point of making all that money if you're not going to spend it on things that bring you joy?

with that income you can easily afford a 100k car. a 65k car is on the "cheaper" side relative to your income.
by bling
Sat Feb 10, 2024 10:59 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What is your HSA strategy?
Replies: 52
Views: 6796

Re: What is your HSA strategy?

jeffyscott wrote: Sat Feb 10, 2024 10:54 am I think people feared having a $3000 bill in January, ignoring that an additional $3000+ was going to come out of their paycheck during the year when they chose the plan with a $250/500 deductible. There was some discussion around the employer making their full contribution in January, rather than monthly, to reduce this barrier.
yea... i have to remind myself from time to time that BHs are a tiny fraction of the general population. when a plurality of Americans can't cover a $500 unexpected expense, it starts to make (some) sense why people would choose to give control of their finances away to another entity because they know they can't control it themselves.
by bling
Sat Feb 10, 2024 10:12 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What is your HSA strategy?
Replies: 52
Views: 6796

Re: What is your HSA strategy?

like others, i treat my HSA as an extra IRA account and cashflow all of my medical expenses. i let the small costs slide, but keep copies of more expensive receipts.

i was a bit surprised how many of my colleages didn't pick the HDHP option. i did the math, and in my situation even in the worst case scenario where i max out all of my out-of-pocket expenses i was still better off on the HDHP. i guess people really hate paying expensive copays every visit, not realizing the "cheaper" options have much higher premiums taken out of the paycheck before it even hits your bank account.
by bling
Sat Feb 10, 2024 9:55 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Fidelity Tax Documents
Replies: 15
Views: 1747

Re: Fidelity Tax Documents

flyingcows wrote: Sat Feb 10, 2024 5:06 am I always wait to file until early April just incase any corrected 1099s roll in, although I've been lucky and haven't had that happen in awhile. Ill have everything prepared and ready to go while I wait though, I just hold off on filing
you'd think that is a good strategy but i received a corrected 1099 in JULY of last year (not from Fidelity)....

because of this, i'm contemplating filing for an extension, but then i'd be giving the government an interest free loan on my refund...sigh...
by bling
Sat Feb 03, 2024 5:46 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Anyone using SOFI for their banking?
Replies: 15
Views: 2845

Re: Anyone using SOFI for their banking?

aside from the bonus there's nothing special here. for me, lack of free atm reimbursements makes it dead on arrival...you really need that from an online bank. the rates are decent, but even there you can do better with a little searching.
by bling
Sun Jan 28, 2024 5:08 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Maxing out 2024 Investments - Anything missing?
Replies: 18
Views: 1864

Re: Maxing out 2024 Investments - Anything missing?

if your plan allows for it, i would roll your after-tax 401k into a Roth IRA instead of in-plan conversion. 1) your investment options are superior 2) it's not stuck with an "old 401k" if you ever switch jobs. i prefer to only have one active 401k at a time, and all of my options always had low cost index funds so there was never a reason to keep the old ones around. however, each time i did a rollover i was out of the market for a month because of snail mail. If I roll my after-tax 401k into a roth ira, will that have any tax implications? And when you say roll into a roth ira, are you talking about rolling it into the roth ira account I have outside of my companies 401k? If that is even possible without tax issues. no tax impli...
by bling
Sun Jan 28, 2024 10:12 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Maxing out 2024 Investments - Anything missing?
Replies: 18
Views: 1864

Re: Maxing out 2024 Investments - Anything missing?

your 529 contributions are also very high. are your kid(s) going to college in the near future?
by bling
Sun Jan 28, 2024 10:06 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Maxing out 2024 Investments - Anything missing?
Replies: 18
Views: 1864

Re: Maxing out 2024 Investments - Anything missing?

if your plan allows for it, i would roll your after-tax 401k into a Roth IRA instead of in-plan conversion.

1) your investment options are superior
2) it's not stuck with an "old 401k" if you ever switch jobs. i prefer to only have one active 401k at a time, and all of my options always had low cost index funds so there was never a reason to keep the old ones around. however, each time i did a rollover i was out of the market for a month because of snail mail.
by bling
Sun Jan 14, 2024 8:21 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Share your net worth progression
Replies: 4288
Views: 1082005

Re: Share your net worth progression

started tracking annually for about 10 years. not totally comfortable sharing real numbers, so first year is my baseline of "1 unit" of NW. numbers reflect last day of each year.

2012: 1.0
2013: 1.8
2014: 2.3
2015: 3.0
2016: 3.2
2017: 5.3
2018: 5.4
2019: 7.5
2020: 10.1
2021: 12.9
2022: 12.7
2023: 18.8

the snowball effect is very real. as i've gotten older my risk tolerance has increased as well. i'm currently sitting at 90% stocks. at some point my AA will become "fixed $X amount in cash/bonds", and everything else stocks, rather than a target percentage.
by bling
Sun Jan 14, 2024 7:44 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Emergency Fund Invested?
Replies: 21
Views: 1990

Re: Emergency Fund Invested?

socialforums2019 wrote: Sun Jan 14, 2024 7:27 am Does it make sense to keep that $100K EF sitting in HYSA or should I just throw it into SPAXX and up my automatic investment to $2K/week until its all invested?
SPAXX is paying 4.98% right now. plenty of HYSA accounts that also pay 5%.

it's like asking would you rather have 2 $10 bills or a single $20.
by bling
Sun Jan 14, 2024 6:36 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Preparing for a talk with my financial advisor
Replies: 78
Views: 10119

Re: Preparing for a talk with my financial advisor

51.91% PSEP U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF September (0.79% ER) 8.54% PAUG U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF August (0.79% ER) 6.49% APRJ Innovator Premium Income 30 Barrier ETF - April (0.79% ER) 6.08% VEA Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (0.05% ER) 5.88% VB VB-Vanguard Small-Cap ETF (0.05% ER) 3.63% DFAC Dimensional US Core Equity 2 ETF (0.17% ER) 2.87% DFIC Dimensional National Municipal Bond ETF (0.23% ER) 2.70% DFNM Dimensional National Municipal Bond ETF (0.17% ER) 1.92% BSCO Invesco BulletShares 2024 Corp Bd ETF (0.1% ER) 1.75% BSCP Invesco BulletShares 2025 Corp Bd ETF (0.1% ER) 1.50% DFSV Dimensional US Small Cap Value ETF (0.31% ER) 1.44% DUHP Dimensional US High Profitability ETF (0.21% ER) 1.37% DFIP Dimensional Inflation-Protected...
by bling
Sun Jan 14, 2024 6:18 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Preparing for a talk with my financial advisor
Replies: 78
Views: 10119

Re: Preparing for a talk with my financial advisor

I agree that his fee is reasonable, and I'd honestly be happy paying it just for the tax/business consulting. He's really helped me get everything in order in terms of insurance, a living trust, etc. does it have to be all or nothing? can't you tell them you like their services, but would like to manage your own investments now and would like a discount for that portion? and do you know if your FA is a fiduciary or not? since you've found this site, and starting to believe in its practices, the cat's out of the bag. you can't put it back in. one of the simplest, most boring things, you can do as an invester is to go one of the big three; fidelity, schwab, vanguard; and put all your money into a single target-date retirement index fund. 30 ...
by bling
Sat Jan 13, 2024 9:42 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Emergency fund - how many months?
Replies: 42
Views: 5742

Re: Emergency fund - how many months?

there's no optimal answer; it's different for everyone.

the opportunity cost is too high for me, so i don't have an emergency fund. my income is enough to cashflow the vast majority of unexpected expenses. credit cards gives me a month grace period. after that, i can tap into margin and/or HELOC funds. after that, realizing gains in my taxable account. and then finally, retirement accounts.

this is my "emergency plan". i've never had to go past credit cards.

at this point, my portfolio is big enough that it's pointless to create a bucket for an EF.
by bling
Mon Jan 08, 2024 9:33 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How are we doing? Mid-age net worth
Replies: 37
Views: 7980

Re: How are we doing? Mid-age net worth

I want to clarify, my post is not meant to be a humble brag, but rather I’m hoping to get perspective from others that have seen a similar mid-age grind. The savings are great, but life feels like a treadmill. Quitting job/early retiring also doesn’t make sense, since my work is all that I know to do. This needs fixing. yea, but how? i find myself in a similar situation. i've spent almost 20 years "focusing on the journey, not the destination". i'm on track to early retire but i don't even know what i would do once i get there... i could focus on a hobby or something but i know myself that in the back of my head will be that voice "hey...you know you could be earning $X an hour right now right?" just like the voice has ...
by bling
Sun Jan 07, 2024 10:19 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Is the Magnificant 7 stocks too heavily weighted within vanguards S&P 500 funds
Replies: 47
Views: 9835

Re: Is the Magnificant 7 stocks too heavily weighted within vanguards S&P 500 funds

... I don't believe 100% passive indexing. The stock market can go crazy regularly like the Telecom Bust. KlangFool How does your strategy mitigate this risk? Sincerely curious. Only 14.5% of my portfolio is in Total Stock Market Index Fund. KlangFool For the remaining assets in your portfolio, what rationale did you use to select them? I have given you the reason. It is 3 different investing strategies. You should start a new topic to discuss if you believe only passive indexing is good enough for you. KlangFool i think the curiosity comes from why you didn't go with the default answer around here to "stock market can go crazy", which is to increase your fixed-income allocation to accommodate your risk tolerance, vs incorporatin...
by bling
Sun Jan 07, 2024 8:41 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Where do you bank and why? 2024 Edition
Replies: 113
Views: 15422

Re: Where do you bank and why? 2024 Edition

BoA. with preferred rewards, their cashback credit cards are the best in the business. and it's a big bank so if i need a physical branch for whatever reason, i can do so. Fidelity, Merrill Edge, Interactive Brokers, TD Ameritrade. i like to spread my investments around and see the available features. my TDA will transition to Schwab in a month or two. Capital One 360 checking. picked this one up end of last year for the ridiculously easy bonus requirements. i might open a savings account for the current promo to expire in a couple days. Consumers Credit Union. this used to be my "public account", the account where i would write checks, pay bills from, ATMs. rates aren't really all that competitive anymore, so i will replace this ...
by bling
Sun Jan 07, 2024 8:29 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How are we doing? Mid-age net worth
Replies: 37
Views: 7980

Re: How are we doing? Mid-age net worth

I want to clarify, my post is not meant to be a humble brag, but rather I’m hoping to get perspective from others that have seen a similar mid-age grind. The savings are great, but life feels like a treadmill. Quitting job/early retiring also doesn’t make sense, since my work is all that I know to do. This needs fixing. yea, but how? i find myself in a similar situation. i've spent almost 20 years "focusing on the journey, not the destination". i'm on track to early retire but i don't even know what i would do once i get there... i could focus on a hobby or something but i know myself that in the back of my head will be that voice "hey...you know you could be earning $X an hour right now right?" just like the voice has ...
by bling
Sat Jan 06, 2024 10:41 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How are we doing? Mid-age net worth
Replies: 37
Views: 7980

Re: How are we doing? Mid-age net worth

you should post this in /r/personalfinance and see what reactions you get there :)
by bling
Sat Jan 06, 2024 9:01 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Super awkward new employer situation
Replies: 144
Views: 26849

Re: Super awkward new employer situation

Exurbanite wrote: Fri Jan 05, 2024 8:20 pm Thanks, whodidntante but I'm not sure they think they've done anything wrong. Or at least they aren't letting on...
sounds like they're trying to cover their ###. i'm assuming none of the communication about this with them is in writing. if there's an email chain, it'll be taken offline.

hopefully you don't need to interact with the director on a day-to-day basis, as that would drive me nuts since all trust/integrity is gone on day one. but if your immediate team and supervisor is who you'll be working with, and you never need to deal with the director anymore, then water under the bridge.

it's definitely still a good idea to be interviewing on the side though.
by bling
Fri Jan 05, 2024 5:14 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: preferred tax preparation software? [for tax year 2023]
Replies: 56
Views: 8301

Re: preferred tax preparation software?

another vote for freetaxusa. if the silly name puts you off you can use the parent company taxhawk.com which is the exact same product/pricing.
by bling
Thu Jan 04, 2024 6:35 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Sell RSUs after holding a while?
Replies: 59
Views: 6306

Re: Sell RSUs after holding a while?

shess wrote: Thu Jan 04, 2024 12:07 am
bling wrote: Wed Jan 03, 2024 11:35 pm however...for the anti-hold folks who would sell and pay the 15% tax without much thought. does your tune change if doing so forces you to move a marginal tax bracket? say, 24% -> 32% and most of that is from the cap gains?
https://engaging-data.com/tax-brackets/

LTCG floats above regular income, so they generally don't push your regular income to a higher marginal bracket.
Very cool. Thanks for sharing.
by bling
Wed Jan 03, 2024 11:35 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Sell RSUs after holding a while?
Replies: 59
Views: 6306

Re: Sell RSUs after holding a while?

Are you comfortable sharing how big the gain is, even just in relative terms, and whether you have any losses that could offset it? Did the stock go up 5%, 15%, 50%, 150%? At this point, I am not sure what more this forum can offer without understanding the scope of your tax consideration. i have harvested losses to make realizing it a non-issue. the gains are about 50%, so significant relative to itself. the gains would not move me to a different marginal bracket. i suspect you're right that this thread is probably near exhaustion at this point. however...for the anti-hold folks who would sell and pay the 15% tax without much thought. does your tune change if doing so forces you to move a marginal tax bracket? say, 24% -> 32% and most of ...
by bling
Wed Jan 03, 2024 11:03 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Sell RSUs after holding a while?
Replies: 59
Views: 6306

Re: Sell RSUs after holding a while?

Since you seem torn, why not sell some and keep some? That way you hedge your bets. There is no reason this decision has to be all or nothing. I would guess the tax benefit is almost surely going to be small compared to the divergence between your employer and a diversified index fund, but as you note it’s totally possible that your employer outperforms/you’d be better off holding your employer. I would sell now because I’m a passive investor and you already participate in further upside via your unvested shares, but you don’t have to listen to any of us on the internet. it may seem that way but at this point i just really want to try and understand the reasoning from some of the posters here. i have harvested losses from 2 years ago so i ...
by bling
Wed Jan 03, 2024 10:48 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Sell RSUs after holding a while?
Replies: 59
Views: 6306

Re: Sell RSUs after holding a while?

Everyone is asking you if you'd buy this stock with your cash compensation but you keep talking about taxes. Taxes mean you made money. You need to take your focus off the taxes and think about the fundamentals of the investment. After that, you can evaluate the most tax efficient way to execute what you desire. that questioning implies i have a choice with "new money", which is not the situation i'm in. i have unrealized capital gains in company shares not by choice . and because of that, i also don't really agree with sayings like "if you're not selling, you're buying" since i didn't have a say in the matter for multiple years. and now that i do, taxes are a consideration, which is why i bring it up. i feel like this ...