Bogleheads.org

jimb_fromATL

I have seen otherwise-smart people falling for high-pressure sales of these HELOCs that are supposed to magically let you pay off your mortgage earlier, or save interest because the mortgage interest is "amortized" (which most people just don't know what it means, they think they're someh...

jimb_fromATL

Not to hijack this, but does anyone know of a good HELOC calculator? Are you looking for something unique to HELOCs that a regular mortgage calculator does not do? Just a tool that shows my monthly payment for a certain amount of HELOC use, let's say I owe $10,000 with a $100,000 line. You can use ...

jimb_fromATL

I didn't look at the options that are options and are not standard, but I will say that I drove a 2018 Camry rental car for over 400+ miles and it had the safety features such as adaptive cruise control, lane change alert/assist, parking assist beeps, backup camera, navigation, reverse automatic br...

jimb_fromATL

I plan to purchase a rental property in a self-directed IRA. Other than the different taxation of the two, is there anything else to consider when I decide whether to fund my SD-IRA with traditional IRA funds or Roth funds. I have both Roth and Trad accounts to pull from. There is no difference in ...

jimb_fromATL

As for how to do it, just pick off those high-interest loans one at a time until they're done. Then go after the smaller ones. The problem is they can't payoff the loans directly - the lender won't allow extra principal payments. Take the $3004 loan. If they send a check for $3004 for that loan, th...

jimb_fromATL

Don't stop 401(k) contributions or contributions to a Roth IRA in order to build up the emergency fund any faster. A good rule of thumb is to have at least 6 months or more of living expenses (including rent or mortgage payment with taxes and insurance) plus all other payments and expenses. The reas...

jimb_fromATL

It sounds like you have a great thing going by living in one half and renting out the other half of the duplex. But with so little cash reserves even the minimum FHA down payment will result in mortgage payments so high that they are likely to prevent you from qualifying for the new loan if you keep...

jimb_fromATL

I have a 2017 Forester that i am just not fond of. the main issue is the comfort of the driver's seat. i am in discomfort after 20+ minutes that doesn't go away no matter how much i adjust. additionally the CVT is bothersome, the infotainment is awful and the car is just incredibly sluggish. it's n...

jimb_fromATL

I'm surprised I haven't seen an article on this before. For fun today, I was playing around with Excel and morningstar.com to look at year-to-year returns. (I use morningstar because it includes dividends) Just in case you were not aware of it, Portfolio Visualizer can do a mind-boggling number of ...

jimb_fromATL

Hi all, A family member who is near their retirement still has a home mortgage left for $250 k. They have $150k cash to either invest vs. recast to decrease monthly payments vs pay down principal. The home mortgage rate is at 3.75%. The investment part would be making a down payment towards a renta...

jimb_fromATL

Wow..... I like your breakdown and it does make some sense, however, are you assuming that I wouldn't be contributing the 6% to my 401 K? I would never do that. IMO it would never make financial sense to take a voluntary cut in pay by giving up the employer match. Actually, I realize now that for m...

jimb_fromATL

[/quote] +1 to those that recommend to pay down the debt. That is A LOT of debt on that income and a risk free after tax return of the interest rate may in fact beat equity return over the duration of the loan terms. This would also reduce RISK for which you have a boat load right now. I agree that ...

jimb_fromATL

Currently paying $1400/M on my loans and $650/M on my wife's private loans) Knowing what I know now, I'd contribute more to the retirement plans. yada...yada...yada etc. Thank you for your reply, I truly appreciate it. I will definitely check out those links. You offer a different perspective one w...

jimb_fromATL

This is driving me crazy. Here's my situation: Me 36, Wife 35 No kids Married filing separately (for student loan purposes) Salary: Me: $120,000 Wife: $59,000 annual Student loans: Me $140K fixed at 5.1% IR 10 yrs Wife $80K fixed at 5% IR (10 yrs) private & $90K government (wife's government lo...

jimb_fromATL

Hi, As background, I placed a 5 years worth of charitable contributions into the fidelity charitable fund in 2017. We don’t have a mortgage, and thus don’t itemize given the larger standard deduction. We in addition do small charitable things such as donating a 20 dollars worth bag of clean used cl...

jimb_fromATL

OP, you already own the Acura. Therefore, the costs of purchasing do not apply. If you sell it or trade it, you will not get a retail price for it. In other words, the comparison you referred to assumes you are deciding which of the two to buy now. Since you already own one, it is not a valid compa...

jimb_fromATL

As a boglehead, should I do currency speculation? no Currency speculation is more risky than stock trading, yes so I think the answer is "no". yes But is it possible to avoid? no Here is my situation: I am a norwegian with a portfolio of index funds (25% tech fund, 75% world fund). This q...

jimb_fromATL

Those schemes like the "Australian Mortgages", “mortgage accelerators”, “money merge accounts”, “freedom mortgages”, and John Commuta’s “Transforming Debt Into (his) Wealth" capitalize on a general lack of understanding of how compound interest works and how even a little extra money ...

jimb_fromATL

I have one, some people also refer to it as a whole house fan. Attic vent fans and whole house fans are two different animals. An attic vent fan is a small fan that pulls in air through the gable vents and pushes it out through the fan opening in the roof. It turns on automatically when the tempera...

jimb_fromATL

We have one in our attic in a condo we bought last year . The condo was built in the 80s. I have never heard the fan go on, so I am assuming it does not work. Anyone know how I can test it out? Is there a switch for it somewhere? It is also in a very inaccessible place. I would somehow need to lug ...

jimb_fromATL

This article at bankrate.com discusses: Why real estate investing in a self-directed IRA makes no sense Another article at Kiplinger's about the pitfalls of self directed IRAS. Here are some links to FAQs from the IRS about “prohibited transactions” and other problems with real estate and other inve...

jimb_fromATL

The great recovery since the second worst crash in history in 2008 makes it hard to evaluate any portfolio during that time alone, since you'd have to work pretty hard to NOT do extremely well. However, the crash of 2008 does give us a chance to see how various balances of funds might perform next t...

jimb_fromATL

Late 70's looking for a practical, reliable vehicle with lots of space for stuff. Sounds like a big negative for you is that a Soul does not have a lot of space for stuff compared to a lot of other cross-over-like vehicles its size. It does have a relatively spacious back seat, big enough for adult...

jimb_fromATL

I'm probably missing something blindingly obvious, but I was reading earlier today that mortgage rates in the early 2000s were over 7%. Given that average stock market return is about 7% over time, why was anyone (with a mortgage) investing in the stock market in, say, 2002? Because wouldn't paying...

jimb_fromATL

If you're math and detail inclined, HERE is a detailed explanation about how SSA calculates benefits. A biggy for folks who had fairly high income in their earlier years but only part-time or no income for several years before SS retirement age is that earlier years are adjusted to today's dollars f...

jimb_fromATL

What are your thoughts on taking bonds from 401k, loan to myself to pay 3% car loan off and paying back into 401k? Wouldn’t this make more sense than using cash? Effectively using the loan to increase my 401k balance? I doubt that the potential advantage is worth the risk, especially if you have en...

jimb_fromATL

If you are 31 based on your userid, the simplest answer is don’t pay it off. Yes, I am 31. Any reasoning as to why not pay it off? I got the loan in 2011 @ 4.5% 30 yr conventional, but never refinanced since then. I don't have any debt besides the mortgage. I am self employed, so I only have a Roth...

jimb_fromATL

I'm probably missing something blindingly obvious, but I was reading earlier today that mortgage rates in the early 2000s were over 7%. Given that average stock market return is about 7% over time, why was anyone (with a mortgage) investing in the stock market in, say, 2002? Because wouldn't paying...

jimb_fromATL

The no closing costs loan will cost more only if the borrower keeps the loan for more than 11 years, or longer if you consider the opportunity cost of forking over $3,800 up front. I am not a fan of buying down interest rates with upfront money, which is effectively what is happening. That is a pre...

jimb_fromATL

If you buy something dependable like a Toyota or Honda or perhaps a Lexus or Acura instead of a much more expensive novelty car or European car, you'll have a lot more money to invest toward early retirement. You'll probably spend a lot less money maintaining and repairing it for a long time too ......

jimb_fromATL

... converting the units to condos ... top floor .... 4th floor WALK-UP ...concerned about the resale potential ... not my idea of a forever home esp. with the stairs! ... only one of the six units has been sold (to an investor) and we would be the only owner occupied unit at this time. I'm concern...

jimb_fromATL

Do a little research on Harry Brown's "Permanent Portfolio." It has evolved a bit over time: Harry Brown Permanent Portfolio: Original configuration S&P 500 stocks, the longest Treasury bonds, Spot Gold, money market funds. Revised: 35% government securities, 20% gold bullion, 15% agg...

jimb_fromATL

Just to give you a feel for how some of the precious metals funds compare to popular index and balanced funds, here are some gee-whiz figures for some funds I happened to have in a spreadsheet. These include fairly recent YTD returns for 2018. Most people I know invest in 401(k)s or IRAs and other a...

jimb_fromATL

Go to morningstar.com and enter the symbol for your stock. It will give you the total return (includes reinvested dividends) for various time periods. You can look up the symbol for the S&P 500 index fund and observe total returns for the same periods, and make the comparison you desire. Mornin...

jimb_fromATL

Hello... I am going to be taking out a loan of roughly 380K for a home purchase. The lender is offering 4.5% fixed on a 30 year mortgage but 1% ( 3800 ) is due at closing. The other option is for 4.625 % with no closing costs. What is the preferred option ? The "no closing cost" loan will...

jimb_fromATL

OP, Thank you for this thread as it is also something I am concerned about. Especially as I have never purchased a house before. My situation is I will retire from the military in a couple years and move to a state where I have visited but not lived before. Because of this, my initial "home&qu...

jimb_fromATL

If you think CL is safe, why were safe zones established by police departments? Because people (typically buyers with cash in their pockets) are paranoid? In the context of selling stuff locally, how is craigslist different from the classified ads in your local newspaper 15 years ago? I've never on...

jimb_fromATL

I'm looking for DAILY index values for the S&P 500 or, failing that, another large cap US stock index with data BEFORE 1950. Anyone know where I can find this? Haven't seen data for that early, but just in case you were not aware, Yahoo has downloadable .csv format data for spreadsheets with da...

jimb_fromATL

I did not find a link in this thread to this recent news article that might be of interest to some folks. Opinion: Elon Musk is a total fraud More reading: Whistleblower Tesla sues whistleblower Tesla seeks to dismiss securities fraud lawsuit I'd venture that now may not be the best possible time to...

jimb_fromATL

SCAM Your instincts are right. The wording looks like a template copied right out of the craigslist scam text library ... and a foreign language translated edition at that. Think about it just a few seconds: Who in their right mind would buy an expensive (and subjective) item like a grand piano sig...

jimb_fromATL

I was given an offer to reset my rate to 3.8125% in September ... etc. etc. Huh ??? etc. etc. I meant less than 5 years /not months😀 Original amount around $230k/ around 165k left 30 year mortgage I'm still not clear on exactly when the rates change, and I cannot quite match your numbers for the ba...

jimb_fromATL

I know this information is sometimes verified closer to closing. If you are approved, I'd read the conditions carefully. If they verify employment after you're gone but before closing it will be a problem. The problem is mortgage fraud You are not required to disclosure your upcoming retirement, UN...

jimb_fromATL

I’d much prefer the mountains to the east coast towns during August. I see that other people have already recommended Huntsville and some other places to the west and northwest of Atlanta. In addition to Asheville, the Pigeon Forge, Sevierville and Dollywood areas of Tennessee, and Cherokee NC are a...

jimb_fromATL

It does not sound like you messed up to me. If I were in your situation, I'd be very happy that I could afford to invest so much, and I'd keep right on maxing the Roth IRAs every year as long as I could. I'd keep the existing taxable accounts, but might invest any future spare after-tax money in ind...

jimb_fromATL

I refinanced with Penfed less than 5 months ago at 2.75% and am due for a rate increase in March 2019 time frame to 4.75% I was given an offer to reset my rate to 3.8125% in September for $250 for 60 months. I would be paying about 7 months at a higher rate but saving more in the long run. I calcul...

jimb_fromATL

I refinanced with Penfed less than 5 months ago at 2.75% and am due for a rate increase in March 2019 time frame to 4.75% I was given an offer to reset my rate to 3.8125% in September for $250 for 60 months. I would be paying about 7 months at a higher rate but saving more in the long run. I calcul...

jimb_fromATL

I am retiring this month, but I may try buy an underpriced rental home. I have the assets in the bank to buy it, but if I want to get a mortgage, can I? Of course, the credit union where I started the process wants my paycheck stubs. August is my last paycheck. Should I tell them I am retiring or j...

jimb_fromATL

Next, 7% is not realistic for your 401k. However, the 7% return on the 401(k) is the wrong comparison, because it is a risky return. Paying off debt is a risk-free return, and buying munis is a low-risk return. I think it's reasonable to compare after-tax investments to risk-free returns like munis...

jimb_fromATL

So since it's worth less than the mortgage balance, see if you can just hand the keys over to the mortgage holder and walk away. Might want to talk to a lawyer about that considering everything involved including the trust and property taxes, etc. Seems like the easiest and perhaps most financially...

jimb_fromATL

Are you trying to decide whether to use a current dollar to 1) payoff debt with post-tax dollars or 2) invest in your pre-tax 401(k) or 3) invest in munis with post-tax dollars? Yes. Thank you for putting it much easier. I know 401k comes ahead probably but I want to know - by how much. Time is an ...

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