Search found 215 matches

by Lars_2013
Tue Sep 07, 2021 7:23 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Any Retirees in Norfolk, Newport News Virginia Surrounding Area?
Replies: 40
Views: 2792

Re: Any Retirees in Norfolk, Newport News Virginia Surrounding Area?

Thanks @TimeToGo The only con for me you mention (bolded) is the humidity. Now I've lived in upstate New York. Is it that type of humidity or is it New Orleans style humidity, don't even try to leave home humidity? Also what's it like during the other seasons. Is it worth the hot humid summer I live in Richmond, which I think has substantively similar weather to newport news. I'm not sure it's that much more humid in the summer than in upstate NY, but it's substantially hotter, which is going to make it less pleasant in June/July/August. Some random internet site (https://weatherspark.com/y/21672/Average-Weather-in-Newport-News-Virginia-United-States-Year-Round#Sections-Humidity) describes the weather as "muggy" much of the summe...
by Lars_2013
Thu Aug 05, 2021 8:37 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: I really want a car but don't need one: Please help
Replies: 64
Views: 7903

Re: I really want a car but don't need one: Please help

I wouldn't deal with the hassle of ownership, but I would explore using Turo or other peer-to-peer car rental options for day trips / weekend trips. I've used Turo and it's somewhere between zipcar and traditional car rental in terms of hassle (you have to take a bunch of photos of the car when you're done, but there's no going to the rental office and signing mounds of papers). Zipcar isn't an option in my area, but even if it was, I think Turo is likely cheaper than zipcar (and you can pick the particular type of car that you want to drive). Since it sounds like you enjoy driving, Turo has the additional advantage that you can have fun trying out driving a bunch of different types of cars. For example, looking at my local area for cars av...
by Lars_2013
Mon Aug 02, 2021 4:25 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Rent vs Buy but a unique situation
Replies: 16
Views: 1977

Re: Rent vs Buy but a unique situation

Another question we are thinking about: should we buy a starter home like the home we are staying in (about 450k) or a forever home (900k). The median income in the zip code is $55k but a lot of retirees moving in from out of state. Would we have problems selling our "forever" house in the future when the median income is low. But whats surprising is the 900k houses are getting sold in 20-30 days now. 20-30 days would be forever in my MCOL real estate market, where (at least as of late June, which is the most recent data I see) the median days from listing to a pending sale was 5. It sounds like a $450,000, 2000 sq ft home is a typical home in a higher-income part of the city. That's what most people would call a forever home. I ...
by Lars_2013
Fri Jul 30, 2021 7:47 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: EV charging solutions in dense urban environs
Replies: 80
Views: 5730

Re: EV charging solutions in dense urban environs

A friend who lives in Philly (not a super dense part, but no off-street parking) paid someone to run electrical under the sidewalk, install a little charging box, then repair the public sidewalk. Nobody from the city complained to them. And they have nice neighbors who don't block their charging station even though there's no legal obstacle to doing so.

That said, I probably wouldn't get an EV at this moment without off-street parking to enable a charging solution. I'd buy a relatively affordable fuel-efficient non-EV, then in ~6-8 years when public charging is more accessible, switch to an EV.
by Lars_2013
Fri Jul 30, 2021 6:09 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Another Where to Retire Thread - Waterfront Towns?
Replies: 110
Views: 14460

Re: Another Where to Retire Thread - Waterfront Towns?

I’ll put a plug in for the home team- Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. It will take more than what you’ve budgeted for to buy a small home w/in a 5 minute walk of the ocean, but I’ve been to countless beach towns all over the country and there are only a handful that fall into the same category of charm Rehoboth has IMHO. Just to the north, Lewes, is very hot these days too. I’m pretty sure it made the Coastal Living list of best costal towns that came out recently, and for good reason. It’s top notch. Just don't try to drive anywhere near there from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The Maryland and Delaware beaches are great from September to May. Not so much in the summer. We’ve heard of Rehoboth and Lewis and they look great but probably not within ...
by Lars_2013
Sun Jul 18, 2021 9:43 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Why Does No One Talk About Sales Tax When Considering Locations to Retire?
Replies: 136
Views: 10958

Re: Why Does No One Talk About Sales Tax When Considering Locations to Retire?

Because we are a very miserly bunch who never spend our enormous piles of surplus money…… I like this answer. This group has a lot of info about overall tax burden by state or local area: https://taxfoundation.org/2021-sales-taxes-midyear/ Property tax also can be a big one. (It’s all about your priorities, for example: https://taxfoundation.org/state-beer-taxes-2021/) Also, have you read any of this long discussion? Sales tax is in there... https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=295947&start=400 maybe it’s useful? An additional resource, if you want to look at total state and local taxes for people with different levels of income, are the state tables from ITEP. Here's the Texas one; you can find the other ones from ...
by Lars_2013
Fri Jul 16, 2021 3:02 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Kids Summer Job - Employer incompetent & taking advantage
Replies: 67
Views: 7818

Re: Kids Summer Job - Employer incompetent & taking advantage

there was no "pay stub" Depending on your state, pay stubs may or may not be legally required. In Virginia, they are (although that law is relatively recent). they would not be splitting tips because "that gets too complicated tax-wise" and thus he would raise the hourly rate from $10 to $12. Who is keeping the tips? If it's the servers/cashiers (whoever is given the tip), this is legal. If it's management, this is illegal and is a form of wage theft. Additionally, it became apparent that the required cleaning of the workplace would occur after 10 pm closing - but the employees are only paid until 10 pm. Many nights they are there until after 10:30, no matter how quickly they do it. So, they're not being paid for that e...
by Lars_2013
Fri Jul 16, 2021 2:35 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Child tax credit changes -- monthly refund
Replies: 49
Views: 5268

Re: Child tax credit changes -- monthly refund

corp_sharecropper wrote: Wed Jul 14, 2021 11:54 pm <snip>
you had no choice to opt out of at the time.
</snip>
For folks who want to opt out, or non-filers who want to submit their information so they get the credit (maybe not a lot of bogleheads, but maybe some of your friends/family/coworkers), you can do so here: https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/ ... ts-in-2021
by Lars_2013
Thu Jul 08, 2021 7:35 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: [Electric lawnmower battery replacement]
Replies: 108
Views: 10426

Re: [Electric lawnmower battery replacement]

Maybe the economics make more sense with smaller yards because the annual tune-up cost on a gas mower is relatively constant no matter the size mower, while on a battery mower you pay a lot more for larger capacity batteries. I had a black-and-decker lead-acid mower that I bought for $320 in 2013 and ran fine until early 2020, when the battery died. I swapped out the battery packs myself (cost was $65), but shortly thereafter the mower handle snapped in two places (I think that was caused by the people who broke into the shed trying to force it out despite that it was locked to a part of the shed wall). I bought a new greenworks lithium-ion mower for $370, which came with a 2.0 and a 4.0 battery. Since that wasn't quite enough to get throug...
by Lars_2013
Mon Jul 05, 2021 6:39 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Retirement Move to DC area?
Replies: 95
Views: 9094

Re: Retirement Move to DC area?

The bottom line is: We have an extremely fortunate financial and lifestyle situation for living out retirement in NC. But we will ultimately need family time that can only be found in DC or nearby. But at what cost, and where? Anyone else face this situation and are happily retired in DC? My grandparents moved to a retirement community in suburban DC (Riderwood, which is just outside the beltway near I-95 in Maryland) when they were in their upper 80s. They were between 45 and 70 minutes of my parents (who live in Baltimore), depending on traffic. After my father retired, my parents visited at least once a week, and were able to be present daily during times of health crises (they did stay over at my grandparents place a fair amount during...
by Lars_2013
Sat Jul 03, 2021 9:17 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How to secure house immediately after burglary
Replies: 22
Views: 3275

Re: How to secure house immediately after burglary

This is an important consideration, since my experience is that after a place is burgled and items of even modest value are taken, word gets around and folks keep coming back until something changes. When I've been burglarized through a smashed window, I've done the proverbial plywood and that did work (I screwed it in from the inside and put a 2x4 across it on to reinforce it; I also lived in a house where I didn't mind putting holes in the window trim).

Or just call a glass company as suggested above, and consider having more secure glass installed. Last time I was burgled I was a young adult with a high insurance deductible and filing a claim didn't make sense, and I didn't want to pay out-of-pocket for rush service.
by Lars_2013
Sun May 30, 2021 7:28 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Exercise during visit to Manhattan
Replies: 49
Views: 5066

Re: Exercise during visit to Manhattan

I wouldn't bother going up to central park, just bike or walk on the east river greenway down to battery park then up the hudson river greenway then go back home either directly or the way you came. Lovely, protected from cars, etc. (Walking might give you a better workout than biking, since it's pretty flat and I wouldn't go that fast since walkers / joggers use the same path.)

Manhattan riverfront greenways: http://www.nyc.gov/html/edc/pdf/greenway_mapside.pdf
by Lars_2013
Wed May 05, 2021 6:53 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Good time to buy a new house?
Replies: 18
Views: 2102

Re: Good time to buy a new house?

I have saved around 200k for a downpayment for another house. I am looking to buy somewhere in the range of 700-800k in “nice” neighborhood with good school district, rent it out for few years and build a custom home on it. Neighborhood I am looking at is a relative wealthy pocket of the city. I just looked up and its around 400k for a dumpy house and new houses go for 1m+ in the area. Its area where most business owners and professionals desire to live. If you're looking to buy a tear-down that you'll rent out for a year while waiting for lumber prices to come down, shouldn't you be buying a "dumpy" house? If so, you're looking at a $400k purchase, not $700-800k, right? I think if you had asked about a $400k house, you might hav...
by Lars_2013
Wed Apr 28, 2021 4:23 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Looking for best "value" in Patio Furniture
Replies: 61
Views: 9010

Re: Looking for best "value" in Patio Furniture

Did check Ikea online but the local stores don't carry much of their inventory. Example stained wood: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/aepplaroe-table-6-armchairs-bench-outdoor-brown-stained-s99289813/ We own other items in the same Applaro series (2 reclining chairs with ikea cushions and 1 gateleg table). We have them on our screened porch and I sit on one of them multiple hours a day (I like working outside). We just got them in December, so I can't speak to their durability, but so far I'm very happy. They do show pollen (I'm in the mid-atlantic and for the last few weeks everything has been covered by a yellow/green coating on a daily basis) but wipe off easily. I'm not sure I would hose them down on a regular basis, both because I wouldn...
by Lars_2013
Sat Feb 20, 2021 6:39 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Revealing net worth
Replies: 251
Views: 22554

Re: Revealing net worth

In order to talk my parents out of setting up an overly complicated charitable remainder trust and instead leave their money directly to charities, I shared with them my assets, annual savings, and annual spending (which is lower than my annual savings). Disclosing this information had the intended effect and they created a relatively simple estate plan with the help of a well-reputed lawyer.
by Lars_2013
Tue Sep 29, 2020 7:22 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How to hire a probate attorney in Virginia
Replies: 16
Views: 1299

Re: How to hire a probate attorney in Virginia

Just FYI, courts in my part of Virginia (not the same city) are way backed up for probate appointments due to the closures/modifications for COVID and other factors. In a case I'm familiar with, as of mid-August the first available appointment the probate office was November. So maybe call the court in Arlington to see what the situation is there before you take too many other steps.

As you've probably figured out, a house in an expensive part of Arlington is a non-trivial dollar value.
by Lars_2013
Sun Sep 20, 2020 10:22 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Federal Reserve average mortgage rate data
Replies: 6
Views: 480

Re: Federal Reserve average mortgage rate data

Sunrise wrote: Sun Sep 20, 2020 10:15 am Hi,
Does the Federal Reserve publish current average mortgage rate data online somewhere? I've searched but can't find. Like for 30-Year or 15-Year Fixed Rate mortgages. I know that Bankrate publishes data from a national survey of mortgage lenders. I was just curious how the Federal Reserve data would compare, if available. Currently in the refinance hunt! Thank you!
My understanding is that Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey is the standard source for this info: http://www.freddiemac.com/pmms/
by Lars_2013
Fri Sep 18, 2020 3:04 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: what percent of retirement should be invested in tax deferred vs tax free accounts?
Replies: 39
Views: 3840

Re: what percent of retirement should be invested in tax deferred vs tax free accounts?

There is significant asymmetric risk in the decision as to which type of contribution to make. The short explanation is that if you wind up under-saving, you'll be better off with tax-deferred contributions, whereas if you over-save, you'll have enough money no matter which type of contribution you made. This asymmetry is why I do traditional (pre-tax) in my employment-based retirement account. If I stay healthy, stay employed, and keep up with inflation in my market returns, I'll have more than enough money for retirement, and my pre-tax money will mostly go to charity (and never be taxed) while I primarily live on my taxable account, roth IRA, and (eventually) social security income. If things don't go well, then I'm likely to end up in ...
by Lars_2013
Fri Sep 18, 2020 1:53 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Elder abuse? Elderly woman sold home for far less than market value
Replies: 50
Views: 6209

Re: Elder abuse? Elderly woman sold home for far less than market value

I (and everyone else in my neighborhood) get postcards and letters on a regular basis offering to buy our house "for cash, any condition!" These are obvious attempts by flippers to find houses they can buy for under the true value because long-time homeowners may not know the true value of the home. If buying a house for well under true value is fraud, there's a lot of fraud going on in my neighborhood and lots of other neighborhoods. (I find these letters slimy and offensive, but haven't ever considered that they may be illegal.) Also, FWIW, tax assessment compared to actual value varies a lot on where you live, including (in some research) varying based on the racial composition of the neighborhood (see, for example, https://law...
by Lars_2013
Sun Sep 06, 2020 1:02 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Buying vs. Renting Principles
Replies: 233
Views: 31578

Re: Buying vs. Renting Principles (Sticky Thread Request)

US median household income is $61,937. So median American should only buy a $124k home? Median US hone price is $320k. Only 12% of US homes were under $125k. US individual median income is $33,706, guess single people can't buy a home at all. https://www.statista.com/statistics/505291/home-purchase-prices-usa/ That link puts me through to a sign-in page, but $320k is approximately the median U.S. _new home_ price. (see, for example, https://www.census.gov/construction/nrs/historical_data/index.html , which is the source for https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MSPUS ) Median home value & price is a lot harder to accurately estimate. NAR says median price is 291k ( https://www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics/housing-statistics/metropo...
by Lars_2013
Fri Sep 04, 2020 4:28 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The “nuts and bolts” of paying off a mortgage with bonds [Impact to AA & Glidepath]
Replies: 38
Views: 3288

Re: The “nuts and bolts” of paying off a mortgage with bonds [Impact to AA & Glidepath]

A month and a half ago I had a 70/30 stock/bond portfolio in the low/mid-six digits [with some in taxable and some in retirement accounts] and a mortgage that was a little more than half the amount of bonds I was holding. I sold stock mutual funds/etfs in my taxable account up to the amount needed to pay off my mortgage (I didn't have a lot of losses, so I picked small-ish LTCGs and am hopeful I'll stay in the 0% LTCG bracket this year). I then exchanged about 1/2 of that amount of G fund (essentially short-term bonds, I guess) for stock funds in one of my retirement accounts. I picked an amount to exchange that would still let me sleep well at night if stocks crashed (yes, I know I locked in gains by selling and paying off the mortgage, bu...
by Lars_2013
Sun Aug 30, 2020 3:27 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Need help deciding whether to pay off mortgage
Replies: 23
Views: 2964

Re: Need help deciding whether to pay off mortgage

Thanks for the response -- my thought was that if my effective rate (after tax deduction) is somewhere around 2%, that's target inflation (what economists hope to accomplish). So not really banking on inflation, but just that it could be a good thing if it stays at or goes above 2%. I paid off my 3.125% mortgage (which had 11 years remaining on the original 15-year term) last month because I'm not confident that even in a higher-inflation environment that interest rates will (1) keep up with inflation or (2) beat my risk-free rate of paying off the mortgage. My understanding is that real yields are currently negative across-the-board, and it's unclear to me if that is going to change. At the end of the day, I decided that holding the mortg...
by Lars_2013
Sun Aug 23, 2020 9:31 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Early September Hiking/Camping Vacation. Risk smoky conditions of CO or heat and humidity of Appalachian Mountains?
Replies: 44
Views: 3873

Re: Early September Hiking/Camping Vacation. Risk smoky conditions of CO or heat and humidity of Appalachian Mountains?

We do not want to drive too far so probably would not want to visit much further North than Virginia. Not sure where the mountains are the most impressive as far as remoteness, scenery, and the most likely to not be too hot and steamy for a good night sleep outside. The farther southwest you get in Virginia the less crowded it will be. In the mountains, the weather should be fine for sleeping outside, but then again I live in central Virginia so my standards for humidity might be skewed high. In NC, the Smokies are very wet even in a normal year, so if you don't like wet maybe don't pick them. There's lots of options for camping, including state parks, national parks, national forests, state forests, and private campgrounds. As I'm sure yo...
by Lars_2013
Wed Jun 10, 2020 4:37 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Charitable Giving
Replies: 28
Views: 2544

Re: Charitable Giving

The link livesoft posted has the answer about $50 grants to charities and the various DAF options.

I have a DAF at Schwab Charitable that I use to "bunch" donations for tax purposes, and it also is definitely easier than writing checks or doing online credit card donations for each organization, which is what I did in the past. My one issue is that my place of worship can't get verified by Schwab because it isn't registered as a 501c3 (it uses the religious exemption from registration) and the alternative options that were offered by Schwab Charitable were a pain in the neck for our volunteer treasurer.
by Lars_2013
Fri May 29, 2020 3:23 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Carolina/Virginia Summer Vacation
Replies: 56
Views: 4304

Re: Carolina/Virginia Summer Vacation

Not sure if your heart is set on Shenandoah or you have a particular reason for picking it, but I'll 2nd or 3rd the suggestion to consider hiking the trails off the Blue Ridge Parkway instead. Same parkway experience as SNP with the overlooks, etc, but the trails are less crowded bc it's farther from DC. Also, this spring BRP and the nearby national forest trails (and trailheads) have been open more than SNP. The most popular trailheads in both areas have been closed by request of the local county authorities (for example, you're probably not going to be able to hike Old Rag any time this summer), but BRP has at least stayed mostly open. [Edited bc apparently Crabtree Falls is back open. Which is surprising to me.] What was your overnight p...
by Lars_2013
Sat May 16, 2020 4:51 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Do you need to worry about receiving college financial aid in 15 years if...
Replies: 28
Views: 2781

Re: Do you need to worry about receiving college financial aid in 15 years if...

People on this board tend to focus way to hard on financial aid. There is a small demographic that gets it - low income families with exceptionally high achievement kids. Not BWRK (bright well-rounded kids), but exceptional kids. Because only the top schools can afford to provide grant aid as opposed to loans. This doesn't apply to the OP who expects to have significant income and/or assets in 15 years, but for the record this isn't true. Lots of "average" students from low- and moderate-income families receive grant funds in the form of Pell Grants. For someone attending a community college or comprehensive state university, Pell Grants will often pay all or most of the costs of tuition/fees. Since many of these colleges are non...
by Lars_2013
Mon Mar 30, 2020 9:13 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Do children need a social security number in order to receive a child payment under the recently passed stimuls package?
Replies: 16
Views: 1551

Re: Do children need a social security number in order to receive a child payment under the recently passed stimuls pack

Under the recently passed stimulus package, adults receive $1,200 ($2,400 for a married couple), plus $500 per dependent child. Obviously, adults need a social security number to receive payment but, would an individual need a social security number for a one year old child if he/she wanted to receive payment for that child? I can't find any information about that specifically - only that adults need a social security number in order to receive payment (which is already kind of obvious). It seems weird that a 1 year old child would be obligated to have a social security number. Thanks. The child needs a SSN or adoption taxpayer identification number (ATIN) to get the child payment. It's unclear, but the entire tax unit (family) may be deni...
by Lars_2013
Tue Dec 31, 2019 4:56 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How does $78,750 capital gains bracket work?
Replies: 5
Views: 939

Re: How does $78,750 capital gains bracket work?

The qualified dividends / long-term capital gains stack on top of the ordinary income. So in your example, each dollar of ordinary income pushes a dollar of qualified investment income into the 15% bracket. See, for example, this explanation: https://www.kitces.com/blog/long-term-c ... in-0-rate/
by Lars_2013
Sun Dec 29, 2019 11:34 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Census "American Community Survey"??
Replies: 12
Views: 1433

Re: Census "American Community Survey"??

You can call your regional Census office to verify the legitimacy of the form your relative received. No, in reality, they're not going to prosecute your relative if it's not completed. And yes, filling it out is a public service that improves the accuracy of academic research and the implementation of public programs. Summary data from the ACS is available in published tables at a variety of georgraphic levels and microdata (individual responses) are available at the "PUMA" level (geographic areas of at least 100,000 people), with the names withheld and some topcoding done to keep people from being individually identified. Census Bureau statisticians are investigating the issue of possible database reconstruction and reidentifica...
by Lars_2013
Thu Oct 31, 2019 5:18 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: [Just got married] Looking for ways to cut down on my budget
Replies: 80
Views: 7867

Re: How do people live on an average household income of 60K? Looking for ways to cut down on my budget

My partner and I are DINKs, so no child-related expenses. That said, we spend a lot less than you in many budget areas to live in a metro area with a median home price of $235,000 according to Zillow (so, about the U.S. average). Not counting charitable giving, taxes, and retirement savings, our spending is about $45,000/year. Our gross income (2 working adults) is ~$120,000/year. Payroll + income taxes are ~$20,000/year; this is low in part because we are putting over $30,000 a year into pre-tax retirement savings. We have a 15-year mortgage with PITI of $900/month (our home value is below the median for the metro area and we paid down some of the mortgage before we refinanced, so our principal when we refinanced was just $100k). This was ...
by Lars_2013
Sun Oct 13, 2019 10:44 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What % and for how long do you have to save to replace income net ofsaving?
Replies: 17
Views: 2613

Re: What % and for how long do you have to save to replace income net ofsaving?

For simple assumptions, this calculator lets you put in different annual return and withdrawal rate assumptions if you click on "show more options." http://networthify.com/calculator/early ... alRate=3.5
by Lars_2013
Thu Sep 05, 2019 7:50 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Pre-paid Funeral Expenses
Replies: 66
Views: 5643

Re: Pre-paid Funeral Expenses

My grandparents were told while they were still living, much to their disappointment, that their bodies were not wanted by "science" (which I think probably means they weren't wanted by the local medical schools / research institutions). They ended up choosing cremation. The fact that they were very clear with us about that (including in writing) helped us stick to that plan despite the push-back from the funeral director about how it wasn't in keeping with their religious / ethnic tradition (they didn't care about the religious stuff--they were secular their whole adult lives).
by Lars_2013
Thu May 30, 2019 8:24 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Buying a home and renting out the extra bedrooms
Replies: 22
Views: 3701

Re: Buying a home and renting out the extra bedrooms

I did this in my 20s and it was a good choice. I did buy a house that I could afford on my own in case my tenants flaked, etc. (It sounds like you could easily afford the place on your own if you so chose, so you have this covered.) You'll only owe income taxes on the net profit from renting a part of your home. Here's a summary from the IRS: "Dividing Expenses between Rental and Personal Use If you use the dwelling unit for both rental and personal purposes, you generally must divide your total expenses between the rental use and the personal use based on the number of days used for each purpose. You won't be able to deduct your rental expense in excess of the gross rental income limitation (your gross rental income less the rental po...
by Lars_2013
Wed May 29, 2019 7:46 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can I afford this 2.3 million dollar home?
Replies: 273
Views: 34764

Re: Can I afford this 2.3 million dollar home?

As others have said, this is really a question of debt to income ratio. You are talking about a house that is around 2x your annual salary. My loan is around 3x my salary, so that said you can afford it using the math I use for affordability. Lots of technical questions on here about stairs, and custom build, etc. which starts to take us out into the weeds a bit much. The math is simple here, you can easily afford this. Imagine someone posting that they make $100k/yr and asking if they can afford a $200k house... Except their income is currently $850k, with an expectation of a future increase, and the house is $2.3m. So it's like someone that makes $100k/year asking if they can buy a $270k house. Yes, they can probably afford it, but it's ...
by Lars_2013
Thu May 09, 2019 8:29 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Tired of a reel mower
Replies: 42
Views: 4836

Re: Tired of a reel mower

We have a Black & Decker electric mower with a removable battery that we bought in Aug 2013 after our prior mower (which had an integrated battery) was stolen. The battery seems to still be going fine. The battery is huge and heavy, so I'm guessing it's not lithium ion. The underside of the mower itself gets clogged with grass (especially if it's at all damp when I'm mowing), so I have to stop halfway through and use a stick to clean out the grass debris or the mower won't cut anything (and the battery will run itself out of juice). As long as I clean it halfway through it mows the whole lawn on one go (we have maybe 1/8 acre or less). The mower overall is 72 pounds (I just checked the old listing), and is very noticeably heavier than g...
by Lars_2013
Wed May 08, 2019 8:00 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Good town to stop on I-81
Replies: 42
Views: 5331

Re: Good town to stop on I-81

As far as I'm concerned the whole stretch of I-81 in Virginia is a series of surprisingly nice towns (maybe I just had low expectations before getting to know them better). If you're looking smaller, Strasburg (near where I-66 east meets I-81) is adorable and has some cute (from the outside) B&Bs (not sure if they're dog-friendly). Roanoke and Harrisonburg are older cities whose downtowns have a lot of redevelopment (in part driven by their nearby colleges / universities). Blacksburg is a college town that will be mostly empty (but with nice bicycling infrastructure) Memorial Day weekend. Winchester is essentially suburban DC but has a fun downtown pedestrian mall (a lot like Charlottesville, but less intensely self-satisfied/expensive)...
by Lars_2013
Sun May 05, 2019 8:56 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: OH no, ANOTHER "Should I pay off my Mortgage with Taxable acct" question, with a bit of a twist?
Replies: 40
Views: 5081

Re: OH no, ANOTHER "Should I pay off my Mortgage with Taxable acct" question, with a bit of a twist?

coachd50 wrote: Sun May 05, 2019 7:30 pmAs mentioned, upon retirement I anticipate between approximately $3,100 and $3,500 a month in pension income. Do you know what the income levels are to avoid capital gains taxes? Granted there is a great chance it will be different 12 years from now.
If you're single and your taxable income is under $38,600 (2018 tax year), you're in the zero percent tax bracket for long term capital gains and qualified dividends. https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefin ... ains-taxed
by Lars_2013
Tue Apr 09, 2019 8:13 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How do you find a non-profit job?
Replies: 4
Views: 666

Re: How do you find a non-profit job?

Are there nonprofits that whose mission you agree with and that perhaps you've been supporting financially? I'd look around on their websites for job openings and, whether or not they have something open, request an informational interview with someone in leadership to chat about your interests, the nonprofit field in your area, how you can contribute, etc.

In terms of job listings, a lot of nonprofits still use idealist.org . Some community foundations also run their own online job boards for nonprofits in their regions.
by Lars_2013
Fri Mar 29, 2019 7:50 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Lifecare community - worth it?
Replies: 33
Views: 3076

Re: Lifecare community - worth it?

GerryL wrote: Fri Mar 29, 2019 7:27 pm Some CCRCs will only accept new residents at the Independent Living level, the higher levels of care being intended for residents to age into. One argument to get these "younger" elders to move in is that they will have opportunities to build a circle of friends among the other residents. I am keeping my eye of CCRCs in my area but don't expect that I would want to move from my home until close to 80 -- and still healthy.
Yes, and to be fair to them this is part of their reasoning. With both of them healthy, it seems unnecessary to me for them to act now (they're in their mid-70s now), but it's their choice.
by Lars_2013
Fri Mar 29, 2019 5:47 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Lifecare community - worth it?
Replies: 33
Views: 3076

Re: Lifecare community - worth it?

I think they make sense if you're at an advanced age or health status where the availability of restaurants and other services on-site, someone who will check on each resident each day (using a system to make sure you've opened the door by a certain time of day), activities that you can get to without driving or walking very far, and assisted living / nursing on-site are important. My grandparents moved into a CCRC (with health care a la carte) when they were about 90 years old, and it provided both them and the rest of us with a lot of peace of mind for the last 7-8 years of their lives. It also provided them with activities (political clubs, movie discussion groups, etc) and neighbors that they enjoyed after outliving all their friends ba...
by Lars_2013
Sun Mar 17, 2019 7:50 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Anyone from Maryland? How property tax affects MD taxes
Replies: 3
Views: 710

Re: Anyone from Maryland? How property tax affects MD taxes

Here's the official website from the State of Maryland on the credits. It's fairly straight-forward. https://dat.maryland.gov/realproperty/P ... ogram.aspx

If your property tax is $10k, my guess is your gross household income is over the $60k limit for relief.
by Lars_2013
Sun Mar 10, 2019 7:05 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Generating income from Amazon Stock, raising cost basis and more
Replies: 8
Views: 1007

Re: Generating income from Amazon Stock, raising cost basis and more

Why do you need to raise the cost basis? Assuming Amazon continues to not pay dividends, why not just sell whatever number of shares you desire to generate the income you want rather than raising the tax basis on all of the funds?
by Lars_2013
Sat Mar 09, 2019 1:30 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Grantham: US will return 2% real next 2 decades
Replies: 173
Views: 20773

Re: Grantham: US will return 2% real next 2 decades

Well, that would be no good. I need 4% returns to retire in 15 years. 2019: $75,000 * 1.04 + $20,000 = $98,000 2020: $98,000 * 1.04 + $24,000 = $125,920 2021: $125,920 * 1.04 + $24,000 = $154,956 2022: $154,956 * 1.04 + $24,000 = $185,154 2023: $185,154 * 1.04 + $24,000 = $216,560 2024: $216,560 * 1.04 + $24,000 = $249,222 2025: $249,222 * 1.04 + $24,000 = $283,191 2026: $283,191 * 1.04 + $24,000 = $318,519 2027: $318,519 * 1.04 + $24,000 = $355,259 2028: $355,259 * 1.04 + $24,000 = $393,469 2029: $393,469 * 1.04 + $24,000 = $433,207 2030: $433,207 * 1.04 + $24,000 = $474,535 2031: $474,535 * 1.04 + $24,000 = $517,516 2032: $517,516 * 1.04 + $24,000 = $562,216 2033: $562,216 * 1.04 + $24,000 = $608,704 and retire. I don't even want to do t...
by Lars_2013
Sun Mar 03, 2019 3:30 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Should we move
Replies: 27
Views: 3579

Re: Should we move

The main problem I see with the new house that's a shorter commute for you is that it's (effectively) a longer commute for your stay-at-home spouse every time she needs to run to the grocery store, etc. With 2 or 3 kids in the car. Unless you're going to take on more of the errands with some of your free time, I could see this leading to some resentment. (And a larger house is more space to keep clean.) YMMV.
by Lars_2013
Sat Aug 25, 2018 11:22 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: IRA contribution limits
Replies: 4
Views: 1503

Re: IRA contribution limits

The limits are adjusted for cost-of-living with the caveat that they're rounded down (I believe) to the nearest $500. I think the COLA is required to be calculated similarly to the Social Security COLA, which uses CPI-W.
by Lars_2013
Sun Aug 19, 2018 1:40 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Sell taxable to increase basis?
Replies: 5
Views: 578

Re: Sell taxable to increase basis?

drk wrote: Sun Aug 19, 2018 12:33 pm TomatoTomahto beat me to it. Check out the wiki article on tax-gain harvesting.
Looks like that article needs some updating for the new tax law. Rather than saying "Up to the top of the 15% bracket, in order to take advantage of the 0% capital gains tax rate for this bracket" it should say something like "Up to the top of the 0% long-term capital gains tax bracket, which is similar to the top of the 12% ordinary income tax bracket."
by Lars_2013
Mon Apr 09, 2018 8:40 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Anyone tried a sunrise alarm clock?
Replies: 55
Views: 8128

Re: Anyone tried a sunrise alarm clock?

incowtown wrote: Mon Apr 09, 2018 8:22 pm I've had the Philips HF 3520 for 5 years. I don't like using it as a bedside light in the evening, but it does a great job in the morning.

The light itself sometimes isn't quite enough to get me up, but when the bird chirping starts I'm not startled awake like with a regular alarm - so I think the light is doing its job.
I have some random knock-off I got on Amazon, but my experience is basically identical to this. It makes my weekday mornings in the darkest months a lot less unpleasant.
by Lars_2013
Sun Mar 25, 2018 5:01 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: SE Washington DC job - where to live?
Replies: 55
Views: 5851

Re: SE Washington DC job - where to live?

Gray wrote: Sun Mar 25, 2018 1:56 pmFalls Church City, speaking as a resident, is low crime, walkable, family friendly, excellent schools, and very civic minded. A modern version of Mayberry.
Yes, Falls Church is one of the highest-income localities in the country and has excellent schools. But it's not where I'd recommend a 20-something new to DC live.
by Lars_2013
Sun Mar 25, 2018 4:59 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: SE Washington DC job - where to live?
Replies: 55
Views: 5851

Re: SE Washington DC job - where to live?

Unless she really wants to live by herself, I suggest she reach out to her new employer to see if they have a network for connecting staff to housemates and maybe rooms for rent in homes of other staff. I don't know any young adults in the DC area who live by themselves because it's simply too expensive. In terms of neighborhoods, she's going to pay a lot (even with housemates) if she wants a sub-30 minute commute and "not gritty" (by which I'll assume you mean shiny new buildings?). There's tons of new construction near the SW Waterfront and Navy Yard metro stops, which have the advantage of being south of downtown and therefore she'd have a very short reverse commute. She could even bike in nice weather. Do you really want to r...
by Lars_2013
Wed Mar 21, 2018 9:02 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: SE Washington DC job - where to live?
Replies: 55
Views: 5851

Re: SE Washington DC job - where to live?

Unless she really wants to live by herself, I suggest she reach out to her new employer to see if they have a network for connecting staff to housemates and maybe rooms for rent in homes of other staff. I don't know any young adults in the DC area who live by themselves because it's simply too expensive.

In terms of neighborhoods, she's going to pay a lot (even with housemates) if she wants a sub-30 minute commute and "not gritty" (by which I'll assume you mean shiny new buildings?). There's tons of new construction near the SW Waterfront and Navy Yard metro stops, which have the advantage of being south of downtown and therefore she'd have a very short reverse commute. She could even bike in nice weather.