Bogleheads.org

mathwhiz

If you structure your investments so you don't need to sell during market dips, then I don't see why not. You probably would be wise to have a cash buffer of at least 2-3 years of living expenses. Dividends are also helpful for extra cash as are any small pensions, and Social Security. Just use the ...

mathwhiz

If $32k (about $16/hour for 2000 hours) can cover most of the basics including property taxes, why are many Americans struggling? There are enormous regional differences in cost of living. $32K in rural Alabama is a lot different than $32k in Los Angeles. You can probably live a comfortable middle ...

mathwhiz

What are the requirements for educational expenses and can they be overly broad? Does it have to be a college credit thing? Can you use it for educational seminars, training, conferences, speakers, "learn to code" boot-camps, etc.

mathwhiz

I have these similar thoughts from time to time. Leave my stable well-paid, if not somewhat uninteresting job, that has very good work/life balance and will get me all I need for my financial goals for a speculative chance for "more" somewhere else. The way I see it I have already "wo...

mathwhiz

Yeah, even if you get into a good college, nothing is guaranteed. You need to have to know what you want to do with that degree. I can't tell you how many friends who got a degree and ended up in a completely different field because they kept changing their minds or hated what they studied. You need...

mathwhiz

Call me crazy, this pandemic has shown me how I *don’t* want to live in retirement. Never going outside, eating every meal at home, no travel? No thanks. That's leanfire. Some people want it but most don't. You want to budget for travel / eating out etc etc as you found out. For us, it's not like w...

mathwhiz

We are targeting the amount of 4 years at an in-state University but may end having a lot left over and if we save it for the grandkids or take the penalty and just add it to our travel fund, that's OK. Our child while smart is not on the Ivy League college track at school, just does not have the in...

mathwhiz

I'm amazed you managed to spend $40k a year with no debt and a paid off house... no travel, no eating out, no impulse buys :confused Outside of rent and travel related expenses I'm being extravagant if I spend $800 a month and most of that would be from eating out. I know I'm a bit thrifty, but I'm...

mathwhiz

My wife and I have been both working from home during the pandemic the last 9 months and have taken COVID very seriously but it has provided a nice "test drive" to a lean retirement I suppose since we've been mostly home bound. We've long been planning on building our portfolio and retirem...

mathwhiz

How about finding a part-time contract or low stress remote job and find a way to optimize your income stress level? Do you have the skill set and marketability to work on projects for a few months a year and get $50k to $100k in income and just take the rest of the year off or work 20 hours a week ...

mathwhiz

It can get pretty complicated but strongest signal does not necessarily mean the best speeds/service. It all depends on tower congestion and the bands in the specific area. For example, AT&T uses Band 12 700mhz as their backbone in rural areas. 700mhz penetrates distances 2x and trees and inside...

mathwhiz

We live in a rural/exurb area on acreage. Power grid is very shaky to the point we lose power at least once a month for an hour to up to 12 hours for any old garden variety storm or cold front coming in. We also live in a hurricane prone part of the country (Florida). For us a standby propane genera...

mathwhiz

So, here's the deal. AT&T Hotspot MVNO's are all heavily throttled. Your best option is Cricket (owned by AT&T). You can go to a cricket store and ask about their hotspot and purchase 50GB of data for $50 a month. Or if you have a cricket phone, their $55/month unlimited plan has 15GB of hot...

mathwhiz

This is one of the most personal decisions that exist, but for the record, I agree with you. Most new builds are too big for me. Extra rooms to clean, everybody has their own hang out room in addition to the bedroom, so there is less family time... And I certainly don't understand having a formal d...

mathwhiz

The best theory I read for reduced recent deaths is those getting infected now are getting less viral load in their system likely due to social distancing, widespread mask usage, as well as some seasonal effect with warmer temperatures and higher humidity levels making outdoor exposure to the virus ...

mathwhiz

We live out in the country with no wired option for service. No Cable. No DSL. We use hughesnet satellite internet. Speeds are 25mbps/3mbps upload with a 50 GB monthly data cap then the speeds throttle down to 1 mbps-3 mbps. In practice, the satellite beams are congested so you never see the 25 mbps...

mathwhiz

The businesses being hurt badly are largely the very small mom and pops that are not publicly traded or are otherwise companies that have long been in financial distress....JC Penny, Hertz that have finally fallen into bankruptcy. The stock market as represented by the S&P 500 are the strongest ...

mathwhiz

Rent a car and plan a fun route stopping off at isolated rural national and state parks along the way. Bring a lot of lysol spray and disinfectant wipes and a mask and sanitize any hotel rooms and enjoy your trip!

mathwhiz

We just refinanced to 2.625/15 year and hope to pay the house off within 5 years. It's an insurance policy for us to manage our cash flow since our jobs are such that we could be laid off as we approach 50 and our skills fall out of favor in the market (i.e. too expensive).

mathwhiz

Have you tried an outside antenna with an inside signal booster? The whole set up and installation can cost a little bit of money but if you are located within 10 miles of a cellular tower there is usually a way to ensure adequate cellular reception at your home. I've seen people go from 1 bar and n...

mathwhiz

I'll also check into the resellers, which even at $100/month would be worth it to eliminate the $150/month DirecTV bill. I've done some research on this but the companies I found didn't get very good reviews. There's usually a local electronics store in rural areas that installs TV antennas, antenn...

mathwhiz

There were unexpected layoffs in the company last week and everyone is on edge. Management was saying literally days before that everyone was safe and the company was strong. Apparently, they only found out from Corporate HR about the layoffs the morning they occurred and were blindsided as well. Fr...

mathwhiz

If you are buying a home really pay close attention to the age and condition of the home for hurricanes. New construction built after 2001 has an automatic discount for insurance. Older construction needs to be hardened and retrofitted with special inspections and roof tie downs to receive these hur...

mathwhiz

Maybe it is because I've been watching Netflix's Ozark but that was my first thought as well. Some shady things going on and possibly money laundering. Firing 2 controllers before No bueno. Look elsewhere unless you are prepared to be an FBI informant and take the company down for some big reward. ....

mathwhiz

Hotspots on your current phone is probably the most economical. If you need more data, there are internet resellers that sell unlimited plans from all the major carriers including T Mobile with LTE/wifi routers. They can be pricey as service is over $100 a month but you can use hundreds of gigabtyes...

mathwhiz

The Vanguard Wellington Income fund at 60% Bonds and 40% stocks has some extraordinary long term returns as well as low fees for its risk profile. I would feel comfortable having a large portion of my money in it if I have already won the game.

mathwhiz

Yes, some states such as New York are very aggressive at investigating seasonal residents who say they live in Florida 6 months +1. They will demand utility bills, flight records, medical records for doctor appointments to prove you actually live in Florida. I think being in Florida 6 months +1 day ...

mathwhiz

Here are a few places that haven't been discussed you might think about. Marco Island south of Naples has a large beach condo market with reasonable valuations and when you are not using your condo some places allow you to rent them out weekly or monthly. There is still seasonable demand in the hot ...

mathwhiz

1000 times yes. We just refinanced a 15 year/2.625%. It was a 2 months ordeal with endless delays because of the pandemic and problems getting an appraisal. NEVER EVER AGAIN. At this point, every .125% only saves me $10 a month. Even at 2.0%, I'm only saving $50 a month. It would have to get to <1.0...

mathwhiz

Bogle Had a Point on International Stocks

Vanguard's founder didn't see the need for them, and the markets haven't shown reason to suggest he was wrong.

https://www.morningstar.com/articles/97 ... nal-stocks

mathwhiz

If you own a Samsung Galaxy smartphone, having a samsung smart tv makes displaying content on the TV seemless. They have a smart view function where you can easily show family pictures or videos onto the tv (also any video content from the phone youtube, netflix, amazon, etc.).

mathwhiz

From what I read, high temperature, high humidity, and UV sunlight limits the transmission of coronaviruses in general although research into COVID19 and temperature has been more inconclusive. The problem is that because COVID19 is a novel virus and there is no immunity in the general population th...

mathwhiz

Let's say you had a net worth of $20M and didn't have to work, how would your life be different? That's what I would think about a lot. What net worth do you need to fufill your life goals and something to retire to. And then execute a plan to reach that number and retire.

mathwhiz

It sounds like you don't want to work. Almost every suggestion to work is responded by no, I can't, I don't want to, and so on and so forth. I think you know you want to retire and you have a seven figure portfolio so accept you won the game and retire. If you need to manage your cash flow, that may...

mathwhiz

It depends on the age of your house and your proximity to water. Newer homes 10 miles inland away from the flood zones have very reasonable premiums. Waterfront homes and oceanfront condos can be pricey. Florida. You save on property taxes, no state income taxes, and there are many affordable home a...

mathwhiz

The big question is if there is a second wave in the Fall. Dr. Fauci says it is likely that this will become a seasonal virus and Brazil and South America are quickly becoming the hotspots of the World as their Winter approaches. We might get a recovery in the summer and people let their guards down...

mathwhiz

Florida. You save on property taxes, no state income taxes, and there are many affordable home areas. Favorite areas of mine are St. Augustine and Sarasota.

mathwhiz

Look into remote work options with your current employer for a lateral or other kind of job, even with a substantial paycut. The old rules are being re-written because of the pandemic. Just be honest and upfront when you finally decide you are doing this and say, I need to move closer to my wife's f...

mathwhiz

If you would like to work, you can choose to be picky right now. There is a HUGE revolutionary change right now towards remote work in IT. I'd look online for jobs you can do in the comfort of your own home. You have a huge nationwide job search to look at as a remote employee and you are in a posit...

mathwhiz

I think some manufacturing may come back but it will be through laws and mandates by the government. The coronavirus has showed that too much of our supply chain in important pharmaceuticals, PPE, testing reagents, ventilators are tied up in an overseas supply chain that is a national security risk....

mathwhiz

I absolutely hate working from home and I don't think I'm the only one. I don't know what the net result will be, but I don't think a dramatic shift toward WFH is going to be simple for companies to navigate from a recruiting standpoint for a lot of mid to late-career white collar jobs. I would hav...

mathwhiz

We are now all 100% remote work from home employees. I'm happy to have my job but a little anxious about how this set up will play out long term for the organization and my career. I think promotion options will now be further consolidated in the home office where people will still meet and congrega...

mathwhiz

$60 a trip for a multi acreage property, although only about 1 acre to mow including edging and weed eating along the entire property fence line. 1 guy on a zero turn mower and gas powered weed wacker does it all in about 90 minutes. I don't get too picky about the grass. We live rural so only call ...

mathwhiz

This is all very normal and healthy reaction to work for people as they age and their priorities change with family and kids. Not everyone wants to climb the corporate ladder anymore. And that's expected! Organization and compensation charts are like a pyramid structure. As you climb the pyramid, fe...

mathwhiz

The biggest change has been going on full time telework. I kind of like it saving a lot of time and money on not having a commute and being disconnected from petty office gossip and dramas. I'm hoping this flexible telework policy continues after the virus has subsided as it could be a win-win for e...

mathwhiz

As the suits say, never let a good crisis go to waste. A lot of employers are considering drastic layoffs and right sizing their organization under the pretense and cover of corona virus, including companies that have been poorly run for years especially larger retailers that they think now is a goo...

mathwhiz

It looks like there is lack of demand for mortgage backed securities along with banks/lenders overloaded with inquiries giving way to a perfect storm. Mortgage rates are up to 0.75% higher than last week! There appears to have been a very short window of the record rates before it all closed down. h...

mathwhiz

locked at 2.625% 15 year refinance with a local mortgage broker, no points, no fees. used them before. no nonsense and most importantly i get a free 45 day lock period where I can float down any time if rates decrease. I'm hoping I can get lower but happy where I am if this is best I can get. I sugg...

mathwhiz

The vast majority of people do not retire with a 7 figure portfolio and a significant percentage don't even retire with a 6 figure one. They pretty much "make it work" between social security, savings, any pensions, or part-time employment. Some have large equity gains in their home they a...

mathwhiz

Prescription drugs for chronic conditions seem to be the biggest cost driver for GEHA, BCBS,etc. Almost all the cheaper plans have skimpy drug benefits that would disadvantage those that require monthly drugs.

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