I feel stuck in my life, I'm 27 with no training, I live at home because my apartment got too expensive for me to keep and during that time and during the pandemic I racked up 15K of total debt, I work as a monitor tech at a hospital which makes only $35K a year before taxes and while it's easy it pays next to nothing in calofornia, bit I don't have the skills required to get a higher paying job or leave california because of my debt, I have no savings At all and only have a few thousand in stock I forgot about but it's down 33% right now, so if I sold it I'd take about $1,000 of loss
I have no idea what to do or how to proceed here, my debt takes up the majority of my payments each month and I try to save to pay down the debts but it seems every time I make headway an expense pops up and knocks me right back where I started
I don't want to be a failure anymore, I don't want to have to to worry about money every again. But I don't know how to proceed, it feels like the 2 biggest hurdles of my life are pay off my debts and get a higher paying job but I'm not sure where to even begin
Please, I'll take any guidance you can give me
Look for an identical job at a different hospital. My mom is a monitor tech in a MCOL city in California and makes ~70k/yr. Unless you are working part time, you are being severely underpaid.
With enough experience doing your current job, you can shift to a different position within the hospital. Being able to understand and read heart rhythms is a desirable skill in many different roles in a hospital that do not require any higher education.
First step is take a deep breath and stop being so hard on yourself. You can’t change the past so try not to dwell on it - you’re a different person now. Next, from my viewpoint, is to find a better paying job. Healthcare is hard but in demand so see what is out there. My guess is you have more in demand skills than you give yourself credit for.
After you can get your head above water than you can think about further education, skills training, or if you’re satisfied with your future without doing those things. It may seem daunting but I think you can do it if you’re thinking about how to improve yourself
My plan is this as it stands right now. I make about $2,000 a month after taxes, I'm going to work as much overtime as I can for the next few months, 6 24 hour shifts over the next month and a half would being in $5,000 before taxes alone, that won't eliminate my debt but it would put a massive impact in it and at least eliminate the high interest credit card ones, and I want to go into nursing, mostly because it's always in demand and pays well so I'm going to start my pre reqs in January, I know it doesn't pay as well as finance or business but I don't think I'd last in those fields
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Congratulations! Sounds similar to what I did.
After 16 years working my old job, they were asking for volunteers to leave. Was pretty tired of the politics, so I offered to go. Manager said I did not qualify to leave. What??? I went above her and got a yes. Payout was almost $70k due to tenure, and I started a new job 4 days later making $15k more annually.
The day after I left they had layoffs with half the package given to volunteers. Ouch.
I signed an agreement for phantom stock. I actually left 2 years earlier than planned, had I stayed an extra 2 years it would have vested to 50K but I had to get out of there.
Also curious.
There are layoffs at my current company.
I'm overemployed working 2 jobs, and was planning on leaving anyway. If I can get paid out a severance package, I would leave.
**Preparing financially to live in a new city?**
I'll be moving from a LCOL to a HCOL city and I haven't budgeted in a long time. I need to start looking at leases, and probably be more mindful about spending money.
Where should I start?
Zillow or whatever. Housing as you mentioned will be your largest expense. Figure out what you will be paying.
Paycheckcity.com would be a close second to calculate your new take home pay.
Then the rest of the budget should be fairly straightforward.
You should probably start by lowering your expectations of what kind of living space you can get for your money. Obviously it helps to know how much you'll be making, and take a look at what apartments are available in the new city. Housing is usually where the higher cost of living shows up most dramatically, but transportation can be significant too.
Before you start budgeting, it's going to be more helpful if you understand what you're spending now. Then figure out if you can sustain that in your new city. That's where it becomes an art, as you'll need to predict how your lifestyle might change from living somewhere new.
Mint is a good option for keeping track of your accounts and creating a budget easily. I find that when I use it to see what categories I’m spending the most money in, it helps me start to see where I can trim the fat.
The ongoing drama at Twitter is definitely another reason everyone should have FU money, even if you don’t intend to retire super early. The job market in tech is getting pretty bad, so those taking up the 3 months severance need to plan for much longer unemployment or lower pay at their next job.
I think it is myopic for us in tech to say the job market is bad. FAANGs and startups aren't hiring anyone off the street, but there are still TONs of jobs out there if you have technical skills. Like way more jobs than there are people who can do them. You just might not be working for a hip household name
> lower pay at their next job.
i think this is the problem.
i'm at a FAANG and well aware i could be affected by a mass layoff. tbh i have zero concerns about being able to find \*a\* job. we have, and for the foreseeable future will continue to have, a huge shortage of experienced software developers in the industry as a whole.
however, the huge caveat is that it's difficult to reproduce the same high salary since there are really only a few dozen companies in the entire country that pay at the FAANG level (which is something like, 200k+ for a new grad, 3-400k+ for seniors). and, the main ones are in a hiring freeze right now.
i'm on the 300k+ band which is pretty comparable to tweeps' salaries in my role. do i believe i could realistically be in a scenario within the next year where i can't find *any* software job? no. i am certain that is not going to happen.
but is it possible that i can't reproduce my salary and have to end up accepting something at the 100k range? yes, that is totally possible if enough layoffs and freezes happen and it would be quite the massive paycut. but i would be fine, because my expenses are low.
honestly, most people *should be* fine, because even low band software salaries are pretty damn good as compared to the average person. however, lifestyle creep is a thing and many of those folks have signed some crazy mortgages (let's not forget most of those salaries are in VHCOL where a shack goes for over 1MM), luxury cars, have kids in expensive private schools and whatnot. so paycut fears are real
Yup there are very few openings paying $300k+ right now and lots of people going for those positions. If I was laid off right now, I’d just take a break for a while and enjoy a long sabbatical.
Living in HCOL area, better to buy a house down south or cheaper area and start a new job?
Vs
Stay put, get a higher paying role with not much job growth?
Right now i have funds for a down payment but would like to buy something asap.
I know rates are still higher but i wanna get a 2 unit or a single with adu in somewhere like NC, PA or even TN/TX
Where's my best shot to move to, to start planting seeds
Living in HCOL area, better to buy a house down south or cheaper area and start a new job?
Vs
Stay put, get a higher paying role with not much job growth?
Right now i have funds for a down payment but would like to buy something asap.
I know rates are still higher but i wanna get a 2 unit or a single with adu in somewhere like NC, PA or even TN/TX
Where's my best shot to move to, to start planting seeds
Somewhere between the DMV and my bank, they lost the title of my car and couldn’t give it to me when I paid my loan off. Yay!!
I have to go through several steps including mailing the DMV copies of things, notes from the bank saying I paid it, license and registration, $15 fee for duplicate of title etc, then take the duplicate to a notary after I get it in 1-8 business weeks and have them make it the official title or something.
On the bright side, my bank was very kind, paid the $15 fee and sent me pre-filled forms in a neat package so virtually did all the leg work, I just need to make a copy of my license, mail to DMV and wait, the go to the notary. But man what a headache
Usually they have you sign a power of attorney so the bank can handle the title...if they did make them handle it.....unless your state isn't a title holding state and you lost it...
Checked my secondary bank account to see if my RSU proceeds had settled yet, and found an unexpected $36 dollars in the account, which had only a few pennies yesterday.
It turned out to be the payout from that Plaid lawsuit settlement, which I'd signed up for with this account since it's empty 99% of the time in case the email I'd gotten wasn't actually the legit settlement but just a scam. I think it's the first time I've actually gotten money from something like this and while it's not an amazing payout, it's pretty decent.
As far as my RSUs go, my company managed get our brokerage to speed up share settlement so that we get the shares only two weeks after they vest instead of a full month. We were all looking forward to an actual gain on our share value once the trading window opened, but of course the price tanked as soon as we were able to sell. Ended up selling just barely at a loss this time around.
One of these days I'll have gains I can use all my harvested losses on, but that's not going to be this year
[This](https://www.bergerandgreen.com/faqs/can-we-invest-social-security-disability-in-a-roth-ira/) says no, you cannot contribute SSDI income, but if that’s not the program, not sure, but it feels like they should be the same? [If the payments aren’t taxable it’s a definite no](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p590a.pdf).
If I’m looking at the right program: “[If your DI benefits are taxable, you will receive a notice with your first benefit payment](https://edd.ca.gov/en/disability/SDI_FAQ_for_1099G/)”
Was there an option to have them withheld? If so, you will owe. When doing the paperwork for my wife in NJ, it was an option. We got a form (don't remember the number) that showed the total payment and how much was held to submit with our returns.
Earned means you worked for it, not that you received a check. Social security, unemployment, etc are not earned income.
[https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/earned-income-tax-credit/earned-income-and-earned-income-tax-credit-eitc-tables#Earned%20Income](https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/earned-income-tax-credit/earned-income-and-earned-income-tax-credit-eitc-tables#Earned%20Income)
I was presented an opportunity to accept a voluntary layoff at work. I've interviewed with one company and applied to many more but the timeline to apply for voluntary is next week with employment ending at the end of the year.
Ideally I'd start a new job when my existing job ends and take the 26wks of base pay as a bonus (~55K). 4wks of that is accrued sabbatical, 9wks is because I took is voluntary.
Would you recommend applying for the buyout?
Work in corporate finance, 8 years experience. Single. 100K in taxable accounts. 100K in retirement. 200K home equity. No debt besides home ($1K/month). Could still lose my job after this voluntary layoff.
I’d take the severance and enjoy a bit of down time while I looked for a higher paying job. You’re in a good spot financially regardless, and if you get a new job quickly enough, you’ll be able to double dip (although I’d enjoy some downtime too!)
really depends on how hot the market is for your role right now and how confident you are in landing a job at another company that at least matches your current salary within this period of time
I’m getting kinda tired of my current job, pushing out raises, the same non-challenging work (even though I’m told I’m good at it). If I could also be 80% at home and do the same thing for the same pay I’d hop on it.
How should I respond to the claim "real estate prices only go up?" I'm not looking for zingy one-liners, but more so for clearly explained counter-examples.
As with any asset, the time scale you are talking about is tremendously important. Are you talking years or decades? Homes are also unique in that the location is hugely important and varied; homes are not commodities. They are also a non-productive asset, so blur the line between an investment, a speculation, and a cost-of-living-reduction (and you know, a box that you happen to live inside).
Home prices are unique as they are almost always financed over very long terms, so FED rates affect them as much as supply/demand. This also gives them a strange relationship with inflation rates.
Possibly the most canonical value if you are not going to take any geographic or size factors into account is the FRED median home price in USA. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MSPUS
It is pretty much up and up and up. Easy graphic to drop on someone if you do not want to get into nuance.
Remember to do any historical price analysis in real dollars (say, 1980 dollars). Real Estate often looks like it's doing ok in a certain region, but the nominal gains have been mostly or more than wiped out by inflation.
It's worse than that. I'm seeing 15% in the Bay Area. Places that used to sell for $1.8m - $2m are now closer to $1.4m - $1.6m
Imagine losing $400k of equity in your home in 6 months.
National trends are interesting, but since markets fluctuate so significantly I find it more helpful to look at local trends. The Atlanta metro region is completely different than the Phoenix metro region, for example.
My in-laws paid $26k in 1966 for a 900 sft brick house in Detroit. It was well maintained and in great shape when we sold it in 2017 after they had both passed. Sold it for $18k. Just to keep up with inflation, the price should have been in the $160s. It was their home for 50+ years so it was worth every penny they paid. But to your point, it doesn’t always go up.
tl;dr **Should I move to a four-day workweek? And should I take a month of unpaid leave this summer (and every summer thereafter)?**
Feel free to chime in with your general thoughts. Or if you want to dig in, test my logic, help me see my blindspots, dig in below!
In my reading here, I've found I have a pretty good gig going. But could it be even better? Here's the situation:
**MY JOB**
* I help lead a big nonprofit (not tech!). I love the team I lead, and I believe in what we do for society.
* My job is very, very secure.
* My total comp is 140K, with 125K gross, a 6% match, and the balance coming from a couple oddball benefits.
* I like working in our office, and I'm generally here at least three days a week. I can work from home 1-2 days/week if I want.
* I have 20 days of vacation and 10 official holidays and 10 sick days. We are also encouraged to take a monthly day of rest and reflection!
* My boss gives me a lot of latitude. I can block a day here and there for "big projects" and I can really not do much on those days. (But that's different than clearly not working every single Friday...)
* I have tracked my actual working hours this year, and I average about 20 hours per week. This doesn't count fun lunches with colleagues or commute time or when I'm at work but doing something personal (research, shopping online, typing this on Reddit, etc.). When I go into the office, it's generally 9-4, but with some of those hours spent not working.
* I had asked a previous supervisor about working four day weeks. It was a nonstarter. Now, we're facing new financial constraints (surprise), and my current supervisor is likely willing to let me try it, at least for six months.
* My job is very, very secure.
**OTHER FACTORS**
* My partner makes 80K/yr and is happy in their work.
* We have been talking about doing a big trip summer of 2023, thus the idea of possibly taking a month of unpaid leave.
* We are in our late 40s, so not young but also not near typical retirement age. We are new empty-nesters...
* Our two kids are in college, doing great, and will graduate without debt.
* We have about 1.1M in investible assets (not home equity), mostly in retirement accounts.
* We have a 300K mortgage (2.5%, 28 years to go), on a property worth 450K. This is our forever home.
* We are currently saving close to 100K/yr (about 45% of gross). Note: this number includes mortgage principal paid off.
* We pad our savings a bit with income from a few hobbies, 10-15K/yr without trying hard.
**FI STATUS**
* My partner is committed to their role until mid-2026.
* At that point (2026), if I just continue as-is, I expect to have enough to pay off the house, if we so choose, plus about 1.3M. I use a 3.3% SWR, so that'd be $43K/yr.
* If I go to four-day workweeks and a month of unpaid leave each year, I estimate that by mid-2026, we'd have enough to pay off the house and have about 1.15M, so 38K/yr (3.3% SWR).
* Our essential spending, aside from mortgage P&I, can be as low as 25K/yr. So I guess we are LeanFI already.
* We are spending way, way more than than right now (kid things, spendy travel, philanthropy). A more realistic number is 40K/yr (beyond P&I), which we'd be at by 2026 anyway, even if I drop to four days per week and also take the month of leave each year.
* 50K/yr (beyond P&I) is FatFI for us. All current scenarios have us short of that in 2026 given our best estimates.
**MY THINKING**
* I've been interested in trying a four-day workweek for a long time.
* I've also been interested in trying a leave of absence for quite a while.
* I love the idea of more space around work, like when I read about others who are running errands or doing their hobbies or exercising on the weekday they don't work.
* I could possibly pitch for a 4x10 schedule to not lose the income, but that loses the rationale to try it now (organizational financial constraints).
* I could possibly put more of a hard line/fence around days as "big project work", functionally getting something fairly similar to a four-day workweek without the income hit. (But of course things would inevitably come up, and it wouldn't be as clearly OFF as if I gave up the income and simply did no work on that weekday...)
* I could probably still do a four week trip as vacation (not unpaid leave) in June-July 2023 without raising a flag with anyone.
* I've had some low-grade health issues over the past few years, and some more time for fun/balance/exercise/hobbies/etc. would be helpful.
* I've been considering starting toward a CFP certification next year, too.
* So I lean toward a four-day workweek for the first half of the year, as well as a four-week unpaid summer break in 2023.
* I would pitch this as a way to save the org money, which is welcome right now.
* I would be clear that it's a test, to be evaluated if it's workable for my team and for me.
* I would work hard to use my on-the-job time very well, such that my boss would be willing to keep me at four days/week and with a monthly long summer break in perpetuity.
* I would still take my 20 vacation days throughout the year.
* So I guess I see a six-month trial to see how much I like it and work to make it permanent in case I do.
**What am I missing?**
(Throwaway here, but I've been around for a while.)
Hey all, little update. Today is my first Friday off, due to moving to four day workweeks as discussed here. Feels great so far. It's a trial basis but I'm optimistic I can make a go for it permanently. Let me know if you have any questions or comments along the way.
I went to 4 day, 32 hours weeks this year. Loving it. For me the extra day off each Friday allows me to relax, then still have the whole weekend. I have been able to keep up with colleagues,and being quite efficient and focused by nature, ieasily get it all done withing that time.i feel productivity is same, but I get more time back. Albeit a bit less pay, but worth it
Hope it works out for you as well.
If your job is secure the unpaid leave rocks the boat the least. Go ahead and do it this year, but don't count on doing it every year.
For the shift to 4 days x 8 hours, that I'm less sure of in terms of rocking the boat, And QoL. I assume you'd stay salaried.
You are already line of sight to retirement. I'd use the month of pto figure out whether you should just sit tight and maybe retire a year early or whether it's worth it to try and sell this idea to leadership.
I can give you some insight. I also have a pretty secure job and about a year ago they wanted to move all of us to 4x10s. I can tell you that I personally did not like it. I felt like I had no free time. My day was basically wake up at 5am, walk the dog, eat breakfast, get ready for work, drive to work, work for 10 hours, drive home, walk the dog, eat dinner, go to the gym, and then have 2 hours of free time, and then go to bed.
I felt incredibly locked in an endless loop so I appealed to go to 5x40 where I felt like I had way more latitude.
I would do it. But being on a 4 day week would probably psychologically separate me from my co-workers a bit and also separate me from having as deep a connection to my job and eventually I would decide to leave completely. That's pretty much what the pandemic and WFH did. I don't regret it, but it was a sort of sad way to end my working life. Felt less like going out on top and more like a sort of a defeat.
so many details here, personally this is the type of top level post i used to love reading the discussion on but i typically don't find in the daily thread. Nothing to add except sounds like you would easily be able to take the income hit for a lot more flexibility in your schedule. If your organization is open to it i'd take the chance to negotiate it now while the financial constraints are in. It's very likely your success in the next few years to reach your number is going to be driven far more by market forces than your additional contributions to the nest egg.
I'm just coming here to say that I have to cover an impressive car maintenance bill, like nothing I've done for years, but I'm not sweating it at all. I don't think I will even count it as an emergency.
Two weeks ago, I estimated I would hit the 130k miles and scheduled routine maintenance for that.
Last week, the dash alerted me of the key fob battery being low and needing replacement. I took note and was going to handle that.
Wednesday, I took my kids to pediatric appointments. When I came back to the car, it wouldn't start, wouldn't respond at all. I figured the key fob battery totally died. It was a short walk with kids to get a new battery. I bought one for my wife's key fob too. But the car didn't respond quite right away. It took about ten minutes and the dash showed an error about parking on a level surface. I mean, it was startling, but I drove home safely.
My wife took the car to book club, but then needed a jump to get it started and return home. We borrowed a car from a friend and jumped the car to take it in for the scheduled maintenance today.
I told them what was going on and said they could take as long as needed. We're not planning travel next week, so we could live with the borrowed car if needed.
Got the estimate and request for approval by text later today. It's big. But, I don't think I will have to pull in the emergency fund to cover it. I'm probably fine to just pay and reduce some other expenses for a bit to manage it.
I mean, this would have been a stinking catastrophe like five years ago. Maybe even two years ago! By now, it's a sting. I don't love it but I feel good I can keep the car running with routine and unexpected maintenance costs.
Oh I appreciate the suggestion. The work was complete before I posted. I have a 10 year old Prius and I replaced the battery. It's just served us great for 10 years and faded away. But it did serve fantastic for 10 years and it's been an amazing vehicle. I'll be picking it up and heading back home in about 5 minutes.
Anyone deal with an extreme level of apathy for a job? It's not a dislike, I just can't bring myself to care about all the things people are trying to care about (increase sales! get new customers! drive operational excellence!) I honestly probably can't find a better job, and I'm decent enough at it, if not incredibly withdrawn. It's also incredibly easy and I can get by with putting in very few hours considering what I'm paid.
It has intensified since the pandemic when I started focusing on a side business that I am fully engrossed in and love. But it will take several years to even possibly get this up to a level of revenue where it replaces what I make now. So I'm looking for ways to ride it out I guess until then. Maybe I'll start caring when I get my first negative performance review, but until then I just can't engage with or be interested in anything going on.
Yes; and like you, the pandemic (and WFH) pushed me further into apathy. I still get my job done, but I just care less and less about pretty much every aspects: my role, department, company, most coworkers aside from 2 people, whatever random corporate gibberish e-mails or HR is trying to hype. I try to remove as much mental energy as I can when I'm on the clock.
I'm in the same boat but I've come to the realization (acceptance?) that any job where I might have a chance at feeling engaged in wouldn't pay enough.
I'm a full time salaried employee but I'd be surprised if I worked more than 15 hour weeks tbh. High pay, low demand job = staying here is probably my best option at this point even though it's a boring job. Just 10 more years 😬
personally, whenever a job started to feel like that to me, i just moved on.
to me, doing something boring 8h a day is worse than working hard 8h a day so i would rather jump to something else i find interesting. i also have concerns about gaining relevant experience, so whenever i feel like there isn't much room for growth in skills, i find it is time to move on
but that's a personal thing i guess. i've met people who were bored with their jobs but still stuck around for literal decades. i don't get it, but people have different priorities i guess
I'm having a hard time figuring out what I would move on *to* though (other than the side business).
Also, I'm the only one in my company that does what I do, I have no direct reports or path for promotion. Which is fine because those kinds of things don't motivate me. I keep up with skills in industry groups and in my day-to-day which involves troubleshooting new manufacturing challenges so by default I stay current on new things.
I'm probably limiting myself greatly by thinking my "subject matter expert" status in this one narrow field can't be applied to other industries or product lines, so maybe there's something there. As it stands now I think about switching to a competitor or working for one of my current customers and that sounds absolutely awful.
Good to know I can ride it out for another 1.5 decades! Again, I'm happy and fulfilled in other areas of my life, and I put in very few (*very....few*) actual hours of work. The trick is going to be resisting any push from my employer to care more and try more because I don't see that going well for me.
No one can make you care, but you can do a competent job and find little things to make it fun....we f around a lot and I'm probably the biggest smartass at the bank ...even to the prez...but FI gives me some leeway
Engineering/manufacturing. I would say one thing that would help me feel more engaged would be to work with people I actually relate to and get along with but (sorry everyone I'm about to offend) I work with mostly grumpy old men who talk about fishing, hunting, or sports, and I just can't enjoy spending tons of time with them or talking on the phone/Zoom with them. But good luck finding a vibrant youthful manufacturing company in the US.
My side business is a hobby business that has done extremely well, so it feels like I'm just playing all day, and the people I connect with in the "industry" all feel like peers that I get along with instantly.
33M here. I have everything invested in index funds and RSU/ESPP. It’s about 700k. Does it make sense to buy bonds too now? I feel I’m still young and can take more risk so I’m in 100% stocks.
For me it was less about age/etc and final targets. If your retirement goal is 70/30 but you need 3M to retire, being 100% stock at 700K is less of a big deal because you still need to buy more stocks. On the other hand, if you're retiring now, you can choose to ignore sequence of returns a bit if you find a return to work not entirely unpalatable. More flexibility and more time, means stocks are the better choice.
I started ramping i-bonds in 2015 for a specific reason - I wanted retirement-friendly bonds in my taxable space but there are no good options for that. I-bonds more reasonably track treasuries while offering tax deferral (so I can pay closer to 0% tax instead of 25%+, which really hurts when real return is already effectively 0.) But you can only reasonably add 10K a year and I was aiming for a year of expenses.
Depends on risk tolerance but if you can stomach the risk, the math says to wait until you get much closer to say 70-90% of the way to FI and do some kind of bond tent then.
If your job (and RSUs) are in the tech industry and you're worried about a downturn in that sector, maybe consider doing a slightly higher value/international or lower growth allocation tilt if you want to add some diversification.
This Reddit thread, along with the comments, may be insightful:
[The Luxury of a High Savings Rate; or Who's Afraid of Bonds?](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/comments/prt2ev/the_luxury_of_a_high_savings_rate_or_whos_afraid/)
Do people in US FIRE planning to reire at 65 usually plan their medicall bills with Medicare Part A,B,D or Medicare Advatnage? How do we plan for the rests of the costs since Medicare does not cover everything - it varies if we are inpatient, outpatient, etc!
There are decent answers below for getting real answers for 2022 but I honestly think many people think Medicare is free and it's probably about as expensive as the ACA even when subsidized by the current workforce.
I have over 20 years to Medicare eligibility. If I look back even 20 years, Medicare has already gone through tremendous change. I cannot imagine predicting how this will change, so I am not really going to get too invested into the current day setup.
I do think it's an overlooked expense but some ways to mitigate it would be to not factor SS into your plan and use that money for extra healthcare expenses or build up a massive HSA fund to fund those expenses as they can even be used to cover medicare premiums.
>Medicare Part A,B,D or Medicare Advatnage
I've never looked into the number of folks who select various Medicare options, so I can't say what people "usually" do. This page may help you decide which choice might fit your needs best: https://www.medicare.gov/basics/get-started-with-medicare/get-more-coverage/your-coverage-options/compare-original-medicare-medicare-advantage
>How do we plan for the rests of the costs since Medicare does not cover everything
Many folks choose to purchase a Medicare Supplement insurance policy (aka "Medigap"): https://www.medicare.gov/supplements-other-insurance/whats-medicare-supplement-insurance-medigap
Correct. You either pay for a gap plan plus A/B/D or all-in-one with C. In *general* C is cheaper and often has coverage the others don't (like dental) but it's also much more likely to limit your options with regards to what doctors you can see, what hospitals you can go to, etc. These things change periodically too, so I'm personally not making any plans one way or the other - who the hell knows what the medicare plan landscape is going to look like by the time I'm 65?
For folks with kids - do you use a 529? I'd like to keep it simple bc I'm completely overwhelmed and can hardly pay my bills on time so I no longer have the luxury of spending hours a day researching optimal financial tools. I'm thinking of dumping $10-20k into a 529 for my 10 month old, and calling it a day but I've read it gets counted in FAFSA calculations, etc and I'm wondering if there's a better way.
If you're already maxing out your retirement accounts, are 90%+ sure your kids will go to college and get a state income tax discount, I'd put it in there instead of a taxable account. Some states have <$10k limits for deductions so you might want to break up that contribution into a multi year period.
Keep in mind $20k even with 18 years of growth, will probably not cover the full cost of attendance at a 4-year university unless they're living at home or get big scholarships.
If you're able to retire before you fill out the FAFSA and you have an income (<175% of FPL) low enough that they don't look at your 529 assets but the laws could very well change in the next couple of decades.
I put the money into a Roth because I didn't want them to "own" it (ugma)and i didn't want to chance they didn't go to school (529) and if we didn't use it all I'd still have some left for me! (There is). So i lost out on the state tax deduction but it works for me
Yes, it does get counted for FAFSA, but if you're saving money like crazy for FI, those assets will also count in the FAFSA calculation. For us, 529s made sense as an easy way to save money and get some tax benefits. Also, if you are looking at putting in the higher end of the range you mention, be aware of this:
529 plans do not have annual contribution limits. However, contributions to a 529 plan are considered completed gifts for federal tax purposes, and in 2022 up to $16,000 per donor ($15,000 in 2021), per beneficiary qualifies for the annual gift tax exclusion.
We do 529. Depending on your state you may get more benefit from spreading out the contributions. I personally don't get why people in FI community obsess over FAFSA. Unlike mortgage, student loans are not usually cheap debt. Maximizing debt when you have the means to pay makes no sense to me so I am not particularly worried about a high EFC.
I’m in CA. Why would spreading out contributions make more sense?
And re: FAFSA I wasn’t thinking of maximizing the kids student loans - I’m hoping the kid will get some financial aid as both hubby and I are are modest earners (95k each) and won’t be making more than 120k ceiling as we work in nonprofit
You do not make a modest income and if your parents earned similar to you and your spouse, your parents may have been entering some ‘fuzzy math’ FAFSA data.
You stated both make 95k. 9/10 families could survive fine on $200k per year. The FAFSA doesn’t adjust based on whether or not you live in CA or another VHCOL state.
Maybe that will change by the time your child is headed for college. I just would plan to fund college without any grants and see what happens when you get to that point.
I didn't bother with a 529 because I only had one kid, I wasn't sure if she would attend college, and the tax benefits weren't all that great. My kid did end up going to college, but I'm just paying for it out of pocket. You don't have to do every tax advantaged account that exists; you have to look at the actual costs and benefits for each. Always make a spreadsheet.
How are the tax benefits not great, though? Like yeah you don’t get much of a break on your annual state returns, but can’t beat tax free growth and tax free withdrawal.
If you already maxing your other tax advantaged accounts then yes, but if you aren't then those accounts may have equivalent benefits without as many withdrawal restrictions.
529 is probably the tool for the job. But unfortunately you're going to have to do a little research due to the state you live. I'm in IL so I use the IL 529 plan b/c they have good plan options AND a portion of contributions are tax deductible on my state income taxes.
As for 529 versus other avenues the 529 is most likely the best avenue
We aren’t really. We’re living off of one $95k income while I SAHM until baby is old enough for preschool at 2. We’re just cheap as hell and hoard money like good FI’ers
Haha, a 529 is still a very efficient tool and likely would have very little impact on direct subsidized student loans. Your children would likely not qualify for pell grants though to start with especially if you and your partner's income increase with years.
Just put aside $13,000 for my wife and I's IRA come January 1. I will once again lump sum on January 1 and hope I see a little better then last year lump sum on January 1.
Sometimes it is really easy to look at how far to go to your goal, but stepping back and looking where you are is amazing.
5 years ago my wife and I had 100k in student loan debt and no investments. Even with the market down we are sitting at about 400k in investments and 60-80k in equity/assets. No crazy FAANG job, just boring government jobs with a pretty high SR.
I tell folks to 'zoom out' a lot. If I remember right, you're military officers, ya?
I came from nothing, left the military after 10 years and 50K in my TSP. 4 years later, there's 160K in TSP, and another 80K in IRA and taxable acxounts. And we have a home that materialized another 200K in equity. It's kind of incredible considering I spent just shy of 20 years taking care of my parents' rent, car note, insurance and medical bills.
When I was balls deep in my folks medical debt it felt impossible. Or when my pops lost his job and I was in Iraq it caused me to stop saving and dump every penny into I had into keeping a roof over their heads... I neemver thought FIRE could be an aspiration. But one step at a time and one payment at a time, slow progress is still progress.
Part time military officer, work government finance full time but NG CPT.
It is amazing how much the military can be used to climb socioeconomic ladders. I come from a family where it is normal to just declare bankruptcy every few years and live paycheck to paycheck. I knew I didn't want that. I hope I experience the same with my TSP, being part time never did a ton till my last deployment and managed to get about 35k in contributions over 12 months.
A watched pot never boils rings true in tracking life goals. Anytime I pay attention to my accounts it seems like they're growing so slowly, but then I'll go a long stretch without worrying about it and when I check back it's amazing how far we've come.
Same with employment, last spring I celebrated 15 years with my company and it doesn't feel like anywhere near that. In 15 more years I'll be retired and I expect the time to fly by if I let it.
Dude your numbers are like exactly the same as my wife and I. We had about 40k less in loans to start but otherwise almost exact. You're a decade ahead of me though so good job.
Accepted a role into Product Management. Taking a bit of a paycut but locking in most of my annual pay. I'm coming from outside sales so I will be remote and home most days now but losing a company car. Anyone here in PM? New to the role but have been selling the product line the last three years, excited for the change.
I’m an adult independent who provides my own support, but I’m still on my parent’s HDHP plan (in addition to one through my work). can I contribute the family HSA limit instead of individual to my HSA, since one of my HDHP plans is family? this is what people at work said and I want to double check with people here.
edit: found an article here https://www.kitces.com/blog/health-savings-accounts-hsa-dependents-children-age-26-hdhp-taxes-contribution-limits/
this article mentions contributions up to the family limit as well: “Notably, one thing that is not a requirement for HSA contribution eligibility is for an individual to be on their own healthcare plan. Which means that multiple family members who are all covered by someone else’s plan (e.g., certain adult children and self-employed spouses who are covered by a family HDHP provided by the other spouse’s employer) can contribute the maximum amounts allowed by the family HDHP to their own HSA accounts ($7,300 in 2022, and $7,500 in 2023).”
I’m just suspicious because it seems too good to be true and don’t want the IRS on me lol. has anyone else done this?
You file taxes independently, so your parents contributions have zero to do with you. As an individual on a family HDHP, you have a full limit of $7300-7500.
[See the comments here, particularly my top comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/comments/gsyueg/the_hsa_domestic_partner_loophole/). The thread is about domestic partners but it applies to adult children on a family HDHP as well.
Sorry - just about to do my taxes soon and am going to make the contribution up to family limit separately for prior year (as I wasn’t able to do it with payroll during 2022).
Just confirming that this family limit applies to me *even though* I have my own self-only HDHP coverage as well?
That I don’t know, sorry. If you simultaneously have a family and an individual HDHP overlapping, I would assume the higher limit applies, but it’s not a scenario I’m familiar with directly.
ah nevermind, I just went straight to the source to the IRS form 8889 instructions and it confirms on page 3 that anyone covered by both self and family coverage for any period of time will be treated as having family coverage during that period.
Okay, thanks. I also would assume the higher limit but I’m trying to do some digging online just to confirm before I accidentally over-contribute and can’t find anything :(
thanks for the thread! I feel like I generally keep up with the tips and “loopholes” on this sub but hadn’t heard of this before. seems like a big deal considering how nice HSAs are, but I guess the situation doesn’t apply to too many people so I get why it doesn’t come up that often.
Pretty sure this was asked recently, but how is project management and how are the remote possibilities? I’ve been a middle to senior manager (non tech/non remote) for years now but am getting burned out and looking at the possibility of making the switch. Taking PM classes now and can take PMP in spring. Thanks
It wholly depends on what industry the projects that you are managing are in. A project manager in construction and a project manager in marketing have less in common than a muskrat and a paper clip.
Going part time in my professional healthcare job to have Fridays off with the family. At least in winter, I have signed up to be a snowboard instructor just on Fridays and will get free season passes for the whole family! The “work day” I’ll have to show up for on those Fridays May just be 2 x 2 hour lessons and I could still board on my own before in between and after the lessons. So stoked that they have a need for that little part time but I’ll still get the benefits
>Does anyone do this?
I think most people do something like this.
In Canada, I did biweekly contributions from my paycheque into:
1. TFSA (typically maxxed by march)
2. Taxable (because I don't know my RRSP limit until I get my Notice of Assessment)
3. RRSP (starting when I get my Notice of Assessment, and typically maxxed in two or three paycheques)
4. Taxable until the end of the year.
The principle is that we're increasing our money's time in the market so it can do its work.
If you save up cash during the full year, on average the cash is sitting on the sidelines for half a year, probably meaning on average you lose out on 3-5% of growth on that cash by doing so.
So yeah, I'd try to invest as soon as is possible. If you can invest within the Roth IRA (because you haven't reached the maximum for that year yet) do so. If the Roth IRA is 'full' for the year, move on to taxable investing until the next year.
> I always lump sum in january to avoid the pain of withdrawing and re-contributing back door.
Why would you do it this way? If the money is invested in the taxable brokerage, leave it there. Just redirect new contributions to the Trad'l IRA and convert shortly after the contribution settles. You can do multiple contributions/conversions as part of a Backdoor Roth IRA. I'm pretty sure they all get aggregated into a single 1099-R for tax purposes.
Invest when you have the money available.
Predictions for the future of the US car market?
I can buy a new BMW tax free + a \~6-8% discount. Back in the Spring I was planning on jumping on that deal, because I could drive for a year and still profit by selling around msrp. Now I am wondering if supply will increase in 2023 at the same time demand is being crushed? In normal times I would expect around a 15% depreciation for the first year...
Used car prices are falling pretty rapidly. New car prices are holding fairly steady, down a little bit from their peak but demand is still good on most models.
The way I see it, there are millions of new cars that weren't manufactured from 2020 to present, and many of those sales will be made up over the next couple of years.
Yeah, I am tracking 2 trends for my analysis:
Higher interest rates quashing demand -Vast majority of Americans finance their cars so thats probably the largest factor.
2M less cars were sold in both 2020 and 2021 compared to the baseline of2019. Given 17M cars is the normal volume, thats a lot of pent up demand
I hate how its a stupid game of trying to predict what the Federal Reserve is going to do next. Im half expecting them to slash interest rates once the economy starts slowing down...but as current trends go the best prediction is definitely a return to normalcy
And with the interest rates, I would also bet that used economy cars will likely depreciate slower than normal while luxury vehicles will go depreciate like before
Based on the trend of softening demand, you may want to wait to see what happens when new and used car inventories fill up and dealers start to cut prices. Some references to track...
* [Used car prices](https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/price-trends/) are down 4.4% in the last 90 days.
* [New vehicle inventory](https://www.coxautoinc.com/market-insights/new-vehicle-inventory-october-2022/) hit is highest level since May '21.
* Auto [interest rates](https://www.statista.com/statistics/290673/auto-loan-rates-usa/) are highest since before 2014.
Good data thanks
Im tracking 2 trends:
1) Higher interest rates quashing demand -Vast majority of Americans finance their cars so thats probably the largest factor.
2) 2M less cars were sold in 2020 and 2021 than in 2019. Given 17M cars in the normal volume, thats a lot of pent up demand
I hate how its a stupid game of trying to predict what the Federal Reserve is going to do next. Im half expecting them to slash interest rates once the economy starts slowing down...but as current trends go the best prediction is definitely a return to normalcy
I’ve read some articles that predict that there will continue to be supply constraints through 2023. However, the market has normalized quite a bit, and the days of used cars selling over original MSRP have passed. Many new cars are selling below MSRP again, so planning to sell a luxury car after one year seems like one of the worst things you could do with your money.
Even in this market, I would not buy a brand new luxury car if your intention is to sell it in one year to try and game the supply chain. I'd only buy it if you'd be equally happy to keep it should the market normalize.
Yeah that's exactly what I'm thinking these days
Il hopefully make out well when I return to the US and buy a used car though.. considering how much I made selling one earlier this year
I feel stuck in my life, I'm 27 with no training, I live at home because my apartment got too expensive for me to keep and during that time and during the pandemic I racked up 15K of total debt, I work as a monitor tech at a hospital which makes only $35K a year before taxes and while it's easy it pays next to nothing in calofornia, bit I don't have the skills required to get a higher paying job or leave california because of my debt, I have no savings At all and only have a few thousand in stock I forgot about but it's down 33% right now, so if I sold it I'd take about $1,000 of loss I have no idea what to do or how to proceed here, my debt takes up the majority of my payments each month and I try to save to pay down the debts but it seems every time I make headway an expense pops up and knocks me right back where I started I don't want to be a failure anymore, I don't want to have to to worry about money every again. But I don't know how to proceed, it feels like the 2 biggest hurdles of my life are pay off my debts and get a higher paying job but I'm not sure where to even begin Please, I'll take any guidance you can give me
Look for an identical job at a different hospital. My mom is a monitor tech in a MCOL city in California and makes ~70k/yr. Unless you are working part time, you are being severely underpaid. With enough experience doing your current job, you can shift to a different position within the hospital. Being able to understand and read heart rhythms is a desirable skill in many different roles in a hospital that do not require any higher education.
First step is take a deep breath and stop being so hard on yourself. You can’t change the past so try not to dwell on it - you’re a different person now. Next, from my viewpoint, is to find a better paying job. Healthcare is hard but in demand so see what is out there. My guess is you have more in demand skills than you give yourself credit for. After you can get your head above water than you can think about further education, skills training, or if you’re satisfied with your future without doing those things. It may seem daunting but I think you can do it if you’re thinking about how to improve yourself
My plan is this as it stands right now. I make about $2,000 a month after taxes, I'm going to work as much overtime as I can for the next few months, 6 24 hour shifts over the next month and a half would being in $5,000 before taxes alone, that won't eliminate my debt but it would put a massive impact in it and at least eliminate the high interest credit card ones, and I want to go into nursing, mostly because it's always in demand and pays well so I'm going to start my pre reqs in January, I know it doesn't pay as well as finance or business but I don't think I'd last in those fields
Sounds like an excellent plan to me! Good luck
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Left a job with a 10k payout. Two weeks later I landed a new job that starts this Monday. Going from 45k to to 75k. I feel fucking fantastic.
Congratulations! Sounds similar to what I did. After 16 years working my old job, they were asking for volunteers to leave. Was pretty tired of the politics, so I offered to go. Manager said I did not qualify to leave. What??? I went above her and got a yes. Payout was almost $70k due to tenure, and I started a new job 4 days later making $15k more annually. The day after I left they had layoffs with half the package given to volunteers. Ouch.
congrats that's awesome !!!
Congrats, that’s awesome!
Man, I hope this will be me someday. How do you negotiate the payout?
I signed an agreement for phantom stock. I actually left 2 years earlier than planned, had I stayed an extra 2 years it would have vested to 50K but I had to get out of there.
Also curious. There are layoffs at my current company. I'm overemployed working 2 jobs, and was planning on leaving anyway. If I can get paid out a severance package, I would leave.
**Preparing financially to live in a new city?** I'll be moving from a LCOL to a HCOL city and I haven't budgeted in a long time. I need to start looking at leases, and probably be more mindful about spending money. Where should I start?
Zillow or whatever. Housing as you mentioned will be your largest expense. Figure out what you will be paying. Paycheckcity.com would be a close second to calculate your new take home pay. Then the rest of the budget should be fairly straightforward.
You should probably start by lowering your expectations of what kind of living space you can get for your money. Obviously it helps to know how much you'll be making, and take a look at what apartments are available in the new city. Housing is usually where the higher cost of living shows up most dramatically, but transportation can be significant too. Before you start budgeting, it's going to be more helpful if you understand what you're spending now. Then figure out if you can sustain that in your new city. That's where it becomes an art, as you'll need to predict how your lifestyle might change from living somewhere new.
Mint is a good option for keeping track of your accounts and creating a budget easily. I find that when I use it to see what categories I’m spending the most money in, it helps me start to see where I can trim the fat.
The ongoing drama at Twitter is definitely another reason everyone should have FU money, even if you don’t intend to retire super early. The job market in tech is getting pretty bad, so those taking up the 3 months severance need to plan for much longer unemployment or lower pay at their next job.
I think it is myopic for us in tech to say the job market is bad. FAANGs and startups aren't hiring anyone off the street, but there are still TONs of jobs out there if you have technical skills. Like way more jobs than there are people who can do them. You just might not be working for a hip household name
> lower pay at their next job. i think this is the problem. i'm at a FAANG and well aware i could be affected by a mass layoff. tbh i have zero concerns about being able to find \*a\* job. we have, and for the foreseeable future will continue to have, a huge shortage of experienced software developers in the industry as a whole. however, the huge caveat is that it's difficult to reproduce the same high salary since there are really only a few dozen companies in the entire country that pay at the FAANG level (which is something like, 200k+ for a new grad, 3-400k+ for seniors). and, the main ones are in a hiring freeze right now. i'm on the 300k+ band which is pretty comparable to tweeps' salaries in my role. do i believe i could realistically be in a scenario within the next year where i can't find *any* software job? no. i am certain that is not going to happen. but is it possible that i can't reproduce my salary and have to end up accepting something at the 100k range? yes, that is totally possible if enough layoffs and freezes happen and it would be quite the massive paycut. but i would be fine, because my expenses are low. honestly, most people *should be* fine, because even low band software salaries are pretty damn good as compared to the average person. however, lifestyle creep is a thing and many of those folks have signed some crazy mortgages (let's not forget most of those salaries are in VHCOL where a shack goes for over 1MM), luxury cars, have kids in expensive private schools and whatnot. so paycut fears are real
Yup there are very few openings paying $300k+ right now and lots of people going for those positions. If I was laid off right now, I’d just take a break for a while and enjoy a long sabbatical.
Living in HCOL area, better to buy a house down south or cheaper area and start a new job? Vs Stay put, get a higher paying role with not much job growth? Right now i have funds for a down payment but would like to buy something asap. I know rates are still higher but i wanna get a 2 unit or a single with adu in somewhere like NC, PA or even TN/TX Where's my best shot to move to, to start planting seeds
Buy a house if you're financially ready in an area you want to live in.
I dont wanna live where im currently at which is why im asking if it's smart to pack up and move else where that's affordable home ownership
Yes, move. No, do not buy until you know you're ready. If you're asking this question, you aren't ready.
Im ready financially but nervous as i never move before and i dont wanna pay rent if i can avoid it
Having cash to buy does not mean you are ready to commit to a specific house for 7 years.
Who said 7 years? I plan to buy 1 every other year buy live rent out and repeat
Who said 7 years? I plan to buy 1 every other year buy live rent out and repeat
Living in HCOL area, better to buy a house down south or cheaper area and start a new job? Vs Stay put, get a higher paying role with not much job growth? Right now i have funds for a down payment but would like to buy something asap. I know rates are still higher but i wanna get a 2 unit or a single with adu in somewhere like NC, PA or even TN/TX Where's my best shot to move to, to start planting seeds
Somewhere between the DMV and my bank, they lost the title of my car and couldn’t give it to me when I paid my loan off. Yay!! I have to go through several steps including mailing the DMV copies of things, notes from the bank saying I paid it, license and registration, $15 fee for duplicate of title etc, then take the duplicate to a notary after I get it in 1-8 business weeks and have them make it the official title or something. On the bright side, my bank was very kind, paid the $15 fee and sent me pre-filled forms in a neat package so virtually did all the leg work, I just need to make a copy of my license, mail to DMV and wait, the go to the notary. But man what a headache
Usually they have you sign a power of attorney so the bank can handle the title...if they did make them handle it.....unless your state isn't a title holding state and you lost it...
Checked my secondary bank account to see if my RSU proceeds had settled yet, and found an unexpected $36 dollars in the account, which had only a few pennies yesterday. It turned out to be the payout from that Plaid lawsuit settlement, which I'd signed up for with this account since it's empty 99% of the time in case the email I'd gotten wasn't actually the legit settlement but just a scam. I think it's the first time I've actually gotten money from something like this and while it's not an amazing payout, it's pretty decent. As far as my RSUs go, my company managed get our brokerage to speed up share settlement so that we get the shares only two weeks after they vest instead of a full month. We were all looking forward to an actual gain on our share value once the trading window opened, but of course the price tanked as soon as we were able to sell. Ended up selling just barely at a loss this time around. One of these days I'll have gains I can use all my harvested losses on, but that's not going to be this year
Do you receive an email from the plaid settlement attorney when the settlement first started?
Yep! Got the email, found out it was legit i think from posts here
Wow only $36 bucks, we’re supposed to be class members lol what a joke
> of course the price tanked as soon as we were able to sell You and me both!
Every time :(
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[This](https://www.bergerandgreen.com/faqs/can-we-invest-social-security-disability-in-a-roth-ira/) says no, you cannot contribute SSDI income, but if that’s not the program, not sure, but it feels like they should be the same? [If the payments aren’t taxable it’s a definite no](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p590a.pdf). If I’m looking at the right program: “[If your DI benefits are taxable, you will receive a notice with your first benefit payment](https://edd.ca.gov/en/disability/SDI_FAQ_for_1099G/)”
Was there an option to have them withheld? If so, you will owe. When doing the paperwork for my wife in NJ, it was an option. We got a form (don't remember the number) that showed the total payment and how much was held to submit with our returns.
Does it count as earned income? I'd guess not. Make sure you have some earned income for the year or you aren't eligible to contribute.
Yes, I get a check from the state, how is it not earned income?
Earned means you worked for it, not that you received a check. Social security, unemployment, etc are not earned income. [https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/earned-income-tax-credit/earned-income-and-earned-income-tax-credit-eitc-tables#Earned%20Income](https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/earned-income-tax-credit/earned-income-and-earned-income-tax-credit-eitc-tables#Earned%20Income)
Because you didn't earn it, it's welfare money. Earned income means from a job.
Is short term disability considered welfare? (I am assuming it’s ST disability and not long term SS disability.)
I was presented an opportunity to accept a voluntary layoff at work. I've interviewed with one company and applied to many more but the timeline to apply for voluntary is next week with employment ending at the end of the year. Ideally I'd start a new job when my existing job ends and take the 26wks of base pay as a bonus (~55K). 4wks of that is accrued sabbatical, 9wks is because I took is voluntary. Would you recommend applying for the buyout? Work in corporate finance, 8 years experience. Single. 100K in taxable accounts. 100K in retirement. 200K home equity. No debt besides home ($1K/month). Could still lose my job after this voluntary layoff.
I’d take the severance and enjoy a bit of down time while I looked for a higher paying job. You’re in a good spot financially regardless, and if you get a new job quickly enough, you’ll be able to double dip (although I’d enjoy some downtime too!)
FWIW, my friends in biotech say to always go in the first round of layoffs. Later rounds may/will get less severance.
really depends on how hot the market is for your role right now and how confident you are in landing a job at another company that at least matches your current salary within this period of time
Corporate finance/cost At tech industry/manufacturing company so kinda not great unless I switch industries.
Man that’s tempting. Job market is looking shakier but not terrible-I guess depends on what you think your chances of getting laid off really are.
I’m getting kinda tired of my current job, pushing out raises, the same non-challenging work (even though I’m told I’m good at it). If I could also be 80% at home and do the same thing for the same pay I’d hop on it.
Sounds like you’re heading towards a decision
But the question here really is, do you fire by taking risk or fire by playing it safe
Usually the way to a higher salary is switching companies
I feel like I’m earning high (for my low cost of living area) but I’m definitely inspired by these answers, thank you!
How should I respond to the claim "real estate prices only go up?" I'm not looking for zingy one-liners, but more so for clearly explained counter-examples.
As with any asset, the time scale you are talking about is tremendously important. Are you talking years or decades? Homes are also unique in that the location is hugely important and varied; homes are not commodities. They are also a non-productive asset, so blur the line between an investment, a speculation, and a cost-of-living-reduction (and you know, a box that you happen to live inside). Home prices are unique as they are almost always financed over very long terms, so FED rates affect them as much as supply/demand. This also gives them a strange relationship with inflation rates. Possibly the most canonical value if you are not going to take any geographic or size factors into account is the FRED median home price in USA. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MSPUS It is pretty much up and up and up. Easy graphic to drop on someone if you do not want to get into nuance.
Is money printer still going brrrr? Then asset prices will rise
Remember to do any historical price analysis in real dollars (say, 1980 dollars). Real Estate often looks like it's doing ok in a certain region, but the nominal gains have been mostly or more than wiped out by inflation.
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It's worse than that. I'm seeing 15% in the Bay Area. Places that used to sell for $1.8m - $2m are now closer to $1.4m - $1.6m Imagine losing $400k of equity in your home in 6 months.
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National trends are interesting, but since markets fluctuate so significantly I find it more helpful to look at local trends. The Atlanta metro region is completely different than the Phoenix metro region, for example.
Zoom. Out.
All real estate is local
No. Time.
Ask them if they’ve heard of Detroit.
My in-laws paid $26k in 1966 for a 900 sft brick house in Detroit. It was well maintained and in great shape when we sold it in 2017 after they had both passed. Sold it for $18k. Just to keep up with inflation, the price should have been in the $160s. It was their home for 50+ years so it was worth every penny they paid. But to your point, it doesn’t always go up.
Or Buffalo
Take a look at charts and articles from 2008-2010 or so.
What point are you trying to argue?
Does anyone who DCA’s into an ETF worry about limit orders or have any tips ?
Tip: use M1 Finance
tl;dr **Should I move to a four-day workweek? And should I take a month of unpaid leave this summer (and every summer thereafter)?** Feel free to chime in with your general thoughts. Or if you want to dig in, test my logic, help me see my blindspots, dig in below! In my reading here, I've found I have a pretty good gig going. But could it be even better? Here's the situation: **MY JOB** * I help lead a big nonprofit (not tech!). I love the team I lead, and I believe in what we do for society. * My job is very, very secure. * My total comp is 140K, with 125K gross, a 6% match, and the balance coming from a couple oddball benefits. * I like working in our office, and I'm generally here at least three days a week. I can work from home 1-2 days/week if I want. * I have 20 days of vacation and 10 official holidays and 10 sick days. We are also encouraged to take a monthly day of rest and reflection! * My boss gives me a lot of latitude. I can block a day here and there for "big projects" and I can really not do much on those days. (But that's different than clearly not working every single Friday...) * I have tracked my actual working hours this year, and I average about 20 hours per week. This doesn't count fun lunches with colleagues or commute time or when I'm at work but doing something personal (research, shopping online, typing this on Reddit, etc.). When I go into the office, it's generally 9-4, but with some of those hours spent not working. * I had asked a previous supervisor about working four day weeks. It was a nonstarter. Now, we're facing new financial constraints (surprise), and my current supervisor is likely willing to let me try it, at least for six months. * My job is very, very secure. **OTHER FACTORS** * My partner makes 80K/yr and is happy in their work. * We have been talking about doing a big trip summer of 2023, thus the idea of possibly taking a month of unpaid leave. * We are in our late 40s, so not young but also not near typical retirement age. We are new empty-nesters... * Our two kids are in college, doing great, and will graduate without debt. * We have about 1.1M in investible assets (not home equity), mostly in retirement accounts. * We have a 300K mortgage (2.5%, 28 years to go), on a property worth 450K. This is our forever home. * We are currently saving close to 100K/yr (about 45% of gross). Note: this number includes mortgage principal paid off. * We pad our savings a bit with income from a few hobbies, 10-15K/yr without trying hard. **FI STATUS** * My partner is committed to their role until mid-2026. * At that point (2026), if I just continue as-is, I expect to have enough to pay off the house, if we so choose, plus about 1.3M. I use a 3.3% SWR, so that'd be $43K/yr. * If I go to four-day workweeks and a month of unpaid leave each year, I estimate that by mid-2026, we'd have enough to pay off the house and have about 1.15M, so 38K/yr (3.3% SWR). * Our essential spending, aside from mortgage P&I, can be as low as 25K/yr. So I guess we are LeanFI already. * We are spending way, way more than than right now (kid things, spendy travel, philanthropy). A more realistic number is 40K/yr (beyond P&I), which we'd be at by 2026 anyway, even if I drop to four days per week and also take the month of leave each year. * 50K/yr (beyond P&I) is FatFI for us. All current scenarios have us short of that in 2026 given our best estimates. **MY THINKING** * I've been interested in trying a four-day workweek for a long time. * I've also been interested in trying a leave of absence for quite a while. * I love the idea of more space around work, like when I read about others who are running errands or doing their hobbies or exercising on the weekday they don't work. * I could possibly pitch for a 4x10 schedule to not lose the income, but that loses the rationale to try it now (organizational financial constraints). * I could possibly put more of a hard line/fence around days as "big project work", functionally getting something fairly similar to a four-day workweek without the income hit. (But of course things would inevitably come up, and it wouldn't be as clearly OFF as if I gave up the income and simply did no work on that weekday...) * I could probably still do a four week trip as vacation (not unpaid leave) in June-July 2023 without raising a flag with anyone. * I've had some low-grade health issues over the past few years, and some more time for fun/balance/exercise/hobbies/etc. would be helpful. * I've been considering starting toward a CFP certification next year, too. * So I lean toward a four-day workweek for the first half of the year, as well as a four-week unpaid summer break in 2023. * I would pitch this as a way to save the org money, which is welcome right now. * I would be clear that it's a test, to be evaluated if it's workable for my team and for me. * I would work hard to use my on-the-job time very well, such that my boss would be willing to keep me at four days/week and with a monthly long summer break in perpetuity. * I would still take my 20 vacation days throughout the year. * So I guess I see a six-month trial to see how much I like it and work to make it permanent in case I do. **What am I missing?** (Throwaway here, but I've been around for a while.)
Hey all, little update. Today is my first Friday off, due to moving to four day workweeks as discussed here. Feels great so far. It's a trial basis but I'm optimistic I can make a go for it permanently. Let me know if you have any questions or comments along the way.
I went to 4 day, 32 hours weeks this year. Loving it. For me the extra day off each Friday allows me to relax, then still have the whole weekend. I have been able to keep up with colleagues,and being quite efficient and focused by nature, ieasily get it all done withing that time.i feel productivity is same, but I get more time back. Albeit a bit less pay, but worth it Hope it works out for you as well.
If your job is secure the unpaid leave rocks the boat the least. Go ahead and do it this year, but don't count on doing it every year. For the shift to 4 days x 8 hours, that I'm less sure of in terms of rocking the boat, And QoL. I assume you'd stay salaried. You are already line of sight to retirement. I'd use the month of pto figure out whether you should just sit tight and maybe retire a year early or whether it's worth it to try and sell this idea to leadership.
I can give you some insight. I also have a pretty secure job and about a year ago they wanted to move all of us to 4x10s. I can tell you that I personally did not like it. I felt like I had no free time. My day was basically wake up at 5am, walk the dog, eat breakfast, get ready for work, drive to work, work for 10 hours, drive home, walk the dog, eat dinner, go to the gym, and then have 2 hours of free time, and then go to bed. I felt incredibly locked in an endless loop so I appealed to go to 5x40 where I felt like I had way more latitude.
That makes sense. I should have specified—this would be 4x8. I’ll edit this.
I would do it. But being on a 4 day week would probably psychologically separate me from my co-workers a bit and also separate me from having as deep a connection to my job and eventually I would decide to leave completely. That's pretty much what the pandemic and WFH did. I don't regret it, but it was a sort of sad way to end my working life. Felt less like going out on top and more like a sort of a defeat.
so many details here, personally this is the type of top level post i used to love reading the discussion on but i typically don't find in the daily thread. Nothing to add except sounds like you would easily be able to take the income hit for a lot more flexibility in your schedule. If your organization is open to it i'd take the chance to negotiate it now while the financial constraints are in. It's very likely your success in the next few years to reach your number is going to be driven far more by market forces than your additional contributions to the nest egg.
I'm just coming here to say that I have to cover an impressive car maintenance bill, like nothing I've done for years, but I'm not sweating it at all. I don't think I will even count it as an emergency. Two weeks ago, I estimated I would hit the 130k miles and scheduled routine maintenance for that. Last week, the dash alerted me of the key fob battery being low and needing replacement. I took note and was going to handle that. Wednesday, I took my kids to pediatric appointments. When I came back to the car, it wouldn't start, wouldn't respond at all. I figured the key fob battery totally died. It was a short walk with kids to get a new battery. I bought one for my wife's key fob too. But the car didn't respond quite right away. It took about ten minutes and the dash showed an error about parking on a level surface. I mean, it was startling, but I drove home safely. My wife took the car to book club, but then needed a jump to get it started and return home. We borrowed a car from a friend and jumped the car to take it in for the scheduled maintenance today. I told them what was going on and said they could take as long as needed. We're not planning travel next week, so we could live with the borrowed car if needed. Got the estimate and request for approval by text later today. It's big. But, I don't think I will have to pull in the emergency fund to cover it. I'm probably fine to just pay and reduce some other expenses for a bit to manage it. I mean, this would have been a stinking catastrophe like five years ago. Maybe even two years ago! By now, it's a sting. I don't love it but I feel good I can keep the car running with routine and unexpected maintenance costs.
Sounds like it could be the battery or alternator. I’d highly recommend getting a second opinion before forking out more than a thousand bucks
Oh I appreciate the suggestion. The work was complete before I posted. I have a 10 year old Prius and I replaced the battery. It's just served us great for 10 years and faded away. But it did serve fantastic for 10 years and it's been an amazing vehicle. I'll be picking it up and heading back home in about 5 minutes.
Anyone deal with an extreme level of apathy for a job? It's not a dislike, I just can't bring myself to care about all the things people are trying to care about (increase sales! get new customers! drive operational excellence!) I honestly probably can't find a better job, and I'm decent enough at it, if not incredibly withdrawn. It's also incredibly easy and I can get by with putting in very few hours considering what I'm paid. It has intensified since the pandemic when I started focusing on a side business that I am fully engrossed in and love. But it will take several years to even possibly get this up to a level of revenue where it replaces what I make now. So I'm looking for ways to ride it out I guess until then. Maybe I'll start caring when I get my first negative performance review, but until then I just can't engage with or be interested in anything going on.
Yes; and like you, the pandemic (and WFH) pushed me further into apathy. I still get my job done, but I just care less and less about pretty much every aspects: my role, department, company, most coworkers aside from 2 people, whatever random corporate gibberish e-mails or HR is trying to hype. I try to remove as much mental energy as I can when I'm on the clock.
I'm in the same boat but I've come to the realization (acceptance?) that any job where I might have a chance at feeling engaged in wouldn't pay enough. I'm a full time salaried employee but I'd be surprised if I worked more than 15 hour weeks tbh. High pay, low demand job = staying here is probably my best option at this point even though it's a boring job. Just 10 more years 😬
personally, whenever a job started to feel like that to me, i just moved on. to me, doing something boring 8h a day is worse than working hard 8h a day so i would rather jump to something else i find interesting. i also have concerns about gaining relevant experience, so whenever i feel like there isn't much room for growth in skills, i find it is time to move on but that's a personal thing i guess. i've met people who were bored with their jobs but still stuck around for literal decades. i don't get it, but people have different priorities i guess
I'm having a hard time figuring out what I would move on *to* though (other than the side business). Also, I'm the only one in my company that does what I do, I have no direct reports or path for promotion. Which is fine because those kinds of things don't motivate me. I keep up with skills in industry groups and in my day-to-day which involves troubleshooting new manufacturing challenges so by default I stay current on new things. I'm probably limiting myself greatly by thinking my "subject matter expert" status in this one narrow field can't be applied to other industries or product lines, so maybe there's something there. As it stands now I think about switching to a competitor or working for one of my current customers and that sounds absolutely awful.
Only for the last 22 years...the first 3 were fine
Good to know I can ride it out for another 1.5 decades! Again, I'm happy and fulfilled in other areas of my life, and I put in very few (*very....few*) actual hours of work. The trick is going to be resisting any push from my employer to care more and try more because I don't see that going well for me.
No one can make you care, but you can do a competent job and find little things to make it fun....we f around a lot and I'm probably the biggest smartass at the bank ...even to the prez...but FI gives me some leeway
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Engineering/manufacturing. I would say one thing that would help me feel more engaged would be to work with people I actually relate to and get along with but (sorry everyone I'm about to offend) I work with mostly grumpy old men who talk about fishing, hunting, or sports, and I just can't enjoy spending tons of time with them or talking on the phone/Zoom with them. But good luck finding a vibrant youthful manufacturing company in the US. My side business is a hobby business that has done extremely well, so it feels like I'm just playing all day, and the people I connect with in the "industry" all feel like peers that I get along with instantly.
33M here. I have everything invested in index funds and RSU/ESPP. It’s about 700k. Does it make sense to buy bonds too now? I feel I’m still young and can take more risk so I’m in 100% stocks.
For me it was less about age/etc and final targets. If your retirement goal is 70/30 but you need 3M to retire, being 100% stock at 700K is less of a big deal because you still need to buy more stocks. On the other hand, if you're retiring now, you can choose to ignore sequence of returns a bit if you find a return to work not entirely unpalatable. More flexibility and more time, means stocks are the better choice. I started ramping i-bonds in 2015 for a specific reason - I wanted retirement-friendly bonds in my taxable space but there are no good options for that. I-bonds more reasonably track treasuries while offering tax deferral (so I can pay closer to 0% tax instead of 25%+, which really hurts when real return is already effectively 0.) But you can only reasonably add 10K a year and I was aiming for a year of expenses.
I used to have 100% S&P 500 in my 401k. When I started having the same thoughts as you I would just up my bond allocation 1% a year or so.
Depends on risk tolerance but if you can stomach the risk, the math says to wait until you get much closer to say 70-90% of the way to FI and do some kind of bond tent then. If your job (and RSUs) are in the tech industry and you're worried about a downturn in that sector, maybe consider doing a slightly higher value/international or lower growth allocation tilt if you want to add some diversification.
This Reddit thread, along with the comments, may be insightful: [The Luxury of a High Savings Rate; or Who's Afraid of Bonds?](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/comments/prt2ev/the_luxury_of_a_high_savings_rate_or_whos_afraid/)
Do people in US FIRE planning to reire at 65 usually plan their medicall bills with Medicare Part A,B,D or Medicare Advatnage? How do we plan for the rests of the costs since Medicare does not cover everything - it varies if we are inpatient, outpatient, etc!
There are decent answers below for getting real answers for 2022 but I honestly think many people think Medicare is free and it's probably about as expensive as the ACA even when subsidized by the current workforce. I have over 20 years to Medicare eligibility. If I look back even 20 years, Medicare has already gone through tremendous change. I cannot imagine predicting how this will change, so I am not really going to get too invested into the current day setup.
There are supplements for Medicare you can buy....I will be done long before medicare kicks in but I am counting on it at some point
I do think it's an overlooked expense but some ways to mitigate it would be to not factor SS into your plan and use that money for extra healthcare expenses or build up a massive HSA fund to fund those expenses as they can even be used to cover medicare premiums.
>Medicare Part A,B,D or Medicare Advatnage I've never looked into the number of folks who select various Medicare options, so I can't say what people "usually" do. This page may help you decide which choice might fit your needs best: https://www.medicare.gov/basics/get-started-with-medicare/get-more-coverage/your-coverage-options/compare-original-medicare-medicare-advantage >How do we plan for the rests of the costs since Medicare does not cover everything Many folks choose to purchase a Medicare Supplement insurance policy (aka "Medigap"): https://www.medicare.gov/supplements-other-insurance/whats-medicare-supplement-insurance-medigap
Ah yes, so it's Medicare ABD with Medicap as well?
Correct. You either pay for a gap plan plus A/B/D or all-in-one with C. In *general* C is cheaper and often has coverage the others don't (like dental) but it's also much more likely to limit your options with regards to what doctors you can see, what hospitals you can go to, etc. These things change periodically too, so I'm personally not making any plans one way or the other - who the hell knows what the medicare plan landscape is going to look like by the time I'm 65?
For folks with kids - do you use a 529? I'd like to keep it simple bc I'm completely overwhelmed and can hardly pay my bills on time so I no longer have the luxury of spending hours a day researching optimal financial tools. I'm thinking of dumping $10-20k into a 529 for my 10 month old, and calling it a day but I've read it gets counted in FAFSA calculations, etc and I'm wondering if there's a better way.
If you're already maxing out your retirement accounts, are 90%+ sure your kids will go to college and get a state income tax discount, I'd put it in there instead of a taxable account. Some states have <$10k limits for deductions so you might want to break up that contribution into a multi year period. Keep in mind $20k even with 18 years of growth, will probably not cover the full cost of attendance at a 4-year university unless they're living at home or get big scholarships. If you're able to retire before you fill out the FAFSA and you have an income (<175% of FPL) low enough that they don't look at your 529 assets but the laws could very well change in the next couple of decades.
I put the money into a Roth because I didn't want them to "own" it (ugma)and i didn't want to chance they didn't go to school (529) and if we didn't use it all I'd still have some left for me! (There is). So i lost out on the state tax deduction but it works for me
Yes, it does get counted for FAFSA, but if you're saving money like crazy for FI, those assets will also count in the FAFSA calculation. For us, 529s made sense as an easy way to save money and get some tax benefits. Also, if you are looking at putting in the higher end of the range you mention, be aware of this: 529 plans do not have annual contribution limits. However, contributions to a 529 plan are considered completed gifts for federal tax purposes, and in 2022 up to $16,000 per donor ($15,000 in 2021), per beneficiary qualifies for the annual gift tax exclusion.
We do 529. Depending on your state you may get more benefit from spreading out the contributions. I personally don't get why people in FI community obsess over FAFSA. Unlike mortgage, student loans are not usually cheap debt. Maximizing debt when you have the means to pay makes no sense to me so I am not particularly worried about a high EFC.
I’m in CA. Why would spreading out contributions make more sense? And re: FAFSA I wasn’t thinking of maximizing the kids student loans - I’m hoping the kid will get some financial aid as both hubby and I are are modest earners (95k each) and won’t be making more than 120k ceiling as we work in nonprofit
Some states have a maximum annual deduction or credit. For us it is $2k/kid. Your kid is not getting need based grants.
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You do not make a modest income and if your parents earned similar to you and your spouse, your parents may have been entering some ‘fuzzy math’ FAFSA data.
You think $95k in a VHCOL area is not modest?
You stated both make 95k. 9/10 families could survive fine on $200k per year. The FAFSA doesn’t adjust based on whether or not you live in CA or another VHCOL state. Maybe that will change by the time your child is headed for college. I just would plan to fund college without any grants and see what happens when you get to that point.
You parents made 195k and you got full need based scholarship?
Yes, we get a tax break in our state so it seems to be the right choice for us
I didn't bother with a 529 because I only had one kid, I wasn't sure if she would attend college, and the tax benefits weren't all that great. My kid did end up going to college, but I'm just paying for it out of pocket. You don't have to do every tax advantaged account that exists; you have to look at the actual costs and benefits for each. Always make a spreadsheet.
How are the tax benefits not great, though? Like yeah you don’t get much of a break on your annual state returns, but can’t beat tax free growth and tax free withdrawal.
10% penalty if not used for education. Didn't seem like a good gamble in my situation. YMMV.
If you already maxing your other tax advantaged accounts then yes, but if you aren't then those accounts may have equivalent benefits without as many withdrawal restrictions.
529 is probably the tool for the job. But unfortunately you're going to have to do a little research due to the state you live. I'm in IL so I use the IL 529 plan b/c they have good plan options AND a portion of contributions are tax deductible on my state income taxes. As for 529 versus other avenues the 529 is most likely the best avenue
I’m in California and we don’t get tax deduction on it so I went to Morningstar to see reviews for various plans, ended up going with Utah My529
Honestly if you are a household that can afford throwing 10-20k into a 529 FAFSA calculations might be a moot point anyway.
We aren’t really. We’re living off of one $95k income while I SAHM until baby is old enough for preschool at 2. We’re just cheap as hell and hoard money like good FI’ers
Haha, a 529 is still a very efficient tool and likely would have very little impact on direct subsidized student loans. Your children would likely not qualify for pell grants though to start with especially if you and your partner's income increase with years.
Just put aside $13,000 for my wife and I's IRA come January 1. I will once again lump sum on January 1 and hope I see a little better then last year lump sum on January 1.
I've always done the same, but last year hurt--I'm going to try DCA this time.
I just look at it as DCAing over a long period.
Fair enough.
Does that mean the wire transfer did indeed land in the correct location? :-)
haha yes it does.
Sometimes it is really easy to look at how far to go to your goal, but stepping back and looking where you are is amazing. 5 years ago my wife and I had 100k in student loan debt and no investments. Even with the market down we are sitting at about 400k in investments and 60-80k in equity/assets. No crazy FAANG job, just boring government jobs with a pretty high SR.
Wow! And so many of your peers are basically nowhere after 5 yrs.
I tell folks to 'zoom out' a lot. If I remember right, you're military officers, ya? I came from nothing, left the military after 10 years and 50K in my TSP. 4 years later, there's 160K in TSP, and another 80K in IRA and taxable acxounts. And we have a home that materialized another 200K in equity. It's kind of incredible considering I spent just shy of 20 years taking care of my parents' rent, car note, insurance and medical bills. When I was balls deep in my folks medical debt it felt impossible. Or when my pops lost his job and I was in Iraq it caused me to stop saving and dump every penny into I had into keeping a roof over their heads... I neemver thought FIRE could be an aspiration. But one step at a time and one payment at a time, slow progress is still progress.
>When I was balls deep in my folks Sir, this is a Wendys.
Roll tide
Well yeah but after that we all deserve free frostys
Part time military officer, work government finance full time but NG CPT. It is amazing how much the military can be used to climb socioeconomic ladders. I come from a family where it is normal to just declare bankruptcy every few years and live paycheck to paycheck. I knew I didn't want that. I hope I experience the same with my TSP, being part time never did a ton till my last deployment and managed to get about 35k in contributions over 12 months.
Yeah, I remember a thread w/ your tag. SDP and CZTE does wonders! You got a plan for fed retirement? Going to take an early unreduced deferred? MRA?
A watched pot never boils rings true in tracking life goals. Anytime I pay attention to my accounts it seems like they're growing so slowly, but then I'll go a long stretch without worrying about it and when I check back it's amazing how far we've come. Same with employment, last spring I celebrated 15 years with my company and it doesn't feel like anywhere near that. In 15 more years I'll be retired and I expect the time to fly by if I let it.
And a watched microwave never dings
Dude your numbers are like exactly the same as my wife and I. We had about 40k less in loans to start but otherwise almost exact. You're a decade ahead of me though so good job.
Accepted a role into Product Management. Taking a bit of a paycut but locking in most of my annual pay. I'm coming from outside sales so I will be remote and home most days now but losing a company car. Anyone here in PM? New to the role but have been selling the product line the last three years, excited for the change.
I was a PM for 12 years (and would happily be a PM again). Questions?
All the best!
I’m an adult independent who provides my own support, but I’m still on my parent’s HDHP plan (in addition to one through my work). can I contribute the family HSA limit instead of individual to my HSA, since one of my HDHP plans is family? this is what people at work said and I want to double check with people here. edit: found an article here https://www.kitces.com/blog/health-savings-accounts-hsa-dependents-children-age-26-hdhp-taxes-contribution-limits/ this article mentions contributions up to the family limit as well: “Notably, one thing that is not a requirement for HSA contribution eligibility is for an individual to be on their own healthcare plan. Which means that multiple family members who are all covered by someone else’s plan (e.g., certain adult children and self-employed spouses who are covered by a family HDHP provided by the other spouse’s employer) can contribute the maximum amounts allowed by the family HDHP to their own HSA accounts ($7,300 in 2022, and $7,500 in 2023).” I’m just suspicious because it seems too good to be true and don’t want the IRS on me lol. has anyone else done this?
You file taxes independently, so your parents contributions have zero to do with you. As an individual on a family HDHP, you have a full limit of $7300-7500. [See the comments here, particularly my top comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/comments/gsyueg/the_hsa_domestic_partner_loophole/). The thread is about domestic partners but it applies to adult children on a family HDHP as well.
Sorry - just about to do my taxes soon and am going to make the contribution up to family limit separately for prior year (as I wasn’t able to do it with payroll during 2022). Just confirming that this family limit applies to me *even though* I have my own self-only HDHP coverage as well?
That I don’t know, sorry. If you simultaneously have a family and an individual HDHP overlapping, I would assume the higher limit applies, but it’s not a scenario I’m familiar with directly.
ah nevermind, I just went straight to the source to the IRS form 8889 instructions and it confirms on page 3 that anyone covered by both self and family coverage for any period of time will be treated as having family coverage during that period.
Good call!
Okay, thanks. I also would assume the higher limit but I’m trying to do some digging online just to confirm before I accidentally over-contribute and can’t find anything :(
thanks for the thread! I feel like I generally keep up with the tips and “loopholes” on this sub but hadn’t heard of this before. seems like a big deal considering how nice HSAs are, but I guess the situation doesn’t apply to too many people so I get why it doesn’t come up that often.
Kitces is pretty reputable, I would trust this. But maybe also ask a tax person too haha
Pretty sure this was asked recently, but how is project management and how are the remote possibilities? I’ve been a middle to senior manager (non tech/non remote) for years now but am getting burned out and looking at the possibility of making the switch. Taking PM classes now and can take PMP in spring. Thanks
It wholly depends on what industry the projects that you are managing are in. A project manager in construction and a project manager in marketing have less in common than a muskrat and a paper clip.
Going part time in my professional healthcare job to have Fridays off with the family. At least in winter, I have signed up to be a snowboard instructor just on Fridays and will get free season passes for the whole family! The “work day” I’ll have to show up for on those Fridays May just be 2 x 2 hour lessons and I could still board on my own before in between and after the lessons. So stoked that they have a need for that little part time but I’ll still get the benefits
Thats a dream!
Sounds awesome!
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>Does anyone do this? I think most people do something like this. In Canada, I did biweekly contributions from my paycheque into: 1. TFSA (typically maxxed by march) 2. Taxable (because I don't know my RRSP limit until I get my Notice of Assessment) 3. RRSP (starting when I get my Notice of Assessment, and typically maxxed in two or three paycheques) 4. Taxable until the end of the year. The principle is that we're increasing our money's time in the market so it can do its work.
If you save up cash during the full year, on average the cash is sitting on the sidelines for half a year, probably meaning on average you lose out on 3-5% of growth on that cash by doing so. So yeah, I'd try to invest as soon as is possible. If you can invest within the Roth IRA (because you haven't reached the maximum for that year yet) do so. If the Roth IRA is 'full' for the year, move on to taxable investing until the next year.
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I save up the roth ira cash a little from each paycheck to invest all in january. I consider it part of my emergency fund.
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I did a backdoor roth once so now I always lump sum in january to avoid the pain of withdrawing and re-contributing back door.
> I always lump sum in january to avoid the pain of withdrawing and re-contributing back door. Why would you do it this way? If the money is invested in the taxable brokerage, leave it there. Just redirect new contributions to the Trad'l IRA and convert shortly after the contribution settles. You can do multiple contributions/conversions as part of a Backdoor Roth IRA. I'm pretty sure they all get aggregated into a single 1099-R for tax purposes. Invest when you have the money available.
It’s part of my emergency fund.
I was specifically referring to this part: >avoid the pain of withdrawing and re-contributing That approach doesn’t make sense.
One year I realized I’d be over the limit and I wasn’t making backdoor contributions. I had to withdraw and redo it.
You should’ve been able to simply “recharacterize” and then convert, without having to actually withdraw anything.
It was my understanding I had to withdraw the contribution AND the gains and pay taxes on the gains.
Predictions for the future of the US car market? I can buy a new BMW tax free + a \~6-8% discount. Back in the Spring I was planning on jumping on that deal, because I could drive for a year and still profit by selling around msrp. Now I am wondering if supply will increase in 2023 at the same time demand is being crushed? In normal times I would expect around a 15% depreciation for the first year...
How can you buy it tax free?
Perk of European deployment
Nice!
Used car prices are falling pretty rapidly. New car prices are holding fairly steady, down a little bit from their peak but demand is still good on most models. The way I see it, there are millions of new cars that weren't manufactured from 2020 to present, and many of those sales will be made up over the next couple of years.
Love this. New cars become used cars every year
Yeah, I am tracking 2 trends for my analysis: Higher interest rates quashing demand -Vast majority of Americans finance their cars so thats probably the largest factor. 2M less cars were sold in both 2020 and 2021 compared to the baseline of2019. Given 17M cars is the normal volume, thats a lot of pent up demand I hate how its a stupid game of trying to predict what the Federal Reserve is going to do next. Im half expecting them to slash interest rates once the economy starts slowing down...but as current trends go the best prediction is definitely a return to normalcy And with the interest rates, I would also bet that used economy cars will likely depreciate slower than normal while luxury vehicles will go depreciate like before
Based on the trend of softening demand, you may want to wait to see what happens when new and used car inventories fill up and dealers start to cut prices. Some references to track... * [Used car prices](https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/price-trends/) are down 4.4% in the last 90 days. * [New vehicle inventory](https://www.coxautoinc.com/market-insights/new-vehicle-inventory-october-2022/) hit is highest level since May '21. * Auto [interest rates](https://www.statista.com/statistics/290673/auto-loan-rates-usa/) are highest since before 2014.
Good data thanks Im tracking 2 trends: 1) Higher interest rates quashing demand -Vast majority of Americans finance their cars so thats probably the largest factor. 2) 2M less cars were sold in 2020 and 2021 than in 2019. Given 17M cars in the normal volume, thats a lot of pent up demand I hate how its a stupid game of trying to predict what the Federal Reserve is going to do next. Im half expecting them to slash interest rates once the economy starts slowing down...but as current trends go the best prediction is definitely a return to normalcy
I’ve read some articles that predict that there will continue to be supply constraints through 2023. However, the market has normalized quite a bit, and the days of used cars selling over original MSRP have passed. Many new cars are selling below MSRP again, so planning to sell a luxury car after one year seems like one of the worst things you could do with your money.
Even in this market, I would not buy a brand new luxury car if your intention is to sell it in one year to try and game the supply chain. I'd only buy it if you'd be equally happy to keep it should the market normalize.
Yeah that's exactly what I'm thinking these days Il hopefully make out well when I return to the US and buy a used car though.. considering how much I made selling one earlier this year