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Reading IRA chat reminded me to just move $5500 from checking. Thanks thread.
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Jun 23, 2018 21:45
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freeasinbeer posted:Downside is that makes me concerned about having enough to continue to grow my e-fund or failing to curb expenses enough that I start spending more then I should. When I was starting out I used my Roth as my e-fund, basically. I rented and lived close to work so the 2-3 day withdrawal delay was not a big deal. If you’re concerned for volatility leave the funds in the money market account.
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Jun 24, 2018 00:22
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I mean I should rephrase that. Currently I make $5000 every 2 weeks, of which I see about $3200 after tax, 401k and healthcare. I have $900 a month go into a separate checking account, of which $700 goes into a shared account with my partner for rent and Food. I basically pretend that $900 doesn’t exist. The other $2200 goes into my account and pays my credit cards. With the changes to my 401k that is going to become $1300ish. So my fear is that I am going from $4400 a “month” to $2600 and that I will fail to adjust. This is more E/n territory but I am also trying to get us to spend more out of our shared account, I make 3x what she does but I cover her healthcare via my work, often pay for going out(way more then we should) and for a lot of what should be shared expenses. We absolutely need to get our poo poo together, but I have vague existential worries about switching from liquid cash in my bank to tax advantaged investment accounts and not having access to it. The ability to withdraw deposited cash from a Roth is nice, but the thing that is freaking me out is the deductions to my 401k going up and not being able to touch it. I mean I think I’ll have money left over but I’ve been able to grow my emergency fund by $2k a month even with some insane outlays over the past few months and it is demoralizing that is gonna stop. Bad news is that I found out I was already making more then my boss who I am replacing so no pay raise! I’d start looking elsewhere but they had also just offered me a retention bonus right before I found out to stay through 2019 and that along with the new bonus class I am in brings me to near where I want to be with the caveat is it’s a bonus not salary. Edit: To put it succinctly I need to mentally switch from thinking of my financial health as how much I have in my bank account to net worth. freeasinbeer fucked around with this message at 13:34 on Jun 24, 2018 |
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Jun 24, 2018 13:22
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Wait, you're going to be deducting $900 more post-tax per paycheck for your 401(k)? It maxes out at 18.5k for the year. Even if you're getting taxed way less than I would think at that income rate you're looking at around 15k from that over the rest of the year. You're going to hit the cap before long unless you were barely putting anything in before.
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Jun 24, 2018 16:01
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22 Eargesplitten posted:Wait, you're going to be deducting $900 more post-tax per paycheck for your 401(k)? It maxes out at 18.5k for the year. Even if you're getting taxed way less than I would think at that income rate you're looking at around 15k from that over the rest of the year. You're going to hit the cap before long unless you were barely putting anything in before. This is what I get for doing math after waking up at 4AM. So the deduction is going to be $750 which is 15%, I was at 5% to make my match, which is $250. So far this year I had put in $3k. But according to my math that still doesn't max me out. I need to goto ~$1108 per paycheck or so to actually hit my 401k limit.
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Jun 24, 2018 19:50
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Remember that the $1108 or so is pre-tax, so you're getting more for your money (literally) when you think about it in terms of what won't be on your paycheck. Not sure what your state taxes or brackets are like at $130k, but based on napkin math $900 post-tax actually might be about right then.
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Jun 24, 2018 19:55
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I took a look at the mortgage market today and realised that a competitor to our current lender offered 0,14% lower rate. A quick email later our fee was lowered by 0.10%. Since October I've managed to negotiate the rate down by half a percentage point, lowering the interest payments by 25%. Free money, feels good!
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Jun 26, 2018 12:00
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Here's a DEEPLY incremental improvement - I like to buy an iced coffee at work (I know, I know, but it saves me some time and money) and anyway my friend gave me a commuter mug (enormous, like 24 oz?) which I have started taking to the coffee shop and not only do I get a FREE 8 oz of coffee (the normal cup is 16 oz), they also knock $0.20 off the price for the "commuter mug discount." This is more like minimizing harm instead of maximizing benefit but hey, every little bit helps.
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Jun 28, 2018 14:39
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make cold brew en masse at home, this is what my wife has done and it has saved us probably five hundred bucks a year
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Jun 29, 2018 13:27
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:make cold brew en masse at home, this is what my wife has done and it has saved us probably five hundred bucks a year This is such a pathetic cop out but we really haven't had time or fridge space to do this to this point. Things may change if we can get our poo poo together and as our daughter gets older but paying somebody to make our coffee has been a luxury we feel like we need.
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Jun 30, 2018 14:23
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It takes like 30 seconds to do it the cheap and dirty way in a French press - 1 cup grounds to 32oz cold water in the press, let sit overnight, decant to pitcher in fridge
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Jun 30, 2018 18:26
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Got paid yesterday, and this paycheck marks the anniversary of me finishing off my debts and getting serious about saving and investing! In the past year I've saved just under 22.5k, which was approximately 37% of my gross income for most of the year (I got a small raise two months ago). The 22.5k figure includes maxing out my IRA contributions for 2017 and 2018, contributing to my 457, and contributing to my emergency fund. Putting aside such a high percentage has meant living a rather simple lifestyle, but I've been immensely satisfied seeing my discipline pay off and watching my accounts grow month after month. Long story short, this has been quite a personal transformation in my relationship to money - and I have places like these forums to thank for it!
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Jul 1, 2018 06:22
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Riders of Brohan posted:Putting aside such a high percentage has meant living a rather simple lifestyle, but I've been immensely satisfied seeing my discipline pay off and watching my accounts grow month after month. I still live a rather simple lifestyle that I happy with although I've made a few purchases this year that I've deferred for the 4 years since buying my house. A simpler and focused lifestyle is so much more beneficial in so many ways. I'm happy that you've changed the way you deal with money.
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Jul 5, 2018 00:47
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EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:This is such a pathetic cop out but we really haven't had time or fridge space to do this to this point. Things may change if we can get our poo poo together and as our daughter gets older but paying somebody to make our coffee has been a luxury we feel like we need. I got sick of spending almost $5 a day on a trenta cold brew from Starbucks, so I spent $5 on a glass galllon-ish pitcher, $10 on some cold brew bags, $20 on a couple pounds of coffee, and another $20 on some Torani syrups. All told I have $50-ish maybe invested, and I can make enough cold brew concentrate right now to last a month. And since the pitcher and bags were a one-time expense, my monthly costs going forward should be fairly minimal. Now I'm just experimenting with ratio of coffee:water in the brewing process, how much (if any) to cut the concentrate with water, and how many syrup pumps of I need to make it even better than Starbucks. Plus, I make it all in a $5 yeti knockoff that says way colder way longer than the plastic Starbucks or Dunkin' cups.
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Jul 13, 2018 17:17
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Signed lease on an apartment with actually modern fittings that's $85/wk lower than what I was originally budgeting for: check Bought a secondhand Civic in great condition from a work colleague for mate's rates: check Sold my '88 Corolla for more than I would have got from the wreckers, and assuaged my guilt by not being the one to destroy a "family heirloom": check What a loving week. I mean financially I'm worse off, but quality of life is already better, and the outcome is great when compared to my original rental + new-car budget. Maybe I'm just terrible at budgeting? P.S. coffee is disgusting
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Jul 14, 2018 01:29
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Today is a huge weight off my shoulders. I took out a substantial student loan when I was young to pursue a certificate in a career I was passionate about. My credit was basically nonexistent and it was a lot of money, so I had a big variable interest rate and a co-signer who turned out to be a mistake. Every letter he’d get about account or policy changes led to a phone call to me that would stress me out. I wouldn’t have been able to get the money and my current job without him, but it really sucked and loomed over my head for years. I was just approved for a refinance with my bank, who gave me a better rate and no loving co-signer. Hallelujah.
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Jul 15, 2018 16:29
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Slowly and methodically budgeting and investing and my net worth (cash and stock) is over $250K now. A lot of that is variable as it is tied to the market but it feels good to watch efforts working over time.
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Jul 22, 2018 02:01
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spwrozek posted:Slowly and methodically budgeting and investing and my net worth (cash and stock) is over $250K now. A lot of that is variable as it is tied to the market but it feels good to watch efforts working over time. Came here to post that my net worth (cash and retirement accounts) is now over $50k and it feels nice to see that and you just have to one up me. But congrats all the same!
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Jul 22, 2018 16:24
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BAE OF PIGS posted:Came here to post that my net worth (cash and retirement accounts) is now over $50k and it feels nice to see that and you just have to one up me.  Way to go. The nice thing as as you see it go up and just gets easier and easier to pump in that money. And the compounding gets better and better.
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Jul 22, 2018 19:55
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BAE OF PIGS posted:Came here to post that my net worth (cash and retirement accounts) is now over $50k and it feels nice to see that and you just have to one up me. Congrats! 0->$100k net worth is often the hardest hurdle, even gaining inertia towards it is amazing progress.
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Jul 22, 2018 20:17
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Yeah, less than 2 years ago it was only $13k. Actually sticking to my budget and pumping 20% of my salary into retirement accounts is really helping me get ahead. With any luck, in a few years I'll be able to gently caress it up with a house purchase and I'll start digging myself out again.
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Jul 23, 2018 00:52
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BAE OF PIGS posted:Yeah, less than 2 years ago it was only $13k. Actually sticking to my budget and pumping 20% of my salary into retirement accounts is really helping me get ahead. Houses are roughly net zero against your net worth. In theory your asset offsets the debt and only your closing costs are negative against your net worth.
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Jul 23, 2018 03:04
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H110Hawk posted:Houses are roughly net zero against your net worth. In theory your asset offsets the debt and only your closing costs are negative against your net worth. Yeah, but, your expenses go up in most cases, making it harder to save as large a % of your income.
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Jul 23, 2018 13:20
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It's hard to tell too accurately (because of month to month variations in loan interest compounding versus market gains and new retirement contributions) but in 2018 we have certainly gone from negative to positive net worth. This is remarkable if only because in 2016 we were almost half a million net negative with student loans and credit card debt.
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Jul 23, 2018 17:14
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EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:It's hard to tell too accurately (because of month to month variations in loan interest compounding versus market gains and new retirement contributions) but in 2018 we have certainly gone from negative to positive net worth. This is remarkable if only because in 2016 we were almost half a million net negative with student loans and credit card debt. Way to be worthless. Grumpwagon posted:Yeah, but, your expenses go up in most cases, making it harder to save as large a % of your income. Correct, but buying a house isn't a "hole" per se, it's just slowing your rate of savings with maybe a few grand in closing costs worth of "drain." Your liquidity certainly takes a massive hit.
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Jul 23, 2018 18:22
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H110Hawk posted:Way to be worthless. Certainly worth more dead than alive.
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Jul 23, 2018 19:02
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loving doctors man. Just kidding, one of my good friends literally just finished residency and talking to him about the uphill climb he's still facing in his 30s for a long time to come sounds like it's still gonna suck.
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Jul 23, 2018 19:50
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No Butt Stuff posted:loving doctors man. My head literally spins when I stop and consider the progress we've made. This is despite a still-enormous pile of loans that is ticking toward public sector forgiveness. When those hit the payoff, it's going to be an absolutely monster year for net worth.
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Jul 23, 2018 20:30
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I poo-poo buying a lot but buying a house does have SOME insulating factors on your net worth and saving rates. Your mortgage payments will be the minimum you'll spend on the house, but they'll be relatively stable over the course of multiple decades. My rent was growing at about 4% / year when I was renting. My mortgage payments have grown by about 0.4% per year due to taxes and escrow, and I've been consistently taking the mortgage interest deduction and plowing it into investment accounts. It also gives you more control over housing costs in certain dimensions: you don't have to worry that your landlord will not renew your lease and sell the house out from under you if you own it, which while not super prevalent, happens a decent amount. Buying a house as an investment is silly, but buying it to hedge liabilities CAN be intelligent.
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Jul 24, 2018 16:35
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I am curious who still owns a house over decades? I mean even my parents (62) owned 5 houses from 1980 until now. The cost of mortgages surely going up over those times (bigger houses, newer stuff, etc). So do those "your payment doesn't change for 30 years" statements actually hold any water?
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Jul 24, 2018 18:59
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Dwight Eisenhower posted:I poo-poo buying a lot but buying a house does have SOME insulating factors on your net worth and saving rates. I absolutely get the logic behind your conclusion, but is the conclusion still true in red hot real estate markets? In Seattle and SF it is not uncommon for rents to increase ~10% annually. Meanwhile, the average annual increase in real estate (can't remember if all residential or Detached Single Family Homes) is ~15%.
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Jul 24, 2018 19:03
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spwrozek posted:I am curious who still owns a house over decades? I mean even my parents (62) owned 5 houses from 1980 until now. The cost of mortgages surely going up over those times (bigger houses, newer stuff, etc). So do those "your payment doesn't change for 30 years" statements actually hold any water?
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Jul 24, 2018 19:03
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Assuming that you don't leave each house with no equity, you could churn upwards in value of homes over 25 years while maintaining a similar payment.
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Jul 24, 2018 20:09
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spwrozek posted:I am curious who still owns a house over decades? I mean even my parents (62) owned 5 houses from 1980 until now. The cost of mortgages surely going up over those times (bigger houses, newer stuff, etc). So do those "your payment doesn't change for 30 years" statements actually hold any water? It depends on where you live. In New Zealand people would tend to move up the "property ladder" over time. It made sense when each move was only mild step up in terms of cost. Now the step up in price between quality of homes and location is such a large jump in price that people are moving less. I bought a house I'm happy with and I'm still there after 4 years. Unless I could get a good deal on a non-lovely house close to the city centre I don't see any reason to move. In terms of the house hedging against liabilities I'm using it for that exact purpose. While I'm ignoring the market value increase of $170k comparable rents have gone up substantially. I'd be paying 30-40%+ more in rent than my mortgage payment. Locally there's a shortage of rental properties for tenants which is making rent skyrocket.
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Jul 25, 2018 02:24
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DJCobol posted:Even if you have the same house, and never, ever refinance, chances are that you escrow your homeowners insurance and property taxes. Those 2 things certainly will change, and your payment changes with them. Sorry I should have noted that I was ignoring this part. Although most people don't even think about it.
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Jul 25, 2018 04:25
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spwrozek posted:Sorry I should have noted that I was ignoring this part. Although most people don't even think about it.
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Jul 25, 2018 13:11
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spwrozek posted:I am curious who still owns a house over decades? I mean even my parents (62) owned 5 houses from 1980 until now. The cost of mortgages surely going up over those times (bigger houses, newer stuff, etc). So do those "your payment doesn't change for 30 years" statements actually hold any water? It does if you make them and are able to buy for the future. I'm hoping this house will last me through until I am put out to pasture. 3bd/2ba 1250 sqft, detached garage with a "workshop" in the back. Our second potential child will have a slightly smaller bedroom at 10x10 instead of 12x12 but such is life. DJCobol posted:Even if you have the same house, and never, ever refinance, chances are that you escrow your homeowners insurance and property taxes. Those 2 things certainly will change, and your payment changes with them. While I understand where you're coming from, by and large the "other" column isn't going to grow by the same rate as rents in the area. The rent while stable for a year or two must increase to accommodate those same changes. It's not like you aren't paying for structure insurance and property taxes in rent assuming the owner at least breaks even. It's outside risk to you, but in theory the risk is priced into the rent. Places like Illinois and California are both insane on the property tax laws and rates (for opposite reasons.)
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Jul 25, 2018 18:13
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H110Hawk posted:While I understand where you're coming from, by and large the "other" column isn't going to grow by the same rate as rents in the area. The rent while stable for a year or two must increase to accommodate those same changes. It's not like you aren't paying for structure insurance and property taxes in rent assuming the owner at least breaks even. It's outside risk to you, but in theory the risk is priced into the rent. A few years ago I would try to explain this to people and the "renting is always better" crowd would jump all over me with brilliant arguments like "one time my dishwasher broke and I didn't have to pay anything for it to be replaced, checkmate homeowner!". Funny how now that rents have exploded all over the world those guys don't post as much
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Jul 25, 2018 18:36
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Droo posted:A few years ago I would try to explain this to people and the "renting is always better" crowd would jump all over me with brilliant arguments like "one time my dishwasher broke and I didn't have to pay anything for it to be replaced, checkmate homeowner!". There is a high profile economist in New Zealand who pushed for investment over renting for many years, and to an extent he was correct. He said recently that the house he bought is great.
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Jul 25, 2018 22:40
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I am not saying don't buy a house. I used to own and unknowingly timed the market pretty good. I am considering getting back in but my rent has stayed the same for 3 years now and my landlord claims he will not raise it, so far so good. There is some market indicators that make me think things are going to cool off. Hard to leave my current situation though.
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Jul 25, 2018 23:54
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