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Just looking for a little reassurance. I have a 50% match for 401k contributions from my company with no cap, company contributions fully vest after 4 years (been there for 5). I am currently maxing my 401k contribution at $16,500/yr before putting some additional money in to my Roth IRA (like 2-3k/yr). This is the right way to be doing things, right? Every dollar I put in the 401k earns me a 50% return in the year I contribute, which is why I'm maxing that.
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Dec 9, 2014 19:34
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edit: it's a little boutique consulting firm, very successful and staffed/run entirely with either former large consulting firm staff who disliked how traditional firms operated. it's a great deal in a lot of waysSiGmA_X posted:Sounds smart to me. The return on the unvested amount isn't yours if you separate, but for the time being (as long as you're employed there) it would be beneficial to keep doing this. Worst case, you're saving $16.5k/yr in your 401k, best case is that you'll get a free 8.25k/yr (+gains) after 4yrs! Thanks - all the company contributions are fully vested now, not sure if that is unclear. It ladders at 25% vesting your first year, 50% the second, 75% third, and 100% after four years. I have been there for five. I stupidly did not realize the cap went up since a while ago (I think? Maybe I'm just imagining things) but I think the best course is to kind of continue as is with a $17,500 annual contribution. KYOON GRIFFEY JR fucked around with this message at 21:38 on Dec 9, 2014 |
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Dec 9, 2014 21:35
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I just checked and I am fully vested, so it's not a model for me where each employer contribution vests gradually over a period of time. We'll see - technically the board has to approve matches, but they've always been 50% (or 100% one year, that was sexy) and we had a great year so... I did change my withholding for my last check to hit 16,5, and it's too late to change since we get our last checks cut on the 22nd - my change had to be submitted by December 1. So I'll be just a bit short.
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Dec 9, 2014 23:42
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james1844 posted:Guys - there are tons of great budgeting software packages out there. One popular one is YNAB - you need a budget. I met the guy that develops it and he's pretty big in the personal finance community, so I would imagine its pretty good. how do you think people end up with money to invest and save if they don't budget
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Dec 16, 2014 13:13
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Syjefroi posted:I haven't used a savings account in a few years, 3-4 now actually. I was using ING since college, but they switched over to I forget what and I would be fine with just bailing on that bank, closing my account, and moving on. I don't quite trust a bank that wasn't there when I signed up. Anyway, I'm looking to start a new savings account. Strong online features would be preferable, so I don't have to go anywhere or mail anything out. The interest rate doesn't matter either, I know they are all low. Preferably, I would like to sign up with a reputable bank, not like a Wells Fargo or something. So I guess what I'm asking is, what's the favored online bank these days? Since your savings accounts are insured by the FDIC, I wouldn't worry too much about what specific bank holds your account from a reputation standpoint. I just signed up for an Ally account, which gets something like 0.99% but has some restrictions about money movement. For an emergency fund it works well for me. Good online features.
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Jan 9, 2015 16:03
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It should not be hard to find work with a degree in mathematics.
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Jan 24, 2015 18:26
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I have a weird and somewhat unpredictable pay schedule so I always end up having the government withhold extra money. It doesn't bug me too much and then I get a check for like $2700 which I put towards debt or house down payment fund or whatever.
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Feb 2, 2015 16:11
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Vanguard is the business, I keep all my poo poo in there aside from my company 401k plan. They run the lowest cost poo poo. Unemployment guy: taking unemployment will not hurt you financially. What's your loan? Most non-mortgage loans have a fixed interest rate that is stated in the loan contract. The only issue might be if you are applying for loans or grants for school - in that case, having lower income can be beneficial, although typically they look at your prior year, so that would be at your military pay level regardless of your actions in the current year. Be careful if you take unemployment - it is taxable income. If you do not have taxes withheld, you will probably owe taxes come April 15.
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Feb 6, 2015 14:38
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Pinball posted:So, I get the concept of the 6-9 month emergency fund, but I'm curious; is that the same fund you draw from for any unexpected expenses, such as car trouble and health issues, or do you all have another short-term emergency fund and keep the 6-9 month fund only for truly dire need? Car trouble is unpredictable, in that it can occur without warning, but over a long time frame it's a predictable expense. Have a budget line for it. For non-predictable health issues (I just injured my knee and am incurring some substantial non-predictable one time costs), I use the emergency fund. However, for things like routine healthcare that are predictable, I budget that.
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Mar 4, 2015 14:46
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I would perhaps cease contributing to the mutual fund until you pay off those debts, since they are at pretty brutal interest rates. However, I don't think you should sell any existing positions just because your tax liabilities may wipe out a lot of your potential gains.
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Mar 5, 2015 22:47
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While you're at it, what's your hypothetical realized gain if you were to pay off the cards using money in the mutual funds?
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Mar 5, 2015 23:22
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Don't charge ANYTHING to the credit cards, as has been said. Cease paying in to your mutual fund to pay down credit card debt. Once you pay off the cards, you can consider using them in a disciplined fashion, but I would be sure that you can immediately pay off any balance accrued with un-budgeted cash on hand.
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Mar 6, 2015 03:06
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poo poo like unexpected dental expenses is why you have an emergency fund.
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Apr 3, 2015 02:21
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Your misc category, based on what you assigned to it, seems light to me for two people. Other than that, you should be pretty good to go at 1200.
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Apr 8, 2015 20:08
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Two people living in 350sf sounds brutal. I live with my girlfriend in just under 600 and it can be a little tight.
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Apr 8, 2015 22:56
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Xenoborg posted:I just got an interesting idea and want to sanity check it: How are the terms for your 401k in terms of matching etc?
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May 25, 2015 15:39
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Annath posted:What constitutes a "weird" 401(k) matching scheme? Girlfriend just took a job where, as far as I can tell, at the end of the year the company puts a random amount of money in your 403(b) (or not, seemingly also at random), regardless of how much you contributed.
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May 27, 2015 13:00
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If you're bad at driving to the tune of two accidents in 83k vehicle miles traveled, taking a defensive driving course could be a worthwhile investment.
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May 28, 2015 22:12
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None of that makes any sense.
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Jun 8, 2015 17:58
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If you're 50 something, the opportunity cost is minimal... because your returns are also minimal.
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Jun 8, 2015 19:35
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slap me silly posted:I think a 2014 Elantra for $16k is pretty much the definition of a good car decision. However, if you got the Infiniti fixed up and it's going to last a while, buying anything else right now could be pretty costly overall. How big is your current loan, what's the interest rate, and how much cash do you have available to throw at this transaction? I don't agree in regards to the Elantra. Current decent, no negotiation pricing on an SE trim, brand new 2016, factory warranty &c, is $17.5k plus D&D so call it 18.2k. CP, you'll get a better rate on a new car loan than a used car loan, and you'll have the satisfaction of actually knowing the vehicle's complete history, which is a big plus if you're going to drive it in to the ground. CPO cars aren't worth the premium the manufacturer wants you to pay for what amounts to a slightly more detailed than average trade-in inspection.
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Jun 8, 2015 23:18
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Condolences, J-body owners. They are pretty mechanically reliable, although the interiors go to poo poo.
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Jun 10, 2015 18:12
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You should make your own thread. I find it unlikely that anyone who isn't bad with money themselves will cosign on a 19% interest loan for $5k for someone who has no current income.
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Jun 29, 2015 15:39
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A lot of credit cards give you your credit report as a cardholder benefit. Paying fifteen bucks a month sounds absolutely insane.
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Jul 9, 2015 23:04
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The big issue is that it makes absolutely no sense to buy a house when you have six figures of debt already.
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Jul 17, 2015 18:33
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signalnoise posted:That's so helpful to me right now, thank you. One of the important things you need to do now is analyze WHY you made that decision and thought you could make it work. If you don't do that, the fundamentals that drive bad financial decision making will always be at play. edit: Make a budget, for sure, but do not just let this decision slide under the "What's done is done!" umbrella.
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Jul 17, 2015 18:44
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Abu Dave posted:I have a question. What is the interest rate on the loan?
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Aug 12, 2015 11:27
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The only thing that is gonna solve that dude's problem is income. Once you clear a little more income, you should probably snowball your debts.
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Aug 13, 2015 13:56
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FogHelmut posted:Do you think its better to live in a high cost of living area? Assuming the salary increase for the area covers real estate differences, certain goods being relatively inelastic, my disposable income percentage in a higher cost of living area should translate to more actual dollars. please do not start this derail answer: it depends
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Aug 19, 2015 15:22
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Luigi Thirty posted:After I got out of college and started my first big boy salaried job a few months ago, I was granted ownership of the sum total of Luigi Thirteen's "investment advice" to my dad, namely that iPods are cool so you should buy Apple. Ten years later I own 74 shares worth around $8500 for a 1000% gain You should be aggressively contributing to tax-advantaged retirement plans once you have a sufficient emergency fund (6 mos expenses). You could also pay down some loans early, but your rates are pretty decent so that's less of a concern. Capital gains taxes mean that you are taxed on the profit you make from sale of stock. Back of envelope, your long term capital gains tax rate is 15%. This means that if you sold your shares for $8,500 earning a $7,500 profit after sales costs, you would owe the government 15% of the $7,500 profit and would pocket the remaining 85%.
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Aug 21, 2015 12:22
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. Obviously keeping it all in once place is not ideal but I don't really know what to do with it! I don't want to be a 
day trader by any means, but I don't think I should be leaving it in there forever despite how UP UP UP it's gone. I know nothing about investing beyond participating in an LP of Wall Street Kid. My dad said that I shouldn't sell it unless I need to because of capital gains taxes. How does that work?
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Hadlock posted:I didn't want to be the one to say this first but I agree with Zeta 100% and alarm bells were going off in my head before I got to the end of the second sentence. If you were making $6000 a month instead of $2400 a month I would write it off as an amusing distraction but you're spending two months salary a year on her education -- if you buy in to the traditional engagement BS, that's what is typically reserved for an engagement ring. But maybe you're just a super altruistic guy or something Even if he's a super altruistic guy, it's not viable for him if he's taking out a loan to pay for his girlfriend's education. If her education is a necessity that requires loans, she should be the one responsible for taking them out and repaying them.
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Aug 31, 2015 16:31
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This situation has more red flags than a May Day parade in Moscow.
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Aug 31, 2015 22:06
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If you absolutely needed a new car, you could also have cut five grand by buying a Civic LX rather than the Si. Based on the decision making, it's tough to take your complaints about the loan payoff being soooo sloooooow seriously. How underwater are you on the loan?
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Sep 3, 2015 12:06
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You had two accident repairs. Your car is not in "very good" condition.
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Sep 4, 2015 03:40
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Grumpwagon posted:I'm not sure selling a twice repaired car is a great idea. He will be well underwater on it, and he'll still need reliable transportation afterwards. Yes, don't sell the car - just try never to be quite so stupid again.
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Sep 5, 2015 15:35
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FCKGW posted:I'm getting a settlement check from insurance from an auto accident. Can I just sign this over to the dealer as a down or do I need to deposit it first? Why on earth would you want to do that? Don't you want a record of having received the check and deposited it in to your accounts?
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Oct 14, 2015 11:58
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FCKGW posted:Since it's all going towards a down what's the difference? Depositing the check and the transferring it all out seems unnecessary and just adding delays to the transaction. I wrote a long post but you want a paper trail of EVERYTHING. You want to be able to prove, if necessary, that you received a specific amount of money from your insurance company. If you sign the check to the dealer, how do you plan to do that?
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Oct 14, 2015 14:53
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What other things are you trying to achieve with your cash money?
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Oct 16, 2015 18:14
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The RDSP has the best possible rate of return, though.
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Feb 21, 2016 21:15
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 10:52 |
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Track reimbursements and associated expenses separately so that you can make sure they reconcile and that your employer isn't accidentally or deliberately screwing you.
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Mar 9, 2016 16:09
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