Personal Finance Advice and Education! (3 Viewers)

[Sand]

Daughter is about to graduate HS and plans to attend school in the fall.
She started working late 2022 and has already managed to squirrel away $7k.

The general consensus seems to be to put it in a roth.

Im thinking $5k to start and going forward she can allocate 1/2 of her check to contribute.

Where? Who? How?

401k is the way to go if she has one available. Especially if there's a match. I'd max out the 401k and then go traditional tax-deferred IRA.
For me the Roth only makes sense if you expect your tax rate to be higher when you retire. Or, if you expect your MRD to push you into a higher tax bracket. But you can always swap out IRA withdrawals to Roths later provided you manage your tax planning.

No match or anything. She’s a hostess at a local restaurant. A lot of cash.


I think I was told to do the Roth is because it’s not getting taxed on either end or something? Because she isn’t making that much or is too young. I have no idea.

The reason a Roth makes sense at her age, particularly without the 401k match, is that she has a presumably very long time frame for these investments to compound tax free

And her tax rate on this money is probably close to zero. So it's a win/win really. She's paying little income tax now and will pay nothing down the line. The fact that the contributions are retrievable at any time make it a no lose.

 

[Desert_Power]

Daughter is about to graduate HS and plans to attend school in the fall.
She started working late 2022 and has already managed to squirrel away $7k.

The general consensus seems to be to put it in a roth.

Im thinking $5k to start and going forward she can allocate 1/2 of her check to contribute.

Where? Who? How?

401k is the way to go if she has one available. Especially if there's a match. I'd max out the 401k and then go traditional tax-deferred IRA.
For me the Roth only makes sense if you expect your tax rate to be higher when you retire. Or, if you expect your MRD to push you into a higher tax bracket. But you can always swap out IRA withdrawals to Roths later provided you manage your tax planning.

No match or anything. She’s a hostess at a local restaurant. A lot of cash.


I think I was told to do the Roth is because it’s not getting taxed on either end or something? Because she isn’t making that much or is too young. I have no idea.

A Roth is money that has already been taxed and grows tax free. You can always withdraw the initial investment tax free. A 401k is something that goes in pre-tax (lowers your taxable income) yet is a taxable event when you withdraw. The other restriction with a Roth is that you can only put in upto your earned income within that year, so I'd check how much she could put in that 2022 bucket.

The reason a Roth makes sense at her age, particularly without the 401k match, is that she has a presumably very long time frame for these investments to compound tax free. As someone who opened a Roth around the same age, I would caution you to ensure you are opening this account at a low cost brokerage like Vanguard and to avoid putting money in there you could need for college. I found it was difficult to estimate just how much those last couple of years of college cost.

Personal finance is always personal, but my lean would be to take about half into a Roth for long term equity investment and invest the other half outside of the Roth in 6-12 month Treasury bills or CDs at 4.5%-5%. Maxing the Roth buckets to the extent possible is also a great strategy for the very long run if you feel college will be easily covered.

Not to confuse this, but keep in mind many 401k plans now offer a Roth option.

Yes. That's a good point. The matrix is really pre-tax vs post-tax and employer sponsored vs individual. Seems in this situation, I'd say individual post-tax is best.

 

[Senor Schmutzig]

Federal tax return hit the account today.

Oh right, I need to get on that.

 

[thecatch]

Daughter is about to graduate HS and plans to attend school in the fall.
She started working late 2022 and has already managed to squirrel away $7k.

The general consensus seems to be to put it in a roth.

Im thinking $5k to start and going forward she can allocate 1/2 of her check to contribute.

Where? Who? How?

401k is the way to go if she has one available. Especially if there's a match. I'd max out the 401k and then go traditional tax-deferred IRA.
For me the Roth only makes sense if you expect your tax rate to be higher when you retire. Or, if you expect your MRD to push you into a higher tax bracket. But you can always swap out IRA withdrawals to Roths later provided you manage your tax planning.

No match or anything. She’s a hostess at a local restaurant. A lot of cash.


I think I was told to do the Roth is because it’s not getting taxed on either end or something? Because she isn’t making that much or is too young. I have no idea.

From Fidelity:

With a Roth IRA, you contribute after-tax dollars, your money grows tax-free, and you can generally make tax- and penalty-free withdrawals after age 59½. With a Traditional IRA, you contribute pre- or after-tax dollars, your money grows tax-deferred, and withdrawals are taxed as current income after age 59½.

I won't opine on how she handles her taxes (wrt tips). Up to her to decide, so her tax rate may actually be lower now than when she's > 59 1/2. In that case, I'd go Roth.

I would think it is *extremely* likely her tax rate is lower as a HS student than it will be retirement.

 

[GoBirds]

Hey guys I wanted to get some opinions on how safe you all view different options to put cash in right now. For example, my dilemma is I watch cash of mine sit in a large bank MM account right now making 2.5% because I feel a level of safety knowing it’s insured and if I had to there’s a branch down the street I could go to. Meanwhile my Vanguard MM is yielding over 4%. No brainer right, yet I worry going all in at Vanguard as it’s off in cyber space somewhere. I know this is ridiculous but wanted to get some other views when you have time. How much safety os needed really?

 

[jm192]

Hey guys I wanted to get some opinions on how safe you all view different options to put cash in right now. For example, my dilemma is I watch cash of mine sit in a large bank MM account right now making 2.5% because I feel a level of safety knowing it’s insured and if I had to there’s a branch down the street I could go to. Meanwhile my Vanguard MM is yielding over 4%. No brainer right, yet I worry going all in at Vanguard as it’s off in cyber space somewhere. I know this is ridiculous but wanted to get some other views when you have time. How much safety os needed really?

I think if you want more out of cash, do 1 of the following

1. High Yield Savings account: Ally and Marcus seem to consistently be among the best.

2. Short term treasury bills. You can buy them through treasury direct or a brokerage. From what I've read, they're easier to sell early if bought through your brokerage.

 

[Juxtatarot]

Hey guys I wanted to get some opinions on how safe you all view different options to put cash in right now. For example, my dilemma is I watch cash of mine sit in a large bank MM account right now making 2.5% because I feel a level of safety knowing it’s insured and if I had to there’s a branch down the street I could go to. Meanwhile my Vanguard MM is yielding over 4%. No brainer right, yet I worry going all in at Vanguard as it’s off in cyber space somewhere. I know this is ridiculous but wanted to get some other views when you have time. How much safety os needed really?

I feel like if Vanguard MM loses money, the world would be so ****ed it doesn’t really matter anymore.

 

[Juxtatarot]

When the waiting period is over, do I just go in and close the account with a check to my name?

Assuming you have no reason to keep things open, then yes. (Although they likely have procedures on how they’d make the check payable that references the estate in some manner. It would also be a good idea to call them before just walking in. The average employee may not be authorized to close such accounts.)

 

[Buckna]

Hey guys I wanted to get some opinions on how safe you all view different options to put cash in right now. For example, my dilemma is I watch cash of mine sit in a large bank MM account right now making 2.5% because I feel a level of safety knowing it’s insured and if I had to there’s a branch down the street I could go to. Meanwhile my Vanguard MM is yielding over 4%. No brainer right, yet I worry going all in at Vanguard as it’s off in cyber space somewhere. I know this is ridiculous but wanted to get some other views when you have time. How much safety os needed really?

I feel like if Vanguard MM loses money, the world would be so ****ed it doesn’t really matter anymore.

Indeed, Vanguard Federal MM’s invest’s in short term U.S. government securities. You can invest directly in Treasuries if you want and cut out the middle man but MM saves time to buy and sell the individual securities.

If either defaults it will only be because the world went topsy-turvy.

There are some HY savings accounts out there that will be FDIC insured and pay a percentage point or more than 2.5% right now if someone still wants that safety.

 

[Sand]

2. Short term treasury bills. You can buy them through treasury direct or a brokerage. From what I've read, they're easier to sell early if bought through your brokerage.

I bought some 3 month T-bills through Fidelity and it was very easy. I'll keep rolling them over as long as rates stay like this.

 

[Gawain]

Is there any way to guarantee passing to grandkids before they are born?

My Mom passed almost three months ago. I just got pinged by Prudential that a policy exists from 1942 on her. I'm sure it's the emotions and the stress, but something hits me as ridiculously romantic about the thought of my grandparents (and great-grandparents who I never met), pooling money together to help out the great and great-great grandchildren they would never get to meet. It's not a big amount of money, it's the thought that counts.

So I wonder about my kids, all of whom are still in single digits. If I keeled over tomorrow, is there an investment/insurance vehicle that would pay out to the heirs/assignees of my kids?
The big answer would be a legacy trust, but I ain't Chet here. Just looking to put 10K per kid way out into the future, especially while my mom's estate lingers. She would have liked the idea as well.

 

[GoBirds]

Hey guys I wanted to get some opinions on how safe you all view different options to put cash in right now. For example, my dilemma is I watch cash of mine sit in a large bank MM account right now making 2.5% because I feel a level of safety knowing it’s insured and if I had to there’s a branch down the street I could go to. Meanwhile my Vanguard MM is yielding over 4%. No brainer right, yet I worry going all in at Vanguard as it’s off in cyber space somewhere. I know this is ridiculous but wanted to get some other views when you have time. How much safety os needed really?

I feel like if Vanguard MM loses money, the world would be so ****ed it doesn’t really matter anymore.

That’s kind of what I was thinking, does any insured amount really matter? For some reason I’m stuck in this mindset that I’m more comfortable having at least a large portion with my brick and mortar bank. Ugh.

 

[GoBirds]

2. Short term treasury bills. You can buy them through treasury direct or a brokerage. From what I've read, they're easier to sell early if bought through your brokerage.

I bought some 3 month T-bills through Fidelity and it was very easy. I'll keep rolling them over as long as rates stay like this.

Can they be bought directly on Vanguard? I need a new account somewhere like I need a hole in my head.

 

[gianmarco]

Hey guys I wanted to get some opinions on how safe you all view different options to put cash in right now. For example, my dilemma is I watch cash of mine sit in a large bank MM account right now making 2.5% because I feel a level of safety knowing it’s insured and if I had to there’s a branch down the street I could go to. Meanwhile my Vanguard MM is yielding over 4%. No brainer right, yet I worry going all in at Vanguard as it’s off in cyber space somewhere. I know this is ridiculous but wanted to get some other views when you have time. How much safety os needed really?

I think if you want more out of cash, do 1 of the following

1. High Yield Savings account: Ally and Marcus seem to consistently be among the best.

2. Short term treasury bills. You can buy them through treasury direct or a brokerage. From what I've read, they're easier to sell early if bought through your brokerage.

I would look at CIT Bank. I've been using them now for a few years and their rates have consistently been higher than all but a couple that rotate above them. Virtually no restrictions and all of my online banking with them is simple and straightforward.

Currently at 4.05%

 

[Sand]

2. Short term treasury bills. You can buy them through treasury direct or a brokerage. From what I've read, they're easier to sell early if bought through your brokerage.

I bought some 3 month T-bills through Fidelity and it was very easy. I'll keep rolling them over as long as rates stay like this.

Can they be bought directly on Vanguard? I need a new account somewhere like I need a hole in my head.

I don't do Vanguard, but I'd assume so. I'm sure someone here knows that one.

 

[Mitchie]

2. Short term treasury bills. You can buy them through treasury direct or a brokerage. From what I've read, they're easier to sell early if bought through your brokerage.

I bought some 3 month T-bills through Fidelity and it was very easy. I'll keep rolling them over as long as rates stay like this.

Can they be bought directly on Vanguard? I need a new account somewhere like I need a hole in my head.

Yes. 3 month T-bill currently at 5%.

 

[Andrew74]

Hey guys I wanted to get some opinions on how safe you all view different options to put cash in right now. For example, my dilemma is I watch cash of mine sit in a large bank MM account right now making 2.5% because I feel a level of safety knowing it’s insured and if I had to there’s a branch down the street I could go to. Meanwhile my Vanguard MM is yielding over 4%. No brainer right, yet I worry going all in at Vanguard as it’s off in cyber space somewhere. I know this is ridiculous but wanted to get some other views when you have time. How much safety os needed really?

I feel like if Vanguard MM loses money, the world would be so ****ed it doesn’t really matter anymore.

That’s kind of what I was thinking, does any insured amount really matter? For some reason I’m stuck in this mindset that I’m more comfortable having at least a large portion with my brick and mortar bank. Ugh.

Don’t let the bank fleece you. You do know your money in the bank isn’t really there, right? They have a tiny amount of cash, the rest is in “cyberspace.” The easiest is to buy a T-bill. Any big broker will do (yes you can buy them at Vanguard). Trading fees should be minimal; I haven’t seen any charge fees when buying the auction. Treasury is auctioning bills every week. The next 6 mo will auction on Monday - prob around 5.20%-5.25%. If you need insurance, buy t-bills. It’s the same govt that provides FDIC insurance. Plus t-bills are exempt from state and local taxes.

Just buy t-bills.

 

[shuke]

Hey guys I wanted to get some opinions on how safe you all view different options to put cash in right now. For example, my dilemma is I watch cash of mine sit in a large bank MM account right now making 2.5% because I feel a level of safety knowing it’s insured and if I had to there’s a branch down the street I could go to. Meanwhile my Vanguard MM is yielding over 4%. No brainer right, yet I worry going all in at Vanguard as it’s off in cyber space somewhere. I know this is ridiculous but wanted to get some other views when you have time. How much safety os needed really?

I think if you want more out of cash, do 1 of the following

1. High Yield Savings account: Ally and Marcus seem to consistently be among the best.

2. Short term treasury bills. You can buy them through treasury direct or a brokerage. From what I've read, they're easier to sell early if bought through your brokerage.

Just checked Ally. 18 month CD's at 5%.

 

[D_House]

Hey guys I wanted to get some opinions on how safe you all view different options to put cash in right now. For example, my dilemma is I watch cash of mine sit in a large bank MM account right now making 2.5% because I feel a level of safety knowing it’s insured and if I had to there’s a branch down the street I could go to. Meanwhile my Vanguard MM is yielding over 4%. No brainer right, yet I worry going all in at Vanguard as it’s off in cyber space somewhere. I know this is ridiculous but wanted to get some other views when you have time. How much safety os needed really?

I use VUSXX which is Vanguard’s treasury only MMF (current yield 4.56%, likely to be 90%+ state tax-free). As mentioned above, the same government that insures your bank account backs treasuries. I view this fund as equivalent in safety to a FDIC-insured bank account.

Treasury MMFs are more liquid than buying individual treasuries, with correspondingly lower return (however in a rising rate environment the MMF may come out ahead of an individual treasury).

Buying/selling works just like Vanguards’s equity mutual funds, with a $3k minimum.

There is a bit more of a headache in terms of tax filing to get your state income tax deduction with MMFs - you have to calculate it (as it may not be 100% atate tac deductible) whereas with individual treasuries the state tax-free income is reported on your 1099 as they are always 100% state tax-free.

 

[-OZ-]

is anyone else thinking very strongly about lowering work account contributions to just get the match, put the rest in T bills and prepare to buy a STR home in the next few years? Having a decent cash cushion will be necessary although we could have a down payment now for a place we like (if we sold out our regular brokerage).

 

[GoBirds]

2. Short term treasury bills. You can buy them through treasury direct or a brokerage. From what I've read, they're easier to sell early if bought through your brokerage.

I bought some 3 month T-bills through Fidelity and it was very easy. I'll keep rolling them over as long as rates stay like this.

Can they be bought directly on Vanguard? I need a new account somewhere like I need a hole in my head.

Yes. 3 month T-bill currently at 5%.

What’s the symbol or how to I purchase through Vanguard? Appreciate it guys.

 

[GoBirds]

Hey guys I wanted to get some opinions on how safe you all view different options to put cash in right now. For example, my dilemma is I watch cash of mine sit in a large bank MM account right now making 2.5% because I feel a level of safety knowing it’s insured and if I had to there’s a branch down the street I could go to. Meanwhile my Vanguard MM is yielding over 4%. No brainer right, yet I worry going all in at Vanguard as it’s off in cyber space somewhere. I know this is ridiculous but wanted to get some other views when you have time. How much safety os needed really?

I use VUSXX which is Vanguard’s treasury only MMF (current yield 4.56%, likely to be 90%+ state tax-free). As mentioned above, the same government that insures your bank account backs treasuries. I view this fund as equivalent in safety to a FDIC-insured bank account.

Treasury MMFs are more liquid than buying individual treasuries, with correspondingly lower return (however in a rising rate environment the MMF may come out ahead of an individual treasury).

Buying/selling works just like Vanguards’s equity mutual funds, with a $3k minimum.

There is a bit more of a headache in terms of tax filing to get your state income tax deduction with MMFs - you have to calculate it (as it may not be 100% atate tac deductible) whereas with individual treasuries the state tax-free income is reported on your 1099 as they are always 100% state tax-free.

So VUSXX is significantly safer than. VMFXX which appears to be Vanguards default MM fund for my cash not invested??

 

[Mitchie]

2. Short term treasury bills. You can buy them through treasury direct or a brokerage. From what I've read, they're easier to sell early if bought through your brokerage.

I bought some 3 month T-bills through Fidelity and it was very easy. I'll keep rolling them over as long as rates stay like this.

Can they be bought directly on Vanguard? I need a new account somewhere like I need a hole in my head.

Yes. 3 month T-bill currently at 5%.

What’s the symbol or how to I purchase through Vanguard? Appreciate it guys.

it's pretty straightforward but not intuitive if haven't done before, i had to call first time i did it, easiest thing would just be call their customer service #

 

[Nugget]

I just put some money in a no penalty CD at Ally @ 4.75%. I already had a HYSA there so it took about 2 minutes.

 

[Steeler]

Yep
Fidelity, vanguard, or M1 (my preference) are all good places to start.

My daughter graduated from college last year with a job and has already moved on to another job. She has a 401K from the OG job of about $600 and I'm trying to figure out where she should open an account to roll it into. Does the small amount factor into where she should go?

We both have accounts at Bank of America and would consider them just to keep things simple - thoughts on BOA vs the others.

 

[McBokonon]

Yep
Fidelity, vanguard, or M1 (my preference) are all good places to start.

My daughter graduated from college last year with a job and has already moved on to another job. She has a 401K from the OG job of about $600 and I'm trying to figure out where she should open an account to roll it into. Does the small amount factor into where she should go?

We both have accounts at Bank of America and would consider them just to keep things simple - thoughts on BOA vs the others.

They have Merrill, which is definitely solid enough. With $600 she isn’t missing out on any sign up bonuses or anything else. As she gets more money or if decides to be more active as an investor, she might choose Fidelity, Schwab, etc. but Merrill isn’t really too far off of those.

 

[dino259]

Yep
Fidelity, vanguard, or M1 (my preference) are all good places to start.

My daughter graduated from college last year with a job and has already moved on to another job. She has a 401K from the OG job of about $600 and I'm trying to figure out where she should open an account to roll it into. Does the small amount factor into where she should go?

We both have accounts at Bank of America and would consider them just to keep things simple - thoughts on BOA vs the others.

Just as a reminder, the 401k would need to be rolled into an IRA/roth IRA. Many times investments would need a minimum of $3000 (3 racks) or a monthly auto investment. BOA is probably fine. I am biased though. Could just start at the brokerage of choice. Vangaurd has been good for me.

 

[Desert_Power]

Yep
Fidelity, vanguard, or M1 (my preference) are all good places to start.

My daughter graduated from college last year with a job and has already moved on to another job. She has a 401K from the OG job of about $600 and I'm trying to figure out where she should open an account to roll it into. Does the small amount factor into where she should go?

We both have accounts at Bank of America and would consider them just to keep things simple - thoughts on BOA vs the others.

Just as a reminder, the 401k would need to be rolled into an IRA/roth IRA. Many times investments would need a minimum of $3000 (3 racks) or a monthly auto investment. BOA is probably fine. I am biased though. Could just start at the brokerage of choice. Vangaurd has been good for me.

Vanguard is good, but does have the minimums on a lot of their funds. Merrill has a much nicer interface and I find their prefered reward tiers fairly rewarding.

 

[-OZ-]

. Merrill has a much nicer interface and I find their prefered reward tiers fairly rewarding.

Go on…

 

[SFBayDuck]

Daughter is about to graduate HS and plans to attend school in the fall.
She started working late 2022 and has already managed to squirrel away $7k.

The general consensus seems to be to put it in a roth.

Im thinking $5k to start and going forward she can allocate 1/2 of her check to contribute.

Where? Who? How?

401k is the way to go if she has one available. Especially if there's a match. I'd max out the 401k and then go traditional tax-deferred IRA.
For me the Roth only makes sense if you expect your tax rate to be higher when you retire. Or, if you expect your MRD to push you into a higher tax bracket. But you can always swap out IRA withdrawals to Roths later provided you manage your tax planning.

No match or anything. She’s a hostess at a local restaurant. A lot of cash.


I think I was told to do the Roth is because it’s not getting taxed on either end or something? Because she isn’t making that much or is too young. I have no idea.

The reason a Roth makes sense at her age, particularly without the 401k match, is that she has a presumably very long time frame for these investments to compound tax free

And her tax rate on this money is probably close to zero. So it's a win/win really. She's paying little income tax now and will pay nothing down the line. The fact that the contributions are retrievable at any time make it a no lose.

@STEADYMOBBIN 22 keep in mind that if she's going to file the FAFSA to try to get any financial aid, any cash she has in bank accounts will be counted "against her", but Roth balances will not. And while ideally you wouldn't tap those Roth funds until retirement, you can access them penalty-free for educational expenses. Seems like the no-brainer of no-brainers for any high schoolers with jobs who are going to college that need to put extra money somewhere.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Daughter is about to graduate HS and plans to attend school in the fall.
She started working late 2022 and has already managed to squirrel away $7k.

The general consensus seems to be to put it in a roth.

Im thinking $5k to start and going forward she can allocate 1/2 of her check to contribute.

Where? Who? How?

401k is the way to go if she has one available. Especially if there's a match. I'd max out the 401k and then go traditional tax-deferred IRA.
For me the Roth only makes sense if you expect your tax rate to be higher when you retire. Or, if you expect your MRD to push you into a higher tax bracket. But you can always swap out IRA withdrawals to Roths later provided you manage your tax planning.

No match or anything. She’s a hostess at a local restaurant. A lot of cash.


I think I was told to do the Roth is because it’s not getting taxed on either end or something? Because she isn’t making that much or is too young. I have no idea.

The reason a Roth makes sense at her age, particularly without the 401k match, is that she has a presumably very long time frame for these investments to compound tax free

And her tax rate on this money is probably close to zero. So it's a win/win really. She's paying little income tax now and will pay nothing down the line. The fact that the contributions are retrievable at any time make it a no lose.

@STEADYMOBBIN 22 keep in mind that if she's going to file the FAFSA to try to get any financial aid, any cash she has in bank accounts will be counted "against her", but Roth balances will not. And while ideally you wouldn't tap those Roth funds until retirement, you can access them penalty-free for educational expenses. Seems like the no-brainer of no-brainers for any high schoolers with jobs who are going to college that need to put extra money somewhere.

THANK YOU. For this.

 

[-OZ-]

(Presuming the markets don’t do something stupid in the next few hours)

Took a little time at lunch to do our quarterly assessment. Bottom line, we’re almost exactly where we were in the spring of 2021. More in bonds (I bonds) and a little more in the non retirement account but basically at the same level. Expenses have increased of course, so further from “FI”.
Considering VTI is still down ~8% since then, I’ll take it.

 

[bcat01]

(Presuming the markets don’t do something stupid in the next few hours)

Took a little time at lunch to do our quarterly assessment. Bottom line, we’re almost exactly where we were in the spring of 2021. More in bonds (I bonds) and a little more in the non retirement account but basically at the same level. Expenses have increased of course, so further from “FI”.
Considering VTI is still down ~8% since then, I’ll take it.

Same here. Only difference from spring of 2021 is our house is worth about $50k more.

 

[-OZ-]

(Presuming the markets don’t do something stupid in the next few hours)

Took a little time at lunch to do our quarterly assessment. Bottom line, we’re almost exactly where we were in the spring of 2021. More in bonds (I bonds) and a little more in the non retirement account but basically at the same level. Expenses have increased of course, so further from “FI”.
Considering VTI is still down ~8% since then, I’ll take it.

Same here. Only difference from spring of 2021 is our house is worth about $50k more.

what site do you use?
I’ve largely ignored equity when doing these. If I include it we’re up like 8% total. So that’s nice to see.

 

[bcat01]

(Presuming the markets don’t do something stupid in the next few hours)

Took a little time at lunch to do our quarterly assessment. Bottom line, we’re almost exactly where we were in the spring of 2021. More in bonds (I bonds) and a little more in the non retirement account but basically at the same level. Expenses have increased of course, so further from “FI”.
Considering VTI is still down ~8% since then, I’ll take it.

Same here. Only difference from spring of 2021 is our house is worth about $50k more.

what site do you use?
I’ve largely ignored equity when doing these. If I include it we’re up like 8% total. So that’s nice to see.

I just look at the local market. It's a small market and when comparable houses that have not been updated since the 90's bring outrageous prices I can get a good guess on what our house is worth.

 

[SFBayDuck]

(Presuming the markets don’t do something stupid in the next few hours)

Took a little time at lunch to do our quarterly assessment. Bottom line, we’re almost exactly where we were in the spring of 2021. More in bonds (I bonds) and a little more in the non retirement account but basically at the same level. Expenses have increased of course, so further from “FI”.
Considering VTI is still down ~8% since then, I’ll take it.

Same here. Only difference from spring of 2021 is our house is worth about $50k more.

what site do you use?
I’ve largely ignored equity when doing these. If I include it we’re up like 8% total. So that’s nice to see.

I just use Zillow, which while I know isn't going to be totally accurate should at least be directionally correct.

And my spreadsheet includes everything but then I bucket it into total, without equity, and non-retirement accounts. I'll update mine over the weekend (and hopefully finish my taxes)!

 

[Sand]

(Presuming the markets don’t do something stupid in the next few hours)

Took a little time at lunch to do our quarterly assessment. Bottom line, we’re almost exactly where we were in the spring of 2021. More in bonds (I bonds) and a little more in the non retirement account but basically at the same level. Expenses have increased of course, so further from “FI”.
Considering VTI is still down ~8% since then, I’ll take it.

I'm still 6% down from 1 year ago. Market is 9% down, so tracking pretty well considering bonds have been just as bad.

 

[Desert_Power]

(Presuming the markets don’t do something stupid in the next few hours)

Took a little time at lunch to do our quarterly assessment. Bottom line, we’re almost exactly where we were in the spring of 2021. More in bonds (I bonds) and a little more in the non retirement account but basically at the same level. Expenses have increased of course, so further from “FI”.
Considering VTI is still down ~8% since then, I’ll take it.

About the same here. Definitely more of an allocation towards bonds vs a year ago by around 3x. Expenses have been a bit better than I expected with a kid as the lack of traveling or going out as much really added up.

 

[-OZ-]

My request to cash out my Fundrise account was processed. Which meant my wife’s Roth IRA got fully funded this morning.
The rest goes to the bathroom (which probably has two - three weeks left)
But at least I can keep our fully funded EF in I bonds and max my Roth IRA in the Not to distant future.

 

[jm192]

I Bonds inflation-linked rate will be 3.38%. Goodnight sweet prince.

 

[Runkle]

I Bonds inflation-linked rate will be 3.38%. Goodnight sweet prince.

Time to set some calendar reminders about when I can cash out. Note to self:

Can I cash it in before 30 years?	You can cash in (redeem) your I bond after 12 months. However, if you cash in the bond in less than 5 years, you lose the last 3 months of interest. For example, if you cash in the bond after 18 months, you get the first 15 months of interest. See Cash in (redeem) an EE or I savings bond.

 

[NutterButter]

it was a good run. So if you're less than 5 years, wait until 3 months after the new rate is released so that's the 3 months of interest you lose? This is probably way way too much thought for saving a few bucks.

 

[matttyl]

You lose the last three months. So with rates dropping it will likely be the lowest 3 months of interest that you’ll “forfeit.”

 

[Mitchie]

so if you invested 10K, redeem in 3 months at 3.38%, lose 84.50

 

[Sand]

I'm just going to wait out the 5 years. No telling what inflation will do and it's good diversification.

 

[Nugget]

I’m trying to keep adding. My dilemma is add in April to catch the 6.89 for 6 months, wait until May to see the new fixed rate, or punt to November and keep the money in Ally.

 

[matttyl]

so if you invested 10K, redeem in 3 months at 3.38%, lose 84.50

You have to keep it for a year.

 

[Desert_Power]

I'm just going to wait out the 5 years. No telling what inflation will do and it's good diversification.

We're getting a sunroom built, so the iBonds will probably go to that. Have finally collected more UST notes/bills than my iBonds.

 

[NutterButter]

I'm using this for college in a couple of years so I'm cashing out 8/1 and putting it in an mma.

 

[NutterButter]

I’m trying to keep adding. My dilemma is add in April to catch the 6.89 for 6 months, wait until May to see the new fixed rate, or punt to November and keep the money in Ally.

I'd do now. You're not gonna come close to that 6.89 composite rate in may or nov.