Personal Finance Advice and Education! (5 Viewers)

[Orange&Blue]

are there any companies offering both pension and hsa?

 

[Buckna]

Thanks all, I'll stick with Fidelity and report back on my experience. Both my wife and I have some old HSA's I've needed to move for awhile and consolidate. I don't really like the investment options with the provider my new company uses or would have rolled it there.

 

[stbugs]

My oldest college kid has around 12k ina savings account. Any advice on what he should do? I figured opening a Fidelity or Ameriprise account but not sure beyond that.

A couple of anecdotes regarding my recent interactions with Fidelity.

I've had multiple retirement accounts, their credit card, and a brokerage account with them for a while. I've been using my brokerage account as a short term savings account for various home improvement projects (roof, siding, windows) with SPAXX as the core position. Lately I've noticed they are placing unbelievably long holds (30+ days) on deposits (in my case, an electronic pull from my B&M national bank) into the brokerage account with the funds available to trade, but not withdraw in the usual 3 to 5 days. I researched this a bit; bogleheads forums indicate a lot Fidelity users are experiencing the same thing and apparently it's Fidelity's reaction to some kind of on going scam. IMO it's a terrible situation to not being able to withdraw your money in a timely manner if needed.

I also worked with my adult daughter to get her the Fidelity CC and open a Roth account . Even after providing all the needed documentation, it took a couple of months and multiple calls to get them to allow her to deposit to her new Roth account from her B&M CU....and she still can't use the Roth account as an account for her CC rewards to be paid to.

To be honest it's really left a sour taste in my mouth. I was strongly considering using my brokerage account or opening a cash management account to handle the stuff I currently do with my bank....after these experiences....no way in **ll.

Hmm... given the issues with Fidelity, anyone else know of a good brokerage that can do HSA rolloevers? Doesn't look like Schwab or a number of other bigger players do them. Was going to go with Fidelity

I’ve never had issues with Fidelity. Luckily, my wife’s 401k and my 401k are both at Fidelity so we’ve got everything in there except our checking accounts.

 

[opensourcebeer]

I will say that my rollover experiences with Fidelity were flawless.

 

[dino259]

I will say that my rollover experiences with Fidelity were flawless.

Good to hear. My employer uses UMB for my HSA. They have high fees to invest. I am going to process a rollover. Planning on fidelity. I believe I can do this rollover once a year.

 

[Peggy]

My oldest college kid has around 12k ina savings account. Any advice on what he should do? I figured opening a Fidelity or Ameriprise account but not sure beyond that.

A couple of anecdotes regarding my recent interactions with Fidelity.

I've had multiple retirement accounts, their credit card, and a brokerage account with them for a while. I've been using my brokerage account as a short term savings account for various home improvement projects (roof, siding, windows) with SPAXX as the core position. Lately I've noticed they are placing unbelievably long holds (30+ days) on deposits (in my case, an electronic pull from my B&M national bank) into the brokerage account with the funds available to trade, but not withdraw in the usual 3 to 5 days. I researched this a bit; bogleheads forums indicate a lot Fidelity users are experiencing the same thing and apparently it's Fidelity's reaction to some kind of on going scam. IMO it's a terrible situation to not being able to withdraw your money in a timely manner if needed.

I also worked with my adult daughter to get her the Fidelity CC and open a Roth account . Even after providing all the needed documentation, it took a couple of months and multiple calls to get them to allow her to deposit to her new Roth account from her B&M CU....and she still can't use the Roth account as an account for her CC rewards to be paid to.

To be honest it's really left a sour taste in my mouth. I was strongly considering using my brokerage account or opening a cash management account to handle the stuff I currently do with my bank....after these experiences....no way in **ll.

Hmm... given the issues with Fidelity, anyone else know of a good brokerage that can do HSA rolloevers? Doesn't look like Schwab or a number of other bigger players do them. Was going to go with Fidelity

From my brief research, it looks like Fidelity is the best option for a provider that has low fees and good investment options. I'd love to hear where everyone else has their money parked.

All work and retirement stuff at Fidelity.
Banking and taxable accounts at Bank of America. Backdoor roth is at BoA just because it's easy.

 

[-OZ-]

I think I have this right but please tell me if I’m wrong.

We’ll sell this house and move in 9-12 years. In about 4 - 5 years we want to buy a lake house which we’ll move into when we leave here. When we sell our primary home, we’ll probably net between $300k (if we sold today) and let’s say $500k. I think because that is from our primary home which we’ll have lived in more than 2 of the last 5 years, up to $500k will be excluded from taxes (this might increase, but with today’s rules). Regardless of whether we buy a new primary home. We might turn around and put that $500k into a beach house / rental.

 

[SFBayDuck]

I think I have this right but please tell me if I’m wrong.

We’ll sell this house and move in 9-12 years. In about 4 - 5 years we want to buy a lake house which we’ll move into when we leave here. When we sell our primary home, we’ll probably net between $300k (if we sold today) and let’s say $500k. I think because that is from our primary home which we’ll have lived in more than 2 of the last 5 years, up to $500k will be excluded from taxes (this might increase, but with today’s rules). Regardless of whether we buy a new primary home. We might turn around and put that $500k into a beach house / rental.

Yup, that's my understanding as well. Just make sure it's been your "primary residence" for at least 2 of the last 5 years, which it sounds like it will be.

You can also subtract from the gain any improvements (not repairs) made to the property (if it does end up being over a $500K capital gain).

 

[-OZ-]

I think I have this right but please tell me if I’m wrong.

We’ll sell this house and move in 9-12 years. In about 4 - 5 years we want to buy a lake house which we’ll move into when we leave here. When we sell our primary home, we’ll probably net between $300k (if we sold today) and let’s say $500k. I think because that is from our primary home which we’ll have lived in more than 2 of the last 5 years, up to $500k will be excluded from taxes (this might increase, but with today’s rules). Regardless of whether we buy a new primary home. We might turn around and put that $500k into a beach house / rental.

Yup, that's my understanding as well. Just make sure it's been your "primary residence" for at least 2 of the last 5 years, which it sounds like it will be.

You can also subtract from the gain any improvements (not repairs) made to the property (if it does end up being over a $500K capital gain).

Thanks. We’ll be sure to keep our bathroom invoice. That’s another $40k.

 

[Instinctive]

How much have y'all found is the right amount to aim for in a 529? I'm thinking ~$200k value at 18 should be plenty?

 

[SFBayDuck]

How much have y'all found is the right amount to aim for in a 529? I'm thinking ~$200k value at 18 should be plenty?

That would have been 2-3 times what we needed for my (now senior in college) daughter, but it totally depends. In-state public or private? Scholarships in the mix? Any other grants or financial aid? Do you have younger kids to roll it to if the first one doesn't use it all? Does your state allow Roth rollovers or loan payments from 529s (both allowed on the federal level, but 529s are administered by the states and not all allow those things)? Do you get a tax benefit in your state for contributing?

Schools publish a total cost of attendance number. If you have any idea the type of school your kid(s) will go to you can start there, and then start factoring in the rest of the above. Because of the limitations of 529s I think it's probably prudent to not over-fund them, and set aside other money you might need in a taxable brokerage account just for the flexibility (they're both assets according to FAFSA as far as I understand, which may or may not matter in your situation). Fund the 529 first to take advantage of the tax free compounding on the growth (and then the minimum each year for the tax benefit, if applicable), and then start building up the taxable.

 

[NutterButter]

How much have y'all found is the right amount to aim for in a 529? I'm thinking ~$200k value at 18 should be plenty?

That should be fine in today's dollars. You could get away with less. Whatever difference in actual cost you can make up elsewhere.

 

[Instinctive]

How much have y'all found is the right amount to aim for in a 529? I'm thinking ~$200k value at 18 should be plenty?

That would have been 2-3 times what we needed for my (now senior in college) daughter, but it totally depends. In-state public or private? Scholarships in the mix? Any other grants or financial aid? Do you have younger kids to roll it to if the first one doesn't use it all? Does your state allow Roth rollovers or loan payments from 529s (both allowed on the federal level, but 529s are administered by the states and not all allow those things)? Do you get a tax benefit in your state for contributing?

Schools publish a total cost of attendance number. If you have any idea the type of school your kid(s) will go to you can start there, and then start factoring in the rest of the above. Because of the limitations of 529s I think it's probably prudent to not over-fund them, and set aside other money you might need in a taxable brokerage account just for the flexibility (they're both assets according to FAFSA as far as I understand, which may or may not matter in your situation). Fund the 529 first to take advantage of the tax free compounding on the growth (and then the minimum each year for the tax benefit, if applicable), and then start building up the taxable.

Yeah I figured chances are they follow a similar path to their mom and me. Which would mean state school/scholarship for undergrad, and then around $200k for a top grad school. So call it $250-300k total.

There's two of them. One is 8 months old, and one is due end of year. I only ask because we started one in another state so my parents could do a little gift and stuff...and then they dropped over $30k in right away. which at normal returns is like $90k in 18 years. So the question becomes how much more do I want to put in now...if anything ever...or when do I ask them to stop putting $$ in.

I assume that like me as a student, there's very little chance there's ANY need-based aid. My family was solidly middle class, lived within our means, saved well, and it screwed us. My wife and I both make significantly more and have a similar savings habit so I reaaaaaaalllly doubt we get any need-based aid. Although a lot can change in 18 years I guess.

 

[Nugget]

How much have y'all found is the right amount to aim for in a 529? I'm thinking ~$200k value at 18 should be plenty?

That would have been 2-3 times what we needed for my (now senior in college) daughter, but it totally depends. In-state public or private? Scholarships in the mix? Any other grants or financial aid? Do you have younger kids to roll it to if the first one doesn't use it all? Does your state allow Roth rollovers or loan payments from 529s (both allowed on the federal level, but 529s are administered by the states and not all allow those things)? Do you get a tax benefit in your state for contributing?

Schools publish a total cost of attendance number. If you have any idea the type of school your kid(s) will go to you can start there, and then start factoring in the rest of the above. Because of the limitations of 529s I think it's probably prudent to not over-fund them, and set aside other money you might need in a taxable brokerage account just for the flexibility (they're both assets according to FAFSA as far as I understand, which may or may not matter in your situation). Fund the 529 first to take advantage of the tax free compounding on the growth (and then the minimum each year for the tax benefit, if applicable), and then start building up the taxable.

Yeah I figured chances are they follow a similar path to their mom and me. Which would mean state school/scholarship for undergrad, and then around $200k for a top grad school. So call it $250-300k total.

There's two of them. One is 8 months old, and one is due end of year. I only ask because we started one in another state so my parents could do a little gift and stuff...and then they dropped over $30k in right away. which at normal returns is like $90k in 18 years. So the question becomes how much more do I want to put in now...if anything ever...or when do I ask them to stop putting $$ in.

I assume that like me as a student, there's very little chance there's ANY need-based aid. My family was solidly middle class, lived within our means, saved well, and it screwed us. My wife and I both make significantly more and have a similar savings habit so I reaaaaaaalllly doubt we get any need-based aid. Although a lot can change in 18 years I guess.

How did that screw you?

 

[Instinctive]

How much have y'all found is the right amount to aim for in a 529? I'm thinking ~$200k value at 18 should be plenty?

That would have been 2-3 times what we needed for my (now senior in college) daughter, but it totally depends. In-state public or private? Scholarships in the mix? Any other grants or financial aid? Do you have younger kids to roll it to if the first one doesn't use it all? Does your state allow Roth rollovers or loan payments from 529s (both allowed on the federal level, but 529s are administered by the states and not all allow those things)? Do you get a tax benefit in your state for contributing?

Schools publish a total cost of attendance number. If you have any idea the type of school your kid(s) will go to you can start there, and then start factoring in the rest of the above. Because of the limitations of 529s I think it's probably prudent to not over-fund them, and set aside other money you might need in a taxable brokerage account just for the flexibility (they're both assets according to FAFSA as far as I understand, which may or may not matter in your situation). Fund the 529 first to take advantage of the tax free compounding on the growth (and then the minimum each year for the tax benefit, if applicable), and then start building up the taxable.

Yeah I figured chances are they follow a similar path to their mom and me. Which would mean state school/scholarship for undergrad, and then around $200k for a top grad school. So call it $250-300k total.

There's two of them. One is 8 months old, and one is due end of year. I only ask because we started one in another state so my parents could do a little gift and stuff...and then they dropped over $30k in right away. which at normal returns is like $90k in 18 years. So the question becomes how much more do I want to put in now...if anything ever...or when do I ask them to stop putting $$ in.

I assume that like me as a student, there's very little chance there's ANY need-based aid. My family was solidly middle class, lived within our means, saved well, and it screwed us. My wife and I both make significantly more and have a similar savings habit so I reaaaaaaalllly doubt we get any need-based aid. Although a lot can change in 18 years I guess.

How did that screw you?

We got zero aid even though we didn't have that much income. Sorry I thought that was clear.

My parents could choose to o dip into retirement savings (which were for them) or I could take on debt. I took a nearly full academic scholarship instead and went to OU instead of Georgetown.

My life is probably quite different as a result. Not bad but definitely different.

 

[NutterButter]

How much have y'all found is the right amount to aim for in a 529? I'm thinking ~$200k value at 18 should be plenty?

That would have been 2-3 times what we needed for my (now senior in college) daughter, but it totally depends. In-state public or private? Scholarships in the mix? Any other grants or financial aid? Do you have younger kids to roll it to if the first one doesn't use it all? Does your state allow Roth rollovers or loan payments from 529s (both allowed on the federal level, but 529s are administered by the states and not all allow those things)? Do you get a tax benefit in your state for contributing?

Schools publish a total cost of attendance number. If you have any idea the type of school your kid(s) will go to you can start there, and then start factoring in the rest of the above. Because of the limitations of 529s I think it's probably prudent to not over-fund them, and set aside other money you might need in a taxable brokerage account just for the flexibility (they're both assets according to FAFSA as far as I understand, which may or may not matter in your situation). Fund the 529 first to take advantage of the tax free compounding on the growth (and then the minimum each year for the tax benefit, if applicable), and then start building up the taxable.

Yeah I figured chances are they follow a similar path to their mom and me. Which would mean state school/scholarship for undergrad, and then around $200k for a top grad school. So call it $250-300k total.

There's two of them. One is 8 months old, and one is due end of year. I only ask because we started one in another state so my parents could do a little gift and stuff...and then they dropped over $30k in right away. which at normal returns is like $90k in 18 years. So the question becomes how much more do I want to put in now...if anything ever...or when do I ask them to stop putting $$ in.

I assume that like me as a student, there's very little chance there's ANY need-based aid. My family was solidly middle class, lived within our means, saved well, and it screwed us. My wife and I both make significantly more and have a similar savings habit so I reaaaaaaalllly doubt we get any need-based aid. Although a lot can change in 18 years I guess.

Yeah 250-300 sounds about right per kid if your think state school and the 2 years grad

 

[Orange&Blue]

How much have y'all found is the right amount to aim for in a 529? I'm thinking ~$200k value at 18 should be plenty?

my oldest kid (sophomore) will get $80k in 529s. Could i do more, probably, but i want him to have some skin in the game. not to mention student loan debt forgiveness may be a thing.

 

[Peggy]

I think I have this right but please tell me if I’m wrong.

We’ll sell this house and move in 9-12 years. In about 4 - 5 years we want to buy a lake house which we’ll move into when we leave here. When we sell our primary home, we’ll probably net between $300k (if we sold today) and let’s say $500k. I think because that is from our primary home which we’ll have lived in more than 2 of the last 5 years, up to $500k will be excluded from taxes (this might increase, but with today’s rules). Regardless of whether we buy a new primary home. We might turn around and put that $500k into a beach house / rental.

Yep.

What does regardless of whether we buy a new primary home mean? Renting for a while or something?

We are currently selling for just under the 500k gain and should net a few hundred thousand after the new primary home. Putting it towards a pool, new roof, a tracker etc.

 

[-OZ-]

What does regardless of whether we buy a new primary home mean? Renting for a while or something?

We’d move to the lake house.
Something like - buy the lake house in 2029, keep living most of the time in this house. Sell this house and move primarily to the lake house in 2033. Use the (hopefully) $600k proceeds from this house to either buy a house/condo/villa (down payment) by our favorite beach or just use that as our cash for the first 5 years in retirement. Actually retire in 2038 when I’m 62 and get 25% from my federal pension. This last part is very flexible, I won’t need to stay that long but if things are going good I might. Youngest kid graduates HS in 2033 and hopefully college in 2037.

 

[Nugget]

Yeah I figured chances are they follow a similar path to their mom and me. Which would mean state school/scholarship for undergrad, and then around $200k for a top grad school. So call it $250-300k total.

There's two of them. One is 8 months old, and one is due end of year. I only ask because we started one in another state so my parents could do a little gift and stuff...and then they dropped over $30k in right away. which at normal returns is like $90k in 18 years. So the question becomes how much more do I want to put in now...if anything ever...or when do I ask them to stop putting $$ in.

I assume that like me as a student, there's very little chance there's ANY need-based aid. My family was solidly middle class, lived within our means, saved well, and it screwed us. My wife and I both make significantly more and have a similar savings habit so I reaaaaaaalllly doubt we get any need-based aid. Although a lot can change in 18 years I guess.

How did that screw you?

We got zero aid even though we didn't have that much income. Sorry I thought that was clear.

My parents could choose to o dip into retirement savings (which were for them) or I could take on debt. I took a nearly full academic scholarship instead and went to OU instead of Georgetown.

My life is probably quite different as a result. Not bad but definitely different.

Thanks for clarifying - Full ride to Oklahoma still sounds like a good outcome. I had lots of friends with Jesuit/high dollar undergrad educations (Notre Dame/Wash U/Duke) who ended up at Kansas for Law/Med school.

Currently cashflowing daughter in college - tuition is around $12K a year and I supplement another $1000 towards apartment/food/gas. She should be done around the time my son starts - so maybe 6-7 more years of this. I'm covering insurance/car/health deductible, but I was doing that before she went to college - doesn't seem like an incremental cost.

I am more concerned about saving for weddings.

 

[matttyl]

How much have y'all found is the right amount to aim for in a 529? I'm thinking ~$200k value at 18 should be plenty?

Personally, I’d be just been contributing the $4k a year (max state write off) and stopping there. So many factors that can easily change in the next 4 years; much less next 10-15 which is my timeframe. Grandparents on both sides also squirreling money away for their education. But kid might not want to go, might have other opportunities, might get a scholarship, might turn out to be really really good at tennis (doubtful). That’s why I’m only doing that after taking advantage of all retirement tax benefits I can first.

 

[Instinctive]

I am more concerned about saving for weddings.

GIANT LAUGH REACTION

Love that lol

PM me if you want our wedding spreadsheet FWIW

 

[Instinctive]

Yeah I figured chances are they follow a similar path to their mom and me. Which would mean state school/scholarship for undergrad, and then around $200k for a top grad school. So call it $250-300k total.

There's two of them. One is 8 months old, and one is due end of year. I only ask because we started one in another state so my parents could do a little gift and stuff...and then they dropped over $30k in right away. which at normal returns is like $90k in 18 years. So the question becomes how much more do I want to put in now...if anything ever...or when do I ask them to stop putting $$ in.

I assume that like me as a student, there's very little chance there's ANY need-based aid. My family was solidly middle class, lived within our means, saved well, and it screwed us. My wife and I both make significantly more and have a similar savings habit so I reaaaaaaalllly doubt we get any need-based aid. Although a lot can change in 18 years I guess.

How did that screw you?

We got zero aid even though we didn't have that much income. Sorry I thought that was clear.

My parents could choose to o dip into retirement savings (which were for them) or I could take on debt. I took a nearly full academic scholarship instead and went to OU instead of Georgetown.

My life is probably quite different as a result. Not bad but definitely different.

Thanks for clarifying - Full ride to Oklahoma still sounds like a good outcome. I had lots of friends with Jesuit/high dollar undergrad educations (Notre Dame/Wash U/Duke) who ended up at Kansas for Law/Med school.

Currently cashflowing daughter in college - tuition is around $12K a year and I supplement another $1000 towards apartment/food/gas. She should be done around the time my son starts - so maybe 6-7 more years of this. I'm covering insurance/car/health deductible, but I was doing that before she went to college - doesn't seem like an incremental cost.

I am more concerned about saving for weddings.

Assume that's for an in state school?

Seems like I kind of want to make sure there's $35k/beneficiary in 529s too for the Roth IRA rollover thing.


As for me - yeah, like I said, the outcome was fine. I have a great life. I met my wife there. I love OU football games and the culture. All sorts of great stuff. But I'm in a career where 90% of the others went to an Ivy, Stanford, Vandy, ND, Duke. And you can visibly see the network difference. I know the next part makes me a **** (I probably am somewhat), but I would not have ended up at Kansas for law school. I was at the top of my class at Stanford Law School and the GSB, and I'm sure I would have been at the top of Penn or Georgetown UG (my roads not taken). I suppose it's possible I wouldn't have been valedictorian-level give-the-commencement-speech like I was at OU, but I doubt it.

I hope to give my kids that extra leg up where they can feel ok financially picking a school like Stanford or Princeton or Georgetown or Yale etc if they get in, and then even better to cover grad school and not deal with the quarter million of debt I had to deal with. If they end up going to OU instead, or even a Texas school in state (or wherever we end up living by then), more power to them. My goal is that $$$ is not a factor.

 

[Desert_Power]

How much have y'all found is the right amount to aim for in a 529? I'm thinking ~$200k value at 18 should be plenty?

my oldest kid (sophomore) will get $80k in 529s. Could i do more, probably, but i want him to have some skin in the game. not to mention student loan debt forgiveness may be a thing.

There is also a hope that college/university is less important by the time my kid gets to that age than it has been in the past. Certainly a lot of characteristics of a bubble here

 

[Peggy]

What does regardless of whether we buy a new primary home mean? Renting for a while or something?

We’d move to the lake house.
Something like - buy the lake house in 2029, keep living most of the time in this house. Sell this house and move primarily to the lake house in 2033. Use the (hopefully) $600k proceeds from this house to either buy a house/condo/villa (down payment) by our favorite beach or just use that as our cash for the first 5 years in retirement. Actually retire in 2038 when I’m 62 and get 25% from my federal pension. This last part is very flexible, I won’t need to stay that long but if things are going good I might. Youngest kid graduates HS in 2033 and hopefully college in 2037.

Ah. I thought the lake and the beach house was the same house. A lake house AND a beach house, look at you! Sounds awesome.

 

[-OZ-]

What does regardless of whether we buy a new primary home mean? Renting for a while or something?

We’d move to the lake house.
Something like - buy the lake house in 2029, keep living most of the time in this house. Sell this house and move primarily to the lake house in 2033. Use the (hopefully) $600k proceeds from this house to either buy a house/condo/villa (down payment) by our favorite beach or just use that as our cash for the first 5 years in retirement. Actually retire in 2038 when I’m 62 and get 25% from my federal pension. This last part is very flexible, I won’t need to stay that long but if things are going good I might. Youngest kid graduates HS in 2033 and hopefully college in 2037.

Ah. I thought the lake and the beach house was the same house. A lake house AND a beach house, look at you! Sounds awesome.

That’s the plan today, rent the beach house out. But we go back and forth regarding just renting a few months in the shoulder to off season each year. The question mostly comes down to flexibility vs ownership and making some diverse “passive” income vs staying invested in the market, and time.

 

[Instinctive]

What does regardless of whether we buy a new primary home mean? Renting for a while or something?

We’d move to the lake house.
Something like - buy the lake house in 2029, keep living most of the time in this house. Sell this house and move primarily to the lake house in 2033. Use the (hopefully) $600k proceeds from this house to either buy a house/condo/villa (down payment) by our favorite beach or just use that as our cash for the first 5 years in retirement. Actually retire in 2038 when I’m 62 and get 25% from my federal pension. This last part is very flexible, I won’t need to stay that long but if things are going good I might. Youngest kid graduates HS in 2033 and hopefully college in 2037.

Ah. I thought the lake and the beach house was the same house. A lake house AND a beach house, look at you! Sounds awesome.

That’s the plan today, rent the beach house out. But we go back and forth regarding just renting a few months in the shoulder to off season each year. The question mostly comes down to flexibility vs ownership and making some diverse “passive” income vs staying invested in the market, and time.

There's definitely something about not having to pack a lot of stuff to go to the second place. And being able to go not just in shoulder season. It's a good choice to have to make either way!

 

[Peggy]

What does regardless of whether we buy a new primary home mean? Renting for a while or something?

We’d move to the lake house.
Something like - buy the lake house in 2029, keep living most of the time in this house. Sell this house and move primarily to the lake house in 2033. Use the (hopefully) $600k proceeds from this house to either buy a house/condo/villa (down payment) by our favorite beach or just use that as our cash for the first 5 years in retirement. Actually retire in 2038 when I’m 62 and get 25% from my federal pension. This last part is very flexible, I won’t need to stay that long but if things are going good I might. Youngest kid graduates HS in 2033 and hopefully college in 2037.

Ah. I thought the lake and the beach house was the same house. A lake house AND a beach house, look at you! Sounds awesome.

That’s the plan today, rent the beach house out. But we go back and forth regarding just renting a few months in the shoulder to off season each year. The question mostly comes down to flexibility vs ownership and making some diverse “passive” income vs staying invested in the market, and time.

There's definitely something about not having to pack a lot of stuff to go to the second place. And being able to go not just in shoulder season. It's a good choice to have to make either way!

I've always shy'd away from rental properties as investments/passive income. But I might need to rethink that.

1 - I had faulty thinking that I didn't want to be tied into vacationing in the same place over and over, but, in retirement that's not really the case. When every day is leisure you could still take your vacations to see the world AND split time between two homes. Especially if they were within driving distance or a short cheap flight.
2 - I don't want to have to deal with renters, evictions, maintenance and such. But I think AirBnB type renting would be a lot easier and less risky, especially if you aren't relying on the rental income. If you could find a place in a complex that includes some sort of HOA performed maintenance that would be ideal.

Only downfall I see now is that all the places I'm thinking of come with some storm/hurricane/flood risk. If the nest egg becomes extra large in the next 5-10 year it's on the list.

 

[-OZ-]

What does regardless of whether we buy a new primary home mean? Renting for a while or something?

We’d move to the lake house.
Something like - buy the lake house in 2029, keep living most of the time in this house. Sell this house and move primarily to the lake house in 2033. Use the (hopefully) $600k proceeds from this house to either buy a house/condo/villa (down payment) by our favorite beach or just use that as our cash for the first 5 years in retirement. Actually retire in 2038 when I’m 62 and get 25% from my federal pension. This last part is very flexible, I won’t need to stay that long but if things are going good I might. Youngest kid graduates HS in 2033 and hopefully college in 2037.

Ah. I thought the lake and the beach house was the same house. A lake house AND a beach house, look at you! Sounds awesome.

That’s the plan today, rent the beach house out. But we go back and forth regarding just renting a few months in the shoulder to off season each year. The question mostly comes down to flexibility vs ownership and making some diverse “passive” income vs staying invested in the market, and time.

There's definitely something about not having to pack a lot of stuff to go to the second place. And being able to go not just in shoulder season. It's a good choice to have to make either way!

I've always shy'd away from rental properties as investments/passive income. But I might need to rethink that.

1 - I had faulty thinking that I didn't want to be tied into vacationing in the same place over and over, but, in retirement that's not really the case. When every day is leisure you could still take your vacations to see the world AND split time between two homes. Especially if they were within driving distance or a short cheap flight.
2 - I don't want to have to deal with renters, evictions, maintenance and such. But I think AirBnB type renting would be a lot easier and less risky, especially if you aren't relying on the rental income. If you could find a place in a complex that includes some sort of HOA performed maintenance that would be ideal.

Only downfall I see now is that all the places I'm thinking of come with some storm/hurricane/flood risk. If the nest egg becomes extra large in the next 5-10 year it's on the list.

Hurricane is a large concern.

Where we would buy has a few local companies that manage properties. Of course they take a nice profit, but it’s probably worth it to avoid most headaches. We’ve mostly used VRBO when we go, but we plan to start using a few of the companies to test them from the customer perspective.

 

[thecatch]

How much have y'all found is the right amount to aim for in a 529? I'm thinking ~$200k value at 18 should be plenty?

my oldest kid (sophomore) will get $80k in 529s. Could i do more, probably, but i want him to have some skin in the game. not to mention student loan debt forgiveness may be a thing.

There is also a hope that college/university is less important by the time my kid gets to that age than it has been in the past. Certainly a lot of characteristics of a bubble here

I'm hoping so, at in terms of pricing. This prompted me to check on my savings progress for my kid, who I'd like to be able to afford to send to the fanciest of private schools if my kid wants (even though my spouse is against it because she's observed so many of those grads, who we deal with incredibly often in our profession, turn out to be self-aggrandizing narcissists). The first college savings calculator I clicked on this morning anticipates the total cost of an "average" 4 year private university education when he attends to be $375,213 and an "expensive" one to be $451,191. Even though I want my kid to have all the opportunities in the world, at that price he's going to state school and we'll do something more productive with the extra $250-350k.

 

[jm192]

I mentioned this a few times before in here, and I know some others have dealt with the same thing. My wife and I are 5 years into the infertility journey. We've done 5 rounds of IVF, spent more money than I care to remember.

We're pregnant. With twins.

Kind of crazy to think you spend all this money, to turn around and spend a whole bunch more money. But we couldn't be more excited.

Our open enrollment at work is now, so I'm finally letting go of the HDHP and the HSA to get the Gold or Platinum plan, whatever it's called.

 

[Instinctive]

I mentioned this a few times before in here, and I know some others have dealt with the same thing. My wife and I are 5 years into the infertility journey. We've done 5 rounds of IVF, spent more money than I care to remember.

We're pregnant. With twins.

Kind of crazy to think you spend all this money, to turn around and spend a whole bunch more money. But we couldn't be more excited.

Our open enrollment at work is now, so I'm finally letting go of the HDHP and the HSA to get the Gold or Platinum plan, whatever it's called.

CONGRATULATIONS

If you ever want to talk, we've gone through a similar journey (I think you actually already knew that from the other thread) and have a 9-month old now and a 2nd due end of year before he turns one. Great call on the insurance change LOL. Nice timing.

 

[matttyl]

I mentioned this a few times before in here, and I know some others have dealt with the same thing. My wife and I are 5 years into the infertility journey. We've done 5 rounds of IVF, spent more money than I care to remember.

We're pregnant. With twins.

Kind of crazy to think you spend all this money, to turn around and spend a whole bunch more money. But we couldn't be more excited.

Our open enrollment at work is now, so I'm finally letting go of the HDHP and the HSA to get the Gold or Platinum plan, whatever it's called.

Congrats!

Just to be sure when in a situation like this - do the math based on the family max Out of Pocket (OOP), not on the deductible. Many times people see that the max OOP aren’t the different between the HDHP and the more traditional plan they are offered. Maybe $3k more for a family, but that could be offset by the difference in premium and the tax savings of the HSA.

 

[Sand]

We're pregnant. With twins.

Man plans, God laughs. Congrats!

 

[Desert_Power]

I mentioned this a few times before in here, and I know some others have dealt with the same thing. My wife and I are 5 years into the infertility journey. We've done 5 rounds of IVF, spent more money than I care to remember.

We're pregnant. With twins.

Kind of crazy to think you spend all this money, to turn around and spend a whole bunch more money. But we couldn't be more excited.

Our open enrollment at work is now, so I'm finally letting go of the HDHP and the HSA to get the Gold or Platinum plan, whatever it's called.

That's great! Your hands are going to be full.

 

[-OZ-]

I guess we solved inflation. “Go us!”

I bonds rate now 3.11% for new issues including 1.2% fixed. Just slightly lower than last issue. I’ll probably just keep the $40k we have (all 1.3% fixed plus variable rate) and not buy more next year. We’ll keep these either until we buy the lake house or for our first year of retirement.

This was mostly guessed before, now it’s official.

We’re roughly at the target inflation rate so I’d think the rate is unlikely to get lower.

 

[jm192]

I guess we solved inflation. “Go us!”

I bonds rate now 3.11% for new issues including 1.2% fixed. Just slightly lower than last issue. I’ll probably just keep the $40k we have (all 1.3% fixed plus variable rate) and not buy more next year. We’ll keep these either until we buy the lake house or for our first year of retirement.

This was mostly guessed before, now it’s official.

We’re roughly at the target inflation rate so I’d think the rate is unlikely to get lower.

Yeah, 2 or 3 years ago, a fixed rate over 1% was a dream.

Now with the HYSA and money market accounts being so generous, it's hard to lock your $$ up for a year.

 

[-OZ-]

I guess we solved inflation. “Go us!”

I bonds rate now 3.11% for new issues including 1.2% fixed. Just slightly lower than last issue. I’ll probably just keep the $40k we have (all 1.3% fixed plus variable rate) and not buy more next year. We’ll keep these either until we buy the lake house or for our first year of retirement.

This was mostly guessed before, now it’s official.

We’re roughly at the target inflation rate so I’d think the rate is unlikely to get lower.

Yeah, 2 or 3 years ago, a fixed rate over 1% was a dream.

Now with the HYSA and money market accounts being so generous, it's hard to lock your $$ up for a year.

I’m skeptical about savings accounts staying where there are but they’ll probably be really close to the I bonds rate including fixed rate.

 

[jm192]

I guess we solved inflation. “Go us!”

I bonds rate now 3.11% for new issues including 1.2% fixed. Just slightly lower than last issue. I’ll probably just keep the $40k we have (all 1.3% fixed plus variable rate) and not buy more next year. We’ll keep these either until we buy the lake house or for our first year of retirement.

This was mostly guessed before, now it’s official.

We’re roughly at the target inflation rate so I’d think the rate is unlikely to get lower.

Yeah, 2 or 3 years ago, a fixed rate over 1% was a dream.

Now with the HYSA and money market accounts being so generous, it's hard to lock your $$ up for a year.

I’m skeptical about savings accounts staying where there are but they’ll probably be really close to the I bonds rate including fixed rate.

I agree with both points.

MM and HYSA won't stay 5ish % forever. But I think they'll stay competitive with I-Bonds unless inflation is terrible and I-Bonds jump way back up.

As long as I-Bonds aren't significantly better returns than other options, the 1 year requirement makes them the least attractive. We did 40K across 2021 and 2022. I at times wish I'd gotten more in 2023. That November 5.xx option with 1+% fixed was nice, just valued the liquidity.

 

[The Z Machine]

I settled on a home equity loan yesterday so i could have semi-liquid cash as a contingency for my rental property as well as pay for some important short term expenses. Ill have about $50k that I would like to get better returns than a HYSA.

A standard brokerage account would be best to use for low cost ETFs, right? I use Bank of America and I know they own Merrill Lynch. I'm sure I could get a brokerage account there that would link well with my BofA checking / savings accounts. Are there advantages for going with Vanguard or Schwab or even Robinhood?

 

[jm192]

I settled on a home equity loan yesterday so i could have semi-liquid cash as a contingency for my rental property as well as pay for some important short term expenses. Ill have about $50k that I would like to get better returns than a HYSA.

A standard brokerage account would be best to use for low cost ETFs, right? I use Bank of America and I know they own Merrill Lynch. I'm sure I could get a brokerage account there that would link well with my BofA checking / savings accounts. Are there advantages for going with Vanguard or Schwab or even Robinhood?

I have accounts on nearly everything.

My 401K from previous employer is on Schwab. We previously had an HSA at TD Ameritrade, but Schwab acquired them.
Wife's 401K is on Prudential, which is someting else now.

Wife's Roth and our taxable brokerage account are on Vanguard.

My new Job's 401K and Roth IRA are on Fidelity.

My experience: Fidelity (and the now defunct Ameritrade) were the most user friendly. They're also the slowest to credit funds/let you convert/invest.

Vanguard: I feel like I always have to look for the action I'm looking for rather than it just being easy to see/find. It's not like the website is super terrible. Just not as smooth/easy to operate as Fidelity.

If you're specifically looking to get the vanguard mutual funds, other websites will charge you a fee to buy the actual mutual fund. I started to buy VTSAX through Fidelity, and there was a 25$ fee. It's going to be free on Vanguard. On the flip side, you can buy the corresponding ETF anywhere without a fee.

 

[-OZ-]

On the flip side, you can buy the corresponding ETF anywhere without a fee.

There’s no good reason to buy vanguard mutual funds. ETFs are the way to go

 

[-OZ-]

I have accounts on nearly everything

our accounts are mostly M1. But we also have Schwab, E*Trade and Robin Hood. I’d encourage M1 for simplicity if you have more than $10k.

 

[The Z Machine]

I have accounts on nearly everything

our accounts are mostly M1. But we also have Schwab, E*Trade and Robin Hood. I’d encourage M1 for simplicity if you have more than $10k.

How easy is it to move money in/out of M1? How about setting up an account? I can do it 100% online?

 

[-OZ-]

I have accounts on nearly everything

our accounts are mostly M1. But we also have Schwab, E*Trade and Robin Hood. I’d encourage M1 for simplicity if you have more than $10k.

How easy is it to move money in/out of M1? How about setting up an account? I can do it 100% online?

100% online, very easy. My oldest has recently sold and taken $9,000 out to buy his new to him car, I took a lot more to buy our new Grand Highlander this year and about the same last year for our bathroom.
I’ve heard people get corrected 1099s in late April, which would suck but I’ve only gotten one corrected form in 5 years (in March), that was a year I traded often. If you’re not trading often, a buy and hold approach, it’s simple. You also get partial shares which IIRC vanguard doesn’t do (for whatever reason).
I like the automatic investments.

 

[Peggy]

I settled on a home equity loan yesterday so i could have semi-liquid cash as a contingency for my rental property as well as pay for some important short term expenses. Ill have about $50k that I would like to get better returns than a HYSA.

A standard brokerage account would be best to use for low cost ETFs, right? I use Bank of America and I know they own Merrill Lynch. I'm sure I could get a brokerage account there that would link well with my BofA checking / savings accounts. Are there advantages for going with Vanguard or Schwab or even Robinhood?

If you have banking at BoA it's very easy and convenient to use Merrill Edge. You can link the accounts so they show up when you log into BoA, and jump back and forth with a click of a button. That's where my non-employer accounts are.

My employer accounts are at Fidelity and I like their setup and user-friendliness better. Just not enough to outweigh the convivence of BoA/ME.

The one big negative for ME is their sweep accounts do not get you the high interest rates like Fidelity does if you have significant cash just sitting there. You have to set up a non-sweep Preferred Deposit account and then move money back and forth (currently at 4.18%) with 100K minimum initial deposit, 1K minimum after that. And it's kind of hidden how to do it, I can show you if you end up needing that. (My Fidelity sweep accounts are currently at 4.51% and 4.46%.)

 

[The Z Machine]

What's a "sweep account"?

 

[Peggy]

What's a "sweep account"?

The money account whose balance is used for stock buys and sells in a brokerage account.

If you sell a stock for 10K and the money sits there for a while, or you forget about it, etc. That 10K won't make any interest while just sitting there at ME.

The sweep account will grow too if you don't have your funds set to reinvest dividends and capital gains.

 

[Buckna]

What's a "sweep account"?

Banking term, basically means the $ in an account gets "swept" into an investment (typically a money market fund), usually automatically netting out buys and sells for the day. This is opposed to some brokerage accounts where you have to actively buy or sell the mmkt fund you want your money in similar to processing a buy or sale of a stock. In a swept acct $ is always earning interest, in a non-swept acct it's not but it's always liquid when not manually invested.

 

[-OZ-]

So, is anyone else buying contracts on the presidential election? Not to get into politics, but I had bought a few hundred on Harris at 39¢, now they’re up to 44¢. It’s a bet, so definitely not an investment. Nor am I trying to debate the merits of either candidate here. On Robin Hood there are close to 200,000,000 “contracts “ bought. Slightly more on Harris but she’s been the cheaper bet for the past week or longer.