matttyl
Footballguy
Mind sharing what each of the tabs are?Another Excel nerd here. I have a 6 tab spreadsheet for each calendar year going back to the late 90s. Once a nerd, always a nerd.
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Personal Finance Advice and Education! (4 Viewers)
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matttyl
Footballguy
Inclusive of the mortgage (if you have one)? Right now I just pay the majority of the big stuff myself (mortgage, taxes, life insurances, much of the childcare) - while she puts in money into a joint account which pays for other things (mainly food, Costo trips, some of the childcare, the one car payment we still have, power/internet/cable bills). I'm thinking of implementing something a bit more like what you're talking about. A larger joint account where everything is paid from.
Chadstroma
Footballguy
matttyl
Footballguy
He said he's still figuring it out, so I'd guess no to that one.You got your wife to agree to do the backdoor? Nice.
Chadstroma
Footballguy
Childcare/tuition is killing us right now. When I am done with that... I am going to feel like a millionaire, flush with so much cash flow I might just do a big withdrawal of cash and throw it in the bedroom and swim in it.
Chadstroma
Footballguy
Is he trying to figure out getting her to agree to it or doing it. I mean, I always thought the hard part was getting the wife to agree to it. The doing part seems pretty simple to me.
Steve Tasker
Footballguy
My wife and I have only 1 shared account. It pays for all joint expenses - mortgage, insurances, groceries, property taxes, utilities, etc. We each contribute $800 biweekly and it more than covers our expenses on average, including the mortgage. Obviously there are months where things like property taxes hit and we net negative for the month, but year-over-year we certainly net positive. We are fortunate to live in a low cost-of-living area so our mortgage and property taxes are pretty reasonable; of course, that means we take home less money on the whole.
I have been considering opening a second joint account just for some segregated funds as we hope to re-do our kitchen in the next 5-ish years. That's the next step. Haven't quite determined how I want to do it....savings account, CDs, invest in the market on safer investments....still mulling it over.
We don't have children, car payments, and our 15 year mortgage/HOA payment on townhome is about 7% of gross. It will change in a few years assuming kids and bigger house (unless moving to suburbs :X ).
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You got your wife to agree to do the backdoor? Nice.
That part has never been an issue.For a CPA she sure doesn't know taxes including Roth
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matttyl
Footballguy
I'm in the same boat. $275 a week for my 2 year old (in home care, a wonderful place that he loves). That should end around the same time the only car payment we have will end (~$350 a month). That extra ~$1,500 a month will go a long way.
matttyl
Footballguy
We've got the one joint account, and we have have our own separate ones. I'm hoping we can both contribute more to the joint account, and have everything come out of it like you do. When adding in mortgage, childcare, one car payment, taxes, insurances, and groceries it may seem like a huge figure we'll each need to contribute, though. Knowing that everything left will be "ours" though will be helpful.
Two little kids in daycare here - the upside is that college looks cheap in comparison.
matttyl
Footballguy
Hadn't thought of it that way. You're right - I'm paying more now than I will be when he's in college.
Andrew74
Footballguy
First tab is a summary P&L by month. All the tabs are monthly.
Second tab is a detailed income sources, along with a retirement section. There I can input % breakdown on how to fund 401(k) (Roth vs Trad). It also calculates when I hit the SS max as that affects cash flows.
Third tab is detailed expenses.
Fourth tab is an actual vs budgeted by month.
Fifth is a tax worksheet that calculates Fed and State taxes.
All the tabs are connected in a very Byzantine way.
I think that's all. It's grown over the years as my family and finances have grown and become more complicated. It's probably bloated by 50%.
Typing it out I realize how terribly anal I am about this.
Yikes. This is one of the reasons that I have it set up so that one of us will be able to stay home when we/if have a kid.
matttyl
Footballguy
Yup, $55 a day no matter if we use them or not (grandma takes him for the day, we still pay the full week - we go on vacation for a week, we still pay the full week). And we're damn lucky to have her too, the demand is far higher than the supply out here. Over $14k a year, and only $5k of it is deductible.
-OZ-
Footballguy
Impressive. Mine only has an income/expenses yearly plan, a monthly plan vs reality, assets by month, and assets planned by year with expected costs like cars and vacation home.First tab is a summary P&L by month. All the tabs are monthly.
Second tab is a detailed income sources, along with a retirement section. There I can input % breakdown on how to fund 401(k) (Roth vs Trad). It also calculates when I hit the SS max as that affects cash flows.
Third tab is detailed expenses.
Fourth tab is an actual vs budgeted by month.
Fifth is a tax worksheet that calculates Fed and State taxes.
All the tabs are connected in a very Byzantine way.
I think that's all. It's grown over the years as my family and finances have grown and become more complicated. It's probably bloated by 50%.
Typing it out I realize how terribly anal I am about this.
No tax planning yet.
Bossman
Footballguy
Not sure about that. I just sent the first of 2 checks to Worcester Polytech (WPI) for $16k ($32k total).... for 1 year ... and that is after a $25k merit scholarship was factored.
Just 3 more years after this one and I'm done.
.... and here's my personal finance advice.
1) Start saving for college when your child is born. Put away something / anything. $100 a month or whatever.
A college savings plan that gets you some interest over the next 15 years. I like Vanguard ... easy to set up yourself online and very minimal fees.
2) Don't have a mortgage or have a car payment when your kid goes to college. Your kids college is going to take every nickle you earn. How?
Skip one night out a week and put that $100 towards the mortgage. An extra $200 a month towards the mortgage early on will not only take thousand off the mortgage but will shorten the length by YEARS.
Drive your car until the wheels fall off instead of trading it in when the floor mats get dirty. Dealerships make it sound harmless ... "you get the new car and your payments will stay the same" ... yeah, but now your paying for an extra 3 years. Pay it off and put the car payment money into the college fund & mortgage.
I have a 2005 Honda Pilot with 200k miles on it. A $700 brake job or $1000 timing chain / water pump is still cheaper than $400 a month for 60 months. The important thing is upkeep.
Keep the oil changed. Get it services when the light comes on etc.
matttyl
Footballguy
Yeah, my mortgage is at 3.5%....and is deductible. Not crazy about paying that off early. Agree on cars, though. 2 cars ago for me was a Nissan Altima that I got to 200k miles and I sold it for ~$2k. Bought a Mini Cooper. Used it for 6 years and would have continued to but had to sell it to get a more family friendly car (used RAV4). I've never paid anyone to change my oil, tranny fluid, or any number of other upkeep related things.
Im also not paying 100% of college, like I am currently for childcare. Family help (grandparents on both sides and a great grandmother), he can help himself, and hopefully scholarships.
Im also not paying 100% of college, like I am currently for childcare. Family help (grandparents on both sides and a great grandmother), he can help himself, and hopefully scholarships.
Chadstroma
Footballguy
What you do behind closed doors is totally up to you and I am not judging but I wouldn't go around telling people about that myself.
Sand
Footballguy
Nah, that sounds about right. I don't track expenses closely, but I do track net worth (weekly) in an excel file. I'm up to over a decade of data. The data display based on that has grown to about a dozen graphs of different types. I track current and average CAGRs, extrapolated growth curves, etc.First tab is a summary P&L by month. All the tabs are monthly.
Second tab is a detailed income sources, along with a retirement section. There I can input % breakdown on how to fund 401(k) (Roth vs Trad). It also calculates when I hit the SS max as that affects cash flows.
Third tab is detailed expenses.
Fourth tab is an actual vs budgeted by month.
Fifth is a tax worksheet that calculates Fed and State taxes.
All the tabs are connected in a very Byzantine way.
I think that's all. It's grown over the years as my family and finances have grown and become more complicated. It's probably bloated by 50%.
Typing it out I realize how terribly anal I am about this.
That one pales in comparison to my retirement calculation sheet - took me a while to generate, but it does most things Firecalc does and adds in tax effects. That one is pure
Leeroy Jenkins
Footballguy
Why are some using both Mint and an excel file?
I made an excel budget a while ago, but never have time to update it fully.
I made an excel budget a while ago, but never have time to update it fully.
Grahamburn
Footballguy
Any Vanguard International funds that would stand out as better buys than the others? Or just focus on minimizing cost and shoot for the funds with lower expense ratios? $3k minimum.
Leeroy Jenkins
Footballguy
Can we talk credit cards in here as well?
cash is king for me right now. I make a good salary, but my wife is stay at home with my 2 boys (3yrs and 9 months) so we are tight, although my visibilty into spending is limited right now (hence needing a budget and a mint type thing possible).
Right now my primary CC is Captial One Quicksilver for the 2% cash. Then I use Amex blue cash preferred for groceries (6% cash) and gas (3% cash). I have an old citi card that i just keep active with Netflix monthly.
I want/need to save for college (and other stuff) so want to open 529 plans for each boy. Should I use fidelity and open a card with them that puts 2% of spending into the 529s?
i really just need to get my finances in order so we can move forward, plan for savings, vacations, etc.
cash is king for me right now. I make a good salary, but my wife is stay at home with my 2 boys (3yrs and 9 months) so we are tight, although my visibilty into spending is limited right now (hence needing a budget and a mint type thing possible).
Right now my primary CC is Captial One Quicksilver for the 2% cash. Then I use Amex blue cash preferred for groceries (6% cash) and gas (3% cash). I have an old citi card that i just keep active with Netflix monthly.
I want/need to save for college (and other stuff) so want to open 529 plans for each boy. Should I use fidelity and open a card with them that puts 2% of spending into the 529s?
i really just need to get my finances in order so we can move forward, plan for savings, vacations, etc.
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We've been putting money into their International Value Fund (VTRIX) since 2013. It was flat/slightly down until this year, +19% YTD.
Chadstroma
Footballguy
Depends on how much effort you want to put into it to get the most out of it. You can get more than 2% in areas that you spend on if you put some time into figuring out the best cards for you. You can do what you are doing already but up the game into better percentage returns. 6% for groceries is awesome.... you can find a few cards to cover the top 4 or so top expenditures to get more than 2% out of it.
Rick James
Footballguy
Bossman
Footballguy
Rick James said:
Difference being that you could attend a decent college for $12k a year way back when (20 years ago for me now). Now those same schools are $46K and $52K a year.
Some of these kids today are graduating college already $200k in debt. That's a small house here in the northeast. Quite an anchor to try and start a life with ... but maybe it'll be fun having them living at home until they are 32?
I can't even imagine what the cost will be 15 years from now when todays baby is ready to apply.
They might be brilliant and chose a community college ... or maybe not attend college at all, ... if mom and dad can't afford to pitch in.
Chadstroma
Footballguy
With the runaway increase in costs of college easily outstripping inflation with no end in sight... I am going from the "You really ought to go straight to college and get your degree" talk to "unless you are going to be a Doctor or Engineer or a profession you need a degree... let's see how we can get your career going or help you start your own business". And I believe my FIL has my kids education covered. I am not against education at all but the cost is easily out pacing the value.
In California at least, in state tuition for the UC system is about $15k, and those schools are on par with just about any private school in the region. That's still a lot more than when I attended, but kids can get good educations for a lot less than $50k/year. If my kids want to go to Georgetown or something, they'll know they have to pitch in.
Dickies
Footballguy
When I went to UC about 18 years ago it was $1,200 per quarter for tuition and by the time I finished it was $1,800 per quarter. Summer was capped at $800 if I recall and you could take as many units as you were comfortable doing. For me $15,000 pretty much covered everything.
Yup, I was there about the same time. I was able to cover a substantial portion of the expenses through some part time jobs - tough to do that these days.
For my 2-year old daughter, I'm assuming that college will look a whole lot different in 2033 than it does now. Online? Something else? Who knows? But I'm saving in my retirement and Roths and real estate instead of a 529. I'd rather hide my money from those college sharks (even if they morph over the next 16 years) than have them take it. My goal is to be rich but look poor by the time she is out of high school.
Chadstroma
Footballguy
I'll just got us to put the Soviet Crypt Keeper into office and then they will get it for free.
PinkydaPimp
Footballguy
What about letting the kids get a loan and then paying the loan off for them or partially? For folks that dont use a 529 wouldnt this be another option to consider?
Leeroy Jenkins
Footballguy
So 529 = bad?
i see some reviews of Mint that are negative for budgeting but they seem older. I just want something that i can setup based on my monthly net income, track my spending, allow me to divert excess to savings of various types, and that I dont have to update weekly/monthly.
i see some reviews of Mint that are negative for budgeting but they seem older. I just want something that i can setup based on my monthly net income, track my spending, allow me to divert excess to savings of various types, and that I dont have to update weekly/monthly.
PinkydaPimp
Footballguy
Thats why i like mint. I dont want to have to update anything. You do need to go there and categorize stuff that it doesnt pick up. But other than that, its perfect for my needs. But i think some like to get a little more granular. For most people though its much more information than they would have otherwise about their spending.
Regarding 529 its not bad. But some folks dont like them because then your locked in to using it for education only.
NutterButter
Footballguy
Just keep in mind that since you're itemizing in order to get the mortgage interest deduction, you're losing the standard deduction so that needs to be factored into your decision making.
NutterButter
Footballguy
You have to figure you're kids are going to have some post high school education expenses. The way I figure it, if my kids don't, then that saves me a ton of money and I'll gladly eat the 10% penalty.
It's not that 529s are bad, but the way I figure, whatever money goes in there, a college is just gonna take it. I'd rather look for spots to stash money that colleges cannot grab and also cannot expect you to liquidate to pay for college expenses. So I'm loading up on retirement and letting the education costs get figured out in due time. The Roth is awesome for this. If you are not maxing out the Roth then don't bother with a 529.
Doctor Detroit
Please remove your headgear
The astute financial advisors say don't pay for your kid's education. Put me in that camp. If anything have them pay the first two years, I know many who have thrown money down the drain on unmotivated kids. The motivated ones are getting scholarships, just sayin. I was one of those unmotivated ones so I know.
Keep your emotions and your financial decisions separate.
Keep your emotions and your financial decisions separate.
Don't Noonan
Footballguy
If the money you are putting away is for your kids then a 529 is much better than an IRA.
Wooderson
Fight The Power
Don't Noonan
Footballguy
Yes, 10% penalty to withdraw from your IRA unless you are over 591/2. No penalty on 529 principal just 10% on earnings not used on higher education expenses.
Dickies
Footballguy
This, but I always tell my clients to focus on their own retirement before they aggressively fund a 529 plan.
Wooderson
Fight The Power
I've seen a few times that the penalty does not apply if used for college. Is this wrong?
http://www.finaid.org/savings/retirementplans.phtml
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2016-03-30/5-things-to-know-about-using-an-ira-to-pay-for-tuition
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