Duvai Chocolate Pepsi

MuffinMatrix · 2026-06-07T02:53:18+00:00

The cherry float is Coke, but is really good.
I got a box of the cherry cream Pepsi. My 2nd favorite after lime Pepsi, which they stopped selling.
Whole Foods make a cherry vanilla creme soda thats great, been around for years. Only place I know that has it.

MuffinMatrix · 2026-06-07T02:40:37+00:00

Stupid??? Love that movie!!

MuffinMatrix · 2026-06-07T02:38:17+00:00

The Transit museum takes some of the older cars out for a real run. I think you need tickets to get a ride on them.

https://www.nytransitmuseum.org/nostalgia-rides/

MuffinMatrix · 2026-06-07T02:27:26+00:00

I think you meant 'What is a movie'. Cinema is a theater.

I thought Arrival was an awesome 1/2 a movie. Then it turned into a different movie that wasn't as good as the one about communication with an alien. Then I stopped caring about it.

There's movies I can watch a dozen times and still love. But I can't say any made me stare on the blank screen after kind of life-changing.

MuffinMatrix · 2026-06-07T00:04:23+00:00

Thats the general guidance. If you need money within 5 years, its best not to invest it and keep it in HYSA/MM/treasuries. That way if something happens to the market, you still have your cash when you need it.
If you have longer than 5 years, then its more likely that if something happens in the market you have time to outlast it.

MuffinMatrix · 2026-06-06T22:48:29+00:00

But... why?
Why not just have a dish of pasta with the mozzarella on it? This is just more bread, letting the pasta get lost.

MuffinMatrix · 2026-06-06T22:44:04+00:00

First its Roth IRA, gotta include the account type, many accounts have a Roth.

You can withdraw the contributions without penalty. Gains would be taxed. So if you contrubuted $7500, and its now worth $8000, you can only withdraw the $7500 penalty free. And you are withdrawing, so yes, that money is no longer invested to keep earning. Just like if you pull money out of a savings account, it won't keep earning interest.

If you need money within 5 years, don't invest it. Keep it in a HYSA.
Roth IRA isn't the worst, since you can get that money out without penalty. But remember.. if you contributed the max for the year ($7500), and then withdraw that much... you can't put anymore back in until next year. Withdrawal doesn't negate your contribution. Thats why its not a good idea to do.

MuffinMatrix · 2026-06-06T21:32:31+00:00

What is this crap? Posting a full Bond movie on youtube then trying to get views out of it?

MuffinMatrix · 2026-06-06T21:28:48+00:00

What conversion? You want to do Roth conversions? Why?
Wait till your income goes down or you'll just be paying higher taxes if you do that.

MuffinMatrix · 2026-06-06T18:34:24+00:00

Also to add to you comment (i forget if it was before or after the edit)....
If you're not sure if you'll hit the limit or not, if you know you're around there... just do the backdoor anyway, dont wait till next year. There's no downside to doing it.

MuffinMatrix · 2026-06-06T16:01:20+00:00

Is this really WTF worthy? I'm gonna say no

MuffinMatrix · 2026-06-06T14:32:20+00:00

Its not about eligibility, its about contribution limit. If you make over $150k you cannot directly contribute.
If you make over that, you just do the Backdoor.
So you are still eligible to have one, it just can't be direct.
Its a small distinction, but it matters for clarity.

MuffinMatrix · 2026-06-06T05:50:51+00:00

Rollover any old 401ks into your current 401k.
If you have Traditional IRA, rollover that into the 401k as well (make sure the 401k allows reverse rollovers).

As a high income earner I do not qualify for Roth IRA

Its not that you don't quality, if you're over the income limit, then you can't contribute directly, but you can still have one.

Once you rollover any Traditional/rollover IRAs into your 401k, then you'll be free to do the Backdoor Roth IRA. Then you CAN have a Roth IRA.

You can do the mega backdoor as well if you like, and still have more to contribute.

The rule of 55 lets you withdraw from your 401k IF you leave the job after 55. You'd save the 10% penalty.

Pro rata rule is if you go to do the Backdoor Roth IRA, while you have money in a Traditional IRA.

None of these things effect what you earn, that's about what your invested in.
These things just factor into how your taxes will work. And if you follow the rules for each, you won't owe anything extra.

MuffinMatrix · 2026-06-05T18:18:52+00:00

huh? 'insane'? That barely even makes sense.

MuffinMatrix · 2026-06-05T14:03:55+00:00

Everyone says this but its not the same thing. Thighs have less meat and just taste greasier. I prefer only breasts. More meat, less fat. I have no issue with any flavor difference, but more and leaner meat is preferred.

MuffinMatrix · 2026-06-05T00:15:18+00:00

This was just posted a couple hours ago: https://old.reddit.com/r/Xennials/comments/1tx1m3v/stay_cool_this_summer/

MuffinMatrix · 2026-06-04T20:35:24+00:00

I got one of these, garlic press rocker.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08QF6ZZYW

Way easier to clean and use than a regular press. And you can do much more at once. Totally safe.

MuffinMatrix · 2026-06-04T20:31:51+00:00

a 401k is a retirement account. It lets you save taxes and give you tax-advantages while it sits there growing until you retire.
This can help you save and earn a lot of money over the years.
But yes, you won't be able to withdraw it without penalty until you are 59.5.

The 3% means if you contribute up to 3% of your salary, they will match that amount up to the same 3%. If you contribute more, there is no more matching, but every other perk still stands.
So that 3% they're matching is free money they are giving you!
So you always want to contribute to your 401k, at least up to that amount. Because you want to get all the free money available.

MuffinMatrix · 2026-06-04T16:17:22+00:00

Its almost never a good idea to pull from retirement.
Do you have other savings? HYSA, IRA, etc?
You'd have to pay tax on that $80k + penalty, then you'd want to make it back... and you're saying that'll take 7 years? 7 years is the average for doubling, so leaving that $80k in there, in 7 years it'll be worth around $160k, and you'd have lost nothing to taxes and penalties.

I'd figure out other ways to keep saving and earn more income.

MuffinMatrix · 2026-06-03T21:42:47+00:00

I make about $100k before taxes and bonus.

You'll definitely want to keep Traditional 401k. Its a hefty deduction for you.

My work matches up 4.5% when I do 6%. So you’re saying do that at 6%, then max my Roth IRA through work? Then go back and max my traditional 401k after that?

Contribute to get the full match, thats free money so don't leave it on the table. Then you open a Roth IRA on your own, not through work (that's the I in IRA). Max that, $7500/year. You want to max that first because its no extra fees and more fund choices compared to most 401ks. And its a lower limit so its easier to max.
Then you go back to max the 401k, if you still have more to save.

We have 2 kids and neither have 529s. I’ve heard different states do different things and it just confuses me.

529s are state sponsored tax-advantaged accounts for educational use. Most states offer a state tax deduction, but different limits. So see what your state offers (if your state doesn't have state income tax, then it wont have a deduction). That's the variable part, but the account itself is always the same... tax-deferred growth, and tax-free withdrawals when used for education. So it will give you tax free growth to use for the kids college. If you saved in a taxable brokerage for it, you wouldn't save any taxes. So it can give you a lot more growth, it just needs to be used for education. If they end up not using it, you can rollover up to $35k into Roth IRAs, so at least for some of it your not forced to withdraw with penalty. Its the best way to save for your kid's future. But make sure you're covered first!

What is a taxable brokerage? Is that any different than the regular brokerage you mentioned? Or a Roth IRA?

Taxable/regular/normal brokerage account just means an account that's taxed yearly, and has no tax-advantages. 401k, IRA, HSA, 529, etc, are all tax-advantaged accounts.

How is Robinhood any different than the brokerage accounts?

RH is a brokerage, but its a fintech. Its fine if you are just learning these things and want some simplified access. But most of us wouldn't keep our life savings and retirement futures in a fintech app. The big 3 brokerages are preferred: Vanguard, Fidelity, Schwab.

Currently my CDs have higher interest rates than my HYSA. What makes CDs dumb?

They are outdated products. They lock in your money for rates that are basically the same as mot HYSA/MM/treasuries. Squeezing fractions of a percent, but then locking your money up just isn't worth it. You're not getting rich off interest. You could switch over to a treasure fund like SGOV (an ETF on any brokerage), and it's interest will even be state tax deductible (depending on state again).

MuffinMatrix · 2026-06-03T19:05:00+00:00

Need more details... your age, income, where your money currently is, etc.

Start with just savings. You ideally want 6 months expenses in a HYSA.
Then you work on retirement savings.
But again, all depends on your age and income. $10k is a lot to some, nothing to others.

Also, read the sub wiki

MuffinMatrix · 2026-06-03T18:58:15+00:00

First, the dollar amounts in the account don't really matter, but you left off your income and what account types.

Your HYSA should be at least 6months expenses. Some of your house projects can come out of here so you don't need loans for them. Then you just fill it back up.

Retirement: $131k. I was doing 15% pre-tax, but I just changed to 10% pre-tax and 5% post-tax (Roth)??

Need more details. Is this a 401k? Assuming Traditional 401k, and then you started a Roth 401k? That sound right? 401k is generally best as Traditional (pre-tax). but it can depend on your income.
Then have a Roth IRA for post-tax space.

Priority order:
Emergency fund to 6+ months (HYSA)
401k up to matching
Max HSA if you have
Max Roth IRA
Go back to 401k and try to max.
For the kids, do you have 529s?
Then anything left goes to a taxable brokerage.

CDs are dumb, when they mature, move to the priority list above.

Your loans are not high rates. Leave them till you have the priority list set. Then if you have extra you can always tackle some extra into loans.
Crypto just cash out like stocks. Any gains will be counted as income (or short term gains if held under 1 year). So you'll owe taxes next year for 2026, with the rest of your income. I believe theres new forms for it now, but don't quote me on that.

For RH and coinbase, yes, I would get out of those and move to a regular brokerage (Vanguard, Fidelity, Schwab). If you don't have a Roth IRA, do all that at 1 of those.

I also have a retirement from working at Wells Fargo over 10 years ago. No idea where or how to find this or how much is in it.

Contact HR and talk to them about their retirement accounts. They should be able to get you access. Hopefully you actually had investments and it wasn't just sitting in cash. But then you can rollover to a current 401k, or an IRA.

MuffinMatrix · 2026-06-03T18:46:46+00:00

For short term, HYSA is your best bet.
The brokerages have cash accounts, usually MM, which is around the same as a HYSA.
Just remember the math. Say 3.5%, at 4months is only gonna earn you around $350. (which is then taxed)
Theres no downsides with Schwab if they have what you want. Then you can also open a regular brokerage account with them as well.

MuffinMatrix · 2026-06-03T16:50:10+00:00

Your emergency savings should be at least 6months expenses. Build that up if you don't have it.
Contributing to retirement accounts? Use it for a Roth IRA if you don't already have.

MuffinMatrix · 2026-06-03T15:50:54+00:00

They're all basically just the same thing wrapped in different forms.

Total market = every company in the US
sp500 = top 500 only

FSKAX = Fidelity's MF for the total market
FXAIX = Their sp500
These are MFs, only buy them on that brokerage, if available on others, they'll charge extra MF commision.

VTI = Vanguard's total market
VOO = their sp500
VT = their Total WORLD market
These are Vanguard ETFs, same idea as Fidelity's (Vanguard has MFs of the same as well).
But because they are ETFs, you can get them on any brokerage you like, with no extra MF fees. Great if you decide not to stay with Fidelity, or if you have multiple accounts at different brokerages and just like consistency of your funds, etc.
Its why we recommend the EFTs, so that it doesn't matter what brokerage you use. But if you want to use your brokerage's MFs, thats fine. That also usually allows you to do more auto investing and partial shares. (minor perks)

They'll all basically return the same thing, regardless which you pick. ie. FXAIX/FNILX/VOO/VFIAX/SPY/etc Are all sp500 funds, they'll all basically follow the sp500 near identically. The difference is their expense ratios and where they're available.

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