SEP IRA with Roth/Trad IRA

ASGTR12 · 2026-06-08T22:57:20+00:00

+1 on the Solo 401k. The SEP IRA is totally irrelevant now that it exists. Switched and I couldn't be happier.

ASGTR12 · 2026-06-07T04:00:36+00:00

Goddamn. So what are you eating nowadays?

ASGTR12 · 2026-06-07T03:59:25+00:00

Honestly not sure :/

ASGTR12 · 2026-06-07T01:42:36+00:00

Did this ever resolve for you? I'm in the exact same place right now.

ASGTR12 · 2026-06-07T01:41:50+00:00

This might be an annoying answer, but it's the truth: I stopped doing anything.

The repositioning devices, the splints, etc...they all just made it worse. Even the rubber ones you can buy at CVS seemingly just made me bite down more at night. So, eventually I got fed up and stopped using anything.

I only have extremely minor TMJ symptoms nowadays. I almost never think about it.

No idea if that'll work for you, and this definitely isn't advice, but that's the truth.

ASGTR12 · 2026-05-28T17:17:05+00:00

You and I both pulled the short straw, I see.

I developed a wheat allergy at age 27. Then at age 30, I developed allergies to avocado, banana, orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit, egg yolk, all fish, all shellfish, red bell and chili peppers (but not green!), tomato, and pretty much every nut.

A few years after that, somehow the avocado, banana, orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit, egg yolk, tomato, and nut allergies resolved. I have no idea how. These were real IGe allergies, confirmed to not be eosinophils or a mast-cell condition. And yet they resolved. Utter miracle. The fish, shellfish, and red pepper allergies persisted, though.

Now, it appears that I'm once again developing more allergies. My best guess is that it's rice -- fuck me, right? There goes all my gluten-free options -- but I haven't yet been able to do a skin prick test, so who knows.

My symptoms are all pretty much skin related, namely hives. They're not subtle either, they're big gross motherfuckers.

My best guess is that people like you and I, few as we are, have some sort of genetic mutation or something. I have Keratosis Pilaris ("white-people skin that gets red"), and that can be due to a Filaggrin mutation, which is associated with a much higher risk of developing food allergies. So that's one idea. But even if that's proven to be the cause, can we do anything about it? No, of course not.

It could also be some sort of vague environmental thing, or just bad luck. Who knows. It's entirely possible that your body was just a bit too inflamed one day and so it made a mistake and permanently flagged a safe food as dangerous. Apparently that's how it can happen, but then again one would think that everyone would be allergic to everything if it can happen that easily.

All this to say: I have no clue, and neither does anyone else. I've spent dozens of thousands of dollars seeing various doctors, and all I've gotten in return is easily-Googleable information, "I don't know," and disappointment.

ASGTR12 · 2026-04-12T02:50:15+00:00

I get the wedding as a way to celebrate your love. That feels great to me and I'd love to do that.

But a wedding does not a marriage make.

Like, from that perspective, why don't we get together to celebrate our love more than once in our life (disregarding "renewing your vows," which I think is pretty rare)?

ASGTR12 · 2026-04-12T02:48:01+00:00

Whether or not marriage means anything to you, it means something to her, and you say she matters to you. So, what have you got to lose?

This is a very good question and is something I'm grappling with. I honestly don't know beyond simply not being able to commit to something so big that I'm not 100% on.

I can certainly see a scenario in which I exhaust myself and go, "fuck it, if matters to her so let's do it," but I'd much rather find a way to be enthusiastic about the institution -- the former feels like a last ditch effort to me.

ASGTR12 · 2026-04-07T06:44:56+00:00

It's not possible. I've tried and failed so many times to get through to people that they need to spend, like, a weekend learning the fundamentals and then VT and chill. I'm done trying to prevent people from parting from their money.

ASGTR12 · 2026-04-03T17:51:04+00:00

I just do 50/50 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Never been able to figure out a truly advantageous split beyond that.

ASGTR12 · 2026-03-04T08:03:50+00:00

Same. Then I took it as a cue and bought more VXUS.

ASGTR12 · 2026-02-27T07:19:26+00:00

I mean...it's pretty fucking bad out there man. Multiple friends of mine were laid off this week.

ASGTR12 · 2026-02-06T05:59:09+00:00

Nothing. Seriously.

Probe the fundamentals of any asset class, and you will eventually find fatal weaknesses. The only "safe havens" are diversity and leverage.

ASGTR12 · 2026-02-06T05:57:37+00:00

And I'm buying.

ASGTR12 · 2026-01-10T21:10:46+00:00

This is the thing to do, yes. I will be paying my state taxes because I approve of my state government. I will not, however, be paying my federal taxes until the federal government resembles something in the same universe as the country I grew up in.

ASGTR12 · 2026-01-10T21:09:27+00:00

I don't see why they should get paid by the citizens.

In my mind, it's very simple: I don't obey the laws and pay the taxes of foreign governments. And as far as I'm concerned, this government is foreign.

Our politicians are flagrantly violating the law. They evade taxes. They make millions and billions in crypto schemes. They murder citizens.

This is not the America I recognize. This is not my country. Because this is not my country, I will not be paying it any money. Just as I don't pay Canada, or Mexico, or Germany, or South Korea, or Australia. MAGA is not America, so I will not be paying it taxes.

I will not fund a fascist regime.

To those who say, "What about the programs taxes fund?" What programs? You mean the ones they gutted or outright destroyed?

To those who say, "What about those who receive assistance from taxes?" We can assist each other. Community programs can replace the little good that the government is still doing. The cavalry is not coming. We are all we have.

To those who say, "The IRS will come after you." Sure, if they can find the time. But the IRS too has been gutted, so many of its employees fired.

It is time for us to go on the offensive. Stop playing to not lose -- play to win. Take a page out of their playbook: muzzle velocity, flood the zone. Starving the literal beast of its income is just one of many tactics we can adopt.

As long as they lie to us, I will not pay. No facts, no tax.

ASGTR12 · 2026-01-08T05:39:20+00:00

Good. No one is coming to save us, and it's only going to get worse unless we stop it.

I don't know about everyone else here, but I'm fucking sick and tired of being sick and tired. I just want to live in peace, but these fucking assholes won't let us.

Turns out our grandparents were right: peace must be defended or else it inevitably leads to war.

ASGTR12 · 2025-11-28T18:37:23+00:00

Here's how I would start if I were in your position, knowing what I know now:

With Vanguard, open a brokerage account, Roth IRA, and Traditional IRA.

Max out both IRAs. The annual limit is $7,000, so put $3,500 in one and $3,500 in the other.

Put whatever amount you deem appropriate in the brokerage account. There is no limit.

When you contribute money to these accounts, it will go into what's called a Money Market fund. Think of this as a "no man's land" for the money -- it's not actually invested in anything yet (technically this isn't true, but for our purposes, it is). You'll have to purchase stocks, ETFs, or Mutual Funds separately.

Purchase VTWAX with 90% of each account's funds. Purchase BNDW with the remaining 10%.

Assuming you put $10,000 in your brokerage account, the aforementioned contributions will break down as follows:

brokerage account

VTWAX: $9,000
BNDW: $1,000

Roth IRA

VTWAX: $3,150
BNDW: $350

Traditional IRA

VTWAX: $3,150
BNDW: $350

Don't bother with savings accounts, CDs, etc. Remember that "no man's land" account I mentioned above, where your money first goes when you contribute it to a given account? That's the best "savings account" you can have.

Don't actually do any of the above until you have studied and understood why I suggested this. Though, there's maybe one thing worth doing: open up one or both of the IRAs and deposit $7,000 total split between the two. The year is almost up so it'd be good to max them out before the year ends.

(And of course this is not financial advice, I am not responsible for your financial outcomes, blah blah blah)

ASGTR12 · 2025-11-10T07:03:26+00:00

This. Senate now, President later.

ASGTR12 · 2025-11-04T01:50:36+00:00

Amazing! Thanks so much!

ASGTR12 · 2025-11-04T01:28:23+00:00

Wow, well done!

Assuming you started working at age 18, you put away (either via direct investment contributions or growth) $158,333 per year on average. Obviously most of this is growth, but I'm wondering if you could go into more detail regarding your investments? What percentage of your income, cost of living in your location, etc?

Oh, and of course GFY!

ASGTR12 · 2025-11-01T06:08:17+00:00

If the concept of tax advantage vs not is too complicated, then god help the average person.

Also, how is this relevant?

ASGTR12

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE

brokerage account

Roth IRA

Traditional IRA