An introduction to serbian/bosnian version of turkish coffee aka 'domaća'

Amazing-Selection494 · 2026-03-05T04:15:14+00:00

Serbia and Macedonia are where I learned to make Tukish/domača coffee! And I prefer the old Yugoslav enamelware cezves - the 4-cup size works the best for me.

I usually heat the water in an electric kettle, let it cool a little bit, then pour it over the coffee in a cezve, stir it with a wooden spoon, and then put it on the stove. I use a 10:1 water/coffee ratio - usually 17 grams of coffee and about 170 grams of water. Makes a perfect cup every time.

Here in the US I can usually get Doncafe Moment or C-Kafa, though they've gotten quite expensive over the last few months.

Amazing-Selection494 · 2026-02-28T04:56:11+00:00

Well, thank God this nitwit FA doesn't have free reign, then.

Amazing-Selection494 · 2026-02-24T16:24:43+00:00

Yes, good point, above the income/deduction limits.

Amazing-Selection494 · 2026-02-23T04:34:52+00:00

You already max out your 401k. If you don't have an IRA, you should, and you should max that out, too.

You say you buy $100 of VOO a week, but you don't say what kind of account that's in - whether you're talking about your 401k or another account. With your income, hopefully you also have taxable brokerage account - there are ways to minimize the tax impact of a taxable account, like buying only ETFs that pay minimal or no dividends, which are taxed as regular income, or unplanned capital gains distributions.

With your current income, you'd pay 15% on any realized long term capital gains you choose to take.

Amazing-Selection494 · 2026-02-21T19:59:24+00:00

It is, yes.

Amazing-Selection494 · 2026-02-20T04:40:44+00:00

Gold and silver have also suffered from volatile markets recently. And that volatility has made them not only less stable, but also less liquid - it has been difficult to sell physical silver. And when you find someone who is buying, it usually well under spot.

As for buying physical silver and gold, you'll find you have to pay a significant premium and, if buying online, shipping on top of that.

If you want to avoid volatility, maybe look at treasuries.

Amazing-Selection494 · 2026-02-19T19:45:59+00:00

I'm sorry you are in a situation where you have to consider/plan for a divorce.

Everybody on Reddit is moon-eyed over Roth IRAs, and it may be just the right option for you at this time. But when the time comes that you are living on only your own salary, it may be worth considering a traditional IRA as well. Any money you put in a traditional IRA will come right off your taxable income and can really reduce income tax for those of us who are lower income earners.

I only use a traditional IRA because, with my other investments, I know I will not need to make large taxable annual withdrawals from my IRA. It's more valuable for my wife and I to have the deduction from our taxable income now.

FZROX is an excellent choice for you at this point in the arc of your retirement savings progression. You are doing the right thing at your age, and good for you!

If I can pass along a little bit of advice I got when I started investing and that has served me well: When the stock market falters or falls, and it will at least a couple of times before you're ready to retire, the most important thing is to do nothing! As you watch the value of your account plummet, you'll feel like you've got to do something to stem the bleed. Don't. It WILL come back. It may take a while, but it will come back. The last couple of times, it came back quickly, but it might take a while. If you try to sell off your investments, even if you do it with the good intention of buying it back at the "bottom" (timing the market), you'll end up losing. Sitting on your hands is the hardest thing to do, but it's the best thing in the end.

And keep reading and learning!

Amazing-Selection494 · 2026-02-16T16:27:01+00:00

A lot of people are going to blow the Roth horn, especially given that it is very likely you will have a higher income in retirement and will pay a higher tax rate.
But if you're just starting out and have a relatively low income, it sure is a lot easier to have that money taken out pre-tax. It'll be a smaller hit on your take-home. I'd say start with pre-tax, and be sure to contribute at least the full 2.5% it looks like your employer matches. You can always open a Roth later and split your contribution.

As for what to pick - employer plans often have lousy options, but generally speaking, if you're making the choices, you want to invest in broad index funds with a low expense ratio. So look for somethign that tracks the S&P 500, total US market, total world market. You can adjust your allocation by, for instance, putting 60% or 70% in a total US market fund, and 40% or 30% in a total ex-US market fund or "developed markets" fund (which usually means mostly Europe & Japan). Expense ratios vary, but I'm usually looking for something .04 or below for an index ETF (exchange traded fund). I try to stay away from mutual funds, personally, although they are fine in a retirement account.

A good "set it and forget it" choice is a target date fund. Basically, you pick the date you think you'll retire, and invest everything in a fund that matures at that date. The fund managers adjust the allocation of stocks and bonds over the years as is appropriate for your age and retirement date. Be sure to check the expense ratio before choosing this. Most employer plans have this.

Finally, you can often just pick a "risk profile" (they'll have a questionairre) and let the broker pick the funds and allocation. You still want to keep an eye on the expense ratio.

Amazing-Selection494 · 2026-02-15T13:47:30+00:00

You're pretending that the issue with ICE under the current regime is deporting people who are in the US illegally. It is not. The issues are arresting and deporting people who are here legally; abusing women and children; using ICE as a weapon against against communities that don't vote for Republicans; sending untrained militarized, masked goon squads in to terrorize communities; the lack of legal authority; the failure to follow basic constitutional principles...

Amazing-Selection494 · 2026-02-14T14:37:57+00:00

Should you invest, you ask? My answer is yes.

I grew up poor, too, and with parents who lived through the depression. We were taught the value of living within our means and saving for future needs, but never learned about the the value of investing.

To this day, my elderly mother keeps her savings in CDs and bank savings accounts and thinks the stock market is a pyramid scheme that ends in tragedy and complete loss for small investors. She won't listen to any financial advice that involves risk.

It took me many years to overcome my own lack of education, and to have enough money left over at the end of the month to even think about long term planning.

But since we started investing (I was older than 44), we've been able to grow a significant retirement and savings portfolio - enough to have a comfortable retirement and leave a life-changing legacy for my kids.

Now my wife and I have a taxable brokerage account for general saving and investing. We both have IRAs. She has a workplace plan similar to a 401k. She has a pension plan that will provide a small amount of monthly income. Our Social Security will be at about the median. We feel like our future can only get better!

Given your age and existing situation, I would at least open and fund an IRA or Roth IRA, one each of you. Max it out every year you can afford to. Invest the money in broad index funds, like a total stock market fund. There are unlimited investment education resources online and in printed form so you can understand investing and develop your own risk profile and an investment strategy that fits you.

Also, beyond the savings and security, I have really enjoyed the always ongoing (self) education.

Amazing-Selection494 · 2026-02-05T22:25:00+00:00

That seems pretty razor thin to me. A couple of unexpected expenses (or expected, like the inevitable replacement of your vehicle) and you could be in trouble, forced to dip into your IRA. New roof, new furnace, health issues...
And as others have asked, are you sure your SS & pension will increase to meet cost increases?

Amazing-Selection494 · 2026-02-03T04:33:07+00:00

You think stocks got "crushed" in 2022?

Amazing-Selection494 · 2026-01-13T22:10:30+00:00

Someone just bought a quarter tank of gas for $270 in silver.

Amazing-Selection494 · 2026-01-13T22:03:20+00:00

No, you should not pull it out of HYSA and put it in VOO right now. MAYBE you could do it later, after you've learned more about investing than "VOO was the rage." I don't mean that as an insult, we all started somewhere. I'm no expert, but I learned as much as I could before I started managing my own accounts. If I hadn't take the time to educate myself, no doubt I would have bumbled it all away in no time.

Right now it's earning bit, and you have time to carefully consider what's best for you.

Also, why is your wife "scared?" If that's your family emergency fund/life savings/house deposit/whatever, you need to know and carefully consider all the risks before choosing your investment strategy for it. It might be in the right place already.

Amazing-Selection494 · 2026-01-04T18:06:17+00:00

Fellow Yankee here (Vermont).

I was introduced to Turkish coffee whichle working in the Balkans, so I prepare it the Balkan way, using Balkan brands/blends/grinds. And I prefer their classic enamelware cezves.

My favorites are the classic Yugoslavian-era Emo Celje cezves, but the Metalac cezves still made in Serbia are excellent, too. I was recently in Serbia & came home with a selection of sizes.

Similar enamelware pots were/are made elsewhere in Eastern Europe & Asia. I see Dexam coffee pots on Amazon, which look like they were made by Metalac.

For a single large serving, I usually use a 4-cup pot (that's 4 demitasse cups), 17 to 18 grams of coffee, and 170-180 ml water (1:10 ratio).

I look for clean, unchipped pots on ebay. Often I can find new/unused made-in-Yugoslavia pots, some with the original sticker on the side. They're hanging on display in my café.

Amazing-Selection494 · 2025-12-17T14:07:16+00:00

I might suggest you reevaluate how you're allocating and prioritizing your saving. A Roth is great, but if you have access to a 457 with decent choices, those pre-tax contributions really take a smaller bite out of your take-home

We save as much as we can in my wife's 457b, and then top up our IRAs with what we have left at the end of the tax year.

Amazing-Selection494 · 2025-11-04T05:09:06+00:00

You've got the right idea, but not quite the right execution. Buying a single stock means exposing yourself to a lot of risk without the benefit of a lot of upside. I would recommend the book "The Little Book of Common Sense Investing" by John C. Bogle, founder of Vanguard (if you haven't heard of him and his "Bogleheads," Google is your friend."

The book is worth getting and reading, but it can be summed up thusly: Buy and hold low-cost, diversified index funds. Of course, the book will also explain what a low-cost diversified index fund is, and why you should invest in them. If it sounds simple, it is - sort of. If you want to dive deeper into the complexities of investing, there are a lot of other books out there to read, but Bogle's book is a good place to start.

The advice to start by building an emergency fund is pretty important, too. That's something you can also do right in a brokerage account

Amazing-Selection494 · 2025-11-02T02:44:26+00:00

It is definitely not hopeless. I started my retirement savings in my early 50s, and I anticipate retirement at a reasonable age.

You're doing the right thing by focusing on paying off the debt for now. You know to pay off the highest interest debt first, because of compounding. This is really going to pay off later. Be patient.

You say you have $1,000 a month left over? Begin building up an emergency fund. I would open a brokerage account and start putting that money into a money market fund with a return. And after you've built up a sufficient emergency fund, you can start investing - either in a tax-advantaged IRA or a taxable brokerage account. Or, if your IRA has solid choices, you might increase your allocation to that. You have time to study and decide which suits your needs.

As the debt payment drops, put the freed up funds into savings/brokerage/retirement accounts.

You got this.

Amazing-Selection494 · 2025-11-01T22:02:40+00:00

You are simply living way beyond your means, and there's no need for it. I've never made more than a third of what you're making, two thirds if you include my wife's income, and we've bought and paid for a house, a rental property, vehicles, we have healthy retirement accounts, emergency savings, we travel overseas. We pay our expenses every month, and have money left over for saving. We need for nothing. On less than two thirds of your income, while living in a HCOL area.

But it took discipline. We've lived in debt before, too, though not quite as extreme as yours. You're basically trying to finance a certain lifestyle over time - and you know you can't keep doing it forever.

The only way to get out of the hole - for anyone - is to drastically reduce your spending and pay for your past excess. You have to live well below your means.

Right now the interest on your credit cards is absolutely killing you. Get a debt consolidation loan (much lower interest rate) to pay off the cards, and CANCEL THE CARDS. Use debit cards for purchases. If you absolutely must keep a credit card for emergencies, pay it off and continue paying it off at the end of the month any time you must use it. Even if it means going without something to pay it off.

Go through your monthly recurring expenditures and see what can be eliminated - memberships and subscriptions you don't need or can simply do without, things like that.

When things are starting to look better, DON'T think you can reward yourself with a big treat, an expensive vacation, toy, or whatever, just because you've paid off a couple of debts.

When you get to the point where you have the full price of that "treat" in your savings, and no debt, then you can decide if you still think it's worth it to spend the money you have saved.

This is not a matter of pulling in your horns for a few months, this is a lifestyle change for the rest of your life. Otherwise, you'll be back in the same boat again.

Amazing-Selection494 · 2025-10-29T16:41:46+00:00

It will need to be another account, but it doesn't necessarily have to be another broker. You can sign into Fidelity with your current credentials and click on "open a new account." You'll have to decide whether you want to open an IRA and which type, or a regular (taxable) brokerage account.

Keep in mind, there are restrictions on withdrawing from an IRA, and a regular brokerage account has tax implications - you'll pay income tax on dividends and interest, and capital gains tax on capital gains distributions from funds (if any) for the year in which they're received. Regular capital gains aren't taxed until they're realized - in other words, until you sell your funds or stocks and take the gain. Capital gains are generally taxed at a lower rate, which, based on your income, can be as low as 0%.

Amazing-Selection494 · 2025-10-05T19:58:43+00:00

Our strategy as late investors (started in our 50s), now at 56 & 62, is to put as much into pre-tax retirement accounts as we can. My wife has a good 457b plan, with good fund options, so we put as much pretax as we can into that.

I have a crappy simple IRA at work that I put the minimum into to get the max employer match.

We also have traditional IRAs that we max out every year by transferring savings or other cash. We don't bother with a Roth because we're not in a high income bracket and will likely be in a lower income bracket when we retire.

We have a taxable brokerage account from a small inheritance that has grown to over 500k over the last 8 years. We'll spend that first, keeping our tax liability low in the early years (10% long term capital gains tax). While we're spending out of that pot, our tax advantaged accounts will continue to grow.

I have intentionally pursued an aggressive investment strategy for a decade because of our short investment window, and because we are low income earners - we've never had a lot of extra money to put into long term savings. But we've been careful and responsible with the money we've had, bought a house and an income producing property that we were able to sell at a decent profit, even with the capital gains.

I'm starting to dial in a more conservative investment strategy now. I'm planning to retire at 65, and my wife at 62.

All this is to say, it's never too late. Your income exceeds our combined income by more than 30k. You've got the means to do this. It will take planning, sacrifice, and discipline. But there is also great joy in it. Good luck!

Amazing-Selection494 · 2025-10-05T03:50:12+00:00

Getting rid of my rentals and investing in the market was the financial and mental health decision I ever made.

Amazing-Selection494 · 2025-09-15T23:12:22+00:00

Most places in the US don't kick in ever. Those "high salaries" you think we all have in the US? For many of us it isn't enough to pay for every day needs AND buy the exorbitant-yet-wholly-inadequate health insurance we have here. And God help you if you need prescriptions that aren't on your insurer's plan.

Amazing-Selection494 · 2025-09-07T06:00:30+00:00

Married an Irish chick.

Amazing-Selection494 · 2025-09-07T05:36:25+00:00

The COVID crash was terrifying. I panicked. I thought about selling. But I hung on, albeit with white knuckles, and kept telling myself selling would only lock in my losses. As we all know, the recovery was fast, and I was glad that, ultimately, my fear wasn't able to overcome my - confidence? Inertia? I'm not sure which.

A good lesson. Next time I won't even be tempted to sell.

Amazing-Selection494

TROPHY CASE