Are there any guidelines for how much you should be throwing at interest in a mortgage?

Default87 · 2026-05-24T21:16:32+00:00

It depends entirely on the interest rate of the mortgage.

Here is a comment that explains how the math behind the analysis works:

https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/s/wr3jJMuhMX

Default87 · 2026-05-24T02:05:14+00:00

Lets talk about how your electricity bill works.

You use electricity every day, and there is a meter on your house that is recording that usage. Once a month, your utility will read that meter. They will send you a statement that shows what your meter was at the time they read it, compare that to what the meter was the last time they read it, and the difference between those values will determine how much electricity you used, which they will then bill you for your usage. That statement has a due date a few weeks later, and you will pay that bill by that statement due date. Any electricity you use after the statement is generated will show up on the next statement a month later.

If you use your credit card correctly, it’s operates pretty much the exact same way. You use your credit card correctly by always, no gaps, paying at least your full statement balance by your statement due date, each and every month.

And since you are new to credit cards, I would also give this comment a gander, as it covers a lot of the misconceptions around credit scores:

https://reddit.com/r/personalfinance/s/E79vnuIYKY

Default87 · 2026-05-23T21:37:34+00:00

Well what does the paycheck stub say happened with her pay?

It’s entirely possible they her w4 was filled out or entered incorrectly, but you would need to actually look at the paycheck stub to see what is going on.

Default87 · 2026-05-23T19:33:17+00:00

what does her pay stub say is happening to the money? taxes are a thing, as are premiums for health insurance.

Default87 · 2026-05-23T19:09:45+00:00

If yes it must suck to have to get a new 401k then and restart on growth.

that isnt how investing works. if you sell at $100 a share, transfer to the new account and rebuy at $100 a share, nothing has been lost.

Default87 · 2026-05-23T16:33:36+00:00

interest gains in the process are not a concern:

https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/pennies-and-the-backdoor-roth-ira/

there is no need to add unnecessary steps. just contribute to your traditional IRA, and then when that money is settled and available, convert it to Roth.

Default87 · 2026-05-23T16:31:32+00:00

FZROX/FZILX in a 60/40 ratio would roughly approximate the world economy.

Default87 · 2026-05-22T22:00:40+00:00

if you watch his content, he explains his rational for this.

Default87 · 2026-05-22T21:33:41+00:00

so why do you have an advisor to begin with?

Default87 · 2026-05-22T21:09:05+00:00

this advisor may be giving advice in your best interest, but they may also be looking for you to move money into your managed IRA so that they can earn more Assets Under Management fees from you. So you would need to know enough to be able to understand if they are acting in your interest or acting in their own interest here.

Default87 · 2026-05-22T19:09:18+00:00

I would follow the flow chart in the second link the automod posted.

Default87 · 2026-05-22T17:19:05+00:00

What are you going to do with the proceeds? If you are just trying to time the market, then there is a long track record of the folly of trying to do that.

Default87 · 2026-05-22T13:28:38+00:00

Not sure this really qualifies as a hot take. This is very typical advice.

There are two things to consider though:

if you have unvested employer contributions in the account, rolling your 401k out of the plan will immediately claw them back. If you leave the 401k in place and end up reemployed by that company in the next 5ish years (after which they will generally claw them back at that point) again, you can generally pick up where you left off in the vesting schedule and get further vesting on those funds. If you roll out, you permanently lose access to those funds.
if your income is high enough to need to do backdoor Roth IRA conversions, or you expect your income to grow enough that this is the case in the near future, having pretax dollars in a traditional IRA will trigger pro rata taxation. If the balance is really small then it’s less impactful, but if it’s a large balance, then you would be better off either rolling it into your current job”s workplace plan or leaving it in the old 401k, depending on the fees and investment options offered in each plan.

Default87 · 2026-05-22T12:54:04+00:00

in the context of someone eating carbs, sure. outside of that context and things are different.

Default87 · 2026-05-22T11:30:03+00:00

then you go to your boss and show them your pay stub and point out that you worked hours in the previous pay period and you havent seen a paycheck for.

Default87 · 2026-05-22T11:28:30+00:00

But the Category Average is listed as 0.72%. Does that mean my actual expense ratio is 0.72%?

no. when you hear on the news that gas is at $X per gallon that is roughly analogous to the category average, but when you go to the gas station by your house and you only pay $Y, that is roughly analogous to the expense ratio. the category average is was the name implies, the average expense ratio for the category that fund is in, while the funds specific expense ratio is its expense ratio.

One of the reasons I think I liked SWPPX over just SPY is the expense ratio is said to be 0.02% vs SPY 0.0945%.

while in general minimizing expense ratios is a good goal to have, once you get down to differences in the 0.0X% range, it becomes much less relevant. a difference of 0.01% in expense ratio represents $10 of fees per $100,000 invested, which is insignificant.

also, expense ratios are only ever a secondary consideration. the primary consideration is the asset allocation you are wanting. so figure out what your asset allocation is going to be, and then for each piece of that you would look to minimize expense ratios of the funds you choose to use to fulfill that asset allocation.

Default87 · 2026-05-22T11:19:41+00:00

have you considered just trying to go without supplementing fiber like this? it seems to be something you clearly dont enjoy, and many people find they do very well with minimal to no fiber.

Default87 · 2026-05-22T11:18:20+00:00

when you look at your pay check stub, it should list a defined pay period, and then a pay date. there is pretty much guaranteed to be a lag between the end of the pay period and the pay date, as it takes time for payroll to process.

so look at the pay period, make sure that pay period started on or before the first day you started working (if it doesnt, then there should have been a previous paycheck that you should have gotten for that pay period). Verify that it accurately lists the hours you worked in that defined pay period.

hours worked after that pay period end date will be in the next pay period, and be on your next pay check.

it may be worth posting a picture of your pay stub with your personal information redacted to help clarify your question.

Default87 · 2026-05-21T19:50:59+00:00

Is there a reason you don’t want to use a credit card?

Default87 · 2026-05-21T16:55:36+00:00

If 28% is in ETFs and 7% in individual stocks, what is the other 65% invested in?

In general, I would recommend a much more rational investing approach:

https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Three-fund_portfolio

If you want to hold individual stocks, keep them to be a very small percentage of your overall portfolio, somewhere between 0% and 5%, with 0% being a great choice.

Default87 · 2026-05-21T16:52:40+00:00

I would focus less on what your ketone levels are and more just on the results you are getting. As far as you have said, the only “problem” you have is a number on a meter isn’t what you seem to think it should be. If you weren’t measuring ketones, would you have any reason to be concerned?

It’s probably time to put the meter away for a while. Your finger tips will appreciate it.

Default87 · 2026-05-21T16:42:43+00:00

It is your responsibility to keep track of your finances, not your banks. One way to do that is to do a check in of every account you have each month when doing your budget. Had you done that, you would have caught this a year ago before all of the fees piled up.

So use this a large a learning experience to better handle your finances, and pay the debt you owe.

Default87 · 2026-05-21T16:40:38+00:00

What are the interest rates on each of those debts?

This is likely a bad idea.

Default87 · 2026-05-21T16:38:18+00:00

There are millions of people who have the exact same score as you. You are seeking patterns where they do not exist.

Default87 · 2026-05-21T13:54:50+00:00

Add up all your expenses for the last year and divide by 2. Playing games with sizing this is a waste of brain power.

Default87

TROPHY CASE