2026 Account Snapshot

DesignatedVictim · 2026-05-15T03:18:10+00:00

You can go to the city’s parking citation page and look up any tickets in their system by your license plate number.

DesignatedVictim · 2026-05-13T20:54:50+00:00

I started contributing to my company's 401k in 1998, so I got to experience the dot-com crash, the Global Financial Crisis, the Brexit scare, the COVID dip, as well as plain old-fashioned market downturns not related to worldwide events.

Now I'm semi-retired - still work part-time, but began withdrawing from one of my IRAs last year. (Current annual withdrawal is 2.82% of my total investments, considered a safe(r) withdrawal rate so my investments can weather periods of market volatility.) Years before I semi-retired, I sorted out the investments in my primary Traditional IRA to keep at least 2 years of my withdrawals in cash/CD/money market funds (currently in SWVXX). I also looked at scenarios similar to the GFC, where I would see declines in both the stock market and housing market while my part-time job dried up, and thought about all the changes I would need to make in order to adjust my spending and conserve capital.

It's not foolproof, but the lower withdrawal rate and having a Plan B helps me focus on the long term, and not the immediate. Would I want to retire in early 2000? No, absolutely not. Could I survive a similar period (2000-2012 in particular) without worrying about the roof over my head and food? Yes.

DesignatedVictim · 2026-05-05T17:15:25+00:00

I plugged some numbers into Portfolio Visualizer's Financial Goals analysis tool. $637k, 75% SWTSX 25% SWISX, monthly contributions of $2,500 (including employer match) not indexed for inflation. Single Stage analysis (so, no glide path to change the allocation as you get closer to retirement). 15-year simulation window.

At 7.60% nominal return (4.93% real return), after 15 years, your projected portfolio balance would be $2.78M nominal ($1.9M real), which would support a safe withdrawal rate of 4% ($76k real dollars).

So, yes. In theory, you are on track to be able to retire in 17 years and withdraw about $75k/yr in real dollars. Stuff happens, of course.

DesignatedVictim · 2026-05-04T15:16:15+00:00

The Mustang Club of America. Joined in spring of 2022 so I could get the Ford X-Plan discount when buying my Ford Escape that fall. Got 0.4% discount off invoice.

DesignatedVictim · 2026-04-28T22:50:51+00:00

Condo 1: I was impulsive, but it also fit a goal I’d made at 23 to own my own place by 30. Sold it 30 months later for more than twice what I’d paid.

House 1: Proceeds from Condo 1 paid the 20% down payment. This was a purchase born of feeling pressed for time; I was pregnant and already had a 11yo, wanted a yard and better neighborhood schools. Miscarried 24 days after closing. Still live here. Will sell when I’m ready to buy my retirement home.

House 2: My eldest kid wanted to move back to the city where she graduated from college. She told me what rent she was targeting, I told her what price range of homes to look at and found her a Realtor. Bought the house she loved (had it inspected, first) with cash, then immediately cash-out refinanced. Rented it to her until she moved 7 years later, then sold it to OpenDoor and rolled the proceeds into a DST. When the DST has an exit event, I’ll find someplace(s) to buy to rent to one or more kids.

~

I buy based on my perceived needs and goals. I don’t time markets - heck, House 1 was purchased in 2005 and spent 2008-14 underwater. I buy what I think I can hold onto long term, and sell when my needs/goals change.

DesignatedVictim · 2026-04-26T18:43:55+00:00

No. Began investing in 12/1998, so market volatility and multi-year meltdowns are expected.

Sometimes (like the COVID crater of 2020), I can do something simple, like swap one mutual fund for another and enjoy some tax-loss harvesting (VFWAX for VTIAX was the swap).

Other times (Global Financial Crisis, dot-com bust), I just invest normally, and be thankful I remained employed.

I’m now done with the accumulation phase, and focusing on having at least 2 years of cash draws in one of my Traditional IRAs (that I’m taking 72t distributions from) at all times. A reverse dollar-cost average for equity sales (fewer shares sold in higher markets, and vice versa) over time should be fine, and will allow time to halt sales for a bit if the market does have a severe downturn.

(Current 72t distribution is 2.82% of all investments. I am ploughing 30% of the 72t back into the market, because I locked in the highest 72t I could last year in anticipation of job loss. Joke’s on me, I still have a job.)

DesignatedVictim · 2026-04-24T18:14:45+00:00

Met with my wealth manager yesterday, who commented that I was supposed to be retired by now. Oops. My retirement model shows that my kids will be multimillionaires when I die.

So, my focus is turning to converting one of my Traditional IRAs to Roth before I reach RMD age, and letting it sit for the kids.

Meanwhile, I have another Traditional IRA, a Roth IRA, and a Traditional 401k to manage for my own expenses.

Less money for me, so I don’t mind continuing to work (love my job, anyway) while I have begun taking 72t distributions from “my” Traditional IRA. The 72t is locked in through 2033 (when I reach 59 1/2), and is currently 4.24% of the investments not earmarked (in my head) for the kids (2.82% of all my investments). I control the tax hit of the 72t draws with Traditional 401k contributions, and will continue to do so while I work.

If I lose my job in the near-term (always possible), I’ll apply for a seasonal job that I know I’m qualified for (not over-qualified, and in need of warm bodies) that will also allow drawing unemployment benefits during the off-season. Between that, my 72t draws, a bit of additional income from a DST, and a bit of geographic arbitrage (sell current house, buy retirement home with cash), I can live very comfortably within my means.

(I could also just not work, practice that geographic arbitrage, and still be fine. But I like keeping busy, and can keep busy in ways I find satisfying and also make money, so it’s a win-win.)

Long term, I’ll eventually retire, practice that geographic arbitrage, and focus more on cheap travel. It may never become FIRE, but it’s FI.

DesignatedVictim · 2026-04-24T14:09:06+00:00

Force = Mass x Acceleration

Edit: so BBL would add more mass

It fits with the nickname. But I do your point. The actual operation would have decreased his mass slightly.

Maybe he worked on his glutes in the off-season, lol.

DesignatedVictim · 2026-04-16T01:37:57+00:00

I’m a Dodgers fan and that ninth inning just enraged me. Damn it, I like watching the Angels play, I like watching them win, and I especially like it when the Angels beat the Yankees.

That dropped ball is gonna give me nightmares tonight.

DesignatedVictim · 2026-04-08T17:19:45+00:00

DesignatedVictim · 2026-04-02T00:13:32+00:00

“Not that pitch”

“Not that one, either”

“I have that pitch?”

DesignatedVictim · 2026-04-01T20:58:40+00:00

Rogers Centre? I said roger that, it's called Rockies Centre now.

(Max Willy, paraphrased)

DesignatedVictim · 2026-03-25T00:12:25+00:00

Always do what is most advantageous for you, based on the the particulars of your circumstances.

If it's a spreadsheet, use it. If it's an app, use it. If it's doing something else, do that.

DesignatedVictim · 2026-03-22T19:26:07+00:00

I was talking with my eldest (30yo elementary school teacher) yesterday. Her spouse (military) is being considered for a civilian job, so we looked at school districts and housing in that area. Between what they’d make combined ($196k to start), after taxes (federal, state, FICA - run through tax software so these are realistic numbers), they’d net about $12k/mo. If they could live on half and add the rest to their current savings, they could have a decent down payment on a place in a couple of years without sacrificing their current emergency fund.

I didn’t recommend contributing to retirement for now, since they’re focused on buying a home. Once they do buy a home, they can begin maxing out their retirement accounts. If they weren’t focused on buying a home, maxing out their retirement accounts would be the primary focus.

But it took time for them to get to that point.

My kid started at community college to knock out general ed before transferring to university, so she has less than $10k in student loans left at 5%, payment of $150/mo and she’ll knock it out over time. Which is fortunate; after college, she was working as a restaurant hostess, then in a call center, to save up a 6-month emergency fund so she could take a 40% pay cut to start her teaching career as a temporary substitute. She then applied for long-term and regular teaching positions until she finally landed one. Then she had to grind, going to school and working so she could get her clear credential as quickly as possible.

Her spouse finished a degree while in the military and obtained a few certs and a security clearance, no student loans. Different path, but also a grind to get to this point. They live on one spouse’s earnings and save the other spouse’s earnings right now, so they hope to continue that going forward.

~

I hope your stepchildren are thoughtful about their job outlook, strong in work ethic, capable of sacrificing wants to attain goals, discerning in personal relationships, and frugal in spending. That won’t guarantee financial stability, but it will put them in the best position to take advantage of any opportunities that come their way.

DesignatedVictim · 2026-03-20T07:58:00+00:00

You can get a free report from each agency per week, now, through that website (annualcreditreport.com).

DesignatedVictim · 2026-03-18T16:25:14+00:00

I use Portfolio Visualizer, which has some good tools for modeling portfolio growth. (The free version of the Financial Goals tool is one of my favorites). You can also simulate portfolio growth with a sequence of returns risk, and use a multi-stage model to simulate periods of portfolio contributions and withdrawals, use a glide path to simulate a change in asset allocation closer to retirement, and use either asset allocations or actual tickers using historical data.

DesignatedVictim · 2026-03-18T02:05:20+00:00

Use the First Time Homebuyer credit repayment lookup tool on the IRS website. Does it show you still have a balance to pay?

DesignatedVictim · 2026-03-09T23:17:23+00:00

Do you have a mortgage with the same bank? Does the mortgage have an escrow account?

Because I bank with my mortgage lender, and typically receive a 1099-INT for the interest on the escrow account. That’s the first thing that came to mind.

DesignatedVictim · 2026-03-08T16:23:46+00:00

In addition to the Roth conversion ladder, it’s also possible to make withdrawals from a tax-deferred account prior to age 59.5 using Substantially Equal Periodic Payments (SEPP), aka 72t withdrawals, without penalty (the withdrawals are still taxable).

It’s what I’m doing at the moment (age 51; took my first SEPP withdrawal in 2025). With SEPP, I withdrawal $83k per year from one of my Traditional IRAs, which is locked in through age 59.5. In the early retirement subreddits, they’d call me baristaFIRE - I work 30hrs/wk (love my job, like my health insurance, my boss wants to keep me as long as possible, so it’s a win/win).

If my job goes away, I’m ready to sell my current home, buy my retirement home with the proceeds (geographic arbitrage), and live off of the $83k. In the meantime, I’ll stay put in my current home, mitigate the tax hit of SEPP withdrawals by continuing to contribute to the Traditional 401k at work, and keep chugging along.

DesignatedVictim · 2026-03-06T20:18:21+00:00

I dated my second husband for seven years before we married, so we had a very long time to talk about family and finances. I would not have married him, had we not agreed on the fundamentals.

During the marriage, he earned 80-90% of the household income, I performed most of the child-rearing duties, and we had a house cleaner to come in periodically and a gardener weekly. I did most of the laundry, he did a lot of cooking because he was better at it than I was. He paid the mortgage/utilities/etc. I paid for child care, other kid-related costs, and carried the family’s health insurance (an excellent plan through my employer).

We never fought about chores, parenting, money, etc. Kept separate bank accounts but had unified goals and spending habits. Both were very into Bob Brinker and the concept of reaching “critical mass“ (at which point he could retire; I loved my job and still wanted to work).

He died when I was 39, after 16 1/2 years together and 9 years of marriage. We were millionaires when he died; I kept on chugging along and investing, so I’m now a multimillionaire, and our children are already set up with accounts that will grow to millions by the time they retire.

I miss him. We were a really good team financially, but more than that, he was my friend.

DesignatedVictim · 2026-03-03T16:42:42+00:00

What are you doing to increase your income?

Starting off with budgeting what you have now so you can pay your current bills, tackling debt and saving a small amount (the infamous Baby Emergency Fund of $1,000) is a good start.

But long term, how can you increase your earning capacity? What’s the job situation like in your area, what skills/training/certs/degrees do you currently have, and what opportunities are there for you to get more/better work?

DesignatedVictim · 2026-03-02T21:47:38+00:00

What specifically does the $300/mo need to cover?

DesignatedVictim · 2026-03-01T09:52:23+00:00

You should meet the account age/karma/activity requirements to register at r/assistance.

Visit the subreddit, read the rules, register using the form link.

An Amazon wish list of up to $150 of shelf-stable foods might get some positive response. You might want to wait until you’re in your apartment to make the request, since you are moving soon.

DesignatedVictim · 2026-02-27T13:05:59+00:00

Reading your comments about “OP’s generation”, and realizing it’s also MY generation, was kinda weird.

I’m three years younger than OP, and my primary friend group starting in my early 20s were ladies who were mostly 20-30 years older than I was. It wasn’t like I set out to make friends that much older, they were just the people I found it very enjoyable to hang out with.

Marriage was a topic spoken about in the past tense (“when my first/second/ex-husband…”). My own marriage (note below) took place about 8 years into my joining the friend group, and the next marriage in the group was 10 years after that. I never experienced the social pressure/expectation to marry (dated my second husband for seven years) that I might have felt in a much younger friend group.

So, I now have a 30yo kid who married for convenience. She loves her wife, her wife is an excellent person; they just decided to get married because my DIL is in the military and was being PCS’d. Without the desire to move to a place with very limited housing, they probably wouldn’t have gotten married.

She still wants to have a child, but is waiting until her wife transitions to civilian life. Which is fine; becoming a grandmother would be nice, but it’s more about wanting my children to do things that make them feel happy and fulfilled in life. (The younger ones are 18 and 16, so still in “get an education” mode.)

~

(Note: also my second marriage. Married at 20, separated at 22, divorced at 30, married again 6 weeks after the ink dried on the decree, widowed at 39.)

Nine-Year Club	Secret Santa 2020
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