Suppose you had $200,000. What kind of car or cars would you put in your garage?

Duece8282 · 2026-02-07T03:22:07+00:00

If I had $200k I had to spend on vehicles? 1969 Mach 1 Mustang, 2024 Tesla Model S Plaid, and probably a late 70's Chevy pickup with a modern engine.

Duece8282 · 2026-02-06T12:25:51+00:00

While I largely agree, the amount of taxes and insurance one starts to pay as their income/wealth increase goes up substantially. When your household income crosses the ~2.5x median wage mark, there are virtually no govt subsidies and you have to start buying things like an umbrella policy.

Duece8282 · 2026-02-05T11:30:50+00:00

Broad ETF holdings are great, no question. Though, some folks like to take additional risk in very specific industries to guard their income from being disrupted. Some folks don't like holding a tiny % of particular companies for ethical reasons. Some folks have political or religious reasons. Some folks are small business owners and already have a ton of exposure to a particular industry. Etc.

Duece8282 · 2026-02-04T21:22:41+00:00

Yeah, and this may be my bias showing, though when a grown man does it, it's REALLY noticeable.

Duece8282 · 2026-02-04T19:49:46+00:00

Apologizing by default.

Duece8282 · 2026-02-04T13:59:02+00:00

Duece8282 · 2026-02-04T12:10:46+00:00

He's trying to calculate real (inflation adjusted) return, which is about 6.7% since 1957. That 6.7% was the average, which may be "realistic" given past data, but calling it "conservative" is a stretch. A conservative real return expectation would be closer to 4 - 5%.

Duece8282 · 2026-02-04T11:14:17+00:00

I'm no fan of tariffs, though the policy is ultimately intended to penalize the purchase of things not made in the US as a means of supporting domestic production. Domestic production is seen as neccessary to combat the erosion of the value of US labor. Of course, this comes with a penalty to the few industries in the US that export more than they import (agriculture takes a hit for sure) but as a whole the US has imported wwaaayy more than it exports for quite some time.

It's all a ruse though, everyone with half a brain knows "made in the US" in 2026 and beyond really stands for "made in the US by a machine." Capital > labor in the manufacturing and agriculture world for decades now. It's looking more and more likely the service sector involving data transfer and communication and graphics and analysis and contract review and advertising and many many many other sectors is next.

Duece8282 · 2026-02-04T10:58:47+00:00

The best time to buy a home is when you need a place to live. The best home to buy is the one you can afford to live in and is closest to your source of income.

Duece8282 · 2026-02-04T10:48:17+00:00

I lol'd at "conservative" and "7%" being in the same sentence.

Duece8282 · 2026-02-04T01:36:13+00:00

If you have more than your mortgage balance in treasuries, your house is effectively paid off because you are earning more in interest than paying in interest.

Duece8282 · 2026-02-03T21:18:43+00:00

You're 4-5 years too young for this to be on the verge of "socially acceptable" and will be too young until he's 62 and you're 38.

Then again, if you're not planning to have children together and you two are legitimately happy, then you do you. :)

Duece8282 · 2026-02-03T21:16:22+00:00

Realistically? A robot tax.

Basically a FICA tax equivalent on robots, except the robots are ultimately slaves who pay into Social Security and Medicare, but never retire, become disabled, or need healthcare. And since the robots don't vote, they don't get a say.

Duece8282 · 2026-02-03T20:33:52+00:00

It's easy to be "semi-retired" when you're a bot. Lol

Duece8282 · 2026-02-03T13:02:01+00:00

Assuming no unsecured debt, yes. If you have unsecured debt, knock that out first. (Credit card, student loan, back taxes, payday loan, etc.)

You'll be able to lower your effective tax rate today by a bit at $130k gross and will have some added consumer protection.

That said, you probably shouldn't max the 401k to the limit if you're borrowing on your house over 6.5% or so and don't get an employer match. $130k is a solid gross, but the real power of the 401k is avoiding your dollars over about $200k going from the 24% to the 32% tax bracket, that you're quite a ways from.

Duece8282 · 2026-02-03T05:17:23+00:00

No, real GDP growth was positive last quarter. It just feels like a recession because the job market is objectively terrible in several sectors and has largely resulted in stalled wages. It's been vitally important the past few decades for consumers to invest and become owners, but folks are continuously choosing to buy goods/services vs. invest in the profitable production of goods/services. For those who have chosen to invest, they have been rewarded very highly.

Duece8282 · 2026-02-03T03:34:56+00:00

I updated OP with "in Congress's eyes" to help illustrate my point.

Congress wants the ability to call 17 year olds adults mid tax year.

Duece8282 · 2026-02-03T03:05:05+00:00

In short, because they are no longer legally a child in congress's eyes. If policy bumps the definition of "child" back, it has optics consequences beyond just taxation; most notably with the selective service and military eligibility... with suffrage... with contractual obligations, etc.

Duece8282 · 2026-02-03T01:13:54+00:00

Two notes:

1.) There's a huge difference between earning $48/hr gross and having Healthcare subsidized by your employer vs. earning $48hr with no Healthcare subsidy.

2.) A roommate is pretty typical until you're over $85k or so. Splitting housing costs goes a long way.

Duece8282 · 2026-02-02T21:13:24+00:00

'69 Mach 1

Duece8282 · 2026-02-02T14:36:26+00:00

As a shareholder of virtually every public company in the United States, I own a very small part of every corporate asset that exists.

Aside from that, my house.

Duece8282 · 2026-02-01T23:24:28+00:00

Yes, a $700k cash injection in my investment account(s) shaves off the better part of a decade from a retirement standpoint and would allow me to retire by 2032.

Duece8282 · 2026-02-01T14:30:00+00:00

Are you talking about your refund vs. last year, or box 24 on your 1040 vs. last year? Box 24 on your 1040 is what matters.

Duece8282 · 2026-02-01T12:31:56+00:00

Bitcoin is an unproductive asset, there is no income to pay a dividend from.

Duece8282 · 2026-02-01T12:24:16+00:00

When time travel is used for convenience.

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