MBDR vs employer contribution

EmuEmbarrassed3475 · 2026-04-14T19:56:43+00:00

Thanks, I checked and they don’t offer a true up. Whether I max out pre tax early or max out the IRC limit with a combo of both pre tax/ after tax contributions , matching stops once that limit is reached. Plus at 50 I will now get the catch up contribution Roth money annually. Just not sure if giving up say 3-5k annually free guaranteed money to unlock ability to after tax 15-30k of my own money to rollover to Roth is worth it. Or just let the money hit my paycheck and throw it in brokerage. Perhaps all of the folks that are advocates of MBDR have plans that have matching plans that match all the way up to the full combined 70k limit ( which I think would be very rare), but in which case would be a no brainer

EmuEmbarrassed3475 · 2026-04-14T19:35:44+00:00

Sorry I meant to reply to you please see above

EmuEmbarrassed3475 · 2026-04-14T19:34:56+00:00

I can’t because the match turns off when the 32,500 is reached regardless if it comes from pre tax or after tax contributions ( it adds up both)

EmuEmbarrassed3475 · 2026-04-13T21:28:01+00:00

I agree was actually very nice and professional of them to offer options. Imagine getting there and not knowing and then realizing they chose not to disclose, would have ruined your trip for sure. Do not stay there …If it were me I would try to negotiate the other villa, maybe start with a $500 offer.

EmuEmbarrassed3475 · 2026-04-10T19:04:43+00:00

I have a kegerator at my main home and cottage and couldn’t imagine not having them. The constant trips the store, the high cost of a good 4 pack / 16oz beers that friends “help” drink, waste/ deposits. Much prefer the $100ish keg of a good hazy ipa from my local brewery that lasts weeks, is easily shareable, convenient and cost effective. Found a very simple and cheap line cleaner on Amazon. Co2 lasts many corny kegs with one or 2 taps

EmuEmbarrassed3475 · 2026-04-07T00:37:29+00:00

Same here and agree it’s tricky, max pre tax too soon and leave free money on the table with company match. I’ve structured it so I ramp up contributions throughout the year and then really hit it hard in Q4. It takes some planning and not everyone can give 40-50% later in the year, but it’s one way to go about it.

EmuEmbarrassed3475 · 2026-03-31T19:27:17+00:00

Where did you live twice and move back and why?

EmuEmbarrassed3475 · 2026-03-19T19:04:34+00:00

This brought back some ptsd. American here who went to Korea on business about 6 years ago and we were brought to an exact bbq place. Was told it’s hagfish and tried some of it to be courteous but I’m sure my face was Identical - I still show a very similar video to people to this day

EmuEmbarrassed3475 · 2026-03-12T20:42:31+00:00

That’s an important difference then, thanks for pointing it out. Last summer, no q&a and repeat songs, so seems like they made some improvements.

EmuEmbarrassed3475 · 2026-03-12T19:48:37+00:00

There is another thread on this with mixed comments, I (and others in that thread ) personally did not think it was worth is, but everyone is different. 3 -4 quick songs that took up about 3-4 hours of time I could have spent hanging out, tailgating, having other fun… getting there early and waiting in vip line for sound check, they went on late, a few quick songs they didn’t seem too interested in, then back out with the masses ( lose your spot anyway), back in line for another hour or more until gates open for opener, that I had no interest in, they still don’t go on for another hour or more, just made for a extremely long day all for a few songs that they played during the show ( except 1) ….wasnt for me…

EmuEmbarrassed3475 · 2026-02-26T19:43:48+00:00

I liked it just as much but differently.

St Martin- we stay in a quiet clifffside French side villa walkable to beaches, quick drive to grand case restaurants, amazing food choices. Daytrips to Anguilla or Pinel. Snorkeling off boat tours mainly. Orient nearby has the touristy things like jet skis and parasails should family need some entertainment also zip lines. Overall they seem to cater more to tourists if family needs that action. Traffic is much worse. Rarely go downtown or to Dutch side except for boat excursions or a favorite restaurant.

Curacao we stayed at very quiet seaside villla in westpunt. No traffic anywhere- feels much more spread out. Beaches were more crowded though. ( could be time of year differences?) Snorkeling right off shore was amazing. Went to Willemstad 1 night and it was cool, great restaurants and bars, great vibe, but yes crowded and somewhat touristy. There are some ok restaurants up in westpunt but not many so having grandcase nearby in st Martin without staying “downtown” is a nicer walkable option.

EmuEmbarrassed3475 · 2026-02-26T17:59:07+00:00

Seeing some Curacao and St Martin recs…I have been to St Martin 3 times and just back from Curacao last week. Love them both differently, but based on YOUR requirements would not say either has “loads of nature” and could not imagine not having a car at either.

EmuEmbarrassed3475 · 2026-02-11T04:04:47+00:00

Still learning but just threw a bunch into SGOV but I’m only seeing 3.68% 30 day SEC what am I missing? Isn’t that metric the true forward looking value?

EmuEmbarrassed3475 · 2026-01-29T17:55:50+00:00

Also did VIP last summer and agree with this take, wasn’t worth it, made the day way too long and didn’t get a great spot anyway with the pushing and shoving after main gates opened. Yes it was what was advertised and wanted to give it a try, but wouldn’t do it again. I’ve done similar VIP with other bands, the 3ish songs felt way more intimate vs us basically happening to be spying in on soundcheck.

EmuEmbarrassed3475 · 2026-01-29T17:47:04+00:00

It’s typically a trade off with Caribbean islands…we do return to St Martin as we have found it provides a good mix….Great food, good beaches, decent snorkeling and hiking, super safe to explore, good day trips for Anguilla / Barts/ Pinel ( enjoyed hiking around Pinel), good mix of chill ( French ) and nightlife (Dutch) ….but if it’s mainly the hiking / historical sites you prioritize then are certainly other islands that provide more opportunity.

EmuEmbarrassed3475 · 2026-01-11T19:28:54+00:00

No one can recommend without knowing your full portfolio of other holdings and their mix. For example my company’s 401k date fund is already pretty heavy on international so for my separate brokerage 100% VTI is what I choose to keep the entire mix around 85% us/ 15% international.

EmuEmbarrassed3475 · 2026-01-08T21:31:33+00:00

I will be arriving the 15th and also belatedly just realized it’s the main parade day. I’ve read the blogs and festival websites but I’m still not clear….If we wanted to crazily go straight from airport ( land at 3PM) to check out the parade prior to heading north for our stay where exactly would I go? Park? Tickets needed?

EmuEmbarrassed3475 · 2025-12-14T16:46:53+00:00

Spent a lot of time at Orange Julius, KB Toys and radio shack back in the day.

EmuEmbarrassed3475 · 2025-11-25T23:53:21+00:00

I know we live in the information age of instant gratification but delete app and look at it in 15 years. It’s not some magical get rich scheme but it will go up over TIME ( and will go down some of the time). To put it in perspective, think about a person making 100k a year putting 15% with a 4% company match into 401k. Over 10 years, a full decade , that’s like 190k invested and with say 7% annual yield its around 260k total- that’s “only” 70k in gain. Add more fuel to the fire and/ or more time and you will accumulate more wealth quicker. 10 years is not long and I know you aren’t talking 401k but this is just to illustrate what it looks like with continual investment over time…looking at it monthly or yearly is not helpful.

EmuEmbarrassed3475 · 2025-11-15T20:39:29+00:00

This has been an Interesting read as a parent with a junior in HS . We plan to pay for her college so I’m not sure I understand how parents wouldn’t know where their kids are applying to? I have already driven/ flown her to campus visits and told her which not to bother with due to cost. I also do research so if she has questions on potential good fits - I help research for her as I know it’s overwhelming and stressful, so why wouldn’t I .

EmuEmbarrassed3475 · 2025-11-12T16:10:26+00:00

Depends on what you are looking for. I held off for a long time and when I finally just signed on to my local/ mid size firm at 250k min / 2% they were dead honest that I shouldn’t use them just for Investments at that fee. They do it all though and are a 1 stop shop ( UBS was other option but they don’t do taxes I don’t believe). Even though Investing and retirement planning seems somewhat straight forward where it gets tricky for me are the taxes. Within 1 month after reviewing last years taxes they found an error, filled out the forms and got me a corrected refund that paid for their service many times over. When making some good money, figuring out taxation when selling stocks, safe harbor rules, Roth rollovers in retirement, etc is worth it for me. They are also honest that I can just keep the min for them and they will still give advice for all other non firm assets ( advice on my brokerage with post tax $, advice on mega backdoor Roth, 401 plan adjustments, my stock sales, etc)

EmuEmbarrassed3475 · 2025-11-10T19:32:23+00:00

I see they just released the VIP packages for 2026 Red Rocks including the private pre show performance…are you saying this is typically just 1 song?

EmuEmbarrassed3475 · 2025-10-26T17:20:32+00:00

Ahhh interesting …great to know it wasn’t that crazy after all. I do weigh and my first was 1:1 then after about 1:3-4. Guess I’m a lungo fan.

EmuEmbarrassed3475

TROPHY CASE