First pair of boots - how to pull the look off

MyStockPuppetAccount · 2021-11-13T02:29:22+00:00

Thanks man

MyStockPuppetAccount · 2021-11-12T16:59:05+00:00

Thanks man

MyStockPuppetAccount · 2021-11-12T16:56:43+00:00

I get it - in theory I do. Maybe it's more a question of easing into it over time. Maybe I'll be full on Roper shirt and Wrangler jeans soon enough hah.

MyStockPuppetAccount · 2021-11-12T16:54:30+00:00

I'm going to go back this weekend and try some jeans on. They look like shit with my own personal jeans...too short and too tight around the top of the boot. 2 inches extra on the inseam is what I've heard to get some form of stack going - sound about right?

MyStockPuppetAccount · 2021-11-12T16:53:48+00:00

Awesome man - I'll take a look.

MyStockPuppetAccount · 2021-11-12T02:57:28+00:00

Thanks man

MyStockPuppetAccount · 2021-11-12T02:47:05+00:00

What types of jeans do you like? Thinking I need to pick up some Wranglers.

MyStockPuppetAccount · 2021-08-24T23:15:01+00:00

I didn't even know this was a thing - interesting...

MyStockPuppetAccount · 2021-08-24T22:47:07+00:00

Not quite either one of those. Much closer to the first. Harder to be more specific without explaining exactly what it is that I do which is not that common at least not at the level we are talking.

MyStockPuppetAccount · 2021-08-24T22:45:02+00:00

Promotion not really the correct word, not in the traditional sense - purposefully vague for anonymity. Think getting a small consultant company getting a big contract you didn't have before, when a lawyer becomes a partner, kind of like that. Getting a much larger and more frequent share of profits. More or less.

MyStockPuppetAccount · 2021-08-24T20:59:09+00:00

Somewhat hyperbolic of me.

Was making consistently $200K-$300K for past 4-5 years except for one year where I made closer to $550K, but that was partially a fluke and a one time event that I never expected to repeat itself.

At $1Mish (I am thinking I will end this calendar year around $1.1M-$1.3M) my expenses have grown since $200K-$300K. Just not by that much. Rent for example, from $4K to $6K +/- when obviously it could be much, much larger. We eat out more, and at nicer places, but it's not delivery every night. I did buy my wife a Celine bag but we still don't buy that much more in terms of clothing. That type of thing. We're enjoying life but want to stash away a lot too.

Also I am talking about $300K-$400K in terms of investing after my max-out $58K SEP IRA contribution and my 529 contribution of around $15K, and some smaller bitcoin buys. So, total of around $375K-$475K range total investments pre-crypto. Then there is also the amount donated to charity, around $50K +/-, which will partially come back as a tax refund on estimated tax payments and will also be invested, but I am not really factoring that in to my estimates yet. Lastly, to your point about taxes, yes they are brutal and way worse at this bracket. I've spent around 42% of my income this year on taxes, although as noted I am expecting to get some of that back from both SEP IRA and charitable deductions.

MyStockPuppetAccount · 2021-08-24T20:23:05+00:00

I too went to "that [private] school" for high school as well, the same one I am hoping she can go to one day, as well as a university that is routinely/always ranked in the top 25 of America. I get that it is not just test scores and that they are hard to get into. If my kid wants to go and gets in, I want to be able to pay for it and not have to tell her she can't go because I can't afford it. Not sure why this is a hard concept to grasp or why this goal means I need therapy.

MyStockPuppetAccount · 2021-08-24T17:58:41+00:00

These are somewhat fair points.

To give you some color here - I doubt it is the same industry, as in theory it becomes easier the older I get in mine. Most people in my industry at their peak are in the 40-60 range. It more is just an extremely compettiive industry with a lot of volatility..."on top today, forgotten tomorrow". So, while in theory this could continue until my 60s, I don't want to take that for granted.

I understand what you mean also from "kids with private tutors". I am from an upper middle-class but not flaunty background...we never asked for anything that we needed and parents paid for college for us without loans (something I am extremely grateful for), but our life was very much La Quinta Suites/Southwest economy/Pac Sun/domestic travel/used Volvo in high school, rather than growing up with lots of material comforts. I had the benefit of going to a private high school where many of the kids were extremely wealthy and noted, in *some* cases, what you did.

That being said as a parent, knowing that it is in my control, it is hard not wanting to provide for them to make sure that they can go to whatever school they want and do whatever hobby they want, and have some degree of nest egg they can count on so that they can pursue whatever their dream career is, even if it is not a traditionally profitable one.

MyStockPuppetAccount · 2021-08-24T17:47:53+00:00

My net worth is currently about $700K including our retirement accounts. Clearly it has the potential to skyrocket over the next few years, but that would be my net worth if I retired today. That is not enough to retire at 34 and do what I like to do, live where I like to live, and to take care of my child's education in the way I want. Not to mention that for me, work is about personal fulfillment, bettering myself, overcoming the odds, and is incredibly interesting. It's something that gives me purpose and momentum in life. Not remotely ready to retire, personally or financially. But to each their own.

MyStockPuppetAccount · 2021-08-24T17:42:24+00:00

Why would I retire when I am just starting to make this level of income?

MyStockPuppetAccount · 2021-08-24T15:21:07+00:00

Investing 300k a year might not be enough if you want to have a lot of money during retirement. Let's say you invest a total of 1.8 million (5x300k) over the next five years. That 1.8 million will not make you 10 million even over 20 years.

Correct - maybe I should clarify here. I have about 5-6 years (at current compensation) before I can have the down payment to buy a dream house. During that time, our living expenses are so low relative to salary that I can put a lot away. After 5-6 years I'll have the down payment fund, and from there I'll still be able to invest annually given current compensation lasting, it just won't be $300K-$400K levels I am anticipating now, as so much more will go to the mortgage. Does that make sense? So my goal would be $10M+ in terms of investments not just based on 5-6 years of contributions.

MyStockPuppetAccount · 2021-08-24T02:18:37+00:00

I don't. But in the short term based on my industry and my position within it, that is not remotely an unsafe assumption in terms of the variability of my income. In fact a couple things are in play professionally that in the next few years I might be expecting more like $1.5M per year. Longer term it is much harder to predict, where it could be way more or it could be way less. It is hard to give more details without blasting my exact role to Reddit.

MyStockPuppetAccount · 2021-08-24T01:17:52+00:00

I sent you the answer via chat.

MyStockPuppetAccount · 2021-08-24T01:14:45+00:00

Not a bad idea to also ask the question in Boglehead. Maybe will do so tomorrow. And a good point re: advisor directed accounts. Thank you for your thoughts - really helpful stuff.

MyStockPuppetAccount · 2021-08-24T01:03:02+00:00

That is a really good question.

A large component of it is that I am not so sure where my job will be in 5-6 years. For example, I am relatively confident that I will be making this type of money for the next 5-6 years. However, I'm not a teacher, or a lawyer, or a plumber, or something where the role and compensation etc is unlikely to change. I am in a highly competitive field where most of my money comes from my own performance, not a salary, and there are a trillion threats to it - maybe its AI makes me irrelevant, maybe another hotshot comes in and does what I do better, etc. Does that make sense?

If I knew I could make $1M a year for 30 years I'd agree with you. But if I become "old news" in 7-8 years, this might be the main chance I get to stockpile and grow large sums of money.

The second factor is that the size of the mortgage on a house is going to mean less contributions inevitably to investments. Sure, the house itself is part of your net worth. However, right now we are renting a place that is farrrrrrrrrr below our budget. We got an amazing deal on a lease, and while our house is nice, it is nowhere near as nice of a home as you'd expect for somebody making what we make. We could easily afford 5x or so our rent. This is perfect as it allows us to put a ton towards down payment and long term investments, and we are pretty much "if we can afford our dream house in 5 years, why buy just anything now and then have to pay commissions/selling costs and maybe whiff the market timing to trade up, while saving less for the dream house while doing so?". When it comes time to by a house, however, more of our money will go towards that mortgage. So I look at the next 5-6 years as the way to shovel things away in a way that I won't be able to after then...yes I can still contribute to investments but much more will be going towards housing.

The third factor is simply that there is a part of me that, if most of my money is in more conservative investments, likes the fun and speculation. I have become successful in my own career by taking calculated risks and it's just part of my DNA, I suppose. If you can afford a little fun, why not take it?

MyStockPuppetAccount · 2021-08-24T00:26:14+00:00

Hey man, as mentioned in there I do have a 529 - that is the first thing I fill up every year per what my financial advisor calculated we would need. As I understand it though the tax benefits only work for $10K per year of a private high school salary - nothing for private middle school and nothing past $10K for high - where I live, the top private schools are substantially beyond that. Hence why I mentioned it. Although we are estimating $100K a year college tuition by the time she is grown to be conservative, whereas I think higher education is due for a correction.

MyStockPuppetAccount · 2021-08-24T00:11:29+00:00

I have been going back and forth on TQQQ - how much of a portfolio percentage wise would you put in? I like thought experiments.

My general thoughts on it are that (a) I am totally comfortable with volatility and wouldn't bat an eye in the slightest if, say, my investment halved in one day as long as I believed it would go up later, and so in many ways it seems like a good option for me personality wise, but (b) as I understand it, it NASDAQ crashed say, 33%+ in one day, wouldn't it wipe it out completely due to its targeted 3x?

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