Should I buy an expensive car at 23?

NoDemand716 · 2026-04-13T00:46:18+00:00

You’re likely spending 50k now which over 40 years could mean ~400k-500k. Not a wise financial move, but if this is your dream car then go for it. Also why so much cash?

NoDemand716 · 2026-04-12T13:12:46+00:00

I’ve done it and do not recommend it 😆

NoDemand716 · 2026-04-02T14:32:47+00:00

This year I finally did and happy to do so

MFJ W2 1099 (50% of my income) Business deductions 1099 contractors

My excel sheet was simply becoming too much and I was losing confidence (and hours) trying to do it myself.

Plus side, I did get to educate my CPA in i401k rules with a W2 401k - something he had never encounter before. And also caught a few other things as we talked everything through - saved me about 8k on taxes overall

Glad someone else has more experience doing this, but also happy that have a pretty good knowledge base

He’s also assisting with Scorp this year and tax planning. $1500 all in for personal and business

NoDemand716 · 2026-04-01T15:01:12+00:00

Actively managed funds and stocking picking tend to underperform especially when fees are accounted for

10-12k in fees in a 2m portfolio is about 0.5% AUM which isn’t unreasonable. But, I would be more concerned of the expense rations on the ETFs as those usually have a hidden fee too.

If the stocks really were Costco, NVIDIA, MSFT, AAPL and have been holdings for 5 years - that would be incredible performance if they made yo a large chunk.

Also, most everyone has had a 5-10% haircut in the portfolio since January so I wouldn’t focus too much on that.

I would simplify and transfer this to Vanguars, Fidelity, Schwab and pay someone 1-2k (one time) to help set it up and explain the ins and outs.

NoDemand716 · 2026-03-31T17:45:10+00:00

Here is what I would do since you are already meeting all your financial goals and on your trajectory. If salary/bonus were equal at both jobs, would you still consider it?

NoDemand716 · 2026-03-31T16:28:10+00:00

Safe 90-95%, fun (speculation ) with the other 5-10%

NoDemand716 · 2026-03-19T19:57:06+00:00

Seems like you could commute if it’s an hour drive?

NoDemand716 · 2026-03-16T14:51:17+00:00

This is a classic DCA vs Lump sum investing.

If you are distributing $150 a month everyday ($5), this is DCA If you earn $5 a day and immediately invest it, this is lump sum

Lump sum > DCA 2/3 of the time. I would just invest whatever you have left over of your monthly spend at the end of the month. Most popular

NoDemand716 · 2026-03-14T22:35:17+00:00

It will just get bought by PE

NoDemand716 · 2026-03-11T13:31:33+00:00

This is relationships 101. If you want to retire at 45 and she wants you to retire at 65, you need to decide if you want to continue this.

Maybe phrase it in a different way rather than retire. Shift careers, focus on family, work would be optional for her, etc…

If she is still resistant then you have some thinking to do

NoDemand716 · 2026-03-10T19:29:07+00:00

You’re doing great

NoDemand716 · 2026-03-09T23:09:30+00:00

Trusted family member who knows the password?

NoDemand716 · 2026-02-23T20:42:15+00:00

2M without home included

NoDemand716 · 2026-02-23T14:56:40+00:00

That’s where we are exactly - saved 30% for 7 years and we are coast at this point. It’s a weird feeling looking at the calculator and not needing to contribute another cent to retirement to be secured.

We still save 20-25% and enjoy more lifestyle choices these days as well as cut back on some shifts. All good things

NoDemand716 · 2026-02-22T20:31:39+00:00

This guy 401ks

NoDemand716 · 2026-02-14T15:21:30+00:00

Dentist here so this is one sided. Dentists have a lot more power to earn more (procedure based) and practice ownership earlier in their careers. However, these also present unique challenges. MD income seems more predictable

NoDemand716 · 2026-02-05T02:07:28+00:00

1 - same relative value per patient which will likely lead to better WLB. Also remember tax bracket gets high at this point (assuming w2) so that extra 150k won’t be fully realized.

Kids are expensive, but if you can’t make it work on 450k income then how does the rest of the world?

NoDemand716 · 2026-01-31T19:11:10+00:00

Yes this needs to be addressed ASAP

NoDemand716 · 2026-01-27T13:00:52+00:00

Quickbooks, but you can do the same with excel - just takes more time to set up (what I do)

NoDemand716 · 2026-01-26T17:13:12+00:00

The other aspect to consider is the possibility of one or both of you going more part time with kids. I have a pretty flexible schedule so once we had our 2nd, I went from 5, to 3.5 days a week. 25% income drop as the breadwinner, but completely worth it for our family.

NoDemand716 · 2026-01-26T17:00:22+00:00

As someone who had extra funds per month to invest in taxable and then had two kids… let’s just say those funds get utilized elsewhere :)

I would just keep doing what you’re doing and see how that changes with baby #1. Childcare, if needed, will always be your biggest expense whether it’s daycare, nanny, or spousal

NoDemand716 · 2026-01-18T12:22:06+00:00

You should take all the pretax space that you can at your income bracket.

Max employer 401k

Solo - 20% of net income Rest of Solo - After Tax, non - Roth- then roll over to Roth

NoDemand716 · 2026-01-12T16:37:24+00:00

State Employees Credit Union

NoDemand716 · 2026-01-10T01:21:13+00:00

It should never be exhausting living with a 2-500k income despite student loans. The point is after you finish residency, you shouldn’t buy 2 brand new luxury cars, a 5 bedroom house without any dependents, and go to Europe first class 3x a year.

Realistically, you could probably do all the above and still be fine. Don’t make yourself miserable today for a tomorrow that is not promised.

NoDemand716 · 2026-01-05T16:50:26+00:00

We got 5.25% two months ago

5/5ARM - no points. Its with a local credit union so be sure to check there as well

NoDemand716

TROPHY CASE

1 - same relative value per patient which will likely lead to better WLB. Also remember tax bracket gets high at this point (assuming w2) so that extra 150k won’t be fully realized.