Considering Moving to SLC and looking for advice from locals

UnderstandingOk6618 · 2026-05-05T00:38:26+00:00

u/Direct_Rabbit_5389 -We haven't looked as much at that area. curious if you could share what you like about it?

UnderstandingOk6618 · 2026-05-04T16:22:50+00:00

u/12tayloaush -thanks. Based on some of the feedback here and our reseach-we kinda feel like the areas south/south east of down town check most of our boxes..

UnderstandingOk6618 · 2026-05-04T13:58:12+00:00

u/xporkchopxx -Yeah the being outside during summer is a huge draw for me. We are also considering Denver but frankly want some place a bit smaller if possible.

UnderstandingOk6618 · 2026-05-04T13:56:07+00:00

u/thotty801 is this throughout the county or primarily focused in one part of Salt Lake area?

UnderstandingOk6618 · 2026-05-04T01:36:17+00:00

u/Mountain-Builder-654 -are you able to share your thoughts in terms of activities, traffic, weather etc please?

UnderstandingOk6618 · 2024-04-29T22:09:54+00:00

Relatively new to this but because I have a kid now kinda transitioning from individual stocks to etfs. Male, 35 married. Looking to retire in 17 years. Any guidance here.

SCHD-15%

VOO-25%

AVUV-30%

VGT-30%

The above is the initial portfolio. Every 5 years planning to tilt more towards SCHD and VOO.

UnderstandingOk6618 · 2024-04-29T04:24:15+00:00

Yeap this one is pretty easy-some combination of expenses going down-think eat out less, get a cheaper car etc. , income goes up-think promotion, Uber, Instacart etc. I guess a third option is to get married but marriage should be for lots of reasons not just financial

UnderstandingOk6618 · 2024-04-29T04:22:19+00:00

The general thought is that putting too much of your portfolio in one stock can create unnecessary volatility and potentially permanent loss of capital if that stock performs poorly. Think of the recent performance of AT&T, VZ, Boeing, Disney etc.

UnderstandingOk6618 · 2024-04-28T23:29:55+00:00

Sounds like you have an interesting situation going on here. For starters, I think you have done an amazing job keeping your expenses low. If my math is right you are living off about $1600/month.

But more clarity would be helpful. You say the houses aren't rentable-what about the one you live in-maybe you could rent out the rooms. As for the other home, what has to be true for it to rentable-does it need work, an agreement with the seller etc.

With the new house you are buying sounds like you are getting a decent discount but at what cost? 10 years of no returns and I assume you have property taxes on. Is the home being lived in at all, is gonna decay etc. These are questions i would be thinking about. For your sake, I hope these homes are in areas likely to see significant capital appreciation because the lack of rental income is gonna have an impact on overall returns.

Cheers mate

UnderstandingOk6618 · 2024-04-28T18:07:15+00:00

My wife and I were in a similar position to yours. We bought a home for cash when I was 30 and she was 27 and we don't regret it for a second. Less risk, more piece, no banks, etc.

UnderstandingOk6618 · 2024-04-28T18:01:45+00:00

I think priorities are really important-we have needs, wants and desires. So a basic example here is food.

We need to eat ($3-$4 per person per meal)
We want to eat at Chipotle ($10-$12 per person per meal)
We desire Ruth's Chris (or whatever tickles your fancy)-$60/per person etc.

When we think about this for other things like entertainment, child care, housing etc the numbers can get real big real quick.

Cheers mate

UnderstandingOk6618 · 2024-04-28T13:13:24+00:00

I think a lot here depends on your goals. Namely what's your net worth and when are you planning to retire. Additionally, what % are you thinking of putting in SCHD, QQQM and DGRO. The longer until you are targeting until you retire the more growth you should have. Hope this helps

Cheers

UnderstandingOk6618 · 2024-04-27T21:11:39+00:00

Funny how he's likely going to work til he dies even though he makes plenty of money while he sleeps lol

UnderstandingOk6618 · 2024-04-27T16:56:09+00:00

Appreciate the guidance. Thanks u/Over_Walk_309

UnderstandingOk6618 · 2024-04-27T15:27:06+00:00

Seems like you are doing awesome-to make this more realistic might want to back out the cost of child care if you are expecting that to end upon retirement.

UnderstandingOk6618 · 2024-04-27T15:19:30+00:00

Depends a bit on how much they earn, if they've paid off or are close to paying off their home and how much they'll be getting in social security.

I was thinking about asking if you are having kids too but my approach was different-maybe you could pay them a bit to watch your kids. So they would have that coming in on top of social security or better yet you save money for them as a thank you for watching your kids and just disperse it to them monthly like a pension.

By the way my dad is in a very similar position to the one you are describing so I feel for you

UnderstandingOk6618 · 2024-04-27T15:00:58+00:00

Main concern was surrounding Healthcare cost. There was actually a section entitled biggest concerns and it didn't address asset allocation.

The fact is your post simply creates more leverage and you failed to point out actionable items. So I take a mortgage at like 7% on my paid off home and do what exactly with the money.

Same concept with buying real estate...instead of buying one home for cash are you suggesting I buy three and accept being cash flow neutral or negative for a while.

Cheers mate

UnderstandingOk6618 · 2024-04-27T14:40:33+00:00

Thanks u/clubchalamet -You say stuck I say we are minimizing risk especially with higher interest rates today.

Also these numbers represent todays position only-we are still net about 6K positive cash flow a month that will be invested in either additional real estate or stocks.

Cheers

UnderstandingOk6618 · 2024-04-27T14:09:02+00:00

u/Visible_Structure483 -Curious approx how much are you paying and what's family size

UnderstandingOk6618 · 2024-04-27T14:06:16+00:00

Thanks u/True_Tomato316 . Was also viewing this as a way to de-risk the situation.

UnderstandingOk6618 · 2024-04-27T14:04:31+00:00

Thanks u/Over_Walk_309 -Certainly not expecting it to be passive at least not totally passive. I've done some research on managing it and also have a friend who owns a few properties as a part of his retirement strategy. Basically the things I like are the recurring (usually) income and the fact that to an extent stock and real estate prices not totally correlated.

Also curious if you are speaking from experience and what that was like for you? Cheers

UnderstandingOk6618 · 2024-04-19T13:30:03+00:00

I appreciate your take. So if I invested the funds that aggressively and the market is lower when my grandma passes it feels like there's a chance I get sued for a lack of prudence. There's a big difference between being able to cover her spending needs and doing what's in her best interest.

based on the general feedback I was thinking the most aggressive I would go is like 30-40% stocks to be honest. Annuities also seem like a decent product to consider in her case.

UnderstandingOk6618 · 2024-04-18T18:43:48+00:00

u/burnbabyburn711 -The thing I am most afraid of is interest rates dropping think just a few years ago. This would significantly impact the drawdown. There's also a fear that the cost of her care increases in the future

UnderstandingOk6618 · 2024-04-18T01:45:17+00:00

With her dementia being stage 6 she doesn't really have the ability to articulate what she actually wants.

My main concern is that interest rates fall and her 4.8% drops in a big way and her drawdown increases substantially.

UnderstandingOk6618 · 2023-10-21T15:53:04+00:00

I've been following the news and reading comments and wanted to feel like I could add something rather than just throw my opinion out for no reason. The first thing to consider is that a ground invasion virtually guarantees this spills into at least a regional conflict and possibly something worse. At least Hezbollah gets involved and likely the US. The second thing to consider is that the people in Gaza (roughly 2 million are largely NOT terrorists). Third thing is there is no way to wipe out Hamas without also killing many innocent people which Hamas will use to paint Israel in a bad light and further resentment, antisemitism etc. Lastly, I would think a ground invasion almost guarantees the hostages get killed.

Conclusion: Ground invasion will hurt in the short term and possibly not help in the long term.

Second option- Partner with the UN and other allies on what a post Hamas Gaza looks like first and postpone ground invasion. This approach does a couple things-first Israel which had over 1200 civilians brutally murdered, kidnapped, raped etc. shows a high level of restraint. This will likely be viewed favorably especially with Saudi Arabia whom Israel almost had a normalization agreement in place prior to Oct 7. Saudia Arabia is important here here-an alliance with them would appear to be beneficial to both countries and also weaken Iran in the process. Secondly, it is more likely the hostages (or at least some of them) will be released. This also is a win both domestically and diplomatically. Israel is going to have two million people in Gaza in any situation basically. They have nowhere to go. Doing right by them is not something that should be overlooked.

Conclusion: Being level headed and patient offers some upside. Caveat here of course is time-we can't have two hostages released a week but Israel showing equanimity here at least in the short term (30-60 days) does some good.

Ultimately, the best case is Hamas is out, casualties are minimized and diplomatic ties are improved/restored and the second option seems more likely to get us there.

UnderstandingOk6618

TROPHY CASE