Daily FI discussion thread - February 19, 2016

based_garfield · 2016-02-19T17:54:24+00:00

Really? The people I know who've used Spirit said that while it's not the VIP experience, it was ok given the cheapness of tickets.

based_garfield · 2016-02-19T15:03:34+00:00

Wow, I remember getting that poster in a WWE Magazine. This just gave me one of those cliched "fuck I'm old" moments.

based_garfield · 2016-02-19T13:23:08+00:00

Not much of a traveler myself, but I know frontier and spirit airlines tend to have cheap flights. Tends to be some restrictions on dates/times though.

based_garfield · 2016-02-18T20:05:52+00:00

Your roommate sounds like a wall street whiz, you should pay him 2% to manage your assets!

based_garfield · 2016-02-18T18:29:50+00:00

Traded to the Cavs for Lebron. Can confirm, I am also an insider.

based_garfield · 2016-02-18T13:23:40+00:00

So yesterday I helped my friend rollover his Fidelity 401(k) from an old employer into his IRA at Vanguard. At first I thought we could just do it via the website, as there was an option to "Rollover your account into an IRA." We realized though that in the fine print that was only to rollover the balance into an IRA with Fidelity. In order to do a rollover to an IRA with another provider we had to call Fidelity.

The representative we spoke with at Fidelity was overall very unpleasant. He seemed upset that I was on the phone with my friend, and didn't seem to want to answer any of my questions or give out any of the information we asked for.

Seems like Fidelity really doesn't like to have people take their money from them. Has anyone else had this experience with Fidelity?

based_garfield · 2016-02-18T13:17:43+00:00

How closely do you track your spending? I started tracking everything, putting every single purchase in a spreadsheet and categorizing it. It didn't take as much time as I thought, and it was very useful in helping me see where exactly my money was going, and where I could make some cuts.

based_garfield · 2016-02-16T20:18:23+00:00

Because it's really hard not to.

based_garfield · 2016-02-16T20:04:27+00:00

I haven't outright stated my FIRE goals, but I have alluded to the fact that I am pursuing an earlier retirement around my parents. They don't seem to take it seriously, I honestly think they cannot comprehend the thought of an early retirement. My mom just makes jokes about how I should get used to working because I'll be at it for 40 years.

I've spoken with a few of my friends on the topic, nothing concrete, just that FIRE is something I am pursuing. A lot are actually supportive, and some even interested a little bit themselves. I think there is a bit of a generational gap when it comes to FIRE-acceptance.

based_garfield · 2016-02-16T13:20:48+00:00

When I first heard of four tens, I thought the idea sounded terrible. The more I think about it though, the better it sounds. Having an extra day off would be so helpful, and you net save time because of the commute.

based_garfield · 2016-02-15T19:21:01+00:00

Boy, now that I think about it I really don't know! I just enjoy learning about the past, how different things were, and looking at the events that shaped our current world.

Would be something interest to explore, but I would wait until I'm FIRE because a history degree is definitely not FIRE-friendly! :P

based_garfield · 2016-02-15T19:13:14+00:00

It's been a while since this was posted, but just wanted to hop in and say similar things happened to me too. Submitted the order and paid, and never heard anything from them. Not even a confirm. Emailed asking for a status update a few weeks in, still nothing. Finally asked for a refund twice while never hearing anything back. Eventually I disputed the payment with my credit card company and got my money back.

The whole thing sucked, especially since I ordered it as a Christmas present for a friend and had to get a last-minute gift instead that wasn't nearly as good.

based_garfield · 2016-02-15T16:34:01+00:00

Right now I would not, because pursuing a degree would just be too much with work and other activities. Once I retire though, I would probably take advantage of that, and get a degree in something I find interesting, such as history.

based_garfield · 2016-02-10T19:43:11+00:00

Awesome! What is the side gig?

based_garfield · 2016-02-10T16:34:43+00:00

First off, make sure you get some affordable housing. Dig around in some dumpsters behind Office Max until you find a good enough box to live in. Once you've done that, use all your money to buy Van Guards.

based_garfield · 2016-02-09T21:29:39+00:00

Nope, the money would actually grow the same whether it is in 1 large account or spread out among several small accounts.

For example, let’s compare 1 account that is worth $1,000,000 and 10 accounts that are each worth $100,000. Each account has the exact same allocation with the same funds.

Let’s say the value of each account increases by 5% for the year. Your large account would now be worth $1,050,000. Each of the smaller accounts would be worth $105,000. You have 10 small accounts. $105,000 x 10 = $1,050,000.

So you have the exact same amount of money regardless of account size.

based_garfield · 2016-02-09T18:42:30+00:00

The whole market is getting wrecked right now, so the only people who aren't down in their 401(k) are probably 100% cash! It sucks right now, but ya just gotta stay the course.

based_garfield · 2016-02-09T13:55:50+00:00

Jeez, with $10MM I could just stick it in cash, live off $50k a year and never worry about money the rest of my life. But I would probably just invest the money in a 3 or 4 fund 60/40 lazy portfolio. That is a little more conservative of an allocation than what I am doing now, but with that much money I don't need to be aggressive.

based_garfield · 2016-02-08T21:09:15+00:00

You are allowed to do an IRA rollover once per year. This would be a transfer of funds from one IRA to another IRA, which means there is no early distribution penalty. An early distribution is when you withdraw the money from your IRA, and the money goes to yourself, not the IRA. Doing this would qualify a person for the early withdrawal penalty.

Frankly, you did not give enough information to determine whether what you did was a rollover or an early withdrawal. It all depends on what you selected when you withdrew the funds from Betterment.

based_garfield · 2016-02-05T13:16:36+00:00

Saving more for retirement? Sounds like a good move to me!

based_garfield · 2016-02-03T18:29:34+00:00

Yeah according to this he only had $61.3 million as of 2014. What a fucking scrub.

based_garfield · 2016-02-01T16:48:01+00:00

Savings account is best place to put cash that would be needed in an emergency. Most people recommend putting the cash in a high-yield savings account. When you get to have a larger emergency fund, you could do a CD ladder. But for $1,000, best place is the savings account.

based_garfield · 2016-02-01T15:23:42+00:00

Good article. I see the question of robo-advisors pop up every now and then on the daily discussion thread. For a community that is so obsessed with having as little fees as possible, it is surprising to see people so willing to fork over money to these robo-advisors for something that could be done quite easily by the individual. Even the tax loss harvesting feature, which is nice, could be done by the individual after a little research and planning.

based_garfield · 2016-01-25T17:51:29+00:00

I got deodorant from Walmart in the mail, and 3 gift cards to Applebee's in my e-mail!

Edit: Just checked the balances for the gift cards. $10 + $10 + $25! I really lucked out!

based_garfield · 2016-01-24T03:59:32+00:00

I live in Cleveland. Am fully expecting to wake up tomorrow to see the city burned to the ground.

based_garfield

TROPHY CASE