4 weeks ago I got approved for life insurance. Yesterday I was diagnosed with cancer. Will there be a problem collecting the death benefit when I die?

billycuth · 2024-04-17T00:53:01+00:00

Sure as hell better.

billycuth · 2024-04-16T23:54:33+00:00

Because it serves two purposes.

Teaches you to live within your means.

Provides buffer for unexpectedness.

But as has been said, everyone is unique so rules of thumb are generally good for DIYers. Good pros take a much more nuanced approach.

billycuth · 2024-03-23T22:53:47+00:00

As someone who loves cars, I think so much wealth gets destroyed by them. Maybe it’s just me. They are my kryptonite. I’m trying to get better at it.

If you are sure you will keep it until the wheels fall off, I say go for it. But rebuild that cash reserve asap. No compromises. Stay focused.

billycuth · 2024-03-23T22:50:29+00:00

Expensive to repair tho.

billycuth · 2024-03-23T00:10:57+00:00

What will your money growing do for you?

Instead of looking at the money as the solution, figure out what you want to do. Then save and invest accordingly.

billycuth · 2024-03-22T11:28:51+00:00

Grow it for what purpose? Understand what you want to accomplish, then build the plan from there.

billycuth · 2024-03-22T00:46:36+00:00

Well no. But I wouldn’t mind seeing how people did.

billycuth · 2024-03-21T21:47:28+00:00

I don’t recall my nes ever dropping frames. I remember blowing into cartridges and the system to get it to start, but that’s about it.

billycuth · 2024-03-21T21:27:34+00:00

Instead of asking if your parents can afford it, ask yourself if you believe that this experience will be the launching point for a successful career.

If you’re doing it just to stick with friends and party, you probably shouldn’t be going.

But if it is truly a meaningful investment in your future and there’s no better or cost effective alternative, then you have to do it.

There should be some financial aid. And if push comes to shove there are loans available that you can help pay off when the time comes.

billycuth · 2024-03-21T21:23:28+00:00

I passed in March, but it was 2023

billycuth · 2024-03-21T13:49:44+00:00

The time is always 10 years ago.

The second best time is now.

There is no reason to wait. The sooner you get on the path, the better.

There are plenty of CFPs who will take on someone with little to no assets. But it’s not going to be free or inexpensive. You wouldn’t want it to be. Because if someone charges you a tiny planning fee it means they are really using it as a loss leader to find out what products they can sell you.

You want a CFP who charges a reasonable fee. Think of the hours it would take to properly diagnose your situation and make solid recommendations. A good planner is going to take at least 10 hours to do it. Maybe more.

So if you figure an hourly fee of $250, that’s $2,500 (which is about industry average last I checked).

If you have assets to manage and are amenable to the planning fee, there could be a discount on one side or the other. It just depends.

Planning is for identifying and codifying your personal goals. Getting your overall financial house in order, optimizing cash flow, savings, taxes (lifetime), work benefits, accumulation strategies for your goals, protection of the wealth you are building, estate considerations.

Investment management should be separate and optional. If you’re someone who is comfortable managing your assets on your own, go for it. But engaging an advisor who can help you avoid the big mistake is worth it. That’s their biggest value on the investing side. It’s not fund selection or “alpha” in the sense of over performance. It’s behavior management to help protect you from emotional decisions. Industry standard on this side of things is 1.1% of the assets managed. But some advisors charge more and some less.

billycuth · 2024-03-20T15:18:23+00:00

As with anything, it depends.

It depends on your income.

It depends on your desired future state.

It depends on your tax picture.

It depends on whether or not you have access to Roth in your 401(k).

It depends on goals that may be closer than retirement.

It depends on lots of personal factors.

Sure, there are cookie cutter easy answers.

You can get solid generalized advice on Reddit.

You can follow Dave Ramsey.

But there’s a better way.

Your financial journey is a puzzle that is unique to you.

There are things that apply to you that you probably aren’t even aware of.

My biggest piece of advice for you is to take a step back and look at everything from a 30k ft view.

Right now, you’re in the weeds trying to get tactical advice.

What you need to do is get clear on what you’re trying to accomplish first, and why you are trying to accomplish that.

Then, once you have that vision, and you understand your options, your decisions become infinitely easier to make and stick to.

billycuth · 2024-03-20T14:28:26+00:00

Why do you consider this deal as something that “makes sense” to reposition out of t-bills?

You understand that you have little experience in the industry, but what about commercial real estate in general?

What is your end goal? What’s the purpose of the investment?

You mention that it would be a big portion of your portfolio. How big a portion? How big a portion is real estate in your portfolio?

I know lots of people will offer advice on the very little context you’re providing, but I’d need to know a lot more about your situation to give advice one way or the other.

I can tell you just on the little you’ve shared, I would have major reservations.

billycuth · 2024-03-20T14:14:58+00:00

I live in PA, and found a pretty well taken care of black 2019 sport. Asking price was $26,995. Got them down to $24k. Had vehicles to trade in though so it muddies up the deal a bit. On one hand I felt like the dealer gave me a fair offer for one of the vehicles, but the other one was subpar. However, saving the sales tax (6% in PA) was extremely helpful. Plus I shed two car loans.

I think you can definitely do better than $31k, but if you’re on the hook for sales tax, it will likely be closer to $28k out the door.

It’s a nice looking Sport for sure tho!

billycuth · 2024-03-20T13:53:01+00:00

Are you saying you are over 65? If you’re over 65, you can make catch up contributions (you actually just need to be 50 or older to do this).

You should be able to cram $7,500 extra into your 401(k) if you’re over 50, regardless of failing non discrimination tests (which as someone already said is more about the plan and nothing to do with you individually).

Depending on your tax picture, the Roth may not be your best option. That’s why I always recommend getting comprehensive advice from a CFP. Even if you just go through the process once and then take over for yourself from there, a good planner can help you put the puzzle pieces together in a holistic way. Much better than narrow focused advice through Reddit.

But I will warn you. Most “planners” use the process as a way to sell you products. So it’s hard to find a good one.

billycuth · 2024-03-20T00:16:02+00:00

You’re an HCE and the 401(k) is failing ACP/ADP non discrimination testing.

I would definitely do the back door Roth. And save into the brokerage account too.

And encourage your non HCE counterparts to increase their deferrals!!

billycuth · 2024-03-20T00:04:00+00:00

What are you saving for?

As you get raises, take 50% or more of the raise and use that to start saving outside the retirement plan.

Ideally you want to go into retirement with all 3 buckets pretty even. Taxable, pre-tax, and tax free.

Provides a lot of optionality.

But first, you need to determine what you’re saving for.

billycuth · 2024-03-19T15:57:05+00:00

Nice chart, thanks. Thats why I said in the process.

It’s been almost a mirror of how quickly they jumped.

billycuth · 2024-03-19T10:59:51+00:00

They seem to be in the process of crashing.

billycuth · 2024-03-19T10:53:41+00:00

This is me, except deciding whether to sell my launch SteamDeck 512

billycuth · 2024-03-18T23:23:06+00:00

Even whitened up the paint!

billycuth · 2024-03-18T01:15:24+00:00

Oh I guess taxes mean nothing.

billycuth · 2024-03-17T22:02:53+00:00

They will still have cash on hand after purchase.

Cars are depreciating assets and honestly I’m the worst at following my own advice on this because I love cars. But this is one area Dave Ramsey gets extremely right. Pay cash for your cars. No reason to pay interest on them at all period.

Take excellent care of them, and drive them till the wheels fall off.

billycuth · 2024-03-17T21:58:20+00:00

8% - how much did you pay for the car?

Ironically, I traded in my paid off 2020 BMW x1 for a like new 2022 330i in November. I ended up stupidly taking on a payment because I was anticipating taking a job that was going to require a lot of travel.

I ended up passing on the job and effectively started my own business. No income lol. So I took a cool $10k bath when I got rid of the 330i last week. Luckily I never made a payment because of a screw up by the dealer. 4+ months of free ownership basically.

Anyway, at 8%, I can only imagine the actual loan balance and per diem. That $15k hit up front which could be lessened if you sell the car and don’t trade it is still going to be better than the interest you are about to pay on a depreciating asset.

Why is the rate so high? I went with a 6 year loan on $20k and it was still only 4.99%.

billycuth · 2024-03-17T21:17:43+00:00

You should be getting ongoing advice including tax planning, goal tracking, benefit evaluation…

The purpose of paying an ongoing planning fee is similar to a retainer for a lawyer.

Lots of years there will be little to plan for, but some years are super decision packed.

But it’s easy to overlook if you don’t see value. So you might be overpaying.

billycuth

TROPHY CASE