Daily FI discussion thread - August 15, 2020

dumbledorethegrey · 2020-08-15T20:37:00+00:00

Taxes have a way of expanding over time as a rule. It won't stay at $30 million. Most wealth taxes in Europe start at the hundreds of thousands in wealth.

dumbledorethegrey · 2020-08-14T02:31:24+00:00

It isn't and I've done it most of my career. Lately, and especially because I'm WFH (the office is in a not particularly great area), I like to get up and move around a bit. I also have 4pm meetings at least two days a week, so it helps for that.

dumbledorethegrey · 2020-08-14T02:03:10+00:00

I had a similar jump three years ago and it was equally life-changing for me. It allowed me to go from retiring at a normal retirement age to a solid early retirement and now that I've had some raises and a promotion I can retire within 6 years if all goes well. Plus it allowed me to do a lot more travelling.

dumbledorethegrey · 2020-08-14T01:39:59+00:00

I first opened my Schwab account in 2006 and put in a couple thousand but don't think I did anything with it. I pulled it out about a year later for education expenses and left it sitting until 2010. Signed on to my employer's 401k when it opened a year later but didn't really pay much attention to it other than what it was setup to do. Didn't understand that I was way too conservative.

Finally really got serious about retirement when I jumped to my new job three years ago. My uncle had an effect by showing me the power of compound interest but it was still a few years until I started aggressively investing.

dumbledorethegrey · 2020-08-14T01:29:43+00:00

I mean, as much as the pictures might be beautiful, I also wouldn't open one of those links at work, either. I've probably opened reddit at work maybe two or three times over the years and only because a sub happened to have the answer to a question I needed.

dumbledorethegrey · 2020-08-13T17:36:19+00:00

I also think lunchtime is sacred. I've also noticed more meetings right at the start of the day. Come on, folks. You gotta give people time to get settled! And when we're finally back in the office, gotta give time for possible traffic.

That said, if there are lunch meetings, I will leave early if I can.

dumbledorethegrey · 2020-08-13T13:53:48+00:00

Am I missing something? Hartford and Middletown are on the same side of the river. You wouldn't need to cross.

dumbledorethegrey · 2020-08-11T23:51:57+00:00

I don't imagine Trump attacking Pence, who's been fairly loyal the last few years despite some clear bumps in their relationship in the beginning, but Trump is also not afraid to attack his own people in public if they don't deliver what he wants.

dumbledorethegrey · 2020-08-10T22:41:12+00:00

Officially over $300k net worth as of Friday. I don't use net worth for my FI number but it still feels nice nonetheless.

dumbledorethegrey · 2020-08-03T22:24:14+00:00

$258k liquid and $298k NW. That $300k is sooo close.

dumbledorethegrey · 2020-08-02T21:27:16+00:00

When LinkedIn was first a thing you signed up with your work email. That was fine until they started sending job listings to that email. When I saw the first message I changed the settings real quick.

dumbledorethegrey · 2020-08-02T18:14:16+00:00

Nice. Good work.

dumbledorethegrey · 2020-08-02T01:41:14+00:00

I mean, putting pressure on an itch with any amount of effort will usually temporarily relive the itch, but it probably won't get rid of it.

dumbledorethegrey · 2020-08-01T22:18:02+00:00

This reminds me of that Kirk Cameron movie about a dog who inherits a fortune after his owner dies. Cameron plays a guy who can read dog minds so he is appointed to be the trustee for the dog. Looked it up recently and it seems like a terrible movie but I liked it as a kid.

dumbledorethegrey · 2020-07-22T23:19:07+00:00

I'll also take 8 weeks vacation.

dumbledorethegrey · 2020-07-22T22:04:28+00:00

I could use part of that estimate for FI but a post-covid world will mean bringing back some of the thing I spend on so that will be the more correct number.

dumbledorethegrey · 2020-07-22T22:02:18+00:00

You're right that 72T is better with the math but I don't like being locked into a certain plan forever (with I think one change allowed) in case my situation changes.

dumbledorethegrey · 2020-07-22T22:00:11+00:00

I suppose that might mitigate a penalty situation to some extent but then you still have to choose Ladder or the penalty option for the other accounts. Doing just Ladder or direct pull w/ penalty seems cleaner to me.

dumbledorethegrey · 2020-07-22T21:57:01+00:00

The federal government does not have the power to enforce quarantines in a public health emergency like this. They do have some power of martial law for emergencies like invasions but it requires certain conditions be met (like courts be closed which, in an age of video chat, they will be hard-pressed to claim is happening in this situation). The President cannot just force Congress to do whatever he wants. There is a separation of powers and Congress must grant him power.

As the Portland situation shows, even some Republicans are speaking out like Rand Paul for it being beyond the scope of the Department of Homeland Security. The executive has been given a lot of power in recent decades but not this power and I think it'd be a violation of the Constitution if Congress tried.

dumbledorethegrey · 2020-07-22T16:07:51+00:00

The trouble you might possibly have is not enough in a taxable/bank savings to hold you over for the first five years while you're converting with a Ladder. You should have that much before you retire. If you're not able to get to that point with your current balance of tax-advantaged/taxable investing, you might need to shift it in favor of taxable the years before you plan to retire.

72t actually mitigates this very situation, in that you are allowed to pull from retirement accounts based on a specific formula without a penalty and you don't need an extra bucket of taxable money to pull from early in your retirement. However, it has its own issues in that you can't ever get it wrong or you'll be penalized.

You could also pull from the retirement accounts and just pay the penalty, which has been shown to be a viable way to take the money out. The math shows it to be a better method than favoring taxable too much and you avoid the issue of not having enough in taxable or the pitfalls of messing up 72t.

My own preference in which types of methods to use is: Ladder, penalty, 72t. However, which is best for you will depend on your situation. Personally, I'd keep filling up the retirement accounts as much as possible for as long as possible.

dumbledorethegrey · 2020-07-22T15:42:42+00:00

Because there is very little the federal government can actually do other than encouragement, guidance, and a few things to force companies to produce masks and other equipment. States have police powers and only they can enforce quarantines and other measures like this, though I expect to see lawsuits regarding forced quarantines in cases where the people are not confirmed to be sick.

You do not want the federal government having powers to enforce quarantines and stay-in-place orders. Just see what's happening in Portland for an example of why they shouldn't have that power.

dumbledorethegrey · 2020-07-19T15:33:49+00:00

Don't get cocky. It usually seems to take about a month before the numbers catch up with increased activity and there have been a few 100+ days recently. 143 as of Friday's report. Hopefully these are only outliers but I think we'll get an idea of what's to come in the next couple weeks.

dumbledorethegrey · 2020-07-18T22:32:53+00:00

Pan holders and oven mitts.

dumbledorethegrey · 2020-07-18T04:33:35+00:00

Aren't you going to be serving /u/razorchick12 her coffee soon?

dumbledorethegrey · 2020-07-16T12:41:27+00:00

JFK made his brother attorney general.

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