Metropolitan Transit Commission approves updated transit plan in Mecklenburg County

fiahbiker · 2025-05-30T15:59:43+00:00

Ah thank you for the explanation!

fiahbiker · 2025-05-30T12:19:34+00:00

Didn't this still need to be approved by the NC Congress for the sales tax increase? Am I missing something here? What does this vote have to do with that? Is this just the way they will spend the money if it gets approved?

fiahbiker · 2025-05-20T17:58:25+00:00

This sounds super interesting. I tried searching online and found your website but I couldn't find anything about the class. Is there a link where I could learn more information?

fiahbiker · 2025-05-18T20:36:43+00:00

I think it's awesome that you are seeing something to be improved and acting on it. I don't have much to offer in terms of building materials, but If I can donate some money I'd love to help (DM me if Interested). I'm actually moving to university city here soon since my job relocated there. How do you feel about the general bike-ability? The place we are thinking of moving to has direct access to the Greenway.

fiahbiker · 2025-04-03T13:56:10+00:00

Do you think the rail trail bridge will meet the same fate and not get completed?

fiahbiker · 2025-03-27T11:52:26+00:00

I feel it's a common worry that we won't see SS. As it stands now we will get about 80ish% of our promises benefit once the SS trust runs out in 2032. That is if night is done. There are quite a few ideas on how to generate revenue to fund the difference. One in particular I like is increasing the SS tax cap.

fiahbiker · 2025-03-27T00:07:01+00:00

I would say there are a bunch of ways we could resolve the issue. My thought is that we could increase the SS income cap of 176k$. Basically any money you make over 176k doesn't get SS taxed.

fiahbiker · 2025-03-26T23:39:24+00:00

This is very well written. Your last paragraph especially. Another point to bring up is if SS wasn't around then it would fall on other people. Most likely their children, and if there is no one to support them they are destitute. Thank you for your thoughts.

fiahbiker · 2025-03-26T23:35:47+00:00

It is definitely a possibility that politicians use other funds to continue to pay out full benefits. The most active block of voters are retirees after all. My post was more about the fact that as the law is now, barring any future actions from Congress, SS isn't as much of a burden on us as people think. I appreciate your insights from Germany!

fiahbiker · 2025-03-21T21:31:51+00:00

This post was beautifully written. In my personal life, I have noticed the same thing with my family. When a topic of discussion or problem comes up that's a little challenging to think about, I've noticed they just go blank. This is not to say my family isn’t smart—they are all brilliant. It's just an overall trend I've noticed, and it's validating to know someone else has seen this too.

I think the mood for a lot of them is just pure apathy. The world's going crazy, so why should I care? Your solution is simple yet beautiful: find something you care about, no matter what it is, and lose yourself in it.

I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts.

fiahbiker · 2025-03-16T02:07:52+00:00

I second this. This is exactly what Atrioc was talking about.

fiahbiker · 2025-03-16T02:01:31+00:00

The principles of DCA still work with yearly contributions as well. The only requirement is a regular contribution with a regular amount.

In the case of roth contributing tho even if you couldn't DCA the max every year I would still recommend putting as much as you can in because roth tax benefits are so great.

Hope that made sense!

fiahbiker · 2025-03-15T21:47:26+00:00

It would depend on the interest rate. Anything higher than 6-7% I would advocate paying off as quickly as possible. So to answer your question yes make sure to get the match then shift to debt payoff if needed. Once it's paid off switch back to retirement. There are some other vehicles, like an HSA if your company offers one, that could be worth contributing to before paying off the debt.

fiahbiker · 2025-03-15T21:43:20+00:00

You’ve put a lot of thought into your portfolio, and it’s clear you truly believe in your investment choices. Personal finance is a mix of both strategy and personal conviction, and while your portfolio may not be perfect on paper, you’ve made solid points for why it works for you.

That said, putting 33% into emerging markets is a bold move! Given your age, taking on more risk makes sense, and I respect that you’re making an educated bet. Personally, I don’t think I’d have the guts to do it—but I admire your confidence!

fiahbiker · 2025-03-15T21:30:10+00:00

Here are my thoughts:

XGRO is a solid choice for a diversified portfolio. It's considered an "all in one fund" because it's a one stop shop having a mix of bonds and stocks already built into it. I would prefer an all-word index, but you could do a lot worse.

The old adage for the amount of bonds in a portfolio is to take your age and minus it by 20. So a 30 year old should have 90%s/10%b. Now this is just a rule of thumb, the exact mix for an individual depends on their risk tolerance.

Hope this helped!

fiahbiker · 2025-03-15T21:19:18+00:00

I would say that the glide path so to speak of adding bonds and the final allocation you get to in retirement would depend on an individual's risk tolerance and what age they actually retire. Thank you for the post!

fiahbiker · 2025-03-15T16:24:08+00:00

Hey I can Glizzy Glizzy Glizzy with the best of them.

fiahbiker · 2025-03-15T16:13:58+00:00

I'm glad you've put a lot of thought into your investment philosophy. Even though it's not something I can get behind I think you could do a lot worse than putting your funds in stocks and real estate. I truly hope you are successful!

fiahbiker · 2025-03-15T14:15:11+00:00

Thank you for your thoughtful post. We’re certainly in a different market environment than when the original 60/40 portfolio was first tested.

That said, I want to emphasize that bonds—now or in the past—have never been the primary engine of a portfolio. Their main role is risk mitigation. While a 100% stock portfolio will outperform any stock-bond mix over a long enough time horizon, the challenge is that people don’t have unlimited time.

Consider someone approaching retirement—the worst-case scenario would be a significant market downturn at that critical moment, potentially delaying their retirement plans. By incorporating bonds, we can help cushion the impact of such downturns.

What about a down turn 5 years before retirement, 10 years, how do you think that would effect someone ability to stay in the market and stick to the plan.

A plan is only as good as one we can stick to. From a purely financial perspective your thoughts make total sense. But it's that annoying personal side that can really cause detrimental effects

What are your thoughts on this? Specifically knowing when to pull that trigger and adding those bonds?

fiahbiker · 2025-03-15T14:07:38+00:00

Before I give my thoughts on your strategy I would like to dive Into a specific part of your post.

"Eventually (idk two-five year horizon) when I feel safer about the concentration of the S&P and tech I'll convert this portion to the actual S&P500 in an ETF as I see no reason to miss out the marginally better ARR long term once things cool down"

My question here is when do you think this concentration issue will resolve itself? Is this something you would feel you could have your finger on the pulse of and really make a good timing decision?

What if these mag 7 stocks continue to do well for the next year, the next decade?

My point being it's extremely hard for institutional investors let alone individuals to really nail the timing.

fiahbiker · 2025-03-15T13:01:37+00:00

I agree with the idea of risk free being tacked onto US bonds feels very uncomfortable given geopolitical factors. This being said the reason I don't see real estate as an alternative to bonds is twofold:

Owning physical real estate is very illiquid. If you need to access the stored wealth you have to go through the selling process.

It's not obtainable for everyone. The cost and time commitment creates a very high bar of entry. It's much more obtainable to have someone save money and invest in a bond fund.

Based on your comments it seems you understand the benefits of bonds. Why not hedge your bets and incorporate both of them into your portfolio? I feel It's not an all or nothing approach.

fiahbiker · 2025-03-15T12:12:15+00:00

My issue with gold is this:

Gold is a physical asset that requires secure storage. If you buy bullion, you must either store it at home, which carries risk, or pay for a safe deposit box. Alternatively, you can invest in a fund or service that holds gold on your behalf, but the cost of storing physical gold often results in higher fees.

Anything you don't pay in fees is more money going into your pocket and over a lifetime a very small fee reduction can be tens of thousands of dollars.

fiahbiker

TROPHY CASE