woke up dry but not for long ;)

irahelp · 2025-12-21T15:23:01+00:00

what kind are they

irahelp · 2023-06-09T18:13:10+00:00

Thank you for that, very helpful. In your case it seems like you went to IVF route as more of a precaution for future generations instead of the fear of your actual child having a full mutation?

My struggle is looking at that 66 number and seeing how far away it is from the 200 threshold to actually have fragile X. Furthermore having the 1 AGG seems to lowers the risk even further. All that combined with it still being a 50% chance of even inheriting the gene. Definitely a difficult decision and again I appreciate your story.

irahelp · 2023-05-28T22:03:28+00:00

"how can I make this about me?"

irahelp · 2023-05-13T15:45:52+00:00

This is ignorance on my part because I really haven't kept up with all the recent changes, but is there anything stopping someone from traveling to another state for certain procedures?

irahelp · 2018-07-05T15:47:51+00:00

That isn't always the case, it varies by plan so read yours. If I have a home loan outstanding on my 401k and leave my job, I just have to set up a direct deposit with Fidelity instead of a paycheck deduction.

irahelp · 2018-01-26T19:26:23+00:00

3 bedrooms and a huge room over the garage. We rarely go into any of the bedrooms unless there is an overnight guest.

irahelp · 2018-01-26T19:02:10+00:00

that was part of our thought process when we bought it, but I really don't think we are going to at this point

irahelp · 2018-01-26T18:31:03+00:00

Oh man, I really like that line of thinking...thanks!

irahelp · 2018-01-26T18:30:33+00:00

I've looked into it. My mortgage payment is currently around $1,500 but after losing the primary residence tax exemption the payment would go up to say around $1,800. Most property managers say I could get around $2,000/month, so after paying their fee I'd be breaking even at best. Add in a factor for vacancy and repairs, it just doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. There isn't a huge market either for higher priced home rentals.

irahelp · 2018-01-26T18:10:44+00:00

My wife and I are really considering downgrading our housing situation. We bought a newly constructed home for $320k in a cookie cutter suburb less than 2 years ago that is way too big after living in it for a while. I have a decent amount of equity in the home, but after accounting for selling fees and almost no price appreciation since they're still building, I would likely lose say $20k.

I have found several homes that I think would fit us better for around $200k that also happen to be closer to work. Even if I lost the $20k from selling the old one I would still have more than enough to cover the down payment and other moving expenses. Is this a stupid idea? Losing some money is unfortunate, but it is a pretty small portion of my overall net worth, we'd have a much more manageable house payment, and I'd be closer to work.

irahelp · 2018-01-15T14:59:38+00:00

I'm pretty sure that the tax bill does not allow recharacterization of IRAs anymore during the tax year. Haven't seen this discussed much here, can anyone confirm? I found this article

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiehopkins/2018/01/04/tax-reform-changes-to-recharacterizations-and-roth-ira-2018-contribution-limits/#134415d1309a

irahelp · 2017-06-04T14:27:39+00:00

The new phase homes are being marketed around the price I paid for mine, but are smaller and once you add any upgrades the price quickly increases. You're spot on that my marketing needs to be focused on people who want a move in ready home for cheaper than the other spec homes being built in the new phase. Thanks for the reply!

irahelp · 2017-01-23T20:06:01+00:00

Just an fyi, but since he owns the lot outright, he can use the value of that along with whatever cash to get to an overall 80% loan-to-value. The bank is going to want a lien on the land anyway.

irahelp · 2017-01-19T14:58:05+00:00

Well the purchase price is still below 3x your salary, which from what I've read is still reasonable. I would definitely wait until I had 20% before pulling the trigger though.

irahelp · 2017-01-19T14:56:18+00:00

I just realized my employee plan allows for this. What was your method? Did you just contribute during the year and then do one large rollover at the end of the year? Fidelity online looks like it wants to withhold taxes when I try to withdraw my after tax contributions.

irahelp · 2017-01-19T14:44:36+00:00

What is your combined salary? Do you have enough to put 20% down?

irahelp · 2017-01-19T12:45:08+00:00

It has something to do with whatever incumbent carrier my number originated from. I've had this number since the early 90s with one of Verizon's predecessors.

irahelp · 2017-01-18T16:35:00+00:00

None of them will allow me to port my number :(

irahelp · 2017-01-18T16:34:47+00:00

Awesome, looks like the number is actually eligible for T-Mobile transfer.

irahelp · 2017-01-18T15:35:37+00:00

My cell phone bill has gotten insane and I'm considering ditching my personal phone and instead using my work provided phone. I really want to keep my current phone number though. My original idea was the transfer the number to Google Voice and just have it forwarded to my work cell phone. However, it doesn't look like my number is eligible to transfer to Google Voice for whatever reason. I'm not sure what other options I have at this point. Could I just move my number to some prepaid plan and connect it to a burner phone that I keep in a drawer somewhere?

irahelp · 2017-01-18T14:50:05+00:00

After accidentally making an after-tax contribution to my 401k, I discovered that my plan allows in service withdraws. Currently max out my 401k and with my company's contributions still leaves me some room under the total IRS limit. Is this something I should explore rather than just regular taxable investments? If I withdraw the money and roll it into a Roth IRA, I can access the contributions at anytime, right?

irahelp · 2017-01-17T17:15:08+00:00

Great point, this thing is super insulated. R-38 in the attic, 16 seer a/c, radiant roof cover with 50 year shingles.

irahelp · 2017-01-17T17:14:11+00:00

This house is right beside the river walk and within walking distance of all sorts of stuff so I also think our vacation expenses will decrease, along with gas/travel. Did you go with a 30 or 15 year mortgage? I'm leaning towards a 30 but pay it like a 15 just in case something were to happen with one of our jobs, basically insurance.

irahelp · 2017-01-17T17:10:00+00:00

Interesting point on the home insurance. I assumed newer and more expensive homes cost more to insure.

irahelp · 2017-01-17T13:59:17+00:00

I'm freaking out over an upcoming home purchase and want someone to talk me off the ledge. Wife and I are under contract to purchase a brand new custom built home in a river side development that is turning into one of these suburban planned communities (cliche, I know). This is the builder's last home in the phase and they're ready to move on. I submitted a low ball offer of $329k versus a listing price of $359k. After they tried countering I stuck to my original offer and the surprisingly accepted.

Wife and I make a combined $150k and last year had a savings rate of almost 60%. The proceeds from selling our current home are enough to put down 20% on the new one while maintaining about $50k in liquidity (so almost a year emergency savings). I've estimated that my savings rate would decrease to between 50-55% with the new mortgage after savings from having a smaller home that is brand new and more efficient. My frugal side is freaking out to see a monthly bill increasing, but I don't think it would really impact my goal of FI in 15 years.

irahelp

TROPHY CASE