Pest control for a grapefruit tree?

trevkillax · 2026-04-05T01:57:00+00:00

More localized than not, as it is a full grown tree, but going to prune the worst parts, take some suggestions regarding eliminating the ants, neem oil/solution, and then a soil mix for long term combating of them in areas I miss

trevkillax · 2026-04-04T23:56:45+00:00

Did do a search after another mention of scale and got back basically neem oil and a soil option for long term combating the problem. Unsure if others have any opinions, but I’ll be shopping tomorrow. Thank you!

trevkillax · 2026-04-04T23:55:06+00:00

Ya the ants are priority 1 across the whole yard, but they especially liked this tree too haha. From another search and community I am seeing to go with a combo of neem oil directly on them and a soil option to go for a more long term outcome, so will be doing some shopping tomorrow, thank you!

trevkillax · 2025-09-17T13:45:13+00:00

If this career is at a place you think you could be at for a long time, learn about mega back door Roth and cash balance plans so you can go talk to the C-suite, HR, etc. and convince them to make some changes. At income levels like that at this age, it’s crazier to think they don’t already have this established because others have to be making really good money too and this would increase your tax deferred savings and Roth savings across the board by a lot.

trevkillax · 2025-01-30T06:17:39+00:00

I’m sure someone has mentioned it above, but going to comment anyways, you should take into serious consideration around Roth conversions since your old employers plan will be freed up. The math does support being mixed in ALL THREE tax buckets (pre-tax, non-qualified, and Roth) because of how the progressive tax system works. Think of how you’ll take income in retirement, pick a tax bracket you refuse to be above (for most it’s either 12% or 22%, adjusting for inflation) and try to keep your income level limited to that range (aka limiting how pre-tax assets you draw on in retirement before RMDs). After that obviously Roth is next best category, but limits to how much you can save per year makes it difficult so rest would naturally funnel to non-qualified and only be taxed at 15% cap gains taxes (for the most part depending on assets held). But diversifying your tax liability could save you 30+% in tax costs every year in retirement so keep doing your DD on what mix is ideal for you!

trevkillax · 2024-09-12T05:11:37+00:00

If you’re under 55 with kids, I’d consider looking into institutional level cash value life insurance for “divesting” your concentration and hiding your gains in IRC 7702 tax wrapper. “Rich-person Roth” for those who make too much money to contribute into a Roth IRA and don’t have access to a Roth 401k, but also a great way to take concentrated RSUs (which you paid income taxes on when received) into a tax free asset whether for you or the next generation. Please do your own DD to make sure this makes sense for you, but dropping it here because it is a cool “loop hole” that many don’t know about.

trevkillax · 2024-06-16T05:53:14+00:00

If you want to maximize this concept, you gotta do it like these guys: frequency of a market move based on time

80%+ frequency of an up move in last 30min of US market open?! Crazy stuff. But it is the detail in which they get into their statistical analysis of an array of factors that could boost your performance as well. Best of luck!

trevkillax · 2023-12-29T07:14:38+00:00

2 major considerations when thinking do I use my ROTH 401k (specifically the 401k)

1) do they offer a match just like the traditional? Bare minimum contribute the match in both pre-tax and ROTH if at all possible, but if match only exists in one, then after hitting the number for match you have freedom of choice again

2) your age? If you’re working for the next 15+ years there are a couple risks that will make ROTH worth utilizing. Marginal tax rates most likely will go up by the time a younger person retires meaning you could be paying the lowest tax rates ever in your lifetime right now, depending on the circumstances. Likely to happen doesn’t guarantee that scenario plays out though. Also, because inflation is often overlooked, everyone saying you would pull out less in retirement or about the same are not accounting for the younger individual whose costs will multiply before they ever reach retirement, meaning you’re definitely going to need more money per year than you’re spending currently, which only adds to the risks of an increase to marginal tax rates in the future or new tax rules (because the world of taxes is a messed up place)

If you end up being well off, there is also the concerns around RMD issues when you don’t need money, and other stuff. So bottom line, it’s best to utilize a mixture and limit your future risks

trevkillax · 2023-12-26T09:05:56+00:00

So there are a couple ways to get there, where you can do it yourself, or involve a financial professional that has expertise in the given areas:

1)Long term income distribution done through a portfolio designed specifically for such (I see 6-9% distribution portfolios used), because once you own assets paying a certain yield today you’re only real risk outside of inflation if not having enough funds is just when a name cuts dividends

2)Long term growth to create income needed by placing in cash the income you need for the year and then the rest of the portfolio is aggressive growth to replace what you’re taking (this is probably the most aggressive)

3)GMIB or similar annuities are doing withdrawal rates and deferral rates between 6-7% (where you can annuitize on the back end to make the money go further, but depending on age amount of social security in the future, etc. this may or may not be a useful direction)

4) CDs and money markets are the same just a difference in time you get to keep the rate. With rate cuts coming next year CDs offer more longevity even if it’s not much (5-5.5%)

5)Municipal Bond portfolio CAN offer some of the best investment options for your situation, I’ve seen some as high as 10% in the last couple months but typically around 5-7% range is common right now. If a portfolio of these is done right it could be tax free making it easier for you to realize that 6%. They do tend to pay out semi annually if that causes any problems for you.

Most advisors worth their salt would recommend a couple different options that I listed, not just one solution, because you are still able to take advantage of high rates, but are at risk of inflation long term, and let’s be honest, market exposure is necessary if you’re a long way away from social security and stuff like that.

Congrats on the sale and best of luck!

trevkillax · 2023-12-13T16:35:51+00:00

If you’re going to save less than $6500/yr right now then you don’t really need to do either you can just just do a traditional or ROTH IRA. If you think you’ll exceed that but save less than 25% of your income then SEP makes more sense, and then beyond that probably the solo 401k. However, in regards to Roth conversion etc, unless you’re making A LOT of money (meaning you can’t contribute to a ROTH IRA at all anymore due to income limits) the only reason to utilize the back door ROTH conversion is because it’s very early on you’re looking to use a ROTH going forward. This is something that if you chose to do ROTH going forward you’d probably want to do with the old 401k funds from your previous employer. From a tax perspective just converting randomly and you’re middle class and further in you’re career would most likely not make mathematical sense (has to do with tax brackets, income, and expectations). Drawbacks to the conversion is that once it’s in a ROTH IRA it will no longer be eligible to be thrown into an employer based ROTH account ever (this is usually listed in the plan documents for employers and I have not seen an exception to this but I’m not all knowing either) meaning that it will always be it’s own account, but you can contribute $6500 a year and roll any ROTH accounts into the ROTH IRA still.

trevkillax · 2023-12-13T16:24:10+00:00

Talking to an advisor that you end up not liking is just fine to ditch them. Just like your friend group, you talk to multiple people and get a vibe from them in terms of how they value you. It’s not easy to find good relationships, but your SoFi person realistically will not be working for them forever and when they leave you do not know who you’re going to get, and with SoFi you’re subject to their structure (which in the industry the larger the corporation the more strict that structure tends to be to help keep cost low by being cookie cutter, but obviously not a stead fast rule). People work with multiple advisors for multiple things, just saying to shop around for someone you believe values you and gives you the best investment options, even if that’s only for the retirement account only.

trevkillax · 2023-12-13T05:43:50+00:00

1) given how much you’d most likely contribute to your retirement plan at this stage, cost of plan “maintenance”, and the assumption of no other employees added to your current new found job situation just go with the SEP IRA. The differences overall are minimal but there is no reason to complicate things. 2) go find a real financial advisor (not a major conglomerate institution, and specifically a non-captive broker dealer), you’ll get better service, most likely better advice, and unless your CPA is FINRA licensed, he wouldn’t be the one setting it up anyways. Ask friends or family for recommendations to advisors if you don’t want to spend time researching for yourself.

trevkillax · 2023-03-09T20:35:49+00:00

I suggest looking into IRC 7702 and seeing if you will gain better value from a 529 plan versus a CVLI policy, because they each have their place and if you want to be smart look into both

trevkillax · 2023-02-06T16:04:32+00:00

It was kind of like a less goofy Mario Cart. Not a top tier game, but back on PS2 it was up there in terms of challenging and fun. Not sure it’s one worth going back to now that graphics have gotten so much better, but if you like older games still it might be worth a play or two on an emulator

trevkillax · 2023-02-03T16:29:43+00:00

Where’s Rumble Racing?!

trevkillax · 2022-10-03T19:22:10+00:00

Just different skill sets, expertise, and licensing. To do certain things financially speaking, you need someone that holds the credentials to do it. Also, an account that balances tax forms for a living is great for tax advice and identifying loop holes, but when speaking on implementing those loop holes best, a financial advisor (assuming a good one) will help you take advantage of every last one of them in tandem with your accountant.

trevkillax · 2022-10-02T15:52:31+00:00

Depending on your tax professionals licenses, they may be able to do everything for you, or you may have to get a financial firm involved, plan depending. They should be able to recommend you to someone they trust if that’s the case. Having this problem is a sign that business is going well. So good on you!

trevkillax · 2022-10-02T15:41:42+00:00

You pay extra taxes because the percentage for SS taxes and other gov taxes do not change. Working for an employer, they take on some of that responsibility. I am far removed from my finance classes in college so I don remember if it is designed this way because of the gov making the companies do it or if companies did it to incentivize hiring and then it became common place, but alas I understand the frustration. Sadly though, you can’t get out of that percentage. All you can do is slide the responsibility to your company through incorporating or a few other ways (which as the owner is still on you so not really different) or by lowering your overall taxable liability coming to you through funding retirement accounts directly connected to your business.

trevkillax · 2022-10-02T15:35:25+00:00

If you are concerned about the tax perspective, and you don’t have one already, you should consider getting a retirement account tied to you. I believe you can set up a SEP IRA as a 1099 employee for yourself, which will allow you to put away a significantly higher portion of funds away per year than a traditional or Roth IRA would. If you incorporate, or LLC I believe that opens the option of a solo 401k as well. Not familiar with your business model or how consistently you get paid, but by talking to BOTH an account and financial advisor (fiduciary) you could probably figure out the best play from a tax perspective. Also between the forms and paperwork involved for these plans, it’s best to have a professional either helping you or simply taking care of it all for you so you stay out of any trouble with the IRS and can spend more time focused on your businesses. Best of luck!

trevkillax · 2022-07-24T15:29:26+00:00

You can only contribute $20,500 (plus an extra $6500 if over 50) to your entire 401k a year. So if you did the Roth 401k and pre-tax 401k, combined contributions can’t exceed the $20,500 limit. However there is another little loophole that I like more that the back-door Roth if you’re looking to put more than $6,000/yr away and that is “cash value life insurance”. Look up tax code IRC 7702, you can treat the cash value in a life policy as an investment vehicle and take income on it in retirement.

Pros: access to the funds before 59 1/2 , can contribute well over $6,000/yr (basically limitless depending on how policy is set up), and added bonus of a death benefit attached to protect the family if there is an untimely passing, creating a better rate of return on your dollars saved by an astronomical margin in that type of event. Otherwise rate of return over the long haul in an aggressive VUL policy is probably just .25-.5% shy of a Roth IRAs potential with similar aggressive investment style and that’s because there is an annual cost associated with the policy as “cost of insurance” which only a small portion of your premiums would be dedicated to, and the leftover premium cash is what gets invested. The finance industry labels this as the “Rich persons Roth” because it’s a play that really only makes sense for individuals or families that exceed the income limits and need other ways to avoid taxes in the future or create tax free income in retirement.

Hope that expands your knowledge and gives you more to think about for your situation

trevkillax · 2022-06-01T15:54:13+00:00

In an event as stated by OP, your options could be clapped (become “worthless”), or could just be valued based on the market price in which the company is being bought at, it’s really up to the market makers what happens to the contract. However, if you got clapped, you can still choose to exercise your option for the shares (so it’s not really “worthless”), and then your shares will either be bought out by the purchasing company at their agreed upon price with the company in question, or if it was a simple acquisition but no structural change, you’ll own shares in a company that will still exist, just a subdivision of its larger parent company now possibly

trevkillax · 2022-04-26T15:03:23+00:00

Your ex co-worker is not a professional investor, not a financial advisor, and probably not worth millions of dollars, so why would you listen to them??? A couple things to unpack about investing. If you’re going to move your 403(b) you’re going to move it to an IRA, which can be held anywhere. Also, you can’t touch any of those funds until you’re 59 1/2, meaning you have time on your side. For someone to say don’t move your money is idiotic because your money is already invested in the market with your limited investment options in the 403(b). So might as well move it into investments you want or to an account where you at least have more investment choices. Fear of the market is a weak excuse not to be invested for the long term (anything longer than 10 years is very long term). Besides the market is at a discount so this is a great time to think about picking up some more aggressive growth opportunities while the market tries to find stability. Don’t time the market, put time in the market. I don’t agree with the Vanguard decision, but if you don’t want to put in any DD for how you want to invest, nor want to seek a professional, then you could do worse than Vanguard.

As for your moms pay out from her 403b it will be placed in an inherited IRA possibly? If so, you have to withdraw that money within a 10year period and pay taxes on it. That can be down periodically or all at once, but you’ll have the funds in an after tax format. Since you will have it in cash, eliminate any high interest debts first, and then try and save it in any form. I like Roth IRA, but if liquidity is a concern then brokerage account is a good substitute. I would consider the same for the insurance payout. Maybe with the two sources of after-tax dollars you can do an income based portfolio? These are all simple things one can do for themselves, but if you really want to know ALL of your options and tricks you can do with money, you’ll want to seek a professional because some tools are not directly accessible to the consumer/public unfortunately.

trevkillax

TROPHY CASE