What do you want to learn, financially?

[ohgillian]

Nothing is too basic! Tell us what you want to learn about.

Two that come to mind for me are:

1) Social security strategy for married couples. Apparently it's a whole thing, beyond just the idea that when you start taking social security affects how much you get. There are whole books I think? I am ... not ready to learn this yet but it's in the way back of my mind.

2) Short term investment vehicles offered by the US government like T bills. I don't have any idea about any of that stuff.

[flygirl]

All things Medicare, although it will probably change a lot by the time I get there

Market indicators and how to know when to be in certain investments vs others

And also social security is a good one but also worried this won’t be anywhere near the same when I retire.

[ohgillian]

Jan 27, 2024 19:11:51 GMT -5 flygirl said:

All things Medicare, although it will probably change a lot by the time I get there

Market indicators and how to know when to be in certain investments vs others

And also social security is a good one but also worried this won’t be anywhere near the same when I retire.

Yes, I'm definitely not going to bother learning anything until much closer to time....which is like 20 years from now.

[jwright]

I want to get better at real estate financial modeling. I have basic spreadsheets that I use, but I want to be able to underwrite a deal like a professional.

[Pom]

Well, the ACA has been new info this month. I am not convinced I chose the best plan for us, but I will track all that to make a better decision during next enrollment. We also need to meet with our accountant and perhaps a tax specialist to become better educated on w/d strategies to bridge the gap until we hit 59 1/2. Most of our money is in Roths, HSA and Rollovers, but luckily we should have enough in our brokerage and CU money market.

[fortnightlily]

I'd like to learn more about passive income streams and when to strategically put things in brokerage vs more restricted accounts like IRAs or 529s.

I'd also like to learn more about financing a business.

[mainelyfoolish]

Jan 27, 2024 23:15:13 GMT -5 Pom said:

Well, the ACA has been new info this month. I am not convinced I chose the best plan for us, but I will track all that to make a better decision during next enrollment. We also need to meet with our accountant and perhaps a tax specialist to become better educated on w/d strategies to bridge the gap until we hit 59 1/2. Most of our money is in Roths, HSA and Rollovers, but luckily we should have enough in our brokerage and CU money market.

There’s a way to take distributions from retirement accounts early without the 10% penalty called Substantially Equal Periodic Payments. Definitely find a tax/finance professional who is familiar with early retirees. 

[mainelyfoolish]

For the first time in forever, I have some “extra” money in savings and I’m somewhat at a loss as to what to do with it. We are on track with retirement savings, we have money saved to replace our vehicles (currently 14 and 12 model years old, planning to buy a new car this spring and have the 2010 Corolla available for the oldest kid to use), we have an emergency fund, we have money saved for a big vacation we’re taking this year, I am putting 50% of my income into the kids’ 529 plans. There are some house projects I think I would like to spend some money on. And then what? Invest? Keep it in the HYSA? Buy CDs or I-Bonds?

[mrsmayhem]

I'd like to learn more about tax-savvy decision making for early retirement and also estate planning down the line for our kids.

[chpmnk1015]

i wish we were more tax savvy as far as what of the kids money we should be putting in roth.. and what investments/stocks i should be buying. but really, i feel like i need to learn a lot in general

[sadlebred]

1. Investing within 401k/retirement vehicles. One is currently invested in a "moderate" model, and another is invested with the robo advisor we have available to us. We get a free consult with one of their (human) advisors twice/year to see if we are on track for retirement. I know more than the average person, but I still want to learn more. Any recommendations? Websites? Books?

2. Investing outside of a retirement vehicle. I'm just dipping my toe into this world with a teeny tiny bit of $.

[wildrice]

I really don't understand investments. Like an advantage of an IRA is that you can manage your investments yourself, but I have absolutely no clue how to actually do that. I'm sure there are websites or whatever that can guide but I find the whole system kind of overwhelming so I haven't spent the time on it. I am guessing if I took a stronger interest in this we could make more money than we are currently, though.

[holly116]

On my list/what I've been researching lately:

Whether we should do a backdoor ROTH or just funnel $$ into brokerage accounts. Maybe a mix of both?

How to donate to charities in the most tax advantageous ways -- like, donating brokerage gains instead of just writing a check. How exactly does that work and if it's a good strategy, at what level is it worth the hassle?

How to pay for medical expenses and NOT touch our HSA. We max it every year and then drain it. I know there are benefits to keeping that money for the future, should I just be paying for medical copays with regular cash?

[ohgillian]

Jan 30, 2024 11:32:58 GMT -5 holly116 said:

On my list/what I've been researching lately:

Whether we should do a backdoor ROTH or just funnel $$ into brokerage accounts. Maybe a mix of both?

How to donate to charities in the most tax advantageous ways -- like, donating brokerage gains instead of just writing a check. How exactly does that work and if it's a good strategy, at what level is it worth the hassle?

How to pay for medical expenses and NOT touch our HSA. We max it every year and then drain it. I know there are benefits to keeping that money for the future, should I just be paying for medical copays with regular cash?

Yes, if at all possible. Ideally, you would not use any of the HSA money until retirement.Because you are putting it in pretax and can take it out without taxes in retirement (conditions apply, etc.), so just mathematically you’ll come out better by using it as a retirement vehicle.

[fryjack2]

Jan 30, 2024 14:43:24 GMT -5 ohgillian said:

Jan 30, 2024 11:32:58 GMT -5 holly116 said:

On my list/what I've been researching lately:

Whether we should do a backdoor ROTH or just funnel $$ into brokerage accounts. Maybe a mix of both?

How to donate to charities in the most tax advantageous ways -- like, donating brokerage gains instead of just writing a check. How exactly does that work and if it's a good strategy, at what level is it worth the hassle?

How to pay for medical expenses and NOT touch our HSA. We max it every year and then drain it. I know there are benefits to keeping that money for the future, should I just be paying for medical copays with regular cash?

Yes, if at all possible. Ideally, you would not use any of the HSA money until retirement.Because you are putting it in pretax and can take it out without taxes in retirement (conditions apply, etc.), so just mathematically you’ll come out better by using it as a retirement vehicle.

I envy those who can do that with their HSA.  We can not.  Its use it or lose it every year type of set up at my organization:( 

[fryjack2]

Like mainelyfoolish, I want to invest outside of retirement accounts. I don't even know where to start because I don't know the difference between any of the acronyms people use. I tried to play around on Fidelity's site but still wasn't sure. My kids want to invest in stocks. How do I even do that? Lets say, $500 in Lego. Do I type in lego in my fidelity search bar and buy $500 of stock? Then what? Do I just buy random stocks here and there? No clue but googling to figure it out is on my goals for this year.


Investing in real estate seems to be the way many non tech people in a FAT FIRE group I am in seem to be make their fortunes. I guess that could be an option but owning one house is tine consuming as it is. I know there are ways around that like hiring someone to manage real estate, but seems like that would negate profits. At least for a few years.

[RockNVoll]

Jan 31, 2024 8:44:42 GMT -5 fryjack2 said:

Jan 30, 2024 14:43:24 GMT -5 ohgillian said:

Yes, if at all possible. Ideally, you would not use any of the HSA money until retirement.Because you are putting it in pretax and can take it out without taxes in retirement (conditions apply, etc.), so just mathematically you’ll come out better by using it as a retirement vehicle.

I envy those who can do that with their HSA.  We can not.  Its use it or lose it every year type of set up at my organization:( 

That's an FSA (Flexible Spending Account). An HSA (Health Savings Account) is different and only offered alongside high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) so they're not right for everyone. But if you don't typically have high medical expenses or can afford to cover them out of pocket, HSAs are a fantastic retirement savings vehicle because the money in them can be completely tax-free--pay no taxes going in, no taxes on investment gains, no taxes on withdrawals if they're being used for medical expenses broadly defined.

[sadlebred]

Jan 31, 2024 11:08:13 GMT -5 RockNVoll said:

Jan 31, 2024 8:44:42 GMT -5 fryjack2 said:

I envy those who can do that with their HSA.  We can not.  Its use it or lose it every year type of set up at my organization:( 

That's an FSA (Flexible Spending Account). An HSA (Health Savings Account) is different and only offered alongside high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) so they're not right for everyone. But if you don't typically have high medical expenses or can offered to cover them out of pocket, HSAs are a fantastic retirement savings vehicle because the money in them can be completely tax-free--pay no taxes going in, no taxes on investment gains, no taxes on withdrawals if they're being used for medical expenses broadly defined.

Correct FSA is usually offered with "traditional" PPO/POS/HMO insurance. It's use it or lose it. Use it by Dec. 31 or lose it. Depending on the company, there may be a grace period of up to 3 months in the new year to use any funds. FSAs are a great way to reduce a bit of your current tax burden since funds are pre-tax, but it's not an investment vehicle. FSAs also have a lower contribution max. It varies a bit with each company. The Federal max is $3200 for 2024. That's a one time number--not per person on the health plan. Just $3200 flat.

[arehopsveggies]

I need to figure out savings accounts. Mine has almost no interest. I need the money to be somewhat accessible but still do more for me.

I have never used credit cards, but should probably switch from using debit for all purchases to a rewards or cash back card

Both of those are such small goals it seems like…

[ohgillian]

Feb 4, 2024 10:00:43 GMT -5 arehopsveggies said:

I need to figure out savings accounts. Mine has almost no interest. I need the money to be somewhat accessible but still do more for me.

I have never used credit cards, but should probably switch from using debit for all purchases to a rewards or cash back card

Both of those are such small goals it seems like…

I (finally) opened a high yield savings account a few months ago and hadn't had one before, so I get it. I just couldn't deal with it before now. Let us know if you want recommendations about either of these goals.

[heygrey]

I want to figure out a credit card that will give us some travel benefits. (I'm in Canada, so only Canadian recommendations are useful.) There are several through the bank that holds our mortgage, but do I want to be locked to a specific airline and get more points, or have the option to shop several airlines, but get less points? Typically the first year CC fee is waived, so should I cancel that card each year and sign up for a new one? What happens to the points if I do that?

We typically fly once a year to visit family and it is $1500-2000. I just booked flights for March and spent $1550. There are cards that would give me 40,000 points in the first year with just our normal spending and that would cover a majority of those flights. We are very good about following our budget and not overspending, so I'm fine using a CC for everyday purchases. I feel like I'm leaving money on the table, but I also don't want to get into something and realize the fees outweigh the benefits.

[aspentosh]

This is a really interesting thread.

For so long we were in "pay off debt" mode, now we are at "build wealth" but it's a very basic approach- retirement, investment accounts, and then our primary home. I often wonder if we could be doing more? Like, we save in our investment account for retirement but also our next big home project (that's usually 2-4 years down the road)... is there a better way?! Is there a way to earn more passive income?

[aspentosh]

Feb 4, 2024 10:00:43 GMT -5 arehopsveggies said:

I need to figure out savings accounts. Mine has almost no interest. I need the money to be somewhat accessible but still do more for me.

I have never used credit cards, but should probably switch from using debit for all purchases to a rewards or cash back card

Both of those are such small goals it seems like…

Ally may be a good place to start. Their interest rate is really good and seems to keep going up. We used them waaaaaay back when but went back to them last year for the reason you mentioned above. 

[fortnightlily]

I'd also like to learn more about creating financial plans, modeling, and running different scenarios, i.e. could we retire early, what would happen if one of us was out of work for a period of time, etc.

[aprilsails]

Feb 4, 2024 16:27:53 GMT -5 heygrey said:

I want to figure out a credit card that will give us some travel benefits. (I'm in Canada, so only Canadian recommendations are useful.) There are several through the bank that holds our mortgage, but do I want to be locked to a specific airline and get more points, or have the option to shop several airlines, but get less points? Typically the first year CC fee is waived, so should I cancel that card each year and sign up for a new one? What happens to the points if I do that?

We typically fly once a year to visit family and it is $1500-2000. I just booked flights for March and spent $1550. There are cards that would give me 40,000 points in the first year with just our normal spending and that would cover a majority of those flights. We are very good about following our budget and not overspending, so I'm fine using a CC for everyday purchases. I feel like I'm leaving money on the table, but I also don't want to get into something and realize the fees outweigh the benefits.

I've used the TD travel rewards card for 12 years now. We bank with them so it makes the most sense. It used to be really great for booking through Expedia (10x points) but now it's not as high. The annual cost is $140 for a primary and spousal card, which is basically all we ever use. We rack up between $1500 and $2000 in points annually. You can book through Expedia (it has a direct account link so you can purchase with points) or you can book almost anything and then submit it through an easy form. Points can be used towards airfare, Airbnb's, restaurants, car services, experiences, etc.

[heygrey]

@ aprilsails, thank you! That card is top on my list because we can use the points at a variety of places. TD holds our mortgage and we have a chequing account there so adding a credit card isn’t a big deal. We do most of our banking through a local credit union and we have credit cards there, but the rewards really don’t amount to much.

If you don’t mind me asking, how much do you spend on average each month? We have $2500ish of regular spending a month and a handful of large expenses throughout the year, like flights. With the first year spending incentives, we would easily earn 40,000 points, but I’m wondering if we spend enough overall to earn a decent amount in subsequent years. Even if we could get $1,000 in points it’s better than the $0 we get right now.

[aprilsails]

@@@ heygrey Our monthly Visa spend is normally around $3500 the past few years. We do have some big expense months where we consistently exceed $7000 each year(December and January due to work travel, Christmas and summer camp bookings). I can see I have 240,000 pts right now and we last spent the account down in June for hotel bookings. I think we were at aero.

[heygrey]

Feb 5, 2024 22:27:03 GMT -5 aprilsails said:

@@@ heygrey Our monthly Visa spend is normally around $3500 the past few years. We do have some big expense months where we consistently exceed $7000 each year(December and January due to work travel, Christmas and summer camp bookings). I can see I have 240,000 pts right now and we last spent the account down in June for hotel bookings. I think we were at aero.

Thank you! We won't spend quite a much unless we have some major home repairs (always possible on a 30 year old house), but I looked at it again and we should earn enough to pay the annual fee and still get some travel perks. 

[mae0111]

mainelyfoolish, fryjack2, As far as investing goes, I can give you my $0.02 if you want. I've got a good amount of experience - not a financial planner or money manager...

I just typed out a novel, but it was pretty in the weeds so I deleted it. But yes, just open up a brokerage. Vanguard is a good, cheap option. Fidelity is good too. Deposit some money and start buying. If don't want to do individual stocks, ETFs are a really good, cheap option. Start with IVV or SPY or VOO - they're all the same for an account your size, just choose the cheapest option. (I say "your size" because when corporations and pensions start buying ETFs, other factors come into play - volume, spreads, etc.). ETFs are better than mutual funds from a tax perspective. Look for commission-free options - ETFs trade on the exchanges, so there are trading commissions in addition to the expense ratios. But most platforms have a lot of commission-free options.

You can also buy stocks in these accounts, but again, there will be commissions. So cheaper options are good. DH and I have had accounts at Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard, and E-Trade. Schwab was my least favorite. Fidelity was $$$, but their cash sweep vehicle was better (so if you have any extra cash in your account, you don't reinvest dividends, etc., you'll earn more on your cash with Fidelity than with Schwab - at least, we did at the time, a few years ago). I looked at stocks more as "fun" money - gambling a little, OK with losing it. But my ETFs were more like my savings.

I never touched the ETFs, and it's progressed nicely over the years. The stock portfolio was cashed in to buy our home.

I hope this helps, feel free to ask more questions if you want!

[brooke77]

Retirement.

Is there a way to calculate how much we will need? The retirement calculators are all based off our current incomes. Is there something more nuanced than X times your salary at AGE? My salary is 5 times higher than it was 10 years ago, which seems maybe not normal. I know we are behind, but is there a reliable way to determine how far behind?