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Six Year Update from OP Hi forum friends, ER.org played huge part of my education during my 'waking up' period of personal finance and the concept of Financial Independence. Thanks to all the helpful folks who've answered and explained - both the direct answers and also indirect, as there is...

When looking at securities to hold in taxable accounts, this boglehead page can be helpful: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Tax-efficient_fund_placement

I really appreciate this perspective and sentiment. Like a lot, I feel the valuations just keep going sky high and have that fear of the cliff. Getting a strong reminder on holding the course and rebalancing is much appreciated by me, still in accumulation.

Just a thought, you may want to pay expenses out of both of your wages so some of your SO's wages can go into their 401k. That's one optimization I see you could make.

We're at $1M for $192/yr and in the next couple will look at increasing.

A software company in Redmond, WA, used to match 50% of my contributions - up to 6%, so effectively a 3% match. Recent generosity has changed this to a flat 50% match... only limited by the employee's contributions gated by the IRS. So 18k + 9k in matching. Don't yet know how they handle the...

Boo, I recommend The Bogleheads Guide to Investing. A good intro into the low cost index investing style.

Many years ago DW told me of this great idea she had: the windows of the house and car could be made "medicated" to match your glasses prescription; then you could look outside and see clearly without having to put on your glasses! I said that was a great idea, and they even could make a...

Hi hgm735, this is a starting page on the Bogleheads wiki that you may find useful: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Bogleheads%C2%AE_investment_philosophy "Bogleheads" is a reference to fans of Vanguard founder John Bogle's perspective on index investing. A good book to check-out is "The...

We also save for the kids' college using 529s. We live in a state without state income tax, so don't need to select any particular state 529 and are with the one offered through Vanguard. Once we have "enough" in each kid's 529, we would switch to a regular brokerage account for additional...

Insightful points from the people manager perspective. I'll add a 4th: for a manager or lead it can be handy to have someone to stack rank at the bottom or "not ready" come review/calibration time. OP, it sounds like management has you in a box for now.

Big MS fanboi here, and I can confirm the Microsoft store sells all manner of laptops that have the bloatware removed; it is called the "Signature" version. Al, wondering if the problem with the updates is compounded by the relatively small onboard storage of that Aspire One Cloudbook... it...

8.86% across all holdings in a 75/25 asset allocation that includes a healthy exposure to Intl.

PCGamer has custom build specs for several grades of expense linked off this page: Build guide: the best high-end gaming PC | PC Gamer In 2011 I treated myself to a ground-up custom gaming rig, assembled by me. Fun experience and still kicking, albeit with newer gen SSDs. I based my specs off...

I'd suggest prioritizing the 401k after-tax contributions intended to rollover to a Roth account (aka a "mega backdoor Roth IRA" or Roth 401k, depending on what your plan allows) because that route can usually only be done via payroll withholding. Next the after-tax non-deductible Traditional...

I suggest software engineering. Good money and a lot of demand. Definitely a "have gun, will travel," type profession. There even was a time when you could break in with an incomplete degree and make a career of it... :angel:

Certainly a lot of truth to this. Some 401ks have rare or low-cost funds not normally available in IRAs. OP also stated the IRA is a Roth so in this case the two accounts have different tax characteristics. The qualified Roth withdraws are tax free (post-59.5), which could be used together with...

DW and I hit 900k investments net worth today :)

It is true that each investment company has its own secret sauce that informs their target date fund allocations. However, comparing Vanguard and Fidelity's 2025 funds I see they are pretty similar: Vanguard's 2025 (VTTVX): 65.85% stocks, 34.15% bonds/short-term Fidelity Freedom 2025 (FFEDX)...

Leveraging the 401k plan's after-tax non-Roth bucket is a good way to setup what's is sometimes referred to as a "mega backdoor Roth IRA." Ideally the company plan also allows for in-service distributions of this bucket so it can be rollover converted to Roth IRA frequently and not have to wait...

Cargo shorts are quite in-fashion for men's summer/warm casual wear. I'm even wearing a pair right now! That said, they are not something I'd wear if I wanted to dress up or for w*rk - though I do see a lot of younger software engineers wearing them at work in the summer.

Used to be in a ground floor bedroom browning up as a teen in the Pac NW. Used to sneak out a LOT and roam the suburban streets at night with my friends. My poor kids these days can't do that b/c we have every window alarmed... they can't get a bicycle paper route, either. The times they keep...

I also had some bond fund choices to make in my Fido 401k when I was "jailbreaking" it from the default fund choices. Went with FSITX (Fido US Bond Idx) since it was a Fido account, it didn't look like I'd qualify for the Vanguard Admiralty perks of fund discounted expense ratios. The Vang ETF...

OP: I should add that, if you do look at switching companies, be sure to weigh the overall compensation package. Last year I took a very close look at a certain South American river company and found their package to be very lacking when factoring in 401k & HSA match and vacation / sick time...

I really enjoyed Love, which Netflix has the first season of. A quirky gen-x love story with occasional bong rips - really hit home ;)