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Hi Landlady, congrats on recent success!!! ;D From where I sit, Seattle appears to be healthy from a jobs and housing perspective, doing much better than the national average. My big sis just recently moved out there (Greenwood area 1 mile west of Green Lake) so I've spent several weeks up...

Congrats on the sale calmloki. 1031 ex perhaps? From my experience, the realtors that I've dealt with recently are doing more to earn their keep. Less of the recreational part-timer types that were rampant during the bubble years.

You caught me. :coolsmiley: Per usual, we had $2 cigars, Bud Light, and split 3 Pizza Mia $5 pizzas and hot wings about 10 ways.... Haha Since the syntax police is out in full force today... the use of the word 'typical' is what a small group of guys (including myself) like to do when we get...

Perhaps I am guilty of fallacy of composition. But given the fact that this is the YD forum and that this downturn has affected young workers more than any other age group... well.. I just thought I'd vent a bit. :D The under 34 demographic is getting smashed in this recession, but there...

Its been pretty commonplace to call a bottom to the economy and recession the past few months and the pundits are telling us its slow/steady growth from here. :whistling: While I don't necessarily disagree with any of the analysis, its tough to ignore some of the personal stories from close...

Congrats on hitting that savings goal. (Fingers crossed) I'll cross over the 100K mark the first half of next year! ;D

Sounds good! :laugh: Thanks for the responses FB5825 and W2R, and for the record..outside of the loan requests my parents do always tell me that they are proud of me and usually gush about me to their friends (esp. if they have young single daughters lol) I didn't mean to hijack this thread...

Thanks for this MSR. Funny, I am called a miser by my parents and sister. The same parents which I've freely given over 10K the last few years and the same sister which was given 10K to finance her 'dream wedding' :coolsmiley: Yet they know I have XX dollars in the bank and it boggles...

Credit is tight, I'm hearing it from everyone these days... even my RE investment buddies. It ain't pretty but private lenders will loan for 8% or so and upwards from there. But any lender (ie. not loan shark) worth their salt will still run credit, job history and expect 6 months reserve even...

Interesting post, I'm 30 y/o as well with a 95th percentile job :coolsmiley: with ER somewhere on my horizon. My struggle is that I'm always thinking twice (okay maybe three or four times) before spending money and I just have a hard time spending in the now... thinking that it may be more...

29/yo not discouraged, yet. However if I get my #ss laid off from work things may change quickly :coolsmiley: I guess stocks can be considered 'cheap' (again this is a relative term) compared to inflated prices in 2007, but the same can be said about housing as well. Both fueled by easy and...

Conflicted, allow me to diverge from the masses. I'm also a 30 y/o with no debt, wife, kids, or major expenses outside of my stomach, liver, and monthly rent payment. I also like, okay almost love, to play poker in the local card rooms. Have been doing so for 3+ years. Some nights you're the...

I've found that enjoying a cold beverage should be a mandatory practice with no correlation to market movement. So drink up W2R, lest we have to wait for or until a market upswing!! :D

Another post from a friend... for those still interested Okay, another reply I got from my buddy Mike re: gold as an investment (and other random thoughts from the trading floor). No one seems very interested, but I'll post anyways just in case :coolsmiley:

CuppaJoe, I'm not exactly sure. I know he was a 'professional' student for 5+ years and I believe he finally graduated with a CS (computer science) degree from a State university. But this was 3 years ago, so perhaps he was laid off and is now looking again for work. I assume in Chicago or...

Thanks for the thought provoking replies everyone. Old guys rule :whistling:

I sent a quick text message to a buddy of mine yesterday whose a trader at the CBOT (Chicago Board of Trade), with roughly ten years of open outcry and electronic trading experience. I asked him whether we're going through a 'dead cat bounce' or if we're staging a prolonged rally and have seen...

VA, thank you for your honesty and I hope you decide to stick around. I was just having a convo with a co-worker the other day concerning Bank of America's financial status and the fact that her mom (a BofA employee) was 'all-in' for her retirement on BAC common stock. In fact, my co-worker...

Good points clifp, however I wouldn't get too hung up on 100K number. Depending on how your project inflation, we're looking at 45-50 grand in today's dollars and purchasing power. The State is technically bankrupt due to its budget needing to be balanced each and every year versus Federal...

Bimmer, are these 'GS' classifications for the Federal level? I'm not very familiar with this terminology.

How did they compute the additional service credit, based on your ending salary or a composite of 3 or 5 years service? Reason being, my DB pension computes as of payment at current salary level... so it behooves me to purchase years when I am vested (in about 3 years) versus waiting later into...

That's for clarifying Goonie and yes, the fact that Blago was nowhere near your pension that's most definitely a good thing!! I should have explained ARC buyback is additional retirement credit or the same as purchasing additional years of service. Looks like you did that at your DB pension...

Hey LB, I may come across like a worry-wart and potential organ-for-cash donor :D but I actually do work for a government job in California which has a DB pension plan. Since its a public office with many of its benefits written into law, its about as secure a pension as you can get these days...

Wow. Talk about the golden goose, does the State of Illinois still offer these generous DB plans? Let's see... ARC buyback, VAC, double-dipping into SS, no tax on pension payments/distributions? Did I just read this correctly? Is the pension plan above 80% funded considering its liabilities...

Biker, this sounds a bit like my government pension. It has a multiplier of 2, so basically 30 years of service nets you 60% ... though of your highest annual salary (instead of a 3-year or 5-year average). It likewise will not allow you to double dip into SS and has a CPI adjusted COLA that...