VTSAX and Chill 😎

I’m 20% ex-US and a huge Vanguard fan but I have a hard time going with their recommendation of 40% ex-US

No, VTSAX is all US stock market. Target date funds are that plus some intl stock, plus US and intl bonds. All with varying equity / bond allocations dependent on the year it’s targeting

There is no compounding on a T-bill.

You have to get more refined. Use days, not months. Include cents and fractions of a cent. You didn’t buy at $99.65, it’s like $99.65113 (or whatever, I didn’t look yours up for the exact)

See top of page 2 here:

https://www.treasurydirect.gov/instit/annceresult/press/preanre/2004/ofcalc6decbill.pdf

>and my sibling would be completely on the hook

That’s not how co-signing works. You both are 100% responsible for it. Meaning if sibling loses job or just doesn’t pay they come after you.

If you had $20k in a savings account making 4.76% after 4 months it would be the same thing.

T-Bills are a solid asset for part of your bond allocation in your overall portfolio. Guaranteed to make the rate that you bought them at

>it has been super disheartening to have to reevaluate my options now that I am getting married

What exactly is so disheartening? You only mentioned a Roth IRA, of which you can still be contributing to via the Backdoor method. But honestly if all you were doing was Roth IRA you probably weren’t doing enough anyway.

Do you have a brokerage account?

>phased out of eligibility for Roth IRA.

Look up “Backdoor Roth IRA”. Totally legit, it just involves a couple extra steps.

>I hear absolute horror stories about 403b plans

Some are fine. My Wife’s is through Fidelity and is super low cost. All depends on the employer and how much they want to spend to make sure their employees have a quality plan. The predatory ones are the employers who don’t want to spend anything

>I’d switch to the HSA plan if offered so you don’t lose money.

You can’t switch to an HSA unless you have an HDHP. Most likely OPs insurance doesn’t qualify and thus why they offer the FSA

I would assume this is possible since it would be a conventional loan we are talking about.

But “Pulling out equity” is lending industry marketing bullshit for a loan that lets you borrow against potential value. It’s a loan, don’t lose sight of that.

The only way to truly “pull out equity” is to sell

You didn’t pay $5k. You bought it at a discount. T-bills are “zero coupon” meaning they don’t pay an interest payment, instead you buy them for less than face value and get paid face value. The difference between the two numbers equates to the yield you should get.

Edit : so I have a 4mo, it’s face is $20k. I paid $19,694. The price was $98.4712 so the effective yield is 4.76%.

No, you buy one bond of X dollar value. If you want to add some you buy another bond.

Credit Unions differ from other banks in that they are owned by the shareholders (account holders, aka you if you are a member). They don’t report to a corporate overlord that demands a quarterly dividend and good stock performance. So most of the time their costs are low. My experience with big normal banks and CUs is that I get better service at a CU and their loan rates are usually less.

Not all CUs are awesome, but in general they are good.

Never get rid of the paperwork when buying a car. They don’t have to provide you copies after the fact so you are at their mercy to actually provide it.

u/henrykringle6000 is saying your $4k probably covered the taxes owed. So the financed amount most likely is what the asking price was.

>$5,000 of my negative equity

Just save that $5k for future transmission. The CVT is really the only problem on these.

>and roll it onto another loan for a new vehicle.

Since you will be underwater on the next one the minute you drive it off the lot this just digs the negative equity hole deeper on that one

Investing is the long game. Put it in and leave it alone. Keep adding to it. Ignore the current market as that is irrelevant in terms of multi decade investing. That’s how you build wealth.

Depending on the state you may have to take that letter to the DMV to get a “clear tjtle” (one without a lien listed on it)

So for like a 13-wk (3 month) bill this Thursday the next batch of bills will become available for auction that closes the following Monday.

Schedule is located here:

https://treasurydirect.gov/auctions/upcoming/

They don’t show up on Fidelity until the auction opens. Note you don’t have to bid, just enter how much you want in “face value”, then after the auction close you find out the exact cost (and thus the actual yield)

Call your insurance back and ask them for advice or if they know what that means (I’ve never heard of it so can’t speak to it). Your insurance can help in this situation.

Cash Corolla for $8k.

Trucks are stupid expensive currently, even old high miles ones.

Argh, forgot to add this to my last reply

Recipients of funds from a trust:

https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/101915/do-beneficiaries-trust-pay-taxes.asp

You’d pay the income tax on gains of assets in the trust but not money that is principal.

Since this is a hugely mis-understood subject that seems to come up multiple times a week:

Gifter: They don’t pay any tax until they exceed $12.06M in their lifetime. They have to report gifts over $16k in a given tax year but it’s not taxed.

Receiver: Never pays gift or income tax on gifts. Doesn’t matter how large the gift is.

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/estates/the-gift-tax-made-simple/amp/L5tGWVC8N

>Ive also kept a detialed list, more detailed than any previous reporting year of all of my work-related expenses (clothing and gloves for the first job. Gas and mileage for one of my current jobs).

None of this is deductible from your W2 income. If you have expenses related to your contract work you can deduct those from that income. Don’t claim expenses for W2 work as deductions from your 1099 work.

You will get a 1099 for this work. You’ll owe self employment tax plus income tax. SE tax is 15.3%. Income tax is dependent on your other income and situation. Don’t forget state tax if you live in a state that has income tax.

>what kind of percentages, rates, etc. can I use to maybe see what I can expect?

None of us can say as we know nothing about your tax situation.