"100% of people who do not save money do not have any!"--Dave Ramsey

[JSH]

Originally Posted by Xist

Interesting.

What would you do with an uneven floor?

The subfloor needs be flat within 3/16 of an inch to do a floating or glued down floor. To fix a wooden subfloor that is too wavy you can rent a big orbital sander to sand down the high spots and smooth it out or you can use a leveling epoxy to fill the low spots.

[Xist]

The leveling epoxy sounds easier!

You strap special cleats over your flip-flops?

It looks like bamboo wouldn't be any good for the shed, but supposedly vinyl plank can handle freezing temperatures.

[Xist]

You buy a box of envelopes, write numbers on them, which doesn't even make sense.

Why not buy flashcards, flashpieces of slightly-thick paper the size of flashcards, or nonsticky notes?

Anyway, you mix up the envelopes, grab one each week, and then put that quantity of cash under your mattress or something.

In less than a year (with the 50-envelope system), you would transfer $1,275 from your savings to your furniture!

They indicated this could be life changing and mentioned some mundane ways to spend a little over a thousand dollars.

Part of a car repair?

A small fraction of a medical procedure?

Well, Bask Bank now offers 4.07% on my savings account, but I don't have any money there. Navy Federal still pays me 0.25% and I have over $4,000 there.

Bank of America still pays me 0.01% and I have over $10,000 there.

I finally got Mom to call her attorney and leave a message saying she wants to leave the house to me in her will, although I reminded her that I couldn't afford to pay the tax, and I wouldn't need to if she added my name to the title.

I told her that I would give her my accident money for her to put towards her mortgage.

Most of Vanguard's funds have lost money for a while, so I don't know how likely I could match this return elsewhere.

[nemo]

Originally Posted by Xist

I finally got Mom to call her attorney and leave a message saying she wants to leave the house to me in her will, although I reminded her that I couldn't afford to pay the tax, and I wouldn't need to if she added my name to the title.

See if TOD (Transfer on Death) or "Lady Bird" Deed is available in your state. Also check advantages and disadvantages.

[Piotrsko]

Avoid probate or that's the information I got from the county administrator that supervised probate.

[Xist]

According to some site I am not using, we need an Affidavit of Survivorship, but they charge $30 for one, although Rocket Lawyer will help you do one for free: https://www.rocketlawyer.com/family-...f-survivorship

Free Transfer on Death Deed: https://www.rocketlawyer.com/real-es...-on-death-deed

[Piotrsko]

You need a current will. Particularily notarized and filed with whatever county agency that does that, but filing isn't absolutely required in most jurisdictions. Everything else is window dressing and lawyer fee inducing.

Transfer might be free some places. Most however add taxes. 50-50 on adding your name to title. Yes you get title, but also any fiscal responsibility for unpaid fees, taxes and lawsuits.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by Xist

They indicated this could be life changing and mentioned some mundane ways to spend a little over a thousand dollars.

Having an emergency fund - even only $1,000 is life changing. It allows people to break out the the cycle of debt where they have to put any unforeseen expense on a credit card or get a payday loan - both at huge interest rates that make it hard to break the cycle of debt.

Originally Posted by Xist

Well, Bask Bank now offers 4.07% on my savings account, but I don't have any money there. Navy Federal still pays me 0.25% and I have over $4,000 there.

Bank of America still pays me 0.01% and I have over $10,000 there.

So why don't you move your money?

Originally Posted by Xist

I finally got Mom to call her attorney and leave a message saying she wants to leave the house to me in her will, although I reminded her that I couldn't afford to pay the tax, and I wouldn't need to if she added my name to the title.

Can't pay the annual property taxes or can't pay an estate tax? I really doubt your mother has an estate large enough to pay any federal estate taxes. Inheriting a house is different than buying the house from your mother.

You don't want to get you name put on the title now. As Piotrsko said – you get liability along with that but there is another reason. Taxes on a house are based on the difference between the purchase price and selling price – the gain. When you inherit a house the base starts at the date you inherit the house and you are only pay taxes on the gain from that date to the date the house sell. If your name gets put on the house tomorrow that is also when the new base value starts. You could end up owing taxes on years of decades of gains if you every sell the house down the road.

Originally Posted by Xist

I told her that I would give her my accident money for her to put towards her mortgage.

This house still has a mortgage? That brings with it a lot of questions and I’ll be direct. If your mom died tomorrow can you afford to pay the mortgage, taxes, utilities etc on your own? It doesn’t do you much good to inherit a house if you can’t afford to keep. You mother might need life insurance to pay off the mortgage or you need a plan ASAP of how you are going to get your income to a level that you can support your brother and yourself on your own.

Originally Posted by Xist

Most of Vanguard's funds have lost money for a while, so I don't know how likely I could match this return elsewhere.

The best time to buy is when the market is down. Remember when market lost 50% in the 2008 / 2009 recession? It is worth more than double the prerecession peak today even with the losses over the last year. However, stocks are for long term investing - not money you will need in a short period of time. Saving or investing?

[redpoint5]

I don't fully practice what I preach, but putting money into "savings" isn't how you get rich; it's how the banks get rich.

The checking account should have a few grand in it; enough to cover the monthly credit card bill, which you're purchasing everything on to get the 2% cash back, plus a grand or so extra as an emergency/buffer.

4% interest on $5k is $200 a year, or about 50 cents a day. Not life altering.

Invest the rest in index funds which over time will outperform any savings account, except...

Here's the order of operations;

0. Establish an emergency fund to your satisfaction
1. Contribute to your 401k (traditional or Roth - see "Why #4" below) up to any company match
2. Pay off any debts with interest rates ~5% or more above the current 10-year Treasury note yield.
3. Max Health Savings Account (HSA) if eligible.
4. Max Traditional IRA or Roth (or backdoor Roth) based on income level
5. Max 401k (if
- 401k fees are lower than available in an IRA, or
- you need the 401k deduction to be eligible for (and desire) a tIRA deduction, or
- you earn too much for an IRA deduction and prefer traditional to Roth, then
swap #4 and #5)
6. Fund a mega backdoor Roth if applicable.
7. Pay off any debts with interest rates ~3% or more above the current 10-year Treasury note yield.
8. Invest in a taxable account and/or fund a 529 with any extra.

Here's the thread on this. There's really not much point in listening to other "experts" talk on this subject because they are either giving a long-winded way to say the same thing, or they're wrong.

https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/in...53/#msg1333153

[freebeard]

Here's the order of operations;

Would that you had sat me down and given that lecture when I started my nine-year run at Symantec.