[beanmaestro]

Guys, guys, ease off on the gloating, and rearrange the priorities. I wake up smiling every morning because I’m snuggling with my lovely wife. I try to limit the “hey, this renting stuff is making me rich” to once or twice a month.

[beanmaestro]

Well, that’s better than the 50% or less I was expecting…

[beanmaestro]

Well, that’s better than the 50% or less I was expecting…

[beanmaestro]

Any thought on how much, or what LTV could be borrowed? Also, would this count as a deductible mortgage? If not, I suspect ye olde 401k loan may be a better bet.

[beanmaestro]

Any thought on how much, or what LTV could be borrowed? Also, would this count as a deductible mortgage? If not, I suspect ye olde 401k loan may be a better bet.

[beanmaestro]

Murf, SDR, you and me three with respect to the wives.

I have a little bit of leeway since we’re probably 2 years from baby #1, but she’s more and more interested in the open houses. What I’ve been doing is running a spreadsheet that calculates when we can quit work vs. when we buy, with adjustable stock increases and housing declines. When it’s posed as “if we wait till 2010 to buy, you get to work six fewer years,” she has a better idea of what she’s asking for.

[beanmaestro]

Murf, SDR, you and me three with respect to the wives.

I have a little bit of leeway since we’re probably 2 years from baby #1, but she’s more and more interested in the open houses. What I’ve been doing is running a spreadsheet that calculates when we can quit work vs. when we buy, with adjustable stock increases and housing declines. When it’s posed as “if we wait till 2010 to buy, you get to work six fewer years,” she has a better idea of what she’s asking for.

[beanmaestro]

Hmm… It seems like the first two items just about cancel each other out. Stocks are doing well in dollars, but a number of folks have shown Dow vs. Oil, Dow vs. Gold graphs that show the market is flat due to inflation. Now, if the market is flat in real value, do we need to worry about a four-year-old bull?

Also, if you sell US stocks, where do you put the money? The commodity & world markets have been returning well above-average since 2003 (is that bull aging?) Bonds & money market are getting neutered by inflation. That leaves european bonds, which isn’t a terrible hedge (anyone have a good euro bond fund?)

[beanmaestro]

Hmm… It seems like the first two items just about cancel each other out. Stocks are doing well in dollars, but a number of folks have shown Dow vs. Oil, Dow vs. Gold graphs that show the market is flat due to inflation. Now, if the market is flat in real value, do we need to worry about a four-year-old bull?

Also, if you sell US stocks, where do you put the money? The commodity & world markets have been returning well above-average since 2003 (is that bull aging?) Bonds & money market are getting neutered by inflation. That leaves european bonds, which isn’t a terrible hedge (anyone have a good euro bond fund?)

[beanmaestro]

Jennyo,

Sorry, I was too lazy to type it out.
Welfare tax= FICA + Medicare + CA Disability. The non-income taxes deducted from your paycheck…

[beanmaestro]

Jennyo,

Sorry, I was too lazy to type it out.
Welfare tax= FICA + Medicare + CA Disability. The non-income taxes deducted from your paycheck…

[beanmaestro]

I remember hearing at some point that you are legally allowed to receive unencrypted signals broadcast onto your property. Now, to actually use the internet, you have to uplink your queries, but I’m curious how receive-only works.

However, as to the ethics of it, donating $50 a month to charity rather than paying it to the cable company sounds like net-mitzvah to me, even if I’m a shareholder. Also, if following the Torah and Mishnah is one’s ethical priority, I doubt we’re going to find anything about not violating the California Penal Code. Besides, the Jews here are coming from an upbringing where we were *encouraged* to argue about the law and scripture.

On a completely different topic, I’m still surprised by your tax load. My wife and I have an AGI (after 401k, HCRA) around $110k, and last year paid $14k in federal taxes, $6k in state, $9k in welfare tax, with the standard deductions and no kids. That’s $29k out of $110k, about 26% (and only 21% of gross pay); I don’t find that to be terribly onerous (except for the war my taxes are funding). I know you pay double the welfare tax, but you should be writing off $20k-30k in business expenses, and paying a good bit less than us…

[beanmaestro]

I remember hearing at some point that you are legally allowed to receive unencrypted signals broadcast onto your property. Now, to actually use the internet, you have to uplink your queries, but I’m curious how receive-only works.

However, as to the ethics of it, donating $50 a month to charity rather than paying it to the cable company sounds like net-mitzvah to me, even if I’m a shareholder. Also, if following the Torah and Mishnah is one’s ethical priority, I doubt we’re going to find anything about not violating the California Penal Code. Besides, the Jews here are coming from an upbringing where we were *encouraged* to argue about the law and scripture.

On a completely different topic, I’m still surprised by your tax load. My wife and I have an AGI (after 401k, HCRA) around $110k, and last year paid $14k in federal taxes, $6k in state, $9k in welfare tax, with the standard deductions and no kids. That’s $29k out of $110k, about 26% (and only 21% of gross pay); I don’t find that to be terribly onerous (except for the war my taxes are funding). I know you pay double the welfare tax, but you should be writing off $20k-30k in business expenses, and paying a good bit less than us…

[beanmaestro]

A few thoughts:

Like everyone else says, the car expenses seem awfully high. I’m assuming those are business miles; in that case, you’re spending an awful lot of your life on your business and it feels like you should be able to write off more in taxes.

We’re taking the opposite approach to my and my wife’s student loans: paying them down as slowly as possible, writing off the interest, and saving what we would have paid. But this strikes me more as a matter of personal taste.

Also, folks, don’t assume that SDHousehunter is giving directly to his synagogue. Jewish charity (tzedakah) has historically emphasized giving to those in need, rather than giving to your religious hierarchy. My wife and I give our extras to Heifer, since their teach-a-man-to-fish approach seems to offer the most sustainable help.

[beanmaestro]

A few thoughts:

Like everyone else says, the car expenses seem awfully high. I’m assuming those are business miles; in that case, you’re spending an awful lot of your life on your business and it feels like you should be able to write off more in taxes.

We’re taking the opposite approach to my and my wife’s student loans: paying them down as slowly as possible, writing off the interest, and saving what we would have paid. But this strikes me more as a matter of personal taste.

Also, folks, don’t assume that SDHousehunter is giving directly to his synagogue. Jewish charity (tzedakah) has historically emphasized giving to those in need, rather than giving to your religious hierarchy. My wife and I give our extras to Heifer, since their teach-a-man-to-fish approach seems to offer the most sustainable help.

[Author]

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