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People still ask what other people make a month on NT?
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Thanks for the kind words fam! Feels good that the hard work is paying off.
My first rotation will be in NC with various locations in CA, MI, and PA (my home state)
It is a leadership engineering rotational program so they are grooming me to eventually be a manager/director. As long as I perform of course. I know that the hard work is still Ahead of me but I'm glad to be in a position where the opportunities are there for the taking.
My financial mindset is to max out my Roth IRA. My first big purchase will be a car but I want to pay that nearly in full. I'm not in any rush but I'd prefer not to have a car note
Wow starting off your career in that kind of program is GREAT. VERY jealous. I'm about 4 yrs into my career and managed to get into something similar just recently.
GE by any chance? That program turns out A LOT of future leaders. Good for you, man. Hopefully your employer will also sponsor advance degrees, as that combo could be killer!
Guys I need help. I make about 2000 a month working 2 part time jobs over the summer. However I'm trying to go back to school in August with about 5000. However lately I have been naturally tempted to splurge/spend my money on things such as clothes/sneakers,etc. Seeing all these releases go by me is killing me. Do you guys have any tips to keep me from spending frivolously?
Grow up
Just looking at it Roth IRA aren't deductible, only traditional IRAs are. ROTH IRA you put money in, and it's taxed immediately, so when you're making 100k when you're 60+ yrs/old you can take it out and be taxed at 0%. While a traditional IRA, you get the tax break immediately, the gov't says "Okay, this guys putting his money into an investment account, we're not going to count it against you". But when you take that money out, and you're making 100k, you'll be taxed at the 33% (hypothetical that depends on future income bracket/limits). Student loans just count the interest and it's fully deductible dollar for dollar under 65k, if you make 65k+-80k it is gradually phased out, and completely phased out over 80k+ income.Can anyone let me know if my tax calculations are correct (California)? It'll be my first time doing taxes for a full year salaried job in the US.
This is what I expect in 2016 (just going to use 2014 tax rates though):
$58,500 salary
$3,500 certification bonus
-$5,500 Roth IRA contribution
-$12,400 deduction (will get hitched in 2k16)
-$7900 exemptions
=$36,200 Federal Taxable income
$58,500 salary
$3,500 certification bonus
-$5,500 Roth IRA contribution
-$216 deduction
-$7984 exemption
=$48,300 California taxable income
=$4,069 federal tax (based on 2014 rates)
=$1,727 state tax (based on 2014 rates)
Take home = $49,798
Per month = $4,150
*Didn't include student loans, but wtv...too much effort.
*Also realized I didn't take into account Soc. Sec, Health Care, etc. FML.
Grow up
Fair enough.
I wish I could rep you a million times. Thanks for this man.
Just looking at it Roth IRA aren't deductible, only traditional IRAs are. ROTH IRA you put money in, and it's taxed immediately, so when you're making 100k when you're 60+ yrs/old you can take it out and be taxed at 0%. While a traditional IRA, you get the tax break immediately, the gov't says "Okay, this guys putting his money into an investment account, we're not going to count it against you". But when you take that money out, and you're making 100k, you'll be taxed at the 33% (hypothetical that depends on future income bracket/limits). Student loans just count the interest and it's fully deductible dollar for dollar under 65k, if you make 65k+-80k it is gradually phased out, and completely phased out over 80k+ income.
My big suggestion to everyone is to have your $ make $. Don't just have it sit in the bank account or in the safe, you'll lose to inflation. Inflation has been about 2-3% every year, meaning your $ isn't worth as much by 2% every year. Invest in something, anything that beats that. Stock Market if you invest in any of the index funds. Dividend paying stocks. You can pick a fund filled with Dividend aristocrats (Coca-cola, ATnT, electric companies etc.) which have been upping their dividend every year for more then 30 years. Dividends are a sum of money paid regularly (typically quarterly) by a company to its shareholders out of its profits, or you can have it reinvested in the dividend stock = compound interest.
Invest in your 401k to companies match, it's free $ provided by the company.
Real estate- Buying a house is an investment because you get equity, all the $ you put into your monthly payments you can take out at a later date. You can "cash out refinance" and get cash along with better loan terms after certain timeframes/amounts paid (and depending on interest rates). Find properties that pay for themselves and give you cash at the end of the day. There are areas where it is cheaper to buy a house, than it is to rent. If you don't want the hassle of being a landlord, hire a good property manager, and have them do it all (for about 10% of rents).
If you're not into finding the properties, and just have cash you want to invest in real estate, you can look into REITs, which are a type of stock that invests into real estate and pays dividends (often around 10%). The downside is since the dividend is so high, they are taxed at whatever your tax bracket is. So, if you're making 400k (Top income bracket, taxed at 39.6%-->~40%), and make 1000$ in dividends, they are taxed at that top income bracket thus you are making roughly 600$. (Note: This is the most extreme example, it is a very viable strategy to invest in REITs, especially if you have tax shelters or if they are in an IRA account, the dividends will be tax-deferred.)
If you want to get into real estate with lump sums of $, but not the REITs. You can look into turn-key real estate investments. The idea is that the investor buys a property and cash flows day 1 of purchase because the cost of the rental is > than cost of mortgage, thus creating a stream of income. The turnkey companies will find a property, "Flip it" (make repairs, renovations, etc.), then they rent it out and become your property manager (If you choose). How do they make money? They make money on the flip, the cost of the house is of the refurbished house, so they're charging you a premium to start off (They buy at wholesale, fix it up, charge you retail, then rent it out). Then they make money as the property managers.
I make 4k a month, "take-home". I thought I made a decent wage here in California, but it seems like the norm around here.
-250$ auto-deposits in Roth
-~300$ Auto-pay student loans
-30$ gym, 70$ car insurance auto-pay
-1000$ rent (looking to get me a condo)
-~700$ food/entertainment
Save ~1.5k
* posted:
Bernstein (author of Four Pillars) also wrote a short eBook "If You Can": http://www.etf.com/docs/IfYouCan.pdf If You Can is a great primer. It's written specifically for young investors.
For a little more technical stuff,
* posted:
Can we update the OP to include the Stock Series at jlcollinsnh? I feel like telling people "read a whole book" is not always the best way to start them off when they come in with basic questions. Parts I-VI of the Stock Series are especially good for someone who's just beginning their exploration.
How much should I be saving?
This depends totally on your individual goals, age, and risk tolerance. It stands to reason that if you are 22 years old and don't want to retire for 40 years, your needs are going to be different than the poor schmuck that is just starting to save for retirement at 50 years old.
That said, if you are young and fairly new in your career, which you most likely are if you are reading this forum, 10% of your pre-tax salary is an absolute baseline minimum amount that you should be saving. The more aggressively you save on top of that, the better off your long-term financial outlook will be.
Here is a decent calculator to help you run different savings scenarios.
I'm in my early 20s, why do I need to save for retirement?
Saving early in your career is extremely important for a few reasons:
1) It will never be easier to save money than when you are young. You are not married, you don't have kids, you probably don't own a house. If you can't save money now, when will you be able to??
2) Compounding interest is a wonderful thing when it works in your favor. Consider this scenario: Let's say there is a 25 year old kid that is making $50k per year. He starts contributing 10% of his salary to a 401k plan every year, until he retires at 65. Assuming that his salary remains equal to inflation, he will retire at 65 with about $2 million in savings, assuming an average 8% return.
Now let's say that same kid waited until, say, 35 years old. He would need to contribute 50% of his pre-tax income to end up with $2 million. YIKES! It is VITAL to invest when you are young, to avoid such a scenario!
The market is getting killed, shouldn't I wait it out for a while?
NO!! A bear market is the best possible thing for long-term investors! Consider this somewhat-famous Warren Buffet quote:
quote:
To refer to a personal taste of mine, I’m going to buy hamburgers the rest of my life. When hamburgers go down in price, we sing the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ in the Buffett household. When hamburgers go up in price, we weep. For most people, it’s the same with everything in life they will be buying — except stocks. When stocks go down and you can get more for your money, people don’t like them anymore.
Investing now means that, in essence, you are buying "on sale". This is a good thing.
Roth IRAs, 401(k)...I'm confused. Where do I start?
There are two basic types of savings accounts -- tax-advantaged, and taxable. Tax-advantaged savings are where you will most likely be doing the grand majority of your savings until later in your career.
There are 3 main types of tax-advantaged savings accounts -- Roth IRA, Traditional IRA, and 401(k) (or equivalent). I could explain all of these in detail, but the Motley Fool has already done a pretty good job right here. In general, most people would want to follow these rules:
1) Contribute to 401(k) up to employer match. Always get the free money!
2) Max out Roth IRA ($5,500 limit in 2015). You can skip this if your 401k options are good and you don't need the extra tax-advantaged space.
3) Max out 401(k) ($18,000 limit for 2015)
4) If you were able to finish Step 3, you will end up rich in all likelihood. Start a taxable savings account, or go out and blow some money at a strip club or something.
And if you've used up all your tax-advantaged space and still want to save more, read the Boglehead wiki page on tax-efficient fund placement!
I have all these different funds to choose from, where do I start?
This is where the fun begins. Vanguard's target retirement funds are a great place to start if you are a passive investor. That said, if you are investing in 401(k), there's a good chance that you will have very limited options. In general, all long-term investors should have some exposure of U.S. equities, international equity, and fixed income. The exact ratios again depend on your age, goals, and risk-tolerance. I am 25 years old and I try to keep to my plan of 45% intl equity/40% US equity/15% fixed income.
Another easy starting place is the so-called Lazy Portfolio - that page actually discusses several different strategies, any of which could be a good starting point (except maybe putting 25% of your portfolio in gold).
If you know what portfolio you want and are trying to make it fit into the ****** options of your work 401k, there are some suggestions in the lazy portfolio section of the Boglehead wiki. There is also a portfolio calculator tool over at Morningstar that you can use to compare your hacked-together portfolio with whatever index you are trying to approximate.
I have time to read an actual book - but which one?
Fundamentals
The Four Pillars of Investing
Amazon product ASIN 0071385290
Vanguard Investor Education Pages
https://personal.vanguard.com/us/pl...ation/education
Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes
Amazon product ASIN B00150D6KU
The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing
Amazon product ASIN 1118921283
Deeper Cuts
Intelligent Investor
Amazon product ASIN B0002X1JKU
Stocks for the Long Run
https://personal.vanguard.com/us/pl...ation/education
A Random Walk Down Wall Street
Amazon product ASIN 0393340740
The Intelligent Asset Allocator
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0071362363/?tag=niketalk0e-20
All About Asset Allocation
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0071700781/?tag=niketalk0e-20
Economic Interest
Devil Take the Hindmost
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0452281806/?tag=niketalk0e-20
Against the Gods
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0471295639/?tag=niketalk0e-20
A Splendid Exchange
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0871139790/?tag=niketalk0e-20
No, but for real. Stop caring about superficial things like that. Look at things on a grander scale. Be content with what you have now. Even though you don't get instant gratification when it comes to stacking your chips, have faith that the money you didn't spend this past weekend on the low breds will save yourself from hardship in the future.
Splurging gets the best of us sometimes, but splurging isn't splurging when you're throwing money away on a regular basis.
I am trying to decide what best case scenario would be for me when it comes to 401K , roth & traditional IRA contributions.
"Company matches 100% of employees’ contributions up to the first 3% of eligible compensation they save for the first five years. After five years, Company
matches an additional 1%, for a total contribution of 4%. You are immediately 100% vested in the company match."
I know that I have contributed $1347 and the company has contributed $577. Which seems to be much more than matching the first 3% , so I am confused as to the the max I should contribute to get the 100% match.
My plan is to contribute 3% (max for 100% match) into my 401k I can go traditional or roth. Not sure which one to go with here, I am thinking traditional because of the match.
Then to place an additional 7% into an outside Vanguard account also not sure if I should do roth or traditional here.
@Hennessy
thanks so just contributing 3% per paycheck is enough? Which is what I plan on doing next year.
I believe so. But what you're getting right now they haven't matched your contributions 100% and you are definitely under 3% salary. It's the same way for me too, though.
So I don't know if 3% every paycheck is enough since right now you're only matched 42%.
Gonna look into it more to try to understand better.
I guess take 3% of salary to get that magic number. Then look at the trend on your paystub as to what you have saved and how much they have matched, in this case 42%, to figure out how effectively hit that ceiling spread evenly across all your paychecks.