So, my application at work is going away

[GrandSportC3]

Originally Posted by Mick

I have called many financial things "nonsense" in my life. I think this is the first time I would call something "negative sense". Everyone here is now dumber if they have read this.

How would you suggest paying for my daughters college? Loan? Sell income producing assets? Not going to pay interest or sell something that produces income. The 401k is the logical choice.
I also need cash in case of any unexpected expenses. If she is in college, I believe I can't make over $79k AGI or pay $6000 more in tuition. Let's say I need $20k in emergency money. If I have the money in my checking or savings account, it is not income in those years if I cashed it out before my daughters college years . Goal is to retire debt free with $100k to $200k in the bank. Assets are not income. Again, I won't be able to take out anything or my income will be over $80k and I'll have to pay more for tuition. After standard detuction, I can make almost $8000 net rental income per month and still stay under an AGI of $80k. Can't possibly be over, so, I can't sell any assets as that would create income and I'll go over. Won't pay interest on a loan. Logical choice as source of the college money is the 401k

[ZipZap]

Originally Posted by Yadkin

States make their own statues defining what an engineer is. In my state, you have to be licensed to call yourself an engineer, with few exceptions. I know that Commifornia has the terms that you used. I've had my NY license on hold for 20 years so am not informed as to their rules.

Lots of good statues where freedom still exists..

If you're talking PE vs non-PE, the only reason to go after that was to work for the power companies and other state entities. I did the EIT and just blew off the PE exam. They don't require a PE to design space stuff.

[Mick]

Originally Posted by GrandSportC3

How would you suggest paying for my daughters college? Loan? Sell income producing assets? Not going to pay interest or sell something that produces income. The 401k is the logical choice.
I also need cash in case of any unexpected expenses. If she is in college, I believe I can't make over $79k AGI or pay $6000 more in tuition. Let's say I need $20k in emergency money. If I have the money in my checking or savings account, it is not income in those years if I cashed it out before my daughters college years . Goal is to retire debt free with $100k to $200k in the bank. Assets are not income. Again, I won't be able to take out anything or my income will be over $80k and I'll have to pay more for tuition. After standard detuction, I can make almost $8000 net rental income per month and still stay under an AGI of $80k. Can't possibly be over, so, I can't sell any assets as that would create income and I'll go over. Won't pay interest on a loan. Logical choice as source of the college money is the 401k

Again, more "negative sense" ramblings of someone who clearly doesn't understand the basics of personal finance and investing.

Why anyone would want to retire "debt free with $100k to $200k in the bank." and presumably ZERO funds in tax deferred retirement accounts completely escapes me.

BTW, thanks for this little nugget of wisdom: "Assets are not income."

Not sure where a belief like this even might have come from: "If she is in college, I believe I can't make over $79k AGI or pay $6000 more in tuition." I put 2 kids through college myself, and NEVER faced anything even remotely close to this bullshit.

At this point, I don't think I have any more to say. You do you. But don't be surprised when folks like me laugh their asses off when you tell them to "learn to let my money work for me".

[GrandSportC3]

Originally Posted by Mick

Again, more "negative sense" ramblings of someone who clearly doesn't understand the basics of personal finance and investing.

Why anyone would want to retire "debt free with $100k to $200k in the bank." and presumably ZERO funds in tax deferred retirement accounts completely escapes me.

BTW, thanks for this little nugget of wisdom: "Assets are not income."

Not sure where a belief like this even might have come from: "If she is in college, I believe I can't make over $79k AGI or pay $6000 more in tuition." I put 2 kids through college myself, and NEVER faced anything even remotely close to this bullshit.

At this point, I don't think I have any more to say. You do you. But don't be surprised when folks like me laugh their asses off when you tell them to "learn to let my money work for me".

So, you want to take your 401k to the grave? $8k per month isn't a bad retirement income ($9800 once I start collecting Social Security at age 62), much more than most. It's always good to have an emergency fund. What good is an emergency fund if taking from it can cost you $6k per year? I rather take the 1 time tax hit to cash it out before my filing situation changes. I don't pay a lot of income tax because I have a wife and 2 kids. Once they turn 19, my tax burden will increase significantly and taking out the 401k once one of them or both turn 19 will cost me a lot more in income taxes. I mean, if you like to pay more taxes, it's up to you but I want to tax it at the lowest rate possible. Again, I'm not planning on taking my 401k to the grave. Paying a total of $40k to $50k in tuition in cash is a lot better than a loan at 10% interest. in Florida we have something called IN STATE TUITION which is a discounted rate for students living in the state and how much discount you get depends on household income and $79k is the limit before tuition goes up $6k at the universities in the area. Just checked.. it's actually $75k.. I will do anything legally possible to keep my income under that threshold during her time in college so that I won't have to pay the higher rate.
University of South Florida: $10,184 if income under $75k
$15,279 if income over $75k

https://tamingthehighcostofcollege.c...ges-by-income/

[Steve_R]

.

[Yadkin]

Originally Posted by ZipZap

Lots of good statues where freedom still exists..

If you're talking PE vs non-PE, the only reason to go after that was to work for the power companies and other state entities. I did the EIT and just blew off the PE exam. They don't require a PE to design space stuff.

No, but it would help with promotions.

[Tikiman]

Originally Posted by ZipZap

Lots of good statues where freedom still exists..

If you're talking PE vs non-PE, the only reason to go after that was to work for the power companies and other state entities. I did the EIT and just blew off the PE exam. They don't require a PE to design space stuff.

I considered it back in my late twenties, but it would have done nothing for my career, considering the type of work I was doing. In fact, at no time in my professional career would it have been of any use whatsoever. Doesn't mean that I do not recognize the benefits to someone like a Civil engineer or a Structural engineer.

[Mick]

Originally Posted by GrandSportC3

So, you want to take your 401k to the grave? $8k per month isn't a bad retirement income ($9800 once I start collecting Social Security at age 62), much more than most. It's always good to have an emergency fund. What good is an emergency fund if taking from it can cost you $6k per year? I rather take the 1 time tax hit to cash it out before my filing situation changes. I don't pay a lot of income tax because I have a wife and 2 kids. Once they turn 19, my tax burden will increase significantly and taking out the 401k once one of them or both turn 19 will cost me a lot more in income taxes. I mean, if you like to pay more taxes, it's up to you but I want to tax it at the lowest rate possible. Again, I'm not planning on taking my 401k to the grave. Paying a total of $40k to $50k in tuition in cash is a lot better than a loan at 10% interest. in Florida we have something called IN STATE TUITION which is a discounted rate for students living in the state and how much discount you get depends on household income and $79k is the limit before tuition goes up $6k at the universities in the area. Just checked.. it's actually $75k.. I will do anything legally possible to keep my income under that threshold during her time in college so that I won't have to pay the higher rate.
University of South Florida: $10,184 if income under $75k
$15,279 if income over $75k

https://tamingthehighcostofcollege.c...ges-by-income/

Again, hard to know where to grab a hold of this pile of entangled snakes. But I'll make a few comments:

1. No, I don't want to take my 401K savings to the grave. Instead, I will do what is financially advantageous to me. Like most people who retire early, I have significant savings in taxable accounts. Most of these savings are in the form of capital gains in stocks that pay good dividends. When I need cash in my checking account, first I sweep the dividends from the taxable accounts, which are taxed at capital gains rates, which for some of my income, is 0%. I'm never going to pay less than 0% tax, so that is the BEST source of income for me. It pays the lowest tax rate, AND keeps my tax deferment going on IRA savings. At some point, it is likely that the dividends alone will be unable to sustain my wife and I in the manner we desire, and then I will start selling the stocks with the highest percentage of capital gain, to maintain my lowest available effective tax rate. I could go on, but I'm sure I'm shouting into the abyss.

None of the above is rocket science. It is the very basics of investment management, which should ALWAYS include taking advantage of low available tax rates.

2. I have put 2 kids through college, so I fully understand the concept of in state tuition. Your assumption that everyone else is stupid, and doesn't know basic financial concepts would be annoying, but your rabid adherence to completely incorrect theories makes it funny when you attempt to be condescending to others.

3. You clearly don't understand the concept of a "tax deferment". Maybe you should look that up.

Hope this helps.

[RedLS1GTO]

Originally Posted by Tikiman

I considered it back in my late twenties, but it would have done nothing for my career, considering the type of work I was doing. In fact, at no time in my professional career would it have been of any use whatsoever. Doesn't mean that I do not recognize the benefits to someone like a Civil engineer or a Structural engineer.

Exactly.

An overwhelming percentage of the engineering world doesn't give a single shit about the PE license.

It doesn't help anything whatsoever outside of a very limited number of engineering fields, almost entirely in the civil/construction realm.

[Tikiman]

Originally Posted by RedLS1GTO

Exactly.

An overwhelming percentage of the engineering world doesn't give a single shit about the PE license.

It doesn't help anything whatsoever outside of a very limited number of engineering fields, almost entirely in the civil/construction realm.

Precisely. I know a lot of double E's and the majority of those coming out of college with a brand new EE degree get sucked into IT and end up doing nothing related to what they learned in college. Very often, the degree is just a gateway. I was extremely fortunate to have been able to practice my discipline for as long as I did. In the end, however, I too got sucked into the IT maw just before Y2K ramped up. Ended up finishing my career looking a beckons and feckonds, and assigning IP addresses, DLCIs, and VPI/VCIs. Routers, switches, and Cylink encryptors. Using Concorde E-Health to look at networks and troubleshoot problems. It was different and I enjoyed the change, but my first love will always be Mechanical engineering.

[LATB]

Originally Posted by GrandSportC3

How would you suggest paying for my daughter’s college? Loan? Sell income producing assets? Not going to pay interest or sell something that produces income. The 401k is the logical choice.

How about your daughter get a job and pay for her own education. Maybe subordinated with any scholarship or assistance that may be available.

Using your 401K is a terrible choice. Especially since only about half of college students graduate with a degree. And, most with a degree end up with employment/career that doesn’t require a degree and certainly not the degree they paid for.

[Mick]

Originally Posted by Tikiman

I considered it back in my late twenties, but it would have done nothing for my career, considering the type of work I was doing. In fact, at no time in my professional career would it have been of any use whatsoever. Doesn't mean that I do not recognize the benefits to someone like a Civil engineer or a Structural engineer.

Me as well. In my late 20s, I had all the requirements to get a license except passing the test. I thought about it, but decided against. Some years later, I went back to grad school and went into finance, never having the need to do anything the PE license would have been necessary to do.

[GrandSportC3]

Originally Posted by Mick

Again, hard to know where to grab a hold of this pile of entangled snakes. But I'll make a few comments:

1. No, I don't want to take my 401K savings to the grave. Instead, I will do what is financially advantageous to me. Like most people who retire early, I have significant savings in taxable accounts. Most of these savings are in the form of capital gains in stocks that pay good dividends. When I need cash in my checking account, first I sweep the dividends from the taxable accounts, which are taxed at capital gains rates, which for some of my income, is 0%. I'm never going to pay less than 0% tax, so that is the BEST source of income for me. It pays the lowest tax rate, AND keeps my tax deferment going on IRA savings. At some point, it is likely that the dividends alone will be unable to sustain my wife and I in the manner we desire, and then I will start selling the stocks with the highest percentage of capital gain, to maintain my lowest available effective tax rate. I could go on, but I'm sure I'm shouting into the abyss.

None of the above is rocket science. It is the very basics of investment management, which should ALWAYS include taking advantage of low available tax rates.

2. I have put 2 kids through college, so I fully understand the concept of in state tuition. Your assumption that everyone else is stupid, and doesn't know basic financial concepts would be annoying, but your rabid adherence to completely incorrect theories makes it funny when you attempt to be condescending to others.

3. You clearly don't understand the concept of a "tax deferment". Maybe you should look that up.

Hope this helps.

Your situation is different. My money is in Income producing Real Estate. As I still have debt, I don't have savings as that would be counter-productive. Getting 4% interest on savings, yet, paying 8.5% on the HELOC is not a good idea, so I pay whatever I can to pay this off. So, when I retire, my only savings are in my 401k as well as my Severance package if I get laid off.
I will be debt free in 3 to 4 years and at this point, I'm planning on stopping to work. I'm pretty sure that I WILL be laid off in the next 4 years as the remaining applications are also scheduled for decommission in the next 4 years, so, it's just a matter of time . In the IDEAL scenario, I will get laid off in like 3 years or 4 years and I will be debt free that that point. My son turns 19 in 5 years and my taxes will go up after I can no longer claim him as a dependent, meaning that my tax rate will necessarily increase if I'll cash out after that happens. 2.5 years later, my daughter will be 19 and my tax situation will get even worse. So, taking out the 401k in the year AFTER getting laid off is the best possible scenario. I may only take like $100k from the 401k and leave the rest in there. I just want to have a cash emergency fund of at least $200k to $300k. If I take $100k out of my 401k, I estimate that the tax rate I will have to pay on it will be LESS than 15% if my wife is not working and kids are still dependents. Once the kids are no longer dependents, I'll have to pay a lot more in taxes if I'll cash out the 401k

[GrandSportC3]

Originally Posted by LATB

How about your daughter get a job and pay for her own education. Maybe subordinated with any scholarship or assistance that may be available.

Using your 401K is a terrible choice. Especially since only about half of college students graduate with a degree. And, most with a degree end up with employment/career that doesn’t require a degree and certainly not the degree they paid for.

So, you think that she can work a job that pays sufficient to pay for her college and successfully study at the same time?? I rather have her focused on studying than working a job.

[LATB]

Originally Posted by GrandSportC3

So, you think that she can work a job that pays sufficient to pay for her college and successfully study at the same time?? I rather have her focused on studying than working a job.

She should already be working. And yes many people work and attend school.
As I posted you should be researching any potential scholarships or other assistance available.

I rather have her focused on studying than working a job.

This ^^^ is pure parent enabling.
Not saying that you shouldn’t participate financially, but a total free ride teaches her nothing about the value of the dollar. Or the value of the education. Especially since there’s a 50/50 chance that she graduates with a degree. And another 50/50 chance that she works in the industry of her degree, assuming that she actually earns one.

Since we are on the subject, what field of study is she considering?

[Steve_R]

I’m curious why you think you need $200k-$300k in cash in an “emergency fund.”

[MY03C5Z]

Originally Posted by GrandSportC3

And that exactly is the reason that I will take out the 401k before my daughter is at college age. The key is to not take out anything just before or during her time in college as I can save up to $10k per year on tuition.

The 401k is my daughter's college fund.

Buys a $130k Plaid.

Plans to use his 401k fund to pay for kids college.

You can’t make this stuff up……

[Big bob]

Originally Posted by Steve_R

I’m curious why you think you need $200k-$300k in cash in an “emergency fund.”

What is wrong with having cash in your pocket?

[GrandSportC3]

Originally Posted by LATB

She should already be working. And yes many people work and attend school.
As I posted you should be researching any potential scholarships or other assistance available.


This ^^^ is pure parent enabling.
Not saying that you shouldn’t participate financially, but a total free ride teaches her nothing about the value of the dollar. Or the value of the education. Especially since there’s a 50/50 chance that she graduates with a degree. And another 50/50 chance that she works in the industry of her degree, assuming that she actually earns one.

Since we are on the subject, what field of study is she considering?

She is 11 years old.. There are things called CHILD LABOR LAWS...
She hasn't decided what she wants to study..

[GrandSportC3]

Originally Posted by Steve_R

I’m curious why you think you need $200k-$300k in cash in an “emergency fund.”

I own 6 houses. 3 houses are in the LLC and the LLC has reserves in the account. However, the other 3 houses are maintained with my money. If I need a roof, AC or any other major expense, it is a good thing to have cash available.