146
votes
Making $100,000 USD per month, no idea what to do with it
If you are making that much, don't waste your time here. Pay a few hundred bucks for a consultation with a fee-only certified financial planner. (Not one of the "free" services, which make their money ...
- 49.6k
140
votes
Parent asking for money after I moved out
Your father was giving your mother money intended to be spent on your food, clothing, textbooks, and so forth. Your mother no longer has these expenses. The only expense that remains for her is rent (...
- 1,811
125
votes
Accepted
How to share income after marriage and kids?
My suggestion would be that you're looking at this the wrong way, though for good reasons. Once you are a family, you should - and, in most cases I've seen, will - think of things differently than ...
- 35.9k
115
votes
Accepted
How can I get a job without pushing my family's income into a higher tax bracket?
The tax return of a dependent does not flow to the parents return. Earned income is taxed at your own rate, up to $12,000 tax free. for your own standard deduction, but unearned income is taxed at ...
103
votes
How much money should I save in order to generate $1000/month for the rest of my life?
Endowment manager here. An endowment is a large lump of money that is invested to create "forever income". They are held by universities and the like, and there are countless billions of dollars in ...
90
votes
How can I get a job without pushing my family's income into a higher tax bracket?
To be clear, this has nothing to do with tax brackets. (There's a longstanding belief that getting into a higher income bracket will increase taxes on all your income, when that bracket just applies ...
- 4,353
80
votes
How to share income after marriage and kids?
You remind me a lot of myself as I was thinking about marriage. Luckily for me, my wife was much smarter about all this than I was. Hopefully, I can pass along some of her wisdom.
Both of us feel ...
- 1,669
77
votes
Are there any financial disadvantages to living significantly "below your means"?
It's important to differentiate between "living below your means" and being smart about money.
Buying a used car with low mileage is generally a smart financial decision considering every car becomes ...
- 2,232
75
votes
Case against home ownership? High income, no home, don't necessarily want one
The answer is really simple: if you don't want to own a house, don't buy one. (Especially if you're the sort of person who thinks 1800 sq ft (167 m²) is too much for one person.) Unless you have a ...
- 11.2k
73
votes
Parent asking for money after I moved out
I have no problem with you helping your mother but only under the following circumstances:
You have enough room in your budget to help out. You should not go into debt or sacrifice your necessities ...
- 140k
72
votes
How to share income after marriage and kids?
I started out thinking like you but I quickly realised this was a bad approach.
You are a team, aren't you? Are you equals or is one of you an inferior of lower value? I think you'll generate more ...
- 4,243
59
votes
Accepted
Making $100,000 USD per month, no idea what to do with it
I know your "pain". But don't worry about investing the money right now -- leave it uninvested in the short term. You have other stuff you need to school up on. Investment will come, and it's not ...
58
votes
How much money should I save in order to generate $1000/month for the rest of my life?
What you are describing is a lifetime annuity. You pay a lump sum now and then get a fixed amount until you die.
Included in this calculation are estimates of (1) how long you will live (2) how much ...
- 15.1k
57
votes
Parent asking for money after I moved out
"Mom, that sort of thing is court-ordered."
Tell her that she will need to go back to court to have the divorce settlement modified. You will be happy to comply with any court order, of course.
...
51
votes
Accepted
Do I have to explain the source of *all* income on my taxes?
As a gift, the responsibility lays with the giver to file a 709 with their taxes for gifting to a single entity (barring certain exclusions) an amount over $14,000 within the (2017) tax year. https://...
- 914
50
votes
What does it mean for Bill Gates to have an income of $0 dollars? What word would have been more appropriate than "income" is?
Yes, the '180k income' figure reflects reported taxable income for those individuals in the US. For various reasons it is beneficial to have some amount of reported taxable income, but outside of that ...
- 42.9k
47
votes
Excess income after fully funding all retirement accounts. Now what?
Well, one sensible thing to do with it is paying down the mortgage to finish it asap - that will give you even more leftover money.
First, you do save (and thus get) 2.8% as per your own information. ...
- 11.6k
46
votes
Accepted
What exactly is a "bad," "standard," or "good" annual raise? If I am told a hard percentage and don't get it, should I look elsewhere?
TLDR: You will probably need to move to a different employer to get the raise you want/need/deserve.
Some employers, in the US, punish longevity through a number of practices. My wife worked as a ...
- 78.5k
46
votes
What does "not touching the principal" actually mean?
"Not touching the principal" simply means that you leave the principal amount of the trust fund alone and only draw off the interest or dividends it accrues.
So, let's say you inherit $10 ...
- 5,390
43
votes
Is there a price point beyond which it no longer makes sense to buy an apartment or house?
There are two ways to view this question. The simplest is the rough and ready approximation that you should be willing to buy a house for about 20 times the annual rent for a comparable house. With ...
- 2,082
42
votes
Accepted
Is there any financial benefit to being paid bi-weekly over monthly?
Especially for people just starting out, without much reserve, the biggest concern is the rhythm of their expenses and income. If you're paid every two weeks, but your rent, car loan, and other "big ...
- 13.4k
37
votes
Accepted
Is income from a check taxed according to the date written or the date deposited?
If your business operates on a cash basis (and it probably does), then income is governed by a doctrine known as constructive receipt. From IRS Pub 538:
Constructive receipt. Income is constructively ...
- 116k
37
votes
Are there any financial disadvantages to living significantly "below your means"?
Other answers do a good job explaining direct financial disadvantages, so here's another point of view:
Living frugally might negatively affect your social life. For example, if your friends like ...
- 478
35
votes
Can I see how a company is using its debt?
Money is 'fungible'. That means that any single dollar in circulation is identical to every other. If I pick up a lucky quarter on the street, and put it into my right pocket, then when I buy a candy ...
- 42.9k
34
votes
Do I have to explain the source of *all* income on my taxes?
Do I have to explain the source of all income on my taxes?
"Yes, you do", say the ghosts of Ermenegildo and Mary Cesarini.
https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/general/what-to-know-about-...
- 50.8k
34
votes
How much money should I save in order to generate $1000/month for the rest of my life?
There’s a general “rule of 4%” for investing. It means that a given sum invested in a total market Index fund can usually generate 4% a year indefinitely. Using that rule, $300,000 would generate $...
- 24.3k
34
votes
Accepted
Is money from the sale of an asset considered income?
Yes. What you describe is similar to those who buy a rental property, take depreciation, and then sell it. (With no replacement 1030 exchange, etc).
As a consumer, I buy a car, and sell it for a lower ...
31
votes
Accepted
Excess income after fully funding all retirement accounts. Now what?
First of all, congratulations on what you've accomplished.
About the only remaining conventional tax-advantaged option is a Health Savings Account (HSA), and that's only available if you have a high-...
- 140k
30
votes
What does "not touching the principal" actually mean?
There are four problems with your logic.
First, interest rates are low now but they haven't always been. And you get more interest with "locked in" savings like CDs. So what you see offered ...
- 13.4k
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