Wyoming B.S. Thread

yeah he does

 

Ya, but money buys time and means...so really you could throw out the triangle and just represent it with a cicle..."money" lol

 

Yeah. Today we had a presentation from HR about our retirement benefits. And how most only contribute 0-5% right now but we should all try to do 10-14%.

And I'm like...sure. You gonna pay me 10-14% more? haha Because idk if you haven't noticed but shits not getting cheaper and Im not making more money fast enough.

 

So Monte, how's the road noise with the Kendas? As compared to the ST/Maxx?

I'm looking for a new set of 17s, and trying to decide what to get. As always, would like C's but even with 17s, nearly everything in the hybrid space seems to be E. And of course, I like something skinny, which seems like is 255/80/R17.

Wish there was a 34x10-10.5" tire, but I only see one 255/85/R17 (Mickey Thompson Baja Boss -- which doesn't look terrible). 285/75R17 is close too, I guess, but still quite a bit wider than my 255s.

 

Very quiet. Much quieter than the ST Maxx. And still are quite quiet with some wear on them. They've been some of my favorite tires I've ever had. I don't think you'd be disappointed. They perform better than the ST Maxxs in every way. Quieter, better grip on all surfaces including snow, and are a tall 33. They were noticeably taller than my 255/85s.

Obviously they are wider too than the 255s. But not in a bad way, not a 12.5 or anything. I'd honestly buy them again.

 

HR is right. How much are you putting in? And do they match any/how much?

One of the great things about a 401k is that the money comes out before you ever see it in your bank. And then (at least for the last 15 years, and really, over any long period of time) it grows like gangbusters if you just invest in the S&P500.

 

logicially you should contribudte the max needed to get the maximum company match (if there is one), And aim to put some into a roth as well. You dont have to just do the company 401k either...you can maintain your own IRA outside of the company plan (but then you have to manange it...and not get emotional lol) But the % is the sad truth, unless we're all gambling on dying or sociecty collapsing by the time were 62, putting in around 850/mo starting at 30, with a 30k assumed retirement balance at that point, gets you to about 1.7m at age 62.

 

As soon as you said gambling it became more interesting to me. But I realize I have a greater chance of driving head on into a bridge abutment than ever retiring.

 

I do 5%. I can't afford to do more. i also do $300 a month into my own IRA. Between the two i have 65kish I think or so right now which ain't bad. not great. But decent start. Wish I'd started when I was 14 with all the lawn mowing money . Been doing the IRA for a long time though. 24yo maybe? We didn't get a 401k until 3 years ago.

All of it is ROTH right now.

Company puts 4.5% of my salary+bonus in annually.

I'm not doing nothing. I just can't max out the 401k at 23k a year or my IRA either.

And I have limited choices to invest the 401k. Basically just index or mutual funds. I'm in those as aggressive for the time being until I hit 45 probably.

It's just funny to me to come in and tell everyone most of you aren't contributing and need to contribute a lot! But like, dude. My mortgage is almost 3 grand a month. Like...its expensive AF to live here now haha So sure. I'll do 10% once I make more money, which seems unlikely I'd jump up in pay that much.

I don't have to contribute anything to get the 4.5% of my salary. So that's nice. All of mine is ROTH including the 401k and my personal IRA. I'm not doing 850/mo. More around 750 I think.

 

Yay gambling!

10% of my IRA is in Salesforce. Down 20% today.

 

Can you stuff enough into an IRA? I think the limits preclude that. You can only get $583/mo into an IRA for 2024 ($7K/yr)

Really, the ideal (at least, when I was doing it) was:
* 401k up to matching -- gotta do this; free money.
* Roth IRA up to annual limit (assuming a low enough income to contribute) - because tax free growth/distributions
* 401k -- as much more as it'll allow and you can afford, b/c tax free growth

And 1.7m at age 62 (even inflation adjusted) isn't a lot. Especially if something goes wrong.

Hmm, maybe I'll consider them then. I've quite liked the ST/Maxx, but something a hair little taller would be nice. I was worried that the busy-looking sidewall might create a lot of noise. How's mpgs with them compared to the Coopers?

Edit: Also - did you get C or E, I see there are both on the 33x10.5?
Edit 2: Nope, the Cs were for 15" wheels.

Really, that sounds pretty good.

What % would you be contributing if you included the $300 in your 401k? Because really, HR is saying that you should sock away 10-15% total, so you might be close to that.

You might consider more into your ROTH and less to the 401K if it's not required for the match (see my ordering above)

 

Oh right, but I haven't figured out how to make more money yet. I am not willing to change jobs yet as I like my boss and the people I work with. There's a lot of value to me in that vs straight up money.

I feel you, I don't feel like I can swing more. Maybe if I stopped paying into my 401k I could afford a house....

 

if you have 65k in a roth, and your 401k has 750/mo contributions, and your're growing equity in your house...i think you're doing good for us millenials! No need to stress about that! Enjoy life now...stuffing away every cent now in the hopes of retiring later also isnt the right move. Just like the value of money decreases over time, so does time itself. So im trying not to spend all my time now so i have more time 30 yr down the road!

 

I think pausing 401k contributions to get back into a house is a smart move. a smart real estate investment is as valuable imo as throwing money at the stock market. If i wasnt throwing all my spare time and money at my financial no no of a sailboat, id look into getting another rental property

 

I'd say it depends on whether the pause is to get a down payment, or to afford the monthly payments. If it's just for the down payment, I'm (sort of) with you. For monthly payments though, it's not a pause as much as it is a redirection... and long term, that might not be great, esp. since most of the first 20yrs of a home loan is front-loading the interest and not building that much equity (esp. with "high" mortgage rates today).

 

Lol I was being sarcastic. No way I'm going to buy a house in the near future. High prices, plus interest rates that just make my eyes water when you look at the total cost of the loan. Nah I'll just rent for now. My "buy a home" plan is morbid, but contingent on an inheritance. I have zero debt to my name, and I plan to ride that train for a few laps.

 

I've mostly given up on the dream, I'd just be house poor anyway. It's really a shame I was doing such wasteful activities as attending preschool and drinking chocolate milk in the late 90s because I should have been in the real estate market. Oh well you live and you learn

 

My tires are the E's but they really are soft for Es, softer than the Maxxs for sure. Or maybe they are D's actually. I'll look when I get home. They are 33x10.5r17s though.

If I included the $300 I'd guess it'd be like 7%ish? With the 4.5% they put in, you're right, it's probably close.

I used to max my IRA with my bonus money. But that hasn't happened for years now with the whole saving for a house, building a house, and now owning a house I'll probably put my bonus towards paying down my principal. Because my mortgage is painful. Insane how little principal I pay a month vs interest.

Yeah not worth it. I know we just chatted about this on the trip. But it's a shit time to buy a house or even own property I think. Give property tax rises even these days in some parts of the country, owning anything is getting very hard for people.

You basically need to have a household income of around 140-175k a year to buy a home and live "middle class" lifestyle.

Yeah I think I'm doing okay. But not great. I love your idea of living now but man. I just don't have the money. Devin wants to travel and spend more time on the east coast or really anywhere other than the west and truck camping trips for vacations. And....we just can't afford it. I've been able to send here east to see family about 2-3 times a year maybe if we are lucky. But I can't go with her.

If i hadn't be a stingy bastard when we were house hunting before shit hit the fan, I'd probably be doing great with a mortgage in the 1500-1900 range. Which seems like a pipe dream at the point. I'd have plenty of disposable income then. But not now!


I do love our house and place though. It's great.

But wish I had money cash flow(like who the fuck doesn't) to do some traveling and actually consider kids. Right now, idk how the hell I'd afford a kid. Maintaining my vehicles is hard hahaha

 

House poor. That's the term I was trying to remember. Gracias.




And yeah. If only I'd know. I'd have been a real estate tycoon in high school with all my lawn mowing money! Shit!

 

Yeah there's pros and cons to both sides. The shit thing is my rent is higher than my mortgage was... Used to be $1200/mo for a 3bd/2bth, 3 car garage. Now I have an 800sqft apartment and pay $1600... Plus storage fees for all my tools and a van. Somehow with all that, and household income dropping to half I have more disposable income. Go figure.