Recent Posts

51

Taxes / Re: how do taxes interact?

« Last post by mistymoney on Today at 10:33:54 AM »

FICA tax does not affect federal or state income tax.

Except when it's self employment tax, in which case you get a deduction for the "employer" half.

Thanks for this! I had not put into OP but I do have side gig income that I plan to keep going for several years after quitting the day job, and part of this post was trying to figure out how much in taxes I would need to pay on that side income as I estimate my withdrawals and WR. So appreciate this clarification.

Much more an issue of me understanding how it all will work together for accurate estimates, rather than doing the taxes as I mentioned I have an EA and will stick with them for at least a few years after retirement. At some point I think the taxes might become simpler and I could take over if need be. But right now and for the immediate future, I like the peace of mind.

52

Ask a Mustachian / Re: Need a budget critique

« Last post by Kwill on Today at 10:29:47 AM »

I'm not great at maths, but it looks like you are spending more than you earn every month, right? So this isn't about just going on vacation or saving but about not going into debt after such a promising start and such a high salary. You can do better.

secondcor521 is probably right that this will go better if you and your wife are on the same page. Have you tried showing her these numbers?

If you want to talk about strategies for cooking cheaper food that is still healthy and tasty, the Mustachians tend to be really good at coming up with ideas. I make this dairy-free cake sometimes, not because I'm allergic but because it's easy and quick. $600 per person per month on food seems like an awful lot considering that one of the people is a three-year-old who probably doesn't eat that much. The kids might eat more when they are bigger.

Can you switch phone companies once your phones are paid off? How much more of a contract do you have?

Can you or your wife do any more of the yard maintenance?

If you close to any of the people at church, could you trade babysitting nights? Like one couple hosts a play date for all the kids while the other couple has a night out?

53

Taxes / Re: how do taxes interact?

« Last post by mistymoney on Today at 10:28:39 AM »

FICA tax does not affect federal or state income tax.

Various pre-tax amounts (HSA, 401k, employer-provided health insurance, etc.) can affect both federal and state income tax.

State tax goes on the state tax return.  Only if you itemize on the federal return might your state tax affect your federal tax.

Might be worth going line by line through your most recent https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040.pdf and analogous state return so you understand why each line/box has the value it does.

The Case Study Spreadsheet will display the formulas used for each cell, so you might compare those with the official form instructions.  Some comparisons will be straightforward, while some - due to this being Excel and trying to accommodate various situations, with all that entails - may be harder to decipher in the spreadsheet than in the IRS instructions.

It would be interesting to hear how it goes if you do try the line-by-line analysis of your most recent return.

Thanks, I ha d found some info online before posting, but I thought - they can't actually be charging income taxes on the fica money! well - I was wrong!

State tax is interesting that it varies. I do itemize. I have an EA that does my taxes because they are a little complicated and I feel better with a professional filing them. And since I went to him, he has sved me much more than his fees!

54

Welcome and General Discussion / Re: Thoughts? "Is the US Facing Irreversible Structural Decline? (The Evidence)"

« Last post by reeshau on Today at 10:25:45 AM »

When 5% of the world's population produces 27% of the world's GDP,  and 70% of that is for consumer spending, it's going to seem wasteful from someone outside that environment.  That is only part of the picture, though.  Look at innovation, foreign assistance / "World Police" peacekeeping / foreign policy / global organizations, etc.

Certainly, with the post-WWII order under distress, things are going to look bad.  Change is viewed as bad, for those for whom the prior setting worked well.  Will the end destination of all this disruption be better or worse?  That's still to be seen.  It may even snap back from the challenge, if no better solution is found.

55

Ask a Mustachian / Re: Has anyone bought a Chevy Bolt with a Buyback/Lemon title?

« Last post by BringFuturamaBack on Today at 10:12:30 AM »

Please continue to keep us updated! I want to also get a buyback bolt but it'll be sometime next year when we can qualify for the tax credit.

56

Ask a Mustachian / Re: Need a budget critique

« Last post by secondcor521 on Today at 10:06:56 AM »

These kinds of threads go poorly about 99% of the time.  Generally people give all sorts of reasonable and good suggestions, and the OP will explain why they can't/won't make those cuts.

OP, I think you need two things:  (1) Get in sync with your wife so that it's both of you against the budget, not you against her, and (2) you both need to have a goal or vision that is more important than your current spending and therefore worth making the cuts.

If it's just you wanting to make the cuts, or if you're doing them for vague reasons, it won't work.

57

Meetups and Social Events / Re: Magical Moab Meetup October 3 - 13, 2025!!!!

« Last post by Dicey on Today at 10:06:53 AM »

I put in for Friday the 3rd and Monday the 6th off so I'll have the entire weekend.

Really looking forward to hiking and getting outside some. I love Moab. I'm thinking I'll go to Needles District a bunch since that is my fave.

Will be cool to meet some new people doing this FIRE thing. I'll swing by the group campsite/place where everyone hangs out.

I'll probably just car camp somewhere though.

I'm thinking I might rent a dirt bike and go all out and spend a little of this money I'm saving.

The first rule of the Magical Moab Meetup is there are no rules.*
*Okay, the NPS has rules like timed entries and permit requirements, but we're pretty good at working together to keep them manageable.
Glad you're coming!

58

Throw Down the Gauntlet / Re: DONT Payoff your Mortgage Club

« Last post by Dicey on Today at 09:58:29 AM »

Thanks, Sandi_k and R-C!

59

Ask a Mustachian / Re: Has anyone bought a Chevy Bolt with a Buyback/Lemon title?

« Last post by studentoflife on Today at 09:50:39 AM »

Two month ownership update: our Bolt is on its second trip to the dealer. About 300 miles/2 weeks into ownership, I got an error at startup, "Propulsion power reduced. Service vehicle soon". The car cut max power by about59%, limited regen braking by about 50%, limited charging capacity to 30% (75 miles of range), and disabled air conditioning. The first time the shop kept the car for a week and reprogrammed the computers. After another 3 weeks and 700 miles, the same your reoccurred. This time they are replacing the previously replaced high voltage battery. The car has been gone for a week and I expect to get out back in another 2 weeks.All repairs have been free of charge under the 8 year/100k mile battery warranty,but the experience is still inconvenient and does not inspire confidence. Hopefully the new battery will be the end of it, I really like the car and I don't want to get rid of it, but it is really inconvenient especially as the closest qualified GM service center is 45 minutes away, at it is a real hassle to drop off and pick up for repair. Not sure what the car will be worth if we try to resell. I'm figuring it will be worth net cost after tax credit at best, and we won't be able to use the tax credit for another replacement.

60

Ask a Mustachian / Need a budget critique

« Last post by davef on Today at 09:38:52 AM »

So,
I need a budget Critique. We are not very mustachian so I am sure to get a lot of crap on here. Long term we are good, as we invested a lot 10 years ago, but the past 3 years I have had very little leftover funds to invest, or even take a vacation. I am looking to trim 500-1000 from our monthly budget without sacrificing quality of life. We are a family of 5 with 3 boys 3,6,9.

Net income = 9600/Month after taxes 401k Insurance
Mortgage 3410 (Includes taxes and insurance)
HOA (220)
Electric 380 (Average)
Water & Waste 190 (Average)
Pest control (33)
TV & Internet (290) I know its crazy, this is one of the place I plan to cut
Yard Maint (205)
Insurance (371) (Auto and Life)
Phones (202) (For me and my wife) I think it will drop to 140 soon as our Iphones will be paid off.
Put of pocket Medical (650) Average over the past 2 years. I hope this drops off soon.
Restaurants (1200) Average
Groceries (1800) Average Includes all basic living expenses, cleaning supplies etc.
Auto repair and Gas (995) Both cars are paid off. Its about 400 on a typical month for gas and tolls but had lots of maint last year that raised the average,
Entertainment (395) (including dates, babysitters... we have no family) So that's like 1-2 date 1 museum or something similar each month.
Church and charities (200)
Pet (100) we have a 15 year old dog dying of cancer, spent 4k on that over the past 2 years.
Clothes (200)
Misc (200)

Between the medical expenses for the kids, the dog and the unscheduled car maintenance ive basically been break even over the past 2 years with nothing leftover to invest. I know the food seems crazy. I have tried not eating out, but the groceries seem to go up proportionately. we average 3000 a month between the 2. If I cut restaurants down to 400 groceries rises up to 2400. I focused on this for 2 months and saved a few hundred dollars, but hardly noticeable. The kids are allergic to dairy, and we try to eat healthy. I guess we have expensive tastes.... A lot of this is cleaning supplies too & chlorine for the pool.