There is so much great information on personal finance forums. I participate on several message boards, including the Bogleheads and White Coat Investor forums. Here are some of the discussions happening around the internet.
1. White Coat Investors Facebook Group: HELOC To Contribute to 401(k) / Roth IRA?
Question: The wife of a resident on the White Coat Investors Facebook group is expecting a baby in 2019, after which she will stop working. He would like to max out her Roth IRA for 2018 ($5,500) and 401(k) for 2019 ($19,000). In order to do this, he was thinking about taking out a HELOC to finance these contributions.
WSP’s Take: Mathematically, it will likely be beneficial to take out a short-term loan via a HELOC to contribute to a 401(k) and Roth IRA. The long-term tax benefits of contributions to a Roth IRA and 401(k) will usually be greater than the interest paid on the HELOC, especially if you quickly pay off the HELOC once you complete residency.
2. Bogleheads: Why is Costco Gas So Cheap?
Question: Elysium saved almost a dollar per gallon by filling up at Costco instead of his local gas station. He wonders why Costco charges so little for their gas.
WSP’s Take: My impression is that Costco sells its gas at cost (or perhaps even runs a small loss) in order to encourage members to go into the store (although Costco’s gas stations usually have longer hours than the actual store). Costco also makes money on membership fees, and some consumers partially justify the cost of membership because of the money they save on gas.
In my opinion, going to Costco just for the gas only makes sense if there’s a Costco in between your home and work. The time spent waiting in line for the cheap Costco gas (and the extra time spent getting to Costco) is not worth the 20-30 cents a gallon you typically save.
Of course, if you’re already going to Costco, then you should fill up on the cheap gas. But it’s easy to rationalize why you “need” to go to Costco when your tank happens to be nearing empty.
3. White Coat Investors Facebook Group: Where To Invest Money Saved For A Down Payment
Question: A reader on the White Coat Investors Facebook Group asks where he should invest the money he is saving for a down payment. He plans to buy a house in the next 3-4 years.
WSP’s Take: I believe that if you don’t have a firm date on when you must buy a home, then you should invest money saved for a down payment on a house aggressively. The expected return of the stock market is significantly higher than the expected returns of bonds or CDs.
Many people worry that they cannot afford for a large drop in their account with money set aside for a down payment right before they plan on buying a home. If this were to occur, then you can just delay buying a home until you have an adequate down payment.
On the other hand, in many cases, you’ll have enough money for a down payment earlier than expected if the stock market rises faster than bonds or CDs.
4. Bogleheads: Percentage Of Fund Managers Who Beat The Market Before Fees
Question: Andysnp asks if there is any data on the percentage of fund managers who beat the market before fees. He knows that after fees, the vast majority of funds underperform the market in the long run.
WSP’s Take: The major reason why most mutual funds underperform the market in the long run is because of the fees they charge. Because as a group, mutual fund managers end up holding a portfolio that roughly matches their benchmark index, the average fund manager would match their benchmark index if they did not charge fees.
However, because of the skewness of individual stock market returns, my guess is that slightly fewer than 50% of mutual funds would overperform the market in a world without management fees. A few superstar stocks comprise an outsize proportion of the market’s return, and funds that fail to hold those winning stocks are more likely to underperform the market return.
Wall Street Shares: 5 Articles To Read This Week
- Vital Dollar via Budgets Are Sexy: 40 Money Lessons Learned After 40 Years on This Earth — A nice summary of many of the key concepts in personal finance from a 40-year-old blogger.
- The Physician Philosopher: Living an Intentional Life: The Three Kinder Questions — It’s useful from time to time to step back from the daily grind and think about why you’re working hard to make money and optimize your finances.
- DocWife: Pregnant and have federal student loans? The #1 financial task you must do before you give birth — This wife of a hospitalist and matched future GI fellow gives a tip for expecting moms with federal student loans.
- White Coat Investor: 6 Tips For Those Who Have Enough — Dr. Dahle gives advice for physicians and other high-income professionals who have won the game.
- ESI Money: 13 Surprising Facts from 100 Millionaire Interviews and What We Can Learn from Them — ESI lists some of the takeaways he’s learned from interviewing 100 millionaires.
What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with any of my responses? What’s your take on the topics in this week’s forum mailbag?
Thanks for the shout out, WSP!
TPP
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Nice round up. I am currently also hoarding some cash for a potential house purchase in the next 3 years. Likely closer to 1 year though. I have about 400k with the plans of paying for most of the house in cash. Not sure it’s the right move but with recent dips in the market it feels right. That being said I put about 200 plus in the market in 2018, so I am not sitting it out completely.
4% cash back on costco gas w/ costco visa, more cash back w/ costco executive membership. non trivial
5% cash back on gas purchases w/ PenFed credit card, no waiting 25 minutes in line (but gas price obviously not as inexpensive as Costco).
May move in a year and will likely rent for a few years while figuring things out and settling into new area/job.
We would like to buy a house at some point but not dying to do so, we’re ok renting for the long term and we’re pro-rent. After a few years, when things settle, we’d be on the lookout for the perfect house. It’s in a HCOL area that favors renting, so we’re going to be picky. I’m wondering how we should allocate the downpayment in this instance. On one hand we have no deadline and it could be many years until we commit. On the other we may need it at a moments notice if the perfect house falls into our lap. I’m leaning towards taxable.
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