I wouldn't dream of it.

If it's good enough for Lenny then it's good enough for her.

How nice is your current house?

You're all talk. You'll be inviting him over to watch the big game on your new insignia tv in no time.

He will be the tv stand.

I have zero doubt that I have the worst house on RM.

and he should be grateful for that.

at least the tv isn’t made of poop

Has that been established?

Goodnight, guys. Love you all.

How much equity in your current home and what’s the interest rate on your mortgage?

we still owe 170,000 cause we recently refinanced for a much lower interest rate. went from 4.5 down to 3.25%. The VA loan allowed me to put 0 money down. But again, if we can get 300,000 (maybe more), we pay off the house, put a large down payment on the new house and deal with a much lower monthly payment with money in the bank.

Ok so on a $300K sale, you walk with $130k. Assuming 20% down on a new $200K home, you’re left with $90K in new savings. New mortgage rate is around 5.875 for a 30-year, so you’re looking at about $470/mo in mortgage, let’s call it $600 with mortgage insurance and maybe HOA dues. Plus you’re theoretically saving more each month.

I’m generally against buying a new home in this economic climate but I think you’re in a unique situation. I hope you find a place that makes the numbers work and is a step up for the family.

Yes. And don't forget the perks of VA loans. Lower interest rates and no mortgage insurance. Also, I'd want to make an even larger downpayment, making our monthly payments even lower. Saving a lot of money from paychecks each month. Plus out at the lake we're paying more in gas money and other bills. Spotty internet is 100 a month. In town it'll be around 35 for high speed. And we have yearly assessment dues. Just so many things.

Yeah that stuff does sweeten the pot. Please don’t buy the House of Darkness! You guys should balance the financial returns with the QoL returns to make a really great long term play for the fam.

Ha there's no chance she will move to that town anyway. Yes, keeping all that in mind. I've never had money to play with before! Very exciting.

Recession is coming and you’re the sole provider, correct? If so, I’d personally want a plan that delivers a years worth of expenses into my savings account ASAP.

She works part time. I'm the main provider. Yeah, we're going to look into the best options to accrue interest on savings. If you have any recommendations I'd appreciate it.

My opinion is that trying to accrue interest at this stage is the wrong approach. Crawl before you run:

1. Pay off any non-mortgage debts

2. Set aside a rainy-day fun in a traditional bank account. Don't think of it as an interest-generating vehicle; think of it as non-volatile liquid emergency resources. One year of expenses for a recession; once we're out of a recession, dial it back to six months' worth and apply the rest elsewhere.

3. Max out your annual contributions to traditional savings vehicles like 529, 401k, 457b, whatever might be available through your employers. This will lower your taxable income (and in a recession, give you access to public markets at rock-bottom prices). A Roth IRA (post-tax dollars, but no tax on withdrawals) is also a good vehicle if you're just starting to form a nest-egg, and is accessible via the marketplace; you will likely be priced out of Roth access within a couple years.

4. Consider setting up Limited Pay Whole Life insurance plans for yourself and The Raz, as well as the kids. They all retain their cash value, plus a minor interest rate, once you've fulfilled the payment obligation; and for the kids, they offer the great benefit of providing life insurance coverage for their entire lives without their ever having to pass a physical exam. I think this one is highly dependent on what you anticipate the inheritance to be when your parents pass away, as well as your desire to guarantee that your potential grandkids have financial stability (vis-a-vis your own kids having guaranteed coverage without ever having a disqualifying condition). I'm extremely prudent so I'm all for this, but I wouldn't think less of you for skipping this one.

5. Once all this other stuff is fully addressed, then it's time to think about interest-generating vehicles: Real estate is risky, and public markets are volatile. Unless you're an RE expert, I say skip it; if you want to get into public markets, just go with a fee-based firm that is recommended to you by someone you trust. Also consider new developments around fractional ownership of asset-backed securities that tend to be insulated from public markets: AcreTrader (farm land), MasterWorks (artwork), and Rally Road (pop culture collectibles) are all delivering strong returns for investors. I am regularly seeing returns of 30% for 3-5 year holdings of artwork on Masterworks.

I understand it's tempting to skip straight to #5 without first completing 1-3 (and maybe 4). You're playing roulette with your childrens' future that way and they don't deserve that. Slow and steady.

I think we'll just buy a really nice car and a boat.

Count me in.