Finances of 2+2ers

[SlowHabit]

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Kids are very expensive. If you have girls, add in the big wedding as well as the college costs.

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If the guy she's going to marry can't afford to pay for the wedding, he shouldn't be thinking of marriage in the first place (at least not at the current moment). If his reasoning is just graduated from school, or payoff school debts blah blah, then he needs to get his financial life together before he adds more responsibilities.

[cbloom]

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If the guy she's going to marry can't afford to pay for the wedding, he shouldn't be thinking of marriage in the first place (at least not at the current moment).

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It's standard/traditional for the father of the bride to pay. If my girlfriend's dad refused to pay they wouldn't be getting any grandkid visits. Just be glad I'm not demanding a dowry. Damn wives are expensive.

[haakee]

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Damn ex-wives are expensive.

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FYP.

[Benjamin]

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fwiw i tend to just dump money into index funds, which are like stock market versions of mutual funds. SPY is where i put the most, it simply tracks the s&p 500. i use sharebuilder as my brokerage

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Hi daryn,

This is a solid approach that astroglide is taking. The two keys are low costs and wide diversification. Index funds are the way to go unless you want to devote your life to stock and fund analysis. The easiest way to buy a really widely diversified portfolio is to buy a fund of funds that includes international and domestic funds, small and large stock funds, and bonds.

Vanguard is the acknowledged leader in index funds. They offer the widest selection, with the lowest costs, and the best management. They are owned by their customers, not for profit.

They offer a number of fund-of-funds that give the wide diversification. I like their Target Retirement series, whose allocation will gradually change from aggressive to more conservative over your lifetime. Target Retirement 2050 is for the youngest investors and has the most aggressive allocation, 90% stock 10% bond, here's their holdings:

Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund 72.0%
Vanguard European Stock Index Fund 10.5%
Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund 10.0%
Vanguard Pacific Stock Index Fund 4.7%
Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund 2.8%

This is solid package. One stop shopping, set it and forget it from the best in the business.

Somebody mentioned that as a self employed poker player your best retirement account option is a SEP IRA. He's right, you can throw something like 12k in those per year. Great place to start investing for the long term: Get a SEP and max it out with that 2050 fund (or another fund of funds offering low cost wide diversification). It's only 12k a year, but that tax shelter is huge over the long run.

Taxable account w/ the 2050 fund in it would be a solid place to park other long term investment money. Shorter term investments in an intermediate bond fund or short term bond fund. Bingo, instant portfolio. Add to it as more funds come in and you will likely find yourself very rich down the road.

[daryn]

that SEP IRA.. what happens if i get a job a few years down the road?

[Dids]

BUSTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I'm carrying a little too much consumer debt right now, and stuff like auto/and students loans that have my net worth in the negatives.

Still, I make more than I spend, and hopefully will be back in the saving game soon.

This thread does make me regret not investing more energy in poker though. Being 6 figurest to the positive right out of school would be nice.

[DeathDonkey]

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that SEP IRA.. what happens if i get a job a few years down the road?

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Then you stop contributing but your previous contributions can remain there forever, accumulating. He's wrong on the numbers though, you can contribute ~45k to a SEP IRA this year. An even better option is a Self Employed 401k - it has the same cap as an SEP IRA but because of its structure, its easier to hit the cap at a lower income level. Those needed to be setup by December 31, however.

-DeathDonkey

[Skoob]

Before Mrs. Skoob left work to be a mom, $100k+.

Now that I'm the only one earning any dough, $50k.

Luckily we have zero consumer debt. That's the only way a family of 3 can afford to own a home and make it on that, I think.

[SlowHabit]

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If the guy she's going to marry can't afford to pay for the wedding, he shouldn't be thinking of marriage in the first place (at least not at the current moment).

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It's standard/traditional for the father of the bride to pay. If my girlfriend's dad refused to pay they wouldn't be getting any grandkid visits. Just be glad I'm not demanding a dowry. Damn wives are expensive.

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No offense, but I would feel embarrassed if I let my fiance's side pay for the wedding.

My reasoning is simple (and quite traditional). I need to be financially stable before I go ask someone to become my wife since they are expensive and all. Moreover, you don't want to see your wife looking down on you. Ok, maybe not looking down but I assume she would be more proud of her future husband (and to show her parents and friends that she didn't choke by choosing you) if he can actually pay for their wedding. And more importantly, it's easier for you to claim your spot as the head of the family in the future.

Perhaps my view is too pro-male domination and thus implies that I believe in the idea of "whoever makes more is the head of the family." I don't. However, I would have a problem if the difference in salary is so big that I can't pay for my wedding and need my fiance's dad to pay.

For those who reason that weddings are expensive, don't get marry too soon. Wait until you can actually afford it. You can't live on love and you obviously can't raise a kid in an environment where the common theme for arguments is money.

[AZK]

I thought bride side pays for wedding and other random crap, grooms side pays for booze, flowers, etc....?