Go to the courthouse and get married before buying a home together - makes things much simpler from a legal perspective. You can always splurge on a big reception later.

If the check was deposited into an individual account in his name (not an exempt trust like an IRA, Section 529 account, etc.) then it is his money, free and clear, and is indistinguishable for tax purposes from any other money he may have.

Any tax consequences that may or may not have been due the grandfather for giving his grandson that money were incurred when the check went into an ordinary account, and in that year.

Any plausible tax issue would derive from whether he spent that amount on education in that year. It's moot now.

Thanks!

Specification lighting manufacturing

Very true, his job is not as flexible as mine but he is also fully remote.

> I expect to move into a higher tax bracket as I get older.

A common mistake I observe is that "get older" may be in reference to "working life."

The proper analysis should be tax rate now vs tax rate at disbursal. For most people, disbursal is when they are not just older, but also retired. And for most people, retired means low/no income.

Why?

Because retired.

If you're still working when you're old and in a high tax bracket, do you need to be disbursing your retirement funds? Most likely you'd leave them alone until you stop working.

> $6.5k would only ding me maybe 2-3 months of expenses. I still have the $10k+ worth of I-bonds as last resort if my life really went to shit after 10 months lol

Fine.

As long as you acknowledge that you have a plan or are willing to accept a smaller emergency fund for a period of time.

Perhaps it should also prompt you to re-evaluate whether or not you actually desire a 12 month EF.

> I’ve been listening and reading articles, books, and podcasts to understand that Lump Sum is best in the long run. I understand it’s not by much that’s lump sum is better than DCA, but doing it monthly or weekly would it feel like I’m timing the market. That’s a psychological issue that would mentally kill me if I kept seeing the market go up or down and then have 2nd thoughts. I’d like to keep emotions out if I can.

Investing as the money comes available is a reasonable approach too. (ie Set auto-investments to occur every payday) This is often mistaken to be DCA, but it is not. DCA involves intentionally holding cash and avoiding investing until a defined time period.

We are a 7 person small business and I am the owners right hand person. I wear many hats, I’m a product specialist but I also quote & close the sale, manage the project through the shop, I’m the direct customer contact and customer support. I also work with specifiers to select the best product for their project. I advise on product development and am kept in the loop on company finances. I’ve been doing this job since 2014 and have grown with the company which was started around 2010.

Daaaanng. 1 week to early OP.

Thank you for this, yes I think I have a good gig.

We are a 7 person small business and I am the owners right hand person. I wear many hats, I’m a product specialist but I also quote & close the sale, manage the project through the shop, I’m the direct customer contact and customer support. I also work with specifiers to select the best product for their project. I advise on product development and am kept in the loop on company finances. I’ve been doing this job since 2014 and have grown with the company which was started around 2010.

Right, it’s only 2-3 months of expenses for me. Not too impactful, but I-bonds are my super duper last resort

Interesting. That's good to know.

Yeah…. I was an “exempt” salaried employee making under 30k prior to that policy and getting abused with unpaid OT. Thanks Obama.

Thanks!

• I don’t like the idea of paying taxes when I retire if I go the traditional route. I expect to move into a higher tax bracket as I get older and I would want my tax obligations out of the way.

• $6.5k would only ding me maybe 2-3 months of expenses. I still have the $10k+ worth of I-bonds as last resort if my life really went to shit after 10 months lol

• I’ve been listening and reading articles, books, and podcasts to understand that Lump Sum is best in the long run. I understand it’s not by much that’s lump sum is better than DCA, but doing it monthly or weekly would it feel like I’m timing the market. That’s a psychological issue that would mentally kill me if I kept seeing the market go up or down and then have 2nd thoughts. I’d like to keep emotions out if I can.

• yeah you have a point. I’ll need to review my budget again to find out how much is too much and what my cash flow will be monthly.

Thanks for the explanation!

Vtsax has similar top ten holdings as VOO and its total market but 99% of the portfolio in US market. Given your age I’d do 50/50 because of your time horizon but you can certainly change it up a bit to 60/40 or 70/30 etc. just be careful with funds overlapping too much which means you’re less diversified then you think.

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Thanks for these points!

I thought the same time too!

Give a taste of the returns (Bait), but it's a better return over in this deal (hook). Then the broker lives the life and pays you back with the next guy's money.

From what OP posted, the emergency fund is a year worth of expenses. Even taking 6.5k out, there would still be more than enough of an emergency fund left over

I'm looking into it now. it's making more sense. thanks

> I wanted to know if it would be smart to withdraw the funds from my 401(k) to put towards my emergency fund and speed that process up

Unless you like lighting money on fire (~$160 for you), this is always going to be the wrong answer.

> or if I should treat the account like it doesn't exist until I reach a point where I can safely contribute to the account again.

Keep it invested in the 401k.

Or roll it over to new employer 401k.

Or roll it over to an IRA at a brokerage of your choice (ie Fidelity/Vanguard/Schwab).

Keep it within the confines of a Tax Advantaged Account (ie 401k/IRA).

Keep it invested.

Fair enough

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