I figured someone would chime in if that was the case for those specific locales.

Thanks!

> Our tax preparer is of the mindset that we should be maxing out how much we give to the govt in taxes each year to ensure we get money back each year.

Getting a refund should be the last thing you want. You want to break even. That should be the goal. I think it may be time for a new CPA.

You can buy at auction thru Fidelity too. I buy my T Bills thru Vanguard at auction. It will be very close to where the market is.

Thank you for all of these recommendations. Swapping from SP to LLC has been one of those things in the back of mind for a while now but I just have never taken the time to do it

Okay, so you want to move out. In most markets you will need to be able to pay three month’s rent up front: one for the first month’s rent, one for the last month’s rent (so you don’t pay it when you move out), and one as a security deposit. Many landlords also want to see that you are making 3x the monthly rent in a month of work, so you may need to show pay stubs that prove that, or a bank account statement with at least 3-6 months saved up. So your next step is to find out the going rate for either studio apartments for yourself only, or a shared apartment or house with roommates.

You also wish to check out r/Adulting or r/internetparents for more support along these lines, especially if you don’t want to get more nitty gritty into the exact dollar and cents amounts, since this sub usually wants that.

I thought DC and VA have a reciprocity agreement so OP should only owe tax (and have tax withheld) where they live (DC) not where they work.

This really depends on personal preference with their interface. For example I like Free File Fillable Forms because it's just like completing the official forms and I prefer the privacy policy (the IRS restricts what companies in the Free File program can do), but other people prefer to be asked questions and have the software generate form entries. You can expect that any software would support your situation.

With Stock Market, you may want to more broadly cover investing, with other stuff like bonds, CDs, etc. as well as “what is a mutual fund” etc.

And under taxes, you probably already have this covered but please make sure they understand tax brackets! SO many adults don’t even get this concept.

Wrong, DC-VA have reciprocity agreements, all tax should be withheld for DC and OP should (*normally) file in DC only. If your employer withheld for both you will have to file both and fix it up.

I personally feel like if I pay for insurance then I'm entitled to what I pay for, but that's just me. If my insurance company doesn't like me after that then there are 10 other companies that have been calling me nonstop.

Coming from the POV of having no mortgage, I'd say work on paying them off. Start with your primary residence. Then move on to the rental.

You are investing via your retirement accounts. As long as that is at 15% or more, you are fine.

Having no mortgage payment is a wonderful feeling. One that goes beyond dollars and cents.

Once those mortgages are paid off, then you crank up your investing and live like no one else.

Time to buy a dashcam with parking mode. Front and rear cams. This won't be the last time either.

Those schools are well known. Boarding schools aren't a local thing, they are like being sent off to college.

Here's a link to the PF Wiki for helpful guides and information.

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Read the wiki. You can base almost an entire course just on that.

This is very wise of you and your wife to get your finances in order. This will help out in many areas of your life but most importantly, your marriage!

1. LLC vs. sole proprietor needs can differ depending on the state. Typically, forming an LLC offers you a layer of extra protection and "official" status to your business and personal lives. You can also "pay yourself" through an LLC which can help manage your business and personal finances a little more and at the same time, lower your taxable income.
2. Going with an LLC is never a bad decision. Regardless if you decide to go separate, you should probably ask the IRS for an EIN number (you can do this without an LLC).
3. Definitely have a separate bank account, debit card, credit card etc. for your business. This should be separate from all of your personal stuff.
4. AMEX offers a decent 2% cashback on most expenses so that could be good option. There are many great business credit cards to use however. Capitol one has some good products as well.
5. Bank accounts SoFi, Ally, (Sofi and Ally are super user-friendly) Discover all offer around 3.5-4.00% interest in their savings accounts (conditions apply)
6. 25k is a good start. It's never to late to earn some extra interest in a HYSA. It would be a wise move to move that into a HYSA. Credit Unions can be a great choice as well if you have a local branch that pays a decent interest (3% or higher in today's economy should be good).

I swapped my tax preparer of 5 years after one year he showed he doesn't understand stocks and I had to explain why my ESPP was being taxed twice, which eventually he helped amend, but still did not understand what he did for me. I started doing it myself and just compared with previous years. If things don't change, it should be similar.

DC-MD-VA all have reciprocity with each other. OP should be paying taxes based on where they live, not work. Employer should be withholding DC taxes, OP should have to file in DC only. Source - My wife and I live in VA, and have worked variously in DC, VA, and MD over the years.

More source (https://www.tax.virginia.gov/reciprocity) -
District of Columbia and Kentucky residents who:
Are taxed in their home states, commute to Virginia every day, and receive only wage or salary income in Virginia are exempt from taxation in Virginia.

I have not received any raises since these changes, and I think this discussion is to remedy that. I can directly quantify the projects that I took over from others, but need to look back to see what a "normal" workload would have been, as it fluctuates by project size and timeline. We are also entering a busy year, that is hard to factor in. Additionally, I did just receive my license, so it is hard to judge what my baseline workload was before to what it is expected to be now. I'll look into all these factors, and try to come up with a % more work that I am doing to look for.

Would it be a bad idea to discuss with some co-workers that I trust what kind of baseline to think about and what that compensation would be?

FSKAX is essentially equivalent to FZROX so you can pick one or the other it does not really matter. Adding funds does not add diversification if the funds cover the same thing, so no reason to make it more complicated on yourself.

FSKAX may be more beneficial to keep in a taxable account because you can transfer it out of fidelity if that is something you ever want to do, FZROX cannot be transferred out of fidelity and may force you to pay taxes if you ever want to move the investments.

Your fund choices are good and well diversified.

Why not keep it in a high yield savings account, earn a little interest, then pay the debt down once actually required?

...yikes...

thanks!!

I would definitely recommend an LLC. Running the biz as an SP opens you up to individual liability.

Hope it helped!

The main takeaway is that more funds doesn't necessarily mean you're more diversified. I have VTIAX and VFWAX, but they're pretty much the same thing. Likewise with VOO and VTI.

The important thing is to decide what allocation you want, and then buy funds that provide that. Unfortunately, there are as many fund allocation strategies as funds, so it can be complicated.

Good luck! I'm happy to answer any questions.