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What should we be thinking about as we allocate our savings?

Anonymous — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 20:26:30 -0800

We are a newly-wed, youngish couple (both 30 years old, both professionals) trying to allocate funds to two different projects: purchasing a first home in a very expensive metropolitan area and saving for retirement. What should we be thinking about as we allocate our savings? Things we are already thinking:

1. A first home in the DC/Southern MD/Northern VA area is likely out of our reach for four years at least, and we won't be retiring for at least thirty years, probably closer to forty. Conventional wisdom says that young people saving for retirement should invest in high risk/high return stock indexes, but that if you need the money in the next four years, you should keep it relatively safe in CDs and bonds. Obviously this conventional wisdom is in tension: a house is partly a retirement investment, isn't it?

Caveat: While we don't want to sit out a potential market rally over the next few years with our money in CDs, we also want to someday live in something larger than our current one bedroom apartment. The prospect of a depression destroying our down payment has my partner pulling out hair. I say: who wants a house during a depression, when joblessness might require relocation and force a sale of the real estate at depressed prices?

2. We'd like to maximize our 401(k) contributions, but after maxing out the matching funds from our employers, we're wondering if it would be better to put that money into the house fund. Another possibility is piling the money into the 401(k) and then taking a loan from the account to pay for (part) of the down payment. Here, we are especially thinking of this advice.

3. Though we'd really like concrete answers to this question, some of our issues are definitely just about how to match our discordant risk-tolerances, and of course about the current uncertainty. Because of this, we'd appreciate general advice/tips/reading suggestions for young professionals in our situation, in this economic climate.

I'm going to Disney World!!! (Crap, what do I do there?!?)

CAnneDC — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 09:34:50 -0800

Turning 24 in Disney World... what should we do there? I'll be there in 2 weeks for 4 days and need some ideas to make sure the SO and I are adequately entertained. So I need your suggestions for the Can't Miss things in and around Disney World. Please, help me plan my vacation! As ya'll helped me decide in this post: link, the SO and I are going to go to Disney World for a little vacation. We've never been and I need help to make this exciting for both myself AND the boy.

About us: 24, working stiffs who are looking to kick back, hang out, have a great time, and party. (We see each other frequently, so no need to make this a romantic type thing...) We are staying in a hotel that is right across the street from Downtown Disney. The hotel has a nice pool, bar, restaurants, etc.

FRIDAY:
We will be getting in on Friday the 11th (my b-day), around noon or one. What should we do friday during the day? Any suggestions for a nice dinner friday night? Where should we go out afterwards (bars, etc)

SATURDAY & SUNDAY:
We want to go to the parks 2 days. Which ones should we go to?? I definitely think I want to go to the Magic Kingdom one of those days... but if it were you, which ones would you go to?

MONDAY:
We don't fly out until 10 and the hotel said we can stash our bags for the day. Should Monday be a relaxing pool day or do you have any other suggestions?

**Sorry to go to this forum for these questions... I've checked out a bunch of other links like this one and this one, but those seem to be catering to a different demographic and I don't know anyone who has gone to Disney World before :(

Basically, what do two 24 year olds who like to have a good time do in and around Disney World for 4 days and 3 nights? Need suggestions for restaurants, entertainment, bars, etc. as well as how to make the most out of our Disney Experience.

Help me get a C+, so I can never touch this godforsaken subject again!

Phalene — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 22:49:57 -0800

Stats Help Filter: Arrrgh! Help me pass my Intro Stats course with a C+ I made a 66% on the first half of the midterm and I think I can't have made more than a 50% on the second half of the midterm, and that's with luck and probably curve correction. Therefore the remaining 50% of my mark has to be something spectacular. Please, share the resources that helped you make the grade?

It's intro to Stats Psychology, if that helps, with a focus on things like Z scores, Regression, Correlation and Probability.

If I can't pass this course it'll scupper my GPA and doom me to math free majors like History, which while I've very good at, are not my cup of tea.

United Airlines Hiring Office Location in Chicago?

ggypsy — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 19:45:42 -0800

What is the address for United Airlines hiring offices in Chicago for employment interviews? It's a long shot, but I have an interview tomorrow morning with United. I received the e-mail with the address on my BlackBerry e-mail a couple weeks ago, but when going to retrieve it tonight prepping for my interview, I can't find the information. The only published number I can find is to reservations, which is overseas and can't help me. Does ANYONE have a lead on this? Even an office I can call first thing in the morning (my interview is at 9:30am) and explain my situation to? I'd be eternally indebted.

Help, the routers going wonky and hates macs!

zia — Thu, 03 May 2007 13:58:05 -0800

Help! Strange networking issues... can a mac cause a router to go completely bonkers? We just set up a new office and got a linksys 802.11g 2.4 ghz wireless router with speedbooster. We've found that it works just fine with the sole windows user in the office, but the minute the macs get on, the router starts going down every 10 minutes. Eventually it becomes so unstable that no one, not even the pc user, can use it as it has to be reset every 10 minutes. After the reset it works fine for another ten minutes, rinse and repeat!

One thing that maybe happening is the wlan goes down, but as I know practically nothing about networking, I have not a clue.

This is the second router (we returned the first one cause we thought it was defective).

Please help, this is driving us crazy!

WTF Mac?!

lekvar — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 13:34:45 -0800

What is going on with my display? Some kind of "pan-and-scan" effect has been switched on and it's making me seasick. Details: Mac OS, 10.3.9, G5 desktop. I was working in Photoshop when suddenly the whole screen zoomed out. Since the whole screen won't fit on the display the whole thing shifts around on the monitor in response to my cursor's position. Everything's gone all pixely too, like a jpeg with too much compression. Everything's umping around. Help! I need to get work done!

All I want for Xmas is my PowerBook Back!

aristan — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 14:46:20 -0800

Merry Christmas, Your personal laptop's been stolen at work. Now... how do you handle replacing it? But wait... there's It's the first time I've ever had anything stolen.

I hav... err had a 17" PowerBook that was stolen out of a shared office yesterday. The person who took it seemed to know what they were after as they opened my bag, took the computer and the power cord, zipped the bag back up, and replaced it. They didn't touch other things in the bag, like my camera or my cell phone.

The theft was reported to the police as soon as I found out, I included the serial number so that if It's pawned it should get caught, I've changed all the passwords (email, IM, etc) that I can remember, and the director of our company seems to be in the mood to polygraph everyone in our building at the company's cost.

The laptop was purchased via credit card and some have said it may be insured by that. They also suggested home owner's insurance may cover it. The thing is, the credit card and the insurance are both in my grandmother's name. I don't know if I'm covered by either. (The laptop was a "gift" for getting into the honor society, I'm paying for it though)

Where do I go from here? I can't afford to replace it, I still have to pay this one off! Anyone have any tips on handling this situation?

He won't. stop. waving.

killjoy — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 12:30:19 -0800

Really-vague-book-(or movie)-filter: Looking for a boy in a stamp I'm looking for a book (though it might have been a movie about a book) where the child protagonist finds a stamp on a letter or in a book and, upon closer inspection, sees a little boy waving in the stamp. Then he goes on an adventure to try to find this little boy or more stamps or something.

I'm sorry for my spotty details but this has been driving me nuts, and googling +boy +stamp +book +waving doesn't really help me. I am absolutely I'm not trying to find Waldo.

Who's the wo/man I should be talking to in FedEx?

bigmusic — Fri, 12 May 2006 09:40:08 -0800

FedEx Help - - I did a driving course online and I need the documentation in my hot little hands before I go to the judge on monday. I paid for next day and should have received it yesterday. But I left a PO Box as the mailing address, they called and we changed it to a street address (I should have been told prior that they don't ship to PO Boxes, but - anyways)-- so no harm no foul -- I would receive it by 5pm today.

BUT - they (the driving school )screwed up and sent it second day (yesterday the 12th) so that means according to FedEx tracking system that it would arrive to me on Monday before 4:30pm. Great.

So I called the traffic school, many, many, many times and got them to change it so it would be delivered on saturday. But I being the smart little man that I am called Fedex to confirm this and looked it up on tracking -- nothing had changed! Still scheduled for delivery on Monday. I called FedEx and they said it's very hard to change the delivery date of something midshipment. (I'm really pissed at the driving school now.)

Who do I call besides customer service (they've been as helpful as they can) to make sure it gets delivered to me tomorrow? Is there a special person in fedex who listens to this kind of thing and can help me? Is there a super customer service god of FedEx?

L.A. May 7th - 9th

punkbitch — Tue, 03 May 2005 22:54:46 -0800

Hail Mefites! My buddy and I - on our way to Buenos Aires - have a layover in Los Angeles from May 7th (this Saturday) to the 9th. Neither of us has ever been before. We need a CHEAP PLACE TO STAY! Any reccomendations? (+ any advice on quirky must-see L.A. shit?) Thanks!

Help me avoid being homeless in Baltimore

Grod — Mon, 14 Mar 2005 20:15:50 -0800

Calling Baltimore Mefites!!! I'm in a serious bind, I need a 1room place to live this week in Charles Village. All online resources are aimed at Hopkins kids and way over priced. I just had a messy breakup, I need to rent a place in the Charles Village area, anywhere between 27th and University, for as little money as possible and no more than $400. I know when I first came to this city that was possible, I don't know if it still is. If anyone wants to contact me privately my email is in my profile. I hope this appropriate for askme. Thanks