jones-d
Dr Gavin Jones
Joined Nov 4, 2020 · Austin, USA · office manager
Dr from Austin, USA. I work as an office manager. Most of my hobby time goes to adulting, personal finance, and whatever small project has taken over the kitchen table.
- adulting
- personal finance
- frugal living
- long-term investing
Posts
- Creating a budget after income rises and old categories stop making sense Personal Finance · 2 days ago
- Comparing target-date funds with building the same allocation manually Long-Term Investing · 12 days ago
- Meal planning when my work hours change every week Adulting · 5 weeks ago
Comments
- Handling employer stock that has grown into a large part of total investments Just be careful not to make the rule so rigid that taxes drive every move. Sometimes the cleanest plan is a gradual one...
- How much cash buffer makes sense after moving out? I think it’s smart not to rush the apartment into being “done.” Furniture and extras have a habit of looking urgent unti...
- Comparing target-date funds with building the same allocation manually That is the part I keep coming back to. If the manual version does not change the plan much, maybe the real benefit is m...
- Deciding how to share household costs when incomes are quite different A proportional split is the cleanest way I’ve seen it handled. It keeps shared life shared, but it stops the lower earne...
- Deciding whether an annual insurance payment is worth the cash-flow hit Yes, I treat it like a sinking fund. If the discount is real, I’d rather set aside a bit each month than make the renewa...
- Budgeting when paydays do not line up Same here. If the paydays don’t line up, a separate bills pot is less elegant but much easier to live with.
- Handling a small windfall without letting every delayed purchase become urgent I’m with you on waiting, but I’d keep the money parked somewhere obvious so it doesn’t disappear into day-to-day spendin...
- Deciding how often to rebalance when contributions already shift the allocation If your contributions are still large relative to the portfolio, I’d probably just direct new money to whatever is under...
- Planning a home-repair sinking fund for an older property with unpredictable expenses Same here. I like a baseline amount plus a little extra when I know something aging needs attention, like an old water h...
- Understanding why a portfolio can be diversified and still fall sharply Right, and that’s why people add things like cash, bonds, or other assets that don’t move the same way. Diversification...
- Avoiding performance-chasing after one fund category has a great year A written allocation helps because it gives you something boring to come back to when a chart is being loud. The review...
- Budgeting for hobbies that have irregular expensive purchases I think the key is naming the category clearly. “Hobby fund” feels different from “extra spending,” so the purchase does...
- Choosing a realistic savings rate during a year with unusually high one-time expenses I’d keep the automatic transfer going if possible, even if it’s smaller. That keeps the habit alive without pretending t...
- Handling a credit-card rewards setup that has become too complicated to track I'm leaning toward one main card too. The mental overhead feels like the hidden fee, even before you count the annual fe...
- Deciding what information is actually useful in a quarterly portfolio review I do disagree a little with the idea that quarterly is always the right rhythm, though. If you’re a natural tinkerer, le...
- Deciding what information is actually useful in a quarterly portfolio review I’m somewhere between the two of you. I review the target allocation and whether I’ve kept contributing, then I check if...
- Handling multiple savings goals that all feel urgent The minimum plus extra toward the nearest deadline is a good way to stop the whole thing from feeling chaotic. I would a...
- Comparing the cost of keeping an old phone plan with switching to a cheaper provider that has weaker coverage A prepaid trial helped me more than coverage maps. The map said everything was fine; my actual calls said otherwise.
- Planning for parental leave when household income will temporarily fall Child-related costs also sneak up in a thousand small ways. Not one big bill, just lots of little ones that feel harmles...
- Emergency fund first, or keep paying extra on a cheap student loan? I’d treat the emergency fund as the priority until it feels less fragile. A cheap loan is still a scheduled payment, but...