Soliciting Blowout Financial Advice

[pejc300]

First, I can't think of any better place in the world to get financial advice then my old chums here on Blowout.

Second, I fully expect to receive all manner of tomfoolery in the comments, which are welcomed and appreciated.

Third, I'm actually looking for serious advice because, despite all of the shenanigans that go on here, it does seem there are some pretty bright financial folks.

I'm going to give you a vulnerable, rundown of my life and will try to provide pertinent information. The big question is, if you had 200-250k in cash - in my situation - what would you do with it.

Circumstances:
42/m/36D
Married. Three kids at home (ages 5 to 14).
House: paid for completely (approx. market value of 450k)
Investments: Not great. I'm way behind. About 100k in a 401k; 20k in Roth IRA; 20k permanent insurance cash value (I know this is a terrible place, and will be moving these funds soon), and then I'll get like $800 a month "pension" from a previous job when I retire
Accessible Savings/checking: about 40k (6 months of expenses)
Debt: $0
Cars: Paid for

So my situation seems good, and for many people it is, but my current income situation is not great. I make 55k a year (which is horrible, after being in the work force for over 20 years and have a Master's degree).

My field is social work, so not a ton of money there. I work at a university (M-F, 8:00-5:00). The pros are that the university is 2 minutes from my house. I also have a 5 year old son who has some special needs, which makes it good that I am close by. Also, my job is not stressful at all (I have worked some very stressful jobs that paid better in the past). The job is easy, I'm good at it, I get to help people, no stress, and during the summer I have a ton of down time. I have a matching 401k, so putting about $700 a month in there (with match included).

My wife also works in social work/parent education. She started her own business a year ago. The hope is that she would make 3-4k per month. Right now she's at 2k. She's working super hard to build her business, so we're giving it about 2 years to see if she can get up to that 3-4k per month or higher. She is self employed which means she can be available for the kids, which we need.

Bottom line: I make 55k a year, but my take home is more like 40k a year. My wife is brining home 2k per month, so basically we're taking home 5k a month. We have no house payment, car payment, or anything other than living expenses, but with inflation going insane and being a family of 5, 5k a month isn't cutting it. We need about an extra $1,500 per month to break even, and I have been achieving this by selling cards, but that has become increasingly difficult to do.

*sidenote* my son starts kindergarten in the Fall, so that will save $1,000 per month in day care (except for the summer). So that is huge.

I have what I estimate to be about 250k in cards that I can sell. The majority of these are the Patrick Mahomes Gold Prizm RC BGS 9.5 (last sold for 100k), and the 2013-14 Prizm Steph Curry Black 1/1 (his first Prizm black 1/1). Hard to put a value on this one, but I estimate 80-100k. Then I have about 50k more in Mahomes cards.

I am thinking about cashing out the cards and using the 250k to create extra income. I do not want to sell the cards as I do think they are going to increase in value (not everyone else agrees), but I'm debating. Obviously I've thought a lot about buying a rental property. In my area, a home that will rent for $2,000 per month will cost about 400k, so even if I put down half of a down payment my mortgage is still going to be probably $1600 or $1700 so I won't make much passive income. But, in 15 years (or less) I would have another paid for house.

I know I should get a better paying job. I turned down a job that pays about 75-80k a year recently because it would be more stressful and does not have all the benefits of my current job (as stated above). I guess I feel a little stuck, but my family is the most important thing to me, and being present physically and mentally with my kids is really important to me. But man 55k does suck.

*Secondary question* - I have a TON of down time at work right now...would love if anyone knows how to make $50 a day as a side hustle.

Ready...set...advise!

[glen87]

Originally Posted by pejc300

First, I can't think of any better place in the world to get financial advice then my old chums here on Blowout.

Second, I fully expect to receive all manner of tomfoolery in the comments, which are welcomed and appreciated.

Third, I'm actually looking for serious advice because, despite all of the shenanigans that go on here, it does seem there are some pretty bright financial folks.

I'm going to give you a vulnerable, rundown of my life and will try to provide pertinent information. The big question is, if you had 200-250k in cash - in my situation - what would you do with it.

Circumstances:
43/m/36D
Married. Three kids at home (ages 5 to 14).
House: paid for completely (approx. market value of 450k)
Investments: Not great. I'm way behind. About 100k in a 401k; 20k in Roth IRA; 20k permanent insurance cash value (I know this is a terrible place, and will be moving these funds soon), and then I'll get like $800 a month "pension" from a previous job when I retire
Accessible Savings/checking: about 40k (6 months of expenses)
Debt: $0
Cars: Paid for

So my situation seems good, and for many people it is, but my current income situation is not great. I make 55k a year (which is horrible, after being in the work force for over 20 years and have a Master's degree).

My field is social work, so not a ton of money there. I work at a university. The pros are that the university is 2 minutes from my house. I also have a 5 year old son who has some special needs, which makes it good that I am close by. Also, my job is not stressful at all (I have worked some very stressful jobs that paid better in the past). The job is easy, I'm good at it, I get to help people, no stress, and during the summer I have a ton of down time. I have a matching 401k, so putting about $700 a month in there (with match included).

My wife also works in social work/parent education. She started her own business a year ago. The hope is that she would make 3-4k per month. Right now she's at 2k. She's working super hard to build her business, so we're giving it about 2 years to see if she can get up to that 3-4k per month or higher. She is self employed which means she can be available for the kids, which we need.

Bottom line: I make 55k a year, but my take home is more like 40k a year. My wife is brining home 2k per month, so basically we're taking home 5k a month. We have no house payment, car payment, or anything other than living expenses, but with inflation going insane and being a family of 5, 5k a month isn't cutting it. We need about an extra $1,500 per month to break even, and I have been achieving this by selling cards.

I have what I estimate to be about 250k in cards that I can sell. The majority of these are the Patrick Mahomes Gold Prizm RC BGS 9.5 (last sold for 100k), and the 2013-14 Prizm Steph Curry Black 1/1 (his first Prizm black 1/1). Hard to put a value on this one, but I estimate 80-100k. Then I have about 50k more in Mahomes cards.

I am thinking about cashing out the cards and using the 250k to create extra income. I do not want to sell the cards as I do think they are going to increase in value (not everyone else agrees), but I'm debating. Obviously I've thought a lot about buying a rental property. In my area, a home that will rent for $2,000 per month will cost about 400k, so even if I put down half of a down payment my mortgage is still going to be probably $1600 or $1700 so I won't make much passive income. But, in 15 years (or less) I would have another paid for house.

I know I should get a better paying job. I turned down a job that pays about 75-80k a year recently because it would be more stressful and does not have all the benefits of my current job (as stated above). I guess I feel a little stuck, but my family is the most important thing to me, and being present physically and mentally with my kids is really important to me. But man 55k does suck.

Ready...set...advise!

[pejc300]

Originally Posted by glen87

Accurate picture of what I look like.

[asujbl]

Cliff notes please

[asujbl]

In all seriousness I will read just not on my phone

[JeremyNick]

Have you considered not paying taxes and using fake license plates to avoid tolls?

[asujbl]

Originally Posted by JeremyNick

Have you considered not paying taxes and using fake license plates to avoid tolls?

This is well played

[corndog]

Originally Posted by pejc300

First, I can't think of any better place in the world to get financial advice then my old chums here on Blowout.

Second, I fully expect to receive all manner of tomfoolery in the comments, which are welcomed and appreciated.

Third, I'm actually looking for serious advice because, despite all of the shenanigans that go on here, it does seem there are some pretty bright financial folks.

I'm going to give you a vulnerable, rundown of my life and will try to provide pertinent information. The big question is, if you had 200-250k in cash - in my situation - what would you do with it.

Circumstances:
42/m/36D
Married. Three kids at home (ages 5 to 14).
House: paid for completely (approx. market value of 450k)
Investments: Not great. I'm way behind. About 100k in a 401k; 20k in Roth IRA; 20k permanent insurance cash value (I know this is a terrible place, and will be moving these funds soon), and then I'll get like $800 a month "pension" from a previous job when I retire
Accessible Savings/checking: about 40k (6 months of expenses)
Debt: $0
Cars: Paid for

So my situation seems good, and for many people it is, but my current income situation is not great. I make 55k a year (which is horrible, after being in the work force for over 20 years and have a Master's degree).

My field is social work, so not a ton of money there. I work at a university (M-F, 8:00-5:00). The pros are that the university is 2 minutes from my house. I also have a 5 year old son who has some special needs, which makes it good that I am close by. Also, my job is not stressful at all (I have worked some very stressful jobs that paid better in the past). The job is easy, I'm good at it, I get to help people, no stress, and during the summer I have a ton of down time. I have a matching 401k, so putting about $700 a month in there (with match included).

My wife also works in social work/parent education. She started her own business a year ago. The hope is that she would make 3-4k per month. Right now she's at 2k. She's working super hard to build her business, so we're giving it about 2 years to see if she can get up to that 3-4k per month or higher. She is self employed which means she can be available for the kids, which we need.

Bottom line: I make 55k a year, but my take home is more like 40k a year. My wife is brining home 2k per month, so basically we're taking home 5k a month. We have no house payment, car payment, or anything other than living expenses, but with inflation going insane and being a family of 5, 5k a month isn't cutting it. We need about an extra $1,500 per month to break even, and I have been achieving this by selling cards, but that has become increasingly difficult to do.

*sidenote* my son starts kindergarten in the Fall, so that will save $1,000 per month in day care (except for the summer). So that is huge.

I have what I estimate to be about 250k in cards that I can sell. The majority of these are the Patrick Mahomes Gold Prizm RC BGS 9.5 (last sold for 100k), and the 2013-14 Prizm Steph Curry Black 1/1 (his first Prizm black 1/1). Hard to put a value on this one, but I estimate 80-100k. Then I have about 50k more in Mahomes cards.

I am thinking about cashing out the cards and using the 250k to create extra income. I do not want to sell the cards as I do think they are going to increase in value (not everyone else agrees), but I'm debating. Obviously I've thought a lot about buying a rental property. In my area, a home that will rent for $2,000 per month will cost about 400k, so even if I put down half of a down payment my mortgage is still going to be probably $1600 or $1700 so I won't make much passive income. But, in 15 years (or less) I would have another paid for house.

I know I should get a better paying job. I turned down a job that pays about 75-80k a year recently because it would be more stressful and does not have all the benefits of my current job (as stated above). I guess I feel a little stuck, but my family is the most important thing to me, and being present physically and mentally with my kids is really important to me. But man 55k does suck.

*Secondary question* - I have a TON of down time at work right now...would love if anyone knows how to make $50 a day as a side hustle.

Ready...set...advise!

[JeremyNick]

Originally Posted by asujbl

This is great advise

Thanks. I consider it a side hustle but if you need any new advisers on your team, I’m available for a nominal fee.

[pejc300]

Originally Posted by asujbl

Cliff notes please

I'm old. I have kids. I have no debt and a paid for house, but a horrible income (55k per year). Could sell my cards for about 250k give or take. If I do that, what should I invest in to get some additional income coming in.

Originally Posted by asujbl

In all seriousness I will read just not on my phone

Thank you.

Originally Posted by JeremyNick

Have you considered not paying taxes and using fake license plates to avoid tolls?

I feel like this is probably blowout inside joke, but I'm kind of out of the loop.

Originally Posted by corndog

Thank you, I guess?

[jlzinck]

SO unless you sell the cards for unreportable cash you $250K is now $150/175K
Your current job at a University. Does it allow your children to enroll for free? I had a girlfriend many moons ago whose sister took a menial job at Harvard so her kids could go there.

I mean honesty, you are better off that probably 70% of people in the country right now.

I'm sure you could make some money offering transcription services.

[asujbl]

Originally Posted by pejc300

I'm old. I have kids. I have no debt and a paid for house, but a horrible income (55k per year). Could sell my cards for about 250k give or take. If I do that, what should I invest in to get some additional income coming in.



Thank you.



I feel like this is probably blowout inside joke, but I'm kind of out of the loop.



Thank you, I guess?

How is your house paid off? Or is the $450K after years of RE increases?

Honest question since you started it. Haha

[corndog]

Originally Posted by pejc300

Thank you, I guess?

My self reflection is a painful experience...

[asujbl]

What kind of retirement program do you get? My wife is a teacher so she has a vastly different plan than I do

I don’t know the nuances of your job

[no10pin]

Originally Posted by pejc300

Circumstances:
42/m/36D
Married. Three kids at home (ages 5 to 14).

No one asked for pics yet?

Originally Posted by pejc300

I feel like this is probably blowout inside joke, but I'm kind of out of the loop.

https://www.blowoutforums.com/showthread.php?t=1561673

[sonnyday]

First thing. Put 4K in each kids 529 plan and get the State Deduction.
Secondly. Put $6,500 in a Traditional IRA for your Wife.
Thirds. Throw the rest in a high-yield savings account until you speak to a financial advisor.

[coltsfan23]

Originally Posted by pejc300

First, I can't think of any better place in the world to get financial advice then my old chums here on Blowout.

Second, I fully expect to receive all manner of tomfoolery in the comments, which are welcomed and appreciated.

Third, I'm actually looking for serious advice because, despite all of the shenanigans that go on here, it does seem there are some pretty bright financial folks.

I'm going to give you a vulnerable, rundown of my life and will try to provide pertinent information. The big question is, if you had 200-250k in cash - in my situation - what would you do with it.

Circumstances:
42/m/36D
Married. Three kids at home (ages 5 to 14).
House: paid for completely (approx. market value of 450k)
Investments: Not great. I'm way behind. About 100k in a 401k; 20k in Roth IRA; 20k permanent insurance cash value (I know this is a terrible place, and will be moving these funds soon), and then I'll get like $800 a month "pension" from a previous job when I retire
Accessible Savings/checking: about 40k (6 months of expenses)
Debt: $0
Cars: Paid for

So my situation seems good, and for many people it is, but my current income situation is not great. I make 55k a year (which is horrible, after being in the work force for over 20 years and have a Master's degree).

My field is social work, so not a ton of money there. I work at a university (M-F, 8:00-5:00). The pros are that the university is 2 minutes from my house. I also have a 5 year old son who has some special needs, which makes it good that I am close by. Also, my job is not stressful at all (I have worked some very stressful jobs that paid better in the past). The job is easy, I'm good at it, I get to help people, no stress, and during the summer I have a ton of down time. I have a matching 401k, so putting about $700 a month in there (with match included).

My wife also works in social work/parent education. She started her own business a year ago. The hope is that she would make 3-4k per month. Right now she's at 2k. She's working super hard to build her business, so we're giving it about 2 years to see if she can get up to that 3-4k per month or higher. She is self employed which means she can be available for the kids, which we need.

Bottom line: I make 55k a year, but my take home is more like 40k a year. My wife is brining home 2k per month, so basically we're taking home 5k a month. We have no house payment, car payment, or anything other than living expenses, but with inflation going insane and being a family of 5, 5k a month isn't cutting it. We need about an extra $1,500 per month to break even, and I have been achieving this by selling cards, but that has become increasingly difficult to do.

*sidenote* my son starts kindergarten in the Fall, so that will save $1,000 per month in day care (except for the summer). So that is huge.

I have what I estimate to be about 250k in cards that I can sell. The majority of these are the Patrick Mahomes Gold Prizm RC BGS 9.5 (last sold for 100k), and the 2013-14 Prizm Steph Curry Black 1/1 (his first Prizm black 1/1). Hard to put a value on this one, but I estimate 80-100k. Then I have about 50k more in Mahomes cards.

I am thinking about cashing out the cards and using the 250k to create extra income. I do not want to sell the cards as I do think they are going to increase in value (not everyone else agrees), but I'm debating. Obviously I've thought a lot about buying a rental property. In my area, a home that will rent for $2,000 per month will cost about 400k, so even if I put down half of a down payment my mortgage is still going to be probably $1600 or $1700 so I won't make much passive income. But, in 15 years (or less) I would have another paid for house.

I know I should get a better paying job. I turned down a job that pays about 75-80k a year recently because it would be more stressful and does not have all the benefits of my current job (as stated above). I guess I feel a little stuck, but my family is the most important thing to me, and being present physically and mentally with my kids is really important to me. But man 55k does suck.

*Secondary question* - I have a TON of down time at work right now...would love if anyone knows how to make $50 a day as a side hustle.

Ready...set...advise!

Honestly, flipping cards is your best answer to the side hustle question and that probably solves the entire cashflow conundrum. You've been doing this long enough where you should be able to be confident in knowing what to buy/sell and grade with a quick enough turnaround. There are now a lot of 18 year olds brand new to the hobby who barely know sports (let alone the hobby) who do it as a primary income source, so there are certainly opportunities still even in a down market.

From there, it's just making sure you operate in a cashflow first mindset with your family situation and not getting over leveraged with cards or short term debts. If you always sell more than you spend (i.e. buy smart but also sell smart), you'll be fine.

[swerve]

Get rid of the kids...

[Onepocketj]

There was just a thread on Reddit about side hustles to do on downtime at work. I'll see if I can find it. Apparently that's pretty big now - plus people working from home like to get a little something extra.

[pejc300]

Originally Posted by jlzinck

SO unless you sell the cards for unreportable cash you $250K is now $150/175K
Your current job at a University. Does it allow your children to enroll for free? I had a girlfriend many moons ago whose sister took a menial job at Harvard so her kids could go there.

I track all of my sales and pay taxes on everything, so I am factoring that in here (I am also down big this year, probably 50 or 60k losses on cards, so I'm not worried about the tax implications for once).

I mean honesty, you are better off that probably 70% of people in the country right now.

I'm sure you could make some money offering transcription services.

The university unfortunately does not pay for my kids college, only mine if I want to get another degree, which I probably will. Thank you, I do need to look at transcription. I'm a pretty fast typer and have about 6 hours of free time stuck in my office. Good suggestion, thank you!

Originally Posted by asujbl

How is your house paid off? Or is the $450K after years of RE increases?

Honest question since you started it. Haha

A bit of luck and timing. My house was cheap when I bought it - 227k. I had 120k left on the mortgage and then I sold some Patrick Mahomes cards for many thousands of dollars and just paid it off. Some people said not to do that, but to invest the money since my mortgage rate was so low, but I liked the idea of having no house payment. Since I bough the house 8 years ago the house has doubled in value, so the timing part was good. The luck was getting in on Mahomes real real early.

Originally Posted by corndog

My self reflection is a painful experience...

Noted!

Originally Posted by asujbl

What kind of retirement program do you get? My wife is a teacher so she has a vastly different plan than I do

I don’t know the nuances of your job

Not great. Basically there is no defined benefit, just a straight 401k with a maximum match of 7.5% which I take advantage of. So right now 15% of my pretax goes into the retirement account (which is like $8k per year). My friends who are teachers have amazing retirement plans.

Originally Posted by no10pin

No one asked for pics yet?



https://www.blowoutforums.com/showthread.php?t=1561673

The amount of DMs I've had is wild. I think I found my side hustle on Only Fans.

Originally Posted by sonnyday

First thing. Put 4K in each kids 529 plan and get the State Deduction.
Secondly. Put $6,500 in a Traditional IRA for your Wife.
Thirds. Throw the rest in a high-yield savings account until you speak to a financial advisor.

I do have a financial advisor and he's pretty good. Right now I'm looking for ways to be able to use the money now, to provide extra income. I have thought about just throwing the 250k in those T-bil things at 5% and that would be $12,500 extra (I would be taxed on the gain of course). So not a terrible idea to be honest. Thank you for your input!

Originally Posted by coltsfan23

Honestly, flipping cards is your best answer to the side hustle question and that probably solves the entire cashflow conundrum. You've been doing this long enough where you should be able to be confident in knowing what to buy/sell and grade with a quick enough turnaround. There are now a lot of 18 year olds brand new to the hobby who barely know sports (let alone the hobby) who do it as a primary income source, so there are certainly opportunities still even in a down market.

From there, it's just making sure you operate in a cashflow first mindset with your family situation and not getting over leveraged with cards or short term debts. If you always sell more than you spend (i.e. buy smart but also sell smart), you'll be fine.

I have found cards to be really tough lately. I used to be able to scour ebay and find good deals regularly, but I am getting outbid on everything. Also the market is really not good for flipping right now unless you get a good deal. I know there's always opportunity, but I've been striking out lately. And I think if I'm honest, for the first time in 42 years I'm getting a little burned out on cards. I think the massive drop stung a little more than I thought it would. Not ruling this out at all as I've generally been able to eek out $500-$1000 profit per month over the last decade, but I'm currently in a card rut for sure.

Originally Posted by swerve

Get rid of the kids...

I need the tax write off.

Originally Posted by Onepocketj

There was just a thread on Reddit about side hustles to do on downtime at work. I'll see if I can find it. Apparently that's pretty big now - plus people working from home like to get a little something extra.

If you find it, please send it! I've been doing a lot of research but haven't found the right option yet.

[majestik101]

I can't think of a worst place in the world to get financial advice than here on Blowout.

[coltsnsox07]

I have a sure fire way to double the $100K from the Mahomes, obviously take it to the roulette table at the casino and put it on red because that's what color jersey he's wearing on the card..

[Josh611]

Well the only way that $250k stays $250k is tax evasion.

And if you’re planning to put it in T Bills, I guess you can make a bunch of small deposits. Wouldn’t recommend it.

[Whodatiz]

“T bill things”. That’s awesome. I genuinely laughed out loud at that.

Thank you sir.

[pejc300]

Originally Posted by Josh611

Well the only way that $250k stays $250k is tax evasion.

And if you’re planning to put it in T Bills, I guess you can make a bunch of small deposits. Wouldn’t recommend it.

I guess you didn’t read all of the thread regarding tax evasion.