u/CommunityConscious0

Just wondering if some physicians have done this, and realized it was a good decision. Dual physician household here, just started attending practice 1 and 2 yrs ago, with HHI of $1M annually. We’re enjoying our life, traveling when we can, spend on things we want but we’re not buying anything luxurious. No debts. Has $360k in brokerage, $160k in retirement/IRA, $120k in hysa for emergency fund, started 529 this year for one with $38k, $9k HSA. All needed insurances in place. Family and friends would ask us why we have not bought a house yet. We feel like we don’t want all the responsibilities of being homeowners. The house we’re renting is a really nice house in a nice neighborhood for $2300/month. Been here for 2 yrs already, and our landlord said we can rent this out for as long as we can. He lives in a bigger city and does not have plans of selling this house. Even if rent increases over the years, we don’t think it will be high enough that will let us think about it. We are at peace and ok renting for a longer period of time, maybe even 5-10 yrs. That will give us so much freedom too in case we want to move. We both love our jobs so we want to stay, but I mean we can be flexible if things change. Just want some insights for people who opted to rent for a long while too before becoming homeowners. Thank you!

For those who have some cents 😅 or personal experience with this, I’d love to hear your thoughts on building a new home vs. buying an older home (around 10–15 years old).

We’re looking at something like $500K+ for a new build, plus the cost of the lot ($80-100k) versus around $450K+ for an existing 10–15-year-old home. This is talking about a standard 4 bedroom, 2 baths, covered 2 car garage, unfinished basement, with a backyard and front porch.

I’m trying to think about the bigger picture—not just the purchase price, but also the cost of repairs and renovations that may come up sooner with an older home. On the other hand, with a new build, you’re paying more upfront but get to choose the layout, kitchen, finishes, extra car garage, etc.

For those who bought an existing home and eventually spent money renovating the kitchen, adding a sunroom and garage, changing the layout, replacing flooring, etc., did you ever feel like you would have been better off just building new from the beginning, especially once you added up the renovation costs?

Or, in hindsight, did buying an existing home and renovating it make more financial sense?

Would especially love to hear from anyone who has done both or has built a home recently. What costs or considerations did you not expect?

Is a financial advisor, one time consult fee worth it? Dual physician who started earning $1.1M annually. Basically learned everything from WCI, bogle heads, physician side gigs regarding maxing out tax strategies such as 401k/403b, backdoor roth, hsa, dcfsa. Started 529 for our baby. 6 mos emergency fund. 150k in SGOV (for house downpayment in 2-3 yrs). Has laddered term life insurance, occupation specific disability. Now dumping all extra to brokerage VTI/VXUS (90/10). Wondering how an FA can further help us. I do understand they are experts so maybe can give us a different perspective for stability and wealth building. Thank you for your input!

Is a financial advisor, one time consult fee worth it? Dual physician who started earning $1.1M annually. Basically learned everything from WCI, bogle heads, physician side gigs regarding maxing out tax strategies such as 401k/403b, backdoor roth, hsa, dcfsa. Started 529 for our baby. 6 mos emergency fund. 150k in SGOV (for house downpayment in 2-3 yrs). Has laddered term life insurance, occupation specific disability. Now dumping all extra to brokerage VTI/VXUS (90/10). Wondering how an FA can further help us. I do understand they are experts so maybe can give us a different perspective for stability and wealth building. Thank you for your input!

Dependent care FSA question. Spouse employer sent a mail that due to nondiscrimination testing, max DCFSA will be reduced to $2,227, instead of the max $7,500 that we elected before the year started. That’s a lot of difference for tax savings! Now my employer is allowing me to enroll late, but HR is saying I can only contribute lesser of $5k if MFS or $2500 if MFJ. The IRS limit for 2026 is $7,500. We file married jointly, but can I still elect $5k to reach the highest possible we can? It’s the total amount per household that matters, no? Thank you for your inputs.

We have acquired 300k in HYSA with current 3.7% apy. This is supposed to be emergency fund and potential downpayment for a house. However, we run the numbers for buying a house and it doesn’t make sense at this point until 2-3 years from now to buy one because we are not sure if we want to stay in this place long-term plus we like our current rental home for a very affordable price with a very nice landlord. Having said that, we were told that the 300k is too much to be in a hysa. We don’t want to put it into brokerage yet. Where do you suggest to put it if we wish to havw some liquidity in the next 3-5 years? Thank you for your advice.

Bought a white model Y using my friend’s referral link and got 3 months full FSD. This morning there is a silver with earlier delivery so I grabbed it. Then the free 3 mos was gone. Who should I call to re-instate the free 3 mos again? Will I get it back?

Ordered white one with 7 seater config on May 2. Expected delivery is May 18-June 15. Now app says there is an available model now but color silver. It is our second choice. However I am hesitant why the availability - did someone not like it and left it? What is the reason behind a car being available suddenly?

Got the premium 7 seater configuration. Please recommend the best all season mats. I live in a place with heavy snow during winter. Also, what is the difference between getting 50 amp vs 60 amp home installed charger? Electrician quoted $670 for 50 amp and $820 for 60 amp. Thanks!!!

Hi! Currently looking for the new model Y with 7 seater configuration. None in the inventory for now. But what tips and advice can you give me in this process? Pls share important knowledge I should have and information I should be prioritizing when buying pre-owned car. Thank you so much.