Well, at least it takes the tax concern out of the equation and only leaves the question of how to invest that money. 

And fortunately, CA has aligned the exclusion with the Federal rule. The only difference would be the state capital gains rate on any profit above the exclusion. I think CA is a bit higher than Federal.

However, the OP will need to determine if state tax is an issue in his case.

Where are you getting that estimate from? Are you single? If so, $250,000 is exempt from tax. (In other words, no tax.) Will you have more than $250,000 in profit? The amount over that will only be subject to long-term capital gains tax.   Those rates will be lower than your earned income tax rate. In fact, if you are…

Only to the max allowed, but yes, otherwise, you are correct.

It hasn’t been necessary to buy another home since 1997. There is a flat dollar amount that can be excluded from profit - $250,000 for Single filers and $500, 000 for Married Joint filers.

However, your point that the OP may not owe any taxes at all is valid. Assuming he is single, he would only owe capital gains (a…

I always managed my contributions throughout the year (necessitated by 401k eligible bonus and mid year salary increase) quite closely to be sure I would get the full match come December. One year I miscalculated, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that my company did a true-up. Good for those companies that do…

Wow, no index funds? That’s just wrong. I wonder if the employer realizes that they have a fiduciary duty to oversee what the investment company is doing and offering.

Oh, I’m with you there. The problem with robocalls and criminals is huge. Currently, there is no real solution for the problem- partly, I believe, due to a lack of appetite to cut them off rather than lack of technology.

In my experience and as blackraen noted, the vast majority of spam callers do not leave a VM. 

I’m with you. I keep a low profile online but not a no-profile. But nonetheless, it should be apparent to my friends that I value my privacy. Do not post a picture of us on your public blog and to make it worse include my name. Jeez. Others post every lunch we have on FB, because they live very publicly online. I have…

I think so. I’m the same way. Maybe we can console ourselves by kicking butt at Jeopardy or Trivial Pursuit.

Oh, no!
I’ve been a reader of LH for many years, and while I don’t remember when you started, I consider you the last of the first writers (with Alan, Thorin, and others) that I’ve enjoyed so much since I started reading.

Best wishes. I’ll think of you whenever I use my 9.5 x 6 Mead notebook.

Oh my god, it is tacos. Thanks for pointing that out. These are the dumbest bunch of corrupt hypocrits ever.

...according to Zillow, you can expect to spend $3,021 a year on average on things like carpet cleaning, yard work, gutter cleaning, etc., if you don’t do those tasks yourself.

Eventually, you’ll be old enough (like me) to retire and escape all that BS. (!)

The mention of American casserole as well as corn reminds me of a recipe for All American casserole I found in a catalog for vegetarian foods long ago. Since then I’ve adapted it depending on my mood. It’s good but maybe too boring for a column. Could be a starting point though - maybe combined with the other ideas of…

My homemade almond milk is much richer than store-bought. We must use much different water ratios.

Any thoughts on the insistence by manufacturers that freezers have a dedicated circuit?
I assume that most of the concern is that an over-loaded circuit could go out and ruin a lot of food. But I haven’t been able to find any definitive explanation for this requirement.

Anyone have reliable information about the…

I like to cook, too, and I consider part of my grocery budget to be also hobby budget. Fortunately, I don’t need to be super frugal either. I have almost entirely stopped eating out, which when I was working, I was doing several times a week. So, spending a little extra on groceries still nets out to less on food…

Exactly. When I was married and raising my daughter, we had only one bathroom. Not only were the 3 of us using it, but we had visitors in our house every. single. day. Adults and children. I never had any idea what was happening with those towels over the course of the day.