Matt

former treasury option pit trader. relocated maine

[Lloyd Blankfein @lloydblankfein]

Risk management 101—every exposure should have a limit, even when you’re sure nothing could go wrong. After all, the Titanic sank and AAA mortgage bonds went to zero. I worry about the market’s (and the economy’s) unlimited appetite for exposure to the positive AI revenue story.

[Matt @MStoneback]

@dieworkwear got any insight on suspenders vs a belt in current business casual or formal. Would love a write up!

[Matt @MStoneback]

@joshmanmode_ Winning

[Matt @MStoneback]

@joshmanmode_ Venice is a perfect place if you just go off the beaten path

[Matt @MStoneback]

@joshmanmode_ Have you been to santo palato? Place is amazing.

[Matt @MStoneback]

@jwalkermobile Great idea!

[Matt @MStoneback]

@buccocapital @conorsen As a transplant from Chicago to Maine….. fully agree on this point.

[Matt @MStoneback]

@MSGCapital Solid spot.

[Matt @MStoneback]

@jwalkermobile Solid spot

[Matt @MStoneback]

@DragonFlyTrust 10yr options…. Good times

[Matt @MStoneback]

@MSGCapital Le compoir. Excellent work. Wine bar Nextdoor is excellent but I’m sure you know that

[Matt @MStoneback]

@London_W4 Get an oyster across the street

[Matt @MStoneback]

@London_W4 Great Samuel smith pub….

[Mark Cecchini, CFP® @markcecchini]

COMMANDER: We’re fighting for freedom. And part of that freedom… is the freedom to retire with dignity. So we’re going to start accounts called 401(k)s.

SOLDIER 1: What’s a 401(k)?

COMMANDER: It’s a retirement account. You put money in, it grows tax-free, you take it out when you’re old.

SOLDIER 2: So I don’t pay taxes on it?

COMMANDER: Well, you pay taxes later. When you withdraw.

SOLDIER 2: So it’s not tax-free.

COMMANDER: It’s…tax-deferred.

SOLDIER 2: What’s the difference?

COMMANDER: You pay taxes later instead of now.

SOLDIER 1: What if I want to pay taxes now?

COMMANDER: Then you do a Roth 401(k).

SOLDIER 3: What’s a Roth?

COMMANDER: You pay taxes now, and it grows tax-free.

SOLDIER 2: That’s what I thought the first one was.

COMMANDER: No, the first one you pay taxes later.

SOLDIER 1: Which one’s better?

COMMANDER: Depends on your tax bracket in retirement.

SOLDIER 1: …How would I…know that?

COMMANDER: You don’t. You just guess.

⸻

SOLDIER 4: What if I don’t have a 401(k) through my employer?

COMMANDER: Then you open an IRA.

SOLDIER 4: What’s the difference?

COMMANDER: One’s through your job, one’s on your own.

SOLDIER 4: Can I have both?

COMMANDER: Yes.

SOLDIER 4: Should I?

COMMANDER: Maybe.

SOLDIER 3: Can I do a Roth IRA?

COMMANDER: Only if you make under a certain amount.

SOLDIER 3: What’s the limit?

COMMANDER: Changes every year.

SOLDIER 2: What if I make too much?

COMMANDER: Then you do a backdoor Roth by putting it in a Traditonal first.

SOLDIER 2: …Is that legal?

COMMANDER: Surprisingly, yes.

SOLDIER 1: What’s a backdoor Roth?

COMMANDER: You contribute to a traditional IRA, then convert it to a Roth…but watch out for “pro rata”.

SOLDIER 1: Why wouldn’t I just contribute to the Roth directly?

COMMANDER: Because you make too much money.

SOLDIER 1: But this way I can?

COMMANDER: Yes.

SOLDIER 1: That feels like a loophole.

COMMANDER: It is. But the IRS is cool with it.

⸻

SOLDIER 5: I just changed battalions. What do I do with my old 401(k)?

COMMANDER: You roll it over.

SOLDIER 5: Into what?

COMMANDER: An IRA. Or your new 401(k). Depends.

SOLDIER 5: On what?

COMMANDER: The funds. The fees. Whether your new plan accepts rollovers.

SOLDIER 5: What if I just take the money out?

COMMANDER: You’ll pay taxes plus a 10% penalty.

SOLDIER 5: What if I’m 59?

COMMANDER: Penalty.

SOLDIER 5: 59 and a half?

COMMANDER: No penalty.

SOLDIER 5: …The half matters?

COMMANDER: The half matters.

⸻

SOLDIER 3: What’s a mega backdoor Roth?

COMMANDER: Okay. So. Your 401(k) has a limit of how much you can contribute.

SOLDIER 3: Right.

COMMANDER: But the total limit including employer contributions is higher.

SOLDIER 3: Okay…

COMMANDER: So if your plan allows ~after-tax~ contributions, you can put in more, then convert that to Roth.

SOLDIER 3: Does my plan allow that?

COMMANDER: I don’t know. You have to ask Betsy.

SOLDIER 3: Will Betsy know?

COMMANDER: Probably not.

⸻

SOLDIER 2: Can I deduct my IRA contribution on my taxes?

COMMANDER: Are you covered by a retirement plan at work?

SOLDIER 2: Yes.

COMMANDER: Then only if you make under a certain amount per year.

SOLDIER 2: What’s the amount?

COMMANDER: Depends if you’re married.

SOLDIER 2: What if my wife has a plan but I don’t?

COMMANDER: Different limit.

SOLDIER 2: What if neither of us has a plan?

COMMANDER: Full deduction.

SOLDIER 2: So it’s better to not have a 401(k)?

COMMANDER: No…

⸻

SOLDIER 1: Can I just keep my money in a sock?

COMMANDER: You could. But inflation will slowly destroy it.

SOLDIER 1: What’s inflation?

COMMANDER: (sighs)…

[Matt @MStoneback]

@spooky_JL Good

[Matt @MStoneback]

@midtown_rob 00/01 sitting in the living room with my dad and he had cnbc on…. Watching the dot come trade after hours….. don’t understand post market those days but vividly remember him saying how nuts it was.

[Matt @MStoneback]

@RampCapitalLLC @Polymarket So good.

[BuccoCapital Bloke @buccocapital]

50 year mortgages. More stimulus checks. We are never going to fix our problems in a structural, root-cause way. We are incapable of taking our medicine. Act and invest accordingly

[PintsO’Guinness @PintsO_Guinness]

Life goals