adulting on Joseph Chen

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 18:10:25 -0500

fidelity or payroll should automatically stop 401k overcontributions 🙏🙏 the bare minimum please 😭😭 don’t let me down now

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 18:08:32 -0500

👋👋 byebye federally subsidized student loans, had a hard time letting you guys go for some odd reason

さよなら student loans

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 17:56:23 -0500

okay, after much consideration, i’ve decided to just fully pay off my student loans. despite some tax benefits, low borrowing costs, federal borrower protections, and the opportunity cost of capital, the headspace and attention overhead needed for such minor advantages just didn’t make sense anymore.

my financial motto (for now): simple, adequate, and automated.

we love Ws.

re: Mega Backdoor Roth

Sun, 12 Oct 2025 15:36:00 -0500

Let’s talk about the Mega Backdoor Roth! Note that only some employers allow for this as it’s 1) more expensive 2) more complex 3) more overhead in general 4) targeted towards higher earners only

Pleasantly surprising, United Airlines has this baked into our Fidelity 401(k) plan, which I, despite being a bit too low-earning to fully take advantage of it, will try it out.

What is a Mega Backdoor Roth? So, this is a retirement strategy that comprises of two features inside a 401(k) plan to get tens of thousands more dollars into Roth status (meaning it can grow tax-free FOREVER!), far beyond the traditional ~$7k Roth IRA limit.

Those two features, which again may not be available for all 401(k) plans, are after-tax 401(k) contributions and Roth in-plan conversion. The former is a third contribution type after traditional pre-tax and Roth. The latter is the ability to roll this after-tax money out to a Roth IRA while still employed. With both, one can execute the Mega Backdoor Roth.

A 2022 report by Plan Sponsor Council of America found that only 21% of 401(k) plans allow after-tax contributions, and that’s only one of two mechanisms needed for this to work. I’d guess only 10-15% of 401(k) plans fully enable this strategy.

IRS Limits So, let’s talk about limits. 401(k) contributions are known to have a ~$23,500 cap. However, that only applies to pre-tax and Roth 401(k) contributions only. There’s actually a further limit of ~$69,000 which includes pre-tax and Roth, as well as employer match and after-tax! This means you can contribute after-tax contributions to your 401(k) even after meeting the $23,500 pre-tax and Roth cap. You don’t necessarily have to wait until you reach that $23,500 cap to start doing after-tax contribution. It’s just that it’s best to fully take advantage of the $23,500 pre-tax/Roth contributions first as it is the most tax-efficient and allows for essentially free money w/ employer match. I personally plan to do a percentage for pre-tax and after-tax on each paycheck for now as to not need a mid-year manual adjustment. Fidelity also helps cut the contributions off if they are set to go over the limits, which further reduces needed headspace.

Flow Paycheck → After-tax 401(k) → Roth in-plan conversion (inside 401(k) plan) → Grows tax-free as Roth 401(k) → Leave employer → Rollover Roth 401(k) to personal Roth IRA (no deadline, but never hurts to do it sooner than later) → No RMDs, Lifetime Tax-Free Growth

Summary Even among the financially-literate, many think the annual Roth contribution limit is strictly capped at ~$7,000. But inside certain 401(k) plans, this Mega Backdoor Roth strategy allows the conversion of up to $40,000+ per year into Roth status… tax-free forever. It’s lowkey ridiculous, but hey, enjoy it while it lasts. As for me, I do not get paid enough yet to fully partake in it, but that’s a me problem, not a you problem :D

Mon, 21 Jul 2025 15:18:46 -0500

ended up making some broccoli in the morning; one batch simmered in mirin and broth, the other wok fried with salt and pepper + some garlic (the latter batch was tastier)

Mon, 21 Jul 2025 00:02:24 -0500

meal prepping for the second week of full-time work!! gotta make some veggies but it’s midnight already so it’s time to zzz

Sun, 25 May 2025 03:58:38 -0500

just remembered to cancel my pge gas payments + wifi payments, almost forgot, whew

Sat, 24 May 2025 22:06:51 -0500

selling mimi! hopefully i find her a super good owner :) listed 6000 OBO

well... i just graduated

Wed, 21 May 2025 19:50:59 -0500

I feel like there’s a lot to unpack, yet I’m still in the same constantly-on mode as I was this whole semester. It’s hard for me to really think, like there’s some kind of invisible weight on the top of my head. I think I’ll wait until later this summer to slowly let out some thoughts.

Just wanted to at least put an update out, especially since I’m not doing really anything at this particular minute.

This past week, though, has been hectic. Had to:

Take over repairs and maintenance for the condo I grew up in as parents have long been pretty mid + unbothered landlords and neglecting some much needed work: talked quotes, soothed frustrated residents, negotiated w/ contractors, coordinated HOA for water shut-offs, trying to figure out whether I’m getting a fair price or not, ensuring contract was somewhat bullet-resistant, taking initiative w/ gestures of goodwill, and just constant CALLS, CALLS, CALLS. However, the work should finish up tomorrow or the day after, which will hopefully offer some much-needed reprieve. Not sure if I’ll write up something about this, but tl;dr is old type-m cheap copper pipes, pinhole leaks -> water damage, doing full repipe w/ PEX-A + adaptors, issues w/ sharing lines, + drywall restoration.
Help w/ my mom’s car repairs. Was making a pretty bad noise + driving poorly. I advised her to go to a trusted local/independent mechanic rather than a dealership, and I even sent a few over to her that I vetted. She ended up at the dealership, but luckily, it was a pretty reasonably-priced inspection, and I was able to convince her to take the repairs at a trusted mechanic, which saved over $1000 overall. There could’ve been a few upsells like air filters, but honestly well-priced ones, so why not. They might’ve genuinely needed a change + it’s not like my parents would change those themselves. Win-win in my books. They get a bit more business + we get good prices on the larger repairs like changing the brake rotors and pads that she wore down.
Follow up on my two student’s college things, which I need to do later today as well, as they’re not staying on top of registration and other tasks despite promises to do so. I love working with them, but goodness it’s frustrating because I can’t be there for them all the time.
Catching up with United work: set up laptop for better access to Foundry + heads down/deep work. Lots and lots to do and figure out, sighs.
Parents came over for general commencement + broke the PS5 and showerhead within the 20 hours they stayed at the house, so had to get those repaired. Shopped around for PS5 hdmi repair quotes (ranged from $150-180) and found this goated shop that gave me a student discount to total $88 after taxes. Shoutout Quickfix Wireless on Telegraph. Evan (LL and roommate) handled the showerhead, ty.
Packing + moving + parents + graduation + social + dinners/chats w/ ppl’s parents + all of that. Not really stressful like the rest, but rather the fun and freeing side of the week.
IPIRA + RDI, need to get a move on those.
Final grades are rolling out. One professor mixed me up with another “Chen” and gave me a B instead of an A-. Actually had me so pmo for the last 24 hours, but he resolved it, thank goodness. Thought I needed to file a grade appeal or something for the first time in my college career because that was the most unwarranted B I ever gotten. In comparison, I’m happy to settle with an A-. After all, this professor is notorious with random grading that favors student athletes, finance bros/gals, and his inner circle of students. I, for one, am not part of that, but I did my fair share of the participation and work, so an A- is honestly quite reasonable. As for CS61C, I think I ended with a B+, which was better than my original hope for a B-, yet falls just short of an A-. Given I learned almost 75% of the course content in the two weeks leading up to the final. It’s a fair B+. Had I put in some effort into the class besides the bare minimum throughout the semester, I think I would have gotten an A-, although one could argue I wouldn’t have studied as hard as I did had I not been and justifiably felt so unprepared for the final. Seeing if I can clutch up an A-, but I think I’m, again, just short of the cut-off. Can’t have it all haha. Should be happy with what I have and how I did on the exam tbh. Went from -0.55 z-score to a positive one, which then clobbered the bad midterm performance.
Still tutoring, too :P

Anyways, a little psychological analysis if you don’t mind. Apparently, I’m (as well as many others for sure) in this state of cognitive fatigue and decision overload, a state where my prefrontal cortex (responsible for planning, focusing, and regulating emotions) is worn down from a long period of sustained mental effort. Like muscle fatigue, but for executive function. So, brain is genuinely exhausted. Additionally, chronic stress hormones are still being produced as our bodies have been running on cortisol and adrenaline for months, so that fight or flight is still basically on. Makes it hard to feel peace, rest, or process emotions. There’s also this psychological transition lag that psychologists call “liminal space” (an in-between zone after one identity ends (student) and before the next fully forms (adult/corporate cog/etc?). And apparently the brain dislikes this uncertainty and loss of structure, so it creates a weird emotional “buzz” where things can feel frozen or numb. Last concept would be the rest paradox, where rest after being in the hustle mode long enough can feel quite uncomfortable and even stressful as my brain associates idleness with being “unproductive” so it keeps scanning for tasks, making it hard to decompress. However, it’s right though as I do have a lot of tasks still, even after graduating, which I find ridiculous T.T let me travel and relax already.

All of it should pass with time as the nervous system rebalances and I actually finish some of the tasks on my plate :)

“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.” ― John Lubbock, The Use Of Life

Tue, 06 May 2025 20:35:32 -0500

just studying for cs61c, going to be a really tough final; perhaps the toughest in my undergrad career simply due to the lack of preparation, discipline, and prioritization

reaping what i sow… it’s genuinely such an interesting class, but just have a sizable amount on my plate the entire semester, sighs. however, now on lecture 38, guest speaker Dave Patterson from Google and UC Berkeley

lessons from the first 50 years of my career

People

Family first! Don’t sacrifice your family’s happiness on the altar of success.
Choose happiness.
It’s the people, not the projects, that you value in the long run.
The cost of praise is small. The value to others is inestimable.
Seek out honest feedback; it might be right.
“For better or for worse, benchmarks shape a field.”
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.”
Beware of those who believe that they are the smartest person in the room.

Career

“Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important.”
“Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion.”
“There are no losers on a winning team, and no winners on a losing team.”
Lead by example.
“Audentes Fortuna iuvat.” (Fortune favors the bold).
Culture matters.
It’s not how many projects you start; it’s how many you finish.
Look for the positive opportunities.

here’s the presentation url saved in my drive. it’s really nothing more than what’s written above, but it’s a nice ppt format: [drive.google.com/file/d/1g…

Sat, 03 May 2025 16:20:40 -0500

Still struggling w/ passing California smog with my Miata. The P0012 code is quite sticky, and I’ve spent over $300 to date trying to resolve it. I just applied for the BAR CAP (Consumer Assistance Program) to get some money towards further repairs like looking at the timing belt + gears. Hopefully, they’ll get back to me with an approval within 2 weeks. Overall, though, really exhausted + disappointed I wasn’t able to find a way to pass smog today. Even drove highways to try to set all the monitors, but ended up just setting the CEL before the monitors were ready.

On the bright side, got Boichik bagels, fruits, and veggies today!

Sat, 12 Apr 2025 10:14:35 -0500

12% to FIRE @ 40 🔥

Sat, 12 Apr 2025 00:42:14 -0500

I miss #yolo. I feel a bit cynical. The world seems to be falling apart bits by bits. We are so consumed by distractions. Online shopping. Influencers. Doom-scrolling. Grind and hustle culture. I think it’s just my mental tbh. Just working day in and day out. I just want to truly relax, but this semester ain’t it. It be like that though. I enrolled myself into responsibilities that are responsible for my workload. I just wish the rewards justified the sacrifice.

Okay, I’m just ranting because I’m a bit annoyed at something/someone. But, I’ll still rant. Like… no. We don’t need to work 80 hours a week to be happy. But, at the same time, why do I have to worry about finances? Why do I have to worry that I can’t afford a house? Why is it that we put others down in this world? Why is it that we refuse to grant adequate amounts of housing and construction? Why is it that we’d rather fund bombs than fund space programs? Why is it that our lives are so strongly influenced and controlled by the whims of the few? Why is it that your life is so strongly dependent on luck? Of course, you can make your own future. You can make your own fate. But, we didn’t choose to be born. We didn’t choose to toil the soil beneath our feet for the benefit of the mighty few. We didn’t choose to lose the few hours our lives offer to reap a scarce fraction of our blood, sweat, and tears. Sighs. End rant.

“Civilization is a hopeless race to discover remedies for the evils it produces.” — Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Mon, 07 Apr 2025 12:54:03 -0500

here’s two helpful resources if you ever want to get into credit cards + churning!

card recommendation flowchart, focused on churning I believe (included as photo in case link depreciates) m16p-churning.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/Card+Reco…

historical offers checker / offer optimization www.offeroptimist.com

ask me for referral links pls :D

Thu, 27 Mar 2025 12:00:33 -0500

completed my own tax returns via freetaxusa but sent the files to mom’s accountant to let him do his thing since my mom pays him a flat fee each year anyways (i wanted the practice of doing it myself, and now i can cross-check it). kinda annoying though since my income from illinois is flat-taxed, which disproportionately harms the lower-income (ahem, me)

postponing my jury duty service to post-graduation, but there are no dates to postpone to T.T hoping an agent picks up because I cannot go down to LA in two weeks just for this. edit: no one picked up but i was able to submit a transfer request to near Berkeley while on hold, so that should be fine for the time-being

continuing to sort out the Hertz insurance issue for my “aunt” this morning

now helping look into moving companies for evan & hashing out Divvy for Everyone for gabi

Fri, 21 Mar 2025 04:42:28 -0500

things i gotta get done over the break (a rough draft)

some top-level goals:

enjoy miami w/ evan and gabi + chat w/ evan & help figure out gameplan after umiami visit
check out chicago neighborhoods & chicago food/museum scene oam the goat for housing me and gabi

some immediate goals (like tmr 💀):

pray that i make the plane from nighttime SFO-MIA tmr (4:1), if not, probably midnight IAD (9:5) then early morning MIA (decently open iirc) 🙏🙏🙏 (MADE IT 🙌🙌🙌)
reply rohit about work-related things ✅
call up the “neighbor” for insurance deets ⚠️
start & finish 61c lab ✅ (forgot for a sec so used 2 slip days)
ipira meeting ❌ + rdi siteimprov work ✅
cry over retainer realignment pain (have them off right now and savoring each second before the inevitable pain agony misery despair melancholy depression) ✅
nlp meeting for ap3 ✅
can’t think of anything else, oh… weather check + pack!!!!! 🛄✈️ 📦✅

just general goals (only a week, no need for that much depth):

TBD, it’s 2:30am rn

Tue, 11 Mar 2025 19:39:19 -0500

www.app.traveltime.com is a dope tool to check reachable areas via given time of day / mode of transportation. using it right now to see what areas are reachable to work w/in 30 min!

mimi aint passing smog check, pain

Mon, 10 Mar 2025 16:39:57 -0500

ok why does everything cost money?

so went to get my smog checked, $30 regardless if pass or fail failed, obviously by the title, and it’s because error code P0012 - “A” Camshaft Position - Timing Over-Retarded Bank 1. just great because I diagnosed this issue months and months ago and found that it’s not only a common problem on the Miata NB, but also very hard to find the root cause…

ok so after an hour dooming and researching outside because I can’t sell my car without passing smog. I found the California CAP (consumer assistance program) which can help cover costs of repair up to X amount if I qualify. well I’m on CalFresh so I do, but it’s a joint ownership so I’m worried my mom will disqualify mimi for it. sighs.

anyways I went to a cafe to collect my thoughts bc the smog check place said it’d be $150 for diagnosis.

I called Fred’s Warehouse and didn’t really know what to say tbh. kinda out of my field of expertise. are they able to diagnose over the phone? is there even a point telling him my error code? like what?? anyways he was a bit stern but nice and straightforward, said that I should check my oil as a first measure since it can affect the camshaft position. that I knew but I guess I got overwhelmed by the tens and tens of other issues that could cause this error code on mimi. also he said $175 for diagnosis, pain.

so I was like okay, let’s oil change mimi myself bc I should learn anyways and I like doing DIY. but tell me why miata owners say the oil/filter the most inconveniently located place for NB?! also I don’t want to hurt myself, hurt the car, and have a mess to deal with like waste oil. so yeah, it was not worth my time right now as I’m a college student without much time nor tools. sooooo, looked at places to get my oil changed and I was like might as well get my leaking tire fixed.

so tires. I called DC Tires bc a AAA mechanic brought gabi and mimi there once to get a new tire and apparently a really good experience + good price. they were indeed nice and said they got nothing that old in stock, that being 24 years old model. fair. they recommended me to buy a tire online and they can switch it for me. as for oil change, they didn’t do it but referred me to an oil change shop, which would top off my other fluids, too. not sure what other fluids there are tbh. i know there are other fluids, but how good is that deal persay.

anyways, my smog test place also did oil changes and they were nice. $60 was their quote, but they told me to first check if I need a top-off or an oil change, and that I shouldn’t do an oil change if unnecessary. hence why I like that place in general, solid advice. so, I guess that’s the next step. something about a dipstick and oil level. sighs.

the nice reprieve is that all these places (DC, Fred’s, and 15min) seemed pretty helpful and considerate and gave me tips to move towards resolving the issues I brought up w/o necessarily trying to upsell me their services. for that, I am quite appreciative, esp. given the poor reputation the mechanic/car industry as a whole has in their treatment and exploitation of the uninformed and poor.

registration apparently expiring in two days, what to do. got an exam that day, too, which I’m behind on, so that takes priority. being broke is tough. but just fyi, at least in cali, I already paid the registration fee so I won’t get charged late fees, but when my tag expires in the two days, I can technically get pulled over and get fix-it tickets, which should be resolved once I, yk, fix the problem in question. impt thing is: avoid public parking. apparently u can just get parking tickets for incomplete registration, which is the case here. sighs.

“it is expensive to be poor” - james baldwin