Bogleheads.org

Call Vanguard and ask them the best way to do this to minimize additional fees. They deal with this scenario all the time. You may qualify for commission free trades in your Vanguard account, depending on size of the account. Though Vanguard does charge a small account transfer fee no matter how muc...

I suggest you take a hard look at your reasons for rejecting uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. The number of drivers on the road with a suspended or revoked drivers license who are not insurable is greater then you think. In addition the number of drivers on the road who never got a lice...

What a great opportunity to meet Scott in person for those near Austin.

I have enjoyed reading his insights both when he was still with a Dallas News paper and now with his on line commentary at http://assetbuilder.com/

regards,

Birthday Greetings to you Taylor,

Thanks for all you do for the Bogleheads, and hope you keep at it through many more birthdays to come!

best regards,

First year I have had to deal with this rather bewildering process as well.

Found this website to have a lot of useful info on the topic.

http://www.thecollegesolution.com

regards,

Both Budget and Enterprise are featured rental companies on the Costco Travel website, along with Alamo and Avis. I have consistently found the lowest car rental prices for leisure rental going through Costco compared to other sources, You do need a Costco membership number to make a reservation. ht...

https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/bonds/bonddesk

Since all CD's are federally insured up to $250,000 per depositor per bank, I would just choose the highest yield for the duration you are looking for from those available through the Vanguard bond desk.

regards,

1551.5

That is as good as the weather ever gets up here during the late July early August weeks.

Do not confuse it with a lower 48 hot summer day, but the the 24 hour daylight makes up for it.

Enjoy your trip!

Hard to beat these planning tools, both for the quality and the price. http://www.analyzenow.com/Free%20Programs/free_programs.htm Some very helpful articles also available on Bud Hebeler's website "Analyze Now". The mission of Analyze Now is to disseminate inexpensive retirement planning ...

Larry,

Thanks for sharing your list, and taking the time to put the web links to more on each book.

I have already put a couple of interest from your list (that I would not have stumbled across on my own) on reserve at the local library and look forward to reading them.

best regards,

Just downloaded the 2012 Turbotax deluxe software using the link at the Vanguard Tax center page.

https://personal.vanguard.com/us/insights/taxcenter

Sure is a nice benefit of using Vanguard to get the free or discounted access to Turbotax.

regards,
Bruce

It is costing you less then $2000 a year to purchase service credit for those years you already worked, but can now include in FERS.

No other investment you can make with that money is likely to have a higher return.

regards,

I used the following kit from Amazon and it worked very well. Had to do it from both sides since it was too long (I didn't buy the extension kit). http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0014C ... hs_product Thanks for the tip on this, I used it yesterday and kit was easy to use and worked great. Make su...

Rick, Well written and interesting piece. Thought this sentence was worth repeating! I ndex investing is a more profitable investment solution than what the masses of investors who remain in denial will achieve in their lifetimes. Thanks for taking the time to write it, and thanks for posting the li...

Welcome Home.

Taylor had us worried, but glad to hear you are healing.

Enjoy the beautiful view from the "house that Jack built".

All the best to both of you.

best regards,

Missing some key info here to make a recommendation or decision. When can you start collecting the pension? Immediately, at 65, or some other option? Is there a survivor benefit? How much and how big a payment reduction, if any, for the surviving spouse. What is your health and general life expectan...

I would suggest a look at page 5 of the 2011 Berkshire Hathaway annual report to shareholders. Housing will come back – you can be sure of that. Over time, the number of housing units necessarily matches the number of households (after allowing for a normal level of vacancies). For a period of years...

We used the original agent who helped us find our first house as the listing agent to sell that house 16 years later, and also used her as our buyers agent to purchase our existing house. She offered (with no negotiating on our part, just her standard business practice to build a client base of repe...

JSeiden5 wrote:f I increase my Federal tax withholding exemption (0 to 1), decreasing the amount of Federal taxes withheld out of my paycheck, will it affect my AGI?

No

The amount withheld for income tax does not reduce your AGI.

Not sure I understand that chart.

It is not intuitive that a 19% drop in the stock market should have an equal 5% reduction in portfolio stock allocation for a portfolio that is 40% stocks, and a portfolio that is 60% stocks.

regards,

Thought this Jonathon Clements quote was on point. “The richest family in the neighborhood may live in the smallest house with the oldest cars.” But ultimately this is not only a financial decision for you. If you stay and add on, do not underestimate the hassle of living with drywall dust and other...

Rayout, Thanks for sharing the link to the Forisk Blog, thought this Jan 2012 post was an interesting view, “Aren’t shares in timber REITs similar to owning timberlands?” Sorry, no. Thanks for playing. When you own shares in a timber REIT, you don’t own timberland. You own a piece of a business, ove...

How about contributing an allowable annual contribution of $2000 to the Education Savings Account (ESA) to get it over $10,000 and qualify for admiral shares? As you know once the ESA is closed out, the option to open a new one at Vanguard is gone. You can still choose to contribute to the 529 plan ...

I am rooting for nisiprius to win with that guess of 12579.10

best regards,

for a week or two its cheaper to rent then own, but most RV rentals do not allow pets inside. For a three day holiday weekend, rentals may not make sense or be avialable. Suggest you try a private party rental for your first few trips before you make a purchase decision. It can be quality family tim...

http://www.bogleheads.org/readbooks.htm Welcome to the forum. The link above has a number of good books to start your journey. The Investor's Manifesto: Preparing for Prosperity, Armageddon, and Everything in Between by Dr. William Bernstein is my first recommendation from the list, but you can not...

Not sure why Vanguard Bond funds did worse then Vanguard Stock funds against their peers over the time period measured. Note especially the three year performance of Vanguard Bond funds, I thought Vanguard excelled in low cost bond funds, am I misreading the data in the bar chart for three year perf...

I have read several of his books, and track the free newsletter advice on his website. My opinion is each of his books I have read offer sound, well thought out advice. His list of questions to ask any one giving you financial advice before investing (in his book "Stay Rich for Life!: Growing &...

After looking at the photo of your boots that wore out, I suggest you look at Danner hiking boots, especially any of the ones that can be resoled. They are built to last. They cost a bit more at time of purchase, but will keep going long (years) after a cheaper brand is worn out. http://www.danner.c...

Nathan Drake wrote:Some of these numbers seem absurdly high for people so young

Perhaps Ed Slott's "Stretch IRA" is catching on!

Thanks for sharing this. Got on Netflix streaming to check it out, and the first episode was so good dear wife and I stayed up to watch the second episode.

Have not seen BBC TV this good since Foyle's War.

regards,

Great way to conduct a poll, the number of entries are running up quickly.

Might become as popular as the annual Bogleheads contest to guess the year end close of the S+P index.

Projected annual pension payment in this plan would be $22k. Suggest you don't consider your projected future estimated annual withdrawal amount from an ever fluctuating bundle of assets in a 457 plan to be the same as your current vested defined benefit plan pension payment. A market drop at the w...

1367.25

Thank You Taylor, An amazing Christmas gift to share with us. Merry Christmas to you and Pat. All the best in the New Year. My Dad was a teenager in the US Army Air Corps during that time, but in the Pacific Theater. Wish he could have seen the WW2 Memorial on the National Mall, but in his memory my...

Costco is a great company and offers quality products and service. But our experience last month getting multiple carpet bids was that Lowe's was significantly less expensive on the total finished job, then the local contractor we contacted through the in store Costco carpet "kiosk", when ...

Tom Thanks for the tip. You are ahead of the info posted on the Vanguard tax center website this year, which only lists a link to the online version of Turbo Tax. I just down loaded the 2011 Turbo tax deluxe desktop version, also at no cost, using the VG Turbo Tax link. Takes you to the online produ...

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/are-guns-more-effective-pepper-spray-alaska-bear-attack?page=full Are guns more effective than pepper spray in Alaska Bear attacks? This article from a very experienced and now retired Alaska Fish and Game biologist has better info and insights on the topic the...

Hugh Chou's excellant website has a very good set of financial calculators

http://www.hughchou.org/calc/

In particular, this one may help you decide on the answer to your scenario.

Prepay or Inveat

http://www.hughchou.org/calc/prepay_v_invest.cgi

regards

The weather in Alaska is better this week then most of the rest of the US also!

Can't say that very often.

regards,

Agree, the missing part of your analysis is the survivor benefit, and age and life expectancy of the beneficiary. More information is needed on that and if that is important to you or not, or will be in 10 or 20 years. If you take the lump sum today, you have something of immediate value that can be...

Actually the Free plan service is available to Vanguard investors with $500,000 or more in Vanguard mutual funds and ETFs "Voyager Select Services offers special savings and sound advice to help you plan for continued success. A complimentary financial plan by a CFP professional from Vanguard t...

Petrocelli, your posts have been missed, good to have you back in the line up! Taylor and Marty, Thanks for sharing your day on the yacht with us. If you ever choose to boat your way up the inside passage on the Alaska Coast, I would be pleased to buy two honored vets an Alaska Amber Ale when you pu...

Samster, Welcome to the forum. You may wish to view some earlier discussion on the theme at this link. Purchasing Nonqualified Service Time http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=73256&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight= In your case the potential enhanced payoff of ...

Your simpler portfolio will be easier to manage, and can be adjusted slowly as your bonds mature and the cash needs to be reinvested, and your savings grow. I think you are fine with the asset allocation selected for a planning starting point. Certainly better then where you are today. You have the ...

Interesting analysis of the opportunities, except three of your top five problems list no good way an individual can make a difference. Here is one practical way an individual CAN support some of your top five http://malawichildrensvillage.org/about/ Malawi Children’s Village provides a continuum of...

http://news.morningstar.com/articlenet/article.aspx?id=295611 I thought this linked Christine Benz Morningstar article was quite good. Her main idea is make sure that your spouse would know how to handle the following issues if something were to happen to you. 1. Whom to Contact 2. Where to Find Ev...

Charlotte, I completed a Fidelity 401(k) rollover last year into an existing Vanguard traditional IRA. The process was easy and fairly fast. The Vanguard crew were quite knowledgeable and helpful in answering my questions and facilitating the details of the transfer. I would encourage you to ask the...

http://www.analyzenow.com/Free%20Programs/free_programs.htm Charlotte, As long as you are enjoying the "great calculator at i-orp dot com", you may want to take a look at the free calculators available on Bud Hebeler's outstanding website, Analyze Now (link above). Bud retired as presiden...