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The principal problem, it seems to me, is that the OP professes not to want or need the thing that he mainly purchased with this policy -- the death benefit that is now at $354,000. But that has to have value to someone else, no? The death benefit is offset by the outstanding loan amount. The curre...

Nice job, Browser. It's sounds like you're good to go. It's fine to drain the AT while it's cold. You can do the rr dif fairly easily as well. Just get an $8 hand pump device at your local auto parts store. And you might consider getting a torque wrench at some point. As a newbie, be careful not to ...

I agree snowman. I don't blame anyone who doesn't DIY, though. You can improve your chances of getting the right fluids by discretely marking the bottles and requesting empties be placed in the trunk--still no guarantee. I'd gladly pay more to ensure getting Honda fluids. With brake fluid and manual...

Browser, I wonder if you can elaborate. Not sure I know what "TSB" is referring to, though I assume the auto tranny. Actually I was referring to the rear differential--there have been a few Technical Service Bulletins. As for the ATF, every 30k or every couple years is the recommendation. ...

SPIAs are a great tool if you can buy them right. Some of the same problems causing the rethink of the 4% rule have also resulted in some very low payout rates for SPIAs. I wouldn't touch one without a payout rate of 8% or higher for a 65 year old male, or actuarially equivalent. Today's payout for ...

Browser, this is one of those cases where you don't go by the manual. There are TSBs on the 3rd generation vehicles and some of the same issues were evident on prior generations as well. I've got a 3rd generation and I'm changing mine out every 15k to 20k miles. I'd say if you've been changing yours...

JT, I wondered when CR ran the report you refer to ... looks like it was in 1996: Unless you seldom shut your engine off, and contaminants are never allowed to build up, and moisture is constantly boiled off, you can ignore the taxi cab oil study--apples and oranges. Our daily drivers put different...

momar wrote:Keep track of your mpg every time you fill up. I notice that mine drops if I am overdue, and once I get it changed it goes back up.

If you wait until your MPG changes as an indicator that you need to change oil, you are going much too long between changes.

The maintenance schedule from Honda shows changing oil every 7500 miles or 6 months. My 2000 accord was 7500 miles or 6 months. If you are running synthetic, I would do 7500 miles or 1 year, whichever comes first. +1, with the caveat being if it's conventional oil and severe driving conditions (inc...

Or if you are going to dream about modern cars I think the new Mustang Shelby 502 GT Convertable is one of the most amazing cars out there... 662 HP with intercooled super charger and rag top and stick shift....List price north of $60K... WOW.. +1 Bill. That is a lot of car for the money. If it's a...

What the OP needs most is a correct projection of the exact cash flows in each of the scenarios. And a guarantee in writing for whichever projection is chosen. I suspect that might be harder to get. I can't think of very many reasons for the insurance company to provide any guarantee at this time; ...

Don't forget, you've had the benefit of the funds for all these years and deferred the tax, now the chickens are coming home to roost. Life insurance and loans, IMO, rarely work out good. Your interest costs each year are going to just magnify the problem. The 700 you mentioned that they told you w...

I don't know. Gains or no gains, the policy is still earning 7.63% before loan interest and insurance charges. Why would everyone necessarily tell him to just surrender? If you stop the loan interest you keep the whole 7.63% minus insurance charge. I suspect he appears to be earning 7.63% only beca...

At today's low interest rates and correspondingly low SPIA payout rates, that 10% to 15% incorporated cost is a dear price to pay for (on average) just having someone send our lump sum back to us in monthly payments. And the insurance companies understand the problem all to well--there are scant pro...

For a dedicated theater room, which I take is what you want, do some investigation to determine the power you need to achieve THX reference sound levels for your cubic space with adequate headroom/low distortion. Also, maybe a false floor as basements tend to dampen subwoofer sound effects, and othe...

But such is the problem with WL if one truly has little utility for the insurance and the structure of the return. As we've said many times, most people with a sound investment plan don't need permanent insurance. This is not an indictment of anyone, many of us (me) have done it. Even converting to ...

I think you may have looked at the numbers incorrectly on previous reports. The additions cash value are cumulative, like the regular cash value. You very well may be achieving a 6% return on on older policy with paid up additions. Ask the insurer for an in-force illustration. Also, you shouldn't be...

I love the explanation from the PEO company saying how great these organizations are for employees. It's always good to have an extra layer of confusion in employer/employee relationships, isn't it? These organizations are sometimes abused for cost and convenience, but can be beneficial. To the OP, ...

I like the guidelines William Bernstein mentions in The Investor's Manifesto : Don't pay more than 12.5 to 15 times annual rent to buy a property. What would your prospective condo rent for? Does the $1000/mo you currently pay for rent include a condo fee? What will property taxes cost if you? You'r...

Bubba, see Barry Barnitz's excellent reply to a similar situation just a few posts down: http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=116001 As a new poster, do use the search function and read the Wiki. Oh, and welcome to the forum. Also see the Wiki under employer retirement plans. Ther...

Frugal Al would you have "split the baby if you had the chance? 1/2 lump 1/2 annunity? In my case, no. I'm 6 years from retirement age and the benefit isn't growing. It's an OK payout, and 15 months ago it was $20k less--the segment rates have been kind. I'll need a 5% rate of return to break ...

Swong, an SPIA and the annuitization of a DB plan are very different animals, although similar in some respects. Also, the decision process with a DB plan is forced upon us, and must often be responded to in a relatively short period of time, whether it be a few months or by age 70.5. On the other h...

I understand the appeal and the argument in favor of SPIAs, but I wouldn't touch one of these products today. It's a bit like buying into a long bond at today's rates. The insurance companies are well aware of the boomers' concern about outliving their money which also affects their pricing. And the...

i understand that but both 500k and 1 mil are going to be reasonable and it seems probable that initial estimates will be lower than relatively near term needs. I understand your point. I also know that my idea of reasonable isn't necessarily what a newlywed's with a new home might be. On a hopeful...

DH, the price banding depends upon the company--sometimes there's not much savings, sometimes there is. That's why I suggested a range. The OP doesn't need a $1Mil policy right now--no children and about a $66k income for primary earner. A new house, apparently a fairly new marriage, many things to ...

Hashy, thanks for providing more info so you could get a range of good opinions. I'll add mine as well. There seems to be a consensus that if you need insurance it should be term—not UL. Although some make a good argument you don’t need life insurance yet, I think your wife might have difficult time...

So the thought is to lock in relatively cheap long-term coverage now (the costs quoted above are less than the annual premiums on our car insurance)... What does the cost of your car insurance have to do with this? The fact that you're asking about UL indicates you're already being swayed by someth...

You haven't proven you need any insurance. What are you and your wife's incomes? UL even without the high commissions still suffers from inflation and liquidity issues. Why do you care what interest rate it's paying if you know you shouldn't commingle insurance and investments? Why do you think you ...

It can be hard to get away from Scotts Miracle-Gro products, as ubiquitous as they are in turf and horticultural products (Hyponex, Osmacote, Ortho, Round Up to name a few). But after they knowingly put pesticide in their wild bird seed product I do my best to stay away from their brands--I'd rather...

OTOH when real interest rates are low you want to postpone taking SS and DB pension benefits as long as possible because those products are based on average real interest rates - not current lower real interest rates. I agree with a lot of what you're saying, bobcat, except for this line. The main ...

Bill M offered good clarification. Elena, with RMDs on the 401k at about $36k per year, SS of 60k, and 25k from pension, and whatever income the 376k in taxable spins offs, your income will be > $122k per year, probably 85% of your SS will be taxable, and you're in the 25% marginal tax bracket. Take...

Sbashore wrote: The fact that it's cola'd makes option 4 even more desirable in my opinion.

+1

stratton wrote:It's the Stepford Bogleheads! Paul

+1 That's one way to take emotion/behavioral issues out of investing.

If one has enough other assets to live on and to pay the tax on the conversion, and if the lump sum can be rolled over into an IRA, there could be additional value in taking the lump sum, rolling it over into an IRA, and converting it to a Roth (perhaps spreading the conversion over a number of yea...

This movie night didn't go well. The grandkids started throwing popcorn at the screen. They don't care for Wade or Moshe at all. At first I thought it was because they wanted to watch something with more action. But then they finally admitted that as heirs to our estate, they are just not a fan of a...

Elena,as you know there are a lot of moving parts involved when determining the best way to distribute retirement funds to minimize taxes. Exchanging a qualified pension distribution with what appears to be a good payout, considering it's 50% joint life, for a non qualified annuity with a lesser pay...

The good news is that MAP-21 doesn't change the actuarial values for distributions. There were other laws/fines enacted to attempt to get pensions to get to full funding as well, a carrot and stick scenario, but it's a bit like kicking a dead horse.

There's indeed a lot to admire and be thankful for in Sir Winston Churchill, and in VT for that matter. Still, I had no idea VT was Churchill's father.

This page has some detail from 2012 regarding CAP rates for various types of properties. http://www.ftense.com/2012/03/commercia ... k-cap.html Interesting data offering a good starting point. Even so, average CAP rates can be dangerous--different locales can offer quite variable cap rates. Also, t...

Elena, I don't think we have enough information about you and your husband. What are your balances in the 401ks? What are your current investments? What portion of your retirement is the $376,000? What portion of your retirement expenses is covered by your SS and your other investments? Is your home...

I've sold two homes FSBO--both went well. I'll be selling my current home FSBO as well. When I sold my condo I got the highest sales price to date. The interesting part is that a very popular real estate agent brought his girlfriend by to see the place. I told him I wouldn't pay a commission. I told...

What nitwit or corrupt bank gave him those huge mortgages? I doubt anyone just gave him the mortgages. Apparently he applied and proved a sustainable income to support the cash flow requirements. If someone doesn't get a mortgage the bank is the bad guy. If someone does get a mortgage the bank is a...

Thanks for the good explanation, Jack. It should also be noted that the silver plan covers about 70% of costs, which potentially leaves a good chunk left to be paid out of pocket. Those below 250% of FPL can qualify for cost sharing of co-payments, deductibles, etc.

+1 VT. Also, the "put option" for EE bonds is better, as well as for I-bonds. The ability to liquidate small denominations is also an attribute. If you don't keep the ROP policy to term the ROP benefit declines steeply. On the flip side, we should recognize that the premium return is non-t...

I don't think ThePrune realized you were providing the info for American General term policy as a non-ROP baseline cost. I think you've calculated the return correctly--about 4.4% only if held for 30 years. These policies are a sales gimmick to lure people into thinking they're not "just throwi...

Very interesting article. The magnitude of foreign profit growth coincides closely to an overall weakening of the dollar which accelerated around 2002.

Am i understanding this right that she will always make a 3% return, so i can pick aggressive options and you cant lose? The only winner here is AXA. These annuities have high expenses that eat away the account value, especially at low account balances--read the contract. Don't give up on giving up...

I'm not real certain what is consumer oriented or actionable here, when we have a brand spanking new health plan on which the ink isn't dry, many people don't fully understand, and it has yet to be fully implemented.

I'm all for the wiki, but I'm very hesitant on inserting quizzes. Why? It implies that you need a minimum level of knowledge to be "competent" in investing. That's the wrong approach. If someone gets a wrong answer, they'll get discouraged and give up. I understand your concern, but I res...

I agree that the odds are fairly low to have a major problem with allowing payment pulls, especially from a credit card. Still, I've had friends run into big headaches from allowing pulls from debit cards and checking accounts. One friend was out of the country for a couple months when the bank had ...