Search found 263 matches
- Fri Feb 16, 2024 7:53 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: H&R Block 2023 incorrectly reporting taxable IRA distribution
- Replies: 141
- Views: 19208
Re: H&R Block 2023 incorrectly reporting taxable IRA distribution
For me at least the inherited IRA issue has been fixed with the latest update. Can now honestly list it as inherited, in addition to the code '4'.
- Tue Jan 23, 2024 8:09 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Psychological Aversion to Decumulation Phase
- Replies: 73
- Views: 7446
Re: Psychological Aversion to Decumulation Phase
I retired in 2009 as stocks were just beginning a recovery from the depths. I had no pension, was not ready for SS and was too early for Medicare. It was a nervous time, though I think it was the loss of a regular paycheck that bothered me the most. If you have planned well you will adjust over time. I spent cautiously for a time. In the end things have turned out very well.
- Thu Jan 18, 2024 9:01 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Tax-Managed Balanced Fund (VTMFX) for Taxable account?
- Replies: 40
- Views: 5640
Re: Tax-Managed Balanced Fund (VTMFX) for Taxable account?
I manage a trust for my incapacitated brother in law and chose VTMFX for the entire amount. It has performed admirably, with minimal taxes and a solid return. Its return over the past 10 years has been comparable to my other accounts with no maintenance at all. He uses none of it, so his heirs will get a nice tidy sum.
- Sun Jan 14, 2024 8:25 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: RMD Tax Withholding
- Replies: 50
- Views: 5152
Re: RMD Tax Withholding
I use my tax software to maintain a shadow return for the coming year. If unpredictable income occurs, such as capital gains, I can use my RMD to insure that my tax payments are in line with my income, and avoid estimated payments. So, to answer your question, yes I do. Works for me.
- Tue Nov 28, 2023 8:03 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Strong online privacy settings - advice
- Replies: 58
- Views: 6508
Re: Strong online privacy settings - advice
I too use Brave and Duckduckgo, but must admit that retrieval on the latter seems subpar and I sometimes have to use Google. Are the privacy settings in google worthless?
- Tue Oct 24, 2023 7:57 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Refrigerators. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
- Replies: 115
- Views: 14445
Re: Refrigerators. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
Vote against KitchenAid here. After three years ours began leaking on the floor, apparently due to some block in a drainage tube. My guess is they saved $.02 per unit by using a cheap hose. In any case, after two or three repair visits it became clear that we faced repeated repairs every six to nine months, so we pulled the plug. So far happy with our GE, but as the old saying goes, "they don't make them like they used to". By contrast, we recently got rid of a 30-year old Kenmore freezer that was still wheezing along to the end.
- Tue Oct 03, 2023 8:04 am
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Were you nervous when you retired?
- Replies: 147
- Views: 22035
Re: Were you nervous when you retired?
I retired in July 2009, having committed to it a year before. The market had recently reached its low and I was without regular income for the first time in decades. Nervous? Sure. But I hung on and things worked out pretty well. I let the market reduce my equities exposure but otherwise stayed the course.
- Thu Sep 28, 2023 10:50 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: One Week In Calgary and Banff
- Replies: 31
- Views: 2890
Re: One Week In Calgary and Banff
I honeymooned in the area. Didn't spend much time in Calgary but I second the suggestion of the drive to Jasper. Banff, of course, is great.
- Sun Jul 23, 2023 8:33 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Reached Retirement – Appreciate Advice Regarding Portfolio Changes
- Replies: 9
- Views: 2198
Re: Reached Retirement – Appreciate Advice Regarding Portfolio Changes
I'm a bit older but share your inclination toward 40/60. I used to slice and dice but even then I generally felt that any fund that was less than 5% of total invested was not going to contribute anything useful. More recently I have moved even closer to a three fund portfolio. I would recommend simplifying considerably. If nothing else there must be a lot of paper generated with your portfolio. Even if replaced by electronic documents that is still a lot of bother.
- Mon Jul 10, 2023 7:43 am
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: What allocation did you or are you going into retirement with and why
- Replies: 87
- Views: 8809
Re: What allocation did you or are you going into retirement with and why
I retired in 2008 with a classic 60/40 but certain events convinced me that 40/60 was a better fit for me. Just no need to take the risk. For many years I included a bit of REIT and international but recently simplified to just total market for the stocks. As I get older my interest in taking risk has declined and simplicity is a virtue, particularly as I envision my wife having to take it over.
- Wed Jun 28, 2023 7:53 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Do you read / watch the financial news? Daily? Never?
- Replies: 109
- Views: 6992
Re: Do you read / watch the financial news? Daily? Never?
I read the business section of the NYT every day, which includes a brief market report, but never find anything actionable. Investment advice there is Boglish but pretty boring. (that's good, or course.)
- Thu Jun 22, 2023 2:12 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Safe Deposit boxes
- Replies: 6
- Views: 776
Re: Safe Deposit boxes
When my local branch closed I went shopping for safe deposit boxes but found none. I think their time has passed. Bought a home safe.
- Wed May 31, 2023 8:19 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: "Should couples combine finances or keep personal accounts?"
- Replies: 236
- Views: 26217
Re: "Should couples combine finances or keep personal accounts?"
Sort of a hybrid here I suppose. We have a joint checking account, though in practice she manages it, and I have my own. It always seemed awkward to me to have a single account when you buy things like gifts from it. We each have our own credit cards. Monthly deposits from SS and RMDs are split between checking accounts. She pays utilities, I pay groceries, media, and insurance and manage taxes. Investments are unified, though I manage them. Certainly major expenses like cars and vacations are joint decisions. Sort of ad hoc, but works for us. It does help that we have enough resources that we do not need to tightly budget everything.
- Fri May 26, 2023 8:03 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: How to internalize what you read
- Replies: 38
- Views: 3676
Re: How to internalize what you read
I agree that hand-written notes are effective, though my usual practice is to just keep a text file listing each book read, along with a summary paragraph. Not optimal but helps some and keep me from buying the same book again.
- Thu Apr 06, 2023 8:57 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Should I open a joint checking with elderly parent?
- Replies: 33
- Views: 3415
Re: Should I open a joint checking with elderly parent?
From my experience I would suggest getting as much involvement as you can. As my parents failed we established a joint checking account and eventually I became a trustee of their trust. This made the final transition and closure so much simpler. By contrast, when my sister died at 52 the bank wouldn't even tell us if she had a safe deposit box, as we searched vainly for a will. Only much later when I became executor would they tell me that, no, there was no safe deposit box.
- Fri Feb 17, 2023 8:15 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Do I need to do any paperwork with the DMV after selling my car to someone?
- Replies: 20
- Views: 2305
Re: Do I need to do any paperwork with the DMV after selling my car to someone?
Minnesota has a web page for recording a sale. Easy as can be.
- Thu Jan 26, 2023 5:08 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Thinking about getting a Hot Tub / Spa
- Replies: 57
- Views: 6558
Re: Thinking about getting a Hot Tub / Spa
We had one here in Minnesota. I never cared for it but my wife used it regularly year round for several years. Snow was a bit of an issue, but more serious was the the waterlogging of the cover, necessitating replacements. I don't think we paid a great deal for it and ran it on 110V. We did have an issue with mice nesting in the nice warm area under he tub, requiring a yearly cleanout.
- Wed Jan 11, 2023 9:48 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: H&R Block 2022 software offer
- Replies: 281
- Views: 33627
Re: H&R Block 2022 software offer
Just got a report from camelcamelcamel on an Amazon price watch I had set. It shows how the price has changed over the last several months, which pretty much accords with my recollection of past years. Might be useful for planning next year.
Don't want to get sucked into that Dec. lull.
Don't want to get sucked into that Dec. lull.
- Fri Jan 06, 2023 10:35 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Donor Advised Funds
- Replies: 47
- Views: 3493
Re: Donor Advised Funds
Two notes. No, QCDs cannot be anonymous. They send you a check to forward to the charity. Also, I found this year that Vanguard is instituting a $250 fee for a DAF with a balance less than $25,000, so I am bailing. (just hope I can keep that value until they assess the fee at the end of January). I have also found other services that do anonymous donations, such as Paypal, if that concerns you.
- Tue Dec 27, 2022 4:52 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Better cold weather walking shoes?
- Replies: 29
- Views: 3154
Re: Better cold weather walking shoes?
I'm partial to Vasque, which I get at REI. Waterproof and long-wearing sole. I like the tread in the snow, but would be good in rain too. I do fine without wool socks even here in Minnesota. Whatever you get, don't lace too tight or it cuts off circulation. When I ran I always 'clenched' my foot before lacing.
- Thu Dec 22, 2022 8:19 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Food delivered to home
- Replies: 28
- Views: 3354
Re: Food delivered to home
We use Doordash regularly. Sure it's expensive, but I don't like to drive in the dark and snow, so am willing to pay the fee. I think concern about cost can be overdone. Personally, I saved all those years to be able to spend a bit now in retirement.
- Tue Dec 06, 2022 5:33 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: How does buying a car work these days?
- Replies: 72
- Views: 9826
Re: How does buying a car work these days?
I bought a Lexus ES Hybrid this summer. We paid MSRP and the dealer was able to search nationally for just the car we wanted. Apparently they engage in swaps to find what is needed. There was no trade-in in this case.
- Sun Nov 13, 2022 1:21 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: How did you find your risk profile and AA ?
- Replies: 75
- Views: 5007
Re: How did you find your risk profile and AA ?
I had a 60/40 allocation for a time, but retirement and the 2008 financial meltdown convinced me that 40/60 was more comfortable. Still there.
- Tue Nov 08, 2022 11:08 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Constant Surveys Annoying
- Replies: 35
- Views: 2715
Re: Constant Surveys Annoying
I don't mind the occasional survey but bail out of the overly-long or poorly designed ones. Sometimes it's an opportunity to vent.
- Tue Nov 01, 2022 8:12 am
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Dividend Stocks: Port in a Storm?
- Replies: 433
- Views: 45668
Re: The “Free Dividend Fallacy” Fallacy?
I think more interesting than spending timed directly to dividends is the case of people, like my brother-in-law, who treat dividends as a steady income stream. So between a pension and dividends he meets his expenses. Same mode of thinking.
- Tue Oct 18, 2022 4:49 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Making QCDs and avoiding solicitations/junk mail
- Replies: 8
- Views: 887
Re: Making QCDs and avoiding solicitations/junk mail
I had some of the same fears before I made some fairly large QCDs. To my surprise, I was not deluged by solicitations at all. Actually I as a bit disappointed their thanks were not more effusive. YMMV but I had no problem. Do be sure to keep any receipt from the charity as Vanguard does no record keeping.
- Sun Oct 16, 2022 10:33 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Financial Tools
- Replies: 21
- Views: 1918
Re: Financial Tools
I second the idea of making your own spreadsheet to track investments. Everyone's needs are different so you can make it specific to what you want to accomplish. Does not have to be complicated. The trickiest thing I use is 'Google Finance' to keep values up to date, so I have to do very little maintenance. If you need budgeting, that is a different issue. .
- Sun Oct 09, 2022 1:33 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Any BH retirees with no pension?
- Replies: 134
- Views: 17611
Re: Any BH retirees with no pension?
My university had a pretty generous 401 and I added my own savings. Comfortably retired at 75.
- Sun Sep 04, 2022 9:09 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Giving with a warm hand to kids Tips?
- Replies: 72
- Views: 6476
Re: Giving with a warm hand to kids Tips?
I have a nephew and a niece who will inherit a tidy sum from us, some of 'old' family money, some of it newer. I've been open about what they should expect. And it seemed to me that they could make better use of at least some of it now rather than 20 years down the road. They did not object. So they get a 'Christmas bonus' of cash each year. Only seems sensible to me. Also like the idea of warm hands.
- Sat Aug 13, 2022 8:42 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: What all do you track on your spreadsheet?
- Replies: 118
- Views: 17211
Re: What all do you track on your spreadsheet?
My main interest is seeing amounts invested by fund and then by category (equity vs. fixed) so I can make appropriate withdrawals or re- balancing. I find very useful the GoogleFinance function in Google sheets. By entering just my number of shares owned I can keep continuous tabs on the total value of my holdings for that fund, because the function calls up the latest price. No ongoing data entry needed unless there is a trade. Excel has a similar function.
- Wed Jul 06, 2022 1:34 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Best products/materials for maintaining area under shrubs
- Replies: 11
- Views: 1050
Re: Best products/materials for maintaining area under shrubs
We have 1" gravel under our shrubs. So far no maintenance, though perhaps you don't care for the appearance.
- Sun May 29, 2022 8:25 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: TIAA Traditional Guaranteed Annuity? Any good?
- Replies: 90
- Views: 10753
Re: TIAA Traditional Guaranteed Annuity? Any good?
When I started working in the 70s TIAA/CREF was the only option. It formed the core of my investments for many years and with the guaranteed rate in TIAA it was a useful anchor. When I reached age 59 I moved the CREF portion into my IRA but kept the Traditional, tapping the interest income as a bridge to SS at age 70. Eventually the interest was not enough to cover the RMD so I switched to an RMD. It is not now a large part of my portfolio but the income is useful and I have no regrets. An annuity would sure be a good option too.
- Thu May 19, 2022 7:48 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Who retired during the last recession? How did it go?
- Replies: 16
- Views: 3041
Re: Who retired during the last recession? How did it go?
I retired in 2009 when there was talk of ten years of recession. I held the course, even reallocating into the teeth of the decline. It was a tense time, but I had an inherited annuity as a bridge to Social Security and subsidized health care til Medicare. You sound well set. But of course, no one knows the future.
- Tue May 03, 2022 4:37 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Easiest way to donate anonymously
- Replies: 66
- Views: 7148
Re: Easiest way to donate anonymously
I too value my anonymity and use my DAF when I can. Paypal Giving also offers this feature for small amounts. I would add that when I did a QCD (which cannot be anonymous) I was surprised by the muted response of the recipients, even for gifts of thousands of dollars. I doubt that mailings are any worse than before.
- Fri Apr 01, 2022 10:21 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: How Often Do You Measure Your Net Worth?
- Replies: 229
- Views: 19772
Re: How Often Do You Measure Your Net Worth?
I check my spreadsheet weekly, so that gives me a measure of investments. With no debt the only other items are the house and personal property. I sometimes do a quick mental calculation of investments+house but have never actually totaled everything. That's for my estate executor to figure out.
- Sat Feb 26, 2022 4:37 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Is it worth it to buy a E-Reader when I already have a Ipad Mini?
- Replies: 41
- Views: 3736
Re: Is it worth it to buy a E-Reader when I already have a Ipad Mini?
I use the Kindle app on my Samsung tablet. It works fine, though I get the impression that battery life is better with an E-Reader.
- Sat Feb 19, 2022 4:49 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: We are Retiring in 2022 during uncertain and turbulent times
- Replies: 69
- Views: 10985
Re: We are Retiring in 2022 during uncertain and turbulent times
I retired in 2009 at 60/40. Talk about uncertain and turbulent times. As a result I went to a more conservative 40/60 and things have turned out just fine, even enabling me to generously gift children and charities. Stay the course.
- Wed Feb 16, 2022 4:16 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Financing assisted living with limited assets - check my plan
- Replies: 31
- Views: 2478
Re: Financing assisted living with limited assets - check my plan
My parents went into assisted living at age 88 in a fairly pricey place. In the end they basically spent their house equity before passing away. I too like plan B.
- Tue Dec 14, 2021 12:21 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: qualified charitable distribution (QCD)
- Replies: 27
- Views: 1821
Re: qualified charitable distribution (QCD)
I found the QCD easy enough, though having to forward the check is an added step. Also, lacks the possibility of anonymity that my DAF affords. But I used both last year.
- Wed Oct 27, 2021 10:15 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Credit card rewards
- Replies: 3
- Views: 611
Credit card rewards
A question for those more savvy on this topic. I have an Amex card that pays 3% on grocery expenses, up to a generous maximum. Now I have an offer from Citi for 5% on the top spending category each month, up to $500 spent. If I use the card exclusively for groceries could I get 5% back each month?
- Tue Sep 07, 2021 7:38 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: [Is it worth flying first class?]
- Replies: 265
- Views: 30339
Re: Never fly first class
Really enjoy the airport lounge that comes with FC for layovers.
- Mon Sep 06, 2021 8:22 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: For long time retirees, do you use a spreadsheet?
- Replies: 52
- Views: 6124
Re: For long time retirees, do you use a spreadsheet?
Retired 12 years. I don't keep a budget or track transactions but find it useful to have a spreadsheet to track balances and allocation of multiple funds across 7 accounts. It's fueled by the google function that pulls fund prices for the previous day's close and only needs to be updated quarterly to catch the drift in accounts that reinvest. I don't know how I would be able to re-balance or sell assets for major purchases without it, but YMMV.
- Sun Aug 29, 2021 3:01 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Greed and BH dogma getting the best of us? [Are you sticking to your plan?]
- Replies: 87
- Views: 12719
Re: Greed and BH dogma getting the best of us?
People have mentioned the difficulty of spending their excess income. I have upped my charitable giving as a result of my good fortune-- great fun.
- Tue Aug 24, 2021 9:58 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Password Manager Question
- Replies: 64
- Views: 7260
Re: Password Manager Question
I am interested in DiploInvestor's observation that he gives his master password once a day and is set to go. I am still shopping. Is this the usual functionality?
- Tue Aug 17, 2021 11:14 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Cash position needed/unneeded in retirement
- Replies: 33
- Views: 3803
Re: Cash position needed/unneeded in retirement
My age and portfolio are similar to OP. I got a little spooked last March as the pandemic took hold and moved a year's expenditures into cash, but normally rely on bonds, as others have mentioned. Not a great difference between cash and short-term bonds anyhow.
- Sun Aug 08, 2021 12:16 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: What all do you track on your spreadsheet?
- Replies: 118
- Views: 17211
Re: What all do you track on your spreadsheet?
My main focus is asset allocation and re-balancing. Desired allocation (in % and $) for each fund is on the left, then I show balances for each of nine funds in each of seven accounts, and then actual allocation per fund on the right. I pay most attention to the percentage allocation in equities vs fixed income, re-balancing as needed. The actual fund allocations guide me on which specific funds to adjust.
- Thu Aug 05, 2021 8:36 am
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: How much time does it take for you to monitor/manage your assets/money each month?
- Replies: 42
- Views: 4096
Re: How much time does it take for you to monitor/manage your assets/money each month?
As retirement proceeds I make an effort to spend less time on investments. Weekly I check my spreadsheet that gives me values of the 10 or so funds I have in 7 accounts, though that rarely requires action. Every quarter I update share holdings for accounts where I reinvest. With RMDs set there is little to do unless things drift too far. Only when I need money for a major purchase do I need to spend time adjusting things.
- Thu Jul 22, 2021 5:04 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: :::Kitchen Appliance Recommendations:::
- Replies: 39
- Views: 4714
Re: :::Kitchen Appliance Recommendations:::
I've had good luck with two Bosch dishwashers (in different houses). Bad experience with Kitchenaid refrigerator. I think the lifetime of appliances is declining.
- Sun Jul 11, 2021 1:42 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Good (and affordable) Running Shoes for Concrete?
- Replies: 38
- Views: 4245
Re: Good (and affordable) Running Shoes for Concrete?
I second the importance of personal preference. I am sure Nike makes very fine shoes but they are all wrong for my feet. I stumbled onto Saucony which suited me well and I went through many pairs through the years, including marathon training on paved roads.
Give them a good test and check on the return policy. If you have a treadmill you might be able test them without too much wear.
Give them a good test and check on the return policy. If you have a treadmill you might be able test them without too much wear.
- Tue Jun 22, 2021 7:40 am
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: What Is Your Longest-Held Investment?
- Replies: 147
- Views: 15685
Re: What Is Your Longest-Held Investment?
TIAA Traditional since 1973, Now taking RMD.