Bogleheads.org

OK. Here’s what happened. We have Comcast cable and internet and a local land-line phone. Our cable bill has gone up over the last year from around $100 to $150 per month, as we lost our “promotional” discounts. I’ve been meaning to call Comcast to ask for a rate reduction, but it’s such a long, ted...

My husband will retire mid-year 2013 and also turns 70 1/2 this year and must start taking RMDs from his rollover IRAs, 403B, and 457 accounts. (He can take his first distribution in 2014, but we don't want to defer it and have to take 2013 and 2014 RMDs in the same year.) I understand that his RMD ...

I've used Quicken for many years to faithfully record and categorize all my expenses, investments, etc. My current version is 2006. I haven't downloaded banking or investment information for years; I'm happy with entering that manually. My Windows XP computer died recently and I installed Quicken 20...

I am a long time user of Quicken. My current version is 2006. My Windows XP laptop recently died and I replaced it with a Windows 7 laptop. I loaded Quicken 2006 on it, but I realize it's only a matter of time before I have to upgrade to the current Quicken program. I don't currently download any fi...

Thanks to all of you for your great and timely advice! I tried disconnecting the power supply, taking the battery out, reinstalling it, etc., to no avail. The online cables, adapters, external boxes suggested above had some mixed reviews online -- not working well for some -- so I went over to my ne...

Usually, if you hear a pop you have a power issue. You should remove anything that is plugged into the unit (mice, monitors, etc). You should first try running it just on battery. If that doesn't work, remove the battery and plug it in and see if it works. If that fails, then you have to decide if ...

If it isn't the disk you can pull the disk out, pop it into an external enclosure (you can buy these at places like Newegg or Tigerdirect for $20-30) and access the disk from another computer. You may be able to get to the data although you generally can't use the disk to boot another machine. edit...

Hi all, I was working on my old HP Pavilion XP laptop today when suddenly it made a "ppffttt" little pop and the screen went blank. Uh ohhh. I noticed the light where the power plug went in was no longer lit. It would not power back on. Alas, not everything was backed up. :( I did have my ...

The China Study, by T. Colin Campbell. After I read that, I changed to a vegan diet. Other books by Neal Barnard, MD, John McDougall, MD, and Caldwell Esselstyn, MD, followed and confirmed my decision, but it was The China Study that changed my outlook on food forever.

Things I love: Sansa MP3 player. I poo-pooed these until I got one. Love, love, love it. Use it with good quality earbuds. Worth every cent. Kindle. Wonderful, convenient gadget. Teeter Inversion Table. Got this at Costco. Great for stretching out my back and relieving back and neck strain. Decompre...

I've heard/read suggestions from some "financial experts" that one should not be concerned about paying off a mortgage unless one plans to stay in that house in retirement (or forever?). My husband and I are nearing retirement (next 2 years or so), but we don't know that we will necessaril...

We bought our house over ten years ago and have refinanced a couple of times to consolidate and to get a lower interest rate. I have huge file folders with all the loan documents from the original loans and the refinancings. Some of these consist of the applications and the rest the final loan docum...

...So, unless more info comes to light, or someone finds a flaw in my thinking, I'm thinking you should not do any conversions now except for what you can do up to the top of the 15% bracket. However, I'm not an expert of any kind, particularly taxes. I'm just some idiot on the internet. This is ho...

Keep in mind that "tax bracket" and "marginal tax rate" are often not the same. Oh! What's the difference? How do I calculate the marginal rate? What's most important when trying to decide whether to convert a TIRA to a ROTH? BTW, my husband will retire at 70 in 2013. He will be...

Thank you, retiredjg. That's helpful. It seems we're right at the upper limit of 15% federal. I'll have to do some more reading on the forum here before I can figure out if converting any of our traditional IRAs to ROTHs is a good idea. Right now, it will put us into a higher tax bracket. I guess th...

I have been following a few threads on retirement planning ("delaying pension in order to draw down 401K") and traditional IRA to ROTH conversions. My husband and I plan to retire in the next couple of years. I'm trying to estimate what our income and taxes will be in retirement and what t...

This is kind of a side question, so please forgive me. I have Vanguard Short Term Federal Admiral fund shares (VSGDX) for taxable fixed income and a little Vanguard Prime MM (both my emergency funds). How does the VSGDX compare with the Vanguard Short-Term Bond Index Fund Admiral Shares (VBIRX) that...

Thanks for all your replies. I bought a Blendtec from Costco.com. They have a discount coupon and upped the warranty to 8 years. It fits under my counter. Boy does it make a great smoothie in nothing flat! Did a performance comparison side-by-side with my old blender. No comparison. The Blendtec is ...

Dear Bogleheads, I want to make green smoothies (among other things) easily and conveniently on a daily basis for my health (and other reasons). I would like to get either a Vitamix or a Blendtec blender. Both of these are very expensive, but I think (?) it would be a worthwhile expense in the long ...

I do most of the cooking in our house -- mostly from scratch and I try to keep it healthy. What are the most useful and practical items in your kitchen? I needed new pots and pans, so I recently bought a set of Circulon cookware at Costco. I'm not sure how I like it yet. It is non-stick, so I don't ...

I've been an avid reader since a little girl. I have piles of books at home that I don't know that I'll get through in this lifetime, yet there are still other books out there (and many not yet written!) that I also want to read. (So many books! Not enough time!) I'm hoping I'll have more time to re...

Has anyone ever used an inversion table for relief of back or neck pain? Are they helpful? Any contraindications? Any recommendations as to brand?

Thanks.

I may be missing something, but I don't understand why you single out withdrawal from your TIPS fund as an issue. IMO you should adopt a strategy for withdrawal that keeps all your various asset types in balance according to your desired asset allocation. Cheers, charlie Charlie, As you suggest, I ...

This is actually a two-part question: 1. In retirement (not quite there yet) we plan for a 55%/45% stock/bond portfolio of primarily index funds (exception PIMCO Total Return in my 457) that consist of Vanguard Total Stock Market Index, Total International Index, Total Bond Market, and Vanguard TIPS...

I use MS Excel. It will import from text or delimited text, so as long as Quicken can generate that you have a starting point. And, you can encrypt the file if desired. I have a modest working knowledge of Excel. However, I don't know how to import this file into it. The Quicken file backs up as HO...

BigFoot48: Rockbox adds some very nice features to the Sansa and many other players. It's basically a separate operating system that co-exists with the device supplied system, and is easily removable.

I think I'll try it out on one of my players. Thanks!

I've been using Quicken for my personal finances for years. (I'm currently using Quicken 2006 Premier.) I keep track of my home inventory and purchase of new items with the Quicken Home Inventory program that is included. It's easy to add new items, but it's not very easy to go through and delete it...

I have two Sansa e280 players that I've had for years. Just bought a Sansa Clip+ 8 gb at Costco for $45 that I'm using for books and podcasts. I love my Sansa players! They're great. I highly recommend them. Now, I'm interested in what people have commented about Rockbox. Is that something I should ...

My husband has a Rollover IRA and a Traditional IRA, both at Vanguard. He is close to retirement and we'd like to combine these for simplification. The Rollover is in VFIAX (Index 500) and the Traditional is in VTSAX (Total Stock Market Index). Can these IRAs be combined and if so, which should we e...

Thanks Taylor and livesoft. I hope this isn't a really dumb question, but -- in retirement when we do have to take money out of these funds to live on, is there a strategy to which fund (VIPSX or VBMFX) we'd take it out of at any given point in time? Thanks again. And best wishes in the New Year to ...

I've been trying to follow the previous posting on TIPS, but I'm still confused. For a couple in their 60s due to retire in 3 to 4 years, with a 50/50 asset allocation, should we put part of our bond portion (tax deferred) in Vanguard TIPS fund or stick with the Total Bond Market Index fund? And why...

When I make some of the changes as suggested, is it better to make them all at once or dollar cost average into the new fund? Most of this is in tax-deferred accounts, but it would involve moving a chunk of money if done all at once.

Thanks, Laura. Your suggestions simplify things, but I have some questions. You suggest converting all His tax-deferred IRA, 403B, and 457 from equities (Total Stock Market, Index 500, Small/Midcap Index), where most of them are now, to TIPS. You also suggest converting my Total Stock Market in my I...

Thanks, Laura. So just in case, here are the choices for his 457 at CalPERS: Short-Term Investment Fund PIMCO Short-Term Bond Fund CalPERS Treasury Inflation Protected Securities Fund CalPERS Total Return Bond Fund CalPERS S&P 500 Equity Index Fund AllianceBernstein Active Large Cap Equity Value...

A few thoughts. 1. Probably a bit aggressive at 50/50, but you do have pensions coming. 2. As you have cash to invest in taxable, the likely move would be to sell some of the Total Stock Market in the IRA for bonds, and buy the stock fund back in taxable. Thanks for the tips, BR. I also think that ...

We are getting close to retirement. I'd like advice re our current asset allocation and fund selection and where to put future investments. We’d like to keep it simple and use index funds for the most part. Emergency Fund: Approx 1 yr expenses about 50/50 in Vanguard Prime Money Market and Vanguard ...

Off the top of my head, some of my most influential: Your Money of Your Life , Vicki Robbins & Joe Dominguez How Much Is Enough? The Consumer Society and the Future of the Earth , by Alan Durning Affluenza by John De Graaf, et al The Boggleheads' Guide to Investing and The Boggleheads' Guide to ...

Thank you so much to all who gave such thought-provoking replies. It was eye-opening. I learned that: 1) I was a little sentimental about the stock after all. 2) I thought it might be interesting to own and follow a single stock, as well as collect a nice quarterly dividend. 3) However, I would not ...

I'm trying to follow the cost-basis info and the date of inheritance issue. Is there a difference between a pass-through trust and a revocable living trust? My parents had the latter. My father died in 1994. My mother made changes to the trust and had it rewritten. She died in December 2008. XOM pri...

As Zook13 pointed out, if we were far away from retirement and could have rolled this money into IRAs if we left our respective jobs, then it would make sense to count it in our net worth. Besides, I felt like I had to put it somewhere, because the money didn't really disappear. However, I realize n...

I'm not sentimental about this stock. My cost basis from the time of my mother's death is a little higher than XOM is selling for now, so I could use the loss on my taxes this year. I won't have much capital gains this year to offset. Is that the only way a loss could benefit me tax-wise? Should I s...

I am getting close to retirement. Most of my husband's and my assets are in index funds -- all at Vanguard where possible. I inherited some Exxon Mobil stock when my mother died. I don't know whether to keep it or sell it and put it in mutual funds. It represents about 10% of my retirement funds. (B...

My husband & I have mandatory deductions from our paychecks that contribute to our employers' pension funds. These will be converted to defined benefit pensions (small!) when we retire in 2 & 4 years. I use Quicken & have been counting these contributions in the retirement investment por...