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Not exactly the same, but I am choosing not to up size so that I can retire earlier. I live in the same house as when I was single. I now live in a house of 5. I figure if I up sized it would add 3-5 years of working. The mental barrier for down sizing is probably larger than for up sizing, so I gu...

I don't beleive the OP says he is guaranteed 3.16% return - he is guaranteed a return that is tied to the 30 Year Treasury yield and which is reset annually based on the rate in November of previous year. This is currently forecast to be 3.16% so that his former employer can guestimate what his annu...

It is a little more complicated than that. Two things you appear to have overlooked are taxes and purchasing power. 1) If you draw your pension while you are working you will likely pay more taxes on it than you would if you started taking it when you retire. 2) A dollar in 2013 will not have the sa...

Soory to hear about your dad. I concur with other posters: 1)Make sure legal paperwork is up to date - will, power of attorney, health care proxy, living will etc. 2)Make sure you know about all insurance policies, bank accounts, mutual funds, brokerage accounts etc and where all the papers are hous...

Look on the internet for a Play It Again Sports store near you. They have tons of used good sports equipment of all types. Better selection than Craiglists. Not as cheap but they also carry better stuff as they take consignment stuff from people that buy good stuff and don't need it anymore. http:/...

I would suggest first coming up with some reasonable financial goals for your point in life and seeing how you are doing against those (I'm assuming that at your saving rate you are either debt free or at most have low interest student loans): 1) Rainy day fund - traditionally 3 - 6 months of living...

The ATM at the airport when you arrive is likely cheaper than getting Euros in advance, however not necessarily the most convenient if you are arriving at the same time as several large international flights :( . I therefore try have sufficient funds in the local currency to at least get me to my fi...

Your living heir, if 94, will not be alive for long, so if being near your living heir is a factor, I would suggest renting. If it is not a factor, and if MS is truly the place you want to spend your summers, I would still rent, to get to know the communities and if you really want to be there in t...

IF you stick with this company until retirement AND they keep the DB as it is currently described , I agree that the DB is the way to go. However, there are several significant caveats: 1) If you leave the company in advance of retirement, your benefit gets frozen for both years of service AND final...

I had a colonoscopy late last year. My healthcare plan considered it "preventative" care (one allowed every 10 years) which means under my plan that they pay at 100%. It was done out-patient at a surgery center. My primary care physician's office provided a referral to two centers; I recei...

I very much enjoyed the tour of Iolani Palace. The Hawaiian history was fascinating. Our tour guide was an older Hawaiian woman - she said she was 78 (I think) but she was awfully spry for that age.

On the Vanguard site, go to account maintenance. This will allow you to set up an ACH with a bank (either going into or coming out of the bank account). This can be one-time or reoccuring. I haven't tried this for any tax advantaged account - just a normal checking account. As a security feature the...

One thing that you should consider when making this decision is the quality of your 401-K plans - are there good choices such as low expense ratio index funds? If so that would give additional weight towards maxing out your 401Ks. If there are only poor selections with high expense ratios then I wou...

Again, thanks for all the wonderful advice. I'm trying to soak it all in. Here's where I'm becoming extremely frustrated. I would love to fly 'open-jaw' to keep from essentially having to double back around to fly back home from the same city I flew into. However, comparing one way to round trip fl...

My brother & I inherited my Mom's Vanguard IRA several years ago. We split the IRA into 2 inherited IRA's and then each took a distribution equal to half of her required distribution in year of her death.

In terms of wealth, better than I expected. In terms of income, worse. That describes me as well. "Stay the Course" has served me well. However, my salary is down at least 10% in nominal dollars from where it was 10 years ago (at a different employer in a different field). Fortunately, my...

Check out this section of the Boglehead's Wiki: http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Backdoor_Roth_IRA

The key to a successful investment plan is to live well below your means and have an adequate cushion for emergencies. I think you have that covered, so I wouldn't sweat the details of whether a 3% annual increase in your savings rate is sufficient. :) It is really hard to predict where you will be ...

I had a credit card compromised in December. Instead of my CC company calling me it was Newegg asking if I had purchased a video gaming system. I told them no and asked them for the last four digits on the card. I checked online and found a second fraudulent charge from gamestop.com two days earlier...

Plans can make a distribution automatically, but it must be below a certain dollar threshhold. I'm not sure if this is an IRS limit or just whatever the plan specifies. According to the plan documents for my plan, after you quit they send you a package of information about distribution options. Howe...

Take a look at REI - they have a website (http://www.rei.com) as well as retail stores. If you have a store nearby, you can order online and ship it for free to an REI store for pick-up as well as make returns to the store. You can also get free shipping for purchases over $50. Also, they guarantee ...

The company where I work funds a % of salary whether or not you contribute plus matches at 100% of up to 5% of salary that employees contribute to 401k. The employee "match" is fixed, but the employer "direct" contribution depends on years of service. The plan is administered by ...

Personally I think it is always wise to to diversify your portfolio based on the tax status - tax deferred (Trad IRA or 401K), tax exempt (Roth IRA or 401k), and taxable funds so that you can optimize your withdrawal status depending on your personal circumstances in retirement. I certainly don't wa...

I don't use Tax Act so I can't comment on how it handles the estimated tax payment. The voucher for the fourth quarter of estimated taxes for 2012 is due on January 15, 2013. Logic would tell me you should be entitled to apply the estimate to your 2012 taxes if you made the payment on a timely basi...

One of my favorite visits in Europe is Switzerland. Lots of mountains and lakes and stuff. However, no one would call Switerland a bargain :) ! This summer I am doing a Viking cruise in Germany (my second cruise with them). I would not recommend it for a family with kids your age - it is totally di...

The point here isn't that you have to buy a real life annuity at retirement, you don't. It is instead that a real life annuity is the best way to price your retirement. For example, if your retirement plan calls for your portfolio to generate $30,000 per year in retirement income, then the size of ...

It has been great to read everyone's responses on here and see the various ways people calculate the "number" (or not). After reading through, it makes me feel OK at age 29 to not really have one. Especially with the uncertainty of expenses that children throw into the mix if we decide ha...

The point here isn't that you have to buy a real life annuity at retirement, you don't. It is instead that a real life annuity is the best way to price your retirement. For example, if your retirement plan calls for your portfolio to generate $30,000 per year in retirement income, then the size of ...

Good article Larry! I am lucky that my current employer offers 4 Vanguard index funds + TIPS in the institutional class (equivalent or lower expenses than Admiral class). We do get nicked for a "record keeping fee" but it isn't huge. The other options are a series of 10 target retirement f...

A few of you have asked for some additional info, so let's keep this going just for fun. "If nothing changes" and we maintain the course and the market returns 6% annually we will have approximately $1,100,000 total in our SEP, 401k and roths at age 52. I do not have a pension so our sole...

I will have a pension from a previous job that I left at age 45. I could start drawing the pension at 55 but would then take a 20% haircut. It will ramp up to the full amount by age 60 (the actual amount of pension I would get changes monthly during the ramp up period). I am currently employed at an...

Interesting take on deepening the relationship with customers that you want to keep long term. I am curious - did you already have a credit card with this bank or just checking, savings, etc? If so, was it your primary credit card? I'm trying to see if they are cannabalizing their own credit card bu...

I'm a little confused by the numbers in His 401-k: His 401k (26% of total investments) Company match – 50% of the first 8% (vests over 5 years – 2 years in): Vanguard Explorer Fund Investor Shares 1% Vanguard Extended Market Index Fund Investor Shares 1% Vanguard Growth and Income Fund Investor Shar...

I find the statement below amazingly over-simplistic - especially in light of the recent financial crisis: You have a surprising degree of control over your human capital, unlike the financial markets. I know a number of people who were entering their "peak earning years" (maximum human ca...

I don't know if it is possible, but could you talk to your dad's wife about your concerns that you may not be able to fulfill your Dad's requests? She clearly has a vested interest in not having financial problems should your father pass. Since you dad is so incommunicative, could you encourage them...

I have several funds that appear in more than one type of accounts (taxable/rollover IRA/ROTH/inherited IRA) to allow for easy rebalancing. But to answer the simplification question, I consider the number of unique funds I own. You look fine on the front, although I do wonder why you have two separa...

One more point: check your tax forms, and in particular, look at the limits on IRS Form 8880: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8880.pdf If you can get your income for 2012 to $34,500 or less, then you qualify for the maximum 50% Saver's Credit, which could wipe out your entire tax bill. A married co...

Thank you for responding. Yes, I am under 59.5. I understand the 10k limit for the home purchase and I understand the tax-free and penalty-free status on regular contributions. My confusion is how to handle the amount rolled over from the Roth 401k into the Roth IRA. The IRA had been open for aroun...

The front passenger seat on my Ford Fusion adjusts in height similar to the driver's seat and falls in your specified sweet spot.

C

As I mentioned, I've not read her book. I think I can say, correctly, that the word "latte" was never mentioned in the 55 minute C-Span interview I watched earlier this evening, though I cannot swear to it. If Ms. Olean actually suggests that saving money by cutting back on one's lattes, ...

It actually helps to fill out the worksheet to calculate QDiv and LT Capital Gains. It seems like gibberish if you look at the worksheet in it's entirety, but is actually fairly simple to do if you follow it one line at a time. If you are comfortable with Excel formulas, it is pretty simple to recre...

That seems very odd. For a refinance the starting point should be what you currently owe on your exisiting mortgage. To that you add any home equity you are pulling out (if they still do that these days) + any fees involved for the refi that you are rolling into the loan. That should give you the ne...

There are actually people who wash and iron their dollar bills, so that they're clean and crisp. You may have received one of these bills. Is this really true? I have never ironed my money, but I often forget to check pants pockets and have washed and dried quite a few $1 bills! But I must admit th...

Schwab has already given you a 1099-R. Vanguard should give you a Form 5498. It may have been included in the last statement of the year. I have always gotten the form 5498 in May of the following year - I think it is related to being able to make IRA contributions up to 4/15 of the following year....

If you moved before you started earning those paychecks, then you are correct that you should have no earned income for MN, even though state taxes were withheld. The correct thing to do would be to file a part-year resident return for MN and a part-resident return for CO that correctly allocate th...

zotty wrote:It doesn't get mentioned much, but outright home ownership of your family home is one of the best asset protection moves you can make with taxable money.

Zotty must live in one of those states where you can shelter your home (no matter what the value) from creditors.

It is probably more complex because of the class prep hours, but I think it is illegal to classify a full-time employee as part-time to avoid paying full benefits. Haven't there been law suits against Walmart for such practices? It does sound like your boss was trying to pull a fast one over on you ...

I am normally a fan of 15 year loans. However, in your situation, the massive student loan debt at 5.8% weighs in favor of the 30 year term. In terms of looking at "total interest paid" I think you need to take a holistic approach and also consider the student loans. Doing that, it become...

It may seem counterintuitive - but if you do have a low enough taxable income, take advantage by selling when the market dips . I did this when the market tanked a few years ago to move from no-load, but actively-managed mutual funds to index funds. These funds, at their peaks, had considerable embe...

Congratulations. Buy one of these on E-bay and you can be in the 4 comma club... http://i.ebayimg.com/t/100-Trillion-Zimbabwe-UNC-2008-Pick-91-Rhodesia-/00/$(KGrHqMOKicE3326-5RsBOFdJsMUPQ~~_12.JPG http://www.ebay.com/itm/100-Trillion-Zimbabwe-UNC-2008-Pick-91-Rhodesia-/111001897287?pt=Paper_Money&a...