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Oh this topic is a big one for me. I used Bigfoot's spreadsheet to help me decide. I've decided to convert as much as I can within the 15% marginal rate. (We have yet to reach the age for RMD's) because if our IRA accounts continue to do well, the RMD's will push us into the 25% bracket. Now, if the...

How mich is your deductible?

The FIRE forum (early retirement and money) have a number of threads on this topic.

Inspired by this thread, I've scanned 10 years' worth of tax returns. I'm now using turbotax which lets me save the return as a pdf which will make archiving future returns a snap.

DH and I hace separate ins. I have Medicare with a supplemental plan. He has a HDHP. It's not a big deal, but we did make sure that our preferred doctors are part of both plans.

Documents that would be difficult (or expensive) to replace are kept in the safe dep box: birth &marriage certificates, vehicle registration, title to property, etc . dd, you would be amazed how easy it actually turns out to be to replace all of these things. I once had to do these and between ...

rec7 wrote:Ever notice the tax free states many times have wilder weather. It is like tax free is the carrot to get you to move there.

The tax free carrot is not enough to make me consider moving to most of those places. I dislike extremes of hot and cold weather. And living near family is priceless.

Documents that would be difficult (or expensive) to replace are kept in the safe dep box: birth &marriage certificates, vehicle registration, title to property, etc Bank and investment statements I keep in a pdf file on my computer - I keep a paper copy of the Dec statement of investment stateme...

If you are single, I'd seriously consider teaching English overseas. Lots of places hire English teachers (they want a degree). The daughter of some friends did this for 20 years teaching English all over the world. She eventually got a Masters and is now back home teaching at the local CC. She star...

In the meantime, you'd probably be better off just buying a VG target fund direct from VG for all your retirement accounts and buying term life (assuming you actually need life insurance.) If you have money left over for taxable investing, post a specific question about that later. Paul +1 Imo, you...

Have I made a mistake? I don't know if it was a mistake for you or not, but the fact that both you and your wife are feeling uncomfortable is telling you something..... At what point should children have full access to parents' financial information? I really think that depends on the family. Some ...

I have two adult children. Unfortunately, they do not share my financial values and goals. I watched as both blew through a small ($60,000) inheritance when their father died (my ex). One put $9000 down on a house, spent $5K on braces for his (now ex) wife. Other than that, they have nothing to sho...

I have two adult children. Unfortunately, they do not share my financial values and goals. I watched as both blew through a small ($60,000) inheritance when their father died (my ex). One put $9000 down on a house, spent $5K on braces for his (now ex) wife. Other than that, they have nothing to show...

gkaplan wrote:You couldn't pay me to live in most of the tax friendly states for retirees.

+1

My priority is to live near my children & grandchildren. I also enjoy the services that my taxes pay for. Besides, our largest tax bill is to the IRS and that would be the same whichever state we lived in.

Some things are more (healthcare), some are less. It is about the same overall.

It appears that the OP's father lives in NY. When I googled "filial support laws", NY did not show up as being one of the 29 states thst have these laws...

I have an ipad also (a regular one). It is a "wifi only" : no data subscription. I use it at Starbucks, Safeway, the public library, Home Depot and any other place that has free wifi. Many restaurants have free wifi, but you have to ask them for the password. Very easy to use. In addition...

BUT , the wife received a mini iPad as a gift and she carries it everywhere. Plays games, checks and sends email, surfs the web, down loads eBooks from our library - all at no cost. Please tell me more about the "all at no cost" aspect. 1210 P.S. Anyone....what's a "hotspot"? I ...

Yes, it does seem a bit high. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we insure through SAFECO, which charges us $400 per year for a $5 million umbrella policy. I believe most companies require that you buy auto and homeowners insurance from them, before they'll sell you an umbrella policy — though there ma...

Signing up for my company's 401K and contributing enough to get the match. I did not know much about finances, but did figure out that it was a good deal. I did it when they were fairly new and most of my co-workers had all kinds of reasons not to. (Gradually I increased my contributions until I rea...

Here's what worked for us. My wife has her own credit card that I don't look at, but she's responsible for paying the bill from her account. It works. Before I would see every one of her purchases, we'd do combat over every little purchase, then I paid the bill anyway. Now I don't see the charges a...

If you can't afford to have your daughter live on campus without a loan then she should not live on campus. That lesson alone is probably more valuable than EVERYTHING she learns in the first year of college. edit to add: I'm a huge proponent of students living on campus, but seeing as the universi...

There is help and there is HELP... I would absolutely offer basic help. I would not allow my parent to go without the basics unless I was in desperate straits myself. I would not, however, fund luxuries (like a cruise or very expensive home) unless I were very well off and it was a gift from my heart.

Have you informed the heirs that you would be doing this and that the funds would be available in a reasonable amount of time.? The idea would be to stop a suit before it began Good idea. I've just emailed the younger son (the executor) with that suggestion. I also added that they should feel free ...

Did the estate go through probate? Is the estate closed with the state/county? I know in my state/county, an accounting document has to be filed annually with the probate court until the estate closes, then there is a final accounting document filed with the court. Has any of this occurred in this ...

harrylime wrote:

ddunca1944 wrote:Bruce,
Is that something I should find in the probate documents?

It might be helpful if you mentioned the applicable state.

MN

Bruce,
Is that something I should find in the probate documents?

There was a 401K. It was with Vanguard and has been distributed to each of the 3 sons as an inherited IRA. I think there was only a small amount of money in the bank accounts (basic checking and savings). The personal effects have all been distributed or donated ( a vehicle, motorcycle, furniture &a...

My ex died 8 years ago. We divorced over 40 years ago. He had 3 sons (2 are mine and the 3rd was by a subsequent marriage). He left a mess: died in another state, no will, poor record keeping, just a mess. The three sons (all adults) agreed that my youngest son should be named the estate administrat...

From my investigative work on refi - I can't. So far I get the line "we do not refi rental property". Has anyone had luck there? Thanks for the advice on fair market value - we are good there. And thanks for the advice on ways to pass on the property in case of our deaths. I'll check that...

Have you thought about having your mom go through the process with Vanguard and allowing their representative make and explain recommendations for her portfolio (and lay out the reasoning)? It may help to build some trust with the other guys and be a more positive approach than trying to tear down ...

I may be about your mother's age. Perhaps my own experience can help. When DH wanted to retire, neither of us knew anything about investing. We had IRA accounts which were invested, but we really did not understand them. We also did not know if we really could afford to retire. So we went to a finan...

I have adequate savings, but they are not growing. I'm up tight about being too aggressive and no longer trust the market. I've read here miserable reports about annuities. One salesman suggested to me a whole life policy on my wife that would give us an income when my son reaches 18 and we lose hi...

She doesn't qualify for a mortgage so you would be the one refinancing the loan. You would also be responsible for the mortgage regardless of whether she is on the deed. Why don't you re-fi the loan and just continue renting to her. Why is re-fi not good for you? You would have more cash flow. Keep...

I'd put half into your E fund ($10K doesn't seem like enough for a $60K income) and I'd use the other half to start a taxable investment account.

I think you may be watching too much "news" that is actually just noise. If you can't tune it out, turn it off.

And counseling might be a good idea.

No, but to use Mint you do.

Just a note - Quicken for Mac is nothing like Quicken for PC. In fact, that why I abandoned Quicken adter switching to a Mac. Some folks like Mint. I did not want to upload my account numbers and passwords to the internet. I prefer to keep those to myself. Also did not want to be bothered by all of ...

I use and love YNAB (You Need A Budget). It runs on Macs or PC's (I have a Mac). I also use and love the iphone app that lets me enter transactions on the go and it syncs with the desktop app over the cloud. Not really necessary, but very useful. You can download transactions or enter them manually.

I tried Mint and it drove me nuts. I found YNAB (You Need A Budget) to be the best budgeting tool I've ever used. You can designate as many (or as few) categories as you want.

I also use it to track my ckecking account and credit card balances.

I have to ask: Can you imagine going to the grocery store to buy a dozen eggs. If you have red hair, the price is '2.70, if you have brown hair, the price is 9.55, if you have gray hair, the price is .45.

Oh, and you don't know what the price is until you are at the register to pay.

Taylor, My best to your wife. DH will begin radiation treatments next Monday. A preliminary check shows that each session will run about $500. So total cost will be $2500/week for 6 weeks or $15,000 total (just for the radiation treatments). To date, his medical expenses have totaled nearly $36,000....

Do your parents have any experience as landlords? If not, I'd say their plan is fraught with problems. They may get tenants who don't pay the rent. What will they do about it? Are they counting on rent to make payments on the new house? What if it doesn't rent for as much as they think it will? How ...

For those of us who do not have responsible offspring or a close friend to take over, I am wondering if a professional guardian has been considered? Although I have adult children, quite honestly neither manages their own finances in a way that I find reassuring. I'm pondering pre-screening a profes...

Ages 64 & 68 (retired)
US Stock 35
Int'l 13
Bonds 48
Cash 4

Four VG funds: VSMGX, VFSUX, VWIAX, VWELX

No we definitely could not make it on SS alone. Fortunately we both have pensions and the combination allows us to live comfortably if not lavishly.

It scares the [stuff -- admin LadyGeek] out of me that this is going to happen.. +1 As long as DH is alive (he's 4 years younger) I think he'd stop me from doing something stupid. But if he predeceases me, I have a family history of Alzheimer's and am scared that I'll do something really stupid bef...

I budget to a pretty detailed level. I have 10 main categories and most of those have 2-3 sub categories. But I am a detail oriented person, and enjoy it. Since you've stated that you don't like to budget to a very detailed level, I suggest you don't. As long as you put savings first and don't spend...

Skiffy wrote:I have a question about unequal shares for the grandchild on SSDI--isn't this a case for a special needs trust? An outright inheritance could stop all support from SS and any state support?

Yes, absolutely. And our wills specifically set up a special needs trust for her share.

I think there are circumstances that can warrant treating them differently. I have three grandchildren. One is permanently and severely disabled and will be on SSDI her entire lifetime. I am leaving her more than the other two grandchildren.