Bogleheads.org

I have been away from reading for awhile due to crazy-busy work commitments; now finding myself this holiday weekend immersed in 3 books I started awhile ago: "This Will Make You Smarter" by John Brockman - a compilation of short essays by thought leaders of various disciplines. Good for p...

Given a choice, I would prefer to have bond funds mostly in a tax-deferred 401(k) or traditional IRA and not in a Roth IRA (except for a little bit). The reason is that I can use the Roth IRA for higher expected tax-free growth in equities. Very true, livesoft, and given new yearly Roth space with ...

Thank you, Epsilon Delta! I was hoping that the strategy was sound.

Followup question for other LLC members - do you include LLC shares when analyzing your portfolio AA? I think whether and how you include LLC assets is contingent on the situation. • I'm self-employed and the business is an LLC; so, for that LLC I draw a salary and also have an i-401k. Those go int...

I haven't found the answer to this question on the Wiki, forum or in the Boglebooks. I'm hoping this is a basic question for all of you who understand bonds significantly more than myself. Thanks to backdoor Rothing, I finally have some decent space in our Roth accounts such that I could hold our bo...

bkchris,
Please accept my apologies. I called my VG Small Biz rep and you are right they do not allow rollovers from anything but other i-K's or pension products into their I-K, not at start-up, not ever.

Good luck at Fidelity!
~dianna

Wanted to do this, but Vanguard does not allow rollovers into their i-401k and I need to consolidate to backdoor Roth. I am in the process of transferring over my Vanguard SEP to my Fidelity Solo 401k.. Why not just convert VG SEP to VG Individual-k? Is this for lower ER's at Fidelity? Seems like a...

It is difficult to estimate how much my kids will need for education when they are ready. They are 9 and 4 right now.... Note we live in california so no tax breaks for us The question of how much to fund a 529 plan for kids so young is truly a difficult one, IMO. The educational landscape is the U...

bkkchris wrote:I am in the process of transferring over my Vanguard SEP to my Fidelity Solo 401k..

Why not just convert VG SEP to VG Individual-k? Is this for lower ER's at Fidelity? Seems like a lot of hassle for a small amount.

Are these the same thing? What is the lowest cost provider that allows you to purchase ETFs? Generally speaking, yes these are the same thing. My i-K is at Vanguard, although I have recently read threads speaking very highly of fidelity, those mostly in reference to being able to do rollovers from ...

Dear Atlanta, I'm quite impressed that you and your wife sat down with your daughter and had a heart-to-heart about her academic future and your finances. This speaks volumes for her in the future, perhaps more than any education that she could get on campus, because she is learning the real-world i...

so many choices of dumb moves, so little time..... 1 - not learning the Boglehead investment philosophy earlier (although very happy that we learned when we did) 2 - paying in 2011-2012 to convert an IRA annuity to a Roth annuity. Thousands lost in taxes, but it was too late to cancel the transactio...

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on the upcoming arrival - very exciting! When we started embarking on the Boglehead philosophy, we found it very helpful to formulate an Investment Policy Statement and there is a wiki ( http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Investment_Policy_Statement ) that outlin...

Ditto on the following:

floydtime wrote:A real Vanguard H.S.A. with no fees (other than the usual mutual fund fees).

Code Commit wrote:Admiral shares in Individual 401k, please

Gleevec wrote: Bring back Coverdell ESA

A lot depends on your definition of rich.....If you just want to be in the top 1% of earners, then doctors and lawyers are the two most common professions in that income bracket.... But not all top earners are top savers , thus could be in the poor house. In the end, do what you like that will affo...

Another vote for VRBO. I have used it for rental in Bucerias (north of Puerto Vallarta) Mexico, St Petersburg Russia, Moscow, Porto Portugal and Barcelona Spain (the last 2 for business trips, less expensive than the pricey hotels available). I echo another poster who said to find that the property ...

VG's small business/individual 401K product does NOT accept rollovers. Hmmmm. FWIW, I was able to rollover a previous i-401k with another vendor into a newly established VG I-401k without any problem about 2-3 years ago. So, I am surmising that the barrier is rolling over 401k plans that are not se...

I can think of few better places than bogleheads.org to turn to start to collect data on favorite family vacations. Please share some of your favorites (within the US and outside the US). Also, how old should the child(ren) be to optimally enjoy this trip? Do you have any tips to make the trip fun a...

Dear Bogleheads, After extensive research, we have verified that one's employer offers in-service rollovers from after-tax 401k contributions to a Roth IRA. Our accountant has reviewed all of the plan docs and also confirms that this is a go. Note that we max out all other options first (401ks, HSA,...

quarterstock, or anyone, whats the advantage of contributing after tax monies into a 401K plan? The only thing I can think of is the earnings grow tax free until withdrawn. Seems like very little advantage to tie up your savings when you could instead save and invest it at a discount firm that way ...

I'm bumping this to the top and hoping for some simplicity. Assuming you can max the $17K pre-tax and have a 50% company match. And you do a $5.5K backdoor Roth, how much more could you do after-tax through your 401K after tax and then roll out to a Roth, assuming you can do in-service withdrawals?...

I'm bumping this to the top and hoping for some simplicity. Assuming you can max the $17K pre-tax and have a 50% company match. And you do a $5.5K backdoor Roth, how much more could you do after-tax through your 401K after tax and then roll out to a Roth, assuming you can do in-service withdrawals?...

+1. Installed Sonos in office setting about 3 months ago and it was simple and with great sound quality. Have it connected wirelessly to Bridge device running an older model iPod Nano, looped on playlist. No fuss, no problems. Awesome music quality for the price, and very easy to use and install. Hi...

This has been an interesting thread. The personalities of the elders as well as the children matter tremendously in these situations. As someone in her 40's, I have been the recipient of discussions about inheritance from my parents and my spouse's parents. In my family of origin, the discussions ha...

I have spoken to couple of brokers who are willing to help. But what they have proposed sounds to be borderline mortgage fraud. For example one of them suggested that I get a letter from any IT vendor showing a future 3 year contract even if that vendor has no intention hiring me. The IT vendor I h...

Hi Learnfpga, I have felt your pain with this in the past. I am sorry that I am not able to offer specifics for the NJ market, but one approach that may be helpful is to identify someone who is 2-3 degrees of separation from you who is a mortgage broker/banker. Using a friend-of-a-friend mortgage br...

Hi Chris, Congratulations on your achievements thus far. There are a few 'retirement' calculators on the internet that are available free of charge that may help you understand, via historical reference, the likelihood of being able to retire at a certain age with X% withdrawal and $Y saved. One exa...

Thanks, Dianna, that is very helpful. If you don't mind me asking, where did you open the UTMA/UGMA accounts at? Was that through a regular bank, or also through Schwab? My plan is to do exactly what you're doing....keeping a minimum amount in each account except when putting money in for the Cover...

It's very nice of you to do this for these kids. So here are my questions: 1. Any suggestions on where to set up the 3rd child's Coverdell account since I can't go through Vanguard? I still want to use Vanguard funds. I'm thinking Scottrade, but I really know nothing about them (or any other brokera...

toothpuller wrote:For 2013, we can then do a backdoor Roth conversion to put away an additional 10K per year.

FWIW, for 2013, you could each put $5,500 away in a backdoor Roth conversion, for a combined 11K this year.

I just noticed this thread. Let's back up a step to make sure everybody is on the same page. Is your business an s-corporation? Sole proprietorship? Mine is a sole proprietorship, under LLC designation. I don't believe I'm confused about how much I can contribute, it's more the nuance of whether to...

Background: Our household has 2 "escrow" buckets that we have used to accumulate funds on a monthly basis which are then used to a) pay biannual property taxes (which are sizable in our geographic area) and quarterly estimated income taxes given that I am self-employed; and b) true-up Solo...

Dear Bogleheads. I am self-employed and have a Solo/Individual 401k at Vanguard through their Small Business section. I've had the 401k there for about 2 years and awhile ago found a post on Bogleheads suggesting that it was (slightly?) better to make contributions as an "employer" versus ...

Mine is administered by Chase. Anything less than $2000 must be kept in cash. (I have only recently started it, and have $625 in there) After $2000, they allow for investments in managed funds with high ER's. Kind of sucks in that aspect, but I plan to draw it down on an annual basis anyway, so the...

Finishing up my PhD at Yale. About $10,000 undergraduate loans to pay-off which I did within the first year of employment; no graduate school loans thanks to scholarship, RA/TA opportunities. Salary $18,000/year. Old reliable car (Honda) paid in full. No mortgage. No spouse. No kids. Barely any asse...

An additional consideration, which doesn't get you around the "parent owns the account for the child" issue and has a few other hurdles to jump over, but may give you greater flexibility on behalf of the child is a Coverdell Educational Savings Account. It is similar to a 529 in many regar...

Kenyan, have you thought about submitting a letter to the editor on this one, arguing why these recommendations are poor? That might get some people's attention and be helpful! What makes you believe the editor would a)take it seriously and b) actually publish the retort in a magazine who's adverti...

Kenyan, have you thought about submitting a letter to the editor on this one, arguing why these recommendations are poor? That might get some people's attention and be helpful!

Depends on self-employment income each year, but we max Big-Company 401k, self-employed 401k (to max allowable; this year $51,000), Backdoor Roth 401k, HSA, Coverdell. Then contribute to taxable accounts, 529s, etc from there. House scheduled for early payoff. One may say that Coverdells and 529s ar...

I'm currently married and my spouse and I both have an AGI of about 115k each and we both max out our 401k. From what I understand, we should be able to open an Traditional IRA and then convert it over to a Roth IRA. The problem is, her mother is a CPA, does our taxes, and is adamant that we cant d...

I've thought a lot about your question over the past 2 days. Our portfolio is much more simple and elegant than it used to be. I haven't complicated it based on ER's, but I do believe it is complicated (perhaps more than it needs to be, perhaps not) to try to make the holdings in the most ideal &qu...

I thought the SuperBowl was played on turf, not in pools?

I've thought a lot about your question over the past 2 days. Our portfolio is much more simple and elegant than it used to be. I haven't complicated it based on ER's, but I do believe it is complicated (perhaps more than it needs to be, perhaps not) to try to make the holdings in the most ideal &quo...

3 books on the nightstand; some nights I read them all, sometimes I just read one, sometimes I just go to bed. SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance by Levitt & Dubner Becoming Attached: First Relationships and How They Shape ...

SteveB3005 wrote:High five Jay, very nice. A good testimony to the system here.

+1. Congratulations, and thank you for sharing your story. It sure sounds tough, but nonetheless inspiring on so many levels. Nice work.

Hello Jerilynn, You keep using "dental tx" in your posts. Sorry, but what is tx? Sorry. Tx=treatment Sx=surgery Dx=diagnosis Px=panorex CBCT=Cone Beam CT scanner SOM/scope=Surgical Operating Microscope Thanks for the explanation Jerilynn. I was emailing someone who kept talking about Sx. ...

Yes, get a passport. Ease your mind and make your life less complicated than it needs to be. If you are going to be driving while in MX, strongly consider getting an international driver's license and, most importantly, read and research how roads are driven and people maneuver in MX. Carry pesos wi...

Happy Birthday, Taylor. May your birthday be filled with wonderful surprises, may your cake be delicious, and may your returns on personal and financial investments be exponential.

~dianna

It was built in 1999 by the current owners. The exterior of the house is fiber siding on the sides and back with a combination of traditional stucco and brick on the front. Knowing the potential moisture issue with stucco (living in Minnesota), we insisted on a moisture test as part of our inspecti...

Resided house and soffited (is that a word?) with Hardieboard about 10 years ago. Purchased boards pre-primed, then painted them ourselves with Sherwin-Williams Duration paint. Installed by contractor and team with Hardieboard training and experience. Siding has held up very well through significant...