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So I called North west mutual and this is what they said: My form is a 5304 simple... all my funds are at 1.25% exp ratio Surrender fees to roll out accout to Vanguard is $1,299.20 as of today.... Current inv, amount around 32k I asked for the forms to roll funds out and they said it'll be in the m...

3-6 points per hard pull is the conventional wisdom

I also recommend The Virtual Weber Bullet. If you're using a Weber Smokey Mountain (my choice) then you can have great success controlling temperature for long periods with the Minion[1] Method: Interesting. I use the Minion method with my Kamado ceramic cooker but did not even know I was doing so....

The stall comes from the rendering of the fat. Basically like ice melting to water is endothermic (absorbs heat) so is melting of fat endothermic. Because BBQ is done at 190 - 200 F, all the heat that goes into the meat during the stall goes to melting fat. Once that is done the meat temp will rise ...

Pretty clear to me the annuity option beats the partial lump sum + reduced annuity. Is she in good health? Consider the consequences if she lives longer than her life expectancy. 30 years of inflation and the smaller annuity payment will not be worth much and she may have run through the IRA moneys.

You have a fantastic plan. Put in as much as you possibly can and do some reading. With a plan that good there is no need to open a Roth IRA. You can if you want, of course. As you educate yourself, read up on the "Three Fund Portfolio". The most important decision to be made is your AA. S...

I do not understand your question. Vanguard will calculate your rmd for you if you ask the to. They will even distribute it for you if you like. Any fund will do. All funds make it "easy and simple" to meet the rmd requirements. You just easily and simply withdraw the required amount befor...

I don't think sscritic is lurking. I sent him a private message back in April. I checked yesterday, and the PM still was in my out box. I finally deleted it. That is a shame. He was the best expert on SS the board had. Like me, he didn't "suffer fools gladly" and I guess it finally got to...

On some weeds, you will start seeing results the next day, some about a week. It is the pelargonic acid which provides the immediate results. It is the glyphosate which kills in one week. Glyphosate kills every plant unless it is GMO to be resistant. Pelargonic acid - not so much. But it does make ...

Guys, there is a lot of confusion here. Round up is a trademark of the Monsanto company. It is used with many products. Regular roundup is just glyphosate, surfactant, water and an amine to neutralize the acidic glyphosate. When glyphosate came off patent, Monsanto came up with all kinds of new vari...

I won't get into the politics of this and whether or not you should get involved. On the financial issues alone, it seems to me to properly assess the situation you need a balance sheet and an income statement. You seem to have a handle on the asset side of the balance sheet and no idea of the liabi...

The Dow will tank. No doubt about it. We just don't know when.

So tune out the noise and stay the course.

I've seen mentions in the financial press for this service - Social Security Choices. I think $40 buys you a report with the optimal age - according to their methodology - identified. http://www.socialsecuritychoices.com/index.php +1 I used them and they confirmed what I had calculated in Excel whi...

Given the choices you have, I would go all in with S&P500 in Fido 401(k) and hold bonds and international in IRA's.

Don't have to achieve your target AA in each account, just overall.

stop checking your balances.

That is not a joke. I am dead serious.

I only log onto Vanguard once a month or so and then I just check that my AA is not out of whack.

I do a detailed analysis once a year, when I compare my Dec 31 balances with the previous year's balances.

I was subject to the HCE restrictions for a period of time. Limited to 8% of my pay as pretax and 0% post tax. The HCE employees were limited to contributing no more than 2% more than the non-HCE average. As it turns out, the execs had access to a non qualified plan, and could contribute up to 16% o...

Does anyone know the rationale for the different classes? It seems the investor who can only afford investor shares would be the one who really need the lower er. yes and poor people would benefit from lower interest rates on loans but that is not how free markets work. "Cost to serve" co...

I think Mr Greenspan is saying that "Stock prices have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau".

Best solution is to move all your assets to Vanguard. I have found the staff on the Flagship / Voyager lines to be a cut above the general line. Just like the airlines and hotels give better service to their best customers.

gt4715b wrote:Forget about the budget part. That was mainly to discourage people from saying, hey Fuji is really nice this time of year.

Did you mean Fiji? Fuji is a volcano in Japan on Honshu island.

But your wife is younger than you and is a female, together making it highly likely that she will outlive you by a number of years; each one of which she will collect your signifacantly higher payment if you delay to 70. Plus, if you delay, you will forgo gain in your IRA in return for about an 8% ...

All of the US is high season in July especially near the 4th of July holiday.

How about visiting one of the less popular National Parks?

Isle Royale in Michigan gets 15,000 visitors a year. What Grand Canyon and Yellowstone get per day. Should be nice weather there in July.

Would not do it. If you lose your job the bank can pull the LOC and then you are up the creek. Without a paddle.

The fact that you have F class funds implies you are paying a wrap or aum fee - is that correct? If so, these funds are even higher cost than they seem.

Thanks for the replies. I guess it's not really worth it when you factor in time and effort. There are some items that are much cheaper at one store (Costco milk, Trader Joes cheese), but I suspect I don't really need a list for the more obvious ones. I might look into the price book though. It cou...

wait until you get married.

no guarantees but I doubt that 4% HELOC will be going up any time soon.

You issue is not just no credit history, but not enough income to support the size mortgage you wish to tale out.

I have a question on the vanguard target date funds. Since they are essentially a total stock market, total international stock market, and a total bond market rolled into a mutual fund, why wouldn't an individual just buy them individually as ETFs and save on the expense ratios? 1) Convenience of ...

Lexus and Acura automobiles iPads and iPhones, Verizon as carrier EVOO nice dinners out including The French Laundry, Nobu, etc Thermapen (but I have the $20 one not the $100 one - still fabulous, don't know how I cooked without one) Kamado ceramic grill - only use hardwood lump charcoal, will not u...

I believe the phrase is "Don't confuse good results with a good strategy". Simple example - an idiot does not purchase fire insurance on his home. 40 years later he boasts he has saved $80,000 in homeowners premiums. Good result. Bad strategy. Another example would be someone who went 100%...

I agree with ruralavalon - a lot depends on how good your 401(k) options are and the interest rate on the mortgage.

However without any facts to go on, I would vote to up the 401(k) contributions. Any year you don't max your 401(k) is tax favored space gone forever.

Nobody knows nuttin'

Do you have earned income this year? Jobs last summer will not make you eligible, neither will gifts. You have to have earned income this year Welcome to forum John I had a job over a month long winter break in a clothing store and made about $750. That spanned from mid December to mid January, and...

This target date fund looks pretty reasonable to me. Are you ok with about 85% in equities?

RSU's - sell immediately on vesting

NSO's - if looking to maximize return, hold until just before expiry. If trying to balance risk/return (my recommendation) exercise when remaining time value is low relative to in-the-money-value.

Do a search this has been discussed many times.

Cap One Venture Card holder here. Get great exchange rate, no foreign transaction fee, and 2% cash back on everything. Was very pleased with it in Europe last summer.

The cards that tack on a fee typically add 3% so that is a big drawback. Better to withdraw cash at an ATM than pay 3%.

Johm221122 wrote:I'm in similuar situation with my 401.If it is 500 index and you have stable value fund use them and in ira use small and international.It isn't perfect but it works for me
John

+1

It is far from imperfect, in fact pretty darn good.

I traveled my entire 29 year career in the chemical industry. Never as much as 50% but about 20 to 30% which is a lot. It has its pluses and minuses. Overall it was a positive. Wife has to be able to take it as well as the kids. I had to laugh about tfb's comment. I remember on my second trip to Eur...

Definitely go. Although anything outside Seoul is a bit 3rd world by US standards, it is still a great time. Pusan is famous for its seafood. While there, I had the "still wriggling octopus tentacles". Basically the waitress chops up a live octopus at your table. I wanted to show I was bra...

Provigil already has a generic equivalent. Nuvigil is just one optical isomer of the Provigil molecule. Drug companies do this (see Nexium vs generic omeprazole) as a gimmick to extend their patent coverage. Racemic omeprazole has equal amounts of left handed and right handed molecules. The Nexium &...

My guess (and it is just that) is that if you have no access to the money it is no longer yours. Just like if you donated money to a Donor Advised Fund. It is gone. So not reportable since it is not your money. But don't get your hopes up re: FAFSA. I am retired and my EFC was $99,999. No I am not m...

You have to consider all your investment assets as one portfolio. We can't help you with one account without understanding your whole situation. Please look at the posting guidelines for portfolio help:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6212

I guess I don't get it. You are negative cash flow by $6000 a year, but you offset that with principal pay down and a tax shield on your other income. To me this sounds like you are break even. It seems every time I pick up the paper or look at the news on Yahoo, real estate is turning the corner. T...

I'm new around here, but why? The Vanguard target funds have 90/10 until 25 years from retirement, which would be age 40-42. Which is why the standard advice around here for those considering TR funds is to ignore the date, and instead choose a suitable AA and then identify the TR fund with that % ...

gkaplan wrote:My bi-weekly pay in 1688.80, and I max out my TSP contributions. I don't think I can withhold enough, especially at this late date in the year.

Then quarterly estimated payments it is.

In the 15% bracket the Roth option is sound.

I believe in efficient markets so I hold them at market weight.

If paying estimated taxes when income is varying during the yr like in your situation, read pg. 3 of the link above which refers you to Ch 2 of Pub 505 and Sch AI which generally matches timing of estimated taxes to timing of income. If you get income from sale in Q2, and pay the estimated taxes in...

Transfer in kind may benefit you because the cost to sell the fund(s) at Vanguard will likely be lower.

I helped a relative do this (Schwab to Vanguard). The process was painless and he saved about $100 by selling the funds at Vanguard. Basis went over flawlessly from Schwab to Vanguard.

Wow a 9% mortgage?

"The 80's called and they want their mortgage back".

Seriously, who pays those rates anymore? Even your first mortgage rate seems ridiculously high.

I think it is best to include a 3.5 mile run near the end of your training plan. Then you will have the confidence to know you can finish. You don't say how old or fit you are or what sort of pace you are targeting. You may want to consider "Galloway" style running where you run for say 3 ...