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Giving someone (even your spouse) the password for online access to an investment or banking account is usually a violation of your agreement with the investment company, bank or whatever. I know it is with Schwab, Vanguard and Wells Fargo. Giving someone else the password may void the protection pr...

If you are using Windows, there is a MS program called "Snipping Tool" that will very neatly copy just the part of any screen you want. You can then store it as an image file. If you can't find Snipping Tool on your PC with Start/All Programs, google "MS Snipping Tool" and downlo...

There have been many discussions about the use of DFA funds here on Bogleheads. A good place to start would be to search the board for "dfa" or 'dfa funds" and read some of the threads.

There is a roadhouse about 10-15 miles outside of Savannah that serves great shrimp and french fries; more than you could possibly eat. I don't remember the name of it but I'm certain locals would know of it. When I was there I ate at a couple of the restaurants along the riverfront - they were fin...

If you decide not to make it a DIY move, have the moving company pack everything and spend the little extra to buy full replacement insurance from the carrier. If the carrier knows they will have to repair or replace anything that is damaged they will send a better crew and do a much better job of p...

Before I list the next property I would sit down with two other agents and find out how they would market the property and the listing price they would use. Keeping this information in mind, I would then talk to the agent that just sold your property and find out their listing price and marketing pl...

Okay, the tIRA was after tax dollars. As Iorek mentioned, I also remember that TurboTax takes care of the double taxation of the distribution/conversion at the end of the questions for the 1099 you get for the distribution from the tIRA. When you first entry the 1099 data it wants to tax you on the ...

Need more information. How did you fund your traditional IRA? Was it with pre-tax or after tax dollars?

In January you will receive a benefits statement (SSA-1099) from the SSA listing the total SS benefit actually paid in the previous year. The statement will also show how much was deducted for Medicare. You use the SSA-1099 for income tax reporting. There are some complex rounding rules that only SS...

You can wait 'til the next year but then you must take the RMD for 2014 and the RMD for 2015 in the same year (2015). This is okay unless having 2 RMDs in the same year creates an income tax problem.

edit: corrected the years

I like Bill Schultheis and the Coffee House Investor. Similar to the DFA Slice and Dice portfolios but with fewer asset classes. The Coffee House portfolio is easier to implement than Slice and Dice because it is simpler, the pizza is sliced in fewer slices. I looked at the web page that he linked ...

I think it is always prudent to carry backup ATM and credit cards when you are traveling internationally. I use a Wells Fargo ATM card that does not charge fees for international use but I do have to pay any local ATM fees. I think this card is available now only with a PMA account at Wells Fargo. M...

You understanding is correct. We did just what you describe. My wife is older and started receiving SS at 62. At my FRA I applied for spousal only benefits and received that benefit until I turned 70 last year. At that point I started to receive benefits based on my record with 4 years of delayed re...

We've used tea tree ointment (tea tree extract in a diluting oil) for almost 20 years for various skin problems. We've also used "tea tree soap". I don't recall every using "tea tree lotion" per se but I know that some hand lotions contain tea tree oil. I don't think it has ever ...

When would a credit card payment made today be recognized by the IRS? If you mail a check and it is postmarked tomorrow you will have "paid" by April 15. If a credit card payment is made today but posted to the IRS account on Tuesday it may be considered as being late.

I use Quicken Deluxe 2013 and enter the checks I write manually. I do not use the check writing feature in Quicken. I started Quicken and pulled up the register for my checking account. The date on the line for the next entry is the current date. If I enter "N" for the next check number, t...

Since simplification is your objective, your Roth IRAs can also be combined into a single Roth. Very easy to do if they are all held by the same custodian.

So then, would it matter if the account with the advisor is a rollover IRA or just a taxable account? Would it still be if the account is a tax-advantaged account? If that is the case and the client has both: - taxable account - rollover IRA then... Have both fees pulled from the taxable account. A...

Deductible IRA contributions go on line 32 of Form 1040. They are then subtracted from total income on line 22 which includes dividends and interest as well as earned income. The result is the taxpayer's AGI. In other words, the IRA contribution would offset dividends and interest as well as earned ...

FYI... The Target Retirement funds only require $1000to open an account.

Or to ask the question another way, are the foreign taxes paid by the mutual fund included in the expense ratio of the fund?

When I did my taxes last year, I had to pay $18K in additional federal taxes since my income had increased and I had some extra income from stocks. I also started paying additional estimated taxes (1040-ES $7K every 3 months). Few questions for the tax-savvy: 1) When I am doing my taxed this year, ...

If you have no traditional IRA because it has all been converted to Roth you have no RMD.

With TurboTax Deluxe installed from a CD, after you enter the stock sale and check that the basis was reported by the broker, the program asks if you need to change the basis reported by the broker. Very easy and straightforward. What version of TT are you using?

Do you have any record of WHEN you bought them? Can you narrow it down to less than a two year span of time?

Here are the facts as I know them: - As a spouse, you can collect a spousal benefit that will provide you 50% of the amount of your spouse’s Social Security benefit as calculated at their full retirement age. - After you reach full retirement age, you can choose to receive only the spousal benefit,...

Is this what you are trying to ask? Tom and Jane have the same birthday and both are 65 years old. They were married to each other for 35 years but divorced 5 years ago. Neither has remarried. Both worked full time and they both have estimated Social Security benefits at FRA of $2400 / month. Are yo...

Schwab promised 2/15, received about 2/12.

Paul, Where is this condo/coop located? As I mentioned in another thread, property insurance is regulated by the states so what applies in Illinois or Georgia may be much different than what applies in California. You may want to call the insurance commisioner in the state where the condo is located.

We also decided to self insure with the idea of selling our residence to generate funds for assisted living or whatever. If we have to dip into investments to pay the bills we will do that. We made no changes to our AA (50/50) as a result of this decision.

Property damage insurance is governed by state regulation so it varies a lot from state to state. Two good sources of info would be a good local insurance agent and the state government insurance commissioner's office.

Who made the mortgage and property tax payments? Where they made from a joint account? Were they all made from your account? This may be one of those things you should of thought of a year ago.

Are these two separate outlet boxes or just a single duplex outlet? Are the outlets "downstream" from a tripped GFI outlet? Are the other outlets/lights on this circuit working? Do you have a voltmeter? Start checking back from the outlet toward your breaker box and find the loose connecto...

I see no reason to keep a lot of cash. If I need cash a HELOC or credit card works well for an immediate need. I can always do a little rebalancing by selling what needs to be sold. SS covers most routine expenses and we have about 2 months cash.

Foam pipe insulation is usually used in crawl spaces or similar locations where there is some danger of freezing. It works well for that purpuse in moderate climates.

Thanks for the reminder. For a trip to Mexico City last March the travel clinic gave us HepA and we need to get our booster shots..

Are you using Firefox w/ NoScript? You may have to check your NoScript permission settings for the site.

I ran some quick numbers: Start taking SS now @ $1900 per month. Work all year and earn $28,000: 40% of her SS would be taxed and her marginal rate would be 27.8% Start taking SS now @ $1900 per month and earn $14,000: Only 1% or her SS would be taxed and her marginal rate would be 15% If she earned...

For the calculators that give me an estimate of how long my "portfolio" will last at various rates, they always ask for my portfolio balance. I have been excluding the equity we have in our house. Should I, or should I not ? thanks I've often asked myself the same question but always deci...

You always have to ask yourself this question: "If I had the equivalent today in cash, would I by Magellan or put it in an index fund?" Which investment fits within your ISP?

Eight Facts About Filing Status IRS Tax Tip 2011-09, January 13, 2011 The first step to filing your federal income tax return is to determine which filing status to use. Your filing status is used to determine your filing requirements, standard deduction, eligibility for certain credits and deductio...

1563.19 What good is a guess if it is not precise?

Have you checked your homeowner's insurance policy? Many policies cover your belongings when they are outside your residence.

I do that as well. However, I do not clear my saved passwords - that's separate from the browser cache and history. Try clearing your saved passwords on exit. --> Don't do this if you don't have your passwords or profile backed up. You'll need to restore them. Hint: Create a new profile for this ex...

Let's take a step back. When you login, there's a "Log me on automatically each visit" checkbox under the password. If you leave it blank, the software will force you to login everytime you leave the site and come back. For example, you're logged in and reading a thread. Then, you go away...

Retired 13 years ago at 57. One surprise has been that we are spending less than we planned to spend. Our plan / desire to spend several months each year out of the country has almost vanished. Medical expenses have been moderate with Medicare and secondary retiree coverage. Following our initial pl...

If it is time to update Quicken, you can get either $30 or $35 savings on Turbo Tax and Quicken combos from Amazon using one of the promo codes from fatwallet.com: http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/expired-deals/1236833/

If your filing status is single, your adjusted gross income must be $17,250 or less to obtain a 50% credit. If you put $1500 in your IRA and your AGI is $17,245 you get a tax credit of 50% of you IRA contribution or $750. If your AGI is $17,255 you only get 20% of your contribution, $300. If your AG...

In my previous post I overlooked that the $1800 was a Roth contribution and entered it as a contribution to a traditional IRA. If it is entered as a Roth contribution, Taxcaster gives me the same results as Carl53 posts above.

The savers credit requires a contribution. See the link below.

http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc610.html