Bogleheads.org

The considerations around whether to use a Roth account or traditional account have not changed as the rules of the account haven't changed. 1. If you think your tax rate will be lower in retirement, defer taxes. 2. If you think your tax rate is lower now, pay taxes now rather than later. 3. Most pe...

FYI :happy "The ability to touch, tap, swipe and pinch on Windows 8 computers is what makes the new operating system come to life. You can still use Windows 8 without a touchscreen, but that's kind of like tossing aside the remote, getting up, and repeatedly pushing buttons to change the chann...

Just pick the house you enjoy more and stay active.

I think a healthy retirement portfolio consists of both tax advantaged accounts and a taxable account. The reason is that it provides the retiree with more options for controlling their tax rate in retirement. They will receive SS benefits and RMDs from tax deferred accounts, and after that they can...

I can see including CDs in your AA in or very close to retirement, but other than that, it would seem to be difficult to rebalance going forward with CDs. How would that be handled?

I'm not 100% sure here, but the deadline for filing amended returns for previous years has past. I don't think the government is going to give you anymore money. If you want reimbursement, I think you are going to have to get it from your company. At least it is fixed going forward. It sounds like y...

Sulvar wrote:They also believe that teachers and engineers have fewer accidents

I guess that's why they are so cheap for me! I saved 20% when I switched from Progressive to Geico. I have never had an insurance claim, so it seems I just send them money every six months. I want that to be as cheap as possible.

I've used TurboTax for many years and had no problems. Until this year. After I purchased the download version, I discovered it will not run on my Mac. Seems that TurboTax made the decision with the 2012 version to make it inoperable with Macs made with PowerPC chips. TurboTax does not make this ap...

My taxes are not complicated, and my state offers free eFile. I use TT for my federal because it is simple and free. H&R Block is not cheaper than free. If they were, I would use them

Don't forget about your HSA space.

There also used to be (still is?) a total limit on all pre-tax deductions (401k, medical, flexible spending accounts, parking/mass transit tickets, etc.). Reaching that limit would force some normally pre-tax deductions into after tax. Source? I know each deduction tends to come with a limit attach...

Deductions simply mean payroll deducted that amount for that purpose from your paycheck. They are paying your bills for you. As others have mentioned, pre-tax vs post-tax is typically shown with some notation (it's a * for me too). If not, you can play the matching game mentioned earlier. You need t...

Check your pay stubs. If they haven't been deducting it all along, they are probably telling you the truth. Beyond that, it is tough to say without reading your plan documents.

Your AGI should be listed on your final pay stub for 2012. Does that match box one? Was the cost of dental deducted from the AGI listed on your pay stubs throughout the year? Just because payroll pays that bill for you doesn't imply that it is taken out prior to income tax. It does in many cases, bu...

paulsiu wrote:One issue I have is that there is no way to run netflix on a linux box.

I do it using Wine.

This looks great! A few quick questions though I will research more tomorrow - - Does the SD cards the distributors sell have the OS on them? If not, where can you find the Linux OS and how much does it cost? - What are some examples of DIY cases for the unit? - Will an iPod usb to wall charger wor...

I have noticed some PDFs are not viewable using the latest version of whatever PDF viewer comes with Ubuntu. That's annoying when those PDFs are utility bills or finanical documents, etc. I tend to combat it by downloading the file on Windows and using PDFCreator to re-generate the file. Afterwards,...

Thanks PJW!

retiredjg wrote:Alan S. posted this link in a different thread. I think it has the answers to your original questions - in the Executive Summary.

http://retirementlc.com/documents/20120 ... utions.pdf

Thanks!

...you too, Alan!

I've never been to Mexico, but unless you are seeking something unique (particular ruins, copper canyon, etc.), or perhaps are a beach connoisseur (which it sounds like you're not), I'm not understanding why you'd go there - especially in the summer. It's hot in NYC and most of the rest of the US, ...

Were you using 3G (or 4G) or WiFi? 3/4G are generally too slow for VoIP. WiFi will work, but Android cuts the power down on WiFi when the screen goes off (at least the phone version does. i'm not 100% sure about the tab version). There is an app to fix that. I dont recall the name. There are also a...

Were you using 3G (or 4G) or WiFi? 3/4G are generally too slow for VoIP. WiFi will work, but Android cuts the power down on WiFi when the screen goes off (at least the phone version does. i'm not 100% sure about the tab version). There is an app to fix that. I dont recall the name. There are also ap...

Wow, that's an expensive house especially for that salary. I wouldn't consider that a wise decision. If you do buy a home and are going to do in under five years, whatever funds you want to allocate toward that should be liquid. Put it in that 0.5% savings account (or some other bank account/CD). Us...

Everyone is giving you good advice. Go with the cheaper one, and using the insurance from your CC company is the way to go. Read your CC policy. Some require that you decline any other coverage.

Wait until they complete the job. They might fix it on their own, and if they don't and you complain ahead of time, you will likely have tracks through your yard leading up to a hole in your yard as they might not properly fix the original issue. If they don't fix it on their own, send them the pics...

Frugal is a dirty word to me.

Live below your means.
Secure your future (much as you can reasonably do so).
Develop valuable skills.
Look for value when making purchases.
Use things until they are worn out.

Other than that, relax and enjoy life.

I understand now. Thank you for your time and patience.

Thank you for responding. I really appreciate it. The overriding principle here is that the $5000 is taxable income only if you didn't deduct it previously. In theory, you should deduct taxes that you owe, but not taxes that you don't owe, and if you do deduct them, then you have to report the refun...

Shop around for auto insurance every few years. This always happens. The loyalty discount is not a discount. It is simply leverage to convince people to stay with them ("If you leave, you'll lose your loyalty discount."). You won't lose any discount, you'll gain a discount by buying the pr...

Off topic, a litte: The tricky situation, one that I recommend you avoid, is to make an estimated state payment in January 2012 toward your 2011 state tax and then get a refund. When you get your state tax refund, not all of it was from state tax payments that you deducted on your 2011 federal retu...

If you made state income tax payments (estimated payments or withholding) in 2012 towards your 2012 tax, you can deduct them as an itemized deduction on Schedule A for 2012. Likewise, if you paid your 2011 tax in 2012, you can deduct that on your 2012 tax. If I don't deduct the $5000 worth of credi...

I purchased some state income tax credits in 2012 (Oregon). Basically, I paid $4750 for $5000 worth of credit. I assume this means I am going to have a fairly large amount on my 1099G for 2013 which I believe means that amount (which is whatever the state gives me as a refund this year) becomes a ca...

If your parents think the housing market in Vegas is a good investment and they want to manage a property, urge them to purchase a rental property. If you save money over the course of the next couple of years and want to invest with your parents, then buy into it when you have the money. Don't take...

Roommates in college and roommates as an adult can be very different experiences. The added responsibility and life experiences tend to change people's behavior. I would reconsider utilizing that as a secondary source of income. I disagree with what someone posted about the purpose of an EF being so...

Vanguard, Fidelity, T Rowe Price, Schwab, etc. are all fine.

If most of the funds which you are interested in are with Vanguard, I'd go with that. That will ensure you have access to the Admiral funds rather than just the Investor funds which will mean lower expenses.

Yes, and I hope is does state returns as well.

PS, a good reason to do your taxes on computer with one of these packages is that you can generate .pdf files of all your forms for electronic storage and recordkeeping. TurboTax has provided the PDF files to users which use the online version for years. I have used the free online version for the ...

If your return is really straightforward, the Deluxe version is overkill for you. Go with the free version. H&R Block or TurboTax would work fine as would many others. I think I might try Tax Act this year as all I need is the free version for my federal return and Tax Act seems to offer the che...

I'm thinking the same thing FinancialDave. All the articles (not just this one) are talking like this us a huge opportunity. But as you say, it's really an opportunity to pay a higher tax rate now than you or someone else would pay later. Bad, bad idea. Just to clarify, I'm not talking about the re...

$10k for a few minor cracks seems crazy to me. When I was younger, my parents cement garage wall had a crack which formed over the course of 10+ years and began to cave in. My Dad eventually deemed it worry of repairing. He and I jacked up the garage, torn down the wall, set the forms, laid the reba...

Alan S. wrote:Sec 72 is the tax code section that governs how much of a given distribution is taxable, and also contains the penalty exceptions in Sec 72q and 72t.

Thanks, I will take a look.

I'm asking about after tax contributions. I typically utilize all of the allowed 402(g)(1) space using the tradditional 401(k). If I have extra money, I would like to utilize the 415(c)(1)(A) space using after tax contributions which would be rolled over into a Roth IRA or Roth 401(k). I know others...

Can anyone please link me to the law which defines the rules for converting after tax 401(k) contributions to a Roth IRA (or even a Roth 401(k)) while still participating in plan contributions? My SPD leads me to believe there is a penalty for doing so, but then again it hasn't been updated since 20...

Would it be a good idea to just throw any extra money after investing and EF into the VTSMX vanguard fund I have? (ie house down payment, car repairs, new car, etc.) Also whichever account you use to invest, you should be following your investment plan and meeting your desired AA. I assume this is ...

If you are not utilizing your IRA space for retirement, I would recommend contributing to a Roth IRA before using a taxable account for EF/etc savings. Utilize your tax advantaged space first.

The rules of when you need to open the account are unimportant here. Since you have already contributed $5k to a Roth IRA for the year, you cannot contribute to a traditional IRA. Just for the record, the information you read was bad. You have until the tax deline to open and contribute to an IRA (t...

1. Get your EF where it needs to be (in your opinion) 2. Max out retirement accounts (compounding interest is the bomb!) - 401(k) and IRA 3. Start saving for a down payment on a house. Figure out how much you would like to spend on a mortgage payment add extra for insurance, property taxes, increase...

The last two posts are good advice. farecompare.com is another fare tracking site. Also check out matrix.itasoftware.com.

I'm considering switching to Ally for an online savings account. As part of this switch, I am considering using Ally as my hub to control ACH transfers between finicial institutions. I am trying to figure out if Ally currently places a hold on funds for an ACH transfer. I am mostly concerned with an...

I'll look into the MMF option. That thought hasn't crossed my mind in a long time.

Solid logic, tfb. Thanks for the advice (I'm considering taking it).