Bogleheads.org

You will get a lot of different opinions on this because future tax rates are not known and what tax bracket you will be in when you retire is not known. With these unknown variables a lot is left up to speculation. My opinion is that it's better to max out traditional 401k whenever you're above the...

I can't offer book advise, but I can relate with my situation. After a number of unsuccesful efforts to get our spending regularly within a budget I finally relented and moved all of our *optional* spending to debit cards. Basically we use high rewards credit cards for all spending that is expected ...

There are other index/passive management advisors that charged significantly less in fees. Rebalancing is very easy and you could easily do it yourself however it's understandable if you still value the services the advisor brings. The advisor hardly has to do any work for a passive 3 fund portfolio...

My daughter is working in Australia for at least a few more years. She has been using Chase to pay occasional US expenditures. Now that she no longer qualifies for a free account, no paycheck deposits, she is incurring $6 monthly fees. Also, Chase, she ends up paying both an Australian bank and Cha...

Sigh... The point I am trying to make is that I think a CASH BALANCE pension plan is a very different animal from a traditional pension plan, and that is the issue I am trying to understand better. A cash balance plan is much more akin to an IRA than a traditional pension plan, I believe. It is inc...

I have the option of both annuity payments or lumpsum. However since I'm in my late twenties I think the likelihood that I'll stay with this employer until retirement is low. Assuming I do leave and go work somewhere else I would take the current lumpsum balance and roll it into an IRA. The current...

The current notional pension balance is about 25% of my entire portfolio. I view this as fix income for AA purposes, however I also do not want to make my 401k/IRA portfolio too risky (one reason being that I cannot rebalance from the pension to the other accounts until it's eventually been rolled ...

I have the option of both annuity payments or lumpsum. However since I'm in my late twenties I think the likelihood that I'll stay with this employer until retirement is low. Assuming I do leave and go work somewhere else I would take the current lumpsum balance and roll it into an IRA. By doing th...

1. If you have the option of annuity payments - these would be considered retirement income sources. 2. If you don't, then a lumpsum can either be: a) Annuitized privately when the time comes - so, also retirement income sources. b) Added to other investable Assets as per the appropriate Asset Allo...

In the original post, you said: My employer contributes 6% of my salary to it every year and the interest rate (right now anyway) is 4.42% annually. This is in addition to my 401k where my employer matches a certain percentage, etc. Clearly the 401K is a defined contribution plan and the Cash Balan...

Not sure why ya'll dug up a 2 year old thread, but since I was the OP I guess I'll comment. For general info, first, the US DOL says that your plan is a defined benefit plan (DBP). Link: http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/FAQs/faq_consumer_cashbalanceplans.html Most importantly, IMO, is that your "cash&qu...

I had a different but still frustrating experience with an Amerisave refinance last fall. The short version of the story is the day before closing they sent me an updated GFE that just happened to increase by 9.98% over their original GFE (legally it cannot increase by more than 10%). I called them ...

AT&T is the worst carrier to have for using a smartphone without a data plan. Other carriers have psuedo smartphones that you can get that can use wifi for basic apps and email etc. without needing a data plan. Other carriers also usually won't try to force you to pay for a data plan for a smart...

RNJ - have you done an analysis to see if you generally pay a .5% premium when you buy the ETF? As mentioned earlier, my hunch would be that you do. If that's the case then the only real differences for you would be a higher expense ratio for the mutual fund but more hassles buying/selling the ETF....

You really should consider the penfed card even though it requires opening a savings account with $5. It's by far the *best* card I have (and I have a LOT of cards). I've also found since I became a Penfed member that they are a fantastic credit union for other things. I got a 1.49% auto loan throug...

I wonder if this is actually a SIMPLE IRA and not a 401k. My wife's company has a SIMPLE IRA plan through American and the funds all have front ned load fees. Apparnetly in SIMPLEs they do exist. I'd be curios why the documentation the OP posted specifically mentions load fees if they don't apply to...

Man, those are HIGH FEES!!! HIGH FEES??? Not even close. The OP should max out this 401k. Agreed^ I actually find those fees to be very reasonable for actively managed funds. American Funds are decent as well. I personally am 100% indexed, but I would make do if this is what I had. I would definite...

You should find out how much your employer matches and contributed exactly what is required to get the full match. After that max our a Roth IRA. Then if you still want to invest more come back here and we can talk about whether it's better to add more to this 401k or invest in a taxable account. It...

The Penfed Cash Rewards Visa has no forex fees. It gives 5% cashback on gas, 3% on groceries, and 1% on everything else. As another option, I believe all Capital One cards have no forex fees. There is one that gives a flat 2% cashback equivalent on all purchases (with a $59 annual fee). Another oneb...

I recently bought this camera and had it installed in my car: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0079R2MH6/ref=oh_details_o09_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 But as the other poster said, you need a screen to view the feed on. You basically have 2 options. 1.) Get something like one of these which can be m...

This is one of the worst 401ks I've seen. I agree with ruralavalon's recomendation to use Davis New York Venture A (NYVTX) and Principal High Yield A (CPHYX) (.91) (intermediate term, low credit quality). Normally those would be bad options but everything else is so much worse. Make sure you're maxi...

I prefer to use the cheapest er plan available, regardless of tax deductibility. For instance, TIAA-CREF had previously managed the NYS 529 Direct Plan, expenses were higher and I felt performance lagged. Today, the same plan now uses Vanguard funds, the er is a low 17bps, it's indexed and as the m...

It looks like if I went with the OKlahoma plan than I'd use the "Aggressive" aged based portfolio. The fees are .53% (.13% fund fee + .40% plan admin fee) and it uses a combination of the following funds (which adjusts more conservatively as the child ages): Large-Cap Growth Index Fund Lar...

Please be patient with me as I know I have a lot to learn on this subject. I have a sister who is a single mom with 2 kids (ages 2 and 3) and they all live with my parents (the kids' grandparents) in Kansas (I however live in Oklahoma). I often want to give the kids gifts that can be used for their ...

I buy most of my groceries at Wal-Mart and AMEX doesn't consider that a grocery store, so instead of this card I use the PenFed Visa that gives 5% cashback on gas, 3% groceries, and 1% everything else. This card does categorize my Wal-Mart purchases as groceries.

The best two funds worth using are: Dreyfus Bond Market Index Inv [DBMIX] (0.41) Vanguard PRIMECAP Core Inv [VPCCX] (0.5) The dreyfus fund is a good enough representation of whatever he wants his bond allocation to be. The primecap fund is a good enough representation of his US large cap equities. T...

Many people will tell you to use a local credit union, however my only local credit union now requires a minimum balance to avoid fees.

If you don't have any fee-less banks around then there are some good options with online banks, if you're willing to try that.

Have you considered something between the two extremes (premium satelite package vs rabbit ears)? You can get a basic dish network package for $15-$40 per month that should go to all tvs in the house. That'll give you local channels plus several that you wouldn't get over the air.

I would not put in a jetted tub unless you or your wife are dedicated tub bath people. I have a jeted tub that has been used maybe 3 times in 4 years. And without frequent use the water from the heater smells for a while when you first turn it on. But if you do buy one, make sure you locate the on/...

I just had a corner whirlpool installed 2 months ago in a bathroom that previously had no bathtub at all. Here's some data. You will need an electrician to install one or two dedicated GFCI circuits to the whirlpool location. (Two if there is a motor and a heater otherwise just one). This cost me ab...

1. If possible I use auto pay on a credit card. 2. If 1 is not possible then I pay manually with a credit card 3. If 1 and 2 are not possible then I use my Ally checking account billpay. If the amount is the same every month (and thus I budget for it and expect it) then I set it to pay automatically...

That being said, I don't think you'll see a huge difference between 15% and 20% either way. Flip a coin, make a decision, and stick with it. Just don't decide to change to a more conservative allocation right after a big market drop and thus lock in your losses. Good advice, thanks. As for simplify...

I didn't have time to do additional searching to confirm the data behind this chart, but I've seen this referenced around here a bit as a reason why some bonds is a good thing. http://www.aaii.com/objects/get/410.gif That being said, I don't think you'll see a huge difference between 15% and 20% eit...

I have a few questions regarding my portfolio. Any input on these, I'd really appreciate it. I think I have a good handle on things overall but I could use some feedback. I've included details on my portfolio down the page. 1. I am interested in increasing my holdings of international stocks to 35%...

Thanks for the input to both of you. Her 401k plan options suck (1% or more fees on everything) so that's the main reason I'm currently maxing Roth IRAs before her 401k.

I'd like to get some opinions on whether or not it would be better to switch some or all of my 401k contributions to ROth 401k given our situation. Expect 2013 gross income (before deductions): $140k at the most. 25% federal tax bracket, 5.5% state income tax. Expect to hit 28% bracket within the ne...

The FSA would be tax-deductible, so the all-in cost of this plan is $1440 for the premiums and $350 for the FSA after taxes, a total of $1790. So moving her to a separate plan costs you $2440, reduced by any medical expenses that you no longer pay. (And make sure that the services are comparable; i...

My wife is currently a dependent on my health insurance. She is in the process of switching to a new job that offers decent health insurance so I'm trying to figure out if it's worth it for her to take it now, or starting next year, or never. I anticipate that my wife will probably have at least ano...

It is not possible for you and your wife to be joint account owners on the same IRA. She can be your beneficary, she can also be given access so she can see your account when she logs into hers (and vice versa), but she will need her own seperate account for her IRA.

On Verizon, the iphone 5, Samsung Galaxy S III, HTC One are all good options. Honestly the only reason I think there is to choose the iphone is if you're already using the apple ecosystem. If you're not I would encourage you to consider the android options. The Galaxy S III gets more hype but anyone...

It's interesting that the top selection in the poll is a better Portfolio Watch. I don't really need the tool (I have my own spreadsheet), but I would like to see it improved anyway. Almost every time someone posts about Portfolio Watch, I follow up with a note about the inaccuracies, recommending ...

I would contact the person you're selling it to and find out if they have any expectation for the house to come with a working hot water heater.

If not..you'll have to make a judgment call on if it can make it another two months...

Once you take that money out of the Roth accounts you can never put it back in Ofr the 2009-2011 years.

If I were you I would look into refinancing the auto loan (rates can be lad for around 1.5%) and just keep it at that.

Your OP is a little hard to decipher. Make it easier on us and show us a more clear breakdown of what you currently have in each seperate account.

I'm looking for confirmation that my 401k allows in service withdrawls of after tax contributions for purposes of rolling into a Roth IRA. My 401k is at Vanguard. I called in to ask about this and I was told that they can do an in service withdrawl of after tax contributions without any penalty, how...

Take a look at the standard Ally checking account. .40% interest on balances below $!5k, .70% on balances above $15k. Then you can put funds in an Ally savings account and get .90%. Thing is, then I need two accounts at Ally if I want to get the best rate. I'd like to avoid having to worry about ma...

Take a look at the standard Ally checking account. .40% interest on balances below $!5k, .70% on balances above $15k. Then you can put funds in an Ally savings account and get .90%.

This seems like a silly question but I'm curios what everyone else does. My AA includes 6 different funds. 5 of these are in my 401k and 1 is in my Roth IRA. I fill my Roth in one big lump contribution at the begining of the year, while my 401k gets filled slowly with every paycheck. As a result, if...

Your best 2 options are Straighttalk or Pageplus. Straightalk: Using an unlocked GSM phone you can opt to either use AT&T or tmobile's network. If you buy one or two certain phone models you can alternatively use Verizon's network. Regardless of the network it'sa flat $45 per month per line for ...

But the real question is this.... If your Roth IRAs contain stocks then you have your emergency funds invested in stocks. Meaning you only have an emergency fund if there is not a market crash. Might as well not have one. :( If you are going to use your Roth IRAs as your emergency fund, they should...