Search found 66 matches
- Thu Oct 03, 2019 10:30 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Wedding Finances-Today
- Replies: 107
- Views: 10884
Re: Wedding Finances-Today
I got married eight years ago. One of the better pieces of advice I remember was "Decide who you want to be there (and err on the side of inclusiveness), THEN decide how fancy a meal etc. you can afford to give them." I also found the website "A Practical Wedding" to be extremely helpful for planning purposes, with lots of helpful resources, not least of which was a section called "Real Weddings" where people broke down their own (recent) weddings with what they did and what worked and what they wished they'd spent more/less on. The woman who started it also has a book out now: A Practical Wedding Planner: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating the Wedding You Want with the Budget You've Got (without Losing Your Mind...
- Wed Jul 31, 2019 4:09 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: 3 Days in Seattle
- Replies: 24
- Views: 2022
Re: 3 Days in Seattle
Glass museum is Chihuly; though I laughed at "Cthulu." That *would* be an interesting museum.
If you like SE Asian fare try Stateside on Capitol Hill and Sen Noodle and/or Pestle Rock in Ballard. So good.
Also try La Cabaña for Central American food -- it's not centrally located but the food is great, the portions are enormous, and everyone in the place seems to be a regular. The molcahete is killer.
If you're here before Aug 12, google "Wooden O Shakespeare" for the schedule for free Shakespeare in the park(s), with professional actors.
If you like SE Asian fare try Stateside on Capitol Hill and Sen Noodle and/or Pestle Rock in Ballard. So good.
Also try La Cabaña for Central American food -- it's not centrally located but the food is great, the portions are enormous, and everyone in the place seems to be a regular. The molcahete is killer.
If you're here before Aug 12, google "Wooden O Shakespeare" for the schedule for free Shakespeare in the park(s), with professional actors.
- Wed Jul 24, 2019 3:59 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Should relative incomes be a factor in wedding gift?
- Replies: 107
- Views: 8597
Re: Should relative incomes be a factor in wedding gift?
Yikes!!! I guess I am showing my "age" or something else, but $400 is a shocker. Upon thinking about it, though, I suspect that the $400 per guest probably covers the use of the facility (ballroom, etc.) For some reason, I have recently been thinking about some kind of wedding anniversary "celebration" as similar as possible to what we did 40+ years ago. I wonder what it would cost? The same Church Hall, as far as I know, would be available and we could probably invite about the same number of folks as we did back then. We might even try to have someone "clone" our wedding cake that my late mother-in-law made. Maybe we could get our son and daughter-in-law to help with some of the tasks - but we would pay for ...
- Tue Jul 23, 2019 5:21 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Buenos Aires - How many days?
- Replies: 33
- Views: 3814
Re: Buenos Aires - How many days?
BA has an amazing music scene -- tango, folklorico, jazz, cumbia, etc. Tons of venues small and large. If you have any affinity at all for classical music, go see the symphony at Teatro Colon -- its acoustics are considered among the best in the world and you will feel like Marie Antionette sitting in a gilded box.
Go to Plaza Dorrego in San Telmo on a sunday evening and watch the tango dancers. Plenty of seating at the bars and cafes around the square.
The bakeries are amazing and if you're a reader there seems to be a bookshop on every corner.
Go to Plaza Dorrego in San Telmo on a sunday evening and watch the tango dancers. Plenty of seating at the bars and cafes around the square.
The bakeries are amazing and if you're a reader there seems to be a bookshop on every corner.
- Thu Apr 18, 2019 1:24 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Marriage and Student Loans
- Replies: 62
- Views: 5356
Re: Marriage and Student Loans
Oh come on, even today, there are precious few places in the US where an individual making $50K a year could be considered "low income."
Also FWIW in 2010 I was making ~$50K a year (in Seattle), and after maxing out my 401K and deductions for health insurance and taxes and all the rest of that jazz, my take home was approximately $2K a month.
Also FWIW in 2010 I was making ~$50K a year (in Seattle), and after maxing out my 401K and deductions for health insurance and taxes and all the rest of that jazz, my take home was approximately $2K a month.
- Mon Apr 15, 2019 5:09 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Women, How Much Do You Pay for Haircut
- Replies: 94
- Views: 8196
Re: Women, How Much Do You Pay for Haircut
Any chance you'd be willing to share the name of this stylist and salon?quantAndHold wrote: ↑Mon Apr 15, 2019 3:10 pm Seattle, $80 including tip, for the best haircuts I’ve gotten in my life at a fancy salon downtown. Worth every penny.
- Wed Aug 22, 2018 11:43 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: I own 1,387 items!
- Replies: 128
- Views: 13193
Re: I own 1,387 items!
Yeah, the way the original "100 Things" guy got down to 100 items was by counting ONLY his own clothes, toiletries, and electronics, and even then he counted "socks" as one thing. All household and kitchen items, furniture, etc. didn't "count" because his wife and kids also used them. So basically he had a crapload of stuff, he just excluded almost all of it from the count, and voila! 100 things!
- Wed Oct 19, 2016 5:18 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: The riskiness of home ownership
- Replies: 239
- Views: 26795
Re: The riskiness of RENTING
I think RENTING is risky: 1. Your rent is not under your control (unless you are under rent control) but you can vote for/against measures that impact property taxes, which can get passed onto you. You will never stop paying the rent. When you move, you don't get anything back, except a deposit and possibly a month's rent. 2. Your neighbors will tend to change more often as will their noises. You are less likely to know them. 3. Your "quality of life" will be different than if you own and even vary as neighbors change. 4. You need to rely on someone else to fix things when they want and come into your living space. You may not be able to "upgrade" as you would like without moving. 5. Your parking spot(s) may not be guar...
- Tue Jul 19, 2016 11:15 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Retirement for Women(?)
- Replies: 34
- Views: 5001
Re: Retirement for Women(?)
The other main retirement issue unique to women that gets mentioned constantly is that women tend to earn less than men over the course of their careers, and their careers are often interrupted for years to care for children, and this combined with longevity means they are at greater risk of living in poverty in their old age.
- Thu May 12, 2016 12:59 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Renting vs owning
- Replies: 141
- Views: 21979
Re: Renting vs owning
It's hard to justify renting if you have an area you want to stay long term. Obviously this is anecdote, not data, but here's how I justify it: In 1991, when I moved to to this town, the median home price here was $172K, which was 9.5 times my annual salary. The median home price as of February was $515K, a mere 7.2 times my annual salary. During that period, my rent has ranged from $325 to its current high of just under $600 (there are always deals, you just have to find them). Total rent paid over 25 years is almost certainly under $150K. I have lived in perfectly nice places either alone or with one other person, too, not crappy run down group houses. I have no debt and I suppose I could now buy a $515K house, but then I'd have over 2/3...
- Tue Apr 12, 2016 10:40 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Best crash course in Spanish?
- Replies: 32
- Views: 5992
Re: Best crash course in Spanish?
A podcast that I enjoy can be found at radioambulante.org -- think This American Life but telling "Latin American stories from anywhere Spanish is spoken." Each episode has a transcript in Spanish so you can read along as you listen, and a translation in English is also posted.
And I second meetup.com for finding a conversation group if you live in the right place -- I've been going to one more or less weekly for nearly three years and a number of native speakers show up regularly.
And I second meetup.com for finding a conversation group if you live in the right place -- I've been going to one more or less weekly for nearly three years and a number of native speakers show up regularly.
- Tue Dec 15, 2015 10:09 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Christmas Time : How to not appear rude
- Replies: 67
- Views: 11274
Re: Christmas Time : How to not appear rude
Assuming these are people you actually enjoy spending time with, ask for an experience with that person: to go camping together, to see a play, to visit the aquarium, to check out the new burrito place in town, etc. Then you are getting time with your friend, they get the pleasure of giving you something, and you don't have another item to find storage space for.
- Thu Aug 27, 2015 5:02 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Yet another TLH question - Are most of you switching back after 30/60 days?
- Replies: 27
- Views: 3493
Re: Yet another TLH question - Are most of you switching back after 30/60 days?
Lowerleisure, There are two things you need to do when you're logged in to your Vanguard account. You will need to set your funds in your taxable account to a Cost Basis preference: choose Specific ID (Vanguard defaults to Average Cost). Second, you will need to shut off your reinvestment of dividends by selecting which fund into which you'd like those dividends deposited when they're paid (for example, a money market fund). You can drill down on the Vanguard site comparing two funds (or 3 or 4 funds), and then you'll see what the differences are between funds. They're very similar, which is mostly what you want. But they're not "substantially identical." Just wanted to come back and say thank you for your response; fortunately o...
- Wed Aug 26, 2015 5:05 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: TLH for absolute dummies [Tax Loss Harvesting]
- Replies: 342
- Views: 83759
Re: TLH for absolute dummies
Several of the old guard on this site claim TLH takes two minutes and is as easy as the click of a couple of buttons. I'm finding that not to be so... especially not if I have to take all of my 403(b) and 457(b) holdings and exchange *those* into something else, too, just to avoid a wash sale. If I were you, I'd keep learning and sit this round out. This is not a subject to try to figure out quickly. For people who already understand this and who have set up their portfolios so that TLH can be done at a moment's notice…it probably does take 2 minutes. The first few times? Nothing like 2 minutes. There is a question about whether your 403b or 457b is even involved. I just started a thread on that - look for it. Moving old stuff to IRA would...
- Tue Aug 25, 2015 4:56 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Yet another TLH question - Are most of you switching back after 30/60 days?
- Replies: 27
- Views: 3493
Re: Yet another TLH question - Are most of you switching back after 30/60 days?
I don't switch back if things go up. I exchange VTIAX and VFWIX (as many do on here) and I don't mind holding both funds indefinitely. I am just trying to wrap my brain around the TLH concept, so forgive me if this should be obvious, but do you mean you do an exchange of one fund for the other, you do not put the cash in a money market for 31 days? How do those two funds not count as "substantially identical?" They certainly seem so from looking at their stats. Also while I'm at it, while reading the wiki I noticed that "If you plan to do tax loss harvesting, it's generally safer to take dividends and capital gain distributions in cash." How would one specify "exchange fund a for fund b, except for dividends and ca...
- Wed Aug 19, 2015 1:25 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Greenspan: we've got a bond bubble, Houston
- Replies: 71
- Views: 9415
Re: Greenspan: we've got a bond bubble, Houston
Nisiprius, let me say aloud what I have thought so very many times: thank you for being such a calming voice amidst the hysterical noise. I have saved several of your posts to refer back to, to keep me from going over the edge.
- Wed Aug 12, 2015 12:26 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: What should we do in South Korea?
- Replies: 16
- Views: 3688
Re: What should we do in South Korea?
It's been a loooong time, but I was there for a month in 1993. A visit to Minsok Korean Folk Village near Seoul would be worthwhile -- it's a kind of living museum where you can see traditional houses, watch artisans working at their crafts, see traditional dances, etc. Also there's a park and amusement park next door. Kyongju/Gyeongju was the seat of the ancient Shilla kingdom for 1,000 years and the Bulkuksa Temple complex, Cheomseongdae astronomical observatory built in the 7th century, and the National Museum there are worth visiting. The tour of the Joint Securities Area (demilitarized zone) was pretty interesting too, though I must admit my brother and skipped about half of it to go drink in the officer's club with his buddies who wer...
- Tue Aug 04, 2015 4:15 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Aloha Shirt: Yes or No
- Replies: 80
- Views: 12852
Re: Aloha Shirt: Yes or No
You might also consider a guayabera shirt (google will turn up lots of examples), if your main goal is good in heat and crossover from work to going out.
- Tue Jul 28, 2015 1:56 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Would you look down on a co-worker for driving a beater?
- Replies: 198
- Views: 29068
Re: Would you look down on a co-worker for driving a beater?
This is a beater: http://drivenautos.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/beater2.jpg Cue Johnny Cash's "One Piece at a Time" Well, I left Kentucky back in forty nine An' went to Detroit workin' on a 'sembly line The first year they had me puttin' wheels on Cadillacs Every day I'd watch them beauties roll by And sometimes I'd hang my head and cry 'Cause I always wanted me one that was long and black. One day I devised myself a plan That should be the envy of most any man I'd sneak it out of there in a lunchbox in my hand Now gettin' caught meant gettin' fired But I figured I'd have it all by the time I retired I'd have me a car worth at least a hundred grand. I'd get it one piece at a time And it wouldn't cost me a dime You'll know it'...
- Thu Jun 04, 2015 5:59 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: much ado about coasting (through life)
- Replies: 256
- Views: 63711
Re: much ado about coasting (through life)
It sounds like those "hippies" got their priorities right. Living the life that they wanted, resulted in prioritizing enjoying what they do/did and not in making money. So they have to work longer in life. But it sounds like they didn't "work" that much during their careers. Seems like they chose their path. I sometimes wish I had the courage to say "F__ it" and try something similar. I've settled on a compromise, and try to have balance between work and play, though. Over the years I've read many references to scenarios like this(they often get lots of exposure..people living the dream completely on their own terms..), but I honestly can't remember reading even one story regarding how folks like this came out...
- Thu Apr 23, 2015 1:58 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Marriage and splitting expenses
- Replies: 112
- Views: 14698
Re: Marriage and splitting expenses
Ditto the shared plan being important, not what strangers think. As Taylor says, there are many roads to Dublin. What works for one couple would drive another bonkers. Some couples have one account, some have twelve. Some couples like to do things separately, others prefer to spend every single second of their free time together. Neither is morally superior. We have separate bank/brokerage/business/IRA/401K accounts, but that doesn't mean we don't consider them all just pieces of our collective pie. We also have separate cars, toothbrushes, and dresser drawers, and yet DW manages to wear DH's boxers as pyjamas on a regular basis, and even the toothbrushes occasionally get used by the "wrong" person. The first six months of our mar...
- Tue Apr 14, 2015 7:39 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Career and college advice for current HS students
- Replies: 34
- Views: 4458
Re: Career and college advice for current HS students
I can only speak to: Skilled at writing, written communication, and English I majored in English in the late 80s and have been employed ever since as an editor. Initially I worked at a publishing company (most of the big ones are in NYC, but there are also tons of small/specialty presses, state historical society presses, magazines, online content, etc.) Pretty much anything anyone writes for public consumption could use an edit. It may be a baseline requirement in the business world, but it's a requirement most people still need some help with. For a long long time I've been working in engineering consulting, editing documents written by civil, mechanical, and environmental engineers and geologists as well as the occasional archaeologist. ...
- Tue Mar 24, 2015 1:56 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Help w/ adult child hard-wired for poor financial decisions?
- Replies: 45
- Views: 7905
Re: Help w/ adult child hard-wired for poor financial decisi
From what you have said, it sounds to me like she is mostly self-supporting; is that correct? When you "help" her, is it because she asks for it or because it upsets you to see how she is living? I have "helped" my mother on many occasions and have had a lot of angst about whether it's really helping or not, but have recently come to the realization that while it makes me *insane* to see the decisions she's making, she very rarely actually asks for financial help and if I choose to give it to her anyway, that's on me and I can't then be upset at what she does with her money. At 22, it seems a bit early to be sure she's on the road to ruin since she works, is not apparently abusing drugs or alcohol, and cares for 3 or 4 l...
- Tue Feb 24, 2015 4:09 pm
- Forum: US Chapters
- Topic: [favorite] Boglehead quotes
- Replies: 171
- Views: 51967
Re: [favorite] Boglehead quotes
In all the reading I have done over the past few years to educate myself in my ongoing efforts to simplify my portfolio after firing my adviser, the following is hands down the most helpful thing I've read. nisiprius wrote: My answer to all such questions is: do it slowly and gradually. If you never make a start, you just remain confronted with the same problem and the same anxiety forever. The problem is: it's an important decision, and it's human to keep changing your mind. The answer is: decide what your best thinking is now, and do a little of it. Plan to get to your target allocation, not immediately, but over a period of several years. * It discharges the anxiety you feel about doing nothing. * It minimizes the anxiety you feel from m...
- Tue Feb 17, 2015 1:18 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Choosing a Backpack and other Gear for el Camino
- Replies: 100
- Views: 19570
Re: Choosing a Backpack for el Camino
Lightweight plastic trash bag inside of a compression stuff sack -- makes your sleeping bag as small as possible while protecting it from the elements.The Wizard wrote:
How do those rainy PNW folks protect their sleeping bag? I stuff mine into lower compartment of my Crest trail 70, not via top opening.
Have tried plastic trash bag, but can get snarled in zipper...
- Tue Feb 17, 2015 12:23 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Preparing for 2 months incommunicado
- Replies: 144
- Views: 13903
Re: Preparing for 2 months incommunicado
Victoria, I have no advice for you but wish the best of trips! Two months without electronics sounds like two months of heaven. If there is one thing I'm grateful for in my travelling life, it's that I am old enough to have backpacked around Europe and North Africa for six months when that actually meant no one knew where you were, what you were doing, or when they would hear from you again. I still never travel with a cell phone, but the ubiquity of internet availability means that it's very hard to travel anywhere, no matter how remote, without having multiple opportunities to "just check your email for a second," which for me anyway just drags me right back to whatever/wherever I'm trying to be on vacation from. lowerleisurecl...
- Tue Feb 17, 2015 11:57 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Preparing for 2 months incommunicado
- Replies: 144
- Views: 13903
Re: Preparing for 2 months incommunicado
Victoria,
I have no advice for you but wish the best of trips! Two months without electronics sounds like two months of heaven. If there is one thing I'm grateful for in my travelling life, it's that I am old enough to have backpacked around Europe and North Africa for six months when that actually meant no one knew where you were, what you were doing, or when they would hear from you again. I still never travel with a cell phone, but the ubiquity of internet availability means that it's very hard to travel anywhere, no matter how remote, without having multiple opportunities to "just check your email for a second," which for me anyway just drags me right back to whatever/wherever I'm trying to be on vacation from.
I have no advice for you but wish the best of trips! Two months without electronics sounds like two months of heaven. If there is one thing I'm grateful for in my travelling life, it's that I am old enough to have backpacked around Europe and North Africa for six months when that actually meant no one knew where you were, what you were doing, or when they would hear from you again. I still never travel with a cell phone, but the ubiquity of internet availability means that it's very hard to travel anywhere, no matter how remote, without having multiple opportunities to "just check your email for a second," which for me anyway just drags me right back to whatever/wherever I'm trying to be on vacation from.
- Mon Feb 16, 2015 2:33 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Recommend a movie for a lonely Boglehead on Valentine's day
- Replies: 87
- Views: 9508
Re: Recommend a movie for a lonely Boglehead on Valentine's
Say Anything is a great early John Cusack rom-com.
My Valentine's Day movie this year was "Trouble in Paradise," a 1932 pre-Code movie featuring a male jewel thief and a female pickpocket teaming up to con a beautiful ridiculously wealthy perfume company owner who, in the words of Roger Ebert "thinks she can buy him [the jewel thief] but is content to rent him for a while". Like many pre-Code movies, surprisingly frank about sexual undertones (or overtones).
My Valentine's Day movie this year was "Trouble in Paradise," a 1932 pre-Code movie featuring a male jewel thief and a female pickpocket teaming up to con a beautiful ridiculously wealthy perfume company owner who, in the words of Roger Ebert "thinks she can buy him [the jewel thief] but is content to rent him for a while". Like many pre-Code movies, surprisingly frank about sexual undertones (or overtones).
- Thu Feb 05, 2015 9:58 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: POLL: Do you personally own a cell phone?
- Replies: 92
- Views: 10469
Re: POLL: Do you personally own a cell phone?
Neither my husband nor I have cell phones, we do have a landline. We live in one of the techiest of cities, so it's pretty amusing to see people's reactions when they find out. There is nothing in my life so incredibly time sensitive it can't wait until I get home from work or from the weekend. DH works in the woods three days a week, so when someone needs to talk to him, they just leave a message and he calls them back when he gets home. It's really not a problem.
It does drive me a bit crazy that you can't find a pay phone even in an airport or train station anymore. Even if I did have a cell phone, I wouldn't take it to Guatemala with me, so I'd need a pay phone when stranded overnight in DFW.
It does drive me a bit crazy that you can't find a pay phone even in an airport or train station anymore. Even if I did have a cell phone, I wouldn't take it to Guatemala with me, so I'd need a pay phone when stranded overnight in DFW.
- Tue Dec 16, 2014 10:45 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: WHY is retirement enjoyable / something to look forward to?
- Replies: 237
- Views: 29067
Re: WHY is retirement enjoyable / something to look forward
This may be one of those "If you have to ask you wouldn't understand" type of questions. For me the answer is simple -- because the world is a huge place full of fascinating place to go and things to learn, see, and do, instead of doing the same damn thing in the same damn place day after day after day until I die. In my 20s I was laid off from a job while on a six month leave of absence to travel. Before I left, someone asked if I was worried about that eventuality and I said no, because no matter what the outcome was, I knew I would never look back on my life and say, "Gee, I sure wish I had spent that six months working in a cubicle in Bellevue, Washington instead of backpacking around Europe and North Africa with my boyfr...
- Thu Dec 11, 2014 10:59 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Why did you quit your job?
- Replies: 37
- Views: 6508
Re: Why did you quit your job?
Quit summer job after college to move to NYC with a whopping $1,500 in pocket
Quit NYC job to move back across country (by way of Berlin for 2 months) to be with my boyfriend, who was absolutely not worth it
Quit temp job for permanent position
Let go from that job during six month leave of absence to backpack around Europe and North Africa
Quit next job to travel for 18 months, hired back when I returned
Quit that job to jump ship to present employer for more money (but same boss that hired me twice at previous company)
Quit NYC job to move back across country (by way of Berlin for 2 months) to be with my boyfriend, who was absolutely not worth it
Quit temp job for permanent position
Let go from that job during six month leave of absence to backpack around Europe and North Africa
Quit next job to travel for 18 months, hired back when I returned
Quit that job to jump ship to present employer for more money (but same boss that hired me twice at previous company)
- Fri Oct 24, 2014 10:46 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: question re. capital gains tax on "mandatory exchange"
- Replies: 5
- Views: 932
Re: question re. capital gains tax on "mandatory exchange"
Thanks all; I appreciate the responses, especially the specific links. I figured it would be treated just like any other sale, but it's nice to know for sure.
- Thu Oct 23, 2014 12:37 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: question re. capital gains tax on "mandatory exchange"
- Replies: 5
- Views: 932
Re: question re. capital gains tax on "mandatory exchange"
Thank you; I had seen that but since it (and everything else I'd seen) were about stock-to-stock exchanges I was curious to see if I could find anything more specific about fund closure.
I did find just this, however, which also seems fairly conclusive though it too isn't from the IRS: http://www.fa-mag.com/news/what-happens ... 11599.html.
Oh, well, eventually I was planning on moving that to Vanguard anyway.
I did find just this, however, which also seems fairly conclusive though it too isn't from the IRS: http://www.fa-mag.com/news/what-happens ... 11599.html.
Oh, well, eventually I was planning on moving that to Vanguard anyway.
- Thu Oct 23, 2014 11:33 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: question re. capital gains tax on "mandatory exchange"
- Replies: 5
- Views: 932
question re. capital gains tax on "mandatory exchange"
Greetings bogelheads;
I have a question that Mr. Google has not been able to help me with. I bought 100 shares of iShares TR NYSE 100 in 2010 in a taxable account, and they have now been liquidated as a "mandatory exchange" to cash because iShares closed that fund. I assume that the IRS will treat this as capital gains just as though I were the one initiating the sale, but have not been able to find any IRS publication regarding mandatory exchanges and how they are treated/how they should be reported/etc. Does anyone out there have any insight as to which IRS publication I can consult about the tax implications of of a mandatory exchange to cash?
thanks!
I have a question that Mr. Google has not been able to help me with. I bought 100 shares of iShares TR NYSE 100 in 2010 in a taxable account, and they have now been liquidated as a "mandatory exchange" to cash because iShares closed that fund. I assume that the IRS will treat this as capital gains just as though I were the one initiating the sale, but have not been able to find any IRS publication regarding mandatory exchanges and how they are treated/how they should be reported/etc. Does anyone out there have any insight as to which IRS publication I can consult about the tax implications of of a mandatory exchange to cash?
thanks!
- Mon Sep 29, 2014 5:04 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: How can I stop feeling depressed about my finances?
- Replies: 130
- Views: 22058
Re: How can I stop feeling depressed about my finances?
Yes, editing is my passion. Much of my academic research centred around textual editing/editorial theory, and all through my student days I was the go-to for proof reading papers, editing short stories, "making stuff sound good," etc. I completed an editing assessment for a Technical Writing job with an Engineering/Procurement firm recently, which I absolutely enjoyed doing, and ended up going in for an interview. I thought I rocked the interview, but was not offered the position. I loved taking a bunch of half-coherent engineering processes and making a beautiful, readable, and engaging final document; the interviews made specific comments about how they enjoyed my document design, and that I made some key editorial decisions th...
- Mon Sep 29, 2014 4:30 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: How can I stop feeling depressed about my finances?
- Replies: 130
- Views: 22058
Re: How can I stop feeling depressed about my finances?
Yes, editing is my passion. Much of my academic research centred around textual editing/editorial theory, and all through my student days I was the go-to for proof reading papers, editing short stories, "making stuff sound good," etc. I completed an editing assessment for a Technical Writing job with an Engineering/Procurement firm recently, which I absolutely enjoyed doing, and ended up going in for an interview. I thought I rocked the interview, but was not offered the position. I loved taking a bunch of half-coherent engineering processes and making a beautiful, readable, and engaging final document; the interviews made specific comments about how they enjoyed my document design, and that I made some key editorial decisions th...
- Mon Sep 29, 2014 3:28 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: How can I stop feeling depressed about my finances?
- Replies: 130
- Views: 22058
Re: How can I stop feeling depressed about my finances?
@Semiotic, Have you thought about editing as a career? I graduated into the Regan recession with a BA in English and have spent nearly my entire career editing engineering reports. Never been out of a job except for when I wanted to be. Those STEM people may make more money than I do but they still need my skills. Granted, it would be more fun to edit great literature, but there aren't a lot of jobs with that description. I lived in Seattle in the 90s, so I remember what it's like to be surrounded by friends making money hand over fist while you aren't, but as others have pointed out, you have a completely respectable salary; your friends just have astronomical salaries. You've paid off a TON of debt very quickly; that's very impressive. It...
- Wed Sep 17, 2014 12:17 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Please critique my 2015 household budget
- Replies: 21
- Views: 4348
Re: Please critique my 2015 household budget
Seattleite here, just wanted to chime in to say that: 1) Depending on where your office is, there are a several neighborhoods here where you're probably actually better off without a car, and you can do Zipcar for getting out of town on weekends, etc. That would save you a ton. Of course the further out you get from downtown the cheaper rents get, so there's that. I live 6.5 miles from downtown, so I can still bike or bus to work, and our rent is less than half your budgeted rent for a 2br house. But we definitely have a screaming deal. 2) We have an excellent public library system here; I probably average two books a week and it's saved me tons of $$. When I do buy and then realize I probably won't re-read the book, I'll donate it to the l...
- Mon Sep 15, 2014 2:36 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Deleted
- Replies: 56
- Views: 17545
Re: Learning a NEW language - Foreign Service Inst
AddingUp wrote:I've found that a large part of learning a language is your motivation. If it's for work or because you'll be moving/traveling to another country, you have a goal. If you just want to learn a language as a hobby, you might not make the time each day/week to do it. It's probably best to determine why you want to learn the language and make it a priority so it happens despite all your other commitments.
Bingo. For me, it's just a hobby, but if I didn't actually enjoy the process of learning the language, there's no way I would have been able to maintain my motivation for so long. Periodic trips to Spanish-speaking countries help keep the motivation high, too.
- Mon Sep 15, 2014 1:55 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Deleted
- Replies: 56
- Views: 17545
Re: Learning a NEW language - Foreign Service Inst
While it's absolutely true to say immersion is best, for those of us with jobs it's generally not an option to move to another country for months or years. Don't overlook your local library as a resource -- I managed to get from only a few words of Spanish to conversational and able to make reservations etc. over the telephone in five years without quitting my job or moving by taking a couple of evening classes at the local community college, but mostly using the local library like crazy. I've used the library for Pimsleur and other language learning CDs, music CDs, telenovelas and movies in Spanish (or turning on Spanish subtitles when watching movies in English), children's books (some that came with a CD to listen to as you read along) a...
- Wed Aug 20, 2014 11:45 am
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: [live off dividends?] How the rich stay/get richer??
- Replies: 62
- Views: 9077
Re: [live off dividends?] How the rich stay/get richer??
The rich are not rich because of dividends. It's because they work harder and are willing to take more risks than others. Perhaps a little luck helps, but it would be an anomaly for someone to make $2 million dollars one year and then drop everything to sit back and collect dividends. JT Having the right parents is one of the largest contributors to income and wealth, especially in the US (only in the UK does parental income have more of an influence). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_mobility#Worldwide Also, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just-world_hypothesis I'm not talking about your political beliefs. I'm talking about real life. There are plenty of people who make millions off of their hard work, regardless of their parents or bac...
- Thu Jul 31, 2014 6:53 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Principal Residence = Poor Investment?
- Replies: 70
- Views: 8866
Re: Principal Residence = Poor Investment?
celia wrote:You get money back when you sell. That includes your down payment and any equity you have (after any remaining mortgage is paid off).lowerleisureclass wrote:I do have a screaming deal on rent, but around here I'd have to put down in the neighborhood of seven years' worth of rent if I wanted to make a decent down payment on even a "cheap" house. Which would mean taking it out of the market, paying cap gains tax on it, etc. All that to maybe save a couple hundred a month on rent?
What am I missing?
But you have to sell to get it. Now you have no place to live, and you just have to spend it all over again to get another place to live. So I can't see how it's a cost savings. I realize I have a mental block about this though.
- Wed Jul 30, 2014 6:18 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Principal Residence = Poor Investment?
- Replies: 70
- Views: 8866
Re: Principal Residence = Poor Investment?
Here's something I've never, ever understood: when someone says that renting is cheaper than buying, do they just ignore the whole down payment part of the equation? I can see maybe having your monthly mortgage payment be cheaper than monthly rent in some situations, if you're renting something really plush, but the costs of a 20% down payment versus first + last just seems to make the whole "cheaper than renting" thing mental sleight of hand. I do have a screaming deal on rent, but around here I'd have to put down in the neighborhood of seven years' worth of rent if I wanted to make a decent down payment on even a "cheap" house. Which would mean taking it out of the market, paying cap gains tax on it, etc. All that to ...
- Wed Jul 30, 2014 2:25 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Principal Residence = Poor Investment?
- Replies: 70
- Views: 8866
Re: Principal Residence = Poor Investment?
Here's something I've never, ever understood: when someone says that renting is cheaper than buying, do they just ignore the whole down payment part of the equation? I can see maybe having your monthly mortgage payment be cheaper than monthly rent in some situations, if you're renting something really plush, but the costs of a 20% down payment versus first + last just seems to make the whole "cheaper than renting" thing mental sleight of hand. I do have a screaming deal on rent, but around here I'd have to put down in the neighborhood of seven years' worth of rent if I wanted to make a decent down payment on even a "cheap" house. Which would mean taking it out of the market, paying cap gains tax on it, etc. All that to m...
- Tue Jul 22, 2014 9:45 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: List of Worst financial advice (what not to do):
- Replies: 144
- Views: 22510
Re: List of Worst financial advice (what not to do):
What kind of professions require a degree in Humanities? My brother was an English major for his undergrad and later went on to get his MBA. He has excellent communication and writing skills as a result of his English / lit studies and it has served him very well in the business world. That said, I think just a humanities degree without any other credentials is difficult to get practical work. However, I think humanities majors that pursue technical or business degrees after have a good advantage with their extra skills. My background is purely technical and I've done well for myself, however, when I was in school we had to take a lot of additional communication and writing classes in our program. The faculty forced this because the one bi...
- Mon Jun 30, 2014 11:29 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Washington state retirees?
- Replies: 29
- Views: 3581
Re: Washington state retirees?
Not to rain on your parade, but with current traffic, "within an hour of Seattle" is *in* Seattle. Sadly, it often takes upwards of an hour to just drive across town these days -- last weekend it took 45 minutes to get from Greenwood to Capitol Hill -- a distance of 7 miles. Apparently we're the fastest-growing city in the nation, with the fourth-worst or seventh-worst traffic, depending on who you believe -- recent news report stated average Seattle driver spends 83 hours a year stuck in traffic. blech.
- Thu Jun 26, 2014 2:27 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: How do you afford to travel?
- Replies: 116
- Views: 18196
Re: How do you afford to travel?
Actually, many of us in our 40s and even 50s still prefer the type of travel where you find yourself hitching a ride on a mountain road in Central America from a pickup full of locals with a couple of guys carrying machine guns hanging off the back, and yes, you can travel very extensively for not all that much money if you like that sort of thing. I am frequently dumbfounded by the amount of money I hear people say they spend on very short trips.
The only trouble with travelling close to the ground like that is that the other travellers you meet that way tend to be, well, 23. However, you meet a lot more locals and IMO have a lot more fun.
The only trouble with travelling close to the ground like that is that the other travellers you meet that way tend to be, well, 23. However, you meet a lot more locals and IMO have a lot more fun.
- Wed Jun 11, 2014 3:16 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Closing a Merrill Lynch account
- Replies: 8
- Views: 6511
Re: Closing a Merrill Lynch account
Another option would be to transfer your account to Merrill Edge, which has no annual fee and 30 free trades a month if you: (1) Maintain total combined balances of $25,000 or more in Bank of America deposit accounts; (2) Maintain total combined balances of $25,000 or more in cash balances in your Merrill Edge® self-directed account; or (3) have an active Bank of America personal checking account and maintain at least $50,000 as a combined balance in your Bank of America deposit accounts and/or your Merrill Edge brokerage accounts. If you do move to Vanguard please report back as I am contemplating moving all mine from Merrill Edge, but inertia and no fees are keeping me there for now. ** oops, someone beat me to it. However, if you do clos...
- Wed Jun 11, 2014 11:17 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Commute to elementary school [French language spoken]
- Replies: 37
- Views: 4595
Re: Commute to elementary school [French language spoken]
From the age of ten until I graduated from high school, I went to a private school that was a half hour drive away or well over an hour on the school bus (which we still had to be driven to). My parents were dairy farmers, so they certainly weren't wealthy or even well off, but education was a priority and the local private school was terrible. I was older than your kids of course but although of course I didn't like getting up early in the morning (I still don't), I was very happy to be going to that school instead of the local public school and it did not negatively impact my social life, my academics, or my relationship with my parents. On the contrary I would say it was beneficial in all those areas. That is of course just my experience...
- Wed Jun 11, 2014 9:57 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Budget for charitable giving
- Replies: 39
- Views: 4004
Re: Budget for charitable giving
I give 10% (depending on the year varies between 10% of net and 10% of gross) -- mainly divided between sponsoring a girl in India; my church (thus supporting lot of programs like feeding homeless teens, providing inexpensive day care for low income families, marriage equality, etc.); and my aging parents, but I also frequently give to a local organization supporting foster children and the local food bank, and occasional donations to acquaintances doing the AIDS ride, Doctors Without Borders, etc.