Bogleheads.org

hey bogleheads-- just curious on your advice: emergency fund: 6 months maxed out (vanguard pmm) 401k 2013: maxed out roth ira 2013 maxed out zero debt -- just paid off student loans and have no cc debt I cannot enroll in the hsa--I missed open enrollment. I am currently employing the 3 fund portfoli...

ha, this forum sure knows how to put you in your place. i do admit i'm not the most well-read boglehead, but I try... I just rolled over an actively managed stock fund for vanguard total bond market index. I now own VG total stock, total international stock and total bond. i'm more comfortable now t...

hi, i am 29 years old. I have 6 months emergency in PMM and I use currently use a 2-fund approach for my retirement. My roth ira is total stock market, and I have a rollover IRA in total international stock market. i feel like i can tolerate a lot of risk because of my age an mentally, i think i can...

yes, I am going to do that tomorrow. I will be rolling it over into a vanguard TIRA. I also am going to dedicate this year to eradicating my student loan debt. I am also comfortable with the 3 fund index portfolio....total international stock index, total stock index and total bond. seems like this ...

TRC--

Ha, yes I agree. I basically doubled my base over the last 2 years, so now I can do so...which is why I am now engaged in the investing world.

hey Bob-- I do not have an employer sponsored 401k plan, it's a start-up company so we have no retirement beenfits. My understanding was that I could not make use of a TIRA if I contribute 5K to a Roth, which is what I wanted to do. I do agree I should probably pay down the SL debt, which i am plann...

My current scenario is below. Over the next week, I will have $5,000 in cash for a Roth IRA investment for 2012. I feel that I should be more aggressive in some higher performing funds due to my age and current allocations of fairly conservative holdings thus far. I have not missed a year in contrib...

Looking to buy an apartment December 2009 Age: 25 Single Income approx 70k/year Roth 2008 maxed out Contributes $600.00/month to 401k Emergency fund: $10k Apartment downpayment savings: $2,200 Taxable DODBX 7.38% Tax Advantaged DODFX (Roth IRA) 52.64% VTSMX (Roth IRA) 25.25% VWNFX (employer 401k) 22...

Hi Bogleheads, I am starting to research what it costs, takes and the right questions to ask to buy an apartment. Can anyone suggest any good resources to follow so that I do it right?

Many thanks!

Sorry for the off-topic post, just a quick question if their are any knowledgeable tax experts reading. A friend of mine was paid a referral fee for referring a customer to another friend's business. The fee was paid as a check for 300.00. Because it is under 600.00, must this money be declared as i...

Hi Bogleheads,

I tried searching, but had a hard time finding a thread regarding suggestions on savings vehicles for a house downpayment. Can anyone recommend some good threads? Age is 25 and time horizon is 5-6 years.

Thanks.

sootzoo, being that the funds you suggested are index funds, arent they rather tax efficient as well? shouldnt i be looking for funds which are less efficient so i can benefit from the tax-advantaged-ness?

the 5k wasnt really supposed to go to anything. i had been a little reckless with me AA until now. and i decided to alloocate 75% to domestic stocks. but then i realized that i put a super tax efficient fund in a tax advantaged account which didnt really make sense

Its not a huge mistake, but i put 5k in my roth for 2008 in vtsmx. as i understand, vtsmx is very tax efficient. i think i would be better served if i put it in a taxable account and not my roth. can i sell/exchange my shares of vtsmx for another vanguard fund without incurring any penalties because...

thanks to all

Hello my friends, just wondering what the general consensus is regarding midcaps nowadays? I am looking to diversify a bit more. I am rolling over 401k money and have a bunch of vanguard funds to choose. I am heavily weighted in total stock market index. I am looking to diversify a bit more into sma...

I am wondering about how you keep an accurate snapshot regarding your asset allocations? I am looking for something that will allow me to periodically look at my portfolio and tell me when it is out of balance. Do you use spreadsheets? Web-based tool? Computer software? Morningstar Xray?? Any sugges...

I currently own D&C balanced in a taxable account. Because its a balanced account containing bonds, it seems that I should not want the fund to get any bigger because of the tax disadvantages???? -- hence me taking any dividends/gains in cash to a bank account to redistribute. Yesterday I just r...

thanks guys, i really appreciate the feedback. you're awesome!

Hi, I just left my job and have about 3k in my 401k. I am wondering what is the best move with regard to rolling over. Should I roll it over into my next company's 401k? If I do this, I assume I can keep the full 3k and not pay taxes on it and just roll it right into another 401k. I do not know the ...

any suggestions???

Somewhat familiar with the idea of a 401k rollover. If I currently have 15k in my 401k and I leave my job and want to roll over the whole 15k, can I dump it into a roth IRA despite the 5k contribution limits? How does it work if you do not want to roll over from one 401k to another? Sorry for the st...

phenominal post from a 25 year old kid. thanks for your wisdom.

thought so. thanks for your prompt response!!

hi! about 2 hours ago, i opened a roth ira with vanguard. i have 3k from another source which is coming to me slowly, so expedite the process i figured why not borrow 3k from my vanguard money market fund to start the roth and then just reimburse my PMM when i get the other 3k. this basically means ...

Looking to unload D&C balanced that I have had since 2003. I bought the fund at 67.00, in December 2007 it was worth 81.00. However on Feb 8 it is worth 76.00. Is their any advantage to wait until the NAV moves back up and then to sell? Or is it in my favor to sell when the current price is clos...

zook, thanks just what i was wondering.

Laura --

How many IRAs can a person have? For instance, I have a substantial amount of money in DODFX as a Roth, but can I just open another IRA with Vanguard, stop contributing to D&C while beginning to contribute to a Vanguard IRA?

Laura: What funds are available in your 401k plan? --I do not have branded fund options, just those broad asset fund classes. What are the expense ratios of these 401k options? --The expense ratios on the fund are very low, none exceed 0.50% Do you receive matching funds? --I do receive a company ma...

AGE: 25 YEARS OLD, STABLE INCOME. HOLDINGS: TAXABLE: DODGE & COX BALANCED 10.11% VANGUARD PMM: 42.20% NON-TAXABLE: ROTH IRA: DODGE & COX INTERNATIONAL: 37.16% 401K: 10.52% (CONTRIBUTING 6% PER PAYCHECK) 34% EURO EQUITY 46% INTERNATIONAL EQUITY 18% US LARGE CAP 2% INTEREST INCOME Currently, m...

thanks

figured this would be better than raising the issue again.

OTHER DETAILS:

I do have a sufficient emergency fund, and no credit card debt.

Turned 25 years old 10/2/07 Its another pay off Federal Direct student loan vs. investing question. Background: Current Student Loan Balance: $18,404.91 Interest Rate: 5.375% (fixed) I chose the most flexible repayment plan: $113.65/month (30 year deadline I believe) In addition, I invest every mont...

Anyone?

I am 24 years old. I currently have a random balanced fund (DODGE & COX BALANCED) sitting out there with worth about 3k. I never envisioned using it as a vehicle for a downpayment on a house, nor have I contributed money to this fund for a few years. I automatically associated using this money w...

I currently own shares of Dodge and Cox balanced fund. From all that I have read and seen, it is a pretty good fund. But I think I can do better protecting myself from the dividends and capital gains that arise which comes with investing in a balanced fund. Because D&C Balanced is now closed, I ...

Can you explain what you mean when you say:

I would recommend increasing your 401k contributions and using your taxable money to pay for your own living expenses so that you can "transfer" the taxable money into your 401k. You are not permitted to just transfer the money directly.

401k expense ratios are very low 0.10 - 0.20

Dodge and Cox expense ratios:

International: 0.66%

Balanced: 0.52%

taxable 14.71% dodge and cox balanced fund Roth 43% dodge and cox international stock fund 401k 2% mixture of international equity, euro equity fund and US large cap S&P 500 INDEX FUND Emergency 39% VANGUARD PRIME MM FUND Would I be better off selling my 1/2 of my stake in my taxable and contrib...

Laura-- you are awesome!!! FYI student loan debt is @ 5.35%

Just want to say how great this forum is and I really appreciate everyone's contributions. I am extremely neurotic about my finances because I must achieve comfortability after witnessing my parents' drastic financial planning. Currently I am 24, and have: Emergency fund of approx 8k Roth IRA of app...

I really appreciate your replies. I was told by someone that by paying off the loan, I am guaranteed a return of 5.35%..........If I were to invest, i would have to earn a net return of greater than 5.35% in order to come out ahead, considering the way the market is right now, I was advised that it ...

Hi, I currently have about $18,000 in student loans at a rate of 5.35%. The job I have now allows me to earn quarterly bonuses which usually amount to a few grand per quarter. I am 24 and have begun saving aggressively for retirement for about 1.5 years now. I am very concerned about building a rock...