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Thought I would repost with my more accurate figures:

% of full gross income including retirement funding and passive income: 33.94%
% of net (after taxes): about 46%

I have been using box 1. I see what you are saying about using box 3 though. That is the only thing about these types of threads. The percentages can vary wildly depending on the numbers used. I wish there was a standard so we could truly compare apples to apples.

Not sure how everyone calculates their percentages but I take the total amount saved (pre and post tax) and divide it by our W-2's. Calculating it this way gave us about 42% savings rate for 2012.

Hi Neill, You are getting good advice here. I agree in that the only funds I would keep in the taxable would be TSM or Total international. The next thing I would try and do is get your Great Western account (not sure what this one is) and your rollover IRA to the VG 401k if they allow it. This woul...

10.5% (XIRR) with a 67/33 equities/bond split. 30% international. Pretty happy with that but seems most are higher with the same ratio. Likely related to the timing of new contributions?? I will take it though!

Thank you all for the replies. I have sent an email off to my CPA with the above link. We shall see what she says. Thanks! Chad

So I just got a response from my CPA regarding the $6k in pretax going into the 401k. Here is her response: "Unfortunately, the rules do not allow you to “identify” the $6,000 earnings as the portion you are rolling into the company 401k. The full balance has to be prorated…. so if you are roll...

That is a good thought actually! Thanks!

Thank you all for the replies. I have all the VG funds available in my retirement account. I had just been using TSM in my taxable thinking that was the most efficient. Just wanted to see others thoughts on this! Thanks!!

That all makes sense! So the two scenarios I see are: 1. SIMPLE IRA rollover to 401k. Then $6k pretax sent to 401k. Then $10k converted to Roth IRA 2. SIMPLE IRA rollover to 401k. 401k won't allow for Trad IRA rollovers so $16k converted to Roth IRA with $6k being taxed at my nominal tax bracket. Wi...

Thanks Alan! I know they will accept SIMPLE IRA rollovers as the papers have been signed and in progress. What has piqued my interest is that once the SIMPLE has been rolled over and done with; can I then take the $6k in gains and also roll it over into the 401k (if the plan allows) and consequently...

If you want it to be tax free, you also have to roll over the 6k pre tax IRA amount. Or perhaps for just 6k, she leaves it in the IRA and will have a larger conversion but 6k will be taxable. Be sure your respective non deductible contributions have been reported or will be reported on separate 860...

Also, another question came to mind! My wife has not been working the whole year up until this month so her earned income will be <$2K. If we file are taxes jointly, I can still contribute to here TIRA for conversion to a Roth once I complete the transactions above correct?

Thank again! Chad

Thank you for the reply! So if I can do #1 then #2 shouldn't come into play and I wont have to pay the taxes on the gains correct?

I agree, getting this done by the end of the year will be tough to do!

Hello all! I currently have been contributing my max to our retirements and any leftover savings have been going into a taxable account. I have been putting that in VG total stock market. Is there any savings to be made from a tax standpoint by buying VG total international instead? Thank you very m...

Hi everyone! I know there are a fair amount of Roth IRA questions but I need yet another answered. My wife and I are over the income limitations for a direct Roth contribution so I have been making backdoor contributions for a couple of years. However, my wife has had a SIMPLE IRA for several years ...

First and foremost: Sorry for your loss. The advice you are getting is great! You have stumbled on to potentially the biggest financial turnaround of your life and if you follow the advice on this forum, it will allow you to retire when you want to and live a more stress free financial life. Stay mo...

Vortex: That is a very reasonable idea! Watty: I was thinking along those same lines in regards to the I-bonds. As far as the muni bonds, I realize that I will be at interest rate risk etc for individual munis. What are your thoughts on the the intermediate tax exempt muni bond fund? Any thoughts fr...

5. Others?? 6) Tilt your "now vs later" balance towards "now" some more. You might not live to retire or have health issues by then. What are you going to do when you retire? Start doing some of those things now. I actually feel like we have. We are able to take 3-4 vacations/yr...

Hello everyone! I have been investing for my retirement for about 2-3 years now and I am lucky enough that my income has gradually increased to the point where I have been able to put about 100K+ a year in both taxable and tax-deferred accounts. Running all the calculators etc shows that I should be...

Hello everyone! I am looking at the Penfed home equity loan with a 5 yr fixed rate at 1.99% This seems like a very good deal! I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with this loan or Penfed in general. Other than the appraisal is there truly no other closing costs? How was customer service...

Congrats on finishing your training! I agree with most of the above posts. WIth your 403b I would consider leaving it or rolling it over to another 401k/403b at your next job. I would hesitate rolling it over into a IRA right now as it will have tax implications in the future should you want to do a...

My car: 1998 Pontiac Bonneville 114,000 (paid $6,700 7 years ago in cash)
WIfes car: 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix GT 77,000 (paid $11,600 2 years ago in cash)

I agree with Supraacumen: You want to keep your ER as low as possible as it keeps more money in your pocket! I know you want the simplest plan possible but adding a Target fund in your tax sheltered and then index funds in your taxable seems more complicated and on top of that more expensive! If you...

Questions: 1. I have about $40k sitting in my savings account, not even keeping up with inflation. The goal was to keep this money liquid for a down payment towards a house. Since I've decided this might not happen for at least another 1-2 years due to my location, I'd like to put this money to work...

Mortgage (house payment, property taxes, and insurance): 5.6%
Utilities: 0.67%
Car insurance: 0.19%
Gas: 1.0%
Car registration and taxes: 0.08%

Total: 7.54%

Own two cars outright (2006 and 1998) and mortgage on house.

Yes, those are the two I would recommend. I also wanted to comment on a couple of things. I agree with emergdoc on the LI. At those rates I would simply take the $500k from the hospitals policy and call it a day. Some would argue not even that. When it comes to DI, I carry Guardian for my insurance....

Very interesting opinions on the subject! I am a little gun-shy and would certainly be taking things ultra slow and deliberate. I have no illusions that this business would allow me to retire at 40 with a yacht and three vacation homes! Keep the info coming and thank you all for the input! Chad

Thanks everyone for the input! My main purpose to rental properties is to help supplement my retirement. I am aware of the risks but need more knowledge on the subject before diving in. The ultimate question really is: Does the rental business provide a different risk profile than the stock market, ...

I am looking to start getting into the rental property business. I am in my early 30s and my plan is to start slow and get the hang of things and eventually get to the point where I can supplement some of my retirement income. Does anyone have some good books suggestions or other good resources? Any...

LOL. When I get this figured out I will be more than happy to help anyone in my situation. This has been an unbelievably difficult task given the request is so simple!

Retiredjg: HAHAHA....I can't believe you said that!!!

hollowcave: The thought behind buying MF's initially was for convenience. The funds are dispersed to me monthly, that means I would be buying 2-3 ETF's every month manually since ETF's cannot be set up for auto buy like MF's. Then once a year or so just convert those over to their respective ETF's f...

Thank you all for the input. Unfortunately, the requirement is that the funds be held in a brokerage account. I have no idea why but that is what they tell me. If I could buy MF's though VBS I would be set! The scenario Livesoft gave about buying VG MF's at Wells and exchanging for EFT's periodicall...

Thanks Livesoft! I can always count on you to share your expertise. It is very much appreciated! The main plus for me is the MF's simplicity. I can set them up for auto buys monthly and just rebalance periodically. I like your idea of being at Wells, buying VG MF's and then periodically buying ETF's...

Hello everyone! I have been researching for sometime now what to do with my 401k/profit-sharing plan (PSP) through work. I am able to open enroll through the plan but need to have the money go to a brokerage account for this to work properly. I am looking at Wells Fargo with their 100 free trades/yr...

Thanks livesoft. If I don't opt out of my retirement plan, then I am stuck paying 0.25 ER just to the financial advisor plus the ER of the fund. If I opt out of the program, I can sign up for VG brokerage services but I was told that I am not allowed to buy MF's because I "should" be able ...

Thank you all for the quick replies! I am still a little confused about the bid/ask part of ETF's. Am I thinking this right that I basically would have the plan administrator deposit my monthly retirement funds into a money market at my VG brokerage account. Then monthly, I would have to buy the ETF...

Hello everyone! I have a couple of quick questions/scenarios regarding ETF's. 1. I have a unique situation in my retirement plan that would require me to hold ETF's. I currently hold 4 funds. They are Total Stock Market, Total Bond Market, Total International and TIPS (all Vanguard). Would there be ...

Thanks DS. I am really starting to get discouraged with my situation. It has become a complete nightmare! I had recharacterized what I thought was my 2010 conversion ($5,000) but will have to go back and do another $5,000 so I wont have a tax liability.

Thanks again! Chad

Hello everyone! I have a question that I can't seem to find the answer to in the wiki, or elsewhere for that matter! In Feb 2010 I made a contribution of $5,000 for 2009 and $5,000 for 2010 into a nondeductible IRA for my wife. Later that month I then made a conversion to a Roth IRA for her. Without...

If only considering just the Roth and SIMPLE they are considered two different accounts. If less than 55 you can contribute up to $5,000 to a Roth and up to $11,500 to a SIMPLE in the same year.

Chad

i agree with what was said here. If you have maxed your current retirement options then utilizing a backdoor roth for you and your wife makes the most sense! I would consider rolling your IRA over to your 401k. This then allows the backdoor roth without paying any additional taxes. I would also cont...

I agree with everyone. My wife and I have spent 20 years combined on post high school education and didn't do much during those years. Now we have saved reasonably and now plan on doing as much as possible during our free time. Whether that be vacationing a distance from home or camping in the backy...

That is good to know! I felt like a jerk asking her to double check but I certainly respect the knowledge base here and felt that it was worth my time to get it right the first time!

Chad

Thanks again DS. You have been very helpful through this process. I really do appreciate it! Chad PS: I spoke with my CPA today and explained my situation. She said that my SIMPLE would have no bearing on my backdoor Roth. I asked her kindly to recheck this and get back to me tonight. I am intereste...

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3.) 2010

Great info! Thanks! I was planning on opening up a 401k with fidelity as I had heard that VG doesn't allow rollovers. I will confirm this with both companies before proceeding. Thanks again for the advice!

Chad

:undecided This is likely true, although I argue the glory days I think have long been over. Compensation for most specialties has remained even or trended downward when inflation has been accounted for in the last two decades. But that is another thread. Being a relatively new physician myself the ...

No, you cannot contribute directly but you can via a backdoor roth. I quick search will give you the details. It may not make sense for some with rollover IRAs, SEPs, or SIMPLEs but an avenue at least.

"If you are already in the highest tax bracket it would be really bad to be voluntarily taking the tax hit now when you can defer. Roth 401k is a quite bad idea in this case." I dont necessarily agree with that statement. Each persons situation is different but a Roth 401k may make sense ...