Search found 1810 matches

by spectec
Sun Mar 17, 2024 10:51 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Caribbean island in January/February
Replies: 19
Views: 1565

Re: Caribbean island in January/February

Grand Turk island in the Turks and Caicos for a genuine, peaceful getaway.
by spectec
Thu Feb 08, 2024 2:15 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Decaf K Cups
Replies: 31
Views: 2527

Re: Decaf K Cups

Aldi Breakfast Blend decaf k-cups work fine for us.
by spectec
Sun Dec 10, 2023 7:53 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: MD Hearing aids
Replies: 5
Views: 828

Re: MD Hearing aids

You should consider Costco. They are the largest dispenser of hearing aids in the US except for the VA. Price are a fraction of what you'll pay elsewhere, quality of the product is exceptional, and the customer service is outstanding. Costco offers numerous other benefits, which I'm sure others will detail.
by spectec
Sat Nov 25, 2023 6:50 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 50/50 allocation
Replies: 33
Views: 5557

Re: 50/50 allocation

“I happen to be in the middle of that,” Bogle told CNBC, adding “I’m at 50-50.”
...

“I have my own concerns and worry. I don’t have all the answers. Half the time, I wonder why I have so much in stocks and other times I wonder why I have so little. So, I’m probably about right.” -John Bogle, April 2017, Commenting on various age-based asset allocations
by spectec
Thu Nov 23, 2023 10:56 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Help with lost IRS estimated tax payment - check
Replies: 12
Views: 1523

Re: Help with lost IRS estimated tax payment - check

eck. Even my accountant suggests paying estimated taxes by check so there is a hardcopy in case of a lost payment. So a bit of an eye opener for me here. I think your accountant is wrong, IRS Direct Pay includes payment confirmations and you'd also of course see the money leave your bank. That seems better than all the things that need to go right for a paper check to process correctly. Yeah agree. I have used direct pay for estimated, but always sent a check with the coupon generated by my accountant when taxes are due. I'll probably switch this year. (I still don't understand what EFTPS is used for - business and Trust payments I guess). EFTPS is for both business and personal payments, but each must have its own unique account. You get ...
by spectec
Tue Nov 21, 2023 9:50 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Insurance company policy describes property as a "coop" but it is a condo.
Replies: 12
Views: 1570

Re: Insurance company policy describes property as a "coop" but it is a condo.

You might want to do a little more digging on this. You might be OK, but not certain. And it probably differs from state-to-state. It might even be a project to ask the board to look into this to obtain a legal opinion & recommendation for the specific type of insurance & endorsements. I served on the board of a condo association in NC which incurred significant damage to the units. Turns out that some people had insurance which did not cover anything on or beyond the "exposed surface of the interior walls". (I don't remember the exact type of policy they had). This was 20 years ago, but as I recall it was important in NC to have an "HO-6 endorsement", whatever that meant. When the association's insurance company...
by spectec
Sun Nov 19, 2023 9:38 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Total Stock Market Index: ETFs Exceed Admiral for the First Time?
Replies: 198
Views: 16160

Re: Vanguard Total Stock Market Index: ETFs Exceed Admiral for the First Time?

I’m leaning toward moving everything over to Fidelity (my fixed income allocation is already over there for the most part). If I further simplify things by making the move with my equity allocation, I’m glad I’ll be able to seamlessly buy VTI at Fidelity in the same manner as I do at Vanguard.
by spectec
Sat Nov 18, 2023 10:44 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Called to the Principals office [401(k) investment choices questioned]
Replies: 107
Views: 14055

Re: Called to the Principals office

I vote with a polite cancellation of the meeting. If you meet with him and then show him the total picture, he isn't going to understand your reasoning. It's hard for a man to understand something when understanding it will cost him money.
by spectec
Wed Nov 15, 2023 8:59 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: 30/70 is as good as 60/40
Replies: 179
Views: 25952

Re: 30/70 is as good as 60/40

Threads like this make me glad I'm at 50/50, and keep driving me back to that conviction any time I'm tempted to stray.
by spectec
Mon Nov 13, 2023 12:15 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Retirement withdrawals done evenly or avoid selling stocks when market is down?
Replies: 54
Views: 6778

Re: Retirement withdrawals done evenly or avoid selling stocks when market is down?

ebeb wrote: Mon Nov 13, 2023 12:02 pm I am thinking more along the lines of having two pools of money: risky pool and a safe-money pool. The risky pool is mostly equities and safe pool is things like moneymkt/treasuries with low volatility for withdrawal anytime. The safe pool would be constantly replenished with say about 2-3 years of expenses to survive during market downturns which usually recover in 2-3 years. But then your CAGR would be dragged down a bit due to the safe-pool but at least you don't have to sell from the risky pool during downturns until you give it some time to recover. :annoyed
I think you just described Asset Allocation. The risky pool is your equities allocation and the safe pool is your fixed income allocation.
by spectec
Mon Nov 13, 2023 8:08 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Retirement withdrawals done evenly or avoid selling stocks when market is down?
Replies: 54
Views: 6778

Re: Retirement withdrawals done evenly or avoid selling stocks when market is down?

If one holds “cash outside the portfolio”, doesn’t that simply mean their actual AA is different than their stated AA? I guess it depends upon whether one’s portfolio is in one bucket and their cash-for-spending is considered to be in a separate bucket.
by spectec
Sat Nov 11, 2023 9:39 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Mother in law cut out of inheritance
Replies: 3
Views: 1309

Re: Mother in law cut out of inheritance

Last person standing ultimately controls disposition of the estate. It often results in a very unfair outcome, but that’s just how it works.
by spectec
Thu Nov 09, 2023 5:37 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is there a way to fix this RMD error?
Replies: 5
Views: 990

Re: Is there a way to fix this RMD error?

I had similar experiences with my Credit Union. The Credit Unions serve a great purpose and I’m a big fan overall. There’s usually more of a personal touch with Credit Unions. But when it comes to anything even slightly unusual (especially if their back office is involved) you’re generally better off dealing with larger institutions.
by spectec
Thu Nov 09, 2023 9:23 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What is the role of fixed income to you?
Replies: 118
Views: 15981

Re: What is the role of fixed income to you?

--> I think that notion of a portfolio as a store of wealth separate from the actual mechanics of withdrawals is a simple and sound way to have and manage investing. Your method is essentially the same as ours though the actual assets may be different (TIPS funds plus some cash rather than cash and CDs), but that kind of difference is not as material as all the agonizing on this forum would suggest. The key is what the allocation ratio you choose is. <--- You said it much better than I. Next time I engage in a conversation of this type, may I paraphrase your first sentence as a declarative? As in "Portfolio is a store of wealth separate from the actual mechanics of withdrawals." Very succinct. In principle I agree with your idea ...
by spectec
Thu Nov 09, 2023 7:59 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What is the role of fixed income to you?
Replies: 118
Views: 15981

Re: What is the role of fixed income to you?

Our asset allocation is 50-50. That is, 50% VTI and 50% cash/CD ladder. Our bands are roughly 5%, although in reality we never let it go to that extreme. In practice they are more like 3%.

Neither allocation has a specific assigned purpose other than rebalancing. When we need to draw from the portfolio, it MUST come from the cash/CD side (because you can’t pay a bill with VTI shares). If that withdrawal causes us to approach a band, we rebalance out of VTI. Likewise, if changes in market conditions cause us to approach a band, we rebalance into or out of VTI as needed. So VTI and fixed income is each ballast to the other. It’s all accomplished with a single-page spreadsheet and a couple of clicks on the keyboard.

I like simplicity.
by spectec
Sun Oct 29, 2023 8:07 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Did the bank just file suspicious activity report (SAR) on me for depositing ~$500 cash?
Replies: 106
Views: 11851

Re: Did the bank just file suspicious activity report (SAR) on me for depositing ~$500 cash?

I don't think this had anything to do with IRS reporting of cash transactions (in spite of what the teller told you). You said you hadn't used the account in a while. I suspect the account was moved into a "dormant" status buy the bank due to inactivity. When that happens, the bank wants you to come into their office to identify yourself and make a transaction before they will reactivate it. This happened to me with a bank when I had no activity on an account within 1 year. This would help explain their interest in your drivers license, SSAN, and the teller doing some data input while you waited.
by spectec
Sat Oct 28, 2023 7:08 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 2019 Tax return--IRS has no record
Replies: 18
Views: 1847

Re: 2019 Tax return--IRS has no record

With a $38 balance due, the penalty & interest will be minimal - not worth the time & effort to get it removed, and definitely not enough savings to use your one-time penalty forgiveness (available every 3 years, I think). Unless you were later audited and additional tax due discovered, you don't have a problem here. No need to send any explanations or other correspondence - just file the return with payment so they can process it, pay any additional P&I if you get a bill, and be done with it.
by spectec
Sat Oct 28, 2023 2:51 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 2019 Tax return--IRS has no record
Replies: 18
Views: 1847

Re: 2019 Tax return--IRS has no record

Do you have proof of the extension payment of $1,700? And did you owe additional tax when the return was filed? Copies of the check(s) will help establish what you did. You should sign a fresh copy of the return and send it in with copies of the front and back of the check(s) mentioned above. If you still owed money at the time of filing and if that check never cleared the bank, you will get a bill for the balance plus penalties & interest. Interest cannot be forgiven, but you can request forgiveness of the penalties if you have a clean filing record and if the amount of the penalties is large enough to make it worthwhile to ask. Oh, one other thing. Use certified mail with return receipt when you send in the return (that and registered...
by spectec
Fri Oct 27, 2023 9:24 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Amending tax filing status - MFS to MFJ
Replies: 23
Views: 3498

Re: Amending tax filing status - MFS to MFJ

Without reading all the details, it's likely you are in an impossible situation. It could be that if she filed as HOH & claimed the children, she received an unusually high refund when compared to what the correct result should have been (especially if Earned Income Credit came into play on the return she filed in error). So while switching to MFJ might benefit you, she might be required to repay quite a bit of her improperly obtained refund. Consequently, she has no incentive to switch to MFJ as things sit, even though her return was filed incorrectly. So about the only thing that would give her an incentive to switch to MFJ would be if her return attracts attention from the IRS, her original error is discovered, and she then finds tha...
by spectec
Sat Oct 21, 2023 2:48 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Deceptive Medicare.gov information [Biased towards Medicare Advantage]
Replies: 60
Views: 4180

Re: Deceptive Medicare.gov information

I ran the numbers this morning just to see where I land, and it's consistent with what I've seen over the past 10 years. Initially, at 65 I was paying about $3,500 per year for the sum of my MedSupp, Part D, copays, and deductibles. (This ignores the Medicare premium itself, which I would pay whether I have regular Medicare or Medicare Advantage). At 75, I'm paying about $7,000 or so per year for those same coverages, and I expect them to continue to increase as I get older. But I still maintain it is worth the difference to have more choice, less potential hassle over pre-approvals or denials of service, the certainty of out-of-state coverage when I travel domestically, and better options if I develop an unusual illness and/or need a speci...
by spectec
Thu Oct 19, 2023 8:21 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Article: "Why "VT and Chill" Is Probably the Best ETF Investing Strategy Out There"
Replies: 69
Views: 18804

Re: Article: "Why "VT and Chill" Is Probably the Best ETF Investing Strategy Out There"

The articles doesn’t seem to address asset allocation. But I’d say the premise is valid for the equity side.

That’s where I’ve been chilling for a long time. At age 75 my AA is 50/50 and my equity portion of that is VTI (not VT, but that’s another conversation that’s been hammered ad nauseam on this forum)

Just “buying the haystack” and “taking what the market gives”, per John Bogle’s advice.
by spectec
Sat Sep 23, 2023 7:03 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Aren't you an above-average investor?
Replies: 169
Views: 17512

Re: Aren't you an above-average investor?

I don't know if I'm average, above average, or below average. I do know that if you have one hand in the oven and the other hand in the refrigerator, on average you should be feeling pretty good but in reality that isn't how it works. Thanks to John Bogle, I found a way to keep my hand out of the oven and avoid getting burned, which is a much better course of action. What I know with absolute certainty is that I am guaranteed to get what the market gives (less a very tiny management fee), without spending an ounce of mental or physical energy achieving that result. Instead of looking for needles in a haystack, I'm just going to keep buying the haystack. That also leaves me free to earn more by devoting time doing what I do best, getting pai...
by spectec
Tue Sep 19, 2023 2:02 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Tipping with Uber
Replies: 86
Views: 8514

Re: Tipping with Uber

There are many reasons people choose to become Uber drivers. But most are essentially trading wear and tear on their cars, which decreases the car’s future value or useful life, for a little cash now. That’s one of the many reasons I try to tip them well.
by spectec
Mon Sep 18, 2023 9:26 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Tipping with Uber
Replies: 86
Views: 8514

Re: Tipping with Uber

We all come at this differently, don't we? I always tip the Uber driver (generously, usually in cash) as well as anyone whose job involves earning tips as a substantial part of their income. I tip them like someone who has worked for tips at some time in his life, because I did when I was young. The experience of having seen this issue from the other side will significantly impact anyone's perspective on tipping.
by spectec
Fri Sep 15, 2023 9:33 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Pros and Cons of "Do Not Resuscitate"
Replies: 209
Views: 49651

Re: Pros and Cons of "Do Not Resuscitate"

ClassII wrote: Sat Sep 09, 2023 11:39 am The Cons? Well...you're dead I guess.
That might be a pro, depending upon a number of factors
by spectec
Sun Sep 10, 2023 10:04 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Thinking of Departing the Formation [Moving to a financial advisor]
Replies: 178
Views: 23401

Re: Thinking of Departing the Formation [Moving to a financial advisor]

Why not split what you have 50-50? Give half to the advisor and keep the other half invested in a Boglehead manner. Split new money the same way.

Check back in every 5 years and let us know how each half is working out for you on a net basis. Formula it will be interesting - for you it will be an education.
by spectec
Tue Aug 29, 2023 12:07 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: S&P 500 versus Total Stock Market index fund
Replies: 83
Views: 10275

Re: S&P 500 versus Total Stock Market index fund

Buy the haystack. Don’t worry about every tiny straw.
by spectec
Tue Aug 15, 2023 9:38 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: best CD rates
Replies: 14
Views: 4224

Re: best CD rates

*** Deleted (Duplicate Post)
by spectec
Tue Aug 15, 2023 9:38 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: best CD rates
Replies: 14
Views: 4224

Re: best CD rates

Best rates I see today on Fidelity for your years are:
3 yr - 4.85% Call Protected / 5.4% Callable;
5 yr - 4.55% Call Protected / 5.4% Callable;
7 yr - 4.25% Call Protected; 5.25% Callable (actually a 6-yr, there are no Callable 7-yearCD's listed

I didn't check on whether any of these are not FDIC protected ( I doubt it).
I also didn't check on whether any are domestic or foreign banks.
by spectec
Tue Aug 15, 2023 8:14 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: cost to have accountant to fill out 709 form
Replies: 5
Views: 907

Re: cost to have accountant to fill out 709 form

It's always good idea to ask for an estimate before engaging any accountant, lawyer, plumber, electrician, landscaper, etc. There can be various contingencies in the estimate, but they should be able to provide one. Perhaps this accountant has a minimum $600 fee to set up a new client, review the return for accuracy, perform due diligence, etc.

This is somewhat similar to what I answer when someone wants me to "review theirs self-prepared return for accuracy". I alway that the the charge will be the same as it would have been if I originally set them up as a new client and prepared it (because I'm not in the business of grading papers).
by spectec
Wed Aug 09, 2023 9:40 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Who is correct ? [Can my cousin retire early?]
Replies: 141
Views: 13053

Re: Who is correct ? [Can my cousin retire early?]

I confess I didn't read all the posts, so maybe this question has been asked and answered. Did he ask for your opinion, or did he tell you what he's doing with his life, his family & his money and was just casually sharing his plans with you?
by spectec
Sat Aug 05, 2023 8:16 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Anyone getting passport cards?
Replies: 99
Views: 14281

Re: Anyone getting passport cards?

I got one. It was inexpensive, and I like to travel with two forms of ID domestically - I keep one in the hotel room and one on me, then on the off chance I lose my wallet or similar I can still get back home easily. Theoretically I could do the same with my DL and passport, but I don't like using my passport for anything other than international travel (the lead time on replacing the passport is a pain, and international travel comes up unexpectedly sometimes). You detailed all the primary reasons I've gotten a Passport card ever since the first became available. It isn't necessary, but at $3 per year for a backup ID, the cost is peanuts. I've carried it as an ID in foreign continues while my passport remained safely locked in the hotel s...
by spectec
Sun Jul 23, 2023 5:58 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Concierge Medicine
Replies: 79
Views: 12089

Re: Concierge Medicine

This past week I gladly paid the annual $3,000 fee to my cardiologist for the third time. I signed up with him in 2021 after having a frustrating experience with my previous cardiologist's office regarding mixed-message follow-up after a heart cath, causing a loss of confidence in the quality of care I was receiving. I was already planning to seek a second opinion at my own expense, so I didn't consider the initial year's fee with my concierge cardiologist as having cost me anything beyond what I was preparing to pay. It's a great feeling of security knowing that I can text him on those rare occasions when I need to, and he responds quickly. My experience is that a relationship with a concierge physician can be very helpful & satisfying...
by spectec
Sun Jul 23, 2023 5:37 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Easier Way for QCD's
Replies: 17
Views: 1799

Re: Easier Way for QCD's

This year my DW and I decided to send our RMD's for our separate retirement accounts (401k + tIRA for her; BenIRA, SEP IRA,+ tIRTA for me) as QCD's in January 2023. We just ran the RMD calculations, rounded them up a bit, and sent the QCDs'. Qualified charitable distributions are made directly to the eligible charity from a traditional IRA, inherited IRA, inactive Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) plan and inactive Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE) IRAs. So the RMD from your DW's 401k cannot be a QCD. You're correct. The RMD from the 401K was not a part of the QCD's, but it was withdrawn early in the year at the same time as the other RMD's (all of which were sent as QCD's). I conflated the events in my post in justifying...
by spectec
Wed Jul 19, 2023 4:59 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Easier Way for QCD's
Replies: 17
Views: 1799

Re: Easier Way for QCD's

This year my DW and I decided to send our RMD's for our separate retirement accounts (401k + tIRA for her; BenIRA, SEP IRA,+ tIRTA for me) as QCD's in January 2023. We just ran the RMD calculations, rounded them up a bit, and sent the QCDs'. So it's all done early in the year - we've met our RMD, we get the small benefit of the QCD, and the recipient organizations have the money in hand. During the year, depending upon how investment returns & other unpredictable income may go, we send more QCD's to "true up" to our target percentage of giving, plus any additional giving we might decide to do as needs arise. But the bulk of our giving, and all of our RMD's, are cleared out. We have nothing of a required nature incomplete or po...
by spectec
Wed Jul 19, 2023 1:47 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Advice For My Fathers Retirement Account Please :confused
Replies: 42
Views: 4074

Re: Advice For My Fathers Retirement Account Please :confused

I agree with the recommendation to go 50/50. I would put all the equity in VTI (or VTSMI, if you prefer). As has been mentioned, the after-tax portion of the RMD’s could be mirrored 50/50 in the same way as the qualified portion. It could also be directed to QCD if your parents do any charitable giving, or could be gifted to you and/or your son if they so desire.
by spectec
Mon Jul 10, 2023 9:22 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Dealer Recall Service at Home
Replies: 2
Views: 395

Re: Dealer Recall Service at Home

Thank you for that link. I'd tried every combination of word searches to find something on this service, but no luck. Your link identified exactly what I'm experiencing.
by spectec
Mon Jul 10, 2023 8:20 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Dealer Recall Service at Home
Replies: 2
Views: 395

Dealer Recall Service at Home

I've been receiving recall notices in the mail for a couple of issues on my 2016 Ford Edge for many months, but I keep postponing making an appointment because I dislike interacting with dealer service departments. Today I got a call from a local Ford dealer's service department offering to send a technician to my home (or office) with parts to perform the service in the next week or so. I've never heard of this before and just curious if anyone else on the forum has experienced this type of on-site service with a recall issue.
by spectec
Sun Jul 09, 2023 4:29 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Maturing CD Grace Period - Transferring to Brokerage
Replies: 5
Views: 474

Re: Maturing CD Grace Period - Transferring to Brokerage

OMG. This can go so wrong, and I'll bet you donuts it won't be on the Fidelity or Vanguard side. Last year, I had a good sized IRA CD mature at Mountain XXX CU. I informed them ahead of time to not roll over the CD - they did. I submitted transfer paperwork to Vanguard exactly on time, per their suggestion (no more than 30 or less than 15) days. Vanguard sent it to the CU, they SIGNED for the overnight package AND LOST IT. I spent over a week calling them daily. Then I had to ask Vanguard to resubmit it via Fax, which I then hounded them to locate (it's here somewhere...) and execute. OMG. Such a pain, I plan to stick to in-house CDs or Bond ETF evermore. Took about 3 weeks in total. So, concur with the transfer it to a plain savings accou...
by spectec
Sun Jul 09, 2023 4:03 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Trip to Amsterdam
Replies: 53
Views: 4360

Re: Trip to Amsterdam

We spent a few days in Amsterdam last year at the end of a river cruise, and found it a very easy city to get around in. We walked quite a bit, rode the trams some, and also did Uber. We didn't stay in a hotel, opting to rent a house boat on a canal through airBNB, which added to the charm of staying in a city known for its canals. We were located in the Jordaan area very close to the Anne Frank Haus. We couldn't get tickets to the Anne Frank Haus even though we tried well in advance. But we were more interested in the Corrie Ten Boom home in Haarlem anyhow, which as an easy train ride from Amsterdam. Haarlem itself was interesting as well. In Amsterdam I suggest a half-day at the Van Gogh museum (unless you're a devotee), but a full day at...
by spectec
Sat Jul 08, 2023 9:44 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Bogleheads' Over 85 Equity Position
Replies: 64
Views: 9457

Re: Bogleheads' Over 85 Equity Position

At 66, my wife and I were very conservative, being at 25% equities ( almost all of which is in VTI) when taking into account the sum of all our taxable, qualified, and Roth accounts. But as time passed, we decided to slowly change our allocation, finally settling on 50-50. Now, at age 75, any time I'm tempted to move from 50-50 I can never think of a good reason to change. I expect us to remain at 50-50 indefinitely, regardless of how long either of us may live. One reason is simplicity. At any time I can get a very close approximation of how we're doing by simply looking at the performance of VTI, dividing that by 2, and factoring in a fraction for fixed income earnings.
by spectec
Thu Jul 06, 2023 8:29 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: IRS Now Requiring ID.me again?
Replies: 100
Views: 15405

Re: IRS Now Requiring ID.me again?

Here are some useful things to remember when setting up ID.me. This is copied from their site. ========================================= If your identity verification attempt was unsuccessful, it means that the information you provided did not match the authoritative sources we use for verification. Unsuccessful verification attempts may be due to many reasons: You may have recently moved. You may have answered security questions incorrectly. Your credit report may be locked or frozen. Your credit profile may contain erroneous information. You may have already verified your identity with ID.me. Your submission may have contained an error or typo. You may have submitted expired documents. You may not have correctly taken and submitted a 'sel...
by spectec
Thu Jul 06, 2023 7:46 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: IRS Now Requiring ID.me again?
Replies: 100
Views: 15405

Re: IRS Now Requiring ID.me again?

Probably should just do it. ID.me is no big deal after you get through the initial qualification.
by spectec
Tue Jul 04, 2023 11:05 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Anyone still favor Vanguard?
Replies: 359
Views: 48402

Re: Anyone still favor Vanguard?

I've been with Vanguard many years for our equity allocation, along with a small allocation to fixed income for rebalancing purposes only. I switched to Vanguard's brokerage early on. Most of our fixed income allocation has always been with our credit union, but due to limited offerings and slow response time, we moved most of our fixed income allocation to Fidelity a couple of months ago. (not really a criticism of our credit union - it just doesn't handle the volume of transactions necessary to develop a more robust, responsive online system). I'm highly impressed with Fidelity and in some ways it is superior to Vanguard, especially with how it handles brokered CD's, for example. For now I plan to continue using both Fidelity and Vanguard...
by spectec
Sat Jul 01, 2023 12:50 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What's The Catch With Brokered CDs?
Replies: 54
Views: 9881

Re: What's The Catch With Brokered CDs?

I don't think the presumptive higher rates are an advantage. You only get them if competitive rates are at or higher than the initial rate on the CD. Otherwise the call is made by the bank. If competitive rates increase, you might be better off exercising your own "call", but you can't do that without paying a penalty, which is greater with a brokered CD than with a direct CD since the brokered CD is rate-adjusted by the market. The bank is acting like the "house" in Vegas, except you're gambling on interest rates. Heads they win, tails you lose.
by spectec
Sat Jul 01, 2023 8:01 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What's The Catch With Brokered CDs?
Replies: 54
Views: 9881

Re: What's The Catch With Brokered CDs?

Call_Me_Op wrote: Sat May 27, 2023 10:19 am One of the big catches right now is the ones with the highest yield are callable.
I think that is always the case in any interest environment. Any bank is willing to offer a slightly higher interest rate in an agreement that reserves the right to shorten the term if that’s in the bank’s best interests.

What puzzles me is why anyone would buy a callable CD. I would be really interested in hearing an answer to that question.
by spectec
Wed Jun 28, 2023 8:01 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Does buying T-bills makes more sense than mortgage
Replies: 15
Views: 2661

Re: Does buying T-bills makes more sense than mortgage

From a net asset/liability standpoint, you are still effectively paying down your mortgage by buying the T-bills, PROVIDED you hold the T-bills or keep the cash in some form. At any time you could choose to move the cash in the T-bills over and reduce (or eventually pay off) the mortgage in a lump sum. So as long as the net interest is in favor of the T-bills, you're gaining a slight amount (or paying down the mortgage a little faster, it you prefer to view it that way). Now if you tap the cash for some other purpose and the balance drops below the remaining mortgage principal, you're in a different ballpark.
by spectec
Tue Jun 27, 2023 9:27 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Viking vs. Tauck River Cruise
Replies: 16
Views: 4430

Re: Viking vs. Tauck River Cruise

Both Viking and Tauck have their loyal followers. After years of cruising with the mega-ships, we decided to do a Viking Ocean back in 2019 (Australia-NZ) for our 50th anniversary. Loved the smaller ship experience so much (especially with no kids, no casinos, casual shipboard atmosphere), that we decided to book a Viking river cruise. It was delayed due to the pandemic but finally got to go last year. Loved that one so much (Rhine)) we booked another (Danube) for next year. So we're big Viking fans right now. We're doing a Tack land tour in August (mainly because our best friends really like Tauck). Based on what they say about Tauck and what I hear from others, I expect it to be great as well. You probably can't go wrong with either Tauck...