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Default - It satisfies my curiousity about the performance of my portfolio over the past 10 years and encourages me to "stay the course" for my remaining years, of which I hope there are many more to come.

Thanks for all the replies. I ended up using #Cruncher's method and I am satisfied with the resulting gain between the end of 2002 and end of 2012.

Thanks for your reply, but Excel is out for me. Got to be by hand.

As mentioned by Electron, two RMDs in the same tax year may make more of your social security benefits taxable, depending on your other income.

First let me say I believe whole heartedly in indexing with Vanguard funds and have a 50/50 asset allocation. Retired in 2002 and know how much I had in total in my IRA and investment accounts at the end of that year. Know how much I have taken out each year in the form of RMDs and profit taking on ...

We replaced the OEM battery in my wife's 2001 Lexus ES300 eight years to the month after the original purchase. It was still good, but I did not want to take any chances. Must admit the car is garaged each night and she only drives 5,000 miles per year or less. Just now turned 59,000 miles. Anyone i...

Don, If I interpret Table III of IRS Publication 590 correctly, and assuming you meet the qualifications at the top of that table, your RMD withdrawal rates for various ages would be approximately Age 70 3.65% Age 75 4.37% Age 80 5.35% Age 85 6.76% Age 90 8.77% Age 95 11.63% Withdrawal factors are d...

Speaking of Costco pharmacy prices, I have a neighbor whose spouse requires a lot of expensive prescription for her ongoing medical condition. He tells me that Costco has a "price point" at which some of their prices go down. For example, with a price point prescribed quantity of 100 the p...

What's the best dandelion killer? ---- A wife with (using) a portable weeding tool in her hand.

Ketawa,

Thanks for posting this information. I nearly missed the offer as I do not look at my NFCU account very often for special promotions like this. I will have to try to remember this again next year. Took care of it online very quickly.

G-Money,

Thanks. That is exactly what I was looking for but did not realize I had to actually go to "compare" to get to those details.

Is there anywhere on the Vanguard site where I can find the percentage of REITs held in the Total Stock Market Index Fund (VTSAX)? M* indicates 3.58% held real estate, but I can find nothing confirming that on the Vanguard site. I find that rather unusual, but then maybe I am not looking in the corr...

VP,

When you parachute into the ocean without a life vest that parachute is going to pull you under.........

I did not realize, until this thread, that there was a second edition of "All About Asset Allocation". I knew about and have the second edition of "All About Index Funds". I also would like to know if the revision changes much. Maybe a Father's Day gift suggestion might be in ord...

Your post this morning is a coincidence. My reading is "bedside" reading just before going to sleep and just last night I picked up the same book and began reading it again for the "umpteenth" time. I have a dozen or so books by forum authors for which I do the same type of readi...

David & Taylor,

Thanks very much for your responses. After thinking about what you say I fully understand and agree with the comments.

Does anyone care to offer comments about the purchase of Vanguard Tax-Managed Balanced Admiral (VTMFX) in a taxable account? Our current retirement assets are all in traditional IRA accounts (97%) and a Roth IRA account (3%) at Vanguard in a 50/50 asset allocation plan using Total Stock Market Index...

You may get a credit, which is much more valuable than a deduction, for the qualified educational expenses paid in a given tax year. A credit reduces your tax liability dollar for dollar.

Interest is deductible (i.e., reduces AGI) up to $2,500 per year

OverTheHill did not mention the coverages he has on his homeowner insurance. Trying to compare rates cannot be done without more information.

What about land line service for those of us that have security systems hooked up to the land line? Would the system have to be modified (at a cost) to accomodate cell phone usage with the cell phone system?

The last property I owned of any size (it was two acres) was covered with oak trees so I did not have to worry about mowing with a ride-on unit. Never having owned such a unit, one thing I would consider when purchasing is the servicing of the unit including its transportation back and forth to a de...

Okay guys. That's why we have vanilla AND chocolate, so we can make a choice......

And what percentage credit card fee did you pay when using your credit card?

Existing Flagship clients can buy into the fund. I did recently. I use Rick Ferri's guidance of up to 10% of total portfolio on a 50/50 split.

We had Vista Window Film professionally installed 16 years ago on all our windows and it has held up just fine. The cost of the film has gone up considerably in that time period. In my opinion being professionally installed by a reputable dealer is very important. You have to remember the windows ar...

I need new tires for our 2001 Lexus ES300. For those of you who have purchased tires through Costco, what are your experiences with their comparable pricing, installation including balancing, rotation and rebalancing every 5,000 miles, road hazard waranty honoring, and alignment if they do that? How...

I believe the AOC is a non-refundable credit and you can only get it up to the limit of your tax liability. Not sure, so let's see what others have to say.

What form number was the 1099 (e.g., 1099-MISC). In what box on the 1099 was the income reported? If it was a 1099-MISC with an amount in box 7 (non-employee compensation) did you report the income on Schedule C or CEZ and did you calculate the self-employment tax and report it on Form 1040 and Sche...

Wagnerjb,

The cost basis of the gifted shares remains the same as it was for the original owner. However, if the recipient has a lower marginal tax bracket it may be more beneficial for the recipient than it would have been for the donor.

Kaneohe, I may be wrong and will wait for Alan's input. However, if I remember correctly those of use who took our 2012 RMD prior to December 2012 could not take a QCD for 2012. And if we took the RMD in December 2012 we could write a personal check to the qualified charity and have it count as a QC...

I like my upper line Toro with personal pace and B&S engine. Just finished mowing the lawn a couple hours ago using the mulching feature and the lawn looks great. At 75 I set my own pace, sometimes faster and sometimes slower. It does a good job bagging and in the fall when the leaves are on the...

Hex, Your QCD(s) has/have to be taken in full before you you take any RMD in a given year in order for the QCD to count. If you give $5000 to your church via a QCD, that is $5000 less taxable income becoming part of your AGI. $5000 less AGI will benefit you more than an additional $5000 itemized ded...

Are you referring to a "qualified charitable distribution" allowed in 2013? Have you attained the age of 70.5 at the time of distribution to the qualified charity? Have you taken your "required minimum distribution" prior to making the QCD? A qualified QCD is a distribution from ...

Taylor, My ex daughter-in-law was recently hired to be an IRS Tax Compliance Officer and is currently undergoing the IRS' one-year training program. In a recent visit with us she mentioned that both she and her current husband had to undergo a detailed audit of their returns for several years. She h...

HogsAndApples, Francis' response is exactly what I was trying to tell you. Pay at bit more and get the high-end grade that Toro offers. They are also great mulching mowers. Also for those of you that are looking for pure gasoline to use in your small engines, go to http://www.pure-gas.org and you ca...

I would go with the current Toro "Super Recycler" rather than the "Recycler" that is sold in many big box stores. Much better base unit on the super. Compare them online at the Toro site to get more details. Mine does a terrific job of mulching and putting that fertilizer back on...

Runner9,

Are you prepared to find a new day care center in a very short period of time (read immediately)?

Was just getting ready to "bump" this as it has 192 views and only one response, also looking for a response. With as many readers as we have on this site I am surprised nobody has responded with some comments.

Based on personal experiences, can anyone comment about the quality/service/cost/et al of Tauck vs. Viking river cruises in Europe?

Rob, In all probability not all the money you invested fixing up the house can be considered as an addition to the cost basis. You might want to search IRS Publication 523 and look at what items affect the adjusted cost basis. My saying is "Don't mess with the IRS" because once they get on...

Thanks Mel, I am Flagship level.

Mel, Can you elaborate on VWEAX being available for $50K+ if a Flagship client. If I search on the VG website it shows as being closed. Is it open under some special situation or condition? Thanks. Oops! While not on the VG site under the fund listing, the closure announcement of 5/24/2012 does stat...

Thanks to all for your response. Rick, I was just listening to your quarterly update prior to posting my question. It gave me an alternative but not my desired choice.

Recognizing that Vanguard's High-Yield bond funds have been closed to new investors for almost a year now, my question is how do investors find out when the funds are reopened for new investors? I know several Vanguard funds have closed and reopened in years past, but I do not remember how we find o...

Details at Tax Topic 409 on the IRS site

Sounds like a bomb about to explode to me.....not like a bubble about to burst.

stlrick,

You might want to look at the impact of taking two RMDs in the same year, looking specifically at the taxability of any Social Security benefits paid. Two distributions in the same year might (repeat might) make more of your SS taxable as opposed to taking it over the two years.

A very sincere "welcome back Munchkin Man" goes out to you. I have been a reader/poster on this forum and its predecessor(s) for many years. At my age I cannot remember when Munchkin Man started posting, but I have always read and enjoyed his postings, even with their unique, but sincere, ...

The 1040-V is a form that accompanies your payment to the IRS and reflects your name, address, SSN and the amount you owe. It takes the place of your tax return (e.g., Form 1040) when you are not sending you payment with the actual return. Most people who send in a paper return attach a payment to t...