Search found 801 matches

by jane1
Fri Nov 18, 2016 5:07 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Driving from San Jose to San Diego - Where to Stop
Replies: 18
Views: 7761

Re: Driving from San Jose to San Diego - Where to Stop

Are you hoping to reach San Diego on the same day? If so, you probably need to take I-5 (boring but fast). Make sure you time your drive through LA to avoid rush hours, although there always seems to be traffic! Maybe take a dinner break in LA.
If you take Hwy 1 (or even 101), it might be tough to reach same day, accounting for a couple of food/gas/bathroom breaks.
Some worthwhile stops on Hwy 1 are 17-mile drive, Carmel, Point Lobos State Park, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and of course numerous possibilities in LA area.
by jane1
Thu Nov 17, 2016 12:03 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Where to compare health insurance plans
Replies: 8
Views: 1288

Re: Where to compare health insurance plans

You may want to double-check, sounds like a qualifying event to me, which would make you eligible for special enrollment for wife's plan. Job change, reduced hours, etc that result in you losing coverage should qualify.
https://www.healthcare.gov/coverage-out ... nt-period/
by jane1
Wed Nov 16, 2016 5:26 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Early retire considering Self-Insurance for healthcare
Replies: 83
Views: 12050

Re: Early retire considering Self-Insurance for healthcare

There was a similar thread recently that may give you additional information
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=201714
by jane1
Sun Nov 13, 2016 1:16 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Consolidating accounts: transfer from Fidelity to Vanguard
Replies: 4
Views: 1067

Re: Consolidating accounts: transfer from Fidelity to Vanguard

There is no charge to transfer but Fidelity has ~$50 account closing fees. Vanguard will not reimburse you these fees.

You should work with Vanguard (or any firm you are transferring funds to). They will help you with the transfer of assets process.
by jane1
Mon Nov 07, 2016 12:32 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Vagaries of ACA pricing and subsidies
Replies: 3
Views: 983

Re: Vagaries of ACA pricing and subsidies

Interesting. I need to digest this.

For example, for your Metro WA example, what do you mean by $6500 subsidy? Is that @30K or @60K Income? Shouldn't the PPO plan have the same subsidy (of $6500) like the other 2 plans instead of $10500?
by jane1
Thu Nov 03, 2016 11:44 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: To Roth or not to Roth that is the question
Replies: 18
Views: 4225

Re: To Roth or not to Roth that is the question

If you are in 25% or higher tax bracket, it might be better to go with the pretax option. Maybe at a later stage, if are briefly in the 15% bracket (non-working spouse, kids, home), you can consider Roth.

To make it work, you should be disciplined and invest your tax savings from the pretax contribution (say 25% of 18000) in a taxable account (which eventually could fund taxes you pay when you withdraw from your 403b).
by jane1
Thu Nov 03, 2016 3:45 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Theo Epstein to the Cubs?
Replies: 13
Views: 2586

Re: Theo Epstein to the Cubs?

MP173 wrote:Theo will never need to purchase another drink in a Chicago bar.

Ed
You are forgetting the south-north side rivalry. Next time there is a Cubs-WhiteSox game, Theo isn't getting any free drinks in the south side!

To stay on the topic of personal finance, can active fund managers turn around a fund performance like Theo did?
by jane1
Thu Nov 03, 2016 2:52 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Theo Epstein to the Cubs?
Replies: 13
Views: 2586

Re: Theo Epstein to the Cubs?

History is here. It is hard to catch these Cubs threads before they get locked down for being unactionable. Had to go back 5 years. However, the economics of spending $2,000 - $10,000 on a single ticket would be an interesting topic. A friend flew his family of four to Cleveland from Chicago to attend game 7. Theo is unbelievable. Slowly but surely, it took him 5 years, but he managed to turn things around. Awesome game. What would Bogleheads say if someone posted asking for input that they are considering spending one years worth of retirement living expenses to watch this live game? Essentially your friend may have to work an extra year (if they have median household income) before retiring. Can we expect TD Ameritrade to announce a spec...
by jane1
Wed Nov 02, 2016 12:04 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Commission Free ETFs and different Brokers
Replies: 21
Views: 2762

Re: Commission Free ETFs and different Brokers

I have accounts with all the ones you mentioned - some I couldn't avoid (because of 401k), others that I am still trying to unwind from. TDA has changed their ETF list in the fast. Caught me once by surprise when I sold an ETF that was previously free. My suggestion would be to think hard of your investment philosophy and asset allocation and whether you want to be a buy-and-hold investor or do active trading. Over the years, most of us on this board have learned (via experience, losses, multiple market cycles, tax implications) that the Boglehead way is the best way to go. What is your reason for holding ETFs from other fund families? If you go with Vanguard, you can still trade stocks and other ETFs. Of course, you will have to pay commis...
by jane1
Tue Nov 01, 2016 11:40 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Renting a car - different drivers for pick up and drop off
Replies: 12
Views: 9261

Re: Renting a car - different drivers for pick up and drop off

Call the rental company and ask? You can probably call the specific location and ask them directly. Returning does not require an ID, but you are taking accident/insurance risk if the person driving is not an authorized driver on the rental agreement. If it is a spouse, most rental companies don't need to see their ID and don't require them to be listed separately. In the past, we have been able to add additional drivers at a later stage (and at other locations). For instance, pick up car in SF, drive to LA, add another driver to rental in LA, return car in SF. But most scenarios I can think of, had the primary driver and additional drivers physically present together at some point in the rental period. Not sure how your situation would wor...
by jane1
Mon Oct 31, 2016 10:02 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard blog gives Bogleheads kudos
Replies: 25
Views: 4816

Re: Vanguard blog gives Bogleheads kudos

Thanks for sharing.

Glad someone had the question about transaction costs. I hadn't given much thought to it.
Anyone know how much are approximate transaction costs (commissions, spread, etc) for vanguard funds like Total Stock Mkt, Total Intl Stock, Total Bond. I understand that they are not published and are also not easy to calculate.

http://www.forbes.com/2011/04/04/real-c ... nicke.html
from 2011 quotes Bogleheads when discussing MF costs!
by jane1
Sun Oct 30, 2016 4:34 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Roth Conversions - Best Practices and Lessons Learned
Replies: 16
Views: 4057

Re: Roth Conversions - Best Practices and Lessons Learned

If you are doing Roth conversions in-kind and have the ability to time the market, choose a day when the market (your tIRA holdings) is low (in livesoft terminology RBD). You can get more of your assets in Roth i.e. Lower tax long-term.
by jane1
Sat Oct 29, 2016 10:03 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Passport renewal - old passport
Replies: 22
Views: 6872

Re: Passport renewal - old passport

Old passport will come separately.
Visa on old passport should be valid. Most countries are good with it.
by jane1
Thu Oct 27, 2016 12:50 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Long Term Capital Gain Question
Replies: 4
Views: 762

Re: Long Term Capital Gain Question

The LTCG income is included in the taxable income to calculate the tax bracket. And then, it (LTCG) is taxed at the favorable rate. So essentially, if you will end up with 300K in LTCG, your taxable income will not be in 15% bracket and hence LTCG will no longer be at only 0% tax rate (since the 300K will bump you into the higher tax bracket). So part of LTCG may be taxed at 0% and part at rate of 15% (once you are in 25%+ bracket).

One way to lower your income is if you have any potential capital losses (stock, MF), you can offset your farmland LTCG, to lower your taxable income. Read up on tax-loss-harvesting.

Also, LTCG favorable rates may not last until you retire, so that may be a consideration.

Edit: kaneohe response beat me to it.
by jane1
Wed Oct 26, 2016 4:40 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Are you supposed to inform state tax board when moving to another state?
Replies: 6
Views: 1515

Re: Are you supposed to inform state tax board when moving to another state?

Doesn't make sense... how did CA tax board get your bank information? And how did you find that it was for a 2015 car registration fee as opposed to State Income Tax?
by jane1
Fri Oct 21, 2016 12:27 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Healthcare costs and self funding
Replies: 96
Views: 12900

Re: Healthcare costs and self funding

Some considerations and pros/cons in your decision. 1. Price out the lowest-premium HSA plan for your location/ages. Is that much lower than 1300/month after the HSA tax savings? May be worthwhile. 2. Do you and/or spouse have jobs that provide coverage? Remember those premiums are pre-tax 3. What is your AGI? You will pay a penalty for not having coverage based on your AGI. 4. Btw, you can negotiate most hospital/provider bills if self-paying (instead of insurance billing) 5. Since one can get coverage when there are life events or during open enrollment, if things go wrong (health wise), you can potentially get covered within a couple of months of accident/diagnosis. I am not advocating that you go without coverage, just pointing out that...
by jane1
Wed Oct 19, 2016 12:34 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: TaxAct pre-purchase discount
Replies: 144
Views: 30879

Re: TaxAct pre-purchase discount

Saving$ wrote:OK - google taxact promo code.

You will find several. I clicked on the first one. Then click on the affiliate link to tax act, and once back at tax act, click on the online version cost. You might need to clear your browser. For me it shows the online versions as $0/$9/$13.50/$18
I see the prices you mention above. But are these for the 2016 version? When I click on "State Additional" to see details it says Taxact Online 2015.
by jane1
Tue Oct 18, 2016 1:17 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can someone PLEASE help me (tax calc question)
Replies: 7
Views: 922

Re: Can someone PLEASE help me (tax calc question)

cheese_breath wrote:Does your $63K taxable income include any long term capital gains and/or qualified dividends? That portion would receive more favorable tax treatment than your ordinary income. The tax tables wouldn't reflect this.
This.
OP, you probably have about a few thousands in LTCG and/or QD which would be taxed a lower rate.
Example $66000 in wages, $7000 in LTCG will give you about 63K in taxable income (after std deduction for single <65, and 1 personal exemption) but <11k in taxes. Tax table does not reflect any Schedule D calculation.

Or maybe some tax credits?
by jane1
Fri Oct 07, 2016 1:32 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Hurricane Matthew: Evacuation advice
Replies: 40
Views: 6210

Re: Hurricane Matthew: Evacuation advice

Most airlines will allow you to change flights departing out of affected FL airports without any fees. Example, United policy
https://www.united.com/CMS/en-US/travel ... onPolicies

So consider that. I doubt if your flight is leaving on Saturday, you might as well not include it in your planning.
by jane1
Thu Oct 06, 2016 8:27 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Europe bus tours
Replies: 36
Views: 4380

Re: Europe bus tours

In order to best get introduced to international travel, here is my recommendation. First get a European guidebook from your local library and decide where all you want to go. For first timer, English-speaking London is a good way to ease into Europe. Although you will soon realize, language is not a challenge anywhere. For your first trip, pick a land tour and choose your flights so you have a couple of extra days in the origin/destination cities to get a feel to explore on your own. Rick Steves, Road Scholar, OAT, Globus, Trafalgar and numerous others are all possibilities. I wouldn't suggest renting a car on your first trip since you probably want to hit the big cities more than the countryside. If you feel, you can handle your own plann...
by jane1
Wed Oct 05, 2016 10:56 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Vacation from SF around NYE?
Replies: 6
Views: 805

Re: Vacation from SF around NYE?

curiouskitty wrote:
jane1 wrote: India (visa on arrival for US Citizens?)
Its not visa on arrival and it was decently expensive if I recall correctly. You'll need to go to the Indian consulate in SF, etc.
Assuming you are a US Citizen and are going to India for tourism purposes, you can get visa on arrival. You can apply online about 4 days in advance, pay $60 and get stamp upon arrival.
https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/tvoa.html

Also referenced in official US department of state website
https://travel.state.gov/content/passpo ... india.html
by jane1
Wed Oct 05, 2016 10:15 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Vacation from SF around NYE?
Replies: 6
Views: 805

Re: Vacation from SF around NYE?

Is international airfare also covered with miles/points?
If so, you can consider
Guatemala/low-cost Central America country

If you don't mind the long flights
Thailand/SE Asia country
India (visa on arrival for US Citizens?)

$1000 for 7-days of hotel/food/local transport can go a long way in some of these places.
by jane1
Tue Oct 04, 2016 10:52 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Vitamix Worth It?
Replies: 167
Views: 26261

Re: Vitamix Worth It?

Yes.
Thought it was an over-priced luxury but decided to give it a try (Costco return policy). Things that took 15 mins (and a lot more water and frustration) on the old Oster, now take 2 mins. And smoother, creamier hummus, smoothies. The best part is the ease of cleaning. The jar must have some coating which prevents things from sticking. No removing blades, gasket, etc. I was sold within a few days of using.
Now we also make soy milk, almond milk, walnut milk at home instead of paying for the expensive ones with preservatives and sugar from the store.
by jane1
Mon Oct 03, 2016 5:54 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 2017 Health Insurance: ACA (Obamacare) vs Private Options in NJ
Replies: 3
Views: 1194

Re: 2017 Health Insurance: ACA (Obamacare) vs Private Options in NJ

Typically your state's health insurance regulatory board is a good place to start. For NJ, start with checking their website or calling them
http://www.state.nj.us/dobi/division_in ... hcmain.htm

This has list of providers
http://www.state.nj.us/dobi/division_in ... rriers.htm

You can also check out comparison sites like
http://www.ehealthinsurance.com
https://www.getinsured.com/
by jane1
Sun Oct 02, 2016 11:47 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Roadside assistance Programs
Replies: 49
Views: 11025

Re: Roadside assistance Programs

I checked - we pay $9.40 per year (4.70 for 6 months) for Geico roadside assistance for 1 car and $17.60 per year for the 17-year old car. Definitely worthwhile for us at that price.
So your $32 per car seems high. Maybe you live in a rural area where repair facilities are far away?
by jane1
Sat Oct 01, 2016 12:35 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Roadside assistance Programs
Replies: 49
Views: 11025

Re: Roadside assistance Programs

I would have to double-check the numbers, but I think my Geico roadside assistance only costs about $10-20 per car per year (cheaper for newer car). For 2 cars it works better than AAA. $160 is a lot. Maybe try AAA for 1 driver and Geico for the most unreliable car and self-insure the rest.
by jane1
Tue Aug 23, 2016 10:55 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Honeymoon - Alaska or Greece
Replies: 22
Views: 3054

Re: Honeymoon - Alaska or Greece

Does she have a slight preference? Go there.
I would choose a warm place for the honeymoon. That would rule out Alaska around Memorial Day. You will likely need jackets/sweater while on ship balcony! You can easily go to Alaska for another vacation.

You can do a Greek Islands via a cruise. Warmer, very beautiful and much more romantic than Alaska. Go to any cruise comparison shopping site to find what works for you.

If you don't want much planning, fly to Miami and do a Caribbean cruise.
by jane1
Tue Aug 23, 2016 12:58 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Eyeglasses Problem - how to fix? Any Opticians Out There?
Replies: 30
Views: 4418

Re: Eyeglasses Problem - how to fix?

There is no excuse for the shop not knowing what kind of lens is on your old pair of glasses. It should be easy. Happens to us all the time (we don't remember what kind we are using) but the shop is able to tell us. They should definitely be able to tell progressive, hi-index, bifocals! Brand, don't know.
At Costco they also do various measurements between pupils, etc (don't know the terms) and include that with your order.
Get your refund and go to a more competent place.
by jane1
Fri Aug 19, 2016 6:59 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Dental and vision insurance payments withheld from paycheck, taxed? [UPDATED]
Replies: 20
Views: 2578

Re: Dental and vision insurance payments withheld from paycheck, taxed?

livesoft wrote:UPDATE: August 2016
My spouse received a gift certificate from her company for bringing this to the attention of the new CEO and saving employees taxes. The company changed things for tax year 2016 so that dental and vision insurance payments are not taxed anymore.

As suggested, the problem was probably someone not doing their job.

Thanks everyone for helping me motivate my spouse to ask the CEO. She isn't giving me any credit though. :)
Awesome. Great job, livesoft.
Hope she (and you) knows how much help you provide on this forum and that we all appreciate your input :)
by jane1
Fri Aug 19, 2016 10:29 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How to Prepare for Old Age When You Don’t Have Kids
Replies: 21
Views: 5013

Article Fwd: how to prepare for old age when you don't have kids

This is a well written article about things one needs to think about and do in preparing for old age, becoming incapacitated and eventually death, especially if one doesn't have kids.
http://twocents.lifehacker.com/how-to-p ... socialflow

Challenge is in finding the right network of people you trust to make such decisions on your behalf. And change them if you plan to move to another state upon retirement.

There is a reference in the article about best places for successful aging
http://successfulaging.milkeninstitute.org
by jane1
Mon Aug 15, 2016 1:42 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Away from home for a year (tax and health care considerations)
Replies: 4
Views: 815

Re: Away from home for a year (tax and health care considerations)

Giving change of address and getting license/registration, etc can be a pain initially, but you will find it makes things much cleaner in terms of authorities (driving legally, registration, car insurance garaging address, health insurance, state taxation laws, getting public library cards...). We were in a similar situation a few years back trying to decide where we wanted to live and were "homeless" traveling and living in hotels/short-term rentals for multiple years. Constantly explaining/justifying/defending (we had to do that with State Tax authorities) is not worth it. If you have a lease in Austin for 12 months, no local plates or license would not be an easy sell to a cop or insurance company. Btw, Health insurance provide...
by jane1
Tue Aug 09, 2016 6:46 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Questions on withdrawing retirement $'s
Replies: 15
Views: 2932

Re: Questions on withdrawing retirement $'s

Wouldn't you also want to consider the tax impact of your withdrawals? Before age 70.5, you might want to take more from taxable and/or convert some IRA to Roth or do capital gain/loss harvesting based on your tax bracket.
After 70.5, RMDs will force your IRA withdrawals to be more than 2.25% (more like 4-5% based on age). And then there might be SS at some point.
by jane1
Tue Aug 09, 2016 11:46 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Estate planning - retirement vs taxable accts - which to family vs charity?
Replies: 3
Views: 517

Estate planning - retirement vs taxable accts - which to family vs charity?

If one plans to leave estate between Charity and Family, do some types of accounts make more sense to go to certain people/organization types? Goal is to maximize the benefit of estate distributed (while minimizing income taxes paid by beneficiaries?). We know % ahead of time but want to get a sense if certain account types are better off with charity vs individuals. Once we both pass away, potentially a portion would go to Charity (maybe DAF that we hope to set up) and some to siblings/cousins/friends (our generation) and some to nieces/nephews (younger generation). No kids. What are the considerations or advantages/disadvantages? Types of assets are IRA/401k, Roth, Taxable (MF/stock) with capital gains, Ibonds, Bank Accounts, Property, ma...
by jane1
Tue Aug 09, 2016 1:26 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Calling all real estate gurus [condo rent vs sell]
Replies: 7
Views: 1169

Re: Calling all real estate gurus [condo rent vs sell]

One thing to consider is the current state of the real estate market in the area - growth prospect, is it at the highest prices in the past few years, low inventory, slowing down, still lower than the peak from last decade, etc...
How much did you pay for it I.e. Do you have a significant gain already? What if prices come down in the next couple of years? Then you will have to decide whether to sell at lower price (in order to avoid capital gains tax) or wait for market to recover (but lose the tax benefit).
by jane1
Sun Aug 07, 2016 12:50 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Confused about HSA
Replies: 7
Views: 1143

Re: Confused about HSA

Is the plan with your new employer HSA eligible (HDHP) and you don't have any other kind of health insurance? Not all PPO plans are HSA eligible.
If you are HSA eligible for 2016, then you can contribute post-tax $ to an HSA and then take the tax deduction on your tax return.
by jane1
Sat Aug 06, 2016 4:23 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Helping a widow with allocation and taxes
Replies: 4
Views: 872

Re: Helping a widow with allocation and taxes

Your approach is good. And you are knowledgeable. Simplifying would be good. You may want to keep tab of what the advisor is doing going forward. I have seen too many times, advisors taking advantage of elderly widows.

Except for the taxable dividends and high(er) cost broker, your Dad seems to have left a not-messy portfolio. Dividend stocks seem somehow popular with that age group. Must be before Index funds became mainstream.

If there is a lot of room, see if she can take advantage of the 15% bracket in 2016 - Roth conversion to reduce RMDs. But might not be worth the hassle and convincing.

You can share with her a few of the many articles showing the risk/return associated with index funds vs inidividual stock portfolio.
by jane1
Sat Aug 06, 2016 9:18 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Contingent beneficiaries: Simultaneous Death- both spouses? (Will v. Trust)
Replies: 20
Views: 3393

Re: Contingent beneficiaries: Simultaneous Death- both spouses? (Will v. Trust)

I am interested in the responses as well.
Giving a bump to this thread...
by jane1
Fri Aug 05, 2016 8:12 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 401k Contribution strategy (across 2 employers)
Replies: 4
Views: 556

Re: 401k Contribution strategy (across 2 employers)

Will you be able to get a satisfactory job with 401k match very soon? Which approach you go with, depends on that.

Also some companies allow after-tax 401k and match against those. If that is an option at the new company, you could max at current employer and do after-tax 401k at the next.
by jane1
Fri Aug 05, 2016 7:08 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Travel insurance - worth it?
Replies: 96
Views: 23436

Re: Travel insurance - worth it?

TravelGeek wrote:
Sorry for the late reply; I missed the follow-ups in this thread.

My insurance is with Bupa Global (a Danish company, but they sell insurance in the U.S. And elsewhere). I haven't had a need to use them, but it was recommended to me by a trustworthy and reputable global traveler on a travel forum.

http://www.bupa-intl.com/

Our annual insurance is about to expire, and I will sign up for another year before our next international trip. I just checked and it would be $192 for me alone for coverage starting July 1.

They also offer single-trip coverage, but I am abroad probably 4-5 times a year.
They don't seem to offer travel insurance to US residents. Is that correct? Refers to another company.
by jane1
Fri Aug 05, 2016 4:31 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Up to a year of travel [Pay with savings or mutual funds?]
Replies: 3
Views: 603

Re: Up to a year of travel [Pay with savings or mutual funds?]

If you will be in a low tax bracket during the year off, you can do capital gain harvesting, so you can potentially take advantage of 0% LTCG bracket.
As to how you pay for your travel... we would need a lot more info. It is situation dependent.
Age, current assets and allocation, desired allocation, tax bracket (current and future expected), unrealized gain/loss.

In general you want to withdraw so that you can stay close to your desired asset allocation as well as minimize your lifetime taxes among other goals.
by jane1
Fri Aug 05, 2016 3:51 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Moving from Android to iPhone
Replies: 48
Views: 5683

Re: Moving from Android to iPhone

I have iPhone with Windows PC. No problems with syncing music (need iTunes), transferring photos, backup, etc. I use Google Maps and other google apps on phone. Also use Chromecast with iPhone, iPad. Love the camera, screen resolution, battery life. Don't like the fact that I can't put an external memory card. Phone is almost 2 yrs old and everything is still good, I can probably use for another 2 years (just shouldn't update to latest iOS after 2 yrs else things slow down). Resale value is good. Had the original iPad (2010) that I used daily for 5 years until I upgraded since it become too slow. Battery life is still great! Used to have Samsung Galaxy S series earlier, but things start becoming unusable sooner, maybe 2-3 yrs, but I don't h...
by jane1
Thu Aug 04, 2016 10:34 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: taxes with megabackdoor roth
Replies: 29
Views: 3613

Re: taxes with megabackdoor roth

How about do #5 and then move back T-IRA to 401k if you want to do backdoor Roth. But then it doesn't take care of hassle factor.
by jane1
Thu Aug 04, 2016 9:51 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: taxes with megabackdoor roth
Replies: 29
Views: 3613

Re: taxes with megabackdoor roth

You might want to assign a number to the options since you refer to them as #2, etc...

Why not just move 110k to Roth? Rest including any earnings are no different from a regular 401k or TIRA. Why pay 28-31% tax now vs potentially 15% (or even 28-31%) upon retirement. If you expect tax rate >31% upon retirement only then it may make sense (financially).
Assuming the 401k plan allows only contributions to be moved.

Edit: Or if not allowed, you can do #5 and then move back T-IRA to 401k if you want to do backdoor Roth. Of course, that is a hassle
by jane1
Thu Aug 04, 2016 8:46 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Hourly Rate for Contracting - thoughts?
Replies: 29
Views: 3859

Re: Hourly Rate for Contracting - thoughts?

letsgobobby wrote:
jane1 wrote:
One rule of thumb is Annual Base Salary/1000, so that would be $60/hr in your example. Accounts for benefits, incl any employer FICA you have to pay, holidays, vacation, etc.
I have not heard this rule of thumb... but I like it. :beer

So take my salary, add the value of all the benefits I receive, divide by 1000, and that should be by approximate hourly charge (as an independent contractor, not a salaried employee)?
Annual Base Salary/1000. So you don't add the value of benefits (to the numerator). That is accounted for by the smaller denominator (1000). Typical employee gets paid for 2000 hours. It is essentially comes to what the other posters have also been saying, 2x.
by jane1
Thu Aug 04, 2016 7:46 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Hourly Rate for Contracting - thoughts?
Replies: 29
Views: 3859

Re: Hourly Rate for Contracting - thoughts?

Agree with vitaflo. 2x, i.e. Annual Salary/1000 hr is rule of thumb in the consulting world. I have approved (as a supervisor) as well as have been paid similar rates. From what I have seen, lot of Bay Area 1099s are often employee-types where they work same hours as employees, get work-space and office equipment, lunch perks, transportation perks, sometimes are eligible for holidays, etc. That is staff-augmentation. Not the kind of contracting OP is referring to. This may be where NoGambleNoFuture is coming from. To some extent rate depends on the position. Entry-level positions that may come with very few benefits can be treated differently compared to a senior-level person where variable compensation is a large % of total compensation. B...
by jane1
Thu Aug 04, 2016 4:09 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Hourly Rate for Contracting - thoughts?
Replies: 29
Views: 3859

Re: Hourly Rate for Contracting - thoughts?

Where will you be working; at their facility or home? Do you get expenses reimbursed? How will you account for the extra utilities and supplies if you work from home? In addition to "benefits" you really should plug in some kind of "profit". I'd probably just double my $30/hr salary to $60/hr and call it a day. Agree. Most important consideration is where you would be working. One rule of thumb is Annual Base Salary/1000, so that would be $60/hr in your example. Accounts for benefits, incl any employer FICA you have to pay, holidays, vacation, etc. If this is remote work, be aware of the time it takes to respond to their emails or even just schedule any phone calls or meetings. Client could end up viewing this as admini...
by jane1
Thu Aug 04, 2016 3:51 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Depending on stability of ACA marketplace for next 8 years?
Replies: 40
Views: 5031

Re: Depending on stability of ACA marketplace for next 8 years?

For those who are interested in looking at some 2014, 2015 ACA premiums/Issuers/Plans, etc comparison by location (county), take a look at these graphics, by yours truly. Apologize I had not well labelled them for public interpretation. The US maps are color-coded to show competitiveness/cost. Data is ACA marketplace data (not off-exchange plans). Some states are missing since they operate their own exchanges.

Each workbook, then has multiple tabs (with additional graphs). You can zoom into the map and hover over an area to get more info. I have more analysis and YoY comparisons in R but not as easily shareable.
https://public.tableau.com/profile/r.a5815#!/

OP, you can probably look at your current as well as desired counties to compare.
by jane1
Thu Aug 04, 2016 12:29 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Depending on stability of ACA marketplace for next 8 years?
Replies: 40
Views: 5031

Re: Depending on stability of ACA marketplace for next 8 years?

This is a concern for a lot of us. I decided in worst case we would move. And if needed to MA. I will post (edit) a more detailed response. I have done detailed analysis of raw public data of 3 years - premiums, providers, plans by age, lcation. Similar to kff study. General trends I found - urban areas typically saw increased participation - rural (lower population density) saw opposite - some states don't have age penalty I.e. are "better" for older adults since they don't pay as high premiums (compared to younger adults). 3x for 65yr compared to 21yr vs flat curve by age. One thing I learnt in the process was that providers offer plans through other channels (that have to conform to ACA rules) but not through ACA marketplace (s...
by jane1
Thu Aug 04, 2016 1:07 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Eastern Europe Trip Planning - Advise?
Replies: 34
Views: 6269

Re: Eastern Europe Trip Planning - Advise?

Fortunate Son wrote: I would take two atm's.
+1 definitely take another ATM card in case the other card gets stolen and needs to be cancelled. You can keep one in hotel safe or in your locked luggage in hotel during the day. Same with CCs.
by jane1
Wed Aug 03, 2016 6:42 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Eastern Europe Trip Planning - Advise?
Replies: 34
Views: 6269

Re: Eastern Europe Trip Planning - Advise?

Like in any major city or crowded area you have be aware of your surroundings and watch for pickpockets. In several dozens of trips and several trips alone taking extensive public transportation I personally have never encountered any scams or pick-pockets. DH however seems to attract them occassionally. But still very rare given our travels. He has been a target of pickpockets/beggars in Madrid, Slovenia and Sarajevo but each time he became aware before they could get to anything from his pockets/daypack. Only valuables we carry during the day are a small amount of cash + form of IDs & smartphones and 1 CC and 1 ATM card between us. Rest stays in hotel. Typically wear Cargo travel pants with enough secure (zipped/Velcro/internal) pocke...