Search found 2088 matches

by Bfwolf
Mon May 03, 2021 3:00 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Traditional or Roth? ACA implications
Replies: 1
Views: 486

Traditional or Roth? ACA implications

Hey Boglehead Brain Trust, I'm self employed and am deciding between traditional vs Roth solo 401k and IRA contributions for 2020. I can deduct all traditional contributions. There's $25,500 in contributions that could be traditional or could be Roth. The tax implications to my specific 2020 tax situation are shown in this table, broken down into $5,100 chunks. So the first row is no traditional contributions. The second row is $5,100 traditional, etc. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/11QxYLav8WnZPqhqGXabtcru6TXRnZrah I should point out that the Total 2020 tax owed column is how much I'd owe in addition to the estimated taxes I've already paid. It's not my total annual tax obligation. As you can see, I'm getting a refund no matter what. ...
by Bfwolf
Sat Apr 03, 2021 12:48 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Costco organic chicken / eggs
Replies: 23
Views: 3319

Re: Costco organic chicken / eggs

So tell me. If chicken and eggs are marked "organic" what does that really mean and how do I know for sure that they are "organic"? Not saying they aren't. But how would I know for sure? Or does it just require faith that we're getting what we're paying for? https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2012/03/22/organic-101-what-usda-organic-label-means "Organic certification requires that farmers and handlers document their processes and get inspected every year. Organic on-site inspections account for every component of the operation, including, but not limited to, seed sources, soil conditions, crop health, weed and pest management, water systems, inputs, contamination and commingling risks and prevention, and record-keepin...
by Bfwolf
Wed Mar 31, 2021 12:33 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: In what condition, will international significantly overperform US?
Replies: 178
Views: 19107

Re: In what condition, will international significantly overperform US?

Stock prices of all companies, both US and international, are based on markets where buyers and sellers bid on prices until a market clearing price is found.

So the question is: what is it that you know about American stocks vis a vis international stocks that everybody else doesn't?

American stocks have been bid up to a higher price to earnings ratio than European stocks. In other words, stronger earnings growth from American stocks is already priced into the market. If the US merely matches international earnings growth, the international market will outperform the US market.
by Bfwolf
Mon Mar 29, 2021 2:07 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: The safest way to 7%?
Replies: 88
Views: 10209

Re: The safest way to 7%?

I'm trying to think of a situation where OP's question is the "right" one, and I'm struggling to come up with an answer.

OP, a lot of people are giving you sincere answers to your question, but a few have pointed out that the question isn't a great one. You may want to rethink more broadly what you're trying to achieve and lay that out in the asking portfolio questions format.

viewtopic.php?t=6212
by Bfwolf
Thu Mar 04, 2021 3:11 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Let's remember last year's crash
Replies: 58
Views: 7087

Re: Let's remember last year's crash

I can confidently say that I thought the drop was a huge overreaction. I was concerned that equities were overpriced anyway so there may not be a full recovery (a concern I still have), but the precipitating crisis in 2020 felt totally different than 2008. The economic damage being done was a self-inflicted limiting of the economy to save lives, and the solution to that was always within arms reach--eliminate the restrictions. In 2008, it felt like the entire financial system might collapse and that there might not be anything anybody could do about it.
by Bfwolf
Tue Dec 29, 2020 11:31 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Favorite Travel Experiences
Replies: 178
Views: 18025

Re: Favorite Travel Experiences

Where did you go in Australia? It's #1 on our list when travel is possible again. If you go to Australia, I would highly recommend adding Tasmania to your itinerary. I realize it's tough with so many other places to go in the country, but I've been to Sydney, Melbourne, Cairns (scuba'd the GBR), and the Blue Mountains--Cradle Mountain National Park in Tasmania blew them all away. Wombats, echidnas, wallabies, and pademelons everywhere, especially at dusk. Some good hiking. The nighttime feeding tour at Devils @ Cradle is fantastic for seeing Tasmanian devils and quolls. I was only on Tasmania 5 nights--2 in Hobart and 3 in Cradle Mountain, but it was well worth it. Hobart is a neat little city too. And if you're reasonably fit and adventur...
by Bfwolf
Wed Dec 09, 2020 1:13 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Vanguard Non-Covered Share Cost Basis
Replies: 4
Views: 511

Vanguard Non-Covered Share Cost Basis

Hey guys, I need to sell a few thousand dollars of VTIAX that I own. My highest cost basis shares are from 2011 and are non-covered. They are intermingled with a bunch of other non-covered VTIAX shares bought on different days. I've also sold non-covered VTIAX shares in the past (years and years ago). I remember back then I would send Vanguard a secure message saying which shares I was selling. Well I looked at the cost basis information for these non-covered VTIAX shares on Vanguard's site. They are all lumped together in one big group (date acquired: Various), and the cost basis for them is higher than what it should be. I suspect Vanguard took receipt of all those secure messages I sent them in the past but didn't actually adjust which s...
by Bfwolf
Thu Nov 12, 2020 12:35 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Taylor Sends His Best to Fellow Bogleheads
Replies: 334
Views: 34463

Re: Taylor Sends His Best to Fellow Bogleheads

Taylor Larimore is one of the people who changed my life.

Thank you, Taylor!
by Bfwolf
Mon Sep 21, 2020 9:24 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is retirement in 2 years possible?
Replies: 43
Views: 6391

Re: Is retirement in 2 years possible?

visualguy wrote: Mon Sep 21, 2020 4:16 pm
Bfwolf wrote: Mon Sep 21, 2020 4:09 pm It's not worth working several more years just to avoid the possibility of a reasonable expense haircut in a relatively unlikely scenario.
That really depends on your job and how demanding/annoying it is, and also on how painful the potential expense haircut might be. For example, if this haircut would require you to move, it might be very disruptive to the life you planned or envisioned.
OP has already stated they believe they can realistically trim $15K of expenses off. It's very unlikely they'd have to trim more than that.
by Bfwolf
Mon Sep 21, 2020 4:09 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is retirement in 2 years possible?
Replies: 43
Views: 6391

Re: Is retirement in 2 years possible?

If the OP limits how much they withdraw from their pre-tax accounts in early retirement, they can also take advantage of ACA subsidies to reduce their health care costs.

I have difficulty imagining they don't have enough to retire. Human beings are very adaptable and in a bad case scenario, I'm sure they will find ways to trim their expenses a bit. It's not worth working several more years just to avoid the possibility of a reasonable expense haircut in a relatively unlikely scenario.
by Bfwolf
Fri Sep 18, 2020 8:05 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Variable Universal Life Insurance Experts - Seems Like a No Brainer - Please Read
Replies: 90
Views: 6719

Re: Variable Universal Life Insurance Experts - Seems Like a No Brainer - Please Read

OP has trolled this board twice with this post, and people are still responding?

He refuses to post the number but says the numbers show the VUL is better.

Stop feeding the troll.
by Bfwolf
Thu Sep 17, 2020 1:27 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 529 Advice for California Resident
Replies: 21
Views: 4017

Re: 529 Advice for California Resident

This is what scholarshare529 says (https://www.scholarshare529.com/plan/details.shtml#details-10): While contributions are not deductible for California income tax purposes, earnings accrue free of state income tax. Any withdrawals used for qualified higher education expenses and outgoing rollovers to other qualified 529 plans and 529A ABLE accounts are also state income tax free. If I go with VG (Nevada) or Fidelity (New Hampshire) plan, would they also offer the same tax benefits for CA? or would CA tax me on the 529 withdrawals if the plan is from another state? If you're a CA resident, there are no tax advantages to using any particular state's 529. IMO, all the state's discussed so far have very good 529s (well, I don't know anything ...
by Bfwolf
Wed Sep 16, 2020 11:57 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: ethics concern with trust
Replies: 74
Views: 6292

Re: ethics concern with trust

If I were you, I think this is what I would do: 1) See if you can convince your siblings to split the $25,000 owed to your step-siblings and just give them the money with an explanation that this is their money and the broker messed up. I imagine they would be very thankful, though it's always possible they bring further legal action. I probably wouldn't get the grandkids involved as getting 6 people to agree on anything is hard, let alone 16 people where some are pretty young and the relatively small amount of money may mean more to them. 2) If your siblings refuse, tell your step-siblings the situation. At that point, they may let it go or they may bring legal action, but you can rest easy knowing you did the right thing. Whether you wish...
by Bfwolf
Wed Aug 26, 2020 9:55 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: As a 30 year old with extremely high risk tolerance should I even be holding bonds any more or should I go 100% stock?
Replies: 215
Views: 8871

Re: As a 30 year old with extremely high risk tolerance should I even be holding bonds any more or should I go 100% stoc

I think any young investor who thinks they understand their risk tolerance because of what happened this year is fooling themselves. 2008/9 was much worse. Bear Sterns and Lehman failed . Many of the giants of the financial industry were in deep trouble. A total collapse of the entire economy seemed possible. Some people freaked out this year with their investments, but to me it was obvious that the economic issues were all self-imposed. We had the economic fix available any time we wanted--it just resulted in more people dying. So if you think a sharp 4 month dip and recovery means you can take anything, well I think that's wishful thinking. The next drop could take 5, 10, or 20 years to recover from. It's possible you guys have the risk t...
by Bfwolf
Tue Aug 25, 2020 9:35 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: As a 30 year old with extremely high risk tolerance should I even be holding bonds any more or should I go 100% stock?
Replies: 215
Views: 8871

Re: As a 30 year old with extremely high risk tolerance should I even be holding bonds any more or should I go 100% stoc

Seeing all the love for 100% stock portfolios makes me nervous. I don't remember anybody pushing those portfolios in 2009.
by Bfwolf
Mon Aug 24, 2020 1:27 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Can any people who shop/deliver for Instacart give me a shoppers-eye view...
Replies: 17
Views: 2727

Re: Can any InstaCart shoppers give me a shoppers-eye view...

I think perhaps you need to retitle your post as "Can any InstaCart employees." When I see "InstaCart shoppers" I think people like you who are doing their grocery shopping on Instacart.
by Bfwolf
Sun Aug 09, 2020 7:22 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Looking for a $500 new office chair
Replies: 33
Views: 3930

Re: Looking for a $500 new office chair

When I started working from home in 2014, I had a crappy office chair. I did permanent damage that I can NEVER fix due to not springing for a good office chair out of the gates. It's nothing life changing but I can't sit on any soft cushion for anything longer than 15 minutes before it starts hurting. I ended up finding an Aeron on Craigslist for $425.

I would encourage you to dig deeper into the used market to find an Aeron, and if you can't find one used, to just spring for the new one. Your health is worth more than a few hundred dollars and you're already experiencing negative consequences.
by Bfwolf
Thu Jul 30, 2020 10:33 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: I agree that Investing is better than paying off mortage but.....
Replies: 75
Views: 8254

Re: I agree that Investing is better than paying off mortage but.....

Man....this forum is great but now i cannot figure out what to do. Our current house payment is $1086....once we pay it off my taxes would be $330 a month so basically once I pay off the house I free up an additional $740 a month. But as others have pointed out investing all that cash each month can most likely beat that in the long run. I reality is with both of us getting pensions and SS most of this cash will be given to our kids and hopefully grand kids someday so I feel like we have a good 20-30 years before we even tap into that cash Here's my 2 cents. As has been pointed out, the tax arbitrage advantages many receive from 401ks may not be there for you due to your pensions. You'd still get the dividend/interest/cap gain tax avoidanc...
by Bfwolf
Wed Jul 29, 2020 3:30 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How dead is dead? (USPS mail)
Replies: 60
Views: 7442

Re: How dead is dead? (USPS mail)

All right, it's true! Of course nobody needs mail. What do you think, you're so clever for figuring that out?
by Bfwolf
Wed Jul 29, 2020 3:24 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Now is not a Good Time to Buy SPIAs
Replies: 17
Views: 1535

Re: Now is not a Good Time to Buy SPIAs

The thing is, the market does not expect interest rates to rise significantly. Not just in the short term, but the intermediate-long term. The one year treasury rate is 0.12%, the 10 year is 0.58%, and even the 30 year is only 1.24%. The market expects low interest rates for the foreseeable future.
by Bfwolf
Thu Jul 23, 2020 3:36 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Individual 401K now offering Admiral funds
Replies: 68
Views: 10023

Re: Vanguard Individual 401K now offering Admiral funds

I called and had Flagship rep convert my i401(k) to Admiral shares (all in Wellesley) a month ago. Today, I saw a transaction reversing the conversion! I called and they stated they made a mistake and that Wellesley was not eligible for Admiral in i401(k), only index funds. Anyone else had this occur?! Sorry to bring this thread back from the dead, but I had the same thing happen today, except with VAIPX Vanguard Inflation Protected Securities fund. They converted it for me on 7/7 but on 7/17 they converted it back to investor shares. I called and they said it was a mistake to convert it the first time, and it was not an option in individual 401ks. I'm most annoyed that they didn't even alert me about it, they just did it. I have a little ...
by Bfwolf
Sun Jul 19, 2020 3:48 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Received wrong chair from Herman Miller
Replies: 30
Views: 3964

Re: Received wrong chair from Herman Miller

Send them a message from their website or tweet at them. This is a company that prides itself on its customer service. They are also probably getting destroyed right now by lack of demand since they supply so many offices, so they don't want to lose a customer here.
by Bfwolf
Sun Jul 19, 2020 12:11 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Chase IHG - pay $49 annual fee or cancel?
Replies: 34
Views: 3155

Re: Chase IHG - pay $49 annual fee or cancel?

Anybody thinking about cancelling this card, I'll happily give you $50 a year for your free night. :wink:
by Bfwolf
Wed Jul 15, 2020 10:41 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: iPhone 4 won't reset
Replies: 15
Views: 1122

Re: iPhone 4 won't reset

The latest and great iOS is iOS 13. iPhone 4s haven't been supported since iOS 7.

OP, it's well past time to get a new phone. I recommend the new iPhone SE, which can be had for as low as $399.
by Bfwolf
Sat Jul 11, 2020 11:27 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Who is your favorite fiction author and what is your favorite book of theirs?
Replies: 284
Views: 30518

Re: Who is your favorite fiction author and what is your favorite book of theirs?

zanerta wrote: Fri Jul 10, 2020 6:55 pm Mother Night by Vonnegut and Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
We might be book soul mates. I was going to say that Catch 22 is my favorite book, but my favorite author is Vonnegut and my favorite book of his is Mother Night.
by Bfwolf
Fri Jul 10, 2020 11:46 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Were You Around During Dotcom Bubble?
Replies: 266
Views: 26998

Re: Were You Around During Dotcom Bubble?

I was a young kid out of college, put something like $5000 in a Roth IRA and bought Cisco, thinking this was the blue chip of tech stocks. It went up, and then went down to about $2,000. Fantastic lesson for me at a reasonably affordable price.

As to applicability to current situation, I gave up trying to predict markets a long time ago. The entire US stock market seems overpriced to me, but I stick to my asset allocation.
by Bfwolf
Thu Jul 09, 2020 1:04 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Apple Airpods vs. Airpods Pro?
Replies: 33
Views: 3401

Re: Apple Airpods vs. Airpods Pro?

I have the Airpods Pro, which I like a lot.

I think the biggest difference is the noise cancellation feature. How much you value that will likely determine which you should buy. For me, this was a big deal, especially for airplanes.
by Bfwolf
Thu Jun 11, 2020 9:20 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: 2 cars, one driver. Should I sell one?
Replies: 45
Views: 4924

Re: 2 cars, one driver. Should I sell one?

If you only had one, would you buy the other? If not, sell the other.
by Bfwolf
Sat Jun 06, 2020 7:15 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Girlfriend paying rent
Replies: 107
Views: 13678

Re: Girlfriend paying rent

If you can really rent the equivalent of your house for $1,500 a month, then my suggestion is sell your house and do that, and split the rental cost with the gf. Your house is way over-valued at $600K+ if it's only worth $1,500 a month in rent.
by Bfwolf
Sat Jun 06, 2020 5:08 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Girlfriend paying rent
Replies: 107
Views: 13678

Re: Girlfriend paying rent

I am stunned that a house that was worth ~$600K in 2018 (so now more surely) only rents for $1,500 (her $750 being fair market value for half). Are Bay Area SoCal home prices that insane? A 33X+ annual rent multipler?
by Bfwolf
Thu Jun 04, 2020 9:40 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Should I Stick with Term Insurance?
Replies: 29
Views: 2312

Re: Should I Stick with Term Insurance?

If you got a good deal on the term life insurance the first time (which I don't know if you did or not), then you should call it quits on buying life insurance. You have enough given where you guys are in life. You and your wife both work. Once the kids are out of the house, the other will be fine if one of you passes away.
by Bfwolf
Sun May 31, 2020 2:36 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Usefulness of VNYTX (Vanguard New York Long-Term Tax-Exempt Mutual Fund)
Replies: 3
Views: 1181

Re: Usefulness of VNYTX (Vanguard New York Long-Term Tax-Exempt Mutual Fund)

If you graph VNYTX vs VWIUX (intermediate tax exempt for the entire country) and VBTLX (total bond market index), you can see some trends. There's history on all these fund back through 1986 so quite a lot of data to glean. Certainly from least risky to most risky it's VBTLX VWIUX VNYTX. Having said that, the difference between VBTLX and VNYTX is far less than the difference between any of these and a stock index fund. Some investors reasonably get nervous about putting too much of their money in muni funds and too much of that money in a state specific muni fund. I think that concern is reasonable but given your age, I'm guessing you won't be putting too large of a percentage of your portfolio in bonds to begin with, so perhaps less of an ...
by Bfwolf
Tue May 26, 2020 3:40 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: which iPhone?
Replies: 32
Views: 2626

Re: which iPhone?

peterwantstosave wrote: Mon May 25, 2020 2:15 pm thank you all.

I went for the iPhone 11 Pro Max. It's expensive, but hopefully worth it. And oldcomputerguy, I love the quote in your signature. Isaac Jaffee, right? One of my favorite shows of all time.

I'll post a review when it arrives. Hopefully, Thursday.

Peter
I think this is a reasonable decision. For most people, the decision should be between the 11 Pro and the SE. The other phones have their use cases but are a bit caught in the middle given the incredible value of the SE and the fancy bells and whistles of the 11 Pro.
by Bfwolf
Sat May 23, 2020 12:47 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: The axe falls and I am prepared. What's next?
Replies: 407
Views: 46268

Re: The axe falls and I am prepared. What's next?

Folks, I am asking two separate questions: A) Under what financial condition, it is rewarding for me to take on part-time project work. At this moment, it looks like anything less than $90 per hour is not worthwhile. B) Under what non-financial condition, would you go back to work? KlangFool A) From the perspective of meeting your spending needs, the answer is a job with pay approaching infinity. Your spending needs are already met. OK, maybe not at 100% certainty, but high enough. Obviously in the real world, add'l money would be of benefit to you because you could spend above and beyond your spending needs. Or donate the money to the charity of your choice. That has value. But only YOU can decide how much value that has. It's hard to ima...
by Bfwolf
Fri May 22, 2020 6:41 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: The axe falls and I am prepared. What's next?
Replies: 407
Views: 46268

Re: The axe falls and I am prepared. What's next?

Sorry to hear about the layoff, Klangfool. I concur with the majority. As long as your wife keeps working, you are in good shape to retire. At some point maybe you'll get bored and start something on the side that brings in a little extra cash too, but it's not necessary. Once SS kicks in, it's going to cover most of your expenses.
by Bfwolf
Fri May 22, 2020 6:06 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 20 year Term Life insurance—keep or renew?
Replies: 21
Views: 1977

Re: 20 year Term Life insurance—keep or renew?

I would have no issue using Sagicor. I tend to agree that you're better off just buying a new $1.25MM policy at a cheaper rate than holding the 2 separate policies, but Valuethinker's point about the advantage of being able to drop 1 of the policies if you hold 2 is true. Honestly, either way you go here will be fine.
by Bfwolf
Wed May 20, 2020 2:10 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 20 year Term Life insurance—keep or renew?
Replies: 21
Views: 1977

Re: 20 year Term Life insurance—keep or renew?

Dropping the current policy sounds questionable since you've paid for the risk-adjusted "worst" years already. I would definitely not drop it for a new 20 year policy of the same amount. $750K also sounds like you are under-insured in the early years. If you died tomorrow, would your wife and kids be ok?

I like the idea of just adding a new $750K 20 year policy on to what you have already. You can price that vs a $1.5M 20 year policy as insurance does get cheaper the more you buy. If $1.5M is close to equal in price to the a new $750K policy + the $750 policy you already have, then dropping the policy you have for a $1.5M policy would make sense.
by Bfwolf
Tue May 19, 2020 3:57 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Sources for N95 masks
Replies: 44
Views: 4651

Re: Sources for N95 masks

Getting an N95 mask with the respirator is perfect for the plane if you wear another regular mask over the top of it.

Have you tried asking your social media network? I bet somebody you know has a stash of N95s and would spare you one.
by Bfwolf
Tue May 19, 2020 3:50 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Opinion on Relocating from IL to FL Central Gulf Coast Condo
Replies: 46
Views: 4110

Re: Opinion on Relocating from IL to FL Condo

I don't think you are being selfish. I also think you have enough funds to do what you want to do (probably). Florida in the Summer is going to be fairly miserable. I guess my first question is what don't you like about what you're doing now--Summering in Illinois and Wintering in Florida. Why the change? You could do the opposite. Buy a place in Florida and live there 7 or 8 months out of the year. And rent a place in Illinois (or anywhere else) to Summer in. I guess that would make you a tax citizen of Florida. Since FL has no state income tax but IL exempts pretty much all retirement income, I guess this would be a wash in income taxes (unless your $2MM includes significant investments in taxable accounts in which case FL will have the a...
by Bfwolf
Sun May 17, 2020 6:15 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: June vacation
Replies: 29
Views: 4258

Re: June vacation

Have you considered growing a mustache instead? It'll be like a vacation from yourself.
by Bfwolf
Thu May 14, 2020 4:48 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Anyone booking flights for 2021 travel?
Replies: 68
Views: 6615

Re: Anyone booking flights for 2021 travel?

I'm holding out. I am going to have a bunch of frequent flyer miles orphaned with different programs due to transferring miles in from programs like Amex and Citi....58K miles at Aeroplan, 30K at Lifemiles, 30K at Turkish. I'm hoping to use them at the next available opportunity, but getting some of these miles back has been a huge hassle. I don't want to go through any of that nonsense again until I can be reasonably confident the trip will actually happen.

The exception will be I have a lot of event tickets to the Olympics which have been pushed to Summer 2021. I will book award flights for that when they come available and then just cancel if necessary.
by Bfwolf
Wed May 06, 2020 9:16 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Best uses of Chase Ultimate Rewards Points
Replies: 28
Views: 4719

Re: Best uses of Chase Ultimate Rewards Points

3 options, from highest to lowest complexity but also potentially highest to lowest value

1) Transfer to an airline and book Int'l business class. Now that United has gone to dynamic award pricing, it's trickier to find outsized value with them but still possible. If you want to go to Japan, Virgin Atlantic offers incredible value for flights booked on ANA.

2) Transfer to Hyatt and book award nights.

3) Book on the portal for 0.015 cents a point in value.
by Bfwolf
Wed May 06, 2020 5:12 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: CD discussion thread
Replies: 1214
Views: 189486

Re: Best CD rates thread

So the Navy Federal 3% IRA certificate special is over, but I rolled some money over prior to that and found out something I wasn't aware of before. I already had ~$110K in a ~3.6% IRA certificate with them that matures June 2022. They put $40K of my rollover into this certificate to bring it up to its max of $150K and the remainder in the new 3% certificate. When I called them, they said that when the 3.6% certificate matures in 2022, I can roll over a portion of that into the 3% certificate, bringing the 3% certificate up to its maximum of $150K. The learning here is that once you open a certificate with them, you can apparently add more money to that certificate at a later time. Taking this idea to its extreme, one could put small amount...
by Bfwolf
Tue May 05, 2020 5:06 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: September Kenya Travel
Replies: 31
Views: 2368

Re: September Kenya Travel

This is a tricky one! Pros of canceling If the company goes under due to reduced tourism, you've got 90% of your money back. For September 2021, prices may be 90% (or lower) of what they were when you booked for 2020. People may not just flock back to travel in countries with inferior health care systems. So this may actually be the same price or cheaper than rebooking. 2021 is no guarantee. We might still be dealing with this thing. In which case, canceling will feel good. Pros of rebooking You don't pay a 10% penalty. My gut would be cancel and get your money back. Reevaluate in October whether you want to do this in 2021 or not. I suspect the safari industry will be a bit soft in 2021 even with a good coronavirus recovery and that you'll...
by Bfwolf
Mon May 04, 2020 3:14 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 529: Your favorite low cost one?
Replies: 79
Views: 9827

Re: 529: Your favorite low cost one?

Phinance wrote: Fri May 01, 2020 3:12 pm Thanks for all the answers, very helpful. You have changed my thinking:
A $300 dollar OR tax credit probably outweighs >> any savings I would be incurring moving from OR (0.30% overall expense) to CA (0.15% overall expense). Is this correct?
I think this is true for your first $6,000 contributed per year. Above that, I'd use a different plan, though admittedly this adds complexity.
by Bfwolf
Fri May 01, 2020 3:47 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Mother has only $85K to sustain her
Replies: 81
Views: 9581

Re: Mother has only $85K to sustain her

I'd like to add my voice to the SPIA chorus. They were made for situations like this. You don't have to put the entire $85K in it, but putting in enough to cover the $500 shortfall would help a ton. Your Mom would get checks every month that cover her expenses and her mandate would be to only spend that money. She would have the reserve $15K or so for emergency situations, which could be kept in a high yield savings account. Over time, her income will not keep up with inflation but then again, her costs may not either as she gets older. And she does have that $15K she can dip into if necessary. It sounds like you already have her costs at a low level so I'm not suggesting you push any harder to lower costs. This is a plan that lets her live...
by Bfwolf
Fri May 01, 2020 3:17 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 529: Your favorite low cost one?
Replies: 79
Views: 9827

Re: 529: Your favorite low cost one?

Why don't you feel like the $300 tax credit merits using OR's plan? All-in expense ratios for the target year plans are 0.3% which is more than other states, but not bad if you're getting a $300 tax credit every year. I would consider putting in the minimum to get the $300 tax credit and then putting the rest of your contribution in a cheaper plan. The minimum required to get the $300 credit depends on your married filing jointly income. Details in this link: https://www.oregoncollegesavings.com/faqs/category/Taxes Edit: Looking back in your post history I see you've already asked this question and gotten the same response. Also seems you're probably north of $250K income so you'd have to put in $6000 in the 529 to get the full $300 tax cre...
by Bfwolf
Thu Apr 30, 2020 3:03 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: CD discussion thread
Replies: 1214
Views: 189486

Re: Best CD rates thread

protagonist wrote: Wed Apr 29, 2020 2:53 pm
Bfwolf wrote: Mon Apr 13, 2020 8:47 pm Navy Federal is still advertising the 3% 37 month IRA certificate. With 3 year Treasury rates at .31%, this is an incredible deal, right?
My understanding is that if you or an immediate relative has never served or worked for the DOD , membership is impossible, correct? Is there no simple back door to membership?
My grandfather was in the Army. When I applied for membership over the phone, I said my grandfather was in the Army. They didn't asking me for supporting documents. What you do with this information is up to you. 8-)