Search found 141 matches

by marklar13
Mon Feb 26, 2024 12:47 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Closing a Sole Proprietorship
Replies: 15
Views: 1740

Re: Closing a Sole Proprietorship

You need to send a brief letter to the IRS asking them to close your business account (EIN) as per this IRA FAQ about closing a sole proprietorship: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/closing-a-sole-proprietorship#:~:text=Employer%20identification%20numbers&text=To%20close%20their%20business%20account,wish%20to%20close%20their%20account. Below I have linked CT state’s FAQ about closing a sole proprietorship. As you are not registered with the state and file business taxes as part of your CT-1040, you do not have to notify Secretary of State or CT DRS of the closure. https://business.ct.gov/knowledge-base/article/business-dissolution---sole-proprietorship?language=en_US Keep a copy of the Solo 401k’s final Form 5500-EZ that Employee Fiduciary...
by marklar13
Mon Feb 26, 2024 12:36 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Closing a Sole Proprietorship
Replies: 15
Views: 1740

Re: Closing a Sole Proprietorship

If you happened to have bought any equipment that you depreciated, perhaps home office furniture, etc, then you'd want to indicate on your taxes that the depreciated items are no longer in service or became personal use, or have no residual value. Accounting for depreciated assets is about the only thing I can think of that's relevant for your personal taxes. Otherwise you simply stop including Schedule C when you file. Thanks. This is kind of what I thought. I just wasn't sure if it is advisable to also have the EIN "terminated" officially, or if maybe it just becomes abandoned automatically if you have no Schedule C for a certain amount of time? Or maybe it is just permanent with no activity, and there is no downside to leaving...
by marklar13
Mon Feb 26, 2024 12:34 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Closing a Sole Proprietorship
Replies: 15
Views: 1740

Re: Closing a Sole Proprietorship

larrydmsn wrote: Mon Feb 26, 2024 11:23 am
Do you have a Solo 401K? If so, although you don't have to terminate it immediately after you close your sole proprietorship (some even argue that the Solo 401K can continue indefinitely), you have to file IRS Form 5500 when you finally terminate it, regardless of the balance of your Solo 401K plan.
Thanks. Yes, I used employee fiduciary as record keeper for the 401k. They filed all of that for me and sent me the electronic receipts. If I recall, the failure to file the Form 5500 penalty is for some reason massive, so I'm glad I had someone else to make sure it was all done by the book.
by marklar13
Mon Feb 26, 2024 11:01 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Closing a Sole Proprietorship
Replies: 15
Views: 1740

Re: Closing a Sole Proprietorship

skepticalobserver wrote: Mon Feb 26, 2024 10:58 am If you have creditors related to the business you might check with an attorney specializing in business transactions to determine if you need to file anything under your state’s Uniform Commercial Code (UCC).
No creditors. This was a very straightforward "business". It was just a single client that I did 1099 work for as a software developer. They lent me the laptop and anything needed for the job. The only tangible thing I used for the business that belonged to me was the home office.
by marklar13
Mon Feb 26, 2024 10:50 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Closing a Sole Proprietorship
Replies: 15
Views: 1740

Re: Closing a Sole Proprietorship

toddthebod wrote: Mon Feb 26, 2024 10:33 am
Do you have a business license with your state?
I don't believe so. I'm in CT, and if I recall correctly there was no special registration paperwork needed for a sole proprietorship at the state level for CT.

If I remember correctly, the only reason I even got the EIN was at the advice of employee fiduciary for the 401k plan.
by marklar13
Mon Feb 26, 2024 10:30 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Closing a Sole Proprietorship
Replies: 15
Views: 1740

Closing a Sole Proprietorship

Anyone have experience closing out a Sole Proprietorship? I don't have anything to sell -- just want to make sure I file any paperwork needed so I can put this out of mind. I have a Sole Proprietorship, with a registered EIN. I worked as a software development contractor for a couple of years, but shifted back to W2 work a year and a half ago. In 2023 I had no activity or income from the sole proprietorship, and I don't foresee taking any work for it in the foreseeable future. The "business" itself was very simple. It's just me, no employees. I deducted home office a couple years, but no other assets or anything deducted. I had 1099 income for a few years, but like I said nothing last year. I had a solo 401k plan, but it was manag...
by marklar13
Sat Aug 05, 2023 10:23 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Sold BND bought AGG - Tax Loss Harvesting Partners
Replies: 25
Views: 2318

Re: Sold BND bought AGG - Tax Loss Harvesting Partners

welderwannabe wrote: Sat Aug 05, 2023 9:24 am
marklar13 wrote: Sat Aug 05, 2023 8:27 am I think BND and AGG track the same index. Might be fine, but I generally consider index funds that track the same index too similar to qualify for TLH.
Unless its changed, they are different. BND used to track the float adjusted index, AGG didn't. That makes them different as the amount of bonds in each category will be different based on the float (bonds actually available vs internally held by governments etc).
Ah, you are correct -- I just peeked at the fund overviews to confirm. Good catch.
by marklar13
Sat Aug 05, 2023 8:27 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Sold BND bought AGG - Tax Loss Harvesting Partners
Replies: 25
Views: 2318

Re: Sold BND bought AGG - Tax Loss Harvesting Partners

I think BND and AGG track the same index. Might be fine, but I generally consider index funds that track the same index too similar to qualify for TLH. Edit: These funds are not exactly the same index, so disregard this.

I've never actually tax loss harvested my bond positions because all my bonds are in tax advantages accounts, but if I did then I would probably use BIV -- which is vanguard intermediate bond index. Not an exact match, but I think is similar enough in duration, etc.
by marklar13
Wed Dec 08, 2021 6:47 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Backdoor Roth - basis if rollover is pending on 12/31?
Replies: 6
Views: 418

Re: Backdoor Roth - basis if rollover is pending on 12/31?

Thanks for the replies. Apparently my searching skills need some work. Anyway, sounds like we are in the clear.
by marklar13
Wed Dec 08, 2021 6:08 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Backdoor Roth - basis if rollover is pending on 12/31?
Replies: 6
Views: 418

Backdoor Roth - basis if rollover is pending on 12/31?

tl;dr version... what are the consequences on a backdoor Roth of having a rollover from traditional IRA to 401k in progress and not complete by 12/31? Would we just have to count the funds as being in the traditional IRA and pay tax per the pro-rata rule, or would something else apply to figure out the basis? Longer version... My spouse did a backdoor Roth earlier this year. Later in the year her company was bought out and the 401k plan was terminated. A new 401k plan became available, with relatively expensive fees. At the time, I thought she was going to have some moonlighting opportunities coming up, and that we would open a Solo 401k and move the funds there. So we decided to rollover the old 401k to a traditional account, and eventuall...
by marklar13
Fri Oct 29, 2021 8:29 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What software personal records??
Replies: 21
Views: 2408

Re: What software personal records??

I use KeePass as password manager as well as storing some ID numbers and a few documents. It is an open source application, and there are a couple mobile implementations that are developed separately. I'm using the vanilla KeePass on desktop and Keepass2Android on my phone.

It is a pretty vanilla UI, which I like. It allows you to add a decent amount of arbitrary data including tags for searching which is very useful. You can store pretty much anything in there as far as I know.

I've been using it for a couple years with no complaints. I keep the database on Google drive, which also syncs to my phone and keeps everything seamless so I can access or add new entries any time -- but that is an optional step.
by marklar13
Mon Oct 04, 2021 5:08 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is Solo 401k correct solution here?
Replies: 14
Views: 792

Re: Is Solo 401k correct solution here?

Does her workplace plan not have a Roth option? That would be better (and less of a hassle) than doing the backdoor Roth IRA, and it also has higher limits. As I read the OP they want to max out the workplace 403(b) AND make backdoor Roth contributions, which makes sense if they can afford to save that much. The traditional and Roth 403(b)/401(k) limit is combined, so they can only contribute $19.5k between the two. Adding backdoor Roth adds an additional $6k ($7k if over 50) so switching from traditional to Roth 403(b) doesn't really help. Perhaps true but I don't see anywhere that the OP states they are maxing out anything. I simply see that they are doing a backdoor Roth because they are presumably above the phaseout. If they have a mat...
by marklar13
Mon Oct 04, 2021 4:20 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is Solo 401k correct solution here?
Replies: 14
Views: 792

Re: Is Solo 401k correct solution here?

Does her workplace plan not have a Roth option? That would be better (and less of a hassle) than doing the backdoor Roth IRA, and it also has higher limits. As I read the OP they want to max out the workplace 403(b) AND make backdoor Roth contributions, which makes sense if they can afford to save that much. The traditional and Roth 403(b)/401(k) limit is combined, so they can only contribute $19.5k between the two. Adding backdoor Roth adds an additional $6k ($7k if over 50) so switching from traditional to Roth 403(b) doesn't really help. Correct. Our thought process was: 19.5k to pre-tax 403b 6k to backdoor Roth 20% of 1099 income to solo 401k. This will be under the 57k threshold, since the 1099 income won't be huge. I also have access...
by marklar13
Mon Oct 04, 2021 1:37 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is Solo 401k correct solution here?
Replies: 14
Views: 792

Re: Is Solo 401k correct solution here?

Interesting, thanks for the reply. Just when I think I have everything figured out, there's always another wrinkle to consider.
by marklar13
Mon Oct 04, 2021 1:27 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is Solo 401k correct solution here?
Replies: 14
Views: 792

Re: Is Solo 401k correct solution here?

Admiral wrote: Mon Oct 04, 2021 1:06 pm Does her workplace plan not have a Roth option? That would be better (and less of a hassle) than doing the backdoor Roth IRA, and it also has higher limits.
Her plan does have a roth option, but based on our overall income level, I think that we get more bang for our buck taking the pre-tax deduction.
by marklar13
Mon Oct 04, 2021 1:21 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is Solo 401k correct solution here?
Replies: 14
Views: 792

Re: Is Solo 401k correct solution here?

Thanks for the correction -- was just going off of memory, will definitely re-read the rules before we make any contributions. I was planning on just having her apply for an EIN as a sole proprietor -- no LLC or anything.
by marklar13
Mon Oct 04, 2021 12:50 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is Solo 401k correct solution here?
Replies: 14
Views: 792

Re: Is Solo 401k correct solution here?

Correct, preserving the backdoor Roth is one of the reasons I am leaning towards solo 401k. We don't anticipate a ton of income from the 1099 -- maybe 10k annually before tax. We would likely continue to have her max the 401k fr her W2 job and then just contribute the "employer" portion to the solo 401k (so 25% of ~10k), which should put her squarely under the maximums.
by marklar13
Mon Oct 04, 2021 10:38 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is Solo 401k correct solution here?
Replies: 14
Views: 792

Is Solo 401k correct solution here?

My spouse's company was just bought out and they are changing 403b plans, with the old plan closing. We are trying to determine the best course of action, and would appreciate any advice. I think this is all the relevant information: She currently has the following accounts. The fees listed are the average ER + management fee. Old employer 403b ... $400k assets ... fees: 0.10% Old employer 403b ... $120k assets ... fees: 0.20% New employer 403b ... < $5k assets ... fees: 0.52% Account #2 above is closing, so these funds need to be moved. Unfortunately account #1 does NOT accept incoming rollovers, so we essentially have the following options: Roll account #2 into account #3 (hesitant because of the high fees) Roll account #2 into a traditio...
by marklar13
Sat Jan 30, 2021 9:44 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Pro-rated Home office deduction?
Replies: 5
Views: 616

Re: Pro-rated Home office deduction?

montanagirl wrote: Sat Jan 30, 2021 8:58 pm Your depreciation of the office would be only for half a year, if you're using actual expenses.
I didn't claim any depreciation since all I am deducting is the home related expenses / utilities. The market value of my property hasn't changed as I haven't been here all that long. I don't have any special equipment in the office. I am a software developer working as a contractor, and the client sent me the laptop and software that I need to do my job. The rest of the office setup is pretty basic, and I didn't feel the need to itemize any property other than the space itself.
by marklar13
Sat Jan 30, 2021 9:21 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Pro-rated Home office deduction?
Replies: 5
Views: 616

Re: Pro-rated Home office deduction?

you could also use the simplified method unless you think you'd get a lower deduction that way. Assuming you've run the numbers and know what the deduction should be using actual, not simplifed method? So interestingly enough, if I choose this method, I guess it actually comes out higher than if I reduce my actual expenses by 45% -- which would represent a mid July Start date. I guess I'd have the same question for the simplified method... shouldn't it take into account the amount of time that the business was open? Home related expenses for the full year as a % of office size = $1414 deduction Multiple that by 45% (this is what I think the right number is) = $636 deduction Use the "simple" method (then it only asks about my squa...
by marklar13
Sat Jan 30, 2021 8:45 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Pro-rated Home office deduction?
Replies: 5
Views: 616

Pro-rated Home office deduction?

I started a sole proprietorship this year and work out of my home office. I used HR Block software to fill in my expenses, percentage of home, etc and everything was straightforward... except it doesn't seem to adjust the deduction at all based on the fact that the business started halfway through the year. All the home related calculations seem to be done based on the annual expense multiplied by the percentage of space that the office takes up. Shouldn't the actually deduction be this number times 50%, since I started the business mid-year, and thus only operated from the office 50% of the year? I can't seem to find a place to plug in this percentage that makes any difference. Is this how it actually works? Even looking at the form direct...
by marklar13
Tue Jan 12, 2021 6:18 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: H&R Block 2020 software offer
Replies: 426
Views: 43500

Re: H&R Block 2020 software offer

Good find, thanks!
random_walker_77 wrote: Tue Jan 12, 2021 5:38 pm
Well, Premium is now down to $27. Business for $36.
Deluxe Tax + State for $18, and Deluxe for $15

https://slickdeals.net/f/14767309-h-r-b ... 8-more?v=1
by marklar13
Thu Jul 30, 2020 10:13 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Better toddler sneakers than New Balance?
Replies: 19
Views: 1813

Re: Better toddler sneakers than New Balance?

We had good luck with stride-rites, but if I recall they were also in the $40 range. We liked these because they were generally on the wider side, and were just easier to get on and off their feet with the particular design that we had (i.e. the tongue of the shoe would open up very far down). I also thought they were pretty good quality / durability.
by marklar13
Thu Jul 30, 2020 12:37 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Estimated Tax when switching to 1099 income mid-year
Replies: 3
Views: 340

Re: Estimated Tax when switching to 1099 income mid-year

Edit: I misread your point about withholding on my first pass through here. Yes -- the W-2 withholding roughly matches what we would owe. In general I shoot for a $0 tax bill at the end of the year. As you noted, I plan to just use my full estimate rather than 90% to play it safe this year. I'm pretty confident in the calculations, but it's not a big deal to overshoot it by a bit... especially since it is my first year doing it. I'm pretty sure the prorated formula will get me pretty close because my payments are expected to be hourly work with 40 hours a week (minus holidays and vacation) through the end of the year. That being said, I'm just trying to double check that I'm not missing something big in that complicated table on the tax form.
by marklar13
Thu Jul 30, 2020 12:13 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Estimated Tax when switching to 1099 income mid-year
Replies: 3
Views: 340

Estimated Tax when switching to 1099 income mid-year

I switched from W2 employment to Sole Proprietorship earlier this month. I have done some pretty detailed tax forecasting with my own spreadsheets, and I know (with reasonable accuracy) what my total estimated tax payment is going to be. Since I didn't have self employment income in Q1 or Q2, obviously I haven't made any estimated tax payments yet (just the normal W2 withholding up until 2 weeks ago). I've skimmed through the IRS forms for estimated tax, and it seems that at the end of the year, I am going to need to fill out form 2210, Schedule AI to indicate that I received my self employment income unevenly through the year. This is fine... but that table looks like a nightmare to fill out. I will get around to it eventually (or maybe my...
by marklar13
Wed Jul 15, 2020 10:16 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Switching from W2 to 1099 contractor. Seeking advice.
Replies: 43
Views: 2936

Re: Switching from W2 to 1099 contractor. Seeking advice.

SoloKs are one of the biggest benefits of what you're doing besides taxes (in most states, definitely Federal). I kept a SoloK at ETrade for a year or so. Most traditional brokerages aren't good at these products and are confused by them even if they offer them because they're not common. If it's not too late, check out https://www.mysolo401k.net/ . Way more options, a professional you can rely on who understand the product, and you can open accounts where ever. Currently, I have trust accounts with TD under my plan but would move if there was good reason. It's a little more work but not much and they help you through it. I have paperwork filled out at TD, but am still on the fence about how I want to move forward. I keep going back and fo...
by marklar13
Tue Jul 14, 2020 10:50 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Switching from W2 to 1099 contractor. Seeking advice.
Replies: 43
Views: 2936

Re: Switching from W2 to 1099 contractor. Seeking advice.

OP here. Reviving this for one more related question. I've decided to move forward as sole proprietor as noted above, and have the paperwork filled out to open a solo 401k at TD Ameritrade. I walked through the application with a rep, and they said I did not need to file for an EID, and could just use my SSN on the application (even though the format on their form only accepts XX-XXXXXX).

Has anyone else done this and can confirm the EID is not needed for any of the future tax filings / reporting? I'm probably fretting about nothing, but would rather get it right the first time.
by marklar13
Tue Jul 14, 2020 6:36 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Are Roth IRAs “Pay taxes once and never again” really best?”
Replies: 131
Views: 13094

Re: Are Roth IRAs “Pay taxes once and never again” really best?”

My wife and I recently became relatively high earners ( self-employed .) We no longer qualified for Roth IRAs. So we opened Roth Individual 401(k) accounts at Vanguard and that has been our new vehicle of choice. Thank you. I skimmed through the posts, but didn't see anyone mention the potential QBI deduction impact. If this is self-employment income, do you qualify for the QBI deduction? If so, then keep in mind that pre-tax contributions for your solo 401k will reduce your QBI deduction. On the other hand, if you are over the limit, maybe you need those pre-tax deductions to bring your income back into range to qualify for the deduction. There is still no clear cut answer, but if you aren't way over the limit, then this is probably somet...
by marklar13
Tue Jun 30, 2020 6:35 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Switching from W2 to 1099 contractor. Seeking advice.
Replies: 43
Views: 2936

Re: Switching from W2 to 1099 contractor. Seeking advice.

Thanks cowdogman, makes sense. I'll wait until the end of the year and check the impact -- although it's still an inexact science because I won't know my retirement tax rate. I have a similar spreadsheet for our current taxes and was planning on updating with the 1099 rules anyway.

And yes, mention of itemizing was a mental lapse in my part.

Thanks for following up on the thread, your responses have been helpful.
by marklar13
Tue Jun 30, 2020 3:43 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Switching from W2 to 1099 contractor. Seeking advice.
Replies: 43
Views: 2936

Re: Switching from W2 to 1099 contractor. Seeking advice.

Thanks for all the feedback. Sounds like Sole Proprietor is the direction I am headed. I'm not really looking to market myself beyond the contract that I have already been offered (for now at least... and I am hoping this contract opens the door for others within the same circle). I will obtain some sort of liability / E+O insurance as suggested. It looks like there is a boilerplate line in the contract stating that I should be able to present proof of insurance if requested, but nothing about required amounts or anything specific. As far as taxes, I think I have a good grasp on this. I've already run through the rough calculations (with employer unemployment tax, etc included) when doing compensation comparisons. As far as home office dedu...
by marklar13
Mon Jun 29, 2020 9:46 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Switching from W2 to 1099 contractor. Seeking advice.
Replies: 43
Views: 2936

Switching from W2 to 1099 contractor. Seeking advice.

I recently accepted a position as an independent contractor (software engineer). This will be full time -- I am leaving my current W2 employer. I've never done 1099 work, and am trying to do my due diligence on financial planning for the swtich. I think that I have a decent grasp on the tax rules, and have a short meeting scheduled with a CPA to get another set of eyes on this. That being said, I wanted to float some of my questions to the experienced boglehead community as well. Some things I've been thinking about: Sole Proprietor vs. LLC/other From most of my reading, it seems like I can just file taxes as a sole proprietor and get the 20% deduction on my 1099 income. It doesn't seem like it is necessary to create an LLC unless I want th...
by marklar13
Fri Jun 26, 2020 2:29 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: What to do with super-tiny IRA?
Replies: 8
Views: 969

Re: What to do with super-tiny IRA?

I have a traditional with a 0 balance that I use for backdoor roth at vanguard. This $2 account is at Fidelity. Basically I'm looking for the least amount of paperwork possible to get rid of the $2 account. I'm pretty sure it is to take the distribution -- just want to make sure this wouldn't cause any unforeseen issues. I can't imagine that a $2 account is going to hurt me even if I screw something up, but IDK, our tax system is weird, so I figured I'd ask.
by marklar13
Fri Jun 26, 2020 1:49 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: What to do with super-tiny IRA?
Replies: 8
Views: 969

What to do with super-tiny IRA?

Hopefully a pretty easy question here.

I am leaving my current employer. One of the benefits they had was an ESOP plan that has an automatic contribution after 1 year of service, with a vesting period of 5 years. I have been with them for a little under 2 years, and the account balance is $96 with a vested amount of a whopping $2.61.

It looks like this ESOP is set up as an IRA account. My question is... after I leave, whats the easiest way to get rid of my $2 account? I'm guessing that I should just take the distribution and my 26 cent penalty (10% early withdrawal)? Is there any reason not to do that?

Thanks.
by marklar13
Mon Jun 15, 2020 8:16 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: The unicorn mortgage: 30 year fixed under 3%
Replies: 90
Views: 17192

Re: The unicorn mortgage: 30 year fixed under 3%

Re seawolf21 » Wed May 13, 2020 Anybody seen this being offered? United Wholesale Mortgage now offering mortgage interest rates as low as 2.5% https://www.housingwire.com/articles/uw ... ow-as-2-5/ I spoke with a broker associated with United Wholesale today and we may do some business. I am currently into year seven of a 3.875% APR 30 years fixed. Original loan was for $140k and now down to $116k. United Wholesale appears to have a fine reputation but I will be dealing with the broker, not the company. Any specific advice re this company and its agents? I closed a refi two weeks ago with Garden State Loans -- with the loan servicing immediately being transferred United Wholesale Mortgage. Loan funded last week, and I just got onboarded on...
by marklar13
Thu Jun 04, 2020 9:55 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Refinance Mega Thread
Replies: 12862
Views: 1265727

Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Has anyone had a lender give them a hard time when they lifted a credit freeze temporarily? I had one RocketLoan agent tell me a temporary lift is not enough to get a refinance quote and I need a "global" lift. Never heard this before. I've never heard of that either -- not sure how they would even know if it is a temporary lift vs. a permanent lift? Admittedly, I am not an expert on this, but I would think their credit pull is either rejected, or it goes through... not sure if they would know the difference, as long as the file is "open" when they make the request. We just closed on our refi yesterday. During the application process I did a temporary lift via all 3 websites. At the time we were still shopping around a ...
by marklar13
Mon Jun 01, 2020 11:10 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Free Refinancing?
Replies: 18
Views: 1500

Re: Free Refinancing?

123 wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 9:31 pm The costs of refinancing, including the commission to the mortgage broker, are all built into the rate you will pay. It only looks like its free.

You are not special. Everybody pays.
Except in this case the rate with all the costs baked in is still lower than his existing rate. So, really it is "free" savings -- except for time, and possibly a very temporary loss of liquidity since he has to fund escrow and then get reimbursed from existing account.

So while the mortgage broker is happy making a commission, he can still be happy with his savings. Win/win. Everyone gets to feel special.
by marklar13
Fri May 29, 2020 12:47 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Mortgage rates headed lower?
Replies: 69
Views: 8877

Re: Mortgage rates headed lower?

While it seems like there's a lot of intelligent people providing reasons why mortgage rates could go even lower, this is a bird in the hand situation for me personally. I agree with this. I understand that there are indicators pointing to mortgage rates heading lower... but the reality is that no one knows what the future holds. I'm taking advantage of the super low rates that are available now and calling that a win. I see the logic in opting for no-cost refis now, but I think sitting and waiting for lower rates is probably a mistake. Personally I opted for a low rate, with normal closing costs (but no points) -- break-even of about a year. If rates go lower, in the next 6 months then maybe I will be kicking myself for not going with a n...
by marklar13
Thu May 21, 2020 8:08 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Refinance Mega Thread
Replies: 12862
Views: 1265727

Re: Refinance Mega Thread

For whatever reason, I can't find anything close to 3% $0 cost right now. It's all 3.375+. Prime credit and 60% LTV. Tried most of the names mentioned here. AIM can get me closest, at 2.75 on a no- cost 15 year. But really looking for a 25+ year. 30 years should be in the 2.5% range based upon historical spreads vs the 10 year treasury. But market still messy Keep shopping around, and I think you will find what you are looking for. Not sure what their actual service area is, but we used Garden State Loans -- and we are located in CT. We were able to lock at 2.75%, 30 year, no points, and about $2400 closing costs (not including escrow/prepaid) on a 360k loan (about 50% LTV). We locked late last week, and I think overall rates have actually...
by marklar13
Thu May 14, 2020 12:56 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Refinance Mega Thread
Replies: 12862
Views: 1265727

Re: Refinance Mega Thread

FYI, rates seem to be down again today. I've been monitoring on LenderFi, AimLoan, NBKC, and Garden State. Submitted a request to each of them this morning and they were all pretty close with Garden State being the best fit for us. In process locking a 2.75% 30 year with a total of $2275 closing costs (not including escrow stuff). I've been monitoring for about a month and a half and the lowest I saw before today was 3.125 with similar closing costs. NBKC and LenderFi were offering no cost at 3.125. AimLoan had similar rates but really high closing costs. Here is the detailed quote I got from Garden State. Will see if it holds up: State: CT Loan Program – 30 Year Fixed Loan Amount - $360,000 Loan Rate – 2.75% Loan Payment – $1,469.67 Origin...
by marklar13
Wed Jul 03, 2019 11:56 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Mortgage Refinance Question
Replies: 10
Views: 2029

Re: Mortgage Refinance Question

Tl;dr -- yes, find a lower rate and refinance. I found bankrate.com useful. I was in a similar situation. I just went with the broker that my real estate agent recommend when I purchased, because we were moving to a new state and I just wanted everything to go smoothly (probably should have shopped around at the time, but just getting into the house was my main concern). Less than a year later I did a no cost refinance. I just went on bankrate.com, found a good rate and went for it. I was pretty skeptical at the time not going with a lender I had heard of... but the process was super easy. Lowered my rate by 0.5% (4.25 to 3.75), with no out of pocket fees. I could have lowered more by paying upfront points -- I think the breakeven was like ...
by marklar13
Tue Apr 16, 2019 9:48 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Savings account for child?
Replies: 35
Views: 2411

Re: Savings account for child?

I've had a good experience with capital one 360. They have an intuitive website and app, and consistently are at the high end for rates. I haven't used their "kids" account specifically, but they do have that option, and it seems like it fits what you want.
by marklar13
Wed Nov 07, 2018 10:57 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Baby Due in Februrary - High Deductible Plan or High Premium Plan
Replies: 13
Views: 929

Re: Baby Due in Februrary - High Deductible Plan or High Premium Plan

As others have posted, it depends on the specifics of the plan, and your situation. We had to make this same decision last year, and when I ran the numbers it was basically a wash. I ran numbers for the "expected case" and "worst case", but really went with worst case assumptions -- I assumed we'd be maxing the deductible, and was mostly focusing on the out of pocket max (which looking back at hospital billing, I think we would have pretty easily hit). The high premium plan came out *slightly* ahead after going through the analysis, including tax considerations... but it was not by much. Both are viable options. Things I considered: Making sure hospitals / groups that my spouse wanted to use were in network Tax considera...
by marklar13
Mon Jul 30, 2018 9:23 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Has Anyone Tried Youtube TV?
Replies: 55
Views: 8475

Re: Has Anyone Tried Youtube TV?

I've used it, and liked it. What I like most is that it is painless to cancel. We watch mostly streaming services, and not a lot of live TV... with the exception being sports. I ordered it during the NBA playoffs, and then cancelled once they were over. I cancelled right through the app on my phone with a single click, instead of being forced to talk to a salesman like with cable. I plan to turn it on again in the future if something else live crops up that I want to watch. You do have to order in 1 month intervals, but all the pricing is transparent, so you know what you are getting into ahead of time.
by marklar13
Thu Jun 21, 2018 10:34 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How do you decide when to break a CD?
Replies: 7
Views: 1358

Re: How do you decide when to break a CD?

There are numerous calculators that can tell you when breaking a CD will net you more money. I have a 5-year CD ladder the purpose of which is to serve as an emergency fund. With recent rate hikes the calculator is saying I should break 4 of the 5 CDs but of course if I do that I lose the primary advantage of having a ladder namely, experiencing a 1-year CD duration (access to your money each year) at a 5-year CD rate. How do you decide when to break CDs? My gut says break whenever the calculator says so and not wait for the next CD to fully mature each year. This might lead to an irregular ladder that wont mature annually but rather 5 years after banks raise their rates enough to trigger the break. Yes, I realize we are probably talking i...
by marklar13
Tue Mar 06, 2018 3:15 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Are you ready for Amazon checking?
Replies: 42
Views: 7166

Re: Are you ready for Amazon checking?

My bank works fine. Until there is a national standard to eliminate checks there isn't any reason to switch from what I have today. How about an interest-bearing checking account? One that pays more than 0.0001% I keep a near-zero balance in my checking account. Most of my expenses hit a credit card or are direct debit transactions. I have the credit card cycles set up so that most of the cash requirements are concentrated at the beginning of the month along with the DDs. By the last week of the month, I pretty much know what my cash needs are for the next month and I pull that from VG using ACH. At some points I have kept some funds in an online savings account. I can move those to checking in 24 hours or less. It would be nice if someone...
by marklar13
Wed Feb 07, 2018 2:01 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 529, Am I being stupid by not being greedy?
Replies: 14
Views: 1474

Re: 529, Am I being stupid by not being greedy?

+1 to stable value fund. I don't see much downside. I don't know the highest paying one, but you could look into that or just go with your current plan's option if it has one.

Here is the most recent discussion I could find on which state has the highest SVF: viewtopic.php?t=233720. Maybe a starting point.
by marklar13
Sat Jan 27, 2018 9:56 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: rebalance based on pre or post tax values?
Replies: 9
Views: 988

Re: rebalance based on pre or post tax values?

I use actual account values (not adjusted) for my targets / triggers... but I also estimate the adjusted allocation so that I at least know what it looks like. I'm also pretty far from retirement, though, so the tax picture is not so clear anyway. I think it matters more for someone closer to actually withdrawing the funds. If you perform your search using "tax adjusted allocation" you'll probably get some hits on previous discussions as well. I remember reading some debates regarding placing riskier assets in Roth IRAs (vs traditional), and whether or not that is considered tax efficient or just taking more risk. Personally, I decided to put the higher expected return (riskier) assets in Roth, and just loosely take this into cons...
by marklar13
Wed Jan 24, 2018 7:06 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Excel for Personal Finance Accounting ?
Replies: 41
Views: 8574

Re: Excel for Personal Finance Accounting ?

For budget, I use Google sheets; essentially same as Excel.

I have my bank and credit cards on mint, and then each month I just download and paste into a transactions tab. I have another tab that maps the mint categories into categories I actually want to track, and then the budget keys off of these.

This let's me group and track things the way I want, and also let's me keep the mint categories separate in case I ever want to review at a lower level.

Took a long time to set up the way I wanted, but now I just have to download the transactions every so often (and possibly map a new spending item here and there if mint records it as something I haven't set up yet).
by marklar13
Sun Jan 21, 2018 12:37 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: A 4-5% rebalance to bonds barely budges risk/return
Replies: 43
Views: 4633

Re: A 4-5% rebalance to bonds barely budges risk/return

am wrote: Sun Jan 21, 2018 12:20 pm Is there anything wrong with not rebalancing at all? Losing 30 versus 40 percent of piortfolio would be just as painful but I would keep buying like I did in 2008 (although now I have 10x more).
I would say there is nothing wrong with it as long as:

1. It is part if your documented plan... and presumably it makes sense for your situation

2. You are sure you won't change your mind when a bear market comes and shift away from equities at exactly the wrong time (sell low out of fear).