Search found 727 matches

by Rainmaker41
Fri Nov 10, 2023 1:14 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How much do you spend a month on food?
Replies: 334
Views: 29198

Re: How much everyone spending on Groceries/Household items ?

2 adults in Washington, DC shopping primarily from low-cost store brands with lower than average meat consumption. Consumables income all groceries and household products which are “used up”; i.e. toilet paper and soap but not frying pans and towels.

2022: $4,294 annualized actual
2023: $4,400 annualized projected
by Rainmaker41
Thu Nov 09, 2023 7:34 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Wedding cost ettiquette
Replies: 106
Views: 12953

Re: Wedding cost ettiquette

I am a Millennial, so while I don't understand all nuances of Generation Z, my perspective might help. When we got married (6 years ago at age 26), all final decisions about the wedding were made by us (the couple). Our parents did have some degree of administrative or operational supporting involvement, but formally we were the ones who ultimately signed agreements with the church, reception venue, etc. In terms of money, each set of parents gave us some, and we did not share specifics with the other set. Between that and us being the ones with final decisions on everything, this created an atmosphere of equality between us, between each set of parents, and so on. There was no tension between each family over who was hosting, paying, or de...
by Rainmaker41
Wed Jul 26, 2023 7:59 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: More US retirement savers feel ‘off track’, BlackRock survey shows (FT article)
Replies: 6
Views: 1154

Re: More US retirement savers feel ‘off track’, BlackRock survey shows (FT article)

This is intriguing and IMO a vastly overlooked aspect of what the future may hold if this type of thinking becomes a sort of self fulfilling prophecy as the older pass on and the younger become the older. I just turned 30, and still have many younger gen Z friends and siblings. It is true that many of both gen Z as well as the younger millennials are scared regarding the stock market from my own anecdotal experience (large social and professional circle in a HCOL area). They generally only put up to the match into their 401k’s (if even that) and they do not trust traditional retirement accounts because they get their sole financial advice on tiktok and youtube from people like Kiyosaki etc. who say “401k’s are a scam.” They are more intere...
by Rainmaker41
Tue Jun 27, 2023 9:06 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Invest while paying off debt ?
Replies: 22
Views: 1342

Re: Invest while paying off debt ?

KlangFool wrote: Tue Jun 27, 2023 8:03 am OP,

You should contribute more to Trad 401K/403B. It does not make any sense to pay 20+% taxes in order to save less than 3% mortgage interest. And, if you contribute enough to 401K/403B, then, your IRA contribution becomes deductible.

KlangFool
I second this.
by Rainmaker41
Fri Jun 23, 2023 9:10 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Hired remote, forced into office. Should I stay or go?
Replies: 118
Views: 9572

Re: Hired remote, forced into office. Should I stay or go?

Talk with your manager and explain what you have posted here; that there is no business case to going in to the office, and in fact there is a business case to stay remote. Point out how your productivity and quality of life will go down. Then, refuse to waste you time going in to the office. Your manager won't care, and in fact they will prefer to keep you and won't like the disruption to their team. Have them kick up the fuss for you. It seems like the return to office push is being driven by the commercial real estate lobby. There certainly isn't any sane business case, not after three years of remote work success with the pandemic and all. As a shareholder in the global stock market, I certainly don't approve of the companies I own piec...
by Rainmaker41
Thu May 25, 2023 8:24 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: SS wage limits (when they stop taking it)
Replies: 11
Views: 1023

Re: SS wage limits (when they stop taking it)

According to this educational tool, eliminating the cap would solve 63% of the funding shortfall. See the Revenues tab.

https://www.crfb.org/socialsecurityreformer/

I think this is from a couple of years ago, but still probably pretty close, and it will get the big picture pieces right.

It's pretty amazing that even a small, 1% increase in the payroll tax rate is worth another 30% of the shortfall.
by Rainmaker41
Wed Mar 29, 2023 3:45 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: [Non-governmental 457 contributions protected in case of provider bankruptcy?]
Replies: 5
Views: 663

Re: [Non-governmental 457 contributions protected in case of provider bankruptcy?]

Does this employer have a 401(k) plan available to you? That would be better.
by Rainmaker41
Wed Mar 29, 2023 12:06 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Millennials: do you prefer debit to credit? if so, why?
Replies: 178
Views: 12997

Re: Millennials: do you prefer debit to credit? if so, why?

In college and for a while afterward I used a debit card. When my awareness of credit card rewards (and spending) grew later on, I changed to credit cards.

All of our spending is preferentially done on credit cards, and if not accepted or subject to a fee, we instead use bank ACH or paper currency depending on transaction type.

The debit cards are kept on a locked setting except for when we occasionally get cash out of an ATM, and they are never used for transactions directly.

The psychological benefits some have from debit versus credit do not apply to me, because I think in terms of numbers in our finances spreadsheet. So, the method of transaction does not determine whether I feel like I’ve actually spent money or not.
by Rainmaker41
Thu Mar 09, 2023 5:49 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Ally Online Savings/Money Market Rate Increases
Replies: 745
Views: 124425

Re: Ally Online Savings Rate Increase

Money market funds currently pay more and are more state tax efficient to the extent they have US government obligations.
by Rainmaker41
Wed Mar 08, 2023 1:34 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Investment query on 401(k) & Roth
Replies: 3
Views: 509

Re: Investment query on 401(k) & Roth

A 401(k) is an account. An IRA is another kind of account. Both types of accounts come in Traditional pre-tax and Roth post-tax varieties. If your employer's 401(k) allows you to make both Traditional pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions, then you may do so without regard to your income. Independently of your employer, you may open a Traditional IRA and/or a Roth IRA at an investment provider (Vanguard, Fidelity, Schwab are common examples). Your ability to deduct from income your contributions to a Traditional IRA, and your ability to make direct contributions to a Roth IRA, are both dependent on your taxable income. What does this mean for you? You can contribute to your employer 401(k) plan on a Traditional tax-free or Roth post-tax b...
by Rainmaker41
Tue Feb 07, 2023 10:58 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Contributed to 2022 Roth IRA; unexpected bonus, help?
Replies: 3
Views: 381

Re: Contributed to 2022 Roth IRA; unexpected bonus, help?

1. Recharacterize your Roth IRA contributions to Traditional IRA contributions. This will treat them as though they were Traditional IRA contributions for 2022 tax purposes.

2. You may if you and your wife choose then convert the balance in the Traditional IRA into the Roth IRA. This will be a 2023 reportable event. As there are no existing Traditional IRA assets, the pro-rata rule does not matter too much except insofar as there are earnings on the contribution in question. If ineligible for deducting Traditional IRA contributions, in effect you would be making what is informally called "Backdoor Roth" contribution.

See https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Backdoor_Roth for details.
by Rainmaker41
Mon Jan 30, 2023 8:40 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How do you do direct deposit / budgeting?
Replies: 29
Views: 2463

Re: How do you do direct deposit / budgeting?

We start each month with a small amount in checking which is enough for rent and a bit left over. A few minor bills are paid from the checking account, but the vast majority of other spending is by credit card. At the end of the month, the credit cards are paid off, and any surplus cash in the checking account is transferred elsewhere, such as to a higher yielding money market fund or other investments. This system means that financial operations for the most part only need to be done once a month, low yielding checking account drag is kept to a minimum, the timing of payroll direct deposits is not vital, and there is no significant risk of some transaction causing the account to go negative. Another benefit of some value is that employers ...
by Rainmaker41
Wed Jan 25, 2023 12:15 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Fidelity Holiday Offer - $150 for $50 deposit
Replies: 408
Views: 58306

Re: Fidelity Holiday Offer - $150 for $50 deposit

anon_investor wrote: Wed Jan 25, 2023 12:12 pmThanks for updating, good to know. Curious, did they issue you a de minimis 1099?
Yes; mine had $0.33 on it.
by Rainmaker41
Wed Jan 25, 2023 12:14 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Handling a windfall at a two person small business
Replies: 9
Views: 981

Re: Handling a windfall at a two person small business

Does this business have a 401(k)? The 2023 contribution limit is $66,000 per employee inclusive of employer contributions and employee after-tax contributions, so depending on how your plan is or can be structured, that would be a tax efficient way of distributing some of the money.
by Rainmaker41
Wed Jan 25, 2023 10:14 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Fidelity Holiday Offer - $150 for $50 deposit
Replies: 408
Views: 58306

Re: Fidelity Holiday Offer - $150 for $50 deposit

Earlier today I received the 1099 for 2022 for this $150 bonus. There was NO tax related to the bonus, just $.49 cap gains related to my investment. Thank you to this forum for the "free" money that I earned as a result of this deposit. It may show up on your 2023 1099 since Fido may not list it since it is still in the claw back period. (Copying my earlier post): I contacted Fidelity chat support and was told this regarding the absence of the $150 bonus from my 1099. "The $150.00 promotional credit that you received from Fidelity is categorized as "Miscellaneous Income" miscellaneous income is only reported on the 1099 if it is over $600.00." I then asked them to confirm that it was categorized as miscellaneo...
by Rainmaker41
Tue Jan 24, 2023 3:44 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Fidelity Holiday Offer - $150 for $50 deposit
Replies: 408
Views: 58306

Re: Fidelity Holiday Offer - $150 for $50 deposit

Update re: 1099 for Fidelity $150 bonus I contacted Fidelity chat support and was told this regarding the absence of the $150 bonus from my 1099. "The $150.00 promotional credit that you received from Fidelity is categorized as "Miscellaneous Income" miscellaneous income is only reported on the 1099 if it is over $600.00." I then asked them to confirm that it was categorized as miscellaneous income for 2022, to which Fidelity's rep said yes. My take-away from this is that the $150 bonus is in fact taxable income for 2022, and that it will not be reported as 2023 income. So, taxpayers who have received the Fidelity bonus should report the income for 2022 (I suppose technically as miscellaneous income to align with Fidelit...
by Rainmaker41
Tue Jan 24, 2023 2:45 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Fidelity Holiday Offer - $150 for $50 deposit
Replies: 408
Views: 58306

Re: Fidelity Holiday Offer - $150 for $50 deposit

^ same Is it possible it doesn't count as income until we actually keep it in the account for the full 90 days?? I came here to research the same thing re unreported taxes in the 1099's. It is not either in the 1099-Misc! I am not willing to manually report it this year (2022) only to find it in my 2023 1099 and be forced to pay the tax again next year or amend 2022 to get back $40 in fed and state taxes or so... Curious though to follow what others will do I would argue: 1. Since the bonus was paid by Fidelity into my Fidelity account in 2022, and I had use of it accordingly at that time, it is 2022 income. 2. If I choose to close the account early and lose the bonus, that is a fee which does not change the fact that I was paid the $150 b...
by Rainmaker41
Sat Jan 21, 2023 8:09 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Fidelity Holiday Offer - $150 for $50 deposit
Replies: 408
Views: 58306

Re: Fidelity Holiday Offer - $150 for $50 deposit

I received the $150 bonus from Fidelity, but my Consolidated Form 1099 does not include it. The dividends section has a bit for December, and the interest section has 0. There is a note on the form, "Due to de minimis rules this form is not filed with the IRS".

When I've received a bank account bonus previously, from Capital One, the 1099 included that amount.

Clearly I will report the $150 Fidelity bonus on my 2022 tax return (already entered into the FreeTaxUSA draft return actually), but this is an interesting development.
by Rainmaker41
Sun Jan 01, 2023 9:08 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Transfer from Brokerage settlement fund (VMFXX) to IRA Brokerage
Replies: 6
Views: 1044

Re: Transfer from Brokerage settlement fund (VMFXX) to IRA Brokerage

On a similar note, I see that Vanguard’s silly new smartphone app won’t let me to contribute to an IRA while using the settlement fund of my taxable brokerage account as a funding source; the app will only allow bank accounts to be used for this purpose.

Sigh. :annoyed
by Rainmaker41
Fri Oct 21, 2022 3:29 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: News: New 401(k) (and other retirement plan) contribution limits for 2023
Replies: 16
Views: 2570

Re: News: new 401(k) limits for 2023

tigermilk wrote: Fri Oct 21, 2022 2:59 pm
TwstdSista wrote: Fri Oct 21, 2022 2:27 pm
Oddball wrote: Fri Oct 21, 2022 2:25 pm Roth are also going up from $6000 to $6500, I am a little bummed $6500 doesn't divide evenly by 12
Ahhh ... but $7500 does!! (for those of us over ... ahem ... a certain age)
$6500 divides quite nicely by 52. Weekly contribution of $125. But alas, my over 50 weekly contribution won't be an even number at $144.23 and a few hundredths of a cent.

At least $22,500 divides nicely by 24 to $937.50 per semimonthly pay date.
by Rainmaker41
Tue Oct 04, 2022 6:32 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Ally Online Savings/Money Market Rate Increases
Replies: 745
Views: 124425

Re: Ally Online Savings Rate Increase

Online banks simply aren't competitive for cash interest rates currently. We have most of our cash split between Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund and a 6-month Treasury bill ladder.
by Rainmaker41
Wed Sep 21, 2022 2:39 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Budget Setting When Paid Every 2 Weeks
Replies: 22
Views: 1795

Re: Budget Setting When Paid Every 2 Weeks

We use an annual budget, with categories and expected spending for the whole year. Periodically our actual spending is compared to the budget. We have found that this is more useful than monthly budgeting, because many expenses are not really regular monthly items; travel being a notable example. In terms of cash-flow (payment of rent, bills, paying off credit card balances, making manual investment contributions of surplus cash), we handle everything monthly at the end/start of each calendar month. The checking account only matters at the end of the month with our approach. We are paid semimonthly, not biweekly, but arguably the principle is the same. To your point about 3rd paycheck months, it is common to act as though you get paid twice...
by Rainmaker41
Fri Jul 15, 2022 7:54 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: VT vs. VTI+VXUS in taxable
Replies: 27
Views: 10427

Re: VT vs. VTI+VXUS in taxable

Soon2BXProgrammer wrote: Fri Jul 15, 2022 7:42 am
burritoLover wrote: Fri Jul 15, 2022 7:15 am Having to rebalance VTI/VXUS probably spends more of your personal time than 2 bps.
you *shouldn't* have to rebalance VTI/VXUS if you hold them at market weights. (not a fixed allocation)
Although with two funds you have look up the market cap weighting of US vs. International for contributions.
by Rainmaker41
Thu Jul 14, 2022 10:36 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Savings Rate Question/Survey
Replies: 47
Views: 4080

Re: Savings Rate Question/Surve

I use the following formula for year to year comparisons and tracking how far we’ve come. Gross income from all sources (includes employer contributions) - taxes = disposable income. Disposable income - spending = saving. Saving / disposable income = saving rate. Currently we are around 74% saving rate. We are modest in spending and are in the vicinity of median household income for our area. This is largely because we are a two moderate incomes household. Our budgeting does not target a saving rate. In effect we have a given amount of planned sending and more or less stick to that. The spending amount has actually lagged cumulative inflation over the past five years. Any surplus income is invested, meaning that income growth is just about ...
by Rainmaker41
Thu Jun 23, 2022 4:43 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Ally Online Savings/Money Market Rate Increases
Replies: 745
Views: 124425

Re: Ally Online Savings Rate Increase

Count me in the Vanguard money market fund club. I like Ally, but beyond a bit of cash in savings there for contingencies we're now using Vanguard & Treasury Bills for most of our cash reserve.
by Rainmaker41
Wed Jun 15, 2022 9:36 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: 2023 401k limits?
Replies: 6
Views: 1398

Re: 2023 401k limits?

I similarly got $22,000 as my prediction for 2023 401(k) limits. I think the law uses Chained CPI-U, with August as the reference month. There may be a slight difference for 401(k) and IRA increases in terms of the rules followed. August 2021 Chained CPI-U: 153.287. 2022 401(k) limit $20,500. May 2022 Chained CPI-U (draft number): 163.135. Assuming 8% annualized inflation June through August, resulting C-CPI-U number 166.398. $20,500 * (166.398 / 153.287) = $22,253; rounded down to $22,000. With similar methodology I predict $7,000 for the 2023 IRA limit. My figure is close to $7,500 but it would take 10% annualized C-CPI-U inflation to barely get over that threshold, and this further assumes my methodology is precise enough. So, I'm quite ...
by Rainmaker41
Fri May 20, 2022 1:10 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Vanguard Trade Bonds page not working?
Replies: 11
Views: 1022

Re: Vanguard Trade Bonds page not working?

Thanks for your perspectives. It worked when I tried again later.

6 month T-bill ladder now set up for end June through November maturities. Not to say that is exciting with current inflation rate, but it beats out Ally Bank savings plus counts as USG interest for state tax exclusion for cash we'd hold anyway.
by Rainmaker41
Fri May 20, 2022 11:07 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Vanguard Trade Bonds page not working?
Replies: 11
Views: 1022

Vanguard Trade Bonds page not working?

Hello all.

I am trying to buy some Treasury Bills in a Vanguard taxable brokerage account to set up a simple T-Bill ladder to eke out a bit more interest on our cash allocation.

When I navigate "My Account" >>> "Buy & sell" >>> "Check rates and buy bonds" >>> (select account and click continue) I get a blank page with the the menu bar still at the top of Vanguard's page but nothing below it.

This issue replicates on Safari, Chrome, and iPad app (distinct from the 'new Beacon app') across a MacBook, iPad, and iPhone. The rest of Vanguard's functionality for other things seems fine.

Has anyone else encountered this issue?
by Rainmaker41
Mon May 16, 2022 8:59 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Anyone else struggling to buy I bonds because of "Certifying Officer" signature?
Replies: 58
Views: 8664

Re: Anyone else struggling to buy I bonds because of "Certifying Officer" signature?

Open a Citi checking account, put a trivial amount of cash in (enough to avoid any maintenance fees). Then have Citi do the forms 30 days later. If Citi does this, and it works with Treasury Direct, then close the Wells Fargo account with a note indicating your dissatisfaction with their lack of service.
by Rainmaker41
Sun May 15, 2022 3:24 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Considering Tax Loss Harvesting for first time - please review plan
Replies: 8
Views: 913

Re: Considering Tax Loss Harvesting for first time - please review plan

livesoft wrote: Sun May 15, 2022 3:18 pm
Rainmaker41 wrote: Sun May 15, 2022 3:14 pmSince the rest of the loss ($3,051.24 minus $51.24 disallowed) is allowed, there is still a tax benefit from that. Right?
Right.

And the temporarily disallowed loss of $51.24 is still a tax benefit as well, but delayed until you sell the shares that had their cost basis adjusted which could be the next day (or even the same day).
Thank you for explaining.
by Rainmaker41
Sun May 15, 2022 3:14 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Considering Tax Loss Harvesting for first time - please review plan
Replies: 8
Views: 913

Re: Considering Tax Loss Harvesting for first time - please review plan

livesoft wrote: Sun May 15, 2022 2:59 pm
Rainmaker41 wrote: Sun May 15, 2022 1:56 pmI want to get the ordinary income deduction from taxable income. Without that there isn’t much point that I can see.
So if you TLH $3051.24 of losses and later find out that a wash sale of $51.24 happens and the temporarily disallowed losses gets added to the cost basis of something, is that going to weird you out and be a big deal to you?
As I understand it, in such a case the temporarily disallowed part ($51.24 in your example) just gets added to the basis of the new tax lot, reducing the amount of the loss that can be used for the taxable income reduction.

Since the rest of the loss ($3,051.24 minus $51.24 disallowed) is allowed, there is still a tax benefit from that. Right?
by Rainmaker41
Sun May 15, 2022 1:56 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Considering Tax Loss Harvesting for first time - please review plan
Replies: 8
Views: 913

Re: Considering Tax Loss Harvesting for first time - please review plan

livesoft wrote: Sun May 15, 2022 10:56 am [quote=Rainmaker41 post_id=6678407 time=<a href="tel:1652630109">1652630109</a> user_id=109014]..., since I simply want to avoid that altogether.
Why?
[/quote]

I want to get the ordinary income deduction from taxable income. Without that there isn’t much point that I can see.
by Rainmaker41
Sun May 15, 2022 10:55 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Considering Tax Loss Harvesting for first time - please review plan
Replies: 8
Views: 913

Re: Considering Tax Loss Harvesting for first time - please review plan

Thanks. I will read that.

I left out the part about wash sales resulting in the amount being added to the basis of the newly purchased lot (I guess that is the temporarily disallowed aspect), since I simply want to avoid that altogether.
by Rainmaker41
Sun May 15, 2022 9:08 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Considering Tax Loss Harvesting for first time - please review plan
Replies: 8
Views: 913

Considering Tax Loss Harvesting for first time - please review plan

Considering Tax Loss Harvesting for first time - please review plan Hello. We are considering tax loss harvesting for the first time. I’ve read through the wiki page and believe that I understand the relevant points and restrictions. However, I want to write down my understanding of those and the operational plan here just to get some other sets of eyes on it and possibly avoid unintended mistakes. Thanks for the help. Process 1. Sell fund shares at a loss by exchanging into comparable funds that are not “substantially identical” (e.g. different basket of underlying securities, different index or benchmark). 2. Booked loss is used to offset any capital gains, and if any loss remains it is used to deduct up to $3k in ordinary income. 3. Any...
by Rainmaker41
Fri Apr 01, 2022 10:02 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How Often Do You Measure Your Net Worth?
Replies: 229
Views: 19363

Re: How Often Do You Measure Your Net Worth?

Annually: down to the cent, with final numbers for spending & saving rate, account balances, investment portfolio makeup, etc. (we do not own a house, so there are no significant assets with uncertain value). Automatic investment contribution settings reviewed & changed as needed for following year. Quarterly: investment account balances and portfolio makeup logged and determination made for if rebalancing is necessary (also serves to confirm employers have not made mistakes with retirement plan contributions). Monthly: financial operating activities such as bills, credit cards, logging of YTD spending for comparison with annual budget (this hasn't flagged anything problematic for ages since we can plan quite accurately, so arguably...
by Rainmaker41
Fri Mar 04, 2022 12:35 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: When do you pay your credit card bill?
Replies: 194
Views: 16385

Re: When do you pay your credit card bill?

I schedule the due date such that the statement close date is around the end of the month. Then at the end of every month I submit a payment for the balance (including everything charged during the calendar month, even if not on the official statement balance). This is part of my monthly financial process.
by Rainmaker41
Sat Jan 08, 2022 3:45 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Rollover ? - Employer Roth IRA Match
Replies: 2
Views: 244

Re: Rollover ? - Employer Roth IRA Match

Yes. Employer contributions are pre-tax, regardless of the employee contribution with which the match is associated. So, when doing a rollover of such pre-tax employer plan assets, they should go to a pre-tax IRA. The post-tax Roth assets should go to a Roth IRA.
by Rainmaker41
Fri Jan 07, 2022 8:57 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Where to buy KN95 masks?
Replies: 83
Views: 9551

Re: Where to buy KN95 masks?

For KN-95s, I trust this supplier:

https://bonafidemasks.com/

Covered by New York Times:

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/revi ... ks-online/

For N-95s, I've recently bought 3M Aura respirators via the manufacturer's website:

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/ ... 3322475844
by Rainmaker41
Fri Dec 31, 2021 6:56 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 403(b) plan change - what bond fund to use?
Replies: 5
Views: 651

Re: 403(b) plan change - what bond fund to use?

Thanks everyone for the input. The 0.45% admin fee on all assets is indeed annoying. I try to think of this as a reduction of the employer match, which is still a net benefit to me after that. The suggestion to use her 403(b) to hold bond funds is an interesting one, but there is an obstacle. For some reason, that 403(b) does not allow, outside of payroll contributions, directly buying and selling international stock funds (as one might do for large rebalancing or allocation change transactions), except with instructions written on paper and mailed to their office. That's part of why we have bond funds in both of our employer plans. In any case, coordinating the timing of a mailed letter and when it would be acted upon with the exchange of ...
by Rainmaker41
Fri Dec 24, 2021 10:20 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 403(b) plan change - what bond fund to use?
Replies: 5
Views: 651

403(b) plan change - what bond fund to use?

Hello fellow Bogleheads. My 403(b) plan has announced some fund changes taking effect in a couple of months. The only impact to me is with respect to the bond fund I use. Emergency funds: six months cash reserves Debt: none Tax Filing Status: Married Filing Jointly Tax Rate: 12% Federal, 6% State (on marginal income; saving some tax at higher bracket due to tax deferral in retirement plans) Age: 31 Desired Asset allocation: 85% stocks / 15% bonds & cash Desired International stock allocation: total world market cap weight Approximate size of your total portfolio: mid six-figures Current retirement assets Taxable 3% Cash (including reserves here for simplicity for my own spreadsheet) 35% Vanguard Total World Stock Market Index Fund Admir...
by Rainmaker41
Tue Dec 21, 2021 2:58 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Eyeglasses Fog Up w/ Mask
Replies: 63
Views: 7944

Re: Eyeglasses Fog Up w/ Mask

I’ve tried many masks. The best ones I’ve found for fit, including no leakage around glasses, are 3M Aura N-95 respirators. There is a metal nose piece, but also foam in the nose bridge area, which lets you seal that part really well regardless of nose shape. 3M Aura N-95s were used for the 2021 presidential inauguration and I commonly see them in photos of government officials in meetings. https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b00051022/ When we had the paramedics over for a visit, that’s what they were all wearing. It looked like a mask that actually works. It seems the weak spot on these things are where the rubber straps are attached. The older "blue" 3M N95 industrial standards had an elastic material strap that was fastened, wher...
by Rainmaker41
Mon Dec 20, 2021 8:40 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Eyeglasses Fog Up w/ Mask
Replies: 63
Views: 7944

Re: Eyeglasses Fog Up w/ Mask

I’ve tried many masks. The best ones I’ve found for fit, including no leakage around glasses, are 3M Aura N-95 respirators. There is a metal nose piece, but also foam in the nose bridge area, which lets you seal that part really well regardless of nose shape.

3M Aura N-95s were used for the 2021 presidential inauguration and I commonly see them in photos of government officials in meetings.

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b00051022/
by Rainmaker41
Tue Dec 14, 2021 11:28 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Tax Gain Harvesting
Replies: 9
Views: 1149

Re: Tax Gain Harvesting

Not worth it for us given state taxes on the harvest and the ability to realize low income levels during the withdrawal phase.
by Rainmaker41
Wed Dec 08, 2021 8:54 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: TSP contribution optimization: worth it?
Replies: 15
Views: 1947

Re: TSP contribution optimization: worth it?

My vote is for anything connected to the employer and payroll to be as simple as possible. The idea being to avoid painful mistakes and to do fancy things with what I control without needing cooperation of employer. What I do myself is: Employer retirement plan contributions set at annual limit / # of pay dates. Use surplus cash resulting from not front-loading employer plan to contribute to Roth IRA. Once Roth IRA full, send extra cash to taxable account. Edited to add- There isn’t a time in the market advantage per se to front loading the employer plan, provided you invest as you earn money. In my case, I start the year with the designated cash reserve, earn, spend, and invest money more or less evenly during the year, and then end with r...
by Rainmaker41
Sat Nov 20, 2021 9:40 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Would it be dumb for someone who is about 30 years old to go 100% into Vanguard Total World?
Replies: 109
Views: 6133

Re: Would it be dumb for someone who is about 30 years old to go 100% into Vanguard Total World?

This is what we do for our stock allocation (or approximation thereof in employer retirement plans).

We have automatic investment purchases into Vanguard Total World Stock Market for our Roth IRAs and Taxable account. Are there technically more optimized things we could do? Of course, but that low cost, simple, and automatic conveyor belt putting cash into the world stock market hits the key desirable points for a good investing plan.
by Rainmaker41
Sat Nov 13, 2021 8:24 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Breaking Down the 10/21 Year-Over-Year Inflation Result
Replies: 9
Views: 1366

Re: Breaking Down the 10/21 Year-Over-Year Inflation Result

I find these breakdowns fascinating.

Our rent is currently frozen by local law (at our summer 2019 rate). We buy less meat and so forth than most US households. We don’t pay energy costs apart from a small electric bill. We don’t have car costs.

All of that is to say, whatever the increase in our cost of living, it is less than the headline inflation rate. If we get 2022 raises anywhere close to the headline 6.2% inflation rate, we come out ahead.
by Rainmaker41
Thu Nov 11, 2021 6:32 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Should I feel bad leaving a company after large account bonus?
Replies: 28
Views: 4643

Re: Should I feel bad leaving a company after large account bonus?

No. If companies are dumb enough to reward new customers instead of loyal customers, this is the expected result in many cases. You are breaking no rules.
by Rainmaker41
Tue Nov 09, 2021 12:22 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Locked and merged threads on proposed budget, Roth, etc.
Replies: 279
Views: 33749

Re: High income earners - new Tax law question

Many things in the tax code reference AGI (covid relief payments for example). Some reference MAGI, which is AGI plus some deductions added back in (ACA premium tax credits for example).

The “no new taxes for under $400k income” pledge is generally interpreted to refer to AGI. Based on proposals, for some points this is for Single, and MFJ would have a limit of $450k (not doubled).

As previous posters have said, we cannot know what future legislation will say before signed into law.
by Rainmaker41
Mon Nov 08, 2021 4:43 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Joins GFANZ
Replies: 25
Views: 2451

Re: Vanguard Joins GFANZ

Excellent! Thank you for sharing.

As a 30 year-old, the long term return applicable to my lifetime will necessarily be impacted by how well the world deals with and adapts to climate change. For this reason I am all in favor of the managers of the Vanguard funds I own proxy-voting for necessary climate action.