Search found 12193 matches

by aristotelian
Sat Mar 16, 2024 1:41 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Reevaluating social security
Replies: 49
Views: 4169

Re: Reevaluating social security

It's a pretty common strategy for the lower earner to claim early. I always forget the reason but it's almost always advantageous if the goal is to maximize dollars from SS. If you are also considering tax or longevity risk, you may still want to wait.
by aristotelian
Sat Mar 16, 2024 11:52 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Good Brokerage Platform that is secured
Replies: 13
Views: 1271

Re: Good Brokerage Platform that is secured

steadyosmosis wrote: Sat Mar 16, 2024 11:32 am
Josh5000 wrote: Fri Mar 15, 2024 11:07 pm For a few times I do make a trade, I want to be able to access the fund immediately. Otherwise, it is a sell, wait for two business days, and buy.
I've been at Schwab more than 10 years.
I rebalance frequently, by selling an ETF(s), then within 30 seconds use those dollars to buy some other ETF(s).
Correct, purchasing with unsettled funds is no problem but you can get a trading violation if you sell the new ETF right after buying it (this has happened to me at Schwab during some chaotic tax loss harvesting).
by aristotelian
Sat Mar 16, 2024 7:16 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: “Bellys” on sewer scope for new house
Replies: 41
Views: 2344

Re: HVAC 30 years old on house under contract

Couldn't hurt to ask but when purchasing an older home I would always expect everything in it to be old.
by aristotelian
Sat Mar 16, 2024 6:38 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Good Brokerage Platform that is secured
Replies: 13
Views: 1271

Re: Good Brokerage Platform that is secured

I have had nothing but positive experience with Schwab. I think you will find it very comparable to TD. If for some reason you don't like it, I would also recommend Fidelity and Merrill Edge. One perk that sets Fidelity and Schwab apart is the ATM card with no fees anywhere in the world. Vanguard and Fidelity give you the ability to set your sweep account to a money market fund with premium interest. Fidelity gives you the best of both worlds... But Schwab is excellent as well. For a few times I do make a trade, I want to be able to access the fund immediately. Otherwise, it is a sell, wait for two business days, and buy. Schwab doesn’t allow trades in Roll-Over IRA similar to Vanguard’s free ride restriction but Schwab’s brokerage account...
by aristotelian
Fri Mar 15, 2024 10:45 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Good Brokerage Platform that is secured
Replies: 13
Views: 1271

Re: Good Brokerage Platform that is secured

I have had nothing but positive experience with Schwab. I think you will find it very comparable to TD. If for some reason you don't like it, I would also recommend Fidelity and Merrill Edge. One perk that sets Fidelity and Schwab apart is the ATM card with no fees anywhere in the world. Vanguard and Fidelity give you the ability to set your sweep account to a money market fund with premium interest. Fidelity gives you the best of both worlds... But Schwab is excellent as well.
by aristotelian
Fri Mar 15, 2024 9:18 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Planning Parents' Retirement strategy
Replies: 9
Views: 1396

Re: Planning Parents' Retirement strategy

kkkhhh wrote: Fri Mar 15, 2024 6:56 pm
aristotelian wrote: Fri Mar 15, 2024 4:58 pm If their income is from pension and SS I don't see how they would qualify for Roth IRA. (If they do qualify, they would be eligible for catch-up contributions, so $8k each).
From my read of articles like this - the conversion from IRA to Roth IRA doesn't have a cap or ties to income. I understand the part on the conversions now - in theory, they probably won't need to touch the money until after the 5 year period anyway, but good to know they can if needed.

https://smartasset.com/retirement/12-mi ... 0k-to-roth
Sorry, for some reason I thought you were talking about contributions. Correct, no income requirement for conversions
by aristotelian
Fri Mar 15, 2024 4:58 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Planning Parents' Retirement strategy
Replies: 9
Views: 1396

Re: Planning Parents' Retirement strategy

If their income is from pension and SS I don't see how they would qualify for Roth IRA. (If they do qualify, they would be eligible for catch-up contributions, so $8k each).
by aristotelian
Fri Mar 15, 2024 4:21 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: What should I do with a deferred annuity?
Replies: 15
Views: 1367

Re: What should I do with a deferred annuity?

I'd ditch it unless for some reason you expect your tax bracket to go up in the future.
by aristotelian
Fri Mar 15, 2024 7:05 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How much should I leave to nieces/nephews vs. siblings vs. charity I'm passionate about?
Replies: 58
Views: 4218

Re: How much should I leave to nieces/nephews vs. siblings vs. charity I'm passionate about?

I am giving almost everything to charity. I already told them this as they had a lot of help from me growing up and I believe that they are well positioned in life. I would revisit this if something significant happened. If they were spending their life focused on low paying but high social impact work I might do more but as it is a very low 5 figure inheritance is in my will. I don't believe in generational wealth and think they my heirs should be able to make their own way in life (as they have had the opportunity to build a solid foundation). I think there is a ton more impact to have from giving to charity. You can decide how much is a need vs nice-to-have. Especially for nieces and nephews I don't think they should be expecting much e...
by aristotelian
Fri Mar 15, 2024 6:41 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Liquid cash for 5year horizon at 5% apy
Replies: 16
Views: 1555

Re: Liquid cash for 5year horizon at 5% apy

The Fed expects to start lowering rates and the market knows this. I don't see anywhere you are going to be able to lock on >5% with no credit risk.
by aristotelian
Thu Mar 14, 2024 8:54 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Inherited Stretch Annuity?
Replies: 14
Views: 1112

Re: Inherited Stretch Annuity?

Sounds like an inherited IRA. Prior to the new 10 year rule, you could take RMDs stretches over your lifetime. Based on their age, kids would have to take out less than 2% allowing the account to grow. However, it is probably not smart to let it keep growing or it will turn into a tax bomb as they get older. As soon as they are no longer paying kiddie tax they should start making larger withdrawals.
by aristotelian
Thu Mar 14, 2024 4:00 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Check my work: Taking over management of my parent's portfolio
Replies: 23
Views: 3153

Re: Check my work: Taking over management of my parent's portfolio

I would consider some Roth conversions. How much depends on how much room they have in their current tax bracket.
by aristotelian
Thu Mar 14, 2024 3:16 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Divorce and co mingling asset question
Replies: 42
Views: 5684

Re: Divorce and co mingling asset question

Is it going to be an amicable divorce? If you can come to an agreement about it the documentation and such won't be necessary.

Either way, what you are entitled to and how to prove it is a question for your attorney.
by aristotelian
Thu Mar 14, 2024 6:42 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Reducing Large Inherited Holding of a Single Stock
Replies: 18
Views: 1988

Re: Reducing Large Inherited Holding of a Single Stock

I would develop a.plan to sell over 3-4 years while minimizing the tax cost. That will depend on the amount of the gains and how much room you have in your tax bracket. A bad earnings report can do much more than 15% worth of damage to your stock so you do not want tax efficiency to drive your risk exposure.
by aristotelian
Thu Mar 14, 2024 6:34 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: College degree worthwhile for marketing?
Replies: 112
Views: 7111

Re: College degree worthwhile for marketing?

I think you are right but she may need to learn the hard way. Could she take a leave for a year or so while maintaining her standing at school?
by aristotelian
Wed Mar 13, 2024 10:01 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How to use Google 401k for 2-3 fund portfolio
Replies: 63
Views: 6218

Re: Google 401k choices shockingly bad

What is wrong with those choices? Those appear to be excellent funds.
by aristotelian
Wed Mar 13, 2024 3:11 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Anyone buying a portfolio of corporate bonds instead of Treasuries?
Replies: 10
Views: 1046

Re: Anyone buying a portfolio of corporate bonds instead of Treasuries?

I have a small basket of stocks I have invested in over the years when they were severely underpriced. It turns out that the bonds of these companies are now underpriced and trading as low as 80 cents on the dollar. This is due to two intertwined reasons: i) Treasuries yield 5+% now and ii) As these companies are investment grade their coupon was 4.5% I'm not asking for actual bonds to invest in (though suggestions are welcome), rather the mechanics and pitfalls of investing into corporate bonds. I can buy them in my Vanguard brokerage account easy enough but I've never actually bought a corporate bond before. They are not "under priced" in the sense that you are getting better than a market rate. They have lost value due interes...
by aristotelian
Wed Mar 13, 2024 2:32 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Schedule D -- Turbotax Premier
Replies: 21
Views: 1702

Re: Schedule D -- Turbotax Premier

You can do it in Deluxe.
by aristotelian
Wed Mar 13, 2024 6:45 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Managed Account Performance over last 5 years
Replies: 15
Views: 1498

Re: Managed Account Performance over last 5 years

Compared to what benchmark? Obviously a managed account will underperform the same investments managed yourself by the amount of the fees.
by aristotelian
Wed Mar 13, 2024 6:30 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Inherited IRA Phase 2
Replies: 1
Views: 299

Re: Inherited IRA Phase 2

You will not be able to do a direct conversion. There should be an option to sell the funds. You can then use the cash to buy Vanguard funds at your desired allocation.
by aristotelian
Wed Mar 13, 2024 6:21 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Untangling Mom's finances - Non-Qualified Annuity
Replies: 13
Views: 1232

Re: Untangling Mom's finances - Non-Qualified Annuity

aristotelian - thank you! the original cost of the annuity was $50,000 and there has been no other payments into it. Stinky - thank you for the easy to understand breakdown! I am 99.9% certain this IS a variable annuity. [*]the plan she has is Voya Marathon Plus [*]the Death Benefit is "Step-Up Marathon Plus Death Benefit" A quick glance at the .pdf plan document shows that her death benefit is going to be the value of the account (I think!). As mentioned above, the annuity was funded with an initial $50000 and never had any other payment made into it. snic - thank you for the valuable advice! I don't have confidence in this FA and after I check through everything I am hoping that perhaps we can just liquidate this annuity as rec...
by aristotelian
Tue Mar 12, 2024 2:42 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Poor Publix employee seeking 401k investment advice - no longer have Publix stock
Replies: 296
Views: 28921

Re: Poor Publix employee seeking 401k investment advice - no longer have Publix stock

ralphboy wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2024 2:19 pm I'm considering selling my Publix stock. I believe I purchased $7500 worth and it's now valued at $10,800. If I sell it, I'll buy more of my target date fund in my roth account (FDEWX). I maxed out my roth account this year so it would be in SPAXX (fidelity gov. money market fund) in my brokerage account until next year.
I'd rather have $10,800 of a diversified index fund instead of Public stock.

If you don't need cash in your emergency account, why not start buying a target date or S&P500 in your taxable account now? You have until April of 2026 to make your 2025 contribution.
by aristotelian
Tue Mar 12, 2024 2:34 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Untangling Mom's finances - Non-Qualified Annuity
Replies: 13
Views: 1232

Re: Untangling Mom's finances - Non-Qualified Annuity

Do you know the original cost of the annuity? I'd be inclined to withdraw it unless doing so would push her into a higher tax bracket. Otherwise it is a tax bomb that will continue to grow. My mom has one as well but her advisor keeps talking her into keeping it, surprise, surprise.
by aristotelian
Tue Mar 12, 2024 9:48 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Financial Advisor says my portfolio is akin to a retiree at age 34
Replies: 80
Views: 8052

Re: Financial Advisor says my portfolio is akin to a retiree at age 34

student wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2024 8:43 am
aristotelian wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2024 8:37 am Looks like you have perhaps 25-30% in cash or bonds. That's a little conservative but not overly so. I do not think it is the job of an advisor to pressure a client into taking more risk. They should tell you the pros and cons of doing so but support you in making the choice.
I think the cash is for a down payment. Given that it is already at $200k, I assume that he/she will buy a house within the next few year. So it seems quite appropriate to keep the money in cash.
If that is the case the advisor is even more off base.
by aristotelian
Tue Mar 12, 2024 8:37 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Financial Advisor says my portfolio is akin to a retiree at age 34
Replies: 80
Views: 8052

Re: Financial Advisor says my portfolio is akin to a retiree at age 34

Looks like you have perhaps 25-30% in cash or bonds. That's a little conservative but not overly so. I do not think it is the job of an advisor to pressure a client into taking more risk. They should tell you the pros and cons of doing so but support you in making the choice.
by aristotelian
Tue Mar 12, 2024 8:16 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How is a broker going to make money off me?
Replies: 62
Views: 5781

Re: How is a broker going to make money off me?

They do not need to profit from each client individually in order to make the whole platform profitable. If they are attracting millions of clients to their platform, they could make a big profit from just a few big clients buying the more expensive products. Some examples: asset management, managed funds and portfolios, and annuities.

Also if they are skimming a tiny percentage from each of the millions, that can also add up to big profits. Some examples: interest they earn on uninvested cash, expense ratio of money market funds, securities lending, margin lending.
by aristotelian
Mon Mar 11, 2024 9:40 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Preparing for Marriage
Replies: 47
Views: 4722

Re: Preparing for Marriage

DCChak wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2024 9:05 pm
WhitePuma wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2024 9:52 am
11) Her Edward Jones accounts.
Was waiting for this to be called out. Wondered whether it would be before the prenup suggestion.

Get her the hell away from EJ. Search for them on Bogleheads generally, and you'll find numerous reasons why.
401k and SIMPLE are employer plans. Probably nothing can be done there short of seeking new employment.
by aristotelian
Mon Mar 11, 2024 8:53 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Father died and I'm totally overwhelmed on what to do
Replies: 58
Views: 10972

Re: Father died and I'm totally overwhelmed on what to do

Regarding property title, that should be available online through your county property search. That will also tell you the property taxes.
by aristotelian
Mon Mar 11, 2024 8:31 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What's your primary credit card?
Replies: 117
Views: 10239

Re: What's your primary credit card?

Unless I missed it, no one has mentioned B of A Travel Rewards, 2.625% cash back on everything with Platinum tier.

Other cards in the mix are Cap One Quicksilver Rewards (no foreign transaction fees) for travel and Comenity AAA Daily Advantage for groceries (5% back).
by aristotelian
Mon Mar 11, 2024 8:19 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: SS is insufficient, very little savings, what's the best option
Replies: 49
Views: 7791

Re: SS is insufficient, very little savings, what's the best option

How much is their working income and how much are they spending vs saving annually?

I agree with above, they should just save in cash to have for an emergency fund should they encounter a big home maintenance expense.

I agree, ultimately it sounds like the house is more than they can afford.

Once they have a comfortable cushion they can invest in Roth IRAs.
by aristotelian
Mon Mar 11, 2024 3:33 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Annual expense to live upper middle class lifestyle in suburban Midwest
Replies: 20
Views: 2376

Re: Expense to live upper middle class lifestyle in suburban Midwest

We live in the midwest but in a smaller house driving 7-15 year old cars. I haven't followed our spending too closely lately. I would put our spending around $70k but that is without any mortgage payment. This is with two pets and two kids. Utilities and taxes are pretty high relative to the state in our town.
by aristotelian
Mon Mar 11, 2024 3:14 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Roth IRA Excess Contributions - how to enter earnings on taxes
Replies: 13
Views: 854

Re: Roth IRA Excess Contributions - how to enter earnings on taxes

toddthebod wrote: Sun Mar 10, 2024 7:38 pm You are correct that your 1099-R will come next year, but you need to report the earnings this year. You likely just need to enter a fake 1099-R.
Never heard of a fake 1099R. Won't this create problems when there is a 1099R issued with a date in 2024?

I believe when I have done this there is an option to check a box stating that the overcontribution was corrected in 2023, and then you report the distribution in 2024.
by aristotelian
Mon Mar 11, 2024 2:55 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Reducing risk and increasing diversification as we approach retirement
Replies: 7
Views: 664

Re: Reducing risk and increasing diversity as we approach retirement

I like your proposed allocation. We are also around 70/30 with a mix of nominal and TIPS bond funds. I would do it all at once, especially since the market is at or near all time highs so you aren't locking in any losses. You should always stick with your chosen allocation, but in the absence of a clear investment policy, now is as good a time as any to take some losses (EDIT gains) off the table and commit to your new allocation.
by aristotelian
Mon Mar 11, 2024 1:32 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: The classic dilemma between income and growth... Where should I be?
Replies: 40
Views: 2323

Re: The classic dilemma between income and growth... Where should I be?

You have a very long timeframe for your retirement. If you will be withdrawing anything close to 4% annually, you need a heavy stock allocation to stay ahead of inflation. 100% stock has historically had a higher success rate despite the higher volatility.

https://earlyretirementnow.com/2016/12/ ... t-1-intro/

If you desire lower volatility, you will need to reduce your withdrawal rate because you will have a large portion of your portfolio with a lower expected return.
by aristotelian
Mon Mar 11, 2024 6:51 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How Much Cash Do You Keep In Your Home?
Replies: 207
Views: 14908

Re: How Much Cash Do You Keep In Your Home?

syc wrote: Sun Mar 10, 2024 8:53 pm There is plenty of political instability in the world, and it would be naive to think that the US is immune. A wise friend of mine once said, "The only things you truly own are whatever you can carry in your two arms at a dead run." Hence I keep some cash, in a few different currencies.
Hopefully you have more assets than paper currencies backed up by nothing more than government fiat for those just in case scenarios?

We usually have under $100. Main use case is tickets to kids basketball games, although our school takes Venmo
by aristotelian
Sun Mar 10, 2024 7:35 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Inherited IRA Rule Clarification
Replies: 10
Views: 1003

Re: Inherited IRA Rule Clarification

Can you provide a link to what you are talking about? Why doesn't 590b answer your question if it is stated clearly?
by aristotelian
Thu Mar 07, 2024 2:12 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Career ending, getting fired. Can we FIRE ?
Replies: 149
Views: 21749

Re: Career ending, getting fired. Can we FIRE ?

One thing to watch out for is taxes, especially since you have a large portion of the portfolio in the traditional IRA.

One question, you are the one losing your job, so could he continue working for a few years? What might that do to your Firecalc output? Even better if you could earn some income doing low stress work even if you never go back to your career.
by aristotelian
Wed Mar 06, 2024 12:02 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Why Doesn't My ETF Show Up in My Roth IRA?
Replies: 43
Views: 2763

Re: Why Doesn't My ETF Show Up in My Roth IRA?

I recently purchased an ETF in my Roth IRA (VGT). When I attempted to make a Roth IRA contribution to this fund today by clicking on "contribute to IRA" in my Vanguard account, I was shown a list of my index funds (VGSLX, VSIAX, VEMAX, etc.), but VGT was not listed. If I want to contribute funds to VGT, I have to go to my dashboard page, scroll down to VGT, click on "transact", then click on "buy", which takes me to another page, where I can select the dollar or share amount that I want to purchase. If I buy VGT this way, will it count as a Roth IRA contribution, or will the Vanguard algorithm somehow purchase VGT in my taxable account? Also, why can't Vanguard simply list ETFs, along with index funds, as an o...
by aristotelian
Wed Mar 06, 2024 6:23 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Should I Reduce $258k Capital Loss Carryforward?
Replies: 18
Views: 2181

Re: Should I Reduce $258k Capital Loss Carryforward?

I don't see any reason to intentionally realize gains since the optimal use is to carry forward and use them against ordinary income. Still, you won't use up the carryforward for another 80+ years solid you want to reduce it I don't see the harm. Maybe you will be hedging against the risk of the law changing in some way?
by aristotelian
Tue Mar 05, 2024 5:39 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How close am I to FIRE?
Replies: 25
Views: 5136

Re: How close am I to FIRE?

What is your non credit card spending? ATM withdrawals, Venmo/debit payments, bills with paper checks?

Just based on what you have here appears you have about $130k spending. Being pretty young you probably want closer to 30x expenses, which would give you a FIRE number around $3.9M to be safe, although $3.5M might be "safe enough". If you have the ability to cut spending or work part time you may already be there but probably not for full retirement.

Childcare cost will go down but everything else will go up--food, clothes, activities etc. And public school might be Plan A but you can't rule out the need for a Plan B.
by aristotelian
Tue Mar 05, 2024 4:59 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Are factors dead?
Replies: 84
Views: 10771

Re: Are factors dead?

Were they ever alive, or were they just reading theories into random noise?
by aristotelian
Tue Mar 05, 2024 12:10 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Robinhood 3% IRA Match
Replies: 1459
Views: 110183

Re: Robinhood 3% IRA Match

dszklarek wrote: Tue Mar 05, 2024 11:58 am For some reason Schwab has rejected my partial transfer twice because the account types do not match. After researching, a transfer from a SEP IRA to a Traditional IRA is allowed, unreported and common. Anyone else transfer from Schwabb?
I think you should call Schwab to see what's going on. They have excellent customer service.
by aristotelian
Mon Mar 04, 2024 8:33 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Why do large cap growth stocks have periods of outperformance?
Replies: 35
Views: 3549

Re: Why do large cap growth stocks have periods of outperformance?

Maybe market participants read French and Fama and then overpriced small value. Either that, or a tech bubble is about to burst. Fortunately I own them all so I don't need to worry about such things.
by aristotelian
Mon Mar 04, 2024 11:41 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What good is tax deferred?
Replies: 122
Views: 15320

Re: What good is tax deferred?

The benefit of tax deferred is to be able to avoid taxes at your current rate while saving. The benefit is optimal if you have a higher tax bracket while saving along with a lower tax bracket when retired. If the opposite is true, then Roth is better, and if your tax brackets are the same then neither are better. Typically, tax deferral is advantageous because retirees do not have W2 income.
by aristotelian
Mon Mar 04, 2024 6:26 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Starting to get a little queasy with my AA
Replies: 31
Views: 4515

Re: Starting to get a little queasy with my AA

If you are close to your retirement goal and no longer have the need to take risk, sure, diversify and increase your bond allocation. We are at 70/30 about to turn 50. Sometimes I regret not staying 100% stocks but it's nice having a cushion when the market drops.
by aristotelian
Sun Mar 03, 2024 9:09 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Robinhood 3% IRA Match
Replies: 1459
Views: 110183

Re: Robinhood 3% IRA Match

felizcortez wrote: Sat Mar 02, 2024 3:34 pm But I guess my question is whether it's the entire bonus that is clawed back or just the amount associated with the distribution. E.g. if I move 1M into the account. get a 30k bonus and then have to take out 100k at the end of year 1 for RMD's or whatever. Do they only claw back $3k or the full $30k
I can't answer that but if it were me I would just leave behind enough in the original account to cover RMD's for 5 years, then take the RMD's from that account.
by aristotelian
Sun Mar 03, 2024 11:44 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Inherited IRA strategy
Replies: 10
Views: 545

Re: Inherited IRA strategy

Why can't you just sell the stocks, buy index funds, then follow your withdrawal strategy? I could, but I would rather just have this over and done so I know I can let my index funds just sit for as long as possible. Would an extra $40k this year affect your tax bracket? If so, that is a great reason to spread out the withdrawals. No, not in 2024, which is why I can be a little flexible. If $40k would not push you into a higher tax bracket it is certainly reasonable to liquidate. If you are close to the top of your current bracket, you should withdraw as much as you can without putting yourself over. Otherwise you will need to choose between your desire to "get it over with" versus giving more dollars to the government
by aristotelian
Sun Mar 03, 2024 11:16 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is Splitting Your Investments Between Value and Growth a Good Diversification/Hedge Strategy?
Replies: 6
Views: 513

Re: Is Splitting Your Investments Between Value and Growth a Good Diversification/Hedge Strategy?

Yes, diversification is generally good. Whether there is a better method than market cap weighting remains to be seen. In recent years value has underperformed so overweighting growth has worked out incredibly well.
by aristotelian
Sat Mar 02, 2024 7:17 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Invest cash when interest goes down
Replies: 52
Views: 5196

Re: Invest cash when interest goes down

You could lock in current rates by purchasing bonds or CD's. Of course, the market knows that the Fed plans to lower rates, so bonds and CD's have lower rates (inverted yield curve). I would just stay in a good money market fund or FDIC insured bank account. I use Fidelity's Cash Management Account for paying bills and holding short term savings all in one account.
by aristotelian
Fri Mar 01, 2024 2:30 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Separate Vanguard Broker Account for each Mutual Fund
Replies: 8
Views: 1296

Re: Separate Vanguard Broker Account for each Mutual Fund

I don't see why you can't stick with one account and allocate percentages to each beneficiary. One possible reason to stick with a single account would be to simplify tax reporting. I have a CPA prepare my tax returns. That got too complicated for me several years ago. Now I just gather and supply 1099s and other information. I assume they are prepared correctly. I haven't been audited. I already have five(5) separate Vanguard brokerage accounts. I'm considering opening four(4) more. As I said, Vanguard's beneficiary rules are very strict. Each broker account has its own set beneficiaries, which applies to all funds in that account. I can't give Bob 50% of Fund-A without giving him 50% of all the other funds in that brokerage account. I ca...