Bogleheads.org

cowbman

Look, if you haven't maxed out TSP, 401k, 403b, 457, HSA, IRA/Roth for 2 spouses and kids before having money for rent or food, you haven't done it the BH way. Max out free money accounts first. Then usually especially in higher brackets, you should do tax-deferred space first, followed by Roth spac...

cowbman

The 8% is only on the first $5,000 and so not as good as it might seem at first. I have an account and get more interest every month than I do at my other "high interest" account with $30,000. After researching Anchor, I was willing to take the risk. Some info here: https://www.investoped...

cowbman

It sounds reasonable, though you would have many fewer options available to you. I'd consider how it would impact taxes (unlikely any since both Roth) as well as asset protection (depends on state).

cowbman

I know, right? NYDFS is given the power of a national regulator, so what it's state politicians and bureaucrats allow vs them don't always match. Is is really the only one? Didn't realize that My first hearing about this was the CEO’s episode of the animal spirits podcast. As they were doing a post...

cowbman

What I dislike about ARK funds are that the Top 10 holdings of each ETF make up about 50% of the holdings and they charge a mutual fund-sized ER at ~ 0.75%. Why not write some rules with your broker on limits for buy/sell and just buy the Top 10 holdings of the ARK fund you are interested in? With ...

cowbman

Social Security only includes your highest earning 35 years. If you worked 35 years and contributed the maximum, congratulations you will earn the maximum. If you worked 50 years and contributed the maximum, you get the same amount. If you worked 35 years at the maximum, and 10 at less the maximum, ...

cowbman

Nexo seems like a ponzi scheme. I'd take out my money, while I can.

cowbman

What I dislike about ARK funds are that the Top 10 holdings of each ETF make up about 50% of the holdings and they charge a mutual fund-sized ER at ~ 0.75%. Why not write some rules with your broker on limits for buy/sell and just buy the Top 10 holdings of the ARK fund you are interested in? With $...

cowbman

international001 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 18, 2021 5:09 pm
cowbman wrote: ↑Mon Jan 18, 2021 2:59 pm Pretty sure Insurance & Tax Payments are specifically included from the online bonus with BoA.
YOu mean excluded? Check the pdf djheini sent

I do. My phone auto-correct is both very aggressive and WRONG.

cowbman

A related question, for this situation: Individual starts collection SS at age 66. Continues to work, with highest 35 years continuing to be achieved. How long does it take SS to update their records of income earned, and then increase payments to an individual? This is irrelevant. If you maxed out...

cowbman

Pretty sure Insurance & Tax Payments are specifically included from the online bonus with BoA.

cowbman

Well if this is the case, you have your answer. I'd say your case is a bit unusual amongst those who receive insurance through work. Usually HMO/PPO options have lower deductibles than yours. I'd think if the deductible was less than $1000, you'd be better off the non-HDHP. OP HAS lower deductible ...

cowbman

Is moving to New Hampshire not an option?

cowbman

With HSA eligible plan, you have 2200 extra deductible which will come into picture during the worst case. You pay $800 less in premium for HSA. So the 2200 extra became 2200-800 = 1400. But your employer is giving 2k. So in worst case, you will pay 1400 extra but that was compensated by 2k from em...

cowbman

OP, are you planning to travel during the next year? I know I'm not, and I normally travel often. Without the travel, the Amex Platinum card has little value. We still will make 2-3 trips this next year to visit family or take a vacation (wearing an N95 mask with a face shield, avoiding food and dr...

cowbman

If you forego 1% interest on that $25,000, then that is $250 per year. Plus $17.50=$267.50. A Schwab Amex Platinum is $350, after the $200 cash back. I suppose the Platinum is a good card if you highly value lounge access. 5x points on travel booked through Amex is also good, provided you have a ch...

cowbman

You could make this even more simple and just buy into the Target Retirement or LifeCycle funds. You'd have to eat a little higher ER though.

cowbman

You could always pick a cheap older phone too. It's a bit like would you rather have a used Lexus or a new Toyota Corolla?

cowbman

Something I haven't seen mentioned here is asset protection. IRAs usually don't follow under ERISA while 401(k)s do. I did dig up and see that TSP is NOT covered by ERISA, which I find surprising and disappointing. Maybe this is why no one else mentioned it. I think it's something worth thinking abo...

cowbman

Costco will only takes visa. Costco (in store) only takes Visa credit cards, but accepts all debit cards. I did not know that so they will take a mastercard debit at Costco. Do you need to use a pin? Yes To understand why this makes sense for Costco, take a look at the Mastercard interchange rates:...

cowbman

It's probably more of a headache than you are looking for, but you could open an account almost anywhere else (and get a bonus), such as E-trade, Schwab, Fidelity, etc.

cowbman

In a VHCOL locale, I imagine using an attorney would be much cheaper than 1-3% of the home purchase price. Any disincentive to doing your own leg work and using a good real estate attorney to ensure the timeframes, contracts, etc. are correct? Assume the buyer can adequately price the home and deal ...

cowbman

If you are looking to put $3MM in cash somewhere, you are unlikely to be using savings accounts given the FDIC limits. T-Mobile Money pays 4% APY on the first $3000. Only requirement is transfer $200/mo into the account. Yes, you can immediately move it out too. After the first $3,000, they pay 1% A...

cowbman

DM, I can send a referral. USA So it's a secret? Why would it be a secret? It's not, I just want the referral bonuses. Other forums here on BH talk about it. Getting a referral bonus for opening an account is not earning 3%. You are selling your personal data, or it is a scam, or it is limited to a...

cowbman

I've been wondering about this. Real Estate Agents frequently take 2-3% on each side. Wouldn't it be cheaper for both sides to list on a FSBO/MLS aggregation site and just use attorneys? It obviously depends on the property price, but in VHCOL markets, it seems it'd be cheaper to pay an attorney rat...

cowbman

I agree with the idea of putting bonds in tax advantaged accounts, but have actually embarked on the following strategy. I'd appreciate comments if I'm view this poorly. My current asset allocation is 80/20 (stock/bond). 1) While I'm working (High income and high tax state) - keep fairly large amou...

cowbman

UpperNwGuy wrote: ↑Sat Nov 21, 2020 2:47 pm
cowbman wrote: ↑Sat Nov 21, 2020 1:56 pm DM, I can send a referral. USA
So it's a secret? Why would it be a secret?

It's not, I just want the referral bonuses. Other forums here on BH talk about it.

cowbman

Oilcans wrote: ↑Thu Aug 06, 2020 6:07 pm Have Allstate homeowner's which went up $203 this year.

$5 million umbrella with Allstate has been $574.15 since 2016.

What state? Allstate wants that for $2MM in CA

cowbman

We're 36 with kids aged 5 and 2. Combined income = $190k per year Net worth = $1.15 M Current Home Value = $460k Current mortgage balance = $132k Current Home equity = $318k Investments (401k, HSA, Taxable Brokerage) = $710k Cash accounts ~ $150k We're looking at buying a new house for about $725k ...

cowbman

DM, I can send a referral. USA

cowbman

You can do significantly better (even after taxes) with some online savings accounts/high yield-checking accounts. No principal risk either. This is actually an unknown. You are confusing current yield, expected future yields, and ultimate total return. You do not know what the total return will be...

cowbman

You can do significantly better (even after taxes) with some online savings accounts/high yield-checking accounts. No principal risk either.

cowbman

T-mobile money offers 4% on the first $3000 and 1% thereafter

cowbman

AMICA 40 years for auto and 9 years for home. Happy. Service is excellent. Homeowners' premiums have exploded, but that is what happens when you have a billion $ hailstorm in 2017. AMICA. When you get a quote be sure to know if it is with or without a dividend. The no dividend policies look cheaper...

cowbman

I'm less familiar with the high-deductible plans, but for regular F & G plans the difference is that F covers the deductible and G doesn't. For 2020, the deductible is ~ $200. Frequently insurers are more than $200/year less for the G plan, so if you can afford the deductible at the beginning of...

cowbman

Vanguard index funds (much preferred to Fidelity "Zero" funds) Why? Top of my list is Portability. You can’t move them outside of Fidelity . Next would be the Capital Gains that they throw off (if held in Taxable) vs. VTSAX WoodSpinner Gains are an issue which is why I use FZROX in non-ta...

cowbman

I've been shorting SQQQ for a while now. I believe it is one of the best strategies in the world. It is certainly better than going long on 3x leveraged ETFs because you put volatility decay in your favor. If you've done backtests, you'll know that the results speak for themselves. Some brokers lik...

cowbman

000 wrote: ↑Fri Oct 16, 2020 10:10 pm Vanguard index funds (much preferred to Fidelity "Zero" funds)

Why?

cowbman

I have my EF in various online savings accounts and/or high yield checking accounts. You should be able to get 0.65-1% if you look around. Not great, but considerably better than what you are getting. Yield on treasuries is abysmal currently.

cowbman

Currently online savings account/No Penalty CDs are probably your best bet.

cowbman

You come out ahead over Hyatt redemptions? It's pretty easy to get a $100+/night hotel for 5,000-8000 points.

cowbman

gasdoc wrote: ↑Sun Oct 25, 2020 5:50 am Consider Roth conversion starting in 2021, in order to get pretax money over to post tax bucket prior to interest rates increasing down the line.

gasdoc

100% This is one of the benefits of retiring prior to Soc Sec and having savings.

cowbman

Ecuador has 5 year CDs with 8.5% return. Ecuador uses the dollar and has lower debt to gdp than US. Capital controls and taxes may affect whether or not this is worth it though. In what world do taxes make up a difference of 5-6% APY? You overlooked the part about capital controls. You put your mon...

cowbman

Slowtraveler wrote: ↑Fri Sep 25, 2020 12:42 pm Ecuador has 5 year CDs with 8.5% return. Ecuador uses the dollar and has lower debt to gdp than US.

Capital controls and taxes may affect whether or not this is worth it though.

In what world do taxes make up a difference of 5-6% APY?

cowbman

Why not just move to New Hampshire to avoid the state estate tax? Moving is a hassle, but if you need to be the MA area, NH is very close with much better tax laws for the wealthy. You may still face the federal estate tax, though the exemption is currently over $20M for a married couple. This may ...

cowbman

Why not just move to New Hampshire to avoid the state estate tax? Moving is a hassle, but if you need to be the MA area, NH is very close with much better tax laws for the wealthy. You may still face the federal estate tax, though the exemption is currently over $20M for a married couple. This may c...

cowbman

I've had an account for a month now. Interesting concept but not without some kinks. A couple weeks ago they had an authentication outage where I couldn't login for half a day. Couldn't create an ACH link on their site, though I can push and pull money from external account. After starting the link...

cowbman

I'm uncertain of prices, but I dislike PreCor. LifeFitness has been my favorite. If you can find one in your price range, it seems to be a quality product (I always used it at my gym, pre COVID anyway).

cowbman

I have a CA public pension- defined benefit pension. I have read that I will not be taxed my pension in Hawaii. Doing the Math based on the instructions for filing Hawaii income tax form: Hypothetically- If my Federal AGI is 100k (65k for my pension plus 35k for long term capital gain) My Hawaii AG...

cowbman

Does anyone know if downgrading the card (to Freedom) counts against their 5/24 rule? It does not. 5/24 is for new applications Excellent, thanks. I wonder if Chase is regretting the 1.5% cash back towards groceries/dining, since it's enabled many of us to effectively cash out our rewards points an...

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