Search found 136 matches

by bettykayWAAZ
Sat Aug 18, 2018 12:04 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Teachers Who Have Net Worth of $1 million +
Replies: 191
Views: 36097

Re: Teachers Who Have Net Worth of $1 million +

I read that a large percent of AirBnB operators are teachers -- supplementing their low income. In Arizona, for 5 years our schools were on 4 days a week schedule, to cut costs. Many teachers were opposed to the change back -- because they had 3 day jobs on weekend to supplement their low incomes. Education in Arizona is near the bottom of all national surveys.
by bettykayWAAZ
Mon Aug 13, 2018 4:46 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Optum HSA Fee Increase Notice
Replies: 30
Views: 5033

Re: Optum HSA Fee Increase Notice

I just called Optum (before reading this thread), and learned that there are employer account (all different fees and investment options) and contractor accounts. My husband is retired and young enough to have an HSA for 3 more years. I guess he just became a contractor. I decided against them because the sales person couldn't tell me what funds were available to contractors. There is a list of funds online, but also a message that says all funds might not be available to all types of accounts. Only after we paid the money can we know what funds are available. I had called them because they listed several Vanguard funds. I will proceed down my list. Lively is not on my list because I have a bias again tdAmeritrade. After I talk to two more,...
by bettykayWAAZ
Thu May 10, 2018 9:24 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 1099-B reporting long term gain with wash
Replies: 7
Views: 960

Re: 1099-B reporting long term gain with wash

lifesoft: I got two 1099-Bs. one about the 4-plex sale and one from Vanguard. I entered each of the 16 lines on the Vanguard 1099-B separately in TaxAct. The only one with a wash was for 12 cents, so it doesn't show (and was not the line I'm concerned about). Only the 1099-B for the 4-plex sale shows on the 8949. No wash sale appears on schd D. I'm going to file as is: with the dates seemingly out of whack. I have the following in a message from Vanguard which I will show to the IRS if they have questions. After researching your request, I found that the information reported on your 1099-B for the sale of the Vanguard Short-Term Investment-Grade Fund Investor Shares (VFSTX) is correct. The quantity of 25.210 shares of VFSTX sold on 08/25/20...
by bettykayWAAZ
Wed May 09, 2018 2:20 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 1099-B reporting long term gain with wash
Replies: 7
Views: 960

Re: 1099-B reporting long term gain with wash

MP123: Vanguard 1099-B classifies the two withdrawals as long term, but the dates shown on the same 1099-B has sell dates and purchase dates that are only 10 months apart. (Dec 2016 to Oct 2017)

again: it is not an issue of paying the tax, I am concerned about a possible audit because of the discrepancy.
My tax bill was huge this year, and the $2 cap gain is a tiny drop in big bucket.

I have entered the 1099-B information into my software program as it came, and will override it's complaint as I file.
I think I have enough reassurance about this option (#1) is the best and wisest.

thank you ALL for your comments.
by bettykayWAAZ
Wed May 09, 2018 12:19 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 1099-B reporting long term gain with wash
Replies: 7
Views: 960

Re: 1099-B reporting long term gain with wash

MP123: No, the tax on $2.42 is not the issue. The issue is that I don't want the IRS to look at my tax forms because of this small amount, and then start asking questions about my larger issues (mentioned in my first paragraph). I do believe that my other income and taxes are correct, but they are complicated. I don't want to have to defend them. livesoft: I don't understand the question. 8949 shows only the 1099-B for the sale of the 4-plex (with gain = 0 because it is reported on another form). form 4797 shows the -$2 cap gains from Vanguard and a large number from the sale of the 4-plex. There are multiple 1099-B forms from Vanguard and from the 4-plex. the -$2 capital gains from vanguard is reported as long term on two of the 1099-Bs. e...
by bettykayWAAZ
Wed May 09, 2018 10:47 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 1099-B reporting long term gain with wash
Replies: 7
Views: 960

1099-B reporting long term gain with wash

I paid my taxes and filed an extension because I wanted a professional to review my 4-plex sale with capital gains, depreciation payback, and AMT. He OKed all that, but now I’m stuck with $2.42 problem. I have a 1099-B from Vanguard that has two entries for long-term gains ($1.02 and $1.40) but the dates are off because it was a wash sale. I wrote the two checks in October 2017 and the purchase dates show as December 2016. TaxAct flags this saying it should be short-term. In two very long calls with Vanguard they say that 1) it is long term, 2) the purchase date is the average date between the two purchase dates, 3) they cannot issue a new 1099-B. They did agree to send me a message explaining the situation that I can show the IRS if my tax...
by bettykayWAAZ
Wed May 09, 2018 10:38 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: can I use EFTPS when filing for extension?
Replies: 3
Views: 820

Re: can I use EFTPS when filing for extension?

Yes, I found the option to mention "extension" on page 3 or so.
It worked, or at least the money is gone from my bank account.
Thanks for your help.
by bettykayWAAZ
Wed Apr 11, 2018 5:28 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: can I use EFTPS when filing for extension?
Replies: 3
Views: 820

can I use EFTPS when filing for extension?

I knew we would owe a large amount of taxes this year, so set up an EFTPS, which seemed pretty slick.

However, as tax day approaches I realize I need more time. I know I must pay the amount that I think I owe (pretty accurately). When I go into the EFTPS software it will not let me enter form #4868 (extension). The only other option (for us) is form #1040, which is what I will soon file.

Should I do this? or should I give up on EFTPS and let TaxAct take it out of my account (as I would do with a smaller amount).

Thanks.
by bettykayWAAZ
Wed Oct 25, 2017 8:17 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: tax consequences of selling rental property
Replies: 0
Views: 634

tax consequences of selling rental property

No real question here, just FYI for people selling rental property. Although, if someone sees something amiss in what I've said, please tell me. I recently sold a 4-plex that my husband and I had owned for 11 years. I read on the internet that we would have to payback 25% of the depreciation we had taken and that capital gains tax was 15% for most people. I fine tune these calculations by entering 2017 numbers into my 2016 software. Here are some tax insights for people who own rental property or are thinking for buying rental property. It is followed by some specific tax info that maybe of interest to those who do their own taxes. Then some hindsights. 1) The entire depreciation plus the capital gains are added to our income, which puts us...
by bettykayWAAZ
Sun Oct 15, 2017 12:43 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What do you buy in Asian food stores?
Replies: 98
Views: 12232

Re: What do you buy in Asian food stores?

I've tried making baba ganoush -- which means roasting the eggplant (which is some work). This summer in Washington I discovered roasted eggplant in a jar at an Asian Market. We ate a lot of baba ganoush. I haven't started looking for it in Arizona. I saw jackfruit in the same Asian market. It is bigger than two watermelons. And, I've heard, has many uses. Trader Joe's was giving out samples of jackfruit in BBQ sauce. It looked like pulled pork and tasted great (put the two ingredients in a crock pot, smash before serving). TJs sells it in a can with a green label. I've taken it to 2 potlucks and it disappeared. I think jackfruit might be like tofu -- it tastes like whatever sauce you put on it. Thanks for this thread. I'm going to start ex...
by bettykayWAAZ
Sun Jul 16, 2017 1:45 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: new money investment plan -- living expenses
Replies: 8
Views: 975

Re: new money investment plan -- living expenses

hubby is too young for spousal SS, even at FRA. born in 1955.

good idea about converts TIRA to Roth. I've done small amounts a couple of times. will do that in 2018+, when taxable income will be less.

I agree, two big bond funds are very similar. Every time I decide to roll one into the other, my idea of "best" changes.

My bigger question is bond funds or CDs or money market. I've never done CDs, and am unsure.
by bettykayWAAZ
Sun Jul 16, 2017 12:24 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: new money investment plan -- living expenses
Replies: 8
Views: 975

new money investment plan -- living expenses

I'm fairly happy with my current allocation, almost all tax-deferred. And would welcome some suggestions for improvement, please Next month our portfolio will almost double on the closing of the 4-plex we just sold. This money will go to the Vanguard brokerage account, while we decide what to do with it. Our plan is to live on the new money for ten years, before dipping into our retirement funds (except for RMD). Here are the answers to standard questions: Emergency funds: 1 month in Synchrony Bank, 1 month in 3 savings accounts. We think of the existing brokerage account as possible emergency fund. Debt: house paid off, car paid off, credit cards paid off every month. Tax Filing Status: Married Filing Jointly. No dependents. Tax Rate: 10-1...
by bettykayWAAZ
Wed Nov 09, 2016 2:33 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Safe Deposit Box Fee (Bank of America)
Replies: 35
Views: 40605

Re: Safe Deposit Box Fee (Bank of America)

I have had a free safe deposit box at the same bank (now B of A, before something else) for many year, because I was a senior. I got a letter saying that is no longer available, and the fee is $60. I can visit a branch here in AZ and see what the options are for waiving the fee, but it didn't sound encouraging.

I will pay, and close the box next time I am in WA. I will get refund for number of months not used.

Two years ago I paid $150 to have the lock drilled out because we couldn't find the keys (we had two). We found one key within 2 months, and the other when we were packing to sell the house.
by bettykayWAAZ
Sat Nov 15, 2014 5:22 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Degree of Difficulty Obtaining a Mortgage without Income
Replies: 11
Views: 2008

Re: Degree of Difficulty Obtaining a Mortgage without Income

I recently talked to one of the big banks about refinancing a mortgage that my husband and I have. There were two different programs for automatic refinancing that we didn't qualify for. So we started looking at income. They were willing to count my withdrawal from IRAs as income if I could show that I withdrew a regular amount each month and Vanguard would write a letter to that effect.

I didn't follow through. It seems that if I were to apply again (not likely) I would first setup an automatic monthly withdrawal program with Vanguard. I'm pretty sure it can be done.

Good luck.
by bettykayWAAZ
Fri Oct 24, 2014 1:03 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: LASTPASS Password Program
Replies: 46
Views: 9219

Re: LASTPASS Password Program

I don't use lastpass. A friend, who does use lastpass, used my computer. It took me a while to figure out why/how his name appeared on some of my websites. I don't think I could have logged into his accounts -- when I look at it now it asks for email and password.
-- anyway, be careful when you use a different machine that you don't leave traces.
I'm still deleting lastpass from many websites that I don't believe he uses.
by bettykayWAAZ
Thu Aug 28, 2014 10:35 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Own the same fund in multiple accounts?
Replies: 9
Views: 2442

Re: Own the same fund in multiple accounts?

My husband and I both have fund A and Fund B, his is in a Roth and mine in in an IRA. We want to w/d from fund A in my IRA rather than his Roth. So I sell fund A from my IRA, until it gets nearly down to the $10,000 admiral limit. I can't transfer money into it online, because of the frequent trader rules. However, I learned that I could write to Vanguard and have them move B-->A in my account and B-->A in his account.

I was glad to learn this work-around the rule, and am happy to have the same funds in each account.
by bettykayWAAZ
Fri Jan 31, 2014 7:00 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Social Security name confusion
Replies: 36
Views: 8435

Re: Social Security name confusion

I had a similar problem. Changed my name in 1974, got new SS card and passport, used the new name exclusively for over 30 years. Sometime after that the SSA reverted to my old married name.

It was finally resolved on my 3rd visit when I arrived a 4:25 and took a number. They stopped giving out numbers at 4:30 and closed at 5. When the first person I talked with wouldn't solved my problem, I asked to speak to a supervisor. After I had explained the problem in much detail with lots of documentation, she finally OKed the correction. It was after 5 o'clock and she wanted to go home.

I wish you well with solving your mother's name problem.

Bettykay
by bettykayWAAZ
Tue Oct 22, 2013 10:45 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: "Take your RMD soon to avoid an IRS penalty."
Replies: 24
Views: 2917

Re: "Take your RMD soon to avoid an IRS penalty."

I generally contribute $100 to ten organizations, rather than $1000 to one organization/charity. Can I do a QCD for that small amount? Is QCD a fund or a method of withdrawal? Yes, am 70.5 this year.

I am interested in lowering my/our income because DH is under 65 and wants to get the best subsidy on the health exchange. I'm having trouble signing him up, and hope that this will get fixed before the deadline.

Bettykay
by bettykayWAAZ
Fri Jan 25, 2013 1:42 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Medicare Plan F High Deductible vs Advantage
Replies: 25
Views: 6547

Re: Medicare Plan F High Deductible vs Advantage

I started out with a MA plan that cost $0, but it didn't cover me in the winter when I was in Arizona. So I changed to another MA plan. I was the same group of doctors in both plans, and was very happy. Then my chronic disease flared up and my doctor recommended a treatment that cost $6000 every two months. I was to pay 20% of that. At that point I changed to Plan F and have bee very happy with it. The insurance agent said that if you sign up when you are 65 there are no questions asked. If you want to switch into Plan F they have a series of health questions. At that time Crohn's disease was not on the the list questions, but he suggested that it would be soon. I just spend 4 days in the hospital and haven't gotten the OEB yet. So I don't ...
by bettykayWAAZ
Sat Sep 29, 2012 11:18 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Admiral Demotion: I Got The Letter
Replies: 28
Views: 4287

Re: Admiral Demotion: I Got The Letter

My FTSE All World ADM taxable account has been underwater since I funded my Roth IRA 1/26 and 2/3 this year. I have not gotten "the letter" nor been demoted. I'm about $5k underwater.

My Tot Intl Stock Ix Admiral T-IRA has been underwater since I sold some shares in April. It is only a few hundred under. If/when I get the letter I will exchange $400 to this account.

All my other investments are admiral by a good amount.
by bettykayWAAZ
Sat Sep 01, 2012 7:53 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Tax Prep, Part Time Job...Training?
Replies: 14
Views: 2620

Re: Tax Prep, Part Time Job...Training?

I have been volunteering for many years as a tax aide with AARP. We do taxes for the low income and elderly. I enjoy doing the work, I like the people I work with, the clients very much appreciate the service. Contact AARP for location and training. The training is usually in January, and the service is February to April 15th. Another volunteers who previously worked for a large tax-prep company said that it wasn't worth the hassle. She had to pay for the training. She was required to up-sell other products. She felt badly about the fee that was charged to low income people. The pay is based on number of pages of tax forms produced, and there are deductions for several missteps. After two years she was not making enough to make it worthwhil...
by bettykayWAAZ
Sun Jul 15, 2012 2:07 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: To leave the computer on or off?
Replies: 48
Views: 4512

Re: To leave the computer on or off?

I borrowed a kill-a-watt monitor from my public library. It measures home electrical usage. You plug the monitor into an outlet and plug an appliance into the monitor. It gives you the number of watts being used. My laptop computer measures 6.9 to 12.0 watts (the higher number when using youtube or ted.com). It also spikes up to 20 to 30 during the shut down or boot-up process. The usage goes to 0 when it is turned off, or hibernating or sleeping. I have an external monitor which runs 31-32 when in use, and 0 when off or dark (hibernating or sleeping). I have decided not to turn off the computer and monitor when not in use. I will try to set it to sleep or hibernate more often (rather than let it go there by itself if I fail to return). Sea...
by bettykayWAAZ
Wed Jul 11, 2012 5:16 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Replacing rented Comcast cable modem?
Replies: 58
Views: 22435

Re: Replacing rented Comcast cable modem?

I have always rented a modem. I'm a snowbird and go back and forth between Comcast and Mediacom every year. Every time it seems that it takes more than one visit from the internet provider to get it right, often they switched-out the modem. I thought our problems were because the modems were touchy and I would be better off renting than buying. After reading this thread I may change my mind. This year we got the more expensive modem that does phone service, wireless, and Blast. We cancelled the phone service (long story with lots of mis-information). We don't need the wireless, as we already had one. However DH thinks that the Blast does a better job in streaming the MLB games on the ROKU. It is not perfect, and ROKU suggested that we chang...
by bettykayWAAZ
Mon Jun 18, 2012 8:06 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Medigap F for folks with "conditions"?
Replies: 25
Views: 4178

Re: Medigap F for folks with "conditions"?

I got plan F from Banker's Life at age 68 after I started a very expensive medication. The agent said that they were the only ones who didn't ask questions about Crohn's Disease when you switch. When you sign up at age 65 there are no questions. I have recommended plan F to several people since then. Early this year (my first year on F), I got a phone call from someone who offered me the same plan F for less money, way less if my spouse signed on too. I talked to the Banker's agent who said that this was a trick to get you to switch, and they would raise the rate in a few months. I didn't switch. No way of knowing if agent #1 or agent #2 was telling the truth. I'm happy with plan F (after only 6 months). no co-pays, no percentages, no presc...
by bettykayWAAZ
Fri Feb 03, 2012 9:30 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Different Address on 1099-MISC
Replies: 8
Views: 1880

Re: Different Address on 1099-MISC

I use both TaxWise (as tax aid volunteer) and TaxAct (personal). TaxWise asks if the address on the received forms are the same as the main address, and if not, we put the odd address on the IRS copy of the received form. In TaxAct, the main address is automatically copied to all received forms. There was no way to change the address on a 1099-G that had a different address. When I asked the TaxAct advisers about it, they assured me that the IRS did not check the address on W4s or 1099s or xxx. I'm inclined to believe them -- a different address on the two forms won't be a red flag.
by bettykayWAAZ
Fri Feb 03, 2012 8:47 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Selling Second Home to Pay Off Mortgage on First
Replies: 14
Views: 2133

Re: Selling Second Home to Pay Off Mortgage on First

searching for "capital gains" I found two recent threads on capital gains:

http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtop ... =1&t=89374

http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtop ... 10&t=88696

I seems it is not an inherited property. I don't know what "transferred to our names" means in terms of ownership and long vs short term. Read the rules about living there 2 out of the last five years in order to quality for the personal residence exclusion very carefully.
by bettykayWAAZ
Thu Feb 02, 2012 11:37 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Selling Second Home to Pay Off Mortgage on First
Replies: 14
Views: 2133

Re: Selling Second Home to Pay Off Mortgage on First

Is it really a "second home?" Have you spend enough time there to quality it as a second home? Check the rules. from http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc415.html If you use the dwelling unit for both rental and personal purposes, you generally must divide your total expenses between the rental use and the personal use based on the number of days used for each purpose. Are you reporting the rental income and taking depreciation on your 2011 taxes? If so, you have to pay back 25% of the depreciation (taken or not) when you sell a rental property. An inherited property is always long-term capital gains, so waiting one year isn't necessary. The long-term cap gains changes next year, so it might be wise to sell it this year rather than wait...
by bettykayWAAZ
Mon Jan 23, 2012 10:09 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Withholding tax on retirement income vs. estimated tax
Replies: 24
Views: 2527

Re: Withholding tax on retirement income vs. estimated tax

I am a tax aid volunteer. The formula for calculating penalty for underpayment of withholding is so complicated that we are told not to do it. The client sends the return to the IRS, the IRS does the calculation, and sends a bill. So I don't know the answer to the question, but I know that they compare quarterly income with quarterly withholding. If you took all your income in December and paid the withholding in December, you would be fine. If you paid enough withholding so that there was no obvious penalty, you might get away with it. But I wouldn't chance it.

Bettykay
by bettykayWAAZ
Tue Jan 17, 2012 10:50 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: municiple bond funds in IRAs
Replies: 6
Views: 924

municiple bond funds in IRAs

I know that the conventional wisdom is not to have muni's in an IRA account. However, when I asked my friend about where to put my 2012 Roth IRA money she thought I might consider a municipal bond fund. I asked her to explain her reasons so that I could post it here. Below is her reasoning, and some questions. We are both curious as to what Bogleheads thing about this. I will post my personal situation and question about this year's contribution separately. Bettykay Info and questions from my friend: I am a personal investor and virtual all my retirement savings are in IRAs or 401ks. I recently attended an investment seminar aimed at bankers. For tax reasons that apply only to banks, banks tend to be neutral as far as taxable vs. non-taxabl...
by bettykayWAAZ
Sat Jan 14, 2012 8:43 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Improved Net Worth by Age [and plot]
Replies: 252
Views: 50973

Re: Improved Net Worth by Age [and plot]

entry 192 and 193 are duplicates. please delete one.
by bettykayWAAZ
Sun Jan 08, 2012 10:06 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Vanguard Account Beneficiaries
Replies: 28
Views: 5120

Re: Vanguard Account Beneficiaries

I consolidated almost all my accounts at Vanguard, with my husband as beneficiary. I have another IRA at Fidelity with different beneficiaries. At Vanguard I have my husband as 95% and my sister as 5% of my primary beneficiary. My secondary beneficiary list is all non-profits that I want to support. If my husband dies first, and I don't have time to change my beneficiary statement, my sister would get it all. I have asked her to refuse all but the 5% I want to go to her. Then the rest will go to my non-profits. I trust her to do this, and I won't be here to worry about it if she doesn't. I just checked my Vanguard account and am reminded of two things. 1) The beneficiaries on my Roth IRA and TIRA are different. You might convert your husban...
by bettykayWAAZ
Thu Oct 27, 2011 8:03 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: medicare advantage vs medigap
Replies: 28
Views: 3910

Re: medicare advantage vs medigap

Postby samjuno » Thu Oct 27, 2011 2:37 pm
. I'm holding off another year before signing up with medicare so I can keep my employer's HDPH plan and contribute to my HSA.
If you are 65 you should sign up for medicare immediately. You don't have to use it, or rather, it could be in conjunction with your employer's plan. There is a financial penalty for every month that you delay signing up, that lasts forever.
by bettykayWAAZ
Thu Oct 27, 2011 11:06 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: medicare advantage vs medigap
Replies: 28
Views: 3910

medicare advantage vs medigap

When I turned 65 I chose a medicare advantage plan, because it offered an out-of-pocket maximum. At age 68 my Crohn's Disease has returned and I am going to start a very expensive medical procedure (Remicade infusion). If it works, I will likely do it for the rest of my life. I was congratulating myself for choosing medicare advantage, when my insurance broker suggested that I switch to medigap F. The monthly premiums are a lot higher, but there are no additional cost -- no deductible, no co-pays, no percentages. I've run the numbers and it does seem that it is over-all cheaper. You can sign up for any medigap policy when you signup for medicare. If you decide to switch later, you have to be able to answer "no" to a series of heal...
by bettykayWAAZ
Thu Sep 22, 2011 11:38 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: possible scam? B of A litigation.
Replies: 4
Views: 1240

possible scam? B of A litigation.

I got an official looking communication from a law group in Idaho saying I might be eligible to join a statewide lawsuit against B of A for mortgage fraud. I read this as a class action suit and sent them my title and mortgage papers. When they called me back and said that it would cost $5000. I said no. Then I looked on the internet and saw that the Idaho Attorney General had said this was a scam. The AG in my state isn't interested, because I wasn't actually defrauded. It took me four calls to B of A before anyone would listen to me. It was actually the manager at my local branch who took me seriously. My worry is: am I in any kind of jeopardy because these people have my title and loan papers? The offer the law firm gave was that if they...
by bettykayWAAZ
Wed Sep 14, 2011 12:53 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What's your favorite gaming platform and game?
Replies: 89
Views: 18345

Jane McGorigal asks the TED community to start playing games (or play more games) to save the world. I haven't started, yet.

http://www.ted.com/talks/jane_mcgonigal ... world.html
The title is: Gaming can make a better world.
by bettykayWAAZ
Sun Sep 11, 2011 11:46 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Second homes and taxes
Replies: 18
Views: 2727

Domicile means voting, bank accounts, car registration, drivers license, as well as months lived there. We have a second residence in Arizona, but are still domiciled in Washington. DH has Washington state income. We don't pay taxes in Arizona. We have in the past rented our Arizona house for a month when we weren't there. We then subtracted 1/12th of the mortgage interest and property tax deduction plus expenses to offset the rental income. If the rent is more than the combined expenses, we pay tax on the rental income. If the rental income was less than the expenses we lost the rest of the deduction. So taxwise it wasn't worth renting. One trouble with having two houses, is that an item or tool you want is always at the other house. But w...
by bettykayWAAZ
Sat Sep 10, 2011 8:28 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Your Total Tax
Replies: 71
Views: 8229

We show 0 taxes on our IRS return, but counting property tax and sales tax (Washington state has no income tax) our rate was 9.5% (using actual income not IRS income).

Our actual income is 4 times what our IRS income is, not by cheating but because of rental property expenses, cap loss carry over, 401K deduction, % of ss not taxed.

We will have to pay back some of our rental property depreciation deduction IF we sell the property with a capital gain. Right now that doesn't look too likely.

added later: I voted 10-20% because there wasn't a category for less than 10%.
by bettykayWAAZ
Mon Aug 01, 2011 11:22 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: What to do with employer life insurance policies
Replies: 30
Views: 5422

What about the insurance that is offered when you get a mortgage or refi? They pay off your mortgage when one of you dies. Is this a financial reasonable option? Do the payments go down as the loan is paid off? I've never looked at this seriously, but might now.
by bettykayWAAZ
Sun Jul 31, 2011 12:24 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Seasonal home for 2-3 months a year....maybe?
Replies: 8
Views: 1986

After the meltdown in 2008, I did a calculation on owning our Arizona winter home (our second home) vs renting from someone else. I figured that if the real estate values and stock prices returned at about the same (slow) rate, we would be financially better off renting than owning. However, we realized that we are both so frugal that when it came time to pay for a rental, we might not do it. So we kept the Arizona house. We love it. We are now spending almost six months a year there. I don't know which place we will pick when we can no longer travel back and forth. Full time residents of Arizona do tend to stay inside more, even in the winter when it is nice outside. I have talked to several who leave in the summer -- they go on cruises, v...
by bettykayWAAZ
Mon Jul 25, 2011 12:29 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Plea to the Excel gurus...
Replies: 26
Views: 3147

FWIW:
I use sumproduct to figure out the value of (for example) VBTLX that we own in three different accounts.

=SUMPRODUCT((D$2:D$20)*(C$2:C$20= C24))
-- the happy face is supposed to be a colon, I can't get it to come up right --
where column D is the value and column C it the ticker symbol. C24 is the ticker symbol that I want to sum.

I use VLOOKUP to get the ticker symbols.

I'm working on a copy and paste from my Vanguard display.
by bettykayWAAZ
Fri Jul 22, 2011 11:07 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Don't you wish Vanguard would....
Replies: 101
Views: 15197

Angst:
Fix "Portfolio Watch". The problems and outright errors (with Vanguard's own funds!) are numerous and long-standing. It baffles me that they won't clean it up.
+1

BigD52
They won't change Total Bond Market Index.... but what about offering a Total International Bond Market Index Fund for us folks here in the US?
+1
by bettykayWAAZ
Thu Jul 07, 2011 1:29 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Naming beneficiaries in the right order
Replies: 17
Views: 3633

Vanguard has a good explanation of this. You can designate per stirpes or not. Per stirpes means the daughter's children would inherit. Without per stirpes (the default) then it goes to the other beneficiaries.

https://personal.vanguard.com/us/conten ... ontent.jsp
by bettykayWAAZ
Thu Jul 07, 2011 10:35 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Naming beneficiaries in the right order
Replies: 17
Views: 3633

A simple solution is to set the secondary beneficiary as 99% to daughter and 1% to charity. The 1% won't be a significant loss to the daughter when she inherits. If the daughter is gone the charity gets all.

My IRA specifies 60% to husband and 40% to sister. Secondary goes to charity. I have told my sister that I want to give her 40%. If both husband and I die, she is to disclaim 60%. I trust her to do this, if she doesn't I don't think I"ll know or care.

Bettykay
by bettykayWAAZ
Tue Jul 05, 2011 8:47 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Vanguard Minimums & Multiple Accounts
Replies: 3
Views: 626

They will, however, combine several accounts to qualify you for Voyager status. They even gave Voyager status to my partner -- we were unmarried and living together. We had to sign some papers.

It used to be true that if you sign up for direct deposit the minimums are waived. You might check on that.
by bettykayWAAZ
Thu Jun 09, 2011 12:06 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Things to shut off in a house before you leave on a vacation
Replies: 36
Views: 19735

We used to empty and turn off the refrigerator when we left Arizona for the summer. Our new house tender suggests that the fitting/gaskets will wear better if the fridge is left on. He suggested filling both the refrigerator and the freezer with something. I've heard that a full unit stays cold easier than an empty unit. So the fridge is full of coke and beer, and the freezer contains our extra water bottles. We didn't turn off the water to the ice machine -- maybe we should have. I've found good lists of what to do when leaving on snowbird websites. http://phoenix.about.com/od/homesandrentals/ss/summerhomechecklist_2.htm http://phoenix.about.com/od/homesandrentals/ss/summerhomechecklist_3.htm http://www.merchantcircle.com/blogs/At.Ease.Pro...
by bettykayWAAZ
Tue Jun 07, 2011 9:28 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Financial Benefits of Marriage?
Replies: 22
Views: 2752

I got married to the man that I had been living with for 15 years because
1) the gain on my house was more that $250,000
2) he had tax deductions that he left on the table
3) the banker said it was easier to get a loan on an investment property if we were married.

Our taxes are less because of the investment property, not because of the marriage.

The additional advantage is that I can contribute to my Roth IRA based on his income (I am no longer working).
by bettykayWAAZ
Tue Jun 07, 2011 12:24 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Good email account
Replies: 45
Views: 6467

a feature of gmail is that all emails with the same subject line are kept together -- a thread. it took me a while to get used to it, and now I like it. this feature can be turned off.

gmail does look at content to place ads in the side bar. if I email about Arizona I get ads for place in Arizona. if I send an email about shoes I get ads about shoes. I ignore most ads so I don't care.

Bettykay
by bettykayWAAZ
Tue Jun 07, 2011 12:11 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Refinancing a Mortgage
Replies: 3
Views: 854

Chase contacted us offering to refinance, up to 125% of the appraised value. When I talked to them I said we weren't interested if they checked income to debt ratio. They assured me we would be OK. However, the appraisal came in lower than any of us expected (but still under 125%) and the insurance still said it was a rental property. I explained that it had been rented the first two years we owned it for two months each year and had not been rented in the last four years. They declined the loan and kept the $395 fee that I paid. While the loan would have reduced our monthly payment, the long term cost would be more because of the longer pay-off time. I'm not sorry the loan didn't go through, but am unhappy that we lost $395 on the deal. An...
by bettykayWAAZ
Wed Jun 01, 2011 7:04 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Vanguard performance tab on website problems
Replies: 4
Views: 1414

Using the Performance Tab for 2006, I find that my Total Bond account is not included in the total. I converted Total Bond to Admiral Shares sometime after 2007. When I pointed this out to Vanguard they suggested a work around of using the balance by date option to find my balance for past dates. When I did this for 12/31/2007, I got three different answers. Balance-by-date, performance tool, and actual statement are all different. I haven't pinpointed the reason for the difference. It is either because of conversion to admiral shares or because I transfered from one mutual fund to another. I'm disappointed that the performance tool is not dependable. This thread says to me that it might not get fixed. Too Bad! I don't think they have lost ...