Search found 102 matches

by simpleinvesting1
Sat Apr 28, 2012 6:50 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: IRS letter: HELP!
Replies: 32
Views: 5674

Re: IRS letter: HELP!

I got the same letter from IRS last week for 2010 Tax return and I am now collecting all the supporting documents that I need to send to IRA this weekend. I did the same thing as most of you posted here. I rolled over my Traditional IRA (Vanguard) to 401K (Fidelity) and then I did backdoor Roth IRA for 2010. Since my IRA rollover was Direct Rollover (From Vanguard IRA to Fidelity 401K), I did not see the check. I have these two documents and I am hoping they are sufficient: 1. Vanguard 1099-R that shows the Rollover amount (Box 7 is G - Direct Rollover) 2. Fidelity 401K Rollover Contribution receipt (the amount matches #1) 3. CP2000 with Option 3 (Do Not Agree with Any of the Changes) Do I need to send any other documents? I can not find 54...
by simpleinvesting1
Mon Mar 05, 2012 9:48 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Please Help! AMT using TurboTax - Form 6251 questions
Replies: 7
Views: 2821

Re: Please Help! AMT using TurboTax - Form 6251 questions

Thanks you interplanetjanet, kaneohe, seagypsy for your help!

I think I have to settle with this idea that I have to pay AMT this year. I think I got all the numbers right now.

Not sure if I can avoid AMT next year or not, may be not, as '"selling" the ex a child dependent exemption via form 8332' is not option for me :happy

SI
by simpleinvesting1
Sun Mar 04, 2012 2:10 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Please Help! AMT using TurboTax - Form 6251 questions
Replies: 7
Views: 2821

Re: Please Help! AMT using TurboTax - Form 6251 questions

Sorry that I did not get back soon. Was busy at the work during the week and I am back to finish up my tax this weekend. seagypsy, thank you very much for your help. You are right, Turbo pulled the #31 from the Part III line 54. Now I am extremely confused with this AMT. I started reading AMT related articles this week, the problem is the more I read the more confused I feel now :confused So, I really appreciate if I can get some of your experts help here. Could someone please review my numbers and see if this makes sense? My tax return is pretty simple, I don't have ISO; my itemized deductions are property tax, state tax, and mortgage interest. (I saw there is a similar post, so I am posting similar information) Filing status: Head of Hous...
by simpleinvesting1
Mon Feb 27, 2012 11:14 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Please Help! AMT using TurboTax - Form 6251 questions
Replies: 7
Views: 2821

Please Help! AMT using TurboTax - Form 6251 questions

Hi, everyone! I am using TurboTax. Filing status: Head of Household (single mom with kids) Form 6251 Line #30: 77474 (from TurboTax) Form 6251 Line #31 is where I have problems. Turbo tax shows the number on #31: 19754; this is the number TurboTax shows me after I go through step by step. But if I calculate using the instruction (instruction bellow), it should be: 77474 * 0.26 - 1750 = 18393 For me, this makes big difference. If I use the number I calculate, I don't need to pay the AMT tax. Could someone please help me with these questions? 1. what am I missing in my calculation? 2. How does TurboTax software get that number and why there is such difference in TurboTax amd my calculation? More information: I am not filing form 2555. I don't...
by simpleinvesting1
Sun Mar 06, 2011 7:24 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Random Acts of Kindness?
Replies: 41
Views: 6592

I am very impressed by the generosity of the Boglehead community. I hope I do more volunteer work after I retire some day.
by simpleinvesting1
Sun Mar 06, 2011 7:08 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: PLEASE help how to enter Roth Conversion on Turbo Tax
Replies: 4
Views: 1961

Thanks, thekcsmos! You are right. I was very confused with IRA rollover, recharacterization, and conversion. And Turbo Tax does not make it easier either.

I re-did the 1099-R part so many times and at the end, I did it from the form directly as wjwhitney suggested. And I finally got it right. I think.

Thank you again, thekcsmos and wjwhitney.
by simpleinvesting1
Sun Feb 27, 2011 8:03 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: PLEASE help how to enter Roth Conversion on Turbo Tax
Replies: 4
Views: 1961

PLEASE help how to enter Roth Conversion on Turbo Tax

Sorry, the post is a little long. I did two things last year related to Roth IRA contribution: 1. I moved all of my Rollover IRA from Vanguard to my employer 401K (trustee to trustee). After this transfer, I do not have any traditional IRA. 2. I contributed $5000 to non-deductible IRA and then converted tIRA to Roth IRA after 2 or 3 days. After this Roth IRA conversion, I do not have any traditional IRA. Now, I have 1099-R from Vanguard and have some trouble entering this information into the Turbo Tax. I am a single mom filing as Head of Household. These are related questions Turbo Tax asked me: Q1: "Any Rollover or Conversions?" My Answer: "I converted the entire distribution of $5000.08 from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA...
by simpleinvesting1
Sun Feb 27, 2011 7:10 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Please help me to understand AMT
Replies: 8
Views: 2517

Thank you very much, every one!

I am stilling learning about AMT, and will post later when I have some more information.

Thanks!
by simpleinvesting1
Mon Feb 21, 2011 11:05 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Please help me to understand AMT
Replies: 8
Views: 2517

Please help me to understand AMT

I am doing my tax using Turbo Tax and I found today that I need to pay AMT for the first time. I am a little confused. I am not sure why AMT hit me this year considering that this year tax is very similar to last year. I don't have a lot of deductions at all. The main deduction is mortgage and property tax. I also have small amount tax exempt interest from Vanguard Muni-bonds (Limited-Term Tax exempt & Intermediate-Term Tax exempt) and Foreign Tax credit from Vanguard FTSE all-world Index fund. In fact, the mortgage is the largest deduction but this year is less than last year. I have all those mentioned above in 2009 too. I started reading some AMT related articles and have not fully understood AMT yet, I will continue study this. One ...
by simpleinvesting1
Sat Jan 08, 2011 1:49 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: If you are 50 or older, what advise would you give a 40y old
Replies: 52
Views: 9659

A lot of good advices from the real experience!

I am really enjoying this thread and thank you all very much for sharing your wisdom.
by simpleinvesting1
Sun Oct 24, 2010 6:36 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Prenuptial Agreement drafted
Replies: 177
Views: 21147

I think OP is doing right thing to protect himself in his situation and his terms are reasonable.

I would do the same thing when I get married. If the future spouse refuses to work together on the pre-nup, I would consider it as a red flag and start questioning his/hers motivation of marriage.

Good luck, OP!
by simpleinvesting1
Wed Sep 08, 2010 10:15 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: HELP! Different Income number on Tax 1040 and W2
Replies: 6
Views: 1220

Thank you very much, livesoft, nisiprius, DSInvestor!

I double clicked a lot of numbers and opened a lot of forms and finally I found where the difference is coming from.

I had ESPP Qualifying Disposition last year and some of gains were reported as Ordinary Income and added into line 7. I do quick sales most of times and gains are already reported on the W2 in that case except capital gain/lost. Some how I did not do that last year.

Thanks!
by simpleinvesting1
Wed Sep 08, 2010 8:47 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: HELP! Different Income number on Tax 1040 and W2
Replies: 6
Views: 1220

livesoft wrote:Did you get distribution from a 401(k) plan at work because you overcontributed by $100? It would go on line 7.
livesoft:

I did not overcontribute. My company stops at the max automatically.

I need to get this figure out soon, just don't know where I should look. There are so many numbers, and just randomly add/subtract to see if that matches the difference seems not good idea.

Thanks!
by simpleinvesting1
Wed Sep 08, 2010 8:32 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: HELP! Different Income number on Tax 1040 and W2
Replies: 6
Views: 1220

HELP! Different Income number on Tax 1040 and W2

I am doing refinance now. I submitted W2 and Tax return for the last 2 years.

For some reason the number on line 7 of 1040 form is different from the box 1 number of W2 of last year. The difference is about $100. And 1040 form shows the higher amount.

Now, Underwriter is asking questions why.

I do my tax using TurboTax. When I check the numbers on TurboTax software, I did type in the correct numbers on W2 form.

I have other incomes from interest/divident/capital gains/capital lost.

Now I am lost, where should I look where these difference coming from? What affects the number that shows on line 7 of 1040?

Thanks!
by simpleinvesting1
Fri Sep 03, 2010 10:25 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is it better to max out 401K as eary as you can?
Replies: 21
Views: 5883

Thank you all for your replies.

Seems a lot of people agree that maxing out the 401K as early as you can is a good idea assuming there is no employer match or any other job related issue.

I will continue maxing out the 401k early, but do things slightly differently by changing stocks/bonds percentage contributions each month so I can keep close to the desired AA throughout the year.
by simpleinvesting1
Fri Sep 03, 2010 7:26 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is it better to max out 401K as eary as you can?
Replies: 21
Views: 5883

^This then leads to another question: If you buy mostly stocks in taxable and mostly bonds in the 401(k) and you know you will max 401(k) by year-end, should you reduce 401(k) contributions when stocks go down (like in May-June) in order to fund taxable? Then get back on track. I see no reason to wait to buy stocks if you are buying bonds earlier in the year. Indeed, I buy according to my asset allocation and IPS which may mean that earlier in the year when we are front-loading our 401(k)s, we may buy bonds and stocks, while later in the year when cash is going into taxable investments, we buy equities in taxable (never bonds), but may shift equities to bonds in our 401(k) to keep our AA as desired. livesoft: I thought about doing some thi...
by simpleinvesting1
Fri Sep 03, 2010 6:00 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is it better to max out 401K as eary as you can?
Replies: 21
Views: 5883

Thank you all for your input!

It seems that the consensus from the bogleheads is it is better (or statistically better) to contribute 401K early.

In my case, my employer will deposit certain percentage of the salary into 401K/Profit Sharing regardless of my 401K contribution. So I do not have employee match problem.

And most of my 401K contribution goes to Bonds funds. So, may be I am OK by maxing out within the first 6 months. After maxing out 401k/IRA, I start contributing into the taxable account which has most of stock funds in the second half of the year.


Thanks!
by simpleinvesting1
Fri Sep 03, 2010 1:30 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is it better to max out 401K as eary as you can?
Replies: 21
Views: 5883

Is it better to max out 401K as eary as you can?

Is there any strong advantage to max out 401K as early as you can vs. DCA 401K throughout the year?

Thanks!
by simpleinvesting1
Fri Sep 03, 2010 1:35 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Oregon 529 question
Replies: 2
Views: 932

I use Oregon 529.

I don't think the fees are the lowest. I get the state tax deduction using OR 529, and fund selection seems OK. I use combination of Conservative Portfolio fund and Moderate Portfolio fund to come up relatively conservative AA around 22/78 stocks/bonds for both of my two kids (4-6 years away).
by simpleinvesting1
Thu Sep 02, 2010 11:55 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Looking for a specific thread
Replies: 3
Views: 1122

soaring wrote:
Alex Frakt wrote:Could it be this one?

Chronic Low Back Pain

The best way to search something like this is to use the search box on the site homepage (which runs a google search of our site) and put the phrase in quotation marks, e.g. "back pain". So your search is http://www.google.com/search?q=%22back+ ... eheads.org.
Thank you Alex. No wonder I had little success on this site when searching. I used the "search" button at the top of this page.
Yes, this is the one I was looking for. Thank you very much!

And I am glad to learn how to do the search on this site. I, like soaring, used the "search" button on the top of the page instead of on the side bar.
by simpleinvesting1
Thu Sep 02, 2010 1:04 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Looking for a specific thread
Replies: 3
Views: 1122

Looking for a specific thread

Hi,

If I remember correctly, some time ago we had a thread on this bogleheads community that people talked about back pain (especially lower back pain) and good suggestions/recommendations about seeking the treatment. I tried to do the search with many different combination of words including "back" AND "pain", and I could not find that thread.

I have some back pain and I like to do some research on that.

If some one remembers that thread or find that thread, could you please direct me to that thread?

Thank you very much!
by simpleinvesting1
Fri Aug 27, 2010 10:32 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: National Mortgage Alliance escrow waiver fee?
Replies: 63
Views: 10293

Mike:

This is very good information. I have been enjoying reading your post a lot.

I am going to do the re-finance too.

Thanks!
by simpleinvesting1
Thu Aug 26, 2010 11:15 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: National Mortgage Alliance escrow waiver fee?
Replies: 63
Views: 10293

Mike:

When you say no closing cost refinance, does that mean no lender fee, no third party fee, or any other closing fee at all? You only need to bring pre-paid interest and escrow fees to close?

Thanks!
by simpleinvesting1
Sun Jul 18, 2010 3:04 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: What returns are you actually realizing?
Replies: 54
Views: 6618

EmergDoc wrote:
simpleinvesting1 wrote:Could someone please tell me how I can see or calculate my previous years total return from all my accounts when I have several accounts in different Institutes? I do not have organized statements from all these accounts. Can I still do that?

For my 401K(fidelity), it allows me to see previous 24 months return. But beyond that, how can I see the returns without any statements?

Thanks!
Do you have Excel 2007? Google "XIRR Excel function" and follow directions.
Thanks, Doc! You are always very helpful. I will look into that.
by simpleinvesting1
Sun Jul 18, 2010 1:22 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: What returns are you actually realizing?
Replies: 54
Views: 6618

Could someone please tell me how I can see or calculate my previous years total return from all my accounts when I have several accounts in different Institutes? I do not have organized statements from all these accounts. Can I still do that?

For my 401K(fidelity), it allows me to see previous 24 months return. But beyond that, how can I see the returns without any statements?

Thanks!
by simpleinvesting1
Mon Mar 29, 2010 2:25 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How to decide AA in 529?
Replies: 8
Views: 1678

How to decide AA in 529?

I have 529 savings for my two kids. They are 12 and 14 years old and 6 and 4 years away from College. I can not decide what AA I should use for their 529 accounts. I treat these 529 savings separate from my retirement accounts and thus they have different AA from mime. How do I decide the AA in 529? I looked at the age-based portfolios in several states, and each state has different Stocks/Bonds AA for the same age group. For example, for age 12-14 group, Stock portion is any where from 60 to 30%. My state (Oregon) has recently moved its 529 state plan to TIAA-CREF and offers many investment options including age based options. For 12-14 years old Portfolio with TIAA-CREF, the allocation is 30/70 for Stocks/Bonds. Is that appropriate for 12...
by simpleinvesting1
Sun Mar 21, 2010 2:40 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 529 Plan Recommendations
Replies: 51
Views: 6748

This thread is very helpful to me.

I am researching some other 529 plans for my kids recently too. Fidelity has a set of Index based 529 portfolios, and the expense fee is relatively low (~0.33%) since the underlying funds are Spartan index funds. For me, they are one of those attractive options that I can find so far. I don't see any body mentioned or discussed Fidelity 529 plans here, I am not sure if they are not as good as those plans that use Vanguard funds. What do you think about Fidelity 529 funds?

Thanks!
by simpleinvesting1
Thu Mar 04, 2010 11:06 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Mel's Forbes Column: I Bond Series Wrapup
Replies: 59
Views: 11976

Mel and others:

I bought the first Paper I bond last month. I bought it at my local bank on 2/20/2010, and I received the paper I Savings Bond today (3/4/2010) from Treasury. I have some questions about the purchase date of this I Bond.

On the right corner of the I-Bond, it has some thing like this:

SERIES I
02 2010

FRB PITT
03-01-10


From this number, what date is my purchase date?

I bought I Bonds from TD web site, and the purchase date for those electronic bonds shows up the next day of the date I buy. But I am not sure Paper I-bonds.

Thanks!
by simpleinvesting1
Sun Feb 21, 2010 9:45 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Questions about Braces for Children
Replies: 27
Views: 5249

Thank you all for your very resourceful information.

I am happy that the quote I got from the orthodontist about $5K is pretty consistent with what others replied. The quote will include all the followup cost, but not sure if this includes retainer replacement. I don't know what that is, but the Doctor did not mention any other cost. I will double check when I sign the paper.

I have HSA, I will use HSA to fund this cost.

And I also agree with FarmGirl, Norris, and others, Looks do matter :D
by simpleinvesting1
Thu Feb 18, 2010 11:19 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Questions about Braces for Children
Replies: 27
Views: 5249

Questions about Braces for Children

Recently my children and I visited Orthodontist for consultation. The price estimate for braces is about $5000 for each child, one child's estimate is a little more than the other.

My insurance will cover a little, and I will need to pay rest of it. Is this price in the normal range? Do I need the second opinion?

Is there any thing that I should be aware?

Thank you in advance for your suggestions!
by simpleinvesting1
Thu Feb 18, 2010 10:31 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: One more Roth IRA conversion Question
Replies: 18
Views: 3102

The information that I got from Fidelity Rep is very close to what pochax and others posted.

He said that I need to make Vanguard to issue the check payable to Fdelity Investments Institutional Operations Company, Inc. (or FIIOC), but put my name as Benefit, and have them mail the check to my home address.

When I asked if they can do Trustee to Trustee rollover to my 401K, it can not be done that way. Not sure why though. He emphasized that I need to send them the check and the Rollover form to the Fidelity.

Thanks!
by simpleinvesting1
Wed Feb 17, 2010 11:23 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: One more Roth IRA conversion Question
Replies: 18
Views: 3102

Thank you all for your help.

I did not know people can transfer the rollover IRA to 401K until now. I checked my 401K plan document today and found out that my company 401K does allow the rollover from any pre-tax accounts to the current 401K, so I called Fidelity (Fidelity is administrator of my company 401K) and the rep was very helpful. He went through the steps with me over the phone.

My company 401K has pretty good fund selections, so it will work out well for me.

Now I just need to contact Vanguard and initiate the rollover when ever I am ready. After I transfer the existing rollover IRA to 401K, I will do Roth IRA conversion without paying any tax!

Thanks again!
by simpleinvesting1
Tue Feb 16, 2010 11:29 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: One more Roth IRA conversion Question
Replies: 18
Views: 3102

One more Roth IRA conversion Question

Forgive me if this question has been answered somewhere in this forum. After reading many threads about Roth IRA conversion, I understand the basic, but I still do not quite understand how this "you need to consider all of your IRA assets when you do Roth IRA conversion" applies to my case: Currently I have the following IRA accounts: 1. Roth IRA - 20K (Vanguard) 2. Rollover IRA (pre-taxed) - 20K (Vanguard) - This is my old 401K that I rolled over to Fidelity and then transferred to Vanguard. I am planning to do non-deductible IRA contribution for this year since I may not qualify for Roth IRA this year. I will then convert it to Roth IRA next day, so, most likely there won't be any gain/loss in this non-deductible IRA. So this is...
by simpleinvesting1
Mon Dec 07, 2009 10:22 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: My cheapness knows no bounds!
Replies: 99
Views: 14427

This is very disturbing post. I wish site admin removed this thread.
by simpleinvesting1
Sun Oct 25, 2009 5:46 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Methods of investing yearly contributions IRA
Replies: 6
Views: 1770

ROTH-IRA can be tricky because once your income hits a certain level, you will not be allowed to contribute. Investors with income close to the ROTH limits can play it safe and delay contributions until they know they are eligible for ROTH-IRA contributions (when they are preparing their tax returns). If you contribute to ROTH and find out that you are not eligible, you will need to remove the contributions and the earnings on those contributions. For more information on ROTH-IRA phase out limits, see: http://www.irs.gov/publication....nk10006030 What do people do in this case? They contributed max ROTH in January Next year in April, after doing their tax, they find out they are not eligible 100% ROTH, they are in phase-out limit. Do they ...
by simpleinvesting1
Sun Oct 25, 2009 5:24 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: HSA contribution questions - Pre-tax or Post-tax?
Replies: 4
Views: 3181

DblDoc, RabbMD, tadamsmar: Thank you for your replies! Really busy with the work recently and hadn't had much time to read this forum.

This is my understanding from these replies: if I contribute HSA through my paycheck with my employer, it is pre-tax and I do not pay FICA and medicare. If I contribute HSA post-tax, I have to pay FICA and medicare.

Considering the benefit of FICA/medicare, I will do pre-tax HSA contribution again next year to get the FICA benefit and move the money (once a year) to HSAAdministrators.

Thanks, Again!
by simpleinvesting1
Mon Oct 12, 2009 11:01 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: HSA contribution questions - Pre-tax or Post-tax?
Replies: 4
Views: 3181

HSA contribution questions - Pre-tax or Post-tax?

It is time to sign up next year benefit in my company.

I will sign up again to max out HSA next year. The problem I have is HSA investment options my company offer is really bad, so every year in January I roll over previous year HSA from my company to HSAAdminstrators. If it is possible I like to make contribution directory to HSAAdministrators, but I also want to get tax benefit as much as I can.

If I sign up with my employer, HSA contribution is pre-tax; if I contribute directly to HSAAdnimistrators, it is post-tax.

Are those two contributions the same at the end after I file the tax? Do I get more tax refund if I do post-tax? the same amount more that I would have benefitted from pre-tax contribution?

Thanks!
by simpleinvesting1
Mon Aug 31, 2009 5:00 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: That Frugal Thing You Do
Replies: 642
Views: 160499

I have done some of things that are mentioned in this thread.

1. Bring my lunch to work 3 times a week.
2. Use Costco coupons to stock up things that I am going to use in the next few months.
3. Limit the number of times to go out dinner every month.
4. Found a boy friend that has similar financial goals
5. Do not waste on food and other things.
5. Involve kids if possible for frugal activities. This really works well. For example, I took my kids to county fair and set the limit for the rides each kid can take - $25.00 each. And let them decide what rides they take. Since they know their upper limit, they are more careful than I do. They choose their favorate rides but also as many rides as they can with this money.
by simpleinvesting1
Sun Aug 30, 2009 11:38 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Please recommend Parent Internet monitoring program
Replies: 9
Views: 2012

My kids use their computer often, both for their school work and for fun. I have not found yet that they use the Internet in a way that I do not approve. But since they are getting close to teen age, I better do some thing to make sure I know what they are doing when they are online.

I will check out the link provided by you and do a little more research on the tools/applications that allow parent filtering.

If you have good suggestions, please continue share your experience.

Thanks all!
by simpleinvesting1
Sun Aug 30, 2009 1:27 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Do you max out your retirement+IRA plan contributions?
Replies: 90
Views: 16963

Max out all the tax deferred accounts.

$16500 - 401K + company match
$5950 - HSA
$5000 - Roth IRA
$2000 - 529

Rest of savings go to taxable account and 529.
by simpleinvesting1
Fri Aug 28, 2009 6:52 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Please recommend Parent Internet monitoring program
Replies: 9
Views: 2012

Please recommend Parent Internet monitoring program

I am considering installing some parent monitoring program on my kid's computer so I can block some sites for my children and check what they are doing while on internet. Some one has good experience with these software? Please recommend.

Thanks!
by simpleinvesting1
Thu Aug 06, 2009 9:01 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What is your Bonds AA allocation relative to your age?
Replies: 13
Views: 2975

What is your Bonds AA allocation relative to your age?

I see most of advisors recomend your age as your bonds and other fixed income AA allocation. And most experts in this forum also recommend this approach as a good starting point. I understand that each person's AA depends on his or hers special circumstances. But I am interested to know in general what bogleheads Bonds AA allocations look like.

My self, I am in the conservative category. My fixed income allocation is close to (age + 20). It is not because I am at the point of " no need to take a risk", it is more related to my sleep test.

Thanks!
by simpleinvesting1
Sun Aug 02, 2009 2:42 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Can you live without internet now? :D
Replies: 14
Views: 2572

Can you live without internet now? :D

The other day my home internet was down, I rebooted my modem and wireless router and it did not help, so I knew it had to be that my (ISP) Internet Service Provider had some problems in my area. I was so frustrated, without internet, I could not even find their tech support number to call. I don't have any paper Bill statement any more. I had to wait until I got to my office to find out their phone number and called them. I realized now how much my life is depending on my internet. Not just because of work (I work from home often accessing my servers at work from home), but for my daily life I need the internet too. Checking my investment, paying bills, emails, shopping, and reading all the news. It really makes me mad if I can not access i...
by simpleinvesting1
Tue Jul 28, 2009 10:22 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: another lump sum or DCA question
Replies: 10
Views: 2159

Re: bravo

hollowcave2 wrote:Great! You have a plan, now implement it.

You're already ahead of the game.

Good luck.

Steve
Thanks! I am planning to stick to this plan now. More importantly, I committed myself to stick to my AA.
by simpleinvesting1
Mon Jul 27, 2009 10:14 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: another lump sum or DCA question
Replies: 10
Views: 2159

Thank you all for your advice.

My current stock AA is lower than 40% and I need to put money into the stock funds to bring it back to desired AA. After reading the suggestions from others and thinking through my emotional effects, I am making a plan that lump sum 30K this week and the rest DCA for the next following 5 months.
by simpleinvesting1
Mon Jul 27, 2009 12:33 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: another lump sum or DCA question
Replies: 10
Views: 2159

Thanks, Livesoft. First of all, I would like to say that I have enjoyed your post a lot since I joined this forum. You and other regular posters including Laura, Tayer, Mel, Larry, Rick, and many of other members have tremendous knowledge on investing and I am really grateful that they spend their time to help other people. I have learned a lot from you and others and I have changed my investment accordingly based on what I learned from this forum. Thank you all. When I asked this question, I did not have any market timing in my mind; I was only looking for good suggestions from other people what I should do next. More constructive suggestions or reinforcement of one method over the other or any encouragement would have been more helpful th...
by simpleinvesting1
Mon Jul 27, 2009 10:44 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: another lump sum or DCA question
Replies: 10
Views: 2159

another lump sum or DCA question

I have 30K from recent company stock sales and bonus that currently sit in the MMF in Vanguard that need to be invested. My desired allocation (40/60 of stocks/bonds) requires to put all this money into the stock funds in the taxable accounts. I also have about 20K coming in the following months before the end of the year. My AA requires to put 10K from this coming 20K into stock funds and 10K into the tax-exempt bond funds.

Considering the current stock market, which investment method is more desirable now? Lump sum or DCA? Or should I do half lump sum and half DCA? Or some thing similar like this: I do lump sum with the money that I have in MMF, and I do DCA with the money that is coming in later.


Thanks!
by simpleinvesting1
Sun Jul 26, 2009 6:13 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How to read I Savings Bond current value?
Replies: 2
Views: 1133

Thanks, Mel! The number makes sense now with your explanation.
by simpleinvesting1
Sun Jul 26, 2009 4:17 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How to read I Savings Bond current value?
Replies: 2
Views: 1133

How to read I Savings Bond current value?

Today I logged in my TD account to check my I savings Bond value. I have one I bought in March 2008, the issue date is 3/1/2008, and the current value is $5,290.00

03-01-2009 5.64% $5,000.00 $5,024.00
03-01-2008 6.15% $5,000.00 $5,290.00


My understanding is that this I Savings Bond interest rate has been above 6% so far since I bought. Even with 3 month interest penalty, I should have earned at least 12 month interest of 6%, and that means it should be at least >$300 of interest ($5000 * 0.06 = $300). But I see the interest posted is $290? Is my calculation wrong?

Thanks!
by simpleinvesting1
Sun Jul 26, 2009 1:16 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How to link all the acounts together?
Replies: 10
Views: 2521

I started linking Vanguard account on Fidelity after reading the posts here. After I give my vanguard user account information on Fidelity, it gives me this error: Your account could not be updated for technical reasons. This type of issue is usually resolved in one to two days - please try to update your account again at that time. If the error still occurs, e-mail Fidelity referencing Error Code 404 and the name of the web site with which you are having problems. No account summary information available. Now I wonder if I did some thing wrong. I don't usually see technical problems on Fidelity website. I have to check back in one or two days to see if I still get this error. livesoft, Mike, and others, you mentioned that you use outside y...