Bogleheads.org

bhwabeck3533

Why pay H&R Block or any other tax prep service to do your taxes? I volunteer for AARP's TaxAide program and our team is very professional (we get training on IRS regs and our software) every year -- and we must pass a competency test every year. At our site we prepare hundreds of returns every year...

bhwabeck3533

After all these comments, I wonder if the OP has bought a new vehicle yet? Let us know!

bhwabeck3533

Owned a 2009 RX350, traded it for a 2010 RX350 (only 28,000 miles) three years ago. Will trade-in the 2010 next year and considered Volvo for one reason. The option to pick-up your vehicle in Gothenburg and drive around Europe for a few weeks. COVID has put a damper on the plan.

bhwabeck3533

I'm compelled to reply for a couple reasons. One is the poster is bck63, and my name is Beck and I am age 64. The other is I have gone through a similar epiphany we respect to an "emergency fund" target, which I refer to as my safe money (VG VMMXX) within my traditional IRA. Before the recent COVID ...

bhwabeck3533

I have owned and driven a 2015 Nissan Frontier for almost three years. Up til a week ago, the vehicle has performed flawlessly. It still drives great...but, there is now an annoying "chiming" or "twanging" sound when making a right-hand turn. The local Nissan dealer had it for a day in their service...

bhwabeck3533

Documentary: Uncle Tom (2020), salemnow.com

bhwabeck3533

Yes, comprise (good catch). Yes, I will read further and educate everyone if Swensen does define the term later in the book.

bhwabeck3533

At the recommendation of a poster on this site, I purchased a copy of David F. Swensen's book "Unconventional Success". Early in the book he introduces the following Asset Classes which compromise a Well-Diversified, Equity Oriented Portfolio: (1) Domestic equities (2) Domestic bonds and cash (3) Di...

bhwabeck3533

No problem logging in and navigating for me. I had to switch browsers awhile back for reliability on the site (Chrome to FireFox).

bhwabeck3533

Very coincidental. I just bought Bernstein's booklet "Deep Risk", hope the calculation referred to here is explained (I haven't read it yet).

That said, the $1.5M nest egg seems low if inflation has not been accounted for (with 0% return assumption)?

bhwabeck3533

I have not done Tuscany, but my wife and I can tell you all about the Dolomites in the north of Italy. Last June, we stayed one week at the Hotel Digon in Ortisei (Val Gardena region). Incredible if you like to hike. Spectacular views. We had good weather also. Flew to Munich and rented a car.

bhwabeck3533

Circling back to my May 22 request for a bicycle recommendations. The responses came back as two themes: (1) Buy new (2) Repair old. Inspired by the DIY posters, I invested $16 in a crank pulling tool and $4 in new bearings for my bottom bracket. I can now report that my old Diamondback clunker whic...

bhwabeck3533

First thanks to all the content-laden responses, good stuff.

Update, my local bike shop has ordered a "Square Taper Bottom Bracket Remover" for me. Going to repair and keep the ten-year old bike based on your feedback!

bhwabeck3533

caffeperfavore....you may have inspired me ... a DIY repair. My wife's bike is fine. Mine has a noticeable "knock" which I am guessing is a bearing failure in the crankset. I am a tinkerer. Our local bike shop is positioned nicely on the "demand vs supply" equation for new bikes, parts, and repairs ...

bhwabeck3533

I bought inexpensive hybrid bikes for my wife and I at Costco (Diamondback) about ten years ago. We have enjoyed them and they need to be replaced. Can anyone recommend a bicycle (brand) for everyday use? Maybe 4-6 miles a day in the neighborhood when the weather permits. We have 10-speed bikes now,...

bhwabeck3533

Xav2020, to underscore the replies to your post, please read "The Little Book of Common Sense Investing" by John C Bogle. The basis for DIY investing will become quite clear to you.

bhwabeck3533

I'm ready to take your feedback to the next level. I'm asking for a recommendation on which book(s) to buy on Amazon by Dr William Bernstein and David Swensen. Both men have authored more than one book. Our public library has zero copies by either author. Thanks.

bhwabeck3533

The "flag" is a signal to me on "how low can I go?". A real Monte Carlo program would have confidence limits around this low point -- which my Excel spreadsheet does not include. Stock market crash? Unexpected life event which depletes my IRA? Is there a DIY tool out there that can help me "what if"...

bhwabeck3533

Feel free to direct me to the appropriate thread on this site regarding my question, or respond accordingly..... I have a pretty sophisticated spreadsheet to manage and track my assets, investment, and expenses. I use a two year month-to-month projection to drive withdrawals from traditional IRA (I ...

bhwabeck3533

Anyone looked at their Vanguard account balances on-line this morning? Mine shows balance "as of 4/9" date. Not sure what time of day the balances typically update, usually by 6am Eastern Time. I hope it's not just my numbers that are a day behind.....

bhwabeck3533

Thanks for re-posting, I just discovered the forum. Perfect!

bhwabeck3533

I am a 64 year old married guy who doesn't watch a lot of TV, and loves to manage expenses (from a value viewpoint). Currently cable + internet bill is $180/month (no promos available, don't want to negotiate/complain with AT&T any longer). How do I "build" a set of streaming services to meet the cu...

bhwabeck3533

I am taking a "active" vacation to France in June. Can anyone please suggest a travel insurance company that covers our boat/bike tour. It is required by the travel company for medical coverage (not for trip cancellation, etc.)

bhwabeck3533

I opened and read both the links, to the Schwab and IRS guidance information. The language can be interpreted both ways (1) Contributions can be withdrawn at any time without penalty or (2) certain exemptions can limit/prohibit a qualified "tax free/penalty free" withdrawal. Wish the wording was mor...

bhwabeck3533

We needed a little extra cash to meet expenses in 2019. My solution was to withdraw the $20,000 basis (all contributions made since 2005) in my wife's Roth IRA. She turned 55 years old in August 2019. When I plugged in all my numbers in TaxSlayer for our 2019 tax return, we got hit with a 10% penalt...

bhwabeck3533

OK. Got the PM to go through. I did erase my name for this one-time fix. I think it has something to do with my Kaspersky security software. Don't think it's a Windows or Google issue.

bhwabeck3533

Thanks .... got it. I tried replying to your PM and got the same error message. I noticed my user name in the "add recipients" box, and your user name below. Is this normal? Maybe I have a setting on which is populating the recipient box??

bhwabeck3533

Trying to private message a user and getting this message:

"You tried to send a private message to too many recipients."

There's only one user shown. What's up?

bhwabeck3533

Statement below appears at bottom of screen when I just logged on. Curious as to the timing of the record number of user on the board? Why 9/8/18? What was going on in the financial world? "In total there are 523 users online :: 59 registered, 14 hidden and 450 guests (based on users active over the...

bhwabeck3533

Artsdoctor: You are incredibly insightful, in oh so many ways. I'm pretty sure you live near my father-in-law and must know him quite well. :-) The plot thickens, the suspicious ML account with the assumed dastardly advisor and high brokerage fees belongs to my FIL's wife (my MIL). He would love to ...

bhwabeck3533

Many thanks to all who responded on this topic. I have passed along your collective wisdom to him in the hope he may invest in a more tax efficient manner.

bhwabeck3533

ArtsCDoctor:

I'll ask about the balance in the account that yielded the $42K in capital gains. I'm quite certain it was less than $500K. Why should he/we be furious in this scenario?

bhwabeck3533

I reviewed my father-in-law's 2018 tax return. He's 84 years old, still practicing law, and quite competent in personal finance. One of the items I discussed with him is the significant number ($42K) shown for his IRS reported capital gains -- Schedule 1, line 13. He said all these gains are re-inve...

bhwabeck3533

We Flagship account holders at Vanguard were hit earlier this year with the demise of the Money Market service (disappeared in July). I may have "broke the news" on this forum before it happened, and unfortunately I may be breaking with more bad news now. I had a meeting (via phone of course) with a...

bhwabeck3533

Currently my wife and I share a Delta Sky Miles American Express card. We try to put all daily expenses on the card; and pay-off the balance at the end of each billing cycle. The perks are rather limited: Delta Miles (approx 75,000 annually), free checked luggage, and one companion-ticket per year. ...

bhwabeck3533

Let's put a fork in this one -- it's done and I'm cooked. Yes, time to pay the piper (known as the IRS). As an aside, on the topic of getting a home loan -- without substantial income, I have done it twice. A total nightmare, I drove the loan underwriters crazy asking them to impute income from my h...

bhwabeck3533

Thanks for replies and guidance. Most intriguing idea is obtaining a HELOC for covering living expenses. Anyone with experience using this strategy, please respond with tactical execution details. Example, will lending institutions challenge what the money will be used for? What are the interest ra...

bhwabeck3533

Thanks for replies and guidance. Most intriguing idea is obtaining a HELOC for covering living expenses. Anyone with experience using this strategy, please respond with tactical execution details. Example, will lending institutions challenge what the money will be used for? What are the interest rat...

bhwabeck3533

I am 63 years old, retired a few years ago -- and have been able to manage paying for living expenses with various taxable accounts and savings (and some 1099-MISC income) since retiring. That nice run will come to an end this year. In 2020 I will be required to make a significant withdrawal from my...

bhwabeck3533

I recently discovered that owning a home with open-cell foam insulation could be a liability. We moved into this home located in coastal Alabama in 2017 (spec house, we are first owners). The builder provided a termite bond through Orkin. This year I asked Arrow for a quote, early in his on-site hom...

bhwabeck3533

I found the following statement on the internet while researching IRA and tax liabilities" "If you are under 59½, you may withdraw the exact amount of your Roth IRA contributions with no penalties." I have the following questions: 1) Is the statement above accurate? 2) If the answer to question #1 i...

bhwabeck3533

In April's AARP Bulletin, in her column Jane Bryant Quinn states "Fidelity is now the lowest-cost provider of broad-market index funds, but the dollar difference with competitors such as Charles Schwab and Vanguard are small." Is anyone moving over to Fidelity's Zero Total Market Index Fund (or thei...

bhwabeck3533

As requested, official Vanguard language..... _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Vanguard homepage Flagship Services® Important information about your VanguardAdvantage account We are writing to let you know that after careful co...

bhwabeck3533

You echo my every sentiment. I sent a note already to my Vanguard advisor predicting a huge backlash by current users/clients of the Advantage account. Up til now I have been a devoted and loyal disciple of Vanguard. Please provide names of investment firms you are considering as options. I'm pissed...

bhwabeck3533

I was disappointed to get a notice today that Vanguard is discontinuing their VanguardAdvantage Account. The "press release" provides guidance to transition, and there is no replacement product being offered. It's new info, but I'm looking for a recommended alternative when my account goes away on 7...

bhwabeck3533

Rick: Thanks. No problems with meeting HSA requirements for all years prior to 2018 (not Medicare eligible yet, and had HDHP). Now on a "gap year" from HDHP with a low premium ACA plan (assume this is not considered HDHP). Probably can't manage finances through 2019 without taking a IRA withdrawal, ...

bhwabeck3533

Clear this one up for me please. I have been retired for four years and carried my company-sponsored HSA into retirement. I have been funding it with after-tax monies, assuming it was all taken care of when I filed my tax return (to get the pre-tax benefits). Now we have a new tax code for 2018. Whe...

bhwabeck3533

Thanks ... thought I posted on wrong board, so re-posted. Sorry!

bhwabeck3533

My son and daughter-in-law recently bought their first home in Pennsylvania. Beyond the typical "surprises" found after moving in, they have discovered and validated major installation flaws with their metal roof. Installed by previous owner less than four years ago, it leaks at various places into ...

bhwabeck3533

As executor, my sister-in-law will be faced with distributing significant assets of her father in the form of gold coins. She initially thought she would divvy out the coins in equal amounts to her sibling (and possibly grandchildren). Lots of questions popped into my head: 1. Are all these coins of...

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