Bogleheads.org

H-Town wrote: ↑Wed Feb 22, 2023 12:15 pm - All Apple products

Maybe if you don’t consider the operating system. Before I switched to a Mac I would pound the table and swear several times a day at how boneheaded Windows is. It hasn’t improved. Mac OS works the way I expect it to work.

I just bought a new MacBook Air to replace my 10-year-old MacBook Pro and paid extra for ram and disk upgrades. The old one still works but the new one is lighter and has better battery life, along with being faster.

Anything to not have to deal with Windows (and I’m not a neophyte, I have a degree in Computer Science and work in IT).

I view the switch to Omega “omeega” product placement as too clumsy and heavy-handed, and putting the Rolex/Omega switch in the trailer was so cringey. The special editions are gimmicky. It put me off the brand even more than Omega’s wanna-be Rolex vibe.

To update this story...

My friend appealed through the manager of the branch. He just heard back that they won't close his account after all. Apparently the risk management team told senior management about the article, but management thought it was current rather than from 15 years ago. Once corrected they decided he can stay with the bank. I've removed the name of the bank from the original post.

I used to use Windows up to XP. I switched to Mac and found that I no longer pounded my desk in frustration at the boneheaded design decisions. From what I’ve read it’s only gotten worse.

I occasionally use Terminal for work-related stuff (manipulating data and files with scripts) which is nice to have available. It’s the best of both worlds.

I just ordered a MacBook Air which will arrive Wednesday. My 2013 MacBook Pro still works perfectly but I want something thin and light for travel and to have on my lap, and having something new and snappy will be nice. Also use iPhone and love AirDrop.

MacOS does have some annoyances but not many. I’d say it’s the worst OS, except for all the other ones.

A friend of mine had some negative press coverage about 15 years ago. He hasn't been involved in any activities and hasn't been in the news since then. He has had a [removed] Bank account for about 10 years, and he was just notified that they're going to close his account in 30 days because of the news article from 15 years ago. Can anyone recommend a bank that doesn't close accounts for political/publicity reasons? Also he now lives overseas and the bank would need to accept a customer living abroad. I thought of Schwab but I'm not sure if they close accounts for social-credit types of reasons. Update: My friend appealed through the manager of the branch. He just heard back that they won't close his account after all. Apparently the risk m...

My mom has a 2010 iMac and plays candy crush and similar games all the time. I wonder the reason a 2017 won’t handle them, it should be plenty fast enough. Maybe if the RAM is only 4GB it could be upgraded.

I wonder what percentage you’d have to use instead of 4% to make this as safe as the standard 4% rule. In other words, a percentage based on peak portfolio value.

Try quitting Chrome for a while and see if it’s better. I find Chrome to be a total power hog.

I’ve been using Chrome (on OSX) for years, it works on that too. I’m glad Safari works now, I’d prefer to use that.

I get really annoyed when the survey only asks about the customer representative I spoke with, when I’m really aggravated that their phone system sucks or that there’s something the rep can’t do anything about. They never seem to let you rate other aspects of the company.

In the absence of GA or Nexus, the Mobile Passport app can be a major time saver when arriving back to the U.S. from international travel, at least at my “home airport. You basically skip to the front of the border control line. https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/mobile-passport-control I’ve always just scanned my passport at the kiosk and answered a few questions on the screen, I’ve never had to wait in any lines. Is messing with some app really faster? I really only wanted it for the TSA Precheck, maybe I should just try to enroll in that separately. Even that line is only a few minutes, I just don’t like having to take off my belt, shoes, take out my laptop, empty my pockets, etc. I wish there was some way to skip the 2-hour line to...

I applied before COVID and waited for about a year for approval and was ready to do the interview but then they cancelled all applications by New York residents. I applied again and was approved immediately but then COVID hit. They extended it for another year and I tried to do the interview-on-entry, but when I arrived at immigration they said “sorry we’re too busy.” I tried to make an appointment but they didn’t have any available before my next trip and now my application will expire before I have a chance to have an interview. I think I might just give up, this whole thing is rediculous.

Yes but you can only offset $3000 in ordinary income per year (which includes Roth conversions). You can save the rest for future years. Search and read the many topics on tax loss harvesting to find out about the mechanics of this (to avoid actually losing money if the market goes back up).

To answer a question, he is a natural-born US citizen. He would presumably still have part A since he has worked in the US his whole life.

My dad and I moved to the Philippines 5 years ago. He hasn't been back to the US during that time, although he may visit in the future. This could be covered by travel insurance.

He has local health insurance which has a $250,000 limit. Medical care is much cheaper here (as well as nearby countries like Thailand which would also be covered).

Is there any reason he shouldn't cancel medicare? Since we can't use it in foreign countries he sees it as a waste of money.

So does this mean that one can avoid wash sales involving IRAs by making the same trades to the same TLH partners within the IRA at the same time as the taxable account? Sounds too good to be true…

student wrote: ↑Thu Jun 16, 2022 8:30 pm +1. Ordering is important. If 10 shares in IRA was sold before the sale of the 100 shares, then I don't think it will be an issue as the replacement share is gone.

Are you sure that this is true? If the IRA shares were bought within 30 days AFTER the taxable sale, they'd create a wash sale irrespective of when they are sold. Why is it different if this happened BEFORE the taxable sale?

500 shares purchased many years ago taxable.
10 shares bought in IRA on June 13.
100 shares bought on June 13 in taxable.
10 shares sold on June 16 in IRA. No shares remain.
100 shares (to be) sold in taxable on June 17. This isn't done yet, it's what I'm considering and asking about.

Say that I had 500 shares of a Total Stock fund. I bought 100 more shares, and then a week later sold those specific 100 shares at a loss. Would that create a wash sale?

I guess this comes down to whether the wash sale depends on specific lots or if it's just shares in general, since I will continue to own the original 500 shares.

Also, a week before this, 10 shares were automatically bought in my IRA and sold a day later. This is because I neglected to change automatic investing. Would this create a wash sale? No shares of this were owned in the IRA at the time of the potential wash sale, but shares were bought (and sold) within 30 days.

Do hotels offer Ethernet that bypasses the login and ads? Do they even have Ethernet? Have you plugged your laptop directly into the Ethernet to see how it works?

If you log into another wifi you might run into issues with double NAT. Make sure the router has this capability.

For light usage you could consider a WiFi hotspot, then you use cellular data and don’t have to connect anything, and you can use it anywhere on the road, not just at a hotel, etc.

I’m not an expert at networking but I’ve never had a problem with routers.

I used to have a $10 one that worked fine, I don’t know what the expensive ones offer. You could look at the instruction manual for the one you’re considering or read some reviews.

The last 2 times I ordered from eBay I was sent cheap, obviously counterfeit items (perfume), despite the listing having photos of the real item. Both sellers refused to honor return policy, tried to delay me into letting the dispute window pass, and I had to go around a few times in disputes. The gall of the blatant lying really got to me. Then PayPal didn’t want to refund the money back to my credit card and tried to force me to link my bank account to get a refund until I spent hours on the phone and threatened to dispute the charge. After getting and returning a fake item twice (and having to pay for return shipping both times), I gave up and bought it from Jomashop. It cost a couple hundred $ more but I know it’s real. It’ll be quite a...

Another vote for YouTube Premium. I’ve had it since it was called YouTube Red. In addition to no ads and background audio play, it also lets you download videos which is useful for conserving cellular data or to watch on flights.

But there are more and more sponsorships in the videos now (that is, advertising read by the YouTuber as part of the video). I even find that annoying and can’t imagine having that PLUS the regular ads.

If YouTube ever gets rid of premium I’ll watch a lot less of it.

YouTube is the only thing I watch (unless I’m visiting someone or something and then maybe Netflix).

It is neither of those, it’s data stored by the giant data broker companies and probably mostly used for targeted advertising.

I've been seeing sponsorships for Incogni lately from several YouTube channels that I watch. They are run by SurfShark VPN (I generally find VPN ads to be fairly deceptive in the claims they make).

Incogni a service that sends requests to many different data brokers, who are then legally required to remove data about you. They require you to sign a limited power of attorney in order for them to request removal on your behalf. It costs around $70 per year or double that on a monthly basis.

I'm wondering if this is a good thing. While I find it creepy to have these big companies know so much about me, is there actually any advantage to having the data removed?

It looks like Rolex prices have started to come down bit, along with watch prices in general. I’m going to wait a bit and see what happens, I may buy something.

I got the single $5000 bond also, and saw several other people post in the I-bonds thread that they received the same.

My wife and I have our multiple gifts to one another scheduled for later this month....so we will just coast into 2024. Back to the gifts per person language....Has anyone ever seen the process through to its conclusion of actually delivering gifts in different years to the same person when the original purchase of the gifts, purchased in one year, exceeded $10,000? The reasons I ask is because some folks on another board keep stumbling over this language from TD: "So, in a calendar year, you can buy up to $10,000 in electronic bonds and up to $5,000 in paper bonds for each person you buy for." I've appreciated the language some Bogleheads have cited from TD that paints a broader picture. And I have pointed out that clearly plent...

I just got my paper bond from my tax refund. In contrast with others here, it was a single $5000 bond.

southerndoc wrote: ↑Fri Mar 04, 2022 12:13 am How do you disable the SMS text messaging and only allow Yubikeys?

It is currently not possible to do this safely. You can do it but then anyone can get in with just the password using the app.

https://investor.vanguard.com/accounts-plans/403b-plans/low-cost#modal-tpa Our fees are clear and straightforward. While some 403(b) providers may charge many types of fees—fees you may not even realize you're being charged—Vanguard has just 2: A monthly recordkeeping fee of $5 per plan participant ($60 annually). The investment expense (expense ratio) for each fund you choose for your account. Plan participants will never find a hidden fee or charge. That means no front-or back-end loads, commissions, surrender charges, or asset-based administration "wrap" fees. And we don't charge you for taking a distribution from your account, as many of our competitors do.* Plan sponsors have 2 options for paying the recordkeeping fee: as a ...

johnubc wrote: ↑Wed Feb 16, 2022 5:22 am What does your written contract say in regards to Fees? That is where you need to start. I would also push back on just billed fees that are over a year old - todays investors should not be paying yesterday's expenses. The people that benefited during those years could be gone from the fund.

Just to clarify, the company is being billed, not the investors or the fund.

Stinky wrote: ↑Tue Feb 15, 2022 3:52 pm FWIW - Vanguards website says it is not affiliated with Newport Group. See this link, near the bottom of the page.

https://investor.vanguard.com/accounts- ... affiliates.

I wonder if it's still worth it to send the one to Vanguard. The page does say they have a "partnership".

Even if they do agree to waive the fees as you request, why would you continue to keep them on? If the delta between what they billed, and what you think they should have billed, is not too ridiculous, I'd be inclined to just pay it, and fire them. I was unable to find any other company willing to host an ERISA-compliant plan as small as ours. It would also be a major headache which I’m not willing to go through again just to make a point. It literally took years to get everything finished. Understood. Please know my suggestion of firing them was not for you to simply make a point. It was to get away from a company you described as very incompetent. Sorry to hear you have limited options now. Good luck, and hopefully they will be reasonabl...

Luckywon wrote: ↑Tue Feb 15, 2022 9:38 am Regarding the legal fees, do you feel the attorney you retained should have advised the work was not necessary?

I don’t know enough about it to really know this. I probably should have directly asked but I took Newport’s word that it needed to be done.

It may be one of those things that’s not strictly a matter of law, but more about how much the IRS would care if we were ever audited.

I feel like it was also partly Vanguard’s fault because when I originally opened the account with them, they just gave me an account-opening form, and never told me any additional documents were required.

I think my biggest gripe, though, is that Newport took 3-4 years to even tell me about these charges.

McDougal wrote: ↑Tue Feb 15, 2022 9:16 am Even if they do agree to waive the fees as you request, why would you continue to keep them on? If the delta between what they billed, and what you think they should have billed, is not too ridiculous, I'd be inclined to just pay it, and fire them.

I was unable to find any other company willing to host an ERISA-compliant plan as small as ours. It would also be a major headache which I’m not willing to go through again just to make a point. It literally took years to get everything finished.

My company has our 403(b) plan with Newport Group (affiliated with Vanguard). Our plan started in 2018. A few days ago we received a big pile of bills from them for almost $4,000. They include: 2/2/2018: $375 for "Discussion and emails re: plan types..." 7/1/2019: $1,300 for preparation of plan documents 4/17/2018 to now (12 separate bills): total $2221.83 for plan expenses for "compliance base fee" and "recordkeeping base fee". When I originally set up the plan, I was quoted $750/year in fees. They have only billed us for some of them until now. If it was only this, I would have no problem paying it. The other fees that were never disclosed: $60 per year for the "recordkeeping base fee". Again not a ...

Ten years ago, Bill Gates was #2 on the Forbes Billionaires list @ $56B https://web.archive.org/web/20120103153943/http://www.forbes.com/wealth/billionaires Currently Bill is #4 on the list @ $124B https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/ If instead of doing whatever Bill Gates did, he had put that $56B in 2012 into the portfolio Buffett suggested for his bequest to his wife (90% S&P 500/10% Short-Term Treasury) , and took 4% inflation adjusted withdrawals (starting at $2,224,000,000 in 2012 withdrawals) Bill would still be #1 on the list, or at least tied with current Jeff Bezos $177B PortfolioVisualizer Simulation :P :D It should be noted Gates has donated roughly $50 billion to charity over the years, best I could tell $14 billion since...

I disagree with keeping it connected to power all the time. I’ve had 2 separate iPhone batteries swell to the point of splitting the case open after only 2 years of being continuously plugged in. The Battery Health in settings still showed 100%. Also had the batteries in my MacBook Pro swelled after about 3 years of being plugged in. Complete opposite experience with my MacBook Pro. I use it as a "desktop" and it's been plugged into my dock for 2 years now and no swelling or excessive heat; unfortunately I haven't been traveling like I normally do. But I'm curious why/how you would have a mobile phone continuously plugged in for 2 years. It’s actually my dad’s phone. It’s a 6s+. He not good with technology and only ever uses it t...

Also is it Intel or M1 based?

I disagree with keeping it connected to power all the time. I’ve had 2 separate iPhone batteries swell to the point of splitting the case open after only 2 years of being continuously plugged in. The Battery Health in settings still showed 100%. Also had the batteries in my MacBook Pro swelled after about 3 years of being plugged in.

Anyway, I would see if it feels warm or hot, which would indicate whether it’s using the power or if it’s actually a problem with the battery. Mine is hot all the time even if I’m not doing anything because Chrome is always wasting power even if there are no windows open. Also open System Monitor and check the Power and CPU tabs to see if one of your programs has run amok.

VTI wrote: ↑Fri Dec 10, 2021 5:19 pm To minimize regret, I invest at VTIAX (VXUS) at world market cap, but there is a concern that I struggle to address:

When the topic of investing comes up, immigrants I know typically urge folks not to invest in stocks/"shares" from their home countries.

I acknowledge that this is a biased set of people: those who decided to leave! But these immigrants didn't seem to dislike their home countries at all; they just felt investing in their companies was foolhardy and something one would only do if they were required or ignorant.

This bothers me too…

Just did as you suggested. Total Stock is almost the same.

Total International was a lot higher because the 2nd quarter dividend was more than double this year vs last year. 3rd quarter was almost the same. Very strange.

I'm trying to find out what the December distribution amounts will be for Total Stock and Total International (both Admiral) so I can do some tax planning. I've googled quite a bit but only found ones from previous years.

I get the feeling that they'll be higher this year than last year because of Covid last year and accelerating economy this year, but maybe they'll be similar.

Is there any place to find out what the distributions will be?

The current 401(k) custodian (not Fidelity) definitely can’t convert it to a Roth. When they send the direct rollover check, is there something different they need to do if it will be deposited directly into a Roth IRA at Fidelity? The 401k custodian definitely *can and must convert it to a Roth IRA directly (if what you desire is a conversion of pretax 401k to Roth IRA) What I suspect is happening, is that since this is a generally uncommon request, the 401k custodian’s procedures may differ than the much more standard rollover method, and therefore the reps you’re speaking to are unsure of how to complete it. But again as of 2021 it is absolutely possible and legal. Your 401k custodian must figure it out, they can’t tell you it’s not pos...

From the point of view of the current 401(k) custodian, is there a difference in a check they will write for a rollover vs a conversion? Or is that handled by the receiving custodian (Fidelity)? I can’t speak for Fidelity, but my pretax 457 funds at Vanguard, as a traditional IRA there is a convert to Roth button. I am sure there is that capability in a traditional pretax IRA account at Fidelity. The current custodian definitely can’t convert it to a Roth. When they send the direct rollover check, is there something different they need to do if it will be deposited directly into a Roth IRA? Just to be clear The pretax funds will go in Fidelity pretax Traditional IRA account. Then there should be a button to press and amount to convert at F...

retire2022 wrote: ↑Wed Dec 01, 2021 10:07 pm

FlyingMoose wrote: ↑Wed Dec 01, 2021 9:47 pm From the point of view of the current 401(k) custodian, is there a difference in a check they will write for a rollover vs a conversion? Or is that handled by the receiving custodian (Fidelity)?

I can’t speak for Fidelity, but my pretax 457 funds at Vanguard, as a traditional IRA there is a convert to Roth button.

I am sure there is that capability in a traditional pretax IRA account at Fidelity.

The current 401(k) custodian (not Fidelity) definitely can’t convert it to a Roth. When they send the direct rollover check, is there something different they need to do if it will be deposited directly into a Roth IRA at Fidelity?

From the point of view of the current 401(k) custodian, is there a difference in a check they will write for a rollover vs a conversion? Or is that handled by the receiving custodian (Fidelity)?

Is it possible to do the Roth conversion at the same time as the rollover? That is, deposit the check from a 401(k) into a Roth as a simultaneous conversion and rollover?

The new custodian is Fidelity, if anyone knows anything more specific about them.

JBTX wrote: ↑Mon Nov 29, 2021 5:29 pm Best way to do it is to have it either sent directly to new investment company or at least have the check directed to the new company. I've never hear of a scenario where people fund it with personal funds but I don't know for sure. However it is cleaner with less hurdles if it goes directly to the new company vs paid to you and then you fund.

https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/pl ... tributions

I understand that would be ideal but the current custodian doesn't seem to be able to do it.

I'm helping my cousin roll over his 401(k) and convert it to a Roth.

Time is short since he wants to get it done by the end of the year.

I know there is a 60-day limit on sending money to the new custodian after receiving the check. I just wonder if it is allowed to send the money to the new custodian before receiving the check (presuming one has enough money to do so). Does the same 60-day rule apply (that is, can he send the money 60 days before receiving the check from the old custodian)?