Search found 46 matches

by AlexC
Sat Apr 04, 2020 6:19 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Stimulus help for small businesses, sole proprietors, s-corp etc
Replies: 627
Views: 48047

Re: Stimulus help for small businesses, sole proprietors, s-corp etc

As of Friday BofA has removed the loan/CC stipulation but I've been trying to apply and their servers just time out. Good luck everyone!
by AlexC
Thu Mar 26, 2020 1:36 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Anyone using Transferwise
Replies: 30
Views: 2587

Re: Anyone using Transferwise

Have used both Schwab and Transferwise. Schwab has excellent exchange rate but charges $25 per wire. Transferwise fees + exchange rate generally very close to Schwab. Have transferred many hundreds of thousands using Schwab and trust them with the big money transfers plus they are faster. I would recommend both.
by AlexC
Fri Feb 08, 2019 11:29 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Another Bay Area home advice thread
Replies: 44
Views: 4519

Re: Another Bay Area home advice thread

A little off topic but...I've been a partner in a small, successful SF tech company since 1989 - 30 years this month. We've seen it all and done it all. People currently in their twenties better be saving big chunks of their inflated salaries because there's no way what they're doing now will likely exist 15 years down the road. A lot of the tech business today is a race to the bottom - or should I say a siphoning-off up to the top. It's a cut-throat business in a lot of ways and for longevity it requires great flexibility, resiliency, creativity and a serious work ethic. We find a lot of younger workers don't have these skills and are primarily focused on achieving a 'good work/life balance' while demanding huge salaries because, you know,...
by AlexC
Tue Aug 14, 2018 10:07 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Low seven figure windfall looking for advice
Replies: 8
Views: 2105

Re: Low seven figure windfall looking for advice

Thanks Dandy, very helpful.
by AlexC
Tue Aug 14, 2018 11:25 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Low seven figure windfall looking for advice
Replies: 8
Views: 2105

Re: Low seven figure windfall looking for advice

European mortgage is 2.63%. We got the mortgage as a currency hedge since we convert dollars to pay mortgage in euros. Has been a good idea thus far but is of course unpredictable.

Will probably go with some in stock index but oy, the market is a little scary right now.
by AlexC
Tue Aug 14, 2018 8:14 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Low seven figure windfall looking for advice
Replies: 8
Views: 2105

Low seven figure windfall looking for advice

FIrstly, let me say thank you to all of the generous Boggleheads who share their advice on this amazing forum - it's been an invaluable education. Spouse and I recently sold home for 1 million+ net and are looking for direction on what to do with funds. Current situation: Me 56 - partner in LLC + W2 income Spouse 50 - state university employee, will retire next year with small COLA'd pension Current portfolio $1.5 million all in tax sheltered 401ks, 457B, 403B and Roth IRAs (all from backdoor) Current asset allocation 65/35 all Vanguard or Fidelity index funds Currently 28% tax bracket, 9% high tax state No kids Will rent for at least a year till decide next move Only debt is $300k mortgage on home in Europe - estimated value $1+ million. M...
by AlexC
Sat Jun 02, 2018 6:47 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Buying overseas property
Replies: 1
Views: 451

Re: Buying overseas property

It entirely depends on the country you're purchasing property in. For example, many European countries do charge significant purchase taxes to the buyer, as well as fees for the transaction similar to US escrow fees. You would need to narrow your target countries and go from there.
by AlexC
Fri Feb 24, 2012 8:27 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: After tax contributions to a 401k
Replies: 75
Views: 8082

Re: After tax contributions to a 401k

Just wondering what kind of companies allow after tax 401k contributions. We have a 401k w/ Employee Fiduciary and they've told us after tax contributions are subject to top-heavy rules even though we have a safe harbor plan for the pre tax. It doesn't make sense to me why after tax contributions would be limited by the IRS using the same formula as pre tax top heavy rules. Do those able to make after tax contributions work for mega corps?
by AlexC
Fri Dec 23, 2011 6:34 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Movie night in recommendations
Replies: 269
Views: 29289

Re: What is your favorite movie?

Goodfellas
Mullholand Drive
8 1/2
by AlexC
Sat Dec 10, 2011 7:38 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Did we make a bad decision on new flooring?
Replies: 25
Views: 7746

Re: Did we make a bad decision on new flooring?

As someone with a lot of remodeling experience, I'd save my money and put in hardwood. You definitely do not want to put laminate in bathrooms. It only takes a small amount of water sitting on the surface for a short amount of time to ruin it. I also dislike the noisy, hollow sound a room can take on w/ laminate if you don't have rugs down.
by AlexC
Sun Oct 09, 2011 8:38 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Advice for buying a new Laptop
Replies: 91
Views: 12579

Get the Mac

I'm a partner in a network integration company and we've configured about a gazillion laptops in our 20 years of business. From our experience Macs are the easiest to configure and support and, well, just better. I'd go in order Mac, Lenovo, HP and - forget Dell.
by AlexC
Wed Aug 03, 2011 4:15 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: I'm buying!
Replies: 140
Views: 23898

This is a very ignorant view of the world. The markets don't actually enforce 'survival of the fittest' and not everyone can be in a high-technology job. Also, important jobs are not always valued appropriately by the economy. Culture and art are an important part of civilization. And don't just tell yourself that I think this because I must be an art major, because I'm a physicist.
+10
by AlexC
Wed Jun 22, 2011 2:34 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Thoughts on Pit Bulls
Replies: 166
Views: 16167

I'm really amazed at some of the responses to this thread. My brother is a professional dog trainer and I have a lot of experience owning various dog breeds, including pitbulls, and can't believe some of the ideas people harbor about this breed. I would think most of the BHs would have more informed opinions not based on sensationalism and anecdote. Pitbull temperaments can be accurately tested and gauged like any other breed's. Yes, they can be dog aggressive but correct temperament is never human aggressive. Any dog with human aggressive tendencies should be humanely euthanized. Anyone truly interested in learning about the breed should check out BadRap.org in the Bay Area who were instrumental in evaluating and adopting out several of th...
by AlexC
Tue Apr 05, 2011 10:00 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Inherited a sizable sum - what should I do?
Replies: 113
Views: 18559

Building a house

Just wanted to add that building a home is not for the faint of heart or wallet. I have a lot of experience in this area and things will come up that you never imagined and often cost more than you might think. Also, any location where the land is expense isn't generally going to have low cost construction labor either. I'd be surprised if you could build for the square foot price you've mentioned. I'd do a huge amount of research before I even thought of investing in land with a high price tag. You have zoning, surveying, geology, utilities, water, engineering and a lot of other aspects to consider in the cost of the final build.
by AlexC
Tue Mar 22, 2011 11:27 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What % equity in your home have you reached at age X
Replies: 90
Views: 11346

65% 48 $1,400k (I live in San Francisco :roll: )
by AlexC
Wed Feb 23, 2011 6:09 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Employee Fiduciary / JF Actuarial 401k references
Replies: 14
Views: 2756

Signal shares

Superskid,

We currently have our 401k w/ EF. How do we access Signal Shares - do we need to formally request they be added to the plan? Thanks.
by AlexC
Mon Feb 21, 2011 10:41 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: If you had a choice, would you still live in the USA?
Replies: 153
Views: 17520

I find is amusing when Americans quote the high, unsustainable tax rates of European countries. I just went through the process of comparing taxes in one of these "high tax" countries and compared to what I pay in fed tax, combined w/ high California state and property tax, the European country is less. My mom retired to said country and lives comfortably on her $1600 a month SS. Her health insurance is $400 a year. And she loves it.
by AlexC
Sun Feb 13, 2011 8:17 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: UC DCP Questions [Univ. of CA Defined Contribution Plan]
Replies: 48
Views: 28193

Thanks so much for the detailed explanation. All our aftertax 401a investments are in a UC bond fund but your idea of going savings or ICC is a good one.
by AlexC
Sun Feb 13, 2011 12:20 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: UC DCP Questions [Univ. of CA Defined Contribution Plan]
Replies: 48
Views: 28193

Shawn, do you roll the after tax DCP funds into a new Roth IRA every year or the same one (ok, I know this is a lame question but I wasn't sure)? My SO also works for UC and we're considering doing this. Also, so that I understand correctly, are you saying not to let the after tax funds grow too large since you will have to pay regular income tax on any earnings that have accrued when the funds are rolled into the Roth? Many thanks for pointing out this useful strategy!
by AlexC
Thu Jun 03, 2010 1:51 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Hotel lost my clothes
Replies: 38
Views: 7736

Just another vote for remaining calm in these types of situations. I was booked on a long haul flight and the airline accidently sold my seat to another passenger as well. When the guy showed me his ticket and started ranting and raving to the crew that I was in his seat, yada yada, I just politely showed them my ticket with the same seat number. He continued to rant and the attendant looked at me and said would you please follow me. I quietly got up wherein she escorted me directly to first class and it was lovely.
by AlexC
Tue May 25, 2010 9:33 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Avoiding Black Swans- An Emergency Doc's Perspective
Replies: 59
Views: 10807

Smartcar = Prius, as if.

I guess those giant cars/trucks will make you safer in the short term (never mind the smaller cars you decimate in an accident, since that's obviously their black swan not yours) but I'm sure future generations will appreciate the millions of pounds of extra carbon monoxide you're dumping in the environment for them. Should bode well for future lung cancer rates even if you don't "believe" in global warming.
by AlexC
Sat May 22, 2010 5:53 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Prius... yeah or nay?
Replies: 48
Views: 178097

I have a 2005 Prius and I love it. I like the interior space and heft of it and I love the way it drives. My business partner bought one after driving mine and he loves his too. And the hatchback is great for dog transport.
by AlexC
Thu May 20, 2010 6:33 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Euro vs dollar? And what happened with Yen today?
Replies: 4
Views: 1221

As Stratton says there's absolutely no way to predict currency movements. Trust me, I've tried. The Yen went up today because it's considered a safe haven currency relative to the Euro right now.
by AlexC
Mon May 17, 2010 2:17 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Dell Computers and Fraud
Replies: 19
Views: 3509

My IT company specs out a lot of hardware for our clients. We only recommend Dell desktops - we stay away from laptops and especially servers. Having dealt with Dell hardware for over 18 years I think we know their strengths and weaknesses. There's no question their service has gone down hill the last 5-8 years.
by AlexC
Wed Apr 21, 2010 1:07 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Poll: How many $ or % were contributed to your 401k in 2009?
Replies: 57
Views: 7590

xerty24 wrote:
AlexC wrote:I setup a Safe Harbor 401k in which we contribute 3% of our employees' salaries into their 401k which allows the partners and company to contribute the max of $49k to our own 401k.
I didn't think there was a safe harbor for the ACP test (the one that applies to the portions beyond $16.5K). Normally the 3% contribution or similar matching only lets the partners hit the full $16.5K limit.
Yes the safe harbor applies to the portion over $16.5k. I've had it with two different plans/administrators.
by AlexC
Wed Apr 21, 2010 12:28 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Poll: How many $ or % were contributed to your 401k in 2009?
Replies: 57
Views: 7590

I setup a Safe Harbor 401k in which we contribute 3% of our employees' salaries into their 401k which allows the partners and company to contribute the max of $49k to our own 401k.
by AlexC
Mon Apr 05, 2010 9:21 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: College decisions: privates with a big tab, worth it?
Replies: 77
Views: 10049

I'm an introvert who went to Berkeley and coming from a disadvantaged background paid for it all myself with work and a few scholarships. It was probably the best 4 years of my life. The diversity of the student body is amazing and even though it can be large and impersonal there is a niche or interest group for everyone. If there isn't you can start one. Of course it was a true bargain when I attended 20 years ago but relative to current private school costs it still is.
by AlexC
Fri Apr 02, 2010 1:05 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Paying 1.63% on Vanguard Target Date Retirement Fund in 401k
Replies: 32
Views: 8288

I just switched my company 401k to Employee Fiduciary at the start of the year. We pay .19 ER on the Vanguard target funds. We're a 9 person company with less than 1 mil in the plan. EF's admin fees are very reasonable as well. After doing a lot of research I can't believe what a rip off most 401k plans are. I highly recommend EF for Vanguard funds if you're not big enough to go direct with VG.
by AlexC
Tue Mar 30, 2010 9:07 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: S-Corp, LLC, ????
Replies: 38
Views: 4329

LLC worker's comp

One note on an earlier comment re: worker's comp. In California LLC members can legally elect not to be covered under the company's WC policy. Also, as it's been pointed out you can be an LLC but elect to be taxed as an S-Corp in California. This allows you to receive W2 wages if that's important to you (which is not allowed under an LLC filing as a partnership) and you don't have to issue stock nor engage in some of the other legal requirements of a straight S-Corp. Tax-wise whether it makes sense to file as LLC/partnership vs. LLC/S-Corp really depends on the company's income. The annual LLC fee in California can be quite high and is tiered depending on the company's gross sales. Once a certain threshold is hit it may be beneficial to fil...
by AlexC
Fri Mar 05, 2010 10:14 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What is difference between S-Corp and C-Corp?
Replies: 25
Views: 3791

Just wanted to add you can legally be an LLC but file taxes as an S-Corp, which doesn't require the issuing of stock or shareholder minutes, etc. I just went through this process for several reasons, one of them being it lowered our tax liability. This wouldn't be true for all businesses but was for us.
by AlexC
Sat Feb 27, 2010 9:28 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: nice places in the world
Replies: 107
Views: 14736

My mom lives in a beautiful hill town in Tuscany about 1 1/2 hours from Florence. She bought a 300 year old townhouse for $300k and lives on $1500 per month of SS. If you don't have to worry about making a living or dealing with too much bureaucracy Tuscany certainly has a lot to offer: incredible food, stunning beauty, art & music and wonderful people. It's easy to travel to anywhere else in Europe. Culturally it's much more laid back than NY or LA with a lot less focus on competition/money/material success.
by AlexC
Fri Feb 26, 2010 2:44 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Vanguard screwup
Replies: 17
Views: 4580

I recently moved both mine and my spouse's IRAs from Schwab to VG. I sent the forms to VG in 1 envelope. While my funds transferred fine my spouse's seemed to be in limbo. When I spoke with VG they searched through their files and found my spouse's forms which they had never processed. They basically said it was my fault for sending both forms together and that they should have been sent in separate envelopes. Hello!
by AlexC
Mon Feb 22, 2010 3:34 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Inheriting money at a young age--consequences?
Replies: 27
Views: 6367

I have a business client who inherited in the neighborhood of $60 million when she was 27, as did her two sisters. Their parents had a very successful business that they ended up selling to a major corporation. All 3 sisters have started businesses and are successful. I think it really depends on the maturity and character of the individual.
by AlexC
Tue Feb 09, 2010 6:11 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Any Schwab Account Holders?
Replies: 31
Views: 6158

I have my company 401k, IRAs and taxable accounts at VG and my Roth IRAs, residential LOC and an account for foreign currency trades at Schwab. Schwab's website and customer service are far superior. I moved to VG so as to avoid the $50 trade fees for VG index funds. Overall Schwab can't really compete with VG's low expense ratios.
by AlexC
Mon Jan 25, 2010 3:39 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: how do YOU determine your risk tolerance?
Replies: 59
Views: 7345

Age: 47
73/27 AA
High pain threshold
by AlexC
Tue Jan 12, 2010 5:28 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Wall Street employees deserve their large bonuses
Replies: 11
Views: 1838

As someone who worked in investment banking and got out before it could destroy my soul, I couldn't agree with you less. For every dollar you think they've helped you make they've made $100,000,000 for themselves. And it wasn't because of any great skill per se other than exploiting a system that should have had a lot more controls.
by AlexC
Tue Jan 12, 2010 3:55 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: First Time Home Buyer - Mortgage Help
Replies: 12
Views: 1889

If you look at the HOPA closely, it states that:

Cancellation date — The term`cancellation date'' means...the date on which
the principal balance of the mortgage...is first scheduled to reach 80
percent of the original value of the property securing the loan.

Scheduled is the operative word here. The auto term date of PMI is determined at loan origination and is based on a natural amortization schedule. Paying additional principal will not accelerate the auto-term date.

Apparently PMI cancellation criteria can be more complicated than it might appear.
by AlexC
Tue Jan 12, 2010 3:40 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: First Time Home Buyer - Mortgage Help
Replies: 12
Views: 1889

It's possible the lender will waive the PMI once the loan balance is less than 80% of the original purchase price. But if I recall correctly the Howmeowner's Protection Act also states that the evidence that you have at least 20% equity must be of a type established in advance, presumably at signing. If you go this route make sure the lender is very clear that they won't require an appraisal.
by AlexC
Tue Jan 12, 2010 3:02 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: First Time Home Buyer - Mortgage Help
Replies: 12
Views: 1889

If you go with PMI

One thing to keep in mind if you were to go with the PMI option. In order to get rid of the PMI you will need an appraisal that shows the bank you do in fact have 20% equity. You can agressively pay down the mortgage with extra principal payments but if the real estate market were to drop substantially or the appraiser came in with a conservative number the bank would most likely not remove the PMI.
by AlexC
Thu Jan 07, 2010 9:34 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Why I will never buy Intuit again and you shouldn't either
Replies: 118
Views: 21384

Yes, it's extortion

They pulled the same stunt last year with their QuickBooks product. They disabled the credit card processing function on our 2 year old version and we were forced to upgrade if we wanted to process credit cards. We're an IT company who uses a lot of different software and they are the only company that practices this form of blackmail. It's a revenue generating scheme and has very little to do with increasing functionality.
by AlexC
Thu Nov 19, 2009 6:09 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: how do these monthly expenses compare to yours?
Replies: 105
Views: 15591

Living in SF

My business partner spends over $2k a month eating out in San Francisco. I personally think it's crazy but there you go.
by AlexC
Thu Oct 22, 2009 4:15 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Small Company 401K - Help finding a low cost Plan Administra
Replies: 17
Views: 6320

Currently moving to EF

I'm currently in the process of moving my existing small company 401k from an administrator/plan I don't like to EF. So far I've been quite impressed with EF. They're admin fees are significantly less than the company we're currently using and they have Vanguard funds. Based on everything I've read about EF on this site, they're a great choice.
by AlexC
Thu Aug 27, 2009 11:37 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Do you max out your retirement+IRA plan contributions?
Replies: 90
Views: 16963

100% Max

We max out 2 x Trad IRAs, 2 x 49k in DC plans. We live way below our means.
by AlexC
Fri Aug 07, 2009 10:15 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: AA & taxable account question
Replies: 2
Views: 1517

Thanks Chip, I need to do more research and read through the portfolio questions section and then come back with a more specific focus.
by AlexC
Thu Aug 06, 2009 5:33 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: AA & taxable account question
Replies: 2
Views: 1517

AA & taxable account question

For the last 15 years I've invested most of my income in my business and in real estate, both of which have done very well. I'm now (finally!) turning my attention to investing for retirement. I currently have 100k in a 401k and 30k in IRAs. The 401k has a 65/35 AA of stocks/bonds which I want to change. The 401k is at Schwab and is a standard trading account so I have a wide range of investment choices. Because I have a Safe Harbor plan I'll be investing 49k annually in the 401k and 10k in my/spouse IRAs. I also have about 50k annually to invest in a taxable account. I'm 47 and hope to retire in 10-12 years. I've been reading Four Pillars of Investing and AA allocation books and find them extremely useful. Just wondering if anyone would ca...
by AlexC
Tue Aug 04, 2009 3:04 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Vanguard dumps small business 401(k)s
Replies: 89
Views: 35660

Schwab 401k

I went with a Schwab 401k administered through The Online 401k. The fund choices are ho hum and somewhat limited but the employees also have the option of setting up a regular Schwab trading account for their 401k which opens it up to all asset classes/funds. The fee for the trading account option is $95 per year per employee and you can either pick up the fee or leave it to the employee. We pay $525 per quarter for administrative costs and have a bond through our regular insurer. I spent alot of time shopping for a plan but it's a limited field when you're a small company. It's an expensive proposition but something we needed for recruiting also.