Search found 459 matches

by barefootjan
Fri Jan 28, 2022 5:23 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: State Farm Homeowners Insurance question...
Replies: 10
Views: 1817

Re: State Farm Homeowners Insurance question...

Ksinley wrote: Fri Jan 28, 2022 3:09 pm Hi there, I just filed a claim on my homeowners insurance laat year to get a new roof put on.

Long story short (5 months worth!) It was approved and i got me a new roof. Because of all the headachaches, I am considering new insurance.
What do you mean by headaches, if you don’t my asking? Were they trying to deny coverage?
I have State Farm for home insurance myself. So far I haven’t needed to file any claims, but I’m curious how it might play out if I ever did.
by barefootjan
Fri Dec 17, 2021 4:42 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: I-bonds: POD vs beneficiary vs secondary owner?
Replies: 12
Views: 2644

Re: I-bonds: POD vs beneficiary vs secondary owner?

BrokerageZelda wrote: Fri Dec 17, 2021 2:16 pm On savings bonds, POD means beneficiary.

A secondary owner (WITH) is a beneficiary who can be given access to redeem the bond into their own bank account, with the 1099 issued to the primary owner. (Read that sentence and the TD rules carefully, because it's a bit counter-intuitive.) Unless and until you manually assign Transact rights to the secondary owner's TD account, however, a WITH has exactly the same rights as a POD.

The primary owner can change or remove a POD or WITH name at any time while alive.

Upon the death of a savings bond owner, the beneficiaries should contact TreasuryDirect customer service directly, because there is no automated online process for inheritance.
Who is the 1099 issued to if the primary owner dies?
by barefootjan
Sat Dec 11, 2021 2:38 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: VWIAX questions
Replies: 57
Views: 4919

Re: VWIAX questions

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by barefootjan
Sat Dec 11, 2021 12:54 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How to protect cash that's needed in 1-3 years
Replies: 37
Views: 5141

Re: How to protect cash that's needed in 1-3 years

Toyota motor credit Corp has income driver notes that pay 1.35% non fdic insured. Of course there are MYGA (annuities) to consider, as well as Ibonds and TIPs funds. FDIC insured MM accounts and brokered CDs. Not many great alternatives these days without the risk of equities. You can play the deposit money for bonus dollars from brokerage firms on the dr of credit website. What have I missed? (emphasis added) I was going to say the same thing. NCUA insured savings, checking, and holiday club accounts are other possibilities. In the better than nothing category :wink: : For a little bit of time and effort you can piece together a decent "return" on at least some of your money without taking market risk. In the past couple of year...
by barefootjan
Thu Dec 09, 2021 2:08 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Roth IRA asset allocation
Replies: 2
Views: 567

Re: Roth IRA asset allocation

I would keep it more conservative until you know more. There's no reason to rush. The advice to hold higher-earning funds is, I think, geared more to young people who will not be accessing their Roth accounts for many years. As I understand it, that gives them the opportunity for higher tax-free growth. I have a somewhat similar situation with a small Roth account. I decided to put 2 years of expected withdrawals in a money market fund, and the rest in Vanguard Balanced fund VBIAX. That gives me an overall asset allocation of 12% stocks and 8% intermediate bonds with the remaining 80% in short term reserves. That's very conservative, but in my case I know how much I might need. If my Roth was larger, I'd be willing to go as high as 20% in s...
by barefootjan
Thu Nov 04, 2021 11:16 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Schwab Information Thread with FAQ, Links, Tips and Q&A
Replies: 693
Views: 104962

Re: Schwab Information Thread with FAQ, Links, Tips and Q&A

[After you’ve transferred your IRA accounts to Schwab] if you convert Vanguard mutual funds from your tIRA to your Roth IRA, do you have to pay a fee?
My apologies if this has already been answered and I missed it.
by barefootjan
Thu Nov 04, 2021 8:06 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is Vanguard so bad?
Replies: 402
Views: 46919

Re: Is Vanguard so bad?

Vanguard is still the best place to hold their own mutual funds. There is E*TRADE. Where you can hold vanguard mutual funds admiral shares for free with better service. +1. Yes, moved IRA accounts to E*Trade for precisely this reason. And they gave me transfer bonuses for my trouble. Can you tell us more about E*Trade? I just did a brief search and they seem to have all the Vanguard funds that I expect to need (although I didn’t see Wellesley in Admiral shares? just Investor. Did I miss something?) How do you like their website? What contact methods do they offer? What’s it like when you want to do things like make Roth conversions, exchange from one fund to another, or take a distribution? Any problems transferring $ in or out? Anybody el...
by barefootjan
Thu Sep 09, 2021 6:24 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Vanguard may remove secure messages, members transitioning out of Vanguard]
Replies: 1334
Views: 128639

Re: [Vanguard may remove secure messages, members transitioning out of Vanguard]

Maybe bad memory but I seem to recall they always had the above mentioned instructions for use of secure messaging : We cannot accept monetary instructions or process brokerage trades via email request. Please call us if you need assistance in processing these transactions. If attaching an document to a message, we accept the following file types: .wls, .doc, .docx, .txt, .rtf, .xls, .xlsx, and .pdf. I do not perceive any changes as if today (but was never told it would be removed so didn’t expect any changes). Nobody lost the feature ? So August standoff ended in Vanguard backing down (or delayed) ? Huh. Cool. It's still the same then. ¯\_(ツ)_/ As far as I know, my husband wasn't notified a change was coming either. He's also Voyager Sele...
by barefootjan
Thu Sep 09, 2021 5:47 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Vanguard may remove secure messages, members transitioning out of Vanguard]
Replies: 1334
Views: 128639

Re: [Vanguard may remove secure messages, members transitioning out of Vanguard]

It's September and I still have the button. I don't see the difference either way. I submitted a question last week and it hasn't received an acknowledgement or a response. Maybe they'll keep it as a dummy, letting you send messages to /dev/null... Eventually you will call them anyway. This year, I came to consider next day as a fast response since other messages took 3-4 days for a response (back in Jan). So of those told they are losing messaging in Aug, did you lose it ? I was never told I would lose it and afaik still have it. I’m currently a Voyager Select member, and I received the notice that secure messaging was going away. At this time, I can still send secure messages. What’s new is that there are printed guidelines on what types...
by barefootjan
Fri Sep 03, 2021 3:08 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Vanguard hold time 4 hours to open an account - any ideas?
Replies: 137
Views: 19641

Re: Vanguard hold time 4 hours to open an account - any ideas?

Long time reader, first-time poster here I decided to open my IRA with Vanguard today. I filled out the application online and ended up getting an error. I called customer support and the rep said that "many users are having this issue with opening an account for a long time and there is no timeline for resolution", and that in order to open an account they will need to create a "prospect account" and then I need to call "onboarding" to get the account opened via phone. Now, that all would be good and fine, but he proceeded to tell me that the wait time for "onboarding" is 4 hours . And, despite him saying otherwise, there is no "call me back" option when I call Onboarding (there is one whe...
by barefootjan
Thu Sep 02, 2021 9:28 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Vanguard hold time 4 hours to open an account - any ideas?
Replies: 137
Views: 19641

Re: Vanguard hold time 4 hours to open an account - any ideas?

Duckie wrote: Mon Aug 30, 2021 8:37 pm
fieldwolf wrote: Mon Aug 30, 2021 6:07 pm At this point I'm ready to give up and go to Schwab or Fidelity, but I really wanted Vanguard.
Pick Fidelity or Schwab for this IRA. If you can't get it done online or over the phone in a reasonable time you can actually walk into an office to have it set up. When things settle down in a year or two if you still want to you can move it to Vanguard then.
+1
by barefootjan
Thu Sep 02, 2021 8:50 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Vanguard hold time 4 hours to open an account - any ideas?
Replies: 137
Views: 19641

Re: Vanguard hold time 4 hours to open an account - any ideas?

Can you mail in a form that you have filled out? That's the way we had to do it ... in 1984. I know you're likely joking, but one would think that should be possible. But when I go here: https://personal.vanguard.com/us/literature/openaccountforms/brokerage and then go through the hoops, it only directs you to online application... Also, mail forms may need the same "onboarding" verification, and I also realized that since I need to open both Traditional and Roth accounts for me and my wife, it may mean calling them 4 times. I suppose it’s possible, but I can’t imagine why you would have to call four separate times. When you first speak to the customer service representative, inform them that you’ll both be opening accounts. When...
by barefootjan
Wed Aug 25, 2021 6:05 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: MIL wants me to take on whole life policy for her 28yo daughter (my SO)
Replies: 90
Views: 10581

Re: MIL wants me to take on whole life policy for her 28yo daughter (my SO)

Awkward-Limit8852 wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 12:51 pm Disclaimer: The death payouts from these policies would be for estate tax needs that the daughters' heirs might have upon their passing.
Oh man, I definitely missed that part! So the policy isn't like a lottery ticket at all; it's more like a partially paid-for gift to benefit future grandchildren. :oops:
My apologies. Please disregard my previous post.
ha! And I'm also very happy to see that others have addressed your specific questions. :D Good luck!
by barefootjan
Tue Aug 24, 2021 2:33 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: MIL wants me to take on whole life policy for her 28yo daughter (my SO)
Replies: 90
Views: 10581

Re: MIL wants me to take on whole life policy for her 28yo daughter (my SO)

On the face of it, I can’t see why anyone would agree to this. It sounds like you’re being asked to buy a very expensive lottery ticket: pay up $96,000 for a chance at a larger inheritance. Marriages can dissolve; family members can become estranged; wills can be changed.
Paying down debt sounds like an actual financial plan. This other thing sounds like gambling to me. I can’t even imagine how you’d weigh the odds.
I must be missing something. :confused
by barefootjan
Mon Aug 23, 2021 4:30 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Why I'm leaving Vanguard
Replies: 220
Views: 38417

Re: Why I'm leaving Vanguard

retired@50 wrote: Mon Aug 23, 2021 11:25 am
Wild Willie wrote: Sat Aug 21, 2021 7:32 am I have posted before about my dissatisfaction with Vanguard's inability to be flexible. This is just another example.
Wild Willie,
I, for one, am surprised that you're still a Vanguard client.
From what I can tell, this has been going on for over 4 years. What's the holdup?

viewtopic.php?p=6060533#p6060533
viewtopic.php?p=3548093#p3548093
viewtopic.php?p=3406948#p3406948

Regards,
He’s not a Vanguard customer any more; he moved to Schwab and got a $2500 bonus for doing so. Which is pretty sweet.
by barefootjan
Sun Aug 22, 2021 12:32 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Vanguard may remove secure messages, members transitioning out of Vanguard]
Replies: 1334
Views: 128639

Re: [Vanguard may remove secure messages, members transitioning out of Vanguard]

May I request the moderators to lock this thread? Boglesmind Doubtful. It would give the three people leaving Vanguard nothing to complain about. But who's counting, right?! :wink: ... If this thread is closed, I hope we can start one that is focused more on strategies and solutions that don’t necessarily require moving to another company. ... You can always do that, you don't have to wait for a previous thread to be (potentially) closed Thanks, but this conversation is getting a bit unwieldy. 8-) In any event, I'm still doing research and taking notes on stuff that goes beyond customer service - things like account security and managing access to funds. It's probably a good idea to re-evaluate our plans every so often, anyway. :D cheers :...
by barefootjan
Sat Aug 21, 2021 3:13 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Vanguard may remove secure messages, members transitioning out of Vanguard]
Replies: 1334
Views: 128639

Re: [Vanguard may remove secure messages, members transitioning out of Vanguard]

May I request the moderators to lock this thread? Boglesmind Hi Bogles, not sure if you’re aware, but if you’re getting notifications, you can unsubscribe from the conversation right on this page. Or, don’t click on the link in your email and that will stop further notifications from coming. If this thread is closed, I hope we can start one that is focused more on strategies and solutions that don’t necessarily require moving to another company. What matters at the end of the day, I think, is that we can get our needs met, regardless of where we invest. To that end, I’ve been working on finding ways to deal with some of the concerns that have been raised about Vanguard. For all I know, these same types of things will happen elsewhere, if n...
by barefootjan
Sat Aug 21, 2021 1:17 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Vanguard may remove secure messages, members transitioning out of Vanguard]
Replies: 1334
Views: 128639

Re: [Vanguard may remove secure messages, members transitioning out of Vanguard]

From the above linked article, Some Vanguard loyalists decry lost checks and service lapses as the Pa. giant hits $8 trillion in assets ...Vanguard now boasts 30 million customers globally. Its longtime customers now need more services, say industry observers. Its older, wealthier clients, mainly baby boomers, are drawing down, cashing out assets, or leaving money to their heirs. That requires more hand-holding, complicated rollovers, and transactions and phone calls to Vanguard. So if you're a longtime customer at Vanguard; amass a lot of wealth ; and get older , you will become...what? A liability? If these "industry observers" are correct, maybe everyone just starting out at Vanguard should simultaneously be planning to leave t...
by barefootjan
Fri Aug 06, 2021 7:15 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Vanguard may remove secure messages, members transitioning out of Vanguard]
Replies: 1334
Views: 128639

Re: VG Removing Message Center [Vanguard]

I receive notifications of statement and confirmation availability via E-Mail rather than through the message center. I can't find a setting that would have allowed me to swap it to message center. Are those that receive notifications that way perhaps on the Legacy mutual fund platform? emails are just directing you to go to the message center. Not sure about that. Here's the main text I receive in an E-Mail: "Your brokerage confirmation for the transaction made on [date], is available at vanguard.com. To view your confirmation, follow these steps: 1. Log on to your Vanguard account. 2. From the My Accounts dropdown, choose Statements. 3. Select the Confirmations tab" Similar E-Mail for statement availability. No suggestion of Me...
by barefootjan
Fri Aug 06, 2021 6:25 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Vanguard may remove secure messages, members transitioning out of Vanguard]
Replies: 1334
Views: 128639

Re: VG Removing Message Center [Vanguard]

Cheez-It Guy wrote: Fri Aug 06, 2021 6:17 am I receive notifications of statement and confirmation availability via E-Mail rather than through the message center. I can't find a setting that would have allowed me to swap it to message center. Are those that receive notifications that way perhaps on the Legacy mutual fund platform?
Cheez It, we get notices in both places, via email and also in the Message Center, or rather, just under it, in the "Folders" section.
by barefootjan
Fri Aug 06, 2021 6:15 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Vanguard may remove secure messages, members transitioning out of Vanguard]
Replies: 1334
Views: 128639

Re: VG Removing Message Center [Vanguard]

I can find Statements and Confirmations and Transaction History under My Account (or Account Activity) for Vanguard. However, the message center was the only place where some notices were sent in addition to the replies to secure emails sent to Vanguard. At least some of these notices were notices of a maturing security or that a security had matured. I ask Vanguard specifically where these notices will now appear and have not received a reply. Has anyone else heard from Vanguard definitively that they will continue to send notices, such as those regarding maturing securities, to the "Message Center" or if not where and how will they be delivered? The notice I got made it clear that Vanguard will still contact us via the message ...
by barefootjan
Fri Aug 06, 2021 5:58 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Vanguard may remove secure messages, members transitioning out of Vanguard]
Replies: 1334
Views: 128639

Re: VG Removing Message Center [Vanguard]

galawdawg wrote: Fri Aug 06, 2021 5:42 am
ThereAreNoGurus wrote: Fri Aug 06, 2021 1:45 am I have a dumb question. My statements are deposited in the Message Center. If it goes away, where are the statements stored? I also get confirmations delivered to the Message Center. So again same question. (I don't really care about the statements, but I am curious.)
I'm no longer using Vanguard as my brokerage, but isn't there still a tab under Account Activity where you can find and download your statements and confirmations??
Correct. From the drop down menu at the top of the Personal Investors log in page select "My Accounts">"Statements" (2nd column from the left) https://personal.vanguard.com/us/Statements
by barefootjan
Thu Aug 05, 2021 6:16 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Vanguard may remove secure messages, members transitioning out of Vanguard]
Replies: 1334
Views: 128639

Re: VG Removing Message Center [Vanguard]

In the meantime, I wrote to Vanguard to ask if they'd be willing to charge customers an annual fee to help cover the costs of providing secure messaging. I'm thinking it could be similar to the annual "per account" fee they have (or used to have) for investors just starting out. Of course, that would only work if others are also willing to pay it. I didn't suggest a per use fee, but if that makes more sense, I'd be OK with that as well. I don't know what would be a fair cost - maybe $25-$75 per message or encounter? This is a joke, right? Years ago, before the internet, I worked at a company that sold products via catalog, and either mail-in orders or calling a phone number. That number was not toll-free, and back then long dista...
by barefootjan
Thu Aug 05, 2021 6:38 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Vanguard may remove secure messages, members transitioning out of Vanguard]
Replies: 1334
Views: 128639

Re: VG Removing Message Center [Vanguard]

Yeah, there was something about that a few months ago. They will have both human-based Vanguard Personal Advisor, and Vanguard Digital Advisor which is a direct attempt to compete with all the robo-advisors.
Huh. Totally missed that. I need to get out more often :!:

Thanks nisipruis :D
by barefootjan
Thu Aug 05, 2021 6:13 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Vanguard may remove secure messages, members transitioning out of Vanguard]
Replies: 1334
Views: 128639

Re: VG Removing Message Center [Vanguard]

nisiprius wrote: Thu Aug 05, 2021 5:54 am Chaos.

Client Support Center

Image
Holy cow. That whole page looks new….is it?

Also - This Digital Advisor program - also new??? https://investor.vanguard.com/advice/digital-advisor/

:shock:
by barefootjan
Wed Aug 04, 2021 10:28 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Vanguard may remove secure messages, members transitioning out of Vanguard]
Replies: 1334
Views: 128639

Re: VG Removing Message Center [Vanguard]

So, I was talking to my husband about the recent changes at Vanguard and he said, "What about Edward Jones?" :oops: Guess I'd better start researching Schwab funds sooner rather than later. :P In the meantime, I wrote to Vanguard to ask if they'd be willing to charge customers an annual fee to help cover the costs of providing secure messaging. I'm thinking it could be similar to the annual "per account" fee they have (or used to have) for investors just starting out. Of course, that would only work if others are also willing to pay it. I didn't suggest a per use fee, but if that makes more sense, I'd be OK with that as well. I don't know what would be a fair cost - maybe $25-$75 per message or encounter? I'm willing to ...
by barefootjan
Wed Aug 04, 2021 12:28 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Vanguard may remove secure messages, members transitioning out of Vanguard]
Replies: 1334
Views: 128639

Re: VG Removing Message Center [Vanguard]

When these other brokerages say that you can hold a certain Vanguard fund with them but you can’t buy more, does that include reinvesting dividends? What about capital gains?
Also, what do they use for sweep accounts?
Thanks for any information you can share!
by barefootjan
Mon Aug 02, 2021 3:41 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Vanguard may remove secure messages, members transitioning out of Vanguard]
Replies: 1334
Views: 128639

Re: VG Removing Message Center [Vanguard]

Oh geez. So it’s a money thing? Why couldn’t they just say that , for crying out loud? Unreal. Well, something else occurred to me when I read that they’re “testing” this out or whatever: My husband and I own admiral shares of Wellesley, Balanced fund, and Short term investment grade bond. I can’t help wondering how many of the people who are losing the secure message service are not just Voyager customers, but Voyager customers who are heavily invested in funds that can’t be purchased elsewhere? I mean, why all behind the scenes the cloak and dagger stuff? :annoyed I think that’s what I hate the most, that they didn’t even have the decency to explain their reasoning for the change and give us more advance notice so we could get started exp...
by barefootjan
Mon Aug 02, 2021 7:56 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Vanguard may remove secure messages, members transitioning out of Vanguard]
Replies: 1334
Views: 128639

Re: VG Removing Message Center [Vanguard]

peppers wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 7:26 am Secure message center is still appearing on accounts.

We are still on the old mutual fund platform.
I hope you get to keep it!

The notice I’m seeing doesn’t give a specific end date; it simply states that our ability to send them secure messages will end “in August.”

I don’t know about anyone else, but I’d be surprised- shocked, really - if they reversed course.
by barefootjan
Mon Aug 02, 2021 12:38 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Vanguard may remove secure messages, members transitioning out of Vanguard]
Replies: 1334
Views: 128639

Re: VG Removing Message Center

"Let's eliminate a convenient and asynchronous way customers can communicate with us. We've got help files, that should be enough". Last nail in the VG coffin for me. Goodbye Vanguard, effective 12/31/2021. I had no interest whatsoever in leaving Vanguard until now. The secure message feature has been a godsend for my husband and me; he has trouble hearing, I have trouble seeing (making it difficult to take notes during a phone conversation). And we both have trouble processing and remembering detailed information. It’s unnerving that they would make such a huge change with almost no notice. For everyone’s sake, I hope they’re not going to replace the service with some sort of peer support a la Apple and Microsoft, where you have...
by barefootjan
Sun May 02, 2021 12:46 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Anyone else have problems w Vanguard website this week?
Replies: 26
Views: 2509

Re: Anyone else have problems w Vanguard website this week?

I'm not sure what you mean by platform but I can tell you that I only access the site on my pc. The platform is a reference to whether your account is a brokerage account or not. In the old days, an account was on what is commonly referred to as the "mutual fund only platform". This "platform" or account type wasn't capable of holding individual stocks or ETFs. So, if you wanted to hold individual stocks or ETFs, you had to upgrade or switch to the "new platform" which is commonly referred to as the "brokerage platform". The new platform allows you to hold any type of security, including mutual funds, ETFs, individual stocks, etc. It also comes with what is known as a "settlement account". ...
by barefootjan
Sun May 02, 2021 12:15 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Anyone else have problems w Vanguard website this week?
Replies: 26
Views: 2509

Re: Anyone else have problems w Vanguard website this week?

Been having trouble logging into the site off & on all week. Just got in a minute ago only to find that they show me having way more money invested than I actually do. :confused Anybody else experiencing this? When you ask something like this you really want to specify the platform you're using: mutual fund or brokerage. I suspect the back end is sufficient different that issues that apply to one might not apply to the other. I'm not sure what you mean by platform but I can tell you that I only access the site on my pc. At first I was getting error messages and/or getting logged out when I navigated to certain pages, like the Portfolio Tester. I tried a different browser, cleared the cache, etc. but nothing worked. It was getting late,...
by barefootjan
Thu Apr 29, 2021 10:00 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Anyone else have problems w Vanguard website this week?
Replies: 26
Views: 2509

Anyone else have problems w Vanguard website this week?

Been having trouble logging into the site off & on all week. Just got in a minute ago only to find that they show me having way more money invested than I actually do. :confused
Anybody else experiencing this?
by barefootjan
Sun Apr 25, 2021 1:25 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: All in with Wellesley
Replies: 67
Views: 12104

Re: All in with Wellesley

grobertj wrote: Wed Jul 15, 2020 12:15 pm What is prcwx?
T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation Fund. Very popular fund some years back. :sharebeer
by barefootjan
Sat Feb 20, 2021 5:51 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Google Chrome security risk?
Replies: 18
Views: 2657

Re: Google Chrome security risk?

Update: I switched from LastPass to Bitwarden. No more issues with exposed passwords. :beer
by barefootjan
Fri Feb 19, 2021 11:58 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Google Chrome security risk?
Replies: 18
Views: 2657

Re: Google Chrome security risk?

BTW if you are using Windows (don't know about Mac), I highly recommend using autoruns from Microsoft to find random browser extensions and a host of crapware that runs automatically on login. You'd be surprised how much there is. Generally, people are way more at risk from such BHEs than anything else. I'm not sure that obtaining a list of my browser extensions would've helped me because I wouldn't necessarily have made the connection. I was pretty fixated on "Google" LOL :? Every time I visit my in-laws, it is the first thing I do on my FILs machine to clean out the crazy BHEs that he has installed.... Please forgive my ignorance, but how do you know which browser extensions should be cleaned out? Are there any browser extensio...
by barefootjan
Tue Feb 16, 2021 7:45 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Google Chrome security risk?
Replies: 18
Views: 2657

Re: Google Chrome security risk?

Yep. It was from a third party password manager. :oops: It took some digging but I found a way to make it stop. Thanks, guys!
by barefootjan
Tue Jan 19, 2021 12:34 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Google Chrome security risk?
Replies: 18
Views: 2657

Re: Google Chrome security risk?

livesoft wrote: Tue Jan 19, 2021 12:28 am I think what Google Chrome does is different than what your Google Account does.
Agreed. For instance, you can log into more than one Gmail account while you are in signed in to the Chrome browser, which is convenient - unless that means your password is being exposed!

This is the page I'm trying to create a new [Gmail] account from: https://accounts.google.com/signup

All of the fields are blank except the first password field, which, when clicked on, exposes the current password.

(Edited for clarity)
by barefootjan
Tue Jan 19, 2021 12:26 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Google Chrome security risk?
Replies: 18
Views: 2657

Re: Google Chrome security risk?

I have Google set to not save passwords, and there were no saved passwords when I checked. :confused
by barefootjan
Tue Jan 19, 2021 12:20 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Google Chrome security risk?
Replies: 18
Views: 2657

Google Chrome security risk?

For those of you that use a Google Chrome account to sync across devices: I recently discovered, when I tried to create a new gmail account, that the password field on the sign up page was pre-filled with my actual Google password! :oops:

Why would Google expose user's passwords like that?!

I tried clearing the cache, deleting cookies, etc, and that didn't help. I changed my password, hoping that would fix the problem, but the password field simply updated with my new password.

Has anyone else experienced this? How did you fix it?

My son says, "Buy an iPhone." ;-) (to be clear, this happened on a pc, not a mobile phone, but I take his point)
by barefootjan
Tue Dec 15, 2020 12:02 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Viable options in Texas for health insurance
Replies: 6
Views: 781

MP123 wrote: Mon Dec 14, 2020 11:51 pm An ACA plan might be an option, although as mentioned above time is almost up to apply for next year.

How bad is the employer plan? More than 10% of income for self only? How many employees?

Frankly, most unsubsidized (by government or employer) insurance can be difficult for many to afford so it would be helpful to see how bad this plan is.
Thank you. The figure I was quoted may have been for the family plan but only one member of the household needs coverage.
by barefootjan
Mon Dec 14, 2020 11:19 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: New neighbor interested in buying our home too
Replies: 66
Views: 12284

hand wrote: Mon Dec 14, 2020 6:22 pm Find an alternate house you'd be happy(ier) with, determine cost to purchase and move... That is your asking price.
:beer
Cuts right to the heart of the matter.
+1
by barefootjan
Mon Dec 14, 2020 11:09 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Viable options in Texas for health insurance
Replies: 6
Views: 781

Yes but that didn't pan out.
by barefootjan
Mon Dec 14, 2020 9:34 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Viable options in Texas for health insurance
Replies: 6
Views: 781

Viable options in Texas for health insurance

What are the options for affordable health insurance in Texas if your employer-provided plan is more than you can afford?
by barefootjan
Tue Dec 08, 2020 10:34 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Post-death financial plan for Mom - Really need some advice
Replies: 18
Views: 2298

Re. taxes going forward. 100% of her Social Security will not be taxable. There are various cliffs. 0%, 50% and 85% From https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/taxes.html "You will pay tax on only 85 percent of your Social Security benefits, based on Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rules. If you: file a federal tax return as an "individual" and your combined income* is between $25,000 and $34,000, you may have to pay income tax on up to 50 percent of your benefits. more than $34,000, up to 85 percent of your benefits may be taxable." Then when you consider the standard deduction, she has quite a bit of income before income taxes will be significant. Great point. For anyone who hasn't read the linked article I ju...
by barefootjan
Thu Dec 03, 2020 3:15 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Need advice on tax withholding
Replies: 5
Views: 802

Have you already checked to see if any of the exceptions to paying the penalty apply in your situation?
Just one example from the H&R Block link (below):
"There are exceptions to the penalty and situations where the penalty wouldn’t apply, including:
The total of your withholding and estimated quarterly tax payments was at least as much as your prior-year tax."
https://www.hrblock.com/tax-center/irs/ ... mated-tax/
by barefootjan
Tue Dec 01, 2020 10:46 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Roth conversion over age 65 - this year or next?
Replies: 23
Views: 2461

David Jay wrote: Sat Nov 28, 2020 1:57 pm Practically, you want to spread out the conversion over time to minimize your marginal tax rate each year. For example, you want to convert $50,000 each year for 10 years rather than convert $500,000 in one year.

The four confounding factors are: Tax rate sunsetting in 2026, Medicare IRMAA (two year look back to age 63), Social Security taxation (when you file, but by age 70) and RMDs at age 72.

In almost all cases sooner is better as it extends the conversion period and thus lowers the size of annual conversion.
Thanks David Jay. I've never heard of "Medicare IRMAA" before but I'll look into it, thank you. :beer
by barefootjan
Tue Dec 01, 2020 10:33 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Roth conversion over age 65 - this year or next?
Replies: 23
Views: 2461

To answer your question with limited info, there is a significant advantage for many to convert some funds to ROTH in 2020. Timing is critical and taking advantage of an additional year can be very useful. A consideration in the lower tax brackets... Convert as much such that you do not find yourself in the next higher tax bracket. This is most obvious for those whose taxable income in 2020 puts them in the the 12% marginal bracket (i.e., taxable income between $19,751 – $80,250). Many would convert enough funds to reach but not exceed $80,250 in taxable income. Deontic, thank you, that is exactly the kind of information I was seeking. :beer Thanks to everyone's input, I have a much better handle on things now than I did when I started thi...
by barefootjan
Tue Dec 01, 2020 10:27 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Roth conversion over age 65 - this year or next?
Replies: 23
Views: 2461

fundseeker wrote: Sat Nov 28, 2020 9:04 pm Shouldn't Said individual go ahead and prepare his/her tax returns for next year to determine, before year end, how much room he/she has up to the next bracket?
Yes, I agree. Thank you! :beer
by barefootjan
Tue Dec 01, 2020 10:26 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Roth conversion over age 65 - this year or next?
Replies: 23
Views: 2461

Thank you for all the replies, I really appreciate it. One advantage to converting part of the TIRA in 2020 instead of 2021 would be to start the 5-year clock on Jan 1, 2020 instead of Jan 1, 2021, assuming the individual doesn't already have a Roth account. OK so if I'm understanding you correctly, even though it's almost the end of 2020, starting a Roth conversion now could still be beneficial. But what is this "five year clock," anyway? Are you prohibited from taking any money back out for 5 years? :confused If so, does the 5 year waiting period apply even if you're well past the age of being penalized for early withdrawals (which - if I remember correctly - is age 59 1/2)? I'm not an expert on the 5-year rule so I always refe...