Search found 40 matches
- Mon Oct 28, 2024 4:52 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Vanguard retiring Coverdell ESAs
- Replies: 47
- Views: 8101
Re: Vanguard retiring Coverdell ESAs
My turn to receive the letter today. I'd prefer to keep the money as an ESA than transfer it to a 529 (which I also have), but now neither of my two primary brokerages (Vanguard and Fidelity) will be offering them. Any suggestions for somewhere else to open a new ESA?
- Tue Oct 15, 2024 5:09 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: My New Retirement Thinking: LMP or 2% SWR
- Replies: 419
- Views: 23440
Re: My New Retirement Thinking: LMP or 2% SWR
No, that's not right. Someone with $10M in 1966 all in TIPS (yeah, I know they didn't exist), who endured years and years of huge inflation, would have had huge wealth erosion by 1982. It was not just a matter of paying the tax and shrugging it off. Slightly simplifying things, but I believe mostly accurate: If I get TIPS at 2.1% real (about my average recently), the maximum inflation rate in which I break even in taxable in the 24 percent tax bracket is... .24*(x+2.1)=2.1 ...or 6.7 percent. Looking at 1966-1982, the geometric mean (which is the pertinent mean here) of 100% plus the inflation rate for those 17 years, less 100% at the end, is 6.8 percent. So would these hypothetical TIPS in taxable have lost in real value over those 17 ...
- Mon Sep 30, 2024 8:23 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Five-Year Financial Check-Up
- Replies: 4
- Views: 917
- Sun Sep 29, 2024 10:51 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Five-Year Financial Check-Up
- Replies: 4
- Views: 917
Re: Five-Year Financial Check-Up
I've considered using the composition of VTWAX (Vanguard Total World Stock Index) to use as my international stock percentage rather than the sorta arbitrarily chosen 35% I have now. But the reality is that wouldn't make a lot of difference right now, since the VTWAX international percentage is currently down to 37%. I still may make that change, however, because I think that long-term I think it's going to be hard for the US to grow as much as International, and I'd just rather have a percentage with some heuristic basis than one I chose out of thin air.
- Sun Sep 29, 2024 10:11 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Five-Year Financial Check-Up
- Replies: 4
- Views: 917
Five-Year Financial Check-Up
It’s been five years since my last portfolio review -- which I found extremely helpful -- so thought it might be time for another one. Emergency funds: $17k in savings; $72k in CDs, but not replacing CDs as they mature over the next 18 months; good amount in taxable I could pull from in a pinch Debt: No mortgage -- paid off $700k home; $5k on a car on 0.9% loan Tax Filing Status: Married Filing Jointly Tax Rate: 24% Federal, 5% State State of Residence: Illinois Age: 47/48 Desired Asset Allocation: 72% stocks / 28% bonds (all TIPS), gliding down to 55% / 45% in 2032 (expected retirement) Desired International Allocation: 35% of stocks Portfolio Size: $2.6 million Portfolio Breakdown: Taxable: 10% Vanguard All-World ex-US (VFWAX) (0.11%) 9% ...
- Mon Sep 02, 2024 4:38 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Applying to CS colleges the Boglehead way
- Replies: 168
- Views: 20824
Re: Applying to CS colleges the Boglehead way
Happened upon my own thread when searching Bogleheads and belatedly realized I never posted a post script. My son applied to 20ish colleges, mostly midsize-to-large publics. Denied/wait listed at UIUC, Purdue, UMass for CS, accepted everywhere else (including a couple top ~25 CS schools). Offered something ridiculous like $1.8 million in scholarships among the schools he was accepted to. Chose to go to a large public school, somewhere in the bottom half of the top 100 in most CS rankings, because of (1) a full-ride offer and (2) the strength of their competitive programming team. So far, it's seemed to be the right decision: adjusting well socially, good grades, and most importantly (to him), his three-person team in ICPC (the premier ...
- Sat May 25, 2024 6:05 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Victor Haghani on owning TIPS bonds vs TIPS etfs
- Replies: 218
- Views: 19230
Re: Victor Haghani on owning TIPS bonds vs TIPS etfs
Ditto on both those points for my wife and I. Our TIPS ladder is set up to cover our estimated expenses from age 56 through 72, subtracting out SS and my pension from the needed TIPS amount at the ages those kick in. At 72 we'll need to start taking RMDs, which will be much larger than the difference between expected expenses and SS/pension, so for now that's where the ladder stops.Random Musings wrote: ↑Sat May 25, 2024 12:18 pm I set up a partial ladder of individual TIPs to augment SS, not complicated...
I use my own spreadsheet, as I'm sure a fair number of people do on this board.
Once I purchase the last rungs over the next few years, it should be very straightforward if I pass on early.
- Fri Jan 05, 2024 11:53 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Finding cost effective mid-tier colleges (Computer Science)
- Replies: 168
- Views: 47244
Re: Finding cost effective mid-tier colleges (Computer Science)
My son with a similar UW GPA but higher test scores (and 15+ AP and post-AP courses) applied CS to colleges last year. His partial results:
Denied/waitlisted: UIUC in state, Purdue, UMass
Accepted, COA well under $40k/year (with scholarships): Stony Brook, Utah, Iowa State, Missouri S&T, Alabama
Accepted, COA around $40k/year: Michigan State, Michigan Tech, Arizona State, Minnesota
Accepted, COA well over $40k/year: Virginia Tech, RIT, Rutgers
He was a National Merit Finalist as well, and he ended up choosing a good CS school that offered a full-ride NMF scholarship -- the Bogleheads way!
Denied/waitlisted: UIUC in state, Purdue, UMass
Accepted, COA well under $40k/year (with scholarships): Stony Brook, Utah, Iowa State, Missouri S&T, Alabama
Accepted, COA around $40k/year: Michigan State, Michigan Tech, Arizona State, Minnesota
Accepted, COA well over $40k/year: Virginia Tech, RIT, Rutgers
He was a National Merit Finalist as well, and he ended up choosing a good CS school that offered a full-ride NMF scholarship -- the Bogleheads way!
- Mon Jan 01, 2024 10:53 am
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: 2024 BOGLEHEAD CONTEST REGISTRATION
- Replies: 588
- Views: 61388
- Thu Dec 28, 2023 11:09 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Robotics focused colleges (tier 2 + co op preferred)
- Replies: 65
- Views: 11347
Re: Robotics focused colleges (tier 2 + co op preferred)
I have posted this before, but most public colleges in the Southeast, Midwest and Western states offer some type of merit aid to out of state students in order to entice high caliber students to attend, and most of them will publicize the awards on their website.... A partial list of state flagships that offer these near full tuition scholarships based on GPA and test score is as follows: Just a note that many of these scholarships have been reduced in recent years. My HS class of 2023 son -- 3.8 UW GPA, 15+ AP and post-AP courses, 35 ACT, National Merit Finalist -- applied to six schools on that list. Only one of the six (Alabama) offered him within $10k of free tuition, excluding separate National Merit money. Of the 21(!) schools my son ...
- Tue Dec 12, 2023 9:07 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: How to sell DVC [Disney Vacation Club] points?
- Replies: 2
- Views: 934
Re: How to sell DVC [Disney Vacation Club] points?
I had a good experience buying with The Timeshare Store (dvcstore.com) a few years back, and the couple of people I know who have sold DVC went through them too. They're one of the larger, more reputable ones. It looks like they're 8.5% right now, plus $150 for closing fees -- I'm not sure what the usual commission is for DVC, but just as another data point.
- Mon Dec 11, 2023 2:18 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Trying to unpack GPO/WEP with Illinois SURS pension
- Replies: 3
- Views: 465
Re: Trying to unpack GPO/WEP with Illinois SURS pension
Thanks @Sumo2136, that's a terrific idea. I don't know if they'll allow me to have an appointment, since I'm not in SURS yet, but I'll definitely give it a shot. I'm in the Chicago suburbs, so I'll try their Naperville office.
- Mon Dec 11, 2023 12:59 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Anyone Make a Major Career Change in Their Forties?
- Replies: 95
- Views: 35477
Re: Anyone Make a Major Career Change in Their Forties?
I was a stay-at-home parent for 14 years, working part-time music jobs for fun and profit. After my youngest got old enough in 2019 (when I was 42), I got a couple CompTIA IT certifications and got a job working for a school district. Now in 2023, a new job and a promotion later, I'm finishing up my masters in IT and getting to be a finalist for six-figure IT jobs. Never expected I'd be here five years ago, but I'd say it's been very successful for me.
- Mon Dec 11, 2023 12:30 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Trying to unpack GPO/WEP with Illinois SURS pension
- Replies: 3
- Views: 465
Re: Trying to unpack GPO/WEP with Illinois SURS pension
Other info if relevant:
- Salary change: $70k to $90k
- Family income change: $280k to $300k (not substantial, which is why I don't want to mess something up)
- Family savings: $2.3 million, 80/20 tax-advantaged vs. taxable
- Debts: none, mortgage paid off on $650k house
- Retirement plans: Both wife and I plan to retire in 2032, but I might work longer than that
- Mon Dec 11, 2023 12:18 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Trying to unpack GPO/WEP with Illinois SURS pension
- Replies: 3
- Views: 465
Trying to unpack GPO/WEP with Illinois SURS pension
Hi everyone -- I’m a 46yo, currently working for a school district enrolled in IMRF (Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund). IMRF is set up as additional income alongside Social Security, so I pay into both IMRF and SS. For IMRF, I’m 3 years into the 10 years I need for my pension to vest. I’ve been paying into SS since age 22 or so, but many of those years I was working part-time as a stay-at-home dad, so I have 15 years of “substantial earnings” by SS’s reckoning. My PIA is estimated at ~$2100 -- but ~$1300 if I set “Average Future Annual Salary” to $0. (I don’t have my wife’s PIA, but she’s been above the SS salary max for the last 15 years or so, so I assume it’s near the SS max PIA.) I’m a finalist for a position with a public Illinois uni ...
- Wed May 10, 2023 11:26 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Best site for browsing interest rates
- Replies: 2
- Views: 776
Re: Best site for browsing interest rates
depositaccounts.com (and its predecessor, Bank Deals Blog) I've been using for the best CD/Savings Account rates for at least a decade. There are other sites I've found that are fine, but depositaccounts.com has a fuller list at the top end in my experience.
- Wed May 25, 2022 9:55 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: How to secure In-State Tuition
- Replies: 91
- Views: 8764
Re: How to secure Instate Tuition
For Utah and Missouri universities, it is fairly easy to get in-state tuition starting sophomore year, as long as you work/attend school in-state the summer after freshman year (and a few other doable steps).
Pretty much everywhere else, though, it's very hard to get in-state tuition unless you're actually an in-state resident.
Pretty much everywhere else, though, it's very hard to get in-state tuition unless you're actually an in-state resident.
- Mon May 09, 2022 10:55 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Share your Net Worth Regression
- Replies: 369
- Views: 69159
Re: Share your Net Worth Regression
12/29/21: $2.73 million
5/9/21: $2.51 million
The latter number is including $100k of house appreciation/new contributions.
What a fun game!
5/9/21: $2.51 million
The latter number is including $100k of house appreciation/new contributions.
What a fun game!
- Wed May 04, 2022 7:24 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Give kids $100k for college and let them decide?
- Replies: 180
- Views: 15124
Re: Give kids $100k for college and let them decide?
I'm a bit late to the thread here, but my question is this. Wouldn't the best outcome be: 1. your child to get into the best school they can get into 2. your child to focus on studying and learning 3. your child not worrying about money, which interferes with goal #2 If you've got the means (and I would assume most of us here on Bogleheads do), then doesn't this sort of cut against the idea of playing tricks like "here's $100k now you decide"? We have an 11th grader and a 6th grader. Full freight at a top private university would run roughly $330k for the oldest and $370k for the youngest, so for both combined around $400k more than the $150k x 2 I have saved for them. Living as good Bogleheads, my wife and I have roughly $2 million in ...
- Mon May 02, 2022 4:59 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Give kids $100k for college and let them decide?
- Replies: 180
- Views: 15124
Re: Give kids $100k for college and let them decide?
That's pretty much our plan. 10 years ago, I made my best estimate of what an engineering/CS degree at our state flagship UIUC would cost ($155k for the oldest, $180 for the youngest), and we aimed toward saving that for both kids. The price guess was pretty accurate, at least for the oldest (now in 11th grade). We are not signing any parent-plus loans, so that puts a hard no on many expensive colleges...but my wife and I went to a directional college of no distinction (on academic free rides) and are doing quite well, so we don't see that as an issue in the least. My wife and I were able to save quite a bit of money very early after college, bought a house at age 23/24 -- things that we wouldn't have been able to as easily do without ...
- Sat Apr 30, 2022 10:42 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Applying to CS colleges the Boglehead way
- Replies: 168
- Views: 20824
Re: Applying to CS colleges the Boglehead way
OP, it's clear your son is smart and motivated, unfortunately, the elephant in the room is his gpa, which I'm guessing will be disqualifying for the top 20-30 cs schools unless his he can position his excellent ecs well, especially if he needs merit dollars. For example, you mentioned a potential scholarship at rpi, our experience was that one needed to be in the top 25th percentile of admitted students to receive a meaningful merit award at any school, looking at rpi's latest common dataset: https://www.docdroid.net/MS0f2Ew/cds2020-2021-rpi-pdf#page=11 I took a look at that dataset: Of the 549 freshman who didn't receive need-based aid, more than 75 percent of them (421) received a merit scholarship, averaging $23k each. Trouble is, that ...
- Tue Apr 26, 2022 4:47 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Applying to CS colleges the Boglehead way
- Replies: 168
- Views: 20824
Re: Applying to CS colleges the Boglehead way
The data the counselor showed you, was it for CS-Engg or did it include the various CS+X programs ? My impression is that students can check one or 2 backup choices. If CS-Engg is their primary, they can specify (for example), CS+Statistics or CS+Economics as their backups. The CS degree is identical, the difference between these are the College of Engg requirements vs the College of Arts and Sciences requirements. The spreadsheet was only for CS Engineering -- she didn't have a breakdown of the CS+ students, unfortunately. What she said -- and what they said at our UIUC session -- is that CS is somewhat harder to get into than Math & CS/Stats & CS, and that those two majors are somewhat harder to get into than CS + anything else. The ...
- Tue Apr 26, 2022 1:48 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Applying to CS colleges the Boglehead way
- Replies: 168
- Views: 20824
Re: Applying to CS colleges the Boglehead way
When we toured UIUC earlier this year, we were told that as of '22-'23 they weren't allowing ANY UIUC students to change their major to straight CS. You either come in as a CS major or you aren't allowed to be one. (Not true for CS+Economics, CS+Music, etc.) That makes me think that the number of students who will be allowed to transfer from other institutions into CS will be very small, if not zero.Northern Flicker wrote: ↑Tue Apr 26, 2022 1:14 pm What are the transfer opportunities at UIUC? If not getting in out of high school, taking 1 or 2 years at another public university in IL and transferring still gets the upper division CS courses and degree from UIUC.
- Tue Apr 26, 2022 1:07 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Applying to CS colleges the Boglehead way
- Replies: 168
- Views: 20824
Re: Applying to CS colleges the Boglehead way
Curious... has your son actually asked you for help with this decision? He's asked for help in coming up with quality options that are (likely) affordable for him that he can research and think about. There's information overload for him right now — dozens of emails daily from colleges, distant relatives giving advice that may or may not appropriate, etc. He'd like a smaller, vetted list he can begin with rather than starting with every college in the US. (I've given him a number of options already that he's looked into, and we've visited UIUC, Missouri S&T, Iowa State, and Rose-Hulman.) Where he actually applies to in early fall is largely up to him, as long as (a) it's a balanced list with some appropriate safeties and (b) I don't have t ...
- Mon Apr 25, 2022 8:53 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Applying to CS colleges the Boglehead way
- Replies: 168
- Views: 20824
Re: Applying to CS colleges the Boglehead way
Thanks for everyone's comments so far! A couple thoughts: * I'm a little reluctant to have him apply to most top 15/20 CS schools because even if he gets in (unlikely), CS is competitive enough (particular for an unhooked male with non-perfect stats) that I think substantial merit aid is going to be very unlikely. Looking at the USN&WR CS rankings -- not perfect, I admit -- there's not many I think he has a chance at being affordable. UIUC (no. 5) is an exception, being in-state. Purdue (no. 20) is close to $40k out-of-state, so that's a yes. Maryland (no. 16), maybe? Wisconsin (also 16) I saw mentioned a couple times, but my impression from other families at my son's school is they're offering next to nothing in merit aid to anyone ...
- Mon Apr 25, 2022 12:36 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Applying to CS colleges the Boglehead way
- Replies: 168
- Views: 20824
Re: Applying to CS colleges the Boglehead way
I had seen the Ivy Achievement CS graph somewhere before, and I remember thinking, how useful is this if they're not adjusting for cost of living (one axis) and proximity to tech hubs (the other axis)? Are SJSU (138th USN&WR in CS), Cal Poly (87th), and Seattle U. (210th) really as good as UIUC (5th)? I think if you can make some mental compensation, though, it probably does have some functionality.viveks wrote: ↑Mon Apr 25, 2022 11:12 am Not sure I would give too much weight to "Red Dots", most of these are anyway top schools but some are on the list just because they are close to Tech hubs and student can get a job. But that doesn't mean that there are no GOOD career opportunities if you go to Blue Dot schools or even ones that are not even on the map.
- Sun Apr 24, 2022 2:45 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Applying to CS colleges the Boglehead way
- Replies: 168
- Views: 20824
Re: Applying to CS colleges the Boglehead way
It wasn't, because Naviance doesn't get that granular w/r/t majors. But for UIUC, since it's our state flagship, the counselors have Excel worksheets that break it down for some of the more popular/difficult-to-get-in majors.TomatoTomahto wrote: ↑Sun Apr 24, 2022 1:14 pm I’m surprised that an unweighted 3.7 GPA, 35 ACT, math extracurriculars didn’t get a better reaction from the HS counselor. Was this anonymized report based on Naviance?
- Sun Apr 24, 2022 2:16 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Applying to CS colleges the Boglehead way
- Replies: 168
- Views: 20824
Re: Applying to CS colleges the Boglehead way
Based on his PSAT index (223), he will almost certainly be a National Merit Semifinalist, but being a National Merit Finalist isn't guaranteed because he does have one C (which based on what I've read makes it iffy).
- Sun Apr 24, 2022 2:11 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Applying to CS colleges the Boglehead way
- Replies: 168
- Views: 20824
Re: Applying to CS colleges the Boglehead way
The problem with community college is he will have taken almost every CS course and math course any CC will offer by the time he graduates from HS. (Already taken Discrete Structures/Data Structures/Intro to AI/Calc 3/Linear Algebra.) And his APs will cover most gen ed courses at colleges.dodecahedron wrote: ↑Sun Apr 24, 2022 2:03 pm Consider community college (with excellent academic record) followed by transfer to Carnegie Mellon. I know someone who did exactly that in CS.
- Sun Apr 24, 2022 2:08 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Applying to CS colleges the Boglehead way
- Replies: 168
- Views: 20824
Re: Applying to CS colleges the Boglehead way
Math club, CS club, band stuff, three-time AIME qualifier, USACO silver. No leadership roles. Giant public HS, one of the best in the state. Probably the teacher who would go most to bat for him is his AP Computer Science teacher, but that was his sophomore year (he's been taking post-AP DE classes in CS at a local college).TomatoTomahto wrote: ↑Sun Apr 24, 2022 1:14 pm What were his extracurriculars?
...
What kind of HS? What caliber of counselor? Is there a teacher who would really go on record for him?
- Sun Apr 24, 2022 2:01 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Applying to CS colleges the Boglehead way
- Replies: 168
- Views: 20824
Re: Applying to CS colleges the Boglehead way
He's been interested in CS and programming projects in Python since 6th grade -- his middle school science fair project dealt with programming a neural network to play a board game. Math and CS are the only two majors he gave any real thoughts to, and CS won pretty easily (and would have regardless of the money).
- Sun Apr 24, 2022 1:55 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Applying to CS colleges the Boglehead way
- Replies: 168
- Views: 20824
- Sun Apr 24, 2022 12:42 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Applying to CS colleges the Boglehead way
- Replies: 168
- Views: 20824
Applying to CS colleges the Boglehead way
My son's a HS junior in Illinois, definitely chosen CS as his college major, good student but probably not competitive to get into the tippy-top CS programs (3.7 unweighted GPA, albeit it with 9 AP/dual enrollment courses so far; 35 ACT; a couple decent math extracurriculars). We've been very upfront with him, since freshman year or before, that we'll have in the neighborhood of $150,000-$160,000 for him to go to college -- basically using the projected cost for an engineering degree at UIUC as our guideline. And we've made very clear that we aren't signing any Parent Plus loans for him and that we'd discourage him from getting the federal loans as well (although ultimately that's his decision). We've had friends who have had problems when ...
- Sat Apr 23, 2022 10:29 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: [Best way to go between Iowa State Univ, Ames and DSM / LGA / MSP airports]
- Replies: 50
- Views: 4776
Re: Best way to go to Univ of Iowa, Ames form DSM & LGA
Assuming you mean Iowa State University in Ames, the best option is probably Lyft/Uber for around $60-$70. There's also Executive Express (https://www.executiveexpress.biz/), but I'm not sure that runs much if any cheaper.
- Wed Apr 21, 2021 3:58 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Choosing a university/college for my son a future Computer Science Major
- Replies: 212
- Views: 28252
Re: Choosing a university/college for my son a future Computer Science Major
Purdue probably wins out on a social basis as they have better sports (Big 10) and more girls (43% female) compared to RH (24% female). However, the average starting salary for Rose-Hulman CS graduates is $111,992, while the average starting salary for Purdue CS majors is $68,499. That is a big difference. You can look that up on https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/ . Just to clarify, Purdue's average CS salary is $86k on College Scorecard, not $68k. And if you average the past two years, R-H is "only" ahead of Purdue by $15k instead of $25k. But still. We toured R-H over spring break and were quite impressed. Our CS-interested son still has another year-plus until he starts applying to schools, but I'm pretty sure it'll be high on his list.
- Mon Feb 15, 2021 9:49 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: E-filing form 1116 [FreeTaxUSA]
- Replies: 122
- Views: 16701
Re: Can't E-file form 1116
FTUSA has a dropdown list of every possible country by full name, and then on the paper form of 1116 it lists the first 10 characters of the country's name. No way that I can tell to be able to glean what they're submitting as the country code for e-filing.
And yes, I'm having the same annoying issue as everyone else.
- Tue Aug 06, 2019 2:19 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Portfolio review -- early 40s
- Replies: 10
- Views: 2083
Re: Portfolio review -- early 40s
Oops, mistake on my end: we're in the 24 percent bracket, not the 32. I misread the chart I got my bracket info from. (I hate to admit I don't know that info offhand.) I've edited my first post.
- Tue Aug 06, 2019 1:16 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Portfolio review -- early 40s
- Replies: 10
- Views: 2083
Re: Portfolio review -- early 40s
If either of your 401k plans accepts incoming rollovers, you might consider doing that so you can make so-called backdoor Roth contributions without pro-rata rule complications. I'll look into that — thanks. I've never had a good notion of what's the ideal allocation for the 529/Coverdell money between stock/bonds. I've been on the aggressive side, which has worked so far for me...but that doesn't mean it's a good idea. I have actually subscribed to the age based models but I don't use them directly. I basically just take the allocations (from vanguards website) and mirror that with individual funds (as closely as I can). I start with the aggressive age based model when young and then I am moving toward the conservative model when they get ...
- Tue Aug 06, 2019 12:35 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Portfolio review -- early 40s
- Replies: 10
- Views: 2083
Re: Portfolio review -- early 40s
With a several hundred thousand dollars in a taxable accounts a reasonable case could be made that just having a few months expenses in an emergency fund would be plenty. Seperate from the emergency fund you might want to also have a fund to pay cash for your next car. If some of these CD's would likely be used for that then your emergency fund might not really be as large as it looks like. The savings/CDs is halfway between an emergency fund and a fund for large purchases that we don't want to take a loan out for — our last three cars we've paid out of that fund, with another large purchase coming up about a year from now ($20k). But it's still probably overkill, even for that dual purpose. When possible it is best not to have bonds in a t ...
- Mon Aug 05, 2019 11:27 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Portfolio review -- early 40s
- Replies: 10
- Views: 2083
Portfolio review -- early 40s
Emergency funds: $120k in a 5-year CD ladder (most 3-3.5%), $25k in savings (2.1%) Debt: $210k/8 years remaining on mortgage at 2.5% Tax Filing Status: Married Filing Jointly Tax Rate: 24% Federal, 5% State State of Residence: Illinois Ages: 43/42 Desired Asset Allocation: 80% stocks / 20% bonds Desired International allocation: 35% of stocks Portfolio size: $1.3 million Joint taxable account: 13% Vanguard Wellington Fund Admiral (VWENX) (0.17%) 8% Vanguard Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund Admiral (VWETX) (0.12%) 2% Vanguard Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade Fund Investor (VFICX) (0.20%) 2% in her employer's stock (unsold restricted stock) Her 401(k): 36% State Street S&P 500 Index Class N (0.02%) His Traditional IRA at Vanguard: 15 ...