Bogleheads.org

student wrote: ↑Mon Jan 23, 2023 9:40 am I agree with posters who said that you don't need FSPGX and VMILX as you have 500 Index and International Index.

Thanks! I have down ~30% on VMILX. Should I take the loss and rebalance or wait until I recover some losses?

Hi, I am 36 and planning to rebalance my 401k account. I was hoping if you please share your thoughts on my proposed allocation? I have copied image of the available funds within my 401k account. https://imgur.com/a/6wQGUKi TIA!! I suggest using: 1) Fidelity® 500 Index Fund (80% of the U.S.stock market) (FXAIX) ER 0.015%; and 2) Fidelity® International Index Fund (developed markets only) (FSPSX) ER 0.035%. Are there any bond funds offered? Please give fund names, tickers and expense ratios. Is there a Stable Value Fund or Guaranteed Income Fund offered, if so what interest rate is currently being paid and what rate if any is guaranteed? Thank you! Below are the three bond fund available: Fidelity® U.S. Bond Index Fund (FXNAX) (0.025%) Bair...

Assuming you have other investment accounts such as Roth IRA, I agree that you need to incorporate this 401k into your overall portfolio and coordinate the asset allocation across all your accounts. You didn't state what your desired/target asset allocation is. That's critical for deciding what funds to use in each account. In this account, I would use FXAIX (S&P 500) and the Fidelity international index fund. I would also look for a low-cost bond fund. As another user said, there's no need to have the growth funds when you have the S&P 500 and the other international fund, because the growth stocks are included in the other funds. Thank you for the advise! Currently, my vanguard fund is down about 30%. Is it still a good idea to r...

ClassOf2021 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 23, 2023 7:19 am Your choices for your 401k are a part of your overall investment portfolio and plan which you have not provided. Low cost index funds as noted above are generally good choices of the options you provided in this 401k.

Thank you! As such, I do not have a preferred portfolio allocation as I have most focused on a three fund portfolio approach for my 401k, Roth and Brokerage account.

RetirementClass2021 wrote: ↑Sun Jan 22, 2023 8:47 pm For a diversified low-cost "Total Stock Market" equity portfolio I would chose:

Fid 500 Index 68%
Fid Mid Cap Idx 8%
Fid SM Cap Idx 4%
Fid Intl Index 20%

I noticed you do not have bond options. Something to re-visit when you reach your 50s (within 10-15 years of retirement)

Good luck.

Thank you! What's the rationale of putting 8% to Mid and 4% to Small cap fund - to gain less volatility in the portfolio?

you don't need the large cap growth index (because you have that in the S&P500) or the Vanguard International Growth (because you have fidelity international index). finally why do you have a blend 2050 fund AND also the standalone funds like the S&P500 and the Fidelity international index? Most would either just have the blend (target date) fund OR the standalone funds like S&P500, fidelity international index and possibly a bond or stable value fund or some other cash/fixed income component (like a money market) but not both. Though I don't see any fixed income funds. Are you sure this is a complete list of funds available? If you choose the standalone funds rather than the blend 2050, you could (or could not) have the S&...

Hi,
I am 36 and planning to rebalance my 401k account. I was hoping if you please share your thoughts on my proposed allocation? I have copied image of the available funds within my 401k account.


https://imgur.com/a/6wQGUKi


TIA!!

Depends on your marginal tax rate. If high it's worth it especially if you expect to be in a lower bracket in retirement. If you're in a low bracket tax savings aren't as good. Then taxable account is the only option left unless you do self employment on the side in which case there are other options. Is there any in sevice rollover option with your plan or self directed brokerage option with your 403b? Does your wife work? And if so does she max her retirement accounts and if not how do her fees compare with yours? But let's not get ahead of ourselves. What's your marginal rate? Marginal rate of 24% Definitely worth it. Say you put in 20k .55% of 20k is $110 expense But 24% if 20k is $4800 tax saved. I think it's worth paying $110 to save...

arcticpineapplecorp. wrote: ↑Fri Mar 11, 2022 5:42 pm Depends on your marginal tax rate. If high it's worth it especially if you expect to be in a lower bracket in retirement. If you're in a low bracket tax savings aren't as good. Then taxable account is the only option left unless you do self employment on the side in which case there are other options. Is there any in sevice rollover option with your plan or self directed brokerage option with your 403b? Does your wife work? And if so does she max her retirement accounts and if not how do her fees compare with yours? But let's not get ahead of ourselves. What's your marginal rate?

Marginal rate of 24%

PersonalFinanceJam wrote: ↑Fri Mar 11, 2022 5:40 pm I know it wasn't part of your original post, but are you also covered by a pension? Is there a Roth option for your 403b?

Yes, I am part of the state pension plan.

Hello,
I (F34) work in the education sector and my employer offers 403B via AXA Equitable. My employer does not match any of my 403B contributions. Every year I max out my Roth IRA, HSA, and currently have 0 debt. I am wondering if I should max out my 403B account even though the funds offered have a very high expense ratio (following are the funds)? (I file MFJ)

Funds (Currently invested):
Equitable 500 Index (0.55%)
Large Cap Growth Index (0.73%)

If not, please suggest alternative options or any advice.

coynerone wrote: ↑Wed Oct 27, 2021 8:28 pm Introduce yourself and then ask if you can look at the same things at the same time. See what they say. The report will have diagrams and pictures so it will be easy to remember what you have seen.
Are you having just a home inspection or is there a pest inspection too? As RE Investor I find the pest inspection to be more important in that it more directly addresses the structure and condition of the building.
No reason you can't ask questions on site.

For now just going with Home Inspection. If the inspector report any signs of pest or termite, we will be going with a specialized inspection around it.

You may get better tips with more information: Approx age of home - 42 years Free standing house or condo? - Single Family Home (Basement Semi-furnished) If the former, wood frame construction? Approx geographic area? - I think probably wood frame construction. I am not sure though. Recently remodeled or is it pretty dated (approx vintage of finishes and last major update)? - Not remodeled. Things like Roof, Heating system, Gutters were recently replaced. i.e. What to watch for in a suburban, Texas ranch, built ca. 2010, may be rather different from what to watch for in an 1980s NYC condo or a Boston area brick home built around 1910... - House is in Central New Jersey Thank you and apologize for almost no information about the house. I ha...

I am a first-time home buyer and have a home inspection Friday and I am planning on being at the house for the entire 3-4 hours along with the inspectors.

Are there any tips or recommendations you have to maximize my time spent in the house? Am I supposed/allowed only to shadow the inspector or can I also take pictures of certain things which may look suspicious? Are there are particular items that you can point out based on your experience which I should point out to the inspector?

Thank you!

grkmec wrote: ↑Thu Oct 21, 2021 6:48 am Are you paying cash or is financing involved? If a bank is involved, you can wave the appraisal but the the bank won’t. If the appraisal comes back low you will be on the hook for a bigger downpayment.

I would only waive appraisal if I was an expert on the local market and didn’t care about the financing consequences. I also happen to have a very low opinion of appraisers so I don’t put much faith into the products they produce.

Thank you! We have financing involved.

We are in the process of buying a home and the agent said we will have a higher chance of getting the home if we waive the appraisal. The houses in the neighbourhood (similar style, sq.ft, etc.) are recently getting sold for 5.5 - 7% higher than the listing price. In that regard, I have following questions:
1. How would you approach this? Advisable, Not advisable?
2. If the buyer's agent put in the contract that the seller will waive appraisal but the house comes back with an appraisal of only 3%, is there a way to handle this situation?

Any other advice or experience around this would be highly appreciated.

Thank you all for your feedback/advice! I have another follow up question:

This house was built in 1962. We were told the previous inspection led to the identification of Asbestos in the ceiling wall. How common is that for such an old house? What are the options we have? Should we do the Asbestos test (sold at home depot, etc.) or just pass the house? Again, this house is in New Jersey.

CommitmentDevice wrote: ↑Thu Sep 16, 2021 5:08 pm Not all inspectors are equal. Get a good one (lots of good reviews on AngiesList should suffice). Shadow the inspector as they do the walkthrough.

That's a great suggestion and I am thinking of having one very soon.

I primarily buy "as is" houses. Nothing wrong with them... It just means you will be doing all the "decorating" fixups - painting rooms (which may mean removing wallpaper, fixing all the nail holes and imperfections in the walls, etc). Re carpeting/refinishing wood floors/new vinyl flooring. Maybe you will want to install new light fixtures inside and outside. For example. It also means you will be doing all the actual "fix ups" or taking care of any maintenance that hasn't been done for years. All of these things cost money. I would do a punch list of sorts. Get info on the "systems" in the house: Age/condition of the roof/gutters/soffit/facia. Age/condition of the HVAC Age/condition of the water he...

I believe you need to consult a New Jersey real estate lawyer. I thought New Jersey required disclosure even if the sale is as is. googled up at random: www.earlwhite.law/sell-house-as-is-new-jersey/ Read it all, but here's one paragraph. "“As Is” Clause and Disclaimers. Sellers cannot eliminate their disclosure obligations with an “as is” contract clause or a general contract disclaimer. See Dalmazio v. Rosa, No. A-3635-12T1 (Super. Ct. App. Div. Feb. 20, 2015) (“In the context of a real estate sale, a sufficient misrepresentation occurs if the seller fails to disclose on-site defective conditions if those conditions were known to them and unknown and not readily observable by the buyer. A contract that purports to sell real property...

davebo wrote: ↑Thu Sep 16, 2021 11:35 am I would assume the sellers just don't want to deal with any haggling so I wouldn't shy away. I would just make sure I go in eyes wide open based on what you are dealing with. Get the regular inspection and radon testing, but possibly other more specialized if your inspector indicates there might be an issue.

The things I'd be concerned about are the big ticket items like the roof, HVAC, sewer line, flooding issues. If you have to deal with any of those problems, it might not be as good of a deal as it seems.

Thank you so very much for your suggestion! We will keep this in mind when reviewing the inspection report.

Nivek wrote: ↑Thu Sep 16, 2021 11:06 am As long as you can do an inspection before offering or contingent upon, no issues. Just know they won't fix anything and adjust your offer accordingly.

Thank you! The seller is firm on the price. But yes, if some major comes out of inspection, we will probably negiotate. Appreciate your suggestion.

Colorado13 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 16, 2021 11:02 am If there were a structural issue, you might have a reason to be concerned. But since the items you list are cosmetic in nature, I wouldn't hesitate at all to buy this house as is (if it meets your needs and finances otherwise.)

The seller agent said there is no structural issues but again we don't know for sure. We are taking the words for now. We will have to wait for the inspection to tell us if something is off or are we good with the house.

IMO wrote: ↑Thu Sep 16, 2021 10:57 am The concept of "as is" in it itself isn't that negative. It can mean that the person selling the house doesn't want to be dealing with someone nit picking for this/that to be fixed as part of a sale.

This shouldn't be confused with buying a home without inspection that people have been doing in the recent housing craze. An "as is" home should be very carefully inspected prior to purchase so that you understand what needs to be repaired/replaced and you can factor that into a reasonable offer.

Thank you very much! There is no seller disclosure for the house. And so we are completely reliant on the inspection.

Hello All, We (34M&F) are planning on putting an offer on the house which is on market. We are buyers in New Jersey. The house is marketed to be sold in "As-Is" condition. Moreover, this is an estate sale. The house is in a great school district with close proximity to Train Station. This house in our opinion is not move-in ready but needs some touch-ups. Following are few items which we noticed when we saw the house: - Old Carpets (Have hardwood floor underneath) - Main Window needed to be replaced due to fogging - Kitchen / Bathroom needs an update (possibly down the line). So I am hoping some one can please share their thoughts on Estate sale and especially houses which are sold in "As-Is" condition. Any pro/cons,...

Hello - I bought about $5K of Series I saving bonds in May '21 (4 separate transactions - 7 days apart). Upon examining the account today, I noticed that I have not received interest payment for the month of May. Can someone tell me how/when are interest payments made for Series I bonds? Also, is the interest prorated (i.e. say if I invested on May 21st, $1000 - In that case interest will be calculated only for the remaining 10 days)?

Appreciate your guidance!

Hi,
We (M34, F33) are debating whether we should open a 529 plan now or when we have kid(s). We live in NJ which does not offer any tax advantage for contributing to a 529 plan. We don't own a mortgage and neither have any outstanding debts. We max out all of the taxable and tax-advantaged accounts (HSA, her 403B, his 401K, her Roth IRA, his Roth IRA).

Hoping to get some advice on whether we should open and contribute to 529 now or wait until we have kids.

Thank you!

Thank you for the clarification!

from pub 529 regarding educator expenses: Qualified expenses. Qualified expenses include ordinary and necessary expenses paid in connection with books, supplies, equipment (including computer equipment, software, and services), and other materials used in the classroom. there are miscellaneous expenses and unreimbursed employee expenses but... Business Expense If you run your own business as a sole proprietor, you can write off your professional license fees on Schedule C. List the type and cost of each license as "Other Expenses" in Part V and then transfer the total to line 27a. This deduction not only reduces your income taxes, but also your self-employment taxes because it comes out of your business income. Employee Expense D...

mhalley wrote: ↑Wed Jan 06, 2021 8:28 pm Im not sure what you mean about investing in the 401k to take advantage of the taxable account. Do you mean take advantage of the tax advantaged account? Take advantage of the retirement account? If you post the names and ers of the funds plus what is available in the 401k you will get a more meaningful response. In general, we like a 3 fund portfolio, total stock market, total international stock market, and total bond market.
100% total stock market would be fine in roth.

Sorry for not being clear. I meant to say - this is a Roth IRA account. So there are not tax implications for this account when we retire.

Happy New Year Folks! My wife (32) and I (33) max out Roth IRA account every year. Federal filing status - MFJ (~15% Fed Tax). Our taxes will increase this year due to increases in income. We are looking for some advice on investment within our Roth IRA portfolio. Currently, I have a Roth IRA account with Currently, we have the following investments in our Roth: Her (Vanguard ~ 30K) VTSAX (95%) VWUSX (5%) His (Fidelity ~70k) - How can he rebalance the portfolio and take full advantage of the taxable account? Symbol Percent Of Account FZROX 18.77% FTQGX 17.70% Undecided 9.27% FBSOX 7.67% FSKAX 7.64% FHKCX 7.42% FSAGX 6.05% WAINX 5.81% (Bad Investment decision a couple of years back - Will sell-off soon.) FFNOX 5.23% CNXT 4.29% (Bad Investmen...

Sorry for asking - but can someone here explain what does tax efficiency means for taxable account? I am assuming when you say taxable account you are referring to 401k / TIRA?

I filed using the online version for 2019 and used/paid for Premium. I have capital loss/gain from the previous year, will the deluxe version still work and handle all such scenarios?

Also, if I order the CD, will I be able to download the MAC version of the software?

If you don't plan to utilize these funds for medical expenses then I'd treat it as you would another investment account. I agree with duckie, VFIAX and VITSX are going to provide you similar outcomes. If that's your goal you could simplify and just pick one of those. Thank you for the advice! So thinking long term, are there ways to convert HSA money into roth-ira? As far as I know, an HSA is sort of a Roth IRA - for health expenses. As long as you use it for approved health expenses you can use it tax free. It's also better than a Roth in that you get a deduction by contributing. After age 65 you can withdraw any money from it without penalty. You'd treat it like a regular IRA for non approved medical expenses (ie pay taxes) or tax free f...

jbow44 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 27, 2020 8:06 pm If you don't plan to utilize these funds for medical expenses then I'd treat it as you would another investment account. I agree with duckie, VFIAX and VITSX are going to provide you similar outcomes. If that's your goal you could simplify and just pick one of those.

Thank you for the advice!

So thinking long term, are there ways to convert HSA money into roth-ira?

happysteward wrote: ↑Mon Jul 27, 2020 7:52 pm I have the Optum HSA as well, I settled on the Schwab target date funds with an allocation appropriate for my time line, saw it as the best way to get high quality bonds and diverse stocks at a low expense ratio, other ways of doing it with the Optum HSA choices were not readily evident.

that's a good strategy. I plan on doing that once I am close to retirement .. Thank you for your suggestion/thought though!

Duckie wrote: ↑Mon Jul 27, 2020 6:35 pm

outlierZ wrote:Could you please critique and advise on my HSA portfolio selection?
<snip>
Currently below is my contribution:
40% - Vanguard 500 Index (VFIAX)
60% - Vanguard Total Stock Market Inst (VITSX)

You don't need both. Total Stock Market is roughly 80% 500 Index. So if you keep on with these, pick one.

thank you for the advice!

To answer this question intelligently, we need to know whether you intend on using HSA funds for ongoing medical expenses or if you will pay cash and invest the HSA for the long term. If the latter, I just invest my HSA the same as my other tax advantaged accounts. If the former, then need to keep it in more cash like instruments.

We don't have much medical expenses so far (thank goodness!!), but if you do, I plan on paying cash. I am thinking of HSA as a purely long term investment.

Hi All - Could you please critique and advise on my HSA portfolio selection? I am currently 33 years old and typically max out my HSA. This HSA is through my employer which I joined almost a year back. HSA is with optum bank. Currently below is my contribution: 40% - Vanguard 500 Index (VFIAX) 60% - Vanguard Total Stock Market Inst (VITSX) Below are the other fund choices that my HSA offers: Vanguard 500 Index VFIAX Vanguard Equity Income VEIRX Vanguard Extended Market Index Inst VIEIX Vanguard Global Equity VHGEX Vanguard Healthcare VGHAX Vanguard Inflation Protected Inst. VIPIX Vanguard Life Strategy Growth VASGX Vanguard LifeStrategy Conservative Growth VSCGX Vanguard LifeStrategy Moderate Growth VSMGX Vanguard Mid Cap Index Inst VMCIX V...

Sorry - Not trying to divert the conversion.

What about buying VOO (ETF) or SPY in Roth?

Thank you all so much for your valuable suggestion! We are certainly nervous about finding the right house and at the same time making sure we don't get into something which we will regret later. We have not found an agent yet. If you are in NJ or know anyone that you personally would retain as an agent, please send me a DM.

Again, I am very appreciative of everyone's time and suggestions!

Hello - We are first time home buyers and looking for some advice from group members.

We have started to look at houses and we were wondering what all things should we keep in mind/check before we make an offer? We are in the process of getting an agent, however, we would like to know based on your experience - things we should personally check rather than completely relying on an agent.

We stay in New Jersey.

Thank you for your time!

Back in the days, I got a secured CC with BoA. They offered me pretty decent limit as I was working in my school as a TA. Below is the link to the card which I received. https://www.bankofamerica.com/credit-cards/products/secured-credit-card/ Also if you have BoA account, I would recommend adding your spouse to it as a secondary as this might make it easier for the bank to decide whether to issue a CC to your spouse or not. Also you might want to consider adding your spouse to all your CC as secondary user. Keep in mind that having a CC and paying bills on time will certainly help to build a good score, but that is not the only factor in a credit score. As someone mentioned above, try to get a secured/unsecured installment loan on your spou...

Thank you for your reply! I mean what about investing in a company like Visa, Mastercard from Roth IRA and forget about that for the next couple of years? Investing in any one company in your Roth IRA involves taking a lot of extra risk. The reason to hold a stock mutual fund, rather than an individual stock, is that one company's or one industry's troubles won't hurt you that much. (Similarly if you hold a bond mutual fund; your bonds are for safety, and if you hold a lot of bonds from any one company, you don't have the safety because that company might be unable to pay its bonds.) If you want to invest in a Roth IRA and forget about it for the future, a natural choice is a target-date fund, something like Vanguard Target Retirement 2055...

Thank you for your reply! I mean what about investing in a company like Visa, Mastercard from Roth IRA and forget about that for the next couple of years?

Hi All - My wife and I generally max out our Roth IRA every year. We have been doing this for the last 5/7 years and so far we have just invested all our $ in mutual funds. Is this a good strategy or do you recommend we should "only" buy stocks from this account as this is a tax-free growth account?
My Roth account is with Fidelity and my wife is with Vanguard. If you prefer/recommend a different strategy, please advise.

FYI: My age is 32 and wife's 31. If that changes your answer in any way

Thank you!

Hi All - This is my time posting a question, so if I have made any mistake please let me know and I will fix it. I (32) have been staying in NJ with my wife (31) since June '19 (No kids!). Currently, we rent an apartment in Edison and commute to work to Newark (wife) and Summit (me). For me, I have the option of WFH or going to the office, but I prefer to work from the office just bcoz it suites me. Also, I work in Finance and so I foresee all my commute toward Newark, Jersey City, Whippany, Manhattan area if I decide to change job. For the last couple of months, we have been contemplating buying a single-family (SF) or townhouse (w/No HOA), but it's just that we cannot decide onto an area. Our initial thoughts are to buy in an area which a...