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I am going to recommend this book:

Get What's Yours: The Secrets to Maxing Out Your Social Security 

You can probably get it from a library.

There's enough money at stake that I would consider talking to a lawyer who specializes in SS.

My view is that this money belongs to your wife, so she gets to decide how to invest it. Some people cannot accept the risk of putting money into stocks, so it sounds like 25%-30% might be comfortable for her. Of course, if you only invest in bonds or cash (like cd's) then you may not keep up with inflation (and she may not want this in bonds).

In the US college costs are outpacing inflation, a google search turned up 8% per year (not sure if this is correct or not).

I didn't have 2 nickels to rub together when I was 40, I got my first job with a 401k plan about 30 years ago. I put 15% of my salary into the only stock fund available, the $6,000 I put in the first year (still in the stock market, now in an s&p 500 index fund) has grown to about 112,000 dollars. I felt I needed to be more aggressive back then to catch up, I am still more aggressive than most. I have ridden out all the drops in the market (dot com crash, 2008-2009 crash, March of 2020, …). I believe in America and I believe the stock market here will continue to do well, but no guarantees.

I know a kid who started on a balance bike, I guess it's easier to focus on balance when you don't have to pedal, then graduated to a bike with pedals later.

I would look on Craigslist (or something similar) to find one.

I know one person who became disabled and was approved for SSDI right away (without an attorney). Another person I know was denied and had to hire an attorney and finally got approved. I believe the cap for attorney fees is 25%

Here is some information from my taxable account for 2022 for qualified dividends and capital gains:

For VFIAX (s&p 500 index fund), most of the dividends are qualified, so are taxed at the long term capital gains rate. Here is a link for qualified dividends:

https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Qualified_dividend

looking at a 1099-div for an account that had a mix of vfiax and vtsax (total us stock market), about 99% of the dividends were qualified for 2022.

there were no capital gains distributions for this account for 2022 as shown on the 1099-div I assume because no companies left or joined these indexes in 2022.

A family member got laid off from a company, there were some issues with the separation agreement, he paid an attorney a few hundred dollars to negotiate some changes to the separation agreement.

I use VFIAX (etf is VOO) s&p 500 index fund, which is very tax efficient. Most dividends are qualified, so taxed at LT capital gains rate, almost no capital gains. There are other funds/etfs that are good as well.

If you are looking for this, try a Google search using the word Guardianship or conservatorship.

Newspaper Rock is on the way to Needles:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspaper ... c_Monument

I believe this is the busiest time of year for Moab.

To drive the White Rim in Island in the Sky takes more than one day and requires a 4x4 and camping permits.

Mesa Verde might be more interesting for kids, I guess it just depends. I like Hovenweep NM but it's a long drive to get there. Durango and Silverton steam railroad is a very scenic ride, probably not open the whole way in April. PM me if you are going to Hovenweep.

for a friend who was ill I had POA for healthcare, we hired a 'fiduciary' to handle his finances and shut down his business. This guy did a great job, not sure how to find one using google.

PM me, I will give you his name.

+2 upack. when I used u-pack about 20 years ago here's how it worked: U-pack gives you an empty trailer and charges by the linear foot for your load (measured after the trailer is picked up). There is a bulkhead that separates your load from the other loads in the truck, 20 years ago the bulkhead design didn't work well, I think it's much better now. They then load other freight (not another u-pack) in the rest of the trailer (the company is ABF trucking). The trailer is 28 feet long, about 8 feet wide and about 9 feet high inside (the floor of the trailer is about 3-4 feet high so a ramp is a must and should be included with the trailer). They do not service every zip code, check their site for details: https://www.upack.com/ for my load t...

I agree with keeping stocks in taxable, I keep my bond funds in my t-ira.

I use VOO ( Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF) in taxable because it's very tax efficient. Most of the dividends are qualified, so taxed at a lower tax bracket, very low or zero capital gains. When you eventually sell if held over one year the gains are long term capital gains, taxed at lower rate.

There are probably other funds/ETFs that are similar.

You will get different opinions here from different folks. One opinion is that money you need in 5 years should not be in stocks. I take more risk that most on this forum (money in stocks) I think, but that's just me. If you have enough that you could afford a major dip in the market then maybe being more aggressive would be ok, pick something you are comfortable with.

I put LED headlight bulbs in my older vehicle, they are much brighter (this vehicle has replaceable bulbs). I probably got them from Amazon, they did not have the same beam pattern of a normal headlight so harder to aim (I aimed them by pointing the car at a white wall at night).

looks like it's easy to get from nyc to DC via Amtrak. DC has good subway system, has a mall bus that I believe you can hop on/off. Monuments, Smithsonian, Capital, … in DC. I will let others comment on safety of DC.

https://dccirculator.com/explore/where- ... onal-mall/

Niagara Falls is about 400 miles west of nyc, one option is Amtrak, but the station in Niagara Falls NY is in a really bad area. I do not recommend staying in Niagara Falls, NY because of the crime. If you have passports go to the Canadian side. PM if you have more questions.

Just my guess that TT is going to fill out a form 8606 for you. Here's a link for the form, look at line 6.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8606.pdf

+1 small claims court.

You want to make sure when you send in extra money that it's applied to principal (I believe some mortgage companies may put it in the escrow account). If the payment is applied to principal then you should be paying less interest going forward (I would check with mortgage company to make sure that's true) and the loan should be paid off sooner. I would probably set up a spreadsheet to calculate the principal and interest for this to make sure my numbers agree with the mortgage company's statement. i would add a note to each extra payment specifying that the money should go to principal.

The short story is that my 15 year old child and I did 7 cities in 6 days many moons ago, it was a great trip, we lived out of backpacks. England, Belgium, France, Italy, Switzerland, used Eurail pass and several overnight trains. Not for everyone, worked for us.

Don't forget this is your DW's money, inherited from her mother. She is clearly not comfortable with putting this money into stocks, I would not push her. Yes, I know stocks have much better returns over the long haul.

My DW also views any investment that 'could' lose money as something to be avoided, so her old retirement plan money is not in stocks.

i think this is the official IRS webpage for RMDs:

https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/pl ... tions-rmds

I have used OpenOffice for years, very good product. I think it plays well with MS Office documents for the most part.

I know a person who does both bookkeeping and tax preparation and has done it for decades. Not sure how to find a person like that, try a google search for “bookkeeping taxes.”

I would at least look at a HELOC because of the tax and penalties for withdrawing from a 401k (I assume what you are proposing is a withdrawal). I would also look at other options before taking money from the 401k. I would want to see the legal documents that govern your 401k (summary plan description, plan description) to make sure you can't partially pay the loan off. I would not trust what your employer or 401k administrator says. Or, maybe what governs is the loan agreement. If the penalty is 10% then you are going to pay a 4,000 penalty plus taxes (and I assume CA taxes on top), that's a huge penalty. I would spend a few dollars and get a legal opinion from a lawyer before doing the withdrawal. https://www.rocketmortgage.com/learn/use-...

If you are still employed at Boeing, check with their 401k provider to see what investment options there are. I would assume, being a large employer, that they have good choices for funds and hopefully low fees. If you are still employed there it's probably not going to be possible to roll your 401k into an ira, so you will probably have to live with the choices in your 401k. If you are no longer at Boeing then check to see if you can change your fund choices while keeping your 401k there (there are advantages/disadvantages for keeping you money at an old employer's 401k). if you are no longer at Boeing then you could move your 401k dollars to a traditional-ira (I would use Fidelity, Schwab or Vanguard) and then pick funds/etf's from there).

In their late 70s your parents might want to think about reducing the percentage of stocks in their retirement accounts, particularly if they will need the money in less than 5 years (this is only my opinion, not an absolute rule). If they stayed 60/40 and the market took a nasty decline that lasted several years, how would it impact them? If their pensions covered all their bills then maybe it would not matter. For the mil, maybe any stock risk is too much for her, particularly since it sounds like she has never put money into stocks. If she bought a stock index fund and the market went south, what would she do? She would probably pull out at the bottom and be mad at you for helping her lose money, so maybe any amount of stocks is too much...

It's been a few years since I had to do this so I may not get all the facts right. I had left the non-profit where my 403b was long ago, I tried to communicate with them, they would not communicate at all. I wanted to move the 403b to an IRA at Vanguard, so I sent the appropriate paperwork into vanguard (moving from a smaller company that administered the 403b), eventually the 403b got moved to Vanguard and converted to an IRA. I believe the non-profit had to approve moving the 403b out but I was not involved in that piece. I believe ERISA requires your former employer to give you the plan documents, so if he won't give them to you you could play hardball with him if you wish (not quite sure how to do that). It might be time to talk to a la...

A few years ago I tried to roll over a 403b to an ira, had to have approval of 'plan administrator' for the 403b plan, I guess the reason why is to verify you are no longer an employee. Former employer was not cooperative, it took a while. It's possible that owner is also the plan administrator.

I think ERISA governs how your employer must handle your 403b account, employer not abiding by ERISA rules is evidently a big deal. I would communicate with old employer in writing, either via email or letter to document what you are requesting. I agree with getting plan documents (summary plan description, etc.)

I would consider contacting the state agency that governs employers.

I bought a cheap 64gb micro sd on ebay a number of years ago, tried to load it with data and it failed, evidently it was a 4gb sd formatted to look like a 64gb. I got my money back but ebay did not shut this down. So, I won't buy anything like that again from ebay.

I grew up in a lower middle class household with not much money to spare. I got married young, had no job skills and was poor for years. I finally got a decent job, but did not have any extra money for decades. When I turned 40 I finally got job with a 401k and I contributed enough to get the match. When I got a raise I put the whole raise into the 401k until I got to 15%, putting all the dollars into a stock fund. I did the stock fund because I was way behind and knew I needed to catch up. I am sure I had fear about investing in stocks but I also had fear of not having any money for retirement so I took a chance on stocks. In the 30 years since, the s&p 500 index has returned 10% annually, so the $6,000 I contributed 30 years ago is no...

here is a link for testing a doorbell transformer: https://www.homedepot.com/c/ah/how-to-find-and-test-a-doorbell-transformer/9ba683603be9fa5395fab90dd1f0bcf I will assume that all doorbell systems are ac (alternating current), so use the appropriate ac range on your multimeter as described in the link. I would start at the doorbell button, if you have good voltage there then the transformer is probably working correctly. Disconnect the ring and test the voltage there. Touch the two wires together and see if the doorbell rings. Maybe the ring requires a different voltage or higher amperage than what your transformer provides? Maybe look at the install instructions for the ring. If you can find the transformer it should have the output volta...

There is a link above to a .pdf with Vanguard total returns, VFINX (vanguard 500 index fund investor shares) has returned and average of 11.04% annually since 1976. If this does not sound impressive, one dollar invested in 1976 is now worth $138. (VFINX I believe is the oldest Vanguard index fund.)

At age 40 I had not saved a dime. When I went to work for a company with a 401k I immediately put in enough to get the company match, when I got a raise I put it all in the 401k. After a couple of years I was contributing 15% of my salary. After I paid off the mortgage I was able to save even more, eventually about ½ of my pay. I also was aggressive with my investments ( stock funds) and am still aggressive for my age (stock index funds, bond index funds). I am now comfortably retired with a nice portfolio, I don't think I will ever run out of money. I think that early on it's hard to know what expenses will be in retirement so I would say for someone starting out in their mid 20s that 10% of salary would be a good starting point, I would p...

Gardiner, Montana is a small town right on the edge of Yellowstone with lodging, etc. I agree that driving in from some of the other towns outside the park takes a long time, but the lodging inside the park is expensive.

We did lots of driving in the park to find animals, traffic will be an issue in the summer months. Yellowstone would not be my first choice with young kids.

I basically use the 3 fund portfolio, here's a link (not sure what applies for you in the UK:

https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Three-fund_portfolio

I do have 10% of my portfolio in 3 good stocks, just for fun. Probably has not helped/hurt my portfolio. I do not do any dividend investing, I just sell funds when I need money (now retired). I use mostly funds but ETFs are ok too.

At your age I would be 90-100% stocks (I am in the US, I assume stocks are as good in the UK as here).

Welcome to the forum!

Here's a link:

https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Getting_started

Welcome to the forum! Here's a link:

https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Getting_started

30 years ago I gave my child appreciated stock to pay their tuition, the reason was they would pay taxes on the gains at a lower tax rate (not sure if this would work today). Maybe one option would be for her to sell just enough each year to stay under the limit?

I did find this webpage, not sure if it will help:

https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc553

I think if he retires on the first workday of January (and works that day) he will get paid for the New Years holiday, right? His insurance might continue to the end of January too. If your income is going to be lower in retirement then consider working part of the year, he will be in a much lower tax bracket. I believe you both can contribute to a Roth for 2024 with any earned income (assuming you are below the income ceiling and meet the other requirements), so another benefit. I retired the day I turned 65 and received two benefits (the bonus plan was prorated, I was vested in the stock awards) that I did not know about, even though I looked carefully at the HR website. I was thinking about retiring a few months earlier and would not hav...

I have made lots of boneheaded financial decisions over the years. I learned from some (but not all) of them, hopefully you will too. I use a Bogleheads 3 fund portfolio (with about 10% in 3 stocks, just for fun), it has worked for me for the last 20 years, hopefully you will have the same results.

I am in the camp of being more aggressive with equities when younger. I got access to my first 401k when I was 40 (I didn't have 2 nickels to rub together then), put in 15% of my salary and put it all into equities (there were only 5 funds available in the 401k and only one equity fund). I stayed aggressive with equities and am still more aggressive than most people my age. I have gone through many downturns (2000, 2008, 2020, 2022, …) and have weathered them all without panicking. Over the past 33 years the S&P 500 index has returned an average of 9.94% per year with dividends reinvested, so the $6,000 I put in in 1990 has now grown to $131,000, that is the power of compound interest. There are risks to having a large share in equities...

National Parks, Niagara Falls, fall colors in the northeast, Rocky Mountains, roads less traveled and small towns, Washington DC (Smithsonian, etc.), New York City, Chicago, any area with mountains, anyplace near an ocean, Alaska, Hawaii, Oshkosh air show (usually in July, 10,000 planes).

Wherever I can see a total solar eclipse (one on October 14th, 2023 Texas to the Pacific northwest, one on April 8th, 2024 Texas to New England). We were in the middle of the total eclipse in 2017, it was just stunning. The 2024 eclipse will go just south of Niagara Falls.

I would let them give you an estimate with the old tires, ask them for an itemized list of the costs. If you can buy tires cheaper than their quote for tires then buy tires. And, if there are other repairs then you can compare their cost with the cost of doing the repairs elsewhere.

There are scams, one where you get a fake email that tells you to send your down payment money to a bank (the scammer's bank). Here's a link that covers part of this:

https://www.komando.com/money/down-payment-scam/860486/

I guess the best advice is to verbally confirm the routing information with your agent or broker before you send money. The last thing you want is to lose all your down payment money.

I would probably send the bank a certified letter telling them to stop payment, and I would deliver a copy by hand if the bank is near by since the mail can be slow, or via email if in person delivery is not an option. And, I would address the letter to the president of the bank.

However, snail mail is slow, really slow. I would not be surprised if the check arrives before summer.

You could also call the agency that regulates the bank (I believe every state has an agency that regulates banks) and file a complaint.

Dear Mr. Larimore:

Happy 99th birthday!

Thank you for your service at the Battle of the Bulge in World War II

Thank you for your service to Bogleheads.

Thank you for any service that I missed.

A friend of mine (late 40s) has been diagnosed with a severe debilitating disease, was on short term disability for 3 months, then went back to work. Disease is getting worse, she cannot work 40 hours per week (and overtime is expected to get work done, salaried employee), it's looking like short term disability again, maybe long term disability ( STD and LTD covered by employer).

Questions about work, STD, LTD:

Should she be getting legal advice at this point, if so, how to find an attorney, I assume one that specializes in disability?

What books or other sources of information would be helpful?

Other advice?

Try this wiki:

https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Tax_estimation_tools

On the main Bogleheads page there is a search box in the upper left corner, search for Roth conversion and you will get hits.

I use the prior year tax software (close enough) to model my taxes for the current year and try different Roth conversion amounts to determine how much to convert. Your tax software should show you how much tax you will pay to OK as well.