Search found 815 matches

by masteraleph
Mon Mar 18, 2024 8:54 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Hospital Bill - Negotiation strategies?
Replies: 16
Views: 941

Re: Hospital Bill - Negotiation strategies?

LotsaGray wrote: Mon Mar 18, 2024 8:36 pm
A) How can you have an HSA with the only a $2000 deductible? I guess you can have a HSA from prior years, but I do not believe that a $2000 deductible qualifies your current plan as a HSA HDHP.

B) No, once you informed the hospital that you were insured, they cannot charge you anything they want. They have agreed with the insurance company to a price and can't charge you more than that price. If you did not share insurance information, then hospital could charge anything but they would also be more likely negotiate with you because in their mind they already have negotiated when they did so with the insurance company.
Self only can be as low as $1600
by masteraleph
Tue Mar 12, 2024 9:43 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Been saving HSA receipts for 5+ years, why not just withdraw & cash flow to Roth IRA via mega backdoor?
Replies: 20
Views: 2031

Re: Been saving HSA receipts for 5+ years, why not just withdraw & cash flow to Roth IRA via mega backdoor?

So why not instead of saving all these receipts (that no one will do anything with if I get killed by a bus tomorrow), and simply withdraw the HSA funds as we incur medical expenses (or just once a year) use it for the necessities and make an equivalent temporary increase in my after-tax contribution to be mega backdoored to Roth? The way I see it, looks like we get the triple tax benefit of the HSA, don't need to save receipts, don't need to rely on my existence/cognition/record keeping 20 years from now to actually "cash-in" on the receipts, and the monies end up in the most golden, grandest, tax advantaged account of them all, certainly my favorite account, THE Roth IRA! It's so obvious now, can't believe this is the first tim...
by masteraleph
Sun Mar 03, 2024 4:46 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: TIAA Traditional rates (historical view)
Replies: 37
Views: 3968

Re: TIAA Traditional rates (historical view)

I have the liquid version in an old 403b (old in the sense that I still work for the employer but they have since stopped the 403b, which ran concurrently with a 401k option, and now exclusively offer the 401k). It's not a huge percentage of my portfolio, and tbh when I do my weekly glance at retirement accounts it's reassuring to always have one thing that goes up.
by masteraleph
Thu Feb 29, 2024 9:40 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Assets to put in Trust or Trust as beneficiary
Replies: 93
Views: 6423

Re: Assets to put in Trust or Trust as beneficiary

Regarding the retirement accounts- you can't retitle the accounts, but you should be asking your lawyer about beneficiary designations. The easy way to do this is for these to not end up in trust ever (ie spouse as primary beneficiary, kids each as 50% contingent). There is guidance from the IRS as of February 2022, under the SECURE acts, that allows certain kinds of trusts to function as beneficiaries as if the child themselves were the beneficiary (the term you're looking for is "see-through trust.") This would require a somewhat different structure than your trust is likely to have, but could be worth persuing if, for example, one of your kids has special needs and shouldn't get their share directly.
by masteraleph
Tue Feb 27, 2024 8:45 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Zelle Questions: safety, speed, uses?
Replies: 57
Views: 5480

Re: Zelle Questions: safety, speed, uses?

We use it for periodic transfers between accounts (spouse to spouse) between banks. We've used it for a handful of vendors, eg at the farmer's market, but that's much more frequently Venmo. And I've also used it with coworkers when we're all going in on something, like providing dinner for someone who just had a baby or something along those lines. Edit: In terms of safety, the primary difference for *unauthorized* transfers vs a bank account seems to be the 4 day requirement: if you notify them within 4 days, then your maximum is $50 (or the amount of the transfers, whichever is less). If you notify them later, then you have a higher liability (maximum $500). Hopefully folks have notifications set up or check their bank accounts more regul...
by masteraleph
Sun Feb 25, 2024 7:55 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Do your intra-company yearly raises keep with inflation?
Replies: 60
Views: 6029

Re: Do your intra-company yearly raises keep with inflation?

It varies- I'm a teacher/administrator at a private school, so whether or not salaries rise with inflation depends on whether or not the school feels it can raise tuition by that amount or more in a given year. The school did also cut its 401k contribution percentage slightly last year (presumably because it was on a sliding scale based on seniority and a lot more teachers now have a lot of seniority).
by masteraleph
Sun Feb 18, 2024 9:02 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: H&R Block 2023 incorrectly reporting taxable IRA distribution
Replies: 141
Views: 18597

Re: H&R Block 2023 incorrectly reporting taxable IRA distribution

I typically run both TT and H&R Block and compare the results, trying to understand why there are discrepancies. This year I found two bugs with H&R Block, one of which had an easy workaround, the other of which did not (the former was an issue with the child care tax credit, the latter an issue with clergy pay which has been an ongoing issue with H&R Block). Since those were the only discrepancies, and since I know that H&R Block is wrong in both cases, I filed with TT this year.
by masteraleph
Fri Feb 16, 2024 2:31 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: QBI- all deductible SE tax excluded or just per business?
Replies: 2
Views: 366

QBI- all deductible SE tax excluded or just per business?

My wife is clergy, and earns money both as an employee of a religious institution (where she is subject to self employment tax but is an employee for income tax purposes) and also earns money on her own, being paid for religious teaching, consulting, etc. This number is much less than the amount of money she makes from her employer. Turbotax and H&R Block appear to treat these differently when it comes to QBI: H&R Block takes the Qualified Business Income, puts it in on line 1 of form 8995, then has a "mini-worksheet for adjustments to QBI" on 8995 which pulls in deductible SE tax (from Schedule 1, line 15), and derives line 2 "Total qualified business income or loss" by subtracting that mini worksheet's total fr...
by masteraleph
Thu Feb 15, 2024 9:09 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Color or Black & White Printer
Replies: 32
Views: 2321

Re: Color or Black & White Printer

Big question- do you have kids? I think most people have no real need for a color printer; b&w laser is usually the way to go. If you need color for work or for hobbies (eg you want to print out a cross stitch pattern), then obviously color is worth it, and if you have kids and they might make things they want printed- art, social stories, photos that aren’t really display quality, random other stuff- then it might be worth it too. We do have a color laser, and it’s been useful for some of the above reasons, but the honest reason we got it and not a b&w printer is that my employer was disposing of a color laser printer that needed a consumable or two but was otherwise in very good condition, and getting a high quality, durable color...
by masteraleph
Thu Jan 25, 2024 2:29 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 403 vs 457b
Replies: 9
Views: 1160

Re: 403 vs 457b

Confirming- this is a government employer of some sort?
by masteraleph
Wed Jan 24, 2024 9:48 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Return My New Apple Watch?
Replies: 83
Views: 6303

Re: Return My New Apple Watch?

To add to the previous answer- when the watch detects it is no longer on your wrist, it locks, so someone else would have to put in the passcode to use it
by masteraleph
Wed Jan 24, 2024 9:02 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Surprise out of network
Replies: 23
Views: 2574

Re: Surprise out of network

Location matters here. Eg in NY there's a state law that if you are referred by an in-network doctor and you never sign something acknowledging that the referred provider is out of network (not just "may be" but actually is) then you only have have to pay your in-network cost sharing. Are you willing to share location?
by masteraleph
Tue Jan 02, 2024 5:39 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How do I open up a Roth IRA on Fidelity for my wife
Replies: 6
Views: 641

Re: How do I open up a Roth IRA on Fidelity for my wife

It's also worth noting that if it's her desire not to really manage this down the line, there are various levels of access that she could give you, which would potentially allow you to manage the account and contributions through your Fidelity login. See https://www.fidelity.com/customer-servi ... s-overview for more details
by masteraleph
Tue Jan 02, 2024 1:46 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Recommended Apple Watch Bands?
Replies: 11
Views: 1157

Re: Recommended Apple Watch Bands?

My wife recently got a few bands from Solace Bands and has so far been very happy with them. Can't speak to the durability yet, of course.
by masteraleph
Tue Dec 19, 2023 9:15 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 401k maximum employer match
Replies: 14
Views: 1601

Re: 401k maximum employer match

exodusNH wrote: Tue Dec 19, 2023 8:21 am
Company matches are always pretax. That's how they can deduct it as an expense.

This used to be true, but as of SECURE 2.0 they can match Roth 401k contributions. Such matches must be 100% vested and aren't excludable from gross income, so you need to know that if your employer is doing this you'll be taxed on it.
by masteraleph
Wed Dec 13, 2023 8:58 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How much are you down\up from the top set in 2021?
Replies: 79
Views: 11946

Re: How much are you down\up from the top set in 2021?

We are still very much in accumulation, but not completely so- annual contributions make up about 8% of portfolio value, so on the one hand 2 years of contributions are significant and on the other hand shifts in value make a big difference. We're up about 12-13% total over that time, so we are still a little negative if we ignore contributions.
by masteraleph
Tue Dec 12, 2023 3:40 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: New to Costco
Replies: 239
Views: 58331

Re: New to Costco

Last spring we bought a set of Polywood outdoor furniture for significantly cheaper than it would've been buying direct, even with the best historic discounts I could find online.
by masteraleph
Wed Dec 06, 2023 7:17 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: New Set of Tires
Replies: 77
Views: 8568

Re: New Set of Tires

AllMostThere wrote: Sat Dec 02, 2023 4:33 am
Sorry you hit the Costco Tire time suck. I just bought 4 new Yokohama's for DS's 2019 vehicle from Discount Tire during their Black Friday sale. Costco didn't even offer a tire in the required size. I ordered on-line from DT at a nice price, plus I got 6% cash back using my favorite cashback site. I made my installation appointment on-line and dropped the car off while me and DS went for coffee. 45 minutes later they were calling me that the car was ready. Hardly had time to take my first coffee sips before installation was complete. DT's pricing and service is far superior.

Edit: DT not DD, :oops:
I'd absolutely love to use DT and also DT desperately needs to expand to the northeast, where it has no presence at all.
by masteraleph
Tue Dec 05, 2023 1:10 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Gold coins/platinum bars
Replies: 6
Views: 1247

Re: Gold coins/platinum bars

brak wrote: Tue Dec 05, 2023 10:19 am I'm looking for a reputable place to sell gold coins and platinum bars. Also, any other tips regarding selling these items?
Thanks in advance.
Unless something you have is going to have more value as a collectible, the goal would be to get as high of a spot price as possible. Apmex, as someone above mentioned, and JMBullion are the two online places that I've heard of the most in terms of reliability and honesty as large dealers.
by masteraleph
Tue Dec 05, 2023 1:05 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Where do you buy glasses?
Replies: 70
Views: 8175

Re: Where do you buy glasses?

For me and my wife we tend to go with Costco, but for our 8 year old we go to a local optician's across the street. Not the cheapest, but being able to walk in and get a new pair when the kid does to her glasses what kids inevitably do is important (also, they were willing to do a warranty frame replacement for $25 the first time she snapped the frame and only made us buy a new frame the second time, so it may have been cheaper than even a Costco would've been all in)
by masteraleph
Mon Nov 27, 2023 12:43 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: TurboTax 2023 offer
Replies: 282
Views: 50628

Re: TurboTax 2023 offer

CuriousGeorgeTx wrote: Mon Nov 27, 2023 11:18 am Thanks. Y'all saved me $10 with the Amazon Gift Card on Amazon, that didn't show up if I looked/search on Amazon, but searching in a browser found the appropriate link. Better than the $10 credit on Coscto for me, as I have in a no income tax state.
Same reason here (well, I do have a state income tax, but in NY they can't charge for filing, so same net result)
by masteraleph
Fri Nov 17, 2023 9:57 am
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: What's changed in the last 10 years Bogleheads?
Replies: 279
Views: 57011

Re: What's changed in the last 10 years Bogleheads?

Fixed income funds suffered unprecedented nominal losses. That's fine if you're holding for the long term, and the losses certainly weren't anything like what you'd suffer in stocks in a 2008-like scenario, but for a lot of people that was something of a shock.
by masteraleph
Sun Oct 29, 2023 12:18 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Will 20M Be “Enough” in 35 years?
Replies: 35
Views: 4892

Re: Will 20M Be “Enough” in 35 years?

Yes, near us houses are still going up exorbitantly in price, insurance is skyrocketing. We see homes where somebody listed it for 280 in the beginning of this year, sold for maybe 300 and now it is re listed for 400 with nothing done to it. Groceries have noticeably increased in price as well as gas (again). All subscriptions, gym memberships, local services, restaurants, talking 20% increases. Heck, an oil change for my 15 year old basic sedan was over $100 and that was after going to several mechanics for different quotes. Used to be 40 bucks. Is it *selling* for 400? Existing houses are selling very, very slowly in most parts of the country. New houses are selling better but that's in large part because building material prices have dr...
by masteraleph
Sun Oct 22, 2023 8:06 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Refrigerators. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
Replies: 115
Views: 13985

Re: Refrigerators. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

We purchased a GE Cafe counter depth french door fridge. Despite some of the warnings, it's been great so far, and from what I've seen Cafe has *relatively* good ratings among counter depth french door types, which is what we needed. We got the model with the interior water dispenser- you open one or both of the doors and put the cup against the the side of the fridge which has a tube sticking out- and the in-freezer ice maker. I suppose it's an inconvenience to have to open the freezer to scoop out ice or open the fridge to dispense water, but for us it had some significant advantages: little kids are much less likely to play with it and get water everywhere, the insulation is better because there's not a hole, and there are fewer defrosti...
by masteraleph
Mon Aug 21, 2023 10:28 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Self-clean or manual [oven] for rental?
Replies: 17
Views: 2569

Re: Self-clean or manual [oven] for rental?

I know several people whose ovens have needed repair after using the self clean mode (note that this is different from "steam clean," which operates at a low temperature).

One of the major things that seems to affect this is the location of the electronics. I'd be a little more comfortable about self clean on a cheaper model where the controls are all separate from the body of the stove, as opposed to nicer ones where the controls are more integrated, on a non-induction stove, because the induction hardware is obviously internal, and on a non-convection oven, since the convection fan and associated parts may be vulnerable. E.g. just a plain cheap gas stove with self clean.
by masteraleph
Wed Aug 16, 2023 6:53 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Help me understand mortgage points.
Replies: 11
Views: 1726

Re: Help me understand mortgage points.

My general thoughts- 1) Given the amount you stated, each 1/8 point is worth a reduction of about $32 per monthly payment. 2) Usually when you talk about purchasing points, the question is the breakeven point- i.e., at what point do you end up recouping the cost you paid in and going forward have a cheaper rate. Of course, that breakeven point isn't free- you lose out on maybe investing the amount you paid extra, and if rates go down you might end up refinancing at some point. 3) The jump from 7.25 to 7.125 is almost $1700, which at $32/month in savings gives you a breakeven of about 52 months- that is, a little over 4 or so years. Good chance you're still in the house at that point, but there's definitely some opportunity cost that you're ...
by masteraleph
Sun Jul 23, 2023 9:16 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Private school as medical deduction
Replies: 7
Views: 985

Re: Private school as medical deduction

Jack FFR1846 wrote: Sun Jul 23, 2023 8:49 pm
BarbBrooklyn wrote: Sun Jul 23, 2023 8:14 pm If your child has learning disabilities that cannot be remediated by your local school, the school district should be paying for the private school.
....and there are lawyers who specialize in this area if you have a school district like mine.
A lot of this really depends on where you are. Yes, they’re required to provide a free and appropriate education, but what that means and the practical side of what that fight looks like varies drastically. When we were looking to buy a house we chose one specifically on one side of the city line because there’s a big difference between what our city and the neighboring one will ultimately settle on.
by masteraleph
Fri Jul 21, 2023 6:55 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Why do all my funds frequently move in the same daily direction?
Replies: 65
Views: 4388

Re: Why do all my funds frequently move in the same daily direction?

In addition to what everyone else has noted-

It’s worth noting that a lot of recent movement has been correlated to inflation pressures and predictions, Fed response, and economic effects from that response. If you think inflation is getting worse and that will make the Fed raise interest rates and slow the economy, you’d want to sell stocks to weather the storm and you’d want higher interest rates and thus lower prices for your bonds. If you think that inflation is dropping and therefore the Fed is going to stop raising rates and in turn the economy will improve, then you want to bet on stocks going up and you’re willing to accept lower interest rates and thus higher bond prices.
by masteraleph
Fri May 19, 2023 7:49 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: HSA contribution increases for 2024
Replies: 48
Views: 7297

Re: HSA contribution increases for 2024

mikep wrote: Wed May 17, 2023 12:11 pm That is a large increase. Would we suspect similar increases to FSA, 401k and IRA limits as well?
I suspect the others are going to be lower. HSA COLAs are calculated on a different, earlier date than 401k etc, and inflation in the last 6 months has been lower than inflation in the prior 6 months. Unless we get another spike in inflation, they should be lower. The good news is that the 401k, IRA, etc COLA for 2023 already had some of those earlier, higher inflation numbers in it, so you're already getting the benefit of the larger increase.
by masteraleph
Mon May 08, 2023 9:07 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Home Ruined by Fire
Replies: 8
Views: 1437

Re: Home Ruined by Fire

LaramieWind wrote: Mon May 08, 2023 6:44 am I believe a big shot in town owns the property.
While they can potentially own it through an LLC or trust to mask the ownership, real estate transactions are public. You should be able to find out who, or what entity, owns the house through city records.
by masteraleph
Sun Apr 30, 2023 4:02 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Helping kids buy a home
Replies: 182
Views: 14997

Re: Helping kids buy a home

KlangFool wrote: Sun Apr 30, 2023 2:58 pm

Just to complete your post.

A) Is this 25% of gross income or net income?

B) Is this 25% before or after buying your house?

C) If the number before and after buying the house is different, please provide both numbers.

KlangFool
Gross income is about $230k. We're putting away the max in a 401k and a 403b (so $45k), Roth IRAs ($13k this year), and 2 HSAs (total of $6700), for just under $65k. Employers add $1k to one of the HSAs and between $14-15k to the two retirement accounts.

Number was lower a few years ago due to the maximums, and income was a lower both because of pay increases and my wife being earlier in her career until about that point too. Percentages are probably around the same in terms of what we're putting in.
by masteraleph
Sun Apr 30, 2023 2:32 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Helping kids buy a home
Replies: 182
Views: 14997

Re: Helping kids buy a home

Going to speak from the other side here (the kid's side): My wife and I, and our two kids, bought our house with our parents' assistance in the spring of 2021, with a roughly equivalent income to the family discussed here (not likely to go up as much but also with significant, unusual tax breaks). The house was roughly $1m and we were coming from a situation without equity (coming from a rented 2br), though we had savings; we were gifted enough to end up with a $700k mortgage. That's significantly higher than the one being discussed here, but the rate was also around 3%, so the mortgage payment was much lower than an equivalent mortgage today- roughly $4k/month, including property tax and insurance. Property tax can go up, but we're in a st...
by masteraleph
Mon Apr 17, 2023 11:48 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Obamacare: Too many varied options. How to choose?
Replies: 45
Views: 4498

Re: Obamacare: Too many varied options. How to choose?

IN addition to what others have said HMOs often require referrals for specialists, whereas PPOs sometimes don't. And at the same time, some PPOs do not provide out of network coverage
by masteraleph
Sun Apr 16, 2023 10:15 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How to Select an "Induction" Stovetop
Replies: 67
Views: 6456

Re: How to Select an "Induction" Stovetop

We have a range instead of a stovetop, the same Cafe 30" double oven one that someone else mentioned- we've been very happy with it in general and with the stovetop in particular. In terms of pans- Anything cast iron, whether bare or enameled, is going to be fine. We frequently use a Le Creuset dutch oven and occasionally a Martha Stewart branded one (made by Staub) Stainless is somewhat more of a mixed bag, since traditional stainless steel isn't magnetic. But most of the high end brands, and brands copying the high end brands, have been doing magnetic stainless for a while- we had to replace ours because we had Calphalon tri-ply from 2009 and they started making their stuff induction capable a year or two later. At the ultra high end...
by masteraleph
Mon Apr 10, 2023 6:04 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Spouse huge end of life medical bills, inheritance coming.
Replies: 41
Views: 6662

Re: Spouse huge end of life medical bills, inheritance coming.

557880yvi wrote: Mon Apr 10, 2023 5:31 pm

New York.
Depending on the type of insurance they had and where the large charges are coming from- specifically for out of network charges- make sure to read up on NY’s surprise billing law.
by masteraleph
Mon Mar 27, 2023 7:31 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Millennials: do you prefer debit to credit? if so, why?
Replies: 178
Views: 12997

Re: Millennials: do you prefer debit to credit? if so, why?

Elder millennial here- Credit exclusively. At one point I was very into the rewards game, but as that's gotten somewhat harder than it was 15 years ago and as my attention has shifted I haven't been doing that so much. I teach Gen-Z kids in high school, at least for now (within the next decade they'll be whatever comes after Gen-Z). I see a lot of Apple Pay and credit usage, but it's also an affluent group, so that might be different for kids of other classes. Many use Apple/Samsung Pay exclusively- there are several restaurants across the street that kids are allowed to go to and several, while still well frequented, are clearly not getting as much business as they could because many of the kids don't carry physical cards and two of the re...
by masteraleph
Sun Mar 26, 2023 7:29 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How to Claim Dependent Care FSA - Not Clear
Replies: 2
Views: 386

Re: How to Claim Dependent Care FSA - Not Clear

What SnowBag said is right- I'd just add that when the FSA folks provide a statement, if you submitted the full amount, it should show that and show the excess that they weren't able to pay you back. Adds an extra data point to your records in case you're ever audited.
by masteraleph
Sun Mar 26, 2023 9:13 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: New clothes washing machine recommendation please
Replies: 16
Views: 1847

Re: New clothes washing machine recommendation please

I think the standard recommendations run something like: 1) No one is making a purely electromechanical consumer washer these days 2) SpeedQueen gets lots of recommendations 3) Some Maytags get nice recommendations, especially some of the lower end commercial ones, which aren't really more expensive than a lot of consumer models 4) Some LGs get recommendations and are probably the best mainstream washers 5) Miele units are smaller than typical American ones but are very well reviewed; the dryers here are heat pump ones which take a long time but are very gentle on fabrics. Miele in general has a reputation for making workhorse machines that are durable but pricey, and which may be more expensive to repair depending on where you are. They ha...
by masteraleph
Wed Mar 01, 2023 9:24 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Shopping for teen car insurance
Replies: 16
Views: 1276

Re: Shopping for teen car insurance

DoubleComma wrote: Wed Mar 01, 2023 8:20 pm

You absolutely do, and you will be very surprised by the results. I tried pressuring them for the type of car I needed to focus and they couldn't. To my surprise a 2015 Ford Fusion was remarkably expensive...nearly 150% of what we landed on which was a more newer more expensive car. I guess there are a lot of teens with Fusions causing accidents.
What kind of car were you comparing it to and what were the safety features on each? A newer car with automatic braking is probably cheaper to insure than an older car without it simply because of liability.
by masteraleph
Thu Feb 23, 2023 12:00 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Helping dyslexic teenager
Replies: 8
Views: 838

Re: Helping dyslexic teenager

typical.investor wrote: Wed Feb 22, 2023 11:49 pm
masteraleph wrote: Wed Feb 22, 2023 11:37 pm Do note that getting insurance to cover a neuropsych exam may be difficult, especially without referral from a family doctor
It's worth it even out of pocket.

Just to be clear here- I am very strongly advocating for the parents to pay for it. They should just be aware that the way to do so without extensive battles with insurance or a possibly years-long waiting list at places with public funding will cost a few thousand dollars out of pocket- that may not be a big deal for the original poster, or it may be a significant burden. I think it's worth it either way, but they should be prepared.
by masteraleph
Wed Feb 22, 2023 11:37 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Helping dyslexic teenager
Replies: 8
Views: 838

Re: Helping dyslexic teenager

What should be we doing at present? Do we need to bring this up with the family doctor, or school counselor? He never had any tests done. Buy my DW feels that any tests may lower his self-confidence at this age. I wish we had realized his condition sooner. Disclaimer- not a medical professional, but a high school teacher and personally familiar with folks with a lot of the symptoms you've mentioned. Yes, you should bring this up with the family doctor, though the family doctor may not have experience or may waive it off. As BarbBrooklyn said in the second post, this doesn't necessarily sound like dyslexia, and it does sound like the kind of thing where a full neuropsych workup would be required to get an actual diagnosis. You should bring ...
by masteraleph
Thu Feb 16, 2023 8:46 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Used both TurboTax and H&R Block- general observations
Replies: 10
Views: 2229

Re: Used both TurboTax and H&R Block- general observations

To answer the questions: 1) Form 1116 wasn't really an issue for us. We have some international in taxable, but under $600 in creditable taxes, all reported on 1099-Div from a Vanguard mutual fund. If we had a lot more in international obviously this would've been an issue. I did poke around with it a little bit, and it's absolutely frustrating that there isn't a spot on the 1099-Div for foreign source income (rather, one must calculate it based on the funds involved, though Vanguard at least includes enough information that you don't have to go poking around through various statements). 2) This year, yes, I eventually got the amounts to match- but specifically only after messing around with H&R Block due to the parsonage exclusion bein...
by masteraleph
Sun Feb 12, 2023 11:14 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Used both TurboTax and H&R Block- general observations
Replies: 10
Views: 2229

Used both TurboTax and H&R Block- general observations

Over the years, our taxes have gotten somewhat more complicated, to a point where I still don't need a CPA but where I do want to check and make sure that things seem to be done correctly. So for the last two years, I've purchased a copy of both H&R Block and TurboTax- still cheap at under $80 total between the two, on sale- to compare them to one another and be able to verify the results. The two versions are TurboTax Deluxe + State Download (which is different from Online- note that Online lacks forms until you bump up to a higher level) and H&R Block Premium download. Wanted to share a few observations in case they make any difference to people shopping- 1) Both of them feel...clunky, in some way. Like the interfaces haven't been...
by masteraleph
Sun Feb 05, 2023 4:49 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Safe / Safe Box Recommendations?
Replies: 27
Views: 3036

Re: Safe / Safe Box Recommendations?

shunkman wrote: Sun Feb 05, 2023 4:12 pm My lawyer told me to never put ANYTHING in a safe deposit box.
Anything, or anything that might need to be accessed quickly by another person? There’s a good argument for not having estate docs, etc inside, because once the individual passes they may not be accessible for a while, whereas you may very well want will and trust documents available right away.
by masteraleph
Sun Jan 29, 2023 9:47 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Indicating disaster-related tax relief in TurboTax
Replies: 3
Views: 483

Re: Indicating disaster-related tax relief in TurboTax

IIRC it asks you if you are in such an area
by masteraleph
Sun Jan 22, 2023 6:45 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Worrying too much about an irrational expense
Replies: 28
Views: 2188

Re: Worrying too much about an irrational expense

You will be, as a household, in the top 1% of earners nationwide after spouse takes the new job, and in that same top 1% in about 40 out of 50 states. Even in those states that house the corporate lawyers and investments bankers and have a higher top 1% threshold, you'll still be at roughly double the threshold for top 5%. $12k per year is a lot of money to spend on something you're not using regularly, and at the same time, it's less than a vacation to Europe flying business class and staying at nice hotels. Not that you're doing that now- but it wouldn't be crazy for you to do so, at that income level. It's comparable to NBA season tickets for two at the 100 level of an arena- and not the very best 100 level seats, either. It's also 3 yea...
by masteraleph
Sun Jan 22, 2023 2:22 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: HSA - deduct from paycheck vs contributing yourself
Replies: 34
Views: 8287

Re: HSA - deduct from paycheck vs contributing yourself

Got it thank you. So I only save: Max contribution not counting employer match for family): $7450 medicare tax: 1.45% additional medicare tax: .9% total medicare tax: 2.35% $7450 * 2.35% = $175. I'm choosing between having the full amount in the market right from the start w/ a 2.35% loss, to dollar cost averaging. So if I assume I can beat 2.35% I should lump-sum? https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Payroll_-_cafeteria_plan_deductions reads: 'Below-the-line deductions are only available to those taxpayers who itemize deductions, which is not common due to the large standard deduction. As of 2019 only about 14% of taxpayers itemized deductions" But https://www.irs.gov/publications/p969 reads: "You can claim a tax deduction for contri...
by masteraleph
Wed Jan 11, 2023 4:57 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Help compare health insurance plans (hdhp)
Replies: 6
Views: 664

Re: Help compare health insurance plans (hdhp)

LITeacher wrote: Wed Jan 11, 2023 7:09 am
I utilize a dependent care FSA - does that affect the eligibility in using an HSA?

Also, would preventive care also count all of the newborn dr visits for vaccinations etc? They have checkups very frequently in the first 12 months. I know it wouldn't count visits for sickness.
Dependent care FSA, Transit FSA, even a Limited Purpose FSA (i.e. one that can only be used for dental and vision expenses, including contacts/solution/glasses, but not other medical stuff) are all fine. Preventative care would include all regularly scheduled newborn visits, vaccinations, etc. Essentially, visits because something is or was wrong are what you have to pay for; visits and treatments that are there only to check for normal problems are free.
by masteraleph
Tue Jan 10, 2023 11:15 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Help compare health insurance plans (hdhp)
Replies: 6
Views: 664

Re: Help compare health insurance plans (hdhp)

So let's do a little math: The HDHP saves you $5k per year, pre-tax right off the bat. Preventative care (including an annual physical) is free on both plans. Also, even though you have to pay the deductible on the HDHP for other things, note that you get the insurance's negotiated rate- if you're used to looking at EOBs and seeing something like "Charged $1k, Allowable amount/negotiated rate $400, Your plan paid $300, you owe $100", then with the HDHP you'd pay $400- but not $1000. If you have $6k in expenses on the non-HDHP, you are likely to end up paying upwards of $1k. So realistically speaking, it seems very hard to not have the HDHP at least break even. The one big question is what you do in terms of expenses. You can put m...