Search found 655 matches

by happymob
Sun Mar 19, 2023 9:15 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 529 per kid vs one heavily funded one
Replies: 15
Views: 1888

Re: 529 per kid vs one heavily funded one

We do separate for the tax benefits. We deduct from OK and KS for the same contributions (KS allows contributions to any state 529 plan to be deductible and OK treats our non-wage income in KS in a way that actually allows us to benefit from both deductions). OK allows up to $10,000/year deduction per tax payer (so $20,000/year fro MFJ). It doesn't matter how many beneficiaries there are. So one big account would be ok. KS allows up to $3,000/year/taxpayer/beneficiary. So two parents get $6000/year/child. It helps to have separate accounts at donation time. As always, with 529 plans, know your own state's (or states') rules. They vary a lot. Just looking at OK and KS today, I noticed that the websites say they don't require residency... whi...
by happymob
Sun Jan 01, 2023 6:42 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: College Tuition Agreement With Children?
Replies: 140
Views: 12294

Re: College Tuition Agreement With Children?

I would avoid only pay if you graduate or only pay if GPA exceeds #.#... I know a lot of very smart people who struggled in college, often due to mental health reasons. You should expect college GPA to be less than HS GPA. Perhaps by as much as a point (a lot of this depends on just how bad grade inflation is at their high school), but as a professor, I routinely saw basically straight A high school students get their first "C" or even "D" and just freak the heck out and do things that weren't always in their best interest. We're trying to have enough money put away for 4 years of in-state public college. There will be no strings attached. If they insist on out-of-state public or private school, there will obviously be a...
by happymob
Wed Oct 26, 2022 2:53 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: HSA - am I elegible?
Replies: 10
Views: 817

HSA - am I elegible?

I believe I am for 5/12 of the family contribution limit for 2022 (so $3041.66), but here is the situation: 1) I was on a non-HDHP until the end of April. Our company was sold from our previous parent company to a new PE firm, so we got new health care effective May 1. I signed up for an HDHP for myself and 2 children. Spouse has her own non-HDHP insurance through her employer. 2) The fact that I have 2 children covered means I fall under the "family" contribution limits, even though my spouse is on a different plan, correct? 3) There is no complicating flexible spending account from my wife or myself, which would make me ineligible for HSA contributions. 4) Our plan year runs from October through September (why? I have no idea - ...
by happymob
Mon May 16, 2022 6:50 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 529 AA [529 plan Asset Allocation]
Replies: 4
Views: 626

Re: 529 AA [529 plan Asset Allocation]

Long time lurker. First post here. 2 kids. Planning to save for tuition + room and board in flagship public college for 4 years. In todays dollars that would be around (33k*8) ~270k. Expected to enter college in 2034 and 2035. We have saved around 90k so far in our 529 plan. We are in the Utah 529 plan and our AA is auto adjusted based on enrollment date. Right now the AA is 85% Stocks and 15% Bonds + Fixed Income. We were planning to contribute another 30k in the next month. With the current turmoil is it advisable to invest right now or hold off for some time? If we do invest should we stick to the 85/15 AA. Absolutely no reason to hold off in investing. The real question is do you invest at your overall 85/15 AA or do you invest at a di...
by happymob
Mon May 16, 2022 6:31 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Buying Land Under a Conservation Easement
Replies: 32
Views: 4217

Re: Buying Land Under a Conservation Easement

I own grassland (cattle land) where I have sold conservation easements. So we deal with both the ongoing requirements of the easement (mostly maintaining the land in a certain state and allowing periodic inspections to verify we are properly maintaining the land). We also are concerned with the reduction in resale value of the land as a result of the conservation easement. We know the following: 1) We got 28% of the appraised value of the land for the easement. This was tax deferred as we didn't have to pay tax on the momney at the time, but it did lower the cost basis of the land by the easement amount. 2) We cannot develop the land for oil and gas (not an issue for this land), wind (which is a real thing for this land and the primary reas...
by happymob
Mon May 16, 2022 6:11 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Choosing a 529 plan
Replies: 4
Views: 590

Re: Choosing a 529 plan

Looks like the expenses are 0.39% vs 0.11% for an index fund with Fidelity's 529 (similar costs elsewhere). At 0.28% extra, it's going to take a while to make up for the 10% credit you're getting if you aren't exceeding the max for the credit. If you are, you could always contribute the additional amount elsewhere. I'm not sure of VT rules, but you could also look at whether you can roll it out to another plan after you take the tax credit if there are no other benefits to that plan. Correct. In addition to the fees (not so bad, considering the 10% up front deduction), also look at the recapture rules. Most states recapture the deduction if you move the money to another state, and at initial glance, Vermont does this, but do more research ...
by happymob
Thu Apr 28, 2022 7:31 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: taxable retirement investments
Replies: 16
Views: 2859

Re: taxable retirement investments

You will want to invest in index stock funds for the greatest tax efficiency. Plus choose index fund that are not identical to the funds invested in your tax advantaged retirement accounts, so you are able to more easily tax loss harvest in your taxable accounts and avoid the dreaded wash sale. Would you mind explaining why investing in index stock funds (not bonds) is most tax efficient? In addition to what sycamore said, consider things are taxed in traditional IRA/401k type vehicles. You will be taxed on withdrawals as ordinary income in the tax-deferred accounts, whether the gains come from interest or capital gains. So it makes sense to put the things that already have worse tax treatments in tax-deferred accounts and things that have...
by happymob
Thu Apr 28, 2022 7:14 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: any situation to not tax loss harvest?
Replies: 42
Views: 4010

Re: any situation to not tax loss harvest?

Low tax bracket is the primary situation. Yes, the $3000 to offset 12% tax bracket income is still $360 in tax savings. But in the years I was in the 15% (now 12%) tax bracket, I got really annoyed with my carryover losses offsetting other long-term capital gains. Those were carryover losses that were truly wasted.
by happymob
Wed Apr 20, 2022 9:32 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How to Defer Taxes on Maturing EE bonds?
Replies: 27
Views: 2474

Re: How to Defer Taxes on Maturing EE bonds?

The only way I'm aware of to avoid taxation of EE or I bond interest upon redemption is the education savings bond program , which requires the money to be spent on qualified higher education expenses and has income limitations. Contributions to 529 plans count as a qualified educational expense. So if you meet the income limitations, converting I or EE bonds into 529 plans is a pretty great way to continue to defer taxes as not only do you defer the taxes on the interest, but if you are in certain states, you get an additional state income tax deduction. Yes, however OP would need to set up the 529 plan with themselves as the beneficiary (assuming the bonds are in their name). And presumably OP has no intention of actually using this 529,...
by happymob
Tue Apr 19, 2022 10:45 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How to Defer Taxes on Maturing EE bonds?
Replies: 27
Views: 2474

Re: How to Defer Taxes on Maturing EE bonds?

langelgjm wrote: Tue Apr 19, 2022 10:11 am The only way I'm aware of to avoid taxation of EE or I bond interest upon redemption is the education savings bond program, which requires the money to be spent on qualified higher education expenses and has income limitations.
Contributions to 529 plans count as a qualified educational expense. So if you meet the income limitations, converting I or EE bonds into 529 plans is a pretty great way to continue to defer taxes as not only do you defer the taxes on the interest, but if you are in certain states, you get an additional state income tax deduction.
by happymob
Wed Feb 16, 2022 1:20 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What to do around Newark Airport?
Replies: 20
Views: 3739

Re: What to do around Newark Airport?

On our honeymoon (to Newfoundland), we got stranded at EWR overnight due to mechanical or some other delay... after a huge delay, the airline put us up in a downtown Newark hotel. A quick walk over to Newark Penn Station... purchased a bottle of some flavor of Andre sparkling wine... Super awesome honeymoon in Newark...

OK, I don't recommend y'all repeat that. Rest of the honeymoon went about as well as you would expect a trip to Newfoundland to go (in other words - lots and lots of cod).
by happymob
Mon Feb 14, 2022 8:28 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What are your travel plans in 2021 and beyond?
Replies: 350
Views: 36380

Re: What are your travel plans in 2021 and beyond?

July/August 2023 - New Zealand and Australia for the Women's World Cup. Based on game schedule (ticket info isn't out yet), we are planning on basing in Auckland for a week, Hamilton for a week, and then shifting to Sydney for the quarters/semis/finals. Yikes. I was planning to visit Australia about this time in 2023, had no idea that the Women's World Cup was going to be happening. I doubt it will have a huge effect on things. Here are the venues - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_FIFA_Women%27s_World_Cup#Venues. In 2019, in Lyon, world cup fans were very noticeable during the semis and finals week and I assume it will be the same in Sydney (similar sized city), but tourist attractions restaurants, etc weren't overrun or anything.
by happymob
Mon Feb 07, 2022 5:51 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What are your travel plans in 2021 and beyond?
Replies: 350
Views: 36380

Re: What are your travel plans in 2021 and beyond?

Late June 2022 - 1 or 2 weeks to include Fort Ann, NY and possibly Portland, ME. Fort Ann is definite as we are taking one child to a soccer camp for children with cerebral palsy. Brother and SiL are in Portland. We don't know yet if they'll be around and they may prefer to meet us in the Adirondacks or something anyway. July 2022 - possibility of a 1 week Guadalajara, Mexico trip to see CONCACAF qualification for the Women's World Cup. Dates of the tournament aren't set yet and airline tickets are pretty pricy, so we'll see. July/August 2023 - New Zealand and Australia for the Women's World Cup. Based on game schedule (ticket info isn't out yet), we are planning on basing in Auckland for a week, Hamilton for a week, and then shifting to Sy...
by happymob
Wed May 19, 2021 7:41 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Deducting max $3,000 in capital gains loss?
Replies: 5
Views: 968

Re: Deducting max $3,000 in capital gains loss?

IIRC (not a tax expert), you have no choice in this case - you must apply the 10K in short-term losses to the 100K in short term gains.

This can be unfortunate, as applying 3K/year in losses to ordinary income is better tax-wise than reducing LT capital gains, but you don't get the choice. Anyway, theres a worksheet. Just complete it.
by happymob
Thu Apr 30, 2020 9:15 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Bird watchers – what birds are you seeing?
Replies: 2851
Views: 225887

Re: Bird watchers – what birds are you seeing?

Mississippi Kites showed up today in western OKlahoma. A few days earlier than normal. Other recent arrivals - brown thrashers (we've had a nest in our yard past couple of years), and a large group (20+) of cedar waxwings hanging out in our pecan tree.

I should probably get the hummingbird feeder up as the orioles and hummingbirds are likely here as well, but I haven't spotted them yet.
by happymob
Tue Apr 14, 2020 8:40 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Salary Deferral Amongst CoVid
Replies: 11
Views: 1703

Re: Salary Deferral Amongst CoVid

Bird in hand... I assume company bankruptcy is a risk. Maybe a very small risk, but why take the chance?
by happymob
Thu Apr 02, 2020 6:48 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Are XLK (Technology Select Fund) and VGT (Vanguard Information Technology ETF) considered "substantially identical"?
Replies: 5
Views: 935

Re: Are XLK (Technology Select Fund) and VGT (Vanguard Information Technology ETF) considered "substantially identical"?

My personal standard is "do they attempt to track the index?". Different indexes are not substantially identical, regardless of holdings.
by happymob
Fri Mar 27, 2020 6:01 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How are you going to use your stimulus money?
Replies: 222
Views: 16400

Re: How are you going to use your stimulus money?

Might go to our church (having online services and tithing, but I'm guessing that has dropped off some and we don't have a lot of margin for error in our budget) or to pay taxes on a larger than usual Roth conversion (though have to be careful not to push 2020 AGI into the phaseout for the stimulus money).
by happymob
Wed Mar 25, 2020 5:07 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Will the Dow ever see 29500 again?
Replies: 156
Views: 21581

Re: Will the Dow ever see 29500 again?

I was promised Dow 40,000 all the way back in 1999. Still waiting on that one.
by happymob
Thu Mar 19, 2020 11:46 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: TIPS
Replies: 271
Views: 23971

Re: TIPS go Crazy!

Secondary market liquidity seems terrible right now. There are no bids on a 22-year TIP I own according to Fidelity (at least in the quantity I have). Maybe being so close to the auction is affecting liquidity of existing TIPS. Or maybe we're back to TIPS are simply a loss less liquid than nominal treasuries in a crisis. I'll check back next week.
by happymob
Fri Feb 28, 2020 8:21 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: U.S. stocks in free fall
Replies: 36221
Views: 4653046

Re: U.S. stocks in free fall

In 2000, as a rather youngish (28 years old) who was far too aggressive in my investments (lots of QQQQ, now QQQ) during the height of the .com boom and bust), it was common for me to see daily movements in my portfolio that exceeded my daily salary. But hey, at least I was in an index fund, even if it was highly concentrated in MSFT, CSCO, INTC, etc (and a bunch of companies that failed). In 2020. as a more mature investor, who is still maybe too aggressive in my investments, I am on pace to lose more than my *annual* salary this week. Which is a combination of several things: 1) My salary is too low 2) My AA is too equity heavy 3) I have more savings than I will ever need 2001 did phase me (and made me move to broader index funds than the...
by happymob
Wed Feb 26, 2020 10:00 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Should we use the coronavirus drop to do Roth conversion?
Replies: 39
Views: 3751

Re: Should we use the coronavirus drop to do Roth conversion?

We do backdoor both conversions (https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=86262) every year when we pay our taxes. We get $10k/person state-tax-free on Roth conversions. We haven't paid our taxes yet (late K-1s means I have another month before we actually pay our taxes). I am very tempted to pull the trigger and convert some IRA to Roth right now. But Coronavirus could get worse. The Markets could go down more. Maybe I should hedge and do some now and some later. In any case, we have decided to not convert until we file our 2019 taxes. Might be a good choice. Might not be. The evidence on dollar cost averaging suggests delaying is likely a bad idea. Invest early and often. Similarly, convert early and often. Chances are, 1...
by happymob
Wed Feb 26, 2020 6:43 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 529 Deduction Recapture
Replies: 17
Views: 1307

Re: 529 Deduction Recapture

OP, why not just leave the money in whichever state plan they are already in? You can open new 529s in your new state and start contributing there. Or am I missing something about 529s whereby you can only use one state/ vendor at a time? I understand the simplicity argument. But it's just numbers on a statement, and a spreadsheet (if you keep one) We opened Coverdells for our kids when they were born. When 529s became a better strategy with higher contribution limits, we switched new contributions to our 529s. But I just left the Coverdells alone. There was/ is enough to cover each kid's freshman year (more or less), leaving the balance to be funded out of the 529s. Something to consider. Cheers This is the correct answer. The recapture o...
by happymob
Wed Feb 19, 2020 7:00 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Had a baby and received generous check from her great grandparents. Now what?
Replies: 157
Views: 13294

Re: Had a baby and received generous check from her great grandparents. Now what?

Having the grandfather fund the 529 directly is likely the best approach. It's the newborn's great-grandparents, which makes that option problematic, I think. They need to be both alive and cognizant (or have someone with power of attorney) to handle distribution 18 or more years from now. If they pass, presumably the great-grandkid inherits the 529 plan and you are back to the newborn owning it. Much simpler to have the newborn own it now, via UTMA 529. I think the point was to have the grandfather/great-grandfather just deposit the gift money directly into the 529 and bypass needing the parental accounts at all. Ah. I was interpreting it as grandparent owned 529 plans are somewhat better for FAFSA purposes if used properly (though we lat...
by happymob
Wed Feb 19, 2020 6:38 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Had a baby and received generous check from her great grandparents. Now what?
Replies: 157
Views: 13294

Re: Had a baby and received generous check from her great grandparents. Now what?

retiringwhen wrote: Mon Feb 17, 2020 2:50 pm Having the grandfather fund the 529 directly is likely the best approach.
It's the newborn's great-grandparents, which makes that option problematic, I think. They need to be both alive and cognizant (or have someone with power of attorney) to handle distribution 18 or more years from now. If they pass, presumably the great-grandkid inherits the 529 plan and you are back to the newborn owning it. Much simpler to have the newborn own it now, via UTMA 529.
by happymob
Tue Feb 11, 2020 5:27 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What is the best concert you ever witnessed?
Replies: 434
Views: 39241

Re: What is the best concert you ever witnessed?

I'm probably an outlier here. And part of that is because I haven't been to a lot of concerts (<20 rock/pop concerts). But part is my choice.

Public Enemy in fall 1992 at the University of Kansas. Poster Children, a punk band from Illinois, opened and couldn't have been a more inapprpriate opening act for Public Enemy. Everything (including Poster Children and their hostile interactions with the crowd) was awesome.

Go listen to Fear of a Black Planet. Amazing stuff (in my opinion).
by happymob
Mon Feb 10, 2020 4:35 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Include 529 in overall asset allocation??
Replies: 24
Views: 2079

Re: Include 529 in overall asset allocation??

No. There was a near 100% likelihood of consumption. I don't put it in our AA because I don't include it in our portfolio. It will exist for only a short (relatively) period of time. Essentially I view(ed) education costs as a sunk cost. I question the near 100% likelihood of consumption. I know a lot of really smart people who got full rides to public flagship universities (maybe could have used 529 in grad school, but for many grad school was also covered because they were going STEM PhD and not med or law or MBA). I also know, including myself, students who dropped out of college after a couple years due to a variety of issues (substance abuse, mental illness, etc). Their path mostly took them back to college eventually, but it was comp...
by happymob
Mon Feb 10, 2020 4:23 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What is your most luxury/expensive hobby.
Replies: 264
Views: 27563

Re: What is your most luxury/expensive hobby.

Food. Definitely a foodie.

The good news is we have no good restaurants in our rural-ish town of 10,000 people. So we almost never eat out at home (and we both like to cook). However, when traveling, we can go slightly nuts. In 2.5 days in New Orleans, we ate 4 meals that cost over $100 for 2 people. But that was kind of the point of the trip. In 2.5 days in San Francisco, we ate 3 meals over $300 for 2 people. But again, that was also partially the point of the trip. When traveling, we are otherwise reasonably thrifty. Cheaper rental cars, cheaper lodging, etc. But we do travel quite a bit and we do eat well when traveling (and sometimes the travel is food-focused from the start).
by happymob
Sun Feb 09, 2020 4:45 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Include 529 in overall asset allocation??
Replies: 24
Views: 2079

Re: Include 529 in overall asset allocation??

No. There was a near 100% likelihood of consumption. I don't put it in our AA because I don't include it in our portfolio. It will exist for only a short (relatively) period of time. Essentially I view(ed) education costs as a sunk cost. I question the near 100% likelihood of consumption. I know a lot of really smart people who got full rides to public flagship universities (maybe could have used 529 in grad school, but for many grad school was also covered because they were going STEM PhD and not med or law or MBA). I also know, including myself, students who dropped out of college after a couple years due to a variety of issues (substance abuse, mental illness, etc). Their path mostly took them back to college eventually, but it was comp...
by happymob
Tue Jan 28, 2020 5:33 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Anyone here paid college tuition w/ i Bonds AND still claim AOTC?
Replies: 10
Views: 1416

Re: Anyone here paid college tuition w/ i Bonds AND still claim AOTC?

If you get a 529 deduction in your state (that you aren't otherwise using), it might make more sense to launder the I Bond money through a 529 plan and immediately withdraw it to pay for college expenses. How would this work? Would you first have to redeem the iBond and then deposit the proceeds into the 529? By doing that, do you still get to bypass paying taxes on the interest? Seems like double-dipping, no? You've got it. Not double dipping. 529 plan contributions count for the education exclusion on savings bonds interest. So you can both exclude the interest and take an additional state tax deduction (if your state has that benefit). There is no minimum time that the money needs to actually be in the 529 plan before you use it to pay ...
by happymob
Sun Jan 26, 2020 7:28 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Anyone here paid college tuition w/ i Bonds AND still claim AOTC?
Replies: 10
Views: 1416

Re: Anyone here paid college tuition w/ i Bonds AND still claim AOTC?

If you get a 529 deduction in your state (that you aren't otherwise using), it might make more sense to launder the I Bond money through a 529 plan and immediately withdraw it to pay for college expenses.
by happymob
Sun Jan 12, 2020 9:33 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How do you mentally process stupid ways of losing money?
Replies: 84
Views: 8919

Re: How do you mentally process stupid ways of losing money?

Stef wrote: Thu Jan 09, 2020 2:14 amProblems that can be solved with money aren't real problems.
But they are to people without money. I don't handle multiple simultaneous problems well. I tend to lock up, stick my head in the sand, and ignore both problems until they become even bigger problems. Since I've had a real job, I deal with problems that can be solved with money by spending money. Poof. Problem goes away. Frees me up for the next problem. When I was living paycheck to paycheck, these same sorts of problems were simply unsolvable. That period of time was a real struggle.
by happymob
Sun Jan 12, 2020 6:54 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Traditional IRA purchase with intent to Roll it over into a Roth
Replies: 6
Views: 501

Re: Traditional IRA purchase with intent to Roll it over into a Roth

We do this, but it is to save on state taxes, not Federal. Only works in certain states. Here's the original thread on the "backdoor both" trad->Roth to save on state taxes. And there's no reason to wait a year. We contribute to a traditional IRA and then convert it as soon as the money hits the account.

Edit - meant to include the link to the original backdoor both thread. viewtopic.php?f=10&t=86262
by happymob
Fri Jan 10, 2020 6:49 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Does this sound like a solid idea to pay for college?
Replies: 54
Views: 4991

Re: Does this sound like a solid idea to pay for college?

cdc wrote: Thu Jan 09, 2020 7:22 pm I would not assume your kid won’t get scholarships and financial aid. Especially as a math major, a field dominated by guys. My guess is she’ll be a hot commodity when it’s time to apply.
Math isn't particularly dominated by guys these days at the undergraduate level. CS still is. Physics still is. Math is majority female at a a lot of schools.
by happymob
Sat Jan 04, 2020 8:53 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Why all the angst about RMDs and taxes?
Replies: 177
Views: 15551

Re: Why all the angst about RMDs and taxes?

The result was eye-opening. Our real income is projected to be 40% higher at age 72 than it is now. 24% vs 22% tax bracket is no huge deal. However, if I die first, while we lose the SS and very small pension), wife will find herself in the 32% tax bracket. Retire sooner? We could retire now at age 47 and maintain our current spending (plus a big health care insurance bill). She likes her job. I tolerate mine. We are loosening the purse strings a bit on vacation spending and charitable giving now, in addition to changing the Traditional/Roth mix to favor more Roth. If we had a 20% market correction, I might push Roth conversions to the top of the 24% tax bracket. I have a lot of tax modeling work to do in Turbotax when I finish our taxes t...
by happymob
Fri Jan 03, 2020 10:48 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Why all the angst about RMDs and taxes?
Replies: 177
Views: 15551

Re: Why all the angst about RMDs and taxes?

It's all about the rate. I always assumed that retirement tax rate would be lower, but this didn't factor in 1) pensions, 2) removing the $35,000/year in deduction that we currently get for maxing out 2x traditional 401k plans, and 3) the runup in the market leading us to have far more in pre-tax retirement savings than we anticipated in 2010, for example. We're still 47 and quite a long ways from both retirement (maybe age 60?) and RMDs (age 72). But I just started modeling retirement income as part of our financial planning - looked at SS income, pension income (I'll get a tiny one, wife will get big one) and RMDs at age 72 assuming we continued on our current savings path until retirement at age 60 and assuming 3% real growth in our non-...
by happymob
Fri Jan 03, 2020 10:25 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Now is a good time to start tracking your net worth.
Replies: 123
Views: 13532

Re: Now is a good time to start tracking your net worth.

I'll update single records in my spreadsheet anytime I log into one of my accounts. I only do the official check every account thing once a year (sometime in late December - I don't care that it's not on the exact same day every year).

Takes me about one hour. We have too many accounts, in general, but we also log into our pension website (both for current cash value of pension and for income at projected retirement) and the Social Security Administration (for income at age 70) to get updated figures for some retirement income modeling that drives the next year's Traditional vs. Roth and Roth conversion decisions.
by happymob
Sun Dec 29, 2019 6:55 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Should I sell my farmland and buy stocks?
Replies: 65
Views: 6673

Re: Should I sell my farmland and buy stocks?

I would list it for say 1.1 million or a pretty bold price and if it sells then take the gains and invest. The rent is way off for the value and I cant imagine it barely covers the property taxes and then you are taxes on the gain from there so it may not even break even. The run up on value had a lot to do with investors buying land vs bonds and securities in the early 201x, you can see that coming down over the last few years so it may continue to decline. If it were me I would try to get better diversification vs having it all locked up in rented land with barely beat inflation return. Cash rent returns on farmland or grassland of 2.67% isn't bad at all where I own my land. It is, however, very tricky to figure out proper rent prices. T...
by happymob
Tue Nov 19, 2019 6:31 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Should we start saving in Roth accounts?
Replies: 25
Views: 3618

Re: Should we start saving in Roth accounts?

No pension of pensions. Do you get one? Or is it just a defined contribution plan in lieu of pension and SS?

Edit - also, do either of you have enough quarters of contributions from previous jobs to get some SS in retirement even without further contributions?
by happymob
Sat Nov 09, 2019 6:35 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Where should I park my HSA contributions (Employer vs Fidelity)?
Replies: 8
Views: 1319

Re: Where should I park my HSA contributions (Employer vs Fidelity)?

Any reason not to contribute to the employer plan and move the balance to Fidelity once every year?
by happymob
Sat Oct 26, 2019 5:25 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Paying for college
Replies: 12
Views: 1853

Re: Paying for college

-We have ~100k in 529s and 130k in an inherited ira that we have designated for purpose. Should we drain the inherited ira to pay for school or reduce contributions to retirement accounts and cash flow their tuition/board? We currently put just under $60k into tax deferred retirement accounts (403s,457,iras), so could cash flow expenses if needed. Wouldn't these normally be equivalent? I guess draining inherited IRA gets rid of ongoing RMDs while working, by increasing potential RMDs in the distant future with higher non-inherited retirement balances. One thing to look at is this thread - https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=86262 Do you live in a state where any retirement distributions aren't taxes at the state level...
by happymob
Tue Oct 22, 2019 6:02 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Help me figure out why REITs are not higher % of AA
Replies: 31
Views: 2491

Re: Help me figure out why REITs are not higher % of AA

Thanks for the replies. I guess I meant stable as "people need a place to live" so the rents would still be coming in. Like I said, Im novice at this haha It's been a while since I looked at this, but take a look at the top 10 or 20 holdings of the REIT fund and see what business they are in. It's not "a place to live", for the most part. There are apartments. But also strip malls, health care facilities, university dorms, timber (in some REIT indexes, but not others), office space, mini-storage, mortgages (not sure if the Great Recession of 2008 shook out the mortgage REITs or not), etc. There is a remarkable diversity to REITs. The commercial real estate is certainly subject to business cycles and people may always ne...
by happymob
Wed Oct 09, 2019 6:28 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Finance or Accounting Degree?
Replies: 81
Views: 7985

Re: Finance or Accounting Degree?

I would be wary of any finance degree that didn't involve a lot of math. Look at the pre-requisites for the courses. Some finance degrees are very serious. Others are glorified undergraduate business management degrees with just a smidgen more math (of course the best undergraduate business degrees also involve a lot of math). At my local college, for example, the finance majors have to take "applied calculus" (basically a business calc course which dumbs down calculus and "applied stats". Most of the coursework doesn't require these courses as pre-reqs, which tells you that there's not any math to speak of in the courses. A top program would have you taking calculus almost immediately and would be pre-req of low-level c...
by happymob
Sat Sep 28, 2019 8:05 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Ideal income bracket target?
Replies: 49
Views: 6060

Re: Ideal income bracket target?

This is a hypothetical question. If a higher net worth person in the decumulation stage has equal money in tax deferred, taxable and Roth, and therefore could literally pick any income level as a target by pulling from the appropriate accounts, what would that target income be? Would it be the income level to qualify for ACA subsidies? $78,950 to stay in the 12% tax bracket and the 0% capital gains bracket? $165,400 to stay in the 22% tax bracket, sacrificing the subsidies and lower current taxes in order to have lower RMD's and taxes later (when rates may be higher)? If one ends up in the 22% bracket, would one want to do Roth Conversions up to the 24% tax bracket? Thanks in advance. Gasdoc ACA subsidies potentially are a huge chunk of mo...
by happymob
Thu Sep 19, 2019 6:42 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Long Term FAFSA/College Strategy
Replies: 150
Views: 11657

Re: Long Term FAFSA/College Strategy

Beehave wrote: Wed Sep 18, 2019 7:39 pmSavings bonds (check to see if I-Bonds have that "untaxed if used for education" feature) and 529 savings thus seem prudent.
Not at the OP's income. I-bonds follow the same rules as EE bonds for education, FWIW.
by happymob
Sun Sep 15, 2019 7:06 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Bay Area teacher saving half my income – why the doubt? (and asking more questions)
Replies: 707
Views: 67230

Re: Bay Area teacher saving half my income – why the doubt? (and asking more questions)

You are eventually (well, age 70.5) going to get hammered on taxes with RMD + pension + SS, particularly if one of you dies and is filing as a single filer. That said, given the health care situation, it probably makes sense to do what you are doing as the premium tax credit is worth a ton of money now.

You obviously have to make some big sacrifices to be where you are now, but your situation looks pretty fantastic to me.
by happymob
Wed Sep 11, 2019 5:48 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can this girl "go wild?"
Replies: 33
Views: 5997

Re: Can this girl "go wild?"

You need to live, if not now, then when? If you don't spend it, someone else will. So long as your outflows do not exceed your inflows, you should be good to go. Enjoy your retirement. I like looking at cash flow. We don't track expenses or budget. If our bank balance goes up, we stayed within budget. If our bank balance went down, we need to understand why (this year a 6-week trip to Europe for the Women's World Cup will *likely* mean a net cash outflow, but I'm not sure that's true yet) For wife and I this is simplified by having a single bank account, where if the balance get too high, we transfer money to our taxable brokerage and if the balance gets too low, or we have a major purchase, like a car, we transfer money from taxable to ba...
by happymob
Sat Sep 07, 2019 10:18 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Taxes if maxing out Roth IRA & Roth 403b
Replies: 9
Views: 726

Re: Taxes if maxing out Roth IRA & Roth 403b

Seriously considering this ourselves. We can get to the 12% tax bracket with a lot of traditional contributions. But it is becoming increasingly clear that we will be in higher tax brackets in retirement (particularly after 70.5 or if one of us dies before then). The smart move may be Roth and conversions up to the top of 22% and perhaps up to the top of 24%. Need to check the tax credit situation to make sure there aren't extra penalties, other than marginal rates and higher taxes on qualified dividends.
by happymob
Sat Jul 27, 2019 9:07 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: One bad decision - examples?
Replies: 67
Views: 8824

Re: One bad decision - examples?

Vanguard Fan 1367 wrote: Sat Jul 20, 2019 8:30 pm one of my parent's friends inherited a lot of money which took years of prudent investing. This person's husband talked her into investing in a golf course in Puerto Rico and the investment wiped out that accumulation.
More generally, one could sum that up with "all eggs, one basket". Doesn't matter if the one basket is a Puerto Rico gold course, Enron, a Puerto Rico bond index fund, or the seemingly very diversified Nikkei Dow

Diversify!
by happymob
Sat Jul 27, 2019 9:04 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Explain why long-term bonds aren't awesome
Replies: 120
Views: 28526

Re: Explain why long-term bonds aren't awesome

Personally, I like long-term treasuries for the following reasons: 1) Treasuries don't have the default problems (hopefully!) of corporates during recessions. . Therefore, they should be less correlated with equities than treasuries. 2) Long-term has a higher yield (usually!) than intermediate. Why not get the extra yield? But, you say, what about their volatility? Well, just decrease your overall bond holding a bit. If you want a 60/40 equity/IT bond mix, go with something like 70/30 equity/LT bond mix. I prefer my TIPS and nominal treasuries to be as long-term as possible, mostly while maintaining the convenience of an index ETF or mutual fund (I do sometimes buy at auction - though what to do when they are no longer long-term bonds?).