Bogleheads.org

Recently I have been using the new AI-driven Bing for searching, where the results have been way better than Google searches at finding what I was looking for. The new Bing search results go right to the information that answers the questions that prompted the search in the first place. A summary directly answers the question, complete with links to sources. The included links in the search results can be used for exploring more detailed information. For many decades, Google was my go-to search engine as the Google search almost always turned up more relevant information than the old Bing. Now the situation is nearly the opposite, where Google is the search engine I am avoiding. I would be interested in what others think of the new Bing. I...

Go on the Toyota forums. You can usually find other people who have found the lowest priced dealers if you want a warranty. I wouldn't get anything below the highest level. Or anything that doesn't include all of the electronics. I believe the Platinum warranty is that one. Different dealers charge different amounts for the same warranty, you can basically get it from any of them. Don't buy a third party warranty though. Get the Toyota one.

Oddly, my go to's for a while were Carhartt work pants. At some point in the last 10 years though they stopped selling the style I wore. I imagine there wasn't a big market / crossover. But those things lasted me a while. I haven't checked out the current style.

runner540 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 13, 2023 9:45 am

Cranberry44 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 13, 2023 8:14 am Hi All,

The recent news of failing banks has made me wonder: is my 403b account insured at the FDIC limit of 250k?

What are the important things to know here?

Thanks!

These plans are also heavily regulated by the ERISA laws.

A little nuance, not all 403b plans are covered under ERISA. ERISA largely only covers corporate plans. So government (ie teachers) and churches for example, two large groups of 403b plans, aren't covered.

Also, if OP has/or ever has the option for a 457b, non-governmental 457b plans can lose you your money (from IRS)
"Plan assets are not held in trust for employees but remain the property of the employer (available to its general creditors in the event of litigation or bankruptcy".

Faisal wrote: ↑Sun Mar 12, 2023 7:42 pm

runner540 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 12, 2023 6:38 pm

Yesterdaysnews wrote: ↑Sun Mar 12, 2023 6:14 pm Government to the rescue again... this is the new normal.

People are really conflating a bailout of the banks investors (stock, bonds of SVB), which is NOT happening, with FIDC intervention to protect customer deposits, which is happening, and I support.

Do you want no FDIC, no SIPC? That’s how the Great Depression happened.

That is literally the government bailing out the banks. No FDIC means no government intervention at all.

Just to be clear, FDIC funds itself solely through premiums among members injured. Although they have government oversight, the FDIC is otherwise an independent agency. FDIC intervention is not the same as government intervention.

CletusCaddy wrote: ↑Sat Mar 11, 2023 12:19 am

BF3000 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 10, 2023 8:01 pm BND isn’t a good proxy for the bond holdings. Consider half long term treasuries (TLT) and half long term corp bonds (SPLB).

Or just the actual bond holding: PLRIX

BLV has usually been pretty accurate for me.

chinchin wrote: ↑Fri Mar 10, 2023 8:53 pm

Gort wrote: ↑Fri Mar 10, 2023 8:51 pm

chinchin wrote: ↑Fri Mar 10, 2023 7:36 pm Electric vehicles don’t have catalytic converters.

Nor do bicycles.

True. Personally I am considering an e-bike.

Neither do humans.

For all of you looking for an affordable home, you can still buy a condo, even in a HCOL area. I just calculated it and my 2BR condo has appreciated by slightly less than the rate of inflation over the last nine years. :beer I make 150K a year as a late 20s and a 900sqft 2br condo within 15 min commute of work is 700K minimum. So I can't afford it. Why not? A $600K 30-year loan at 7% rates carries a payment of just under $4K/month or $48K per year. Throw in another $8K per year for taxes and insurance, and your PITI is $56K, or 37% of your gross pay. That's within a reasonable range. If you want a super-high savings rate, a la some Bogleheads, that's your choice to make. But you can afford a 2BR condo, and prices probably won't crash becau...

arcticpineapplecorp. wrote: ↑Wed Mar 08, 2023 9:13 pm i re-read the OP. What is Tina getting out of all of this? I don't see where she is benefitting financially.

As each of these retirees passes away, the remaining members get to split the remaining share of the pie. If Tina is the youngest by a good amount, it really increases the odds that Tina will be left holding all of the marbles.

They don't see it as a mess, so I am not at the "call a lawyer" stage. They vehemently defend the decision and insist Tina is a genius and super generous to them. Dad gave me this really bizarre talk a few weeks ago about how "he has the right to spend every last dime he made before he dies and nobody including his kids are entitled to it"... Seemed to me like a gigantic coping mechanism on his part, more so than malice towards me. Personally I cannot respect someone who leaves nothing for their children. But didn't have the guts to say that to my own father... alas... it is his money. So he is okay with disinheriting your Mom? Unknown. I only found the deed/mortgage today. I will ask about only having his name on there...

Your choice. I suspect most people pay upon redemption so that they don't have to keep track of the accrued tax payments.

https://www.treasurydirect.gov/savings- ... st--632579

You can use a mobile app to upload it.

Just to troubleshoot, have you tried recreating the ways it is locked at home, and then checking to make sure the vehicle actually locks?

Ask your employer about their policies for covered individuals eligible for Medicare. Generally speaking, if Medicare is the primary payer, then you have to sign up for both Medicare part a, part b, and the prescription drug plan. This guide is helpful for who pays first: https://www.medicare.gov/sites/default/files/2021-10/02179-Medicare-and-other-health-benefits-your-guide-to-who-pays-first.pdf If the employer plan would be the primary payer with dual coverage, then you should be able to not enroll in part b until the employee loses employer coverage. Part a is premium free in most cases (not all) so you generally always sign up for that. If employer coverage has creditable drug coverage and the primary payer over Medicare then you don't ...

riverant wrote: ↑Sun Feb 12, 2023 8:01 am [...........]

So this year getting a ton of money back. I think I have a much better handle on estimating tax owed now and will calibrate my W4 accordingly. What's the worst you have ever missed? Any tips on how to estimate better? Is it worth running preliminary taxes mid-year and adjusting W4s if needed?

This can help you figure out the W4. I recreate the steps in Excel so I can adjust numbers accordingly without having to go through the calcs more than once.

https://www.nfc.usda.gov/Publications/H ... /index.php

I see you are trying to lower taxes here. But to get long-term capital gains, you can do that with mutual funds and ETFs as well. So you can diversify a bit without putting all of your eggs in one basket and trying to pick winners. You would likely just want to stick with an ETF or vanguard mutual fund that has an associated share class of an ETF. That will help reduce any dividends they might throw off, even though they would likely be long-term capital gains/qualified dividends. You are going to get a lot of pushback here from what you are proposing, since it's basically trying to stock pick. Those websites don't really know if those stocks are going to be up or down in a year. Edit: whatever you do, make sure your cost basis selection at...

Abe wrote: ↑Sun Feb 12, 2023 12:47 pm

Rocky Mtn Man wrote: ↑Sun Feb 12, 2023 12:34 pm

runninginvestor wrote: ↑Sun Feb 12, 2023 12:16 pm For treasury orders, I believe if you go to the Treasury page where you buy and sell, there is a tab for pending transactions.

Correct. I just ordered the 3m bond as an experiment. It's in the fixed income area of the Vanguard website. Under "My orders and quotes"

Okay, I found it under "My orders and quotes". Thanks a lot. They don't make it easy.

Awesome! Glad my memory wasn't off. I wasn't by my PC to check.

For treasury orders, I believe if you go to the Treasury page where you buy and sell, there is a tab for pending transactions.

If you want you can recreate your paycheck based off W4 selections using the federal and state bulletins. I'll link to a post I made recently with that info.

viewtopic.php?p=6980959#p6980959

I recreate these in excel (we've lived in 3 states the past 6 years) and it's been helpful as we've changed jobs, contributions, benefits, etc to use to project our total yearly withholding to be sure we at least hit safe harbor.

Also, the problems described (requiring a sump pump to an unknown location) would not pass muster for loss of containment so the inspection would have failed on detecting that issue as well. I cannot believe I am getting pushback about this sump pump being near the tanks. Absent literal video of them running the sump pump, it is as good of evidence as you are ever going to get in a fraudulent concealment case. Out of curiosity, could they have not known about the sump pump if their parents had placed it? I.e. is there a way based on serial numbers or markings on the pump to determine when it was manufactured/purchased? If you could get that, that would be pretty good evidence that they knew about an issue if the pump can be verified to be ...

Should be able to but typically the covered individual has to make an appointment with social security to confirm this decision. Social security basically is making sure that the individual: 1. Understands repercussions of dropping Part B. You can generally disenroll if you have primary coverage elsewhere. You have to be careful with some employer plans, typically small employee plans, as they are secondary to Medicare. If you disenroll and don't have creditable Part B and/or Part D coverage, you'll face penalties whenever/of you sign back up for Part B/D 2. They are also making sure you aren't dropping because it's unaffordable. If so, they'll still explain the financial repercussions of penalties and not having insurance. They should also...

I've used Excel1040
https://sites.google.com/view/incometaxspreadsheet/home

It's got federal only, but it's pretty comprehensive. I use that to see how things change if income changes or type of income changes. It also helps to see how things flow through. This coupled with the specific form instructions really helps.

Out of curiosity what state are you in? If you happen to be in a non-recourse state, there is some value in not paying off your mortgage quickly. Mainly, if you were ever to lose your house with a non recourse loan the bank wouldn't be able to come after you if they sold it below the remaining value mortgage.

I think you are looking for this;

https://www.vanguard.com/pdf/USGOIN_2023.pdf

Specifically, funds with ** are explained in the footnote for your situation.

My wife and I were recommended a fixed annuity for 5 years at 5.15%. Annuities are a brand-new concept for us. I am reading the wiki, but there seem to be many types. We will both turn 59.5 shortly after a 5-year term ends. I would be happy with a 5.15% return on this money. What are your thoughts about fixed annuities for people in their mid 50s? Pros? Cons? Safety as non-FDIC insured investments? Things to watch out for? There are many products called "Annuities". The only one we really recommend here is SPIA . These guarantee an income for life and so are widely used to hedge "longevity risk"-- the only way, in fact of doing that (Social Security is the other). However inflation protected SPIAs are rare. [....] Just ...

You mentioned that they are becoming less responsive.

I wonder if you can mitigate some of the risk if you do the direct rollover and then mobile deposit (or in person finding where you are going) the check yourself. But of course make sure that incoming institution can take a mobile check that high.

Edit: just because if there's any mix up between the receiving institution and the old institution, if the old institution isn't responsive it could delay any kind of resolution. Whereas as long as you get the check, and there's any mix up with the receiving institution depositing the funds, they are only talking to you.

billaster wrote: ↑Tue Jan 31, 2023 11:41 am I'm not convinced that electric toothbrushes are any better than manual ones. What the electric toothbrush has is a timer that encourages you to brush more thoroughly than you normally would with a manual brush. It would be interesting to do a comparison study with a manual toothbrush and an hourglass egg timer, but I doubt anyone would fund it.

I would imagine any study between the two would have controlled for time.

My first Sonicare lasted me 12 years. Now, they last 3 years or so. I just buy whatever rechargeable model is available on a deal at Costco. My wife also has one, so the fact that it's often a two pack is a benefit, not a drawback. Yes, the one I currently have I've had for probably about 12 or 13 years. I really hope it doesn't break because they don't seem to sell this version anymore. But this one is really sturdy since I've dropped it probably a couple dozen times. My guess is that it would probably have been one of the $100 ones nowadays based on looks. The one I have looks like this, could it be the same one you had? https://www.ebay.com/itm/302730429258?var=0&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&toolid=10050&c...

My first Sonicare lasted me 12 years. Now, they last 3 years or so. I just buy whatever rechargeable model is available on a deal at Costco. My wife also has one, so the fact that it's often a two pack is a benefit, not a drawback. Yes, the one I currently have I've had for probably about 12 or 13 years. I really hope it doesn't break because they don't seem to sell this version anymore. But this one is really sturdy since I've dropped it probably a couple dozen times. My guess is that it would probably have been one of the $100 ones nowadays based on looks. The one I have looks like this, could it be the same one you had? https://www.ebay.com/itm/302730429258?var=0&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&toolid=10050&c...

Before you start consolidating, you have any idea of what you want your overall asset allocation to be? Stocks versus bonds? US versus international? I don't have any opinion about separately a managed accounts, but I generally steer clear of things I add fees. ""Anyway, the real question is… I have accumulated a lot of different funds over the years as I have changed jobs and simply rolled the exact fund from the 401k into a rollover IRA. Does it make sense to consolidate some of these “overlapping” funds and simplify the field?"" I think it makes sense to consolidate overlapping funds, I would do retirement accounts first since you won't get hit with any capital gains taxes or anything as long as you don't withdraw any...

If you really want to get specific about it, I set up in Excel the paycheck withholding calculation for our state and federal tax withholding. I get the formulaic process here: https://www.nfc.usda.gov/Publications/HR_Payroll/Taxes/ Note that it will likely update a few of the bracket boundaries every year for the federal rates, maybe also for your state. What I do is use their guidelines for the paycheck withholding calculation, input are specific withholdings, and then I just numbers to see how things change when we withhold different amounts and pretext/roth. We did roth earlier in our careers, and just recently started switching my spouse's to pretax contributions. The setup helped us determine how much to switch and we could see how it...

If I was the institution, if I had a fund that had $100k minimum to invest but the account only had $1 in it, I'd not allow these transactions either.

Similar to vanguard dropping you down from admiral to investor share classes if you are under the limit for long enough time.

water2357 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 28, 2023 1:01 am Thanks for reporting on this. I've gotten some unusual (not very descriptive) emails from Vanguard since signing up for e-delivery. I'm always very hesitant to click on any link in an email. It would be nice if Vanguard could better indicate when they are going to send emails that don't quite look like they are official Vanguard emails.

Just train yourself to never click on an email link. If you get an email saying you have a new notification/statement/etc just go to the website separately and check.

I think the stock market is a better investment than real estate. I'm genuinely perplexed by (or perhaps ignorant of) how it's possible that real estate, with all of its associated costs (property taxes, everyday maintenance, etc.), could be a better investment than stocks. Good leverage, tax-writeoffs, and possible upside volatility. A lot of cost can be written off on taxes, as well as the depreciation of the actual rental. High amounts of leverage (mortgage) can be taken (4x in some cases, maybe higher) and the bank can only come after the house if the mortgage is not paid (rather than margin where the stock is taken if the stock merely dips too low and one is limited to about 2x usually). There are a lot of way real estate can outperfo...

The only IRS consideration would be if you hold the new fund in a taxable account. You may or may not run into a wash sale. But even that's highly debated whether or not moving money in retirement accounts affects the wash sale rules.

Typically in retirement plans, as long as the planned administrator doesn't forbid it, you can swap funds pretty easily and without ramification. For instance, for ours there is an "exchange" option that allows us to exchange a fund one for one (100% of old funds into 100% of the new fund), or a combination of multiple funds .

This shouldn't involve any tax consequences as long as you don't withdraw anything. Since you are currently contributing, there might also be an option that asks you whether or not you want to have new contributions go into this new fund.

That is unfortunately true. I look at the prices that folks share here for their auto and home insurances elsewhere in the country and go :oops: I recently asked my insurance agent and he said that it is because of all the rich retiree folks - especially sports folks - who come to Florida to retire and who are usually at the wrong end of insurance suits. Home insurance is a whole different can of worms. I get the fact that hurricanes cause a lot of property damage in Florida, but I don't get it how insurance rates in the midwest and the west coast are so much lower than Florida, when tornadoes are even less predictable and common occurrences (midwest) and floods and wildfires are similar in frequency on the west coast in the recent past. A...

retiringwhen wrote: ↑Tue Jan 24, 2023 10:21 am

runninginvestor wrote: ↑Tue Jan 24, 2023 10:09 am It's nice. But they don't seem to include the settlement fund - VMFXX - inthe % of govt obligations breakout, for us.

you can always get it here: https://advisors.vanguard.com/tax-center/

That's how I have usually done in the past for all of my funds. It's odd that it's not in there for the breakout, but is in there for the detailed distribution.

Just wanted to point that out for others that didn't know about the government obligations percentages and they're only seeing it for the first time on the 1099. Do not forget about VMFXX.

retiringwhen wrote: ↑Tue Jan 24, 2023 8:59 am BTW, the new format this year has even more detail on the USGO and Tax Exempt and Sec 199A components. I really wish Vanguard provided an online tool to break this down a bit more to help with Tax Prep, but I am very appreciative of their full and direct disclosure.

It's nice. But they don't seem to include the settlement fund - VMFXX - inthe % of govt obligations breakout, for us.

Golf maniac wrote: ↑Tue Jan 24, 2023 6:50 am I am in Florida, I would get the uninsured and underinsured option but I would not stack it at 250/500. I would just leave it at 250/250. Florida insurance is a mess due to the lawsuits and uninsured motorists. Rates have gone crazy over past few years. Shop around because rates can vary greatly by company.

Thatc limit change will likely depend on what their umbrella carrier allows.

The 10/100 captive warranty from the manufacturer for $1500 or under can tend to be a decent deal and not a rip-off. There are a lot of things that can happen in that ninth and tenth year. But you are likely just prepaying for it. Peace of mind can be worth something though. My understanding is that the 10/100 from Toyota Financial (or American Honda, etc) costs the dealer about a grand. Everything you pay above that is pure markup on the dealer side. Good to know. The warranty also includes towing to a dealer, roadside assistance, jumps, etc. So it's a no brainer for us since we do long trips with the Sienna and would've paid for AAA anyways for those 7 years outside of the b2b. I'm in the minority here too. A $1,500/10 year warranty for ...

If pre-med and med school are now on the table, I would highly recommend glancing at White Coat Investor's website to see if you can glean any more information. There might be extra information on any kind of med school specific loans and things like that that your child could get.

The only time we have bought one was when we bought during the pandemic. Solely bc : 1. my wife said yes the same time I said no. Decided that I didn't want to test fate by overriding her and then having something break that would be covered. 2. figured that if there was any time to do it, it was while we had unprecedented supply chain issues on everything, including chips. I recall reading about several manufacturers delivering vehicles without USB hubs, and other parts. For Toyota if you do get it, make sure you're getting the one that includes everything including electronics. I think that's the platinum coverage. and if you do, get the longest possible since it's covering the years behind the bumper to bumper, power train, and hybrid.

I don't know the question on HSAs .

But for rollovers, direct rollovers don't count towards the one per 365 day year rule.

This includes:
1. The institution sends it directly to the other institution
2. The institution sends you a check with 'FBO Your Name' alongside the institution name. And then you forward/upload the check to the new institution.

Essentially as long as you don't receive the check in your name only, in my experience it's always counted as a direct rollover and doesn't count towards the one per year rule.

Yeah these basically just went into effect. We bought our 2021 Hybrid and were surprised how loud it was. Especially in an underground parking garage below an apartment.

I looked it up at the time, apparently the law was passed back in 2010, didn't get the final rule until 2018, and then implementation started second half of 2019.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electri ... ing_sounds

Talk about a very slow process.

The choir of angels is a good name for it. We always just call it the spaceship.

Edit:
I don't mind it. Since I drive a Prius and it has an extremely annoying reverse beep inside the car.

3a) If I were going to convert, not knowing anything else about the kinds of fees in your 457b plan, and assuming this is a governmental 457b plan, I'd probably convert from the IRA to the Roth IRA before doing the 457b plan. Only because you can withdraw money from your gov 457b plan without the penalty since you have left employment, whereas the IRA you would be penalized until you were 59.5 years old. So if I were to need money over the next seven and a half years, the 457 would allow me to do that penalty free. As far as #1, I don't know why you wouldn't be able to do that conversion. I generally like to do rollovers to a traditional IRA first, and then do the conversion just for record keeping. I think because when I first rolled somet...

There may even be options to log you out of all other devices. I'd check the privacy and security settings in your Gmail.

No. Are you always home and easily available whenever a delivery comes? For me, if FedEx comes and then holds it after enough unsuccessful tries, it's a 45 minute drive for me to go to the terminal. And they aren't open outside of business hours, so if I commuted an hour away like I used to, I would only be able to pick up on a Saturday, when they have only a few hours. I have no idea how secure to "porch pirates" this apartment complex is. Do they have a cluster mailbox with a locker for packages or does the carrier just leave everything with the manager, or leave it outside each doorstep? If they really want it, don't most delivery services allow you to sign for a package electronically now? Not saying you should as a buyer, bu...

Do you know when the spark plugs we last changed?

We have them. Have one on my spouse's wallet, keys, and our dog's collar.