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tomsense76

There is definitely a strong fan base for savings bonds. I think people generally end up preferring I Bonds over EE Bonds just because of having inflation protection in a long term bond is useful. Personally like and hold both. Would agree with you these seem worth considering if everything else is ...

tomsense76

I've been debating tilting towards SCV in my Roth. Have been thinking about this for a few reasons. 1. Have learned about factors through this forum and listening to Rational Reminder and am persuaded a SCV tilt may be meaningful 2. Work in a large growth tech company so want to diversify away from ...

tomsense76

Yep that sounds like an accurate summary. Thanks for the advice!

tomsense76

Bigger question: Is there a compelling reason to KEEP the Roth IRA at TIAA CREF, despite the higher ERs for index funds? If the asset will be in index funds, there is no good reason. You will have some investment options for your Roth asset at TIAA that Fidelity will lack (TIAA Supplemental Annuity...

tomsense76

My employer's 401k allows After-Tax contributions. They are able to immediately convert them into Roth contributions once received. This can be configured automatically with a call to plan sponsor, which I've done. They also allow withdrawing those funds and placing them into a Roth. I started using...

tomsense76

As to international, Bogle suggested no more than 20%. So 10% fits the bill. Others like a bit more (some like myself go with global weight equities). Though 10% probably does move the needle somewhat, I do wonder if it is worth holding at all for such a small allocation. Sounds like you are also w...

tomsense76

Duckie wrote: ↑Mon Mar 01, 2021 5:24 pm You'll get a 1099-R next year and will need to report the rollover on your 2021 Form 1040. It won't be taxable.

Where does this go on the 1040? Think I need to do this for last year's rollover.

tomsense76

Agree with Duckie. Call Fidelity and ask what they need. They will happily email or mail any forms you may need to fill out. FWIW did a Roth transfer from TIAA to Vanguard in late 2019/early 2020. It required a form to be filled out, current statement, a Medallion Signature Guarantee (got from my lo...

tomsense76

Honestly these are all personal choices and it is hard to say that there is a right answer. Though one thing that sticks out to me is it sounds like 80/20 is desired. However the current portfolio is holding 5% more bonds. Is that intentional? On REITs, there are different thoughts on these. Some vi...

tomsense76

The average rate of return of the S&P 500 was almost 12% over the last 10 years. What about the 10 years prior? Basically flat. In fact small cap value outperformed during that period. Which asset class outperforms varies over time. It's very difficult to predict what will outperform. Even if t...

tomsense76

The one thing TD does say is...

The combined rate will never be less than zero.

https://www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/re ... dterms.htm

tomsense76

I have a few. Each one serves a particular purpose. So it's not about fear of brokerage risk. Though can see why people would want a few for this reason.

tomsense76

Is there a difference in paper vs electronic, or then the listed limits ? performance speaking. That being said, would it make sense to quarterly invest $2,500 for 10k per year, until maybe 15k was invested? To avoid the 12 mos penalty if a bigger chunk was needed? FYI, for the electronic I Bonds, ...

tomsense76

Already bought mine in Jan. I highly doubt rates go up in May. As to Nov, there could be a scenario where the economy heats up and rates go up slightly. It also depends on where the money sits now. Ibonds are total at 1.68%. So if it is sitting in a bank, and you wait and hope it goes up 0.1 or 0.2...

tomsense76

Is there a difference in paper vs electronic, or then the listed limits ? performance speaking. That being said, would it make sense to quarterly invest $2,500 for 10k per year, until maybe 15k was invested? To avoid the 12 mos penalty if a bigger chunk was needed? FYI, for the electronic I Bonds, ...

tomsense76

SnowBog was faster, but I already wrote this :D Makes sense. There are several folks (who will likely swing by) that use I Bonds for this purpose. Also buy I Bonds but for a different purpose (hand rolling an annuity for retirement). Paper bonds can be cashed at a bank. Electronic bonds require sign...

tomsense76

When it comes to splitting up the funds, would that involve me backing away from the current plans and adjusting them to fit an overall portfolio instead of the current plans? Or would I be trying to compensate for what those plans are already providing? Exactly this is a common theme that comes up...

tomsense76

Yeah I see where you are coming from. Have moved some of my fixed income out of my 401k into Savings Bonds and Munis. Though still hold some fixed income in my 401k. It might be worth reading this blogpost from Karsten . He evaluates when it makes sense to hold bonds in tax advantaged vs taxable. An...

tomsense76

In taxable it is also wise to split the US funds from the ex-US funds. So using VTSAX and VTIAX for example. The reason being claiming the foreign tax credit requires a certain percentage of the funds' income comes from ex-US, which VTWAX won't make the cutoff for. This is irrelevant within tax-def...

tomsense76

Target date funds are great when they work. Though I think once one starts accumulating enough across different accounts, they become impractical for the reasons that you are running into here. Ran into the same thing last year and was advised by people here to split up the funds. While there was a ...

tomsense76

What is your marginal tax bracket? Consider a backdoor Roth. Whether you stay with taxable or fund a backdoor Roth the stock recommendations are the same. I recommend *not* holding bonds in a taxable or Roth account, so I recommend VTWAX, the Vanguard total world index. This will be a single fund w...

tomsense76

Could go for something like Vanguard Tax-Managed Balanced Fund ( VTMFX ). Holds half in munis and the other half in mid and large cap stocks. Maybe too aggressive, but could always combine that with holding more munis. That said, I'd probably do the math just to know how muni yields compare to other...

tomsense76

Or was I required to match the payments to the correct quarters (and/or paid equally over all 4 quarters)? Estimated payments aren't matched to a quarter. Instead, the cumulative total by the deadlines has to meet requirements based on income to date for the year. The special exception is that payr...

tomsense76

Thanks all for the feedback! :D It was also informative seeing the different ways employers and brokers track basis. Hopefully this helps others understand as it did for me. :sharebeer Looking at the 1099B they appear to report the cost basis as non-zero. Comparing this to the proceeds this looks ab...

tomsense76

Sorry for your loss. That must have been hard especially right before the pandemic. Agree with others that it seems like financially you are in a good spot. Might be worth considering doing Roth conversions of the IRA balance. Not sure whether you could make one this year before tax time to make up ...

tomsense76

Has anyone been bumped to the “Wealth Management “ tier recently for having a balance over $250k? I had that previously and I think you get a separate line to call for better support. I’m not sure if they’re only doing it for customers with managed Merrill accounts or not I was wondering this too. ...

tomsense76

A short answer is that it is the "total owed in 2020 divided by 4". The underpayment amount is calculated for each quarter. There is no underpayment penalty if 25% of the required annual payment is paid each quarter. One option for the required annual payment is based on the income tax fo...

tomsense76

For that safe harbor you need to pay at least 100% (or 110%) of last year's taxes. Total taxes, not what was withheld, estimated, due with your return, or anything like that. You may be able to do that through increased withholding, but if not then you need to pay the difference in four equal estim...

tomsense76

This is my first year filling out tax forms related to RSUs. So am trying to understand what pieces of information are relevant and how to correctly include them on Federal taxes. For context, I just sell RSUs once they become available to me (just view them as a cash bonus that happens to be enumer...

tomsense76

Am trying to understand how quarterly estimated tax payments are related to the safe harbor. In particular when making the Q1 payment in 2021, am wondering is the safe harbor using the previous year's tax based off of what one did owe in Q1 2020 or is it based off of an average amount (total owed in...

tomsense76

I agree. However it's hard to find experts who know both systems? Canada and Australia? I have seen examples of people paying thousands to Big 4 tax people, and still getting it wrong. If such a person with expertise exists, then I would recommend consulting them. Perhaps there is enough flow betwe...

tomsense76

It's worth noting that munis may not be as tax free as one might think. In particular more of one's Social Security benefit may become taxable. Also Medicare premiums may increase. This is because Muni interest is added to MAGI calculations for both of these. https://www.schwab.com/resource-center/...

tomsense76

Honestly I've filed taxes by mail every year except last year. It was the first year that I actually e-filed, which almost failed to go through (so would have ended up mailing it then as well). Why did I do this? I really hate giving out information about my accounts if I can avoid it. Filing by ma...

tomsense76

Why did I do this? I really hate giving out information about my accounts if I can avoid it. Filing by mail I can just put a check in the envelope and move on. E-File someone needs a routing number and it often needs to be entered in a 3rd party's website, which I don't like. You can e-file the ret...

tomsense76

Sounds exciting....and scary. I would try to be within 30 miles of a college or university town. You'd have access to sports, shows, some restaurants, etc. Good chance some decent healthcare will be in the college town as well. I would also check out each state's finances. NY is in such a hole ther...

tomsense76

Bill1207 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 01, 2021 9:13 pm We make too much, currently, to invest in a Roth and any investment in a traditional IRA wouldn't be deductible.

Are you doing Backdoor Roth contributions?

tomsense76

So which exchange/app would you suggest a newbie use if they want to put say a thousand dollars to play around with stocks? I assume most would have said robinhood easily... before this whole reddit thing happened right? I assume almost all traders have accounts at each one of them? No; most of us ...

tomsense76

Congrats OP!

Am curious if you have given any thought to adding more bonds at this point. Not that you need them (seems like you have many more years to save and invest). Just wondering given the milestone and how far you have come

tomsense76

Have fixed income in a few forms: * 6mos HYSA * 6mos Stable Value Fund in 401k * 6mos Dodge & Cox Income in 401k * 6mos Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt * 1yr in I & EE Savings Bonds Funds in 401k can be liquidated using this strategy in the wiki . Beyond that my whole portfolio can be ...

tomsense76

While it is always possible someone who has experience moving from country A to B shows up and comments, there is a chance they may misremember things from a move or be out-of-date with respect to the laws (as well meaning as they may be). Honestly would just suggest talking to a CPA with experience...

tomsense76

I don't understand why there isn't a standardized interface that would allow filing directly from a taxpayer's computer/tax software and the IRS without involving the software company. Because Intuit spends $2+ million a year lobbying to ensure that doesn't happen. HR Block spends $3+ million a yea...

tomsense76

Honestly I've filed taxes by mail every year except last year. It was the first year that I actually e-filed, which almost failed to go through (so would have ended up mailing it then as well). Why did I do this? I really hate giving out information about my accounts if I can avoid it. Filing by mai...

tomsense76

401K assets: VFIAX (85 % split) VSMAX (15% split) ROTH IRA asset: VLXVX (Target Date): 100% On a different note, would suggest moving bonds from the Roth to the 401k. Target date funds hold bonds. Roth is tax-free money. So this is something that one wants to grow into a large sum in the future. Th...

tomsense76

What was your asset allocation before November 2020 and what is it now? My asset allocation has been 100% cash but I slowly spent money to switch to 50% stock / 50% cash. My ideal asset allocation is eventually going to 90% stock / 10% cash. No plan for bond. It might be worth considering some bond...

tomsense76

It's worth noting that munis may not be as tax free as one might think. In particular more of one's Social Security benefit may become taxable. Also Medicare premiums may increase. This is because Muni interest is added to MAGI calculations for both of these. https://www.schwab.com/resource-center/i...

tomsense76

No need for this to be an either/or. There are plenty of good options for safe funds. Some mix of HYSA, CDs, Savings Bonds, Stable Value, Bond Funds, Munis, etc. could make sense depending on ones needs and goals. It's worth noting that just because one holds some of their fixed income in tax-deferr...

tomsense76

Ferdinand2014 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 30, 2021 8:04 pm Decide what you need for an emergency fund. Double it. This is what you would need with VTSAX if the market tanked (dropped 50%) and you needed the money at the same time. Are you comfortable with that? Only you can decide.

+1 This

tomsense76

It's worth also considering how to make the home as energy efficient as possible. This can cutdown on electric usage, which can be more important when living off the grid. Here are some tips from the DOE. https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/energy-efficient-home-design/passive-solar-home-design Also ...

tomsense76

On Don MacDonald's podcast (Talking Real Money) I recently heard about this interesting paper by Fama and French entitled "Inverted Yield Curves and Expected Stock Returns" https://famafrench.dimensional.com/media/467645/inverted-yield-curves-and-expected-stock-returns-july-28-2019.pdf th...

tomsense76

whodidntante wrote: ↑Wed Jan 27, 2021 7:09 pm
tomsense76 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 27, 2021 6:25 pm Does anyone using BOA know if one can set up their CC through BOA to pay other bills?
Not through BoA. You'll have to go to whoever you owe money to and instruct them to charge your card if they want said money.

Ok thanks for confirming. Will do

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