Search found 6834 matches

by beyou
Tue Mar 19, 2024 12:29 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Help me with my car dilemma . . .
Replies: 8
Views: 403

Re: Help me with my car dilemma . . .

Depends on where you live, how much snow/ice/road salt, vs other conditions, but the body wont last forever. Good point. Heat, sun, and dry air degrade rubber and plastic components where I live. Still, my last Volvo (mid 90s) lasted 20+ years. I would not bet that a 2015 model would last as long as mid 90s. Mid 90s was the golden age of reliability. Manufacturing advances were significant but electronic were still in infancy. Today much of the electronics can fail. Also I think the desire to make a car last that long is gone from the manufacturer's standpoint. Cutting corners on cheaper material seems to be a 21st century business model (as it was in the 1970s-1980s). The 90s were a golden period, but don't bet based on your experience wi...
by beyou
Mon Mar 18, 2024 11:29 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Help me with my car dilemma . . .
Replies: 8
Views: 403

Re: Help me with my car dilemma . . .

My experience is that on the best built engines (like my old Toyotas from the 90s) that the body of the car will go no matter how well you care for the engine. Depends on where you live, how much snow/ice/road salt, vs other conditions, but the body wont last forever. You will get more out of the car with a new engine, but maybe not the full 10 years you expect. I wouldn't do it.
by beyou
Mon Mar 18, 2024 7:08 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Am I crazy thinking of getting Citigold tier?
Replies: 51
Views: 8225

Re: Am I crazy thinking of getting Citigold tier?

Thanks for your answers. It seems that only the most expensive mutual funds are willing to be listed on Citi's platform :( This is fairly common at many brokerages. I would say if you want open end funds, stock with a brokerage arm of your favorite mutual fund house (Vanguard, Fidelity etc). I personally would move to ETFs for many reasons (such as being able to hold your funds anywhere, real time valuation, low expenses). That said, I do have some open end funds at Vanguard that you can't buy anywhere else (Admiral state muni funds) or at few other brokers (money market funds). I still consider Vanguard my main broker, but many of my accounts at Vanguard hold ONLY ETFs now, so I could easily move them to Citi or anywhere else. I see no be...
by beyou
Mon Mar 18, 2024 6:18 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Am I crazy thinking of getting Citigold tier?
Replies: 51
Views: 8225

Re: Am I crazy thinking of getting Citigold tier?

Hi Thank you for answering my questions in detail. Some follow-up questions: 1. "I found a list of open end funds on the Citi website but not sure if it's the complete list." -> can you share the link if it is public? if not, is it visible to Citi's banking customer without brokerage account? (I log in my Citi account and cannot see what funds are available for Self-Invest account.) 2. according to your description, it sounds like Vanguard's platform sometimes has technical glitches. How reliable is Vangaurd's platform in your opinion? 3. it sounds like you transferred ETF from Vanguard to Citi. How easy was the process? Thank you in advance. 1. https://www.citi.com/investorinfo/mutualfunds/revenueshare/ 2. All platforms have tec...
by beyou
Mon Mar 18, 2024 6:08 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Am I crazy thinking of getting Citigold tier?
Replies: 51
Views: 8225

Re: Am I crazy thinking of getting Citigold tier?

tj wrote: Mon Mar 18, 2024 4:37 pm
beyou wrote: Mon Mar 18, 2024 4:31 pm Just got off the phone with Citi's brokerage unit.
VERY VERY helpful and efficient. Was such a pleasant surprise.
Glad I opened my brokerage account there, as a secondary custodian to Vanguard.
Did you do the $50k for $500 ?
No I did not. I am a long time customer, just wanted to make a change to an existing account.
I don't shop for transfer bonuses, NEVER.
by beyou
Mon Mar 18, 2024 4:31 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Am I crazy thinking of getting Citigold tier?
Replies: 51
Views: 8225

Re: Am I crazy thinking of getting Citigold tier?

Just got off the phone with Citi's brokerage unit.
VERY VERY helpful and efficient. Was such a pleasant surprise.
Glad I opened my brokerage account there, as a secondary custodian to Vanguard.
by beyou
Mon Mar 18, 2024 4:04 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Access to Morningstar's X-ray?
Replies: 9
Views: 825

Re: Access to Morningstar's X-ray?

Why do you want access? I see no value there. Just ask your questions here. I used to look at this periodically before it was a paid subscription. It is mildly useful but not critical. I use a scaled down version of this at Vanguard "Portfolio Watch". Not as good but good enough. Prior to M* x-ray requiring a paid subscription, I used to compare its output to Vanguard’s Pw tool for the same inputs. Sadly, they didn’t match even at the most basic level (equities vs fixed income, and % international). As I recall, Vanguards tool was consistently off by 5% or more. That was a long time ago, and they have made many changes to PW since then. The difference you really need to make sure all your assets are handles properly in PW, Vangua...
by beyou
Sun Mar 17, 2024 7:48 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Nervous about giving out information
Replies: 30
Views: 2254

Re: Nervous about giving out information

Metsfan91 wrote: Sun Mar 17, 2024 7:47 pm Create an username which you have not used anywhere else. Choose an username that doesn’t reveal anything about you. Look at my username for example. There are millions of Mets fans in the US. I am one in millions. :-)
After last season, not so sure there are millions left.
by beyou
Sun Mar 17, 2024 7:45 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Access to Morningstar's X-ray?
Replies: 9
Views: 825

Re: Access to Morningstar's X-ray?

UpperNwGuy wrote: Sun Mar 17, 2024 7:36 pm Why do you want access? I see no value there. Just ask your questions here.
OK, please tell me my exposure by industry, by maturity, by credit rating and by issue concentration for my portfolio.
Go.

I used to look at this periodically before it was a paid subscription.
It is mildly useful but not critical.

I use a scaled down version of this at Vanguard "Portfolio Watch". Not as good but good enough.
by beyou
Sun Mar 17, 2024 7:44 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Am I crazy thinking of getting Citigold tier?
Replies: 51
Views: 8225

Re: Am I crazy thinking of getting Citigold tier?

bendix wrote: Sun Mar 17, 2024 6:28 pm
hmw wrote: Sat Oct 07, 2023 4:36 pm Pros: Unlike M1 or public.com, Citi is too big to fail. Their brokerage transfer bonus is better than Fidelity and Schwab.
Cons: Low tech, and potential poor customer service.
If they need to offer a better bonus than everyone else... pause for a moment, think about why.
I made the same argument in the Robin Hood thread and somebody argued relentlessly that "every broker gives bonuses".

Personally I did NOT open this or any account ever for a bonus.
by beyou
Sun Mar 17, 2024 6:39 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Am I crazy thinking of getting Citigold tier?
Replies: 51
Views: 8225

Re: Am I crazy thinking of getting Citigold tier?

Might be worthwhile initially to get the bonus, but ongoing there seems little incremental benefit to each tier. I am planning to keep $30k to attain the lower tier, but mainly just to have some accessible assets for bills, held away from my main brokerage acct. Citi self-invest platform is really bare bones. Individual, no joint nor trust accts. Limited open end funds. No mmkt sweep, just low rate bank savings. But as a place to park some savings at a secondary custodian, I am willing to try it out. As far as service, I find excellent service for banking at branches, lousy service on the phone. No idea yet for brokerage. Hi im also interested in opening a brokerage account with Citi cause I try to consolidate my finances. I have some ques...
by beyou
Sun Mar 17, 2024 6:21 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Am I crazy thinking of getting Citigold tier?
Replies: 51
Views: 8225

Re: Am I crazy thinking of getting Citigold tier?

Citi makes you use their debit card to get the subscription rebates? Yes they do and I don't HAVE debit card at all from any bank. I always ask for ATM-only cards to get cash - use CC otherwise. So this particular perk is of no use to me. I only went for the lower "priority" tier to get some free banking services, and to have SOME $ outside my main broker. You can get no monthly fee without having any assets at all, just by auto depositing each month (can automate from Vanguard etc to send to Citi checking and never get monthly fee from Citi). But there are other less common banking fees they also waive for Priority customer (30K). Going to Gold/200k gets you little more, including these rebates that I'll likely not use unless I ...
by beyou
Sun Mar 17, 2024 10:40 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Paying for grandparents to babysit, medical insurance implications
Replies: 33
Views: 2986

Re: Paying for grandparents to babysit, medical insurance implications

What state ? Medicaid varies in each state. In my state, medicaid results in using a managed care plan that is similar to Medicare Advantage plans, except with no deductibles nor copays. But the network is similar to Medicare Advantage, in fact one can pick from a list of health plans that are a subset of those who also sell ACA and Medicare Advantage plans. They cover all the major hospitals and many doctors in the area, and you present an insurance card from a private insurer, not a "medicaid" card. Even if your state does not have managed care plans, it may be worth signing up for Medicaid to at least have coverage at hospitals. Most major hospitals take Medicaid AFAIK, but yes many private docs wont work for Medicaid pay rates...
by beyou
Sun Mar 17, 2024 10:18 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Surprise! Wellcare part D free drugs. And I paid DiRx. Refund?
Replies: 17
Views: 1457

Re: Surprise! Wellcare part D free drugs. And I paid DiRx. Refund?

DirX is a good site to buy generic drugs when you have no insurance or your insurance copay is ridiculous. I had one that was about 4x more expensive using my insurance compared to paying cash, and this had ridiculously low price. That said, DirX is offering a similar service like Amazon now, to pay an annual fee to cover all your generic drugs. I looked at the Amazon offering and for someone with a single low cost generic drug, was not worth subscribing. I don't recall, but seemed someone with 2 might breakeven and 3 might come out ahead, depends which drugs of course. Note even the DirX annual plan has a caveat, that it includes "clinically recommended dosages". So if your doctor prescribes more, then they charge extra for the e...
by beyou
Fri Mar 15, 2024 5:42 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What is the appeal of Robinhood
Replies: 85
Views: 5901

Re: What is the appeal of Robinhood

Then why doesn't Fidelity advertise it ? Because clearly people open accounts every day without them. The problem is you started with a conclusion and want to warp all evidence to suit that when the fact is that transfer bonuses have been a long time strategy employed by many custodians over the years. Same could be said of your argument. First you need to understand the assertion/point or there is no reason to discuss the facts. My point is that a bonus is a way to “buy business”. People on this site discuss a tiny handful of the thousands of brokers in the industry. Many pay zero or very tiny bonuses yet somehow still signup new clients. A handful are widely known, in part because if the signup bonuses. RH has to offer a better bonus bec...
by beyou
Fri Mar 15, 2024 10:53 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Great news! No more [fixed real estate] agent commission
Replies: 163
Views: 15065

Re: Great news! No more agent commission

hbdad wrote: Fri Mar 15, 2024 10:40 am I was speaking with an agent just the other day about this topic. She suggested that mortgage financing companies need to allow buyers to incorporate the buyer agent fee into the loan. That will solve a lot of this problem. This is in CA. Don't know if that's allowed in other states.
Given the number of cash deals lately, this wont work in many cases.
by beyou
Fri Mar 15, 2024 10:32 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What is the appeal of Robinhood
Replies: 85
Views: 5901

Re: What is the appeal of Robinhood

Back in the day fidelity was a big bonus generator and I got thousands from them over the years and most major custodians have had bonus programs either in the past or currently so I think you're off target. "back in the day" is not now. Fidelity no longer has to do that because they now have a superior product to RH and many others, it is not even close. What does ancient history have to do with today ? I think you're off target. And Vanguard does not do it today, and AFAIK never did have to buy business. Fidelity does offer bonuses just not publicly for example a contact email I received recently from them said: P.S. We have cash rewards for bringing assets into Fidelity. Simply reply to this email and I will send our reward ti...
by beyou
Thu Mar 14, 2024 10:49 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Announces CEO Retirement and Appointment of President
Replies: 371
Views: 34632

Re: Vanguard Announces CEO Retirement and Appointment of President

That said, rapid growth is very hard to staff and train quickly enough. The sheer number of new accounts, and accounts with retirees who like to call and speak to a person, would really strain any organization. Yes. But... It sure as heck doesn't help the call load when: A. Web site gives inaccurate information B. Web site changes for no apparent reason, and confuses users C. Statements are withdrawn due to inaccurate information D. Statements are unavailable due to "vendor error" for over a week (who approves such a big vendor, perhaps the CEO ultimately signs off?) E. Can't do some bond actions: "Call the bond desk" F. Accounts are migrated from one system to another which - Causes confusion - Angers some - Causes IRS...
by beyou
Thu Mar 14, 2024 10:46 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What is the appeal of Robinhood
Replies: 85
Views: 5901

Re: What is the appeal of Robinhood

Yes, some brokers and banks need to "buy your business" and others do not feel they have to do so. Vanguard and Fidelity get LOTS of new customers without any bonuses. Yes I know you can ask at Fidelity but they do not advertise bonuses. Back in the day fidelity was a big bonus generator and I got thousands from them over the years and most major custodians have had bonus programs either in the past or currently so I think you're off target. "back in the day" is not now. Fidelity no longer has to do that because they now have a superior product to RH and many others, it is not even close. What does ancient history have to do with today ? I think you're off target. And Vanguard does not do it today, and AFAIK never did h...
by beyou
Thu Mar 14, 2024 11:23 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Announces CEO Retirement and Appointment of President
Replies: 371
Views: 34632

Re: Vanguard Announces CEO Retirement and Appointment of President

Personally I don't care if they changed the ship to something else, but I do care about poor website support or performance and/or higher ERs. Hoping that the new CEO is customer focused. Apparently talking about 3 fund portfolios and roth conversions is beaten to death, so now ship logos are the next big thing to discuss online. I think that line of discussion resulted from someone posting a complaint about "divisive branding campaigns" without explaining it. Someone else speculated that they meant the ship, but nobody actually knows what it meant. My conclusion: sometimes complaints are posted for no discernible reason. Maybe better to ignore those. Getting back to the topic, I'd add "reducing incidents of incompetent cust...
by beyou
Thu Mar 14, 2024 11:07 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: When is the right time to set up a trust?
Replies: 31
Views: 3137

Re: When is the right time to set up a trust?

The assets of a funded trust are not public record when probating the will. If I leave a small amount of assets outside the trust they will be listed for the court, but not those assets inside the trust. May be binary in terms of cost and time to complete the probate process, but as I said specifically, the cost or probate was NOT my concern at all. And the time involved is not scaled to assets, but again I don’t want my heirs to have to wait even a week to have access to their inheritance. Should be as simple as sending a death cert to a broker and new trustee is titled, period. By the time probate is started 90% or more of my assets will already be under control of my trustee. Whether I want my privacy is my business, I don’t care how ma...
by beyou
Thu Mar 14, 2024 9:14 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How to use Google 401k for 2-3 fund portfolio
Replies: 63
Views: 6218

Re: Google 401k choices shockingly bad

Who is the 401k administrator (Vanguard or another offering Vanguard funds) ?
by beyou
Thu Mar 14, 2024 1:06 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Announces CEO Retirement and Appointment of President
Replies: 371
Views: 34632

Re: Vanguard Announces CEO Retirement and Appointment of President

edgeagg wrote: Wed Mar 13, 2024 7:47 pm Personally I don't care if they changed the ship to something else, but I do care about poor website support or performance and/or higher ERs.

Hoping that the new CEO is customer focused.
Apparently talking about 3 fund portfolios and roth conversions is beaten to death, so now ship
logos are the next big thing to discuss online.
by beyou
Thu Mar 14, 2024 12:49 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: When is the right time to set up a trust?
Replies: 31
Views: 3137

Re: When is the right time to set up a trust?

... another reason for avoiding probate is privacy and speed of access to your funds. Your successor trustee can access your funds without any public scrutiny if held in a revocable or other trust at time of death, instead of a trust created in your will. Many people don't care about privacy and maybe a good attorney could get your heirs fast enough access in probate, but I do care about those things. I don't mind paying an attorney for probating my will, but I want to make sure the majority of my estate is not involved in that process. ... Most people's Wills are of no interest to their neighbors or the media. They usually provide for their spouse and children, and have many pages of administrative provisions. In many years, I've only had...
by beyou
Wed Mar 13, 2024 6:36 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: When is the right time to set up a trust?
Replies: 31
Views: 3137

Re: When is the right time to set up a trust?

I think people confuse the idea of creating/funding a trust NOW vs having a trust that would be funded at death. You can create a will that will create a trust to protect your children upon your death. Can you say "I have a trust" if it's created via your will at time of death, no. But you have the protections from creditors and spendthrift children without having to create new accounts and transfer assets NOW. Avoiding probate is often discussed here as something that is no big deal and unless you live in CA, not must cost nor time. But another reason for avoiding probate is privacy and speed of access to your funds. Your successor trustee can access your funds without any public scrutiny if held in a revocable or other trust at ...
by beyou
Wed Mar 13, 2024 6:20 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What is the appeal of Robinhood
Replies: 85
Views: 5901

Re: What is the appeal of Robinhood

I have seen a few post about the Robinhood and have heard about it mostly in association with the Game Stop Short Squeeze. What is the appeal of Robinhood out of curiousity? Why would one go with Robinhood instead of say Schwab, Vanguard, or Fidelity? Because Vanguard/Schwab/Fidelity will not pay you a 3% bonus on unlimited IRA/Roth transferred balance (promo ends 4/30/2024) Yes, some brokers and banks need to "buy your business" and others do not feel they have to do so. Vanguard and Fidelity get LOTS of new customers without any bonuses. Yes I know you can ask at Fidelity but they do not advertise bonuses. If I was to switch, it would NOT be to Robinhood, unless they developed all the same capabilities as Fidelity or could sell...
by beyou
Wed Mar 13, 2024 6:17 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Holding Fidelity fund at Vanguard
Replies: 4
Views: 628

Re: Holding Fidelity fund at Vanguard

It's currently setup as JTWROS at Fidelity and also has secondary beneficiary designations which is not allowed at Vanguard. Would this designation carry over when I hold it at Vanguard or would it be subject to Vanguard's restrictions which do not allow secondary beneficiaries on taxable accounts? These designations are set at the account level. The funds are held inside the account. Vanguard doesn't allow those kinds of designations, and that sets the policy for the assets held inside their accounts. Secondly, would I be correct in assuming that come tax time dividends, capital gains, etc for this fund would be part of the consolidated 1099 provided by Vanguard? Yes, that is correct. Have you verified that your particular Fidelity fund(s...
by beyou
Wed Mar 13, 2024 6:05 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What is the appeal of Robinhood
Replies: 85
Views: 5901

Re: What is the appeal of Robinhood

I have seen a few post about the Robinhood and have heard about it mostly in association with the Game Stop Short Squeeze. What is the appeal of Robinhood out of curiousity? Why would one go with Robinhood instead of say Schwab, Vanguard, or Fidelity? Because Vanguard/Schwab/Fidelity will not pay you a 3% bonus on unlimited IRA/Roth transferred balance (promo ends 4/30/2024) Yes, some brokers and banks need to "buy your business" and others do not feel they have to do so. Vanguard and Fidelity get LOTS of new customers without any bonuses. Yes I know you can ask at Fidelity but they do not advertise bonuses. If I was to switch, it would NOT be to Robinhood, unless they developed all the same capabilities as Fidelity or could sell...
by beyou
Wed Mar 13, 2024 6:02 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Schedule D -- Turbotax Premier
Replies: 21
Views: 1702

Re: Schedule D -- Turbotax Premier

Note that part of the "upsell" is not just for schedule D. Each tier adds multiple capabilities. I buy home and business edition so I can do a schedule C profit and loss. 35-40 years ago when my return was very simple, I used paper forms, but I am happy to have the "interview" to remind me of anything I may have forgotten. That said, I know people who still use paper forms for some reason (enjoy it, or don't trust software or to "save" money, maybe all 3). Last year I had the IRS send me a refund due to "my error". I knew I had input all data correctly and in same way as prior years, assumed a bug in TT. Called TT to discuss and while they researched the issue, I read IRS forms. Together we were joint...
by beyou
Wed Mar 13, 2024 3:58 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Cost of roofing and siding as a percent of house value
Replies: 25
Views: 1912

Re: Cost of roofing and siding as a percent of house value

I don't see what the % of your home value has to do with the roof.
You could have some very expensive renovations or additions or have a totally "original" house other than your new roof.
This could cause the value to be a much larger or smaller percentage of the home value when completed.

My new roof last year cost me almost $15k. I have heard of people spending much more if they buy other types of roofing material and/or have a very large roof, but in my area $15 is a common price for a modest size home with average quality roofing material.
by beyou
Wed Mar 13, 2024 1:15 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Getting rid of fractional (non-Vanguard) shares at Vanguard brokerage
Replies: 16
Views: 1581

Re: Getting rid of fractional (non-Vanguard) shares at Vanguard brokerage

I have sold exactly in the scenario and it works fine. They auto liquidate the remaining < 1 shares at end of the day. You will see it to tomorrow. Have done this many times, always worked fine.
by beyou
Wed Mar 13, 2024 8:31 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Schedule D -- Turbotax Premier
Replies: 21
Views: 1702

Re: Schedule D -- Turbotax Premier

The whole Schedule D is pretty much proceeds minus basis equals gains straight from 1099-B, and a couple check boxes. Amazing what people are prepared to pay to not do that themselves. Well, this is what I mean in its essence; they are demanding a $50 premium for a measly schedule D. I'm not sure if there's a way to file the rest with TurboTax and then send the IRS a schedule D "a la carte". No one cannot file just schedule D alone, IRS expects you to efile the whole thing or mail the whole thing. Not a TT issue. You CAN switch from online to desktop if you want and have not already paid for the online fees. I recall seeing instructions how to do this. The export file format for a return is compatible across online and desktop ve...
by beyou
Tue Mar 12, 2024 1:04 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Letter to heir - what would you include?
Replies: 90
Views: 7233

Re: Letter to heir - what would you include?

Some call this a "letter of intent" as a companion to your trust documents.

I give them a brief summary of the purpose and goals of my estate plan.

In my case I have a disabled adult child so I leave some background on suggested care needed from family trustees.

Contact info for existing providers (lawyers, brokers) and suggestions for potential future providers (advisors, commercial trustees, tax prep).

Investment and tax strategy logic to my portfolio.
by beyou
Tue Mar 12, 2024 1:00 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Age 60+ AND retired? What's your asset allocation? What type of bonds/Fixed Inc instruments do you use?
Replies: 57
Views: 8475

Re: Age 60+ AND retired? What's your asset allocation? What type of bonds/Fixed Inc instruments do you use?

Read about Sequence of Return Risk (SORR) and Bond tents. https://www.kitces.com/blog/managing-portfolio-size-effect-with-bond-tent-in-retirement-red-zone/ https://hackyourwealth.com/asset-allocation In summary there are a few reasons to go to a higher bond allocation early in retirement, then go lower again as you age. 1) Older you are, the fewer years you have to plan to cover expenses 2) Social security and Medicare will reduce cash you need from your portfolio so you can take more risk. Personally I glided with age in bonds to 60% bonds at age 60. But I plan to increase equities again as I near taking SS, Medicare (likely will have spouse take before 70 then myself at 70). I am considering gradually increasing from 40 to 50 or 60 % equi...
by beyou
Tue Mar 12, 2024 1:39 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Be careful - could happen to anyone [fraudulent bank transactions]
Replies: 77
Views: 12243

Re: Be careful - could happen to anyone [fraudulent bank transactions]

Thomas3857 wrote: Thu Mar 07, 2024 3:42 pm Update - After a few weeks and requiring me to file a police report (officer snorted when I asked if there was any chance of catching the bad guys) I received a credit for the funds plus interest and an email saying the investigation was ongoing and there's a possibility I would have to refund the funds pending the final report - I'm assuming if the bank some how determines I played a role in the theft which I certainly did not. Still undecided if I'm going to switch banks - not sure one is any better than another in terms of cyber security and even if one stood out in that category I don't know how I would know that.
Did they at least change your acct # ?
by beyou
Mon Mar 11, 2024 9:02 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: How Can I Measure - Find the Tax Efficiency of an ETF?
Replies: 9
Views: 1006

Re: How Can I Measure - Find the Tax Efficiency of an ETF?

M* calculates a tax cost ratio to compare how much return on average over a period is lost to taxes, using apples to apples comparison method.

"The Morningstar Tax Cost Ratio measures how much a fund's annualized return is reduced by the taxes investors pay on distributions."

Here is an example for VTI

https://www.morningstar.com/etfs/arcx/vti/price

Here is how it works in detail.

https://www.morningstar.com/content/dam ... dology.pdf

This is published for all funds, open end and ETF.
by beyou
Mon Mar 11, 2024 11:15 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Deep Dive: Poor Tax Efficiency of Vanguard International Funds 2023
Replies: 41
Views: 6034

Re: Deep Dive: Poor Tax Efficiency of Vanguard International Funds 2023

This is an excellent post. As someone who has a large position in VXUS, would it make sense to slice and dice international and keep the EM funds in tax deferred and developed in taxable? I'm a believer in diversifying with international, but I don't like the idea of paying more taxes than necessary. Years ago before VXUS existed I split international so that VSS was in tax-advantaged and VEA was in taxable. Also ended up with some VEU in taxable. Now as we spend down our taxable portfolio the only international left in taxable is VEU and that is what we sell to pay expenses since it has the least unrealized capital gains (and thus the most tax-free return-of-capital) of all our taxable holdings. Eventually, all the VEU will be "used ...
by beyou
Mon Mar 11, 2024 12:23 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Help for sister on social security during assisted living spend down
Replies: 13
Views: 2056

Re: Help for sister on social security during assisted living spend down

SSI or SSDI ?
Only SSI is dependent on income and assets.
by beyou
Sat Mar 09, 2024 4:46 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Genworth Long Term Care
Replies: 61
Views: 7628

Re: Genworth Long Term Care

As a point of interest to some, no insurance companies in NY State are offering a LTC partnership program effective 2021. Existing LTC partnership policies in NY State are being honored. There are two types of partnership program in NY — one (Total Asset Plan) lets you keep all of your assets should your existing LTC benefits run out and Medicaid kicks in; however, your income is only partly protected from Medicaid at that point. There is also a less advantageous NY LTC partnership program called Dollar for Dollar Plan. For those interested, here is a link: https://nyspltc.health.ny.gov/ https://nyspltc.health.ny.gov/docs/2024_brochure.pdf Was it too good to be true ? Didn’t read all the details since no longer available to us in NY, but o...
by beyou
Sat Mar 09, 2024 4:05 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: William Bernstein On the Financial Industry
Replies: 81
Views: 9775

Re: William Bernstein On the Financial Industry

I don't think it is prejudice or bias when the largest financial players in the world -- JP Morgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs among others -- have paid literally hundreds of billions in fines and penalties for their crimes including securities fraud, consumer fraud, price fixing, money laundering, sanctions violations, bribery and forgery. Either the institutions themselves are corrupt or the industry tends to attract the most pathological of personalities, or both. Hundreds of billions in crime isn't just a few bad eggs. It's a way of life. What good are you doing to unsophisticated investors by promoting blanket stereotypes ? Many on this board insist that only FDIC insured accounts are "safe" (a...
by beyou
Sat Mar 09, 2024 4:04 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Genworth Long Term Care
Replies: 61
Views: 7628

Re: Genworth Long Term Care

WoW2012 wrote: Sat Mar 09, 2024 11:35 am
marcopolo wrote: Sat Mar 09, 2024 11:30 am
Most LTCi policies have a cap on benefits. You are pre-paying for services. There is no protection against going broke if you incur catastrophic scenario. Seems the opposite of insurance.
Long-term care partnership policies protect assets if the policyholder incurs a catastrophic scenario. Affordable long-term care partnership policies are available for sale in 41 states.
So don’t keep us on suspense, what 9 states do NOT offer this option ?
by beyou
Sat Mar 09, 2024 4:03 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Genworth Long Term Care
Replies: 61
Views: 7628

Re: Genworth Long Term Care

A lot of things have improved over the last 30 years, even long-term care insurance. The policies for sale today are the best policies ever sold. You might want to learn more about them before you make a decision based on decades old information. I retired from the industry just 2 years ago. I am very comfortable staying away from insurance sales pitches. Such as.... All of them. I buy medical and casualty insurance these days, and that is all. A few thoughts... - you do not really buy health 'insurance' these days. - not all older LTCi policies were 'poor' - you likely still have other real insurance products like auto, home. liability, etc Guess you do not know what casualty insurance means. Look it up. Technically the suite of products ...
by beyou
Sat Mar 09, 2024 10:26 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Genworth Long Term Care
Replies: 61
Views: 7628

Re: Genworth Long Term Care

Maybe today there are other options, but I am not interested in insurance products in general. I worked in the fund business but in a subsidiary of a major life insurer. Wouldn’t touch their products with a 10 foot pole. Bought term, knew exactly what I would pay, but would not consider most long term insurance products. A lot of things have improved over the last 30 years, even long-term care insurance. The policies for sale today are the best policies ever sold. You might want to learn more about them before you make a decision based on decades old information. I retired from the industry just 2 years ago. I am very comfortable staying away from insurance sales pitches. Such as.... All of them. I buy medical and casualty insurance these ...
by beyou
Sat Mar 09, 2024 10:24 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: William Bernstein On the Financial Industry
Replies: 81
Views: 9775

Re: William Bernstein On the Financial Industry

Condemnation of the Financial Industry is just another form of prejudice or bias. There are good guys and bad guys in most industries. Just because one restaurant is closed by the board of health does not mean all restaurants are unsanitary. I don't think it is prejudice or bias when the largest financial players in the world -- JP Morgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs among others -- have paid literally hundreds of billions in fines and penalties for their crimes including securities fraud, consumer fraud, price fixing, money laundering, sanctions violations, bribery and forgery. Either the institutions themselves are corrupt or the industry tends to attract the most pathological of personalities, or both. Hund...
by beyou
Fri Mar 08, 2024 8:33 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: William Bernstein On the Financial Industry
Replies: 81
Views: 9775

Re: William Bernstein On the Financial Industry

Employees of Vanguard, Fidelity and Schwab with in the "Financial Industry".
Employees of such firms invented index funds.

Condemnation of the Financial Industry is just another form of prejudice or bias.
There are good guys and bad guys in most industries.
Just because one restaurant is closed by the board of health does not mean all restaurants are unsanitary.
by beyou
Fri Mar 08, 2024 8:29 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Genworth Long Term Care
Replies: 61
Views: 7628

Re: Genworth Long Term Care

WoW2012 wrote: Fri Mar 08, 2024 6:24 am
beyou wrote: Fri Mar 08, 2024 12:12 am
Maybe today there are other options, but I am not interested in insurance products in general. I worked in the fund business but in a subsidiary of a major life insurer. Wouldn’t touch their products with a 10 foot pole. Bought term, knew exactly what I would pay, but would not consider most long term insurance products.
A lot of things have improved over the last 30 years, even long-term care insurance. The policies for sale today are the best policies ever sold. You might want to learn more about them before you make a decision based on decades old information.
I retired from the industry just 2 years ago. I am very comfortable staying away from insurance sales pitches.
by beyou
Fri Mar 08, 2024 4:33 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Need to buy a car: Outback or CRV?
Replies: 55
Views: 6402

Re: Need to buy a car: Outback or CRV?

Not what you want to hear but I enjoy having both an Outback AND a Forester. Like the Forester for local driving, Outback better for longer highway rides.

CRV may well be similar to Forester, good for local daily driver. Hybrid would give you the pep you seek, need turbo on an Outback to get pep.
by beyou
Fri Mar 08, 2024 12:12 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Genworth Long Term Care
Replies: 61
Views: 7628

Re: Genworth Long Term Care

My MIL just got a notice from Genworth that her premium will be gradually adjusted from $700 to $2600 over next 4 years. What state? Mine has gone up a lot, but no where this percentage New York. Not the first time she was prompted to pay large increase or reduce coverage. Unfortunately, New York is one of only 9 states that has not passed the long-term care insurance "Rate Stability Regulation". Also, New York was very slow to grant rate increases. Some rate increases took several years to get approved. If the rate increases had been approved in a timely fashion, the increases would have been much lower. That is no excuse. What products do we buy having no idea what we will pay for until after we commit ? This is a scam. All thi...
by beyou
Thu Mar 07, 2024 4:16 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Genworth Long Term Care
Replies: 61
Views: 7628

Re: Genworth Long Term Care

prd1982 wrote: Thu Mar 07, 2024 4:01 pm
beyou wrote: Thu Mar 07, 2024 3:53 pm
My MIL just got a notice from Genworth that her premium will be gradually adjusted from $700 to $2600 over next 4 years.
What state? Mine has gone up a lot, but no where this percentage
New York.
Not the first time she was prompted to pay large increase or reduce coverage.
by beyou
Thu Mar 07, 2024 4:13 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Genworth Long Term Care
Replies: 61
Views: 7628

Re: Genworth Long Term Care

LTCi...TICK...TICK...TICK For some reason this post showed up on my google alerts yesterday. I'm not sure why. But it is interesting to read old posts. It's been almost 12 years since this thread and there's still 10 companies (in most states) selling traditional long-term care insurance. Still selling as long as regulators let them continue to abuse policy holders. My MIL just got a notice from Genworth that her premium will be gradually adjusted from $700 to $2600 over next 4 years. Great business strategy, sell to younger folk who don't need your product and then jack up the prices gradually so they can't afford it before they need it. What a worthless product. Those who can afford it don't need it, and vice versa. "My MIL just got...