Search found 843 matches

by learning_head
Sat May 29, 2021 11:04 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Cheapest Asset Classes Today?
Replies: 34
Views: 5842

Cheapest Asset Classes Today?

What are the cheapest asset class(es) today? (and yes, therefore the riskiest !)

Not specific stocks, but say a sector of the market or whole market / kind of bonds / gold / cash(?) / real estate (~vnq))?

Accumulators might benefit from a running thread or area of the site to slightly overweight that area when periodically building up a portfolio.

Even for those with just total US / total Intl / total Bond / TIPS, it's nice to have an idea which of these one might want invest a little more if willing to take on more risk?

Thoughts?
by learning_head
Fri Dec 06, 2019 2:07 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: 700 Years of Falling Interest Rates, 1310-2018
Replies: 105
Views: 17686

Re: "Eight centuries of global real interest rates"

MathWizard wrote: Fri Dec 06, 2019 12:57 pm Sudden death from disease for relatively healthy people was much more common before
antibiotics (especially before theories of germs and modern sanitation).
Doctors didn't start sterilizing equipment until the mid 1800's and antibiotics didn't come until the early 1900's.
So comparing the 1300's to times after the mid 1900's and looking for one cause is not realistic.

If I thought that the person who I was lending money to stood a 10% chance that they might die
before I get my money back, I'd be charging a lot of interest. I also wouldn't be giving out loans of
long duration.
I don't know if death mattered much. You'd just use collateral or claim on their estate.
by learning_head
Fri Nov 29, 2019 10:41 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Are TIPS really a good inflation hedge? Pros and Cons
Replies: 164
Views: 17752

Re: Are TIPS really a good inflation hedge? Pros and Cons

So you are scared that much of 3.73% average annual inflation? Or you think it's such an unthinkable scenario? In case you did not know, prices more than quadrupled between 1970 and 2000 in US. In that time frame, I-bonds, if they existed, would have lost close to a third of purchasing power with 40% marginal federal tax rate. I think that's an idea that goes into a lot of assumptions about decisions that would have been made if IBonds had been invented earlier, or will be made in the future. Going deeper would probably need to touch on politics sufficiently to get this locked. Are you assuming that policy decision makers CAN either prevent or effectively control inflation going forward? Are you assuming that IBond market is large enough f...
by learning_head
Fri Nov 29, 2019 12:37 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Are TIPS really a good inflation hedge? Pros and Cons
Replies: 164
Views: 17752

Re: Are TIPS really a good inflation hedge? Pros and Cons

Imagine an I bond "maturing" in 30 years where prices tripled over time and imagine that by that time you are in 50% marginal federal tax rate, either because of a tax law change for your situation or it might be possible even today (e.g. the way some benefits work out, like Social Security taxation, which multiplies your marginal rate by 1.5 factor in many cases). So now your dollar doubled while prices tripled. If I'm imaging that, I'm imagining being in the middle of a national situation where returns on my investments have become very low on my list of problems(my same response to the "why don't you invest in physical gold? Money might become worthless" scenarios). So you are scared that much of 3.73% average annual...
by learning_head
Thu Nov 28, 2019 6:58 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Are TIPS really a good inflation hedge? Pros and Cons
Replies: 164
Views: 17752

Re: Are TIPS really a good inflation hedge? Pros and Cons

A TIPS contracts to pay out precisely-known-in-advance inflation-adjusted ("real") amounts of money on specific dates, most of it at maturity. That is, measured in real terms, you know the exact amount you will be getting on specific future dates. Since most of it is paid out at maturity, it is at the very least a way to preserve purchasing power--precisely. For a dollar investor, as far as I know only two things do this: TIPS and series I savings bonds. Nothing else. Nothing . You can argue that the Treasury might default, or that you don't trust the CPI as a measure of purchasing power, or that that isn't what you mean by a "hedge." OK. ( People also raise phony issues--e.g. income tax is levied on nominal return, not...
by learning_head
Wed Apr 17, 2019 1:01 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Savings account for child?
Replies: 35
Views: 2454

Re: Savings account for child?

miamivice wrote: Wed Apr 17, 2019 12:38 pmHaving a bank account for a child teaches them that it's ok to set aside money for the future. It is a place for them to put money that they have earned or given and keep it safe for some point in the future when they want it rather than spend it right away.
Would not a simple wallet or piggy bank act the same way? Plus, as I mentioned, would have something more tangible for them to look at?
miamivice wrote: Wed Apr 17, 2019 12:38 pmIt teaches them to trust the bank to hold their money because the child can ask for the money back in the future.
I see, Ok. When I got my accounts setup at 19, somehow I trusted the banking system (perhaps even a little more than today!). Perhaps some kids don't have that trust without having an account since young age.
by learning_head
Wed Apr 17, 2019 12:29 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Savings account for child?
Replies: 35
Views: 2454

Re: Savings account for child?

Probably a dumb question but ... is it really important for kids to have a bank account? Curious what it teaches that can't be taught more efficiently to a young adult. I did not have one until I was 19 as I recall and I can't think of what I might have missed.

If the point is to teach "saving" discipline, I would have thought tangible cash they can touch or see would be more valuable.

As for compound interest, kids might only get disappointed with what would seem like waiting forever for a little bit of interest to accumulate on their (usually) small "investments".
by learning_head
Wed Apr 17, 2019 8:56 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Is seeking tax shelter always right?
Replies: 28
Views: 3364

Re: Is seeking tax shelter always right?

Grabiner, I agree that in the normal situation comparing pre- and post-tax holdings is apples to oranges, but in this case, we have two options: Leave taxable investments where they are, using tax-exempt bonds as needed for the taxable portion to maintain AA. By increasing tax-deferred sheltering to the maximum amount and living off of taxable sales, transfer investments from taxable to tax-deferred. When you talk about maintaining AA, how do you compute it? For example, if you have $100k in 403b in bonds and $100k in taxable in stocks, is that 50/50 AA? Well, it depends on how these amounts will be taxed. Assuming you 403b will be taxed at 25% and taxable at say 3% (because only gains are taxed and you may have few gains relative to princ...
by learning_head
Mon Jul 30, 2018 3:19 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: taxes: claiming child for parent 1 while on HDHP for parent 2?
Replies: 11
Views: 1357

Re: taxes: claiming child for parent 1 while on HDHP for parent 2?

Very interesting discussion. Thanks!

I guess 25 years from now, in 2043, if one wanted to use 2018 receipts for HSA distributions, they have to make sure to only use ones related to their 2018 tax dependents (if any). Thanks, Spirit Rider for pointing this out. (I am guessing it won't be a problem to use up HSA balance for other expenses at that point anyway.)

My next question then is... in OP situation, is it legal for EACH parent to include the same child on their respective HDHP's? Or is there a restriction that same minor child cannot be on 2 HDHPs of each of his/her parents? (My guess is this is not allowed but at this point I wonder...!)
by learning_head
Sun Jul 29, 2018 8:44 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: taxes: claiming child for parent 1 while on HDHP for parent 2?
Replies: 11
Views: 1357

Re: taxes: claiming child for parent 1 while on HDHP for parent 2?

Thanks FiveK, that's kind of what I've been looking at too. I did not see any restrictions in the tax instructions that crazygrow is referring to ("you can't claim a family level of contribution without more than one person on your taxes").

In this situation, seems like (by agreement), either parent can claim the child(ren) as dependent(s) for tax purposes, but that choice seems unrelated to which parent can claim them under "family" HDHP.

In fact, for a family with 2 small children, I wonder if EACH parent can have 1 child on their HDHP, thus both having family plans with $6900 max contribution limit for each parent?
by learning_head
Mon Jul 23, 2018 11:07 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: taxes: claiming child for parent 1 while on HDHP for parent 2?
Replies: 11
Views: 1357

Re: taxes: claiming child for parent 1 while on HDHP for parent 2?

Perhaps to clarify, first parent would have the child listed as dependent (including Dependent Care FSA) but would have "single" HDHP listed on Form 8889 with $3400 max contribution. The second parent would NOT list dependents but would indicate "family" HDHP on Form 8889 with $6750 contribution from the company.

Is there any issues with such setup?
by learning_head
Fri Jul 20, 2018 4:06 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: taxes: claiming child for parent 1 while on HDHP for parent 2?
Replies: 11
Views: 1357

taxes: claiming child for parent 1 while on HDHP for parent 2?

Hi folks, quick question on taxes.

Assuming two parents are not married, can one parent claim child for tax purposes, e.g. for work-provided Dependent Care FSA, on their 2018 tax return, while the other parent have the child on their HDHP making it family plan, instead of individual plan, with corresponding increased max contribution limit on HSA?

(The first parent, one that claims child on tax return, has HDHP with HSA but would use it as a "single"/"individual" plan, not as family plan, with lower HSA limits)

Thanks!
by learning_head
Fri Apr 20, 2018 1:59 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Do you buy new or used cars?
Replies: 183
Views: 24907

Re: Do you buy new or used cars?

md&pharmacist wrote: Fri Apr 20, 2018 1:23 pm ... 50% of original MSRP ... 40% of original MSRP ... 65% of original MSRP.
I always view MSRP about as useful as "Provider Charges" line on medical bills...

Example from a recent one: Provider charges $2,007, "Contractual allowance" and other meaningless (to me) deductions $1657. Insurance paid $100, patient due $250. I guess insurance and I combined saved 83% :-)
by learning_head
Fri Apr 20, 2018 1:50 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Do you buy new or used cars?
Replies: 183
Views: 24907

Re: Do you buy new or used cars?

My main reason to buy new is that you never really know what accidents / damage the used car had. Not all are reported.

Other, smaller reasons:
- recent price difference between new vs used does not seem as big as it used to be
- latest safety features
- I'd keep a car that was bought new for longer, meaning less car buying/selling transactions over lifetime
- newer cars start breaking later, providing longer issue-free ownership
by learning_head
Fri Apr 13, 2018 1:27 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Help with shared child being spoiled
Replies: 46
Views: 5613

Re: Help with shared child being spoiled

Leemiller wrote: Thu Apr 12, 2018 7:04 am Generally, I tell my kid that my job is to teach her how to be the kind of person that other people want to be around and complaining and whining isn’t it. I reinforce this by telling her good comments I get about her from others.
If done too much, do you think this may cause the kid to care too much about what others think? E.g. later on trying to keep up with the "coolness" of peers?
by learning_head
Thu Apr 12, 2018 8:44 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: wash sale question
Replies: 5
Views: 694

Re: wash sale question

Thank you all for the replies!
by learning_head
Thu Apr 12, 2018 8:23 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Two Centuries of U.S. Stock Market Indexes, 1802-2017
Replies: 47
Views: 7938

Re: Two Centuries of U.S. Stock Market Indexes, 1802-2017

That Zweig piece is devastating, Thus the indexes relied on by Prof. Siegel exclude 97% of all the stocks that existed in the earliest years of the U.S. market, Any index that excludes 97% of stocks at the time might charitably be described as historical fiction. The Dow Jones Industrial Average excludes far more than 97% of stocks and yet the historical record shows that it is still a surprisingly good indicator of the overall market. I think it is right to take historical numbers with a grain of salt but we also have evidence that even small numbers of stocks can tell us quite a lot about the overall market, so I don't think throwing the baby out with the bathwater is necessarily the right response either. Dow Jones attempts to include &...
by learning_head
Thu Apr 05, 2018 9:53 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What can we learn from secret millionaires.
Replies: 93
Views: 21584

Re: What can we learn from secret millionaires.

rtr-molar-doc wrote: Thu Apr 05, 2018 9:36 amBorrowing money to go to college it the NUMBER 1 dumbest thing young people do.
Actually it could be a very smart thing to do if that means they finish college faster (or get a better quality education) leading to higher paying jobs faster to pay off those loans.
by learning_head
Thu Mar 29, 2018 10:52 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: wash sale question
Replies: 5
Views: 694

Re: wash sale question

I understand that without March 3rd transaction, it's a wash sale. But I wonder whether the answer is different due to the fact that March 3rd transaction sold all shares within the IRA. In other words, there are no more shares to which the foregone wash-sale basis might apply to.
by learning_head
Thu Mar 29, 2018 10:24 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: wash sale question
Replies: 5
Views: 694

wash sale question

Is the following going to trigger a wash sale:

March 1:
Taxable account: 1000 shares of stock ABC bought at $20 (i.e. basis of $20,000)
Roth IRA: 0 shares of ABC

March 2:
Roth IRA: bought 300 shares of ABC at price of $10

March 3:
Roth IRA: sold all 300 shares of ABC at price of $11

March 4:
Taxable account: sold 100 shares of ABC at $12 <-- is this a wash sale even though all shares that I had bought in Roth IRA were sold within 30 days too?
Can I claim loss of $800 ( = 100 shares * ($20 - $12)) on taxes ?
by learning_head
Fri Mar 16, 2018 1:55 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: CAPE in the Context of Real Rates & Inflation, 1880-2018
Replies: 37
Views: 5694

Re: CAPE in the Context of Real Rates & Inflation, 1880-2018

Fascinating analysis, SimpleGift! Thank you! I am unclear about this though... ... CAPE values have tended to be highest when real rates are in the 2%-4% range, and inflation is 1%-3% — and CAPE has fallen off rather quickly on both sides of these two intervals, both higher and lower. ... In the U.S., we've been at or near this historical "sweet spot" for high equity valuations for quite a few years. Looking at the last "quite a few years", it does not look to me like we have been in that sweet spot... For inflation, we seem to be lower than 2% in 2013-2016 span and only just entered 2%-4% zone consistently in 2017 (according to monthly numbers from this site ) 2013 1.6 2.0 1.5 1.1 1.4 1.8 2.0 1.5 1.2 1.0 1.2 1.5 1.5 201...
by learning_head
Mon Mar 05, 2018 1:37 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Sharonview FCU 64 month CD - 4%
Replies: 109
Views: 19795

Re: Sharonview FCU 64 month CD - 4%

According to https://www.sharonview.org/resources/ra ... ings-rates ...

CERTIFICATE/IRA SPECIALS +++

...

* Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is accurate as of 11/13/2017. These rates may change any time without prior notice. After your account is opened, the dividend rate may change
by learning_head
Sat Mar 03, 2018 10:44 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: SUV vs Minivan: which is safer?
Replies: 24
Views: 10737

Re: SUV vs Minivan: which is safer?

Thank you all! What a great set of replies!
by learning_head
Thu Feb 01, 2018 9:32 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Preventing cell number hijacking with Verizon
Replies: 11
Views: 3323

Re: Preventing cell number hijacking with Verizon

Thanks tev9876,
tev9876 wrote: Thu Feb 01, 2018 8:26 am I went through and removed my Verizon number from bank and retirement accounts and only have the GV number attached to them.
I found that some banks / credit unions don't work with GV for sending alerts on various activities. For security reasons, I like to be texted whenever some activity is happening on my financial accounts. What do you do for those?

Unfortunately, I don't believe the banks distinguish phone used to send alerts vs phone used to recover "forgotten" password :-(
by learning_head
Thu Feb 01, 2018 8:18 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: SUV vs Minivan: which is safer?
Replies: 24
Views: 10737

Re: SUV vs Minivan: which is safer?

@lthenderson, thanks but those other threads, while similar, often get into other topics. My question is specific to safety comparison.
by learning_head
Thu Feb 01, 2018 7:57 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: SUV vs Minivan: which is safer?
Replies: 24
Views: 10737

SUV vs Minivan: which is safer?

For someone looking for a larger car that can accommodate 2 car-seats + 3 adults or maybe even 4, safety-wise , would you go with an SUV or a Minivan? When I look at safety ratings online, they only look at same-weight class vehicles. I did not find comparisons across weight classes. Any suggestions? My understanding is that higher-weight vehicles are safer which might suggest a minivan, but SUVs tend to have more "junk" in front making them probably safer in frontal collisions. SUVs are also higher than Minivans which is safer in some respects (e.g. can better see ahead over other cars and collisions with "shorter" cars don't affect you as much); but make SUVs more prone to rollovers. Another thought: cars that are larg...
by learning_head
Thu Feb 01, 2018 7:30 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Preventing cell number hijacking with Verizon
Replies: 11
Views: 3323

Re: Preventing cell number hijacking with Verizon

- the stories out there indicate that crooks indeed come in with fake photo id's to a shop in order to hijack the numbers. That sounds more urban legend than realistic threat. So a hacker would have to know the name of a person with a lot of investments, know their phone number and carrier, and THEN make a fake ID just to port out the number? And you don't go to the current provider to port out, you go to the new company. Carrier don't port out numbers, because they don't have access to the systems of the carrier it's going to. Even then, how does stealing my phone number allow someone to change my Vanguard password? Having my phone number (but not my actual phone) doesn't give you my email address or account logins. I don't have enough ti...
by learning_head
Thu Feb 01, 2018 12:10 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Preventing cell number hijacking with Verizon
Replies: 11
Views: 3323

Re: Preventing cell number hijacking with Verizon

Thanks for the info, Katietsu. That makes me feel better... However,

- the stories out there indicate that crooks indeed come in with fake photo id's to a shop in order to hijack the numbers.

- also, what happens if you forget your pin number? Last time I reset this over phone (not even in person), I think they just ask some minimal info before allowing me to reset the pin. To be honest, it's been a while, so I don't recall all the details other than thinking they did not ask me much.

- do you also need the pin for SIM swap? I.e. someone calls in saying I lost my phone and/or got myself a new one and want to switch the number to the new sim card.
by learning_head
Thu Feb 01, 2018 12:03 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Account security - Hackers gain access to mobile and then break havoc
Replies: 159
Views: 19796

Re: Account security - Hackers gain access to mobile and then break havoc

This is an older thread but I am happy to have found this tidbit on an earlier page... https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/18/16328172/sms-two-factor-authentication-hack-password-bitcoin "This is why you shouldn’t use texts for two-factor authentication" Comment from the article: The big problem with this article is that it conflates two unrelated issues. The main issue it’s describing, and the research it references, having nothing to do with Two Factor Auth. Disabling 2FA does not protect you from these, and only makes you less secure. The real problem here is single factor SMS-based account recovery. In fact, any single-factor account recovery is a problem, and turns all 2FA mechanisms into 1FA mechanisms. Single factor SMS account...
by learning_head
Wed Jan 31, 2018 9:37 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Preventing cell number hijacking with Verizon
Replies: 11
Views: 3323

Re: Preventing cell number hijacking with Verizon

@PaddyMac 1) Your home landline can be ported away too unless you have a port freeze on it. 2) Note that I don't access any banking related sites from my phone either. It's only used (a) as second factor in 2-FA, in addition to password and (b) for various banking alerts about any activity on the accounts. Are you saying using 1-factor authentication (your password) is better than 2-factor authentication using SMS + password for logins? From what I read, general recommendation is still to use SMS 2-factor authentication (if you can't use anything better like authenticator app); but it does seem like 2-FA may hurt you if they steal your phone because then they use it against you to reset your password. Then again, if someone wants to reset y...
by learning_head
Wed Jan 31, 2018 8:51 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Preventing cell number hijacking with Verizon
Replies: 11
Views: 3323

Preventing cell number hijacking with Verizon

There are plenty of stories on these forums and other places regarding hacks / hijackings of cell phone numbers in order to break into financial accounts by resetting passwords on them using the stolen phone number / email. 2 attacks that are described: someone pretending to be you - ports your number to their carrier, or - moves your number to their new sim card with same carrier Has anyone had any luck on trying to prevent this with Verizon? For example, this article suggests: You need to call VZW and tell them you want to lock down your phone number and account and everything else on your account, too, including other phones and tablets. You may have to help the VZW rep know what to do. Here’s what to say: Tell VZW you want a “port lock”...
by learning_head
Fri Dec 15, 2017 10:54 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: tax management: taking full advantage of AMT sweet spot
Replies: 15
Views: 2695

Re: tax management: taking full advantage of AMT sweet spot

Thank you, all! Great replies! Cap gains in situations I consider are not at the level to be affected by 15%-20% change but this is interesting. (The incomes considered in my case are under 39.6% bracket) After playing some more, I think I understand now why small changes in property tax creates extra sweet spot range of AMT to the tune of 6-7 times that much. I think it's because extra $X property tax on Schedule A results in $X * 33% reduction in regular income tax. So, when you are at the highest point of the sweet spot range (i.e. where AMT tax = regular tax) and you lower your regular tax by $X * 33%, it will take another $Y of additional sweet spot range for regular income to again catch up with AMT. It's catching up at the speed of 5...
by learning_head
Fri Dec 15, 2017 3:20 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: tax management: taking full advantage of AMT sweet spot
Replies: 15
Views: 2695

Re: tax management: taking full advantage of AMT sweet spot

FIREchief, it was a simplifying assumption indeed. Could you elaborate regarding going from 15% to 20% on capital gains? Are you saying that if we try to book more capital gains in order to increase income in AMT space, those capital gains would start getting taxed at 20%? In that case I am not worried, since I am trying to only manipulate ordinary income to take advantage of more AMT space, not cap. gains. On the other hand, if you are saying bumping up ordinary income may lead to some of cap gains to jump from 15% to 20%, please let me how / when that would happen? (Will change thread title - thanks) FiveK, thank you for confirmation! (Was that based on 4% state/local taxes?) Does anyone see any issue with prepaying property tax (so as to...
by learning_head
Thu Dec 14, 2017 11:55 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: tax management: taking full advantage of AMT sweet spot
Replies: 15
Views: 2695

tax management: taking full advantage of AMT sweet spot

AMT sweet spot is explained very well at https://www.kitces.com/blog/evaluating-exposure-to-the-alternative-minimum-tax-and-strategies-to-reduce-the-amt-bite/ In short, this is where your marginal rate within AMT zone drops from 35% down to 28% (due to phase-out ending) and before AMT zone ends which hikes the marginal rate to 39%+. When I had looked at the graph in that article for a single filer it suggests ~$250,000 of sweet spot range (from ~$336k to ~$588k of income). Unfortunately this does not seem to be generally the case and is highly dependent on particulars whether sweet spot even applies. Purpose of this post is to share my findings as well as to see if someone finds a flaw in them. The goal is to take maximum advantage of the s...
by learning_head
Tue Oct 31, 2017 11:40 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Credit Report; best method
Replies: 17
Views: 1558

Re: Credit Report; best method

Why use 3 agencies every 4 months rather than 4 agencies (4th being Innovis) for doing every 3 months?
tomd37 wrote: Tue Oct 31, 2017 10:24 am As a married couple I submit a request for a credit report every two months to the three major reporting firms; the first six months I request a report under my name and SSN and then the next six months I request a report under my spouse's name and SSN.
I think your reports are independent of each other. If someone opens a bad account in your name, it won't show on your spouse's report and vice versa. So, I'd think it's no different than just doing both of yours at the same time, be it 3 or 4 times a year.
by learning_head
Mon Oct 30, 2017 3:18 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Inheritance and Joint account with Siblings
Replies: 44
Views: 4687

Re: Inheritance and Joint account with Siblings

tampaite wrote: Mon Oct 30, 2017 8:03 am Everyone is an adult and the total amount is less than 25K.
If you don't like the idea of cash for N siblings, buy N diamond rings or N * X gold coins or something else of value that can be memorable
tampaite wrote: I can't dictate what other siblings can/can't do.
... including withdrawing all or part of a joint account ...
by learning_head
Mon Oct 30, 2017 2:21 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Early-retired 35 year old with $1 million
Replies: 198
Views: 29156

Re: Early-retired 35 year old with $1 million

Two of my best friends are a man aged 67 and his wife aged 63. They planned to work another year or two, then retire and do what they wanted. Last week she was rushed to the emergency room with a cerebral hemorrhage caused by a brain cancer. She will not live another year. They could have retired 10 years ago but they wanted to be absolutely certain they would not run out of money for 30 years. There are lots of unknown variables in the future. If you are 35 and have a million dollars and you are tired of working, think about what you really want to do and then do it. Very inspirational story IMO. Depending on their interests, single people could easily enjoy life on 30k in LCOL area. Further, if you trade in 400k house for 200k house in L...
by learning_head
Sat Oct 14, 2017 2:22 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Upcoming Roth Contribution for 2018
Replies: 4
Views: 1173

Re: Upcoming Roth Contribution for 2018

It's an actively managed fund. If you want to follow advice of Jack Bogle, it should be avoided. Stick with low-cost passively managed ones that follow an index.

Yes, Wellington has relatively low fees which makes it a better fund than other actively managed ones, but there is not a single reason to add money to it if you can get even cheaper passive funds that are better. Since your money is in Roth, I'd suggest converting to passive index funds (or ETFs) that match your desired stock-bond split. Vanguard LifeStrategy fund with ~60% stocks (0.14% expense ratio) is a great match to replace Wellington (0.25% expense ratio).
by learning_head
Sat Oct 14, 2017 2:02 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: X times salary, backwards calculation?
Replies: 23
Views: 3308

Re: X times salary, backwards calculation?

Salary does not matter. What matters is what your expenses (minus after-tax Social Security, pension, annuity or other recurring income) will be.

If your salary is 10M/year and your projected retirement expenses are $50k/year, you can retire after less than 1 year of working at any age, even age 1.

If your salary is $50k/year and you spend $50k/year, you can never retire based on your earnings alone (SS will not cover your expenses and you would be spending more than your after-tax salary, so no savings for you along the way).
by learning_head
Sat Oct 14, 2017 1:44 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: wellington fund ( VWELX )
Replies: 24
Views: 4343

Re: wellington fund ( VWELX )

It's an actively managed fund. If you want to follow advice of Jack Bogle, it should be avoided. Stick with low-cost passively managed ones that follow an index.

Yes, it has lower fees which makes it a better fund than other actively managed ones, but there is not a single reason to add money to it if you can get even cheaper passive funds that are better.
by learning_head
Sat Oct 14, 2017 11:31 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: with frozen credit, is there benefit to fraud monitoring services?
Replies: 19
Views: 2436

Re: with frozen credit, is there benefit to fraud monitoring services?

Just wanted to bump this thread to see if anyone has more info or experience with this. Have you tried to open new lines of credit with your existing financial institutions after you placed your freeze? If so, did they require you to unfreeze first?
by learning_head
Sat Oct 14, 2017 10:29 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Free credit monitoring for AAA members
Replies: 16
Views: 2874

Re: Free credit monitoring for AAA members

SquawkIdent wrote: Fri Sep 15, 2017 10:14 am
runner3081 wrote: Fri Sep 15, 2017 10:09 am ... just freeze all agencies and don't think about it again.
I agree with your last sentence. Freeze and be done with it. It's really not that hard to do and to thaw.
I think this is not totally correct necessarily. Even with credit freezes, financial institutions with which you have current accounts, be it bank accounts or credit card accounts, may access your credit reports. So if a thief wants to open new accounts or cards at any such bank, credit freeze may or may not help. So, next best thing might be to also have monitoring to at least get alerts about such activity. There is some info that perhaps they can do soft pulls but not hard pulls required for acct opening... not sure... please see this thread for some more info.
by learning_head
Fri Oct 06, 2017 11:42 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Megabackdoor Roth Waiting Period?
Replies: 18
Views: 2038

Re: Megabackdoor Roth Waiting Period?

Spirit Rider wrote: Fri Oct 06, 2017 10:48 am
learning_head wrote: Thu Oct 05, 2017 11:18 pm ... but having traditional IRA complicate "regular" backdoor Roth, so it's simpler to pay a bit of tax instead and convert all to Roth IRA.
... but many people do not exceed the Roth contribution income limits and need to do a Backdoor Roth. Many of those that do, if a plan allows in-service rollovers, it very often allows pre-tax inbound rollovers. The bottom line is that more people than not would probably benefit from rolling the earnings to a traditional IRA.
If someone can do regular Roth instead of backdoor Roth, would you advise they do traditional IRA instead of roth IRA?

On a side note, I thought normally people that do megabackdoor Roth would be exceeding limits needed for regular Roth. I could be wrong though.
by learning_head
Fri Oct 06, 2017 11:38 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Cash in a local bank or credit union
Replies: 54
Views: 6658

Re: Cash in a local bank or credit union

^ not following.. if you are talking about purchasing flight in US, they would accept credit cards. If you are talking about purchase made in Bangkok (and they don't accept CC or check?), then they can't use cash from your local CU anyway, here in US...

Question was "situation where you would need a relatively large amount of cash without the ability to wait the 48 hours required for a transfer from CapitolOne360"
by learning_head
Fri Oct 06, 2017 10:45 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Backdoor Roth: importance of spouse's tIRA
Replies: 5
Views: 916

Re: Backdoor Roth: importance of spouse's tIRA

Your plan makes sense, but just note that you can't go back and make use of tax-advantaged backdoor Roth for prior years. Hassle factor, after you set it up is about an hour per year (and I am being generous here):
- transfer money from linked account to tIRA (5 mins)
- in few days transfer money from tIRA to rIRA (5 mins) and
- file another (simple) form with taxes (15 mins?)
by learning_head
Fri Oct 06, 2017 9:15 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Too much house? (nervous 1st time buyer)
Replies: 61
Views: 8953

Re: Too much house? (nervous 1st time buyer)

could envision myself with a family there Others have mentioned this: you might be underestimating whether your future family will want to envision themselves in what they will see as YOUR house. When one person moves in with another, quite often, psychologically, they may feel it's YOUR place, not YOURS-and-THEIRS; no matter what you say or how they re-decorate it. Also, flashier places may attract wrong kind of potential mates ;-) As for how financials work out , you have to figure out the true costs of owning vs renting. Here is an updated version based on discussion in another thread : Rent is a throw away money to live somewhere for a period of time. Rent should be compared to throw away money expenses when owning a house, including -...
by learning_head
Fri Oct 06, 2017 8:49 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Anyone go 100% Ally or another online bank for all banking needs?
Replies: 61
Views: 9633

Re: Anyone go 100% Ally or another online bank for all banking needs?

mega317 wrote: Thu Oct 05, 2017 10:57 pm
MisterBill wrote: Thu Oct 05, 2017 8:36 pm 1.25% interest so long as I do 15 debit transactions a month
This sounds awful. You can get that rate lots of places with no debit transactions, or much better rates with the debits.
+1. Seems like quite a pain. Plus, for any kind of "pay off" worth mentioning, you'd need a large enough balance + using debit card - not a secure combination. I get more than 1.25% at a good bank without doing any work.
by learning_head
Thu Oct 05, 2017 11:18 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Megabackdoor Roth Waiting Period?
Replies: 18
Views: 2038

Re: Megabackdoor Roth Waiting Period?

Spirit Rider wrote: Thu Oct 05, 2017 11:11 pm You can also rollover after-tax employee contributions to a Roth IRA and earnings to a traditional IRA. In this case both rollovers are tax-free.
... but having traditional IRA complicate "regular" backdoor Roth, so it's simpler to pay a bit of tax instead and convert all to Roth IRA.
by learning_head
Thu Oct 05, 2017 10:35 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Small business owner new to Bogleheading
Replies: 4
Views: 871

Re: Small business owner new to Bogleheading

Money earmarked to be used in the next few years should not be in the stock market. Only funds that you don't plan on using for at least 10 years should be in the stock market.
by learning_head
Thu Oct 05, 2017 10:32 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Investing my HSA
Replies: 7
Views: 1534

Re: Investing my HSA

Best financial way to use HSA is the following (and from your OP I think you may already know this). Consider HSA as part of your overall portfolio, like a Roth IRA. Never pay from it until you are retired - the later, the better. Keep receipts for many years (e.g. scan them in) so you can later use HSA funds that have grows tax-free for these old receipts. In the mean time, pay from regular accounts. As for asset location in HSA vs other accounts, there is a wiki on what should be placed where. Least tax-efficient assets should go to accounts like HSA, Roth, 401k etc. You could also consider ERs on these funds and whether they are active or passive. Also, if you don't like the selection check if you can transfer your funds periodically to ...