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AstroJohn

It looks like the spending bill that is through the House and is pretty certain to pass the Senate and be signed by the president will increase the age for RMDs from 70.5 to 72. This has been floating around for quite some time, but appears about to come true.

AstroJohn

All the responses to my initial post have been fascinating. Clearly, this is a serious issue that we all need to be more aware of. It can be challenging to discuss this sort of thing with a spouse, and even more so with children and their spouses. Often my wife just says she expect to die first, so ...

AstroJohn

Our two checking account are “tenants by the entirety” so we are covered there. The scary part of the story for me is that with a joint account, the ill spouse can just walk into the bank and take everything. This seems to me to argue for at least some significant amount of money in separate accoun...

AstroJohn

Our two checking account are “tenants by the entirety” so we are covered there. The scary part of the story for me is that with a joint account, the ill spouse can just walk into the bank and take everything. This seems to me to argue for at least some significant amount of money in separate accoun...

AstroJohn

At Thanksgiving along with one of our children and her husband, we hosted his widowed mother. Her husband died recently of Alzheimer's disease and she had quiet a story to tell about some of the financial issues she faced near the end. Her experience gave us a lot to think about in terms of how we s...

AstroJohn

My wife and I go to Nationals spring training every year, usually about the second or third week in March. By that time the regular players are getting substantial playing time. Tickets are likely to be expensive this year, but we will be going. One thing my wife discovered a few years ago is that y...

AstroJohn

I have always read that a significant advantage of a trust is the possibility of a successor trustee taking over in the event of disability. In my experience that has been easy compared to things like durable powers of attorney. Is that not the case?

AstroJohn

BTW, I want to mention that while I pay most bills, but my spouse is responsible for paying some bills. The idea is that she knows how to do financial things if I die. And I know how to do financial things if she dies. I think the ability of either spouse to take care of things when the other spous...

AstroJohn

For our weekend home, I started with a game camera that I could review whenever we were at the home. Inexpensive, but died after a few years. Now we have an Arlo, which is fantastic. It is battery powered, so can be placed anywhere near the house. I get an email notification and a ten second video c...

AstroJohn

I update ours twice a year and will probably cut that back to once a year. But then at 69 and with plenty of assets for the rest of my life, there is not much to worry about. Scanning all the answers, I think it would be great if someone could put together a scatter plot of how often Bogleheads chec...

AstroJohn

Finally, I have always been somewhat annoyed/worried by TSPs statements that if someone manages to get access to your account and figure out a way to drain it, you are on your own. My guess is that Fidelity would make me whole. Whoa. Those are pretty big assumptions on which to base a decision. I w...

AstroJohn

Finally, I have always been somewhat annoyed/worried by TSPs statements that if someone manages to get access to your account and figure out a way to drain it, you are on your own. My guess is that Fidelity would make me whole. Fidelity does have a Customer Protection Guarantee, but you have to not...

AstroJohn

Finally, I have always been somewhat annoyed/worried by TSPs statements that if someone manages to get access to your account and figure out a way to drain it, you are on your own. My guess is that Fidelity would make me whole. Whoa. Those are pretty big assumptions on which to base a decision. I w...

AstroJohn

I am just turning 69 and ahead of RMDs have transferred my TSP (all G fund) into my IRA. While I know changes are coming that provide more withdrawal options, I decided that having everything in one place would be easier for DW if I go first. Also, you have to consider the next generation and their ...

AstroJohn

We have never had a separate emergency fund. And now that we are into retirement there is really no need. But a portion of the fixed income side of our investments is in a money market account. My asset allocation spreadsheet lists the value of that account minus $20,000. The message there to DW and...

AstroJohn

I have been doing a Form 1116 for several years now using H&R Block Basic. At first I was intimidated by the IRS instructions. Then I followed a suggestion posted by someone here. The instructions have to cover a very wide range of income sources, and that makes them look intimidating. The solution ...

AstroJohn

Occasionally, I get a little too involved in overthinking how my money should be invested. And then Taylor comes along and reminds me that this really isn't rocket science. Thanks Taylor.

AstroJohn

Cleaning up and simplifying has been a lifelong struggle between me and my wonderful spouse. She likes "things." While I have read and taken much of Thoreau to heart, my favorite quote is in the other direction.

"Clutter and mess show us that life is being lived."
--Anne Lamott

AstroJohn

Good, simple, make sense tips. I'm wondering about reasons to simplify and consolidate. I've just crossed the threshold of being able to claim early social security, so maybe am thinking more about the future. Of course, having a simpler portfolio in less locations would make things easier for my w...

AstroJohn

Both my iMac and my wife's PC are shut off at night. I feel that the less time they are on the internet the less time there is for bad actors to get into them.

AstroJohn

I recently bought a 4TB Western Digital drive for a ridiculously small price. But that is just my first line of defense. I also have three 16 GB thumb drives that important files get backed up to in a monthly rotation. Finally, the same files are backed up to sync.com regularly. I can't say enough g...

AstroJohn

Gnucash has a pretty steep learning curve, but does a good job once you master it.

Moneydance is the best alternative to Quicken I have found. Works great on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Reasonable cost and upgrade cycle, and so far no talk of an annual subscription approach.

AstroJohn

Every year I buy and download H&R Block Basic. Every year, including this year, it includes Schedule D (as well as the dreaded Form 1116). I just fired up the copy I bought and it indicates the final version Schedule D will not be available until 1/16/2019. It has always baffled me that the folks h...

AstroJohn

Every year I buy and download H&R Block Basic. Every year, including this year, it includes Schedule D (as well as the dreaded Form 1116). I just fired up the copy I bought and it indicates the final version Schedule D will not be available until 1/16/2019. It has always baffled me that the folks h...

AstroJohn

Every year I buy and download H&R Block Basic. Every year, including this year, it includes Schedule D (as well as the dreaded Form 1116). I just fired up the copy I bought and it indicates the final version Schedule D will not be available until 1/16/2019. It has always baffled me that the folks he...

AstroJohn

The questions you were asked were generated by whatever credit bureau the USPS uses. If your credit was frozen like mine is, you would not be able to get past that stage. Instead you would have to print some docs and go to the post office. The same applies to setting up a SSA account online. My cre...

AstroJohn

I just signed up for this last week. No credit check was required. After myUSPS account was created, signing up for informed deliver was a separate process. To verify my ID I had the option of answering questions on-line which were just like the questions asked to verify ID for my on-line SSA accou...

AstroJohn

Not sure this makes any sense. Part of the signup procedure involves a credit check. Mine Is frozen and I had to appear in person at the post office to prove identity and complete the process. Unless the imposter already has access to your credit info, this seems pretty far fetched.

AstroJohn

A few years ago, we stayed at the Westin Maui just down the beach. Walked by the Ka'anapali Beach Hotel every morning on my daily walk. It looked fine, but perhaps a little more spartan than the Westin and the others.

AstroJohn

The tax code changes have been something of a wash for me. Federal tax will go down. State tax here in Virginia will go up because we must now also take the VA standard deduction. I am not planning on either reducing or increasing charitable donations. We don't give for tax reasons. One small plus h...

AstroJohn

Our Capital One savings accounts are in the name of our living trust. I would think that makes this less of problem as the successor trustee can manage/distribute funds as needed. Moving the accounts from joint to trust was easy. "Moving the accounts from joint to trust was easy" - maybe for you, s...

AstroJohn

Our Capital One savings accounts are in the name of our living trust. I would think that makes this less of problem as the successor trustee can manage/distribute funds as needed. Moving the accounts from joint to trust was easy.

AstroJohn

The person who mows at my weekend home bills for each mowing. I always put something extra in the check I send him. People doing that sort of work are often working multiple part time gigs and need every dollar they can get. And he responds by occasionally doing a little extra for me, like helping t...

AstroJohn

Very happy with dinkytown.net estimators as well. Have used them for several years for doing estimated taxes.

AstroJohn

No one will die and national security won’t be threatened if Quicken disappears.

Sadly, we might see some posts on this site that would make us think otherwise.

AstroJohn

Used Quicken for many years, but grew tired of the ever increasing chart-junk on each page and moved to Moneydance. Runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux. No subscription model. Reasonable cost. Usually every other update is free or reduced price for current users. Small enough company that support reques...

AstroJohn

Tell you what. We will survey the net worth of 10000 1989 mazda owners and the net worth of 10000 2018 911 owners. How much money would you bet on the 1989 Mazda owners having a higher average net worth? :) People that look rich tend to be rich. There are exceptions at both ends. But those are the ...

AstroJohn

Civil servants, teachers, and similar professions belong to the portion of the population that has a fairly tightly clustered range of possible income levels. They amassed wealth by saving and investing wisely. Entrepreneurs belong to a different portion of the population that includes, for example,...

AstroJohn

Retired Civil Servant here and well into the two comma club as are many of the scientists and engineers I worked with during my career. I rather enjoyed the book when it first came out, probably because it reenforced my ongoing urge to live below my means and invest the rest wisely. That being said,...

AstroJohn

AstroJohn - Thanks for the info. I suspect the same will happen to us - savings from being in a lower federal income tax bracket will go to paying VA if we can't itemize. Do you know if this negates the tax saving impact of contributing to VA529 plan if we can't itemize? In 2017, we owed in federal...

AstroJohn

Spoke with my state senator during the legislative session. Virginia law likely will not change for 2018. My estimated savings at the federal level will end up going to the Commonwealth of Virginia as a higher state tax.

AstroJohn

Spoke with my Virginia state senator during the legislative session and was told things would likely not change for 2018. I'm estimating my state taxes based on that info. What the IRS giveth that Commonwealth of Virginia taketh.

AstroJohn

dinkytown.net has always had very good tax estimators. I've used them for several years. Here is the link to the 2018 software.

http://www.dinkytown.net/java/Tax1040.html

AstroJohn

Another happy indexer at Fidelity. My current Private Client Manager has never called. Previous one checked in once a year. They know I am an indexer and just take care of any questions I may have, which is rare. We did have one pushy person many years ago. Shortly after our one and only visit with ...

AstroJohn

I have been running gnucash and moneydance in parallel for several years. Love them both. Hated quicken.

AstroJohn

Fascinating discussion, but my understanding is that in the US the IRS considers bitcoin to be an asset not a currency. So, when you buy bitcoin you acquire an asset and must record the cost in US dollars. When you then buy something, say a sandwich at Subway, you are selling the asset and must reco...

AstroJohn

Another annoyance with Block Basic this year: I've used Basic Fed only for many years now. In the fall they always offer next year at just under $15. This year, the emails all said the best price of the year for Basic Fed return only was $19.95. This seemed like a serious price increase, so I have b...

AstroJohn

If all you want to do is reconcile and keep track of costs by category, I second the suggestion of gnucash. It will do as well or better than a spreadsheet at generating reports and helping you see where the money is going and has room to grow if you want more than a spreadsheet can offer. Also, unl...

AstroJohn

For those who want to be able to do accounting at the level of detail desired by Tyler, it would be worthwhile to look at ledger-cli (ledger-cli.org) and its various ports before you roll your own software. GnuCash actually has the ability to write all its transactions as a ledger text file.

AstroJohn

Abandoned Quicken many years ago for Moneydance. A bit less expensive than Quicken and to me much better. I've also embraced GnuCash. It is a more complicated, which leads to my second comment. If you are comfortable with a complex piece of software, is your spouse as well? My wife can keep things u...

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