Search found 634 matches

by chipmonk
Mon Mar 18, 2024 10:51 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Wiring money to Canada from Vanguard account
Replies: 0
Views: 86

Wiring money to Canada from Vanguard account

( Why? The short summary is: buying a house in Canada, all-cash.) I needed to wire a 5-figure US$ amount to Canada. I called Vanguard and attempted to do a wire transfer over the phone, however the phone representative advised me that Vanguard is “not well-equipped” to handle international wire transfers since they don't have a SWIFT code (as discussed in [url=https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=415780]this thread/url] from a few months ago). Instead, they suggested that I should wire the money to my US bank account, and from there do a second wire transfer to its Canadian destination. This 2-step wire added a $50 fee from my bank (🤷🏻‍♂️), and a fair amount of extra paperwork and phone calls, and a delay of ~2 days. I suspect t...
by chipmonk
Mon Sep 04, 2023 2:50 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Millionaire by 40 and How you Did it?
Replies: 352
Views: 74780

Re: Millionaire by 40 and How you Did it?

born on 3rd base (no student debt and good upbringings) First of all: this . I was born of 3rd base as well. I grew up in a stable family, had opportunities to live around the world as a teenager, well-educated parents and grandparents, went to an Ivy League school and got a STEM degree, parents and grandparents paid for most of my undergrad education with money they'd invested since I was a baby, I worked a variety of jobs while I was a student to pay for other living expenses, and I was generally good with money (though I did do a few very dumb things like racking up hundreds of dollars in unpaid parking tickets :moneybag). I would also like to learn how you became a millionaire by 40 and how you did it? Was it purely large annual income...
by chipmonk
Mon Sep 04, 2023 2:28 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Pay back student loan?
Replies: 8
Views: 5254

Re: Pay back student loan?

Similar situation here… My wife and I got married during the late, great "student loan pause." She has approximately $33,000 of student loan debt Net interest rate of 6.8% ( :shock: ), though I am fairly confident that this could be refinanced down to around 5% right now We have enough liquid assets to pay this off immediately Our joint income is too high for the income-based repayment plans (REPAYE/SAVE) to result in any savings, or for the interest payments to be tax-deductible I hesitate to repay as I view this as an option I am holding with potential value. That's exactly how I'm thinking about it as well. We could Just Pay It Off™ in a lump sum, but it seems like if we can get this down to <5% interest rate, there's a substan...
by chipmonk
Mon Mar 27, 2023 5:11 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Why did Vanguard charge me a $0.67 commission/fee for selling VFVA?
Replies: 4
Views: 787

Re: Why did Vanguard charge me a $0.67 commission/fee for selling VFVA?

increment wrote: Mon Mar 27, 2023 4:49 pm This is probably the "SEC fee" that everyone charges on sales transactions. It comes up from time to time here at Bogleheads.
retired@50 wrote: Mon Mar 27, 2023 4:49 pm I suspect it's an SEC fee.
Aha, thank you both. Yes indeed, it's the SEC fee.

And I am completely mistaken. I had been charged these fees in the past, it's just that they weren't particularly visible, and were particularly tiny.
retired@50 wrote: Mon Mar 27, 2023 4:49 pm See link: https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2023-15
Wow, a fee that decreased, eh? From $22.90/$1M to $8/$1M… kind of interesting. Not that I'm complaining, mind you, but now I wonder why it decreased :happy
by chipmonk
Mon Mar 27, 2023 4:40 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Why did Vanguard charge me a $0.67 commission/fee for selling VFVA?
Replies: 4
Views: 787

Why did Vanguard charge me a $0.67 commission/fee for selling VFVA?

A few days ago, I sold a 5-figure amount of VFVA (https://investor.vanguard.com/investment-products/etfs/profile/vfva) in my Vanguard Brokerage account. To my surprise, there was a $0.67 "commission/fee" that appeared alongside the sale. The amount is utterly inconsequential, but I'm confused about where this fee came from, and why. Vanguard doesn't charge commissions/fees to buy/sell Vanguard ETFs I've bought and sold many Vanguard mutual funds and ETFs over the past 15 years, without ever paying a single commission/fee that I can recall I'm a Flagship member None of the Vanguard pages on VFVA describe any fees, or required holding period The order confirmation PDF for this transaction provides no further details, simply labeling...
by chipmonk
Wed Oct 20, 2021 5:32 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: VTIAX vs VXUS Expense Ratios
Replies: 12
Views: 2442

Re: VTIAX vs VXUS Expense Ratios

The answer is that Vanguard is departing from their old methodology of keeping ETF and Admiral shares at the same ER. This article may help clarify: https://www.mymoneyblog.com/vanguard-etfs-now-permanently-cheaper-than-admiral-shares.html Thanks, that's quite interesting. I could save about $180/year (~15% of the total expenses I pay to Vanguard) by doing Admiral→ETF conversions. Hmmm. Until now, I've never seen any advantage in ETFs, and generally find them annoying to deal with (need to trade during market open hours, settlement time, small spreads, etc.). This makes it a bit more tempting to switch to ETFs. However, this exchange in the comments gives me some pause. I get a lot of mileage and tax savings out of TLH, which is a pretty p...
by chipmonk
Thu Aug 06, 2020 12:06 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: How do the tech giants exceed expectations so consistently?
Replies: 25
Views: 2474

Re: How do the tech giants exceed expectations so consistently?

Working in technology, I thought it was better to have a portfolio that was tech sector heavy when I found this forum back in 2011. I am very thankful for everything I learned here because I was absolutely new to investing but one of the worst pieces of advice that was always reiterated here was don't tilt to sector, don't invest in tech heavy funds , remember the dot com bubble, etc. This advice came from OG bogleheads who still have PTSD from the dot com crash and failed to realize tech companies that are eating up the world with billions in revenue and massive growth every year are not the vaporware dot com companies of the late 1990s. Now, in all but one of my old 401Ks I am all-in on tech funds, ETFs and individual stocks and have bee...
by chipmonk
Thu Aug 06, 2020 12:28 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: VTIAX vs VXUS Expense Ratios
Replies: 12
Views: 2442

Re: VTIAX vs VXUS Expense Ratios

Well, you can make a lot more than that by converting to ETFs and moving them somewhere (TD Ameritrade, Chase You Invest, Merrill Edge, etc.) that will give you a bonus. I've pocked a few thousand in the past couple of years. Can you take advantage of these bonuses while never incurring capital gains tax during any of the transfers? If so, how does bookkeeping of (unrealized) cost basis work when you transfer shares? Seems like a whole lot could go wrong there… Also, there's a similar cost difference between VTSAX and VTI (0.04 vs 0.03%), so Vanguard seems to prefer that we hold ETFs, and ideally not at Vanguard. :happy As far as I can tell, the most "ongoing value" I could get out of converting to ETFs would be ~$150/year in exp...
by chipmonk
Wed Aug 05, 2020 2:56 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: VTIAX vs VXUS Expense Ratios
Replies: 12
Views: 2442

Re: VTIAX vs VXUS Expense Ratios

The answer is that Vanguard is departing from their old methodology of keeping ETF and Admiral shares at the same ER. This article may help clarify: https://www.mymoneyblog.com/vanguard-etfs-now-permanently-cheaper-than-admiral-shares.html Thanks, that's quite interesting. I could save about $180/year (~15% of the total expenses I pay to Vanguard) by doing Admiral→ETF conversions. Hmmm. Until now, I've never seen any advantage in ETFs, and generally find them annoying to deal with (need to trade during market open hours, settlement time, small spreads, etc.). This makes it a bit more tempting to switch to ETFs. However, this exchange in the comments gives me some pause. I get a lot of mileage and tax savings out of TLH, which is a pretty p...
by chipmonk
Thu Mar 12, 2020 2:56 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Who is staying course and how are you dealing with net worth going down?
Replies: 359
Views: 33482

Re: Who is staying course and how are you dealing with net worth going down?

How are you guys staying calm?
By not trying to time the market, and not trying to change my allocation.

I just, however, just do my biggest Tax Loss Harvest (https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Tax_loss_harvesting) since the days following the Fukishima Daiichi nuclear disaster of 2011. This will result in me being able to deduct $3,000 from my taxable income for years to come.
by chipmonk
Fri Nov 30, 2018 1:04 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 401(k) to 401(k) rollover
Replies: 1
Views: 235

401(k) to 401(k) rollover

My employer was acquired by a larger company, which offers us a Fidelity 401k, which is much better than the (terrible, high-fee) old 401k. I want to rollover all funds from the old non-Roth 401k into the new non-Roth 401k. (I *do not want* to rollover into an IRA; that would kill my ability to do backdoor Roth IRA contributions.) I'm trying to figure out how to effectuate the rollover smoothly. The two payment options on the 401k rollover form from the old provider are "EFT" (ACH or wire) and "Check." Does anyone know whether Fidelity NetBenefits can actually accept an ACH/wire transfer payment for a direct 401k-401k rollover? Or do they require a check? I've scoured the NetBenefits web site and plan-specific info, and ...
by chipmonk
Wed Feb 03, 2016 10:54 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Rolling over a pension cash payout to Roth IRA?
Replies: 4
Views: 664

Rolling over a pension cash payout to Roth IRA?

I received a "lump sum" cash payout of my minimum pension plan from my previous employer. It's a check for about $3000. I'm trying to figure out how I can legally get this into my Vanguard Roth IRA while avoid unnecessary tax paperwork. I want to make sure it goes into my Roth IRA because having a Standard IRA would prevent me from doing the yearly Backdoor Roth easily. From the IRA rollovers and transfers wiki page , it appears that I can simply deposit it into a checking account and then do a direct transfer to my Vanguard Roth IRA. Will this add any significant complications to my tax return next year? Does it matter that the payment is described as "taxable" on the statement that I received from my previous employer?...
by chipmonk
Mon Jan 04, 2016 9:17 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: U.S. stocks in free fall
Replies: 36221
Views: 4652054

Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

cfs wrote:
chipmonk wrote: . . . If I decided to "spend" my remaining $18,000 capital loss carryover by offsetting a large capital gain, it would be worth far more to me. (About $6,000 in reduced taxes for that year.) . . .
Congratulations.
Thanks :). It seems like a really good payoff for TLH-ing, which probably takes me an hour or two per year to actually do.
by chipmonk
Mon Jan 04, 2016 9:14 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: U.S. stocks in free fall
Replies: 36221
Views: 4652054

Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Leeraar wrote:
Due to TLH, I have reduced my taxable income by $3,000/year for the past several years, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
Unfortunately, I cannot use your strategy, since my investments have gained value over the past few years.
That doesn't matter. Perhaps you don't fully understand how TLH works?

My investments have done very well too (just like everyone else who's heavily invested in US-TSM over the last ~5 years).

However, there have been dips where one or two tax lots are worth, say, $1,000 less than when I bought them. I take these moments to TLH: I sell that tax lot for a "paper" loss and replace it with a fund or combination of funds whose asset allocation is almost identical.
by chipmonk
Mon Jan 04, 2016 2:01 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: U.S. stocks in free fall
Replies: 36221
Views: 4652054

Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

But, I am mystified by the TLH crowd who seem to be looking for down days to maximize their losses rather than up days to maximize their gains. Ding, Ding, Ding . . . Bingo !!! TLH is an essentially risk-free opportunity to reduce your capital gains for this your, or your capital gains carryover for subsequent years. I get the benefit of hindsight when I TLH: I can create a past capital loss that is really only a loss on paper. If I see that the market is way down at 3:50pm ET, I can TLH immediately and be guaranteed to reduce my capital gains without any meaningful change to my asset allocation, by TLH-ing between correctly-matched pairs. The only possible risk to TLH-ing is the opportunity cost of TLH-ing today, when it might actually be...
by chipmonk
Mon Jan 04, 2016 1:43 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: U.S. stocks in free fall
Replies: 36221
Views: 4652054

Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Let's see... today I am buying $5,500 of money market in my Vanguard Traditional IRA account.

Tomorrow will be a great day for buying stock at a discount in my Roth IRA.

It's always great to get a discount on my annual early-January Backdoor Two-Step™.

:moneybag :sharebeer 8-)
by chipmonk
Mon Jan 04, 2016 1:20 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Fidelity offering </=10% IRA matching to switch
Replies: 4
Views: 1623

Re: Fidelity offering </=10% IRA matching to switch

Quite interesting. In order to (barely) hit the $250k threshold at which the 5% match kicks in, I'd have to move my entire Roth IRA from Vanguard and my entire 401k from my previous employer. For those under 50, unless the IRA contribution limits increase, 5% match is worth $825 ($5500×3×5%) and 2.5% match is worth $412.50. The catch for me is that my previous employer's 401k is already at Fidelity. Looks like an IRA funded from a Fidelity 401k rollover, or any other employer-plan rollover, would not count, unless I jumped through the roundabout hoop of first rolling it over to my Vanguard IRA, and from there back to Fidelity. ( And having a non-Roth IRA with substantial gains would prevent me from doing the Backdoor Roth going forward… scr...
by chipmonk
Mon Jan 04, 2016 12:30 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Fidelity 2% Amex: Security Annoyances
Replies: 92
Views: 13866

Re: Fidelity 2% Amex: Security Annoyances

I appreciate that Amex is trying to protect me and themselves AmEx isn't declining -- FIA is. Yes, a lot of people don't realize that the Fidelity AMEX runs through the AMEX network but is serviced by Bank of America. While we're complaining, let me mention that the FIA website is awful. I, too, tolerate it for the rewards. Perhaps I should switch to the double cash from Citi as mentioned above. Yes, the FIA card services website is atrocious and I frequently get locked out of the account. I only use my FIA Amex at Costco, since it's the only place that's Amex only. The Finance Buff has a useful guide to 2%-back-on-everything credit cards: http://thefinancebuff.com/2-rewards-card-after-priceline-visa-closed-the-door.html Unfortunately, it ...
by chipmonk
Mon Jan 04, 2016 12:43 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Nationwide 401k fees and "Fund Window" options
Replies: 9
Views: 1539

Nationwide 401k fees and "Fund Window" options

Hi all, I haven't posted on here in a while due to basically having all my investments in a boring low-maintenance path of steady accumulation for a couple years. Well, no more. Alas, I am confronted with some unwanted excitement :-P. I left my job at BigCo Inc., to join a startup with around 25 employees. Previously I had an excellent Fidelity 401k with many low-cost fund options and essentially zero fees. I'm confronted with a small-business Nationwide 401k which offers only actively-managed funds with high expense ratios (>0.8%) and an astonishingly opaque fee schedule. Since I have a high income and live in a very high-tax state, and have been maxing out my Roth IRA, 401k, and HSA for years... I hope to continue maxing out my new 401k w...
by chipmonk
Fri Aug 21, 2015 6:52 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: U.S. stocks in free fall
Replies: 36221
Views: 4652054

Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Bacchus01 wrote:
chipmonk wrote:
TomatoTomahto wrote:Livesoft frequently says not to purchase a car that costs more than the amount you gain or lose on a day. It's early, but it appears that we will be suffering a six digit loss today, so I can purchase my Tesla with Livesoft's stamp of approval. :oops:
I just had my biggest 1-day loss ever. $14k today.

Phew!! Looks like my 5-year-old Mazda3 is approved :D
I'm pretty sure I'm down close to 6 figures this week. Down about $29K today.

But you know what? That means I had that much to start with! Can't be worried much about that.

It was an awesome day to TLH. I'm glad I pulled the trigger.
I was thinking of pulling the trigger on a TLH, but I still only have about $6k of harvestable losses after today's carnage. Maybe Monday? :-D
by chipmonk
Fri Aug 21, 2015 5:19 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: U.S. stocks in free fall
Replies: 36221
Views: 4652054

Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

TomatoTomahto wrote:Livesoft frequently says not to purchase a car that costs more than the amount you gain or lose on a day. It's early, but it appears that we will be suffering a six digit loss today, so I can purchase my Tesla with Livesoft's stamp of approval. :oops:
I just had my biggest 1-day loss ever. $14k today.

Phew!! Looks like my 5-year-old Mazda3 is approved :D
by chipmonk
Fri Aug 21, 2015 12:51 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: U.S. stocks in free fall
Replies: 36221
Views: 4652054

Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

No need to wait. TLH when you have losses. In fact, short term losses are better than long term losses. Why would short term losses better than long term? Thanks. If you're selling your entire position in some fund at a loss, it makes no difference. However, if you're only selling part of your holdings it makes a difference: Selling a tax lot at a loss for short-term loss and holding a tax lot with unrealized long-term gains ... is better than ... Selling a tax lot at a loss for long-term loss and holding a tax lot with unrealized short-term gains ... because in the former situation, you're left holding a lot with unrealized long-term capital gains (lower tax rate), while in the latter situation, you're left holding a lot with unrealized s...
by chipmonk
Mon Jun 22, 2015 4:09 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: "market timing" home purchase for seasonal price variation and expected interest rate increase?
Replies: 4
Views: 1020

Re: "market timing" home purchase for seasonal price variation and expected interest rate increase?

regardless of price, do you plan on living in this condo for 10+ years? I made the mistake of buying a condo once instead of renting...after 4 years I was ready to move on. It ended up being a horrible financial decision. I would have been much better off renting. Keep in mind the huge costs involved with purchasing and selling. Absolutely, this is a good thing for me to think about, and is one of the main reasons why I haven't decided to buy sooner. However, it now appears that buying would be a good decision if I stay in place for the next 5+ years, which I think I am very likely to do Seasonality exists primarily due to school calendars, with the spring being the biggest selling season so kids can start the next year in a new school. Fl...
by chipmonk
Mon Jun 22, 2015 3:04 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: "market timing" home purchase for seasonal price variation and expected interest rate increase?
Replies: 4
Views: 1020

"market timing" home purchase for seasonal price variation and expected interest rate increase?

I am 33 and single and have been renting for the past 4.5 years. I had been paying below-market rent for several years. The NYTimes Buy-vs-Rent calculator has consistently told me for several years that it probably would not make financial sense to buy a comparable home. However, my rent has increased about 25% in the last year, and now I'm starting to consider buying a condo or house more seriously since it appears that it'd be financially advantageous for me to do so. For what it's worth, there aren't any non-financial considerations which would make me inclined to buy a home; I have no particular emotional attachment to the idea of owning a home, and I'm totally happy with my current rental. I've noticed a couple interesting effects that...
by chipmonk
Wed Jan 14, 2015 10:29 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: New mobile check deposit from Vanguard
Replies: 21
Views: 7207

Re: New mobile check deposit from Vanguard

KlangFool wrote:
chipmonk wrote:A way to use a Vanguard bond/MM account for ACH bill payment (rather than just paper checks).[/list]
chipmonk,

1) To me, it is a GOOD FEATURE that you cannot do this with VANGUARD. It is EASY for ACH to go badly and for your money to be gone. Then, you have to chase it back.
It might not be for everyone, but I'd be happy to use it myself.
by chipmonk
Tue Jan 06, 2015 8:20 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Credit Cards, ACH, & bill payments vs. fraud
Replies: 4
Views: 830

Re: Credit Cards, ACH, & bill payments vs. fraud

My strategy for credit cards since this summer has worked wonderfully. Track every transaction in YNAB and let the rest be on auto pilot (automatic ACH payment to pay off the entire credit card balance each month). It has significantly reduced the amount of time I spend paying bills every month, the stress of keeping track of payments, and any errors I make. I do pretty much the same thing. I pretty much always have since I got my first credit card when I was 17 or so. (I'm 33 now) However, I was the lucky recipient today of a call from my credit card company about a fraudulent charge on my spouse and I's only, shared credit card (for simplicity reasons, plus maximizing reward miles). The credit card company canceled the card right away an...
by chipmonk
Wed Oct 08, 2014 1:17 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Where to buy municipal bonds directly?
Replies: 18
Views: 6691

Re: Where to buy municipal bonds directly?

I've purchased individual munis directly from Vanguard, just using the search criteria. I also have an Edward Jones account that only hold muni bonds. I've never paid a fee there. There's never been any cash in that account, only the bonds, so no way they can charge me a fee. They mail the interest checks to my house. The Edwards Jones guy calls me whenever he gets in a bond that he thinks is good. He gives me the info and the CUSIP and then I do my own research and decide whether to purchase or not. I've purchased I think five that way. I don't mind paying a 1% or whatever markup on a 20 or 30 year bond. I'm trying to understand how this markup works for individual muni bond purchases: are you saying that you pay ~1% up front over the mar...
by chipmonk
Wed Oct 08, 2014 1:11 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Spiking HSA Contribution limits
Replies: 10
Views: 1872

Re: Spiking HSA Contribution limits

Unless I can figure out how to contribute it in a massive amount at the start of the year, I'll be paying it with after tax dollars. Many recommend you just pay with after tax dollars and let he HSA grow. You really don't have to figure out how to contribute it in a massive amount at the start of the year. I totally agree with tfb on this. There is hardly any advantage to contributing it all in a short period. By not front-loading everything into January you lose, oh, half a year's compounding on the average dollar contributed (~1% if in bonds, very optimistically long-term average ~5% if in stocks). The extra savings due to the advantages of paying in pre-tax dollars are huge and easily dwarf any hypothetical advantage of spiking your con...
by chipmonk
Sat Sep 27, 2014 5:59 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Paul Merriman: DFA Better Than Vanguard
Replies: 13
Views: 4341

Re: Paul Merriman: DFA Better Than Vanguard

gwrvmd wrote:I agree with Livesoft and Larry. All those people who thought that a Small Cap Tilt was the Holy Grail are all learning what Jack Bogle means when he says "Most things revert to the mean"..........Gordon
I have been small cap tilting for a couple years and don't see any reason to change now. Stay the course and all that, especially since I have a long-term view and haven't read any convincing arguments for why SV will definitely underperform in a long-term average.

I am doing it in what is probably the cheapest and most boring way possible (thus most Boglehead-ish?). I just own a whole big pile of VSIAX on top of VTSAX :-). I've cranked my SV allocation up from 3% is TSM to 16% of my personal USA stock allocation.
by chipmonk
Wed Sep 24, 2014 11:48 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Interview with Jonathan Clements
Replies: 5
Views: 1318

Nice interview with WSJ columnist at Vanguard

[Thread merged, see below. --admin LadyGeek] Vanguard has posted a brief but interesting interview with Jonathan Clements of the WSJ. While there's no particularly profound news in the interview, there were a few points that really resonated with me, and I suspect with other Bogleheads as well. I'm a long-distance runner, a proponent of John Bogle's cost matters hypothesis , and frugal in my personal spending most of the time, so these particular answers really made me smile :). Q. You were an advocate for indexing during your early days at The Journal. What made you such a believer? A. When I arrived in New York from London in 1986, my initial forays into investing involved individual stocks and actively managed mutual funds. My results w...
by chipmonk
Sun Sep 21, 2014 10:46 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Break-even point for HSA account
Replies: 8
Views: 2442

Re: Break-even point for HSA account

I did a similar calculation for myself a couple years ago and came to the conclusion that the HSA was an all-but-guaranteed win even if I were to fall into unexpectedly poor health for several years: It's amazing how much variability there can be from employer to employer, with respect to the costs, incentives, etc. when choosing the HDHP plan. The HDHP/HSA plan I refer to in my previous post is through my wife's employer. But my own employer's HDHP/HSA option is so poor, I don't know why anyone would ever use it. In fact, it's almost as if they would prefer people don't choose it. There is no employer contribution to the HSA, the out-of-pocket maximum is very high, the premium savings are negligible, etc. In fact, the HR representative to...
by chipmonk
Sun Sep 21, 2014 2:22 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Break-even point for HSA account
Replies: 8
Views: 2442

Re: Break-even point for HSA account

What I like to do when thinking about HSA decisions is look at the two extremes. One the one end, you have a healthy person with no health care utilization. You can calculate the savings on premiums, the employer contribution, and estimate the tax deduction from making personal HSA contributions, and compare all of this to the costs associated with a traditional health plan. On the other extreme is the catastrophic case where one blows through all the deductibles and ends up reaching the out-of-pocket maximums (assume it's all in-network for simplicity). In this case, you can calculate your total costs for the HSA/HDHP vs the non-HSA plan. I did a similar calculation for myself a couple years ago and came to the conclusion that the HSA was...
by chipmonk
Sun Aug 17, 2014 12:53 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How to value house with unwanted tennis court
Replies: 24
Views: 14722

Re: How to value house with unwanted tennis court

Your issue will be you see it as a liability and the owner sees it as an asset. "All you have to do is resurface it and it's good as new" he's thinking while you're calling out contractors to get bids on removing it. I can see this being true for sure. The current owner is the guy who built the house and tennis court 40+ years ago. You may want to find out exactly how the tennis court was constructed. As others have pointed out, you may want to be coy about your intentions to remove it, depending on how emotionally attached the owner seems to be and how much you think this will affect your negotiation. You could point out, for example, that you would need information about its construction to get accurate information on the cost ...
by chipmonk
Sun Aug 17, 2014 12:49 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How to value house with unwanted tennis court
Replies: 24
Views: 14722

Re: How to value house with unwanted tennis court

It's worth what someone is willing to pay. Your issue will be you see it as a liability and the owner sees it as an asset. "All you have to do is resurface it and it's good as new" he's thinking while you're calling out contractors to get bids on removing it. It's worth whatever you two agree it's worth. In your negotiations, I would emphasize how you don't want it, plan to rip it out, and how much your highest bidder estimated that is going to cost! +1 If the tennis court is worth, say, - $10k to you (cost of ripping it up and redoing the landscaping), while it's worth + $10k to another prospective buyer (expected value of enjoying it after fixing it up), then assuming you both value the house and the rest of the property simila...
by chipmonk
Sun Aug 17, 2014 12:35 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How would the super wealthy use Credit Unions?
Replies: 11
Views: 2795

Re: How would the super wealthy use Credit Unions?

stevep001 wrote:Side note: our office tower has a family office (with a very generic sounding name) that occupies one floor (20000 sf +-) a few levels below us. When people go to that floor, it's straightforward to determine who is a family member and who is an employee.
I'm curious what you mean by that, if you don't mind elaborating. Are you saying that the relationships among the people who work there is more like "master/domestic servant" vs. a more professional "managers/employee" relationship?
by chipmonk
Sun Aug 17, 2014 12:33 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Weird implications of a credit card trick
Replies: 11
Views: 3548

Re: Weird implications of a credit card trick

Problem is, the merchant agreement specifically prohibits you from doing this. Interesting. Credit card companies typically prohibit this kind of behavior on the consumer side as well as the merchant side. There's typically some fine print in the contract that says, "we can choose to bill charges as cash advances rather than purchases, even if they weren't originally classified as cash advances, if there is evidence that they are being used like cash advances." With most cards, cash advances are subject to a high interest rate with no grace period and do not earn rewards . You can probably get away with doing this to a small degree, like by buying prepaid debit cards with your credit card. Just search FatWallet for "manufact...
by chipmonk
Mon Jun 09, 2014 3:00 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Using investments as collateral for low-interest mortgage?
Replies: 5
Views: 1193

Re: Using investments as collateral for low-interest mortgag

I'll suggest that you do a search on "asset depletion loan" for those lenders that would consider your assets to be considered in a manner of increased income from a point of signing a note/mortgage for property you wish to buy. It's often used by those that may be asset rich but income poor to qualify for a loan; however, not all lenders offer it. Thanks, Ron, for helping me figure out what to call this thing :). Looks like it's primarily aimed at older people with low incomes but plenty of assets, and doesn't seem to offer any rate advantages... only an advantage in how much mortgage you can qualify for. Drat. I guess what I am looking for is a hypothetical product aimed at high-earning young Bogleheads who want a tax-efficient...
by chipmonk
Mon Jun 09, 2014 2:12 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Using investments as collateral for low-interest mortgage?
Replies: 5
Views: 1193

Re: Using investments as collateral for low-interest mortgag

Borrowing against your own assets to buy real estate doesn't sound a whole lot different than borrowing against your own assets to buy more stocks, a.k.a buying on margin. Based on that similarity, I strongly suspect that all of these deals have a "make good" clause in which if the value of the assets drops below the amount of the mortgage, the borrower is required to supply additional assets as collateral or risk foreclosure. Imagine it's 2009; the market is down by 60% and the bank is pressuring to come up with more capital or lose your house. Does that make it sound enough like a really bad idea? I guess my thinking was that this is different from buying on margin in that if the value of the collateral dropped one could refina...
by chipmonk
Mon Jun 09, 2014 1:03 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Using investments as collateral for low-interest mortgage?
Replies: 5
Views: 1193

Using investments as collateral for low-interest mortgage?

Is there any way to use a Vanguard taxable account in the mid-6-figures as collateral to get a very low-interest-rate mortgage loan? (And if so, is there any reason why this would be a really bad idea that I'm not thinking of?) Background: I was listening to the Slate Money podcast * recently, and they were talking about ultra-high-end real estate in Manhattan. While I'm not in the market for that myself (:-D), I was intrigued at how high-end buyers can pay for their home purchases: by borrowing against their own assets held by a bank or investment manager, in order to get a very low interest rate (currently 2-2.5% ?). I'm contemplating buying a first house, and have enough assets that I could in theory pay cash for many of the homes I'd li...
by chipmonk
Mon May 12, 2014 4:13 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Car buying psychology
Replies: 30
Views: 4588

Re: Car buying psychology

In most car dealerships, the sales person tries to take up as much time as possible, delay you, and so on. What is the psychological purpose for this? I know it must be part of the sales process, and that they have figured out that it works, but I don't understand how and why the tactic works? Read "Confessions of a Car Salesman": it's a very enlightening read on the power and pitfalls of high-pressure sales tactics. http://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/confessions-of-a-car-salesman.html It has never worked on me. I have always felt manipulated and wanted to escape and have never bought a car from one of those guys, but I know there is a well thought out reason for the technique. Me neither. But I still think it's valuable to be awa...
by chipmonk
Tue Apr 29, 2014 7:57 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Seattle and Portland, OR restaurant recommendations
Replies: 31
Views: 2886

Re: Seattle and Portland, OR restaurant recommendations

TnGuy wrote:Also, there is a very good Persian restaurant in Portland named Persian House Restaurant
I forgot about Persia House. +1 to their Salmon jalfrezi (unusual and delicious use of a sauce that more traditionally goes on chicken).
by chipmonk
Tue Apr 29, 2014 7:51 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Seattle and Portland, OR restaurant recommendations
Replies: 31
Views: 2886

Re: Seattle and Portland, OR restaurant recommendations

My wife and I will be spending 11 nights combined in Seattle and Portland, OR in July and August. We enjoy a wide variety of cuisines and are looking forward to trying the best that each city has to offer. We are not averse to fine dining but prefer top notch food in a casual environment whenever possible. Beyond the restaurant scene we understand both cities, particularly Portland, has a vibrant food truck culture and are looking forward to sampling a few trucks as well. What would you recommend for first timers to both cities as far as dining out is concerned? Your restaurant taste sounds similar to mine. Here are a few of my favorite places in Portland that I've been to at least 3 times each, except the last one: Pok Pok -- very unusual...
by chipmonk
Tue Apr 01, 2014 5:55 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Expensive hobbies and possessions? (B/c you can...)
Replies: 126
Views: 23564

Re: Expensive hobbies and possessions? (B/c you can...)

jackpullo997 wrote:What are some expensive hobbies you enjoy?
What are some expensive things you own?
B/c you're BH but for some things, you want the very best, b/c you can...
Running is my most expensive hobby. I spend $5-800/year on shoes and clothes, a similar amount on race entry fees, maybe $500 on occasional travel to a distant race, and--far outweighing any of these--probably 500 hours a year actually running. :D

It keeps me really healthy and happy. Other than an onsite health check at work and a bottle of ibuprofen or two, I haven't had any medical expenses in many years.
by chipmonk
Wed Mar 19, 2014 10:08 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Best smartphone in 2014?
Replies: 38
Views: 5893

Re: Best smartphone in 2014?

Chipmonk, when you said earlier that Nexus 5 would not work with Verizon LTE bands, I assumed that b/c Verizon is Page Plus's host network, Page Plus was also "Verizon LTE". I obviously don't know a lot about cellular. Thank you for the correction! So I gather I'll have to find someone to flash a Nexus for me (as well as swapping SIM card) in order to work this. I don't mean to divert the thread but appreciate your help. I will search some of the cell BB's further for this, and if you have any specific advice, please PM me. Thank you. Actually, you're right... I didn't realize that PagePlus offered Verizon LTE; I thought it was a CDMA-only (3G) MVNO. So the Nexus 5 wouldn't be a good choice for you if you stick with PagePlus, sin...
by chipmonk
Wed Mar 19, 2014 5:41 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Best smartphone in 2014?
Replies: 38
Views: 5893

Re: Best smartphone in 2014?

I don't think I'm the only one who is equivocal about the trend towards larger screens: several Android phone makers have introduced "mini" variants of their flagship phones (e.g. Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini) in the last year or so. I actually think you both are saying the same thing. Like Browser, I have the Moto X which is a 4.7 screen. I think that is the best compromise between screen usability and phone size. It doesn't feel much bigger than an iPhone in your pocket and using hands but the screen is much more usable for your eyes. The Moto X is noticeably better than the Nexus 5 in these areas you complain of. Agreed. I would just encourage people to try smartphones of different sizes for more than a few minutes if possible befor...
by chipmonk
Wed Mar 19, 2014 5:27 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Best smartphone in 2014?
Replies: 38
Views: 5893

Re: Best smartphone in 2014?

They'll be a couple new iPhone models out this summer with larger screens. The current ones will be chucked by the millions, so they will be pretty cheap then. Besides, once you've used a phone with a larger screen you'll never want one sized like the iPhone again . Not saying you have to get a phablet; I've got a Moto-X and it's a nice compromise between a larger screen and phone size. I'd get one now while they are still from Google, since the Motorola brand goes to Lenovo after this year. Got mine unlocked for $325 direct. Lenovo might do quite well with it, as they did with IBM's PC line when they acquired that, but that's an unknown. I have to disagree with this. My current phone is the Nexus 5 (4.95" screen) while my previous on...
by chipmonk
Wed Mar 19, 2014 4:56 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Best smartphone in 2014?
Replies: 38
Views: 5893

Re: Best smartphone in 2014?

chipmonk, so this would exclude using it on Kitty/Pageplus ? I really want to upgrade my dinosaur flip phone and get a smart phone (although limiting data to wi-fi) and was hoping last fall that the then yet-to-be released Nexus 5 would work. I've been too busy to look since then so I'm disappointed if it won't work. If not, is there still hope? or is there anything comparable you'd say I ought to be looking at? Where did you get this from? "so this would exclude using it on Kitty/Pageplus" PagePlus is a CDMA MVNO (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Page_Plus_Cellular) and as I said the Nexus 5 supports CDMA networks. So there's no technical reason why it couldn't be supported. However, CDMA carriers tend to be very restrictive on all...
by chipmonk
Wed Mar 19, 2014 3:57 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Best smartphone in 2014?
Replies: 38
Views: 5893

Re: Best smartphone in 2014?

I now have a Nexus 5, which came out last November. It seems pretty swift, no problems worth mentioning yet, though it's a bit slim and doesn't have quite the battery life I would prefer. Another 0.1" of thickness could have allowed double the battery, I'm guessing. I agree about the Nexus 5. It's an excellent phone with a nice display, powerful processor, and it's relatively cheap due to Google's aggressively subsidized price. It's likely to get official Android updates for a very long time due to it being Google's flagship phone. It's also really easy to flash CyanogenMod if you want even more flexibility than what stock Android gives :) This is a GSM phone (not CDMA) which I bought directly from Google. This is not quite right. The...
by chipmonk
Mon Feb 24, 2014 2:07 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Free flights with Credit Card offers
Replies: 19
Views: 2615

Re: Free flights with Credit Card offers

I am curious about playing the credit card game in exchange for frequent-flier miles, but I don't know where to start. I have some basic questions: 1. How do you find out about the new offers? Mostly from http://nerdwallet.com/blog 2. The most lucrative offers require you spending a fair amount on credit purchases. If I normally spend less than a particular offer specifies, does it mean that I should not even bother with it? Or there are some tricks for creating credit purchases? Getting you to spend more than you otherwise would is of course one of the reasons why CC companies create these deals. I try to avoid the unwanted behavioral effects by just passing up the ones that require bigger spending than I would do overall (typically I spe...
by chipmonk
Mon Feb 24, 2014 1:58 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Free flights with Credit Card offers
Replies: 19
Views: 2615

Re: Free flights with Credit Card offers

Do you often cycle credit card offers to get free flights (even though it may slightly ding your credit score)? As fast as I can :). I pretty much get a new CC every time there's an interesting bonus available (~$200 cash value is what I'd call "interesting" these days). I can't seem to get them fast enough to have any measurable effect on my credit score. What credit cards offers do you like to get free flights? Here's one: $0 annual fee for the first 12 months 50,000 AA miles after $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months away7.citicards.com NerdWallet is probably a better place to stay up-to-date on such things (http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/). Regarding your specific offer, I just got an AA card which gave me $100 off m...