Bogleheads.org

ddunca1944

I use one Rewards checking account at my local bank that pays 2.07% for cash up to 30,000. I do not find a need to keep more than 30,000 in cash so it is my only cash receptacle. It is simple to direct my dividends and interest into this account. There is no reason to complicate things. What bank p...

ddunca1944

The loan amount is $101,500. Current payment is $545. The payment would be $435 with the first option and $477 with the second.

ddunca1944

We are refinancing our mortgage. Same lender (Navy Fed CU). This is a 30 yr fixed rate. We hope to live here the rest of our lives. Our current rate is 4.8% (for a 30 yr fixed). My main objective was to lower our monthly payment We have locked in a rate of 3.1% with a quarter of a point. This would ...

ddunca1944

Our local credit union is great! We get 3% interest on our no-fee checking account (must meet some minimum, easy requirements). The folks there are friendly and helpful. We pay $15/yr for their “Premier Club” which gets us a box of free checks and 50%off our safe deposit box fee. We have IRA CDs and...

ddunca1944

When I was tracking money closely I used a speadsheet. For a while I used the free spreadsheet offered by pear budget. Many people swear by "you need a budget" (YNAB). I'm one of the "YNABers". We're retired. We have x amount to live on. Using YNAB keeps me cognizant of exactly ...

ddunca1944

YNAB for managing cash flow, a spreadsheet for managing overall assets. Separated for the same reasons as @bogleblitz above. I update the spreadsheet about twice per year or when I feel like it. YNAB takes about 1 minute per day on average; perhaps an extra 10 minutes once or twice per month. It’s ...

ddunca1944

I know we don't have to keep old tax returns, but what I do is save the return as a pdf and store it on a thumbdrive. I keep paper copies for 7
years then shred them. I have almost 20 years' tax returns on one thumb drive that I keep with the paper returns.

ddunca1944

I'm 75 and just started using Apple pay. I hate carrying a lot of cards. I'm finding a lot (maybe most) of the places I shop accept it. I still get my 2% rewards by using my CapOne card; I can choose which card I want to use. I even store my Medicare supplemental card and my Part D prescription card...

ddunca1944

Financial security has always been important to me. My husband and I were never big earners, but we were both big savers. Consequently we now enjoy a comfortable (but not lavish) retirement. I still buy most of my clothes at thrift stores. I enjoy the fun of the hunt and the thrill of a good find. W...

ddunca1944

My credit union is paying 3% on checking balances (to a limit of $15K) so I am keeping a maximum amount there.

ddunca1944

Married 27 years. Our finances have evolved. We have "Ours", "Mine" and "His" accounts. All income goes into the "Ours" joint account. We each get a set amount of spending money each month that goes into the "Mine" and "his" accounts. I don...

ddunca1944

I agree with the posters who say "it's situational". As a general rule, I leave my passport in the hotel safe. I have a copy on my iphone and I give my travel partner a paper copy to keep in their luggage. If I'm in a country that requires I carry it on me, I do so. If my guide tells me to...

ddunca1944

I’m in WA and have Humana fir Part D.
Current premium is $26.60

It’s more than doubling for 2020.

I’ll be changing

ddunca1944

I filled it out but not spending it yet......

https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/26/8932 ... mpensation

ddunca1944

Turbo Tax Deluxe. $29.95 at Amazon

ddunca1944

Citi has so many application pages without the 24 month language it almost makes their policy irrelevant. In the last few months between my wife and I we've accumulated 240,000 AA miles from 4 Citi AA signup bonuses. There are Citi Hilton links without the 24 month language as well. Sometimes the l...

ddunca1944

Chase has notified us that they are closing our rewards card for lack of useage (we've switched rewards cards). The card is good til the exp date of May. However, Chase IS offering 5% rewards on grocery store spending starting April. I was thinking of putting $500 on a grocery card on April 1 for th...

ddunca1944

Right now, we are probably at about $70,000. depending how you define things, we're probably at that point too. Remember once upon a time when "they" said expenses would go down in retirement? I'm still waiting... +1 Some expenses went down, but that was offset by other expenses that went...

ddunca1944

Similar situation here. DH is happy to have me handle all the finances. He has no idea what the checking balance, the cc balance or even the retirement account balances. Once a year, about the time I do our taxes, I insist on a sit down and I review everything with him. I have a file labeled "I...

ddunca1944

My YNAB report shows we spent $7450 on groceries in 2016 for the 2 of us. That is just groceries, no alcohol, no pet products, no household. Just food. We spent $2115 eating out. For 2015 we spent $7427 on just groceries and $2200 eating out For 2014 we spent $6856 on groceries and $1959 eating out ...

ddunca1944

If you are into Avios, crazy deal out there.... Sign up for Match.com and get 150 Avios for every dollar you spend - new subcribers only. Comes out to .67 cents per mile, pretty sweet deal. This weekend only. http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2017/03/02/earned-82285-avios-joining-dating-websit...

ddunca1944

1) Off the top of your head, what was the biggest mistake(s) you make with regard to your retirement when you were young, and when you were in your 50's Not learning enough about investing, particularly asset allocation and risk tolerance . 2) The same question, only in reverse; What was the smartes...

ddunca1944

CSR question: If you get the CSR and the 100k points, what airlines can they be used for? How do you redeem those cards.
Do you use their website to search for flights? Or book flights on your own and use the points to pay? (I'm accustomed to the CapOne card....

ddunca1944

There is a potential downside if you expect the grandkids to qualify for need-based aid.... Grandparent 529 may be treated differently than parental 529, reducing aid. I don't think this is correct. My understanding is that grandparents' 529 balances are not reported at all for a grandchild's finan...

ddunca1944

My best financial move was to. marry a debt adverse saver. Obviously that was not the main reason I married him, but it turned out tobe a great financial decision.

ddunca1944

We are a retired couple. We live on pension/SS income and spend our RMDs on one international trip a year 3-4 weeks long. Around $20K

ddunca1944

The annual fee is $450! That take a chunk from the benefits from tne bonus not really. You get $300 in travel credits per calendar year, so you get $600 less $450....plus another $1,000-$1,500. You will never see another CC offer like this in your lifetime which is exactly why Chase is nerfing it. ...

ddunca1944

The annual fee is $450! That take a chunk from the benefits from tne bonus

ddunca1944

I'm very interested in this card. Can someone tell me how easy it is to redeem the points? Am I limited to specific airlines? Or is it similar to the Cap One Venture card?

ddunca1944

Retired couple (72 & 68) in our 10th year of retirement

All investments are in IRA accounts
51%. VG Wellesley
21% VG Life Strategy Conservative Allocation
21% VG Life Strategy Income Fund
6% VG Short Term Bond Indx
2% cash

VG's Portfolio Analysis shows 30/68/2 (stocks/bonds/cash

ddunca1944

Would love to hear what others have to say about this. I have heard it is a nightmare if one is compromised. This is my only checking account. Last July, we made a trip to Canada where I used my debit card twice to withdraw cash. After I returned, our credit union called me about possible fraudelen...

ddunca1944

Still 2 days left for 2016 and according to YNAB app we spent: Electricity and gas average $1440 annually Water and garbage $720 Internet and cable $840 Cell phones $660 Car insurance $1860 Life insurance and disability insurance $1930 Food $6600 Gasoline 921 Restaurants $2980 Entertainment $532 Mi...

ddunca1944

The only person that matters is you. +10 BTW, and not to derail anything here, but what exactly defines a "HCOL", "LCOL" or "MCOL" area? High/Medium/Low Cost of Living (Sometimes you'll see VHCOL for San Fran/NYC....) I guess I wasn't clear... I understand what the acr...

ddunca1944

100% at Vanguard (joint taxabke & each of our IRAs). Retired and trying to Keep It Simple

ddunca1944

I was just at Costco last night and it was $49.99 for Deluxe. Did they change it today? Last year Costco's orice for TT Deluxe was $39.95. In late Dec they had $10 off and I purchased it fir $29.99 I just went to costco,com and it is 39.99 - 10. With 3.60 for shipping. (Federal + efile, no state) T...

ddunca1944

YNAB for budgeting,& spending. A simple excel sheet for an annual budget & forecasting. Another excel sheet to track actual returns of retirement accounts (and % withdrawals - which vary annually)

Trying to KIS

ddunca1944

I still think a dog is worth it. I've always had a dog since I was a kid. I can't see giving it up. I rather do something like go on cheaper vacations and save $1100 a year that way instead of not having a dog. +1 - I couldn't agree more. I spend about the same for my one year old Golden Retriever ...

ddunca1944

I would include I Bonds, EE Bonds and Treasury Bills held to maturity... I wouldn't. I Bonds and EE Bonds cannot be sold for the first year of ownership. That's a serious liquidity restriction. T bills have a maturity up to 1 year, and can move quite a bit with interest rates. Maybe a 3 month T bil...

ddunca1944

Please help me understand what the term "cash equivalents" refers to I assume it would include money market accounts, savings accounts and CDs. But would it also include short term bonds and/or short term treasuries? What else might be considered "cash equivalents"? If thus is co...

ddunca1944

He could consider -- LifeStrategy Income Fund (VASIX) ER 0.12%, 20/80 stocks/bonds Target Retirement Income Fund (VTINX) ER 0.14%, 30/70 stocks/bonds Wellesley Income Fund Admiral Shares (VWIAX) ER 0.16%, 40/60 stocks/bonds +1 We are retired. Our IRA accounts are divided between Wellesley and Life ...

ddunca1944

Retiree here. We' have 1/2 our retirement funds in Wellesley. We have held Wellesley for 12 years now and are very happy with it. I have a Roth IRA in Wellington.
The rest of our retirement funds are in VG's Life Strategy funds (Conservative Allcation and Income Fund).

ddunca1944

I've recharacterized several times. A few minutes on the phone with Vanguard. Very easy.

ddunca1944

Remember, at some point, it becomes more important to protect what we have than to take more risks to get more! THIS thought is the main reason I'm thinking of dialing back the stock portion. Our accounts have been divided between Wellesley and the Life Strategy Moderate funds. Thinking of keeping ...

ddunca1944

We are in our 9th year of retirement (ages are 67 and 72). Until now, we've kept our AA at about 50:50 by dividing our IRA accounts between two VG balanced funds. So far, I've been happy with our decisions. I am now thinking that perhaps it's time to dial back our risk level and go to 40:60 or 35:6...

ddunca1944

I would like to set up IRAs for my adult children; if I give them money they just waste it. Is there a way to do this so I control the accounts until I'm no longer able? I was thinking of a ROTH IRA to keep it simple but a traditional would make it more expensive to take money out and may be a bett...

ddunca1944

We are in our 9th year of retirement (ages are 67 and 72). Until now, we've kept our AA at about 50:50 by dividing our IRA accounts between two VG balanced funds. So far, I've been happy with our decisions. I am now thinking that perhaps it's time to dial back our risk level and go to 40:60 or 35:65...

ddunca1944

Yes. Annually when I do the taxes, I figure the nw on Dec 31

Began doing it 12 years ago (4 years before DH retired). We were talking to a FA about DH retiring and he suggested it. At his suggestion, I also began budgeting.

It gives me an overall picture of how we are doing.

ddunca1944

We have the GOES card and it's a great benefit when returning from international flights. But it hasn't gotten us TSA Pre status and I was told it could not be used for TSA pre lanes on domestic flights. Do you input your Known Traveler Number at the time you make your airline reservation? You can'...

ddunca1944

GOES Interview is nonexistent, that means, literally in the case of all family members having these steps 1. Completed online app 2. Paid 100 fee online which was refunded back by CC provider 3. Status approved in about 2.5 months with proposed Interview 4. Showed up on said date and location and.....

ddunca1944

I'd take a second look at Vanguard. According to their fee schedule
https://personal.vanguard.com/pdf/eptsb.pdf

The minimum is $500,000

And I second the suggestion of simply treating everyone the same.

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