Search found 126 matches

by WhiskeyJ
Sat Mar 30, 2019 8:14 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Tax implications of supporting a parent financially
Replies: 8
Views: 883

Re: Tax implications of supporting a parent financially

Spirit Rider wrote: Sat Mar 30, 2019 6:52 pm
Gill wrote: Sat Mar 30, 2019 6:34 pm Do you own her condo?
Gill
And if you do, you need to include the fair market value rent as additional gifts you are giving her.
Yes we own it (or the mortgage is in my wife and my name). What's the tax implication if say the condo market value of rent plus the financial support exceeds the annual gift amount both my wife and I are allotted by say $4,000 a year? Does it matter that a few times a month she stays at our house with the kids, and a few times a month, our kids stay at the condo with her? The HSA is an interesting idea because she probably has $3K per year in health/dental expenses, and I have an HSA. In terms of "more than half her support," how is that calculated?
by WhiskeyJ
Sat Mar 30, 2019 6:26 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Tax implications of supporting a parent financially
Replies: 8
Views: 883

Tax implications of supporting a parent financially

My wife and I provide about $18K in direct financial support to her mom (age 75). She has about $5k in savings and zero assets other than that. Her annual pension is about $7k and she has about $14k a year in social security. We treat her condo as a second home which we pay for and deduct the interest expense and property taxes. I realize her spending is pretty high for not having savings but she provides a lot of support for our kids, picking them up from school almost every day. My wife and I have annual income slightly over $400k/year as we both work. Are there any websites that would help me be more informed as I discuss this with our tax preparer how to maximize the financial support we provide for her? It's too late to claim her as a ...
by WhiskeyJ
Tue Apr 11, 2017 7:37 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: fraud or BoA mistake?
Replies: 14
Views: 2242

Re: fraud or BoA mistake?

I had a similar thing happen with BofA a couple years ago. They explained they withdraw the money from the account on the due date of the bill pay check, whether or not it had been cashed.
by WhiskeyJ
Tue Oct 25, 2016 10:28 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Help me time the market one last time: South America
Replies: 27
Views: 4251

Re: Help me time the market one last time: South America

azanon wrote:There's no such thing as a paper loss (or gain, for that matter).
When the market had the unusual big negative blip a couple years ago that lasted a few minutes, I considered that a paper loss, not a 25% loss offset by a 33% gain. Is there a better term?
by WhiskeyJ
Tue Aug 23, 2016 10:19 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Well Water - black residue
Replies: 31
Views: 27778

Re: Well Water - black residue

My sister had this problem at their place in CO. You could actually see a film on the water. It was a bacteria. They bypassed the filter and dumped bleach down the well and ran water into it to stir things up and then flushed it several times. It was pretty gross what came out, but it seemed to work. They now do it once a year.
by WhiskeyJ
Sun Apr 24, 2016 9:41 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: IRA to 401k Rollover - pretax and after tax question
Replies: 2
Views: 416

IRA to 401k Rollover - pretax and after tax question

My IRA has pretax and after-tax money. I'm looking to rollover the pretax into my current employer 401(k) plan. I understand how the 8606 helps determine the basis but I'm not sure how it works mid-year. For example, let's say my 2015 return says my after tax basis is $20K and the IRA had a total balance of $100K. Let's say six months later appreciated value of the IRA is now $110,000. How do I figure out how much to rollover to the 401(k) if I wanted to leave only after tax money in the IRA? Is there any value in doing this right at the beginning or end of the year vs. mid-year?
by WhiskeyJ
Thu Feb 11, 2016 11:42 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What is your decline in Net Worth as of today?
Replies: 96
Views: 16105

Re: What is your decline in Net Worth as of today?

My bonus was deposited today (17% of 2015 wages). So today it went up a bit :happy
There's always a couple days until the 401k hits, so I'm hoping the market doesn't rebound quickly...
by WhiskeyJ
Fri Feb 20, 2015 7:25 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: HUGE Vodaphone 1099-Div!!
Replies: 5
Views: 1541

Re: HUGE Vodaphone 1099-Div!!

Spirit Rider wrote:I don't know why you would be upset with your broker.
Is the point that if your broker had informed you that a large dividend was coming you could I have replaced Vodafone with a comparable stock or telecommunications index, perhaps incurred a small capital gain, but been better off from an overall tax standpoint?
by WhiskeyJ
Sat Feb 07, 2015 9:35 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How much was your Tax Refund (or amount DUE)
Replies: 110
Views: 14021

Re: How much was your Tax Refund (or amount DUE)

Makaveli1988 wrote: Ah is that how people get close to 0? Making additional quarterly payments?
I do it by running taxcaster in October, then adding an extra fixed dollar amount to my withholding for the last several pay periods. It seems like the majority of my dividend income comes at year end so withholding more taxes in Q4 seems ethical/appropriate.
by WhiskeyJ
Thu Oct 16, 2014 8:03 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Electric Razors
Replies: 26
Views: 3642

Re: Electric Razors

I've heard it takes a few days/weeks for your face to adjust from wet face, shaving cream, razor blade to using an electric razor on a dry face. Can anyone speak to that change or adjustment process?
by WhiskeyJ
Sat Apr 05, 2014 10:53 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: How are you preparing for the coming bear market
Replies: 104
Views: 11649

Re: How are you preparing for the coming bear market

I'm going to be prepared to finally pull the trigger on the last $5k of a $20k gift I got in January 2012 from my parents for our kids 529. Lump sum invested half right away, DCA for the other $5k, and been sitting on the last $5k for two years now. Couldn't stomach lump sum for the entire amount in 2012 after such a big run up in the market. Then I couldn't stomach investing the last $5k at such a higher cost basis than the other $15k. If only I had a way to know when this upcoming bear market is at or near a new low...
by WhiskeyJ
Thu Feb 27, 2014 9:12 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Bitcoin price plunges
Replies: 246
Views: 30203

Re: Bitcoin price plunges

When does the patent on the algorithm is expire? If the algorithm is unique and the only way create a good virtual currency, wouldn't the value plummet once the patent has expired?
by WhiskeyJ
Wed Feb 26, 2014 8:14 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Where to buy polo shirts?
Replies: 63
Views: 18192

Re: Where to buy polo shirts?

Nordstrom rack seems to have heavily discounted name brand polos
by WhiskeyJ
Wed Feb 26, 2014 8:09 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Filling in a backyard pool/input wanted on cost-benefit
Replies: 22
Views: 4165

Re: Filling in a backyard pool/input wanted on cost-benefit

Can you leave a pool covered and "winterized" through a summer? That might reduce many of the operating costs, but not sure what water temp would be too warm. What are the average summer temps where you live?
by WhiskeyJ
Sat Feb 22, 2014 11:45 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Estimated Tax Payments
Replies: 44
Views: 4885

Re: Estimated Tax Payments

Estimating income quarterly will be tricky because the IRS does not have my quarterly trading income information. They only get annual information when I file my taxes (my broker is neither required nor inclined to report every trade I make, to the IRS). So, they take the annual number, divide it by 4 and that's my estimated quarterly payment. Kind of hard to guess what that should be in the first quarter, given the volatility I anticipate. I went from making 32K last year, to making 30K in less than 2 months this year. Typically people pay taxes through withholding and estimated payments. If based on earnings and deductions you owe exactly $50k in taxes, and you withheld exactly $50k you should have no timing penalties (regardless of when...
by WhiskeyJ
Sat Feb 22, 2014 11:34 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Would you file a state tax return amendment for $300?
Replies: 20
Views: 2859

Re: Would you file a state tax return amendment for $300?

I forgot to include home property taxes ($6500) on my 2012 tax return, using turbotax. It doesn't affect my acutal federal return because I'm in AMT. It does impact my state return by $300 (4.6% - Colorado). I'm trying to decide whether it's worth the hassle for $300. Can I only amend the state return or do I need to also amend the federal return? A tax advisor friend told me a few years ago that amended returns in your favor increase audit risk. I'm pretty confident I have nothing to fear from an audit but for $300 I'm thinking it's not worth the extra attention. Any opinions? The answer is easy- amend both federal and state returns. Take a look at the line above your signature, from Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return (PDF) : Un...
by WhiskeyJ
Sat Feb 22, 2014 11:12 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Estimated Tax Payments
Replies: 44
Views: 4885

Re: Estimated Tax Payments

There's a nice tax loophole you should be aware of. Anyone who has a regular job and can adjust employer withholding should not bother with estimated tax payments. Run a program like taxcaster in October or November. If you know you're going to be short just increase your withholding for your last few pay periods. Taxes paid through withholding are treated as if equally paid over the year, so there's no timing penalty, unlike with estimated payments. I think you could technically have even earnings throughout the year but pay 75% of your taxes in the last quarter through higher Q4 withholding with no penalties.
by WhiskeyJ
Sat Feb 22, 2014 3:45 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Would you file a state tax return amendment for $300?
Replies: 20
Views: 2859

Would you file a state tax return amendment for $300?

I forgot to include home property taxes ($6500) on my 2012 tax return, using turbotax. It doesn't affect my acutal federal return because I'm in AMT. It does impact my state return by $300 (4.6% - Colorado).

I'm trying to decide whether it's worth the hassle for $300. Can I only amend the state return or do I need to also amend the federal return? A tax advisor friend told me a few years ago that amended returns in your favor increase audit risk. I'm pretty confident I have nothing to fear from an audit but for $300 I'm thinking it's not worth the extra attention. Any opinions?
by WhiskeyJ
Fri Feb 21, 2014 9:56 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Reporter doing story on Alternative Minimum Tax
Replies: 21
Views: 2379

Re: Reporter doing story on Alternative Minimum Tax

I realized I totally spaced and forgot to list my home property taxes on my return last year (turbotax). Then when I went and entered the info in turbotax, I was surprised when I watched all the numbers change but the bottom line was the same. My base tax dropped by $1100 but the AMT increased by the exact same amount. So I'm confused and would love to see a list of the key impacts of being in the AMT zone...
by WhiskeyJ
Thu Feb 06, 2014 10:35 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [POLL] Correlation between leverage and risk tolerance
Replies: 11
Views: 1451

[POLL] Correlation between leverage and risk tolerance

I've been surprised by the divided camps on leverage. Some who feel there's no issue with borrowing, particularly at low interest rates, and others who espouse paying cash for vehicles and paying off the mortgage early. I know risk tolerance is hard to measure for individuals and most assessment tools tend to consider how do you react or how do you feel with market changes. But I've been wondering if unnecessary use of leverage, or comfort with leverage is a strong proxy for high risk tolerance. Unnecessary meaning your taxable investments and cash could make a significant dent or eliminate debt.
by WhiskeyJ
Sun Feb 02, 2014 10:13 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Bought in, and then they start tumbling
Replies: 67
Views: 12007

Re: Bought in, and then they start tumbling

winguy wrote:Is January a bad time to buy? The red days continue...
Last January my parents gifted our kids (age 2 and 4), $10k each. In January 2013 I put $5k each in the 529s. In March, after a little dip, I put in an additional $2k. I've been waiting for another big dip to put the last $3k in. I would need to see like a 20% drop before my waiting turned out to be a good idea...
by WhiskeyJ
Sat Feb 01, 2014 9:35 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Keurig vs normal coffeemaker?
Replies: 131
Views: 14240

Re: Keurig vs normal coffeemaker?

I love mine. I buy 80 count boxes of Newmans special blend. That's the best flavor I've tried and not at all weak.
by WhiskeyJ
Thu Jan 23, 2014 10:44 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Advice for young investors: Beware of HCE implications
Replies: 35
Views: 4161

Advice for young investors: Beware of HCE implications

Noticing a lot of young investors asking for advice recently, I thought I would share one of the most valuable pieces of advice I was given several years ago. I was warned by a mentor that once you earn over $110k salary and bonus ($115k today) you become a highly compensated employee (HCE). Due to IRS discrimination testing rules for many companies this means your annual contribution limit to a 401(k) is dramatically limited often to as little as $5k per year. I managed to get three years of maximum 401(k) contributions, but regret that several years prior I contributed far less than the max and what I could have comfortably contributed. Even if you are not currently a HCE, your benefits department will probably tell you the HCE estimated/...
by WhiskeyJ
Mon Jan 20, 2014 10:13 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Do You Consider the Opportunity Cost of Owning a Home?
Replies: 54
Views: 8531

Re: Do You Consider the Opportunity Cost of Owning a Home?

Personally, I had rather own my home than rent, but you might find this interesting: https://www.khanacademy.org/economics-finance-domain/core-finance/housing/renting-v-buying/v/renting-vs--buying-a-home?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Stuff%20You%20Might%20Like%20Testing%20Send%2095&utm_campaign=Highlighted%20Content%204%20120413%20RentOrBuy%20TestCohort&utm_content=A In his example he's saying that you can rent a $1million house for only $3k a month. Is that really the case or did he fudge the numbers right off the bat? I've seen a nice rule of thumb to take the house value, divide by annual rent payments. If greater than 15, renting is better if less than 15 buying is better. In this video example ($1m home...
by WhiskeyJ
Mon Jan 20, 2014 6:45 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Donor Advised Fund - no brainer?
Replies: 27
Views: 6913

Re: Donor Advised Fund - no brainer?

I started using the vanguard DAF last year, and it's extremely simple, even when I had to add a charity. When I go to cost basis in Vanguard it lists realized, unrealized, and gifted. Easy to specify the share lots to gift. Very straight I forward and very simple with appreciated shares. Then I repurchase the ETFs.
by WhiskeyJ
Sat Jan 18, 2014 6:09 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: POLL: Investing vs. pay down mortgage feelings
Replies: 79
Views: 6964

Re: POLL: Investing vs. pay down mortgage feelings

I did not pay down. Doing the math I averaged a 25% return on my taxible investments last year. So for the $150k mortgage balance my investment return was about $37,500 minus $6000 in mortgage interest plus $2000 interest deduction. Or about $33k better off than if I paid it off...now I'm thinking of paying an extra 30k this year with excess savings amd dividends rather than add to taxible investments. I know, that's market timing...
by WhiskeyJ
Sat Jan 18, 2014 8:50 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: High Earners - What's Your Profession?
Replies: 1217
Views: 222971

Re: High Earners - What's Your Profession?

The assisted living and senior housing industry continues to grow. Most of the major US cities will have 30-50 communities. Executive director salaries are 70-80k for the small ones (80 to 100 apartments) and twice that for larger continuing care retirement communities CCRCs (even non profit). Doesn't really take anything but really good people and management skills. With the number of these communities there are several regional positions in each market all in the 100+ range. Nursing home administrators, 6-12 month license process are almost all over 100k (usually just a bachelor degree required).
by WhiskeyJ
Sat Jan 04, 2014 8:59 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: The Funniest Movie Ever
Replies: 227
Views: 27690

Re: The Funniest Movie Ever

Spaceballs!
by WhiskeyJ
Mon Dec 23, 2013 10:16 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Did not withdraw enough taxes for 2013
Replies: 35
Views: 3894

Re: Did not withdraw enough taxes for 2013

There is a nice loophole that allows the average person to never really need to pay estimated taxes. Probably too late for this year, but next year run your estimates in November. If you're behind, increase your withholding in the last few paychecks of the year by adding $1k, etc in additional withholding. Unlike estimate payments, for some reason withholding is treated as if you paid it thought the entire year evenly, so you have no timing penalties. There's a slim chance you could add a big chunk on your final paycheck (I changed my withholding on a sunday, pay period ended the day before, and was pleasantly surprised when the friday check incorporated the additional withholding). My understanding is that your w2s are based on the final p...
by WhiskeyJ
Sat Dec 14, 2013 10:05 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Family member renting 2nd house. Ok to ignore on tax return?
Replies: 203
Views: 57595

Re: Family member renting 2nd house. Ok to ignore on tax ret

inbox788 wrote:If petitioner had actually charged their mother FMV rent, and gifted her the difference. Would the deductions be back on the table? I don't think it should, but is that the simple solution or am I tired and missing some clear clause that disallows this?
I have the same question. And does the gift need to be explicit, or can it be implied? Can I treat it as if she's paying fair market rent and I'm gifting her $250 per month, or should I have her pay me the $1200 per month and turn around and make the gift as a separate check. I assume the latter is preferred but either way, claiming it's fair market and gifting the difference seems pretty shady, particularly if it generates a more favorable tax situation than ignoring it all together.
by WhiskeyJ
Fri Dec 13, 2013 10:17 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How to respond to request for current salary in an interview
Replies: 113
Views: 12277

Re: How to respond to request for current salary in an inter

This is just the art of negotiation, and often a sign of a good business person. If you're running a division of a company and have a target margin, saving $10k in salary for a new position may leave you $10k extra to reward 2 or three other top performers, improving your retention, your results, with less effort on your part. If I want to hire someone who clearly prefers our company to their current employer, I like to offer them at least a 3-5% premium over their current salary, even though many would take the job at same or lower salary, due to a difference in company reputation, growth vs. downsizing, etc. Not only are they switching to the company they'd prefer to work for, but getting a bump in the process. Then I've had times when so...
by WhiskeyJ
Thu Dec 12, 2013 9:45 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Family member renting 2nd house. Ok to ignore on tax return?
Replies: 203
Views: 57595

Re: Family member renting 2nd house. Ok to ignore on tax ret

tadamsmar wrote:I see you are using Turbotax. Here's an answer to essentially the same question on the Turbotax website:

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/12218 ... d-a-renter

You're welcome!
Unfortunately I think that "not renting for profit" requires the renter to be a non-family member, so the advice in this link is questionable.
by WhiskeyJ
Mon Dec 09, 2013 9:16 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Family member renting 2nd house. Ok to ignore on tax return?
Replies: 203
Views: 57595

Re: Family member renting 2nd house. Ok to ignore on tax ret

Can gifts be implied or do they have to be a separate transaction? Or is it if in the IRS favor than they can be implied but if its in the taxpayers favor, it has to be a separate transaction? Ultimately the ability to make gifts tax-free on one hand combined with a separate treatment for "below fair market rent to a family member" -- is an example that our tax code provides clear and easy loopholes that we have financial incentives to optimize. If my goal is to help a family member out, many of you are arguing that I should consider, "conservative option A": pay extra in tax for doing it (record rental income but no expenses beyond 2nd home deductions), or "completely legal option C": charge her FMV, perhaps b...
by WhiskeyJ
Sun Dec 08, 2013 10:30 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Family member renting 2nd house. Ok to ignore on tax return?
Replies: 203
Views: 57595

Re: Family member renting 2nd house. Ok to ignore on tax ret

heartwood wrote:How do you determine that you're charging below market rent? Are there comparables or actual rental listings?
Yeah it's 1000 sqft in a new building with 40 units, and 3 other similar buildings nearby. So Craig's List and other sites show a pretty tight sqft range.

Thanks for all the input, I appreciate all the perspectives and in particular the IRS references. I feel like I my question was sufficiently answered.
by WhiskeyJ
Sat Dec 07, 2013 9:22 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Family member renting 2nd house. Ok to ignore on tax return?
Replies: 203
Views: 57595

Re: Family member renting 2nd house. Ok to ignore on tax ret

Yes, everything I've researched is if it's below fair market and to a family member it's a personal property, I.e. second home (no depreciation/ maintenance expense deduction), and I'm not claiming any. If I paid everything and charge her zero rent, It could be considered a gift over $13,000 a year.

Reading some of the comments, I'm wondering if I shouldn't go ahead and charge her fair market value, treat it as a rental property instead, and gift her some money each year. While more detailed from an tax reporting standpoint, it's probably cleaner if I was ever audited.
by WhiskeyJ
Sat Dec 07, 2013 8:07 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Family member renting 2nd house. Ok to ignore on tax return?
Replies: 203
Views: 57595

Re: Family member renting 2nd house. Ok to ignore on tax ret

lostInFinance wrote:There's really no grey area here. If there's a quid pro quo, it's rental income and failure to pay income taxes is tax fraud. From your post, it's obvious there is a quid pro quo: she wouldn't be paying you $650/month if you didn't provide her a place to live.
So maybe this is more of an ethical question. Is it really fraud when a more detailed/accurate accounting and transfer of money would generate less or equal in total tax to the US government? I could charge fair market rent, turn around and gift her money, and probably owe less in taxes...
by WhiskeyJ
Sat Dec 07, 2013 1:25 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Family member renting 2nd house. Ok to ignore on tax return?
Replies: 203
Views: 57595

Re: Family member renting 2nd house. Ok to ignore on tax ret

I'm learning there are a lot of grey areas with our tax code. Just so I understand, if I let her live in the condo with no rent (market value $1,250/month) and she pays the HOA ($250/month), I'm essentially gifting her $1,000 per month, which would be totally fine from a tax standpoint (under $13k), so long as I treat it as a second home (deducting only mortgage interest and property taxes), and not as a rental property (no depreciation/maintenance deduction). Unrelated, there is nothing wrong with her gifting us $650 per month. But, when the two are done together, I'm probably entering a grey area from a tax standpoint, and if I wanted to be completely safe (option A) I would just declare the $7,800 a year as miscellaneous income and give ...
by WhiskeyJ
Tue Dec 03, 2013 10:20 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Family member renting 2nd house. Ok to ignore on tax return?
Replies: 203
Views: 57595

Family member renting 2nd house. Ok to ignore on tax return?

Started doing my own taxes in turbotax a few years ago and still learning: My wife and I bought a nearby condo for her mom who helps with our kids quite a bit. Market rate would be about $1200 with landlord typically paying $250 monthly HOA fee. Instead, she pays us $650/month, and pays the HOA herself, essentially a $300/month discount. Since she is not paying market rate, we don't treat it as an investment property (I.e. no depreciation/maintenance expenses). Is it acceptable from an IRS standpoint to deduct our mortgage interest and property taxes as a second home, but to basically ignore the rest on a tax return? Is that better/safer than having her pay us market rate and turn around and pay her $300/month in intermittent babysitting?--...
by WhiskeyJ
Mon Dec 02, 2013 10:11 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: RMDS withholding for entire tax liabilty at year end?
Replies: 32
Views: 6517

Re: RMDS withholding for entire tax liabilty at year end?

Unrelated to RMDs but the same concept applies to younger folks still working. I ran my numbers through intuit taxcaster nov 1 and realized I was going to be short by $4,000 in tax payments. If I had done it as a Q4 estimate I would have owed a timing penalty. Instead I increased my payroll withholding by $1,000 for the last four pay periods, and there will be no timing penalty.
by WhiskeyJ
Mon Dec 02, 2013 7:36 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Should Shiller CAPE effect loan payoff decision?
Replies: 2
Views: 444

Re: Should Shiller CAPE effect loan payoff decision?

I came to this very conclusion this weekend, though more due to the large recent run-up in my taxible account than purely the Shiller CAPE/PE10. I'm still maxing out my tax deferred options. A couple of specifics that led me to this: If a mortgage is like a negative bond, paying down a mortgage is like increasing a bond allocation. The substantial increase in the equity side of my portfolio shifted my current AA to overweight equities. Rather than reallocate from equities to bonds in my IRA, I decided to reallocate from equities in my taxible to mortage payoff. A couple of specifics that led me to this decision which I acted on today: I "inherited" a very large tax loss a few years ago. Selling the appreciated stock index ETFs wil...
by WhiskeyJ
Sun Dec 01, 2013 10:07 pm
Forum: Forum Issues and Administration
Topic: Thank you moderators, site administrators
Replies: 45
Views: 6088

Re: Thank you moderators, site administrators

Years ago when I was running a retirement community, we were about to get the results of our first resident satisfaction survey. My experienced boss warned me, "before reading the verbatim comments put on a thick skin, don't take it personal, remember 5% of your residents have unreal expectations of service for what they pay and will never be happy, (and consider reading the comments over a glass of wine)." That was a couple hundred people and I got paid. So hats off to you all for what you have to put up with from time to time-- and the fact that drinking wine on a Sunday morning won't get you very far in life. From my observation this forum has grown immensely in the past two years, and that makes moderating that much harder. Of...
by WhiskeyJ
Sat Nov 30, 2013 10:48 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Did gaining knowledge alter your risk tolerance?
Replies: 79
Views: 5188

Re: Did gaining knowledge alter your risk tolerance?

Absolutely for me. Took a lot of finance and portfolio theory classes during an MBA program 2002-2004. The statistics knowledge, understanding historical market trends and milestones, learning how risk tolerance factors into emotions and decisions, and some of the basics of the CAPM dramatically increased my risk tolerance. I was 100% equities during the 2008 decline and it was a bummer watching my portfolio almost get cut in half, but I was convinced selling would be a big mistake and would represent an emotional decision. I even remember putting my emergency fund into TSM a few months before other bottom. So for me, knowledge reduced my emotions which kept my risk tolerance high. Since finding Bogleheads I don't thing my risk tolerance ha...
by WhiskeyJ
Wed Nov 27, 2013 9:08 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: I'd like to buy a house but I'm not sure how big
Replies: 32
Views: 3373

Re: I'd like to buy a house but I'm not sure how big

I've heard a rule of thumb to divide a house value by the annual rent payments. 15 or higher and you're better to rent. Lower and you're better to own. Using that math (280,000/15)/12 = 1555. If you can rent a similar house for less than $1555 I'd do that. Bought a house 2 years ago that I plan to live in for 10 plus years but I so miss renting.
by WhiskeyJ
Sat Nov 23, 2013 12:09 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Poll: House value as % of assets when mortgage paid off.
Replies: 41
Views: 4621

Poll: House value as % of assets when mortgage paid off.

I know these polls are somewhat silly, but...For those who paid off your mortgage, I'm curious what percent of your total assets/net worth was your house value when you made the final payment (I'm assuming most people in this situation have few liabilities, thus Assets = NW). Feel free to comment whether you paid off early or kept the mortgage to term, but I'm not looking to re-hash that whole debate, just trying to get a sense of the Boglehead median and distribution. Also feel free to make projections or comment if you are close, have a specific threshold, think you know where you will be at payoff, plan on perpetual refinance, etc.
by WhiskeyJ
Fri Nov 22, 2013 7:11 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Did i just make a big tax mistake?
Replies: 47
Views: 4874

Re: Did i just make a big tax mistake?

brian2013 wrote:this may be a dumb question, if i make similar fund exchanges in a Roth, 401k or SEP IRA retirement accounts, there should be no tax consequences, at least until i withdraw, right?
One exception I can think of. If you sold Vanguard 500 in taxable account at a loss, then purchase Vanguard 500 in your IRA three weeks later, you cannot claim your loss (wash sale). I think it's gone forever. So a buy transaction in an IRA theoretically can have a tax consequence.
by WhiskeyJ
Wed Oct 16, 2013 10:25 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Advice for young investors
Replies: 12
Views: 1916

Re: Advice for young investors

Max your 401k early. If your earnings grow you might be limited by your company's HCE discrimination testing.
by WhiskeyJ
Sun Oct 13, 2013 7:26 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is my wife paying 2% fee on her 401k?
Replies: 6
Views: 4067

Is my wife paying 2% fee on her 401k?

My wife has a 401k through ADP (mykplan.com is the website). Balance is $86,000 and it's all in S&P 500 Index (0.71% fee) and S&P Mid Cap Index (0.72% fee). Starting in June, her account is showing every month about a $98 charge labeled "Fees-Allocation" that fee alone probably comes to 1.3% of her assets, so does that mean she's paying 2% total in fees? It is likely the plan only has about 20 participants and the total plan assets may only be $300k...
by WhiskeyJ
Thu Sep 26, 2013 11:08 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Skilled Nursing Per Diem
Replies: 7
Views: 1595

Re: Skilled Nursing Per Diem

Her Medicare insurance will cover "up to" 100 days. The typical medicare reimbursed stay is about 20-30 days. As soon as she starts to plateau with her rehab and is no longer showing improvement, she will be "discharged" from Medicare and you will be faced with either private pay options or moving her home. I would guess under 2% of Medicare skilled nursing patients actually make it to 100 days before being discharged. There is a pretty blurry line between Private Pay Skilled Nursing (Long Term Care) and Assisted Living. So there is a good chance she may be able to transition to Assisted Living somewhere. In more expensive markets, private pay long term care can be in the $350/day range for a private room.
by WhiskeyJ
Sat Aug 31, 2013 8:50 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Denver - where to stay, what to do and see?
Replies: 39
Views: 4352

Re: Denver - where to stay, what to do and see?

Red Rocks is always worth a visit and only 20-25 minues from downtown. Hard to believe since it's been 90 in Denver every day for the past few weeks, but the Aspens will start turning in mid-september. The drive over Kenosha pass (about an hour from denver out 285) is pretty breathtaking and there's a lot of hiking right around Kenosha pass. Jefferson lake is about an additional half hour from there. Be careful with a Sunday afternoon flight. Traffic can really back up on I70 back to denver-- a buddy of mine missed his flight by about 2 hours a few weeks ago.
by WhiskeyJ
Sat Aug 24, 2013 10:17 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Buying an MLS listed property without an agent
Replies: 30
Views: 3478

Re: Buying an MLS listed property without an agent

After a few rounds of back and forth with the seller, both of us using agents we were 2% apart on the price. I wrote a long email to my agent explaining why I wasn't comfortable increasing the offer. The seller had already dropped 10%from his initial asking price and apparently wasn't willing to budge either. My agent called me two days later and said he and the other realtor agreed to take the difference out of their commission. So I don't think the process is that imperfect when the agents incentives to get the deal done are somewhat aligned with yours.