Bogleheads.org

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ACH is already established. Never done a wire transfer though. Glad to hear they do them. Will call them in morning, thank you

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I need to transfer a large sum of money (approx 250k) from my vanguard taxable account to my checking account for my house downpayment and escrow. I need these funds to be available within 10 days. It sound like if i do an ACH transfer I should expect a week or so for the funds to be available but w...

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I have decided to purchase a house. I didn't originally plan for this so my downpayment on the order of 200k is mostly in index funds, total stock market and total international market. I need to move the money to a stable safe place to rest until I find the right home (will be high six figure cost ...

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there is an S&P 500 index at ER.22 and a total international index at ER 0.17...everything else is 0.5- 2.4%! Annual fee of $42 on top of ERs So lets say i make 250 and i do not have a family plan...so that would be a difference of 1.49 + 0.9 (medicare for single making over 200) or basically 2....

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I'm about to set up an hsa. The ers at the bank my employer works with are mostly high with a few vanguard index funds in there. I was thinking of going w hsa bank. But I read I will not get the benefit of payroll tax deductions that I would get if I went through employer. I'm not sure how much this...

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I am preparing my documents to provide my accountant with for income tax. They want a copy of all brokerage statements where my taxable account is. Do I just give it to them or should I black out the account numbers? Not sure what the standard is. Thanks!

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So what is the annual limit for a situation like this? What counts toward that annual limit of 51k? All of it? Does the 457 count toward that too or is it separated? What about the required 5% contribution he has to make? I work for a public university and am over 55. I am required to contribute 5% ...

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To clarify, I keep track of only one return, that of my total portfolio across all accounts (excluding my emergency fund). Most of it is in tax advantaged accounts with the exception of one index fund (with time will be two) in a taxable account. So i want to easily incorporate the taxable ones in w...

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Hi Everyone, I have been adhering to the Boglehead style of investing for a while now. I also enjoy tracking my annual and cumulative total rate of return. I have been doing this using the excel XIRR function, as has been described on this site. Everything was easy until finally this year…i opened u...

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If you have to "buy" something, I think a nice vacation would be the best "purchase" Maybe you have some hobby for which you can get new, nice equipment (i.e. new nice mountain bike, golf clubs, hiking gear...whatever fits your interests). If you have children, you can "buy&...

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Hi everyone, I was reading through other threads trying to figure this out but was hoping someone could help me because I became confused. I recently received form 5498 (for 2012) from Vanguard which prompted me to research 8606. I did a "backdoor roth IRA." In January 2013, i contributed ...

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So I know EE bonds have a fixed rate but if you keep them for 20 years they automatically double, giving a rate of around 3.5-3.6% basically. But then you have the option to keep them to 30 years...so what rate do you get between years 20 and 30? The fixed rate it was when it was issued? And are tax...

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I am trying to to find a calculator that can show me data on how the finances looks if I pay down mortgage with extra money or invest it in a taxable account. I know based on my current rate (2.875) I'm expected to do better investing with my AA but wanted to see what I could expect the "psycho...

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yeah, i think it excludes me and anyone else who resides in the home. So it sounds like it is basically just an easy way to mitigate any relatively minor issue by paying for minor medical bills and hopefully resolving the issue and eliminating the need to go any further with lawyers, courts etc. Of ...

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I am restructuring my liability insurance to put it all under one company (probably amica), to include auto, homeowner's and umbrella. For homeowner's, I am having a hard time understanding the difference between liability (300k is what i need to have an umbrella) and "medical payment to others...

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Eric Tyson's "For Dummies" books were where I started and lead me to the bogle style of investing. So happy I discovered those books early in my career!

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I agree references from neighbors would be ideal....but I never see my neighbors and don't know them! I was just going to base it off of reviews and maybe talk to some people I work with. Thanks for the info!

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I'm thinking of hiring a maid service and am getting estimates currently. I can afford it while maintaining my investing plan and it is a luxury that to me is worth it. I despise cleaning and would rather spend my "off time" doing other things, whether productive, fun, or relaxing. Aside f...

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The only issue I have is whether you really need/want to have a 75/25 portfolio in your position. There's nothing wrong with it given your age and your human capital, but you also probably don't need to take the risk. Also given your human capital - I hope you have airtight disability insurance, um...

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They initially gave me a closing date for 2 months after initial application. I ended up closing about 4.5 months after applying. They were always friendly and easy to work with but some of the paperwork they required seemed to be redundant (I sent them W-2s more than once...). To be fair, some of t...

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Thanks. I was not familiar with ee bonds until you mentioned them and have since read about them. My understanding is that they are similar to I bonds except they offer a fixed rate only determined at time of issuance and can be held for 30 years with the caveat of if they don't double at year 20 b...

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Thanks. I was not familiar with ee bonds until you mentioned them and have since read about them. My understanding is that they are similar to I bonds except they offer a fixed rate only determined at time of issuance and can be held for 30 years with the caveat of if they don't double at year 20 ba...

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Emergency funds: Four months of expenses, will work on increasing this. Debt: 125k mortgage at 2.875 on a 5/5 arm Tax Filing Status: Single Tax Rate: 33% Federal, 0% State State of Residence: FL Age: Early 30s Desired Asset allocation: 60% stocks / 30% bonds/ 10% real estate Desired International al...

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Just an update, I recently closed on my penfed 5/5 arm refinance at 2.875 initially. Thank you everyone! Literally saved me thousands of dollars!

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I don't post often as I am far from an expert compared to the others on the board here but the first thing that struck me, if I am understanding the arrangement correctly, is you are assuming all of the risk but only half of the reward. The other party has no risk. This sounds like an amazing arrang...

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I have a question for a family friend. Married couple, husband annual income is 127k, wife is stay at home mom, filing taxes jointly. They are not eligible for a traditional IRA but are eligible for a roth IRA, correct? If they are eligible, can each of them contribute the limit or just the husband ...

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Seems the consensus is everyone recommends it. But what exactly is covered that I am not already covered for between my own health insurance and disability insurance? I see from the responses if there was injury to any passengers in my vehicle they would be covered. What else am I getting? And thank...

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Do I need under or uninsured auto insurance? I have excellent health insurance. When I did some reading, I feel like most people still recommend it but I wasn't clear on why, i.e. what does it offer that my health insurance doesn't? Is 250k/500k enough? That's what I have right now. I guess I'm just...

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So I am trying to refinance and the value of my house was appraised such that I had 10% equity. The lender requires 30% equity to approve the loan. My house is very cheap relative to my income (very low debt/income ratio, i.e. <10%). In order to qualify for the loan and not just wait a few months to...

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i'm not sure. But it is the PenFed 5/5 ARM

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I am refinancing to a new rate of 2.875, which is fixed for 5 years than is adjustable. My current interest rate is 5.25% fixed over 30 years. No closing costs on the refinance and I plan on paying off the house balance (157k currently) in 5 years so the rate adjustment wouldn't affect me. My house ...

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As a federal employee, I am eligible for Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI). I am in my early 30s and healthy. Overall, the federal government has great benefits but the rate for this insurance seems much higher than what I could get on my own after browsing term4sale.com. I can get 234k...

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I will soon be starting a taxable account and am familiar with the various ways of record keeping for taxes (first in, first out; average cost basis; specific lot tracking). Since all of my taxable account will be purchased in the year 2012 or later, my understanding is that the brokerage company mu...

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After reviewing the responses (thanks!), I think the 5/5 ARM penfed loan is best for me. Given my timeline for pay off, no closing cost is best scenario for me, even if the rate accounts for the lack of closing cost. So I am about to get started on the penfed process. I was searching the internet an...

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Thanks for the info everyone. Penfed may be a good fit for me with no closing costs. How long is the 5/5 ARM loan paid over? While I plan on paying it off around the 5 year mark, I do like the flexibility of not HAVING to just in case but I couldn't figure the total length of that loan (i.e. after h...

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yeah, i have decided total origination fee is a fancy way of saying point without calling it a point. I have no idea what a mortgage recording fee is? I am pretty sure a survey has already been done either when purchased or refinance. Is there a need to repeat it?? Thanks!

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Should I even bother refinancing?? I was planning on paying 3k in principle extra each month to pay it down...and investing another 5k in a taxable account each month. But I could just put all extra money beyond living expenses and emergency fund and just pay it down faster with my current loan (i.e...

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These fees seemed a little higher than I expected for closing but wanted to see what others with more experience than I think. This is to refinance (157k loan) at 2.75% for 15 years. House was built 6 years ago and refinanced in 2009 in case that matters. Current loan is a 30 year fixed at 5.25%. I ...

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What a perfectly timed thread! I am currently looking for a new bank as well and had decided on either Schwab (high yield investor checking) or Fidelity (cash management account). Only difference between the two I could find was the 1% foreign exchange fee on fidelity so I had pretty much decided on...

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Does anyone have any good recommendations for homeowner's insurance in Florida? I am planning on packaging homeowners, car, and umbrella policies. Currently car is state farm and home is citizens (no umbrella yet) but I am unable to switch the citizens to state farm (state farm is not writing new ho...

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Hi everyone, I’ve posted here a few times before and have received great advice, thank you! I have read a number of books and understand the basics. I have decided I will do 70% stock/30% bond split. I am a believer in low cost index funds and simplicity. I will have savings beyond my 401k plan and ...

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I own a house that I lived in for several years and now rent out since I moved to another city. I am paying 5.25% on it and anticipate paying off the $158000 balance in approximately 4 years by aggressively paying off the mortgage. I did the math and refinancing makes sense for me even over that tim...

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Thanks for the info everyone! Yes, I favor roth since my income will significantly increase in 2012 and thus my tax rate will be higher. Looks like I will roll it into a roth and plan for taxes accordingly.

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To clarify, the FICA alternative is simlar to a 401A according to the management company (its pretax dollars). I was told that the rollover amount into a roth IRA will basically be taxed as if that was additional income to me, i.e. rollover 20k plus 50 salary taxed as if i made 70k for the year. So ...

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I have approximately 15-20k in a FICA alternative retirement account. I will be getting a new job soon and would like to roll this over to Vanguard (the current plan has high expenses). I am currently in the 25% tax bracket, but I expect a large salary increase in about a year which would place me i...

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