Search found 1643 matches

by archbish99
Thu Apr 15, 2021 11:57 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: HELOC for tail of mortgage?
Replies: 10
Views: 1642

Re: HELOC for tail of mortgage?

babystep wrote: Mon Apr 05, 2021 12:35 am It doesn't make sense to use the HELOC for purchases if the interest rate is higher than the mortgage. I would say open the HELOC for emergency. Any cash portion that is not for cash purchase and only for emergency, use that cash to pay down the mortgage.
Well, the point is that we could draw on the HELOC and then pay it back to zero a few weeks later. A back-of-the-envelope calculation of expected inflows and outflows suggests we'd pay a fair bit less in interest because we'd only have a balance on the HELOC for a month or two at any given time.

Unfortunately (or fortunately?) we don't have any taxable investment accounts at this point -- we've been able to put everything in tax-advantaged space so far.
by archbish99
Sun Apr 04, 2021 8:01 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: HELOC for tail of mortgage?
Replies: 10
Views: 1642

Re: HELOC for tail of mortgage?

If I understand this correctly then what it boils down to is basically reduce the EF/cash position and pay-off most of the mortgage and open a HELOC for emergency. For emergencies, plus the upcoming purchases the cash was intended for. Rather than having the cash for those purchases and paying down the mortgage with incoming funds, we would pay off the mortgage now, use the HELOC for upcoming purchases, and use the incoming funds to pay the HELOC back down. I am curious about how can your mortgage interest be deductible? Are you doing itemized deductions rather than standard deduction? Other option to consider would be to use the bonds. Any bonds in taxable or 401k? They can be used to pay-off the mortgage. Yes, I have bonds in my IRA and ...
by archbish99
Fri Apr 02, 2021 2:19 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: HELOC for tail of mortgage?
Replies: 10
Views: 1642

HELOC for tail of mortgage?

Let's get one thing out of the way first: I'm not looking for a "should I pay off the mortgage" debate; I see there's already been a thread on that recently. It makes my wife feel more secure to eliminate the debt, so any opportunity cost is an investment in marital happiness. Paying the minimum on the mortgage and investing everything else ASAP is not on the table right now. (Investing what currently goes to the mortgage is the plan once it's eliminated, naturally!) We just made a large principal payment on our mortgage, to the point that our outstanding balance is now less than the amount of cash we often have floating around in our accounts. (Emergency fund, saving up for a large expense later this year, property taxes, etc.) A...
by archbish99
Tue Jan 21, 2020 12:15 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Lender Credits and Mortgage Deduction
Replies: 3
Views: 433

Re: Lender Credits and Mortgage Deduction

Beautiful - thank you!
by archbish99
Mon Jan 20, 2020 10:07 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Lender Credits and Mortgage Deduction
Replies: 3
Views: 433

Lender Credits and Mortgage Deduction

We moved this year, and on one of our mortgages, we received a lender credit. I know that points paid can be counted as interest (subject to circumstances, which I believe apply); do lender credits, being negative points, reduce the amount of the interest we paid? Or are they not considered at all when calculating the mortgage interest deduction?
by archbish99
Thu Sep 05, 2019 1:50 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: ERs Too Bad to Invest?
Replies: 5
Views: 957

Re: ERs Too Bad to Invest?

You know you're not stuck with your employer's chosen HSA right? You can roll it into your own HSA once a year or so I believe. Those in the know are using Fidelity or Lively these days. Super low costs and great investment options. That's a good point. The last time I explored that option, I couldn't find anyone who didn't have either a monthly fee or a substantial cash balance requirement before accessing investments. The landscape seems to have changed since then. I don't want to leave entirely, of course; they integrate somewhat nicely with my insurance company and it's where my payroll contributions go. But I could easily roll out the funds I would be investing. I'll have to check if they have a fee to do a partial roll-out. Edit: The...
by archbish99
Thu Sep 05, 2019 10:27 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: ERs Too Bad to Invest?
Replies: 5
Views: 957

ERs Too Bad to Invest?

My HSA offers an investment option. I haven't used it, both because I'm building up enough of a cushion to cover our expenses for the coming year and because of the investment fee on top of whatever the fund itself charges. However, I'm reaching the point where we have enough heading into next year, so I'm reassessing my options. There are some Vanguard funds in the mix with their otherwise-good ERs: VIIIX (S&P 500) at 0.02% VBMPX (Total Bond) at 0.03% VIGIX (Large Growth) at 0.04% VSMAX (Small Cap) at 0.05% VVIAX (Large Value) at 0.05% VEMPX (Extended Market) at 0.05% VSIAX (Small Value) at 0.07% VTPSX (Total International) at 0.07% VBIRX (Short Bonds) at 0.07% VMVAX (Mid-Cap) at 0.07% VEMIX (Emerging Markets) at 0.10% VTABX (Total Int...
by archbish99
Sun Jun 02, 2019 3:22 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: TIPS Ladder Spreadsheets in General & Two in Particular
Replies: 166
Views: 47582

Re: TIPS Ladder Spreadsheets in General & Two in Particular

#Cruncher wrote: Wed May 08, 2019 10:23 pm One possible solution is to not put all of the retirement account into the TIPS ladder. Putting some of it into a TIPS fund may avoid having to liquidate some individual TIPS to meet RMDs. The fund serves as a reservoir to hold excess principal and interest collections and to provide extra money to meet RMDs when needed.
It may also be possible to meet your RMD by moving a TIPS security to the taxable account without sale, if the account holder allows it. IIUC, this would be treated as a distribution of whatever that TIPS's market value was on the day of transfer.
by archbish99
Mon May 20, 2019 5:07 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can you guys find anything that beats sofi money checking account?
Replies: 22
Views: 4370

Re: Can you guys find anything that beats sofi money checking account?

Pomegranate wrote: Sat May 11, 2019 10:36 pm Hmm is that review true?
Is There Any Concerning Fine Print?
The only concerning fine print with SoFi Money is its withdrawal limits. You can never take out more than $610 from an ATM in a day and you can only do $250 worth of peer-to-peer transfers in a day. If you’re the type that wants to withdraw a few thousand dollars to buy a used car, you’re going to have to plan ahead.
:confused
Yes, that's stated on their site. Do you frequently need to get more than $600 of cash in a day? Or is it the limit on P2P transactions that gets you? Could probably get around this pretty simply by using a different P2P payment app for some of those (Venmo, Google Pay, etc.).
by archbish99
Tue Apr 02, 2019 8:52 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Inapplicable W-2
Replies: 6
Views: 498

Re: Inapplicable W-2

While I haven't been able to re-authenticate to the transcript system yet, the page describing what was available from the transcripts is a summary of tax returns. Is there an option there to also see what W-2s have been reported to the IRS?
by archbish99
Tue Apr 02, 2019 8:40 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Inapplicable W-2
Replies: 6
Views: 498

Inapplicable W-2

We had an employer erroneously issue a W-2, when in fact there was no taxable income. (They paid us when they weren't supposed to; we returned the check; they sent us a W-2 for the money they paid us; we pointed out that we didn't keep the money, so no actual payment; they agree that's what happened.) I've repeatedly requested a corrected W-2. They ultimately provided a memo which states: As a result, we have corrected our system and it now reflects $0 in box 1. However, we are unable to print a corrected W2 because all the values are zero. Please retain this letter with the original W2 with your tax documents. However, none of this says that the corrected information is being reported to the IRS. This is probably enough to rebut an assumpt...
by archbish99
Fri Dec 07, 2018 5:38 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Silly 401k Question: Roll out rollover?
Replies: 9
Views: 1266

Re: Silly 401k Question: Roll out rollover?

Earl Lemongrab wrote: Thu Dec 06, 2018 12:51 am
archbish99 wrote: Tue Dec 04, 2018 3:23 pm I know that I can't roll out my pre-tax contributions or my employer's contributions while I'm still employed.
You don't know the highlighted part because it isn't true. Your plan might not allow it, but the law doesn't prohibit it.
Hrm, something else to ask about when I do this, then. I've already done a back-door Roth in 2018, so I don't want to have a balance in Traditional IRAs on December 31. There's a check in the mail for my meager after-tax contributions which is going into my Roth as well. But in 2019, I'll probably do this rollover and inquire about which subaccounts I can roll out under the plan rules.
by archbish99
Wed Dec 05, 2018 3:27 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Silly 401k Question: Roll out rollover?
Replies: 9
Views: 1266

Re: Silly 401k Question: Roll out rollover?

I just called Fidelity to confirm, and as mentioned above, I am allowed to roll back out the rollover funds at any time. Also as expected, once I'm no longer an employee, I can roll out but can't roll in.
by archbish99
Tue Dec 04, 2018 3:23 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Silly 401k Question: Roll out rollover?
Replies: 9
Views: 1266

Silly 401k Question: Roll out rollover?

I know that I can't roll out my pre-tax contributions or my employer's contributions while I'm still employed. However, I rolled my account from my previous employer's 401k into my new employer's 401k, and they promptly reworked their fee structure in an unpleasant fashion. Do I have the option to roll out the portion that was rolled in, since it's still tracked separately?

If so, putting it in an IRA would effectively block back-door Roth contributions, but my current employer offers after-tax 401k contributions which I can roll to Roth, so that's tolerable. (I assume taking it back to my former employer's plan isn't an option.)
by archbish99
Mon Oct 22, 2018 2:38 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Where would you go for financial guidance if you win the Megamillions?
Replies: 187
Views: 21994

Re: Where would you go for financial guidance if you win the Megamillions?

Am I correct to assume that I could donate a significant amount to charity and/or donor-advised trust instead of paying taxes? Yes and no. You could reduce the amount you would pay in taxes by giving away a portion of it. Part of why my imaginary plan includes donating 40% of it is that it lowers the actual taxes due below the portion they would withhold anyway (25%), meaning everything that's left is mine to work with. But only part of the reason -- as always, doing something tax-deductible purely for the tax deduction is a losing proposition. Donate because you want to donate, first and foremost. Second, there's a limit to how much of charitable donation you can claim on a single year's taxes before you instead have a carryover. If you w...
by archbish99
Sun Oct 21, 2018 1:04 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Where would you go for financial guidance if you win the Megamillions?
Replies: 187
Views: 21994

Re: Where would you go for financial guidance if you win the Megamillions?

AlphaLess wrote: Sat Oct 20, 2018 9:01 pm Are you sure about that? If that's the case, then buy 1 copy of each ticket.
I recall reading that there are companies where that is literally their money-making strategy -- they attempt to purchase all possible numbers and guarantee a win. For example, https://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/25/us/g ... ttery.html. They run into limitations like how much ticket stock stores have on hand and the fact that the machines literally cannot print that many tickets in the time between drawings.
by archbish99
Fri Oct 19, 2018 2:08 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Where would you go for financial guidance if you win the Megamillions?
Replies: 187
Views: 21994

Re: Where would you go for financial guidance if you win the Megamillions?

I remain in the school of thought to buy a single ticket when the expected value is nominally higher than the price of the ticket. (Of course, if you factor in the probability of splitting the jackpot, this never happens.) The change from zero to one ticket is an infinite increase in your odds. The increase from infinitesimal to twice-infinitesimal, not so much. My general plan for several years has been: 40% to charity 10% in trust for friends/family; distribution mechanism TBD 25% for taxes 1% to pay off the mortgage and fund immediate splurges (wife wants a kitchen remodel, I want a Tesla, and air conditioning upstairs would be lovely) 24% invested in a normal 3-4 fund portfolio, taking 2%/year for the rest of my life. Will it ever happe...
by archbish99
Mon Jul 09, 2018 12:42 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: E- Billing & Autopay
Replies: 27
Views: 3322

Re: E- Billing & Autopay

tibbitts wrote: Sat Jul 07, 2018 3:44 pm Who told the card companies to close the cards? My experience has been that the cards stay open for quite a while - actually none of them were ever closed until I asked for them to be closed, even with just one deceased cardholder.
No one "asked," per se. As soon as we told them he had died, they closed the account. In one case (Discover) without having told us that's what they were going to do.

I suspect they would have closed more slowly if we had just failed to inform them of his passing, of course.
by archbish99
Sat Jul 07, 2018 11:25 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 401k loan to pay off debt?
Replies: 45
Views: 4330

Re: 401k loan to pay off debt?

A 401k loan isn't invested elsewhere while you have it outstanding - the profit that money makes is strictly the interest that you pay on it. The fact that you're paying the interest "to yourself" is immaterial, because otherwise it would be invested in something else that will make a return.

Treat it as two independent decisions: Will this loan be a better interest rate for you than the existing loans, bearing in mind that interest on your student loan can be excluded from income? And is the interest rate on this loan a better return than the bond investments in your 401k?

If the answer to both questions is yes, then it's worth considering.
by archbish99
Sat Jul 07, 2018 11:18 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Borrow for BigLaw Partnership Buy-in?
Replies: 26
Views: 7724

Re: Borrow for BigLaw Partnership Buy-in?

One option to consider is that, if you believe the firm not making budget is highly unlikely, you could continue to focus on your Roth and 401k savings first. In the event that you need to make a payment out-of-pocket, you have the option of a Roth principal withdrawal or a 401k loan.

Bearing in mind, of course, that failing to make budget could be strongly correlated with downturns in those accounts.
by archbish99
Sat Jul 07, 2018 11:10 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: E- Billing & Autopay
Replies: 27
Views: 3322

Re: E- Billing & Autopay

We do this, and it's very convenient. However, your concern about your wife when you pass is well-founded. When my father passed recently, my mother found that all their e-bills and auto-payments were not only discontinued but no longer even listed.

Similarly, she found the majority of "their" credit cards closed immediately, because she was only an authorized user. It's worth thinking through what each person will have available to them if they are the surviving spouse.
by archbish99
Mon Jul 02, 2018 5:29 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Residual TIRA Basis
Replies: 7
Views: 713

Re: Residual TIRA Basis

Thanks!
by archbish99
Mon Jul 02, 2018 12:29 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Residual TIRA Basis
Replies: 7
Views: 713

Re: Residual TIRA Basis

Does it disappear immediately, or would I be able to apply it to a conversion later this year, at least? I agree trying to assiduously carry it year-to-year seems like overkill.
by archbish99
Sun Jul 01, 2018 11:49 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Residual TIRA Basis
Replies: 7
Views: 713

Residual TIRA Basis

This is my first year doing a backdoor Roth IRA. I contributed to the TIRA, then did a full conversion the following day. The value had gone down slightly, meaning there is no taxable portion to the conversion.

But what happens to the minor residual basis? Does it mean that I have a small amount of basis I can subtract from any gains on a future conversion? Or does it vanish into the "Miscellaneous Deductions" that I won't actually be able to take?

The amount is laughably trivial, but I'm curious what the mechanics are here.
by archbish99
Sun Jul 01, 2018 11:14 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can an employee purchase a pre-tax transit pass for spouse?
Replies: 11
Views: 3205

Re: Can an employee purchase a pre-tax transit pass for spouse?

I suspect, rather, that it's a matter of "they'll never know." My transit account issues a prepaid debit card that will only accept charges from transit providers. I use it to load my transit card (which is more financially efficient than buying a pass). For myself, once the money or pass is on my card, there's no way to separate the money used for commuting versus the money used for otherwise getting around town. I personally don't bother - most of my transit is commuting, and I'm not going to, say, carry two transit cards to keep commuting and non-commuting trips segregated. My provider wouldn't be able to tell if some of my transactions were to top up my wife's card. But I don't even have a plausible claim that it's difficult t...
by archbish99
Fri Jun 29, 2018 3:52 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Do you cancel old credit cards?
Replies: 55
Views: 7533

Re: Do you cancel old credit cards?

SurfCityBill wrote: Wed Jun 27, 2018 1:14 pm Problem was my father was in no condition to do so himself. Amazing how well I can imitate a gravelly voiced cantankerous old guy on the phone. :twisted:
For a number of years, my father was still coherent enough to answer "Yes" when a customer service person asked him if they were authorized to discuss the account with / accept instructions from me. Only once did I have a transaction reversed: they called the following day and asked him by himself whether he'd meant to make that change, and he didn't understand what they were talking about.
by archbish99
Thu Jun 21, 2018 4:09 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Do you cancel old credit cards?
Replies: 55
Views: 7533

Re: Do you cancel old credit cards?

I just got a pre-approval offer for a capital one card for 20,000 miles with no annual fee. I almost bit but it's honestly challenging for me to meet a spending requirement without ending up manufacturing spending. There's manufactured spending and manufactured spending. For example, do you have enough slack in your budget to spend six months of your grocery budget over three months? If so, buy a gift card to your local grocery store during the three month bonus period, then use that to buy your groceries for the following three months. The same can be done for gas, restaurants where you eat regularly, etc. Manufactured spending that you wouldn't otherwise spend isn't typically worthwhile, but there's an element of it I see as no different...
by archbish99
Tue Jun 05, 2018 4:35 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Why do I have a wash sale disallowance?
Replies: 12
Views: 2369

Re: Why do I have a wash sale disallowance?

And http://www.fairmark.com/capgain/wash/wsmech.htm for a discussion of which shares get picked.
by archbish99
Mon Jun 04, 2018 1:23 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Why do I have a wash sale disallowance?
Replies: 12
Views: 2369

Re: Why do I have a wash sale disallowance?

This is an odd one where a computer looking at each lot and a human looking at the whole transaction piece things together differently. Your second lot created a wash sale because you'd purchased other shares of the same security within 30 days before or after -- which would be the third lot. You look at this and say it doesn't apply, because you sold everything at once; a computer looks at that and says the lots are treated separately, and you have a wash sale. However, that basis isn't actually lost -- it passes to the "substitute" shares, which would be the third lot, which you have also sold, so the outcome is the same in either way of looking at it. The question you'll need to answer from records is whether your brokerage has...
by archbish99
Mon May 14, 2018 3:55 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Job Offer Thoughts
Replies: 10
Views: 1776

Re: Job Offer Thoughts

Game out two scenarios: The company succeeds, or the company flops. If the company succeeds, your equity holdings will be worth quite a lot. (Take the opportunity to sell and diversify when you get it, but also ask about whether you're senior enough to have required holdings in company stock.) It's clearly a win in that case, of course. In the case most people don't look at, if the company flops... it still seems largely better. Even if the equity grant winds up being worthless, you're getting more present cash. If you're working at these levels at only 33, you probably wouldn't have a problem finding a new place to land if things go south. Offhand, it sounds like a good choice. If your schedule is going to include more travel, see what can...
by archbish99
Thu Apr 26, 2018 1:54 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Employer X vs Employer Y - which is better?
Replies: 4
Views: 831

Re: Employer X vs Employer Y - which is better?

As to the details you've given on the compensation, there's more to it. If X's insurance is 12x$339.50 = $4,074/year and Y's insurance is 26x$295.15=$7674/year, that's a substantial difference. Is the coverage also substantially different? Which one better suits your medical needs? For the 401k (I assume), Y contributes an extra $3400/year to the 401k versus X, plus at X you can't contribute (or get a match) for the first year. That's a substantial down-side at X. The money you lose on the insurance at Y, you get back in a higher 401k match. If the insurance coverage is comparable, I'd say these are a wash. If you don't anticipate being there very long, I'd definitely go with Y to avoid having to take a year off from the 401k, unless you ca...
by archbish99
Tue Apr 24, 2018 12:41 pm
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: Bogleheads@MSFT
Replies: 8
Views: 4298

Re: Bogleheads@MSFT

It did when I left Microsoft a few months ago. Never was a whole lot of discussion, though -- mostly about the ESPP and whenever they changed our 401k options.
by archbish99
Thu Apr 19, 2018 7:23 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Replies: 7203
Views: 1413465

Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?

I am assuming you mean the Arrival Premier. If you are spending $25,000+ on credit cards a year and just want one set it and forget it card, then the Arrival Premier might make sense for you. If I am spending that much, though, Iw would prefer to take advantage of some of the big sign up bonuses like the British Airways Avios $10,000 minimum spend that occasionally appears for 100,000 Avios or the (not not offered at the high bonus level) SPG Business for $7,500 spend and 35,000 Starponts, which are extremely valuable currency. Applying for just one new card a year with a somewhat decent sign up bonus and using the Double Cash would be a better bet. If you are planning to use the Arrival Premier for everything, your 5/24 status can't be to...
by archbish99
Fri Apr 13, 2018 5:10 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Replies: 7203
Views: 1413465

Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?

The Barclay Arrival Premier looks awful. I fully expect to cancel my Arrival+ when the annual fee comes due. Barclay perfectly created a card that is worth it to abuse in the first year and utterly worthless in year 2 and beyond. 2 Miles back that are hard to redeem versus a Citi Doublecash? Now it appears they are making it even worse. Curious if you could expand on this a little more.... I actually concluded it was our best option. So long as you're sure you'll spend more than $25k, it's a flat $100/year better than the Double Cash. And while the travel credits are a little annoying, my previous card was the Discover Escape which had almost the same redemption method. That was the main thing making me consider the Double Cash over this c...
by archbish99
Wed Apr 11, 2018 5:47 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: [Help completing the TN state tax return]
Replies: 73
Views: 5031

Re: Why is TurboTax saying I need to file multiple state tax returns?

My parents used to file annually in three states (we lived in one, Dad worked in another, and Mom had passive income from a third), and I've done this repeatedly both from my own moves and since I've assumed control of their finances. None of those states was one of the ones you mention, so Your Tax Code May Vary. Based on my experience, part-year resident and non-resident state tax returns often look like this: Calculate your taxes on all your income, as if you'd lived in this state the whole time: $X Calculate the percentage of your income that is legitimately taxable by us (earned while you lived here, or earned by working here as a non-resident): Y% Pay us Y% of $X. In your primary (resident at end-of-year) state, you'll be taxed on all...
by archbish99
Tue Apr 10, 2018 4:52 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Is HSA right for me.
Replies: 6
Views: 1199

Re: Is HSA right for me.

It all depends on the details of your plan. $6k is a surprisingly high deductible; that's the OOP max on my HDHP. Does it pay 100% past that deductible, or does it have an even higher OOP max? From what you've said, the difference would be: $1,200 less in premiums $1,298 in tax savings on the HSA (no "savings" on the employer contribution, because you otherwise wouldn't have gotten that money at all) $1,400 in employer contributions ...minus $4,637 in expected additional expenses. That means -- if those are your only expenses -- you come out $739 worse with the HDHP. If you have other expenses, the numbers change. But I'd agree with you that this plan probably doesn't make sense for your family, assuming all the numbers given here...
by archbish99
Wed Mar 28, 2018 3:05 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Travel reservations for work on personal card
Replies: 10
Views: 1238

Re: Travel reservations for work on personal card

Waiting until after the trip to be reimbursed is fishy. I always wind up filing two expense reports per trip -- one for pre-paid expenses (flight, registration fees, hotel deposit) and a second for time-of-trip expenses (hotel, food, laundry). If they're not willing to reimburse prior to the trip, tell them you won't/can't purchase the ticket in advance of the trip and you'll have to pay more to buy a few weeks before you leave. That applies regardless of whether you're leaving, by the way. Now, I was in basically this situation when I left my last job. Since I actually was going to go on the same trip for my new employer, I had hoped to just reimburse the cost of what they'd already paid and then expense it at my new employer. However, the...
by archbish99
Tue Feb 13, 2018 10:48 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Used Chevy Volt - Which year should I look at?
Replies: 35
Views: 7067

Re: Used Chevy Volt - Which year should I look at?

So the Volt essentially has unlimited range because it runs on battery to start, and gas once the battery runs out? But unlike a hybrid that has both gas & electric, this thing need to be plugged in to run on electric only? Essentially. The internal difference is that it's really an electric car with an onboard gas-powered generator. So when the battery gets low, it runs the engine and recharges the battery. Because it's not dealing with the variability of the gas running a drivetrain, it can be very efficient with its gas usage. But yes, you need to plug it in to charge the battery without consuming gas. It also uses higher-octane fuel because you hopefully go longer between refueling, assuming you're charging nightly and typically do...
by archbish99
Fri Jan 12, 2018 1:28 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Failure to Defer 401k Contributions
Replies: 6
Views: 901

Re: Failure to Defer 401k Contributions

I'm not suggesting that it be by a method other than payroll contributions, but they failed to take the contribution I had elected from the paycheck. I had assumed that, if they're obligated to do so, there's also some method of correcting it if they fail to do so. (Or are they not actually obligated to take the elected contribution from my paycheck?)
by archbish99
Fri Jan 12, 2018 12:29 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Failure to Defer 401k Contributions
Replies: 6
Views: 901

Failure to Defer 401k Contributions

I switched jobs in 2017, and estimated the amount I would have contributed to my 401k at my previous employer when I started. (This was part of my new employee paperwork while I hadn't left my old job, let alone gotten my final paystub. I didn't have the actual number until later.) I realized that the number was too high when they stopped my 401k withholding with my next-to-last paycheck of the year before hitting the $18k limit. I immediately updated the amount with payroll, but no further contributions were withheld from my final paycheck.

Now Payroll says they're unable to modify contributions from a previous year; they either happened or didn't, so sorry. Do they/I have a way to fix this, and is it worth pushing on?
by archbish99
Sat Dec 23, 2017 2:34 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Tracking FSA to Expenses
Replies: 3
Views: 649

Re: Tracking FSA to Expenses

The second increase appeared sometime in the last day or so, so whether they're supposed to or not, they clearly do permit me to increase my election. Now I'm trying to decide whether to increase it one more time....
by archbish99
Mon Dec 18, 2017 5:01 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Tracking FSA to Expenses
Replies: 3
Views: 649

Tracking FSA to Expenses

Minor, but I'm in the interesting position of having switched employers in the last two months of the year. My new employer gives me 60 days to switch around my new-hire benefits elections. I initially elected $300 in the FSA, but once I saw the bill for my wife's glasses, I increased that to $700 and the increased election took effect a week or so later. As we're continuing to incur medical expenses, I've increased it again to $850. I asked the FSA provider's customer service whether, if I submit a large expense now, I would be reimbursed the remainder when the increased election took effect. They said that elections can't be changed without a new qualifying event, even if it's within the right time frame from when I was hired. That's clea...
by archbish99
Thu Nov 16, 2017 2:49 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: [UPDATED 1/26/2018 ] 55+ Early retirement offer.
Replies: 90
Views: 16295

Re: 55+ Early retirement offer.

It seems likely that you would qualify for a plan through the ACA, if nothing else. You might even qualify for a tax credit and/or cost-sharing reduction, depending on how your year of salary lands versus the time you'd need to start getting private insurance. However, weigh carefully the current political climate before you stake your future healthcare on that being an option for you a year or so from now.
by archbish99
Wed Nov 15, 2017 10:00 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Managing 401k after Job Change
Replies: 16
Views: 2017

Re: Managing 401k after Job Change

Thanks -- there's a lot of useful info here. In the interest of simplifying, I'm considering not retaining the tilt and using the IRA to hold Extended Market rather than SCV, but in general I think this is a good framework for how to restructure things. It looks like the added ER of keeping the cheaper S&P 500 fund in the old 401k is roughly $20/year, which may or may not be worth the price.
by archbish99
Wed Nov 15, 2017 11:29 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Managing 401k after Job Change
Replies: 16
Views: 2017

Re: Managing 401k after Job Change

1. Your stock to bond allocation is extremely low for someone of your age. A more normal allocation would be something like 80% stocks, maybe 70% at a push. Over the long timeframe you have before retirement, a 50% stock portfolio is almost certain to underperform a portfolio with a higher percentage. True -- I've been turning the ratio down by directing new contributions to bonds for roughly the last year, because the market looks insane. But of course, we can see how that has turned out so far. 2. $12k strikes me as a small emergency fund for a family. Are you sure you can cover any emergencies with either that or temporary credit - new car, health problems or losing your job? That's a fair point with the job change. We have enough in ou...
by archbish99
Wed Nov 15, 2017 10:39 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Managing 401k after Job Change
Replies: 16
Views: 2017

Re: Managing 401k after Job Change

Yes, in both old and new 401ks, the BrokerageLink lets me pull money into a brokerage account. I can then buy nearly any Fidelity mutual fund, or (for a pretty reasonable commission) buy ETFs, or (for a pretty ugly commission) buy most other companies' mutual funds. The new 401k has a $2,500 minimum to start BrokerageLink, so it'll be a few months before that becomes an option.

I hear you on the simplicity, though the thought of giving up a 0.0113% ER S&P 500 fund is hard.... :?
by archbish99
Wed Nov 15, 2017 10:15 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Managing 401k after Job Change
Replies: 16
Views: 2017

Managing 401k after Job Change

Emergency funds: $12k in CDs and Savings Debt: Mortgage, 5/5 ARM (2/2/5), $417k @ 3.25% until March 2022 Tax Filing Status: Married Filing Jointly Tax Rate: 25% Federal, 0% State State of Residence: Washington Ages: 36 & 34 Desired Asset allocation: 50% stocks / 50% bonds Desired International allocation: 40% of stocks Total portfolio: Low-to-mid six figures Current retirement assets His Old 401k - 89% In-plan funds: Vanguard S&P 500 Index (ER 0.0113%) - 22.5% PIMCO Total Return (ER 0.27%) - 10.8% DFA Small/Mid-Cap Value (ER 0.2568%) - 1.8% Int'l Growth (ER 0.571%) - 1.5% Int'l Value (ER 0.5714%) - 1.4% Vanguard Russell 2000 Growth (ER 0.01%) - 0.6% In BrokerageLink: Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond (BIV, ER 0.07%) - 21.4% Vanguard ...
by archbish99
Sat May 27, 2017 12:15 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Pay Down 401k Loan vs Mega Backdoor Roth
Replies: 13
Views: 2265

Re: Pay Down 401k Loan vs Mega Backdoor Roth

A 401k loan represents two things at once. It's a bond investment inside your 401k, and it's a non-deductible loan outside your 401k. It's only worthwhile if both of those are things you would do anyway. I get wanting to use the 401k interest as a way to boost your bond "returns," but what you're really doing is lowering them overall. Outside the 401k, you're borrowing money at 4.25% (plus a bit for the fees) to invest it at 1%. That just doesn't pan out, even though it enables you to make minor extra contributions in the form of interest. It makes sense if you're doing it to avoid taking a loan with a comparable or higher interest rate. If you want to make extra contributions, do it with after-tax contributions, not with a 401k l...
by archbish99
Mon May 15, 2017 2:59 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Dual-fuel and multi-zone HVAC?
Replies: 6
Views: 2170

Re: Dual-fuel and multi-zone HVAC?

Oh, and as to Nest versus Ecobee, which seem to be the main smart tstats: I've heard strong arguments for both. The Ecobee ($50 more, after rebates on each from our power company) has the advantage of the remote temperature sensor, but what I've heard from owners is that it really just averages the temperature from the sensor(s) and the thermostat and heats until that average is where it wants "the house". That doesn't help the room actually being hotter or colder than elsewhere, it just makes the whole house warmer/cooler than it otherwise would be. Conversely, with either, you can do some integration with home automation stuff. I've found a relatively simple tool for SmartThings which can take an upstairs temperature sensor and ...
by archbish99
Mon May 15, 2017 12:15 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Dual-fuel and multi-zone HVAC?
Replies: 6
Views: 2170

Re: Dual-fuel and multi-zone HVAC?

The first person we had come out took one look at our ducts and said we're not a good candidate for zoning. His opinion was that our ducts are ideal for heat, but poor for cooling. He thought we might get adequate cooling upstairs if we add an extra return, but said if we want to ensure good cooling upstairs, we may need to consider a separate upstairs unit (installed in the attic). He also said most people wind up with A/C rather than heat pumps -- paired with a high efficiency furnace, the heat pump would save roughly $50/year, cost roughly $500/more, and have a shorter expected lifespan. Potentially break even, but unlikely to come out ahead. It would make more sense paired with a lower-efficiency furnace, but we have to replace our furn...