Search found 2174 matches

by hoppy08520
Wed Nov 15, 2023 8:56 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [TSP I Fund changes to MSCI ex US ex China & Hong Kong index]
Replies: 48
Views: 6535

Re: TSP changing up the I Fund index

renegade06 wrote: Tue Nov 14, 2023 8:37 pm Happy to see this change by the TSP Board
Same here. I've been trying to allocate more of my retirement funds in target date funds like the Lifecycle funds, but I've been hesitant to do so because of the limited I Fund. With this change, I may re-allocate some of my TSP assets into a Lifecycle fund.

I'm OK with the ex-China and ex-Hong Kong. Looking at Vanguard's VTIAX, that fund has 8.1% (China) and 1.6% (Hong Kong) invested in those two markets. I wouldn't expect a drastic difference in returns between VTIAX and the new I Fund.
by hoppy08520
Tue Nov 14, 2023 8:29 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [TSP I Fund changes to MSCI ex US ex China & Hong Kong index]
Replies: 48
Views: 6535

Re: TSP changing up the I Fund index

Walkure wrote: Tue Nov 14, 2023 8:23 pm Presumably Russia is excluded by the "investable" part.
Good point, thank you. I checked Vanguard's total international fund VTIAX and it currently has 0% in Russia, so I bet you're right.
by hoppy08520
Tue Nov 14, 2023 8:20 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [TSP I Fund changes to MSCI ex US ex China & Hong Kong index]
Replies: 48
Views: 6535

Re: TSP changing up the I Fund index

Can't seem to find many details about this. Does this index include Russia? I get why we don't want to invest in China but you'd think the same logic would apply to Russia.
by hoppy08520
Tue Feb 21, 2023 6:55 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Any audiophiles on this forum?
Replies: 321
Views: 40860

Re: Any audiophiles on this forum?

...decided to buy a Bluesound Node music streamer for $499 (they've since climbed back to $599) and I really love it... An even more Boglehead-ish option is one of the new Wiim Mini or Pro streamers (~$80 or $150 respectively)... https://wiimhome.com/index They support high-res playback and are likewise controlled via smartphone or tablet. The Mini is WiFi only, and the Pro adds Ethernet connectivity and a Digital Coax output (both offer Digital Optical outputs). Their internal DAC's are good enough for the average user, but audiophiles will prefer to feed the digital output to a quality receiver or separate DAC. Hello, just wanted to provide a followup -- I have been running the WiiM Pro ($149) + Schiit Modi+ DAC ($129) for a week now and...
by hoppy08520
Tue Feb 14, 2023 10:11 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Any audiophiles on this forum?
Replies: 321
Views: 40860

Re: Any audiophiles on this forum?

...decided to buy a Bluesound Node music streamer for $499 (they've since climbed back to $599) and I really love it... An even more Boglehead-ish option is one of the new Wiim Mini or Pro streamers (~$80 or $150 respectively)... lp https://wiimhome.com/index They support high-res playback and are likewise controlled via smartphone or tablet. The Mini is WiFi only, and the Pro adds Ethernet connectivity and a Digital Coax output (both offer Digital Optical outputs). Their internal DAC's are good enough for the average user, but audiophiles will prefer to feed the digital output to a quality receiver or separate DAC. .... Connected to the receiver’s RCA analog input jacks are a turntable, a CD player, a Harman Kardon Adapt Bluetooth adapter...
by hoppy08520
Mon Feb 06, 2023 2:59 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Any audiophiles on this forum?
Replies: 321
Views: 40860

Re: Any audiophiles on this forum?

...decided to buy a Bluesound Node music streamer for $499 (they've since climbed back to $599) and I really love it... An even more Boglehead-ish option is one of the new Wiim Mini or Pro streamers (~$80 or $150 respectively)... https://wiimhome.com/index They support high-res playback and are likewise controlled via smartphone or tablet. The Mini is WiFi only, and the Pro adds Ethernet connectivity and a Digital Coax output (both offer Digital Optical outputs). Their internal DAC's are good enough for the average user, but audiophiles will prefer to feed the digital output to a quality receiver or separate DAC. Well, thanks to you, I'm buying a WiiM Pro streamer plus a Schiit Modi+ DAC (around $150 including shipping and tax), to use in ...
by hoppy08520
Mon Feb 06, 2023 2:58 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Any audiophiles on this forum?
Replies: 321
Views: 40860

Re: Any audiophiles on this forum?

...decided to buy a Bluesound Node music streamer for $499 (they've since climbed back to $599) and I really love it... An even more Boglehead-ish option is one of the new Wiim Mini or Pro streamers (~$80 or $150 respectively)... https://wiimhome.com/index They support high-res playback and are likewise controlled via smartphone or tablet. The Mini is WiFi only, and the Pro adds Ethernet connectivity and a Digital Coax output (both offer Digital Optical outputs). Their internal DAC's are good enough for the average user, but audiophiles will prefer to feed the digital output to a quality receiver or separate DAC. Well, thanks to you, I'm buying a WiiM Pro plus a Schiit Modi+ DAC (around $150 including shipping and tax), to use in my other ...
by hoppy08520
Mon Feb 06, 2023 11:35 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Any audiophiles on this forum?
Replies: 321
Views: 40860

Re: Any audiophiles on this forum?

...decided to buy a Bluesound Node music streamer for $499 (they've since climbed back to $599) and I really love it... An even more Boglehead-ish option is one of the new Wiim Mini or Pro streamers (~$80 or $150 respectively)... https://wiimhome.com/index They support high-res playback and are likewise controlled via smartphone or tablet. The Mini is WiFi only, and the Pro adds Ethernet connectivity and a Digital Coax output (both offer Digital Optical outputs). Their internal DAC's are good enough for the average user, but audiophiles will prefer to feed the digital output to a quality receiver or separate DAC. Thanks for the tip. How would you compare the internal DAC on the Wiim compared to the Node? I don’t have any external DAC at th...
by hoppy08520
Mon Feb 06, 2023 11:06 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Any audiophiles on this forum?
Replies: 321
Views: 40860

Re: Any audiophiles on this forum?

...decided to buy a Bluesound Node music streamer for $499 (they've since climbed back to $599) and I really love it... An even more Boglehead-ish option is one of the new Wiim Mini or Pro streamers (~$80 or $150 respectively)... https://wiimhome.com/index They support high-res playback and are likewise controlled via smartphone or tablet. The Mini is WiFi only, and the Pro adds Ethernet connectivity and a Digital Coax output (both offer Digital Optical outputs). Their internal DAC's are good enough for the average user, but audiophiles will prefer to feed the digital output to a quality receiver or separate DAC. Thanks for the tip. How would you compare the internal DAC on the Wiim compared to the Node? I don’t have any external DAC at th...
by hoppy08520
Mon Feb 06, 2023 9:05 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Any audiophiles on this forum?
Replies: 321
Views: 40860

Re: Any audiophiles on this forum?

Until recently I was a traditional audiophile playing mostly vinyl on a 2-channel system, although I also use Spotify in the car and occasionally at home through a Gramofon which is a now-discontinued device that lets you stream Spotify into a regular audio system. I had avoided any more elaborate streaming because I just didn't want to deal with the tech, it sounded too complicated and expensive. I don't know what motivated me to try again, but I decided to look into streaming recently and decided to buy a Bluesound Node music streamer for $499 (they've since climbed back to $599) and I really love it. EDIT : see my note below. I no longer recommend the Node. Get a WiiM instead...75% cheaper and just as good. Functionality is virtually ide...
by hoppy08520
Thu Jun 23, 2022 1:27 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: TSP share price in Google Sheets like GoogleFinance
Replies: 112
Views: 34680

Re: TSP share price in Google Sheets like GoogleFinance

Unfortunately ImportHTML and its associated commands won't work because the table of prices is dynamically created and doesn't exist in the HTML. I tried using the ImportXML but ran into issues again because of how they generate the values...basically it's designed to prevent web scraping from various sources. If it stays how the site is currently, it won't work. I might take another stab at it when life calms down in a few weeks. This is what my probing found too. It's like the website was deliberately designed to thwart scraping or DDoS attacks or whatever. When I looked in the browser inspector, it appears that the URL that returns the data to the page was named (at the time I tried it): https://secure.tsp.gov/data/getSharePricesRaw_sta...
by hoppy08520
Thu Jun 23, 2022 1:27 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: TSP share price in Google Sheets like GoogleFinance
Replies: 112
Views: 34680

Re: TSP share price in Google Sheets like GoogleFinance

Unfortunately ImportHTML and its associated commands won't work because the table of prices is dynamically created and doesn't exist in the HTML. I tried using the ImportXML but ran into issues again because of how they generate the values...basically it's designed to prevent web scraping from various sources. If it stays how the site is currently, it won't work. I might take another stab at it when life calms down in a few weeks. This is what my probing found too. It's like the website was deliberately designed to thwart scraping or DDoS attacks or whatever. When I looked in the browser inspector, it appears that the URL that returns the data to the page was named (at the time I tried it): https://secure.tsp.gov/data/getSharePricesRaw_sta...
by hoppy08520
Tue Jun 21, 2022 9:22 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: TSP share price in Google Sheets like GoogleFinance
Replies: 112
Views: 34680

Re: TSP share price in Google Sheets like GoogleFinance

Looking further the server is not down, but it is not accepting the wget command that previously worked: https://secure.tsp.gov/components/CORS/getSharePricesRaw.html I found that the TSP took down getSharePricesRaw.html in the recent website redesign. Now the relevant page is at: https://secure.tsp.gov/fund-performance/share-price-history/ and the URL that used to return data with ImportHtml/ImportXML no longer works. I spent some time trying to figure out how to extract data from the new URL and the services it calls, but I couldn't get it easily and I gave up (at least for now....). The new website makes it more complicated. At least for now, I'm using the backup services shown in https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1EkgmcTZn8vcDET9o...
by hoppy08520
Mon Jan 03, 2022 8:38 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: TSP share price in Google Sheets like GoogleFinance
Replies: 112
Views: 34680

Re: TSP share price in Google Sheets like GoogleFinance

just_learning wrote: Mon Jan 03, 2022 7:49 am Is this broken now?
ImportHtml("https://secure.tsp.gov/components/CORS/ ... s.html?C=1", "table", 1) used to work and it seems to have stopped...
I see no data coming back...

Happy new year!
Yes, this URL is not working for me right now either:

Code: Select all

https://secure.tsp.gov/components/CORS/getSharePrices.html
I don't know if the problem is with the TSP or Google Sheets.

This seems to happen frequently which is why my own Sheet uses some backup services from other websites. See more at: viewtopic.php?p=6367928#p6367928
by hoppy08520
Mon Dec 06, 2021 9:41 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: TSP share price in Google Sheets like GoogleFinance
Replies: 112
Views: 34680

Re: TSP share price in Google Sheets like GoogleFinance

Are there any downsides to using the TSPtalk links? I was using them for a week or so then decided to switch back to TSP.gov last night, but of course the TSP.gov links quit working this afternoon. I prefer to use TSP.gov's share prices, but if that service is down, then my Google Sheet falls back to use TSP Talk as a backup, and if that's down, then TSP Folio. With this redundancy, my spreadsheet is almost always working because at least one of those 3 services is usually up. I would say that the "downside" of using the other services is that they aren't the official US Government. I am assuming the other two services retrieve their data from the US Government and cache the data on a continual basis. That's good enough for me. M...
by hoppy08520
Sat Nov 20, 2021 8:21 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: TSP share price in Google Sheets like GoogleFinance
Replies: 112
Views: 34680

Re: TSP share price in Google Sheets like GoogleFinance

The TSP sites aren't working for me either. As a backup, my spreadsheet uses tsptalk.com. I'd prefer to use the actual TSP sites, but...

My backup formula for the G Fund:

Code: Select all

=INDEX(importhtml("http://www.tsptalk.com/tsp_share_prices.php", "table", 0), 3, 2)
For the other TSP funds, change the last number to 3, 4, 5, 6 for F, C, S, I, respectively.

I'm looking at the affected TSP pages, and I can't figure out what's wrong. As others have written, you can open those URLs in a browser and they do work fine. I'm guessing that this is a short term glitch on Google's end, but I'm not sure. If I can remember, I'll try it again in a week or so.
by hoppy08520
Sat Nov 06, 2021 9:57 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: TSP (Thrift Savings Plan) Successor Beneficiary -- tax question
Replies: 33
Views: 2365

Re: TSP (Thrift Savings Plan) Successor Beneficiary -- tax question

I haven't read every comment here but there seems to be some confusion over the terms that may be causing some misunderstanding. I think people are incorrectly conflating some of these terms. TSP participant - the original Fed who has a TSP Beneficiary participant - a surviving spouse of the original TSP participant. This person can choose to stay in the TSP, but as a "beneficiary participant". Or transfer to an inherited IRA. Note that if the surviving spouse has their own TSP because they were/are in Federal service, then they can transfer the funds from their deceased spouse's TSP into their own TSP. Successor beneficiary - if a beneficiary participant dies, then those beneficiaries cannot stay in the TSP, cannot roll the funds...
by hoppy08520
Sat Nov 06, 2021 9:29 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: TSP (Thrift Savings Plan) Successor Beneficiary -- tax question
Replies: 33
Views: 2365

Re: TSP (Thrift Savings Plan) Successor Beneficiary -- tax question

I have a substantial amount in my TSP. The day after I retire I’ll be moving a large portion to my IRA. This is because of these stupid rules by TSP for my heirs. Heaven forbid my wife and I get in a car wreck and my kids are forced to take the balance at once. I’ve paid enough taxes over my life. I don't see how that can't happen. If you and your wife die concurrently, then your children would become contingent beneficiaries and they could transfer your TSP into an inherited IRA in their name. The only way your kids would have to take the full distribution as taxable income would be the following: You die first Your wife inherits your TSP and she becomes a beneficiary participant in the TSP Your wife designates your children as beneficiar...
by hoppy08520
Tue Jun 22, 2021 8:23 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Best enhancement for folks who work from home
Replies: 53
Views: 7628

Re: Best enhancement for folks who work from home

When I started WFH regularly, I decided to spend a bit more to have a really good setup. My two splurges were: 38" ultrawide monitor (Dell U3818DW). I figured that I'd like it more than my old dual monitor setup, but I am surprised how much more quality of (work) life this brings to me. Erasing the center bezels is, at least to me, a really nice enhancement. A really nice Bluetooth headset from Jabra, the Evolve 75. Very comfortable, very little ear strain, great audio, useful features, solid connectivity and the noise-canceling is really good. Not cheap at around $200, but worth it to me compared to most cheap USB headsets I'm quoting my comment from two years ago, with some updates. When I made my first comment, I was mostly working...
by hoppy08520
Tue Mar 16, 2021 9:31 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Google sheets not pulling stock prices
Replies: 261
Views: 53868

Re: Google sheets not pulling stock prices

Bylo Selhi wrote: Mon Mar 15, 2021 12:30 pm
hoppy08520 wrote: Sun Mar 07, 2021 3:22 pmIf you want to copy this sheet and use it on your own, you'll need to "authorize" the script to run on your own sheet.
Could you please expand on the above snippet. I found the scripts in the GoogleSheets script editor but I don't see where/how to "authorize" them.
Glad this is working for you!

As for "authorize", sometimes when you first run a google app script, you might get prompted to agree to let the script run on your sheet. This is a defense against potential malware. If you open your sheet that have any of the custom functions like getNavMstar("VTI") then Google might ask you to authorize the script to run.
by hoppy08520
Fri Mar 12, 2021 9:02 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Google sheets not pulling stock prices
Replies: 261
Views: 53868

Re: Google Sheets' googlefinance function not working

stormcrow wrote: Fri Mar 12, 2021 8:05 am [Thread merged into here --admin LadyGeek]

Is anyone else having issues with the above function (GoogleFinance) returning an error?
Yes, GoogleFinance has been down for me since yesterday.

But my spreadsheet still works because I added 3 (!) backup services to get prices. If any one service is down, then the other services get used. See my earlier comment in this thread.
by hoppy08520
Sun Mar 07, 2021 5:04 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Google sheets not pulling stock prices
Replies: 261
Views: 53868

Re: Google sheets not pulling stock prices

=IFERROR(D2, IFERROR(E2, F2)) Screen scraping is kind of an expensive function if the values are just tossed. If you can put the iferror() calls in each column, that might avoid a lot of unnecessary work (on the network and servers). eg. something along the lines of d = googlefinance() e = iferror(d, <screenscrape website 1>) f = iferror(e, <screenscrape website 2>) c = f Good point, that’s probably worth doing. Do you think the Sheets functions will calculate the “false” entry anyway, or do that only if necessary? I answered my own question -- Sheets is efficient. It doesn't try to evaluate the "false" condition of IFERROR() unless it needs to. I was able to test it by deliberately breaking the URL in the "false" condi...
by hoppy08520
Sun Mar 07, 2021 4:49 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Google sheets not pulling stock prices
Replies: 261
Views: 53868

Re: Google sheets not pulling stock prices

=IFERROR(D2, IFERROR(E2, F2)) Screen scraping is kind of an expensive function if the values are just tossed. If you can put the iferror() calls in each column, that might avoid a lot of unnecessary work (on the network and servers). eg. something along the lines of d = googlefinance() e = iferror(d, <screenscrape website 1>) f = iferror(e, <screenscrape website 2>) c = f Thanks again for the suggestion and code review, I made this update. I'll do this on my own spreadsheet too. I also took your suggestion to start with GoogleFinance first, under the assumption that it's the least expensive function. 98% of the time you'll never even have to fall back to the two alternates (MStar and Yahoo). There is a lot of extra "stuff" on tho...
by hoppy08520
Sun Mar 07, 2021 3:53 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Google sheets not pulling stock prices
Replies: 261
Views: 53868

Re: Google sheets not pulling stock prices

gobel wrote: Sun Mar 07, 2021 3:39 pm
hoppy08520 wrote: Sun Mar 07, 2021 3:22 pm

Code: Select all

=IFERROR(D2, IFERROR(E2, F2))
Screen scraping is kind of an expensive function if the values are just tossed. If you can put the iferror() calls in each column, that might avoid a lot of unnecessary work (on the network and servers). eg. something along the lines of

d = googlefinance()
e = iferror(d, <screenscrape website 1>)
f = iferror(e, <screenscrape website 2>)
c = f
Good point, that’s probably worth doing. Do you think the Sheets functions will calculate the “false” entry anyway, or do that only if necessary?
by hoppy08520
Sun Mar 07, 2021 3:22 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Google sheets not pulling stock prices
Replies: 261
Views: 53868

Re: Google sheets not pulling stock prices

In my Google spreadsheet, I use the GOOGLEFINANCE(ticker) as a default. But I have learned that it's flakey. It usually works, but sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it's only a few funds not working, whereas other funds are correct. Maybe 1x per week? When it doesn't work, I don't stress out about. It usually works the next day. Eventually, I made by Google Sheet smarter by creating a "Tickers" sheet on my main spreadsheet. For the places in my spreadsheet that need to get a price, it does a VLOOKUP on Tickers to get the price. On Tickers, I have one row for each ticker. The ticker symbol (VTI, VTSAX, etc.) is Column A. Then I have a Column C for the GOOGLEFINANCE price, plus Column D to get the price that Marketwatch says it is, a...
by hoppy08520
Wed Mar 03, 2021 9:28 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: TSP share price in Google Sheets like GoogleFinance
Replies: 112
Views: 34680

Re: TSP share price in Google Sheets like GoogleFinance

mouth wrote: Wed Mar 03, 2021 7:19 am this is working on my google sheets page

Code: Select all

=importdata("https://secure.tsp.gov/components/CORS/getCurrentLoanInterestRate.html")
Cool, I hadn't heard of the importdata() function before! I'll have to remember that.
by hoppy08520
Tue Mar 02, 2021 11:36 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: TSP share price in Google Sheets like GoogleFinance
Replies: 112
Views: 34680

Re: TSP share price in Google Sheets like GoogleFinance

My apologies for not taking the time to write the code but for anyone interested here are two useful facts if you care to keep easy track. 1) The TSP loan interest rate is the G-Fund rate (https://www.tsp.gov/loan-basics/loan-types-and-terms/) 2) The URL to pull that value is https://secure.tsp.gov/components/CORS/getCurrentLoanInterestRate.html ... I can see the current G fund rate at the 2) url above. How can I have the result of that page be displayed in a cell of my Google Sheet? Thanks. I'm trying, but I can't get it to work. I'm trying Google Sheet's ImportXml function but the results always strip out the number and I just get "--%" In theory, any of these below should work, but none of them do. =importxml("https://www...
by hoppy08520
Fri Feb 05, 2021 9:42 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Google sheets not pulling stock prices
Replies: 261
Views: 53868

Re: Google sheets not pulling stock prices

In my Google spreadsheet, I use the GOOGLEFINANCE(ticker) as a default. But I have learned that it's flakey. It usually works, but sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it's only a few funds not working, whereas other funds are correct. Maybe 1x per week? When it doesn't work, I don't stress out about. It usually works the next day. Eventually, I made by Google Sheet smarter by creating a "Tickers" sheet on my main spreadsheet. For the places in my spreadsheet that need to get a price, it does a VLOOKUP on Tickers to get the price. On Tickers, I have one row for each ticker. The ticker symbol (VTI, VTSAX, etc.) is Column A. Then I have a Column C for the GOOGLEFINANCE price, plus Column D to get the price that Marketwatch says it is, a...
by hoppy08520
Thu Feb 04, 2021 9:04 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Google sheets not pulling stock prices
Replies: 261
Views: 53868

Re: Google sheets not pulling stock prices

In my Google spreadsheet, I use the GOOGLEFINANCE(ticker) as a default. But I have learned that it's flakey. It usually works, but sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it's only a few funds not working, whereas other funds are correct. Maybe 1x per week? When it doesn't work, I don't stress out about. It usually works the next day. Eventually, I made by Google Sheet smarter by creating a "Tickers" sheet on my main spreadsheet. For the places in my spreadsheet that need to get a price, it does a VLOOKUP on Tickers to get the price. On Tickers, I have one row for each ticker. The ticker symbol (VTI, VTSAX, etc.) is Column A. Then I have a Column C for the GOOGLEFINANCE price, plus Column D to get the price that Marketwatch says it is, an...
by hoppy08520
Sun Aug 09, 2020 10:08 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: TSP share price in Google Sheets like GoogleFinance
Replies: 112
Views: 34680

Re: TSP share price in Google Sheets like GoogleFinance

Thank you hoppy08250 and ma21n2 for finding the table and updating the solution! My minor tweak is to "concatenate" the URL to point to a specific cell which determines the fund price returned: =INDEX(ImportHtml(CONCATENATE("https://secure.tsp.gov/components/CORS/getSharePrices.html?", A2,"=1"), "table", 1), 2,2) Where A2 is the cell indicating G, F, C, S, or I. The getSharePrice URL is easier than the previous method. :happy Thanks, I am doing something similar: =INDEX(ImportHtml("https://secure.tsp.gov/components/CORS/getSharePrices.html?" & LEFT(A6,1) & "=1", "table", 1), 2, 2) In my sheet cell A6 (referenced in formula above) is the fund name like “G Fund”. I...
by hoppy08520
Fri Jul 31, 2020 9:11 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Discovery Benefits (Wex) HSA - fees?
Replies: 2
Views: 1666

Re: Discovery Benefits (Wex) HSA - fees?

Yes, the link is: https://www.hsasearch.com/hsa_providers/discovery-benefits-inc/ I also found this page when I clicked "Help" from the the HSA site (after I logged in) and then did a search for "fee": https://discoverybenefits.egain.cloud/system/templates/selfservice/dbiwss/help/customer/locale/en-US/portal/308900000001000/content-version/PROD-2175/PROD-9463/Health-Savings-Account-HSA-custodial-management-fee-FAQ?query=fee You cannot pull up this link directly; you need to log in first. On this page it says: Article ID: PROD-2175 Health Savings Account (HSA) custodial management fee FAQ This article provides an overview of the Health Savings Account (HSA) custodial management fee by answering frequently asked questions....
by hoppy08520
Thu Jul 30, 2020 10:54 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What is the current TSP non-spouse beneficiary withdrawal rules?
Replies: 15
Views: 1321

Re: What is the current TSP non-spouse beneficiary withdrawal rules?

I guess I'd word it the other way. Is there any reason to keep funds in the TSP when you could roll the account over into a Traditional IRA at Vanguard, Fidelity, Schwab, or an FDIC/NCUA institution? TSP has slightly higher expense ratios than counterparts for US large cap equity and US bonds. It has been possible to buy 3% plus five year CDs at several points over the last decade (exceeding G Fund rate). TSP bureaucracy such as repeated spousal consent for any withdrawal. TSP has limited website capability (such as being able to change beneficiaries online). One less financial institution you and your heirs have to deal with One often overlooked but non-trivial benefit of the TSP is that the TSP and employer plans like 401(k) accounts hav...
by hoppy08520
Thu Jul 30, 2020 10:48 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What is the current TSP non-spouse beneficiary withdrawal rules?
Replies: 15
Views: 1321

Re: What is the current TSP non-spouse beneficiary withdrawal rules?

ofj wrote: Tue Jun 16, 2020 1:52 pm
stan1 wrote: Tue Jun 16, 2020 11:31 am I think the reason to leave a small amount in the TSP is to hedge against an unknown, maybe the chance that G Fund someday yields more than a 5 year CD if that ever happens again in our lifetimes (maybe not under Fed inflation targeting).
Good thought. I will leave a small amount in the TSP.
Great advice, the minimum TSP balance is only $200 so just leave some in the G Fund just in case there's some compelling reason to transfer some of your assets back into the TSP someday in the future.
by hoppy08520
Mon Jul 27, 2020 1:57 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Article claiming 401k no longer "makes sense"
Replies: 74
Views: 9411

Re: 401k plans no longer make much sense for savers?

Even if your tax bracket in retirement is identical or slightly higher than it is now,... But is this really a reasonable assumption? The tax rates are so low right now and our national debt (in the U.S.) is so high it seems unreasonable to assume that the tax rates will continue to be this low. At what point does the benefit of the tax free growth out-weigh the benefits of tax-free withdrawals? What does the difference in tax rate from now to the future need to look like? I'm sure someone has done these calculations (I haven't even looked), but this seems an important question... That's my line of thought too. If future tax rates are higher than your current marginal tax rate, then you'll be happy you prioritized Roth today. If tax rates ...
by hoppy08520
Mon Jul 27, 2020 12:09 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Article claiming 401k no longer "makes sense"
Replies: 74
Views: 9411

Re: Article claiming 401k no longer "makes sense"

This article is making me rethink my investment choices. I’ve been prioritizing traditional IRA/401(k) over Roth and I’m thinking I should be doing the opposite.... What you describe makes a ton of sense to me. It’s not likely that you’ll see a tax rate lower than 12% in retirement, especially once RMDs kick in. Most likely rates will be higher for you. Thank you. I crunched my numbers a bit more and I found that for 2020, we are likely to be right on the crossover of the 12%/22% bracket for Federal, and at the Vermont state level that also happens to be where 3.35% switches to 6.60%. If all my 401(k) contributions are for traditional, then we go under the 22% / 6.6% bracket by around ~$5,000. So with that $5,000 of headroom, I'm thinking ...
by hoppy08520
Sat Jul 25, 2020 8:28 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Article claiming 401k no longer "makes sense"
Replies: 74
Views: 9411

Re: Article claiming 401k no longer "makes sense"

This article is making me rethink my investment choices. I’ve been prioritizing traditional IRA/401(k) over Roth and I’m thinking I should be doing the opposite. Spouse and I are MFJ and near the top of the 12% tax bracket and we also pay a 6.6% state income tax (Vermont). We almost max our tax-advantaged retirement accounts but we don’t have any significant taxable accounts. Currently we have around 80% of our retirement portfolio in tax-deferred accounts and 20% in Roth and HSA. No pension. There was a time we were in the 25% bracket and it made sense then to prioritize Traditional contributions to lower taxable income and we were also in the child tax credit phaseout, which made Traditional contributions a no-brainer. But now we are in t...
by hoppy08520
Sun Jul 12, 2020 11:22 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: TSP share price in Google Sheets like GoogleFinance
Replies: 112
Views: 34680

Re: TSP share price in Google Sheets like GoogleFinance

ma21n2 wrote: Sun Jul 12, 2020 11:19 am I got "getSharePrices.html" and "G=1" by looking at www.tsp.gov/assets/js/ajaxFetch.js, which is referenced when you do "View Page Source" on www.tsp.gov/fund-performance/share-price-history.

ajaxFetch.js also tells you "https://secure.tsp.gov/components/CORS/"
Ah, nice work :D I didn’t think to look in the js files.
by hoppy08520
Sun Jul 12, 2020 11:08 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: TSP share price in Google Sheets like GoogleFinance
Replies: 112
Views: 34680

Re: TSP share price in Google Sheets like GoogleFinance

It's not a hack. Consider that those functions are needed by tools external to the site. Since they're not requiring a login account, it's open-access to all by design . You just need to look for it. :wink: There are a number of helpful functions: Index of /components/CORS Go up one level: Index of /components Tip: Files ending in .pl are Perl scripts. Well, I use the term “hacker” as in someone who is good at figuring out things, things that aren’t documented or explained anywhere. Hacker doesn’t necessarily mean illegal, or unauthorized, it can simply mean you have a lot of ingenuity. People often use the verb “hack” to say that you figured your way around a problem using unexpected ways. I doubt the TSP added these pages expressly for 3...
by hoppy08520
Sun Jul 12, 2020 10:06 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: TSP share price in Google Sheets like GoogleFinance
Replies: 112
Views: 34680

Re: TSP share price in Google Sheets like GoogleFinance

Thanks. Looks like getSharePrice.html returns a table in HTML format. This gets me the latest price of the G fund: =INDEX(ImportHtml("https://secure.tsp.gov/components/CORS/getSharePrices.html?G=1", "table", 1), 2,2) And this gives me the as of date for the price: =INDEX(ImportHtml("https://secure.tsp.gov/components/CORS/getSharePrices.html?G=1", "table", 1), 2,1) For F fund, you'd just change "G=1" to "F=1", etc. EDIT2: Use "Linc=1" for L Income Fund, "L2030", etc. for the rest of the L's. I just have to give some serious credit to ma21n2 figuring this out. :sharebeer The new TSP share price webpage he found https://secure.tsp.gov/components/CORS/getSharePrice...
by hoppy08520
Sat Jul 11, 2020 4:44 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: TSP share price in Google Sheets like GoogleFinance
Replies: 112
Views: 34680

Re: TSP share price in Google Sheets like GoogleFinance

ma21n2 wrote: Sat Jul 11, 2020 1:09 pm Thanks. Looks like getSharePrice.html returns a table in HTML format. This gets me the latest price of the G fund:

Code: Select all

=INDEX(ImportHtml("https://secure.tsp.gov/components/CORS/getSharePrices.html?G=1", "table", 1), 2,2)
And this gives me the as of date for the price:

Code: Select all

=INDEX(ImportHtml("https://secure.tsp.gov/components/CORS/getSharePrices.html?G=1", "table", 1), 2,1)
For F fund, you'd just change "G=1" to "F=1", etc.
Nice! Thank you for the solution.
by hoppy08520
Sat Jul 11, 2020 12:51 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: TSP share price in Google Sheets like GoogleFinance
Replies: 112
Views: 34680

Re: TSP share price in Google Sheets like GoogleFinance

Looks like TSP did a major update on the price history page, so now the script on Google Sheets to pull share price doesn't work for me. When I look at the page source, there's no table anymore. Anyone know how to pull the current share prices for the various funds? Thanks! https://www.tsp.gov/fund-performance/share-price-history/ As a backup, this non-TSP website has TSP share prices that you can extract on a Google Sheet: https://www.tsptalk.com/tsp_share_prices.php This gets you the G Fund: =INDEX(importhtml("https://www.tsptalk.com/tsp_share_prices.php", "table", 0), 3, 2) For the other funds, change the "2" in the formula above to 3, 4, 5, 6 for F Fund, C Fund, S Fund, I Fund, respectively. I've spent som...
by hoppy08520
Sat Jul 11, 2020 12:06 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: TSP share price in Google Sheets like GoogleFinance
Replies: 112
Views: 34680

Re: TSP share price in Google Sheets like GoogleFinance

ma21n2 wrote: Sat Jul 11, 2020 11:53 am Looks like TSP did a major update on the price history page, so now the script on Google Sheets to pull share price doesn't work for me. When I look at the page source, there's no table anymore. Anyone know how to pull the current share prices for the various funds? Thanks!
https://www.tsp.gov/fund-performance/sh ... e-history/
Oof, looks like the TSP changed the page. I’ll try to figure it out.
by hoppy08520
Thu Jul 02, 2020 9:11 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: TSP share price in Google Sheets like GoogleFinance
Replies: 112
Views: 34680

Re: TSP share price in Google Sheets like GoogleFinance

UPDATE - July 1, 2020 For anyone who is scraping data from the TSP share price history webpage (https://www.tsp.gov/InvestmentFunds/FundPerformance/index.html), you'll need to update your formulas because the webpage changed. The TSP recently updated the share price webpage to include the new Lifecycle funds with 5-year retirement dates, and that change threw off the column numbers for each fund. The new column numbers are updated in the OP. You'll need to change your spreadsheet to reflect this change. The previous column numbers were 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 for G, F, C, S, I. New column numbers after the update are 12, 13, 14, 15, 16. The Lifecycle fund columns also changed as new ones were introduced, and the L2020 fund has been retired. See upd...
by hoppy08520
Wed May 13, 2020 1:11 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: New era for TSP "I" Fund?
Replies: 121
Views: 20240

Re: New era for TSP "I" Fund?

Isn't owning international in taxable just as tax efficient as in the TSP? If so why do you all care? You can easily buy some emerging market etfs to supplement the Tsp, right? Or just buy international outside the TSP in a taxable account? Help me out in understanding why this matters. What you write is possible if you have enough assets outside your TSP, but it's a hassle and complicates portfolio management. It's what I do now. It would be nice if the TSP could simply have a normal total international stock market index fund like most private sector 401(k) plans. If the TSP I Fund was better, then I'd probably hold a Lifecycle (target retirement date) Fund in the TSP. I like that option because it keeps my asset allocation more stable b...
by hoppy08520
Wed May 13, 2020 1:05 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: New era for TSP "I" Fund?
Replies: 121
Views: 20240

Re: New era for TSP "I" Fund?

Echoing the information everyone else is posting, I just got an email from the TSP saying this:
TSP wrote:Due to a meaningfully different economic environment related in large part to the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the nomination of three new Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board Members, pending further study, the Board is delaying the implementation of the I Fund benchmark change to the MSCI ACWI ex-U.S. Investible Market index from the MSCI EAFE index.
by hoppy08520
Fri Feb 07, 2020 12:58 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: TSP L Fund fact sheet graph supports L Income?
Replies: 13
Views: 1386

Re: TSP L Fund fact sheet graph supports L Income?

I don't know where the TSP got those numbers, but that graph is striking in that while the efficient frontier line does rise, the slope is very small and it means you have to take on a lot more risk for very little added expected reward.

I think this is a reflection of pessimism over expected long-term stock gains, especially given that we're in year 11 (?) of an expansion with US stocks up 29% in the last year, and low interest rates keeping FI returns low too. With that backdrop, you have to take considerably more risk to expect a fairly small increase in expected return.
by hoppy08520
Wed Jan 15, 2020 10:40 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Best Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) book or resource?
Replies: 14
Views: 1662

Re: Best Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) book or resource?

Scanning your past posts, I see that you're young (having a child) so you're in the accumulation/investing phase. At this point, the TSP is about as simple as operating a non-motorized scooter, fortunately. There isn't much to do, and to borrow the quote from the beloved namesake of this forum, being a successful TSP investor is about doing a few things right and avoiding mistakes. All you need to do is: Contribute as much as you can in your TSP, at least up to 5% to get the maximum match Figure out if you're better off with Roth or Traditional, or possibly a mix; if you can't decide just default to Traditional for now and you can figure this out later. Not a huge deal either way. Have an appropriate asset allocation; if you aren't sure, ju...
by hoppy08520
Wed Jan 15, 2020 9:52 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: [TSP - Inheritance Rule Changes due to the SECURE Act]
Replies: 18
Views: 2404

Re: [TSP - Inheritance Rule Changes due to the SECURE Act]

Can anyone clarify why the beneficiary(ies) of a TSP beneficiary participant account cannot roll their inheritance into an IRA and benefit from the new 10-year stretch rule? I believe this rule about successor beneficiaries applies to all employer retirement plans, not just TSP. Explained here. This was 5+ years ago but I assume it's still correct: With respect to eligible retirement plans (401k, 403b, 457), under Sec 829 of the PPA (2006), these plans were allowed to offer a non spouse designated beneficiary a direct rollover to an inherited IRA. Under WRERA (12/2008), starting in the next plan year after Jan, 2009 these direct rollovers became mandatory for those beneficiaries requesting them. Note that a successor beneficiary is NOT a d...
by hoppy08520
Fri Jan 03, 2020 8:14 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Reversing 529 contribution - rookie mistake, rookie question
Replies: 6
Views: 903

Re: Reversing 529 contribution - rookie mistake, rookie question

I'd leave the extra contribution in, if your financial circumstances allow. It's true that only the earnings (which are minimal in your case) of a non-qualified withdrawal are subject to federal and state income tax + the 10% federal penalty, but you may lose the entire state tax credit for last year. According to the plan's disclosure booklet (pp 30-31) the clawback is 10% of any non-qualified distributions, up to the total amount of tax credits you've ever received: Where a distribution constitutes a Non-Qualified Withdrawal or is not used exclusively for costs of attendance at an approved post-secondary institution (e.g., where a distribution is made for a K-12 School), a taxpayer who previously received a tax credit for a contribution ...
by hoppy08520
Thu Jan 02, 2020 12:26 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Reversing 529 contribution - rookie mistake, rookie question
Replies: 6
Views: 903

Re: Reversing 529 contribution - rookie mistake, rookie question

SchruteB&B wrote: Thu Jan 02, 2020 11:31 am Earnings would just be pennies, but to be super technical, every withdrawal from a 529 is made up pro rata of contribution and earnings (unlike a Roth IRA) So if you have made ANY money, it will come out proportionally, however de minimus it is.
Thanks for the tip, I appreciate it!