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jojay

We just had all of the fundamental estate planning documents done; will; legal proxy, medical proxy, etc. I was reluctant to spend the expected $2500 documents but their importance is paramount. I asked a friend who had his will done by a local lawyer who also happens to be involved with town govern...

jojay

We cannot predict the future with regard to rates other than we are in the point of the economic cycle where rates will continue to rise. How much and how often is, of course, unpredictable but they will go up for the short term. Another factor is the demand / supply of CDs in that market. I suspect...

jojay

Netpilot I was lazy in calculating those numbers. All I was trying to highlight is that due to advances in medicine and other factors, people can expect to live longer. Alohajoe, My point about the tax revenue is that while it does not represent a large portion of the overall budget, it is still add...

jojay

Just looking for a discussion here. 1. As we know, RMDs are mandated in the year after one turns 70.5. From what I know, this was included as part of the 1986 Tax Reform changes. 2. In 1986, the life expectancy for women was 78 and for men, 71. 3. In 2017, that life expectancy is now 81 and 79, resp...

jojay

Just looking for a discussion here. 1. As we know, RMDs are mandated in the year after one turns 70.5. From what I know, this was included as part of the 1986 Tax Reform changes. 2. In 1986, the life expectancy for women was 78 and for men, 71. 3. In 2017, that life expectancy is now 81 and 79. 4. B...

jojay

Hi and thanks for asking. As a teacher of Personal Finance, I have always taught my students that long term financial gain will occur via stock bonds mix. I use the rolling 30 year backtesting to portray the value on investing long term. The students' eyes widen. However, given algorithmic trading, ...

jojay

First off, congratulations to you and your son. Graduating from college is no small feat especially in civil engineering. The fact that he already has employment is another point worth acknowledging. Our soon to be 23 year old has a BS and will be getting her MS in June so she is in a similar condit...

jojay

First off, congratulations to you and your son. Graduating from college is no small feat especially in civil engineering. The fact that he already has employment is another point worth acknowledging. Our soon to be 23 year old has a BS and will be getting her MS in June so she is in a similar condit...

jojay

We have gone approximately 30 times since the 3 children were very youngand are going again in mid March. We have stayed on property and off. Our typical stay is 2 weeks and most often has been through our timeshare process where we have multiple bedrooms, baths and a full kitchen. You can go to a P...

jojay

Disenchanted? No, three years in and it is still a very, very enchanting lifestyle. Yesterday I: Got up at 615 to see the previous night's beautiful snowfall at sunrise. Never would have seen it while commuting to work in the dark. Read some bogleheads, cnn, looked at email, looked at email from pos...

jojay

The key word in this topic is..."children". I coached my son in hockey for many years. Here are some numbers: Most teams have 15 players per team. Total 30 players not including goalies The games were 36 minutes long which equals 2160 seconds If each player were to touch the puck an equal amount of ...

jojay

Ditto on the medical. Ask your dentist to max out any work that is needed to take advantage of coverage. Glasses if you have vision coverage.
Max out any retirement contributions in order to reduce income AND assure company match to the max.
Good luck and congratulations!!

jojay

Congratulations.
You are really wonderful parents to do that for your daughter. What a great way for them to start their life together.

jojay

Thanks for the replies so far. I have discussed this with DW and we have some serious discussions and planning to do before making a decision. Several points: 1. We are not trying to maximize the overall payout. As pointed out, there is no way to plan the dates of our deaths. 2. Probably my biggest...

jojay

Let's say it is the year 2014 and you are asking these questions before the most recent tax changes were approved. Things change. Firecalc has always been - if I recall - a decent "far off in the future" tool. does it give you the details you are looking for? No. But it does help you prepare to ask ...

jojay

Is he doing a good job?
Is he doing more than the prior plow guy did? Less?
Does he come three times per storm versus the prior plower who maybe came once or twice?

Whether he honors the prior owner's price or not, the guy needs to be a more tactful business person.

jojay

I prepaid my next year's property taxes today. My town allowed it up to the level of the previous tax year. As far as I can tell, prepayments will be allowed to be included on year ending 2017 federal tax returns. If not, then I prepaid early. No great loss, despite the $9200 utility. If so, I saved...

jojay

I have been a test shaver for a major razor company for nearly 25 years. I have enough blades to last me for several years.
I gave multiple blades to my son today - probably worth $100.

jojay

You mention that your standard deduction for 2018 will be 6350.
I believe it might now be 12000

jojay

I'm not sure this is the case.
Home equity of any kind is no longer tax deductible. In other words, no grandfathering.
It comes back to life in 2026 but is gone for now.
Can anyone verify this for the OP, please?

jojay

The TRJA puts $1700 in our pocket.

jojay

TheTimeLord, First off, what a nice feeling for you! Your dream and concept of financial independence has been realized. Ahhh. Like most of us, we knew that living below our means, saving, investing properly and so on would result in an accumulation of wealth. Also, like many of us, that manifestati...

jojay

We recently received several books of collector type of postal stamps from a relative whose spouse recently passed away. There is no emotional link to the stamps and we think we received them just as a way for the spouse to get rid of the stamps or to make us feel as if we were remembered. There are...

jojay

I'm the OP. This has turned into an interesting way to spend a snowy Saturday in the Northeast. Getting 6" in southern NH. First, yes some of it may be my own ego. One of my friends is an expert on home electronics. When I asked him what should I buy when we upgraded last Spring, I followed his expe...

jojay

Does this happen to you? While not an expert, like all of you, I have acquired a lot of personal financial knowledge over time. I do not know everything but I do know about 99% of what I need to know for someone in my age group and financial stage (two years retired). I have several friends at my ag...

jojay

Splurging is very personal. For us, we bought a really nice television ( is that still the term?) and a terrific sound system to go with it - all under the watchful eye of a close and knowledgeable friend who installed them. While we have had good televisions over the years, a complete, high-end sys...

jojay

Bikechuck,
Congratulations.
You are going to love Sundays.

jojay

I was recently given several large books of postage stamps by a family member for helping clean out a house. There are literally thousands of stamps in these books representing a variety of US and international types. I have absolutely no knowledge of stamps, have no emotional attachment to them and...

jojay

In 2016, during which I was aged 60, I converted $26k from a Traditional to roth IRA. At the time, I paid $2600 in federal income tax as I was assuming we was going to be well under 15% tax bracket. Then later on in the year, I had $8k of the $26k sent to me in the form of a distribution. In other w...

jojay

Like chw, I'd endorse the Schwab counselor. I have experienced everything chw has but have also sat down with the the consultant several times. I too recently received my personal report and it was extremely detailed specifically for my wife and I. We have about 2/3 of our retirement portfolio with ...

jojay

Hi, A couple of more options? I use them for: 1. I fill it with sand fr use on the driveway when it ices up. 2. This is not an ash bin container but when our outside in ground firepit fire dies down, I use the bins to hold the ahses. 3. We had to ship a fragile item once and used the bin as an inter...

jojay

Hi, I am the OP of this now old post and thought it might be worthwhile to file an update. The purpose of this update is not to bring you up to speed, but more to let others who may be struggling from similar circumstances aware of some of the decisions we made and what resulted. One of the more pro...

jojay

Hi, Every year, I visit my Schwab folks where I have most of my retirement savings. The visit is free and I use the time to ensure I'm knowledgeable about my understanding of the laws, tax changes, etc. No advertisement here but they have always been great to bounce things off of. Last week was my 2...

jojay

I'd sell. You appear to be in an emotional constraint more than a financial one. You're talking at most $2k. You are already getting a better deal than you could have otherwise received. Think of it like a stock - you're making money on the deal. Do you really want to risk losing the offer in order ...

jojay

WHY did you originally buy the property as 3 co-owners? WHY do you now want to buy?? her out and charge rent? Are you trying to take advantage of tax breaks or help your daughter own stable housing? Your motives may be contradictory here. What were your wife's motives and your daughter's? To all, t...

jojay

First, thanks to everyone who has posted in the past. Every day I log on, I learn something new. In August, 2015, I bought a condo for my oldest daughter. The condo had just come on the market and we had to pay cash. It was a terrific deal. The property has hoa fees of $360 per month and taxes at ro...

jojay

So, as you've heard by now, the answer is no. But, you also deserve congratulations. $100k is a terrific start to someone at 25 years of age especially when you consider the national averages, etc. Do the math. If you have $100k now and can continue to save on a similar pattern, you'll be extremely ...

jojay

Thanks. I have been quoted as low as $12 for a round with a cart. I've played the course before and it's okay- not Pebble Beach but I'm not a Pebble Beach player either. I cannot book online yet but rates are being quoted for play this week and there are options for very little money. I'll go to gol...

jojay

Hi, My wife and I are planning a few weeks of vacation in the Orlando / Kissimmee area in March and we are looking for inexpensive golf in the area. Some courses seem to be very expensive while there are others where you can play for less than $25. We are looking for places in the $25 or less range....

jojay

After completing the "Personal Financial Statement (PFS)" and realizing that we weren't going to qualify for need based aid, we didn't send in our tax returns and W-2s. Should we have sent them in? How do you apply for merit based aid? As odd as it sounds, you should file your w2s. If nothing else ...

jojay

No. We did not require them to pay for high school. they are required to pay for some of their college. The $10k refers to college.

jojay

Just some recent history. The price tag of a year in college is like the MSRP of a car. Rarely does anyone pay that amount. There are primarily two types of aid provided to students; need and merit. There is a whole other range of financial aid offered to you in the forms of loans etc. Need is based...

jojay

Physicsgal, Congratulations. You did a great job over the last 4 years. As others have mentioned, soon your interest will be generating $100k per year. ( Well, not soon but it will happen). The last 4 years have been banner times so I'm glad you got in when it started. Make sure you set realistic go...

jojay

Hi, This is just my perspective. Looking forward to the 2 feet coming this Tuesday? On top of the mere 6 inches we just got? Using plows in the past has eaten up our grass, taken out several irrigation sprinklers and chewed up sections of the driveway. I hate paying $60 for about an hour's worth of ...

jojay

The Cubs will win the World Series.

jojay

I kind of agree with MathWizard on this. The establishment is not a worthy place with which to do business. I would definitely not give them any more opportunities to get their hands on my money. They riped you off and could care less. You have little recourse. There is no guarantee that giving the ...

jojay

OP When I was younger and could not afford just about anything, I scrimped like a champion. My parents were traumatized by the depression and scrimping was like breathing. My wife is a working class child who was taught the value of a dollar. We put a long term plan together. As the kids came along,...

jojay

1. Reshape my approach to life in an attempt to be happy more frequently. 2. Find a new passion. Need to find "what to retire to". Could afford to go tomorrow but do not have anything to do. Only 59 yo. 3. Worry less. I have little to worry about but worry nonstop nonetheless. 4. Definitely focus on...

jojay

Definitely - congratulations!! What you might consider minor is twice what some people twice your age have saved!!!

I wish I had $350k when I was 31. I also wish I was 31.
Seriously, take a bow. You deserve it.

jojay

Mandatory? Says who? It does not sound like a legally binding entity to begin with. I am involved in my neighborhood HOA. It was a requirement when we built the house in 1994. For $150 per year, we get our money's worth with regard to common grounds maintenance, etc. If it is $100 per year, so be it...

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