Bogleheads.org

It *can* happen again. Don count on Apple and Google and Meta going nowhere but up, forever, indefinitely. I remember when we thought Sun Microsystems, Netscape and Yahoo could do no wrong and look where they are now. … they were replaced by the even bigger companies you mentioned. The pace of growth in tech spending is accelerating. Will it forever? No, but we have a long time to go before there’s a prolonged recession in tech. Recessions in the broader economy will be tech-pluses for tech, since it will drive further demand for efficiency to replace manual processes. But you skipped over the ~10 year period in between where it was hard to get a job as a developer between the dot com crash (2000) and housing boom.. Salaries where depresse...

It's a reasonable choice if you are ready not to do it yourself especially if you have multiple account types including taxable accounts that can't entirely go on autopilot. If you want to give them a lot of direction rather than let them follow their standard ways of managing portfolios then it may not be a good choice.

If most of your assets are in retirement accounts I think Target Retirement or Life Strategy funds would be just fine, and you might not get much extra benefit from PAS.

If you have a responsible child who will be your executor and heir I'd consider training him/her to get up to speed helping you as another option especially if you have a simple one fund portfolio such as Target Retirement or Life Strategy funds.

If my destination is central Paris as a public transit user I don't have much of a preference for CDG vs. Orly. There is a shuttle train from Orly to the RER station but on the other hand walking distances to the RER station at CDG can be long. Probably a wash. Both airports are served by the same RER B line (but there are multiple branches so not all trains go to both airports). For a taxi into Central Paris Orly is usually going to be faster. As far as La Compagnie I've never flown it and would consider it if I my starting destination was NYC metro area. Not sure I would try a connection from United onto La Compagnie at EWR though. That seems like extra inconvenience with possible travel disruption risk since your tickets would not be int...

If you are near the limits for Regular Roth IRA contributions look into doing Backdoor Roth Contributions.

There are some things you need to look at first, such as whether you have existing Traditional IRA accounts.

https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Backdoor_Roth

Gatewood wrote: ↑Sat Apr 01, 2023 9:28 am My settlement account -- Vanguard Federal Money Market (VMFXX) average annual return YTD is 1.1%. The Account's 30 Day SEC is 4.77%.

I would have thought the return and the yield would be much more aligned

I am obviously missing something here -- appreciate your help

Thanks in advance

1.1% is YTD (3 months)
4.77% is annualized

Rather than construction noise or general concerns about more traffic I'd be more concerned if my home was in the shadows of a taller building. If it is in a shadow I personally would move. The shadow of a 12 story building is less than a 20-30 story building (there are several of those types of projects being built by me, including by public universities).

Where to move? Well for sure away from public transit lines but that's also why some people bought in their location. Walkable locations are going to get higher density. Also large plots of land owned by a single entity such as a regional or neighborhood shopping center or a golf course are prime targets for redevelopment.

I don't think there is a single, one size fits all answer on questions like this, which is often the case when dealing with taxable accounts and households with higher net worth. Trying to market time bonds, including muni bonds, may be tougher than equities.

For a hypothetical:
Personally, if I had $10M in investable assets with $2M in tax advantaged (all in bonds) and $8M in taxable I'd be comfortable with about $1M in muni bonds. Above that 10% in muni bonds I'd be considering treasuries and also possibly adjusting my asset allocation to more equities and not going more bonds than 70/30 in a portfolio with a large taxable chunk.

Roth conversions are a good idea but less so if they have pension income or other unearned income that puts them into a higher tax bracket. Charity is also a good idea. QCDs from Traditional IRA accounts start at age 70.5 so they might want to contribute to a Donor Advised Fund maybe every other year from a taxable account to cover charitable giving until that age. I may disagree with you or maybe am wrong in my plan? I have a rather large pension and a large IRA. And am considering doing some conversion to Roth. The issue is that when RMDs coming along it will be a huge tax hit. And my intention is to leave money to heirs. Secure 1 and 2 really threw a wrench in my plans. So Roth conversation may be a strategy. You have to run your number...

Quicken is best if you can put each vendor in a single category, or a few categories Such as: McDonalds Dining Exxon Fuel It also works OK for amazon if you buy items separately, use multiple categories and can remember what you ordered and enter it promptly Amazon Books Amazon Groceries Amazon Household etc. What nothing is good at is: Costco where you have groceries, pet food, clothes, and a TV on the same charge. For that you have to dig out the receipt and break it down, which Quicken does support with splits but it is manual entry because you need granularity below the level of the charge. Another example of something I would not do is: Olive Garden Dining Olive Garden Alcohol Too much work. Dining includes food and booze. As for the c...

Roth conversions are a good idea but less so if they have pension income or other unearned income that puts them into a higher tax bracket.

Charity is also a good idea. QCDs from Traditional IRA accounts start at age 70.5 so they might want to contribute to a Donor Advised Fund maybe every other year from a taxable account to cover charitable giving until that age.

For now OP has moved on it appears, maybe he will come back eventually and clarify whether the Roth 2 in fact has $9500K ($9.5M) in it, or $950K (one too many zeros) in it, or $9500 (no K) in it there really isn't much to do other than speculate.

tc101 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 31, 2023 4:11 pm My passport came in the mail today. Hurrah !!! It was only 7 weeks after they received it. The thing that threw me is that the check your status website is not working. It still says my application status is not available, but I have the passport.

That's great especially since you didn't pay the $60 extra for expedited processing.

Our family budget for college expenses is $40k per year, but we’re willing to co-sign loans for the amount above that. School, Major, Cost per year (tuition + room + board): Loyola Marymount University, Computer Science, 42k Seattle University, Computer Science, 38k Santa Clara University, CS+Engineering, 57k San Diego State, Computer Science, 28k Fordham, Computer Science, 27k Oregon State University, Computer Science, 34k UC Santa Barbara, Pre-Stats/Data Science, 32k UC Santa Cruz, Information Management, 33k University of Washington, Informatics, 53k He liked LMU’s campus, location, and professor accessibility (he’s met with three professors there already). I’m a bit concerned that they aren’t exactly known for CS. Seattle U seemed to h...

It takes a few days to sort out.
When did you do the conversion? If you did it this week wait a few more (working) days.

Is there any factual research on the actual benefits of blue blocking lenses (this is a consumer question not a medical question)?

I've been very pleased with the fitting height and transition of the progressive part with Warby Parker. Full disclosure- I have been wearing these dorky large black frames for a few years, and I think the larger area gives a better and smoother transition across the reading portion. If I give Costco a try (as suggested by quantandhold) I'll report back here as well! Cheers I have had two pair of progressive lenses, first were considered "rectangular" and second were "square". The "square" ones (with more height, width, and thus area to the lens) definitely seemed to work better so I'd agree with you on that. I have a Warby Parker store 1 mile from my house. I had a pair of glasses from them years ago before I...

Many, many discussions on this under the direct indexing topic
https://www.google.com/search?sitesearc ... t+indexing

There are some significant cons like the annual fee for the perpetuity of the account and complexity of a portfolio in taxable accounts.

There are some very niche situations where it might make sense (I believe we've identified one such person on this forum not sure if there is more than one yet).

With your pensions and income levels I see no reason to do this. If you made $1M per year, had a $3M house with a $1M cost basis, lived in California which taxes capital gains as ordinary income, and had $10M in AAPL stock/RSUs then maybe.

In general, I don't think this is a case where you will get a better deal by bundling for the types of cars you are looking at and it could make it much harder to find what you are looking for. For hybrid versions of below vehicles in my market you would still be pretty close to looking at MSRP. If you want better deals look at ICE.

Joyful wrote: ↑Fri Mar 31, 2023 11:48 am There is NO reason for eye glasses to cost hundreds of dollars!

Those of us who need progressives still are at about the $400 price point.

Speaking of progressives, are those who get those from Warby Parker and Zenni happy with them?

Several years ago my local hospital never billed me for a co-insurance payment and turned it over to collections. I went back to my EOB and verified that it was the amount I should have paid had I been billed. Then I paid the collection agency. I think they had a $10 fee added on.

The hospital should have billed me but they didn't, and their bill pay website (front end is Epic MyChart) never showed an outstanding balance.

I use a Zeiss wipe each morning. No scratches.

I've lost two frames though in the past five years though due to the hinge failing and the frame breaking when dropped on concrete.

At least for me, lightweight plastic frames are more fragile than the metal frames I had in decades past.

I can now report there is no delay with check cashing. I mailed my application and old passport in on Thursday 3/23 by first class mail. I paid for expedited handling but not shipping, and the $190 check cleared Weds 3/29. I'll let everyone know when I get the new passport.

Wading Ashore wrote: ↑Thu Mar 30, 2023 4:35 pm Thanks for feeling my pain!
The other problem is, not to put too fine a point on it, poop-scooping. People around here are pretty good about it, but there are incidents, and this would be a community in which, by definition, many residents would have physical or cognitive limitations. I don't know ...

I'm not quite sure yet whether you are looking for a retirement community or a co-op/condo with a very strict association that restricts pets, kids and noise.

Burner444 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 30, 2023 2:51 pm Roth IRA 2: ±9500K in VTSAX and VTIAX

I'll try it with the quote, since we need him to come back and let us know if this is $950K (cut expenses, retrench) or really $9.5M (game over, go enjoy your kids).

How old is the house? Is the house downhill from the street? If the house is below the surrounding grade it could also be prone to flooding which would be another reason not to buy it.

They aren't uncommon in certain neighborhoods but I'd rather have a house that did not have one.

I"d measure your existing duvet for sizing for reference. The length may be a personal preference based on where you want the duvet to sit on the bed, or if you have a closed foot board or no foot board where you want the cover to drape down further.

If you are going to do this why not go all the way?

No point doing most of the effort and cost then having regrets that the glass and door are in your photo.

I think what would make the Life Plan Community preferable to a 55+ for me is the age - I believe that only one spouse has to be 55+, so at 73 I will already be old enough to be the parent of some of the residents, and in 5 years I will be old enough to be the parent of a lot of the residents. And the safety factor - if anything, even minor, happens to me along the way, there will be services available, some of which would already be included in the fee. If age is a concern, you also need to watch the opposite at a CCRC/life plan community. You may find that most of the people around you, if you enter at age 73, are 10, 15 or 20 years older than you are with health that is declining much faster than yours. It is true that a newly opened co...

What is your age?
It seems like it is affordable at first glance without knowing your other expenses.

You'd pull $200K from your investment accounts to purchase leaving balance at $2.1M.

The cash flow from dividends in that account should cover the difference between your pension/SS and the fees with extra left over for expenses that aren't covered.

It's a big decision, it might not be the right choice for you but given what you've told us so far it is possible.

Also nice is that Apple Music Classical is included in an Apple Music subscription at no additional cost.

It's a different user interface optimized for Classical Music, such as you can find all the many performances of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 by or search by key.

Think of it as a glass bowl of small steel balls. The glass bowl shatters and the balls spill onto the table and maybe a few fall on the floor, but the balls can be picked up and put in another bowl. The bowl is the brokerage, the small balls are the fund, stock, and bond holdings. SIPC makes sure the balls aren't lost when the bowl breaks and will help make sure there's another bowl to put them in, but SIPC doesn't insure the steel balls themselves if they also crack and break apart. If a ball rolls away and cant be found, the SIPC will provide up to $500K of coverage for any balls that go missing. This is pretty rare in a modern sense with computers, but if you think about the 1920s there were file cabinets of paper certificates carried a...

Stormbringer wrote: ↑Sun Mar 26, 2023 8:19 pm I read these sad stories about retirement finances all the time, yet almost everyone I've ever met who is retired seems rather content. People are very adaptable to their circumstances, I suppose.

I didn't think this article was "sad stories". I think some Bogleheads have very idyllic plans for retirement that don't reflect what a lot of Americans actually live through. The folks in this article still had challenges of life (health, natural disasters) but people who had $2M or $5M have those too. There are tens of millions of Americans who don't think working until 65 or 70 is a "sad story" it's just a fact of life.

Just curious what tax software did you use, and did you e-file or print the paperwork and mail?
Or did you fill out the forms manually?

ReadyOne wrote: ↑Sun Mar 26, 2023 11:43 am Goals are deterrence and timely awareness and response to an incident

You might want to include things like water leak detection warnings if you add the system.

In our city the police will not respond to an alarm unless there is video evidence confirming an intrusion, so keep that in mind. They also require an annual alarm permit and charge for responding to a false alarm (if the "intruder" is a Golden Retriever or neighbor taking care of plants). Your location may be different.

Something like the ClubCab Carryall seems like a good compromise. A golf cart version of a pickup truck that can be used equally for transporting two people or hauling stuff on the property. Much easier than using a wheelbarrow or wagon, for example you can put a tool chest in the bed along with a shovel, hoe, some bags of manure and some flats of spring color to head out to the far reaches of the property in one trip. Do the work then bring everything back in one trip. If you want street legal, off road, 20+ mph, space for grandkids, extra safety features, that's a whole different consideration. Also consider whether you will be driving it on concrete paths, dirt paths, lawn, woodland, swamp, flat, low slope, high slope, rocky terrain (hig...

I retired at the standard retirement age for people like me, a college prof. Because I spent my entire 39-year working career (after receiving my PhD) in a university (actually, two), and I earned a "tenured" position early in my career, then depending also on how "productive" I was including bringing money TO the university in the form of contracts and grants, I had a virtual lock on retiring with more than $1 million. In the end it was significantly more than $1 million, even though we were a one-income household. I was able to build a substantial 403b retirement account (a low multiple of $1 million) during those 39 years. That account was based on the employer putting in twice what I was putting into the plan. An im...

Unknown whether it is a scam or you are a victim of fraud or if this is routine. Call the number when the line is open.

I'd say you should have an account at medicare.gov, if anything to prevent someone else from "claiming" your account.

First, are you on Medicare now?

Something utilitarian such as this (just an idea not an endorsement) or more like what you'd see on a golf course (as a golfer, the grounds keepers probably have these)?

jebmke wrote: ↑Sat Mar 25, 2023 5:27 pm

stan1 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 25, 2023 5:25 pm I would use the day it leaves your account (end of day valuation which should be on your Vanguard statement).

If this is millions of dollars at stake I'd be working with your CPA.

That would be a lot of carryover for most here given the 30% limitation. :mrgreen:

I make no assumptions about the wealth or lack there of when it comes to Bogleheads.
I've assumed they are regular people plenty of times only to find out they are pushing or over 8 figures after more information is revealed.

I would use the day it leaves your account (end of day valuation which should be on your Vanguard statement).

If this is millions of dollars at stake I'd be working with your CPA.

And for 2023 now that you are working the Fidelity DAF I'd make the contributions no later than November, just to give you a little margin to avoid any delays or ambiguities if you want the tax write off in a certain year.

msj16 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 25, 2023 3:31 pm Thanks very much! If anyone has gone to a passport agency regarding "urgent within 14 day travel" if you can estimate how long of a wait in line and how long to get a passport that would be appreciated.

You have to call to get an appointment at an official passport agency.
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel ... ncies.html

There won't be any way to predict the details, will vary by location and demand. But they are offering the service so I think you can assume they would do it if he has the ticketed airfare. Is he over 18? If he's over 18 he will probably need to do this not you.

Just to make sure you get good advice, are you asking because you need to enter this date on your 2022 tax return to claim the deduction?

If I'm reading the State website right, the mytravel.state.gov site only applies to people who were in the online pilot.

For those who are using the mail option (because the online renewal process is not operating right now) it doesn't read like can get status from that site.

It almost seems like this would work best if for some reason you wanted to use an equity index fund as a cash management account, with lots of cash coming in, a lot of cash going out, over years. Or if you had the wealth to convert it to a white (private) label ETF after the holdings had appreciated to the level where they were unlikely to generate losses. Just not something in my league.

Have you gotten a quote from an electrician for what it would cost to install a 240v outlet in your garage? Ideally 50 amps, but even 20 amps would be a huge improvement over trickle charging. If you are even considering a $50k Tesla, then don’t cheap out on the electric upgrade The electricians are onto this, they know if you can afford a $50K-150K EV you can and will pay $3-5K to add a 50/60 amp circuit breaker and a 240V outlet. Maybe you'll find one who will do it at time and materials if you are lucky. There are some interstates that have good coverage for charging, some do not. There are also some cities that have remarkably little charging infrastructure (e.g. Tucson comes to mind). We use our gas car for long trips and the EV for l...

SpideyIndexer wrote: ↑Sat Mar 25, 2023 1:46 pm Good news.

After applying, we received an email from Benefits.Application@ssa.gov. Had some fear this could be phishing.

It's always best to not click on links in any email if you aren't sure if it is legitimate.
I'd bookmark the ssa.gov site.

SpideyIndexer wrote: ↑Sat Mar 25, 2023 1:32 pm Right now cannot get into benefits or login portion and getting "This Service Not Available." I know this sort of thing often happens during maintenance. Hoping this is not any malicious activity or redirection. Is anyone else seeing this?

Same message. I'd try back another time.

17outs wrote: ↑Sat Mar 25, 2023 12:25 pm I’ve been using Kubera for a while and I’ve found it more valuable than when i started using it. It connects to every account and type I have, and I like the basic reporting and management. It does cost money, however but so far it has been worth it.

www.kubera.com

Does it do Boglehead style rebalancing, such as 5/25 bands and does it let you assign your own asset class to various investments? For example, I'd want IJS, VIOV, and VBR to all be "US SCV". And because I use TSM in taxable and Index 500 in tax advantaged I use the asset class of "US Broad Market" to cover both.

Or cover rebalancing when using S&P 500 plus a Completion index fund.

That's what pushes me back to my spreadsheet!

Eno Deb wrote: ↑Sat Mar 25, 2023 11:28 am

"Ain't nothing more dangerous than a bear at the end of a bear market," Bank of America investment strategist Michael Hartnett said about the stock market in his latest "The Flow Show" report.

The analyst stated the stock market will attempt new lows over the next three to six months amid a confluence of factors, including history, policy and recession.

Sounds like he's using tarot cards and an Ouija board.