Bogleheads.org

bogleraw

I plan to take my family (wife, 5 year old and a 20 month infant in lap) to India to visit great grandparents during San Francisco Christmas break and then return with a stopover somewhere in Europe for a brief vacation. With an infant in lap, we want to fly business class for all the legs. The chea...

bogleraw

Many thanks for all of the wonderful feedback and all of the ideas! We found them extremely valuable during grocery shopping today. We are so excited to start our little boy off with healthy meals while ensuring that he never feels like the odd one out amongst his friends.

bogleraw

We have a 5 year old starting kindergarten next week. Anybody have any tips for how to go about building healthy school lunches that don't take a lot of time to put together and that are cost effective?

bogleraw

Hi all, I purchased a vehicle from a private party for $23250 last year in California. I pay $2116 to get certificate of title to the car. Is any portion of this tax deductible? The DMV site suggests that a portion of this fee is a "use tax": https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/pubs/b...

bogleraw

Hi all, We have 10 credit cards and a checking account between my wife and I, all setup with automatic payments in full and automatic bill pays for various expenses (utilities, daycare etc.). For the past several years, we have meticulously tracked our expenses by spending an hour a week to ensure w...

bogleraw

Thank you, that makes sense.

How do I evaluate whether to donate ESPP stock that has the 15% discount versus RSUs?

bogleraw

Thank you! Could you recommend which stock type I should donate (ESPP or RSUs)? ESPP have the 15% discount.

Also, I have multiple long term shares under both categories that have long term gains but different basis? How do I select which ones are most beneficial to donate?
Thanks!

bogleraw

Hi all, we are interested in establishing an endowed scholarship at our alma mater. I want to do this through donation of company stock, which I have never done before. I own company stock as both ESPP shares and RSUs, both of which have gains. I have shares in each category that have both long and ...

bogleraw

Hi all, I am looking for advice on whether I should take the opportunity to prepay the April portion ($7k) of my 2017-2018 taxes online tomorrow. I live in a HCOL area and bought a house in 2016 and work in tech. For the 2016 tax year, I had the following situation: AGI: $300k, State and local incom...

bogleraw

WhiteMaxima wrote: ↑Tue Dec 05, 2017 5:48 pm Would like to see BH retirement asset winding down progression. It would be more interesting.

+1 That is a great idea!

bogleraw

I would appreciate more responses if anybody could spare their thoughts! Thanks!

bogleraw

Hi all, I am seeking a recommendation on term life insurance amounts. I am 33 yrs old and my wife just turned 34. We have a 3 year old son and a baby girl due in January. I am long overdue on working on our wills and life insurance etc, but have plans to talk to a tax + life insurance firm tomorrow...

bogleraw

Hi all, I am seeking a recommendation on term life insurance amounts. I am 33 yrs old and my wife just turned 34. We have a 3 year old son and a baby girl due in January. I am long overdue on working on our wills and life insurance etc, but have plans to talk to a tax + life insurance firm tomorrow...

bogleraw

Hi all, I am seeking a recommendation on term life insurance amounts. I am 33 yrs old and my wife just turned 34. We have a 3 year old son and a baby girl due in January. I am long overdue on working on our wills and life insurance etc, but have plans to talk to a tax + life insurance firm tomorrow ...

bogleraw

Thanks all for the feedback! I just called Wells Fargo and they said that they had observed the cash withdrawal attempt earlier and flagged it because it was over the limit. I am all set now. Thanks!

bogleraw

Thanks! Do you recommend I use a debit card or credit card for cash withdrawal?

bogleraw

Hi all, Need some urgent advice in the next few hours before morning here in Ireland. I need to withdraw some Euros from the local ATM so I can tip the taxi driver and head out on a local tour. I tried to use my Wells Fargo debit card and a couple of my credit cards (citi, discover, amex) to withdra...

bogleraw

Hi all, I have an employer stock plan with eTrade and live in California. I want to add my wife, who works for a different employer, to the account. My goal is for her to have full access to the funds at any time and be able to ask any questions she has about it whether I am alive or not. However, I...

bogleraw

I did not say that. I said OP has only one TIRA. His wife's situation is unequal but separate. By which I meant that your wife has two TIRAs, one of which is pre-tax, and large. And that her situation has no effect on your conversion of your IRA to Roth. The I in IRA stands for individual; your IRA...

bogleraw

We presently have all at Vanguard: $7500 in my Traditional IRA $2800 in my wife's Traditional IRA $72400 in wife's rollover IRA rolled over from a previous 401k - - - - Hi rkhusky and Watty, could you please explain why I can't convert our pre-tax (rollover)/traditional IRAs to Roth? Is there somet...

bogleraw

Investing in a taxable account is often better than nondeductible IRA if you can't convert to ROTH. Hi rkhusky and Watty, could you please explain why I can't convert our pre-tax (rollover)/traditional IRAs to Roth? Is there something that blocks such a move? Or is it because of the amounts in each...

bogleraw

Thanks for your feedback. We presently have all at Vanguard: $7500 in my Traditional IRA $2800 in my wife's Traditional IRA $72400 in wife's rollover IRA rolled over from a previous 401k Also have: $33640 in my Roth IRA $21761 in wife's Roth IRA $18800 in joint taxable account So should I simply nev...

bogleraw

Hello, My wife and I have combined income that exceeded the limit to contribute to Roth IRA's for 2015 and 2016. I noticed this in March last year and had Vanguard recharacterize 2015 and 2016 Roth contributions to Traditional IRAs. I was admittedly quite a bit flustered by all of this and decided t...

bogleraw

Hi all, Our taxes in previous years have been mostly straight forward and I have always used Taxact. Forms are just 2 W2's, 1099DIVs, 1099B, HSA contributions, daycare expenses, 1099INTs, state tax refund 1099-G, 1098 for mortgage property taxes+interest. Unfortunately, I botched our IRA contributio...

bogleraw

Thank you for the feedback. I did some more digging and realized that the amount of employer shares I have that are in long term capital gains status are ESPP shares that I purchased at a 15% discount on 1/15/2016. So none of these shares are vested RSUs. I have never sold ESPP or RSU shares before ...

bogleraw

Edit: Added option 4 based on PM (Thanks person who sent the PM!) Hi all, We are interested in establishing a scholarship for students with low-income backgrounds at my alma mater. We have 3 options to provide the amount needed to establish the scholarship: 1) With cash 2) Sell vested RSUs that are ...

bogleraw

Thank you all! I updated my frequent flyer accounts for various airlines with the KTN. I hope it is smooth sailing from now on.

bogleraw

Hi all, I have NEXUS cards for myself and my family. My understanding is that with NEXUS, you automatically get TSA PreCheck qualified. But every time I go through the security line at the airport (flying domestically or internationally), I get told that I cannot use the TSA Precheck line unless it ...

bogleraw

Thank you all for your recommendations!

bogleraw

Hi all, I attended a seminar in the bay area by a couple of lawyers from orange county. It was a good seminar, I got a very brief overview of probate courts (and the need to avoid them), revocable living trusts, a will, medical directives. but I am not sure on what to look for when deciding how to p...

bogleraw

Hi all, We want to buy good quality bookshelves that are sturdy and will hold college textbooks etc. We also have a problem that we are unable to bring large pieces of furniture up the stairs in our house. Where do the Bogleheads recommend buying good quality, modular bookshelves that will last us a...

bogleraw

Does one have to declare the credit / rebate on taxes for the year? Does Redfin send a tax document for the rebate?

bogleraw

Does one have to declare the cash refund on their taxes that year?

bogleraw

Hi all,

Is there a tax friendly way of applying the redfin buyer credit towards the purchase of a home in California? We have the choice of applying it towards closing costs or receiving a check.

Anybody have any experience with this?

Thanks!

bogleraw

Thanks all for your responses. I went with option 3!

bogleraw

Thanks all for the replies so far. I realized that I forgot to add an 7/1 ARM option for 20% down. Is option 3 still preferred over option 4?

bogleraw

Hi all, [EDITED TO ADD OPTION 4] My wife and I (both 32 years old) are under contract on a $1M property. We have the following mortgage options from the lender: 1) 30 year fixed, 10% down, 4% rate. Principal + interest = $4383. No additional PMI relative to 20% down. 2) 7/1 ARM, 10% down, 3.625% rat...

bogleraw

Thanks DSInvestor for your timely and useful advice! Everything makes sense regarding the steps I should take to fix the excess contributions. Yes, my wife and I have been maxing out our traditional 401(k) contributions at our respective employers all along. I setup traditional IRAs for both of us ...

bogleraw

Thanks DSInvestor for your timely and useful advice! Everything makes sense regarding the steps I should take to fix the excess contributions. Yes, my wife and I have been maxing out our traditional 401(k) contributions at our respective employers all along. I setup traditional IRAs for both of us a...

bogleraw

Hello, I was using TaxAct to file taxes for my wife and I and realized that 2015 was the first year where our combined income was greater than the MFJ limit for Roth IRA contributions ($>193000). In prior years when our MAGI was much lower, we had set up automatic monthly investments to contribute t...

bogleraw

Thank you all for the great responses. It has given me a lot of food for thought! I was unaware of the AMT thing - that is something I need to learn more about to see if it will really affect us, as I am the only person earning and my wife stays home.

bogleraw

Yes, I did try the NYT calculator as well as the Zillow calculator, but they don't seem to provide the information I am looking for. Could anybody else who has recently bought in the bay are provide any insight?

Thanks!

bogleraw

Hi all, I currently pay $3200 in rent for a 1100 sq. ft townhouse in the bay area. My landlord is pretty chill, has allowed me to keep the rent fixed and is willing to sign a multi year lease if I am interested. Our baby won't be attending kindergarten till he is 5 years old (2019). We are very happ...

bogleraw

Hello, It is open enrollment season at my megacorp and I'm looking for some advice regarding life insurance. I have an 18 month old baby and my wife stays at home with him. We are all healthy and my wife and I are both 31. My employer offers basic life insurance as well as Accidental Death and Disme...

bogleraw

Thank you all for your suggestions! Very helpful!

bogleraw

Hello all, I have flat feet and have recently had some problems with aching feet at the end of each work day. For running, I have found Asics to be very comfortable with the gel in the arches, but I don't think they make comfortable shoes for a professional environment. Does anybody have any suggest...

bogleraw

Hi all, My spouse was a W-2 employee until April this year. Besides small side income from random gigs, she is not expecting any other W-2 income for the rest of 2015 or in 2016. We usually make monthly contributions to each of our Roth IRAs to max it out each year. Are we allowed to continue fundin...

bogleraw

Thank you both for your replies! It makes sense.

Have a great day!

bogleraw

Hello, My wife and I have been employed with Employer A since 1/1/2015. We have each been contributing to HSA's. Since the IRS family contribution limit to HSA for 2015 is $6650, I set my HSA contribution during annual enrollment last year to $3350 and my wife set hers to $3300. Starting next week, ...

bogleraw

Thanks OP!

I switched from Turbo Tax to TaxAct last year and had no issues at all. Importing the data for 2014 taxes also worked perfectly.

Search found 98 matches