Bogleheads.org

Artsdoctor

DM, If I remember correctly from previous posts, you're 60s-70s? If so, your annual grants from the DAF make up a very small percentage of the total and you're clearly running it like a foundation. The time frame to spend from the DAF would appear to be at least a couple of decades, most likely. I t...

Artsdoctor

^ The thing I'm grappling with is the conflict that inherently exists with an advisor who earns his/her keep based on the lump sum value of a portfolio. I have no doubt that most Bogleheads will be just fine and self-sufficient. But there are plenty of people (most?) who will come up short and may b...

Artsdoctor

^ I'm not sure I'd agree that every professional speaks in terms of stock variables; they're uni-dimensional. Robert Merton distills virtually everything down to flow variables, if you like. At least, that's how I understand it (but I'm definitely not a professional, so give me some slack). At any r...

Artsdoctor

Why would you "count" pension contributions of any sort? Your pension is part of your income. At the end of the day, your entire portfolio is all about income generation at a later date. If you put legacy plans aside, your investment portfolio is about one thing only: how much income do I need to ge...

Artsdoctor

The reason for the current taxation amount for some of the social security benefit is complicated and is listed below:

https://www.ssa.gov/history/taxationofbenefits.html

Artsdoctor

Thank you for your responses. I had no idea that it would be 85% instead of 100%. You calculate your Modified Adjusted Gross Income by looking at the bottom of page 1 (from 2017), and then adding in your tax-exempt income. Line 20a will have your total social security income, but line 20b will have...

Artsdoctor

Don't forget that your mother received a stepped up basis on your fathers half of the house as of the date of his death. That is a huge change in basis. Selling expenses and home improvements over the years can also be added. Or, if you're in a community property state, the stepped up basis is for ...

Artsdoctor

Is this some sort of a variable annuity? The mortality and expense fees are usually charged by insurance companies when offering various (high-priced) annuity products.

See if your plan offers something other than variable annuities, or the like.

Artsdoctor

My goal has always been a balance due of $999.99. However, it is very difficult to hit that exact number. Wow. You are a tough cookie! My goal has always been to be at 90% of the expected total in lower years and 110% of the previous year in higher years--your typical safe harbors; preferably, with...

Artsdoctor

Actually, I think that your 403k fees truly are "outrageously high." It wasn't long ago that a lot of people had fees like this but fees have come down substantially over the past 5 years. Usually, fees are related to the number of employees in the plan but with a school, I can't believe your fees w...

Artsdoctor

You'll find this very helpful:

https://cdn.vcapps.org/sites/default/fi ... lePage.pdf

Artsdoctor

If you've already met your safe harbor withholding, then I would try to withhold the least amount possible going forward.

Artsdoctor

My company was sold and our jobs were eliminated last week. I am wondering about the above advice to skip Cobra. At 60 years old Cobra is more than $300 per month more expensive for a single person, medical only. In addition, while my company plan was not great, the Market Plan coverage does not co...

Artsdoctor

My dad is on dialysis at 73. My sister has stage IV cancer at age 46. I will be 41 this month, I had my own health problems. if SS does not change, I'll gladly take it at age 62. Your point is a good one which is not often discussed. Health concerns matter a great deal when deciding when to start s...

Artsdoctor

Any good books on the ew tax code yet? Probably too early but I really don’t have a feel for my tax situation yet. I used to be in amt but now probably not. Good question. I haven't found any. The AMT is gone for most people. I can only speak for my own financial situation: the total tax will proba...

Artsdoctor

Very helpful. I'll go with an ACA plan. Just a word to the wise. You didn't say which state you live in. As you probably have read, whatever plans may exist this year, may not exist next year. The general trend is one in which insurers are leaving the marketplace, not joining it. Individual (family...

Artsdoctor

Very helpful. I'll go with an ACA plan. Just a word to the wise. You didn't say which state you live in. As you probably have read, whatever plans may exist this year, may not exist next year. The general trend is one in which insurers are leaving the marketplace, not joining it. Individual (family...

Artsdoctor

Hmm... I wonder if the list of non-Vanguard ETFs will include the popular iShares ETFs that people now buy through Fidelity. If so, I can see Fidelity losing a lot more business to Vanguard. Unless Fidelity will allow Vanguard ETFs to be traded free or charge . . . That would be interesting! Althou...

Artsdoctor

My dear Bogleheads friends, my wife and I would be very interested in your advice. We owe mortgage of $960 per month on $103,300 at 4.0% for the next 17 yrs We owe car payment of $414 per month on $23,326 at 2.59% for the next 5 yrs My wife and are are both 63 yrs old and retired. We live on $58,30...

Artsdoctor

I would think you'd want to define "target" first. A lot of people use the word "target" in the context of being able to retire or perhaps being financially independent. But that can occur at a variety of ages. Many people who are newly retired may have reached their "target" but have several decade...

Artsdoctor

Up until the end of 2017, I always claimed the standard deduction + personal exemption since I was single, renting, basically had no deductions whatsoever. Now that I'm married, own a home, have a kid on the way, and with the tax law changes, figured I'd dig into this a bit deeper. Here's what, rou...

Artsdoctor

Bond funds will usually have less volatility than equity funds so being "out of the market" for 30 days is unlikely to matter much when it comes to price. While I agree completely with that statement, it is mostly because the word "usually" was used. As I noted the other day, VBTLX went from $10.32...

Artsdoctor

When bond fund dividends are paid out, the NAV does not drop. This depends on the bond fund, but for Vanguard Total Bond Market Index fund it is true. It is not true for VSCSX for example. Livesoft: Does the short-term corporate bond fund not accumulate dividends on a daily basis? And just to clari...

Artsdoctor

I own VBTLX with a current loss of $2,900. My question is with regard to tax loss harvesting. How exactly should I tax loss harvest this? What do you think is the most optimal strategy here? Option 1 - Tax loss harvest now, wait 30 days and re-purchase VBTLX Option 2 - Tax loss harvest now and re-p...

Artsdoctor

It is true, in both theory and practice, because of the way the bond market is structured. If you own a bond which pays a semiannual coupon, and it's four months since the most recent coupon payment, and I buy it from you, in addition to the price of the bond I have to give you its prorated coupon....

Artsdoctor

Can we possibly, please, stop conflating the payment of dividends from corporations with withdrawals from portfolios? I think it causes more confusion than even a deliberate attempt to cause more confusion could cause. Dividends are part of total return. Interest, even if expressed as dividends fro...

Artsdoctor

^ I agree, Bobcat. I can only imagine what it must have been like to win the Nobel Prize and have the LTCM debacle occurring in such close proximity. Talk about a roller coaster ride! You don't have to agree with everything Merton says. There is no one who's infallible. Ideally, you pick and choose ...

Artsdoctor

The interview was good. He made it very clear that he is focusing many of his recommendations on middle class and perhaps upper-middle class investors, and spends a reasonable amount of time discussing annuities and reverse mortgages. I think that using the reverse mortgage lever is still going to b...

Artsdoctor

Thanks. Will be interested in listening. Merton has a very interesting personal and professional history, and that particular podcast is 90 minutes so hopefully will get into some of his past as well as present.

Artsdoctor

Carol: BTW, high-dividend paying stocks are still stocks. They are not replacements for bonds. They're not tax-efficient and you're going to be more susceptible to price swings. This would deserve a separate thread, but you can also search the forum for threads like it because this has been discusse...

Artsdoctor

Okay, I am trying to imagine holding a bond fund and then when the market gets slammed I am supposed to sell some of it to buy more stocks. But now imagine a really terrible bear market that takes the market down over several years but also takes bonds down, too. Then what? I don't know what happen...

Artsdoctor

The thought that selling stocks when needed "and now the market is down" is market timing and this should be avoided. Just sell what you need regardless of where the market is. Sell in proportion to your entire asset allocation. Wow! Do you have any idea how difficult this sounds to me? I can't ima...

Artsdoctor

There seem to be a lot of posts about inflation lately. Much discussion about which measure to use and if inflation is under or accurately reported. Problem is that the government numbers are aggregate measures across the economy and it seems to me inflation is more or less individual. If you own a...

Artsdoctor

^ That's where my questioning comes into play. I don't know about what the S Corp can do if the primary policy holder is someone other than an employer (or owner).

Now, COBRA premiums can be paid out of an HSA, if that's applicable, so there would be tax savings from that end, if necessary.

Artsdoctor

I'm currently finishing up a modern version of Mackay's "Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds." The first half is a pretty standard history of financial Bubbles, similar to Mackay's, the last half, alsoechoing Mackay, a history of non-financial delusions. Can't say m...

Artsdoctor

As the title says, is there? I mean for example treasuries were the way to go to last years but lowering of interest rates surely helped their gains. Will there be a reversion to the mean when interest rates rise again? And will an investor be better off in a diversified index like total bond? No. ...

Artsdoctor

vanguard.com/research periodically has interesting white papers Hi Artsdoctor - Vanguard publishes a lot of investment research such that it is hard to keep up with it all. Do you read all the research reports that they publish? In addition, do you save them electronically for future reference? I d...

Artsdoctor

Certainly not the WSJ. Bogleheads.org is clearly the best resource available. vanguard.com/research periodically has interesting white papers Nerd's eye view at kitces.com is sometimes very helpful Jonathan Clements' Humble Dollar is always good, but mostly for underscoring what we already know reti...

Artsdoctor

^ Davis: Yes, for the routine medical insurance premiums. Can he do the same if he's paying COBRA through his spouse's employer?

Artsdoctor

Ask your accountant if you can run the COBRA payments through your S Corp. I don't know the answer to this with certainty, but I wouldn't rule out that possibility.

Artsdoctor

Just looking at back-of-the-envelope calculations, you're in a better situation than a lot of people just starting out with a first house here. You didn't mention your age, but it looks as if you're doing everything right. There are intangibles to consider: you're happy in your current environment, ...

Artsdoctor

^ Just to clarify. The NIIT is net investment income tax; it is not the 0.9% Medicare surtax which would be imposed on earned income above a certain level.

Artsdoctor

TimeLord, I think your question is a great one, and I do think that some answers here can be "actionable." As has been described above, "inflation" is a term which is used generally in large macroeconomic terms. Inevitably, you're going to be trying to measure it with various indices, most commonly ...

Artsdoctor

Gips, You're right; if you have no earned income, you're unlikely to hit the 20% capital gains rate. However, the NIIT kicks in at $250,000 for a married couple, so you'll want to take that into consideration since your $200,000 gain will bring you close to that limit alone. And make sure you take y...

Artsdoctor

My question is how much money can I afford to donate to charity? My cash flow from investestments ( 1/3 stock 1/3 bonds 1/3 commercial real estate) is probably 2x my expenses without touching principle. 64 years old not taking SS till 70 and leaving a large inheritance is unnecessary. I tend to low...

Artsdoctor

I have realized a $200k lt cap gain this year with no offsetting lt unrealized cap losses. I do have $10k in unrealized short-term cap losses that can be harvested. any reason not to offset the lt cap gain with short-term cap loss? seems like it will save $1.5k of taxes this year. I would definitel...

Artsdoctor

An HSA account isn’t offered through my employer but I’m looking into setting one up on my own. A high deductible plan is required to qualify ($1,350 deductible and $6,650 max out of pocket for individuals) but it makes no mention of whether this applies to in-network or out-of-network benefits in ...

Artsdoctor

CULater wrote: ↑
Tue Jun 26, 2018 8:54 am
There is only one reason to take SS early or not delay taking it until age 70 -- you have to. There might be a second reason -- you can't do math.

I would think that if someone were given a cancer diagnosis at 61, they might have a reasonable discussion with you about this topic.

Artsdoctor

Vanguard will report out the dividends from the Federal Money Market fund on your 1099-DIV in box 1a ("Total Ordinary Dividends"). From a federal point of view, they will be taxed as ordinary income and could also be subject to the 3.8% NIIT (if applicable to you).

Artsdoctor

I opened a Donor Advised Fund at Fidelity last year because of the tax changes. Normally I contribute annually to my local PBS station (KQED) with a personal check and receive a MemberCard that entitles me to certain perks. I'm not sure what would happen this year if I contributed through the DAF; ...

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