Search found 141 matches

by BSA44
Fri Feb 11, 2022 11:40 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Roth conversion taxes when moving states
Replies: 5
Views: 505

Re: Roth conversion taxes when moving states

My father is looking to do some Roth conversion for the next few years before his RMD's start and we are unsure about best timing to minimize state taxes. He moved from NY (high state income taxes) to Texas (no state income taxes) this past December (they sold their NY residence and bought one in Texas). So they are technically Texas residents now (although they won't have their Texas driver's license until March). However, they are still receiving residual income/salary from their business in NY this year (a little over $200k). What I'm trying to figure out is if they do a Roth conversion this year, will they be hit with NY state income tax? Also, does it matter when they do it this year (e.g., should they wait until they have their Texas...
by BSA44
Fri Feb 11, 2022 9:34 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Roth conversion taxes when moving states
Replies: 5
Views: 505

Roth conversion taxes when moving states

My father is looking to do some Roth conversion for the next few years before his RMD's start and we are unsure about best timing to minimize state taxes. He moved from NY (high state income taxes) to Texas (no state income taxes) this past December (they sold their NY residence and bought one in Texas). So they are technically Texas residents now (although they won't have their Texas driver's license until March). However, they are still receiving residual income/salary from their business in NY this year (a little over $200k). What I'm trying to figure out is if they do a Roth conversion this year, will they be hit with NY state income tax? Also, does it matter when they do it this year (e.g., should they wait until they have their Texas ...
by BSA44
Tue Nov 16, 2021 1:36 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Should we buy more land next to our house?
Replies: 46
Views: 5157

Re: Should we buy more land next to our house?

Thank you for all of the feedback! Yes, if we decide to go for it we will definitely try to negotiate the land down based on featured. The issue for trying to argue for the plot being landlocked is that it isn't truly landlocked for the seller's alternatives as they have access to their 400 acres (of which the 10 acres adjoining our lot is part of) via 3 roads. So if they sold the whole 400 acres, it wouldn't be landlocked as it'd just be part of the 400 acres (and it isn't landlocked for us either, as we have road access). As a result, even though that lot by itself is technically landlocked, given we each have road access, it isn't really landlocked.
by BSA44
Tue Nov 16, 2021 10:28 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Should we buy more land next to our house?
Replies: 46
Views: 5157

Should we buy more land next to our house?

My wife and I managed a bit of a coup and got an amazing house with ~15 acres with a lot of privacy and spectacular views about 35 minutes outside of one the fastest growing cities in the US for ~$1.3 mill. In the last 6 months since we got the house, the value of the house according to nearby comps (and as estimated by real estate websites) has gone up at least $400,000, and based on the past and current trajectory of the city, it seems like growth will likely continue (although who knows). The lot next to our property is currently 400 acres of undeveloped wooded land and the owner offered to sell us a parcel of 10-20 acres adjacent to our current lot. However, we're really torn on getting it it or not. The two reasons we are considering i...
by BSA44
Sat Apr 17, 2021 8:11 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Solo 401k Max Contribution Question
Replies: 1
Views: 268

Solo 401k Max Contribution Question

I couldn't seem to figure this one out through searching online myself due to the scarcity of mentions of 401a plans. I know 403b contributions count toward the solo-401k employee contribution limit, but do 457b or 401a (either employee or employer contributions) count toward the solo-401k (employee/employer) contribution limits?
by BSA44
Mon Dec 21, 2020 4:23 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How much house can we afford (unusual situation)?
Replies: 17
Views: 2475

Re: How much house can we afford (unusual situation)?

You make $240k a year as a tenure track faculty member? I clearly selected the wrong STEM area. Can I ask what area you teach in? I'm happy to mention it broadly. Pretty much any business field (finance, accounting, management, marketing, operations) at a top 25 business school will land a fairly nice salary. When you take into account summer support (and extra 2/9ths on top of base) and 403b match (usually somewhere between 7%-14%), you're looking at somewhere between $230k-$290k total as a starting Assistant Professor depending on whether the school is public/private and ranking. A number of schools even below the top 25 (e.g., Tulane, Texas A&M, Arizona State, U Maryland, etc.) will also yield salaries in this range, but it can be m...
by BSA44
Mon Dec 21, 2020 8:47 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How much house can we afford (unusual situation)?
Replies: 17
Views: 2475

Re: How much house can we afford (unusual situation)?

Thank you all for the advice!

Great insights regarding how the lower interest rate changes the calculation.

Yeah, it's tricky to figure out the exact preferences for working an extra couple of years versus more house, as right now it seems like we would want to work more years than needed (even without accounting for the house), but predicting preferences 8+ years out can be messy.

It seems like what we were thinking falls into the generally consensus of responses, though. Thanks for all the help!
by BSA44
Sun Dec 20, 2020 11:03 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How much house can we afford (unusual situation)?
Replies: 17
Views: 2475

How much house can we afford (unusual situation)?

My wife and I have been looking to buy a house with some land. Unfortunately, so has everyone else and our MCOL city has become a HCOL city with skyrocketing real estate prices (particularly for higher end houses). Our situation is a bit unusual as we've theoretically already "won the game" in terms of having enough money to retire at our current lifestyle and are still saving substantially (there is nothing else we want to spend money on), so I don't think normal rules of thumb regarding salary to house value work here. We're trying to figure out how high we can reasonably go, and any advice would be appreciated. We want a house with a good bit of land (i.e., a couple of acres) near the city, so the kinds of houses we are looking...
by BSA44
Tue Dec 01, 2020 8:05 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Recommendations for virtual financial advisor for retirement withdrawal/conversion/tax strategy?
Replies: 6
Views: 802

Re: Recommendations for virtual financial advisor for retirement withdrawal/conversion/tax strategy?

22twain wrote: Tue Dec 01, 2020 1:20 am This is way above my pay grade but...
BSA44 wrote: Mon Nov 30, 2020 8:56 pm a) they are moving states in a couple of years so local is less relevant
... therefore it seems to me that the state they end up in might be relevant here.
They are in the process of figuring out. Likely NC or TX (obviously different tax implications), but they'll need to start making withdrawals and would benefit from conversions prior to the move.

Also, thank you to those who provided recs so far; they have been great!
by BSA44
Mon Nov 30, 2020 8:56 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Recommendations for virtual financial advisor for retirement withdrawal/conversion/tax strategy?
Replies: 6
Views: 802

Recommendations for virtual financial advisor for retirement withdrawal/conversion/tax strategy?

Does anyone have any good recommendations for an hourly financial advisor for doing the calculations to figure out an optimal withdrawal/conversion/tax optimization strategy in retirement? I'm looking for someone to help out my soon-to-be retired 65 year old parents. They have ~$7 million in invested assets, of which ~2/3rds are in a mix of tax-advantaged accounts (mostly tax-deferred, some in a Roth, and some in a Vanguard variable annuity). They generally ask for my help with financial matters, because although they are high income, their expertise is far removed from business/finance (i.e., they've lost a good bit of money previously to bad actors). I feel mostly comfortable enough running the bogleheads spreadsheet on withdrawal/convers...
by BSA44
Thu Oct 22, 2020 1:51 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Chartering a flight on short notice?
Replies: 39
Views: 4640

Re: Chartering a flight on short notice?

We want to travel to be back with our family. One of us is high-risk for COVID, so we don't want to travel commercial. I'm sorry for your loss. Being in close proximity to your family and others at the funeral is the high risk activity here, more than the flight. I know it's difficult but you really should stay home. If you do decide to go, the main thing to keep in mind is any potential travel restrictions in the state you're planning to visit. Many states require a 14 day self-quarantine period when arriving from most other areas of the country. You would need to arrive at least that far in advance of the funeral in that case. Thank you all for the advice so far. There won't be a funeral. It will just be my wife and I spending time with ...
by BSA44
Thu Oct 22, 2020 10:07 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Chartering a flight on short notice?
Replies: 39
Views: 4640

Re: Chartering a flight on short notice?

jbmitt wrote: Thu Oct 22, 2020 9:58 am
mrspock wrote: Thu Oct 22, 2020 9:52 am Make sure you aren’t swapping one obvious low risk (COVID) for a less obvious risk, netting out to more risk. Smaller planes have a much higher accident rate. Google around.
That’s why you charter from a reputable part 135 operator.
I apologize for my ignorance, but am I correct in assuming that I should just ask if they are a part 135 operator and that will signal that they are higher quality/safer?
by BSA44
Thu Oct 22, 2020 8:58 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Chartering a flight on short notice?
Replies: 39
Views: 4640

Re: Chartering a flight on short notice?

Sorry for your loss. I'd recommend you start with your local regional airport and see if there are charter services based there who can provide a quote. You are likely looking at around $2,000+ per flight hour for a turboprop and $3,000+ per hour for a small jet. You'll also pay for repositioning the aircraft to your airport of departure as well as the cost for "waiting" at your destination (or the cost of repositioning the aircraft back to its base of operations). If you plan on staying a while at your destination, your costs could be substantial. (If the destination is four hours of flight time, you may be talking about $35k or more for a turboprop charter). The only way to know for certain is to get a few quotes. If you have s...
by BSA44
Thu Oct 22, 2020 8:28 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Chartering a flight on short notice?
Replies: 39
Views: 4640

Chartering a flight on short notice?

My wife and I just found out a close family member passed away. We want to travel to be back with our family. One of us is high-risk for COVID, so we don't want to travel commercial. Luckily we are well-off financially and save for emergencies, so we are looking into chartering a private plane to minimize risk with COVID, hassle from driving (we are not looking to drive 26 hours in our current state), and ease of bringing our dog (as we may stay there a while). However, we've never chartered a plane before. For those who are familiar do you have any recommendations for services/websites and/or any tips/things to be aware of?
by BSA44
Thu Apr 30, 2020 3:52 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Starting a small business for health insurance
Replies: 5
Views: 695

Starting a small business for health insurance

My wife and I are planning on retiring early (i.e., early to mid 40's) with significantly more funds than we need, and the states we are looking at retiring in generally have awful affordable care act options (no PPO's available). One of us has a chronic condition (but not degenerative and doesn't impact lifestyle) and as a result we: 1) don't want to constantly need referrals for all the appointments (which is required for HMOs), 2) like to be able to go to hospitals/doctors in other states if needed (which the ACA plans don't allow), and 3) will guaranteed spend the full deductible every year along with hitting the coinsurance max (or out of pocket max if there is no coinsurance cap). For instance, in the state we are most interested in, ...
by BSA44
Sat Apr 18, 2020 3:30 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How to compare across all 50 state ACA plans?
Replies: 15
Views: 1032

Re: How to compare across all 50 state ACA plans?

Anyway, getting to the question. Are there any good websites that compare the ACA plans between states for price, available type (e.g., HMO, PPO, EPO), and network coverage? From my understanding, there is tremendous variance between the various states' ACA markets. I think you might need to go more granular than state level. AFAIK, an insurer will not necessarily offer plans in the entire state. An example in my area is Kaiser, which sells insurance in part of the state but not in my ZIP code (county?). I appreciate all the responses so far! However, the main learning seems to be there is no way to even slightly exhaustively compare insurance plans across states, as you can't even need to do it at the state level, but at the county level....
by BSA44
Sat Apr 18, 2020 2:05 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How to compare across all 50 state ACA plans?
Replies: 15
Views: 1032

How to compare across all 50 state ACA plans?

My wife and I are planning on early retirement, where we will have a number of years before we are medicare eligible. We are not going to be super-frugal (i.e., we have a solid buffer and would get minimal if any ACA subsidies) but aren't going to be super luxurious either (i.e., we don't have a massive buffer), so healthcare costs (and quality) are a major concern. Plus we have some health issues (noted below) that make this even more important. As a result, we are considering choosing our retirement location in a large part based on what works best for health insurance. We currently live in Texas, but are completely location flexible (currently live in an apartment and are not close with family). The issue is that one of us has a chronic ...
by BSA44
Thu Oct 10, 2019 8:43 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Best Trust Company For Spendthrift Child
Replies: 13
Views: 2550

Re: Best Trust Company For Spendthrift Child

Thank you for the posts so far! Give discretion to trustees. Not rules. Consider a corporate trustee with a family member as a co-trustee. That way family can supply the subjective decision making but a trusted trust company manages the cash and avoids a family member "borrowing" or similar. Do corporate trustees do full-discretion trusts? Isn't it an issue that there incentives would be to give out the least amount of money possible (so they can have their management fee % on a higher amount)? We do not want the sibling to be a co-trustee as that will create extreme relationship friction (they don't want to be co-trustee for similar reasons). There are no other suitable family members. Have you considered a trust department of a ...
by BSA44
Thu Oct 10, 2019 8:13 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Best Trust Company For Spendthrift Child
Replies: 13
Views: 2550

Best Trust Company For Spendthrift Child

I have an adult child, who while not special needs, does have a number of personality disorders and on-again/off-again depression. For when my wife and I pass away, I'd like to set up a trust (~$2-$3 million) for the child with some relatively basic rules (e.g., X% of the account per month, a one-time expenditure for a house of up to $X is allowed, etc.) that will take care of all the normal trust responsibilities (e.g., investing, taxes, etc.). Although I know some people philosophically believe money should be given to charity and not the child, I don't fall into that bucket. Giving the child all of the money at once would be a bad idea as it would be spent immediately, and there is a high likelihood due to their personality disorders tha...
by BSA44
Tue Oct 08, 2019 8:37 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Schwab commission free vs Vanguard
Replies: 8
Views: 1947

Re: Schwab commission free vs Vanguard

As has been noted in other threads, Vanguard's ownership structure is unique, in that you as a fund-holder own the firm. Theoretically that means Vanguard's interests should be more aligned with yours. Alternatively (at least in theory), Schwab should be more profit-driven, and thus may make choices that are less aligned with your interests. For instance, in terms of high-level corporate malfeasance/fraud (e.g., Enron, Arthur Anderson, etc.) there is theoretically less risk of this with Vanguard.

I intentionally used the word "theoretically" as this kind of situation (with the massive control these firms have over the entire market now due to index fund holdings) has never really been tested.
by BSA44
Sun May 19, 2019 1:23 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Do I need "own" occupation disability insurance (professor)?
Replies: 8
Views: 901

Do I need "own" occupation disability insurance (professor)?

As noted in the title, I'm a professor. My university offers "any" occupation disability insurance. I know for certain careers (e.g., surgeon) where any number of minor injuries or disabilities (e.g., any issues with hands, eyes, endurance, etc.) would make them unemployable as a surgeon, so "own" occupation disability insurance is vital. However, as a professor (I already work 80% of the time from home) it seems like most injuries/disabilities would either not stop me from being able to continue my career or would completely disable me, such that I couldn't work in any field. The only area of problematic disabilities that I can come up with would be ones that slightly mental handicap me enough that being a professor is ...
by BSA44
Mon Mar 18, 2019 5:11 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How Important is a Credit Score?
Replies: 86
Views: 5698

Re: How Important is a Credit Score?

As another point that was missed, putting aside the morality of it, certain industries are known to use credit scores as a factor for deciding whether they will hire someone.
by BSA44
Tue Nov 06, 2018 8:33 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Recommended reading for tax minimizing withdrawal strategies in retirement?
Replies: 6
Views: 867

Re: Recommended reading for tax minimizing withdrawal strategies in retirement?

Often book give you numerous ideas but leave you with no real actionable plan. I would suggest he runs his numbers thru the extended IORP and vary the inputs and strategies for fast comparisons. I would suggest he then run the most promising future combinations thru the RPM spreadsheet calculator for a much more detailed and eye opening result (This takes longer to load and a larger commitment but is worth the time). With those amount of funds in those accounts types he has a lot of potential to either maximize his spendable dollars or lose them to taxes (100's of thousands) - it is well worth the time to model the choices. I would also suggest he read shorter and more practically actionable articles such as this one... https://www.kitces....
by BSA44
Tue Nov 06, 2018 7:44 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Recommended reading for tax minimizing withdrawal strategies in retirement?
Replies: 6
Views: 867

Recommended reading for tax minimizing withdrawal strategies in retirement?

My father-in-law, who will be retiring in two years, came to me to get some advice and ideally some recommended reading (he loves reading educational books generally) on optimal withdrawal strategies in retirement to minimize taxes. Do you have any books or articles you would recommend? His wife will be retiring in 1.5 years at age 64 and he'll be retiring in 3 years at age 68. They have ~$200k in Roth accounts, ~$4.2mill in 401ks, and ~$500k in taxable. They'll probably invest another $300k before both of them are fully retired, their initial living expenses at retirement will be around $200k, but that will likely drop to $150k within 5 years (weaning off a adult child), and then probably down to $100k a few years later. Their overall allo...
by BSA44
Thu Nov 01, 2018 6:28 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is an MBA worth it these days?
Replies: 55
Views: 9084

Re: Is an MBA worth it these days?

hand wrote: Thu Nov 01, 2018 6:10 am Once you consider forgone salary, $250+k for a top MBA is daunting, perhaps much lower tuition and no loss of salary at a part time program will still get you where you want to go. Holy grail of this approach is finding an employer who offers tuition benefits while you go to school at night.
UT's MBA program (the original poster noted), which while not HBS, but is still quite a strong program, is less than half cost you noted.
by BSA44
Thu Nov 01, 2018 6:24 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is an MBA worth it these days?
Replies: 55
Views: 9084

Re: Is an MBA worth it these days?

I am daunted by the cost of an MBA from a recognized school like SMU, UT, Rice, etc...so my major question remains, is an MBA worth it? Is it a commodity these days for people early in their careers? I'm an MBA professor, so I obviously will have a self-serving view. However, I would argue that one of the benefits that seems to be missed in the prior posts is the learning opportunities (both from an intrinsic value perspective but also a way to achieve a better ROI). For instance, I teach MBA negotiations, and from conversation with past students, I believe they feel that the course as quite a good ROI. As long as you aren't already an expert negotiator, if the course enables you to even negotiates 5% higher salaries during your lifetime, ...
by BSA44
Mon Oct 01, 2018 1:34 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Would you roth or traditional in this case?
Replies: 16
Views: 1835

Re: Would you roth or traditional in this case?

T-Wrench wrote: Mon Oct 01, 2018 1:00 pm My understanding is that the 403b is an individual account (i.e., it's your account, not your wife's, and so you can't contribute $18,500 in addition to your mandatory amount) and therefore you are dealing with the $18,500 limit for this year. That tells me that we're quibbling about:

$18,500 - $13,679 mandatory contribution = $4821 that you can make a decision on per year.
I believe that is incorrect. The $18500 is only a limit for elective deferrals not mandatory ones.

For reference, see:

viewtopic.php?t=234355
viewtopic.php?t=156731
by BSA44
Sun Sep 30, 2018 4:15 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Would you roth or traditional in this case?
Replies: 16
Views: 1835

Re: Would you roth or traditional in this case?

It is an equivalent decision to the decision whether to invest in the traditional or Roth 403(b). If you contribute $1000 to a Roth 403(b) rather than a traditional 403(b), you pay $240 in tax, and jabe $1000 in the Roth rather than the traditional account. If you convert $1000, you also pay $240 in tax, and have $1000 in a Roth rather than a traditional account. (Before 2018, they were not quite equivalent, because you could undo a conversion through October 15 of the next year, but that recharacterization option was removed in the new tax law.) But this doesn't mean that the decision must be all-or-none. While you pay the same amount of extra tax for every $1000 you move to a Roth, the more you move, the lower your taxable income will be...
by BSA44
Sun Sep 30, 2018 2:16 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Would you roth or traditional in this case?
Replies: 16
Views: 1835

Re: Would you roth or traditional in this case?

Question. I don’t understand your annual savings total. How do you do two backdoor Roth’s for 11k? Your wife don’t work. And if you do this, how can you still contribute another 18,500 to a 403b or roth(you highlighted this spot) for 18,500? Then you added it all up to get 100,794? And one last thing, how does your employer match more than you put in? That must be nice. 1) From my understanding, for any annual IRA/Roth/backdoor Roth contribution ($5500 per person) one spouse can contribute on behalf of the other spouse as long as one of the spouses has enough income to cover both (even if the other spouse isn't working). 2) From my understanding, the $5,500 IRA/Backdoor Roth contribution per person doesn't count against your $18,500 403b/4...
by BSA44
Sun Sep 30, 2018 12:25 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Would you roth or traditional in this case?
Replies: 16
Views: 1835

Re: Would you roth or traditional in this case?

bsteiner wrote: Sun Sep 30, 2018 11:23 am If you won't be having children, will you be leaving your estates to friends and family, or to charity?
We're not sure yet. We figure our preferences on that will change over the next bunch of years. At this point we figure minimizing taxes for ourselves (should we want to spend most of it at some point) is the most sensible goal.
by BSA44
Sun Sep 30, 2018 10:15 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Would you roth or traditional in this case?
Replies: 16
Views: 1835

Re: Would you roth or traditional in this case?

And I agree with LeeMKE; you might consider converting your traditional IRAs to Roth, up to the top of the 24% tax bracket. Thank you both for your comments! It seems like doing a Roth for that 403b is the right call. That is an interesting suggestion about converting some of our other pre-tax money to Roth up to the top of the 24% tax bracket. I'll have to ponder that one over a bit. Even though I imagine that we would end up better in almost every scenario if we did that, the one scenario where we would end up worse is if BOTH it turns out the inheritance never comes through AND we end up retiring super-early for some reason (as even without the inheritance, our RMDs and dividends will be quite substantial if we work into our late 50's)....
by BSA44
Sat Sep 29, 2018 9:25 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Would you roth or traditional in this case?
Replies: 16
Views: 1835

Would you roth or traditional in this case?

Although the normal advice is that a traditional 401k is always better than a Roth, my wife and I have been quite financially lucky and are in a situation where it is less clear if we should make a 403b contribution as roth or traditional. I would appreciate any advice that you might have. Ages: 30 Assets Total : $1,200,000 Taxable Brokerage Account: $800,000 Traditional 401k/403bs : $250,000 Roth IRAs/401k/403bs : $150,000 Salary His: $205,000 Salary Hers: $0 currently; she just quit her job and is in the process of attempting to start a new career as a fiction author. Given how much authors tend to make, we don't expect her to make much money (likely $10k-$30k a year), although she may end up making more. The savings numbers below assume ...
by BSA44
Sat Sep 29, 2018 8:25 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Salary negotiation: saying a number first on purpose?
Replies: 43
Views: 5264

Re: Salary negotiation: saying a number first on purpose?

The idea that you shouldn't make the first offer is a myth. The scientific research on the topic falls very strongly on the side that you are almost always better off if you make the first offer (e.g., " The Remarkable Robustness of the First-Offer Effect Across Culture, Power, and Issues "). Consider the probability of two outcomes: 1) You accidentally make a first offer substantially too low and miss out on a ton of money. 2) You hold more control over the conversation and benefit from a host of psychological mechanisms tied to making first offer (e.g., anchoring, signaling value, etc.). The first effect (why you shouldn't make the first offer) is driven by irrational fear. Really, how often are you going to walk into a negotiat...
by BSA44
Wed May 09, 2018 11:22 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Custom suit needed for a wedding. Help me shop around!!
Replies: 30
Views: 3955

Re: Custom suit needed for a wedding. Help me shop around!!

golfCaddy wrote: Wed May 09, 2018 11:06 am Read about the differences between made to order, made to measure, and bespoke. Custom is a marketing term, which depending on the brand, might be almost the same as off the rack. For a MTM or bespoke suit, $750/suit seems very low.
I have had very good experiences with Indochino (online MTM suit-maker). Their suits are currently $369 plus a $75 alteration credit for a local tailor if needed. One time a suit came with an issue that couldn't be fixed by easy alterations (jacket lapels had gaps between them and the chest), and they took back the suit (they paid for return shipping) and sent me a new one.
by BSA44
Sat Jan 20, 2018 1:15 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 403b rollover headache
Replies: 7
Views: 1010

Re: 403b rollover headache

Thanks for all of the advice so far! Right, but what if you did the IRA with a 3rd party that also had good customer service and was willing to deal with all the forms? Another option is that if your wife is going to make any 1099 income as an author, she could set up a self employed 401k to accept the rollover. A solo-401k may work, but it could be a while before she starts earning real income. The other company for the IRA could work, but we would only be rolling the money out of there, so I doubt they would be very helpful with the forms needed by the new institution we would be rolling the money into (especially if the benefits provider of the new 403b, NBS, is non-cooperative). Hmm, I wonder if you need to do incoming rollover at all. ...
by BSA44
Sat Jan 20, 2018 11:49 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 403b rollover headache
Replies: 7
Views: 1010

Re: 403b rollover headache

feehater wrote: Sat Jan 20, 2018 11:45 am Can you roll it into an IRA and then roll the IRA into the 403b? Will NBS accept that?
The issue isn't that NBS isn't accepting the roll-over (they do). It's that: 1) NBS won't sign Vanguards form for roll-ins (Vanguard has the same form for IRA and 403b roll-ins), 2) Vanguard won't accept NBS's letter that they accept roll-ins (that NBS provided instead of their signing Vanguard's form due to "legal reasons").
by BSA44
Sat Jan 20, 2018 10:48 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 403b rollover headache
Replies: 7
Views: 1010

403b rollover headache

My wife and I have spent ~20 hours (75% of it was spent on hold with Newport Group) trying to resolve this issue, and we are stuck at this point. I thought the Boglehead community might have some advice on a path forward. Situation: My wife started a new job and has a 403b there with Vanguard managed by National Benefit Services (NBS). Her current 403b accepts rollovers into it. We want to roll over two different accounts of hers into her current 403b: 1) an older, inactive 403b with Vanguard and 2) her accumulated pension contributions from another state that we no longer live it. Problem: Vanguard/Newport Group says that we need to get the roll-into form signed by NBS. We sent the forms to NBS, and they said that they never sign other for...
by BSA44
Thu Oct 12, 2017 9:54 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: For those who prefer mortgages over cash: At what rate would that switch?
Replies: 8
Views: 2084

For those who prefer mortgages over cash: At what rate would that switch?

I know there have been many debates on this forum on whether to pay for a house with a mortgage or cash. This question is targeted to those who generally recommend getting a mortgage over paying cash for reasons such as the mortgage tax deduction, not reducing liquidity, and not minding the extra leverage. Particularly, given the recent rise in mortgage rates and the fact that even with the increase, mortgage rates are still historically low, at what mortgage rate would your preference for buying a house with a mortgage switch to buying one with cash? In case a specific example might be useful, my personal details are below: My situation: My wife and I are planning on buying a house at some point in the next 3-7 years. We don't feel the nee...
by BSA44
Mon Jul 31, 2017 11:08 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Filling bookshelves cheaply
Replies: 56
Views: 4605

Re: Filling bookshelves cheaply

adamthesmythe wrote: For the near term consider plants. Unfortunately you will need to remember to water them. This will be more difficult than remembering to go to class.
I got a good laugh out of this. Plants are a good idea. I'll just have to get low maintenance ones, as my office is one where people work from home a lot (and I only teach in spring).
by BSA44
Mon Jul 31, 2017 11:04 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Filling bookshelves cheaply
Replies: 56
Views: 4605

Re: Filling bookshelves cheaply

In response to why I care, is that I'm in a field where image matters (business/teaching MBAs) and I'm one of the younger people in my department (a number of my students will be older than me). Humor is definitely acceptable in terms of things on book shelves; I already have a bunch of doo-dads and games on my desk.
Having it look like I just moved into my office yesterday with many empty shelves would be awkward, though.
by BSA44
Mon Jul 31, 2017 10:58 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Filling bookshelves cheaply
Replies: 56
Views: 4605

Re: Filling bookshelves cheaply

saltycaper wrote:Some space was meant to be empty. One day you will look back on this "problem" and laugh.
Oh believe me, I'm already laughing about it. This is one of the more ridiculous problems to have.
by BSA44
Mon Jul 31, 2017 10:52 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Filling bookshelves cheaply
Replies: 56
Views: 4605

Re: Filling bookshelves cheaply

Thanks for reaponding! All good advice so far. However, there are three issues:

-These are massive built into the wall bookshelves. They can't be removed.
-I already have three white boards in my office. So I really don't need or want anymore.
-There are no colleagues anywhere in my building who would want to borrow my book shelves (and that'd be weird). Most of my senior colleagues have filled theirs with decades of hard copies of journal issues which they never actually read (as they also keep their articles electronically)

Keep the ideas coming!
by BSA44
Mon Jul 31, 2017 10:25 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Filling bookshelves cheaply
Replies: 56
Views: 4605

Filling bookshelves cheaply

This is pretty much the definition of a first world problem, but anyway...

I just started as a professor at a top university following my Ph.D. I have a nice big office that has 16 bookshelves (four bookshelf units each with four shelves). I only own 5 books because everything I need to access is electronic. As you might imagine the office looks odd with all the empty shelves.

Any advice on how I can fill the shelves relatively cheaply? I could fill two shelves at most with pictures, and I looked into those buying "books by the foot" websites, but content relevant books are $40/foot and each shelf is 3-4 feet long.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
by BSA44
Thu May 18, 2017 7:29 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Leaving money in MA teacher pension, but never planning to draw pension?
Replies: 18
Views: 3372

Re: Leaving money in MA teacher pension, but never planning to draw pension?

Thank you for all of the responses! Although the 3% is less than the overall expected return of our 80/20 allocation, we thought it might be better than the expected return for the 20% of that allocation that is bonds/CDs. In any case, it seems like it isn't worth the hassle to leave it in there just for a couple of years of potentially marginal better returns than our bond/CDs.
by BSA44
Mon May 15, 2017 9:12 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Leaving money in MA teacher pension, but never planning to draw pension?
Replies: 18
Views: 3372

Re: Leaving money in MA teacher pension, but never planning to draw pension?

delamer wrote:You missed this part:


In addition to the above situations, and regardless of the amount of creditable service you have, if you apply for a refund more than two years after the date of your termination of service, you are eligible to receive the interest accumulated only for the two years immediately following that date.
Good catch; you're right I did miss that. I guess the question then is: should we leave it in there for two years?
by BSA44
Mon May 15, 2017 7:40 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Leaving money in MA teacher pension, but never planning to draw pension?
Replies: 18
Views: 3372

Leaving money in MA teacher pension, but never planning to draw pension?

After 6 years of teaching in Massachusetts, my wife has accumulated ~$60,000 in her pension account. We are moving to Texas and it is extremely unlikely that we will ever be moving back to Massachusetts (we have no family here and no desire to come back to the NE). Given we are 29, aren't near retirement age, and she doesn't have enough years of experience to draw a pension at retirement anyway (you need at least 10 years), it would normally make sense to rollover her pension into an IRA so we can invest it. However, the Mass Teacher Retirement System seems to have an interesting note: http://www.mass.gov/mtrs/active-and-inactive-members/leaving-mtrs-service-prior-to-retirement/ If your effective membership date is on or after January 1, 19...
by BSA44
Fri May 05, 2017 1:46 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: New job: Simplest and cheapest way to lazy 3-fund
Replies: 11
Views: 1518

Re: New job: Simplest and cheapest way to lazy 3-fund

You write that you want the simplest set-up possible, which for you includes minimizing the total number of funds in any one account. You should desire not necessarily the simplest possible set-up at the outset but a set-up that will be simple and simple to maintain in the future. I find it's helpful to have one account (one of the larger tax-advantaged accounts) holding all three funds, that you will use for rebalancing the portfolio as a whole. That's a good tip. We currently use a combination of new money/dividends and one of our existing Roth IRAs to do this. Prior to even getting these new accounts (two 403bs, one 457b, and an IRA) we already have six other accounts (two roth IRAs, two 403bs, one solo-401k, and taxable). I'm hoping we...
by BSA44
Fri May 05, 2017 11:26 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: New job: Simplest and cheapest way to lazy 3-fund
Replies: 11
Views: 1518

Re: New job: Simplest and cheapest way to lazy 3-fund

Thank you for the quick responses!. Yup, I had forgotten that I'll need to ensure the new IRA rollover fits into our desired allocation. That said, it'll be in Vanguard which is easy. I was more stuck on the TIAA and Fidelity Funds, which are new to me (which you solved for me). We already have $200k in VXUS in taxable, so we are quickly approaching that point where we are going to need Form 1116. And once you reach 20k in "foreign source income" (at about 700k in funds) the 1116 gets more complicated and you start to lose much of the benefit of the credit. Would you be able to explain the latter part of this sentence a bit more? I wasn't able to find anything online that discusses where the foreign tax credit starts dropping off.
by BSA44
Fri May 05, 2017 10:52 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: New job: Simplest and cheapest way to lazy 3-fund
Replies: 11
Views: 1518

Re: New job: Simplest and cheapest way to lazy 3-fund

Chip wrote: 1. All taxable contributions invested in Total Stock Market (VTSAX).
As a follow up, shouldn't we put international in taxable, so as not to lose the foreign tax credit?