Search found 138 matches

by flybynite
Tue Apr 24, 2018 10:13 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: New 401K after company has been acquired question
Replies: 25
Views: 2923

Re: New 401K after company has been acquired question

lepa71 wrote: Tue Apr 24, 2018 10:11 pm I have no choice of rollover or not. The question is to roll over to Vanguard IRA or this new 401K.

I think I should be able to roll over to Vanguard and still open blank 401K for the company match. Right?
This seems like a good option given the fund choices. Keep in mind that this may limit your ability to backdoor Roth IRA in the future as your money will be in a traditional IRA now. If this is not a concern for you it's not an issue...
by flybynite
Tue Apr 24, 2018 9:49 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: New 401K after company has been acquired question
Replies: 25
Views: 2923

Re: New 401K after company has been acquired question

lepa71 wrote: Tue Apr 24, 2018 9:45 pm No. There are multiple funds with 5-year increments. Similar to Vanguard target retirement funds.
There are no static active or passive funds that are not age based? These may have the lower expense ratios. Please post all funds and their expense ratios and what your asset allocation strategy is (what ratio of stocks/bonds, etc..), otherwise it's quite hard to say anything besides you will likely still want to contribute up to the match.
by flybynite
Tue Apr 24, 2018 9:41 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: New 401K after company has been acquired question
Replies: 25
Views: 2923

Re: New 401K after company has been acquired question

lepa71 wrote: Tue Apr 24, 2018 9:38 pm New 401K after the company has been acquired. The new company has 401K throw Fidelity and only offers JPMorgan SmartRetirement 2020-2055 with gross expense ration from 0.69% -0.79%. The new company do offer 3% match but don't know max yet. The expense ration seems to be really high. We do have a choice to roll over to others(vanguard).

Any opinions?

Thanks
Are you saying there is only a single fund in the plan to choose from or just that the age based fund has high expenses? Can you provide the names and expense ratios of all funds in the plan ? In almost no cases does it not make sense to participate first in a 401K at least up to the company match...
by flybynite
Tue Apr 24, 2018 9:39 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Rookie Investor- Help Getting Started
Replies: 4
Views: 753

Re: Rookie Investor- Help Getting Started

Good evening, A new Bogehead looking for some practical advice on getting started investing. I understand the concepts behind the 3 fund portfolio, and plan on moving forward with it. Here are some facts on my situation, some with accompanying questions: 1) I am 31, married, with 3 young children. My wife is stay-at-home mom. 2) We live in a very low cost of living area, and live on a pretty low budget. 3) We owe $72k on a home worth $125k. 4) We rent out a duplex. We owe $73k, it is worth probably $105k 5) I will be eligible for my company 401k in 2 months time. I plan on putting in the 4% to get the full 2% match. 6) I would like to open a Roth IRA for me. Our income falls within the guidelines. 7) As I said, my wife is a stay-at-home mo...
by flybynite
Tue Apr 24, 2018 8:07 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year
Replies: 244
Views: 42790

Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Tyrobi wrote: Tue Nov 07, 2017 9:48 pm Age: 38

Pre and aftertax 401k - $54,000
2x Roth IRA - $11,000
HSA - $6,750

$71,750/year (single earner in a family of 4)
+1 on all the above - and depending on the year 10-20K more in taxable (42, single earner in family of six). :sharebeer
by flybynite
Sun Feb 11, 2018 12:32 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Sell taxable investments to pay off loan?
Replies: 17
Views: 1731

Re: Sell taxable investments to pay off loan?

sergio wrote: Sun Feb 11, 2018 10:46 am
raisinsaregrapes wrote: Sun Feb 11, 2018 9:37 am Do it today so you don't have to kick yourself tomorrow. If the market goes up you still have 6+ percent guaranteed. If it goes down you will lose on both sides.
I'm almost 99% sure I will pull the trigger Monday unless the market completely crashes.
Great choice - this interest rate is hard for the market to beat, I guarantee your chances of regrets will be higher if you don't pay of this debt almost regardless of what the market does. I wouldn't recommend trying to time the market, if it goes down Monday, who says it won't go down Tuesday-Friday. On the other hand, the interest your paying is guaranteed to be due.
by flybynite
Sun Feb 11, 2018 12:28 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Portfolio Allocation
Replies: 4
Views: 733

Re: Portfolio Allocation

by flybynite
Sun Feb 11, 2018 12:25 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 529 Fund Options
Replies: 2
Views: 390

Re: 529 Fund Options

This looks one of the Vanguard administered plans so most of your options are good. If it were me, I'd use the last 2 funds in the early years where you seem to indicating a choice of an all stock strategy in just about the proportion you are considering (70/30). Please DO consider managing your glide path aggressively as your kid ages so that you don't become one of those people who's savings goes from covering 4 years to 2-3 years in the year just before or after their kid enters college.

Good luck!

Jon
by flybynite
Tue Feb 06, 2018 9:21 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Buying options on ESPP shares
Replies: 5
Views: 1080

Re: Buying options on ESPP shares

Consult with your company plan and policies, but likely you will find that buying options for / against your company stock is against a policy and/or there are blackout periods that put restrictions on timing of said purchases. Also - the risks of loss if you have an immediate ESPP sale strategy are very low generally and unlikely to impact you cycle after cycle. The gain is already north of 17.6% assuming no price movement between share acquisition and disposal. Besides the above - generally options are a way of hedging and/or amplifying risk in a way that is not well aligned with Boglehead long term investments purchased at low cost principles so I'm not sure how much insight you are going to find here on this topic (probably for good rea...
by flybynite
Tue Feb 06, 2018 7:28 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Help me assess new 401k?
Replies: 8
Views: 1156

Re: Help me assess new 401k?

Duckie wrote: Tue Feb 06, 2018 6:11 pm
Tamarind wrote:Here are the investment options. No ER info was provided to me.
Without knowing the expense ratios these appear to be the best options:
  • NT S&P 500 Index -- Large caps, 80% of US stocks
  • NT Extended Equity Mkt Index -- Mid/small caps, 20% of US stocks
  • NT ACWI ex-US IMI -- Complete international stocks
  • NT Aggregate Bond Index -- US bonds
I looked up a couple of these and they were under .05 for Tier3 version if I have the right funds, I agree these look like good options to make a simple 4 fund portfolio (emulating 3 fund with total market with 80/20 ratio of SP500/Extended) if you desire.
by flybynite
Tue Feb 06, 2018 7:22 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Save on taxes by putting bonus in 401k?
Replies: 18
Views: 5576

Re: Save on taxes by putting bonus in 401k?

As already stated many times in this thread, a bonus is not taxed differently in the end, but withholding of tax is different. HOWEVER, there may be an unusual interaction with 401(k) that everybody with employer matching and no true-up needs to be aware of. Such a case is the one my spouse finds herself in. To wit: Spouse's employer matches 50% of up to 6% contributed from each paycheck, for a maximum 3% of total compensation match. So one wants to contribute at least 6% from every check in order to get the most match. Now let's say a normal paycheck is $1000 and a bonus check is $5000. If one has set the contribution amount to $60 (6% of $1,000) per check, then when the bonus check shows up, only $60 will be contributed and one gets a $3...
by flybynite
Tue Feb 06, 2018 7:15 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Roth IRA – Quick Scenario Check
Replies: 9
Views: 1015

Re: Roth IRA – Quick Scenario Check

This is very dependent on your future outlook and situation for you and your wife's future earnings, but with only $35K in the TIRA, I would consider biting the bullet and converting this to Roth now (pay the taxes - it's probably not that much and clearly you have the ability to do so) so you can clear the way for more backdoor conversions later on her account. Sometimes people's family incomes go down unexpectedly due to job loss or other factors, but generally incomes go up later in careers. There may not be this future year when income is low enough to convert and in the meantime the capital gains in the account are likely to get higher over time...
by flybynite
Tue Feb 06, 2018 7:08 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Stop Contributing to 529 plan yet?
Replies: 9
Views: 1807

Re: Stop Contributing to 529 plan yet?

Far from being greedy, you may have actually saved enough! What if one of the girls wants to go to a state school or gets scholarship money elsewhere? $45K sounds like out of state for Penn State?

Getting contributions out of these plans w/o penalty is not that easy - unless you or our wife plan to go back to school in retirement or one or both of the children want to go for graduate educations, you may not have any vehicle for spending this money. I would recommend you concentrate your future savings into taxable for your retirement (and move the 529's to bonds/fixed income this close and with this much saved).
by flybynite
Tue Feb 06, 2018 6:54 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Leaving HCOL state for financial reasons
Replies: 48
Views: 6831

Re: Leaving HCOL state for financial reasons

I left the Bay area end of 2001, liked, but didn't love living there for the year (weather is great, culture was not so much) but knew it was not the greatest or easiest area to raise a family in. Northern Virginia ever since, no real regrets - schools are great, plenty of jobs and cost of living is not low but certainly a lot lower. I still visit CA for work quite often and can appreciate the sunshine there more when I visit. When we used to live there, if it got down to 65 everyone thought it was freezing and wore sweaters, now when I visit I wear a T-shirt!
by flybynite
Sun Feb 04, 2018 10:42 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Another help with AA
Replies: 14
Views: 1389

Re: Another help with AA

The simple answer is if you sell, you will pay tax on long term capital gains. Not sure what you mean by “half shares.” Does this mean you have $300k in full shares or 300k shares? Paying tax isn’t bad if you’re earning and you are earning big. Cash out what you think you need, pay the tax and be happy. I think he is saying half the shares are over a year old, meaning that he will pay only LTCG on those. The other shares he will pay short term capital gains on. I'd recommend selling all of it personally, but that's because I think ESPP should never be held over a few days after you receive it since it's effectively similar to a very high APR (17.6% if the employer has a 15%) discount on a very safe investment if your risk exposure is only ...
by flybynite
Sat Feb 03, 2018 4:02 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Another help with AA
Replies: 14
Views: 1389

Re: Another help with AA

The simple answer is if you sell, you will pay tax on long term capital gains. Not sure what you mean by “half shares.” Does this mean you have $300k in full shares or 300k shares? Paying tax isn’t bad if you’re earning and you are earning big. Cash out what you think you need, pay the tax and be happy. I think he is saying half the shares are over a year old, meaning that he will pay only LTCG on those. The other shares he will pay short term capital gains on. I'd recommend selling all of it personally, but that's because I think ESPP should never be held over a few days after you receive it since it's effectively similar to a very high APR (17.6% if the employer has a 15%) discount on a very safe investment if your risk exposure is only ...
by flybynite
Sat Feb 03, 2018 3:56 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How am I doing on 529 plan contributions?
Replies: 13
Views: 1740

Re: How am I doing on 529 plan contributions?

I am trying to figure out how much my target needs to be for my son's college education. We just have one kid who is 4 years old. I have been contributing about 10K per year depending on the year's bonus. So right now, the 529 balance on the Fidelity Delaware 529 plan is about $50K, as the market has been kind a bit. My question is two fold: What should be the target amount I need to save up assuming an instate school, along with a likely graduate degree? Assuming kid goes to college in the normal expected timeframe, do I have enough saved up? I plan on putting $10K every year. Should I put more, or stop at some point once I hit a target... Hi - I have 4 kids, the youngest is six. What I do is update a Google sheet yearly with the instate ...
by flybynite
Sat Feb 03, 2018 2:52 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Finally going to invest, brother is FA
Replies: 89
Views: 8846

Re: Finally going to invest, brother is FA

Wow, did not expect this many responses within such a short time. I enjoyed reading through everyone's thoughts, and I believe it is an understatement to say the community is unanimous. My brother is one of my best friends (I know, this is exactly the reason I shouldn't invest with him) so I truly believe he will do his best with my money. As many of you pointed out though, the effect of compounding fees is enormous. However I will ask this, if I have an actively managed portfolio, can I not expect to get 1% more than the market? Maybe that is in the WIKI.. Even if they are actually showing comparable funds and benchmarks and not cheating by not showing total returns, the real question is was this fund what they would have had your money i...
by flybynite
Sat Feb 03, 2018 1:55 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: WHY do wireless routers need periodic reboots?
Replies: 117
Views: 12711

Re: WHY do wireless routers need periodic reboots?

The first Google router is barely a year old. Wait for some wear and tear and another couple of iterations of the Wi-Fi standards before claiming it is robust. Although Google may try the old MS trick of claiming they are the standard and 802.11xx is wrong. I'm not sure what to say about this post, from a technical standpoint it doesn't make much sense. New WiFI standards don't have much weight on how the current router performs with the current standards, are you saying their next routers may have a problem... sure that's certainly possible I guess. New routers work better than old ones, and all Google routers are fairly new. I've found issues when different generations of Wi-Fi are sharing the same air space. Newer equipment is quicker t...
by flybynite
Fri Feb 02, 2018 8:21 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Help with 529 plan for the next 6-10 years
Replies: 9
Views: 2527

Re: Help with 529 plan for the next 6-10 years

I've taken a different tact, with 529 being a tax-advantaged account where post tax dollars are put in, but earnings are tax-free, I wanted higher potential earning working for me, so I chose 100% equities. I have sufficient flexibility in 401k/tIRA, Roth and taxable accounts so I can increase my bond allocation to compensate for being overweight equities in 529. In a way, Roth is equivalent, so whether you have 50/50 in both accounts (Roth/529) or 100 equities in one and 100 bonds in another is not really different, except if you face losses. Shifting between tax deferred and taxable does require different adjustments. My plan has been to keep 100% equities in 529, but add bonds into one of the other accounts. I just haven't figured out w...
by flybynite
Fri Feb 02, 2018 8:06 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Requesting portfolio/investment advice
Replies: 25
Views: 4351

Re: Requesting portfolio/investment advice

I have neglected my taxable and non-taxable accounts long enough and have decided to seek some advice. I have attempted to provide all of my information in a proper format and will correct it if something is not kosher. Emergency funds: Have at least six months of expenses saved Current total portfolio just hit seven-figures in retirement accounts Debt: Mortgage: Paid off. Pay $1400/month in property taxes (reminder to self to move out of NY as soon as possible) :D Credit Cards: Pay off the balance monthly. ... Desired Asset allocation: 60% stocks / 40% bonds Desired International allocation: 15-20% of stocks Question: Should I remain as a Chase Private Client and invest in their self-directed brokerage account? I have to look into what ki...
by flybynite
Fri Feb 02, 2018 7:19 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: WHY do wireless routers need periodic reboots?
Replies: 117
Views: 12711

Re: WHY do wireless routers need periodic reboots?

This thread needs to end. If you're dissatisfied with your router because of reboots, etc., just get a Google wifi, orbi, or other "mesh" router. /endthread. And yes, I've owned quite a few routers that needed rebooting, including hi-end ones prior to the Google wifi. This thread would never even exist if everyone just got that one. The first Google router is barely a year old. Wait for some wear and tear and another couple of iterations of the Wi-Fi standards before claiming it is robust. Although Google may try the old MS trick of claiming they are the standard and 802.11xx is wrong. I'm not sure what to say about this post, from a technical standpoint it doesn't make much sense. New WiFI standards don't have much weight on how...
by flybynite
Thu Feb 01, 2018 9:04 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Portfolio Guidance
Replies: 4
Views: 664

Re: Portfolio Guidance

Overall it seems you are doing a great job saving and making good progress. The portfolio seems a bit complex to me especially given the amount of assets in total. Have you considered simplifying to a https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Three-fund_portfolio or if you insist 4 fund (with REIT)? I use these terms loosely as it appears it will really be 2-3 funds in the 401k (Park) versus outside (Vanguard) based on what you posted. Specifically, I think sectoring into small value and micro-cap is probably not going to do much but cause you to have to make small thousand dollar rebalances to keep into these many allotments you have listed and you could get similar behaving (risk wise) portfolio just by adjusting your stock bond mix slightly on a s...
by flybynite
Thu Feb 01, 2018 8:42 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: New Taxable Account
Replies: 3
Views: 553

Re: New Taxable Account

Good Evening, been looking around for awhile and have a question on a new taxable account. I am paying off my house in the next two months and will be diverting my mortgage payment to a taxable account with Vanguard. My wife(47)and I(43) max out on everything possible-401K-Roth(backdoor)-529 plans to get state tax credit. If you were going to invest $2000 a month for the next 10-15 years where would you put the funds? It looks like Total Stock Market and Total Bond is the way I will be directed, but just asking. What percentage? I am thinking 60/40 or 70/30. Thanks Great work saving! I would just do 100% TSM and shift to more bonds in your tax advantaged space as it's more tax efficient that way. You will have to build 10K up anyway to buy...
by flybynite
Thu Feb 01, 2018 8:35 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: What advice would you give yourself if you were 27 again?
Replies: 120
Views: 12232

Re: What advice would you give yourself if you were 27 again?

dm200 wrote: Thu Feb 01, 2018 6:45 pm
5. if you have a discounted employer stock purchase plan - participate fully - but, as soon as possible/practical sell half and keep half. The half you keep - just put it aside and do NOT count in asset allocation or plans.
+1 to maxing out ESPP, but sell it all right after every buy and it's the highest savings rate you're likely to ever see. Then reinvest it in an index fund... Be keeping half you can easily erode the discount in short order while holding extra money in the company that already provides your pay check all with the hopes of it going either much higher or waiting a year out for it to be a long term capital gain. Not worth it...
by flybynite
Thu Feb 01, 2018 8:26 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: 401k millionaires
Replies: 158
Views: 32118

Re: 401k millionaires

Tamales wrote: Thu Feb 01, 2018 6:41 pm
Earl Lemongrab wrote: Wed Jan 31, 2018 11:36 pm
Tamales wrote: Wed Jan 31, 2018 10:22 pm
lazydavid wrote: Wed Jan 31, 2018 10:23 am
Ged wrote: Wed Jan 31, 2018 8:21 am The only potential downside to transferring a 401k to an IRA is that in some states it doesn't have protection from creditors.
It also eliminates the option to contribute to a backdoor Roth IRA.
I think it just adds a couple steps when doing your taxes (on form 8606 I think it is) rather than eliminating the option.
No, it makes a pro-rated amount of the conversion taxable. If the 401(k) balance is significant, then the majority will be taxable.
You deal with that using form 8606. The point is that it doesn't eliminate the option.
By dealing with it you mean paying thousands in taxes you didn't need to if you had done a 401K->401K transfer, then I guess that's an option for you!
by flybynite
Thu Feb 01, 2018 8:01 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: WHY do wireless routers need periodic reboots?
Replies: 117
Views: 12711

Re: WHY do wireless routers need periodic reboots?

The dirty little secret of the electronics industry is that companies that make hardware are generally terrible at software. Writing good software is hard, and software isn't where their expertise lies. Also, there isn't much incentive for them to invest in software quality. People buy things like routers based on specs, not on software quality. FWIW, my Google WiFi devices have been rock solid. No reboots needed the entire 6 months I've owned them. They even auto update like Chromebooks. As a former software test engineer, who spent 10 years testing large scale router software, and an owner of a Google WiFi mesh setup, I could not have written better. This is a matter of software quality, and lack of good QA, and might not be dangerous by...
by flybynite
Fri Jan 26, 2018 9:16 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: 401k millionaires
Replies: 158
Views: 32118

Re: 401k millionaires

You really shouldn't see too many 401k millionaires from a whole lot of folks because the chances of them staying at the same job more than 10 years are just slim these days. The day after you leave your company you should be rolling that to a traditional IRA. If you roll old 401ks into new 401k's, well that's just most likely not a great option, going to be hard to beat the <10 bps I pay in a tIRA or rIRA at Schwab/Fidelity/TDA/Merrill/Etrade/Scott/VG. I rolled all my pre-tax money into my current MegaCorp employer's 401k because I have access to investment trusts with ERs less than half their equivalent Admiral rates. That also got me started with the backdoor Roth. So, don't discount the plan-to-plan rollover. 8-) +1, I rolled over smal...
by flybynite
Fri Jan 12, 2018 6:46 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Help with 529 plan for the next 6-10 years
Replies: 9
Views: 2527

Re: Help with 529 plan for the next 6-10 years

Thank you for the responses. I like your, SCV-Lawyer, glide path...a very cool graph. I'll printed out to start planning. I agree with Grt2bOutdoors that the costs at colleges will need to normalize in the future somehow. But OTOH, I don't think they plan to do anytime soon especially considering that the stock market keeps growing to the sky and I'm sure they assume that parents are invested in it. E.g. while I was busy at work and had no time to revisit our 529 plan, it grew another $2k...isn't it insane!? I could wait another year and have $24-30K extra but that's unreasonable to expect (or is it? Bitcoin has done even better!) FYI - we had a friend whose daughter started college in 2009. Stock market had been going great through early ...
by flybynite
Sat Apr 08, 2017 3:15 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: High Income earners, whats your Tax Strategy?
Replies: 122
Views: 22620

Re: High Income earners, whats your Tax Strategy?

These are biggies. Adding less and less tax advantage: -HSA Hmm, tax deductible going in, tax free growth, tax free spending? This is actually one of the highest advantaged savings programs there is with the limitation that the money is spent on medical expenses. I took that to mean as your income goes up, the relatively low maximum becomes smaller and smaller proportionally. We don't have an HSA available, but still contribute to a backdoor Roth for my wife, whose income has risen enough lately that it's a mostly token advantage. Still, better than a stick in the eye. Yes, the family limits are only slightly higher than Roth limits, sorry I understand your meaning now. That said, all tax free growth is worth pursuing if you have the exces...
by flybynite
Sat Apr 08, 2017 3:14 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Lump Sum Mortgage Prepayment to Extinguish PMI
Replies: 12
Views: 2287

Re: Lump Sum Mortgage Prepayment to Extinguish PMI

mortfree wrote:Definitely prioritize getting rid of PMI. Assuming it really will go away when you are below 80%.

I imagine the bank will not make it very easy for you so just be prepared for that as it might becomes a struggle.
Why not call? Ask them what the process is for eliminating PMI, is a new appraisal needed or do they use an online tool to determine the ratio. Make sure you know the answer before you take any risk.

Another option - refinance, putting the extra cash down, get a new mortgage that has no PMI. IF fees for refinance are low and/or you can get a better interest rate, this may be a good option that reduces the risk of worrying what the banks process/response will be.
by flybynite
Sat Apr 08, 2017 3:02 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: High Income earners, whats your Tax Strategy?
Replies: 122
Views: 22620

Re: High Income earners, whats your Tax Strategy?

DVMResident wrote: These are biggies. Adding less and less tax advantage:
-HSA
Hmm, tax deductible going in, tax free growth, tax free spending? This is actually one of the highest advantaged savings programs there is with the limitation that the money is spent on medical expenses.
by flybynite
Sat Apr 08, 2017 2:50 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Online Savings account questions?
Replies: 9
Views: 1647

Re: Online Savings account questions?

JohnDoh wrote:$15,000 in LMCU Max Checking paying 3%:

https://lmcu.org/banking/checking/checking_max.aspx
Hmm... minimum 10 debit transactions a month, $15K max, and probably a teaser rate they will pull back after getting tons of folks signed up (note, it requires direct deposit so switching takes at least a bit of time, and @10 transactions and 4 logins per month, it's likely your main checking account).
by flybynite
Sat Apr 08, 2017 2:41 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Two fund allocation?
Replies: 11
Views: 2375

Re: Two fund allocation?

Hello all, I am considering a VOO (Vanguard 500 Index) and VXUS (Vanguard Total International minus US) asset allocation, with a 75% / 25% breakdown respectively. This would be more of a set-it-and-forget-it account, meaning I'm highly risk tolerant, I don't want to actively manage it, and don't plan on frequent re-balancing. Also, I wouldn't be considering accessing the funds for 25+ years. Generally, the 3-fund asset allocation is recommended, but I've got other funds which are much more conservative to provide stability. My question: Is this a reasonable allocation, or is there a better option that I'm not aware of? Thanks in advance!! Is this a taxable or tax-advantaged account situation? Even in taxable, I might consider mutual funds ...
by flybynite
Sat Apr 08, 2017 2:21 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: High Income earners, whats your Tax Strategy?
Replies: 122
Views: 22620

Re: High Income earners, whats your Tax Strategy?

badger42 wrote:We keep it simple:

- Max out pre-tax 401(k)
- Max out mega backdoor Roth 401(k)
- Backdoor Roth IRA
- Donate appreciated stock, if there's a good opportunity
- Keep taxable in ETFs instead of traditional mutual funds, where you can more effectively defer capital gains
- Tax loss harvesting if/when there's anything to harvest
- Lots of lube (living in CA, paying Scandinavian tax rates for third world infrastructure)
Pretty similar, also:
- max out HSA
- 529 (state tax deduction in my state + low cost plan + tax free growth) for kids educations
by flybynite
Sat Apr 08, 2017 12:59 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: New Boglehead Looking For Feedback!
Replies: 12
Views: 1815

Re: New Boglehead Looking For Feedback!

Hi all! I'm intrigued by the idea of obtaining financial independence and would LOVE to retire somewhat early (maybe mid-50s). To get there I'm sure some increase in investments is going to be critical. Is it possible to retire early if your funds are tied up in tax-advantaged accounts? Or should I plan on having significant taxable investments by then? I'm currently putting over 20% away annually (including the employer match), but I could be doing more. Is there a rule of thumb for how much I should be saving to retire earlier than the typical 65? That's about all I can think of right now. Glad to meet you all! :beer MNgineer - you're doing great, my take from your portofolio is you are allocating things just fine, really doesn't need an...
by flybynite
Sun Feb 19, 2017 4:37 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 100% Stock Portfolio? - 20s Military Investor
Replies: 13
Views: 2939

Re: 100% Stock Portfolio? - 20s Military Investor

Quick question about portfolio allocation. I'm currently an officer in the military, and wondering if based off my age, my stable income, and potential for a COL adjusted pension, if I can afford to go to a 100% stock allocation? Figure that I'm more sheltered from a dramatic drop in equities, have enough time to reclaim potential losses, and would be missing out on years of higher returns. This obviously would not be forever, but possibly for at least 10/15 years. FYI, current stats: Age: 25 Income: ~72K (Will jump to ~84K in a few months, and then to low six figures a year afterwards) Zero Debts Cash: 28K (Realize this is a little high, but currently saving for engagement ring, wedding, honeymoon to take place in next year or two) TSP: 1...
by flybynite
Sat Feb 04, 2017 10:59 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Employer denying HSA to eligible employee
Replies: 35
Views: 5145

Re: Employer denying HSA to eligible employee

This is almost right, except that my partner was always enrolled as a dependent on my health plan. Last year, he was enrolled in the HSA - our employer allowed him to participate in the HSA by payroll deduction. This year, the employer says they will no longer allow that and the employer will now only enroll people who also enroll in the health plan. We don't have information about why the policy changed. Not commenting on whether this is "right or wrong", but for what it's worth I've worked for several Megacorps and none of them allowed you to enroll in an HSA (versus FSA) if you didn't elect the HDHP. Probably the employer is just switching to the industry norm due to some systems/compliance/provider change. I don't think this ...
by flybynite
Sat Feb 04, 2017 10:42 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: It appears Fiduciary changes may not happen after all.
Replies: 84
Views: 10461

Re: It appears Fiduciary changes may not happen after all.

From an extremely selfish point of view it's probably a good thing for bogleheads? My reasoning being lack of fiduciary responsibility will put less people in index funds so will keep the index fund advantage working for us for a longer period of time. I don't believe think this is an example of a zero sum game, the advantage we have by having lower fees is not at the expense of other investors but of financial industry firms? In any case, I'll keep working against your strategy by sharing my knowledge on bogleheads and with others I know. :D It's certainly not my "strategy", just an observation. I did say "extremely selfish", which I like to think of myself as not. Sorry, my post's content was only in the first line, t...
by flybynite
Sat Feb 04, 2017 10:24 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: It appears Fiduciary changes may not happen after all.
Replies: 84
Views: 10461

Re: It appears Fiduciary changes may not happen after all.

hicabob wrote:From an extremely selfish point of view it's probably a good thing for bogleheads? My reasoning being lack of fiduciary responsibility will put less people in index funds so will keep the index fund advantage working for us for a longer period of time.
I don't believe think this is an example of a zero sum game, the advantage we have by having lower fees is not at the expense of other investors but of financial industry firms? In any case, I'll keep working against your strategy by sharing my knowledge on bogleheads and with others I know. :D
by flybynite
Sat Feb 04, 2017 10:22 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Virginia 529 state tax deduction
Replies: 25
Views: 20807

Re: Virginia 529 state tax deduction

Sorry to resurrect this thread, but I have a related question about VA 529 contributions. If an account holder has opened multiple 529 portfolios for the same beneficiary, and received a state income tax deduction for doing so, is there any tax implication for subsequently transferring funds from these portfolios into a single portfolio? Example: In 2015 I contribute $4K to stock index portfolio, $4K to bond index portfolio, and $4K to REIT portfolio, all for the same beneficiary. I deduct the $12K contribution on my 2015 return. In 2016, I move all $12K+gains into the 2030 portfolio. Does this reduce the tax deduction or lead the state to claw back part of the 2015 tax deduction? What if the contributions to multiple portfolios and the mo...
by flybynite
Sat Feb 04, 2017 10:06 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: It appears Fiduciary changes may not happen after all.
Replies: 84
Views: 10461

Re: It appears Fiduciary changes may not happen after all.

Dimitri wrote:To the best of my knowledge no employee is ever forced to participate in a 401k plan. Opt in or opt out - the choice is up to the employee. It is as simple as that. Let the market (employee) decide based on the fees, funds, match, vesting, etc. offered if opting in or out is the correct choice. The government really shouldn't be interfering.
The whole principle of a 401K or tax advantaged retirement plan is government interference. Opting out sounds great, except there is no place where this large of tax advantaged space can be acquired so the employee is left with only bad choices.
by flybynite
Sat Feb 04, 2017 9:59 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Starting roth - 65%stock/35%bonds too conservative @ 28years old?
Replies: 14
Views: 2404

Re: Starting roth - 65%stock/35%bonds too conservative @ 28years old?

Hello, My intro/question: I started a new job this January (60% more income :happy ) and am trying to balance repayment of loans with maxing tax-advantaged retirement accounts. I've contributed $3,000 to my roth from 2016 (plan to max @ $5,500 before deadline, no funds purchased yet) and $0 to all other 2016 and 2017 tax-advantaged retirement accounts. Congratulations on your new job and your choice to prioritize saving for your future! I'm concerned with how long we've been in a bull market. I'm planning to spend the initial $1,000 on VTTVX Monday then dollar cost average it the rest of the year. Am I being too conservative? I've been focused on loan repayment the past several years and need to evaluate roth vs. 401k until I can afford to...
by flybynite
Sat Feb 04, 2017 9:34 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: It appears Fiduciary changes may not happen after all.
Replies: 84
Views: 10461

Re: It appears Fiduciary changes may not happen after all.

Nothing stops one contractor from offering to repave my driveway for $20,000 while another might do a better job for $5,000. I check BBB and other reviews before I hire folks. I did similar once when I sought advise from a personal advisers. I know we live in a capitalist free-market country and act accordingly to make sure I'm an educated consumer. Consumers need to educate themselves and stop relying on government regulations from protecting them from every possible evil out there. Great advice, but oh wait, do people get to pick the 401k or HSA provider they have at their workplace? Stating it was a direct response to the implementation requirements of fiduciary rule, the HSA at our Megacorp swapped out about 10 funds for lower ER alter...
by flybynite
Wed Feb 01, 2017 8:25 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Should I sell my ESPP shares?
Replies: 2
Views: 913

Re: Should I sell my ESPP shares?

I have about $5k in ESPP shares bought fifteen years ago sitting in an unused ETrade account. Purchased at $10 and stock is now sitting around $40, where it has been for a few years. This is about 2% of my portfolio. I would like to consolidate accounts, and am wondering whether I should sell the shares, or whether I should try to transfer them to, say, my Vanguard Brokerage account. I'm not 100% sure if the latter is possible for ESPP shares, but if possible, it would mean that I don't need to pay taxes just yet. Any thoughts? Couple of thoughts - one all of the money is long term capital gains, but unfortunately most of it is gains. Yes, you can transfer shares from ETrade to Vanguard brokerage w/o selling and keep letting it grow (or no...
by flybynite
Sun Jan 29, 2017 6:45 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Please tell me if I can afford this Porsche
Replies: 81
Views: 9954

Re: Please tell me if I can afford this Porsche

Sure, you can afford it. It would make a great treat to celebrate paying off your student loan, don't get talked into a loan for it though!
by flybynite
Sat Jan 28, 2017 4:37 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: New to Bogleheads-Seeking Suggestions for our Investments
Replies: 12
Views: 1856

Re: New to Bogleheads-Seeking Suggestions for our Investments

Definitely sell the taxable stuff and utilize the money to cover higher contributions to TSP (this is easy to do, just change your contribute rate to highest amount they allow and utilize this money to cover living expenses you normally handle through paychecks until the money evens out) or paying down mortgage (I'd probably do the former given your interest rate).
by flybynite
Fri Jan 27, 2017 8:39 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How Do You Pay Your Monthly Bills?
Replies: 86
Views: 11169

Re: How Do You Pay Your Monthly Bills?

Over the years, I have had numerous instances of financial attacks including theft and use of credit card numbers and even encryption of my personal computer (a well documented form of fraud) and attempted extortion of money for the encryption key. Recently, I had five checks stolen from a US Post Box, copied, repurposed and cashed at the bank of origin. Two of those checks were written to my credit card companies to pay monthly bills so those credit card accounts were also compromised. The question of how to have the most efficient, secure way of paying bills has occupied my thoughts of late as the process of recovering from one of these attacks takes a lot of time. It seems like a number of your issues are computer related. I would sugge...
by flybynite
Thu Jan 26, 2017 10:42 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: If market crashed 50%, would you do a 401k roth conversion?
Replies: 22
Views: 3662

Re: If market crashed 50%, would you do a 401k roth conversion?

There is an option in my 401k for 401k roth. If I had $20,000 from 2016, market crashed 50%, and my investment only worth $10,000 in 2017, would doing ROTH option mean than I would be taxed $10,000? Would subsequent contributions be pre-taxed for remainder of 2017 so that I have to set of funds w/in my 401k? A pre-tax and a roth subset? First question - if you contribute to Roth 401k, you paid from after tax funds from you paycheck, versus if you contributed to normal 401k, you paid from pre-tax contributions (it lowered your income amount by that much for tax purposes). In neither case is the market loss on the funds contributed something that is tax impacting to you. Your second question is a bit hard to understand. Maybe this will clari...