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vas

DocInColo wrote: ↑Sun Jan 17, 2021 12:48 pm One thing to think about is your son's credit... If he can personally qualify for the loan ... that can really help him build his credit score so come time to buy a house in the future, he has a good credit history.

+1 This is a good point worth considering.

vas

Thanks for the replies. Many posts (in other threads) mention the benefits of having retirement savings is various types of accounts including tax deferred, tax exempt (my personnel fav), and taxable. Many reasons one might have funds in taxable of course. For example, options, RSUs, ESPP can't be c...

vas

Is this worth the trouble? In other words, is it worth $500 to think over the trade-offs, post the question here, review the finance terms to assure that there isn't an early pay-off penalty or other catch, make monthly payments or pay off the loan at some point, and worry that you've missed someth...

vas

DocInColo wrote: ↑Sat Jan 16, 2021 7:12 pm some things you shouldn't do yourself ... Haircuts and estate planning come to mind.

Ha! That's worth putting in a signature block.

vas

Consider a scenario in which an individual's annual savings from earned income can be accommodated by maximum contributions to tax advantaged accounts (401K, HSA, Backdoor Roth) and a percentage of their mega backdoor Roth space. Is there a rational for investing in a taxable account?

vas

... I think the lender credit you’re seeing is offsetting the closing costs. So it would be a no cost loan. You aren’t making $2k after closing costs. Some lenders allow you to make money with lender credit, but LenderFi doesn’t. Thanks for clearing the mists. You are, of course, correct. I looked ...

vas

Refinance at same rate? ... LF usually has net zero costs, meaning their credit pays for the fees. They don't usually give you money in your pocket (i.e., pay down principle or towards escrow). Have you seen a loan estimate from them that shows the breakdown of fees and credit? Though it sounds lik...

vas

Refinance at same rate? I refinanced earlier this year to a 15 yr 2.75% loan. LenderFi is quoting a refinance rate of 2.75% for 15 years with $2124 credit. This seems like an easy $2K so naturally I'm suspicious. Am I missing something or can I actually expect to refi to the same rate and get $2000 ...

vas

I'll put in another vote for saving. In part because your consulting income is variable. Just as important, building up cash gives you peace of mind and flexibility. The other options: investing, buying a house, paying off mortgage will still be there for you if you change your mind. There is no nee...

vas

VMMXX's 10 year average annual performance is 0.64 or about the same as an Ally savings account today. So, not sure this offers much of an advantage on the returns front. Not sure about the relative risk, FDIC insurance, etc. Where to put the funds really depends on how much money is in play and for...

vas

Consider comparing your 70/30 portfolio with Vanguard's 529 target date funds. The 2026 plan is 60/40 so a bit less aggressive than your 70/30. Given that part of the funds are for a eight year old your allocation seems fine.

vas

Where would one fit spousal pension into the above? Consider that the retirement date is not the only opportunity to annuitize part of one's portfolio. For example, someone could retire and 60, take the lump sum option and invest, and then buy a SPIA at 75. Perhaps it could be specified in an estat...

vas

Horton wrote: ↑Sun Dec 06, 2020 2:50 pm Can you provide a time mark for the comment?

46:35

vas

Thanks Woodspinner, The options for comparison are: A. rollover to IRA vs B. Pension annuity (pension annuity vs SPIA from a third party) It seems that the following items should be included in the analysis: Knowable: 1. Age at leaving company 2. Availability of inflation adjusted annuity 3. Pension...

vas

you do not need to wait until finishing the home to sell it, none of builders where I am at do this Pretty sure all new custom construction and remodels run over budget and schedule. Chalk if up to luck that your only $40K over. I recommend listing the house now and not moving in; perhaps your repl...

vas

Listening to Bogleheads on Investing podcast #8, "Rick Ferri interviews Allen Roth". During the interview, Mr. Roth stated that 75% of the time, analysis shows that its better to take the payment rather than the lump sum rollover to an IRA. Does anyone know what the referenced analysis ent...

vas

even with the same assumptions for different calculators, they give sometimes very different results. I know each uses a different formula, but wouldn't the results be at least close? Based on your own analysis, they are not. So perhaps the question should be why. Anyone can implement a college sav...

vas

I think your three step plan is a good one. Congrats on making the choice to invest your settlement.

vas

I have investments totaling 650+. I am sitting on a large percentage of my portfolio in cash and unsure where and how to invest it. I am big saver and frugal but most importantly I live well with in my means. At 31, its probably a good idea to get this invested. You will need to determine an asset ...

vas

Yes, I consider it part of my retirement funds. I will aim to use 100% of my HSA money on qualified medical expenses before it turns into an IRA, though. HSAs don't "turn into" IRAs. After 65 you can use the funds in an HSA for non medical expenses and those funds are treated in the same ...

vas

They don't give similar results even when I plug in the same assumptions. The problem with any tool, homemade or on-line calculator, is that all the inputs are assumptions. You don't and can't know if your children will go to college, what school they might attend, the future cost of that school, f...

vas

It is difficult to feel secure when you spend your life planning and saving for the future. Now than I am close to that future, I get nervous. There is always an unknown. I suspect that this is very common. Diminishing human capital (ability to generate revenue through work) reduces the feeling of ...

vas

$10,000. Working at my first job out of college, I set a goal of $10K and tracked it every month. Once I hit that I was golden. Free to switch jobs, move across the country at the drop of a hat, whatever. I've hit a few milestones since and in some circles might seem successful but nothing has given...

vas

aarondearu wrote: ↑Wed Dec 02, 2020 4:23 pm Chess Fundamentals videos on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ao9iOeK_jvU

Thanks for this, what a great video.

vas

Thanks! We will check these out.

vas

The title says it all. Looking for a good introductory chess book that covers strategy and tactics. Something suitable for teens. Any ideas?

vas

Curious to know what percentage others are using these days. Personally, I don't use a fixed percentage in any planning. Regardless of the percentage used the results are misleading at best. Monte Carlo simulations give you a probability range which reinforces the high level of uncertainty in the r...

vas

Hah yes it is a mess. Our company likes to rebalance repeatedly that explains the ** that I never got around to cleaning up (my fault). You should know the cost and asset allocation of your investments. These two items have a significant impact on your returns over the years and they are both thing...

vas

1) If we want to retire in 15 years should we just take the easy road and put everything in 2035 Target accounts? Or would it better to have some pointing at 2035? Some to 2040? Etc. No point in a blend of TDFs. Just pick one with the general date you plan to retire. If you prefer something more ag...

vas

ruralavalon wrote: ↑Mon Nov 30, 2020 5:28 pm keep it "as is" if you wish

Yes, I think I'll let it ride. Thanks for everyone's insights.

vas

Can you articulate why it's better to have either 100% S&P500 or a combination of large/mid/small cap that combine to form VTSAX, as compared to your current holdings? I'll give it a go: 1. A single S&P500 fund is better in my 401k because its simpler (one fund vs. two). The downside is les...

vas

Is there a reason you want to try to mimic vtsax with s&p funds rather than the s&p 1500? No reason. I'm in the process of making some adjustments to my investments, challenging earlier choices, etc. The (years) earlier decision to invest 10% of the overall portfolio in mid cap was made wit...

vas

retired@50 wrote: ↑Sun Nov 29, 2020 7:36 pm Vanguard's Portfolio Visualizer tool

Thanks, I hadn't seen that tool.

I put 10% of the old 401k in S&P400 years ago, pre BH, with no real thought or justification. Over weighted in terms of the whole portfolio. I think I'll switch this over to S&P500. Appreciate the quick responses.

vas

This is probably a stupid question with an obvious answer, but I've always found it useful to bounce things I'm sure of off smarter people. Here is the question: If you want to mirror VTSAX with a S&P500 large cap fund, a S&P 400 mid cap fund, and a small cap fund, what percentage of your ac...

vas

creating my own portfolio is a better option than having a robo-advisor or managed portfolio? You are already making things more complicated than needed. You don't need to invent a portfolio, you need to save. A target date fund might be just the ticket for now. You may have some competing goals su...

vas

Congratulations on getting an early start on investing. which company would be a great place to set up a Roth IRA and a taxable account Vanguard or Fidelity if you planning to use Index funds (as you should) creating my own portfolio is a better option than having a robo-advisor or managed portfolio...

vas

Move all mid cap funds in our 401k accounts (Fidelity mid cap index and Vanguard Extended Index Fund) to 500 Index Funds. Mid-caps don't offer any diversification. This will simply holding and will help with annual rebalancing Not sure the statement about mid caps not offering diversification is co...

vas

Scooter57 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 24, 2020 4:54 pm If you bought just $5,000 worth of the individual stock it would be worth $70,000 for a gain of $65,000.
... it probably will just keep going up.

So, the key is picking the one that's going to go up a lot, right?

vas

The very simple argument that I would make on why the SP500 index could be possibly outdated is simply this: The pace of technological innovation is occurring at such a rapid rate, we have EVs, Self-driving, AI/Machine learning, Space Exploration, Gene Editing / CRISPR as well as other high-tech fi...

vas

-$200k in retirement funds (max out Roth and 401k) -$115k in taxable funds -$30k in cash Its good that you are making the maximum contributions. Recommend that you take a look at the specific investments and associated asset allocations. This will make a big difference in your returns. Vanguard has...

vas

You might find this article interesting. It compares the after tax results of various distribution sequences. https://www.manning-napier.com/insights/blogs/financial-planning/secure-act-10-year-rule#:~:text=Starting%20in%202020%2C%20for%20IRAs,year%20following%20the%20owner's%20death. You need to de...

vas

I guess i am falling into the trap of wanting to "keep" as much of the inheritance as possible while also tyring to gian as much as possible. I figured this would be a good diverstication plan not only for taxes, but for risk as well. Are you saying I should just mirror my current allocat...

vas

It is an inherited IRA rollover and I have to withdrawal it all within 10 years (new rules). My apologies, I misunderstood the post. What is bad about loading up on more CD's in small amounts? My retirement accounts are already funded, I will be investing in 100% VTSAX in a taxable account with som...

vas

potentially live changing gor another generation if invested right Indeed it could. Is your intent to invest it for said generation? If so, you might consider putting it in VTSAX and just leaving it alone. Handle your own savings and retirement funds as you would without the inheritance. Better yet...

vas

Looks like your AA is about 65 / 35 depending on how you count the real estate and your withdrawal rate is <3%. Guessing that you could put this into Firecalc or similar and see some successful projections. In my opinion there is a lot of risk in the 40 to 50 year timeframe. Give a thought to what h...

vas

Consider selling it all and investing the proceeds in an S&P500 fund. The money remains invested and has the potential to grow. In the future you can see how this turns out. This approach adds diversification and hence reduces your risk. All the stuff about what the stock has been doing is immat...

vas

l0l0_army_guy wrote: ↑Wed Nov 18, 2020 2:25 pm ...but my wife has some chronic health issues that will alter her lifestyle in the very near future and most likely shorten her life as well

Sounds like you are making a very sensible choice and planning to use this time wisely.

vas

I'm 54 years old, retired once from the US Army back in 2008, and will be walking away from a job that pays $130K a year and wife will be leaving her $58K a year job at the same time. ...but our activities will be limited... Why do you want to retire? Have you considered switching jobs or other alt...

vas

Mortgage - $70k remaining at 3.9% Consider a refi. Not sure what rates are available for such a small mortgage but I suspect you could do better than 3.9% Lots of discussion about rates in the low 2.x range but those may be larger balances. FBGRX Fidelity Blue Chip - 33% PRBLX Parnassus Core Equity...

vas

Its never too late to improve your situation. First, square away that 7% credit card. I've seen people post about 0% balance transfer cards. Perhaps you can find something like that to keep the interest down until you get it paid off. Why do you keep the house in NV with the negative cash flow? Unle...

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