Search found 703 matches

by ccieemeritus
Mon Mar 18, 2024 7:24 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Lucent Paper 1996 Certificate
Replies: 4
Views: 574

Re: Lucent Paper 1996 Certificate

That image says “countersigned and registered The Bank of New York”. They might be worth a call.
by ccieemeritus
Mon Mar 18, 2024 6:49 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Lucent Paper 1996 Certificate
Replies: 4
Views: 574

Re: Lucent Paper 1996 Certificate

Does the stock certificate say “computershare” on the front?

I found a photocopy of a 1999 AAPL stock certificate issued by computershare in my parents old files. Your MIL may be able to go to https://www.computershare.com/us , prove her identity to create an account, and login to the investor center.

In my Mom’s case we were able to look up old transactions and see the history of the stock certificate (including splits) until it was redeemed in 2006.
by ccieemeritus
Thu Mar 14, 2024 10:10 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Uggh. Taxes. Cost Basis and date of purchase
Replies: 10
Views: 1366

Re: Uggh. Taxes. Cost Basis and date of purchase

If you don't want to go through the effort of figuring out the cost basis for each of your 40 funds, you can at least determine a lower bound for the cost basis. That way your cost basis will be much higher than $0, substantially decreasing the amount of money you give away to the feds. For example, I pulled up the Yahoo Finance historic prices for SWPPX. https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/SWPPX/history/ I set the date range to 1/1/2017 through 12/31/2019 and set it to "Monthly". For each month it shows a "high" and a "low" price. For SWPPX, the lowest price during that 3 year period is $34.71. Setting your cost basis to that (if you held that fund) would be much better than $0. Repeat 40 times for the 40 funds an...
by ccieemeritus
Sun Mar 10, 2024 11:30 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: California Turbo Tax Desktop - Options Missing
Replies: 12
Views: 802

Re: California Turbo Tax Desktop - Options Missing

My company withhold Taxes in RSU and it shows 6,000$ in my W2 Box 14. Do I need to enter or deduct it anywhere in H&R Block or Turbo Tax so I am not taxed 2 times ? Please help me. It sounds like the "fair market value" of your RSU's totaled $6000 on the day they vested. $6000 was already included as income on your W-2 (the $6,000 is included in line 1, line 14 is just informational). You didn't sell any this year. So for this year, you're good. But in a future year when you sell the RSU's, it is highly likely that the cost basis of those shares will be incorrect. For my RSU's at E*Trade, the cost basis was listed as ZERO! If I simply imported my 1099 into TT I would double-pay taxes! When you eventually sell your RSU's, you ...
by ccieemeritus
Sun Mar 10, 2024 2:24 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Any investors from the 1981 - 1984 time period here???
Replies: 36
Views: 4327

Re: Any investors from the 1981 - 1984 time period here???

Way after your timeline, but I remember going into a Schwab office around 1995 to make my first investment. They had a “newspaper-like” brochure listing mutual funds, returns, expense ratios, and load percentages.

They also had an article recommending investors choose low-cost and no-load funds.

I’ll always be grateful to Schwab for that timely introduction to low-cost investing.
by ccieemeritus
Fri Mar 08, 2024 10:50 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: First bonus, taxed at almost 50%!
Replies: 55
Views: 3287

Re: First bonus, taxed at almost 50%!

This is very close to the withholding on my bonus. I am so grateful for the tip to frontload my 401K next year. I would have never thought of that but that’s exactly what I plan to do. If your employer has a match, you may miss out on money if you front load your 401k. The 401k contribution limit for 2024 is $23k. Let's say your income is $230k ($19.16k per month) and your employer matches up to 3% of your income if you contribute to the 401k ($575 / month max match). If you front-load your 401k by setting your contributions to 15% of your income, you'll contribute $2875/month to your 401k and the employer with match $575/month. This will last for 8 months until you max out the 401k. Total contributions: $23k + $4.6k match. But then the em...
by ccieemeritus
Fri Mar 08, 2024 1:12 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Fidelity advice
Replies: 67
Views: 8021

Re: Fidelity advice

Chuckles960 wrote: Thu Mar 07, 2024 11:38 pm This does not sound like Fido at all. I think the OP is being scammed.
I agree. They may say they are Fidelity, but people can lie and caller IDs can be forged. Four calls in one week is also suspicious. I recommend not talking to these people and very carefully considering if you gave them any login or account information during those four calls.

The 11% “at no risk” is also a fraud alert.
by ccieemeritus
Tue Mar 05, 2024 10:10 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Non-WiFi Dishwasher Needed Software Update
Replies: 33
Views: 2902

Re: Non-WiFi Dishwasher Needed Software Update

This thread reminded me to make sure I cut/restore power to any appliance before doing a service call. I wonder if that would have cleared the fault.
by ccieemeritus
Sun Mar 03, 2024 10:33 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Helping mom with finances - how do I get access?
Replies: 48
Views: 3874

Re: Helping mom with finances - how do I get access?

Charles Schwab has their own standard "Power of attorney" form with both "limited" and "full" access options. Here's an example of the full power of attorney form at Schwab: https://www.schwab.com/public/file/CMS-APP114024AL (I'm having trouble finding the Schwab limited power of attorney form for non-investment advisors at the moment, but it exists) I filled it out for my (adult) kids and they granted me limited power of attorney. That lets me log into _my_ Schwab account and: 1) view their accounts (including 1099 forms at tax time!) 2) execute trades in their accounts 3) But NOT withdraw money from their accounts. I'll bet all brokerages have a similar form. Google search to find it. Create an account at eac...
by ccieemeritus
Sat Mar 02, 2024 12:54 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Selling Stocks, including enough for taxation without getting into a taxation loop
Replies: 13
Views: 1307

Re: Selling Stocks, including enough for taxation without getting into a taxation loop

One optimization is *when* you pay the tax. For example, if i had a $100k capital gain right now (March 1st 2024), I’d normally need to pay estimated tax by April 15th 2024. But as soon as my estimates+full-year-withholding hit 110% of my 2023 tax liability, I’ve hit the safe harbor for high income taxpayers (>$150k AGI, which I assume will apply). Then I won’t have any late penalties by delaying the remainder of the tax until April 15th 2025, which lets me delay selling some of the stock. If I delay the second stock sale until April 1st 2025, I won’t need to pay estimated tax on that batch until June 15 2025 (I’m unlikely to achieve safe harbor for 2025, given my large tax bill for 2024). Watch out for state income taxes and estimates. Eac...
by ccieemeritus
Thu Feb 29, 2024 12:42 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Neighbor Got Burglarized, How To Prevent
Replies: 74
Views: 8333

Re: Neighbor Got Burglarized, How To Prevent

+1 for motion sensing camera floodlights. I like Ring. I have one aimed at the front driveway and Ring lets me customize the motion-sensing area so it doesn’t light up/record when people walk in the sidewalk, but does light up/record when they come into the driveway. I have another in the back. If I’m away I set a third inside the house.

Block your gate so it’s hard to open from the front. Lock the gates from the back or physically block them with your garbage cans. A locksmith can make padlocks that use the same key as the house (very convenient but I wonder if that itself is a risk).
by ccieemeritus
Sun Feb 25, 2024 5:03 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How do people go bankrupt?
Replies: 39
Views: 3163

Re: How do people go bankrupt?

I know someone who consistently spent more than she earned. Nice rented house. Nice car. Small business run out of studio rather than garage. Private school for kid. “Money not an object” when kid choosing college. She’d gradually get into a hole. She always had “hope” that her next money making scheme would solve the problem: travel agent school, realtor school, small business attempts. Her “hope” caused her to do anything to survive another month. Revolving debt. Selectively paying bills. Help from parents. Misusing her child’s college tuition money (from parents, hoping she could repay that next month). At that point adjusting spending is tough. Too much stuff to move business out of the studio. Child can’t transfer to in-state school. S...
by ccieemeritus
Sun Feb 25, 2024 4:30 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Taxable account income
Replies: 5
Views: 922

Re: Taxable account income

It’s just more income. You can save it or spend it. You have to pay taxes on it (hopefully at favorable qualified dividend rates). You may have to pay estimated taxes or adjust your other holdings.

One difference is I never automatically reinvest dividends in a taxable account. It generates too many small blocks when i eventually sell. I manually buy something about twice a year. Yes that is less efficient for growth.
by ccieemeritus
Sat Feb 24, 2024 3:06 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Pay the penalty estimated by H&R Block or let IRS bill me
Replies: 13
Views: 1331

Re: Pay the penalty estimated by H&R Block or let IRS bill me

I always pay the estimated penalty. It’s usually a small amount and not worth the hassle of dealing with later. When my taxes are done, I want them to be done.

I often have to fill out form 2210 schedule AI for uneven earnings during the year. I don’t trust the government to fill that out for me.
by ccieemeritus
Fri Feb 23, 2024 8:31 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Federal taxes due > $2,000
Replies: 25
Views: 3324

Re: Federal taxes due > $2,000

The w-4 form controls your withholdings. You’ll need to submit a new one with your employer. Many employers support submitting this online.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf

You could increase your old answer in 4c by $77 (assuming 26 pay periods per year)

I’ll bet your old answer in 4c was $0
by ccieemeritus
Fri Feb 23, 2024 3:28 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: resources for getting kids interested in investing / personal finance
Replies: 11
Views: 1065

Re: resources for getting kids interested in investing / personal finance

6th Graders used to read “Life on Paradise Island” to learn economics. Out of print but here’s a link to a pdf:

https://www.tamaqua.k12.pa.us/cms/lib07 ... Island.pdf

The author’s son previously posted the ebook (on a now defunct website) to make it available to all.

There are also some financially oriented board games. “Life” and “Monopoly” for example. Life had an interesting lesson: pick a good career or you might end up in the poor house 😂. I don’t know if recent versions of Life changed the message.
by ccieemeritus
Thu Feb 22, 2024 11:44 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: In the event of an untimely death, what is the best way for family members to have immediate access to funds?
Replies: 53
Views: 5158

Re: In the event of an untimely death, what is the best way for family members to have immediate access to funds?

When my Mom’s health was declining, she put me as joint on her checking account. When she died, I used the joint account to pay off her bills and handle funeral and probate expenses. That greatly simplified probate (in Oregon, I was executor). There were literally no expenses inside the probate to account for other than distribution to the five grandchildren heirs. Legally speaking, the remaining money was then mine, but I distributed it to her five grandchildren (including two of my children) as she wished and her will stipulated. The checking account was large enough to take care of the bills/expenses but small enough that it fell under the gift tax limit. That was easy, but it requires trust. I have a sibling with a history of financial ...
by ccieemeritus
Wed Feb 21, 2024 4:51 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Which Brokerage to You Recommend when Using an Account Authorization ?
Replies: 8
Views: 787

Re: Which Brokerage to You Recommend when Using an Account Authorization ?

It was easy to setup a limited power of attorney over my (adult) children's accounts at Schwab. Schwab had their version of the LPOA form (as well as a full POA version) on their website.

We configured the limited power to allow trading but not withdrawals.

The kids accounts show up under my Schwab login. I can trade and access their tax forms, but can't withdraw under my login.

Works fine.
by ccieemeritus
Tue Feb 20, 2024 12:30 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: DIRECT PAY to IRS from bank account: Issues? Cautions?
Replies: 35
Views: 3104

Re: DIRECT PAY to IRS from bank account: Issues? Cautions?

Direct pay works fine. I've been using it for years. I recommend creating an online account with the IRS so you can look up your payments after you make them. They use ID.me for authentication.

https://www.irs.gov/payments/direct-pay
https://www.irs.gov/payments/your-online-account
by ccieemeritus
Tue Feb 20, 2024 1:05 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Unable to disabled cross site tracking for safari on iPad
Replies: 6
Views: 818

Re: Unable to disabled cross site tracking for safari on iPad

Try the settings app->safari->privacy and security->prevent cross site tracking (toggle it off)

There are also 3rd party browsers available for iPasOS in the App Store now: duck duck go, Google chrome, Firefox
by ccieemeritus
Mon Feb 19, 2024 11:24 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Should we purchase $2.5M home with all cash?
Replies: 17
Views: 3582

Re: Should we purchase $2.5M home with all cash?

mgsso11 wrote: Mon Feb 19, 2024 9:31 pm
Is the thought that I should then just sell our primary home after we close on the new home and throw the proceeds at the new mortgage?
Yes. My thought was sell the lake home immediately, but use the mortgage to keep your current house until you move into the new construction. Then sell the old house to eliminate debt.

But +1 to the person suggesting that you find an existing 90% of wish list home and buying that. Look around at homes under construction. How long have they been under construction? How long since the design/permit process started? (The last property sale date may be an indicator of when the builder bought the home). Building a home is a 2 year project and (I assume) you’ll be learning as you go.
by ccieemeritus
Mon Feb 19, 2024 6:46 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Just did my own taxes for first time - owed $5k
Replies: 57
Views: 7897

Re: Just did my own taxes for first time - owed $5k

The total tax you pay is the same whether you pay it early (via withholdings) or at tax time (as long as you pay enough to not have a late penalty).

Late penalties are not horrific: they get charged at the current interest rate (8% this year). It’s not going to be an egregious amount for a small underpayment.

So you would have paid that $5k no matter what. The only question is when.

It sounds like the real problem is budgeting. You weren’t expecting the $5k expense this quarter and may not be ready for it. Adjusting your withholding will help mitigate the surprise next year. It will also help keep your withholding close to what’s due, helping to prevent late penalties.
by ccieemeritus
Mon Feb 19, 2024 4:39 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Should we purchase $2.5M home with all cash?
Replies: 17
Views: 3582

Re: Should we purchase $2.5M home with all cash?

Thanks ccieemeritus. Great point. The cost basis is about $1.4M. Gains are long-term. We live in a state with no state income tax. I was planning for about $75k in capital gains taxes to withhold. Good. You’ve got a good job with an excellent income. With your investments depleted you’ll be dependent on it to rebuild them. The new house will be an asset but it won’t generate income (it will generate property taxes!). Only you can evaluate whether your job is “at risk”. A custom home build is a project management challenge. Some high cost-of-living areas are hard to get contractors. The project may take longer and more effort than you expect. I had a relative who visited their under construction home every few days to see status and see whi...
by ccieemeritus
Mon Feb 19, 2024 4:21 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Daughters employer 401K vendor is changing
Replies: 19
Views: 1530

Re: Daughters employer 401K vendor is changing

Empower is pretty big. My former employer, Apple, used them until 2 months ago.

For us they were pretty good: $10/quarter fee and very low cost index funds available. Thank you Apple CFO!

But I’ve seen threads from others on empower who only had higher cost funds available. Presumably the company using Empower just let Empower pawn the administrative cost of administering the funds to the employees. Bad CFO!

If the company allows employee questions, might be worth her asking what the fees are, will there be a low cost index fund available, and what is the cost of that fund.
by ccieemeritus
Mon Feb 19, 2024 4:10 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Should we purchase $2.5M home with all cash?
Replies: 17
Views: 3582

Re: Should we purchase $2.5M home with all cash?

What’s the cost basis of the $1.7M in your investment account? If you incur a large capital gain when you sell, you’ll need to sell more to pay the taxes (incurring even more of a capital gain). Also good to know whether gains are short term or long term.

The capital tax rate will also depend on the state income tax. In CA it can run around 34% total.
by ccieemeritus
Sun Feb 18, 2024 3:34 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Am I overly paranoid? [Giving access to financial sites]
Replies: 10
Views: 1519

Re: Am I overly paranoid? [Giving access to financial sites]

Retired IT/security person here. Companies are compromised all the time. Even large companies with good security budgets. The defenders have to correctly configure defenses every time. The attackers only need to find one weakness. It’s reasonable to minimize exposure.

1099-B’s can be hard to enter manually, especially if they have a significant number of transactions. I tend to import those, accepting some risk.

But if it’s a simple 1 or 2-line 1099-INT? I’ll enter that manually.

This is also why I’ll never use a “portfolio aggregator” feature. It’s also why it’s important to use different passwords per site and 2-factor authentication. That requires a password manager, but I’ll avoid using their cloud storage solution.
by ccieemeritus
Sat Feb 17, 2024 5:48 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Investment Account Newbie -- Taxes on Monthly Dividends?
Replies: 13
Views: 1060

Re: Investment Account Newbie -- Taxes on Monthly Dividends?

Yes. You need to report all interest and dividend income. But they are different. Don't confuse them and report the same income twice. Interest income you receive is reported on a 1099-INT. It will eventually end up on line 2b of your 1040. Dividend income you receive is reported on a 1099-DIV. It will eventually end up in lines 3a/3b of your 1040. Capital gains you get from selling stock is reported on a 1099-B. That generates a bunch of forms generally requiring software to fill out. Many places will consolidate those forms into one "consolidated 1099" document with multiple sections. Many 1099's will give more "non reported" information at the bottom. It sounds like yours shows how much (interest / dividend ?) you got...
by ccieemeritus
Sat Feb 17, 2024 5:24 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How to check with Etrade 1099 is correct
Replies: 3
Views: 394

Re: How to check with Etrade 1099 is correct

A common problem with 1099-B is when E*Trade doesn't know the cost basis for the stock. I commonly had this happen with stock purchased via work (RSU, ESPP, or stock options). In that case the 1099-B will show a cost basis of $0. That's almost always an error. E*Trade even had a "supplemental" form this year showing the correct cost basis, but couldn't include those in the 1099-B for regulatory reasons (ugh). I sometimes look up the historic stock price (via Yahoo Finance) to verify the cost basis. E*Trade was a little rough this year because it had 2 1099 forms per account with the Morgan Stanley migration. Glad that's done. Turbo Tax was helpful this year marking the "zero cost basis" cases in red. +1 to keeping a spre...
by ccieemeritus
Fri Feb 16, 2024 11:38 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Overfunded 529 - how to handle
Replies: 8
Views: 1118

Re: Overfunded 529 - how to handle

Do you have or plan to have kids? Some of the 529 could go into accounts for them (and potentially their descendants) setting up a permanent education legacy. Your wife's grandfather might find that particularly meaningful. For the calculations below I'm assuming 30% income tax and 24% LT capital gains tax. If you live in a high income-tax state, the calculations might be completely different. I round to the nearest k. OPTION 1: You take $100k out to put in your brokerage account. $22k of that is principal. You pay income tax + 10% on the $78k gains. Assume your income tax is 30% (+10% penalty) That's about $31k taxes. That leaves $69k in your brokerage account. Then you buy $69k of index fund. Your cost basis is now $69k. Let's say that $6...
by ccieemeritus
Fri Feb 16, 2024 10:53 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is there a benefit to opening a 529 for food/books?
Replies: 14
Views: 1177

Re: Is there a benefit to opening a 529 for food/books?

Yes. 529 is great because there's no taxes on the gains as long as all the distributions are for qualified expenses. Go for it! The "food allowance" is $5994 for the 2024-2025 academic year at NCSU. Check out https://studentservices.ncsu.edu/finances/estimated-cost-of-attendance/undergraduate-student-estimated-cost-of-attendance/ for an example. I don't believe receipts are required for a qualified distribution for food. Each school should have an "undergraduate cost of attendance" which is easy to find via Google. I think receipts are required for "books", but I personally did not consistently get them from my son. I'm sure I missed some possible reimbursements there. Related IRS website/publication: https://w...
by ccieemeritus
Thu Feb 15, 2024 2:58 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Masters Degree Abroad.. Or not?
Replies: 7
Views: 683

Re: Masters Degree Abroad.. Or not?

My daughter goes to Veterinary school at the University of Glasgow with heavy financial assistance from DW and I. The UK schools make a significant amount of revenue from US students who pay full tuition to go there. The first day you show up your tuition had better be paid in full or they won't even issue you a student-id card and won't let you register for classes. We didn't seek financial aid, but I'm not aware of a "financial aid office" for US students. Pay or go home. A significant number of students in the Veterinary program scored insufficiently well on their final exams that they needed to retake a year. They had 2 attempts to pass the exam. I understand they got a discount on tuition for the retaken year, but I don't kno...
by ccieemeritus
Tue Feb 13, 2024 11:17 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What is your favorite book?
Replies: 186
Views: 19945

Re: What is your favorite book?

I originally learned about economics in the 6th grade by reading the assigned book "Life on Paradise Island: Economic life on an imaginary island"

The book is no longer in print, but the author's son posted it publicly on a website, although the website is now offline.

Here's a link to a PDF version (appropriately via a school which is probably still using it in its curriculum):

https://www.tamaqua.k12.pa.us/cms/lib07 ... Island.pdf
by ccieemeritus
Tue Feb 13, 2024 10:26 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Low-cost provider that's not Vanguard?
Replies: 47
Views: 3921

Re: Low-cost provider that's not Vanguard?

I’m a big fan of Schwab for 2 historic reasons: They helped invent “discount brokerages” (brokers used to charge substantial $ for trades and “advice”) In 1993 I opened my first brokerage account with Schwab. Schwab had a pamphlet listing all the mutual funds with an article explaining to pick low-cost funds which didn’t charge a “load” for the privilege of buying. That’s exactly the info I needed at that time. Their SWPPX fund is a very low cost S&P500 fund. Today expensive trade fees and loaded mutual funds are toast, thanks in part to Schwab. More recently, they have a physical office in my area, they support all sorts of accounts, moving our account to our revocable trust was easy, they have limited POA forms so I can help my grown ...
by ccieemeritus
Sun Feb 11, 2024 11:21 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Understanding safe harbor for taxes
Replies: 6
Views: 1216

Re: Understanding safe harbor for taxes

What you are saying is true for Federal taxes, but each state may have different rules regarding their own safe harbor.

CA, for example, completely phases out the safe harbor around $1M. That seems like a lot, but if you sell a house you may hit it.
by ccieemeritus
Sun Feb 11, 2024 1:22 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: LinkedIn strategies
Replies: 24
Views: 2268

Re: LinkedIn strategies

I only link with people I will vouch for and who I believe will vouch for me in LinkedIn. When I applied for my last high tech job, I did the following: 1) Found a job I was interested in on their public website 2) Found several contacts on LinkedIn that I’d previously worked with who were working at that company. 3) Sent them the job info I was applying for 4) My contacts found the same job on the company’s internal job site, which identified the hiring manager 5) They contacted the hiring manager and vouched that I was competent, hard working, and easy to get along with. IMO “building a following” on LinkedIn is useless. But it’s nice to see what my former coworkers are doing. If I ever search for a job again, a referral from someone I kn...
by ccieemeritus
Sat Feb 10, 2024 6:14 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Is it foolish to keep driving my old car?
Replies: 138
Views: 12254

Re: Is it foolish to keep driving my old car?

I like driving old cars into the ground. We bought a 2001 Toyota Sienna for a new baby and he ended up learning to drive in it 17 years later ;-) I've now replaced the Sienna and am very happy I did so. I'm older and it's harder to turn around and look diligently behind me. My newer Subaru has a backup camera and beeps when I'm backing up into cross-traffic. It also has some parking proximity sensors (but not as good as my wife's Lexus). It alerts me if I'm moving too fast toward an obstacle. This feature may have prevented a collision. By contrast, I get nervous every time I'm backing up in my daughter's 2010 Camry. No backup camera. No cross traffic sensors. My in-laws are very happy with the safety features in their newer Prius (they pre...
by ccieemeritus
Sat Feb 10, 2024 6:03 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Turning off Margin ability on a Schwab account
Replies: 28
Views: 2253

Re: Turning off Margin ability on a Schwab account

My Schwab account is margin. This account was set up at Schwab around 1994. I never use it for margin purchases. I called my advisor once and he pointed out that one advantage of margin is if I sell a stock and buy another stock the same day, two days later when both transactions settle it won't matter which order they settle in. If the purchase settles an hour before the sale I won't suffer an account violation.
by ccieemeritus
Sat Feb 10, 2024 5:52 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Is it worth the risk to install thermostats myself, or should I pay to have them installed? Homeowners insurance
Replies: 39
Views: 3880

Re: Is it worth the risk to install thermostats myself, or should I pay to have them installed? Homeowners insurance

Nest or Ecobee thermostats are easy to install. I have no problems doing it myself even though I avoid most 110V electrical tasks.

I was very happy with Nest 2nd generation, but I am unhappy with Nest 3rd generation. The 3rd generation requires Google home rather than the Nest app. Ugh. I literally ripped out a Nest 3rd generation I installed (assuming it would be as good as 2nd gen) and replaced it with an Ecobee (bought from Costco).

So if you buy a Nest now for your parents, it probably won't be as good as the ones you installed 8 years ago.
by ccieemeritus
Sat Feb 10, 2024 12:08 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: To IRS, We Are One; To Me, We Are Three - Figuring Taxes
Replies: 18
Views: 2290

Re: To IRS, We Are One; To Me, We Are Three - Figuring Taxes

I mostly agree with your plan. Calculate your taxes without the in-law money. Save the tax forms as a PDF. Then add in the in-law money. Save that tax form (which would be your submission) as a PDF. That's what adding their investments to yours adds to your tax burden. Pay that out of their account.

I wouldn't separate you and your wife's calculations. You are on the same team.
by ccieemeritus
Sat Feb 10, 2024 11:53 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Sell home or keep?
Replies: 12
Views: 1055

Re: Sell home or keep?

Empty homes suffer maintenance problems. After my Mom passed but before we could sell her house it suffered a water leak. Fortunately I had a relative checking on it regularly. I should have turned off the water. Today internet ring and water sensors would help. We recently bought a new home and are keeping our old one for 10 months until our son graduates from college. We're visiting it twice a week. We put out the garbage and swap out which light is on to make it look occupied. We mow the lawn and do a bit of trimming. We have ring cameras and water sensors. 3 months to go. We just got a cancellation notice from our insurer (Farmers) because the house is unoccupied (higher risk for them). They will probably renew the policy at a higher (u...
by ccieemeritus
Fri Feb 09, 2024 3:09 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Transfer 401k from Empower (fees) to Fidelity while employed
Replies: 15
Views: 945

Re: Transfer 401k from Empower (fees) to Fidelity while employed

I just checked my Empower statement from October 2023. I had a $10 quarterly participant account fee. This was not a significant percentage of the account. I was invested 100% in "Vanguard Institutional 500 Index Trust" which had an expense ratio of 0.01. My company was _very_large_ with a good CFO. We apparently have good low-cost 401k options and no significant "plan administration fee". If you are paying large expenses through Empower, I suggest you doublecheck your fund selection and make sure you're not signed up for active administration. If your CFO agreed to a 0.9% "plan administration fee" paid by the employees, I'm so sorry. EDIT: I'm tempted to start a thread where everybody reports their company, CF...
by ccieemeritus
Fri Feb 09, 2024 2:51 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Taxes on dividends
Replies: 14
Views: 2117

Re: Taxes on dividends

In taxable accounts I don't want to have too many small lots. It complicates tax reporting when I eventually sell (in theory downloading the 1099-B and importing into Turbo Tax automates this, but I like to doublecheck my lots at tax time).

So in taxable accounts I do not automatically reinvest dividends. They accumulate and I periodically need to do something with them (spend or reinvest). I lose a bit of return as a result since I usually have some cash sitting idle.

In tax protected accounts I set up as much automatic reinvestment as I can so I can "set it and forget it". Sometimes that's not supported with ETF or individual stocks where you need to buy shares in whole-unit numbers.
by ccieemeritus
Fri Feb 09, 2024 2:46 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: compromised Target physical gift card
Replies: 4
Views: 474

Re: compromised Target physical gift card

bikesandbeers wrote: Fri Feb 09, 2024 2:30 pm People record the numbers on the backs of gift cards in stores and seal back the packages where the numbers are covered
and then wait a few days or a week, check if it has a balance, then drain it immediately.
+1. Criminals recording gift card numbers in stores is unfortunately common in some areas.

I won't buy physical gift cards in a store any more. Most large chains let you buy them online and email or print them out.
by ccieemeritus
Thu Feb 08, 2024 8:52 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How do you buy a mattress?
Replies: 47
Views: 3748

Re: How do you buy a mattress?

I can't evaluate a mattress in a mattress store. Not enough time. I bought a mattress in a mattress store and it _hurt_ my back. Ended up giving it to a younger relative who was ok with it. Best mattress I ever bought was from the "Hilton to home" program. DW and I were on a trip, stayed in a Hilton, and loved the mattress. The good news is Hilton will let you buy their mattress/bedding sets. The bad news is that it was the most expensive mattress I ever owned. I think a set today costs about $3k. So if you're on a trip and like the mattress/bedding in the hotel, there's a good chance the hotel chain sells it for exorbitant prices. We recently replaced the Hilton mattress because it was old. We ended up getting the "medium&qu...
by ccieemeritus
Thu Feb 08, 2024 5:10 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: I'm receiving a large inheritance and need advice
Replies: 46
Views: 5129

Re: I'm receiving a large inheritance and need advice

“I’m receiving a large inheritance and need advice”

One critical piece of advice is to never take advice from anyone selling you a product. Avoid “free” lunch seminars and such. I’m glad you found Bogleheads.

+1 for getting away from Edward Jones as soon as possible.

Since you are new to investing, it may be worth paying for professional advice, but not overpriced poor advice. The people here may steer you to better advisors/firms, and won’t profit by doing so. Just make sure that advice is publicly posted (not a direct message). Poor public advice will be quickly corrected by the community.
by ccieemeritus
Wed Feb 07, 2024 10:25 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Tax question for dependent
Replies: 16
Views: 1166

Re: Tax question for dependent

ThanksI That's good to know. I may have to amend her return since I already submitted everything. That's what I get for wanting taxes to be done and over with. The reason I thought of it as a business because it seemed to be similar to the way babysitting or a kid mowing lawns would be a business. I did not see the chain of steps you pointed out in your last paragraph. It wasn't intuitive for me. Luckily, we don't live in a city or any incorporated area so she shouldn't run into the same thing you did, but I want to make sure I fill out the forms correctly. Given you've already submitted, are reporting all income, and are in a business business-friendly locale, in your situation I might call it done and not submit an amendment. But it migh...
by ccieemeritus
Wed Feb 07, 2024 10:10 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Inherited IRA
Replies: 11
Views: 960

Re: Inherited IRA

I don't understand why it's a wash in your spreadsheet. Let's say you start with $100k and withdraw it immediately. You have $76k after taxes. If you leave $100k in there for 9 years, with a 7% average growth rate, you have $183.8k. That's $139.7k after taxes. Assuming 4% annual inflation (42% total inflation after 9 years) that's $98.4k in current dollars. $98.4k is better than $76k when both are in current dollars. What's happening? By deferring the taxes 9 years, you are earning compound interest on the deferred taxes. That said, this is based on two assumptions: 24% tax no matter what you do The achieved growth rate (I estimated 7%) is greater than the inflation rate (I estimated 4%) Here's some counter examples: My daughter is in grad ...
by ccieemeritus
Wed Feb 07, 2024 9:39 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Tax question for dependent
Replies: 16
Views: 1166

Re: Tax question for dependent

I pulled the trigger on Turbo Tax, claimed her tip income as a business, and it auto filled the forms to pay her social security tax and such. Phew. I would _not_ claim tip income as a business. I had a small business and (correctly) reported about $500 in income on schedule C. Fast forward two years and the city I live in sent me mail requiring me to pay city business employment taxes (about $50/year, but they waived penalties after a letter). In my case it was a business with 1 employee (me). But getting tips at a place of employment is not a business. In turbo tax if I go to personal->personal income -> "I'll choose what to work on" there's a "less common income" section. Last item is "miscellaneous income"...
by ccieemeritus
Wed Feb 07, 2024 9:22 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Tax question on the sale of a house as part of an estate
Replies: 8
Views: 903

Re: Tax question on the sale of a house as part of an estate

I'm not a tax attorney, but acted as executor for my Mom's estate five years ago. Here's what I believe is correct. Hopefully others will confirm. 1) The cost basis for the house "stepped up" at death to the fair market value at time of death which you estimate $485k. Keeping some documentation of that would be helpful (Redfin/Zillow estimate, appraisal, realtor estimate, something). 2) While you may sell for $500k, you'll have expenses related to the sale. Staging. Realtor fees. Repairs. Assuming 5% that could be $25k, giving you a $10k loss. 3) As part of my executor checklist, I got an IRS tax ID for the estate. You'll also need the tax ID to create a bank account on behalf of the estate (so you may already have one!). If the e...
by ccieemeritus
Tue Feb 06, 2024 9:20 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Margin Loan for Home Purchase?
Replies: 18
Views: 2511

Re: Margin Loan for Home Purchase?

I recently used an asset-backed line-of-credit to partially fund a house purchase. I'm going to look into this option. Which company did you use for the asset-backed line of credit? Do you recommend them? Any initial fees involved? I used E*Trade because that’s where I had the taxable account I was going to use to back the line of credit. As @126inc pointed out, I could have gotten a better interest rate if I’d negotiated better, or moved my assets to another brokerage. Hopefully that info will help others. There were no fees beyond the interest. There were no fees until I drew down the line of credit. Drawing down and paying back the LOC is fully supported on E*Trade’s website. I think most large brokerages support lines of credit. It see...