Search found 7231 matches

by Earl Lemongrab
Mon Jul 01, 2019 5:39 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Investing a windfall when the market is at “an all-time high?”
Replies: 33
Views: 5565

Re: Investing a windfall when the market is at “an all-time high?”

The problem is, people focus on the form of the money. There's no difference between brand-new money recently invested and the stuff that's been there for years. In my tax-advantaged accounts I have 4x that amount in stocks. Should I sell all that because it's at "an all-time high"? Almost no one would recommend that.

You need to get out of the mindset that you can predict the markets. If you DCA for six months and the market does another December swoon, will you really feel better because you didn't put it in all at once?

I also think the recommendations to pay the mortgage down are poor. There's no rational reason to do that, it's all "you'll feel great!!!!"
by Earl Lemongrab
Mon Jul 01, 2019 5:29 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Mom wants to roll IRA to Roth, but lost records of contributions
Replies: 22
Views: 2679

Re: Mom wants to roll IRA to Roth, but lost records of contributions

David Jay wrote: Mon Jul 01, 2019 8:17 am Be careful with your terminology, it makes a difference. Throughout this thread you have called your Mon’s transaction a “rollover”. What your Mom is doing - moving funds from a tIRA to a Roth - is a “conversion”, not a rollover. If you researched rollovers, you have acquired the wrong instructions.
Actually, a conversion is type of rollover.
by Earl Lemongrab
Mon Jul 01, 2019 5:12 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Setting up mega backdoor Roth - where to allocate funds?
Replies: 8
Views: 1040

Re: Setting up mega backdoor Roth - where to allocate funds?

Your reasoning is faulty. If you save the money rather than spend it on taxes, you'll have that money in the future to pay taxes. You should keep the normal contributions as deferred.

That being said, Mega Backdoor is good idea if it doesn't cost too much. Is this a solo plan? If so, then you don't have to worry about testing.
by Earl Lemongrab
Mon Jul 01, 2019 5:04 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What are you up YTD? [Year To Date]
Replies: 5249
Views: 900005

Re: What are you up YTD? [Year To Date]

J G Bankerton wrote: Mon Jul 01, 2019 4:53 pm What does the OP mean by "up"? I'm up more than just my returns.
It's not clear what you mean.
by Earl Lemongrab
Mon Jul 01, 2019 5:02 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Life after COBRA - selecting new health insurance
Replies: 37
Views: 4890

Re: Life after COBRA - selecting new health insurance

Happened to notice that I had the Bronze lowest plan numbers repeated for the Silver lowest plan. Fixed that.
by Earl Lemongrab
Mon Jul 01, 2019 3:06 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What are you up YTD? [Year To Date]
Replies: 5249
Views: 900005

Re: Re:

ruralavalon wrote: Mon Jul 01, 2019 1:16 pm
Earl Lemongrab wrote: Mon Jul 01, 2019 1:01 pm Howver, now that I'm retired, my inflows to the portfolio are severely restricted (might be zero) and probably will go negative soon when I have to move off COBRA to other health insurance. Likely my YTD for this year will be pretty accurate. I haven't run the July numbers yet.
Going off COBRA may decrease you health insurance premiums and overall health care costs.
Not as far as I have determined. Even the lowest exchange plan has higher monthly cost and deductible/OOP amounts.

See discussion of this here: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=283685

As I'm leaning towards retiree medical at least for this year, that would be a minimum jump of $600+.
by Earl Lemongrab
Mon Jul 01, 2019 1:01 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What are you up YTD? [Year To Date]
Replies: 5249
Views: 900005

Re:

In order to compare apples-to-apples, shouldn't the number that matters here be the actual total return -- not the change in portfolio value counting contributions or withdrawals? Shades of the Beardstown Ladies! I have always freely admitted that my results are Beardstown accounting. I don't try to calculate XIRR for my investments because it's a lot of work for no value to me. I really don't care what my rate of return is. I have a portfolio that's largely index funds so I get what I get. I'm not fiddling with the allocation at all. Howver, now that I'm retired, my inflows to the portfolio are severely restricted (might be zero) and probably will go negative soon when I have to move off COBRA to other health insurance. Likely my YTD for ...
by Earl Lemongrab
Mon Jul 01, 2019 12:46 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Paying debt weekly rather than monthly
Replies: 21
Views: 2211

Re: Paying debt weekly rather than monthly

The bi-weekly payment ("one weird trick") scheme was just a way to obscure what was going on and to fool some people into thinking that they pay the same amount but save money. And we'll charge them for the privilege!

So if you want to pay early on your mortgage, and I'm usually in the "don't do that" camp, then definitely never use a paid service for it. Just follow the normal monthly schedule and make extra payments against principal at whatever amounts and intervals you like.
by Earl Lemongrab
Mon Jul 01, 2019 12:27 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Calculating VTSAX(or total stock) return without dividends reinvested
Replies: 13
Views: 2142

Re: Calculating VTSAX(or total stock) return without dividends reinvested

The OP stated that the goal was to show what the capital gains would be for the original investment. So price chart is what is needed in this case. People are bringing in irrelevant details for the given question. Obviously the dividends existed.
by Earl Lemongrab
Sun Jun 30, 2019 5:11 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Is anyone else worried about tech becoming too big/overvalued?
Replies: 54
Views: 5887

Re: Is anyone else worried about tech becoming too big/overvalued?

Nope. A core principal of my plan is that I have NO talent for timing the market. That includes sectors of the market. So I don't even know what tech is valued at.

Edit: "no talent".
by Earl Lemongrab
Sun Jun 30, 2019 5:08 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Calculating VTSAX(or total stock) return without dividends reinvested
Replies: 13
Views: 2142

Re: Calculating VTSAX(or total stock) return without dividends reinvested

Just look for price charts. For Morningstar, search for the fund. That will give you a growth chart. Click "More" and look at the new chart. There should be a pulldown on the left of the bar at the top of the chart that says Growth. Change that to Price. Set the time period. Here is an example:

VTSAX 10-year price chart
by Earl Lemongrab
Sun Jun 30, 2019 4:43 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Paying debt weekly rather than monthly
Replies: 21
Views: 2211

Re: Paying debt weekly rather than monthly

Thanks folks. Just bought a house. 30 yr fixed. Got a letter in the mail advertising paying mortgage weekly would shave 12 years off the mortgage and therefore a ton of interest dollars. Why do you think that is worthwhile goal? You save interest at the expense of reducing your available money for investing. You could have saved even more interest with a 15-year loan, as that would have a lower rate. The way the weekly/bi-weekly schedules work is that you end up making one extra payment per year over monthly. So you can just do that. You sure don't need a third-party processor charging a fee. If you really want this, then calculate a monthly payment divided by 12 and add that much as principal each month. No need for weekly payments. If yo...
by Earl Lemongrab
Sun Jun 30, 2019 4:39 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Moving from Vanguard to Merrill Edge
Replies: 127
Views: 21902

Re: Moving from Vanguard to Merrill Edge

Alan S. wrote: Sun Jun 30, 2019 3:51 pm I assume the bonus disclosures indicate that you will get a 1099 MISC reporting the taxable bonus.
I don't recall. You will. It's required for $600+ but I think they will report lower amounts as they have to generate a consolidated 1099 anyway.
by Earl Lemongrab
Sat Jun 29, 2019 11:47 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: After tax 401k contributions and in-plan conversions to Roth 401k
Replies: 25
Views: 2165

Re: After tax 401k contributions and in-plan conversions to Roth 401k

I wouldn't worry. If you retire early, you can access contributions from your Roth IRA without concern, and possibly the earnings. I would never pass up Roth savings for taxable.
by Earl Lemongrab
Sat Jun 29, 2019 4:48 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Vanguard intentionally delaying fund transfer to Fidelity DAF?
Replies: 31
Views: 4838

Re: Vanguard intentionally delaying fund transfer to Fidelity DAF?

TropikThunder wrote: Sat Jun 29, 2019 11:54 am Vanguard will still be collecting the ER on their mutual fund regardless of whether it’s held at Vanguard or Fidelity. A nefarious motive would be trying to stop you from selling it, not transferring it.
But selling soon follows transfer. When I did it, I transferred ETFs from Merrill Edge to my Fidelity account first, then from there to the DAF.
by Earl Lemongrab
Sat Jun 29, 2019 4:46 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: After tax 401k contributions and in-plan conversions to Roth 401k
Replies: 25
Views: 2165

Re: After tax 401k contributions and in-plan conversions to Roth 401k

Wannaretireearly wrote: Sat Jun 29, 2019 4:43 pm Urggh. Thanks. Still not crystal clear on this...

I've done backdoors so I know how to invest and convert that to Roth immediately without tax liability.

This new 401k example I'm not sure. Can someone who does this walk me thru this with baby steps? Much appreciated....
It's not clear what you don't understand. You make after-tax contributions. You then either do in-plan conversion or request a rolloverto send to your IRA(s).

Much of detail is specific to your plan.
by Earl Lemongrab
Sat Jun 29, 2019 4:35 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 401k rolled over to IRA, co-mingled with non-deductible contributions, now rolling over to new 401k
Replies: 9
Views: 1034

Re: 401k rolled over to IRA, co-mingled with non-deductible contributions, now rolling over to new 401k

It seems like first doing a rollover of the pre-tax funds into a new IRA before rolling that again into the 401k would be a reliable way to go if they will not directly take that portion of money from my current single IRA, many thanks for that idea. Generally a rollover into a qualified plan doesn't involve them taking anything from the IRA. You have your IRA custodian generate a check that you send in. Sometimes if the same custodian is involved they might not do it directly. However, you can't roll the pretax amount into another IRA. It just doesn't work that way. You could roll an amount equal to the pretax holdings, but that hasn't separated anything. If the 401(k) is picky about amounts only coming from a rollover IRA, then there mig...
by Earl Lemongrab
Sat Jun 29, 2019 1:06 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Best way to transfer shares to son
Replies: 9
Views: 1254

Re: Best way to transfer shares to son

dbr wrote: Fri Jun 28, 2019 2:38 pm If they aren't covered shares they may not have or keep any data on those shares.
Almost all custodians tracked basis for non-covered shares, they just didn't report to the IRS or guarantee the information. The OP can go to the G/L Unrealized tab of the account view to see the basis information if it exists.
by Earl Lemongrab
Sat Jun 29, 2019 12:58 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Merrill Edge alternatives to Vanguard Money Market Funds
Replies: 11
Views: 2382

Re: Merrill Edge alternatives to Vanguard Money Market Funds

Is it in taxable? If so, then hold the cash somewhere else in a linked account.
by Earl Lemongrab
Sat Jun 29, 2019 12:53 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Financial planning now that retired
Replies: 65
Views: 14921

Re: Financial planning now that retired

I would double-check that list. It's unusual for a plan to have all of those low-cost index funds but not an S&P or similar fund.
by Earl Lemongrab
Sat Jun 29, 2019 12:42 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Has anyone recently transferred shares from Computershare to Vanguard?
Replies: 27
Views: 13691

Re: Has anyone recently transferred shares from Computershare to Vanguard?

anon_investor wrote: Fri Jun 28, 2019 1:09 pm Lucky or unlucky for me they are for noncovered shares which have a 0 cost basis, so that was not a concern.
Well, they still have a cost basis, just not one the custodian is required to track. However, every one I have used, including Computershare, did track the basis.

I transferred lots of non-covered assets over the years and basis always went along. With ACATS it often takes a week or so for that to catch up.
by Earl Lemongrab
Sat Jun 29, 2019 12:23 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: "Alice's Adventures in Factorland"
Replies: 209
Views: 14686

Re: "Alice's Adventures in Factorland"

David Althaus wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2019 2:55 pm As stated here no one can predict the future. If you invest in SCV I'd ask myself some questions:

1. Since its past performance is pretty common knowledge has the premium been arbitraged away? If not arbitraged away am I willing to accept the higher risk associated with higher returns?
If the outperformance is due to risk, there should be no way to "arbitrage it away". After all, people have known of the greater risk and expected return of the stock market over bonds, and that hasn't gone away.

In fact if SCV is more risky and doesn't have greater expected return, then that is a major market inefficiency that could be exploited. EMH says that shouldn't happen.
by Earl Lemongrab
Sat Jun 29, 2019 12:10 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: After tax 401k contributions and in-plan conversions to Roth 401k
Replies: 25
Views: 2165

Re: After tax 401k contributions and in-plan conversions to Roth 401k

It depends on specifics. How do the investment options in the 401(k) compare to the open market? Does your state have better protection against judgments for 401(k)s than IRAs?

In-plan is usually easier and can be cheaper. You also don't have to worry about time out of market, although you can mitigate that and for small amounts it probably doesn't matter. There might be lower fees.

Rollovers to IRAs allow splitting the earnings from basis, although if you do things with reasonable frequency that's not a big deal.
by Earl Lemongrab
Fri Jun 28, 2019 1:20 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The Final, Definitive Thread on Brokerage Transfer Bonuses
Replies: 7737
Views: 1337483

Re: The Final, Definitive Thread on Brokerage Transfer Bonuses

JustinR wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2019 9:37 pm I literally did this exact bonus a few months ago though. Do you think that's different?
Are you sure it's the same bonus? Same offer code and all?
by Earl Lemongrab
Thu Jun 27, 2019 5:04 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: New to investment
Replies: 15
Views: 1249

Re: New to investment

lakpr wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2019 1:39 pm The so called pension is a chimera at your age (it is seemingly there but not really), as you can only draw upon pensions at the age of 65 or older.
What? Some particular pension might be that way, but not in general.
by Earl Lemongrab
Thu Jun 27, 2019 4:48 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How is Dividend Yield calculated?
Replies: 5
Views: 1530

Re: How is Dividend Yield calculated?

To me, yield for a stock fund is next to worthless. What will you do with this information?
by Earl Lemongrab
Thu Jun 27, 2019 3:48 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The Final, Definitive Thread on Brokerage Transfer Bonuses
Replies: 7737
Views: 1337483

Re: The Final, Definitive Thread on Brokerage Transfer Bonuses

JustinR wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2019 1:55 pm
Earl Lemongrab wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2019 12:32 pm
JustinR wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2019 3:40 am The fine print on the ETrade offer says "One promotion per customer."

Has anyone experienced this being enforced?
I have received many from Etrade. I think they mean is that this particular one can only be used once. Like you can't do multiple transfers.
What do you mean by multiple transfers?
Open three accounts, make three transfers.
by Earl Lemongrab
Thu Jun 27, 2019 12:32 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The Final, Definitive Thread on Brokerage Transfer Bonuses
Replies: 7737
Views: 1337483

Re: The Final, Definitive Thread on Brokerage Transfer Bonuses

JustinR wrote: Thu Jun 27, 2019 3:40 am The fine print on the ETrade offer says "One promotion per customer."

Has anyone experienced this being enforced?
I have received many from Etrade. I think they mean is that this particular one can only be used once. Like you can't do multiple transfers.
by Earl Lemongrab
Wed Jun 26, 2019 5:11 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Life after COBRA - selecting new health insurance
Replies: 37
Views: 4890

Re: Life after COBRA - selecting new health insurance

Broken Man 1999 wrote: Wed Jun 26, 2019 2:41 pm Does your retiree insurance options include Medicare plans when you become eligible? Hopefully they have some cheaper plans for you when you get Medicare eligible.
Yes, there is a Medicare supplement plan, currently $86/month. I don't know much about its features.
by Earl Lemongrab
Wed Jun 26, 2019 2:08 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Life after COBRA - selecting new health insurance
Replies: 37
Views: 4890

Re: Life after COBRA - selecting new health insurance

deltaneutral83 wrote: Wed Jun 26, 2019 1:20 pm Is this $1,600+ a month in premiums? I guess the OOP max at $2k isn't all that bad I just haven't seen the monthly premium nearly match the annual OOP max
That's what it says. I can understand the HMO being cheaper than PPO, but why the HDHP is highest I can't really figure.
by Earl Lemongrab
Wed Jun 26, 2019 2:07 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Life after COBRA - selecting new health insurance
Replies: 37
Views: 4890

Re: Life after COBRA - selecting new health insurance

NotWhoYouThink wrote: Wed Jun 26, 2019 11:20 am
UHC-HDHP - PPO: $1,616.32; deductible: $1,500/$1,500; OOP: $2000/$4000
Since this has HDHP in the title it is HSA eligible, right?
I don't know. The HDHP for employees was, but I don't know about this. As it was the most expensive (why?), I didn't really worry about that.
by Earl Lemongrab
Tue Jun 25, 2019 6:10 pm
Forum: Forum Issues and Administration
Topic: Extremely Short 'Stay Logged In' Time
Replies: 45
Views: 12518

Re: Extremely Short 'Stay Logged In' Time

elpollo wrote: Tue Jun 25, 2019 5:46 pm Lemon,

there is no 'stay logged in' radio-box , there is only 'remember me' ...... there must be some session cookie that if denied (maybe because its a 3rd party cookie or something) , that is making *Only BH site time out
I see that you're correct, it's "Remember Me". I don't know if that changed with one of the updates or I misremembered. I rarely see that because I never log out. As far as mobile, I can't comment.
by Earl Lemongrab
Tue Jun 25, 2019 6:07 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Botched transfer? Security sold instead of transferred
Replies: 12
Views: 1252

Re: Botched transfer? Security sold instead of transferred

michaeljc70 wrote: Tue Jun 25, 2019 8:51 am They sold only the PARTIAL shares I had before the transfer! Sorry, I missed that.
Yeah, that's typical. Most won't transfer the partial shares (I'm not entirely sure why). It's one reason why I don't auto-reinvest ETFs.
by Earl Lemongrab
Tue Jun 25, 2019 5:30 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Investment Horizon
Replies: 5
Views: 958

Re: Investment Horizon

livesoft wrote: Mon Jun 24, 2019 5:15 pm I think your understanding is not the same as my understanding. When I was accumulating I considered my investment horizon to be until I died say at age 105.
So will Livesoft have cracked the quarter-million post count by that time?
by Earl Lemongrab
Tue Jun 25, 2019 5:30 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: After Tax 401(k) Rollover
Replies: 18
Views: 2085

Re: After Tax 401(k) Rollover

Some plans allow rolling TIRAs in. In that case you can split the rollover then roll the earnings back. That's what I did with my first big Mega as I had a lot of accumulated earnings.
by Earl Lemongrab
Tue Jun 25, 2019 4:16 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Life after COBRA - selecting new health insurance
Replies: 37
Views: 4890

Re: Life after COBRA - selecting new health insurance

I'm back with more information. I had a talk with a benefits rep. Here is what I learned.

1. People above were correct. I have until 60 days after COBRA ends to elect retiree medical through MegaCorp. So the deadline is in October, although I wouldn't wait that long.

2. Retiree medical is only available when you lose workplace coverage. So if I elected to take an exchange plan I would not have a chance in the future to switch to retiree medical unless I got another job and then left it or something.

Based on #2, and some other factors, I think it makes the most sense to take one of those retiree plans. That gives me a chance to evaluate things.

Thoughts on that and input on which plan makes the most sense would be welcome.
by Earl Lemongrab
Tue Jun 25, 2019 3:32 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Question on Roth partial rollover
Replies: 2
Views: 455

Re: Question on Roth partial rollover

You have to complete indirect rollovers within 60 days.
by Earl Lemongrab
Tue Jun 25, 2019 3:31 pm
Forum: Forum Issues and Administration
Topic: Extremely Short 'Stay Logged In' Time
Replies: 45
Views: 12518

Re: Extremely Short 'Stay Logged In' Time

RetiredAL wrote: Tue Jun 25, 2019 3:29 pm
elpollo wrote: Tue Jun 25, 2019 1:15 pm I'm an advanced user, of many years, only banking sites are auto-logging me out, and BH , it's a design choice by someone at BH , perhaps with cookie policy
I concur that its short. Too many times I've started a post, had something come up, and when I return, I find I have timed out. And no, I don't want to stay logged on forever.
If you're not selecting that, then you get logged out of course. When you choose "stay logged in" you can just log out manually when done.
by Earl Lemongrab
Tue Jun 25, 2019 3:12 pm
Forum: Forum Issues and Administration
Topic: Extremely Short 'Stay Logged In' Time
Replies: 45
Views: 12518

Re: Extremely Short 'Stay Logged In' Time

elpollo wrote: Tue Jun 25, 2019 1:15 pm I'm an advanced user, of many years, only banking sites are auto-logging me out, and BH , it's a design choice by someone at BH , perhaps with cookie policy
What is a design choice, exactly? It's not extremely short login time, as many of us don't see that. My own anecdotal input is that I don't experience forced logout more than about once a month at the most.

The forum mostly uses PHPBB with default settings. Probably here as well. I know some cases of logout turned out to be people not selecting the "stay logged in" setting. So the option is there to avoid auto-logout, although it seems not to work for everyone.
by Earl Lemongrab
Mon Jun 24, 2019 11:45 pm
Forum: Forum Issues and Administration
Topic: Extremely Short 'Stay Logged In' Time
Replies: 45
Views: 12518

Re: Extremely Short 'Stay Logged In' Time

elpollo wrote: Mon Jun 24, 2019 3:47 pm hmm, 2 years of posts about being auto-logged out, sure seems like a 'feature not a bug' to me.

maybe this could be a 'pinned' post

BH seems to be the only non-banking site that I experience doing this , no matter what browser nor settings.

How about an option to change it to 6 hours or something :(
Not sure what you mean. Most of us don't experience this, so it definitely isn't a feature. Some people do.
by Earl Lemongrab
Mon Jun 24, 2019 11:41 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 401(k) Rollover Options Advice
Replies: 9
Views: 1214

Re: 401(k) Rollover Options Advice

My point is that, IN THE YEAR the conversion took place, the $5700 is double taxed. No. It's not the same money. It's like you poured a cup of milk into a gallon of water, mixed it around, then poured out a cup of the mixture. It's not a cup milk of anymore, and thinking of it as a cup of milk only confuses the situation. Nothing ever gets taxed twice here. Every time you convert, there will be some of the conversion that is pretax (which could have been there for years or recently added) and some after-tax (which could have been there for years or recently added). When you added 6000 to the IRA, it got mixed all in with what was there. When you did the conversion, you came up with a mix that was some of what you just put in and some that ...
by Earl Lemongrab
Mon Jun 24, 2019 2:07 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: After Tax 401(k) Rollover
Replies: 18
Views: 2085

Re: After Tax 401(k) Rollover

Njm8845 wrote: Mon Jun 24, 2019 12:06 pm So I guess my confusion was that converting to a Roth IRA was considered a rollover, which it's not. A rollover IS a non-taxable event, but conversion to a Roth IRA is a distribution.
Wrong. A conversion is a rollover. That applies whether it's from a qualified plan to a Roth, or from TIRA to a Roth. It just happens to be a taxable rollover.
by Earl Lemongrab
Mon Jun 24, 2019 1:56 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Reverse Rollover IRA to 401K Question
Replies: 7
Views: 688

Re: Reverse Rollover IRA to 401K Question

Depending on plan rules, you might be able to roll it back out before you leave. The only contributions restricted by law are employee pretax or Roth contributions. Anything else is eligible to be distributed at the plan's discretion.

MegaCorp allows distribution of rollover contributions at any time. You can distribute company matching but they would then suspend matching for six months. The best one is after-tax contributions, which you can roll without fees into a Roth IRA (Mega Backdoor Roth).
by Earl Lemongrab
Mon Jun 24, 2019 1:49 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Moving from multiple accounts to Merrill Edge or Premium?
Replies: 24
Views: 3083

Re: Moving from multiple accounts to Merrill Edge or Premium?

Not sure why people are talking about management. The OP didn't mention it. Merrill Edge is a discount brokerage and it is perfectly set up for DIY investing. I have a lot of my assets there. I have generated thousands in bonuses from them. The OP is already set up for Preferred Rewards, so no problem there.
by Earl Lemongrab
Mon Jun 24, 2019 1:46 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 401(k) Rollover Options Advice
Replies: 9
Views: 1214

Re: 401(k) Rollover Options Advice

Umm, no. No double taxation. Just taxation at a high tax rate on a portion of each conversion. That does usually make backdoor Roth not advantageous. Umm, Earl, if let us say the poster converted $6000 from non-deductible to Roth, and this constitutes 5% of the total tIRA amount: the $6k was contributed on a n-d basis so implicitly tax had been already paid; plus the Roth conversions will add $5700 to taxable income that is taxed again. So in that sense, the $6000 IS double taxed in the year such conversion is made (while there is a traditional IRA in place already) . Well, at least the $5700 is. Did I get it wrong? Yes, you got it wrong. Once money goes into the IRA it's mixed together, and the 6k after-tax sets or increases the basis of ...
by Earl Lemongrab
Mon Jun 24, 2019 12:29 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 401(k) Rollover Options Advice
Replies: 9
Views: 1214

Re: 401(k) Rollover Options Advice

lakpr wrote: Sun Jun 23, 2019 6:24 pm If you are in the 35% tax bracket, you are beyond the phase out limits for direct contributions to Roth IRA, so you need to resort to Backdoor Roth. If you roll the old 401k to a Rollover IRA, you will get caught by the prorata rule, which effectively will tax that IRA contribution twice. In other words, the backdoor Roth option would be closed forever
Umm, no. No double taxation. Just taxation at a high tax rate on a portion of each conversion. That does usually make backdoor Roth not advantageous.
by Earl Lemongrab
Sun Jun 23, 2019 3:49 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Personal liability umbrella: how much coverage?
Replies: 9
Views: 1632

Re: Personal liability umbrella: how much coverage?

Personally I think that's too much coverage. Is your home equity at risk? This varies by state. Amounts in 401(k)s are protected from judgments and bankruptcy.

The rule of thumb about coverage equal to assets has no real basis.
by Earl Lemongrab
Sun Jun 23, 2019 3:29 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How do you approach tipping at carry-out restaurants
Replies: 111
Views: 10908

Re: How do you approach tipping at carry-out restaurants

Another one of these threads? Put tip carry out into the Google search box and get a dozen past threads on the exact topic. Same basic replies.
by Earl Lemongrab
Sat Jun 22, 2019 2:53 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Tree stump, can't use a stump grinder. Solution?
Replies: 64
Views: 7982

Re: Tree stump, can't use a stump grinder. Solution?

tibbitts wrote: Sat Jun 22, 2019 1:44 pm Did we ever find out why a small stump grinder can't be used?
As the OP has never responded, no. If people can't be bothered to read and follow-up, I can't see any reason to put forth any effort to help.
by Earl Lemongrab
Sat Jun 22, 2019 11:31 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Amended returns - overpaid LT cap gains
Replies: 5
Views: 531

Re: Amended returns - overpaid LT cap gains

Don't forget that qualified dividends use that same 0% tax space. As mentioned, if they went through the various worksheets for the forms, all that should be calculated correctly.