Search found 2031 matches

by gasdoc
Thu Dec 14, 2023 8:23 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What Retirement Planning/Budgeting Software Are You Using
Replies: 132
Views: 23910

Re: What Retirement Planning/Budgeting Software Are You Using

Started trying out NewRetirement (free version) I am hoping NewRetirement users can answer my question: Plan using "Optimistic" Inflation and Returns assumption has 94% Chance of Success. Switching it to "Average" the chance of success drops to 28%. Why is there such a significant drop in Chance of Success, more than 3 times? In NewRetirement help, they say Optimistic return is 5% and Pessimistic is 2%. I am assuming Average will be 3.5%. This doesn't explain the steep drop in Chance of Success. In other tools (i.e. Personal Capital, Portfolio Visualizer, Vanguard Nest Egg Calc, FireCalc) the variation between 50 Percentile (aka Average) and 75 Percentile (Optimistic) returns is not as significant. Any insight? Not sure...
by gasdoc
Wed Dec 13, 2023 8:24 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What Retirement Planning/Budgeting Software Are You Using
Replies: 132
Views: 23910

Re: What Retirement Planning/Budgeting Software Are You Using

Started trying out NewRetirement (free version) I am hoping NewRetirement users can answer my question: Plan using "Optimistic" Inflation and Returns assumption has 94% Chance of Success. Switching it to "Average" the chance of success drops to 28%. Why is there such a significant drop in Chance of Success, more than 3 times? In NewRetirement help, they say Optimistic return is 5% and Pessimistic is 2%. I am assuming Average will be 3.5%. This doesn't explain the steep drop in Chance of Success. In other tools (i.e. Personal Capital, Portfolio Visualizer, Vanguard Nest Egg Calc, FireCalc) the variation between 50 Percentile (aka Average) and 75 Percentile (Optimistic) returns is not as significant. Any insight? Not sure...
by gasdoc
Sun Nov 26, 2023 8:02 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Article: Why Long-Term Care Insurance Falls Short for So Many
Replies: 88
Views: 10064

Re: Article: Why Long-Term Care Insurance Falls Short for So Many

I was talking about the insurance company They don’t care if the cost goes up to a million a day They only pay the daily amount set in the policy Ah, I see what you are saying. In that case, how did the insurance companies miscalculate the premiums on the older policies? Everything I've read suggests that the companies are raising premiums because their payouts are larger than expected. Clearly they had made one or more invalid assumptions - what were they? Are people more likely than expected to utilize their policies? If so, why? The early policies were not like the current policies- they were what insurance is supposed to be- pooling of resources from many people against a low probability, high cost event. A LTC policy I would consider ...
by gasdoc
Sat Nov 25, 2023 4:01 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What Retirement Planning/Budgeting Software Are You Using
Replies: 132
Views: 23910

Re: What Retirement Planning/Budgeting Software Are You Using

It depends on the question I'm answering. How long will I live? I use http://deanfoster.net:3838/life_calculator/. I take the average based on my factors (87) and pad it to 92 (which, frankly, is optimistic). What do I have? Aggregated manually in a spreadsheet. It also calculates my desired asset allocation based on what I have, and how to move things around to get to that. How much will my Social Security benefit be? I use ssa.tools in conjunction with opensocialsecurity.org. How much will I spend? I don't spend much now, so I estimated my costs for living it up, including taxes. Understanding taxes has been an interesting journey. Ordinary, qualified, NIIT, IRMAA, social security... What will my estimated tax payments have to be? I use ...
by gasdoc
Tue Nov 21, 2023 7:43 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What Retirement Planning/Budgeting Software Are You Using
Replies: 132
Views: 23910

Re: What Retirement Planning/Budgeting Software Are You Using

Piehole wrote: Tue Aug 29, 2023 6:38 am NewRetirement

https://www.newretirement.com/retirement/home-2022/
This. I had access to one of the programs normally only used by professional planners, then through the same group, I had free access to NewRetirement for a year, when they were essentially a startup. Now I would never use anything else. And their support is excellent with the opportunity to get very reasonably priced fee based help just to have someone independently look over your numbers should you choose to do that (I did that once a couple of years ago).

gasdoc
by gasdoc
Sun Nov 19, 2023 5:31 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can You Have Too Much in an HSA?
Replies: 49
Views: 6610

Re: Can You Have Too Much in an HSA?

bling wrote: Sun Nov 19, 2023 7:44 am https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Priorit ... nvestments

HSA comes after 401k. so if you've maxed out your HSA for 40 years that means you've either already maxed out your 401k or just enough to get a match. in both cases, you + employer are basically contributing at least 2x into your 401k vs HSA.

assuming the minimum, you'll have 2 million in your 401k and 1 million in your HSA, in today's dollars.

that doesn't sound like a lot of money to me....long-term care will eat all of that up in a couple years.
Thank you. I wasn't aware of this wiki info.

gasdoc
by gasdoc
Sun Nov 19, 2023 7:24 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can You Have Too Much in an HSA?
Replies: 49
Views: 6610

Re: Can You Have Too Much in an HSA?

It’s not something I worry about. I’m more worried about my already large and likely to grow even bigger, medical expenses. I currently have about $100K in the HSA, and it might eventually get to $300K or something. I figure I’ll be able to use a lot of it up for old age care. And if not, my heirs can worry about it after I’m dead. +1 But what about the old saved medical receipts? You can't pass those on to your heirs? When would you use those for withdrawals? gasdoc No, you can't pass old saved medical receipts. From an HSA perspective, those become useless if you die and they were eligible but unreimbursed medical expenses. (If they represent medical expenses in the year of your death, they would qualify as Schedule A itemized medical de...
by gasdoc
Sat Nov 18, 2023 3:38 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can You Have Too Much in an HSA?
Replies: 49
Views: 6610

Re: Can You Have Too Much in an HSA?

invest4 wrote: Sat Nov 18, 2023 3:23 pm
Normchad wrote: Sat Nov 18, 2023 11:04 am It’s not something I worry about. I’m more worried about my already large and likely to grow even bigger, medical expenses. I currently have about $100K in the HSA, and it might eventually get to $300K or something. I figure I’ll be able to use a lot of it up for old age care. And if not, my heirs can worry about it after I’m dead.
+1
But what about the old saved medical receipts? You can't pass those on to your heirs? When would you use those for withdrawals?

gasdoc
by gasdoc
Sat Nov 18, 2023 2:28 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can You Have Too Much in an HSA?
Replies: 49
Views: 6610

Re: Can You Have Too Much in an HSA?

I realize you can try to push taxable income to the top of various brackets for tax efficiency but in general, where in the order would you withdraw from the HSA with saved receipts?

1) Regular brokerage accounts
2) HSA
3) Ira's and equivalent
4) Roth IRA's and equivalent?

Or would you maintain the HSA as long as possible, more like a ROTH, to take more advantage of tax free growth?

1) Regular brokerage accounts
2) IRA's and equivalent
3) HSA's
4 Roth IRA's and equivalent?

Much appreciated!

gasdoc
by gasdoc
Sat Nov 18, 2023 2:16 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Early 60's, first time option to use HSA. Some Q.
Replies: 13
Views: 1653

Re: Early 60's, first time option to use HSA. Some Q.

Thanks for the reply's. I have more questions, so I think I'll make my own post rather than to monopolize the OP's post. Thanks!

gasdoc
by gasdoc
Fri Nov 17, 2023 2:54 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Early 60's, first time option to use HSA. Some Q.
Replies: 13
Views: 1653

Re: Early 60's, first time option to use HSA. Some Q.

I was going to post my own HSA question, but then I read your post and decided it might be better to tack this on to yours.

We are also early 60's, but we have been contributing to an HSA for many years. We currently have over $100K after contributions and investment earnings. it can certainly pay off. Just save the receipts for later reimbursement.

I do wonder when current retirees actually began taking withdrawals from their HSA's, using their saved receipts as documentation?

Gasdoc
by gasdoc
Sat Apr 15, 2023 11:21 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Retirement planning tool
Replies: 5
Views: 1049

Re: Retirement planning tool

I have used "newRetirement" for many years now, almost starting the day it started. It continues to improve, including good Roth conversion exploring.

Gasdoc
by gasdoc
Sun Oct 09, 2022 6:27 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Any BH retirees with no pension?
Replies: 134
Views: 17445

Re: Any BH retirees with no pension?

I am close to 62, and will retire soon if I choose to do that. But now that my hours have been reduced work has become more enjoyable. I wasn't given a pension, but I purchased the equivalent of one in the form of a SPIA a few years ago. It made the success rate in my plan to age 100 come out much better than other scenarios. It has no COLA, but I may possibly purchase another SPIA at age 75 or so if this one proves insufficient. It mostly depends upon inflation.

gasdoc
by gasdoc
Tue Apr 19, 2022 7:11 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Long Term Care Insurance
Replies: 448
Views: 40666

Re: Long Term Care Insurance

Like all insurance, you have to ask yourself why you are carrying it. For most people, they want LTC to insure against catastrophic LTC costs. Unfortunately these plans no longer exist - you will quickly find they all have maximum payouts that top out in the $500K range (plus all the other hoops and restrictions you allude to.) For most retiring early Bogleheads, $100K to $500K of payouts isn't going to be very useful in a true "20 years of alzheimer's care" scenario, so self-insuring makes more sense. You're better off looking at other estate planning moves in a catastrophic scenario (especially if married.) This is written well. I'll just add that I don't need a policy that tops out at $500,000. I can sell a house or sell equit...
by gasdoc
Tue Apr 19, 2022 6:49 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Physicians - retiring early
Replies: 230
Views: 31600

Re: Physicians - retiring early

How are you guys defining early retirement? I am looking to get out around age 62 unless cutting back further makes the job more enjoyable. I am an anesthesiologist, and already down to five days per week, no nights or weekends. The only problem is the call people take the early days before and after call, leaving me with all the long days. It's a tradeoff I accept, but I am starting to wonder if I may be missing out on life being in the hospital for 8-12 hours per day. The weekends have become much more enjoyable, but would the weekdays become just as enjoyable if I were to retire completely? I am 61 years old. One of my senior partners is nearly dead with cancer at age 71. Might I have only ten more good years? Who knows? Financially, if ...
by gasdoc
Mon Feb 21, 2022 8:00 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What does 7% inflation actually mean in terms of action?
Replies: 70
Views: 7374

Re: What does 7% inflation actually mean in terms of action?

If the question ultimately is what should your next move be- I'd say do nothing. Each part of your portfolio should have a purpose. Your cash should be for short term spending and maybe an emergency fund. That hasn't changed so either should what you do with it. As far as using it to buy actual investments, the recent inflation is already baked into the prices, so no great deals there either. As far as predicting whether there will be inflation in the future, whatever the majority of analysts think is also already baked into the prices of bonds and stocks (and anything else). So... stay the course and keep to whatever your plan was before inflation hit. My 2 cents.

gasdoc
by gasdoc
Mon Feb 21, 2022 3:36 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: When to spend HSA
Replies: 46
Views: 4845

Re: When to spend HSA

Thanks, all.

gasdoc
by gasdoc
Sun Feb 20, 2022 3:44 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: When to spend HSA
Replies: 46
Views: 4845

Re: When to spend HSA

Thanks, everyone! My wife and I have discussed this and we are going to start withdrawing from our HSA Jan, 2022, our first year of retirement.

gasdoc
by gasdoc
Sun Feb 20, 2022 3:41 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: When to spend HSA
Replies: 46
Views: 4845

Re: When to spend HSA

Then once the money has been taken out of the HSA in a form of a check, which is deposited, what happens next? Do I simply turn in the receipts to my a accountant at tax time each year? gasdoc When it comes to HSAs, you're pretty much on your own for record-keeping. No one really wants much of anything, most of the time. You'll be asked to complete a form with your taxes that specifies how much you contributed to your HSA(s) and how much you've taken out. You'll also need to check a box that the distributions were for medical expenses. The only thing you'd need receipts for is an audit. Since your income is relatively high for now, your audit risk is somewhat elevated so just keeping the receipts for a few years after you've reimbursed you...
by gasdoc
Sun Feb 20, 2022 11:50 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: When to spend HSA
Replies: 46
Views: 4845

Re: When to spend HSA

Thank you, jebmke and Mike Scott!

gasdoc
by gasdoc
Sun Feb 20, 2022 11:17 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: When to spend HSA
Replies: 46
Views: 4845

Re: When to spend HSA

Then once the money has been taken out of the HSA in a form of a check, which is deposited, what happens next? Do I simply turn in the receipts to my a accountant at tax time each year?

gasdoc
by gasdoc
Sun Feb 20, 2022 9:24 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Has anyone ever made an official loan to their child? (for home purchase)
Replies: 75
Views: 6566

Re: Has anyone ever made an official loan to their child? (for home purchase)

Almost 50 years ago my parents loaned me 8,000 for a house. I made payments through a local bank, and when I sold the house I remember paying the loan off. I was so young then I don't really remember how it was structured. So just musing here... have gifted last year, and plan to do this years exclusion amount, so with son's Roth of 45k, he'd have enough for about 100k down in a LCOL area. Would there be a way to make a loan of say 300k with payments set up on an amortization schedule? Or have people bought a home with a child combined with a loan of sorts? What are people doing to help their kids (age 33)? Just curious capran, The bigger question would be why do you think loaning 300K to your kid to buy a house that he cannot afford is he...
by gasdoc
Fri Feb 18, 2022 10:54 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: When to spend HSA
Replies: 46
Views: 4845

Re: When to spend HSA

Beachey wrote: Fri Feb 18, 2022 10:45 am Curious, the only time you would need receipts for past HSA would be if you have been audited? In the case of large withdrawals, does this trigger an audit?
I can't answer that....

gasdoc
by gasdoc
Fri Feb 18, 2022 10:22 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: When to spend HSA
Replies: 46
Views: 4845

Re: When to spend HSA

Thanks, everyone! I am still reading these.

gasdoc
by gasdoc
Fri Feb 18, 2022 6:29 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: When to spend HSA
Replies: 46
Views: 4845

Re: When to spend HSA

I am 61 years old, with a 57 year old spouse, and have a sizable HSA ($200,000). I am not sure when to start drawing down the funds for qualified medical expenses. I have not been too good about keeping old medical receipts, so I would need $200,000 worth of medical expenses to use it up efficiently (tax free). Does anyone have experience with the draw down of a large HSA during retirement? When should I start? At retirement (age 62)? Age 65? Age 70? Age 75? I plan to retire in one year, at age 62. Thank you! gasdoc This is a personal matter and you'll find multiple opinions on this. There's no point in reimbursing yourself for past expenses if you don't have the receipts but going forward, keep receipts and you can reimburse yourself at a...
by gasdoc
Fri Feb 18, 2022 6:27 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: When to spend HSA
Replies: 46
Views: 4845

Re: When to spend HSA

AnEngineer wrote: Thu Feb 17, 2022 5:53 pm HSAs are much older than 10 years, created in 2003.
Well, there you go.

gasdoc
by gasdoc
Fri Feb 18, 2022 6:26 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: When to spend HSA
Replies: 46
Views: 4845

Re: When to spend HSA

I am 61 years old, with a 57 year old spouse, and have a sizable HSA ($200,000). I am not sure when to start drawing down the funds for qualified medical expenses. Start now. Do you have Long Term Care insurance? You can each use money tax-free from your HSA to pay premiums, up to the aged-based maximum for each of you. Yah, what Joe said! On a separate note and none of my business but these things always blow my mind so I have to ask; how did you get so much in an HSA? These things have only been around about 10 years. We know how Peter Thiel managed to create a Roth IRA valued at 5B. It's not like HSA limits have ever been THAT high! Again, none of my business but mind blowing. At 200K I'd never pay another medical expense with money tha...
by gasdoc
Fri Feb 18, 2022 6:22 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: When to spend HSA
Replies: 46
Views: 4845

Re: When to spend HSA

Cranberry wrote: Thu Feb 17, 2022 5:17 pm Depending on how you pay for your family's healthcare, you might be able to recreate a sizeable chunk of expenses with a few phone calls.
...your health insurance company may provide a statement for a few years of premium payments.
They may also have records of your deductible and copay obligations
....pharmacies routinely provide statements of prior year payments made.
....dental offices may be able to provide a printout of payments made over a period of time.
....large deductibles for hospitalizations?
....expensive eyeglasses?
....uncovered physical therapy?

Depending on your healthcare usage, picking the low-hanging fruit might not take much effort.
Those are great ideas. Thank you!
by gasdoc
Thu Feb 17, 2022 2:33 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: When to spend HSA
Replies: 46
Views: 4845

Re: When to spend HSA

Thanks, everyone. I would love to save it for Medicare premiums and then Long term Care, but who knows if LTC will be needed. Also, by the time I need long term care, is it possible I won't be with it enough to remember that I have the HSA account? I wonder if maybe I should just go a head and simplify my life (and my spouse's) by starting when I retire at age 62. Other than the HSA, I plan to have our accounts simplified to hopefully one pretax, one Roth, and one after tax brokerage account with one Vanguard target date fund in each account by the time I am 75.

gasdoc
by gasdoc
Thu Feb 17, 2022 1:12 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: When to spend HSA
Replies: 46
Views: 4845

When to spend HSA

I am 61 years old, with a 57 year old spouse, and have a sizable HSA ($200,000). I am not sure when to start drawing down the funds for qualified medical expenses. I have not been too good about keeping old medical receipts, so I would need $200,000 worth of medical expenses to use it up efficiently (tax free). Does anyone have experience with the draw down of a large HSA during retirement? When should I start? At retirement (age 62)? Age 65? Age 70? Age 75? I plan to retire in one year, at age 62. Thank you!

gasdoc
by gasdoc
Sun Jan 02, 2022 1:05 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Backdoor Roth Eligibility
Replies: 8
Views: 978

Re: Backdoor Roth Eligibility

livesoft wrote: Sun Jan 02, 2022 12:20 pm
gasdoc wrote: Sun Jan 02, 2022 11:26 am Thank you, everyone! I will make a contribution for her to a traditional IRA, and make a Roth Conversion for her.

gasdoc
:) I asked my spouse to perform a Roth conversion last night. She rarely uses her Vanguard.com online account and was able to do her own conversion without any problems at the kitchen table while I was laying on the couch in the den.
Aren't we all getting a good start on the new year!!!! Happy New Year, Livesoft!

gasdoc
by gasdoc
Sun Jan 02, 2022 11:26 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Backdoor Roth Eligibility
Replies: 8
Views: 978

Re: Backdoor Roth Eligibility

Thank you, everyone! I will make a contribution for her to a traditional IRA, and make a Roth Conversion for her.

gasdoc
by gasdoc
Sun Jan 02, 2022 11:21 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Backdoor Roth Eligibility
Replies: 8
Views: 978

Re: Backdoor Roth Eligibility

It seems that since your family (you and your spouse) have enough earned income to cover IRA contributions, then she can contribute the max to her IRA no matter what she does with her earned income and her Roth 403(b). Frankly, I hate the term "Backdoor Roth" because the process is really a contribution to a traditional IRA and the conversion of money in a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. Now if you do not have any earned income (like me), then you both will be limited by her earned income that shows up in her W-2 Box 1 which does include any of her Roth 403(b) contributions. And your spouse contributed to her traditional IRA for 2021, right? And converted it to a Roth IRA, right? Or maybe she contributed directly to her Roth IRA? ...
by gasdoc
Sun Jan 02, 2022 9:06 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Backdoor Roth Eligibility
Replies: 8
Views: 978

Backdoor Roth Eligibility

I have a Backdoor Roth question as it pertains to my spouse. My salary is too high to make a deductible IRA contribution, and I don't want to do a Backdoor Roth because of the pro rata rule. My spouse works in a limited part time position. She will contribute to a Roth 403B. For simplicity, assume she will not make more than her Roth 403b contribution limit. If she essentially contributes everything she makes to her 403B at work, can she still do a nondeductible IRA contribution, followed up the next day by a backdoor Roth conversion? Thank you!

gasdoc
by gasdoc
Thu Nov 25, 2021 1:52 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Are shiny money apps really necessary?
Replies: 112
Views: 14066

Re: Are shiny money apps really necessary?

I overall enjoy using Quicken to manage things but am careful not to overdo it either. For example, I do not categorize receipts down to a detail level. If I have an expense for Wal-Mart, that goes into “Household”. If I have an expense for “Kroger”, that goes into “Groceries”. Do I buy groceries sometimes at Wal-Mart and household items sometimes at Kroger? Yes I do. Do I care that I don’t capture that nuance? No I do not. I don’t really budget at all beyond just looking at total dollars in, total dollars out, are we good. But I do like having access to spending history; that has been a great tool as I am planning for upcoming retirement. I also value automatic downloads of credit card and investment transactions. A big time saver overall...
by gasdoc
Wed Nov 24, 2021 8:28 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Time to spend from HSA?
Replies: 15
Views: 2368

Re: Time to spend from HSA?

I plan to begin spending down my HSA during the first year of my retirement (age 62), mostly in order to simplify things by the time I am in my 70's.
by gasdoc
Wed Nov 24, 2021 8:26 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Investing in bonds
Replies: 60
Views: 7097

Re: Investing in bonds

I am using a bucket strategy, or call it time segmentation, whichever you prefer. I am using Vanguard's Total Bond Fund as a simple way to fund my first ten years or so of retirement (with a few years of cash reserves). I realize there is some risk to this over what I would expect using a more short term bond fund or bond ladder. Would people here consider that risk too high? Thanks.
by gasdoc
Wed Nov 24, 2021 8:18 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Fair Market Value of Annuity
Replies: 14
Views: 5370

Re: Fair Market Value of Annuity

OK, I hadn’t thought of that type of annuity. Mine are all pure single life annuities so FMV is irrelevant. Gill I realize this is an older post, but I can think of a couple of reasons FMV of a SPIA might be relevant. 1) If a SPIA were to be purchased inside an IRA, and there is also post tax money in that IRA, and the Pro Rata rule needed to be followed for Roth conversions, FMV of the SPIA would serve as part of the value of the pretax portion of the IRA for that calculation. 2) If a deferred income annuity were to be purchased within an IRA, and the income stream was to begin later than the age at which RMD's were to begin, a calculation of the FMV of the deferred annuity would be necessary to calculate RMD's. Please think about this cr...
by gasdoc
Wed Aug 25, 2021 12:03 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Password Manager Question
Replies: 64
Views: 7231

Re: Password Manager Question

Has anyone used more than one manager, in order to state a real comparison or preference? Thanks. I use Dashlane and like it, but I can't say that it is better than anything else because I have not tried anything else.

gasdoc
by gasdoc
Mon Jan 18, 2021 8:57 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Roth conversions calculator, NewRetirement and PlannerPlus
Replies: 6
Views: 1236

Re: Roth conversions calculator, NewRetirement and PlannerPlus

I use Retirement Planner Plus, and really find it a useful tool. I have not used the Beta version Roth Conversion tool, though, so I can't comment on that specifically. They also have a fairly primitive Monte Carlo beta version that I find useful in combination with the rest of the planner. Imn other words, I put in all my data, and then use the Monte Carlo analyzer to get a probability of success. The planner is very good at allowing one to plug in a change, and follow the effects of that change. For example, I found that retiring in a different state results in savings of over $400,000 over time.

gasdoc
by gasdoc
Sun Jan 10, 2021 6:41 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Fidelity Personal Retirement Annuity: Exit Strategies?
Replies: 16
Views: 2213

Re: Fidelity Personal Retirement Annuity: Exit Strategies?

I would consider exchanging the annuity for one that is income only. Then use the current value of it as a substitute for a portion of the bond part of your portfolio. As a substitute for bonds, a basic income stream annuity is actually an efficient use of funds, and it gives you some longevity insurance. The fact that the proceeds are taxed as income is the same as profits from your bonds or bond funds. In addition, although the payout rates are not great right now, it is better over time than the meager return of cash equivalents and short term bonds.

gasdoc
by gasdoc
Thu Jan 07, 2021 6:44 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Does a side home rental count for PPP2?
Replies: 9
Views: 1113

Re: Does a side home rental count for PPP2?

MP123 wrote: Thu Jan 07, 2021 4:12 pm
gasdoc wrote: Thu Jan 07, 2021 3:37 pm
MP123 wrote: Thu Jan 07, 2021 12:49 pm If it's passive income reported on Schedule E then you likely are not eligible. If it's business income reported on Schedule C then maybe.

Are you sure it's Schedule C? That would be unusual for what I understand your case to be.
I just looked back at last years taxes, done by my CPA... it is indeed on schedule E. Thank you.

gasdoc
Schedule E would be appropriate since you aren't a "qualified real estate professional", but that also means the income wouldn't count for PPP or PPP2 unfortunately.
Oh well, I am glad I asked! I was afraid I was missing an opportunity. I appreciate the help, MP123.

gasdoc
by gasdoc
Thu Jan 07, 2021 3:37 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Does a side home rental count for PPP2?
Replies: 9
Views: 1113

Re: Does a side home rental count for PPP2?

MP123 wrote: Thu Jan 07, 2021 12:49 pm If it's passive income reported on Schedule E then you likely are not eligible. If it's business income reported on Schedule C then maybe.

Are you sure it's Schedule C? That would be unusual for what I understand your case to be.
I just looked back at last years taxes, done by my CPA... it is indeed on schedule E. Thank you.

gasdoc
by gasdoc
Thu Jan 07, 2021 3:24 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Does a side home rental count for PPP2?
Replies: 9
Views: 1113

Re: Does a side home rental count for PPP2?

simplesimon wrote: Thu Jan 07, 2021 12:58 pm Sorry to hear about your situation. I don't believe landlords were eligible for PPP1 and that criteria hasn't changed for PPP2.

Is your physician income W-2 or something else? May qualify for PUA or PPP if not W-2.
My physician income is as an independent contractor, not W-2, and the decrease does not meet the 25% decrease threshold.

gasdoc
by gasdoc
Thu Jan 07, 2021 12:28 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Does a side home rental count for PPP2?
Replies: 9
Views: 1113

Re: Does a side home rental count for PPP2?

jucor wrote: Thu Jan 07, 2021 12:24 pm Is your second home rental set up as an independent business, registered, licensed, etc as such?
I believe it is set up simply as a "schedule C," if that makes sense. I don't believe it is registered as a business specifically in any way. I am an independent contractor, a sole proprietor at my "day job." I simply have a property manager that sends me a monthly check for the rental.

gasdoc
by gasdoc
Thu Jan 07, 2021 12:19 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Does a side home rental count for PPP2?
Replies: 9
Views: 1113

Does a side home rental count for PPP2?

I am a physician with an income that is down about 20% due to Covid19. I have a second home that I rent out all but three weeks per year (two weeks for personal use and one for maintenance). According to the recent guidelines for the second act of the PPP, one of the requirements to qualify is that income is down 25% in any quarter of 2020, as compared to the same quarter of 2019. During three quarters of 2020, my rental revenues fell more than 25% as compared to the same quarter in 2019. Do I qualify for PPP2 based on that business alone? Thanks!

gasdoc
by gasdoc
Thu Nov 12, 2020 7:44 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Paying for a Funeral
Replies: 61
Views: 6147

Re: Paying for a Funeral

cheese_breath, I too have enjoyed your posts for many years, and am sorry for your loss. It looks like this thread has run its course- judging by your last thank you statement. I did want to mention that Clark Howard frequently also recommends funeral and cremation societies as a way to cut costs. We did this when my mom passed away this summer (the arrangements were actually made a year or so before she passed. These societies negotiate with a given funeral home in a service area, so all the prices are significantly discounted off their list prices. As Mom wanted only a simple gravesite service, the choice of funeral home really made no difference, and the pricing was good. Thanks, cheese_breath, for your years of service to this community...
by gasdoc
Mon Oct 26, 2020 11:24 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Rent/Buy 3 yr Thinking
Replies: 19
Views: 1750

Re: Rent/Buy 3 yr Thinking

I think the risk and transaction costs are too high to buy a house with a 3 year commitment. If you told me 7-10 years, the answer might be different.

gasdoc
by gasdoc
Sun Oct 25, 2020 5:50 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Tax Strategies, going from high income to low income
Replies: 11
Views: 1680

Re: Tax Strategies, going from high income to low income

Consider Roth conversion starting in 2021, in order to get pretax money over to post tax bucket prior to interest rates increasing down the line.

gasdoc
by gasdoc
Thu Oct 22, 2020 1:06 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: do doctors/hospitals HATE Medicare Advantage (as payers)
Replies: 126
Views: 12905

Re: do doctors/hospitals HATE Medicare Advantage (as payers)

My perspective is from being married to a case manager at our local medical center. She, and all the other case managers, despise Medicare Advantage. The reason- while it is possible to check to see if your favorite provider is on the panel, there is no way to check every possible occurrence. For example, say you break your hip and go to your favorite hospital. All is fine. And you see your favorite ortho doc. All is fine. Then they tell you to go to a nursing facility for rehab- not good because now you are into areas where they cut costs and nobody does research. So maybe the only facility you can go is the terribly run, filthy nursing facility that barely passes accreditation and the only people that go there are those with that medicar...