Search found 41 matches

by Milo Bloom
Sat Feb 11, 2023 3:16 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: "Free" phone upgrades
Replies: 78
Views: 7046

Re: "Free" phone upgrades

We live in a "mixed" household - wife has an Iphone7, I have a Google pixel 3a. Both phones no longer receive operating system updates so we are looking to upgrade. I am not really interested in upgrading to an Unlimited Data plan as our current plan is less expensive and works just fine for our needs. The Pixel 6a is cheaper than the Iphone SE but it appears that the Pixel will only receive system updates for about 3 years. Iphone SE, while more expensive, seem to get updates for 6 or 7 years. When comparing the two phones, it appears that it basically cost about $100 per year to own either of these phones. The Iphone may have an advantage in that you would not have to upgrade as frequently. My Pixel 3a does everything I need and...
by Milo Bloom
Mon Jan 25, 2021 10:07 am
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: Happy 97th Birthday, Taylor Larimore
Replies: 146
Views: 12378

Re: Happy 97th Birthday, Taylor Larimore

Happy Birthday Taylor! Thank you so much for all of the help you have provided over the years.
Sure hope you are still enjoying a sail every now and then.

All the best to you and your family!
by Milo Bloom
Thu Mar 12, 2020 10:09 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard's Take On This Global Bear Market
Replies: 59
Views: 7139

Re: Vanguard's Take On This Global Bear Market

Thanks Taylor.

Wonderful article that will hopefully provide some support for staying the course.

Hope you are finding time to get a few nice sails in these days.
by Milo Bloom
Wed Oct 10, 2018 11:55 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: ACA Questions
Replies: 3
Views: 465

ACA Questions

I need a better understanding of how ACA is applied in a situation where one person is Medicare eligible and the other is not. Our situation is as follows: Me: 61 - considering retirement at the end of the year DW:65 - retired - Medicare Our health insurance is currently covered through my employer but that would stop if I retire. No pension for either of us so we are able to control our income and I would be eligible for ACA subsidies. We would utilize Roth IRA conversions to meet the minimum income requirements for ACA subsidies. We will find Medicare Supplemental insurance for DW. Would the Roth IRA conversions need to be completed on my accounts to indicate income for me or does ACA look at total income for the household in determining ...
by Milo Bloom
Tue Mar 06, 2018 4:55 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What's that smell?
Replies: 41
Views: 8170

Re: What's that smell?

Taylor Larimore wrote: Tue Mar 06, 2018 11:49 am
3funder:

A diversified portfolio should always have underperforming elements.

Stay the course.

Best wishes.
Taylor
Taylor,

Thanks for pointing this out. I had never considered that this should be the case.

Hope all is well.
by Milo Bloom
Wed May 10, 2017 5:23 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Should I switch my home electric bill to "Time of Day" billing?
Replies: 22
Views: 3046

Re: Should I switch my home electric bill to "Time of Day" billing?

If you can change your electricity usage patterns you will more than likely see a savings. You will probably need to raise your thermostat during those hours and try to limit the use appliances that use large amounts of electricity such as the clothes dryer, water heater (if electric), and possibly limit usage of the stove and oven. It is possible that you would see an increase in your bill if your usage from 2 - 7 is a period of high usage for your family.

Hope this helps!
by Milo Bloom
Wed Jan 25, 2017 2:00 pm
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: HAPPY 93RD BIRTHDAY, TAYLOR!
Replies: 199
Views: 20528

Re: HAPPY 93RD BIRTHDAY, TAYLOR!

Happy Birthday Taylor!! Hopefully your day included a nice sail!
by Milo Bloom
Thu Feb 27, 2014 5:03 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Early Retirement and ObamaCare
Replies: 26
Views: 4066

Re: Early Retirement and ObamaCare

Thanks all for the information. I am really surprised that no consideration is given to net worth. He is living on a fraction of what he did during his "working life". His reported income will decline greatly this year. I am sure he will now look for specific information from the ACA website or our state website. I read somewhere that others are considering delaying IRA conversions to help with the insurance subsidy. I realize that this could all change soon but I doubt anything happens before the next election. Thanks again.
by Milo Bloom
Thu Feb 27, 2014 1:25 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Early Retirement and ObamaCare
Replies: 26
Views: 4066

Early Retirement and ObamaCare

A friend of mine recently decided to retire early. He's 56. He feels he has accumulated enough to live out his life comfortably. We were discussing whether or not he would qualify for a subsidy under Obamacare since his income over the next few years will be essentially dividend and interest income (He has adequate cash available to live on for the next 2 years). Are there any provisions of ObamaCare that would not allow him to qualify for a subsidy? Will his net worth be considered at all in determining qualification for a subsidy? We have been unable to find a decent explanation for this situation.

Thanks,
Milo
by Milo Bloom
Thu Aug 15, 2013 7:50 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Mortgage or Not?
Replies: 11
Views: 1609

Re: Mortgage or Not?

Outer Marker wrote: Isn't the idea of "downsizing" to reduce costs and free up assets to do other things in retirement? I plan to have a smller, lower cost place -- and do more things I don't have the time to now . . . Unfortunately that is not always possible. In our case, the location of our existing house will not command the price of a smaller house in a better area. We were very surprised at the difference in home values just based on location. Our decision to move at this time was to allow us to more easily afford this move before retirement. Our goal was to also be closer to our children to better enjoy grandchildren. We will probably work longer than indicated and may consider part time employment as we transition to reti...
by Milo Bloom
Wed Aug 14, 2013 4:48 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Mortgage or Not?
Replies: 11
Views: 1609

Mortgage or Not?

Hi all,

We are selling our house of 27 years and downsizing. The new home will cost more than our current home and we are trying to decide if we should pay for the new home with savings or should we
consider a small short term mortgage?

Me 56, Wife 60
Wife will work at least 3 more years, I will probably work at least 4 more years.
Retirement savings on track.

What have others done? What other things should we consider in making this decision?

Thanks for the help!
by Milo Bloom
Tue Feb 12, 2013 7:37 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 401k - Highly Compensated Test
Replies: 9
Views: 1780

Re: 401k - Highly Compensated Test

Milo, I share your dismay! This year I'm finally under the threshold limit again so I'm contributing the max. There are benefits when your company begins to heavily outsource jobs to the point they no longer see the need to give raises. Executive management has done little to increase the contribution level among our workforce - the majority who are paid just enough to survive paycheck to paycheck. I've been told our plan provider has repeatedly asked to come in and hold information fairs and such but management sees this as nonproductive time and denies the requests. I'm now in a race to secure enough savings for a "retirement" that may come sooner then I had anticipated. This is similar to our situation. There is no effort to e...
by Milo Bloom
Mon Feb 11, 2013 3:57 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 401k - Highly Compensated Test
Replies: 9
Views: 1780

Re: 401k - Highly Compensated Test

Thanks Livesoft but I forgot to mention that there is no company match and our partners have no intention of starting one now.

As I understand it, a safe harbor 401k plan requires a company match.
by Milo Bloom
Mon Feb 11, 2013 3:42 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 401k - Highly Compensated Test
Replies: 9
Views: 1780

401k - Highly Compensated Test

I work for a very small company and have for 25+ years. With people leaving and new hires I am now considered one of the highly compensated employees.
Our recent test for 401k compensation has indicated that I will be required to take a distribution from last year. One of our partners has suggested that I will
need to lower my contribution to the 401k plan to avoid this in the future. We are maxing out DW's 401k contributions
and fully funding Roth's each year. It appears that there is nothing else we can do to defer taxes on any income. It also appears that are only options for investing
the money that would have been invested in my 401k is to invest it in our taxable accounts, I-bonds, etc. Any other ideas? Thanks!
by Milo Bloom
Mon Jan 28, 2013 3:31 pm
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: Anyone in the New Orleans area?
Replies: 39
Views: 16640

Re: Anyone in the New Orleans area?

Baton Rouge
by Milo Bloom
Mon Jun 01, 2009 12:58 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Retirement - House Purchase
Replies: 6
Views: 1387

Bruce M wrote: Now, home ownership may provide the client with long-term financial growth, depending on the client's circumstances and market conditions. But a competent financial advisor would not only explain this potential financial benefit, but would spend just as much time explaining the costs and risks, and with homeownership, there are many. And that you're friend could not explain even the fundamentals of this 'strong recommendation' makes the recommendation even more questionable I agree totally. The confusing thing is that several people about to retire have followed this FP's advice. I am not sure that I understand at all. All of these people own homes and the homes are either paid for or are about to be paid for. There is no way...
by Milo Bloom
Mon Jun 01, 2009 11:09 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Retirement - House Purchase
Replies: 6
Views: 1387

I don't actually think he means additional income.
I guess I should have stated it another way.
I believe that the FP is explaining to these people
that the tax advantage of buying the new home
will improve their financial position. I don't understand
it either and am hoping that someone else has heard
a similar scenario.

Sorry for the confusion.
by Milo Bloom
Mon Jun 01, 2009 10:37 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Retirement - House Purchase
Replies: 6
Views: 1387

Retirement - House Purchase

I recently ran into a friend that I had not seen for a while and we began talking about work, the economy, and retirement, etc. He said that a friend of his had met with his Financial Planner and that the FP had strongly suggested that the friend purchase a rather expensive new home. He went on to say that the FP showed his friend how the purchase of the new home would improve his financial position. It appears that the FP means the purchase of the new home would result in more monthly income. The advantage of purchasing the new home was explained to my friend but he could not explain it to me. I believe that their retirement is defined benefit based. I think several people who have heard about this have recently purchased new homes as they...
by Milo Bloom
Wed Apr 02, 2008 11:09 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Would you still work if independently wealthy?
Replies: 45
Views: 10956

Return to School

Indepent wealth would afford me the opportunity to return to college and take all those courses that interested me but I was unable to take in pursuing my degree. What better environment than being in college.
Something new every few months and the chance to learn something new!
I would absolutely love it.
by Milo Bloom
Mon Mar 24, 2008 4:09 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Rate of return calculation
Replies: 9
Views: 2748

Dividends .. cap gains ???

Mr_Rossi,

Why is that reinvested dividends are NOT to be included
in the calculation? It would seem that if you received
these dividends and bought more shares with that money
that you would include those transactions in the calculations
so why not reinvested dividends?

Thanks for the help (Just trying to better understand).

Kenny
by Milo Bloom
Tue Mar 18, 2008 11:14 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Ways to Stay Calm in Bad Markets
Replies: 27
Views: 6908

What is the alternative?

I think about the alternative to being in the market.
Since I have a long-term perspective, I think about
if I am not in the market then there will be no way
for me to accumlate enough to retire someday.
As I get closer to retirement the plan is to be less
dependent on the market - but for now I continue
to think this is where I need to be. Who knows, maybe
this is just one big SALE :lol:

Kenny
by Milo Bloom
Fri Mar 14, 2008 8:26 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What Book Are YOU Currently Reading?
Replies: 566
Views: 245949

Einstein

"Einstein" by Walter Issacson

Interesting read - very nice insight into his life
both professionally and personally.
by Milo Bloom
Fri Mar 14, 2008 8:24 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Fuel efficient cars
Replies: 45
Views: 11245

Comparisons

I think that some of the comparisons here do not actually compare
"apples" to "apples". For example, the comparison of a Prius and
a Corolla. The Prius has much more room than the Corolla and
can comfortably seat 4 adults. I think the better comparison
would be to the Camry or the Honda Accord. When that comparison
is made you will not find the price difference indicated in the Prius/Corolla comparion.

In addition, using $4 a gallon gas for 10-12 years seem rather unrealistic to me. The global desire for oil will likely continue thus the price of gas will more than likely increase during that period.
by Milo Bloom
Wed Jan 16, 2008 12:02 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Sell a house, invest profits, finance new home?
Replies: 4
Views: 1632

Sell a house, invest profits, finance new home?

Recently a friend and I were having a discussion about selling his current home and buying another house. He indicated that he was thinking about selling his house and investing the profit in a mutual fund rather than re-invest it in his next home. His thoughts are that with interest rates so low (approx. 5.5%) that he can make more money with his profits invested in the mututal fund than he can by using it to lower the amount borrowed on his new house. He said that he would receive the tax benefit of interest paid on his new home which further lessens the amount of interest actually paid on his new loan. He realized that he would have to take his one-time capital gain exemption on the sale of his existing home in order to do this. This nex...
by Milo Bloom
Mon Jun 18, 2007 5:11 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Advice for a 49 year old who has never manged her money...
Replies: 19
Views: 8721

Read, Read, Read

Robin,

Welcome to the Forum!

This is a great place to learn and lots of very patient people hear to
help. With that said, it is very important to get familiar with different
strategies so you can understand the advantages and disadvantages
of each.

Read all you can. Get educated. "Bogleheads Guide to Investing"
is a great place to start.
by Milo Bloom
Mon May 21, 2007 9:48 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Power Line Problem? Sell house or stay put?
Replies: 5
Views: 2353

Studies are accurate

I think the studies on this issue are probably accurate. This has been an issue for quite some time now and the studies were performed on electrical utility workers who work in very close proximity to these types of lines.

That being said - if you are still uncomfortable then I think you should consider selling your home and moving to a better location. I do not think that you would have to disclose anything about the adjacent transmission line to a prospective buyer. The buyer will see the line during a visit to your home.

There is a lot to be said for "piece of mind" for both you and your family.
by Milo Bloom
Fri Apr 27, 2007 10:17 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Early Retirement Asset Allocation
Replies: 31
Views: 16036

Health Insurance

Hydroman,

You indicated that you will buy health insurance. If I may ask, what type of policy have you decided on? By that I don't mean what company, etc. but what type of benefits. Is it a catastrophic type policy with a large deductible or something with a smaller deductible and more coverage?

Health insurance has and is a major concern for us. I am just a little younger than you and hopefully just a few years away for considering retirement, but the health insurance issue seems to be a major issue for us.

Thanks and congratulations!

Milo
by Milo Bloom
Fri Apr 27, 2007 10:06 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: All wealth builders are savers
Replies: 15
Views: 5829

Nice article!

Thanks for the link Michael.

My wife and I have been noticing for many years now how some of our
friends spend without considering the effects on retirement. It helps
keep things in perspective for us. Obviously there is a balance
between having a life and saving for retirement.

Thanks again and GO TIGERS!!

Milo
by Milo Bloom
Wed Apr 25, 2007 2:05 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Many Americans Are Living in a Retirement Fantasyland
Replies: 17
Views: 7074

I agree with Dale..

No. 4 on Dale's list is EDUCATION.

I think it is unbelievable how little people understand about saving
for retirement. Talking to others, in particularly young people, makes me realize the real need for financial education at the high school level.
The other thing that amazes me is the attitude that young people have to have it all and have it now. They see no reason to wait or save for anything and long term to them is next week.

Some of these things also apply to people in their 40's and 50's. It seems as though many do not want to be bothered with thinking about or dealing with their financial future. I think it is a belief that in the end it will all work out.
by Milo Bloom
Wed Apr 25, 2007 1:55 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Suze Orman offers "diehardish" article.
Replies: 27
Views: 11612

Did anyone read .....

Did anyone read the comments at the end of the article?

"Take some of the profits. Pigs get slaughtered."

From their ratings they didn't think much of the article.
by Milo Bloom
Fri Apr 20, 2007 9:45 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Tax Return Procrastination
Replies: 19
Views: 7327

Maybe 2 Questions Needed

I think maybe it would matter whether you are due
a refund or need to pay some. Or maybe the question
could be:

When do you calculate your taxes?

I calculate mine very soon after receiving all information
and would file if I were due a refund soon after. Since I
have owed taxes for the last few years, I wait until later to
file.
by Milo Bloom
Fri Apr 20, 2007 9:42 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: The Yankee Or Dixie Quiz
Replies: 51
Views: 26176

True Dixie Here

75% Dixie here.

That was fun. Intereting to see how people refer
to certain items.

Thank ya'll for that link.
by Milo Bloom
Wed Apr 04, 2007 1:30 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: what is your job/occupation?
Replies: 84
Views: 46929

EE

What I do everyday until I retire -

Electrical Engineer and Utility Rate Analyst

Milo
by Milo Bloom
Wed Apr 04, 2007 11:51 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What does your avatar symbolize?
Replies: 160
Views: 75701

Simpy a Fan

Grew up with Bloom County - Milo, Opus, Bill the Cat, etc. and have
been a big fan for years. Their outlook on life helps keep things in the proper persepective for me sometimes.

This forum and the people here also help keep things in perspective too.

Thanks all,
Milo
by Milo Bloom
Tue Mar 20, 2007 9:06 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: How did you pay for your last car?
Replies: 54
Views: 32195

Credit Card Rewards

We were looking used until we reallized that with our GM credit
card earnings we could buy a new car for less than a used one.
My wife wanted a Camaro (before they stopped making them)
and so we were able to use the GM card earnings and pay cash
for the balance. It's 6 years old with only 38K miles. We'll keep
it for quite a while I suspect.

Kenny