Bogleheads.org

She should raise her deductible high enough that this isn’t a question. If she’s willing to pay $3k OOP she should have at least a $3k deductible. Otherwise she’s paying for unwanted coverage. Whatever deductible level is selected, this problem still exists. If someone has $10k deductible, then... what does one do with an $11k claim? Bother with a "claim" that might affect rates/etc., or just eat the "extra $1k". A $13k claim? It's always going to be a "how many hairs make a beard" issue, but sometimes the decision is very easy, such as a $60k claim with a $5k deductible. I suspect most would decide to file a claim then. But until what point would one *not* file a claim with a $5k deductible? $6k? $7k? $10k? $...

My bank things I have three heads because I insisted they remove the debit facility and give me an ATM only card... Apparently not common. The protection is better on credit card... but even if it were not then your just arguing to get your own money back and dealing with the time gap to resolution instead of a future bill. I go a step further and ask for credit only. No debit or ATM. Unfortunately both of my credit unions will no longer issue ATM only cards, so I'll probably just cancel both current debit/ATM cards when my existing cards expire. Truth be told, I probably haven't used an ATM machine in 5-6 years. Today I just never seem to need cash for anything. I had season tickets to various teams and used to use cash for parking and co...

DW and I take distributions from our TIRAs monthly. Her share of the expenses are more regular/stable, so her distributions are automated. My share of the expenses are lumpy, so my distributions are manual.

I am always aware of our spending as I track our distributions. Our other income is from our Social Security benefits, and our benefits are known before a new year even begins.

We no longer have savings balances to maintain. Since we distribute only what we need for expenses each month, we have no need to maintain any level of savings.

Broken Man 1999

The only sub-optimal place I have cash is in my CU checking account. The account pays zero interest.

My checking is free if I use electronic statements and have a direct deposit of at least $500, no requirement for any particular balance in the account.

Even if my account paid interest, the lifespan of cash in my checking account is only about one to two weeks. I practice "just in time" deposits; just in time to not be overdrawn.

Broken Man 1999

livesoft wrote: ↑Sun Mar 26, 2023 5:05 pm I look at the "transactions" in my accounts and that's it.

I easily know what I add to accounts and what I withdraw from accounts. What is harder is to make sure the dividends paid match the published dividends per share.

Same here. I know what I have distributed each month from our TIRAs as I track distributions to know our burn rate, and I can verify it easily by looking at the distribution figures online, and also match the 1099R documents at year end.

We only distribute from our TIRAs, no "new money" other than dividends coming in, usually reinvested.

Broken Man 1999

I am not willing to go international at the percentage touted by many, but we do have a international holding of 20% of our equities. I figure 20% at our ages should give us enough breathing room should the US markets really get hammered and take time to recover. That assumes the international markets aren't being hammered at the same time. If they are, oh well. I use the Vanguard Developed Market Index ETF (VEA) because I find it preferable to investing in Total International Stock Market Index as China is avoided. Broken Man 1999 China represents approximately 8.40% of Vanguard Total International Stock Index. Best. Tony 8.40% is 8.40% more than I want of China in any index. I think Developed Market Index countries are closer to us in ma...

I was sad to see that one couple are donating $400/month to their church. Meanwhile, in the winter, they confine themselves to two rooms in their home and set the thermostat to 60F. While I'm not judging their choice, it seems like they cannot afford to do this. I hope folks from there church see this article and advise them to cut back, but I doubt that will happen. I set my home's thermostat to 60 simply because I find it more comfortable for sleeping. Saving money is a bonus. Once acclimated(and wearing a sweater and sweatpants) I don't even notice. Being a bit cool can also encourage one to move more which is important for health. I applaud the couple in question. If I set my thermostat to 60, my air conditioner would probably never sh...

Perhaps consider an ATV. You could use it for your work around your home, then use it for fun elsewhere.

Broken Man 1999

I am not willing to go international at the percentage touted by many, but we do have a international holding of 20% of our equities.

I figure 20% at our ages should give us enough breathing room should the US markets really get hammered and take time to recover. That assumes the international markets aren't being hammered at the same time. If they are, oh well.

I use the Vanguard Developed Market Index ETF (VEA) because I find it preferable to investing in Total International Stock Market Index as China is avoided.

Broken Man 1999

We were early adaptors of the front loaders when we purchased a LG laundry pair years ago. Laundry is done every day except Sunday, so they have been used extensively. Thus far we have had one repair on the dryer.

Despite many complaints about the odor of door seals, we have never had that issue, perhaps because the machine is used so much.

The machines clean and dry just fine, no issues at all.

Broken Man 1999

Not sure I would hope/plan for a successful retirement based on a prediction of what things would look like 35 years in the future. At age 46, many people are looking at another couple of decades of work for funding retirement. “It is difficult to make predictions, especially about the future,” or so a Danish proverb says. I wish you well. Broken Man 1999 I get the heart of your point and you aren't wrong, but if one does not attempt to predict and plan for the future, how could anyone ever retire young, no matter how much or little they had? We have to accept some rules for how we predict things, and some time horizon we are comfortable with or that conclusion could be abstracted all the way to the point of very unrealistic scenarios that...

Good luck in your endeavor. Over saving is a lot less of a risk than under saving. Broken Man 1999 Thanks for the thoughtful and personal reply BrokenMan. My biggest passion is Hiking/Climbing which is fairly cheap compared to most hobbies and I fear that I won't get to do enough of it before my body gives up on me. It's not that I don't want to work, it's that my body probably won't be able to do what I am most passionate about in my 60s and 70s, so giving up years in my 40s and 50s is very expensive to me from that perspective. In a perfect world I would quit my job today, hike for a decade and then go back to work, but it took a lot of work to get where I The Appalachian Trailam in my career and I doubt I could replicate that in my 50s ...

I may retire as early as 46. Many would say I have to worry about living 50-60 years, but I don't really need to worry past 80, because at 70 I can take social security and at 80 I can take a reverse mortgage and buy a SPIA with it, which sets me up with income for life as shown below. My Income needs from age 46 to 100: https://i.imgur.com/CgcFEu4.jpg From 2014-2021, I spent an average of 22,726 per year. From 2022 until I retire I gave myself a raise and plan to spend an average of 37K/yr. In retirement, I plan to spend 48.6K/yr with a surplus of 5.4K/yr (to cover unexpected expenses) for a total of 54K/yr. Retiring at 46, my social security benefit at 70 will be 35K, which covers 65% of my spending. At 80, I could get a reverse mortgage...

Not sure I would hope/plan for a successful retirement based on a prediction of what things would look like 35 years in the future. At age 46, many people are looking at another couple of decades of work for funding retirement. “It is difficult to make predictions, especially about the future,” or so a Danish proverb says. I wish you well. Broken Man 1999 I get the heart of your point and you aren't wrong, but if one does not attempt to predict and plan for the future, how could anyone ever retire young, no matter how much or little they had? We have to accept some rules for how we predict things, and some time horizon we are comfortable with or that conclusion could be abstracted all the way to the point of very unrealistic scenarios that...

I may retire as early as 46. Many would say I have to worry about living 50-60 years, but I don't really need to worry past 80, because at 70 I can take social security and at 80 I can take a reverse mortgage and buy a SPIA with it, which sets me up with income for life as shown below. My Income needs from age 46 to 100: https://i.imgur.com/CgcFEu4.jpg From 2014-2021, I spent an average of 22,726 per year. From 2022 until I retire I gave myself a raise and plan to spend an average of 37K/yr. In retirement, I plan to spend 48.6K/yr with a surplus of 5.4K/yr (to cover unexpected expenses) for a total of 54K/yr. Retiring at 46, my social security benefit at 70 will be 35K, which covers 65% of my spending. At 80, I could get a reverse mortgage...

Basically my thought was, a driver is very convenient if one is avoiding public transportation and one who is also a former uniformed professional is a nice added touch given higher crime rates lately. Recent experience of drivers who happened to be recently retired firefighters and police officers in their 50s gave me the idea. I don’t think I’m a particular target more than anyone else, but I and my family can’t avoid going to higher crime areas since the areas where we all live and work have now become much higher crime, so why not go with a vetted and professional driver than some ad hoc uber, Lyft or cab driver. Also it’s a nice way to give back to deserving retirees who still want to be active and earn some extra money. Where you wor...

For our four grandchildren:

- four years of prepaid tuition to Florida's Universities, program has very open rules for use at many institutions, in-state and out- of-state.
- 529 plans.
- beneficiaries on I-Bonds.
- beneficiaries on my Roth account in addition to their mothers.

The 529 plans are all invested in TSM. I-Bonds useful should market tank.

Broken Man 1999

What's the best tool out there now for tracking net worth and asset allocation? Historically we've used Vanguard's portfolio tracker and the ability to manually add outside accounts, but I am planning to move from Vanguard to Merrill Edge so this won't be an option going forward. While I don't track net worth, I do track investments. If I were interested in NW, I would add $400,000 (value of home) to our Vanguard tally and call it a day. Honestly, I never found NW all that interesting. Investments give us our standard of living, which I am far more interested in knowing where we are. We have been in this home since 1989, and I hope to leave on a gurney and a toe tag. All investments are Vanguard mutual funds/ETFs, with the exception of I-B...

I am comfortable using Vanguard as our only brokerage, except for TD for I-Bonds.

DW and I have :
1- TIRA each
1- Roth each
1- Taxable joint account
4- 529 plans

Easily managed, works well for us.

Inability to access our accounts at Vanguard would be annoying, but not that big a deal unless it were to be for months. I rate such an occurrence as extremely unlikely.

Broken Man 1999

“Buy when others are fearful”. Does it make sense to back up the truck to sector funds such as financials? Seems like a good time to get a huge discount. You might have to sit on it until it rebounds but you would do that with any holding. What would having 10-15% of portfolio in this matter as far as the downside. Could go down more. If it does just DCA into it. Is this any worse or riskier than holding something such as a REIT fund at these percentages? A broad point on Buffett aphorisms – I think – is that they're always missing a lot of context .. Not that the 'blood in the streets', etc. sayings don't have merit.. but what Buffett does is something specific . My favourite book, so far, on Buffett's investing strategy is The New Buffet...

My grown adult kids (all approaching 50), have been learning of late what they can NOT count on as an emergency fund. That would be their Dad's money. I have flipped that on my children. I run very lean in my checking account, but at the same time I have credit union accounts that are linked to my daughters' credit union accounts that make it possible for instant transfers in both directions. They keep more cash than I do because they are still working, even though their jobs are very secure. Nice thing is my daughters have not approached me for money since they graduated from college. Though, I certainly would offer assistance if they need it. Any expense, large or small, expected or unexpected would be ultimately withdrawn from our retir...

These family & friends checks are specifically intended to benefit your child, I presume? If I were gifting that money, I wouldn’t be happy if the funds went into an account without the child’s name on it. But I understand your wife’s concern. What if you opened two separate UGMA/UTMA, put her name as trustee on one and yours on the other, and split the proceeds between them? Alternatively, money from her family/friends goes into her trustee account and the same for yours? Alternatively, money from her family/friends goes into her trustee account and the same for yours? I would stay away from two accounts unless the funds are split evenly. Future question by child: Mom, why did your side of the family give so little (so much) money to ...

These family & friends checks are specifically intended to benefit your child, I presume? If I were gifting that money, I wouldn’t be happy if the funds went into an account without the child’s name on it. But I understand your wife’s concern. What if you opened two separate UGMA/UTMA, put her name as trustee on one and yours on the other, and split the proceeds between them? Alternatively, money from her family/friends goes into her trustee account and the same for yours? Alternatively, money from her family/friends goes into her trustee account and the same for yours? I would stay away from two accounts unless the funds are split evenly. Future question by child: Mom, why did your side of the family give so little (so much) money to ...

Our taxes are very simple.

MFJ
2-1099Rs
Standard deductions
2-SSA1099s
1-1099DIV

Broken Man 1999

A question: I believe I have read Tesla has built many charging stations, and is still building. What number of individual chargers are usually found in a Tesla charging station?

Broken Man 1999

The $6,000 figure is what you allowed to contribute to a IRA each year, though if you are age 50 the contribution limit is $7,000.

Your activities aren't governed by the limits, unless you are adding $$$ to your IRA, which it seems you are not.

So balance away!

Broken Man 1999

I manage a few accounts for DDs, BIL, and DW, but only thru limited agent status.

Two reasons:
1. Clear audit trail should something ever go amiss, I only sign on with my Vanguard password, never the passwords of the people I am helping.

2. Though it might be very unlikely that Vanguard would not make an account whole if fraud involved, their security review could take longer if I were to use the individuals passwords. IMHO, using their passwords is sloppy administration, especially when doing things properly is a process that is very easy to do.

Not gonna do it, wouldn't be prudent.

Broken Man 1999

I would think the SNF would have someone on their staff that probably has seen every iteration of payments by the family members involved with the financials for the patients.

Perhaps you might give them a call to see you can meet with someone to help solve your timing issue(s).

Good luck!

Broken Man 1999

I keep little in my MMF, typically $3K-$4K, and it is in my MMF only for enough time to transfer to my checking account to pay bills. As soon as a sell is settled and eligible for withdrawal, the funds are on their way out.

Thing is, I just don't hold extra cash in my MMF (settlement fund) and I don't hold extra cash in my checking account except enough to pay bills for the first half of the month, then the balance is very low.

If I were one to hold cash, my settlement fund would be just fine.

Broken Man 1999

alex_686 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 12, 2023 5:43 pm <snip>They required banks to pre-pay the next 3 years worth of premiums immediately. Oddly, those payments were treated as a asset on the bank’s books, strengthening their position.

Makes sense, at least if I remember the corporate finance class 40+ years ago.

Handled like prepaid insurance, which it is, and is an asset once the premium is paid. The asset will diminish over the three-year period. AS the insurance is "consumed" it becomes an expense.

No, we would never skip out. But, I’m also not comfortable giving a credit card without seeing paperwork from their insurance policy, too. From what I understand their policy always covers glass. As a future guest, the table is likely less of a distraction than the terribly broken window shades, however it certainly is another blemish. “As a host, Vrbo will provide you with numerous mechanisms to protect your property from potential damages. Examples of covered damages include broken glass or appliances, damaged furniture, and any additional cleaning required due to things like pet dander, smoking, or undeclared pets or guests.” I’m okay with paying it if it is not collected in addition to their collecting from their insurance or if it wer...

My take is that the default choice is to give them a free ride (assuming the cost is not an issue for you). The benefits of being debt-free when finishing school are substantial and certain, whereas the benefit of being required to pay your way are debatably hypothetical at best. Like others said, you should know your children and whether imposing a debt burden will be helpful or just a burden. N = 1, but I take education far more seriously and studied much harder than most. I never paid a cent for it (current cost would be $400K). After around 18 years one would think parents would know their children well enough to judge their likely trajectory in college. Some calling for community college and state universities while living at home jus...

aqan wrote: ↑Fri Mar 10, 2023 6:37 pm

stan1 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 10, 2023 3:54 pm My guess is Mr. Thiel and his fellow VC billionaires will be saying something different by Monday as well.

We didn’t like the bank so we took our money out.

That's about it.
Somewhere I read that Thiel's startups were having hinky things happen with their banking activities at SVB. So the mothership (Peter Thiels Founders Fund) advised everyone to get out of SVB, which they pretty much did.

BHs can have similar issues if the durations of their fixed income assets are out step of their needs for those assets to be sold.

Broken Man 1999

homebuyer6426 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 10, 2023 2:49 pm

Marseille07 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 10, 2023 2:44 pm

homebuyer6426 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 10, 2023 2:41 pm How much space do your important items take up and what value do they have? Versus the money lost by selling and rebuying them.

I moved from coast-to-coast in a packed-to-the-brim Corolla. This does not work if you want to hold on to a lot of furniture.

I think we discussed before, but I wouldn't recommend this because you'd be one smash-and-grab away from completely losing your move. And you'd have 3~4 nights to dodge during a cross-country move.

Yes, always park close to your hotel window. That being said, they're going to have a challenge getting any of the wedged-in boxes out in a hurry

If I were a crook, I would probably steal the car and unpack later.

Broken Man 1999

mptfan wrote: ↑Thu Mar 09, 2023 12:54 pm

Tridentine wrote: ↑Wed Mar 08, 2023 7:32 am They haven't. They don't like to talk about it. Sensing regret.
I suppose I should leave well enough alone. I just love them and its sad to see.

Yes, you should leave well enough alone. It's their money to do with as they see fit.

I hope you don't come back in a couple of years to announce that your parents are now living with you because they got snookered by Tina and her husband. That would really be unfortunate.

Reading your saga makes me glad that there was openness between my father and his children. Same type transparency between DW and I and our children. Hopefully our DDs will keep the Tinas of the world away from us.

Broken Man 1999

Hello, I have a question regarding underlying rates of capital obsolescence and depreciation, what impact this might have on long-term equity rate of return assumptions, and whether any Bogleheads have thought about this and factored it into their retirement planning. Broadly, my retirement planning is based on two assumptions: (1) life-cycle consumption (I plan for a constant level of real consumption in retirement, equal to my current consumption); and (2) an amortization based approach to calculating annual real consumption in retirement, given my portfolio value, a real rate of return assumption, and an optimistic longevity assumption. With a given asset value, the amount of constant real consumption that can be sustained throughout re...

IIRC, VNTC doesn't manage real estate. So if any RE involved, one would need another entity to manage the holding(s).

Other than that I have read of any read flags, in fact I am looking at VNTC for my needs.

Broken Man 1999

I've been thinking about this thread today, and I have a suggestion: you might want to talk to a counselor of some kind. Not because I think you're nuts or anything, but to work through your money anxiety. I, too, grew up poor, and I realize now (age 59) that I will always have money anxiety. But--I don't want my money anxiety to affect my children. Growing up poor, I used to dream of life when I was NOT POOR. One thing I never thought about, though, was that I might be raising trust fund babies. Which, I am, even if they're not in the realm of Paris Hilton or the Kardashians or something like that. I had to come to grips with the fact that my children were NOT POOR. Like you, I wanted them to appreciate what they had, invest for the futur...

celia wrote: ↑Sun Mar 05, 2023 2:27 am Assuming you pay the balance off each month, just set up automatic payments to withdraw the amount owed every month. If you pay it off every month and don’t put a cash withdrawal on the card (a big NO-NO), you aren’t paying any interest anyways.

We have been doing this for all our cards for about 30 years. You will also never get a late fee since it is the credit card company responsibility to “pull” the money. Of course, it helps if you keep enough money in the checking account at all times. Then you never have to think of it.

I do just that myself. All my CCs are set to pull full balances each month from my checking account. No fuss, no muss. Lazy man's bill paying!

Broken Man 1999

Sounds like things worked out well for you!

Your handle of FriedOkra brings back fond memories of my mother cooking fried okra with stewed tomatoes!

Broken Man 1999

I hope the best funeral I will ever attend will be my own. MegaCorp gives retirees $10,000 of life insurance for free. I believe that amount minus the cost of direct cremation should fund a decent going away party for me.

Broken Man 1999

biscuit5 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 05, 2023 5:14 pm not sure if its just my area, but, they seem to be building self-storages all over the place here. Not sure why. Anyone having a similar experience?

Definitely the case around here, Tampa Bay area, east of bay. Makes sense, so many coming into Florida, plus so many houses and condos needing cleaned out to sell homes of departed seniors.

Broken Man 1999

At the risk of giving you a list of everything it possibly could be, we recently had this issue and assumed it was probably a pipe leak, shower pan, etc. Turns out it was the toilet. In case you don’t already know, toilets have a wax ring which seals to the floor when it is installed. Over time, these can and do fail due to just…well, time…or perhaps it didn’t have a perfect seal when it was installed. If that seal has failed, water can follow the drain line pipe, and where ultimately where you see the problem area on the ceiling may not be directly under the toilet. Around here the plumbers use a boot that extends down, virtually impossible to leak. I think it is code for upstairs bathrooms, but I could be wrong. When we did a remodel in ...

I have an update to my SS card replacement saga. Today I called the local SSA office and they have reopened. But despite the promotion of "Express" appointments for the specific purpose of obtaining a replacement card, my need for a replacement is insufficient to warrant being allowed inside. However, the office drop box has just reopened! And, the rep told me that I could use a "certified" medical record extract for my ID. Which apparently means any document identifying a medical office (like letterhead or heading), having my name and my d.o.b, and being signed (by pen in ink - not a preprinted signature) by any office employee. It does have to contain a one-line statement preceding the signature: " I certify that...

Obviously when I became disabled I could no longer do our lawn care, but I did enjoy trimming up our lawn nicely when I was able. Now outsourced for $130/month.

It was nice to see immediate results of something I had done, as at MegaCorp the results of my efforts often took months to show anything. And sometimes my efforts were all for naught if the customer didn't buy in. Not an uncommon outcome for a sales engineer.

Broken Man 1999

Depending on the length of time a pre-pay is present, I have read that some people have received their pre-pay refunded in the form of a check.

That situation would be a real pain if one was counting on the pre-pay being available.

Broken Man 1999

See if any of the tile grout in the shower is cracked or worn. Water gets splashed on the walls, goes in the cracks, and has nowhere to go but down. That happened to us. Regrouting fixed the leak. Two things: If your plumber wants to start cutting holes, ask them to use a camera to start with. The video will help without opening up such a larger hole so one can see with their eyes. Granted, it isn't always possible, but truthfully I would not hire a plumber if they show up without a camera, unless they are replacing a WH or repairing a leak already located. Certainly not one that is hired to find a leak like OP has described. And, the tile grout is almost always a good place to check. I know this twice already, just different bathrooms. :(...

I wish I would have had a Roth 401k available for the time I had earned income. I did make use of Spousal Roth IRAs when DW was working, but the limits were, and still are for that matter.

Oh well, such is life. My company offered a precursor to the 401K plan. You could even borrow from your plan, and deduct the interest from your taxes, for a short time.

Broken Man 1999

Emergency funds: $110k ($20k bank savings account, $80k short term treasuries, $10k Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund) Debt: Mortgage $450k 1.99% 15 year fixed ($370k equity in home) Tax Filing Status: Married Filing Jointly Tax Rate: 35% Federal, 6.85% State State of Residence: NY Age: Him 43, Her 41 Current Asset allocation: ~90% stocks (70% US, 30% international) / 10% bonds Approximate size of your total portfolio: ~$1.4M Current retirement assets Taxable $100K VTSAX $1.5k RIVN His solo 401k at Fidelity FSKAX $542K FTIHX: $267k FXNAX: $92k Company match: No His Roth IRA at Vanguard VGSLX: $37k Her Roth IRA at Vanguard VGSLX: $37k Her 403b at Vanguard VTSMX: $126k VTIAX: $62k VBTLX: $20k Company match: No Her Governmental 457 (NYS Defe...

Thank you tunafish and Chip Munk. You are both correct. I have a higher IRMAA and my Medicare fees (premiums) did go up and why my SS benefits went down this year. Thank you for the explanation. I might be wrong but it sounds as if your SS benefits actually went UP this year (meaning, your 1099 will reflect increased income?). However, your Medicare premiums went up even further. Therefore, you'll find that your deposit will be less than last year. This might be one of those situations where your income goes up, you might pay more tax, your Medicare premiums go up due to IRMAA, and your net income actually goes down. Also remember the 2023 IRMAA rate is based on your 2021 income, ie prior income two years ago, 2024 IRMAA rate based on 2022...