Search found 2860 matches

by corn18
Mon Mar 25, 2024 10:07 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Dangers of excessive optimism?
Replies: 86
Views: 6692

Re: Dangers of excessive optimism?

For those that plan no SS or reduced SS, I went through the OASDI reports back to 1970 to see when they thought they would go broke. Provided for info only. First column is date of report, second is when they said they would be broke.

Image
by corn18
Sat Mar 23, 2024 2:21 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Controling Assets From the Grave
Replies: 31
Views: 3643

Re: Controling Assets From the Grave

Kimchi2 wrote: Sat Mar 23, 2024 1:29 pm Spouses trust each other implicitly to carry out each other's wishes, but illness or incapacity could ruin an informal agreement to pass assets to different sets of bene's.
Now that is something I understand completely. My FIL had this issue with his mom. His dad died and before his death told his wife that the estate should be split equally between the 2 kids. Trust was in place to that effect. Wife got dimentia and while she was still alive, she gifted most of the estate to the brother that she had not seen in decades. Accused my FIL of trying to steal from her. Very unfortunate. But now I understand your post. No clue how to do it, though.
by corn18
Sat Mar 23, 2024 12:52 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Happy and sad: daughter got her license back
Replies: 5
Views: 1109

Happy and sad: daughter got her license back

Today is a very happy and sad day. My 28 yo daughter has struggled with drugs and alcohol since she was a young teenager. We kicked her out of the house at 17 yo due to this. We tried everything to help her but nothing worked. She got her first DUI at 22. Retained driving privileges for work. Second DUI at 23 and she went to jail for six months. When she got out of jail, she was clean and sober but couldn't drive. So we told her we would drive her to work if she stayed clean and sober. She did and now four years later, she got her license back this morning. After fours years, we made 1000+ trips to work and back, over 40,000 miles and 3100 hours of actual drive time. Luckily I had retired, so we could do this for her. I am very excited and ...
by corn18
Fri Mar 22, 2024 2:22 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Controling Assets From the Grave
Replies: 31
Views: 3643

Re: Controling Assets From the Grave

Man, I would be really irritated if my spouse died and left all of "their" money to "their" beneficiaries. What am I, chopped liver? I guess if each spouse has plenty of money on their own, my judgey comment can be dismissed. How will you decide how much to give the spouse and how much is passed on? I'm old fashioned from the midwest. Pass it all to the spouse with instructions. You won't care what happens after you're dead.
by corn18
Thu Mar 21, 2024 6:53 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Dangers of excessive optimism?
Replies: 86
Views: 6692

Re: Dangers of excessive optimism?

mbouck wrote: Thu Mar 21, 2024 6:41 pm I'm 54, work in tech, and was at Ground Zero in the DotCom boom/bust cycle. This is nothing like the DotCom bubble where you had a new IPO every week based on...nothing by way of fundamentals. Similarly, this is nothing like the run-up to the Great Recession where NINJA (No Income, No Job/Assets) loans were given out like candy. Are the markets currently frothy? Yes, but IMHO the run-up is just getting started and we're in early innings. The final innings are recognizable by their characteristic "this is fu<k!ng stupid - I don't understand" collective questioning.
Reddit IPO'd today. 19 years of not making a profit. They raised $9B. That's stupid.
by corn18
Thu Mar 21, 2024 3:18 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Dangers of excessive optimism?
Replies: 86
Views: 6692

Re: Dangers of excessive optimism?

Three years ago, I put 5% of our total savings into a private equity investment my buddy recommended. No research, just trusted him. I think that was greed. Fidelity kept telling me I should take more risk with my 50/50 portfolio. So I did. I just wrote it off and ignored it. Got the news today that the drug works and they are looking for a buyer. Hope they pay me back. But I didn't need it to retire safely.
by corn18
Thu Mar 21, 2024 2:18 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Fidelity as a one stop shop
Replies: 6053
Views: 1037432

Re: Fidelity as a one stop shop

I'm thinking of a similar plan. We like our BofA for bill payments, so I'm thinking like this: (1) Fidelity IRA " Retirement ": Tax-deferred assets (pre-tax money), stock and bond mutual funds. (2) Fidelity brokerage " Investment ": Taxable assets (after-tax money), stock and bond mutual funds and/or ETFs. (3) Fidelity CMA " Savings ": MM fund only. Maybe $30k-$50k. (4) BofA Checking " Spending "" Normal daily/monthly spending, bill pay, maybe only $5000 or so. Appreciate the breakdown. I'm still climbing through this fund and deciding if I want to take the final step. The Wiki entry really needs a comprehensive rewrite or addition because there is so much buried in this thread. (I will say it's...
by corn18
Thu Mar 21, 2024 2:04 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Gearing up to Release Manager
Replies: 6
Views: 927

Re: Gearing up to Release Manager

Are you ok with being blamed if the stock market crashes and your step mom loses a lot of money?

I could ask my MIL to take over her managed account but I won't. I let her blame her guy when she loses money. She mentions it to me every month she loses money. Glad it ain't me.
by corn18
Thu Mar 21, 2024 1:51 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Fidelity as a one stop shop
Replies: 6053
Views: 1037432

Re: Fidelity as a one stop shop

I'm thinking of a similar plan. We like our BofA for bill payments, so I'm thinking like this: (1) Fidelity IRA " Retirement ": Tax-deferred assets (pre-tax money), stock and bond mutual funds. (2) Fidelity brokerage " Investment ": Taxable assets (after-tax money), stock and bond mutual funds and/or ETFs. (3) Fidelity CMA " Savings ": MM fund only. Maybe $30k-$50k. (4) BofA Checking " Spending "" Normal daily/monthly spending, bill pay, maybe only $5000 or so. Appreciate the breakdown. I'm still climbing through this fund and deciding if I want to take the final step. The Wiki entry really needs a comprehensive rewrite or addition because there is so much buried in this thread. (I will say it's...
by corn18
Thu Mar 21, 2024 12:49 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Dangers of excessive optimism?
Replies: 86
Views: 6692

Re: Dangers of excessive optimism?

At one point in my retirement planning, I had stacked all bad things on top of each other and then I peed a little. Worst 30 years plus a 40% market drop in year one and SS benefit reduced 25% and maybe a few other "risks". Model said I needed to work 10 more years. I retired.
by corn18
Thu Mar 21, 2024 12:43 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Dangers of excessive optimism?
Replies: 86
Views: 6692

Re: Dangers of excessive optimism?

Markets have gone nowhere on a real basis for the last 2+ years, I mean ZERO. We've just now broke even. I really don't care about nominal numbers, they are meaningless. On a real basis we have just now recovered from the bear market after 27 months. That does not seem anything remotely resembling irrational exuberance to me. Not all retirees are equally affected by inflation, so the distance between nominal and real varies from retiree to retiree. True dat. I don't like inflation but it doesn't have a huge impact on my retirement. COLA military pension, COLA SS when the time comes. That seems to be keeping up ok for us. And nearly free health care for life. On the super plus side, nflation has really diminished the NPV of my 2.25% fixed r...
by corn18
Thu Mar 21, 2024 12:38 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Dangers of excessive optimism?
Replies: 86
Views: 6692

Re: Dangers of excessive optimism?

Markets have gone nowhere on a real basis for the last 2+ years, I mean ZERO. We've just now broke even. I really don't care about nominal numbers, they are meaningless. On a real basis we have just now recovered from the bear market after 27 months. That does not seem anything remotely resembling irrational exuberance to me. Not all retirees are equally affected by inflation, so the distance between nominal and real varies from retiree to retiree. True dat. I don't like inflation but it doesn't have a huge impact on my retirement. COLA military pension, COLA SS when the time comes. That seems to be keeping up ok for us. And nearly free health care for life. On the super plus side, nflation has really diminished the NPV of my 2.25% fixed r...
by corn18
Thu Mar 21, 2024 12:23 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Dangers of excessive optimism?
Replies: 86
Views: 6692

Re: Dangers of excessive optimism?

Or it could be 1966-1986 again.
by corn18
Thu Mar 21, 2024 9:00 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Dangers of excessive optimism?
Replies: 86
Views: 6692

Re: Dangers of excessive optimism?

gavinsiu wrote: Thu Mar 21, 2024 8:57 am
meadowrue wrote: Thu Mar 21, 2024 8:39 am That’s a great point. It’s taken me a while to accept that the median return is what ultimately matters. There will be high highs and low lows but as long as you’re ok being “average” you will come out ahead.
I think it's great that you recognize that being average is good enough. There is often a sentiment that you have to be the best, and that settling for average makes you a loser. In reality, the struggle of being above average often mean you end up below average in investing. In my opinion, you are better off just being above average in other things in life.
Indexers are average by definition I guess but we also beat 90% of active funds over long periods. So in that sense, we are better than most active funds.
by corn18
Thu Mar 21, 2024 7:23 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Capital loss carryover question
Replies: 10
Views: 686

Re: Capital loss carryover question

RickBoglehead wrote: Thu Mar 21, 2024 7:19 am She may not even pay tax on a good portion of those gains depending on her tax bracket, and therefore not use anywhere near all the offset.
She has pensions, so her taxable annual income is $70k. I am her tax "guy" now so just trying to get ahead of the planning for her tax withholding for her RMD withdrawal.
by corn18
Thu Mar 21, 2024 7:21 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Dangers of excessive optimism?
Replies: 86
Views: 6692

Re: Dangers of excessive optimism?

This chart always helps me sleep better.

Image
by corn18
Thu Mar 21, 2024 7:15 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Capital loss carryover question
Replies: 10
Views: 686

Capital loss carryover question

My MIL has $61k of capital loss carryover. If she has $50k of capital gains this year, can she offset all $50k on next year's tax return?
by corn18
Thu Mar 21, 2024 7:06 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Dangers of excessive optimism?
Replies: 86
Views: 6692

Re: Dangers of excessive optimism?

There is a lot more green than than blue in this chart. So I can see where optimism could hurt folks these days. We are due for a grey period. https://static.helpjuice.com/helpjuice_production/uploads/upload/image/3894/direct/1529528640819-Bull%20v%20Bear.png The time since 2009 hasn't been all rainbows and unicorns. https://www.advisorperspectives.com/images/content_image/data/cd/cdc24824dfea6095aec56f0fb2768c2f.png Are we due? There was a bear market not too long ago, not sure how the top chart is calling what we are in an 8-year run in light of that. (24% decline from December 2021 through October 2022 as nicely seen on the 2nd chart.) Seems like we hit a grey patch, US stocks have basically gone sideways from late 2021 through early th...
by corn18
Thu Mar 21, 2024 7:00 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Dangers of excessive optimism?
Replies: 86
Views: 6692

Re: Dangers of excessive optimism?

I'm in the overly pessimistic crowd. I retired three years ago and I update my model every year for the worst 30 years even though SORR is reduced as I go along. Although if you start stacking a bunch of low probability risks on top of each other, you will never have enough to retire.
by corn18
Thu Mar 21, 2024 6:53 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Dangers of excessive optimism?
Replies: 86
Views: 6692

Re: Dangers of excessive optimism?

Tom_T wrote: Thu Mar 21, 2024 6:49 am
corn18 wrote: Thu Mar 21, 2024 6:47 am There is a lot more green than than blue in this chart. So I can see where optimism could hurt folks these days. We are due for a grey period.

Image
When? I can't tell from that chart when it's going to happen. If you're saying "some day", well, that has always been the case.
I'm not a quant so no clue. Ask them. They all seem to know the future.
by corn18
Thu Mar 21, 2024 6:47 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Dangers of excessive optimism?
Replies: 86
Views: 6692

Re: Dangers of excessive optimism?

There is a lot more green than than blue in this chart. So I can see where optimism could hurt folks these days. We are due for a grey period.

Image

The time since 2009 hasn't been all rainbows and unicorns.

Image
by corn18
Tue Mar 19, 2024 10:33 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Use RMD to pay taxes
Replies: 30
Views: 2601

Re: Use RMD to pay taxes

dual wrote: Tue Mar 19, 2024 10:15 am Be aware that, even though the withdrawal is used for paying taxes, it is still taxable income.
Yup, I used that in my calculations for her 2024 taxes. Her taxable income is $70k in pensions, $20k SS, $18k RMD, $20k dividends and whatever capital gains she has.

She has $61k of capital loss carryover. I assume that can be used in full if she has large capital gains next year?
by corn18
Tue Mar 19, 2024 8:43 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Use RMD to pay taxes
Replies: 30
Views: 2601

Re: Use RMD to pay taxes

As to the when part, since withholding is seen as "timely" (IRS speak) you could do it at anytime, but I suspect most would wait until Nov. or Dec. Since she is elderly, I would take it EARLY in the year. If you wait and she dies that year, there may not be enough time to have the beneficiaries recognized by the custodian in order to transfer the assets. The beneficiaries might then have to take the RMD and increase their own taxes. The custodians are also very busy in December with year-end activities and clients who wait until the last minute. They might not get to her accounts until the following year and the account would be frozen during that time. While you are at it, make sure her beneficiaries are listed correctly on all ...
by corn18
Tue Mar 19, 2024 7:02 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Use RMD to pay taxes
Replies: 30
Views: 2601

Re: Use RMD to pay taxes

Urechis wrote: Tue Mar 19, 2024 12:34 am Does the practice of withholding the entire estimated tax liability in December work for California state taxes as well as federal. In other words can I avoid having to make quarterly payments using this technique.
That is what I took away from this thread. Withholding is always considered timely.
by corn18
Mon Mar 18, 2024 2:42 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Use RMD to pay taxes
Replies: 30
Views: 2601

Re: Use RMD to pay taxes

I just looked at her 1099 from 2023 and they will withhold state and federal taxes. Looks like we have a plan.
by corn18
Mon Mar 18, 2024 10:07 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Use RMD to pay taxes
Replies: 30
Views: 2601

Re: Use RMD to pay taxes

1. Can I do that? 2. When should I do that? It doesn't really matter to her when I do it because her income more than covers expenses. You can withhold any time during the year, and satisfy IRS requirements, as long as you at least reach a safe harbor. So far in retirement I have not paid federal estimates. I always check my situation in December, and if necessary I take an IRA distribution before year-end with the necessary withholding (99% sometimes) to get to a safe harbor. I like that plan. The only "surprises" she seems to get are large capital gains from her advisor selling stuff. But I can track that online now and she has $61k of capital loss carryover. I did a deep dive on her investment accounts now that I have access. ...
by corn18
Mon Mar 18, 2024 9:39 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Use RMD to pay taxes
Replies: 30
Views: 2601

Re: Use RMD to pay taxes

Underscore wrote: Mon Mar 18, 2024 9:38 am Sounds fine to me, what would be the reason not to?
That's why I am asking. I see no reason not to.
by corn18
Mon Mar 18, 2024 9:35 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Use RMD to pay taxes
Replies: 30
Views: 2601

Use RMD to pay taxes

I am now the tax guy for my MIL. She is 82, $2.8M with $275k in an ira that requires an RMD of $18k. She has a federal pension of $65k that withholds federal and state taxes each month. Also gets $20k of SS that has federal withholding. So she does have a pay as she goes tax setup. But she typically has an additional tax liability of $18k / year (federal and state total). Her old tax guy had her do estimated payments for that. I was thinking I should just designate her RMD to go $12k to federal taxes and $6k to state taxes. That will cover her tax liability for 2024 (with the withholding). 1. Can I do that? 2. When should I do that? It doesn't really matter to her when I do it because her income more than covers expenses. Thanks for your th...
by corn18
Mon Mar 11, 2024 7:55 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Total Portfolio Allocation and Withdrawal (TPAW)
Replies: 690
Views: 172424

Re: Total Portfolio Allocation and Withdrawal (TPAW)

I've only ever used the first iteration of the TPAW model and that is what I have in my spreadsheet. My spreadsheet has nominal income by year from 55-99. Not hard to figure this out. It has nominal expenses by year. Pretty straight forward as well. I don't apply a rate of any sort to my expenses because I am already retired and have a good feel for our spending. For savings, I just use the worst 30 year real return. Pretty simple math after that that I put on a chart.

I can adjust income, expenses or savings and see how that affects TPAW output.

Maybe the work I put into filling out the income/expense lines are what the latest model is trying to address. I find it easier to keep them separate.
by corn18
Mon Mar 11, 2024 3:10 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Total Portfolio Allocation and Withdrawal (TPAW)
Replies: 690
Views: 172424

Re: Total Portfolio Allocation and Withdrawal (TPAW)

I also have the rich, broke or dead model in my spreadsheet. Keeps me grounded.

Image
by corn18
Sun Mar 10, 2024 6:55 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Total Portfolio Allocation and Withdrawal (TPAW)
Replies: 690
Views: 172424

Re: Total Portfolio Allocation and Withdrawal (TPAW)

I have every model I could find in my massive retirement spreadsheet. All built in and run automatically. Been retired 3 years and the only output I look at these days is from the TPAW model. Total income + total savings - total expenses. If that is positive, I am happy. Really not much more complicated than that, IMHO.

Although I do take one extra step and multiply the excess income by the VPW constant I calculate for spending between now and age 70 when SS kicks in. Gives me an idea of how much more I can spend each year between now and SS.
by corn18
Fri Mar 08, 2024 1:32 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can I splurge on a family vacation to Hawaii?
Replies: 56
Views: 5051

Re: Can I splurge on a family vacation to Hawaii?

Are you saying the trip to Hawaii would cost $75,000? An estimate, but yes. How many people would be in your party? 6 How long would you be there for? 14 days What makes it "epic"? It's Hawaii. I want it to be like our trip to the Bahamas 10 years ago when we rented a house on a private island. We had our own boat and boat captain and went out every day exploring. Swam with sharks, pigs and snorkeled. Or just went to the beach bar that was only accessible by boat. Breakfast was served in our house every morning. Lunch was provided on the boat. Dinner was in the common dining area with the other guests on the island (6 houses on the island). All this served to make it completely stress free for 10 days. All we did was enjoy each o...
by corn18
Fri Mar 08, 2024 12:07 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can I splurge on a family vacation to Hawaii?
Replies: 56
Views: 5051

Re: Can I splurge on a family vacation to Hawaii?

If not now, when? Do you think when you are 80, or 90 if you live that long, you will look back and say "Dang, I sure wish we hadn't spent that 30k on a Hawaii vacation"? You have solid income going forward, way more than us, and I am committed to doing as much travel as we can while we can. There are no guarantees in life, and it's not a dress rehearsal! "Dang, I sure wish we hadn't spent that 30k on a Hawaii vacation"? This got my attention. We haven't had a vacation in 4 years. Oldest daughter was a drug addict and alcoholic and ended up in jail for DUI(s) and lost her license for 5 years. She got clean and sober in jail and we committed to driving her to and from work every day. For 4 years. She gets her license bac...
by corn18
Fri Mar 08, 2024 12:00 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can I splurge on a family vacation to Hawaii?
Replies: 56
Views: 5051

Re: Can I splurge on a family vacation to Hawaii?

Am I missing something? Depending on what you mean by "family" picking a date when everyone can attend will be very difficult with different school schedules, limited vacation time when someone has a new job, people not being able to schedule time off work when a big project is due, etc. You will also need to figure out how to handle boyfriends and girlfriends and if they are invited or not and the sleeping arrangements. If you buy tickets for them and the couple breaks up before the trip then that could also be a complication. Different schools have different schedules including spring break and in some parts of the country k-12 schools start as early as August 1st now so they can have more one week breaks during the school year...
by corn18
Fri Mar 08, 2024 10:37 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can I splurge on a family vacation to Hawaii?
Replies: 56
Views: 5051

Re: Can I splurge on a family vacation to Hawaii?

chinchin wrote: Fri Mar 08, 2024 10:31 am
corn18 wrote: Fri Mar 08, 2024 9:01 am

My thought: as long as we slide into age 70 with $1 in savings, we will be fine.
Personally I would want a little more than $1 in savings at that age.
How much would you want?

At age 70, my military pension + SS is $130k. My total expenses are $110k. I think we should have $1M in the bank to cover LTC. Anything above that is inheritance which we plan to distribute as we go.
by corn18
Fri Mar 08, 2024 10:05 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can I splurge on a family vacation to Hawaii?
Replies: 56
Views: 5051

Re: Can I splurge on a family vacation to Hawaii?

SmileyFace wrote: Fri Mar 08, 2024 10:02 am Will this deplete ALL your savings? I missed it if you said that.
Good for you to have pensions and SS to cover all expenses plus some. Provided you have the money to cover it I don't know why you are asking.
It will not deplete all savings. If I do it every year, it might.
by corn18
Fri Mar 08, 2024 9:57 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can I splurge on a family vacation to Hawaii?
Replies: 56
Views: 5051

Re: Can I splurge on a family vacation to Hawaii?

If you can swing the trip, then by all means. But, you don't need to be in Hawaii to make epic memories with the family if it is a huge financial burden. The important part is being together, not where it is. Agree. This is on our bucket list, so want to do it now vs. later. And I want to do it right. Helicopter rides, private boat charter, 2 weeks, house with an infinity pool overlooking the ocean. Maybe even a private chef. I priced it out at $80k if we go this year. That does sound fun, but most of that is unnecessary and probably won't be what you remember about the trip. The fact that you made this thread suggests you probably know this is beyond your means to travel like that. 10 years ago we did the same thing but to a private islan...
by corn18
Fri Mar 08, 2024 9:39 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can I splurge on a family vacation to Hawaii?
Replies: 56
Views: 5051

Re: Can I splurge on a family vacation to Hawaii?

the_wiki wrote: Fri Mar 08, 2024 9:36 am If you can swing the trip, then by all means.

But, you don't need to be in Hawaii to make epic memories with the family if it is a huge financial burden. The important part is being together, not where it is.
Agree. This is on our bucket list, so want to do it now vs. later. And I want to do it right. Helicopter rides, private boat charter, 2 weeks, house with an infinity pool overlooking the ocean. Maybe even a private chef. I priced it out at $80k if we go this year.
by corn18
Fri Mar 08, 2024 9:28 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can I splurge on a family vacation to Hawaii?
Replies: 56
Views: 5051

Re: Can I splurge on a family vacation to Hawaii?

Is there a middle ground between not making memories and sliding into 70 with $1? When you say your projections cover expenses +10%, does that include memory making in your 70s? It does. Current travel budget is $25k/year. I drop it to $10k/year at age 71. I think a lot of people can learn some lessons from Die with Zero, but when I read that he was inspired because his dad was depressed and living off memories at 70, that is a horrible lesson. Spend your later years embracing what you can do, even if it means paying a bit more to be driven to the viewpoint rather than hiking up. A trip that costs 3x your normal travel budget this year doesn't mean you have to do the same every year. Memories are generally about doing some different with f...
by corn18
Fri Mar 08, 2024 9:01 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can I splurge on a family vacation to Hawaii?
Replies: 56
Views: 5051

Can I splurge on a family vacation to Hawaii?

Retired 3 years ago at age 55. All is going well. At age 70, my military pension and SS covers all our expenses +10%. We want to take the fam to Hawaii next year and make it epic that will exceed our travel budget by 3x.

I am of the mindset right now that we should go, go, go as I watch my parents and in-laws die. Now is the time to take these trips. I want to make as many memories as possible before I am too old.

My thought: as long as we slide into age 70 with $1 in savings, we will be fine. Wife is good if I die, so survivor plan is good.

So, can I splurge? Am I missing something?

Thanks for reading.
by corn18
Wed Mar 06, 2024 7:08 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: I screwed up my first Roth conversion
Replies: 17
Views: 2492

Re: I screwed up my first Roth conversion

Since I don't have a 10% penalty, we are just going to use the withdrawal for 2024 expenses. As an aside, I just looked at my auto-roll treasury tree and I'm earning 4.9% on the money I would have used to pay off my mortgage in 2021. Glad I didn't do that. 27 years left on a 2.25% fixed rate mortgage. Makes me feel better about myself.
by corn18
Tue Mar 05, 2024 9:14 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: I screwed up my first Roth conversion
Replies: 17
Views: 2492

Re: I screwed up my first Roth conversion

Tax was withheld from the withdrawal.
by corn18
Tue Mar 05, 2024 3:05 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: I screwed up my first Roth conversion
Replies: 17
Views: 2492

Re: I screwed up my first Roth conversion

samsoes wrote: Tue Mar 05, 2024 3:01 pm You should have a 60 day window to redeposit it back without any consequences. At least that's the rule for IRAs. Check with your 401(k) provider.

Oh, and you can only do the 60-day redeposit thing once every 365 days, so be careful next time!
I'll check with Fidelity and see if I can return it. I am within the 60 day window. I'd rather do that and make a proper Roth conversion per my plan. I'm such a dork sometimes.
by corn18
Tue Mar 05, 2024 3:02 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: I screwed up my first Roth conversion
Replies: 17
Views: 2492

Re: I screwed up my first Roth conversion

lakpr wrote: Tue Mar 05, 2024 2:59 pm
corn18 wrote: Tue Mar 05, 2024 2:52 pm I withdrew money from my 401k expecting to then deposit it into my Roth for a Roth conversion. Stupid me. Seems I needed to do a direct conversion to Roth. Can I put the 401k money back in and start over? Age 58 so I get to pay a 10% penalty if I can't fix this.
Are you still working for this employer, or is this a past employer? Would Rule-of-55 apply here (meaning you left this particular employer after you attained the age of 55)? IF SO, while there are income taxes due, the 10% penalties do not apply.
I am no longer working at this employer. I retired at age 55 from this employer. So I guess the rule of 55 applies. Coolio. Just can't put it in the Roth.
by corn18
Tue Mar 05, 2024 2:52 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: I screwed up my first Roth conversion
Replies: 17
Views: 2492

I screwed up my first Roth conversion

I withdrew money from my 401k expecting to then deposit it into my Roth for a Roth conversion. Stupid me. Seems I needed to do a direct conversion to Roth. Can I put the 401k money back in and start over? Age 58 so I get to pay a 10% penalty if I can't fix this.
by corn18
Mon Jul 31, 2023 9:47 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: What asset class is a venture capital investment?
Replies: 7
Views: 811

Re: What asset class is a venture capital investment?

dbr wrote: Mon Jul 31, 2023 9:45 am The asset class is "venture capital investment" giving you a 5/55/40 asset allocation.

The missing data you can supply is the expected return and the expected risk of returns for that asset class. 50%+/-150% might be a guess, meaning expect a return between -100% and +200%.
I just don't include it at all. Although I do sometimes put it in to see how much more I can spend each year. Their last equity event was 20x for the early investors like me. That would be bonkers.
by corn18
Mon Jul 31, 2023 9:35 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: What asset class is a venture capital investment?
Replies: 7
Views: 811

Re: What asset class is a venture capital investment?

As an update: company passed phase II trials and has been designated a breakthrough drug. Phase III underway. Scheduled to complete early next year. Another round of funding was opened but I stuck with what I have in. Expect an equity event next year. The money still isn't in my plan. If it hits, it will just be more blow that dough money.
by corn18
Tue Aug 16, 2022 6:11 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What are some possible uses for an old iPhone8?
Replies: 26
Views: 2293

Re: What are some possible uses for an old iPhone8?

I use an old iphone 7 as a mobile hotspot while camping. I have a Visible sim card and pay $25 / mo. For some reason it has unlimited data for tethered devices even though the terms say it is limited. We use it for our Roku streaming and laptops. Works great.
by corn18
Fri Aug 12, 2022 2:10 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Best watch for $5,000+
Replies: 166
Views: 22892

Re: Best watch for $5,000+

A good replica/fake has a 1:1 reproduction of the movement. The only way to tell it is fake is to pull out a 10x loop and look at the finish on the flat bits. It won't be quite as polished as a real one. Once they figure that out, it will be very difficult to tell the difference. Usually the fake movements have non-functional jewels without pivots. The underlying architecture of the movement doesn't change, but extra jewels are added and the shape of the bridges is changed to make the movement more closely resemble the real thing. This is mostly for watches with display backs (like Omega since we're talking mostly about the Rolex price range here). The latest fakes of the Daytona use real jewels and are identical in every way to the origin...
by corn18
Fri Aug 12, 2022 11:02 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Best watch for $5,000+
Replies: 166
Views: 22892

Re: Best watch for $5,000+

A good replica/fake has a 1:1 reproduction of the movement. The only way to tell it is fake is to pull out a 10x loop and look at the finish on the flat bits. It won't be quite as polished as a real one. Once they figure that out, it will be very difficult to tell the difference.