Bogleheads.org

gurusw

Thanks for the help. This is now going in another direction for me - IRA basis. Over the years, sometimes I have filed taxes myself filling the tax forms manually, sometimes using TaxAct, and sometimes using TurboTax. And I've not been diligent about filing IRA basis, or carrying it over from one sy...

gurusw

Hi,

Thanks for the links. But I have 401K plan at work. I think that prevents me from making traditional IRA contributions. So I am not sure whether I can recharacterize ROTH to Traditional. Is my understanding correct?

gurusw

Hi, At the beginning of this year, I started contributing to ROTH, and I have already invested $5000 to it. There is only one payment of $500 remaining. This year my income has gone up & I suspect I will either be between phase out limits of ROTH, and maybe totally ineligible to contribute in th...

gurusw

gasdoc, thanks for your advice, and saving me headache. Meanwhile I received the best rate from both Cincinnati & Banner. I started paying their premiums by staggering the policies. I also asked for the lab results from both Banner & Cincinnati. As I went through these, I noticed that my hei...

gurusw

gurusw wrote: ↑Sun Sep 17, 2017 8:49 pm The agent (the one whom I had conacted through Term4Life) is now trying to sell me universal life policy in addition to term life.

Sorry for the typo. It should have said Term4Sale, not Term4Life.

gurusw

Thanks for the replies. Things have progressed. My EKG came normal. Meanwhile my doctor was never contactable. But Banner has moved on, and they are giving me their preferred rate - as per the agent. Have not received their paperwork yet. Cincinnati Life has already given me their quotes for P1 rate...

gurusw

Thanks for the responses. Banner is actually demanding me to get EKG on their cost. I am going for it.

Agent also wants doctor to provide written record that there is no cardiac history with my parents. I am gonna try, but not sure whether the docstor is comfortable.

gurusw

Hi Rupert, thanks for responding. I asked the agent about the things you had mentioned. He said that it's a misconception that if a company denies LI, other companies won't entertain you. They have to cite a reason for denying services; and if that reason is addressed the other companies should not ...

gurusw

Hi, I am just posting update, and seeking some opinions. Finally the medical results are in, and a couple of weird things are happening. 1. During the med test, my blood pressure reading came up a bit higher than nornal. So the agnt asked me to switch from Ohio Life to Banner. According to him, I wo...

gurusw

I have a follow up question on this. I have emergency fund that I need to stash away too. At present my online bank is giving 0.75% on savings, my credit union's Money Market is giving 0.90%, and VG Prime MM is giving 0.52% APY. What will be your choice? If I want to use one of the vehicles for stas...

gurusw

Btw do the insurance agents take any fees if I go through Term4Sale?

gurusw

Thanks for all the replies. I got my medical tests done for Ohio National & Cincinnati Life. Do you think these are good companies to go for, if they offer me their best rate?

gurusw

Hi, I have decided that I am going to buy 2 policies. I have also decided the policy values & the terms. Need suggestion on shopping. If I am using term4sale, should I start shoping for both the policies together, or one-after-another? Any other pointers? Also I have a existing policy that's exp...

gurusw

Thanks for the reply. Any opinions on buying Whole Life policy vs Term? If I am stacking 2 policies, would it make sense to buy the smaller/longer one as a Whole Life policy?

gurusw

Hi, I am 42 now, and my 10 year life insurance policy will be expiring in 2 years. Thinking back, I made a mistake by not buying a 30-year term policy then. However I want to correct my course asap. Hence I am thinking of getting a new policy right now, and canceling the old one. I need help with tw...

gurusw

Btw are there alternatives to COBRA that I can consider?

gurusw

Will you and your family have health insurance coverage coverage from day one of your new job? If so, then your plan should work. Be sure to send back the form indicating that you are going to elect COBRA coverage as soon as you get it. Verify with your current employer when your health insurance e...

gurusw

Hi, I am looking to transition jobs. My lasy day at the current job will be Jul 7, and the first day in the new company would be Aug 14. In between, I am planning to do international trip, and some domestic travel too. Ours is a family of 3. In essence, we will be without health insurance between Ju...

gurusw

Hi,

So if my bond allocation (100K) is substantailly lower than mortgage (400K), then what does it mean? Should I not buying the house yet? or do I need to move more money in bond allocation?

Thanks.

gurusw

I did this in 2013, when I bought a home. I had a stock holding in my taxable account which was more than enough to pay cash for a home (but which would have led to a huge tax bill if I did that). I intended to put 20% down on a home. So I left my taxable account in stock, and when I signed the con...

gurusw

retiredjg wrote:As for the bond fund, whether you use taxable or tax-exempt depends on your tax bracket.

My Fed tax bracket is 28%. Also I am in CA, and the state tax bracket is 9.3%.

gurusw

Hi, I have stashed cash of around 100K+ strictly for house down payment. (This is not for emergency expenses or retirement). However there will still be 2-3 years of time before I buy a house. I am wondering what kind of instruments I can invest in using the taxable accounts. Initially I wanted to k...

gurusw

Hi, If the cost of medicare is ~$100/month, why is that the total healthcare retirement cost is around $250K for a couple? I get scared when people say it's 500lb gorilla :) Wouldn't medicare pay for everything? Would I need to supplement it with additional insurance? What would be cost of such insu...

gurusw

What are the medicare costs in today's dollars?
How much do people pay if there are eligible for discounted medicare, and how much if they do not?

gurusw

Hi, I want to calculate my monthly expenses after retirement. What are the things that I need to account for, and what would be the cost of various things in today's dollars? The ones that I can think of is: 1. Monthly expenses as of today - groceries, utilities, clothes, etc. At present it's $2000/...

gurusw

Hi,

Which is your favorite retirement calculator? I have used retirement calculator from CNN Money. I am not sure if it takes all the expenses into account. Do you have suggestions for a better one?

Also, do you take Social security into consideration for your retirement needs?

Thanks.

gurusw

Thanks for the replies. I live in MA, and carmax is not a option. Also I am selling car, and moving out of states. So trade-in is not an option either. Looks like donation is a bad idea considering no further deduction available in addition to std deduction. To sell the car, I am already trying crai...

gurusw

Hi,

I have a 10+ year old car that has fair value of about $3000 if I sell to private party. If I donate the car, and taking standard deduction for 2010, will I be able to subtract the donation amount? Or is the deduction available only for itemized deduction? TIA.

gurusw

Hi, I have a Will and Trust created by lawyer. Looks like I can name the Trust as beneficiary on my Vanguard account. But not on my bank account which is held at Bank of America. I went to the local branch to name my spouse as POD. The woman who helped me was a new employee, took lot of time to find...

gurusw

Ok, an update from me. I am resigning in September from MA job, and leaving USA on Nov 1. That means my employer is not paying for my health insurance in October. I can opt for COBRA after I resign. But then as suggested, I can retroactively opt for COBRA if something happens before I leave. However...

gurusw

Thank you, kramer.

gurusw

Hi, MA requires everyone to have a health insurance. The person not having health insurance is subjected to penalties. I live and work in MA at present. It is a good possibility that I will get a job in Europe soon. Mostly I am going to join in July. If I resign, and leave MA for that job; I am not ...

gurusw

Thanks for the responses. Yes, VG waives the $20 fees if I open the account on their website, and sign up for e-statements. I will opt for them.

gurusw

Hi, Last year our pharmacy made error, and gave wrong medication to our kid. He went through lot of agony. Luckily the kid did ok even after taking the medicine. Meanwhile we consulated a lawyer. He is making the pharmacy pay $10K for all the headache. After lawyer's fees, our kid will get $6,666. A...

gurusw

Thank you Polaris. The funny part is that both of these websites do not have any dealerships.

gurusw

I found the list of all the approved body shops in MA from Plymouth Rock's website: https://www.prac.com/claim-services/find-a-repair-shop/index.asp This is the same exact list that Commerce has sent me (for my county). Although Commerce's preferred vendors are different. Since there is only one Ho...

gurusw

Thanks a lot to Cherokee8215 and everyone for helping me out. bluemarlin08, a great tip indeed. Btw how did you estimate the depreciated value of your car? I have been told that my insurance won't go up since it was not my fault. However Progressive is not waiving me deductible since I did not have ...

gurusw

Hi, I am MA resident, and I had a minor car accident last week in MA. The other driver (also MA resident) did not yield, and hit my car on the rear right side. His insurance co is Commerce, mine is Progressive. I have $500 deductible, and I do not have substitute transportation on my policy. When I ...

gurusw

Hi, My wife had been a stay-at-home-mother till now caring for our 2 year old kid. She is in mid 30s, and wants to go out and explore possible career opportunities. She has Baccalaureate degree in accounting. She had tried for CPA, but did not succeed. She does not want to try again. She also knows ...

gurusw

I confirmed on mass.gov website that all IRA contributations are nondeductible in mass, and mass does not tax you when you take out these nondeductible contributions. Thanks. http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=dorterminal&L=6&L0=Home&L1=Individuals+and+Families&L2=Personal+Income+Tax&L3...

gurusw

Hi, I opened spousal traditional IRA for 2008, and found that my MA tax liability has not changed a bit. MA allows you to deduct max $2000 contributed towards social security or retirement accounts. Since I have already paid more than $2000 of social security taxes, I got no further deduction for re...

gurusw

Thanks. There is nothing in box 1a for FTSE fund, or in box 6 for any fund. I will be contended with TLH for now.

gurusw

Hi, I had owned Vanguard FTSE AllWorls ExUs Index Inv Fund for some time in 2008, and then sold it for TLH. The 1099 forms that I received from VG do not mention any foreign tax credit. Is this because I hold the fund for less than a year, or is there a different form, or am I supposed to go to thei...

gurusw

I hold VFWIX (Van FTSE all world exl US) in my taxable acct. Now that VGTSX (total intl) is no longer fund of fund, I am tempted to hold it in my taxable acct. VGTSX has lower ER than VFWIX, and I have capital loss on VFWIX. That makes the whole proposition benefitting to me. However I am worried if...

gurusw

What do most diehards use for estate planning? Is going to lawyer worth it , or a kit by Suze Orman will do? I heard going to lawyer for a WILL will cost around $1000. Whereas Suze's kit costs around $50. My net worth is less than 300K, have a spouse & daughter, and I live in MA. No house yet. S...

gurusw

stratton wrote:I know most people here know this, but...

Stay below the $100K FDIC limit and leave "room" for accumulating interest.

Paul

Your insurance is 200K if you have joint acct.

gurusw

From MarketWatch:

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/e ... C869DD9%7D

gurusw

Sorry to be off topic, but what % of REIT does TSM contain?

gurusw

I keep reading in home-buying tips that one should be saving 3-6% of the house price to pay towards closing costs? Are those really that exhorbitant? If one buys a shack in NE for 400K, does he will have to pay $20K towards closing costs?

Home-owners, what's your experience?

gurusw

Thanks for your detailed reply.

I will consider opening brokerage when I become Voyager customer. I think something like DBC will fit the need of commodity portion, right?

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Re: Help with Roth IRA Phase Out

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Help with Roth IRA Phase Out

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Re: Advice needed to make short-term investments in Taxable accounts

Re: Buying Life Insurance

Re: Buying Life Insurance

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Buying Life Insurance

Re: Health Coverage - COBRA & ACA

Re: Health Coverage - COBRA & ACA

Health Coverage - COBRA & ACA

Re: Advice needed to make short-term investments in Taxable accounts

Re: Advice needed to make short-term investments in Taxable accounts

Re: Advice needed to make short-term investments in Taxable accounts

Advice needed to make short-term investments in Taxable accounts

Re: Need help arrive at monthly expenses after retirement

Re: Need help arrive at monthly expenses after retirement

Need help arrive at monthly expenses after retirement

Retirement calculator

Car donation and tax deduction

Setting up beneficiary at Bank of America

Travel and mandatory MA state health insurance

Help needed to decide investment for minor

car accident in MA, other driver's fault

Possible career for wife

MA taxes on traditional IRA

Foreign Tax Credit - silly question

tax loss harvesting question

estate planning - lawyer or self-help toolkit

how much closing costs for house