Search found 3382 matches

by JamesSFO
Wed May 26, 2021 11:59 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: What is your favorite retirement calculator?
Replies: 80
Views: 19026

Re: What is your favorite retirement calculator?

Sahara wrote: Wed May 26, 2021 11:46 am
For me, the value is both educational and operational. As you learn the underlying operations and set up of the calculator or software it kind of guides you in framing the interconnected pieces.

I've sampled a bunch of these and some are comfortable for me, others too detailed or complicated. So I think people have to find one that is more their style.

...
This resonates for me thanks!
by JamesSFO
Wed May 26, 2021 10:12 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: What is your favorite retirement calculator?
Replies: 80
Views: 19026

Re: What is your favorite retirement calculator?

thanks for this thread. I remember helping my dad circa ~1988 with software on a Mac that did this and was time consuming and expensive to buy and still wasn't that helpful.

I honestly do wonder about the value of these calculators/tools: who is the market, how important is precision vs. directionality, etc...
by JamesSFO
Thu May 20, 2021 5:48 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Informational only - COVID vaccine record
Replies: 14
Views: 1666

Re: Informational only - COVID vaccine record

My first shot ended up in EPIC, but my second did not. So go figure
by JamesSFO
Thu May 06, 2021 1:03 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: IRA rollover problem. Please help
Replies: 75
Views: 7952

Re: IRA rollover problem. Please help

Glad you are getting towards resolution!
by JamesSFO
Mon Mar 22, 2021 8:03 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Account restricted due to 3 good faith violation
Replies: 35
Views: 7934

Re: Account restricted due to 3 good faith violation

Fidelity has a good page explaining these rules for anyone interested - https://www.fidelity.com/learning-cente ... violations
by JamesSFO
Tue Mar 16, 2021 3:29 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: IRS $10,200 unemployment exclusion instructions are out
Replies: 32
Views: 3918

Re: IRS $10,200 unemployment exclusion instructions are out

Curious to hear what to do about amendments still so watching this thread.
by JamesSFO
Thu Jan 07, 2021 10:50 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How to co-purchase property for investment?
Replies: 8
Views: 1299

Re: How to co-purchase property for investment?

Banks generally don't want to lend to an LLC unless you've got a history with them or are an established business. Expect the bank to want the mortgage and title to be under you and not the LLC You should also consider outlining the operating terms of the partnership - who's dealing with what, who manages the tenants/vendors, what to do when one of you wants to sell, etc. Really try to go into detail about "what to do when there is a disagreeement", including, but not restricted to, selling. This is where it can really go sideways and get not only unpleasant, but expensive. (In your own mind, make it "as if" the other party is NOT being cooperative. If they *are* cooperative, all the better, and it's a small "cost&...
by JamesSFO
Thu Jan 07, 2021 10:48 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How to co-purchase property for investment?
Replies: 8
Views: 1299

Re: How to co-purchase property for investment?

Sandtrap wrote: Mon Jan 04, 2021 11:49 am Is there any way you can purchase a rental property on your own?
Condo, townhouse, duplex, ???

Do you already own a home or rent a gnome?

Is the property going to have a property management company or is it going to be "self managed" and "self maintained".

j :D

I already own my own property, one rental property individually and one commercial rental property. This is a chance to co-invest with someone I trust. They will be managing this one and I'll be a passive investor.
by JamesSFO
Sun Jan 03, 2021 5:21 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How to co-purchase property for investment?
Replies: 8
Views: 1299

Re: How to co-purchase property for investment?

Good points medic!!!!
by JamesSFO
Fri Jan 01, 2021 11:14 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Official Registration For The 2021 Boglehead Contest
Replies: 664
Views: 34562

Re: Official Registration For The 2021 Boglehead Contest

4056.55 is my guess. Always enjoy this contest
by JamesSFO
Thu Dec 24, 2020 10:36 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How to co-purchase property for investment?
Replies: 8
Views: 1299

How to co-purchase property for investment?

Looking for recommendations for how to co-buy a home with a friend? This is a financial investment the property will be rented out.

- LLC?
- Tenants in Common?
- Joint Trust?

Other?

Thanks in advance.
by JamesSFO
Mon Jul 27, 2020 5:54 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: EE Bonds as period certain annuity - revisited
Replies: 17
Views: 3130

Re: EE Bonds as period certain annuity - revisited

Mel I still credit you for this idea and think it's a good one.
by JamesSFO
Tue Jun 30, 2020 12:50 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Activity assessment fee in Fidelity
Replies: 9
Views: 4166

Re: Activity assessment fee in Fidelity

99% sure that’s just the standard SEC fees
by JamesSFO
Mon Mar 16, 2020 10:08 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Are you still going to the gym ...
Replies: 210
Views: 16140

Re: Are you still going to the gym ...

As of this AM, LA County has closed all gyms and fitness studios
by JamesSFO
Fri Feb 14, 2020 8:33 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 1 yr ban of 401K contribution?
Replies: 66
Views: 7966

Re: 1 yr ban of 401K contribution?

The reasons are certainly rational, but that doesn't imply it is the best solution. I never claimed there weren't legitimate reasons to do things that way, just that it was a subpar solution to the problem they were trying to solve . They are free to implement poor solutions even though better solutions exist. Nobody said otherwise. I certainly never said a 401k plan is a show stopper for anybody. In fact, I very directly said the opposite above. (emphasis added above and quoting shortened) So the four different plan design companies I spoke with about options all lack some insight into a solution to the specific business needs we had (limit short time workers and trainees from the plan because we wanted to provide a generous 3% non-discre...
by JamesSFO
Fri Feb 14, 2020 12:48 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 1 yr ban of 401K contribution?
Replies: 66
Views: 7966

Re: 1 yr ban of 401K contribution?

You keep approaching this problem from the perspective of a responsible saver who has the means and wants to save towards his retirement. That's great, and this is exactly what this forum is all about. The problem, however, is that for a number of reasons the vast majority of the populat[ion] I am not approaching the problem from that perspective. I am approaching the problem from the perspective of the business owner. :confused Just coming back this thread and have to agree with UALflyer, you just keep shooting down things that legitimate business owners pick. Do I like that we landed on our plan having a 1-year period? No. Is it the best choice for us a business given the other options to achive our ends: yes (from talking to multiple pl...
by JamesSFO
Fri Feb 14, 2020 11:01 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Fidelity lets clients now trade fractional shares of stocks and ETFs
Replies: 209
Views: 27201

Re: Fidelity lets clients now trade fractional shares of stocks and ETFs

It's now available to me in mobile only when I did "quick trade".
by JamesSFO
Wed Feb 05, 2020 7:43 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Best in Class 401k Providers (Recordkeeping and Advisor) - Recommendations Please!
Replies: 4
Views: 722

Re: Best in Class 401k Providers (Recordkeeping and Advisor) - Recommendations Please!

Given that you have ~0.8-0.9% in fees on top of the funds that sounds atrociously expensive. All of the Fido 401Ks I've had did not have such exorbitant fees so start with getting those down.

Our small business ~$1M in the 401K has a Vanguard/Ascensus 401K which we pay $3K/year for out of the business; employees pay nothing except the fund fees.
by JamesSFO
Tue Jan 21, 2020 1:09 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: ETF to Hold for 50 Years
Replies: 118
Views: 13859

Re: ETF to Hold for 50 Years

What is the goal for the money when the trust ends? For example, in a remaining A/B style-trust, one might try to get lots of dividends on the B side...
by JamesSFO
Sun Jan 19, 2020 6:35 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Investor/Admiral Shares
Replies: 6
Views: 1148

Re: Investor/Admiral Shares

My understanding is that they are not super quick to convert back from discussions here.

Further, the general wisdom here is if the funds fall because of a market correction they might just let it ride. But if you withdraw they will give you a timetable at some point. Luckily it is not a taxable event.
by JamesSFO
Wed Jan 15, 2020 12:10 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: PSA: CA 529 Scholarshare Online account needs to be restablished
Replies: 3
Views: 411

Re: PSA: CA 529 Scholarshare Online account needs to be restablished

The needing the account # part is a key point, I went and printed some statements to help myself in two weeks.
by JamesSFO
Mon Jan 13, 2020 6:56 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Exceeded 403b By Tiny Amount
Replies: 13
Views: 1257

Re: Exceeded 403b By Tiny Amount

Did that 0.02 go into 2019 Employee Contributions or 2019 After Tax Contributions or somewhere else? What does the W2 say?
by JamesSFO
Thu Jan 09, 2020 5:33 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 1 yr ban of 401K contribution?
Replies: 66
Views: 7966

Re: 1 yr ban of 401K contribution?

KyleAAA wrote: Thu Jan 09, 2020 5:00 pm
JBTX wrote: Thu Jan 09, 2020 3:57 pm ...If we were talking about administrative salaried positions, I would agree a one year delay would be a competitive detriment.
I didn't say it was a competitive detriment. I said there was no compelling reason to delay eligibility other than laziness. There's no administrative burden or cost disadvantage to speak of.
I will say our small business has a 1 year waiting period, we also have a 3% contribution to all employees + profit sharing into the 401K. It's a pretty generous plan (also no fees to employees and all admiral shares). For us it was about making sure that the people who got an extra 3+% "bonus" were longer term employees. YMMV.
by JamesSFO
Thu Jan 09, 2020 5:27 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: contributed too much to Roth 401k in 2019
Replies: 15
Views: 1384

Re: contributed too much to Roth 401k in 2019

Btw OP did you check if it went into a different sub account, e.g. after-tax contribution, which can then be rolled out to do a mega-backdoor Roth?
by JamesSFO
Thu Jan 02, 2020 9:44 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Continues to Lower the Cost of Investing with Expansion of Commission-Free Platform Beyond ETF
Replies: 71
Views: 6669

Re: Vanguard Cuts Trading Commissions to Zero

:sharebeer

Woot, so my already ~1-ish trade a year which was free for Flagship is now free...
by JamesSFO
Wed Jan 01, 2020 11:56 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: OFFICIAL REGISTRATION FOR THE 2020 BOGLEHEAD CONTEST
Replies: 688
Views: 37079

Re: OFFICIAL REGISTRATION FOR THE 2020 BOGLEHEAD CONTEST

I'm putting in for my usual 8% guess: 3392
by JamesSFO
Wed Dec 25, 2019 2:17 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Question about SECURE and no more stretch IRAs
Replies: 50
Views: 4782

Re: Question about SECURE and no more stretch IRAs

Inherited after 1/1/2020... So if you have anyone on the doorstep of death hurry them along? :confused
by JamesSFO
Wed Dec 25, 2019 11:27 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Exceeded 403b By Tiny Amount
Replies: 13
Views: 1257

Re: Exceeded 403b By Tiny Amount

Might pay to ask HR/payroll about this? Also did the $0.02 go into an after-tax account (e.g. perhaps her employer supports mega back door ROTHs)
by JamesSFO
Tue Dec 24, 2019 7:32 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Vanguard won't fix IRA misclassification [solved]
Replies: 43
Views: 4895

Re: Vanguard won't fix IRA misclassification

charlesmont wrote: Mon Dec 23, 2019 4:01 pm
JamesSFO wrote: Wed Dec 18, 2019 9:49 am Just wondering if the OP had any luck/progress here.
Yes, James, please see above.
Sorry it took so much effort but glad you had a positive outcome
by JamesSFO
Thu Dec 19, 2019 10:33 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Change from Regular 401K To Roth 401K question
Replies: 13
Views: 675

Re: Change from Regular 401K To Roth 401K question

Second question answered first: You can usually switch pay period to pay period at many companies

First question: Why not mix things up by maxing out a Roth IRA (or do a backdoor to do so) it gives you the mix of tax advantaged accounts without losing the deduction for your 401k. More generally we need more information about your current income/tax bracket and best guess of the future to give a better answer.
by JamesSFO
Wed Dec 18, 2019 9:49 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Vanguard won't fix IRA misclassification [solved]
Replies: 43
Views: 4895

Re: Vanguard won't fix IRA misclassification

Just wondering if the OP had any luck/progress here.
by JamesSFO
Tue Dec 10, 2019 2:30 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Are FXNAX and VBTLX substantially identical?
Replies: 15
Views: 5833

Re: Are FXNAX and VBTLX substantially identical?

aiyuanuc wrote: Tue Dec 10, 2019 12:24 pm Does anybody do this and think it's a non-issue?
Robo advisors are doing many trades like this. Check out what ETF pairs Welathfront or Schwab, etc are using. I don't know if they use those specific funds.
by JamesSFO
Mon Dec 09, 2019 4:36 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Vanguard won't fix IRA misclassification [solved]
Replies: 43
Views: 4895

Re: Vanguard won't fix IRA misclassification

RickyAZ wrote: Sun Dec 08, 2019 5:35 pm The problem is at TIAA. You're asking VGI to fix something that is not their fault. The Annuity is not an IRA, you want them to transfer and change the asset in type and title at the same time. It should have been done in 2 steps and it should have been retitled before being transferred. SInce you've taken distributions the error is probably fatal
Let’s not jump to blaming the OP indirectly by stating this should have been done a certain way. It seems like OP made reasonable assumptions in a complex area and may have been burned by them but it also might be fixable.

OP is getting useful advice from Alan s and should follow that up and see if they can fix the issue.
by JamesSFO
Mon Dec 09, 2019 4:34 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Vanguard won't fix IRA misclassification [solved]
Replies: 43
Views: 4895

Re: Vanguard won't fix IRA misclassification

sambb wrote: Sun Dec 08, 2019 5:20 pm Vanguard has serious customer service issues that are likely reflective of leadership issues. Low cost comes with some problems. I wish you the best.
This is completely uncalled for in this thread. There is no evidence yet that vanguard has made any errors. The OP is getting specific help on what unfortunately is a complex issue from Alan s and others.
by JamesSFO
Tue Nov 05, 2019 8:25 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Help me recommend funds to our 457 provider
Replies: 6
Views: 314

Re: Help me recommend funds to our 457 provider

Maybe focus on getting the expensive S&P500 replaced and a cheaper total US bond fund?
by JamesSFO
Fri Nov 01, 2019 1:18 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: California - Protecting Assets - Beyond Umbrella Insurance
Replies: 17
Views: 2350

Re: California - Protecting Assets - Beyond Umbrella Insurance

keyfort wrote: Thu Oct 31, 2019 11:52 am In summary, now that I've looked into this, I think in California the best bet for me would be:

- The usual home and auto etc insurance

- Umbrella insurance for everything else except...

- Professional Liability (Errors and Omissions) insurance for copyrights

Maybe with these and a high enough policy coverage, I'd be covered for almost all cases?
That's more or less how I've lived my life. Other choices include picking your clients carefully.
by JamesSFO
Thu Oct 31, 2019 9:27 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: California - Protecting Assets - Beyond Umbrella Insurance
Replies: 17
Views: 2350

Re: California - Protecting Assets - Beyond Umbrella Insurance

keyfort wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 10:21 pm So an LLC with just one owner/employee (me) doesn't work as well?
LLC with one owner works. And you can get a "full" 401(K) offering for it AFAIK. The issue is that the general LLC liability shield helps in some cases but not others.

Example 1: LLC misuses copyrights unintentionally. In all likelihood hard to pierce the corporate veil and LLC is all they can get

Example 2: You driving for LLC hit and injure someone. In all likelihood you can be directly sued.

Make sense?
by JamesSFO
Wed Oct 30, 2019 7:44 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: California - Protecting Assets - Beyond Umbrella Insurance
Replies: 17
Views: 2350

Re: California - Protecting Assets - Beyond Umbrella Insurance

OJ Simpson thing misses the point, at the time he did it he was going for the unlimited homestead exemption in FL/TX.

Agree that CA is less protective of some retirement accounts, the OP was a bit ambiguous. My LLC has a full on 401K so I'm less concerned though I do have a Roth IRA...

...overall, the big wins are forming an LLC (one layer of difficulty in coming directly at you though it is limited if you are the only person in the business) and then adding in professional liability insurance...
by JamesSFO
Wed Oct 30, 2019 5:49 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: California - Protecting Assets - Beyond Umbrella Insurance
Replies: 17
Views: 2350

Re: California - Protecting Assets - Beyond Umbrella Insurance

California doesn't protect retirement assets from creditors for sole proprietors unlike some other states
:confused

Can you explain/unpack what you mean by this?

CA professional here, have my business in an LLC + have various insurance for the LLC including specific professional liability insurance.
by JamesSFO
Thu Oct 17, 2019 6:21 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Has anyone used MySolo401k.com, DiscountSolo401k.com, or Solo401k.com?
Replies: 150
Views: 21636

Re: Has anyone used MySolo401k.com, DiscountSolo401k.com, or Solo401k.com?

Sure! Very familiar with that, didn't have the context that a mega-backdoor was a key feature for you.

One point though, EMPLOYEE contributions are $19K capped, but you can make an EMPLOYER contribution into any of the other plans that can bring the total to the $56K limit depending on your business income which means unless the Roth aspect is key to you it might be a wash. YMMV
by JamesSFO
Thu Oct 17, 2019 4:27 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Has anyone used MySolo401k.com, DiscountSolo401k.com, or Solo401k.com?
Replies: 150
Views: 21636

Re: Has anyone used MySolo401k.com, DiscountSolo401k.com, or Solo401k.com?

Vanguard has a basically $0 solo401K (no rollovers in allowed, but both roth traditional).

Fidelity I think also has a $0 one that accepts rollovers but last I recall didn't do roth

Why not use one of those two? Or Schwab's offering?
by JamesSFO
Mon Oct 14, 2019 12:21 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Business deduction: How to deduct mortgage interest for business when loan is in personal name?
Replies: 3
Views: 526

Re: Business deduction: How to deduct mortgage interest for business when loan is in personal name?

FWIW, I've gotten conflicting advice from CPAs on this. Our current CPA said the HELOC I used to temporarily fund a loan would not be deductible and the new CPA we had hired said it would be... YMMV.
by JamesSFO
Sun Oct 13, 2019 7:42 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Disadvantages to 401k Rollover into an IRA
Replies: 12
Views: 1750

Re: Disadvantages to 401k Rollover into an IRA

Duckie wrote: Sat Oct 12, 2019 8:37 pm
JamesSFO wrote:Biggest one for many is that you effectively cannot do a backdoor Roth IRA (if needed) without paying pro rata taxes on that IRA money.
With a SEP IRA at his new job he'll have a pro-rata problem even if he doesn't roll the 401k over to an IRA.
Good catch, I missed that on the first read.
by JamesSFO
Sat Oct 12, 2019 7:14 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Disadvantages to 401k Rollover into an IRA
Replies: 12
Views: 1750

Re: Disadvantages to 401k Rollover into an IRA

Biggest one for many is that you effectively cannot do a backdoor Roth IRA (if needed) without paying pro rata taxes on that IRA money.

Others may include lack of access to a loan (generally frowned upon here, but it is a loss)

Prior to hitting the income level where I needed to backdoor into Roths, I consolidated 401Ks when I left companies into a separate Rollover IRA account (useful to keep separate if you ever want to push back into a 401K and for creditor issues in some states) now, I am so glad I kept it separate because I pushed it into my current 401K so I could backdoor.
by JamesSFO
Sat Oct 05, 2019 1:52 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 401 K match
Replies: 25
Views: 2859

Re: 401 K match

I'm not sure how they can take the match from your salary. Is it possible you've misunderstood the summary plan description?

AFAIK, all 401K matches have to be from the employer (ER) side not the employee (EE) side, but perhaps the HCE aspect is in play?

Are you an HCE and subject to this issue? Maybe what they are doing is trying to avoid having to kick back your contributions at the cost of the (annoying) vesting schedule...
by JamesSFO
Wed Oct 02, 2019 10:09 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: If you use Vanguard (Brokerage), why do you stay?
Replies: 102
Views: 13326

Re: If you use Vanguard (Brokerage), why do you stay?

So historically I trade stocks 1-2x/year and the Vanguard site is fine for that (I also have Fidelity.)

With that low frequency it’s sort of a rounding error whether I paid a commission (don’t because Flagship and get 25 free), or not.

My guess is these changes are much more attractive to folks who trade daily/weekly at which point the commissions could add up.
by JamesSFO
Mon Sep 23, 2019 10:13 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Current 401K does not allow rollover
Replies: 12
Views: 933

Re: Current 401K does not allow rollover

Stinky wrote: Mon Sep 23, 2019 10:01 am Lobby your employer for a better plan. See link below.

https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/How_to_ ... 01(k)_plan

Good luck to you.
Just to be clear to the OP, there is no amount of lobbying that is likely to enable "in service" (e.g. while employed) IRA rollovers of traditional funds.
by JamesSFO
Sun Sep 15, 2019 8:27 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: solo 401(k)
Replies: 5
Views: 592

Re: solo 401(k)

VG solo401K is fine, cannot accept rollovers from IRAs but does offer a Roth option.

Keep in mind if you already did your Simple contributions for 2019 you might want to check professional tax advice about also establishing a 401K until 2019 vs. 2020.