Bogleheads.org

Lazareth

Thanks, I just went back and dug deeper, changing our dates of death to 100 and 90 years and a 20% cut in benefits in 2034. An immediate decision is to act on my current disappointment with Schwab and switch to V or F...or just let it ride. I will probably swallow my pride and stay (and pay for acc...

Lazareth

Bogleheads might be interested in today's Morningstar article about how active funds have lagged their passive benchmarks during the pandemic. The title says it all: 2020's Big Market Moves Catch Most Active Funds Flat-Footed Here's the link: https://www.morningstar.com/articles/1031333/2020s-big-ma...

Lazareth

This is why I like TurboTax. Each year TT tracks my gains and manage my capital loss carry-forwards from 2010 when I incurred significant advisor-driven losses especially in emerging-market, sector, and gold funds. TT takes the $3K each year off taxable income, and uses up more carried losses when I...

Lazareth

As a retiree I'm happy to re-balance into my bond fund at these stock-market peaks. (Schwab Aggregate Bond Index Fund. 50/50 AA.)

Lazareth

I agree that this thread should be about OP's need for umbrella insurance. While I am not admitted to practice law in OP's state, it appears that IRA accounts are only protected for 7% of the debtor's total income in the five years preceding the entry of judgment or the filing of bankruptcy. So if ...

Lazareth

I be interested to learn how others are successfully using Last Pass or any other PW manager, in a family/sharing situation like me. I've been using LastPass for many years and have the family plan with my wife and two teenage boys using it also. For sharing, I use shared folders (see Sharing Cente...

Lazareth

Helo80 wrote: ↑Sun Feb 21, 2021 1:42 pm Furthermore, once you go ADA, you never go back.

+1

Lazareth

I'm very happy with my Simplicity 24-inch, 9.5 HP, 2-stage, 5-speed forward, 2-speed reverse, electric start snowblower. Going on fifteen years of New England snowfall and running strong. Looks good too, I always brush it off after use. Silicone spray inside the shute to prevent snow and ice build-u...

Lazareth

Good to read this here, I'll look for bird's eye view in my next vehicle. Meanwhile, the next best thing for minivan users like me: about four years ago I paid a local car radio shop to install a quality aftermarket back-up camera and touch screen audio unit w/bluetooth /AUX/Pandora...etc., to my ol...

Lazareth

Been using LastPass Families for about two years, following a year on the free version. Lastpass is convenient across my several notebooks and desktops as well as my, and my wife's, phones. The "Family" version allows me to share PW's and log in info with my wife. The Family aspect is pret...

Lazareth

To the OP's initial question, my Generac 5K propane (500 gallon tank) standby generator (2001) worked great for 15 years, exercised weekly. It served us particularly well in the October 2011 New England ice storm that kept us w/o electricity for 9 days... typically unheard of in these parts. But whe...

Lazareth

We paid off the mortgage and are maintaining the bank-approved, and somewhat typical, homeowner's insurance policy. Age 66/64, healthy and semi-retired. From what I read in this forum it seems that, with net worth of around $2 mil (our $400K home and the balance in retirement savings), I should cons...

Lazareth

I use Schwab Aggregate Bond Fund SWAGX for my 50/50 three-fund portfolio. t-IRA's hold all the bond funds.

Bond fund forecasts in general, have been wrong for the past two decades it seems, so I don't pay much attention there. As a retiree I sleep better with the bond-anchor set.

Lazareth

If you want to transfer in dollars, convert to settlement account first in the IRA, then transfer, since shares of the settlement fund are dollars. Curious on this as I have a brokerage account and always a PITA with trying to transfer in dollars rather than shares. I usually have to guestimate sha...

Lazareth

Lots of "umbrella policy" advice. Is that different from homeowner's coverage? Does paying-off-the-mortgage typically trigger a change in insurance coverage? ...aside from eliminating the requirement by the mortgage-holder. A couple of years ago I saved about 30% on my homeowner's policy b...

Lazareth

I did a recent tIRA-to-Roth conversion. Schwab requires a phone call if you prefer to "journal" existing fund shares from the t-IRA to Roth. It was easy, no need to sell and re-purchase shares. I converted my mutual fund shares (not ETF's) and they journaled-over at the current posted shar...

Lazareth

I am invested in SWTSX. It is one holding in our $1.5 million Three-Fund Portfolio of taxable and retirement accounts, all at Schwab. Very happy with the performance. So nice to not be bothered picking stocks or worrying about which stock to buy or sell. Excellent service from Schwab when needed, e...

Lazareth

I am invested in SWTSX. It is one holding in our $1.5 million Three-Fund Portfolio of taxable and retirement accounts, all at Schwab. Very happy with the performance. So nice to not be bothered picking stocks or worrying about which stock to buy or sell. Excellent service from Schwab when needed, e...

Lazareth

I am invested in SWTSX. It is one holding in our $1.5 million Three-Fund Portfolio of taxable and retirement accounts, all at Schwab. Very happy with the performance. So nice to not be bothered picking stocks or worrying about which stock to buy or sell. Excellent service from Schwab when needed, ex...

Lazareth

... what do you need help with investing $750K? it's not that hard, pick up two (or three) broad market index funds and allocate between them, you are done. Then stay the course and you will be ahead of 99% of investors out there. Yes, that's what I did, picked three Schwab broad-market index funds...

Lazareth

529 didn't help. When our kids were ages 10 and 11, we funded a 529 with my $150K inheritance. Our retirement savings were sufficiently on track. But... Our son made last-minute choice to join the Air Force during his senior year high school, class of '17, and our daughter (HS class '15) chose commu...

Lazareth

What I'm learning about IRMAA is that it may pay to lump conversions, as with some other events. It can be worth the highest tax rates and IRMAA for one year or two years, if you can get into a lower tax rate and no IRMAA going forward. It sounds like you don't have enough tIRA funds for that to ap...

Lazareth

In March 2020 I converted $80K of stock funds in my traditional IRA, to my Roth IRA. I had expected that amount would fill the 12% joint income tax bracket. But earned income has been better than expected so I’ll be into the 22% bracket, for 2020, by about $20K. The “damage” from my miscalculation ...

Lazareth

Croatia. Visited in summer 2019, 12 days. Great value compared to more typical European destinations but with all the European/Mediterranean charm. Great food, crystal clear blue Adriatic. Easy flight Hartford>Dublin>Dubrovnik. Used Booking .com for accommodations. Rented a car and drove from Cavta...

Lazareth

Croatia. Visited in summer 2019, 12 days. Great value compared to more typical European destinations but with all the European/Mediterranean charm. Great food, crystal clear blue Adriatic. Easy flight Hartford>Dublin>Dubrovnik. Used Booking .com for accommodations. Rented a car and drove from Cavtat...

Lazareth

I had expected this to be about firewood.

Lazareth

Yoga.

It's my new lifestyle (at age 66) and I feel the best in 30+ years.

Lazareth

Congrat's on raising your child to this stage. I cant address your question directly but it might help to share my experience. Our 23 y/o just received her bachelor's degree from a state university and landed a good job in her field. I kept a spreadsheet of all costs. She had switched majors twice r...

Lazareth

Options trading, before I was a Boglehead, when I still thought I could outsmart the markets.

Lazareth

In March 2020 I converted $80K of stock funds in my traditional IRA, to my Roth IRA. I had expected that amount would fill the 12% joint income tax bracket. But earned income has been better than expected so I’ll be into the 22% bracket, for 2020, by about $20K. The “damage” from my miscalculation i...

Lazareth

Thanks for sharing. Good saving lesson for some here who post $8-12,000 monthly household spending. There is so much room for saving and still enjoy life. Didn’t follow the 8-12k spending comment. Can you clarify? Certainly, and sorry for being unclear. My comment refers to posters in the forum in ...

Lazareth

Thanks for sharing. Good saving lesson for some here who post $8-12,000 monthly household spending. There is so much room for saving and still enjoy life.

Lazareth

Good of you to want to help. I'd tell them financial security starts with saving. If unwilling to save 10% to 20%+ of the paycheck and learn to live on the rest, there's nothing else to discuss. Once convinced of that, and they will see saw how much they saved in six months to a year, then you can d...

Lazareth

Looks like Turbo Tax is the preferred choice vs H&R Block, and others despite TT's higher cost. I am a longtime user of TT Deluxe. It imports all my brokerage cost basis, 1099's, and transaction information directly from Charles Schwab. I rely on it to "remember" any carry forward items.

Lazareth

How about none? But seriously, since my mid-twenties I had been a pretty capable financial analyst with plenty of time and resources to investigate stocks for my retirement and taxable portfolio... hi-tech companies, biotech, energy, healthcare... growth, value, small cap...you name it. Being so sma...

Lazareth

Nice. Switched to xfinity mobile in the spring. Went from $140 a month with ATT to $53 a month. And that’s with 2 lines and 2 new iPhone 11s they gave me a $400 credit on. Once phones are paid off, bill goes to $12/mo for 1 GB data, no line fees. Not much, but like you we are always on WiFi so usua...

Lazareth

My trusty iPhone 5s had been having battery issues, and being unable to use newer apps and payment cards was becoming an issue. I figured it was time. My research pointed to the iPhone SE 2020 as a nice choice so I called Verizon Wireless. I wanted to talk to a human salesperson because they would c...

Lazareth

Yes. Postponed the vacation. Gas and restaurant way down. Grocery up a little bit, but enjoying home-cooked meals and smoothies, eating healthier... more gluten-free, less dairy. Took up beginner-yoga in May (thank you Youtube)... no equipment expense but $20 mat, no gym fees, no overworked muscles ...

Lazareth

I was self-employed for 30 years. I would pay the dental coverage premium just as any deductible business expense.

Lazareth

I wouldn't give it a second thought. If PMI gets you into the home, do it. It's a reasonable trade-off for the lower down payment.

Lazareth

At age 65, in 2018, I paid mine off. While I could certainly make a financial argument against it, I am very happy with the decision. It's like adding a chunk of bonds to my AA, but better... I look at is as a guaranteed 3.75% after tax return (my mortgage rate), which is not bad for a non-stock ass...

Lazareth

Try calling the local Senior Center, or Council on Aging. The one in our town has a helpful SHINE program counselor(Serving Health Information Needs of Elders). It's a Massachusetts insurance assistance program that provides free counseling and assistance to Massachusetts residents with Medicare.

Lazareth

It really is wild how many parents coddle their high school age kids then let them make a > $250,000 decision resulting in the same benefit as one that may have cost half that much.. And please don't get me wrong, it is their life, and their choice... but please for the love of all things holy make...

Lazareth

$75K each in two separate Nevada 529's when the kids were ages 8 and 10, in 2008. Turns out I over-budgeted. Oldest child just completed BS Criminal Justice for total $70K cash paid to the schools, and zero debt, and is now pursuing Master's at employer's expense. Plans to buy a home next year. How?...

Lazareth

I built an Excel spreadsheet that totals the three funds across all five Schwab accounts, it updates shares prices each day and provides a current snapshot of my total asset allocation, it calculates the deviation from target of each fund so that I can easily make adjusting trades in the big t-IRA....

Lazareth

Agree, that's a great outcome especially for someone with a $1.5M account not $15M. Why is that not a good outcome for someone with $15 million? You said you had a $1.5M account, right? My point is that's good service for someone with "only" a $1.5M account. I'm agreeing with you. :thumbsup

Lazareth

Schwab customer service is outstanding. For example in 2019 at stock market highs I liquidated enough to pay off the house mortgage and at the same time adjust my AA from 60/40 to 50/50 all per my age 65 plan. The cooperation I received from Schwab was outstanding, the person was apparently familia...

Lazareth

Schwab customer service is outstanding. For example in 2019 at stock market highs I liquidated enough to pay off the house mortgage and at the same time adjust my AA from 60/40 to 50/50 all per my age 65 plan. The cooperation I received from Schwab was outstanding, the person was apparently familia...

Lazareth

Agreed, no problem using Vanguard funds at Schwab. But, let me take the liberty of offering my first-hand endorsement of using three Schwab funds at Schwab. In 2018, emboldened by this forum, I terminated my AUM manager Portfolio Solutions (.375% fee). Since the funds were already in our Schwab acco...

Lazareth

Regarding children as CRUT trustees: If your children are trustees, they could take trustees' commissions (fees). The charity might serve for free but they might hire someone to "manage" the assets. The charity might not want you to give each child the right to change the charity or charit...

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