Search found 629 matches

by Charon
Mon Mar 18, 2024 7:40 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: how to enter solo 401(k) contributions in H&R Block online
Replies: 2
Views: 233

Re: how to enter solo 401(k) contributions in H&R Block online

BogleTaxPro wrote: Mon Mar 18, 2024 10:28 am I don't use the online software so I can't dupe exactly what you're seeing. But in the download software, during the interview there's a screen after you select the type of plan that asks whether you want Block to calculate the deduction or enter it yourself. Are you seeing that?
I don't think that exists in the online version :annoyed Thanks for letting me know that the download version works, though.
by Charon
Sun Mar 17, 2024 11:05 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: how to enter solo 401(k) contributions in H&R Block online
Replies: 2
Views: 233

how to enter solo 401(k) contributions in H&R Block online

In 2023 DW contributed some to her solo 401(k) on the employee side, none on the employer side. But I can't find anywhere to indicate on H&R Block's online forms which contributions were employee and which were employer, and so we're not getting the full tax credit. Help? I can see the line on the IRS tax form where I want to put the number, but I can't just put it there. Details: in previous years we could just enter the contribution total, which is what the IRS needs (1040 Schedule 1 line 16). But H&R Block has now added a calculation of the employer contribution limit to their online tax software. This might have been useful a few years back when I didn't know how to do this calculation (moderately complicated here as it's a sole...
by Charon
Wed Mar 13, 2024 9:33 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: SS is insufficient, very little savings, what's the best option
Replies: 49
Views: 7791

Re: SS is insufficient, very little savings, what's the best option

Tinkerer-in-Chief wrote: Wed Mar 13, 2024 8:57 pm including catch-up contributions she could shovel more than $75,000 per year into a Solo 401K
Unlikely. Even the most favorable filing status would require a net profit of >$208.5k to make this much in the way of contributions, so you're probably looking at gross business income of at least ~$250k.

These people are 70, barely own 55% of their house, and have a grand total of $20k in savings. They're not making >$250k/year.

I agree with earlier posters that savings won't make much of a difference at this point. It's worthwhile, but cutting costs will be crucial.
by Charon
Mon Mar 04, 2024 11:04 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Feels impossible to take the foot off the pedal of saving, but saving at the boglehead pace is stressful.
Replies: 88
Views: 13588

Re: Feels impossible to take the foot off the pedal of saving, but saving at the boglehead pace is stressful.

I realize that a lot of younger people visit this site which is wonderful. I tend to post when I see people being too negative or conservative in my opinion, so that the younger people understand that life isn't always bad or hard... So when I hear statements like "You can never save too much" or "You shouldn't spend money just for enjoyment" I have to chime in to help provide some balance. There definitely is some of that on this site, but I didn't see much of it in this thread. Also, think of what it does to the young people (or heck, the ordinary people) on this site when they see a post by someone who makes $312k/year and has >$1M net worth and is only saving in the 20s of % of their income says that they feel stres...
by Charon
Mon Mar 04, 2024 10:51 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Feels impossible to take the foot off the pedal of saving, but saving at the boglehead pace is stressful.
Replies: 88
Views: 13588

Re: Feels impossible to take the foot off the pedal of saving, but saving at the boglehead pace is stressful.

- I will add that it’s not hard at all to spend $150k/year with multiple kids, so don’t feel too bad for that! It actually is hard, given that the median household income for families with children under 18 is about $97k ( https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/cps-hinc/hinc-04.html#par_list_11 ). $150k household income (let alone spend ) would put you in the top 73%. $150k spend puts you so high the Census doesn't even distinguish you as anything other than "rich". I understand that high-income people have lots of things to spend money on. There are entire industries catering to the ultrawealthy (say, >$100M). Even billionaires can spend all their money. So it's "easy" to spend $150k in the ...
by Charon
Sun Jan 28, 2024 8:18 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Roth conversion
Replies: 41
Views: 2867

Re: Roth conversion

By delaying to December each year going forward, each conversion will have almost a year of market exposure eliminated by not having performed them in January originally. Since the market tends to go up over time - time in the market is better than not. This isn't true if the money to be converted is invested the same as the Roth (which is pretty common, at least approximately). You're in the market the whole year either way. Now, if you're paying the conversion taxes from a taxable cash account, then you end up slightly ahead by converting earlier, but only because you effectively invested that cash. If you invested your taxable account, then it's a wash. OP: it's a wash. Don't sweat it. I convert late in the year because that's when I ha...
by Charon
Fri Jan 19, 2024 2:49 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: What should bond percentage be when starting from zero in mid-40s?
Replies: 36
Views: 4033

Re: What should bond percentage be when starting from zero in mid-40s?

Moe Sanders wrote: Tue Jan 16, 2024 12:31 am Don’t ever add bonds. If stocks crash in retirement, keep buying the falling the knife
So... you'll have no bonds and no income (because you're retired), and yet you're proposing buying stocks. It's unclear what funds are being used for the purchases, because no bonds and no income.
by Charon
Wed Jan 17, 2024 7:17 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Best way to be a first-time home buyer if I intend to move in three years?
Replies: 54
Views: 6575

Re: Best way to be a first-time home buyer if I intend to move in three years?

JustGotScammed wrote: Tue Jan 16, 2024 8:21 pm I'll be looking to buy a larger home in 2027 or 2028
May I ask why you'll be looking for a larger home? Home sizes today are already ridiculously big - is there a specific reason why you'll need a large one? (And "kids" is not a great reason, unless you're planning on 12 of them - the average family size has been dropping for decades while the average home size has been substantially increasing.)

You'll save yourself a lot of headache and a lot of money if you abandon the idea of a "starter home" and just call it "home". Assess what you actually want, as opposed to just keeping up with the Joneses.
by Charon
Sun Jan 14, 2024 6:00 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Convert t401k and a taxable to Roth IRA?
Replies: 17
Views: 1779

Re: Convert t401k and a taxable to Roth IRA?

Vanguard User wrote: Sun Jan 14, 2024 3:49 pm I don’t have traditional IRA. Just traditional 401k from my employer, Roth IRA and taxable accounts.

What do you suggest?
I suggest you think about why you want to put everything in post-tax accounts (Roth and taxable). That's not normally optimal. In fact, it's never optimal to have everything post tax.
by Charon
Sun Jan 14, 2024 5:55 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Determining the "contributions" part of Roth IRA
Replies: 47
Views: 3909

Re: Determining the "contributions" part of Roth IRA

Yes. Your contributions are what you contributed, and that's the amount that can be withdrawn penalty free (subject to proper holding times, of course).
by Charon
Sun Jan 14, 2024 10:53 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Our Plan To Sell Everything & Travel Full-Time - Plan & Portfolio Review Request
Replies: 65
Views: 11357

Re: Our Plan To Sell Everything & Travel Full-Time - Plan & Portfolio Review Request

We plan to start our travels in SEA I mean, I like Seattle-Tacoma International Airport too, but I'm not sure I'd want to spend days there, let alone weeks or months :wink: Sorry for this unhelpful contribution, but listen, if you're not going to define your acronyms, I'm going to define them for you! Incidentally, to the other poster who wondered, "FTL" means "faster than light", which is a super useful capability for an international traveler. Though be warned that breaking the laws of physics is illegal in some jurisdictions :wink: On a more serious note, your plans sound utterly exhausting to me, but I hope they're all you dreamed of. Just be cognizant of that difference others have pointed to, that "life"...
by Charon
Sat Jan 13, 2024 11:26 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is anybody actually running out of money in retirement?
Replies: 201
Views: 46586

Re: Is anybody actually running out of money in retirement?

The government pays out way more than you put in. I figured out I put in at most 40k, and my employers the same. So 80k put in. I will get aver 50k per year at 70. The inputs and outputs do not match. Double check your calculations. To get $50k/year of SS benefits at age 70 you need to have had 35 years of income almost at the maximum that's taxed for SS. (About $158k/year will do it, in 2024 dollars. Do a quick check on https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/quickcalc/ with this level of income and age 70 collection.) SS tax is 12.4%, so you and your employer will have paid in 35 * $158k * 0.124 = $685k (in 2024 dollars). That is almost an order of magnitude larger than your $80k estimate. (It occurs to me that you may not be adjusting for inflation in...
by Charon
Thu Jan 11, 2024 8:16 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Tradit. and Roth IRA (confusion on limitations)
Replies: 17
Views: 2508

Re: Tradit. and Roth IRA (confusion on limitations)

CheekyChops_0305 wrote: Wed Jan 10, 2024 6:35 pm I will plan to increase my 401k Roth contribution to 6 percent to help max it out.
I would not recommend this. At your income, I would maximize tax-deductible (traditional) contributions over Roth for your 401(k). Indeed this is what sailaway was recommending: "I personally choose to make maximum traditional contributions at around your income". This is because I would expect your marginal tax rate to be lower in retirement than it is now.

The backdoor Roth is a different story. You can't make deductible trad IRA contributions, so the backdoor Roth is the way to go for high earners.
by Charon
Thu Jan 11, 2024 8:13 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Tradit. and Roth IRA (confusion on limitations)
Replies: 17
Views: 2508

Re: Tradit. and Roth IRA (confusion on limitations)

celia wrote: Wed Jan 10, 2024 11:24 pm The good news is that you can do a Backdoor Roth for up to $6,500 for 2023 and $7,000 for 2024.
Note that the OP cannot do a backdoor Roth for 2023 at this point. We are after Dec. 31, and you can no longer do Roth conversions for 2023.
by Charon
Wed Jan 10, 2024 10:37 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Where do you bank and why? 2024 Edition
Replies: 113
Views: 14688

Re: Where do you bank and why? 2024 Edition

Local credit union. Also for the mortgage, as they had the best rate and they also hold all their mortgages. I mostly deal with them online, but sometimes I need something more and then I can go in and talk with real people who are actually helpful. When rates were low their CDs had the best rates around (even compared to online), but these days I'm parking short-term cash in VMFXX.

It's just nice to know that I'm banking with someone who isn't trying to screw over me or anyone else.
by Charon
Tue Jan 09, 2024 11:13 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Best suggestion for low effort investment plan
Replies: 10
Views: 1503

Re: Best suggestion for low effort investment plan

You came to the right place for advice on such approaches :D The simplest approach that is good enough is a single fund. Target date funds will glide towards more bonds as you approach retirement (e.g., Vanguard Target 2050), while balanced funds will have a fix allocation in stocks vs. bonds (e.g., Vanguard LifeStrategy). You need to pick an asset allocation that you feel comfortable with, and then you can just put contributions on autopilot and basically never think about it again. This is a great approach in tax-advantaged plans like IRAs and 401(k)s, but has some drawbacks for taxable accounts. The next level in complexity is a three- or four-fund portfolio ( https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Three-fund_portfolio ). This has some modest a...
by Charon
Tue Jan 09, 2024 11:03 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Backdoor Roth conversion question
Replies: 10
Views: 1440

Re: Backdoor Roth conversion question

Pro rata considers all deductible traditional IRA money and earnings, regardless of where it is ( https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Backdoor_Roth ). Rolling over a 401(k) into an IRA is opposite of what you want to do for a backdoor Roth, which would be to roll trad IRA money into a 401(k) (if allowed).
by Charon
Sat Jan 06, 2024 5:55 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Feeling overwhelmed by investment/retirement planning
Replies: 12
Views: 1806

Re: Feeling overwhelmed by investment/retirement planning

Quick overview: We've got too much of our money in savings accounts/CDs/checking accounts and haven't done anything with our 401k's/403b. Certain we are doing this all wrong and all that money could be going to better use, but we have both been getting too overwhelmed when trying to figure out how to invest properly. Your use of a Vanguard Target Date fund is a perfect place to start. A simple one-fund approach. Pat yourself on the back for that. Also, you have a lot of money for your age, so you're going to be fine (as long as you don't overextend yourself financially, like buying apartments you don't need... *cough* *cough*.) Taxable accounts are a bit more complicated, but it's not the end of the world to use a one-fund approach there t...
by Charon
Thu Jan 04, 2024 10:58 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: The Traditional vs. Roth Split Decision: As Insanely Complex as It Seems?
Replies: 156
Views: 21499

Re: The Traditional vs. Roth Split Decision: As Insanely Complex as It Seems?

tibbitts wrote: Thu Jan 04, 2024 10:50 pm You can cost yourself a lot if you defer at 0-20% and pay at 30% or more.
Can you cite examples of a couple earning less than about $27k per year (0% federal tax) having a retirement where they've oversaved so much that their RMDs are >$400k (into the 30s of %)? (Even if one of them died, the other would still need nearly $200k per year of RMDs.)

I take your point, but you seem to be exaggerating a lot.
by Charon
Thu Jan 04, 2024 10:55 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: The Traditional vs. Roth Split Decision: As Insanely Complex as It Seems?
Replies: 156
Views: 21499

Re: The Traditional vs. Roth Split Decision: As Insanely Complex as It Seems?

OP, your list would be useful if you were quantifying each aspect and using it to come to a decision. But it doesn't appear that you are - instead, you just seem paralyzed by the complexity. And I'm not blaming you for this. It seems like a fool's errand to predict an unexpected death or the chance of divorce decades hence. So this is not a useful list for you . Put some in Roth, some in traditional, and then stop worrying about it. The typical "401(k) in traditional and IRA in Roth" isn't a bad place to start. Just like with US/international, equities/bonds, and so on, recognize that the Boglehead approach is about the portfolio being good enough . Looking back, it's almost certain that whatever mix you pick you'll find that it w...
by Charon
Fri Dec 29, 2023 2:25 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Balanced fund?
Replies: 15
Views: 2420

Re: Balanced fund?

But in a tax-deferred account like this, why not just use a balanced fund? That way you don't have to manually rebalance, and you aren't confronted with your gains vs. the gains of some other portfolio. Set and forget. Won't make much difference to your returns, and it'll better shield you from behavioral mistakes.

[Side note: yes, balanced funds won't do exactly what your three-fund is doing because of whatever personal quirks you have in your account - in your case that's no international and half of bonds in Treasuries - but these things also aren't likely to much affect your long-term returns. And there are various kinds of balanced funds, and as you point out FBALX has very little international.]
by Charon
Sun Sep 03, 2023 11:33 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What's the worst annual return on physical real estate?
Replies: 76
Views: 10586

Re: What's the worst annual return on physical real estate?

OP, I think the point is that it's hard to answer your question because there is a fat tail of extreme events due to the heavy concentration in a particular asset. And I'm not just talking meth labs, but things like widespread flooding in areas where few carried flood insurance because it didn't used to be a thing. You could try getting some sense by looking at averages in places that were attractive to many but strongly impacted by the Great Recession. For example, Las Vegas housing prices fell about 35% in one year (and over 60% peak to bottom, and didn't recover to 14+ years; https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/ATNHPIUS29820Q or https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LVXRNSA). Miami wasn't too far behind. But heed the points made above: stock...
by Charon
Wed Aug 30, 2023 10:17 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 52 week low averaging vs dollar cost averaging? Buying index funds when they hit 52 week lows?
Replies: 22
Views: 2346

Re: 52 week low averaging vs dollar cost averaging? Buying index funds when they hit 52 week lows?

In a bull market there are always contractions and you'd be buying much more irregularly. And missing most of the gains. Others have already pointed this out, but your strategy might well leave you out of the market for several years. And while by definition you'll have the best price in the past year (ignoring dividends...), that's often a substantially higher price than you would have had at the beginning of your several-year wait. Looking at VTSAX last decade, your strategy would have had you buy a little in September 2011, but not buy anything again until September 2015. And while there were 52-week lows in September 2015, the absolute lowest price of that period was still higher than at any point before May 2014, and you'd have lost o...
by Charon
Tue Aug 22, 2023 10:00 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Vanguard Total Bond/Van Target 2025
Replies: 3
Views: 813

Re: Vanguard Total Bond/Van Target 2025

Can you explain your reasoning for keeping two separate funds here? Normally the reason to have a target date fund is for that to be a single-fund solution that smoothly glides into retirement. Your current overall allocation is extremely similar to the target 2020 fund, without the advantages of automatic rebalancing. (This asset allocation would be roughly what Vanguard expects a recent retiree to have, although many on this forum support more aggressive portfolios even in retirement. If you're not retired, this is a very conservative asset allocation.) Since you're worrying about the performance of one particular fund in your portfolio, I'd say you're a great candidate for choosing just a single target date fund and using only that. Just...
by Charon
Thu Aug 17, 2023 11:44 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Increase or Decrease Roth Conversions following Market Correction
Replies: 3
Views: 817

Re: Increase or Decrease Roth Conversions following Market Correction

In the simple case where your tax rates are the same now and in retirement, there is no advantage to converting in a down market. There is no penalty either. It makes no difference at all. Math version of the explanation: https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6668687&sid=ba1f86f3dc6f4723194b4817763c1a18#p6668687 Word version of the explanation: https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6668684&sid=12299069f1c4159292142445e728b32c#p6668684 Now, there are plenty of situations where this does not apply. JBTX proposes one here, where you can effectively lower your current tax rate due to losses in a taxable account. OP, you raise another, where presumably the concern about RMDs is about them pushing you into a higher f...
by Charon
Thu Aug 17, 2023 12:18 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Reduce 40k contributions or pull from Roth?
Replies: 23
Views: 1890

Re: Reduce 40k contributions or pull from Roth?

KlangFool wrote: Wed Aug 16, 2023 9:51 pm B) Does it makes sense to take a HELOC for 2 to 3 years?
No, given that HELOC rates are around 9% these days.
by Charon
Sun Aug 13, 2023 12:58 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Lump Sum vs Pension for University of California - Why is the answer so obvious?
Replies: 69
Views: 9720

Re: Lump Sum vs Pension for University of California - Why is the answer so obvious?

This is a common misconception. The percentage of the UC budget derived from the state is just 7%. This inclues tuition (55% of UC students pay no tuition) and state finances. So when the governor says he increased funding by 5% he just went from 7% to 7.35% The bulk of the funding from UC comes from overhead from research grants. And the University owns the patents to the inventions derived during the grants which gains them a lucrative secondardy income source. None of this is true at all . See https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4511 . It's true that state funding and tuition don't form the bulk of the revenue for the UC system, but they are a considerable portion (about 23% in FY21, well over your claimed 7%). Grant overhead is sign...
by Charon
Wed Aug 09, 2023 12:39 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: "Upgrading" a Subaru Forester to a Tesla Model Y?
Replies: 133
Views: 13311

Re: "Upgrading" a Subaru Forester to a Tesla Model Y?

Maybe I missed it, but why do you have a Forester in the first place? I own a Subaru because they have good ground clearance and decent rough-road capability while still being pretty efficient. I've driven through a foot of snow, some of the easier 4WD roads in national forests, and so on. It's also long range (~500 miles, up to 600 at high altitude), which I've made real use of in remote areas. The Model Y has its positives, but it's not a real SUV. It has nothing like the capability of a Forester, and it has less than half the range. If you never leave pavement in cities or along major highways then that's no problem, but then we get to a perplexing question of why you would own a high-clearance AWD vehicle in the first place. But I'm not...
by Charon
Thu Aug 03, 2023 9:50 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: capital gains tax for home sale with divorce and living trust
Replies: 19
Views: 1996

Re: capital gains tax for home sale with divorce and living trust

MarkNYC wrote: Thu Aug 03, 2023 9:48 am Since each spouse is a co-owner of the house, each spouse should be entitled to a $250K exclusion on their portion of the gain from the sale, regardless of whether the sale takes place before or after the divorce is final and regardless of filing status.

Prior to closing, the two co-owners should submit to the closing agent a written request to have the sales proceeds allocated 50% to each co-owner. This will cause the closing agent to file a separate Form 1099-S to each co-owner which will help simplify the income tax reporting of the sale, assuming a joint return is not filed for the year of the sale.
Thanks!
by Charon
Thu Aug 03, 2023 9:49 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: capital gains tax for home sale with divorce and living trust
Replies: 19
Views: 1996

Re: capital gains tax for home sale with divorce and living trust

single2019 wrote: Thu Aug 03, 2023 8:45 am What was the purpose of creating the trust?
I'm assuming to avoid probate. Pretty common in CA.
by Charon
Thu Aug 03, 2023 1:02 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: capital gains tax for home sale with divorce and living trust
Replies: 19
Views: 1996

Re: capital gains tax for home sale with divorce and living trust

Agreed that an attorney would be the best approach, but they didn't get such legal advice when I first suggested it (two years ago... sigh) and now are last-minute panicking.

They're in CA, which is a community property state. The house was acquired while they were married (they are both on title), and the trust formed later. So the trust is marital property. Their divorce agreement requires that the house be sold and the proceeds split 50/50.
by Charon
Wed Aug 02, 2023 6:00 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: capital gains tax for home sale with divorce and living trust
Replies: 19
Views: 1996

capital gains tax for home sale with divorce and living trust

Trying to answer a question for a family member, but I'm out of my depth and would appreciate some pointers on where to find this info. The situation is a couple who is divorcing and selling their home, which is held in a living trust that will dissolve when they divorce. Does the order of "divorce then sell" or "sell then divorce" matter in a situation like this? Does it matter if they file 2023 taxes as married (delaying the divorce until January) or file single? The home has substantial appreciation (over the exemption limit). I know in a simple case the sequence wouldn't matter, because the capital gains exemption for a single filer is half that for a married filer. The divorce agreement says the home will be sold an...
by Charon
Mon May 29, 2023 9:36 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Interesting article on 4 % SWR being too conservative for FIRE
Replies: 10
Views: 1715

Re: Interesting article on 4 % SWR being too conservative for FIRE

That author is entirely focused on very early retirement (30s or 40s) by someone who has substantial flexibility in spending. Note that "flexibility in spending" assumes substantial savings (or a sometimes very optimistic view of the ease of returning to the workforce), because your withdrawal rate covers needs but also a large amount of things that are just wants. If you have such flexibility, then something like VPW ( https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Variable_percentage_withdrawal ) or more generally ABW ( https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Amortization_based_withdrawal ) are better methods than fixed inflation-adjusted dollar amounts. Safe withdrawal rates have been discussed extensively on the forum, but the wiki is a good place t...
by Charon
Sat May 27, 2023 9:36 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Teaching College Students about Personal Finance
Replies: 20
Views: 2511

Re: Teaching College Students about Personal Finance

The Index Card (Olen & Pollack) is a very good basic introduction. Could be appropriate for the Wellness class. I'd be more suspicious of introducing such things into your senior seminar, given that you're in Exercise Science... seems a little beyond your remit. (Someone at your institution should have expertise in teaching these topics. You'll have to poke around a little to figure out who. At my institution, there's a finance program in Business that has relevant classes, but Economics doesn't touch this stuff.)
by Charon
Sun Apr 30, 2023 11:49 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 401k balance by age 35-40 years old
Replies: 34
Views: 5599

Re: 401k balance by age 35-40 years old

Exactly what Target date fund and what is expense ratio? It’s through Fidelity… and embarrassing enough, I don’t know the exact expense ratio, which I really should. Do check this. As I said, target date funds can be great... but Fidelity has two kinds. Fidelity Freedom funds have high expense ratios (e.g., the 2050 FFFHX costs 0.75% ER), whereas Fidelity Freedom Index funds (e.g., the 2050 FIPFX) are fine (0.12% ER). For comparison, Vanguard's 2050 target date fund (VFIFX) has an ER of 0.08%. (Some of this may vary if you have a workplace plan; check your specifics.) I'm not as opposed to the "multiples of salary" advice as some on this forum. I think it's a somewhat useful set of guidelines for people who aren't saving a whole ...
by Charon
Sun Apr 30, 2023 11:24 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Asset allocation retiring 6/1
Replies: 5
Views: 1121

Re: Asset allocation retiring 6/1

It would be helpful to post your portfolio following the standards in viewtopic.php?t=6212 .

Among other things, I'm confused that you're talking about Roth conversions when you don't state that you have any Roth assets (only a 401(k) that you suggest is tax deferred, because you talk about wanting bonds in there, and a taxable account).
by Charon
Fri Apr 28, 2023 9:58 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 401k balance by age 35-40 years old
Replies: 34
Views: 5599

Re: 401k balance by age 35-40 years old

Markets have ups and downs. Some years you check in and say "wow, I didn't know I had that much in there", and other years you say "wow, I thought I had more in there".

You're doing the right thing by continuing to contribute, but don't get too hung up on specific targets when you're still quite a ways from retirement. Your return over a time frame of one or two years is noise and should be ignored.

Target date funds are perfectly good. And the beauty of them is that you never actually have to check your balance (or maybe just check once a year).
by Charon
Mon Mar 27, 2023 11:15 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Help us to retire in 10 years
Replies: 27
Views: 4061

Re: Help us to retire in 10 years

stoptothink wrote: Mon Mar 27, 2023 6:42 am We have saved enough in 529s to cover 4yrs at public U in our state (at current costs)...it's a heck of a lot less than $100k/each
Are you accounting for tuition (and fees) only, or full cost of attendance? Are you referring to the state flagship, or any public college? Every college is required to have a cost of attendance page, and I'm not seeing any flagships that are "a heck of a lot less than" $25k/year for the full cost of attendance (having just checked CA, WA, CO, MI, VA, and NC). But tuition and fees are not the majority of the cost (only 34% of the total cost at UC Berkeley, 24% of the total cost at the University of Colorado, etc.).
by Charon
Mon Mar 27, 2023 11:09 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Help us to retire in 10 years
Replies: 27
Views: 4061

Re: Help us to retire in 10 years

I think $100K will pay a four year degree at a top tier in state university in many places. For example at the University of Colorado School of Engineering each semester is about $7500 right now. Books and room and board at another $10K ($25K a year all in) CU's own estimate is $34k/year for engineering ( https://www.colorado.edu/bursar/undergraduate-costs-by-tier#undergraduate-colorado-resident ). I just checked the University of Washington and the University of Michigan, and they were very similar, to give examples of a couple other state flagships. There is some variation across the country (UNC Chapel Hill is cheaper, UC Berkeley and UVA are more expensive), but you seem to be underestimating cost to residential students at state flags...
by Charon
Mon Mar 20, 2023 12:46 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Collecting social security - transitioning to nonresident alien with < 40 credits but lived > 10 yrs
Replies: 7
Views: 840

Re: Collecting social security - transitioning to nonresident alien with < 40 credits but lived > 10 yrs

That booklet appears to be about continuation of benefits that you're already receiving. Key in what what you quote is "You are receiving benefits based on your own earnings [emphasis added]".

Given that no one is eligible for SS retirement benefits until they get 40 credits, I don't see how you could start such benefits, let alone continue them.

Disability has a lower threshold. Go to ssa.gov to download your statement and see your current eligibility.
by Charon
Mon Mar 20, 2023 12:30 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Roth Conversion Questions
Replies: 26
Views: 2383

Re: Roth Conversion Questions

delamer wrote: Sun Mar 19, 2023 1:44 pm It doesn’t make sense to do a Roth conversion while at the same time contributing to tax-deferred plans.
Sure it does. For example, last year my contributions to tax-deferred plans lowered us into the 12% bracket, and then I Roth converted to the top of it. Roth converting while contributing to tax deferred is essentially like making a larger Roth contribution than you otherwise could, which is something many would want to do.

However, in the case of the OP, I agree with the consensus here that he should wait to convert, as he expects to be in a lower bracket after retirement.
by Charon
Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:24 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Accredited Investors - any benefit for diversification?
Replies: 54
Views: 3372

Re: Accredited Investors - any benefit for diversification?

OldSport wrote: Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:07 pm How would one even begin to find something legitimate in this space?
It would help if you could explain why you wanted to do this in the first place. So you could invest in hedge funds - why would you want to? If you can explain that, then people on this forum might be able to help you. Are you looking for higher return than the normal stock market? An asset class anticorrelated with the normal stock market? Why are you interested in this opportunity? You didn't address my question above about what this has to do with diversification.
by Charon
Sun Mar 19, 2023 5:51 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Accredited Investors - any benefit for diversification?
Replies: 54
Views: 3372

Re: Accredited Investors - any benefit for diversification?

You're thinking of investing in risky securities not registered with the SEC for diversification? I imagine there are some people who want to do this to be at the high end of the risk/reward relationship (like those who leverage), but why would someone choose to do this for diversification?

Full disclosure, I don't meet the criteria for this and had never heard of it before this post, but the fact that when you search for it in Google there are a lot of sponsored adds at the top tells you most of what you need to know. This status largely seems like the SEC has deemed you rich enough that you can afford to lose a bunch of money, and there are many firms eager to help you out with that.
by Charon
Tue Mar 07, 2023 5:52 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Replace Wife's 10 Year Old Hybrid - Seeking Unbiased Input
Replies: 61
Views: 7370

Re: Replace Wife's 10 Year Old Hybrid - Seeking Unbiased Input

Because I'm in a high electricity price area with relatively low gas prices, for me, if I owned a plug in hybrid, I would never plug in because electric cost per mile is much higher than gas price per mile. I've done the math for my own Subaru Crosstrek vs a Tesla Model 3 single motor and the Crosstrek is cheaper. A co-worker bought a new Camry hybrid and kept good records of actual mpg and it costs HALF what that Tesla costs per mile. Holy cow, where do you live? At the state level, the cheapest gas is about $3/gallon (Texas and some south-central states), but electricity in those states averages only about $0.13/kWh. The Tesla Model 3 uses about 0.25 kWh/mile, so for a gas car to equal this cost with the numbers used here it would have t...
by Charon
Tue Mar 07, 2023 12:04 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: contribute all to solo 401K?
Replies: 6
Views: 481

Re: contribute all to solo 401K?

Nyc10036 wrote: Tue Mar 07, 2023 11:04 am If I put all of the money into the solo 401K can I also contribute to a Roth IRA as well?
Like any other 401(k), solo 401(k) contribution limits are independent of IRA limits. However, I can't say "yes" to your question without knowing your income and your contributions to other workplace retirement plans.
by Charon
Wed Feb 22, 2023 10:35 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: why would you buy mutual funds when the ETF is cheaper?
Replies: 86
Views: 10342

Re: why would you buy mutual funds when the ETF is cheaper?

muel87 wrote: Mon Feb 20, 2023 3:28 pm I have an automatic monthly withdraw from my bank to my Vanguard settlement fund, and then I log in and do a market order for my ETF. Is that unwise?
No... but I think it wiser to automate it completely. This keeps you from checking your account balance so frequently, and keeps you from thinking about share prices at all. The less tinkering you're tempted into, and the more decisions you can automate, the better your long-term outcomes. These are far bigger potential costs than 0.01% of additional ER.

But personally, I'm also making the decision because I use a single target-date fund approach. (I'm taking automation seriously. Don't want to mess with rebalancing either.)
by Charon
Tue Feb 21, 2023 5:11 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Gas Furnance Replacement vs Other Options
Replies: 52
Views: 6253

Re: Gas Furnance Replacement vs Other Options

1. Absolutely; a heat pump is perfect for you. In Seattle, you don't even need the newest technology low-temperature systems. Regular old heat pumps will work fabulously. I'm on the other side of your state, and they work well even for us, but they'll work extremely well for you. We have a variable speed system that we often don't know is even running because the air flow is so low, just keeping the house comfortable for us. Electricity is fairly cheap in Seattle, so running costs shouldn't be much of an issue for you. But given that you currently have a ducted system, mini splits (ductless) systems probably don't make sense for you. I also personally don't like them (they're ugly on the walls, and annoying to adjust one by one), but I know...
by Charon
Mon Feb 20, 2023 2:27 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: College costs
Replies: 83
Views: 6805

Re: College costs

My parents made their children get jobs to pay for their own college tuitions. It worked out. Would you say that method would work today? I'm genuinely curious to know your thoughts and a process you would recommend. I am sure it would work today. Crunch the numbers and get back to me on this with details, including a comparison to what you and your siblings earned and had to pay for school. You may discuss several states other than the CA example I discuss above. Randomly checking Utah, I see the University of Utah has tuition and fees of $9002 and a minimum wage of $7.25/hour, meaning tuition and fees are 1242 hours of minimum-wage work (31 full-time weeks). North Carolina (UNC) is nearly identical to Utah. The chart at https://education...
by Charon
Mon Feb 20, 2023 2:11 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: College costs
Replies: 83
Views: 6805

Re: College costs

i worked my way through college but today’s ratio of college costs to the earnings potential of an 19 year old make this difficult for the present generation of hs graduates. Good on you because it was never easy even back in the day. Not every college student goes to a high cost institution nowadays. Of the $30K you mentioned, probably only $14K or less is tuition. At least that's the cost in my state. This is one place where the disconnect between older and younger folks is particularly stark. With all due respect, livesoft, you're very out of touch. The "I worked my way through college" trope is very common in those who went to college more than ~30 years ago, without understanding the reality of today. No, it was never super ...
by Charon
Mon Feb 20, 2023 1:29 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Rebalancing 401K for 2023
Replies: 16
Views: 1854

Re: Rebalancing 401K for 2023

The Boglehead community doesn't agree on too much, but "never try to time the market" is a key one. Also "invest with simplicity". https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Bogleheads%C2%AE_investment_philosophy So rebalancing "for 2023" isn't really a thing. Rebalancing is to get back to some asset allocation that you chose for some reason, not to actively modify your AA for the current market. There are a few people on this forum who factor tilt, but even then few of them would actively modify the tilt. (What little benefit is suggested by research is long-term benefit.) At your age, income, and portfolio size, the most important thing is how much you contribute. And you have the capacity to contribute a lot, definitel...