Bogleheads.org

Hypothetically, if you were to delay SS until age 70, approximately what fraction/percentage of your current portfolio would you have to spend down in order to do it? Also, what fraction of your expenses would SS cover if you took it now? What fraction would it be if you waited until 70? In my case, just to give one data point: I retired at 63, so I had seven years of expenses to cover until age 70. I estimated that I would need to spend a total of about 10%-15% of my portfolio at that time in order to cover those expenses. If I had started SS at 63, it would not have covered my expenses, whereas if I waited until 70, it likely would cover my expenses then. I'm now 70, and started SS at the beginning of this year. My portfolio is now about...

If I bought a three-year MYGA with funds from Fido T-IRA, what would the process be for moving funds back to Fido T-IRA at the end of the three years (assuming I choose not to re-up)?

Picasso wrote: ↑Tue Aug 20, 2024 10:28 am

Gort wrote: ↑Tue Aug 20, 2024 9:54 am

Picasso wrote: ↑Mon Aug 19, 2024 9:21 pm Not to be a downer here or seem aloof, but if a $500 delta seems massive I’d like to invite you to visit my health insurer operations team.

Last week we saw a nephrologist charging $210k for a $1200 in-office procedure.

I’d just pay the bill and move on.

How can someone charge $210,000 for a $1,200 in-office procedure?

Did you pay the $210,000 and move on?

I like to say: people dislike health insurers for things that they shouldn't, but there are other things they should dislike us for that they don't know

Please share these things.

Leave the daughter home and purchase a business seat for yourself.

es2705 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 27, 2024 12:46 pm Hi fellow Bogleheads,

Posting to see if any of you or those in your networks left teaching early on in your career for other fields and occupations. I haven’t seen a post of this nature on the forum, so figured I’d ask, especially given the state of teaching these days. (Some previous posts on the subject were geared towards teachers considering leaving the profession at a much, much later stage in their careers and so closer to retirement).

Higher ed, or K-12?

whodidntante wrote: ↑Thu Aug 15, 2024 12:47 pm Look on the bright side if you ever forget your social security number, you can look it up on the dark web

I think that using a social security number for anything other than tracking social security tax payments and benefits has always been problematic. It's not even close to being a secure authentication mechanism. I hope one day that banks and medical providers will understand more about security than could be gained by listening to a TED talk, but I fear my optimism may be unfounded.

I'm surprised that Big Brother biometrics is taking so long to become the protection mechanism of choice for government, businesses, and consumers by now.

abc132 wrote: ↑Wed Aug 07, 2024 5:55 pm

watchnerd wrote: ↑Wed Aug 07, 2024 6:10 am

TipsQuestions wrote: ↑Wed Aug 07, 2024 12:08 am I reallocated more of my portfolio to individual TIPS with each .1% real yield increase last year. Now retired, I won't buy more unless yields rise to 2.7%.

Last time TIPS >2.7% real was in late 2008 in the midst of the GFC.

Which is juicy, but as Bernstein notes, stock prices were even juicier.

We also have the late 1990's where we could get 3-4% while stocks were definitely not juicier.

https://tradingeconomics.com/united-sta ... tips-yield

2% is about the average TIPS return. Is there a bunch of recency bias, fighting only the last battle?

Stocks were not juicer than 3-4% in the late 1990s? Huh?

ScubaHogg wrote: ↑Sat Aug 03, 2024 2:58 pm Yet another plug for

Tpawplanner.com

Very useful tool. Thanks for posting.

if I get a 5% real return this year I'll be happy. +1 Actually in mid July I already had 5.45 percent gain, with an unreasonable YTD monthly haul that I knew couldn't last, so I pulled out. The Schiller PE also got to the third highest level in history. The volatility around July 17 reminded me of the volatility just prior to the dot-com blowout. I don't advocate doing what I did, but at my age I'm averse to losing money. The funny thing about Buffet's famous rule "don't lose money" is that he doesn't say how. When the VIX dies down I'll go back to my 30 percent equity allocation. So you're completely out of the market? What number exactly qualifies as the VIX "dying down"? I'm 5% equities at the moment. Actually my bei...

Claudia Whitten wrote: ↑Mon Aug 05, 2024 9:40 am

stocknoob4111 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 05, 2024 9:38 am if I get a 5% real return this year I'll be happy.

+1

Actually in mid July I already had 5.45 percent gain, with an unreasonable YTD monthly haul that I knew couldn't last, so I pulled out. The Schiller PE also got to the third highest level in history. The volatility around July 17 reminded me of the volatility just prior to the dot-com blowout. I don't advocate doing what I did, but at my age I'm averse to losing money. The funny thing about Buffet's famous rule "don't lose money" is that he doesn't say how. When the VIX dies down I'll go back to my 30 percent equity allocation.

So you're completely out of the market? What number exactly qualifies as the VIX "dying down"?

mark_in_denver wrote: ↑Mon Aug 05, 2024 10:07 am But it's easy to illustrate a tough portfolio stance when the market isn't even close to being down for the year. If it's down 40-50% after a couple of brutal years with some false rallies to kill confidence further, all bets are off.

"All bets are off." Huh?

If you live near a casino/card room, learn how to play poker and make an extra $3-10k a month in your spare time. Anyone with half a brain can get pretty good at it relatively quickly. Bruh, what happens when you get a roomful of people all with half a brain and all wanting to "play poker and make an extra $3-10k a month" at the same time? Also one would need an awful lot of "spare time" to do this. Time is necessary to lower variance. If you play enough hours the variance is minimal. Hence my comment.60-80 hours a month is a lot of spare time, bruh! Also, I've been playing poker for more than 25 years at the levels you describe and above, and (sorry) I simply do not believe that you've only ever had one losing month in...

Not Law wrote: ↑Sun Aug 04, 2024 9:06 am How do you qualify for high SS benefits when you quit working at 40?

Great question!

BruDude wrote: ↑Fri Aug 02, 2024 5:17 pm If you live near a casino/card room, learn how to play poker and make an extra $3-10k a month in your spare time. Anyone with half a brain can get pretty good at it relatively quickly.

Bruh, what happens when you get a roomful of people all with half a brain and all wanting to "play poker and make an extra $3-10k a month" at the same time?

Also one would need an awful lot of "spare time" to do this. Time is necessary to lower variance.

CAsage wrote: ↑Mon Jul 29, 2024 6:30 pm In my experience, you have to pay money and bring and record a new Grant Deed to file in order to actually make a change (i.e. changing names, adding a person, or changing to TOD). So, it's odd that it would have been kept that if it was invalid/incorrect, and not returned it to you? I thought you had to take these in person but of course what was pre-Covid.
And, yes, title ownership of property is readily available on apps - check out Regrid, I found it lots of fun to browse in my area.

Correct, it was not returned. It was done during Covid via USPO. This is Oregon. I'm wondering if other states that allow TODDs for property also make them public before they are executed.

I sent in a TODD (Transfer on Death Deed) for one of my houses in 2021, during Covid. However the county clerk said the form was filled out incorrectly (notary signed where my signature should have been) and had to be re-done. I did not re-do it. I just now discovered that some of these real estate platforms are now showing names on the TODDs with the property address, since they are public records. This is unnerving, to say the least. Even though I was told in writing that my TODD was filled out incorrectly and needed to be re-done it still shows up on these platforms. In addition the county recorders office told me that it cannot be deleted, and will remain in perpetuity. I can't be the only person to have encountered this issue. Any bogl...

rcmx wrote: ↑Tue Jul 23, 2024 2:01 pm

Now for the breakdown...yes, a majority of the $3M is in pre-tax accounts

$250K Roth IRA
$400K After-Tax Brokerage
$1,350K in a Rollover IRA

Where is the other 1m?

Two questions for all the BH contractors out there: 1. What can I expect to pay to replace a 20 foot 2X6 inch bargeboard on my two-story house? 2. What can I expect to pay to fix outside windowsill for two contiguous windows? The wood is rotting. This would entail removing the rotted wood, adding a hardener/adhesive, and fashioning a sill to fit. This would not entail removing the widows or going deeper than two or three inches. TIA! It depends. A "gable fascia" is fastened into the truss lookouts and also the roof sheathing. If it's rotted out or water damage or other, and if has been there forever, then taking it out might reveal damage underneath. The roof flashing is also fastened to it. If the lookouts don't have enough good...

Two questions for all the BH contractors out there:

1. What can I expect to pay to replace a 20 foot 2X6 inch bargeboard on my two-story house?

2. What can I expect to pay to fix outside windowsill for two contiguous windows? The wood is rotting. This would entail removing the rotted wood, adding a hardener/adhesive, and fashioning a sill to fit. This would not entail removing the widows or going deeper than two or three inches.

TIA!

CRC_Volunteer wrote: ↑Sat Jul 06, 2024 3:25 pm The Registrar of Deeds of your locale is a great source of public information.

Thank you. I'm astounded that Transfer on Death Deeds are also public!

After watching the hilarious David Levy in a advertisement for homes.com, I finally decided to poke around the website. The website has a history of a homes 1st mortgage and refinances, including the loan amount, interest rate, term and outstanding principle balance. The interest rate on mine was not accurate, but somewhere in the ballpark and who knows how it's calculated. My outstanding principle balance seems a couple of months old, but still very much in the ballpark. Here is where I am baffled. I can see my neighbors refinancing history. I'm amazed at the number of people who have refinanced in the last five years for a loan value higher than what they paid for the house 20 years ago. 30 year terms. Other similar scenarios. I appear t...

After watching the hilarious David Levy in a advertisement for homes.com, I finally decided to poke around the website. The website has a history of a homes 1st mortgage and refinances, including the loan amount, interest rate, term and outstanding principle balance. The interest rate on mine was not accurate, but somewhere in the ballpark and who knows how it's calculated. My outstanding principle balance seems a couple of months old, but still very much in the ballpark. Here is where I am baffled. I can see my neighbors refinancing history. I'm amazed at the number of people who have refinanced in the last five years for a loan value higher than what they paid for the house 20 years ago. 30 year terms. Other similar scenarios. I appear t...

WhiteMaxima wrote: ↑Mon Jun 17, 2024 1:01 pm Move to France for retirement, Shall I move my address to Flordia? Daughter lives in Flordia. So I just regist my address there. FL drive's lincence can be exchanged for French drive's lincence. FL has no state tax.

Why not just keep an address in your current no-tax state?

livesoft wrote: ↑Tue Jun 18, 2024 3:21 pm I use the proprietary Bogleheads.org sentiment indicator. For instance, since BND was discussed a lot recently I sold shares after their 1.5% pop last week. Then I bought them back at a lower price yesterday. If BND is mentioned a few more times, then I might have to sell them again.

BND BND BND BND BND BND BND BND BND BND BND BND BND BND BND BND BND. You're welcome.

toddthebod wrote: ↑Tue Jun 11, 2024 12:15 pm In 2017 you posted on here asking for help with your $15,000 of credit card debt even though you had $150,000 in household income. In 2020 you came back, but then it was almost $90,000 in debt, still with household income of $140,000.

I don't know anything about the consequences of bankruptcy, but I wouldn't be surprised, even if you could wipe the slate clean, you will end up in another big hole down the road.

Good luck.

That's mean.

UpperNwGuy wrote: ↑Wed Jun 05, 2024 1:40 pm

Godot wrote: ↑Wed Jun 05, 2024 1:12 pm

notmyname wrote: ↑Wed Jun 05, 2024 7:10 am I agree this error should not have happened, but why wouldn't you log in to your account the very next day and check the transaction? Then rebalance as necessary.

Good question. I could not because they also put the funds in the wrong account.

Whoa! That's new information. Your OP implied it was your only 403b account at Fidelity and that you had the account set for 80%/20%. What is this other account (the wrong one), and how was it set up?

T-IRA, no percentage set up. Everything done manually.

notmyname wrote: ↑Wed Jun 05, 2024 7:10 am I agree this error should not have happened, but why wouldn't you log in to your account the very next day and check the transaction? Then rebalance as necessary.

Good question. I could not because they also put the funds in the wrong account.

aristotelian wrote: ↑Tue Jun 04, 2024 9:37 pm I would suggest executing transfers using their online or paper form. Using a human introduces the possibility of human error.

Glad to hear Fidelity is taking responsibility and making you whole. I actually think that is unusual and speaks highly of Fidelity.

I called this time because when I did an online transfer previously they also screwed up. I don't think they are being particularly virtuous by making me whole. They made a mistake, so they should make me whole. Not much of a choice. Not doing so would be unethical and no doubt counter to Fido's own policies. The very point of them taping every phone call is to have legal recourse if customers accuse them of xyz.

z3r0c00l wrote: ↑Tue Jun 04, 2024 7:50 pm Review the tape, I assume they are listening to a phone conversation?

Correct.

Wrench wrote: ↑Tue Jun 04, 2024 4:29 pm I had a transfer/rollover error at Vanguard - from an individual Roth 401k to a Roth IRA. They switched the number of shares transferred between two funds. It was different than yours in that both accounts were at Vanguard. The switch ended up in my favor by ~$4500, but I notified them anyway figuring they would eventually figure it out. They fixed it in 3 business days. So yeah, I think two months is a long time to resolve it. Especially since so many BHs rave about customer service at Fidelity, and rag on customer service at Vanguard. Maybe you should move your funds to Vanguard!

Wrench

Good idea, though I suspect Fido would screw things up if I did that!

nalor511 wrote: ↑Tue Jun 04, 2024 3:45 pm They're retroactively giving you the gains and fixing the mistake. Things like this take this much time in regulated entities. You're getting what you want, and a finra complaint will do nothing further, and possibly slow down your fix as more hands get into the pie. Mistakes happen to all brokers. This is about the best fix you could have hoped for.

Thank you. I think the best fix I could have hoped for would be the issue being resolved in an expedient manner, not dragged out over two months.

Update: Fidelity has finally made me whole. It took them six weeks, and numerous calls from me. Their fix came with profuse apologies. In my penultimate call with them, and after the rep told me it was their mistake, but before they made the correction I asked the rep if he would send me an email confirming our conversation, and he said Fido policy does not allow that. When I asked what the hold up in fixing the mistake was he blamed it on a back office team. When I asked if I could have the number or email addy of the person leading the team he said no, Fido does not allow it. Frustrating.

ehh wrote: ↑Fri May 31, 2024 5:37 pm Discussion from June 2023: viewtopic.php?t=406998

Alex Frakt, site founder wrote:

They are already scraping the site, or perhaps more accurately, are trained with data that has been scraped from the site. I've tested both chatGPT and Bard and the responses use phrases that clearly come from the wiki and the forum.

There's not much, if anything, we can do about it. Our situation is different from Reddit or Twitter in that we have no background APIs that allow third parties to extract data. All we provide is the web interface you are looking at. There's no way to stop anyone who wants it badly enough from downloading the site's contents one page at a time.

Wow, brave new world.

So....I don't want to be the proverbial wealthiest person in the graveyard... With all due respect Sir, why not? I mean, isn't there something to be said, for the achievement value of money, such that the more that one has amassed, in monotonic progression, the more satisfying, and even, the more honorable? Spending means taking away, from that which one has amassed. Of course this can sometimes be inevitable and unavoidable. But if we can avoid it, why shouldn't we? I'm assuming this is not a serious reply. For me personally, I made and saved my $ to spend it in retirement. Probably doing 2-3 big trips a year for the next 8 years or so (most outside the US). Will give money to the kids/future grandkids as needed. I'd be perfectly fine dyi...

SmallSaver wrote: ↑Wed May 29, 2024 1:51 pm Actually getting paid for fiction writing is vanishingly rare. You are basically talking about quitting your job to be a pop singer or pro athlete. Writing isn't "a couple of year before you start making money," it's "the expected value is $0.00" How will your wife feel in 2 years when you're brining in <$1,000/year, she's the sole breadwinner, and now you two can't afford a house or a baby?

I don't mean to be harsh, I am a big believer in doing what makes you happy. But please, write on the side, if you actually make money at it then you can think about going full time.

+100

Call_Me_Op wrote: ↑Tue May 28, 2024 9:16 am

TimeIsYourFriend wrote: ↑Tue May 28, 2024 9:12 am I think maybe "tax protected" means Roth IRA or HSA. I am not "tax protected" from a 401k or an IRA. I have to pay Uncle Sam at some point. Those are typically "tax advantaged" accounts.

Jim explicitly states that by "tax-protected" he is referring to tax-free, triple-tax-free, and tax-deferred.

What else is left?

Interesting that the too much bonds article comes out now when bond rates are better than they have for the past 10+ years. I own some TIPS because I can lock down a real return before taxes. But even at these higher real yields, after taxes , my portfolio will barely grow on a real basis. I can see why the author is equity heavy. I'm coming around to the idea that generally, even somewhat equity-heavy (by traditional standards, at least) portfolios aren't likely to grow much more than inflation no matter what you do. And after income-and income-related taxes, approximately breaking even seems to be the safest assumption. I also think that it's difficult for someone like Ellis, having experienced considerable success etc., to relate to the...

lemonPepper wrote: ↑Fri May 17, 2024 8:13 pm One of he issues I have found with Empower personal capital is that some accounts get double counted. We have a joint brokerage at Fidelity and Vanguard. We have individual Roth IRAs at Vanguard as well as a joint brokerage. My wife's 401k is at Vanguard too. So it will double count our joint brokerage. Maybe I haven't looked at how to exclude certain accounts.

The editing function (pencil icon) allows you to exclude an account from "investments." If that doesn't work, simply add your account amounts manually.

I've been copy trading Michael Burry's portfolio for the past couple months and it's been interesting to say the least. But I’m up roughly $13k (32% YTD) :moneybag . Because of him, I'm now got over $3k invested in Gold (through $PHYS) and own a significant amount of two Chinese stocks lol. I've never owned gold before and none of my friends own it. We've primarily only bought BTC over the last couple years. Figured this would be a place to ask but does anyone else own gold (especially as fund/trust) and should I sell it? I trust Burry but is he just outdated? Here's a link to an image of my current holdings based on his portfolio: https://i.ibb.co/F7T0HxB/image.png Here's a great Burry move: "Burry's most striking moves of 2023 were ...

Mr. Rumples wrote: ↑Mon May 13, 2024 12:20 pm That people can still politely disagree.

Given our times and the medium (Internet), this is truly amazing. I remain in awe.

retireIn2020 wrote: ↑Fri May 10, 2024 7:52 pm

aristotelian wrote: ↑Fri May 10, 2024 5:02 pm What was the advisor's reasoning? Anywhere from 30/70 to 70/30 can be reasonable depending on your preferences. Did you fill out a questionnaire to indicate a preference for prioritizing returns over lower volatility?

The only question asked is on the scale of 1-10, what is your risk tolerance (might be paraphrasing there).

But if it doesn't matter what your response to the question of risk tolerance is (as you say in your initial post), then why even ask it?

So, I met with my Fidelity advisor today (Premium Services with no fee). As usual, we went over expenses, taxes, large upcoming purchases etc. which has always been entered into the analyzation software that spits out how much I'll end up with (my heirs) at the end of the game. Currently I'm self-managing my portfolio (Bogleheads style). My AA currently is 50/50 with a stock asset mix of total stock US/ex-US and Fixed income of MYGA's/MM/401k Stable Value. Great talk and he commended my portfolio, Said I'm golden, I agreed, no issues and all is well. He mentioned, they have a new system (2024) for building a comprehensive portfolio investment strategy. I obliged and agreed to listen. New system uses all accounts, Fidelity and Non-Fidelity,...

teelainen wrote: ↑Wed May 08, 2024 3:43 pm

JPH wrote: ↑Wed May 08, 2024 3:31 pm Costco of course.

Which brand at Costco is the best?

https://www.costco.com/1-oz-gold-bar-pa ... 86760.html

hoofaman wrote: ↑Wed May 01, 2024 4:00 pm I thought it was because annuities were sold, not bought.

Quoted from the article:

In another recent survey, researchers from the TIAA Institute and Stanford University tested Americans on annuity literacy with a multiple-choice question that could not have been much simpler:

"Susan worries about living a long life and running out of money, the survey instructed. What is the best way for her to address that possibility?"

The quiz offered these choices:

She could buy an annuity.
She could buy life insurance.
There is nothing she can do.
I don’t know.

What a great survey

a) This is hilarious
b) This is sad
c) This is pathetic
d) This is bought and paid for by TIAA

When you were allocating 10% and 20% of your first salary to invest in index funds, how certain were you that you would be able to retire in 20 years and become a significant asset in 30 years? I'm 40 and currently in the process of saving money, and I'd like to hear from you about your real experiences of accumulating substantial wealth with a small initial investment. jyun, A) If you are allocating 10% to 20% of your salary, you will not have a significant asset in 30 years. B) Only lucky people that are continuously fully employed for 30+ years survived. As for others, they will not be posting at the forum. KlangFool This is simply not true. There are plenty of people, and many on this board, that have significant assets after saving 20...

felizcortez wrote: ↑Fri Apr 19, 2024 7:00 pm Downgraded an American express card today to avoid the $95 annual fee.

I ditched my United Airlines Explorer card instead of paying the yearly fee. The two annual "free" lounge passes were not worth it, since so many United lounges turn away OTP (One Time Pass) holders due to capacity issues.

Thranduil wrote: ↑Sat Apr 20, 2024 5:51 pm I'm a rebel. I own FXNAX FIDELITY U.S. BOND INDEX FUND.

How dare you!

Workqa wrote: ↑Fri Apr 19, 2024 7:14 am I see lots and lots of threads about savings rate and would like to know the community's effective/average (not marginal) FEDERAL tax rate.

In the denominator, please include ALL financial compensation such as 401k matches etc. but do not include non-financial benefits such as healthcare insurance benefits etc.

We were at 13% FEDERAL effective taxes.

Actionable how? Another bragging thread?

I think I get it now. It's already baked into the 1099, yes? 1 Interest Income ............................................................................................... 412.00 2 Early Withdrawal Penalty .................................................................................... 0.00 3 Interest on U.S. Savings Bonds and Treas. Obligations .............................. 10,823 That is for 1099-int, not divs Sorry, that's what I meant. Thanks. The amount listed on your 1099-INT is the interest you directly received by owning Treasurys (etc.). It doesn't have anything to do with the amounts from mutual funds that may have owned Treasurys themselves, and which show up on 1099-DIV. Thank you. I screwed this up, and went back to fi...

Since I’m not a believer in the old teaching saw that “there are no stupid questions,” I’ll ask mine: Where do I enter the state tax deduction for dividends on treasuries and treasury only money markets (FDLXX)? Is this already baked into the FIDO 1099 DIV? I use FreeTaxUSA software. This is the first year I’ve had them in my taxable account. TIA. I don't know how FreeTaxUSA works, but you need to manually determine this information, then enter it into whatever software you are using (if you are not preparing the returns on your own). For example, if you have money in FDLXX (Fidelity Treasury Only Money Market), you find Fidelity's supplemental information and look up the Percent of Income from FDLXX comes from US Government Obligations. F...