Search found 1111 matches

by JohnFiscal
Mon Mar 04, 2024 10:01 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Fidelity income tax error - how to resolve?
Replies: 6
Views: 808

Re: Fidelity income tax error - how to resolve?

Artsdoctor wrote: Mon Mar 04, 2024 9:11 am I don't believe that distributions from an IRA MUST have withholding.
...
Thank you very much! Saves me time and research. I will just bypass Fidelity on this issue.
by JohnFiscal
Mon Mar 04, 2024 8:53 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Fidelity income tax error - how to resolve?
Replies: 6
Views: 808

Re: Fidelity income tax error - how to resolve?

Make an estimated tax payment if you need to, not difficult to do. Nobody here can know how your withholding will compare to what you will owe
that was my thought as a cheap and easy solution. But I am concerned that the IRS may call foul on not having the 10% withheld at/by Fidelity and cause more problems for me. I later realized that this snowballs a bit, if Fidelity rectifies this then they need to issue a corrected 1099-R, leading to some delay in completing tax returns (in two countries).

In any case, I have contacted Fidelity see what they have to say.
by JohnFiscal
Sun Mar 03, 2024 10:47 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Fidelity income tax error - how to resolve?
Replies: 6
Views: 808

Re: Fidelity income tax error - how to resolve?

Artsdoctor wrote: Sun Mar 03, 2024 10:31 pm Can you reframe your question? It sounds as if nothing was distributed from your account (no distribution to you and no IRS withholding). And it sounds as if this was not an RMD.
Thank you. I tidied up the original post since this has barely been seen. Hopefully it is clear now. The funds were distributed from my IRA (they were not an RMD) and should be taxable.
by JohnFiscal
Sun Mar 03, 2024 10:25 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Fidelity income tax error - how to resolve?
Replies: 6
Views: 808

Fidelity income tax error - how to resolve?

I took a distribution from my IRA held at Fidelity (US) late in December (this was not an RMD but I am close to that point). They were supposed to send 10% withholding to the IRS and wire the remainder directly to my Canadian bank in Canadian funds.

Due to a failure in their systems they could not process the currency conversion and int'l wire. They returned the net distribution to my non-IRA (taxable) settlement fund. I didn't realize at the time that they also returned the 10% withholding to this account also. I only realized this tidbit last night.

Should I submit a payment on-line for this amount? Or just wait and let the chips fall where they will? ..Thanks!
by JohnFiscal
Fri Feb 02, 2024 10:32 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: a question about manila folders
Replies: 19
Views: 1723

Re: a question about manila folders

anoop wrote: Fri Feb 02, 2024 12:13 am How do you store manila folders as shown in this picture?
If I were to do this, I would expect them to just flop and slide all over the place.
What is keeping them upright in this picture?
I use those same Bankers Boxes with the same manila folders. They do flop around unless I prop them up.

The photograph from Staples has been staged to show a perfect product. It's like those photographs of perfect Fast Food hamburgers with cheese melting to perfection. The reality isn't quite like that, it's advertising.
by JohnFiscal
Fri Feb 02, 2024 10:28 am
Forum: United Arab Emirates
Topic: Attention US NRAs: US situs tax on cash balance in excess of USD60,000
Replies: 6
Views: 6267

Re: Attention US NRAs: US situs tax on cash balance in excess of USD60,000

This thread caught my eye with the recent update. Canadians (and some other countries) may benefit from tax treaties with the US. An article published by the Canadian bank TD (Toronto Dominion) https://advisors.td.com/jonathan.grant/mediahandler/media/313720/USFederal_EstateTax-2020.pdf indicates that Canadian residents (US NRA) benefit from the very large exemption provided to resident aliens When are Canadians Subject to U.S. Estate Tax? Generally, Canadians may be subject to U.S. estate tax if, at the time of their death: • The value of their U.S. situs assets exceeds US$60,000; and • The value of their worldwide assets exceeds US$11.58 million (for 2020, adjusted for inflation annually). The second bullet point generally applies only to...
by JohnFiscal
Tue Jan 30, 2024 11:09 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How do you budget?
Replies: 59
Views: 5783

Re: How do you budget?

I use an Excel workbook that I've been working on for many years. I started out trying various software in the 1990's: Microsoft Money, Quicken. maybe one or two others. Excel won out. It's not so much a budget as a cash flow tracking method. At the beginning of each year I build a table (or update the old one) of all transactions that I expect to be running through my "portal"...my primary checking account. The table includes all actual expected transactions (insurance, mortgage, utilities, car payments, taxes, etc, etc...including savings!). I also include an estimated amount for each credit card payment. (I no longer do this since I retired but I used to include an amount to cover guesstimated unusual expenses, for auto repair,...
by JohnFiscal
Tue Jan 30, 2024 4:04 pm
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: US Citizen, Expat to EU in 12-18mo, what financial roadblocks do I need to anticipate and address?
Replies: 56
Views: 10532

Re: US Citizen, Expat to EU in 12-18mo, what financial roadblocks do I need to anticipate and address?

It's difficult to say, but as a longtime customer you may not face those same restrictions. I was locked at Vanguard (when I put a foreign address for the mailing address) but dividend reinvestment, sales and withdrawals were fine. No rebalancing was possible though. I was only there a few months. Rule enforcement tightened after 911 and subsequent regulations. There seems to be a sort of secret grandfathering policy where long time customers don't have the same strict enforcement. Or maybe they just didn't like me, and I guess I could understand that. :happy Many long time customers report Vanguard has no issue with their being overseas. I had been with Vanguard since 1985 (38 years) and with Fidelity only 2 years when I changed my reside...
by JohnFiscal
Mon Jan 29, 2024 2:21 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Creating a gmail account for elderly Mom - legal? How to?
Replies: 34
Views: 3014

Re: Creating a gmail account for elderly Mom - legal? How to?

jebmke wrote: Mon Jan 29, 2024 9:30 am setting aside the legal concept, creating a new GMail account is just like creating the first one. I have at least a half-dozen GMail accounts, two Outlook accounts and one runt Yahoo account (to gather spam).
My experience (including just last week) is that creating a new gmail address actually creates an entire new Google account... so it includes Google Drive, YouTube, all that stuff.

I have several gmail and Google "identities" for different purposes (including my immigration to Canada) and I am signed into Google Chrome for a couple of these, I keep an "icon" on my Windows desktop to open Chrome browser with the desired identity. My phones also allow me select between a few identities.
by JohnFiscal
Thu Jan 25, 2024 8:39 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What are some of the things that improved YOUR quality of life?
Replies: 254
Views: 41961

Re: What are some of the things that improved YOUR quality of life?

home water softener

saves everything in the home. And is a pleasure to wash with
by JohnFiscal
Tue Jan 23, 2024 10:21 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Access to funds in an American credit union while abroad?
Replies: 17
Views: 1427

Re: Access to funds in an American credit union while abroad?

the_wiki wrote: Sun Jan 21, 2024 5:14 pm
JohnFiscal wrote: Sun Jan 21, 2024 5:07 pm

(ii) banks and credit cards will likely not be giving you the best foreign exchange rates
Compared to what other option? I know credit card and ATM has always beat in person cash conversion for me.
Certainly as compared to a forex company, like Wise, et al
by JohnFiscal
Sun Jan 21, 2024 5:07 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Access to funds in an American credit union while abroad?
Replies: 17
Views: 1427

Re: Access to funds in an American credit union while abroad?

I have some experience with these issues. (i) It pays to have a credit card with no foreign transactions fees (ii) banks and credit cards will likely not be giving you the best foreign exchange rates (so having a card *with* foreign txn fees and their poor forex rates can be expensive) (iii) if you have a particular destination in mind you may be able to work around this: For example, if you actually are considering Canada then you could open an account at a US bank that has a Canadian branch (the reality is that it's the Canadian banks that have US branches: TD, RBC, CIBC, BMO-Harris, etc). The two sides work closely together and you should be able to access your funds in local cash fairly cheaply. This technique may not work if you are wo...
by JohnFiscal
Tue Jan 16, 2024 4:14 pm
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: Vanguard accounts with foreign address
Replies: 28
Views: 3308

Re: Vanguard accounts with foreign address

There was no mention of retirement accounts (IRAs, etc) versus taxable accounts. My understanding from phone discussions (and the in-house mail when that system still worked) was that my retirement accounts could be maintained at Vanguard, subject to those restrictions, but that taxable accounts could not be maintained. I had an IRA, ROTH, taxable, 529 and annuity all frozen at Vanguard (brokerage) when they learned I was overseas. All could be maintained with dividends reinvested, shares sold when desired and money transferred out. No new shares could be purchased. How did they know you were out of the country, from you IP address from a extended period of time? In my case, it was when I informed them by updating my mailing/residence addr...
by JohnFiscal
Mon Jan 15, 2024 11:29 pm
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: Vanguard accounts with foreign address
Replies: 28
Views: 3308

Re: Vanguard accounts with foreign address

I have had a Vanguard account for the better part of 40 years, always with a foreign address. Now I am told that in order to "upgrade" the Brokerage Account the foreign address is not permitted. Any suggestions? I am in a similar situation: I've been with Vanguard since 1984 as a US citizen with a US address but now I am retired and ended up moving to Canada. I used a family member's address for Vanguard for a year or so after moving but in November, 2023 I officially changed my residence/mailing to my actual Canadian address. I had had several discussions with Vanguard about this situation over the course of a couple years so I pretty much knew what was coming. I soon received a postal letter from Vanguard stating "Effectiv...
by JohnFiscal
Mon Jan 15, 2024 4:38 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Calling Ocean Engineers: What is happening to my cruise ship?
Replies: 86
Views: 11488

Re: Calling Ocean Engineers: What is happening to my cruise ship?

snackdog wrote: Sun Jan 14, 2024 3:52 pm I would be concerned the cabin, 1/3 way aft of the bow, was at the point of maximum stress on the hull as it crashed on waves. If this is a point of weakness, could the hull crumple on the next crashing pitch up?

Image
Very nice illustrations of "hogging" and "sagging", known load conditions for ships in water (and can affect other structures as well).
by JohnFiscal
Sun Dec 24, 2023 7:26 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: $500 left in IRA at Vanguard after transfer to Fidelity
Replies: 4
Views: 876

Re: $500 left in IRA at Vanguard after transfer to Fidelity

To verify the previous comments, yes, the additional funds will get transferred automatically if you’re using ACATS (which itself is an interesting process). I just went through this Vsnguard to Fidelity. And some late coming assets were swept through after the initial tranche.
by JohnFiscal
Sat Dec 09, 2023 11:27 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Money transfer from my personal US bank account to my personal foreign account
Replies: 7
Views: 1108

Re: Money transfer from my personal US bank account to my personal foreign account

I am US citizen. I have personal checking account in US bank. If I establish a personal bank account in a foreign country. How much would it cost to transfer money to my foreign bank account from my US bank account — need rough idea. I know that the transfer between my US bank accounts (different banks) is free. I am in this actual situation (there is no "if" about it). I also am a US citizen but moved 2-3 years ago to the foreign country (Canada) as a Permanent Resident. My remaining US bank is RBC (Georgia) Bank, which I've had since around 2008 (long before any thoughts of emigration). This bank is a subsidiary of my Canadian bank, Royal Bank of Canada (the "RBC"). The two accounts are closely linked and I can transf...
by JohnFiscal
Tue Nov 14, 2023 6:16 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Full Life Cycle Retirement Planning Calculator on Googlesheets
Replies: 4
Views: 1056

Re: Full Life Cycle Retirement Planning Calculator on Googlesheets

Great! Sounds cool. I have seen some commercial software that has this intention, of lifetime optimization rather than optimizing for retirement. Kotlikoff's MaxiFi Planner, for one. I wish I had had the interest and smarts to think about this when I was younger. By the time I was interested I was planning for retirement and my then-current situations. One software I am sad to see fall way in James Welch's iORP (Optimizing Retirement Planner). That only addressed retirement planning, not the full life cycle. But it was incredibly all-inclusive. I went through that independently, found it very accurate; pointed some issues to James ...often he would point out my own misunderstanding but I did catch a few things. But the experience gave me gr...
by JohnFiscal
Sun Nov 12, 2023 4:27 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Is Vanguard the ethical choice, or am I living in the past?
Replies: 241
Views: 18746

Re: Is Vanguard the ethical choice, or am I living in the past?

This thread's been on my mind and I'll my own 2 cents now even though I haven't followed the last 2 pages since since yesterday. I've been with Vanguard continuously since 1984. At that time all their available funds were listed in a tiny paper pamphlet I got in the mail. I've owned other companies' funds over the year but never wavered from my Vanguard holdings and eventually consolidated everything there as I felt it was the wisest choice. For me this was based on my own behavior of not being a trader, Vanguard's low fees and expenses, and what I perceived as good service from them. But the current Vanguard is not the Vanguard that I grew up with. They want to be a major brokerage like Fidelity, Schwab, et al. I don't find the service as ...
by JohnFiscal
Sat Nov 11, 2023 4:13 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: waiting to pay CC bill to earn interest?
Replies: 71
Views: 6805

Re: waiting to pay CC bill to earn interest?

Back in the '90's I used to "wait to pay CC bill" to earn interest, etc. I think this was based on my reading of personal finance magazines of that time (Money, Kiplinger's, another major one that I don't recall). I think there was the suggestion somewhere to "write out the check payment but hold onto the envelope to mail a few days before the due date". Yeah, I followed that for a year until I neglected to mail one CC payment. I realized it was due That Day. I was able to make a payment on-time at a supermarket customer service desk. But never again. I signed up for automatic payments for everything that I could. The infinitesimal loss of monetary interest did not cover my peace of mind. I don't even want to do "on...
by JohnFiscal
Wed Nov 08, 2023 11:46 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What are you listening to now
Replies: 5802
Views: 575143

Re: What are you listening to now

roamingzebra wrote: Wed Nov 08, 2023 8:17 pm Jeff Beck and Imelda May perform "Remember (Walking in the Sand)" and "Please Mr. Jailer".

Robert Plant and Imelda May perform "Rock and Roll".
whoa, Imelda May. I haven't thought of her for several years. Very good performer. I came across her via her "live" recording of "Tainted Love"; really good. At one period I was listening to as many different versions of that song as I could find. I enjoy listening to different takes on the same song, always interesting.
by JohnFiscal
Fri Nov 03, 2023 2:43 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Cannot log into Vanguard with YubiKey
Replies: 60
Views: 4986

Re: weirdness with Vanguard login and security key

Not as of an hour ago

Have you tried plugging in the key when prompted? (Not before, although mine is plugged in all the time). Give that a try for debugging purposes.

Probably more of a browser issue. Try a different browser?
by JohnFiscal
Tue Oct 31, 2023 5:45 pm
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: IRA distributions to a Canadian bank?
Replies: 6
Views: 2410

Re: IRA distributions to a Canadian bank?

TedSwippet wrote: Tue Oct 31, 2023 4:37 am
asset_chaos wrote: Mon Oct 30, 2023 6:33 pm ... I haven't tried linking my Wise account to Vanguard, ...
I have; it worked fine.
I haven't tried my Vanguard account but my Fidelity account is so linked (as well as my RBC US bank account).
by JohnFiscal
Mon Oct 30, 2023 2:02 pm
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: IRA distributions to a Canadian bank?
Replies: 6
Views: 2410

Re: IRA distributions to a Canadian bank?

You can use a Wise multi currency account for this. or a cheaper version could be IBKR for the forex. thanks for the tips. I use Wise and was investigating their "accounts" as a place to put the US cash and then do the exchange (with wiring distribution from the IRA the timing may not work out, there's a time constraint at Wise once the exchange is set up). I have tried currency exchange at IBKR (US) but there was no way to send to cross-border to my Canadian bank. IBKR itself states that the forex is provided as a convenience/courtesy to traders...those just wanting to send cash around to another country aren't welcome; there are threads about this at Reddit, et al. I suppose IBKR might used for Norbert's gambit but that's above...
by JohnFiscal
Mon Oct 30, 2023 1:39 pm
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: IRA distributions to a Canadian bank?
Replies: 6
Views: 2410

IRA distributions to a Canadian bank?

Posting this here in Non-US Investing as it seems the best fit. My residency is in Canada but all my IRAs are in the US at Fidelity and Vanguard. I need to begin taking distributions from the IRAs and I'm wondering how that will proceed: Both firms are happy to maintain my IRA while I am a non-resident (Citizen but non-resident in the US), but no taxable accounts are permitted. So I will take a distribution from the IRA, I imagine it goes into a non-IRA taxable settlement fund; likely a taxable money market fund, US Treasuries or something. I'm not sure if this settlement fund violates that thing about no taxable accounts permitted. From the taxable money market fund I can send funds to my foreign exchange service (Wise, OFX, et al) and hav...
by JohnFiscal
Thu Oct 26, 2023 3:52 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Safeco Right Track Drive Monitoring App - Anyone Tried?
Replies: 17
Views: 2629

Re: Safeco Right Track Drive Monitoring App - Anyone Tried?

I've been using a similar App put out by AARP (those retired folks) for well over a year. It's been pretty interesting.

Those interested in the insurance apps but are uncertain might give this a try to see how it works, what it does. Though I'm sure that the insurance company apps record more info.

See https://www.aarp.org/membership/benefit ... etrip-app/
by JohnFiscal
Sun Oct 15, 2023 9:46 am
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: Permanent Fund Selection at Vanguard?
Replies: 4
Views: 2659

Re: Permanent Fund Selection at Vanguard?

rkhusky wrote: Sun Oct 15, 2023 9:25 am If you can’t rebalance, I would choose one of the LifeStrategy funds or Target Retirement Income if you want a static asset allocation. If you still want a glide path allocation that ends with Target Retirement Income, choose one of the Target Retirement funds. The TR funds hit 50/50 on their target year and glide to Target Income, which is 30/70, about 7 years after that.
Thanks for the tips. I was looking at those Target funds. Considering my whole situation I'm thinking of maintaining the 50-50 allocation, or not much below 40% equity.

Anyone else? thanks!
by JohnFiscal
Sun Oct 15, 2023 8:08 am
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: Permanent Fund Selection at Vanguard?
Replies: 4
Views: 2659

Permanent Fund Selection at Vanguard?

Okay, I moved from US to Canada permanently 2 years ago. My IRAs consist entirely of Vanguard funds split between Vanguard and Fidelity. About $2M. I now need to change my address of record at both V and F to my Canada address, currently I use a sibling's address but I need to move on. Once I have a non-US address at Vanguard (same rules apply at Fidelity) I can keep my IRAs there but I can no longer make transactions other than distributions; so, no re-balancing, etc. After the initial shock, 2 years ago, this doesn't seem so bad given alternatives. I need to select appropriate funds to set up for "a long time". Currently I am about 50-50 with equities and bonds. The bulk of money is in Vanguard index funds, VTSAX for equities an...
by JohnFiscal
Sun Oct 15, 2023 7:50 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Transferring Money from USA to Denmark
Replies: 8
Views: 952

Re: Transferring Money from USA to Denmark

Another voice for Wise. I moved to Canada 2 years ago and have used Wise to transfer large sums a number of times, including the proceeds of our Florida home sale. At one time I used OFX for several large transactions ($300K) but prefer Wise now. The rates are top notch, low fees, very transparent. You can see the progression of your funds. I didn't think it particularly complex, though perhaps a little bit just to get started. Wise gets my overall vote. I thought I could do these transfers using Interactive Brokers. That didn't pan out too well. Yes, I could exchange currencies easily and very inexpensively. But then I could not transfer my funds from the US to Canada (granted, probably user's lack of understanding, but I tried). Some peop...
by JohnFiscal
Sun Sep 17, 2023 11:30 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Canadian gfting $1m to US citizen child
Replies: 17
Views: 2015

Re: Canadian gfting $1m to US citizen child

LaniK1 wrote: Sun Sep 17, 2023 11:20 pm If either or both are US citizens, aren't they required to report the interest income, however small, in their taxes?
This is true. Regardless of residence or residency (eg: I am a US citizen with residence in Canada. I have to file US tax returns and indicate "world wide" income...of whatever type.
by JohnFiscal
Sun Sep 17, 2023 9:05 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Canadian gfting $1m to US citizen child
Replies: 17
Views: 2015

Re: Canadian gfting $1m to US citizen child

unclescrooge wrote: Sun Sep 17, 2023 6:20 pm Is the form T1135 really that complex?
No, Form T1135 is pretty trivial. It's analogous to the US Treasury FBAR form and IRS Form 8938. All of these simply report the existence of foreign assets, there is no tax based on the form information.

See https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency ... t1135.html. Much of the description of the form refers to "Income" but you must also report any foreign holdings even if not income.

(the form https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/cra-a ... 35-22e.pdf)

sign me: US Citizen now a Permanent Resident in Canada and have gone through 2 years of tax forms in both countries
by JohnFiscal
Sun Sep 17, 2023 8:59 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Canadian gfting $1m to US citizen child
Replies: 17
Views: 2015

Re: Canadian gfting $1m to US citizen child

unclescrooge wrote: Sun Sep 17, 2023 8:28 pm
I believe it's financial wisdom, but when dealing with cross country issues it always gets complicated.
Yes, Canadian "Bogleheads" is Financial Wisdom Forum at https://www.financialwisdomforum.org/forum/index.php. There are a number of people members in both forums.
by JohnFiscal
Mon Jun 12, 2023 10:22 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Vanguard - transition from Mutual Fund to Brokerage platform
Replies: 17
Views: 3980

Re: Vanguard - transition from Mutual Fund to Brokerage platform

An Update on my Vanguard transition: I had tabled my transition for awhile until two weeks ago when I did this on-line. I only really needed to transition the Rollover IRA but because the way it works if you do this yourself on-line by clicking the Big Button *all* accounts are transitioned. So my Rollover IRA and Inherited IRA were both transitioned. Based on previous phone discussions/work with Vanguard I assumed that there would be a problem with the Inherited IRA. I had been instructed that the Inherited IRA required paper forms that much be mailed to them; this had presented an impediment to me initially. However, this time when I did the transition the Inherited IRA got sucked up along with the Rollover IRA. There was no mention or me...
by JohnFiscal
Sat Jun 10, 2023 11:25 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Mortgage final payment
Replies: 41
Views: 6749

Re: Mortgage final payment

8foot7 wrote: Wed Aug 07, 2019 7:16 am If it were me I’d take a check to a branch and pay it to them in person, get a receipt, and stop by the store for a nice bottle of wine.
This was my actual procedure about 5 years ago with WF. It was literally the first time I had been in the branch.
by JohnFiscal
Tue Jun 06, 2023 4:46 pm
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: Keeping most asset amounts in US after retiring abroad permanently.
Replies: 24
Views: 3384

Re: Keeping most asset amounts in US after retiring abroad permanently.

I find this thread very interesting and pertinent to my own situation. I was already thinking of posting something similar, perhaps at the Financial Wisdom forum ("Canadian Bogleheads"). I am retired and my wife and I moved from the US to Canada a while ago. She has Canadian citizenship as well as US; I have US citizenship and am now a Canadian Permanent Resident (I will likely apply for Canadian citizenship in a year or so when I am eligible). All of our financial assets are in the US with the exception of a Canadian chequing account (RBC) and two savings accounts (RBC and Oaken). Cash in the US is pretty limited: a RBC (US) checking account and a Fidelity money market. The bulk of financial assets are in IRAs (traditional and Ro...
by JohnFiscal
Fri Apr 28, 2023 12:17 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How secure and accessible: Desktop excel, Excel Online and Google Sheets
Replies: 36
Views: 3425

Re: How secure and accessible: Desktop excel, Excel Online and Google Sheets

... Encrypting the file is different from only applying a password protection .... In Excel, how do you encrypt a file separate from setting a password to open it? In my version of Excel, 16.72, I thought clicking File, Passwords, and setting a "Password to open" would encrypt the entire file as well as setting a password to open the file. Should I be doing something else if I want to use Excel to encrypt the entire file? I use Excel 365 desktop. Just now I made certain that it was up-to-date. Possibly what you are doing does result in encryption (see my remark below). To encrypt a file: File >> Info >> Protect Workbook (a button) >> Encrypt with password. I am pretty familiar with encryption, so I find some of the Microsoft docu...
by JohnFiscal
Thu Apr 27, 2023 2:52 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How secure and accessible: Desktop excel, Excel Online and Google Sheets
Replies: 36
Views: 3425

Re: How secure and accessible: Desktop excel, Excel Online and Google Sheets

Microsoft Excel, desktop version, provides tools to encrypt individual files and apply a password. The encryption was pretty simple/basic in older versions but Excel 2007 and later, through today, provide excellent levels of encryption, up to 256 AES. With a proper pw such encrypted file should be very secure. Encrypting the file is different from only applying a password protection (and most complaints now seem to be about the pw protection, people don't realize that Excel can actually encrypt). I use the basic pw protection a lot just for the purpose of making it convenient for data entry (tab through the unlocked cells). I use an encrypted Excel file to contain my passwords and other account information. This resides on my laptop that al...
by JohnFiscal
Sun Apr 02, 2023 10:24 pm
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: Supreme Court ruling limits non-wilful FBAR fines to $10k/year
Replies: 17
Views: 3372

Re: Supreme Court ruling limits non-wilful FBAR fines to $10k/year

I’ve been happily filing the FBAR for 7 years or so now, so this thread caught my eye. I was aware of some horrendous consequences of not filing this form, and even cases where it seemed innocent error was made but suffered severely. But my thought was “wow! Even 10 grand is a lot of dough!”

Thanks all for posting some of the history of this reporting and the dollar values.
by JohnFiscal
Mon Mar 20, 2023 6:48 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: iPhone 14 vs. 14 Pro Max
Replies: 23
Views: 1844

Re: iPhone 14 vs. 14 Pro Max

catdude wrote: Mon Mar 20, 2023 6:44 pm My thanks to everyone for your responses to my post. I think I'll probably go with the 14 Pro (and skip the Max)...
I think that's a good choice. I got my wife a 12 Pro versus the 12 Pro Max a couple years ago. The move to Pro was worth it, IMO. I think the Max would be too large for comfortable handling.
by JohnFiscal
Thu Mar 09, 2023 3:50 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Vanguard - transition from Mutual Fund to Brokerage platform
Replies: 17
Views: 3980

Re: Vanguard - transition from Mutual Fund to Brokerage platform

iv - first guy only mentioned that I would get a form for the Inherited IRA in the "Vanguard Mail" (an entirely different location on the website). This was the 88 page pdf. And it did consist of multiple different forms and boilerplate about the VBA, etc. Only around 8 pages was the actual new brokerage account opening form...and none of this was pre-populated. I've taken no action on this because it has to be mailed in with a stamp. And my own situation is complexified a bit since I am currently residing in Canada. Since that account is less than $20K I may just close it out for simplicity. Many brokerages don't want to deal with US citizens living abroad because of the complexity of dealing with foreign laws. You might find yo...
by JohnFiscal
Thu Mar 09, 2023 2:16 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Vanguard - transition from Mutual Fund to Brokerage platform
Replies: 17
Views: 3980

Re: Vanguard - transition from Mutual Fund to Brokerage platform

Well, this has not gone well. But it's on the mend now. Two issues and a tip: i - Vanguard reps have verified that clicking any of the "Transition this account" buttons on the website will transition ALL registered accounts. ii - but a tip is to create the Brokerage account first, at which point you can then port over any of your accounts as desired, just "check" the right boxes. iii - I called today to follow up on why my Traditional IRA account transition was not proceeding along. They were waiting for action from me. The rep that I spoke with 10 days ago didn't tell me that I needed to do something with the form loaded under the "Open new account" menu. Under that was the pre-populated forms I was expecting ...
by JohnFiscal
Wed Mar 01, 2023 11:05 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: How long to transfer a ROTH account from Schwab to Vanguard
Replies: 17
Views: 1852

Re: How long to transfer a ROTH account from Schwab to Vanguard

A data point that may give some info.

Last Friday I submitted forms online at my Fidelity account to transfer two of my Vanguard IRA accounts, Roth IRA and a Rollover IRA. The process really started the following Monday with email alerts from Fidelity of the transaction. I was astonished to see that the Vanguard funds were received by Fidelity the next day, Tuesday. So, Friday -> Tuesday, completed. This was transferring from Vanguard, not to Vanguard. Some firms notably drag their heels when transferring out accounts, but was not the case here.
by JohnFiscal
Wed Mar 01, 2023 8:55 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Vanguard - transition from Mutual Fund to Brokerage platform
Replies: 17
Views: 3980

Vanguard - transition from Mutual Fund to Brokerage platform

Sorry, another one of these posts. I have IRA accounts at Vanguard under 4 different ownership types: Traditional, Rollover, Roth, and Inherited. I realized that clicking any one of the four "Transition Now" buttons (one each for each ownership) would transition ALL ownerships to the Brokerage platform...something that I know is coming but I wanted to do this step by step. My call to Vanguard this morning confirmed that was the case and the helpful rep said he could help me do these individually over the phone. Except that the first one I chose was the Inherited, which is the only IRA account type that requires a mail-in form. Vanguard sent the necessary form to the mailbox in my account, what I don't understand is why the form ne...
by JohnFiscal
Thu Feb 02, 2023 12:35 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Talk me out of moving to Illinois
Replies: 14
Views: 1805

Re: Talk me out of moving to Illinois

My wife and I previously lived in Batavia, Illinois ... I am quite familiar with the Aurora/Batavia/Geneva/St Charles/etc string of communities along the Fox River. I grew up in the western suburbs of Chicago (my dad grew up in St. Charles) and watched all those "small towns" grow into larger cities. I too moved away and then moved to Naperville in the 1990's. The growth of all those areas has been immense (I was flabbergasted at the size of Naperville upon my return in the 1990's). The west side of the Fox River has vast stretches of housing developments, no longer strictly farm country. I have visited that area only a couple times in the past 20 years and it's always been the same...more development. I would no longer want to l...
by JohnFiscal
Sun Dec 18, 2022 8:47 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Autopaying bills - do you use it, and for what bills?
Replies: 122
Views: 8665

Re: Autopaying bills - do you use it, and for what bills?

A) With push payment from the bank, you can review all the push payments from one bank account. B) With pull payment from each payee, you have to login to each payee account to review the pull payment. (A) is easier than (B) since it is only one account to deal with. True that, that it's easier to login to one account rather than multiple. However, that solution doesn't address the possibility of automatically paying variable bills in full. For example, the balance due for utility and credit card bills may vary each month; yet it may still be desired to pay them automatically. If you push from the bank account then you don't really know how much to push (unless you peek at your billing statement). Whereas if the billing entity pulls the pa...
by JohnFiscal
Tue Dec 13, 2022 10:27 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Donating to Wikipedia
Replies: 44
Views: 5248

Re: Donating to Wikipedia

rennale wrote: Mon Dec 12, 2022 4:26 pm I donate to Wikipedia every year on the basis that the world's problems invariably stem from ignorance, so anything I can do to help eliminate it is good.

I used to use the website donation process and don't remember ever ending up on a sucker list. These days I use tax free QCD donations.
Ditto this. I keep a little log of my donations to Wikipedia (and other similar recipients) so that I don't "overdonate" but that I do remember to support my favorite sites. I've given to Wikipedia annually for over 10 years. I only get a "plea email" from Wikipedia once a year, on the anniversary of the previous year's support.
by JohnFiscal
Thu Dec 01, 2022 2:53 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Has anyone had success connecting Fidelity acccounts to external banks that only use "Plaid" as a connecting provider?
Replies: 2
Views: 4196

Re: Has anyone had success connecting Fidelity acccounts to external banks that only use "Plaid" as a connecting provide

I have done so. Plaid wanted my bank login credentials. Okay... So I linked the institutions and then changed my bank password. No problem.

As I recall Plaid was just a fancy way to get the routing number and account. I'd rather enter this myself. I don't think Plaid offers anything to this problem of connecting accounts.
by JohnFiscal
Sun Nov 27, 2022 3:05 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Retirement Budget Calculator
Replies: 13
Views: 1951

Re: Retirement Budget Calculator

There's a free version that can be used without a time limit: "Retirement Budget Calculator offers both a free and a premium level subscription. The free level provides basic retirement budgeting and asset tracking. The premium subscription, at $9.95/month or $95/year, adds advanced features that allow you to see your retirement status at a glance as well as detailed views to help answer the question, "Do I have enough money for retirement?"" The 10 bucks a month isn't so bad for someone to try out those advanced features. But what if the author(s) shut down? Can you get your data out? Doesn't sound like this would be an "ongoing" project: "We do not ask you for banking passwords or account numbers. The Re...
by JohnFiscal
Sun Nov 27, 2022 2:10 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Retirement Budget Calculator
Replies: 13
Views: 1951

Re: Retirement Budget Calculator

I see you can "try it for free!", so you might give it a shot for a month. I am one of those in the Excel camp. Making my own spreadsheets back in the 1990's was even a good way for me to learn to use Excel for my work. I like the custom aspect of creating my own spreadsheets versus canned programs (I ran Excel, MS Money, and Quicken concurrently for about a year back in the '90's to see which I liked best. Excel won out). You might try that "RBC" you posted. And you might try creating a spreadsheet maybe using Google Sheets... these are free and you can find plenty of budgeting templates in Sheets for free as well. The nice thing about Google Sheets is that you can easily access them on multiple devices (pc, tablet, sma...
by JohnFiscal
Sun Oct 23, 2022 1:31 am
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: New Schwab and TD Ameritrade restrictions for Philippines residents
Replies: 9
Views: 4010

Re: New Schwab and TD Ameritrade restrictions for Philippines residents

I've gone through this recently with my move to Canada from the US. Both Vanguard and Fidelity put my existing accounts on such restricted terms. Schwab and most other firms had no interest in having my new business with a Canadian address.

The more I spoke with other firms, the more I felt that Vanguard's restrictions weren't so bad after all. Especially now that I'm retired and drawing down funds.