Bogleheads.org

archbish99

Of course the States would love to keep the discussion on how to collect more Use Taxes, and strongly favor proxies like vendors to act for them. I have no problem with that, as long as spending is reduced FIRST by each State government in real terms by say 20 percent? It is the SPENDING that is th...

archbish99

My best performing asset was the employer match on my 401k.

archbish99

Thanks for the examples, but they apply to businesses - entities expected to keep detailed records of all purchases for the purpose of proving level of profit/loss. Any politician supporting tax authorities that require this level of record keeping by individuals will no doubt have a short politica...

archbish99

Don't worry -- oversimplifying is not a common problem. It's making things more complicated than they need to be. While some like to tilt one way or the other, many of us have 3-4 fund portfolios. Total Stock Market, Total International Stock Market, Total Bond Market, and maybe a TIPS fund. My gene...

archbish99

See Tax gain harvesting -- you don't even have to switch to TSM if you don't want to. Just buy back into 500.

archbish99

I called Fidelity about this too. Basically, they can only reinvest on securities of which they keep a sufficient supply, which implies a certain price stability and volume. He also mentioned that the availability of options on the ETF affects it, since they can hedge themselves against price moves ...

archbish99

Technically, you don't have disallowed loss due to a wash sale so long as you sell the shares purchased with your dividend / recent investment. You don't have any remaining shares purchased within the +/- 30 days window. But you also don't have much loss on those to harvest. Selling everything just ...

archbish99

It does. What "technically" happens is this: You sell your previously acquired shares at a loss. Let's say this is 10 shares, with a loss of $1 each. Part of the loss is disallowed; let's say this is .5 share to match your dividend reinvestment. You have a $0.50 disallowed loss. The disall...

archbish99

A few of you suggested going with Admiral Shares of the underlying funds (of VTINX). It's my understanding that this would allow foreign tax credit for the international fund, tax loss harvesting, and moving bonds into tax-deferred accounts. The only downside I see is having to manage five funds in...

archbish99

[quote="Barry Barnitz"] Hi archbish99: I have transferred your contribution to the wiki, with formatting changes along with a few edits. Wiki article link: [url=http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Tax_gain_harvesting]Tax gain harvesting[/url] . Thanks for contributing.[/quote] Looks good -- tha...

archbish99

I use BrokerageLink extensively in my Fidelity 401k. I hold TIP, BND, VTI, and VXUS in BrokerageLink with the majority of my 401k assets. Buying the Vanguard mutual fund costs $75. Buying a Vanguard ETF costs $8. Thanks for the info on BrokerageLink. I'm going to go ahead and sign up. Have you run ...

archbish99

It would be good to have a Wiki page on tax-gain harvesting to complement the page(s) on tax-loss harvesting that exist. Here's some starting text: Tax-gain harvesting, similar to tax-loss harvesting, is the process of turning unrealized capital gains into realized capital gains at a specific time f...

archbish99

Bonds should be in tax-advantaged space where possible, because the income they generate will impact your taxes even if you're not withdrawing the money in that year. (This also avoids the need to hold state-specific bond funds, except the piece that hangs out into taxable. You can use Total Bond Ma...

archbish99

I think they need to keep working as long as they physically can or at least until all the debts are paid off. They should delay taking SS for as long as possible. If not possible, they should look at who will get more SS and that person should wait until (s)he turns 70 before taking it. This will ...

archbish99

Oh, and: 1. I've selected Fidelity funds for convenience - that's where all my money is now, and while I could invest in Vanguard funds with a $75 fee, it wasn't a clear win. Should I reconsider? ... 3. Since my new contributions will be skewed towards a tax-advantaged account, at some point I may n...

archbish99

Refinance your mortgage. 4.875% is terrible. For a jumbo loan? 4.875% is not bad, actually. It's worth checking with a mortgage broker or correspondent lender whether you'd be able to qualify for a lower rate refinance, but still not bad. However, you might consider taking a lump of what's sitting ...

archbish99

In my 401k, if I were to invest in company stock, I have the option to have dividends from that stock paid out to me without penalty. But only that company stock, not any other investments. So such a thing exists, but I doubt it applies to an IRA with general investments.

archbish99

Another thread on dealing with a deceased person's assets and debts got me thinking.... Let's take a hypothetical married couple who keep their finances joint as much as possible. Retirement accounts are individual by law, but they're each designated as beneficiary to the other's account. House and ...

archbish99

However, in this case, based on the information provided, I believe the widow has no obligation (legal or moral) to just pay this debt. Why? Her husband was not sound of mind? I wasn't aware COPD was somehow related to mental capacity. Let's distinguish here -- a widow has no inherent obligation to...

archbish99

Sounds like a PDF. Go for it.

I haven't been able to get away from paper tax records entirely, but electronic tax forms are faster, easier to store and access if you need them later, and better for the environment. So long as you keep decent backups, no drawbacks to me.

archbish99

Yeah, that's a touchy area. I was diagnosed as obese, pre-hypertensive, and dyslipidemic. On that basis, I went through an intensive medical weight-loss program paid for by insurance plus an FSA. I'm doing okay keeping it off on my own so far, but if I needed a trainer to help out, I think there's m...

archbish99

A PoA isn't allowed to execute a will -- are they allowed to change beneficiaries? Even if allowed, it seems like that would be very vulnerable to challenge in court if anyone ever didn't like the outcome. Probably far better to recommend changes to the account holder and let her make the choice and...

archbish99

very good thread and i have read multiple articles on this topic , still it is not clear in terms of the operations of vanguard and whether their accounting books are open to the public for scrutiny like a public company ? no, the books are closed not open to the public But the people with Vanguard...

archbish99

In most cases, converting all pre tax retirement accounts to Roth accounts is not wise, but of course there are always unique circumstances and exceptions to just about any general statement. But as you convert your RMDs will be reduced and therefore the first dollars converted carry more bang for ...

archbish99

But a relatively healthy individual planning for his own situation might want use the assumption that he will live a long time. It is a gamble, but I'd rather maximize my retirement income, even if it means a bigger hit to my portfolio, and losing the mortality bet with the SSA. Yes -- it's useful ...

archbish99

You won't see them relative to other index funds -- the index itself involves no trading, so it is shielded from trading costs. Technically, you expect an index fund's return to be the total return of the index, minus the expense ratio. If there's less difference from the index return than the expen...

archbish99

I would try to get my AA as close as possible, and then hope that there isn't any bad news for the company or mutual fund in the next month. Make sure you won't have a problem being covered under the "safe harbor" provisions next year. The mutual fund wouldn't bother me very much (mostly ...

archbish99

Have a look at http://store.microsoft.com as well. While their machines tend to be on the pricier end, they showcase some of the best-made PCs from the various manufacturers. Also the "Microsoft Signature" thing? It comes with the Microsoft-tuned image -- Windows, Security Essentials, and ...

archbish99

There is very little tax advantage to holding ESPP shares long-term, especially if you have a profit. Or rather, it's nearly the same tax advantage you'd get if you sold immediately, invested in something else, and held that long-term. Sell as soon as you're able (and if that's more than a couple da...

archbish99

That's a tough question, and one only you can ultimately answer. Read through your POA and trust documents carefully. Are you required to act in the MIL's best interests or as she would have acted ? If the former, you probably should clamp down on the daughter, and may have a legal obligation to do ...

archbish99

I don't use the flexible medical accounts but I also don't really have tangible medical expenses. Let me know if someone thinks this is an oversight. Remember, there are two different types - a flexible spending account and a health savings account. I agree the FSA, because it has to be spent by th...

archbish99

I have a Discover Open Road card. 2% cash back on gasoline and restaurants (includes fast food places) You start earning 2% immediately. I've never really investigated this version of Discover. Can you have it and the regular card? I'd use the Open Road for gas and dining and Discover for anything ...

archbish99

We have the Discover Escape card, which is billed as a travel card, but basically amounts to 2% cash back in $100 increments. (They do credits against travel expenses in the last 90 days. Living across the country from both sides of the family, it's rare that we don't have a recent travel expense to...

archbish99

A few weeks ago Metlife auto-submitted a dental claim for my partner to my UHC FSA, and the FSA somehow paid it in error. Trying to explain to UHC why they are wrong to have paid the claim, and to reverse this error, is not a fun exercise. I still haven't succeeded. The law as written creates a hug...

archbish99

The other piece of liquidity vs. illiquidity isn't just your ability to move when you decide you want to, but the ability of someone else to make you move if you don't want to. I suppose the financial metaphor here would be call/prepayment risk on mortgage bonds. If you're renting, you can be forced...

archbish99

Due to the Federal DOMA, domestic partners are not eligible for reimbursement of their medical expenses from an FSA, even if they are on the employer-sponsored medical plan. Is that correct? I would have thought domestic partners (whether same sex or opposite sex) who are not dependents you can cla...

archbish99

If one was to purchase the ETFs outside of the tax shelters (IRA/401k) that would expose me to taxation on both the phantom adjustment and the interest, would it not? Well, one hopes the adjustment really happens and is not a phantom. But, yes, TIPS held in taxable accounts are taxed on the adjustm...

archbish99

You can't sneak shares, but you can defer taxes. While it's moot for your current question (since you're inside a Roth already), rejoice in yet another way to shelter money from taxes in the future.

archbish99

If you're confident you're not going to be touching it or changing custodians, there's something to be said for picking up individual TIPS at auction. With a fund, you're guaranteed to be buying on the secondary market at prices that have increased due to the interest rates going lower. With individ...

archbish99

No -- because the trust would still be a matter of public record and would be dug up by the news outlets. There are ways to try to conceal yourself, but none effective.

archbish99

You don't lose money if you hold for long enough, i.e. for the duration of the fund. I know that this is a commonly held view, but I think it is quite wrong. When rates rise, you will lose money on your bonds. Of course, it's possible that you can recoup your losses in the future, in various ways. ...

archbish99

If you want to be technical about it, the 200 shares you bought later will disallow the loss on 200 of the 1000 shares you bought earlier. The disallowed loss becomes part of the basis of the later 200 shares. However, since you also sold those shares, your total basis and loss are no different than...

archbish99

Yeah, we did the audit yesterday.... I'm down 3.5% for the year and have been positive recently. He's down 15% for the year, and says "I'm gonna make money at this some day!" Sounds like A Random Walk may be on our Christmas list, then.... He's already read Millionaire , and I have a feeli...

archbish99

My father is an inveterate day-trader, but also loves to read investing books. I've thought about getting him a Bogle (or Bogle-headed) book for Christmas, but I'm not sure which one to get. John Bogle's latest, Enough , is more about corporate governance than investing, per se, though I enjoyed it....

archbish99

There's no such thing as a rollover between the two, but there's nothing stopping you from taking a distribution from one to make a contribution to the other. Vanguard may be able to do it directly on request, or you could do it via your checking account (or a taxable account) without worrying anyon...

archbish99

I dont understand why anyone has a separate emergency fund. I am simply invested 50/50 stocks and equity and if I need more money than is in my bank account, i'll just take it from my taxable Vanguard account Because all my retirement money is in tax-sheltered accounts. I can put $110K/year into ta...

archbish99

You can put the money in something with a lower max (e.g. Target Retirement) or in your existing fund, then exchange as soon as you make your first contribution next year.

archbish99

You make a good point that plans with a separate offering period every risk having commissions wipe out the gains. However, such plans seem to be rare. I've never seen a plan where offering periods are more frequent than quarterly, and semiannually seems to be more common still. Yes, if there were a...

archbish99

The top two tiers (last to be tapped) are in a CD and my company's ESPP program -- the money can be withdrawn for two thirds of the offering program, and the final third is not far from getting (and liquidating) the shares. The lower two tiers are in a short-term tax-exempt bond fund and a savings a...

archbish99

The discount is the part of your gain which is risk free. It's also taxed at normal rates regardless of when you sell. (There's a very slight advantage after 18 months, but not much.). Only the change in price after you purchase is treated as capital gain, and that would be the same regardless of wh...

Search found 1643 matches