Search found 2323 matches

by teen persuasion
Wed Nov 08, 2023 4:40 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Tax question RE: ACA tax credits and HSA
Replies: 18
Views: 1552

Re: Tax question RE: ACA tax credits and HSA

Why can't you contribute to an HSA while receiving tax credits? My son is doing this. He selected an HSA health plan, opened up an HSA thru Fidelity, funds it monthly. The deduction (and tIRA deduction) reduce his AGI, so he qualifies for a larger subsidy/lower monthly cost. On his tax return the following year we true it all up (I made sure his estimates were very good). I'm not sure a transfer from IRA to HSA would be useful tax-wise. I doubt it would generate any deduction (its already tax deferred) to decrease AGI. Make sure you apply for ACA coverage ASAP. Applications before the 15th of the month can begin on the first of the following month; after the 15th, they begin on the first of the month after. IOW, have your application done e...
by teen persuasion
Wed Nov 08, 2023 4:28 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: confused about one aspect of (Open) Social Security Calculation
Replies: 26
Views: 2370

Re: confused about one aspect of (Open) Social Security Calculation

There's no advantage to the lower earning spouse waiting to age 70 if spousal is larger than their own benefit. FRA is when spousal tops out (unless the higher earning spouse has not yet claimed, so that they are not yet eligible for the spousal portion). I agree that it is generally not advantageous for the lower earner (claimant) to wait past their FRA to claim a spousal benefit, when the spousal benefit is greater than their own. However there can be some benefit to delaying past FRA. The spousal benefit has two components. The claimant’s own benefit, and the excess spousal benefit. Together the claimant’s benefit, and the excess spousal benefit equal 1 / 2 of the higher earner’s PIA. The excess spousal benefit does not earn delayed ret...
by teen persuasion
Wed Nov 08, 2023 7:30 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: confused about one aspect of (Open) Social Security Calculation
Replies: 26
Views: 2370

Re: confused about one aspect of (Open) Social Security Calculation

Silk McCue, with appreciation of your advice, thought you might like to see the comparison chart in the post just above. As I noted in my reply there, I'm still confused as to why my spouse can't choose to take 50% of my PIA. At your age 70, your spouse is only 66. They are not yet at their FRA and therefore their benefit, and their spousal benefit, is reduced for claiming early. Run the numbers again, and have them wait till their FRA and their benefit + spousal should be exactly 1/2 of your PIA. Thanks, Jovby. That did it! I thought it would show the spousal benefit as the full $16,464 ($1,372/month) instead of her benefit at $12,000 plus her spousal benefit at $4,464 (I still don't understand why it breaks into two), but it did it! She ...
by teen persuasion
Wed Nov 08, 2023 7:19 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: confused about one aspect of (Open) Social Security Calculation
Replies: 26
Views: 2370

Re: confused about one aspect of (Open) Social Security Calculation

In order to get 50% of your PIA, wife would have to wait until she turned 70 to start getting benefits. I suspect the average males lifespan for SS retirees is low 80’s. Let’s assume it’s 84 If she waits to file at 70, you are 74. You live 10 more years to 84. The difference is what she would get filing at 70 vs your numbers would be about $20k vs $13k in the example. That’s $7k more per year, for 10 more years, or $70k excess. Now go to your example and add up all of her numbers before 74. It was close to $90k. So by waiting she would give up $90k in order to get $70k, which is obviously not a good tradeoff. However, if you live a few more years then you are approaching a break even. You can go into the parameters and change life expectan...
by teen persuasion
Mon Nov 06, 2023 8:35 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Flexible Time Off - What happens when you cross the invisible line?
Replies: 101
Views: 105002

Re: Flexible Time Off - What happens when you cross the invisible line?

Unlimited PTO is another ploy by employers with ulterior motives; It is designed to take advantage of paranoid employees who are too scared to take their time off. Companies like to say "its for the benefit of the employee" which we all know is a ploy. The idea of having "unaccrued salary liablilty" is also a ploy- companies don't care about that as much as taking advantage of the employees. Employee A is dedicated, been with company 20 years and takes 15-20 days Employee B is much newer, takes 25-30 days, not as strong a work ethic or consience. Company is banking on higher performers to use less time, thereby saving money on Employee B's. Eventually, by being out of office so much the Employee B won't be as essential ...
by teen persuasion
Mon Nov 06, 2023 8:14 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Citi cuts off some paper bill recipients
Replies: 46
Views: 5448

Re: Citi cuts off some paper bill recipients

This is the easiest thing. They have a stick, i have a stick. If I don’t like their offering, it’s very easy for me to go elsewhere. Credit cards are mostly a commodity business; there are many options if I don’t like the way a particular company chooses to operate. I agree. If a company for whatever reason gives you heartburn, vote with your feet. Citi let a charge go through on my card when it was locked. I got heartburn and clipped the card; eventually Citi dropped me. They were happy; I am happy. They dropped you because you stopped using the card? I have their card as a backup but don’t use it at all. They cancelled our card for inactivity. We had it as a backup, too. If you want to keep it, use it a few times a year. I have had a cit...
by teen persuasion
Sun Nov 05, 2023 8:47 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Citi cuts off some paper bill recipients
Replies: 46
Views: 5448

Re: Citi cuts off some paper bill recipients

Citi is a business. Folks who don’t like their policies can change cards. This is the easiest thing. They have a stick, i have a stick. If I don’t like their offering, it’s very easy for me to go elsewhere. Credit cards are mostly a commodity business; there are many options if I don’t like the way a particular company chooses to operate. I agree. If a company for whatever reason gives you heartburn, vote with your feet. Citi let a charge go through on my card when it was locked. I got heartburn and clipped the card; eventually Citi dropped me. They were happy; I am happy. They dropped you because you stopped using the card? I have their card as a backup but don’t use it at all. They cancelled our card for inactivity. We had it as a backup...
by teen persuasion
Sun Nov 05, 2023 8:41 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: [Larry Kotlikoff discusses new book Social Security Horror Stories]
Replies: 87
Views: 10885

Re: 60 Minutes 11/5/23: Larry Kotlikoff will discuss Social Security clawbacks

One case highlighted was a thirty year old man who was sent a letter asking if he'd forgot to repay what he owed. Umm, he'd never been previously informed he owed anything. It went back to when he was 11years old! He was born disabled in some way (I missed the term) and SS decided years later he was no longer eligible when he was 11. Tried to collect from the gentleman's mother, she passed away. So moved on to collect from the child-now-adult. He appealed and asked for their process/info on how they determined he was no longer eligible at 11. They couldn't find any records of that, but still insisted he must repay. Reporter asked if he could repay the amount (just under $5k total) - "No, sir, that's 1/6 my income."
by teen persuasion
Sun Nov 05, 2023 8:18 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Social Security Timing & Roth Conversions
Replies: 81
Views: 9387

Re: Social Security Timing & Roth Conversions

You're entitled to your opinion, but most folks on these boards don't think that the sunset of the current TCJA tax brackets is a "guess," since it's a fact that the sunset will happen in 2026 under current law. Congress & POTUS might act to extend the Trump tax cuts, but that would require a GOP House, GOP Senate, & GOP POTUS after 2024. Might happen, might not. Pre-paying federal taxes via Roth conversions at the 22%/24% rate in 2023-2025 vice dealing with large RMDs at the 25%/28%/33% rates in 2026 & beyond seems like a no-brainer. YMMV. But that's an overly simplistic view, because of all the NIIT, IRMAA, SS taxation, effect on beneficiaries and other considerations. Often with conversions you're looking at the ri...
by teen persuasion
Sun Nov 05, 2023 10:39 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: [Larry Kotlikoff discusses new book Social Security Horror Stories]
Replies: 87
Views: 10885

Re: 60 Minutes 11/5/23: Larry Kotlikoff will discuss Social Security clawbacks

Quick Google search turned up this ABC story: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/social-security-overpaying-billions-people-demanding-money-back/story?id=103287465 I know I've seen several local news stories investigating for distraught victims. Sounds like it's often SSI recipients, and some small thing disqualifies them, or reduces their benefits. Years go by before SS catches the internal error, so they get a double whammy of no/reduced benefits going forward and a bill for tens of thousands (or more than $100k) in repayments, to people who believed they were entitled to their benefits and have few other resources. Lots of confusing rules, procedures using hand calculations, not enough staff (also leading to delays in catching errors) ... not...
by teen persuasion
Sat Nov 04, 2023 8:59 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Citi cuts off some paper bill recipients
Replies: 46
Views: 5448

Re: Citi cuts off some paper bill recipients

You copied the same sentence. You described situations of people who don’t need or can’t use an online account. So why would they care if they lost access to an online account? :oops: If they have an account which has online access, most do, and Citi closes the account since the customers wants to continue getting paper statements, I would think that is a problem. :oops: :oops: Does this mean the customer or his designee cannot pay online? https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/citi-thankyou-rewards/1779409-hey-citi-stop-trying-force-paperless-statements-people.html That is correct. If the customer has an online account, then Citi expects the customer to use it, e.g., no paper bills and online payments are allowed. If the customer insists on pape...
by teen persuasion
Thu Nov 02, 2023 1:06 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Gifting college money to family friend
Replies: 47
Views: 5319

Re: Gifting college money to family friend

My kids received a few small "scholarships" from civic groups, church, individuals. They were always a check made out to the student directly.

The student can then use that money in whatever way is most needed, there are lots of college expenses beyond tuition: a specialized computer necessary for their major, drafting tools or SW or project materials, books (from Amazon if better priced than the bookstore, or even cash for used from another student), bus pass or gas for commuting, internet service for online classes, food on campus, copies/printing, extraneous fees, etc.
by teen persuasion
Tue Oct 31, 2023 12:32 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Question for Married Bogleheads - % to allocate to joint accounts
Replies: 174
Views: 13491

Re: Question for Married Bogleheads - % to allocate to joint accounts

Married 33 years. We've always been common potters, I was SAHM for nearly 20 years while the kids were little. So DH had the only income, but I managed it as family CFO, so we viewed everything as joint - even his employer retirement accounts, since I had none. When I began working again part-time, I had no access to an employer retirement account, so we used our joint increased income to increase his contributions, because it made sense financially (especially for college financial aid purposes). When I *did* get access to a SIMPLE IRA, and we'd learned that having everything in one spouse's retirement accounts would get poor tax treatment on state taxes, we switched gears and pushed nearly all my income to max my account out by dropping h...
by teen persuasion
Thu Oct 26, 2023 11:58 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Tax planning strategy? Federal college education credits
Replies: 9
Views: 1251

Re: Tax planning strategy? Federal college education credits

With $4-5k in income, I can't see where the student will owe any federal tax (might owe state). That's well less than the standard deduction - which will be reduced to the student's earned income plus a few hundred $. So no use for the nonrefundable portion of AOTC, and likely not eligible for the refundable portion at all.
by teen persuasion
Tue Oct 24, 2023 11:27 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Does your significant other know about Bogleheads?
Replies: 97
Views: 10053

Re: Does your significant other know about Bogleheads?

jaqenhghar wrote: Tue Oct 24, 2023 8:00 pm SO: "What are you reading?"
Me: "Bogleheads"
SO: "Oh, your personal finance forum!" [Then goes back to videogaming, lol.]
DH's response is more likely to be "Oh, those imaginary people you're always talking to!"
by teen persuasion
Fri Oct 20, 2023 3:08 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Determining Most Efficient MAGI for Optimal ACA Subsidy (2024)
Replies: 12
Views: 1452

Re: Determining Most Efficient MAGI for Optimal ACA Subsidy (2024)

Age 55, wife age 57, 20 yr old away at college (out of state) We live in SF Bay Area (Calif) 2)...It may (or may not) make sense to recognize more MAGI/taxable income now or for several pre-Medicare years even with the ACA subsidy loss “surtax” in order to avoid higher marginal tax rates or IRMAA in future years. briansfbay, note HomeStretch's point. Even in 2024 it may make sense to incur some "annual contribution amount" for your ACA plan because you'll have a $500 "other dependent" non-refundable credit that you might as well use to pay for Roth conversions if nothing else. See Roth Conversion and Capital Gains On ACA Health Insurance for how to estimate the overall tax effects. A 2024 version of the tool described t...
by teen persuasion
Thu Oct 19, 2023 2:52 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Medicaid for children?
Replies: 41
Views: 4079

Re: Medicaid for children?

OP, CHIP/Medicaid is funded by both the federal and state governments. As such, benefits are likely to vary considerably from state to state. Some states have notoriously poor Medicaid coverage. Others are actually quite good and are comparable to Medicare. You really have to dig into your own state’s program to decide if it’s a good option. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if your state program was better than your private policy In general I don’t think it’s wise to make broad claims about “Medicaid” without discussing the state level differences. I think I read that our state's CHIP is also funded by a separate tax on hospitals too. It's quite good for children. It includes dental care, which we pay out of pocket for now. I'll have to see...
by teen persuasion
Thu Oct 19, 2023 9:37 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 529 - paying off a student loan for my daughter's husband? Pro / Con?
Replies: 58
Views: 5873

Re: 529 - paying off a student loan for my daughter's husband? Pro / Con?

There's a few hundred thousand in the account now. I view it as a way to pass on assets / a 529 for grandkids (again, 1 is already here - 5 months old : ) Although I have NO qualms with it being used for other people (husband). He's done with school with 5 degrees! has about $10K of 'student loans' still outstanding. They are asking, with the secure act, if her 529 can be used to pay off his student loans. ... Part of their thinking is that it's possible that the 529 won't get used up by their kids in 18+ years. so it can spare 10K now. (it's got about $725K now). (anyone hear of IRS busting people's chops for overfunding 529s??) Your only current grandchild is 5 months old (congrats!), you have $725k (reduced in value due to current marke...
by teen persuasion
Wed Oct 18, 2023 9:19 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: "IRS moves forward with free e-filing system in pilot program to launch in 2024"
Replies: 119
Views: 11895

Re: IRS announces Direct File project for 2024 tax season

It's a catch 22: if I efile federal (using Free Fillable Forms), I must efile state. But there's no state Free Fillable Forms version. To efile state, I must use commercial SW. Please explain the "must efile state" part. According to the cover page of the instructions for the NY income tax return: "You must e-file if your software allows you to e-file your return, or if you are a tax preparer who is subject to the e-file mandate." The Federal Free File Fillable Forms software does not support filing a State return by e-file or by any other means. For the past few years, I have efiled Federal returns using Free File Filllable Forms and mailed a paper NY return. The NY returns used files from a NY income tax web site that...
by teen persuasion
Wed Oct 18, 2023 4:08 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: "IRS moves forward with free e-filing system in pilot program to launch in 2024"
Replies: 119
Views: 11895

Re: IRS announces Direct File project for 2024 tax season

billaster wrote: Wed Oct 18, 2023 2:25 pm
teen persuasion wrote: Wed Oct 18, 2023 11:34 am
rkhusky wrote: Wed Oct 18, 2023 10:30 am
billaster wrote: Tue Oct 17, 2023 6:08 pm It will be interview based, much like the commercial tax software.
Hopefully they also offer a forms view option so we can check their calculations.
Or enter data directly.
You can already do that with Free File.
If I wasn't in NY.

It's a catch 22: if I efile federal (using Free Fillable Forms), I must efile state. But there's no state Free Fillable Forms version. To efile state, I must use commercial SW.

And the Free File commercial SW is only web based, not download, so there's no forms option, only interview.
by teen persuasion
Wed Oct 18, 2023 11:34 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: "IRS moves forward with free e-filing system in pilot program to launch in 2024"
Replies: 119
Views: 11895

Re: IRS announces Direct File project for 2024 tax season

rkhusky wrote: Wed Oct 18, 2023 10:30 am
billaster wrote: Tue Oct 17, 2023 6:08 pm It will be interview based, much like the commercial tax software.
Hopefully they also offer a forms view option so we can check their calculations.
Or enter data directly.
by teen persuasion
Tue Oct 17, 2023 10:08 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: "IRS moves forward with free e-filing system in pilot program to launch in 2024"
Replies: 119
Views: 11895

Re: IRS announces Direct File project for 2024 tax season

Arizona, California, Massachusetts and New York have decided to work with the IRS to integrate their state taxes into the Direct File pilot for filing season 2024
Hallelujah!
New York has had a terrible track record previously on developing its own fillable forms. We've been prevented from using the federal fillable forms because NY required commercial SW for efiling.

Though I don't like the interview format plan. Hate, hate, hate the Q & A format! I want to be able to efile fillable forms directly, federal and state.
by teen persuasion
Tue Oct 17, 2023 8:45 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Teen assets prior to college
Replies: 14
Views: 1868

Re: Teen assets prior to college

Assets in 529 accounts are treated like taxable assets on FAFSA, that is, 12% is included in the EFC/SAI calculation, which then has a progressive % applied to it. The top % is 47%, which leads to the oft quoted 5.64% max of assets included per year. Retirement account balances are not included in available assets on FAFSA, although a given year's contributions to retirement accounts are added back to available income as nontaxable income.

Income is the bigger driver of high EFC/SAI. A low enough AGI can bypass asset reporting altogether.
by teen persuasion
Mon Oct 16, 2023 8:53 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: What to do with monthly saving and saved money?
Replies: 40
Views: 4372

Re: What to do with monthly saving and saved money?

Then, I was confused. I am also in complete agreement :-) Back to my question. Currently I am contributing $8580/yearly and employer contributing $5720/yearly (total $14300) in my traditional 401k account. Maximum I can invest is, $22500. So I can increase my contribution to $8200 more. As I am reading, I can invest max $6500 to a Roth IRA in one year. And spouse also can contribute, so $6500 for her also. That makes total max invest of $13000 in Roth IRA. With additional invest of $8200 in 401k and $13000 in Roth IRA, I will be putting $21200 per year. Is this calculation correct so far? I will have $24000 left more to invest and also I have $115,000 in cash with Fidelity sitting in CDs @5.4%. What would you suggest ? The $22,500 limit is...
by teen persuasion
Mon Oct 16, 2023 8:25 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Finding the right MAGI for ACA subsidies
Replies: 23
Views: 2848

Re: Finding the right MAGI for ACA subsidies

It's confusing and complicated. [snipped for brevity] OP mentioned an expanded Medicaid state. I believe it is 138% FPL as cutoff for Medicaid in those states. There may be other brackets in between Medicaid and ACA, too. My state has 2 Essential plans, one from 138% - 150%, and another from 150% to 200%. We are only eligible for ACA if over 200% FPL. You're correct. My state is also an expanded Medicaid state, and I just tested my state website and it is 138% of FPL to get ACA; below that I am shunted to Medicaid. This is one of the things which made me say "Generally" a lot and "The above is generally how it works. There are additional details and unusual scenarios that I've left out for simplification, such as the subsidy...
by teen persuasion
Mon Oct 16, 2023 8:13 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Taxes 2022: Better to claim a college kid as a dependent? Or should the kid file their own return?
Replies: 24
Views: 6311

Re: Taxes 2022: Better to claim a college kid as a dependent? Or should the kid file their own return?

Your kid can file their own tax return AND still be your dependent, too -- they are not mutually exclusive!

I've walked my then 15yo thru filing his tax return using TT. It was years ago; I'm not sure TT is on the free file list in my state anymore. Check your state's list first, and begin via the link on your state's tax webpage, not the IRS webpage link, or his state tax return might not be free. :oops:
by teen persuasion
Mon Oct 16, 2023 7:51 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Finding the right MAGI for ACA subsidies
Replies: 23
Views: 2848

Re: Finding the right MAGI for ACA subsidies

It's confusing and complicated. As for the first part, yeah, if you *estimate* to your Marketplace that your income is in the range where the kids would be on CHIP, then your kids either need to go on CHIP or go uninsured and in that scenario, the kids don't count towards your family size for purposes of ACA. That's why you'll see your subsidy drop because it's now for a tax family size of 2, not 5. But if you estimate high enough (over the $95K in your scenario), then the kids can't go on CHIP, and they can go on ACA, and your ACA family size is now 5, and your subsidy is calculated on that. Same income, bigger family -> bigger subsidy. As for the Medicaid/ACA monthly vs. annual thing, yes, the time periods for qualifying for the two prog...
by teen persuasion
Mon Oct 16, 2023 7:40 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Finding the right MAGI for ACA subsidies
Replies: 23
Views: 2848

Re: Finding the right MAGI for ACA subsidies

When DH left a job midyear I'd figured out our AGI based on that half year's income plus my part-time income and it should have comfortably put us in ACA territory. But when we applied, they first assessed our monthly income going forward (my part-time income only) and put us on Medicaid. To prevent monthly income variations from gyrating you back and forth from Medicaid to ACA in my state (at least) you are granted a 12 month period on Medicaid before you are reassessed. A large one time increase (as in the month we do a Roth conversion) does not bump you off Medicaid. It wasn't clear in the OP whether you *just* quit working and are now applying for HI, but you need to apply quickly to get timely coverage. If you apply before the 15th of ...
by teen persuasion
Sat Oct 14, 2023 5:05 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact
Replies: 32
Views: 4712

Re: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

I see that they are delaying FAFSA applications until later this year/early next year. In all honesty, how many people on this board actually qualify for anything "need" based? Heck, even my last year of undergrad in which I was married and my wife was in college, we didn't get but $500 Pell money and we were making well under the poverty line. I lost all faith in what Pell grants were intended to be doing at that time. For my son, all of his aid was merit based, never filled out the FAFSA. My daughter is on a full NCAA athletic scholarship at a D-1 school and it is required, even though they know it will not be used to direct any aid her way. IMO, it is a big data grab. <raises hand> DS5 has full Pell and TAP, plus merit scholar...
by teen persuasion
Thu Oct 12, 2023 8:38 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Convert amount of next year's needs from IRA to Roth?
Replies: 5
Views: 828

Re: Convert amount of next year's needs from IRA to Roth?

We are doing something somewhat similar, but I don't match conversion amounts to immediate withdrawals. I convert whatever amount is best for a number of reasons (FAFSA, EITC phaseout cliffs, etc), and will withdraw as needed from Roth (prior contributions, seasoned conversions) for spending. We are under 59.5, so it's a way to get around the early withdrawal penalties, but we have to watch the 5 year seasoning for each conversion. We've got enough in contributions to cover the few years until 59.5. I'm intending to continue converting to Roth opportunistically each year, and take all spending out of Roth even after we *could* withdraw directly from tIRA. It seems cleaner; else, I'd have to balance tIRA withdrawals for spending against Roth...
by teen persuasion
Tue Oct 10, 2023 7:53 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Health insurance for child born in December - delay until Jan?
Replies: 39
Views: 3894

Re: Health insurance for child born in December - delay until Jan?

our out-of-pocket max and deductibles would go up when we add the child (as one parent's plan changes from individual to a family plan) likely introducing additional out-of-pocket expenses for the first few weeks of the infant's life in December. Things may have changed but when our children were born, all the birthing costs and even the first checkups for the child were still under my insurance policy, deducible, etc. In fact, I just paid my max out of pocket expense to the hospital ahead of the birth, and didn't have to pay any bills after that. When I returned to work, I updated the insurance policy to a family plan and my insurance premiums deducted out of my paycheck went up 30 days after their births. Things definitely changed betwee...
by teen persuasion
Tue Oct 10, 2023 7:38 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact
Replies: 32
Views: 4712

Re: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

DH got an email that FAFSA filing is delayed to hopefully Dec 1 this year. They implied everything would *finally* be implemented.
by teen persuasion
Mon Oct 09, 2023 7:39 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Some of my friends are hesitant to invest due to their low income.
Replies: 85
Views: 10205

Re: Some of my friends are hesitant to invest due to their low income.

You should probably start with an emergency fund before investing. When I started investing, it took me a couple of years to save up the $3000 minimum to open my first Vanguard fund. Invest as much as you can no matter the amount. In the long term, it's a combination of savings and time. I would put the employer 401k match first. And low income should always be in Roth. Low income does not necessarily mean low marginal tax rate. Low income can also mean refundable tax credits, which usually have phaseouts, acting like tax increases. EITC is one of the biggest. We used pretax 401k contributions, because they reduced both w2 wages and AGI (EITC tests on both, you get the lower credit result). For MFJ with multiple children, EITC phases out a...
by teen persuasion
Sun Oct 08, 2023 4:04 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Converting 401k to Roth IRA - tax implications
Replies: 13
Views: 1168

Re: Converting 401k to Roth IRA - tax implications

Health insurance? If thru ACA, increasing his AGI will reduce his credits. But if he truly reported zero AGI during open enrollment, he's likely on Medicaid not ACA. Depends on state.
by teen persuasion
Sun Oct 08, 2023 3:20 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Some of my friends are hesitant to invest due to their low income.
Replies: 85
Views: 10205

Re: Some of my friends are hesitant to invest due to their low income.

You should probably start with an emergency fund before investing. When I started investing, it took me a couple of years to save up the $3000 minimum to open my first Vanguard fund. Invest as much as you can no matter the amount. In the long term, it's a combination of savings and time. I would put the employer 401k match first. And low income should always be in Roth. Low income does not necessarily mean low marginal tax rate. Low income can also mean refundable tax credits, which usually have phaseouts, acting like tax increases. EITC is one of the biggest. We used pretax 401k contributions, because they reduced both w2 wages and AGI (EITC tests on both, you get the lower credit result). For MFJ with multiple children, EITC phases out a...
by teen persuasion
Sat Oct 07, 2023 8:40 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Some of my friends are hesitant to invest due to their low income.
Replies: 85
Views: 10205

Re: Some of my friends are hesitant to invest due to their low income.

OP, You should read up on earned income tax credit and saver's credit. At low income, the tax rate could become negative. Why won't be omeone save when they are paid to save? The tax refund could be substantial. KlangFool This, but especially if they have children. We've always been low income, DH mostly made low $30ks except for his last 3 years, and I was SAHM for nearly 20 years, gradually began working part time after that, and I still make under $24k today. But we have 5 kids, so EITC and CTC and AOTC have been huge for boosting our savings. In 2008 or 2009 DH's employer decided to cut the 401k match. DH had been contributing 5% to capture the match, so contributing about $1750/yr, pitifully low. He thought the match going away meant ...
by teen persuasion
Mon Oct 02, 2023 8:51 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Family Will Be Uninsured in 30 days, Advice Appreciated
Replies: 47
Views: 4748

Re: Family Will Be Uninsured in 30 days, Advice Appreciated

If you are in a state that expanded ACA Medicaid, and your monthly income is less than 138% of the Federal Poverty Level for a family of your size, you may be eligible for it. Eligibility for ACA Medicaid is based on month-to-month income, not annual, and has no asset test. ACA Medicaid has its pitfalls, but it's better than nothing. This! We found out the hard way that the state marketplace will first test your monthly income for Medicaid eligibility, and only if you don't qualify will they move on to testing your annual AGI for ACA eligibility. When DH quit his job mid-year, I knew our projected annual AGI would be good for ACA subsidies, but no dice - we were put on Medicaid due to the monthly income. My state also puts you on Medicaid ...
by teen persuasion
Sun Sep 24, 2023 1:11 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Assumptions for SS when planning
Replies: 37
Views: 3558

Re: Assumptions for SS when planning

Initially I was looking at the max combined SS we could receive, delaying to 70. But a McQ thread got me to realize that I was making too rosy assumptions - that we'd both live a long time, collecting SS for two. But if the higher earner were to pass away early, before claiming at 70, the survivor would have a much reduced SS payment - possibly for many years. So I now plan based on the minimum that survivor would get - the SS payment for FRA for the higher earner alone. It's also a similar amount to reduced SS, so works either way. I'm not about to go total pessimist and explore all the ways things could simultaneously go wrong... My SS by itself will be very small. We want to do Roth conversions, so will probably just put off both SS unti...
by teen persuasion
Sat Sep 23, 2023 12:58 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Tax Efficient Strategy using Tax-deferred, Roth, and Taxable accounts
Replies: 106
Views: 12994

Re: Tax Efficient Strategy using Tax-deferred, Roth, and Taxable accounts

Where I strongly disagree is how bogleheads have stated that taxable account should be all stocks or nearly all stock index funds or ETFs. If your asset allocation is balanced with some bonds and some stocks, I would argue that you want the tax deferred account to grow faster than a taxable account . Growing the taxable account at the fastest rate increases tax liability due to higher dividend taxes and unrealized capital gains. I understand that bonds and bond funds are not tax efficient, but treasury bonds are somewhat efficient. And if you need the money earlier than tax deferred assets, it should be safer. Since I intend to retire early, I will draw from the taxable account first. It will eventually be depleted to avoid tax liability. ...
by teen persuasion
Sat Sep 23, 2023 8:55 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Tax Efficient Strategy using Tax-deferred, Roth, and Taxable accounts
Replies: 106
Views: 12994

Re: Tax Efficient Strategy using Tax-deferred, Roth, and Taxable accounts

Where I strongly disagree is how bogleheads have stated that taxable account should be all stocks or nearly all stock index funds or ETFs. If your asset allocation is balanced with some bonds and some stocks, I would argue that you want the tax deferred account to grow faster than a taxable account . Growing the taxable account at the fastest rate increases tax liability due to higher dividend taxes and unrealized capital gains. I understand that bonds and bond funds are not tax efficient, but treasury bonds are somewhat efficient. And if you need the money earlier than tax deferred assets, it should be safer. Since I intend to retire early, I will draw from the taxable account first. It will eventually be depleted to avoid tax liability. ...
by teen persuasion
Sat Sep 23, 2023 8:32 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Archival of Statements
Replies: 44
Views: 3181

Re: Archival of Statements

Call_Me_Op wrote: Fri Sep 22, 2023 7:13 pm I am wondering if having the statements emailed (to a secure email) each month is a good idea. Does anyone do that?
Every entity that I've dealt with that encourages email statements doesn't actually email the statements. They send you an email to remind you a statement is available online. :annoyed
by teen persuasion
Sat Sep 23, 2023 8:09 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Tax preparation and tips | Married Filing Jointly
Replies: 14
Views: 1472

Re: Tax preparation and tips | Married Filing Jointly

3) We don't have separate finances. DH is less interested in finances, so I'm the primary financial person in our family. I do the planning, I keep the records, I file the taxes. I try to run things past DH, but he's not nearly as involved as I am. Despite his disinterest, he would make any changes I requested, e.g., changes to his employer retirement contributions - things I could not do for him. It was so I could better coordinate our whole picture - when I finally got access to my own retirement account at work, we reduced contributions to his account to shift to maxing mine instead. Yes, money is fungible and we *could* function just fine with accounts in his name only, but state tax exemptions on retirement income are twice as favorabl...
by teen persuasion
Wed Sep 20, 2023 7:22 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can I reimburse grown child's kiddie tax?
Replies: 9
Views: 1581

Re: Can I reimburse grown child's kiddie tax?

I hope scholarship money is not taxable because we gave our 27 yo daughter who's in med school around 30K of appreciated stock shares this year and she also got some good scholarship amount. Generally, scholarships applied to tuition are not taxable, but used for other expenses like room and board ARE taxable. It's usually assumed you would apply scholarships towards tuition first, but there are situations where you might change that. We had our kids claim a bit of scholarship money as taxable income, to be able to claim AOTC as undergrads. We had no kiddie tax issues, so it just got included in their standard deduction calculation with no tax federally (income within standard deduction). They did owe a bit of state tax from the increased ...
by teen persuasion
Sun Sep 17, 2023 10:33 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: College Tax Credits - is this correct??
Replies: 25
Views: 2632

Re: College Tax Credits - is this correct??

Yes, it is limited to no more than 4 undergrad years, but no restrictions on which 4. What improvement is created by shifting from 5th to 4th year LLC claiming? Let’s say that your qualified payments comes to exactly $10k per year. That would then be $5k per half year. If you wait until the last year to claim LLC, then you’d only get a $1k tax credit as LLC is limited to 20% of your payments (with a cap of $2k). If you claim LLC in the 4th year, you can get the full 2k credit. Then, on the last year, you can also get the full AOTC credit as you need only $4k in payments to get the full amount. Got it! Nonrefundable credits aren't much use to us, federally (state we could use). We are already wasting most of our other nonrefundable ones lik...
by teen persuasion
Sat Sep 16, 2023 7:14 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: College Tax Credits - is this correct??
Replies: 25
Views: 2632

Re: College Tax Credits - is this correct??

Some schools bill in such a way that there's no fifth year to claim. My DD1's college billed fall semester in early August, and spring semester in early December. That is, the bills were due Dec 8. So the full first year was paid before Dec 31. It was convenient, because then each year you claimed AOTC you were using both semesters' payments, not a half year on either end of college. My other kids' schools didn't issue spring bills until January, so no way to have a full year of bills freshman / senior years. Good points, but for the colleges where Spring semester is due in January, then one can claim the LLC for that 5th year, right? So a possible total of $12k in credit per kid (AOTC x 4 + LLC x 1)? Yes, you can claim LLC that last year....
by teen persuasion
Fri Sep 15, 2023 12:04 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: College Tax Credits - is this correct??
Replies: 25
Views: 2632

Re: College Tax Credits - is this correct??

Some schools bill in such a way that there's no fifth year to claim. My DD1's college billed fall semester in early August, and spring semester in early December. That is, the bills were due Dec 8. So the full first year was paid before Dec 31. It was convenient, because then each year you claimed AOTC you were using both semesters' payments, not a half year on either end of college. My other kids' schools didn't issue spring bills until January, so no way to have a full year of bills freshman / senior years. Good points, but for the colleges where Spring semester is due in January, then one can claim the LLC for that 5th year, right? So a possible total of $12k in credit per kid (AOTC x 4 + LLC x 1)? Yes, you can claim LLC that last year....
by teen persuasion
Thu Sep 14, 2023 8:08 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: College Tax Credits - is this correct??
Replies: 25
Views: 2632

Re: College Tax Credits - is this correct??

Some schools bill in such a way that there's no fifth year to claim. My DD1's college billed fall semester in early August, and spring semester in early December. That is, the bills were due Dec 8. So the full first year was paid before Dec 31.

It was convenient, because then each year you claimed AOTC you were using both semesters' payments, not a half year on either end of college. My other kids' schools didn't issue spring bills until January, so no way to have a full year of bills freshman / senior years.
by teen persuasion
Sun Sep 10, 2023 11:51 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: PLEASE Help With My Financial Situation and Questions
Replies: 68
Views: 7370

Re: PLEASE Help With My Financial Situation and Questions

My wife took a pay cut to come to the federal sector I made her not go crazy on the 401k contributions until her salary raises over the next few years catch back up to what her salary was. I did make sure at a minimum she was getting the match (hence her doing 7% currently and we get a 5% match) I'm also in NYS, not NYC, and belatedly learned about how NY excludes from taxation certain retirement income. We don't have any pensions, so it will just be tIRA withdrawals and SS for us. SS is not taxed in NY. Our tIRA withdrawals will have the first $20k per year excluded from taxes, per person. Per person - not combineable; withdraw only from DH's accounts, $20k state tax free; withdraw part from each of our accounts, up to $40k state tax free...
by teen persuasion
Sat Sep 09, 2023 8:02 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 401k catchup contributions confused
Replies: 11
Views: 1490

Re: 401k catchup contributions confused

Every employer seems to handle it differently. DH had one employer request an income % to contribute to each part, regular contributions and catch up contributions, as if they were 2 separate buckets. His next employer had no such request on their 401k election form, so we *thought* it was treated as one bucket with a higher limit after age 50. Nope, his contributions got cut off prematurely when he hit the regular limit, and we had to scramble to get them turned back on before the year ran out. It turned out that almost no one used the catch up contributions, so it wasn't on their form; they personally met with the *one* person who did, to hash out the details. After this event, they updated their form. I had my contributions cut off prema...