Search found 941 matches

by JDDS
Mon Jul 15, 2019 2:26 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Setting up for back door Roth. Need to close Sep IRA, rollover, or sell?
Replies: 14
Views: 1452

Re: Setting up for back door Roth. Need to close Sep IRA, rollover, or sell?

You likely want to contribute for 2019 to the SEP before closing it. The larger amount in the SEP may change your mind about converting to Roth; however, even if it does not then you have gotten more money into a Roth which is more valuable than taxable.
by JDDS
Wed Jul 10, 2019 3:45 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Another NFCU CD deal [Navy Federal Credit Union]
Replies: 34
Views: 5756

Re: Another NFCU CD deal

I spotted this earlier today on depositaccounts.com and I was shocked. Previously it was 3.00% for sub $50k, then 3.15% up to $100k then 3.25% going up. I wanted to qualify for a higher tier so I was pulling money to meet that minimum, but one of the transfers was not due to complete until today. I was hoping they would not lower the rate, the rate increasing never entered my mind. I think this is the first time I thank ACH for being slow. Granted, I could have likely waited the required 7 days to cancel my CD then immediately buy in at the higher rate, assuming they would not just apply the new rate, but not going through the hastle/not needing to know to do it is great. I also had a bit of liquidity concern with the higher minimum. Since ...
by JDDS
Tue Jul 09, 2019 10:40 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: New Employer 401k Fee
Replies: 12
Views: 632

Re: New Employer 401k Fee

My employer plan has a 25 basis point fee (in addition to fund expenses) that is paid quarterly. I would prefer to pay $13 per quarter, or $52 per year, since it's a flat fee. Once I have more than ~$21k in the plan it will be more than $52/year. Obviously someone who can contribute the maximum in a year can easily cross that threshold quickly. My employer is paying some of the expenses. Our plan is above $5M in assets, so I know the employees are paying at least $12,500 collectively. My understanding is that this was an automatic reduction when our plan surpassed $5M; I shudder to think what it was previously when I was not a contributor. Since it sounded like that happened not all that long before I was there, I figured I would wait a whi...
by JDDS
Fri Jul 05, 2019 1:25 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Portfolio Check Up, 33yo
Replies: 9
Views: 1344

Re: Portfolio Check Up, 33yo

The 2019 401(k) is $19k, not $18k. Otherwise this sounds pretty sane, as others suggested you may wish to use the G fund.

If you decide to buy a home, where will your downpayment come from? Personally I kept that money separately invested.
by JDDS
Thu Jun 20, 2019 12:33 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: VTSAX - Low Q2 dividend
Replies: 15
Views: 4552

Re: VTSAX - Low Q2 dividend

FOGU wrote: Wed Jun 19, 2019 11:57 pm
JustinR wrote: Tue Jun 18, 2019 7:04 pm Are you disappointed you don't have to pay more in taxes?
Heartbroken.

How does Vanguard distinguish between qualified and unqualified dividends. Is it the length of time the fund has held the dividend-paying asset? Or how long I have held different shares of the mutual fund? Or something else?

Thanks.
It's how long the fund has held the asset. Everybody gets the same QDI, seems mutual at least.
by JDDS
Thu Jun 20, 2019 12:30 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: HR telling my wife not to contribute 100% of her salary to 401k
Replies: 24
Views: 4864

Re: HR telling my wife not to contribute 100% of her salary to 401k

HomeStretch wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2019 12:16 am Traditional 401k contributions are not subject to income taxes, but they are subject to payroll taxes (Medicare and social security).
Right, this is 6.2% SS up to the annual limit which sounds like it is not at play here plus 1.45% medicare. At 7.65% then 92.35% might be safe. My employer has a max of 90% which I assume is to cover this case with a bit of room.
by JDDS
Fri Apr 12, 2019 12:09 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Navy FCU 3.25 17mo CD
Replies: 5
Views: 1377

Re: Navy FCU 3.25 17mo CD

It's a good option to open while available since it allows add-on deposits.
by JDDS
Sat Apr 06, 2019 5:56 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Son's dubious job offer
Replies: 32
Views: 7047

Re: Son's dubious job offer

Mistakes happen. I had that happen with my last company, a FAANG, of all places. I called them, and a couple of days later they sent a new letter with the correct offer. The recruiter said that they had bounced around several offers internally, and when she went to create the written offer, she grabbed the wrong one. I was a manager at a different company. I was doing annual raises, and I gave a guy a nice raise, and he just looked at me funny. The next day, he came in with his offer letter from nine months earlier, and it showed that he was offered more than we were paying him. A call to HR and payroll, and a week of them sorting it out, and he had nine months of back pay. Since then, I’ve always checked my pay stubs carefully. As far as ...
by JDDS
Thu Apr 04, 2019 2:12 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Keeping a stash of vacation days as unemployment "insurance"
Replies: 70
Views: 6860

Re: Keeping a stash of vacation days as unemployment "insurance"

I get PTO now. I'm purposely banking some because I want to have it in case there is an emergency. As others have also chimed in, it is good to have a fallback in case of your or someone elses sickness. FMLA may be an option, but that requires pesky paperwork. Everybody's ability to implement any particular banking strategy is super dependent on situation: family, work style, industry, employer policies, etc.
by JDDS
Thu Apr 04, 2019 1:17 am
Forum: Forum Issues and Administration
Topic: Looking for Topics from a Certain Member
Replies: 5
Views: 10852

Re: Looking for Topics from a Certain Member

This topic is now in the forum administration forum.
by JDDS
Sun Mar 10, 2019 6:10 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Solo 401k Questions
Replies: 25
Views: 4352

Re: Vanguard Solo 401k Questions

The only down side on Vanguard’s solo 401k is that they don’t offer admiral shares. You are forced to invest in their investor share class. Vanguard started offering Admiral Shares in their Individual 401k shortly after Fidelity announced their 0% index funds. There are still two downsides to Vanguard's Individual 401k. They do not allow rollover contributions. They do not allow employee eligibility restrictions. Fidelity and all the other low cost brokerages offer one-participant 401k plans with the full allowable restrictions. Such plans allow you to restrict eligibility to those employees >= age 21 and/or one (1) year of service with >= 1000 hours of service. This allows you the ability to hire high school and college students < age 21 ...
by JDDS
Sun Mar 10, 2019 1:49 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Roth solo 401(k) now more attractive given new 199A deduction announcement
Replies: 57
Views: 6321

Re: Roth solo 401(k) now more attractive given new 199A deduction announcement

Man, this ends up complicated. Keep in mind that lowering AGI can still be a goal for some other situations/techniques, and that Roth contributions may mean forgoing a state tax deduction for traditional contributions.

For my case, IL deduction is worth 4.95%, so in the 24% federal bracket, the deduction ends up at about 24% again. IL does not currently tax retirement account withdrawals. I could see my withdrawal tax rate being the same or less. For me I will likely just stick with a deductable deferral because it is at this point looking like this only applies to me in 2018 and I only have a few thousand I could shift--I already made some deferrals to this and another plan for 2018. Anybody think this does not sound sane?
by JDDS
Sat Mar 09, 2019 11:55 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Solo 401k Questions
Replies: 25
Views: 4352

Re: Vanguard Solo 401k Questions

AFAIK all the funds are available. They should have no minimum (the website does not understand this), so long as the regular minimum is sub 10k. Admiral shares of index funds are now available, but not actively managed funds.

I've heard of people 'transfering' a one participant plan from Fidelity to Vanguard.
by JDDS
Sat Mar 09, 2019 12:52 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Chase $600 bank bonus deal
Replies: 48
Views: 9078

Re: Chase $600 bank bonus deal

I'm getting a similar bonus. Be aware though, that Chase will likely want to make a 3-way phone call with your funding institution so they can confirm the details of your $15k transfer. The website will not tell you this is going to happen. You will get normal messaging after trial deposits are confirmed and you setup the transfer. To get my attention and make me call them, Chase locked my online account, which blocked me from accessing info on my Chase credit card. I was _not_ happy to say the least. They say this is standard security practice--one CSR admitted to me that this happens all of the time even when they know they've solicited a particular person via mail--but I've never had another institution do this. The best part is that the...
by JDDS
Sat Mar 09, 2019 12:40 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Vanguard lowered cost of some ETFs but not VTI
Replies: 8
Views: 1272

Re: Vanguard lowered cost of some ETFs but not VTI

Not sure I like that new format of describing expenses in an annual report for the last six months--yes I realize the annual data is elsewhere in the report. Vanguard has flexibility in pricing share classes differently, not based fully on actual expenses. Clearly they're emphasizing ETF shares. That can still benefit the other share classes of the fund, e.g. by growing AUM, ensuring plenty of ETF creation/redemptions to avoid distributing capital gains, etc.
by JDDS
Thu Mar 07, 2019 1:43 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: CA Tax Exempt Bond Fund, but now living in IL
Replies: 5
Views: 723

Re: CA Tax Exempt Bond Fund, but now living in IL

So far as I know there's no IL state benefit for holding any mutual fund of any bonds from any particular state. I think there's some benefits if you hold some IL bonds directly--nothing I'm willing to do. I agree diversification is the reason to switch.
by JDDS
Sun Mar 03, 2019 9:52 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Boglehead Beer
Replies: 1071
Views: 204162

Re: Boglehead Beer

XtremeSki2001 wrote: Fri Jan 18, 2019 10:38 am Not very Boglehead, but enjoyed Firestone Walker's Stickee Monkee from 2017 the other night. One of the most delicious Belgian quads I've ever had.
I agree that it's an amazing beer. Firestone's XXII anniversary is something like 44% stickee monkey, so you might like to try that if you also like Parabola.
by JDDS
Sun Mar 03, 2019 9:50 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Boglehead Beer
Replies: 1071
Views: 204162

Re: Boglehead Beer

Based on a rec. A few days ago I bought a six pack of Kujo, a col press coffee porter (6%) from Flying Dog. It's now gone and I'll have to see if I can get another, super enjoyed this one. There's a weird story about a dog on the bottle that I've since been informed is because Kujo is the name of a Stephen King novel/movie. Cheers to the return of stout season! You might like Southern Tier's Coldpress Coffee Pumking. Might be able to find it in a 22oz, but I know it's available in 4 packs of 12oz bottles. I almost bought it yesterday, but for $15 a 4 pack I didn't want to take the chance of being underwhelmed. You try it first and tell me if it's good. Edited to add: It's not a stout though. It's a pumpkin beer. I was offered our local sto...
by JDDS
Fri Mar 01, 2019 1:34 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard is Discontinuing their VanguardAdvantage Accounts
Replies: 645
Views: 93389

Re: Discontinuing VanguardAdvantage Accounts

HueyLD wrote: Thu Feb 28, 2019 12:17 pm My professional guess is that VG Advantage account as a product is a loss leader and their analyses show that the cost far exceeds the benefits.

And my own personal preference is to do banking with real banks and investing with real brokerages. Companies tend to do a better job when their core business is involved.
These were my thoughts, but then I have no skin in the game. I considered if I would want one of these accounts, but decided I was happy with what I had. If this was a drain on resources, then while painful for everybody with an existing setup, in the long run it may be best overall to end the product. Ending products is in my experience not easy for a company, employees, customers, etc.
by JDDS
Wed Feb 27, 2019 2:02 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Ups the Ante in an ETF Race to Zero - Fees are coming down on seven ETFs
Replies: 97
Views: 11156

Re: Vanguard Ups the Ante in an ETF Race to Zero Fees are coming down on seven ETFs, with combined assets of more t

I still haven't found a list of the 43 mutual fund reductions. As mentioned the annual reports can give away what's upcoming. For two bp on ~25% of my portfolio I think I'm good with the mutual fund shares. Fortunately I just converted from investor to admiral in my individual 401(k) so I just dropped 6bp.

Anybody bother to see if the financial statements allow the ER to be calculated to another significant digit? 9 vs. 11 could be much closer than it first appears due to rounding.
by JDDS
Fri Jan 11, 2019 2:58 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Pay off a 30 year mortgage in 15 years? The cost of flexibility
Replies: 100
Views: 17783

Re: Pay off a 30 year mortgage in 15 years? The cost of flexibility

TFB wrote an article several years ago with the same points
https://thefinancebuff.com/payment-flex ... edule.html

I like the fact he labels it insurance because it mentally made me think about it differently.
by JDDS
Tue Nov 20, 2018 2:26 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard lowering Admiral level to $3,000?
Replies: 225
Views: 25307

Re: Vanguard lowering Admiral level to $3,000?

The convert button in my taxable account appeared to work when I just tried, completing the process.

I was willing to scoff given the 'retirement account' footnote that i401(k)s would be getting the admiral shares, but given what others have observed I'm optimistic. My account did not show a 'convert' button for my i401(k) though. Here's to hoping it does so soon!
by JDDS
Thu Nov 08, 2018 1:23 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: PenFed new savings rates
Replies: 20
Views: 3206

Re: PenFed new savings rates

TravelGeek wrote: Thu Nov 08, 2018 12:30 am
weltschmerz wrote: Wed Nov 07, 2018 9:22 pm We’re coming up on the 5 year anniversary of the great PenFed CDs of 2013, so they may be trying to keep people from cashing out.
I am hoping for a new special offer towards the end of the year to capture the CD money from five years ago. What was the going rate back then for five year CDs - maybe 1%? So how about another 2% above current rate offer ;)
+1

Nothing personal to them, I have no complaints, but the offer will have to be pretty good considering the increased EWP.

The shorter term 1 year competitive rate is likely part of a strategy to get new money so they're not as worried about outflows if they don't offer a great replacement rate.
by JDDS
Fri Oct 12, 2018 12:42 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Fidelity announces simplified index fund structure]
Replies: 20
Views: 3414

Re: [Fidelity announces simplified index fund structure]

0 minimums is fantastic. For people starting out it's one less concern; easy to get into multiple funds that match the target allocation without worry of having enough for each component. (or learning to trade ETFs)

Getting rid of fund classes is also awesome, another thing to forget talking about.

I hope Vanguard and others make some similar changes.
by JDDS
Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:20 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Short Term Bond yield over 3%
Replies: 74
Views: 12645

Re: Short Term Bond yield over 3%

feh wrote: Tue Oct 09, 2018 4:07 pm Which is why I'll be putting most of the proceeds from my recently matured NWFCU CD into VFSUX instead of another CD.
I thought about doing this too, based on the SEC yield. I was less convinced when I saw the fund (not unexpectedly) had lost 3% in NAV this year. If fed hikes keep on pace, will similar happen in the next year?
by JDDS
Sat Oct 06, 2018 5:13 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Boglehead Beer
Replies: 1071
Views: 204162

Re: Boglehead Beer

I tend to buy expensive beer, and I generally like to try things on draft or in single bottles, shying away from unknown 6 packs--because I might know in the first sip that a beer is not for me. Based on a rec. A few days ago I bought a six pack of Kujo, a col press coffee porter (6%) from Flying Dog. It's now gone and I'll have to see if I can get another, super enjoyed this one. There's a weird story about a dog on the bottle that I've since been informed is because Kujo is the name of a Stephen King novel/movie.

Cheers to the return of stout season!
by JDDS
Fri Oct 05, 2018 1:34 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Fall Foliage
Replies: 29
Views: 2963

Re: Fall Foliage

This is now in the consumer forum.
by JDDS
Thu Oct 04, 2018 2:11 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Charles Murray's and Jordan Peterson's book
Replies: 17
Views: 1783

Re: Charles Murray's and Jordan Peterson's book

This thread is locked: controversial
by JDDS
Wed Oct 03, 2018 5:53 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Flattening yield curve
Replies: 55
Views: 6388

Re: Flattening yield curve

This thread is now in the Investing - Theory, News & General forum

Jump to 


































Who is online
by JDDS
Wed Oct 03, 2018 1:59 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Would Selling VWIUX to Buy MUB be a Wash Sale?
Replies: 6
Views: 880

Re: Would Selling VWIUX to Buy MUB be a Wash Sale?

This thread is now in the Investing Help forum
by JDDS
Wed Oct 03, 2018 2:12 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: CD strategy
Replies: 15
Views: 2436

Re: CD strategy

To maintain good rates it's likely to need to move the money around, so autorenew is not a good idea. How often really depends on how much time you are willing to spend regularly managing the reinvestments. Every month for me would be too often.
by JDDS
Tue Oct 02, 2018 9:01 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: PenFed new savings rates
Replies: 3
Views: 1005

Re: PenFed new savings rates

I got their marketing email earlier, looked up rates and was disappointed, but now I'm seeing the higher 5 year rate. I have some money that just matured from NWFCU, but I'm not going to put it here. The rate is pretty good, but not excellent and the EWP is too harsh. The way they structure the EWP is confusing, but basically it's either all dividends earned capping at something like 18 months worth on a 60 month certificate.

Also note: if funded by ACH, no withdrawals for first 60 days.
by JDDS
Mon Oct 01, 2018 11:48 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Northwest FCU 3-year 3.04% Add-On CD
Replies: 371
Views: 47054

Re: Northwest FCU 3-year 3.04% Add-On CD

Since the current rates are not too good, I sent a secure message asking to deposit into my share account. Fingers crossed they announce something good tomorrow on Tuesday, but if not I'll figure out how to ACH it out. I think adding NWFCU to my Vanguard account to make a pull from Vanguard will be best to get it in one go. I had originally thought I could do $10k chunk pushes back to my bank (up to six per statement I know), but then I saw the post about the $30k ACH cap per month outgoing at NWFCU.

I will keep my share account active in hopes of another great deal!
by JDDS
Thu Sep 27, 2018 12:20 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How and When to Tell a Prospective New Employer about a Needed Disability Accommodation
Replies: 14
Views: 1804

Re: How and When to Tell a Prospective New Employer about a Needed Disability Accommodation

It's common enough that you may just need to ask without bringing it up as a needed accomadation.
by JDDS
Sat Sep 01, 2018 2:05 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: "Mutual Funds and Securities Lending"
Replies: 32
Views: 2603

Re: "Mutual Funds and Securities Lending"

Mutual fund sponsor Vanguard gives 100% of its fees generated from securities lending back to its shareholders. This is one of the main reasons why Vanguard is able to offer rock-bottom expense ratios. In some cases, fees from securities lending pays for virtually all of the mutual fund’s operating costs.
This does not make sense to me. Since security lending revenue does not reduce an expense ratio, the revenue should have nothing to do with why Vanguard's expense ratios are what they are. The revenue reduces the tracking error for the index.

There is an insentive to keep the security lending program's fees low in the sense of better fund performance. The skeptical part of me wonders if that is enough insentive.
by JDDS
Thu Aug 23, 2018 12:00 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Job Application Advice for Non-Profit
Replies: 8
Views: 955

Re: Job Application Advice for Non-Profit

Some nonprofits are really going to want to know 'why' you want to work there, how you feel about their mission, etc. This will likely be more important at smaller nonprofits, or if you are applying for leadership positions. You can read a 990, but I would be cautious about advertising that.
by JDDS
Wed Aug 22, 2018 11:55 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Alexa for seniors, especially blind or low vision
Replies: 13
Views: 1578

Re: Alexa for seniors, especially blind or low vision

As others have said music and books. There's also news, sports, and some of the games can be fun. I also often use it for timers, alarms and as a basic calculator. The echo's interface lends itself to simplicity, but it has some limitations in what it can do obviously compared to a smart phone or computer. IOS, Android, Mac OSX, Windows, etc. all have accessible interfaces that come with a higher learning curve.
by JDDS
Fri Aug 17, 2018 11:41 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Help with Vanguard Individual 401(k)
Replies: 12
Views: 1506

Re: Help with Vanguard Individual 401(k)

ssean wrote: Fri Aug 17, 2018 11:17 am Thanks for the quick response. My accountant handles my payroll. Do I need to have them make changes to my paychecks now, or can I just provide them with the total contribution amount at tax time?
If you are receiving a paycheck it sounds like you are an S corp. If so, as I understand it (I am not an expert) deferrals need to be made by the business when payroll is done. I believe there is still a lot of flexibility on timing for employer contributions. The flexibility for deferrals that others suggest applies to other business entities, e.g. sole proprietor.
by JDDS
Thu Aug 16, 2018 4:50 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: For i401k, Vanguard does not allow investment into Admiral Shares
Replies: 38
Views: 3857

Re: For i401k, Vanguard does not allow investment into Admiral Shares

As a current i401(k) and Roth i401(k) account holder at Vanguard holding most of my entire portfolio in those two accounts, I too am tempted to move them elsewhere due to the fact that Admiral shares are not available. Ever since opening the account, I have felt shortchanged due to the seemingly unavoidable higher expense ratios even though my balances are 10x the Admiral requirement. E-Trade and TD Ameritrade would definitely be my top choices for an alternative. However, upon further investigation today, just comparing my current i401(k) portfolio at Vanguard to what I see as being the closest equivalent of the same portfolio through the no-transaction-fee ETFs available at E-Trade, the differences in return seem pretty small.... and som...
by JDDS
Thu Aug 16, 2018 12:11 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Maturing Credit Union 3% CD's this year
Replies: 52
Views: 7391

Re: Maturing Credit Union 3% CD's this year

I agree with Kevin, I'm not biting on the 'dream on' offer from NWFCU. It is a bit shorter term, but the interest rate is lower than my current 3%/3 year dream certificate with them. Meanwhile the short term interest rates are such that this offer is not an outlier. I'm willing to wait and see if there is an outlier or rates in general move up. I don't blame NWFCU for making the offer, since it is to their advantage to line-up keeping the money around. I have had a positive experience with them and thus would recommend them on a good rate.
by JDDS
Wed Aug 15, 2018 11:52 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: For i401k, Vanguard does not allow investment into Admiral Shares
Replies: 38
Views: 3857

Re: For i401k, Vanguard does not allow investment into Admiral Shares

I did my i401K at Vanguard because everything else was there, so it was familiar and convenient even with the lack of admiral funds. Today I would probably start with Fidelity but not really motivated to switch it right now. I just use the Lifestrategy Growth fund and ignore it, so in a way it simplified things so I'm not tempted to slice and dice. I did likewise for the same reason, and would probably do Fidelity if I was starting today. I have two traditional-style accounts, including the i401(k), the second has admiral shares. I favor the funds that have a smaller difference in expense ratios between admiral and investor classes in the i401(k). Practically this means I put international in the i401(k) because there is a 6bp difference, ...
by JDDS
Wed Aug 15, 2018 5:56 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: For i401k, Vanguard does not allow investment into Admiral Shares
Replies: 38
Views: 3857

Re: For i401k, Vanguard does not allow investment into Admiral Shares

Nothing new there. This has always been true. Not even remotely close to the lowest fees for a one-participant 401k plan. Fee Min Company TSM 0.030% $ 1 Schwab Total Stock Market Index Fund 0.035% $10,000 Fidelity Fidelity Total Market Index Fund Premium Class 0.150% $ 3,000 Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares Vanguard also does not allow the following that the other two do: IRA Rollover contributions. Can be very helpful for enabling an efficient Backdoor Roth. Employee eligibility restrictions such a one year of service < 1000 hours/year and < age 21. A Vanguard, when you hire your children you can no longer have their individual 401k. The minimums in Vanguard's i401(k) are waved for funds with minimums under $10k. (Th...
by JDDS
Thu Aug 02, 2018 2:09 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Fidelity Files for Four Fidelity ZERO℠ Funds (0.00% ER)
Replies: 814
Views: 113055

Re: Fidelity Files for two Fidelity ZERO℠ Funds (0.00% ER total stock and total international mutual funds)

Cutting investor shares expenses by 75% would have a more significant impact than I would have guessed. Interesting. Out of curiosity, I'll pick three funds tomorrow--Total Stock, All-World ex-US Small Cap, and a third equity fund that is not included in any funds of funds--and look at those expense breakdowns and see what it would do to expenses if they lumped Investor expenses and assets in with Admiral and ETF shares and assets. That would give us worst-case scenario. (I want to look at a third equity fund that does not have a huge portion of assets coming into the Investor Share class from funds of funds.) I see 53% higher expenses for Total Stock expenses aggregated across Investor/ETF/Admiral as compared to Admiral. This is only the ...
by JDDS
Sun Jul 29, 2018 12:30 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vgd alt strategies fund (vasfx) open to retail investors?
Replies: 73
Views: 10593

Re: Vgd alt strategies fund (vasfx) open to retail investors?

$250k minimum I guess says they will sell it to retail investors, but you'd better have a large portfolio. The only other Vanguard retail fund I can recall having this minimum is the Market Neutral fund. Since admittedly I only somewhat understand the goals and methodologies of these funds, I will not be investing, probably ever.
by JDDS
Sat Jul 28, 2018 11:55 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Why dont people sit outside more? And how to deal with bugs?
Replies: 50
Views: 6740

Re: Why dont people sit outside more? And how to deal with bugs?

I sat outside with a beer for about 30m earlier tonight because the weather was quite nice. 3 bug bites later and I had sadly had enough. I'm the sort of guy who can be outside with another half dozen people and I'm the only one getting bitten.

It's a good point about fans, I have a plug on my deck and I think I'll try that tomorrow if the weather holds up.
by JDDS
Thu Jul 19, 2018 6:23 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Reevaluating mortgage payoff strategy
Replies: 63
Views: 7554

Re: Reevaluating mortgage payoff strategy

Thanks all, I will try to answer several of the questions without doing a ton of quoting.

Equity: I put 20% down, with the minimum payments I have approx 28% now, which represents about 7% of my net worth

Remaining balance:
low 6 figures
this would be approx 55% of my current taxable holdings
this is 2-3 years of annual savings, more if you exclude the amounts going into retirement accounts

Yes, I will continue to fund my 401(k) $18500 and Roth IRA $5500; I do not have access to an HSA.

There are house projects to do, but I have ~$10k set aside for this now, and I admittedly may add a bit more to this rather than as extra payments.

I already have some new things to consider from what's been mentioned so far, thanks again,
JDDS
by JDDS
Thu Jul 19, 2018 1:09 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Reevaluating mortgage payoff strategy
Replies: 63
Views: 7554

Reevaluating mortgage payoff strategy

Hi everybody, I have a mortgage at 2.625% (15 years, 20% down) on which I have made the minimum payment since acquiring it in summer 2016, i.e. I have a bit over 13 years left. There have been 3 changes to my financial situation in the last year, which may mean it is time for me to reevaluate my payoff plan. 1. state of IL tax increase from 3.75% to 4.95% (summer 2017) 2. federal tax overhall: my mortgage interest was previously approx 2/3 deductable, none now (2018) 3. I'm moving from contracting 1099misc to W2, which implies moving from a solo 401(k) to a group 401(k) (summer 2018) After #1 the plan seemed even more solid, keep directing extra resources to deductable (traditional) retirement accounts, but after #2 and especially #3 the si...
by JDDS
Mon Jun 18, 2018 11:49 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: New Capital One 360 ACH limits
Replies: 63
Views: 27129

Re: New Capital One 360 ACH limits

I got this email as well, and I was disappointed they did not disclose the new limits. I cannot tell how much the security explanation is legit vs. smoke and mirrors.

I have read on depositaccounts.com that Synchrony's ACH limit is $500k; I have never been in a position to test it :)
by JDDS
Mon Jun 04, 2018 12:02 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: PenFed 3% 5 year certificates are back.
Replies: 19
Views: 3533

Re: PenFed 3% 5 year certificates are back.

These were some of the first CDs I ever bought. I thought the 1 year EWP was stiff for the 5 years, but I convinced myself (it turns out wisely) to go for it. I therefore find the current even higher EWP unacceptable. If the competetors had followed suit with similarly high EWPs of course I might feel differently, but thankfully they did not.

I hope I am surprised later in the year with a more outstanding rate that makes me hold my nose against the EWP.
by JDDS
Mon Mar 26, 2018 11:20 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Best state for ABLE plan?
Replies: 17
Views: 11806

Re: Best state for ABLE plan?

I was comparing the various plans last summer. Unfortunately I don't have much to add that other posters have not already covered. I am happy to see lots of index fund options in these plans at least, even if the fees are several times what we would expect in other accounts. At least you can get a familiar investment? :)