Personal Investments • IRA contribution to lower MAGI?
Good morning,I was hit with a second tier IRMMA charge this year and am looking for a way to lower my MAGI this year. Here are the numbers:Age – 73 (74 in the last quarter)Traditional IRA taking RMD –...
View ArticlePersonal Finance (Not Investing) • Share your net worth progression
2018: -150k (estimate before I really started tracking)2019: ~0 (lots of student loans we were still repaying)2020: $177k (finally back in the black!)2021: $457k2022: $900k (good market returns and...
View ArticleInvesting - Theory, News & General • William Bernstein On the Financial...
Some institutions are less perfect than others. There are, of course, good people in the financial industry, but I've never worked in any profession like the financial industry where rewards to bad...
View ArticleInvesting - Theory, News & General • Emerging markets flat
Emerging markets have essentially been flat for 15 years. Does anyone have faith in this market?I've been invested since 2020 in EM, and I'm barely even so far. The reason I invested here was to...
View ArticleInvesting - Theory, News & General • Maxing 401k plus want to max Roth...
Welcome to the forum!Contributing to a Roth IRA is a good idea. You can wait to make a 2024 contribution when you know for sure whether or not your modified adjusted gross income allows a direct Roth...
View ArticlePersonal Finance (Not Investing) • QCDs before age 73?
Basic question, while I am on my first cup of coffee: would OP be better off funding a DAF until RMD time? Would that allow the tax advantaged giving to charity?There isn’t a general truth here. In...
View ArticlePersonal Consumer Issues • [Visiting Mackinac Island, Michigan with a small...
We spend time on Mackinac Island every summer. It is one my family's favorite places. The Grand Hotel is our choice but there are many nice hotels on the Island.I would not worry about the ferry but...
View ArticlePersonal Investments • 1 Year a Boglehead (Checkup)
I see that you elected to keep the Fidelity US Bond Index in the old 401(k), whereas the same fund is also available in the current 401(k). Given that Securian adds a 0.39% additional fee, I would...
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Personal Finance (Not Investing) • TaxAct. Reporting after-tax 401k -->...
The desktop and online versions are very different. Below is my view of that page, I had to cut off the top to remove identifying info. I don't have all those tabs and I can only reach certain forms...
View ArticlePersonal Finance (Not Investing) • Preparing for Marriage
Agreed there. I make it very clear on my goals for the future and show her what we need to do to achieve them and how much needs to go where. I am definitely the more financially savvy one and these...
View ArticlePersonal Consumer Issues • Getting off cruise ship a day early
US relations with China are strained, and China is an authoritarian country which already makes capricious tourist and business immigration decisions. Our Windstar cruise had a coastal China stop...
View ArticlePersonal Finance (Not Investing) • Feeling stuck with the mortgage
4.We gave up on forever homes by our third house. We are now in our 5th and only in our 30's. Life happens.Agreed - exactly this. There is nothing stopping you from selling right now.Statistics:...
View ArticlePersonal Finance (Not Investing) • How Much Cash Do You Keep In Your Home?
I only keep what's in my wallet. A couple hundred dollars. I am not a prepper but I think it makes sense to have a couple of months of non-perishable food on hand in case of an emergency. In the event...
View ArticlePersonal Investments • Annuitize or not?
The exclusion is not a fee. It's the percentage of income considered return of principal, non-taxable.Statistics: Posted by Chardo — Mon Mar 11, 2024 7:06 am — Replies 14 — Views 1377
View ArticlePersonal Finance (Not Investing) • Is Calif Really That Expensive - Or Am I...
This is not an unusual conversation for Californians (and Nevadans). As I was boarding my plane in Las Vegas for Los Angeles many years ago, the boarding agent said something like, "Enjoy your trip...
View ArticlePersonal Investments • Keeping 5 years' expenses in cash/short-term vs. more...
As part of your ~35% bond allocation, why don't you keep 5 years of expenses in cash? I plan on keeping at 3 years of cash as I no longer see the big spread between long term and short term rates. I...
View ArticlePersonal Consumer Issues • Dual majors and non big 50 colleges
Similarly, the more I learn about mech eng, it will be a lot of math and physics theory in the first 2-3 years. Now, I may know this, but I don’t know how we expect kids to know this without some...
View ArticlePersonal Finance (Not Investing) • Helping children young active duty officers
Hi,I have 2 children one is an Air Force pilot, and the other is still in the Naval Academy wanting to be a naval aviator. As junior military officer, the pay is very low, i.e. O-1 starts at $45,912....
View ArticleInvesting - Theory, News & General • Quantify the Value of Military...
Another big wrinkle in this analysis is a spouse's earning potential. I just wrote about this yesterday. I've said many times before that there are plenty of good reasons for an officer to exit before...
View ArticlePersonal Investments • Portfolio Critique
Does it make sense to invest into the Virginia529 when there's still room in our Roth IRAs? We could always just pull from our Roth IRAs and pay for education that way, yeah?It's hard to estimate how...
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