Recent content by mwilson

2.17% YTD on 64/32/4 S/B/C AA. On advice of Vanguard advisor, 5 years ago I diversified portfolio from 69/25/6 with about 6% foreign stocks and bonds to above allocation with 25% foreign and have gone from up +17% lifetime advantage vs S&P500 to -11%. Now I am lashing myself to the mast to...

If the startup still figuring out benefits maybe you could steer them to offering a Simple IRA. Up to $16k($19.5k if older than 49) pre-tax contributions allowed, and they must provide either 2% contribution or 3% match. The overhead is lower than a 401(k) so easier for the startup to...

I am not sure how the fees will work out, but in my experience the buyers agent has provided much more value than the selling agent. First house I looked at a ton of houses, the one I ended up with my agent allowed me to view the property and make the offer before the house was on the market...

Another reason to avoid comingling is bankruptcy protection, which is currently limited to about $1.5M for contributory IRAs but unlimited for rollover IRA and 401(k) accounts.

One other consideration is if you have non-deductible IRA contributions and want to convert to Roth IRA. If you rollover 401k to IRA the non-deductible portion is allocated across both the rollover and non-deductible/traditional IRA. So that dilutes the amount of non-deductible portion the IRS...

If you send the reply in the 30 day window, they either have to send you verification or stop contacting you. OP spouse does not owe the debt, so the collector can't send a valid verification. So, if they don't contact you, problem solved. If they do contact you in a way that violates...

I would consider sending a short letter under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Your letter should state 1. You are disputing the validity of the debt and 2. ask them to provide a letter of verification for the debt. You have 30 days from receiving the notice to do that. They can't...

Home price to income is not a good metric. Comparing monthly payment to monthly income, which is basically what banks use, is far better. Before the recent fed rate raises (despite much complaining about affordability from 25 years ago to 2 years ago), this metric has been about the same -...

The plural of anecdote is not data, but here is an anecdote: Bought my first house for $200k when 30-year was 8% Same house sold early 2022 for $685 when 30-year was 2.75% But, median household income in my area for 2000 was $42,148; for 2022 it was $79,057. Assuming 20% down, monthly payment...

Received email from VG today stating the fees would be over $300 and applied in September. This transition and other changes lately have been tone-deaf. So, time to go somewhere else with better client orientation. I would go FIDO but worried about concentrating a large percentage of assets...

Look, I'm a Vanguard guy so I understand keeping costs down - but getting charged for what is a fundamental, basic function of any financial institution is just annoying as all get out. Quarterly or at least annual paper statements should be free of charge. For me, it's easier to read the...

Surprised to see no mention of tankless water heaters? Less risk of leaking, and prices like comparable or even less than 75 gal. tanks on HD website. Installation to replace tank heater was expensive but with longer expected lifetime, less space, and endless hot water it's been a great...

Roth, based on current vs. future tax bracket. Another consideration I did not see in replies above is pre- vs. post-tax diversity. If her employee makes matching contributions it will likely be pre-tax, doing Roth now will also diversify tax risk, allowing her to draw from pre-tax up to...

Speaking from recent experience, if you submit your > $10k 2022 quarterly estimated payment with the 2021 voucher the gov't will happy issue a large refund while also penalizing your late payment. :(

Thanks for the clarification - good to know and to keep tax info in the forum as accurate as possible.