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TL/DR - Why was I charged a penalty for failing to pay estimated taxes? I paid more than the total amount of the tax. Is this the right forum for questions regarding taxes? If not, please steer me to the right place. I'm pretty new at making quarterly tax payments. (Retired mid-2016.) For...

Did my scandalous title draw you in? I'm probably going to put my question to the attorney who prepared our family trust, but I'm curious if anyone else has had a similar experience. My dad passed away at age 85 in May from Alzheimer's disease. He and his wife had a trust that called for about...

Friends: My current computer seems to be getting a bit sluggish. It's a 3-core AMD system I built 7 or 8 years back. I run 2 investment software packages at the same time (Schwab Street Smart Edge and Ameritrade's Think or Swim). The Schwab software loses its data connection from time to time...

Dear Friends, I have to be in Reno August 24-27. After that, my wife and I would like to spend a week or so doing some sightseeing. We've never seen the natural parks in Northern CA or Oregon. When we go to these kinds of sights, we tend toward the ranger-led talks and tours. That's by...

I searched quite a while, on here and elsewhere, but couldn't find the answer. Dad has Alzheimers, and isn't competent to sign his tax return. His wife has his power of attorney. I'm doing their taxes using HRBlock software. Last year, she paid someone to do the taxes, and it appears that she...

Dear Friends, I need to tap the collective wisdom of the board. I thought I had my 401k rollover problem all figured out, but then the Vanguard guy told me something about using after tax (not Roth) company shares in the 401k to offset some of the ordinary income from rolling over the...

Dear Friends, Since I'm recently retired, I have less income and more time to comparison shop. I'm considering changing my phone (Windstream) and my TV (Dish) to a bundle from Comcast, which provides my internet. I think I could save $100 per month or more. Are you happy with the product? With...

I'm now officially retired! My last day of work was Friday, but I feel like this is my first day of retirement, because it's the first Monday that I didn't have to wake up to the alarm clock. I've been a chemical engineer for 40 years. Some of my friends at the plant will make fun of me, but I...

Dear Friends, This is a bit of a milestone... the last Sunday that I have to set my alarm for 4:45 to get up and go the plant. I really like the technical content of my work (advanced process control in a chemical plant) but for the last couple of years I've found I have much less patience...

I've been thinking and talking about retiring for a couple of years. DW actually retired a bit over two years ago, and our money situation was OK for me to retire at that time, but I was still enjoying the work and not quite ready to go. I'm 62 and my wife is 61, so it's not exactly early...

My dad has Alzheimer's, and my step-mom has his power of attorney. Most of their assets are at Fidelity, with ownership in their trust. She recently got a letter from Fidelity saying that she has to add an additional trustee to the trust accounts because she is no longer capable of managing...

My dad owns a bunch of index funds bought using a windfall in about 2001. He has never traded in the account. The dividends have just been reinvested since the original purchase. He has Alzheimer's, and we need to sell some of the shares to fund his expensive long-term care. Fidelity says...

I am planning to retire in mid-July, and take my pension on 8/1. The picture shows my various payment options. Which would you elect, and why? Thanks! Dave

Dear Friends, My dad has Alzheimer's. After fall and broken hip, we recently had to make a decision to take him out of his home and put him and a board-and-care facility. He's near San Diego, and I'm near Houston. We always used to get a selection of Texas BBQ for him and his wife, but lately...

Greetings, new friends! Though I'm an engineer and a numbers guy, I'm also an amateur singer in a gospel quartet. And Myers-Briggs (you remember Myers-Briggs, right?) says I'm more intuitive than sensing, and more feeling than thinking. I think those traits are unusual for engineers. My wife...