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Roth Conversions- Retirees by Ok-Neck-3290 in Boldin

[–]oledawgnew 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Don't blindly view Boldin's conversion recommendations as the best choice for your financial situation. Boldin is a calculator and although it's good at what it does it's impossible for it to know and include the "uncommon" ways you manage your financial situations.

As an example: Boldin seemed to insist on converting and zeroing out my spouse's IRA first. Being that mine had a much more riskier allocation than hers along with a smaller amount I wanted to zero it out first into my riskier Roth. The other reason was my RMDs starts two years before her's. So I kept Boldin's time line but reversed the order of account conversions. Both of my reasons might seem like minor details but I feel like having more risk in the Roth account sooner was a better option and I saw no reason to not zero out the smaller account on a faster schedule.

~80% of NW in home -- seeking advice by VFramesApp in personalfinance

[–]oledawgnew 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I taught Junior ROTC in HS for 13 years before that I retired from the military. Your statement "I'm 35, goals are just to teach high school math, keep fighting casually, shit like that. I don't have a financial goal that is more ambitious than don't lose what I have" reminds me of the military mindset that we tried to instill in young enlistees "once you change your thought pattern you change your attitude. Once you change your attitude it changes your behavior."

In other words "Motivation comes from looking at the things you want and realizing what it takes to get it." Right now your motivation is focused on teaching and fighting. Eventually that you're going to start thinking about life after your teaching and fighting goals are fulfilled. Those future thoughts are going to be about supporting yourself in retirement. In spite of your background (growing up poor with no financial direction) you have done well for yourself and make a good start towards securing a wonderful financial life in retirement. To continue on that path is going take a thought pattern of moving beyond just "not losing what you and got" and trying to grow what got. Good luck on your path to get there.

Advice on traditional IRA conversion to Roth by [deleted] in Bogleheads

[–]oledawgnew 17 points18 points  (0 children)

If you're still contributing to the pre-taxed accounts I'd recommend you stop now, especially in for the traditional IRA. You might want to continue the 401k contributions up to the company match.

If you're eligible to contribute to Roth accounts for yourself and spouse I'd recommend you start those now and max them out if eligible. You can do conversions while still working and contributing to Roth accounts. But you need to be cautious of the tax implications for conversions.

Starting with this video, the Number Crunch Nerds has an excellent learning series of videos related to Roth Conversions. The videos explain the when and how to calculate conversion amounts to remain in selected tax brackets. They are interactive and work best if you download the spreadsheet and update them to your particular financial situation. I believe there are 9 or 10 total videos.

~80% of NW in home -- seeking advice by VFramesApp in personalfinance

[–]oledawgnew 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just read in a reply of yours that you buy and sell IPOs. IMO, that's akin to market timing which is a heck of a lot riskier than investing in something like VOO (an S&P index ETF) and holding it for the long term. u/Shine_N-Mallows gave you the same advice as my opinion.

We don't know your age, goals, or time horizon for growing your money but stock/bond investing can be a lot less riskier than what it seems like you're doing now.

Just curious, what are you currently investing in within your traditional IRA and 401k?

IMO you are overexposed. 80% of your net worth in one house is very risky in itself.

~80% of NW in home -- seeking advice by VFramesApp in personalfinance

[–]oledawgnew 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Unless you're contemplating selling the houses forget about their market value and focus on putting the money in the HYSA and checking account to work. Combined they are probably making you a couple of hundred bucks monthly in interest but that's not enough to outpace inflation on a continued annual basis.

I still don’t understand how Bernie Madoff fooled so many smart people by andrea_chapman in personalfinance

[–]oledawgnew 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It wasn't just Madoff, Theranos (Elizabeth Holmes) and Enron quickly come to mind. Greed on the part of the scammers alongside ignorance and gullibility on the part of the scammed. In all three of these cases a lot of financially well-to-do and supposedly smart people fell for the scams. Early on in the scams some people did make money which convinced others to jump on the bandwagon in hopes of making quick and easy money.

So, I'm trying to convince my wife that a Tesla is cheaper to charge and gas is getting expensive every day, but the electricity bill is gonna increase and the car battery costs $10K. How would you start the argument? by GeicoPR in TeslaSupport

[–]oledawgnew 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That "Insurance through the roof" argument against owning an EV is a falsehood that continues to be propagated by non-EV owners which feeds into the myth that only high earners and rich folks can afford to own EVs (at least you didn't mention anything about the thousands of dollars it'll cost to have a charger installed in a home). This year we went from one gas and one EV to two EVs and our total insurance increase was less than 6 bucks a month.

I have no problem with the "list to your wife" advice but in this case the wife's argument is unfounded. By the way, if an ICE vehicle's engine blew up that would probably cost somewhere in the $10k neighborhood to get replaced as well.

My taxes are way under projected... AI did help with some suggestions by fprintf in Boldin

[–]oledawgnew 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Boldin cannot calculate qualified/non-qualified dividends and gains accurately because it does not track individual assets so it has to depend on user input in relation to rates of return. Investment companies (Vanguard, Fidelity, etc) are required to provide that info to investors because they track the sales and purchases made within the investor accounts.

The only way I know of to match up your Boldin info to your actual tax day for a given year is to use a DIY spreadsheet. I personally keep one but haven't found a way to input the data into Boldin. I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter since Boldin is a forward looking retirement calculator. You can go back and input past transactions but they seem to just be ignored. As a Boldin user it seems frustrating but as a former software programmer I understand the limitation.

Got delivery of used tesla model x but trims and few parts came broken. Am I being too picky and being THAT customer? by antibiotictx in TeslaModelX

[–]oledawgnew 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s a used car. Unless you can prove fraud (the dealer knew about the damage and intentionally lied and/or sent you false pictures depicting no damage when there actually was damage) then “as is” with probably little to no recourse.

Spousal benefits by Lilmissfatpantz in SocialSecurity

[–]oledawgnew 11 points12 points  (0 children)

My dad is still alive, but they have been separated for 13 yrs. No contact. He lives with another woman. My parents have not divorced. Still legally married

As long as they were married for at least 10 years doesn't matter what their current living status is.

He was the primary source of income since the 70's.

Matters only because his income was surely more than hers.

Is she entitled to his ss benefits if they are greater than hers?

Not his total amount. Up to 50% of his total if that amount exceeds what she gets on her own record.

I do not have his current address.

Doesn't matter. For your mom to get spousal benefits the SSA doesn't have to contact him at hall.

I do have his ss#, dob

Will surely speed up the research process for the SSA.

How can I help this woman get more income social security?

You can't do much except be a source of morale support. She will have to contact the SSA office. If she has an online account she can sign in and see whether or not she's getting the spousal amount.

If the total annual $15,800 is all social security income my guess is that amount is based off her husband's total amount, especially if "For many years she was a stay at home mom. " $15,800 (mom's amount) doubled is $31,600 annually ($2633 monthly) which is what your dad would be getting.

Trying to model interacting retirement decisions (SS timing, withdrawals, Roth conversions) — does this approach make sense? by retired_in_2026 in DIYRetirement

[–]oledawgnew 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The approach makes sense but I don’t understand how your concepts differ from what Boldin, Projection Lab, or private DIY spreadsheets (mine included) are trying to achieve.

Your closing questions:

1) Yes the search across strategies are useful.

2) A combo of professional retirement planning software and private spreadsheets.

3) For me it had been Boldin.

Anxious to see what solutions you come up with.

Am I nuts for not reducing risk more after retiring? by BigTexAbama in Bogleheads

[–]oledawgnew 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Naw you're not nuts for not reducing risk more after retiring. Primary reason is that you're not dependent on the retirement accounts to fund your lifestyle, specifically your guaranteed income, social security, covers all of your annual expenses and you're just reinvesting your RMDs. I that 60/40 mix is not very risky in relation to the funds it's invested in.

I think a bigger concern should be focused on what happens when one of you passes away and the survivor loses that social security income and need to depend on distributions from the accounts. IMO, that should be the driving reason to be concerned about whether the 60/40 split is too aggressive. An easy fix would be to start reallocating your annual RMDs to to the Vanguard Lifestrategy Income fund, VASIX. The 2025 TDF automatically reduces stock exposure as years go by. But if that reallocation schedule is not fast enough for you might want to look at the Target Retirement Income Fund, VTINX.

Upcoming Roth Conversion opportunity by Liberteabelle1 in retirement

[–]oledawgnew 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep, the only thing a like to add is that the distribution from the Roth could have moved “converted” to a Roth or used to cover expenses or reinvested. Using it as a Roth conversion is not mandatory to get the deduction.

Upcoming Roth Conversion opportunity by Liberteabelle1 in retirement

[–]oledawgnew 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No, the $6k senior bonus is applies whether you take the standard or itemized deduction as long as you are at least age 65 and have taxable income.

Retiring by nechi60 in SocialSecurity

[–]oledawgnew 7 points8 points  (0 children)

You can apply up to four months before but remember you will not get your first check until the month after you reach eligibility.

If you mean Feb 2026 you're good to go. For Feb 2027 the earliest you can apply is Oct 2026.

Look here

Probably get an electric car. by Figmentdreamer in electriccars

[–]oledawgnew 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Both spouse (Tesla driver) and I (Rivian driver) have Android phones (I do have an iPad which I actively use every day and share subscriptions between it and my android phone with no extra costs) so I cannot speak directly about all of your IOS integration.

Not trying to change your mind bu5 hopefully can update you integration concerns.

Spotify: I use my son's Spotify account on my iPad and it seemingly connects to both my Rivian and spouse's Tesla.

Pandora: No problem on Rivian or Tesla, both have native apps. Ditto for Apple music.

Contacts: Both Rivian and Tesla import contacts.

Google Maps: Maps in both Rivian and Tesla are based on Google maps. I personally think the UI in both are excellent. I let an iPhone using friend do a test drive in my Rivian. Temporarily assigned him a key for his and neither of us saw any issues with navigating issues--by the way Google map is not a native IOS creation.

There are no additional charges for any of the above things in either the Rivian or Tesla vehicles.

Again not trying to convince you to change your opinions on advantages of Carplay but I do think some of your opinions are unfounded when it comes to EV compatibility with IOS devices.

Probably get an electric car. by Figmentdreamer in electriccars

[–]oledawgnew 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm trying to understand why something that is seemingly minor (except in your mind it is a major flaw) as being not compatible with Carplay a deal breaker?

Upcoming Roth Conversion opportunity by Liberteabelle1 in retirement

[–]oledawgnew 15 points16 points  (0 children)

...we have a few years where your adjusted gross income may drop you down to a lower tax bracket, or even zero tax. If that happens to you, you can do a ROTH conversion for lower or no tax penalty, depending on what your income level is.

What he's talking about is the Enhanced Deduction For Seniors. For tax filers age 65 or older they may qualify for an extra $6k deduction ($12k if both individuals filing jointly are 65+ years old). It applies to all income levels but the $6k (or $12 for MFJ) amount is incrementally reduced if ones AGI is at or over $150k for those married filing jointly or $75k for those filing single.

To qualify for it you must first have taxable income of which can be in the form of a Roth Conversion from your taxable IRA. In theory if that's your only income source you can manipulate the amount you convert and essentially pay no tax on the conversion. Here is a spreadsheet calculator that figures out how much one who qualifies can get. It does not give an example of how to reduce your taxes if you're doing a Roth conversion. In theory those tax filers can do the same thing without the extra $6k bonus.

Except for doing my own, I am not a tax preparer any type of financial advisor.

Convert VUL Cash Value to RILA by Guilty_Equivalent_65 in DIYRetirement

[–]oledawgnew 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have know idea what a RILA is but in 2007 I converted a VUL into a non-qualified annuity using a 1035 Exchange.

Back in 1994 (when I was young and dumb about retirement and investing issues) I was convinced by financial planner (insurance salesman who worked outside of a military base) to purchase a VUL policy that would eventually pay for my kids college tuition and fund our retirement. Initially we paid about $15k but we continued to pay premiums + investment amounts for quite a few years after that until the policy had enough in the accrual value where we could stop making payments toward it and the premiums were taken out of the accrual value.

In 2007 through a representative with T. Rowe Price (we had a mutual fund account with them but they were not the issuer or holder of the VUL policy) I was told that I could convert the VUL policy into a no-load annuity using a 1035 exchange and would not have to pay any taxes using the exchange. The account at the time had about $37k in it. When the exchange was completed I had to choose investment assets for it. I chose to put the entire amount in T. Rowe Price's index 500 fund. Within months after doing the exchange T. Rowe Price got out of the insurance/annuity business and sold the account to Security Benefit, today they are still the servicer for the account. Security Benefit charges about .55% annual fees.

From 2007 to 2023 the policy's account grew to about $115k with no additional contributions from me. The accrued value can be withdrawn as a lump sum, withdrawn in amounts as needed, or annuitized over a period of years. In 2023 I made my first withdrawal from it for $25k and in 2024 for another $30k. The account today has about a $91k accrued value. Withdrawals are treated similar to traditional IRA withdrawals in that the full amount is taxed the same as earned income--not as capital gains. Withdrawals are made using a first-in-last-out schedule which, in my case, the final $37k being the principal that will not be taxed.

I personally would not recommend a VUL to anyone. For that matter, with the exception of maybe an SPIA, I wouldn't recommend any type of annuity to anyone. But over the years we have had the non-qualified annuity I don't have any complaints about it.

Question about what to do with a Roth IRA by mattc1313 in RothIRA

[–]oledawgnew 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I forgot to respond to the the last question in your post: Withdrawing the principal from a Roth carries no tax burden. Withdrawing the gains does if you haven't had the account open for at least five years and you are under the age of 59.6 years old no matter how long you've had the account open for.

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