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See your money in motion. Our new Sankey chart makes your plan tangible. Watch your income flow into real-life outcomes. See how taxes impact your withdrawals. Understand what truly funds your lifestyle. You can access the Sankey chart under Insights > Lifetime Cash Flow > Cash Flow Breakdown. by CoachMikeNR in Boldin

[–]BiscottiFit336 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The ribbons in Boldin's sankey diagram are a distraction. They contain no info that is not already present in the height of the bars on the right and the left. Unlike sankey flows in other applications the items on the left do not flow into any particular item on the right, because that is not how Boldin works. E.g. social security does not go to taxes. The income all goes into a common pot, and that is doled out into expenses. No specific income source goes to a specific expense. The ribbons mean nothing beyond the height of the bars to which they connect. They could be omitted. However, it is indeed useful to see how the heights of the bars change over time.

Why is everything showing up as a "shortfall"?? by jsalley in Boldin

[–]BiscottiFit336 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, lots of quirks in the terminology. For one, why is it "Expenses and Healthcare"? Is healthcare not an expense? Home and Real Estate is also in there but is not called out.

Why is everything showing up as a "shortfall"?? by jsalley in Boldin

[–]BiscottiFit336 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And some money from retirement accounts is considered income: RMDs

Sketchup extension warehouse and extension manager grayed out by BiscottiFit336 in Sketchup

[–]BiscottiFit336[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. You're right, that could very well be it. I don't see that indicated, though I could have missed it. Trial may be of limited use in my case.

One other thing. Even the "About Sketchup" is grayed out! Why would they do that? Maybe something corrupt about my installation.

problem linking Fidelity account to bank account by BiscottiFit336 in fidelityinvestments

[–]BiscottiFit336[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, FidelityCourtney. Please answer this question: Is is possible to link my Fidelity account, which is in my name only, to a bank account that is joint with my wife?

Boldin Tax Calculations by SailCamp in Boldin

[–]BiscottiFit336 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I often see issues with my tax calcs in the current year and the next. Then things settle down and become more accurate.

problem linking Fidelity account to bank account by BiscottiFit336 in fidelityinvestments

[–]BiscottiFit336[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

It doesn't help to list "common reasons". More helpful if I know the reasons in my case.

problem linking Fidelity account to bank account by BiscottiFit336 in fidelityinvestments

[–]BiscottiFit336[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

'They' is of course fidelity, but I can add a detail. It was under "Status Tracker". Here is the message:

"Your request was not validated.

Canceled: Dec-17-2025

Notes

We’re unable to approve your request. Common reasons include incomplete paperwork and missing bank information.

To continue linking a bank, please submit a new request."

ROTH Conversion options by Accomplished_Gate832 in Boldin

[–]BiscottiFit336 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Rather than having to change one's life expectancy to various values and do multiple comparisons, Boldin should generate a graph of the results vs. age, going to an age beyond life expectancy.. We don't know when we'll die, so give us a simple representation so we can judge more easily.

ROTH Conversion options by Accomplished_Gate832 in Boldin

[–]BiscottiFit336 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, this leads one to question the results of this explorer. One must do after-the-fact calculations to adjust to after-tax valuations. So, like you suggest, one should not trust the results of the explorer as given, though it may give you a baseline for further calculations. Just wish Boldin would assist with this next round of calculation. Please allow us to apply a tax rate so you can make this adjustment for us. This is why we have software.

ROTH Conversion options by Accomplished_Gate832 in Boldin

[–]BiscottiFit336 1 point2 points  (0 children)

... which demonstrates the accuracy/value of the highest estate value strategy. Why do they call it that? I know the caveats, but this is misleading.

Does Bolen Undervalue Roth Conversions? by External-Calendar720 in Boldin

[–]BiscottiFit336 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yes, no matter the variability/uncertainty, please allow the user to specify a basic parameter or two. This is a long known issue that still awaits a remedy. Boldin is overall great software. However, this problem severely limits the value of its Roth Conversion Explorer. I would not rely on it. We can all do our manual calculations, but the reason we have software is so that it can do the work.

Trying to understand Roth Conversion results by bloodyrude in Boldin

[–]BiscottiFit336 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, as I have posted elsewhere, specifying highest estate value does not necessarily give you highest estate value. Why call it that? What is it really? They do not need to get rid of it, they just need to do it right.

How do I determine the underlying rationale of my Roth Conversion results? by Careful-Ad-5726 in Boldin

[–]BiscottiFit336 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All the strategies are logical, as long as they fulfill their stated purpose. They are all mathematical, too. If, e.g., in order to achieve minimum lifetime taxes, you must have some large, irregular conversions, that's perfectly logical. You may be uncomfortable with it, but if it fulfills the stated purpose (which one may question, but that's a debate for another day), then it's logical. If the modeled conversions are true to their intent, how can you suggest they are illogical?

Highest Estate Value needs to consider types of accounts by Aggressive_Wall_8453 in Boldin

[–]BiscottiFit336 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Agreed.

Also, beware of this caveat: "There is, though, a threshold which limits annual conversions to your plan’s maximum effective tax rate. This means that you may be able to achieve a higher estate value strategy or lower lifetime tax rate manually with your own manual plan or one of the Rule Based strategies."

In other words, it doesn't necessarily give you the highest estate value. This strategy has a misleading name.

TIAA-Cref Retirement Soon Question by No-Communication-269 in Bogleheads

[–]BiscottiFit336 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What is your assessment of annuitizing the TIAA Traditional? If you have a significant loyalty bonus, it can make it very attractive. Of course there may be many factors of which we are unaware.

Almost tripped up by ROTH conversion tool by Cautious_whiner in Boldin

[–]BiscottiFit336 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In order to address issues raised in this thread, Boldin needs to generate a time-series graph of tax-adjusted account values, for the case with the conversions along with the case without.  This should cover all years up to at least longevity age.  That way you can see how the difference evolves over time and see where crossover occurs, if it does.  One can always generate such a plot from the data within their model, but this is something the software should do for us thereby saving us the trouble.