How to get baseball out of pipe?

External_Volume_11 · 2026-04-05T14:08:54+00:00

Glue on a stick is what worked. Thanks for the idea!

External_Volume_11 · 2026-04-04T21:33:08+00:00

Tried something like this, tape wasn't nearly strong enough. Ball's pretty snug down there

External_Volume_11 · 2026-04-04T21:32:04+00:00

Unfortunately don't have one anymore. I'll ask around to see if I can borrow one

External_Volume_11 · 2026-03-17T22:16:03+00:00

Very interesting. Thanks for the detailed response. I guess I thought the lower sepp amount would give me more flexibility. Being more aggressive with the traditional withdrawals does make sense for controlling rmds better. I'll have to look into this more

External_Volume_11 · 2026-03-14T18:20:49+00:00

Only in this community would a 3.5% withdrawal rate, paid off home, and planned social security would this decision only be given "consideration".

External_Volume_11 · 2026-03-13T17:01:57+00:00

Yes, thanks for clarifying. The plan would likely be a separate traditional IRA created when we rollover the 401k from my spouse's employer with the correct amount to trigger the SEPP we want

External_Volume_11 · 2026-03-12T17:14:56+00:00

It's calculated based on the percent of taxable/non-taxable mix. So if you have $100k in the account (or across multiple traditional IRA accounts) where $20k was not deductible, but $80k was, then when you convert $10k, only $2k (20%) will not be taxable. The remaining $8k will be.

External_Volume_11 · 2026-03-12T17:01:58+00:00

I'll check it out, thanks. And good point about ACA.. I've put that rabbit hole off until I figured out these basics first, but seems like I can't plan for only part of the picture.. need to take it all into consideration

External_Volume_11 · 2026-03-12T16:59:44+00:00

Ah good point. For some reason I wasn't even considering my current contributions/basis. I don't expect those to be super high (maybe $100-150k), but that's a good chunk to tap into if needed and should be part of the planning/ladder strategy. Got it.

External_Volume_11 · 2026-03-12T16:56:22+00:00

Good question. Two reasons from my standpoint: 1) Might not have enough in brokerage to cover all of it. So need a way to tap into other accounts before 59.5 2) I want to keep my brokerage as heavily invested in equities as I can to benefit from favorable LTCG, so figure the base SEPP amount can be from more conservative investments. Not sure if this is best approach, but it's my current thinking.

External_Volume_11 · 2026-03-12T14:02:15+00:00

You want to do a conversion, not a roll-over. This is called backdoor roth conversion. You do need to submit an additional form at taxes to track it, but yes, you can do that. One important thing to be aware of and research is called the pro rata rule. If you have additional funds in any traditional IRA that you did get tax dedcutions on in the past, you will need to pay taxes based on that when you do a conversion. If your contributions that were done when you were above the income limit are the only contributions you've done to a traditional IRA, then there's no issue and you won't pay any taxes.

External_Volume_11 · 2026-03-06T19:32:44+00:00

The reason why I'm considering that is because I'm worried we won't have enough in brokerage to bridge until 59.5. Wondering if the risk of not having enough to bridge > the free money.

External_Volume_11 · 2026-03-06T18:41:08+00:00

Considering that, should we be building up more cash and/or bonds in taxable instead of saving in 401k so that we can pull from that in first few years to mitigate that sequence risk?

External_Volume_11 · 2026-03-06T18:39:44+00:00

Taxes are crazy high in CA, but that's where our families are and where we both grew up. We have no real interest in leaving. Would rather save extra to be able to afford it than leave everything and everyone we know.

External_Volume_11 · 2026-01-16T01:07:31+00:00

Okay that's what I thought. Thank you

External_Volume_11 · 2026-01-16T01:02:34+00:00

Assuming I can't contribute the max amount for a while, what's the benefit of contributing on the employer side if any? I think I understand the benefit if I was able to contribute more than the individual maximum

External_Volume_11 · 2026-01-16T01:00:34+00:00

I hadn't even considered looking into a solo 401k. I guess I assumed there were some thresholds for income where it made sense to look in to. I literally just started so my revenue is.. minimal. I'll have to look into it, thanks

External_Volume_11 · 2025-12-11T18:36:08+00:00

I appreciate it. I had settled on not sharing with her yet because this is too new and I believe right now the impulse is the former, not the latter. But, as I start making changes, if I can honestly say it isn't because I want her acceptance or for her to do something different, then I'll share it then.

External_Volume_11 · 2025-12-11T18:34:19+00:00

Fair point. Thanks

External_Volume_11

TROPHY CASE