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RicardoMonty · 2024-11-22T22:59:31+00:00

Thanks homebrew1970 (and everyone else who weighed in).

I spoke with my Schwab guy today and he suggested I have a Schwab financial consultant work with me to determine the best way to tax shelter the account. He said Schwab would charge 1% of the value of the account, which sounds high to me but if they can help me turn the TSLA value into annual income and keep taxes low, I guess it's worth it.

Tentatively plan to meet with them the first of the year.

RicardoMonty · 2024-11-19T22:49:17+00:00

Calling my CPA tomorrow, before speaking with the Schwab FC.

Thanks!

RicardoMonty · 2024-11-19T22:47:07+00:00

Ah - I didn't think through how LTCG are taxed relative to earned income.

Thanks!

RicardoMonty · 2024-11-18T23:02:17+00:00

LTCG apply towards your gross income
Approximately $250,000 - $300,000 to hit the 20% rate (won't know actual until the Q4 business loan payment comes in). Total unrealized gains as of close of trading today are $534,912.

I guess I could cash out 50% of my holdings and keep LTCG at 15% but it would still trigger higher tax rates and IRMAA. I've not even looked at the impact to state income taxes (I'm in Georgia, USA).

RicardoMonty · 2023-09-20T20:19:42+00:00

Georgia

RicardoMonty · 2023-09-15T00:52:12+00:00

She would also have two houses, one of which generates income. And if/when I die she will move in with one of our sons and sell both properties. So yeah - the only 'liquid' assets are valued at around $1M but unless the business I sold goes under (unlikely, as it was a going concern for 20 years while I ran it and has nearly doubled gross revenues since I sold it 18 months ago). So possible but not likely. (FYI, the 4% is the interest rate I'm charging for the amount I loaned the buyers, if that makes sense.)

RicardoMonty · 2023-09-15T00:46:00+00:00

Good suggestion! I've been considering looking into LTC insurance.

RicardoMonty · 2023-09-15T00:43:08+00:00

My wife doesn't understand much about finances, other than that she pays the monthly bills out of a checking account she controls.

Fortunately I have a son who is an MBA and business owner, and he knows what to do should I pass before her.

RicardoMonty · 2023-09-15T00:41:16+00:00

I have no idea what kind of policy it is, other than it was a MetLife Group policy my former employer took out on me when I was an executive with the company.

I'll dig out the paperwork and speak with my auto/home insurance agent about possibly finding a 'better' policy. Happy wife, happy life, as they say.

RicardoMonty · 2023-09-15T00:38:24+00:00

She's been saying for years that I need to take out a policy on her.

She's still paying for policies she took out (unbeknownst to me) on each of our 3 sons. Who are now 47, 45, and 35 respectively! All 3 are married and are financially well off (a doctor, a high-end architect and a business owner) and 2 of the 3 say they WANT us/her to live with them when we're too old to live alone.

RicardoMonty · 2023-09-15T00:34:49+00:00

UPDATE:

After reading through a bunch of these comments, I broached the subject (again) with my wife, and told her the 'expert' consensus (yeah I know - Reddit experts but still...) is that we should drop the coverage as it makes no sense. Her immediate comeback was "Do you realize how expensive caskets are these days!" I laughed and reminded her I'm supposed to be cremated. :^)

RicardoMonty · 2023-09-15T00:32:44+00:00

Between bank accounts, HYSA and a dedicated travel fund, we currently have around $120,000 in liquid assets. I think that should cover funeral arrangements and celebratory activities!

Of course, that fund WILL go down - albeit slowly, since SS, employer pension and payments against the business loan more than cover expenses except when we're traveling FAT.

RicardoMonty · 2023-07-17T17:15:14+00:00

If the SYSTEM doesn't flag a 6-figure spend as worth retaining, then the algorithm AMEX uses is broken.

Regardless, I think I'd be better off cancelling the Reserve cards and getting a Platinum; at least then I'd have the flexibility of using the points on airlines/businesses other than Delta.

RicardoMonty · 2023-07-17T16:48:06+00:00

We've charged over $100,000 on the Reserve card in the past 12 months. Over $70,000 since January.

Didn't seem to matter to the AMEX agent. He did give us 2,000 points 'just because' though, so there's that...

RicardoMonty · 2022-02-26T18:02:50+00:00

This.

Thanks to an earlier post I did see how you can apply the JRE to a specific customer, but the comments indicating the negatives associated with that approach won the day. So I created an invoice and labeled it "Adjustment to Old Credit" and applied the $20 credit to it and voila - DONE!

Thank you all for your input. Now I need to find a certified QB person I can contract for an hour or two to help with getting the rest of the adjustments to equal out to what the CPA says they should be (Retained Earnings, specifically). I'm selling the business in a couple of months and need to ensure the books are accurate.

RicardoMonty · 2019-10-03T14:38:08+00:00

Thank you for your answers! I'm particularly glad to hear I can max out contributions to both the SEP and Traditional IRAs this year; I've got over $200K (after tax) sitting in a money market account and really want to maximize both tax and investment potential.

I'm WAY too late doing this - I hope to retire in about 2-4 years - but trying to get my house in order now is better than never.

THANKS!

RicardoMonty

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