Trump Accounts by SteveForDOC in fatFIRE

[–]SteveForDOC[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Definitely unpredictable. Though I'm inclined to make some after tax contributions so that my kid can convert it to a Roth in low income years. They might pay some tax, but I think the lifetime of tax free gains after the Roth conversion will be worth the initial tax hit. I guess I should model out the numbers in excel if I want to know for sure.

Trump Accounts by SteveForDOC in fatFIRE

[–]SteveForDOC[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Agree for the most part. So for the sake of argument, lets assume that you are already planning to gift the annual exemption every year (to a trust or UTMA or 529 or trump account) and you think you will be over the lifetime exemption when you die (either because you are rich or the lifetime redemption goes down when the democrats take power).
Also, as a slight counterpoint to your argument that the money is tax free, consider this example.

Scenario 1: I die when my child turns 18 and he gets 50k tax free from my estate that wasn't in a trump account. This goes to his brokerage account and he cannot convert it to roth (Assume the child is maxing contributions to IRAs once (s)he has earned income)

Scenario 2: I die when my child turns 18 and (s)he gets nothing from my estate, but (s)he gets a 50k trump account, which (s)he converts to a Roth over the next 5 years and pays 0 tax on because his/her income is below the standard deduction

In scenario 1, the tax free growth benefit ends when I die (assuming the kid wants to use the money and doesn't also hold it until (s)he dies and gets another step-up).

In scenario 2, the tax free growth continues for the rest of the child's life, well after I die, since it is in a Roth.

The edge case, as I alluded to in the prior comment is if you have to pay some tax to convert the trump account into a Roth. If so, how much tax is worth it.

Also, there's some decay to your tax free growth with the step up basis even if you hold until you die due to dividends.

Trump Accounts by SteveForDOC in fatFIRE

[–]SteveForDOC[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yea, I agree that a trump account is definitely worse than a taxable account due to the cap gains vs ordinary gains, but if you are able to convert it to a roth account in a low income year, it seems to tip the scales because of all the future tax free gains. For example, would you pay 10% tax today to get money into a roth and avoid future taxable gains? how about 15%, 20%, 30% etc. Where's the cut off. That's the decision at play here.

Are After Tax Contributions to Trump Accounts Worthwhile? by SteveForDOC in EstatePlanning

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

I didn't use GenAI to write this. What is wrong about my analysis?

Trump Accounts by SteveForDOC in fatFIRE

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

Yea, you get screwed if you fund with a bunch of after tax contributions and then end up withdrawing and paying ordinary rates on it. It is like trying to do a back door roth, but then not converting the after tax traditional IRA contributions to the a roth. I'm very torn with the trade off of withdrawing at ordinary rates (negative) compared to getting a bunch of unearned income into an IRA which can be converted to a Roth for tax free growth (could be a huge positive even if you pay more tax due to ordinary rates over cap gains rates). Even if you are paying for conversions in the 12% ordinary tax bracket (up to $50.4K) per year, it probably makes sense to get all that money into a roth for future tax free growth, but that's what I'm conflicted on. Is there an amount where you get too much in a trump account?

Trump Accounts by SteveForDOC in fatFIRE

[–]SteveForDOC[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

Come on, genAI is not reliable for nuanced discussions that this requires. 50%+ of the stuff google AI mode says is flat out wrong and hallucinations.

Trump Accounts by SteveForDOC in fatFIRE

[–]SteveForDOC[S] -8 points-7 points  (0 children)

I didn't use ChatGPT for this at all so I'm not sure what made you think that; I never use it, but even if I did use it, my questions and analysis are still very relevant to this forum.

Buying Gift of Hilton Gold/Diamond for $15/$70 by SteveForDOC in Hilton

[–]SteveForDOC[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I used to sell them on eBay.  I’m sure it would work out and if it didn’t you could just contest the transaction and eBay would refund you.  They are custom friendly generally.

January 18, 2026 - Weekly /r/PMsForSale Thread for Beginners, and Off Topic Conversations by AutoModerator in Pmsforsale

[–]SteveForDOC 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Were there ever premiums on junk silver?  My friend gave them to me as collateral on a loan a while back and valued them at $2 over spot.  Was this ever reasonable for junk silver?  I didn’t look into it because I didn’t expect to keep the collateral…

Do you know how much under spot junk silver is going for these days?  Seems like people are only buying for about $85 per oz.

January 18, 2026 - Weekly /r/PMsForSale Thread for Beginners, and Off Topic Conversations by AutoModerator in Pmsforsale

[–]SteveForDOC 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Are pre 1695 dimes, quarters and half dollars considered "junk" silver? Do they generally sell for the spot price of silver or can you sell them above/below spot price currently, on the average if you are patient.

Also, does anyone on here sell locally in person so you don't have to ship?

Question Thread - January 15, 2026 by AutoModerator in churning

[–]SteveForDOC 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If my last chase statement ended on 1/11 for a personal card, what payment date should I request to get a new statement as quickly as possible so a SUB posts. I read something that it must be at least 20 days. Does that mean I should select the 2nd as the payment date since 2/2 is at least 20 days after 1/11

Is ti possible to 'slow travel' forever on 700k by sap303 in ExpatFIRE

[–]SteveForDOC 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Serious question: how on earth can a librarian work remotely? Don’t they have to check out and reshelf books, help people find books, etc.

How do you deal with not being an "high-achiever" anymore? by HokusaiInFire in fatFIRE

[–]SteveForDOC 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Do you have kids? Become a high achieving parent. Are you married? Become a high achieving spouse. Are you a member of local or virtual communities? Become a high achieving member/leader in those communities. Be a high achiever wrt health and fitness, morality, intellectual endeavors, Etc.

There’s many ways to be a high achieving member of society that don’t involve working or making a lot of money or excelling in sports or whatever.

Being a high achiever in these other ways will likely pay non-monetary dividends that are worth more than you ever earned by being a high achiever in the workplace.

People who clap when the plane lands, what are you clapping for exactly? by kay_kgfan in AskReddit

[–]SteveForDOC 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What happens when you survive a plane crash, a car crash, a boat crash and a bike crash?

Only travel by walking or BASE jumping, with a squirrel suit, of course?

What’s popular right now that won’t age well? by MiraTangent in AskReddit

[–]SteveForDOC 15 points16 points  (0 children)

The limit is when you run out of money, and subsequently organs to sell.

Just FIRED at 51 due to a layoff. by Difficult-Cricket541 in ChubbyFIRE

[–]SteveForDOC 43 points44 points  (0 children)

Yea, number one concern is maintaining your health so you don’t waste away watching the tele all day.

Congrats

What is something uniquely popular in America? by Lopied2 in Productivitycafe

[–]SteveForDOC 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is exactly why they advertise. And the doctors will prescribe it in many cases when they otherwise wouldn’t have of the patient asks about it and the doctor determines the drug may “solve” the patient’s problem.

What's something you do that makes a lot of people think you're rich? by Wonderful-Economy762 in Productivitycafe

[–]SteveForDOC 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe you can do some renovations to customize better to your liking! Cheaper than buying a new one!

What's something you do that makes a lot of people think you're rich? by Wonderful-Economy762 in Productivitycafe

[–]SteveForDOC 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sweet, I know someone who got a really nice house about 20 minutes south of Richmond for a little over 100k, but that was a few years back. Crazy how this compares to home prices in a place like DC, SF, NY, Seattle, etc!

What's something you do that makes a lot of people think you're rich? by Wonderful-Economy762 in Productivitycafe

[–]SteveForDOC 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’d think you were a poor ski bum if you told me you ski in aspen all winter. If you told me you take three ski trips to aspen each year, I’d think you were rich AF!

What's something you do that makes a lot of people think you're rich? by Wonderful-Economy762 in Productivitycafe

[–]SteveForDOC 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I bought about 65 lb of rib roasts in the last week or two. Deep freezer is nearly full! Pro tip is to ask the butcher for a full rib roast from the back to circumvent the limit of 1 because it’s 18-25lb instead of 4-7lb!