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Kilty Monroe posted:When slicing and dicing your domestic stock by market caps, use Morningstar Instant X-Ray to figure out the appropriate mix to approximate the total stock index the you're trying to emulate. For international stock, I follow Vanguard's lead of having 30% of equities be international (so 27% of your whole portfolio here). code:The EFT suggestion is awesome, and was something I had only thought about a little bit. I now see that Vanguard has a number of EFTs that match their other funds, which makes it easier to know which way to go once the values hit 3k+ per each (If I stick with similar allocation). I think this is what I am going to migrate my funds to. I sold my Target fund today so I could purchase these, or similar, come Monday. As always I would love feedback! code:surrender posted:I'm going to receive a $5,000 windfall from selling my car later this month. Which is the better option: funneling everything directly into my Roth IRA for 2014, or putting the money into a savings account while continuing my regular monthly contributions ($5,500 split over 12 months)? I have my Roth with Vanguard in their 2050 target fund, if that matters. Also, Target funds are great, but once you have the desire to manage your own allocation plus enough money to do so, you should consider changing the funds up. If you're in a Target 2050 fund you're probably closeish to my age, and my recent posts and other peoples responses could be of use to you if you're considering managing it yourself. I too have had my monies in 2050 until now because the balance was so low and I was lazy as gently caress. Thanks to SABFC'er's, I'm working on managing my own allocations going forward! SiGmA_X fucked around with this message at 00:36 on Dec 8, 2013 |
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Dec 8, 2013 00:29
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SiGmA_X posted:Thanks for the link, again! I couldn't find the free tool from their site, just the paid one, and I didn't google. I bookmarked it this time. A few little details here: I see you have VUG as your domestic large-cap ETF, but that's actually a growth stock index, not a total market large-cap index. The appropriate ETF to use in place of VINIX would be VOO. VXUS already includes mid- and small-caps in it too, so you don't need to supplement it with any more international mid/small-cap stock. Finally, I did say 70/30 domestic/international equities, but bonds aren't equities. Vanguard only recently added international bonds to their all-in-one funds and the verdict's still out on them, you could just as well skip it if you wanted. If you did want to follow their lead, their split is 80/20.
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Dec 8, 2013 09:41
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SiGmA_X posted:Do you have a fully funded emergency fund? If not, do that first. Is your Roth fully funded for 2013? If not, of course do that first, but from your post I'm guessing thats taken care of. I would then dump the 5.5k into your Roth on Jan 1, 2014, and up your 401k contributions by (5500/payperiods). I sort-of have an emergency fund: I'm working overseas and my employer pays for everything, bar food, so I just have $1,500 parked in an online savings account. I'll add more money once I move back to the states, although that's over a year away. My 2013 Roth is fully-funded, and I don't have an employer-sponsored retirement plan yet - I become a full university employee next week (after three months of service) with automatic enrollment in a 403(b), which I plan to max out since my expenses are so small. Everything else is likely going in savings to fund either a home purchase or further grad studies once I get back to the US. I'm 28, and I have a bit over $11K split between a Roth IRA and Rollover IRA at Vanguard - both in the 2050 fund. I would eventually like to start managing my own allocation, but I don't have enough money to buy multiple funds at the moment. Thanks for the advice! curried lamb of God fucked around with this message at 20:04 on Dec 8, 2013 |
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Dec 8, 2013 20:00
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I have a question on taxes and allocation. In my non-retirement savings, I have the majority of my money in the vanguard fortune 500 index. I am considering diversifying to other Vanguard indexes to spread my money out a bit. My questions are: 1) If I exchange my Index 500 funds for others, will I have to pay taxes next year? I am afraid I don't understand that whole system and I am afraid I'll create some horrible tax situation for myself just blindly moving thousands of dollars. 2) Should I even bother doing this? The 500 index is doing very well and given its the fortune 500, it seems likely to remain stable. Is it worth it, especially if I have a large tax liability, to spread the money around? My retirement account is separate and setup fine and for this account, I have the remainder in bonds and a small portion in the total international fund so I'm not 100% in this index, just like 75% haha.
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Dec 9, 2013 01:01
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Can anyone recommend a book to the beginning investor, but that also covers different types of investing, like medium and short term, including buying stocks, as well as saving for retirement?
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Dec 9, 2013 01:16
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Did you read the op? Read the op, there's a reading list there and taking it from top to bottom is fine.
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Dec 9, 2013 01:33
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Xguard86 posted:I have a question on taxes and allocation.
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Dec 9, 2013 05:01
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Xguard86 posted:I have a question on taxes and allocation. 1. You'll pay capital gains taxes on your gains, but not on what you put in to start with. So you will incur some taxes, but you're not going to be killing your ultimate return on the investment, because when you put it back in to another fund, that forms the basis for what won't be taxed as gains later. 2. Read the Bogleheads' Principles of tax-efficient fund placement article for all your taxable asset allocation questions. Generally, the 500 index is a pretty good place to have your taxable investments, though you should also look at how it fits into your asset allocation across all your accounts. Ramrod Hotshot posted:Can anyone recommend a book to the beginning investor, but that also covers different types of investing, like medium and short term, including buying stocks, as well as saving for retirement? The Four Pillars of Investing is what we recommend for beginners to long-term investing here. For picking individual stocks for short-term gains, this article tells you all you need to know as far as I'm concerned. 
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Dec 9, 2013 13:40
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Great thanks! I'll be holding for 12 months at least so looks like my tax situation will be fine and my overall allocation fits into that guide pretty well. I guess I'll start playing with some scenarios for taking some of that money spreading it to other funds. Xguard86 fucked around with this message at 16:23 on Dec 9, 2013 |
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Dec 9, 2013 16:20
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My brother has two little kids and his wife opened a 529 plan for each of them. The last few years I've put in $1k each at Christmas and $500 on their birthday. I'm hoping they will actually be able to afford college in 2030 when it will probably cost $10,000 just to apply. What I was wondering about is what happens if one (or both) decide they don't want to go to college? Maybe they want to be punk rockers. How does that affect distribution?
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Dec 9, 2013 18:10
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Xguard86 posted:I have a question on taxes and allocation. Minor point: You seem to be confusing the Fortune 500, which is just a list of companies published by Fortune magazine and not a stock index, with the S&P 500, which is an index of the prices of 500 stocks that the Vanguard 500 index fund (and many other index funds) attempt to track. Presumably most of the companies in both are the same, so it's not really a big deal.
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Dec 9, 2013 18:41
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Dick Trauma posted:My brother has two little kids and his wife opened a 529 plan for each of them. The last few years I've put in $1k each at Christmas and $500 on their birthday. I'm hoping they will actually be able to afford college in 2030 when it will probably cost $10,000 just to apply. You can always re-assign a 529 plan to a new beneficiary. Failing that, you can cash them out with the usual cap gains tax + 10% penalty.
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Dec 9, 2013 19:23
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surrender posted:I sort-of have an emergency fund: I'm working overseas and my employer pays for everything, bar food, so I just have $1,500 parked in an online savings account. I'll add more money once I move back to the states, although that's over a year away. Your emergency fund's size should probably be based on "what would happen if I lost my job tomorrow." Consider not just losing your job due to being fired for cause, but also due to unforeseen or unforeseeable financial difficulties of your employer. Could you handle the sudden need to relocate, find a new job, and pay your living expenses, potentially for a few months?
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Dec 9, 2013 19:43
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Leperflesh posted:Your emergency fund's size should probably be based on "what would happen if I lost my job tomorrow." Consider not just losing your job due to being fired for cause, but also due to unforeseen or unforeseeable financial difficulties of your employer. Could you handle the sudden need to relocate, find a new job, and pay your living expenses, potentially for a few months? Easily. Assuming the worst-case scenario, the job will pay for a plane ticket back to the US. I can stay with my family (in a big city), and I have several leads/connections for getting a new job almost immediately. I also don't have any expenses at the moment. I'm not going to neglect the emergency fund, by any means - once I've funded the IRA for 2014, I'll build up the fund to about $5,000.
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Dec 9, 2013 20:20
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Echo 3 posted:Minor point: You seem to be confusing the Fortune 500, which is just a list of companies published by Fortune magazine and not a stock index, with the S&P 500, which is an index of the prices of 500 stocks that the Vanguard 500 index fund (and many other index funds) attempt to track. Presumably most of the companies in both are the same, so it's not really a big deal. oh thanks. I thought Fortune just pulled that list from the S&P 500 I didn't know they might vary. After looking at the numbers, I'm moving to the Vanguard total market index with a higher allocation to the total international index, enough to put me above the admiral qualifier.
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Dec 9, 2013 20:32
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Kilty Monroe posted:You can always re-assign a 529 plan to a new beneficiary. Failing that, you can cash them out with the usual cap gains tax + 10% penalty. If I wind up putting $40k+ into their plans they drat well better go to college, even if it's Clown College! 
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Dec 9, 2013 20:44
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Kilty Monroe posted:You can always re-assign a 529 plan to a new beneficiary. Failing that, you can cash them out with the usual cap gains tax + 10% penalty. You mean they can, right? The 529 belongs to the child, not the person who put the money in it, right?
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Dec 9, 2013 20:57
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SlightlyMadman posted:You mean they can, right? The 529 belongs to the child, not the person who put the money in it, right? Nope, it belongs to the person who initially opened the account. The child/student is only a beneficiary in the sense that they are eligible to receive money for their benefit from the account. The person who owns the account directs where the money goes, and can change the beneficiary without the consent of the beneficiary.
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Dec 9, 2013 21:13
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Dick Trauma posted:My brother has two little kids and his wife opened a 529 plan for each of them. The last few years I've put in $1k each at Christmas and $500 on their birthday. I'm hoping they will actually be able to afford college in 2030 when it will probably cost $10,000 just to apply.
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Dec 9, 2013 23:05
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cowofwar posted:You should open a different account yourself as that money can be used for alternative purposes by the parents without any input from you. That sounds like a crazy oversight that could potentially allow bad parents to screw over their kids and steal from other family members. Is there any way to set up a 529 directly in the child's name? I want to set one up for my niece, but honestly I'm not even comfortable with the idea that I could change my mind at some point and take the money back. If I ended up in a dire financial situation, the fact that I'd even have the option of stealing from my niece horrifies me.
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Dec 9, 2013 23:41
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cowofwar posted:You should open a different account yourself as that money can be used for alternative purposes by the parents without any input from you. Ugh. I didn't know they could do that. I don't want to offend them by making my own 529 for the kids but I don't want them to use it to buy a boat or some drat thing.
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Dec 10, 2013 00:20
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SlightlyMadman posted:That sounds like a crazy oversight that could potentially allow bad parents to screw over their kids and steal from other family members. Is there any way to set up a 529 directly in the child's name? I want to set one up for my niece, but honestly I'm not even comfortable with the idea that I could change my mind at some point and take the money back. If I ended up in a dire financial situation, the fact that I'd even have the option of stealing from my niece horrifies me. 529 wasn't designed to be a state controlled account. The account belongs to whomever opened it and has a named beneficiary which can be changed once a year. If you contribute to someone else's 529 plan for their kid you're basically just putting the money in a registered account in the parent's name. I don't believe you can create an account for a beneficiary that isn't in your immediate family. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/529_plan cowofwar fucked around with this message at 01:00 on Dec 10, 2013 |
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Dec 10, 2013 00:56
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You can, one of the get arounds to the FAFSA form is that you can have a 529 under the grand parents name so it doesn't count as the parents asset.
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Dec 10, 2013 01:16
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Harry posted:You can, one of the get arounds to the FAFSA form is that you can have a 529 under the grand parents name so it doesn't count as the parents asset. Unfortunately I can't trust our parents so that's out. Guess I'll just hope for the best.
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Dec 10, 2013 01:22
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Dick Trauma posted:Unfortunately I can't trust our parents so that's out. Guess I'll just hope for the best. Why don't you just open it yourself? Nephews and nieces are considered an immediate family member.
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Dec 10, 2013 01:29
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Doesn't matter if it's your family member, that just matters if you need to change the beneficiary. You can open a 529 with anyone you please as the beneficiary. You just need their social security number. I've looked into this a bit for myself - alternatives I deemed not useful to me for various reasons were Coverdell ESA, UTMA, savings bonds. The ultimate solution is a trust; that is probably way more costly than is useful for you, except for this thing here that I don't know much about : http://www.kisstrust.com/ Oh, and South Carolina's 529 plan has really cheap fund options. That is not true of every state. Vanguard (Nevada) does as well, but they have a $3000 minimum to open. SC has no minimum.
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Dec 10, 2013 01:36
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Isn't one of the gimmicks to open a state 529 plan, name yourself as the beneficiary, and use it as long term savings account? Two of the plans in the Virginia 529 plan have a guaranteed 2.0%+ return interest rate. So use it for savings and pull it out when needed, only paying a 10% penalty on the interest (plus regular taxes as usual). Enjoy your 1.8% no obligation savings account return rate. Beats most CDs and Online Savings accounts.
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Dec 10, 2013 04:26
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It is possible to open a 529 with your child as the account owner, not just the beneficiary. I'm not sure if you can do that for a nephew as well. Of course, then you run the risk of the kid doing something dumb with the money like blowing it on a fancy car.
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Dec 10, 2013 07:47
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So I was looking around the ACA website the other day and found a page that said I would be able to deduct an IRA from my income to get my AGI if I didn't have a company sponsored retirement account like a 401k. I have healthcare at the moment but I still want to know if this is true in case I ever lose it. I talked to a rep and she stated I would actually be able to deduct a ROTH IRA but I'm not sure if she was right about that. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=....57799294,d.aWM Being able to deduct $11,000 (Wife and I) from my Gross Income would really increase the healthcare subsidy. I just need a second opinion as to whether or not I can deduct a ROTH IRA or if this only applies to a traditional IRA. edit: ohhhhh apparently you could always just roll over/convert a traditional IRA into a ROTH once you don't need the subsidy anymore. That makes sense. V- Thanks, most of my google searches say the same thing. Sephiroth_IRA fucked around with this message at 14:37 on Dec 10, 2013 |
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Dec 10, 2013 14:29
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As far as I've read, you cannot decrease your AGI with a Roth IRA, only a traditional.
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Dec 10, 2013 14:33
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It would kind of defeat the whole purpose of a Roth account - which comes after taxes and is free of future tax liability(after certain conditions namely age).
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Dec 10, 2013 17:19
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Has anyone read The Investor's Manifesto by William Bernstein (of Four Pillars' fame). It seems to be a very similar book but 7 years more recent. I have just finished the Four Pillars, and the table of contents of Manifesto makes it sound like a rehash.
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Dec 10, 2013 19:49
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Yeah, that's why I took what the ACA rep said with a grain of salt.
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Dec 10, 2013 19:59
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GoGoGadgetChris posted:Has anyone read The Investor's Manifesto by William Bernstein (of Four Pillars' fame). It seems to be a very similar book but 7 years more recent. I have just finished the Four Pillars, and the table of contents of Manifesto makes it sound like a rehash. The critical reviews on Amazon are saying it's basically "Four Pillars Lite," cutting the page count by a third and not adding anything new. Which is kind of funny, because Four Pillars was already "Intelligent Asset Allocator Lite." So if you've already read Four Pillars, I'd skip it. Otherwise people seem to like it. I might get a copy just to lend out to friends.
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Dec 10, 2013 23:24
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GoGoGadgetChris posted:Has anyone read The Investor's Manifesto by William Bernstein (of Four Pillars' fame). It seems to be a very similar book but 7 years more recent. I have just finished the Four Pillars, and the table of contents of Manifesto makes it sound like a rehash. I liked it but it wasn't really anything new from Four Pillars. What it does have is a more opinionated tone (hence the word manifesto in the tile). I think it would be easier to read for a newbie, but if you already understood Four Pillars it won't teach you anything new.
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Dec 11, 2013 14:11
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I'm slowly wading my way through this thread... Why is ETrade lovely? My dad is proposing that I move all my 403a stuff from Fidelity to ETrade, should I be aware of something before the move?
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Dec 12, 2013 01:48
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There is no reason to pay $10/trade for long term investments that you can get cheaper elsewhere, which is most of them. The first thing you should be aware of is the reason that you want to move from Fidelity in the first place. What is it?
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Dec 12, 2013 02:04
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jomiel posted:My dad is proposing that I move all my 403a stuff from Fidelity to ETrade, should I be aware of something before the move?
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Dec 12, 2013 02:22
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jomiel posted:I'm slowly wading my way through this thread... Why is ETrade lovely? My dad is proposing that I move all my 403a stuff from Fidelity to ETrade, should I be aware of something before the move? What was your fathers reasoning behind the move?
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Dec 12, 2013 03:56
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How do people feel about TIAA-CREF?
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Dec 12, 2013 04:01
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