u/wild_b_cat

I keep wanting to have this argument in the comments but I think it's better to just have it here so I can point back to it. Here goes:

You shouldn't worry about RMDs specifically. You should worry about how to achieve your goals in the most efficient manner, and tax-efficiency is obviously a part of that, but "minimizing RMDs" does not itself make sense as a goal.

Worrying about RMDs is like worrying about your Check Engine light. Nobody says "you should take of your engine, otherwise you'll get the Check Engine light." The point of taking care of your engine is to keep it running smoothly so your car doesn't break down. That goal wouldn't become any less important if your Check Engine light went away.

RMDs are essentially the same. Saying "you have to think about RMDs" makes no more sense than saying "you have to worry about your Check Engine light."

If you want to argue with me, here's my challenge.

First, tell me if you care more about "taxes paid" or about "after tax income". It should be trivially obvious that the latter is what matters. Nobody sane would turn down an unexpected bonus at work just because they'd lose a chunk of it to taxes. But I think a lot of people lose sight of this when it comes to RMDs.

Second, tell me how your plans would change if RMDs went away. Imagine if they were repealed, effective immediately, and you had good reason to believe they weren't coming back. How would this change your retirement plan?

Third, tell me why your new plan is better for your finances than the RMD-influenced plan you have now.

In the vast majority of cases, you will find that the best plan with RMDs is also the best plan without RMDs.

Without RMDs ... you should still be doing early Roth conversions to keep your taxable income more or less consistent throughout your life. Without RMDs .. you should still be thinking about paying taxes in your lifetime to prevent handing a tax bomb to your spouse or heirs.

RMDs, at worst, are nudging you to do the right thing you should be doing anyway. If you're worrying about RMDs specifically, you probably haven't thought through your goals and plans in the first place.

I don't need to make a billionth generic post about how you need to keep your plans flexible and be open to lesser-known experiences. Instead I'll just talk about how some of our best days wound up being things you wouldn't hear about.

Kanazawa - bike riding along the Tedori: While staying in Kanazawa, I was taking my family to visit the Ishikawa Insect Museum when I realized it was closed that day. Instead of turning around, we went to the nearby station anyway (Tsurugi). At the station, they advertised bike rentals, and a nearby bike path, so we got to ride along a dedicated bike path along the Tedori River, and it wound up being one of our favorite days.

Osaka - Tower of the Sun / Expo Park / Nilfer Aquazoo. This seems completely off the radar and it's a shame. The Tower of the Sun is a weird but weirdly beautiful and giant sculpture originally make for the '70 Expo. They recently restored and re-opened the inside, which is a giant sculpture representing the evolution of life. If you're into art and weird retro-futurism, it's fantastic. Like fever-dream Epcot. And to get there you get to ride the Osaka monorail, which is cool in and of itself. And near the Expo Park, there's a really fun medium-sized museum that's about 2/3 aquarium and 1/3 indoor zoo with a lot of up-close encounters. Our whole family loved it.

Osaka/Kyoto - Hirakata Park & the Ultraman Exhibition. I booked the NIntendo Museum without realizing it was quite as far from Osaka as it was. It was a long trip out there, so to get back I was looking for a way to break it up. On the way out, as we passed HIrakata Park (a local small amusement park), the conductor said something about Ultraman. I couldn't follow it, but I did some research, and it turns out there was a big exhibit going on there. So we stopped there on the way back, and it was so worth it. Even with my limited ability to understand the language, the presentation was impressive, especially the multi-screen montage that it ended with. My kid loves Ultraman, and we initially did it just for him, but we all wound up really loving it.

(The show is ending shortly but hopefully they'll extend it, or it may pop up again.)

(We didn't get to explore Hirakata Park itself but we totally would next time.)

Conclusion: if you're looking for stuff that's worth it that isn't on the well-trod path - and it seems like everyone is - there are some random ideas for posterity. Or, take it as a lesson to stay flexible and be willing to find your own.