Just read a story about the guy who did some early work for Nvidia and was paid in shares that vested after so long. He forgot about them and they ended up becoming worth a billion dollars.
I am using it for the two-week trial and find it confusing. I have been looking at the base plan versus one utilizing Roth conversions, and I am having a hard time making sense of it. Curious if anyone is finding the software helpful? thanks.
Looking ahead toward retirement planning, I see where I have the option of either taking a cash payout for my pension or taking it as a monthly payment for life. I believe that cash payout is most popular, but curious how people run the numbers and what decisions they make?
Looking for me, it looks like the monthly payment is about equivalent to a 6% ROI, if I live 20 years after retirement. If I live longer, then the ROI equivalent is down a bit, and of course, if I live shorter, it's a bit higher than 6%.
For me, since VTI has done better than 6% on average, I think I would prefer to invest it in VTI than to take the monthly payment.
(Note: I'm able to take risk in retirement based on our financial position. I don't need to go conversative with this money.)
Just curious what decisions others have come up with though.
This week I received a notice on my Fidelity account that there is a FBALX Capital Gains Distribution Event. I'm fairly new to investing, how does this affect me and my taxes this year and what do I do about it?
Thank you.
Hi, I’m debating the merits of:
paying down my 7-year adjustable rate mortgage (6.125%) with extra money vs
paying the minimum and keeping the remainder in a brokerage account with a mix of municipal MMFs, VT, and municipal bond ETFs.
I’m at the 35% marginal tax bracket, and I do not get state income tax breaks for muni. After calculating the tax equivalent yield on munis, paying down the mortgage (after the interest deduction), and (potential) long term capital gains on stock ETFs, it all seems to come out as a wash (everything is in the 3-6% range).
My goal is not so much to “make money” but to buffer myself in case mortgage interest rates shoot up after year 7, and selling off portions of my bond/equity ETFs makes sense to pay off the mortgage quickly after year 7.
Does anyone else use short or intermediate bond ETFs for these medium-term savings goals?
I’ve been looking at iShares MUB and SUB for this purpose (overall brokerage asset allocation would be something like 50% VT, 30% muni MMF, and 20% bond ETFs). I’m in my early 30s and my retirement accounts are all 100% VT, so the bonds would not be a significant part of my portfolio, but would at least allow me to diversity my medium term savings goals.
Thanks!
I'm a new grad, and just got my first paycheck which included a sign on bonus so I put 4k into VT in my roth ira! Feels very good. I did the math and over the next few paychecks by the end of December I should be able to max out my roth ira. This is my first time investing so it's very exciting.
I’m 24 and started dumping whatever I can spare into VTI about two years ago. Got around $35k in so far.
I know the math. I’ve run the compound interest calculators a hundred times, and I know that in 25-30 years the exponential curve is supposed to take off. But right now, after months of grinding and DCAing, watching my portfolio move up or down by like $200 on a random Tuesday just feels like watching paint dry.
Everyone keeps repeating Charlie Munger’s quote that "the first $100k is a bitch." For folks who have been in the market for 15+ years, at what milestone did it actually start feeling like the money was doing the heavy lifting instead of just your paycheck?
Question as above.
I only stick to Boglehead for 60% of my investments. Wanna know what others do.
Edit: Thanks for all the responses. I guess most just stick to the proven method!
Kudos
I'm not sure where to post this question and am hopeful someone here has some advice. I set up an individual 401k in 2009, and had self-employment income until 2011. I started a FT job in 2010, and subsequently asked an advisor about rolling it over. I was informed that you can't terminate a plan that is in your name (business name was my name) as how do you prove separation from business? Turns out this was bad advice. I haven't had self-employment income since then, but kept the 401k with the intent that I would go back to having self-employment income upon retiring from employment (which was in a different career). I did keep my CPA license active. From what I have been able to determine when researching online, this could have worked to establish continuity of business IF I filed a Schedule C at least once every three years - even if it had zeros on it; however, I didn't do that. I just hit the threshold to file Form 5500-EZ in 2024, but missed the due date in 2025 so filed under the IRS Penalty Relief Program. I recently decided to roll this over to an IRA as I became disabled and it is very unlikely I will ever be able to work again, and discovered that I should have terminated the plan much sooner (or filed the "zero" Schedule C), or there could be penalties.
TLDR: inaccurately kept a solo 401k with no contributions for 15 years (no SE income and no Schedule C filed, though I kept my business license active).
Questions: What are the potential penalties? And is there any way to get ahead of this by "fessing up" to the IRS? I'm considering attaching a statement to my 2026 “final” 5500-EZ admitting the oversight and saying that I did maintain my business license.
Is anyone aware of a situation where the IRS did access penalties for something like this?
Is there a different subreddit that would be more applicable to my situation?
Thanks in advance for any wisdom you can share!
Hello everyone I'm new to this. I never had money like this before and grew up fairly poor. I've been given probably a once in a life time opportunity that allows me to break away from my family curse (lol). I am 28 years old, I was wrongfully discharged from the Navy. I was granted back pay of 190k after taxes. I want to figure out the best game plan to a secure future. What to do with the money, what to diversify in, how aggressive I should be. I don't want to waste this opportunity away.
Thank you for reading this.
I’m planning to invest about $100 a day for the long term and want a simple portfolio I can contribute to consistently.
I initially considered VOO, but I’m comparing it with VTI, VT, or a VTI/VXUS combination. How would you decide between those approaches, particularly regarding international diversification?
I’m also curious whether adding SCHG or QQQM provides a useful growth tilt or mostly increases overlap and concentration. I’m comfortable with volatility, but want to understand the tradeoffs before choosing an allocation.
I’m 22, just out of college, and making about $80k. I’m temporarily living at home, so my expenses are very low and I can afford to max both my Roth IRA and 401(k).
I’m wondering whether I should use a Roth 401(k) or traditional 401(k) for the portion of my income in the 22% federal tax bracket. Should I take the traditional deduction at 22%, or wait until I’m in the 24% bracket to prioritize traditional contributions? Roth is tempting for me right now because of my low expenses, but I’m asking specifically based on the tax savings.
Hello. This is my first time posting. My husband (43M) and I (41F) live in a VHCOL area of Southern California and would appreciate some perspective on incorporating our special needs daughter’s lifelong financial needs into our retirement and investment planning.
We have approximately $2.4MM invested across 401Ks, IRAs, and taxable accounts. My 401K is our largest account at ~$1.2M and is currently:
73.4% U.S. equities
15.9% international equities
10.7% bonds
2.9% company stock
Our other accounts are broadly similar, so I’m using this as a rough proxy for our overall allocation.
Our situation:
- Primary home: ~$1.5M value / ~$600K mortgage at 2.5%
- Two cash-balance pensions: ~$189K combined accrued value
- Two children; one has significant lifelong support needs
- Both currently working and saving
- Target retirement spending: ~$160K/year after tax, assuming the mortgage is paid off
- Planning Social Security: ~$72K/year combined at 67, after reducing current estimates by 25%
- We currently expect to work until around 60/62, but would like the flexibility to slow down earlier if financially feasible
Our daughter currently qualifies for maximum IHSS hours, which is an important part of her current support structure. However, we’re planning under the assumption that she may require substantial financial support for the rest of her life, potentially long after we’re gone.
How should we incorporate this responsibility into our overall retirement and investment strategy?
I’m interested in how others would think about:
- How much additional retirement/investment assets should we target given the possibility that our portfolio will eventually need to support our daughter for life?
- How should we balance our own retirement security with preserving assets for her future care?
- Should our investment strategy or asset allocation be different because we have this additional long-term obligation?
- How should we think about retirement timing and the possibility of slowing down our careers while still ensuring we are adequately funding her future?
- How do people approach the transition from parents providing financial support to long-term support after the parents are gone?
- Are there financial-planning considerations we’re likely overlooking?
We are already thinking about the estate-planning/legal side separately. How would you incorporate a potentially lifelong dependent into your definition of “financial independence”?
Thanks in advance for any perspectives, especially from other families who have faced a similar situation.
Hi, I'm a 27-year-old female who started investing in my Roth IRA about 3 years ago (have been investing in the Fidelity S&P 500 FXAIX), but I'm revisiting my portfolio, as when I started, I didn't learn a lot. I have some questions about how to set myself up for success in the long term.
- I know bonds are for stability, but since I'm youngish and don't plan to retire earlier than 60, I think I should focus on growth right now. Are bonds worth it at my age?
I want to include international mutual funds in my portfolio. How should I split my portfolio between domestic and international mutual funds? 60/40, 70/30, 80/20?
Are high dividends mutual funds something worth considering, if I opt out for bonds right now?
Thank you so much for your help and any extra info that would be useful for me!
Just heard we can have our estimated taxes taken out of an end of year RMD withdrawal. Has anyone else been doing this? We have been paying quarterly estimated taxes but this would give us more cash flow but still allow us to be in compliance with tax laws.
After a lot of reading, I have settled on the below, and would appreciate a few extra sets of experienced eyes before I make the trade:
Re VTI + VXUS: I have also looked into VT (forgoes foreign tax credit), and FSKAX + FTIHX (minimal difference from capital gains distributions). But per my understanding, these effects seem small enough as to be mostly irrelevant- is this correct? Are there any other meaningful considerations?
US-based, no other eligible tax-advantaged accounts, risk tolerance high due to age.
Hello,
I currently have 7k invested in both VTI/VXUS. Started last year and have been putting monthly amounts into each account.
Am I doing the right thing? How should I maximize more?
I’m 61 . Will take 4% annually starting at age 64. I’m going to self manage at fidelity starting this week. I’ll be moving 1,150,000 to fidelity and setting up a long term portfolio. Looking to set it forget it accept for rebalancing. I’m looking to be a moderate risk and wanting some growth over the years. Here’s what I’m thinking 35% VOO 10% SCHD 20 % VXUS 25 % BND and 10% SPAXX. I’ll reinvest interest and dividends for 36-40 months until I retire. Then take SS. I have a pension also but will still need 4% from this account.
I'm a state employee with a 457b through Empower, and my investment options are limited to a small number of funds.
I'm 28, and I've heard that these target date retirement funds are often more conservative than they should be for someone of my age group. For example, the fund is currently 4.27% bonds (which increases over time) which seems pretty unnecessarily conservative at my age. I have a personal Roth IRA that I have entirely invested in VT, and was considering an allocation similar to that.
Is it worth switching to some combination of "Large Company Stock Index Fund", "Small Company Stock Index Fund", and "International Stock Index Fund"? Or is the target date fund good enough and I'm just overthinking it?
These are all my options:
| Fund | Category | Balance |
|---|---|---|
| SMARTPath 2065 Retirement Fund | Target Date | $31,617.63 |
| SMARTPath Retirement Allocation Fund | Target Date | — |
| SMARTPath 2015 Retirement Fund | Target Date | — |
| SMARTPath 2020 Retirement Fund | Target Date | — |
| SMARTPath 2025 Retirement Fund | Target Date | — |
| SMARTPath 2030 Retirement Fund | Target Date | — |
| SMARTPath 2035 Retirement Fund | Target Date | — |
| SMARTPath 2040 Retirement Fund | Target Date | — |
| SMARTPath 2045 Retirement Fund | Target Date | — |
| SMARTPath 2050 Retirement Fund | Target Date | — |
| SMARTPath 2055 Retirement Fund | Target Date | — |
| SMARTPath 2060 Retirement Fund | Target Date | — |
| SMARTPath 2070 Retirement Fund | Target Date | — |
| International Stock Index Fund | International | — |
| International Equity Fund | International | — |
| Real Estate REIT Fund | Specialty | — |
| Small Company Stock Fund | Small Cap | — |
| Small Company Stock Index Fund | Small Cap | — |
| Large Company Value Stock Fund | Large Cap | — |
| Large Company Blend Stock Fund | Large Cap | — |
| Large Company Growth Stock Fund | Large Cap | — |
| Large Company Stock Index Fund | Large Cap | — |
| High Yield Bond Fund | Bond | — |
| Diversified Bond Fund | Bond | — |
| Bond Index Fund | Bond | — |
| Treas Inflation Protection TIPS Idx Fd | Bond | — |
| Income Fund | Bond | — |
| SMART Capital Preservation Fund | Stable Value | — |
This is what I'm currently invested in, along with the funds I'm considering:
| Fund | Category | Brief summary |
| ---------------------------------- | ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------: |
| SMARTPath 2065 Retirement Fund | Target Date | Diversified all-in-one fund. Currently holds 44.54% U.S. large-cap, 14.88% U.S. small-cap, 32.37% international stocks, 3.94% real estate, and 4.27% bonds. Automatically becomes more conservative over time. Total fees: 0.08%. |
| Large Company Stock Index Fund | Large Cap | S&P 500 index fund. Very low-cost option for U.S. large-cap stocks. Expense ratio: 0.01%. | 59.5% |
| Small Company Stock Index Fund | Small Cap | Tracks the Russell 2000, providing U.S. small-cap exposure. Expense ratio: 0.02%. | 2.8% |
| International Stock Index Fund | International | Broad international index exposure including developed, emerging, and international small-cap stocks. Expense ratio: 0.04%. | 37.7% |
Husband and I were gifted a small amount of money (10K) that we don’t need for immediate bills or our emergency fund. Is it better to put into our Roth IRA’s, or increase contributions to our 401K’s for a few months to equal approximately that amount? We are in a middle tax bracket, if that matters much.