Bob Drake

Comments:

• To lower the depreciation hit, but stay relatively current with safety tech I tend to keep cars about about 6 years, thus have never even considered a lease. I was toying with the idea of going EV with one(range anxiety) of two cars. New EV credits have eliminated federal credits for my single filer income as well as for most of the desired non qualifying cars. However I understand the leasor would sitll qualify for incentives on any EV and may or may not choose to pass on the credits within the lease. If they would, could a lease reap the credits via a short term lease and then purchase the vehicle? Basically, short term financing with a lease to get EV credits and then purchase to lower long term depreciation costs?

  Post: About That Fine Print

  Link to comment from March 4, 2023

• LTC? Not a huge fan. Lots of fine print that you learn the implications of years down the road.

  Post: Silver Linings

  Link to comment from January 28, 2023

• New cars. I dislike repair issues that creep in as a car ages. Yes, financialy it makes sense to pay a bit more for maintenance and keep longer, but I REALLY hate the maintenance game at the shop - not a mechanic myself, I have been fooled into unnecessary "repair" items discovered later. Plus now that I'm older I value the newest safety features on new cars more than before. However I do keep my new car for 6 or 7 years, when the tech improvements have accumulated a bit and before the maintenance has increased.

  Post: What do you do that’s financially foolish—but you do it anyway?

  Link to comment from January 28, 2023

• Adding to 1PF's excellent points...post 70.5 and pre the year one's RMD requirement starts, you can do QCD's without any RMD requirement. That gives one a full charitable deduction and lowers future RMDs. I am lucky enough to have a birthday early in 2021 and with Secure Act 2 my RMD reqmiurment begins in 2024, thus have 3 years where with QCDs I get a full charitable deductions and along with some Roth conversions I choose to do, lower future RMDs.

  Post: Giving Made Easy

  Link to comment from January 25, 2023