Dan Malone

Comments

• To demonstrate the power of AI, take a look at this comprehensive comparison of various features of DAFs. Quite unbelievable, actually! https://claude.ai/public/artifacts/98c3b7e9-a539-4f9b-91ff-96d3b76776f7

  Post: Easy DAF (e.g. Daffy.org) for Donation of Appreciated Stocks

  Link to comment from October 18, 2025

• I switched from Vanguard Charitable to Charityvest for many of the reasons you mentioned, especially for the low grant minimum of $15 ($500 with Vanguard) and to avoid the minimum annual $250 maintenance fee, which is too high for small balances (Charityvest has a $100 annual fee minimum). Chartityvest uses Vanguard's low expense ratio funds. Overall, I’ve been very happy with Charityvest. There are only two drawbacks: 1) they only communicate via email, which is one way they keep their administrative fees so low (so understandable). They have always been very responsive, though; 2) they do not allow designatation of which investment to sell to fund grants. With Vanguard, I could hold cash in a money market fund and make grants through that account; Charityvest requires grants to come from all investments you hold in your account proportionately. Hopefully, that will change soon, as it appears this is just a software programming issue.

  Post: Easy DAF (e.g. Daffy.org) for Donation of Appreciated Stocks

  Link to comment from October 18, 2025

• That must be it, as I had two embedded links.

  Post: ROTH Conversions and Fixed Indexed Annuities

  Link to comment from October 11, 2025

• (new) Editor: Why was my comment not accepted?

  Post: ROTH Conversions and Fixed Indexed Annuities

  Link to comment from October 11, 2025

• It is clearly best to pay the tax from a taxable account, referring to your comment about “ pay with cash on hand or pay with the conversion.” Read Effect #2 of Roth conversions on Mike Piper’s blog. Piper also spoke on the topic “Roth Conversions – A Deep Dive” at the Bogleheads conference last December, available on YouTube. Otherwise, I look forward to learning more about Roth conversions into Fixed Income Annuities, and especially what the 15 – 18% bonus is about. 

  Post: ROTH Conversions and Fixed Indexed Annuities

  Link to comment from October 11, 2025

• Mark, mind sharing your portfolio’s asset allocation and the reasons therefore?

  Post: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

  Link to comment from September 2, 2025

• Thank you for keeping us posted as you or Elaine are able, my friend. Please know we're thinking about you very, very often, too.

  Post: Jonathan, you’re in our thoughts and prayers

  Link to comment from September 1, 2025

• https://www.youtube.com/shorts/lr2UsPInFiY

  Post: A major Medicare benefit just vanished

  Link to comment from July 12, 2025

• Another article published on Healthcare Uncovered on this topic: https://healthcareuncovered.substack.com/p/cms-is-trying-to-expand-prior-authorization

  Post: A major Medicare benefit just vanished

  Link to comment from July 7, 2025

• 25 times our expenses for both needs and a reasonable amount of wants. That’s a good approximation of a “SAFEMAX” portfolio withdrawal rate of 4% plus inflation to last through retirement. (If I recall correctly, “SAFEMAX” is the term coined by Bill Bengen for the maximum amount a portfolio invested in 50% in an S&P 500 index and 50% in U.S..Treasuries could distribute annually and still assure the portfolio would last for at least 30 years, based on all past combinations of market behavior in that length of time.) We passed that amount a decade ago or more. I’m still working and saving at age 65 to create more cushion, and provide for greater “wants” expenditures, larger legacies to the kids, and larger annual and estate gifts to our favorite charitable organizations.

  Post: Feeling Secure

  Link to comment from May 2, 2025