How I treat indexing, I use Total World Stock etf for 100% for our Roths. IRA domestic stock allocation, currently 45%, target 50% to make the math work in this reply I allocate in target--5% S&P 500, 7.5% Growth Index & 7.5% Value Index, 5% PrimeCap Fund (historically a great managed fund), 5% Dividend Appreciate Index, 5% Real Estate Index and 7.5% to Mid-Cap Index and 7.5% Small-Cap Index. this skews us toward Value and Mid/Small Cap and obviously has overlap in the larger cap space. A Total Market Fund will accomplish the same without much effort however I like to actually see how different components change as compared to what the talking heads say.
A couple years ago when we needed to hold some extra cash we used 1 year cd's from our credit union. We added a new cd each month so a new one matured each month.
Langston, i also read Adam's columns, great insights. We have always been 30-40% foreign so i guess we got the variability benefit by accident. My sister that ignores her allocation has been heavy s & p 500 kicked my butt..LOL. Thanks.
Maggie, As long as you are comfortable with your fees and investment options, my suggestion would be when you review your asset allocations look at the combined results. look to see if the combined asset allocation aligns with your planned allocation. Sometimes you may not realize a specific account could become unbalanced in stocks or bonds and depending on the accounts relative size could through off your total intended allocation also, i believe each account should have some exposure to stocks and bonds to allow for rebalancing within each account.
David, https://www.financialplanningassociation.org/learning/publications/journal/SEP24-net-present-value-analysis-roth-conversions-OPEN I found the above discussion on Roth conversions interesting in that the author presents a case when looking at the savings of a Roth conversion, you should factor in the net present value of those savings compared to the up-front tax hit of the conversion.
Since we plan to pass our Roth's to our children in hopefully 10+ years and will not be withdrawing we are 100% in the Vanguard Total World Stock ETF. for our IRA's we are fortunate to have 80% equity, (45% domestic & 35% foreign) 20% bonds split evenly in ST tip etf, intermediate corporate etc, intermediate treasury etf and foreign bond index etf. All with vanguard. not sure if that helps your analysis, we do keep 3-4 years of annual living expenses in the bonds and at least one year of RMD in the ST Tips. as Mike said below, depending on your current tax bracket utilizing a traditional IRA can save income tax currently. good luck
You are correct Randy with what we have been told in a community property state. Full step-up on full death, we just need to draw straws, or continue holding and paying the taxes, which is a good problem, or gift rental property with our basis and let the children do a 1031 or hold until they gift. Pon death. Of one the solution is easy, step-up and sell with no gain.
Jon Guyton of Wealth Advisors, Eagan MN coauthored a paper discussing a floating withdrawal rule that generally allowed greater than 4%. Christine Benz new book on retirement “how to retire” has a chapter coving the topic, I found the book very interesting.
Comments
Here is a brief discussion on HELOC interest deduction https://www.investopedia.com/mortgage/heloc/tax-deductible/
Post: Advice I give to anyone who’ll listen!
Link to comment from January 24, 2026
Be aware of the tax deductibility rules for interest on a HELOC, they changed in 2017. The interest is not always deductible.
Post: Advice I give to anyone who’ll listen!
Link to comment from January 24, 2026
How I treat indexing, I use Total World Stock etf for 100% for our Roths. IRA domestic stock allocation, currently 45%, target 50% to make the math work in this reply I allocate in target--5% S&P 500, 7.5% Growth Index & 7.5% Value Index, 5% PrimeCap Fund (historically a great managed fund), 5% Dividend Appreciate Index, 5% Real Estate Index and 7.5% to Mid-Cap Index and 7.5% Small-Cap Index. this skews us toward Value and Mid/Small Cap and obviously has overlap in the larger cap space. A Total Market Fund will accomplish the same without much effort however I like to actually see how different components change as compared to what the talking heads say.
Post: Market Concentration in Index Funds
Link to comment from January 16, 2026
A couple years ago when we needed to hold some extra cash we used 1 year cd's from our credit union. We added a new cd each month so a new one matured each month.
Post: Should I Lock in CD Rates Now or Stay in Money Market?
Link to comment from January 14, 2026
Langston, i also read Adam's columns, great insights. We have always been 30-40% foreign so i guess we got the variability benefit by accident. My sister that ignores her allocation has been heavy s & p 500 kicked my butt..LOL. Thanks.
Post: International allocation
Link to comment from January 13, 2026
Maggie, As long as you are comfortable with your fees and investment options, my suggestion would be when you review your asset allocations look at the combined results. look to see if the combined asset allocation aligns with your planned allocation. Sometimes you may not realize a specific account could become unbalanced in stocks or bonds and depending on the accounts relative size could through off your total intended allocation also, i believe each account should have some exposure to stocks and bonds to allow for rebalancing within each account.
Post: Consolidating 401(k)s in retirement
Link to comment from January 11, 2026
David, https://www.financialplanningassociation.org/learning/publications/journal/SEP24-net-present-value-analysis-roth-conversions-OPEN I found the above discussion on Roth conversions interesting in that the author presents a case when looking at the savings of a Roth conversion, you should factor in the net present value of those savings compared to the up-front tax hit of the conversion.
Post: What Would You Do?
Link to comment from January 11, 2026
Since we plan to pass our Roth's to our children in hopefully 10+ years and will not be withdrawing we are 100% in the Vanguard Total World Stock ETF. for our IRA's we are fortunate to have 80% equity, (45% domestic & 35% foreign) 20% bonds split evenly in ST tip etf, intermediate corporate etc, intermediate treasury etf and foreign bond index etf. All with vanguard. not sure if that helps your analysis, we do keep 3-4 years of annual living expenses in the bonds and at least one year of RMD in the ST Tips. as Mike said below, depending on your current tax bracket utilizing a traditional IRA can save income tax currently. good luck
Post: What Would You Do?
Link to comment from January 11, 2026
You are correct Randy with what we have been told in a community property state. Full step-up on full death, we just need to draw straws, or continue holding and paying the taxes, which is a good problem, or gift rental property with our basis and let the children do a 1031 or hold until they gift. Pon death. Of one the solution is easy, step-up and sell with no gain.
Post: Tell me my error in thinking
Link to comment from January 11, 2026
Jon Guyton of Wealth Advisors, Eagan MN coauthored a paper discussing a floating withdrawal rule that generally allowed greater than 4%. Christine Benz new book on retirement “how to retire” has a chapter coving the topic, I found the book very interesting.
Post: Customizing the Safe Withdrawal Rate
Link to comment from January 10, 2026