Best of luck with your new/old home. My wife and I sold our home of 32 years in September and moved 15 miles away to a 55+ community. I wish we had done it 10 years ago.
My wife and I are both collecting Social Security and enhance that with tax free munis in our taxable account and TIPs and senior loan funds in our traditional IRAs. The rest is in equity ETFs, mostly in the taxable accounts and Roth IRAs. Asset location is critical to managing taxes.
Very good post. I tried using CPAs twice and both of them used assistants to do my taxes who made many errors that I was responsible for finding. I do not think the CPAs even reviewed my taxes before delivering them to me for finalizing. I assumed they spent their limited time on business accounts who paid them real money, not my few hundred dollars. Anyway, this forced me to learn about taxes and do them myself using TurboTax which has worked pretty well for Federal and less well for NJ. So far, zero audits, so I guess I will keep it up.
I read all of the comments on this post and am a little sad because I think the situation we find ourselves in would have saddened Jonathan. I sign on every day and almost always find something worth reading, I suggest that people who like this community keep reading and posting and commenting and those who do not, for whatever reason, find another outlet that meets their needs better. No malice. I enjoyed every one of you.
Mark, thanks for an excellent post. I assume that the folks who invested in the private credit deals were told about the lack of liquidity and decided they had the risk capacity to take the plunge to earn a few extra basis points of interest. I also assume that some of them did not have the risk tolerance they thought they had. The financial services industry is great at rolling out the new, new thing and enticing investors with promises of riches that may or may not pan out. It is buyer beware out there or as my money and banking professor in business school once said. "Fellas, there are a million promoters in the world whose sole goal is to separate you from your money".
A very thoughtful post. Predicting the future is pretty tricky. You do the best you can and hope for the best. Even though half of marriages end in divorce, many people still take the plunge and roll the dice anyway. There are a few bend points in life that determine everything else; whether to attend college, who to marry, what to do to earn a living, where to live. At the end, good luck or bad luck can overwhelm all of your well thought out decisions. My brother always says it is good to be lucky.
When my wife loaned her cousin a lot of money so he could replace his home's septic system, she drew up a note and also a letter with her expectations for repayment terms. He fulfilled the terms and they still have a relationship. If you do not formalize the loan with all the necessary paperwork, it is not really a loan, just an intension written on ice.
My contact at Fidelity told me to make sure to take the QCD before the minimum distribution, then reduce the minimum distribution by the amount of the QCD. Fidelity does not screen the 501(c)3 status of the charity. She said I need to account for it on the tax form. I presume the tax software or preparer knows about this.
"I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered" George Best when asked where all his football (soccer) earnings went.
Comments
I'm in.
Post: Forum Rules
Link to comment from March 31, 2026
Best of luck with your new/old home. My wife and I sold our home of 32 years in September and moved 15 miles away to a 55+ community. I wish we had done it 10 years ago.
Post: A Big Little Move (by Dana/DrLefty)
Link to comment from March 30, 2026
My wife and I are both collecting Social Security and enhance that with tax free munis in our taxable account and TIPs and senior loan funds in our traditional IRAs. The rest is in equity ETFs, mostly in the taxable accounts and Roth IRAs. Asset location is critical to managing taxes.
Post: Coping with inflation in retirement, what’s the plan?
Link to comment from March 30, 2026
Very good post. I tried using CPAs twice and both of them used assistants to do my taxes who made many errors that I was responsible for finding. I do not think the CPAs even reviewed my taxes before delivering them to me for finalizing. I assumed they spent their limited time on business accounts who paid them real money, not my few hundred dollars. Anyway, this forced me to learn about taxes and do them myself using TurboTax which has worked pretty well for Federal and less well for NJ. So far, zero audits, so I guess I will keep it up.
Post: Wrapping It Up
Link to comment from March 29, 2026
I read all of the comments on this post and am a little sad because I think the situation we find ourselves in would have saddened Jonathan. I sign on every day and almost always find something worth reading, I suggest that people who like this community keep reading and posting and commenting and those who do not, for whatever reason, find another outlet that meets their needs better. No malice. I enjoyed every one of you.
Post: Where are the ladies?
Link to comment from March 27, 2026
Mark, thanks for an excellent post. I assume that the folks who invested in the private credit deals were told about the lack of liquidity and decided they had the risk capacity to take the plunge to earn a few extra basis points of interest. I also assume that some of them did not have the risk tolerance they thought they had. The financial services industry is great at rolling out the new, new thing and enticing investors with promises of riches that may or may not pan out. It is buyer beware out there or as my money and banking professor in business school once said. "Fellas, there are a million promoters in the world whose sole goal is to separate you from your money".
Post: Private Credit Stress?
Link to comment from March 25, 2026
A very thoughtful post. Predicting the future is pretty tricky. You do the best you can and hope for the best. Even though half of marriages end in divorce, many people still take the plunge and roll the dice anyway. There are a few bend points in life that determine everything else; whether to attend college, who to marry, what to do to earn a living, where to live. At the end, good luck or bad luck can overwhelm all of your well thought out decisions. My brother always says it is good to be lucky.
Post: Questions Matter
Link to comment from March 17, 2026
When my wife loaned her cousin a lot of money so he could replace his home's septic system, she drew up a note and also a letter with her expectations for repayment terms. He fulfilled the terms and they still have a relationship. If you do not formalize the loan with all the necessary paperwork, it is not really a loan, just an intension written on ice.
Post: Opinions Wanted: Please Reply Freely (I’m used to being called an idiot)
Link to comment from March 10, 2026
My contact at Fidelity told me to make sure to take the QCD before the minimum distribution, then reduce the minimum distribution by the amount of the QCD. Fidelity does not screen the 501(c)3 status of the charity. She said I need to account for it on the tax form. I presume the tax software or preparer knows about this.
Post: What is the best way to donate to charity in 2026?
Link to comment from March 6, 2026
"I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered" George Best when asked where all his football (soccer) earnings went.
Post: How did you avoid being in the 39%?
Link to comment from March 5, 2026