Nest Egg Care

It’s a bit over five weeks before I take our RMDs and sell securities to get most all the cash I budget to pay ourselves for our spending for 2027.

You couldn’t miss the news on inflation and the Social Security COLA increase for next year.

I calculate that Patti and I pay about 12% total tax to get the cash we want for our spending; it’s 16% if I add back the tax I previously paid to get the amount I distribute from Roth – the amount of tax I would pay if I had not previously converted.

You ideally have no more than $1 million in your Traditional IRA at age 73; you would want the the balance as Roth.

I list the things I do to try to be an effective and efficient investor.

Inflation for the most widely reported measure of inflation, Seasonally-adjusted inflation, inched up in August.

The $150,000 interest-only HELOC that I got seven years ago was scheduled to expire December 31.

I bought more than “a year of spending” in FFRHX two weeks ago.

Inflation for the most widely reported measure of inflation, Seasonally-adjusted inflation, barely budged in July.

Every now and then I scratch my head: is there something better than IUSB, our index fund for US bonds?

Yep.

The amount of Traditional IRA that is low tax is much less than most retirees think: an example for a single filer in this post shows less than $20,000 is taxed less than 22% marginal rate; it’s roughly double that $amount for married, joint filers.

DEFLATION!

I’m seven months into my 12-month year that I use to calculate our Safe Spending Amount for the upcoming calendar year.

I’ve read this argument: delay the start of SS and distribute from your Traditional IRA because you will pay less tax on your distributions from Traditional.

Social Security (SS) now estimates that SS benefits can remain at 100% of current benefits through 2032; that’s one quarter less than the estimate last year.