Stock Market

[VacationForever]

Question when you turn 70 1/2 years old and you starting taking the RMD from your variois IRA accounts., does this put you in a whole new tax bracket and how can you offset this situation?

Nice problem to have.

 

[SMHarman]

Question when you turn 70 1/2 years old and you starting taking the RMD from your variois IRA accounts., does this put you in a whole new tax bracket and how can you offset this situation?

At 70.5 you should be spending it on stuff like travels.

You can save state tax if you want to put it in a 529 for kids / grandkids.

If you get a job you can use it to contribute to a new 401k.

 

[pedro47]

At 70.5 you should be spending it on stuff like travels.

You can save state tax if you want to put it in a 529 for kids / grandkids.

If you get a job you can use it to contribute to a new 401k.

Answers....
We try to do seven (7) weeks per year using our various timeshares; plus one or two cruises per year every other year.

I gave and I'm still giving to my grandkids up front. One will be finishing college this May and the second one will be entering college in September. I'm giving to the grandkids. OK!!!!

I'm finishing working on a job 9 to 5 over ten years ago. HOWEVER, I'm working around the house 8 to 10 hours per day, six days per week for The Commander In Chief (my wife) for free. Have about that job for a retire old man.

Plus, I'm on call by my others family's members under something called other duties as assigned because you are retired with nothing to do. RIGHT.
Life is good. Because I have my health and I still enjoy people and traveling.

 

[SMHarman]

Answers....
We try to do seven (7) weeks per year using our various timeshares; plus one or two cruises per year every other year.

I gave and I'm still giving to my grandkids up front. One will be finishing college this May and the second one will be entering college in September. I'm giving to the grandkids. OK!!!!

I'm finishing working on a job 9 to 5 over ten years ago. HOWEVER, I'm working around the house 8 to 10 hours per day, six days per week for The Commander In Chief (my wife) for free. Have about that job for a retire old man.

Plus, I'm on call by my others family's members under something called other duties as assigned because you are retired with nothing to do. RIGHT.
Life is good. Because I have my health and I still enjoy people and traveling.

You asked the question, I offered an answer. It is a nice problem to have.

I hope to enjoy my retirement in a similar way but 3 kids with 2020+ college bills and NYC cost of living make an over commitment to retirement saving tough.

Thankfully, serendipitously a 401k roll over cashed me out at the end of the year. I hope that helps long term, but saving for retirement when fed funds is <1% and other countries are experimenting with negative interest rates and I am now directing $6500 of my pay to the New deductible on my healthcare plan is Grrr.

 

[MULTIZ321]

Question when you turn 70 1/2 years old and you starting taking the RMD from your variois IRA accounts., does this put you in a whole new tax bracket and how can you offset this situation?

Hi Pedro,

Here's the 2016 breakdown for the different tax brackets for a single person:

10% – $0 to $9,275
15% – $9,275 to $37,650
25% – $37,650 to $91,150
28% – $91,150 to $190,150
33% – $190,150 to $413,350
35% – $413,350 to $415,050
39.6% – $415,050+



Richard

 

[pedro47]

Hi Pedro,

Here's the 2016 breakdown for the different tax brackets for a single person:

10% – $0 to $9,275
15% – $9,275 to $37,650
25% – $37,650 to $91,150
28% – $91,150 to $190,150
33% – $190,150 to $413,350
35% – $413,350 to $415,050
39.6% – $415,050+



Richard

Thanks Richard from another R.

 

[John Cummings]

Hi Pedro,

Here's the 2016 breakdown for the different tax brackets for a single person:

10% – $0 to $9,275
15% – $9,275 to $37,650
25% – $37,650 to $91,150
28% – $91,150 to $190,150
33% – $190,150 to $413,350
35% – $413,350 to $415,050
39.6% – $415,050+



Richard

Remember to double the size of the brackets if you are filing a joint return which most couples do.

 

[geekette]

Buy and hold is dead, and don't let brokers convince you otherwise. It's a crapshoot where markets will be 5, 10 or 15 years from now, and you could find yourself in a multi year down cycle just when your need to start accessing your money. Many institutions, brokers and advisors want you to stay invested or at the other end of the scale...turn your portfolio regularly, as that's how they make money. If you are in cash or bonds, there is little in it for them.
There is plenty of sound rationale out there that for the next several years you need to be nimble. Be invested, but be prepared to go to cash or near cash for all or part of your portfolio quickly. If we see the kind of volatility we've seen in January, you don't want to sit eyes closed, while the Dow is down 500 points on successive days. So, don't get locked into anything you can't get out of quickly (at least by the end of the business day) and don't invest in illiquid securities. If you have a broker, discuss with him/her your need to be looked after when you make the call to sell. In an '08 meltdown, the biggest clients got looked after first.
I know....I'm a retired retail broker.

I disagree that buy and hold is dead, but people make their own decisions. The stock market is volatile always, just some times more than others. Hard to imagine what hell will unleash on a long term holder of P&G, for example. I won't be selling companies I've held for over 20 years but will instead hold them for decades more, until I'm dead. I would be surprised if a broker recommended buy and hold since it is against their interests.

What caught my eye here was the bolded part, seems geared to the day traders vs long term investors. I don't ever buy something with the expectation of dumping it same day and would imagine most people on this thread are not jumping in and out of the market on a daily basis. Nothing wrong with it, I'm just not sure that's this audience.

Two extremes, buy and hold over time vs buy and sell same day. I think most folks here are somewhere in the middle.

Retired broker, what stories you must have ....!

 

["Roger"]

Remember to double the size of the brackets if you are filing a joint return which most couples do.

I believe that you only double the lower brackets. As income goes up, you increase the amounts by smaller and smaller percentages.

Chart

 

[lizap]

Tom, you called it. The global market rally has stalled...

For the record, there is a computer program called Sector Surfer that I use that is based on technical analysis. It uses trend lines with the priority being on the 50 day line below the 200 day line and how long it is there to determine when to sell or go to cash. Once the 50 day line turns up, it will send an email to buy your best performing mutual fund or stock. It is actually more complex with a lot of other data it uses, but if you are familiar with charts and trend lines, you can understand how it works. Yesterday, I received an email to go to cash, so that means to make the trade tomorrow on Feburay 1st and to get out of the market. You can go there and set up an account for free if you want. But to make it more applicable to your holdings, you need to input which funds your 401k has. If you work for Google, Apple, IBM, or a lot of other large companies, someone has already done that for you. The cost is $10 per month per strategy. Here is the web site.

http://www.sumgrowth.com/InfoPages/HallOfFame.aspx

I am more active and was out of the market since May 2015, but bought back in during October, only to sell out the first week of January 2016. I actually loss about 2 percent on those trades, but my fear is taking a loss like 2008 or 50 percent. I am holding 10 percent in oil stocks and selling calls against those positions, the rest is in cash. So selling now means taking a loss of 7 percent from the top, but nobody has a crystal ball and hits the top perfectly every time. The risk of going long is riding out the market should it drop 50 percent and waiting 3-5 years to get back to even.

I plan to enter several short positions as soon as the market rolls over and buy a little each day. The ETFs to do that with are SH, SDS, DOG and others. If the market sells off and drops below SPX 1800, the drop will be hard and fast. Once that happens, expect it to drop to 1600. If 1800 holds, it is possible the market will go back up and hit new highs. But, that is a long shot and it is only a matter of time before the Debt from QE being used all over the world catches up with us.

 

[tompalm]

Tom, you called it. The global market rally has stalled...

It is technical analysis using trend lines, momentum and probability. There are a couple websites or companies that I subscribe to that state the trend is down and the bounce off of support would only go to 1940 - 1950 and turn down after that. The market might stay in the 1800-1950 range for a while and then break down or possibly go higher. But the trend is down, the sentiment is down and the probability is that the market will go lower to SPX 1800 and maybe to 1600 after that. But the news can change everything and it is an election year, so the Fed will be doing what it can to save the market. Standby for lots of volatility, it could go higher. Nothing is for sure.

 

[John Cummings]

I believe that you only double the lower brackets. As income goes up, you increase the amounts by smaller and smaller percentages.

Chart

You are correct. They used to be double but apparently they have changed. I haven't looked at the tax tables for a few years until just now.

 

[Ironwood]

I disagree that buy and hold is dead, but people make their own decisions. The stock market is volatile always, just some times more than others. Hard to imagine what hell will unleash on a long term holder of P&G, for example. I won't be selling companies I've held for over 20 years but will instead hold them for decades more, until I'm dead. I would be surprised if a broker recommended buy and hold since it is against their interests.

What caught my eye here was the bolded part, seems geared to the day traders vs long term investors. I don't ever buy something with the expectation of dumping it same day and would imagine most people on this thread are not jumping in and out of the market on a daily basis. Nothing wrong with it, I'm just not sure that's this audience.

Two extremes, buy and hold over time vs buy and sell same day. I think most folks here are somewhere in the middle.

Retired broker, what stories you must have ....!

Geekette...I didn't bold any comments. Your 'quote' click must have somehow done that...go back a page and look at my response. But, you miss read me, I'm not advocating day trading or anything of the sort. Just suggesting that one not close their eyes on their portfolio for a long period. I could name you many good companies that are no longer around or trading at a fraction of their former value with little hope of recovery. Have a look at the 10 year chart for the insurer AIG to see a fall from former grace. I use it as an example as I sold it back in November for $61 and change and bought back in this morning for $52.80 when it fell 5% with the financial sell off early morning. I don't day trade...that's my first activity this week.
Stories I have to tell....I came to the business late in my working life having been downsized from a banking career when my firm was acquired by a larger competitor. I saw there were two sides to the business....the 'Billions' side and the quiet money management side I was involved in. I'm sure most Tugers are somewhere in the middle of managing their affairs, where I am. My only advice was don't close your eyes with the hope it will be better down the road. Stay on top of things.

 

[geekette]

Geekette...I didn't bold any comments. Your 'quote' click must have somehow done that...go back a page and look at my response. But, you miss read me, I'm not advocating day trading or anything of the sort. Just suggesting that one not close their eyes on their portfolio for a long period. I could name you many good companies that are no longer around or trading at a fraction of their former value with little hope of recovery. Have a look at the 10 year chart for the insurer AIG to see a fall from former grace. I use it as an example as I sold it back in November for $61 and change and bought back in this morning for $52.80 when it fell 5% with the financial sell off early morning. I don't day trade...that's my first activity this week.
Stories I have to tell....I came to the business late in my working life having been downsized from a banking career when my firm was acquired by a larger competitor. I saw there were two sides to the business....the 'Billions' side and the quiet money management side I was involved in. I'm sure most Tugers are somewhere in the middle of managing their affairs, where I am. My only advice was don't close your eyes with the hope it will be better down the road. Stay on top of things.

Yes, it was my bolding to call out a sentence. Sorry I did not fully attribute the bolding to my reply vs your original.

Of course a person should monitor their investments. I just found it curious that you say buy and hold is dead and don't let any broker tell you otherwise. I guess I would be shocked if a broker urged me to buy and stand pat as that wouldn't make them any money unless they held my assets and took annual fee from it. Are you serious that there are brokers trying to tell people to do buy and hold??

I agree, most of us are somewhere in the middle and I know I'm an oddity doing buy and hold over 2 decades now, but it works great for me. Quality counts as does track record of weathering varying economic climates. Yes, not every company makes it over the long haul but monitoring can prevent holding a bk company. I haven't had a reason to sell yet and no vaporized companies, but life changes and I will adapt as need be.

People have been calling IBM dead for a long time but they were one of my companies providing double digit dividend raise. They have also managed to reinvent themselves numerous times as the world changed. Some see the price as scary low, I see it as bargain. It's fine with me if it trades low forever more since I am not dependent on stock price for retirement.

AIG isn't something I would have held for the simple reason that I distrust insurance and wouldn't own it. I won't own airlines or car companies, either, and have a mere sliver in retail.

Thanks for the dialogue. I had thought if ever I needed a career change I might go into something financial. I think it's very cool you were able to do so "late" as some industries are not welcoming to the second career set and now that I'm past 50 ...

 

[Ironwood]

Another bounce back today on NA markets, thank goodness. What a roller coaster ride we've had the first five weeks of 2016! I hope we've seen the lows of the year but there are so many variables not behaving as they should that it's anybody's guess where we go from here.

 

[CO skier]

I pulled the trigger and picked up a block of COP yesterday. Happy today! If it takes more dips, I will buy more. ~8% dividend at its current price -- hopefully the dividend will hold through he rough patch we are in. They have a good long-term record of increasing dividends.

Kurt

ConocoPhillips cut its dividend by 66%.

It looks like the US Bank story all over again.

 

[PigsDad]

ConocoPhillips cut its dividend by 66%.

It looks like the US Bank story all over again.

Saw that this morning. Kind of surprised the stock is only down ~1.5% (and still higher than when I purchased a couple weeks ago). The analysts were talking about the possibility of a dividend cut earlier, so I guess most of that was priced into the stock already.

Kurt

 

[CO skier]

Kind of surprised the stock is only down ~1.5%

The stock is currently down 8.5-9% on the day and falling. No telling where it will end. That is how volatile stocks can get on dividend cut announcements.

All the talk in this thread about dividends has me looking to put some funds to work. My opinion, and definitely not investment advice, is that Cisco Systems shows more promise as a swing trade now and dividend investment over the next few years versus energy stocks.

 

[johnrsrq]

looks like another sale for eager beaver buyers

keeping powder dry as I do not like this feeble bear market rally.

not investment advice seek professional for yourself.

timberrrr $spx- current 1911.


long termers like those in IBM at 180 not to worry..... I think.

 

[ace2000]

Interesting comments about the global economy by Citibank today...

Citi: World economy seems trapped in ‘death spiral’

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/02/05/citi-world-economy-trapped-in-death-spiral.html

 

[ace2000]

Personally, those previous comments would probably make me want to invest more into the market, but I know it reinforces some of the thoughts of some on here.

 

[geekette]

The stock is currently down 8.5-9% on the day and falling. No telling where it will end. That is how volatile stocks can get on dividend cut announcements.

All the talk in this thread about dividends has me looking to put some funds to work. My opinion, and definitely not investment advice, is that Cisco Systems shows more promise as a swing trade now and dividend investment over the next few years versus energy stocks.

Folks interested in dividend investing might like a look at dripinvesting.org -- some of the stuff is really dated, but under Info/Tools/Forms is a spreadsheet updated monthly that contains companies that have paid increasing dividends for at least 5 years, some have many decades (Champions tab is >= 25 year history). If you want ideas on solid companies to invest in, not a bad place to start.

Of the companies I own that are on this spreadsheet, 24 of them gave me double digit dividend increases in 2015. Someone mentioned IBM - yes, dbl digit increase in 2015.

Of course, past performance in no way guarantees future ... buyer beware... this is not a recommendation to buy... please perform your own due diligence ... etc

 

[lizap]

At this stage of my life (pre-retirement), I'm not interested in keeping up with things like dividend distributions and cost basis. I want simplicity. When we retire, we plan to annuitize (immediate annuity) half of our portfolio and place all but enough for an emergency fund in a balanced portfolio of mutual funds (all retirement funds), withdrawing 4% a year. I'll never forget, about 10 years ago, I helped a friend with her taxes who had worked at AT&T and had bought stock (there were countless stock splits) and had the dividends reinvested. It was the biggest nightmare. Never did get the cost basis right; surprised she never got audited by the IRS. Not for me, in my latter years...

Folks interested in dividend investing might like a look at dripinvesting.org -- some of the stuff is really dated, but under Info/Tools/Forms is a spreadsheet updated monthly that contains companies that have paid increasing dividends for at least 5 years, some have many decades (Champions tab is >= 25 year history). If you want ideas on solid companies to invest in, not a bad place to start.

Of the companies I own that are on this spreadsheet, 24 of them gave me double digit dividend increases in 2015. Someone mentioned IBM - yes, dbl digit increase in 2015.

Of course, past performance in no way guarantees future ... buyer beware... this is not a recommendation to buy... please perform your own due diligence ... etc

 

[pedro47]

Today's market drop went show to South America.

 

[lizap]

This is a dangerous market. The downside risk currently exceeds the upside potential, IMO. Everyone says invest for the long-term, but when the long-term isn't that long, reality begins to set in...

Today's market drop went show to South America.