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Reagan1k

Certifiably Surly
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Everything posted by Reagan1k

  1. I could be wrong but I don’t think that’s correct. Roth money comes out tax free because it is considered after-tax. You’d have paid taxes on the back door portion of the conversion as well as the pro rated portion the IRS assumes comes from your traditional. Something could have changed but that amounts to double taxation and would render any conversion or back door strategy useless. Point being, the back door is really the same as a straight Roth conversion, just using the new deductible contribution as the funds.
  2. This is what I keep going back to. I asked a law and order / back the blue acquaintance if he would vote to acquit a caregiver of using a pillow to smoother one of his family members as they lay in hospice. Things got uncomfortable then. If someone answers yes to that question, then I don't have much to say. If they answer "no, but".....then it simply illustrates that they are making a value judgement on George Floyd's life and what they think he is or who / what he represents to them. Neither is a pretty thought. And, I'm not one who is necessarily averse to the legal imposition of the death penalty, but that isn't carried out in the street, under a knee, by a cop,
  3. Zero on that list. Put salmon on there and I'm at 1. Odd thing I avoid is icing on any desert. Scrape it off or skip completely. Will not do the fermented and/or pungent Asian seafood "delicacies" but as a plain protein fresh off the grill or skillet I'd give them a try. Never had brains, but would try. Only protein I've ever spit out was from an Aoudad ram....ewes are fine, but the old goats are rancid.
  4. It's hard to go wrong with a 529. Don't overthink it too much. The trick to it isn't really a trick. It's consistent deposits to principal as early, often, and as large as you can make them. While its possible to overfund a 529, its not likely. If you do however, you're likely to be in a situation where a) you won't miss the money and b) you'll be able to designate a future beneficiary such as a grandchild if your kid doesn't use it all up (but they will).
  5. I don't see anything I would argue with here, and as said above, the biggest pitfall in doing this is the Pro-Rata Rule. If you have no traditional IRA holdings (contributory or rollover that were pre-tax dollars) you can stop reading as this doesn't apply. If you do have pre-tax IRA money, the feds look at any conversion on a pro-rata basis and assume for you that you are converting equal percentages of pre-tax and post tax contributions based on the aggregate amount divided by the different classes. You can't identify and convert specific contributions. If you have any pre-tax IRA dollars, they consider you to have converted a percentage of those dollars and tax you as such. That doesn't mean you should never do this, but it muddies the calculation, as you are betting that your retirement tax bracket will be higher than your current bracket and are willing to take a cash flow hit now vs. in the future. It basically becomes a partial Roth conversion exercise instead of a pure backdoor Roth.
  6. That would drive me up the wall. Do you have any recourse? Could you make a monetary donation as a good faith gesture and take it back? I've heard that's an all too common outcome on donated items. Most places have far more stuff than space. I'm not sure I could let that go without a fight.
  7. Pretty damn accurate I’d say- with the one difference being that the 9mm predated the .38 super in contrast to the 10mm and the .40’s birth order.
  8. Dear diary - Today someone was talking about practicality and used logic while discussing guns on the Surl gun thread. I feel confused and conflicted. I want to agree with him, but my fingers won't let me. I think I'll take a nap and see if these emotions pass.
  9. Correct - If you can get a stamp for a suppressor or SBR you can go get something with a fun-switch if your budget allows. The father had been acquiring in the 70's and then the son started in the 80's in this case. Basically it was a high end hobby that turned into a profitable investment. You can follow current prices at places like Rock Island Auctions or on LiveAuctioneers.com. Domestic stuff is always in the high teens for things like Cobrays and into the $20's for M16's. What is even more expensive is the foreign made stuff like H&K or communist stuff because those imports stopped before domestic production was banned and are more rare. There is a ton of NFA stuff coming up for sale at Rock Island on May 15th. For instance, starting bid for a Heckler & Koch/Vollmer/Fleming G3/HK21 Machine Gun is $22.5k and will probably go for close to twice that.
  10. I know a father/son duo who have numerous. They were out in front of the market before and shortly after 86'. What they have is now worth a fortune in the collector's market. I don't think they've bought anything other than SBRs and suppressors in many years. Back when we lived in the same town, I always told them my SHTF strategy was to have just enough firepower to fight my way to their houses.
  11. Ain’t a damn thing wrong with an old Rossi!
  12. I’m becoming weary of spending time that would be used selling to instead notify customers of a new price increase. However, I will say that we still have an older stamp at my office that used to be used as a disclaimer on quotes from the 70’s. It says “Price in effect at time of order.” Those had to be fun times!
  13. I stole that analogy and used it in my first few years. I love it. I went back and looked it up. It was a guy named Cliff G. from OK - lawyer I think. I should replay that b/c it was a great talk and normally I miss more than I grasp. I listen to SoberCast daily while walking my dog. Great resource. I want to say it was a recording of a recent talk he gave during a Covid Zoom meeting. Great message - very relevant to these last few posts. Becoming emotionally sober once we achieve physical sobriety was a big part of it.
  14. Another vote that this is great wisdom. Heard a speaker this week talking about the fact that as alcoholics, we are normally walking up a down escalator. If we stand still, we start moving backwards, and even if we do go backwards for a time, we can reverse that trend by taking action. Tied in quite nicely with what @Celery Man said.
  15. I’m seeing anything with a copper component - from motors to fittings, hit hard. Fiberglass resin too!
  16. What are you guys seeing? Most everyone has heard talk about things like lumber and OSB prices skyrocketing, but I'm now getting mid-year price increase notices from a variety of manufacturers on top of what they did in January as yearly increases. Curious what your experiences are in the last month or two? Covid is still wrecking some supply chains, and now pricing seem to be popping everywhere i turn on materials - no clue how it is in services. Thoughts?
  17. Normal?.....We're alcoholic. We are predisposed to many of those emotions. Even if we'd never had the first drop those feelings would and could come naturally to us. I don't see any reason why seeing a professional would hurt. We seek outside help when necessary. The Big Book says "Their services are often indispensable in treating a newcomer and in following his case afterward." Maybe it's something that a sponsor could help you sort through in an inventory and maybe its something an professional could help you process - likely both would help! Hell yeah its normal and should be something you pay attention to in a constructive way - getting into action to address it. We don't come this far to wallow in doubt, self pity and regret. You've got a lot to give and live for. Explore that with whoever you need to help you wade into and through those emotions.
  18. I’d really dig a world with a lot more spirituality and a lot less “religion”.
  19. Buddy just got back from Cabo. Said his resort (i can't remember which) and he presumed others, are offering a prepaid "insurance policy" of less than $50 pp that guarantees your food and lodging at the resort if you test positive before the return flight and have to quarantine there. Nothing would guarantee more that your test comes back negative than having given the resort $50 which obligated them to house you for two weeks. I love the ingenuity of our southern friends to find a work-around to travel risk / hesitancy.
  20. Really good points here. Makes me think (randomly but it applies) of a bit I saw Chris Rock do recently. He talks about the fact that in relationships, sometimes we sing lead and sometimes we play the tambourine. His point was and I think what @Brisketexan is alluding to is that you have to be able to get out of your self enough to have a relationship where you are comfortable and happy to play both roles at various times. If we are so self centered that we only want to sing lead and begrudgingly "play the tambourine" for the other, then neither party is going to be happy and resentments or distance will follow in short order. A fulfilling, monogamous relationship will naturally create emotional and physical intimacy if both parties participate in each role at times and do so unselfishly. Oh, and he also says you have to keep fuckin'.
  21. Correct- and the term loophole implies some intent to intentionally skirt a law or regulation. tax loophole sounds worse than tax deduction, etc. Word matter to both sides when it comes to currying favor with those voters that don’t know the facts in any debate.
  22. Part ignorance and part intellectual dishonesty- ratios vary from time to time and place to place.
  23. Wow - blast from the past. Catching up on this. @gsoda3 If you pull out policy loans from permanent insurance, they are not considered income at that time or any time in the future as long as the insurance contract stays in force and you either pay the loans back or cooperate and die with the coverage in place. If the policy lapses prior to death, and you have loans outstanding, you have a tax bill dropped in your lap. As for what to do if relatively early in life with adequate term insurance and a long time horizon - the general answer would be to fund 401(k) and / or IRAs to the fullest extent allowed, then save as much as one could post tax in low fee and tax efficient investments (index funds or etf’s in a schwab or fidelity account for example). Permanent insurance is useful in strategic situations, but not nearly as often as it is sold. It’s not a bad product, in and of itself even though a lot of people feel somehow righteous in declaring it so. But, Unless you have a unique situation with dependents or health issues or just have so much excess cash flow that you want to do some estate or charitable planning... it’s probably a low priority for you. Both sides of that same coin- the guys who pushed permanent insurance at every turn vs. the guy who thinks it’s criminal in all cases. Neither is right. Pick the right tool for the right job and know what the tools are built to do....beyond the sales pitch or anti sales pitch. Personal finance is 90% personal and 10% application of product. You have to identify the goals and needs and then Pick the tools and techniques to get you where you want to go- then stick to the plan!!!!!!!!! keeping in mind that that’s also ever changing. On the long term care deal, there is some merit in the 50+ crowd looking at taking a thin sliver of assets each year and putting them in a hybrid life / LTC policy. Unlike straight LTC insurance, there is what amounts to a return of premium and then some in the form of the death benefit if you don’t use the LTC. Its an intriguing concept because as was mentioned above, straight LTC insurance is incredibly expensive and the hybrid policies let you lock in a cost and benefit with at least some guarantees on the back end. Worth a look if you have assets to protect and cash flow to pay for it.
  24. @kevwun My man......you hit some of my all time favorites. Those tempura fin wings and GWF and the crab beignets / brussel sprouts at LPG are some of my kink.
  25. Rules are for thee but not for me!
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