> can't I just refinance

Don't ever count on refinancing. Something could happen to your earning potential (like a long term disability) that makes it impossible.

70 % VANGUARD EXT MARKET INDEX INST (US broad market stocks)

30% VANGUARD TTL INTL STK IDX INST (international developed market stocks)

- OR -

whichever target retirement fund is nearest your 65th - 67th birthday

When you are breaking up with someone you want to **DE-**escalate, not escalate.

I was so bummed when they discontinued the Android app, and angry when Google Play charged me for another year's subscription two months later. They denied my appeal, saying that I voluntarily agreed to the cost until and unless I un-subscribed.

Word to the wise - don't plan on returning home the day of the eclipse. Get a place to stay the day before AND the day of the eclipse, and drive home the day after when the roads have cleared.

I saw the 2017 eclipse just east of Hopkinsville, KY. Afterwards the parkways were a parking lot, it took us three hours to go 30 miles to US 431. Cellular data was completely jammed so no luck using navigation apps - if you had pre-downloaded area maps, GPS might have worked, since GPS itself is passive. Gas stations at the parkway exits quickly ran out of gas - we finally found gas about ten miles north of Central City. The Ohio River bridges at Evansville and Louisville were backed up for hours; we slipped across the lesser-known bridge at Rockport on US 231 where there was no back-up.

I live and work in the Indianapolis area, and I will be advocating for the office to close at 2:00 pm that day to allow the staff to get home before the roads are clogged - the eclipse ends right around 3:15, so the afternoon commute will be virtually impossible.

There's no doubt that over time, the human condition has been and is improving.

Humans, on the other hand, are just as awful as they have ever been.

Don't use the phrase "roll it." That could trigger an indirect rollover where the sponsor cuts a check, withholds 20% for taxes, and starts a 60-day countdown for the ex-employee to deposit the check plus the missing 20% into an IRA, which is exactly what OP is trying to avoid.

OP doesn't need to talk to 401(k) sponsor at all. OP needs to open the appropriate type of IRA, and give the 401(k) account details to the IRA sponsor to initiate a direct transfer.

>So if it was moved to an IRA, which is evidently taxable, do I have access to those funds to pay the tax burden?

A direct transfer from 401(k) to IRA - or 401(k) to a different 401(k) - is not a taxable event at all.

A 1099 showing a distribution does not imply that it was a taxable event. You do need to figure out where the funds ended up, in case the IRS wants to know.

Not a robo-advisor, which will tend to put you in a complex mix of investments that churn and throw off taxable distributions.

A brokerage account money market fund is a fine place to hold an emergency fund. Otherwise, a broad market stock index ETF is usually the best choice for long term investing.

In my experience holding individual stocks often results in me "messing with" my investments too much, usually to my detriment.

... and about a third of that food is channeled into local and regional foodbanking networks, ultimately ending up going to charities.

So, if the 1099 shows a distribution of that amount, it either:

- got moved to an IRA account, or

- got moved to an entirely new 401(k) provider, which is the most likely.

It's on you to stay on top of important mail, and this includes notifying vendors of a new address, and using the USPS change-of-address kit to both forward your mail and notify senders. A lot of important mail is sent in such a way that the sender is notified if you have a change-of-address on file.

I get mail addressed to some guy at my address several times a year from Empower, a 401(k) administrator. He's got money out there that he has evidently completely lost track of.

If your account was < $1000 they likely cut you a check and you had 60 days to roll it over to an IRA.

If your account > $1000 but < $5000, they already moved it to an IRA.

If your account > $5000 they are generally required to leave it alone, unless the entire plan was terminated for some reason.

How much was the "entire amount" on the 1099?

Medicare with a good Medigap supplemental policy is actually pretty adequate for the vast majority of U.S. retirees. Only if you get a rare condition that Medicare flat out doesn't cover, or choose an expensive elective medical procedure, would you run up large bills.

What does happen quite often is that someone will require long term skilled care in a nursing home. Medicare only covers 100 days. Medicaid, the means tested medical coverage, will pay for long term care, but only after the beneficiary exhausts all but their last $2000 in assets (there is some protection for a primary residence, especially if there is a spouse still living there). The upshot is that a large majority of persons needing long term care end up dying with pretty much zero net worth.

Social Security has been taxing wages, and paying out benefits, since 1937. I entered the workforce in 1977 and have been paying into SS my entire work life.

Pretty much anyone born after 1919 has been paying SS taxes their whole work life.

Fun fact: you no longer see former hearses being driven around as somebody's daily driver. Why? For the past 20 - 30 years hearses are mostly ordinary minivans, with the characteristic "curlicue" design on an insert that covers the rear-most side windows.

When the funeral home is done with the hearse, the insert is removed and the minivan is sold as an ordinary used vehicle. Since it appears to be a normal car there is no deep discount on its price, and sellers aren't required to disclose that it used to be used for hauling dead bodies around.

You're in an enviable position, and have obviously identified what works for you.

&gt; Making good interest on investments requires knowledge that the average person doesn't have.

This sort of is, and isn't, true. Investors today have access to incredibly inexpensive stock, bond, and asset allocation mutual funds and ETFs that require, at most, a couple of hours of research at the outset.

However, the average investor's returns tend to be much less than the returns of the investment funds they choose. How is this possible? Because the average investor tries to move in and out of specific investments (market timing) to maximize investing results, which 90% of the time reduces net results.

I would split the money in two:

Half in a 2-year Treasury note - example CUSIP 91282CDZ1 yielding 4.803% to maturity on 2/15/2025.

Half in a money market mutual fund - example SWVXX or VMFXX, yielding 4.5% currently.

The T-note locks in a decent return, should interest rates fall in the next two years. The MMF on the other hand will quickly increase in yield if interest rates continue to rise. By holding both you have an interest-rate neutral holding yielding significantly more than your HYSA.

Nope. I have an attached garage, and if I zip into it naked in the depth of winter, my bare feet on the cold concrete feel MUCH more naked than if I were wearing socks.

We shared 10 years together, 8 healthy passionate years, and 2 "fighting cancer" years. They were all incredible, as I discovered a depth of compassion in me that I didn't know existed.

My wife was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in October at the age of 53. Prognosis: 2% chance of surviving 5 years.

A year later in December, had a massive "55 and still alive!" birthday party with a couple of dozen friends.

Turned 56 a year later. Died the next day a little past nine in the morning.

>almost-but-not-quite-piss-yellow

It's like piss yellow with a little bit of Prestone green antifreeze.

Can an Aussie please unpack this headline, I'm dying to know what a "pokies whistleblower" is.

No way I'm googling that on a work computer.

Thank you for this. Never underestimate the power of encouraging a child.

I'm an old dude with a lot of life experience, and I am continually struck by the oftentimes extreme competence of children who are given good instruction, encouragement, and support.

You need to know your A1C number. The glucose and insulin numbers are snapshots at a given point in time, but the A1C number is a much more meaningful "over time" number. Below 6 is normal, 6 - 6.5 is "prediabetic," and higher than 6.5 is actual diabetes.

After hovering in prediabetic range for years, I topped out at 6.7. "Congratulations, you are now diabetic!" With an uptick in exercise, dietary improvement, and Metformin I'm down to 6.1 and holding.

Great idea, but I'd go 60/40 on the US and international funds, or even 50/50.

US stocks have far outpaced international stocks for over a decade. Given that most trends eventually revert to the mean, it may be time for international stocks to shine. Vanguard seems to think so.