I got back from my weekend with my brother last night, exhausted because the traffic was so bad. Google Maps sent me on a number of detours to avoid stoppages -- I don't know if it really paid off, but it was interesting!
I spent $29 on gas and $41 on eating out. I did get to see my old teacher/friend and we had a nice lunch together, despite his having forgotten his hearing aids, so sometimes it seemed we were on separate conversations. It didn't help that we ate outdoors, lakeside, so there was a lot of noise from boats passing by.
My brother fed us fabulously as usual, and my grandsons had a great time in the pool and tubing behind the boat. My brother did voice some thoughts about selling and downsizing, so our luxurious vacations may be coming to an end! But I don't blame him -- there is a lot of maintenance involved in his home, and he is ready to rest a little. His own family doesn't really use the pool a lot, and the boat is aging -- I doubt they would replace it, even if they stay at their location. Too much trouble for too little use. Like the pool.
I came home to find my street still unfinished, but the "no parking" signs are down and the street is lined with parked cars, so I joined the crowd. I assume when they are ready to finish, they'll put the signs back up again, and I'll start looking for parking spaces elsewhere again.
I heard from the refinisher. I can come in and look at the table in its stripped state, and I will bring in a chair so he match the stain. With any luck I should have a table in a few weeks. I am supposed to call him tomorrow to set up a time, but I'm going to ask for a Wednesday slot. My Discover card will close then, and if he wants a payment I'd like to get it on the next cycle.
After the mini-vacation, variables are at 31%. That's just a little high, but not too bad.
Now that I am reaching the old age of 72, it's time to set up my RMD. I'll start the process on my birthday, which is Wednesday. Hope it's going to be easy.
August 9th, 2021 at 09:12 pm 1628543574
August 10th, 2021 at 06:51 pm 1628621460
August 11th, 2021 at 12:36 am 1628642201
August 11th, 2021 at 12:38 am 1628642322
A couple of questions/thoughts on the RMD.
1. Are you going to be taking it as monthly distributions or as a once a year payout near year-end, or quarterly? I've worked with clients who take it in various ways depending on their other income sources.
2. Generally it works out well to have tax withheld from the distribution, in whatever form it takes. This is because tax withheld from an IRA distribution is treated as though it is paid out ratably over the year, whereas if you take the distributions without withholding and then pay estimated taxes on them quarterly, you are more likely to be subject to a tax penalty if you have some kind of big income event during the year such as a sale in a taxable account. Also, is your RMD going to bump you up to a new tax bracket? There are many people I've worked with who are in the 12% bracket before RMDs kick in but are in the 22% bracket (or higher) once RMDs kick in. You should figure your withholding based on your expected tax bracket.
3. Are your RMDs from an IRA, or are they from a 403b or a 401k? The following applies ONLY if your funds are in an IRA. If you have charitable leanings and routinely are making contributions to charities, it is much more tax efficient to do these as "QCDs," or Qualified Charitable Distributions that go directly from your custodian to your chosen charity. (How this happens depends on the custodian. TD Ameritrade will send checks directly to charities while Schwab will make the check out to the charity but then send it to you to mail. Again, this only applies if your tax-deferred funds are in a traditional IRA. If you are, then you are eligible to exclude the amount of your RMD that was contributed directly to a 501(c)(3) charity from your taxable income.