[BrokeAssMillionaire]

Hola, 

I thought FEMA is for low income. My cousin got her home roof replace for free from FEMA, she was lucky she didn't have job at that time. It was 12k something.

How is your stock and retirement account? I will join 4 million club soon  If it keeps continue going up to this Dec, you will see in the 4 million club.

Have a wonderful day, 

PS: going to take vacation in VN for 6 weeks, will see back in Dec. Hope, it would be a good new. 

[TiểuHồLy]

Hola, 

I thought FEMA is for low income. My cousin got her home roof replace for free from FEMA, she was lucky she didn't have job at that time. It was 12k something.

How is your stock and retirement account? I will join 4 million club soon  If it keeps continue going up to this Dec, you will see in the 4 million club.

Have a wonderful day, 

PS: going to take vacation in VN for 6 weeks, will see back in Dec. Hope, it would be a good new. 

Hola, ¿Cómo estás?  

FEMA literally helps the millionaire. ...My stocks and retirement accounts are rocking, brother. Is that the 4 million giveaways club? Do you still own Tesla's stock? 

Wishing you a happy and fulfilling life,

What's a lucky man, traveling so often. I love the muc 1 nang in VietNam. 

[JayM]

Hello Ly, chủ nhà ...Millionaire,
 
A happy camper seeing retirement accounts growing double digits here. 

Welcome back Ly.  Hope to see you both sharing investment advices.  

[BrokeAssMillionaire]

I saw yahoo news with a post 4 millionaire club to I thought I will be joining soon   I hope it's coming this June or the latest is December.

Still hold Tesla until 2027, will see what's going on, may be continue holding if it's good. Actually, I am holding everything I have bought   because Uncle Sam is crazy. When you get a loss, they let you claim 3k/year while gain they rob your wallet. That's the reason I don't want to sell anything.

Everything 1 nang in VN is good   I got stuck with Typhoon in VN so couldn't go anywhere to Central and North. So mostly went out at night in Sai Gon. However, I did take a week to Malaysia and Singapore, both countries are pretty nice. And went to Phu Quoc for 4 days, the first time ever I spent at JW Marriott PQ that cost $500/night   If you ever visit, I would recommend this hotel to feel the luxury and they treat you like a king.

Not sure what advice I can give you because I am high risk type of guy   The reason for high risk is I can't take out 401k until 59 1/2 so why not gamble with high risk. Just pick the highest return funds then you will happy 20-30 years later.

As you can see below, 2022 losing 292k but other years have been recovered. As long as you don't touch anything, keep contribution. Probably when you reach 56-59, you want change to low risk funds. For me, I am all out for war, regardless up/down. May be moving all out to low risk when Trump leaves office.

Warning from Uncle Sam, he is the nasty one. (Below doesn't include 5-10% gain annually)
--Assume, you have 2 million. Take out one time Fed 37% and Cali 12.3% = 49.3% ==> Tax 986k 
--Assume, you have 2 million. Take out 100k each year for 20 years. Fed 24% and Cali 9.3% ===> Tax 666k 

Just look at tax bracket and state state, then you can figure out how much to take out in order to stay as low as possible for the tax.





For individual stocks, I have couple accounts, and you see I have FAS every where. I am kinda addicted to FAS because it has dividend. My goal is to get 3k dividend every quarter Almost there, I need to collect another 1000 shares of FAS in the future that would reach my goal. There is one thing beside 401k, it's Roth IRA, you want to take advantage of that since it's no tax on gain. Every year, I put in the max allow then search for the high risk mutual fund large and mid cap to buy. And never touch again  So far so good, they have been up pretty well.

  

[TiểuHồLy]

Hello Ly, chủ nhà ...Millionaire,
 
A happy camper seeing retirement accounts growing double digits here. 

Welcome back Ly.  Hope to see you both sharing investment advices.  

 Jay,


Congrats!  
Thank you for a warm gesture. Would you like to share the experiences from your investment retirement accounts? Every tip would be appreciated.

[TiểuHồLy]

I saw yahoo news with a post 4 millionaire club to I thought I will be joining soon   I hope it's coming this June or the latest is December.

Still hold Tesla until 2027, will see what's going on, may be continue holding if it's good. Actually, I am holding everything I have bought   because Uncle Sam is crazy. When you get a loss, they let you claim 3k/year while gain they rob your wallet. That's the reason I don't want to sell anything.

Everything 1 nang in VN is good   I got stuck with Typhoon in VN so couldn't go anywhere to Central and North. So mostly went out at night in Sai Gon. However, I did take a week to Malaysia and Singapore, both countries are pretty nice. And went to Phu Quoc for 4 days, the first time ever I spent at JW Marriott PQ that cost $500/night   If you ever visit, I would recommend this hotel to feel the luxury and they treat you like a king.

Not sure what advice I can give you because I am high risk type of guy   The reason for high risk is I can't take out 401k until 59 1/2 so why not gamble with high risk. Just pick the highest return funds then you will happy 20-30 years later.

As you can see below, 2022 losing 292k but other years have been recovered. As long as you don't touch anything, keep contribution. Probably when you reach 56-59, you want change to low risk funds. For me, I am all out for war, regardless up/down. May be moving all out to low risk when Trump leaves office.

Warning from Uncle Sam, he is the nasty one. (Below doesn't include 5-10% gain annually)
--Assume, you have 2 million. Take out one time Fed 37% and Cali 12.3% = 49.3% ==> Tax 986k 
--Assume, you have 2 million. Take out 100k each year for 20 years. Fed 24% and Cali 9.3% ===> Tax 666k 

Just look at tax bracket and state state, then you can figure out how much to take out in order to stay as low as possible for the tax.



For individual stocks, I have couple accounts, and you see I have FAS every where. I am kinda addicted to FAS because it has dividend. My goal is to get 3k dividend every quarter Almost there, I need to collect another 1000 shares of FAS in the future that would reach my goal. There is one thing beside 401k, it's Roth IRA, you want to take advantage of that since it's no tax on gain. Every year, I put in the max allow then search for the high risk mutual fund large and mid cap to buy. And never touch again  So far so good, they have been up pretty well.

  

Yé nô!  

Wishing your dream will come true. With the stock market's fluctuations, I would need a few more years to qualify for the millionaire club.




Tesla is doing well lately. Yes, totally agree. I have been deducting $3k since the 2005s, but the IRS taxed 35% of the gain in the same year I sold it. Any idea on how to avoid or minimize gain taxes, brother?

Are you sure "everything"? I thought men often choose the fresh one.  
My next vacation is in China. Any recommendations on locations? I love to explore all the historic scenery. Your taste is slightly different than mine; I would enjoy the natural quiet village and moderate styles more than luxury.

Um, kind of risky, eh? I prefer slow and safe to fast and risky. So far, I've let the financial advisors pick the stocks and stayed firmly invested for years. I admitted that I am a bad stock predictor. 

Bro! The charts didn't show any recovery, as I see. Back in 2020, the amount started at roughly $227k plus $263k for 5 years' contributions, but the 2025 grand total is $213. From my perspective, the chances of gains in the stock market are higher if you hire experts who know a symbol's trading history, insider connections, etc. 
If you try to self-manage your retirement investments it might be significant risks as a lack of expertise and emotional decision-making. 
 
I don't think I could spend all my assets before I die;  some must go to beneficiaries or charities, especially cancer and orphan organizations.

I chose option #2, which takes $100k/year or less with approximately 22% + 9% taxes. Was there no contribution to Roth accounts last year? Are you still gaining? If I'm not mistaken, your total assets were worth $1 million a year back?

On a side note, one of my friends asked to be a partner in a biodegradable urn burial. What's your opinion?

[BrokeAssMillionaire]

i am a die hard Tesla. Either win or lose  

There is no way to run away from tax. Did you lose that much to get 3k every year? Whatever gain you have, it would support to subtract from the loss before they tax you. For example, loss 100k, gain 80k, then final loss is 20k, Then you can deduce 3k of that 20k every year. They should haven't tax on capital gain since the total still a loss.

 I mean food, 1 day sun food is expensive in VN and only the rich can spend on it because they know it's Viet kieu favorite.

I never trust anyone   so financial advisors don't work for me. I can maintain myself. In certain time, I am pretty aggressive while maintain conservative. 

What you saw in the chart was total gain or loss each year, It's not the Grand Total   If you add up all the gain/loss together (approximately 110% gain after 25 years) then you can figure out the Grain Total.  I retired in Nov. 2024 so no longer contribution. Whatever gain/loss is continue from the principal after that. I still keep trace of gain/loss every quarter so I can make decision later of what to do. Option 2 is probably the best for anyone that has gain a lot. Everyone has different tax bracket. However, in my case I really can't run away from 36% tax since I have pension where it adds up to 401k withdraw. Unless I only take out 20k of 401k per year to keep tax under 14%    I have looked and studied all methods how to lower the tax but it's really impossible. So the best option for me to convert 100k of 401k (36% tax of 100k) each year to Roth where I can continue to gain more in the future without paying tax rather than withdraw. There is no RMD for Roth so you can take out anytime you want.

NOTE: There is a 5 years rule of Roth conversion, which mean you can't use it after 5 years convert to Roth.  Since I currently have 1/3 Roth in assert then I can take out that first to spend while waiting 5 years for those that I would convert every year.

As I have mention before, 401k and stocks are bonus, I really don't need it even if all are gone   Pension is enough to live plus SSA when I reach 62.  Making extra money is just for fun

biodegradable ? Ummm, I would stay away from doing business with anyone unless I do by myself. No matter how the business is, you have to do the study feasibility report by yourself before to be partner with anyone. You really can't trust anything that they tell you.

[TiểuHồLy]

i am a die hard Tesla. Either win or lose  

There is no way to run away from tax. Did you lose that much to get 3k every year? Whatever gain you have, it would support to subtract from the loss before they tax you. For example, loss 100k, gain 80k, then final loss is 20k, Then you can deduce 3k of that 20k every year. They should haven't tax on capital gain since the total still a loss.

 I mean food, 1 day sun food is expensive in VN and only the rich can spend on it because they know it's Viet kieu favorite.

I never trust anyone   so financial advisors don't work for me. I can maintain myself. In certain time, I am pretty aggressive while maintain conservative. 

What you saw in the chart was total gain or loss each year, It's not the Grand Total   If you add up all the gain/loss together (approximately 110% gain after 25 years) then you can figure out the Grain Total.  I retired in Nov. 2024 so no longer contribution. Whatever gain/loss is continue from the principal after that. I still keep trace of gain/loss every quarter so I can make decision later of what to do. Option 2 is probably the best for anyone that has gain a lot. Everyone has different tax bracket. However, in my case I really can't run away from 36% tax since I have pension where it adds up to 401k withdraw. Unless I only take out 20k of 401k per year to keep tax under 14%    I have looked and studied all methods how to lower the tax but it's really impossible. So the best option for me to convert 100k of 401k (36% tax of 100k) each year to Roth where I can continue to gain more in the future without paying tax rather than withdraw. There is no RMD for Roth so you can take out anytime you want.

NOTE: There is a 5 years rule of Roth conversion, which mean you can't use it after 5 years convert to Roth.  Since I currently have 1/3 Roth in assert then I can take out that first to spend while waiting 5 years for those that I would convert every year.

As I have mention before, 401k and stocks are bonus, I really don't need it even if all are gone   Pension is enough to live plus SSA when I reach 62.  Making extra money is just for fun

biodegradable ? Ummm, I would stay away from doing business with anyone unless I do by myself. No matter how the business is, you have to do the study feasibility report by yourself before to be partner with anyone. You really can't trust anything that they tell you.

Mr. Musk must love you to death. I admire Mr. Musk's robotics and driverless technology, but I don't want to jump into the Tesla stock as its current price is a bit high for me. 

Yep! Unfortunately, the long-term losses carried forward could not be offset by the short-term capital gain.

Perhaps gathering all the possible deductions is a key to a tax-saving strategy. I would rather pay higher capital gains taxes than take deductions for losses.  

I knew it! Not "everything 1 nắng."
I also love the savory flavor of velvet antler mushroom from Việt Nam. 

The financial advisor often offers multiple options; you need to research them before making final decisions.

I see. If that's how to read the charts, then you're qualified for a 4-millionaire club.

Ops! My bad. I literally forgot the pension.

Are you sure there are no taxes on converting from a pre-tax 401(k) to a Roth account? Don't mistake the Designated Roth 401(k) and pre-tax 401(k), eh?

I know it's hard to trust someone, especially in business and love, but sometimes it takes a chance. Beyond that, masterminded partners will generate more profit through their strong connections.

[BrokeAssMillionaire]

Correct, either withdraw as cash or converting to Roth will cost me at least 36% tax. I am stuck at this tax bracket If I plan to take out for 20 years starting at 60. I have planned 10 years ahead when I want to retire and what to do with 401k. So far everything is perfect as plan.

5 years before retire, I had changed my contribution to Roth 401k because this money will need to spend first while converting pre-tax 401k to Roth IRA each year. Because of 5 year rule, I know this would be best option I want to take advantage of instead of cash.

My current pension tax bracket is at 14%. I thought it's at 22% but seem like the pension tax less than the regular tax bracket. If this is the case, 100k withdraw would cost me 22%a tax where it's around 22k. It's not bad, will see when I reach 60 then will convert 100k to Roth IRA to see what happen.