How is the war affecting your finances?

I don't drive enough for it to significantly affect my budget and with my new Maverick hybrid that replaced my Tacoma it's even less of a concern. News today is saying we will see $4.00 or more this week. It will affect all prices that require transportation. My weekly grocery bill has been slightly over $100 an inspite any government numbers and for the first time. I'll have to think about the RMD or some equity harvesting to figure if it makes sense, as I suppose the markets will dive.

If you can buy into the trump rhetoric it all might be too short lived to make any long term adjustments. On the other hand...

Ugh, the market! Good point about taking the RMD when it is down, frugal-one.

ETA: I looked this up on Microsoft copilot, and it looks like the amount is determined on a set date:

"your RMD amount is not affected by what the market is doing on the day you take the withdrawal. The IRS sets your RMD based on a fixed formula, and that formula uses your account balance on December 31 of the previous year, not the value on the day you actually withdraw. "

For those talking about early RMD, you mean early in the year, right? We have to be age 73 before it’s required, right?

I guess I never thought about what time of year to do it. I have a couple more years before I have to take RMD’s.

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Originally Posted by iris lilies

For those talking about early RMD, you mean early in the year, right? We have to be age 73 before it’s required, right?

I guess I never thought about what time of year to do it. I have a couple more years before I have to take RMD’s.

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Me, too, so I'd love to hear what people do, how they handle it.

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Originally Posted by Tybee

Me, too, so I'd love to hear what people do, how they handle it.

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oh I don’t know, I don’t think I’m going to worry about the taxes when doing RMD. I mean, yeah it’s a big bite and is rather horrifying, but I tire of thinking about tax strategies (not that I am any good at those strategies.)


I love my QCD where every time I take money out of my IRA I give a little FK U to the government.

I'd like to hear about how people actually handle the RMD's, when they take them, do they take one lump sum, or month by month, based on that Dec 31 number? Frugal, I don't take mine yet so I'd like to hear what the process is.
Thanks!

Gas is up. Food is up. Trying to hunker down and spend less. Not liking where it looks this situation may be headed, but who knows? None of it is in our control until election day!

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Originally Posted by Tybee

I'd like to hear about how people actually handle the RMD's, when they take them, do they take one lump sum, or month by month, based on that Dec 31 number? Frugal, I don't take mine yet so I'd like to hear what the process is.
Thanks!

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I've not yet made a for sure plan for my regular IRA, which I will to give some to a charity, but I've worked through a couple of inherited IRAs and I think at depends on how you plan to use the distribution. I've had Fidelity set everything up and all of the plans you mention are possible. I have a lot of bills come due early in the year. Taxes, insurances, etc. so I have had a distribution early in the year to help with those and a second of equal amount mid-year. You could take a total or partial distribution for a planned trip, a home repair, or maybe a car purchase. If it comes down to the only factor being where the stock market is up or down, you're basically timing the market, which is a dart toss. My distributions come mostly from a money market, so it might make some sense to realize as much interest accumulation as possible and take it later in the year as a lump sum if you don't have a need or use for the extra income before then.

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Originally Posted by frugal-one

Time to take RMD now that market is down or wait? I’m thinking now so less in taxes though not sure it really matters.

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Came across this:

https://www.sullivanmermel.com/post/...olatile-market

Not RMD age yet but on the inherited one, we elected to have equal payments pulled out on the last day of each month. Don't intend to use the funds anytime soon so this way it is slowly depleted and then reinvested during the required ten years for inherited IRAs.