Aviator Guy's Account Talk

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Devilduck said:
Do you think the market has already priced in the tax extension or will will see a lift when it does?
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I think it is priced in now, but the retail sales was a good sign, and the market does not seem to be reacting to bad news. It's a slow melt-up / climbing the wall of worry, whatever label you want to put on it. It will end eventually, but when? Watch the trend lines and moving averages.
 
I decided to get out of Stocks as I burn up my 3rd and absolutely the final IFT for 2010 on Dec 17th and it’s been a really good YTD, QTD and month to date too. One of my very basic personal rules I try to follow is pull out of the market anytime my account increases more than 2 to 5 percent in less than a four week period. I’ve been ignoring that lately trying to take advantage of this way cool Christmas Rally… LOL… Greed is good but dang it, it can be dangerous too for investing…

I’m still bullish long term for the Markets and look forward to taking a leap back in sometime in January 2011. If at all possible, I like being in the market late in any month as to carry over into the following month. This gives me a little more flexibility to jump out after a move up and then back in later in the month on any drop to repeat the cycle. I’m really forced to do this because of that crazy IFT limit. The TSP board made a huge mistake when they took away participant unlimited IFT’s. They claim it saved a ton of money from those 500 individuals identified as frequent traders… LOL… And yes, I was one of those 500 fed employees listed and Proud of it Baby!!!

About the only thing that makes me nervous being in the Dec market for the rest of the month is mini me one (N. Korea Pres), mini me two (Iranian midget Pres) and another Bloomers Bomber nut cases around the holidays. Good Luck with your investments and let’s start working on 2011 in a couple weeks. About 100 of TSP Talkers are still beating the C Fund and that makes me so happy!!! I hope everyone has a great Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!

BTW, I joined the Navy 25 yrs ago, Dec 17th 1975 and almost froze to death at that boot camp in Great Lakes RTC (Near Chicago Land)… Brrrrrr:cool::cool:
 
Aviator_Guy said:
I decided to get out of Stocks as I burn up my 3rd and absolutely the final IFT for 2010 on Dec 17th and it’s been a really good YTD, QTD and month to date too. One of my very basic personal rules I try to follow is pull out of the market anytime my account increases more than 2 to 5 percent in less than a four week period. I’ve been ignoring that lately trying to take advantage of this way cool Christmas Rally… LOL… Greed is good but dang it, it can be dangerous too for investing…
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A big standing O for Aviator_Guy! You had a great year. +33.8% - Nice job!

Standing-Ovation.jpg

source: http://media.photobucket.com/image/standing ovation/Kestrel77/Standing-Ovation.jpg?o=4
 
LISTEN UP!

AG was understating the case about how much you owe him. Being on active duty during those times and doing whatever he did allows us live in the USA as we do today. Not saying he controlled the politics and it's all his fault. He just did what he did and that is why the US exists at the present time.

Off soap box. Congrats AG from a person with similar age/experience.
 
Social Security 6.2% to 4.2% FY 2011 withheld FYI


As I understand it, the SSA is going to reduce the amount withheld from each paycheck from 6.2 to 4.2% for employees starting PP26 (next pay period). To determine how much they take out of each paycheck, just take .062 x your Gross Pay. Starting in Pay Period 26, they will only take out .042 vice .062. So, you might want to take a close look at your next pay statement (PP26)... If you can afford it, you might want to apply that extra cash and put the extra towards your TSP savings account. You wont miss what you don’t see if you make this adjustment prior to PP26.

I’m going to apply whatever extra I get by this reduction and apply it to my Catch Up (5500 limit). I usually spread out my Catch Up contributions so it will Max out on PP 25 in equal payments. I will apply the extra 2 percent I’m not paying to the SSA and just Max out my Catch Up a little earlier in 2011.

I know they are also tampering with Federal Tax calculations also, but I don’t have a clue how their formula is going to work. For this reason, I’m going to take a very close look at PP26 to see if the percentage of Fed or State Tax withheld goes down. If it does go down and its a noticeable amount, I will also adjust my Taxes and apply any extra to my TSP, but making sure I don’t lose any matching funds for 2011 by PP25 which is the last pay period you cant deposit to TSP. I Max out the 16.5K TSP and 5.5K each year.

The NFC (National Finance Center) web site has multiple links to give you full access to make adjustments to your Fed Account. If you haven’t checked it out, I would highly recommend you do so. Good Luck with your TSP / Financial Planning and have a Happy New Year!!!:cool::cool:
 
Good info, I've always been tired of losing hundreds every paycheck to a program I'll probably never see the advantage of. Who knows maybe they will make it all good eventually but for now I've always seen SS as something I just throw wasted money at....
 
Aviator_Guy said:
As I understand it, the SSA is going to reduce the amount withheld from each paycheck from 6.2 to 4.2% for employees starting PP26 (next pay period).

I know they are also tampering with Federal Tax calculations also, ...For this reason, I’m going to take a very close look at PP26 to see if the percentage of Fed or State Tax withheld goes down. :cool::cool:
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Hey AV-Guy,
I'd like to see the answer to above - my bet is with so many State's and many Local Municipalities in such huge debt, we may see these Taxes jump.

When the initial Fed Tax breaks were implemented ("W's" breaks), that is what happened - as my State taxes almost tripled then.

Maybe they will do it again - and add to the Muni's as well.
(Hope I'm not giving "them" ideas.) :rolleyes:
 
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Hey AG, I just toyed with my Military LES & a calculator for 30 minutes with no numbers matching exactly (Im gonna bring this up to my leadership to clarify). Thanks for the info here... I did however find a round 2% I can increase to the TSP with the Socialistic Security change. Can you update your thread with any Fed-tax changes you discover, as Im hoping to bump my 8% if taxes allow.
 
Nate said:
Hey AG, I just toyed with my Military LES & a calculator for 30 minutes with no numbers matching exactly (Im gonna bring this up to my leadership to clarify). Thanks for the info here... I did however find a round 2% I can increase to the TSP with the Socialistic Security change. Can you update your thread with any Fed-tax changes you discover, as Im hoping to bump my 8% if taxes allow.
Click to expand...

I’m not sure how the Military LES breaks it down. I served six years with the Navy 1975-1981. I spent a little over 4 years on the USS Enterprise. I recall if you are married that BAQ / VHA is tax free. Also, if you’re currently in a combat zone that is tax free too. Basically just take your base pay and multiply it by .062 and it should be close to what they are taking out of your check every payday. So if your base pay is 40k and you get paid the 1st and 15th SSA would take aprox. 103.33 out of each check.

I remember buying a really cool divers watch back in 1978 I wanted at the Navy store in Alameda California. The watch was 185.00 which was major bucks back in 78 and I really wanted that watch. I finally broke down and bought the watch and as I recall, that took up a good chunk of my paycheck!!! LOL BTW that was the best watch I’ve ever owned. I gave it to my Dad who liked it about six years afterwards and he loved it too.

I will keep my eyes open for any changes and post it when I get paid. The next payday for civil service types (PP26) is Jan 10th. Happy New Year!! :cool::cool:
 
I’m looking for an entry point for the C / S Funds, leaning more towards the C. The safety is off and my finger is on the trigger, but trying my best to hold off this shot as I only have one move due to that crazy IFT limit... This is true since I want to get my account back to carrying my ride in stocks from Jan to Feb... If I can carry it into Feb, it will give me flexibility to move out and once back in at the end of Feb... This cycle worked well for me in 2010, but I think 2011 will favor both Bulls and Bears, so I’m moving with lots of caution... Does this make sense?? LOL... It does to me... LOL...:cool::cool:
 
I was in the same boat... I went 100% S at the COB on Friday, and today I was biting nails all day long only to watch the S close pretty nice. The C didn't look very appealing to me, and I'm afraid I'll be bailing back to G before the weeks end. This market seems so overbought, but the we aren't seeing anything break the moving averages yet. Crossing my fingers for Alcoa profits to look good helping us continue the uptrend
 
I checked the TSP government site and it shows my 12 month 2010 gain as 34.28% gain. This was the first year since I started in Jan 1987 that my account balance from Dec 31 to Dec 31 has exceeded my total gross pay (not adjusted)... WoooHooo... I’m still on the sidelines looking up at about 300 accounts that are doing a lot better than my current G Fund... :blink::blink:

According to TSP Talk, my 2010 gain was 34.02% and for 2009 it was a 24.07% gain... Not bad for an old Navy F14 Radar Tech... LOL... This averages 29% for the last couple of years and I just hope I can have another green year for 2011.

So far, it looks like the bulls are off and running early in 2011... I’m bullish for a green year, but I still think we have to keep a close eye on energy as it rears it head near the 100 buck mark and inflation. I drive what my son calls a Golf Cart Prius, so its not too bad at the pump, but food prices are also going up in a big way. My wife and I are very tight when it comes to buying food and its becoming noticeable. We buy bulk items when on sale and we actually pressure can a lot of perishable food. You don’t have to refrigerate it, very long shelf life and tastes good too... Quart Mason Jars everywhere around here... LOL

Another concern I have is fed debt. The states are in bad shape too, for example, Illinois just raised their income tax a little over 60% to help control their debt. That’s my home state and that will be tough, especially for anyone living paycheck to paycheck. The federal debt is almost unbeilable too. I had the TV on the other day and someone said our deficit is growing on the order of 3 Billion per day!!! I still don't think the old school politicians get it yet... The mainstream media still don’t understand what drives the Tea Party either... Its not a right wing or left wing slam, its their out of control spending!!! I think they need to restructure the tax code and for every extra dollar they take in, they need to cut two. Once they cut that two they need to look for a third.

The first step they need to do is tell the truth about entitlement programs such as SSA. It’s almost like a “Madoff Ponzi scheme” You can’t keep spending more than you take in.

Anyway, I think 2011 is going to be another interesting year. Have a great day and good luck with your TSP investments!!! :cool::cool:
 
Congrats on the gains. I've been trying to cut corners with the groceries myself. While Im not canning, I managed to get a nice break with beef steaks. I've been buying x2 packs of london broil for about $14 & cutting this into about 10-14 seperate steaks (aka- "top round") & throw em on the grill. Mix that with like an x8 pack of chicken breats (filet in half = x16)& I've got meat for the month for around $25.

When you say "energy" near the 100 buck mark, are you saying you think the energy sector may be topping out - or?
 
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