Mega Backdoor Roth IRA : Contributing More $$ to a Roth IRA

The Mega Backdoor Roth IRA is a method to contribute more money to a Roth IRA beyond the $5500 per year. I was able to contribute 30K USD per year into a Roth IRA using this method.

It requires a compatible 401k plan. What is compatible?

1) Allows post-tax 401k contributions (NOT to be confused with Roth 401k contributions)
2) Allows in-service withdrawals

Requirement 2 is not strictly needed, but helps transfer the money into a Roth IRA sooner. Without requirement 2, a person would need to wait until after leaving a company to do the transfer.



Do many companies meet these requirements ?
Here's my list of companies known to have 401k plans that are compatible with the Mega Backdoor Roth IRA. Please add to the list in the comments!

Google
Cisco
Genentech
Mediatek
US Steel
Western Digital

Adding Beneficiaries on Bank Accounts

I recently started looking into adding beneficiaries on my bank accounts. In the event that I pass early, I would like my assets to be passed to my wife and kids. In California, by default everything will go through probate where lawyers get some of my hard earned money. By adding beneficiaries on an account we can avoid probate. They call this TOD (Transfer on Death) or POD (Payable on death).
This is my experience in California regarding Wells Fargo, Chase, and Bank of America.

Wells Fargo:
1) In branch, easily added my wife as a beneficiary to all my individually owned checking and savings accounts. SSN not required.
2) Unable to add beneficiary for brokerage, Roth IRA, and HSA in branch.
3) Any number of equal primary beneficiaries. No secondary beneficiary.

Chase:
1) In branch, easily added my wife to checking account. SSN not required.
2) One primary and one secondary beneficiary allowed.

Bank of America:
1) In branch, easily added my wife to checking account. SSN required.
2) Any number of equal primary beneficiaries.
3) Unable to add beneficiary for Merrill Edge brokerage in branch.

VSP Out-of-Network Reimbursement with Eyebuydirect/Coastal

Summary: I recently purchased glasses online and got reimbursed by my vision insurance with VSP.

Details: I have had vision insurance with VSP through my job for the past 7 years but I never used it. My glasses got scratched recently so I decided to look into getting a new pair of glasses. In the past, I always got my glasses overseas in my home country.

I paid a visit to two stores for eyeglasses and found their prices to be quite high. Even with insurance, a new pair of glasses would be at least $200 due to the necessity of high-index lenses and the addition of basic coatings like anti-reflection. This was much higher than the price quotes I got online from eyebuydirect.com and coastal.com .

I went to a local store to get my eyes checked and my prescription. They included my pupillary distance without any prodding, but I've heard they don't have to give it to you. (You will need this measurement in order to order glasses that will fit your eyes.) I then paid my $10 co-pay with VSP for in-network eye examinations. (This amount will vary according to your plan. I've seen $25 for some VSP plans).

You will need to verify if your vision insurance covers out-of-network providers if you want to buy glasses online. My plan has a $55 allowance for single-vision lenses and $70 for frames. This is subject to the $10 co-pay (my plan is $10 co-pay for exam and/or lenses/frames), but since I already paid the $10 for the exam, there was no other copay.

I bought a pair of glasses on eyebuydirect for about $61 and got reimbursed $55. VSP does not cover the cost of shipping ($5.95). The lenses had an index of 1.6, anti-reflective coating as well as anti-blue coating. I paid $16 out of pocket, whereas the local stores would have charged me $200+.

When ordering, I made sure to choose the packages/bundles so that the various coatings are NOT itemized on the receipt. I do not know if VSP will cover the cost if the coating is on a separate line by itself.

Conclusion : VSP reimburses for purchases from eyebuydirect.com and coastal.com. Make sure you have out-of-network benefits and check the benefit amounts/copays.

edit: Refer to three followup posts (Eyemed + Eyebuydirect, VSP + Eyebuydirect 2019, Filing for Reimbursement 2020). 

Sleeptrain Pricematch Experience

I recently went through the process of buying a mattress and wanted to share my experience. Short summary: sleeptrain.com "LIVE CHAT" can do pricematching. I pricematched a mattress/box spring that sleeptrain.com wanted $950+tax to us-mattress.com and got it for $639 all inclusive! And they delivered the mattress the same day. So price matching online retailers works at Sleep Train!

WiseBanyan Account Opened

I opened my account at WiseBanyan.

Timeline:
3/19 (Wed) - Received invitation email, opened account
3/24 (Mon) - Money withdrawn from linked account
3/25 (Tue) - Shares in ETFs purchased
3/27 (Thu) - Received email that everything is ready

From 3/19 to 3/24, I was able to login, but there was nothing to see as my account wasn't ready. On 3/25, I was finally presented with the dashboard, but my money was supposedly in cash. It was not until 3/27 when I got the all clear email that I was able to see that my money had been invested according to my asset allocation. I was glad to see that they actually invested my money the day after withdrawing it. Kudos to WiseBanyan for not sitting on my money and earning themselves some extra interest.

All in all, it took a bit longer than I hoped/expected. There's not much to see once you login, so don't get too excited. This is MPT after all. Screenshot below (blocked out some personal information and numbers)

The screenshot also shows the ETFs that they use:
VTI, VEA, VWO, LQD, VNQ, TIP, VGIT

Let me know if you have any questions! I'll post another review at a later date once I've tried adding more money.

WiseBanyan

WiseBanyan will be offering free investing. They invest in ETFs for you using Modern Portfolio Theory. Similar to Wealthfront and Betterment, your answers to a survey are used to gauge your risk tolerance. A variety of Vanguard and iShares ETFs are used.. They will also do automatic rebalancing.

Sounds similar to Wealthfront/Betterment, but no fees.

Here's my referral link if you would like to help me get to the front of the list!

https://wisebanyan.com/?ref=XrLQ51
Opened my account already.
Check out my report on account opening here!

Homeowner's Insurance: Cancelled Personal Property Replacement Coverage (HO-29)

I cancelled Personal Property Replacement Coverage (HO-29) on my homeowner's policy recently. WHY ?

1) Having HO-29 increased my annual premium by 25%.
2) I do not have expensive personal property.

Prior to canceling, I researched a bit online but was not able to find any analysis. There was analysis on choosing replacement coverage or actual value for a house. The consensus for that seems to be replacement coverage is better for a house, since if it burns down, you want to be able to reconstruct.

Does the same logic apply for personal property ? I'm not sure, but the coverage seems to cost a lot more.

Let's say we pay $500 a year for coverage on a $250,000 house. Now if you have some personal property worth.. $25,000, then I would expect the premium to be only $50. But it was costing $150! Not worth it to me. In addition, I don't have expensive personal property. Washer, dryer, refrigerator. Perhaps if I get better furniture.

Am I being penny wise and pound foolish?