Is there a spreadsheet or app that illustrates cash flows under different Roth conversions. Or is there a spreadsheet ninja on this forum who has created one and would be willing to share?

If you want to better understand one of the major issues facing the US healthcare system, watch your TV and mail each Fall.  In a word choice.  No wonder people are confused when they are on Medicare. 
Why should we need companies whose purpose is to help seniors make choices and why should new choices be encouraged each year? Why is insurance for healthcare bills that complicated and confusing? 
Nobody can accurately assess the risk they face from health care costs,

EVERY JANUARY, if you own an IRA and money must come out of it that year, your custodian writes to you. The letter gives you the amount or offers to work it out. We barely read it, but it is doing more than we notice.
Most people never miss a required distribution, and the reason is not diligence. It is that somebody tells them.
Inherited IRAs are different. The IRS notice that creates the requirement says reporting is not required for the IRAs of deceased owners,

NATURE ABHORS a vacuum. That’s well known, but when it comes to investing, this poses a particular problem. Why? In the absence of anyone having the ability to predict the future, commentators and prognosticators are happy to step in with stories of their own.
The reality, though, is that no matter how rigorous anyone’s analysis might be, no one can know for sure what the future holds, for the economy, for the stock market or for any individual investment.

I often find myself telling stories about former clients who have made costly mistakes. Buying high and selling low, starting a business without a plan, get rich quick schemes, internet love stories gone wrong, day traders. You get the picture. 
But I also had plenty of clients who did things right. I was impressed with Joe, age 22, single, no college, an apprentice in the building trades. In addition to the defined benefit and supplemental pension that came with being a union carpenter,

Back in my early days working in the drugstore, I noticed an interesting phenomenon with the “Priced as Marked” signs we’d place on merchandise display tables.
Piled onto a display table, seasonal items such as back-to-school gear seemed to move faster than the same items on a nearby aisle, even though the pricing was the same.
Maybe people assumed a deal was to be had — or there was an added thrill in rummaging through items on a table to find the right pen,

Early in my career, I spent six years with a company that offered a defined benefit retirement plan. I worked there just long enough to vest in the plan.  When I turn 65, I can choose monthly payments or a lump-sum cash-out.  The monthly payments are formulaic, related to years of service and my compensation at the time.  Once a year, I log in to make sure they haven’t forgotten me, moved websites, otherwise forgotten me,

Four years ago, in mid-October 2022, the last real bear market hit bottom. Since then, markets have rebounded so strongly that an investor who held a steady 90:10 or 85:15 allocation, adding no new money, has likely passed the psychological milestone of doubling their portfolio from that low.
If you’re wondering how unusual that is, doubling in four years works out at roughly 19% a year, compounded. That’s well above what stocks deliver on average, and I’m pretty sure nobody’s crystal ball saw it coming.

Recently, Mum got lost on her way to my house. We live just a mile apart.
Fortunately, I located her using Find My Friends and took her to her doctor’s appointment. My strongest feeling was relief. It could have been far worse, and I was grateful to be there.
On the way to the appointment she acknowledged being lost. She recognizes my house by the tall Italian cypress trees out front, but she never made it to our street.

I got this email from Dr. Wade Pfau’s Retirement Researcher.  I signed up for the Zoom sessions to get free access to their Tax Map Calculator.  I figured folks here may want to educate themselves on their effective marginal tax rate as well.

Hi Randy,
If I asked what tax bracket you’re in, you could probably tell me. If I asked what your next dollar of income would cost you in federal taxes, that’s a harder question.

I received a notification from Schwab about the Securities Lending Fully Paid Program. Seems like a good idea to earn some extra income without the risks of options trading. Would like to hear from anybody who has participated in this program. Any downsides?

whenI have poured my coffee every morning and sit down my first task is to grab my pad and check my email. Usually go right to Humble Dollar, but for the past 6 months have begun with Daily Ideas email from Adam Grossman, Daily Ideas are daily emails for a year with very short financial thoughts (can sign up for through his website Mayport Wealth Management).
Today’s email was a thought from Jonathan, “Retirement is like a long vacation in Las Vegas.

I came across an interesting article on how stocks have historically performed in the nine months after US mid-term elections. It’s non-partisan, so it shouldn’t ruffle any feathers. Here’s a gift Link if you’d like to read it.

EARLIER THIS YEAR, Pacific Life Insurance Company agreed to settle a class action lawsuit brought by policyholders. At issue were marketing materials that its customers argued were misleading. While Pacific Life admitted no wrongdoing, it agreed to a settlement of $58 million.
This wasn’t an isolated case. Insurers that sell permanent life insurance policies, including whole life and universal life, are often on the receiving end of lawsuits because of the way that they promote their products.

FOR MORE THAN 20 years, I worked as a personal trainer. Now I’m a financial advisor. On the surface, the two professions look nothing alike. Human behavior makes them far more similar than most people realize.
Years ago, one of my fitness clients joined Weight Watchers. At her intake meeting, she asked whether she should cut back on carrots because she’d heard they’re high in sugar. The specialist didn’t miss a beat. She smiled and said “No one ever comes to us because they eat too many carrots.”