I had started writing up a post, and as usual it ended up going way too long.  Thus I have split it in two.  Here is part 1, my current financial status.

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My investments have pretty much gone up and down through the year, not much change from year's start to be honest.  As I "guardrail" my mother's investments, ummm.... they have done very well.   She got a 'lil lucky as she had some nice investments in the companies NVidia and Caterpillar.  I had hoped to whittle down her inherited IRA as it's the only taxable IRA she has.  I had her withdraw from it last year in a way that would keep her at $0 taxes, cutting the balance down 30%.  Sounded great, but already it's up 40% OVER what she started last year in the IRA, even with that withdrawal.  I was hoping to do more this year, but she had a mental "glitch" a few months ago.  She bought and sold in her brokerage, and to avoid taxes I am thinking we will need to wait until next year to start withdrawing again.  She told me she meant to buy, not sell, so she immedately bought the sold stocks back.  *Sigh*  Oh well, no major damage at least.

Next are taxes.  I got a bill from the state saying I underpaid.  After talking to them on the phone I realized my mistake.  Extra *Sigh*   Well it wasn't a major issue - the "penalty" was less than $20, so no biggie.  As for the Feds... I was expecting another $500 compared to what they sent me.  The papers sent to me didn't explain the issue really, but after talking with them on the phone it sounds like they don't have my LTCG information.  I know I sent it, so????  For now I have written to their address where I can request a review.  I wrote a detailed explanation on why they are wrong - I'll see how that goes.

I did my final Roth conversion for 2026 a week ago.  My retirement account ony allows two conversions per year and I've hit the limit.  I'm doing less conversions this year than prior years, so I won't have to pay as much in taxes, which means... more money into my checking versus last year.  I may have enough to cover everything without selling stocks.  Not the end of the world if I do, but I'm still trying to grow my accounts.

Finally, I need to update my pension withholding in the coming week.  As usual I under withhold the first six months of the year, then extra withhold the last six months.  Looks like compared to last year I will have an extra $1,000 hitting my checking account each month after June so I should have some breathing room.

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Next time: Everything else
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