u/BarnabyJonesNap

I’m a long time Vanguard user but am considering moving firms. I’m leaning to toward Fidelity. What are some considerations in doing so? Will my purchase history carry over (so if I sell equities, for example, will it have the purchase date/lot info, basis info etc.?)? I believe I’m all in vanguard ETFs (maybe a couple of VG mutual funds). I assume those can just be custodian to custodian transfer. And otherwise no tax implications or anything else. Would like to hear things I may be overlooking or just experience folks have had in moving. Leaning Fidelity but open to Schwab. What do folks prefer?

Curious to hear most people’s choices in terms of traditional and Roth accounts. My spouse and I are both public employees (state and federal) and will both get pensions at retirement. Those of course are subject to ordinary income tax. So far we’ve mostly contributed to our traditional TSP and 457 accounts. We also do backdoor Roth IRA contributions every year. I’m wondering if we should transition to more Roth contributions in our TSP/457 accounts with the thought that we could end up in a pretty high tax bracket in retirement. Right now getting the tax break from the traditional contributions really helps us. Plus we are in a high income tax state. We max our TSP, 457, and both backdoor Roth IRAs. What do most folks do or recommend in this position?

I understand that feds need to be enrolled in an FEHB plan for the last 5 years leading into retirement in order to keep that coverage into retirement. What about to cover spouse/family? Does the spouse or family need to also be covered under FEHB for that same 5-year period? Or if the fed is covered alone under FEHB during the last five years, can the fed add spouse/family to their FEHB in retirement (absent some other qualifying event like marriage, divorce, etc.)?

What are good options for where to breathe during GHD sit ups? I usually exhale about halfway up and inhale on the way down. I find I’m holding my breath during a lot of the movement and it’s particularly noticeable as I’m sitting up before exhaling. I feel out of breath there. I feel I need to hold my breath during the movement where I am in order to stay tight. But when I do these as part of a workout I’m often limited by my lungs on these rather than the movement fatiguing me (for sets of say 12-15). My overall aerobic capacity is decent but these mess me up.