. I ended up doing some impromptu tax planning for 2026 after doing my net worth statement.
My goal is to stay in the 12% tax bracket this year, as I did last year, which means an income of $50,400 or less in 2026. In 2025, my AGI was about $71,000 but my total taxable income was about $46,500. That included a $10,000 Roth conversion I paid taxes on like it was "income," but which I really didn't get to enjoy as income.
So basically, I think I will skip doing any Roth conversions this year and increase my income by about $7500 to give myself a little extra spending power while still getting taxed at 12%.
Changes are afoot in a very good way when it comes to state taxes. They have been phasing out state taxes on all forms of retirement income...pensions and annuities, traditional IRA distributions and Social Security...for those with an AGI of $75,000 or less, and I plan to remain in that category!
So there will be NO state tax on both my traditional IRA distributions and my annuity in 2026. I thought about changing my state witholding election for the annuity, which is now about $80 a month for state taxes, but my state tax refund for last year was just $289, so I think I'd better leave it as is.
So with no state income taxes for retirees in this income range, the only state taxes I'm paying are about $8,000 a year on my property and another $400 on my vehicle.
I'm just going to get used to this nice, low-tax place I'm in, and then in about 4 years, I'm going to start collecting Social Security and I think these good old days will seem like a rosy dream, and welcome to 22% federal taxation, and the return of state taxes as well since SS will bump up my income quite a bit, unless I try to reduce it, which I don't think I want to do. But it's quite a big jump to go from paying 12% tax to 22% tax. Nearly double. I'm not sure there's any way around it if I actually want to enjoy my savings. Have to pay the piper at some point.
And when I have to start RMDs at 72, I foresee putting a lot of those distributions, unspent, back into taxable mutual fund accounts. Either that or find someone to start taking some exotic vacations with. Which would be my preference, to be sure.
Speaking of taxes, both my refunds have been approved but neither has shown up in my checking account yet.
I changed my asset allocation to 70% stocks/30% bonds. It may seem fairly aggressive for someone in their 60s, but don't forget I have the guaranteed lifetime annuity (and later, SS), so I feel these act like ballast in my portfolio and allow me to be a bit more aggressive with my remaining funds. The stock allocation had been 65% before.
For a week or so now I've been pressing more than I weigh with the back extension, at 150 lbs. Which is more than what some men I see do...ha!
Some of my other weights:
Chest press: 105 lbs
Leg curl: 80 lbs
Hip abduction: 105 lbs
Hip adduction: 115 lbs
Row: 135 lbs
Incline pull: 130 lbs
Modified Romanian deadlift: 75 lbs
Lat pulldown: 60 lbs
My least favorite is the Romanian deadlift one because I'm bringing the weight down close to the floor and then using my core and butt to raise it, and I find that very hard to do. My favorite machine isn't even listed here because I forget what it's called, but you hold onto these handles and raise and lower your entire body.
February 10th, 2026 at 01:09 am 1770685767
February 10th, 2026 at 06:28 pm 1770748113
February 10th, 2026 at 09:03 pm 1770757432
February 10th, 2026 at 09:08 pm 1770757697
February 11th, 2026 at 02:12 am 1770775964
Good job beating the men on the back extension haha.
Ah yeah, I think still have scratches along my shin from deadlifts myself. These days though, I use dumb bells for most everything, so it's helped to eliminate shin bruising.
My personal least favorite are the seated leg extensions. I don't know why, but quads always knock the wind out of me.
As for your "machine", you don't mean the pull up bar right? Can't possibly be that obvious, and it's not technically a machine...
February 11th, 2026 at 01:20 pm 1770816027
February 11th, 2026 at 01:24 pm 1770816276
Of course, the high earnings of recent years are not something I would expect to replicate going forward, but in any case, as long as you have a well-diversified portfolio, overall earnings on the portfolio will mute the effect of RMDs.