Bogleheads.org

Thanks for the input. My decision just became a little harder b/c now the price difference between the 2 versions is only $20 vs $40, so it is a smaller price to pay for the assurance I won't miss any features that aren't included in Deluxe.

I currently use Quicken Premier and need to upgrade so I don't lose transaction downloading in April. I do NOT use Quicken to track tax lots, compute capital gains, etc. so I was thinking that I might not need the considerably more expensive Premier version. But I noted that a feature of Premier is ...

Thank you! I had not found that specific article. That makes it clear that the acquisition cost is subtracted from the death benefit. The wording in other sources I found was ambiguous.

I have tried researching this question both online and by talking with life insurance companies, but am having difficulty getting an authoritative answer. I am hoping someone here can help. If you buy a non-term life insurance policy from someone for its cash surrender value, how does the amount pai...

As a meta-comment about our ongoing discussion, one of the themes that keeps coming up is simplicity across accounts, and simplifying holdings by eliminating redundancy. Maybe this explanation will shed some light on how I view things, and hence why I don't see them as particularly complex or cumber...

pingo, thank you so much for your detailed and comments, thoughts, and advice. I want to carefully consider all of your suggestions before making any decisions, but in the interim, I wanted to reply with some comments and my current thoughts. It is funny that you mention the Fidelity Total US Stock ...

Looks to me as though the entire difference occurred in the first day or two of the funds' existence (select a date a couple of days after then as your starting point, such as 1/28/2011). May be simply due to a difference in what is reported as the starting price or some other vagary of ETFs I don'...

The VTSAX is the actual value of the stocks making up the index. The VXUS is an exchange traded fund and while it is made up of the same holdings as the VTSAX it is traded on the open market and can trade at a premium or a discount - to me it is very similar to a closed end fund. If you are looking...

Important note: I originally posted using the wrong ticker symbol for Vang Total Intl Admiral...it is corrected here, sorry Can anyone explain the difference in performance between VXUS (Vang Total Intl ETF) and VTIAX (Vang Total Intl Admiral) over say the last 3 years? I am looking at a "growt...

Yes, I've been thinking about the two ways to approach risk a lot lately. Both arguments have significant merit. I'll definitely be adjusting to 15-20% bonds very shortly, and perhaps even higher than that...I will see how my thinking on this issue evolves. Okay. In that case I'll look at your situ...

Pingo, thanks for your comments and questions. Some of your questions forced me to revisit my portfolio strategy, which is exactly the point of threads like this. We've discussed this to some extent. I'll just comment that Morningstar.com shows the same ER (0.18%) for FSGDX and VXUS. At first glance...

Nathan Drake wrote:Did you work with a consulting firm before breaking out on your own? What kind of consulting?

I did not. But I will PM you a little bit of info...

EACH YEAR? Congratulations! :shock: All I can say, is you probably do not need advice from the likes of me, but I'm likely to offer it anyway so take it with a grain of salt! :D That's my hope...we'll see if it materializes! And I very much appreciate all comments! The variation and size of future ...

Cuzz35 wrote:Keep in mind this fund is changing it's benchmark or is set to change it. If I remember correctly from an earlier thread,this change removed REITs from the fund.

By "this fund" do you mean VBR?

Here you go: http://www.google.com/search?rls=en&q=ijs+site:bogleheads.org livesoft, with all due respect, I've done the search and read the threads. But I guess I came to a different conclusion than you did. If you would like to highlight some specific threads or posts, that would be helpful a...

Hi Pingo, thanks for your comments. I have some comments/questions about your comments below. Also, you don't say how much you're saving each year in the taxable account(s), if anything. This is VERY variable, based on significant income fluctuations. But I am hoping low six figures on average. Just...

Nathan Drake wrote:How in the world did you manage to make so much money by 35? Get lucky with a start up?

Not to sound cliched, but lots of hard work and a little luck... (e.g., landing a few key consulting clients). No startup involved

What happened to IJS? I used to use IJS/VBR as a tax-loss harveting pair, but since VBR now has a huge unrealized gain I don't look at this stuff anymore. Actually, I am worried about the research tools at Fidelity now if you came across IWN and not IJS. What's up with Fidelity? Are they broken? I ...

In my portfolio review thread, I indicated that I was considering using IWN (iShares Russell 2000 Value Index ETF) to add an SCV tilt to my portfolio. One poster suggested looking instead at VBR (Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF) because of its lower expense ratio (.37% for IWN vs .21% for VBR). However...

I'm not sure where the official line is but at 35 you are getting near to being middle age :shock: so it would be hard to suggest any less than 20% in bonds. (Disclaimer: I don't really like bonds right now so I am mostly avoiding longer term bonds.) Gee, thanks for pointing that out ;) But you are...

Hi Watty, thanks for your comments! To keep my transaction costs low, I bought one large lot of VXUS in my current 401k, then when I need to add more international, I do so in my old 401k (and sell domestic) since there are no fees. Even at $25 a trade, making a dozen trades a year only add somethin...

Dave, thanks for taking the time to read and comment. A few brief notes in response. Lucky you. You have one heck of a lot more money than I had at your age. If you ever get married, I don't care how good the relationship seems, get a lawyer to do a pre-nup. I am very blessed to have been successful...

Stan, thanks so much for your comments! 1) One thing I'm working towards myself is a little more account diversity (e.g. some I-Bonds and munis in taxable, some equities in tax deferred). Seems to me like the prudent thing to do given tax rate uncertainty. Yes, the tax diversity is exactly my logic....

Hi everyone, I am looking for any advice or opinions about optimizing my portfolio and/or tweaking my AA. I am reasonably happy with my current situation but I am always looking to improve :) Emergency funds: I usually hold an excessive amount of cash (1+ yrs living expenses) because of year-to-year...

Thanks for all of the additional discussion. As noted in my OP, I know that the ending balance will be the same no matter how I divide the assets, but I am still trying to maximize the Roth balance because of the RMD issue (which, as noted, could change). The discussion did force me to consider tax ...

Thank you for the replies. Leaving the Roth as all stock is what I expected the answer would be, but I wanted to seek confirmation. Since my time horizon is 20+ years and I am willing to take considerable risk in this portion, I will proceed with that plan for the current time...I will likely gradua...

I am seeking opinions/advice as to whether I would be more likely to maximize the return *in my Roth IRA* if I put my AA-dictated allocation of bonds in both my 401k and my Roth IRA, or if I should put the entire bond position in the 401k. I guess the argument for splitting the position across the t...

My thought as well, so let me take a traditional Forum route and not answer your question but ask why it is that the money needs to be set aside. Would it be severely difficult to fund this payment from income and the bulk of existing investments without segregating a special fund? My income is SO ...

How about this? Ask what you could get the principal reduced to if you pay it all off now. Yeah, I wish that was an option, but it isn't :( I'd be interested in hearing the arguments for and against this course of action [using VFSTX] vs. the GNMA fund. Me too! I'd also be interested to hear though...

I have an obligation of $44K which is to be paid at a rate of $2K monthly. I would like to set aside the entire amount and have it liquidated at the appropriate rate over time. Obviously, this money is needed in the near-term so I can't be too aggressive. However, I would like to take a little risk ...

One of the benefits of incorporating is that the employer contributions DO escape employment taxes. This is especially nice for high wager earners, where you could put in the entire $49K (or whatever the max is) totally tax free.

Thanks for the great suggestions! I will review this material and see what makes the most sense. I am not averse to using the ETFs, but would of course like to avoid commissions when feasible....which do eventually add up when you're talking about 10 funds and rebalancing several times a year. vesal...

Thanks livesoft. I'm trying to keep things as simple as possible, i.e., as few funds as possible (not only for simplicity, but also to keep fees down, when looking at ETFs). What would you recommend to augment FSGUX, and in what ratio?

What do you all think is the best fund or set of funds from Fidelity to approximate VGTSX/VTIAX? Without reading about the funds, it would seem to be FSIIX, but closer investigation suggests that it is actually FSGUX. But should there be additional funds included to make up for the underweight of sm...

Has anyone given any thought to updating the Merriman Fidelity portfolio? I've been following this for a portion of my portfolio, but Merriman no longer updates it. With the new funds and changes at Fidelity, it seems that some updates are called for. Here is the last Merriman recommendation for the...

One final note - these days, income is much more important than assets. Income has to be proven back two years and with likelihood to continue for 3 more. Can anyone give me a "good reason" why this is? I mean, really, if you've got significant NON-retirement assets -- enough to cover the...

I'm envious of the great experiences you have all had. I started my refi in July 2011 and it just closed this week! Same situation as you all -- perfect credit, comfortably conforming, income at least 4 times what is necessary to qualify, enough savings in non-retirement accounts to pay off mortgage...

Even if you're incorporated, you have until your filing deadline, including extensions, to make the solo 401k contribution.

I just got my settlement docs for a refi that is supposed to close tomorrow. In the section where they calculate the payoff on the current loan, they show the principal balance, a daily interest charge on the days from my last payment through the settlement date, and then a line listed as "Inte...

I am confirming... Great, thank you so much! As a followup -- out of curiosity, if I did have coverage on Dec 1, would I be eligible to contribute the full $3000, or just 1/12 of that amount? Also, while I have your expertise available ;-), can you please confirm whether or not you can have both an...

I tend to agree, but does anyone know for sure? The reason there is a tiny amount of doubt is that I will have the plan on Jan 1, 2012 when I am still allowed to open a 2011 plan.

I have a question that I have been unable to find an answer to. To open an HSA, you need to have a qualifying high-deductible plan as of the 1st of the month. You can fund an HSA up until the tax filing deadline for the year in question. My qualifying coverage starts on Dec 13, 2011. My understandin...

I see the note on the form about them not being able to do HIFO for shares purchased before 1/1/12. So, what happens when you sell -- do they sell the shares from before 2012 last? First? Do they treat them all as having the same basis (the average basis of all holdings as of 12/31/11) and then appl...

Another factor to consider is that in some situations (e.g., moving between fund families within a Fidelity account), your sales and purchases will be separated by a multi-day period because of settlement issues. This may influence you to make your move early in the week (to avoid being in cash over...

I'll be honest, I don't have a good/rational reason. I just prefer to keep the account open in case I have a desire to use any features/funds unique to ETrade in the future. And they used to have good CD rates, I'm not sure if they'll ever be back. I guess paying the $10 commission to pick up some V...

This is sort of a weird question...my apologies. I have an ETrade account that I would like to keep open and was wondering what index-style investments you would recommend investing in. The Vanguard mutual funds come with transaction fees, as do ETFs (AFAIK). Are there any good NTF index funds avail...

Munchkin Man wrote:Are there any cast iron pots available for purchase today, which come "ready to cook" without having to remove any oil or having to give them any other advance preparation?

Check out the lodge "pre-seasoned" line.

If you're only looking for a couple of pieces, and are interested in quality, All Clad might be a good bet. If you are patient, you can find pricing anomalies on individual pieces from time to time. For example, I've acquired their SS 1qt saucepan and 7" skillet for only $20 each, brand new! Yo...

p.s. USAA is doing something similar

It's also bailing out these who didn't have a contingency plan at the expense of these who did have 6 months emergency savings. While I understand and sincerely appreciate your point (in fact, even agree with it to some extent) I will say that it is probably reasonable for someone serving in the US...