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2Wolves - I just don't prefer the idea of using DCA to try to ease yourself into a risk level that you're not willing to assume right now. Using the old metaphor, we can ease a frog into being boiled alive if we heat up the kettle slowly. I personally prefer setting the temperature to a level I'm co...

Larry - Isn't bond investing a risk-return proposition like everything else? The risks of rising rates are pretty evident. In the last few decades, bond investors have experienced multi-year haircuts of 25% or more from rising rates and have been underwater for many years. Abusive treatment from the...

Here's an example: my current allocation of $100,000 is 80% stocks, 20% bonds. I inherit $100,000 that I put into a money market account. If I want to keep an 80/20 allocation, I can lump sum $80,000 into stocks and $20,000 into bonds. Instead, I feel that I'm more comfortable if I DCA this money in...

One other take: DCA is simply a backdoor way of lowering portfolio risk, compared to lump sum, by keeping investable assets in safe cash or cash-like assets and trickling it gradually into risky assets like stocks. Over the period of the DCA, the portfolio has lower average risk and can be expected ...

One can use a Total Return model to determine asset allocation, in which everything is considered to be an actual or equivalent investment "asset." That's what Bogle is doing when he treats SS as a bond-equivalent asset and advocating that one's nestegg portfolio might be be entirely inves...

It still amazes me how many people think there is something to DCA-ing when there is nothing there. Investing is all about figuring out the appropriate portfolio allocation for yourself taking into consideration your need, ability, and willingness to assume risk and then maintaining that allocation....

For $50k, I'd lump sum. For $5 Million I'd probably DCA. Sure, the math mostly works better for lump sum but I'd be willing trade some upside to avoid "worst possible time" syndrome on a large amount. So, if you had $5 mil in right now, you'd withdraw it all, put it in cash, and DCA back ...

For $50k, I'd lump sum. For $5 Million I'd probably DCA. Sure, the math mostly works better for lump sum but I'd be willing trade some upside to avoid "worst possible time" syndrome on a large amount. So, if you had $5 mil in right now, you'd withdraw it all, put it in cash, and DCA back ...

I have another way to look at the decision: Let's say that you had previously invested an amount in VASGX that was now worth $50K. Based on your feelings about the market today, would you withdraw some or all of that $50K right now or just leave it in VASGX? Whatever you think you'd leave in right n...

Gold was linked to the dollar not inflation, especially from 1935 to 1971, as this chart clearly shows to me. http://www.longtermreturns.com/p/histor ... lots1=none Also clear is the volatility of gold compared to inflation went up post 1971. My take is that if there were a 1:1 relationship between...

snowman - thanks for the detailed instructions. I decided to do it. Went to Honda and bought the fluid. Driver's Manual says ATF-Z1 but apparently that has been replaced by ATF-DW1. Also got new crush washer for the drain bolt. Then I went to O'Reilly's and bought drain pan and a long necked funnel ...

This chart has gold staying close to US inflation over very long periods. lots of volatility though http://www.longtermreturns.com/p/histor ... _1__Gold_1 edited to add: if it tracks inflation it looks like its going down, if I have the right starting period In my up-post I pointed out that the USD...

Thanks for the advice. It looks so simple to change the tranny fluid myself, I'm inclined to do it myself - not so much to save money but to make sure it gets done correctly. The video at http://autodiyonline.com/honda-diys/honda-crv-diys/honda-cr-v-2002-2006-automatic-transmission-fluid-change-diy/...

I just viewed a youtube video on changing the transmission fluid in the 02 CRV and it looks easier to do than changing the oil (which I've done and the drain plug is hard to get to w/o a lift). A real no-brainer. Guy said the fluid costs about $15/qt from the dealer and you need 3 1/2 qts (you would...

So, it hasn't been pretty this year. Instead of being up 17% with stocks YTD, if you split that part of your allocation between stocks and gold, that part of your portfolio is down about 1% and has had higher volatility to boot. Usually, you gain some volatility dampening with negatively correlated ...

False alarm: I just ran down to the local garage and had a look at the noise problem. It turned out to be a loose metal housing on the catalytic converter that is rattling. No tranny issue. What do you think is a fair price for an independent garage to change the transmission fluid? I think there's ...

Browser, this is one of those cases where you don't go by the manual. There are TSBs on the 3rd generation vehicles and some of the same issues were evident on prior generations as well. I've got a 3rd generation and I'm changing mine out every 15k to 20k miles. I'd say if you've been changing your...

The argument that gold is an effective inflation hedge has to deal with a couple of problems: First, the real (inflation-adjusted) price of gold was fairly constant until the 1970s in the U.S. However, this is an artifact since the U.S. operated with a variety of currency regimes “backed” by gold an...

We can speculate about what the government might or might not do if we fall into the handbasket and the price of gold starts shooting to the moon. But if you don't want to bet on it, and you want to own the gold asset in it's purest form - unencumbered by counterparty risks - you should probably own...

The severe schedule has differential fluid still changed at 90,000 miles. Transmission fluid is to be changed at 60,000 and at 30,000 thereafter. The manual says that you should use the severe schedule if you are driving mostly under one of the severe driving conditions (not occasionally or sometime...

Does it make any difference to your heirs? I'm an old guy so it will probably wind up with the heirs whether I take the cash or annuity. So many wines and women and so little time. Even if you're not an old guy, maybe should consider how to best pass it on.

I got an oil change for my 2002 CRV and was told that the oil in the rear differential was dirty and needed to be changed -- costs $120 for this service. I got curious and looked at my previous service records on this vehicle. I found that the Honda service department service receipts showed they ha...

i own gold as a hedge and have not sold it. If it falls outside my bands I will buy more. there is way to value gold. It usually trades at 16x the price of oil. At 10x the price it is cheap. At 20 x the price it is expensive. Therefore we can see that gold is fairly priced at todays level. I've inv...

But if you have your gold in a bank's safety deposit box it is within reach of the bank and the government, violating my premise that you should ideally hold it out of reach if that is possible. You may be aware of the following: By Executive Order Of The President of The United States, March 9, 193...

The point of owning gold is to own an asset that as free of counterparty risk as possible, which stocks, bonds, and other financial instruments are not. So, to really benefit the most from the diversification and hedging potential of gold you should own it in physical form store it outside the reach...

I would dump Verizon and go to a monthly prepaid plan. I just went with AirVoice Wireless for $40/month: unlimited talk and text and 500MB of data per month. If you don't do video or audio streaming to your smartphone, that should suffice for some internet use, email, navigation, and so forth. You'l...

Before accepting the common rationales for owning gold, it might be wise to examine the definitive study conducted by Erb & Harvey: The Golden Dilemma > We find little evidence that gold has been an effective hedge against unexpected inflation whether measured in the short term or the long term....

There are plenty of cases where currency risk showed up but the zombie apocalypse did not happen. Just a couple years of a really bad economy and then things kind of settled out. Think Iceland 2008, Argentina 2001, etc In those cases, don't you think a traditional portfolio diversified across inter...

There certainly have been some times in history when it would have been very beneficial to have owned a stash of gold, as a consequence of hyperinflation or currency collapse in particular. It wasn't that long ago that investors had great difficulty diversifying their country and currency risk by ow...

The PP or any other investing formula can't be "proved" or "disproved" in a technical sense, so I like the idea about being "agnostic" regarding one's portfolio strategy. But what does being "agnostic" entail? Is there any reason to presuppose that including a...

Hussman and I share the same attribute: we can both predict the future, but can't get the timing right. Dam crystal ball.

Excellent point Rodc. Just one 30-year period that is being touted to prove the benefits of the PP. Just use your head -- there is no way that you can have an equal allocation to stocks and gold that has an expected return that is as large or larger than allocating that amount to stocks (25/25 gold-...

Why would this theory not work? If stocks, LTTs, and gold are all down 10 to 15%, and you needed dollars from your portfolio, you would take some from your short term treasuries. This would indeed increase your risk level, back to what you thought was appropriate in the first place. Where's the pro...

Yes. Take the classic 50/50 stock-bond portfolio. Then peel off half the stock allocation and put it in gold -- voila, the Permanent Portfolio. It's essentially a tradeoff of higher expected portfolio returns for lower portfolio volatility because the returns of gold and stocks tend to be negatively...

I have a couple reactions to craigr's post. First, it is not prudent for any long term investor to have a portfolio allocation that he/she won't be able to stick with over the long term, including the bumps in the road. You don't want to be forced to liquidate a significant portion of your port soon...

Having recently gotten into smartphones, I've become aware that one of the major problems with all of them is battery life. Dual SIMs take more juice so unless you really need them, I 'd be avoiding them as one more juice-sucking frill.

haven't read the thread but here is simple answers First, there is no sense really to holding both ST (cash) and LT, just own say 5 year Treasuries Second, no sense to only a US portfolio, so at very least globally diversify. And the PP has no tilt, no exposure to any equity factors except beta. Th...

Also, the PP is a pretty interest-rate sensitive portfolio. It's returns have a historical correlation around -.30 with changes in the 10-yr treasury yield. Not a particularly good way to hedge a rise in interest rates. Gold is often touted as a good inflation hedge, but that's not really true excep...

Since I don't have kids to transport, I don't want (need) 3-row seating and the extra fuel expense of a full sized SUV. Problem is, you have to step down to a small SUV such as the Escape, Rav4, CRV, Forester, and Acura RDX to get 2-row seating and decent mileage. There's nothing "in between&qu...

You couldn't have invested in the PP even if you'd wanted to until 1975, when it was made legal again for U.S. citizens to own gold, thereby missing annual returns of 49%, 71%, and 72% for gold in 1972-74 (the PP bugs are fond of quoting returns from 1972). When you remove those returns, the PP does...

I noticed a Subaru Tribeca in the dealer lot the other day and thought it was a very appealing-looking vehicle. Didn't think it was a Subaru from a distance because of the luxo styling. The only negative was that the mileage didn't look so good to me compared to the competition. The 2013 Forester we...

I'd add the newly redesigned 2013 Nissan Pathfinder to the mix. Very nice vehicle with best in class gas mileage and top flight interior. As for the Honda Pilot, the boxy bodystyle is due for a remake for the 2015 model and they are adding a better powerplant for 2014. Sort of a utilitarian interior...

As of Friday, April 12 overnight the price of gold is down $84/oz or more than 5%. Plunging. Hold onto your Permanent Portfolio, folks!

No, you have to use an AirVoice SIM to get service from them although they do use the AT&T network. I wanted to see if I could get onto AT&T if I was using an AT&T SIM, so I'd know if there was a problem with the AirVoice SIM. I didn't get a SIM from AT&T. Not sure if it could be con...

Well the AirVoice SIM problem has been solved, so I thought I'd post for anyone who is pursuing a plan with them. Went to AT&T store and they popped in an AT&T micro Sim and it worked fine. Their micro SIM looks different from the cut-down AirVoice SIM, in that the metal area on their SIM wa...

I found instructions and a printable template online to guide the process and it seemed to end up OK, as far as I could tell. It is a somewhat tedious process, however, and I don't recommend it. If you can get the SIM cut somewhere rather than doing it yourself with scissors I'd advise doing that. ...

The phone is a new, unlocked phone. By way of a google search I discovered a code sequence you can enter using the phone dialer that gets you to a menu that lets you view your Simlock status. Sure enough, it shows there are no locks on the phone, so I don't think that's the problem. I was concerned ...

Thought I'd report my experience with AirVoice. I ordered a couple of SIM cards from them to try out. Unfortunately, they are mini-Sims that had to be cut down to fit a micro-Sim slot on my phone, same as for an iPhone. This seems rather archaic since most phones these days are using micro-SIMS and ...

Thanks. You learn something new every day. There are more possibilities for prepaid SIM card plans than I was aware of. I sure like the idea of being able to shop around and switch plans rather than being locked into one company for two years.

Far as I can tell, GoPhone is not a bring your own phone plan where you can buy a SIM card. The others you mentioned are. Is that right? I'm mostly interested in using my own device with a SIM. Any AT&T plan is also a you-can-BYOP plan where you can just insert the SIM Card. In fact, any CDMA p...