Bogleheads.org

I don't read much fiction but of the non-fiction I read, I start with books that are cited in books I'm currently reading. I also look for reading lists of authors of those books. (William Bernstein etc). I started a thread over on the Canadian counterpart to Bogleheads and asked the good folks ther...

We got into this rather heavily over on Bogleheads' Canadian counterpart forum, The Financial Webring:

http://www.financialwebring.org/forum/v ... 9&t=115906

Happy belated. Thanks for making the world a better place.

What do you guys think about this? http://w3.newsmax.com/a/aftershockb/video47b.cfm?promo_code=110D8-1 http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/15/try-to-focus-on-your-personal-economy/ From the article: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/10/15/business/101512bucks-carl-sketch/101512bucks-carl-...

In Canada at least, it isn't a question of trust; it's one of liability. Canadian banks have stated they will not cover any losses due to fraud if they find you've used Mint.com, regardless of whether or not the loss had anything connection to your use of Mint.com. I suspect Mint.com is as safe as a...

I either shred or burn my documents myself, not trusting anyone else with sensitive personal data.

I'm an avid reader of "Mr. Money Mustache" as well and will put in another vote for that forum. For what it's worth, I struggle with this as well. I'm still trying to find a balance between enjoying life now (in context of spending) and saving hard to move my date of financial independence...

Rick Ferri wrote:This was such a popular conversation that it inspired me to write and article based on it. I hope the OP does no mind:

Finding Your Number the Easy Way

Rick Ferri

Thanks for that Rick. Your methodology validated the numbers I'd come up with. It was a welcome "gut check."

All my figures are in today's dollars. My number is ~$400,000 to $500,000 by retirement. It's based on an inflation indexed DB pension paying $30,000/year and a desired budget of $50,000/year (no dependents, no legacy) leaving a gap of $20,000 to fill in which I believe $400-500k would be enough to ...

I think you are actually looking for a "Password Manager". I think (based upon 4+ years experience) that 1Password is the answer. I use it to manage 600 logins + multiple credit cards + 30 software licenses. http://1Password.com I'll second this recommendation. Backups to DropBox are a bi...

I live pretty frugally to start with so there'd be little material difference between "lifestyle" and "living expense." My goal is 6-12 months living expenses but I have about 4-6 months saved right now. I have a stable government job; my employer would have to give 12-months not...

So...can one mention DeDRM here? As far as I know, it's legal for personal use. I could be wrong, though. Once the DRM has been removed, you can use Calibre to convert to whatever format you want. Based on Calibre's recommendation, it's probably best to buy from Amazon (Kindle/MOBI) and convert to ...

Keep in mind I'm a Canadian resident:

33% Canadian Equity (S&P/TSX Composite)
33% US Equity (S&P500)
33% Intl. Equity (MSCI EAFE)

I may add a small (10%?) emerging markets index component when my portfolio size is large enough that such an addition would move needle.

Do we seem to get an abundance of young, enthusiastic, successful but nonetheless untested new investors proposing shockingly aggressive asset allocations... The question I always ask is, "Why now?"...Is our message not getting across? Are these investors truly better late than never or i...

For the Quicken users, perhaps they'd comment on the fact that Quicken's cash flow planner is broken. More on that: https://qlc.intuit.com/questions/163394-where-is-the-cash-flow-forecast-tool-in-quicken-2013 TL;DR: the current version of Quicken doesn't take into account Budgeted expenses when proj...

I used MS Money for 10 years before I ended up switching from PC to Mac, and I loved it. But it's not compatible with Mac. After an exhaustive search for a replacement financial software I ended up going with a program called Moneydance, and it takes care of everything I need it to (mainly just exp...

I bought Quicken in 2012 and found the cash-flow projections to be broken. It was a known problem - they call it a "feature" that cash flow doesn't take into account scheduled bills. That's a bug to me, not a feature. I returned Quicken and downloaded Microsoft Money Sunset Deluxe - for fr...

"Irrational Exuberance". I'm about a quarter of the way through and, unfortunately, not enjoying it.

I don't get "irrationally exuberant" about anything so perhaps this isn't a book for me.

I recently switched to Quicken Premier from MS Money (a much better product for investment tracking). When I compared the two, deluxe does not do investment tracking. http://quicken.intuit.com/compare-quicken-personal-finance-software-products.jsp On the MS Money note, it's available as a free down...

eHarmony.

There are question to assess attitudes toward money.

Here's a Boglehead guide to buying a used car: http://www.amazon.com/Lemon-Aid-Trucks-2012-2013-Lemon-ebook/dp/B00AW0TU90/ Fantastic book and well worth buying the latest edition when you're shopping for a car. I especially like the section titled "Beaters you will love", followed by "...

...The problem is likely a human one. People (like the whale) who called themselves experts and who give those upstairs what they want, the impossible, outsized gains with no extra risk, and people upstairs who are not skeptical because the profit from not understanding. Those upstairs then give mo...

I'm going on a bit of a tangent here but... I started doing a monthly budget in Excel years ago. I still use it for simple worksheets where errors are immediately obvious and calculations are limited to basic arithmetic. Somewhere around 2005, I bought a computer that came with Microsoft Money and I...

I'm fond of Microsoft Money.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/downloa ... x?id=20738

Mid-late 30's here, started late. Finally nixed the student loan a bit over a year ago. As percentages of gross income: ~13% forced savings via employer pension plan contributions. ~25% personal self-managed savings. That's a little over 50% of my after tax income saved. No kids, no mortgage, spouse...

After reading most of the posts in this thread, I was reminded of an article I read recently:

Staying Out of the Murder Holes

I recently finished Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World by Michael Lewis.
On deck now:
Irrational Exuberance by Robert J. Shiller
Millionaire Teacher by Andrew Hallam
The Buyout of America by Josh Kosman
Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman

It is helpful to recognize that at the core questions about capitalizing income streams can't be answered without first answering how the asset allocation is to be determined. Mr. Bogle, in his quote about capitalizing income streams at least begins by setting the context that what is at issue is t...

I hope you could explain CJOttawa because this majority Boglehead approach totally escapes me and always has. They always say I have this because of that, but the this can be almost any number. How exactly did you decide your chosen 75/25 AA? Is this age in bonds? age -10? What is it and why? Does ...

It's interesting to see this thread come up again. ...Personally, I don't consider pensions or Social Security in my asset allocations, in part, because ...you can't rebalance into or out of them. I've come full circle on this topic with the above comment mirroring my thinking of late. While my ris...

It's interesting to see this thread come up again. ...Personally, I don't consider pensions or Social Security in my asset allocations, in part, because ...you can't rebalance into or out of them. I've come full circle on this topic with the above comment mirroring my thinking of late. While my risk...

I keep hearing "big, blue chip dividend payers offering dividend reinvestment plans (DRIPs) have been around for fifty years and keep increasing dividends, so they're safe bets." (Abbott Labs, McDonald's, Proctor & Gamble, Coca Cola etc)

What would you do if you were a heartless SOB mutual fund manager only out for your own self-interest? I wouldn't waste any time on performance - I'd just closet index and that would be sufficient... *laughs* I'd thought about this too, in context of this thread. I've read about certain index funds...

Fantastic. Thank you Taylor. I'll link people to this thread if they're considering indexing versus active management.

Learned in 2012: all things Bogle (thanks to spouse for gift of "The Boglehead's Guide to Investing.") The big one: spending less & saving more has greater effect on returns than anything else. (include tilting, fund fees, asset allocation etc) The other one learned by reading "A ...

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=105728

I think the message is that discussions about things that haven't happened will result in those threads being locked. Commendably Boglehead-ish.

Some people are "getting" the point I made, others aren't. Let me clarify. Let's say you use Mint.com. Let's assume Mint.com is 100% secure and safe. Let's say your ATM card gets skimmed. There is absolutely NO CONNECTION between that event and Mint.com. Your bank is well within their righ...

I'm in my late 30's with 20 years to go to retirement. I reduced my fixed income from 40% to 25% in November and, on reflection while re-reading Bernstein's "Four Pillars" and "Investor's Manifesto", to 0% in December. Why? I realized my government defined benefits pension could ...

In Canada at least, financial institutions have client agreements that don't permit the use of services like Mint.com. In the event a bank or credit card is compromised, even if Mint was not implicated, the bank can deny all coverage for the loss on the grounds that you violated their terms of servi...

I do have a written IPS. I expect, for some people, the IPS is a guide. My IPS is more of an official statement of my habits and beliefs surrounding money; it reflects things I'm comfortable doing already. (save a lot, reduce investment costs as much as possible, maintain an asset allocation appropr...

I selected "milestones" but that's a bit broad. I use an Investment Policy Statement (IPS) as a guide. I recently updated my IPS from 60/40 equity/bond index funds to 75/25 after a market downturn during which I realized that I actually look forward to markets underperforming as a buying o...

Do investors in the USA know how lucky they are vis-a-vis investment options? In Canada, index mutual funds stick you with an average MER of about 0.44%. (TD e-Series tracking S&P/TSX, S&P500, MSCI EAFE + a Canadian Bond fund) ETFs here get us down to 0.39%. Source: http://canadiancouchpotat...

I found a vector graphic of the Vanguard ship in a prospectus & converted to JPG.

For the purpose of printing a shirt, all graphics should be sent as vector art.

My weakness: dining out.

I could cut more from my discretionary spending and save more of my money. Doing that would have more effect on my long term investment outcomes than tinkering with an already clean and efficient (albeit modest) portfolio.

I only started investing in earnest in the last year. I reevaluated my IPS and rebalanced into 75% equity/25% bond from a previous 60% equity/40% bond. Market dips/flash crashes made me want to buy more equity at discount prices. This convinced me I had a higher risk tolerance than my former IPS AA ...

I generally don't buy extended warranties but do pay for large items with a credit card that has extended coverage. My spouse has availed herself of VISA's extended coverage and it has replaced or repaired items with little to no fuss. One item I did spring for the extended warranty on: a washing ma...

1) You have it better than 99% of the world , even on your worst day/week/year. Respect the other 99% by living humbly. 2) Don't assume tomorrow will be better than today. In fact, assume it will be much worse - poorer, unhealthier, less employed/employable. Conserve today. Eat healthy today. Exerci...

Can a Canadian play too?

20% Canadian Equity (S&P TSX index fund)
20% US Equity (S&P 500 index fund)
20% Intl Equity (MSCI EAFE index fund)
40% Canadian Bonds (DEX Universe bond index fund)

At next rebalance, it'll be 25% for each of the four.

Overheard the other day:

"Cheap thing no good. Good thing no cheap."

(perhaps not applicable to index funds... but it applies to durable goods and retirement nest eggs)

I'm in a job with no 401k, pension, or any investment incentives at all. I truly enjoy where I work and what I do. But looking long term as I have a significant amount of time left to invest I have considered seeking employment elsewhere for the option of a matching 401k. I'm not saying I'm going t...