Bogleheads.org

Thanks Telemark. I went ahead and bought a sliver of each of NB's TBM and VG's TIPS funds today. This was a really big step for me since I've never actively gone out of my way to buy a bond fund really before. I'm now at about 80/20 Stocks:Bonds at 40yo right now. Yeah, bond yields suck and there is...

I am looking for any advice on selecting a bond fund in my 401k. I have a "total bond fund" that tracks the Barclay's Index and has been passively managed for the past 3 years. It has an expense ratio of .06% which is great, but I do note that the fund slightly underperforms the Index. The...

I just received my preliminary portfolio recommendations back from the Vanguard CFP on line last night. Even with a 1.8M portfolio, no debts and needing only 11,500/yr income stream within the next 1 to 4 yrs. from retirement at age 66, I never in my wildest dreams expected this AA from Vanguard. M...

I say either sell them or keep them as your wife's part-time job. I know a few stay at home moms whose job is to take care of the kids plus manage the properties. Two moms have in-law units that they rent. A third has a laundromat business. From their POV, its what gives them the cash flow to quit t...

I guess my choices are 1. Invest now and earn 1.47% for the next year, 1.175% w/ withdrawal penalty 2. Invest between May and October and get 1.18% for half a year. 3. Wait until November and start at whatever the new rate is at that time. (I can still invest 10,000 in 2013 and 10,000 in 2014 if I ...

Well. The *frugal* thing to do would be to just keep the darn car. I like the idea of one of the posters on adding a roof rack. It sounds to me like buying a new-er car for hobbies is pretty expensive. I used to like to go to the mountains for mountain activities. So I bought a 4runner. Then one day...

Perhaps not everyone buying a house in the SF Bay Area, much less the rest of the country, pays 40% gross on PITI. I wish I would have read Stanley's and Warren's books earlier. Aww, who am I kidding. I wish I would have bought one year earlier. Imagine buying TWO years earlier. Oh well. I love my f...

Rather than starting a new thread, it appears my question can be answered within this one. We have an overall asset allocation with which we are comfortable regarding stocks/bonds and the diversification within the stock side. The bond side contains Inflation Protected Securities (Admiral), Welling...

I really can't recommend the bluetooth bose portable speaker enough! It's $279 at Costco. It's pricey for a speaker, but it is amazing how I can have killer sound in the bathroom while showering, then head in the kitchen while doing dishes, outside while entertaining on the patio, then by the bedsid...

Tom_T wrote:It's interesting that the people fearful of bonds don't talk about what might happen to equity prices if interest rates soar. They are only thinking about bonds.

What would happen?

With your enormous leverage to real estate in your home, I would drop all other REIT tilts. Remember TSM owns REITs. Do you need 80/20? Do you need to take so much risk? How did you behave during the 2000-02 and 2008-09 bear market crashes? Right. I don't have REIT now, and while I have considered ...

I wanted to ask for some advice as I tune-up my portfolio: Her's my previous post: http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=103079&p=1495881 My 401k is: 1/3 SP500; 1/3 Russel 3k Small/Mid; 1/3 Int'l Hers is: 1/3 Wilshire5k; 1/3 Russel 3k Small/Mid; 1/3 Int'l Total 401ks represent...

If you want service and advice, go to a Macy's. I'm guessing you could use a little advice from someone in-person? Also, Brooks Brothers have their sales in June and right-after xmas. Get their "cool" fabric since you are in texas. In a sale, maybe $5-600 ish? I love Thomas Stanley's (Mill...

I like crowd79s idea of splitting it up, except I personally don't see the value of the EEs because you lose some flexibility. Also, factor in the fact that you can use the i-bonds as quasi e-fund accounts. Don't forget the $5k paper i-bonds if appropriate (15k total/year). Last, think about any lar...

I'd like love to meet if I can swing it. I can't commit to do any organizing. Is he coming from the City or from Silicon Valley?

Credit Suisse Global Investment Returns Yearbook 2013 This years edition is out with articles and data by Elroy Dimson, Paul Marsh, and Mike Staunton, London Business School, authors of Triumph of the Optimists . From the Forward: across 25 countries. The Credit Suisse Global Investment Returns Sou...

I prefer to start all portfolios with four legs of a stool: 1) Total US stock Market 2) Total Developed International Markets 3) Total Emerging Markets 4) Total Bond Market From here, a portfolio can be sliced and diced as desired or needed. I add small-value exposure to each equity position (US, D...

I wrote a blog that explains this concept: The Total Economy Portfolio I also wrote a similar article on this concept for the Forbes Investing Guide (print) and on their website: Forbes Investment Guide -The Total Economy Portfolio . Rick Ferri Rick, let me preface my question by stating that I hav...

The managed portfolio was made up of 4 and 5 star Morningstar funds all with a track record of about 15 years. The expense ratio fees of approx 1% and the advisory fees of 1.3% were included. Both met my goals (with the managed fund slightly outperforming the Vanguard portfolio) for a moderate risk...

What helps me understand TIPS are the sec yields of comparative investments, especially ibonds, as follows: 6 mo CPI: 0.88 (annualized at 1.76) I bond: zero real, +1.76 inflation. Net +1.76 nominal growth ING Savings Account: 0.8% nominal, meaning a loss of 0.96% purchasing power TIPS: -1.06 real [p...

That's an easy one: 3/4*r^4; or if you prefer (3*r^40)/4 and my High School Calc teacher would remind me to add +c, for the constant term that 'went away' during differentiation so: 3/4*r^4 + c (my ti-89 says so, so it must be right) :sharebeer dave Not everyone can tell a joke, or at least it's al...

Interesting posts FoolStreet on the mechanics of TD U.S. Savings Bond purchases. Looking forward to answer today. It worked! Both my scheduled transactions went through this morning and show effective as of Jan 1st. I think the key is that you have to pre-schedule the purchase to occur on the last ...

Warning: chance of snark ahead... Sound quite risky. If you miss out on an entire month's worth of interest, that's currently... 1.76%, divided by 12... a 0.15% return on your investment. So for each $1K in bonds, minus some 25% for taxes ... we're talking $1.13. Yes, a dollar and thirteen cents ! ...

I saw an article today recommending tech credit union. Wells private banking also has good products.

crowd79 wrote:You must buy Today if you want your I and/or EE Bonds to have a January issue date.

I'll let you know what happens tomorrow! Fingers crossed.....

That's an easy one: 3/4*r^4; or if you prefer (3*r^40)/4 and my High School Calc teacher would remind me to add +c, for the constant term that 'went away' during differentiation so: 3/4*r^4 + c (my ti-89 says so, so it must be right) :sharebeer dave Not everyone can tell a joke, or at least it's al...

I don't see how duration is a measure of bond sensitivity to int rates. The sentence is incomplete. A bond's duration is a measure of a bond's market price sensitivity to interest rates. The longer the duration, the more the price will move in response to interest rate changes. It feels more backwa...

To Foolstreet, do not count on bank pull the day following your TD request. Here are the results of my tests: On 1-29, I scheduled two purchases for 100 each, scheduled for purchase on 1-30 and 1-31, respectively. Today, I logged in and saw that the 1-30 purchase was registered in my TD account. I ...

what made you decide to substitute REITs for bonds? REIT's are more volatile and risky than many stocks in my opinion. They are in no way a substitute for bonds. Your portfolio is 100% equity as you state it. Now if you are investing 400K as you say, and then keeping 100K in cash that is a differen...

indexfundfan wrote:My kid age 7 enjoys the Magic School Bus series (on DVD) a lot. I am looking for some DVD suggestions that provide entertainment as well as has similar educational value. Any ideas? thanks.

Sci girls. Pbskids or iTunes podcast.

I don't see how duration is a measure of bond sensitivity to int rates. The sentence is incomplete. A bond's duration is a measure of a bond's market price sensitivity to interest rates. The longer the duration, the more the price will move in response to interest rate changes. It feels more backwa...

I bought now to get my 1-year clock running. The sooner I'm in, the sooner I can get out if the money is needed or something else comes around that's better and worth the 3-month penalty. Worst case scenario is the next inflation component adjustment is 0% and the yield for this bond will be 0.88% ...

I purchased my $10k this morning, 1/24. (It is already tomorrow at Treasury Direct, but it is still tonight for me.) I went online to see my status for you. Funds have already been pulled from my bank account, 1/24. On Treasury Direct, status shows as "Purchase Requested 1/24" In History ...

How much of a difference will it make, really? I agree. At today's current bank interest rates, I don't think it's worth gambling with leaving the money in the bank for an extra day or two, especially given that you're gambling with a full month's interest on the I Bonds you'd get for just owning t...

I think that is a very good article. I was following along nicely until I got to this part: Can you explain real duration and how it's different from the duration on a typical bond portfolio? Duration is simply a measure of any bond's sensitivity to its movements in its interest rate. I don't see h...

If I were buying, I'd buy now. I really don't expect the fixed rate to increase and the inflation component could actually decrease with the May announcement. If you buy now (say, Jan 31), then will you have locked in the 1.76 for 6 months? or just until May, at which you get whatever comes in May,...

You have to purchase your bonds on the 2nd to last business day of the month in order for it to be issued for that month (& thus get the month's interest payment) just to be safe. Scroll down and read the red text subtitle "How Late in the Month Can You Purchase an I Bond?" in the fol...

Perhaps ThanksForTheHelp is not giving him/her credit since I haven't seen him explain more about the deferred comp. In my understanding, one can do a backdoor Roth up to some amount ($50k?), but a deferred comp structure can go much higher. Deferred Comp may be much more easy to accomplish since it...

I can't speak for Vanguard. My mom has a VA in her 403b. It is not annuitized. She can invest in a variety of subaccounts, such as a large-cap, or an international, etc. These subaccounts come with their inherent ER (0.8%ish), plus the mortality charge of 1.2, for a total fee of about 2% per year. O...

We run about an 11k mo budget with an 8k mortgage. I try to keep around a grand there at the end of each pay period. I try to estimate my bills for that month and then set a direct deposit at the beginning of the month to ing. I've built up a modest refund of 30k in ing and 20k in respective Roths (...

My guess is that most people taking money out of their 401K prematurely won't be depending on it anyway. They will depend on SS and/or on working until they die. On what basis are you guessing that? I took a $50,000 loan from my $1M 401k, and I will be depending on my 401k in retirement. (Actually,...

Why not consider buying a Prius or Highlander Hybrid and using that as the generator?

Thanks TJ. I was thinking since were about 20 days out or so from closing, it would not be a big deal to make a principal payment prior to closing. Massive headache. Don't do it without the broker's involvement. In my experience loans are hard and take forever. So if it's a matter of slowing down a...

If everything in the hospital is covered, then you may be pretty well sheltered from large expenses, it's true. If only, say, room and board are covered but you're still paying for doctors, tests, procedures, etc. then I don't know that's actually going to buy you much in case of a serious issue. G...

What a great analysis. This really helps. Thank you! I'll review this with my wife now. I like the idea because it's neat and I like the chance to shelter more income with the HSA. But, where I get hung up is on the included PCP, hospital stay and emergency room visits. I'll try to comment in the qu...

OOP is high for your plans. It is around $5k for us. But I plan for the worst case (emergency of 12k+ and numerous doctor visits) . I compare normal case by exporting last 2 yrs of medical expenses and accordingly classifying if I had been on HDHP v EPO. I dont even look at the best case (thats a b...

I have the option of an HDHP/HSA or EPO. The online calculator says that the HSA is better, but I'm not sure I believe it. What seems tricky is that I feel like if I sign up for HDHP, I should just plan on paying the deductible straight-up, and pay a higher % of coverage until the oop max. EPO has h...

Don't forget inflation

Another update: After calling Security Benefit (owned by Gugenheim) again about Mom's 403b Variable Annuity, we learned some new details: * She can transfer her money into a Fixed Account paying 4%. It is guaranteed (to the extent that any insurance company is guarantee'd by it's re-insurers and sta...

Usually there is a seasoning requirement of 6 mo and/or you will have to sign a statement committing whether there are any loans outstanding that are not shown in the credit report. The OP's sister should review this all with her mortgage broker to pick the best strategy. In our case we took a loan ...