Bogleheads.org

However, if expenses in this country go up X% a year and tuition goes up X+5% a year, someone is benefiting from a transfer of wealth. Or university funding from other sources has gone down by 5% Without more information we can't say if the problem is due to changing costs or simply a change in who...

My suggestion is to accept that everything else is pretty uncontrollable (face it!) - so go fishing and stop thinking that a model, Excel spreadsheet, what-have-you, is going to make you feel better. The more I chase numbers around a spreadsheet, the more sense that suggestion makes. Looks like a g...

I am new to Bogleheads and also to ETF's. You mention in your post "tedious and time-consuming nature of buying and selling ETFs". What des that mean? Is it not the same as buying/selling stocks? I read that that is the advantage of ETF's. What am I missing? It is the same. They're both e...

Why are you looking at 4-days a week? I ask because there are companies that differ from the 5/40. Depending on the why, transitioning to such a company may give you what you're looking for without any cut in pay. Personally the facility I'm at works a 9/80 schedule. We work 9 days out of every 2 we...

There could be value in talking to an advisor that has your interests at heart. There are some low-fee AUM as well as fixed-fee firms out there who will manage a passive index-fund strategy and can provide value in helping you stay the course, managing your emotional responses, and letting you reall...

interplanetjanet » - We will initially rent in overseas, and perhaps buy an apartment later. I have no intention of buying another house in the U.S. with the proceeds of this one. I think you missed what she was getting at. You're tied up in *this* specific house based on (in part) an emotional inv...

Larry, do you find it disturbing that fourth and fifth factors have now been added to a model that claimed all returns are explained by three factors? I'm not Larry, but since I've never seen a model that claimed all returns are explained by three factors, I don't find it disturbing. I have seen mo...

I've started reading about index fund investing, and I'm considering moving this money to Vanguard. However, I'm unsure of how to go about doing this, and what funds at Vanguard to invest in. Welcome! First off, I'd suggest that you spend a month or two, keep reading and letting things stop spinnin...

They may very well be right that they're expected to return an extra 0.60%. They're formulating their mix to include additional helpings (above market weight) of higher risk potential higher reward asset classes such as EM stocks, EM bonds, and others. The expected return assumptions they're using f...

One thing to keep in mind (I learned the hard way) is that in case of a business bankruptcy, "insiders" debts get pushed to the end of the line. Terribly unfair and unjust, IMO, but that was a VERY expensive lesson for me. Since this may come up again, you might want to try to figure out ...

Thought I'd give an update to all those that helped out. No loan. The day we had planned to sign the paperwork and transfer funds one of his clients (the one he was giving me the lien on actually) surprisingly paid on invoice receipt rather than waiting the allowed 30 days. :shock: I'll reiterate my...

Umm... it doesn't matter where you live, it matters where your father lives. And when the dad buys another vacation home in the same state as the OP next year and moves in there while he blows the rest of the money... then what? Given that the OP lives in a state that has filial support laws I can ...

I would ask yourself what the purpose of tithing is for; to what use *should* the funds be used. As other's have noted it may be useful to determine if your church is using it's funds for that purpose. Sad to say but I've seen many churches that IMO don't live up to their responsibilities and misuse...

So... had the talk. His offer before I could say anything was 30% APY for a 5 week loan; we agreed on 28% (from my reading this makes it easy to show compliance with state usury laws). Thanks to ResearchMed for pointing out that this needed to be considered. Freebeer, my understanding is that the ti...

Sounds like you already have an answer to your Q. After all, it's short term money anyway. Well, I have an initial guess based on looking at low-risk loans and crazy high-risk loans and picking something between. However, since the difference between an annual rate of 0.20% and 600% (or 3000% if yo...

Why not just ask him what he thinks is fair and let him decide if he wants to look elsewhere. Well, he's still making sure he can't work a different way around his cash-flow issues; if not we'll have the convo though, it's not going to be one of us just saying here's an offer take it or leave it. J...

Raybo wrote:How much did he charge you?

In that case it was him employing me when I was between jobs while working on my degree rather than a loan so it's hard to draw a direct parallel.

mickeyd wrote:Why not start at 2-3%? Since this all on a personal basis, why try to get an edge?

If I ask for too little he'll think it's charity...

That said, I was leaning towards feeling that somewhere around a 3-5% return over the course of the 30 days would be fair to both of us.

First off, I'm aware of what a horrible idea this is generally regarded as. That said, the amount is relatively small, is to a long-term friend... and I'm perfectly willing to accept the loss of the amount if things go bad. He provided me some help at risk of loss a decade back, least I can do is re...

From what you describe it sounds as though this one parent is not taking responsibility for their past actions and are wanting to continue living in a lifestyle above what they can afford (hence them wanting you to provide) It doesn't sound like a good position to be in, but I think (and maybe I'm r...

At the very least I'd like to get to a point where I can sit him down and give him some options. Bold added. :confused Is he a child? Is he incompetent? The wording is at best off in tone. Is he ignorant? If I had asked someone for advice in an area that I felt ignorant and they were going to do so...

After growing up with a bunch of guys who ended up / still work at America's (Discount) Tire Company, I will never go anywhere else. I've been tempted to go elsewhere for cheaper pricing, but their nationwide coverage, great warranty, and super service has always made me happy. Spent almost a grand...

I'm kicking myself that I replaced a set of tires with only 13k miles on them... If it makes you feel any better, I only expect 15-18k miles from a set of tires... and that's running them a bit longer than I probably should... This is hard to believe. It's not the 1960's anymore; you must be doing ...

I'm kicking myself that I replaced a set of tires with only 13k miles on them... If it makes you feel any better, I only expect 15-18k miles from a set of tires... and that's running them a bit longer than I probably should. Personally I purchase tires online from tirerack. Even after paying shippi...

I ordered blinds from Select Blinds when I purchased my house 3 years ago. Note that at least at that time they always had some sale going on... so their "normal" prices were anything but. Anyways, I measured all my windows, put in my order and everything showed up cut to the correct width...

Ever since I got a flat and realized that the dealer gave me the wrong key to my locking lug nut I've kept a tiny air compressor powered by the cigarette lighter in the car. Costs like $20 and so far has been able to keep me going without needing to swap out for a spare... even when I took a 1/2 dia...

What I would love to ask everyone, is that I do honestly want to help my parents somehow. You might try explaining to them that they should be viewing this decision as a starting a business one not a buying a house one. That the so-called "default" action is to sell the house and buy a re...

I'll start this by saying that I'm on very good terms with my parents and would have no problems making them a loan or just giving them money if it was needed. That said, I would be hesistant to do so in this situation. From what you've said if they sold the house they could buy the new one no probl...

I'll paraphrase Ken Fisher. The market can do 5 things, down a little, down a lot, same, up a little, up a lot. 4 out of those 5, I'm happy in cash. I guess it all comes down to that I am considering the current market high an inflection point not business as usual. So far no one agrees. That's ok....

I'm not sure why there's so much concern about this maybe being an all time high? I'm investing with the expectation that the market will see growth over my lifetime. This means that I'll be seeing a *lot* of "all time highs". This is a good thing! If I had a large cash position the questi...

The price spike is just the result of a proposed non-fiat currency with the currency item having no use other than currency starting to become accepted. Think about it, if I have a pile of stuff that's completely useless (but limited in quantity) and am the only one that is willing to treat it as mo...

In the back of my head I keep a general idea of what my current spending is for my current lifestyle (if I exclude what goes to savings) and what my spending level could drop to if I were to start cutting out stuff. As for how long you want your efund to last, that is highly dependent on both your s...

if you're any good at what you do, picking up php is no big deal. if the other company is good at what they do, they won't care that you don't know php. they'll care that you can write code, solve problems, communicate well, etc. do a little homework so you don't sound completely clueless about bas...

My point exactly: most drivers brake or slow down when into a turn, hence a front wheel drive is safer, unless one is going really, really, fast and then all bets are off especially for an inexperienced driver. I've been trained on a track and also raced for fun and still have a tendency to brake w...

Sheesh Khanmots, indeed you are describing the 1% situation when a rear-wheel drive is better behaved than a front wheel drive. But the other 99% of the time and also with snow and ice front-wheel drive is safer. But you have obviously taken the car much too close to its limit of control, driving t...

The reason many sports type cars have rear wheel drive is that it is more fun to drive. The problem with inexperienced drivers is that when one is losing control, one hits the brakes or slows down as a reflex. A front wheel drive car will regain control, but a rear wheel drive needs the opposite to...

Isn't this a rear-wheel drive car? I leased a 535 about the same time and my recollection was that it tended to hydroplane pretty easily. I swore I'd never drive RWD again. RWD shouldn't have anything to do with hydroplaning. That's more a function of tires than anything else. What it will have to ...

I have a Proposed ARSE Neglected Technical Solution that I believe will sufficiently cover the gap you've identified.

I think their is an ultra-frugal contigent here and for at least some, discussions about dropping SWR below 4% is "music to their ears". I've run some calculators that indicate a very small chance of failure, but a 50% outcome of ending with several million. I do not want to leave several...

TOM1964 wrote:"Had a few big hits in the market and some lucky (very lucky) market timing."

And you are on Bogleheads...why?

Because he realizes that he was very lucky? And doesn't want to lose it all the same way?

Do you have an allocation to dollars, yen, and euros? What about pounds, yuan, and Botswana pula's? What makes the bitcoin currency more appealing to you than these? Yes, mainly cash in USD is a significant portion of my portfolio. I have a very small amount in Euros. I also have 100 Trillion Zimba...

Do you have an allocation to dollars, yen, and euros? What about pounds, yuan, and Botswana pula's? What makes the bitcoin currency more appealing to you than these? Point is that bitcoins are a currency. And while there are distinguishing characteristics of this currency (not tied to a government, ...

You mean 2.375%? Unfortunately, I actually meant 2.875%. If you look at the rates again you'll see that to get 2.375% you need to pay 1 point which is probably not the best strategy to employ on an ostensibly 5 year loan. Missed that... :( Although I did the 5/5 on a 10-year plan (was at 4.75% or s...

I had a similar impulse a few years ago. What I finally decided was that I would have more fun in a car where I could approach it's limits during normal driving. As a fun second car, you can't beat a mazda miata. You can pick one up for 5-10k and it will be a blast. That's what I did. Well it was a...

Not to hijack the thread... but I have a 5/5 ARM at 3.00% right now with a 50% LTV. I'd like to take more money out and go down to their currently offered 2.875%. Will they allow me to do that and does anyone have experience going through that? If so, was the process just like going through with a ...

Thanks for your replies - I think I have it. Still working so I am in an upper bracket. I think I will just stick with the investment until retirement and the 15% bracket. That is about 5 - 8 years away. If the current managed funds aren't egregiously horrible and you have significant cap gains, th...

You can make the same argument for Vanguard's policy of paying the people with million dollar accounts to do surveys they don't pay less fortunate investors for. The fact that it helps their bottom line does not make it any less creepy. As a retired physician, both policies backfire on me by puttin...

This is actually a risk tolerance decision. How comfortable are you with the idea that you have a 1 in 20 chance of running out of money? For me, that seems scary high, for someone else it may be excessively cautious. Are you also taking into account the probability of actually living past 90? Say ...

TaxAct almost charged me $187 as a service fee to use a credit card to pay Federal taxes of $7960. This seem outragiously expensive. Why? The CC charges the merchant a fee based on the size of the charge. I'd suspect that given that the fee is under 2.5% that TaxAct is simply passing the fee along ...

Why do you feel that the government would honor TIPs and not I Bonds?