Bogleheads.org

States will hold abandoned property but don't make much of an effort to return it. They do typically have a searchable database online, though. Twice I have hit pay dirt looking at old places I lived. Twenty five years ago I lived in California and missed a final paycheck from an employer. I found i...

Well, of course if you sell the stock you cannot repurchase it for 30 days due to wash sale rules.

The company, this company you believed enough in to invest in the first place, may have a very good month while you stay on the sidelines.

Hi, Chris, I, too, dabble in individual stocks and do not think it is necessarily un-Boglehead. This forum focuses mostly on simple index fund portfolios (the Three Fund Portfolio is great IMHO) but somehow this doesn't free us from being somewhat obsessive about investments. AAPL is 3% of SPY (SP50...

My friend Crazy Mike points out that "you have to do something"

Maybe he is not crazy after all...

My Dad is an architect, still working in his seventies. He says most architects do their best work late in life. He says he will never retire, although he may become more selective about the work he takes on. I have seen this with a lot of artists, not so much in business. For him this has really si...

With that much in assets you have a heavy responsibility to spend it wisely! You could put away a relatively small percentage into the safest of investments that would see to your personal needs for as long as you live. With the rest, you get to design a legacy. You can do a LOT with that kind of mo...

Looks like I'm too late here, but those of you replacing drives should consider a solid-state drive (SSD). They are more expensive, but the higher performance is really noticeable. And they use less power and are more rugged than standard hard drives, useful qualities in a laptop! On home computers ...

My friends who have children are all getting sucked dry by them, whatever their income level. It seems like those who make a lot more money do things like send their kids to private schools. And most of the couples I know with kids have one person who is underemployed. I know more than one person wh...

I have been told that if you are going to drink tap water that you should let it run for a while first to clear the pipes. This was from a water/sewer person who tested for metals all the time. She said if you did not let it run for a while they'd be sky high. Maybe I am imaging things but I swear m...

I thought I'd update this with my results. I XIRR'ed everything in Excel, comparing my deposits and withdrawals to a mirror with just purchases and sells of SPY. If I go back 5 years it turns out that I would have been better off with just the SPY. :oops: I'm beating SPY for the year, tho'! :sharebe...

I have a portfolio of stocks and would like to compare my returns to the SP500. I can XIRR my cash flows (I put money in and took money out over the year), but how do I add SP500 comparison data? I tried a mirror portfolio where all cash flows were in and out of GSPC, but I think this misses dividen...

Don't do vinyl. It really drops curbside appeal.

Hardie is good stuff -- no competition there. I have it on my house and a shed.

My only complaint is that working with it can be dusty, but if someone else is doing the work that's not an issue.

The thing to really recognize is that leathers are not created equal. Low end leather is more like vinyl (I have a couch from Cost Plus).

I second the motion to build it yourself. I just built one and it's fun -- I learned a lot and saved money, besides. I bought everything from NewEgg. i7 Intel processor, Gigabyte motherboard, SSD, Radeon 7770 graphics card. You'll want a better graphics card for gaming. Or maybe TWO of them in cross...

I used to drive old cars forever just like you folks. But new cars have so many great safety features: airbags, curtain air bags, abs, traction control, better headlights -- on and on. In recent years I have changed my tune and purchased new cars. I do intend to drive them forever, though!

As a saver I've long considered the difficulty of transferring money out of Scottrade to be an advantage. It is easy to electronically transfer money in but not out. However, if you call and ask they will give you cheques you can write on your account. With the BOA check photograph/deposit app it is...

I have had great success in using "Smartkey" locks. They are able to be easily adjusted to a new key (as long as you have the old one). This enables you to easily key all your locks to the same key. I know the double version can have a cylinder swapped for a turn-button. It is just a coupl...

I've used Mint for years. It is pretty good for current balances and transactions, but terrible for tracking performance. The algorithm it uses for calculating performance does not use your actual cost basis or holding time, so the results it spits out are meaningless. This is a big disappointment -...

We recently received a "notice of non-renewal" on our earthquake policy, but it came with an offer to renew for $625/yr (220k coverage, high deductible) with LOL.

I had thought LOL was the insurer of last resort.

Is this a sign that I need to look for other insurers?

I have read that more cash is being kept as cash and not invested. http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/07/the-5-trillion-stash-us-corporations-money-hoard-is-bigger-than-the-gdp-of-germany/260006/ Doesn't this create a situation where market drops are jumped on more quickly? Doesn't hav...

This seems like the Wild West right now. Is there any way to invest in a diversified way?

You really need a pan you can get hot enough to sear/char food, so don't have all non-stick. You need a fond to deglaze for sauce...

Thanks to those who replied (and apologies for reposting it). There have been a few people who have suggested renting a car now and then rather than having this one. Almost every experience I've had renting cars has been negative -- long waits, high pressure sales on the insurance. Plus that elimina...

I have a 2011 Toyota Tacoma pickup with 1500 miles. I commute by bicycle and my wife has a car so it can sit for a long time. It can sit for weeks, unused. How often do I need to drive it for optimum longevity?

I have a 2011 Toyota Tacoma which doesn't get driven much. I bike to work and sometimes the truck can sit for 2-3 weeks. It only has about 1600 miles on it. I do try to get the engine up to temperature when I do take it out.

Do I need to drive this more?

I just learned that Benjamin Franklin bequeathed about $112k in today's dollars to each of two trusts with 200 year timelines. According to the Wikipedia, the trusts were set up as a charity for two cities: Boston and Philadelphia. The Philadelphia fund grew to $2 million, the Boston fund to $5 mill...

If you had a policy like this it would allow you to attract more "greybeards". Currently these folks are undervalued.

Thanks for the great replies! Part of what keeps me addicted to a high salary is saving money. I think this is a forum that understands how obsessive this can become! :mrgreen: As for what business and why, perhaps I am seeing the "joys" of small business ownership as so much greener grass...

I feel that I have become addicted to a high income. This definitely stands in the way of things like starting your own business. The idea of no income for a period of (?) months/years is intimidating.

What's your experience with Golden Handcuffs?

If one made a pie chart of all the reasonably liquid assets worldwide, what would it look like? And should changes in the worldwide asset allocation affect our own? I ask this because I am a little embarrassed to have no idea where the money is... Thx.

It seems wise to sell stocks which have lost money each year -- even if only to rebuy them after 30 days -- in order to harvest the losses for the sake of taxes. But to do this consistently ties up a lot of money. It would seem possible to own a smaller number of leveraged, opposed ETFs which would ...

Cut off the cladding at 5 1/2" height, use thicker preserved word to create a pedestal base. Otherwise you replace all cladding with rot proof stuff which is unnecessary. I agree with other posters that Bondo works great but unless you can keep the Bondoed areas dry they will rot behind the Bon...

Spiders are pretty amazing. Maybe if you got a magnifying glass and a field book you could grow to like them?

I buy stocks, too, HongKonger, and am convinced that this hobby is a good way to encourage savings. However, I have found that most of my picks have either declined or not done that much, and my earnings really depend upon a few standouts. I own 30 fun money stocks, and six of those do the heavy lif...

Hello, Bogleheads,

Suppose I wanted to start an ETF. I know it is a little scary that there are more funds than companies now but still I see a market for niche ETFs.

What is involved? I am a little embarrassed for asking such a newbie question -- please be gentle!

I agree that you should try to find a job while you have this one. Twice in the past I've taken vacation to go to interviews and was surprised when they made my current job seem great in comparison. The days are awfully long when you're unemployed, wondering what to do. Don't quit angry, for sure. G...

Bogelers, I was laid off last year and got a half year of severance this year. Luckily, I found a job quickly, but my income this year is going to be abnormally high. I've maxxed out the $34 K for my wife and my 403(b) accounts. I am selling loser stock to reap the $3k deduction. Charitable contribu...

Anyone know what percentage of stocks become giant, a la Apple or Microsoft?

I am wondering, as a kind of thought experiment, how many small stocks one would have to buy before one was pretty sure there was a serious winner aboard. :

Right -- I don't use rebalancing bands. My account is simple, with five funds evenly invested. I rebalance when they diverge by 10% or so. And it is nice to set them all even. Don't people from Vanguard watch this site? Maybe we could get an informed answer about why this isn't possible. As many of ...

It is interesting that this is a feature of 401(k) accounts but not IRA ones. So it must cost something to execute. (I wouldn't think it would cost much, though, especially if trading was infrequent and automatic -- predictable!). Am I mistaken or are there no trading costs for Vanguard IRA accounts...

I really am having trouble believing that Vanguard would get this so wrong, and perhaps it is just my own ignorance and you Boglers can set me straight. I have an IRA with Vanguard evenly split into five funds. I tried to rebalance these today and discovered that there is no simple way to do this. I...

Wander, I think you are right but this is the standard warranty. Of course, you do pay more to buy a new truck. The oil probably sits in the jug for six months. You guys have talked me into doing this, but grudgingly. I would like the truck to last for as long as possible, and it couldn't hurt (righ...

Thanks for the responses! The point of investing in individual stocks is that it is interesting enough to encourage the activity. It encourages savings. This is money I might otherwise squander. Those of you encouraging index funds are of course totally right -- that's what my retirement is in. Bore...

Bogelers, Although most of my $ is tied up in 401(k) type accounts, I have found that investing in individual stocks is a good way to encourage savings. My target numer of stocks was 30, and I'm there now. The portfolio mostly moves with the market ( usually slightly better, which is great!). At wha...

The manual says every 5,000 miles or 6 months. Still seems wasteful to me after only 600 miles.

And I have to go do it.

I have a 2011 Toyota Tacoma pickup which I don't drive much. Under contract with Toyota I could change my oil every six months for free. I was encouraged to do this by the Toyota mechanic when I had my oil changed today for the first time (1 year, ~1200 miles). This seems wasteful and excessive even...

Hi Bogleheads, Although most of my holdings are in index funds, I do like to maintain a portfolio of about 30 stocks selected individually. This allows some nice TLH and has some entertainment value, too. The stuff I buy is small-mid cap value, solid cash flow, low debt... Anyway, does anyone have a...

Great article! I have some losses I could harvest that I have held for almost a year. Now I see I should get off my butt and sell them before they become long-term losses, since I would have to deduct those against the long-term gains for the year. And the long term gains are taxed more favorably th...

Am I to understand this properly: Short term losses are subtracted against short term gains first, then long term gains. Long term losses are subtracted first against long term gains then short term gains. Since long term gains are taxed more favorably, short term losses are more valuable than long ...

I don't see how it can be that short term losses are as valuable as long-term ones. :confused If that's the case, though, wouldn't one want to make sure to tax loss harvest every year? And why not harvest every month -- if you sliced and diced your holdings finely enough there would almost always be...