Bogleheads.org

If you have a Mac, I'd recommend Reunion software. I've nothing to compare it to, but I find it very user friendly.

FWIW, if you are considering driving it into the ground then be mindful that the car seat situation is actually short-lived. My knock on the CRV is the gas mileage and my personal belief is that in the long run that will be a key factor in your long term costs. Take a look at Hyundai Elantra or Toyo...

Yes. My 401k has two "bond" fund choices: Pimco Total Return and Loomis Sayles "Strategic" Income. I wanted some diversity so I added Loomis Sayles a few years ago and discovered the meaning of "strategic".

Thanks for the replies. It's always more involved than I originally think, although the AMT discussion is not applicable in my case. I do give to charity, but the amount involved far exceeds my normal contributions. So I think I will just let it ride for now and perhaps reconsider if/when there is a...

In my case it would be 15% for Federal and 9.9% for Oregon (I show 13.3% for California in 2013).

I think I have this right, but would like some confirmation. I currently have a small percentage (just under 1%) of my portfolio in Vanguard Growth Index (VIGRX) which I bought about 4 years ago. I would just as soon dump it and roll it into something else that fits better into my ongoing portfolio ...

I've had VOIP through Clearwire for 4 years now and it was originally really bad but I discovered it had more to do with using an older cordless phone than the service itself. Once we switched to a more modern phone, it worked just great. Then, last year, my company switched to VOIP company wide. Wo...

Some of this can be accomplished by researching cars based on their projected costs over 5 years, sometimes referred to as True Cost to Own and considers depreciation, maintenance, fuel efficiency, and finance costs (yes it assumes that the car is not paid in cash which is where it may stray from BH...

I've always wondered how CR can possibly issue a reliability rating on a product that's just been released. Personally, I had a Frigidaire front load washer for about 8 years, absolutely trouble free. When I moved and had to buy another washer in 2008, I went right back to Frigidaire which is a simp...

Yeah, it will break down at some point, so I would make sure to purchase a roadside assistance membership.

3. Use an antenna! You'd be surprised at how many major sporting events are broadcast over the air. NFL games are almost always broadcast, and you can get a lot of major sporting events on ABC, Fox, NBC, and CBS. This is especially true when playoffs for major sports leagues come around, at which p...

I admit I haven't really poured through the myriad of offerings on Roku, but we get a lot of usage out of Netflix and Pandora. We have also used Amazon Prime for cheap rentals of things not available on Netflix. I also used the MLB.com app to watch some baseball at the end of the season (also not fr...

As I'm sure you are aware, cars are about the worst "investments" there are. So by keeping your current car and delaying that purchase, you are actually making an investment by letting your existing cash grow. I can definitely relate to your situation. Although I'm well past 26, I drive a ...

I just took a look at CashCall Mortgage and they do seem to be more competitive than Provident. However, their website looks like they could easily be featured on a late night infomercial station. Any reason not to go with one of these lessor known lenders like CashCall or Amerisave, etc.?

I've always wondered about the "no closing cost loans" does this mean no lender costs only, and not the required county/city tax stamps and appraisal fee? Those costs still must be factored in when deciding whether or not to refinance. Or are there lender costs and the other costs associa...

I think maybe rates might have gone up slightly since you started your refi, I just checked their website and they are showing 2.75% with 0 points. The 3% I was quoted was actually -1 points.

Yes, I might be able to do a little bit better on the refi rate, but I didn't want to get too detailed on the rates as it might be another month or so before I could actually do anything. I did a quick check with Amerisave and the 15 yr rate was not as good as Provident, though very close. And I did...

I just want to make sure I'm considering all the right points as I mull over some options. I made an interest only loan of $43k which I am expecting to be paid off in full in the near future. I have been using the loan repayments to help offset my own mortgage. I currently am about 3 years into a 15...

I just asked my Magic 8-Ball which said "Forever? Not likely but a minor 3-5% correction could come around this summer".

I was minding my own business downtown, when I looked up and saw a copper awning that had oxidized into the exact pattern of Jack Bogle's face. The clouds parted and the angels sung to me about the long term costs of high expense ratios.

As crappy as it seems currently, I think it is perfectly smart to go with the Total Bond Market Index and be done with it. There is some valid concern that the long term bond exposure in that index could diminish returns in the future. And you could slice and dice with short term bond index or inter...

FWIW, I have heard a rule of thumb that a trust is best suited for assets of over about 2M. But someone else might better answer that one.

I will say that in terms of the Will, make sure that you name guardians for your children in the tragic case that something happens to you and your wife.

In my opinion, do Option 1. Pay off your loans. Do not do Options 2 or 3. We're in a nice bull run now but that could change before you know it (I am not saying it will but you have to plan for the worst) and then you're in a pickle. Your time frame is too short to wait out a correction. Consider yo...

If you are using Fidelity why not use Spartan Total U.S. Stock Index? Very comparable to VTI. Unless you really want the ETF for some reason.

Sorry to say, I have no idea and in the event that you don't get much response, it may be that there is a better forum for this kind of question. Bogleheads aren't typically ones for much in the way of individual stocks let alone options trading.

Good luck.

I think a little more information would be helpful. First off, by my calculations you've only provided 92% of your total portfolio. As far as determining how to rebalance I think you need to determine what your desired asset allocation is for your retirement. Then look at where you are to see where ...

What is this, the gloat post? I'm mostly out of all the actively managed funds I was in, but my 401k has ERs of nothing less than 0.30%, so I'd hazard a guess that I'd fall somewhere between 0.20 and 0.3%. But I was intrigued by this post I had been hanging on to Pax World Balanced Fund, a rather sm...

I'm just reviewing some IPSs out there and I see some examples where they state, "willing to accept 20% loss with a 60% equity portfolio" or something to that effect. This strikes me as a bad idea. I'm just imaging someone getting down about their slumping portfolio, then seeing that the l...

Do you want to minimize dividends/income for tax efficiency? Why not just be tax efficient with VTSAX/VTI which will include all the stocks in VWUAX but at a much lower ER?

I think it's a great idea to consider tax efficiency. It's a great habit to really cement into your investment decisions, and you never know how things will end up. What you think is a 2-5 year investment may end up being a longer one. Choosing tax efficiency and low cost funds are some of the few a...

I prefer to use the cheapest er plan available, regardless of tax deductibility. For instance, TIAA-CREF had previously managed the NYS 529 Direct Plan, expenses were higher and I felt performance lagged. Today, the same plan now uses Vanguard funds, the er is a low 17bps, it's indexed and as the m...

Yes set up separate accounts for each of them, it's much easier on the distribution end. You should open the Oklahoma 529 because you will be able to deduct the contributions on your state tax return (up to $10k max). There is no federal tax deduction but all gains in the account grow tax free unles...

I would roll over the old 401k. Good relationships with past employers can provide great networking opportunities. Plus you might be able to lower your costs by transferring to a tIRA. You might consider including I bonds for your 2-5 year needs. Otherwise, the reality is that we are in a low rate e...

"owners of long-term bonds may see big losses when interest rates eventually rise." Well, this is perfectly true. Or, to clarify it a bit, 1) Owners of individual long-term bonds may see big losses if they decided to, or are forced to sell them on the market when interest rates have risen...

What's your time horizon for when you'll need it? How much of your total portfolio does the $200k represent? What is your risk tolerance? What is your desired AA? The answers to these questions should help guide you. If you have 15 to 20 years before you'll need it, then it is reasonable to believe ...

Are you sure about the fee schedules? Where did you get the data? You mentioned Class A shares and 12b-1 fees. Class A usually means a front sales load and 12b-1 is a fee to the broker. Normally in a 401K the sales load is waived and the 12b-1 is not charged. But then, it is ML. It took me a while ...

I think your best option is to go with a high rate online savings account. People here seem to like Ally, I personally have found ING to be good, but go to http://www.bankrate.com to find the best rate. One year or so is just too short of a time frame to really worry about the effects of inflation a...

I would be relatively persistent. But realize the structural hurdles that you have. Your in-house committee or HR person that is the point of contact for your 401K provider will need to have a good argument for adding the lower cost options. The provider is not likely to be keen on this addition as ...

Yes, the bottom line is that I'm contributing as much as I can, and I do not have idle cash, asides from my desired AA to cash, on the sidelines during the first quarter of the year.

Well the truth is that it is difficult for me to meet the maximum and it helps for me to know my tax situation before I can commit. Sometimes it's hard to read so many posts here where it appears that so many people are maxing out their 401ks, IRAs, 529s, and whatever else they can. As a single inco...

We have no other administration fees or costs Are you sure about this? If true, your plan would be the first I'm aware of that charges nothing on top of the fund Expense Ratios. ... Forgive my skepticism, but the quoted comment above leaves the impression that your brokerage, in charging no fees ot...

If you have a 401K where you are paying more than 0.10% - 0.15% overall, then someone is stealing your money. It is that simple. I fully understand the Bogle mantra of fees matter. I'm simply trying to understand the Brightscope ratings. I found this passage from an article on 401K plans: Looking a...

I did just find this from the Brightscope sight: "In order to compute plan-level administrative costs, BrightScope utilizes the most recent administrative cost data from Schedule C and Schedule H of the plan's most recent Form 5500 filing. Companies typically do not disclose a plan's asset-base...

Does anyone have good experience with the Brightscope ratings? My 401k is shown as average in total cost of plan compared to all others but "high fees" for plans of similar size (10M-100M and ours is currently 18M). We have a total of 20 funds with one index fund and expense ratios that ra...

I think the seasonality play of sell in may is interesting but hardly something to really act on. However, what I've done recently is increase my 401k contributions during the May to Oct period such that if there is a spring swoon, I might be able to capture a little more of the lower prices. It cer...

And save for college for kids before fully investing for retirement?

Are you sure that your Stable Value Fund is returning 3.5%? That seems pretty high to me, the Invesco Stable Value fund in my 401k only returns about +/- 1% annually right now. If you're getting that kind of return, then your fund must be taking on greater risk I would have to think. But I don't und...

I experimented with Mint, found it not very helpful, and got concerned about centralizing my account information in one place so I shut it down. Very similar to my recent experience with FutureAdvisor which I got curious about. But I think I will shut that down to. It is pretty amazing how much we d...

Are you sure about the expiration? I know that in California there is a law that gift cards cannot expire. Maybe there is a distinction between a gift card and store credit, but might be worth looking into only to buy yourself more time. The watch idea does not sound good to me. I wonder if there is...

For what it is worth, famous value investor Ben Graham says to never have an equity allocation below 25%.

I would also +1 the recommendation that you look into I Bonds.