Bogleheads.org

I stopped working when my computer training business took a hit in the tech wreck of 2000. I had a good pile saved, house paid off, and very low expenses. It was only after I found the boglehead forum on M* that I realized my burn rate was too high. Eventually, I sold the house, moved in with my (no...

How much did he charge you?

Couldn't such a quiz be used by people to figure out what they need to learn?

Each answer could link to a section in the wiki where more information could be found. In that way it would be a learning tool.

VIPSX is Vanguard's TIPs fund, not the Intermediate Tax Exempt, which is VWITX.

I have a legacy investment in CGM's Realty fund. It isn't much money so I have simply let it gather its dividends and slowly grow over time. It is not a substantial part of my assets, wouldn't buy anything but a used car, and would make for a nice couple week vacation for me and my wife. I have been...

Welcome to the forum. The place to start with trying to set an asset allocation is your a) need for return and b) ability to take the risk required to get (a). So, given your current financial resources and expenses, how much return do you need to make so that you meet your financial goals (inherita...

I own one bike and it cost me $5,000 back in 2003. It is a semi-custom touring bike that is specially fitted to be taken apart and put in a suitcase suitable for flying (here is an article I wrote about my 10 years of experience with a coupled bike ). I bought the bike after selling my (paid for) ho...

Let us know how it goes.

It makes sense that whenever someone is asking for a huge refund that the IRS takes a closer look to make sure everything is done to the absolute limit of the law. I would never recommend that someone do what you've done as the IRS has a serious ($43K) incentive to "find" additional taxes ...

Time for another trip to the woodshed?

I recently finished my first meeting with a mentee that I connected with at http://micromentor.org . He is a twenty-something voice teacher who is earnest and committed to growing and succeeding at his business. We spent 90 minutes talking about his business, my experience, and ideas about what his ...

Two points. 1) In 1998, I sold an internet business for $100K. It was an installment deal and I got $40K up front. With that, I thought about buying something frivolous. I considered a sailboat, 2-seater Mercedes sports car, and a few other things. One day I was hitting balls at the driving range an...

Be aware that summer on the California coast can mean fog. I've lived on the California coast my entire life in both Southern (LA) and Northern California (San Francisco and Santa Cruz) and can say that July days can be cold and windy right next to or on the beach. The further south you go, the soon...

I retired in 2000 at 48. I've always paid for my own health insurance and know that I can expect 10% increases year after year from Kaiser, my insurer. While I find this increase outrageous, that estimate has been accurate for past 15 years or so. In my retirement model, I assume that medical costs ...

It seems to me you are asking about multiplying the value of your assets, time, money, creativity, connections, etc. You want to get a high multiplier, which will be required to get to the $50,000,000 range. It seems to me the best way to get that kind of multiplication is to create something that o...

Is there anything physically challenging that you'd like to do? Examples include riding a bike across the country, hiking the Appalachian Trail, sailing across the ocean, etc. While these can be done at most any age, they are easier to do when younger and without encumbrances, such as kids or spouse.

The most important word in marketing is "free." Is there anything your parents can give away to new customers that wouldn't cost them much to entice new people to walk in the door? Note that your service/product has to be good enough that once someone is familiar with it they will come bac...

It is true that Roth IRAs have an income qualification. Do you not have some kind of retirement plan where you work, such as a 401k? If you are self-employed, you have a great many options. I am not a 529 expert, but I believe it can be spent on educational things other than college, say film school...

You can set up both Regular IRA and Roth IRA accounts and make your son the beneficiary on the accounts. In fact, any investment and banking account can have beneficiaries. If you aren't married, why increase your life insurance when you buy a house? If you die early, the house likely gets sold and ...

If you need life insurance, buy term insurance, which is only life insurance and nothing else.

Since you have debt, little savings and no money in retirement plans, they should be your first priority.

The only way to make money with whole life is to sell it. Buying it is always a money loser.

When I was employed, I created several video courses with extensive student manuals. I sold licenses for companies who wanted to copy them for their employees. I also taught live classes on the same topics. One time I was on-site to deliver just such a class and was talking to an IT consultant (from...

My wife and I will be in England in August and are looking for a place to spend some time in September in Europe. We have lots of family in England, so don't need advice for there. We like to hike, kayak, day ride on a bike. We like to stay in a rental so we can cook our own meals. Some culture is g...

I aimed for 50% of my bond allocation (60% of my entire AA) to be TIPs. But, I don't just have the TIPS fund. I hold a substantial portion of IBonds and a fair amount of a single TIP security that matures in 2018 (the year I turn 66) with the rest (about half) in the Vanguard TIPs fund. I intend to ...

you can invite friends down and entice them with a free place. You'll likely get a few free dinners out of that one. Or they can invite themselves along on your vacation or drop in unannounced and expect you to feed and entertain them. you can offer your place to family and friends to use when you ...

I once owned a condo on the water in Kona, Hawaii. From a purely economic perspective, it was a loser, as you calculated. But, there are some non-economic benefits. First, you get to use it whenever you want and can stay a few extra weeks if the weather is nice or you just want to, without all the h...

I bought LTCI when I was in my late 40s as I was driving several times a week on a dangerous road and I wanted some coverage if something bad happened and I didn't die but was seriously injured. I kept the LTCI after I retired and stopped driving on the road (moved to another city). I kept with it a...

The main problem you state is what others in the family will think of you if you don't give money to your sister. So, ask them. You could be generous at birthday and Christmas time with a check. Ask your brother why he is doing this and what he will think of you if you don't. Find a way to live with...

Isn't this like the decision to annuitize now versus later? If I annuitize now, I know the rates, which today are low. If I wait, rates might go up (or down) and I have to keep my money in investments that might go down. Seems to me the SS situation is the same. If I take at 62, I get a lower amount...

Do you mind telling us what the out the door cost was?

An annuity is an insurance product, not a direct investment. While I am not a tax-advisor, lawyer, or accountant, just a guy on an internet forum, I do believe the insurance people are right. Money lost in an annuity (or whole life insurance policy) is not deductible on your taxes. Think of it this ...

I used to have 50/50 TBM and TIPs funds. But, as interest rates have continued to drop, I decided to more into short-term bonds. I now have 33/33/33 short-term, TBM, and TIPs.

My wife and I did a 3 day bike tour in November, 2012 on our (non-biking) New Zealand tour using a tandem bike. It was the first time either of us had spend any time riding a tandem bicycle. I've written an article about my experience touring on a tandem . Some comments from the article: A tandem bi...

OP here. My desire is to look at animals. The Big 5 would be nice, but my wife and I also like to hike in beautiful places with wide vistas. I also like to look at birds. I have no desire to see one animal kill another, but if I do, so be it. We don't need luxury, but don't want to carry our own ten...

I did tax loss harvesting most of the way down in 2008. Since this has to be done in a taxable account, I now have a large position in TSM with significant gains in that account. As I am retired, I am slowly using the funds in that account to live on. While I still have other investments to liquidat...

My wife and I will be in England in August for a wedding. While we are over there, we were wondering what else to do and the idea of flying on to Africa (Kenya) and doing 3 weeks of safari there came up. I checked a (2012) book about Kenya from the library and learned that July and August are the be...

I didn't see one bike tour on the list. (Bike) Trip of a lifetime? How about riding through the Gorges du Tarn late in the afternoon without another soul around. Or, maybe, an inspiring day along California's Big Sur Coast . Possibly, struggling over Switzerland's Pragelpass surrounded by stunning A...

I liked visiting Alcatraz. I'm a docent at Alcatraz and can give you a personalized tour of the island. You still have to buy your ticket (alcatrazcruises.com is the only place to do so), but once on the island, I have keys to lots of places you can't normally go. In addition, if I show you around,...

There is no paper work the IRS requires you to fill out in advance. Obviously, you may be required to sign contracts with employers and you will likely get 1099 forms for some/all of the revenue you earn. You won't get 1099s for some/all of your gaming wins and losses and I would suggest that you ge...

It is unclear from your post if you are donating money to buy ad space or buying ad space for your business and using a portion of that ad to display something about the organization. Clearly, if you are donating money, it is deductible. It seems hard to imagine that sharing an ad with a non-profit ...

I gather you are asking if the corporation can keep you on their plan and include their cost of insuring you and your wife as part of the money you are due as part of your buy-out. If so, my guess is no. Not because it isn't "legal," but because it will violate the corporation's agreement ...

I asked a similar question yesterday and no one responded. I moved some of my TIPS fund into the short term Bond fund as a rebalancing move and also because a TIPS fund doesn't offer the option of "avoiding" a loss on interest rates rises by holding it until maturity, as you can with an ac...

There has been a lot of talk on this site lately about selling TIPs now that their returns are negative. I own 3 different inflation indexed investments: IBonds, Vanguard's TIPs fund, and an actual TIP security that matures in 2018. I plan to keep the IBonds and the TIP security. My question involve...

Social Security is an annuity. The purpose of annuities is to insure that you don't run out of money before you die. Breakeven analysis isn't appropriate. Taking SS early means that you have a lower lifetime annuity. You don't mentioned the size of your retirement pile. If it isn't very big, then ta...

I spent 4 days in Acadia NP in Sept. 2010. I was riding a bicycle but found it to be a beautiful place with lots to do and an effective tourist infrastructure. Be aware that lots of huge cruise ships land at Bar Harbor, several daily, and the hoards can affect your experience. Of course, they either...

holding cash in taxable does not prevent the asset allocation from getting out of whack if stocks gain You may be missing an important part of my puzzle. I did serious tax loss harvesting in 2008. The huge chunk of TSM that I have in taxable has meaningful capital gains. I've been delaying cashing ...

I retired at 48 and still have a few years before I can take SS, which I plan to delay as long as possible. Thus, all my expenses have to be paid out of my current assets. My answer depends on what you count as cash. Counting bank accounts, I have about 2.5 years at my current burn rate. I prefer up...

Bicycle tourist

I appreciate your taking the time to do a bit of numbers work for me. It helps make the distinction between basic statistics and financial calculation. In truth, raising the investment mean by .75% doesn't make all that much difference, just a few percent in 30 years. The best news is that out of 50...

I started this thread with these numbers: Inflation mean: 3.5% sd 1.5% (note can't go below -2%) Investment mean: 5% sd 10% (nominal returns) Interest mean: 2% sd 1% Bond mean: 1% sd 3% If I understand you correctly, if I am trying to simulate 5% annualized returns, I should be using a higher mean, ...

Just so I understand what greyfox and rodc are saying. It isn't that I need to change how my simulation works, it is that the mean and standard deviation I've chosen might not be accurate to how the market numbers actually work. In fact, the numbers I am using might be too low for what I am trying t...