Bogleheads.org

Welcome - most of our stellar performances were from re-balancing and staying with low cost indexes.
I can talk about my 5x or 10x winners (about 1% of my portfolio) and conveniently forget about
the many other ones that had negative returns or went to zero.

Lots of good reading on this site.

No Secondary Address and Your Answer to the Security Question Does not Work? Are you unable to reset your Gmail password, either through a secondary address or by answering your security question? Make sure you are trying to access the right account. Check the account name for misspellings. Does the...

Does this fill a niche that is not covered by existing funds?

This post was an eye opener. I knew this was happening, but I thought it meant $2,000/$3,000 not full tuition. This has been a free institution in NY for so long, it has been taken for granted. I was on the board of a charity for a number of years. When a lawyer friend of mine pointed out that they ...

Now is the time to ask alumni to contribute just a fraction of what they saved on tuition. A full four your college, the past 20 years, was at least $50,000 to as much as $200,000. If they gave 5-10% of what they saved, could make a huge difference. But that is probably a fairy tale this late in the...

One caveat on cables. Out of wall and less than 50 feet - Monoprice is usually the best way to go. Over 15-20 feet I recommend you go with Redmere Technology (especially with thinner cables). The only time I would recommend the higher priced cables is if you threading them through the wall. The ins...

I walked by the building Friday. It is fascinating from the outside. Still, sad that this top free school is no longer free.

I have two flash drives - each encrypted with TrueCrypt and the data is kept in two separate locations.
one with easy access and one in a bank safety deposit box.
The password is over 40 characters, but it's easy for me to remember.
But useless for anyone else to break.

One caveat on cables. Out of wall and less than 50 feet - Monoprice is usually the best way to go. Over 15-20 feet I recommend you go with Redmere Technology (especially with thinner cables). The only time I would recommend the higher priced cables is if you threading them through the wall. The inst...

I waited to my video friend responded. Several thoughts: Plasma is best if you view from an angle. If you go with a large projector, review the different types and see which is best for your viewing. Also, he agrees with me on the 4k. It is quickly coming down in price and he feels in 2-3 years it w...

This seems more videophile than audiophile. When I was heavily into testing and auditioning I finally settled a Boglehead approach and bought used Thiel's 3.5 They were somewhat outdated but only cost about $1,000.00 When I went to surround sound, I thought of making those the rear speakers and buyi...

There is much to plan and absorb in the next 10 days (before we leave). I have Groupons for a Walking tour of the Freedom Trail and the combination trolley tour and cruise of the harbor. The biggie will be the hotel, though Priceline has a couple of 4*'s for around $200 (PLUS PARKING and INTERNET). ...

Thank you for the suggestions - i was "overruled" on Fenway Park (she is coming from the Canadian NW and I am only 200 miles away). That will be on a trip I go with some sport friends. We are discussing the duck vs. trolley for the tour plus a walking tour of the Freedom Trail. We also wan...

My girlfriend is flying into NY and we are going to Boston for Memorial Day weekend (first time for both of us). While Saturday night her friend is making a lobsterfest for us in Rockport, we are looking where to stay and what to do in Boston. Less concerned about places to eat and more on what to s...

My trade offs were easier. I went from Oxford at over $1000 per month (single individual) to Freelancers HSA at $360 per month with a 6250 max out of pocket. I can deposit up to to $3,250 (plus $1,000 because I am over 50). In the 3 years I have this I have only used $1,100 from my HSA. I now have a...

I just noticed this offer from Costco - with a 1TB DVR and 8 cameras - maybe Costco also has someone for installation.



Q-See 16 Channel CIF/D1 DVR Security System with 1TB Hard Drive and 8 600TVL Cameras
http://www.costco.com/.product.10003441 ... 509_MayMVM

Below is a review of studies on HFT that question their objectivity (being that most were funded by people with connections to the finance industry)

http://prospect.org/article/are-academi ... ing-debate

I felt like I was watching a Kevin Trudeau infomercial. Oh snap, I forgot all about that guy! He was such a weasel. Kevin Trudeau is now a member of the Illuminati - and you can join that network for $1,000 plus $150 per month. Join this secret society and you too can be rich (or at least Kevin Tru...

I lived in 250 sq. feet near the UN for over 7 years and loved it. If it's well laid out (I had a Pullman kitchen and Murphy bed) which helped. I was on the 22nd floor with a good, but not great view. If your in a good area and plan to stay at least 5 years, it SHOULD turn out to be a reasonable &qu...

You can get an idea of hardware costs from here (though obviously does not include installation/support) http://www.newegg.com/Home-Safety-Security/SubCategory/ID-850?Tpk=security%20camera%20system They have many brands and price ranges. Here are some complete systems: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...

Every few months another of these "reports" pop up. They have predicted 150 of the last 5 recessions/depressions. I believe this exact same propaganda popped up here a few weeks ago. Similar sites have also been pushing their agenda and books/survival kits or whatever. I would give him equ...

I took the VOIP line partly because they gave me a better rate when I did. Plus it has one important feature. Whenever a call comes in, it immediately sends me an email. I no longer have to check for messages, I know which client has called. And frequently the calls are messages left by robo callers...

I come up with 4.73. I multiple the percentage held ie .22 times the duration 3.7 to get .814 I do that for all four bond funds and then add up the totals. .22 * 3.7 .814 .20 * 8.1 1.62 .30 * 2.8 .84 .28 * 5.2 1.456 total 4.73 It seems too simple a formula to work, but it does seem to give an accura...

Your telephone service is either copper or FIOS.
If regular telephone service, your battery will give you a few hours of phone service after the electricity is lost.
If you have FIOS/VOIP phone service, then your phone will go dead unless your modem has a battery backup.

The debate has nothing to do with inflation. It's whether the basic system, even with VOIP, benefits from having the battery backup (IE settings of the unit).

If you don't have POTS telephone service the backup battery is pretty useless. I have VOIP from Verizon. The backup will keep up internet and TV. However, unless I have batteries for my TV and computer (I do for my computer) the backup is essentially useless. When my battery dies (I also have it 3 y...

Do they have published results going back 20 years. If their private, you are taking their word for it. Now if there are different portfolios, some undoubtedly beat their benchmark. The problem is knowing which ones. Statistically most, over a 10 year period, wont. And that is with far less than a 1...

Let me join the chorus in congratulating. It would be nice to have a tiny star next to your name when you reach certain levels (IE 2500, 5000, 10,000 and so on). Not for ego sakes. While I do value all posters (well most anyway), those that have contributed the most tend to also be the ones I scruti...

My estimate that in 10 years when I take it, it will cover anywhere from 30% to 40%. Hopefully it will only be 30% and my savings/SEP will be covering 70%. Then again, I will probably continue to work when I "retire".

Keep up the good work. I remind myself of your postings every time I get another email telling me how to get 100% better return than the
average Vanguard investor.

This thread is now in the Personal Consumer Issues forum (computer security). No one has mentioned the 2nd half of the equation - protecting the data on your laptop (PC). OK, you go out to the middle of the ocean and throw the laptop overboard. Done deal? Nope. You weren't counting on a scuba diver...

Thanks for posting these each month! I find it nteresting that the newsletter portfolios outperform the 3 fund portfolio that is so heavily promoted here, some by a goid margin over a long time. When I searched for info on that newsletter here, I saw many negative posts. They don't seem deserved. T...

Using MS Money sunset version. I think it works better and is faster. It's free, but unsupported. The only thing it won't do is auto updates There are some 3rd party free programs that make MS Money auto update security prices and import bank and brokerage transactions. After putting together some ...

In my building (in NY), a book about the economic collapse of the "civilized world" was placed by every door. I noticed a ton of them in the recycling room. I read a bit of it and it was a sales pitch (a rather lengthy one) for his service to survive the coming gloom. Two weeks later we ha...

I reluctantly switched last year after MS Money withdrew from the market. MS Money was better organized (mostly interested in investments). If my MS Money files didn't transfer to Quicken, I would not have touched it with a 10 foot pole. It's adequate, not more. But for a company with millions of us...

Can you say more about your CD rates and lengths? Because of the small early termination fee (2 months interest) I have most of my CD's with 5 years length at Ally Bank. It didn't make any sense to go with a shorter period. The current yield is about 1.54%, Lousy, but still better than treasuries u...

While not likely, a man in the middle attack could intercept and give you a false security "lock" . This is from another Vanguard post on passwords. http://mason.gmu.edu/~msherif/isa564/projects/sslstrip2.pdf As stated, make sure your browser begins with HTTPS. For Chrome, I use KB SSL enf...

I just took a quick glance at the perspective - 165 pages. Mine was ONLY about 50 pages and did have a summary upfront which was fairly accurate. They deliberately make these all but unreadable. http://www.jpmorgan.com/cm/BlobServer/ETF_Efficiente_Disc_Statement_%282_28_2011%29.pdf?blobkey=id&bl...

I did try with FIOS and it took 4 calls. I dropped Verizon wireless (which cost me almost $90 more than Virgin Mobile). I brought up an RCN flyer of 50MB internet and TV for about $60 a month (I could use Vonage for phone). FIOS came within $10 (plus the ubiquitous whore fees), so I am keeping it fo...

Perhaps there should be a new policy that threads which are about subjects which are offensive to many Bogleheads should be at least in a separate sub-forum which is somewhat hidden. Perhaps someone could do a poll asking if this CCW thread was / is offensive or not in this Boglehead forum. I would...

Since I have been switching my bonds gradually to CD's; I did not pair but just viewed
it as part of my overall portfolio. Was not really sure how to account for this in my
portfolio.

The equity "index" was artificial and consisted more of a basket of selected stocks. The commodity consisted of 10 different commodity indices, with 5 being industrial/precious metals, four were agricultural and one energy index. Each was equally weighted at 10% of the total. It had limits...

I did buy these. The equity linked CD returned less than the market but far more than the CD. It was for seven years and I am up about 5+%. The other was for commodities. While that has returned nothing and probably will return nothing, it still was better than investing in commodities. I don't regr...

It depends on what type of debt. If c.c., I would avoid at all costs. As for a mortgage under 3%, I intend to take on a mortgage
even though I could pay cash for it. If interest rates keep falling, I would just refinance.

For the first time I am close to having 0% in bonds. The only exceptions are a small amount of leftover TIPS and Wellington (which equates to about 5% net in bonds). My reason for having bonds were learned here. To smooth out the ups/downs of the market and/or to reduce my volatility, and for income...

While, inr college, I first looked at penny stocks, a good "friend or is that fiend)", recommended a silver stock around 1978/79. I took the numbers he gave me and went to someone who did know silver. He stated, if accurate, the silver content of the discovery was very high. Silver was mov...

Wifi can be easily hacked/packet-sniffed. If you bank from home use the Ethernet cable. I don't think this is accurate. Assuming modern technology and best practices, when you connect to a banking website through a wifi connection there are actually two completely different and highly robust layers...

As they say "And this is where Wiedemer explains why Buffett, Paulson, and Soros could be dumping U.S. stocks:" They could also be buying stocks, or gold, or tulips. WOT doesn't give this a site a very high rating. Stocks may crash or they may not. I doubt this site would give you many ins...

From Trulia: http://www.zillow.com/homes/-2637-S-Walter-Reed-Dr-Arlington,-VA-22206_rb/ It does seem high compared to other larger units on a per square foot basis. For NY, this would be the steal of the decade, for Miss. not so much. Real estate is local and talking to people in the area, as stated...

This really is insane. My procedure under Oxford was done about 5 years ago and my co was $15. I believe the anesthesiologist received $700 and the surgeon received $1,700 for the colonoscopy (and yes this was in NY on East 28th St - quite a bit less than on uptown hospitals). Several years ago when...