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Can I be retired while my wife is still working? Many would consider me retired but I think not. I'm saving that term to refer to when we no longer have income as a couple. Meanwhile, I sure am enjoying being a house-husband.

VERY good.
Thanks!

Learning_head, I originally thought there was an incremental savings in alternative 2 over alternative 1 for the same $8,000 out-of-pocket contribution. What I hadn’t initially recognized was the benefit in alternative 1 of converting $4,000 taxable dollars to tax-free dollars in the HSA. You could ...

Thanks. It seems like it’s just a wash now that I think about it further. Expanding on my earlier example: Alternative 1: $4,000 IRA contribution $4,000 HSA contribution $8,000 less taxable income (currently worth $2,000 @ 25% with deferred taxes on the incremental $4,000 IRA contribution ) Alternat...

Umfundi, I don't follow. I'm assuming there are limited dollars that can be used for IRA and HSA contributions. In my two examples the out-of-pocket contributions both total $8,000. If this is going to be true then the second alternative gives you an additional benefit. If you have enough money to c...

I am not sure when it would be beneficial to make IRA-to-HSA conversion... (maybe only if your tax bracket is 0% or 10%?) Learning_head, if you have not maxed-out on your tax-deferred alternatives then this benefits you as follows: Alternative 1: $4,000 IRA contribution $4,000 HSA contribution $8,0...

I chose Alliant Credit Union for my HSA account and it currently earns 1.25% there (last I checked). I keep my mutual funds elsewhere for lower cost, and since they may be longer term investments. TIP: you are entitled to a once per lifetime contribution from a traditional IRA account (same dollar l...

I second that. We heard this presentation at the recent BH conference. Terrific then, and terrific now.

Allan, I'm glad to hear of your project! Here's my story... An old saying that has been very true for me is: “When you are ready, a teacher will appear.” Jack Bogle has been the third, and most influential, of three that I’ll mention. The first was in 1978 when Andrew Tobias wrote his popular best s...

Thanks LadyGeek. Yes, I think all three points are best left as they are. The opening paragraph to Video:Bogleheads® investment philosophy treats “living below your means” in the introductory comments rather than as a first rule: You need to save money to invest. This means spend less than you earn ...

Below is a link so you can listen to Warren Buffett yourself, where he says the following: "If you are not a professional investor, if your goal is not to manage money in such a way that you get a significantly better return than world, then I believe in extreme diversification. I believe that ...

Shortly after reading this thread in December we signed up for trekking in Peru. If sleeping in tents is keeping you from doing the same, then watch my short video about our trip—which you'd have to describe as hiking between remote luxury lodges high in the Andes mountains of Peru before descending...

Well, a website is only as valuable as its content. I too thank the founders, but I wish to say that I have learned much from you too Livesoft (!) and from many other Bogleheads who so generously give us their time and wisdom. I admire many of you and look forward to meeting everyone who attends the...

Pat,
Welcome Home! We wish you wonderful times ahead with the ones you love.
And, Thank You! (for supporting Taylor as he helped so many of us)
Sincerely,
Rick

Looks like I have some rebalancing to do in all of the accounts. Super tiny semantics point: moving assets to most tax efficient locations is not rebalancing. Rebalancing is maintaining your risk at your desired level—which is probably more important than tax efficiency. The simplest measure would ...

Thanks Barry! My experience is that (investment) plans that are not written tend to change with the wind. This may be less true of people on this forum, but probably true for most of the population. I think there is tremendous value is starting with a quick draft, and then changing it as you learn m...

I'll start. YES. Too many funds. Think about using just the total market funds unless you have a specific reason not to. You'll save money and have fabulous diversification. Next, it does matter what you have in your tax-advantaged funds. You need to learn about tax-efficiency so you will understand...

Velillen, Welcome to the forum! You are off to a great start, so congratulate yourself! I have two simple suggestions. First, you might find these short videos to be a useful and interesting way to grasp the key concepts. There is no rush. You are off to a good start. But there are a few key concept...

Once again, beautifully said Nisiprius!

Thanks Nisiprius!

I'm a big fan of musicals (!!) and now you've got me looking forward to Bogleheads On Stage! Coming soon?

I also learned a new word: Heteroskedasticity!

LittleTom, Welcome aboard. You are reading one of my favorite books! Regarding your second question, keep educating yourself. No, you don't need to become an "expert" or learn it all it once, but there is a prevailing sense of common sense investing that you'll pick up if you follow this f...

Welcome to the forum!
Yes, you do.

Bravo Nisiprius! This is a clever and simple graphic for a vitally important concept.
You have a wonderful knack for explaining!
I hope that I get to meet you someday.

That's a very nice article Allan. Thank you.
But you are too conservative. Character matters. Priceless!

And thank you Taylor for bringing it to our attention.

We have both. The composite quartz countertop has an undermount sink and it is bulletproof, easy, attractive, and hides dirt very well. Then we have an island with a beautiful piece of granite that is a conversation piece (because it looks like ancient maps). We love these. That said, I will fess up...

Since you mention that Vietnam is on your list, I'd like to suggest you consider going there for Tet (their New Year celebration). Here is a short video that will give you the flavor of our trip this year, especially the second half which is my take-away impressions. http://vimeo.com/20126733 Bon Vo...

There is a lot to be said for simplicity. I'm enjoying being consolidated at a single company. For me the choice was Fidelity, because they simplify my recordkeeping for my taxable account (specific share identification method to minimize tax on sales). I only recommend the Spartan family of funds f...

Thank you Victoria (!) plus any others that were involved in putting this together. The work involved in putting this together is very apparent. Thank you! It is highly appreciated. I'm sure there are many, like me, that could not attend this year. Finding this posting was an unexpected bonus!!! It ...

It's called a "3.5 mm plug to RCA Y-adapter", which can be found for as little as $2 if you know where to look. Headphone out --> RCA input. Red is the right channel, white is left. I use this all the time -- even for IPOD to stereo. The laptop will create more hum than an IPOD but I agre...

Congratulations Mike! Keep up the great work!

Thank you Taylor. And, GO ANDREW! I still have the 1978 edition of his book beside me—the book is tattered and yellowed, but Andrew seems to be going strong. Here is my favorite quote of his from all these years. It is the title of a chapter:

A Penny Saved Is Two Pennies Earned

Good comments Fred and Paul. You'll find much more in the book (and videos) than what were quoted in Taylor's "gems." I do hope you'll like it. I wish to assure you that I devoted an appendix to illustrate how rebalancing works, identify popular alternatives besides the calendar-based stra...

Adding the subtitle you get: Common Sense Investing: Ten Simple Rules to Finance Your Dreams by Rick Van Ness (aka “Stickman”) Most of you will recognize these as the core principles that we generally recognize as the Boglehead investment philosophy. This book, like the video series, introduce these...

Whatyear, it seems like you understand correctly. An example might be company stock in the taxable account from an employee stock purchase program. For that case, one might consider buying the fund in their 401k that is most diversified with lowest cost (best approximation of an index fund). When yo...

They key thing is to understand the concepts. Here is a good summary of locating assets for tax efficiency: http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Principles_of_Tax-Efficient_Fund_Placement The video for Rule #8: is also helpful at this link: http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Video:_Bogleheads%E2%84%A2_investm...

Also, sometimes the choice of funds is limited in the 401k making a Roth attractive.

Remember this investing order is not a hard rule, just a guideline to get you thinking about your own situation.

Mel, It’s great that you do this column! My non-scientific poll of my friends reveals that 100% are aware of Forbes magazine, less than half are aware of Vanguard, and none are aware of John Bogle or the Boglehead community. (Your mileage may vary.) Common sense investing is an idea worth spreading....

From your original post, is sounds like most of your cousins haven't decided to start saving yet. They need to overcome that before managing their investments becomes an interest. Here is a short (2min) video that may enlighten them. See Rule #2: Invest Early and Often http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki...

Nice interview Larry. I've ready your earlier books and this interview prompted me to check my library for your latest: The Quest for Alpha . Yea! They have it! I reserved it and look forward to reading it later this week! P.S. I will also admit that my favorite is one of your first books: The Only ...

I'm roughly neutral on this point. My Passat recommends premium. I calculated cost/mile using regular for a few tanks. Then I calculated cost/mile using premium for a few tanks. I got higher mpg with premium so I recovered the higher cost.

This will be a fun trip for you! We did this trip this year. I think you will enjoy my short video (7min) about the experience. The first 3 minutes summarizes where we went, then the last 4 minutes are my take-away impressions. http://www.vimeo.com/20126733 In short, they are a very beautiful people...

Ah ha! It's you that's behind this new blog.
Then it has already earned my respect.
I'll look forward to following it.

Thank you for the encouragement everyone! I remember when I was 25 I went to an financial planning seminar .... For me, the most memorable nugget that stuck with me back then was Andrew Tobias who had a book with a chapter titled "A Penny Saved is Two Pennies Earned." Tax rates were higher...

Raging Mage: Thank you for your comments and helping enlighten young adults. So far the viewers for these videos are probably reflecting the Boglehead demographics: aged 55-65, but disappointingly only 10-15% female. (There are some good arguments about why wise investing is especially important for...

Something to help people who don't even know what the words mean. What is a stock? What is a bond? What is a mutual fund? What is a domestic fund and what is an international or foreign fund? What is large cap, mid cap, small cap? What is value and what is growth? What is a total market fund? What ...

A sincere thank you to each of you for watching and commenting, and for your words of encouragement. Consider a video on "simplicity vs. complexity"? Simplicity is the second of Mr. Bogle's "12 Pillars of Wisdom." I agree. When Mr. Bogle describes simplicity in Pillar #2 he is re...

Thanks for all these kind words. Yes, I'm part ham, so I enjoyed wearing the chef's hat. But I'll have to admit that my favorite of this series is the one about Diversify! (dressed as a magician). So should I do any more? Do we need demonstrations of concepts like recordkeeping for cost basis? how t...

Thank you for these kind words. I would like to ask these questions to fellow Bogleheads: Q. Should I make other "show-me-how" videos to complement our wiki explanations? Topics? Q. Are there ways to improve these videos or make them more accessible? useful? (e.g. DVD format for those with...

The wiki now has a series of ten short videos explaining the guiding principles that might informally be regarded as the Boglehead Investment Philosophy. A long project, now complete. The target audience is not the experts who post here frequently, they are the source of this material. Rather, the g...

Doc, I think 555 is misunderstanding a tax-deferred account compared to a taxable account, rather than compared to a Roth account. At least that is the context of the words on the wiki page that he is commenting on.