Bogleheads.org

Great news. So I am now welcoming a bear market.

Great input. I have no intentions of getting into active management, but wanted some of your expert feedback on this marketing campaign of active managers. All responses thus far have reinforced my belief in that process.

I fully undertand the "stay the course" and not "timing the market" principles, but what can passive investors do ahead of another 2008 possibly happening down the road? It seems like "actively" managed accounts get more oversight, so they may have a better chance to av...

Grabiner, Yes. Your input is appreciated. My ultimate goal is to have a 3-fund portfolio with total market, total international, and the TSP G-fund for my bond portion. Currently I am off-balance because of all the moves I have made since learning so much on this forum. Because of Hoppy's help, I am...

Hoppy.
Wow. What a detailed and helpful response. I will sit down to look at making these moves. One issue is that Google spreadsheet wouldnt open. Thanks again!

James, Right. I put the balanced fund in my Roth IRA because the fund is somewhat tax inefficient. To be honest, I have done these "target" funds in my IRA for years and really havent done enough research to know if their are better alternatives for my Roth IRA. I do max out these on a yea...

Hoppy, No problem. I posted this in one of my initial posts, but I had to make some tweaks to it. Emergency funds: Yes. 6 months worth and it is in ING Debt: school loan = $8,000 (2.9%), car loan = $17,000 (1.9%) , and 30-year mortgage = $250,000 (3.4%) Tax Filing Status: Married Filing Jointly Tax ...

Wow. Great responses and insight. I truly appreciate all you're doing.

Besides our mortgage and a $275 monthly payment on a car loan with a really low rate, an $8,000 school loan at 3% interest is our biggest debt. I understand that we will receive a tax credit from the student loan interest we paid, but should I put this money into a taxable retirement account and mak...

I have a concern about my bond allocation. I am well aware of the "age in bonds," but I recently moved to the "3-fund" approach. The issue is, I am not balanced with my bonds. I can only contribute $17,500 to this TSP each year, so I am kind of in a pickle. I only have $5,800 in ...

Z3 & LM,
Yes, I fully agree with both of your assessments. I have roughly 33% international and tax-efficiency seems to be pretty subjective. I am willing to be tax-efficient, even if the return isn't eye-opening.

LM, Yea, I owned the Wellington for about 3 weeks, so should the tax implications be a concern? I think the value in the fund is the same it was 3 weeks ago. I agree on the F-fund, but I will hold onto a little bit of it until rates start to rise, then I will go all G-fund. From what i've gathered, ...

any final thoughts? I am looking at pulling trigger on the following: Exchange Wellington admiral for VTSAX and VTIAX Reset TSP allocation by removing TSP 2040 and moving to all bonds (F and G funds) This will give me the 3-fund portfolio I have been looking for, and my stocks will now be in tax-eff...

Man I wish could nail this down! Ideally I would like the VTSAX admiral for the low ER, so my only initial option in the taxable would be $50,000 into VTSAX and $10,000 into total international. I would then contribute all my TSP allocation to the G-Fund and dont even use TSP I-Fund? Keeping AA in m...

Right now I have the TSP 2040, so what if I did this allocation change: 50% of TSP contribution into TSP I-Fund (international stock) 50% of TSP contribution into TSP G-Fund (government securities) Then put $60,000 I referenced into the VTSAX (admiral)? I would then add about $1500 per month to VTSA...

Ok, thanks. Well your advice would mean I just stay with Wellington Admiral, which I am definitely not against. I know this gets off-topic, but Is is too early to worry about the rise of interest rates impacting bond funds? Or shouldnt that be much of a concern given we dont know when they will spik...

Thanks for the response. Yes, I am drawn to the 3-fund approach, with total market, total international, and total bond. Like in my initial post, the lifestrategy growth appealed to me, but that seems very similar to our current 2040. I realize that the Lifestrategy growth's ER is 0.17%, which is gr...

We currently max-out our Roth TSP 2040 and VG 2040s each year. I recently placed $60,000 into Wellington Admiral from ING. Although I like AA of the Wellington, it appears it isnt very tax-efficient, so should I exchange for VG total stock market index (admiral)? I am better understanding the AA, bu...

Hoppy, Great help! Yes, I prefer to be in that 80/20 range..My main concern with the L2040 is I really haven't gotten a great return over the past 3 years. I really look at it as more of a savings account with great potential for growth and tax efficiency, so I am not overly upset about it. I did th...

I currenlty have %100 of my monthly contribution going into the TSP Lifecycle 2040, a fund which invests in the G, S, C, F, and I Funds. With my moderately aggressive style, is this a good course of action or should I just focus on 2-3 of the funds vs. a 2040 which dabbles in all 5?

I hear you, letsgo. Like I said, although I have always been frugile with my money, I am just recently getting into the "weeds" with investing. I actually may increase my monthly allotment so I hit that TSP max-out amount each year. The traditional IRA was attractive to me because it may h...

I will tell you, this site has had quite an impact on me..All good, of course. Anyway, I feel I have a better grasp of the tax-efficiency that goes along with investing. I guess my concern with the total market index is the level of aggression. I max out my VG Roth each year, but I have thought abou...

Thanks for the response. Does it matter that I employ the "buy-and-hold" strategy? I really have no plans to touch the capital gains/ dividends for at least 12 months, probably more like 30 years!! If that's the case, wouldn't I only pay the %15 on the Wellington if I choose to sell it in,...

Grabiner,
Great response! I am curious how a stock index fund loses less to taxes? It is probably a simple answer, but one I cant figure out. Any recommendations on a reliable VG Stock Index Fund?

I currently have about 30% of my assets in a taxable retirement account, while I have about 55% in tax deferred accounts (ROTH TSP/IRA). I go with ROTH IRA because I dont like playing that "what tax bracket will I be in" game. Plus I would rather the savings grow in a tax-free account unti...

Based on my initial post and with my current AA/diversification, is staying the course with Wellington a good idea for my taxable account? If so, I could put the remaining funds into Wellington. After some research, i like the 3-fund portfolio model that the 2040 follows. I also like the 65/35 AA wi...

WILKED, I am on-board with you. We are actually paying off the 6.8%er in-full this week and the rest if going towards my school loan. I hope to have mine paid off by July. I actually just revised my TSP and now I am putting in $1,000 a month into a ROTH 2040 TSP. I know I can max out at $17,500, but...

WHL,
Thanks on response. The TSP contributions in traditional TSP do not drop me to the 15% bracket. It may if I max out TSP ($17,500) for the year, but I currently dont come near that much.

Emergency funds: Yes. 6 months worth Debt: school loan = $12,000 (2.9%), school loan = $10,000 (6.8%), car loan = $17,000 (1.9%). I am looking to pay off the loan at 6.8%. , and 30-year mortgage = $250,000 (3.4%) Tax Filing Status: Married Filing Jointly Tax Rate: 25% fed/7% state State of Residence...

is it okay to bump this towards the top? I am new to the forum and it gets a lot of activity.

L&G, This will help in getting a clearer picture of my situation: Emergency funds: Yes. 6 months worth Debt: school loan = $12,000 (2.9%), school loan = $10,000 (6.8%), car loan = $17,000 (1.9%). I am looking to pay off the loan at 6.8%. , and 30-year mortgage = $250,000 (3.4%) Tax Filing Status...

FD, I sincerely appreciate the input. It actually makes sense. Over the years I havent devoted enough time and effort into learning more about investing, but I hope I am young enough (mid-thirties) where I can change that. The results of my current investments have been good,if not great, but I am w...

Much apprecaited and good copy on keeping the emergency fund in ING. I have around $5,000 in my TSP, but like I said, the non-matching and little amount I put in makes me wonder if I am wasting my time. Financial Dave = why are you so big into the TSP? I understand the tax-deferred piece, but I am f...

First-time poster and very excited about this forum! Here's a quick background on my situation: I already have over $40, 000 in the Vanguard 2040 (Roth-IRA), along with $60,000 in the Vanguard Wellington (admiral). I have roughly $15,000 (emergency fund) in ING that I would like to move to a very li...