Bogleheads.org

No particular trigger, other than one day realizing that someone who tripped on my stairs might mistake that for winning the lottery. I guess I was 55 at the time.

The good news (if you can call it that, I guess) is that there's little of my nest egg at risk - 50% cash, 25% bonds, little actual option trading. Any loss has really been just the lost opportunity of the recent bull market, and the wiki page for windfalls recommends not investing in anything othe...

Stan, I'm curious whether the $3M came from your labor (e.g., selling a business you built) or dropped out of the sky (e.g., inheritance from long lost aunt). I have a suspicion that you would not treat $3M made from the sweat of your brow in such a cavalier manner. Come to terms with the money -- ...

They have been completely above-board with me on every order. At one point I looked it up, and I had spent more than $20,000 with them. We are probably up to $30,000 now. I think the corporate culture is about being honest and decent; they walk the walk.

Is there a reason that you're not maxing out tax-advantaged space? I would max at least your wife's (which has good low ER choices); I'd also strongly consider continuing to max out yours (although with less enthusiasm because of the higher ER). I'm anti-debt, so take it with a grain of salt, but I ...

I think that knowing your SS entitlement amount helps you INFORMALLY adjust your risk tolerance a bit, such that you can maintain a higher allocation to equities than you otherwise might as you approach and go into retirement. The take-it-off-the-table-when-you-hit-your-number crowd likely won't ag...

Stan, I'm curious whether the $3M came from your labor (e.g., selling a business you built) or dropped out of the sky (e.g., inheritance from long lost aunt). I have a suspicion that you would not treat $3M made from the sweat of your brow in such a cavalier manner. Come to terms with the money -- i...

... or maybe Target Retirement funds. The main point is that you don't seem to be someone who wants to watch the portfolio, rebalance, etc. Let Vanguard do that for you (for essentially free!)

Forum members enjoy and indulge in endless debates about how many fund-angels can dance on the head of a pin. It's fun for them, but I don't think it's your style. Take your hard-earned money and put it into Vanguard Life Strategy funds. Going by the name is good enough (e.g., Conservative Growth mi...

Hello, My wife is also an avid marathon runner. Not to be a wise-guy, but it would help to know roughly what your portfolio size is before putting forward an opinion on how you're doing. I know your total assets are $1.1M, but is your house $1M? Is there a reason you have so much cash? Hello Tomato...

I was assuming this was just long-term, but then today she was asking about how soon she'll realize a gain. And this, my friend, is the signal flare that tells you to get out of this task. Nothing good will come of it. It will reduce the quality of your relationship. In addition to your relative's ...

I think the agent commissions are usually lower, but there are other transaction costs (transfer fees/taxes, cost of making home look good (staging), home inspection fees, etc.). I personally, in my mental accounting, think the cost is around 6% all in. It is one reason that I usually recommend, esp...

I get the paper delivered, so I'm all set.

Statins have also been linked (loosely linked) to memory loss. NYTimes http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/05/help-for-the-heart-comes-with-a-price-for-the-brain/ When I mentioned the article to my doctor he said, "What would you rather have a stroke or some possible memory loss sometime in ...

In the past, it was probably customary to respond to such an insult to your intelligence by insisting on a duel. I would not dignify this with a response.

Mind boggling. Spend a few hours reading; you'll be ahead of the game.

Before this gets shut down: Could never get cholesterol under 300 while on Lipitor. With doctor's blessing, stopped Lipitor and started eating many eggs, yolk and all, two dozen a week or thereabouts. Butter also. Exercise about the same amount although i don't lift as heavy. Cholesterol has been ar...

The reason for so much cash is that it "feels" safe. I "should" put it into something which will yield more but don't know what will yield more with the same comfort level. I should let those who know much more than I do answer specifics, but I just wanted to point out that your...

Hello,

My wife is also an avid marathon runner.

Not to be a wise-guy, but it would help to know roughly what your portfolio size is before putting forward an opinion on how you're doing. I know your total assets are $1.1M, but is your house $1M?

Is there a reason you have so much cash?

connya wrote:Here is a cache of your old thread:

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/s ... clnk&gl=us

Good trick connya; hadn't thought of it; very helpful.

I'm sorry that happened to you. I've been a member for a little over two years, and this is the second outage we've had, but the first where data was lost (presumably back to the most recent backup). I strongly suggest hanging in there; this is a great site and these kinds of occurrences are rare. W...

It's all fun until someone loses an eye.

I haven't written a check in ages. I use ING Direct. I'm surprised so many people on this board are still writing checks on paper. Kids' field trips, hockey team collections, miscellaneous school fees, etc. We don't write many paper checks, but we still use them. My bank provides free checks throug...

Carmax will buy cars but you will only get wholesale for it. If you trade it in on a newer vehicle, you typically only get wholesale there although it is sometimes hard to figure when you combine the tradein with a purchase. You will get a better price by selling it yourself. I have done that sever...

Contact Amazon. In my experience, they're honest.

If it was me, I'd set up a 10-day auction scheduled to start at 7pm California time (10pm NYC time) this coming Thursday, with a starting price of $0.01 and no reserve. This won't finish on the holiday weekend (it will wrap up the following Sunday) but that's probably a good thing. I wouldn't use a...

The Wizard wrote:

lwfitzge wrote:where's the projections of Danish tulips? I hear they may be big again

Dutch, not Danish...

This time is different; they're Danish

I think it's a fine allocation. I personally have some long-standing investment in the TIPS fund; I like it, but am not adding to it. Fielders choice. I don't see a need for REITs. You can find a lot if debate here about lump sum vs. DCA. I personally lump sum, but if it were more than 50% of my liq...

Paying $6000 the first year, and a similar amount every year thereafter, for a CFP is, pardon me for being blunt, stupid. You framed the issues clearly, and that means you have the intellect required to manage this money. I'm not flattering you, one could probably train a clever 10 year old to do it...

Cherokee8215 wrote:[snip...]And of course, they pay no property taxes on the campus.

They are not alone in not paying property taxes. It could be argued that they provide as much public good as other non-payers. In any case, I think the good and bad uses of tax policy are not forum acceptable topics.

This may be sacrilege in this thread, but I would guess that many folks here are insensitive to the price of a college education. Lots of folks here describe how they are maxing out retirement accounts or starting 529 plans before their child is even conceived or how they are helping their grandchi...

My practice was to ignore anything that was restricted or unvested. Ditto for my wife's restricted stock. And, since we sell the instant she's allowed to (in the interests of diversification), if anything I'd count it as cash since that's the way it will be coming to us. Mostly though, we factor it...

I think it would be unwise. A substantial portion of "charitable" giving and volunteering are associated with religious and political organizations, which should make them inappropriate for discussion here. Not only that, but to discuss the effectiveness of charities is to say than some a...

bottlecap wrote:Just imagine how you might respond if I suggested your favorite charity was essentially worthless?
JT

... and that's precisely what I'd be waiting in the bushes to do

I'm still not convinced I'd be harassed by friends and family. They are just not that type of people - we have a percentage of people in the family and friends with lots of money and no-one harasses them, or even asks them for a dime. Dump the landline phone - we need to do that anyway. I'd be conc...

I think it would be unwise. A substantial portion of "charitable" giving and volunteering are associated with religious and political organizations, which should make them inappropriate for discussion here. To discuss non-religious and non-political philanthropy for the benefit of the worl...

I also wonder about bonds. Some say one should have bonds match one's age. But lately it seems that people are worried about them. Then again... if you don't have bonds and the stocks crash, you lose value. What is the answer? People are always worrying about one thing or another. There were people...

What do people think about marriage proposals made in extremely public settings or in extremely public ways (on Jumbotrons, with skywriters, on billboards, etc?) In a less extreme way, we just had this recently in our family: My son, a high school junior, is dating a lovely girl. It was clear that ...

I've always found it more useful (and positive) to focus on my own weaknesses rather than revel in someone else's flaws. I have no need or desire to feel superior. "For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." Lev ...

I've always found it more useful (and positive) to focus on my own weaknesses rather than revel in someone else's flaws. I have no need or desire to feel superior. "For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." Lev ...

Depends on the odds of being the SOLE winner. To increase the odds of being a sole winner choose a combination of larger numbers. Many people choose numbers associated with dates which only go up to 31 so by choosing larger numbers you decrease the odds of sharing in the loot. Not my observation, h...

You know the standard advice if you do win - Tell no one!!! Obtain legal counsel, set up a trust, have the trust claim the ticket. Purchase super high limits on personal umbrella. Be sure to share your largesse with charities that have low overhead including the John C. Bogle Financial Literacy Pro...

I know full well that the lottery is a tax on innumeracy. OTOH, I could pay $20+ dollars for a movie ticket, popcorn, and bottle of water to see a film with considerably less imagination than what I can conjure up for my post-win life. And yes, as a previous poster mentioned, my press conference wou...

I found that online resources report federal tax on lottery winnings is 25%. Where did you find that? Here's what I found: The prize, no matter how the winners take it, is considered income. So the highest federal tax rate of 35% will apply. http://money.cnn.com/2012/11/30/pf/taxes/powerball-lotter...

Happy or unhappy, law school is IMHO not a good choice for OP.

That's a fascinating chart, YttriumNitrate.
In addition to the income, debt, and time issues, I know very few happy lawyers (tax or other). My sister (who gave up being a lawyer for woodworking!) always told me that I would have loved law school but hated the actual work of most lawyers.

Careers (brainstorming): maybe doctor (37 too old? I took prereqs as electives), nurse (do they make $), paralegal, generic manager (how's the job market), lawyer (a gamble?), journalist (do they make $), investor (whatever that is and I didn't take prereqs), tax lawyer (always employed?), give pri...

Sam I Am wrote:Wife and I have had a pretty blessed life thus far.
[snip...]
So, we will attempt to pay it forward as much as we can.

How refreshing and commendable to see your response to good fortune is to share it with others.

Good on 'ya.

Aptenodytes wrote:

bucksfan2 wrote:If someone said to you, you can beat the market by over 1% you would take it, wouldn't you?

Of course not. Such a claim would have no credibility.

AFAIK, it also did not account for transaction costs.

deleted

vesalius wrote:

momar wrote:Might as well use Blue Cash Preferred and buy gift cards at the grocery store. 6%.

People doing this is likely why the Amex blue prefered added a $6000 max on the 6% grocery rebate.

Yes, that and the effect my two teenagers had on the grocery bill.