Bogleheads.org

We have a plot of 2-1/2 acres of land that is very difficult to sell not only because there are many fewer speculators than in the past (not us, we were given the plot). While there are electric and telehone hookups, there is no water line, so a buyer would have to either drill a well or pay a neig...

...100/25=4 tells me that if I take 4 x 25 from my cookie jar, I'm good to go. IF 100 is not enough, then put more in -or- take less from the cookie jar This is a simple equation but of course with inflation "4x25" is not necessarily going to be "good to go", i.e. the "4&qu...

... We'd all rather have too much than too little. A 2% real return going forward would leave the vast majority of investors with one choice: living the lion's share of their active youth living meagerly to save for a long retirement that for many of them would never occur. I'm not advocating savin...

Note also that the days when you could surf most of the Internet with JavaScript disabled are essentially over. Web sites are increasingly Web apps, and as Adobe Flash is fading away, JS is used more and more widely especially with "responsive" design that is intended to adapt to mobile de...

Expense ratio is important but not as important as many Bogleheads (probably myself included) make it out to be... Because??? Intuitively, in this current environment of low interest rates and low real returns, expense ratios would seem more important than ever. In fact one might argue that average...

You didn't mention qualification for Social Security benefits. Even with future zero years added in you may have a healthy estimated benefit. This would make a huge difference in viability of early retirement. As a personal note we were not in too different a financial situation 7 years ago but I de...

...There is nothing about this product that makes it more appropriate for doctors as compared to other professions. I think that the major difference is that doctors are an easier sale simply because they, more than any other profession, have had it drilled into their heads that DI is important. Ri...

Mike Piper, in his weekly roundup http://www.obliviousinvestor.com/investing-blog-roundup-friends-and-enemies/ refers to Daniel Solin's list of friends and enemies http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/On-Retirement/2013/05/09/investing-a-friends-and-enemies-list who says: Vanguard and Dimensional Fu...

I'm confused on one point, which is why this is a special issue for M.D.s. I'm in the software industry, and while larger companies may offer disability insurance as a fringe benefit, smaller companies don't bother and I expect very very few software engineers think about purchasing disability insur...

... I just don't like to refer to a range as as a spot so instead of calling the sweet spot 20-40 I just say 30. When I said around I was thinking +-10 percent. My opinion is that international might add some diversification and I have less than market weight because of currency risk and AFAIK inte...

The term "sweet spot" is not used, but you get most (90%) of the benefit at around 30%. ... . . . on average, a 20% allocation of a domestic portfolio to non-U.S. equities has provided 70% of the maximum diversification benefit. An investor who allocated 30% to non-U.S. equities has avera...

Vanguard says the sweet spot is around 30% https://personal.vanguard.com/pdf/icriecr.pdf There is no statement about a sweet spot at 30% in the cited white paper. And I read it as implying that the sweet spot is more like 40%. The rationale of a lower allocation because of "being influenced by...

meowcat wrote:Actually, if the 1.5% advisor has her in 3 or more actively managed funds then it becomes almost a mathematical certainty that her portfolio will not outperform over a 20 year period.

If you could please explain this mathematical certainty that would be great, thanks.

The recent MMM discussion got me wondering what you would do if you reach your "number" and for whatever reason, continue working. I can think of several possibilities... Another possibility: 6. Adjust the work. I discovered over the years I'm a poor subordinate, but after reaching our &q...

I'll go ahead and say what everybody else is thinking but not saying: there is a 0% chance the manager will beat a simple indexed portfolio over the long haul on a risk-adjusted basis. Not 10%. Not 1%. 0%. You're going to have to tell your wife she's wrong. Good luck with that. I think arguing that...

Our FIRECalc numbers indicate 100% success. We were close last year but the recent market run up has pushed us to the magic 100%. If we actually retired, we'd be looking at a 40+ year retirement period... 40+ year retirement period... wow, are you super-early to financial independence, or is that b...

Alternatives to traditional college are growing by leaps and bounds. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/05/busin ... elite.html in today's NY Times for example. MOOCs are another.

Don't your beneficaries get something if you die... say 2 years after purchasing a SPIA? The capital minus the amount paid out? The best way to think about a classic SPIA is that if you die early your beneficiaries are the other purchasors who happen to live longer. These pooled "mortality cre...

nedsaid wrote:...You should not be 80% in stocks at age 66.

... even though you only need to withdraw 1% ...
... so are investing in part for your heirs...
... because??

I have sold twice and bought once FSBO and it went fine. Market the property on whatever online sites are available in your area: Redfin, Zillow, craigslist, etc and as others stated, decide if you want to "coop" i.e. pay 3% to a buyer's agent. I recommend "yes" to stimulate inte...

If you're looking at a withdrawal rate under 1%, just about any reasonably diversified asset allocation should work, but that does not mean 80/20 is the right thing for you to do... Does VG CFP ask if you have a strong bequest motive? If you are withdrawing under 1% then you are in effect investing...

Something seems off kilter here. You say the amount is "relatively small" but not what it is. Well let's suppose it's $25K. Then payday loans aren't the right analogy: if it's an operating business your friend ought to be able to take $25K in receivables to the bank and get a loan secured ...

Agree with other replies, and FYI there are also some very fine walks in the area. Bath is the terminus of the "Cotswold Way" and there's a towpath along the Kennet & Avon Canal. If you have only a day that stuff won't matter but if you like to walk it would be another reason to stay o...

In 2006 our family of four downsized from 2800 sq ft / 4+ BR down to 1350 sq ft / 3 dinky bedrooms (one serving as office), in a "cohousing" community. It was fantastic for 5 years but in 2011 with teen & pre-teen we decided we needed to re-upsize. No regrets: having a garage again has...

the chances that a 65-year-old male will be alive 40 years later at 105 is about ... What about 40-year-old or 50-year-old? The question applies then... The general consensus on this forum seems to be that a 40-year-old or 50-year-old should not be buying an SPIA in the first place, because having ...

If the US has a great depression...Whats the chance 100 percent success/ guaranteed, all money is paid out, by all SPIA, for 40 years? This is SPIA we are talking about so the much more meaningful question is, what's the chance of this perfect storm (great depresssion w/ SPIA provider failure w/out...

Number 1 cause of heart attacks in the winter - strenous exercise outdoors including snow shoveling. Not to nit-pick but I don't think there's any data to back up this "Number 1 cause" claim... while heart attacks do increase in the winter that's true in sunny San Diego as well. Also acco...

Number 1 cause of heart attacks in the winter - strenous exercise outdoors including snow shoveling. Not to nit-pick but I don't think there's any data to back up this "Number 1 cause" claim... while heart attacks do increase in the winter that's true in sunny San Diego as well. Also acco...

First, I want to say that this forum has been very helpful! I need your advise. I have put together a study guide and it has been selling well. However, I am very concerned that someone would copy my book, turn it into a PDF, and then send it to other people. This would destroy my business. What ca...

We listed our house for sale less than a week ago and have received two very good offers. The offers are identical, with the exception that one has a contingency to sell their home, which is already under contract... what "premium," if any, would you apply to a non-contingent offer versus...

...What you invest you've saved, what you've saved, you've achieved by living within or below your means and keeping costs low, i.e., being frugal... Sure, I'm just quibbling that frugality per se is in any way the "highest among the Bogleheads principles". For one could live below one's ...

Turn him on to Harry Browne and the Permanent Portfolio. It may or may not be the highest performing portfolio in the coming years, but it's well balanced,low volatility, hedged for high inflation (yet still give you a positive real return if the economy does well), and will be 10x better than him ...

[... I never saw the connection between the Boglehead philsophy and frugality. I really believe that investing wisely and not accumulating debt enables us to live a more luxurious lifestyle. Living in a 800 sq. ft apartment to me has absolutely nothing to do with this forum. A question for you: per...

Can anyone tell me whether their umbrella insurance covers punitive damages? I have heard from several people that their umbrella insurance has a punitive damages exclusion. Seems like this would greatly diminish the usefulness of umbrella insurance if it does not cover you for punitive damages... ...

...And your kids have not even begun to become expensive. Yikes! This is the big deal IMO. Lacrosse gear and fees, sailing team gear and expected "donations", a suit for the formal dance... I can tell you from my wallet that's thinning as I write that even if public schools work out a big...

Just doing selection with a touch screen is no different than making selections with a mouse. What differentiates a touch screen from a mouse is the ability to do gestures easily. How about the best of both worlds for $64? Logitech now offers a very large touchpad which they claim supports both Win...

I do think the touch screen is preferable and at some point will become standard but at the moment no need to pay double for a PC that has it, instead treat Win 8 as just an upgrade to Win 7 (for new PCs - I'm not recommending upgrading old PCs). Here's why: Windows 8 RT missed the mark. Thus, the W...

... Longevity insurance protects against the circumstance of living so long that what would be considered a safe withdrawal rate still leaves you without enough money at the end of your long life. This circumstance can arise even if your investment returns are good... I agree in principle but most ...

nisiprius wrote:I once went to some effort to get an actual quotation on a product from The Hartford ... seemingly a high premium and a stingy payout... it does give me the impression that longevity insurance may be problematical in some way.

Interesting example of inductive reasoning at work.

..the lifetime spia part does have some utility for many folks but the rest has very limited and is much more sale then benefit for most especially the younger you are/longer your investment horizon. I'm not sure what facts back up that opinion. Superficially, deferring payouts until and advanced a...

...for retiree income to be truly safe, most of the 'safe' retirement income needs to be inflation protected... once you are retired and over 80, wage income is not an option. The elderly with only nominal income are taking on a lot of inflation risk. Not really disagreeing but there's of course a ...

I would be more concerned about the decision making abilities/process of someone that knowingly got that deep into student loan debt without intending to pursue a career that could more clearly justify the expense. That would be my big concern. The 300K in-and-of itself is neither here nor there. W...

This is a matter of semantics and opinion not substance or objective truth. An "investment portfolio" is usually considered to encompass relatively fungible and liquid assets: your grand piano doesn't count. But "net worth" typically includes all one's assets. However some people...

snowman wrote:I was just responding to this comment of yours:

"I'm the sole U.S. based employee so it's kind of a special situation."

Yeah I guess I'm just not that special after all...

...you truly are in a special situation, and I don't know how your employer will choose to comply with the new law, it's quite an interesting case. You are doing the right thing by exploring your options come 2014. There are 4.6M firms with 9 or fewer employees which make up close to 10% of the U.S...

OK, I see what you are saying. Yes, you can reduce your MAGI by $5K ($6K if over the age of 55) if you currently contribute to TIRA instead of contributing to your 401k. However, I don't quite get this statement: "I'm presently an employee of a very small organization that does offer a company...

If one has large unrealized gains, is it feasible to borrow money against the value of brokerage accounts, from a 401k, etc. to meet living expenses while retaining subsidy eligibility? This would seem more attractive than selling appreciated securities which would trigger a large tax hit and loss ...

snowman, I don't have a "concern" per se I'm just trying to understand fully the situation under the new law. If 401K contributions (not just employer match but also employee contributions) are not part of MAGI for PPACA subsidy calculation purposes then it would seem very possible to &quo...

As I've read further on this it appears that contributions to 401k (both employee's, within limits, and employer's match if any) are not included in the MAGI calculation (as these don't count as part of gross wages), but contributions to regular IRAs are. Is this correct?? It's confusing because the...

Few major publishers today sell DRM-free eBooks. TOR imprint of Macmillan is the lone exception among the "Big Six" US trade publishers. Things are rapidly evolving though, and this may change in the coming year. O'Reilly is not just a book publisher, running conferences and so on, and few...