Bogleheads.org

For the outdoor application, we have 'coach lanterns' that require the small threaded stems with the candle globes (not the flickering type). I purchased a 3 pack for about $18 about 4 months ago. Went back and it looks like Costco has discontinued. Maybe not a fast enough mover....... I put 2 in on...

I have gradually been converting my home lighting over to LEDs. LEDs have been very impressive in those areas where a particularly bright light is needed, ie. kitchen and baths. My outdoor lights that I have recently put on timers for convenience and security are next to be upgraded since they are o...

All of your requirements can be done via the Fidelity website. There are adequate new issue bonds to build your portfolio over time. Their bond portfolio analysis tool is excellent and will allow you to slice and dice your portfolio to look at it in a way that works for you. Graphic or tabular. They...

Has anyone read this book? I heard an interview with the author today. It sounded interesting.
Thanks for your comments!

small cap growth 1% mid-cap growth 1% large cap growth 10% small cap value 1% mid cap value 2% large cap value 24% US Equity 39% Int. 5% emerging 1% Int. Equity 7% TOTAL EQUITY 46% real estate 1% precious metals 1% cash 7% bond 46% TOTAL 100%

Durham real estate: lease to own would make sense if you can get monthly lease payments close to breakeven on cash flow. It can be advantageous for the seller and buyer if both get what they need. The contract terms have to satisfy both. If you have renter/buyer who does not have the down payment an...

Not much direction given, so here are a few ideas your time is short so don't try to go so far; France has so much variety in one country, its hard to beat. If you want to train, the TGV will take you anywhere quickly Countryside, small towns are good---boring for your kids? Loire Valley good starti...

Hockey Fan: Overall, you two are doing a very good job with finances. I have spent significant parts of my corp. career in both NC and CA so I will give you some different ideas. I still own a house in Raleigh as a rental. (no mortgage). It has always been my emergency shelter if a corp. job blew up...

I have been a State Farm policy holder for 25+ years. However, I have never made a claim, so I can't judge that side. I have been getting consistent and sometimes high prices increases on homeowners and umbrella. Cars have stayed pretty flat in premiums Last year I shopped policies with Geico and Am...

Enjoyed seeing your spreadsheet design! Very creative and elegant! Hope it helps you better manage your assets. One suggestion: consider using google docs and you will be able to have your fund prices downloaded automatically and save you the manual labor of inputting and also transcription errors. ...

AAII is a very worthwhile organization. Most investors who visit this forum would enjoy their membership. Depending on where you live, you could have a very good local chapter. The chapters meet 8-9x/yr with some very interesting guest speakers. Visiting forums on-line is good, but live meetings wit...

I have purchased 2 cars in the last 18 months and assisted a friend with purchasing a car (Mini Cooper). All cars were purchased using the internet for a significant portion of the pricing research, gathering quotes, negotiations and setting up the purchase and pick-up. Here are my findings: The bra...

I have received a surprise offer on a townhouse condominium that I have owned for many years. My CPA has advised to do owner financing, and I readily agree. The buyer and his bride to be intend to live in the property (the man will purchase before marriage and the property will be held in his name)....

I am a frequent overseas traveler. I rely on the Fidelity Smart (debit + ATM) Card. Fido reimburses for USA and foreign ATM fees, and the currency exchange rate is at inter-bank rate. To reduce risk of fraud, I keep $200-$500 in the account and replenish by transfer periodically from another Fido ac...

In the mail**********Thanks for the good work!

Really missed the site when it was down!

My best advice:

DON'T GO!
DON'T LOOK BACK!

Choose almost anywhere else in the Caribbean and you will be way ahead!

I also recommend Full View from Fidelity. It runs on yodalee's backbone and is very good with transaction aggregation. I had problems with Mint with missing expense transactions and found Full View to be much more reliable. Previously, I tried ibank and found it to be disappointing. Fidelity is cust...

Its not as difficult as it seems if you are paying for your own health insurance + specialty care + diagnostic procedures+ expensive medications. It is easy to document if you keep good records. With good record keeping we find medical billing errors and insurance company errors every year.

Yes, a stick transmission is what I prefer in France. We will be in the foothills of the Pryrenees Mtns. in Languedoc so a stick will perform a bit better for us. About 5 years ago we rented a stick shift Volvo s40 with a diesel engine in Barcelona to tour the Catalan coast, Langeudoc and make a swi...

Thanks for the input! I was able to book what I was looking for via CarRentals.com and lower my all inclusive daily rate down to US$39 for a standard/intermediate. Never had good luck with that site for domestic rentals. The car will be with National. I have used them in France before and had good e...

My wife and I will be traveling in France with another couple in October for 9 days and will need to rent an intermediate/standard size car in Toulouse. We are staying in a house in a small town Languedoc and need to have a car to get us around. I have been comparing prices on the web at various sit...

Just completed the same task. We packed out the goods we wanted the keep and had movers bid the job. United did the job in 2 smaller size crates that were loaded on site and shipped NC to TX, ~1000 miles, 1400 lbs. for $1200 including full replacement insurance. We had their guys pack two cartons of...

I have been a State Farm customer for 30+ years. At comparison shop their rates about every year since insurance is one of our large budget items. We have residence, autos, umbrella and rental property to insure. Amica has been cheaper on autos, more expensive on the umbrella and rental property. Wh...

Google docs is the way to go. All the third party trackers I have tried have flaws, short-comings or biases. I do use M* to track my dividend paying stocks in order to have another view at the yield/payouts. The real advantage to Gdocs is that you use continuous improvement to get it exactly the way...

Yes, I can't say how many times this year I have read this finding, or is it an observation. Usually, it accompanied by a statement how investors are 'flocking to' bond funds (with loads of lament by journalists and market commentators, or an outright inference that individual investors are stupid)....

I'll say it a little differently: The best PC is a Mac. Get a Mac and install VM virtualization software and have the best of both. I run Fidelity's active trader pro on my Macbook Pro which is available for only for PCs. The web based version of the program is not as robust. ATP is the only program...

Google spreadsheets are wonderful and almost unlimited in what you can track and/or calculate. There are some master spreadsheet jockeys over on the M* forum if you are a member there that have some good 'public samples' that you can download and build off of. If you are used to working in excel and...

I recommend Sage. The food is great and the chef very creative. Super wine list. There is a location a near Back Bay. Patio/garden is very comfy and elegant. No water views however. ******************************* 2531 Eastbluff Newport Beach CA 92660 949-718-9650 ************************ They have ...

We spend ~$650/month which includes paper goods, supplies and about $60/mo. on costco wine. We eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables and fish which seem to be the expensive items. Not much on packaged processed foods except pasta.

It doesn't make sense to call `SS taxes' a tax. In reality it's just money you are paying yourself for your retirement.[/quote] This statement would be funny if it were not so sad: Please see this excerpt from wiki: Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) tax (play /ˈfaɪkə/) is a United States pa...

I purchase the individual CA GO's from Fidelity. These new issues are available w/o commissions or fees. If you are planning to use individual bonds, Fidelity is an excellent choice. They are leading/pushing the stodgy bond market to new levels of transparency and efficiency similar to the ways the ...

just received transaction advice on this weeks CA GO auction:
2019 5% coupon ytm =2.186%
2020 2.435%

replacing munis that mature this month on bond ladder

yes, do it and don't look back I know of several former colleagues who had a huge slug of stock options vest do to a corporate takeover. They had 90 days to tender to the acquiring corp. after they were terminated. They moved, established residency in NV, paid fed taxes but no state tax. They lived ...

Did my first conversion in 2011. I tumbled a lot of numbers, got my CPA to weigh in as well. The case was very compelling considering even modest future tax increases. It was difficult to pay the taxes out of savings but we did. Our CPA ran a marginal tax rate table for us in $10K increments to let ...

I would not worry at all about the State of CA bonds, particularly in your time horizon. I like individual bonds if you are certain you will not need the $ before maturity. No commission on new issues, no fund expenses. State GOs are best. CA municipalities: you really have to know the issuer!! Ther...

I also would suggest that you call it a short term bond since I am assuming you will be there 5 years or less. Otherwise you would have chosen the DB plan. It is more like an individual bond since it will not be as tied to interest fluctuations as a bond MF. When you leave the company and roll it to...

I built a google docs portfolio management spreadsheet almost 1 year ago and have continuously improved it so that it is a really 'hard working' investment tool for me. I have found it be much better than using excel with a 3rd party data download. Very automated and very few glitches. I manage a po...

A 'good' financial plan is beyond the reach of most people, at least what they are willing to pay for one. The prices mentioned here are good reference points. For $1500 you can receive something pretty awful to a good honest effort, which would still be too superficial for many people who visit the...