Search found 5221 matches

Return to advanced search

Re: Do you adjust your AA based on valuations?

But where do you wait now? If you find expected returns for US stocks unacceptably low - ibonds, EE if have 20 year timeframe, CDs with low early withdrawal penalty, some cash - Ex-US equity. Maybe not cheap, but some think has better expected return Yes, I am doing all of that and have just 23% in...
by jeffyscott
Wed May 22, 2013 5:22 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Do you adjust your AA based on valuations?
Replies: 93
Views: 4055

Re: Devil's advocate

momar wrote:I'm hedging my bets and diversifying into human capital, ie a baby. If the stock market fails, I'll move in with him in 30 years.


If the economy continues to fail you may not have to move, he just might still be right there with you.
by jeffyscott
Sat May 18, 2013 9:18 am
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Devil's advocate [Investing for the longterm]
Replies: 14
Views: 923

Re: Do you adjust your AA based on valuations?

So I believe we do have to keep a weather eye out for what is going on, and revisit the underlying assumptions that we used to craft our investment plan. If that plan was based on the assumption that bonds would compound in a way that doubles money every 10-15 years, the 1.5% interest rate should m...
by jeffyscott
Sat May 18, 2013 9:12 am
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Do you adjust your AA based on valuations?
Replies: 93
Views: 4055

Re: Do you adjust your AA based on valuations?

I stuck with boring old long bond funds and ended up doubling my money according to that boring old rule of 72. I slept well in 2002 I slept well in 2009. I'll sleep well the next time the market takes away the specious gains reflected in high PE ratios. And because I have enough to cover my retire...
by jeffyscott
Sat May 18, 2013 8:42 am
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Do you adjust your AA based on valuations?
Replies: 93
Views: 4055

Re: Will 1,666 be the high?

Not having invested yet in the 90s, I have to admit this ongoing rally is getting a bit scary. And a bit painful as well, as I'm overweight emerging markets. Well in the 90s, treasury bonds were an alternative that actually offered positive real returns, maybe 5-6% from 10 year nominal treasuries, ...
by jeffyscott
Sat May 18, 2013 8:27 am
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Will 1,666 be the high?
Replies: 28
Views: 2668

Re: Method of Selecting: What Book are you reading now?

bengal22 wrote:OK, you got to tell us what you thought of Joyce's Finnigan's Wake.


I've not read that yet, actually (whew, dodged that one, good thing you didn't ask about Ulysses or Becket's trilogy, Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable).
by jeffyscott
Wed May 15, 2013 6:35 pm
 
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Method of Selecting: What Book are you reading now?
Replies: 20
Views: 1057

Re: tax friendly states for retirees

Believe me, I think about the taxes and California supposedly has very high ones. However, each of the states will get you one way or another. I looked at houses in Texas. I have got to say that I was shocked at 3.09% property taxes. In California, I pay only 1%. Well, if a similar house costs 3 ti...
by jeffyscott
Wed May 15, 2013 5:13 pm
 
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: tax friendly states for retirees
Replies: 95
Views: 5606

Re: Hussman: Now is one of the worst times in history to inv

Would be very interesting if one could find the data that shows when most $ was put into this fund. If most was put in the last 10 years, then people really did poorly. Possible to find this info, or would they rather not give this out? Also, when comparing these charts do they always include all e...
by jeffyscott
Tue May 14, 2013 10:45 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Hussman: Now is one of the worst times in history to invest
Replies: 51
Views: 6354

Re: Cash back credit card + no foreign transaction fee?

Thanks to everyone. I'm trying the BankAmericard Travel Rewards card. From their webpage it looks like points are only redeemable for travel expenses. jeffyscott, are you sure they can be redeemed for cash too? That's what they say... BankAmericard Travel Rewards™ credit card customers are automati...
by jeffyscott
Tue May 14, 2013 9:11 pm
 
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Cash back credit card + no foreign transaction fee?
Replies: 19
Views: 1411

Re: tax friendly states for retirees

Every state is going to collect taxes one way or another and sometimes lower taxes can mean higher fees for things like car registration. I used to think we should at least move across the line to IL in retirement, but now I look at about 3% extra in sales tax on every single purchase and maybe $100...
by jeffyscott
Tue May 14, 2013 7:02 pm
 
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: tax friendly states for retirees
Replies: 95
Views: 5606

Re: Can I retire?

LOL. Maybe wait around another 150 years until you have enough statistical evidence and then make your decision. Well, that would give you all of 6 independent data points. So I would still rely more on other means of projecting possible future returns to make the decision. For myself I just use so...
by jeffyscott
Mon May 13, 2013 11:03 pm
 
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can I retire?
Replies: 76
Views: 6253

Re: Cash back credit card + no foreign transaction fee?

BankAmericard travel rewards, 1.5% rebate, no forex or annual fees, and it is a "chip" card.

The rebates are "points", but redemption options include cash or a statement credit (for previous travel expenses).

Oh, also 10,000 point sign-up bonus, worth $100, after spending $500.
by jeffyscott
Mon May 13, 2013 10:49 pm
 
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Cash back credit card + no foreign transaction fee?
Replies: 19
Views: 1411

Re: Can I retire?

LFKB wrote:Fire Calc analyzes every 50 year cycle from 1871 on.


There are less than 3 non-overlapping periods, this is very little statistical evidence.
(Note that I have not expressed an opinion on whether he has enough, only on whether $80K per year is enough.)
by jeffyscott
Mon May 13, 2013 7:14 pm
 
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can I retire?
Replies: 76
Views: 6253

Re: tax friendly states for retirees

No state sales tax in Texas is great. I thought it was no income tax? I've only ever visited the southwestern part of the state, El Paso to Big Bend NP, I don't know about crumbling, but most of the highway surfaces had this rough texture that made it extremely noisy. My theory was the locals had n...
by jeffyscott
Sun May 12, 2013 4:37 pm
 
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: tax friendly states for retirees
Replies: 95
Views: 5606

Re: Can I retire?

The IRA's earnings can't be spent at his age, so he'd end up having to burn some principal to get to that $80k. That turns into a problem as it is very likely to happen long before he can withdraw the IRA money. I don't believe that is correct, I think you can start taking IRA early if you take a &...
by jeffyscott
Sun May 12, 2013 4:31 pm
 
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can I retire?
Replies: 76
Views: 6253

Re: tax friendly states for retirees

Haven't looked into, but suspect that for many, local difference in health insurance cost may be much more important than taxes. Don't they vary widely geographically, even within USA? I'm seeing from perspective of early retiree, not medicare eligible, but maybe would still matter. Other unavoidab...
by jeffyscott
Sun May 12, 2013 1:48 pm
 
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: tax friendly states for retirees
Replies: 95
Views: 5606

Re: Can I retire?

The issue isn't whether $80K is enough to live on or not. I think that everyone here accepts the OP's word on this point. No, they don't, the poster I had responded to stated that $80K is not enough for a family with two kids. This struck me as a very questionable opinion and so I posted evidence a...
by jeffyscott
Sun May 12, 2013 1:40 pm
 
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can I retire?
Replies: 76
Views: 6253

Re: Method of Selecting: What Book are you reading now?

I've been going through the Modern Library "board's list" of 100 best novels: http://www.modernlibrary.com/top-100/100-best-novels/ In some cases this has led to reading more works by one of the authors. Recently ran across this list of "books everyone should read". I've saved a ...
by jeffyscott
Sun May 12, 2013 12:14 pm
 
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Method of Selecting: What Book are you reading now?
Replies: 20
Views: 1057

Re: tax friendly states for retirees

mlipps wrote:IL doesn't tax retirement income and Chicago is a world class city, but property taxes are quite high here, at least in the Chicagoland area.


Also sales tax is 9.25% in Chicago (2.25% on food) and maybe averages around 8% (~2% food) :?: elsewhere in the state.
by jeffyscott
Sun May 12, 2013 11:52 am
 
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: tax friendly states for retirees
Replies: 95
Views: 5606

Re: Health insurance for adult child

I have a son turning 26 in July, my thought is to encourage him to get temporary coverage to Dec. 31. He will be eligible to sign up for subsidized coverage on the new exchange in the fall, even if a pre-existing condition were to appear before then. I just checked the cost with a reputable non-prof...
by jeffyscott
Sun May 12, 2013 11:28 am
 
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Health insurance for adult child
Replies: 9
Views: 656

Re: How to protect against big medical bills?

I would assume that if the drug is not in their formulary it is not covered at all, the insurance would pay nothing and it would not count toward any maximums. Sounds like that is more or less the case: Non-formulary drugs also do not count toward the "true out-of-pocket" ("TrOOP"...
by jeffyscott
Sun May 12, 2013 11:04 am
 
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How to protect against big medical bills?
Replies: 41
Views: 3100

Re: Can I retire?

$80,000 a year income with your assets would be OK for you and your wife, but not enough with two 5 year old kids. The median income for 4 person households is about $75,000, this makes me think $80K with no mortgage is likely more than "enough". https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2...
by jeffyscott
Sun May 12, 2013 10:55 am
 
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can I retire?
Replies: 76
Views: 6253

Re: Time to rethink placing bonds in tax advantaged?

That said, you still end up taxing long term capital gains as ordinary income if you are holding stocks in a tax-deferred retirement account, so swapping them probably still puts you at some disadvantage relative to someone who weights tax-deferred accounts more toward bonds and taxable accounts mo...
by jeffyscott
Sat May 11, 2013 6:01 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Time to rethink placing bonds in tax advantaged?
Replies: 15
Views: 1785

Re: Pay Digital Subscription Newspapers

-too much of a hassle having to log in everywhere again. just delete the cookies for that one site. i know how to clean chrome browser of cookies. i do not know how to prevent cookies at 1 site. please inform me -thanks The anti-spyware scan I use lets you deselect any items you want to retain usin...
by jeffyscott
Sat May 11, 2013 5:53 pm
 
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Pay Digital Subscription Newspapers
Replies: 38
Views: 1447

Re: Pay Digital Subscription Newspapers

After a couple of false starts, they now have a working online version, which brings up a complete image of every page. Including all the car ads and funnies! I've been assuming that all the paid versions of online newspapers include something like that where you get the entire print version electr...
by jeffyscott
Sat May 11, 2013 1:24 pm
 
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Pay Digital Subscription Newspapers
Replies: 38
Views: 1447

Re: How to protect against big medical bills?

No, I understand the limits are separate and the drug part technically has no limit on your costs. I just meant the drug co-pays become pretty minimal at the catastrophic stage, so there is almost a cap on that part. For example in my area the AARP-UHC complete plan covers both drugs and medical wit...
by jeffyscott
Sat May 11, 2013 12:49 pm
 
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How to protect against big medical bills?
Replies: 41
Views: 3100

Re: When to lower condo regime fee?

I'm not a condo owner, but wow! 75-80% funded for 30 years means roughly fully funded for 22-24 years. That seems VERY excessive, especially if those reserves are (as seems likely) earning minimal or no interest. I'm not either and likely never will be, one big reason being these fees over which yo...
by jeffyscott
Sat May 11, 2013 11:56 am
 
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: When to lower condo regime fee?
Replies: 4
Views: 600

Re: Pay Digital Subscription Newspapers

Or just delete cookies. They fixed the cookie thing, you do have to use a search. I'd pay for it, but it includes paying for smart phone apps, and I don't even have a smart phone. I have complained about that and gotten nowhere.[/quote] Does anti-spyware get rid of whatever the NY Times is using to...
by jeffyscott
Sat May 11, 2013 10:13 am
 
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Pay Digital Subscription Newspapers
Replies: 38
Views: 1447

Re: Time to rethink placing bonds in tax advantaged?

Furthermore, consider the tax rates on those TSM and TBM dividends. They are not the same, so one's after-tax yield is something to look at. Stocks with 1.97% yield means a tax bill of 0.3% at 15% tax rate, while bonds at 1.56% in the 25% tax bracket gives you a tax bill of about 0.4%. Of course, t...
by jeffyscott
Sat May 11, 2013 9:05 am
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Time to rethink placing bonds in tax advantaged?
Replies: 15
Views: 1785

Re: Time to rethink placing bonds in tax advantaged?

Interest rates rising would tend to mean an improving economy, an improving economy would tend to result in increasing stock prices. Of course the timing is in question, perhaps stocks have already risen in anticipation of further improvements in the economy, which are not yet resulting in rising in...
by jeffyscott
Sat May 11, 2013 8:55 am
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Time to rethink placing bonds in tax advantaged?
Replies: 15
Views: 1785

Re: Pay Digital Subscription Newspapers

I just checked what our Milwaukee paper charges and for digital only it is $4.29 per month, so yours is asking for more than double. (For our package, Sunday, Wednesday and digital it is $5.99)
by jeffyscott
Sat May 11, 2013 7:33 am
 
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Pay Digital Subscription Newspapers
Replies: 38
Views: 1447

Re: Pay Digital Subscription Newspapers

By the way, you might see how the paywall shakes out. NY Times is super reliable and well-constructed without any loopholes, but ours, they don't seem to care if you read using a tablet app for free, so that's what I do. This may be unethical but one can access NYTimes articles through the paywall ...
by jeffyscott
Fri May 10, 2013 7:21 pm
 
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Pay Digital Subscription Newspapers
Replies: 38
Views: 1447

Re: Bonds - VBMFX vs VWINX vs VWESX vs BOND

Since the chart is a graphic, and the legends are not part of it, but just text, it is not a simple URL link pointer... SO - I did a screen capture, then crop, then save it to my local drive - but then couldn't see a way to PASTE it back from my local drive.... I could copy it to my clipboard, but ...
by jeffyscott
Fri May 10, 2013 6:56 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Bonds - VBMFX vs VWINX vs VWESX
Replies: 13
Views: 1932

Re: How to protect against big medical bills?

Medigap vs. Medicare Advantage plans: This is what I think I know, I may be in error. I looked at both and ruled out Medicare Advantage plans because I read that they cost the government (i.e. you and me) 17% more than Medigap plans for the same services. I understand that has dropped to 14% becaus...
by jeffyscott
Fri May 10, 2013 6:00 pm
 
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How to protect against big medical bills?
Replies: 41
Views: 3100

Re: How to protect against big medical bills?

I think a Medicare Advantage cap is limited to Part A and Part B -- the medical costs. If the MA plan also covers prescription drugs, that part of the plan is unlimited. For example, if the cap is set at $4,500, that covers medical costs, not prescriptions. Prescription costs is open-ended. Well, s...
by jeffyscott
Thu May 09, 2013 5:24 pm
 
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How to protect against big medical bills?
Replies: 41
Views: 3100

Re: How Much Did You Spend on Your Engagement Ring??

$0. My wife thinks engagement rings are a heteronormative paternalistic anachronism. I spent quite a bit more than that. It continues to make my wife very happy. :D Well, I'm still married 39 years later so I guess the answer is to find out what your wife wants rather than asking an online forum. A...
by jeffyscott
Wed May 08, 2013 10:55 pm
 
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How Much Did You Spend on Your Engagement Ring??
Replies: 252
Views: 9779

Re: How to protect against big medical bills?

What about a Medigap policy? Does he qualify for that? (I don't know how Medicare for disability works.) If so, I would certainly get one, that would give you a lot of protection. Another option could be a Medicare advantage plan, unlike traditional Medicare these have maximum out-of-pocket limits.
by jeffyscott
Wed May 08, 2013 10:28 pm
 
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How to protect against big medical bills?
Replies: 41
Views: 3100

Re: A good day to take some money off the table

... during a very good run, modify one's plan? Why can't one's plan be to reduce risk (equity % allocation) as assets increase? Many years ago, I had 75% stocks with a plan to reduce that to 50% as assets increased.That asset level was reached and then we went through 2008/09 with 50% stocks... &qu...
by jeffyscott
Wed May 08, 2013 7:34 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: A good day to take some money off the table
Replies: 96
Views: 7414

Re: Using I-Bonds for my bond allocation

The liklihood is TBM will adjust much more quickly and then you find yourself having to make a decision - I bonds or TBM. So because TBM might someday possibly be a better deal, I should buy it now? Why? Also if the yield of TBM does improve, it means there will first be a decline in the NAV. If th...
by jeffyscott
Wed May 08, 2013 7:23 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Using I-Bonds for my bond allocation
Replies: 10
Views: 1426

Re: Updated Novy Marx Paper on Quality

Buying high quality assets without paying premium prices is just as much value investing as buying average quality assets at discount prices. Strategies that exploit the quality dimension of value are profitable on their own, and accounting for both dimensions of value by trading on combined qualit...
by jeffyscott
Tue May 07, 2013 9:07 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Updated Novy Marx Paper on Quality
Replies: 1
Views: 252

Re: Using I-Bonds for my bond allocation

It looks like I-bonds yield about as much or more than TBM and this might open up a bit more tax advantaged space. With the SEC yield of VBMFX at 1.44% (1.56% for admiral), it seems likely that I-bonds with a yield equal to inflation will most likely provide greater returns at this time. I-bonds ar...
by jeffyscott
Tue May 07, 2013 7:48 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Using I-Bonds for my bond allocation
Replies: 10
Views: 1426

Re: A good day to take some money off the table

What a great thread. I'm wondering though, of the more seasoned (veteran?) Bogleheads who have been rewarded nicely over time for owning a broadly diversified portfolio of equities and bonds, assigning an AA suitable to their risk tolerance and re-balancing accordingly, and investing for the long t...
by jeffyscott
Tue May 07, 2013 6:55 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: A good day to take some money off the table
Replies: 96
Views: 7414

Re: Should the employer enforce 401k/403b contribution limit

How do they propose that the employee does it? Almost certainly, if en employee hits the limit, it will be in the middle of a pay period. How can the employee control this -and still max it out to the penny? :confused Don't you simply tell them how much to take out per paycheck, for example my wife...
by jeffyscott
Sun May 05, 2013 1:09 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Should the employer enforce 401k/403b contribution limits?
Replies: 17
Views: 1048

Re: Natural Lawn/Weed care

Exactly. My point is that we often equate "natural" with "good" for some reason, although this is not necessarily the case. For example, cancer, pestilence, and death occur "naturally" throughout nature. Just trying to understand where the OP draws the line between &qu...
by jeffyscott
Sun May 05, 2013 10:39 am
 
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Natural Lawn/Weed care
Replies: 25
Views: 1654

Re: A good day to take some money off the table

some years back in the go-go era of the Internet rage, a fellow I was acquainted with held quite a bit of Lucent (i know undiversified risk, yada yada) - it was worth $2 million dollars, enough for him to cash out and retire in style. Instead of doing that, he got greedy and thought it would double...
by jeffyscott
Sat May 04, 2013 12:03 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: A good day to take some money off the table
Replies: 96
Views: 7414

Re: Natural Lawn/Weed care

I read a book by the guy responsible for fenway park grass. He claims it is impossible to have great grass without lots of chemicals. I do one 1/2 dose fertilizer run each year and live with a crappy yard. I do about that and also some selective weed spraying, using maybe 4 gallons of weed-b-gone m...
by jeffyscott
Sat May 04, 2013 10:35 am
 
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Natural Lawn/Weed care
Replies: 25
Views: 1654

Re: A good day to take some money off the table

Currently in my opinion the market fundamentals as measured by PE, PB, etc., are not overvalued relative to the other possible investment options such as bonds and cash. But if everything is about equally overvalued, then a return to fair value for everything will mean much greater losses to stocks...
by jeffyscott
Sat May 04, 2013 8:34 am
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: A good day to take some money off the table
Replies: 96
Views: 7414

Re: The Points Guy

Almost all intercontinental business class these days is fully lie flat seats, FWIW. I was not aware of that, but it appears that there is a difference between: "Full-flat beds" and "Slanted lay-flat seats" http://www.ausbt.com.au/lie-flat-or-fully-flat-beds-we-put-the-truth-to-...
by jeffyscott
Fri May 03, 2013 8:33 pm
 
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: The Points Guy
Replies: 37
Views: 3683

Re: A good day to take some money off the table

So, what I did was to segregate an amount of money to short-term bonds, cd's, money market, I-Bonds and cash that would represent the difference (roughly) between my former salary and what my pension pays me annually x 25. I've done something similar, only based on spending not income. When I am no...
by jeffyscott
Fri May 03, 2013 5:27 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: A good day to take some money off the table
Replies: 96
Views: 7414

Re: Car Insurance Advice

I think that "rule" is used by insurance agents in order to encourage over-insuring. Who totals their car once per decade? Also why would it be the market value rather than the amount you could collect? If you have $1000 deductible and the market value of your car is $1000, would you pay $...
by jeffyscott
Fri May 03, 2013 4:38 pm
 
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Car Insurance Advice
Replies: 13
Views: 744
Next

Return to advanced search