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We purchased, and it was a major hassle trying to submit a claim. After numerous e-mails (including to the CEO of Assurant) we finally got the replacement refrigerator. Most folks would have given up. Which might be the business model.

Not a whole lot of magic bullets. I've stuck with Alliant. Sacrificed a few basis points, but I'm sort of "brand loyal". What Alliant fails to offer in your basic APR/APY they make up for in "no fee" checking, etc. So, it suits me.

Check that Kansas Food Tax Credit (just kidding).

The issue is risk, not making a few bucks here and there. Some folks 70 years of age who never re-balanced and find themselves 80% in stocks, well, you get the picture. I don't figure to make a buck re-balancing. I DO figure to preserve wealth by doing so.

Depositaccounts is a very good reference. The "best" deals tend to change over time. Often, a few days. Caveat: Don't be lured by daily machinations in bond funds. CD ladders are best built over time. You might rue a 5-yr CD at 2% when everybody else is getting 3%, unless you are laddered....

My wife moved an upright from one floor to another. Then she had it tuned. She's played it twice since then. Over three years.

Aargh.

Don't ask what it cost to move it from KC to California.

On top of that, it was my childhood piano, not hers. And I always hated it. Forced lessons will do that.

Drive your vehicle into the ground. Give it away. Then, buy a new car. Then, drive it into the ground. Wash, rinse, repeat.

I subscribe to the print edition. I tip the paperperson at Christmas. I do not read newspapers online.

Per my request, the paperperson always double-bags in the rainy season.

Your friend lost out on some paper gains, but managed to obtain a better yield than any CD around. 50 basis points shy of a SWR is not too shabby. If Mr. Market stumbles, then stumbles again, he might actually be a very happy camper. FWIW, I re-balanced from stocks into TBM yesterday. Hit that band,...

My Mom has re-invested her dividends in Stanley (SWK) for years and years. It does compound, and it sure adds up. Starting with a modest amount when Dad retired, her position is now over 1850 shares. Never added a penny, the position is all the result of compounding. Dad retired in the early 80's, s...

Not much to brag about in our FI these days. At best, it's a holding area for equity gains. At worst, it's (gasp) a stand-alone investment (not a good idea, might I say). That said, Kevin has noted all the pluses and minuses. Anyone contemplating CDs as a part of their FI should peruse Kevin's posts...

how about 10 year 2.3 but non breakable Still a long time to go out for a modest bump over the ten. The only time I ever went out ten was back in 2008, with a 5.75% from KeyDirect. Turns out that was tasty, but not all that out of line. I'd stick with fives. Traders will note that a well-placed buy...

Purists will howl, but the general concept is based on the SEC yield. Over the duration, you might expect to obtain the SEC yield, with dividends re-invested. The reason purists howl is because the SEC yield is always a moving target, thus, it's at best an approximation. If you want certainty, get a...

Not much of a premium for going out 10 years. You might do better with some shopping. Five year CDs pop up from time-to-time at or around 2%. Kevin just plunked a goodly amount at Mountain at 2% for a five.

Tough to get a decent return these days.

It's not a bond fund, it's a balanced fund. Fairly high ER, but many 401Ks have similar. The cash is probably for in-and-out. RCITX, while having a higher ER, seems a tad more age-appropriate (and aggressive). I would note it also has a fairly large cash stash, maybe larger. Any way to get 80/20 and...

I'd whack off $10K in LTCG, pay the tax, and pay off the loan. Blatant market-timing, but, hey, you got Mr. Market in your corner.

Keeping cash in a MMF for re-balancing is a hedge against a falling bond fund NAV, but purists will note that bond fund NAVs will probably rise (not fall) as equities stumble. You "win" only when equities and bond fund NAVs both stumble at the same time. Think disco music and 16% CDs. Folk...

If "starting from scratch" with retirement fund fixed-income, you might consider starting to build a five-year IRA CD ladder. Your FI need not be all in one particular product. Some folks (myself included) prefer both bond funds and a CD ladder. A five-year ladder of five-year IRA CDs, bui...

In exactly this situation back in 1978. The seller of our "new" house provided bridge financing at zero interest.* When we closed on the sale of our "old" house, we paid off the bridge loan. *In effect, he said "pay me $120K now, and you can pay me the other $60K when the ot...

Yes. I'm assuming the adjustable has a floor of the inception rate. If that assumption is correct, and you can handle the increased principal payment, why pay a higher rate?* If the higher monthly payment becomes a stretch down the road, cross that bridge when you come to it. My guess is it won't, a...

Don, I'd recommend you start taking distributions from your IRA as soon as possible. I know you don't need them, but a bank will view distributions as an income "stream", just like a pension or S/S. No matter how safe your investment mix, the bank will look first to income streams. Interes...

If I might ask, why not accept the position and move to Oakland or thereabouts? Except for the Texas part, our daughter had a similar territory and found it a snap on Southwest and Alaska out of Oakland (she was and still is in Alameda).

Must admit new to me. Where did you read this? Just curious.

I've never had an issue. The rate in effect when I bought the CD has always been the rate received.

I'm retired (age 65, going on 66). I've done retirement projections since I was in my 20's. Kept them all. For humor value, I even go back from time to time and read them. Basic rule: stuff changes. As late as five years ago, my projections were off by a good $3000+/month. Mind you, that's not exact...

Artsdoc, an excellent diversion for a slow news day is to calculate just how much one might need to re-balance under various scenarios. By that I mean dollars. Take the two extremes, 100% stock and 100% fixed-income. No worries, there. No matter what happens, you won't need to re-balance. As one mov...

Many roads to Dublin (580 east-west and 680 north-south for folks in the Bay Area). I like a CD ladder with enough intermediate-term bond funds for re-balancing. Folks can do the math. Personally, I see no reason to loan the US of A my dollars for close to zero when I can get 150 to 200 bps more, wi...

Pasta, you might find useful: http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Glide_paths Scroll down about half way. Caveat: Moderate to one might be conservative to another. And vice versa. My wife and I are 65, pushing 66, and we have roughly age-in-bonds. Maybe a tad less. So, are we "moderately conservativ...

A EE bond ladder is tasty until one can do better than the 3.5% (the rate at the "double") elsewhere. Sooner. But, then, there's nothing preventing you from hopping off the EE ladder when that time comes. I don't see five-year 3.5% FDIC/NCUA CDs on the immediate horizon, so your plan makes...

A better "apples-to-apples" comparison is your garden-variety intermediate-term bond fund with a five year ladder of five-year CDs, built gradually (one CD at a time, over five years). To my knowledge, it's about the closest replication to TBM, albeit with a smidge better yield, and a tad ...

OK. I see the leverage.

Not quite ready to bet the farm and have the wife max out her catch-up, but I see the math in a rising market.

I'll have to chew on this. It can't be this simple. But maybe it is.

You're precise question was whether it would be better to move money from taxable to 401K. My precise answer: I'm skeptical. For the reason given.

I'm skeptical, unless there is a current tax advantage. The old saw "bonds in tax-advantaged, equities in taxable" exists for a reason. My wife will be increasing her 401K contrib starting in June by the amount of her then-starting spousal benefit, but that's driven more by Form 8582 and l...

Mel and Patrick articulated what I was hinting at (see my comment right below OP's first).

While IBonds have some drawbacks, none would seem to apply to OP.

I would disagree with BruDude insofar as policies with subjective triggers are involved. Policies with objective triggers (life insurance is the best example) seldom raise coverage issues. You're either dead, or you're not. Policies with subjective triggers (disability being the poster child) are mo...

I suppose it's fair to say that the wrinkle in any disability policy is "who decides?" A surgeon who loses both hands, and his or her eyesight, might well be employable as a physician (even as an academic in surgery), but would reasonably think the policy was triggered. Should the insuranc...

IBonds don't work for you?

mptness wrote:
The best I can find is Barclay's 5 year CD for 1.85. Is it worth it for 25 bps?

I'm seeing a bunch of local credit union 5-yr higher. But even for a consistent spread of just 25 bps, my answer "in a heartbeat". Lower risk, higher yield. Over time, it adds up.

This is a question posed as a comment: A CD ladder guarantees return of principal at specific dates, whereas an intermediate bond fund would not. Am I missing something? Thanks If you accept the premise of duration and SEC yield, the intermediate-term bond fund "should" return its SEC yie...

Are you saying that one would invest $20,000 in a five-year CD in year one, $20,000 in year two in a five-year CD, and so on? If that's the case, what does one do with with the $80,000 in year one after investing $20,000 in a five-year CD in year one? Thanks. Exactly so. The remaining balance would...

If you accept the premise that a CD is a bond, and that a CD ladder is a bond ladder, an "apples-to-apples" comparison would be a five-year ladder of five-year CDs, built gradually (one a year, over five years) and an intermediate-term bond fund. The CD ladder is a tad safer, since more ak...

Hard to fill a ten-year CD ladder (visit Ken Tumin's blog, you'll see what I mean). Harder still to roll it. Best bet is a five-year ladder of 5-yr CDs, built gradually (one at a time, over five years). Meanwhile, an intermediate-term bond fund will achieve just about the same results. Run the numbe...

We did it. Mortgaged ourselves to the hilt to do it, but waaaay cheaper than private schools. This was back in 1978. Still live in the same house.

OP: might suggest you open up the discussion for "hints and wrinkles" for that trip down the Coast. For example, my wife and I discovered an abundance of cell-phone dead zones recently on an excursion from Ft. Bragg south on Hiway 1. Can be disconcerting if you're trying to call someone, o...

For a long(ish) visit to the SF Bay Area, be very aware of our micro-climates. It can be over 100 and beastly in Healdsburg or Walnut Creek, and freezing in the City. Once my wife decides to retire, I've thought it would be fun to "trade places" with another retired couple in another part ...

Skunk Train in Willits. http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=110951#p1663425 Thomas the Train in Felton. Childrens Fairyland near Lake Merritt in Oakland. Yes, another train, but lots more. Sunday: Irish coffee at the Buena Vista (cocoa for the kids) cuz it'll be cold. Take the P...

Should I just keep nearly all of it in bonds and then at retirement shift half of that or so into TIPS and CD's? Do your parents have any preference, one way or the other? If not, you might consider building a CD ladder gradually, with the ultimate goal of 50% of fixed-income in a CD ladder, 40% in...

For ancient redwoods, up-close-and-personal, try the Skunk Train in Willits. Make sure you book the real train, not the motorcar. The real train has vintage rail cars and an open-air gondola car. Running commentary by Conductor. Leaves in the AM, lunch at the turn-around, return in mid-afternoon. Th...

A bunker mentality has its own risks, namely, watching your principal eroded by inflation. Tomes have been written, and more will be, to be sure. Many folks opt for a "glide-path". Worked for us.

Noob, you could use an intermediate-term bond fund with a duration roughly similar to that six-year horizon, or build a CD ladder. When comparing SEC yield with the effective yield on the ladder, don't be shocked if the result is essentially the same. Some folks just like to explore various options....

Very short answer: $1M X 2% = $20K. CDs won't throw off 2% (at least in the next few years), but stock index funds should. Your folks are close to that "sweet spot" of harvesting interest/dividends, and leaving principal for later. I'd also suggest a CD ladder, if you don't mind keeping tr...