Bogleheads.org

If you want a sedan rather than an SUV, two good choices are the Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord. These are two of the best cars on the road if you rule out luxury vehicles.
Jeff

You could consider I-bonds and/or CDs. Neither of these will lose value due to an increase in interest rates. The yield is similar to a bond fund.
Jeff

Over the long term, we expect markets to go up. Over the near term and even intermediate term, they can do anything.
Jeff

There are a half dozen banks within 20 miles of the Cleveland Plain Dealer that offer free checking. It does not take more than a few minutes to Google those banks, which are generally small community banks. I live in Chicago and I do all my banking with a small bank in NE Ohio. These articles are ...

Sheryl Harris, a personal finance writer for the Cleveland Plain Dealer tells how banks generate fees on your checking account and how to avoid them. http://www.cleveland.com/consumeraffairs/index.ssf/2013/06/how_to_avoid_overdraft_charges.html#incart_more_business http://www.cleveland.com/consumer...

Sheryl Harris, a personal finance writer for the Cleveland Plain Dealer tells how banks generate fees on your checking account and how to avoid them. http://www.cleveland.com/consumeraffairs/index.ssf/2013/06/how_to_avoid_overdraft_charges.html#incart_more_business http://www.cleveland.com/consumera...

I recently exchanged my Vanguard TIPS fund for Vanguard short term TIPS fund. Is that market timing? Well, yes. Will it work out for the best? I think so, but maybe not. Time will tell. I bought the TIPS fund because I wanted TIPS. I still have TIPS, but not as much interest rate risk.
Jeff

Instead of blindly adjusting your withdrawals for inflation, keeping a constant real withdrawal regardless of market conditions, use a method that adjusts for bad times and good times. One simple one is to take 4% (or so) from your December 31 balance. You take out more after a good year and less af...

Try Costco.
Jeff

Your withdrawal rate includes everything that comes out of your portfolio. This includes taxes, loads, management fees, advisor fees, withdrawals, commissions, and any distributions that are not reinvested.
Jeff

I would suggest Ottawa. It is the capitol of Canada, and has some interesting things to see. It is not "touristy" and the weather in July is pleasant.
Jeff

Grandpaboys wrote:30 month CD @ 21/2% APR from Credit Union Insured

Grandpaboys,
Is the insurance NCUA? I would be uncomfortable with private insurance.
Jeff

If you are a Costco member, the Costco Amex card rebates 2% for dining. It also rebates 3% for gasoline, 2% for travel, and 1% for everything else. These rebates have been stable for the 7 years I have had the card. The only change has been a decrease from 3% to 2% for dining a few years ago. There ...

Used models that are a little older still may be quite expensive. There is a lot of demand for used Hondas and Toyotas. IMO, it is better to buy these new. The amount of depreciation does not seem to be worthwhile unless the car is much older. Of course, then, you are buying an older/high mileage ca...

Thanks for the helpful reply! What if I sell out of a position into a similar fund (in this case, VWO into IEMG). I can use the loss (about $7k), but what if I end up holding the new fund due to gains - what about the fact that I've lowered my cost basis? Does this factor into the decision? Thanks ...

I use Thunderbird with Windows 7. It works very well. It also has a calendar add-on available called Lightning. It works well too.

Jeff

I don't shop at Costco, but I did have a Price Club membership years ago and then dropped it when the membership cost went up. I now shop for items in this order: 99 cents stores, Smart and Final stores, Trader Joe's, and one of the big chains if I can't find what I want at the other stores. Price ...

I worked for a manufacturing company that started as a co op. It began in 1895 in a small town. The civic leaders decided that the town needed a factory to provide employment opportunities. So, the asked everyone to contribute what they could to start a company. They framed and kept the original lis...

Doc, My understanding is that the part of the agreement you are concerned about is not a change. I believe the only change is the addition of other parts of Vanguard to the authorization. Since this is of such a concern to you, I suggest you call Vanguard and get a first hand answer. Jeff Jeff, wha...

Years ago, in a suburban neighborhood, we noticed the presence of rats. We called the county health department. They came out in an unmarked vehicle, and discreetly positioned rat bait packets. At first the packets were broken into. The county man put out new ones. After a short time, the packets we...

What happens if you say no? Do they turn off bank transfers? This is a repeating what I tried to address earlier. Part of the new agreement says: ...You represent and warrant to Vanguard that you are an owner or authorized signer on the bank account(s) to which this authorization applies. I can't a...

We are a family of two and make a lot of purchases at Costco. You have to be a disciplined shopper to make it work. Some items come in such large quantities that we will not buy them, even though it is something we use. Other things, are no problem. It should also be noted that many things, such as ...

https://personal.vanguard.com/jumppage/bank_authorization/agreement.html Mel, Here is the new agreement. In part ... You represent and warrant to Vanguard that you are an owner or authorized signer on the bank account ... So my wife has direct deposits from another broker/employer/SS/IRS or whateve...

I don't have a VBS account and never did. However, I can see that Vanguard would want to include VBS in their bank authorization agreement. However, if that is the intent, why not explain that. Also, the new agreement is not limited. It lists affiliates and subsidiaries without specifying who they a...

https://personal.vanguard.com/jumppage/bank_authorization/agreement.html Mel, Here is the new agreement. The change is from "The Vanguard Group, Inc." to "The Vanguard Group, Inc., and Vanguard Marketing Corporation, and any other affiliates or subsidiaries of either (individually or ...

We have had many discussions about Vanguard security issues and questions. Now, Vanguard wants to change its authorization to access our bank accounts. No one has any comments on this? I would think this subject would be important to many Bogleheads. Since this change will broaden Vanguard's ability...

For rebalancing purposes, consider your taxable, IRA, and 403 accounts as one big account. When you make additional contributions, try buy whatever classes that are below your target allocation. This may change throughout the year. This will minimize selling appreciated shares and generating income ...

I received a "snail mail" letter from Vanguard today. It is notification of a change in the Vanguard Bank Authorization Agreement. There is an earlier thread on this subject, but it is related to whether or not the Vanguard communication is real or fake. My question is: What is the implica...

There are three things I can think of immediately that you cannot do online: 1. Safe deposit box. 2. Medallion Signature Guarantee. 3. Redeem a paper savings bond. Jeff My bank (Wells Fargo) will no longer do medallion signature guarantees. In that case, I would either find a different bank or a se...

There are three things I can think of immediately that you cannot do online:
1. Safe deposit box.
2. Medallion Signature Guarantee.
3. Redeem a paper savings bond.
Jeff

IMO the email is a terrible idea. I see three options for you: 1. Sit down with him and talk it out, without putting him down in any way. You don't want him to get defensive. 2. Talk to a manager above him. 3. Talk to HR. I cannot suggest which of these would be better without knowing the details of...

It is even a little more difficult to calculate: 1. TIRA deductions are made at the margin, thus the marginal tax rates apply. Withdrawals may include amounts at lower tax brackets depending on other sources of income. This favors the TIRA over the Roth. 2. TIRA accounts have MRD requirements. This ...

It seems strange to exclude family members because they are not owners. This would rule out a parent living with one of their children too.
Jeff

Be sure to look at the list of funds offered by your plan. It may not include all Fidelity funds.
Jeff

One problem with deferring investments is that when it comes time to make your investment, you may start to second guess yourself. "Is this a bad time to invest? Should I wait a little more?" Alternatively, if you invest every paycheck, it become an automatic activity and the money gets in...

While I am partial to Toyotas and Hondas, you are correct that they are very expensive as used cars. Another brand that has made great strides in recent years is Hyundai. Used Hyundais, however sell for less then the Hondas you like. The Hyundai Elantra might be a good alternative. The Mazda 3 is an...

If you pay closer attention to which numbers are listed as percentages (%) and which are dollars, it will make more sense.
Jeff

You probably would benefit from restructuring your portfolio anyway to hit your stock and bond allocation with as few funds as possible, so which ones you sell probably doesn't matter except as it impacts your taxes. A secondary consideration would be to favor keeping lower cost funds and selling h...

Well, you don't want everything in stocks. What are your good alternatives to bonds? CDs and savings bonds are possibilities, but they have their limitations as well. Gold? There are many good arguments against that. So, what else do you suggest?
Jeff

You say that you are both 58 and plan to work another 10 years. Keep in mind that what we plan may not actually be what happens. As we age, health problems we never expected may arise. Companies go out of business; jobs disappear; finding new jobs in your 60's can be most difficult. In short, making...

http://www.cleveland.com/consumeraffair ... cart_river
Sheryl Harris, a personal finance writer for the Cleveland Plain Dealer tells what to do if your credit card, debit card or Social Security information is stolen.
Jeff

nisiprius wrote: Although it is hard to imagine that it could ever surpass Bartholomew and the Oobleck.

Try The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins
Jeff

One exception to the distinction between comprehensive and collision is the case where you collide with an animal, wild or domestic. In my experience, this is a comprehensive claim.
Jeff

My car is in limbo in the mean time. I would never have thought of this situation when I bought insurance. If I had a comprehensive coverage, my insurance would have paid and would have sought reimbursement from the other insurance company. Comprehensive coverage does not cover collision damage to ...

I tried to quote but it said i could not embed more then 5 thins. i read your link. they are 2 different things. are the note a good deal though? :mrgreen: I'm not qualified to determine if they are "a good deal". However, the rate is only a little more than the better FDIC savings accoun...

If you have over $50k to invest, you can get 1.1% in a GE interest plus account. I have used them for many years. These GE accounts are not FDIC insured. Personally, I would rather depend on the solvency of FDIC rather than the solvency of GE. The difference in yield is not all the much. I would su...

If you have over $50k to invest, you can get 1.1% in a GE interest plus account. I have used them for many years. These GE accounts are not FDIC insured. Personally, I would rather depend on the solvency of FDIC rather than the solvency of GE. The difference in yield is not all the much. I would su...

You probably should start inching your bonds up. On the other hand, it's worth noting that you are already close to what Vanguard thinks is suitable for someone about 20 years away from retirement. Their TR 2035 fund has 85.4% stocks, with about 30% of them international. I would not use the alloca...

Asset allocation is not about maximizing growth. It is about controlling risk. When you start out, your only concern is growth, because you have little to preserve. When you get to retirement and have enough, for many (most?) people, the emphasis shifts to preservation of capital, because that is mo...

If you have over $50k to invest, you can get 1.1% in a GE interest plus account. I have used them for many years. These GE accounts are not FDIC insured. Personally, I would rather depend on the solvency of FDIC rather than the solvency of GE. The difference in yield is not all the much. I would su...