Search found 95 matches

by lloydbraun
Thu Oct 13, 2016 11:48 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Vanguard Total Bond Market vs TIAA Traditional
Replies: 14
Views: 3185

Re: Vanguard Total Bond Market vs TIAA Traditional

Thank you all for your responses and also for pointing me to some extra reading. It's much appreciated.
by lloydbraun
Tue Oct 11, 2016 3:41 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Vanguard Total Bond Market vs TIAA Traditional
Replies: 14
Views: 3185

Re: Vanguard Total Bond Market vs TIAA Traditional

It's called the Retirement Choice Annuity (RC) and has a current guarantee of 4% for 2016.
by lloydbraun
Tue Oct 11, 2016 1:43 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Vanguard Total Bond Market vs TIAA Traditional
Replies: 14
Views: 3185

Vanguard Total Bond Market vs TIAA Traditional

I have a general question. First I should note that I used to be an occasional contributor and an avid reader but, from the advice on this page and through reading Bogle, Ferri, and others, I adopted a total set-it-and-forget-it plan once I got a full time teaching job and so haven't returned to the board very often. I'm 38 and am, hopefully, going to be promoted to Associate Professor (tenure) later this year. I currently invest 35% of my 403B funds in Vanguard's S&P 500 (Institutional), 30% in Vanguard's Total Int'l Stock Ex-USA Fund (Institutional), 20% in Vanguard's Extended Market (US) (Institutional) fund, and 15% in Vanguard's Total US Bond Fund (Institutional). My expense ratios are below 0.1% and I do not plan to change this ty...
by lloydbraun
Mon Mar 09, 2015 12:42 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Bernstein: 2% investment returns over next 20 years
Replies: 216
Views: 36844

Re: Bernstein: 2% investment returns over next 20 years

This is a difficult topic as we are not supposed to address economic issues here though I will note that some economists, like Thomas Picketty, argue that returns to capital are accelerating so, regardless of how GDP looks, market returns may continue to be relatively high going forward. He may be incorrect or correct, but if Picketty is correct then we can't depend on mid to late 20th century norms to predict future returns. If Larry Summers' re-formulated secular stagnation is correct then we may see a bumpy ride as he contends that economic growth in a low demand world can only be achieved via bubbles created by central banks and governmental fiscal stimulus. Who knows who's correct? All we can do, if we're passive investors, is keep goi...
by lloydbraun
Mon May 12, 2014 3:30 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Graduation Gifts - PhD
Replies: 15
Views: 2526

Re: Graduation Gifts - PhD

When I received my Ph.D. nearly five years ago I didn't get any presents, except from my parents. People get Ph.D.s for themselves and do not expect gifts for it. It's not like undergraduate graduation, marriage, or the birth of a child. If you want to get her anything, consider a $50 gift certificate to a restaurant or a nice bottle of wine. She's likely in her late 20s or early to mid 30s and could use it!
by lloydbraun
Tue Apr 15, 2014 9:37 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Rebalancing Question
Replies: 5
Views: 616

Re: Rebalancing Question

Thanks Tayler, that what was I looking for...just was wondering if one approach had a slight statistical advantage over the other.

Livesoft, yes obviously that's the case, unless you're psychic.
by lloydbraun
Tue Apr 15, 2014 6:06 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Rebalancing Question
Replies: 5
Views: 616

Re: Rebalancing Question

Well, with that strategy you must win every year, just like the active managers promise.
by lloydbraun
Tue Apr 15, 2014 5:55 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Rebalancing Question
Replies: 5
Views: 616

Rebalancing Question

Just a quick question for the board. I just did my annual rebalance in a few months back so I won't be doing another one until 2015. This past year I just allowed TIAA-CREF to rebalance my account automatically on my birthday (I use all Vanguard Institutional funds in my TIAA-CREF 403B). Am I better off doing this every year or just manually adjusting my monthly asset allocation for a couple of months when my target allocation gets a little distorted? Does it make any real difference?
by lloydbraun
Mon Apr 14, 2014 3:02 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Improvement needed
Replies: 42
Views: 4018

Re: Improvement needed

Oh, one more thing. If you do want to have a bond fund in a taxable account I would look at the tax exempt muni bond funds that Vanguard offers (haven't looked at other providers' funds). Again, search for past posts were people have discussed these options.
by lloydbraun
Mon Apr 14, 2014 2:56 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Improvement needed
Replies: 42
Views: 4018

Re: Improvement needed

That looks good. Obviously it's tough to predict the future but my hope with bonds is that they just slightly exceed the rate of inflation, on average going forward. I doubt we'll see returns in the bond market on par with what we saw from 1982-2013 just based on where yields are right now in a low interest rate environment. Just be prepared, with 35% in bonds, to see your real return (nominal return minus inflation) suppressed a bit as your stocks will likely do all of the heavy lifting. That would be the only argument in favor of more equity allocation but considering that both you and your wife have a good amount saved so far this shouldn't be a big deal, especially if you don't start drawing on your money until around 59.5 or 60. Obviou...
by lloydbraun
Mon Apr 14, 2014 1:51 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Improvement needed
Replies: 42
Views: 4018

Re: Improvement needed

Sorry, I've never figured out how to use the "quotes". Having a Ph.D. doesn't make one intelligent! Anyway, yes I would use as efficient a fund in taxable as possible to avoid capital gains taxes. Others are much better at talking about this since they have taxable accounts whereas I got a late start because I spent my 20s in grad school and only have a tax advantaged 403B and a Roth IRA. Your allocation looks good to me in general but I don't think you ever stated when you plan to retire. For example, I'm 35 but since I got a late start and since, hopefully, my earnings will be much higher in my 50s and 60s than they are today, I plan to work until 70-75, which will give me 40-45 years in the accumulation phase. So in my situatio...
by lloydbraun
Mon Apr 14, 2014 1:41 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Improvement needed
Replies: 42
Views: 4018

Re: Improvement needed

post deleted
by lloydbraun
Mon Apr 14, 2014 9:16 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Improvement needed
Replies: 42
Views: 4018

Re: Improvement needed

I noted you said that you have read or can find many writings that contradict the boglehead way. We all can find them but, honestly, I'm an academia and so have access to multiple databases that contain hundreds of thousands of peer review articles and I would say that 95% of the articles on investing agree with Bogle on the efficiency and success of low-cost, passively managed index funds over actively managed funds. Furthermore, the academic literature also suggests that fees are the one thing that can be minimized. It's great to want to keep learning, I'm in the same boat. Oddly enough, the more I read and learn the more I'm convinced that a simple 3 fund portfolio constructed without overweighting any sector of the market is the way to ...
by lloydbraun
Sun Mar 16, 2014 2:55 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Population Decline and International Exposure
Replies: 19
Views: 2493

Re: Population Decline and International Exposure

First, the UN actually predicts that the overall population will keep growing after 2050 and will reach 10 billion by 2100. Second, these are merely projections. The Economist had an article two weeks about African population growth and the conclusion was that population growth in many African countries is already diverging from projections made only several years ago.
by lloydbraun
Wed Mar 05, 2014 9:29 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Trip through New England
Replies: 39
Views: 3379

Re: Trip through New England

I grew up going to Narragansett Town Beach every summer so I know the general area pretty well. That being said, if you have a car and don't mind a nice drive, head about 7-8 miles south (west) on route 1 or 1A from Narragansett and eat at the Matunuk Oyster Bar. If you'd prefer to go to Newport but don't want to eat in a tourist trap, there's a great place named Anthony's Seafood Restaurant in Middletown, RI, about 3-4 miles from downtown Newport. Brickley's Ice Cream is also pretty good if you want a snack and there is one in South Kingstown and another in Wakefield, both of which are within a few miles of Narragansett's main beaches. They have GREAT waffle cones. If you don't mind spending a little money for dinner on your way out of Rho...
by lloydbraun
Tue Mar 04, 2014 7:04 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: stayed out of the market, what to do now?
Replies: 64
Views: 12690

Re: stayed out of the market, what to do now?

Unless you have a lot of money I would recommend at least investing in something like Vanguard's Target Retirement Income fund, which has about 30% in stocks. Bonds are fine as a hedge against stock market volatility that will hopefully generate some income above the inflation rate, but if you want to have a positive real return over the long run, some stock exposure is your best way forward.
by lloydbraun
Tue Mar 04, 2014 6:39 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is John Bogle Wrong on Retirement Asset Allocation?
Replies: 43
Views: 7299

Re: Is John Bogle Wrong on Retirement Asset Allocation?

Sorry if my initial post sent us down the path of splitting hairs with regard to investment plans. I would assume most of us are relatively similar with our overall strategies, the tactics we use to implement those strategies are just a bit different.
by lloydbraun
Tue Mar 04, 2014 6:37 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is John Bogle Wrong on Retirement Asset Allocation?
Replies: 43
Views: 7299

Re: Is John Bogle Wrong on Retirement Asset Allocation?

I would differ a little with that analysis. As a retired physician you surely have the intelligence to read financial papers in journals, though it's not essential to do so. I read what I can though ALL of what I've read supports passive, index based investing. In fact, the more academic literature I've read the more I've been convinced that Bogle, Ferri, Swedroe, Bernstein, and others are correct. After reading all of this literature I'm pretty confident that whether I'm 75/25 in stocks/bonds or 80/20, as long as I save, invest, and keep costs as low as possible or nearly as low as possible (in the future if I get lazy I may switch to a Vanguard target retirement fund which would be slightly more expensive than what I currently have) then ...
by lloydbraun
Tue Mar 04, 2014 1:50 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is John Bogle Wrong on Retirement Asset Allocation?
Replies: 43
Views: 7299

Re: Is John Bogle Wrong on Retirement Asset Allocation?

I think we have to remember that Bogle is not a messianic figure. His advice and his work has helped all of us, but most of us probably have slight differences with him. Personally I invest in all index funds (403b) and etfs (roth) but do not go by either his or Vanguard's target allocation for someone my age (35). Instead I do age-15 in bonds and have slightly more exposure to int'l than Bogle recommends. It doesn't matter, in the end I'm following his general message: controlling costs (average ER of .09).
by lloydbraun
Tue Mar 04, 2014 1:17 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Bogleheads mention in Financial Times
Replies: 2
Views: 597

Re: Bogleheads mention in Financial Times

I posted it on their comments section. Here is the portion that does it:


"A useful analysis on bogleheads.com, a discussion forum, looking at scorecard results from 2001-12 shows the 2013 data are not unusual. Indeed, active funds managed to outperform index returns in a majority of the nine style boxes included in the analysis in just three years – 2003, 2007 and 2009.

Still, why let data get in the way of a belief that easy money is there for the taking?"
by lloydbraun
Tue Mar 04, 2014 1:06 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Bogleheads mention in Financial Times
Replies: 2
Views: 597

Bogleheads mention in Financial Times

Although the author misidentifies the discussion forum's address as bogleheads.com instead of .org, an article in today's FT positively cites this forum. I don't know where to get free access to all content but you can sign up and get a few articles free each month from the FT. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/2498460c ... z2v0b3P2pl
by lloydbraun
Tue Feb 25, 2014 8:40 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Do children become less expensive as they grow up?
Replies: 93
Views: 13188

Re: Do children become less expensive as they grow up?

You can also just keep him/her as the designated beneficiary and then transfer it to his/her children if/once they have any. A 529 doesn't have a time limit.
by lloydbraun
Fri Feb 14, 2014 1:27 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Are REITs still overvalued, as they were in 2013?
Replies: 44
Views: 4535

Re: Are REITs still overvalued, as they were in 2013?

Well to an extent we all use past performance in assuming/hoping that over the course of 30-40 years the total market will increase enough over inflation to yield solid real profits for retirement. I think the problem with your graph is that you're comparing a sector to the broad market, and there is no evidence that over the next 30-40 years the real estate sector will beat the total market.
by lloydbraun
Mon Feb 10, 2014 3:09 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Newly Married and Taxed
Replies: 39
Views: 3753

Re: Newly Married and Taxed

Have you considered laundering the money?
by lloydbraun
Wed Jan 22, 2014 3:38 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: a new start
Replies: 5
Views: 940

Re: a new start

I personally use Schwab etf funds because I can only afford to contribute around $75 per month to my Roth. My 403B gives me access to basic Vanguard funds (Int'l Index, Total US, and Total Bond Index) but the Schwab ETFs allow me to get a little more exposure to Emerging Markets and to invest in the REIT index. Personally I would prefer to invest in Vanguard index funds, not etfs, but I won't have the minimums for a while so at least the Schwab etfs allow me to diversify a bit. Just remember that if you're purchasing etfs that you're buying by the unit so if you have $75 to invest and a unit is $30, you can only buy two and will then have $15 left in your account. The expense ratios on the schwab etfs are much better than their index fund e...
by lloydbraun
Wed Dec 04, 2013 5:03 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Wife upset - loss of principal in Bonds
Replies: 60
Views: 8820

Re: Wife upset - loss of principal in Bonds

The wiki has some good book links for financial education. Personally when I started reading 5-6 years ago I started with Eric Tyson's "Personal Finance for Dummies" and then moved on to the "Boglehead's Guide to Investing". They're both simple but informative books that will get you up to speed on the basics of stocks, bonds, cds, asset allocation, savings, etc.
by lloydbraun
Wed Dec 04, 2013 4:48 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Wife upset - loss of principal in Bonds
Replies: 60
Views: 8820

Re: Wife upset - loss of principal in Bonds

My understanding is that we're not allowed to talk about policy here. Hypothetically, if we did have rise in interest rates then intermediate and long term funds would likely turn negative, though short may not even though their return would be minimal and certainly would lag behind inflation unless we were in a deflationary period. Only the Fed chair and governors know when and if they'd raise rates simultaneously with tapering or unwinding or even at what point they'd do it so I don't think any of us can give a good answer there. It's like asking if the market is going to go up or down (this isn't a shot at your question, just noting that none of us know).
by lloydbraun
Thu Oct 17, 2013 4:15 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Shouldn't we all be 50/50
Replies: 44
Views: 4607

Re: Shouldn't we all be 50/50

Here's a good definition of commodities if anyone is interested. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoEflqTDd5c
by lloydbraun
Wed Oct 16, 2013 3:52 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: BOGLEHEAD CONTEST 2013 -- Third Quarter Leaders
Replies: 5
Views: 1001

Re: BOGLEHEAD CONTEST 2013 -- Third Quarter Leaders

Thanks for calling me brave Taylor but I just wanted to see how wrong I'd end up being. It turns out that I'm very wrong! On a positive note, all of my retirement money is invested in four Vanguard Institutional funds through my TIAA-CREF retirement account and they've obviously done well. Let's hope they're even higher in 30 years!
by lloydbraun
Tue Oct 15, 2013 2:29 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Government Shutdown/Default [effect on investments]
Replies: 454
Views: 42893

Re: Anyone Else Scared?

Not scared for my investments as my investment horizon is 35-40 years. I'm concerned about the short and medium term macro-economic effects of a possible debt default but I'm assuming it would sort itself out in time for me to cash in my funds in 2050.
by lloydbraun
Wed Oct 09, 2013 4:32 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Fair or not [Financially supporting one child over another]
Replies: 57
Views: 5862

Re: Fair or not [Financially supporting one child over anoth

As a college prof. who teaches undergrads I can tell you that the vast majority of my best students are female. From my own memories of being a teenage boy, almost all early teens are crazy! But at least most of the girls turn out well by 18 or 19. The boys calm down by 24-25.
by lloydbraun
Sun Oct 06, 2013 12:27 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Financial Literacy Article in NY Times
Replies: 14
Views: 2956

Re: Financial Literacy Article in NY Times

I think you're correct. Most people aren't obsessive about learning every possible thing about finance or investing so "just in time" teaching is extremely important. This site fulfills that function but the problem for most people is that the "just in time" teaching their getting is from people who have a financial incentive to direct them into certain products or certain loans that are more beneficial to the teacher than the student.
by lloydbraun
Sun Oct 06, 2013 11:59 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Financial Literacy Article in NY Times
Replies: 14
Views: 2956

Financial Literacy Article in NY Times

Here's a link to Univ. of Chicago's Professor Richard Thaler's piece on financial literacy in today's NY Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/busin ... wanted=all
by lloydbraun
Thu Oct 03, 2013 2:29 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Paying off Student Loans
Replies: 8
Views: 968

Re: Paying off Student Loans

[quote="TSR"]Not sure what kind of loan(s) you have. Is it all one consolidation loan? If you went with your "alternative option," would that also substantially reduce your monthly payment (in addition to the interest rate)? If so, I would recommend doing your alternative option PLUS paying down all of your private debt, which has fewer benefits of the federal student loans. If not, I would just pay that thing off -- and you might go with this plan regardless. You will never, EVER regret having paid off your student loans. Also, I work in the law and know a lot of people who are in various non-profit forgiveness programs, but I have yet to meet someone who has actually completed one of those programs. I wouldn't make dec...
by lloydbraun
Thu Oct 03, 2013 1:07 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Paying off Student Loans
Replies: 8
Views: 968

Re: Paying off Student Loans

I'm in a similar position to you except I don't have 120K cash on hand and work in the non profit world so I'm already working towards debt forgiveness (8 years away). In my position, since I'm in a qualifying job already, I would keep my money for a down payment if I had 120K on hand. If I were in your position, however, I would just pay off the federal loans. Here is my reasoning: 1. You make a good amount of money and at 29, even if you had a dependent, you should be able to save 20-35K per year over the next 3-4 years to replenish your savings/down payment fund. 2. Unless you're 100% sure you're going to switch to a public sector/non profit job, by staying on IBR or ICR you'll have to make payments for 25 years at which point your remai...
by lloydbraun
Wed Sep 18, 2013 10:38 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Asset Allocation
Replies: 33
Views: 3082

Re: Asset Allocation

Sorry, I was unclear in my update. Over the past 9 months I didn't go 100% in the U.S. market. I was at 40% Vanguard Institutional, 30% Vanguard Extended Market, and 30% Vanguard Total International Stock. Although I had gotten rid of my bond mix I had taken the advice to diversify internationally. Now I've just decided that rather than have no exposure to the bond market, I'm more comfortable moving forward with a permanent standard 4 fund, including Vanguard's TBM, retirement portfolio with a 75%/25% stock/bond allocation and, within my 75% stocks, a 2/1 national/international allocation. My only quasi loose end as I now see it is that my U.S. stock allocation, which is 50% of my retirement portfolio, is divided equally between the Instit...
by lloydbraun
Tue Sep 17, 2013 2:20 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Asset Allocation
Replies: 33
Views: 3082

Re: Asset Allocation

Thanks for the note. I actually am offered the Vanguard Institutional Index as well at the .04 expense ratio. Instead of trying to mirror the market I just figured I would put 25% in the Vanguard Institutional and 25% in the Extended Market and just be happy with the results. I thought about doing 30-20 or 35-15 but I don't feel like trying to constantly re-create the total stock market and I think it's better to just choose an allocation, stick with it, and focus my attention on work and family.
by lloydbraun
Tue Sep 17, 2013 11:24 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Asset Allocation
Replies: 33
Views: 3082

Re: Asset Allocation

Just an update. I actually did go 100% in the stock market for 9 months but in re-reading books and looking more at the solid advice provided here I have decided to just go 25% in the Vanguard 500, 25% in the Vanguard Extended Market, 25% in the Vanguard Total Int'l Stock, and 25% in Total Bond Fund. It's an allocation with which I am comfortable and should be for the next 5-10 years. I'm coming up on the 2 year anniversary of contributing and getting the match and have gone from zero to almost 16K, which isn't a lot but for two years of contributions that will hopefully be the first of 40 years of contributions I feel great about it. I am aware that I've been EXTREMELY fortunate that the market has gone way up, which is why I rebalanced to...
by lloydbraun
Tue Jan 08, 2013 12:48 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Article in NY Times on Compound Interest
Replies: 16
Views: 3328

Article in NY Times on Compound Interest

This is a good one for young investors looking for an intro article.

http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/ ... f=business
by lloydbraun
Mon Jan 07, 2013 12:58 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Should I pay off student loan right now!!
Replies: 29
Views: 2947

Re: Should I pay off student loan right now!!

He means that you'd have to earn more than 5.5% on investments to beat the guaranteed 5.5% rate that would be realized by paying off the loan as that is its interest rate.
by lloydbraun
Fri Jan 04, 2013 11:01 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: A weak case against indexing?
Replies: 68
Views: 6843

Re: A weak case against indexing?

I don't think that academics have done flawed statistical studies as they are just observing active mutual fund managers. Are the sIkilled professionals you're talking about mutual fund managers or hedge fund managers?
by lloydbraun
Thu Jan 03, 2013 9:11 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Deleted
Replies: 95
Views: 10921

Re: At what age did your health start to limit your hobbies?

Thanks for the info, it's appreciated. For running I never stretch before but sometimes do so afterwards. My wife runs a lot and makes me stretch afterwards when we run together. I do stretch before playing basketball, though I don't play often, so I'll have to re-think that.
by lloydbraun
Thu Jan 03, 2013 8:59 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Deleted
Replies: 95
Views: 10921

Re: At what age did your health start to limit your hobbies?

Age: 33 Well I'm not really a great athlete but I run a fair amount (2 miles, 5 times per week) and play some basketball whenever I get the chance. At this point I feel like I'm as strong and energetic as I was in my late teens and in my 20s, although I'm a lot calmer and make better decisions, but I will say that up until 27 I never needed to stretch and had never pulled my hamstring. Now if I don't stretch and then try to go play pick up basketball there's about a 25% chance that I'll come away with at least a tweaked hamstring. So I guess for me it's just stretching and recovery time (don't even get me started on worsening hangovers after I hit my mid 20s...nothing teaches you moderation like they do).
by lloydbraun
Thu Jan 03, 2013 4:44 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: A weak case against indexing?
Replies: 68
Views: 6843

Re: A weak case against indexing?

I'm not going to respond in a detailed way to the article, except to say that the author of the piece did not even mention transaction costs related to portfolio turnover, which acts as a major drag on active investing. I've searched the web and every journal available through my university's databases (JSTOR, E-Journal finder, etc..) and about 95% of what I've found is favorable to indexing. In fact, in peer reviewed journals I would say that 99% of what I've read is favorable to index funds. Sorry this doesn't answer your question, but there really isn't a good case against indexing when you include transaction costs, expense ratios, and tax liability. That being said, indexing is not necessarily totally passive as fund managers tend to p...
by lloydbraun
Wed Jan 02, 2013 6:06 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Marriage & Finances - Joint vs. Separate Checking/Savings?
Replies: 62
Views: 5846

Re: Marriage & Finances - Joint vs. Separate Checking/Saving

Great idea on the quarterly family financial update, I'm going to start one now!
by lloydbraun
Wed Jan 02, 2013 5:21 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Marriage & Finances - Joint vs. Separate Checking/Savings?
Replies: 62
Views: 5846

Re: Marriage & Finances - Joint vs. Separate Checking/Saving

Everything is joint except our retirement funds though we're each other's primary beneficiary for those accounts. Neither of us had very much prior to marriage, except student loan debt, since we were both in grad school and now we share everything. I make significantly more than she does for now but that doesn't, and shouldn't matter in a marriage, because once you're married, you're partners. Just my opinion.
by lloydbraun
Wed Jan 02, 2013 12:14 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Do you include SS [Social Sec] in your AA [Asset Allocation]
Replies: 30
Views: 1849

Re: Do you include SS in your AA

Yeah I didn't mean for it to come across as right by definition, however I do agree with him and I do think that the better conversation is AA, with SS included, by age.
by lloydbraun
Wed Jan 02, 2013 11:54 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: low-rate environment for the rest of our lives ?
Replies: 11
Views: 810

Re: low-rate environment for the rest of our lives ?

People in the early 80s thought that a high interest rate environment was here to stay. Predicting interest rate changes requires a combination of correctly predicting the country's future GDP growth, unemployment, Fed panel members' economic beliefs, and the state of the global economy as global developments continue to have a more significant impact on the U.S. economy every year. If you can get all of that right you can accurately predict future interest rates.
by lloydbraun
Wed Jan 02, 2013 11:42 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Do you include SS [Social Sec] in your AA [Asset Allocation]
Replies: 30
Views: 1849

Re: Do you include SS in your AA

People can talk about the road less travelled and being contrarian as if these two things are inherently good. They're only good when everyone else is wrong. Bogle hasn't been correct because he's been a contrarian, he's been correct because he applied academic research to the world of investing to create the world's first index fund. I once had a student who told me that he was a critical thinker, which meant that he didn't believe anything. I explained that a critical thinker is not someone who refuses to believe anything, but rather someone who evaluates all of the available data to reach a well informed conclusion. I don't care if people don't include SS in their AAs but I would hope that instead of lauding contrarians we could celebrat...
by lloydbraun
Wed Jan 02, 2013 11:22 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Do you include SS [Social Sec] in your AA [Asset Allocation]
Replies: 30
Views: 1849

Re: Do you include SS in your AA

Yes I include Social Security in my AA. I'm not saying that everyone needs to follow everything Bogle advises but I find it interesting that investors on a site called Bogleheads.org disregard Bogle's advice to include SS in your AA.