Bogleheads.org

Your friend isn't even posting on this forum, but I can actually feel his anxiety through your descriptions. This random internet stranger's recommendations: 1) Being 100% in a stable value fund (whether it's 1%, 2%, 3%) is not really a bad thing. It sounds like it's much closer to his risk toleranc...

I would recommend a Duck Tour over the trolley.
Definitely walk some of blocks in Back Bay on Comm Ave.
Touristy, but historically very cool: the Freedom Trail.

I wouldn't call mine a play money investment; I'd just call it play money. Probably 4 times over the past 10 years I've bought call options on some stocks I'm pretty familiar with. It definitely met the adrenaline goal and the high risk/high reward goal. On 3 of them I probably grossed an average of...

OP - I don't think percent return is the right metric to use here. You're saying if I invest $350,000 now, I'll avoid $1,300/month later. I follow what you're saying, but I shake out as "sort of" on your analysis. I think a better way to dimension the two options (buy vs. rent) is just set...

I've created 2 Excel spreadsheets that have evolved over the years. One tracks our investment portfolio and net worth. The second I use for monthly budgeting and tracking. Both have fun graphs I enjoy staring at and ooh new formatting for each new year. I find I update the investment spreadsheet pro...

I'll throw out a number; it's looking like between the two polls about a third of respondents are changing or are considering changing their bond investments. Which is higher than I would have thought. Personally I'm in the gather-more-information,-then-decide phase. In the meantime I'm sitting on t...

I am learning a tremendous amount from the recent bond valuation discussions and different perspectives. I'm interested in a temperature check on the forum to see what others think about the hypothesis that bonds are overvalued and should be reduced/eliminated from many people's portfolios.

Go for the 20% down payment, avoid the PMI, and call it a day.

Driving our 1996 Corolla with 195,000 miles.

My top 3 nuggets: 1) The biggest return on your time and effort will be to produce a functional proof-of-principle prototype that you can show others (investors, new team members, etc.). 2) Be crystal clear and realistic on your points of parity and points of differentiation versus existing substitu...

BudgetForWealth wrote:Very nice! May I ask which company you used to do the refi?

Wells Fargo

john94549 wrote:Might I suggest a nice "thanks for your help" note to your loan officer. With a copy to his or her supervisor

Nice idea. I'll do that once everything is finalized.

I need to geek out. We bought our (first) home in August 2009 with a 30 year fixed at 5.25%. Not bad, not great. If I kept that loan and paid off on schedule, I would have paid back $1.99 for every $1.00 borrowed. And after the first 18 months, only $0.22 of every $1.00 I paid to the bank went to pr...

It would be interesting to see this as a yes/no poll. My vote is: 1) Google the model number and see if there are parts available. I've recently repaired our old GE dryer (the owners manual looks like something you'd see on Mad Men). All it needed was a new belt, and it was available on Amazon (not ...

We're in the midst of refinancing, so I had to make the lock/float decision about 3 weeks ago. 1) Assuming you have run the numbers and are comfortable with the costs and current rates, I would lock. 2) If floating the rate is keeping you up at night, I would say the risk you're taking is too high. ...

I think there are various things within HR that I would enjoy. Some of them include recruiting, mediation between staff/supervisors (in a good company where this could be done effectively anyway), and benefits management. I'm always the person who knows all the ins and out and rules of different th...

I also vote for the 30yr FRM. Something to think about is the sleep-at-night factor. If you are financially conservative-ish (which I'm speculating you are since you have 40% bonds in your portfolio), I would think the uncertainty of an ARM would be psychologically taxing for you. I know it would be...

mlipps wrote: I like the idea of HR a lot

OP - Could you be more specific about what intrigues you? This will help me with an answer...

I will opine on your question #2 above. I recently went through the "how much is enough" question myself, and a co-worker gave me some good advice about how to think about it. The scenario you are thinking about is if you die, what happens to your wife and daughter. Arguably, your wife wil...

My wife and I were in a similar situation as yours when we bought our first home only recently in 2009. We decided on the 30yr FRM, and I recommend the 30 yr (take a look at the 20 yr also and choose one of those). After you find yourself a couple of years into the mortgage, you will either find tha...

When I was in fourth grade my parents bought me 10 shares of Disney. This was way back in the day, so we watched it grow and grow and grow. We reinvested dividends, and that single gift got me interested in investments (and personal finance). My advice would be to have your kids have some skin/engag...

I treat our daughters' 529's as separate portfolios vs. what I consider The Retirement Portfolio. The Retirement Portfolio conisists of taxable accounts, 401(k)'s, and IRA's for my wife and me. This portfolio has a target allocation 70/30 equities/bonds. I expect to start withdrawing from this portf...

I agree that the first question, "How much income will you need?" is impossible to answer when you're younger. So is "what return do you expect on investments?" or another favorite of mine "what inflation rate do you assume?". My two cents: 1) Assume you will have to fu...

Rush Musically they are just in a league of their own, but are too deep and awesome for the unwashed multitudes. The passiion of their "small" diehard fan base (myself included) is unbelievable. But main stream, Rush doesn't get as much cred as they should (although that seems to be changi...

12 months of current living expenses, but I'd like it to be more like 15 months. 40 years old with high mortgage payment, high day care payments, and average job security. I know the rule of thumb is 6-12 months, but the sleep-at-night test has convinced me that my personal number is 2x-3x the rule ...

3 guesses of places to look: * Perhaps in publicly traded bank 10-K annual filings. In the company overview section there is often a lot of juicy details. Maybe BofA or Wells Fargo or the like has a simple table like that. * Maybe mint.com or similar websites have some resources/papers about that. *...

Having gone through the job search and hiring process several times, my strong advice is be candid. I agree with the converged-upon advice: tell the truth. Layoffs are coming, you may or may not be laid off, you're worried about being laid off, and you're exploring what options are out there. You're...

mmmodem wrote:I'm surprised no one has mentioned it. Your motivation to buy a home is to have enough space for your child. You don't have a child. You may find it could take up to 2 years to conceive even if both of you are healthy and have no complications. I'd suggest you wait until a bun is in t...

I agree with everyone's comments around the data is not perfect, median is more representative, how do you define income, how do you define net worth, etc. As one previous poster commented, I think the ratio of savings/expenses is a good way to think about it. I've considered going through my last 1...

I'm actually surprised how high the numbers are in the study, especially for the < 35 group. I expected those numbers to be much lower based on all the debt and lack of savings of most of the people I know. I don't believe these numbers. There are plenty of people with negative net worth. Ok I gues...

I just edited the table because I accidentally used the 2007 net worth data (not 2010), so the ratios are different. My fault for trying to do this too fast over lunch!

I admit I love looking at the data in the Fed's US Family Finances study. While I honestly think I may never be able to retire, the data does help me feel good that our family is above average at savings. What is the ratio of your household's net worth divided by you household's last year income com...

All, as always thanks for taking the time for insightful comments and perspective.

I'm going to go with 50/50 nominal/inflation-indexed and call it a day.

Thank you.

I've just finished reading The Boglehead's Guide to Investing; enjoyed it, and learned several things. One question I have after is on what bonds my wife and I should have in our portfolio... My wife and I are in the accumulating years, with an overall investment portfolio allocation of 75/25 equiti...

The mutual fund RYVYX was primarily used for an example as something risky, I understand that many funds like this are pretty much considered betting, I was just curious if anyone else, like pingo, had a few things buried in their portfolio. : P I hear you loud and clear on wanting to take some ris...

Clearly this community does not gamble with portfolios, but I'm curious if there's an interest in gambling as a hobby among any of us. Clearly there were a number of us logical folks who were drawn into the entertainment value of the recent $600 million lottery. I have gambled for money the 3 times ...

My wife and I have two wonderful daughters; 3 and 1. And I'm already wigged out about paying for their college. From this board it seems there are two schools of thought on the priority of funding your kids' college: it's a priority that is on-par with funding your retirement, or it's a much lower p...

96 Accord 328K 00 Gran Prix 140K Hope for several more years on both, but if not, then they have been good value. Wife's Gran Prix wasa little more than a year old when purchased and its initial cost is now down to about 14 cents per mile. My Accord was purchased for $6300 when it was 6 years old a...

A fun survey for Friday. According to Wikipedia, in 2007 the median age of automobiles in the US was 9.7 years. [Seems high]. So by my back of the envelope math, the median US car has 120,000 miles [Seems high, but hey who knows.] I'm curious if this community is representative of the US or skews to...

1) I would pay off the $4k in student loans. 2) Then I'd refinance into a $140k, 20-year fixed rate mortgage - using ~$20k from the windfall. By my rough math the principal and interest monthly payment will stay about the same as you're currently paying, but... You will get rid of PMI, more money pe...

1) Write down everything that was said in today's meeting while it is still fresh in your head. 2) Start keeping a log of every conversation from here on out. Who was there, what was said, what was agreed to. 3) If there are any emails to you about this (there may not be since the firm won't want do...

My wife and I are in the metrowest Boston area, with two daughters (1 and 3 years old) in part-time at a day care center. 1) $100 per day per kid is roughly what we've seen for the day care centers we looked at. So $400/week sounds in line. 2) If you'd like, feel free to private message me and maybe...

Thanks for the responses. I should have mentioned, i'm extremely grateful and i do know how lucky I am to have what I do. BS in biology isn't exactly the most in demand degree. I've looked at various jobs in health care and nothing really interested me. I volunteered in a hospital for a bit and bei...

All great comments...thank you!

My wife and I are expecting our first child next month, and I aspire to be the Responsible Dad. I would love to hear this intelligent group's thoughts on my current thinking for life insurance. * We would get insurance to cover: (1) paying off the mortgage, (2) raising our child, and (3) paying for ...

S, A few random thoughts.... 1) You mentioned the 5.75% load, you already paid it, should you stick with the fund? Looking at it rationally, expenses you have already paid do not matter for what to do with your money. What matters is performance (and expenses) going forward. My advice is to transfer...

What a great discussion! I sincerely appreciate the thoughtful, succinct advice. I appreciate the diverse perspectives and factors to consider in this decision. tfb and Dale, thanks for the links; those are helpful discussions as well. On the stomach factor: I agree with the consensus of a bond allo...

Long time lurker (on Morningstar), first time poster. Love these discussions. So I turn 35 this year and have not decided what percent of my and my wife's portfolio should be in bonds. Right now we're at 15%. I've heard the 100 minus your age or 110 minus your age rules of thumb. I understand why yo...