Bogleheads.org

It feels like there's a general consensus that major asset classes, whatever direction they go in, may return less over the medium term. This isn't just a regular media thing -- the Vanguard Bonds discussion I listened in on a couple of weeks ago suggested that they were modeling lower than historic...

I don't have a huge amount of experience, but I really like the idea. My wife and I are likely to take overlapping career breaks sometime next year and we're very tempted to do something similar for around a year before settling back down into new jobs. A few years ago we did this in Seattle and, tw...

2/3 of your net worth is in a single stock? how's that been working out? Well, in my case really well. That stock is in the company that acquired a start-up that I founded with a couple of friends. While we've had to weather through a complex lock-up process, I already sold enough to buy two homes ...

Your glass is half full. With a diversified portfolio, there are always some assets that are doing poorly, especially those that did well in the recent past. There is no guarantee that any one will do well in the future either. We live in a tough world. Be thankful that you have investments, even t...

I'm 50:50 if that counts. (this includes both a REIT and Small Cap tilt which are both US). Reasons: At the end of the day the US market represents around 45% of all equities, so anything higher than that suggests you're tilting towards the US either due to some belief that valuations in the US are ...

I have said, what seems like hundreds of times, but it is every investors RESPONSIBILITY to understand what each asset and subassets role is in their portfolio. After weighing the risks and benefits that said asset only then it should be included in your portfolio. The problem with "lazy portf...

For another article on bonds, you should read the Seeking Alpha interview of Larry Swedroe: http://seekingalpha.com/article/1081411-larry-swedroe-positions-for-2013-resist-the-temptation-to-stretch-for-yield Here's my take which is basically worth as much as any talking head's view: Bonds are not g...

I am not familiar with the details of your portfolio. If you can post it here, that would be helpful. For high-quality bonds, the primary factor that determines the risk level is the average duration. If your average duration is 5-6 years or less, I would not worry too much. I seem to recall that S...

(EDITED TO CORRECT TYPO AND ADD AA) My AA was modeled on David Swenson's thoughts in Unconventional Success and is, at a high level: REIT 2.2% (VGSLX) US EQUITIES 16% (VTSAX) NON-US DEVELOPED 8% (VDMAX) NON-US EMERGING 12% (VEMAX) US SMALL CAP 1.8% (VTMSX) INTERM US TREASURIES 18.6% (VFIUX) I BONDS ...

It happened very suddenly to me. One day I got a pay check that had the gross sum of $1.32M. Not only was it a One Million Dollar check but, after taxes and added to my other savings, it took me over $1M net worth as I already owned my small apartment. I knew it was coming, so I can't say that it wa...

I'm obviously being really dumb here, but how is the current rate 2.2%? The rate I can see on the Treasury website ( http://www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/research/indepth/ibonds/res_ibonds_iratesandterms.htm ) seems to suggest the current semi-annual inflation rate is 1.1%? A year consists of two se...

The way I read this article is that TIPS: a) will do what they are supposed to do (hedge inflation, be super-safe, US government backed instruments) BUT b) Not necessarily be a great asset for those who want the above and additionally need/expect real return on top Does that sound about right? As a...

The way I read this article is that TIPS: a) will do what they are supposed to do (hedge inflation, be super-safe, US government backed instruments) BUT b) Not necessarily be a great asset for those who want the above and additionally need/expect real return on top Does that sound about right? As a ...

I believe the CPI figures released thus far would put the next 6 month adjustment at around 1%, compared with the 2.2% rate that is currently in effect. Note that I'm referring just to the semiannual inflation rate, not the fixed rate which is currently 0% and is expected to remain there. If I hadn...

Given this forum and its views on the finance industry, I thought this one was good:

10. Average people believe you need money to make money. Rich people use other people's money.

I'm reading Where are all the customer's yachts? and this point gets made over and over.

Wow -- thanks all for what has been a very detailed look into this. I think for my purposes, it feels fairly straightforward. Per the various comments I think I will: 1) Set up one 529 (529_1) for Child1 (funded by both my wife and I for $130k in total, funded today, but essentially a pro-rated gift...

Yes, my original post wasn't clear. I'm referring to the 5 year 'all in one' option. So it sounds like I can definitely open a 529 each for the kids and gift each $130k (assuming we then don't gift them anything more for the next five years) and separately also open a 529 for my wife and simply fund...

You will find most people here don't believe in market-timing and so will say there's no point worrying about whether right now is a good time or bad time. As others have suggested, check out the Wiki to look at diversification which will help you if one investment (eg the S&P 500) goes down dra...

I am wanting to take my wife somewhere during her fall break in early October. She is a first year teacher and will definitely appreciate some time away to relax. I currently have two free nights to any Hyatt hotel, so would prefer this hotel chain. We have thought about San Francisco or Chicago. A...

Hi all, This may be a little specific, but as I don't have a CPA right now, thought I'd see if anyone here had seen/tried something similar. I want to open three 529s -- one for each of my kids (both under 5) and one for my wife (we believe we will have a third child and plan would be to switch to h...

If you look up Moody's ratings of Stockton (I can't seem to make a link so just Google "Moody's stockton CA ratings" and its the second or third hit), you'll see that as recently as 2007 (five years ago), Moody's gave the city a AA rating. If you then look at Vanguard's CA Intermediate Tax...

Paraphrasing one more thought lifted from another board. It may apply to you: "For those of means, it would be foolish to waste 529 money on college." Meaning, a 529 is a wealth transfer and estate planning tool for the wealthy first, and a good way to pay for college second. Fill it up, ...

Sorry for not responding for a while, was away on vacation. Thanks for all the advice and thoughts. I'm going to spend a few days re-spinning all of this, but I think the high-level takeaways/changes I'm gong to make are: 1) Remove REITs entirely (too tax-inefficient and given we have multi-continen...

I made $75k/yr in 2000 ... adjusted that's $99k.

It was the highest paying job I got offered and I got really excited taking it, flying out, starting a new life and everything else. Then, just five months in, the dot-com boom crashed and we all got laid off!

Learnt a few lessons...

Google Fiber ...Good for your cholesterol levels too! (sorry, couldn't help myself) I live in Kansas City. How do all you New York, California snobs like me now!? :) :) :) I toast your good fortune! :sharebeer In the Bay Area it's almost impossible to make a cell phone call without interruption any...

For the rest of your nominal bonds that have to sit in taxable space, look at VCADX, the CA intermediate-term bond fund. I was going to use VWITX (Intermediate Term Tax-Exempt). Obviously all the non-CA bonds in there are subject to CA income tax, but that's a lot lower than Federal and it means I ...

Well, true. I am thinking about buying a new car though! 2012 Honda Fit, would be sweet. I'd love to have one but I don't think I'll be able to convince myself to pull the trigger. If it helps, we bought a 2008 Fit and LOVE IT. Amazingly small on the outside, huge on the inside (Tardis-like, if you...

Thanks letsgobobby -- all super useful and clear. I'll post back once I decide what to do in the final analysis!

Thank you both for your replies! Move international stocks to taxable in order to claim foreign tax credit. Thanks -- that makes total sense. But you also need the retirement space for REITs and that is even more important or your REIT income will be taxed at 53.7% beginning in 2013. Do you have TIP...

Thanks TFB! I was hoping for a lazy structure in my portfolio so that I could leave the assets in one place, as changing location depending on rates sounds like enough effort to potentially lead me to mess it up ... BUT, that's probably me being too lazy for my own good. In a way, reading between th...

Out of interest -- what's the Boglehead view on where to keep T-bills? On the one hand, they are bills so presumably a tax-deferred account would be best, on the other hand, they are free from state tax, so if you're in a high state-tax, maybe better in a taxable account? Is there an easy answer? If...

I do not have any experience of the two brokers you list.

Are you a non-resident alien who is based in the US for tax purposes? If so most regular retail bank brokerages should work (eg Citi or Chase).

Hi all, First of all, even before a single response to this, I have to say thanks for all the amazing insight I’ve gleaned by lurking here over the last three months. Before that I read pretty much all of the standard BH literature, but I kept coming up with random questions and once I found the for...

Actually, I don't. Investments are very specific in that you provide capital in exchange for a share of profits. The reason Kickstarter works is that the recipient is essentially begging. There is no requirement that the project even happen. When you have investments, there is whole new area of reg...

But today, sites like KickStarter are effectively letting people 'invest' in random, venture-style projects at pretty much any price-point they want to. It's not fully there yet, but you can see it going that way. The projects I've seen on Kickstarter haven't been investments in any meaningful sens...

As the previous poster said, I think the biggest difference will be that more 'normal' people will get access to asset classes that are currently off-limits. Just a couple of examples from my industry (Silicon Valley/hi-tech): 1) Venture Capital: this has generally been too expensive for all but the...

I think suits are a little asymmetric from an investment perspective (presumably the perspective that is most appropriate for this community!). I would either spend less than $300 or invest more than $3k. My parents are British and I lived there for a while as a child and, with the sartorial culture...

Like many others, travel is a big one for us, but I don't see it fully as a vice as most of our family lives in Europe, so it's almost essential to ensure the kids have a relationship with their grandparents and cousins! The other big one for us is food. Before the kids, that meant nice dinners out ...