Bogleheads.org

momar wrote:Might as well use Blue Cash Preferred and buy gift cards at the grocery store. 6%.

People doing this is likely why the Amex blue prefered added a $6000 max on the 6% grocery rebate.

If you own say a TSM and total international portfolio you are broadly diversified, owning the most stocks and have diversified across US, developed and EM and you own large and small and value and growth stocks. But, what most investors don't understand is that you have NO diversification at all a...

That said, My son who is an excellent saver age 32, but has no interest or comprehension of investing... I told him to go with a DFA adviser paying the .9 fee. As he saves aggressively and he needs the help and he has a long way to go given his age. I have a long standing policy NOT to suggest to a...

While Jeff does admit that DFA funds have a higher ER, he tries to downplay the difference in cost. However, he fails to mention that those higher-cost DFA funds also come with an additional cost, since they can only be had via a financial advisor, which can add .5-1% or even more for in annual fee...

I think using an advisor simply for access to DFA is not a reasonable idea, which is the comparison most people on this forum make; however, once an investor has decided to go with an advisor for a multitude of other reasons, utilizing DFA funds or picking an advisor with DFA access is a smart move....

The difference is only in how the performance is presented. If you hold a short-term bond fund and rates rise, the value of the fund as a whole will fall and the yield will increase. If you hold a ladder of target-date bond ETFs and rates rise, the price change will be different for each ETF, but t...

The sales pitch is that because they hold bonds all maturing in the same year and shut down at the end of the year of maturity, they are more like individual bonds and can be laddered, thus avoiding the problems bond funds will have when rates begin to rise. If you ladder them, you give up the purp...

re targetted munis here you have the problem of not targetting to your state situation and tax situation Also there are times when you should buy taxables vs munis, depending on shape of curve, a fund won't do that as it will be either taxable or muni And liquidity and trading costs might be of con...

The issues with ETF liquidity would worry me a great deal with these things. If you are sticking with 5 years or less, or somewhere there about, you are already mitigating the price swings to a large degree. Especially if under most circumstances you always have some component of a short-term strat...

In taxable space, if using munis, it is much easier to vary average maturity using a combo of short-term and intermediate-term funds than individual bonds. DFA ideally manages two that cap credit exposure at AA or above and have a modified variable maturity process inside the funds (using cash-flow...

Larry what are your thoughts on the target dated Muni ETF's, such as ETFs: MUAA/MUAB /MUAC/MUAD/MUAE/MUAF/MUAG, being utilized to build a muni ladder for those with less $700k-1 mil to allocate to municipals? We would obviously lose the expense ratio, but gain broad diversification and, if held to m...

It appears the Arizona State Retirement System is seeding each of these three funds with $100 million.

iShares, Ariz. Pension Team Up For New ETFs

Thanks for the replies once again. I'll probably give Rick Ferri a call; he only charges .20% on AUM > 3 million. Do you guys think that should my family choose him (or someone like him), we should only keep the money there for the first year, so that the portfolio is set up and then I can manage t...

Like already mentioned I would just go with the Vanguard Total World Stock ETF for now. Low cost, well diversified, all stock and split about 50/50 us/international. Then, if you want different percentages of US to international stock, after you have saved enough sell VT and purchase the necessary a...

So if using past performance to predict future returns is a bad idea, then how do you, and why does Vanguard show you past performance? Isn't that how people make decisions in picking funds or at least part of the decision making process? Past performance is a part of the equation, but it is not re...

I am a fan of Larry Swedroe and I would recommend you read up on the marginal utility of wealth. It definitely applies to your mom.

How Do You Know When You Have Enough?
Are You Taking Too Much Risk?
Are the Rewards Worth the Risks?

So is there an advantage to holding some international shares in a portfolio as to not? Many believe there is definitely value in diversifying internationally, i.e. How to boost your expected returns , whereas others such as Bogle, Bogle on International Investing , don't agree. I voted to follow t...

Awhile back a book covering this kind of question was mentioned on this forum - "Beyond the Grave" by Gerald M. Condon. I found the book at my local library and while I can give it only a lukewarm recommendation, it does spend time discussing variations on the question you ask. By the way...

I say talk with the kids. I am in a similar situation, but I happen to be the "doing well Dr. child". I specifically have told Mom and dad on multiple occasions to leave more or all to my less well off siblings because they could use it more and I know my folks love me. I don't need $$ to ...

Why gamble with any portion of your portfolio? The SP500 and TM at Vanguard strike me as the best course of action for long-term investors and retirees, along with an appropriate level of fixed assets for your circumstances. Personally, I stay away from foreign, international, and EM funds. I might...

Then there are the target date bond funds that hold bonds with only a specific maturity date/year. When that target date is reached the fund closes with investors getting back their principal minus expenses. These type funds should really help protect investors from default risk of individual bonds,...

If your husband or you are unsure of your ability to do it on your own then you may benefit from an inexpensive advisor that could help you much more effectively and efficiently than MS. There is no shame in this at all. Most people, particularly the majority of people not posting on this board, do ...

Sounds like Bustoff would benefit from an inexpensive advisor that could keep him/her from emotionally buying and selling at exactly the wrong times. There is no shame in this at all. Most people, particularly the majority of people not posting on this board, do not have the combination of time, des...

With interest rates at historical lows, young investors should think very, very hard before they go adding bonds to portfolios. Eric can someone explain this to me? What does interest rates has to do with bonds? And why should we think hard on this? I am not being funny. I don't understand the logi...

Eric, I am afraid I must disagree somewhat. There is more than one road to Dublin. Investors should be comfortable with whatever approach they are taking. As long as they understand that certain approaches have higher or lower expected returns and higher or lower risks, there is no reason they shou...

I get the impression Larry sees it as a viable alternative for those that have already won the game and have little to no reason to take additional risk. With stocks by far having risk of greatest loss and with Larry having all equities, only 30% or so of his money, in risky and sometimes volatile s...

Is it possible to use this portfolio if most of the money is in a taxable account with little tax-advantaged $? From reading prior Swedroe post this is his situation as well. He will likely chime in, but from what I recall he utilizes high quality, AAA/AA, municipal bonds in his taxable accounts. L...

I own what I own. When I TLHed out of Index 500 I bought Large Cap Index. Later I bought TSM. I wasn't tilting or was I? Before I bought the TSM, I had no small. Then I bought TSM, so I did tilt toward small. But I still have Large Cap, so I am tilting away from small. I guess there is a difference...

will have to think about this - lots of articles out there today - http://finance.yahoo.com/news/vwo-index-shift-begins-name-120408480.html Will have to look at VWO vs VEA - as mentioned in the article, along with the popular emerging market etf - EEM.... Lastly, will have to compare to our general...

I am awaiting delivery of a Summit refrigerator that would fit into your space very well. It also cost slightly less with in home delivery than your expected repair cost at the link below.

Summit FFBF285SS

Nice bait and switch ..... everyone knows the world ends on the 21st at midnight.

I calculated that I was going to lose $150-$200K on my home. I also had 2 rental properties in MN. My wife has a good job so we weren't sure if she can find a similar job. I got a call from the hiring manager and he asked me to make my decision today. I chose to stay put in MN. Thank you for taking...

Personally, I have lived in both states, and think the quality of life is MUCH higher in MN than TX. By education, health, and other rankings, MN overall does much better than TX. For example... 1. MN is ranked 5th in health, and TX is 40th (out of 50 states). http://www.americashealthrankings.org/...

Out of Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, I would personally rank them San Antonio, Dallas at 1 and 2 with Houston a distant 3rd. San Antonio, has a nice river walk area and a decent live music scene, although not as big as Austin. SA is very near the Texas Hill country, which might appeal to you. Texas ...

Good to know. To date I've used Schwab's SFILX (in tax advantaged), mainly due to the lower 0.55% ER. I may use PDN going forward (using careful limit orders). IIRC, Robert T prefers(ed) PDN over the Schwab fund even despite the higher ER, I believe because of his guess that PowerShares would be be...

Thanks. PSFL probably won't apply and I am already throwing as much towards these loans as I can. Is taking out a personal loan a a good idea to pay some of these off? What about credit union consolidation going via http://www.custudentloans.org/ ? If any of the loans you have are actually private ...

Not really, a few options are listed in the blog post below. My advice is what you might have already expected. As a new physician, you should pay off the $27,157.07 @ 10.25% signature student loan over the next 6 months to 1 year or quicker than that if possible. If necesary, forgo IRA, 401K invest...

Here are a few post to help you get started. Professional Financial Advice: How Much Should Investors Pay? Investing Blog Roundup: Evaluating an Adviser You might also want to contact the group Larry Swedroe works with, The BAM ALLIANCE , and the group Rick Ferri work with, Portfolio Solutions . Bot...

You may want to be careful with the "protein protein protein" approach. In Nutrition for Serious Athletes http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0880118334/roymeosreadinglo there's an anecdote about a body-builder in a sports nutrition class struggling to slim down because he's bought int...

Completely agree with everyone here that already posted with regards to Diet being 80% or more of the equation to get leaner. Keeping things seperate makes things much easier and much less frustrating. Eating habits = fat versus lean Weight training = muscle size Cardio = Heart and endurance I was a...

I'm fairly certain they can make it retroactive. It's dirty pool and prohibits you from planning, but it's not uncommon. JT Anyone who might be subject to AMT has dealt with this a lot. I don't see it as dirty pool - just part of a sloppy process. Absolutely, very sloppy indeed. The 2012 AMT should...

I manage two iMacs in my home, another iMac at a friend's home, a Mac Mini for my dad and a Macbook Pro for another friend. No antivirus. Not needed. Disable Java, don't open emails from unknown senders, don't download stuff you don't know anything about, and keep a backup of your files at home and...

Not sure if there is any real change or not.

Russell, RAFI Team Up On Fundamental Indexes

Int'l Small Cap dividend and extreme US small value ETFs in 2007 after a strong 5 year run only to lose almost 75% of their wealth, finally bailing in early 2009 and reverting to TSM, only to miss about a 100% outperformance as SV snapped back. Jerry, is that just a general pattern observation, or ...

I work at a golf course where we use the higher end backpack blowers religiously. If you need any specific model number, don't be afraid to ask. I have used the Echo, Redmax, and Husqvarna, and the best out of the bunch is Redmax. This is over 12yrs of experience. As of 2007 Husqvarna owns Redmax, ...

Glad to see year old arguments are still strong in peoples minds. Sorry for responding to the recent update from the OP on his daughters decision to buy a Mac about a year ago.

Update- As noted above my daughter bought a 13" macbook pro and has been very happy with it over the last 1 yr. Three wks ago she was riding her bicycle with the computer in a crate on the back. The crate came loose and the back pack went flying out, the zipper was open and the computer bounce...

Reviving an old thread as I am considering Schwab Private Client service. Eventually, I will manage my own investment. I've been with an investment advisor for a long time that I find it overwhelming to take it on my own. Would Schwab Private Client be a good intermediate step? If so, is it easy to...

I frequent a lawn service and landscapers forum at Lawnsite.com. This type thread has been started there multiple times and in each one the Husqvarna 323L or 223L seem to gather the most recommendations for homeowners and for the lawn service companies alike. Both can be used as trimmers and edgers ...

Followup - Received refund check from my residency program yesterday, so hopefully everyone will be getting theirs soon.