Search found 7095 matches

by hudson
Mon Mar 18, 2024 6:23 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Can TIPS in a taxable account make sense?
Replies: 4
Views: 476

Re: Can TIPS in a taxable account make sense?

nassau34 wrote: Mon Mar 18, 2024 3:37 pm If I've maxed out room in my tax deferred IRA with bonds and other highly taxed investments, and am using my tax-free retirement account (Roth IRA) to buy high-potential growth stock funds, does it make sense to purchase TIPS from a taxable account? I'm specifically thinking about the 10-year TIPS (reopening) about to be offered at auction. I'm trying to rotate out of a large T-bill holding.
My tax advantaged is almost all TIPS.
I hold TIPS in taxable so it makes sense to me.
by hudson
Mon Mar 18, 2024 6:16 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Use RMD to pay taxes
Replies: 21
Views: 1264

Re: Use RMD to pay taxes

I am now the tax guy for my MIL. She is 82, $2.8M with $275k in an ira that requires an RMD of $18k. She has a federal pension of $65k that withholds federal and state taxes each month. Also gets $20k of SS that has federal withholding. So she does have a pay as she goes tax setup. But she typically has an additional tax liability of $18k / year (federal and state total). Her old tax guy had her do estimated payments for that. I was thinking I should just designate her RMD to go $12k to federal taxes and $6k to state taxes. That will cover her tax liability for 2024 (with the withholding). 1. Can I do that? 2. When should I do that? It doesn't really matter to her when I do it because her income more than covers expenses. Thanks for your t...
by hudson
Mon Mar 18, 2024 2:13 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: advice needed investing $700K
Replies: 8
Views: 1408

Re: advice needed investing $700K

I'm new to Bogleheads and would appreciate your insight! I recently exercised a bunch of stock options and have about $700K to invest. age 60, retired, single total assets around $3.1M including the $700K cash from the options. current asset allocation without the cash is 70 stock / 30 Bonds. Desired allocation 65 stocks / 35 bonds once cash is invested. Of the $3.1M, ~680K is in deferred comp which will result in approximately $70 to $75K per year over the next 10 years. This covers most of my yearly costs. Current allocation on the deferred comp is 60 stock / 35 bonds / 5 REIT. Since the deferred comp will cover most of my costs over the next 10 years, I plan to defer social security until 70 (~45K per year). I don't really have any room...
by hudson
Mon Mar 18, 2024 12:44 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Can I retire with $1.75M at age 43?
Replies: 169
Views: 11161

Re: Can I retire with $1.75M at age 43?

This is a general question. I dislike and almost hate my job and was wondering if I could retire today at age 43 with about $1.75M net worth. I am very frugal and have spent about $25k per year for more than a decade. Only recently has my cost gone up to $35k. I intend to move to a cheap location to keep cost down. I’ve read about a number of FIRE movement retirees like Mr money mustache and others who were able to retire very early. Of course these bloggers are not really retired making a lot of money, but I intend to TRULY retire for many decades. Is this realistic as a frugal single person? I would like some thoughts from bogleheads. Another point is that my time is limited on this planet and I value freedom and time doing what I want o...
by hudson
Sun Mar 17, 2024 5:59 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Bond Investing
Replies: 21
Views: 2804

Re: Bond Investing

Can you help me understand this statement better: "If you value safety in your "fixed income" and not see it evaporate 13% (intermediate term bond fund) to 30% (long term bond fund), stick to I-bonds." What are the percentages? Those are the losses experienced by Total Bond fund and Long Term Treasury Bond fund, respectively, in 2022. Just for clarity, loss of this kind is only felt if you sell your bonds at a loss. Rising interest rates caused people that bought into that fund yesterday to seem to have lost money today because the NAV adjusts for the new values going forward. However, people that bought yesterday fully expected they would be holding that fund for roughly the fund's duration, and during that time they w...
by hudson
Sat Mar 16, 2024 12:57 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Bond Investing
Replies: 21
Views: 2804

Re: Bond Investing

Hello Forum, I am relatively new to bonds. I am 36 years old, married, and we currently have all our personal investments in VTSAX (90%) and VMFXX (10%)... aside from Employer 401k's, which are 80/20 e/b split. I am a bit stumped on how to diversify into bonds in 3 ways: (1) Types of bonds, (2) Amount of bonds, (3) adding/subtracting the allocations over time. - Vanguard Brokered CD's (these kind of scare me) In worry of potential future market fluctuations, I'm tempted to go into VSBSX for the next year or so... this seems like the best of both worlds: High rate of return for now, and not locked in if rates increase further... maybe this is a naive view... or maybe VBLAX is the way to go to lock in a high rate now. or maybe stop thinking ...
by hudson
Sat Mar 16, 2024 9:41 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Cash or CD's Instead of Bond Funds
Replies: 61
Views: 5445

Re: Cash or CD's Instead of Bond Funds

Raising hand! I am completely soured on bond funds, and decided to NEVER INVEST A PENNY MORE in any bond fund going forward. I am also, c ontrary to the Boglehead orthodoxy, am investing in Treasury bills and Treasury Notes to build up my "bonds" in my TAXABLE account (gasp!). So far $60k of I-bonds, $20k of T-bills. My eventual goal is to build up about $400k of "no-risk-to-principal" fixed income, which will be about 30% of my portfolio. As I add I-bonds and T-bills and T-notes (and a smattering of TIPS), I will be slowly draining away the VBTIX (Institutional version of Vanguard Total Bond fund) in my 401(k). No more bond funds? me too Treasury bills and notes contrary to Boglehead orthodoxy? Not any more. What's not...
by hudson
Sat Mar 16, 2024 7:19 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Long Term Care Insurance
Replies: 448
Views: 40706

Re: Long Term Care Insurance

WoW2012 wrote: Fri Mar 15, 2024 8:49 pm
hudson wrote: Fri Mar 15, 2024 6:16 pm
martincmartin wrote: Thu Jan 27, 2022 8:11 am
So I'm torn between getting it or trying to self insure.

How have others approached this decision? Any way to think about it to help me?
I've looked at quotes a number of times; I never saw a good deal that fit my budget.
To me, it's not insurance, it's a pre-payment for something that you may never use.
If an LTCi premium doesn't fit your budget, how the h*ck do you think you can self-insure?
That's a fair question, but it sounds like a salesperson's most effective slam dunk reply. :)
I can afford LTCI but I've aged out. The deal was never right; it cost too much. I could also buy an overpriced luxury car, but I'm not interested.
How to self insure? I plan to wing it.
by hudson
Sat Mar 16, 2024 7:06 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Long Term Care Insurance
Replies: 448
Views: 40706

Re: Long Term Care Insurance

So I'm torn between getting it or trying to self insure. How have others approached this decision? Any way to think about it to help me? I've looked at quotes a number of times; I never saw a good deal that fit my budget. To me, it's not insurance, it's a pre-payment for something that you may never use. How is it different from other insurance? I have LTCi but hope I never have to use it just like I wouldn't want to use my home, car, or life insurance. TravelforFun Dental insurance is mostly just a pre-payment. It doesn't cover the big stuff. Modern LTCI is also mostly pre-payment. It's expensive and it doesn't cover everything. I'm sure it's that way because insurance companies have to make money. It's a luxury purchase. I don't know of ...
by hudson
Fri Mar 15, 2024 6:16 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Long Term Care Insurance
Replies: 448
Views: 40706

Re: Long Term Care Insurance

martincmartin wrote: Thu Jan 27, 2022 8:11 am
So I'm torn between getting it or trying to self insure.

How have others approached this decision? Any way to think about it to help me?
I've looked at quotes a number of times; I never saw a good deal that fit my budget.
To me, it's not insurance, it's a pre-payment for something that you may never use.

Bill Bernstein in Four Pillars of Investing, 2d Edition said:
"
...long-term care, for which insurance solutions are either inadequate or prohibitively expensive."

"Probably the most fraught insurance area is long-term care which over the past decade has seen dramatically increasing premiums and decreasing benefits."
by hudson
Fri Mar 15, 2024 8:11 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Cash or CD's Instead of Bond Funds
Replies: 61
Views: 5445

Re: Cash or CD's Instead of Bond Funds

Fixed income assets include any variety of things from large buried in the basement to some kind of risky long term high yield bonds. People hold any variety of combinations of all the things in that potential list. While the extremes mentioned just above would be very rare you would certainly find plenty of people holding CDs, for example, rather than bond funds. It might be useful to be more specific regarding what your question really amounts to. Otherwise the answer is just a simple yes. I don't have a good understanding of bond funds, TIPS, etc, so to achieve my AA in my Roth IRA, could I and does it make sense to hold CDs in a tax-deferred account? CDs in tax deferred? yes To understand treasuries including TIPS and bond funds? Buy $...
by hudson
Fri Mar 15, 2024 7:58 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Letter to heir - what would you include?
Replies: 90
Views: 7246

Re: Letter to heir - what would you include?

Yearly, I send a letter to those who need it with information on where to find what is needed.
Thanks for bringing this up as I'm a month late!
It's short and sweet.
Those folks already have a copy of my final papers.
by hudson
Fri Mar 15, 2024 7:34 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: advice needed investing $700K
Replies: 8
Views: 1408

Re: advice needed investing $700K

I'm new to Bogleheads and would appreciate your insight! I recently exercised a bunch of stock options and have about $700K to invest. age 60, retired, single total assets around $3.1M including the $700K cash from the options. current asset allocation without the cash is 70 stock / 30 Bonds. Desired allocation 65 stocks / 35 bonds once cash is invested. Of the $3.1M, ~680K is in deferred comp which will result in approximately $70 to $75K per year over the next 10 years. This covers most of my yearly costs. Current allocation on the deferred comp is 60 stock / 35 bonds / 5 REIT. Since the deferred comp will cover most of my costs over the next 10 years, I plan to defer social security until 70 (~45K per year). I don't really have any room...
by hudson
Fri Mar 15, 2024 7:21 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What is the appeal of Robinhood
Replies: 85
Views: 5929

Re: What is the appeal of Robinhood

gavinsiu wrote: Wed Mar 13, 2024 4:52 pm I have seen a few post about the Robinhood and have heard about it mostly in association with the Game Stop Short Squeeze. What is the appeal of Robinhood out of curiousity? Why would one go with Robinhood instead of say Schwab, Vanguard, or Fidelity?
Why would anyone go to Robinhood? inexperience?
by hudson
Fri Mar 15, 2024 7:13 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: "22 of the funniest novels since Catch-22" (acc. to the NYT)
Replies: 29
Views: 2900

"Where are the Snowdens of yesteryear?"

“Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them. With Major Major (Major Major Major Major) it had been all three. Even among men lacking all distinction he inevitably stood out as a man lacking more distinction than all the rest, and people who met him were always impressed by how unimpressive he was.”
― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

Catch-22 Quotes

https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/814330-catch-22
by hudson
Fri Mar 15, 2024 6:58 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Cash or CD's Instead of Bond Funds
Replies: 61
Views: 5445

Re: Cash or CD's Instead of Bond Funds

DireStraits wrote: Thu Mar 14, 2024 12:51 pm Is anyone holding cash or CD's in lieu of bond funds to achieve the proper asset allocation?
I hold all treasuries and CDs. (AA= 0/100) I own zero mutual funds or ETFs.
Why pay even .03% expenses if you can easily do it yourself?
I learned how by reading Kevin M's posts; then I bought and promptly sold 10 different kinds of treasuries.
I still have a lot to learn.
by hudson
Fri Mar 15, 2024 6:46 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: The best game-changing financial advice you ever received (or "discovered")
Replies: 120
Views: 11119

Re: The best game-changing financial advice you ever received (or "discovered")

TRC wrote: Thu Mar 14, 2024 9:52 pm Becoming completely debt free. There is no such thing as good debt.
Agree!
Don't retire until you are mortgage and debt free.
Save up and buy vehicles without a loan.
Stop spending and start saving.
Do your own investing; strive for a 0% expense ratio.
With fixed income, no need to buy a mutual fund or ETF; buy treasuries and CDs unless munis are a good fit.
Use AAA rated munis.
If you don't need to take risk, don't. (From Larry Swedroe: viewtopic.php?p=1372822#p1372822)
Long TIPS and short treasuries are almost riskless (Bill Bernstein: https://www.advisorperspectives.com/art ... at-age-104)
by hudson
Fri Mar 15, 2024 6:18 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Liquid cash for 5year horizon at 5% apy
Replies: 16
Views: 1555

Re: Liquid cash for 5year horizon at 5% apy

Hello, I want to keep say $100-200k of easily available money that can be converted to cash quickly maybe with loss of interest or less than 1% loss of principal. But still get above 5%+ apy for 5 years. I see most CDs are paying less than 5% for 5 year terms. This is mostly my sleep well money. Is this doable with some type of investments? :annoyed 5% for 5 years? not possible CDs instantly available with less than 1% loss of principal? not possible Rolling Treasury bills available within 2 days with less than 1% loss of principal? possible but not guaranteed Many brokerage settlement accounts are paying out around 5% for now. As you know, that can change. High yield savings might be an option; they aren't paying 5% and their rates are fl...
by hudson
Fri Mar 15, 2024 6:00 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Bond Investing
Replies: 21
Views: 2804

Re: Bond Investing

Hello Forum, I am relatively new to bonds. I am 36 years old, married, and we currently have all our personal investments in VTSAX (90%) and VMFXX (10%)... aside from Employer 401k's, which are 80/20 e/b split. I am a bit stumped on how to diversify into bonds in 3 ways: (1) Types of bonds, (2) Amount of bonds, (3) adding/subtracting the allocations over time. - Vanguard Brokered CD's (these kind of scare me) In worry of potential future market fluctuations, I'm tempted to go into VSBSX for the next year or so... this seems like the best of both worlds: High rate of return for now, and not locked in if rates increase further... maybe this is a naive view... or maybe VBLAX is the way to go to lock in a high rate now. or maybe stop thinking ...
by hudson
Fri Mar 15, 2024 5:44 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Mental health or Money: navigating the OMY question
Replies: 48
Views: 4796

Re: Mental health or Money: navigating the OMY question

For some time my plan has been to retire at age 60, when I reach an important age milestone for my defined benefit pension plan. But now, with retired spouse, severe burnout, and portfolio that has grown to 110% of target, I am considering retiring now. That would involve choosing a postponed pension payment (to avoid age-related haircut of about 15%) and using Cobra for healthcare for a year, and covering expenses out of the portfolio. This would end up costing a net of around $250,000, in after-tax NPV terms. The effect on monthly cash flows would be fairly slight. We would have no trouble maintaining spending at the current level, absent catastrophic and sustained stock market losses. The responsible thing is just to suck it up for 52 m...
by hudson
Thu Mar 14, 2024 7:02 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What's your primary credit card?
Replies: 117
Views: 10242

Re: What's your primary credit card?

Fidelity 2% Visa/Elan
by hudson
Thu Mar 14, 2024 9:47 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Holding 100% stocks after FI best option for longer time horizons?
Replies: 74
Views: 8117

Re: Holding 100% stocks after FI best option for longer time horizons?

Considering our "total portfolio" as Charles Ellis would frame it the amount in equities is quite manageable. My wife's and my earnings capacity, our house, furniture, pension benefits, and other solids make our 100% equity allocation in our portfolio look quite reasonable. I might temporarily hold some cash or treasury bonds from to accumulate money for large purchases (i.e. home renovations) but other than that I don't see any reason to own bonds. However, we are lucky and life in a country with a great social safety net (Germany) where job loss or medical bills are not a problem. I enjoy my job and hope to work as long as possible. Investing is something I do because I like watching the numbers go up and down and I don't want ...
by hudson
Wed Mar 13, 2024 7:51 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Anyone buying a portfolio of corporate bonds instead of Treasuries?
Replies: 10
Views: 1046

Re: Anyone buying a portfolio of corporate bonds instead of Treasuries?

I have a small basket of stocks I have invested in over the years when they were severely underpriced. It turns out that the bonds of these companies are now underpriced and trading as low as 80 cents on the dollar . This is due to two intertwined reasons: i) Treasuries yield 5+% now and ii) As these companies are investment grade their coupon was 4.5% I'm not asking for actual bonds to invest in (though suggestions are welcome), rather the mechanics and pitfalls of investing into corporate bonds . I can buy them in my Vanguard brokerage account easy enough but I've never actually bought a corporate bond before. Investment grade bonds are more like stocks...risky. I would stick with treasuries and CDs for fixed income. AAA munis are probab...
by hudson
Tue Mar 12, 2024 10:58 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Holding 100% stocks after FI best option for longer time horizons?
Replies: 74
Views: 8117

Re: Holding 100% stocks after FI best option for longer time horizons?

msterrr wrote: Sat Mar 09, 2024 7:12 pm
Is a 100% stock / percent of portfolio withdrawal strategy really a reasonable approach to longer time horizons?

Alternatively, are there reasons to avoid this approach (if one is comfortable with the flexibility required)?
Maybe if you are holding much more stocks than you'll ever need.
Otherwise, one might need a safe pile of treasuries including TIPS.

If you haven't already, consider reading a book or two by Bill Bernstein.

https://www.amazon.com/Ages-Investor-Cr ... oks&sr=1-2
by hudson
Tue Mar 12, 2024 10:34 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How is a broker going to make money off me?
Replies: 62
Views: 5788

Re: How is a broker going to make money off me?

Settlement Fund: Fidelity charges more and pays less
That's no big deal to me because I keep my settlement fund low.
I probably make up the difference with my Fidelity 2% VISA card.

Vanguard settlement fund:
ER = .11
SEC = 5.26%

Fidelity settlement fund
ER = .42
SEC = 4.96%

My main brokerage is Vanguard; I put some funds in Fidelity years ago to see if I'd like it better.
I see lots of pluses, but I'll likely stay put.
by hudson
Mon Mar 11, 2024 6:55 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Treasuries - Up or Down rest of 2024
Replies: 20
Views: 1804

Re: Treasuries - Up or Down rest of 2024

...I am trying to decide which to buy - short term treasuries (VUSXX) fund or an 11 - 12 month CD. Both around 5.N% return right now... Treasuries have easier liquidity than CDs so I'd go in that direction. I've stepped aside from BND and have been using primarily 6 and 12 month t-bills for fixed income the last couple of years. The SEC 30-day yield on BND is now around 4.5% so I' m tempted to call it a day and take the easy route with BND. You can squeeze yield from a lot of different places but its getting harder. If I'm only squeezing an extra 0.5% I'm beginning to lose interest. On $100K that extra 0.5% is $500 a year, maybe rounding error over the course of a year. I don't think that BND is currently paying 4.5%. On Feb. 6, it paid ou...
by hudson
Mon Mar 11, 2024 6:41 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Now that long TIPS yields are 60 bp off their highs I will…
Replies: 2937
Views: 611807

Re: Now that long TIPS yields are 60 bp off their highs I will…

anoop wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2024 3:49 pm
Tom_T wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2024 3:05 pm
anoop wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2024 9:57 am Today I sold out of all my TIPS. I had been thinking about this for a while. I don't think they are a good product *for me* since the way inflation is measured doesn't seem to have any correlation to my spending.
What is your alternative? Nominal bonds have no gurantee against inflation. Stocks are volatile.
Unfortunately, there is none. :(
Good question; good answer.
My plan is to own short, intermediate and ten year nominals along with duration matched TIPS.
by hudson
Mon Mar 11, 2024 12:23 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Treasuries - Up or Down rest of 2024
Replies: 20
Views: 1804

Re: Treasuries - Up or Down rest of 2024

Yeah, seriously huge question but I am looking for opinions. I am trying to decide which to buy - short term treasuries (VUSXX) fund or an 11 - 12 month CD. Both around 5.N% return right now. I'm thinking if the treasury return starts going down, sell and buy VUSXX. Opinions? Thanks, Jerry I'm trying to figure that out myself. It's an ongoing challenge. I like to kind of match durations of the fixed income with when I'll likely need to spend the money. I'm terrible at predicting rates. For the money that I want to invest in a few days, I'm thinking half nominal ten year treasuries and half ten year TIPS. I think that the 10 year nominals are paying around 4%. The 10 year TIPS are paying around 1.75%. I'm also thinking that 10 years is too ...
by hudson
Sun Mar 10, 2024 8:38 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: William Bernstein On the Financial Industry
Replies: 81
Views: 9780

Re: William Bernstein On the Financial Industry

That's exactly right. I think what some on this thread find confusing is that there's no inconsistency between that statement and the fact that 95% of advisors and 99% of brokers are harmful to your financial health. I agree! Many folks need help. If I was one of those people, I'd just go to Vanguard and pay their .03% . That's lower than any advisors that I've hear of and the trust is there. If someone is patient enough to hang around here, they can be their own advisor and get their expenses close to 0. In case anyone has not yet correct it, it is 0.3%, not .03%. Also, I talked to one of those people twice to get an idea of what they do and I was not impressed. Completely un-independent. Will only put you in Vanguard funds. Would not adv...
by hudson
Sun Mar 10, 2024 6:06 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: William Bernstein On the Financial Industry
Replies: 81
Views: 9780

Re: William Bernstein On the Financial Industry

Bill Bernstein wrote: Sun Mar 10, 2024 6:02 pm
That's exactly right. I think what some on this thread find confusing is that there's no inconsistency between that statement and the fact that 95% of advisors and 99% of brokers are harmful to your financial health.
I agree!
Many folks need help. If I was one of those people, I'd just go to Vanguard and pay their .3%. (Corrected; Thanks vnatale!)
That's lower than any advisors that I've hear of and the trust is there.
If someone is patient enough to hang around here, they can be their own advisor and get their expenses close to 0.
by hudson
Sun Mar 10, 2024 8:09 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: William Bernstein On the Financial Industry
Replies: 81
Views: 9780

Re: William Bernstein On the Financial Industry

That's why I only recommend Vanguard to family members (all of whom are not particularly literate with investing). I usually recommend a single Lifestrategy fund. I still trust Vanguard more than other firms not to try to mislead uninformed investors - at least for now. Many folks can't or won't do it themselves; I can't think of anything better than the above. How much does Vanguard charge to manage a person's holdings. Except for Vanguard how many advisors go with the lowest expense choices like VTI (.03% expense ratio) and individual treasuries? The VTI expense ratio is about the best available and that's $300 per million per year. I like the 00.00% expense ratio on individual treasuries or CDs. Can an advisor match or beat that? I'll b...
by hudson
Sat Mar 09, 2024 7:18 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Taxation of Treasury bills, notes and bonds
Replies: 1028
Views: 149522

Re: Report Gain from Selling T-Bill as Interest Income?

Not sure if this is the same exact situation. I was using H&R Block tax software.
This Kevin M reply helped me.
Consider asking your question in that discussion.

viewtopic.php?p=7730612#p7730612
by hudson
Fri Mar 08, 2024 5:30 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: William Bernstein On the Financial Industry
Replies: 81
Views: 9780

Re: William Bernstein On the Financial Industry

"People do not seek employment in investment banks, brokerage houses, and mutual fund companies with the same motivations as those who choose to work in fire departments or elementary schools. Whether investors know it or not, they are engaged in an ongoing zero-sum, life-and-death struggle with piranhas , and if rigorous precautions are not taken, the financial services industry will strip investors of their wealth faster than they can say 'Bernie Madoff'". -- William Bernstein Actionable information: Use index funds only and keep costs low. Avoid the piranhas. I know folks who go with high cost advisors; they have no idea how bad they are getting taken. They should just take the sleep test and buy the appropriate ratio of VTI a...
by hudson
Fri Mar 08, 2024 10:41 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Drop Homeowner Ins- Self Insure
Replies: 63
Views: 4443

Re: Drop Homeowner Ins- Self Insure

I have been considering self insuring my home for a long time. Today I received an email from American Family Insurance letting me know my rates are jumping 32%. That might be what I needed to help my decision. I know this is happening to everyone in every state so I certainly don’t feel singled out. My home is worth $625k, there is nothing of real value for contents in the house, just old furniture and clothes. There is no mortgage and I would value the lot without the house around $125k. So basically I’m insuring a total loss of $500k plus old furniture and clothes for my new premium of $360/month. There’s a fire station 1 mile from my house so even a worst case scenario damage should be limited to a partial loss. So other than an astero...
by hudson
Thu Mar 07, 2024 8:05 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Alaska trip without taking a cruise - help
Replies: 53
Views: 4578

Re: Alaska trip without taking a cruise - help

Cruises are popular in that you can see the glaciers fairly closely, see wildlife (whales, eagles, seals, puffins), and visit many small coastal towns (I don't think there is even a way to drive to Juneau - you need to get there by boat or plane) all within the same experience. (Someone up thread said this was a tourist trap - not sure how you could possibly experience all this without being on a cruise). A land based Alaska vacation is a different experience entirely. A number of years ago we did both back-to-back. We did a cruise that landed us in Whittier where we picked up a train with full glass views that took us out to the Denalai area then spent several days at Denali. Hit Fairbanks and then Anchorage after that before heading home...
by hudson
Wed Mar 06, 2024 1:47 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Giving (unequal) money to adult children
Replies: 90
Views: 8263

Re: Giving (unequal) money to adult children

Some good insight in this thread in regards to estate planning. Relevant as my Mom just asked me to be her executor (she's 70). Lucky (unlucky?) she doesn't have much of an estate. Other than her house which is on a prime piece of real estate gifted to her from her Dad 40 years ago. Its the house we all grew up at and still go over all the time. Has a pond, woods and next to a large county nature park so just pure nature bliss. Pretty much all of us and our children (her grandkids) love it. Here's the kicker, she has 12 kids and we all still live in our hometown. Plus 40 grandchildren. No way, we are going to let it out of the family. But who ends up with it? Probably only 3 of us could afford to buy it at its current market price (probabl...
by hudson
Wed Mar 06, 2024 7:08 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Research on primary residence vs stock market+renting?
Replies: 51
Views: 5066

Re: Research on primary residence vs stock market+renting?

hiddenpower wrote: Sat Mar 02, 2024 8:14 am Curious if there's any academic research out there on the
optimal choice between buying a typical primary residence versus investing
in a broad index and renting. Especially curious if there's some sort of comparative formula one could use based on today's interest rates and overall market valuations.
I've never seen anything like that.
There are too many variables. Stock market results are completely unknown as are rent and housing prices.
Bottom Line: I would ignore the market and get exact prices on rentals and houses.
by hudson
Wed Mar 06, 2024 7:01 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Non-WiFi Dishwasher Needed Software Update
Replies: 33
Views: 2898

Re: Non-WiFi Dishwasher Needed Software Update

TLL24 wrote: Tue Mar 05, 2024 2:33 pm
bob60014 wrote: Tue Mar 05, 2024 2:05 pm Make and model number of the dw?

Cafe

CDT805M5NS5
I found this; it may not fit your model: https://www.cafeappliances.com/connect- ... dishwasher
How do I connect my café dishwasher to WiFi?
On your dishwasher control panel, press and hold the "Wash Temp" and "Power Dry" pads for 3 seconds until the display says "Ready to Connect." Press Next on the app. Push the "Start" pad on the dishwasher. The display will show the network name and password.
This link shows a support phone number at the bottom: https://www.cafeappliances.com/upgrades/
by hudson
Wed Mar 06, 2024 6:45 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Negotiating Full Size SUV
Replies: 23
Views: 3574

Re: Negotiating Full Size SUV

Contact all local dealers via email, tell them what you're looking for and ask for their best offer. Always ask for the total out the door price to make it easy to compare different offers. This will give you a good idea on what is possible. You can then negotiate further by asking the dealers to beat each other's offers. Found this method on BH's and have used it twice. I canvassed areas that were drivable in my state and 2 others close by. As mentioned, get out the door pricing, and then negotiate them off each other once you get initial bids. I think a poster above makes a valid point to think of waiting until after tax refund season. Thanks. This is the approach I’ll plan to take, makes a lot of sense. Email is good if you get results....
by hudson
Tue Mar 05, 2024 8:04 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Giving (unequal) money to adult children
Replies: 90
Views: 8263

Re: Giving (unequal) money to adult children

It depends.
I gift according to needs…needs of children and grandchildren.
My needs and wants get a vote.
Sure it would be great to keep score and make it come out even in the end.
That might not be practical.
I don't want to be the "gift fairy."
by hudson
Fri Mar 01, 2024 6:48 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Vanguard Investment Question
Replies: 14
Views: 1669

Re: Vanguard Investment Question

[This thread has been split from the Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread into a new topic. Moderator Pops1860] I think Vanguard CS now is essentially non-existent. Shame. My various family members and I have invested heavily via Vanguard for 3+ decades. I advised ALL my employees to invest with Vanguard. That’s coming to an end. What the heck has happened to Vanguard? When my dad passed away recently, I helped my 84-yoa mom transition their accounts into her name. Not easy. Then I advised her to started shifting lots of her other cash accounts, money market accounts, CDs, etc. to her Vanguard Fed Cash Res MM Admiral account. She shrewdly told me she wanted to start with a test investment of $50k. What a nightmare! Eleven days from snail ...
by hudson
Thu Feb 29, 2024 5:54 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Advice for buying a car in 2024
Replies: 51
Views: 8438

Re: Advice for buying a car in 2024

3. After you get the initial prices, and insist this is an out the door price after taxes and fees, take the lowest offer and take it to Dealer #2. So this doesn't take too long, tell them you will only go with them if they beat the price of Dealer #1 by at least $300.00. Insist, no matching will be accepted. They key thing about negotiating is for you to create the rules and be firm about it. Don't sound desperate, give them at least 24 hours to respond, but usually they will respond within a few hours. If they beat the price from Dealer #1 (which on the first round they usually will, since everyone starts with a high-ball offer) take that offer to Dealer #3, and keep on rinsing till you get the price. I don't know. If I asked Dealer 2 to...
by hudson
Thu Feb 29, 2024 5:42 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Advice for buying a car in 2024
Replies: 51
Views: 8438

Re: Advice for buying a car in 2024

tc101 wrote: Thu Feb 29, 2024 5:36 pm What can you tell me about buying a Toyota Camry this year?
Here's the brochure: https://www.toyota.com/content/dam/toyo ... ochure.pdf
by hudson
Thu Feb 29, 2024 3:36 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Are there any special circumstances in which you'd sell or stop DCA-ing?
Replies: 25
Views: 2249

Re: Are there any special circumstances in which you'd sell or stop DCA-ing?

hiddenpower wrote: Thu Feb 29, 2024 3:27 pm To be clear, I'm talking about specifically market timing under rare situations, such as extreme overvaluation like Bogle did, or tumultuous situations like WW3 on the horizon etc. Would you under any circumstances not stay the course and why?
If I can get a better deal, I might sell...at least in fixed income.
Should one always stay the course in fixed income?
What about a low penalty CD paying 3% when a 5% CD comes around?
The penalty is a great tax deduction.
Tax loss harvesting has also helped me decide not to stay the course.
by hudson
Thu Feb 29, 2024 10:29 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Zelle Questions: safety, speed, uses?
Replies: 57
Views: 5492

Re: Zelle Questions: safety, speed, uses?

zie wrote: Thu Feb 29, 2024 10:24 am I don't think asking for the request really helps matters much, timing attacks come to mind(i.e. if I can be the first to request your money instead of the actual intended destination, chances are high I'd get your payment instead).

I think the saner way to double check is to send $ or some other very small amount you can happily lose, then verify it all worked with the other party and went where you expected it to go. Then send the real amount after you know it works.

I do this with ACH and everything else as well whenever possible.
Useful strategy! Thanks
by hudson
Wed Feb 28, 2024 6:48 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: For cash equivalent, T-Bills or Short-Term Bond Funds?
Replies: 25
Views: 2400

Re: For cash equivalent, T-Bills or Short-Term Bond Funds?

My main criterion is that the cash value of the holding reliably not decline during stock downturns or bear markets--I want to be able to pull cash out either to use for living expenses or to buy equities during downturns or both. Do you.have a Money Market Fund (MMF) available? That would meet your needs. Yes, that is one of the options I have considered. The only downside is that I give up about .5 to .7 of interest. Not too bad a hit, but preferable to avoid. I might do something like 25% in MMF and 75% in a ladder of six month T-Bills. You added interest rates as a want. I would do the same. Your solution above might be close to being optimal. Checking rates from yesterday, I'd probably roll the 17 week treasuries. Many times I can't d...
by hudson
Wed Feb 28, 2024 6:36 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: For cash equivalent, T-Bills or Short-Term Bond Funds?
Replies: 25
Views: 2400

Re: For cash equivalent, T-Bills or Short-Term Bond Funds?

Which is a better way to hold cash equivalents in a tax-deferred retirement account? T-Bills of a year or less or a Short-Term Bond Fund with average duration of 3-5 years? My main criterion is that the cash value of the holding reliably not decline during stock downturns or bear markets--I want to be able to pull cash out either to use for living expenses or to buy equities during downturns or both. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each? I wouldn't go with a fund because interest rates affect the share price. Funds and ETFs have expenses. I like T-bills right now because the interest rates are good. Go as long as you dare. Changing interest rates can bite a little if you don't hold to maturity. You already knew that. Short CDs...
by hudson
Tue Feb 27, 2024 10:46 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Zelle Questions: safety, speed, uses?
Replies: 57
Views: 5492

Re: Zelle Questions: safety, speed, uses?

Zelle keeps coming up and I have questions. My current bank does not offer it, but recently I've had a number of handymen, etc. say that they will take a check but prefer Zelle. It seems like it's a very popular way to pay people instantly, and seems like it would be very convenient. 1. I see that if a bank does not offer Zelle natively, you can still sign up through the Zelle app. Does that offer instant transfers from A to B like it would it you banked with Chase or WF, or is there a 2-3 day delay like regular ACH? 2. There were recent news stories about Zelle fraud that made it sound like it was incredibly unsafe. But when you actually read the stories, they were all people who sent money to a fraudster rather than someone hacking their...
by hudson
Mon Feb 26, 2024 5:19 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Ditch Wells Fargo Advisors
Replies: 24
Views: 3126

Re: Ditch Wells Fargo Advisors

Your current brokerage is a for-profit outfit.
Vanguard is close to being a non-profit.
Fidelity is also for profit, but if you check the right box, they'll leave you alone.
I vote Boglehead Advisors along with Vanguard or Fidelity.