Search found 47 matches
- Sun Jul 19, 2020 3:16 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Give new doctor a SSN?
- Replies: 86
- Views: 8738
Re: Give new doctor a SSN?
Despite what a number of people commenting seem to be suggesting, SSN's are pretty critical for the revenue cycle in medical practices. Bad debt and unpaid accounts receivable (AR) is pretty rampant and getting worse as people's out of pocket expense have gone up. SSN's give a fairly reliable way to track debtors down when they ghost you. The idea up-thread that medical practices are the main source of compromise of SSN's is absurd, it's the banks, the feds, credit card companies, and credit bureaus where most breaches have come from
- Fri Sep 15, 2017 11:52 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Should I dump (W)Hole Life Insurance and Variable Insurance
- Replies: 14
- Views: 1783
Re: Should I dump (W)Hole Life Insurance and Variable Insurance
If you can afford to have the cash tied up for awhile (2 decades) and are otherwise maxing out your other tax advantaged investments, whole life insurance is actually a very interesting approach over a long term. It offers some unique tax advantages returns within the policy that can be hard to reach on an after tax basis with equities. while past may not be prologue, there is a reasonable argument for this approach to complement other savings. A lot of sophisticated investors prepay the premiums of the policies to accelerate the break even point of the commission and use them for tax free cash flow out of the plan in retirement. A lot of institutions and banks also use these as investments taking polices out on employees.
- Sun May 14, 2017 5:15 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Rolling over traditional IRA to Solo 401k - Questions
- Replies: 8
- Views: 1377
Re: Rolling over traditional IRA to Solo 401k - Questions
Isn't there some wierd formula on the tax hit for any gains on this type of conversion ?
- Sat Jan 14, 2012 9:20 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Grandson of BCS
- Replies: 487
- Views: 46374
Re: Grandson of BCS
This is the same USC team that got torched by Arizona State and nearly lost to Arizona?
Unless they upgrade the defense spectacularly they are going to remain a notch off what the SEC is sporting these days. Barkley's for real, but the team was just good, but not great.
Unless they upgrade the defense spectacularly they are going to remain a notch off what the SEC is sporting these days. Barkley's for real, but the team was just good, but not great.
- Tue Jan 10, 2012 6:41 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Grandson of BCS
- Replies: 487
- Views: 46374
Re: Grandson of BCS
I watched that game, which was a great game, but Stanford was the better team I'd say and lost in weird fashion. Not as weird as the Nov. 5. UA-LSU game where Bama should have won by 2 or three touchdowns and lost. I think Stanford & OSU are much more even rather compared to UA & LSU, where you had literally 8 quarters of LSU unable to move the ball across midfield.
LSU-UA part II was a very similar game as the first with the exception that Bama made their field goals, didn't turn the ball over, and didn't make inopportune penalties.
LSU-UA part II was a very similar game as the first with the exception that Bama made their field goals, didn't turn the ball over, and didn't make inopportune penalties.
- Tue Jan 10, 2012 9:14 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Grandson of BCS
- Replies: 487
- Views: 46374
Re: Grandson of BCS
I think with 8 quarters of football to judge the two teams, it becomes a lot more clear exactly how much Bama actually was. In context, the Nov 5 game result was flukey with the 2nd game validating the belief of most Bama fans that we were the best team on the field the first time on both offense and defense. This was such a fundamentally strong team on defense that they suffocated a pretty dangerous LSU team for 8 quarters while also dominating offensive stats. The fact Bama only scored 27 points in the two game reflects how equally tough LSU is with their short-field Defense despite Bama being on their side of the field frequently in both games
- Mon Jan 09, 2012 10:45 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: When will the SEC's stranglehold on BCS be ended?
- Replies: 102
- Views: 7675
Re: When will the SEC's stranglehold on BCS be ended?
Told you so! Bama was/is clearly the better team on BOTH sides of the ball. They absolutely murdered a hot LSU on defense. LSU's 1st win was very flukey in the context of 8 quarters to look at these teams.droliver wrote:While it's inarguable they're one of the top LSU teams ever, they're still going to lose to Alabama who are even better on both sides of the ball (if you watched the 1st game). As long as it doesn't come down to a field goal contest >40 yards, Bama's gonna roll 'em!G12 wrote:This is the highest quality overall team I have seen in 40-years of following LSU, even with two mediocre QB's.
- Sun Dec 25, 2011 5:36 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: When will the SEC's stranglehold on BCS be ended?
- Replies: 102
- Views: 7675
Re: When will the SEC's stranglehold on BCS be ended?
Interesting to see that the longer the game's been out to be analyzed how the bettor's are moving. What opened with LSU -3 1/2 (essentially the edge given to a home team in most football bets for evenly matched teams) a few weeks ago is now Alabama's the 1 point betting favorite in many sports books.
- Sun Dec 25, 2011 3:04 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Swedroe's portfolio shows up in the NYTimes
- Replies: 46
- Views: 9707
Re: Swedroe's portfolio shows up in the NYTimes
I like the idea of the tail-risk reduction, but all in on SCV + US treasuries makes too many assumptions that the past is prologue and would seem to create it's on kind of risk on both sides of the portfolio. Two very plausible scenario's exist where this kind of tilt could really fundamentally underperform 1. if small and value stock's historical advantage becomes more affected by high-frequency trading strategies or other economic conditions, such that it's return regresses closer to the total stock market mean 2. if we have much lower real bond returns then the recent 30 year bull run and/or the US government's creditworthiness is affected by some event To Mr Swedroe: Going forward, on a philosophical level, what kind of metrics could ma...
- Sun Dec 25, 2011 2:49 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: 25-Year-Old Broker Lee Munson Is Swaggering Relic of the Boo
- Replies: 8
- Views: 1766
Re: 25-Year-Old Broker Lee Munson Is Swaggering Relic of the
I'm sorry, but you can't read the old interview or even the new Munson 2.0 interview and ever come to a conclusion that you want someone like this running your money.
- Fri Dec 09, 2011 9:36 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: When will the SEC's stranglehold on BCS be ended?
- Replies: 102
- Views: 7675
Re: When will the SEC's stranglehold on BCS be ended?
This is the highest quality overall team I have seen in 40-years of following LSU, even with two mediocre QB's. No, Saban's 2003 LSU NC team there was a little better overall in some ways on both sides of the ball, certainly on offense. That defense was a little more fundamentally sound then the current version, which is more high risk/high reward. This defense is disruptive but vulnerable because they blitz alot. Mathieu, in particular, is overrated as a cover corner (Claiborne on the other hand is AWESOME) This year's LSU team scores points in more unconventional ways then 2003, keying off their defense and returns. While it's inarguably they're one of the top LSU teams ever, they're still going to lose to Alabama who are even better on ...
- Tue Dec 06, 2011 9:11 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: When will the SEC's stranglehold on BCS be ended?
- Replies: 102
- Views: 7675
Re: When will the SEC's stranglehold on BCS be ended?
The Sagarin SOS ratings for the big 12 don't pass the eyeball test and reflect the "echo chamber" effect of the computers over-rating the Big-12 across the board which is bumping them up. The top three big 12 teams are probably scattered between 4th-8th in the SEC this year. In years past, the SEC as a whole has also benefited from this strength inflation, but they have walked the walked on the big stages (BCS games) and dominated the other conferences in the championship games.
- Mon Dec 05, 2011 8:05 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: When will the SEC's stranglehold on BCS be ended?
- Replies: 102
- Views: 7675
Re: When will the SEC's stranglehold on BCS be ended?
Agree that the SEC is good. However, they need to play 9 conference games. And tougher non-conference games, including non-conference road games. Their weak schedule leads to inflated win-loss records and more appearances in the BCS. Describing the SEC as " good " is like saying the New England Patriots are " solid " since Bill Belichick took over as coach. They've been the dominant conference for about a 20 year cycle with 9 national titles (soon to be 10) during that span (1992-2011). What's as impressive is that 5 different teams (Bama, Auburn, LSU, UF, & Tennessee) have claimed titles and 2 others (Arkansas & Georgia) have finished in the top 10 half a dozen times each. In the BCS bowls which pair up the bet...
- Sun Aug 28, 2011 11:01 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: 53% of Stock Trading is High Frequency Trading
- Replies: 64
- Views: 7509
I strongly disagree about being blase about high frequency traders. The money they're skimming is coming right out of the market's total return. Any other interpretation literally is assuming that money grows on trees. Fractions of a penny times billions of trades adds up over time, it has to.
I would intuitively support the small tax on trades to put some drag on HFT as it's benefiting no one but those with the most sophisticated hardware & quants
I would intuitively support the small tax on trades to put some drag on HFT as it's benefiting no one but those with the most sophisticated hardware & quants
- Mon Jul 04, 2011 10:18 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: advertising by Rick Ferri
- Replies: 91
- Views: 11824
- Sun Jun 26, 2011 8:30 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: A long-time investor looks back.
- Replies: 44
- Views: 9247
what i find really interesting about that list is that in BROAD strokes, not EXACTLY, the S&P about tripled every decade from 1950-2000, and then stagnated for the last decade. from a macro perspective, was there a watershed change that might explain this, or no? That's easy I think to pinpoint. We had 1) the development of the modern interconnected internet and super high frequency trading of the world market's in real time. It's enabled increasingly larger and more speculative bets on the economy that are dissociated from the underlying debts and equity (ie. the synthetic CDO type device that was a nuclear hot-potato being shuffled around as the housing market was crippling). 2) the emergence of China which both accelerated the disma...
- Sat Sep 11, 2010 10:09 am
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: RWX to new Vgd International Real Estate ETF?
- Replies: 19
- Views: 3731
- Tue Jul 20, 2010 8:26 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Vanguard's awful "Portfolio Analysis" tool...
- Replies: 58
- Views: 22532
- Sat Jun 05, 2010 9:43 am
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Are DFA Funds Worth Paying 1% to an Advisor?
- Replies: 83
- Views: 15820
I don't think Mr. Ferri is being defensive, and I've enjoyed the interplay among the participants as you can learn a lot from the discussion.Dingle wrote:I'm not sure who is winning this debate but I find Mr Rick Ferri's tone to be quite defensive.
Does a simple yes or no answer exist to the OP's question?
As he mentioned a number of times, it's not so much a yes/no answer, but more a "maybe,kinda" depending on how interested you are and what your tolerance for the performance drag of higher ER and management fees.
Also, thank you Larry Swedroe for coming back! Your advice and input is missed around here.[/b]
- Mon May 10, 2010 3:41 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Interest free loan to help pay down mortgage??
- Replies: 11
- Views: 1585
- Sat Apr 24, 2010 8:03 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Embarrassing John Bogle quote about Michael Burry
- Replies: 27
- Views: 11243
Matt, if you read " The Big Short " you will see he actually did get lucky in his timing in the sense that if the crash hadn't started on schedule, his hedge fund would have had massive investor withdrawals and there was language in the contract with his trading partners at the banks that they could reclaim the CDS's at par if Scion Capitals assets fell below $200M. He could just as well been later vindicated but unable to profit from his insight if things had tetered along for awhile. His desperation and frustration with the banks and bond traders stalling on accurately valuing these vehicles he owned is well described in the book. The bank trying to stall the plumeting of these investments as they realized what they were sitting...
- Fri Apr 23, 2010 3:58 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Embarrassing John Bogle quote about Michael Burry
- Replies: 27
- Views: 11243
I'd suggest everyone read "The Big Short" featuring Dr. Burry.
He made a very insightful observation that the emperor had no clothes and was right. Keep in mind that he's only famous now because he managed to stay solvent longer then the market stayed irrational. If things had stayed on track for longer then he'd guessed, he would have busted and had masive withdrawls from his hedge fund at first chance. His investors were furious at where he'd tied their money up (they'd assumed he was continuing to be a value stock picker & not a previously unheard of "CDS speculator").
A singular event like this proves little other then how unlikely it is to think it could be replicated by someone.
He made a very insightful observation that the emperor had no clothes and was right. Keep in mind that he's only famous now because he managed to stay solvent longer then the market stayed irrational. If things had stayed on track for longer then he'd guessed, he would have busted and had masive withdrawls from his hedge fund at first chance. His investors were furious at where he'd tied their money up (they'd assumed he was continuing to be a value stock picker & not a previously unheard of "CDS speculator").
A singular event like this proves little other then how unlikely it is to think it could be replicated by someone.
- Mon Jan 04, 2010 8:33 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Resetting Taxable Cost Basis Every Few Years
- Replies: 39
- Views: 5666
The Roth vs. Traditional IRA decision is a wash when today's tax rate is identical to tomorrow's tax rate. Due to the tax-free nature of the Roth and the tax-deferred compounding of the TIRA, the "time value of money" isn't relevant to this decision. Just the rates...... (I have kept the issues simple to demonstrate the point. Some will be tempted to pollute the analysis by suggesting that the taxpayer may never pay the CG if he dies with appreciated assets.....or that the Roth may be taxed indirectly in the future. These are valid issues to debate, but in some other post. You're not getting off that easy! :twisted: It is utterly implausible that the ROTH account is not going to be targeted for some kind of taxation down the road...
- Sat Dec 26, 2009 8:56 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: DFA vs Vanguard
- Replies: 23
- Views: 5827
How come DFA hasn't gone direct to investors? Are they so dependent on financial advisors for business that they worry about alienating their referrals?
It would seem there's a market for their service independent of the middleman. Maybe they could temper asset movement with poenalties for early withdrawal like some of Vanguard's funds.
It would seem there's a market for their service independent of the middleman. Maybe they could temper asset movement with poenalties for early withdrawal like some of Vanguard's funds.
- Sun Dec 13, 2009 7:26 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: TSM underperforms them all Large, Mid, Small, Large/Small
- Replies: 55
- Views: 11181
No comments yet on this idea?droliver wrote:Can you accept this graph without compensating for the drag of
1) the subtle difference in ER (6-7bp) of the split classes index funds versus the rock-bottom TSM
2) tax liabilities from these rebalancing manuevers as you'd be be realizing annual capital gains trades (assuming with this scenario you weren't rebalancing with new $)
It just seems like many of these graphs here don't even account for these costs. I'm not even sure how you would calculate this as you'd have to account for capital gains tax rate changes during that time and apply the ER charges to annual balances
- Sat Dec 12, 2009 11:08 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: TSM underperforms them all Large, Mid, Small, Large/Small
- Replies: 55
- Views: 11181
Can you accept this graph without compensating for the drag of
1) the subtle difference in ER (6-7bp) of the split classes index funds versus the rock-bottom TSM
2) tax liabilities from these rebalancing manuevers as you'd be be realizing annual capital gains trades (assuming with this scenario you weren't rebalancing with new $)
1) the subtle difference in ER (6-7bp) of the split classes index funds versus the rock-bottom TSM
2) tax liabilities from these rebalancing manuevers as you'd be be realizing annual capital gains trades (assuming with this scenario you weren't rebalancing with new $)
- Sun Nov 15, 2009 10:05 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Tax rate on older unclaimed property
- Replies: 2
- Views: 825
Tax rate on older unclaimed property
I recently received some money from the State of Alabama which consisted of the balance on a couple dozen old dividend checks from IBM misdelivered to from 10-20+ years ago.
These dividends balance were redeemed at face value with no interest (the state had been collecting the interest - go figure!).
1. Should the income from those have shown up on statements from IBM delivered to our accountant and presumably already been tax assessed years ago even though they were not cashed?
2. Would I own income tax on these dividends in my current tax bracket or the time of issuance if they had not previously been assessed?
As an aside, I would encourage people to search their states unclaimed property databases which are now online.
These dividends balance were redeemed at face value with no interest (the state had been collecting the interest - go figure!).
1. Should the income from those have shown up on statements from IBM delivered to our accountant and presumably already been tax assessed years ago even though they were not cashed?
2. Would I own income tax on these dividends in my current tax bracket or the time of issuance if they had not previously been assessed?
As an aside, I would encourage people to search their states unclaimed property databases which are now online.
- Sun Nov 15, 2009 9:54 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: My adviser thinks I should not be in stocks at all
- Replies: 52
- Views: 11518
- Mon Nov 09, 2009 5:05 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Bernstein's New Book
- Replies: 17
- Views: 4281
Taylor,
it would be interesting if you could put a bug in WB's ear about the dividend/capital gains tax issues going forward as it affects slice and dice or value/small tilts. I'm begining to think that it will be hard for the US investor to overcome the tax drag that those strategies are likely to produce, and we may be back to the simple total stock market (TSM) equity position as the clear winner (Much like the simple TSM/TBM Bogle suggestion MR Bogle has made for years. I hate it when he's right )
it would be interesting if you could put a bug in WB's ear about the dividend/capital gains tax issues going forward as it affects slice and dice or value/small tilts. I'm begining to think that it will be hard for the US investor to overcome the tax drag that those strategies are likely to produce, and we may be back to the simple total stock market (TSM) equity position as the clear winner (Much like the simple TSM/TBM Bogle suggestion MR Bogle has made for years. I hate it when he's right )
- Sun Nov 08, 2009 7:20 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Bernstein's New Book
- Replies: 17
- Views: 4281
I've just finished about 1/3 of the book and I'm a little disappointed. It's a real skimpy version of the "4 Pillars" without much to add so far. I'll keep reading, but so far it's more like a "4 Pillars for Dummies".
I don't want to speak for Dr. B, but I think one thing to consider as to the exclusion of the small/value tilting is the forthcoming effects of American tax policy on future dividends, foreign investment, & capital gains taxes. That could potentially dramatically effect total return in a way where small & value stocks are too heavily penalized to endorse versus broad market index
I don't want to speak for Dr. B, but I think one thing to consider as to the exclusion of the small/value tilting is the forthcoming effects of American tax policy on future dividends, foreign investment, & capital gains taxes. That could potentially dramatically effect total return in a way where small & value stocks are too heavily penalized to endorse versus broad market index
- Wed Oct 28, 2009 10:40 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Long Term Bond Funds
- Replies: 58
- Views: 9362
Re: Long Term Bond Funds
My very simple understanding of this argument is that as interest rates cannot really go lower then present, the inevitable increase in rates will hit longer term bonds more aggressively. ie. buying the LT bonds premium in an era of low rates is buying at inflated prices rather then then at a barginSteelyEyed wrote:So, does anybody out there own this fund (or a similar one)? If so, what is your reasoning and how does it fit into your plan?
- Mon Oct 05, 2009 10:24 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Frustration with Health Insurance Company
- Replies: 22
- Views: 2927
It doesn't sound like there actually is a problem other then a layperson confused or not understanding how to read an EOB. IF I had to guess, one of your tests was able to report RT & LT exams as seperate charges and the other test's global descriptor was a bilateral pocedure.tfb wrote:It would occur to me that you should go to the source of the problem.
- Sun Jun 21, 2009 1:50 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: How many index funds do you have in your portfolio?
- Replies: 31
- Views: 5217
- Tue Jun 02, 2009 11:22 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: VTSMX vs VFINX
- Replies: 16
- Views: 17609
- Sat May 23, 2009 11:04 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Portfolio Assistance: Essential Asset Class Diversification
- Replies: 24
- Views: 4325
- Sun Apr 12, 2009 5:15 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Do we jump back in again after bailing out???
- Replies: 46
- Views: 7873
Re: Do we jump back in again after bailing out???
I agree with livesoft. You can't make that statement without knowing their expenses or the details of the pension. My parents are comfortably retired with much less than a 7 figure portfolio that they don't even need to touch thanks to a generous pension. A pension and/or social security would normally be considered part of your retirement portfolio. Keep in mind that there is no pension who's value is written in stone and insolvency (and subsequent federal takeover) will potentially unsettle your projections. Projections of pensions and social security obligations are relying on the sustainablility of a giant ponzi scheme. Like the housing bubble, it's going to go bust at some point. The orignial poster is still young enough to be alive w...
- Sun Apr 12, 2009 12:26 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Do we jump back in again after bailing out???
- Replies: 46
- Views: 7873
Re: Do we jump back in again after bailing out???
No offense, but it's extremely unrealistic to be expecting to retire at your age (with a potential 2-3 decades of life expectancy) without a healthy 7 figure principle.scoutiedog wrote:I just retired, have no pension and was ready to enjoy life and the fruits of my labor! Age: 57 and 63
Is there some reason you or your spouse cannot stay in or reenter the workforce to ease the drawdown of your assets during this market trough? It will be a number of years before you're fully vested in social security benefits anyways.
- Wed Mar 18, 2009 10:00 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Is the REIT fund (VGSIX) poised to get crushed?
- Replies: 73
- Views: 14433
I'm glad my original post stirred some interesting discussion.
I know all economic melt-downs are unique, but it seems like some of the diversification benefits in the rear view mirror for REITS (and other asset classes of the month) have been exposed as a lot more fragile then advertised when the S*** hits the fan. The volatility of this class may not be for good vehicle for the masses.
Clearly low occupancy rates and lease defaults would seem poised to punish earnings/dividends going forwards for several years. Have we really even seen the tip of the iceberg on the commercial real estate front?
I know all economic melt-downs are unique, but it seems like some of the diversification benefits in the rear view mirror for REITS (and other asset classes of the month) have been exposed as a lot more fragile then advertised when the S*** hits the fan. The volatility of this class may not be for good vehicle for the masses.
Clearly low occupancy rates and lease defaults would seem poised to punish earnings/dividends going forwards for several years. Have we really even seen the tip of the iceberg on the commercial real estate front?
- Sun Mar 15, 2009 7:54 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Is the REIT fund (VGSIX) poised to get crushed?
- Replies: 73
- Views: 14433
Is the REIT fund (VGSIX) poised to get crushed?
It's kind of an intuitive observation, but it would seem like REIT funds like Vanguard's VGSIX are going to be in for a bumpy ride. There's a lot of commercial exposure in the fund at a time where we've seen (and will likely continue to see) many small business and a number of big-box retailers continue to fold adding more unused retail space inventory. VGSIX doesn't seem as likely to offer much shelter until this environment shakes out over the next 2-3 years and I would think it will lag general stock funds as the economy recovers.
Is this too simplistic an analysis?
Is this too simplistic an analysis?
- Thu Jan 29, 2009 5:08 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index
- Replies: 9
- Views: 3503
Doesn't it seem intuitive that dividend funds are going to be a bumpy ride for the next few years as financial stocks were the main engines of most of the dividends and many others are cutting dividends briskly?
If she's a relatively unsophisticated or disinterested investor and wants diversified large cap/blue chip exposure, maybe the Total World Stock Index would serve that role with the simplicity of a single fund.
If she's a relatively unsophisticated or disinterested investor and wants diversified large cap/blue chip exposure, maybe the Total World Stock Index would serve that role with the simplicity of a single fund.
- Fri Dec 12, 2008 7:40 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Fall of Index Funds - thoughts?
- Replies: 26
- Views: 5719
Agree, the cake is a lie.Scott S wrote:Depends on your interpretation of the end of the game. :lol:eurowizard wrote:The cake was a lieTabs wrote:Pretty bold headline for a shoddy article.
Oh, and the cake is a lie!
- Scott
The good news is that a Portal prequal is indevelopment. Wikipedia has a great Portal entry for those confused in the audience at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal_(video_game)
- Tue Dec 09, 2008 11:06 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Mortage refinancing
- Replies: 18
- Views: 4049
Re: Mortage refinancing
$354,000 at a proposed 5.125% with the aforementioned closing costs. This is a planned long term residence (15-20+ years) in which I have a couple hundred thousand in equity in already.Taylor Larimore wrote: What is the amount of the new mortgage loan?
This proposed re-fi would replace a $360,000 note at 5.250% issued in 2005 (which was a very good rate at the time, so I'm not complaining).
Like it's been mentioned, $5360 in closing costs for only a 0.125% reduction in rate is a big pill to swallow. It seems like the rate would need to be fairly well south of 5% to make it worthwhile. From looking at some related articles, it seems like a 0.3 to 0.4 decrease from 5.250% would be suggested prior to refinancing unless fees were almost non-existant.
- Mon Dec 08, 2008 5:15 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Mortage refinancing
- Replies: 18
- Views: 4049
Mortage refinancing
Total newbie to refinancing, be we asked our bank who's financing our 30 year fixed mortage what they could do in terms of refinancing. We were offered 5.125% for a 30 year fixed with the following closing statement Title Search: $255.00 Closing Fee: $100.00 Attorney: $0.00 Recording: $125.00 Subordination Fee: $0.00 Title Insurance: $350.00 Application Fee: $100.00 Credit Report: $16.75 Appraisal: $400.00 Appraisal Service Fee: $25.00 Processing Fee: $350.00 Tax Service Fee: $80.00 Flood Certification: $18.00 Condo Certification: $0.00 Points or Origination: $3,540.00 Endorsements: $0.00 FHA or VA Fees: $0.00 State Mortgage Tax: $0.00 Total: $ 5,359.75 What should reasonable closing costs be in this environment?
- Sun Sep 21, 2008 7:03 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Is there a reason to buy VIGTX or VIVAX?
- Replies: 2
- Views: 1695
Is there a reason to buy VIGTX or VIVAX?
I'm curious if anyone feels strongly about Vanguard's Growth (VIGTX) or Value (VIVAX) in a portfolio that already holds the 500 index or Large Cap (VLACX) index? There seems to be so much overlap in holding's that they do not offer any substancial diversification.
BTW is there a tool somewhere where you can quickly compare the correlation in holdings between different funds?
BTW is there a tool somewhere where you can quickly compare the correlation in holdings between different funds?
- Sun Aug 10, 2008 11:11 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Help me think about my portfolio
- Replies: 12
- Views: 2761
Are you intentionally trying to "tilt" towards smallcap and/or value stocks? There definitely could be some room for simplification. As for the IBM... it's 66% of your portfolio. That's extremely destabilizing. You've got to sell it. You simply have to, regardless of the tax unpleasantness. (unless your savings rate is going to make it <20% of your portfolio in the next few years). There is a little bit of a conscious small cap & value tilt for a couple reasons. Part of that is to dilute the large cap/growth weighting of the IBM, and part was due to my wanting a more aggressive posture given my age. It's my understanding that the conventional wisdom and a number of economic papers indicate that value investing is slightly mor...
- Sat Aug 09, 2008 11:24 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Help me think about my portfolio
- Replies: 12
- Views: 2761
- Sat Aug 09, 2008 11:10 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Help me think about my portfolio
- Replies: 12
- Views: 2761
Help me think about my portfolio
Long Time lurker, first time poster. Newly converted Boglehead! I'm trying to figure out whether the diversity I'm currently possessing among index funds is actually counterproductive. There's some overlap between funds, but is it too much? My stock fund holding breakdown is as follows below by %. It's all index except for the legg mason appreciation fund (SHAPX) which was a gift 20 years ago and sloooowly grown. I'm curious whether this diversity and the higher expense ratio's beats getting the simplicity & preferred admiral share ER's offered on the 500 index or total stock index funds? Non-retirement Legg Mason Partners appreciation fund A 11.69 % Vanguard Small Cap Value index 9% Vanguard Emerging Mkt index 7.64 % Vanguard Small Cap...