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Dandy

Glad to hear that you made it through that horrible event. The steps you took made a lot of sense. We lost power for 4 days during a storm a few years ago and it was a wake up call. We were so lucky that the town next door had some electricity. Cash was king as most places wouldn't or couldn't accep...

Dandy

When in the accumulation stage with 2 children I was very focused on Lifestyle creep. I would avoid most things that added monthly expenses e.g. premium channels, magazine subscriptions, etc. Also, kept an eagle eye on other optional expenses. I probably erred on not doing things I should have e.g. ...

Dandy

I think 60% or less of equities would be prudent in most cases especially with the equity markets at or near historic highs. Yes, that could be considered market timing but those in or approaching retirement have declining or little human capital to make up significant losses. That is a major differ...

Dandy

I like the fact that he insists on having an emergency fund - he should do well. I have always been a conservative or moderate risk investor. To a young person who has invested during a very long bull market he may not know his real risk tolerance. At his age he can take a lot of risk and just keep ...

Dandy

How often have you been checking your estimates in #2? Have you had to make adjustments on the withdrawal amount per year? It seems like everything keeps going up in price every year. 1. How often checking estimates of (dollars needed to fund retirement each year). Well I am retired and will take m...

Dandy

I don't take a guess at the future rate into my investment planning. I know inflation is out there (unless deflation is?) but even the Fed can't seem to figure out what the short/medium term inflation will be. So, I make sure I allocate enough to equities which, over time, usually has beaten inflati...

Dandy

You are currently in a very good financial position. You really don't need the lump or the immediate annuity. I would almost always suggest the annuity assuming personal health and health of the annuity provider is very good. Life has many potential bad surprises and having a more than needed secure...

Dandy

Not sure if you are still working or not. If you are still working I would do the following: 1. Pick a retirement age e.g. 65 2. Estimate your need in dollars you will have to withdraw from your nest egg e.g. $40k/year 3. Multiply that by 20 (or more) e.g. $800k (20 x $40k) 4. Make sure the total of...

Dandy

Retired almost 70 and feel I have "enough". I care about making my portfolio fund my retirement until I die (or age 90) vs striving for optimal performance. I have enough assets in "safe" products to fund current lifestyle until age 90. The rest, aka my "risk" portfolio is about 65/35. I define "saf...

Dandy

Almost 70, retired and have a 43/57 allocation and feel I have "enough". My fixed income is for stability. I feel there are a nice array of US based fixed income products that provide that stability e.g. Total Bond Fund, Short term bond funds, Inflation Protected fund, Savings accounts, CD ladders, ...

Dandy

1. estimate your equity dollar value at retirement. 2. estimate your yearly dollar withdrawal from your nest egg 3. at your estimated retirement age assume equity dollar amount drops 40% over the next 3 years e.g. if you had a million in equities when you retired you now have $600k starting year 4. ...

Dandy

Maybe 1% or 2% a bit higher on a rare occasion. Not a believer in making massive investment moves of equities vs fixed income or in fussing too much with sub accounts. I see my role, in retirement and seeming to have "enough", as keeping my equity allocation between 40 and 43%. But, even in the accu...

Dandy

I didn't take a pay cut but was retired 2 years before I was ready. If you are in decent financial shape I would take the cut for sanity. Just make sure you are not taking a cut and the new job is almost as bad. We only have a limited number of years of health and happiness why waste them if you don...

Dandy

"When you allocate your assets, you also have to think about how much you get from Social Security." Think about is a whole lot different than making your Social Security a formal part of your fixed income allocation vs a nice to have income stream that reduces what you need to withdraw from your po...

Dandy

re safety advancements but that really only gets dramatic when you're comparing brand new to 20+ years old. That is so misleading. Even some cars 5 years old have back up cameras which can help you not run over your toddler or their bike. A 3 year old used car can have some significant safety impro...

Dandy

I have neither. But Sandy certainly taught us a lesson that gas generators were really a good solution for a 4 or 5 day loss of electricity. Our gas stations couldn't pump gas so those with generators were in a bind. So, natural gas seems like a more reliable choice if the outage is likely to be lon...

Dandy

the "rule" is intended to squeeze the most value out of your car - very Bogleheadish. I followed it in a sense -- tried to hold on to the car for 10 years or 100k. But, here is my new thinking, not overly accepted, but I think worth of consideration. The advance in safety features I think changes th...

Dandy

I know the 3 fund portfolio has a lot going for it. But do you and your parents want to fuss with rebalancing? I would look into a simple balanced, Life Strategy or Target Date fund. I favor Balanced Index fund but that is "only" 60/40 and has no International equities. The TD and LS funds do alloca...

Dandy

But my question was....do I maintain this proposed 60/40 AA over the 20 yr planning time frame or do I migrate the AA toward bonds during those 20 yrs? thanks If you continue to have more than enough there is no reason to change your allocation. If the risk or your tolerance for risk becomes an iss...

Dandy

Joint ownership with a business partner, family member or friend can have many issues. Add the complications of love/relationship, break up and it probably increases the complexity/risk a lot. My observation/guess is that the longer the long term relationship goes without an engagement the more like...

Dandy

Since you can't take your assets with you (unfortunately) and you have more than enough - why not start gifting to your heir now while he/she can enjoy life a bit more while still young and you can enjoy seeing the benefit of your gifts? Charities too. As far as investing I would keep about $300k or...

Dandy

If balanced funds are considered in a taxable account don't forget Tax Managed Balanced.

Dandy

Percentages have their disadvantages. You always need to look at the dollars involved. e.g. early in the accumulation stage a 30% drop in equities might equate to a dollar loss of $30k. A person close to retirement that 30% drop might equal $300k. Risk, reward, expenses, taxes etc. are all really me...

Dandy

All pensions and Social Security sent to an online Savings Account. 2X a month money automatically sent to my checking account (mimics a bi monthly salary.) Reasons: 1. Banks are FDIC insured vs Vg money market account 2. Most income arrives at beginning of the month but most bills are mid to late m...

Dandy

I feel your pain as a recovering excess frugality sufferer. Start small, some nicer clothing?, hiring someone to do a chore you really hate (mowing the lawn, washing the car, etc.), having tastier food/drink more often, etc. Things that payoff in some small way. Make sure you get up to date on all m...

Dandy

Bing retired my main purpose in tracking expenses is to keep track of my run rate. Obviously, knowing that helps determine my dollar withdrawal needs and if that is creeping up. I use a simple excel spread sheet with about 20 or so categories on the "y" axis e.g. one for each utility, credit card, i...

Dandy

Let's agree that a 2% withdrawal rate for a retiree say of age 60 or higher is pretty much golden, especially with a moderate allocation of a diversified portfolio. The "risk" if any, probably comes from a combination of a severe drop in equities and a sharp rise in expenses e.g. large, ongoing medi...

Dandy

Some but less and less. Too many changes, major changes and happening quicker than ever. For investing the time periods where there is relevant data is actually pretty limited e.g. less than 100 years?

Dandy

I am retired and will take my 1st RMD next year. TIRA - reinvest all dividends - my brokerage CDs have no option to reinvest -- what to do with those dividends will be different each year. Taxable - all dividends to cash. Since my TIRA is fixed income heavy and my taxable is equity heavy the combina...

Dandy

I am retired and will take my 1st RMD next year. TIRA - reinvest all dividends - my brokerage CDs have no option to reinvest -- what to do with those dividends will be different each year. Taxable - all dividends to cash. Since my TIRA is fixed income heavy and my taxable is equity heavy the combina...

Dandy

The longer the whole life has been in effect the better it usually is for the insured/owner. If it is paid up then no more premiums are due. Each year the dividends are likely to go up a bit. Divide the latest dividend by the current cash value. How does that compare to Savings or short term CDs? If...

Dandy

I believe you should have some equities and fixed income in both taxable and non taxable. Obviously, in taxable you would want to lean mostly to muni bonds. I am almost 70 and never had to incur taxes to rebalance since I could use my TIRA which is about 25% equities. Having some equities in my TIRA...

Dandy

Exactly what rates would you check?

The rate of 1.XX% quoted by the OP

Dandy

I don't think there is a very safe product that keeps up with inflation without some risk. Equities have risks of 50% or more vs having money in a 5 yr CD which might keep up with current inflation but not inflation that is moderately higher. Still that is better than the equity risk. Short term bon...

Dandy

the few years before and after normal retirement age seem to be the riskiest. A lot depends on your retirement expenses, income and the size of your nest egg. It probably isn't wise for most to be totally on the sidelines. If once you collect social security your drawdown to fund the rest of your mo...

Dandy

I would check those rates. I have EE bonds maturing from now until 2022 and I believe they are all paying 4%.

Dandy

I really don't think it is as applicable especially depending on the relative size of your home country's share of the global economy. If your home country has 50% of the global economy and its economy is well diversified there is probably less of a need to tilt away from it than if your home countr...

Dandy

There are useful math estimates of the impact on bonds and bond funds when interest rates change. There is also an emotional factor that might come into play. Bonds and bond funds are often trickier than people realize. There are many bond fund investors that may misjudge how "safe" their bond fund ...

Dandy

I have reached the conclusion that since I can't take it with me (sad) then gifting to children and more to charity is the plan. My kids like most are unlikely to see a pension, both husband and wife working, getting few raises, trying to raise and educate their children and paying a lot for child c...

Dandy

There are factors to consider e.g. 1. how fast does your post retirement earning potential fade to minimum wage 2 retirement health coverage until you can collect Medicare, 3. funding until you can collect Social Security and any pension 4. If you have your "number" how much of a margin above your n...

Dandy

There is a quest for simplicity that is understandable but sometimes overdone. In the risky and often scary world of equity investing we look to some allocation, formula or guiding words to put us at ease and make the path of managing our investments easier. Some investing commandments to keep us aw...

Dandy

During the accumulation stage market plunges were scary but I kept on investing. Whole different story in 2008 when I was forced to retire at age 60, no jobs were available and the nest egg was supposed to last for up to 30 years. Then I moved 401k money from old employer to VG money market and wait...

Dandy

My only concern would be that "equal" allocation to the four funds gives you a 75% equity allocation. You equity allocation is probably the most critical decision you have to make with investments as it determines the lion's share of your risk and potential gain. So, if you decide to go with the 4 f...

Dandy

The equity risk potential seems to out weigh the tax benefit. An intermediate bond fund may lose 5% if interest rates rise 1%. An equity position might lose many times that? Is the risk of equity principal loss worth the better tax of equity dividends vs bond dividends?

Dandy

Make an IPS and in 2 months you want to revise it upward to match equity gains - sounds like tinkering to me. Sounds like a bit of rebalancing might be in order vs an IPS revision. Run ups in value are still fun when you have 60% allocated to equities.

Dandy

Financially you are in very good shape. You need to consider some things 1. If/when you decide (or have to) return to work will you be able to command a decent full or even part time salary. Many skills/contacts decline quickly. 2. figure you have about 45 years to fund i.e. to age 90 so typical wit...

Dandy

If you had to pick one fund Total Bond is probably a great choice. Let's face it most of the risk in your portfolio is on the equity side where you can (and probably will in your lifetime) lose up to 50% or so when the markets "corrects/plunges". That is where the focus usually is and for good reaso...

Dandy

I guess he is a successful market timer doing what he does i.e. waits patiently for value instead of always being fully invested. Investors often rant about how cash is a drag on performance but he doesn't seem to care - in the long term he feels not buying at too high a price will work out. Not sur...

Dandy

I've always been a saver. Love to see the total investments number grow. Spending has been a challenge after a life of being pretty frugal. Now that I have enough, actually more than enough, I have started to loosen up. A second vacation, season tickets to the theater, a bit more to charity etc. The...

Dandy

As you age and approach your "number" there is a gradual shift in the value of extra assets vs the risk of loss of assets. So, the game isn't always to maximize lifetime assets -- sometimes it is to preserve the level of assets that assures a great retirement. Always look to the dollars at risk vs j...

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