Search found 215 matches

by Coato
Thu Feb 01, 2024 10:40 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: college decision: UIUC or UF for ECE?
Replies: 340
Views: 32467

Re: college decision: $63k UIUC ECE or full-ride UF ECE?

A few months ago, I posted "T5 vs T35 engineering" (https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=417838) and got great feedback with diverse opinions. But some responses focused on CS and FAANG jobs, which was irrelevant to my kid. Now with several decisions in, I want to start a new thread and provide more information so that you can help my kid make the best decision for her future. daughter: HS senior in FL, excels in physics/calculus, intends to major Electrical Engineering (EE) or CompE, but not CS. She does what she is told to do. But until HS, she rarely took initiatives. I would like to see her be more proactive and build this skillset in college. But there's no guarantee. At college, she wants to work at research lab...
by Coato
Sun Jan 21, 2024 9:37 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Blocking Extreme Sun/Heat in Window
Replies: 33
Views: 2840

Re: Blocking Extreme Sun/Heat in Window

We have a house in Arizona which obviously gets extreme sun/heat. We just moved in a few months ago and one room and one window is our biggest concern because we can already tell how much heat/sun that window gets and we are using that room as a gym. We got some blackout curtains which helps some but I think we need to do something on the outside, that will be HOA approved to prevent/diminish the heat/sun from getting into the room. Do solar screens work well? I know they are a bit darker so I'll have to figure out if the HOA will approve it. Any other ideas? Unfortunately the window is not a normal rectangular shape but is quite large and is curved at the top. Thanks. Not sure what your HOA rules would be (we don’t have them), but one way...
by Coato
Wed Sep 06, 2023 5:55 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Choosing a travel rewards credit card
Replies: 19
Views: 3998

Re: Choosing a travel rewards credit card

1. Rewards cards are great WHEN you are traveling, but not very good for producing awards to travel. You’d be better off using a 2% cash back card and routing the cash back into a travel fund than using the Chase Sapphire Preferred (after the bonus). If you want to do the CSP, you almost have to commit to the Freedom, Freedom Flex and Ink Cash cards too. All are free free, but juggling is a pain. I agree with to a point. Unless you really want to dig deep into rewards and have a LOT of spend (either organic or manufactured) then yeah most folks are best focusing on SUBs and 2% cards when not doing a SUB. But it is quite possible to do quite well with rewards cards if you know how to play the game and your travel patterns allow you to lever...
by Coato
Wed Sep 06, 2023 7:29 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Choosing a travel rewards credit card
Replies: 19
Views: 3998

Re: Choosing a travel rewards credit card

I was reading through a thread about issues with seat selection through the chase travel portal and it got me to thinking about an upcoming set of trips I am planning on 2024. Two domestic flights to FL and one to Europe. I have never owned a travel focused credit card but I have been inundated with multiple offers in the mail recently about cards with bonus miles plus perks for using their cards. I did a bunch of research on those offers, chase, Amex, capitol one … and was somewhat overwhelmed by the choices. My question is what cards if any do you use for traveling and if the benefits are worth the fees charged. Do you use the portals or transfer miles to transfer partners. Do you use the lounges and are they worth the higher fees? The o...
by Coato
Sat Nov 19, 2022 8:07 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Buying Service Credit = Single premium deferred annuity?
Replies: 26
Views: 2020

Re: Buying Service Credit = Single premium deferred annuity?

I’m not sure which state you are in or your circumstances, but CalSTRS let us purchase our years 1. Pre-tax, 2. At a very low interest rate (that’s probably changed) and 3. The survivor benefit was good, so there were a few extra inputs for us besides just price to buy. We really value the Roth as people with a pension in a high-tax state (so lowering our current basis was valuable) and the inflation hedge from financing the years seemed worth it. Louisiana. What do you mean purchase "pre tax"? I do see where I think I would be able to purchase by rolling money from my 457(b) plan. How would that benefit me as opposed to just purchasing cash? Just the fact that I would "never" pay tax on that $14,600? In California, Cal...
by Coato
Sat Nov 19, 2022 7:29 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Buying Service Credit = Single premium deferred annuity?
Replies: 26
Views: 2020

Re: Buying Service Credit = Single premium deferred annuity?

I’m not sure which state you are in or your circumstances, but CalSTRS let us purchase our years 1. Pre-tax, 2. At a very low interest rate (that’s probably changed) and 3. The survivor benefit was good, so there were a few extra inputs for us besides just price to buy. We really value the Roth as people with a pension in a high-tax state (so lowering our current basis was valuable) and the inflation hedge from financing the years seemed worth it.
by Coato
Mon Oct 17, 2022 3:51 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: CalSTRS Pension2, CTA 403 or Vanguard 403B ...buy out of state credit
Replies: 20
Views: 2136

Re: CalSTRS Pension2, CTA 403 or Vanguard 403B ...buy out of state credit

Hello, Hoping to get some feedback....I am 42 years old....we have two children and we would like to put some money pre-tax away to also help with our tax bracket. I currently have 7 years in CalSTRS....we moved to Kansas (2016-2022) and I worked for their school district for 6 year but am now back in California. I contacted CalSTRS to buy the out of state credit but it will run me close to 175K. Trying to figure out if that makes sense to do or whether I should do the CalSTRS Pension 2, CTA 403b or Vanguard 403b plan instead....and if so, which to pick between the three. We would probably put in the max allowed. Thank you for any and all help! We had a pretty similar circumstance. 1. CalSTRS Pension2 has a Roth 403b option (in our distric...
by Coato
Mon Jun 27, 2022 8:13 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Pacific Northwest College Tours - what to do when not touring?
Replies: 45
Views: 3244

Re: Pacific Northwest College Tours - what to do when not touring?

I’ll soon be taking the family (wife and two teenagers) on a college touring trip in the Pacific Northwest. We’ll be renting a car and driving to various colleges. The agenda thus far looks like the following: Day 1 - land in Portland, renting car Day 2 - visit Oregon State in Corvallis, end the night back in Portland Day 3 - visit University of Portland, drive up to Seattle Day 4- visit UW, Seattle University Day 5 - drive to Bellingham, visit Western Washington, drive back to Seattle Day 6 - drive to Spokane Day 7 - visit Gonzaga Day 8 - drop off car, fly home Our schedule allows about a half-day of “non-college” stuff in each location, and I’m looking for ideas on how to fill the time. We haven’t visited any of these cities before excep...
by Coato
Sat Feb 05, 2022 8:51 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Canceled CSR, got a Capital One X [Chase Sapphire Reserve]
Replies: 7
Views: 1422

Re: Canceled CSR, got a Capital One X

rich126 wrote: Sat Feb 05, 2022 6:39 am Good luck. Fortunately I don't have to call most CC companies but generally Capital One and Citi are a big step down from Chase/Amex when it comes to resolving issues.
Having just had an issue resolved in my favor by AMEX, I have to say they have always been really good about disputes. I’m trying to figure out how to value them, but the two traits I really value are not having shenanigans when traveling outside the country and a company that does well in disputes without too much effort. The rewards eco-systems all seem fairly equal depending on your free time to maximize rewards.
by Coato
Wed Dec 29, 2021 9:17 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: What is your robo performance YTD?
Replies: 10
Views: 1944

Re: What is your robo performance YTD?

Our aggressive Schwab Robo which is roughly 50/50 domestic and international with 6% in cash has returned 18.4% vs 29.2% S&P 500. (I think that is YTD.) I’m really happy with that since it fits our personal circumstances well. No idea of total portfolio return since we do 80% SIP and 20% in 5-year CDs at 2.57% which is our most effective way of roughly approximating the Bernstein No Brainer. If we did just the SIP we would change the settings to include more fixed income and return would obviously be quite different. Regarding your last comment about not being ashamed of the Robo, I know it was tongue-in-cheek but I think people like us that do a Robo just aren’t as likely to track performance since it seems to be working fine. I just c...
by Coato
Thu Nov 18, 2021 9:32 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How did the USAA bank Get So Bad
Replies: 66
Views: 10079

Re: How did the USAA bank Get So Bad

I’ve been with USAA for over 30 years. Everything is bundled through them. (Home, life, car, umbrella, banking, etc.). My wife and I are shopping around for a new home. Bottom line, USAA is not the company it once was. Their customer service has gone down hill dramatically in the last five years. Calling them, and getting a computer phone tree, that doesn’t not work, is infuriating - getting transferred to a different branch and then getting disconnected, is not atypical now. Their product is more expensive, their service is in free fall, and the things that made this company very special, have disappeared. It’s almost as if they have gotten so big now, they have lost the company culture that they were famous for. First it was military off...
by Coato
Thu Nov 18, 2021 7:56 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How did the USAA bank Get So Bad
Replies: 66
Views: 10079

Re: How did the USAA bank Get So Bad

I don’t have firsthand experience with USAA as I don’t use them. However, a comment I’ve made before about declining customer service at Vanguard, Fidelity, and numerous other companies is that finding and retaining workers has become impossible under the current mindset. In September, 4.4 Million workers in the US quit their jobs; didn’t move, just quit. Until employers raise wages or in some other way make work attractive to employees, this race to the bottom will continue. It’s tempting to lump everything into this but I think the decline goes back to at least the middle of the last decade. We still use their insurance, but I haven’t had to make a claim in 30 years so I don’t know. My dad (a vet and USAA lifetime member) was furious abo...
by Coato
Fri Oct 08, 2021 3:13 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Moving to San Diego - Help with areas
Replies: 80
Views: 8933

Re: Moving to San Diego - Help with areas

I think the most reasonably priced beach communities (which is what cool weather really equals) are suburban ones in northern San Diego county (Oceanside) and southern Orange County (San Clemente, Dana Point). The ones in South OC are a 30 minute drive to SNA which has a lot of direct flights. Both Oceanside and San Clemente have some reasonable prices (I think), at least to a Californian they seem reasonable. Oceanside feels a lot more "urban" than the other two, schools are better in Orange County than Oceanside though.

Most of the coastal towns from Laguna Beach down to Encinitas feel pretty similar to me as far as lifestyle and "vibe".
by Coato
Sun Jun 06, 2021 11:52 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Credit card for traveling
Replies: 20
Views: 2165

Re: Credit card for traveling

Travel card needs are pretty specific to personal situations--so the lounges in your home airport, the type of travel you do and your feelings about insurance will make general advice iffy. FOR US: We lived abroad for almost a decade and travel a ton internationally and our philosophy has evolved to making sure our travel cards' value is evaluated as an insurance product and really only think about rewards in cards we use domestically. We usually have an Amex Platinum and Chase Sapphire Reserve because the combined $600 a year we pay is worth it to travel with confidence. Our home airport has no PP lounges so we bought an Alaska Club membership using our Amex Platinum airline credit which gives us access to AA and Alaska lounges (can use AA...
by Coato
Thu May 27, 2021 8:42 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Ideal Fixed Income Allocation in Portfolio to Accompany Pension
Replies: 10
Views: 1300

Re: Ideal Fixed Income Allocation in Portfolio to Accompany Pension

You’re right, sorry, I was unclear. After 28 years a teacher can rise to a max around $130k in Southern California from around $65k at the start. It’s pretty low relatively (especially at first considering you have to pay off a masters and working for nothing as a student teacher), but results in a pension that puts them in the 24%/9.3% bracket. So lowish salary through the early years and no saving/investing but a generous pension that puts them in a medium tax bracket for life.
by Coato
Thu May 27, 2021 7:30 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Ideal Fixed Income Allocation in Portfolio to Accompany Pension
Replies: 10
Views: 1300

Re: Ideal Fixed Income Allocation in Portfolio to Accompany Pension

trueblueky wrote: Thu May 27, 2021 6:02 pm I doubt f) applies to many retired teachers. Few are in a tax bracket that merits municipal bonds.
i think most of my colleagues will be in the 24% federal tax bracket (9.3% state), I thought that was about where it starts to make sense?
by Coato
Thu May 27, 2021 4:34 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Ideal Fixed Income Allocation in Portfolio to Accompany Pension
Replies: 10
Views: 1300

Re: Ideal Fixed Income Allocation in Portfolio to Accompany Pension

To both posters, I was hoping for more of a general discussion. Having a pension and tenured position definitely changes the way that I think about deflationary vs inflationary events. Most of the teachers I talk with have small investment portfolios that opt into target date funds and I thought that was a little risky since inflation is their biggest threat (with a stable pension) and they are doubling it by being nominal bond heavy. But that’s possibly wrong. We specifically use the 94% equity Schwab Robo (or equivalent size, value tilt in our 403bs) and have 25% of our portfolio in 5-year CDs at 2.57 through SchoolsFirst. When we leave that will probably become either 30% split 50/50 TIPs and Intermediate Treasuries or 25% Short Treasuri...
by Coato
Thu May 27, 2021 9:17 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Ideal Fixed Income Allocation in Portfolio to Accompany Pension
Replies: 10
Views: 1300

Ideal Fixed Income Allocation in Portfolio to Accompany Pension

I was hoping to hear theoretical arguments for people who will be living on a pension. Assumptions (which won't always be totally true): 1. Teacher in a safe state gets about 66% of income after 30 years starting at 63 or so, which should cover basic spending and usually has some inflation protection. (I don't know govt. pensions, but assume they would be similar.) 2. Most teachers don't have huge portfolios because of lowish salary and forced contribution. 3. A lot of districts let you stay on health care up until Medicare eligibility from 55 on. a) David Swensen would say to put all of the fixed income in intermediate government bonds, half inflation-linked. b) Dr. William Bernstein has said to put it all into short treasuries (although h...
by Coato
Sat May 22, 2021 5:23 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: 14 days Portland Oregon Coast road trip.
Replies: 45
Views: 5673

Re: 14 days Portland Oregon Coast road trip.

We usually camp so not much help there. The most dramatic place we drive past (and always vow to stay at) is called, I think, the Whale Rock Inn. No idea if it is good but it’s location is incredible. We bought books on breweries and another on bakeries which were fun to visit. Florence Area: 1. renting a sand board and boarding/sledding down the dunes (in the state park day use area) or various water activities in the tiny lake 2. Really good diner breakfast at the Little Brown Hen Tillamook The Three Capes drive is beautiful and the Pelican Brewery on the beach is great (at the end of the road) The creamery is a great tour. Good Farmer’s Market. Newport Area Driving 30 minutes to Yaquina Bay for oysters Nice waterfront with famous fish an...
by Coato
Wed May 19, 2021 10:42 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Wealthfront - Direct Indexing - Standalone Service - Product Launch
Replies: 4
Views: 1139

Re: Wealthfront - Direct Indexing - Standalone Service - Product Launch

I remember thinking about this when it launched. Do they provide any data of how this strategy looked March-May 2020?
by Coato
Tue May 18, 2021 12:52 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Fantasy Premier League as Investment Education
Replies: 6
Views: 578

Re: Fantasy Premier League as Investment Education

I couldn't believe how easy it was last year, in my first year, now I realize I was just lucky.
by Coato
Tue May 18, 2021 11:46 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Fantasy Premier League as Investment Education
Replies: 6
Views: 578

Re: Fantasy Premier League as Investment Education

What do you mean?

EDIT: I see. No, I didn't even include the link. I just thought it was really helpful to my investing mind set.
by Coato
Tue May 18, 2021 11:08 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Fantasy Premier League as Investment Education
Replies: 6
Views: 578

Fantasy Premier League as Investment Education

If anyone wants a low stakes way to model out investing behaviors for themselves, or for their kids I wanted to share some experiences with this free online game. You begin the league in August with a budget of 100 (pounds but the currency doesn’t matter). You can allocate this money however you like, but only get one free transfer per week. Players prices go up and down, people jump off players who haven’t done anything for a few games into other hot properties, people give up points to make extra moves counting on the new player scoring extra points to balance the extra cost. It isn’t a true BH model because you cannot really buy and hold all your players for an entire season, but you do have to decide on a strategy (overspending on defen...
by Coato
Tue May 18, 2021 9:29 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: "Beware of Sci-Fi Portfolios"
Replies: 185
Views: 19736

Re: "Beware of Sci-Fi Portfolios"

This thread has affirmed my admiration of Random Walker’s investing temperament.

Although my strategy looks nothing like his, he and posters like RobertT have been the most important members of the community to my personal growth (and I mean this broadly) because of their ability to make a decision and show faith in themselves by staying the course, and resisting the peer pressure / tracking error created by others. Thanks for setting a great example. Enjoy your road and see you in Dublin!
by Coato
Fri May 07, 2021 10:46 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Best government pension plan in the U.S.?
Replies: 77
Views: 12375

Re: Best government pension plan in the U.S.?

I'll add a data point. I’m a CalSTRS member (public-school teacher) and am an old-timer (in the system prior to 2013, when the reforms began). I contribute 10.25% of salary toward the pension, my employer contributes 16.15% (set to increase to about 18% next year), and the state contributes 10.33%. This adds up to 37% of payroll and is expected to continue increasing at least a bit more in the years ahead. Prior to the reforms, the contribution rates were much lower. Since newer members have less generous benefits and all parties (employees, employers, and the state) are contributing quite a bit more now as well, the long-term trajectory of CalSTRS has changed and it is on a much better path in terms of funding levels. I think CalSTRS plan...
by Coato
Sun Feb 21, 2021 8:59 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Best Combination of Travel Cards?
Replies: 87
Views: 7780

Re: Best Combination of Travel Cards?

I'm not sure I agree...if they would limit to just the cardholder and authorized users, it would likely achieve the desired effect of alleviating overcrowding while not ruffling too many feathers. It's easy enough to add a spouse as an AU on the primary card and this would cull the herd a bit. I agree that overcrowding once COVID is over is something that will need to be addressed. Amex Platinum charges $175 for the first 3 authorized users. It is then $175 for each additional authorized user. So, just adding your spouse costs you $175. You also can't add young kids, as AMEX requires AU's to be at least 13 (https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/card-application/apply/prospect/terms/platinum-charge-card/26129-10-0/?print#terms-det...
by Coato
Sun Feb 21, 2021 7:17 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Best Combination of Travel Cards?
Replies: 87
Views: 7780

Re: Best Combination of Travel Cards?

The problem for Amex, of course, is the fact that a ton of their cardholders travel with their families or other companions, so limiting lounge access to just the cardholder would cause a lot of them to drop the card. Amex doesn't want them to do that, as they see their Platinum card as another way of gaining access to the upper income households, so that they can then market their other services to them. Hence, effectively limiting the appeal of their Platinum card to just singles and individual business travelers significantly and adversely alters their overall marketing strategy. I'm not sure I agree...if they would limit to just the cardholder and authorized users, it would likely achieve the desired effect of alleviating overcrowding ...
by Coato
Thu Feb 18, 2021 11:03 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Should we expect 20bps per added year of duration in CDs too?
Replies: 5
Views: 686

Re: Should we expect 20bps per added year of duration in CDs too?

I have always liked the simple DFA rule that Larry Swedroe mentions where with treasuries, DFA looks at TBills and then expects 20bps per year of duration added. (I hope I worded that correctly.) Would it be logical to apply the same rule to CDs? It's not a logical rule to begin with, so I would not apply it to CDs. The reference should not be Treasury bills but, instead, should be the bond that matches your investment horizon. If it will be more than five years until you expect to spend the money in your 457b plans, you'd only want to choose a shorter-term CD if the shorter CD paid MORE than the 60 month CD . That doesn't seem to be the case, so choose the longest CD you can get. What if we don't really have a time horizon? This vehicle i...
by Coato
Thu Feb 18, 2021 8:59 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Should we expect 20bps per added year of duration in CDs too?
Replies: 5
Views: 686

Should we expect 20bps per added year of duration in CDs too?

I have always liked the simple DFA rule that Larry Swedroe mentions where with treasuries, DFA looks at TBills and then expects 20bps per year of duration added. (I hope I worded that correctly.) Would it be logical to apply the same rule to CDs?

The 5-year CDs in our 457bs are coming due and we are looking at:
12 months— .6
36 months— .85
60 months 1.1

Because it is a 457b we are somewhat trapped until separation, so CDs it is, with equities in 403bs.

Thank you for any thoughts and/or clarification.
by Coato
Mon Feb 15, 2021 8:21 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Best Combination of Travel Cards?
Replies: 87
Views: 7780

Re: Best Combination of Travel Cards?

I don’t want to depress you, but we have been involved with this since 2012 and the benefits have really narrowed. Airlines: we’ve almost given up. We have a lot of AA and United miles. United are available but the value is terrible. AA supposedly has good value but there is never availability for us (we are teachers so our breaks are always blacked out). We haven’t found any perks to be worth it. Lounges in the US are usually more crowded than just going somewhere out of the way. They are a life saver though for intl. travel. Exceptions: Alaska Air companion pass is great and we each use one per year on the other. This isn’t really a card for travel though in the way you are talking about. Hotels: unlike most of the community we a lot of v...
by Coato
Thu Jun 04, 2020 6:30 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Amazon Prime Membership Question [Considering to drop membership]
Replies: 136
Views: 15551

Re: Amazon WITHOUT Prime?

We are getting disenchanted as well, but not because of shipping. The price gouging during March and April was disheartening, if you run most items through Fakespot you can see a large number of reviews aren’t legitimate, and the number of counterfeits now makes them unreliable for brand names where you are paying for quality and materials (Red Wing, for instance). So my problem has been with Amazon more than the shipping.

The one thing I will say is that Prime Video is the most interesting of the major streaming services for me. I really like movies from the 1970s, Brit tv and music docs and their offerings are far more robust there. I’ll have to check out the photos, which we pay about 1/3 of our Amazon fee for to Apple for.
by Coato
Thu May 28, 2020 8:04 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: If not 3 fund, whats your strategy ?
Replies: 66
Views: 6165

Re: If not 3 fund, whats your strategy ?

We modified the Bernstein “No Brainer” a bit to do better vs. inflation because we will have pensions that exceed our yearly spending:

25% S&P 500 (Vfinx)... thinking about QQQ
25% Small Cap Value (IJS)
25% International Small including EM (VSS)
25% Short Term Treasury and CDs

Would really like to go 75% Schwab Robo (the 94% equity version) 25% STT, but we are restrained by 403b choices and taxables...
by Coato
Tue May 26, 2020 6:51 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Swedroe’s Bond Advice - no total bond index
Replies: 195
Views: 23301

Re: Swedroe’s Bond Advice - no total bond index

I don’t think this is a Larry Swedroe thing exclusively, though he does seem to get the treatment here. Swenson insists on US Treasury only, though he likes intermediate. William Bernstein seems to be the strongest advocate for short duration, I think I remember him claiming that short and long will produce the same in the long run (in his investing guide for Millenials he did recommend Total Bond but that seems to contradict most of his other work). Swedroe does cite the 20 bps per year of duration from DFA, which has pointed to short, but seems to recommend intermediate in all the portfolio sites. I don’t think any of them felt that strongly, except maybe Swenson, who thought corporate bond holders are in a pretty one-sided agreement. The...
by Coato
Wed Mar 18, 2020 2:39 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Thinking of switching from Vanguard to Schwab Intelligent Portfolios
Replies: 35
Views: 7578

Re: Thinking of switching from Vanguard to Schwab Intelligent Portfolios

I have long eyed the Schwab Robo because it seems like an allocation of that at 94% equities 6% cash is pretty similar to the Real Estate and Equities portion of the Swensen portfolio. (Assuming the Small Value tracks the REITS pretty well.) I think now that my equities are all tax-free sales, I am going to switch over. (Part of it is to simplify for my wife because all of a sudden who knows what will happen to both/either of us...) How are people feeling about the "cash drag" these days? I had heard that Schwab allocations going back to the '70s had it, and maybe it is a more useful asset class than people were thinking? It seems to have a place. Does a 70 Schwab Robo / 15% Int. Treasuries/CDs / 15% TIPs look like a pretty good a...
by Coato
Fri Mar 13, 2020 7:32 pm
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: [Archived] Bogleheads community discussion - Coronavirus
Replies: 4963
Views: 304612

Re: Bogleheads community discussion - Coronavirus

Yup. Not very clear.
by Coato
Fri Mar 13, 2020 7:21 pm
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: [Archived] Bogleheads community discussion - Coronavirus
Replies: 4963
Views: 304612

Re: Coronavirus state closures thread

Closing public schools seems to me like one of the larger economic drags you could impose on a region. It will disproportionately impact low-income and/or single-parent families who don't have someone available to watch the child full-time. Indeed. We were just discussing the strain this will put on dual-income households and especially single parents. CA teacher here. Schools are closed but we are still expected to go in to work (in my district). There might be some staffed options. Relevant statute brought to our attention today pasted below. With the state of emergency declared by our governor we are in a bit of limbo of what we will be doing. Lots of conjecture and wild rumors. GOVERNMENT CODE - GOV TITLE 1. GENERAL [100 - 7914]  ( Tit...
by Coato
Thu Mar 12, 2020 4:18 pm
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: [Archived] Bogleheads community discussion - Coronavirus
Replies: 4963
Views: 304612

Re: Bogleheads community discussion - Coronavirus

I hope you can get some answers soon. Have you been able to call the health department? Can you self-quarantine in the interim? Best wishes; I hope this is something else, or at least one of the milder cases! “I would like to see the math behind those numbers. That's a huge extrapolation from the current numbers of a few thousand confirmed infected.” I ‘m sorry but I am raging because of this widespread sentiment. We have a few thousand tested because it is impossible to get tested unless you go into an emergency room. I am a teacher, 20 of my kids went on a field trip to Japan in Mid-Feb and MANY came back with sore throats and fevers. I have interacted with those kids for 3 weeks and now I have a fever, dry cough, sore throat and today a...
by Coato
Thu Mar 12, 2020 2:45 pm
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: [Archived] Bogleheads community discussion - Coronavirus
Replies: 4963
Views: 304612

Re: Bogleheads community discussion - Coronavirus

“I would like to see the math behind those numbers. That's a huge extrapolation from the current numbers of a few thousand confirmed infected.” I‘m sorry but I am raging because of this widespread sentiment. We have a few thousand tested because it is impossible to get tested unless you go into an emergency room (not for testing, but because of acute symptoms). I am a teacher, 20 of my kids went on a field trip to Japan in Mid-Feb and MANY came back with sore throats and fevers. I have interacted with those kids for 3 weeks and now I have a fever, dry cough, sore throat and today am experiencing some breathing issues. (light wheezing, smoggy day light so I doubt it's actually a thing.) I went to the QuestDiagnostics site and it says they n...
by Coato
Thu Mar 12, 2020 2:40 pm
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: [Archived] Bogleheads community discussion - Coronavirus
Replies: 4963
Views: 304612

Re: Bogleheads community discussion - Coronavirus

“I would like to see the math behind those numbers. That's a huge extrapolation from the current numbers of a few thousand confirmed infected.” I ‘m sorry but I am raging because of this widespread sentiment. We have a few thousand tested because it is impossible to get tested unless you go into an emergency room. I am a teacher, 20 of my kids went on a field trip to Japan in Mid-Feb and MANY came back with sore throats and fevers. I have interacted with those kids for 3 weeks and now I have a fever, dry cough, sore throat and today am experiencing some breathign issues. (light wheezing.) I went to the QuestDiagnostics site and it says they need a doctor’s note to test. I called my doctor and explained everythign and his office left this m...
by Coato
Thu Mar 12, 2020 12:17 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: U.S. stocks in free fall
Replies: 36221
Views: 4684307

Re: U.S. stocks in free fall

Darth Xanadu wrote: Thu Mar 12, 2020 9:55 am The speed of this decline has been remarkable.
I think this is the whole idea of a Black Swan and the problem with the "market has priced in this or that". The market prices in all of the conceivable info, but we do get hit with events that cannot be factored in too.
by Coato
Thu Mar 12, 2020 9:46 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Coronavirus and the market
Replies: 4089
Views: 397248

Re: Coronavirus and the market

NBA suspends play. NCAA says March madness will be played in empty arenas,but that will probably be cancelled as well. Tom Hanks has it.The US has tested in total under 5000. S Korea tests 10,000 a day. The US response has been brutal in terms of testing. Schools closing everywhere. The market will very interesting tomorrow if open. What happens if they shut down the market for a month? Europe travel ban but not U.K.? Excuse me but how does that make any sense? The worst is that I work at a school that isn't closing (California). Despite ample evidence that a massive amount of kids are sick, and that we had kids on a weeklong field trip to Japan a month ago, if the elected school board are fans of a certain news source they are obstinately...
by Coato
Mon Mar 02, 2020 9:24 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Postponed travel due to Corona Virus. Am I am overreacting ?
Replies: 232
Views: 28136

Re: Postponed travel due to Corona Virus. Am I am overreacting ?

We have a four-person trip to Washington state with my two 70-year old parents and DW April 4-10. I'm curious to see what happens with airline and any other news. I seem to be the only one even thinking this is an issue so it would be awkward to even keep addressing it without more definitive news. At this point I would not take two 70yos to Washington state given the estimate of 150 to 1500 infections in the Seattle area as of a couple of hours ago. Most experts seem to believe there may be even an order of magnitude more infections than we realize due to lack of testing and that the numbers will seem to explode in the next weeks but may be mostly reflective of existing cases that simply are brought to the surface. https://twitter.com/NYT...
by Coato
Mon Mar 02, 2020 8:58 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Postponed travel due to Corona Virus. Am I am overreacting ?
Replies: 232
Views: 28136

Re: Postponed travel due to Corona Virus. Am I am overreacting ?

We have a four-person trip to Washington state with my two 70-year old parents and DW April 4-10. I'm curious to see what happens with airline and any other news. I seem to be the only one even thinking this is an issue so it would be awkward to even keep addressing it without more definitive news.
by Coato
Sun Mar 01, 2020 3:17 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Gardeners: Easiest treats to grow at home? [Pacific Northwest]
Replies: 17
Views: 1965

Re: Gardeners: Easiest treats to grow at home? [Pacific Northwest]

If you buy the Sunset Western Garden book they will assign a number to your area and list the edibles that respond best to it.

If you are on the western side of the cascades and not in the banana belt it probably means berries in the summer and squash/potatoes/etc the rest of the time. With black- and blueberries in a rainy area most of the issues are with cutting back, not getting them to grow. Edit: dump your used coffee grounds on them everyday for extra goodness.
by Coato
Sun Mar 01, 2020 7:37 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: All small cap international
Replies: 61
Views: 6196

Re: All small cap international

It’s what I do (sort of).

International is split between DFISX (DFA Int. Small) and SFENX (Schwab Fundamental EM Large company).

The two had the lowest correlations with the S&P500 of the handful of international funds I have access to. When we are no longer constrained by choices in our 403bs we might condense the two into VSS (Vanguard Intl. Small) that has EM. I generally like to split international 60/40 developed vs EM so I would probably want a bit more EM than in the Vanguard fund.
by Coato
Thu Feb 13, 2020 12:32 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Email from Vanguard about pilot for Digital Advisory Service
Replies: 2
Views: 685

Email from Vanguard about pilot for Digital Advisory Service

I'm curious if anyone can tell me how it is different than a Target Date fund. It uses TSM, TISM, TBM, TIBM and has a progressively higher percentage of bonds. The cost is .2 for any managed accounts. I played through all of the questions and risk selectors because I am looking for an account that would just withdraw 4% automatically for my wife if something happens to me.

Ive read through all of the various Robo threads but I still don't see an advantage of this vs. an All-In-One fund.
by Coato
Thu Dec 19, 2019 11:13 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Millionaire Teacher - Andrew Hallam
Replies: 70
Views: 12211

Re: Millionaire Teacher - Andrew Hallam

I read it a while back and found it not very helpful. The true intricacies of teaching are 1. the pensions 2. health care 3. spousal Social Security etc., the rest if just buying index funds. Pensions are state by state, and there are complexities like buying "air time", when to officially take it (between 55-63 in my state), who to name as your heir (the age of the person affects your monthly payment), maximizing your gross pay, etc etc. Some states and districts will allow you to continue paying into and receiving the group health care between the ages of retirement and qualifying for Medicare. As a teacher in Cali you do not inherit your spouse's Social Security as any other person would (thanks to the good people of the city o...
by Coato
Sat Dec 14, 2019 12:27 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Lodging in Rome
Replies: 30
Views: 2926

Re: Lodging in Rome

In my opinion, the best neighborhood to stay in is Trastevere. If you look around Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere it is a quick walk across Ponte Milvio to most of the best sights (Navonna, Pantheon, Campo Dei Fiori). I recommend the Slow Food guide to Italy to anyone going. Restaurants don’t change in Italy so it isn’t out of date. The other train at the airport stops in Trastevere. When you get off you can get a tram toward the river that will dump you in the heart. No idea what public costs now, when I lived there (10 years ago) a monthly pass for all busses, trains and trams inside a Rome was 30 euros a month, or about two cab rides. I have a very different view of the Termini area than others in this thread, but I lived there so it co...
by Coato
Sat Jul 20, 2019 3:19 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What do I need to know about becoming a teacher in California?
Replies: 32
Views: 4368

Re: What do I need to know about becoming a teacher in California?

1. What’s the best way to try out teaching to see if it’s a fit for me? Teach for America breaks people. Everyone involved basically knows it is a resume builder and I doubt most continue teaching. Of the three people I know who dd it, none teach now. Similarly, I don't think the advice above to sub as a way to get to know teaching is good advice. Being a sub and a teacher are the same as being a bank teller and banker. The skills and experience are completely separate. I don't think there is a way to know. I enjoyed coaching my two nieces in soccer and basketball and that's how I knew. To actually get in front of kids, you need to be through the classwork part of your masters, and you've already made a significant commitment by then. 2. Sh...
by Coato
Tue Jul 16, 2019 10:38 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Letter from Amex - scam?
Replies: 34
Views: 10946

Re: Letter from Amex - scam?

sawhorse wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 9:38 pm I got a letter from Amex saying that I have an unclaimed check from 2015. The amount is in the 100s. They said that if I don't return the enclosed form by a certain date, the money would be treated as abandoned and handed over to the state.

Does this sound like a scam?
I got a similar letter from Citi. Check is in the 100s and from 5/2016. I called Citi and nobody knew what I was talking about. I figured I'd just wait and see if it got escheated or not. The number they say to call on and the address do match up with Citi. Probably easier to get it from the state than Citi anyway.