Search found 1544 matches

by daveydoo
Sat Sep 22, 2018 10:26 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What to wear for job interview - skip the tie?
Replies: 83
Views: 12296

Re: What to wear for job interview - skip the tie?

nps wrote: Sat Sep 22, 2018 6:37 am
daveydoo wrote: Sat Sep 22, 2018 12:37 am Spouse just interviewed someone for professional position in an office environment that is "business-casual-ish" and has largely done away with ties for hygiene reasons.
Seriously? Did they do away with door handles also?
Yes, wherever possible. And they put hand sanitizer dispensers outside and inside every room. And sinks and soap everywhere. Go figure. Must be related to what they do there.
by daveydoo
Sat Sep 22, 2018 12:46 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: CIT vs. ALLY vs. 360
Replies: 14
Views: 2601

Re: CIT vs. ALLY vs. 360

How old are you? CIT CD was a nightmare in the estate of a non-CA resident. CA is relentless (as many here know) and we had to go through a lot of extra steps to satisfy the state that the deceased was not a CA resident. (She had not even been to CA in 50 years and never lived within 2,000 mi of the state).

I vowed to never have any assets in Cali-based banks when I'm old.
by daveydoo
Sat Sep 22, 2018 12:37 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What to wear for job interview - skip the tie?
Replies: 83
Views: 12296

Re: What to wear for job interview - skip the tie?

I'm the guy who said the "right" kind of sneakers can be OK for business casual. But I agree here: tie (and shoes!) for job interview. In this instance, it's not about fitting in or looking stylish; it's about showing that you care about the job and about the people you're meeting.

Spouse just interviewed someone for professional position in an office environment that is "business-casual-ish" and has largely done away with ties for hygiene reasons. Applicant was too casual and it telegraphed the message that she did not care. Everyone got that signal. Turns out that she truly did not care so she successfully conveyed that.
by daveydoo
Fri Sep 21, 2018 4:38 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Are We Headed For A Passive Index Meltdown?
Replies: 60
Views: 10780

Re: Are We Headed For A Passive Index Meltdown?

gmaynardkrebs wrote: Thu Sep 20, 2018 8:21 pm The sole argument against active investing is as follows: after fees, passive always beats active. It is a necessary corollary, therefore, that before fees, active investors do as well, if not better, than passive. Therefore, if you do the active investing yourself, you will do exactly the same, if not better than passive investors...
Your second point does not follow from your first -- unless all active funds are really just "closet" passive funds. Some big ones are -- I've had a few. But it's entirely possible for an actively managed fund to do way worse than passive, irrespective of the ER difference. I've owned some of those, too. :D
by daveydoo
Fri Sep 21, 2018 12:28 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Buying VWIUX Today [Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Muni Bond]
Replies: 48
Views: 7193

Re: Buying VWIUX Today [Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Muni Bond]

hudson wrote: Fri Sep 21, 2018 12:18 pm
I recently started to TLH from VWIUX to MUB; I heard that there could be a tax penalty; I did not research how big a deal it was. I changed horses to Vang Limited Term. viewtopic.php?p=4116624#p4116624

Recent discussion on Tax Loss Harvesting with Munis: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=258828
Thank you! How did I miss that thread??

Still not sure if it's worth worrying about since neither I nor my accountant will be calculating the daily interest and I can barely count on my gain-loss reports to show the correct basis on the easy stuff.
by daveydoo
Fri Sep 21, 2018 11:58 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Don't trust Tripadvisor reviews
Replies: 64
Views: 8543

Re: Don't trust Tripadvisor reviews

Imo, a bigger problem than fake reviews is the problem that these non-standardized reviews are written by the people who actually go there . DS pointed out a town where Michelin-starred restaurant and McDonalds each got 4 stars (out of 5 -- maybe this was Yelp?). People who go to McDonalds generally like the food. People who expect a Michelin-caliber experience are easily disappointed. So it makes sense, but I'm pretty sure McDonalds has inferior food. So it's almost impossible to compare across dissimilar properties, meals, attractions, etc. What's better -- a BMW or a massage? A relative worked for TripAdvisor and we're not huge fans, but we use the site. The rankings within a class are OK (if you can tease out the class), but the same-ci...
by daveydoo
Fri Sep 21, 2018 11:42 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Im going to die somewhere between Bankruptcy and $20 million
Replies: 46
Views: 11271

Re: Im going to die somewhere between Bankruptcy and $20 million

3) In real life, just about the uniform experience is that all attempts to estimate the probability of low-probability events underestimate them--badly. The risk model for a meltdown at Three Mile Island suggests that what happened should have only happened once in 30,000 years. The events that led to the collapse of Long Term Capital Management and almost brought down the US financial system in 1998 were stated to be "a ten-sigma event," meaning it should have happened no more often than about 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 years. The problem isn't so much that unlikely events are unexpectedly common -- they're not. It's that the model breaks down and/or fails to capture some external unforeseen event. I've hit the brakes in my c...
by daveydoo
Fri Sep 21, 2018 11:32 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Buying VWIUX Today [Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Muni Bond]
Replies: 48
Views: 7193

Re: Buying VWIUX Today [Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Muni Bond]

I need to TLH since I'm down over 1% and was just deciding tonight whether the time was right. Was going to swap into MUB (iShares IM Term Muni ETF; ER 0.07). Slightly higher credit quality (AA instead of A) and slightly longer duration (6.0 instead of 5.1 years) but they have tracked pretty closely. It will be harder to do a round trip back to VWIUX from MUB and claim a loss, if that's what you are hoping to do. See: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Tax_loss_harvesting#Regulatory (Especially look for the phrase "However, ETFs and...") Thank you! That's a way more sophisticated level of understanding than I have -- or am likely to ever have. :D If you're following along at home, I see this in the Wiki: If you sell shares of a mutu...
by daveydoo
Fri Sep 21, 2018 1:28 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Let's rebalance my young 401k
Replies: 5
Views: 1112

Re: Let's rebalance my young 401k

Foreign Large Blend - Vanguard Total Intl Stock Index I VTSNX 0.09% Foreign Large Growth - American Funds Europacific Growth R6 RERGX 0.49% Diversified Emerging Mkts - Harding Loevner Emerging Markets Advisor HLEMX 1.42% Since the index tracked by the first (according to M*) appears to be the MSCI ACWI ex USA, and MSCI says this: "Index captures large and mid cap representation across 22 of 23 Developed Markets (DM) countries (excluding the US) and 24 Emerging Markets (EM) countries*. With 2,152 constituents, the index covers approximately 85% of the global equity opportunity set outside the US.... * DM countries include: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Switzerland an...
by daveydoo
Fri Sep 21, 2018 12:40 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Did you really have something to retire to?
Replies: 132
Views: 14770

Re: Did you really have something to retire to?

3504PIR wrote: Wed Sep 19, 2018 3:09 pm ...I have some costly projects as well, such as putting up a solar system...
Read this three times before I realized you weren't decorating a child's room. :oops:
by daveydoo
Fri Sep 21, 2018 12:30 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Im going to die somewhere between Bankruptcy and $20 million
Replies: 46
Views: 11271

Re: Im going to die somewhere between Bankruptcy and $20 million

dvd7e wrote: Thu Sep 20, 2018 8:28 pm
But I entered some data for a scenario that is between conservative and realistic at this second site.....and it says that by the time I hit about 70 years old my portfolio will be somewhere between $0 (worst case) and $19 million dollars (90th percentile).
It's not the range; it's the distribution of possible outcomes. Not a normal distribution (I don't think?) but not too dissimilar. The small "tails" (in your case at 0 or less, and at $19 million) are not too important, imo.

if you have a choice later on, I would definitely go with the $19 million, though. :D
by daveydoo
Fri Sep 21, 2018 12:23 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Kid's school brought in Wells Fargo to teach them financial literacy today.
Replies: 26
Views: 2661

Re: Kid's school brought in Wells Fargo to teach them financial literacy today.

Peppergrass wrote: Fri Sep 21, 2018 12:09 am
the whole of Wells Fargo didn't wrong people, some people did.. it's not "Wells Fargo" , it's the actions of some working for Wells Fargo that made some very very bad calls and got caught.
Nearly all corporate wrongdoing is traceable to a limited number of people. Does that mean that there should never be corporate accountability? After all, it's never everyone. :D
by daveydoo
Thu Sep 20, 2018 11:36 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Buying VWIUX Today [Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Muni Bond]
Replies: 48
Views: 7193

Re: Buying VWIUX Today [Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Muni Bond]

Oak&Elm wrote: Thu Sep 20, 2018 1:39 pm I have some extra cash ($45k) in my Vanguard MM account and was planning to buy VWIUX (vanguard intermediate tax exempt muni bond fund) as soon as the balance hit $50k.
Hey, I'm just about to sell -- PM me! I'll give you a sweet deal! :D

I need to TLH since I'm down over 1% and was just deciding tonight whether the time was right. Was going to swap into MUB (iShares IM Term Muni ETF; ER 0.07). Slightly higher credit quality (AA instead of A) and slightly longer duration (6.0 instead of 5.1 years) but they have tracked pretty closely.
by daveydoo
Thu Sep 20, 2018 11:29 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Another Wifi extender thread
Replies: 39
Views: 3777

Re: Another Wifi extender thread

For a dead spot in our house, I got this one last year on Amazon:

NETGEAR AC1200 WiFi Range Extender - Essentials Edition (EX6120-100NAS)

Works fine. Set up painless, as I recall. There are tons of reviews and a lot of chatter about setting it up but it was pretty simple.
by daveydoo
Thu Sep 20, 2018 11:24 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Kid's school brought in Wells Fargo to teach them financial literacy today.
Replies: 26
Views: 2661

Re: Kid's school brought in Wells Fargo to teach them financial literacy today.

mlebuf wrote: Thu Sep 20, 2018 9:40 pm The old Blood, Sweat & Tears song, "Symphony for the Devil" comes to mind. For those too young to remember...
Wait, is this referring to Sympathy for the Devil? By the Stones? Or am I trapped in some BH alternate universe?
by daveydoo
Wed Sep 19, 2018 7:50 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Anyone hire an interior designer?
Replies: 39
Views: 4794

Re: Anyone hire an interior designer?

Dottie57 wrote: Wed Sep 19, 2018 7:34 pm
Big lesson is to never justgo along with a designer. He or she helps you use your taste a bit better. YOU are the expert on colors you like.
True. But this instance was not a matter of taste. Tan house with flesh-colored trim. :D Same/similar tonal value but cool vs very warm. You would never wear these colors together (or, at all). Anyone walking by the house would think "What's wrong with these people?"
by daveydoo
Wed Sep 19, 2018 7:45 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What is your single most expensive mistake?
Replies: 341
Views: 43683

Re: What is your single most expensive mistake?

Gotta say, I'm really impressed by how small most of these are. I can't tell if they're humble brags (that one time I lost $100 in the stock market :oops: ) or people here are way younger than I thought :D . Or maybe have really short memories. :D The last time a post like this came up, I made a list of mine (top 10 or 12) and ranked them by financial impact. I never posted it but it was a helpful exercise. BH would have prevented some of them, but many were just "dumb" mistakes that I could make again tomorrow (like forgetting to renew tax-deferred contribution for a year, before these things were auto-renew) and not necessarily errors of commission. Thus far, although I hope it has not been a mistake, my most costly financial mo...
by daveydoo
Wed Sep 19, 2018 7:27 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Anyone hire an interior designer?
Replies: 39
Views: 4794

Re: Anyone hire an interior designer?

We bought a "spec" house at the drywall stage. Builder had already engaged the services of a "color consultant." We never even knew such a thing existed and couldn't wait to work with her. She came out with swatches to choose exterior colors with us on a glorious sunny day. We were astounded that she could do the whole thing while wearing dark sunglasses. She picked colors that looked like they clashed to our untrained eyes but we both said "You're the expert!" End result was atrocious. Our builder generally pushed back against anything we requested, but when I said we'd really need to re-paint the trim he just said "Yup." We never saw her again. We briefly worked with an interior decorator on an hour...
by daveydoo
Wed Sep 19, 2018 7:14 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: A really general question!
Replies: 9
Views: 1075

Re: A really general question!

There are many books, but in response to your specific question, the answer is the BH Guide to Investing. Hands down, imo. Very readable and digestible. My teenage son read it and retained most of it.

Jack's book is wonderful but it's (intentionally) too limited in scope for you, imo. You likely already know that low ER is important.
by daveydoo
Wed Sep 19, 2018 4:55 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Taking Over Management of $7M Portfolio - Need Review/Help Allocating
Replies: 49
Views: 5502

Re: Taking Over Management of $7M Portfolio - Need Review/Help Allocating

sergeant wrote: Tue Sep 18, 2018 6:53 pm
Nate79 wrote: Tue Sep 18, 2018 6:44 pm I would have her transfer everything to Vanguard PAS advisory service and stay out of making recommendations.
I agree 100%!
+1 again. I did a similar thing for multiple relatives, albeit on a much smaller scale. As livesoft said, do not underestimate the ability of relatives to find fault with your role, plan, or implementation. It was worth the advisor fee for a few years, imo, to have that "cover." I was able to influence this individual at will and minimize CG implications, etc., but he was the advisor of record. We had a good relationship. I think we learned from each other. :D
by daveydoo
Wed Sep 19, 2018 3:54 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Can Sneakers go with Business Casual?
Replies: 172
Views: 15751

Re: Can Sneakers go with Business Casual?

BH is a fine place for clothing advice. It is the worst place for fashion advice! Can you say why please? Thanks. You're the OP so presumably you've seen my posts above and the posts that I felt were insightful. I especially liked the examples that stimulacra showed early on. Oh, and the one right above from cal_orchid is helpful, imo -- I'm sure there are others. All the "no sneakers ever" posts aren't reflective of the range of options out there. I've seen this on other fashion-oriented threads here (no pun intended). Quoting some century-old inviolate rule. But I can show you a guy in well-fitting dark-washed jeans, maybe a nice sweater, and fashionable sneaker-like shoes who will look more put together, more "professiona...
by daveydoo
Wed Sep 19, 2018 2:08 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: PERS Rollover?
Replies: 2
Views: 574

Re: PERS Rollover?

AFAIK from my days connected to that region, PERS is proprietary. There have been multiple "tiers" over the years. PERS is defined benefit, and in retirement you get ~ 1.5% of the average of your three highest-salary years (maybe less now), multiplied by number of years of service. So, after 30 years of service, you would retire at almost half your best salary. There were more generous flavors in the past. More recently, it had defined benefit piece plus a 401(k)-like piece called IAP. But the latter also was a proprietary investment mix -- not sure what but it's on the PERS website if you dig a little. I did not go to your Drive link. Is this IAP? What years was this? I would call PERS and ask but I think you're probably stuck wi...
by daveydoo
Tue Sep 18, 2018 12:19 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Bond Funds vs. Individual Bonds: Can someone quanitfy?
Replies: 31
Views: 3025

Re: Bond Funds vs. Individual Bonds: Can someone quanitfy?

The primary advantage of owning individual bonds isn't going to be higher returns, but rather greater certainty about future cash flows. The primary advantages of owning a bond fund are simplicity and liquidity. Also, there is a lot of yield-chasing when buying individual bonds and this can lead to excessive default risk unless the portfolio is big. It's like stock-picking. I have seen this with my own eyes (and dollars). Plus, the hidden service charge on individual bonds, when buying and selling, is substantial. Bond "guys" love to buy and sell your bonds. This is why. Also, there is a fair bit of drag when individual bonds are called and you're stuck trying to find a good replacement in real time. So with a big enough ladder t...
by daveydoo
Tue Sep 18, 2018 1:10 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Business card impact on credit score (sole proprietor)
Replies: 5
Views: 858

Re: Business card impact on credit score (sole proprietor)

fortfun wrote: Mon Sep 17, 2018 9:02 pm I assume the company will use my current credit score to determine my eligibility for the business card, yes?
This is how it worked for my business card(s). They did not care about the business at all and I do not recall providing any documentation. I tried to be honest and used my own name and wrote "N/A" for the separate name of my business. So all the cards came with "NA" embossed on the front. :D

I can't answer the rest of the question.
by daveydoo
Tue Sep 18, 2018 1:05 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Are there professional trustees that charge by the hour?
Replies: 4
Views: 936

Re: Are there professional trustees that charge by the hour?

I'm sure there are but would you trust their billing? From my own experience in this role, there "should" be months of zero billing. I doubt you would see that. :D

A relative hired a cheap-by-the-hour estate attorney, but the hours were endless. The expensive attorney we replaced him with was a lot cheaper.
by daveydoo
Tue Sep 18, 2018 12:53 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Equity in house / Do you use it?
Replies: 56
Views: 5753

Re: Equity in house / Do you use it?

petrisunset wrote: Mon Sep 17, 2018 6:04 pm We own a roughly $2M house with only $70k left on the mortgage. I am thinking of reasonable ways to use this big prtion of equity.
So like hurry up and pay off the mortgage so you can immediately take out a home equity loan? Hard to re-use spent money. Maybe rent a room out on AirBnb?

You could use it for status. :D Acquaintances like to host reunions in their homes so fools like me Zillow the addresses and go $#@%^&!
by daveydoo
Tue Sep 18, 2018 12:42 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Gas leak detector?
Replies: 21
Views: 1738

Re: Gas leak detector?

adamthesmythe wrote: Mon Sep 17, 2018 10:27 pm
Mercaptan is added to make small concentrations of natural gas smell bad.
+1. CO is a whole different story -- hence the detectors for that.
by daveydoo
Mon Sep 17, 2018 5:32 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: a low grade in a 9th-grade test
Replies: 44
Views: 4853

Re: a low grade in a 9th-grade test

Good question but a year too early, imo. Lots of teachers "re-set" expectations with a tough test, etc., at the outset -- especially with promotion to a new school. I don't agree wit that but I don't think it's uncommon. I recall a similar example in one of my schools.

I agree with others who suggest helping your child brainstorm what to improve for next time.
by daveydoo
Mon Sep 17, 2018 5:24 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: What's an acceptable fee range for a Target Date?
Replies: 6
Views: 723

Re: What's an acceptable fee range for a Target Date?

WhoMe? wrote: Mon Sep 17, 2018 5:20 pm As the subject asks, I'm looking for opinions on this. I have access to Fidelity's LifeCycle 2045 and the fees are only .06%. That seems quite low to me. What say you?
Agreed. You can do the math with your expected balance. The incremental gains at the bottom of the fee range are almost meaningless, imo. Like gas mileage, the biggest absolute gains are when you move out of the "worst" and "average" categories.
by daveydoo
Mon Sep 17, 2018 1:01 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Is there such thing as saving TOO much?
Replies: 78
Views: 8954

Re: Is there such thing as saving TOO much?

bloom2708 wrote: Mon Sep 17, 2018 12:44 pm You are doing just fine. "Save" some "blow money" and find things that give you joy.

Getting married, having kids, buying a house, moving for jobs, selling a house, buying a bigger house. Those are life events that might be ahead. You will appreciate your savings rate when there are more things nipping at your salary.
+1. Couldn't have said it better.
by daveydoo
Mon Sep 17, 2018 12:57 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: That Extravagant Thing You Do
Replies: 411
Views: 67438

Re: What is your luxury good?

At this point in my life, I think my luxury good is actually being able to provide nice things to those I love my wife as they actually enjoy them. Not to be superficial, but it may not be terrible to have a few nice things that your close family associates with you. Wait, hear me out! My low-maintenance non-acquisitive spouse recently said, "Not to be mean, but you really have nothing *nice* from your father." It's true. We got some money and that's nice, but it does not affect our current or future lifestyle. He bought nice jewelry for my (late) mother that we kids and/or our spouses wear and cherish and think of her. But for himself he had K-Mart-type clothes, shoes, watches for the most part. So I miss having something tangib...
by daveydoo
Sun Sep 16, 2018 12:15 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Is Hardwood Floor No Maintenance (vs Carpet)?
Replies: 39
Views: 4854

Re: Is Hardwood Floor No Maintenance (vs Carpet)?

Turbo29 wrote: Sun Sep 16, 2018 11:51 am
There is a growing body of evidence that the modern epidemic of allergies is due to too much cleanliness. Keeping an obsessively clean environment, especially for children, results in their immune systems not developing properly.
+1. Not sure you can retrofit it as an adult, though! (Probably more about early exposure.)

And then there are all the white-carpeted no-shoes-allowed households... Fun for all! :D
by daveydoo
Sun Sep 16, 2018 12:10 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Can I have an oversized emergency savings account?
Replies: 19
Views: 2837

Re: Can I have an oversized emergency savings account?

I really only need 25K for my emergency savings. I have about 55k right now sitting in checking. That's fine if you don't mind 0.01% interest. What to do with the "extra" $30K depends entirely upon your other assets and your investment plan. What's your desired asset allocation, overall? How far off from your ideal asset allocation is your current asset allocation? I would put the $30K toward reconciling those two. Imo, you don't have a too-big emergency fund if your asset allocation calls for $55K in cash. But, btw, this is a terrible place to stash cash other than for cash-flowing monthly bills. I would not keep emergency fund in checking -- keep in an online higher-interest account (Ally, etc. -- the best vary from week to wee...
by daveydoo
Sat Sep 15, 2018 11:31 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 38% pay cut for dream job?
Replies: 61
Views: 6944

Re: 38% pay cut for dream job?

I agree with the pros and cons above. Relatives did this (well, in-laws) and they have been very happy with young kids. That said, I could never do this; we didn't even want to change school districts.

For things like this, I believe in the path of least regrets. I suspect if you don't take it, you could kick yourself forever. If you took it and found that it wasn't for you, I imagine that you could find another state-side PM job pretty quick.

One wild-card: Would the seeming lack of "stability" impact the adoption process? There's clearly a community that has gone through this but BH may lack critical mass for this niche.
by daveydoo
Sat Sep 15, 2018 11:21 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: If you really like the CR-V, you should check out the [_____]
Replies: 89
Views: 13717

Re: If you really like the CR-V, you should check out the [_____]

michaeljc70 wrote: Sat Sep 15, 2018 10:10 am I'm very happy with my CX-5. The RAV4 is ugly to me. The CX-5 drove a lot better than the Santa Fe/Tuscon IMO. Everyone has the CR-V (which might not bother many people).
+1. (Is this thread still going?) Our CX-5 has capable AWD, sensible layout, good tech, good visibility, and is genuinely fun to drive. I would buy it even if everyone else drove it.
by daveydoo
Sat Sep 15, 2018 11:10 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: The Boglehead is anti-entrepreneur?
Replies: 79
Views: 8527

Re: The Boglehead is anti-entrepreneur?

I told a former colleague I used the BH forums and his response was “Yeah, they don’t like our tribe.” ... Would you advise a young person in their 20s or 30s, inclined to the entrepreneurial life, to go for it or stick to the Steady Eddie approach, and why? I don't get this. BH philosophy is about investing; they (we?) don't care where your money came from. When you ask non -investing questions like yours, the answers are likely to be informed by BH demographics -- which skew toward older people who have already made their mistakes. :D It seems like there are plenty of entrepreneurs on here, and I haven't noticed that their world view is any different from the rest. In terms of investing, I think there are people who are willing to look a...
by daveydoo
Sat Sep 15, 2018 7:02 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Opinions on American Funds
Replies: 28
Views: 4762

Re: Opinions on American Funds

Forgot the "k" in my retirement accounts ;). $200k! Post of the day! Better than putting it in by mistake, I guess! The "24-million megapixel" cameras... :D They keep their ER low by not advertising? They're a hidden gem, huh? They're among the best-known and largest funds out there! Best-case ERs are ~ 0.5%, I believe. It's true, many have not been dogs and some have done well over the past decade as Larry S liked to point out. But I would not choose them going forward with the expectation that they will outperform. And even if they were to continue to match an index performance (or even edge it), I would not give a penny of my money to slime-balls who specialize in charging 5.75% loads to unsuspecting clients.
by daveydoo
Sat Sep 15, 2018 6:24 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: That Extravagant Thing You Do
Replies: 411
Views: 67438

Re: What is your luxury good?

Pay or paid? Some were one-time. Watch. Jewelry for spouse/family. Restaurant meals when traveling (think Michelin) and occasionally in our home town. One nice suit. A few cameras. Some spendy wine, but still usually from Costco. I don't think we have many recurring luxury expenses, hobbies, habits. Come to think of it, my luxury goods are mostly still in college. :D
by daveydoo
Sat Sep 15, 2018 6:11 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Is Hardwood Floor No Maintenance (vs Carpet)?
Replies: 39
Views: 4854

Re: Is Hardwood Floor No Maintenance (vs Carpet)?

Real wood with PU finish (for example) is maintenance-free. Just don't let water stand on it, or have a wet crawl-space under it.

Are you renting or remodeling your own rental? If the latter, know that it's pretty fragile. We have 3/4" solid red oak with a hard finish and even that shows abuse (we're 20+ years in, though). Sliding furniture or chairs will scratch it. Dogs running around, etc. We know what not to do but renters may not care.
by daveydoo
Fri Sep 14, 2018 11:57 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Slight fear of investing in general now
Replies: 20
Views: 2748

Re: Slight fear of investing in general now

Same. Some things are so awful that you really can't prepare...or can only prepare by seriously handicapping your future performance and lifestyle in the other 99.99% of possible scenarios for the future. I don't think gold will be helpful if the world ends (I know, just lead). I try to do my part by being personally responsible and voting accordingly. We're not "preppers" but we've made a few decisions that could help get us through a finite period of national or global bad times. It would be hard to live off the grid from where we are now, though. You are vulnerable because you have people you care about and you have enjoyed financial success by virtue of your hard work. You have way more to lose than most, although perhaps not ...
by daveydoo
Fri Sep 14, 2018 1:10 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Dollar cost averaging or all in one go?
Replies: 3
Views: 832

Re: Dollar cost averaging or all in one go?

About your premise but not your question: since you are not young, and are market-timing and (more or less) chasing returns, I would consider waiting until after November to increase your equity holdings.

If you had just said "I'm trying to align my asset allocation with my age and investment objectives," I would not have said anything.
by daveydoo
Thu Sep 13, 2018 5:23 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Homeowner's Insurance - Price vs. Quality
Replies: 21
Views: 2312

Re: Homeowner's Insurance - Price vs. Quality

9liner wrote: Thu Sep 13, 2018 5:09 pm
When it comes to H.O. policies, do you “get what you pay for?”
Only when your house burns down.

I answered earlier in the thread, but this is unanswerable now -- exactly how much additional would BH pay for carrier x over carrier y? What's the perfect asset allocation? Would I pay double? Only if there were a snake low-ball that would cover me for $500. If all your other estimates came in at $1000, I don't think I would pay $2000 for USAA or Amica. But I would pay 30% more.

As others have said, make sure you're comparing apples to apples. Is one of those offers from a company that holds your other policies? Are you interested in umbrella if you do everything with one carrier, etc.
by daveydoo
Thu Sep 13, 2018 4:30 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Homeowner's Insurance - Price vs. Quality
Replies: 21
Views: 2312

Re: Homeowner's Insurance - Price vs. Quality

As with all insurance, it's not how much it costs but how much you will be able to collect if the need arises.

Insurers are rates by their financial strength, which includes a combination of good-for-the-consumer and bad-for-the-consumer factors. For example, you could have a great balance sheet by denying more claims than the industry average.

I would go with USAA or Amica. They will not be the cheapest or the most expensive, but they are generally considered to be the "best."

I have worked with both and have been impressed by the caliber of the employees and the service mentality at every level.
by daveydoo
Thu Sep 13, 2018 4:21 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How to help teenager fix silly mistakes in math?
Replies: 50
Views: 5647

Re: How to help teenager fix silly mistakes in math?

Time.

Especially if it's a younger "teenager."
by daveydoo
Thu Sep 13, 2018 4:20 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Is home alarm monitoring worth it?
Replies: 56
Views: 6607

Re: Is home alarm monitoring worth it?

tc101 wrote: Thu Sep 13, 2018 2:02 pm ...If someone kicks down my door and sets off the alarm, it will be at least 10 minutes before the police get here. The burglar knows that. The burglar will either run away as soon as he hears the alarm go off, or he will run around the house for 5 minutes, looking for whatever he can grab, and then run away. The burglar does not know if I have monitoring or not. What good does it do me?
Any attention is bad unless you are very isolated. A loud alarm will get neighbors' attention, etc., who will look for strange cars...

Our police department charges for false alarms.

I agree that a dog helps. Although a bunch of those hidden-video things suggest a lot of big, loud dogs just slink away...
by daveydoo
Thu Sep 13, 2018 4:12 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: iPhone XS Max
Replies: 231
Views: 21489

Re: iPhone XS Max

alfaspider wrote: Wed Sep 12, 2018 3:03 pm ...Also, it used to be that smartphone prices had carrier subsidies attached. The phone would be advertised as "$399", but it was really about $800 with a $400 carrier subsidy that was baked into the service cost.
+1. For a lot of people, they're still "free" -- just the service has gone up. Some carriers promote this mentality by offering a lower total cost when the phone price is amortized over two (?) years. I hate the size of my Verizon bill and I've vowed repeatedly to only pay "up front" for phones -- but each time they make the math favor the deferred payments. So I'm destined to get annoyed every single month instead of every second or third year.
by daveydoo
Thu Sep 13, 2018 12:56 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Vacation house? Need objective third party
Replies: 69
Views: 8325

Re: Vacation house? Need objective third party

In the area we were looking, for the price of one year's property taxes alone we figured we could rent a spectacular place for many weeks. And that's about all we have time for anyway. So we never pulled the trigger. Also, we realized that we were too busy to even schedule time to look for properties to buy -- and that's the fun part. And then having a generally unoccupied property in a location with weather extremes, fire danger, etc. -- I knew I'd be spending most of my time there doing maintenance rather than enjoying myself with family (like I did when we used to rent others' homes in same community) or else watching the news from far away during fire season wondering how vulnerable my property was.
by daveydoo
Wed Sep 12, 2018 10:13 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Utility usage way up
Replies: 45
Views: 3525

Re: Utility usage way up

Any thoughts? Is the outside avg temp change of only 3* enough to cause 50% increase in usage? This happened to us: I live thousands of miles from a deceased relative's unoccupied condo. Helpful neighbor turned on the heater at the thermostat but switched the blower from "Auto" to "On." The temp was set correctly but the blower motor consumed like $300/month in electricity for a small condo. I did not realize until I saw the electric bill (which comes to my address). As soon as I flipped that switch, we were back to baseline consumption. Expensive lesson. Hard to believe $300/ monthy for just a blower in a condo. We run our fan "on" all the time when it's AC season, and our TOTAL bill for a 2 story house 2100 ...
by daveydoo
Wed Sep 12, 2018 5:02 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Utility usage way up
Replies: 45
Views: 3525

Re: Utility usage way up

jehovasfitness wrote: Wed Sep 12, 2018 10:36 am
Any thoughts? Is the outside avg temp change of only 3* enough to cause 50% increase in usage?
This happened to us: I live thousands of miles from a deceased relative's unoccupied condo. Helpful neighbor turned on the heater at the thermostat but switched the blower from "Auto" to "On." The temp was set correctly but the blower motor consumed like $300/month in electricity for a small condo. I did not realize until I saw the electric bill (which comes to my address). As soon as I flipped that switch, we were back to baseline consumption. Expensive lesson.