Search found 279 matches

by johnb
Mon May 25, 2009 9:23 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: impact of a pension on asset allocation
Replies: 46
Views: 7093

Harold wrote:If you're not investing to reach a goal such as amount X at time Y (which an ultra-safe pension would at least partially satisfy), what are you investing for?

Seems to me converting the pension to a bond and adjusting your allocation accordingly is a very circular (and less certain) way of approaching it.

Perhaps if (as is likely) the pension's not inflation-indexed, there's a little added complexity. But otherwise I'm not sure I see the point of the bond-conversion exercise.
You're investing for income, which is an alternative goal. Amount X at time Y is what you do pre-retirement.

Converting pension to a bond allows you to better manage the riskiness of the portfolio.
by johnb
Sun May 24, 2009 2:20 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: impact of a pension on asset allocation
Replies: 46
Views: 7093

Sidney wrote:The problem with this approach is that it is not something you can rebalance or adjust in a portfolio.
Sure you can. You just own correspondingly fewer bonds in your investments.
by johnb
Sun May 24, 2009 1:17 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Chronic Low Back Pain
Replies: 50
Views: 11467

Puakinekine wrote:There are many, many reasons for low back pain.
Yes indeed. This was very frustrating for me when I was disabled with it. Everything from lyme disease to a pinched nerve can cause it. And what's more frustrating is that there is no one single doctor who can diagnose all causes once all of their common things have been ruled out. (This is an issue of lack of time and attention on the part of doctors rather than a lack of ability.) I was forced to become an expert myself in back pain and learn to analyze my own medical test results.
by johnb
Sun May 24, 2009 12:51 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: impact of a pension on asset allocation
Replies: 46
Views: 7093

Theoretically a pension should be considered the same as a bond -- i.e., part of the fixed income side of your portfolio. Since these days a 2% real return (or ~5% nominal) is about the best income you can get from a bond, I would multiply the pension annual income by 20 to approximate the value.
by johnb
Sun May 24, 2009 12:45 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Anyone ever use a chair like this?
Replies: 21
Views: 4881

a wrote:I stand at my desk at work and people never seem to get tired of making jokes or comments every time they pass by. I shudder to think of the abuse I would get if I had some of the chairs in this thread.
My life greatly improved when I stopped caring what other people think.
by johnb
Sun May 24, 2009 12:42 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Anyone ever use a chair like this?
Replies: 21
Views: 4881

Forget special chairs. Along the lines of what Alex Frakt said, I use a treadmill desk. Here's a Good Morning America segment on it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPjN07JyVjo

It's been a big help to me since I started it.
by johnb
Sun May 24, 2009 12:32 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Chronic Low Back Pain
Replies: 50
Views: 11467

(This post was ignored, so I'm deleting it.)
by johnb
Sat May 23, 2009 7:12 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Minimum Investment for Foreign Bank Account Investment?
Replies: 14
Views: 2659

stratton wrote:You had better look into IRS rules. Not reporting a foreign account is a felony if it has over $10K in it. Or several accounts with more than $10K total. Considering the way Congress is changing the rules right now you had better have your "t"'s crossed and your "i"'s dotted or you could get into serious trouble just by accident.

Paul
He said this in his post: "I plan on fully paying taxes and reporting it to the IRS annually."
by johnb
Wed May 13, 2009 1:33 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: JACK BOGLE REPLIES: Oh, to be 70 again!
Replies: 33
Views: 9264

Mr. Bogle,

You're my hero and I wish you many more birthdays. Thank you for all the good you have done in the world.

John
by johnb
Tue May 12, 2009 7:12 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Unauthorized ACH Withdrawal
Replies: 35
Views: 18974

Re: Unauthorized ACH Withdrawal

RoLev wrote:It seems like your account number, name and bank name (all of which are available on the checks you write) are all someone needs for ACH access to your checking account.

RoLev
This is true. A thief can also write checks on the person's account if they have that information.

And yet I still see so many mostly-elderly people at the grocery store writing paper checks because they're afraid to use credit cards. :?:
by johnb
Mon May 11, 2009 6:42 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 100% equities? Never.
Replies: 31
Views: 5333

Re: 100% equities? Never.

maxwellthedog wrote: “To maximize the probability that we have the money we need when we need it.”
This is absolutely key.

I'm okay now, but last January I woke up one morning paralyzed with arthritis all over my body. There I was, 32 years old and disabled. I'd never expected anything like that to happen. I was 90% equities.

Had I been permanently disabled, I would have really been screwed. (I've recovered since then.) The lesson for me was that your time horizon may not be as long as you think. Now of course I'm increasing my bonds with new purchases. :)
by johnb
Sat May 09, 2009 2:28 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: most stocks lose money over time?
Replies: 37
Views: 6959

Assuming it is true, would it alter your investment strategy? If so, how?

Best regards,
by johnb
Fri May 08, 2009 3:25 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: lifetime job guarantees?
Replies: 20
Views: 3131

greg24 wrote:
allsop wrote:You must be member of a very, very small society.
What is preventing you from start a business?
"Whether you think that you can, or that you can't, you are usually right." - Henry Ford
by johnb
Wed Apr 22, 2009 10:48 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: deleted
Replies: 2
Views: 1282

sscritic wrote:If I were you, I would ask my question on a medical forum. While I am sympathetic, posts of this kind violate the policies of this forum.
Oh okay, I deleted it.
by johnb
Wed Apr 22, 2009 10:46 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: How active do I need to be
Replies: 2
Views: 1186

But at what cost?
I think it's a good question you ask, particularly with the fixed income side. Some funds (e.g., Treasury bonds) seem to be paying really low yields right now. Others like municipals seem for the past several months have been paying higher yields than you'd expect historically. And TIPS sometimes are great (like last fall and winter) but other times have a lot lower yields.

I'm guilty myself of yield-chasing with my new investments, which is a form of active investing.
by johnb
Wed Apr 22, 2009 10:40 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Larry Swedroe blog - Wise Investing
Replies: 29
Views: 7154

Wow! I'm so happy to see that Larry Swedroe has a blog now. Thanks to Mr. Swedroe's advice, I have thousands of dollars more in my portfolio than I otherwise would.

John
by johnb
Wed Apr 22, 2009 10:35 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: deleted
Replies: 2
Views: 1282

deleted

deleted
by johnb
Wed Apr 22, 2009 10:26 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Financial Peace University
Replies: 66
Views: 10885

Here's Dave Ramsey on index funds:
http://www.daveramsey.com/etc/cms/index ... index_fund

I've found him to be quite helpful to motivate me to finally pay off my student loan and reduce the amount of financial risk in my life. He's extremely big on reducing your risk by paying off debts, mortgages, etc.

If you have access to his radio show in your area, you can learn everything you need for free by listening to it. I listen most days and have gotten many thousands of dollars worth of value out of it.

John
by johnb
Thu Apr 16, 2009 9:30 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Why not 100% equities
Replies: 101
Views: 20323

For the past 12 weeks, I have been in continuous, excruciating pain with joint swelling. I am only 32 years old. I thought that my time horizon was long. I was only at 14% bonds when I got sick. My point is that your time horizon MIGHT be much shorter than you think. I really regret not being at a much higher bond allocation as I was accumulating. If I had, I would have about $100k more to live off of if I need to. (Fortunately I am a writer by trade, so I am not completely disabled at this point. But I am only able to work at a fraction of the pace I used to, due to the constant pain.) I would really recommend, for anyone reading this who has a high equity allocation and thinks their time horizon is long, to bear in mind that you're not ju...
by johnb
Wed Jan 28, 2009 12:49 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: State Farm pulling out of Florida
Replies: 34
Views: 7477

snray02 wrote:I have a problem with people building million dollar houses right at the water's edge in the path of hurricanes. Then they want cheap insurance. Anyone else see something wrong with this picture?
Sam
Yes definitely.
by johnb
Wed Jan 28, 2009 12:47 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: More Job Losses
Replies: 7
Views: 1904

dandetour wrote:Although the megacorp I work for, for 3 more weeks, is
not named in that article - I was laid off last week.

After almost 27 years. 1460 in my division, rumor is
16,000 - 20,000 corporation wide. The corp is so far
doing an excellent job of keeping it out of the news.

On to different challenges for me. No regrets. No time
to be sad. I think I'll try this retirement thing for a bit.

Dan
Dan,

Sorry to hear that. Good luck with everything.

John
by johnb
Fri Jan 16, 2009 3:27 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: The Face of a Genuine Hero
Replies: 32
Views: 5402

deleted
by johnb
Fri Jan 16, 2009 2:07 pm
Forum: Forum Issues and Administration
Topic: I want to not see what you posted.
Replies: 23
Views: 6829

jimmit wrote:If you know anything about programming (or want to learn) you could use a firefox add-on called grease monkey to do this for you.
I installed Greasemonkey and found this script:
http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/36407

However, it doesn't seem to recognize Bogleheads as a phpBB. Do you know how to modify the script to have it work here?

Thanks,
John
by johnb
Fri Jan 16, 2009 2:03 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: The Face of a Genuine Hero
Replies: 32
Views: 5402

deleted
by johnb
Fri Jan 16, 2009 12:03 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Can we get rid of "since the Great Depression?"
Replies: 40
Views: 5931

nisiprius wrote:
BigFoot48 wrote:I'm looking forward to seeing "not since The Great Panic of 08" in coming years, and feeling a tinge of pride that I was there and survived.
We need a new word here. "Panic" is just so nineteenth-century. "Depression" is the word we're trying to get away from and these days is too redolent of Prozac. "Recession" is the Eisenhower-era euphemism for small-d depression.

The current situation may yet prove to be just another small-r recession, but if not, what should we call it?

The Melancholy of '08?

The Great Consternation of '08?

The Valley of the Shadow of Debt?
I like Collapse of 08. It just seems to have a nice ring to it.
by johnb
Fri Jan 16, 2009 11:59 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: You can bet on a US 'Depression'
Replies: 13
Views: 3565

hewhomustnotbenamed wrote:Don't you know anything? We can't have another depression.

After jan 20 ,it will be against the mandate of the mainstream media to mention the possibility of another depression, unless of course it's being used as a rationality for more govt.
This is the most insightful post of the day, yet will probably get deleted soon. :lol:
by johnb
Fri Jan 16, 2009 11:58 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: You can bet on a US 'Depression'
Replies: 13
Views: 3565

Intrade is a good way to hedge your personal bets and desires. For example, if you make your living in a field that's highly dependent on the economy (or if you just don't want to see a depression occur), you could put a little cash on this depression contract.

During the election, some who were rooting for McCain bet money on Obama to win. That way they were winners no matter the outcome of the election. :)
by johnb
Fri Jan 16, 2009 11:07 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: TIPS spreads indicate falling prices over next five years
Replies: 20
Views: 4280

I have to apologize because I just finally bought into the TIPS fund. This means there is guaranteed to be deflation, because the universe has a rule that I am not allowed to make a profit on any of my investments.
by johnb
Fri Jan 16, 2009 10:14 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The death of the S/P 500 Index?
Replies: 38
Views: 7530

Re: The death of the S/P 500 Index?

freedomfunds wrote:When I analyzed the data, I saw for the 10 year period between December 1998 and December 2008. the Vanguard 500 Fund lagged behind 2/3 of FUNDS..
Interesting. Is this adjusted for fees? If so, then what is it before the adjustment? If not, then what is it after adjusting?

In theory the S&P 500 should be about in the middle for returns (since by definition you are getting the market average).

Best regards,
John
by johnb
Wed Jan 14, 2009 11:15 pm
Forum: Forum Issues and Administration
Topic: I want to not see what you posted.
Replies: 23
Views: 6829

jimmit wrote:If you know anything about programming (or want to learn) you could use a firefox add-on called grease monkey to do this for you.
Hey, thanks for that, I'll check it out!

Also, I found this Firefox extension to hide user posts on phpBB: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefo ... ox&id=1045

I'm not sure yet if it works on Bogleheads.
by johnb
Wed Jan 14, 2009 9:14 pm
Forum: Forum Issues and Administration
Topic: I want to not see what you posted.
Replies: 23
Views: 6829

deleted
by johnb
Wed Jan 14, 2009 6:53 pm
Forum: Forum Issues and Administration
Topic: I want to not see what you posted.
Replies: 23
Views: 6829

Re: I want to not see what you posted.

Ilovevolleyball wrote:Hello,

I am wondering if we could add the ability to not view posts or replies of specific posters here ot bogleheads.org?

Morningstar had just such a functionality, if memory serves me correct.

I do not know if this is a good idea... I just think we should debate the merits of this idea.

Frankly there is ONLY ONE poster here whose posts drive me crazy. And, I am sure I am not the only one.

Mike
I agree completely. There are certain posters I consider to be trollish, but their posts don't quite rise to the level of being able to report. (For example, people who respond with sarcasm when someone is asking a question or posting helpful information.)

An "ignore" button would be highly helpful.

John
by johnb
Wed Jan 14, 2009 4:18 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Wall Street Carnage Today - Wrong to Cheer it On?
Replies: 55
Views: 9297

nisiprius wrote:It is naïve to believe that you're necessarily getting a bargain when the market drops.
Ultimately, investing in markets is making a bet (or a lifelong commitment if you prefer). Either you make the bet, or you don't. If you do make the bet, then it makes sense post hoc to cheer when prices go down.

But of course, you're right that the bet could turn out bad.
by johnb
Wed Jan 14, 2009 4:11 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Wall Street Carnage Today - Wrong to Cheer it On?
Replies: 55
Views: 9297

bob90245 wrote:Just think about if you prefer to buy hamburgers when they are on sale.

http://www.bylo.org/webquiz.html
This is an important point for accumulators to remember. So definitely cheer on the lower prices ad libitum.

If someone is in withdrawal phase, one certainly hopes they did not have too high an allocation to equities. But ultimately it is everyone's responsibility to take the proper risk. The market has had large drops in the past, most recently at the beginning of this decade. So the Collapse of 2008 should not have been unplanned for.

Best regards,
John
by johnb
Tue Jan 13, 2009 8:43 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Personal loan gone wrong...
Replies: 24
Views: 5336

moxin wrote:Well what worries me is I've found some reviews online from other people that went on her show...and weren't happy with the outcome. They didnt even have a chance to show their evidence, and she likes to bring up unrelated stuff to cause drama for ratings...

If I win, the tv show pays me the $4700...so wont they be trying to disprove my case and their goal is to dismiss it? Not get justice


This isn't trolling. I will DEFINITELY post the date it airs on TV and you can watch.
Awesome! I'll be watching! Good luck!!
by johnb
Mon Jan 12, 2009 1:14 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Investors staying in, revising expectations
Replies: 6
Views: 1893

Amazing! I'd guessed it was from today. Thanks for posting this reminder about the cyclicalness (yes, that is a word) of the market.

John
by johnb
Mon Jan 12, 2009 8:02 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is Coffee Healthy?
Replies: 62
Views: 10638

About 20% of the population metabolizes caffeine slowly. (If you stay awake in bed at night because you had coffee in the morning, you're one of those slow caffeine metabolizers.) For them, coffee should be avoided.
by johnb
Fri Jan 09, 2009 4:39 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Advertising versus word-of-mouth
Replies: 9
Views: 2084

Opponent Process wrote:Isn't even word-of-mouth some derivative of advertising?
Absolutely. The term used is "viral marketing," and it's the best kind for any business, both because it's free and because it gets you the highest response rate.

For example, the Bogleheads forum is a great source of viral marketing for Vanguard.
by johnb
Fri Jan 09, 2009 1:22 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: New Vanguard TV Ads
Replies: 24
Views: 5309

chaz wrote:I hope it doesn't increase the ERs. Costs are passed along.
I agree. Big companies doing TV ads almost never measure ROI (return on investment). If they did, they would be shocked by how much money is being poured down the drain. The typical reason for TV ads is to stroke the ego of company executives. Let's hope it won't take much money down the drain to stroke egos with this current campaign.

John
by johnb
Thu Jan 08, 2009 12:58 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How do you survive on $120K annual income?
Replies: 97
Views: 26805

Re: How do you survive on $120K annual income?

kevintheboglehead08 wrote:1600 day care for two kids
This really seems awfully high. Is there no way to lower this? For example, can the kids' primary caregiver (usually the mother, but maybe you?) work part-time until they can start pre-school? This $1,600 must be a very high percentage of either your take-home pay or hers.

The advantage of having someone at home is that they can clip coupons and so forth to essentially create more income. (For example, if you normally buy soup for $2 a can but can get it for free when it's on sale on double coupon days, it's like earning $2 after-tax.)

Best regards,
John
by johnb
Wed Jan 07, 2009 5:13 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Personal loan gone wrong...
Replies: 24
Views: 5336

Re: Personal loan gone wrong...

gravlax wrote:
moxin wrote:He's saying hes making a counterclaim that he already paid me in full because I never gave him receipts when he paid me (He paid me monthly in cash).
LOL, I'll have to try that one. I paid for a brand new BMW roadster in full because they never gave me receipts.
Yeah, lol, you said it better than I did!
by johnb
Wed Jan 07, 2009 4:46 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Personal loan gone wrong...
Replies: 24
Views: 5336

In other words, isn't the burden of proof on him to show that he paid, not on you to prove that he didn't?
by johnb
Wed Jan 07, 2009 4:41 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Personal loan gone wrong...
Replies: 24
Views: 5336

Isn't it up to the payer to get receipts from the payee in order to prove they paid the debt? It sounds like all this guy's proving through this charade is that he paid you nothing.
by johnb
Wed Jan 07, 2009 3:41 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Shilling: Housing Market Could Fall Another 20 Percent
Replies: 15
Views: 2783

Not to be a pedant, but if something has fallen -X%, then that means it has increased X%.
by johnb
Wed Jan 07, 2009 11:27 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: peer-to-peer lending as another way to invest money
Replies: 12
Views: 3099

simplesimon wrote:
johnb wrote:Vanguard's High Yield Tax Exempt Fund is paying 5.4% on a nearly risk-free basis. [Italics added.]

:?:
I don't understand the question mark. Muni defaults are extremely low, making the fund nearly risk-free. I thought this was common knowledge around here?

Best,
John

P.S. But judging by the number of posts you have, there must be a good reason for your question mark! I'm interested to hear more.
by johnb
Wed Jan 07, 2009 9:58 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is there a right time
Replies: 5
Views: 1689

Re: Is there a right time

jsteed wrote:Is it wise to sell off some bonds and put into the total stock index to balance?
I think there can a good argument to be made that it is virtually never a good idea to rebalance from bonds into equities. (But that's another discussion entirely.)

As YDNAL said, just put all new contributions into equities for as long as it takes.

Best regards,
John
by johnb
Wed Jan 07, 2009 9:52 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Rebalancing with Company Stock - When?
Replies: 5
Views: 1526

"1) How often should I move this money out of the company stock and into my other funds according to my AA? " As soon as you possibly can, right? Is there any reason why not? [EDIT: Actually, there may be. See dbr's post below.] "2) Since I am already moving funds around in my 401k, should I be rebalancing as well?" The funds moving around in the 401k may take care of a lot of the rebalancing anyway, but you want to make sure to minimize your taxes in your taxable account. This is because any advantages you get from rebalancing could become destroyed by having to pay capital gains taxes. What I would suggest doing is using rebalancing bands as a lot of the studies talk about. Whenever an asset class is 20% above where it...
by johnb
Wed Jan 07, 2009 8:27 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: peer-to-peer lending as another way to invest money
Replies: 12
Views: 3099

linuxizer wrote:
Otto wrote:Also, understand that the advertised default rates are manipulated towards the better light. At least they were at Prosper.
I see this claim a lot. Not saying it's wrong, but what is the evidence for it? I find it more than a little odd that Prosper would do this and then release all the data that researchers would need to verify their duplicity....
http://www.prospers.org/
by johnb
Tue Jan 06, 2009 8:11 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: peer-to-peer lending as another way to invest money
Replies: 12
Views: 3099

Keep in mind you're paying taxes on the 9%. So if you're in the 25% tax bracket and paying 5% state income tax, the 9% becomes 6.3%.

Vanguard's High Yield Tax Exempt Fund is paying 5.4% on a nearly risk-free basis.

That's a difference of only 0.9%. Not enough in my opinion, because your Lendingclub loan will not be without risk.

Best regards,
John
by johnb
Tue Jan 06, 2009 6:00 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 25 Yrs For The Dow To Recover From The Great Depression
Replies: 55
Views: 9971

Re: 25 Yrs For The Dow To Recover From The Great Depression

So, I was taken aback to learn that it took 25 years--a quarter of a century--for the stock market to recover from the Great Depression and reestablish where it was before the Depression hit and the market crashed. This is wrong. Counting re-invested dividends, the September 1929 high was again reached in November 1936, and was surpassed the next month. What's the opposite of taken aback? That's what you should be now that you have this new piece of information. :) John Where did you get that from? Might be some quirk of the DOW if true, or whatever index you are using. S&P 500 is a much better measure of "The Market" and with reinvested dividends, and counting inflation (as one should), it took until 1945 to regain the 1929 ...