Search found 1517 matches
- Thu Dec 10, 2020 6:49 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Where to Retire?
- Replies: 262
- Views: 23526
Re: Where to Retire?
but not sure it will be my last stop. If you relocated, or intend to relocate, at or after retirement, for reasons other than proximity to family, to where? And why? I don't know that anywhere is perfect. My wife and I had been ATL over 30 years and had grown sick of it, primarily congestion and no...
- Fri Nov 27, 2020 8:14 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: No Mortgage - Wrong??
- Replies: 94
- Views: 7741
Re: No Mortgage - Wrong??
This is a branch off of another post of mine. I have no mortgage (own a $600k home) and am basically 100% S&P. Is it reasonable to borrow money at todays rates assuming there will be inflation in our future and I will be paying it back with less valuable money? I would buy more S&P with thi...
- Sat Aug 01, 2020 5:41 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Barron’s article on bonds
- Replies: 89
- Views: 5984
Re: Barron’s article on bonds
I would think most who have never heard of Fuss don't spend much time evaluating fixed income investments outside of the Vanguard suite. The same fund, LSBRX, has a .92% ER and is identical to the one graphed earlier. No one would buy this fund as an only bond fund as it is not suitable for that, bu...
- Mon May 04, 2020 3:48 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Best [BBQ grill] for the money?
- Replies: 94
- Views: 6918
Re: Best [BBQ grill] for the money?
Thank you for that write up. You sound like quite the grilling enthusiast! Quick question. How would you describe cooking on the griddle vs a normal BBQ? DW feels like a griddle would be similar to cooking on a flat top in a pizza shop, would get the job done but may not be the same as BBQ'ing on a...
- Sun Mar 29, 2020 12:09 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Guys I Rebalanced (Moved Monies Out Of S&P 500)
- Replies: 301
- Views: 18725
Re: Guys I Rebalanced (Moved Monies Out Of S&P 500)
Down $55k?? That's not even a flesh wound. 

- Mon Mar 02, 2020 7:57 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Okay, now when you do buy back in?
- Replies: 230
- Views: 21942
Re: Okay, now when you do buy back in?
All I can say is the UTG I added Friday was up over 8% today and over-allocation to Utes popped nicely, PFE was on sale, too. Then again, I didn't go below 53% equity, either. 

- Mon Mar 02, 2020 6:27 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Question on New Fence Etiquette
- Replies: 29
- Views: 3031
Re: Question on New Fence Etiquette
In my county, fences in the front yard, and side yard for corner properties, are limited to 3 feet tall. When the fence line has reached far enough back from a road, the fence height can increase to 6 feet. I live in a city roughly 10 miles north of downtown ATL. We had lived in our house roughly 1...
- Sat Feb 29, 2020 12:35 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: New retiree perspective during Corona Crash
- Replies: 57
- Views: 7279
Re: New retiree perspective during Corona Crash
I’d like to give—and get—some perspective from a retiree point of view, either those who retired recently or are near retirement. All my working life, I had a nest egg goal of $XXX by the time I retired. Here’s what happened: On retirement day (December 31, 2018), I had $XXX plus 24% On my all-time...
- Sat Feb 29, 2020 11:23 am
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: new VG dashboard [New Vanguard home page]
- Replies: 47
- Views: 2969
Re: Change in investor homepage?
Yes, it's the former layout. Took 5 minutes for the site to log into my accounts Friday and the old format appeared. Maybe Vanguard had so much customer volume it had to revert back to the old format. I like the new format much better.
- Fri Feb 28, 2020 4:21 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Who's buying today? where's all the "dry powder" folks at? :)
- Replies: 514
- Views: 51193
Re: Who's buying today? where's all the "dry powder" folks at? :)
I made some investments today the Bogleheads don't want to hear about. Otherwise, I made some changes in our HSA which was really conservatively allocated to higher equity orientation, added to PIMIX, etc. I wanted to buy JPM but my existing cost basis is so low I passed. Added to some equity positi...
- Fri Jan 24, 2020 6:20 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Last gasp of the bull
- Replies: 118
- Views: 18413
Re: Last gasp of the bull
[Embedded image removed by admin LadyGeek] Hi All, It's not pleasant to have to take measures to protect one's wealth in the face of optimism and a roaring market. It's also not useful to make sudden dramatic moves in one portfolio. However, I believe that the current juncture offers an opportunity...
- Mon Nov 18, 2019 7:20 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Best thing you have ever bought?
- Replies: 151
- Views: 14542
Re: Best thing you have ever bought?
3 Doberman Pinschers and 2 Bully mixes, all rescues, all 5 have been outstanding, 2 have traveled with me over 70K miles 10 years of super high quality craft beer Primo Oval XL bought new in 2007, still going strong 3-season deck added to the house 10+ years ago was definitely worth the cost Some pr...
- Tue Nov 12, 2019 6:02 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Anyone had their house repiped?
- Replies: 32
- Views: 3921
Re: Anyone had their house repiped?
Copper can be susceptible to pinhole leaks due to water chemistry. Yes, we had to replace roughly a 10 foot span leading from the hot water heater about a year ago. House was built in 1986, all copper, but this span was put in place 10 years ago during a remodel. The plumber said they had seen a ve...
- Mon Oct 07, 2019 4:17 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: LG Refrigerator/Freezer lack of service saga
- Replies: 39
- Views: 3367
Re: LG Refrigerator/Freezer lack of service saga
Things have likely changed, but I bought an LG french door/bottom freezer with ice maker and LG high efficiency dishwasher 9+ years ago and have only had to have the ice maker repaired once about a year ago?? I do have a surge protector for the fridge, as we experience frequent power spikes and shor...
- Mon Sep 30, 2019 12:59 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Ponder this, BH's... is Ben & Jerry's worth it?
- Replies: 142
- Views: 12397
Re: Ponder this, BH's... is Ben & Jerry's worth it?
I'll be real, when this company started up near me the product was out of this world, then private equity, etc. It is still good, but not what it was originally.
- Mon Sep 30, 2019 11:44 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: retiring abroad with savings worth 200k...
- Replies: 101
- Views: 16057
Re: retiring abroad with savings worth 200k...
and spend your evenings drinking beer with friends in a bars instead of wasting away in rural america We don't have bars or friends or beer in "rural america"? :) And I'd rather be watching the sunset over a lake with my beer and my friends instead of stuck inside some smoke-filled dark E...
- Mon Sep 30, 2019 11:17 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Buying expensive TVs online
- Replies: 54
- Views: 4657
Re: Buying expensive TVs online
What are others experience or thoughts with buying an expensive TV online? Of course I could wait until Black Friday sales in 2 months but I doubt they will be as good as this price. Thanks for your responses. Since you are a Costco member I suggest checking online with them as sometimes they will ...
- Tue Sep 24, 2019 4:07 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Verge of Retiring, Portfolio Analysis Help
- Replies: 46
- Views: 4755
Re: Verge of Retiring, Portfolio Analysis Help
Feeling pretty stupid, but, just one question about the income of $300k from selling the rental property: are those proceeds added to income taxes or separate under capital gains taxes, or isn't there a difference? (Trying to decide if we should push for a sale this year, 2019, or next year, 2020 t...
- Wed Sep 18, 2019 9:58 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Best Dog Car?
- Replies: 70
- Views: 5253
Re: Best Dog Car?
OP, not sure what your "large" dogs scale is, when I think large it is over 65 lbs. Being that you are mentioning the Alltrack, and had a Subaru, you may not be wanting a F-150 crew cab, nor have room in your garage. Take a look at the Honda Passport, it is a replacement for the Element, a...
- Tue Sep 17, 2019 5:02 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: $2k repairs on $12K car
- Replies: 81
- Views: 5800
Re: $2k repairs on $12K car
Brake fluid definitely needs replacing if it has never been changed/flushed. Like most have said it looks like deferred maintenance and well worth doing if you are keeping the vehicle a few or more years.
- Tue Sep 17, 2019 3:16 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: How much house can we afford?
- Replies: 15
- Views: 1347
Re: How much house can we afford?
Good point about the home equity line. I hadn't thought of that as an option. I am actually a bit unfamiliar with it. Is it basically the same thing as the option to take out a mortgage but with lower/no closing costs but higher interest rates? It would be an open credit line up to "X" % ...
- Tue Sep 17, 2019 1:11 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: How much house can we afford?
- Replies: 15
- Views: 1347
Re: How much house can we afford?
My thoughts are similar to Watty's. You can swing it. Might want to consider selling some of your taxable total stock market this year, and some next year to hopefully minimize tax impact when your wife is off work. If you put more cash down upfront you can always get a home equity line and have a s...
- Mon Sep 16, 2019 2:50 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: New iPhone on sale for $599.99
- Replies: 52
- Views: 4457
Re: New iPhone on sale for $599.99
Not very exciting. Die-hard Apple fans will buy it no matter what just because it's new, however. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/apples-new-iphones-are-overpriced-and-behind-the-times-2019-09-13 The long wait is over. Apple introduced its 2019 line of smartphones Tuesday, and pre-orders have now...
- Mon Sep 16, 2019 2:13 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Mustang...GT or Ecoboost?
- Replies: 42
- Views: 2806
Re: Mustang...GT or Ecoboost?
I'm strongly leaning towards buying my wife a Mustang for Christmas. She had a beat up 80s Mustang when we first met, and it's still the only model of car she's every mentioned. I'm going to buy a lightly used version ('17-'19 model year). The question is, GT or not? On one hand, I say "why wo...
- Tue Sep 03, 2019 4:39 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: [Deleted]
- Replies: 76
- Views: 9570
Re: Things you should know about minimum volatility investing
Thanks for your comments. We are looking at the same thing from different angles. I am not saying Low Volatility is a bad strategy, just saying the timing isn't the best right now. My expectation is that the premium will persist over very long time periods. Markets are dynamic, it could be that thi...
- Sun Aug 25, 2019 3:47 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: HDHP Dropped by Health Care Organization
- Replies: 9
- Views: 992
Re: HDHP Dropped by Health Care Organization
Again, it is all about the organizations objectives and ultimate plan design. In our case, the actuarial value of the HDHP is actually higher than the old traditional plan which means the new HDHP plan will actually pay more of the total plan costs than the old plan. With our company's plan design,...
- Sun Aug 25, 2019 3:05 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Vanguard Energy Fund (VGENX) - should I continue to hold or sell it?
- Replies: 27
- Views: 3238
Re: Vanguard Energy Fund (VGENX) - should I continue to hold or sell it?
With my luck, the moment I sell, the stock will come roaring back. Look at the headwinds the global O&G industry has faced back to 2014, and the poor sector return vs the broad market, maybe it's time to invest more?? I still own multiple O&G holdings, all but one are well in the green/blac...
- Sun Aug 25, 2019 2:04 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Are pet-proof carpets worth the extra $$ ?
- Replies: 18
- Views: 1281
Re: Are pet-proof carpets worth the extra $$ ?
We expect to be in the house permanently. Or at LEAST for as long as the next batch of carpeting is going to last. As for what percentage of the price is the pet proofing? It's impossible to really figure out. Perhaps 10%? The pet proof feature is really only on the higher priced line to begin with...
- Sun Aug 25, 2019 1:51 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Vanguard Energy Fund (VGENX) - should I continue to hold or sell it?
- Replies: 27
- Views: 3238
Re: Vanguard Energy Fund (VGENX) - should I continue to hold or sell it?
Why did you buy VGENX at that time? The energy sector is very volatile, that may or may not change in the future, but I doubt it will. 2008, a barrel of oil was close to $190, what is it now? This is one sector I would never espouse the commonly heard mantra "invest when you have cash available...
- Sun Aug 25, 2019 1:20 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: HDHP Dropped by Health Care Organization
- Replies: 9
- Views: 992
Re: HDHP Dropped by Health Care Organization
I work for a large health care organization that went through a merger. One of the changes that occurred to the benefits was that the High Deductible Health Plan was dropped. Executive leaders used the explanation that the amount of the deductible was too high and was deterring employees from getti...
- Wed Aug 21, 2019 7:22 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Pre Retirement Portfolio Review
- Replies: 25
- Views: 3549
Re: Pre Retirement Portfolio Review
no one posts chuck akre's actual results and two decade plus history of management , fbr focus/akrex, before they all rush to say sell his fund? Above average returns with less than average volatility while tax efficient. Portfolio Initial Balance Final Balance CAGR Stdev Best Year Worst Year Max. ...
- Sun Aug 18, 2019 5:13 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: I and EE bonds
- Replies: 17
- Views: 2934
Re: I and EE bonds
From direct experience, especially if one has then current income or income producing assets at the time EE's mature, my advice is to pay the accrued interest on the bonds annually or you will end up with potential high tax cost when the bonds mature or you liquidate them at the 20-year mark. They m...
- Sun Aug 18, 2019 4:43 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Aliens have captured my husband [wants to buy a Porsche]
- Replies: 138
- Views: 12277
Re: Aliens have captured my husband [wants to buy a Porsche]
For goodness’s sake he’s 74. If the check won’t bounce and your expenses are covered, let him do what he wants. Same goes for you. Yeah, I agree. My dad got a new V8 Mustang convertible when he was in his late 50's early 60's and enjoyed it. More recently he had bought a 300 series BMW hardtop conv...
- Sat Aug 03, 2019 4:17 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Continue to maintain older car or buy something newer?
- Replies: 6
- Views: 615
Re: Continue to maintain older car or buy something newer?
My 2004 C230 Mercedes is currently due for break pads and rotors replacement, there is also a small oil leak. Total cost to replace breaks and fix the leak is $1100. The car has 120K miles on it and I can't decide if I should put that money into it at this point or look for something newer, maybe a...
- Sat Aug 03, 2019 4:13 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Qualcomm Quick Charger,
- Replies: 4
- Views: 278
Re: Qualcomm Quick Charger,
I have had great experiences with Anker products, just make sure what you choose has the QualCom spec. Had no problem with the 6' cords, some are very heavy duty. One of the 3.0 wall chargers is smaller design with "foldable" electrical prongs so they aren't sticking out in your travel bag...
- Mon Jul 22, 2019 6:27 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: The Single Greatest Predictor of Future Stock Market Returns
- Replies: 98
- Views: 21701
Re: The Single Greatest Predictor of Future Stock Market Returns
However, we do know that the U.S. stock market has enjoyed a 6.6% real return (8.0% nominal) during the last 200-years However, as you often remind us, past performance is not indicative of future performance, right? Nor can we buy past returns...I don't need a written beat down yet higher yielding...
- Mon Jul 22, 2019 5:59 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Standard Car Key Battery Life for Late Model Vehicles
- Replies: 40
- Views: 3512
Re: Standard Car Key Battery Life for Late Model Vehicles
I almost never use the buttons and was surprised yesterday when neither key would open the trunk or lock the doors. What kind of battery life would you expect when not even using the electronic features? I replace ours about every 18 months, but they get a good deal of use and don't want to have an...
- Mon Jul 22, 2019 4:58 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Dogs and homeowners insurance company
- Replies: 86
- Views: 6128
Re: Dogs and homeowners insurance company
Even well trained dogs bite. People make mistakes, and dogs make mistakes. Any time one reduces bite inhibition through genetics or training, one increases the possibility of bites. A chihuahua bite is nasty, but a Rottweiler bite could be fatal. The stats on dog bites are grim. Here is a website w...
- Sun Jul 21, 2019 3:55 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Dogs and homeowners insurance company
- Replies: 86
- Views: 6128
Re: Dogs and homeowners insurance company
So we had our insurance agent out to the house to look over coverages and be sure we are all on the same place with rising costs, ect. Really had not done this in a few years. Our agent remarked that insurance companies are getting very wary of dogs on the property. Certain breeds will either raise...
- Thu Jul 18, 2019 3:51 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Help me live off my retirement funds
- Replies: 24
- Views: 4721
- Mon Jul 15, 2019 2:37 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: No A/C in Office [not a safe work environment]
- Replies: 86
- Views: 9053
Re: No A/C in Office [not a safe work environment]
So, assuming your boss is a semi-reasonable human: "We have some really important deadlines to hit, and the lack of A/C makes it hard to get work done due to a health condition. Would it be alright if I worked from home for a couple of days, to make sure we hit our deadlines? I'll be available...
- Mon Jul 15, 2019 12:23 pm
- Forum: Forum Issues and Administration
- Topic: Using Site From Smartphone Question
- Replies: 16
- Views: 1674
Re: Using Site From Smartphone Question
Check your phone settings to see whether the feature is on or off, just like on a tablet. Mine is "enabled" and is a significant difference in displayed area.
- Mon Jul 15, 2019 11:50 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: I think i can spend 30k on this vacation, but wife not sure
- Replies: 77
- Views: 8296
Re: I think i can spend 30k on this vacation, but wife not sure
Feeding a troll on this one.
- Mon Jul 15, 2019 11:43 am
- Forum: Forum Issues and Administration
- Topic: Using Site From Smartphone Question
- Replies: 16
- Views: 1674
Re: Using Site From Smartphone Question
If you are looking at your phone in "portrait" position try turning it to horizontal "landscape" position, should be able to see it. Or you may have font size enlarged crowding the screen, etc. I use Opera and Chrome with no issues on Galaxy S8, much better display in landscape m...
- Sun Jul 14, 2019 12:42 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Anyone buy the Nissan Rogue over the Honda CRV???
- Replies: 86
- Views: 6920
Re: Anyone buy the Nissan Rogue over the Honda CRV???
How about a used 2016-18 Acura RDX? It's last gen with a 6 cyl engine that doesn't suffer from the oil dilution issues of the newer 4 cyl direct-injection RDX and CRV. The Advanced trim has similar safety features (BSM, rear cross traffic, auto cruise, lane keeping, CMBS) of the current Honda CRV. ...
- Wed Jul 10, 2019 12:05 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Buying a Smoker
- Replies: 154
- Views: 13538
Re: Buying a Smoker
Have used a Primo XL ceramic grill/smoker since July 2007 and it is still producing superior smoked meat. It has been extremely durable, has a firebox divider where one can easily keep the lump coals/wood for indirect smoking, etc. Anything from fish to pizza. I have cooked a tremendous amount of fo...
- Tue Jul 09, 2019 3:12 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Selling a rental property - taxes
- Replies: 41
- Views: 2723
Re: Selling a rental property - taxes
Maybe you should have the prior 2 years of personal tax filings recast to take the depreciation. Also, ask CPA or whomever, as you might be able to deduct the full $14.8k of repairs, but don't know if painting will qualify. I knew for sure about the depreciation recapture coming up. It would be wort...
- Mon Jul 08, 2019 8:18 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Americans believe they need $1.7 million, on average, to retire
- Replies: 284
- Views: 32632
Re: Americans believe they need $1.7 million, on average, to retire
The survey scale is whacked, jumps from 250k increments to 1 - 3M in one step, quite a leap. I turned 56 last month and my wife will be 55 in November. She works 4 days a week and is considered full time, and I "retired" just before hitting 48. I think "X" number is going to be d...
- Tue Jul 02, 2019 9:49 am
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Is anyone else worried about tech becoming too big/overvalued?
- Replies: 54
- Views: 5216
Re: Is anyone else worried about tech becoming too big/overvalued?
You won't find me disagreeing that the top 5, 10, 25, 50 companies in terms of market cap rotate, come and go, etc... over the years. I was just pointing out how profitable the top 25 companies are, and how much free cash flow those particular 6 companies ( Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Googl...
- Wed Jun 19, 2019 7:07 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Single cup coffee/espresso options, 2019
- Replies: 91
- Views: 7853
Re: Single cup coffee/espresso options, 2019
I have the right answer to this :happy We bought the Mr. Coffee Espresso and Cappuccino Maker 2 years ago for $159. Makes really good cappucino/lattes and expressos and has been fool proof. We use it on a daily basis. We considered all the fancy Italian-style/named brands that were much more expens...