Bogleheads.org

dognose

I've had 100 percent of my fixed income portfolio in munis for the last 25 years, with no problems. I have no plans to make any changes. Vanguard Intermediate Term Tax Exempt works just fine.

dognose

Assuming you're in reasonably good health, the pension (monthly annuity payments) is your best bet. A lot of people take the lump sum because it looks like a huge amount of money, and they figure they can out-manage professional pension managers with their retirement money. I wouldn't (and didn't) m...

dognose

Good grief ... buy another Keurig machine and get on with your life.

dognose

djtino, I did extensively explore the idea of working with a "wealth manager," although I could not find a manager or firm that I viewed as reasonable in terms of expenses. Most wanted at least 1-1.25 percent annually to manage our account, and most of them also tacked various expenses onto this. Ma...

dognose

Yes, the CPA was mainly used to disentangle us from earlier investments with Merrill Lynch, MLPs, etc., before I discovered the wisdom of indexing. The CPA also was helpful as we moved from a high-tax area (NY taxes are a nightmare, especially if dealing with things like stock options). I still thin...

dognose

I was in almost exactly the same situation as the OP when I took early retirement about 15 years ago. Here's what I did with my money: 1. Spent $2 million on an immediate lifetime annuity for me and my spouse. Annuity is not indexed to inflation. I think annuities tend to get a bad rap, especially f...

dognose

John Bogle is a national treasure, and Taylor Larimore is a true American hero. We sure travel with some classy people on this forum.

dognose

I spend about $2000 to have my federal and state taxes prepared each year by a CPA. It's the best money I spend each year.

dognose

Go out and buy the Porsche today. You can more than afford it, and you won't regret it.

dognose

Also make sure you're comfortable handling the K-1 tax forms issued by MLPs, which can be an absolute nightmare.

dognose

Agree on Otar. His book, "Unveiling the Retirement Myth," is by far the best personal/retirement finance book I've ever read.

dognose

I forget the original questions asked in this thread. But I do know this: any thread that features multiple contributions by Larry Swedroe and Bill Bernstein is pretty cool. We've been treated to world-class financial advice in a single thread.

dognose

My goal also was 25x annual expenses. I retired shortly after hitting that number 15 years ago. My nest egg now totals more than 150x annual expenses. The Bogleheads philosophy really pays off -- live below one's means, use index funds, etc. We also moved from a high-cost state, Connecticut, to a lo...

dognose

rapporteur,

I'm impressed that you have a crystal ball that allows you to see clearly for the next decade or so. Where can I buy one of those?

dognose

Thanks for the tip, TomP10. I will order the Clements book this morning.

dognose

Larry,

I hope that someday you write a book focused solely on the marginal utility of wealth. It's a fascinating subject, and no one writes about it with as much passion and wisdom as you do.

dognose

100 percent Vanguard after a few years of paying crazy high fees for virtually no service at Merrill Lynch. When I went to close my account at Merrill -- an account which at that time was worth more than $10 million -- my Merrill account rep said, "I'm sorry, but I'm not familiar with your account."...

dognose

My wife and I are extremely generous tippers, especially during the holiday season. Where we live, a large percentage of service workers are students and/or single mothers. They really need the money. Over the course of an entire year, and perhaps over an entire lifetime, such generous tipping is me...

dognose

1. Go to Edmunds.com or kelley Blue Book to research dealer cost of vehicle. If you don't know much about cars, go to Consumer Reports (they don't know much about cars, either, but they mean well and their numbers are more or less in the ballpark). 2. Go to dealership, pick out car, offer this price...

dognose

I have a business associate who has a great expression about people who think they have it made. She says: get over yourself, and move forward. So get over yourself, and move forward.

dognose

If you are capable of fogging a mirror, you can gain the attention of an estate lawyer.

dognose

Dump Edward Jones immediately. Run. Do not look back.

dognose

Livesoft has provided an incredible amount of sound investing advice over the years. He also has challenged investors to do their own research and reach their own conclusions. In addition, he has a great sense of humor. This guy is golden.

dognose

Buy new, pay cash, do not buy extended warranty. Repeat every decade or so.

dognose

Livesoft finally snapped after reading, for a millionth time, a post asking: "Do I need umbrella insurance?"

dognose

If you're into active management, it's hard to beat W&W. You get strong, professional management teams at rock-bottom fees. As active managers, they maintain the asset allocations advertised by the funds. My wife's retirement money has been invested in Wellington for more than 25 years, and her aver...

dognose

I've been a long-term renter and then a long-term owner. As an owner, I gained millions of dollars in gains on my properties, over and above maintenance and other costs. From strictly a financial perspective, owning property has worked well for me. I also like the emotional aspects of home ownership...

dognose

Yes, you should pay off your mortgage aggressively.

dognose

Dividends are not useless. In fact, they're quite valuable. But they are not "free money," as many investors seem to think. Dividends are just part of total return, and are relatively inefficient from a tax standpoint. Warren Buffett figured this all out a few decades ago, opting for total return ov...

dognose

American history, which provides a great framework for investors.

dognose

Warren Buffett recommends going long the S&P 500, forever. Some people go short with "play money." I'll stick with Buffett.

dognose

My wife and I lived in the Bay area for four years. Best years of our lives, and we've lived in lots of great areas. The downsides are extremely high housing costs and clogged roads. The upsides, though, are almost countless: spectacular area geographically, outstanding employment/advancement prospe...

dognose

I have been a high net worth investor for the last 30 years. I have a great CPA who handles my taxes, and my wife and I used a top-notch local estate lawyer a few years ago to handle estate issues, including health care directives, power of attorney statements, wills, trusts, etc. We also have an um...

dognose

Lots of people like to fight the basic three-fund portfolio advocated by the Bogleheads. Lots of people are wrong.

dognose

For my federal tax return, a "junior" level CPA does 95 percent of the work, at $150 per hour. My return is then reviewed by a "senior" CPA, who charges $600 per hour (i'm not kidding). Total cost of my federal return is about $2k per year. It's by far the best money I spend each year.

dognose

I have used a CPA for many years because my federal tax return is very complicated. I pay about $2k per year for tax prep, a figure that may shock some people. I consider it the best money I spend each year.

dognose

In my fixed income accounts, I am 100 percent muni bonds. Never had a problem with this, and don't expect to have a problem. Any hand-wringing over munis is just noise to me - - and a great opportunity to buy more munis.

dognose

Leasing a car is incredibly stupid, from a financial standpoint. But it's also very easy to do, and many people prefer expediency over intelligence. People who lease cars justify their decision in a thousand different ways, all of them wrong.

dognose

Spend a couple of hundred dollars for a color printer. Go wild.

dognose

Leaking water in the house and someone is debating whether to hire a plumber? Whatever a plumber charges is chump change compared to what real water damage can cause in just a few minutes. And don't count on the insurance company , which will discount everything you say. Hire the plumber, like yeste...

dognose

I always pay to have a home inspection as a seller. It lets me know what's wrong/right with the house well before a sale. If the ultimate buyer wants to do his/her own inspection, which is usually the case, that's fine with me. A $500 home inspection has always paid for itself, with me, in countless...

dognose

You're not crazy, Texasdude17, but a 5 percent hedge isn't really much of a hedge. I would roll that 5 percent into VWIUX, which would give you more than enough of a safety net to weather any downturn, and a 66 percent stock allocation should provide outstanding long-term growth. In other words, you...

dognose

I don't know about the Crosstrek, but I once had a Subaru Outback and it was the best car I've owned from a reliability standpoint. It never had a single problem -- not one -- in the 179,000 miles I owned it.

dognose

I gave up on CR when they started complaining about the lack of cup holders in certain Porsche models.

dognose

No one knows what will happen.

dognose

The OP would have to rally considerably to be regarded as stingy. Lots of other adjectives come to mind first.

dognose

Keep the BMW. If you went from an M3 to a Corolla or Civic, you would literally think the engine had fallen out. I actually like Corollas and Civics, but let's get real here.

dognose

3 percent.

dognose

Sell the stock, and don't buy any more individual stocks. Waiting for the stock to "come back" is a classic beginner's error. Most of us have been there, including me, before I discovered the wisdom of index investing.

dognose

The OP clearly is very risk-averse, which is fine. Wellesley is a good, conservative choice for many people. But my guess is that the OP would sleep better at night by investing in the Total Retirement Income fund (VTINX). Vanguard is currently showing a 10-year average return of 4.98 percent for th...

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