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gabbar

Just trying to understand the composition of this fund. I tried reading their fact-sheet, but I couldn't find details on how much leverage this fund takes on. I am assuming the 2.55x leverage number quoted earlier in the thread is correct. Looks like the fund is down 2.26% today (Sept 23). Given tha...

gabbar

I have only had one experience - but based on that, I completely agree with this statement. I would never go with a full price agent again. Even with a discount agent, I would use a reputable one (e.g. Redfin). Otherwise, be prepared for the buyer agent to lower your discount after the earnest money...

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OP, I used to be in your position and threw in the towel in 2018. Real estate prices have continued to go up since I purchased my tiny townhouse. I waited for 4 years before my wife decided - no more waiting for a correction. As you can see, she is smarter than I am. Nonetheless, if you are working ...

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This has been a bittersweet rally. On the one hand, I am running with a 50% US, 40% intl, 10% bond portfolio. On the other hand, I wish I had more money riding in US tech.

gabbar

For a 500K 30 yr loan, a 0.125% reduction in interest rate will save you just under $12K over the duration of the loan (30 years). You can run NPV and account for tax deductions - but nonetheless, the savings for every step down are significant. I understand the loan officer's point of view, but cal...

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I just locked with LenderFi. Just a data point for you. Thank you for pointing me to LenderFi! I haven't done any shopping - wondering if its even worth it to discuss a rate match with WFC (my current lender). Now the process begins! Surreal times :) 2.625% 30 year fixed. Lender credit covers all cl...

gabbar

Agree with the Hyatt argument. You can get some good deals. But I cannot justify (personal choice) paying more than $300 per night on a hotel room. At $0.03 per point, it will limit you to Hyatt categories 1, 2 and 3. The deals are harder within these lower tier (but still excellent) properties. Sim...

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There is no surcharge for Amazon gift cards. Or for that matter, any company gift card - Best Buy, Lowes, etc. the surcharge only applies for generic Visa/MC cards.

gabbar

If you don’t have enough past spend, buy Amazon gift cards at local grocery store. It will count towards 5% grocery shopping spend. Now use this “generated” spend towards reducing your chase points total. Amazon spend is easy for me

unfortunately. Lol.

gabbar

Agreed. I drained my entire Chase points balance against grocery purchases. Unless you travel first/business class on personal travel, you are not getting better than 1.5 cents per point. It’s a no-brainer for me.

gabbar

You can redeem points now at 1.5 cents each for groceries and restaurants. Seems like a recent perk!! Check out the “pay yourself back” feature.

gabbar

OP. You may be able to withdraw $100k penalty free from your 401k due to covid-19. I haven’t read up on it but it may solve most of your problem. Taxes are still due, but no penalty. This option is only available in 2020. Be sure you’re leaving. The tax consequences are significant even without the ...

gabbar

Thank you for confirming the price point. Appreciate it. I've had at least six (or more, I've lost count) crowns over the last 20 years (different dentists) and the estimate you have looks reasonable.Depending on the crown location a porcelin crown may be preferred because it's less noticeable but w...

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Thank you for the response. The old crown was porcelain fused to metal crown. The porcelain chipped on it and now the metal is visible. Given its last molar and therefore not very visible, I think the recommendation makes sense. I will ask her about TMJ problems and see if she has any recommendation...

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My dentist sent an email to all her clients asking for a similar $10 PPE fee. Below is the relevant excerpt from her e-mail. >> There are a few changes to the appointment process. We ask everyone to come in with a facemask on and hand sanitize upon arrival. You will be screened and have your tempera...

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Not sure how to insert a table here and it is difficult to read the numbers. The bottom line is $1099.60 out of pocket and $636.40 paid by insurance. Total cost of the gold crown would be $1736. Reasonable?

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I have unfortunately cracked the cap on my molar and the dentist has strongly recommended a gold crown replacement (eliminate the risk of a second crack and crown failure in the future). I was hoping to benefit from the collective wisdom here as I don't do these kind of dental procedures often - tha...

gabbar

Thank you for all the replies. I have held it for a bit over 2 years and it has been difficult to hold during this time. Purchased it because it seemed one of the better fund within DW's retirement portfolio at that time and with publicly available information. Quite a few funds available in her ret...

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We have a sizable position in OAKIX - 5% (+/-) of portfolio. Unfortunately, it was my recommendation in DW's retirement account which had limited options at the time. DW's retirement account now has indexing options and I am wondering whether to throw in the towel and start moving to an indexed targ...

gabbar

I meant VT, not VTI. Total World Stock (anyway). I looked at FOCPX. Looks like 40% of portfolio is the 5 big tech names. Would you continue to hold that kind of concentrated portfolio (over VTI or VT) for the next 10 years or you like the portfolio manager and expect him to adjust and refresh the po...

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Exactly right. If I increased my risk when everyone was panicking, it should be counted. Unfortunately I moved too soon. How are you guys doing so much better than market averages? Is it individual stocks (idiosyncratic risk) or did you guys time your new money contributions perfectly in late March?...

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Thanks for the responses. I definitely don’t think anyone’s math is off. When I said “new money“, I rebalanced twice, from 70/30 to 80/20 and again to 90/10 in Feb and March. Also regular contributions through 401k. I am counting the gains/losses on the new money (not the principal). Which is what m...

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How are you guys doing so much better than market averages? Is it individual stocks (idiosyncratic risk) or did you guys time your new money contributions perfectly in late March? I am down somewhere between 10% and 13%. Not looking closely. Vanguard Total stock market is down 13.32% YTD which is my...

gabbar

Thank you all for your comments. It is level premium policy, very standard. Just based on term4sale rates, the price of a 10 year $1.25MM term policy for a healthy 35 year old male (which was my age when I purchased the first policy) is less than $300 per year. It seems that I have overpaid by about...

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I took out a 30 year term life insurance 6 years ago. I thought I got a competitive rate at that time as I was in good health - $1164 per year, for a $1.25MM 30 year term policy. We had 3 year old twins at that time, and we were planning for maybe one more child. Fast forward 6 years, we are happy w...

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Renewing an old thread from Oct last year. I am in a position to pay off my 401k loan from last year. Annual bonus helped. It will leave me with a three month emergency fund. Market is pretty much where it was in last October - when I took the loan. my portfolio hasn’t done as well (skewed towards V...

gabbar

In the same boat as you. I would like to know how you got the 40% off coupon

I was looking at a thinkpad but 40% off can change my mind to a Dell XPS 13/15.

gabbar

This is a very interesting discussion. Which area of the country did you invest in during the last downturn? Hypothetically, if you were to buy now, which areas would you look at now? My equities have declined in value My rentals have not Are you sure about that? If the rentals were placed on the ma...

gabbar

OP. I am about your age as well. I have already moved from 80/20 to 90/10 allocation. For every 15% drop, I plan to increase my equity allocation by 5% (There is no logic to it - it just my comfort level for risk.) As you have probably estimated, I am down about 30% from the peak. My losses are prob...

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I dont know about risks but it is more a question of aesthetics. We bought at the top of the market in the summer of 2018. The houses near power lines sold at a discount then as well. Similarly, houses serviced with overhead utility lines sold at a discount vs. neighborhoods with underground lines. ...

gabbar

Thanks guys for the responses. I didn't know that in case of job loss or change, I had until Oct 15th (with a tax filing extension) to pay off the loan. That does add more time than what I was thinking of. Still, it seems like most recommended approach is build up additional liquidity, while the 401...

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Thank you for the advise bloom2708. No other debt, about $700K in retirement accounts (me and wife) vs. a $520K mortgage. Giving up a 100% match is something I would never do. Also, I cannot cut the 401K loan down by using $24K against it. I have to pay it down through the paycheck (roughly $1k mont...

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I have another 401k loan question. I took a $40K loan from my 401k - to be repaid over 4 years to get to 20% down and get a deal on my refinancing. The refinancing has now closed, but I am now left with a situation where I cannot close the 401K loan if I lose my job (not expecting anything as such, ...

gabbar

Thank you very much for the detailed replies and the reference to other thread. It is a WellsTrade account - I did confirm that this evening. They have no annual fees as long as I sign up for paperless statements and no fees tied to AUM. The website looks good enough for what I need to do. Like I me...

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I am hoping someone can help me with this. I am considering opening a Wells Fargo Advisors account for 0.25% discount on mortgage interest rate. Wells Fargo is giving me a very competitive rate for my refinancing. The mortgage banker offered a further discount of 1/8 percent for every $250K of money...

gabbar

Depends on the market. In the bay area market, to be competitive, I had to pay for the owners title insurance. Not to digress, but I had to also do the following - 3% earnest money deposit into the escrow account with a promise to close within a month. As-is purchase, even if my inspection found any...

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I dont intend to throw anything away. However, I noticed that I didn't have proof of purchase of the owner title insurance policy. It was quite expensive to buy (just under $2k for the owners title insurance; title insurance for the bank was a separate line item) and I am disappointed at myself for ...

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I was hoping that someone in the Bogleheads community could help me with this. I wanted to make sure that I keep the any important documents that represent proof of home purchase. We closed on our first home a few months back - pretty standard with 20% down and a 30 year fixed loan. We went through ...

gabbar

Black or brown slip-ons with excellent tread for commute. I have found that Clarks or Ecco are both good. Switch to Allen Edmonds dress shoes once I reach work. I keep two AE pairs - one black and one brown - at work. I used to just come in with dark black Nike sneakers at work and didn't care about...

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I am rather envious of private individual american investors because they have (at least it seems to me) a fantastic way to profit from the current interest rates: lock in a 30y mortgage at a stupidly low rate. In my country (Finland), practically all mortgages are variable rate for the entire dura...

gabbar

Thanks a lot for the advice. I really appreciate it. I hadn't thought of the child tax credit expiry. Great point about being able to talk the talk with company management. Mostly going to say goodbye to the tech job. I will feel underpaid for a while, but looks like that is their standard package f...

gabbar

Thanks for the feedback guys. It seems that most of the folks that posted have suggested following my passion and going towards the finance role (by taking the pay cut). Some points that were mentioned here, where I feel I can add clarification. 1) @johnep. MBA definitely fits with the finance caree...

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Hello Bogleheads. I am looking for some advice here. I am currently going through business school (part-time MBA) and also working as a software developer (10 years of work exp.) in a start-up here in the San Francisco bay area. The main idea behind going through the MBA was to try to make a career ...

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Another round of funding for Wealthfront. http://venturebeat.com/2014/04/02/even-millennials-need-money-management-help-wealthfront-raises-35m/ I looked it up on bogleheads after someone recommended it on my facebook feed. BTW, while the TLH process with similar objective ETFs is obvious, I don't un...

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If you bought a new Windows 8 laptop, it probably came with some sort of touch interface. If that's the case, I would give Windows 8 a shot before downgrading to Windows 7. At least use it for a few weeks. The folks who are touting XP unfortunately should at least upgrade to Windows 7 - come on, XP ...

gabbar

As a parent to twin boys who are an year and a half old, time will be most precious thing in the coming months. Twin pregnancy wasn't straightforward and a lot of work for the wife. Which part of CA are you in? Its tough being a buyer in the current market in the bay area. Got to tip my hat to you f...

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I am assuming you are interested in high speed internet since you want to stream content to your TV. Your options are (depending on your zipcode) - Verizon FIOS Dish network Direct TV They all allow bundled packages with phone, internet, cable. I did the same research a little while back and couldn'...

gabbar

The old adage is correct but BMW is not a frugal car choice. It will complain and break down if you don't take care of it. Its a fun car to drive though. I bought a Civic an year ago - its a step down as far as the driving experience.

gabbar

This was my experience with owning a BMW. Hopefully, it can give you some perspective. I spent on an average of $1750 per year on the BMW over a period of 8 years, everything included. My car was older than yours and had more miles. http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=505283&highli...

gabbar

Even Vanguard has actively managed funds. Why?
I know a lot of Vanguard active funds are fantastically run and have expense ratios way below their competition.
But the fact that they even have active funds available... doesn't it go against their preaching.

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