Search found 138 matches

by Desert
Wed Jul 20, 2022 11:02 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Do you use a password manager?
Replies: 361
Views: 34466

Re: Do you use a password manager?

I use Keeper. I've used 1Password for years in the past. Both are well regarded.

https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-password-managers
by Desert
Tue Jun 14, 2022 10:33 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Anyone want to guess where the bottom will be?
Replies: 117
Views: 18281

Re: Anyone want to guess where the bottom will be?

I agree pre-pandemic levels will be reached. S&P at 3000, on September 23, 2022.

You're welcome. :happy
by Desert
Sun May 08, 2022 2:44 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Longer cycling prep
Replies: 103
Views: 9299

Re: Longer cycling prep

Great posts folks. Thank you. This will be useful now and as I reference later, hopefully useful to others as well. Tested my new clips out today locally. All good, starting/stopping etc and then fell flat on my inclined drive. Lol. SMH. :oops: I guess I’ve got to practice starting and stopping on inclines with these clips… It takes quite some time to get through the falling phase. At first, it's like this, you fall in obvious places. Later, you're riding more, and you'll simply forget to twist your heel outward because you're tired :-). Eventually it becomes second nature. IMHO bike commuting helped, because I would have to make a stop every two or four blocks rather than every ten miles. I think you said SPD? I have dual-entry SPD multi-...
by Desert
Sun May 08, 2022 1:42 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Buying Gold Coins
Replies: 19
Views: 4519

Re: Buying Gold Coins

California Numismatic Investments is usually worth a look.
by Desert
Fri Oct 22, 2021 1:25 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 72t - Break up IRA into 2 accounts?
Replies: 18
Views: 1836

Re: 72t - Break up IRA into 2 accounts?

I would split into two accounts, primarily to address your second bullet. It doesn't sound like you need to max the 72t amount on your IRA, so splitting into two accounts gives you a backup account to tap if you end up needing additional income in the future.
by Desert
Thu Mar 26, 2020 11:57 am
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: [Archived] Bogleheads community discussion - Coronavirus
Replies: 4963
Views: 304721

Re: Bogleheads community discussion - Coronavirus

6h ago / 5:09 PM MST Coronavirus could become seasonal like the flu, Fauci warns There are increasing signs that COVID-19 will become a seasonal illness, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday during the White House's daily task force briefing. https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/live-blog/coronavirus-updates-senate-passes-2-trillion-stimulus-plan-u-s-n1168156/ncrd1169121#liveBlogHeader Providing some context, the comments speculate that it could be seasonal due to the changing weather, not because a new strain for which there is little immunity is prevalent every year like the flu. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/coronavirus-pandemic-immunity-vaccine/2020/03/12/bbf10996-6485-11ea-acca-80c22bbee96f_story.html This is an article wri...
by Desert
Fri Mar 20, 2020 10:13 am
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: [Archived] Bogleheads community discussion - Coronavirus
Replies: 4963
Views: 304721

Re: Bogleheads community discussion - Coronavirus

Is this Coronavirus being over blown by the media. See news about the 2019 - 2020 season has done just in the US. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/preliminary-in-season-estimates.htm Still thinking it's overblown now? Yup. Pick your expert I guess. I pick John P.A. Ioannidis, professor of medicine, of epidemiology and population health, of biomedical data science, and of statistics at Stanford University and co-director of Stanford’s Meta-Research Innovation Center. He says this is all a huge overreaction and can potentially cause more deaths. If flattening the curve isn't sufficient to prevent the medical system from being overcapacity, but it does stretch the peak out longer, you could have more deaths of people who need the health c...
by Desert
Sun Dec 16, 2018 4:01 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Beta Vanguard APP
Replies: 61
Views: 6853

Re: Beta Vanguard APP

Ah, sorry .. I wasn't aware of an app existing previously, so I thought this version on the website was the beta you were discussing. Carry on! :)
by Desert
Sun Dec 16, 2018 3:27 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Beta Vanguard APP
Replies: 61
Views: 6853

Re: Beta Vanguard APP

There is a mobile app page on Vanguard's website.
by Desert
Wed Dec 12, 2018 3:41 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: My PenFed 5 yr CDs are maturing
Replies: 39
Views: 4507

Re: My PenFed 5 yr CDs are maturing

I just did a $23K transfer from PenFed to Vanguard in a single transaction.
by Desert
Wed Dec 05, 2018 7:28 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Financial Advisor Compensation Mechanisms
Replies: 9
Views: 1022

Re: Financial Advisor Compensation Mechanisms

Fee-only can include the following:
1. Project based: For example, a comprehensive financial plan for $2,500.
2. Hourly based: $250 per hour (Garrett Financial Network, for example)
3. Subscription (sometimes referred to as "retainer"): Monthly/quarterly/annual fee for ongoing financial advice. Organizations encouraging this form of compensation include XY Planning Network and Alliance of Comprehensive Planners.
by Desert
Sun Oct 28, 2018 10:59 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 2nd Career as Certified Financial Planner
Replies: 5
Views: 890

Re: 2nd Career as Certified Financial Planner

I'm in a somewhat similar stage in life, and am currently pursuing this path.

Two organizations worth checking out are ACP and XY Planning. Both are fee only, and the planners generally use a "subscription" model to charge their clients monthly for financial planning. ACP planners also do tax planning and tax returns.
by Desert
Sun Sep 23, 2018 7:21 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Any Cyclists With a Brooks Saddle?
Replies: 37
Views: 6206

Re: Any Cyclists With a Brooks Saddle?

FYI, there are now several other modern saddle makers operating in the Brooks "space" of full leather saddles: Gilles Berthold, a famous small French pannier and handlebar bag manufacturer is now doing full leather saddles: http://www.gillesberthoud.fr/_en/selles/index.php which can be found at various small niche cycle shops in the US like Compass Cycles. Sella Anatomica, a small American company also has a line of leather saddles: https://selleanatomica.com/ Brooks is the largest, most famous, and oldest leather saddle manufacturer by far. But there are a few other niche options. They won't be any cheaper than Brooks. But some people who have a hard time getting a Brooks to work for them have found success with one of these oth...
by Desert
Wed Jul 18, 2018 8:13 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: short-term treasuries for short-term savings?
Replies: 9
Views: 914

Re: short-term treasuries for short-term savings?

hafjell wrote: Wed Jul 18, 2018 8:05 am
Desert wrote: Wed Jul 18, 2018 7:22 amIf you have a Vanguard account, you could consider the Treasury Money Market Fund yielding 1.84%. That would give a combination of simplicity and the safety of treasuries.
Anything similar at Fidelity?
Fidelity offers the Treasury Only Money Market Fund, FDLXX, but its yield is lower at 1.49%.
by Desert
Wed Jul 18, 2018 7:22 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: short-term treasuries for short-term savings?
Replies: 9
Views: 914

Re: short-term treasuries for short-term savings?

If you have a Vanguard account, you could consider the Treasury Money Market Fund yielding 1.84%. That would give a combination of simplicity and the safety of treasuries.
by Desert
Tue May 15, 2018 6:16 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: 5 yr CD up to 3.41% APY, NO EWP for seniors in IRA, but with catch
Replies: 43
Views: 10375

Re: 5 yr CD up to 3.41% APY, NO EWP for seniors in IRA, but with catch

For seniors, this looks pretty good. For the rest of us, with 5YT rate at ~2.82 percent, the yield premiums of CD's have decreased enough to make it a tougher decision than a few years ago.
by Desert
Fri Sep 29, 2017 8:53 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Review of a boat-bike tour along the Danube River
Replies: 10
Views: 1668

Re: Review of a boat-bike tour along the Danube River

What is the market doing in June, 2018? :happy
by Desert
Wed Aug 09, 2017 6:47 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Best at Home Safe
Replies: 24
Views: 3603

Re: Best at Home Safe

"Good" safes have UL TL ratings, such as TL-15, and are bolted to the floor. But a TL-15 safe is rated as such because it's supposed to take 15 minutes to break into. And that's a very good safe. Most safes simply give the thief a convenient way to spot and transport valuables out of the house.
by Desert
Sun Aug 06, 2017 8:51 pm
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: Is the Munchkin MAN still alive?
Replies: 16
Views: 7676

Re: Is the Munchkin MAN still alive?

The munchkin man was one of my favorite posters. I always looked forward to hearing more from the munchkin man. The munchkin man never strayed from his character. I miss the munchkin man very much and I hope he returns soon. I see very little point in life without the munchkin man's comments.
by Desert
Fri Aug 04, 2017 10:04 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Are value stocks safer or more risky?
Replies: 49
Views: 6439

Re: Are value stocks safer or more risky?

By any reasonable definition of risk, value stocks are higher risk. Their expected return is also greater. Buffet is operating in a totally different space than the rest of us.
by Desert
Sun Jul 30, 2017 9:15 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What are your monthly expenses?
Replies: 69
Views: 10797

Re: What are your monthly expenses?

Da5id wrote:
Marjimmy wrote: Over 50% but with my expenses being so high, I'm still not satisfied.
*Note* I live rent free, no debt, car payed for.
Live your life and enjoy yourself. A 50% savings rate is great. As long as you can cut out frills if needed (job loss, housing no longer free, other life changes) I'd say you are doing admirably. And really, "chicks"???
Well, in fairness to the OP, he's not yet spending money on dames.
by Desert
Mon Jul 03, 2017 8:45 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Roll call Warren Buffet 90/10 portfolio
Replies: 102
Views: 29308

Re: Roll call Warren Buffet 90/10 portfolio

InsideTheBeltway wrote:Imagine if your $1,000,000 nest egg turned into $100,000 over 3 years. That is what happened to 100% stock investors between 1929 and 1932.
This and Taylor's post above are two of the most important posts in this thread. 2008/9 was brutal, but hardly the worst possible outcome for equities. Furthermore, I fear the quick snap back of equities following 2008 has lulled some investors into a false sense of security.

As Taylor pointed out far more accurately and eloquently than I can, watching your life savings evaporate over multiple years is something most of the 90/10 folks here have not experienced. 90/10 is fine for young investors with small portfolios. Most of the rest of us need to dial it back a bit.
by Desert
Tue May 23, 2017 4:46 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Lazy way to increase returns on cash in Vanguard
Replies: 22
Views: 3809

Re: Lazy way to increase returns on cash in Vanguard

Depending on your tax bracket, you could consider Vanguard's limited-term tax-exempt muni fund, VMLUX. It has a duration of about 2 years, and a yield of 1.24%. For an investor in the 25% tax bracket, that's a taxable equivalent yield of 1.65%. Not real exciting, but a bit more yield for a bit more risk.
by Desert
Thu Feb 16, 2017 9:45 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is 30% stock enough to keep up with (or beat) inflation?
Replies: 61
Views: 11938

Re: Is 30% stock enough to keep up with (or beat) inflation?

Kevin M wrote: 100% TIPS might fare even better. For the 17-year period 1965-1981 (inclusive), US stocks had a cumulative return of about -5% and intermediate-term Treasuries had a cumulative real return of about -34%. Real yield on 10-year TIPS is 0.43% and on 20-year TIPS it's 0.75%, so say 0.65% for a 17-year TIPS, which is a 12% cumulative real return over 17 years.
Kevin
I wonder how a CD ladder would have fared during that '65-'81 period, assuming the investor had done early withdrawals and reinvested at higher rates when warranted.
by Desert
Wed Jan 25, 2017 3:35 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Swedroe's guidelines to Bonds
Replies: 137
Views: 19652

Re: Swedroe's guidelines to Bonds

I like the mix of 5-year CD's in combination with a slice of Long Term Treasuries to capture any flight to quality behavior during equity bear markets.
by Desert
Mon Dec 26, 2016 12:08 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How to get rid of your belly........
Replies: 82
Views: 14761

Re: How to get rid of your belly........

Here's my 30-something, working mom of three approach... I got a Fitbit and started walking. 15,000 steps a day. It seems like a lot at first, but I found my body and mind are happier (less stress, better quality sleep) at that number. Use MyFitnessPal to track calories. I used a target of .5 lbs per week weight loss, but I'm fairly small to start with. Most people I've talked to target 1 lb/week. I did this for a a year and a half and lost 20 lbs and have kept it off. I started at 145 and now weigh 125. At the one year point I started running and backed off a bit on the calorie counting. I always do the 15,000 steps and add the calorie counting back in if my weight creeps up. I'm curious how those 15,000 steps are distributed throughout y...
by Desert
Thu Oct 06, 2016 11:22 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Moving From Quicken: Moneydance, YNAB, GnuCash or other?
Replies: 38
Views: 17471

Re: Moving From Quicken: Moneydance, YNAB, GnuCash or other?

Some say that the YNAB budgeting method begins to resemble a religion. I am one such YNAB evangelist. YNAB is for folks for whom their savings rate is the most important metric. For the OP's purposes though, YNAB might not cut it. I would question though the reason to print monthly reports. One program to add to the OP's list is Personal Capital, especially if you want to keep track of investments, mainly. I use YNAB for my various checking accounts and Personal Capital for investment accounts. I agree, YNAB is primarily useful for cash flow management, with the end result of increasing savings rate. By comparison, tracking investments is quite simple and quick, requiring only a few minutes per month once a tracking spreadsheet is set up. ...
by Desert
Thu Oct 06, 2016 9:18 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Moving From Quicken: Moneydance, YNAB, GnuCash or other?
Replies: 38
Views: 17471

Re: Moving From Quicken: Moneydance, YNAB, GnuCash or other?

The storage aspect - I don't like the idea of storing a lot of my financial information on the cloud. I definitely understand this concern. For years now, I've preferred to keep as much of my financial data locally stored and backed up as possible. But I do see the cloud computing/storage as the future. And from a security standpoint, it's becoming difficult for me to convince myself that my local data storage/backup is more secure than the cloud, from either a hacking or physical damage standpoint. So I've evolved into really liking YNAB's model, both the cloud-based aspect and the subscription model. I fully expect the ongoing subscription revenue to result in continued improvements and added features. If it doesn't, I'll look elsewhere....
by Desert
Tue Oct 04, 2016 2:23 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Moving From Quicken: Moneydance, YNAB, GnuCash or other?
Replies: 38
Views: 17471

Re: Moving From Quicken: Moneydance, YNAB, GnuCash or other?

I used Quicken for over 20 years, and recently switched to YNAB plus my own spreadsheets. YNAB isn't very useful for investments, tax issues, etc. It's mainly a budgeting software. It's a great tool for managing monthly and annual cash flows. I use it to effectively account for all expenses, even those that happen every few years (new car, for example). YNAB is a good tool for smoothing cash flows over time, gradually reducing the monthly budget, while not neglecting periodic large expenses. I track all investments in a spreadsheet.
by Desert
Fri Sep 30, 2016 12:50 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Anybody using Andrews CU 3% IRA CD?
Replies: 39
Views: 7971

Re: Anybody using Andrews CU 3% IRA CD?

As Kevin described, I used the forms on Andrews FCU's website to initiate the transfer. Andrews then sent the request to Vanguard, and Vanguard snail mailed the check directly to Andrews. The entire process took about two weeks. I sold the ITT fund I was holding in Vanguard and put the funds in the MM fund in preparation for the transfer. It was all pretty painless.
by Desert
Fri Sep 30, 2016 11:05 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Anybody using Andrews CU 3% IRA CD?
Replies: 39
Views: 7971

Re: Anybody using Andrews CU 3% IRA CD?

Just FYI, my transfer from Vanguard to Andrews FCU just completed this week, so the offer is still available. Between this slice and the Pentagon FCU CD's, I have nearly all FI in CD's at 3%. The remaining slice is in LTT.
by Desert
Tue Aug 30, 2016 2:21 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Trident Portfolio
Replies: 25
Views: 8747

Re: Trident Portfolio

Looks like the Trident did better from 1972-2015 than the 3 fund (see below). I used 33/33/34 (34 for bond). But the problem is you want to know if Trident will do better in the future . That's an unknown that portfolio visualizer (as great as it is) will never be able to tell you. If you stick to the 3 fund portfolio, at least you know you'll get the return of all markets (stock and bond). That should be good enough, but for some reason isn't for many who want to beat the market. Best of luck. If you run the comparison again, this time starting in 1975 when gold ownership was legalized, the results are quite different. I'm not anti-gold, but many gold-heavy portfolios rely too much on the early 1972-75 great gold reset period, the three y...
by Desert
Sat Apr 16, 2016 11:15 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Gold 2% dividend
Replies: 22
Views: 3594

Re: Gold 2% dividend

Watty wrote:
Clive wrote:Simplifying, assuming a 5% real rate from equity, 0% real from gold, a initial 66.6/33.3 equity/gold weighting bought and held for 30 years results in ((( 1.05^30 ) x 0.666 ) + 0.333 )^(1/30) annualised gain factor = 1.04 (4%); And proportioned = ( 0.666 x 5 ) + ( 0.333 x 2 ) = 4 i.e. gold virtual dividend = 2% (real).
Am I missing something?

If you have 100 gold coins and hold them for 30 years then you will still have 100 gold coins(assuming none were stolen). There is no gold dividend. Any gains came from the equity holdings.
Yes, Clive is describing essentially the rebalancing bonus. In this scenario, your gold holdings have fluctuated.
by Desert
Mon Feb 15, 2016 5:53 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Using CD's instead of bonds
Replies: 62
Views: 10112

Re: Using CD's instead of bonds

Keep in mind that a (small?) 1 percentage point higher yield translates to roughly 5 percentage points more total return over 5 years and 10 percentage points over 10 years (of course more with compounding factored in). Just like with expense ratios, apparently small differentials in annual returns compound to significant differentials over time. Another way to frame it is that 2% is 100% more than 1%, and also translates to a cumulative return that is about 100% higher (more with compounding). So roughly 10% vs. 5% over 5 years, and roughly 20% vs 10% over 10 years (more with compounding). Putting it in dollar terms may help; i.e., on $1M, earning $200K vs. $100K over 10 years. Good point. That is quite a difference! I've chosen to move a...
by Desert
Sun Feb 14, 2016 9:50 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Using CD's instead of bonds
Replies: 62
Views: 10112

Re: Using CD's instead of bonds

The Dan wrote:Where is ogd? He normally would chime in to let folks know about "riding the yield curve":

viewtopic.php?t=132601

Basically, if you buy treasury bonds at the steepest part of the yield curve, then you will accrue capital gains, in addition to your normal interest payments. This does not occur with non-brokered bank CDs.
Right, as long as the yield curve is upward-sloping. It's another risk/reward factor that should be considered.
by Desert
Sun Feb 14, 2016 8:41 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Using CD's instead of bonds
Replies: 62
Views: 10112

Re: Using CD's instead of bonds

(I have underlined the mention of CDs) Cash - Cash and cash equivalents - such as savings deposits, certificates of deposit , treasury bills, money market deposit accounts, and money market funds - are the safest investments, but offer the lowest return of the three major asset categories. There is nothing wrong with using cash and cash equivalents in a portfolio. To equate a 5-year CD to cash is just silly not rational. CDs in the context of the SEC quote are almost certainly limited to a maximum maturity of one year, since 1-year maturity is the conventional dividing line between cash and bonds (or in more academic terms, between money markets and capital markets). Since Treasury bills (by definition maturity of one year or less) general...
by Desert
Sat Feb 13, 2016 5:29 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Stocks / Bonds / Gold Portfolio Backtested
Replies: 7
Views: 2004

Re: Stocks / Bonds / Gold Portfolio Backtested

Portfolios containing significant allocations to gold typically look great in back-testing starting in 1972. The gold/dollar peg was removed at that time, leading to a sort of reset of gold prices. Gold wasn't legal to own at the time in the U.S. It was legalized in 1975. When back-testing, it's good to look at several different start dates. For portfolios containing gold, I think looking at 1975, 1980, and 1985 makes some sense. I typically ignore the early 70's gold returns, since it wasn't legal to own gold, and the discontinuation of the gold/dollar peg is an event that won't repeat in our investing future.
by Desert
Sat Jan 09, 2016 3:51 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What to do with my Audi A3 TDI
Replies: 54
Views: 6999

Re: What to do with my Audi A3 TDI

Watty wrote:
crit wrote:I did get the "goodwill package", which is a $500 Visa prepaid card and a $500 dealer credit. I don't plan on using the latter, honestly, as me experience has been that dealers always "find" things they "suggest" that you do; I would be shocked if their "suggestions" for an oil change would come in less than $500.
You may be able to use it in their parts department and then have your mechanic install the parts. In addition to repair parts there may also be accessories or even things things like hats or jackets that you can buy with it.
That's correct. I plan to purchase tires from the dealer.
by Desert
Sun Dec 27, 2015 8:43 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: A little about Larry S
Replies: 51
Views: 10302

Re: A little about Larry S

Kevin M wrote:Here's the pic:
Kevin
I might be reading too much into the pic, but I feel like Larry was probably thinking something like "wow, the risk of a simple market-weighted portfolio is much higher than any of these women realize; there's gotta be a better way." :wink:
by Desert
Sun Dec 27, 2015 9:15 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: A little about Larry S
Replies: 51
Views: 10302

Re: A little about Larry S

Wow, an amazing story about the photo Larry.

And add my voice to the chorus of appreciation. I like your writing style, brief and to the point. The concept of the "Larry Portfolio" has been very useful to me.
by Desert
Thu Dec 24, 2015 7:53 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Final Part of Perfect Storm series,
Replies: 18
Views: 2563

Re: Final Part of Perfect Storm series,

Minor typo:
Twenty-year Treasurys have provided an annual average return of 6.1%. Thus, while investors earned a term premium of about 1.9% per year in the first five years, the additional premium over the next 15 years has been only about 0.07% (6.1% minus 5.4%) per year.
Should be 0.7%. And in a low return future, could be meaningful. I'd rather reach for yield by searching for good deals on CDs, however.
by Desert
Tue Sep 29, 2015 5:27 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: A better Permanent Portfolio?
Replies: 39
Views: 8042

Re: A better Permanent Portfolio?

Browser, another option is to go with the 50% equity, 25% LTT and 25% gold as you suggested, but split the equity equally among TSM, SVC and EM. It's a bit of a Larry/HBPP hybrid.
by Desert
Mon Sep 07, 2015 12:14 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Dogs of the Dow? - woof woof
Replies: 21
Views: 5142

Re: Dogs of the Dow? - woof woof

fortyofforty wrote:
Desert wrote:That was the "Foolish Four," one of the early concepts from the Motley Fool.
And one of the clearest examples of specific backtesting to find a strategy that supposedly would work in the future. I think Philip Morris was the monkey wrench in the group that the Fools needed out of the portfolio, if memory serves.
Yeah, I believe that's right.

And here's the really funny (but sad) thing about the Foolish Four: As flawed as it was, it was still probably a much better choice than most of the other recommendations the Motley Fool has made over the years.
by Desert
Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:09 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Dogs of the Dow? - woof woof
Replies: 21
Views: 5142

Re: Dogs of the Dow? - woof woof

miles monroe wrote:i played around with the small dogs as part of my trading account money maybe 20 years ago.

there was another option to the small dogs that really made no sense other than it supposedly worked (by chance i guess). that version called for you to have equal positions in the 5 small dogs EXCEPT for the one that had the second cheapest price. that one you bought 2X as much. i ignored that option.
That was the "Foolish Four," one of the early concepts from the Motley Fool.
by Desert
Sat Aug 29, 2015 10:18 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Prius owners and rest of Bogleheads
Replies: 44
Views: 7116

Re: Prius owners and rest of Bogleheads

Stonebr wrote:
Desert wrote:Another vote for diesel. Over 38,000 miles on my 2013 Passat, I've averaged 44 mpg.
We average over 50 in the Prius on highway -- regular gas. And we don't have to deal with VW reliability.
Yeah, the Prius is a great car. But I just wanted to point out alternatives. The 44 mpg we've obtained is over all driving we've done, including city. And with a car that's roomier and safer than a Prius.
by Desert
Sat Aug 29, 2015 9:34 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Prius owners and rest of Bogleheads
Replies: 44
Views: 7116

Re: Prius owners and rest of Bogleheads

Another vote for diesel. Over 38,000 miles on my 2013 Passat, I've averaged 44 mpg.
by Desert
Sat Aug 22, 2015 6:17 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Shiller PE10 nearing nosebleed territory?
Replies: 322
Views: 47562

Re: Shiller PE10 nearing nosebleed territory?

Thanks. I'm a big fan of value investing in general, but value is hard to find in developed countries these days, it appears. I'll look into Global CAPE. I assume one would end up holding a cheap country for many years in some cases, before it recovers. Are you using the strategy for just a slice of your equity holdings?
by Desert
Sat Aug 22, 2015 5:40 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Shiller PE10 nearing nosebleed territory?
Replies: 322
Views: 47562

Re: Shiller PE10 nearing nosebleed territory?

Mr. Speer, can you explain "Global CAPE" in your chart?