Search found 9220 matches

by protagonist
Wed Mar 27, 2024 7:50 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Some reasons to help me avoid the US/exUS debate
Replies: 42
Views: 3084

Re: Some reasons to help me avoid the US/exUS debate

Vanguard put out a paper at the end of 2023 forecasting that ex-US/Emerging is likely to out-perform US over the next decade due to interest rate headwinds. But does that paper show the range of returns that were found in their simulations? For a number of years, they had a chart and a table showing the actual range found in the simulation. Of late (2024 outlook) they have stopped and and are just showing phony ranges in which they always show mean ±2% for all stock categories and mean ±1% for all bond categories. Let me repeat that again: they are phony. Vanguard has never given any rationale for them. For years they've shown the real ranges in the full report, but the ±2%-for-stocks, ±1%-for-bonds in the summaries. And I think the reason...
by protagonist
Mon Mar 25, 2024 6:50 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Trading Treasuries (nominal and TIPS)
Replies: 4186
Views: 466369

Re: Trading Treasuries (nominal and TIPS)

Every time you mention the loss, you are demonstrating that "you don't get it". Perhaps I should not be using the term "loss". What I really meant was that if I waited until 2026 for them to mature, I would get the inflation adjustment that would be postponed another decade or so by selling today to buy 2034s and 2040s. True, I would eventually get the inflation adjustment anyway, but I would have to wait another ten years (or whatever) to realize that, and I have no idea if I will still be alive then. I will be 88 in 2040. That said, I do see your point. I have more invested in my ladder every year than I should need for cash flow. Probably at least twice as much, and maybe even the whole thing, though future needs are...
by protagonist
Mon Mar 25, 2024 9:34 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: just a general comment about "too conservative" investors here
Replies: 246
Views: 40560

Re: just a general comment about "too conservative" investors here

** My British spouse couldn't quite believe " Dudley Do-right of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police"*** Mr. Peabody and his pet boy, Sherman must have given her a good laugh. Some of my relations have ghastly puns. So it was wince-worthy for her. It's rare to see American TV take the mick of Canadians. Well there was Due South (about a Mountie in Chicago) but that was filmed in Toronto**. Indeed the number of America-set tv shows that are actually filmed in Toronto or Vancouver is legion... One episode of Star Trek: Strange New World s actually manages to admit to a Toronto location when they beam back into the 21st century outside the main downtown Toronto shopping mall ("What was once called Canada. You know. Maple syrup. I...
by protagonist
Mon Mar 25, 2024 9:23 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: just a general comment about "too conservative" investors here
Replies: 246
Views: 40560

Re: just a general comment about "too conservative" investors here

I think it’s very kind of the OP to acknowledge that those of us who are “too conservative” on this board have our reasons based on our life experience. When you have seen so many people, over and over again, go through the protracted, life altering anguish of losing it all, whether from fraud, poor stewardship, bad luck, a bad economy, naivete, hubris, miscalculation or whatever cause, you come away with the overwhelming feeling of (with apologies to Jimmy Stewart in the famous scene in Potter’s office) “well, it’s NOT going to be me!” That's a very good point. If one is financially secure, one does not need to take risks, because becoming a LOT richer probably won't buy more happiness. I am not incredibly rich. But I have enough to live ...
by protagonist
Mon Mar 25, 2024 9:11 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Trading Treasuries (nominal and TIPS)
Replies: 4186
Views: 466369

Re: Trading Treasuries (nominal and TIPS)

When reported to the IRS, if sold, would the loss reported on the Fidelity web page be the same amount as the loss I could claim on my 1099-B, because it takes into account taxes already paid on phantom income?
by protagonist
Sun Mar 24, 2024 7:57 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: just a general comment about "too conservative" investors here
Replies: 246
Views: 40560

Re: just a general comment about "too conservative" investors here

I think it’s very kind of the OP to acknowledge that those of us who are “too conservative” on this board have our reasons based on our life experience. When you have seen so many people, over and over again, go through the protracted, life altering anguish of losing it all, whether from fraud, poor stewardship, bad luck, a bad economy, naivete, hubris, miscalculation or whatever cause, you come away with the overwhelming feeling of (with apologies to Jimmy Stewart in the famous scene in Potter’s office) “well, it’s NOT going to be me!” That's a very good point. If one is financially secure, one does not need to take risks, because even becoming a LOT richer probably won't buy more happiness. I am not incredibly rich. But I have enough to ...
by protagonist
Sun Mar 24, 2024 7:43 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Trading Treasuries (nominal and TIPS)
Replies: 4186
Views: 466369

Re: Trading Treasuries (nominal and TIPS)

I'm not sure you get it. You're still focusing on sunk costs, which are irrelevant in making investment decisions that depend on future returns. That brings to mind another way of viewing it. What would your losses be on the 2034 (or 2033) or 2040 if you had bought them when you bought the 2024-2027 TIPS? You have losses because yields are higher now than when you bought. To the extent that longer-term yields also are higher, your losses on the shorter-term TIPS are being compensated by higher yields (and returns) on the longer-term TIPS. I think I do get it. Please try to follow my reasoning and let me know if it makes sense to you. I agree, that one should always look at what is the best investment at the moment, ignoring the past. That ...
by protagonist
Sun Mar 24, 2024 7:12 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: just a general comment about "too conservative" investors here
Replies: 246
Views: 40560

Re: just a general comment about "too conservative" investors here

Valuethinker wrote: Sun Mar 24, 2024 1:26 pm

** My British spouse couldn't quite believe "Dudley Do-right of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police"***

Mr. Peabody and his pet boy, Sherman must have given her a good laugh.
by protagonist
Sun Mar 24, 2024 11:32 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: just a general comment about "too conservative" investors here
Replies: 246
Views: 40560

Re: just a general comment about "too conservative" investors here

Quite a few comments that posters here are "too conservative". Listen when we counsel many of the, often new, posters here, it's not because we are old fuddy duddies collecting our Social Security and talking about our glory days in the Luftwaffe together ... I absolutely love that image. Experience does count for something, among people who can learn and absorb. I think many of us learned the hard way. I made some very stupid investing decisions when I was young. Fortunately, I didn't have much money then, and I had a well-paying job, so, though it seemed painful at the time, the long-term effects were minimal. I imagine many of us were in the same boat (or, in your case, the same Messerschmidt??) It's an effective way to learn....
by protagonist
Sun Mar 24, 2024 11:20 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Some reasons to help me avoid the US/exUS debate
Replies: 42
Views: 3084

Re: Some reasons to help me avoid the US/exUS debate

What do you think of the reasons that remind me to stay the course? :idea: The best reason is that nobody really has a clue as to what the future will bring. Your portfolio is as good a guess as any. If you wind up overperforming people with more or less international exposure, it is just a matter of luck. If you wind up underperforming people with more or less international exposure, it is just a matter of luck. Your biggest risk lies in watching the markets closely , listening to media-proclaimed "gurus", and thinking when others are doing better than you, that you are doing something wrong. That can lead to panic and bad decisions. They are just guessing, like you are. Learn from Mary Shelley, Frankenstein. Once the monster is...
by protagonist
Sun Mar 24, 2024 11:04 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Trading Treasuries (nominal and TIPS)
Replies: 4186
Views: 466369

Re: Trading Treasuries (nominal and TIPS)

Now YTMs are much higher than when I purchased my earlier maturing TIPS, so many of those earlier maturity TIPS (2024-2027 for example) would likely sell at a real loss today, if I wanted to sell them prematurely in order to overweight, for example, 2034s and 2040s to cover the gap years. So if I do sell some of my earlier TIPS (2024-27) prematurely NOW to overweight 2034s and 2040s at current (higher) YTMs, would I never fully recover what I would initially lose by selling 2024-2027s prior to maturity (because, if I understand correctly, of "non-parallel yield shifts")? In that case, at this point I am probably better off just waiting until my current TIPS mature to buy the gap years, and accepting the reinvestment risk. I hope ...
by protagonist
Sat Mar 23, 2024 7:16 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Trading Treasuries (nominal and TIPS)
Replies: 4186
Views: 466369

Re: Trading Treasuries (nominal and TIPS)

protagonist, your reasoning is too complex for me to follow with a brief read. I view it more simply. I am not understanding your question, so I hope someone else can answer it. OK, sorry to , as they say in Latin America, "rizar el rizo"...or "to curl the curl", roughly translating as making something simple into something hopelessly complex and confusing. :sharebeer Let me try to put it simply (please bear with me): I don't have enough spare investible cash now to overweight 2034s and 2040s- the only way I can do that is by waiting for existing TIPS to mature to fund the gap years when possible (as I have been doing), OR by selling existing TIPS in my ladder. I bought much of my TIPS ladder as a 10 year ladder with eq...
by protagonist
Sat Mar 23, 2024 12:57 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Trading Treasuries (nominal and TIPS)
Replies: 4186
Views: 466369

Re: What is so magical about 2034 and 2040?

What is so magical about 2034 and 2040? Rather than massively overweighting those years, it seems to me that you could fund the gap years with any TIPS you own, and the ultimate result would be very similar. For example, if you want to buy 2035s when they became available, you could just as easily sell 2026s or 2027s or 2047s to fund your purchase , as proportionately selling 2034s and 2040s. Even if the YTMs are wildly disparate, wouldn't the final result essentially even out? So even if you bought 2027s years ago at a YTM of, say, 1%, and the 2035s are offered at a YTM of 2%, the loss you would take on the 2027s when you sold them to buy 2035s would be fairly closely canceled out by the increased YTM of the 2035s. You might come out a li...
by protagonist
Sat Mar 23, 2024 10:36 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: HCOL in retirement - mortgage vs. paid off vs. rent?
Replies: 25
Views: 2065

Re: HCOL in retirement - mortgage vs. paid off vs. rent?

If you have a $5M portfolio, and you don't overspend and invest wisely, you should be able to do whichever you want. I would concentrate more on what approach fits your lifestyle better. If you don't want responsibility, like to travel a lot, and could deal with having to move or wanting to move in the future, then rent. If you like the idea of being debt-free and don't like making monthly payments, then pay cash. If you don't want to tie up your money in your home, get a mortgage. If you want more control over your home and are willing to put up with the hassles of home ownership , buy. Which will eventually be most profitable is ultimately a more or less a crapshoot, and if you have enough money to survive well anyway, should (in my humbl...
by protagonist
Sat Mar 23, 2024 10:19 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: It is really that simple to do it the Bogleheads way?
Replies: 87
Views: 8161

Re: It is really that simple to do it the Bogleheads way?

It is that simple.
The trick is not to project returns.
If you do, you are positioning yourself to potentially be on a lifetime rollercoaster from elation to depression and anything in between. That could lead to erratic behavior, and is the pitfall of many investors, whether or not they adapt a "Bogleheads" approach.

Unless you are investing in inflation adjusted fixed income, you never know what your long term real return will be.
by protagonist
Sat Mar 23, 2024 10:11 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Federal efile rejected * H&R Block
Replies: 54
Views: 7045

Re: Federal efile rejected * H&R Block

A few years ago I had trouble e-filing my H+R Block return as well.
I never figured out why.
I wound up printing it out and filing it manually without a problem.

I hope I don't have to do that again this year.
by protagonist
Sat Mar 23, 2024 9:43 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Trading Treasuries (nominal and TIPS)
Replies: 4186
Views: 466369

What is so magical about 2034 and 2040?

What is so magical about 2034 and 2040? Rather than massively overweighting those years, it seems to me that you could fund the gap years with any TIPS you own, and the ultimate result would be very similar. For example, if you want to buy 2035s when they became available, you could just as easily sell 2026s or 2027s or 2047s to fund your purchase , as proportionately selling 2034s and 2040s. Even if the YTMs are wildly disparate, wouldn't the final result essentially even out? So even if you bought 2027s years ago at a YTM of, say, 1%, and the 2035s are offered at a YTM of 2%, the loss you would take on the 2027s when you sold them to buy 2035s would be fairly closely canceled out by the increased YTM of the 2035s. You might come out a lit...
by protagonist
Fri Mar 22, 2024 1:36 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Taxation of Treasury bills, notes and bonds
Replies: 1073
Views: 156811

Re: Taxation of Treasury bills, notes and bonds

cas wrote: Fri Mar 22, 2024 11:54 am And on whether the person's current and/or future (older) self would end up needing to incur the additional cost (above taxes themselves) of paying a professional to sort out the tax complexity of TIPS bought and/or sold on the secondary market.
I do my taxes with consumer software (HR Block).
Fidelity provides a detailed tax summary at the end of the year....it is just a matter of entering the numbers in the tax questionnaire. I don't think it should add any more complexity than if you had TIPS maturing that tax year, or , say, you had to sell Jan 2034 YIPS to buy 7/34s or 1/35s when they became available.
by protagonist
Fri Mar 22, 2024 1:29 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Taxation of Treasury bills, notes and bonds
Replies: 1073
Views: 156811

Re: Taxation of Treasury bills, notes and bonds

This is probably a naive question, but.... Can you do creative tax loss harvesting with TIPS, by selling any TIPS that have lost value relative to cost basis and buying TIPS with similar , but different, maturities? EXAMPLE: Hypothetically, say your (adjusted) cost basis for Jan. 2033 TIPS is $100K, and their current value is $95K . You sell your Jan 2033 TIPS, realizing a $5K loss. You then buy $95K worth of July 2033 TIPS with the proceeds. The only real cost to your portfolio is small bid/ask spreads (and maybe a small difference in YTM), but you get to claim a $5K loss on your taxes. You could do that with all of your TIPS that are selling at a loss, if there are other fairly similar TIPS with close maturity dates and close yields. I t...
by protagonist
Thu Mar 21, 2024 11:07 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How to PULL 4% during Market Downturn? Yield Shield?
Replies: 36
Views: 2184

Re: How to PULL 4% during Market Downturn? Yield Shield?

I There is 95% success rate of the money for 30 years, but what happens to the other 5% that fail? What could be the cause of the failure? Any input is appreciated😊 1. "Success rate" is based on assumptions you make about the future that are predicated on past performance. The probability of those assumptions being correct going forward, and the margin of error, is unknown, and the margin of error grows rapidly with increasing time going forward. 30 years is a pretty long time. 2. Likewise, there are so many known and unknown variables that the causes of failure are probably myriad. There is no one "cause of failure". I wouldn't put too much faith in monte carlo simulations. They are called "Monte Carlo" for a...
by protagonist
Thu Mar 21, 2024 10:56 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Anybody heard stories of well "prepared" retirees running out of money?
Replies: 210
Views: 23821

Re: Anybody heard stories of well "prepared" retirees running out of money?

I knew someone whose ex husband tried to steal her 401k. I know someone else whose ex wife was entitled to half his pension. I know someone else whose ex husband and accountant almost stole her successful business. I know another person whose ex’s affluent family intentionally bankrupted him through litigation. So there were a lot of unexpected legal expenses in those battles. I knew people who owned a lot of company stock and had high positions in that company but it failed. Right. And it's interesting that your extreme examples almost all had to do with unexpected family dynamics. Given the high divorce rate, I suspect that could be the most common reason that "well-prepared" retirees run out of money. One member of the couple ...
by protagonist
Thu Mar 21, 2024 10:39 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How to PULL 4% during Market Downturn? Yield Shield?
Replies: 36
Views: 2184

Re: How to PULL 4% during Market Downturn? Yield Shield?

I There is 95% success rate of the money for 30 years, but what happens to the other 5% that fail? What could be the cause of the failure? Any input is appreciated😊 1. "Success rate" is based on assumptions you make about the future that are predicated on past performance. The probability of those assumptions being correct going forward, and the margin of error, is unknown, and the margin of error grows rapidly with increasing time going forward. 30 years is a pretty long time. 2. Likewise, there are so many known and unknown variables that the causes of failure are probably myriad. There is no one "cause of failure". I wouldn't put too much faith in monte carlo simulations. They are called "Monte Carlo" for a...
by protagonist
Thu Mar 21, 2024 10:11 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Anybody heard stories of well "prepared" retirees running out of money?
Replies: 210
Views: 23821

Re: Anybody heard stories of well "prepared" retirees running out of money?

If you look at the investment lifespan of most people on this forum (let's say since the early 1980s), there has been no sustained stock market crash, bonds performed fantastically as interest rates fell for 4 decades from record highs to record lows, and real estate has soared. For the most part we have avoided high inflation levels, which have rarely hit 10% and not sustained. There have been no major wars (none at all on our soil), no major natural disasters, no governmental instability, and massive technological innovation. Unemployment has been under control. The one major pandemic disproportionately killed the elderly population. Since WW2, we Americans have lived through what could possibly be the longest period of peace, freedom, s...
by protagonist
Thu Mar 21, 2024 9:18 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Anybody heard stories of well "prepared" retirees running out of money?
Replies: 210
Views: 23821

Re: Anybody heard stories of well "prepared" retirees running out of money?

If you look at the investment lifespan of most people on this forum (let's say since the early 1980s), there has been no sustained stock market crash, bonds performed fantastically as interest rates fell for 4 decades from record highs to record lows, and real estate has soared. For the most part we have avoided high inflation levels, which have rarely hit 10% and not sustained. There have been no major wars (none at all on our soil), no major natural disasters, no governmental instability, and massive technological innovation. Unemployment has been under control. The one major pandemic disproportionately killed the elderly population. Since WW2, we Americans have lived through what could possibly be the longest period of peace, freedom, su...
by protagonist
Wed Mar 20, 2024 8:40 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Now that long TIPS yields are 60 bp off their highs I will…
Replies: 2949
Views: 622739

Re: Now that long TIPS yields are 60 bp off their highs I will…

Kevin M wrote: Wed Mar 20, 2024 9:47 am
protagonist wrote: Tue Mar 19, 2024 12:18 pm Question, Kevin:
The Oct. 2024s are selling for less than 100.
Wouldn't you do better to sell Jan 2025s (if you own any), since they are selling for more than 100?
The shorter the maturity, the less unexpected inflation protection left in the TIPS, which favors selling the Oct 24 over the Jan 25.

That was the answer I was looking for. Makes sense. Unexpected inflation protection is more important than the difference in price, even though the 10/24s are selling for >100.

Though if you sell the 2024s and buy the 2034s on the same day, you are still getting that protection with the new TIPS.

Thanks.
by protagonist
Wed Mar 20, 2024 8:49 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Trading Treasuries (nominal and TIPS)
Replies: 4186
Views: 466369

Re: Trading Treasuries (nominal and TIPS)

The original post in this thread (way back at the top of page 1) is a compendium of links to guides for "how to do this and that." The 2 posts by thefinancebuff only show nominal treasuries which are much easier IMHO compared to the TIPS. Sorry about that. Does this help? https://tipswatch.com/2023/02/05/tips-on-the-secondary-market-things-to-consider/ Harry Sit, author of The Finance Buff blog, wrote a book on TIPS: Explore TIPS: A Practical Guide to Investing in Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities . I see that the Kindle version is $9.99. Probably well worth the cost if you want to get up to speed quickly. Harry also has many posts on TIPS on his blog, which you can find with this web search: TIPS site:thefinancebuff.com. T...
by protagonist
Wed Mar 20, 2024 8:40 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Taxes. When is married filing separately better than married filing jointly?
Replies: 19
Views: 2701

Re: Taxes. When is married filing separately better than married filing jointly?

Thank you all for your answers.
I just did my taxes with HR Block software, and it appears that the software does a comparison automatically.
Our incomes are quite different (mine is mostly SS, interest, dividends and cap gains....hers is mostly via her job (self-employed). My income is much higher than hers.
My state does not have an income tax...hers (where she works) charges high state tax. So she files her state return MFS.
By the software calculation, MFS for our federal return resulted in paying a lot more taxes than MFJ....if I recall, 30- 50% more.
by protagonist
Tue Mar 19, 2024 12:18 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Now that long TIPS yields are 60 bp off their highs I will…
Replies: 2949
Views: 622739

Re: Now that long TIPS yields are 60 bp off their highs I will…

That is what I was assuming that is what you were planning to do but what I was wondering if you are happy with the current price on 2034s why you don't just sell the Apr 2024s on the secondary market and buy the 2034s instead of hoping for the trend to continue. Is it that you will lose a few bps on the Apr 2024s or just thinking you will get a better price in a month on the 2034s or something I am missing entirely? You don't lose anything. Sure, there's a small bid/ask price spread, which has been 0.05% most days lately at Schwab, half of which I pay as the seller, but the bid price is more than 100--right now the bid price is 100.12891 at Schwab (for min qty 1 or 100), so you're getting more than the 100 you'll get at maturity, and to m...
by protagonist
Tue Mar 19, 2024 8:33 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Now that long TIPS yields are 60 bp off their highs I will…
Replies: 2949
Views: 622739

Re: Now that long TIPS yields are 60 bp off their highs I will…

anoop wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2024 4:30 pm
carminered2019 wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2024 4:04 pm I don't care for growth and happy if it just keeping up with inflation.
Me too. Except it isn't keeping up with inflation as I experience it.
But what other fixed income investment would likely do a better job keeping up with your personal inflation rate?
You have to put your money somewhere.
If you are willing to take on much more risk, you could put it in the stock market and hope for the best. But if you are looking for a safe investment, to protect against unexpected high inflation, TIPS are still probably better than the alternatives (even if they are not accomplishing that goal for you).
by protagonist
Tue Mar 19, 2024 7:41 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Now that long TIPS yields are 60 bp off their highs I will…
Replies: 2949
Views: 622739

Re: Now that long TIPS yields are 60 bp off their highs I will…

Nice to see the 2034s over 2%, even though the stock market is also going up. I can only hope the trend continues until my April 2024s mature. Why? 1. I own stock. I always want the stock market to go up. 2. I intend to buy more 2034s with the proceeds from my April 2024's. Pretty selfish, I know. That is what I was assuming that is what you were planning to do but what I was wondering if you are happy with the current price on 2034s why you don't just sell the Apr 2024s on the secondary market and buy the 2034s instead of hoping for the trend to continue. Is it that you will lose a few bps on the Apr 2024s or just thinking you will get a better price in a month on the 2034s or something I am missing entirely? You are correct. The only rea...
by protagonist
Mon Mar 18, 2024 6:08 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Now that long TIPS yields are 60 bp off their highs I will…
Replies: 2949
Views: 622739

Re: Now that long TIPS yields are 60 bp off their highs I will…

TheTimeLord wrote: Mon Mar 18, 2024 5:09 pm
protagonist wrote: Mon Mar 18, 2024 5:04 pm Nice to see the 2034s over 2%, even though the stock market is also going up.
I can only hope the trend continues until my April 2024s mature.
Why?
1. I own stock. I always want the stock market to go up.
2. I intend to buy more 2034s with the proceeds from my April 2024's.

Pretty selfish, I know.
by protagonist
Mon Mar 18, 2024 5:04 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Now that long TIPS yields are 60 bp off their highs I will…
Replies: 2949
Views: 622739

Re: Now that long TIPS yields are 60 bp off their highs I will…

Nice to see the 2034s over 2%, even though the stock market is also going up.
I can only hope the trend continues until my April 2024s mature.
by protagonist
Mon Mar 18, 2024 4:59 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?
Replies: 11149
Views: 2085232

Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

jjunk wrote: Mon Mar 18, 2024 2:40 pm
protagonist wrote: Sun Mar 17, 2024 7:42 pm Triangle of Sadness.
Very Swedish.
Very funny.
Very strange.
Very good.
Think Lena Wertmuller meets Wes Anderson.
Really skewers the rich.

If you liked Poor Things, you would probably like Triangle of Sadness. But a lot less (if any) explicit sex.
I never would have drawn comparisons between Triange and Poor Things until you brought it, up. Good call. I liked them both equally but they are definitely "artsy" movies. Poor Things being the more visual spectacle.
To say the least. :sharebeer
by protagonist
Mon Mar 18, 2024 12:06 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: navigation system for car
Replies: 64
Views: 3366

Re: navigation system for car

Call me old school, but I just bought a new Garmin Drivesmart 66. I ran both my android phone and the Garmin together on a recent trip and the phone lost signal several times while the Garmin did not miss a beat. I've always been an android person, however, Apple maps and phones rank right up there with the Garmin from what I've seen. For some reason, my android phones don't reconnect and update my location without manual input after losing signal leading me to drive without knowing that the map feature is static unless I'm constantly checking. I also have an Android. I rarely have lost signal with Waze, I have traveled in many rural areas. I suspect the culprit is your particular phone or your carrier. I def. find it superior to Google Ma...
by protagonist
Mon Mar 18, 2024 11:44 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: navigation system for car
Replies: 64
Views: 3366

Re: navigation system for car

Hi, tuna. My humble suggestions: 1. Get a smart phone, if you don't own one. Flip phones and Nook tablets are soooo 2010. They went out with Britney Spears and Ricky Martin. When I was in my 30s, a very smart 19 y o punk rocker with purple hair taught me: "Protagonist, you gotta stay contemporary or you will start growing moss." The child is father to the man. 2. Download the free Waze app. They use real time traffic data. For years I commuted between MA and NYC frequently. One route or another seemed to always be backed up, and which one was a coin flip. I tried everything else. Waze did a MUCH better job keeping me on the best route than any of the others. There are plenty of good dashboard phone mounts out there. You need not ...
by protagonist
Mon Mar 18, 2024 11:40 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Taxes. When is married filing separately better than married filing jointly?
Replies: 19
Views: 2701

Taxes. When is married filing separately better than married filing jointly?

In what kind of scenarios is married filing separately more profitable than married filing jointly?
by protagonist
Mon Mar 18, 2024 8:53 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: navigation system for car
Replies: 64
Views: 3366

Re: navigation system for car

Hi, tuna. My humble suggestions: 1. Get a smart phone, if you don't own one. Flip phones and Nook tablets are soooo 2010. They went out with Britney Spears and Ricky Martin. When I was in my 30s, a very smart 19 y o punk rocker with purple hair taught me: "Protagonist, you gotta stay contemporary or you will start growing moss." The child is father to the man. 2. Download the free Waze app. They use real time traffic data. For years I commuted between MA and NYC frequently. One route or another seemed to always be backed up, and which one was a coin flip. I tried everything else. Waze did a MUCH better job keeping me on the best route than any of the others. There are plenty of good dashboard phone mounts out there. You need not s...
by protagonist
Mon Mar 18, 2024 8:35 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Don't know what I don't know
Replies: 8
Views: 1153

Re: Don't know what I don't know

Taxes: I was burned badly by a CPA years ago, so perhaps I have a distorted perspective, but I would start out with consumer software, like HR Block or Turbotax. Not only will you save money, but it helps to know what you are doing. If it turns out to be too confusing, THEN consider hiring a CPA. At least, by then, hopefully you will be able to tell if the CPA screws up. Investments: This forum is a good start. Start by reading the Bogleheads Wiki, and ask questions. If you are skeptical about the answers you get, good. That means you are thinking. Keep researching until you are satisfied with the answers. Investing wisely is actually very simple. Most professional advisors have a conflict of interest, since the products that are most profi...
by protagonist
Mon Mar 18, 2024 8:17 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Value of Suspended Spousal Benefit
Replies: 16
Views: 1926

Re: Value of Suspended Spousal Benefit

EricGold wrote: Mon Mar 18, 2024 7:52 am Thank you

Not the answer I was hoping for, but I sure am glad to be informed up front
I think this answer is correct, but if I were you, I would research it myself as well. I believe the rules are different for people your age than mine.
AND speak with a SS rep. I agree with you that the info they give you may be inaccurate....if I listened to the first SS rep I spoke with I would have missed out on benefits to which I was entitled. Another one seemed better informed. It doesn't hurt to get info from multiple sources and then process it yourself.
by protagonist
Sun Mar 17, 2024 7:42 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?
Replies: 11149
Views: 2085232

Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Triangle of Sadness.
Very Swedish.
Very funny.
Very strange.
Very good.
Think Lena Wertmuller meets Wes Anderson.
Really skewers the rich.

If you liked Poor Things, you would probably like Triangle of Sadness. But a lot less (if any) explicit sex.
by protagonist
Sat Mar 16, 2024 9:26 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: "22 of the funniest novels since Catch-22" (acc. to the NYT)
Replies: 35
Views: 4056

Re: "22 of the funniest novels since Catch-22" (acc. to the NYT)

White Coat Investor wrote: Sat Mar 16, 2024 9:17 am
protagonist wrote: Thu Mar 14, 2024 7:45 pm "22 of the funniest novels since Catch-22". Acc. to the NYT. https://www.nytimes.com/.../14/books/fu ... humor.html

Maybe just clickbait. Maybe not.

Let me know if you read any of them, and what you think of those you read.
Also if any particularly interest you.

The list strikes me as missing some by the best (Vonnegut, Toole, Percy, Adams, Saunders, etc...)

It's hard to beat Catch-22.
My experience with an Air Force wartime deployment under a commander who literally used the phrase "feather in my cap" was that Catch-22 is not a fiction book.
+1
by protagonist
Sat Mar 16, 2024 9:13 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: "22 of the funniest novels since Catch-22" (acc. to the NYT)
Replies: 35
Views: 4056

Re: "22 of the funniest novels since Catch-22" (acc. to the NYT)

“They’re not going to send a crazy man out to be killed, are they?” “Who else will go?” Catch-22 was at its best when it pointed out that some things that are utterly absurd are also perfectly sensible in a way. I listened to Slaughterhouse 5 and then Catch-22; one after the other. Catch-22 wasn’t in the same class as Slaughterhouse 5. Catch-22 is redundant, not all that funny, and definitely not as insightful or impactful. I read both and didn’t care for either. I just didn’t get why they are so popular and well regarded. They certainly did not seem funny, but rather more antiestablishment and mocking, which is not the same thing. I suspect they appeal more to people who chafe at tradition And authority and who want to see themselves as a...
by protagonist
Fri Mar 15, 2024 4:17 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: "22 of the funniest novels since Catch-22" (acc. to the NYT)
Replies: 35
Views: 4056

Re: "22 of the funniest novels since Catch-22" (acc. to the NYT)

So many Catch-22 haters!! I don't think I ever encountered one of those before reading this thread. I loved C-22 when I first read it, and still loved it when I re-read it more or less 20 years ago. I didn't at all consider it "dated". The mere irony of the title is perfect....no wonder it is still a cliche in common use 6 decades later. The last young person I heard use it had no idea of its origin. My first reading of C-22 was clandestine, in English class when I was a junior in HS, late '60s. We all probably have one or two HS teachers we remember who inspired us. This one was responsible for me rediscovering reading for pleasure, after a series of horrid English teachers and years of diagramming sentences and snippets of appro...
by protagonist
Thu Mar 14, 2024 7:45 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: "22 of the funniest novels since Catch-22" (acc. to the NYT)
Replies: 35
Views: 4056

"22 of the funniest novels since Catch-22" (acc. to the NYT)

"22 of the funniest novels since Catch-22". Acc. to the NYT. https://www.nytimes.com/.../14/books/funny-novels-humor.html Maybe just clickbait. Maybe not. Let me know if you read any of them, and what you think of those you read. Also if any particularly interest you. The list strikes me as missing some by the best (Vonnegut, Toole, Percy, Adams, Saunders, etc...) It's hard to beat Catch-22. I've only read two on the list: 1. Oscar Wao. I really liked it. 2. Portnoy's Complaint. I recall liking it when I read it, but I was about 16 years old when I read it. If you can't access the article, here is the abbreviated list: The Wig, by Charles Wright (1966) Portnoy's Complaint, by Philip Roth (1969) Oreo, by Fran Ross (1974) Tales of t...
by protagonist
Thu Mar 14, 2024 7:38 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: "Rich Man's Roth" / 7702
Replies: 37
Views: 5557

Re: "Rich Man's Roth" / 7702

With other assets, you have to choose between keeping them for the basis step-up at the cost of estate inclusion, or giving them away and giving up the basis step-up. Can you explain this, please? My investments are all included in a revocable trust. I am under the assumption (hopefully not false) that the cost basis will be adjusted at the time of my death. If you give away a life insurance policy, the donee will get a basis step-up for it at your death in the form of the proceeds being exempt from income tax. But if you give away other assets during your lifetime, the donee won't get a new basis for them at your death. Whew. I misinterpreted. I thought you were implying that the other assets would not get a new basis at my death if I jus...