Search found 209 matches
- Sat Dec 15, 2018 1:34 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Forgoing health insurance
- Replies: 112
- Views: 5986
Re: Forgoing health insurance
I don't mind paying out of pocket (even non-negotiated rates) for medical expenses, everything up to a catastrophic event, say $40K+ in a year. Here's the cost of different treatments I've seen in my circles over the years: Stage 4 breast cancer - $1.5 million Heart surgery - $400,000 Heart attack,...
- Sat Mar 18, 2017 2:09 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Jungle Disk now $8/month minimum...thinking of dropping it for Dropbox and Evernote
- Replies: 25
- Views: 2487
Jungle Disk now $8/month minimum...thinking of dropping it for Dropbox and Evernote
I was an early adopter of Jungle Disk, so I got grandfathered into a base premium of $1/month + $0.15/GB. Until this week, I've been paying ~$3.30/month to back up just under 16GB to Jungle Disk. It's been a reliable backup service. When my hard drive died a few years ago, I successfully recovered e...
- Fri Mar 17, 2017 4:09 am
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Anyone else taking less risk
- Replies: 115
- Views: 14701
Re: Anyone else taking less risk
I've been 60/40 for some time, but I made one tiny change earlier this week: I put my IRAs on autopilot. My Roth and SEP-IRAs are now 100% LifeStrategy Moderate Growth. This should remove the risk of human emotions from the IRA portion of my portfolio. I'm still responsible for rebalancing my 401(k)...
- Sat Mar 11, 2017 1:41 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Do TIPS matter much in a 60% stock portfolio?
- Replies: 2
- Views: 844
Re: Do TIPS matter much in a 60% stock portfolio?
I'm going to do the quickest of quick reality checks, making a pack of dubious assumptions... Thank you so much for this! I appreciate you taking the time to figure out the potential influence of TIPS under a high inflation scenario. This reassures me that I will not regret switching over my remain...
- Fri Mar 10, 2017 12:03 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Do TIPS matter much in a 60% stock portfolio?
- Replies: 2
- Views: 844
Do TIPS matter much in a 60% stock portfolio?
Oblivious Investor wrote a sensible post where he noted that in portfolios with high amounts of stocks (ex: 70/30) the volatility of stocks overwhelm the bond portion of the portfolio, whether it be TIPS or nominal. "...I don’t think it’s a bad idea at all to include TIPS (rather than just nomi...
- Fri Jan 08, 2016 11:29 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: What Manga/Manhwa Have You Read Recently?
- Replies: 40
- Views: 5280
Re: What Manga/Manhwa Have You Read Recently?
I have been following One Piece manga for a while. The anime is no good, but the manga is the best form of entertainment (movie, tv show, book, etc.) I've come across. Great character development, hilarious, emotionally heart wrenching, plenty of action, and all around really fun. The main thing ho...
- Wed Jan 06, 2016 11:44 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: What Manga/Manhwa Have You Read Recently?
- Replies: 40
- Views: 5280
Re: What Manga Have You Read Recently?
Bogleheads, Based on the hugely popular threads: "What Book Are You currently Reading" and "What Movie Have You Recently Watched", I wanted to start a (most-likely not so popular) manga thread. Is anyone childish like me (for my age) and enjoys reading these? If so... What Manga...
- Wed Jan 06, 2016 12:40 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: What Manga/Manhwa Have You Read Recently?
- Replies: 40
- Views: 5280
Re: What Manga Have You Read Recently?
I have a CrunchyRoll premium subscription, which offers dozens of titles. At the top of my list is Attack on Titan , followed closely by The Seven Deadly Sins and UQ Holder . The latter two have superior art, but the first one has the most gripping story. I should probably make a second attempt to r...
- Sat Oct 10, 2015 11:56 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: What is your favorite 60/40 balanced fund at Vanguard and why?
- Replies: 32
- Views: 5698
Re: What is your favorite 60/40 balanced fund at Vanguard and why?
Personally, I like the Vanguard Balance Index Fund. Simply because it is a representation of a classic, traditional 60/40 portfolio. Also, it is an index fund with no manual rebalancing. And lastly, though Vanguard has changed the benchmarks (for better of for worse). They don't keep adding or remo...
- Mon Sep 21, 2015 11:16 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: VW/Audi Diesel Recall
- Replies: 118
- Views: 16199
Re: VW/Audi Diesel Recall
Shares of VW have gone down 20 percent , on top of a 5 percent fall Friday. I guess Mr. Market takes the allegations seriously. https://www.google.com/finance?q=OTCMKTS%3AVLKAY&ei=ZhcAVpOyM4LksAGYo52QAg For those who think the allegations are overblown or inaccurate, you can buy VW Stock and ge...
- Sat Sep 19, 2015 1:35 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Free Kindle Downloads Today
- Replies: 49
- Views: 6471
Re: Free Kindles Today
Many thanks for sharing these books. 

- Mon Sep 14, 2015 10:41 am
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Mike Piper feeds my confirmation bias
- Replies: 36
- Views: 4362
Re: Mike Piper feeds my confirmation bias
Thank you for posting this. I switched from Scott Burns' "Margarita Portfolio" to mostly LifeStrategy a few years ago for the same reasons outlined in this article. I do appreciate the mindlessness of it. I have not had to rebalance for a few years now, and I can focus on my savings rate. ...
- Sat Aug 29, 2015 1:30 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Sigh, what's the point of knowing investing theory?
- Replies: 20
- Views: 2268
Re: Sigh, what's the point of knowing investing theory?
But what good is knowing the theory when you have no money to invest? I finished university in 2009 and had exactly $37 to my name. Managed to get a job paying $9.50/hour and barely scraped by. Missed the ensuing stock market run-up. University degree was worthless and went back to school in 2013 a...
- Mon Aug 03, 2015 10:42 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Company changing 401k plans, roll-over to IRA?
- Replies: 6
- Views: 1086
Re: Company changing 401k plans, roll-over to IRA?
The 401k has both pre-tax and Roth contributions. I have a Roth IRA already open. Would I need to open a new IRA and a new Roth IRA or could the Roth funds go into my existing account? The Roth funds should be able to go to your existing account. The IRS has a chart of what rollovers are allowed, a...
- Fri Jun 19, 2015 10:54 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Should I open up floor of very old home to search for old coins?
- Replies: 35
- Views: 6952
Re: Should I open up floor of very old home to search for old coins?
Don't fret. Your childhood actions helped increase the value of the surviving Mickey Mantle cards.joe8d wrote:This make me think of all the Mickey Mantle baseball cards I slid into the wall of my childhood home in the 50"s


- Mon Jun 01, 2015 6:52 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Are you middle class?
- Replies: 21
- Views: 3739
Re: Are you middle class?
I work in the Los Angeles entertainment industry. Most years I fall into the "middle class" range on the above calculator. Sometimes I'm above, and sometimes I'm below.
I'm in the same boat as surfstar, though. I am not comfortable with buying a house right now.

I'm in the same boat as surfstar, though. I am not comfortable with buying a house right now.

- Fri May 29, 2015 5:35 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Do I really need International equities in my portfolio ?
- Replies: 87
- Views: 13335
Re: Do I really need International equities in my portfolio ?
William Bernstein also cautioned in The Investor's Manifesto that emerging markets are not as well-regulated as the U.S. securities market, so investors may not get their fair share of returns from emerging-market stocks. Lastly, international investing costs more than domestic, though not too much...
- Fri May 29, 2015 12:40 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Do I really need International equities in my portfolio ?
- Replies: 87
- Views: 13335
Re: Do I really need International equities in my portfolio ?
I missed the webcast today (argh!), but I have been wondering about how much international I need, if any. When I first learned about investing, I followed the "Margarita Portfolio" recipe from Scott Burns. He made a good argument for 50% international. Later, I read Bogle's Common Sense o...
- Tue May 26, 2015 8:39 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Poorcraft - a comic series about "the fine art of living well on less."
- Replies: 0
- Views: 1126
Poorcraft - a comic series about "the fine art of living well on less."
I've read frugal living books and blogs before, such as The Tightwad Gazette and The Simple Dollar . However, Poorcraft may be the first time I've read frugal living advice in comics format. This could be a good series for kids old enough to play Warcraft and Minecraft . Both books use the framework...
- Sat Mar 21, 2015 11:37 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Hearse as daily driver?
- Replies: 58
- Views: 13173
Re: Hearse as daily driver?
A friend and her husband owned at least two hearses in beautiful condition in the 90's. They used a fuel-efficient car as their daily driver, but they would frequently drive a hearse to haul heavy luggage and other weighty items to and from conventions. They enjoyed their hearses for the same reason...
- Fri Mar 20, 2015 10:43 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: What Age Did You First Ponder Financial Independence?
- Replies: 74
- Views: 11157
Re: What Age Did You First Ponder Financial Independence?
39 for me. I was introduced to the concept of "early retirement" over and over again for decades. I got interested in personal finance and investing in 2007. However, I did not consider early financial independence for myself until I hit these three milestones in succession: A sustained pe...
- Wed Mar 11, 2015 11:05 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: What are some common misconceptions found in this forum?
- Replies: 209
- Views: 24927
Re: What are some common misconceptions found in this forum?
One can only save for retirement within a retirement account like an IRA or a 401(k).
Income limits apply to a Traditional IRA if your employer does not offer a retirement plan.

Income limits apply to a Traditional IRA if your employer does not offer a retirement plan.

- Fri Mar 06, 2015 6:54 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: If you could send an investment message 10 years in the past
- Replies: 62
- Views: 7436
Re: If you could send an investment message 10 years in the
"Save more."toto238 wrote:What one sentence of information would make the biggest impact in your opinion?

- Fri Mar 06, 2015 11:45 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Tom Stanley-Millionaire Next Door Author Killed in Auto Acci
- Replies: 76
- Views: 15981
Re: Tom Stanley-Millionaire Next Door Author Killed in Auto
I must be in the rare minority as I never liked his book. Too much selection bias in aggregating his data. I will say something like this always causes pause and reflection of the point of saving and investing. Save too much and don't get to enjoy it if you die young or save too little and die poor...
- Fri Mar 06, 2015 1:43 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: In what form do you keep your emergency fund?
- Replies: 96
- Views: 25332
Re:
And what about the severence pay, and the unemployment coming? I think we have different needs. In my industry (animation and visual effects), benefits like severance pay are rare outside of union studios. If I did a long enough stretch of freelance work, I don't think I'd qualify for unemployment ...
- Wed Mar 04, 2015 2:57 am
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: SIGN PETITION for Jack Bogle's Presidential Medal of Freedon
- Replies: 55
- Views: 7904
"Money is freedom."
I agree that Mr. Bogle's contributions to the investment world should be recognized. However, I find the article a little insulting as having more money is not how I would define freedom. Maybe it depends on one's perspective. In 1961, Harlan Ellison wrote a novel called Rockabilly , later retitled...
- Sun Mar 01, 2015 11:29 am
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: International increase in Target Retirement & LifeStrategy
- Replies: 235
- Views: 48834
Re: International increase in Target Retirement & LifeStrate
And there's an obvious corollary, as well: if Vanguard can't stay the course in target and lifestrategy funds, then how can the investor possibly stay his/her course in these funds? Lev Depends on how finely-tuned one's "course" is. If someone's "course" is no more than this: Sa...
- Sat Feb 28, 2015 1:21 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: International increase in Target Retirement & LifeStrategy
- Replies: 235
- Views: 48834
Re: International increase in Target Retirement & LifeStrate
I am not Warren Buffett, and I have not recommended the Vanguard S&P 500 index fund for my spouse should I perish. I have, instead, recommended one of the LifeStrategy funds. They have always offered a "one stop shop" for diversification in stocks and bonds, and this move does nothing...
- Wed Feb 25, 2015 1:16 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Can someone please help me with this investment thing!
- Replies: 17
- Views: 1960
Re: Can someone please help me with this investment thing!
Can anyone help me out and tell me how the heck to even start this entire investing thing? The goal of investing is to preserve the long-term purchasing power of your savings. Checking accounts are good for money you plan to spend in the short-term (next month's rent, car repair, groceries, etc), b...
- Mon Feb 23, 2015 3:52 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Alternatives if your company does not offer 401K
- Replies: 7
- Views: 2757
Re: Alternatives if your company does not offer 401K
It seems that employees like myself fall into a disadvantaged spot in the tax code. People with 401K's get a combined total of $23,500 of tax deferred space, while I only get $5500. This is especially painful, since I have extra income I'd live to save above and beyond IRA limits. If it cheers you ...
- Wed Jan 28, 2015 12:01 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: What to do when you don't meet the minimums
- Replies: 15
- Views: 1765
Re: What to do when you don't meet the minimums
I'm just coming to the conclusion that it is just better to put the money in a Balanced Fund at Vanguard and change it to what I want when it reaches the minimum I need for the four core portfolio. This seems like a reasonable way to go. When my husband started his Roth IRA at Vanguard seven years ...
- Thu Nov 06, 2014 3:26 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: What have you done to cut costs this year?
- Replies: 134
- Views: 18800
Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?
Here's where I cut costs this year: Moved from a $30/month AT&T GoPhone plan to a $10/month Airvoice Wireless plan. Replaced separate $50/month landline and $35/month DSL services with a combined service that costs $55/month and offers faster Internet speeds. Got a Target debit card for 5% off e...
- Mon Apr 07, 2014 9:17 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: California Taxes - Am I Missing Something?
- Replies: 142
- Views: 14711
Re: California Taxes - Am I Missing Something?
For the record, my husband disagrees with the recent anti-vaping developments.sscritic wrote:We can't even smoke e-cigarettes, which will help all those allergic to electricity.Sphinx wrote:My husband likes the strict anti-smoking laws, because he's allergic to smoke.
- Mon Apr 07, 2014 8:50 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: California Taxes - Am I Missing Something?
- Replies: 142
- Views: 14711
Re: California Taxes - Am I Missing Something?
For IT related professionals, I understand that CA is the best state to work in. For outdoor enthusiasts, CA is nice. But is there any other cities/states with similarly nice weather all year round? For those who are neither IT related professionals nor outdoor enthusiasts, why do you live in CA? D...
- Sat Apr 27, 2013 11:29 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Your best financial move
- Replies: 98
- Views: 10894
Re: Your best financial move
...what people would consider their best financial move? For me, it was increasing my retirement savings rate. I did not have a 401(k) at work for most of my career, and it did not occur to me that it was "okay" to save for retirement outside of retirement accounts. For a long time, I wou...
- Wed Mar 27, 2013 10:49 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: V Life Strategy vs Target Retirement clarification
- Replies: 4
- Views: 790
Re: V Life Strategy vs Target Retirement clarification
The more conservative Target Retirement/Income funds also include TIPS as part of their bond allocations.


- Mon Jan 14, 2013 10:23 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: When is "enough"?
- Replies: 9
- Views: 1210
Re: When is "enough"?
I realize that greed is a basic component of the human psyche, but it would seem to me that after a point you just can't use more money, but these guys have to have more and more. For individual investors, William Bernstein wrote an essay warning how the pursuit of money for money's sake can destro...
- Sun Jan 13, 2013 6:06 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Bond Funds - Taxable Investment Account - Good Idea?
- Replies: 10
- Views: 1503
Re: Bond Funds - Taxable Investment Account - Good Idea?
I am new and looking to learn. Thank you in advance for your feedback. I have a $10,000 taxable investment account. Currently it mirrors my Roth IRA account, which is 1/3 Vanguard Total Stock, 1/3 Vanguard Total International and 1/3 Total Bond Market. I thought I saw somewhere that someone said th...
- Fri Nov 09, 2012 11:06 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: health insurance for early retirees under current law
- Replies: 50
- Views: 8326
Re: [Affordable Care Act] current law early retirement
Very true and only time will tell. I am a huge fan of making health care affordable for everyone, in fact I am in favor of single payer. Having said that what scares me about the ACA is how big it is. I have a feeling it is becasue that is the only way they were able to pass it, but I hope it works...
- Sat Oct 13, 2012 8:07 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Who invests in only 1 bond fund?
- Replies: 63
- Views: 7484
Re: Who invests in only 1 bond fund?
How many Bogleheads invest in only one bond fund in total or in each account (i.e. Total Bond in tax advantaged and Tax Exempt in taxable - due to space limitations or other considerations)? Right now I invest in only one bond fund in my retirement accounts -- VIPSX (Vanguard Inflation Protected Se...
- Fri Jul 06, 2012 10:34 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Health Savings Account
- Replies: 15
- Views: 3244
Re: Health Savings Account
and there are also HSA providers which offer brokerage accounts that allow you to buy any fund or ETF you want. That is precisely what I want to know about. I am having trouble finding even one example of this on the internet. Do you know of one? Whoops -- I just saw this. If you have enough money ...
- Fri Jul 06, 2012 10:27 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Health Savings Account
- Replies: 15
- Views: 3244
Re: Health Savings Account
Where is the best place to open a Health Savings Account? I started with HSA Bank, but I left them because I did not like their fees. I moved my HSA to Alliant Credit Union . No fees, and they offer a competitive interest rate. If you intend to use your HSA for medical expenses, I strongly recommen...
- Thu Jul 05, 2012 5:25 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Hospital costs
- Replies: 189
- Views: 13711
Re: Hospital costs
Texas' rate of health care spending has increased more than the rate of states without Tort reform. :idea: Great link. The reason spending may have increased might be increased access to care. It's hard to argue that people actually getting the care they need is bad. It would be wonderful if tort r...
- Thu Jul 05, 2012 1:22 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Hospital costs
- Replies: 189
- Views: 13711
Re: Hospital costs
Interesting no mention of any TORT reform yet. There is for sure millions if not billions in waste because providers practice defensive medicine... Texas implemented tort reform in 2003 , but it did not reduce health care costs for Texans. Texas health care spending has increased since 2003. But di...
- Thu Jul 05, 2012 10:12 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Hospital costs
- Replies: 189
- Views: 13711
Re: Hospital costs
Texas implemented tort reform in 2003, but it did not reduce health care costs for Texans. Texas health care spending has increased since 2003.DAK wrote:Interesting no mention of any TORT reform yet. There is for sure millions if not billions in waste because providers practice defensive medicine...
- Fri Jul 17, 2009 10:36 am
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Health Savings Accounts
- Replies: 60
- Views: 17118
I think HSAs are great if you live in a state with guaranteed-issue individual coverage where (I hope) rescission's illegal. I think they're also great if offered as part of a group plan option. An HSA did not fit my specific situation, though. But it did. You had the HDHP and contributed to a HSA ...
- Thu Jul 16, 2009 11:42 am
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Health Savings Accounts
- Replies: 60
- Views: 17118
Hello, ChgoBob. Welcome to Bogleheads. :D ...nothing gives individuals more control over their medical care...than HSAs. This may be true. However, I didn't feel like I had control over my financial security with an individual HSA-compatible plan. I'm 34 years old, and I don't need any health care p...
- Tue Nov 25, 2008 12:56 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Do you use only an online bank? (Poll included)
- Replies: 43
- Views: 9348
"Hold" rules for deposits...
I'm not sure I understand why, but my wife and I have absolutely found that deposits presented in person on over the counter are consistently faster to appear as "available" (rather than just "ledger balance") than deposits made through the ATM machine that is physically located...
- Mon Sep 29, 2008 10:18 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: just a couple of thoughts on the current crisis...
- Replies: 60
- Views: 12479
Re: I have a newbie question...
I must agree with Valuethinker here. The only people that got "bailed out" were folks who: Owned any Money Market fund 'cause they were ALL about to seize up. ... I keep my emergency fund money in Vanguard's Treasury Money Market fund (VMPXX), so I have a newbie question. By "money m...
- Sat Sep 20, 2008 6:18 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: just a couple of thoughts on the current crisis...
- Replies: 60
- Views: 12479
I have a newbie question...
I must agree with Valuethinker here. The only people that got "bailed out" were folks who: Owned any Money Market fund 'cause they were ALL about to seize up. ... I keep my emergency fund money in Vanguard's Treasury Money Market fund (VMPXX), so I have a newbie question. By "money m...