Bogleheads.org

blaugranamd

Couple of posts asking what are these cash reserves doing and case of opportunity cost. Let me put it this way as I have a different take on this. If my portfolio went up more than I expected in the last few years, which it did, then my need to take risk has reduced, therefore building up new money...

blaugranamd

This is why these dry powder type situations are not very sound: Most recent peak was in Mid/Late Sept at around $74 for VTSAX 10% drop puts you at about $66.7 If your cash has been waiting since Mar 2018 or earlier, you're likely losing money. 20% drop? Any cash waiting prior to May 2017 probably l...

blaugranamd

Ron Paul is calling this the Biggest bubble in the history of mankind and is forecasting a 50% drop in stocks: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/05/ron-paul-us-barreling-towards-a-recession-and-theres-no-escape.html Even Jack Bogle suggested to sell 5 or 10% of equities at the Bogleheads conference, and...

blaugranamd

2) When they respond, their response will optimize for the new investor. It will not benefit the existing, loyal Fidelity customer. For the existing Fidelity customer to get the benefit they must do a sale/buy in to the new fund (ie a taxable event). Not correct. They cut ERs on their existing fund...

blaugranamd

... I'm not saying FDIC/NCUA insurance isn't useful/valuable. But just to consider what it's actually insuring you against: your bank failing and your money "disappearing" along with it. Money in a savings account is used by the bank itself as capital to produce interest (for the bank and you) via ...

blaugranamd

I think people tend to overvalue FDIC. It ensures your money if the bank/CU goes under up to a certain amount. Vanguard's federal MM vmfxx is paying over 2% now. For that fund to have a problem it would mean the US government is not paying on its securities, in which case your dollars are going to ...

blaugranamd

I think people tend to overvalue FDIC. It ensures your money if the bank/CU goes under up to a certain amount. Vanguard's federal MM vmfxx is paying over 2% now. For that fund to have a problem it would mean the US government is not paying on its securities, in which case your dollars are going to b...

blaugranamd

Eureka! I solved it! The clutch is the silver and black section in the middle that's spinning inappropriately (bumps the steering arms so you know it's not supposed to spin). Looked at the parts schematic for the engine/clutch and there's nothing that seems to hold it in place. But there's that smal...

blaugranamd

Tell them no and inform your realtor that you don't want to be contacted again. The house closed, it's done. Can't stress this plan enough. Ignore them ENTIRELY and tell your realtor to have ZERO contact with them. If they are scamming you they will go away. If they are legit your realtor may accid...

blaugranamd

We actually had the same issue happen but as buyers: bought a home, HVAC was about 18 years old, about a week after we move in it's dead. Had one company recommend replacing everything. Had a friend's dad who does HVAC look at it, found a loose fitting and no refrigerant, tightened up and refilled. ...

blaugranamd

Who cares? Ive been a "victim" of credit card fraud like 5 times. Doesnt bother me one bit. Simply call the credit card company, explain the situation, they kill that card and send you a new number. Its not like you're responsible for the charges. Yes, I know they can charge you a fee...they never ...

blaugranamd

Been on Fi for 3 years. The network is great and overseas has worked flawlessly in St. Lucia and Scotland. We had two Nexus 5x and they were crap. Two screens broke way too easily, both phones bootlooped and had to be sent in for repair. One phone the rear camera glass broke. All that in less than 2...

blaugranamd

Always surprised where people choose to ask questions. Lawnmower repair forum... Good places for parts are www.repairclinic.com or www.jackssmallengines.com. Both sites have diagnosis aids and / or videos. It's annoying to start a new forum and experiences on Bogleheads are varied. Hoping maybe som...

blaugranamd

Which housing is spinning? A cover over the PTO clutch? Look at the housing and mounting bolts to inspect for damage. Does the part you think is spinning inappropriately look like anything seen in the diagram here (as a fairly generic example): https://www.green-parts-direct.com/john-deere-parts-di...

blaugranamd

Might be reaching but maybe there's a Boglehead on here with some experience fixing riding lawn mowers. Was mowing this evening, hit a bump and the blades stopped spinning. Made no noise when switching the electric clutch on and off. Pulled it into the garage, looked underneath and saw the two wires...

blaugranamd

Standing desk is no big deal these days. Many are $300 units that stand on a regular desk. I'd wait for the offer. This, as well as the others. A standing desk is the fad thing too in a lot of workplaces so they're not unusual. We have dozens of them at my gov job. Varidesks are a few hundred $. As...

blaugranamd

Given the choice of following the instructions of the highly trained team of engineers that built your car, or the wrench monkey at your local garage, always go with the engineers. I change the oil in my famly's cars (full synthetic) every spring when the weather turns nice. ... And company who is ...

blaugranamd

Only applying to 3 medical schools. Ended up getting accepted too late to get a 4 year military scholarship and had to settle for a 3 year scholarship. Cost me about $32k

blaugranamd

Rented a car in Hawaii that had ventilated black leather seats. It was very nice especially with the top down.

blaugranamd

Show up naked. Conveys unbridled confidence and new age open-mindedness. Both essential qualities in marketing in our current culture.

blaugranamd

Lots of good advice here. IMO, if this is going to be your first "real" bike purchase, I would buy new from a good local bike shop. You won't notice the difference as a novice between a Tiagra or 105 drivetrain or at least it won't matter as much as getting a comfortable, fitted bike. Here's why: yo...

blaugranamd

If you're worried about use for non-school, just put it in your own taxable account. Spend on whatever you like.

blaugranamd

If you're in the 35% tax bracket that means current income is $400-600k assuming MFJ. A $2.5M portfolio will provide about $100k/year at 4% withdrawal rate. Are you sure you are going to be able to cut your income needs by 75+%? Especially if you are asking about whether $60k tax advantaged should b...

blaugranamd

I would do the full 50% without the slightest hesitation. It isn’t about “performance”, it is about RISK . Right now you two have horribly concentrated risk. Two thirds of your retirement portfolio and both of your jobs are dependent on one company. There were hundreds of Worldcom employees who wer...

blaugranamd

Excessive means more than necessary. The ER is more than necessary for the potential VTSMX investor when that investor can go to Schwab or Fidelity, pay less, and be invested with $1 (at Fidelity). The only argument for someone to be out of the market until that person accumulates $3,000, have to p...

blaugranamd

I am unsure why Fidelity just did not cut the expense ratio's to their existing index funds. Now anyone with capital gains may not be able to invest in the new offerings. I would assume it has to do with their internal index saving some $ potentially. They did drop their existing funds to essential...

blaugranamd

I sampled some Flor de Caña dark rum My kind of thread..... :) "Everyday" rums - Flor de Cana 5 year old "Special Day" rums - Flor de Cana 25 I'm a big fan of Flor de Caña, but for some reason it doesn't like me. Even a single shot always gives me a headache the next morning. Flor de Caña. But, onl...

blaugranamd

Or is that a form of brand loyalty/anchoring bias that behavioral economics has shown makes people more willing to shell out $ unnecessarily? Not saying everyone should dump their current funds immediately but don't just say stuck with Vanguard just cause...

blaugranamd

I'll add my $0.02 that extra mortgage payments probably aren't the best use of your funds.

As far as home cost, i'll just say that I firmly believe that one of the biggest drivers for my family's current excellent financial position is owning an inexpensive home. YMMV.

blaugranamd

Howdy all! Wife and I are planning a fairly short notice trip to the UK in about 5 weeks. Debating between doing Ireland, Scotland or both. We have 9 days, 2 of which will be travel days so really 7 total days to spend. My inclination with that short of a timeframe is pick one country to avoid wasti...

blaugranamd

There was recently another thread on this topic: https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=218396 I am certainly not an expert on how the stock market actually functions, but it seems to me the problem would be self-correcting. People are moving to index funds now because there are more arti...

blaugranamd

For those willing to swap funds for 4 no less in ER, what do you think about VG TSM (VTSAX) YTD yield of 6.74% compared to Fido TSM (FSTVX) at 6.69%? That 5 bp difference in yield covers the ER difference. 10 year differences of 10.78 vs 10.71% is a 7 bp difference, respectively so probably even co...

blaugranamd

For those willing to swap funds for 4 no less in ER, what do you think about VG TSM (VTSAX) YTD yield of 6.74% compared to Fido TSM (FSTVX) at 6.69%? That 5 bp difference in yield covers the ER difference. 10 year differences of 10.78 vs 10.71% is a 7 bp difference, respectively so probably even cov...

blaugranamd

Augie's Barbed Wire Smokehouse

blaugranamd

Take her to a jewelry store for a date and see what she likes. So glad my wife liked the $1000 ring.

blaugranamd

Those would be good options. Could also consider holding international equities in taxable for foreign tax credit. Look into it more before deciding. Otherwise shift to the portfolio you want now rather than waiting.

blaugranamd

Bought a blended leather couch and loveseat for about $800 maybe 6 or 7 years ago. They have slip covers on now because the "Durablend" is all kinds of flaking apart. Admittedly it's partly our dogs fault but all she did was sleep on it. Disappointed. How long did you get out of it before it starte...

blaugranamd

I thought these kinda things just happened to me... No. I ALWAYS find a way to take a simple project and make it inexplicably harder. This project for example: attach hose, open valve, close valve, detach hose. Unscrew old rod, screw in new rod. Done. Somehow new rod falls into tank, impossible to ...

blaugranamd

I'm not sure what flushing the tank and a new anode rod is going to due to quiet the heating of the tank... If the heating element is making a lot of noise, then that should probably be replaced or serviced. Ig you are selling in a year, then a new hot water heater might help, even if just a basic ...

blaugranamd

Sorry, but I had to laugh at your post! Reminds me of when the heating element on my water heater failed, and I thought to myself "how hard can it be to replace that?". I looked up the part on-line, drove to home depot, and proceeded to shutoff the water valve above the heater. But the valve was br...

blaugranamd

I wouldn't worry about the anode rod in the tank, but I think you need to buy another one because the anode is supposed to be electrically connected with the tank a certain way and I don't think the one you dropped in there will be effective. But I generally consider tank-type water heaters have a ...

blaugranamd

Today bring my frugal self I decided to service my water heater that had been making a ton of noise while heating lately. Drained the tank, got a ton of sediment out. Pulled the anode rod, which was virtually gone. Bought a new anode rod, whole installing it, it didn't seem to seat right so I unscre...

blaugranamd

Bought a blended leather couch and loveseat for about $800 maybe 6 or 7 years ago. They have slip covers on now because the "Durablend" is all kinds of flaking apart. Admittedly it's partly our dogs fault but all she did was sleep on it. Disappointed. Our LaZBoy reclining sofas we got a few years ag...

blaugranamd

I faced a similar decision when graduating medical school. Went into school with dreams of being in an intense, demanding, prestigious, and lucrative field. Had a CV and test scores that could have put me into just about any career path I wanted. In the end I saw how little people in that field saw ...

blaugranamd

Thanks all. We're still about 15-17 years from early/partial retirement, I just couldn't search for this topic effectively to get the answer I was looking for. So, practically speaking, if you only needed enough money to not trigger any capital gains then the only difference between a Roth and taxa...

blaugranamd

Thanks all. We're still about 15-17 years from early/partial retirement, I just couldn't search for this topic effectively to get the answer I was looking for. So, practically speaking, if you only needed enough money to not trigger any capital gains then the only difference between a Roth and taxab...

blaugranamd

I've been doing some reading on draw down strategies for early retirement and trying to get a clearer picture on how a taxable account is treated at tax time. Assuming your only source of cash flow is from your taxable account, am I correct in my understanding that only the capital gains portion of ...

blaugranamd

I think you did a good job of answering your own question. Pick FFNOX, for the reasons you outlined. As you noted, ignore past performance differences. +1. FFNOX was my first fund for about 2 years until I had enough assets and knowledge to try something else. It's AA is still roughly what I use to...

blaugranamd

Have had an SP4 for a year or two now. Love it. Full laptop/Win10 functionality when you want, fully functional tablet/reader when you want it. I don't do a lot with graphic design though.

blaugranamd

So if you retire at >55 your are correct you'll have access to just about all your financial accounts penalty free. With $45k pension and something I assume around a million in savings based on your post, you should be able to sustain $80-100k in expenses. If you have no need for accessing any money...

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