Search found 207 matches

by mackstann
Thu Jan 10, 2013 12:25 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: IRA versus SIMPLE IRA Limits
Replies: 11
Views: 2335

Re: IRA versus SIMPLE IRA Limits

AFAIK your employer can set up SIMPLE IRA accounts with multiple providers, effectively allowing you to set up your account with the provider of your choice. There is minimal paperwork required, but the payroll department would have to issue withholding contributions to the appropriate providers. The plan can allow that, or not. If the plan was filed with form 5304-SIMPLE, then you can pick your own provider. If 5305-SIMPLE was used, then you cannot. But as others have mentioned, you can freely transfer money out after two years. I've done this myself and it's the saving grace of a high-fee SIMPLE IRA plan. The paperwork is a bit cumbersome (compared to doing stuff online) and often requires a medallion signature guarantee, but other than ...
by mackstann
Sun Jan 06, 2013 8:54 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How many email addresses is optimal?
Replies: 30
Views: 2985

Re: How many email addresses is optimal?

I think using a separate address for spammy stuff is pointless. Good spam filters have been around for many years now. Any reasonable email provider will have a spam filter.

An extra account for high-security stuff might be a good idea, but I've never bothered.

I just have a personal account and a work account.
by mackstann
Thu Jan 03, 2013 12:16 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Are bonds going anywhere in 2013?
Replies: 17
Views: 2155

Re: Are bonds going anywhere in 2013?

I also read an article recently about someone high up at Vanguard in his 50s, who only has 10% in bonds. I will try to find the citation, but doesn't this speak volumes as to where to focus your investments for now? No, it doesn't. See if you can find out, not just who it is, but what he actually said. If the size of your portfolio, your personal situation, and your personal tolerance for risk are similar to his, then it might be be reasonable for you to adopt a similar portfolio. Was that Gus Sauter? Yes. However he doesn't give a lot of insight as to why he thinks that portfolio is right for him. Meanwhile, John C. Bogle is at something like 70-80% bonds--and Suze Orman is 96% bonds! I don't think celebrity endorsements are the way to ch...
by mackstann
Fri Dec 28, 2012 7:29 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Re: Where can I earn 4% annually on my money?
Replies: 23
Views: 5559

Re: Where can I earn 4% annually on my money?

He is referring to mango direct, bbva compass build my savings ETC ETc Yes, when you add up those options, a single person can have nearly $20k earning 4% or above, FDIC insured. Double it to $40k for a married couple. Maybe $20k/$40k is not up to a millionaire's standard but for middle class families we often hear about who don't have much savings, it's plenty. It's not true you must take more risk in order to earn a higher return. Thanks! That Mango Direct appears promising. From what I can infer, the prepaid card is a requirement, and the fees for it would be about $5/month... I did not really see anything else mentioned in this thread (even the BBVA Compass) that would earn 4% - did I miss something? - Porcupine I may point out that yo...
by mackstann
Sat Dec 22, 2012 2:20 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Your International vs. U.S. Stock Allocation?
Replies: 73
Views: 12632

Re: Your International vs. U.S. Stock Allocation?

I just copy the US-vs-non-US split implemented in Vanguard Total World Stock Market. I live in the US but I think it makes sense to follow the overall global markets rather than hope that the US will outperform everyone else.

I think the 70/30 mix that Vanguard settled on relies too much on data mining, US-centrism, and historical baggage (international stocks have historically been seen by US investors as risky or exotic). Then again, the difference between 70/30 and 50/50 isn't drastic, so I'm hardly railing against them here. It's a relatively minor quibble.
by mackstann
Thu Dec 20, 2012 4:19 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: New Nationwide 401k - [How to fix a bad plan?]
Replies: 9
Views: 7051

New Nationwide 401k - [How to fix a bad plan?]

My company has an Ameriprise SIMPLE IRA. It's expensive, but I'm past the two year mark, so I can freely transfer my money out, which is awesome.

The company has grown, and we're switching to a 401k with Nationwide, through the same advisor. Everything I've read about this points to it being horrible. I talked to my boss about it (who is very receptive to my advice) and he's going to have me talk to the advisor before implementing the plan. I'm hoping MAYBE we can get an index fund or two that's around 0.50%. But I've never seen this... my searching has only lead to examples of ERs 1% and above. Is this futile? Is there any other tack I can try to make this thing work out to be tolerable?
by mackstann
Thu Dec 06, 2012 2:12 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Anybody here go all-Linux for personal computing?
Replies: 117
Views: 11674

Re: Anybody here go all-Linux for personal computing?

I've been using only Linux for about 10 years. I'm a pretty hardcore nerd though, and in those early days I was willing to make some sacrifices in order to avoid Windows (which I really, really dislike). These days, using Windows would be a huge sacrifice for me. I actually had to at my current job for a while, but I eventually figured out how to get my work done on Linux, and eventually nearly the entire company transitioned over to Linux on the desktop as well (we're mostly software developers so it's actually quite natural and convenient). Dual booting is always an option, but in my opinion it's even more convenient to run Windows in virtualization if you need it -- you don't need to reboot or stop what you're doing in Linux; you just ru...
by mackstann
Wed Nov 14, 2012 4:06 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Advice for Couple who just had baby with a heart defect
Replies: 11
Views: 2131

Re: Advice for Couple who just had baby with a heart defect

Many hospitals discount bills (even up to 100%) for people with low (or even moderate) incomes. They should most definitely look into this.
by mackstann
Mon Nov 12, 2012 10:22 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How Bad Are These Ameriprise Mutual Funds?
Replies: 10
Views: 5770

Re: How Bad Are These Ameriprise Mutual Funds?

Columbia Global Equity A vs. Vanguard Total World Stock, from 6/26/2008 (when the Vanguard fund was born) through 11/12/2012: Columbia returns -4.1%, Vanguard returns 2.56%. That's before the front end load... after the front end load, the Columbia fund returns -9.61%. Columbia Large Cap Growth vs. Vanguard Growth Index, from 10/30/1998 (when the Columbia fund was born) through 11/12/2012: Looking at the chart, the Vanguard fund under-performed the Columbia fund for many years. In the end it's close to a tie: Columbia returns 52% and Vanguard returns 50%. BUT... when you add in the front end load, the Columbia fund returns only 41.37%; far from a tie. Keep in mind that these returns include the negative effect of the expense ratio. The long...
by mackstann
Thu Nov 08, 2012 5:47 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Consolidate Vanguard SIMPLE IRA & ROTH?
Replies: 7
Views: 1209

Re: Consolidate Vanguard SIMPLE IRA & ROTH?

One benefit of transferring to the Traditional IRA would be to get access to Admiral shares. Vanguard SIMPLE IRAs do not offer Admiral shares. Also, each additional fund in the SIMPLE IRA costs $25/yr, so if you can reduce the number of funds in the SIMPLE IRA, that would be beneficial as well. (edit: nevermind, the $25 fee is waived for you)

After transferring to the Traditional IRA, then you have the choice of whether to convert to Roth or not, but that's more complicated and the answer depends on your personal tax situation.
by mackstann
Wed Nov 07, 2012 1:03 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Death to ING Banking.... dang you Capital one....
Replies: 46
Views: 13438

Re: Death to ING Banking.... dang you Capital one....

New name, colors, and a 0.05% rate change? Seems like a non-event to me.
by mackstann
Mon Nov 05, 2012 12:01 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Academic papers destroy investment strategies
Replies: 18
Views: 3022

Academic papers destroy investment strategies

Simply by publishing an academic paper, a professor can demolish your investment strategy.

Buy stocks that recently did well, focus on firms that reinvest profits—it doesn’t matter. If a finance scholar writes about your strategy, over the next decade or so your returns will shrink by more than one-third.
http://chronicle.com/blogs/percolator/a ... lues/31598
by mackstann
Sun Oct 28, 2012 7:59 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Schwab - beating Vanguard at its own game?
Replies: 29
Views: 5965

Re: Schwab - beating Vanguard at its own game?

Schwab has seriously bungled two of their bond funds in the past decade. They're also offering these cheap funds as loss leaders for who knows how long, while Vanguard's cost are genuinely, sustainably low, due to their not-for-profit corporate structure.
by mackstann
Tue Oct 16, 2012 6:58 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Honda Civic as a family car
Replies: 57
Views: 12940

Re: Honda Civic as a family car

Dave76 wrote:
mnnice wrote:
The last I heard that children under 14 are supposed to sit in the back.
That's the silliest thing I've ever heard.
Doesn't seem silly to me. Adults probably should too, but their pride is a formidable obstacle. Cars are the top cause of death for children, and one of the top causes for adults (especially healthy adults).
by mackstann
Tue Oct 09, 2012 12:27 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Live webcast with Gus Sauter on Vanguard's new index changes
Replies: 2
Views: 549

Live webcast with Gus Sauter on Vanguard's new index changes

Starts in just a few minutes. 1:30PM Eastern time.

http://www-waa-akam.thomson-webcast.net ... dab1313773

(strangely, this is the exact same time as a live webcast of a guy jumping out of a balloon in the upper stratosphere: http://grist.org/list/watch-live-as-a-g ... rom-space/ )
by mackstann
Tue Oct 02, 2012 7:55 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Schwab vs Vanguard Total Bond Funds
Replies: 7
Views: 2321

Re: Schwab vs Vanguard Total Bond Funds

nisiprius wrote: I honestly don't know what an investor should make of such a thing. Should you say "that's unforgivable?" Or should you say "they must have learned their lesson and 2007 was unusual and it surely never will happen again?"
On its own, I might give them the benefit of the doubt... but combined with the YieldPlus scandal, I don't really respect Schwab all that much anymore.
by mackstann
Mon Oct 01, 2012 5:19 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Extra cost of international & small,when is it not worth it?
Replies: 17
Views: 2284

Re: Extra cost of international & small,when is it not worth

I'd use expected returns as a starting point. For example, small cap stocks are expected to return 1-2% more than large cap stocks. So, unless I had to pay 1%+ more for small caps vs. large caps, I'd still include it. If it's well under 0.5% extra then it's pretty clearly still worth it (to me, anyway).
by mackstann
Mon Sep 24, 2012 4:15 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: New research paper from Wade Pfau favors SPIAs over bonds
Replies: 3
Views: 898

New research paper from Wade Pfau favors SPIAs over bonds

First, the punchline: with a 4% withdrawal rate to meet lifestyle spending goals, a 65-year old heterosexual couple is best served by combinations of stocks and fixed single-premium immediate annuities (SPIAs). At current product pricing levels, there is little need for bonds, inflation-adjusted SPIAs, or immediate variable annuities with guaranteed living benefit riders (VA/GLWBs). The following figure shows how their 1,001 product allocation possibilities perform. I’ve highlighted in blue all of the allocations which only consist of stocks and bonds without any annuitization. These outcomes reflect some of the worst possible results for meeting spending needs. Also, I’ve highlighted most of the efficient frontier with a red curve. These ...
by mackstann
Thu Sep 20, 2012 6:28 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Schwab slashes ETF fees
Replies: 84
Views: 13860

Schwab slashes ETF fees

Here’s a list of the ETFs, along with their old and new fees.

U.S. Broad Market 0.06%, 0.04%

U.S. Large-Cap 0.08%, 0.04%

U.S. Large-Cap Growth 0.13%, 0.07%

U.S. Large-Cap Value 0.13%, 0.07%

U.S. Dividend Equity 0.17%, 0.07%

U.S. Mid-Cap 0.13%, 0.07%

U.S. Small Cap 0.13%, 0.10%

U.S. REIT 0.13%, 0.07%

International Equity 0.13%, 0.09%

Emerging Markets Equity 0.25%, 0.15%

International Small-Cap Equity 0.35%, 0.20%

U.S. Aggregate Bond 0.10%, 0.05%

Short-Term U.S. Treasury 0.12%, 0.08%

Intermediate-Term U.S. Treasury 0.12%, 0.10%

U.S. TIPS 0.14%, 0.07%
http://blogs.wsj.com/totalreturn/2012/0 ... od=WSJBlog
by mackstann
Sat Sep 15, 2012 4:16 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Why do people [Why Would I] live in expensive places?
Replies: 51
Views: 4233

Re: Why do people live in expensive places?

Look at it the other way: Why are these places so expensive? Because people want to live there. They have a lot going for them.
by mackstann
Sat Sep 08, 2012 2:03 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Another post about CD Rates
Replies: 15
Views: 3309

Re: Another post about CD Rates

Muchtolearn wrote:$20 a year difference. I wouldn't click anything for that. Why not just buy some CDs from Vanguard?
You can't do an early withdrawal and you must sell them at market rate, which means they're more like a bond than a bank CD. Bank CDs and their lax EWPs somewhat shelter you from the ruthlessness of interest rate changes.
by mackstann
Thu Sep 06, 2012 5:43 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: disability insurance
Replies: 43
Views: 6133

Re: disability insurance

Hopefully this is ok to post here instead of a separate thread, but - anyone have thoughts on how worthwhile it is to pay for short term disability insurance, assuming you already have a 6+ month emergency fund? I'm currently exploring my options for disability insurance as I've recently become eligible to participate in my employer's plan. I'm a veterinarian, so there is a moderate risk of animal bites in my job, as well as events that could land anyone in a short term disability situation. The potential cost of a short term illness/disability has a pretty manageable cap. I think it makes sense to self-insure with an emergency fund. But long-term DI can't really be self-insured by most people, as the sky is the limit... you could wind up ...
by mackstann
Thu Sep 06, 2012 1:34 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 21 ways rich people think
Replies: 84
Views: 11643

Re: 21 ways rich people think

And work is "rewarding"? I don't go home from work thinking, "Woo hoo, I programmed some software!" Instead it's, "I'm going home!" I took a six month haitus once from university. Just sat around playing video games and watching The Price is Right. It was awesome. I'd far rather have my time than money. I can always get more money; I can never get more time. I've been called inhuman for my lack of ambition, I'd just rather hang out. Work is: go there, think about what to type, type it, get paid, go home. The only benefit to work is money. Maybe I'm part of that "many youth", but I'm in my mid- to late-20s. It really depends on the person. Some people are driven to be industrious, and they become unha...
by mackstann
Thu Sep 06, 2012 1:04 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Investing with diminished] memory
Replies: 75
Views: 6589

Re: [Investing with diminished] memory

It's not just about cognitive function of healthy older people. Unfortunately not everyone stays healthy. What if you suffer some kind of illness that takes a toll on your cognition, memory, motivation, etc.? Or what if you die, and your spouse is left to manage your portfolio? I'd be much happier putting it all in a single fund-of-funds and simply leaving the instructions "keep it in this fund", with maybe some alternatives listed in case the fund shuts down. I would not want to leave my 85 year old widow instructions on rebalancing.
by mackstann
Thu Sep 06, 2012 12:55 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Where to go for computer problems?
Replies: 33
Views: 3409

Re: Where to go for computer problems?

Question: Could it be a failing monitor? Since the display and audio both go through my monitor, I thought maybe a dying monitor would explain the screen freezes and weird audio stutters. Plus this new random shutting down is relegated to the monitor. IOW, the monitor says "entering power save" and then the light on the button on the bottom of the monitor switches from green to yellow. The keyboard/mouse lights stay on and the PCU drive keeps whirling, suggesting that the drive itself isn't hibernating/sleeping. Could this be a possible explanation? If the sound is stuttering, I highly doubt the monitor is a problem. Generally the speakers on monitors are purely analog and it would be impossible for the monitor to cause a stutter...
by mackstann
Thu Sep 06, 2012 12:54 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Where to go for computer problems?
Replies: 33
Views: 3409

Re: Where to go for computer problems?

Touch every heatsink you see in the computer after it's been running for a while. If any of them are nearly too hot to touch, then it might be a cooling problem. Otherwise, it's probably not. Try Memtest86 to check if your memory is bad. If those check out, see if you can steal a power supply from another computer temporarily and plug it into yours (there are several connectors, make sure you write them down or draw a diagram or something). If that fixes it, then the power supply is bad. If you can find a spare video card to try, or if your motherboard has onboard video you could temporarily use, try that. That should determine whether your current video card is the problem. (Completely unplug/remove the current video card when testing this...
by mackstann
Thu Sep 06, 2012 11:45 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Questions About Value Tilting & Real World Results
Replies: 93
Views: 10227

Re: Questions About Value Tilting & Real World Results

The data and theory on small & value premiums (and arguments for extra REIT, etc.) can be quite convincing, but at the end of the day, the skepticism expressed by Bogle and others tends to win me over. I even created a quite detailed plan for a slice & dice portfolio, but when push came to shove, I didn't feel good about it. I won't be surprised if the tilters do a bit better than me, but at least by choosing the "boring default" (3/4 fund) I won't be worrying and questioning myself along the entire journey.
by mackstann
Wed Sep 05, 2012 4:55 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Dollar Cost Averaging Question
Replies: 9
Views: 1394

Re: Dollar Cost Averaging Question

It rarely makes much significant difference. Don't waste too much time or too many brain cells on it. Just come up with a simple plan that you're comfortable with and do it. If you really want to get nerdy about it, read the wiki http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Dollar_cost_averaging and/or this recent thread: http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtop ... 101965&f=1 .
by mackstann
Mon Sep 03, 2012 4:11 pm
Forum: Forum Issues and Administration
Topic: hijacker (PWM) - READ THIS
Replies: 130
Views: 15815

Re: hijacker (PWM) - READ THIS

wjwhitney wrote:
Alex Frakt wrote: That's exactly right. Unfortunately it looks like the only long term solution is going to be to force people to change to long or complex passwords.
Nothing wrong with that. A lot of sites do that. Seems like a common requirement is: minimum 8 characters, minimum one small letter, minimum one capital letter, minimum one number.
Another trick that some sites are doing is to take the list of the top 100 (or 200 or whatever) most common passwords, and disallow them from being used.
by mackstann
Sat Sep 01, 2012 1:19 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Amazon Prime
Replies: 66
Views: 9825

Re: But don't you feel a little guilty?

happytrades wrote: One of the reasons that Amazon has been so successful is that it competes unfairly with your local merchant because Amazon pays no sales taxes. In short, that has been its business model.
It has benefited from that, no doubt. But to say that is its business model is overstating it by far. I live in Oregon where we have no sales tax at all, and Amazon is still incredibly competitive, convenient, and informative (reviews!) compared to brick and mortar stores and also most other internet retailers. I pretty much shop from them by default, unless I have some good reason not to, and sales tax isn't a factor whatsoever.
by mackstann
Fri Aug 31, 2012 12:52 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Amazon Prime
Replies: 66
Views: 9825

Re: Amazon Prime

My wife and I bought Kindle Fires. She got sucked in by the one-month trial of Amazon Prime, mostly because of the free loans from the Kindle Owners' Lending Library, and signed up because $80 a year doesn't seem like much. I declined, even though it seems like decent value for the money, because I'm allergic to any kind of automatic monthly or even annual expense--I believe it's not the splurges and big-ticket items that bust your budget, it's the slow bleeding to death from $29.95 a month here and $19.95 a month there. Plus I've always found Amazon's free Super Saver shipping to be fast enough. The funny thing is that I can't bring myself to pay to borrow items from the Kindle Owners' Lending Library... even though I would probably spend...
by mackstann
Thu Aug 30, 2012 2:43 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: VG Total Bond Mkt Index vs. VG Inter-Term Bond Index
Replies: 23
Views: 2695

Re: VG Total Bond Mkt Index vs. VG Inter-Term Bond Index

Probably Total Bond Market, as its duration is shorter.
by mackstann
Wed Aug 29, 2012 5:37 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Does Vanguard Total Bond Market Index hold TIPS?
Replies: 8
Views: 1815

Re: Does Vanguard Total Bond Market Index hold TIPS?

As far as I know, no. The index it follows (BarCap Aggregate Bond Index) was created before TIPS existed and it never added them. This is why TIPS funds are a common addition to Boglehead portfolios.
by mackstann
Wed Aug 29, 2012 12:53 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Please advise on leaving Edward Jones to Vanguard
Replies: 37
Views: 10223

Re: Please advise on leaving Edward Jones to Vanguard

Khanmots wrote:Also, don't be too surprised if EJ has fees associated with closing your account(s). I found it rather eye opening when I left Ameriprise; they made sure they were going to get one last grab of my money before I departed.
I'm not defending EJ or Ameriprise (trust me, I would never do that), but many/most companies do this, including Fidelity and Schwab. Vanguard is one of the few who don't, but ironically, why would you want to leave Vanguard? :D
by mackstann
Mon Aug 27, 2012 7:08 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: I need a new browser
Replies: 53
Views: 5120

Re: I need a new browser

I don't think you can expect much from a 12.5 year old OS...
by mackstann
Mon Aug 27, 2012 3:50 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Home is a Consumption Item, Not an Investment
Replies: 111
Views: 14431

Re: Home is a Consumption Item, Not an Investment

A home is a bad investment compared to stocks and bonds. Sure. But it's not like most people are faced with the choice of "buy a home, or live homeless and buy stocks". Most people compare buying to renting. And for many people, that comparison comes out as being very favorable towards buying. If so, then the home can be seen as an investment whose "return" will be the savings vs. renting over time.

Of course, for some people, buying will not be cheaper then renting over the long term, and in that case there's no arguing that the house is a consumption item.
by mackstann
Mon Aug 27, 2012 2:55 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Vanguard 500 [is it a good time to invest?]
Replies: 31
Views: 4547

Re: Vanguard 500 [is it a good time to invest?]

No one knows the good/bad times to invest ahead of time. So yeah, it's always a good time.

Are you investing solely in Vanguard 500? You may want to add small cap stocks, international stocks, and bonds -- read up on the wiki. A target retirement fund is a simple and excellent way to get started.
by mackstann
Thu Aug 23, 2012 10:27 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Short Term Bonds or CDs?
Replies: 20
Views: 3344

Re: Short Term Bonds or CDs?

I think it's a matter of personal taste and the difference is so small that it makes it hard to really give any recommendation.

Short-term bonds will give you a small return with a small amount of risk.

CDs have basically no risk and could return a little more or a little less (I think typically it would be a little less).

If unsure, why not put some in each?
by mackstann
Wed Aug 22, 2012 6:31 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: disability insurance
Replies: 43
Views: 6133

Re: disability insurance

Here's a basic intro: http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Disability_insurance

There are some specifics that come into play for medical professions. The forum user BruDude is very knowledgeable about DI and you might want to sift through his old posts: https://www.google.com/search?sitesearc ... &q=brudude . He'll probably drop by this thread at some point.
by mackstann
Wed Aug 22, 2012 5:04 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Why did Steve Jobs die so poor?
Replies: 9
Views: 2440

Re: Why did Steve Jobs die so poor?

He always stated quite openly that monetary gain was not a goal of his.

A recent example, not straight from Steve Jobs, but about Apple's philosophy in general: http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall ... no-really/
by mackstann
Wed Aug 22, 2012 3:11 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Deleted
Replies: 6
Views: 1034

Re: Where do I find model portfolio return data?

I'd like to know an easy way to do this too.

I've tried Google Finance. It's finicky and doesn't reinvest dividends, so the portfolio accumulates a growing cash position over time.
by mackstann
Tue Aug 21, 2012 2:06 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Index or active? It's your portfolio return that matters.
Replies: 21
Views: 3365

Re: Index or active? It's your portfolio return that matters

I wonder how the results would have looked if the active funds had been screened to remove the obvious poor ones? For example, only choose funds that have an expense ratio less than 0.5% (or 1%) and perhaps a turnover rate of less than 50% (or 75%). I did both of those studies in The Power of Passive Investing . The portfolio probabilities favoring all index funds were not meaningfully diferent. Rick Ferri There seems to be a contradiction here. You picked an active fund, VWIUX, and then sort of declared it an honorary index fund and use it as an example of the superiority of index funds. Now you say that picking the cheapest active funds (which, to some extent, you just did) doesn't help their case. You said that you consider VWIUX to be ...
by mackstann
Fri Aug 17, 2012 6:06 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Experiences Moving From High to Low Cost State?
Replies: 72
Views: 21092

Re: Experiences Moving From High to Low Cost State?

My wife lived in Orange County and worked at Starbucks. She was not able to afford her own place and lived with her parents. She moved to Portland, transferred to a Starbucks there, and was able to afford her own apartment downtown. Her parents actually ended up moving to Portland too, several years later, because they could buy a house for far less money. I guess I'm just reiterating your point that real estate is very expensive in California. Portland is the sweet spot of the west coast in my opinion. It's a great place and the cost of living is lower than Seattle or California. You can even go without a car if you live close-in and save even more money that way, not to mention stay active and healthy. You just have to be okay with 9 mont...
by mackstann
Fri Aug 17, 2012 5:36 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: how do you select a refrigerator?
Replies: 47
Views: 7485

Re: how do you select a refrigerator?

texasdiver wrote:I'm not sure how the freezer on bottom is more energy efficient.
Well, my assumption was that the bottom freezer was a big sealed drawer that held its cold air when you opened it, as opposed to a traditional door freezer where all the cold air falls out when you open it. Upon further browsing of a Google image search, I've realized that I was mistaken. Most of them seem to have open wire baskets of some kind.
by mackstann
Fri Aug 17, 2012 3:35 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: how do you select a refrigerator?
Replies: 47
Views: 7485

Re: how do you select a refrigerator?

I have yet to buy a fridge, but from what I've read, there are two big points:

1. French-door, freezer-on-bottom models save energy and are more convenient to use, because the refrigerator level (which you use the most) is at eye level.
2. Avoid in-door ice/water, because they're not very reliable and tend to break.
by mackstann
Fri Aug 17, 2012 2:27 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Portfolios for specific intermediate-term savings goals?
Replies: 15
Views: 4703

Re: Portfolios for specific intermediate-term savings goals?

I was thinking about this the other day and attempted to come up with a simple "age in bonds"-style rule. I came up with "(years-5)*5 in stocks": 5 years = 0% stocks 6 years = 5% stocks 7 years = 10% stocks 8 years = 15% stocks 9 years = 20% stocks 10 years = 25% stocks 15 years = 50% stocks 20 years = 75% stocks 25 years = 100% stocks A lot of people don't ever want 100% stocks, or even 90% or 95%, so just cap it at whatever percentage you prefer. edit: Also, I'm assuming the rest of the portfolio would be something like Total Bond Market. However, as your time horizon begins to become shorter than the duration of that fund (5 years), it would make sense to shift to short-term bonds, and finally cash, so that the durati...
by mackstann
Thu Aug 16, 2012 5:55 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Selling Used Books
Replies: 41
Views: 6141

Re: Selling Used Books

Powells.com is another option. They will just buy the books from you. This means that 1) they are picky, and 2) you don't get much. But for the books they will take, it's pain-free. Amazon provides the same service. Between the two of them, I got rid of more than half of the books I was trying to get rid of.
by mackstann
Thu Aug 16, 2012 1:18 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Will the real Total Bond Index Fund please stand up?
Replies: 30
Views: 6444

Re: Will the real Total Bond Index Fund please stand up?

Well, those "bucket" stats aren't enough to make the distinction. They're not specific enough. The average duration is 5.1 years and as far as I know, that is what matters.

Although you could certainly call it a "towards the short end of intermediate" bond fund.

Vanguard's intermediate fund has an average duration of 6.4 years, and it tends to be slightly riskier than TBM.
by mackstann
Wed Aug 15, 2012 9:03 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 100% Equities until 10 years prior to retirement....
Replies: 57
Views: 12043

Re: 100% Equities until 10 years prior to retirement....

And what do you do after 10 years prior to retirement?