Search found 93 matches

by Tozmo
Sat Jul 27, 2019 10:19 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: HEDGEFUNDIE's excellent adventure [risk parity strategy using 3x leveraged ETFs]
Replies: 3353
Views: 883608

Re: HEDGEFUNDIE's excellent adventure [risk parity strategy using 3x leveraged ETFs]

Are UPRO and TMF available in a Schwab PCRA? I've held off going the PCRA route because I have Vanguard funds in the 403/401. I don't really want to sign up for it and pay the extra fee(s) if they aren't there. Or any other legit 3x ETF.
by Tozmo
Sat Nov 24, 2018 8:38 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Car advice - new attending - what to buy?
Replies: 37
Views: 4742

Re: Car advice - new attending - what to buy?

Kia actually has better general reliability lately than Honda. People always discount Kia as a poor person's car, but the Stinger and Optima should have people checking their biases at the door.

I'm intrigued by Stinger, but only drive 20 mins to work. Therefore I'm hesitant to pursue it
by Tozmo
Wed Aug 31, 2016 8:12 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Which physician job offer would you go for and why?
Replies: 39
Views: 7017

Re: Which physician job offer would you go for and why?

How bad is nephrology call for job a though? If it is a non academic center, nephrology call has to be rather uncommon. It's not like he is a q3d surgical call
by Tozmo
Wed Aug 31, 2016 8:04 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What pre-paid cell phone or plan?
Replies: 31
Views: 4563

Re: What pre-paid cell phone or plan?

My wife has simple mobile, which is an mvno of T-Mobile. We pay $30 or so for everything she would need. Comparable on Verizon would be double the cost. Not sure how it would compare to T-Mobile directly
by Tozmo
Tue Apr 26, 2016 9:53 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Physician Specialists Looking for career advice
Replies: 42
Views: 10884

Re: Physician Specialists Looking for career advice

IndexBeliever wrote:
Loon11 wrote:get a position in a VA Medical Center. the specialists don't do primary care. You will have a pension and benefits and can contribute to the TSP, best 401K in the country.
Do you work for the VAMC? Any VA employees out there can comment? My limited observation has been significantly less compensation, but most work 8-5 (40 hrs a week) with limited call and excellent quality of life.
A friend left lucrative private group EM (8 months before TeamHealth bought them) for VA. Her stress level is significantly less. Money is less too, but she picks and chooses her hours, is much happier, and gets the TSP
by Tozmo
Tue Apr 26, 2016 1:47 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 1099 non-employee compensation question
Replies: 8
Views: 1587

Re: 1099 non-employee compensation question

Sorry to dig up a thread, but I have a similar question that I am confused about.
I have a W-2 employer/employee relationship
A national group has agreed to pay my expenses to lecture at a meeting. Their travel group arranges the flight. I pay for hotel and get reimbursed, and then I get a 2-day per diem for incidentals (meals, taxi, etc) that come as a 1099-MISC.
I have never had any self-employed/personal-business related income/debt. If I don't make a profit off of this, and I claim that I am in the "lecturing" business aside from my employed position (where I am not a lecturer), can I then deduct/claim purchases related to preparation for my lecture? Is clothing that can be used elsewhere (ie new suit) eligible?
by Tozmo
Sat Apr 23, 2016 2:01 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Physician Specialists Looking for career advice
Replies: 42
Views: 10884

Re: Physician Specialists Looking for career advice

I work for a hospital group. We do make less than private groups typically do. However, we don't have to deal with: The outside threat of a contract management group negotiating with the hospital/health system to replace us or buy us out The business men (mentioned above as surprisingly being bad at running a business which usually is true) squeezing us for less pay. In my health system, they want to retain physicians, so they keep pay for each service line comparable to state/area same-specialty reimbursement. If they threatened to cut pay, they would lose people. Having the deep coffers of a system to back up salaries is helpful. Partner disagreements regarding schedule and call because of seniority or other weird factors Quarterly meetin...
by Tozmo
Tue Dec 29, 2015 3:21 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Residual Dividend in tIRA after Conversion to Backdoor Roth
Replies: 2
Views: 497

Residual Dividend in tIRA after Conversion to Backdoor Roth

I went through the hoops and hurdles yesterday of "upgrading" my Vanguard Roth to the new platform, and then converted my year's traditional IRA (5500) to Roth. Of all days, yesterday was a dividend day and now $0.23 remains in tIRA. What do I do with this? Convert that over now? Wait for next year and pay the prorata on 0.23? This is my first year doing the backdoor.
by Tozmo
Sun Jun 07, 2015 8:14 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: EM Resident Long Term Disability, lost in the weeds
Replies: 7
Views: 1821

Re: EM Resident Long Term Disability, lost in the weeds

jbmitt wrote:To piggyback on your topic, my partner is finishing her ob/gyn residency this month and had DI through her new group. Is there wisdom in also having an individual policy? As I understand, if it is purchased in residency she is eligible for a better rate through her program and that she would get a (presumably better) unisex classification.

I'm not in medicine so this is new to me. I have read up on the white coat investor.
It is a tax thing as mentioned above, but the group policy may not be as bullet proof or tailored as an individual policy can be.
IMO, and probably the majority's, physicians should have an individual policy in addition to whatever their group offers. My group offers a generic LTD that isn't too robust
by Tozmo
Sun Jun 07, 2015 8:12 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: EM Resident Long Term Disability, lost in the weeds
Replies: 7
Views: 1821

Re: EM Resident Long Term Disability, lost in the weeds

Hold on, you're starting your residency?
You can't get "own occupation" because you're a resident. You need to have an employer contract with a projected salary and defined specialty.
So future increase rider may not be of use because you will likely need a new policy once you have a contract stating you will be an emergency physician.
by Tozmo
Sun May 03, 2015 12:03 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: non-governmental 457b vs. taxable account
Replies: 16
Views: 2991

Re: non-governmental 457b vs. taxable account

I don't use my 457. My thing is that if I change jobs, I end up with all of the money handed to me unless I go somewhere that also has a 457 and accepts roll overs. Depending on your salary, that could bump you up a bracket or two for that year
by Tozmo
Mon Nov 10, 2014 10:15 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: SmartyPig Adventure
Replies: 4
Views: 763

Re: SmartyPig Adventure

Phika wrote:For Christmas shopping, both the Chase freedom and discover it cards are giving 5% back through the end of December.
Ok, so there is that. But starting January?
The Amazon reward card earns 3%. The principle would be sitting in my BoA account earning nothing (I don't have any other high interest accounts)
SP will give me 3% toward Amazon, the principle would have been earning 1% in addition (menial amount, but something).
by Tozmo
Mon Nov 10, 2014 9:48 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: SmartyPig Adventure
Replies: 4
Views: 763

SmartyPig Adventure

I have had a SmartyPig account for years. For the most part it has been neglected. I know that most here don't use SP due to its difficulty with liquidity, but there are a few of us. I searched through the archives, and it doesn't seem like many of us SP people post about using it. Since they have removed all fees (and PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong) regarding withdrawals, I am going to attempt some of the following: Place $500 in two deposits this month, and then withdraw through an Amazon gift card to get an extra 3%. This will be for Christmas shopping. On average I spend $350 a month through Amazon. Next, I will create 12 goals of $350 and label them with "Amazon[month]", and fund them all at once. Each month I just close that...
by Tozmo
Mon Nov 03, 2014 9:29 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: How to Pump Up a Roth IRA
Replies: 21
Views: 4171

Re: How to Pump Up a Roth IRA

Ok, sorry. I am doing Roth 403.
I now see the discrepancy in terms between after tax and Roth as related to this subject
by Tozmo
Sun Nov 02, 2014 8:48 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: How to Pump Up a Roth IRA
Replies: 21
Views: 4171

Re: How to Pump Up a Roth IRA

livesoft wrote:Folks need to know that the earnings and gains from after-tax contributions to a traditional 401(k) do not get to be rolled over tax-free to a Roth IRA. Only the contributions get to go to the Roth IRA tax-free. To me this means that one should only make after-tax contributions to a traditional 401(k) if they can get the after-tax money into a Roth IRA reasonably quickly before those contributions have a chance to have many taxable gains.
I was unaware of this, google and the IRS site didn't talk about this really. I'm contributing to after tax 403 ("Roth 403") for this year, but will switch out now if this is the case since I do not think my provider (Transamerica) will let me cash out to a Roth unless I leave the company.
by Tozmo
Tue Oct 21, 2014 7:58 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Overpaying student loan
Replies: 31
Views: 6647

Re: Overpaying student loan

My loan servicer does the interest rate then principal thing too.

I called because I was irked, but that's just the way my group does it. So is life
by Tozmo
Tue Oct 21, 2014 7:39 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Can a homemaker use a Roth & i401k?
Replies: 14
Views: 2282

Re: Can a homemaker use a Roth & i401k?

new2bogle2 wrote:
Toons wrote:"A non-working spouse can open a Roth IRA based on the working-spouse’s earnings (and the couple’s tax filing status)" :happy

http://www.rothira.com/roth-ira-rules
Great, thanks.

What about the i401k contributions for my spouse who doesn't earn income and doesn't work outside the home.
If she earns money, then yes. But she would likely need to get an EIN through the IRS. I looked into this for my wife who I was going to have knit some things and sell them, but if you search around here, the majority will say that it's too fishy and could get you in trouble.
My main goal was just to have her tIRA flipped into the solo 401k so that we could do a backdoor without pro-rata issues
by Tozmo
Sat Sep 20, 2014 9:40 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Term Care 80 Northwestern Mutual - What to do for Life Ins.
Replies: 15
Views: 3224

Re: Term Care 80 Northwestern Mutual - What to do for Life I

james81 wrote:Do you know about how artificially low the rates the term4sale?
My quote was the same that I ended up paying. You just have to know which health class you are likely to end up in, in order to pay what t erm4sale quotes.

I think what he meant by artificially low just means you may not qualify for that health class. I took the term4sale premium quote to my agent (for the product I wanted), did the physical, and ended up with the exact same price/premium as the quote.
by Tozmo
Fri Sep 19, 2014 11:24 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Term Care 80 Northwestern Mutual - What to do for Life Ins.
Replies: 15
Views: 3224

Re: Term Care 80 Northwestern Mutual - What to do for Life I

I went through the same thing as far as looking at the term 80. The premium escalated after year 15 because they ideally want you to covert it to a whole life policy. Just go with banner, sbli, or ohio. Whoever hits the lowest rates on term4sale for your demographic. As far as customer service: for term life you don't need it. If you are having conversations with the company about a term policy after you have bought it, then you need redirection. Edit: also be aware that nwm agents may do cost comparisons against competitors. These often are not apple / apple because they will screw with the health classes to make their policy look competitive on price premium. They will show you premium for nwm "excellent health" with another com...
by Tozmo
Sat Sep 13, 2014 7:31 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: MD/MBA Investing Opportunities
Replies: 23
Views: 3749

Re: MD/MBA Investing Opportunities

In my experience, a physician who is in upper management has years of experience, and the md/mba's who are in "desire able" positions also are not fresh out of school. Particularly the private equity guys. The benefit if having 5-10 years of clinical experience in the eyes off one management md/MBA I know is that hospital politics and hospital admin from the bottom up approach; the experience helps with ground level government regulations, etc.
by Tozmo
Sat Sep 06, 2014 6:35 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: summary of two new papers on low volatility
Replies: 15
Views: 1896

Re: summary of two new papers on low volatility

larryswedroe wrote:nedsaid
volatility is ALWAYS RELATIVE, so ranking stocks either by quartile or quintile
To me the data pretty clear, the low to mid vol stocks all have similar returns but the high volatility stocks have awful returns (again the lottery effect at work IMO) so just avoid those--the market simply isn't as efficient as people believe in these small corners of the market as costs and aversion to shorting and margin allow "mispricings" to persist
Larry
But how to parlay this avoidance for an individual set up with a lazy portfolio?
Or someone without a lazy portfolio?
The way I take it, as a run of the mill investor, is to just avoid cyclical sectors or speculative sectors (water etf, tech, etc)
by Tozmo
Fri Sep 05, 2014 8:17 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Peter Lynch was wrong
Replies: 64
Views: 11262

Re: Peter Lynch was wrong

So how did he do it? I read his books (back when I used to dabble in individual stocks more than a decade ago) and I remember a story where he said he knew a retailer would do well because he brought his daughter to the mall and saw how well she and all her friends all responded to a particular store. Really? Can this type of limited-observation really be the source of his success? That was the story of Nike. But, he isn't always wrong. Look at anyone who liked BW3, hot topic, etc. The "now" thing that the teens and young adults are into typically lead to profits and that leads to company success. AAPL. GOOG. Lulu Lemon. He picked up on hot trends and it worked out. He also picked up on negative consumer sentiment, for example he...
by Tozmo
Fri Sep 05, 2014 8:49 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 1.99% Unsecured "AnythingLoan" READ UPDATE 9-10-14
Replies: 58
Views: 105638

Re: 1.99% Unsecured "AnythingLoan"

What does this do to ones credit score if one or serial loans (one after another) are taken out?
by Tozmo
Thu Sep 04, 2014 6:28 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 1.99% Unsecured "AnythingLoan" READ UPDATE 9-10-14
Replies: 58
Views: 105638

Re: 1.99% Unsecured "AnythingLoan"

Meg, would you mind stating how much (or a range) of how much loan you guys took out without having any collateral?
by Tozmo
Thu Sep 04, 2014 6:27 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 1.99% Unsecured "AnythingLoan" READ UPDATE 9-10-14
Replies: 58
Views: 105638

Re: 1.99% Unsecured "AnythingLoan"

Playing around with this, it only gives the 1.99 if you choose the new auto loan.

Would be interested if we get more validation that once the money is issued it could be used loosely
by Tozmo
Tue Sep 02, 2014 11:25 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Malpractice lawsuit from residency?
Replies: 16
Views: 3977

Re: Malpractice lawsuit from residency?

Every med ed department will know what to do. He should not discuss the case with anyone except med ed. They will advise him what to do next (such as contacting state boards, lawyers,etc) after they discuss with legal
by Tozmo
Mon Sep 01, 2014 8:10 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Portfolio advice requested [in medical training]
Replies: 12
Views: 1219

Re: Portfolio advice requested [in medical training]

I misread that he doesn't get a choice. The following belief/opinion doesn't relate to him as much But as far as compounding in the 401 vs a roth: most residents don't have cash reserves because it is their first job. They have the debt burden with compounding interest. Since they don't have cash reserve and are making ~$40k, a car repair or other rainy day event can likely create another debt: credit card debt. Many in my program had 5-10 in cc debt. In my experience residnents can address 1 of the following, sometimes 2, rarely 3 unless they had a spouse and the spouse worked. 1 cc debt 2 loan debt 3 company 403/401 4 roth I didn't put emergency fund on the list. If they have cc debt, then I don't think they should be putting anything int...
by Tozmo
Sun Aug 31, 2014 7:18 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Portfolio advice requested [in medical training]
Replies: 12
Views: 1219

Re: Portfolio advice requested [in medical training]

Thank you for your assistance retiredjg and Tozmo! Tozmo, Paying off at least the accrued interest is something I've been meaning to do but with the wedding, I've been unable to do so. I can't wait to be an attending and start knocking this debt out. If you remember, please let me know if you find a good consolidation rate when you start looking into it. Emergdoc might disagree, but I don't recommend residents contributing to company plans. I think all residents should pay off accrued interest on their loans each month (or as much as possible), and if money is left over at the end of the year, put something into a Roth. The people who can afford to do 401, accrued interest, and Roth are in great shape. Realistically residents can only do o...
by Tozmo
Sun Aug 31, 2014 7:11 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 457 options...none too good?
Replies: 5
Views: 860

Re: 457 options...none too good?

Edited. Sorry, I confused Transamerica with First Investors. My wife has First Investors, we aren't fans
by Tozmo
Sun Aug 31, 2014 4:06 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Portfolio advice requested [in medical training]
Replies: 12
Views: 1219

Re: Portfolio advice requested [in medical training]

This may not be a direct answer to your question, but what I did: Had my emergency stash Then I did his/her Roth's I did not contribute to company 403 for personal reasons: 1. Our emergency fund wasn't totally liquid, but was available if we experienced problems, so we had very low bank / checking funds. 2. We had kids and never knew if we were going to have a rainy day with our very low bank / checking funds Paid off the accrued monthly interest while in deferment. Now that I'm an attending, I'm happy with my choice. I know I gave up the "free money" of the 403 match, but am glad we did the Roth with the low tax bracket and didn't build up worse debt. I have not refinanced with a private firm, I am waiting about 6 more months unt...
by Tozmo
Fri Aug 29, 2014 10:12 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Pay more for term you can convert? Prudential vs. Banner
Replies: 4
Views: 1059

Re: Pay more for term you can convert? Prudential vs. Banner

If you are questioning 1.5 vs 2, go for the two.

When I was going through purchasing a product, I had the NWL guy saying that having more options such as conversion was worth the higher premium. I think it was emergdoc who mentioned "if you don't need permanent now, are you really going to need it in 10 years?" (or whenever the allowed time to convert is)

I ended up with sbli. $300 a year less than NWL. Now if it is $50 a year difference, not sure that is significant for such little amount. I would defer to brudude's post, just figure out after which periods are conversions allowed if it ever came to that
by Tozmo
Sat Aug 23, 2014 7:19 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Quote from a mover: Please comment
Replies: 46
Views: 5747

Re: Quote from a mover: Please comment

I have used this site for two multi-state moves:
http://www.movingscam.com/

They have reviews there.
Also look at the BBB reviews to see their ratings / claims
by Tozmo
Fri Aug 15, 2014 7:15 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Bogleheads 2014 Hedge fund contest
Replies: 160
Views: 26536

Re: Bogleheads 2014 Hedge fund contest

Just resurrecting this. Denovo's HPQ shares show up as $0, but are trading at 35.07 in real life.
by Tozmo
Fri Aug 15, 2014 7:10 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Who sells fresh coffee that is not as strong as Starbucks?
Replies: 50
Views: 4789

Re: Who sells fresh coffee that is not as strong as Starbuck

Tim Horton's in the northern states.
McDonald's coffee isn't bad. In the mid-2000's their leadership stated that Starbucks was their biggest competitor, not BK or Wendy's or Subway or other food stores. That is when McCafe showed up
by Tozmo
Fri Aug 15, 2014 7:06 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Where do you buy clothes?
Replies: 105
Views: 17576

Re: Where do you buy clothes?

Jos A Bank for reliable non-iron shirts. Brooks Brothers outlet for most dress clothes; Sierra Trading Post for tougher things. Columbia outlet if need be.
by Tozmo
Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:30 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Meb Faber's New Global Tactical ETF "GTAA"
Replies: 20
Views: 6343

Re: Meb Faber's New Global Tactical ETF "GTAA"

Here is another global market idea
https://www.folioinvesting.com/rtg/foli ... bal+Market

I would like to learn how to diy and add additional money in the way of lowest cost
by Tozmo
Sat Aug 09, 2014 1:10 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Best websites to buy quality meat for grilling?
Replies: 22
Views: 17414

Re: Best websites to buy quality meat for grilling?

http://www.exoticmeatsandmore.com/

The one time I bought from them, they threw in some random stuff for free.
by Tozmo
Thu Aug 07, 2014 9:24 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Changing Asset Allocation in a bear market
Replies: 28
Views: 4314

Re: Changing Asset Allocation in a bear market

arcticpineapplecorp. wrote:I find comfort in the chart below:

http://www.grunden.com/assets/files/New ... Normal.pdf

The negative years always seem to be followed by positive years. It's almost as if "what goes down, will come back up"

Patience is rewarded
As an investor who is just starting to throw down real money into a 403 and other vehicles, thank you for that.
Reaffirms my choice to keep my 80/20 in my 403, and not to switch to 99% bonds as I watch this week's drop. My dry powder is my earned income being allocated into my retirement portfolio. My dry powder is not going to bonds and market timing my AA to try to get cheap(er) equities
Stay the course, after all.
by Tozmo
Wed Aug 06, 2014 9:47 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Should i Buy a new car
Replies: 87
Views: 8359

Re: Should i Buy a new car

john94549 wrote:PS: She thinks I look like a really old guy driving around in a really old car. I responded as one might expect.
After your response, did you pick up your pillow and head to the couch or the basement?
by Tozmo
Wed Aug 06, 2014 9:06 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: New Investor... Where to put my money.
Replies: 10
Views: 1510

Re: New Investor... Where to put my money.

You would want to build up enough cash reserve in the Vanguard account until you have the minimum amount to buy into a fund.
A) reduce your debt
B) build up your emergency fund
C) Allocate enough money to max your 401, and then a Roth
D) worry about a taxable brokerage account once you have read some more and understand in's and out's at a basic or moderate level. You don't need to have CPA or CFP level knowledge, just the facts
by Tozmo
Wed Aug 06, 2014 8:57 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: New Investor Taking Control of Finances
Replies: 8
Views: 1314

Re: New Investor Taking Control of Finances

I actually like Scottrade's website, I just wish they had better NTF's. I still have many things in my Scottrade account, but am trying to convert. Having gone through the whole individual stock thing while being a full time student, I would recommend beginning to tax loss harvest your portfolio. Build up some cash reserve for a rainy day, and then head over to Vanguard, Schwab, Fidelity or TD Ameritrade and start looking at their no commission Vanguard or Schwab ETF's. Just invest in total stock market or SP 500 for now until you have enough money to have a serious asset allocation
by Tozmo
Tue Aug 05, 2014 5:26 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Should i Buy a new car
Replies: 87
Views: 8359

Re: Should i Buy a new car

How long is your daily drive? I have a 5 minute drive, so I just need a point a to b vehicle. If I had 45 mins or more, I would consider the factor of comfort. A new BMW probably beats an old civic in that category. But other categories matter too.

My take, with 400k income, get a nice cpo BMW, Lexus, Acura, or Infiniti if you have a long drive
by Tozmo
Mon Aug 04, 2014 10:24 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Advice for investing $2922/6mo in subsidized student loans?
Replies: 10
Views: 1045

Re: Advice for investing $2922/6mo in subsidized student loa

Carter3 wrote:send it back to the Loan servicer
Ditto. Don't gamble it away. It is the only way I have less than average outstanding student loans.
Take out as little as you need, learn to live on generic pb&j, and then pay the difference back at the end of the semester. Keep a bit for emergencies.
by Tozmo
Mon Aug 04, 2014 7:46 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: I Strayed From The Path...Forgive Me.
Replies: 34
Views: 7739

Re: I Strayed From The Path...Forgive Me.

How many purists are there, really?
As long as one understands the deal with individual stocks, then live and let die.
At least loyal3 doesn't have commissions. He'll, I might open up an account there and plunk down some money in a blue chip for fun
by Tozmo
Sat Aug 02, 2014 7:03 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: planning to travel a lot soon...how to build up points?
Replies: 14
Views: 4955

Re: planning to travel a lot soon...how to build up points?

I'm not sure if the points guy has sold out, but I feel his writing isn't the same as years ago. Anyway, I still enjoy his break downs, and ended up getting the Barclay arrival plus because of its rewards against all travel items, not just airlines or hotels.
Hotel cards are more advantageous than airline, some offer free nights annually to card holders
by Tozmo
Fri Aug 01, 2014 4:31 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Cheap Carnival Cruises
Replies: 21
Views: 4493

Re: Cheap Carnival Cruises

We went on a Carnival Cruise last year, one week. It was fine. We had realistic expectations going in. Don't expect gourmet food. Expect a clean ship, relaxed atmosphere, not a ton of upselling. The only true drawback is there were hardly any food options late at night. It seems it was pizza, or nothing, if I recall correctly. We went in 2011 on the western Caribbean route, and agree with the above. The midnight buffet was lesser than royal Caribbean. Burgers, pizza, ice cream I think. Not amazing desserts that I remember from RC. However, the coconut milk soup that they offer at dinner for one of the nights (it won an award) is great. And if you have never done a cruise before, you really can ask for everything on the menu if you absolute...
by Tozmo
Fri Aug 01, 2014 10:06 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Individual Stocks with Perks
Replies: 21
Views: 6702

Re: Individual Stocks with Perks

Google and you shall receive:
http://www.shareholderperks.org/
WSJ
As for frequently asked about Disney share holder benefits:
On a hot day at the parks you can fan yourself with the stock certificate.
And you own a little bit of John Carter too!
(stolen from link)
by Tozmo
Thu Jul 31, 2014 6:47 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Public Speaking-help
Replies: 79
Views: 9772

Re: Public Speaking-help

I always walk onto the stage or in front of the screen with the assumption that I know more than the audience, therefore they should be delighted to listen to me.

In my mind I just live with the speaking assumption "someone put me up here for a reason, obviously I'm the expert in the room on this situation. Everyone else will have to respect that"
by Tozmo
Thu Jul 31, 2014 6:57 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The Boglehead-prisoner’s dilemma.
Replies: 33
Views: 7086

Re: The Boglehead-prisoner’s dilemma.

Welcome to the forum!

For a better understanding of the defense contractor's options, please post in the format seen here
http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtop ... f=1&t=6212

How would he assess his risk tolerance compared to the rogue agent's?
by Tozmo
Wed Jul 30, 2014 10:24 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 401k Advice
Replies: 12
Views: 1548

Re: 401k Advice

Ugh.
Definitely start utilizing a Roth IRA to makeup for a lot of these deficiencies.
Do you have any previous 401/403's that you can keep out of this plan?
Otherwise, this is garish. If you want full allocation only using what you have available, I would almost say that the allocated funds are the way to go. Otherwise maybe the BlackRock index (what does the prospectus say about that) since that has the lowest ER of all, and the lower ER bond fund in small doses. Then really pump up your Roth to get international and better bond coverage.
Is that "WREI" supposed to be a REIT?