Search found 100 matches

by robby152
Wed Jan 04, 2017 7:26 am
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: Master Thread for RTP, North Carolina Bogleheads Chapter
Replies: 71
Views: 51342

Re: Master Thread for RTP, North Carolina Bogleheads Chapter

I just found this thread and am a semi-recent transplant as well. Will be following this thread for updates
by robby152
Thu Sep 22, 2016 8:24 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Rising dividends over time when reinvesting capital gains?
Replies: 11
Views: 1825

Re: Rising dividends over time when reinvesting capital gains?

I just found the following thread, which I found helpful: https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=182446 Specifically, posts 11 and 12: A lot depends on your investment time frame. If you are talking about a longer term investment, Wellesley should outperform a Certificate of Deposit but with higher volatility. You may also want to consider the effects of inflation. Here is the Vanguard fund profile for Vanguard Wellesley Income Admiral Shares. https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/ ... =INT#tab=4 If you add the four most recent dividends and divide by the current NAV of $58.26, the result is a distribution yield of 3.24% relative to the current price. Note that you can reinvest any capital gains and increase your share balance ov...
by robby152
Thu Sep 22, 2016 7:41 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Rising dividends over time when reinvesting capital gains?
Replies: 11
Views: 1825

Re: Rising dividends over time when reinvesting capital gains?

I would expect stock dividends to rise over time, because stock prices tend to rise, and dividend yields remain fairly constant. But, is the underlying mechanism behind this trend that companies are increasing the declared dividend per share as their respective stock prices rise? In other words, I understand dividend yield to the the proverbial cart and not the horse, meaning that it is a helpful metric to understand, but that it isn't a driver of what the declared dividend is for each individual company. I understood declared dividends to be a function of their dividend policy * profit (aka 'We at company X will issue dividends of 40% of our profits each year). Bond dividends will change with interest rates, but they have no inherent tend...
by robby152
Wed Sep 21, 2016 5:28 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Rising dividends over time when reinvesting capital gains?
Replies: 11
Views: 1825

Re: Rising dividends over time when reinvesting capital gains?

The practical goal here is to see if her payments will slowly increase over time or if they will remain relatively static. There is no way to know for certain. It would involve forecasting not only the ability of companies to pay a dividend, but also their election to do so. My opinion is that dividends will decrease either because fewer companies will elect to pay dividends or because companies will elect to pay smaller dividends. Fair point, but I am just trying to understand the underlying mechanisms or levers that would contribute to a rising dividend. It looks like you are speaking to the second scenario I mentioned above (i.e. increased company profitability) and that you are qualifying it by addressing both ability and preference to...
by robby152
Wed Sep 21, 2016 5:21 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Rising dividends over time when reinvesting capital gains?
Replies: 11
Views: 1825

Re: Rising dividends over time when reinvesting capital gains?

Distributions are paid per share. One can look up the historical distributions for her funds on the Vanguard.com web site. If she reinvests the capital gains distributions, then that will increase the number shares she will own. Thanks So if you look at the vanguard.com web site, have the annual dividend amounts increased, decreased, or stayed about the same? While it has fluctuated over the past 2 years, it appears to have returned more or less to the same place it was 2 years ago: -Type- -Most Recent Distribution- -Record Date- -Reinvest Date- -Payable Date- -Reinvest Price- -Distribution Yield- -SEC Yield- Dividend $0.43900 09/15/2016 09/16/2016 09/19/2016 $62.74 — 2.50% B Dividend $0.46500 06/15/2016 06/16/2016 06/17/2016 $62.25 — — Di...
by robby152
Wed Sep 21, 2016 3:37 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Rising dividends over time when reinvesting capital gains?
Replies: 11
Views: 1825

Rising dividends over time when reinvesting capital gains?

This feels like a 'duh' question, but I would rather find the right answer instead of acting like I know and being wrong. I am managing the investments for my recently widowed mom and have put her in 70% Wellesley and 30% Vanguard LifeStrategy Moderate Growth. She has a desire to leave an inheritance to grand kids, so we have talked about limiting distributions to only dividends/interest. Yes, I know money is fungible and that selling some shares to arrive at a nice 3% or 4% SWR is still sustainable so 'why limit distributions to only dividends?'. However, for the sake of argument and due to psychological benefits to my mom of 'never selling any shares', my question is whether the dividends from this portfolio will slowly rise over time if ...
by robby152
Mon Apr 07, 2014 12:06 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Where should I put my money? index funds, house, rentals
Replies: 4
Views: 1173

Re: Where should I put my money? index funds, house, rentals

If I found a rental with monthly scheduled rents at 3% of purchase price, I would jump on it in a heartbeat.
by robby152
Wed Apr 02, 2014 9:16 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Accept Job Offer from Company that Filed for Bankruptcy?
Replies: 29
Views: 7184

Re: Accept Job Offer from Company that Filed for Bankruptcy?

OP, not trying to be snarky, but per your signature line, it looks like you invest with the Permanent Portfolio. The whole idea of the PP is to minimize fluctuations and to provide a couch potatoe/all weather strategy based on avoiding bad scenarios... Compare that mindset to this job opportunity and it seems like your investing philosphy (what to do with existing assets) is very different from your income philosophy (how to get those investable assets and not eat cat food). Does that not seem odd to you? Just because I prefer a less aggressive approach to investing doesn't mean I don't want to take risks with my career if the payoff is worth it. In my mind there are potential solutions to all the negatives I outlined. First, changing comp...
by robby152
Tue Apr 01, 2014 4:27 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Accept Job Offer from Company that Filed for Bankruptcy?
Replies: 29
Views: 7184

Re: Accept Job Offer from Company that Filed for Bankruptcy?

OP, not trying to be snarky, but per your signature line, it looks like you invest with the Permanent Portfolio. The whole idea of the PP is to minimize fluctuations and to provide a couch potatoe/all weather strategy based on avoiding bad scenarios... Compare that mindset to this job opportunity and it seems like your investing philosphy (what to do with existing assets) is very different from your income philosophy (how to get those investable assets and not eat cat food). Does that not seem odd to you?
by robby152
Wed Mar 12, 2014 2:58 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Owner income from small business
Replies: 5
Views: 717

Re: Owner income from small business

I am in a somewhat similar situation, except that I use a solo 401K, as my LLC taxed as an S corp is just a single person LLC. Vanguard has a great page comparing the three options and were great with helping set it up. According to my understanding, I can contribute up to 17K via salary deduction (W2) for the employee contribution. Then I can contribute an additional 34K as employer contributions as long as my employer contributions are 25% of my wages. So, in order to be able to contribute the full 51K (17k + 34k), I would have to pay myself 136k in salary. Any CPAs out there can please correct as needed.
by robby152
Wed Feb 26, 2014 5:01 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Can you have more than one IRA? Early retirement and SEPP
Replies: 11
Views: 1572

Re: Can you have more than one IRA? Early retirement and SEP

I haven't done this personally, but I believe I remember reading at http://www.early-retirement.org that you can establish multiple IRAs and only 72-t one of them to accomplish what you are suggesting. You might want to check out that forum for your question. I gather that many bogleheads would rather shoot for a more comfortable retirement at 65 than a bare-bones retirement at 35. Thanks Robby. As someone in my early 40's with many years to go (but hopefully many years less than the Traditional Retirement Age), I don't know about bare bones. I guess it's all relative. But I'll check out the resource--thanks again. Hey, I am trying to do the same thing myself - best of luck! When I said bare bones, I do mean that compared to what many on t...
by robby152
Wed Feb 26, 2014 11:21 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Can you have more than one IRA? Early retirement and SEPP
Replies: 11
Views: 1572

Re: Can you have more than one IRA? Early retirement and SEP

I haven't done this personally, but I believe I remember reading at www.early-retirement.org that you can establish multiple IRAs and only 72-t one of them to accomplish what you are suggesting. You might want to check out that forum for your question. I gather that many bogleheads would rather shoot for a more comfortable retirement at 65 than a bare-bones retirement at 35.
by robby152
Fri Feb 14, 2014 4:04 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: MPT, Markowitz, Efficient Frontier and Vanguard, NOT!
Replies: 66
Views: 8615

Re: MPT, Markowitz, Effective Frontier and Vanguard, NOT!

And better yet start tracking your investment decisions in real time here to provide visibility to your methods. Anyone can say they picked X stock 15 years ago and it had an 18% CAGR, but few can do that on a prediction basis.
by robby152
Tue Jan 21, 2014 8:54 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Emergency Fund for Self Employed?
Replies: 9
Views: 1671

Re: Emergency Fund for Self Employed?

I am a self-employed consultant with a pretty high risk of extended 'bench time' between engagements. During my latest project, I decided to increase the EF to 1 year of bare-bones living expenses after a stressful patch in the project. This has been a great move for me and has let me breath much easier (and has consequently allowed me to share recommendations that one could call 'tough love' with clients with much less fear of being canned, which is ultimately best for them). About half of mine is in Vanguard intermediate term tax exempt and the other half is in various other accounts (mostly FDIC insured bank accounts) to earn sign up bonuses. The sign up bonuses dwarf any interest I could earn in the same time period, even if the account...
by robby152
Fri Jan 17, 2014 8:10 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Poll: Early retirement investment vehicles
Replies: 44
Views: 4478

Re: Poll: Early retirement investment vehicles

What about rental real estate? That isn't really taxable or tax advantaged, but is somewhere in the middle usually. I know a lot of people are planning on using this as a significant source of their early retirement cash flow.
by robby152
Wed Dec 04, 2013 7:51 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: REIT Stocks - An Underutilized Portfolio Diversifier
Replies: 10
Views: 2097

Re: REIT Stocks - An Underutilized Portfolio Diversifier

It seems I have been seeing a lot lately about a Talmud allocation strategy. Curiously, though I am a 'young accumulator', I looked at my own total asset allocation (including primary residence, rentals, emergency fund, etc. but excluding possessions) according to a reserves, land and business category schema and saw that I am currently at 35% land, 40% business and 25% reserves. I thought I would be much larger in 'business' and much smaller in land and reserves. I view paying off mortgages as 'investing' in land, bonds and cash as reserves and stocks as business.
by robby152
Tue Nov 19, 2013 8:03 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Deleted
Replies: 56
Views: 5469

Re: Valuations matter? Your opinion

I chose door number 3. I understand valuations and why they may 'matter' to future expected returns for some, but what matters to me a lot more is my own incompetency at taking any meaningful action on the valuations. I am more afraid of my own inability to time the market based on any action (moving funds, strategically allocating future investments, etc.). I have an IPS which determines my asset allocation and I rebalance as necessary to maintain my target exposure. Then I go to sleep.
by robby152
Fri Nov 08, 2013 2:36 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: $550 StraightTalk iPhone 5 16GB $45 Unlimited Plan
Replies: 5
Views: 1590

Re: $550 StraightTalk iPhone 5 16GB $45 Unlimited Plan

Here is a comment: click through befrugal dot com or top cash back dot com to get 20-30% cashback! Just did this myself. It is a Verizon 3G only phone though.
by robby152
Fri Nov 01, 2013 8:54 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Poll: How conservative/aggressive is your AA for your age?
Replies: 106
Views: 13267

Re: Poll: How conservative/aggressive is your AA for your ag

29 year old with a 120 - age in stocks portfolio. Slight SV tilter, all else in 3 fund portfolio.
by robby152
Tue Sep 03, 2013 10:07 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: To HSA or not? Are my numbers correct?
Replies: 12
Views: 1879

Re: To HSA or not? Are my numbers correct?

The major tax advantages of an HSA make this decision easier as well (tax free contributions and tax free withdrawals for qualified medical use and/or retirement past the official age).
by robby152
Fri Aug 30, 2013 9:37 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Get an MBA or Invest?
Replies: 50
Views: 6155

Re: Get an MBA or Invest?

While I agree with the many that are saying MBAs can be a dime a dozen today (with junior colleges and online universities allowing you to 'get your mba', as if everyone should get it, I do think that it depends on what type of school you attend and how you perform in school. I went to a good school, right on the top 50 bubble, and performed well. Based on this, I got a great job upon graduation that doubled my previous salary. Now, that job has landed me into independent consulting and it is working out very well for me. So, I think having the three magic letters by your name can help if it is from a reputable school and you perform well in the program. However, I probably never would have done it had I not gotten a great scholarship. So, ...
by robby152
Wed Jul 31, 2013 6:33 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: What Are You Using for Your Emergency Funds?
Replies: 63
Views: 8265

Re: What Are You Using for Your Emergency Funds?

10K in a reward checking account (the max) to get 2.5% APY, the rest in VWITX as another poster said
by robby152
Mon Jun 24, 2013 9:41 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Rental Property: Risk vs. reward [How to determine]
Replies: 6
Views: 1323

Re: Rental Property: Risk vs. reward [How to determine]

I use a couple of methods to run the numbers. Right off the bat, I don't look at anything that doesn't meet the 1% rule (purchase price/monthly rent). So if I am looking at a 100K SFR that rents for 800 a month, I will pass immediately because the ratio is only .8%. That being said, the better number to crunch is the cap rate that factors in vacancy and maintenance allowances. If I get a cap rate over 10% using very conservative vacancy and maintenance allowances, I get interested (as I can probably manage the vacancy and maintenance well in the long term to boost returns).
by robby152
Mon Jun 24, 2013 9:35 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Garlic anyone?
Replies: 51
Views: 7493

Re: Garlic anyone?

The problem with cooking garlic to the point that you remove the smell/taste that gives bad breath is that you are 'killing' the sulfuric compound (called allicin) that is one of the most potent anti-oxidant/anti-biotic/anti-fungal/anti-evil compounds to be found in nature. Garlic still has other great properties to it once cooked (lowers cholesterol, etc), but the 'bad smell' is the kicker that keeps your body healthy. It is similar to green tea - the compound that makes it taste bitter is the very component that is most beneficial. It seems that nature makes us pay a bit for the positive benefits. Or maybe it is just our modern American palate that favors heavily salted, sweet and fatty flavors at the expense of bitter flavors. I do agree...
by robby152
Tue Jun 18, 2013 9:11 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Renting - The Boglehead Way
Replies: 65
Views: 9607

Re: Renting - The Boglehead Way

I may be over thinking this, but is the $1M in the contract the landlord's way of building in a contractual 'gotcha', as he/she assumes no renter will actually get that much in coverage so later the landlord could preserve some sort of legal backdoor in case of a lawsuit? This sounds fishy to me as well (small time landlord here too).
by robby152
Tue Jun 18, 2013 8:31 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Any pipe smokers here? Looking for tobacco recommendations..
Replies: 9
Views: 1837

Re: Any pipe smokers here? Looking for tobacco recommendatio

I own pipes. I display my pipes. I've even carved a few of my own (and of course they are my favorites). But I only smoke about one bowl a year. Let's avoid getting into a medical discussion, but.. I have researched the subject of cancer and pipe smoking extensively. In a nutshell, the risk of mouse/gum/tongue/etc cancer depends, of course, on how often it is used. For "moderate use" the risk is small. Of course, what defines moderate? It's a debate likely not appropriate for Bogleheads. True, as I am definitely not a medical professional. I am hoping that my organic vegetable/fruit/spirulina and other natural food intake mitigates the negative effects from my very occasional pipe smoking, but who am I kidding? Definitely not the...
by robby152
Tue Jun 18, 2013 8:19 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Any pipe smokers here? Looking for tobacco recommendations..
Replies: 9
Views: 1837

Re: Any pipe smokers here? Looking for tobacco recommendatio

TT wrote:My favorite tobacco were blends that contained a significant amount of Latakia tobacco.
Good to know. I have recently heard that Dunhill's Nightcap is amazing and want to try it. It is supposed to contain some (alot?) of Latakia.
by robby152
Tue Jun 18, 2013 8:17 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Any pipe smokers here? Looking for tobacco recommendations..
Replies: 9
Views: 1837

Re: Any pipe smokers here? Looking for tobacco recommendatio

pennstater2005 wrote:
fatlittlepig wrote:
robby152 wrote: I guess that means it isn't as bad for you?
haha believe what you want my friend

FLP
Sarcasm, anyone?
Seriously, tough crowd (tap tap tap "is this thing on?")
by robby152
Wed May 08, 2013 2:21 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Sources for new start ups.
Replies: 4
Views: 1014

Re: Sources for new start ups.

The art of the start by kawasaki and High Tech Startup would be good to read. No start up experience here, but I worked in a VC for a year and those were required readings.
by robby152
Thu Apr 04, 2013 3:47 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Any pipe smokers here? Looking for tobacco recommendations..
Replies: 9
Views: 1837

Any pipe smokers here? Looking for tobacco recommendations..

I searched for a thread on pipes, but couldn't find any so I thought I would see if there are any pipe aficionados lurking about. I have a briar estate pipe that I have been smoking periodically for about 6 months. It is great fun when I am looking to relax by the fire, but I am starting to want to upgrade my tobacco. I am currently using two different blends from my local shop. Both are custom blends and are pretty good. But, really now - how do I know they are really good? I have never tried anything else. So I appeal to you, my fellow Bogleheads for recommendations. There have been some pretty good threads on bourbon and beer, but lets have a good one on pipes. What are some of your favorite kinds of pipe tobacco? p.s. As a side note, it...
by robby152
Thu Apr 04, 2013 3:31 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Boglehead like real estate forum
Replies: 22
Views: 5434

Re: Boglehead like real estate forum

I also think that Bogleheads can do real estate if they are so inclined, but you should view it as a business and not simply an 'investment'. If you buy a mexican food restaurant and put 60K into it, you are 'investing' in a job. That job may net you a great salary and a good profit over and above the salary. But, it is not the same as public market investing (which is truly passive if you can keep yourself from fretting over the talking heads on CNN). I view Bogleheads as more focusing on strict investing and general personal finance principles (don't buy junk, spend less than you earn, etc.). Personally, I have a couple of small rental properties and while one is projecting a ~10%IRR, the second has been live for almost a year and is show...
by robby152
Wed Mar 06, 2013 2:00 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What's your usual retirement day like ?
Replies: 205
Views: 55181

Re: What's your usual retirement day like ?

For a guy that is farther away from retirement than I would like due to my age, reading this stuff is awesome. I think it helps to see that what most people dismiss due to their own despair of not being able to achieve (i.e. 'I will never [be able to] retire'), you guys are purely enjoying. Most of my current interests probably won't make me a dime before I retire, so I can't wait to have the time to do those things full time. Keep it coming!
by robby152
Thu May 10, 2012 5:04 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Consulting Rate
Replies: 9
Views: 1287

Re: Consulting Rate

I agree with the earlier posters and am making a similar transition right now actually. They need me in the middle of a large project, but the time is now to start a new company. So, I am doing part time consulting for about 2.3 times current hourly rate. The thing to consider is how you are to be billed. If you have maxed out SS, then that is less to consider. But, if not, consider setting up a solo-LLC taxed as an S corp. If you pay yourself a reasonable salary (30/hr or something), you can shield the rest of your rate from SS+medicare taxes since that portion is treated as a distribution of profits. Its pretty easy to do and you just give them your EIN instead of SSN on the W9 you will have to fill out. Talk to an atty for more info or j...
by robby152
Mon Oct 24, 2011 9:38 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How do you live your life?
Replies: 112
Views: 58089

Re: How do you live your life?

Your last question about being great is an interesting one. I think that greatness is something that the media and others will try to define for you, but only you can define for yourself. It comes back to the classic tombstone question - what you want written on your tombstone? Is it a big business impact (i.e. Steve Jobs)? Then work your tail off. Is it to raise a healthy family and to be the best father/mother/husband/wife you can be? Then maybe working 60+ hours a week isn't for you. For me, I set priorities in my life, and work/business impact/changing the world comes second to loving my family well. I actually think that loving the person next to you is the fastest way to make a huge impact. But, I don't think that they are necessarily...
by robby152
Fri Oct 21, 2011 7:32 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Credit card bonuses
Replies: 19
Views: 2536

Re: Credit card bonuses

I recommend heading over to http://www.flyertalk.com and reading up there. Not only will you find answers to your question, but you will meet tons of helpful people who can explain both the why and the how behind using credit cards to accrue up to 500,000 miles per year relatively easily.
by robby152
Thu Oct 28, 2010 9:53 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 23yr Old New to Investing
Replies: 6
Views: 2105

A couple of thoughts: 1. If I were you, I would come up with a 6 month emergency fund based on when/if you move out from your parent's house. That way when you do want to move, you will be ready to go. While it is great that you have minimal expenses now, it sounds like you are trying to prepare for the future. 6 months living expenses make you feel a lot better about taking risks and making changes. 2. Have you read the Boglehead's book yet? It is an easy read and a great resource when starting out. A lot of the questions you have are somewhat personal, but reading books like this will help you figure out what your stance is on those issues (risk tolerance, etc.). You do say you want an 80/20 AA, but what about domestic vs. intl? The Vangu...
by robby152
Thu Oct 14, 2010 1:58 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Persuing Finance degree, somewhat unsure of future
Replies: 26
Views: 4473

As a 26 year old with a freshly minted MBA in Finance, here are my $0.02. My undergrad degree was in MIS. Boom, lots of opportunities (hint: due to technical skill set from degree). Took one in the town I wanted to stay in making OK money, no big deal. The job was more technical than I was really wanting, but I learned a lot. I gradually became bored, liked the Boglehead stuff and messing with my 401(k), so I went back to get an MBA in Finance. The only jobs that opened up to me upon graduating were with my old employer (current employer at the time). I worked at a life insurance company, so the offer was to become an actuary. I looked into it, but it wasn't for me. However, it became clear to me that I would have been offered that position...
by robby152
Tue Sep 21, 2010 10:53 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: 2 month vacation - where to travel
Replies: 31
Views: 6918

If you like the idea of a group tour, www.gapadventures.com is a great company. My wife and I did a 2 week in southern Africa and it was wonderful. They have different levels of roughing it. We did a 'classic' style, and it was very enjoyable. Most of their trips are stackable, so you can go for as long or as little as you want.
by robby152
Wed Sep 08, 2010 4:25 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: VTWSX is roughly 38.9% US?
Replies: 10
Views: 3041

Thanks to all so far. Good points.

OP, I think I was getting the two a little confused, though it is easy to do as even the concept of the efficient frontier is backwards looking.

Taylor, just to clarify, all of these holdings are in tax-advantaged accounts and I have held the VTWSX for over 2 months (so no early redemption penalty).
by robby152
Wed Sep 08, 2010 3:33 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: VTWSX is roughly 38.9% US?
Replies: 10
Views: 3041

VTWSX is roughly 38.9% US?

I currently use a two fund selection of Vanguard Total World (VTWSX) and Vanguard Total Bond (VBMFX) to keep a 90/10 portfolio. I decided to use this as I have been and still am a young accumulator (mid to late 20s) and want to have a simple plan while my overall portfolio size is still relatively low. My thought is I can always slice and dice later. Well, after graduating from my master's program and getting a better job, I am on a faster savings track than before. I now willing to be a little more picky with fund selection in order to get to my true desired AA. After reading/lurking here for a while, I seem to agree with the idea of following the entire world market cap for the equity portion. I have read the Boglehead's book and other bo...
by robby152
Tue Aug 31, 2010 3:31 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How much to spend on a vacation?
Replies: 30
Views: 6221

I went on a 7-8 week trip after graduating college a couple of years ago, and it was totally worth it. One of the best trips in my life. It cost about $5000 if I remember correctly, but we went to about 10 countries. Highly recommend Rick Steves, especially for the hole-in-the-wall places no one else goes to (except the 20 other Americans holding their Rick Steves books). One way I cut expenses was to buy a huge loaf of bread and a block of cheese and some nutella. Stuff that stuff in your backpack and eat it whenever you are hungry. The bread and cheese in France is so good that you wont feel like you are cinching yourself. Another way was to use RyanAir for travel instead of the trains. It worked out to be cheaper for us. On a non-expense...
by robby152
Thu Jun 18, 2009 3:56 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The CalPERS "smoothing" plan
Replies: 20
Views: 3656

Can anybody explain what this means in non actuarial language?

Just curious, as I am researching CalPERS as part of an internship this summer.
by robby152
Fri Dec 19, 2008 9:20 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Niederhoffer Blows Up...Again
Replies: 47
Views: 15360

I'll be brief, and only address one point - leverage. It seems to me that the more leverage you apply, the further you likely are from adding value to the whole human endeavor and the more you are likely a plain speculator. I am neither a pure capitalist, nor a budding socialist, but I think that the order of things in this planet is to tend to value those that add to society, and to eschew those that hope merely to extract wealth for no fair exchange. So, it is true I have no love lost for short sale artists, home flippers, hedge fund speculators, or other parasitic life forms. You may call it whatever you like. I call it Prudence. Hi DRiP Guy, I'm interested, what do you think about banks then? www.moneyasdebt.net Depending on the time p...
by robby152
Thu Dec 18, 2008 10:16 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Question about price of oil rigs, equipment
Replies: 4
Views: 1452

Not sure what you are trying to learn, but you have to also factor in the price of 'soft' assets - petroleum engineer fees, seismic readings, horizontal drilling specialists (if you are going horizontal). I don't believe that the prices for those expenses are fluctuating with the price of oil/steel. In today's environment, technology is becoming more and more important and can become a higher cost than in the older days of more mechanical drilling (w/o fracking sensors, etc.). I agree with alvinsch that re-entry is much cheaper than drilling from scratch. Also,with the increase in technology that allows horizontal drilling, old wells that were non-producers can be re-entered and used to access reserves that were not connected to the origina...
by robby152
Thu Dec 11, 2008 10:58 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Why I shut down half of my business this week
Replies: 29
Views: 7232

stjoe56, This is very interesting, as I just had a similar discussion with my dad over Thanksgiving. His business is in oil and gas exploration, but he is a one man operation with a heavy dependence upon renting lists, sending out thousands of mailers, etc. One problem he has dealt with is the need to constantly renew clients, as he markets to private investors over a certain net worth. The problem is they keep dying! However, with your focus on corporations, perhaps this isn't an issue. I am sure that you have explored all the options to reduce the costs of the mailers (i.e. you are a longtime customer, and are about to shut down, so can they give you a discount on the design or renting) and the cost of the website (shop around). He had, a...
by robby152
Thu Dec 11, 2008 10:40 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: College Financing
Replies: 19
Views: 3439

I would say that the important thing is to sit the 16-year old down now and say that you guys are going to have to start getting creative about college financing. If your child is involved in the process, you might find out more. For example, the high school may have lots of information available about grants and other aid if your child goes and asks. They may also start reconsidering the type of college they want to go to, or work to get their GPA/community service hours up to levels to qualify for aid. I don't think kids should necessarily expect that their parents will just 100% fund absolutely any college that they wish to go to. Even if that's what you'd like to do (and perhaps, what you end up doing), it doesn't hurt for them to ask ...
by robby152
Thu Dec 11, 2008 10:30 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Why do companies pay dividends?
Replies: 35
Views: 9539

Actually, I was wrong when I said dividends are the only value. The voting rights that the share of stock provides also have value. I tend to forget this because the number of shares I have is so negligible. Voting rights are a lever that shareholders can use to force payment of dividends. So, in fact, a company does not have the option of never paying dividends. Eventually the shareholders will insist on it and if necessary force it by voting their shares. This leads to a thought I don't know that I've seen expressed before. When you buy a mutual fund, you are surrendering the voting rights that you would have had if you had bought individual shares. As a practical matter for ordinary investors of moderate wealth, this is of no importance...
by robby152
Wed Dec 10, 2008 10:52 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Are You A Market Timer? Post Confessions Here...
Replies: 73
Views: 12502

I confess that my 401K/Roth IRA is so small that I have no temptation to stray from any 'boglehead' approach. If Taleb is right, and we feel losses more than we celebrate gains, then I would be exacting an 'expense ratio' on my own lifespan of approximately .0247% in the form of stress and loss of social abilities (Robert, what is wrong with you tonight...Oh, my 2K 'portfolio' dropped to 1875. What am I going to do?). Maybe I would be more tempted to stray if I had something to worry about. :lol:
by robby152
Mon Dec 08, 2008 11:41 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Graduating soon, what jobs are there in finance?
Replies: 6
Views: 2291

hah, very cool. I'm gonna take whatever I can find. I'd rather not stay in Orlando, but if something pops up, maybe I'll stay. I'm taking the GMAT at the end of the year just to keep my options open, but I'm pretty much ruling it out unless if i get a 700+. Good luck, I hope you enjoy what you do Thanks for the help everyone, I'm gonna look more into corporate finance, I really like investments but corporate fin isn't bad. Leave more suggestions if you have em! Recently took the GMAT and am off to MBA fun time in January. You should check out www.beatthegmat.com. There are some pretty comprehensive study 'plans' on the site, and a lot of people browsing to help. I would watch out on paying 500+ for study material though. The OG was just fi...