Search found 59 matches

by wbrianwhite
Sun Apr 21, 2019 10:44 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Mr. Money Mustache, SWR, and equity allocation
Replies: 524
Views: 51357

Re: Mr. Money Mustache, SWR, and equity allocation

Ignore what he says. Instead follow what he does. He earns $400,000+ from his blog. Do you ? Correct. I am not sure how this author can feel ashamed acting like he retired young and doesn't work. The real story is he retired and started a new business of peddling information to those who think they can do what he does, BUT without the extra financial resources he gets from his website. Kudos to him as an business man, but folks treat him like some profit that has an answer that somehow has alluded everyone else. Just shameful. Good luck. p.s. To the OP, don't trust bogleheads OR MMM. Start googling and read up on the 4% rule, Trinity study, etc... Elective POVERTY is not a good mantra, backing oneself into poverty and living off one's own ...
by wbrianwhite
Sat Mar 23, 2019 11:36 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Adjustable dumbbell recommendations
Replies: 65
Views: 6002

Re: Adjustable dumbbell recommendations

We have a dumbbell rack similar to this: https://www.amazon.com/CAP-Barbell-RK-1 ... mbb&sr=8-4

You can fit 5 pairs of dumbbells with minimal floor space. More floor space than the power blocks, but I'm cheap. You could get a home gym for the price of some of the adjustable dumbbells
by wbrianwhite
Sat Mar 23, 2019 11:25 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What consideration do you give to product reviews?
Replies: 23
Views: 1538

Re: What consideration do you give to product reviews?

It's a cognitive problem for me.

I know that if I were at a store, I'd have like 3 options, and I'd pick one based on features, look, and price. I'd do it without any knowledge of people's experience.

On Amazon I have 300 options. And once I start reading 1 star reviews, I have a hard time choosing that item.

Sometimes it's rational - I was looking at turntables and one had reviews like "wouldn't stay at speed, and the company didn't care when I called them".

But a lot of times it's not rational. I've picked items that didn't have 1 star reviews that only had 20 reviews, instead of items that did have 1 star reviews, but that had 2000 reviews.
by wbrianwhite
Sun Feb 10, 2019 11:00 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Recommendation for home gym (limited space)
Replies: 78
Views: 9651

Re: Recommendation for home gym (limited space)

Couple thoughts:
You can use a gym "step" as a bench if space is tight, you can take it apart and stick it in a closet.
DailyBurn has a couple programs I like. Live to fail is weights, all it uses is 2 sets of dumbbells. Tbt is bodyweight training.
LesMills bodypump I also like. Uses just a bar and plates, and a bench
by wbrianwhite
Mon Jan 14, 2019 8:08 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Anyone beating the index instead of buying it?
Replies: 51
Views: 6221

Re: Anyone beating the index instead of buying it?

https://www.aaii.com/model-portfolios/s ... al-returns

Check this out if you're interested. It seems like more work than I wanted to do. It's a micro cap portfolio.
by wbrianwhite
Thu Dec 13, 2018 9:55 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Robinhood to offer 3% cash management program, not a bank account]
Replies: 153
Views: 15636

Re: Does the 3% savings at robinhood make emergency funds ladders obsolete?

https://www.sipc.org/for-investors/what-sipc-protects

I can't figure out where a savings account from a brokerage fits, is it protected as cash or as a security?
by wbrianwhite
Sat Dec 08, 2018 3:03 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Should I sell?? 1,118.75% gain!!
Replies: 26
Views: 4399

Re: Should I sell?? 1,118.75% gain!!

I had to look it up. In the 1 year chart, this skyrockets out of nowhere. In the 5 year chart it's starting to get back some of its previous value. In the max chart it's obvious this is near 0 after it's high
by wbrianwhite
Sun Dec 02, 2018 7:58 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Trying not to use the term timing, but...
Replies: 23
Views: 2332

Re: Trying not to use the term timing, but...

Nobody has mentioned it yet, but you are over weighting mid and small caps significantly. Is this intentional?

https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Approxi ... ock_market
You want something like

Code: Select all

81% Vanguard 500 Index Fund (VFINX)
4% Vanguard Mid-Cap Index Fund (VIMSX)
15% Vanguard Small-Cap Index Fund (NAESX)  
Or

Code: Select all

 81% Vanguard 500 Index Fund (VFINX) 
19% Vanguard Extended Market Index Fund (VEXMX) 
If you want to emulate the market
by wbrianwhite
Tue Nov 20, 2018 8:46 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: New HD tv and non HD stations
Replies: 27
Views: 1654

Re: New HD tv and non HD stations

You need to adjust the aspect ratio. Some newer TVs are set to 16:9, which is correct for newer content, but not for older content. There is probably another option in aspect ratio for "original" so it displays the correct setting for each type of content. If you provide the TV model and year I can probably tell you where the setting is located. It is a Samsung 43" NU6950. Just bought it at Costco on Friday. The program I was watching didn't seem bright so I raised the brightness but it didn't seem to do anything. There is something called backlight that also has to do with brightness. Do you know what the difference is? Thanks for any help! Backlight is how intensely the light on the back wall shines through the screen. Bri...
by wbrianwhite
Thu Nov 08, 2018 9:47 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: High Earners - What's Your Profession?
Replies: 1217
Views: 224000

Re: High Earners - What's Your Profession?

Low 40s, HCOL pnw market, combined income of ~$440k.

Me: principal software engineer.
Wife: currently a manager in IT, previously a business analyst.

Some of my income is RSUs and I'll lose that when I change jobs next year, but I just can't deal with my company any more. RSUs have kept me here longer than I wanted to stay.
by wbrianwhite
Mon Oct 29, 2018 11:47 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: The Case for Renting
Replies: 31
Views: 4280

Re: The Case for Renting

Manhattan and Brooklyn are a worse ratio, NYC was an average of all 5 boroughs

Manhattan – 50.68 ($608,160)

Brooklyn – 42.17 ($506,040)

Queens – 29.21 ($350,520)

The Bronx – 30.95 ($371,400)

Staten Island – 36.86 ($442,320
by wbrianwhite
Wed May 16, 2018 8:21 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Microcap Stock Screener
Replies: 21
Views: 2828

Re: Microcap Stock Screener

Microcap is really the only area where broad outperformance is possible, because institutional money just really can't play there. The downside is spotty analysis and limited data.
by wbrianwhite
Wed May 16, 2018 8:19 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Microcap Stock Screener
Replies: 21
Views: 2828

Re: Microcap Stock Screener

I'd check out http://www.aaii.com, they have a model portfolio of microcap stocks and they review it regularly to add or remove based on screening guidelines. They run a real portfolio and have a long track record for it

I always thought it was interesting, but too much work for me.
by wbrianwhite
Sat May 05, 2018 9:59 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Dividend Drag?
Replies: 22
Views: 2166

Re: Dividend Drag?

I have a philosophical favor for dividend investing. It's the original reason anyone invested at all and the worth of a stock was calculated as discounted future dividends. In my personal financial life I focus on total return investing. But I do worry that if eventually nobody pays dividends or seeks out dividend paying stocks the whole market will become nothing but a beanie baby situation and fall apart when there's finally "no greater fool" to buy a non revenue producing financial instrument for more than I paid for it. The only reason stock buybacks have gotten favor is tax law, which isn't a sound basis for such a critical market. The issue is not that stocks should not pay dividends or that investors should try to buy stoc...
by wbrianwhite
Sat May 05, 2018 1:59 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Dividend Drag?
Replies: 22
Views: 2166

Re: Dividend Drag?

I have a philosophical favor for dividend investing. It's the original reason anyone invested at all and the worth of a stock was calculated as discounted future dividends.

In my personal financial life I focus on total return investing.

But I do worry that if eventually nobody pays dividends or seeks out dividend paying stocks the whole market will become nothing but a beanie baby situation and fall apart when there's finally "no greater fool" to buy a non revenue producing financial instrument for more than I paid for it. The only reason stock buybacks have gotten favor is tax law, which isn't a sound basis for such a critical market.
by wbrianwhite
Sat May 05, 2018 1:48 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Ed. Jones rep didn't like our plan, now we're locked out
Replies: 152
Views: 25004

Re: Ed. Jones rep didn't like our plan, now we're locked out

Since nobody mentioned it... Selling what seems like a really large amount of stock may incur significant tax implications. It may still make sense. But it may also make sense to break it up into different years or think through the total benefit expected from the move to funds.
by wbrianwhite
Fri Mar 02, 2018 8:23 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: AAPL, AMZN, or GOOG?
Replies: 95
Views: 12665

Re: AAPL, AMZN, or GOOG?

If I were an individual stock investor, I'd be buying up Elon Musk's companies. Let's revolutionize getting to space, using the internet, traveling on the earth, and using solar. How many industries is that? Seems to have a real talent for defining new markets
by wbrianwhite
Wed Dec 27, 2017 10:42 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Can I afford a $600-650k house?
Replies: 60
Views: 10873

Re: Can I afford a $600-650k house?

OT - don't move to the DC area, it's hell. Don't move to Nova, it's Satan's bunghole. The only compelling reason to live there is if you have a job you can only do there (forensic accountancy or similar). Too many people, not enough ways for them to get around. Real estate market there is solid though. This is anecdotal - I made 100k on the first property I owned there, I made 100k on the second property I owned there. Then I moved to the pacific northwest and paid 700k for a house that would have cost 1.2 million there, and a higher quality of life. That second property - I made 100k and my wife made 75k when we bought it for 450k. It was tight at times. I wouldn't think you can afford it. Can't imagine it's gotten easier to afford in the ...
by wbrianwhite
Wed Dec 27, 2017 10:23 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Should I sell my stock?
Replies: 14
Views: 2153

Re: Should I sell my stock?

Nobody ever went broke by taking gainsgains
by wbrianwhite
Wed Dec 27, 2017 2:26 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Just not getting it [Stock Picking versus TSM]
Replies: 99
Views: 18776

Re: Just not getting it [Stock Picking versus TSM]

If you're really interested in this, I'd suggest joining the American Institution of Individual Investors. They have a "shadow" stock portfolio, as in stocks in the shadow of wall street. It's a pure micro cap portfolio. Because it's micro cap, professional money managers can't buy any of these stocks, eliminating the whole "professionals with more information will out smart you" objection. They have a strict mathematical formula for adding or removing stocks, which they follow. I always thought it looked interesting, but it looked like too much work for too little marginal return. But it's a lot of smart people with academic background, so I'd check that out before trying hunches
by wbrianwhite
Sun Dec 24, 2017 7:32 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What's in a name? "Long Island Iced Tea Corp." changes name to "Long Blockchain Corp.", stock price jumps 500%
Replies: 24
Views: 4284

Re: What's in a name? "Long Island Iced Tea Corp." changes name to "Long Blockchain Corp.", stock price jumps 500%

I totally get this.

Steps
1 - drink long island iced teas
2 - put out a hilarious press release saying you're getting into Bitcoin.
3 - ???
4 - profit!
by wbrianwhite
Sat Dec 02, 2017 12:57 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: BH philosophy on restricted stock units and employee stock purchase program?
Replies: 27
Views: 2825

Re: BH philosophy on restricted stock units and employee stock purchase program?

I've almost always sold RSUs as soon as they vest. I've seen others hold on to them and make significant money. But it's a concentrated bet, so I don't do it.

I do do they espp at my company, because they give 40%. I sell them as soon as I have a chunk ready, twice a year because there's a transaction fee for selling.
by wbrianwhite
Mon Jul 31, 2017 12:39 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Tesla - next big lottery ticket ?
Replies: 179
Views: 25785

Re: Tesla - next big lottery ticket ?

hicabob wrote:Always loved DEC since starting my career banging on PDP-11's, I still name variables foo from the indoctrination. ... then there was Sun microsystems, also a fine corporation in its heydey. Even very profitable, inventive, seemingly well run corporations can have a surprisingly short lifetime. I agree with the OP who said they enjoy holding TSLA in their total stock market fund/etf.
Foo/bar/baz are fine variable names for demo code, not production!
by wbrianwhite
Mon Jul 31, 2017 12:34 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Newbie question about my stock in Amazon...
Replies: 51
Views: 7608

Re: Newbie question about my stock in Amazon...

Haha yeah... I ended up selling half the stock I owned at $1020 for a profit and of course it got all the way up to $1080 so that sucked I sold early (who knew). However looks like it was short lived because as I'm sure you all know the stock kept tumbling down after Q2 earnings. Either way it was a good lesson learned and I do believe many stocks are overvalued so I'm staying away and I hope to buy at dips now instead of impulsive buying bases on how much I personally like a company. Really appreciate the help from you all I'm 32 and still very new to this. Who knew? Not you, and not even the market. Nobody can reliably predict if an individual stock will go up or down short term. If people in the market knew it would go to 1080 they'd qu...
by wbrianwhite
Mon Jul 31, 2017 12:31 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Newbie question about my stock in Amazon...
Replies: 51
Views: 7608

Re: Newbie question about my stock in Amazon...

I can't believe the amount of people who have responded here, I had a feeling I would get flamed for being a newbie (and in some ways I did), but the great advice I've gotten from the majority of you has helped me greatly words cannot explain. I appreciate the words of encouragement and the words of wisdom as I venture into this journey we call investing. Buying that Bogleheads book has been a blessing nonetheless. This site has some of the smartest and kindest people I've found on the internet. You should definitely check out the links provided. The 3 fund portfolio link in particular. The linked articles and wikis here are better than 99% of investing books. I use that approach myself, except even simpler in my brokerage account: the Lif...
by wbrianwhite
Mon Jul 31, 2017 12:14 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Newbie question about my stock in Amazon...
Replies: 51
Views: 7608

Re: Newbie question about my stock in Amazon...

I think owning a few shares of Amazon will provide Zeusy Zeus a lot of benefits beyond an incentive to learn about stocks and stock markets. Almost all investors have to learn to be okay with the value of their investments fluctuating over time and watching Amazon will provide that experience in a way that an index fund with one daily price quote will not. Owning a stock is also more appealing and interesting to most new investors than simply owning index funds and Amazon certainly is an interesting company. Nothing wrong with putting a little play money into a stock after maxing out retirement accounts for the year. It's like the whipped cream on top of a dessert. Sure, but being maxed out on roth doesn't mean you need to buy individual s...
by wbrianwhite
Fri Jan 06, 2017 1:20 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: 2017 hedge fund contest
Replies: 247
Views: 50337

Re: 2017 hedge fund contest

Dartboard Fund

Long
AVHI - AV Homes Inc.
SENEA - Seneca Foods Corp

Short
BKS - Barnes & Noble
SHAK - Shake Shack
by wbrianwhite
Sat Apr 30, 2016 10:36 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: dividend stocks
Replies: 175
Views: 17660

Re: dividend stocks

I get all the academic research about total return, and I follow it with my nose held, because it works. But to me there is a bedrock fundamental that the only valid reason to hold stocks in general is that they should pay you dividends. There is no fundamental inherent value to owning a stock other than the stream of revenue it promises to pay out, unless a company is going to liquidate its assets in a sell off. Who cares if their profit is huge if they don't return money to investors? The only reason to care is that at some point, maybe decades down the line, they will be in a position to pay out dividends. Looking at expected dividend payout allows you to calculate the current value of an asset. If the future payout is zero and that's ne...
by wbrianwhite
Sun Mar 13, 2016 10:04 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Less is more [Vanguard blog - 2% economic growth prediction]
Replies: 41
Views: 6946

Re: Less is more

First point - this only applies to developed economies, and differently to each of them. The US demographic shift is less severe than Japan's for instance. And even in economies like Germany, well they may get an infusion of a half million younger immigrants unexpectedly. Second point - at some point the boomers will be done retiring and younger workers stuck in lower level jobs will move up. There was a demographic article here last week breaking down productivity by age range and it looked like there was a clear effect there with the younger cohorts having lower productivity. Third point - this discounts future massive productivity gains from technology. Nobody expected PCs to have the transformational effect they had. What will be next? ...
by wbrianwhite
Sun Mar 06, 2016 9:22 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is the benefit of paying credit card interest is just to get the item NOW instead of later?
Replies: 24
Views: 2725

Re: Is the benefit of paying credit card interest is just to get the item NOW instead of later?

Sure. It's not like it's all irresponsible consumerism, though. A lot of people do live paycheck-to-paycheck or not far from it, and a financial shock like an unexpected medical complication or vehicle breaking down is all it takes to burn through liquid assets, whereupon credit has to be tapped at least temporarily. At least, that's the way it frequently works outside the privileged world of BH. I see its the emergencies that burn through liquid assets.. Thanks. It has nothing to do with being privileged nor with emergencies. Intelligent money management involves avoiding finance charges and establishing an emergency fund. Gill I'm very privileged in terms of income, so I only practice basic money management and don't have to pay finance ...
by wbrianwhite
Thu Mar 03, 2016 9:06 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Liquidating RSUs
Replies: 46
Views: 6307

Re: Liquidating RSUs

Make sure you don't spend it all until after you're done with taxes the next year. I ended up owing a ton last year due to RSUs vesting, despite a portion being sold by the company to cover taxes.
by wbrianwhite
Mon Feb 29, 2016 9:06 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Average Retirement Income 2016
Replies: 32
Views: 8288

Re: Average Retirement Income 2016

I'd very much prefer to see better data, as it's difficult to gauge the reliability of these figures. Still, I tend to agree with the general sentiment behind the assessment. Pensions brought stability to the middle class, and most people aren't capable of adequately saving and planning for retirement on their own, especially when the 401k market is almost entirely predatory and most of the "financial advisers" are salespeople whose subsistence requires sucking as many hidden fees as possible out of people who don't understand the difference between equities and bonds. I view our approach as essentially creating personal pensions for ourselves. Done properly, we'll achieve a minimum level of income in retirement, and anything els...
by wbrianwhite
Mon Feb 22, 2016 12:01 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Don't understand nutrition and exercise
Replies: 340
Views: 45112

Re: Don't understand nutrition and exercise

If you don't like your exercise routine you're less likely to stick to it. Find one you like. Check out some of the streaming options, Amazon or Daily Burn. If you're doing weights, do an actual program, like New Rules for Lifting, where you change it up once you've made all your adaptations.
by wbrianwhite
Sun Feb 21, 2016 11:58 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Don't understand nutrition and exercise
Replies: 340
Views: 45112

Re: Don't understand nutrition and exercise

Ari wrote: Bunk. Everyone knows. It's not complicated. Don't eat lots of fatty...
Nothing wrong with healthy fats - nuts, avocados, fatty fish like salmon etc. If you cut fats, what do you replace it with? Carbs or protein are the only options. Adding fat to carbs lowers the glycemic index significantly.
by wbrianwhite
Fri Feb 05, 2016 9:18 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What should I do (highish earner now, rainy day may come)
Replies: 5
Views: 1104

Re: What should I do (highish earner now, rainy day may come)

You increase bond allocation to reduce volatility. That doesn't seem to be what you're after. If your timeline for needing the money is two years you need it someplace rock solid - CDs, very short term bonds. You might want to take a page from planning for retirees and put your money in buckets. You don't want to have your house money in the market of it goes south. 2 year bucket - CDs etc 5 year bucket - bonds Long term bucket - equities You have money to fill the two year bucket now. Income you could divide in between the other buckets as makes sense to you. If your goal is net worth, do the math on the mortgage. You may have higher net worth with a mortgage. If you expect the market to return a higher percent than your mortgage interest ...
by wbrianwhite
Thu Feb 04, 2016 9:16 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: If SS covers expenses why invest?
Replies: 89
Views: 11386

Re: If SS covers expenses why invest?

KlangFool wrote: Now, as to why others are so optimistic that they can be fully employed until FRA, I have no idea?

KlangFool
It's more that I'm pessimistic about ever being able to stop working.
by wbrianwhite
Thu Oct 29, 2015 9:28 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: "A Look at Vanguard's Robo-Advisor"
Replies: 36
Views: 8731

Re: "A Look at Vanguard's Robo-Advisor"

Rodc wrote:
VictoriaF wrote:
David Jay wrote:
Rodc wrote:
VictoriaF wrote:
Posting in the Bogleheads Forum is talking to a computer, no?

Victoria
No, no, no.

Talking to people through a computer. :)
How would you know if Victoria is a person or a computer? Turing test?
My grandmother Eliza has passed the test.

Victoria
And I think you would pass it as well. :)
We've all failed Turing tests. Captchas are designed to tell humans apart from bots. I'm a bot about 1/3rd of the time
by wbrianwhite
Sun Oct 25, 2015 11:37 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Firecalc and success with higher % stock
Replies: 19
Views: 2735

Re: Firecalc and success with higher % stock

As for SS, the actuaries in the government allow higher amounts if you start later with the goal being the same lifetime amount of benefits. Starting later is good longevity insurance, but for average lifetime calculations it should be a wash by design.
by wbrianwhite
Sun Oct 25, 2015 11:35 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Firecalc and success with higher % stock
Replies: 19
Views: 2735

Re: Firecalc and success with higher % stock

The AAII magazine has covered the idea of low initial stock allocation at time of retirement that rises over the years in retirement several times recently. The math apparently works out for this idea. The low initial rate is to prevent large losses at the beginning of you happen to retire in a bad stock market environment.
by wbrianwhite
Sat Sep 05, 2015 3:23 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Strategies for RMDs [Required Minimum Distributions]
Replies: 57
Views: 11303

Re: Strategies for RMDs

Isn't this basically the same as the arguments for and against dollar coat averaging when acquiring stocks and bonds, just on the other side?

Were you a dollar cost averaged during your accumulation phase?
Did you put money in the market as soon as you had it available?
Did you try to time the market during your acquisition phase?
by wbrianwhite
Mon Aug 31, 2015 10:52 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: AQR/Asness - How Can a Strategy Still Work If Everyone Knows About It?
Replies: 116
Views: 12644

Re: AQR/Asness - How Can a Strategy Still Work If Everyone Knows About It?

How can a strategy still work if everyone knows about it?

AAII focuses on the micro cap market where institutional investors are de facto forced not to participate, and focus on strategies that favor long term individual investors over high turnover institutions. Seemed quite sound. Also seemed like too much work. Kind of a tangent, sorry
by wbrianwhite
Fri Aug 07, 2015 2:19 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The folly of the dividend yield
Replies: 73
Views: 8743

Re: The folly of the dividend yield

Dividends happen to be a nice way of dollar cost averaging and a source of income at a reduced tax burden in the drawdown years. Can you please explain that? How do dividends reduce taxes? (As opposed to, say, long term capital gains?) L. Goes with the preservation of capital from the previous sentence. Preserving your principal requires your shares to grow more, therefore more capital gains tax when you sell. With dividends you're keeping the principal and just skimming the dividends off the top and not selling any shares. An alternate answer - in the drawdown years you are typically in a lower tax bracket. Ordinary dividend and short-term capital gain: Tax rate is same as ordinary income tax rate. Qualified dividend and long-term capital...
by wbrianwhite
Fri Aug 07, 2015 2:07 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The folly of the dividend yield
Replies: 73
Views: 8743

Re: The folly of the dividend yield

Ah, the boglhead crusade against dividends continues. So misguided and an utter waste of energy. I would offer that some here go back to investing 101 and relearn a few things. Companies have earnings, some companies choose to share those earnings with the company owners and pay a dividend. The end. It's hardly the end. Speaking personally, I believe in the dividend discount theory of stock value, and I believe that buybacks are not equivalent to dividends, I view with alarm the trend toward buybacks etc. Nevertheless... companies that have earnings have a choice of several ways to use these earnings to benefit stockholders. --Add the earnings to capital and grow the company faster. --Pay out the earnings as dividends. --Use the earnings t...
by wbrianwhite
Fri Aug 07, 2015 2:02 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The folly of the dividend yield
Replies: 73
Views: 8743

Re: The folly of the dividend yield

Ah, the boglhead crusade against dividends continues. So misguided and an utter waste of energy. I would offer that some here go back to investing 101 and relearn a few things. Companies have earnings, some companies choose to share those earnings with the company owners and pay a dividend. The end. Not "the end". Some companies choose to share those earnings with the company owners and pay a dividend. Some companies choose to share those earnings with the company owners and repurchase shares. Mathematically the two are identical. But due to perception, politics, emotions and sentiment, investors end up seeing them differently. The result is that a lot more money is paid in taxes by investors than is necessary. If all companies s...
by wbrianwhite
Fri Aug 07, 2015 1:49 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The folly of the dividend yield
Replies: 73
Views: 8743

Re: The folly of the dividend yield

So this is a thought experiment to help us understand why "dividend yield" can often be a very misleading and completely irrelevant number. Let's imagine an idealized company that consists of $100million in cash. There are zero company expenses, and the company has no activity it partakes in. It simply holds $100million in cash at the bank. It has 1 million shares outstanding and pays its shareholders a $1 per share dividend once per year. $100million/1million shares = $100 per share for the share price. Since there is zero growth, it should be worth exactly $100 per share. So in Year 1, it pays out a total of $1million in dividends, and now has $99million left. Its dividend yield is $1/$100per share or 1%. Let's see what happens...
by wbrianwhite
Fri Aug 07, 2015 1:40 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The folly of the dividend yield
Replies: 73
Views: 8743

Re: The folly of the dividend yield

I prefer that companies pay a dividend rather than using excess cash for junkets to the Bahamas for their management team. Do you prefer they return money to investors using dividends over returning money to investors through stock buybacks, though? All else being equal. I prefer stock buyback in taxable. Doesn't matter in tax advantaged. You can't live off of stock buybacks. You can live off of dividends. The only reason anyone prefers buybacks is our tax code - nothing inherent about the actual transaction. I know in the real world we have to deal with that, but that's a personal finance concern not an investing theory concern. And even in the real world of personal finance a large percent of seniors prefer income investing to total retu...
by wbrianwhite
Fri Aug 07, 2015 1:24 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The folly of the dividend yield
Replies: 73
Views: 8743

Re: The folly of the dividend yield

The dividend is how you originally made money from stocks. The assumption that you buy a stock in order to later sell it is new-ish. Why is anyone willing to buy the stock from you at a higher price? What do they get out of it? . The classical way of determining a stock's value is the dividend discount model. No dividends and no plans to offer them in the future? Then no worth for the stock other than book value hard assets which can be liquidated. Assuming anything else makes buying stocks akin to collecting baseball cards or other inherently worthless items bought by speculators hoping to dump them on another speculator and get out.
by wbrianwhite
Fri Jul 31, 2015 9:06 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Who are you able to share good financial news with?
Replies: 103
Views: 14360

Re: Who are you able to share good financial news with?

Nobody but your spouse. I was in an amazing financial situation last year, and I really couldn't talk to anyone about it. Frustrating really
by wbrianwhite
Tue Jul 28, 2015 9:59 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The Danger of higher-yielding bond funds
Replies: 62
Views: 7198

Re: The Danger of higher-yielding bond funds

arcticpineapplecorp. wrote:.... The point is that you want safety in some part of your portfolio, when the rest of it's going to heck in a handbasket.

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Why? That's a behavioral finance argument, and one that Bogle makes. But as long as you're far away from retirement a drop in bond fund price is just an opportunity to buy more high yield bond fund, the same as when your stock funds drop in price.
by wbrianwhite
Sat May 30, 2015 10:16 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Why reinvest dividends?
Replies: 13
Views: 5387

Re: Why reinvest dividends?

Why not just buy at lower prices assumes you can successfully time the market. Nobody predicted this long of a bull market and someone who decided to park money in cash two years ago waiting for a correction would still be sitting on it having earned nominal 0 return