Bogleheads.org

dknightd wrote: ↑Wed Mar 22, 2023 7:44 am Many years ago we spent some time snorkeling (mostly from shore) on the Cayman Islands. It was great! I'm not sure how it is today.
If you are taking a boat, I'd suggest getting a tourist divers license. Easy to do in a day. I'm not sure what they are called these days. Diving is different than snorkeling. And once you pay for the boat, it does not cost much more.
If you do not have one already, buy a mask that fits.

Edit: I think the "tourist divers license" is called the "resort course."

"Discover SCUBA"

Here's an example but most dive shops will do this. And it's way better than snorkeling.

https://www.scubadiveit.com/padi_discov ... iving.html

alfaspider wrote: ↑Tue Mar 21, 2023 2:27 pm

stoptothink wrote: ↑Tue Mar 21, 2023 1:54 pm

alfaspider wrote: ↑Tue Mar 21, 2023 1:12 pm Bumper plates are nice for deadlifts though even if not strictly needed.

Bumpers are nice for pulling, but you'll run out of room on the bar pretty quickly. You can usually fit about 450lbs. of bumpers on a standard 7' bar.

I guess it depends on how burly you are. I'm not at any risk of ever needing more than 450lbs for a regular workout

Yea, not a problem for me either. If I fill a bar with bumpers there is no lift I can do with it.

[Moved into a new thread from: Any Boglehead powerlifters? --admin LadyGeek] I'd be curious to hear what brand of bar and plates BH's have in their home gyms. I did deadlifts and power cleans regularly when I belonged to a gym, and am now looking to expand my home gym. Wonder if there's a happy medium between Rogue and a Dick's Sporting Goods 300 lb set? Went with Rogue style high end gear (bumper crossfit style). Think of it this way. What will you spend on a gym membership for years, especially when you consider the cost of commuting and your time to do it? I fit a workout in this morning in 16 minutes between breakfast and a meeting. Granted, I only did bench press and some back extensions, but that would have been a missed workout if I...

That being said, I visited Phoenix many times, always in fall ( including at Thanksgiving) and spring. To me is one of the most depressing places. Everything brown, no real vegetation, no outdoors at least half of the year. Even the water in the pool is hot in September. 1000% agree. Minnesota is beautiful. Green trees, beautiful lakes. Wonderful fall colors and spring flowers. Arizona is brown. Brown beats white for 4+ months a year. Arizona is an incredibly diverse place. Flagstaff, Sedona, Grand Canyon, Superstitions, Salt River Canyon, Cochise Stronghold, Yuma....all very different. At any rate, school typically goes September to May. September to May, Arizona beats Minnesota every time. But he should go get a summer job in Minnesota I...

t24b350 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 3:39 pm My son gets admissions from U. Minnesota (Twin Cities), SUNY Stony Brook and Arizona State, all in Computer Science.
Cost aside, which one is the best to attend?

Not in computer science, but they all appear similarly prestigious to me. I'd go to ASU though. Does he have any idea what Minneapolis is like in Winter?

I don't see how a push mower and a riding mower are both options. If your lawn is big enough, you NEED a big rider. If not, you don't want one. It'll just be a pain. But they shouldn't both be on your list.

If you can hire it out for $200 a month, you probably don't need a riding mower.

Hi, I am planning 4 days in Moab during Spring break with kids (11 and 13). Day 1- Arches National Park Day 2 - Canyonland National Park (Island of the Sky part) and Dead Horse Point State Park Day 3 - I am keeping reserve for spillover if we are not able to cover anything from Day 1 and 2 Question for Day 4: For the last day, what park should I cover ( I am staying Moab only so will have to drive). I have already covered Zion and Bryce before 1) Capitol Reef National Park - 2.5 hour from Moab 2) Monument Valley - 3 hours from Moab 3) Mesa Verde National Park - 2 hours from Moab 4) Goblin Valley State Park - 1.5 hours from Moab Any suggestions who have gone before with kids would be helpful. I'd do Goblin Valley with that itinerary. Wander...

Hi, I am planning 4 days in Moab during Spring break with kids (11 and 13). Day 1- Arches National Park Day 2 - Canyonland National Park (Island of the Sky part) and Dead Horse Point State Park Day 3 - I am keeping reserve for spillover if we are not able to cover anything from Day 1 and 2 Question for Day 4: For the last day, what park should I cover ( I am staying Moab only so will have to drive). I have already covered Zion and Bryce before 1) Capitol Reef National Park - 2.5 hour from Moab 2) Monument Valley - 3 hours from Moab 3) Mesa Verde National Park - 2 hours from Moab 4) Goblin Valley State Park - 1.5 hours from Moab Any suggestions who have gone before with kids would be helpful. I'd do Goblin Valley with that itinerary. Wander...

I recommend a rafting trip with someone like Moab Adventure Center [assuming everyone knows how to swim]. We did the all-day Westwater Canyon rafting in June. It was terrific! And your kids are at the right age. https://www.moabadventurecenter.com/moab-river-rafting Wouldn't the water be pretty chilly in April? Yes, it’s snowmelt. It’s cold. I remember rafting in the rain, and the rain coming out of the sky was warmer than the water in the river. But you’re not in the water, you’re on top of it. If they dump a bunch of day trippers in the water, they’ve done something wrong. Many places in the west, the river rafting is best in spring, because that’s when there’s actually water. Dumping a bunch of day trippers in the water in Westwater Can...

$27K? Most people can't remodel a kitchen for $27K. How do you possibly live in a medium/high COLA? Is that supposed to be $270K? $2.7M?

It's fine. The TSP C fund is a perfectly good S&P 500 index fund. Its returns mirror those of VOO and its peers.

Hi all, It seems like a big question - but I'm looking for resources. We started snorkeling a few years ago and would like to do more. We took a trip to Belize in December and were surprised to learn that there is a little more to picking a snorkeling trip than I realized. In Belize, I did not realize there would not be any beach snorkeling, and we would have to plan for boat trips. Boat trips are great - I need to be able to budget for them. I've done some internet searches but haven't found a solid resource that describes locations, the best time of year, accessibility of beach snorkeling, boat trip required, etc. Can anyone recommend resources for snorkeling information? I will research places in detail. But a higher level view would be...

The combined invested amounts of these funds as of February 28, 2023 is $311 billion. If chasing dividend investments is truly not rational, why is so much money invested in pursuit of it by otherwise rational investors? There's $535 billion invested in Bitcoin right now. Not to get into a battle of statistics but there is what, $100 trillion in global stock market cap and VG has about 3% of that total, so if the amount invested in dividend strategies globally could be about $10 trillion. It may be larger, given the ex-US markets preference for dividends. The point is sufficient to say that massive amounts of money are invested in dividend strategies globally and I am interested in understanding the reasons why, without labeling those who ...

Redlee wrote: ↑Sat Mar 18, 2023 1:16 am Vanguard and Fidelity are popular with Bogleheads and for good reason. But which firm would be in third place after them? If they closed tomorrow, where would you move to?

This would be for a "three fund" style portfolio of ETF's but with access to the most popular tax-loss-harvesting pairings. So access to those at low or no cost would be a priority.

The one that comes to mind is Charles Schwab. But is there something better?

Blackrock (iShares) for funds (ETFs) and Schwab for brokerage services. I would be very comfortable with an all iShares portfolio held at Schwab.

OverseasBH wrote: ↑Mon Mar 20, 2023 2:56 am
The combined invested amounts of these funds as of February 28, 2023 is $311 billion. If chasing dividend investments is truly not rational, why is so much money invested in pursuit of it by otherwise rational investors?

There's $535 billion invested in Bitcoin right now.

gfirero wrote: ↑Mon Mar 20, 2023 10:57 pm Little Wild Horse is a blast and very close to Goblin Valley. Avoid if rain is in the forecast due to flash floods.

It's close like my living room is close to my house.

Seems like a great asset class to trust the boring old stodgy providers with excellent long term records. I use Vanguard Federal and Vanguard Municipal. Their yields are always at or near the top, I already have accounts there, and they have a long track record of putting investors first.

Rex66 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 20, 2023 9:26 am The interest rate is not guaranteed to be a wash and with WL rarely is.

Additionally historically companies with non direct recognition and better “loan deals” pay lower dividends. There is no free lunch that you found a magic company.

Depends on the policy I believe. I agree that most policies don't give you that guarantee. It really matters what policy you get if you want to do this.

I also agree that you probably get lower dividends on a non-direct recognition policy. But you still should get one if you're going to IB/BOY.

I'm trying to plan a family vacation in August, as we are limited to when everyone can go. I'd like to visit several of Utah's National parks, but wondering how the temperatures/weather in August would be. Too hot for hiking? Too crowded? If so, I may choose another destination and keep Utah on the bucket list for a future visit. What has been your experience(s)? Yes. Yes. It will be too hot and too crowded. So if you want to come, plan to be crowded and plan to be hot. Some hikes are cooler than others (the Narrows for instance is walking up a river) and Bryce Canyon is at 10,000 feet. You're less likely to die of heatstroke on a short hike. Some hikes are less crowded than others (but there are none listed on this forum that are not abso...

Most people in this thread are talking about whole life insurance in general. And I agree with their comments for the most part. It does not appear that most of them actually understand the IBC/BOY/LEAP concept you're looking into. Obviously YOU need to understand it completely before buying a policy (assuming you still want to do it after you understand it). Any whole life policy is like getting married: til death do you part or it will cost you a lot of money to get out of it. So do extensive due diligence prior to purchasing. Most people regret their purchase. 80% of whole life policies are surrendered before death per LIMRA. For the benefit of those who don't understand IB/BOY etc. here is how it works. You buy a whole life (not IUL, VU...

Hi, I am planning 4 days in Moab during Spring break with kids (11 and 13). Day 1- Arches National Park Day 2 - Canyonland National Park (Island of the Sky part) and Dead Horse Point State Park Day 3 - I am keeping reserve for spillover if we are not able to cover anything from Day 1 and 2 Question for Day 4: For the last day, what park should I cover ( I am staying Moab only so will have to drive). I have already covered Zion and Bryce before 1) Capitol Reef National Park - 2.5 hour from Moab 2) Monument Valley - 3 hours from Moab 3) Mesa Verde National Park - 2 hours from Moab 4) Goblin Valley State Park - 1.5 hours from Moab Any suggestions who have gone before with kids would be helpful. I'd do Goblin Valley with that itinerary. Wander...

doobiedoo wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 8:08 pm I recommend a rafting trip with someone like Moab Adventure Center [assuming everyone knows how to swim].
We did the all-day Westwater Canyon rafting in June. It was terrific! And your kids are at the right age.

https://www.moabadventurecenter.com/moab-river-rafting

In April? Really? Better get them drysuits.

I'd beware of Westwater this June too after our big snow year. Westwater between 13,000 and 20,000 CFS is no joke. What's really fun at 3,000 CFS is scary at 9,000 CFS and terrifying at 15,000 CFS. Right now it's running at 2000-3000, but it probably won't be back there until July this year.

Hello all, I'm a rookie to the forum and was directed here by a friend given my newfound intrigue with the Infinite Banking Concept. Please don't execute me for the very mention of whole life! I realize there is some strong emotion on the subject..... I am simply interested in the concept and the WHY behind dismissive or supportive opinions. This is not a request for individualized counsel, but simply to provide a bit of context as to the lens I am looking through; I am 44 yo with a family of 6, transitioning to a new career as I speak. I do not come from money and do not expect any large inheritances or windfalls. I am debt free minus a low interest mortgage and have made reasonable progress towards retirement savings, but am not sitting ...

Hi Bogleheads, My taxable account managed by my former financial advisor has two real estate funds, REET and DFGEX. I read in “The Four Pillars of Investing” and a book by Rob Berger that REIT’s can generate lots of taxes. Should I consider selling them? An unrelated question: Do any of you use microcap funds, or do you think a small cap value fund is sufficient? Brooke Be aware there was no 199A deduction when The Four PIllars of Investing was first published. REITs are slightly more tax efficient than they used to be. Some of their distributions are "return of principal" (basically this is how REITS pass depreciation on to you). Bottom line: They're not as tax-inefficient as a lot of Bogleheads think. Certainly you shouldn't mo...

roguewarrior0 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 22, 2020 4:23 pm Sorry for newbie question, I have been checking the forum and saw conflicting information.

• Ultimately, is VMFXX (Vanguard Federal Money Market aka Vanguad Settlement Funds) safe?

I define safe not based whether the return can go up or down but rather the risk that what I think is in cash (Vanguard settlement) will still be there at the end of this.

FDIC means to me that if the bank goes belly up, I still get my money up to $250k. VMFXX is in short-term government rates so does that mean I am basically ok if US doesn't default on national debt? So is my risk really that US doesn't fund come to a budget agreement and defaults?

If this is a risk you're worried about, I'm curious how you sleep at night owning stocks.

There are lots of ways to invest in real estate without being the classic landlord. Why not share those while also mentioning it? I feel like I have ad nauseum and I'm not allowed to post links to my website where I have also explained this many, many times. Briefly, there is a spectrum ranging from ground up construction to a mutual fund of publicly traded REITS. As you move along the spectrum, you will require less expertise, acquire more liquidity, and reduce hassle. You probably also reduce control, tax benefits, and rate of return. Ground up construction ---> Fix and Flip ----> Short Term Rentals without a manager-----> Long Term Rentals without a manager --------> Short Term Rentals with a manager ----> Long term rentals with a manag...

Hello, brand new here so please go easy :D I have over $300K sitting in a BOA savings account earning just piddly interest. What would you recommend I do to have my money work better for me? Does BOA have other accounts I should look at? I'd also like the account to be somewhat liquid as I deposit and withdraw frequently. Thanks Step 1: Move it to somewhere that will pay you interest. Best choice today is probably the Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund. You can link it to your BOA checking account and move money back and forth easily by putting in buy/sell orders on the Vanguard website. Allow 1-3 business days to move money back and forth. Step 2: Figure out what you actually want to do with this money. If a portion of it is for retiremen...

Activesloth wrote: ↑Fri Mar 17, 2023 1:50 am Vanguard’s money market funds pay 4.5%. It would take just a few minutes to wire your money if you have a Vanguard account.

You don't even have to wire. You just buy using funds in the Ally account. Very easy. I've used both over the years. Sometimes Ally pays more. Sometimes Vanguard. Sometimes it makes sense to be in the municipal MMF. Sometimes it doesn't.

saver7007 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 16, 2023 10:43 pm It's easy to see the benefit of inflation protection for holders of TIPS and I Bonds, but what is the benefit to the government and to taxpayers for offering to cover the cost of future inflation? I can't figure it out, it appears one-sided. Also seeing that corporations don't generally issue inflation-indexed bonds makes me suspect they are probably not a great deal for issuers, but there must be some rationale for them.

If inflation is lower than expected or as expected, the government gets to borrow for less than it otherwise would have.

There are lots of ways to invest in real estate without being the classic landlord.

Hello! I'm a new federal government employee and am considering allocating the entirety of my bond allocation to the G Fund. My rationale is that the G fund is zero risk and so this would let me tweak the remainder of my portfolio towards riskier investments, while keeping my overall risk the same. Both my spouse and I are in our mid 40s and we have one child in elementary school. The total portfolio amount is mid six figures. Some questions: 1. Is this plan reasonable or do you think that there is a better way to proceed? 2. My existing allocation is 60/40. How far can I modify this while keeping the overall risk the same - 65/35, 70/30, 75/25? I'm not sure how I would go about calculating this. I did search the forum - although there is ...

neurosphere wrote: ↑Fri Mar 17, 2023 1:24 pm

The summary is that 8606 never says Roth conversions are not distributions. It's simply separating taxable and non-taxable Roth conversions from many other types of non-taxable distributions (non-taxable rollovers, QCD, HSA contributions, etc) to comes to the correct tax. This is made explicit on line 13 by "all your distributions", which included the previously separated Roth "contributions" from line 8.

Thanks. Classic IRS.

Put up a mine field sign like this one:

https://www.dreamstime.com/illustration ... -sign.html

Should do the trick and maybe get a laugh.

Hello! I'm a new federal government employee and am considering allocating the entirety of my bond allocation to the G Fund. My rationale is that the G fund is zero risk and so this would let me tweak the remainder of my portfolio towards riskier investments, while keeping my overall risk the same. Both my spouse and I are in our mid 40s and we have one child in elementary school. The total portfolio amount is mid six figures. Some questions: 1. Is this plan reasonable or do you think that there is a better way to proceed? 2. My existing allocation is 60/40. How far can I modify this while keeping the overall risk the same - 65/35, 70/30, 75/25? I'm not sure how I would go about calculating this. I did search the forum - although there is ...

My parents have a revocable trust setup decades ago to protect some assets and use them in retirement. It’s now looking like those assets will not be touched at all, as my parents have plenty of savings from other sources. So now I am tasked with optimizing the portfolio in preparation that it gets inherited by myself and my siblings (outlined by the trust already). Since the trust is revocable, the taxes would flow through to my parents who have very little income, so it seems beneficial to skew the portfolio to bond funds with a bit of equity, and to keep the assets in my parents name to take advantage of their low tax rate. Am I missing anything? I know I’m not providing hard numbers here but generally speaking knowing that a) this revo...

Elysium wrote: ↑Wed Mar 01, 2023 10:22 am I don't understand why people on this forum pay so much attention to this failed stock picker. While most of the other gurus and experts gets trashed here, how come Buffett gets not only a pass but such reverence despite his abysmal record in stock picking over the last two decades.
They would've been better off investing in S&P 500 instead of all this sound & fury.

Because he tells people to invest in index funds instead of with him.

You have malpractice insurance but not disability insurance? That seems problematic.

Seems weird to be saving for your kids' education before paying for your own too.

And 31/35 isn't late for someone who buys malpractice insurance.

I think there is a mismatch between people saying they expect 0% real from gold and then forming conclusions from backtesting data with 6% real returns. Other than that, I believe gold has been a good diversifier over the last 40 years. If I had 8 figures ($10 million) gold would almost certainly make up at least 10% of my portfolio. I'm not there yet so its a soft pass for now. I do enjoy the gold threads. I'm interested in what will be said here. What changes when you go from $8M to $12M? Not much that I know of. Something change in your personal life? Seems like it would do just as much good or bad at $8M as $12M. There's not some magic amount where it starts making a dramatic difference in a portfolio. As people get wealthier, their ne...

Wow.

If you worry about the safety of your MMFs at Vanguard, Fidelity, or Schwab how do you sleep at night with money in bonds or (gasp!) stocks?

These are VERY low risk instruments, even when a few banks fail. MMFs aren't doing fractional lending. As I understand it, there are actually very safe assets in those accounts equivalent to the amount you have in there. If you want your money back, they liquidate assets and give it to you. I mean, the big fear in 2008 was that MMFs would break the buck and you'd only get 98 cents on the dollar. Stocks do that pretty much every day.

I agree it would be interesting data, but doubt you'll ever see it. The closest thing I know of is data on physicians. Physicians have relatively stable incomes over 20-40 year careers. Average physician income right now is around $300K, with most being found in the $150-600K range. Adjust that for inflation back over the last 30 years. But we also have data on physician net worths in their 60s.

11-12% have a net worth < $500K
12-14% have a net worth $500K-$1M
60% have a net worth of $1-5M
11-15% have a net worth > $5M

Hope that's helpful to you in some way. Maybe you can console yourself that you're probably richer than your doctor.

A friend asked and it made me stop to think. We had a reasonable affair without flourishes but it still rang in with a $33k price tag in our MHCOL area with 100 guests. Anything less and we would have been compromising on guest experience (i.e., good hot food) which didn’t seem fair since our families were from different sides of the country and traveled hours to attend. Was it really worth all that to celebrate for one day? Would love to hear thoughts and experiences. :sharebeer We spent $5K, and when I say we, I'm talking about my in-laws. I paid for a honeymoon to San Diego where we stayed in a military hotel on Coronado. It was probably $1K, including flights. So no, no regrets about that. My daughters are likely to have a much more ex...

I know this is highly variable, but I am wondering whether there is any data that shows the average net worth at retirement age for people of different income levels throughout their working lives. I am basically curious about the average (because I know it is extremely variable) net worth at 65 for someone who makes an average of $100k annually throughout their working career, $200k, $300k, etc. Can a couple with a household income of $250k, for example, theoretically have save/invest enough to have a net worth of $4 million at 65? (That was just an example of the type of data I'm looking at, I don't necessarily care about that specific example). Few people have a flat income during their career so that would make the data particularly to...

FoolStreet wrote: ↑Sun Mar 12, 2023 6:57 pm

White Coat Investor wrote: ↑Sun Mar 12, 2023 2:38 pm It's been a long time, but when I went to South Lake Tahoe it was to climb at Lover's Leap.

I have fond memories of climbing the Leap. Where are some of your other favorite climbing spots? We are not in technical shape anymore, but love easy multi-pitch climbs with lots of exposure. Cathedral Peak in Yosemite comes to mind. Max 5.9, yet 1000 vertical feet of face.

Joshua Tree, Red Rock, Little Cottonwood, Squamish...

Planning on the Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome this summer. Big route for me. Hopefully no freak out moments like Alex Honnold's...

https://www.johnpiippo.com/2011/10/ther ... k-god.html

It's been a long time, but when I went to South Lake Tahoe it was to climb at Lover's Leap.

That' seriously to say that Roth conversions don't count on the form and in the instructions but then bury the fact that they do somewhere else in the instructions. I can't even figure out where it does that. It's the secret menu at In-N-Out; it's the secret 8606 instructions. All instructions start with Publication 17 "Your Federal Income Tax". If you read linearly, you are directed to: Both contributions for 2022 and distributions in 2022. If all three of the following apply , any IRA distributions you received in 2022 may be partly tax free and partly taxable. • You received distributions in 2022 from one or more traditional IRAs. • You made contributions to a traditional IRA for 2022. • Some of those contributions may be nond...

KellyInBaconville wrote: ↑Fri Mar 10, 2023 5:00 pm In the t-IRA that came over from EJ was in cash. It settled yesterday.
This morning I bought
FZROZ
FZILX
FXNAX
Best part was no fees to do this!!
Think I’m beginning a journey.
Still reading the Wiki here.
Lots to learn.

Funny how scary it is the first time huh? It'll be old hat soon.

What do you mean the preamble? The instructions for line 7 in the instructions read: Line 7 If you received a distribution in 2022 from a traditional, SEP, or SIMPLE IRA, and you also made contributions for 2022 to a traditional IRA that may not be fully deductible because of the income limits, you must make a special computation before completing the rest of this form. For details, including how to complete Form 8606, see Are Distributions Taxable? in chapter 1 of Pub. 590-B. Don’t include any of the following on line 7. • Distributions that you converted to a Roth IRA. Seems pretty clear to me By "preamble" I mean that the instructions for line 7 refer to a computation that spans more than one line. It introduces a portion of t...

As long as this discussion is still alive, how confident are we in the following? Line 6 rarely trips someone up, but I think this is probably what's tripping you up. Remember when you do a recharacterization, it is as though you made the contribution to the other type of IRA all along. Thus, you're probably putting $0 on line 6 when in reality you should be putting $7K there because that money was (due to the recharacterization) theoretically sitting in a traditional IRA on 12/31/22. I ask because there is a parallel thread focused specifically on line 6, and at least one conflicting interpretation on the amount to be entered following a recharacterization. I don't know enough to argue (as evidenced by this thread!), but feel free to wade...

Yea but you're ignoring the two lines before that "If you received a distribution". So it's not about just making a partially deductible contribution, it's about making a partially deductible contribution AND taking a distribution. That's much more rare for people doing Backdoor Roth IRAs . But you're right that the software seems to default to that worksheet. I'm confused. I don't think I'm ignoring anything? A backdoor Roth REQUIRES a distribution. It's by definition part of the process. A conversion from a non-Roth IRA to a Roth IRA (conversion) by definition is a distribution. Look at the title of form 1099-R. A Trad. IRA distribution for the purposes of Line 7 of Form 8606 excludes Roth conversions which is what the second s...

Risk adjusted return calculations such as the Sharpe Ratio use volatility as a proxy for risk. Yet a long term investor really shouldn't care much about volatility. Does that mean they should not care about Sharpe, Treynor, or Sortino ratios?

How can one adjust returns for the deep risks discussed by Dr. Bernstein (Inflation, deflation, confiscation, devastation?) i.e. the permanent loss of capital.