Search found 1188 matches

by scubadiver
Fri Jul 10, 2020 9:53 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Tip Dental Hygienist for Teeth Cleaning? Thanks everyone.
Replies: 72
Views: 7065

Re: Tip Dental Hygienist for Teeth Cleaning? Thanks everyone.

A more serious response than my comment above would be that you should not give a tip, gift card or otherwise. If you're lucky, giving a tip will only be somewhat awkward.

If you really wish to say thank you, floss daily, be on-time or early for your appointment, and if you need to cancel, do so at least 48 hours in advance. And maybe recommend a few friends to the practice or practices that employ the hygienist.

Anyway, good luck whatever you choose.

Scubadiver
by scubadiver
Fri Jul 10, 2020 8:25 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Tip Dental Hygienist for Teeth Cleaning? Thanks everyone.
Replies: 72
Views: 7065

Re: Tip Dental Hygienist for Teeth Cleaning? Thanks everyone.

I always tip the hygienist twice my co-pay. Kinda thought this was standard.
by scubadiver
Fri Jul 10, 2020 7:39 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Pay extra principal on house you do not plan on staying in?
Replies: 19
Views: 2509

Re: Pay extra principal on house you do not plan on staying in?

Hi All- Good morning! Is it worth making strides to pay off a house early that you may only stay in for another 10 years? Details: -Maxing out all retirement vehicles -No debt besides the home -6 months of expenses in the EF - $3000 in my car fund for next vehicle when the time comes to purchase one- hoping to pay cash - Age 32 and plan on retiring in 28 yrs. Current Mortgage Details: -Currently owe $122,930.28 @ 3.75 (originated 6/2016 at $137,000) If you were planning to stay for only a year, I would say it doesn't really matter, and maybe recommend you keep the cash for liquidity. But we're talking about a longer time frame than that. At a minimum, you should consider refinancing. Beyond that, you could do what I do and split the differ...
by scubadiver
Fri Jul 10, 2020 7:05 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Buy a Home to Rent to Mom?
Replies: 15
Views: 1941

Re: Buy a Home to Rent to Mom?

My spouse and I are considering purchasing a small 1200-1500 square foot home for my single mother, and having her rent it back from us. She's 62, still working a stable job, and lives in an apartment. She has never owned a home, so she has no equity outside of her small 401k and expected social security, but she's never made very much either. We live about 30 minutes apart and we'd buy something very close to where she lives. We just refinanced our home, and we're staring at some of these interest rates. My guess is she will work until she's 70-75, so another 8-13 years. My spouse and I are considering purchasing a small 1200-1500 square foot home for her in the $190-225k range. We'd put down 20% and she would pay us essentially what her ...
by scubadiver
Fri Jul 10, 2020 9:03 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 15 year or 30 year mortgage?
Replies: 104
Views: 9628

Re: 15 year or 30 year mortgage?

Moral of the story from all the various comments and discussions in this thread: Maintain discipline with respect to use of leverage and funding lifestyle.
by scubadiver
Thu Jul 09, 2020 5:17 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 15 year or 30 year mortgage?
Replies: 104
Views: 9628

Re: 15 year or 30 year mortgage?

Yes, that is correct, I am not planning to pay down the loan any quicker. I am about 16 years from retirement (currently age 45 and plan to stop working around age 61). A pension did factor into my decision. It is basically as if a portion of your paycheck keeps coming forever. In the meantime, inflation works like sandpaper on your mortgage payment. So, in effect, your mortgage payment goes down over time. In my decision, I definitely considered personal factors as well as the fact that I'm locking in a sub-3% rate. Even if the growth on my investments is lackluster over the next three decades, I'd be surprised if I don't do better than my mortgage rate of 2.875% (which is actually even lower after itemizing on taxes). My loan is for $348...
by scubadiver
Thu Jul 09, 2020 4:36 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 15 year or 30 year mortgage?
Replies: 104
Views: 9628

Re: 15 year or 30 year mortgage?

Yes, that is correct, I am not planning to pay down the loan any quicker. I am about 16 years from retirement (currently age 45 and plan to stop working around age 61). A pension did factor into my decision. It is basically as if a portion of your paycheck keeps coming forever. In the meantime, inflation works like sandpaper on your mortgage payment. So, in effect, your mortgage payment goes down over time. In my decision, I definitely considered personal factors as well as the fact that I'm locking in a sub-3% rate. Even if the growth on my investments is lackluster over the next three decades, I'd be surprised if I don't do better than my mortgage rate of 2.875% (which is actually even lower after itemizing on taxes). My loan is for $348...
by scubadiver
Thu Jul 09, 2020 3:21 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 15 year or 30 year mortgage?
Replies: 104
Views: 9628

Re: 15 year or 30 year mortgage?

Yes, that is correct, I am not planning to pay down the loan any quicker. I am about 16 years from retirement (currently age 45 and plan to stop working around age 61). A pension did factor into my decision. It is basically as if a portion of your paycheck keeps coming forever. In the meantime, inflation works like sandpaper on your mortgage payment. So, in effect, your mortgage payment goes down over time. In my decision, I definitely considered personal factors as well as the fact that I'm locking in a sub-3% rate. Even if the growth on my investments is lackluster over the next three decades, I'd be surprised if I don't do better than my mortgage rate of 2.875% (which is actually even lower after itemizing on taxes). My loan is for $348...
by scubadiver
Thu Jul 09, 2020 3:11 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: TSP fees shocker
Replies: 12
Views: 2023

Re: TSP fees shocker

Also worth noting that while Vanguard fees are generally low, a comparable** Vanguard international fund (VTIAX or VFWAX) has an expense ratio of 0.11%. Most would argue that is exceptionally low, particularly for an international fund. But the TSP fund comes in at 0.042%, saving those penny pinching federal bogleheads almost 7 basis points! :moneybag :moneybag

**I'm generous in my use of the word comparable. Best matching might be a better phrasing as the TSP fund tracks the MSCI EAFE Stock Index and I couldn't find a Vanguard fund with the same holdings.
by scubadiver
Thu Jul 09, 2020 12:00 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: COVID Portfolio
Replies: 33
Views: 3225

Re: COVID Portfolio

omeletpants wrote: Thu Jul 09, 2020 11:51 am Thanks!!! TBH knowing the YTD return before expenses was my primary concern. My buddy has crazy money and access to proprietary investments that I don't have so anytime I can compete with him or beat his return I feel I'm doing well.
This mindset is detrimental to your financial well-being. It's not a competition. It's about reaching your financial goals.
by scubadiver
Wed Jul 08, 2020 9:29 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Share your budget
Replies: 152
Views: 12861

Re: Share your budget

We don't have an explicit budget per se, but here's where I think we're going to land for 2020 based upon 2019 and current / planned spending.

Mortgage (Includes additional principal payment): 18K
Property Taxes: 5.5K
Insurance (Home / Auto / Umbrella / Term Life): 2.7K
Savings (includes employer match): 66K
Utilities: 3.5K
Children's Activities: 5K
Food: 12K
Charity: 6K
Subscriptions: 1.3K

Obviously there are a few holes here. For example, we have cars (which are paid for) but apparently they don't require gas or repairs. We also spent about $6K on skiing last winter, a portion of which occurred in 2020 but is not shown here. Anyway, this puts us in the ballpark.
by scubadiver
Wed Jul 08, 2020 5:29 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Landlords: How are you doing this year?
Replies: 163
Views: 24350

Re: Landlords: How are you doing this year?

smitcat wrote: Wed Jul 08, 2020 4:59 pm
tomtoms wrote: Wed Jul 08, 2020 4:51 pm 25% of NY renters are not paying rent: https://www.bloombergquint.com/business ... king-point

This is going to hurt.
You mean in addition to those that have rentals at college towns, vacation spots ,and near any larger employer who is transitioning to more of an online workplace.
I'm not disagreeing with this statement as much as I'm making a distinction. College towns and vacation spot rentals are a near-term issue for property owners which will pass in 6-8 months when we are (hopefully) all vaccinated. I would think that a seismic shift by employers towards a permanent online work place would manifest as more of a slower long-term transition, if it ever materializes.
by scubadiver
Wed Jul 08, 2020 2:58 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Will ex-US ever revert to good performance? Or is it just a high-risk, low-reward investment?
Replies: 747
Views: 54712

Re: Will ex-US ever revert to good performance? Or is it just a high-risk, low-reward investment?

For those Vanguard investors who have substantial international exposure, what funds are you holding? VTIAX? VTWAX? Something else? And are you just in international equities or do you have an International bond exposure as well?
by scubadiver
Wed Jul 08, 2020 1:13 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Manager vs. Direct report salary issues
Replies: 155
Views: 23246

Re: Manager vs. Direct report salary issues

According to my limited understanding, salary is considered confidential information in private sectors, but pay grade may be not. In government, this is a distinction without a difference. Knowing someone's grade, location, and years of experience at a particular grade determines their salary. You might not know an exact salary, but it's easy to estimate anyone's salary and be right within $10k. Not everyone in the federal government is on the GS scale. In those instances the pay differential between employees at the same level in the organization can be substantial. I always treat employee information as private, even when corporate policy or government regulations don't require it. Maybe it's publicly available. Maybe the employee decid...
by scubadiver
Wed Jul 08, 2020 1:00 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Neighborhood Noise
Replies: 189
Views: 17265

Re: Neighborhood Noise

scubadiver
by scubadiver
Tue Jul 07, 2020 10:32 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: College in fall
Replies: 549
Views: 57823

Re: College in fall

This forum seems to be heavily weighted towards utilitarianism, wringing the last ounce of value put of each dollar. I think many underestimate how much people value the "college experience", hanging out with friends, going to parties, sporting events, various clubs, maybe even fraternities, etc. It may all seem frivolous to many here, but I think a lot of people are willing to pay up for that relative to an on-line degree. I know I thoroughly enjoyed my years in college, it is a time of tremendous freedom, with little responsibility (what could be better?), and I want my kids to experience the same. I suspect many feel the same way. So, I suspect there are changes coming, but I don't think the residential college model is going ...
by scubadiver
Tue Jul 07, 2020 9:50 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: COVID Portfolio
Replies: 33
Views: 3225

Re: COVID Portfolio

omeletpants wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 3:51 pm My advisor says Vanguard doesnt have a COVID specific product. Others do and my best friend has returned return on his investment in the last 6 weeks. Going back and forth with my advisor with no good answer. Was Vanguard sleeping on the most compelling event on our lifetimes?
Welcome to the forum.

I don't think Vanguard dropped the ball nor do I think you need to invest in a COVID specific fund.

I will suggest that you read the following three books, if you haven't already:
Common Sense Investing, by John Bogle
The Four Pillars of Investing, by William Bernstein
A Random Walk Down Wall Street, by Burton G. Malkiel

These books will go a long way towards explaining why you don't need a COVID fund.

Cheers,
Scubadiver
by scubadiver
Tue Jul 07, 2020 9:42 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How to invest 6,000 in a 3 fund portfolio when admiral shares have a minimal balance of 3,000?
Replies: 27
Views: 2681

Re: How to invest 6,000 in a 3 fund portfolio when admiral shares have a minimal balance of 3,000?

Hey all, First time investor here, so please don't roast me too horribly :) I want to start a roth IRA and max it out for the year before the July 15th deadline. I was curious about what would be the best way to invest in a traditional 3 fund portfolio when admiral shares have a minimal balance of 3,000 (aka I can only afford 2 funds)? I am somewhat conservative (especially in the light of recent events) and wanted to have a 70/30 stock bond allocation. I would ideally like to invest in Vanguard because I enjoy their history and the fact that they appear to have more morals then other money institutions. But I'd be willing to invest in other places like Fidelity or Schwab, as I understand they have vanguard funds available and do not requi...
by scubadiver
Tue Jul 07, 2020 8:56 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Attorney needed?
Replies: 28
Views: 3673

Re: Attorney needed?

Sorry to hear about your father's unfortunate accident and circumstances. I think you should consult with an attorney. There may be exceptions, but as a general rule, if you are uncertain about the need to consult an attorney, then you need to consult an attorney. Get some advice, understand your options and make an informed decision about how to go forward from there (which may or may not include the attorney at your side). Good luck. Scubadiver The OP has already consulted with an attorney. Ok, after reading the bottom half of the OP's post I think he needs to go with an attorney. Other's have suggested interviewing a couple of personal injury attorneys. That is probably good advice. Honestly, I don't know what other option the OP has un...
by scubadiver
Tue Jul 07, 2020 8:35 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 15 year or 30 year mortgage?
Replies: 104
Views: 9628

Re: 15 year or 30 year mortgage?

Here's my suggestion, which is influenced in part by the fact that you are so young. Go with the 30-year until you reach the point where you are maxing all available 401k and IRA space annually and contributing at some level to 529 plans (if you have children) and maybe building a small taxable portfolio beyond your typical emergency fund. Once you are consistently hitting that level of savings you are at the point where you may want to look at shortening the terms of your mortgage pending favorable interest rates. There's no secret formula behind this suggestion. It is simply a reflection of what I have done for the past 15+ years. With each pay raise I got we always set a new financial goal. Max my 401k contribution. Max my 401k contribut...
by scubadiver
Tue Jul 07, 2020 8:06 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: New Grad's Budget
Replies: 22
Views: 1287

Re: New Grad's Budget

Hi everyone. I'm starting my first job out of school as an engineer for a large company in MCOL. I start next week. I wanted to know what Bogleheads think about my budget. I was pretty limited with the housing options here for several reasons, but I finally found a place so hopefully my rent won't be criticized too much. I have little furniture from college so I have to spend money to furnish my new place. I've received a generous relocation stipend that I am using for the move, deposit on apartment, furniture, etc. Signing bonus will be used in ways TBD. Here goes: 5667 gross/3700 net estimated salary after HSA/6% 401k match contributions 1200 rent 160 phone/internet 160 utilities 278 car 87 car insurance 80 gas 200 estimated health insur...
by scubadiver
Tue Jul 07, 2020 7:59 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Attorney needed?
Replies: 28
Views: 3673

Re: Attorney needed?

Sorry to hear about your father's unfortunate accident and circumstances. I think you should consult with an attorney.

There may be exceptions, but as a general rule, if you are uncertain about the need to consult an attorney, then you need to consult an attorney. Get some advice, understand your options and make an informed decision about how to go forward from there (which may or may not include the attorney at your side).

Good luck.

Scubadiver
by scubadiver
Tue Jul 07, 2020 7:42 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: College in fall
Replies: 549
Views: 57823

Re: College in fall

If I made reservations at a hotel for a week, and show up to find someone hit their head on the diving board and bled into the pool, so they had to close the pool for a day or two (and all the other nearby hotels had similar issues), I would be disappointed that we would miss out on some of the enjoyment, but I would not go sleep in my car, or storm to the front desk and demand a discount. That's a good analogy. Many are getting into a big huff about all of this, but the very fact that nearly all universities are taking very similar approaches should be indicative of how little choice they truly have in the matter. My thoughts are that there are many changes coming to this sector, it's prime for a disruption and covid19 is a catalyst. I ag...
by scubadiver
Tue Jul 07, 2020 11:40 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Neighborhood Noise
Replies: 189
Views: 17265

Re: Neighborhood Noise

scubadiver
by scubadiver
Tue Jul 07, 2020 10:37 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: College in fall
Replies: 549
Views: 57823

Re: College in fall

My son will be starting grad school at MIT this year, and he plans to stay in an off campus apartment with roommates. Since he is doing research, he will supposedly be allowed on campus. I was hoping to be able to help him move in, but the quarantine requirements rule that out. Luckily, it is not costing me anything. My own experience is that even in hard hit regions such as NY, many universities have started to reopen, at least a little. Campus labs supporting health care and DoD research were the first to reopen. I haven't followed it too closely, but based upon the increasing number of cars I am seeing in the parking lot, I think a few other labs may have started to reopen as well. Classes can be taught remotely and billed the same as i...
by scubadiver
Mon Jul 06, 2020 11:38 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Neighborhood Noise
Replies: 189
Views: 17265

Re: Neighborhood Noise

I live in a rural area and it’s not quiet. I’m on 20 acres and can still hear the compressor station on the parcel a hundred acres away. The coyotes chatter and howl all night long and my dog barks all night long at them. I have bull frogs in my pond that I can hear from the house 300’ away. My neighbors will absolutely target shoot at 6 am on Sundays and during hunting season, the gun shots are non stop. I still prefer that noise to the noise of kids screaming outside of the window and fireworks. I visited my in laws in town this weekend and did not sleep well, am glad to be getting back to my type of noise. I think this is highly personal. I would take screaming kids and fireworks over the soundnd of crickets, coyotes and bull frogs. Thi...
by scubadiver
Mon Jul 06, 2020 9:21 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: College in fall
Replies: 549
Views: 57823

Re: College in fall

Mudpuppy wrote: Mon Jul 06, 2020 9:16 pm My opinion is this decision will not have the stated desired results. Instead of pressuring campuses to have in-person classes, it will likely make international students look to other countries to study.
And what exactly are the stated desired results again?
by scubadiver
Mon Jul 06, 2020 7:36 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: College in fall
Replies: 549
Views: 57823

Re: College in fall

I just read that Harvard is going online for the fall semester, it seems like the first domino to drop among the elite universities. My guess is the rest will follow suit in the next two weeks. I feel sorry for the kids that got off campus apartments thinking they would be going back to in person learning for the fall. I wonder if Harvard will change their mind ... NEW YORK — Foreign students must leave the United States if their school's classes this fall will be taught completely online or transfer to another school with in-person instruction, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency announced on Monday. https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/07/06/us/06reuters-usa-immigration-visas-students.html I'm not sure this is a dis...
by scubadiver
Mon Jul 06, 2020 5:30 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Early Retirement Check Up - Looking for Direction
Replies: 43
Views: 4657

Re: Early Retirement Check Up - Looking for Direction

What tax benefit are you getting by contributing to a traditional IRA for your spouse? Unless I am missing something, you don't qualify for a deductible IRA. Or did I miss something and you do in fact qualify? Because if you don't qualify for a deductible IRA, it makes no sense for you to contribute after tax dollars to an account that's going to be taxed again when you could contribute the same after tax dollars to a Roth IRA with no future tax liability. We do qualify up to a certain point, at least we did last year. You may want to take a closer look at the benefits of contributing to the Roth TSP and deductible IRA vice Traditional TSP and Roth IRA. I'm inclined to thin that the latter would be a better deal for you. Think about it lik...
by scubadiver
Mon Jul 06, 2020 4:22 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Manager vs. Direct report salary issues
Replies: 155
Views: 23246

Re: Manager vs. Direct report salary issues

According to my limited understanding, salary is considered confidential information in private sectors, but pay grade may be not. In government, this is a distinction without a difference. Knowing someone's grade, location, and years of experience at a particular grade determines their salary. You might not know an exact salary, but it's easy to estimate anyone's salary and be right within $10k. Not everyone in the federal government is on the GS scale. In those instances the pay differential between employees at the same level in the organization can be substantial. I always treat employee information as private, even when corporate policy or government regulations don't require it. Maybe it's publicly available. Maybe the employee decid...
by scubadiver
Mon Jul 06, 2020 3:46 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Early Retirement Check Up - Looking for Direction
Replies: 43
Views: 4657

Re: Early Retirement Check Up - Looking for Direction

Maybe this was already addressed and I just missed it, but from what you posted above, I am inferring that you are contributing to a traditional IRA for your spouse rather than a Roth IRA. Is that correct? And if so, why? Not sure I have a great answer to that question. Basically, to get some immediate tax reduction benefit. I don't have any idea where tax rates will be in the future--in general or where we will be living, which is TBD, so we basically split the difference and do some Roth, some traditional (for the IRAs and the TSP). All employer contributions in the TSP are traditional. What tax benefit are you getting by contributing to a traditional IRA for your spouse? Unless I am missing something, you don't qualify for a deductible ...
by scubadiver
Sun Jul 05, 2020 10:00 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Early Retirement Check Up - Looking for Direction
Replies: 43
Views: 4657

Re: Early Retirement Check Up - Looking for Direction

Cash/CDs: $61,000 Debt: Mortgage ($361k owed @3.75%, 30 year, worth $515k, paying $600/month extra toward principal) Tax Filing Status: Married Filing Jointly Tax Rate: I don't know. Salary is about $145k/year. Tax rate is much lower than expected because of deductions and maxing out retirement accounts. State of Residence: VA Age: 35 Desired Asset allocation: 75% stocks / 25% bonds Desired International allocation: whatever Vanguard recommends Current retirement assets (~$282k) No taxable investments yet His TSP - 73% L2040 (about 1/3 Roth; 2/3 Traditional) Company match? Yes, up to 5%. His Roth IRA at Vanguard 12% Vanguard Target Retirement 2040 (VFORX) (0.14% ER) His Qualified Pension Plan (after tax) 3% Total Stock Market Fund Her Trad...
by scubadiver
Sun Jul 05, 2020 9:45 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Neighborhood Noise
Replies: 189
Views: 17265

Re: Neighborhood Noise

Greetings, I am sensitive to noise and do not like it. I have issues with two categories of noise: 1. Noise (like people playing music and talking outside) at night when I am trying to go to sleep 2. Noise that can be dangerously loud, such as nearby illegal fireworks. I am really rattled after last night when some M-80's or similar were blown off with a few 10's of feet from my bedroom windows. Fortunately, I keep the windows closed - but it was still loud. Both categories of noise are a problem in my neighborhood, which is a few miles outside of a major city. I hate the moving process - but see 3 options and seeking input on which might be best: a. Hunker down and finish basement, making a large sound proof room. Also sound-proof some of...
by scubadiver
Sun Jul 05, 2020 9:12 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 529 fairness?
Replies: 45
Views: 4811

Re: 529 fairness?

unclescrooge wrote: Sun Jul 05, 2020 8:33 pm
novemberrain wrote: Sun Jul 05, 2020 2:35 am
unclescrooge wrote: Fri Jul 03, 2020 12:32 am My strategy is to constantly tell the kids that life isn't fair, and that if they don't work hard and get scholarships to college, they will end up homeless and live under a bridge.
+1 . I constantly tell my kids that we are dirt poor and are hoping they can work double hard and take us all out of poverty. I take them to yard sales and buy them $2 toys. Also take them to Goodwill and hammer it into my kids brain that we go there because we don't have money.
+1
Unfortunately my kids think I have a ton of money, solely because I have a large jar of lose change on my office desk.
To be honest, I'm not sure your bogleheads username is reinforcing the image you hope to convey either. :)
by scubadiver
Sun Jul 05, 2020 6:22 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Landlords: How are you doing this year?
Replies: 163
Views: 24350

Re: Landlords: How are you doing this year?

tomtoms wrote: Sun Jul 05, 2020 6:19 pm Question for landlord: when did you realize you should stop buying rental properties?
Not really a well-posed question as it presumes the rental property that we own now was purchased with the intent of it being a rental property. :wink:

I suppose the most appropriate response would be "never".
by scubadiver
Sun Jul 05, 2020 5:08 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: College in fall
Replies: 549
Views: 57823

Re: College in fall

This. The unfortunate reality is, in this current environment, the chances of a young adult doing anything productive with a gap year are very slim. In most situations , at this time, that's the last thing I would recommend a young college student to do right now. How about a gap year doing public service, like AmeriCorps or getting international experience working in Africa as part of Peace Corps? Grad schools and future employers view these experiences fondly. Peace Corps sent their volunteers back home in March...my cousin's kid was teaching English in eastern Europe & ended up coming home 18 months earlier than expected. This wouldn't offer any resume enhancing value, but a gap year spent socially distancing with an older or at-ris...
by scubadiver
Sun Jul 05, 2020 2:44 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Coronavirus and the market
Replies: 4089
Views: 397260

Re: Coronavirus and the market

scubadiver
by scubadiver
Sat Jul 04, 2020 4:15 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Which is the best "Die Broke" book?
Replies: 17
Views: 2697

Re: Which is the best "Die Broke" book?

ResearchMed wrote: Wed Jun 24, 2020 7:08 pm
New Providence wrote: Wed Jun 24, 2020 6:38 pm
tibbitts wrote: Wed Jun 24, 2020 6:30 pm


What exactly are the serious health problems?
He's 71.
:confused

Did you forget to finish your post, with the actual "health problems"?

RM
Got a chuckle out of this exchange.

My father comes from a large family and the siblings have all stayed fairly close over the years. One of my aunts recently discovered she needed some repairs to her roof. Yesterday two of my uncles came over with a ladder and made the needed repairs. The younger one is 72.
by scubadiver
Fri Jul 03, 2020 4:57 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Will ex-US ever revert to good performance? Or is it just a high-risk, low-reward investment?
Replies: 747
Views: 54712

Re: Will ex-US ever revert to good performance? Or is it just a high-risk, low-reward investment?

Vulcan wrote: Fri Jul 03, 2020 4:47 pm For the US to continue to significantly outperform long-term, its market cap (already near its all-time high) would have to continue moving up.

How close do you expect it will get to 100%? Will we blow past the post-WWII peak of American dominance?

You decide. I buy the world.
But isn't weighting your portfolio towards a recently underperforming asset class just market timing? :)
by scubadiver
Fri Jul 03, 2020 3:24 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Will ex-US ever revert to good performance? Or is it just a high-risk, low-reward investment?
Replies: 747
Views: 54712

Re: Will ex-US ever revert to good performance? Or is it just a high-risk, low-reward investment?

This discussion board is made up of retail investors. Literature generally suggests many retail investors are likely prone to potentially detrimental performance chasing. Aside from suggesting that investment risk may not result in realized returns, and generally supporting performance chasing, how does the information posted by grayfox really help anyone with investment decisions for the next 30 years? Regardless of how someone decides to proceed, it might make sense to try avoiding performance chasing as much as possible. It looks like 10 year treasury bonds were over 7% in 1987. Since current bond rates are considerably lower today, it's basically a given that the next 30 years will not resemble the chart posted by grayfox. I can't buy ...
by scubadiver
Fri Jul 03, 2020 1:42 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Coronavirus and the market
Replies: 4089
Views: 397260

Re: Coronavirus and the market

So the US is slowly approaching 100k new cases per day and the markets don't care. Do we need to hit the actual numbers so that people realize "Oh damn it got worse I need to sell all my stocks"? I'm still doubting if markets are truely efficient. I think those in the know are aware the Fed will keep printing. Why would they stop at $10T? Why not go to $100T and buy everything? They are buying Apple, Microsoft, Walmart, etc. bonds which allows those companies to keep doing stock buybacks LOL. Would the market go up if the dollar collapses? Alternatively, 50K new cases a day when you're doing 650K tests isn't the same as 40K new cases in a day when you're doing 120K tests. Rational people know this and are pricing the market accor...
by scubadiver
Fri Jul 03, 2020 11:50 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Will ex-US ever revert to good performance? Or is it just a high-risk, low-reward investment?
Replies: 747
Views: 54712

Re: Will ex-US ever revert to good performance? Or is it just a high-risk, low-reward investment?

I think it would be outstanding if the economies and markets of Central and South America substantially outperformed the US over the next 30 years. This would be indicative of presumably a number of other positive developments including better infrastructure, lower crime, better job opportunities and a host of other quality of life improvements the region so badly needs. Ditto for Africa. Continued economic development in India would be great too (and I am truly optimistic about their prospects). There's opportunity for a number of regions across the globe to outperform simply based upon where they are now economically. Whether or not that actually happens..... For now though, the only private company ever to launch humans into space was a ...
by scubadiver
Thu Jul 02, 2020 8:31 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Coronavirus and the market
Replies: 4089
Views: 397260

Re: Coronavirus and the market

I'm not a believer in "new bull market". While it's a pretty high dead cat bounce, it's unclear to me that we're on a true economic rebound. I think we haven't seen the worst yet...no idea when that will be either. It's never clear. It's not a "dead-cat bounce". It's that no one knows for sure what's going to happen. And that's normal for the stock market. I agree that it's never clear. But as a counterpoint, every bear market in U.S. history has had at least one dead cat bounce (i.e. the market rebounds significantly from the initial drop only to then go on to new lows). Maybe that won't be the case now. But if it doesn't, it will be the first time. In a span of three months we have had both record monthly job losses a...
by scubadiver
Thu Jul 02, 2020 6:17 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 529 fairness?
Replies: 45
Views: 4811

Re: 529 fairness?

You are overthinking this. I have been advised by others on this forum that it is prudent to fund a 529 for each child. The rationale being that this implicitly communicates your intent to fund college for each child. This becomes important in the event of your early passing. Alternatively, you could communicate this intent explicitly in a will, so I'm not sure that opening a 529 for each child is necessary to achieve the objective. In any event, I did take that advice and have opened 529s for each of our children. The accounts are not funded to the same level though we do intend to fully fund the cost of college for our children. This brings us to the comments above, to which I agree. The 529 plan is a tax avoidance vehicle for you, not a ...
by scubadiver
Thu Jul 02, 2020 5:22 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Coronavirus and the market
Replies: 4089
Views: 397260

Re: Coronavirus and the market

So the US is slowly approaching 100k new cases per day and the markets don't care. Do we need to hit the actual numbers so that people realize "Oh damn it got worse I need to sell all my stocks"? I'm still doubting if markets are truely efficient. Prior to the pandemic, the US economy was as good as it has ever been in my lifetime. While the rising number of cases is concerning, there is no indication that the current spike will warrant the massive shutdowns previously seen. And let's not forget, the purpose of the shutdowns was to prevent the overwhelming of the healthcare system, not to stop the spread of the disease. Everything I have seen so far suggests that the states where the cases are surging have the needed capacity. In...