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denismurf

Without getting into specifics, during the past few months I've noticed that some NY Times news stories on health/medical topics are long on sensationalism and very weak on logic, facts, and objectivity. Has anyone else noticed similar quality declines in NY Times reporting on topics you are knowled...

denismurf

Here's another vote for Naked Statistics.

Read this before jumping into college textbooks or similar.

denismurf

Not too many people here buy individual muni bonds, but I do. But I'm not a pro, so take everything I say as fairly well-informed chit chat. I only buy zero coupon munis when first issued. As I understand some pretty complicated tax law, all the accumulated interest at maturity on a bond bought when...

denismurf

If your primary concern in estate planning is to avoid federal estate taxes, keep in mind that there is no tax on the first 5 million, and there are other breaks if the survivor is the decedent's spouse. You don't need a lawyer to nail down these facts. Be sure to check the accuracy of my assertions...

denismurf

WW II again: A Long Walk by Claus Hackenberger. It's a long memoir that starts with the author's ordinary childhood as the son of a rising Wehrmacht officer in mid-1930's. There are some choppy accounts of teenagehood in Hitler's Germany, a little about his combat service, then suddenly the war is w...

denismurf

An earlier poster said they would move or downsize if a child or children made it impossible to maintain their standard and style of living. If both parents really are capable of being happy even with a move to a cheaper neighborhood, getting by with one aging car, shopping at the Goodwill, seldom e...

denismurf

ME: undergrad at Texas 57-60. 75% by parents; 25% from my work. 0 debt. Grad school at UC Berkeley 63-65; 100% by fellowship. No debt. KIDS: Roughly same as my undergrad experience for both kids: #1 at Washington St, 87-91; #2 at VA Tech 94-99. Both instate. No debt. HOW? Maybe because both my paren...

denismurf

Flip through The Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan Watts.

denismurf

If you do choose to reduce your parents' muni bond portfolio, they will come out way ahead by reducing that portfolio by attrition, so to speak. Don't sell any on the secondary market; just don't replace bonds that mature. I see I'm assuming the bonds are in a ladder of some sort. If they are all lo...

denismurf

Speaking of Hertz, ... A couple of weeks ago I rented a "premium" car for a Seattle-St Louis and back drive: "Ford Crown Victoria or similar." What I got was a Hyundai Genesis; nice, but far from the comfy ride I expected. There were no other "premium" cars at the downt...

denismurf

It's impossible for me even to imagine how to act if that armed guy appears in my home at 2am. That's never happened to me, to any family or friends, or, as far as I know, to anybody in my social or work circles over the years. Nobody has ever brought up such a thing to me while chatting at parties,...

denismurf

Another plug for The Antidote.

If a book really does make me laugh out loud, I consider it worth its weight in Snickers bars.

denismurf

I returned to, and actually finished, Into That Darkness by Gitta Sereny. It's a distillation of 70 hours of interviews with Franz Stangl, commandant of the Treblinka and Sobibor extermination camps, plus family and colleagues. I stopped halfway through because it literally made me nauseated, but la...

denismurf

Getting rid of the bonds now necessarily means selling them on the secondary market, where retail sellers really, really get the shaft. It could be that the shaft is so severe that your mom is better off just hanging on to the bonds until they mature. Actually computing that comparison between selli...

denismurf

Why not?

denismurf

Accidentally just acquired 2 very different books about Nazi Germany. I'm halfway through Into That Darkness by Gitta Sereny. The author logged 70 hours interviewing Franz Stangl, commandant of the Treblinka and Sobibor extermination camps, about his life and his personal journey to the camps, the f...

denismurf

Your experience isn't uncommon. Mechanics are not stupid. I can attest to this since I am married to one. I read this post to him and pretty much verbatim his reply was.... We see this stuff all the time. Mostly people use chalk. 100's of times he has removed a customers chalk line and replaced it ...

denismurf

An earlier experience caused me to do an experiment on a repair shop. Before taking my car in for a tire rotation, I stuck a piece of tape to the valve stem of the drivers side front tire. When I picked the car up and paid for the rotation, that piece of tape was still there. Question: Is it automat...

denismurf

Last year was a better time to buy than now. Simply due to the now limited inventory and buyers rushing to get low interest rates. I still think its "ok" to buy now, but I think prices may drop again as interest rates rise and houses become less affordable. So make sure its a house you re...

denismurf

Thanks for the reminder that Richard Posner is still around and writing. One of the few books I read twice was his Sex and Reason . Right now I'm halfway through The Origin of Satan by Elaine Pagels. I've always found her easy to read and her topics interesting even for someone with no religious aff...

denismurf

In a move to help reduce America's sugar consumption, Mars Chocolate Co has reduced the size of its standard Snickers bar by 10% and increased its price by 33.3%.

denismurf

Absolutely fascinating stuff, Larry. Anybody interested in what to consider before allocating money to short or much longer maturities should take the time to read the whole (one page) thing. It's simple enough that even I can understand it.

denismurf

I did in fact buy the book and got through it in about a month. I took it slow; took notes; re-read parts to lock them in. I haven't done that with a book in a long time. Even though I could not follow it in places, I now at least know in general terms where to look for statistical errors and intent...

denismurf

My intro to investing in something other than CD's and US savings bonds was through what was then called a sharebuilder account with Merrill Lynch. By accepting tons of limitations on your actions, you could get a huge break on commissions. This was late 70's. I did a lot of trading over 5 years in ...

denismurf

Sheesh. Just buy low and sell high. What's so complicated about that?

denismurf

Excellent.

I hope many of you holding individual munis sell your holdings into the secondary market tomorrow, if not sooner. I have some cash to spend on what you don't want.

denismurf

There are also discount and flat fee brokers and real estate lawyers to consider. I've used these, but never gone FSBO all the way. You have to do some stuff yourself, like show the house sometimes, but you're getting paid very well in the form of a discount from the full service commission. Based o...

denismurf

larryswedroe wrote:denis
yes, note ratings on munis have been very accurate unlike with ABS
Larry

Revelation of ignorance: what is ABS?

In general, I believe the muni bond market is hugely more transparent than any equities market. It sure feels that way.

denismurf

Here's what my friend wrote, longview. I thought you were asking if you could buy new issues directly from the issuer. Looks like you can't. "Actually individuals can buy new issue munis. They are available through Charles Schwab, but other brokerage houses offer them too. I am wondering why th...

denismurf

I think the key word in Larry's post is not to trust ratings alone.

denismurf

What you propose is out of my league, but I have a friend in the business who might be able to shed some light on how to DIY. Stick around.

denismurf

The over50isnow site hits one over the head immediately with its political orientation. It makes one appreciate the politics-free environment here, I believe age-specific sites can have their uses. For example, a guy in his 70's who wants to discuss issues surrounding finding a wife or girlfriend is...

denismurf

As I mentioned briefly in another thread, I needed a medallion imprint once during the process of getting names changed around after my wife died. Treasury demanded it to replace I-bonds in a joint trust from the trust name to mine. From what I could tell, Treasury just wanted an authority out there...

denismurf

My son, who is finally getting serious about the financial future because he's about to have his first kid at age 44, took only one thing away from the PBS show. Ditch-the-fees! He has been paying 2% a year to a cousin and friend for almost 10 years to manage his $40K or so stash. His biggest proble...

denismurf

Don't most Bogle people who tinker do so because it's fun for them? I get the impression that a lot of Bogleheads tinker, but with a small portion of their whole portfolio. Apparently there's nothing wrong with setting aside 5 or 10% of your stash and thereby having an excuse to watch Kramer sometim...

denismurf

I too am a widower, but in 70's. There are apparently no active online forums directed at me. either as a widower or a person in 70's. There are a few devoted to specific medical and emotional problems, but that's about it. Please file my handle and track me down if you find what you're looking for....

denismurf

What an enlightening series of rants about how awful it is that we real Americans will have to pay more taxes to cover the greed and irresponsibility of those "OTHERS."

denismurf

This is a direct quote from a radio ad run 4-22-13 by a Seattle area real estate developer who has some completed houses to sell.

denismurf

nisiprius mentions the book's apparent adulation of James Simons. For What It's Worth, an old friend of mine who's an economist is the smartest person I've ever known personally. He states that James Simons is the smartest person he's ever known. He hitched his financial star to Simons about 3 decad...

denismurf

Still with Zionsdirect mostly. I do check inventories at FMS, Fidelity, and Scottrade for the occasional bargain. People considering buying individual bonds really do need to heed the information and cautions contained in Larry's bond book and messages like those written by jdb and others on this fo...

denismurf

Greetings, jdb. It's nice to come across at least one other person who does what I do with munis

.

I would only add that tracking down those occasional gems is fun.

denismurf

Just finished The Antidote: Happiness for people who can't stand positive thinking, by Oliver Burkeman.

Lots of funny stuff.

denismurf

As an investor in fairly short term individual muni bonds that I never sell before maturity, I sure as heck wish that the bubble would burst and everybody would sell on the secondary market. I'm really getting tired of yields-to-maturity of less than one percent on bonds maturing in less than a year.

denismurf

The bid-ask spreads on individual bonds sold on the secondary market are not a secret. Go to the emma website, input the CUSIP of the bond you're interested in, select the trading history tab, and there are the prices and yields attached to every past transaction for that bond, including dealer-to-d...

denismurf

It can be done. I did it with paper bonds in 2012. You have to have patience and be prepared to be very nice to everybody you deal with. It might be different for non-paper bonds. To start, mail in all the forms and the bonds, along with copies of everything that bears on your request. This includes...

denismurf

It would be a big treat to meet some real Bogleheads.

I live in Seattle by Greenlake and should be flexible enough to make a get-together if there are timing alternatives. Best for me is Saturday from late morning on and Sunday early evening.

-- Denis Murphy

denismurf

I buy some munis whenever I have enough cash in my muni bond account to do so and the price is right. Let the talking heads talk to each other. They have nothing to say to me.

denismurf

To clarify one thing, there are investors on this board who buy individual bonds. I am one, and I am not wealthy by most people's definition. My field is limited to munis. In my opinion only, people like me are not unintelligent, naive, or non-Bogle. Of course, time will tell :happy .I do agree with...

denismurf

And to all those renters who keep getting thrown out by landlords this is easily solved. Pick a property that is owned by somebody who wants to rent it out (i.e. not an accidental landlord) and don't be a bum. Good tenants are hard to find and do not get evicted on a whim. My rent for a one-bedroom...

denismurf

Pay particular heed to the article's last paragraph. The huge advantage of buying over renting will for sure decrease next year, so

BUY NOW, before it's too late!

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