Search found 380 matches

by Don Christy
Wed Jan 02, 2013 5:41 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard's Summary of "Fiscal Cliff" Tax Compromise
Replies: 38
Views: 5372

Re: Vanguard's Summary of "Fiscal Cliff" Tax Compromise

Decided to see how long it would take me to actually figure it out from the law(s) and bill. Answer 5 minutes, probably less time than this will take to draft on my iPad! Hopefully the answer is correct. The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 in Title 1, Section 101 permanently extends (and modifies) the 2001 Tax Relief: TITLE I—GENERAL EXTENSIONS SEC. 101. PERMANENT EXTENSION AND MODIFICATION OF 2001 TAX RELIEF. (a) PERMANENT EXTENSION.— (1) IN GENERAL.—The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 is amended by striking title IX. Looked up the EGTRRA of 2001 and saw that title IX was the sunset clause. So striking title IX does indeed "permanently" extend the EGTRRA. I reviewed the EGTRRA Table of Contents and ...
by Don Christy
Wed Jan 02, 2013 5:18 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard's Summary of "Fiscal Cliff" Tax Compromise
Replies: 38
Views: 5372

Re: Vanguard's Summary of "Fiscal Cliff" Tax Compromise

Please correct this if I misunderstood this. As I read the article and the bill passed by the senate (and now by the house, unchanged I guess), the standard deduction for married couples in 2013 would revert to: $10,150 rather than $12,200 (twice the SD for singles) I'm right on the Standard/Itemized line. I believe you misunderstood. I didn't read Vanguard's Summary, but from the CCH Tax Briefing PDF: http://tax.cchgroup.com/downloads/files/pdfs/legislation/ATPR.pdf linked in the resource thread: Marriage Penalty Relief The American Taxpayer Relief Act extends all existing marriage penalty relief. Before EGTRRA, married couples experienced the so-called marriage penalty in several areas. EGTRRA gradually increased the basic standard deduc...
by Don Christy
Wed Jan 02, 2013 4:05 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: American Taxpayers Relief Act of 2012 resources:
Replies: 103
Views: 9684

Re: American Taxpayers Relief Act of 2012 resources:

EDIT: I must be the slowest poster here. While I was looking up info for dickenjb, the question was answered several times! :beer Does anyone know if the American Opportunity Credit was extended? I have searched to no avail. I could arrange to be eligible for it in 2013 if it still exists. A quick read of materials already provided reveals: From the text of the law, linked from OP (154 pages, but searchable) 11 SEC. 103. EXTENSION OF 2009 TAX RELIEF. 12 (a) 5-YEAR EXTENSION OF AMERICAN OPPORTUNITY 13 TAX CREDIT.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 25A(i) is amended by 15 striking ‘‘in 2009, 2010, 2011, or 2012’’ and inserting 16 ‘‘after 2008 and before 2018’’. From the CCH Tax briefing document (11 pages, also searchable, and even readable!): Ameri...
by Don Christy
Mon Dec 31, 2012 8:48 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Muni Fund Ladder
Replies: 7
Views: 1631

Re: Muni Fund Ladder

For example, following is the distribution of maturities for Vanguard Intermediate-term Tax-exempt (VWITX/VWIUX), average duration 4.9 years, as of 11/30/2012. Note the 14% under a year, and the 4.9% between 10-20 years.

Inter-Term Tax-Exempt Adm
Under 1 Year 14.0%
1 - 3 Years 11.3%
3 - 5 Years 16.4%
5 - 10 Years 53.3%
10 - 20 Years 4.9%
20 - 30 Years 0.1%
Over 30 Years 0.0%
by Don Christy
Mon Dec 31, 2012 8:26 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Muni Fund Ladder
Replies: 7
Views: 1631

Re: Muni Fund Ladder

Hopefully some of the bond gurus will chime in, but here's my take on it. First, what is the purpose of the ladder? If it's to target a specific need at a specific time, you may want to match your duration to that time and have the duration decline as the date approaches. In this case, a specific maturity date fund may make sense. If you are not targeting a specific date per se, but are using the duration to control interest rate risk, a fund with a specific duration may be more appropriate. Using a combination of a couple of funds could allow you to do a bit of both. If you're worried about missing out on the "qualities of the short and longer ends of the curve", you can create a barbell of a longer duration fund with a short dur...
by Don Christy
Sun Dec 30, 2012 4:30 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: IWN vs VBR for SCV tilt
Replies: 19
Views: 2187

Re: IWN vs VBR for SCV tilt

igghy wrote:
livesoft wrote:........but since VBR now has a huge unrealized gain I don't look at this stuff anymore....
What happens if you buy shares in a fund with a huge unrealized gains? Thank you.
I think Livesoft is saying that HE has large unrealized gains from holding VBR now and so no longer looks for alternatives in this asset class for tax loss harvesting.

Apologies if this is incorrect.
Don
by Don Christy
Fri Dec 28, 2012 12:10 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Excellent paper about bonds and the 30-year Bond Bull Market
Replies: 10
Views: 2162

Re: Excellent paper about bonds and the 30-year Bond Bull Ma

From the article, written in March, 2012 (emphasis added): Still, bond market experts point to a simple, undisputed fact : Yields on Treasuries and other highly rated bonds are so low they cannot go much lower . Historically, they have been much higher, and the law of averages says they should rise again. Currently, the 10-year U.S. Treasury note yields a meager 2.25% , down from around 5.25% before the financial crisis struck in 2008. It has not been lower since the 1940s, and has spent most of the past seven decades in the 4% to 8% range, peaking at more than 14% in the early 1980s. Actually, currently, the 10-year U.S. Treasury note yields an even more meager 1.75% and has been as low as 1.4ish% after the article. So much for undisputed...
by Don Christy
Fri Dec 28, 2012 8:01 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Excellent paper about bonds and the 30-year Bond Bull Market
Replies: 10
Views: 2162

Re: Excellent paper about bonds and the 30-year Bond Bull Ma

From the article, written in March, 2012 (emphasis added): Still, bond market experts point to a simple, undisputed fact : Yields on Treasuries and other highly rated bonds are so low they cannot go much lower . Historically, they have been much higher, and the law of averages says they should rise again. Currently, the 10-year U.S. Treasury note yields a meager 2.25% , down from around 5.25% before the financial crisis struck in 2008. It has not been lower since the 1940s, and has spent most of the past seven decades in the 4% to 8% range, peaking at more than 14% in the early 1980s. Actually, currently, the 10-year U.S. Treasury note yields an even more meager 1.75% and has been as low as 1.4ish% after the article. So much for undisputed ...
by Don Christy
Mon Dec 24, 2012 8:27 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Investing Theory
Replies: 13
Views: 1720

Re: Investing Theory

Do we really need to cage primates to learn this "valuable" research lesson?

Don
by Don Christy
Mon Dec 24, 2012 7:59 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Resume guitar
Replies: 21
Views: 2703

Re: Resume guitar

Try to find a group lesson opportunity. I had very similar experience to yours, and when I found The Folk School of St. Louis and began paying with others it made a huge difference in motivation and ultimately skill. There are often beginner's level jams associated with these type of organizations too.

Good luck.
(Mandolin)Don
by Don Christy
Wed Nov 14, 2012 5:45 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Bogleheads T-Shirt Possible Design(s)
Replies: 108
Views: 12950

Re: Bogleheads T-Shirt Possible Design(s)

Alex Frakt wrote:We need some gamer versions.

VFINX
pwning actively managed large cap blend funds since 1976


or

Image FTW!

(note that FTW also means "For The Win")
Nice!
by Don Christy
Sun Nov 04, 2012 12:30 pm
Forum: Forum Issues and Administration
Topic: [merged donation threads] Dear Bogleheads - time to pony up
Replies: 277
Views: 25622

Re: Dear Bogleheads - time to pony up

Great idea. I'm in.

Would be great to hear how much $ gets raised as a result of this.
by Don Christy
Wed Oct 17, 2012 7:37 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Your Best One Line of Wisdom
Replies: 238
Views: 23862

Re: Your Best One Line of Wisdom

racy wrote:"The most powerful force in the universe is compound interest". - Albert Einstein
+1
by Don Christy
Tue Oct 16, 2012 8:06 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: September CPI out
Replies: 22
Views: 3455

Re: September CPI out

Don Christy wrote:
Sept CPI-U up 0.6% to level of 231.407.
So semi-annual inflation rate = (231.407 - 229.392) / 229.392 = 0.878 %

don
by Don Christy
Tue Oct 16, 2012 8:00 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: September CPI out
Replies: 22
Views: 3455

September CPI out

BLS press release with CPI summary out here:

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm

Sept CPI-U up 0.6% to level of 231.407.

So we now know the Nov semi-annual I Bond inflation rate component.

Don
by Don Christy
Tue Oct 16, 2012 6:06 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Stocks in tax advantaged / bonds in taxable...
Replies: 5
Views: 1166

Re: Stocks in tax advantaged / bonds in taxable...

Thanks TFB. I'm already maxing out I Bond purchases annually, including tax refund.

Don
by Don Christy
Mon Oct 15, 2012 7:58 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Stocks in tax advantaged / bonds in taxable...
Replies: 5
Views: 1166

Re: Stocks in tax advantaged / bonds in taxable...

tfb wrote:
Don Christy wrote:if additional information should be taken into account, what would that be?
How much new money are you putting into the two accounts respectively each year? If say total $30k, $22k to tax advantaged, $8k to taxable, then buy $8k bonds in taxable, buy $15k stocks and $7k bonds in tax advantaged.
Thanks. I think I have a grasp of the new money aspect and will do pretty much what you suggest.

I'm struggling more with:
  • Whether to take LT cap gains and convert any current assets
  • how to assess TIPs portion of portfolio with respect to location
Thanks again,
Don
by Don Christy
Mon Oct 15, 2012 6:19 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Given low rates, more tax efficient to tax shelter stocks?
Replies: 110
Views: 11490

Re: Given low rates, more tax efficient to tax shelter stock

I'm trying to assess whether this approach makes sense for me and have started a thread in the "Help with Personal Investment Forum."

Anyone interested in exploring a specific example or providing guidance on framing the analysis, please visit this thread:
http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtop ... 1&t=104265

thanks!
Don
by Don Christy
Mon Oct 15, 2012 6:13 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Stocks in tax advantaged / bonds in taxable...
Replies: 5
Views: 1166

Stocks in tax advantaged / bonds in taxable...

Based on the very interesting article by TFB and related posts by Doc found here: http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=104241 I'm trying to assess whether this makes sense for me, and I'm having trouble framing the analysis... The following are not my specific positions, but will (hopefully) serve as an illustrative example to help me sort through the decision. Let's assume I have low cost funds available in both tax-advantaged and taxable for these asset types, so availability of funds is not an issue... Hypothetical Current Situation: Currently held in Tax-advantaged space: TIPS fund $50,000 Intermediate nominal bonds $30,000 Currently held in Taxable accounts: Total Stock Market: $80,000 (long-term cap gain of $12,000...
by Don Christy
Sun Sep 30, 2012 5:31 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Flawed explanations of prospect theory?
Replies: 10
Views: 1107

Re: Flawed explanations of prospect theory?

In reading A Random Walk Down Wall Street I cam across the discussion of Prospect Theory, a branch of Behavioral Finance. (Page 249 in my copy) This is under the major heading of THE IRRATIONAL BEHAVIOR OF INDIVIDUAL INVESTORS As explained in the book, Prospect Theory involves something called "loss aversion" and it is exemplified by a simple experiment. The experiment consists of tossing a fair coin and placing even bets on heads and tails -- heads you win $100, tails you lose $100. It turns out people are reluctant to play this even-payoff game and this is given as an example of irrational behavior. Well, I strongly disagree! The game has risk -- you might lose your $100 shirt. Everywhere else in investment theory people are ex...
by Don Christy
Wed May 23, 2012 6:04 am
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: St. Louis Chapter 2012+
Replies: 29
Views: 5946

Re: St. Louis Chapter 2012+

Hi Everyone,

I volunteered to be the St. Louis local chapter coordinator, organized the first meeting, and have not been very organized since! I would love to attend local events, but don't really have the wherewithal to organize a regular event going forward.

If someone would be interested to take over the reins, please let me know.

Thanks
Don
by Don Christy
Sat Mar 31, 2012 10:33 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Theoretical question on VGHCX
Replies: 19
Views: 1926

Re: Theoretical question on VGHCX

It's not just a matter of whether your call is right about healthcare. What is your evidence that VGHCX is undervalued and a good buy at current price?

Don
by Don Christy
Fri Mar 30, 2012 5:03 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: How you got to be a Boglehead, with a twist
Replies: 42
Views: 4309

Re: How you got to be a Boglehead, with a twist

I was on the dark side for a while, but without much money to lose I didn't hurt myself badly. I played with tech stocks in the late 90s before the crash. I was mostly trading LEAPs on companies like 3Com / Palm. I became very cynical about the market and stopped investing. Truth told, I didn't have money to invest as I was pouring everything into MY business. Now, I also made some mistakes there. We had a SIMPLE IRA with loaded American Funds. I put a little money into those accounts, but really didn't even think about retirement funds. Fast forward to July 1 of 2009, in the midst of the liquidity crisis, I sold my company and needed to figure out investing. I talked with the money manager that set up our Simple IRA, I talked to a very suc...
by Don Christy
Thu Mar 29, 2012 9:23 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Why no tax-free ETF to MF conversion?
Replies: 13
Views: 1496

Re: Why no tax-free ETF to MF conversion?

I don't know either, but guessing: Vanguard restricts repurchase of mutual funds for two months after selling. But that restriction probably cannot be placed on ETF sale / repurchase. If investors could freely convert back and forth, the investor could attempt to time the market ------ convert to ETF shares, sell some, then re-convert back to mutual fund shares and buy again. Repeated conversions from MR to ETF back to MF would, in effect, nullify the sell / re-purchase restriction of Vanguard mutual funds. Since etf are only sold on secondary market, the market-timing with ETFs may not adversely affect the fund as much as market timing with MF. But it would be nice to have access to a one-time-only conversion from ETF to MF. Seems like if...
by Don Christy
Thu Mar 29, 2012 8:20 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Why no tax-free ETF to MF conversion?
Replies: 13
Views: 1496

Re: Why no tax-free ETF to MF conversion?

Not saying you're wrong, but it would surprise me if that is why.

As far as I know, the tax consequences for selling a MF are the same as an ETF, but I don't have to sell the MF to convert to the ETF share class. Why do I have to sell the ETF shares rather than converting to the MF share class?

Don
by Don Christy
Thu Mar 29, 2012 7:16 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Why no tax-free ETF to MF conversion?
Replies: 13
Views: 1496

Why no tax-free ETF to MF conversion?

Why can't we do tax-free conversion from Vanguard ETF shares to investor or admiral shares? I searched here and at Vanguard and can confirm it is not allowed, but couldn't find an explanation.

Given:
  • Vanguard ETFs are just a share class of the same underlying mutual fund
  • Vanguard allows tax-free conversion of investor or admiral shares to ETF shares
  • Vanguard allows bi-directional tax-free conversion of investor to/from admiral shares
Why can't we do tax-free conversion from ETF shares to investor or admiral shares?

Don
by Don Christy
Thu Mar 29, 2012 5:46 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: How often have you goofed and placed an incorrect order?
Replies: 46
Views: 4668

Re: How often have you goofed and placed an incorrect order?

Just once. I was tax loss harvesting a MF with a redemption fee, so I had to convert to ETF to avoid the fee, then sell the ETF and replace with 2 ETFs to get a similar asset exposure. For one of those buy orders I mistakenly used the ticker for what I had just sold. My bid was on the low side of the spread relative to the ask and I realized and cancelled my order before it filled. So other than an unnecessary adrenalin rush, no harm, no foul.

Extra credit for identifying the original MF involved... Anyone?

Don
by Don Christy
Sat Mar 17, 2012 9:03 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Argument for a 100% stock allocation for 20 yr horizon
Replies: 112
Views: 13081

Re: Argument for a 100% stock allocation for 20 yr horizon

The best argument I've heard for 100% equities is that it will increase your vocabulary. You'll sooner or later learn words like capitulate.

:beer

Seriously, good luck.
by Don Christy
Fri Mar 16, 2012 7:49 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: BSEE/MSEE or BSEE/MBA?
Replies: 49
Views: 8516

Re: BSEE/MSEE or BSEE/MBA?

I have BSEE/MSEE. I pursued the MSEE while working and receiving employer reimbursement. I definitely benefited from having a little experience before and while pursuing the Masters. Also, though I don't have an MBA, in my opinion, it should be pursued after significant real world experience. Ultimately, I moved from engineering to being an entrepreneur / manager. I never regretted the MSEE, though I probably would have benefitted more from an MBA.

Good luck.
Don
by Don Christy
Thu Feb 23, 2012 1:20 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Berkshire Annual Letter Out Saturday
Replies: 40
Views: 3993

Re: Berkshire Annual Letter Out Saturday

I always read it and it often comes out a few days before an annual party I go to. At the party is a Ph D Economist friend who also reads Buffett's shareholder letter. Conversation fodder, but I never change anything based on reading it.

Don
by Don Christy
Wed Feb 22, 2012 6:32 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Can you express your investing philosophy as a Haiku?
Replies: 79
Views: 6801

Re: Can you express your investing philosophy as a Haiku?

Save a lot
buy the market cheaply
avoid ego


Don
by Don Christy
Sat Feb 18, 2012 10:59 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: "Can you sum-up your investing philosophy in 10 words?"
Replies: 120
Views: 11476

Re: "Can you sum-up your investing philosophy in 10 words?"

Save aggressively, buy the market inexpensively, avoid hubris through education.
by Don Christy
Sat Jan 28, 2012 2:55 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Ethics Question: Unemployment
Replies: 49
Views: 8514

Re: Ethics Question: Unemployment

Peter Foley wrote:'m not saying some people don't skate under the radar, but the percentage caught is quite high.
Are you saying a high percentage of claimants are caught committing fraud, or that a high percentage of those that claim fraudulently are caught?

I would doubt the former and the latter can't be more than speculation, as you don't know how many skate under the radar? Can you clarify and/or provide a citation?
by Don Christy
Sat Jan 28, 2012 7:48 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Will you be investing in the Facebook IPO?
Replies: 67
Views: 10101

Re: Will you be investing in the Facebook IPO?

gekko1 wrote:Rumor has it that it is only 3-4 months away and will be priced in the neighborhood of 30-50 a share. A potential tenbagger? Thoughts?
I WILL DEFINITELY buy Facebook when it goes public, via Vanguard Total Stock Market VTI/VTSAX!!

Well once it's added to the MCSI US Broad Market Index.
by Don Christy
Thu Jan 26, 2012 3:49 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Value Path Generated does NOT yield a flat savings rate?
Replies: 2
Views: 504

Re: Value Path Generated does NOT yield a flat savings rate?

lostcowboy wrote: I am confused by some of your numbers though. you said you are using 6.5% annually, but you want to use the quarterly rate. there are two ways to get the quarterly rate. one is 6.5% / 4 = 1.625%. The other way is to divide 6.5 by 12 to get the monthly rate, and then multiply that by three. you should get the same answer. I am not sure how you get 1.59% for a quarterly rate.
I can't answer anything about the OP question, but the reason the quarterly rate is 1.59% is because it assumes compounding. So 1.0159 ^4 = 1.0165.
don
by Don Christy
Wed Jan 25, 2012 9:26 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Why the difference?
Replies: 9
Views: 994

Re: Why the difference?

l2ridehd wrote:Did not realize you were so superior livesoft. If your have to ask your interns to think about it then I am so sorry I asked a stupid question. And somehow I thought this forum was to help people. Guess I was wrong.
Please reevaluate the assessment in your last statement. I would hope you found the responses from CGX and OutOfCyan helpful!

I know I did!
:sharebeer
by Don Christy
Tue Jan 24, 2012 6:18 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Why no tech in investing?
Replies: 15
Views: 1500

Re: Why no tech in investing?

I would be interested in a much smaller (albeit still difficult) scope offering. I would like a solution where I could set up the initial portfolio, including information about account location and tax treatment, and have the s/w automatically rebalance when new money hits a designated (money market) account, make periodic rebalancing recommendations, taking into account tax consequences, and make TLH recommendations, taking into account designated loss harvesting funds.

Don
by Don Christy
Sat Jan 21, 2012 2:30 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Finding a Primary Care Physician
Replies: 41
Views: 4577

Re: Finding a Primary Care Physician

I agree with Ram and Emergdoc.

Find a physician you know and ask for a reference. I found my physician by asking the smartest doc I know who he sees. He is a MD/PhD (physics) and really values deep understanding and good diagnostic skill, not just good MCATs. I went to his recommendation and he has been GREAT. Now, my wife and at least 5 other friends have started seeing him.

My only complaint is that you can never get someone on the phone. I have to listen to a really long message and then leave a voicemail. They always call back same day, so I can live with it.

My only concern is that my MD is 12 years older than me. Good chance he will retire by the time I really need him. I'll ask for a reference from him when the time comes.

Don
by Don Christy
Sun Jan 15, 2012 2:12 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Interesting probability problem
Replies: 325
Views: 18103

Re: Interesting probability problem

The answer is "42"
by Don Christy
Wed Jan 11, 2012 6:22 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Interesting probability problem
Replies: 325
Views: 18103

Re: Interesting probability problem

I read some but not all of this thread. apologies if this has been raised already.

I believe the probabilities would indicate B>A per magician, 555, and basic conditional probability. However, if this was a betting situation and there were no rules about when or why RHO mentions cards or suits, I would assume taking the bet based on probabilities would leave me broke. The RHO would have all the cards as it were.

So interesting probability problem, not that useful in practical situations against an opponent.

Don
by Don Christy
Wed Jan 11, 2012 7:33 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Who are the Bogleheads - age adjusted net worth
Replies: 71
Views: 9333

Re: Who are the Bogleheads - age adjusted net worth

It's been noted there's a married v. single problem with comparing net worth. Divide NW by 2 is probably too conservative. What's a good number, 1.7? Another poll? :sharebeer
by Don Christy
Wed Jan 11, 2012 7:26 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: a risky bet - how much would you wager?
Replies: 82
Views: 6415

Re: a risky bet - how much would you wager?

555 wrote:If you could do this repeatedly (or you and all your friends get one flip each) then you'll bet a lot.
You would bet a lot, but it should be in small portions. You want to run it as many times as feasible to capture the expected value.

Question then is, when do you stop?

Since it's a single event, I would go 10% of net worth.
by Don Christy
Tue Jan 10, 2012 5:41 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Who are the Bogleheads - age adjusted net worth
Replies: 71
Views: 9333

Re: Who are the Bogleheads - age adjusted net worth

I'm fairly surprised to see ~32% with NW > $2M at 50...
by Don Christy
Tue Jan 10, 2012 5:38 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Who are the Bogleheads - age adjusted net worth
Replies: 71
Views: 9333

Re: Who are the Bogleheads - age adjusted net worth

Of course this poll underrepresents the expected net worth of younger folks, as it ignores any new money those under 50 will be contributing. That's true. No consideration for savings and earnings on savings. For a young Boglehead, this will severely underestimate the likely NW(50). In the case of young non-Boglehead, there's no consideration for excess spending, debt service, and poor investment performance. The approach likely overestimates NW(50) for that cohort! It's also going to overrepresent any married person who reports the combined net worth of both spouses. Nick Also true, but I believe the census data also looks at family NW. So it's not unreasonable, but notable. Oh well, I guess it's very difficult to design a poll to get a g...
by Don Christy
Mon Jan 09, 2012 10:39 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Who are the Bogleheads - age adjusted net worth
Replies: 71
Views: 9333

Re: Who are the Bogleheads - age adjusted net worth

zaboomafoozarg wrote:$514,000

I'm a failure D:
Not relative to the median in the US, but maybe compared to the mean (darn Bill Gates and Warren Buffet screw the mean).

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/ ... 2s0721.pdf

For families with head of household 45-54, the mean NW In 2007 wass $661K and the median is $182K.
Don
by Don Christy
Mon Jan 09, 2012 10:35 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Who are the Bogleheads - age adjusted net worth
Replies: 71
Views: 9333

Re: Who are the Bogleheads - age adjusted net worth

BigFoot48 wrote:Google will do that calculation for you if your HP 12C's battery is dead.
I see you're NOT using data from another poll that found a lot of engineers here! I'm a recovering Electrical Engineer, still using 15C. The finance guys all use 12Cs.
by Don Christy
Mon Jan 09, 2012 10:22 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Who are the Bogleheads - age adjusted net worth
Replies: 71
Views: 9333

Who are the Bogleheads - age adjusted net worth

Taylor's thread about Who Are the Bogleheads http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=88417#p1269919 stated one poll indicated 48% have net worth over $1 million. Another poll indicated the average age as 42. I'm interested in what the "age-adjusted net worth" would be. How about we use age 50 for these purposes. So take your current NW and use a discount rate of 5% (not that the % matters that much, but let's all use the same % to get to comparable values) and figure out your NW at age 50. Unless you ARE 50, please don't answer with what your NW WAS at 50, rather what it WOULD have been at 50 using a 5% rate. So if you are 30 years old, and have a current net worth of $300,000.00 your NW(50) = $300,000 * (1.05) ^ ...
by Don Christy
Mon Jan 09, 2012 8:33 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How to stop a puppy from biting and nibbling
Replies: 25
Views: 3230

Re: How to stop a puppy from biting and nibbling

The Monks actually "saw the error of their ways" and commissioned a new version of their outdated philosophies (The Art of Raising a Puppy.) The updated version focuses more on positive reinforcement with their previous harsher methods being tossed aside. I work with dogs every day for a living and am currently also trying to come out the other side of "puppy-dom" with an 18 month old Boxer. Some dogs never "grow out of it" because they were never taught not to. The quickest way to teach bite inhibition and or a soft mouth is by positive reinforcement which doesn't harm the pup (mentally or physically). Squirt bottles might work if the pup doesn't mind being wet however it isn't TEACHING what isn't wanted only...