Search found 6475 matches

by madbrain
Sat Oct 18, 2014 5:13 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is Roth 401k better even if future tax bracket is lower?
Replies: 35
Views: 5992

Re: Is Roth 401k better even if future tax bracket is lower?

themicah wrote:If you are somebody who maxes out your 401k and IRA contributions, then another advantage of the Roth 401k is that it allows you to effectively put more in tax-advantaged accounts, since $17,500 of after-tax money is worth more than $17,500 of pre-tax money.
Uh, yeah, but only if you are willing to pay much more in taxes upfront.
If you don't have that extra amount in your budget, then in reality you may not be able to put $17,500 in a Roth, even if you can afford to make a deductible 401k contribution.
by madbrain
Sat Oct 18, 2014 4:51 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: If those airline passengers get sick- airline stocks will
Replies: 22
Views: 2723

Re: If those airline passengers get sick- airline stocks wil

gkaplan wrote:
cvault wrote:have a very VERY bad day.

And it won't just be contained to the airline sector.

What have you done just in case- OTM puts? Gone to cash? Inverse?
Not a thing.

Image
by madbrain
Sat Oct 18, 2014 4:40 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: US REITs: An Expanding Market
Replies: 30
Views: 5840

Re: US REITs: An Expanding Market

Valuethinker wrote: Supply of space is not however fixed: buildings get taller. In London we dig basements as well.
Not so many tall buildings or basements here in California . Concentrate on California REITs ;) ?
by madbrain
Fri Oct 17, 2014 9:01 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Is it possible to have a favorite movie
Replies: 82
Views: 7963

Re: Is it possible to have a favorite movie

2001, a Space Odyssey .

I wasn't even born when it was released, but I find nothing else that comes close. So I don't have a number 2 favorite movie.

The story, setting, and especially the dialogue with HAL 9000 - everything is just perfect.

I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that.
by madbrain
Wed Oct 15, 2014 11:16 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Your personal risk level: Got your flu shot yet?
Replies: 93
Views: 6494

Re: Your personal risk level: Got your flu shot yet?

do everyone else a favor - if/when you get the slightest hint of the flu - stay the hell away from me and everyone else. In my strong opinion, getting a flu shot IS managing risk. Indeed it is. So is wearing my seatbelt and not texting and driving. But until the flu shot becomes law (or I'm otherwise compelled to submit) I will leave you well enough alone. Last I checked they don't make enough for everyone anyway so I will kindly pass mine to the more susceptible. According to the article linked it looks like Hep C contributes to 17-80k deaths per year. Have you been tested? Why do you change the subject ? Just because there are other risks like driving and hep C, doesn't mean you shouldn't do what you can to protect yourself against the f...
by madbrain
Wed Oct 15, 2014 11:14 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Your personal risk level: Got your flu shot yet?
Replies: 93
Views: 6494

Re: Your personal risk level: Got your flu shot yet?

dm200 wrote:
MrBachelor wrote:No flu shot! Never have, likely never will. Not anti-vaxx crazy, just stubborn crazy. I still drive a car 20,000+ miles per year too. Manage risk or live under a rock.
do everyone else a favor - if/when you get the slightest hint of the flu - stay the hell away from me and everyone else. In my strong opinion, getting a flu shot IS managing risk.
+1
by madbrain
Wed Oct 15, 2014 9:52 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: $72k in 3 fund or a $72k 2 bed/1 bath condo rented
Replies: 21
Views: 2410

Re: $72k in 3 fund or a $72k 2 bed/1 bath condo rented

It depends, do you want to buy an investment or a job ?
by madbrain
Tue Oct 14, 2014 10:13 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Buffett Says ‘No-Brainer’ to Get a Mortgage to Short Rates
Replies: 77
Views: 13462

Re: Buffett Says ‘No-Brainer’ to Get a Mortgage to Short Rat

Ok fine; let's talk about your decision. You indicated your mortgage is 3.375 percent. You are likely itemizing bringing your current effective rate down to something like around 2.8 percent. I'm in 25% federal / 9.3% state brackets, which is just under 32% combined when accounting for state income tax deductibility. So the effective interest rate is closer to 2.3% currently, as long as I'm working and the interest remains fully tax-deductible. Although it's correct that you can't find anything guaranteed for 2.8 percent, the chance that a balanced portfolio of something like 60/40 is going to have a long-return of anything as low as 2.8 percent is virtually zero. A 60/40 balanced portfolio from 1999- 2014 which included two nasty bear mar...
by madbrain
Tue Oct 14, 2014 9:11 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Buffett Says ‘No-Brainer’ to Get a Mortgage to Short Rates
Replies: 77
Views: 13462

Re: Buffett Says ‘No-Brainer’ to Get a Mortgage to Short Rat

randomguy wrote: And how does it matter that you lost money for 10 years?
The point was to show that investing is not risk free, and can results can be bad even for a relatively long period.
I mentioned a 13 year time horizon for which I wanted my current mortgage paid off to take early retirement. A 10 year period isn't very different from 13 years.
Given the timeframe, I believe it makes sense to prepay $1000 every month, rather than direct those $1000 to investing.
Investing may return more or less, and recent history shows it can be much less.
That doesn't mean I don't invest also . I do ! But I want to make sure the mortgage is paid off in time for early retirement.
by madbrain
Tue Oct 14, 2014 9:31 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Buffett Says ‘No-Brainer’ to Get a Mortgage to Short Rates
Replies: 77
Views: 13462

Re: Buffett Says ‘No-Brainer’ to Get a Mortgage to Short Rat

denovo wrote:
madbrain wrote:
denovo wrote:I think the debate on prepaying mortgages is officially over now that Buffett has weighed in.
Indeed, his advice is never wrong, and always right for everyone.
It's right for anyone who understands how concepts like compound interest and risk work.
I'm pretty sure I understand both, and I'm still making the decision to prepay. You need a better argument.

Did you bother reading what I and others have said in this thread about why we are are still prepaying our low-interest mortgages ?
by madbrain
Mon Oct 13, 2014 10:38 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Buffett Says ‘No-Brainer’ to Get a Mortgage to Short Rates
Replies: 77
Views: 13462

Re: Buffett Says ‘No-Brainer’ to Get a Mortgage to Short Rat

denovo wrote:I think the debate on prepaying mortgages is officially over now that Buffett has weighed in.
Indeed, his advice is never wrong, and always right for everyone.
by madbrain
Mon Oct 13, 2014 10:36 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Buffett Says ‘No-Brainer’ to Get a Mortgage to Short Rates
Replies: 77
Views: 13462

Re: Buffett Says ‘No-Brainer’ to Get a Mortgage to Short Rat

thenextguy wrote:Buying a mortage may be going short on rates, but it's going long on housing
Not if it's a cash-out refi mortgage.
Which would be somewhat dumb, given that you may mortgage interest tax deductibility for loan amount over $100k.
by madbrain
Mon Oct 13, 2014 10:30 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What have you done to cut costs this year?
Replies: 134
Views: 20158

Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

cannondale wrote:My Plan:
Move away from the SF Bay Area but keep the salary. That should net me around $15-20k. Now, just have to figure out how to make it happen.
Good luck with that :)
by madbrain
Sun Oct 12, 2014 10:16 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Buffett Says ‘No-Brainer’ to Get a Mortgage to Short Rates
Replies: 77
Views: 13462

Re: Buffett Says ‘No-Brainer’ to Get a Mortgage to Short Rat

randomguy wrote:I think people over thinking thus.
Buffet isn't dumping money in bonds or CDs. He is buying stock and over 30 years the odds of not getting 4% are pretty low. You might find the liquidity constraints of doing that unacceptable.
Having started investing when I started working in the late 1990s, I distinctly recall a long period of time - about 10 years - for which I had a negative total investment return, much less than 4% annualized certainly. It won't necessarily happen again, but it's not a sure bet. A mortgage note will come due every month with certainty, though.

Buffett and Berkshire aren't 100% stocks - they keep enough liquidity. Much less leveraged and >100% stocks.
by madbrain
Sun Oct 12, 2014 10:07 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Buffett Says ‘No-Brainer’ to Get a Mortgage to Short Rates
Replies: 77
Views: 13462

Re: Buffett Says ‘No-Brainer’ to Get a Mortgage to Short Rat

A 3.5% mortgage equates to about 2.8% in the 25% tax bracket. If and only if 100% of your mortgage interest is deductible, and above the standard deduction. For most people, this is not true. I think you should modify that to "most people filing MFJ ". For a single person owning a home, itemized deductions for homeowners are a lot more likely - especially those living somewhere with a state income tax. My state tax + property tax has exceeded the standard deduction my entire working career. So charitable deductions and mortgage interest (when I had it) has always been fully deductible. This is the Bogleheads, though. We are not "most people". Even when filing MFJ, which I did for the first time this year for tax year 20...
by madbrain
Sun Oct 12, 2014 9:50 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Suggest an AM - FM Stereo Receiver?
Replies: 24
Views: 3726

Re: Suggest an AM - FM Stereo Receiver?

midareff wrote:There is an Onkyo TX 905 available on eBay right now for $99 buy it now. The description says new in box with remote and cables. Since you are already familiar with this unit that seems a natural... try $75 and see if the seller bites.
There is a 25 year old Onkyo receiver "new in box" ?
Somebody is moving their inventory slowly.
Or more likely, this is just an error in the listing, and it is not new.

I believe you are talking about this listing :
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Onkyo-TX-905-Qu ... 43d0885e56

The back of the unit in the picture says TX-903, FYI.
The manual does not look new.
by madbrain
Sun Oct 12, 2014 5:26 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What have you done to cut costs this year?
Replies: 134
Views: 20158

Re: What have you done to cut costs this year?

dolphinsaremammals wrote:I've cut my own hair for decades. It really is easy to learn, and then it comes out exactly the way you want it. Plus saves a minimum of $35 a cutting.
$35 a cutting ? There are 3 haircut places in my neighborhood that charge $6.99 (before tip).
For $35 I can get a haircut plus a manicure and pedicure.
by madbrain
Sun Oct 12, 2014 4:59 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Suggest an AM - FM Stereo Receiver?
Replies: 24
Views: 3726

Re: Suggest an AM - FM Stereo Receiver?

I find it hard to believe many will be listening to music from receivers in the future. What's the advantage? With my laptop hooked up to external speakers I can listen to cd's as well as I Heart Radio or Pandora. With the laptop I can get radio from all over the USA, any town, and there's no issue of reception, because reception is always 100%. If you give up on physical cd's you can just use your cell phone or a cheap tablet and listen to Pandora, I Heart Radio, or the website of your favorite radio station, even if it's across the country. Or you can put your favorite cd's on you phone, tablet, or laptop. Or put them in a cloud like Amazon's. Amazon's cloud is free, but you have to pay once you use up your allowed space. Give it some th...
by madbrain
Sun Oct 12, 2014 4:50 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Buffett Says ‘No-Brainer’ to Get a Mortgage to Short Rates
Replies: 77
Views: 13462

Re: Buffett Says ‘No-Brainer’ to Get a Mortgage to Short Rat

While it is possible to invest in a guaranteed (FDIC) vehicle at 3.4% (State Bank of India's recent 10-yr CD comes to mind), and recently 3.3% (Synchrony's 10-yr), the problem is timing. If you have $1000/mo to pay down a 3.375% mortgage (or invest in a similar-yielding, long-term, CD), you may not have that CD option around for long (discussed in other threads). You will always have the pay-down option. Thus one solution might be to pay down until widely-available CDs (I'm thinking 5-yr CDs) hit that "sweet spot" of your mortgage rate. Then, rather than directing the extra to paying down the mortgage, you start buying 5-yr CDs. If rates on 5-yr CDs turn down, you go back to paying down the mortgage. I wouldn't consider a foreign...
by madbrain
Sat Oct 11, 2014 7:52 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Buffett Says ‘No-Brainer’ to Get a Mortgage to Short Rates
Replies: 77
Views: 13462

Re: Buffett Says ‘No-Brainer’ to Get a Mortgage to Short Rat

However, the guaranteed return argument - while widely held - is simply NOT valid. It totally ignores the opportunity cost of future returns that CANNOT be known in advance. Once you commit that money to prepay the mortgage, it can't be invested several years later in CD yielding 2% more than your mortgage rate. You don't know that you will have this opportunity, but you also don't know that you won't! Indeed, I don't know that this opportunity won't exist at some point in the future, but I do know that it doesn't exist right now, and that it hasn't existed for the last 24 months that I have been making this $1000 monthly prepayment on this 3.375% mortgage. If I had put that $1000/month prepayment into a guaranteed investment vehicle inste...
by madbrain
Fri Oct 10, 2014 7:09 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Wine - how to keep it from not spoiling?
Replies: 57
Views: 6012

Re: Wine - how to keep it from not spoiling?

I have used the Vacu-vin for years. It helps, but still, after 5-7 days, the wine tastes bad, especially red wine.

Air is one thing that contributes to the negative change of taste. Light and temperature are others.

I'm really surprised no one mentioned light.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storage_of_wine

IMO, sealing an open bottle with a vacu-vin, and refrigerating it, will yield the best results.
One downside is that you may forget about the open bottle and keep it open even longer :)

If you are using a standard refrigerator as opposed to a wine cooler, the temperature is also too cold for red wine.
by madbrain
Fri Oct 10, 2014 5:53 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Thrivent Financial Experience
Replies: 7
Views: 1997

Re: Thrivent Financial Experience

I just read the following article in the print version of Forbes; which discusses Thrivent :

http://www.forbes.com/sites/baldwin/201 ... re-100000/
by madbrain
Fri Oct 10, 2014 12:23 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Buffett Says ‘No-Brainer’ to Get a Mortgage to Short Rates
Replies: 77
Views: 13462

Re: Buffett Says ‘No-Brainer’ to Get a Mortgage to Short Rat

wrysys wrote:mortgage lending standards are tougher than pre-2008. People wrecked their credit, are going between jobs, have unsteady cash flow -- this means you can't get a mortgage
And even if you can get one, that doesn't mean you should get the biggest mortgage you qualify for.
For me, that is far more debt than I would be comfortable with. I sleep much better with < $400k mortgage than with almost $1M mortgage a few years back.
by madbrain
Fri Oct 10, 2014 12:20 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Lending club interest rate risk
Replies: 12
Views: 2203

Re: Lending club interest rate risk

As a past Lender Club user, I would worry much more about, in that order :
1) the bogus interest rate on your statements.
2) the terrible liquidity for reselling your notes . The Foliofn platform was awful.
3) credit quality for the notes.
by madbrain
Thu Oct 09, 2014 10:39 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Buffett Says ‘No-Brainer’ to Get a Mortgage to Short Rates
Replies: 77
Views: 13462

Re: Buffett Says ‘No-Brainer’ to Get a Mortgage to Short Rat

john94549 wrote:Those who financed/re-financed at the nadir (let's say 3.4% or thereabouts) for thirty years, well, that's a gold-mine. In a few years, fixed-income investments will cross, you'll be able to finance the interest on that thirty with a ten-year CD.
When does your crystal ball say that will happen ?
by madbrain
Thu Oct 09, 2014 10:37 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Buffett Says ‘No-Brainer’ to Get a Mortgage to Short Rates
Replies: 77
Views: 13462

Re: Buffett Says ‘No-Brainer’ to Get a Mortgage to Short Rat

Buffett is right. Relatedly, people making extra payments on their 3.5 percent mortgages are making a terrible decision I'm one of those, except my rate is 3.375% fixed (30 yr). I'm paying about $1000 extra per month on a loan that's currently about $385k balance. This will pay it up in about 15 years instead of 30. I really do want that loan to go away eventually before the 30 years are up. IMO the payment needs to go away to solve cash flow issues in early retirement. There aren't any assets that I know of with guaranteed return of 3.375%, even for a 15yr period. I don't think trying to pay it off early is that terrible given the composition of my investment portfolio. I'm still also contributing the max to my 401k and backdoor Roth IRA.
by madbrain
Thu Oct 09, 2014 10:31 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: I'm Chuck and I work at Vanguard and Invest in Active Funds
Replies: 44
Views: 10590

Re: I'm Chuck and I work at Vanguard and Invest in Active Fu

Twins Fan wrote:
princetontiger wrote:This is dumb... I worked at a hedge fund, and I can tell you the smartest guys are not at Vanguard, they are at a mega hedge fund.
Why don't you work there any longer?.... Zing! :D
The hedge fund guys were so smart that they left after collecting all their hefty fees ?
by madbrain
Thu Oct 09, 2014 8:25 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Bank Blackmail? [Credit Card Upgrade]
Replies: 22
Views: 2546

Re: Bank Blackmail? [Credit Card Upgrade]

Where did you come up with this definition? Try this: "Blackmail is an act, often a crime, involving unjustified threats to make a gain or cause loss to another unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats for the purposes of taking the person's money or property." The OP's situation seems to generally fit this definition. Are you serious ? Lenders are never under any obligation to keep your credit account open forever, which I am sure lawyers remind you in the fine print of the terms of your existing account - which you read in full every time, right ? This is hardly a threat, and cancelling the account does not cause a loss. It may cancel a ...
by madbrain
Thu Oct 09, 2014 8:21 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: I'm Chuck and I work at Vanguard and Invest in Active Funds
Replies: 44
Views: 10590

Re: I'm Chuck and I work at Vanguard and Invest in Active Fu

Personally, I have Vanguard CA Intermediate Muni and High-yield bond funds, which are actively managed, and still very low ER.
Not everyone wants to own these types of bond funds, but due to liquidity issues, it makes sense for them to be managed funds rather than index funds.
by madbrain
Wed Oct 08, 2014 8:48 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Should I go for RSU or Options?
Replies: 15
Views: 2276

Re: Should I go for RSU or Options?

I think there is a contradiction in what you said. 1) The vesting schedule is 4 years for both 2) The only catch is that if I choose RSUs and leave the company before a liquidity event (i.e. and IPO or sale), then my RSUs do not vest. Either your RSUs vest in 4 years, or they don't vest. It can't be both. To update #2: yes, the vesting of RSUs is contingent on being present during a liquidity event. This is still confusing. Does the 4 year vesting apply to RSUs or not ? It sounds like they vest over 4 years, but your RSUs would be cancelled/forfeited if you leave the company before a liquidity event. If you keep them as ISOs and are let go, do you have an opportunity to buy the ISOs that have already vested, or are they automatically forfe...
by madbrain
Tue Oct 07, 2014 9:30 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Should I go for RSU or Options?
Replies: 15
Views: 2276

Re: Should I go for RSU or Options?

Ok all, I have some updates. I am being offered the chance to convert my options to RSUs 1:1. The options are ISOs. The vesting schedule is 4 years for both. The only catch is that if I choose RSUs and leave the company before a liquidity event (i.e. and IPO or sale), then my RSUs do not vest. If I purchased my options and I left the company before an IPO, obviously I would be vested and would be able to sell post-IPO. I currently love my job from both a day-to-day enjoyment perspective as well as a professional growth perspective and can see myself sticking around for a while, so I am leaning towards RSUs. Do you guys think this is a reasonable route, or is the tax advantage of an ISO too good to pass up? I think there is a contradiction ...
by madbrain
Tue Oct 07, 2014 9:08 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Company stock match, good deal?
Replies: 18
Views: 2068

Re: Company stock match, good deal?

Luke Duke wrote:I'm guessing that you can sell the shares at anytime.
I can sell them at anytime after the purchase, and the show up in my brokerage account.
As it happens, this is a timely thread. The latest purchase should have been in late September.
I still haven't gotten any notification from my employer about the exact purchase date or price.
And the shares are still not in my brokerage account. Of course the market went down a bunch in the last week, just my luck.
It's not down 5% yet, though.
If you sell them before the lock is over then the discount becomes taxable income.
It's not really a lock - it's just a holding period to get preferential tax treatment.
by madbrain
Tue Oct 07, 2014 7:16 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Retiring early, but where dump 401k for yearly withdrawal?
Replies: 32
Views: 5853

Re: Retiring early, but where dump 401k for yearly withdrawa

I totally hear where your coming from, and your input is definitely noted..! I am taking a risk moving to Thailand when I retire when it comes to certain things (health care being the main one), but I am currently very healthy (eat right, exercise daily..etc..etc), and only issue that runs in my family is diabetes, which I do not have.. It's great that you are healthy now, keep it up ! But things generally don't stay that way forever. Most of us will get some serious illness in our life. Healthcare costs typically grow with age as a result. You may have a $120 premium now because of your age and because you are not utilizing the healthcare system much, but it could become higher over time as you age and become less healthy. For example, US...
by madbrain
Tue Oct 07, 2014 7:05 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: tired of zero hedge, got an alt news site?
Replies: 34
Views: 7736

Re: tired of zero hedge, got an alt news site?

I didn't mean to put Huff and Fox in the same bag. Huff is pretty slanted, sensational, and journalistically pretty crappy, but at least they are not mean-spirited. It's preaching to the choir, which is not so bad if you "know to take most stories with a grain of salt" and use other sources. Yes. Mostly with Huffpo, the "articles" have the same journalistic quality as many blog posts, which is to say not a lot. If those are posts from unknown people, then one has to know that they may not be accurate. But Huffpo also contains many blog posts by famous and interesting people which are accurate. Many posts on Huffo also link to other, more accurate sources. It's still a good way to get informed, IMO, if you are inclined t...
by madbrain
Tue Oct 07, 2014 7:02 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Retiring early, but where dump 401k for yearly withdrawal?
Replies: 32
Views: 5853

Re: Retiring early, but where dump 401k for yearly withdrawa

I have never been sick before in Thailand, but I know how things work there.. Also, I will have international health care coverage, in which I can go to certain hospitals all around Asia if needed.. and yes, I have included that cost ($120 monthly) in my $28-30k. I have many friends that live in Thailand now, who are retired military, including my cousin, so I understand all that I need while I am there.. I believe your $120/month is likely way underestimated for health costs, even in Thailand. I just spent a couple of hours researching the issue since it interests me in the long run, and I'm going to Thailand again later this year. From what I found, all private medical insurance policies exclude pre-existing conditions coverage. And the ...
by madbrain
Tue Oct 07, 2014 12:53 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: tired of zero hedge, got an alt news site?
Replies: 34
Views: 7736

Re: tired of zero hedge, got an alt news site?

Though it doesn't hurt to expose yourself to fringe junk like Huffington Post and Fox News from time to time, so that you understand why there is no meaningful political dialogue in America any more, and how dangerous that can be. I like to limit my exposure to Fox News to the excepts on John Stewart's Daily Show. Apparently, watching News makes you less informed than watching no news at all . http://www.businessinsider.com/study-watching-fox-news-makes-you-less-informed-than-watching-no-news-at-all-2012-5 My main choices for news are The Daily Show and NPR, which are apparently quite good. While they both have web sites, these are not print media and may not be what the OP was asking for. As far as web sites, I do like Huffpo even though ...
by madbrain
Tue Oct 07, 2014 12:37 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Are you a "maximizer" or a "satisficer"?
Replies: 52
Views: 5556

Re: Are you a "maximizer" or a "satisficer"?

bpp wrote:I find the term "satisficer" remarkably irritating.

Is there no way to express the same concept using real, adult-sounding words?
Hmm, let's explore another alternative.

Satisfizer ? That sounds like the newest erectile dysfunction pill from Pfizer. It's adult-sounding. It would be a much better brand name than Viagra, if you ask me.
Apparently it's a real word, in Portugese .

I'm not sure if the word is any less irritating, though.
by madbrain
Mon Oct 06, 2014 9:26 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Retiring early, but where dump 401k for yearly withdrawal?
Replies: 32
Views: 5853

Re: Retiring early, but where dump 401k for yearly withdrawa

. I currently have 400k in my 401k, average growth has been 6-10% yearly, and I add 12k to it every year from my salary. 10% is on the optimistic side for long term returns in your 401k unless you are taking quite a bit of risk. What's your annualized return since you have been investing in your 401k ? This is a better predictor than a range of 6-10% . I will be moving to Thailand when I retire and will only need around 28-30k yearly to live comfortably.. (I've been to Thailand many times, so I know that amount will be fine for my lifestyle) Have you been sick in Thailand before ? How much did treatments cost ? Are you accounting for health costs in those 28-30k ? You may be healthy right now, but in old age it's a good bet you won't alway...
by madbrain
Mon Oct 06, 2014 8:35 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is it normal to lose $$$?
Replies: 26
Views: 5222

Re: Is it normal to lose $$$?

Yes. Markets sometimes move up, and sometimes down. Index funds follow markets. It's not a bug, it's a feature.

If you are looking for funds that only move up, you may want to talk to Bernie Madoff . He only has 145 years left to serve.
by madbrain
Mon Oct 06, 2014 8:26 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Company stock match, good deal?
Replies: 18
Views: 2068

Re: Company stock match, good deal?

Been there and I just held my nose and did it anyway..... Once I left I sold right away. I HATED having all that stock as a match instead of cash but you want to save anyway so what options do you really have... Just think of it as free stock instead of free money and that it might be worth zero. That makes sense for the 401k, but what about the stock purchase plan. Is buying it at a 5% discount worth it? I personally would not touch an ESPP with only a 5% discount... even with a long look back and short lock in it's not worth the risk in my view as the stock price can easily move too much during your lock in period.... but it's a crap shoot. I have been into ESPP in past companies but they were 15% discounts with a long look back so that ...
by madbrain
Wed Oct 01, 2014 4:25 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Should I buy this house
Replies: 37
Views: 3343

Re: Should I buy this house

- I am looking for some impartial advice on buying a home - I have an income of $450,000 which is stable for at least 3 more years after which may stay the same or could go down to 300,000 per year. My wife makes $220,000 which also is stable for 3 years That means $670k per year gross income for 3 years. Looking at 2013 tax tables, assuming standard deduction, you would owe about $196k in federal income taxes, and $59k in California state income taxes. Ie. a combined tax rate a hair under 39%. This is not counting social security or medicare taxes, but in reality, you will have deductions, so your taxes will be less. Let's round things to 40% taxes to make it even. This means you will gross $2.01M and net about $1.2M over the next 3 years...
by madbrain
Tue Sep 30, 2014 8:19 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Why Aren't Waterbeds Popular Anymore?
Replies: 13
Views: 2770

Re: Why Aren't Waterbeds Popular Anymore?

Because cats are popular ?
by madbrain
Tue Sep 30, 2014 8:16 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: I picked up a penny today...
Replies: 20
Views: 2835

Re: I picked up a penny today...

nisiprius wrote: Are people speculating that at some time in the future the law will be changed and it will be legal to melt them down?
If you didn't speculating in penny stocks was bad enough, speculation in actually pennies is rather nutty.

I don't see how the US mint could prevent them from being melted, though, especially if it's done abroad, outside of US jurisdiction.

Even if the metal is worth 2 cents, it may take more than 1 cent worth of energy to melt them.
by madbrain
Tue Sep 30, 2014 4:28 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: When should someone "not stay the course"?
Replies: 43
Views: 4657

Re: When should someone "not stay the course"?

Stop looking at price charts and start looking at total return charts.
by madbrain
Tue Sep 30, 2014 4:21 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Vanguard Recommending Quicken Changes
Replies: 62
Views: 11636

Re: Vanguard Recommending Quicken Changes

I just noticed a new issue with Vanguard and Quicken 2014 Premier. I have 3 mutual funds that I have setup to send dividends to an external account. In the past, the dividends would get added to the Vanguard mutual fund account, and I would also receive them in the external account. I had to manually change the transaction in the external account to be a transfer from the Vanguard account to reconcile things and zero out the cash balance in the Vanguard account. Now, the dividends don't get added at all to the Vanguard mutual fund account - and I still receive them in the external account (no change there). If I want to reconcile things, it seems that I have to create a new "dividend" transaction manually for each fund that is pa...
by madbrain
Tue Sep 30, 2014 12:31 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: AliBaba
Replies: 179
Views: 26139

Re: AliBaba

IPer wrote:
madbrain wrote:
IPer wrote:Yes, agreed, it's quite a dance!
John Stewart has a good segment about it last week .

http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/zkwq3 ... ollar-baba
Jon Stewart wrote: The communists just beat us at capitalism.
good?!!! That was incredible, thank you so much for posting it, oh my that is great entertainment in such a short time span, wow!
You are welcome. I take it you do not regularly watch the Daily Show.
This was a typical segment, IMO. John Stewart has excellent writers. I DVR and watch every episode.
by madbrain
Mon Sep 29, 2014 9:52 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: AliBaba
Replies: 179
Views: 26139

Re: AliBaba

IPer wrote:Yes, agreed, it's quite a dance!
John Stewart has a good segment about it last week .

http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/zkwq3 ... ollar-baba
Jon Stewart wrote: The communists just beat us at capitalism.
by madbrain
Mon Sep 29, 2014 8:52 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: "Shellshock" vulnerability for Linux based systems
Replies: 61
Views: 5565

Re: "Shellshock" vulnerability for Linux based systems

Note that new exploits in bash have been found and are not yet patched.

http://www.itnews.com.au/News/396256,fu ... ctive.aspx

IMO, system administrators should not wait for the newest patches to change to a default OS shell other than bash, as well as disable CGI functionality if possible.