Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
@billr: I did just what you contemplate. When I turned 66 and first filed for SS, we had two kids at home, one 15, the other 7. The benefits for each continued until their graduation from HS. In the case of the younger one, contributions to the Mich…
My situation is a little unusual. Normally I'd wait as long as possible to take SS especially since my wife is ten years younger than me. However, we have many children and the youngest two are still teenagers (13 and 16). I'll start taking SS at fu…
Too much bad news still out there. I'm slowly selling things as market rises to build cash. I think we're going to have a lot more businesses going south this summer. We're starting to see small businesses locally (WA state) announce going out of bu…
msf, very good comment.
Additional info: one reason for the limitations on 'convenient' transfers is that it affects the amount of money the FI can assume it will have on deposit through the month and therefore the insurance premiums (whether to F…
Nope. Spent too many years in computer programming and networking, first as a research scientist for a national lab, then as a consultant in the nuclear power industry, then for financial institutions. I do backups to my own devices only, and keep c…
I'm a software engineer with a background in the nuclear power industry. Seems that one major flaw of the 737 MAX software system, based on what I've read elsewhere, is that they are relying on data from a single physical sensor. If it gives bad dat…
I'm normally 80-20 stocks but over the last 18 months have been cutting back slowly to now about 55-45. About 20% is cash now. Don't know if it will pay off, but I'm at a point in my life that it is better to keep what I already have than to build i…
I drive an '82 RX7, a Harley and a Chevy Silverado. I have no idea what age group I'm in.I had an '80 RX7 but traded it in when we started having children (eight of them eventually). Sure loved driving that car.
My investments are split about 50-50 between Schwab and Vanguard. Sort of accidental, related to retirement accounts at the two main places where I worked. Both are fine, but if I ever consolidate I'll go with Schwab. I like their web site better ov…
I've had a Schwab account for 20 years and there isn't an office within 150 miles of me. Everything, including setting up, funding, investing, and finally now starting to make small withdrawals has been done online without a hitch. My wife has a tin…
First, I call horse pucky on this libertarian myth that corporations have always existed solely to make profits for shareholders and not for any other purpose such as the public good. There has been a notion of corporations existing for the public g…
If you are a retiree and think it is prudent to have 1-5 year piece of your investments in a rather safe place for annual or emergency needs, how are you positioning this money? Suggestions or opinions appreciated.
I think a CD ladder is a good choi…
I think everyone is kind of agreeing that it is going to be a tough deal to get 4.8%.
My vote would be something really simple. Keep about 50K in cash (money market for half and 1 yr CD for the other half). The rest of it could be basically on aut…
I would like to buy Rondure, but they are not available NTF anywhere I could see. I'm reall trying to move away from holding accounts at individual fund companies. Getting old and have to think regarding educating and simplifying life for near and d…
The state of Michigan policy is very plain. You can proposition a coworker, boss or subordinate and you can tell dirty jokes, etc. UNTIL someone refuses your advances or asks you to stop. If you continue - you are harassing them. If anyone up the ch…
The issue that prompted this is that I can never enter more than one letter, For example, if I enter M (for Minnesota) I get the selections as outlined by Maurice above. If I enter the M and try to follow it with an N for the Minnesota abbreviation …
I'd keep it as an IRA, not 401k. There are more investment choices available to you.
The only reasons to put it back in 401k are:
1) if you want early retirement, you can get at the funds without penalty a couple of years earlier.
2) if the 401k …
Just put a sell order in on my XBI ETF. It's been a good run and I don't want to be too greedy.
Some of my largest holdings are in closed funds and if I sell them I can't get back in, so I'm raising some cash by selling some other things.
We just had something similar. Plastic gasoline can about five gallon size fell out of back of pickup ahead of us. We hit it because lanes on either side of us were full and we couldn't swerve around it, but got lucky; it was empty. Things happen i…
My in-box: The Anatomy of a Golf Course by Tom Doak. His other books are too expensive for me.
A bunch of Sci-Fi books by Charles Stross. Excellent author. I've read several of his books, and bought some more.
Vermeer's Hat by Timothy Brook. One …
The short, medium, long designations are applied to the remaining term on the bond. So if it was a 30 year bond and is now in year 28, there are two years to go. It will have the same interest rate (to within some tiny margin of error) as a new two …
I have a question.
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So my problem is this. Maturity, and more specifically how does it matter if I'm purchasing a 30-year bond, but it was issued 29 years back. What is difference between buying this bond which has 1 year left to mature vs buyin…
re: Sven
If that is the case, why is there not more Americans getting college degrees in STEM and the positions are often filled with foreign workers?
I've got degrees in engineering and computer science, and the classes were pretty difficult. I gr…
I've got SFGIX and GPEOX too, but bought some of RNWOX today anyway. After a few years I can always drop one of them, but by then it might be too late to buy in.
Funny, just two days ago I wrote the following email to my daughter (at her request):
"Here's my summary of financial planning. Or, you could read a 300 page book and get the same information with more details.
1) Have an emergency account. Ideal…
Sorting through multiple accounts and summing up total investments, I end up with:
BND (Vanguard Bond Fund) 15%
VBR (Vanguard Small Cap Value) 8%
GPGOX 7%
OAKBX 5% (about 15 years)
I think Dolphin nailed it. If you have no other IRAs, then just roll this one into a Roth IRA and you'll just pay the income tax on the gains that have taken place. The actual deposits move for free.
401k holdings don't apply at all UNLESS you ro…
I'm investing in the Balanced fund (class R shares) in my 401k account with my current employer. The fee is pretty low for that share class. We only had American Fund choices and I chose this fund as being relatively reliable.
This is a job to tide…
Considering its closed, highly regarded and has done really well amongst EM funds, I certainly wouldn't eliminate it. I add to both SFGIX and GPEOX monthly and I would consider stopping if I was worried about EM longer term but its not very likely …
