I chose the PP for many reasons, one of the top being my desire to set it, forget it, and rarely check it. I usually view my PP once each quarter. Today I peeked and...whoa! Holy moly bond slide. Q3 to Q4 loss in the $18K range. Without going into too much detail, can someone explain what happened h...

I like to keep things simple, so I contribute with your idea on #1. My monthly contributions go in 4x4, then I re-balance as needed.

PFG - if your 403g is with TIAA CREF, then you have the same problem I do.  I gave up trying to integrate it into the PP - in addition to the excellent reasons you pointed out, your investments there are actually annuities. Not with TIAA CREF. Have access to a good stock index, but no brokerage win...

I struggle with this same question, but not because of the early retirement/paying penalty question. I ask myself this from the re-balancing point of view: Re-balancing can be difficult if each retirement account isn't its own PP island. For example, I can't go into my 403b and sell some of the stoc...

It has been a little over a year since I read the book by Mr. Rowland and Mr. Lawson. I'm young (under 30) and was searching for direction in how to invest. I had read stuff by Bogle, and a few other "lazy portfolio" books like Coffee House investor, etc. I picked up Permanent Portfolio, r...

Bumping this up in hopes that someone knows. Saw the same fee ($100) while working on selling some Bonds that I purchased on the secondary market.

Anyone know?

Thanks Ad. Read through that as well. Posted a similar question on that thread. Have decided to use cash flow and other accounts to balance out the 100% stock 401k. Too difficult right now to make each account a pure PP, so going to view my entire portfolio as 1 PP with some accounts holding only on...

Thanks for the replys. Desert, I do have the cash flow to balance in other accounts. Your statement on buying the best available to you in each account really spoke to me. I'm going to forgoe attempting to balance in each account (mostly this 401 that lacks everything but a good stock index), and in...

Thanks for the reply. I can also use TGBAX: http://quotes.morningstar.com/fund/tgbax/f?t=tgbax

Any reason to use that over the TIAA fund? A little extra expense.

Trying to find the "least stinky sock" to help give my 401 some diversity and not be 100% stock.

Least stinky sock in the hamper is exactly what I'm looking for!

I hold Bonds and Bills directly in my other accounts, but I just want some diversity in my 401.

Looks like the TGBAX option wouldn't be awful. Not appropriate for the PP, but again... the less stinky sock.

Here is a link to the bond account I have access to: http://www1.tiaa-cref.org/public/performance/retirement/profiles/1006.html http://enroll.tiaa-cref.org/resources/ffs/194408407.pdf Again, a .44 expense charge. Not good, not awful. If any of the funds listed above look better, I'm all ears. This o...

Great discussion here. In a simialar boat as many. I do have access to a S&P 500 stock index. As for bonds, there is a Bond Market Account (TIAA): http://www1.tiaa-cref.org/public/performance/retirement/profiles/1006.html http://enroll.tiaa-cref.org/resources/ffs/194408407.pdf Looks like it mirr...

Looking for the collective wisdom and recommendations from the posters here. I have a 401 account that, like many, stinks for PP style investing. Fortunately there is a low managed, low expense index fund for the stock portion. There aren't any gold options. Out the window. Don't see any decent cash...

Thanks for the reply. I guess another way to look at I-Bonds: They are like my ROTH. Deferring taxes until later. I'm young. In the accumulation phase. Wouldn't be touching these for a long while. Going to I-Bonds also means I could stop putting T-Bills in my tax-def accounts, opening more space for...

Maybe I'm missing something. Straight from the book, cash is second in line behind bonds for tax consideration. I can hold T-Bills in my tax-def accounts. I can hold SHV/SHY in a tax-def account. Why would I entertain buying I-Bonds? They can't be had off the secondary market so I can't store them i...

I've read the book. Two or three times. And I don't recall if this was addressed. Do you view your entire portfolio as the PP, or do you look at each account as an individual PP? Example 1: - 401K PP - IRA PP - Taxable account PP or Example 2: - Use my 401K, IRA and Taxable accounts as vehicles to e...

Thank you! Doing the PP for about a year now. Every next step is still a new step. Appreciate it.

I use my IRA to hold cash in the form of Treasury Bills.

Are there any tax implications to selling these then using the funds to purchase Long Term Bonds in the same IRA?

This is my first time needing to sell cash for re-balance purposes. A little unclear on tax implications.

Thanks for the vote of confidence. I sure do love the no fees part of holding your own.

The screen shot thing is great. I actually did all that on my iPhone. Just make sure you have a photo hosting account somewhere (photo bucket, etc) and you are good to go.

I went through quite a transition in my bond buying philosophy. Step 1: I wanted to keep it simple and use one of the Vanguard LT Bond and ST bond funds. Did enough reading here and in Craig's book to see it wasn't a good enough choice for the PP. Step 2: Use one of the better funds that hold almost...

Correct -  my IRA is with a brokerage account. What happens to my T-bills when they mature in a year? I assume that: - If I purchase $4000 in T-bills, they will either be worth more or less in 1 year depending on the economic environment. Whatever their worth may be (more or less), that amount will ...

The Treasury Bond Buying Tutorial at the top was a fantastic read. It answered 99% of all questions and mystery surrounding the purchasing and holding of Treasury bonds directly. I have a twist on the question of holding Bonds in my ROTH... I would like to use the current funds in my IRA to hold Bon...