It is disappointing that some commentators are adding their political views. Look, I'm sorry I made the comment. I wasn't defending the administration; the adjective merely seemed over-the-top to me. Given the venom that I've watched people spit at each other in this forum, particularly over the la...

This probably won't be unless we have an intelligent thread determining what constitutes fascism first. It's this that really caused me to react. I'm not sure you and I use the same operational definition of the word. And I figure we both probably have at least half a brain. And so yeah--this seems...

Libertarian666 wrote: I hated Bush, but Obama is far worse.

It would be fun to sit down over a beer or coffee or something and compare notes. I have been seriously disappointed by President Obama, but he doesn't inspire the antipathy that I had for his predecessor.

On this forum, you would likely get few (if any) objections to the assertion that Bush did this stuff as well. But just because it ain't new, doesn't mean you can't call a spade a spade. That's fair. I guess its a bit of a knee-jerk button for me because I recall far less of an outcry during the di...

Libertarian666 wrote: Spying on everyone? Check.
Assassinations on the say-so of one person? Check.
Rule by decree? Check.

As long as we're not trying to assert that these things all started magically during the current administration.

And I suppose this is now getting really close to a political debate, so...

Libertarian666 wrote: I'm not Kshartle, but that is an accurate adjective.

It strikes me as rather over the top, but if you say so.

Kshartle wrote: From my casual observation WB has been a supporter of wealth destroying government regulation and manipulation as well as the fascistic Obama regime for years.

Uhm...seriously?

Lowe wrote: But better for brains.

For a while. But supply is likely to become a problem fairly quick.

I agree 100%.  Rather than the "standard" 60/40 portfolio, I think the default should be 20/80 (or the PP).  And I'm becoming convinced that it's probably better for many investors not to rebalance into equities during market declines.   In other words, I think rebalancing out of equities...

Bean wrote: Ticker: VT

I have an unhealthy love of this ETF

I love this one too. The only reason I use VTI instead of VT in my 4X25 PP is the higher expense ratio for VT.

I just don't understand what's so distressing about a 2.7% loss over 11 months. The stock market can deliver this kind of loss in one day . Seriously. When the equities markets have a "bad" day, my VP usually loses somewhere around half of what the S&P500 loses. That portfolio experie...

Pointedstick wrote: That stuff is basically the money equivalent of watching cable TV news. A lot of noise, a lot of stress generated, but not a lot of useful information.

You write a lot of compelling stuff, but this one is good enough to be printed on a T-shirt.






 

Pointedstick wrote: There's always someone out there who wants to scare you; most of them are simply looking to profit off it.

Quote of the week.

Libertarian666 wrote: They laughed when I said I was going to be a stand-up comic.
They're not laughing now.

Hehe. Nice.

He'll be here all week, folks. Please tip your wait staff.

According to mine, it remains down a bit...-0.31%.  Assume the difference is which investment vehicles we're using. Fidelity fails me on this front. It displays the change since purchase for each instrument, but it also incorporates transaction fees while doing so (thus, it tells me that my SHY is ...

Idk why you think that is a 'failure'. Transaction fees, like expense ratios, should definitely be included in return figures. You're right. I meant that it is difficult for me to determine, just using the information displayed in my account, where my PP is for the year. That was the part where I f...

Fidelity tells me that IAU closed up 3.10% today. According to my Morningstar tracker, the PP hit positive YTD territory today. According to mine, it remains down a bit...-0.31%.  Assume the difference is which investment vehicles we're using. Fidelity fails me on this front. It displays the change...

Fidelity tells me that IAU closed up 3.10% today.

"The rising asset(s) in the PP tend to more than compensate for the falling asset(s). I.e., the rising asset(s) tend to buoy the portfolio." (This is usually the case but is not always the case.) This statement was one that I found compelling when I was doing my initial research, prior to...

I assume you checked out the epic PP thread over on the Bogleheads forum.  That's also a really good resource. I read that whole damn thread (3000+ posts)--much of it several times. And some of the follow-on discussions. It's actually what led me to establish a 4X25 PP in my Roth. I found the analy...

cnh wrote: Given the recent posts, shouldn't this topic be transferred to "Other Discussions?" Alternately, I guess it could be considered a "Variable Portfolio Discussion."

Well played.

Not bad for T-C.  The ERs for the variable annuity funds are all 0.4+.  It looks like you've managed to shave off a bit of expenses with your frankenfund stock collection, compared to the standard CREF choices. Bonds are a bit of a conundrum in the T-C world.  I settled on dividing equally between ...

WhiteDesert, interested to know how you've allocated your TIAA accounts?  I also decided not to try to integrate those accounts with the PP.  Being annuities, they are a fundamentally different beast. Hey Sophie-- My T-C contracts include a few negotiated non-T-C funds, so my VP asset allocation is...

I will go with money I can afford to lose: Fun money such as vacations- I budget a certain amount each month for vacation planning.  We can use the money on any vacation trip we want as long as we only use the amount we have saved up. If we use less by taking just a mini vacation, the left over amo...

What does this mantra mean to you? I'm curious to know how others have internalized this often quoted statement. I guess not very much at this point. :/ I started running a PP just two years ago (1 July 2011) and it is currently 100% contained within my Roth. Looking at my tracking spreadsheet this...