The fool is the person who thought it had anything to do with the top of a pyramid.

I am a recovering Buddaholic. But today I had a good day. I typed up a response (reaction) to Budd's latest. Accurate, filled with facts, witty, with a slight bit of snark...but then I deleted it. Today, was a good day. 8) Good one, Kbg. Your struggle is shared by many. As tiresome as the fallacies...

Is the green line the dollar index $USD? If so I question its use in this comparison, it being a ratio against other currencies, not a model of a cash instrument. It may reverse course just as quickly at any time, as it did in the six months or so after the 2016 election. Try SHV or SHY. Either is s...

The breach grows: Perth Mint Confirms More Customers Involved In Data Breach I received notice this morning my account information was among those compromised, including "the numbers of your bank account, your passport and/or driver’s license." Further, "The information illegally acce...

Fidelity has a refund-all-ATM fees debit card. I haven’t tested it outside the U.S. but it hasn’t let me down inside.

ochotona wrote: ↑Thu May 24, 2018 9:24 am vacation to somewhere without Internet

Great idea. Enjoy!

The irony of a clear answer about precise tax treatment of 1 year tbills not yet appearing in this thread amongst analyzers and tweakers is a bit much considering they were Harry Browne’s clear and simple recommendation for one fourth or the portfolio ;) Indeed, I previously switched from funds to ...

The irony of a clear answer about precise tax treatment of 1 year tbills not yet appearing in this thread amongst analyzers and tweakers is a bit much considering they were Harry Browne’s clear and simple recommendation for one fourth or the portfolio ;) Indeed, I previously switched from funds to b...

Classic, budd. I spoke too soon while the stocks loss was smaller. But corto is also right on: gold is still tops on the YTD (and has been the 3mo leader all month).

It's working today, budd!!!

What a nightmare.

Unrelated but this thread reminded me, I’ve been missing TennPaGa’s posts around here.

Continuing the thread drift, I watched 13 Hours and liked it a lot. Hats off to the filmmakers and of course the “practitioners,” to use Kbg’s term.

I can confirm that the wash sale rules don't apply. I researched IRS rules, then tax loss harvested gold Eagles through APMEX in 2013. Per the guy I talked to on the phone, they were doing a ton of those transactions at the time. I had to mail them coins and get them mailed right back though. Thank...

Cortopassi, your experience is about the same as mine. I am determined to pass on more investing guidance to my children than what I received from my parents, which was zero. When I read Craig and Tex's PP book, it was like a light bulb went on in my head. It just makes so much sense, but nobody ev...

I'm pretty sure somebody here has a story of going to his/her gold dealer with some gold, and while that gold was sitting on the counter, sold and re-bought it, complete with a receipt for both transactions. The dealer took a small cut for facilitating. Gotcha. Hitting the streets with coins to do ...

On a related note, my employer's 401(k) is moving from rip-off insurance company custody to Vanguard! Another one bites the dust. Nice! TLT rallied in vain today, slipping to negative 12mo total return lookback vs. SHV for the first time in a few months. It looks to remain choppy the next couple mo...

Trade is done, got the same price for physical gold today as when I sold my ETF on Friday - a few nail-biting moments there due to volatility. Only 1.5% premium, it was the annual clearance sale at Texas PM. Random year Can Gold Maple Leaves. I was on the I-10 in my car, placing this big order (we ...

I've been in martial arts my whole life (44 years out of my almost 57), and I've noticed that kids today can't mount an attack worth sh**. They are disconnected from their physical bodies. They have spent too much time in video games, imagining themselves in first person shooter roles, or maybe vir...

Budd, why would you expect the PP to outperform the 70/30? That's not the goal. As Harry Browne said, "Investing is about taking the returns that the market gives you." If there were a risk-free investment that could beat a 70/30 over time, believe me we'd all be there. The problem is, th...

I have 200K to add to the portfolio. I’m having a difficult time deciding between 70/30 and the PP. All I have witnessed in my investing life which started in 2008 is stocks out-performing all other assets with minimal/short-lived declines. While psychologically I like the PP, I have yet to witness...

Budd, you frequently tout with confidence statistics and historical perspectives showing the superior long run performance of stocks as justification for their proper use in a portfolio. Have you asked yourself why you have such trouble accepting statistics on gold that form the long term basis for ...

Well can’t say I didn’t tell you so... First hint of inflation and gold disappears. Wonderful day for the PP. Look at her go, thank god I only have 25% in each asset class since they are all going down together...hmm Told who what now? Last I recall you were voicing unrealistic expectations for gol...

Huh. In fact in Antonacci's absolute momentum paper high yield bonds with absolute momentum show the highest Sharpe ratio and best improvement in volatility, a fact which I glossed over previously. PRHYX also does very well with SPY in dual momentum. I see the data goes back to 1992. Are you using 1...

Kriegsspiel wrote:Nikkei down two plus?
To Aokigahara
those traders will trudge

Nice one. I’m still grinning about the It’s Happening! gif from last week.

Matt Levine on Feb 6. The market fell further after he wrote this, but if you enjoy his column this was the perfect take following on his previous segments on market volatility. (All his columns last week were enjoyable, on various topics) https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-02-06/people-ar...

I'll be nibbling at stocks on a regular (weekly) schedule, dualstow, I forget your plan. Is that nibble a long term increase plan or micro rebalancing or what? Choice #1. It’s not so much rebalancing as a long term plan to continue to accumulate stocks, pp or not, while I’m still relatively young. ...