In regards to bonds. The bond portion is to protect against deflation. Again, having a mix of bonds within the 25% holding will reduce the risk of being exposed to one 'type' of bond, namely, US government. yes, I agree, bond yields have been falling for 20 some odd years. I do not believe the Feder...

Please don't try to predict the market, or, more importantly, predict which countries or sectors will do well in the near term.  I do agree with some international exposure.  I would recommend that following for the 25% of your portfoilio is stocks: 60% VTI 40% EFA Here is a good article to read: ht...

I would just find a broker with low trading costs and choose which gold ETF or closed end fund you like and start building your position. Thanks Tex, Sharebuilder seems the best so far. I can setup a ETF based PP and have Sharebuilder automatically buy $400/month. Sharebuilder also does partical sh...

Thanks for the reply Adam1226- I have thought about that fund, I actually makes up approx. 5% of my 401k. It is an option, I guess I am a little concerned that in the next five years, if the rest of the market does well, a good portion of the money will be flowing out of the fund. This is fine for m...

Hello everyone, great forum! First of all, here is my situation.  I have $400/month that I want to store away for 5-7 years for my next vehicle purchase. The PP seems like a perfect portfolio to do this with.  I am trying to find a good brokerage account to do this with. I have having the most troub...