Search found 755 matches

by jhogue
Fri Jan 22, 2021 2:04 pm
Forum: Cash
Topic: Ally CD
Replies: 12
Views: 4747

Re: Ally CD

1. I remain a perennial buyer of both paper and electronic I bonds as part of a long term strategy to accumulate more "Deep Cash" over time. They currently account for about 10% of my total portfolio. The longer I hold them, the more I realize they are a great hedge against inflation and taxes-- a c...
by jhogue
Tue Jan 19, 2021 1:28 pm
Forum: Cash
Topic: Ally CD
Replies: 12
Views: 4747

Re: Ally CD

There is a very large, highly liquid, and globalized secondary market in US Treasury securities that operates 24/7/365 and beyond the reach of the US government. Saudi Arabia demands that Japan pay for oil priced in dollars, not yen. China and Japan each hold more that $1 trillion in Treasurys. Etc....
by jhogue
Sun Jan 10, 2021 2:26 pm
Forum: Cash
Topic: I Bonds!
Replies: 18
Views: 6445

Re: I Bonds!

Thanks Vinny & jhogue. Much appreciated with the Treasury Direct info! 3. Depending on the year you bought them, EE bonds double in value at a date specified at the time of purchase. EE bonds stop paying interest at 30 years, so there is no point in holding them any longer than that. Just one thoug...
by jhogue
Sat Jan 09, 2021 11:52 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: I Bonds!
Replies: 18
Views: 6445

Re: I Bonds!

barrett, 1. There used to be a credit card purchase option for savings bonds at TreasuryDirect, but that program expired a number of years ago. 2. Savings bonds can be redeemed in two ways now. The first is by electronic transfer from your Treasury Direct account to your bank account. My local bank ...
by jhogue
Thu Jan 07, 2021 9:53 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: New iBond rate 1.68%
Replies: 29
Views: 10164

Re: New iBond rate 1.68%

Why is my ibond puchased 04-01-2019 at 1.56%. Shouldnt it be the same 1.68% as the bond purchased last week Not sure where you got your information. An I-bond purchased from November 2018 through April 2019 has a current composite rate of 2.18%. See TreasuryDirect's official table located at: https...
by jhogue
Fri Jan 01, 2021 3:37 pm
Forum: Cash
Topic: New iBond rate 1.68%
Replies: 29
Views: 10164

Re: New iBond rate 1.68%

In the short term, I bought I bonds for their yield, but worried about their liquidity. The longer I have held them, the more I have realized that I bonds are the Swiss Army Knives of cash equivalents. They can play many roles in almost any investment portfolio. Changes in I-bond rates are announced...
by jhogue
Fri Jan 01, 2021 9:35 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: New iBond rate 1.68%
Replies: 29
Views: 10164

Re: New iBond rate 1.68%

ocho,

Congratulations on your big pile of I-bonds.

One (minor) correction: Any I-bonds that you bought in 2016 became liquid in 2017. In April of 2021 they will become completely penalty free.
by jhogue
Thu Dec 31, 2020 8:33 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: I Bonds!
Replies: 18
Views: 6445

Re: I Bonds!

I don't see anything particularly sinister about the clunky nature of the TreasuryDirect website. I think it has, roughly speaking, the efficiency of your average state department of motor vehicles. Nobody is enthusiastic about it, but nobody wants to put up the money it would take to make substanti...
by jhogue
Wed Dec 30, 2020 1:11 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: How Do You Balance Work And Leisure?
Replies: 118
Views: 34631

Re: How Do You Balance Work And Leisure?

Passive income! Get yourself a positive cash flow situation from a business you own, real estate or something else. I currently work about 12 hours per week but still have lots of income from when others are producing at my office. It's awesome. 8) Yep, as in....read up about FIRE and make that hap...
by jhogue
Wed Dec 30, 2020 7:35 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: New iBond rate 1.68%
Replies: 29
Views: 10164

Re: New iBond rate 1.68%

Vinny, Congratulations on your I bond purchase and welcome to the club. There are several different tricks that can be used to increase I bond holdings that have been described in various threads. I have encouraged investors to treat their I-bonds as part of a long term strategy that Medium Tex desc...
by jhogue
Tue Dec 29, 2020 2:20 pm
Forum: Cash
Topic: New iBond rate 1.68%
Replies: 29
Views: 10164

Re: New iBond rate 1.68%

Only a few more days to buy I-bonds for 2020 at the current rate of 1.68%.
This current rate easily beats a 10 year Treasury note (0.93%) or a popular 5 year Ally CD (0.85%).
by jhogue
Mon Dec 21, 2020 1:27 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: Seeking alpha looks at tlt
Replies: 12
Views: 4815

Re: Seeking alpha looks at tlt

An interesting take on the future of LTTs in the Permanent Portfolio.

Given its prominent mention of portfoliocharts I hope that Tyler will respond to it.
by jhogue
Thu Dec 17, 2020 12:43 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Permanent portfolio poll
Replies: 28
Views: 9344

Re: Permanent portfolio poll

I follow the standard 4 x 25 PP with no VP.


I also track the tax efficiency of my portfolio:

10% taxable (mostly cash) + 52% tax deferred (including savings bonds) + 38% tax exempt (Roth IRAs)

Taxes and inflation are the enemies of personal wealth.
by jhogue
Tue Dec 15, 2020 12:32 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Favorite Movies - Your Short List
Replies: 130
Views: 41277

Re: Favorite Movies - Your Short List

Are there any relatively new (< 5 years old) movies that ARE worth anything? The last one I saw that I liked was The Hobbit, and even that got a bit annoying toward the end. 1917 has been mentioned here. It's definitely worth a watch. Ford v Ferrari was a fun recent one. Oh, Knives Out was super fu...
by jhogue
Mon Dec 14, 2020 1:24 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Favorite Movies - Your Short List
Replies: 130
Views: 41277

Re: Favorite Movies - Your Short List

A really good submarine movie has to impart a sense of claustrophobia, complete with sweaty palms.
by jhogue
Mon Dec 14, 2020 12:42 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Favorite Movies - Your Short List
Replies: 130
Views: 41277

Re: Favorite Movies - Your Short List

If you liked Das Boot, be sure to see these World War II submarine hunt movies: The Enemy Below (1957, Robert Mitchum and Curt Jurgen) Run Silent, Run Deep (1958, Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster) As a kid, I was fascinated by submarines after my parents took me to see the captured German U-boat, the ...
by jhogue
Mon Dec 14, 2020 12:30 pm
Forum: Cash
Topic: OnJuno
Replies: 7
Views: 2834

Re: OnJuno

I like the idea of a bank with offices in US, India, and Singapore.
by jhogue
Thu Dec 10, 2020 3:11 pm
Forum: Variable Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Why I think 2021 will be a blockbuster year for stocks
Replies: 61
Views: 16356

Re: Why I think 2021 will be a blockbuster year for stocks

Don't bull markets die when earnings fail to prop up P/E's?
by jhogue
Thu Dec 10, 2020 3:02 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: "Vintage" Stuff Question
Replies: 4
Views: 703

Re: "Vintage" Stuff Question

We had a similar situation when both of my parents died several years ago. My mother collected everything from cancelled stamps to sets of china. She was a borderline-hoarder due to dimentia and refused all our entreaties to part with her "stuff." My father collected tools and fishing gear. Half-way...
by jhogue
Thu Dec 10, 2020 1:09 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Favorite Movies - Your Short List
Replies: 130
Views: 41277

Re: Favorite Movies - Your Short List

I think the critics panned Gladiator when it came out because it exalts masculine (and martial) virtues.
by jhogue
Thu Dec 10, 2020 12:59 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Favorite Movies - Your Short List
Replies: 130
Views: 41277

Re: Favorite Movies - Your Short List

My short list is kind of long. I think each of these has redefined a genre and-when I am in the right mood-worth watching again and again: Gone With the Wind Lawrence of Arabia Doctor Strangelove Patton The Godfather Chinatown Terms of Endearment Blade Runner Last of the Mohicans Gladiator Also, Ame...
by jhogue
Mon Nov 09, 2020 8:43 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: 5% guaranteed vs PP Results
Replies: 14
Views: 3867

Re: 5% guaranteed vs PP Results

I was wondering with ST rates at 0 and LT rates at 1.54 if people still had confidence of that performance over the next 20 years. No question, the Fed has intended for its Zero Interest Rate Policy (ZIRP) to lower the entire Treasury yield curve, end-to-end, since 2008. Despite 12 years of non-sto...
by jhogue
Wed Oct 28, 2020 10:47 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: Best current options for cash and STT's?
Replies: 38
Views: 14354

Re: Best current options for cash and STT's?

Investors in online Ally bank CDs ( 5 year CD currently 1.00%) should take note of a thread over on bogleheads: Ally has apparently ended its online early withdrawal option. Holders of CDs who want an early redemption must now call the bank and speak in person to a customer service rep. There are al...
by jhogue
Thu Oct 22, 2020 12:58 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Why are you afraid of if the “other” party wins?
Replies: 86
Views: 14798

Re: Why are you afraid of if the “other” party wins?

While our political melee and racial issues are concerning and a manifestation of our dysfunction as a species...I'm much more concerned about our ability to cope with climate change. Ironically it's not even a Black swan event. We have known for quite sometime that this is going to present challen...
by jhogue
Tue Oct 20, 2020 11:15 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: Volcker
Replies: 32
Views: 8174

Re: Volcker

I remember how Volcker crushed inflation with high interest rates. It was great if you were saving dollars. Not so good if you were trying to take out a long term mortgage on a house. I got my first money market fund from Dreyfus about 1979-1980. At its height, I think I was getting 20-21% on my mon...