Search found 755 matches

by jhogue
Fri Apr 01, 2022 4:46 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: i-Bonds How-to Q&A as of 2021 November
Replies: 40
Views: 9007

Re: i-Bonds How-to Q&A as of 2021 November

@JHogue - What is most efficient way to purchase IBonds? My goal is 5K to 10K per year, but I am not sure of the best timing - all at once - every six months - purchase at the end of a month or wait and purchase at the beginning of the month. I see the TD website offers a direct payroll deduction o...
by jhogue
Tue Mar 29, 2022 10:30 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: 20 yr vs. 30 yr Yield Curve
Replies: 7
Views: 2526

Re: 20 yr vs. 30 yr Yield Curve

I like Fidelity’s pop-out Fixed Income and Bond Yield chart, which gives real-time quotes (when the markets are open) for broker CDs, Treasurys, Agencies, Corporates, and Municipals, in maturities from 3 months to 30 years +. Some observations: 1. Yield inversions are not particularly unusual or esp...
by jhogue
Thu Mar 17, 2022 11:16 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: How do you invest the Cash portion?
Replies: 243
Views: 168893

Re: How do you invest the Cash portion?

People have funny ideas about what to do with their cash. Some times not so funny. I wonder where Putin hides his personal stash. I am sure he has got at least one, but I am not sure if he can get to any of them. See: "Swiss banks count cost of Russia sanctions" https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss-ba...
by jhogue
Mon Mar 14, 2022 12:59 pm
Forum: Cash
Topic: How do you invest the Cash portion?
Replies: 243
Views: 168893

Re: How do you invest the Cash portion?

For those of you who have been using a Treasury Only Money Market Fund for cash in the era of zero interest rates, are you now going back to laddering short term Treasuries? If so, of what length? Three months? One year? I realize that investors would still be locking in real losses with this strat...
by jhogue
Sat Mar 12, 2022 1:03 pm
Forum: Gold
Topic: GLDM expense ratio now .10%
Replies: 6
Views: 1962

Re: GLDM expense ratio now .10%

SGOL has a net expense ratio of 0.17%. All of the ETF's gold is stored in Switzerland. Will that make any difference? Hard to say, but it holds out the possibility of geopolitical diversification because it is a neutral country that is Western, but not a member of NATO (or any other military allianc...
by jhogue
Fri Mar 11, 2022 7:54 am
Forum: Bonds
Topic: I Bonds for Permanent Portfolio
Replies: 61
Views: 12572

Re: I Bonds for Permanent Portfolio

Good site: https://tipswatch.com/ And the front page article is something I have been hoping for. Will be very happy if there is enough pressure to increase the IBond purchase limit. Or they can just go to treasurydirect.gov and look at the rate. https://treasurydirect.gov/indiv/products/prod_ibond...
by jhogue
Mon Feb 28, 2022 6:02 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: I Bonds for Permanent Portfolio
Replies: 61
Views: 12572

Re: I Bonds for Permanent Portfolio

Go for it.
Right now, I-bonds beat everything on the Treasury interest rate curve from 11 months to 30 years. On top of that, you can change your mind 11 months from now (sort of like a 1 year CD) and get your principal and interest back.
by jhogue
Mon Feb 28, 2022 12:59 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: I Bonds for Permanent Portfolio
Replies: 61
Views: 12572

Re: I Bonds for Permanent Portfolio

I-bonds are tax deferred but can never be held in a tax deferred account. A Treasury money market fund can be held in a tax deferred account. Selling a big pile of I-bonds is therefore always a taxable event. Selling a Treasury money market fund inside a tax deferred account is never a taxable event...
by jhogue
Fri Feb 25, 2022 3:13 pm
Forum: Cash
Topic: Bank Bonuses
Replies: 36
Views: 10867

Re: Bank Bonuses

Big yawn until they start giving out Sony Trinitons again. I must be older than you are. Until inflation set in during the late 1960s, I recall that toasters and coffee pots were the "free" bank giveaway of choice. My folks got a Sony Trinitron TV from Crossland Savings Bank. It was very heavy! How...
by jhogue
Fri Feb 25, 2022 1:51 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: I Bonds for Permanent Portfolio
Replies: 61
Views: 12572

Re: I Bonds for Permanent Portfolio

There are a couple of scenarios: 1. The biggest caution in overbuying savings bonds is having a liquidity crunch and not being able to redeem your bonds because of the 1-year lock up. I think this would be more of a concern for young investors with smaller portfolios who might suddenly need to buy ...
by jhogue
Thu Feb 24, 2022 8:16 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: I Bonds for Permanent Portfolio
Replies: 61
Views: 12572

Re: I Bonds for Permanent Portfolio

There are a couple of scenarios: 1. The biggest caution in overbuying savings bonds is having a liquidity crunch and not being able to redeem your bonds because of the 1-year lock up. I think this would be more of a concern for young investors with smaller portfolios who might suddenly need to buy a...
by jhogue
Thu Feb 24, 2022 7:56 pm
Forum: Cash
Topic: Bank Bonuses
Replies: 36
Views: 10867

Re: Bank Bonuses

Don wrote:
Sat Feb 19, 2022 7:26 am
Big yawn until they start giving out Sony Trinitons again.
I must be older than you are. Until inflation set in during the late 1960s, I recall that toasters and coffee pots were the "free" bank giveaway of choice.
by jhogue
Thu Feb 24, 2022 7:48 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: I Bonds for Permanent Portfolio
Replies: 61
Views: 12572

Re: I Bonds for Permanent Portfolio

@barrett, 1. Good for you! Buying I-bonds is not complicated or time-consuming for most investors. 2. I may not buy I-bonds this year either. More than 40% of my Cash is currently in savings bonds. That "feels" about right. Half of those are more than 5 years old, and would therefore not incur any p...
by jhogue
Fri Feb 18, 2022 8:51 pm
Forum: Cash
Topic: Bank Bonuses
Replies: 36
Views: 10867

Re: Bank Bonuses

-The website seems old fashioned because you are not paying professional brokerage fees to get the very best and latest computer graphics. I don't care that the website is "old fashioned" and has no mobile app or anything of that sort. It's their policies to update or change something that I cannot...
by jhogue
Thu Feb 17, 2022 3:37 pm
Forum: Cash
Topic: Bank Bonuses
Replies: 36
Views: 10867

Re: Bank Bonuses

I bonds ARE old fashioned and TreasuryDirect is clunky and out of date. -They have no fees or commissions, which is why professional financial advisors and brokerage firms don't recommend them to their clients. -The website seems old fashioned because you are not paying professional brokerage fees t...
by jhogue
Mon Feb 14, 2022 12:50 pm
Forum: Cash
Topic: Bank Bonuses
Replies: 36
Views: 10867

Re: Bank Bonuses

Ask them if they found it easier than playing mathak's bank bonus game with Citibank pirates and gangsters.
by jhogue
Wed Feb 09, 2022 9:50 pm
Forum: Cash
Topic: Bank Bonuses
Replies: 36
Views: 10867

Re: Bank Bonuses

An I-bond purchased today is GUARANTEED to pay off 30 years from now, backed by the full faith and credit of the US Treasury. All savings bonds, ever since they were created before World War II, have paid in full upon final maturity. In fact, some E series bonds (issued 1941-1965, now all redeemed) ...
by jhogue
Wed Feb 09, 2022 1:22 pm
Forum: Cash
Topic: Bank Bonuses
Replies: 36
Views: 10867

Re: Bank Bonuses

Bitcoin is speculation, pure and simple. If you want to put it in the VP with money you can afford to lose, go right ahead. But right now, the cryptocurrencies remind me of tech companies before 2000 or railroads after the Civil War: a few of them survived, but even they are in substantially differe...
by jhogue
Wed Feb 09, 2022 9:14 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Freedom Convoy ‘22/ Canada Trucker Protest
Replies: 36
Views: 5566

Re: Freedom Convoy ‘22/ Canada Trucker Protest

Saw a policeman roughing up an elderly trucker who honked his horn on Varney this morning. (Fox Biz). Not cool. dualstow, If you have not read it, see Richard Hofstader's The Paranoid Style in American Politics. He concluded that populist conspiracy theories are deeply embedded in American politica...
by jhogue
Wed Feb 09, 2022 8:51 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: Bank Bonuses
Replies: 36
Views: 10867

Re: Bank Bonuses

I think what you are saying is very much in line with Uncle Harry's admonition to take risks with your job, not your money. When I talk to young adults they often seem more interested in the former than the latter. If they know anything at all about I-bonds, they seem stodgy, not sexy. Even on this ...
by jhogue
Mon Feb 07, 2022 3:49 pm
Forum: Cash
Topic: Bank Bonuses
Replies: 36
Views: 10867

Re: Bank Bonuses

Citibank is not giving money away for free with its bank bonus program. 1. Citi's current deal of $1500 expires July17, 2022. There are no guarantees the program will continue. 2. When you get your bonus, if you live in New York, your bonus is fully taxable by federal, state, and local governments. ...
by jhogue
Mon Feb 07, 2022 9:27 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Retiring in scary environment of 2022: Invest 100% of capital into PP now, or hold cash and deploy slowly to avoid SORR?
Replies: 33
Views: 7238

Re: Retiring in scary environment of 2022: Invest 100% of capital into PP now, or hold cash and deploy slowly to avoid S

1. Do you have a back-up plan to "un-retire" if your primary plan doesn't work out for some unforeseen reason? Part of that might be to go back to work part time, doing some teaching at a local community college, or by keeping skill certifications current for fields like nursing or IT for you and yo...
by jhogue
Mon Feb 07, 2022 8:01 am
Forum: Bonds
Topic: EE Bonds as Deep Bonds
Replies: 9
Views: 2402

Re: EE Bonds as Deep Bonds

What is the G-Fund? Also its funny this thread popped up. I was just going through some stuff and found a paper EE bond from 2008 and thinking I wish I had a few more of those! The G Fund is one of the funds available in the Thrift Savings Plan, the retirement plan available exclusively to federal ...
by jhogue
Thu Jan 27, 2022 9:06 am
Forum: Bonds
Topic: EE Bonds as Deep Bonds
Replies: 9
Views: 2402

Re: EE Bonds as Deep Bonds

You want to hold EE bonds for 20 years to get the doubling feature, but you should also save them for a specific goal: 1. EE bonds used for higher education expenses are completely tax free: federal; state, and local. 2. EE bonds can be used to create a self-funded annuity for early retirement befor...
by jhogue
Wed Jan 26, 2022 10:32 am
Forum: Bonds
Topic: i-Bonds How-to Q&A as of 2021 November
Replies: 40
Views: 9007

Re: i-Bonds How-to Q&A as of 2021 November

For the benefit of newbies, we should perhaps add to our discussion that each quadrant has a "deep" asset: Cash = I-bonds Bonds = EE bonds Gold = Physical gold personally held Stocks = individual stocks The goal is to hold some of each asset with "as few pieces of paper" as possible, as Uncle Harry ...