Search found 755 matches

by jhogue
Sun Jul 24, 2022 11:37 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: I Bonds’s new variable rate will rise to 9.62% with the May reset
Replies: 20
Views: 7330

Re: I Bonds’s new variable rate will rise to 9.62% with the May reset

"As the cost of living soars, one lawmaker is urging the Treasury Department to remove the barriers to buying Series I bonds. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., on Thursday voiced concerns about "red tape and outdated systems" that may be preventing investors from buying the inflation-protected and nea...
by jhogue
Thu Jul 07, 2022 7:09 am
Forum: Gold
Topic: Safe deposit boxes: Revisited
Replies: 27
Views: 9218

Re: Safe deposit boxes: Revisited

Blue Ruin: Your photo of the bank safe that survived the tornado at Joplin, Missouri is the best kind of argument. For those who don't know or recall, the tornado that hit Joplin utterly flattened the core of the city and knocked out basic services for many weeks. No internet either. Your evidence c...
by jhogue
Thu Jun 16, 2022 8:33 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: I Bonds’s new variable rate will rise to 9.62% with the May reset
Replies: 20
Views: 7330

Re: I Bonds’s new variable rate will rise to 9.62% with the May reset

I don't convert my paper I-bonds to digital. I keep them in my local bank safe deposit box, along with some gold. A bit of physical diversification is never a bad thing. I do the same as jhogue. Right now, less than 20% of our US Savings Bonds (still redeeming some old EEs) are in electronic form. ...
by jhogue
Sun Jun 12, 2022 12:32 pm
Forum: Cash
Topic: I Bonds’s new variable rate will rise to 9.62% with the May reset
Replies: 20
Views: 7330

Re: I Bonds’s new variable rate will rise to 9.62% with the May reset

I don't convert my paper I-bonds to digital. I keep them in my local bank safe deposit box, along with some gold. A bit of physical diversification is never a bad thing.
by jhogue
Mon Jun 06, 2022 8:10 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Inflation - What are you doing different
Replies: 58
Views: 8413

Re: Inflation - What are you doing different

@ barrett:
You get my vote for I-bond workaround of the year.
by jhogue
Thu Jun 02, 2022 7:26 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Inflation - What are you doing different
Replies: 58
Views: 8413

Re: Inflation - What are you doing different

@ barrett: Buying I bonds does add a layer of complexity to the Permanent Portfolio. It is more complicated to manage than Uncle Harry's simple prescription of a Treasury money market fund for Cash. The tradeoff is that I-bonds offer a better yield with no more risk than a 1 year Treasury and no mor...
by jhogue
Fri May 20, 2022 8:22 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: What kind of inflation are we experiencing?
Replies: 33
Views: 5920

Re: What kind of inflation are we experiencing?

Simple summary...the days of everything cheap due to Chinese labor/manufacturing/and just in time supply chains are over The average American consumer would say they are experiencing inflation at the gas pump, food at the grocery store, and rent in their neighborhood. Does all that have much to do ...
by jhogue
Fri May 20, 2022 8:13 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Inflation - What are you doing different
Replies: 58
Views: 8413

Re: Inflation - What are you doing different

Vinny, If you are REALLY SERIOUS about increasing your I-bond holdings, there are several steps you can take: 1. Get a revocable trust and put another $10K into I-bonds each year. That alone would increase your annual acquisition by 100%. 2. Engage a trusted partner or relative and utilize the "gift...
by jhogue
Sat May 14, 2022 9:40 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Inflation - What are you doing different
Replies: 58
Views: 8413

Re: Inflation - What are you doing different

[vinny] Is there any other investment wherein you are limited to how much you can invest in it per year? [/vinny] The following type of accounts have annual limits: Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, SEP IRA, 401k, 403b, 457b. The FDIC also has limits coverage of individual accounts and CD purchases. Warre...
by jhogue
Fri May 13, 2022 12:51 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Inflation - What are you doing different
Replies: 58
Views: 8413

Re: Inflation - What are you doing different

[vinny] Is there any other investment wherein you are limited to how much you can invest in it per year? [/vinny] The following type of accounts have annual limits: Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, SEP IRA, 401k, 403b, 457b. The FDIC also has limits coverage of individual accounts and CD purchases. Warren...
by jhogue
Fri May 13, 2022 9:09 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Inflation - What are you doing different
Replies: 58
Views: 8413

Re: Inflation - What are you doing different

@ Vinny:

I-bonds are not magic.

In the immortal words of Medium Tex, they are simply "the best looking horse at the glue factory!"
by jhogue
Fri May 13, 2022 8:15 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Inflation - What are you doing different
Replies: 58
Views: 8413

Re: Inflation - What are you doing different

@ barrett:
My tentative plan is to deliver $10 K each in 2023 and $10K in 2024 from my gift box. However, I retain the option to push those deliveries into 2024+ 2025 if I think inflation measured by CPI-U will drop significantly. I probably won't do that, but it is always nice to have options.
by jhogue
Thu May 12, 2022 10:13 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Inflation - What are you doing different
Replies: 58
Views: 8413

Re: Inflation - What are you doing different

@ barrett: I understand your desire to keep things as simple as possible. I won't make a decision on when to deliver 2022 gifted I bonds until after the November 1, 2022 interest rate re-set. The option to choose when to deliver gifted I-bonds is an attractive feature, but sooner is usually better t...
by jhogue
Wed May 11, 2022 11:53 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Inflation - What are you doing different
Replies: 58
Views: 8413

Re: Inflation - What are you doing different

Gifting I-bonds is a strategy to buy more than the $10K per person limit by buying I-bonds as gifts. Gifting is a two part operation. For instance, you and your wife could each buy your quota of $10K I-bonds in 2022, and then each buy another $10K as gifts for each other. The gifted I-bonds are then...
by jhogue
Mon May 09, 2022 8:50 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Inflation - What are you doing different
Replies: 58
Views: 8413

Re: Inflation - What are you doing different

Like Kbg, I noted that the Fed has aggressively promoted a series of interest rate raises in a vain attempt to beat down a burst of 1970s-style inflation they helped to create. At the beginning of 2022 we got an interest rate lock for a 3.9% 30 year mortgage on a new house plus a HELOC on our curren...
by jhogue
Thu Apr 28, 2022 12:00 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: Sucks to Be An I-Bond Hater
Replies: 54
Views: 20713

Re: Sucks to Be An I-Bond Hater

Sorry, I could be wrong about secondary market T-bills on auto-roll.

I know I used the auto-roll feature for Treasurys at Fidelity, but eventually emptied it out when I decided to max out my I-bond quota. Others on this forum did it too (Kriegsspiel?)

BTW, welcome to the forum joypog.
by jhogue
Tue Apr 26, 2022 6:52 pm
Forum: Cash
Topic: I Bonds’s new variable rate will rise to 9.62% with the May reset
Replies: 20
Views: 7330

Re: I Bonds’s new variable rate will rise to 9.62% with the May reset

FYI, US Savings bonds investors: I logged into my TreasuryDirect account this morning, ordered my pre-May 1 quota of I-bonds, hit the submit button, and was informed (after several minutes wait) that TreasuryDirect was "unavailable" and I should try again later. Speculation on a thread over at bogel...
by jhogue
Mon Apr 25, 2022 12:59 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: Sucks to Be An I-Bond Hater
Replies: 54
Views: 20713

Re: Sucks to Be An I-Bond Hater

Jason Zweig recently penned a column about I-bonds, so he is certainly aware of them.
by jhogue
Mon Apr 25, 2022 7:25 am
Forum: Bonds
Topic: Sucks to Be An I-Bond Hater
Replies: 54
Views: 20713

Re: Sucks to Be An I-Bond Hater

it is somewhat surprising that Jason Zweig did not mention that there is a simple alternative to using TreasuryDirect to buy T-bills. You can buy and sell secondary market T-bills for 0.00% at Fidelity's bond desk and set your purchases to auto-roll. This allows investors to customize their T-bill m...
by jhogue
Thu Apr 21, 2022 2:07 pm
Forum: Cash
Topic: I Bonds’s new variable rate will rise to 9.62% with the May reset
Replies: 20
Views: 7330

Re: I Bonds’s new variable rate will rise to 9.62% with the May reset

Just bought my 2022 allotment of I-Bonds today. I wanted to lock in the 7.12% for six months before the annualized rate jumps to 9.62% on 5/1/22. Will let you all know in a few years if that was a good move. O0 Took me maybe five minutes to get this all done on Treasury Direct. I still don't like h...
by jhogue
Tue Apr 19, 2022 9:10 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Inflation - What are you doing different
Replies: 58
Views: 8413

Re: Inflation - What are you doing different

On changes... I like to earn interest and not pay it. The only exception is my mortgage which I was pretty darn sure that when I locked it at 2.25% for 15 it was going to end up being a great rate. Did I peg the mortgage low, absolutely not...but good enough. One can only get so lucky in these thin...
by jhogue
Mon Apr 04, 2022 8:38 pm
Forum: Gold
Topic: PHYS selling at a premium
Replies: 6
Views: 2947

Re: PHYS selling at a premium

Thanks for the information. I have some PHYS I would like to swap out for something with a lower expense ration.
by jhogue
Sun Apr 03, 2022 3:38 pm
Forum: Gold
Topic: PHYS selling at a premium
Replies: 6
Views: 2947

Re: PHYS selling at a premium

PHYS is, at this minute, trading at a premium of +0.20%. It usually trades at a discount (2020 was the last year where it meaningfully traded for several weeks at a premium), so now might be a good time to get out of it if anyone has been thinking of going to a less expensive ETF or physical. Just ...
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: 9000

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...