I think it's a good idea for covering the basic cash flow needs of life, if you shop around for the best rate from a very highly rated insurance company... This is the essence of my wariness concerning SPIAs. Who is to guarantee that today's "very highly rated insurance companies" really ...

sophie wrote: I meant, if you'd rather be in another part of town.

I am retired, so going anywhere in Manhattan is no problem.

Now that the PP is giving a stellar performance this year (at least so far!), I am in a mood to celebrate with other PP investors. The location is irrelevant.

Goodasgold you've traveled farthest, would you like to suggest a place convenient for you? Otherwise can I suggest 181 Cabrini - really relaxed, nice neighborhood dive with Sunday brunch.  It's at the southwest corner of 181st and Cabrini Blvd. I am not especially familiar with Washington Heights/I...

Yes, Sunday, April 17 is fine with me.

sophie wrote: Friday would be great.  Disappointed to miss AdamA though.

Who else is coming?

I'll be there. - Goodasgold

Libertarian666 wrote:
This will surprise anyone who has been living in a cave for the last 30 years.

Such as all of the politicians who have run or are running for president during the last 30 years, except for Rand Paul?

Read it and weep, says Uncle Goodasgold (but not before you have securely stored your yellow stuff): http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/18/business/dealbook/study-finds-public-pension-promises-exceed-ability-to-pay.html?ref=business&_r=0 Excerpts: "[R]esearchers at Citigroup say... Governments ...

As all sailors know, it is a bad sign when you suddenly notice rats scurrying around the deck while wearing life vests. Huge and ever-growing national debts, unfunded liabilities rising to the height of the Tower of Babel, ZIRP, NIRP, the dubious effectiveness of additional QE binging, a generalized...

So when we're in the nursing home we'll have to find someone to trust with our millions in gold in a vault that only you and they have access to? One of the sad realities of life, as mentioned in Craig and MT's book, is that the people we trust for our physical and financial wellbeing, such as rela...

While the HBPP also includes LTT and Cash, the combination of these two asset classes has performed very similarly to a single intermediate treasury fund or even total bond market fund.  So the HBPP is indeed very similar to a boglehead portfolio with a big slice of gold.  I do not agree entirely. ...

Libertarian666 wrote:

How high are the storage fees?

The Perth Mint has several programs for storing gold:

https://www.perthmint.com/storage

I think the interesting idea here is that bloodletting was a common practice in every single major culture—ever since societies were formed and possibly earlier than that. The practice only fell out of favor roughly 150 years ago.... Actually, periodic bloodletting is still a standard treatment tod...

No different than any other tangible asset of value, really. Could as easily redeem for land. Or widgets. But land and other widgets, such as pork bellies, are not as compact, durable, transportable or as liquid as gold. As proof of this, FDR did not confiscate land or pork bellies, only gold. I ju...

Welcome back, Gumby! My faith in (terrestrial) resurrection has been restored. I have to confess I don't know much about nutrition and health, but I hope you will contribute more to the  finance-related threads here on the PP board, as I think you are one of the best-informed folks around. Good fina...

I can't count on the gold as the japanese historical example have shown gold doesn't act as a hedge against the stock market.... t Good luck, Lord M, but is the Japanese model necessarily relevant to what might happen in other countries? For example (and correct me if I am wrong), Japanese investor...

Gooooold!  ;D You can say that again, Tyler. I rolled over most of my stake  into the PP in early 2013, not long before the yellow stuff took its first stomach-turning dive. The past three years (except for 2014)have not been terribly encouraging, until now. Yeah, baby! It's days like this that tel...

Craig,  MT, Treasury Direct may be easier but, as was said about TLT being a bunch of "1"s and "0"s recently, not the safest route. Personally, I have had no problems with TD, but other people have. But I do worry about some hackers in Russia, China or  ______  breaking into the...

The old Budd is no more! He was kicked to the curb in late 2015 and never to return. I am at peace with my investments and especially the PP. Budd, Budd, don't you know your not supposed to smoke that Mongolian dope? It's bad stuff, it gives you headaches!! (Just kidding, I am paraphrasing an old S...

What's the difference between a negative savings rate and inflation? In either case, the purcashing power of your savings is being taken -- in one case in nominal terms (likely in real as well), in the other in real terms. As  Rev. Goodasgold never tires of preaching, think I-bonds, I-bonds, and MO...

Coming soon to a country very near to you? It's about time major Western governments clamped down on those pesky consumers who think they have a right to control their own money:  :P http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-03/germany-unveils-cash-controls-push-ban-transactions-over-%E2%82%AC5000-%E2%8...

Gone are the days when we were singing the praise of I-Bonds (one kind of US Savings Bonds) in so-called deep cash, but they'll come back into favor one day. Well, I'm still singing the praises of I-bonds. The 30-year tax deferral, with no state or local taxation, combined with guaranteed inflation...

In discussing gold funds, what about the SWAN factor (Sleep Well At Night?) SGOL's physical gold is locked up in Swiss vaults.  IAU's physical gold is held in U.S. vaults. In the future, when a broke and desperate U.S. government demands that IAU hand over its krugerrands, IAU will have little choic...

And what about all those moronic bond companies and  "experts" that were gobbling up huge quantities of "can't lose" Puerto Rican bonds up to the day the PR governor told all of them to go to hell with their expectations of getting their money back, not to mention any interest pa...

After my adventures in trading land I have concluded that no one can know anything.... The Permanent Portfolio is quiet brilliant and I can only hope that it will continue to perform according to the plan in the future because I am switching back to it. I need to concentrate my efforts on providing...

depends on your wife spending habits... but i think 4 million my number.... it really depends where you live... car you want to drive etc.. Perspectives differ. I haven't driven a car (except short-term rentals when traveling outside of New York City) for 25 years. "Some things are really nece...