Search found 755 matches

by jhogue
Wed Dec 22, 2021 2:17 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Yay PP!
Replies: 268
Views: 56396

Re: Yay PP!

That makes mathjak our resident guru in "deep bitching." budd seems preoccupied with normal everyday bitching.
by jhogue
Tue Dec 21, 2021 1:46 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Yay PP!
Replies: 268
Views: 56396

Re: Yay PP!

The question that mathjak has to answer is whether equity-heavy portfolios like his will experience regression to the mean.
by jhogue
Tue Dec 21, 2021 9:36 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Yay PP!
Replies: 268
Views: 56396

Re: Yay PP!

Anyone who actually holds 25% in Cash knows that it is not moving in tandem with the other PP assets. In fact, real returns on Cash have been zero or negative. Thus the recency bias that characterizes mathjak's posts.
by jhogue
Thu Dec 16, 2021 8:46 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: Highest I bond rate ever: 7.12%
Replies: 35
Views: 11155

Re: Highest I bond rate ever: 7.12%

Thanks.

I guess a record high yield is the best sales campaign for I bonds .
by jhogue
Wed Dec 15, 2021 12:11 pm
Forum: Cash
Topic: Highest I bond rate ever: 7.12%
Replies: 35
Views: 11155

Re: Highest I bond rate ever: 7.12%

Kriegs,

Nice chart. Where did you find it?

( I am curious why it leaves out everything before 2013).
by jhogue
Wed Dec 01, 2021 9:14 am
Forum: Bonds
Topic: Staying the course with LTTs
Replies: 86
Views: 25945

Re: Staying the course with LTTs

Is the PP under-performing, or is the stock market over-performing?
by jhogue
Mon Nov 22, 2021 9:57 am
Forum: Bonds
Topic: i-Bonds How-to Q&A as of 2021 November
Replies: 40
Views: 9028

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

The only thing I would quibble about is that this thread belongs with Cash, rather than Bonds. ;) I struggled over that, JHogue. :-) You’re right. Even though i*Bonds are often used for deep cash and certainly not for what we know as the Bond portion of the pp, I figured “Bond” is right in the name...
by jhogue
Fri Nov 19, 2021 12:56 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: i-Bonds How-to Q&A as of 2021 November
Replies: 40
Views: 9028

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

The only thing I would quibble about is that this thread belongs with Cash, rather than Bonds.

;)
by jhogue
Sat Nov 13, 2021 12:35 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: I Bonds for Permanent Portfolio
Replies: 61
Views: 12602

Re: I Bonds for Permanent Portfolio

@ Goldismoney 23: Welcome to the forum! As an investor following Harry Browne’s Permanent Portfolio, I also use I-bonds as “deep cash,’ by which I mean cash that I do not hold for immediate liquidity. At present, I keep about half of my Cash allocation (roughly 12.5%) in I-bonds and the other half i...
by jhogue
Tue Nov 09, 2021 7:38 am
Forum: Bonds
Topic: Sucks to Be An I-Bond Hater
Replies: 54
Views: 20798

Re: Sucks to Be An I-Bond Hater

Imagine that... A doctor and a dentist find it too inconvenient to waste their precious time investing in I-bonds!

But seriously, the real question is what would they buy for guaranteed fixed income and inflation protection instead?
by jhogue
Fri Nov 05, 2021 3:10 pm
Forum: Cash
Topic: Highest I bond rate ever: 7.12%
Replies: 35
Views: 11155

Re: Highest I bond rate ever: 7.12%

Xan, Are you sure about that? Hillsdale College appears on the Dept. of Education's Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs. So far as I know, that qualifies students at Hillsdale to use US savings bonds to pay for qualified higher education expenses. See: https://ope.ed.gov/d...
by jhogue
Fri Nov 05, 2021 1:29 pm
Forum: Cash
Topic: Highest I bond rate ever: 7.12%
Replies: 35
Views: 11155

Re: Highest I bond rate ever: 7.12%

Corto, TIPS have two principal issues, which I think makes them unsuitable for PP investors: 1. Interest rate risk. Unlike I-bonds, where the interest rate is known and guaranteed at the time of purchase, TIPS can turn negative, wiping out your gains from interest or capital gains (or both). I take ...
by jhogue
Fri Nov 05, 2021 9:36 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: Highest I bond rate ever: 7.12%
Replies: 35
Views: 11155

Re: Highest I bond rate ever: 7.12%

1. Barrett is correct. The current composite I-bond rate of 7.12% is good for the next six months after purchase. 2. For 2022, how you time your I bond purchase should be guided by where you think the interest rate will be on 1 May 2022 and 1 November 2022. I doubt that rates will be higher than 7.1...
by jhogue
Tue Nov 02, 2021 9:43 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: Highest I bond rate ever: 7.12%
Replies: 35
Views: 11155

Re: Highest I bond rate ever: 7.12%

TreasuryDirect establishes accounts with individuals based on SSN/EIN. I have never opened or contributed to an EIN-linked account, but as long as you observe the $10,000 limit, I do not see why you should encounter any difficulties using your SSN for one account and your EIN for another.
by jhogue
Mon Nov 01, 2021 11:42 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: Highest I bond rate ever: 7.12%
Replies: 35
Views: 11155

Re: Highest I bond rate ever: 7.12%

As expected, TreasuryDirect announced this morning that the fixed rate component of I-bonds will be 0.00% for bonds purchased November 2021-April 2022. When combined with the variable rate, the new composite rate for I bonds will be 7.12% for the same period. Even if the subsequent rate falls to zer...
by jhogue
Tue Oct 19, 2021 5:08 pm
Forum: Cash
Topic: Highest I bond rate ever: 7.12%
Replies: 35
Views: 11155

Re: Highest I bond rate ever: 7.12%

It may still possible to retire on a cash-only investment portfolio, but I would not recommend it. My father-in-law never invested in anything riskier than savings bonds or 1 year bank CDs. He started buying war bonds when the Army sent him to the South Pacific in 1944. When he died in 2008, all of ...
by jhogue
Thu Oct 14, 2021 9:40 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: Highest I bond rate ever: 7.12%
Replies: 35
Views: 11155

Re: Highest I bond rate ever: 7.12%

Much as I like I-bonds, I like the freedom that comes with being debt free even more. I don't think I would be accumulating I-bonds if I had not paid off my mortgage already.
by jhogue
Wed Oct 13, 2021 12:16 pm
Forum: Cash
Topic: Highest I bond rate ever: 7.12%
Replies: 35
Views: 11155

Highest I bond rate ever: 7.12%

Tipswatch has announced that the new variable component of I-bonds will reset to a whopping 7.12% on November 1, 2021. This is the highest interest rate ever recorded since I bonds were created in 1998. Given this high rate, it seems unlikely that the Treasury will announce a fixed component rate ab...
by jhogue
Fri Oct 01, 2021 11:47 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: The end of the Roth conversions?
Replies: 31
Views: 5103

Re: The end of the Roth conversions?

What is missing in the over-heated class rhetoric in the OP is the inescapable fact that tax-advantaged retirement accounts (401k, 403b, traditional IRAs, and Roth IRAs) have turned an enormous number of thrifty, but otherwise ordinary Americans into millionaires. I think it is creating fear and loa...
by jhogue
Thu Sep 30, 2021 10:11 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: Calling ALL IBond aficionado's!!!!
Replies: 16
Views: 6932

Re: Calling ALL IBond aficionado's!!!!

The I bond Manifesto is a great idea, endorsed by four real experts in riskless fixed income investing. I would add a couple points: -Because of the $10,000 cap on annual purchases, I bonds work best as part of a long term accumulation strategy. The longer you hold them, the better they get due to t...
by jhogue
Sun Aug 22, 2021 4:27 pm
Forum: Cash
Topic: How do you invest the Cash portion?
Replies: 243
Views: 169123

Re: How do you invest the Cash portion?

As I just stated, if my belief that an income producing investment such as cash belongs in a retirement account then that eliminates any I bonds as Treasury Direct does not work with retirement accounts. Since you are with both Vanguard and Fidelity and use do autoroll at Fidelity can you verify th...
by jhogue
Sat Aug 21, 2021 11:21 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: TIPS
Replies: 28
Views: 8154

Re: TIPS

This web site seems to offer a lot of solid information regarding both TIPS and iBonds... https://tipswatch.com/ I actually read some articles on that website before I bought my TIPS. just like when I bought into the PP I finally had to decide that looking at all the graphs and pros and cons, ultim...
by jhogue
Thu Aug 19, 2021 8:03 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: New I-bond rate: 3.54%
Replies: 84
Views: 26838

Re: New I-bond rate: 3.54%

I agree that I-bonds work best as long-term investments. The longer you hold them, the better they get. That’s why they have always been called U.S. savings bonds. As for your fears about liquidity, I am confident that I can cash my paper I-bonds at my local bank today. I am confident that I can cas...
by jhogue
Thu Aug 19, 2021 7:56 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: TIPS
Replies: 28
Views: 8154

Re: TIPS

1. Thanks for continuing your TIPS experiment. I expect it to be illuminating for interested members of the forum.

2. The difference in valuation of your taxable and tax-deferred TIPS is a head scratcher. Why not call Fidelity customer service and ask for a broker to explain the difference?
by jhogue
Wed Aug 18, 2021 8:40 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: New I-bond rate: 3.54%
Replies: 84
Views: 26838

Re: New I-bond rate: 3.54%

I have never understood MangoMan’s repeated complaint about the $10,000 cap on annual I-bond purchases. Can we put that canard to bed once and for all? There is a $6,000 cap on annual Roth IRA purchases (and also an income limit). Does that mean no one should ever contribute to a Roth IRA? No, it si...