If you look at the history of the PP, recently strongly performing assets have a tendency to perform well, not poorly, in the following year.  That's part of the reason why, if I'm remembering right, Harry Browne suggested not rebalancing until you hit the 35/15 bands. If you scour this board, you'l...

I think inflation will be negative for "Joe Six-pack's" net income, as what he purchases will be more expensive to a higher degree than his wage increases, but... I think it will be positive for his balance sheet.  Way too many Americans are overleveraged into housing, among other things, ...

Wonk, I can agree.... no country, unless it has a history of being unnervingly, stubbornly, mind-bogglingly honest with its currency would even be assumed honest with a gold standard.  Part of me thinks that a "let the chips fall" would have created such an implosion of the economy that ev...

Wonk, You literally pulled the thoughts right out of my head.  Well put.  That's exactly how I see our future.  It may be unfair and corrupt, but a reasonable inflation of our assets would improve balance sheets, which if this does NOT happen, we will end up with Japan style deflation/disinflation/r...

Skewed, but funny and interesting.

I love the 300 reference.  "THIS IS AMERICA!"

No kidding... the nerves is really 80% of the battle.  People may end up in the same place I did when it's all said and done, but I get to sleep every night knowing that no matter what happens, my portfolio will bend in the ways it needs to to offer me near double-digit return in most cases, and min...

Glad to hear it.  What a nightmare... I suppose you're looking at your GLD etf with a whole new appreciation now.

Yes! Investing with stocks only, or even a portfolio without true diversification (60/40 stock/corp bond), is like putting together a football team made up of a bunch of quarterbacks and receivers. Reducing volatility through opposing assets makes the portfolio greater than the sum of its parts, not...

My predictions for 2011:

Being invested in the PP will help me sleep like a baby and avoid stress.

I'll get back to you guys on New Years Eve, 2011.

One more year, and we'll officially have 40 years of proof that the PP is as amazing as we all hope/know/think it is.

Congrats everyone.

I agree on government beaurocrats having just as much ability to be shady, but I don't think government, for the most part, CAUSES most of the private sector unethical behavior.  Beaurocracy begins to happen as soon as more than one person tries to organize activities... hell a marriage has beaurocr...

Is EDV more expensive than TLT?  I didn't realize that if that's the case.

I probably will someday get into the buying/selling direct, but I'm starting out simple

You're right MT, the brain power going to waste is mind-boggling.  It goes to the core of my struggle with the role of government in controlling this behavior.   Some argue that the shadiness in private industry creates a legitimate role for government to regulate it, and I can't disagree with that....

Why not 100% EDV, as it most closely tracks a Long-as-possible term holding of long-term bonds?

Is it because it's also an ETF and the inherant risks of another layer of market activity come into play?

...probably should have put this on the other EDV thread... my apologies... feel free to move it over, Craig.

So if EDV most closely tracks a 30-year LT treasury bond by having a longer average duration, why, in posts I've read, should we consider anything less than 100% EDV, and have TLT instead?  I thought HB suggested keeping the duration as long as possible. This is irrespective of skepticism of ETF's.....

To make it worse, I work for an accounting firm, and our financial management arm manages our options... so we've got professionals picking our choices.... I've told my buddy in that department to talk to the higher-ups about TRUE diversivfication. But since LT treasuries and gold are in the same ri...

I thought of the perfect analogy for the PP as opposed to a rollercoaster stock portfolio (or at least implementing the philosophy to some degree)... It's like properly timing stop lights, while watching all the other sheeple blow by you at the outset, only to know they're going to end up having to ...

401k plans are a joke.  Mine's like 7 different managed stock funds, a real estate fund, an emerging markets fund, some "balanced" fund (that term makes me laugh), and a couple pathetic money-market funds. No Gold. No LT Treasuries. No non-managed stock fund containing 5000 companies No co...

Some people, including myself, have expressed concern about a situation where stocks, gold, & LT treasuries all drop at the same time... mostly due to the fact that we're on a pretty solid surge of all 3. I looked to see if this had happened in the past, and it's not all that rare.  In '82, '86 ...

At current rates, maybe under your mattress?

Mind: Blown.  I'm assuming this is as available with Roth/IRA's as it is with taxable accounts??

Thanks folks... Merry Christmas.

You can use Vanguard's brokerage to buy non-vanguard funds?

But then you need somewhere else to get your gold... only complaint.  I'd do vanguard in a heartbeat.

Does anybody invest through ING Sharebuilder so they can do it all on one account an not have a separate one with Vanguard, ishares, etc.?

It's got good ratings and seems to hold a lot of good funds... just wondering if people use it as a one-stop-shop for their PP.