Search found 1959 matches

by sophie
Tue Apr 04, 2023 12:20 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: How much to save for retirement
Replies: 101
Views: 74082

Re: How much to save for retirement

CCRC's are a response to an almost intolerable situation that is guaranteed to get much worse over the next 20-30 years. I agree that a CCRC could be a risk if it suddenly implodes or gets mismanaged, but that's true of just about any arrangement you might make. My mother picked me to manage her car...
by sophie
Sun Apr 02, 2023 10:36 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: How much to save for retirement
Replies: 101
Views: 74082

Re: How much to save for retirement

$5600/month ($1400/week x 4) is already miraculously low cost compared to prices around here. And yeah, I doubt that "better" means anything anymore, because all the nursing homes (including euphemisms such as "memory care") are understaffed, or staffed with "quiet quitters", and that's what's drivi...
by sophie
Sat Apr 01, 2023 6:51 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: How much to save for retirement
Replies: 101
Views: 74082

Re: How much to save for retirement

Thanks for posting that Tyler! I took a peek through the report you linked to, and it still cites figures by account balance, not total of all accounts per person. For example see this sentence: "The average account balance of those families owning IA plans increased from $79,262 in 1992 to $258,453...
by sophie
Sat Apr 01, 2023 1:25 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: How much to save for retirement
Replies: 101
Views: 74082

How much to save for retirement

Everyone's favorite topic! A recent WSJ article put this onto my radar - claiming that most Americans have such small retirement savings (median is $266K/person) that we are headed for a disaster. Especially with Social Security set to run out of money in 2033, forcing 25% cuts if Congress does noth...
by sophie
Thu Mar 23, 2023 10:00 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: I'M OUT!
Replies: 64
Views: 59835

Re: I'M OUT!

Take heart, Maddy, all is not lost! In one of his books, Harry Browne made it very clear that he designed the Permanent Portfolio to deal with exactly the disruptions to the market & economy caused by the Fed and other central bank "planners" that you describe. If it weren't for them, a simple cash ...
by sophie
Sun Feb 19, 2023 8:50 am
Forum: Bonds
Topic: What happens to I-bonds if rates plummet again
Replies: 46
Views: 41110

Re: What happens to I-bonds if rates plummet again

Maddy, a few more corrections to your understanding of Series I bonds.... First, they are 30 year bonds in which all interest is tax-deferred until either you cash in the bond, or the bond matures (at 30 years). That itself is incredibly useful, as it's effectively an extension of a traditional IRA ...
by sophie
Sun Feb 19, 2023 8:20 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: Best place for cash
Replies: 7
Views: 3084

Best place for cash

Hey all, greetings! A rare post from me today....still way too busy to do much more than check in occasoinally to read posts, but I do have a topic for the group to ruminate on. For the past decade, I've focused on building up cash reserves in my taxable investment account. Cash was ideal for taxabl...
by sophie
Sun Dec 18, 2022 11:43 am
Forum: Politics
Topic: Deep-State Lies
Replies: 25
Views: 2646

Re: Deep-State Lies

Yes and no. I'd like to see this forum back to what it was a few years ago before saying my piece on such a topic. Not to mention, the evidence that has emerged about the FBI directly involving itself in moderating/censoring online speech at Twitter indicates that excessive caution is probably a goo...
by sophie
Sun Dec 18, 2022 8:07 am
Forum: Politics
Topic: Deep-State Lies
Replies: 25
Views: 2646

Re: Deep-State Lies

Slightly related, with the twitter unbannings/revelations, weren't there a few conservatives people on this forum who should have been banned for a month instead of forever? This forum used to welcome conservative views, but that stopped being the case some time back. Even if the bans are reversed,...
by sophie
Sat Oct 15, 2022 10:17 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Are most people here sticking with Treasuries?
Replies: 341
Views: 140299

Re: Are most people here sticking with Treasuries?

The PP/GB that I hold is certainly performing no worse than the Boglehead 60/40 in my retirement account. Of course cash is getting walloped by inflation. So is everything else that portfolios are composed of, it's just that cash has been the best performing asset this year. The real question is wha...
by sophie
Sat Oct 15, 2022 10:04 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: I-bonds from tax refund
Replies: 37
Views: 9375

Re: I-bonds from tax refund

I bought my full aliquot of online I Bonds in January, and also got paper bonds with my tax refund in March. I filed in February as per usual, to reduce the chance that an identity thief will beat me to it - under the theory that he who files first, files best. I wonder if the problem is the timing ...
by sophie
Tue Oct 04, 2022 6:20 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: TBills as "the best horse at the glue factory?"
Replies: 93
Views: 11824

Re: TBills as "the best horse at the glue factory?"

I did what dualstow did: 3 month autorolled T bills in my Fidelity investment account, in 3 aliquots roughly 1 month apart. Figuring I'll add to it as new cash comes in. Sophie, it's good to hear from you! I hope you don't mind a question: do you buy T bills on the secondary market or at the auctio...
by sophie
Sun Oct 02, 2022 4:39 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: TBills as "the best horse at the glue factory?"
Replies: 93
Views: 11824

Re: TBills as "the best horse at the glue factory?"

I did what dualstow did: 3 month autorolled T bills in my Fidelity investment account, in 3 aliquots roughly 1 month apart. Figuring I'll add to it as new cash comes in. Also, I'm psychologically unable to review my accounts quarterly as I used to...the drop in value is too painful to look at. I'll ...
by sophie
Sat Jul 30, 2022 10:00 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: What happened to Sophie?
Replies: 9
Views: 1527

Re: What happened to Sophie?

Thank you all - I'll try to keep up the "visits" when I can!

And, special thanks from my mom, Mountaineer. She's had a tough couple of years but is relatively stable now...for a while I hope.
by sophie
Sat Jul 30, 2022 2:50 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: What happened to Sophie?
Replies: 9
Views: 1527

Re: What happened to Sophie?

Hi all, I've been lurking occasionally, and was quite surprised to find this - thanks Smith for the shout-out. I stopped posting for several reasons. First and foremost, between my demanding job/career and my role as an Alzheimer's caregiver for my mom, plus getting elected to my coop board of direc...
by sophie
Mon Nov 01, 2021 9:55 am
Forum: Bonds
Topic: Staying the course with LTTs
Replies: 86
Views: 25817

Re: Staying the course with LTTs

Yes, I'm with foglifter here : I have the same question. And came to the same conclusion: I did switch to the Golden Butterfly, somewhat reducing the problem, but I'm going to stay the course. The reason is that we don't really know how the inflationary environment is going to unfold, and when the e...
by sophie
Thu Oct 14, 2021 12:13 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: Sucks to Be An I-Bond Hater
Replies: 54
Views: 20680

Re: Sucks to Be An I-Bond Hater

You won't miss out on the 7.12% no matter when you buy - you just have to wait a few extra months in order to get it. Meanwhile, the 3%+ interest rate is still a very good deal. I would give serious consideration to buying in October, which gives you an extra month of interest that still beats the p...
by sophie
Thu Oct 14, 2021 12:05 pm
Forum: Cash
Topic: Highest I bond rate ever: 7.12%
Replies: 35
Views: 11102

Re: Highest I bond rate ever: 7.12%

I am absolutely incredulous that banks and T bills are still paying near zero interest. A spread of 7% between inflation and nominal interest rates is absolutely unprecedented. I don't know what it might imply about monetary stability, but it's for sure not good. This kind of situation is what shoul...
by sophie
Sat Oct 09, 2021 6:38 pm
Forum: Politics
Topic: Are We Living Under Communism?
Replies: 34
Views: 13113

Re: Are We Living Under Communism?

Interesting thought that we might be conflating communism and fascism. It's a little hard to tell the difference, isn't it? There are definitely socialists/communists pushing in that direction, but there are also those (e.g. the Clintons) who simply want power and control. They are aligned right now...
by sophie
Fri Oct 08, 2021 4:40 pm
Forum: Politics
Topic: Are We Living Under Communism?
Replies: 34
Views: 13113

Re: Are We Living Under Communism?

There's nowhere better to go than here, I'm afraid. My answer to the thread title: No, not yet. But we're getting frighteningly close. Censorship, persecution for holding views that run counter to the state's preferences, a "Pravda" machine instead of the free press that the Founders envisioned, mak...
by sophie
Sun Sep 26, 2021 10:03 am
Forum: Politics
Topic: AZ audit
Replies: 21
Views: 8112

Re: AZ audit

At the risk of being politcally incorrect, I feel obliged to point out that the Arizona audit book is not yet closed. 50,000 questionable ballots were found, and these have been referred to the Attorney General for further investigation. They included mail in ballots that were never sent out (i.e. p...
by sophie
Fri Sep 17, 2021 1:32 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: Sucks to Be An I-Bond Hater
Replies: 54
Views: 20680

Re: Sucks to Be An I-Bond Hater

I'm not an I-Bond hater, just a Treasury Direct hater. I just wish there was somewhere else to buy them. +1 Clunkiest website ever. I was locked out for years. I would surely have bought more i-bonds in the past several years, but I just hate the website. They recently "updated" the website and you...
by sophie
Thu Sep 09, 2021 8:14 am
Forum: Bonds
Topic: Excellent primer on iBonds vs. TIPS
Replies: 1
Views: 1588

Re: Excellent primer on iBonds vs. TIPS

Thank you for posting this Kevin! Very informative read. Makes me glad I shied away from jumping into TIPS, for sure. tl;dr - TIPS may be good for a tax-advantaged account, definitely don't want them in taxable, iBonds are the bomb right now and for the near to mid future. Also, I gathered that: - a...
by sophie
Mon Aug 30, 2021 11:22 am
Forum: Politics
Topic: Biden a Disaster?
Replies: 80
Views: 21263

Re: Biden a Disaster?

You might want to be careful tying bodily autonomy too closely to remaining a vector for disease. I'm puzzled. Hasn't the CDC made it clear that vaccinated people are still "vectors for disease" which is why they must continue to wear masks? Being vaccinated is about protecting yourself from gettin...
by sophie
Tue Aug 24, 2021 9:01 am
Forum: Politics
Topic: Biden a Disaster?
Replies: 80
Views: 21263

Re: Biden a Disaster?

Interesting how STILL no one who admits to voting for Biden has responded to MangoMan. I conclude that those of us who remain sane and socially gracious all seem to be those who did not vote for Biden. Where are those posters who heaped so much vitriole against us and That Other Candidate who shall ...