Search found 33 matches

by herbgoat
Wed Dec 13, 2017 3:10 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Robo Advisors
Replies: 1
Views: 2107

Robo Advisors

I would love to use a robo advisor to take advantage of automated tax loss harvesting. I'd probably also diversify out of just US stocks as it would be easy with the robo advisor. I've been looking for a place where you can set your own target percentages for each asset. I would keep half my portfol...
by herbgoat
Wed Jan 13, 2016 12:30 pm
Forum: Variable Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Tonight's $1.5 Billion Powerball Drawing
Replies: 4
Views: 3588

Re: Tonight's $1.5 Billion Powerball Drawing

I think I would take the lump sum and invest mostly PP. My main reasoning is that this would eliminate the risk of the government eliminating payments in a financial crisis. I would take the lump sum and invest it myself.
by herbgoat
Wed Jan 13, 2016 12:28 pm
Forum: Variable Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Tonight's $1.5 Billion Powerball Drawing
Replies: 4
Views: 3588

Tonight's $1.5 Billion Powerball Drawing

So tonight's powerball drawing is less than 12 hours away. Curious how my fellow PP'ers would choose to take their winnings and invest should you win the jackpot.  ;D
by herbgoat
Tue Apr 02, 2013 3:23 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: The 5th Pillar of the PP has arrived!
Replies: 52
Views: 21839

Re: The 5th Pillar of the PP has arrived!

Lalalalalalalalala
by herbgoat
Mon Apr 01, 2013 10:33 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: The 5th Pillar of the PP has arrived!
Replies: 52
Views: 21839

Re: The 5th Pillar of the PP has arrived!

You're describing exchange value as use value. Easy exchangeability makes them useful for exchange only. By your definition, greenbacks are also inherently useful; I can hand one to someone else without having to power up a device or tell them my address, and they're not traced or tracked anywhere....
by herbgoat
Mon Apr 01, 2013 3:19 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: The 5th Pillar of the PP has arrived!
Replies: 52
Views: 21839

Re: The 5th Pillar of the PP has arrived!

I agree that Bitcoins do NOT get their value from the energy that was used to produce them. That is only used as a fair way to get them into the economy and is a direct result of the power needed to secure the network and audit transactions. Bitcoins get their value from their inherent ability to be...
by herbgoat
Wed Mar 27, 2013 8:56 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: The 5th Pillar of the PP has arrived!
Replies: 52
Views: 21839

Re: The 5th Pillar of the PP has arrived!

As explained in Austrian economics, money originates as a useful commodity. I don't see anything useful about them, nor are they a commodity. Aristotle said that a good form of money would be 1) durable 2) portable 3) divisible 4) have intrinsic value. Based on those 4 attributes, let's compare gol...
by herbgoat
Mon Mar 25, 2013 7:40 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: The 5th Pillar of the PP has arrived!
Replies: 52
Views: 21839

Re: The 5th Pillar of the PP has arrived!

I'll take a stab at answering why there will only be 21 million bitcoins... The algorithm/cryptography that is the core of bitcoin only supports 21,000,000 bitcoins. If you were to write another program using an algorithm that made more than 21 million bitcoins possible, your node would immediately ...
by herbgoat
Fri Mar 22, 2013 9:37 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: The 5th Pillar of the PP has arrived!
Replies: 52
Views: 21839

Re: The 5th Pillar of the PP has arrived!

AgAuMoney wrote: Maybe the fifth pillar is bitcoins?

:P
+1
by herbgoat
Sun Sep 02, 2012 7:39 am
Forum: Variable Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Buffet's Alpha
Replies: 6
Views: 3485

Re: Buffet's Alpha

An important point is that its not hard to duplicate Buffet's success (leaving aside the first two-three decades of hedge fund trading which conveniently gets overlooked in Buffet's history): first screen by quality, then screen the remaining by safety, then screen the remaining by value. And you t...
by herbgoat
Sun Sep 02, 2012 7:35 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Book going to printer...Like it on Amazon, please...
Replies: 15
Views: 8075

Re: Book going to printer...Like it on Amazon, please...

I 'liked' it. Do you know what the ISBN number will be?
by herbgoat
Tue Aug 14, 2012 9:45 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Bitcoins: The Future?
Replies: 35
Views: 15300

Re: Bitcoins: The Future?

This was just posted a few hours ago on youtube. It's video from a libertarian conference in New Hampshire. It's an hour long but I thoroughly enjoyed watching all of it. If you're interested in Bitcoin it's worth a watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=088le0gCh-0
by herbgoat
Tue Aug 14, 2012 3:50 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Bitcoins: The Future?
Replies: 35
Views: 15300

Re: Bitcoins: The Future?

I decided to give mining a try on my Nvidia GeForce GTS 450. I'm getting about 40 Mhash/s. I joined slush's pool. It's been going for about half an hour and my rig is already getting hot. Hmmm. maybe I'll just buy some coins. I'll let it go awhile so I can at least get my first withdrawal.
by herbgoat
Mon Aug 13, 2012 11:13 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Bitcoins: The Future?
Replies: 35
Views: 15300

Re: Bitcoins: The Future?

Surely some of these people sold their coins for a tidy profit, but I'd be willing to bet that a lot of them just forgot about them, uninstalled Bitcoin, and those coins will never be spent. If we were still using gold as currency, I'm not sure exactly what would happen if all mining operations cea...
by herbgoat
Mon Aug 13, 2012 10:09 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Bitcoins: The Future?
Replies: 35
Views: 15300

Re: Bitcoins: The Future?

I too find this topic very interesting. Here is my take on it. A few years back, I read a book called The History of Money by Jack Weatherford. It was a very good read and I think that a lot of the things that make a good currency fit Bitcoin well. I hadn't even heard of Bitcoin until I read about h...
by herbgoat
Sun Oct 02, 2011 6:51 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: PP On Top of My Existing Portfolio?
Replies: 9
Views: 3769

Re: PP On Top of My Existing Portfolio?

Each individual has to make up their own mind. I'm sure none of the bogleheads would say they're gambling with their money and most likely they will do well. However, those of us who believe in the PP simply believe that we have much more protection in cases of deflation, inflation, or recession. Wh...
by herbgoat
Tue Nov 02, 2010 7:09 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Do you vote?
Replies: 9
Views: 6287

Re: Do you vote?

After I read How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World by Harry Browne, I unregistered to vote. My wife hates this, and eventually I will re-register but I'm happy with my decision.
by herbgoat
Tue Sep 14, 2010 1:25 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: What brokerage do you use?
Replies: 6
Views: 5877

Re: What brokerage do you use?

I use both Zecco and Thinkorswim. I trade mutual funds at thinkorswim for free. I trade etf's at zecco for free. Thinkorswim also offers gainskeeper (tax tool) for free. At Zecco, I pay about $50 a year for that. If I had it to do over, I would of went with Vanguard but I'm reasonably happy with my ...
by herbgoat
Wed Sep 01, 2010 9:48 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: 4 x 25 vs. PRPFX
Replies: 3
Views: 4426

Re: 4 x 25 vs. PRPFX

I'm doing both. Most is 4 x 25. About 1/4 of that amount is in PRPFX but I plan on only contributing to PRPFX right now due to the perceived tax benefits.
by herbgoat
Thu Aug 26, 2010 7:57 pm
Forum: Variable Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Can anyone in the world beat the market?
Replies: 14
Views: 11272

Re: Can anyone in the world beat the market?

He would say, "The moment you decide to invest YOUR money with this manager, it will start to underperform."
by herbgoat
Tue Aug 24, 2010 2:26 pm
Forum: Gold
Topic: I wonder what's up with silver?
Replies: 5
Views: 4702

Re: I wonder what's up with silver?

Maybe it has more to do with just the weakening of the dollar than the actual increase in silver.
by herbgoat
Wed Aug 18, 2010 7:25 pm
Forum: Stocks
Topic: Free Brokerage For the Stock Portion?
Replies: 16
Views: 14130

Re: Free Brokerage For the Stock Portion?

For some reason, when I was comparing brokerages about 2 years ago, I decided to go with zecco and thinkorswim (as I mentioned previously) instead of Vanguard. Because of this thread I was just reviewing their cost structure and it does look very appealing. Probably not enough difference to justify ...
by herbgoat
Tue Aug 17, 2010 10:39 pm
Forum: Stocks
Topic: Free Brokerage For the Stock Portion?
Replies: 16
Views: 14130

Re: Free Brokerage For the Stock Portion?

I've got accounts at thinkorswim and zecco. I'm happy with both. Zecco has had some growing pains. I'm still satisfied. At thinkorswim I get 3 free mutual fund trades/month + free gainskeeper At zecco I get 10 free stock/etf trades/month. I pay for gainskeeper (~$50/year) For my Roth IRA, I have it ...