I agree with AdamA about just getting as close as you can to start with. While the .50 ER index fund may not be ideal, it's really not the worst problem when it comes to these retirement accounts. I would use that for the stock portion. Like Adam said, if there's a money market option in the TIAA go...

I upgraded from Ryobi to a Hitachi with lithium batteries. I love it. It's got good battery life and very lightweight, yet sturdy. I still have a couple of different Ryobi models, but they're not going to get any more use unless I'm doing something that may damage them. 8) I haven't used the Hitachi...

MediumTex wrote: RIMM reminds me of PALM a little more every day.

Thanks for reminding me. I was a PALM fanboy who kept thinking the stock must go back up  (even bought on the way down). I think I must have blacked out that memory for years.

What do you mean dangerous? Every stairwell and deck there seems to have handrails. That's an awesome pic. I suppose the only real danger might be earthquakes.

I think the beauty of Wiggin's suggestion to try and tweak the PP is that it not only engages his readers but forces people to think about why it works and what situations it may not be right for. That is essentially what much of this forum is about. People make up scenarios where they think the PP ...

MediumTex wrote: Even if a bulletproof vest made a lovely headwrap or sarong, I think you would still want to be cautious about modifying its application in this way.

I love this. You may have outdone yourself here. I really hope that the book includes a generous dose of MT analogies.

I don't think there are pragmatic reasons to do this for anyone that has access to treasuries or treasury funds. I have "moral reservations" regarding US treasuries. It would be almost impossible not to when you see how the government spends money. >:( Part of the beauty of the HBPP is tha...

Contrast the above scenario with the PP, which had the following returns in the 1975-1983 period: 1975: 8.3% 1976: 12.2% 1977: 5.6% 1978: 12.1% 1979: 42.1% 1980: 13.4% 1981: (3.9%) 1982: 23.3% 1983: 4.2% Over this 9 year period the PP averaged 13.03% in nominal returns, and with inflation at 8.17%,...

heh! I logged on mainly to post this. That is a great quote. He really puts the current risk situation into perspective. I've seen people analyzing how that can squeeze another fraction of a percent by taking on vastly more risk in a bond fund. A week ago I would have commented on how silly it is fo...

RE life in the 1970s, doesn't this just look like a window into an existence that is less self-conscious and distracted than ours: http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46615000/jpg/_46615138_4--family-by-stairs.jpg (You may recognize one or more of the people in this photo.) I was thinking about w...

Since the deductible is now $50k I'm seriously considering just investing in earthquake straps for the house and planning on losing $100-150k (total loss of the house) in a worst case scenario situation. Maybe the PP has changed my thinking, but I think we could weather the loss of 15-25% of assets...

That $12k cuts this year's modified AGI to 70,663 just barely getting us into the 15% bracket (using $3k from capital loss carryover). We may modify it a bit later in the year if things seem to be changing or we're cutting it to close. Right now there's only $37 keeping us from going over (70,700 is...

Near Big Bend National Park? I may have to look into this. I loved that area on the trips I've been there. I was fortunate enough to see the Yucca blooming there. As for the RV idea I think I've pretty much come full circle on my ideas. Growing up poor living in a trailer park was the last thing I e...

I don't have enough physical to worry about at this point. More and more though I'm thinking that insurance policies should only be purchased after you've exhausted all other security options. First get the safety deposit box,etc then worry about the insurance. Unlike most people I've got earthquake...

Under current tax law, you pay 0% on { Long Term Capital Gains } if you are in the 15% bracket. I didn't even know this as I'm regularly in the 25% bracket. I seem to be just over the line. Maybe I should lower my income a tad! We're actually putting an extra $12k into my wife's lame 401k just to g...

Budd, you may find it helpful to take a look at your comments the last time you got nervous... See: Sep 26, 2011: Weather the Storm... ...and: Sep 28, 2011: Hey Look... ...and: Aug 11, 2011: Nauseous We all remember what happened after August, last year. The PP turned out to be the one of the best ...

I'm sooo disappointed. >:( I read into the third paragraph thinking you meant that you were keeping 25% in CASH. Finding that you really meant Treasury MMF was a letdown. I was looking forward to reading about your new high tech security system to deal with the cash. :P Seriously though, I'm becomin...

More currency diversification makes sense to me, especially if you want to spend some time and money outside the US in retirement, or just ensure the option stays open.  Gold is 25% already.  If you use VT for the equity holding it is less than 50% US, so you have 37.5%+ in non-dollar assets.    Fo...

However it's a little galling to maintain a house to a higher standard than the one that my family and I live in. I think that could be one of the worst things. It's much like the way people put a lot of effort into getting their homes fixed up just before selling them. :( I was originally looking ...

I agree about the relative risk since ST rates are so low. (Although if they go negative that would get very interesting). I'm a bit biased since I have close to zero trust in Blackrock. When liquidating my wife's fund holdings I found that there was a whole lot of self dealing going on. The stock f...

Thanks for the comments Craig. I completely get where you're coming from. Given the tax advantages and cheap borrowing there are certainly some advantages to buying in the US right now. That could change (which is where the speculating comes in), but there are many advantages. One of he last free lu...

Nice chart. A couple of weeks ago Buffett also said that real estate is a definite buy. I was looking to buy a rental property, but now I'm not so sure. If he says buy I think there's still a ways to the bottom. That horrible, unproductive yellow metal has had quite a run the last decade as well.

I'm still awaiting more info on this, but meanwhile I'm feeling pretty good about my emphasis on EDV for the bond portion of PP. 8) At least with the gold portion I can buy coins (or bars) and bury them in the backyard, but in light of MF Global I'm really concerned about all the counterparty risk w...

I've got some IAU in my taxable account as well. It was purchased in 2012. I was thinking it would be better to just keep it there permanently so I don't get hit with the higher tax rate for collectables. Now I'm thinking I should definitely sell before the end of the year so that I don't need to de...

While in college I considered going into IP law. One course on intellectual property and observation of what was going on in the world around me convinced me to abandon that. It would be an incredibly frustrating field to be in. At the time I couldn't have imagined a company like Monsanto effectivel...