I’ve done so with ChatGPT, and it was helpful, but you also have to know what you’re doing yourself. For example, it was wrong about how a Roth conversion applies to net investment income tax. Fortunately it explained its work and I could call out its error, which it corrected. My guess its actual math was correct.
Of course had you been testing a different period, the results may well have also been different. Just because 60:40 rebalanced annually won over the period examined doesn’t mean it will over the next. In my view the annual rebalance, 10% trigger and 15% trigger are all fine. So is 5% if someone is fine with having to watch a bit more closely and act more often. Interesting pair of articles but I don’t think it merits more math on your (or Claude’s) part. 🙂
No, we rely on our U.S. insurance and our wallet. Our primary is insurance from my former employer, but when outside the U.S. this will only cover acute care needs - sprain an ankle, get the flu, get shot. (Soon I will have Medicare, which I understand covers nothing outside the US.) We have Tricare as a secondary, and it will cover what the primary insurance doesn’t, whether acute or routine, minus deductible. It’s likely we’d need to pay out of pocket and then seek reimbursement. There might be an exception if near a U.S. military installation where providers deal with Tricare, but that’s rarely the case in our travels. (Tricare is the insurance for current and retired military.)
Interesting. An acquaintance who thinks a lot about these things likes U.S. “junk” silver coins which are 90% silver. His coin of choice is dimes, with the idea that junk silver coins in general are easily recognizable, at least in the U.S., and the dime is as small as you can get, so it should be easier to “spend” on whatever. I just checked, and right now a junk dime is worth about $7. I see a 1oz gold bar is worth over $5000. Of course it takes less space than 700+ dimes :-)
Is there a widespread reluctance to creating the guaranteed income floor? It seems very common for those who can do it, though I admit I can and haven’t.
Being nomadic has really curtailed the spending on physical possessions. There’s a real limit on what you can/will carry, and you can’t ship it home if there’s no home to ship it to. My wife bought some handmade earrings last year for about $10. I bought a sweater, and I may buy a T-shirt from McGing’s pub before we move on, even though I’m carrying more than I really need. No worries, some will be donated soon enough.
Maybe the more important takeaway isn’t the allocation percentages, but that one’s portfolio need be no more complicated than an S&P 500 index funds and short term government bonds (or a fund thereof). My own is more complicated, but I still think the above is Buffett’s real lesson here.
Comments
My guess is it could do that for you, as it sounds like just math, not really thinking through and applying various rules which it may not get right.
Post: Well That’s A Bummer!
Link to comment from March 16, 2026
I’ve done so with ChatGPT, and it was helpful, but you also have to know what you’re doing yourself. For example, it was wrong about how a Roth conversion applies to net investment income tax. Fortunately it explained its work and I could call out its error, which it corrected. My guess its actual math was correct.
Post: Well That’s A Bummer!
Link to comment from March 16, 2026
Of course had you been testing a different period, the results may well have also been different. Just because 60:40 rebalanced annually won over the period examined doesn’t mean it will over the next. In my view the annual rebalance, 10% trigger and 15% trigger are all fine. So is 5% if someone is fine with having to watch a bit more closely and act more often. Interesting pair of articles but I don’t think it merits more math on your (or Claude’s) part. 🙂
Post: Well That’s A Bummer!
Link to comment from March 16, 2026
I don’t know anything about Medigap, but suspect you’d have to pay yourself and seek reimbursement there as well.
Post: No, it is not a scam
Link to comment from March 13, 2026
No, we rely on our U.S. insurance and our wallet. Our primary is insurance from my former employer, but when outside the U.S. this will only cover acute care needs - sprain an ankle, get the flu, get shot. (Soon I will have Medicare, which I understand covers nothing outside the US.) We have Tricare as a secondary, and it will cover what the primary insurance doesn’t, whether acute or routine, minus deductible. It’s likely we’d need to pay out of pocket and then seek reimbursement. There might be an exception if near a U.S. military installation where providers deal with Tricare, but that’s rarely the case in our travels. (Tricare is the insurance for current and retired military.)
Post: No, it is not a scam
Link to comment from March 13, 2026
Reading about the system you grew up in, would you still prefer it if you were among those who could only afford the $5 care?
Post: No, it is not a scam
Link to comment from March 13, 2026
Interesting. An acquaintance who thinks a lot about these things likes U.S. “junk” silver coins which are 90% silver. His coin of choice is dimes, with the idea that junk silver coins in general are easily recognizable, at least in the U.S., and the dime is as small as you can get, so it should be easier to “spend” on whatever. I just checked, and right now a junk dime is worth about $7. I see a 1oz gold bar is worth over $5000. Of course it takes less space than 700+ dimes :-)
Post: Why I Own Gold Bars
Link to comment from March 12, 2026
Is there a widespread reluctance to creating the guaranteed income floor? It seems very common for those who can do it, though I admit I can and haven’t.
Post: Forget the 4% rule.
Link to comment from March 12, 2026
Being nomadic has really curtailed the spending on physical possessions. There’s a real limit on what you can/will carry, and you can’t ship it home if there’s no home to ship it to. My wife bought some handmade earrings last year for about $10. I bought a sweater, and I may buy a T-shirt from McGing’s pub before we move on, even though I’m carrying more than I really need. No worries, some will be donated soon enough.
Post: Allan Roth’s 2/13/26 article references Jonathan Clements
Link to comment from March 10, 2026
Maybe the more important takeaway isn’t the allocation percentages, but that one’s portfolio need be no more complicated than an S&P 500 index funds and short term government bonds (or a fund thereof). My own is more complicated, but I still think the above is Buffett’s real lesson here.
Post: Buffett’s 90/10 is Wrong. Even Though it’s Right.
Link to comment from March 10, 2026