MarkT29

Comments:

• I looked at the price of business class flights, and I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.

  Everyone's different but once I received a cancer diagnosis I opened the spending taps quite a bit to enjoy more things while I can. Living on the West coast a 12-hour or so flight to Europe is much more comfortable in a lie-flat business seat than in coach.

  Post: Looking Different

  Link to comment from July 6, 2024

• according to the Morningstar article https://www.morningstar.com/columns/rekenthaler-report/cash-an-inflation-hedge-revisited (which actually suggests cash is a decent hedge against inflation compared to alternatives) from May 2021 to June 2022 cash lost about 8% of its value. Returns on money market funds lag inflation and cumulatively fall short, otherwise there would be no use for TIPS nor any purchasers of TIPS. Note TIPS bond funds are not the same as purchasing TIPS and holding to maturity.

  Post: Waiting It Out

  Link to comment from May 25, 2024

• Still, I don’t think our increased purchasing power and exponential increase in choices have resulted in a corresponding increase in life satisfaction for most people. Hedonic adaption is part of the answer, but so is the nature of the yardstick. It is not an absolute measure, it is based on comparison. Festinger in the 1950's called this Social comparison theory and there are numerous variants. Rockefeller could look around and see that nobody had it better. He had choices and privileges matched perhaps only by royalty in Europe. In absolute terms the present is better. And its fun to look back at how our ancestors lived.  In 1940 nearly half of houses lacked hot piped water, a bathtub or shower, or a flush toilet. After WWII new houses were crammed with kids as the baby boom began but houses were only 1,000 sq feet. We may have actually known people who lived in this era, our parents and grandparents. Push back farther to the 1800's or 1700's and it's hard to think of any of us getting by in the era.

  Post: Billionaire Next Door

  Link to comment from April 3, 2024

• " We can always make more money. But we can’t make more time, and we never know how much more we have." We can trade off money for time. I could take public transit to work but I'd rather save an hour of time each way and go in my car which requires purchasing, gas, insurance, and maintenance. I can spend 1-3 hours a week on the yard or hire a company to take care of it. And so on...

  Post: Killing Time

  Link to comment from March 27, 2024

• The Roth IRAs have a considerably higher stock allocation than the 401(k). I’m pretty satisfied with the mix of low-cost index funds we hold.

  Since trades in IRA and 401(k) accounts do not cause capital gains I long ago made my Roth 100% stock and hold a mix of stock & bonds in my 401(k). My thinking was that since the Roth is untaxed for withdrawal or inheritance and since stocks have a higher expected return they should be placed in the Roth. The downside is that should I want to take money from bonds in my retirement accounts the withdrawal from the 401(k) will be taxed as ordinary income.

  Post: Letting It Ride

  Link to comment from February 10, 2024

• We’re thinking about how to unwind this web of entanglements, which may eventually be too complex for our aging minds. 

  You might want to read the Bogleheads thread titled "Finding out your Power of Attorney is useless". Some major brokerages appear easier to work with than others, and many demand their own form instead of a properly drafted and notarized POA from an attorney. After reading the thread and similar ones on Bogleheads I moved to Fidelity.

  Post: Back to the Future

  Link to comment from January 24, 2024

• If you have basal cell or squamous cell cancer then you may want to consider Moh's surgery in which the surgeon removes skin and then examines it under a microscope to make sure the margins are clear of cancer cells. They keep removing thin layers until the margins are clear. It's your best way to be sure they "got it all" while minimizing the size of the hole they need to make. This can be especially important on the face and neck; my insurance policy covers Moh's in these areas. This surgery requires additional training that most dermatologists don't have. Instead of offering it as an option with a referral (or you can look up qualified Moh's surgeons online) they simply schedule you with them for the procedure they know how to do. Happened to me but fortunately I knew about Moh's and saw a specialist instead. The scar on my cheek is no doubt smaller than it would have been otherwise. For more info https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/skin-cancer/types/common/melanoma/mohs-surgery

  Post: Doctor’s Orders

  Link to comment from October 18, 2023

• " When I run estimates for immediate annuities it turns out the monthly income is often greater than what is generated using a 4% withdrawal from the same lump sum amount." Note the 4% rule was the amount of inflation-adjusted dollars that could be withdrawn from a portfolio without failure. Annuities generally don't offer any inflation adjustment, or at best a modest increase. There are very smart actuaries that design the plans and full inflation protection used to be offered but no longer is. That may be an important message. The advisor Bill Bernstein has written an article https://www.advisorperspectives.com/articles/2022/11/29/playing-inflation-russian-roulette-in-retirement that disparages annuities. But I don't have a crystal ball. Maybe over the next several decades annuities will turn out to have been a prescient investment. You pays your money and takes your chances.

  Post: Some Gain, Less Pain

  Link to comment from October 14, 2023

• " Paul came into my office unusually agitated. His bad back had prevented him from finishing his morning walk to a coffee shop, something that had been part of his and his wife Julie’s routine ever since he retired six years ago. As an alternative, I suggested weekly picnic lunches in the park." Obviously stories are abbreviated to fit in the column and to protect privacy, but I hope you also urged him to have a complete physical if he had not had his problem evaluated. Back pain is common but you don't want to miss a case in which physical therapy can provide improvement. Teaching hospitals such as UC Davis have comprehensive back care clinics.

  Post: Coming of Age

  Link to comment from October 11, 2023

•  Keep in mind that most policies require you to make the insurance purchase within a few days of booking the trip if you want pre-existing conditions covered.

  Many policies have a line similar to this in order to get pre-existing conditions covered: "Amount of coverage must be equal to all pre-paid, non-refundable costs."

  Post: Où Est l’Hôpital?

  Link to comment from October 7, 2023