Fund Daddy

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• +1 I started with Original and now I use MA. I live in a major metro. My numbers show I would save about thousands annually. It's not easy for most to find a great MA. I started looking for one that have all my MDs. Only 2 out of 60+ had it. Only one had $25 for a specialist MD visit. The max out of pocket is $5000 per year. It covers all the major hospitals in my area, most of the MDs, at least all the one I want and even new MDs I visited this year under the PPO. Aetna Signature PPO Monthly premium: Instead of $155+15 =$170, it is zero = rounding $2000. BTW the $170 was $150 the year before under original. I asked couple of friends in their 70 and it's about $250. Primary PCP=MD(actually it's per a group of MDs) = 0...Specialist=$25 (all my MDs and others are there + all doc in the box). Original has $240 deductible, I don't. This means up to 10 specialists I'm ahead. Prescriptions Tier 1-2 = no deductible. I have one prescription tier 3. Under Original I paid $1800, so far I paid zero in advantage. Dental: preventive and comprehensive $2200 to any Dentist, including out-of-network, no deductible. Vision: free eye check + $260 for glasses = $330-350. Already used it. Extra Supports Wallet amount + High‑Value Provider Bonus ‑ additional $90 quarterly = $360 annually (you get a card). Already got the debit card and it's working. On the same card above more for food + utilities = $90 per quarter = $360 annually. Together, it's $720 Silver sneakers=free membership to LA Fitness = 35 *12 = $420 Fitness reimbursement (camping, rowing, running equipment + classes) = $600. Already bought shoes and other stuff I buy every year. Hearing aid = $500 Transportation+ meals = Several told me they used it for surgeries and after that. My friends used that when they went for a surgery. 2000(premium)+1800(prescription)+2000(dentist)+350(eye)+720(wallet support)+360(LA fitness)+600(health equipment) about $7800. Aetna encouraged me to let a doctor visit me at home and check my total wellness. I got another $50. Months later, when I did my annual checkup, I got another $100. Customer service is amazing. Not all MA are equal. What did I spend so far: I saw 7 specialists (usually I see only 2-3) = $175. I thought something was wrong with my heart and I did 2 days of intensive checkups (Nuclear + stress + Ultrasound). I had to pay $225 out of pocket. I also asked several friends who had all kinds of surgeries, and the highest they paid was $1000 for 2. I also contact a broker that sells that plan. He has had close to 950 on this plan for years and told me that the highest out of pocket in over 10 years was about $2000. After lots of calculations, I decided it's too good not to join a good MA. Remember, everything I have done for decades is based on real numbers, never emotions. I can easily pay the $5000. Just premioum and prescriptions were about $3800. Most don't have a Tier 3 prescription, but it's another proof that MAs are not all equal. Suppose you are lucky and have only Tier 1+2. premium+prescriptions premiums = $2300 and another $100-200 for the prescription drug co-pay = $2500.

  Post: Medigap pricing question

  Link to comment from September 6, 2024

• Two observations 1) low cost index investing=Bogle www.investopedia.com/terms/j/john_bogle.asp#:~:text=Bogle%20introduced%20the%20Vanguard%20500,by%20creating%20no-load%20funds. The second was Random Walk that was published in 1973. 2) TIPS are ok when you have a large portfolio or a big enough pension. The majority don't have it. The truth is that when you have enough you can be in 30-100% stocks. You would do ok with TIPS or BND.

  Post: David Enna’s Tipswatch.com tribute to Bob Brinker

  Link to comment from September 5, 2024

• Several more points: 1% of 2,3,4 millions is 20K,30K,40K respectively and can last for several months. About 85% of our money is invested in IRAs. Selling and paying taxes isn't a problem. We also do conversion to Roth annually, but still watch not to go over IRMAA. Our effective tax in retirement has been around 11-12%. Living in GA helps because the first $65K per person isn't taxed. In the last 2.5 years, we had "unexpected" expenses because of a storm, we also bought 2 new vehicles and spent about $200K. Again, no problem. After we saved our first $100K, we never had an emergency fund or lots of cash. In several years we will be in the 22% tax bracket and in 15-20 years in 24% based on just 6% annually. There is no way to hide it. The most important, IMO, is to have a big portfolio. It takes care of everything. Taxes never scared me either. BTW, we don't have pensions, never got profit sharing or stocks options. It was all from investing monthly in our 401K, investing smartly, and being frugal. As an immigrant, I understood that the only way to have a big portfolio is to be an entrepreneur or join them investing in the best stock market in the world. I learned the basics from Bogle, Buffett, and Einstein (compounding is the 8th wonder of the world). All my decisions are based on logic, never emotions.

  Post: Covid and Money Fever by Steve Abramowitz

  Link to comment from September 2, 2024

• Steve, sorry to hear that and hope you get well completely.Many times in the past I posted why we selected the "easy" way. We only own the home we live in + 2 vehicles. We never owned a rental, RV, a pool, or even a boat. Everything else is invested at 99+% since the start (we have several thousands in the bank), never cash/CD/MM since retirement, unless risk is very high. Of course, we have bond funds if we need cash. In the past, no matter what happened, I sold a fund, and the next day the money was in our account. We also used our credit cards if we needed to and paid them all in full. Investing in the markets over time is the easiest way to become a millionaire in this country, and we started late. Anything else we need, we pay only when we use it. We don't want to worry about other assets. Out taxes are also very simple, and it takes me less than an hour to do them using TaxHawk.

  Post: Covid and Money Fever by Steve Abramowitz

  Link to comment from September 1, 2024

• If you want to learn more about why not covered calls, read https://caia.org/blog/2024/02/24/covered-call-strategies-uncovered See below the first 2 paragraphs SUMMARY Covered call strategies aim to offer index-like returns with lower volatility and higher yieldsThey have underperformed their benchmarks significantly over longer periodsThey are tools for market timing, but that is difficult to execute successfullyINTRODUCTION JP Morgan has been a late-comer to the ETF industry, but achieved remarkable success in the actively-managed ETF space as it manages the two largest products, namely the JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPI) with $26 billion and JPMorgan Ultra-Short Income ETF (JPST) with $24 billion of assets under management. Intuitively, investors might have expected growth or value-focused products from well-known active managers like Fidelity or PIMCO to dominate, but instead, JEPI represents a covered call strategy. JEPI represents a portfolio of large-cap stocks that is combined with selling call options to generate monthly income. The objective, like for all covered call strategies, is to offer index-like returns with lower volatility but higher dividends. In this research article, we will explore if covered call products have been able to meet these goals.

  Post: JEPI as a Bond Substitute? Don Quixote Confronts the Windmills by Steve Abramowitz

  Link to comment from August 30, 2024

• Why not JEPI -An investor should look at 2 things: Total returns (which includes the income too) + SD=volatility. Many confuse high income with returns. -An investor can generate monthly income, even high one, from stocks too. Fidelity FXAIX=SP500. You can set up in 2 minutes a monthly sale of $4K(or another amount) on a specific date to run for years. -JEPI monthly distributions are shrinking. It started at about 12% annually and now is about 6% -JEPI is a covered call solution. I have researched and tested many alternative solutions, and none were good longer-term. It is based on the managers capabilities, and eventually they make mistakes, or suddenly it does work. -JEPI volatility is lower than SPY but higher than typical bond. 2022 was a unique year; when was the last time the US total bond index lost so much? None for at least 25 years -What about allocation funds? Look at PRWCX,FPURX,FBALX. See chart(https://schrts.co/emwDZqFJ). -CEF is another option for leveraged income bonds. They pay a lot more income but the volatility is higher than bonds and sometimes more than stocks. Again, it works until it doesn't. -Most should keep it simple -Remember: high income should never lead your decision. It should be based on Total Returns.

  Post: JEPI as a Bond Substitute? Don Quixote Confronts the Windmills by Steve Abramowitz

  Link to comment from August 29, 2024

• We used to be a lot more frugal but our portfolio grew by a lot. There are several things we still frugal about and make sense to us 1) We always preferred cheaper B&B hotels 2) We buy new vehicles since 1994 starting with Honda,Toyota, and now Hyundai and Kia. The last 2 are very quiet and drive well as vehicles which cost a lot more which I tried too. 3) Electronics are the ultimate to be frugal. Many of them cost a fraction of the price of the expensive ones and they do almost everything. My track watch costs me $25 instead of Apple at $350. Just bought a refurbished business laptop for $250 instead of $1500. This laptop is better than a new retail one for $600-800. Also bought a refurbished Pixel for $170 instead of $800-1000. I used to think that refurbished isn't for me until I tried it. Of course you need to know where to buy it. 4) We always buy the cheapest airline tickets direct or with on stop if we fly to Europe. There are so much more. I refused to give up the good stuff but I keep finding frugal ways to get it.

  Post: Is being frugal a way of life, a necessity, habit or fun? RDQ thinks about it.

  Link to comment from August 28, 2024

• Rebalancing chances to make more than no rebalancing over long term are low because stocks make more than bonds over the long term. You don't need to have the brightest mind. Bogle and Buffett taught us that the SP500 is the best index over the long term, and it was proven right. See https://portfoliocharts.com/portfolios/classic-60-40-portfolio/ It can get even more complicated. Many believe that diversification should include small-mid cap, value-growth, international, commodities, and others. I remember so many articles during 2000-10 why you must own the above, only to find years later that US LC still rule.

  Post: Why Risk 40/20/40 When You Can Recreate Your 60/40? by Steve Abramowitz

  Link to comment from August 14, 2024

• No rebalancing was a better choice from 2019. The numbers are below. (link). No rebalacing was better since 2010(link). The tool goes all the way to the end of 2001. During 2000-10, the SP500 lost money, even with rebalancing, the portfolio still made less money. See (link) While diversification is great for most, it is not the right choice. I started in 1995 using only 2 funds 90% VTI 10% US growth During 2000-10, I invested in VALUE, SC, International. Since 2010, US large cap tilting growth. As you can see, these periods lasted years.

  Post: Why Risk 40/20/40 When You Can Recreate Your 60/40? by Steve Abramowitz

  Link to comment from August 13, 2024

• I looked into it when I was in my 50s. My conclusions were too expensive and too many loopholes. I dedicated $500K of our portfolio for me and my wife for LTC, but I still invest all my money as one bucket. I have already doubled our portfolio. Lesson: More money solves a lot of things, especially liquid money. This is why we only owned one home and 2 vehicles for decades. Anytime we need something, we rent, or buy it.

  Post: Long Term Care? Who has it?

  Link to comment from August 11, 2024