Holding mainly SPY or VOO makes sense—you’re essentially betting on the strongest capitalism in the world and riding momentum investing. SPY naturally allocates more to the best-performing stocks. Bonds, however, are a different story. Over the last 5, 10, and 15 years, BND returned roughly 0%, 1.5%, and 2.2% annually—trailing inflation. Many high-rated bond indexes are like planes without pilots, since managers can’t adjust the portfolio for changing market conditions. That’s why I’ve never held high-rated bond funds directly. Hint 1: Stocks are easy—stick to indexes. Bonds are where you can truly add value. Look for funds with strong Sharpe ratios and solid absolute performance—that’s how you find well-managed bond funds. Hint 2: Always consider unique local and global factors. Anyone who didn’t sell in early 2022 didn’t understand basic investing. After the highest inflation in over four decades, the Fed was loud and clear: rates were going up fast.
You need to be at least a little tech-savvy in today’s world and willing to do some research.
First, you need internet access.
Local cable internet prices usually range from about $40 to $60+ per month. For most households, 300–500 Mbps is more than enough. Let’s assume $60.
Second, YouTube TV is probably the best live TV streaming service overall. Let’s assume about $90 per month. You can record countless hours of content, watch on multiple TVs, start a show on one TV and continue on another, and you don’t pay extra based on the number of TVs in the house.
Third, your TVs need to support streaming, either directly or through devices like Amazon Fire TV Stick or Roku devices.
If your Wi-Fi network is solid — at least 50 Mbps throughout the house — you’re basically done.
If not, you may need a Wi-Fi extender or a better home network setup.
The streaming devices and extenders are mostly one-time purchases.
So your ongoing monthly cost is roughly:
Internet: $60
YouTube TV: $90
Total: about $150 per month.
Anything beyond that adds extra cost.
Netflix is almost a must these days. We also get Amazon benefits through Prime.
For everything else, I wait for deals. Last Black Friday, for example, I got HBO for $2.99 per month for a full year.
I’m also aggressive about negotiating. I originally got 500 Mbps internet for $40 per month for three years. When the promo ended, the price jumped to $54. I kept calling and threatening to cancel, and eventually got it back down to $40.
I also share YouTube TV and Amazon with my brother-in-law and split the cost.
Overall, these prices are still far better than traditional cable packages. You just have to learn some new tricks. It took my wife about 3–4 days to fully get used to the streaming setup.
LTC is a bad idea in most cases.
It's expensive with loopholes you will find later.
When I retired I dedicated an imaginary $500K of my total portfolio for it but invested it as normal.
My portfolio more than doubled.
You can absolutely do both. A friend of mine invested $3K in each of 10 companies back in 1990. Nine of them didn’t do much, but one—Microsoft—grew to over $1.5 million. The rest of the money he invested in the SP500 thru his 401K for many years.
It’s like having your cake and eating it too.
VGSH isn't a practical idea.
In the last 15 years it made 1.4% annually.
Inflation was about twice than that. Another myth is income investing.
There is no such thing as income investing.
The best way to test your portfolio is total performance which includes everything.
Many investors, including me, prefer risk-adjusted returns.
Just because a security has 4% distribution, it doesn't guarantee better performance or better risk-adjusted returns.
The main issue in this country is over spending and under saving.
I know people who make from $50K and all the way to $150K with this problem. Most of them know they spend too much but refuse to lower their spendings and save for retirement.
Most Americans who bought a house decades ago are better financially now.
Paying your mortgage forces you to save and be more responsible.
The future will be similar because it's mostly a behavioral issue.
Of course being good with money and buying at the right time help a lot.
+1
I have never made a budget, and never tracked our expenses because if we were able to save by investing in our 401K, and pay all our bills in time, I don't need to do that.
Our bank and discount broker have all this information too.
On the other hand all the people I know that have done that have much smaller portfolio.
The conclusion: people who know how to save, invest and handle money intuitively can do just fine.
Complete disregard for all market situations.
I sold everything on March 2nd.
Almost every year I sell once when risk is too high. Usually I'm out for 1–3 weeks, but in 2022, I was out 10 months. My model is based on timing + slow trading + funds in leading categories that have excellent risk-adjusted performance.Of course, you can stay in indexes and do pretty well, but you also suffer all the market volatility. Your only solution to lower volatility is bonds.Sometimes you will be far behind:
The SP500 lags as it lost money from 01/2000 to 01/2010.
The US bond index has a terrible peformance for 3-5-10-15 years
Investors with pensions, especially pensions that cover all expenses, are not the norm. Most don't have them. History of my allocation 1995-2000 + 2000 until last year = very high % in the US2000-2010 = value, small cap, internationalsince 2025 = international
The same 24/7 media that promote despair daily in the last 14 months was a lot quieter during the previous administration when we had the worst inflation in 4 decades, the worst year in bonds in decades where retirees hurt badly and millions of unvetted illegals entered our country.
Comments
Holding mainly SPY or VOO makes sense—you’re essentially betting on the strongest capitalism in the world and riding momentum investing. SPY naturally allocates more to the best-performing stocks. Bonds, however, are a different story. Over the last 5, 10, and 15 years, BND returned roughly 0%, 1.5%, and 2.2% annually—trailing inflation. Many high-rated bond indexes are like planes without pilots, since managers can’t adjust the portfolio for changing market conditions. That’s why I’ve never held high-rated bond funds directly. Hint 1: Stocks are easy—stick to indexes. Bonds are where you can truly add value. Look for funds with strong Sharpe ratios and solid absolute performance—that’s how you find well-managed bond funds. Hint 2: Always consider unique local and global factors. Anyone who didn’t sell in early 2022 didn’t understand basic investing. After the highest inflation in over four decades, the Fed was loud and clear: rates were going up fast.
Post: Resilient Investing
Link to comment from May 18, 2026
You need to be at least a little tech-savvy in today’s world and willing to do some research. First, you need internet access. Local cable internet prices usually range from about $40 to $60+ per month. For most households, 300–500 Mbps is more than enough. Let’s assume $60. Second, YouTube TV is probably the best live TV streaming service overall. Let’s assume about $90 per month. You can record countless hours of content, watch on multiple TVs, start a show on one TV and continue on another, and you don’t pay extra based on the number of TVs in the house. Third, your TVs need to support streaming, either directly or through devices like Amazon Fire TV Stick or Roku devices. If your Wi-Fi network is solid — at least 50 Mbps throughout the house — you’re basically done. If not, you may need a Wi-Fi extender or a better home network setup. The streaming devices and extenders are mostly one-time purchases. So your ongoing monthly cost is roughly:
- Internet: $60
- YouTube TV: $90
Total: about $150 per month. Anything beyond that adds extra cost. Netflix is almost a must these days. We also get Amazon benefits through Prime. For everything else, I wait for deals. Last Black Friday, for example, I got HBO for $2.99 per month for a full year. I’m also aggressive about negotiating. I originally got 500 Mbps internet for $40 per month for three years. When the promo ended, the price jumped to $54. I kept calling and threatening to cancel, and eventually got it back down to $40. I also share YouTube TV and Amazon with my brother-in-law and split the cost. Overall, these prices are still far better than traditional cable packages. You just have to learn some new tricks. It took my wife about 3–4 days to fully get used to the streaming setup.Post: Living On Autopilot
Link to comment from May 9, 2026
LTC is a bad idea in most cases. It's expensive with loopholes you will find later. When I retired I dedicated an imaginary $500K of my total portfolio for it but invested it as normal. My portfolio more than doubled.
Post: Long Term Care
Link to comment from May 9, 2026
You can absolutely do both. A friend of mine invested $3K in each of 10 companies back in 1990. Nine of them didn’t do much, but one—Microsoft—grew to over $1.5 million. The rest of the money he invested in the SP500 thru his 401K for many years. It’s like having your cake and eating it too.
Post: Driving Prices
Link to comment from April 25, 2026
VGSH isn't a practical idea. In the last 15 years it made 1.4% annually. Inflation was about twice than that. Another myth is income investing. There is no such thing as income investing. The best way to test your portfolio is total performance which includes everything. Many investors, including me, prefer risk-adjusted returns. Just because a security has 4% distribution, it doesn't guarantee better performance or better risk-adjusted returns.
Post: Staying Rational
Link to comment from April 18, 2026
The main issue in this country is over spending and under saving. I know people who make from $50K and all the way to $150K with this problem. Most of them know they spend too much but refuse to lower their spendings and save for retirement.
Post: “We did everything right.” Maybe not. Retirement income should not be an unpleasant surprise.
Link to comment from April 11, 2026
Most Americans who bought a house decades ago are better financially now. Paying your mortgage forces you to save and be more responsible. The future will be similar because it's mostly a behavioral issue. Of course being good with money and buying at the right time help a lot.
Post: The Home Ownership Gamble
Link to comment from April 11, 2026
+1 I have never made a budget, and never tracked our expenses because if we were able to save by investing in our 401K, and pay all our bills in time, I don't need to do that. Our bank and discount broker have all this information too. On the other hand all the people I know that have done that have much smaller portfolio. The conclusion: people who know how to save, invest and handle money intuitively can do just fine.
Post: Nothing Like a War To Bring Folks around to Personal Financial Planning
Link to comment from April 11, 2026
Complete disregard for all market situations. I sold everything on March 2nd. Almost every year I sell once when risk is too high. Usually I'm out for 1–3 weeks, but in 2022, I was out 10 months. My model is based on timing + slow trading + funds in leading categories that have excellent risk-adjusted performance. Of course, you can stay in indexes and do pretty well, but you also suffer all the market volatility. Your only solution to lower volatility is bonds. Sometimes you will be far behind:
- The SP500 lags as it lost money from 01/2000 to 01/2010.
- The US bond index has a terrible peformance for 3-5-10-15 years
Investors with pensions, especially pensions that cover all expenses, are not the norm. Most don't have them. History of my allocation 1995-2000 + 2000 until last year = very high % in the US 2000-2010 = value, small cap, international since 2025 = internationalPost: Any concern?
Link to comment from April 5, 2026
Correct.
Post: My Window is Open – Come In
Link to comment from March 22, 2026