mike schellenberger

Comments:

• You forgot to mention the additional Obamacare 3.8% capital gains tax when your income goes over 200K

  Post: Balance Issues

  Link to comment from July 3, 2024

• I also have to disagree with the traditional advice of don't time the market. That philosophy goes against common sense of buying stuff when it's on sale or avoiding it when the prices are high. I know no one can predict when the exact top or bottom is reached but I do know when the market is in a significantly higher or lower state than normal. I don't sell when the market is significantly up unless I need some cash or think it may be a good tax move. I would also put off any non recurring investing during peaks. When we have corrections I've always invested as much extra as I can over a period of time.In 2008 I was getting in as much OT as I could to buy more stocks. While retired in the 2022 downturn I did some significant purchasing.Both of these moves paid off handsomely. I think that with discretion and common sense you should always consider the current market 'time' when buying or selling when ever possible. Being semi retired now for a couple of years I'm rethinking this strategy a bit as I have no income and have tax consequences to deal with and plan for.

  Post: Waiting It Out

  Link to comment from May 27, 2024

• You do a disservice to your readers when you do not mention that over the long term gold is not a good investment at all. Over the long term stocks outperform gold 3 to 1. https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/020915/has-gold-been-good-investment-over-long-term.asp

  Post: Shining Moment

  Link to comment from April 4, 2024

• Just hope your wife doesn't read this post.

  Post: Manpower in Action

  Link to comment from October 25, 2023

• How do you account for actually having to pay more money for the stuff you are buying due to the credit card fees most all are passing on in retail pricing nowadays?

  Post: Scoring Points

  Link to comment from August 30, 2023

• Synthetic oil is\was really marketing driven. I did a lot of research in this area and come out using regular dyno oil and getting oil analysis done. A few key things to think about. Oil carries 'dirt' and synthetic can carry no more dirt than dyno, which is a big reason I started getting analysis done. The 'extra' wear on cold startups with dyno is really insignificant over the life of the engine. The extra heat that synthetic can stand is pointless as well, if your engine gets that hot you have much bigger issue at hand. If think there is or was some needed uses for synthetics on some turbo charged motors but believe that was related more to poor design. Other advantages with oil analysis is that it can detect many other issues early. They can tell you if your air filter is dirty, if there is gas or water in the oil and show bearings and other mechanical failures early on. Trace metal elements detected in the oil . Analysis has gone up in cost, I used to pay $20 a pop, it's now $32 and synthetic has came down in price a lot so I am rethinking my decisions due to economics now. It used to be the $20 easily made up for the oil price difference. I use Blackstone Labs https://www.blackstone-labs.com/

  Post: Car Trouble

  Link to comment from May 13, 2023

• Dealerships are just as bad at oil changes as others. Had issues at both Mazda and Toyota with their free 2 years of oil changes after buying new a few years back. Mazda left the oil plug finger tight and Toyota used impact to tighten wheels and I had to replace a few studs. I continue to do all maintenance I can myself.

  Post: Car Trouble

  Link to comment from May 13, 2023

• One thing bad about target date funds is that you can't pick particular allocation(s) to sell when you need cash.

  Post: Better Than Buffett?

  Link to comment from March 25, 2023

• I've been a no bond investor for 30+ years. As I start to look more into bonds I find it is just such a confusing area that I won't invest. This is why I read your article.....to maybe learn something. In your discussion of TIPS you reference the 5 year Treasury Notes return as being 1.45% with a link to the Treasury sites historical returns. This brings up 2 questions. 1) The discussion here was about TIPS, why reference Treasury Notes? 2) The Treasury page is titled 'Daily Treasury Par Real Yield Curve Rates' no mention of what the yields are displayed for, I would have expected to see TIPS or Treasury Notes listed on the page

  Post: Clipping Coupons

  Link to comment from December 14, 2022

• My problem with TDFs is that you can't sell bonds/stocks at the appropriate times. I also find their asset allocation and glide paths generally WAY to conservative for my likings especially with bond market as it has been over the past few years.

  Post: No Guarantees

  Link to comment from June 4, 2022