Nagaraj Arakere

Comments:

• NYT article on Ikaria. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/28/magazine/the-island-where-people-forget-to-die.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

  Post: The C Word

  Link to comment from June 16, 2024

• Very sad to hear your news, Jonathan. I have learnt a lot from the community you have created at HD. It has helped me shape my retirement, starting this August. I saw a documentary yesterday on Ikaria, Greece, a blue zone with a high concentration of centenarians. A person from there moved to the US and did well for many decades. He was diagnosed of terminal lung cancer at 67. He decided to return to Ikaria and go back to his simple life and die peacefully. He planted grapes for his vineyard and tended to his garden and rejoined his old group of buddies. He didn't take any medications. He is the man who forgot to die and is still alive in Ikaria at 102! It would be nice if you could move to a blue zone (Loma Linda in California is one) and live to be 100.

  Post: The C Word

  Link to comment from June 16, 2024

• Thanks. Very interesting. I saw that Mike Piper uses a discount rate of 2.23% (yield on 20-year TIPS used as default), to calculate NPV. If I change it to 3% the recommendation was to start SSI withdrawals at 64 and 11 months, instead of 65 and 3 months. I am single. My breakeven point for waiting until 70 is 81.

  Post: Stories We Tell

  Link to comment from April 11, 2024

• Thanks for this input. I am turning 65 this year, but still working. I am retiring later this year and plan on drawing SSI from next year. If I start drawing on SSI at 66, Opensocial says I lose 0.2% from the max present value calculated at 65 and 3 months. Do you know what are Mike's assumptions for life expectancy and discount rate used to calculate present value? After 20 years out I expect the present value levels off?

  Post: Stories We Tell

  Link to comment from April 10, 2024

• Thanks, Jonathan. I only need to enter my age and FRA amount. Mike's calculator does the rest. I am not sure of his assumptions of my life span and also the discounted rate used for present value calculation.

  Post: Stories We Tell

  Link to comment from April 10, 2024

• Hi Jonathan: What is your take of Mike Piper's informative 'Open Social Security' site (https://opensocialsecurity.com/) where he recommends that to maximize my benefits I draw SSI at 65 and 3 months, based on adjusting for the fact that a dollar received in the future is worth less than a dollar received today. His algorithm maximizes present value of money stream received. My FRA is 66 and 10 months.

  Post: Stories We Tell

  Link to comment from April 10, 2024

• FYI, Chris Bloomstran of Semper Augustus publishes a very detailed review of Berkshire and the markets in general, just before Buffett reveals the annual earnings letter. Terrific read. https://www.semperaugustus.com/clientletter See below, for 2022 report. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://static.fmgsuite.com/media/documents/266ce60e-4a48-4ee8-a4c7-6a0fc794700e.pdf In fact Berkshire annual earnings report for 2023 is coming out this Saturday. Bloomstran's Berkshire tome will be out this week. I am eagerly awaiting both reports.

  Post: For the Fun of It

  Link to comment from February 21, 2024

• There is nothing to do, David. Munger is gone, already. Buffett announced the succession plan two years ago. Greg Abel, who ran BHE is taking over. He is already doing most of it. Ajit Jain will continue to manage the insurance empire. Tedd Weschler and Todd Combs have been managing investments. In fact, they bought Apple Stock for $34B 5-6 years ago, which is now worth $170B. Berkshire decentralized structure is built for longevity. The wholly owned 60-odd companies will carry on with their own management.

  Post: For the Fun of It

  Link to comment from February 21, 2024

• Good read. I like contrarian views. Since you are looking for value, you might consider looking into Berkshire Hathaway, which has beaten the S&P by a small margin, and with less volatility, over the last 30 years of my investing in it. I have about half of my retirement money in it and the rest in VT. I feel that Berkshire holds the best basket of companies America has to offer and I get the same fair deal as Buffett and others managing it, with minimal frictional costs and tax efficiency.

  Post: For the Fun of It

  Link to comment from February 21, 2024

• Here is another critique of the FIRE movement! https://wggtb.substack.com/p/the-fire-movement?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=677290&post_id=140636392&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=dghx5&utm_medium=email

  Post: My Five Lessons

  Link to comment from January 17, 2024