Norman Retzke

Comments

• I agree. My spouse's portfolio has Vanguard Target Date funds since 2004. These include total US market, international stocks, US bonds, Ex-US bonds and TIPS fund. It has done well.

  Post: If I Didn’t Index by Jonathan Clements

  Link to comment from June 15, 2025

• My spouse's 403b was professionally managed. While the employer made no contribution, G was required to pick from a list of firms. For a few years Vanguard was included but then the finance manager for the employer struck them from the list. So, she had two 403b's at that point. G picked a fund manager who provided a list of actively managed funds. I assisted her. Her Vanguard portfolio had Target Date Funds. The fees were a drag on the second actively managed portfolio. I produced charts comparing the performance of the two 403b's; the Target Date Funds did better. I told G to reconcile this with the quality of advice she was given. After retirement she rolled that 403b into a self-directed IRA.

  Post: If I Didn’t Index by Jonathan Clements

  Link to comment from June 15, 2025

• When the drunks are the one's bidding up the price of the stock, that is when it gets really interesting. That's a problem. While investors may not be drunks, they do get overcome by giddiness from time to time and then we find ourselves to be ahead of our skis, or out on the skinny branches.

  Post: Good in Theory

  Link to comment from June 15, 2025

• Nothing is certain except death and taxes. As for those we may not know precisely when, nor the amount of said taxes. "it is all a crap-shoot".

  Post: Good in Theory

  Link to comment from June 15, 2025

• Interesting article. It addresses something I've wondered about "The goal of this paper is to move beyond the assumption made by Finke and Pfau (2015) and estimate the actual optimal asset allocation to stocks and bonds following the purchase of an annuity."

  Post: Let’s Stir Up the Bee’s Nest Again- Another Way of Calculating Net Worth

  Link to comment from June 15, 2025

• Final planning for our next RV trek in the Roadtrek 210P. I have prepped the RV. This trek will be for at least 2 months and will begin June 23. We’ll leave Arizona and visit friends in Georgia, Tennessee, and then on to the east coast of Lake Michigan where we’ll stay at our lily pad. Then side trips to the Upper Peninsula (UP) of MI and Chicago Suburbs with friends. About 2 months duration. The campground reservations are in place. We have not yet planned the specifics of the return. (Trekking is always a work in progress). This trek will be at least 6,000 miles. My most recent CT scan and MRI was a week ago, I downloaded the reports from the portal of the cancer center and I’ve read them. I have a meeting with my Oncologist on Tuesday and my Radiologist on Wednesday. I had a nephrostomy exchange a month ago and am good for another 3-4 months, with care. I’m packing the necessary medical supplies. My opinion on reading the medical reports is “go for liftoff”.

  Post: Trips in your “go go” years?

  Link to comment from June 14, 2025

• Thumbs up for Firecalc!

  Post: Let’s Stir Up the Bee’s Nest Again- Another Way of Calculating Net Worth

  Link to comment from June 14, 2025

• In the "unknowns" I could include care for elder parents. I have accepted that there will always be unknowns. I think the best way to deal with this is to build-in some financial flexibility. I always assume there will be one or more retirement (stock and bond) hits of 20%, medical costs will go up, social security benefits may be reduced, and inflation may not always be benign and below 4%.

  Post: Let’s Stir Up the Bee’s Nest Again- Another Way of Calculating Net Worth

  Link to comment from June 14, 2025

• Which is precisely why I use Quicken and the Lifetime Planner it includes. There are other ways to do this, of course. For me, Net Worth is but one metric. It should be apparent that a $1 million net worth added with a $50,000 annual income stream via SS or a pension, but with annual expenses of $125,000 is a formula for shortfall. I find Net Worth useful for monitoring my overall financial health because it looks beyond the retirement accounts and includes other assets including savings and a home. When retirement accounts run out, such other assets can be sold to extend one's retirement, or provide the down payment for assisted living.

  Post: Let’s Stir Up the Bee’s Nest Again- Another Way of Calculating Net Worth

  Link to comment from June 14, 2025

• “some [models] are useful.” Yes indeed, which is why I use Monte Carlo simulations, etc. Modern Portfolio Theory suggest “stock prices are always rational because they reflect all available information. “ But we need to reconcile this with “Markets may be rational over the long term but are often irrational in the short term.” This in a nutshell is why, to me, investing for the short term can be so difficult. Ditto for determining reasonable prices, although pricing individual stocks may be easier. When purchasing individual stocks one decides on the merit of each company. No such metric occurs for an index.

  Post: Good in Theory

  Link to comment from June 14, 2025