Sometimes the value of planning isn’t the resulting plan, but the actual planning activity itself. So lay it all out as best you can, even write it up if you need to, and then be prepared to crumple it up and toss it in the bin, secure in the knowledge that you’ve thought through as much as possible all of the if/then’s and contingencies that you can reasonably anticipate based on where you are now. That’s the good work. Of course it will change - no one can predict the future.
Fantastic article - thanks for sharing. I’ve been a DIYer, too, for the last few years. Finally ‘cut the cord’ with my robo-advisor who was charging us around $6k/year to manage a chunk of our portfolio. The value add was putting us in some more complex equity and bond sleeves than I would’ve come up with on my own that did seem to generate some alpha. The downside to me was that not a lot seemed to be happening with it for long stretches of time, and I started questioning whether the juice was worth the squeeze, so I finally quit using them about a year ago. The standout part of his experiment for me was item 6, Recommended Actions, that Claude gave him, about rebalancing to his target AA and which specific positions to buy or sell. This is the last piece of the puzzle for me in terms of managing our decumulation plan. I know in broad brush strokes how much I want to liquidate, but from which positions (given the complexity of our portfolios) has never been clear to me. Great stuff. Thanks.
Now what was that other article, something about doing nothing? Seems to me stock tokens might be appealing to the day-trading set, but for those of us who are adhering to a more boring regimen of buying index funds and tuning out the thrum of the news cycle they have not a lot to offer. My other observation is related to the techies who are behind these. “Techies are gonna tech.” They’re enamored of new software and technology tricks, and love finding ingenious ways of putting them to work - sometimes regardless of the actual value their innovations create by way of improved quality or productivity. Witness earlier years of the web when Java Script and Flash were just coming into play. There was an old joke around Silicon Valley about web developers penchant for playing with new toys: “OK, yeah sure, the UI sucks, but look at that Flash.” In other words, admitting that all their coding work didn’t really do anything to improve the user experience, but the page sure did look cool. So now we have stock tokens.
“No matter how hard I work, I will never be able to afford a home I really love.” Just wait’ll they find out they’re not all going to get a trophy for doing a half-a**ed job at work… Mass affluence and constant affirmations have led to high expectations, and I see many young people expecting to start out their adult lives living at the same level they left behind when they moved out of their parents’ quarters. It’s a rude awakening to find out that for many, if not most, real life don’t always turn out that way.
Comments
Sometimes the value of planning isn’t the resulting plan, but the actual planning activity itself. So lay it all out as best you can, even write it up if you need to, and then be prepared to crumple it up and toss it in the bin, secure in the knowledge that you’ve thought through as much as possible all of the if/then’s and contingencies that you can reasonably anticipate based on where you are now. That’s the good work. Of course it will change - no one can predict the future.
Post: A Bit More Humble
Link to comment from April 18, 2026
Fantastic article - thanks for sharing. I’ve been a DIYer, too, for the last few years. Finally ‘cut the cord’ with my robo-advisor who was charging us around $6k/year to manage a chunk of our portfolio. The value add was putting us in some more complex equity and bond sleeves than I would’ve come up with on my own that did seem to generate some alpha. The downside to me was that not a lot seemed to be happening with it for long stretches of time, and I started questioning whether the juice was worth the squeeze, so I finally quit using them about a year ago. The standout part of his experiment for me was item 6, Recommended Actions, that Claude gave him, about rebalancing to his target AA and which specific positions to buy or sell. This is the last piece of the puzzle for me in terms of managing our decumulation plan. I know in broad brush strokes how much I want to liquidate, but from which positions (given the complexity of our portfolios) has never been clear to me. Great stuff. Thanks.
Post: One Good Call?
Link to comment from April 18, 2026
Now what was that other article, something about doing nothing? Seems to me stock tokens might be appealing to the day-trading set, but for those of us who are adhering to a more boring regimen of buying index funds and tuning out the thrum of the news cycle they have not a lot to offer. My other observation is related to the techies who are behind these. “Techies are gonna tech.” They’re enamored of new software and technology tricks, and love finding ingenious ways of putting them to work - sometimes regardless of the actual value their innovations create by way of improved quality or productivity. Witness earlier years of the web when Java Script and Flash were just coming into play. There was an old joke around Silicon Valley about web developers penchant for playing with new toys: “OK, yeah sure, the UI sucks, but look at that Flash.” In other words, admitting that all their coding work didn’t really do anything to improve the user experience, but the page sure did look cool. So now we have stock tokens.
Post: Stock Tokens
Link to comment from April 11, 2026
Anyone who is reading this (i.e., HD readers) is likely not concerned, and likely waiting for the real drop so they can add to their equity positions.
Post: Any concern?
Link to comment from April 4, 2026
“No matter how hard I work, I will never be able to afford a home I really love.” Just wait’ll they find out they’re not all going to get a trophy for doing a half-a**ed job at work… Mass affluence and constant affirmations have led to high expectations, and I see many young people expecting to start out their adult lives living at the same level they left behind when they moved out of their parents’ quarters. It’s a rude awakening to find out that for many, if not most, real life don’t always turn out that way.
Post: Giving Up on Owning a Home
Link to comment from April 4, 2026