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Spreading Your Bets

Adam M. Grossman  |  Apr 12, 2025

YOU MAY BE FAMILIAR with Peter Lynch. In the 1970s and ‘80s, he was one of the most visible figures in the investment world. As manager of Fidelity Magellan Fund, he achieved the best track record, by far, among his peers. He shared his wisdom in a series of popular books for individual investors.
Among the ideas for which Lynch is best known is the notion of “diworsification.” As its name suggests, Lynch argued that diversification simply for the sake of diversification isn’t always a good thing.

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No financial wisdom here other than ….

Nick Politakis  |  Apr 11, 2025

From looking at the forum posts, Most HD readers are calm and it seems not worried about the markets.  I really don’t believe that because what has happened in the last week and a half has been unprecedented and there is no end in sight.
Without injecting politics into the discussion how are we HD readers going to handle the next 45 months of this turmoil that is caused by the whims of one man who doesn’t understand economics and no one else in his cabinet no matter how bright and successful somehow agreed to be a yes man.

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How Big is Your Umbrella?

Philip Stein  |  Apr 11, 2025

Many HumbleDollar readers have saved and invested regularly over their working years and were able to retire comfortably. Unfortunately, a lawsuit could threaten that financial security.
One possible scenario: If, heaven forbid, you are involved in a traffic accident resulting in severe bodily injury or loss of life, a legal judgement against you could destroy your nest egg.
The liability coverage on a home or auto policy may not offer enough protection. For this reason,

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Don’t Push It

Jonathan Clements  |  Apr 11, 2025

I’M ALL IN FAVOR of striving. But I’ve also belatedly come to see the appeal of acceptance.
Should we strive for more, or should we accept what we currently have and what’s currently on offer? As I’ve noted in earlier articles, there’s great pleasure in striving. We love the feeling of making progress, even if our achievements don’t make us happy for long. It’s an instinct we no doubt inherited from our hunter-gatherer ancestors.

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What is the risk level of sitting on the sidelines when it comes to bonds?

Andrew Forsythe  |  Apr 10, 2025

I posted this as a follow-up question in another thread, but it more appropriately should be a separate thread, so here goes:
One reason often cited for not trying to time the market when it comes to stocks is that a large chunk of their gains comes during a small number of days. So if you’re on the sidelines then, you really miss out.
Is there a similar phenomenon with bond ETFs and funds? That is,

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Wherever You Live, Your Home is (Probably) Under-Insured

stelea99  |  Apr 10, 2025

A couple of days ago I chanced on this following very detailed and very lengthy article from the SF Chronicle:
https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/underinsured-home-what-to-do-20250824.php
This is behind a paywall, but if you haven’t been to the newspaper website recently you can probably read it. I am going to try to summarize some of the content.
Let me begin by putting a personal spin on this topic. I spent 30 years in the property and casualty insurance world. But, like you I have to insure my own home.

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Buying Treasury Bond ETFs vs. MM Funds in this Moment

Andrew Forsythe  |  Apr 10, 2025

I recently sold some bond ETFs to harvest the capital losses. I want to re-deploy the proceeds into fixed income as my stock allocation is where I want it to be.
I subscribe to Jonathan’s and Adam’s philosophy of taking risk with my stocks, not bonds. I was initially inclined to reinvest in Treasury ETFs, around 75% short term and 25% intermediate term. But with the turmoil reaching even Treasuries over the last couple of days,

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A Diamond Wedding Anniversary

Marjorie Kondrack  |  Apr 9, 2025

I wore a gown of Chantilly lace—the sun caught the sparkles in my bridal headdress. My husband was resplendent in his tuxedo—the sun was shining on a beautiful April morning —Our wedding day, 60 years ago, April, 1965.
While The choice of a spouse is among the most important decisions most people ever make,  it’s a choice that comes with no guarantees of long term happiness.  That said, we all have an ideal vision of the person we would like to marry. 

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The bond market

Nick Politakis  |  Apr 9, 2025

Have HD readers lost their faith in the bond market after the last few days of declines in bonds?

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What exactly has to happen for a stocks value to go up or down?

Mark Bergman  |  Apr 9, 2025

I would appreciate it if one or more of the smart people on this blog can explain the following : what causes individual stocks prices to change – be it higher or lower ? For every seller there has to be a buyer, so what exactly is causing a stock price to move up or down? What determines how much that movement will be ? Is there a mechanism that continuously, and at millisecond or nanosecond intervals,

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The Comeback

Mike Drak  |  Apr 9, 2025

Despite my recent Ozempic nightmare and near suicide (see my article “My Ozempic Nightmare“) I’ve decided to go ahead with my Ironman Ottawa attempt this August at age 70.
I don’t want to live with the regret of not trying although physically I still have a long way to go. I lost a lot of muscle while on the drug and my energy levels are still low but I need to give it a shot as I consider it unfinished business.

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RDQ There is so much to rant about these days. Let’s go for the people who don’t believe facts-perhaps about Social Security

R Quinn  |  Apr 9, 2025

I feel like I am in ranter’s heaven. There is so much to rant about, the choices are confusing. I’ll skip the political scene. 
Still there are dangerous drivers who ignore the rules -and common sense- of the road. There are those who insist on parking next to your car – sometimes making it nearly impossible to open your door- when there are 100 empty spaces a few feet away. Then there are the shopping cart inconsiderates 

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4% every year? even this one?

Catherine  |  Apr 9, 2025

I’m withdrawing a bit from IRAs, ahead of RMDs in a few years, which will decide for me how much I’ll be taking out each year. For those of you who make voluntary withdrawals, do you go with a fixed percentage, like 4% every year, plus an inflation boost, calculated on Jan. 1 and taken at the beginning of the year? Or do you recalculate to reflect market change, and withdraw gradually throughout the year? Or wait till Dec.

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What to do as the Bear Approaches

David Lancaster  |  Apr 8, 2025

I have written in the past about how I approached the COVID market decline. My plan was to increase my equity position gradually as the market declined, first at correction (down 10%), then bear (down 20%), then every 5% decline thereafter. This way I didn’t have to determine when the market reached the bottom, just be methodical in my approach. I then sold shares as the market recovered and made a decent profit from my efforts.

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Should young people buy or rent?

Bonnie Likens  |  Apr 7, 2025

My son is 30 something working in Silicon Valley paying outlandish rents and looking at expensive housing. Is it still a good option to purchase in this market? I was burned on real estate as a young adult and don’t want to advise him If it is not a good idea.

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