retire@40
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2004
- Messages
- 2,670
I held off all year at putting some money in a SEP-IRA. I finally did it today.
The ERF sentiment indicator is bullish: 48% bulls vs 39% bears.
Unless you are a contrarian.
How accurate has the ERF been in predicting market swings?
WOW ... now that is really bending over backwards to see the bright side.If nothing else, the degrading market is doing one thing for me: it's helping me "beat the market" because of my holdings in bonds, cash and gold stocks. Of course, I'm still falling quite a bit, but not as much as Mister Market is overall...
As little as two weeks ago, my portfolio was losing to the S&P 500 by 2.5% (I've beaten it every year since 2001). Now I'm only trailing it by 0.48%.
If this keeps up, my streak may remain intact at the end of the year. Plus, I'm looking to put my mom's IRA back into the market and I'm seeing better and better entry points for DCAing some of it back in. I'm trying to see this half full Even if I did have to push my FIRE clock back one minute.
Well, the thing is, I did very well with my investments for many years -- as I said, my allocation has beaten the S&P every year since 2001 (heck, I was only down 5% in 2002), and my returns mostly kicked butt through most of the 1990s -- so I've started making my allocation slightly more conservative. I'd rather minimize my chance of a crash derailing my plans and goals than try to maximize my portfolio at the cost of a higher chance of meltdown. I'm 42 and I have about 25% in bonds and 8% in cash, which might be a tad on the conservative side for my age...but I also sleep better through periods like this one. I did well enough earlier that I don't need to put my capital at quite as much risk to still meet my long-term goals.WOW ... now that is really bending over backwards to see the bright side.
...best of luck to you ziggy. Sound like you may be a bit on the conservative side on your investments ... it may be time to look at tweaking the AA. ... just my 2 cents ... and worth every penny of it.
Look at Pfizer. Sure they have problems. Lipitor. the pharmaceutical commercial success of the century, faces strong generic competition from Zocor ...
Just curious: does it not cover Lipitor at all, or is it a "step therapy" medication (one which is only covered if a cheaper alternative fails)?Our health plan does not cover Lipitor anymore since Zocor is cheaper. [/COLOR]
Our health plan does not cover Lipitor anymore since Zocor is cheaper.
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An even cheaper alternative than that is diet and exersise. Regular exercise and dietary modification can greatly improve your cholesterol profile and prevent the development of heart disease. We have become a country too dependant on drugs.An even cheaper alternative is the generic form of Mevacor at Walmart for $4/mo. Don't need health insurance for this price. Your doc may say it's not potent enough for your needs however.
Well, yeah, for sure I would think "lifestyle changes" should be the first line of defense to lower cholesterol and blood pressure. But that's not always enough, and THEN it may be appropriate to medicate. I wouldn't necessarily be judgmental about all who are on these meds, though. Some people just have the wrong genes no matter what they do.An even cheaper alternative than that is diet and exersise. Regular exercise and dietary modification can greatly improve your cholesterol profile and prevent the development of heart disease. We have become a country too dependant on drugs.
If people would take responsibily for their own heath instead of relying on modern medicine to fix the problems they bring upon themselves healthcare costs would plummet. Most people could live long and heathy lives without any drugs if they just made some lifestyle changes.
Like I said, most people. There are exceptions of course. Most high cholesterol and high blood pressure are caused by diet, lack of exercise and unhealthy life choices. Just look around you at how fat people are now adays.My wife swims 2 hours a night 4 nights a week. She weighs what she did 30 years ago (not fat at all). We eat a very low fat & low salt diet. And she still has high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
sheesh.
Ok folks, let's give it up for our dear friend, The Reverend Cotton Mather!We are a culture that believes drugs and doctors will cure all that ails us. Health care costs are too high because of our lifestyles. We eat like pigs, don't exercise, smoke and drink to excess,
I guess some people can't handle the truth.Ok folks, let's give it up for our dear friend, The Reverend Cotton Mather!
Ha
1. It's not high TOTAL cholesterol that is bad, but the ratios of good and bad. Given your wife's admirable exercise levels, her good cholesterol levels would be high. This might give a high total, but great ratios. Hopefully your doctor is looking at the details instead of the total.My wife swims 2 hours a night 4 nights a week. She weighs what she did 30 years ago (not fat at all). We eat a very low fat & low salt diet. And she still has high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
sheesh.
I guess some people can't handle the truth.
America, 100 Percent Fat - Page 1 - Obesity in America - MSN Health & Fitness
The number of obese adults has doubled in just 20 years, with 67 percent of the adult population overweight or obese, according to recent figures from the Centers for Disease Control.
And things appear to be getting worse. Back in 1995, when researchers started to notice the changing landscape, one doctor sounded an alarm in The Lancet, a British medical journal. After studying the rise in obesity that had occurred over the 30-year period between 1960 and 1991, Dr. John Foreyt at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston predicted that 100 percent of Americans would be overweight by the year 2230.
Upon seeing more recent data, Foreyt bumped up his projection by almost two centuries: “We’re gaining by 1 percentage point every year. Assuming that trend continues, 100 percent of the population will be overweight or obese by 2040.”