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We'll you're not disagreeing with Berger's contention that it will hurt the elderly and other phone users - in it will. And many of those folks have been loyal Vanguard customers for decades. And yeah, Vanguard has the dubious distinction of being an online-only firm with the worst customer...

Well as Rob Berger points out the $25 broker assisted trade fee just punishes those who can least afford it and the $100 account transfer/closure fee is pretty offensive too given that Vanguard in recent years has done everything it could to motivate its customers to transfer their Vanguard...

Tyler answers the "why no data before 1970) in the FAQ on withdrawal rates on his site: Why does your data only start in 1970? Isn’t that cherry picking? Like other retirement studies, the timeframe covered is simply a matter of data availability. The Trinity and Bengen studies used data...

As others have pointed out bailing on Wellesley based on recent returns (and in particular on the simultaneous tanking of equities and intermediate-term and longer bonds in 2022) is probably ill-advised. If nothing else, it's a reminder to understand the duration of one's investments. Wellesley...

Well Vanguard certainly touts their unique ownership structure (and uses it as an excuse for their lousy customer service and laughably bad website), but they are anything but transparent with their fund shareholders-cum-"owners" about pretty obvious stuff like executive compensation, voting on...

As the OP here I kind of feel obliged to share this contrarian post about the strategy Reckenthaler (and Allan Roth, who seems to be the main well-known FA advocating and publicizing this approach) are recommending...

Not hard at all to deal with the three missing years: http://https://www.tipsladder.com

Good article in Morningstar on using a TIPS ladder at today's rates plus a slug of equities to guarantee a SWR that (according to Reckenthaler) a conventional stock:bond portfolio is unlikely to match. https://www.morningstar.com/bonds/high-tips-yields-are-retirees-best-friend

There are lots of country specific sites and non-internet options that are often far cheaper if you're open minded and flexible. In France for example Clévacances and Gîtes de France are excellent, and every local tourist office has listings of local places to stay. We find it's usually better...

Thought this might be of interest to some here. Well-known financial advisor Allan Roth along with David Enna at TipsWatch and a few others have been calling for firms to come up with TIPS ETFs that essentially allow investors to build a TIPS ladder without the big bid:ask spreads, trade...

This is something we looked into fairly extensively during our five years as expats in Mexico, and it's definitely what we'd choose if either/both of us needs such care down the road. We keep in touch with friends there who've either transitioned to such facilities themselves or put their...

Wow! Thank you all so much for these wonderful, helpful responses!

DW and I are flying into Nice in early September and spending 3 weeks. It's been 5 years since we were in France and we had an aging relative in tow last time and so were pretty restricted in our travel options. We know the area around Mt. Ventoux and the wine villages of the Southern Rhône...

I agree. We live in a 55+ community here and have gotten referrals from others in the community who've been going to Nogales for years. There seems to always be a pretty active grapevine in any community within driving distance to a Mexican border. A lot of the implant dentists in Nogales have...

I guess I'll end up representing the extreme end of the scale here but after many years of global travel both for work and recreation I've gradually gone from carry-on only most of the time to ultra-minimalist and have never been happier. DW has joined me of late, though with a bit of carping...

I'm on the last (and most expensive) leg of the three-part implant experience myself, having had a key chewing molar (that had already been through a root canal and an apioectomy and infection - very painful) pulled last February. I've got the post in and am due to have the crown/fake tooth made...

We lived in México for 5 years and drove down to Lake Chapala twice from Colorado and of course drove all over the country during our expat years there. Over the years the biggest change, safety-wise, has been that the areas near many of the most popular border crossings have become the diciest...

Carson is always worth reading but I especially appreciate his clarity and historical perspective about this topic. https://awealthofcommonsense.com/2023/02/should-you-protect-your-portfolio-against-a-possible-u-s-debt-default/

We moved to Tucson about 4 years ago and appreciate the city more and more as we continue to explore. We're dedicated "foodies" as well as avid hikers so my comments reflect those priorities. The desert here is uniquely lush and beautiful. The less crowded trails are on the West side of town...

Check prices on insuremytrip.com and World Nomads as well. We bought bare-bones medical coverage (mostly for COVID) from insure my trip recently and have used World Nomads many times.

We live in a 55+ mobile home community in Tucson and there are lots of Canadians who own homes in parks like ours here. Tucson Racquet Club has a very good reputation and there are plenty of other tennis options. The setup at most mobile home parks is you buy the home - prices range from...

Thank you for this correction! It turns out that Arizona is one of four states that are issue-age only. My agent at Boomers didn't know this and when I called Mutual of Omaha they told me my policy was attained age - until I called them back a second time! Here's an article that explains which...

I've only been on Medicare for a year but despite doing a lot of research before choosing my supplement feel like I'm still just beginning to learn about the complexities involved in dealing with Medigap plans. Case in point: I used BoomerBenetfits (.com) to help with finding a policy after...

Los Alamos seems to be at the top of NM places to live rankings quite consistently. And I recently stumbled upon a couple who are world-class mountain bike racers from Colorado who relocated there after scouting out pretty much every other option in CO and NM. It sure seems to me like Los...

We lived in Boulder for the better part of 20 years, Cañon City for a couple of years, Silver City NM for a couple of years and have traveled extensively all over both states. I agree that the entire Colorado Front Range is just nuts now. We still have friends there and my sister lives in...