Did she go to the obgyn school of investing?

[NW-Bound]

I think if you read back several of Redduck's posts you would realize he has a nice quirky little sense of humor...

I would like to apologize to Redduck if I missed the joke. As mentioned in the past, I was not born in the US and my culture and language from birth are very different from the Anglo Saxon ones, hence the occasional misunderstanding.

I came to the US as a young adult, and have been here long enough to consider myself a genuine American (most people do not agree with it though, and still call me a Martian).

Still, I share redduck's sense of humor as we have exchanged posts in the past. I doubt that he would also be a Martian. That would be just too much of a coincidence.

 

[pb4uski]

Like in "My Favorite Martian"?

 

[Chuckanut]

Like in "My Favorite Martian"?

Those Martians live a long time. He will be working as a gardener at Star Fleet Academy in the 24th century, if my memory of future events is correct.

 

[redduck]

Psst.....

She could put everything in Wellesley which had a greater than 3% distribution yield and a 2.66% SEC yield and have more than what she needs.

My only question is why do you look at her separately? I suspect there is a good reason.

I would condense accounts so there are less accounts to deal with unless there is some good reason for their being separate.

P.S. I can't see obgyn ever having such a risky portfolio. Dodge & Cox? surely you jest!

OK, the accounts will be condensed and Dodge and Cox will be eliminated. Pssst Wellesley will be bought.

 

[redduck]

Raise your fees...

Thank you for participating.

 

[redduck]

Questions:

Is that pension COLA'd?
How safe is that pension?
Is she happy with ~ $36-37K spending? Would she like to spend more, or any big recurring expenses to consider? If a new car in 10 years might cost $20K, that's $2K/year to set aside, etc...

If the pension is COLA'd, and let's just bump the spend up to $40,000 for round numbers, she only needs ~ $8K after pension/SS. Total accounts ~ $630K, that's just 1.3% WR. Just about any AA can handle that WR. The divs on that VTINX are 1.68%. That alone just about gets her there.

I don't see any reason to make any big changes, that VTINX is ~ 30% Equities, and that's fine for that WR. The $100,000 in MM could be moved to the VTINX or Wellesley, or maybe start moving several of these smaller things to Wellesley. But unless she wants to spend much more, or have a better chance (historically) of leaving a larger pile of $$$ to heirs/charities, no big deal that I can see.

-ERD50

Yes, ERD50, the pension is COLA'd. How safe? It's with State (Calif) Teachers Retirement System. I have no idea how safe it actually is.
She will be moving into Wellesley. And, yes, it's time to get rid of the smaller funds.

The only large expense coming up (that we know of) is a new central air conditioning system and a new furnace (a topic discussed on this board awhile back). The guy Costco sent out gave us and estimate of about $13,000. Hopefully, this gets done much sooner than later.

She's really good about putting away money for a car. That's a never-ending process.

There's no need to leave money to the heirs. One is genuinely rich (that is the absolute correct word) and the other is doing just fine.

Oh, earlier today, I told her a bit of what you had suggested. She was keen on spending $40,000 (a year). So, off to the mall we went and she bought a pair of workout shorts at Nordstroms Rack.

Apparently, you are now her favorite person in the world, bumping me back from 186 to 187.

Thank you.

 

[ERD50]

...

Oh, earlier today, I told her a bit of what you had suggested. She was keen on spending $40,000 (a year). So, off to the mall we went and she bought a pair of workout shorts at Nordstroms Rack.

Apparently, you are now her favorite person in the world, bumping me back from 186 to 187.

Thank you.

Glad to help. Tell I said that she should buy you a nice gift or two, and/or show her appreciation to you in other ways.


-ERD50

 

[redduck]

More cowbell

I've Got A Fever... - YouTube

MichaelB....

I know it's hard to believe, but I have never met Christopher Walken (I guess that's a relief for a lot of you).

 

[redduck]

I think if you read back several of Redduck's posts you would realize he has a nice quirky little sense of humor, Ob (just as we appreciate from reading your posts that you have been a very good sport about your conservative take on your nest egg). I have a feeling Not-Really-Mrs. Redduck isn't really paying him for his financial services . Well, not in cash, anyway.

I get paid in cash.

 

[redduck]

I would like to apologize to Redduck if I missed the joke. As mentioned in the past, I was not born in the US and my culture and language from birth are very different from the Anglo Saxon ones, hence the occasional misunderstanding.

obgyn, we are fine. And, no need to apologize (but, I do accept your apology). Apparently, my culture and language from birth are very different from the Anglo Saxon ones as well.

 

[pb4uski]

.....P.S. I can't see obgyn ever having such a risky portfolio. Dodge & Cox? surely you jest!

OK, the accounts will be condensed and Dodge and Cox will be eliminated. Pssst Wellesley will be bought.

To be clear, I wasn't criticizing holding Dodge & Cox - while I don't hold it from what I know it has a good record and reputation. I was just saying that I can't see obgyn ever owning it.

 

[yakers]

Don't need to do anything. I would simplify by adding the Scottrade IRA to the VG IRA, but that is about managing finances not about risk/return. DW's IRA is mostly VG Wellesley and it has outperformed the part of our portfolio I manage myself without any grief so if absolute simplfying is the goal you could consider one fund. But what you have works and there is no NEED to change anything.

 

[MichaelB]

MichaelB....

I know it's hard to believe, but I have never met Christopher Walken (I guess that's a relief for a lot of you).

His loss is our gain. Your GF's portfolio still needs more cowbell, though.

 

[Major Tom]

All I said is that at the moment, my FIRE spreadsheet assumes about 3 or 3.5% SWR, and this number is likely to continue to change in the future. Additionally, it is correct to say that I could live on less than 3-3.5% SWR. Yes, i am financially independent. I no longer think it is a good idea to share absolute expense, nest egg and budget numbers - since some people around here got quite upset recently about this - so I will let you play around with your calculators (if you feel like it ) and guess my likely minimal, optimal and maximal expenses and their associated SWR levels.

I also found out that buying deferred annuities while still in my 40s and buying SPIAs in my 70s is better than sticking to CDs and munis mainly. These findings may also change in the future, as rates and remaining life expectancy change. This works for me and of course does not mean will work for everyone else.

I think I've finally got it. A 3 - 3.5% WR from a portfolio made up nearly entirely of fixed income investments will last for 30 or so years, but with no (or minimal) increases in withdrawal to allow for inflation. I think you may have even said in the past that you're willing to accept a loss in the real value of your money in exchange for the feeling of security. You have also mentioned that your nest egg is substantial so given your frugal nature, I can understand how you would be able to live on less as inflation takes it's slow toll, or perhaps work a little etc. Your signature says that you have a pension, so perhaps the pension can take up some of the slack.

As long as it works for you, that's fine.

Apologies for questioning it (and I know that others have, but I'm a little slow), but when you mention a 3 - 3.5% WR on a portfolio consisting of nearly all fixed income investments, it appears to contradict the commonly-held train of thought on this board.

 

[obgyn65]

No apologies needed. Always happy to discuss FIRE plans and compare different approaches to make sure all of us can make better, more informed decisions.

As long as it works for you, that's fine.

Apologies for questioning it (and I know that others have, but I'm a little slow), but when you mention a 3 - 3.5% WR on a portfolio consisting of nearly all fixed income investments, it appears to contradict the commonly-held train of thought on this board.

 

[steelyman]

Doesn't one normally wait to be thanked before saying "you're welcome"?

 

[obgyn65]

This assumption is correct. I like cheap Subaru cars. Not flashy, and these cars are quite reliable in winter.

To be clear, I wasn't criticizing holding Dodge & Cox - while I don't hold it from what I know it has a good record and reputation. I was just saying that I can't see obgyn ever owning it.

 

[Meadbh]

This assumption is correct. I like cheap Subaru cars. Not flashy, and these cars are quite reliable in winter.

I think Dodge & Cox is an investment fund outfit, not a brand of vehicle LOL!

 

[steelyman]

I think Dodge & Cox is an investment fund outfit, not a brand of vehicle LOL!

Just another one of those "what the h*ll is he talking about?" Kodak moments.

 

[ERD50]

I think Dodge & Cox is an investment fund outfit, not a brand of vehicle LOL!

Well, there is this (Dodge Viper):

and this (Cox gas model car):

Neither one is likely to be reliable in winter.

-ERD50

 

[pb4uski]

I'll take the Viper.

 

[obgyn65]

I was reading this thread quickly over lunch break, saw the word "Dodge" and assumed the poster was talking about cars. I have been living here int US for about 10 years only, and still need to get used to many brand names .

I think Dodge & Cox is an investment fund outfit, not a brand of vehicle LOL!

 

[NW-Bound]

Speaking of Dodge & Cox, I assume people here, being a bunch of conservative investors, were talking about Dodge & Cox Balanced because its investment style is similar to Wellesley which is a favorite for people on this forum.

I have owned DODBX for quite a while. A few years ago, after being sold by the not so subliminal messages from unclemick, I added Wellesley to my stash. I looked at them every so often to see how they raced against each other.

In the crash of 2008-2009, DODBX came down harder than Wellesley. But ever since, it has rebounded and regained the lead. Particularly, for the past 12 months, DODBX went up 28%, about 3x that of Wellesley. The higher content of equities of 70% vs. 40% explains some of that. But moreover, the 28% gain is higher than that of the S&P500, and of course also higher than that of Wellington at 60% equities.

I usually do not look inside the holding of my MFs, but just did out of curiosity. I found out that the highest position of DODBX at 3% of assets is a short of 10-yr Treasury notes.

Whoa! These guys are gutsy. I love it. While people fret about rising interest rates but do nothing, these guys are acting on their belief. Will see how this is going to play out, for them and for me too.

By the way, I have downsized my MFs to only a few that I will keep long-term and will not trade frequently. I have kept some MFs for decades, too long in fact, and have just eliminated some. Even with my stocks that I pay much more attention to, my turnover is very low. Too low for my own good in fact.


PS. Just read the OP again, and it was Dodge & Cox Income (DODIX) that was held. Well, that's not the same thing I talked about above. Sorry.

DODIX is all fixed income, which in this environment, I would have sold and moved to Wellesley, Wellington, or the "gutsier" DODBX, depending on a person's tolerance for volatility. At least Wellesley, but no, not DODIX.

 

[NW-Bound]

PPS. For people who came to this forum only recently, I apologized if my jesting posts in the past caused some confusion. I thought it would be obvious when I was just bantering around, and people would not take it seriously. However, there are times when I am serious, and the above post was one of them, when I really meant what I said.

Of course, my investment ideas are not guaranteed to make money, and only reflect my current belief.

 

[Chuckanut]

Owned the Dodge and Cox stock fund for years. IIRC it had lower turnover of its holdings than most other managed funds. And, yes, I also hold the Pssssssst Wellesley fund.