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Hi all, I recently bought Rosetta Stone for Spanish (Latin American) and loaded it on my old desk top Dell Dimension 4600. This computer has a Pentium 4 at about 2.5 Mhz, 60 gb of hard drive and only 512 mb of RAM. The installation was very slow going but it was finally successful...

PIMCO just announced 2 new funds based on laddered TIPS. These are managed payout funds that are designed to return your principal plus interest on a monthlly basis over 10 years or 20 years if memory serves. These might be a good choice for an early retiree needing to bridge the gap before SS...

I was lucky enough to get out of the REIT Index before it cratered but have been keeping a watchful eye. Anybody notice that the index was up almost 17% yesterday? Does anbody care? Cheers, charlie

Hi All, Currently my after tax money is invested in Wellington, FTSE all world ex US and Tax Managed Small Cap, all at Vanguard. The bulk of this money was invested in mid September of this year. I am thinking about switching to the 5% Managed Payout Fund at Vanguard. The stock/bond ratio...

Hi to all, I recently sold my modest position in KRE (Regional Banking Index) and bought National City Corp preferred series F. This stock pays 9.875% fixed rate until 2/1/2013 when it switches to 3 month LIBOR plus 6.33%. The stock has no maturity date and first call is 2/1/2013 at $25. It...

Hi all, In my former life on this forum I was known as "Charlie" and before that "Chuck-Lyn". I am returning from limbo to pass on an important piece of information just acquired. Namely, In Community Property States like Texas, California and 7 others, the tax basis of community property...

Hi all, Long time, no see, etc. I hope you are well .... I am fine. Does anybody know if inherited EE savings bonds have a stepped up tax basis like stocks, property etc? I can't get a clear answer from the US gov "publicdebt" site. Thanks and cheers, Charlie

Sometimes it takes a 2x4 upside the head for the obvious to sink in. The other day while studying the tax effects of converting a Traditional IRA to a ROTH, it dawned on me that the advise of using after-tax money to pay the tax due on the ROTH conversion ALSO APPLIES TO PAYING THE TAX ON...

Hi all, I finally got tired of paying $50-$80 per month to SBC and started the process of trying VOIP with SunRocket. It takes several weeks to port our old number so I will let you know how it worked out later. Your old number continues to work until they actually complete the transfer at...

I think this topic is worth spending some time on. If you are in the accumulation phase and not drawing SS income, the Vanguard calculator looks as if it might be OK (first blush examination). However, if you are drawing SS income and are already into RMD, none of the free calculators on the...

It was fun at first getting to know you all. Mostly things were civil and I learned a lot ...... that is until the election. I like and respect many of you, but the number has dwindled to the point that it is no fun any more trying to find the few nuggets that occasionally come up. The old...

Well, I bought an new toy this morning ..... a baritone uke. Don't know the first thing about playing......  but working on "my dog has fleas" at the present.  I'll let you know when I start "tip toeing through the tulips". Cheers, Charlie

If I bought I-bonds in my name and later used the proceeds for a grandchild's education would the income be tax exempt? I know you can't put the bonds in the child's name. The gov web site says the parents of the child can get the tax exemption if the bonds are in the name of the parents ...

I would like to have your comments on the following portfolio allocations for a couple in RMD. It is assumed that that the taxable and sheltered accounts are equal and all are with Vanguard. Also assume that income is needed from both accounts. Taxable Accounts: 25% Tax Managed Growth &...

If you are interested in adding REITS to your port, the following link may be useful: http://www.irei.com/web/do/pub/publication/essentialreit# Cheers, Charlie

I would like to hear some discussion on PEY (PowerShares High Yield Dividend Achievers Fund) vs. DVY (iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend) vs Vanguard's Windsor II in a taxable account. I am considering switching from Wellesley Income to one of the above funds plus a 5 year CD ladder with PenFed...

Does anyone have an opinion on how Vanguard's GNMA fund might be affected in the event of a blowout of the RE bubble? Thanks, Charlie

I was truly humbled and awed today at the tribute my church paid to one of our special DS children, a man-child named Phillip William Ellis who was just 9 days shy of his 25th birthday when he passed on the eve of Palm Sunday. There were about 400 persons at his service, including a 20 man...

I love the Wellesley Income Fund and have all my taxable invested there plus about 1/2 of my Mom's. Does anybody but me worry that the equity part (about 38%) is too concentrated in only 55 stocks? Cheers, Charlie

I am currently reading Scott Burn's book. It is very sobering and insightful. Here is a link to several of his recent columns on this subject: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/scottburns/readers/stories/SBacctgenreader.81d06443.html Cheers, Charlie

Be still my beating heart!! I swore off individual stocks a long time ago but golly gee this bait looks tempting. P/E around 12 and yield pushing 5%. I hear Merk's pipe line is suspect but they spend a bunch on R&D..... even blind hogs and all that. Lawsuits are looming also. Is this...

Scott Burns mentioned the other day that the American Century International Bond Fund has a pretty good track record and is unhedged against the US dollar. He suggests that it might be a way to hedge against continuing fall of the dollar and rising inflation. It is a high quality...

Short Termt Junk Bonds I found a GMAC (S&P BBB-) note on the secondary market maturing in one year. The YTM is about 4.3% at the offer price. 1 year CDs are paying about 3% max currently. S&P BBB- is on the edge of being junk, but does anybody think there is a minuscule chance of GM going...

Re: Personal Pension Annuity GDER, Here is a good link for immediate annuities that I stole from another thread: http://www.immediateannuities.com/ I sort of like your idea and have been thinking about converting my wife's IRA to an immediate annuity when she reaches 70 in 7 years...

Many of the contributors on this forum are convinced that index investing is superior over the long term. I am a recent convert myself, having been brain washed by Bogle and Bernstein. Recently I ran across the "coffeehouse" asset allocation which uses 40% bonds and 10% each in Large Market...