Cotton
I've read in several posts that some folks keep 3-5 years worth of budget in laddered CD's or money markets and replenish when the market is good.
1. Do you count that money in your overall portfolio balance?
2. Would a post tax bond fund serve the same purpose (like Fidelity's FTBFX total bond fund) realizing it would have a little more volatility?
3. What are other methods for having money in place for budget?
Thanks,
1. No
2. I don't know the answer to that. But folks will soon be along to advise us.
3. For cash - we keep less than $100K in the coffee can in the gun safe with a hot G-26 right beside it. Over the last 40+ year, we have been thru many hurricanes, tornadoes, frozen ice storms and being over in Africa the last ~20 year - Cash is King. Especially when things go apocalyptic....kidnapping is rampant here, death is everyday, want to get thru customs down in the Delta of Rivers State Nigeria.... get to the compound in Port Harcourt....Cash is King....
So to all those that think keeping "large" sums of cash on hand is foolish.... to each is own hombre. Life has some hard lessons in certain conditions.
I remember my grand parents on the farm in Elkhart, Texas, plowing the fields with mules, straightening bent nails to reuse, no Air Conditioning, drinking well water and out of the creek...
They were farmers both born in the late 1800's....lived off the land and what they grew and raised.
Poor man has poor ways....
My grandfather would keep money in a old Prince Albert tobacco tin. He could roll his own as good as store bought.... seems just a blink of the eye ago...
YMMV
Life's A Dance And You Learn As You Go...
PS - God Willing come New Years - ms gamboolgal I will be retired to Texas.
And I hope to never get another GD stamp in our passports ever again.
And yes, the cash will still be in the cigar box in the Gun Safe....
And I hope to be chasing ms gamboolgal around the old 4 poster buck neckid fulltime....
gamboolman....