For the first time ever I sold all my stocks

[pb4uski]

I was curious how much space $1 million would take up.

$1 million would be 12"x13"x5" and weigh about 17 pounds:

How much does a 12"x13"x5" safety deposit box cost?

I'm guessing a lot less than negative interest.

 

[PatrickA5]

See https://investor.vanguard.com/mutual-funds/profile/overview/vsgdx

SEC yield is 1.70% and distribution yield is 2.03%. Duration is 2 years, so there is more interest rate sensitivity than a money market fund but not much interest rate sensitivity.

How low do you think that SEC yield will go? Like Harlee, trying to decide if it's worth the risk using something like this to replace the .38% MM fund.

 

[brewer12345]

I was curious how much space $1 million would take up.

$1 million would be 12"x13"x5" and weigh about 17 pounds:

How much does a 12"x13"x5" safety deposit box cost?

I'm guessing a lot less than negative interest.

A million in gold would probably be even smaller.

 

[pb4uski]

How low do you think that SEC yield will go? Like Harlee, trying to decide if it's worth the risk using something like this to replace the .38% MM fund.

No idea but it wouldn't surprise me if it drifted down over time... I'm in VSGDX now and will monitor and move it if it drifts down and something else becomes more attractive.

 

[aja8888]

I was curious how much space $1 million would take up.

$1 million would be 12"x13"x5" and weigh about 17 pounds:

How much does a 12"x13"x5" safety deposit box cost?

I'm guessing a lot less than negative interest.

First of all, putting $1.0 Mil in cash in a safe deposit box is nuts. The bank own the box,you just use it. I don't trust banks!

Let's say you had 100K in the bank and wanted it in cash. Does anyone here think that just waking into your bank to draw out that much cash (say $100K in hundreds) can be done without some questions by the bank?

 

[harllee]

I was curious how much space $1 million would take up.

$1 million would be 12"x13"x5" and weigh about 17 pounds:

How much does a 12"x13"x5" safety deposit box cost?

I'm guessing a lot less than negative interest.

Any way to make cash in a safety deposit box or under the mattress qualify for an IRA? Just wondering..

 

[OldShooter]

What will be interesting to see if rates go negative is whether that will extend to FDIC insured checking and savings accounts. I'm skeptical that retail customers will be subject to negative interest rates ...

That would be an interesting spectator sport, for sure. I don't know how the gummint could make this kind of exception, though. Restrict it to individuals, the S Corps and LLC would cry. Permit S-Corps and LLCs and the nonprofits would cry. It seems that money would flow out of MM and short-term funds, much of it probably willing to ignore the FDIC insurance limits as the MMs weren't insured anyway. And small corporations would be attracted to these artificial rates as well. It would be only the big corporations (including nonprofits) who would find it to be unwieldy at best to play.

 

[pb4uski]

A million in gold would probably be even smaller.

I found this:

A standard gold bar measures 7 x 3 5/8 x 1 3/4 inches, according to the United States Mint. It weights about 400 ounces, or 25 pounds.

At $1,708 an ounce each gold bar would be worth $683,200. So yes, much less space but much heavier.

 

[audreyh1]

I was curious how much space $1 million would take up.

$1 million would be 12"x13"x5" and weigh about 17 pounds:

How much does a 12"x13"x5" safety deposit box cost?

I'm guessing a lot less than negative interest.

That reads just like a NW-Bound post including the image. Where is he?

 

[pb4uski]

That would be an interesting spectator sport, for sure. I don't know how the gummint could make this kind of exception, though. Restrict it to individuals, the S Corps and LLC would cry. Permit S-Corps and LLCs and the nonprofits would cry. It seems that money would flow out of MM and short-term funds, much of it probably willing to ignore the FDIC insurance limits as the MMs weren't insured anyway. And small corporations would be attracted to these artificial rates as well. It would be only the big corporations (including nonprofits) who would find it to be unwieldy at best to play.

But S Corps, LLCs, non-profits and small corps don't vote. Individuals do vote... early and often. I agree with you, it would get interesting.

 

[aja8888]

That reads just like a NW-Bound post including the image. Where is he?

He still has not responded to my recent PM.. Maybe he is out with the RV on a trip?

 

[braumeister]

Around five pounds of platinum would easily be worth over a million bucks. Start ripping open those catalytic converters!

 

[pb4uski]

He still has not responded to my recent PM.. Maybe he is out with the RV on a trip?

Can one of the mods send him an email checking in on him? I know I check my email much more often than I check my PMs.

 

[Dtail]

First of all, putting $1.0 Mil in cash in a safe deposit box is nuts. The bank own the box,you just use it. I don't trust banks!

Let's say you had 100K in the bank and wanted it in cash. Does anyone here think that just waking into your bank to draw out that much cash (say $100K in hundreds) can be done without some questions by the bank?

Well it could be done if one has a safe deposit box.
All kidding aside, I believe BOA preferred customers might get one for free.

 

[Earlygirl]

Interesting thread. I admit I haven't read all the replies. We balanced our portfolio to about 60/40 stocks vs bonds/cash at the end of 2016. I had been planning to invest more back into stocks when they took a dive. However, on March 23rd, I just couldn't do it! And it happened so fast! I've been having a bit of inner turmoil about it since that date. Then I remembered financial planners recommend an allocation of 110-120 minus your age for your stock percentage. It used to be 100 minus your age, but with rising life expectancies they suggest 110-120 minus your age. Anywho, I did a calculation yesterday, and we are sitting at 55% stocks to bonds/cash which equals 120 minus our age. I have decided that following a set allocation like this and rebalancing from time to time is probably the least anxiety-inducing for me.

 

[RobbieB]

Around five pounds of platinum would easily be worth over a million bucks. Start ripping open those catalytic converters!

Platinum is only $800/oz, you would need over 38 kilograms.

 

[RobLJ]

To the above postings (pf4usky?), I have no clue what to do if/when rates turn negative, although if the 2nd wave happens and is serious, I suspect that is where the Fed will go.
I've tried to analyze this since the GR and Europe went negative, and I still can't really map out a coherent strategy. Small mind, I guess. I suppose long bonds might be "valuable", perhaps better than gold--but I still can't really grok it.

 

[aja8888]

I can't come to grips with a bank sending me a bill for them to hold my savings when rates go negative.

 

[braumeister]

Platinum is only $800/oz, you would need over 38 kilograms.

You're right!

For some reason I was thinking they priced it in grams.

 

[braumeister]

I can't come to grips with a bank sending me a bill for them to hold my savings when rates go negative.

I had a friend back in the 70s who was very proud of his numbered Swiss bank account. I think you might have considered him an early version of today's preppers, and he loved the idea of that secret, anonymous account just like the multi-millionaires had.

The downside was that they charged him a negative interest rate, which IIRC was something in the 1-3% range. That didn't bother him at all; he felt it was worth it.

 

[Sunset]

....
At $1,708 an ounce each gold bar would be worth $683,200. So yes, much less space but much heavier.

Yes, and they are easier to carry upside down as they are tapered a little. It's visually surprising to pick one up as the mind does not expect it to be so heavy.

 

[tenant13]

I can't come to grips with a bank sending me a bill for them to hold my savings when rates go negative.

But you might like being paid for taking out a loan: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2...-worlds-first-negative-interest-rate-mortgage

As to OP's move; I don't quite understand why literally everything would have to be taken out of the market...I certainly have my own share of anxieties and don't enjoy looking at the numbers going down but when I retired I knew what my budget was and I knew what I would need moving forward. I gave myself a buffer and once that was set I decided that I basically didn't care about the remaining part of my portfolio. It became my "play" money. It's not unlike setting limit on a stock that you plan to sell.

I don't care one bit if I lose every penny of that play portion - I simply don't need it. I use it to sell options mainly. With the market being as volatile as it is I sometimes let them expire even if they are in the money and the following week I repeat the same exact trade except in reverse. It's entertaining and I learned that I can have income betting on market moves rather than its performance.

So even if I had blinked and sold the portion of my portfolio that I wanted to stay "safe" it would not have been everything. I would have my option portfolio still invested in the market.

 

[AbbA]

A lack of a long term plan leads to emotional decisions like these.

You now have to make at least one more correct decision or stay in cash the rest of your life.

I see more and more evidence on this board of people who do not have a strategy first investment plan.

Based on prior year posts made it seem like almost everyone on here had one.

Maybe this year is the great shakeout.

Reminds me of the Mike Tyson quote. Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.

+1. I tend to agree with this opinion after reading quite a few posts on different threads and notice how the tune of investment management drastically changed on this forum since this February.
Some people feel offended. Other people call the above comment judgmental or arrogant. And I think they feel it that way because they try to justify their own emotions or decisions they made recently.
Imagine if we didn't have the current problem going on. Would anyone say that it's time to sell all equities and go to cash or bonds? Barely anyone thought that they had 'won the game' before the pandemic and the collapse of economy began.

It merely shows that investing is definitely ruled by emotions and that's been proven by all those behavioral experts out there and there is nothing to be upset or offended about. We cannot help it how we're wired in our brains.

I read not long ago that real and painful events help to assess one's risk tolerance, not those silly questionnaires asking "how would you feel if equities fell 50-60%?" because it doesn't feel that painful when the stock market and economy are chugging along just fine. It's totally different when you need money to live on, and the piggy bank is slimming rapidly.

If COcheesehead had reworded his post a bit differently and said that the current situation is testing everyone's risk tolerance, people wouldn't have thought that s/he was demeaning

 

[pb4uski]

.... If COcheesehead had reworded his post a bit differently and said that the current situation is testing everyone's risk tolerance, people wouldn't have thought that s/he was demeaning

Shoulda, coulda, woulda. Hard to turn that clock back.

 

[njhowie]

Yes, that's the question I have now--where to put the cash for the time being.

If you anticipate putting the cash back in to "something", I would say that there is no pressing need to put it anywhere for the time being. Let it sit in Ally savings account of no-penalty CD so you have immediate access to it when the time comes for using it or putting it in to some other investments.