DHonks

Get AT&T TV, one box in each location. I use it to have one service for both places I spend time. Saves a ton of money over the old days of having Directv in both spots.

It's not by chance in the Whitefish Lake or Flathead Lake area, is it? I just got back from there. It will not be the last time I go there. You got it...awesome spot we found twenty years ago. Better weather than WI, mountains, low humidity, milder winters, very few mosquitos, friendly people. Has the best parts of Wisco, and none of the drawbacks.

I’m really excited for our property in Montana. We’ve been paying full price and been lucky to get 3mb speeds, our neighbors down the street are stuck with DSL. Starlink is promising roughly 80mb speeds. Or my in laws in Texas who get 1mb DSL. They’ve been yearning for higher speeds for years. I don’t think anyone in cities will downgrade to Starlink...it’s not for them

Starlink is supposed to go live in WA, ID, and MT within the next few months. Really hoping that works well

6.2% + 6.2%= 12.4% for Social Security And yes, when the alarm bells started ringing a decade ago, we could have made minor changes that would have bought the current structure decades of viability. It will always exist, but in 2034 it will have enough for only 2/3rds of its current projected payouts since the Trust Fund will be drained. Heck, today we could still make minor changes to make it viable. I warn my students that if they are living off Social Security checks, they did something wrong. $5/paycheck into a retirement account starting at age 20 would yield over $50k at retirement. They get excited and want to know what $20 would do, or $50. Since they all make $12/hour, it's easy to think of skipping one fast food meal or one Starbucks per pay period. While it made minimal impact for stimulus, Obama's SS tax cut hurt the viability a little. I believe we dropped our portion from 6.2 to 2.2% for a year or so. Maybe it impacted the longterm projections by a few months or years, not much in the greater scheme of things.

Regarding pension vs 401k, one very important point is being missed. Taxes. You can have a Roth 401k and pay no taxes on it later in life when you need it. Pension income is taxed, of course. Beyond that though, having direct control is the most important thing- and that's why I far prefer 401k to SS or pension where someone else has the account. regarding 401k/403b/IRA vs Roth versions, one key is to understand that depending on your current and future tax rates, the regular or the Roth version could be better for you. If your income tax bracket will be higher later in life, pay the taxes now with the Roth.

And the investment returns of defined benefit plans fail short of funding promises. Public Pensions in most states--including Minnesota (as mentioned)--are really a ponzi scheme. Like I said, they're good for us workers, but will come back to bite future workers and taxpayers down the road. Courts have also ruled that cities and states (Illinois in particular) cannot retroactively change the benefits in order to make the systems more viable long-term. This isn't just pensions, as many consider Medicare to be a gov't sponsored ponzi-scheme as well. The common denominator in these options is politicians that won't be around when the programs go bust

I hear teachers in AZ talk about how they used to contribute 5% of their pay to our pension in the 90s. Next year it will be 12.22%, despite pay increases the contribution rate goes up every year. Sadly much of the pension promises fall on younger workers, robbing these low wage newbies of money they need right away. But it's better than the alternative, as most would never fork over 12% of their salary to a retirement plan at age 24. I try EVERY year to get people so sign up for one of our 403b offerings, and many don't see the point of even $10/pay, even though I show them the spreadsheets. The main benefit to a pension is that a person doesn't have to be accountable for their future...it's just there for them

I hadn't thought of that. That's money that could be tossed back into the economy quite easily I would imagine. One flaw with praising pensions is that they are subsidized by younger workers and the government. A 401k vastly outperforms a pension over time. The difference is that in a 401k/403b/457b/IRA it is MY money earning a return, but in a pension it's often an unfunded promise that falls on later generations backs. I'm very grateful that my state has one of the better funded pension programs for educators.

I hadn't thought of that. That's money that could be tossed back into the economy quite easily I would imagine. What would be even better? Let people control at least half of the 12.4% paid in under SS. Then there would be no need for pensions or 401k. I always remember when Paul Ryan tried to make the case for greater use of private retirement options for ALL workers in a VP debate in 2012. Biden ranted about how Ryan and others like him always talk about the market, but "tell that to someone who lost half their money in the recession" (that's paraphrasing). I'm politically moderate and neutral on a lot, but that set me off as an Economist. Within a year or so of that debate, the market had surpassed pre-recession levels. People who kept their money in the market were ahead. But it sure made a great soundbite in the election

Why would you think something like an oil supply crisis would happen? Trump filled the US oil reserves to the absolute tops couple weeks back or so when the oil prices were thought to be a great discount...one even better today. Here's where the economy will take a freefall, supply and demand with ongoing employment. I seen a Meier post early today letting customers be aware prices for many goods will be noticeably higher as we stay shut down. The last example which I remember was given eggs will have higher pricing. The millions of people that are or will be collecting unemployment, a reduced income that will end up purchasing less than what you could purchase with that same amount a week ago. It'll be a rippling effect. Food or clothing. Answer Food. Effect-say good bye to Kohl's in WI. Effect-jobs Lost. Effect-Unemployment increase. Effect-Market worsens. You get where this is trending. It'll only get worse when the money people get during this isn't saved and used for bills and rent. When that happens the housing market will take a bigger hit when mortgages are falling behind. But we'll see, what does the gov't do to slow that scenario? How long do we choose flattening the curve vs an economy slowly in ruins? The oil industry is about to crash. There's nowhere to store what's coming out of the ground. You can't just turn off a well and turn it back on again. Companies will fail and the drilling capacity will plunge. When demand eventually increases prices will skyrocket. I've been buying Energy companies on discount in the last two years, accelerating in the last 45 days. Most larger oil and gas companies are fairly well positioned to be around in the post-oil world. This oil surplus isn't new. Before COVID-19 we were already consuming less oil than a decade ago.

Thinking that in the next week or so it should be time to return my 403(b) and Health Savings Account investments to index and mutual funds. I moved them to MM/bond funds back in late February when the market was getting volatile. I don't think the market will be ready to go up much until May. This earnings season could be brutal, but I hope that analysts and institutional investors don't overreact, as much of the poor earnings is already baked into the stock prices.

Why would preferred stocks have safer dividends? They are non-voting shares. Do companies ever pay dividends to preferred shares but not common? The difference is that if a company liquidates, you'd get a portion of the leftovers (although less than the value of your investment)

So far made some nice money simply day trading 1 stock over the last 2 weeks. Bought and sold it 3 times. Guessing Monday and Tuesday will be down, so I’ll target a low level Monday, and hope to add to it lower Tuesday

the panics related to Coronavirus are primarily driven by other countries. We likely won't hit peak panic for 6-8 weeks, so I'm looking to be more on the sideline. I made a nice profit on AAPL by buying at $260 and selling at $298. I expect it'll hit $260 before $320 again.

I’m expecting Monday to be another blood bath. It seems that when the Dow was at all-time highs and coronavirus wasn’t a US concern, it was like Teflon to the news. Daily news updates slid off. But Monday’s we have been getting 3 days work of panic reflected in the market, hence why they’ve been bad for several weeks. Mid week last week I moved my Roth 403(b) and HSA mutual funds primarily into MMAs and Bond Funds. Crazy we gave up our 30% 2019 gains in a matter of 8 days.

While it is good, I feel like it's really expensive for what you get. Last time I went there I spent nearly $30 for a family of four and I walked out still feeling hungry. Isn’t $30 for 4 pretty cheap? Casual food for 2 with iced teas are usually $30-40?

Wow what a debut for Yamamoto. Was always worried he was the one that got away in the trade.

I think arm in RF is overrated. I want guys that can catch the ball and cutoff things. How often does a big arm in RF really help? 5-10 times in a season? At first glimpse, we gave up a ton. However, this is a good prospect trade. We may have just given the Marlins 3 all-stars and a solid 3rd starter. Then again, they could all flop

I worry that as Crypto has grown and become accepted, it's going to face challenges with governments. In the US, the gov't is investigating why holders of Bitcoin haven't been reporting their profits as cap gains on their returns. It's also supposedly the preferred currency for rogue nations (North Korea supposedly is VERY active in crypto) and organized crime. It's really intriguing, but gov'ts will scrutinize this more

Real Men

I have been hearing "Social Security" will be gone all my life. That isn't going to happen. Look at the outrage whenever they even hint at changing anything. They can raise the age, they can tinker with means testing, but there will be SS. As far as 20 somethings saving more than any previous generation, I don't believe that. Years ago, before 401k, it was commonplace for employers to offer pensions, and most people had full time jobs. The 20 something generation is underemployed, and they have to voluntarily sign up for 401k. So I can't believe that combination would equal saving more than a generation who all had pensions. You never know how true these studies are, and then they always change. For example, just heard earlier this week that 50% of all Americans couldn't write a check for $500 if they had to. FVBrewerfan, Social Security will be here. It doesn't pay out very much on average now (a little over $1200/month on average), and it will only pay out less. Created in the 1930s, the Social Security Trust Fund ran a surplus until 2009. Beginning in 2010 (I believe in part due to the Obama temporary tax cut), the SSA began collecting less money annually than it was due to pay out. Therefore, the Trust Fund was tapped into. By 2033 the Trust Fund will be drained and tax collections will only cover 75% of expenditures. Therefore, massive changes will be needed, likely a combination of tax increases, benefit cuts, means testing, and increasing the eligibility age. Perhaps SSA will also stop some of it's long-term disability coverage. In 2033, the Social Security shortfall is projected at over $600B. Congress needs to do something about this. They should have done something about this years ago. That's why all people today need to be investing. I love asking my students if they could save $5 every pay period, and they all raise their hands. Then point out that at normal growth rates, $5/pay period would amass $40k+ of wealth by retirement age. We can all do a better job of this.

Some things to note from this thread: -new analysis debunks the myth that it's better to switch more conservatively as one gets older. In general, an equities-based strategy will yield better results -20 somethings are actually saving more for retirement than any previous generation. It's misleading though, as it is because many companies are realizing the benefits of automatically enrolling their new hires in retirement plans. I wish it were because of financial responsibility, since I teach this in class, but it's not. -real estate seems safe, until there's a bubble. I know people in AZ that were well over 100k underwater on their homes nearly a decade after the crisis. -if you're under 50, don't plan on Social Security. Our politicians have screwed us over by continuing to pander to old people at the expense of the young. In 2033 we're going to be in serious trouble. I warn all my students that they cannot rely on Social Security in its current form. It is not viable, and our politicians are afraid to deal with it.

my understanding in the 90s was that it wasn't the Petits, but rather the NHL's over-expansion, ridiculous expansion fees, etc. Hard to blame a couple that spent so much to bring hockey to Milwaukee

Growing up in the Milwaukee area, I knew nobody that played hockey. My high school did have a decent team, though. It's weird, here in Arizona I've known a lot of people that play hockey. My school has a club team as well. It's really been surprising how hockey is bigger in Scottsdale than in Milwaukee to many people.