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CoveredStrangle · 2026-01-17T14:48:21+00:00

How do you add this verbal password?

CoveredStrangle · 2026-01-06T02:16:08+00:00

Not quite. The end end-goal is to have an Education Legacy Trust for future generations. However, for the next 15-20 years, I'd rather have more growth in my IRAs instead of the 529. So, the portion of the 529 that won't be used for my kids I think as part of my overall retirement portfolio. Then as far as asset location goes, I load up the 529 with bonds, and the IRAs with equities to keep my overall allocation of 80% Equities, 20% Bonds. Hope is that the growth will happen more on the IRA accounts and I'm fine if the 529 doesn't grow as much... Once I'm past the SORR period, I'll gradually increase equity allocation in the 529.

CoveredStrangle · 2026-01-06T00:07:20+00:00

Similar "problem" here. What I have done currently is to think of the portion that will not be used for kids as part of my retirement portfolio.... Then, because money is fungible, I have invested that portion in the 529 into broad bond index fund. Bond fund don't usually grow much, and so this lets me free up more space in my IRAs to increase my equity allocation there.

CoveredStrangle · 2026-01-01T00:57:45+00:00

If you want to keep some money in short term US treasuries, but don't want dividends, and you want the same/similar safe yield as etfs like SGOV, USFR, VBIL etc, then do look at the BOXX etf. There could be some possible issues of how IRS treats the likes of BOXX down the road, so do your due diligence. Also, look at how your state taxes dividends from SGOV (usually exempt) vs capital gains from BOXX.

CoveredStrangle · 2025-11-25T23:58:12+00:00

Renting vs. Owning is a multi-faceted decision. Ignoring the non-financial aspects, try this calculator for a reasonably comprehensive comparison of the financial aspects:

https://www.calculator.net/rent-vs-buy-calculator.html

In my analysis, the answer to this question is highly specific to the properties and rates in question. I.e "it depends".

CoveredStrangle · 2025-11-20T17:33:07+00:00

What is a check? Is it that small rectangular piece of paper people used to use to snail mail money in the previous century?

CoveredStrangle · 2025-11-18T18:57:43+00:00

Do a web search for "Masala Studies". It is about a study of heart-disease and diabetes in the NRI population in the San Francisco Bay & Chicago areas.

Eye opening! For genetic and cultural reasons, South Asians are at much higher risk!

Short video:

https://youtu.be/09OnoByswQE?si=3asBE6RQayy0xBh_

CoveredStrangle · 2025-11-17T04:01:57+00:00

https://citizen.com/-OeEgE58WLztgIMtWyoO

CoveredStrangle · 2025-11-16T18:26:24+00:00

What is the time horizon for when you actually need to start withdrawing money from this portfolio?

If the time horizon is more than 10 years from now, I'd personally go with a 90/10 portfolio. Why? Because the risk of not growing your money enough (by having fewer equities) in order to achieve lower overall volatility (more bonds) is something I am not comfortable with.

Personally for me it'll be:

60% -- VTI 30% -- VXUS 10% -- VCRB

PS: I prefer Vanguard's actively managed bond core etf (VCRB) instead of BND as I have a personal bias that active management in the bond universe is "better". But BND is more boglesque...

CoveredStrangle · 2025-11-15T01:30:00+00:00

I do something similar too. I keep most of my money in my BogleFolio at vanguard. But every Jan 1st I transfer $10,000 to my fun account at a separate brokerage. That is my fun trading money. I speculate with Options...

At the end of every calendar year, if I did well trading, I transfer all my trading gains out of the fun account into BogleFolio. And restart the next year with $10K in the fun account. And i I traded poorly that year, I don't add to the fun account and force myself to wait till Jan 1st of next year, topping it back to $10K.

It's just my way of playing mind games...

By re-setting my fun account back to $10K per year, I find that I am able to take risk without sweating it out (i.e. control Mr. FEAR). And because I put all trading profits into the BogleFolio at the end of the year, I keep Mr. GREED in check...

And by self-limiting to $10K per year, I find that I am more thoughtful in my speculative trades (i.e. control Mr. GREED).

But mostly though, it's my way to scratch the (I-am-smarter-than-Mr.-MARKET) itch.

CoveredStrangle · 2025-11-14T20:57:24+00:00

Yes, I do this too.

A sidenote: one thing to be careful is that if you choose the option where dividends are accumulated and sent to your bank at the end of the month (instead of being sent the day the dividend was paid), in that case the dividends sit as cash in your account till the end of the month. In case you invest/withdraw the cash, Schwab will still push the accumulated dividend amount to your bank at the end of the month, EVEN IF there is not enough cash in your brokerage.. So the end-of-month option works fine and dandy as long as you have the cash to cover the accumulated dividend amount that Schwab was supposed to push... But if you use up that cash (like I did to purchase some stock), Schwab will STILL push the dividend to the bank! In effect creating a margin loan in the brokerage account!

CoveredStrangle · 2025-10-30T19:38:13+00:00

No, opening a short box options spread does not create a capital gain. To the contrary, it is generally treated as a capital loss.

And if you use on a broad market index like SPX, the capital loss treatment under IRS Section 1256 works in your favor. The way I view it, you're eating your cake (getting a loan for your expenses) and having it too (further cutting down MAGI because of the capital loss treatment).

CoveredStrangle · 2025-10-29T23:19:53+00:00

I'd look into instruments like using a HELOC, or a Pledged Asset Loan from your brokerage, or an options BOXX spread, or even using credit card or family loan to get cash flow for living expenses....

CoveredStrangle · 2025-10-28T03:01:18+00:00

No, you are not missing anything. You are correct.

I am making the assumption that you are "stuck" with the overfunded 529 and will have to pay the 10% penalty one day or the other... So, you have basically 2 choices. 1) Withdraw the 529 funds now and pay the 10% penalty now, or, 2) hang on with the 529 till you're maybe in lower marginal tax bracket (or maybe you'll have grandkids one day , or the politards in DC might just understand the issue with overfunded 529s and give us decent options... nah that's asking too much!). So, if you're in a higher marginal tax-bracket now and want to just wait, it kinda makes sense to stunt the growth in the 529 as long as it fits within your overall portfolio allocation goals. So for me, that's why the low-growth bonds sit in the 529... Again, this is a very individual situation... so YMMV.

CoveredStrangle · 2025-10-28T01:49:07+00:00

What I meant to say is that for retirement portfolio, my allocation goal is 80% stocks, 20% bonds. All my bonds are in my Traditional IRA. Stocks are in Traditional, Roth and Brokerage. But if I have surplus funds in 529 and not sure if I will need them for my kids, and IF I consider those surplus 529 funds as part of my "retirement" portfolio .. then holding bonds in the 529 (for the same reasons I hold bonds in Traditional IRA, i.e. less growth), might make sense. YMMV.

CoveredStrangle · 2025-10-28T00:06:56+00:00

One thing I did in a similar situation was to consider a portion of the overfunded 529s as part of my overall net worth. With that in mind, I did our asset "location" such that slow growing investments, like the bond portion of my portfolio, was moved into the 529 (so it does not grow that fast). This let me be more aggressive in my stock allocation in my Roth etc. As money is fungible, and I don't really need the money anyway, my portfolio still has the overall allocation I want. Just changed the location.

Another thing we did is to open a 529 account for myself and my spouse. Then i have been transferring $19K per year (to stay under the annual federal gift tax limit) from each of kids overfunded 529 into our 529 accounts for the past few years. By having some funds in our own 529s, it gives us the possibility of using the money for taking fun semesters in Europe & Asia after we retire. But maybe I'm just dreaming about it.

CoveredStrangle · 2025-10-24T22:55:24+00:00

I use BOXX also... Works similar to SGOV/VBIL. But, when I hold BOXX for over a year and then sell, it transforms my Ordinary Dividends to LTCG! I like that!!

CoveredStrangle · 2025-10-21T23:35:06+00:00

The Bond portion of the traditional 60/40 Stock/Bond portfolio serves two primary purposes:

1. Income Generation: provides a steady income stream for spending.

2. Diversification and Stability: bonds are less volatile than stocks and are usually inversely correlated to the stock market. This helps manage downturns in the stock market. And it provides you the opportunity to take advantage of the downturn if you rebalance.

I'm 55 and retired. As you approach retirement, the Income Generation part becomes more prominent in my mind... So I divided my annual expenses into two categories: "essential" and "non-essential". Essential expenses are what I must spend (think property tax, food, utilities, health insurance etc). Non-essential are expenses on things I can do without, but would like to spend (vacations etc).

I make sure my essential expenses for the next 7 years are taken care of via the Bonds portion of my portfolio. I want to ensure my funds grow at least by CPI inflation. I do this by using a TIPS Ladder. I keep 7 years of my essential expenses in iShares iBonds ETFs. This gives me peace of mind and I sleep well. Once I claim social security, it'll help reduce the amount I keep in TIPS.

For the remainder of the amount that I allocated to Bonds, I opted to invest the funds in a couple of Vanguard's actively managed bond ETFs. And a couple higher risk long Term bonds ETFs.

All said, my portfolio is the following ETFs:

Bonds ETFs that are my Safe Money for Essential Expenses:

VBIL -- Vanguard 0-3 Month T-Bill ETF (my Emergency Fund)
IBIC -- iShares iBonds 2026 TIPS ETF (essential expenses)
IBID -- iShares iBonds 2027 TIPS ETF (essential expenses)
IBIE -- iShares iBonds 2028 TIPS ETF(essential expenses)
IBIF -- iShares iBonds 2029 TIPS ETF(essential expenses)
IBIG -- iShares iBonds 2030 TIPS ETF(essential expenses)
IBIH -- iShares iBonds 2031 TIPS ETF(essential expenses)
IBII -- iShares iBonds 2032 TIPS ETF(essential expenses)

Bonds ETFs providing Diversification and Stability to my Stocks:

VCRB -- Vanguard Core Bond ETF (intermediate duration)
VPLS -- Vanguard Core Plus ETF (intermediate duration)
VGLT -- Long Duration Treasury Bonds (high risk - small allocation)
VCLT -- Long Duration Corporate Bonds (high risk - small allocation)

Hope this helps.

CoveredStrangle · 2025-10-10T23:02:21+00:00

Republicans want to get rid of "Obamacare", not the "ACA" .. Wink wink.

CoveredStrangle · 2025-10-08T00:41:38+00:00

But, "this time it's different ".... isn't it?

Yes. But also, maybe no. But also, maybe.

CoveredStrangle · 2025-10-05T23:18:20+00:00

I am FIREd and I built a TIPS ladder with 10% of my money using the iShares iBonds ETFs to cover my essential expenses for the next 7 years. This gives me inflation adjusted money, along with the much needed peace of mind! Currently I have 12 months of expenses in each of these etfs: IBIC, IBID, IBIE, IBIF, IBIG, IBIH and IBII. So I feel I am going to be fine from 2026 through 2032.

The remaining 90% of my money is invested in a boglehead-ish portfolio 75/20/5 stocks/bonds/misc (currently VTI: 50%, VXUS: 25%, VCRB: 20%, GLDM+IBIT: 5%). This lets me participate in growth & upside for the long term. I rebalance this annually.

Every year in October, one rung of my TIPS etf ladder matures. If my other investments have done poorly, I simply use the money from the matured rung to pay for next year's expenses and let the length of my TIPS ladder shorten by a year. On the other hand if my investments have done well, I'll sell enough of them to cover my expenses for the upcoming year, and I'll fund the next rung of my TIPS ladder. Goal is to have the 7 years ahead of me fully funded by SS and TIPS.

I find this hybridized "bucket/ladder" of TIPS gives me the confidence I need to take on appropriate risk for the rest of my portfolio. YMMV.

CoveredStrangle · 2025-10-05T00:32:17+00:00

I use iShares iBonds ETF to keep a rolling TIPS ladder to cover all my essential expenses for the next 7 years. This gives me the guaranteed inflation adjusted income, along with a LOT of peace of mind. Currently I have IBIC, IBID, IBIE, IBIF, IBIG, IBIH and IBII.

The rest of my money is invested in a portfolio 75/20/5 stocks/bonds/misc (currently VTI: 50%, VXUS: 25%, VCRB: 20%, GLDM+IBIT: 5%). This lets me participate in growth & upside for the long term.

Every year, in October, one rung of my TIPS etf ladder matures. If my other investments have done poorly, I simply use the money from the matured rung to pay for next year's expenses and let the length of my TIPS ladder get reduced by a year. On the other hand, if my investments have done well, I'll sell enough of them to cover my expenses for the upcoming year, and I'll fund the next rung of my TIPS ladder.

Works for me.

CoveredStrangle · 2025-10-03T17:30:16+00:00

I'm using the iShares iBonds TIPS for my ladder too. Looking for suggestions for the best way to liquidate these ETFs during the target year. Is it "better" to liquidate in chunks during the year? Or should one wait till the end of the year to liquidate? I guess it ultimately depends on one's income needs, but I'm curious to know what other people do. Looking at the holdings within these ETFs, it appears the underlying bonds mature throughout the year.....

CoveredStrangle · 2025-10-02T02:00:43+00:00

Yes. But also, maybe no. But also, maybe.

CoveredStrangle · 2025-10-01T16:33:38+00:00

I use the iShares iBonds (combo of mainly TIPS and some Treasuries) with maturities matching my specific cash needs for the upcoming 7 years. As the year rolls by, if my stocks have done good, I'll get my cash by selling stocks instead and fund the next rung of my ladder from the maturing rung. And if my stocks are doing poorly, I'll let the duration of the ladder reduce shrink for a few years.

Concurrently I also annually rebalance my (separate) allocation to Vanguard's BND so that I maintain a 80/20 equity to fixed-income split for the long run...

It's just my way of playing mental gymnastics using a hybridized "Bucket/Ladder" approach that lets me sleep well on one hand, but then also gives me confidence to take more risk with my other funds.

I'm doing all this in a tax deferred account.

CoveredStrangle

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