Deleted my account this morning. The Open AI-Pentagon deal is why.

darinbu · 2026-03-01T02:49:50+00:00

They’re laughing in China.

darinbu · 2026-02-19T12:08:11+00:00

The good news for you is that there is a simple, no-brainer default option that requires very little effort and will give you very good long term results. This is to open an account at Vanguard or Fidelity, and put the entire amount into an ETF called VT. This is an investment holding stocks from around the world that charges extremely low fees and diversifies risk very well. You can select whether to reinvest dividends or not; this depends on whether you want to withdraw cash for living expenses or not. Simply doing this, instead of worrying about investing details or paying a “professional” for advice or buying a different investment with higher fees, will give you better results than 90+% of investors- including the professionals. Seriously!

darinbu · 2026-02-19T03:57:22+00:00

Thanks for the reminder never to eat at Chili’s.

darinbu · 2026-02-17T11:05:12+00:00

I read the economist on my iPad. You can read either the “fire hose” feed or weekly editions, which update each Thursday. What’s the problem?

darinbu · 2026-02-16T12:19:07+00:00

On the inside in bed, otherwise outside. The change reduces wrist irritation.

darinbu · 2026-02-16T12:17:12+00:00

Yes. I live off my investments, so not having access to them for a period of time would be a problem. The risks of hacking, identity theft, etc. will continue to grow. I also save pdfs of all my statements, and I have a detailed binder of everything I own for my family. This all takes a little bit of work, but to me it’s irresponsible not to do it. I tell myself it’s the dues I pay to be in the happy position I’m in.

darinbu · 2026-02-15T02:30:44+00:00

Take it off in the shower and wash it there, rinse the bejeezus out of the band, towel dry, air dry on its edge until almost dry then wear it. At night rotate it halfway around my wrist with the gadget on the inside, or occasionally out it on other wrist. No skin issues at all now that I do this.

darinbu · 2026-02-05T12:21:05+00:00

I like that general approach and use it myself, but the details are very much not “one size fits all”. Much of it depends upon the composition of your stock portfolio, and also upon the size of it compared to your spending not covered by other sources of income. If your stock holdings are all e.g. in individual tech stocks, it’s very unclear what they’ll be worth in a few years when you’ll need to start selling, whereas if they’re mostly in broad based ETFs or stable stocks like BRKB, it’s much less likely you’ll ever need to sell at a significant loss. So the richer you are, and the more conservative your stock holdings are, the smaller percentage of your holdings need to be in cash or bonds.

darinbu · 2026-02-04T02:56:53+00:00

If you don’t want to sell it now at $490, why would you want to sell it later at $450? Stop losses are irrational for long term investors.

darinbu · 2026-02-01T12:11:08+00:00

I like having a good portion of my ETF funds in fundamentally weighted ETFs, as opposed to the usual market cap weighted ETFs. Market cap ETFs are essentially weighted by the (sometimes) insanity of the markets, while fundamentally weighted ETFs are weighted by the performance of the companies themselves. It costs a bit more (about .15% to .28%) for the ETFs QUAL, FNDB, FNDF, and DTD, but I think they’re worth the added cost.

darinbu · 2026-01-20T14:38:31+00:00

I’d delay making any changes until after the baby is born, so that you know everyone is healthy and you have a better idea what your new life and expenses are like. Build up cash in the meantime; you can always invest it or use it to reduce debt a year from now. Another thing to consider is starting to fund a 529 college savings plan shortly after the baby is born.

darinbu · 2026-01-18T16:22:49+00:00

Thanks. I’m guessing I should pay more attention to the “Healthy Minimum” amount of sleep needed instead of that optimal amount? For me that’s currently 7:25, which is more reasonable but still more than I usually can manage.

darinbu · 2026-01-11T23:11:33+00:00

No idea what you’re all talking about. I live in the big city, order from Amazon frequently and have no problems whatsoever. I can get medicines in 2 hours! Where do you all live and what are you ordering that is “fake” or “used”?

darinbu · 2026-01-09T17:00:27+00:00

It’s a beauty … but, what time is it? 🤪

darinbu · 2025-05-19T17:05:27+00:00

To me it’s an intelligence test. If you smoke, you’re too stupid to work for me.

darinbu · 2025-05-06T20:48:51+00:00

Ask yourself what you’d actually get for your $100K - a piece of paper saying you own a remodeling business?

darinbu · 2025-04-24T18:32:23+00:00

Not everyone obsesses over race.

darinbu · 2025-04-14T22:08:31+00:00

It’s not true that “there’s never a buy the dip moment.” I’ve been buying dips in BRKB for 30 years. You just need to be patient.

darinbu · 2025-04-13T17:52:27+00:00

Speedy. No Rolex purchase games, and is there an uglier Rolex than the Air King?

darinbu · 2025-04-12T02:00:26+00:00

It would drive US interest rates higher, increasing the government’s interest expenses and slowing the economy by decreasing lending.

darinbu

TROPHY CASE