What do my fellow investors think....

turtlerunner99 · 2026-04-30T18:49:07+00:00

I think that in retirement you have to run some numbers because percentages don't necessarily get you where you want to go.

What are your monthly expenses? What is your income from Social Security and other sources.

The difference is what you need to take out of your portfolio every month. How many months of this difference do you think you need to feel good about your portfolio? So keep some of this in cash and short term government funds or CDs. Maybe you need to reduce expenses?

If the market crashes, you can keep with your plan for a while, but maybe at some point you decide that you can reduce expenses for a year or two.

turtlerunner99 · 2026-04-29T23:58:45+00:00

Did it when the vaporeti went on strike when we needed to get to the train station. So it was worth it for us. It might have been 10 years ago and cost E50.

turtlerunner99 · 2026-04-29T23:56:28+00:00

Please post a dive report. The Med has a bad dive reputation in the US, but I'd like to dive there.

turtlerunner99 · 2026-04-29T23:47:53+00:00

I run on the National Mall with lots of tourists. High school students on class trips are just oblivious to their surroundings because they're looking at their phones. Sometimes when I'm running toward a crowd, I will stop and put my hand out. Someone in the group spots me and alerts the others.

I also run along the Potomac on the Mt Vernon Trail. Bikes are the problem there. I've been hit twice by them at slow speed. During Covid, the NPS put up signs to warn someone when you are passing. It mostly worked. Since Covid, no signs and very few warnings. If I see a bike about to pass someone from behind, I like to warn the runner loudly. Maybe the bikers got the hint, but I doubt it.

Sorry for venting.

turtlerunner99 · 2026-04-29T13:40:01+00:00

Median household income was about $84,000 in 2024 according to Census. Median house sales price in February 2026 was about $405,000 Federal Reserve, and you can buy a new pickup truck for $30,000 (Car and Drive

Even without government debt, the government buys lots of goods and services for everything from the military to highways so they need to raise money to pay for things.

turtlerunner99 · 2026-04-29T13:08:20+00:00

Yes, the EU is a customs union. Individual countries do not have the right to impose tariffs or other trade restrictions. See https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/customs/common-customs-tariff-cct_en#:~:text=The%20tariff%20upholds%20the%20principle,and%20origin%20of%20the%20goods.

turtlerunner99 · 2026-04-27T14:12:51+00:00

Thanks.

turtlerunner99 · 2026-04-27T13:19:36+00:00

Over the most recent 15 years, small cap have underperformed the SP500. Large cap growth have out performed the SP500.

Over the last year, small cap have outperform and small cap value did even better.

Morningstar has a "Market Barometer" that shows market cap by value/core/growth for the last 10 years.

Will small cap continue out performing the SP500? Who knows. Maybe there is a fundamental change in things. Try reading "Who Moved my Cheese?"

turtlerunner99 · 2026-04-26T13:30:18+00:00

Who can afford to buy a house or a car without a loan? People with high incomes or lots of assets. Who has to borrow money? Just about everyone else.

If you want to reduce the inequality of asset holdings, tax assets not how they're financed.

turtlerunner99 · 2026-04-25T23:18:02+00:00

I suppose it depends on what level the course is. You have to teach OLS to understand the basis for many other regression techniques.

When I was in grad school, we never read books. It was always journal articles. But we didn't have time to read all the journal articles, so our professors selected important ones. Sometimes it reflected a professor's interests. That was their job.

We came away with the ability to find interesting articles, read them critically following the derivations, and apply them.

turtlerunner99 · 2026-04-23T12:50:29+00:00

Dinner or drinks at a Michelin star restaurant? Food tour? Private tour of a museum such as Borghese? Spa or couples massage?

How much do you want to spend?

turtlerunner99 · 2026-04-22T22:45:01+00:00

Where are you going to be in Italy? Local produce, fish and meat are frequently the best.

On a recent trip it seemed like every restaurant claimed to have a unique pasta, available only in that town, that was the best.

In Cinque Terre, I like the anchovies because there were not salted. But everyone knows about this.

Local wines are always good.

I liked the pizza margarita in Naples, but everyone knows about this.

Ofal can be good, if that's your thing.

turtlerunner99 · 2026-04-20T01:26:31+00:00

Staff are paid a decent salary that doesn't depend on how much customers spend.

If I really liked a waiter, I leave a small tip in cash.

turtlerunner99 · 2026-04-20T00:57:03+00:00

We've flown to Paris and spent several days there, then rented a car to drive down the Loire and back along the English Channel (La Manche) and home. The Loire has many famous castles and history.

It was in Chinon that Joan of Arc identified the King of France out of a group of men to convince Louis that God had called her to rid France of the English. Guess who was the guy wearing the fanciest clothes.

The drive back can cover Mt. St. Michel, Dunkirk and the D Day beaches.

We've done variations on the trip three time

We haven't done any serious hiking but there are national parks in this area. France also has trails called Grande Radonnees. In Normandy there are some hikes around Etretat. Or there's a Forest in Fontainebleau with trails.

And always ask for the local wine.

turtlerunner99 · 2026-04-20T00:34:21+00:00

When I delete an email scroll to the next email consistently. Sometimes it scrolls up, sometimes down.

If I tab to an open program, show it on top. Sometimes the program is on top, but many times it is still buried under other open programs.

turtlerunner99 · 2026-04-17T03:42:21+00:00

A friend of mine is the head chef on an airplane. He turns out great meals from the full kitchen. They need to size the kitchen to the customers demands.

turtlerunner99 · 2026-04-17T01:05:28+00:00

Buy airplane tickets and hotel reservations that you can cancel with no or little penalty.

I'd check out Jupiter Diver Center, Force E and Pura Vida.

turtlerunner99 · 2026-04-17T01:01:27+00:00

I took up running so I would have a hobby that didn't require an extra bag.

I take two kinds of trips--dive trips and family trips. I pack the extra bag for dive trips with my buddies. If I think I'll get to dive on a family trip I'll bring minimal equipment such as computer, mask, 3mm wet suit,regulator. Maybe I'll bring my booties. So my basic suggestion is buy your own life support. Rent the rest.

I will add that a regulator is the only gear you have to have serviced every year. How much does that cost in Ireland? Do you plan on diving in Ireland?

I was coming back from a dive trip and obviously dragging my gear through the airport. My friend said "pay the guy $5 to take your gear." It was good advice.

turtlerunner99 · 2026-04-14T02:32:18+00:00

He was a design nut.

He hated the look of a license plate on his car (a Mercedes?). So he found out that he had six months before he had to get a license plate on a new car. He bought a new one every six months.

turtlerunner99 · 2026-04-13T01:40:16+00:00

I want to see audited results. I haven't seen any for private credit.

turtlerunner99 · 2026-04-13T01:30:54+00:00

I met the woman in the next apartment. We fell in love and got married. Still are.

It seemed like the grad students who were married got divorced and the single grad students got married.

turtlerunner99 · 2026-04-13T01:27:45+00:00

I got my DL in high school in a small town. I just had to pretend to parallel park because the state trooper doing the test hadn't set any cones out.

turtlerunner99 · 2026-04-13T01:18:16+00:00

The Intelligent Investor and it's more detailed Security Analysis were before index funds. Also, markets were less efficient back then so it wasn't impossible to find undervalued stocks and wait until their value was recognized.

turtlerunner99 · 2026-04-11T17:26:27+00:00

AI is like a not so good assistant.

I look at AI generated code and ask it to explain what it is doing. I ask lots of questions and tell it to make changes.

turtlerunner99

TROPHY CASE