[one_muggle]

I have not spent enough time reading their stuff, but the site Unity08 is trying to front a viable 3rd party via the web.
The requirements, as I understand them, are that the ticket (Pres. and VP) must either be non-politicians or a split ticket (Dem Pres., Rep VP OR vice-versa, and I assume (I) is ok).
It is a great idea, though I don’t know how well it will work.

I say Mitt Romney and Clinton. When they touch it would be like matter and anti-matter. The energy created in their annihilation could power the world for decades!!!

E = MC^2 , where M=Mitt, C=Clinton.

-one muggle

[one_muggle]

I have not spent enough time reading their stuff, but the site Unity08 is trying to front a viable 3rd party via the web.
The requirements, as I understand them, are that the ticket (Pres. and VP) must either be non-politicians or a split ticket (Dem Pres., Rep VP OR vice-versa, and I assume (I) is ok).
It is a great idea, though I don’t know how well it will work.

I say Mitt Romney and Clinton. When they touch it would be like matter and anti-matter. The energy created in their annihilation could power the world for decades!!!

E = MC^2 , where M=Mitt, C=Clinton.

-one muggle

[one_muggle]

After the run-up we’ve seen, 400 pts is a blip. To be worrisome (or a great opportunity) we need 1-2k drop.

I was more of a secular bear on the Dow until I spent more time looking at the internationl reach of most significant Dow companies. (I spend more time looking at small caps, and let my mutual funds handle the Large and Mids.) I am still a short-term (6 months) bear, but my longer term outlook has actually improved.
Take Coke, for example: It has huge market share in Europe. With a decent economy there, and a falling dollar, Coke is making more dollars for every Euro they get. As the dollar weakens, the international sales of Coke become more profitable AND people in the US are not likely to become so destitute as to cut out buying a Coke! In fact, the less money people make, the more likely they are to buy fast food (and a Coke). (True also for the latest round of newly minted soon-to-be-citizens-if-congress-gets-its-way. With a healthy run-up this year and a fair dividend, there are still profitable investments in the Dow. Ditto JNJ, Bud, P&G. Traditional beer and band-aid stocks.
Though I can see as much as a 1500 point drop as very plausible over the next year, over the long term I think the Dow and other indices will do OK. This is not (yet) an equity buuble anything like the 1999-2001 tech bust.
There may be better ways to make money out there, but IMHO stocks will not crash long-term alongside housing.
There is too much private money out there looking for a home–China’s investement fund is reported to have nearly $750B cash. As small cap and housing (US and Europe) take a dive, that money will seek security somewhere–like Blue Chips.
And that prediction has my 110% moneyback guarantee!!! (I guess you get what you pay for…) ;^)

-one muggle

[one_muggle]

After the run-up we’ve seen, 400 pts is a blip. To be worrisome (or a great opportunity) we need 1-2k drop.

I was more of a secular bear on the Dow until I spent more time looking at the internationl reach of most significant Dow companies. (I spend more time looking at small caps, and let my mutual funds handle the Large and Mids.) I am still a short-term (6 months) bear, but my longer term outlook has actually improved.
Take Coke, for example: It has huge market share in Europe. With a decent economy there, and a falling dollar, Coke is making more dollars for every Euro they get. As the dollar weakens, the international sales of Coke become more profitable AND people in the US are not likely to become so destitute as to cut out buying a Coke! In fact, the less money people make, the more likely they are to buy fast food (and a Coke). (True also for the latest round of newly minted soon-to-be-citizens-if-congress-gets-its-way. With a healthy run-up this year and a fair dividend, there are still profitable investments in the Dow. Ditto JNJ, Bud, P&G. Traditional beer and band-aid stocks.
Though I can see as much as a 1500 point drop as very plausible over the next year, over the long term I think the Dow and other indices will do OK. This is not (yet) an equity buuble anything like the 1999-2001 tech bust.
There may be better ways to make money out there, but IMHO stocks will not crash long-term alongside housing.
There is too much private money out there looking for a home–China’s investement fund is reported to have nearly $750B cash. As small cap and housing (US and Europe) take a dive, that money will seek security somewhere–like Blue Chips.
And that prediction has my 110% moneyback guarantee!!! (I guess you get what you pay for…) ;^)

-one muggle

[one_muggle]

We cashed out to free up time and money for kids and business opportunities (‘mid-century’ homes in the hills are time/money pits), as well as to get out of a poor school system.
Besides speculating on the RE bust, we are renting for many other reasons. With one kid about to start kindergarten and another behind him, renting allows us the freedom to try the public schools in one town, but easily try another if things don’t work out. It also lets us afford private school without becoming house & school poor. Mortgages for decent homes in good school districts would run us about $4-5k, and private schools around here (at least the good ones) are ~16-20k per kid . Even though make decent money, after investments, and college funds, etc, that pretty much wipes us out.

I know I could do much better if I moved to somewhere like upstate NY, as I think lostkitty did. I grew up in NYC area and spent six years in the Buffalo area–lostkitty can have NY (no offense, I am glad you like it–I think your brain may have been frostbitten (jk)–but I am happy you like it.

I also spent five years in Atlanta and some time in NC. It is fun to visit, but I will never live in the South again. I have nothing against the people there, but No Thanks.

Washington DC was nice for three months–too bad I spent a year there. There is a reason Congress is not in session in August (OMG). It is no longer hard to believe DC was built on a drained swamp.

Anyone ever lived in Portland or Seattle?–I think I am getting that wanderlust again.

-(vagabond aka)one muggle

[one_muggle]

We cashed out to free up time and money for kids and business opportunities (‘mid-century’ homes in the hills are time/money pits), as well as to get out of a poor school system.
Besides speculating on the RE bust, we are renting for many other reasons. With one kid about to start kindergarten and another behind him, renting allows us the freedom to try the public schools in one town, but easily try another if things don’t work out. It also lets us afford private school without becoming house & school poor. Mortgages for decent homes in good school districts would run us about $4-5k, and private schools around here (at least the good ones) are ~16-20k per kid . Even though make decent money, after investments, and college funds, etc, that pretty much wipes us out.

I know I could do much better if I moved to somewhere like upstate NY, as I think lostkitty did. I grew up in NYC area and spent six years in the Buffalo area–lostkitty can have NY (no offense, I am glad you like it–I think your brain may have been frostbitten (jk)–but I am happy you like it.

I also spent five years in Atlanta and some time in NC. It is fun to visit, but I will never live in the South again. I have nothing against the people there, but No Thanks.

Washington DC was nice for three months–too bad I spent a year there. There is a reason Congress is not in session in August (OMG). It is no longer hard to believe DC was built on a drained swamp.

Anyone ever lived in Portland or Seattle?–I think I am getting that wanderlust again.

-(vagabond aka)one muggle

[one_muggle]

I sey, yu ken raze mi taxxes if yu uze it two pay fer moore spelling lesonz. ;^)

-one muggle

[one_muggle]

I sey, yu ken raze mi taxxes if yu uze it two pay fer moore spelling lesonz. ;^)

-one muggle

[one_muggle]

This is only anecdotal, but with a couple of rare exceptions, the only people I knew who made real money on Wall Street were professionals–traders, bond issuers, analysts, and actuaries. Each of them has at least one story where they were down (with their own money) six figures or more. It takes serious stones (or a huge trust fund) to weather those moments. On the plus side, they get paid to follow the investing world, so it isn’t hard for them to spend a bit extra time for their own portfolios–BUT when your job and your investments are that related, watch out for the busts! I know one woman who lost a mint (I think is was $100’s of Millions) of client money in ’89–it was Black Tuesday or something like that. The kicker is, she lost her entire bonus that year, which is most of her income, she lost a huge part of her own portfolio AND almost lost her job…
Almost twenty years later she owns real estate in NYC, Park City, Vancover, and Hawaii–so I guess it pays to stick with it. IF you can afford the Malox!
I stick with boring buy and hold. I probably will never buy my own island, but I should be making as much or more in dividends when I retire as I do now.
In stocks like real estate, it is easy to look smart and make money in a bull market, but it is the professionals, die-hards, and lucky SOB’s that can keep it in a downturn.

-one muggle

[one_muggle]

This is only anecdotal, but with a couple of rare exceptions, the only people I knew who made real money on Wall Street were professionals–traders, bond issuers, analysts, and actuaries. Each of them has at least one story where they were down (with their own money) six figures or more. It takes serious stones (or a huge trust fund) to weather those moments. On the plus side, they get paid to follow the investing world, so it isn’t hard for them to spend a bit extra time for their own portfolios–BUT when your job and your investments are that related, watch out for the busts! I know one woman who lost a mint (I think is was $100’s of Millions) of client money in ’89–it was Black Tuesday or something like that. The kicker is, she lost her entire bonus that year, which is most of her income, she lost a huge part of her own portfolio AND almost lost her job…
Almost twenty years later she owns real estate in NYC, Park City, Vancover, and Hawaii–so I guess it pays to stick with it. IF you can afford the Malox!
I stick with boring buy and hold. I probably will never buy my own island, but I should be making as much or more in dividends when I retire as I do now.
In stocks like real estate, it is easy to look smart and make money in a bull market, but it is the professionals, die-hards, and lucky SOB’s that can keep it in a downturn.

-one muggle

[one_muggle]

Any other engineers care to chime in about stock options? Is your company still granting them? Has the volume of options being granted changed? Have your co-worker’s attitude about the company’s compensation plan changed? (my co-workers are feeling pretty well f’d over these days – management is receiving stock and options as bonuses and the line-level troops are lucky to get a 3% raise each year) The original poster of this thread is saying that options being granted to engineers are a significant source of income here in San Diego – I don’t see that and I’m curious if anyone else does

As an EE at a quasi-government university R&D lab, I don’t get stocks or profit sharing (no profit :^{ ), but we do get ~10% contribution to 403b, with no matching required, and ~15% on ever dollar over the Soc. Sec. limit. Typically, experienced engineers get six figures, but the pay profile is pretty flat (ie, the managers aren’t making multiples of the foot soldier’s salary)

These days, though, even dual-six figure families cannot afford any reasonable housing in this area. Either the price leaves you house-poor and the schools stink (private runs 8000-18000 per kid, per year) OR the prices are about 30% too high for $200-250k per year dual income families in the good districts. Only prior owners, like myself, and $300k+ per year families can get in around here, and most of those folks want more than adequate housing. So, IMHO, even with good jobs, the area has at least exhausted its ability to appreciate, probably for a good part of a decade.

-one muggle

[one_muggle]

PerryChase
Leaving the foreign policy debate over your comments to others in another venue, your comment
$120 billion to bailout homeowners? That’s nothing compared to what we’re spending in Iraq. That’s no big deal. We can afford it.
implicitly assumes that any tax dollar that is spent is the same, regardless of where it goes. It most certainly is not.
Most of the cash spent ON Iraq is spent IN America. It is forced out of my pocket and goes to soldiers, defense contractors, civil servants, contractors, etc, all of whom (love them or hate them) are doing a job that the USG has decided is important. Such is the price of being an honest tax-paying citizen. However, paying for bad behavior simply encourages more of the same.
Personal and corporate tax laws are rife with handouts intentionally engineered to elicit certain behaviors (e.g., buying energy efficient appliances), which is why I am continually befuddled by fiscal liberals who think we should pay people for behaving poorly. It is not simply the dollars out of otherwise innocent taxpayer pockets that is wrong—rewarding bad behavior is doubly wrong.

(Just my 38%)

-one muggle

[one_muggle]

I’d read China was “diversifying” its monetary holdings away from the dollar. Can they still index to the dollar while buying, say Euros, instead of dollars?

BTW: I loved the article (in the Economist I think) that showed how much stuff the Chinese could buy for the $1T in US dollars that it holds–it was something like all the RE in 7 or 8 US states! That is some serious coin.

-one muggle

[one_muggle]

FYI: Many of the websites that I found still list California’s plan as TIAA-CREF, which is out of date.

We (CA) now have Fidelity, for better or worse. I had invested in TIAA-CREF for both 529 and 403b, and Fidelity for IRA and brokerage. Since I’ve had good luck with both, I wasn’t too upset, but I still prefer the customer service of TIAA-CREF (though Fidelity has much more information and services).

As far as the expenses:
The Fidelity aged-based mutual fund has an expense of 0.5%, and the “custom basket” of mutual funds is 0.3%+(whatever the mutual fund fees in your basket), there is also a Social Choice for 0.8%. This data is directly from my current ShcholarShare Prospectus. The TIAA-CREF that California had in the past was capped at 0.8%, but was typically lower, if I recall correctly.

There are a couple of good sites that I have used:
http://www.fool.com/college/college.htm free

By far the best I have seen is from Clark Howard (Consumer Advocate from Atlanta). It had been out of date, but I just checked and he has recently updated it.
http://clarkhoward.com/shownotes/category/7/76/215/381/

BTW: I humbly suggest that if your wealth or income source is unusual you should (at least) look at the college savings options on the Fools page or similar (or an advisor). My sister has significant assets and was directed in another direction for college savings. And we have been directed to change as well once (and if) our business income significantly outpaces our regular salaries.
-one muggle

[one_muggle]

We ran into the same problem (living in CA) but selected the California 529 anyway because it was run by TIAA-CREF, whom I have accounts with and like (and the fees were low). This past year Fidelity took over the plan and actually lowered the fees. I have yet to recompare, but I found the comment that the fees were too high interesting, since they were among the lowest when I last did a thorough check (~18 months ago). It seems it might be time to do another round of invest-igation.

One thing to consider. If you have relatives in another state that will be contributing (like Grandma), you can setup a plan in that state and let them get a tax break–assuming the plan is otherwise comparable. I hold out hope (but not my breath) that California will get on board and let us write off the 529.

-one muggle

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