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😂

For you young-fags the reddit personal finance forum is actually really useful. https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics

get a mint app and track your expenses/make a budget.. very effective at making you aware how much you spend and where

They have an easy to follow Personal Finance Flowchart here. https://i.imgur.com/CcEVQAV.png

https://www.mint.com/ or https://www.personalcapital.com/

I found myself using Personal Capital more than Mint but they both do the job at tracking all your shekels.

https://www.macrovoices.com/guest-content/list-guest-publications/1151-slidedeck-eurodollar-university-part-i/file

http://www.alhambrapartners.com/2017/08/30/a-small-place-to-start/

http://www.alhambrapartners.com/2017/08/30/the-two-parts-of-bubbles/

http://www.alhambrapartners.com/2017/08/29/not-all-swaps-are-created-equal-part-1-eurodollar-university/

http://www.alhambrapartners.com/2017/08/29/not-all-swaps-are-created-equal-part-2-eurodollar-university/

Can confirm mint does make budgeting easy

Why hello my fellow (((Europeans))) I've worked for a (((bank))) and my dad has also worked for a bank since he was my age, so I know quite a bit about how they operate. Would be happy to answer any questions that come up that relate to that topic.

Hi everyone! I want everyone to know that if you want to ask me a question about a financial issue you're having that's of personal in nature, then feel free to DM me. Being in collections, for example, would be a situation you don't want the world knowing about. I will not judge you, so don't hesitate or feel embarrassed to outreach me. Our discussion will be kept exceedingly private. If you want me to look at your credit report regarding anything about it - you can provide me a copy of it and we can go over it together. The same applies if you want me to look at say your wife's credit report, etc. I take handling of this private financial information very seriously. You can simply black out names, addresses, employer, social security numbers, or anything else you don't want me to see in order to feel comfortable in sharing - completely up to you. I will not retain the report after we finalize our discussion surrounding it.

Are safe deposit boxes worth it?

Gov can still confiscate deposit boxes.

Icelandic rune poem for Fehu:

Wealth is a source of discord amongst kin
and fire of the sea
and path of the serpent

@Tycho Brahe What do you think about boomers retiring and starting to spend their assets (stocks, bonds) and stopping their buying. Will this demographic bomb deflate the stock market? I have been reluctant to use the 401k options at work.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-08-31/boomers-are-turning-71-these-4-charts-paint-perfect-storm-it-will-set-investors

@Havamal Here's what I think you should do. You should take advantage of your employer's 401k plan *especially* if you can put your money in mutual funds or guaranteed bonds. The choice of the two depends on your personal level of risk taking. Having your money in a mutual fund, where your money is investing in a multitude of stocks generally within the same industry, will give you better diversity and a better safety net than having your money tied up in say one or two stocks. Although baby boomers are getting older and are needing to live off their investments now - GenX and Millennials are still spending like crazy especially Millennials which will keep profits soaring for companies. Mutual funds pertaining to say Amazon and other tech companies are doing very well especially because they keep on introducing new products and services that are taking off. Also, they have research and development on other services that have the propensity to change everything, therefore, a perfect candidate to invest in for the long term. But, if you're quite the risk taker - there's always international mutual funds that have higher rates of return but can be aggressive in the short term which is why you'd need to be committed for the long haul.

The other investment I mentioned were guaranteed bonds. Those speak for themselves - they're guaranteed. These are perfect if you're not wanting to take any risk. You have a guaranteed rate of return that's obviously much lower than a mutual fund but better than a certificate of deposit or regular savings account in most cases. All in all, this is a better way to stay ahead of inflation now for when you retire.

@Havamal Always max out pre tax 401k because 1) it is the best return you can possible get (you aren't paying tax on that money). If you marginal tax bracket is 25% it is automatically a 25% return on the money you contribute. 2) usually companies will have an employer match feature - this is essentially free money

I am very weary of stocks medium term, for the reasons I mentioned, however your points are logical, as well.

@Havamal Also, if you have a qualified high deductible health care plan, look into a HSA account. HSA are pre tax as well. A single person can contribute about 3.5k/yr(I believe). Some companies offer these plans to employees, some do not. These are essentially pre tax savings account you can put towards qualified medical expenses, perscriptions, etc.

Yeah, I have looked at those. Does Lasik count for HSAs?

Thanks for your advice @Zyzz @Tycho Brahe

@Havamal yes I believe so

On a scale of 1 to 10, how much of a scam is P2P lending as a lender?

dont do it.. i did it

heres why

P2P lending is greater as a BORROWER. you have a very competitive interest rate and it is unsecured debt which means if you have to default the lenders have no resource on your assets....

as a lender you have no recourse if the borrower defaults. you are also highly reliant on the underwriting risk metrics/model the company employs (i lent money through lending club)

to understand why lending club has incentive to fund as many loans as possible you first have to look at how they make their money... they do it primarily by originating loans and servicing loans. the bulk of their income is in the origination side.. servicing doesn't make them much money. they make money other ways but these are the primary ways

why is that bad?

because LC has incentive to originate as many loans as they can. they will manipulate their risk metrics to justify funding a loan at X% and Grade which implies a certain level of risk. the risk that comes along with these poorly underwritten loans do not justify the pay off

additionally, as a borrower you do not have a lot of information from the borrower so it can be tough to make an assessment yourself as to how risky the loan actually is. you are pretty much going off the grade of the loan and their historical credit information without really understanding what their current income/expense situation is like. additionally, borrowers may say they will use the money for X but they may actually use it towards Y

i also believe there is a lot of fraud going on.. ie: people taking out loans before they die or taking out loans without any intention of paying them back

i would have lost money but i employed a strategy where i would buy the original issue, mark up 2% on the secondary market and sell it off to people who live in states that didn't have access to the original issue.. that made up the bulk of my return. all the defaults i suffered would have made my return negative if i didnt trade notes

I agree entirely with what you're saying, these are all things that I've considered. I currently have 8% of my savings at lending club. I have a base of 25% of my investment in 3 year loans between A and C. The rest is used to buy loans that are less than 5 months to maturity and yield over 2% APY. Over the course of a year, my yield is at ~9%.

damn you did better than me

My primary concern is that this is a scheme, and that my money won't be there to withdraw when it's all over.

i went to far out on the risk spectrum.. B-C with some D+E

After I found out they had a trading platform, I was in the clear.

@John O - , i don't think that'll happen(i think they may be FDIC insured) but with that said if you feel uncomfortable i'd withdraw my money as i have been doing over the last ~2 years

How do you make withdrawals without incurring charges?

on lending club? did you invest IRA money?

there is a transfer tab on the homepage.. you can withdraw money for free

Not IRA, personal savings. I might sound like a lunatic, but I don't trust any retirement fund.

Err... Cash money, not personal savings.

i hear you.. you should be able to withdraw all of it for free

even if its IRA money you just have to transfer the money to another IRA account

Gotya. I wired it in and incurred a $25 fee.

odd i never had a fee in any transfer contribution or withdrawl

was the fee charged by lending club or your bank?

it may be because you did a wire rather than an ACH/electronic disbursement transfer

The bank. It was because I wired it, but LC reimbursed me. They only reimburse deposits, though.

link your bank account and do a ACH transfer.. the fee should be $0

Once again, I might sound like an insane person, but I'm trying to get all my money out of financial instruments rn. When the economy starts to recess in a few years, I think It'll be best to be liquid.

nah man i am right there with you.. i am gradually liquidating my investments in general

probably not going to go 100% cash but i am gradually pairing down my holdings and getting more defensive with what i do hold

I hate playing this game. It's rigged from the start. I just need to buy a house and rent out a room.

dont buy now whatever you do

I don't delude myself into thinking I'll ever be a full time landlord, but my money has to go somewhere, and playing this gets me in fits.

i work in RE and homes are well overvalued

Oh yeah, I'm not retarded.

especially in FL

Orlando is inflated af

o.k. so, i'll be very boring for you fine men. Fail to diversify at your own risk. Finance is one where we must totally accept things the way they are. Idealism shouldn't play a role in finance, in my opinion. Indeed, I've learned a good deal from well vetted Jewish finance authors, among many other goys as well. This is an area where, while I cringe to throw any money (((their))) way, I have become a pragmatist. Examples of good Jewish financial authors who have it right (not scams) are Rick Edelman and William Bernstein. Among goys, classics such as Value Investing by Benjamin Graham, anything by Jack Bogle (founder of Vanguard), Rick Ferri, and many others are worthwhile. Diversify to be sure, and depending on your risk tolerance, you can do that any number of ways in terms of assett allocation. Also, maximize 401k, IRA's (even if you don't qualifty you can do back door Roth's), HSA's (a great way to further maximize pretax savings), and MINIMIZE expenses. Do not pay loads, or excessive fees, and Vanguard is an excellent source of low cost index funds (among many other things). Don't speculate on stocks either. It's a total crapshoot.

Also, while rebalancing is something I'll chat about later, the data strongly suggests that if you have greater than a decade of risk tolerance, then indexing and STAYING invested is important, because the data shows that trying to time the market highs or lows keeps you from gaining on the recovery side, and losing on the buying low side of things. It's very clear. Sometimes big market busts which may last 1-2 years, show that the entire recovery occurred within a few very short months . If you were sitting on the sidelines waiting for the bottom you may very well may have missed the entire recovery (into positive returns) if you were not vested during that particular time. Nobody can time the market either. Nobody. So, I urge you not to try it.

Now. If you have a goal of 60/40 (stoks always supercedes bonds when people talk like that), and stocks run up, your assets may become valued such that your prior goal of a 60/40 portfolio is now 80/20 (via the big run up in stocks). So, REBALANCING is the term used to sell some stocks, while buying some bonds (in this example) such that your portfolio resembles your original 60/40 target. When to do this is controversial. Some funds constantly do it for you (quite neat actually). Otherwise, maybe every 1-2 yeasrs seems to be concensus amongst the vetted financial guys I will allow myself to listen to. You aren't so much as timing the market by rebalancing, but inherently, you are selling high (those stocks that ran up) while buying low (those bonds that have been lagging or going down).

Also, depending on the asset, and the SEC yield, you'll want to hold some things (REITS or High Yield Bonds) in tax "advantaged" accounts (like IRA, 401k, Cash balance accounts, HSA's) etc.

This is because they can return such high distributions that you will be taxed if in a regular brokerage (non-tax advantaged) accounts.....

Not sure if this is the best place for this, but I'm an accounting major, going to graduate college in May 2018. I have a GMAT exam scheduled in early november and after getting my results from that am going to apply to MBA programs. However, right now I have a few decent opportunities in terms of getting a job right after college for accounting firms as a staff accountant. I still have to actually apply and go thru the interview process and all that, but I am confident that if I do I can get in. My thing is that I will be graduating at 120 credit hours, and I will need 150 to qualify for a CPA (Can sit in on the exam at 120 tho). So I will need to go back to school for at least one year to become a CPA, and I don't want to get out of that 'academic mindset' by taking a break in between academics to work

financing the MBA / other masters programs is not a big issue for me. Would you recommend that I just focus on the GMAT and the MBA or should I start applying for jobs and start working right after undergrad?

@Deleted User This is a tough question, however, I understand exactly what you're saying. When I received by BS degree - I immediately went to work because I actually needed the money, and that was my need at that time and place. If I knew I'd by okay, then I would've continued on take the GMAT to enter a graduate program.

Speaking for myself, because I chose going to work - it DID demotivate me from continuing on for higher degrees. And I think it's that way for most people. Now, you may be able to find work that will allow you the flexibility to obtain an MBA. In conclusion, you may want to consider the GMAT as a primary focus because the information is fresh in your head AND you already have current study habits right now.....which tend to also be lost over a period of time away from schooling.

@Deleted User take the job opportunity. good MBA programs value candidates with work experience.. work for a few years and see if you want to do an MBA program after that

your GMAT is good for 5 years after you take the test i believe

Yeah I get you. I'm a decent student, but not one of those with a 4.0 GPA, so its not like I can really afford to lose my current study habits. I'm trying to find internships/jobs that will accommodate myself doing an MBA while working but those and few and far between and doing that is going to tax me a lot in terms of time and energy. I guess i'll apply for a few jobs now but hold off on accepting any offers until I hear back from MBA programs. If I do not get into a good program then i'll work for a few years, but if I get into a good one I might as well finish my education in one fell swoop.

You studs are on top of it. Proud of you guys. That's exactly why I joined IE. Good crowd.

Can someone recommend good reading material for general real-estate investing? I have some spare capital and I'm looking to make it work. I'm already heavily invested in stocks. I have metals and no debt at all. I'm looking for something tangible to invest in, but I want to make sure I get a decent foundation before I start searching for properties.

@Deleted User Check out biggerpockets.com... they have a lot of good books that are easy to understand

they also sell their books on amazon as well

appreciate it!

Random post from the site:

Middletown, CT?

It's a TRS Meme

Enoch tells reporters to meet him at the Taco Bell in Middletown

@Deleted User Hey brother. Just be aware of the pitfalls of residential real estate renting. Lots of hidden expenses and possible headaches. Consider a REIT? Not hard asset, but I have become (was not always) a proponent to sticking within your area of expertise in order to maintain excellent cash flow (via your job), and advancing within, while letting others handle endeavors which you have less expertise in.

That being said, I'm pretty sure at some point I will develop a small tract of land, or at least build some homes in the next 15 years. Indeed, I've even looked at Epcon Communities as a franchise opportunity. Would need partners and I am for sure not ready for that myself yet, but it looks very interesting. TIming will be important, as will location. I actually think there is value in a franchise like this. Zoning and approval help. Marketing strategy. Excellent floor plans and architectural/design plans. A managemnt and trades networking system......

@chris smith-MI I appreciate it! I'm familiar with REITs but I need to revisit their tax advantages. That's one thing that kept me away from them before.

@Deleted User dividends from REITs are taxes at your marginal rate. The idea behind it is REITs are not taxed at the corporate level so all money distributed to you is taxed

Great, thanks @Zyzz !

@Deleted User it's important to keep in mind MBAs programs are about networking rather than getting good grades. MBA program don't really give out failing grades or really even C's

https://poetsandquants.com/2014/02/27/how-mbas-are-graded-at-top-schools/

check out poets and quants for more info on b school

One other question for the shekel-grabbers: what's the recommended way to buy municipal bonds? I can do it through my TD Ameritrade account but it all seems to be secondary market.

@Deleted User I haven't really looked into munis very much but I believe my discount broker (fidelity) allows for investors to buy the original issue as well as on the secondary market. may I ask what interests you in munis?

Is there any chance that anyone in I.E. would like to get together and buy some property? I know that it seems kind of LARPy, and we really don't know each other, so one guy totally fucking everyone else is a real danger, but in the VFP general the other day @Deleted User , Nathan, and some others were talking about it.

I just joined I.E. a week ago, but I've been following you for a while. I was cautious about joining because I was worried about whether or not the risk would affect real change, but this is exactly what I've been looking for. I'm an electrician, but I can do everything from drywall to plumbing. I know there are others who are capable tradesmen as well.