Favorite Vanguard index ETFs include:
+ VXF
+ VBR
+ VTV
+ VTI
+ VXUS
Vanguard is known for low-cost mutual funds that follow various indexes. But virtually all their funds now have equivalent ETFs — which mirror both the holdings in the funds and have the identical fees. (I checked.) I prefer the ETFs. Easier and faster to sell.
I lost a little faith in BRKA after it’s played dead for several months:
But a five year chart is more heartening.
Stuff:
+ Over 70 1/2? You need to take some money from your IRA.
+ If you walk rather than drive to work, you’re not only 20% less likely to be overweight, you’re also 40% less prone to diabetes and 17% less apt to have high blood pressure. “Walking even 15 minutes each way, five days a week, can reduce your risks,” says Anthony Laverty, lead author of a survey conducted at the Imperial College London. “If you’re on public transport,” he suggests, “consider getting off earlier, and walking a little. From Men’s Fitness magazine (one of my favorites).
+ Blue means your SMS is free. Green means you’re being charged by your cell phone carrier. Encourage all your people to get iPhones.
+ Time to sign up for Google Alerts on all your stocks you want to keep a beady eye on. Sign up here.
+ Sign up for Uber, the limo service. It really does a good. Pick upUber from Apple’s App Store. They now have a competitor called Link. Probably best to sign up for them, in case Uber is busy or pricey.
+Write down The Five Most Important Things You Need to Do Today. Then do the hardest first. The others will seem like a breeze.
+ All online brokerage sites will cut you off if you ignore them for a nanosecond. Most online sites will extend your grace period if you call and beg.
+ Make all your passwords something you can remember. Start with a capital letter, then add a made-up word, then end with your birthday. I keep the same one on my most sites. So far, it’s worked. The key is to make the first letter a capital.
+ You may want to sell some of your losers and take the loss. You may have funds with big taxable gains that will surprise you. This has been a big year in the market. Now is the time to start some tax planning — like pre-paying bills, etc.
+ If you sell stuff from a web site, please check your site today. The Obamacare disaster has become contagious. I kid you not. At least half the web sites I’ve visited in recent days have done something stupid or completely blown up, including (of all companies) United Parcel Service (UPS).
This is genuinely sick.
Palm trees don’t make good Christmas trees.
I did not photoshop the palm tree. It’s genuine.
Harry Newton who promises tomorrow a list of The Best Christmas/Hanukah Presents. You won’t have to think. I’ve done it all for you.
