A Lot Has Changed 15 Oct 2023 8:53 AM (last year)

I'm back!

Since my last post about 10 years ago:

Divorced. Bought ex out of military pension and split the assets. Fortunately, no kids in the divorce. I took all the illiquid assets (real estate) and sold them before the COVID boom.
Remarried and now have 1 son and temporary custody of our adopted son's half-brother.
Retired from the Navy as a Navy CAPT (O6). Awaiting first retiree paycheck and VA disability payment. I'm due to hear back from the VA in the next two weeks and get my first retiree paycheck in 6 weeks. I suspect my net retirement pay (27.5-year Navy O6) and VA disability should be about $107K after all taxes, etc. Well short of my initial goal of $125K in passive income.
Resettled in Ann Arbor, MI. We bought in Michigan with the hope of staying here for my second career and potentially longer.
Treaded water on net worth (basically the same where I was when I got divorced). However, outlook is good going forward.

As I move forward, I will talk about my journey. My biggest personal finance experiences defining future commentary:

Finishing my current role as estate executor for late father's estate. Among the things estate executor duties have taught me is that my wife and I have too much stuff.
Negotiating the hi-wire of a 3-year ARM. I made a strategic bet that interest rates would be down 3 years from now and locked in our mortgage at a 2 to 2.5% lower interest rate than what was available in the 7 to 7.5% interest rate for fixed rate mortgages. However, it comes at a cost if I get it wrong when we refinance in 2026.
Career reset. While I have spent most of my energy lately on our family's move to Ann Arbor, MI, and serving as an estate executor, i've started applying for jobs.

With the divorce, growing our home (remarried, 2 kids) and resettling to an expensive area, i'm no longer retiring at 51 but will be working into my sixties. Fortunately, my military pension is giving me some freedom in deciding what's next.

Re-evaluating financial goals. We've had a lot of inflation since 2013 and my original goal of $125K in passive income probably won't cut it.

I look forward to connecting with you via my articles. If you have questions and would like to hear more from my perspective, please comment and subscribe.

Blogging my way towards a retirement in 2025 with a passive income of at least $125k per year.

Screen Shot Reflecting Performance of my LendingClub Peer-2-Peer Lending Account and General Attributes to Lending Success 3 Feb 2013 11:21 AM (11 years ago)

I have been lending at this site since late 2008. My year-over-year statistics include:

	Balance Jan 1st	Balance Dec 31st	Account APY	Notes Sold
2009	$125.72	$1,516.71	7.70%	4
2010	$1,516.71	$2,729.71	9.49%	16
2011	$2,729.71	$5,964.22	10.98%	41
2012	$5,964.22	$9,044.87	11.45%	172

You may wonder why there is a large difference between what LendingClub advertises as "Net Annualized Return" and my self calculated account APY. I believe the principal reason for difference between these two is that LendingClub's calculations do not factor in FolioFn fees and loan losses incurred when selling loans at FolioFn.

I attribute my success at LendingClub to:

1. Multiple years of lending at Prosper before opening my LendingClub account. I lent about $5500 over several preceding years at Prosper and had a net loss of $50. Over my time at Prosper, I learned a few lessons about risk-return. I no longer use Prosper.

2. Over 90% of loans originated are to borrowers whose projected revolving debt balance (after loan) is no more than three times their income. This requires one to trust the marketed loan purpose at face value... (e.g. debt consolidation loans end up being used 100% for debt consolidation).

3. Most of my loans are to borrowers reporting over $3000 per month for income. I feel that the these borrowers have a greater latitude for paying basic living expenses and then having room in their budget for debt payback.

4. I have ALWAYS sold non-performing notes. Over 90% of the time, I sold notes that were no more than 15 days late in payment. Most of the time between 2009 and Nov 2012, I sold notes in the hours between the time I discovered their monthly payment was was late and the time at which the note changed to an "in grace period" status.

5. In November 2012, I noticed that the FolioFn trading platform was performing poorly and not displaying notes very well when users attempt to sort notes by Yield to Maturity. Because of this, a number of my notes "in grace period" did not sell very well. While I experienced some short term disgust with the FolioFn platform, it did prompt me to start selling notes well prior to them entering "in grace period" status. Now, a majority of the notes I sell are those notes that have had a greater than a 35 point credit score drop since the loan was originated. I typically sell these notes for around 0.99 to 0.995 cents on the dollar and eat the additional 1% FolioFn fee. I would rather sell loans prior to a delinquency than have them age to an "in grace period" status and have to deal with the inadequacies of the FolioFn note trading platform. If FolioFn is acting up (as it has in the past), it could cause notes that would normally sell to age and result in delinquency statuses of 17+ or 31+ days. Notes that age to delinquency statuses of 17+ and 31+ days have required me to discount them 25-75% in order to get them sold.

Blogging my way towards a retirement in 2025 with a passive income of at least $125k per year.

Is My Retirement Goal Attainable? Under Current Assumptions, We Fall Short Unless We Invest More in LendingClub Peer-to-Peer Notes. 21 Jan 2013 11:35 AM (12 years ago)

The banner on my website clearly states a goal of mine to retire in 2025 with passive income in the amount of $125k per year. Since 2004, this goal has shifted from retiring at 47 years of age to 51 years old. I made this shift on my banner around 2010. My earlier aggressive goal was likely based on a confidence in the real estate market in 2004. That confidence in real estate remains, but now to a smaller extent.

To retire at 51 years of age, I assume that I serve 29 yrs in the military and retire as an O6. This is a big assumption in that this would require a promotion from O5 and my wife to tolerate another 12 and a half years of my service. I believe the is not that much of a stretch since we are getting to the point where she will homestead and most of my follow on assignments are likely possible in the DC beltway (where wife wants to homestead until I retire).

Assuming I make it to 29 yrs of service and retire as an O6, I should net $64,109 per year after taxes and survivor benefit premium payments.

The wife is civil service and if she homesteads after our next assignment and stays in her current line of work, we're looking at an additional $7,023 per year for her pension after taxes and survivor benefit premium.

We have three investment properties now, two of which are paid off and another one that will be paid off within the next 20 months. In 20 months, these properties will be bringing in a net of $15,463 a year after taxes, insurance, maintenance and management fees.

Totaling these three items gives us a net of $86,595

$64,109 29 yr military pension

$7,023 17 yr civil service pension

$15,463 Investment Property Income

$86,595 Projected Net Income in Retirement

Now, this leaves a passive income shortfall of $38,405.

A retirement at 51 yrs of age does not permit including distributions from 401Ks and IRAs. We do not save a lot into these investment vehicles because we have been focusing on paying off real estate and generating free cash flow. At the age of 51, we should have about $290k or more in these retirement investment vehicles assuming a conservative 4% annual return rate.

Now, what other assumptions are we making and where do we think we'll end up in meeting our goal of $125k in passive income?

We are saving $600/month in our dividend reinvestment plans. Assuming a 8.4% annual return, we are projected to accrue $233,387. Assuming our current portfolio dividend rate of 2.6% remains the same, this would bring in about $5,158 per year after taxes.

We are also projected to invest $4k this year and $2k in each subsequent year in LendingClub peer-2-peer notes. Over the past four years, we have netted a 45.85% return before taxes at LendingClub. In our first year, we netted 7.7%. In 2012, we netted 10.98%. Assuming an optimistic 12% annual return, we should end up with about $103,637 in this account. In 2025, this should give us about $8,208 per year after taxes.

Between our dividend reinvestment plans and LendingClub, our projected net income in retirement grows to:

$86,595 Income from Pensions and Investment Property

$5,158 Dividend Reinvestment Plan Income

$8,208 LendingClub Note Income

$99,961 Projected Net Income from Pensions, Investment Property, DRIPs and LendingClub

This leaves a shortfall of $25,039 per year. We project that we'll have the ability to accrue an additional $529,227 in savings by May 2025. Assuming we spend $400k on a condo in Northern Virginia and later convert it to an investment property, this should net us about $12k per year in income after management, home ownership association fees and taxes.

$99,961 Projected Net Income from Pensions, Existing Rental Property, DRIPs and LendingClub

$12,000 Income from additional investment property

$111,961

This leaves about $129,227 left over in accrued cash that can be invested. Looking at three different courses of action:

1.) Investing in stocks at 2.6% brings our retirement income to: $114,817

2.) Investing in real estate at 6% rental yield (current yield on our three properties) brings our retirement income to: $117,544

3.) Investing in more LendingClub notes at 11% note yield brings our retirement income to: $122,195

If we retire in May 2025, we will fall short of our goal, somewhere between $2,800 to $10,813 per year.

How will we make up this goal?

If we execute course of action #3 and work an additional four months investing those earnings in additional LendingClub notes, we could meet our goal and retire in September 2025.

If we execute course of action #1, it would take an additional three years of work to accrue a 2.6% dividend paying portfolio large enough to fill the income gap. I'm only assured an additional year of service since O6s are required to retire at 30 years of service.

If we execute course of action #2, we could likely attain our goal but it would require us to retire one year later in 2026 and roll all subsequent earnings into a combination of LendingClub notes and stocks.

Blogging my way towards a retirement in 2025 with a passive income of at least $125k per year.

Lending Club Peer to Peer Lending Account Performance 25 Oct 2012 5:54 PM (12 years ago)

I have been on Lending Club since Dec 2008.

Since 2008, I have had the following net account performance (after loan sales and transaction fees):

2009: 7.7% return. One month with a losing record.
2010: 9.5% return. Zero months with a loss.
2011: 11.0% return. Zero months with a loss.
2012 thru 30 Sep: 9.6% return. Zero months with a loss.

I personally believe that I have not lost money in Lending Club because I do not hold loans until default. Instead, I sell the loans at a discount in the first two weeks of loan delinquencies.

Blogging my way towards a retirement in 2025 with a passive income of at least $125k per year.

What is My Military Pension Worth? Posting Also Useful to Potential Civil Service Pensioners or Others Trying to Monetize Passive Income Stream(s) 20 Feb 2012 7:06 AM (12 years ago)

Many of you may want to know what your civil service or military pension is worth today. Some may even want to try and monetize other passive income streams. Determining the value of a pension or other income stream is either a two step or one step process. It's one step if you're in (or near) day one of retirement or just established a passive income stream. It's a two step problem if you still have a number of years to work.

Well, I want to know what my military pension would be worth today if I enjoyed a successful career and retired as a Captain / Colonel after 30 yrs of military service. This situation would give me $7763 / month which would be 75% of my base pay (ref: 2012 pay table, O-6 over 26yrs).

Here’s two methods to determine the value of my pension (Method #1 using a basic calculator, Method #2 using a finance calculator).

Assuming a personal discount rate / IRR of 0.3% per month (equal to 3.66% APY) and a life expectancy of 30 years (360 months) past my retirement date.

1. Using a simple calculator with an exponential “^” function (minimum requirement)

(a) First find the present value of an "immediate annuity." Using the formula

PV immediate annuity = [ 1 – (1 + R)^-n] (P/R)
R = interest rate in decimal form
P = payment
N = number of periods

Filling in numbers you get:

PV immediate annuity = [ 1 – (1 + 0.003)^-360] (7763/0.003)
PV immediate annuity = [ 1 – 0.3401] (2,587,667)
PV immediate annuity = $1,707,601

This is the present value of the stream of pension payments the day I retire. This equation alone may suffice if you're at retirement or very close to retirement age.

However, I have 14 more years to work till retirement. To get the Present Value today, you have to discount the value determined above ($1,707,601) over the time I have left till retirement (14 yrs or N = 168 periods).

Present Value With Zero Payments Formula:

PV = FV (1+R)^-N
PV = $1,707,601 * (1+.003)^-168
PV = $1,707,601 * 0.6046
PV = $1,032,356

$1,032,356 is what my retirement is worth to me today assuming a discount rate of 0.3% per month or 3.66% APY.

2. Using a financial calculator like a Texas Instruments BAII, you get a two step problem.

Step 1:

a) Assuming a 3.66% discount rate (~ 0.3%/month)
b) Assuming 30yr life expectancy once I hit retirement

N = 360 months
I/Y = 0.3%/month
PV = $0
PMT = $7763/month
FV = ?

Plugging into a financial calculator, you get a future value of $5,019,873. Now working backwards in step 2:

N= 528 (360 months for length of retirement + 168 months left till I retire)
I/Y = 0.3%/month
PV = ?
PMT = $0/month
FV = $5,019,873

Solving for PV you get $1,032,286

The difference between the financial calculator method and the basic calculator method is simply due to round-off error. The biggest determinant in figuring the present value of any stream of income is what interest rate you use for your "discount rate." Your present value (PV) will be smaller if you use a discount rate higher than 3.66% APY or 0.3% per month. I figured that 0.3% per month is reasonable and close to what one can get on medium to long term bonds.

Keywords / phrases: how much is an annuity worth

Blogging my way towards a retirement in 2025 with a passive income of at least $125k per year.

My Net Annual Return on Lending Club Account Up from 9.5% in 2010 to 11.0% in 2011 19 Feb 2012 12:04 PM (12 years ago)

I have been originating (peer-2-peer) loans at Lending Club since Dec 2008. Since starting, I have issued 371 loans, of which:

56 loans fully paid off
0 loans late, default or charged off

In 2009, I made a net 7.7% return on my investment (after fees and note sales). During 2009, I only had one losing month where I had a monthly annualized return of negative 5.24%.

In 2010, I made a net 9.5%. My worst month had a monthly annualized return of 0.89%.

In 2011, I made a net 11.0%. My worst month had a monthly annualized return of
7.54%.

Lending Club says my account has a net annualized return of 13.87% and total interest earned of $905.74. Each of these are way off my actual return. My net earnings are actually some $200.65 less than what Lending Club advertises. The problem with Lending Club is that it doesn't fully factor in all fees and losses incurred in the sale of notes.

Overall, with exception to Lending Club not having "net earnings" and "net annual yield" displayed on its account dashboard, I am satisfied with Lending Club.

I attribute my greater success in 2011 to increasing my risk tolerance in notes that i'm willing to fund. Since 2009, I have been aggressive to sell notes before they hit 16 days late. By doing this, I book small monthly losses on some notes vice periodic large losses on defaults. Additionally, it is best to do small loans of
$25 since more people have funds available and are willing to risk buying small late loans. I will continue to execute this strategy and pursue lending club notes above 14%.

My note filter is:
Interest rate: Excludes A and B rated notes
Term: 36 and 60 month
Funding progress: 10% or more
Max loan amount: $25k
Exclude loans invested in: Yes
Max debt-to-income: 20%
Months since last delinquency: 12 months or more
Inquiries in the last 6 months: 3 max
Min length of employment: 1

In addition to this, I am reluctant to fund notes where the monthly income is less than 1/3 of total revolving credit balance. I exceed this sometimes when I believe that the individual is truly going to use the money for debt consolidation.

Blogging my way towards a retirement in 2025 with a passive income of at least $125k per year.

Veteran's Day Promotions for Active Duty and Military Veterans: 25 Free Things on Veteran's Day and Veteran's Day Weekend 5 Nov 2011 7:17 AM (13 years ago)

From free food to free entry to our Nation's parks, here's a summary of freebies for Active Duty Military and our Nation's Veteran's this Veteran's Day Weekend.

1. Applebee’s – free meal, Friday, Nov. 11. Last year, Applebee’s served 1,024,000 million free meals to military veterans and active servicemembers. Applebee’s is again offering a free meal to military veterans and active-duty service members on Veteran’s Day, Friday, Nov. 11, 2011. There will be 7 entrées to choose from. Military ID or proof of service required. Find locations here.

2. Chili’s – free meal, Friday, Nov. 11. Chili’s is offering all military veterans past and present their choice of one of 6 meals. This offer is available during business hours on November 11, 2011 at participating Chili’s in the U.S. only. Dine-in from limited menu only; beverages and gratuity not included. Veterans and active duty military simply show proof of military service. Visit their website to find locations.

3. Golden Corral – Free meal, Monday Nov. 14. The 10th annual Golden Corral Military Appreciation dinner will be held on Monday, November 14, 2011 from 5 pm to 9 pm in all Golden Corral Restaurants nationwide. The free “thank you” dinner is available to any person who has ever served in the United States Military. If you are a veteran, retired, currently serving, in the National Guard or Reserves, you are invited to participate in Golden Corral’s Military Appreciation Monday dinner. For more information visit there site. Special thanks to Golden Corral: To date, Golden Corral restaurants have provided over 2.5 million free meals and contributed over $4.3 million to the Disabled American Veterans organization.

4. Hooters – Free Meal, Friday, Nov. 11. Hooter’s is serving up a free meal to military veterans all day on Veterans Day. Offer good for all veterans and active duty military personnel. Choose one of the new specialty items on the Hooter’s menu. Offer valid at participating Hooters only; open to all active duty and military veterans with valid military ID or proof of military service. Drink purchase required. For more information, visit their site.

5. Krispy Kreme – Free doughnut. Available only at participating Krispy Kreme stores. Offer available to all active-duty, retirees & veterans on Friday November 11th. Be sure to call ahead to verify your local Krispy Kreme is participating.

6. McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurants – free lunch or dinner, Sunday Nov 13th. McCormick & Schmick’s is celebrating their 13th annual Veteran’s Appreciation Event on Sunday, November 13th. Veterans will be able to choose a complimentary lunch or dinner entrée. Veterans must provide proof of military service. Be sure to contact your local McCormick & Schmick’s as this is valid at participating restaurants only. Also, Space is limited and reservations are highly recommended. For more information visit here.

7. Outback Steakhouse – A week of Free Bloomin’ Onions and Cokes Monday Nov. 7 – Friday Nov. 11. Outback Steakhouse is honoring America’s military veterans by offering active duty military and veterans a free Bloomin’ Onion and a Coca-Cola product during the week leading up to Veteran’s Day. This offer is available to Military Personnel who have one of the following forms of identifications: U.S Uniform Services Identification Card, U.S Uniform Services Retired Identification Card, Current Leave and Earnings Statement (LES), DD form 214 Veterans Organization Card (i.e., American Legion and VFW), Photograph in Uniform, Wearing Uniform. For more information, visit here. The Outback understands commitment. For the past two years, The Outback, with the help of their patrons, has donated $2 Million to Operation Homefront, a non-profit organization providing everyday and emergency support for active troops, wounded warriors and their families.

8. Subway – Free Six Inch Sub. Select Subway locations offer a FREE six inch sub to military veterans on Veteran’s Day. However, Subway restaurants are franchises, so this offer may not be available everywhere. Please call ahead.

9. Texas Roadhouse – free meal, Friday, Nov. 11. Offer varies by location; our local Texas Roadhouse is offering a free meal from opening until 4pm. Other locations may vary in offer, hours, or availability. Call ahead to your local restaurant for more information.

10. T.G.I. Friday’s – Buy one get one free Nov 11-14. At participating locations for anyone with an old or current military ID. November 11-14.

11. Uno Chicago Grill, Friday, Nov. 11. Uno’s is offering a free entree or individual pizza with a purchase of an entree or pizza of equal or greater value. Offer good for all military for veterans and active duty military. ID or proof of service required: Show up in uniform (if your service permits), provide military ID, show a picture of yourself in uniform, or have other ID showing proof of service.

12. Home Depot and Lowes Coupon Updates. Home Depot and Lowes 10% Military Discount Available Everyday.

Home Depot: The Home Depot(R) is offering all active duty personnel, reservists, retired military, veterans and their families a 10 percent discount off their purchases in honor of Veteran’s Day. The offer is valid on purchases of up to $2,000 for a maximum of $200 and is available at The Home Depot stores, The Home Depot Design Center locations, Yardbirds and EXPO Design Center(R) locations. The 10% discount is available everyday for active duty and retirees, but not all veterans. Home Depot makes this offer available to all veterans on most military holidays. You can also find Home Depot discounts online.

Lowes: Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will offer all active, reserve, honorably discharged, retired military personnel and their immediate family members a 10 percent discount on in-store U.S. purchases made during the Veterans Day holiday. The discount is available Nov. 7 – Nov. 11. The discount is available on in-stock and special order purchases up to $5,000. To qualify, individuals must present a valid military ID or other proof of service. Excluded from the discount are sales via Lowes.com, previous sales, and purchases of services or gift cards. Like Home Depot, Lowes offers this discount daily to active duty military members, but not to veterans. However, they extend the offer to military veterans on military holidays.

13. Anheuser-Busch Parks. Anheuser-Busch Parks offers Active Duty Service Members free admission for them and up to 3 dependents to any of their parks once a year. Throughout 2011, members of the military and as many as three direct dependents may enter SeaWorld, Busch Gardens or Sesame Place parks with a single-day complimentary admission. The Here’s to the Heroes program is only available to Any active duty, activated or drilling reservist, or National Guardsman. Eligible parks include: Adventure Island, Busch Gardens (Tampa Bay or Williamsburg), SeaWorld (Orlando, San Diego, or San Antonio), Sesame Place, and Water Country USA. Not valid at Discovery Cove and Aquatica. Christmas Town at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Va. is not included as part of this program. For more information and to register, visit: Free admission summary, and ticket application.

14. Colonial Williamsburg Free Admission. Colonial Williamsburg offers free weekend-long admission tickets to active-duty military, reservists, retirees, veterans, and their immediate dependents from Friday, Nov. 11 through Sunday, Nov. 13th. The complimentary ticket incudes admission to Colonial Williamsburg exhibition sites, art museums, and most daytime programs, as well as free parking and use of the shuttle bus system. Tickets are only available at on-site ticket sales locations. Tickets are also available to families of deployed servicemembers. Tickets available on the following dates: Nov. 11-13.

15. Historic Jamestowne – Free Admission. The National Park Service commemorates Veterans Day with Fee Free days at Historic Jamestowne November 11-13. Free admission for everyone. See events calendar.

16. Knotts Berry Farm Military Tribute Days – Free Admission. Knott’s Berry Farm has an annual Military Tribute event in which they offer military members past and present by offering free park admission. This year the Military Tribute Days run from November 1 – 24 November (Thanksgiving Day). Veterans or current serving military personnel plus one guest get in FREE with proper ID presented at Knott’s turnstile (DD214, Veterans Administration Hospital ID or Active Military Service ID). Purchase up to six additional tickets for just $17 each. More info.

17. Fee Free Day at National Parks. To honor America’s service men and women, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that areas managed by the National Park Service would not charge entrance fees for Veteran’s Day weekend – November 11-13, 2011. Over 100 national Parks will be participating in this event.

18. San Jacinto Monument and Museum (La Porte, TX). November 7-13: Free admission to the theatre, Observation Floor, and (on November 12-13) the special exhibit to all veterans and their families. More info here.

19. Bed and Breakfast for Vets In the third year of the program, B&Bs for Vets has organized over 485 (and counting) participating Bed and Breakfasts and Inns across the US and Canada which will be offering veterans a free night’s stay on November 10th, the night before Veterans Day. This offer is available to both active duty military members and veterans with ID, but space is limited. Each Inn and B&B has at least one room available for this promotion and reservations must be made directly through the participating Inns and B&Bs. For more information visit B&Bs for Vets.

20. Sam’s Club® locations nationwide will distribute 36,000 Hugo® canes free of charge on November 9th, 10th, 11th, 2011 to U.S. military veterans in need of mobility assistance. Limited quantities available, while supplies last. Sam’s Club® Membership is not required, but proof of military service may be required. For more information, visit HugoSalutes.com.

21. Here are some additional Veteran’s Day Discounts. In all cases, be sure to provide proper ID or proof of service. In addition, some of these stores are franchises, so verify participation before assuming the discount is in place.

Free Car wash. Thousands of car washes around the country are offering vets a free car wash on Veterans Day. Find a list at Grace for Veterans, which helped veterans receive 101,537 FREE Washes on Veterans Day in 2010.

Amazon.com – Discount “Veterans Day Honor” MP3 album download. This downloadable album includes 12 songs as performed by the military bands and ensembles of the U.S. Armed Forces. Visit Amazon on Veteran’s Day to download the album.

Netflix – One Month Free Trial.

Sport Clips – FREE haircut to active-duty military & veterans. Offer only available at select locations. Please call to verify local participation.

Tim Hortons – all US locations are offering a free donut to all veterans (check out the Star Spangled donut!).

Blogging my way towards a retirement in 2025 with a passive income of at least $125k per year.

When This Market Technician Talks, I Always Listen 17 Aug 2011 10:07 AM (13 years ago)

Louise Yamada... I could be thumbing through a magazine or setting my fantasy baseball roster, when Louise Yamada comes on TV, I stop what I'm doing and listen. She's a wealth of knowledge.

I like this particular video of hers.

The bottom line is that the breakdown in the relationship between the dollar, oil and gold is disconcerting for investors because it demonstrates market confusion.

Notice how the recent equities correction didn't affect gold prices like it usually would?

I haven't bought gold, but i'm considering buying the Power Shares DB precious metals ETF (DBP) if it has some consolidation in the near term.

Blogging my way towards a retirement in 2025 with a passive income of at least $125k per year.

Thumbs Down Rating on Lending Club's Move to Ban Unique Lender Questions 1 May 2011 6:58 PM (13 years ago)

Until recently, I have grown to be a fan of Lending Club... So much so that I was also contemplating setting up a self directed IRA with the company. However, Lending Club's recent move to ban unique borrower questions has me a little uneasy parting with my money.

Take for instance people that ask for a loan to move but make no comments about their job prospect in their new location. You would think it would be pertinent to ask about their employment. Instead, Lending Club does not currently allow the lender to ask a question on this point. Instead, you have to rely on the credit history based on "past" employment.

I seriously wonder if other lenders have grown reluctant like me to lend money to borrowers on the site unless the borrower clearly communicates their situation.

Blogging my way towards a retirement in 2025 with a passive income of at least $125k per year.

US Inflation Rate 9.6% Using Alternate Calculation Method 12 Apr 2011 4:45 PM (13 years ago)

Thought this would be interesting to you. Using methods employed when Fed Chairman Paul Volker was appointed in 1979, US's annual inflation rate would be 9.6% for this past February. Article.

Blogging my way towards a retirement in 2025 with a passive income of at least $125k per year.

Valentine's Day Ideas From "The Digerati Life" and "My Good Cents." 13 Feb 2011 11:26 AM (13 years ago)

Here are a couple of recommended Valentine's Day related articles from those in my blogroll.

The Digerati Life. "Best Cheap Dates Ideas for Valentine's Day Romantics."

My Good Cents. "Valentines Day: Free Redbox Rental."

Have a great Valentine's Day!

Blogging my way towards a retirement in 2025 with a passive income of at least $125k per year.

Up 65% in Last 10 Months in my Soft Commodities Investment. Will Likely Rotate into McDonalds as Grain Prices Peak. 6 Feb 2011 2:32 PM (13 years ago)

I bought into the iPath Grains (JJG) ETF on April 5th of last year at $34.18 / share. On Friday, shares traded at $56.20. This is a gain of 64.4% over the 10 months. Of course these gains are only on paper.

I spent part of the afternoon contemplating what I would do with my money as I scaled out of this ETF. I spent some time comparing charts of JJG against a few stocks and happened upon an interesting comparison against McDonalds (MCD). See chart JJG vs. MCD. Looking from 12/8/10 til present and you'll see that the two stocks are moving inversely to each other.

So, unless we have a good stock market correction, my current plan is to ride out JJG for a few more bucks and to start scaling out of JJG between $61 and $71.

I suspect JJG should hit this gate of $61 - $71 within the next couple of months prior to crops being planted. As I scale out, I am planning on moving my funds into McDonalds. I don't think that McDonalds is going to run up like a rocket ship; however, I feel that McDonalds should trounce the S&P 500 after grains and other commodities (e.g. COW) peak and start trending lower. Plus, McDonalds 3.3% yield should provide a level of safety in our current lofty market levels.

Blogging my way towards a retirement in 2025 with a passive income of at least $125k per year.

My Net Annual Return on Lending Club Account Up from 7.7% in 2009 to 9.5% in 2010 9 Jan 2011 7:57 AM (14 years ago)

I have been originating (peer-2-peer) loans at Lending Club since Dec 2008. Since starting, I have issued 153 loans, of which:

15 loans fully paid off
0 loans late, default or charged off

In 2009, I made a net 7.7% return on my investment (after fees and note sales). During 2009, I only had one losing month where I had a monthly annualized return of -5.24%.

In 2010, I made a net 9.5%. My worst month had a monthly annualized return of 0.89%.

Lending Club says my account has a net annualized return of 12.72% and total interest earned of $325.54. Each of these are way off my actual return. My net earnings are actually some $80.25 less than what Lending Club advertises. The problem with Lending Club is that it doesn't fully factor in all fees and losses incurred in the sale of notes.

Overall, with exception to Lending Club not having "net earnings" and "net annual yield" displayed on it's account dashboard, I am very satisfied with Lending Club.

I attribute my greater success in 2010 to increasing my risk tolerance in notes that i'm willing to fund. In 2009, I was already selling almost all notes before they hit 16 days late. So, I was willing to do a few more note sales in order to balance out any extra incurred risk.

My note filter is:

Funding progress: 10% or more
Max loan amount: $25k
Interest rate: Excludes A and B rated notes
Months since last delinquency: 24 months or more
Max debt-to-income: 20%
Min length of employment: 2
Inquiries in the last 6 months: 3 max

In addition to this, I am reluctant to fund notes where the monthly income is less than 1/3 of total revolving credit balance. I exceed this sometimes when I believe that the individual is truly going to use the money for debt consolidation.

Blogging my way towards a retirement in 2025 with a passive income of at least $125k per year.

Frustrated With Cable TV Customer Service: How I Turned Their Refusal to Credit my Account Into a Yes 30 Nov 2010 4:11 PM (14 years ago)

Ok, i'm a busy man. So, when I experienced a 30% loss of cable TV channels it would go to reason that I wouldn't call the cable company immediately. Three days later I spent nearly 1/2 hour on the phone resolving my account issues.

I reset my cable box and regained the lost channels while I continued to wait to speak to a customer service representative. I explained to the rep that I had an interruption in service for three days and that I just fixed the problem. However, I still requested at least a one day credit to my account. The call center rep stated that he could not credit my account since I waited so long to report the problem.

I then stated how I had been busy and that I was asking for at least a one day credit not three days. I told him how long I waited before I got to speak to a person and cited the wait as the reason I didn't jump at the opportunity to call in when I had better things to do. The rep stuck to his guns. Meanwhile, I stated that I was interested in writing a letter to the company CEO and asked whether a case # was assigned. If not, I asked how I could reference my phone call. He said there was no case #. I then asked for his ID#.

I was very frustrated when I got off the phone. In my line of work, I have ghost written correspondence for very senior people. I was about to start writing a letter that probably would have taken me 30 minutes or more to perfect.

I then took another path and spent 15 more minutes with the same company's customer service to get a second opinion.

When I got a new rep on the phone, I asked the customer service rep to read the notes attached to my account. I then explained what my issue was and that I would like a credit for at least one day. If that couldn't be done, I asked for the rep to provide me the appropriate information for submitting a complaint.

The representative then gave me a three day credit. Honestly, I think the rep would have given me a three day credit before I ever asked for her assistance in submitting a complaint.

The company I speak of above is Cox Communications.... So, when you're at your wits end with a customer service rep and things aren't going your way:

1.) Ask for a case # or customer service rep ID #
2.) Wrap up your conversation in a manner where you're reasonably confident the rep will write notes on the account... Don't hang up mid call.
3.) Call back and get a 2nd opinion with another representative.
4.) If that doesn't work, then ask the representative on how to submit a complaint.
5.) If that rep is ignorant and can't provide verifiable information, do the research and write a letter to the CEO of the company. Keep the letter to one page and stick to the facts... I suspect you will more often than not get a positive outcome. You see, the CEO's front office knows that if you take the time to write a well thought out letter, there's a reasonable chance that you have a legitimate complaint and you may end up as a lost customer if not handled properly.

Blogging my way towards a retirement in 2025 with a passive income of at least $125k per year.

Bought New Lexus at $527 Below Invoice 9 May 2010 9:24 PM (14 years ago)

Yipee! We got a 2010 Lexus ES350. It's a replacement for my 1998 Acura.

I've been driving my Acura 2.3CL for 144k miles now. The Acura only broke down once at about the 110k mile mark (overheated due to bad thermostat). Our other car was bought in 2007 used and now has 90k miles on it. We're almost to the point where its impractical to take our high mileage cars on cross country road trips. We have been waiting since 2008 to buy and decided to buy now and take advantage of my ability to buy in Washington State tax free. Basically, military personnel residing in Washington State can buy a car tax free if they are within 3 months of transfer out of state and are not a Washington resident. Well, it certainly is nice to avoid paying their 9.6% sales tax.

So, how did I get this deal? Well, first off, I didn't bring my spouse (smart & dumb move). Before dropping her off at the airport, I asked her what she would like. She knows that I was primarily looking at cars at the $25k price point as a replacement for my car (Toyota, Honda, Subaru, Ford). However, she said "I would like a BMW, Mercedes or Lexus." I said, how about Infiniti or Acura. She said no. She said she wanted a sedan, but would also be willing to take a Lexus RX SUV. I asked her what color. She said Silver, any color interior. As an alternate she would take a white car with tan interior. In prior conversations we also agreed on paying up to $35k for a new car.

I promptly went to my favorite dealer (Acura). Test drove a used 2006 Acura RL. It had 59k miles and wasn't certified pre-owned (CPO). Nice car for about $24k, but I would want CPO. I told the dealer that i'm all over the map on what I wanted and that I needed my wife with me before making the purchase.

I then test drove the Mercedes C300 Sport 4Matic. The Mercedes was nice and sporty. Much better than the one I test drove around 2002. The 2010 Mercedes C-Class is also an IIHS top safety pick. I told the sales rep that I needed my wife with me before making the final decision and left.

I then went to BMW. Their cars were all a bit more expensive and not as safe as Acura, Lexus or Mercedes (crash test wise). Heck, half of the BMWs I looked at didn't even report their crash test ratings on their window stickers like others. I left and went to Lexus.

Upon arrival, I spoke with the dealer about the Lexus RX and RX hybrid. They didn't have any entry level RX or RX hybrids. Then we discussed the ES series. They had some nearly entry level models. I asked for one in Silver and they had me test drive one with an MSRP of $38,220. I liked the test drive but said I wanted to wait until my wife returned from travel and had the option of being involved. However, I did double speak and say that I would be willing to talk numbers.

I sat down with the sales rep and he asked for some credit information. I said that I didn't want to do a credit pull and that if that was necessary I would wait until my wife was back in town.

The sales manager walked over and made conversation. He offered me the car at one price. I was silent for about 10 seconds (thinking). Before speaking, he shaved off $500. I was momentarily quiet and insisted that I wanted my wife present. At the very end he asked at what price he could get a sale. I asked to use the Internet and pulled up Truecar.com. I forgot to plug in the dealer installed LoJack, but plugged in all other options. Truecar then provided the dealer "true cost," invoice and what would be a "great price" based on historical sales (without LoJack). I said if you can met this Truecar "best price" i'll buy. He came back and offered me my price plus $100. He then stated off the cuff how much I would expect to spend in fees. He advertised $140 in additional dealer fees (he was off by $48). When added altogether, the price was at about $35,300. I stated that at the start of the day I was really only in the mindset of spending up to $30k (Acuras on my mind). He gave me a moment and I walked out to the car. I thought, if I could get the car for $34k then it would be worth buying now. I walked back in and said I would be willing to buy for $34k.

The sales manager offered with another Lexus that was identical but without LoJack. This car's MSRP was $37,435. He offered it to me for $33,885 plus what ended up as $188 in sales fees. I asked to test drive the different car. The counter offered car actually had cleaner paint and fewer miles (5 total miles). I test drove and then went to the back room with the Ninja Super Sales Lady. She tried to sell me everything under the sun in dealer mark up items (warranty, paint protective film, leather treatment, light treatments, glass treatments, LoJack, etc.). I didn't buy any. In the end I paid:

$33,885 (agreed price)

+ $29 title, license fees.

+ $9 lien fee

+ $150 document prep fee

Total: $34,073 financed at 1.9% for 60 months... Before leaving I also got a full tank (~$36 value).

Factoring free gas, my adjusted price was $34,037.

Truecar.com reports this car at a Truecost of $33,897 and a dealer invoice of $34,600.

My final adjusted price was $140 over "truecost" and $563 below invoice.

Can you get the same price? I hope so, but you should understand that I also had a slight advantage.

(1.) The dealer threw in an unadvertised $1000 in Toyota Loyalty credit.

(2.) The dealer threw in an unadvertised $750 military appreciation credit.

(3.) The dealer reduced his price several times due to my excuse of needing the wife there.

So, what did the wife think? Well, she wasn't completely satisfied. She is a bit concerned about now having two Silver Lexus ES cars (2010 and 2004 ES). Ha, Ha, Ha.

In the end, we got what I thought was a good price. Even though I got my wife what she asked for, she still has a little leverage on me whenever we decide to replace our 2004 Lexus 50-60k miles from now. She states "If I was there, we would have never got a Silver Lexus... We now have two Silver Lexus ES cars!!!" Even though she asked for a Silver BMW, Lexus or Mercedes this morning, i'm going to keep my mouth shut and simply say yes dear and no dear. Also the house will be nearly spotless when she returns from travel.

While the dealer made $140 over "truecost," he/she is still getting paid the factory military and loyalty concessions. That said, the only car that I'm seeing now going below "truecost" are left over 2010 Hyundai Sonatas.

Anybody else had luck getting a car under "truecost?"

Blogging my way towards a retirement in 2025 with a passive income of at least $125k per year.

Net worth down $14.8k on investment property accounting adjustment 1 May 2010 8:25 AM (14 years ago)

I adjusted our household net worth down $14.8k this month. The decision to do so was based on the realization that it is impractical to carry my investment properties without a built in adjustment for the capital gains tax we'll have to pay on each of them whenever we sell them. Yes, we could do a 1031 exchange and forgo the taxes; however, that assumes that at the time of sale real estate is the best investment decision and a great buy is sitting there ready for purchase.

Blogging my way towards a retirement in 2025 with a passive income of at least $125k per year.

Now Cash Only - Closed Three Credit Cards in Last 50 Days Due to Fraudulent Activity (Two Citibank Cards and One Discover Card) 11 Apr 2010 10:04 AM (14 years ago)

Regrettably, I have become a PRO at handling fraudulent activity on my Citibank and Discover cards. I have two rebate cards between these companies giving 2% and 5% cash back, respectively. Nowadays, our household has transitioned to cash only at three stores.

Starting in February, I had to close and reissue a credit card due to fraudulent activity for the first time in my life. It was my Citibank card which had some unusual activity out of Paris, France. I was out about $400. I called Citibank and learned that I had to fill out an affidavit confirming that the cards were in my possession and that the activity was not mine. I also included a transaction history printout with all fraudulent activity clearly marked. The fraudulent activity was credited back to my account four days later.

I learned that the affidavit form is mailed to you in a non-descript envelope. Make sure you sift through all of your junk mail during a fraudulent claim period so that you don't experience any unnecessary delays. Also, you can get the affidavit form even faster if you contact Citibank's Security department directly. The Citibank Security department can email you the affidavit form. Once complete, the affidavit form can be either faxed or mailed back. I faxed my affidavit back and enjoyed a quicker processing time.

If you move around as much as me, you may not give serious consideration to keeping your contact information current on all your accounts. I could have caught the fraudulent activity about 24-48 hrs sooner had the Credit Card company been able to contact me directly with their concerns.

I started using my Discover Card while waiting for a new Citibank Card to be issued. I didn't change of my credit card usage. Then, my Discover Card was hit with fraudulent activity about 35 days later. This fraudulent activity was in the amount of $180 at a Wal-Mart in Nashville, TN. This time, I caught the fraudulent activity within the first 24 hrs. Discover Card didn't require an affidavit and credited the fraudulent charge with just a phone call.

While it was disconcerting, I wasn't about to go to cash only just yet... Unfortunately, 15 days later I was hit for about $160 in fraudulent activity out of Spain on my new Citibank Card. With all of this fraudulent activity, I was able to discern a common thread across all three accounts. Each account had been used at facilities co-located withing a shopping center. I initially thought that one location was skimming and cloning my credit card information. It turns out that it wasn't a single store. It was in fact the credit card clearing house. So, next time you get hit for fraudulent activity on a credit card, understand that the problem can be bigger than credit card skimming at just one store.

Blogging my way towards a retirement in 2025 with a passive income of at least $125k per year.

A Recommended Strategy to Those Who Are New to Dividend Reinvestment Plans (DRIPs) 3 Apr 2010 2:19 PM (14 years ago)

I entered 2010 with 21 DRIPs. I bought many of my DRIPs in late 2007 and early 2008 because I was getting a discount on the broker fees due to a one time annual subscription to Direct Investing's "Money Paper." I originally felt that it was smart to get a large number of DRIPs because it would give me something to do (following the many stocks) and establishing more DRIPs would allow me to max out the broker fee discount I was getting.

I ended up buying stocks that included Manitowoc and Alcoa. Since buying these stocks, I have had little interest in carrying some of them and have recently sold Manitowoc (article that convinced me to sell) and downsized to 20 DRIPs.

Nowadays, I believe that DRIP portfolios are best suited to a small number of holdings that can be easily followed and are somewhat predictable. So, what is predictable? Very little. But, one may consider stocks with long standing track records as somewhat predictable. A good group of stocks matching this are the "Dividend Aristocrats." Dividend Aristocrats are those stocks that have established track records of increasing dividends every year for at least 25 years.

My current mood on DRIPs is to restrict any subsequent purchases to those companies that meet the following starting criteria.

* One of Fortune's Most Admired Companies,

* A Dividend Aristocrat,

* No or low fee for dividend reinvestment / ongoing monthly purchases.

Then, and only then will I start my subsequent analysis. You might say, this is pretty arbitrary. You leave out a lot of great possible investments. My answer is why buy and hold a stock for 10+ years unless it is well admired? Why buy a DRIP if it's not cheap for ongoing periodic investments? Why hold something indefinitely for the sake of future dividend income if the company doesn't hold long-term dividend growth as a principle goal?

Companies that meet these criteria:

3M Co (MMM)

Exxon Mobil (XOM)

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)

Lowe's (LOW)

PepsiCo (PEP)

Wal-Mart (WMT)

* The six stock hyperlinks above send you to the "Transfer Agent" that manages each company's DRIP. Common transfer agents are Computershare, BNYMellon, Wells Fargo.

I own DRIPs in MMM, XOM, JNJ, LOW and WMT plus too many others that I wasted my time buying. I'd be happier had I restricted my DRIP portfolio to something smaller and more closely resembling this list of six.

Prior Plugged in Finance articles on DRIPs.

Blogging my way towards a retirement in 2025 with a passive income of at least $125k per year.

For Those That Are Interested in Dividend Reinvestment Plans (DRIPs). 28 Mar 2010 10:52 AM (14 years ago)

I have been investing via Dividend Reinvestment Plans since 1999 when I started with Exxon. I have grown to favor DRIPs over most other investments. I like DRIPs because after paying an initial fee, you can make reoccurring investments for free or at much lower costs than most discount brokers. Minimum reoccurring investments typically range between $25 and $100 per month. Additionally, you frequently have the option of having dividends reinvested for free. Some companies charge a fee for dividend reinvestment; however, you can just as easily avoid the fee by having these dividends direct deposited to your bank account.

The first thing to understand about DRIPs is that your shares will be held by a "transfer agent." My two favorite transfer agents are Computershare and BNYMellon. If you're interested in starting a DRIP, I recommend you go directly to their sites and see if any of the stocks on your watch list can be purchased directly through them for initial setup.

A few examples of stocks that can be purchased directly through these transfer agents are:

Purchased directly through Computershare:

* Exxon Mobil (XOM)

* Lowe's Company (LOW)

* Pfizer (PFE)

* Wal-Mart (WMT)

Purchased directly through BNY Mellon:

* Conoco Phillips (COP)

* Health Care REIT (HCN)

* Limited Brands (LTD)

* Pepsico (PEP)

* The Bank of New York Mellon (BK)

* The McGraw-Hill Companies (MHP)

Another popular transfer agent is Wells Fargo.

Many transfer agents require you to have an initial share before enrolling. When this is the case, I prefer to use Directinvesting's site to establish my first share. Direct Investing will coordinate the initial stock purchase and administrative setup with the stock's transfer agent.

Starting DRIPs can be a little time consuming because it will take you some time to find those DRIPs that are low fee or no fee. Additionally, it will take you some time to find the cheapest means of starting a DRIP. Basically, expect to spend $10-$30 to start a DRIP.

My favorite DRIPs that I hold are (Stock - Transfer Agent):

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) - Computershare

Wal-Mart (WMT) - Computershare

Exxon Mobil (XOM) - Computershare

Lowes (LOW) - Computershare

3M (MMM) - Wells Fargo

RPM (RPM) - Wells Fargo

Aflac (AFL) - Aflac

Southern Company (SO) - Southern Company

Dow Chemical (Dow) - BNY Mellon

McGraw Hill (MHP) - BNY Mellon

Each of the above DRIPs have no or low cost methods of reoccurring investment.

I went a little overboard and bought a lot of DRIPs. The following are DRIPs that also offer no or low cost reoccurring investment. I continue to hold these and will only buy more if their earnings improve (Stock - Transfer Agent).

Alcoa (AA) - Computershare

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) - Computershare

Manitowoc (MTW) - Computershare

Baker Hughes (BHI) - BNY Mellon

Harris Corp (HRS) - BNY Mellon

Limited (LTD) - BNY Mellon

Manpower (MAN) - BNY Mellon

Sherwin Williams (SHW) - BNY Mellon

Cummins (CMI) - Wells Fargo

Pentair (PNR) - Wells Fargo

Graco (GGG) - Wells Fargo

Overall, I hold about $15,962 in DRIPs that have a net dividend yield of 2.7%. This gives me a current annual dividend of $431.56. I intend to continue to grow this portfolio until it reaches a level that will offer significant dividend income in retirement (at least $4000/yr). Right now, I'm investing about $300 per month and will ratchet this reoccurring investment up periodically as our household income increases and as we pay off our investment properties.

Blogging my way towards a retirement in 2025 with a passive income of at least $125k per year.

Get a Free Pastry at Starbucks 21 Mar 2010 5:27 PM (14 years ago)

Read this for Coupon.

Buy a Starbucks drink this Tuesday, March 23rd before 1030 AM and get a free pastry.

Starbucks Promo Coupon. Look at bottom left of page for coupon.

Blogging my way towards a retirement in 2025 with a passive income of at least $125k per year.

Debt From These Companies Recently Traded at Lower Yields Than Comparable US Treasuries... Ominous Sign for US Debt Rating 21 Mar 2010 5:03 PM (14 years ago)

Came across a Bloomberg article today that reports that Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Proctor & Gamble (PG), Abbott Labs (ABT), Royal Bank of Canada (RY) and Lowe's (LOW) all had their debt recently trading at lower yields than comparable US Treasuries.

Moody's predicts that the U.S. will spend more money this year as a percentage of revenues to service its AAA rated debt... More so than all other top rated countries except for the UK.

What's Your Number? Mine is Apparently $2.3 Million. Determine Your Number in Two Minutes. 19 Mar 2010 8:05 PM (14 years ago)

I saw an interesting commercial by ING tonight while watching a program on Warren Buffet and Bill Gates.

The ING commercial has a guy carrying his number (amount he needs for retirement) while talking to a neighborhood guy whose number was a GAZILLION. The point was that not everybody knows what they are going to need in retirement to meet their life style expectations. The commercial goes on to announce a simple ING website that you can use to determine your number.

The site is INGYOURNUMBER. I went to the site and in less than two minutes it gave my "number" as $2,311,839. This number was based on my desire to have $58,000 a year in household income that will last from the age of 51 until 90. This $58k was in addition to the pension I expect to receive from the Navy, assuming I only get only one more promotion.

Previously, I had the expectation for my number to be somewhere between $1.7 and $2 million. So, $2.3 million is not much of a surprise. My number will drop to something closer to $1.7 million if I get two more promotions and retire as an O-6 (Navy Captain = Colonel other services).

Link to INGYOURNUMBER.

Blogging my way towards a retirement in 2025 with a passive income of at least $125k per year.

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