Christopher's Account Talk

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Christopher said:
saw a quotable quote on incrediblecharts.com:

"A new form of inflation is increasingly described in the blogosphere. It better explains the pricing paradox Mr. Bernanke has failed to embrace. It's called "biflation." Everything you already own — a house, a car, a stock portfolio — has rapidly declined in value. Everything you actually need to buy — food, gasoline, medicine, education — is going up." ~ DJ Newswires' Al Lewis

no news flash here, just though it was well put. a QE3 scenario would further deteriorate conditions for average Americans...
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Very well said!
 
Moving my remaining G into equities, EOM shopping due to today's relative weakness: moved to 0%G, 0%F 0%C, 45%S, 55%I.

I really don't expect to be in long... ;)
 
Christopher said:
Moving my remaining G into equities, EOM shopping due to today's relative weakness: moved to 0%G, 0%F 0%C, 45%S, 55%I.

I really don't expect to be in long... ;)
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I know of a few people here at work that practice the "First of the Month" trade.

Basically, they are in 1 day and that's it.

They are green and the made it through 2008 without much of a ding.

Hmmmm.....:cool:
 
LOL, not so sure I can "represent" here, Frixx. In retrospect, my TSP track record looks like a guy running serpentine wildly, trying to avoid a dog or dodge a bullet! :o We just entered the TSP tracker in 2011, so time will tell!

I got serious about our TSP accounts early in 2006, after my best friend thumped me on the back of the head (per se) for not at LEAST taking advantage of the the funds matching. Yep, ZERO involvement in TSP and 5 years of missed opportunity. At that time, I stumbled upon Tom's (WONDERFUL) website and, knowing ZERO about financials, jumped in with both feet. And was THAT a disaster! :laugh: I started daily spreadsheet tracking of TSP fund prices & price changes (along with our CAs and IFTs), noting rate changes, and going 100% F when the TSP board put the lockdown on IFTs. It was rudimentary for sure, but what I needed to match my limited knowledge and understanding at the time.

Well, it's 2011, we just hit $180k on our TSP balance sheet, and we're cool with that; I'm 42 and the wife is 44, so we have a good ways to go before embarking on any kind of retirement. All we can do is plan, because only God knows the future of our individual lives and of our beloved Republic. God help the US, as we watch in living HD a full-scale, multi-faceted attack from the inside out. Plan like you'll live forever, but pack like you'll leave tomorrow.

Frixxxx said:
I know of a few people here at work that practice the "First of the Month" trade.

Basically, they are in 1 day and that's it.

They are green and the made it through 2008 without much of a ding.

Hmmmm.....:cool:
Click to expand...
 
I just realized, July 22 was our 22nd anniversary. That collusion of the number 22 was apparently my signal to GO TO G. OH WELL...we're young and healthy, what's ten thousand dollars between us and retirement, right? :rolleyes:
 
Hey y’all! I haven’t posted “in a while” (like, almost a decade now?) ...

I FINALLY started using the TSP Talk (or Tapatalk or whatever this cool app is) on my iPhone vs. the website! - goodness, why did I wait so long?

The markets have been one violent environment since last Weds, and watching that VIX has been mind-blowing. I’m looking for a short term bottom before the next plunge. (i.e. unless the Media’s spin can be neutered - what, are they all in BONDS?)

We can’t fight the Fed, and the headlines are looking like maybe they’ll get involved as soon as this weekend, soooooo ... but I didn’t feel to move from F Bonds to C/S Stocks until now - so now it’s time to see if the ol’ gut is on target! 🥺


Sent from my iPhone using TSP Talk Forums
 
nnuut said:
The TSP is NOT supporting it, and NO I don't like that!
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I recently wrote a pretty substantial letter to both the Head of the Thrift Board, Chairman Michael Kennedy, and the current executive in charge at TSP, Director Ravindra Deo, and outlined four specific things they could do, in my opinion, to improve: the quality of service at TSP; support for their decision to change the I fund to be more inclusive of developing markets; and asking to go to three IFT’s in order to make the TSP more flexible. In that argument, I provided detailed evidence of about three pages that cutting to two moves had actually ended up COSTING MORE in operational overhead, and that the decision made in 2008 to restrict it to 2 moves was faulty.

A few weeks later I got a formal letter back from Executive Director Ravindra Deo, along with a copy of the original 2008 Federal Register Notice cutting the number of trades to two. It was obvious that neither Mr. Deo nor Mr. Kennedy either understood how their own operation, in combination with their contracted trading agent, actually functions, nor the details of how costs are actually incurred in those trades. That apparently was too far into the weeds for either of them to comprehend.

The letter I got back basically stated there was no reason for them to consider relooking at the actual data, because back in 2008, those in charge made those decisions, and , well, they wouldn’t have made those decisions then if it actually was going to cost more.

In short- no, they weren’t going to relook at it, because somebody once said they looked at it before, and no, they didn’t understand the process well enough to second guess the experts who made those decisions more than a decade ago.

Oh, and as far as the other suggestions to request Congress make some tweaks, like allowing more sector funds (precious metals; REIT funds, etc), that was proscribed by law and their hands are tied. (Obviously nobody told either that part of their jobs is to review both current trends in investing, and make proposals to Congress for consideration of improvements).

I am done trying to shine light on how to make the TSP better for employees. I will soon be among the retired, withdrawing money from the TSP.

And oh, did I mention that the Employee Thrift Advisory Counsel (ETAC) has an over- representation of Postal employees, and an. Extreme under representation of military members (1); and that even though about HALF of all TSP account holders are no longer active federal or military members, there isn’t a single member of the ETAC dedicated to representing retired members withdrawing funds, or separated members who won’t be using funds until 30 years from now?




Sent from my iPhone using TSP Talk Forums
 
nnuut said:
Thanks James for giving it another try! Bureaucrats are just that.:sick:
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Yes... thank you, James. Now that I've been retired (from the USAF) since 2011, perhaps it is time that I rollover my TSP into my TD Ameritrade account where I will have more flexibility and control over my $$$. But, first I must recoup my 5% "losses" from the past couple of days. :rolleyes:
 
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