FundSurfer account talk

[Griffin]

Desperado convince you to move to the "know nothing allocation"?

 

[FundSurfer]

Yep, my dart split 5 ways....

 

[FundSurfer]

I think I'll stay where I'm at. Short term channels are looking like buys. Long term channels not so much. S still has room to go though. I'll wait to see what Monday brings.

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[airlift]

Fundsurfer,
As I told weatherweenie, "Sorry to post this here, but it's the quickest way of requesting your opinion in another thread. Thanks in advance!

Re: Health-Plan Options
Weatherweenie and Scout333 have posted important cost-rises and also BCBS increases. Help anyone! Can someone give a summary of the best Health-Plan option. I've always been with BCBS for my wife and me, and I don't like the HMO thing. Rather I have the preferred physician or PPO ( don't know the exact name). I also am re-enlisting in the FSA (Fexible Savings accounts) for 2007. So far it's working well, as explained by Fundsurfer. Now I am looking to join the new dental plan. Has anyone compared which is the better Dental Plan? I heard say that BCBS was not selected as an intermediary for this. Thanks in advance for your opinions!

 

[FundSurfer]

Haven't really looked into the dental plan ting yet. Not sure if it is worth the money. guess I need to look at it and take the tax implications into account as well.

Fundsurfer,
As I told weatherweenie, "Sorry to post this here, but it's the quickest way of requesting your opinion in another thread. Thanks in advance!

Re: Health-Plan Options
Weatherweenie and Scout333 have posted important cost-rises and also BCBS increases. Help anyone! Can someone give a summary of the best Health-Plan option. I've always been with BCBS for my wife and me, and I don't like the HMO thing. Rather I have the preferred physician or PPO ( don't know the exact name). I also am re-enlisting in the FSA (Fexible Savings accounts) for 2007. So far it's working well, as explained by Fundsurfer. Now I am looking to join the new dental plan. Has anyone compared which is the better Dental Plan? I heard say that BCBS was not selected as an intermediary for this. Thanks in advance for your opinions!

 

[Rydogg]

I looked into the Dental plans pretty intensely but they aren't really worth it IF you're just going in for routine dental work/cleanings. Use your FSA for that you'll be ahead of the game.

If you're having some type of surgery or crowns or something, then I'd say go for it. I got the Metlife High plan and I'm having one crown put in next year and it's actually paying me back double :nuts: my annual premiums.

If you're going for orthodontics WATCHOUT, you need to have coverage for two years BEFORE you get braces or they don't pay out anything. Even with that the plans only cover ~$1500 total. Not worth it in my opinion.

FSA all the way!!! Hope this helps.

 

[GUCHI]

rydogg

my dentist has been saying for years that my wife and i will need crowns to replace these old fillings and at $ 1200 a pop we can't afford them. so your saying metlife looks like the way to go for a procedure like that ?? i have bcbs currently. does met have a 1 year wait on a procedure like crowns?? and how about the cost difference ??? do you know anything about aetna ???

thanks for the info

guchi

 

[Rydogg]

my dentist has been saying for years that my wife and i will need crowns to replace these old fillings and at $ 1200 a pop we can't afford them. so your saying metlife looks like the way to go for a procedure like that ?? i have bcbs currently. does met have a 1 year wait on a procedure like crowns?? and how about the cost difference ??? do you know anything about aetna ???

I'll try and answer your q's one at a time here: The cheapest one I could find was the MetLife High plan (but I just figured it with the SINGLE person premiums).

To calculate that, I took into consideration % coverage, annual premiums, copays, FSA discount, Maximum Benefit limit..... blah blah blah. Sufice it to say, if you're spending over $1200/person then MetLife High is the plan you need, NO QUESTION! You may want to compare your premiums to mine though, which cost me $311/year.

There is no waiting period on anything else, just braces (amen).
In your case, if your crowns cost $1200, then $600 of that will be covered by MetLife and the rest you can knock down with your FSA. (Keep in mind that I did all my totals assuming that my FSA would buy down my out-of-pocket costs in the end).

I looked at Aetna and they were actually the most expensive plan out there ...by a long shot!!!:blink:

I don't know everything about your situation but what you told me, so if you have kids or other extenuating circumstances, you'd have to figure those in too. Good luck and keep up the good work on the funds, your returns this year are very enviable.
--Ryan

 

[GUCHI]

rydogg

i appreciate your info. it was very helpful. what is a fsa ??? and where did you see my returns, since i have not posted them, i'm just watching the big dogs and trying to come up with my own comfort level.
thanks for the info.

guchi

 

[Rydogg]

i appreciate your info. it was very helpful. what is a fsa ??? and where did you see my returns, since i have not posted them, i'm just watching the big dogs and trying to come up with my own comfort level.

My mistake, I wasn't paying attention to your display name, thought it was FundSurfer I was talking to.

An FSA is a Flexible Spending Account that Federal employees (I'm not sure if enlisted personel can use it) can put aside UP to $5k pre-tax dollars each year to fund almost all medical related expenses. It covers asprin, persrciption drugs, doctor copay's, dental implants, eye surgery... you get the picture. If your interested, check it out at www.FSAFEDS.com. Some people call it an HSA or Health Savings Account, more or less the same thing.

 

[GUCHI]

thanks rydogg

and thanks to all on this site, this is a wonderful thing !!!!

guchi

 

[FundSurfer]

Went 100%G for a couple reasons:

1. We are at top of channels and we just had a couple red days. This is basically me sticking to my system. I went back and checked where I'd be this year if I'd stuck to my system and left my gut out of it and was just sick. Oh well. This year I'm sticking to my system... (I think I said this last year but this time I really really mean it... really...)

2. When things are not clear I try not to be in the market over the weekend.

3. I'm still thinking about end of the year psychology. I said I was going to take what the market gives. We are at the top of the channels, done well so far, take some off the table.

4. Many of the tracked leaders are in majority safety positions. I respect these people which is why I stayed diverse for this last week. I thought we were going up but with several leaders in G&F I thought it better to be conservative.

 

[FundSurfer]

I went 50% I because the OSM trend of following the USM. USM is up considerable amount but slipping. I think tommorrow will be up because of triple witching but I'm not going all in cause I'm being cautious.

 

[FundSurfer]

Only went into I-fund because of the setup yesterday. The dollar seems to be rebounding and since we are at top of channels I'm going back to safety of the sidelines. Besides the geomagnetic storm theory could nudge a reversal.... you never know...

 

[FundSurfer]

Staying in G-fund... I've said I expect a pullback to occur beginning mid-month for end of the year psychology reasons. Still think so. I think we could have a lot of fluctuations and if we do get some downward movement, if enough, I will likely move back in.

 

[FundSurfer]

Thought I'd post my current short term channels. We are at/near the bottom of C-fund and S-fund channels. The I-fund hasn't developed a true channel but has seen a slight pause. My plan is to begin to move back into the market when these targets are reached. I usually like to wait for a green day to get back into the market so you have an idea when the bleeding will stop. This is also in my plan for end of the year - let the charts tell me when to move. I'm thinking of moving a little early since markets are currently red. I may only move partial amount and probably diversified. S-fund does look enticing. I'll make up my mind on my allocation in a few minutes.

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[FundSurfer]

Decided to go all in 25C, 50S, 25I. I decided that the diversified allocation was as much risk mitigation as I wanted. I think volume will be low next week and not expecting a huge drop from here. I'll definitely be reassessing prior to Jan 2.

 

[FundSurfer]

I got to the computer at 11:55. I looked and decided in a split second to take some off the table. I left some in C&S but none in I-fund. I haven't decided if I'll be in the market for Tuesday or not. I'm leaning toward not.

 

[FundSurfer]

Another last second look and I went 20%c, 40%s, 40%I. I moved into I-fund because of the lag effect. I-fund has already jumped ahead while US markets were closed. I'm still thinking we are over due a pullback which is why I'm diversified instead of 100% I.

 

[FundSurfer]

Staying put.