KevinD's Account Talk

[KevinD]

I have decided to start my own thread and try to not clutter other posters threads unless I think it might actually add something to the discussion. That doesn't mean that it actually WILL add anything... :laugh:

I have learned more in the last couple of weeks about finance and investing than I have in my entire life up to this point. It was the losses in my TSP that caused me to start paying more attention and kindled my thirst for knowledge. These are certainly interesting times we are living in and what better point in time to really learn how it all works.

Tom - I just want to take the opportunity to thank you for this site and message board. You "really done good" and I appreciate it.

To everybody else - Thanks for the posts and information. Especially the links to news articles. I wouldn't know how or where to find that kind of information any other way.

May we all live long and prosper!

 

[nnuut]

KD I think we are all still learning! This stuff is like LIFE, there is always something to learn. The hard part is sorting out truth from fiction.
Best of luck.

 

[EW_ret]

Good to hear from you, and good investing! You can join our Automated Tracker if you choose , but its not required. Having this account talk thread is needed to join. Follow the links in my signature to read more about the tracker.

 

[Show-me]

Good job, glad to have ya here.

 

[justbizness45]

Welcome aboard!!

 

[dannyboy]

:notrust: KevinD Good Prospering?,
I've been trying to get the best information possible to make good returns for awhile. I must say the others on this site are as good as you can get. I have to always in the end of reading all these messages and links, make the final judgement. With all the info they give to you here, it's like a no-brainer on what to do (usually?)





***********************************************
I have learned more in the last couple of weeks about finance and investing than I have in my entire life up to this point. It was the losses in my TSP that caused me to start paying more attention and kindled my thirst for knowledge. These are certainly interesting times we are living in and what better point in time to really learn how it all works.

Tom - I just want to take the opportunity to thank you for this site and message board. You "really done good" and I appreciate it.

To everybody else - Thanks for the posts and information. Especially the links to news articles. I wouldn't know how or where to find that kind of information any other way.

May we all live long and prosper!

 

[Silverbird]

These are volitile times, measure twice, cut once.

 

[Fivetears]

Measure twice AND double-check which side of the line the sawblade is on. :nuts: :laugh: :worried:

 

[KevinD]

Most of us here are in the G fund...myself included.

(Showing my ignorance) What circumstances would cause the G fund to evaporate? Total meltdown? Depression?

If the Pond dries up do the Lilly Pads die?

Worst case scenario - How bad could it get?

 

[Guest2]

Most of us here are in the G fund...myself included.

(Showing my ignorance) What circumstances would cause the G fund to evaporate? Total meltdown? Depression?

If the Pond dries up do the Lilly Pads die?

Worst case scenario - How bad could it get?

The (G) Fund is a no-risk fund. Its part of our retirement program and
such, should be insured for up to $250,000 , if required at all. Should
I be wrong. we share in the lack of knowledge and invite any and all
members to help with the details.

The (F)-(C)-(S)-(I) are all risk funds and are subject to great loses. :blink:

In any case, this Thread should help;
http://www.tsptalk.com/mb/showthread.php?t=6274

 

[XL-entLady]

The (G) Fund is a no-risk fund.

Yes, no-risk, SB. That is the trade-off for getting yukky returns.

The G fund is invested is special short term nonmarketable government U.S. Treasury securities that are specially issued to the TSP (specially issued so that we get a long-term rate on the short-term securities). They are backed by "the full faith and credit of the United States." And what that means is that they are as secure as it is possible to be. If they went down the tank then we'd have a lot worse problems than just how to pay for our retirement ....

Lady

 

[KevinD]

If they went down the tank then we'd have a lot worse problems than just how to pay for our retirement ....

Lady

This is what I was wanting to know. Under what circumstances would even the G fund evaporate?

Total stock market collapse? Civil war? Terrorist nuke NY? What worse problems?

 

[Show-me]

If the G fund evaporates you got bigger problems. Like Mad Max type problem. Got ammo?

 

[XL-entLady]

This is what I was wanting to know. Under what circumstances would even the G fund evaporate?

Total stock market collapse? Civil war? Terrorist nuke NY? What worse problems?

If the G fund evaporates you got bigger problems. Like Mad Max type problem. Got ammo?

Kevin, Show-me is always right on, and you may think that his answer here was an exaggeration but it wasn't. G Fund is backed by the full faith and credit of the US Government. Therefore, if G Fund goes away there is no government in the US. It's not quite that simple, but in general, G Fund is safe unless we are in a situation of post-apocalypse anarchy.

You want three guesses why my money is in G Fund right now?

Lady

 

[presskh]

Kevin, Show-me is always right on, and you may think that his answer here was an exaggeration but it wasn't. G Fund is backed by the full faith and credit of the US Government. Therefore, if G Fund goes away there is no government in the US. It's not quite that simple, but in general, G Fund is safe unless we are in a situation of post-apocalypse anarchy.

You want three guesses why my money is in G Fund right now?

Lady

Agree - if the US government defaults, your money is no good anyway. If you think this may be the case, gold is the time-honored universal trading medium. However, instead of buying gold, you might want to invest in a lot of brass (bullets), which are usually more effective in securing food and water in a "Mad-Max" scenario. I don't think it will devolve to this. The US (government and private) has just been on a spending binge for twenty five years or so and the private portion of this binge is coming back down to reality. Unfortunately, government spending is now totally out of control and I don't know what the effects will be when it is forced to deal with reality - and eventually it will.

 

[Show-me]

Your money will always be in the G fund the question is what can you buy with it. Is $10 too much for a loaf of bread? The gov. will print more money but as a result your dollar will buy less.

 

[XL-entLady]

Your money will always be in the G fund the question is what can you buy with it. Is $10 too much for a loaf of bread? The gov. will print more money but as a result your dollar will buy less.

Mr. Rogers says, "Can you say 'hyper-inflation'? I knew you could."

Lady

 

[FUTURESTRADER]

Your money will always be in the G fund the question is what can you buy with it. Is $10 too much for a loaf of bread? The gov. will print more money but as a result your dollar will buy less.

Helicopter Ben, boasted he will throw money out of helicopters if needed. And Bush's policy to promote 'home ownership'. More home ownership than any other time in history. My neck has cramped from continuous, rueful headshaking. Let em all default. I put 20% down on my house, locked in a 30 yr fixed, pay off credit card every month. Have saved enough to buy another car and send my first through college. I've also lost tens of thousands of dollars in bad investments. My fault for not doing my due diligence and leaving it to <cough>'brokers'. Hard and costly lessons to learn.

 

[KevinD]

If the G fund evaporates you got bigger problems. Like Mad Max type problem. Got ammo?

Which ammo do you recommend I invest in considering this turbulent market? :laugh:

 

[KevinD]

OK. So I used last months 2 IFT's to move my balance from the L2020 to G 50% on each move. Basically I was just doing it to see how it works. I had never done it before.

So for this month I was thinking of a dollar amount to play with...$5 to 10K or so. I'll back into the % of my TSP that equals what ever amount I ultimately decide.

Then I am thinking about distributing that amount equally among the F,C,S and I over a 24 hour period (not sure what period yet) and then use my other IFT to move it back to G...you know...just to see what happens, how it happens, maybe study it to see WHY it happens. :laugh: Then I'll be stuck in G again for the rest of the month (which is where I'm most comfortable right now anyway).

As you can see I have no idea what I'm doing but I thought this little self imposed exercise might help me learn more about the TSP and the funds available to us. So far I've been in L2020 and watching American Idol and NASCAR...oh and Entertainment Tonight.

Anybody see any flaws in my reasoning?