The Clash of the Cultures: A Froogal Stoodent review

The Clash of the Cultures by John C. Bogle – Notes and Quotes

A Froogal Stoodent Review

If you're interested, you can find this book at Amazon.

Third in a series of book reviews by The Froogal Stoodent

If you told me 10 years ago that I’d be reading a book about agency problems, corporate governance, and financial stewardship, I wouldn’t have believed you. Or understood what you were talking about.

If you then told me that I’d actually enjoy that book, I would have laughed you out of the room!

But here I am, in 2021, reading Bogle’s The Clash of the Cultures (2012). And enjoying it, despite the infuriating problems unmasked therein.

Froogal Stoodent vs. Vanguard

The Froogal Stoodent Takes On Vanguard

In my constant search for better, easier, more profitable ways to invest, I've run into a fact that disturbs me more and more as I continue to think about it: most total stock market indices, such as Vanguard's VTSAX, are market-cap weighted.

What does that even mean?

Well, it means that a greater proportion of every investment dollar goes to the largest companies in the market. 

At first glance, you'd think, "More of my money is going to the Apples and Googles and Microsofts of the investment world. Isn't that a good thing?"

Maybe.

But maybe not.

Links for August 2020

I don't normally watch a ton of YouTube videos, because there are too many time-wasters out there. But this video made a ton of great points about money, capitalism, and time.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mRbDEtDoyA

*I'd note that the person who made this video missed one crucial element: risk tolerance. Sure, everything he says makes sense. But it doesn't make sense for just anyone to start a business. And he missed that crucial element.

Remember when everybody was panic-buying toilet paper and paper towels? This analysis provides some insight into why:

    https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/11/heres-why-people-are-panic-buying-and-stockpiling-toilet-paper.html

ASUS Vivobook 15 - $499

    https://amzn.to/2BEYP68

*A little light on the storage space, but it's pretty powerful for the price, and there are a number of options for extra storage.

 

Laws like this are exceedingly scary for homeowners:

    https://reason.com/2020/07/24/county-wants-answers-from-treasurer-who-seized-mans-home-over-8-tax-bill/

How rich are Americans, by age group? 

    https://froogalstoodent.blogspot.com/2020/08/how-rich-are-americans-by-age-group.html

Hey Americans, interested in what happens to your tax money? You might be surprised where the military ranks in this list...

    https://blog.cheapism.com/where-your-tax-money-really-goes/

A snapshot into the financial picture of "John," someone who retired in 2018 and is looking for income:

    https://seekingalpha.com/article/4340665-retirees-dividend-portfolio-johns-march-update-new-way-to-look-portfolio

Tips to help you retire, regardless of what the economy is doing at the moment:

    https://www.moneytalksnews.com/retire-even-when-the-economy-heads-south/

How much can you withdraw safely after you retire?

    https://jlcollinsnh.com/2012/12/07/stocks-part-xiii-withdrawal-rates-how-much-can-i-spend-anyway/

Steve Adcock and his wife retired early, in their thirties. He offers some advice to help the rest of us retire, as well:

    https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/31/early-retirement-millionaire-saved-70-percent-of-income-lives-by-basic-money-rules.html

Along similar lines as the above:

    https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/04/stop-wasting-money-on-these-7-useless-things-and-save-for-early-retirement.html 

For some perspective on the REAL point of having money:

    https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/07/warren-buffett-son-doesnt-regret-spending-berkshire-stock-he-got-at-19-worth-200-million-now.html?&doc=106539730

This post makes an important point about the power of emotions:

    https://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/06/how-to-motivate-yourself/

Scared to invest? Don't be. Here's why:

    https://www.listenmoneymatters.com/investing-for-beginners/

The best Vanguard funds:

    https://www.listenmoneymatters.com/best-vanguard-funds/

Be on guard against financial abuse:

    https://partnersinfire.com/finance/financial-abuse/

Entrepreneurship isn't necessarily all it's cracked up to be:

    https://steveadcock.us/entrepreneurship-lies

Possibly the single most succinct summary of the FIRE movement:

    https://jlcollinsnh.com/2012/05/12/stocks-part-vi-portfolio-ideas-to-build-and-keep-your-wealth/

How much money do Americans think it takes to be financially comfortable? And how has COVID-19 changed that?

    https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/27/how-much-money-americans-say-is-enough-to-be-financially-comfortable.html

How should you invest? Ty of CampF.I.R.E. Finance describes one solid approach—index and chill:

    https://www.campfirefinance.com/index-and-chill/

The Two Components of Investing

 The Two Components of Investing

Investing is comprised of two parts:

1. MATH.
   Do your research. Learn about the market. Learn what the overall market does, and when. Try to find out why—not necessarily why it went up or down on a given date, but what powers the market to begin with.
    
   
   
   
   

Is $3 million enough to retire? [updated 7/6/19]

How much do you really need in order to retire comfortably?

I was inspired by this article at www.theretirementspt.com, so I left my reaction in the form of a comment, which I've quoted below: 

The $17 Billion Fraud

The $17 Billion Fraud

Almost everybody has heard of Bernie Madoff, the infamous fraudulent "investor" who ran an elaborate Ponzi scheme. You probably have, too; his name was on the lips of a lot of people around 2008-2010, and his scheme was reported often in the news.

http://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/140408170959-bernie-madoff-image-story-top.jpg

Madoff's fraudulent investment scheme was supposed to have been worth $65 billion, which makes this the largest fraudulent scheme ever perpetrated by an individual! In reality, however, people actually put roughly $17.5 billion of their own money into the scheme; the other $47.5 billion refers to profits that never actually existed and therefore cannot be recovered. [The taxes people paid on these fictitious profits are, of course, not recoverable either.]

Attorney Irving Picard is trying to recoup the $17 billion that investors put in. ABC News reports that, as of February 2016, he recovered just over $11 billion for investors who lost money. However, that process is inevitably difficult, as Yale accounting professor Dr. Rick Antle explains.

But do you really know what Madoff did?

The 15 Best Articles for Your Financial Health (Sept 2017)

The 15 (or so) Best Articles For Your Financial Health, September 2017

Is frugality an idol for some people? http://katesmalley.com/good-money/

https://chadashby.com/2014/02/18/is-frugality-really-a-christian-virtue/

How this guy and his spouse deal with $150,000 in student loan debt: http://commoncentsmillennial.com/10-ways-to-destroy-your-student-debt-lessons-from-a-bitter-postgrad/

• Dealing with debt? Check out my summary of two popular debt-destruction approaches, as well as my own advice, here: http://froogalstoodent.blogspot.com/2017/03/trick-yourself-out-of-debt.html

Should you trust the stock market? Pt II

Should you trust the stock market? Pt II

Check out Part I here

What if I told you there is a surefire way to invest in winners?

What if I told you about a method of stock selection that automatically dumps the losers—without requiring you to lift a finger?

And what if I then told you that this strategy costs less than other strategies, despite being more effective?!

You'd think I was a snake-oil salesman, right? But what if I'm telling you the truth, and the other guys are the snake oil salesmen?...

S&P 500 through 2015; graph from http://cbsnews1.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/2016/01/05/8bc2c493-ba40-4703-9979-c19534cbae20/64b19a4e258194bd5d72f1b77e371301/s-p-500-return-through-2015.gif

From article at http://www.cbsnews.com/news/not-everyone-lost-money-on-the-s-p-500-last-year/

Investing Peace of Mind

Maintaining Peace of Mind Despite Market Fluctuations

Every day, the stock market goes up and down like an angry mustang that doesn't want to be broken! Today was an example of a big downswing in the morning, followed by a near-full recovery later in the day:

screenshot of Google Finance Dow Jones Industrial Average report for April 11, 2017

screenshot of Google Finance S&P 500 report for April 11, 2017

Patience is the order of the day—every day! Especially with investing!

Links for March 2017

Links for March 2017

F-you money: good for employees, bad for employers: http://jalopnik.com/google-paid-fuck-you-money-at-self-driving-car-projec-1792306694  You'd be wise to get some f-you money yourself.

Is a penny saved a penny earned? No: https://www.financialfixation.com/single-post/2017/01/11/A-Penny-Saved-is-Not-a-Penny-Earned

How to raise your kids to become financially independent: http://www.inc.com/marla-tabaka/want-your-kids-to-become-financially-secure-adults-parents-of-todays-wealthy-did.html

Is your retirement in jeopardy?

Due to severe budget problems, Puerto Rico will have to slash its budget, as announced in February 2017 (see http://www.businessinsider.com/the-board-has-spoken-puerto-rico-to-be-hit-with-painful-austerity-measures-2017-2). This includes cutting 10% from the retirement system for government employees, since that system is on the verge of running out of money completely. Sound familiar, U.S. residents?...

A Tale of Two Kingdoms

My friend Bill at Wealth Well Done writes some true-ish stories as a creative way to communicate financial wisdom. So, in honor of Bill and of the parables of Jesus (many of which had to do, at least on the surface, with money), I've created a parable of my own:

A Tale of Two Kingdoms

https://pixabay.com/en/stirling-castle-scotland-stirling-202103/

There once was a kingdom with a very powerful army. One day, the king realized that he could make money while also providing protection for the nations he had conquered: he would allow the conquered nations to maintain their existing social orders, including their own forms of government. In return, each nation could choose one of a few different levels of protection—the amount of the conquered nation’s annual tribute depended on the level of protection they selected.