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Showing posts from April, 2021

Thanks Xfinity - for helping me cut the cord

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Comcast (now Xfinity), like many internet providers offers promotional offers. Consumers willingly buy in to these promotions and often, at the end of the period, realize that our bill has increased, often significantly.  With auto bill payments and a busy life, we often don't notice the steady creep in cost. It is up to us to be diligent and take action.  Recently, I noticed a sudden increase in my bill and asked Xfinity Customer service about it.  They had the standard excuse that a promotion had ended and I could get a new service at a price that was above my allocated budget. While waiting to get "service", I had time to review the new customer pricing and the competition. In addition, I had time to review my bill breakdown and realized that ~$30 was allocated to broadcast and sport fees - none of which I use or watch. Ok, I do some time, but is it worth $30 a month ? With Netflix, Amazon Prime and more recently the major networks providing content only through stream

Performing Your Own Portfolio Review

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Where do I start Get a copy of your most recent brokerage, 401k or Roth statement or look at your account online and make a note of each investment's ticker symbol and percentage allocated to each. Enter the tickers and percentage into a blank version of the  Backtest Portfolio Asset Allocation . For comparison I use a benchmark as portfolio 2 and 3  (eg. SPY-100%) or use a 60/40 stock/bond, or anything that represents the level of risk that you are comfortable with. Alternatively, use a target date fund from Fidelity, Vanguard or your preferred provider, or a combination of these.  Analyze the results. The graphs are great to visualize any major variance from the benchmarks. The picture below represents a hypothetical 3 portfolio comparison .  Drill down into each of the tabs and look at the fees and drawdowns and compare them between the portfolios. Portfolio Visualizer providers and amazing amount of data for comparison.  There is no perfect answer for everyone. Hopefully, this