2009 is over…as are those crazy deals in the stock market. I’ve never been a fan of buying stocks, but did in 2009, you had to jump in (at least in March)! I learned my lesson years ago buying crap stock like EMC and watching it dwindle down to nothing. Lost a ton trying to beat the market and “get rich”. It was around 2004 that I changed my overall strategy to Dollar Cost Averaging…but still with stocks (and some funds)! I didn’t know any better, I was a 20-something year old playing in the market without a clue. Fast-forward to today…today I’m lazy. I don’t have time to watch the market. I don’t have the desire to watch the market either. Friend tells me that blah blah stock jumped up 30%, I say “cool”…I’m buying the entire market anyways, doesn’t matter to me. I’m lazy in that regard. I’d rather “set it and forget it” than sit there constantly watching the market, listening to Squack Box and wondering what analyst is going to make or break my dream. The science shows that lazy investing works, here are the results (via MarketWatch)
Now my approach is going to be similar to The No-Brainer Portfolio from William Bernstein, with a few tweaks:
25% — Vanguard 500 Index (VFINX)
20% — Vanguard Small-Cap Index (NAESX)
20% — Vanguard Total International Stock Index (VGTSX)
20% — Vanguard Total Bond Market Index (VBMFX)
15% — Vanguard Mid-Cap Index (VIMSX)
Basic concept, all low-cost index funds with a 80/20 split between Stocks/Bonds. Given that I just hit my 30′s I’ll roll with this mix for quite some time. I’ll update everyone if the mix changes, however I do not see that happening for quite some time.
Anyone else follow a similar approach to investing? Anyone hate this method? I’d like to hear both sides!
Have an ETrade savings account? You won’t for long! The troubled discount broker is selling off assets and will continue to focus on shoring up its core online trading business. ETrade also axed their mortgage business in 2009.
Discover acquires online savings accounts from ETrade – chicagotribune.com: “Discover Financial Services, whose online bank reached $12.6 billion in deposits last year, has acquired certain online savings accounts from ETrade Financial Corp.”
(Via Chicago Tribune.)
I’m a data freak. I love tagging, analyzing, and re-tagging data. It could be anything from what i’m spending my hard earned cash on to how many comic books I have that were drawn by John Byrne in the 80′s. I like seeing that data. That brings about my problem: What is the best tool for tracking, aggregating, tagging, analyzing, and editing this content? Over the next couple weeks I am going to be assessing and writing about various tools for capturing and organizing data. My short list includes:
- Evernote
- OneNote
- Yojimbo
- Together
- SoHo Notes 8
This is a list that I have thrown together based off initial research. If you guys have any other tools that you would recommend, please feel free to post them! Thanks!
After receiving a letter in the mail regarding Ally’s fee schedule, something caught my eye while reading: Checking! The document had language in it that made me believe an interest-bearing checking offering (not money market) was on its way. One phone call to Ally (took less than thirty seconds to get a real person) validated my assumption. While there is no information online, the rep stated that they just received training on the new account and that it will be announced (available?) on January 16th. Looks like I’m putting my switch on hold!
For those of you that do not know, I had to ship my first iMac back the week that I received it due to issues with the unit. I did not have a flickering screen, or yellowish tint, or loud drive; rather my issue was that the unit did not ship with the wireless airport card installed. After troubleshooting and discussing the issue with Apple, they shipped out a brand new unit.
Crossing fingers on this one.
After leaving ING and giving Charles Schwab a chance for the past six months, I have decided to change banks. Although Schwab has been decent, they have not delivered on many of their promises, most notably being able to move money between your checking and savings online – you actually have to call them to do this, or swap between your brokerage account! What a PITA! They have also had many issues aggregating to Yodlee-based aggregators. So after re-assessing my requirements, I am going to start my search all over again. ING would be my first choice, however they still block aggregators!?!? I wonder if they are still looking to support this functionality by EOY? Well back to the drawing board. Current front-runner for me is eTrade, due to their various offerings. Are you happy with your bank? If so, please share as I am open for suggestions 
Amazon now has Virtualization Blogger Scott Lowe’s new book, VMware vSphere 4 Administration Instant Reference, in stock. I’ve been reading Scott’s blog for years now and would highly recommend anyone who deals with vSphere 4 to pickup this book. Here is a summary of what it covers:
All your VMware vSphere 4 questions answered—on the spot!
If you need quick answers and real-world solutions as you administer VMware
vSphere 4, keep this indispensable guide on hand. Designed for busy IT professionals, it’s the perfect go-to resource. You’ll find easy-to-read lists, quick-reference tables, helpful thumb tabs, and much more in a handy, compact format that puts what you need at your fingertips, fast.
Topics include:
- Understanding new as well as legacy features
- Installing and configuring ESX, ESXi, and vCenter Server
- Creating and managing virtual networks
- Handling licensing, storage, high availability, and business continuity
- Managing virtual machines, including security and performance
- Upgrading from VI3 to vSphere 4
- Mastering the command line
In addition to the book , Scott also has Mastering VMware vSphere 4 
