Hi there, Mr. 1500 writing again today before I turn the show back over to Mrs. 1500 after Thanksgiving week.
Last week, I asked you about flatulation and portfolio allocation. None of you would take credit for the bad smell in the room:
Jeff from Sustainable Life Blog blamed his baby:
As for who farted, I’m blaming my kid.
I’m not buying that for a second Jeff.
Reader Mattattack isn’t owning up to it either:
Who ever smelt’ it dealt it.
Reader Joseph B. is denying that anything happened at all:
Things smell okay right now, what you talkin’ ’bout?
Tawcan is also denying it:
No I didn’t fart in the elevator, it was the other guy next to me.
Enough fart talk, let’s talk about allocation.
Sarah at The Yachtless had this to say:
I’m currently using Betterment until I can learn more about investing and perhaps try out some other options.
I don’t use Betterment (not an affiliate link!) yet, but am familiar with the service and think it’s a great idea for most folks. I look forward to opening my own account soon.
The ‘Raptor echoed what a lot of smart people had to say:
If you go US large cap, you are already pretty well diversified internationally as those companies tend to have half or more of revenue from overseas.
Freedom 40 Plan had a smart comment that I agree with:
The US will continue to be a juggernaut, but I think a big part of economic growth will come down to simple demographics. Europe and the US have aging populaces and low population growth. Developing economies have huge populations who are just now earning money and of course want to buy everything from kitchenware to cars. This force will continue and I think be a huge unstoppable driver of economic growth for the next 50 years. Focusing solely on the US will mean less volatility, but less chance at exponential rewards.
Responding to Tuesday’s post, Coach Carson had something to say that really got me thinking:
I have no doubt US companies have international exposure, but I have a hunch those numbers don’t tell the whole story. It’s good that Colgate will sell a lot of toothpaste to India, but how do we really weight that? How do we objectively compare that with owning an international basket that includes India?
Very interesting point. I’m not quite sure where Coach was going with this, but I’d love to see a chart that showed where companies’ profits come from regardless of where headquarters happens to be. For example, China is hugely important to Apple. Who cares that they happen to be based in Cupertino.
I think it’s ridiculous that we classify companies by where the CEO has their office. It’s probably much more important to know who is contributing to the bottom line.
I’m going to continue to contribute to foreign investments for the near term. These holdings will never be over 20% of my portfolio, but I do believe that there is a place for them.
On to this week’s, fart-free question.
Last Saturday, Mrs. 1500 and I attended the Mr. Money Mustache meetup. It was a lot of fun! We got to chat with some neat people, some of whom we have already made plans to meet again in the near future.
One couple mentioned that our Cold War post* was their all time favorite. This cracks me up because this post was not planned – it was spontaneously written, but turned out to be one of our most popular.
Mrs. 1500 and I would like to know if there is any post of ours you particularly enjoyed or found useful. I feel strange asking this because I don’t like drawing attention to myself, so let’s expand the scope. Don’t limit yourself to this blog; feel free to throw anything out.
Have you read something great on Get Rich Slowly, Frugalwoods or The Onion? Did you discover something awesome through Rockstar Finance? Let loose here!
(Mrs. 1500 shoutout to Todd, the impetus behind today’s question.)
I must say, I’ve been enjoying the holiday posts on how to not take out a second mortgage to pay for gifts. I believe you guys had a post earlier this month about that. There were quite a few interesting and helpful responses. We are always looking for ways to squirrel away some winter nuts! We also love knowing what other people use as savings tricks. Reading these posts and comments is like being able to peak into neighborhood houses on an evening walk. 🙂
As far as other blogs go that have great content of a similar nature, I’d recommend Two Cup House and Northern Expenditure. They have a great mix of financial and frugality speak 🙂
I think my favorite was your interview with Jim Collins. I had never read any of his stuff until I saw the interview here. I look forward to the Thursday rants as well.
Brian @DebtDiscipline recently posted…Interview Series: The Debt Myth
We think your blog articles are generally (very) good. Albeit the “cold war” one was a particularly awesome one.
However, this one deserves mentioning:
http://livingafi.com/2015/10/09/that-guy/
We both got a kick out of it! Definitely would like to become “that guy/girl” as soon as possible!
Team CF recently posted…Dutch Taxes – Part 4: Box 3
I’ve been quoted in a blog! I’m like some kind of celebrity now! Sweet.
Financial Velociraptor recently posted…Fixed income and debt instruments are important in FIRE
Spongesister posts, bar none. While horrifying in some small way it makes me feel better about my d-bag brother and worthless sister in law.
Moar!!!
LOL!!! It’s all relative, right?
I refer back to Mr. Money Mustache a lot. Especially his entry on insurance, since that is such a fraught subject. And anything about cars when I need a laugh or a punch in the face.
Of course, I have printed out the Frugalwoods’ rice and beans recipe, and I use that as a jumping off point almost every week. This week I’m doing eggplant, peppers and chickpeas with Indian spices and maybe even coconut milk.
On your site, I honestly like the reader questions the best! I like to see everyone’s viewpoint.
Norm recently posted…Frugal Failure: I Paid $40 For A Pencil
Yes, I totally agree with the MMM on insurance. Lesser is better.
My favorite is the the post when you discovered your neighbor’s monthly “parties.” Did y’all ever go undercover to do more thorough investigating?
Ahh, the parties. I have not yet went undercover… I’m about 20 years too young, so they’d probably catch on and kick me out.
My favorite 1500 post would have to be Call me Chief Fart Captain . What a great blend of a serious subject matter, very funny read, and how the comments section can provide great feedback.
My favorite non-1500 post is Bankers Anonymous’ Post on What is Wealthy . Probably the best thought out definition of “FU Money” I’ve read.
Reader questions are super cool! And introduction of other blogs through Q&A
SavvyFinancialLatina recently posted…Shopping For Insurance
Hmm. Not sure I have a favorite here — though I’ve plowed through the archives — so much to enjoy. I do like checking out the sidebar where you track progress. Silly me, I keep forgetting that you update that only at the start of the month. Guess the dinosaurs distract me ….
“The awakening” was my kickstart in the word of IF.
You can only imagine how much it has been important to me.
Thanks David, this makes it all worthwhile.
It would be difficult to pick just one! Here at 1500 days I really enjoy how much of an open forum the comment section is with your discussion questions. There’s a great community of people here who chime in with valuable insights. It really feels like everyone here is a friendly internet neighbor who leans over their fence to contribute to the conversations.
Christina recently posted…Slow Growing
My personal favorites are the Ask the Readers, Rants and Spongesister. I love the reader responses because it’s a different perspective that you then add your commentary to. It also introduces me to knew peeps to read. The rants are often something I can relate to. The posts about Spongesister (they seem to often be rants…) are really interesting because I think we all know people that are like that. If you ever figure out how to get through to her, you should write a book. I would definitely read that. I’m struggling with how to explain the early retirement lifestyle in a way that doesn’t make people take a step back and treat me like I grew a second nose.
Mr. Benny recently posted…Tuesday Morning Bluster: Fore! Bad Decisions!
So the Cold War is the most entertaining, but I gotta go back to The Awakening as runner up. If only because it helped pave the future for our own retirement. It was a major breakthrough for my wife (I think it might have been the first FI blog post I ever read to her), so thanks for that. Keep it up!