"People who do math don't have credit card debt."

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

And how much do you pay in capital gains tax from all that frequent trading?

I'm also more than a little skeptical about the general idea. First, it smells like the "we've had a long run of heads, so tails must come up soon" sort of gambling system. Second, if it does in fact work, and is so simple, why aren't all the fund managers doing it>

I'm very new to 401k, so I may be mistaken, but I thought there were no capital gains when transferring the investment vehicle from one form to another, such as stocks to bonds. Wouldn't gains tax only apply if the funds are liquidated?

Your comment about a historical pattern existing seems too good to be true, since everyone would be doing it if it were that simple, which would negate the advantage. I'll have to look into historical performance to see if this holds true well enough to give confidence that converting twice per year makes financial sense given the fees associated at each transaction.

Originally Posted by jamesqf

These days, the average rental for a 1-bedroom apartment around here is well over my mortgage payment.

Same here. It seems I'm moving to a 2-bedroom apartment next week and the cost is greater than my mortgage, taxes, and insurance on my 4 bedroom 2100 sq/ft house.

I'm hoping the bubble busts soon after our year lease is up, although my dream is to buy land and build a home. It's very unlikely the exact home I want already exists in a location I desire.

[gone-ot]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

I'm very new to 401k, so I may be mistaken, but I thought there were no capital gains when transferring the investment vehicle from one form to another, such as stocks to bonds. Wouldn't gains tax only apply if the funds are liquidated?

Yes, but there's also a time-limit, wait too long and the Gooberment wants their cut immediately.

[redpoint5]

I wonder how the government will take their cut once everyone moves to anonymous e-currency?

[freebeard]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

Oops, read it as 1900s somehow. Looks like both were good centuries.

I know, it's hard to keep up isn't it. Let's all party like it's 199what? Centuries are susceptible to off-by-one errors.

I wonder how the government will take their cut once everyone moves to anonymous e-currency?

It varies on a county by country basis. Some criminalize its use, I believe the USofA uses capital gains at the exchanges. Banks are marshaling their own blockchains.

When Bitcoin reaches $10K, a single Satoshi will be worth one dime. So much for micropayments. Transaction costs are going up.

Ethereum just took a major hit. Cryptocurrencies perfect Internet, but the damage from advertising and spooks is already done

[redpoint5]

Blockchain can't be sustainable since every transaction carries with it a history of all prior transactions. When we are all paid in cryptocurrency, how would salary be established considering the continual inflation of the unit of currency worth? We'd need a weekly pay cut to account for inflation of value.

Requiring an ever expanding amount of computing resources for each transaction is also unsustainable and irresponsible considering the power requirements for each transaction.

[freebeard]

Blockchain can't be sustainable since every transaction carries with it a history of all prior transactions.

As a first approximation. It's been a while since I was following it closely, but there are wheels within wheels. Side chains are one example. There is something else i can't remember the term for, that effectively rolls up older uncontested segments of the blockchain that hashes or compresses it so that it's possible to unpack it again if the need should ever arise. Old blockchain is old.

When we are all paid in cryptocurrency, how would salary be established considering the continual inflation of the unit of currency worth? We'd need a weekly pay cut to account for inflation of value.

I reject your premise and substitute my own reality.

news.bitcoin.com:Bitcoin Solves Runaway Inflation by Undermining Trusted Third Parties

Bitcoin Solves the Problem of Runaway Inflation, while Abolishing the Need for Centralized Trust

Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that is automated by a consensus network algorithm. This algorithm, which was predetermined by creator Satoshi Nakamoto, has a set supply of bitcoins that will be distributed over the long term. This number is currently set to 21 million units of bitcoin.

This mathematically encoded number of bitcoin means that no central group or fiduciary cartel can control the currency. In other words, they cannot inflate or deflate a currency to the detriment of the population. In this sense, bitcoin is naturally deflationary or disinflationary. This denotes Bitcoin has utility in the sense that it neither inflates or deflates on a whim or caprice. No human actor can make changes to the protocol without achieving consensus.

In this regard, users of bitcoin have hedged themselves against control, against the small groups of trusted elites who can manage the flow or circulation of money across a population. When a currency like bitcoin is protected from artificial manipulation, it prevents people from using the creation and control of money to exploit and defraud others. It is the solution to the problem of runaway inflation and all forms of monetary control.

Some people think that bitcoin is naturally inflationary as a result of its algorithm. It is true the protocol specifies the minting of new coins via mining, but this is not the same as arbitrary inflation that causes ungodly increases in price of goods and services. The protocol was built to create coins in such a way that both heightens the value of bitcoin and does not allow for the market to be flooded.

Requiring an ever expanding amount of computing resources for each transaction is also unsustainable and irresponsible considering the power requirements for each transaction.

This is a fair complaint. I've head of people who run a mining rig in their closet to heat their apartment. (hey, 'free' Bitcoin)

The Bitcoin protocol caused the spontaneous self-assembly of the world's largest supercomputer cluster.

The way forward seems to be Proof of Stake:

"proof of work" vs "proof of stake"

Aside from Moore's law, eliminating proof of work reduces the thermal overhead.

[Xist]

Does anyone know during which baby step Ramsey recommends spending $130 - $250 on Financial Peace University?

[freebeard]

Not I.

slashdot.org:the-bitcoin-bubble

slashdot.org:nearly-a-third-of-millennials-say-theyd-rather-own-bitcoin-than-stocks

[gone-ot]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Not I.

slashdot.org:the-bitcoin-bubble

slashdot.org:nearly-a-third-of-millennials-say-theyd-rather-own-bitcoin-than-stocks

Uniformed LEMMINGS are still LEMMINGS.

[redpoint5]

I just fundamentally am against zero-sum systems like the stock market. For you to gain money, someone has to lose, or the perceived value of the company has to perpetually increase.

It's crazy that a 1-time initial public offering to raise capital results in endless trades where no practical good or service is produced as a result.

In my perfect world, investments would only yield profits if they served a useful function for others.