I don't have anything helpful to say, but I feel you Cindy, this election.... ugh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-diB65scQU

Here's a little song I wrote you might want to sing it note for note
Don't worry be happy
In every life we have some trouble but when you worry you make it double
Don't worry be happy
Don't worry be happy now
Ooh-ooh-hoo-hoo-ooh hoo-hoo-ooh-ooh ooh...Don't worry
Woo ooh-woo-ooh-woo-ooh-ooh...
Be happy
Woo ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh...
Don't worry be happy
Don't worry
Woo ooh-woo-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh...
Be happy
Woo-ooh-woo-ooh-ooh...
Don't worry be happy
Ain't got no place to lay your head somebody came and took your bed
Don't worry be happyThe landlord say your rent is late he may have to litigate
Don't worry
Ha-ha ha-ha ha-ha
Be happyLook at me I'm happy
Ooh-ooh-hoo-hoo-ooh ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh ooh-ooh-ooh...
Don't worry
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh...
Be happy
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh...
Here I'll give you my phone number when you're worried call me I'll make you happy
Ooh-ooh-hoo-hoo-ooh ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh ooh-ooh-ooh...
Don't worryWoo ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh...
Be happy
Woo ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh...
Ain't got no cash ain't got no style
Ain't got no gal to make you smile
But don't worry be happy'Cause when you're worried your face will frown and that will bring everybody down
So don't worry be happy
Don't worry be happy now
Ooh-ooh-hoo-ooh-ooh ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh ooh-ooh-ooh...
Don't worry
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh...
Be happy
Woo ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh...
Don't worry be happy
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh ooh-ooh-ooh...Don't worry
Woo ooh-ooh-ooh-hoo-ooh-ooh...
Be happy
Woo ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh...
Don't worry be happy
Now there is this song I wroteI hope you learned it note for note like good little children
Don't worry be happy
Listen to a what I say in your life expect some trouble when you worry you make it double
Don't worry be... happy... be happy now
Ooh-ooh-hoo-hoo-ooh ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh ooh-ooh-ooh
be happy

quote:

Originally posted by CHAS:

quote:

t's a myth that the polls were wrong. Clinton was fading badly following the James Comey intervention, and this was visible in the polling. What was wrong was the frenzy among pundits, which gave her a 99% chance of winning. FiveThirtyEight gave her a 71% chance of winning, with Trump at 29%, and 29% is not nothing. The PA polls had Clinton leading by 2.7% on election day, and Trump won by .7%. Her lead had fallen from the 6-11% range over the last three weeks of the campaign.

That rings true to my recollection. I remember thinking Comey gave us Trump.

I wonder how he feels about that.

quote:

Originally posted by Cindysphinx:
Florida will count quickly, and if Trump loses Florida it is pretty much over.

North Carolina, same.

I heard that North Carolina is allowed to start counting mail-in votes before Election Day, so the count can happen quickly.

Wisconsin and Pennsylvania will be sloooowwww.

I don't know. Last time, nothing, then the news personalities all waltzed on to the stage(s) and it was a fait accompli. I predicted this kind of media behavior after 2000, when VNS was abolished.

The Morning Comsult has some encouraging pols this morning:

latino baby names

quote:

Originally posted by pianojuggler:

quote:

Originally posted by CHAS:

quote:

t's a myth that the polls were wrong. Clinton was fading badly following the James Comey intervention, and this was visible in the polling. What was wrong was the frenzy among pundits, which gave her a 99% chance of winning. FiveThirtyEight gave her a 71% chance of winning, with Trump at 29%, and 29% is not nothing. The PA polls had Clinton leading by 2.7% on election day, and Trump won by .7%. Her lead had fallen from the 6-11% range over the last three weeks of the campaign.

That rings true to my recollection. I remember thinking Comey gave us Trump.

I wonder how he feels about that.

That was originally posted by Cindysphinx

quote:

Originally posted by pianojuggler:
I'm just trying to decide whether I should do anything with my investments between now and the election.

Has anyone here divested partly or fully from the U.S. stock market? Overall, my 401(k) and stuff seem to be healthy after a huge drop and recovery earlier this year.

But we know the one thing the market hates most of all is uncertainty. I hope there will be a slight dip in the next two weeks, then a recovery and stabilization once the election results are known. However, if I-1 refuses to leave and his armed supporters start to agitate, things could get bad for a while. Again, I hope it will only be a very short while.

I'm waiting for a strong buying opportunity. I've been out of the market for a while. Tempted to just keep what I have in cash, because it's doubtful I will outlive it anyway.

quote:

Originally posted by piqué:

... I've been out of the market for a while. Tempted to just keep what I have in cash, because it's doubtful I will outlive it anyway.

When you reached the point where your nest egg can lasts the rest of your life, you have essentially succeeded with saving for retirement. There may still be other reasons to take risks with your money, but “earning more for retirement” is no longer necessary. Congratulations!

quote:

Originally posted by Axtremus:

quote:

Originally posted by piqué:

... I've been out of the market for a while. Tempted to just keep what I have in cash, because it's doubtful I will outlive it anyway.

When you reached the point where your nest egg can lasts the rest of your life, you have essentially succeeded with saving for retirement. There may still be other reasons to take risks with your money, but “earning more for retirement” is no longer necessary. Congratulations!

I have trouble figuring out what such a savings cut off would be, considering the likelihood of - at some point -significant inflation (it's been 40 years since the last round) and the unknowability of our - and spouse, in your case - medical needs and life span.

My mother started out with what most people would have considered great wealth, when Dad died 30 years ago. Now she's essentially bankrupt even as her medical needs escalate at 96, so that she's headed to a Medicaid funded nursing home (after many years in fairly luxurious assisted living).

That's thanks to immensely wasteful spending., a hugely dishonest estate lawyer, also one incredibly dishonest Trust company and a replacement one almost as incredibly dishonest. The second company lost her many millions $, at which point favorite bro took over all investments. After much costly trial and error learning, he salvaged some remaining assets. And to think this started out as over a dozen trust funds and inherited IRAs!

But her unexpected longevity (presided over by SIL as if there was no limit to her funds) leads her to her present circumstances.

So many unknowables, pique! But perhaps you are figuring in at least as much as assets, pension funds and (G-d willing) Social Security for the both of you.

Sorry for the tangent, but the notion of "enough assets' strikes a nerve because of my own and my family's situation!

Just curious, but just how much do you all consider "enough" savings to feel safe for the rest of your life (as a single or couple) - that is, without holding most of it in the Market or other investment vehicle?

(I realize this is variable depending on other sources of retirement income - pensions, 401-ks and SS.)

Amanda, it really depends on what your other resources are and what the actuaries say is your expected lifespan. We have two SS checks expected plus a local government pension plus Mr. Pique and i have maxxed out our retirement account contributions for several years. We intend to buy health insurance that will cover any catastrophes, plus we a have a good amount of home equity and very low overhead.. if you calculate your expected retirement income and compare it to your overhead costs, including assumptions about inflation, you see how much savings you need to cover any deficits over however many years you have left. We had this done in a comprehensive way by a financial advisor.

Aha, pique! As I suspected, you are speaking not of living off your savings alone, but of relying on it as needed/desired to supplement retirement funds from other sources.

That makes all the difference in the world, especially if all or most will increase with inflation.

Good job and indeed you two do sound to be in very safe condition fiscally without dipping into your "nest egg" even if (G-d forbid) things happened in between such that it evaporated owing to some disaster - to the economy or your personal needs.

*Sigh* I am sorely missing that income factor, that is the backbone of a retirement plan. Every (permanently) incoming penny I can count on contributes so much more in security!

Well, the jig is up for us all if Biden doesnt win--goodbye SS, our primary source of retirement income. There will be no retirement if that happens.

There was a Wall Street Journal story I remember reading more than a decade ago, describing how much it took to reach different levels of "rich". The lowest level was beer and pretzels rich; the next level, I think, was champagne and caviar rich; and the final level was something like private yacht rich.

Which I bring up to address Ax's point ... it isn't a question of whether you have enough os that your nest egg lasts the rest of your life. It's how many times a year you can get on a plane and visit your kids and grandkids. It's whether you can afford to go to a restaurant once a week, once a month, or never. At an extreme, it's whether you can afford to pay for a vacation with your extended family ... whether it's renting a big beach house for a week, or a month, or taking everyone to Europe.

So even if you have enough to survive the rest of your life, there are still reasons to want to maximize what you have.