Low-Maintenance Investing with Index Funds and ETFs| obliviousinvestor.com
I recently learned of two brand new ETFs (launched just last week) that purport to provide only price appreciation rather than interest income, despite being bond funds. The benefit of such would be that all of the return that shareholders receive would be capital gains — and thus potentially taxed at the favorable long-term capital […]| Oblivious Investor
For people buying health insurance via the Affordable Care Act marketplace, premiums are expected to rise significantly in 2026. That’s the result of two things. Firstly, insurers are proposing a median premium increase of 18%. And secondly, enhanced premium subsidies (which have been in place 2020 – 2025) are scheduled to expire at the end of this year.| Oblivious Investor
The following is an excerpt from my book More Than Enough: A Brief Guide to the Questions That Arise After Realizing You Have More Than You Need.| Oblivious Investor
Sometimes I receive questions from people who are doing a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) for the first time and something doesn’t go the way they expected. Most often:| Oblivious Investor
At death, several types of assets do not have to go through probate. Instead, they pass directly to one or more named beneficiaries. This includes things such as retirement accounts, insurance policies, and assets held in trust. It also includes any assets titled as “payable on death” or “transfer on death.” Having assets pass outside […]| Oblivious Investor
Vanguard recently released the 2025 edition of their How America Saves report. The report looks at the behavior of more than 5 million participants in employer-sponsored Vanguard retirement plans. Over the years of reading this report, I’ve come to think of the combination of “employer-sponsored plan with automatic enrollment and a target-date fund as the […]| Oblivious Investor
Not surprisingly, the most common question I’m getting lately is some form of: how does this new One Big Beautiful Bill Act affect the tax planning decisions I should be making?| Oblivious Investor
The 3.8% net investment income tax, as the reader above noted.| Oblivious Investor
The following is an excerpt from my book Social Security Made Simple: Social Security Retirement Benefits and Related Planning Topics Explained in 100 Pages or Less.| Oblivious Investor
Last week I mentioned the new senior deduction that applies for people age 65+ for years 2025-2028. It’s a $6,000 deduction, and for a married couple filing jointly who are both age 65+, it’s a $6,000 deduction per spouse (i.e., $12,000 total). There’s a phaseout that kicks in at modified adjusted gross income of $75,000 […]| Oblivious Investor
As you have likely read, last week Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and the President signed it into law.| Oblivious Investor
For anybody interested in attending this year’s Bogleheads Conference (October 17-19 in San Antonio), today is the last day for early-bird pricing.| Oblivious Investor
It’s common to hear about an impending “retirement crisis” due to the modest levels of savings that most people have as they move into old age. And indeed, per the Federal Reserve’s SCF (Survey of Consumer Finances) data, the median person age 65-75 has $200,000 in savings (as of 2022, anyway). In other words, using […]| Oblivious Investor
Think for a moment about your favorite vacation that you’ve taken in the last 10 years. Where did you go (i.e., what city or general geographical area)? Where did you stay (i.e., what did you select for hotel/lodging)? Where did you eat? What activities did you do? This was a vacation that you truly enjoyed. […]| Oblivious Investor
We can use the latest and greatest financial planning software.| Oblivious Investor
As many of you know, in 2024, financial columnist Jonathan Clements was diagnosed with terminal cancer. At the time, a friend reached out to him to ask about naming a journalism award in his name. Jonathan declined. “The world has enough journalism awards already,” Jonathan said.| Oblivious Investor
On January 5, President Biden signed into law the Social Security Fairness Act of 2023. (That’s not a typo. The bill was originally introduced in the House in January 2023, where it basically just sat around until the House passed it in November 2024, the Senate passed it in December 2024, and the President signed it into law in January 2025.)| Oblivious Investor
A reader writes in, asking:| Oblivious Investor
Asset allocation is a dial that you can use to adjust the risk and expected return of the portfolio up or down. And, for the most part, that’s it. Anybody who expects more than that — anybody who expects any magic (additional return without additional risk, or a reduction in risk without a corresponding reduction in expected return) from clever asset allocation — is likely to be disappointed.| Oblivious Investor
When you make a cake, you start out with a bunch of dry powdery white stuff (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt), some eggs, and some butter. And when you’re finished, the final product doesn’t look anything like those ingredients with which you began. It’s magic. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.| Oblivious Investor