Skip to content

My Happiness Obsession

Over 1000 Blog Posts!!

Menu
  • Home
  • About
  • Top Categories
    • Personal Growth
    • Money & Investing
    • Law of Attraction
    • Blogging
    • Running & Health
  • Complete Post Index
Menu

Day 313: What’s Your Risk Tolerance? (Part 3/Survey Says…)

Posted on June 12, 2019

Okay, so I decided to keep this on the topic of Investing, more specifically on the topic of asset allocation, more specifically on the topic MY asset allocation… as this is about the only thing I have thought about for the past three days.

As I alluded to in Part 1 and Part 2 of this three-part saga (which may not have the appeal of Star Wars or a Wagnerian cycle, but what can you do?), I have been giving a lot of thought to what mix of stocks and bonds works for me.

Yesterday I concluded that I wasn’t going to make an extreme move to dramatically more bonds. Yet I was willing to do more bonds. To be more specific about my situation, I have had my Traditional IRA in target-date funds for awhile. Said funs are 90% stocks and 10% bonds. Since my IRA is about a quarter as big as my Roth–which carries exactly zero bonds–I really was at about 2% bonds.

2% bonds ain’t for the faint of heart! I thought that a slightly higher percentage of bonds wouldn’t hurt. I looked around, figured out what I kind of changes I was ready for. Here’s what I concluded:

  • I want to keep things simple by picking one fund that, like the target-date funds, balances stocks and bonds (instead of mixing and matching with different funds, or what is often referred to as “slice and dice” investing).
  • I don’t want to radically change my position. I figure a 6-10% shift towards bonds is enough right now.
  • I want an inexpensive fund (obviously).
  • I was looking at Vanguard balanced funds that vary between 40% to 60% bonds. After thinking it through, I realized I want to limit how much of the stocks I unload (I want to keep watching them grow!). So I decided to go with a fund with 40% bonds… which is four times more than my current target-date funds had.
  • Now that I knew the allocation of the fund I want (60% stocks/ 40% bonds), the only remaining question from the two choices left: should I keep foreign stocks, or go all U.S. investments? I decided to keep the international stocks, which means I am continuing with the “Three Fund Portfolio” idea that I have been loosely following for a long time, that is, US Total Stock Market, International Stock Market, and Total Bond Market.

So after getting clear on these things, the best choice for me was logical. To summarize, by doing my due diligence–asking myself what mattered to me and doing online research–I realized that:

  • I want one fund
  • I only want a modest shift to bonds (6-10%)
  • I want something inexpensive
  • I want to limit how much of my stocks I give up for bonds
  • I want to keep the Three Fund Portfolio which includes US and International Stocks.

Which (Vanguard) fund would allow satisfy these desires? And the survey says….

Vanguard LifeStrategy Moderate Growth Fund (or by its stock symbol “VSMGX”) Read more in depth about it here.

This fund is 60% stocks, 40% bonds, and includes both US and International stocks and bonds. It’s got a low expense ratio (0.13%, which means that you pay a yearly fee of thirteen hundredths of a percent… or the equivalent of 13 cents per $100 invested… not bad!). As a result of investing in this, my stock-to-bond ratio is closer to 90/10 (well, actually 92/8)… which obviously is still considered quite aggressive! Yet it feels quite satisfying.

FINAL NOTE: I’m generally quite reluctant to make any changes to my investments, as I believe strongly in staying the course. Yet I had a bee in my bonnet over this, and the change I decided to make feels like a fairly modest way for me to adjust my portfolio slightly without changing direction. I am satisfied with the self-examination process I undertook when making my selection.

And satisfaction, folks, is what it’s about!

Share this:

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook

Property of:

Recent Posts

  • Saturday’s Alright For… Quality Questions
  • The Blog Shines On
  • When Today’s “High” Prices Become Screaming Good Deals
  • “Dark Emotions” (Original Rhyme)
  • The Timeless Timeliness of Past Posts

Read Posts by Category

Blogging (150) Books (93) Creative Writing (76) Creativity Topics (90) Higher Self (88) Home Life (22) Law of Attraction (153) Miscellaneous (135) Money & Investing (149) Movies (15) Music Career (61) Original Music (57) Personal Growth (378) Running & Health (134) Shenanigans & Ruminations (89)

Archives

Share this page

Share

More Recent Posts

  • Saturday’s Alright For… Quality Questions
  • The Blog Shines On
  • When Today’s “High” Prices Become Screaming Good Deals
  • “Dark Emotions” (Original Rhyme)
  • The Timeless Timeliness of Past Posts
  • Focus Relentlessly On What Already Feels Good
  • Tonight’s Appreciations
  • Swimming with Faster Swimmers
  • I Believe in the Power of Quality Questions
  • You Do Not Need an Intermediary
  • I Did It My Way
  • “Dead Dragon” (Original Rhyme)
  • Highly-Sensitive Chronicles (Update)
  • Tonight’s Appreciations
  • Deliberately Taking It Slow
  • “Living for the Softer Hum” (A Rhyme-y Poem)
  • A Dandy Time Blogging
  • The Book (Update #9)
  • “Rhyming Drivel” (Original Rhyme)
  • Fishing in the Milky Lagoon
  • “The Silkworm” (Verse in Iambic Pentameter)
  • Most Versatile Blog Award?
  • Tonight’s Appreciations
  • “Paradise of Mirth” (Original Rhyme)
  • Building My Cathedral
  • The Thing About Groups
  • “Into Creative Waters” (Original Rhyme)
  • Friendly Financial Reminders from Me to Myself
  • Tonight’s Appreciations
  • From the Vault: The North Star of Happiness Beckons (11/28/20)
  • The Book (Update #8)
  • Still Playing “Toy Blast”!
  • And Now October…
  • No Exceptions
  • Highly-Sensitive Chronicles
  • Tonight’s Appreciations
  • What’s in Your Vibrational Meal? (Part 4)
  • Clarity is Sweet (Part 2)
  • What’s in Your Vibrational Meal? (Part 3)
  • What’s In Your Vibrational Meal? (Part 2)
  • Using the Emotional Guidance Scale
  • Tonight’s Appreciations
  • Despite the Drama…
  • A Week of Satisfying Blog Posts
  • What’s in Your Vibrational Meal?
  • Clarity is Sweet
  • The Slow-and-Steady Way to Become Unstoppable
  • A Highly-Sensitive Man’s Trip to the Department Store
  • Mental Muscles of Focus
  • “What’s in it for Me?”
  • Coming From a Creative Space
  • Tonight’s Appreciations
  • Still Calm, Cool, and Collected about Mr. Market
  • Appreciating Regular Exercise (vs. Intense Training)
  • The Book (Update #7)
  • Friendly Financial Lessons
  • Bogus Ideas Like Judgment and Unworthiness
  • Your Mood is Like a Radio Signal
  • Don’t Expect to Make Lemonade Out of Vinegar
  • Tonight’s Musical Appreciations
  • When It Comes to Piano Compositions and 1000-Piece Puzzles
  • Already a Great Year for Introspection
  • A Verbal Sculpture Garden I Just Keep Adding To
  • Hello, Old Friend
  • Thoughts on the Vibrational Universe
  • Give Them a Break
  • The Ideal Weekend for Highly-Sensitive Me?
  • The Book (Update #6)
  • Beethoven’s Third Symphony with my “Digital Orchestra”
  • Tonight’s Answers to Quality Questions
  • When Someone Else Isn’t Being Nice
  • From the Vault: Generating a Positive Attitude No Matter What (11/23/18)
  • Tonight’s Appreciations
  • Vanguard’s Courage to be Disliked
  • Reaching for Satisfaction (2024 Running Edition)
  • Thoughts on Blogging, Digital Footprints, and Personal Agendas
  • The Game of Achievement
  • Musing on “Separating Tasks”
  • No One Said It Wasn’t an Effort
  • Thoughts on Blogging and Book-Writing
  • Tonight’s Appreciations
  • More Gems from “The Courage to Be Disliked”
  • Three Years of Steady Share Prices
  • Focused on the Long-Term
  • “The Courage to Be Disliked”
  • Glutton for Punishment
  • Winning the Game
  • Exploring Traits of Being Highly Sensitive
  • Tonight’s Appreciations
  • Enjoying the Prosperity Game
  • Breaking Down Chronic Habits of Thought
  • With All We’ve Been Through!
  • Nothing Has Changed, and Other Financial Commentary
  • Lessons Learned in 2023
  • Day 365: Don’t Overthink It!
  • Day 364: Missing It Already
  • Day 363: “Of Futile Efforts” (Original Music)
  • Day 362: Things Are Looking Up in Highly-Sensitive Land
  • Day 361: Today’s Appreciations
  • Day 360: Focus Where It Feels Best
    ©2025 My Happiness Obsession | Design: Newspaperly WordPress Theme