fefellama's recent activity

  1. Comment on Does anyone want to talk about stocks/options? in ~finance

    fefellama
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    Thanks for the insight. And yikes, those expense ratios don't entice me either. It's a pet peeve of mine to pay high expense ratios for actively managed funds. Time and time again it's been proven...

    Thanks for the insight. And yikes, those expense ratios don't entice me either. It's a pet peeve of mine to pay high expense ratios for actively managed funds. Time and time again it's been proven that actively-managed funds don't out-perform passively managed trading algorithms, yet funds love putting crap like "with a combined 134 years of experience managing stocks, our team blablablablabla..." meanwhile they take over 1% for doing what a computer can do for .1%.

    1 vote
  2. Comment on Does anyone want to talk about stocks/options? in ~finance

    fefellama
    Link Parent
    VGT is good too, but a bit narrower in scope. Though given the success of tech stocks in the last couple decades, VOO and VOOG are already very tech-heavy. I considered VGT a year or two ago (even...

    VGT is good too, but a bit narrower in scope. Though given the success of tech stocks in the last couple decades, VOO and VOOG are already very tech-heavy. I considered VGT a year or two ago (even bought a bit just to test it out) but ultimately felt like I had way more than enough IT coverage with VOOG. Slightly lower returns but way more balanced it felt like to me.

  3. Comment on Does anyone want to talk about stocks/options? in ~finance

    fefellama
    Link Parent
    Yup this is exactly why I'm thinking of going this route now that I have an established portfolio of growth funds. Want to keep the growth etfs for long term, but start amassing some income etfs...

    makes my life a lot easier now having a small amount of money always coming in each month.

    Yup this is exactly why I'm thinking of going this route now that I have an established portfolio of growth funds. Want to keep the growth etfs for long term, but start amassing some income etfs for some passive monthly income.

    JEPQ, XDTE, and maybe GPIX (I am still tracking this one).

    JEPI didn't do great in slight downturns and the dividends felt bad.

    QDTE is realllly bad IMO, NAV erosion, wildly variable dividends, it just felt bad.

    Have heard of a few of these (purchased JEPQ and JEPI as part of my experiment) and will research the rest, thanks.

    Stay away from YieldMax funds.

    I've heard this before too. Any particular reasons why? Are they too specific / not broad enough? Or is it something else.

    Thanks for the detailed reply.

    1 vote
  4. Comment on Does anyone want to talk about stocks/options? in ~finance

    fefellama
    Link Parent
    Well it was a bit of a philosophical realization. Nothing too crazy, given how similar the stocks are. Basically: [My reply ended up being a lot longer than I thought it would be, but the gist is...

    Well it was a bit of a philosophical realization. Nothing too crazy, given how similar the stocks are. Basically:

    [My reply ended up being a lot longer than I thought it would be, but the gist is that I held VOO happily for years, then discovered VOOG was more in line with what I wanted, and seemed to have better returns. So I switched and have been happy ever since.]

    longer explanation
    • A long long time ago I was young and in college and learned about stocks and began messing around with individual stocks (and eventually options and crypto and anything else that sounded interesting)

    • After a couple of years of just messing around, I learned how complicated the stock market (and entire financial world) could be via lots of trial an error. Learned about the bogleheads method and index funds and bonds and much safer/wiser investment decisions.

    • At that point I was pretty jaded with society and capitalism at large and figured 'well if anyone is going to keep making tons of money it'll be massive corporations with no regards for anything except unchecked growth', so I figured I would invest in an index fund of the top 500 companies in the US and just trust that they would each act in their own best interests and prioritize growth at all costs. Hence my initial investing in VOO for a few years.

    • One day I discovered VOOG and realized that it was essentially VOO but with even more emphasis on the largest companies that just want to grow grow grow. After looking at previous returns, it seemed like my dumb hypothesis was correct (big companies like money and will do anything and everything to get more of it). So I switch over everything I had in VOO to VOOG and it has done tremendously well since then.

    • Whenever VOOG isn't available (typically employer retirement accounts that limit me to specific funds) I try to go for whatever the closest thing is, typically a growth-oriented large cap fund, preferably passively managed (don't want to pay fund managers for selecting obvious companies like Apple and Google and Microsoft when an algorithm can do it automatically and objectively better).

    So yeah that's mostly it. Both are great options. I've also held varying amounts of VT and VTI among other things. All are solid bets, I've just gotten way more returns from VOOG than anything else, so I've evangelized it for friends and family members alike. The standard caveat to investment talk is that past performance does not equal future performance, but even in the low points of the last decade (2018, then 2020 with a global pandemic, and 2022/23) VOOG recovered and thrived within like a year or two. I would never recommend this strategy if you think you might need the money in the near future, but for money that you can set aside for a decade or three, that's my go-to.

    1 vote
  5. Comment on Besides Shawshank Redemption, what films do you like that feature grit, resilience, endurance under hostile circumstances? in ~movies

    fefellama
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    I'd say most war action movies would probably fit these criteria. But the first two that came to mind were actually Dances With Wolves and Lawrence of Arabia. The former is about an American...

    I'd say most war action movies would probably fit these criteria. But the first two that came to mind were actually Dances With Wolves and Lawrence of Arabia. The former is about an American soldier who goes west and learns to survive and coexist with the native populations nearby. And the latter is about a Brit who goes to the Ottoman Empire to help fight a war. Come to think of it, both are actually pretty similar. They both feature a protagonist who is thrust into hostile foreign (to them) territory and have to learn the local ways, adapt, and change their world views in order to survive and thrive. Oh and both are massively long, lol.

    2 votes
  6. Comment on Does anyone want to talk about stocks/options? in ~finance

    fefellama
    Link Parent
    I've thought of bonds before, but my understanding was that their returns were much lower than things like dividends or cc etfs. You get less in returns, but get a way safer product. But with...

    I've thought of bonds before, but my understanding was that their returns were much lower than things like dividends or cc etfs. You get less in returns, but get a way safer product. But with interest rates as they currently are, bonds don't feel that much different than say a HYSA or some Treasury Bills that both are sitting at around 4% yield. So I was looking for something sort of in the middle ground between the high returns of growth stocks, yet the stability and safety of HYSAs and T-bills.

    But I'll look more closely at bond etfs since I've never really done much research on them either, thanks for the suggestion!

  7. Comment on Can you recommend tv shows with themes of grit, endurance, survival under hostile circumstances? in ~tv

    fefellama
    (edited )
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    The Last of Us sounds pretty much like what you described. In fact, many post-apocalyptic dramas would probably fit the bill. But something like the new Fallout show didn't feel as gritty and...

    The Last of Us sounds pretty much like what you described. In fact, many post-apocalyptic dramas would probably fit the bill. But something like the new Fallout show didn't feel as gritty and endurance-y as the Last of Us did.

    7 votes
  8. Comment on Does anyone want to talk about stocks/options? in ~finance

    fefellama
    Link Parent
    I've got no problems selling my growth stocks and have done so many times before when needed. The reason I'm looking into alternatives is that I've got almost all of my investments in growth etfs...

    I've got no problems selling my growth stocks and have done so many times before when needed. The reason I'm looking into alternatives is that I've got almost all of my investments in growth etfs like VOOG. It's been great to me so far, but as I get older I'd like to start building a bit more income into my portfolio so that it's not so affected by market fluctuations. But since I've never really paid much attention to these income etfs, I wondered if anyone here had more experience with them.

  9. Comment on In the most untouched, pristine parts of the Amazon, birds are dying. Scientists have theories. in ~enviro

    fefellama
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    TL;DR: Climate change No surprises there, unfortunately. Very interesting article, OP, but pretty sad to read. Seems like a lot of research still needs to be done to figure out exactly how these...

    TL;DR: Climate change

    No surprises there, unfortunately. Very interesting article, OP, but pretty sad to read. Seems like a lot of research still needs to be done to figure out exactly how these birds are being impacted by climate change and how we can curtail that, but it doesn't seem like the kind of thing that's going to happen overnight, and a lot more species will decline in the meantime. A bit depressing to think about how even in the most pristine areas of the globe, miles and kilometers away from even the nearest road, in forests that have existed for literally millions of years, and yet still they feel the effects of our pollution.

    8 votes
  10. Comment on Does anyone want to talk about stocks/options? in ~finance

    fefellama
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    I was actually looking up some stuff this morning, so great timing. Does anyone here have experience with derivative vs dividend income? I have a decent amount of experience with growth index...

    I was actually looking up some stuff this morning, so great timing. Does anyone here have experience with derivative vs dividend income? I have a decent amount of experience with growth index funds, but am getting to the point in my life where I might want some income from my investments as well. I'm torn between derivatives (covered-call etfs like JEPI or XYLD) vs dividends (value index funds like VOOV or SPYD).

    I've taken a 'porque no los dos' decision and just bought a bit of each to figure out which does best over the next few months. But I'm curious if there's something else that I'm missing.

    4 votes
  11. Comment on Does anyone want to talk about stocks/options? in ~finance

    fefellama
    Link Parent
    I switched from VOO to VOOG a few years back and have been extremely happy with that decision. Both are great, though!

    I switched from VOO to VOOG a few years back and have been extremely happy with that decision. Both are great, though!

    2 votes
  12. Comment on Do you think stressful games are kind of bad for your health? in ~games

    fefellama
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    Great comment. I agree about the different kinds of stresses. Besides the stuff that you mention, another thing I can think of is that 'good' stresses often have a finite time to them. Like an...

    Great comment. I agree about the different kinds of stresses. Besides the stuff that you mention, another thing I can think of is that 'good' stresses often have a finite time to them. Like an exercise at the gym, or a challenging video game, or a mentally-stimulating puzzle. You know that it will end and you'll hopefully be left with a sense of satisfaction at yourself for having accomplished something. A 'bad' stress would be something that has no end in sight. Like an unfulfilling job or relationship. May not always be the case, but applies to a lot of things in life.

    2 votes
  13. Comment on Do you think stressful games are kind of bad for your health? in ~games

    fefellama
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    Anecdotally, I've noticed this a lot when talking to people about retirement. I've had conversations with people who are retired and bored out of their minds, so are constantly looking for things...

    Anecdotally, I've noticed this a lot when talking to people about retirement. I've had conversations with people who are retired and bored out of their minds, so are constantly looking for things to do and projects to work on. Meanwhile, younger people working long hours with tons of stresses in their lives can't wait for the day they can just leave that all behind and do nothing all day. Seems to me very much like a 'grass is always greener' sort of problem, where you seek the thing that you don't have (free time if you're stressed and overworked, or mental stimulation and new challenges if you're bored).

    I'm guessing the same would apply to video games.

    5 votes
  14. Comment on Meet Arsenal target Sverre Nypan, the Rosenborg teenager with 4,000 minutes under his belt – Norwegian expected to cost around £10m plus add-ons in ~sports.football

    fefellama
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    Not too familiar with Norway, but they seem to quietly be having a golden generation. Haaland and Odegaard are the two obvious names, but it seems like they have a few promising young players that...

    Not too familiar with Norway, but they seem to quietly be having a golden generation. Haaland and Odegaard are the two obvious names, but it seems like they have a few promising young players that could help them take advantage in the next few years if they fulfill their potentials.

    2 votes
  15. Comment on What are some accidental life hacks you've stumbled into? in ~talk

    fefellama
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    I've discovered the same thing that you did, OP. Moved away from my home city about 6 years ago, but I still have that city's area code (let's call it 123). But this new area's area code is...

    I've discovered the same thing that you did, OP. Moved away from my home city about 6 years ago, but I still have that city's area code (let's call it 123). But this new area's area code is something else (say 456). So pretty much all of my spam calls come from 123. Anybody with a 123 number that I need to talk to I already have saved on my phone, so I can pretty safely ignore any calls from a 123 area code. But every now and then I'll get a 456 area code phone call, and I'll answer those because usually it's a local pharmacy or doctor's office or dog groomer or other such businesses nearby that I actually am waiting to hear from. Only one or two times in these 6 years have I gotten a spam call from that new (to me) 456 area code, and usually those are just local organizations soliciting donations.

    9 votes
  16. Comment on TimeGuessr in ~games

    fefellama
    Link Parent
    Scrolling up and down on the mouse works for me

    Scrolling up and down on the mouse works for me

    5 votes
  17. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

    fefellama
    Link Parent
    Great description, thanks! And what about the combat? Is there a lot of action (beating up Nazis) or is it more about the puzzles and the combat takes a backseat? It definitely sounds like its...

    Great description, thanks! And what about the combat? Is there a lot of action (beating up Nazis) or is it more about the puzzles and the combat takes a backseat?

    It definitely sounds like its worth checking out, so I'll add it to my list.

    1 vote
  18. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

    fefellama
    Link Parent
    I have never once played that game, yet I regularly listen to its soundtrack. That to me is a mark of some great songs. A lot of other game soundtracks I listen to also have that nostalgia factor,...

    I have never once played that game, yet I regularly listen to its soundtrack. That to me is a mark of some great songs. A lot of other game soundtracks I listen to also have that nostalgia factor, so it's hard to say if I actually like the music or if I'm just fondly remembering the feeling of being a kid/teen again with no cares in the world playing video games all day and night. But not Katamari Damacy, that shit slaps.

    5 votes
  19. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

    fefellama
    Link Parent
    Is it open world? What's the moment-to-moment gameplay like? I know I can just look these questions up, but I like these discussions on Tildes and always prefer to hear real people's opinions...

    Is it open world? What's the moment-to-moment gameplay like?

    I know I can just look these questions up, but I like these discussions on Tildes and always prefer to hear real people's opinions (you're not a bot, are you?) rather than random articles I find online.

    I'll be honest, I never really cared much for Indiana Jones or any of the movies. But your description of the game sounds pretty interesting. I did hear that the graphics were great, but don't know anything about the game besides that.

    2 votes
  20. Comment on Creative short story writing contest—prize for winner! (2025-01-07) in ~creative

    fefellama
    Link Parent
    Incredibly kind of you to say! Thanks again for coming up with this idea and sparking that creativity in myself and others! For some reason I find it easier to write when there’s a prompt keeping...

    Incredibly kind of you to say! Thanks again for coming up with this idea and sparking that creativity in myself and others! For some reason I find it easier to write when there’s a prompt keeping me focused. It’s like the story is already there and just needs to be fleshed out some more.

    1 vote