Comments on: Which Vanguard Money Market Fund?

By: TFB

TFB — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 05:13:06 +0000

@anon – It doesn’t matter. Yield on money market funds is so low these days that you shouldn’t have much money there anyway. Just put the money in a FDIC insured savings account. If you are worried about European banks having widespread defaults on short-term debt, worry about your stocks, not your money market fund. In that scenario I’m sure you will lose a lot more from your stocks.

By: anon

anon — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 04:30:04 +0000

What do you think about exposure to the Euro Bank money being talked about this week? Seems like they have more risk than traditional…

By: TFB

TFB — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 22:41:24 +0000

Jim – You should use the marginal bracket because any money you earn from these investments is on top of other money you already earn.

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 22:21:02 +0000

I’m in the 25% marginal bracket, but my effective tax rate is 11%. Would using your effective rate be more accurate?

By: Amit Mehta

Amit Mehta — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 04:41:28 +0000

Great Post! You are doing a fantastic service to all of us.

By: TFB

TFB — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 05:04:25 +0000

Samples – They tend to move up and down in the same direction but not in a similar ratio. The best today can be 2nd best a few months from now. If the difference isn’t large, it’s worth switching. If there is substantial difference, then I switch. There is no cost for switching. So I just redo the calculation with the current rates once in a few months.

By: Samples

Samples — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 02:12:28 +0000

How much does the historical yield (which is what we’re calculating from) correlate to an expected future yield for these funds? Obviously nobody knows the exact answer, but do they tend to move up and down in a similar ratio that would leave one to believe the better fund for you now based on the calculator will be the better fund for you tomorrow?

By: zanon

zanon — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 00:08:41 +0000

Sorry TFB — you are right, there was no recommendation.

Thanks for the follow-up link.

Love the site!

By: TFB

TFB — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 23:31:47 +0000

zanon - I don't think I ever recommended any fund. The purpose of this post was to provide a tool to compare the bottom-line yield. My thoughts on risk are in this follow-up post: Risks in Money Market Funds.

By: zanon

zanon — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 23:15:24 +0000

TFB: Would you still recommend the CA fund given California’s economic situation? They will probably be bailed out by the Fed, but still, if there’s any state on the verge of default it’s CA.