Hi Joyful, In the US you always pay both the pension fund manager as well as the mutual fund. However, our pension fund charges only .012%. The average US pension fund administration charges 1.25%. In the funds available to DH, there are a few funds with 1% or 1-1/2% fees but most are in the .75% or lower range. I agree with you that international exposure is critical these days. Our foreign exposure is low (to my way of thinking) at 22% total right now (DH's portfolio is 20% foreign invested but my smaller portfolio is invested 100% foreign fund). I do expect a pullback, however, which is why I took some profits and parked it in cash. I expect to reinvest before the end of the year, dividing it between domestic and foreign. We usually aim for around 28-30% foreign exposure total. Because our total asset portfolio is relatively modest, we wouldn't reach sufficient breakpoints even with a discount brokerage to be able to buy at NAV (net asset value, for those who are reading this discussion and are unfamiliar with the abbreviation), let alone waiving trading commissions. My ex-boss, the CFP, was very familiar with our pension fund (he has several clients who are also covered under it) and his advice to me was to leave our portfolio with the pension fund even after DH retires (he can take it out and rollover to another brokerage or advisor if he wishes); the quality of the funds and aggregate cost efficiencies can't be beaten. Now, if we decide to sell our house (it isn't elderly- or disabled-friendly, unfortunately), that frees up a huge chunk of money which we can use to play with. But even so, I fear I'm more of a mutual-fund gal. There's very few stocks I feel strongly about (although when IBM went down to $25 during the dot-com bust I couldn't believe it). I'm more focused on business trends and corporate finance in a general historical environment. Because of the estate planning we've done, it's not necessary for us to draw on our portfolio unless we need some 'mad money'. We can support a comfortable, if not lavish, lifestyle on DH's pension. To offset inflation, we will receive additional income at specific intervals in the future (my upcoming Social Security, my modest pensions, then his Social Security); DH's pension also has cost-of-living increases annually which will help a bit. As a result, investing in taxable accounts is actually a drawback for us. The retirement portfolio automatically reinvests all dividends and everything compounds tax-free until you withdraw some/all of it. So, the fees and taxes we would pay on a modest taxable account make little bottom-line sense in our situation. When we sell the house, then it will be time to decide what to do with the proceeds. Much will depend on our health situation; senior housing here in the US is REALLY expensive for the nicer facilities. My ex-boss liked to say, "Don't let the tax tail wag the dog!" But we do have to pay some attention to taxes, especially as they are unusually low in the US right now by historical standards. Even without the deficits, they were bound to swing upwards eventually! I like to be prepared for various future financial scenarios, so my DH and I have discussed many times about doing XX if YY happens, or doing ZZ if QQ occurs. You can never tell when life is going to start throwing not just curveballs, but knuckleballs at you, LOL. Thanks for the summer wish, and I hope yours is good as well. My DH's maternal relatives all live in Canada (most in Vancouver, some in Calgary) and it's a beautiful place.

Yes, I think after two previous seasons that I do have a following of half a dozen or more regular customers. But, of course, many of them do not come to the market every Saturday. I want to try to bake more to take each market day, but time is a big factor. I want the bread to be as fresh as it can be, but I only have two nights after work to bake. Tea loaves could be made on Wed. night and kept refrigerated as they improve with the keeping. I don't like to freeze anything that I plan to sell - that's just me. If any of you have suggestions, I am open. Just please keep in mind that I work full 8 hour days, 5 days a week. I hope to make lemon bread and cinnamon rolls for next Saturday's market in addition to the regular loaves that I make. Thanks! Teresa

Teresa, I'm glad to hear it is going so well for you. When I was at the farmer's market that is close to me, I noticed that the gal who has been doing it for several years always has a basket of individually plastic wrapped cinnamon rolls. She sells them for $1.50 each. They seem to sell well to customers and other vendors... I can tell she gives them plenty of room on a cookie sheet, to spread out and over proofs them a little for larger size. Nancy

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