shalab

This year has been a good one for many - let us quantify the average for this board for 2013.

It seems WA state has GET program. ( http://www.get.wa.gov/ ) Have you checked this out? More guaranteed than the mutual funds - last decade tuition went up 9.5% according to this site, so you will get the money indexed against tuition costs.

Directly from the federal reserve: http://www.federalreserve.gov/Releases/Z1/Current/z1r-1.pdf

Ericopoly said: This is absolutely right - buying of goods and services in the economy causes money to circulate creating jobs and more spending...

No hedge funds, seeking 15% returns - just save and invest the old fashioned way; you can be a millionaire and financially free. Meet Mr. 2million. Interesting blog. http://www.2millionblog.com/

There are some programs available in most places for the elderly to maintain their homes but it is not ideal. In my place, the government can confiscate my property if I dont pay property taxes for three years. I went looking around to see where my money goes and if it can be optimized. I started with the city and then went to state. I looked at their budgets - surprising thing for me was that 60-70% of the money goes to personnel costs, benefits and pensions. IMO, I specifically think the benefits and pensions need reforming in the government. However it is an uphill task with way too many vested interests. The public sector benefits + pensions + pay is out of whack with the private sector and significantly so when you take into account the risk of unemployment.

I don't expect them to return 15%, I like to trade them like SD mentioned and I own some from the block I bought at 340s. PW's letter to shareholders from March 2013: Float is essentially the sum of loss reserves, including loss adjustment expense reserves, and unearned premium reserves, less accounts receivable, reinsurance recoverables and deferred premium acquisition costs. As the table shows, the average float from our operating companies increased 5.2% in 2012, at no cost (in fact a small benefit!). That increase is mainly due to internal growth. Our long term goal is to increase the float at no cost, by achieving combined ratios consistently at or below 100%. This, combined with our ability to invest the float well over the long term, is why we feel we can achieve our long term objective of compounding book value per share by 15% per annum over the long term.

Since SP500 has gained about 20% and our board members have beaten this number by a handy margin, looking a huge growth in net worth across the board. The cnbc report said U.S minted 1.682 million out of the new 1.841 million millionaires generated world wide. ( 90% ) http://www.cnbc.com/id/101099732

Mustachian is a reference to http://mrmoneymustache.com who has achieved financial independence in his thirties. There is also the http://earlyretirementextreme.com. I personally couldn't do what Mr extreme has done - though Mr extreme is very logical and his thoughts are very rational. This is a reference to expenditures excluding tax - I will be writing a big check to the government this year. Just want to see where the board lands in this poll.

Real time quotes here: http://worldwide.hyundai.com/WW/Corporate/InvestorRelations/StockInformation/RealTimeQuotes/RealTimeQuotes/TypeIpref/index.html I think it goes by the ticker: HYMTF Exchange rates - USD vs South Korean Won: http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/USDKRW:CUR

[amazonsearch]The Billionaire's Apprentice[/amazonsearch] Just finished reading this book over the weekend, a great read. For people that want to invest with people like Biglari (despite the ethics), this book is a must read. What Buffett said echoes strongly, "A reputation takes a lifetime to build but can take only five minutes to destroy".

Anyone looking at these? I started with the emergency manager's report - looks like there is opportunity here but hard to sift the gems from the chaff. http://www.freep.com/assets/freep/pdf/C4205233512.PDF

Sanjeev, you should get yourself a tesla ;D

Thank you Sanjeev for your clarifications - I am not hoping that FRFHF reduce their book value growth, just reduce the expectation of the return on book. ( under promise over deliver ) - I hope HWIC is small - I think some one dug out one of the ads last year where an entry level analyst would make some 80K or so working at HWIC. Reminds me of one of those things Buffett talks about "Wall Street is the only place that people ride to in a Rolls Royce to get advice from those who take the subway." - Management transition - I know Prem has little day to day role at HWIC now. However, the FRFHF investment thesis is about FRFHF investing - if Prem and Francis are not involved it is weaker form of its former self IMO. If Prem is not actively involved, what guarantees FRFHF culture? Is it his family? cheers! shalab

Amen Sanjeev. Gio, do you still plan to hold Bulgaria holdings?

My read is the same as Christopher1's. 1. Biglari will keep the money without caps for investing 2. He will keep the net income from SnS also with a cap The shareholders are losers in this proposal

Starting discussion on this topic - it seems the Watsa family will retain control through their family trust. It seems the company is already being run by folks Prem trusts for the most part with him holding veto vote in some areas.

Gio - the flow of funds (FFA) rate puts net savings close to 10% not 2% and this is from the government stats. In addition, another thing to factor in is the household networth - it went up by 10% last year and I am sure it is around 70 trillion now. http://www.bea.gov/national/nipaweb/Nipa-Frb.asp The 401(k) balances are also at a record high as of Q1 of this year. http://www.forbes.com/sites/ashleaebeling/2013/05/23/fidelity-401k-balances-reach-record-highs/

Inflation is a man made problem - where more money chases the same goods/services. The money is printed by the government. The most severe recent example is in Zimbabwe. A highly inflated currency will eventually lose value - the time horizon being the ability of the government to keep it under control. India obviously is more capable here compared to Zimbabwe.

Hi Gio - I generally like your posts but I am not sure where you get the 2% savings rate from. The government statistics dont indicate anything of the type - here is the one for May. http://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/USESAEI/2013/06/27/file_attachments/221663/Personal%2BIncome%2Band%2BOutlays%2B%2528May%2B2013%2529.pdf I own FRFHF and am in awe of what Prem has achieved. However, I think FRFHF is not going to return you 15% a year for 10-20 years. These folks have returned ~9% a year from 2000 and have also increased the outstanding shares significantly. I am certain they are going to face more competition in insurance with the entry of the hedge funds and the re-energized former giants. What I see in the U.S is rapid innovation and fierce market competition. In the last couple of years, we have seen the emergence of Tesla, 3D printing which likely will change the way we live for the better. I think Warren got it right when he said he is bullish about the future of America.

Looks like there is more room to drop. If it happens or not is a different question - I believe the inflation there is very high ( ~10% ) and has been that way for a long time. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/forex/rupee-still-17-6-per-cent-overvalued-nomura/articleshow/20794652.cms

Seems about time: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/biglari-holdings-inc-being-investigated-010600553.html

Hi Geo - one way to cross check this thesis is to invert the assumption. Where do you come up with the 2% number and how is it calculated? The answer is not clear - but the numbers don't tally with bank deposit growth. Also a person like Ericopoly is not in the equation as he doesn't have a disposable income.. Just saying.

Pretty interesting blog by Mr Money Mustache who lives in Colorado an retired at age 30 and has a family as well. http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/02/22/getting-rich-from-zero-to-hero-in-one-blog-post/

boiler -the article you attached is in the same spirit. The addition of pensions/health benefits makes it more expensive.