I do wonder about spending habits and personal debt compared to 50-60 years ago. Back then, it wasn't so easy to get loans, mortgages, buy stuff on Amazon and Wal-Mart, purchase the iPhone and Sony Playstation 4. To me, it seems that it's much easier to spend your money than it was in the 1950s. Everyone ready for Amazon Prime Day coming up in July?

Define “Wealth” Unaided
Having money/lots of money: 27%
Being comfortable/enjoying life: 24%
Having material items/being able to afford anything: 22%
Peace of mind/living stress free: 19%
Relationships/family/friends/love: 12%

I would like to hear Ted's personal thoughts or comments regarding how the tariff's may or may not affect his corn crop. There's tons of info and conjecture all over the web so let's here it straight from someone maybe directly affected. Then again maybe he eats it all or sells it from a stand out on the road.

Agree with jojo. I think Ted laid it out pretty well for a general overview of investments.

Cash in a checking or savings account should not be included in an asset allocation exercise. This is purely investments.

@JoJo26,

If the cash is already earmarked for near-term needs, than I agree with you. I also think it’s extremely important folks plan ahead at least a year out and have secure reserve funds for those near term needs.
But, If the cash is being held back as a lever for potential investment at a later date (perhaps in anticipation of a more attractive market entry point or opportunity), than I would respectfully disagree with you. It should be included.
Some investors believe in holding back some “dry power” for possible future deployment (in the form of cash). If that’s their purpose, than I’d vote for counting that sum as part of the overall portfolio. And I believe the questions being asked of @Ted (essentially to fully disclose his cash position on the investment side, if any) are perfectly reasonable.
Agree with your underlying premise that cash held in a savings or checking account is unlikely to be part of one’s investment pool. However, it could be. One interesting case is Price’s ultra short term bond fund (TRBUX). In our own case that fund is held in both an “IRA” (comprising investment cash) and also in a “TOD” account (cash earmarked for near term needs). Regarding the “TOD” account (Transfer on Death in TRP’s language), I actually write checks against that account (minimum $500) to cover near term needs.
Bottom line: When posting one’s holdings as a discussion topic (Let’s assume the purpose here is to provide instruction for others), I think it’s important to be totally clear.
BTW - There is also a “gray area” in that many do hold a large cash reserve (5+ years worth of living expenses). The reason I most often hear is that this allows them to remain very aggressively invested with their invested portfolio. The problem with not counting that cash, is that its mere existence does in fact improve their long-term portfolio performance. So it’s adding to their yearly portfolio numbers - whether or not they want to admit it.