Everybody Loves Your Money

Well, I suppose it had to be too good to be true. I posted my “Top 13 Money Saving Ideas Of All Time” and one of those tips was to only use two squares of toilet paper. Then, only days later, Sheryl Crow comes out and says that you should only use one square of toilet paper. (Talk about extreme). Well, apparently Sheryl was just kidding. I think Sheryl just couldn’t hold up to the pressure.

Don’t back down Sheryl! Save some money, save the world! You just keep making that sacrifice each time you are in the bathroom and the world will be a better place.

After signing up for the Ohio state sponsored 529 plan, I faced another decision.  How would I allocate the money that I am investing each month?  I wanted to choose index type funds for their low expense ratios and diversified approach, but I also wanted to be sure I had exposure in more than one market segment.  For me, I’ve found that I’m most comfortable with exposure in the large cap, small cap and international areas.  At this point, my daughter is only three so I have taken an aggressive approach to her investments.  Here are the funds that I chose:

Vanguard Aggressive Growth index Portfolio

• Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund
• Vanguard Institutional Developed Markets Index Fund

 

Vanguard Developed Markets International Stock Index Option

• Vanguard European Stock Index Fund
• Vanguard Pacific Stock Index Fund

 

Vanguard Extended Market Index Option

• (Small and medium size US companies)

Here are some details about these funds in a .pdf format

After further review, I think I might have a bit too much exposure internationally, but I’ll probably let it go for awhile and see how things go.  As a percentage of our total investment portfolio, our international exposure is pretty low.  I just want to be sure that I have adequate funds in this account by the time my daughter goes to college.