Rep Retirement Lodge 194: What to do now that winter has really started?

[bigblue_dl]

Re: Rep Retirement Lodge 194: What to do now that winter has really started?

Our company has both traditional and Roth 401(k) options. We get matched up to 4 or 5%. It used to be 1% higher. They also give us 3% on top of it all. We also have an employee stock program where we get 15% off stock.

Similar to me. We get 4% company match, but no 3% on top of it all, we have a traditional pension, that is separate from the 401k, instead. Then, we also get ESPP, with a 15% discount, so I put a % towards that each month as well.

I'm on the verge of paying off my last student loan, and another consumer loan (for our Kinetico water and RO system) that was 0% interest for up to 5 years, so it was a no brainer to take the loan. Then, it won't be too long before my truck loan is done. I am soon going to have a bit more money to work with, and I have to decide how much I'm increasing my 401k contribution, how much to put towards paying extra on the wife's student loans, and how much to put towards renovating the house.

[Greyeagle]

I’m using the tax cut to buy more and start selling some of my older shares to not oversaturate myself with stock. I’ll probably dump that extra cash into other investments that are more diversified. As soon as the car is paid off, I’m dumping that payment into stock as well.

We just made our last tuition payment so I want to start moving stock toward other investment vehicles to diversify. I have been pumpmping close to 12-15% into both programs since day one - and I’m probably closer to 22-23% now and it’s fun to watch it grow. There are some great opportunities and it’s amazing to me how some younger employees don’t jump in like you have.

[bigblue_dl]

Re: Rep Retirement Lodge 194: What to do now that winter has really started?

We just made our last tuition payment so I want to start moving stock toward other investment vehicles to diversify. I have been pumpmping close to 12-15% into both programs since day one - and I’m probably closer to 22-23% now and it’s fun to watch it grow. There are some great opportunities and it’s amazing to me how some younger employees don’t jump in like you have.

Most younger employees have mountains of student loan debt to pay off before they have the means to do this kind of stuff.

[leswp1]

Re: Rep Retirement Lodge 194: What to do now that winter has really started?

Morning Ralph and the Lodge!

Day 3 of staying home. Had hubby call my boss as I have a feeling that she does not believe me. Hubby is also going to try to get me a doctor's appointment. The earlier the better.

boo! Hope you feel better soon!

I’m using the tax cut to buy more and start selling some of my older shares to not oversaturate myself with stock. I’ll probably dump that extra cash into other investments that are more diversified. As soon as the car is paid off, I’m dumping that payment into stock as well.

THis would scare the bejeepers outta me. Old enough to remember 3 market 'crashes'. Lost my shirt in the first one, was patient, let it simmer and eventually it came back not not to the level I would have had if I was a little less aggressive. The second one is just now about even and now we have a third crash simmering. After the election called the financial guy and said I wanted to be more conservative- we have never had a good outcome when all GOP gov't has been in. They do a lot of pro business stuff that businesses love but despite them saying the market will like it, the market only likes it for a bit. Sort of like eating a couple of gallons of chocolate ice cream. Tastes good at first then eventually you vomit. A lot more real now I am not banking in lots of money and basically treading water until I hit real retirement age. So far we have not dipped into the reserve and by being careful have added a bit but... the cars are now 10 yrs old and we have this pipe thing making things interesting.

Most younger employees have mountains of student loan debt to pay off before they have the means to do this kind of stuff.

When I was a kid, and got my first job, dad les sat me down and gave me the lecture. Put something in savings, even if it is only a dollar, with every paycheck. Until I semi-retired I followed the rule. Sometimes it was only 5$. Credit that with our current financial state being OK.

The recent market volatility thing is scary. Every time there has been a huge bubble they say the same thing- this growth will be sustained because ___________. And then when it starts to get top heavy and wobble it is just a correction because______________. Then when things get worse everyone is SHOCKED!! Just SHOCKED!!

Good Afternoon Lodge!

[Ralph Baer]

Re: Rep Retirement Lodge 194: What to do now that winter has really started?

I forgot to post that on 2/2 I received a message from Mrs. Christine Largarde of the International Money Fund that I will get $10.7M. Among a lot of other things: "I was appointed to handle your transaction here in America as Mr Donald J Trump has given me the permission." That has to be true.

The total is now $117.02M.

I am getting 20% of $50M from Mr. Jefferson Brown. I know that math isn't allowed here, but that sounds like $10M. The total is now $127.02M.

[bigblue_dl]

Re: Rep Retirement Lodge 194: What to do now that winter has really started?

THis would scare the bejeepers outta me. Old enough to remember 3 market 'crashes'. Lost my shirt in the first one, was patient, let it simmer and eventually it came back not not to the level I would have had if I was a little less aggressive. The second one is just now about even and now we have a third crash simmering. After the election called the financial guy and said I wanted to be more conservative- we have never had a good outcome when all GOP gov't has been in. They do a lot of pro business stuff that businesses love but despite them saying the market will like it, the market only likes it for a bit. Sort of like eating a couple of gallons of chocolate ice cream. Tastes good at first then eventually you vomit. A lot more real now I am not banking in lots of money and basically treading water until I hit real retirement age. So far we have not dipped into the reserve and by being careful have added a bit but... the cars are now 10 yrs old and we have this pipe thing making things interesting.
When I was a kid, and got my first job, dad les sat me down and gave me the lecture. Put something in savings, even if it is only a dollar, with every paycheck. Until I semi-retired I followed the rule. Sometimes it was only 5$. Credit that with our current financial state being OK.

The recent market volatility thing is scary. Every time there has been a huge bubble they say the same thing- this growth will be sustained because ___________. And then when it starts to get top heavy and wobble it is just a correction because______________. Then when things get worse everyone is SHOCKED!! Just SHOCKED!!

The long-term trend has been, and will continue to be up. There will always be volatility, and snippets of time where the general trend is down, or even precipitously down, but even still, when you take the long view, the trend is up. At the ages that DX and I are at, we are still able to look at that long-term trend, and be confident that investing in the market will be a net positive by the time we retire, and if past trends can be trusted, it is likely to be a very significant positive. Where this gets tricky is, when you get close to retirement. When you're old (think...Greyeagle old) then you have to worry about that short term down trend seriously impacting your retirement savings. This is why, as you get close to retirement, it is usually recommended to begin moving into safer investments. At this point in my life, I'll throw a whole bunch into stock, and I'm confident that I'll be able to ride out any downturns and end up on the positive side of the transaction.

I also have been contributing to the retirement since the day I started working, even though I've had debts to pay off. It is the smart thing to do. The thing is, early on, I wasn't able to invest as much as I would have liked, because of those debts. I invested some, would have liked to invest more.

[leswp1]

Re: Rep Retirement Lodge 194: What to do now that winter has really started?

The long-term trend has been, and will continue to be up. There will always be volatility, and snippets of time where the general trend is down, or even precipitously down, but even still, when you take the long view, the trend is up. At the ages that DX and I are at, we are still able to look at that long-term trend, and be confident that investing in the market will be a net positive by the time we retire, and if past trends can be trusted, it is likely to be a very significant positive. Where this gets tricky is, when you get close to retirement. When you're old (think...Greyeagle old) then you have to worry about that short term down trend seriously impacting your retirement savings. This is why, as you get close to retirement, it is usually recommended to begin moving into safer investments. At this point in my life, I'll throw a whole bunch into stock, and I'm confident that I'll be able to ride out any downturns and end up on the positive side of the transaction.

I also have been contributing to the retirement since the day I started working, even though I've had debts to pay off. It is the smart thing to do. The thing is, early on, I wasn't able to invest as much as I would have liked, because of those debts. I invested some, would have liked to invest more.

Agree the trend in the long run will be up but the question when you invest in stock is will the kind you invest in go up. Until this past yr it was brilliant to invest in clean energy and anything scientific. Now if it is international maybe but not domestic. WOuldn't want to be one of the guessers right now. The rest of the world is still on a trajectory that is forward thinking but domestically we are doing nothing logical. Considering we are a large hunk of the global economic world it must sort of be looking at a car with 3 wheels driving forward and one wheel that is freewheeling, no direction is out of question.

[bigblue_dl]

Re: Rep Retirement Lodge 194: What to do now that winter has really started?

Agree the trend in the long run will be up but the question when you invest in stock is will the kind you invest in go up. Until this past yr it was brilliant to invest in clean energy and anything scientific. Now if it is international maybe but not domestic. WOuldn't want to be one of the guessers right now. The rest of the world is still on a trajectory that is forward thinking but domestically we are doing nothing logical. Considering we are a large hunk of the global economic world it must sort of be looking at a car with 3 wheels driving forward and one wheel that is freewheeling, no direction is out of question.

But, even then, in the long run a 4 or 8 year blip doesn't really hurt you.

[dxmnkd316]

Re: Rep Retirement Lodge 194: What to do now that winter has really started?

There have been two times since 1950 where the S&P 500 has had negative returns over 10 years. And it hasn’t had negative returns over 15 years even once since 1950.

[dxmnkd316]

Re: Rep Retirement Lodge 194: What to do now that winter has really started?

We just made our last tuition payment so I want to start moving stock toward other investment vehicles to diversify. I have been pumpmping close to 12-15% into both programs since day one - and I’m probably closer to 22-23% now and it’s fun to watch it grow. There are some great opportunities and it’s amazing to me how some younger employees don’t jump in like you have.

It’s free money. I know some people that max it out every year for the ESPP. 401(k) maxing is probably not always the smartest thing which is what a lot of people try to do. Hit the free money first. Then diversify your tax liabilities. Spread things out between tax advantaged, tax deferred, and traditional non-tax advantaged. You can’t touch your retirement accounts until you’re 59.5, so having something you can liquidate without penalty is a good thing.

My dad and I have been working on this for years. Making sure I have a balanced, yet aggressive approach. In 20 years I can start dialing back on the aggressive securities. He’s a brilliant man that knows financial planning more than all but a handful of CFPs in the state. I’m convinced of this.

[bigblue_dl]

Re: Rep Retirement Lodge 194: What to do now that winter has really started?

In reality, my retirement isn't going to come from any of my retirement funds. It is going to come from the land and the farm. Anything left in the 401k will be a bonus. Hopefully very soon I'll be able to start buying up land, to join with the current farm when the time comes. Problem is, good land isn't easy to buy, because people don't want to sell.

[West Texas Wolverine]

Re: Rep Retirement Lodge 194: What to do now that winter has really started?

Good day Lodgers!
I have no financial advice for anyone. I'm pretty sure that my company will give me a free handful of Cheetos when I retire. So there's that.
And we've had 1" of snow falling on Central Vermont each hour since this morning, expecting it to continue to 1:00 AM!

[wolverineTrumpet]

Re: Rep Retirement Lodge 194: What to do now that winter has really started?

Hi WTW.

I didn't invest in a 401k with the first company I worked for. I had an understanding that their plan was just for the company stock....and the company's stock was terrible. I may have misinterpreted that, perhaps it was just the match was company stock. I did however, save that money and turned it into a house downpayment. At the next company I started with investing the minimum to get company match 3% with 3% match.
My last job, I decided a percent of the raise I got by switching jobs was going into my 401k.
I like playing with numbers and monthly assess my net worth, and give a very rough estimate of where I think my 401k will be at ages 60 and 65 if I earn/save at x percent. I want to retire comfortably, and think I'll be able to.

I need to see a financial advisor and start looking at other saving options/investment opportunities. NaSK works for one of the big financial companies and can set up a free meeting. I need to get in on that.

[hockeyplayer1015]

Re: Rep Retirement Lodge 194: What to do now that winter has really started?

When I was a kid, and got my first job, dad les sat me down and gave me the lecture. Put something in savings, even if it is only a dollar, with every paycheck. Until I semi-retired I followed the rule. Sometimes it was only 5$. Credit that with our current financial state being OK.

Parents did that with me (and sis) as well. Growing up, allowance was = age, half went to bank, half to us to do as we wished. Will always be super grateful for that life lesson.

[leswp1]

Re: Rep Retirement Lodge 194: What to do now that winter has really started?

Parents did that with me (and sis) as well. Growing up, allowance was = age, half went to bank, half to us to do as we wished. Will always be super grateful for that life lesson.

Did this with lilnsl. 1/3 went to savings, 1/3 went to him and 1/3 was 'family money' invested in his sports