Retirement

[Dr Krentist]

Anyone have a retirement fund? I'm 40 and am finally thinking about opening a Roth IRA. All I have is profit sharing with my job. What company do you invest with? Likes/Dislikes? Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

[Augie]

Start immediately, and go in seriously. Max out in every way you can. Get the full 401k company match if available. Best if you start immediately after school and get the advantage of compounding. Not too late to play catch up. Please don’t put it off, even if starting ASAP means some short term abstinence. 

 

We started in as soon as we got out of school. Time is your friend, don’t wait. Just my two cents since you asked. 

[PastaJoe]

Before I was married I just had most of my money in a savings account. My wife started investing our money when I was 30 in mutual funds and maxing out our company matched IRAs. We consolidated all our different funds with Fidelity, and had them invest in more aggressive stocks.

 

Because we left the investments alone and continued to invest any excess money we had, I was able to retire this year at 60.

 

So invest as much as you can ASAP, and I’d recommend contacting Fidelity. They do a great job explaining your options and how best to meet your goals. They do charge a percentage fee on your investments, but it’s well worth it.

Edited November 12, 2021 by PastaJoe

[BringBackFergy]

Pay yourself first. 

[Augie]

1 minute ago, BringBackFergy said:

Pay yourself first. 

 

This is what my FIL taught my wife. She came from a family that never used a credit card, even if they had 20 family members out to dinner. Cash. Always cash. If you don’t have the money, you don’t do it. 

 

Our son uses my wife’s bill paying method and maxes out his 401k beyond the company match. She figures out ALL the expenses of the year, divides it by 12 and sets that amount aside in a special account every month. You THINK you have it covered, but then the semi-annual car insurance bill shows up, or some other kick in the *&^%.  Put the money aside knowing it's coming. No surprises, no pain. I promise it makes for a better life! 

[ExiledInIllinois]

1 hour ago, Augie said:

 

This is what my FIL taught my wife. She came from a family that never used a credit card, even if they had 20 family members out to dinner. Cash. Always cash. If you don’t have the money, you don’t do it. 

 

Our son uses my wife’s bill paying method and maxes out his 401k beyond the company match. She figures out ALL the expenses of the year, divides it by 12 and sets that amount aside in a special account every month. You THINK you have it covered, but then the semi-annual car insurance bill shows up, or some other kick in the *&^%.  Put the money aside knowing it's coming. No surprises, no pain. I promise it makes for a better life! 

Semi-annual car insurance?  What is this, 1956?  😆... More monthly for us poor plebs... The monthly installment fee isn't that much though...Just have it auto bill pay,  most places give you a discount. 

 

And to the OP... Yeah,  you better start right away and max out... At 40, you're a few years behind!

[LewPort71]

Using your employers 401K is a key step.  Max the amount you can afford to put in.

The company's matching % is FREE money.

Today.

[BringBackFergy]

9 hours ago, Augie said:

 

This is what my FIL taught my wife. She came from a family that never used a credit card, even if they had 20 family members out to dinner. Cash. Always cash. If you don’t have the money, you don’t do it. 

 

Our son uses my wife’s bill paying method and maxes out his 401k beyond the company match. She figures out ALL the expenses of the year, divides it by 12 and sets that amount aside in a special account every month. You THINK you have it covered, but then the semi-annual car insurance bill shows up, or some other kick in the *&^%.  Put the money aside knowing it's coming. No surprises, no pain. I promise it makes for a better life! 

My father always told me “Pay yourself first”…if you make $1000/week, always take $100 of it and put it toward your retirement. Then use the remaining $900 for bills, mortgage, food, etc. 

[Dr Krentist]

Thank you, everyone! Unfortunately my employer doesn't offer a 401k. We have profit sharing though. I'll look into opening a Roth IRA maybe with Fidelity or Charles Schwab.

[WhoTom]

The stock market is booming right now, so it's a great time to invest in a retirement plan.

 

A Roth IRA is great, as you don't have to pay taxes on any withdrawals, which means your capital gains (i.e. interest earned) are tax-free. The Roth IRA doesn't decrease your current taxable income, and you can only put in $6k/year.

 

You can also purchase one or more mutual funds, which is essentially what the 401k and Roth IRA company invests in on your behalf.

 

I have a Valic account because that's who my employer worked with. I have a friend who went with Schwab, since they have online learning resources available that can teach you the basics of investing.

Edited November 12, 2021 by WhoTom

[Mark80]

There are competing theories on this.  Some believe that you should not have any debt (except possibly a mortgage) before you save any money beyond an emergency fund.  That is not as common, but provides a psychological element to it which helps you cut back on you spending, create good habits etc. and then when you don't have the debt any longer you'll have plenty of extra money to invest heavily.

 

Most folks, however, invest while still having other debts.  Me included.  Definitely best practice to at a bare minimum get your employer match on the 401k.  Beyond that I prefer Roth IRA, that way you know exactly what you have and won't have to pay taxes on it in the future.  I believe Vanguard is the best, Fidelity is also very highly thought of, I just like the Vanguard Funds personally.  Do try to be an expert investor, just buy Mutual Funds and let the professionals do the work for you.  Buy it and don't even look at it, just let it do its thing.

 

Recommendation is 10% of income towards it.  But the more you can save now, the more time it has to earn and compound.

Edited November 12, 2021 by Mark80

[Jauronimo]

5 minutes ago, Mark80 said:

There are competing theories on this.  Some believe that you should not have any debt (except possibly a mortgage) before you save any money beyond an emergency fund.  That is not as common, but provides a psychological element to it which helps you cut back on you spending, create good habits etc. and then when you don't have the debt any longer you'll have plenty of extra money to invest heavily.

 

Most folks, however, invest while still having other debts.  Me included.  Definitely best practice to at a bare minimum get your employer match on the 401k.  Beyond that I prefer Roth IRA, that way you know exactly what you have and won't have to pay taxes on it in the future.  I believe Vanguard is the best, Fidelity is also very highly thought of, I just like the Vanguard Funds personally.  Do try to be an expert investor, just buy Mutual Funds and let the professionals do the work for you.  Buy it and don't even look at it, just let it do its thing.

 

Recommendation is 10% of income towards it.  But the more you can save now, the more time it has to earn and compound.

Pay off high interest loans and credit cards first, no question.  But if you have reasonable debt rates, absolutely not.

 

Take today's interest rate environment where you can get a mortgage sub 3% and car financing is next to free. Why on earth would you early pay off a 2.75% loan when the S&P 500 is returning 15% to 20% a year? Of course the return is not guaranteed and there is some risk but long term stock market returns are north of 7% dating back to the 1920s.  

 

The more money you can get into equity markets the better when starting off. Especially when looking at a 25 year window till retirement, like OP.

[ExiledInIllinois]

24 minutes ago, Dr Krentist said:

Thank you, everyone! Unfortunately my employer doesn't offer a 401k. We have profit sharing though. I'll look into opening a Roth IRA maybe with Fidelity or Charles Schwab.

Does your employer offer a pension?

 

As Fed mine is 3 prong.  I will retire in 3 years @ 56.8.  Pension, TSP, and Social Security.  What will sweeten the pot is basically collecting the SS for 5 years prior to 62 since I have 30 years in at minimum retirement age... Called: Annuity Supplement to FERS pension. Then they shut those special payments off in lieu of collecting SS @ 62.  If I feel good, the government doesn't start messing with stuff (when does the gov't not?) 

got money rolling in... I will wait till I turn 65-67, or later to start collecting the real SS payments... Gonna weigh it.  Anyway, gives me the ability to be some where else but Illinois... BUT... Illinois really ain't that bad... They don't tax your pension here OR 401k distribution... Probably be best if I keep this as my permanent address.

 

Why would I go into work, basically taking home what I take now... Sure I will be lighter on my savings/deductions... No OT/Holidays... But can be where I wanna be relatively young for rest of life and have a lifetime annuity... The Fed even brings back people to work as "retired annuitants"... So I got that option, even part time... Like say down South...

 

Good luck...

 

15 minutes ago, Mark80 said:

There are competing theories on this.  Some believe that you should not have any debt (except possibly a mortgage) before you save any money beyond an emergency fund.  That is not as common, but provides a psychological element to it which helps you cut back on you spending, create good habits etc. and then when you don't have the debt any longer you'll have plenty of extra money to invest heavily.

 

Most folks, however, invest while still having other debts.  Me included.  Definitely best practice to at a bare minimum get your employer match on the 401k.  Beyond that I prefer Roth IRA, that way you know exactly what you have and won't have to pay taxes on it in the future.  I believe Vanguard is the best, Fidelity is also very highly thought of, I just like the Vanguard Funds personally.  Do try to be an expert investor, just buy Mutual Funds and let the professionals do the work for you.  Buy it and don't even look at it, just let it do its thing.

 

Recommendation is 10% of income towards it.  But the more you can save now, the more time it has to earn and compound.

Yes! OR just have so many damn deductions,  savings, you're basically living on what you'll get in retirement! 😆... My take home pay will be more in retirement... BUT,  I won't be saving at a torrid pace!

4 minutes ago, Jauronimo said:

Pay off high interest loans and credit cards first, no question.  But if you have reasonable debt rates, absolutely not.

 

Take today's interest rate environment where you can get a mortgage sub 3% and car financing is next to free. Why on earth would you early pay off a 2.75% loan when the S&P 500 is returning 15% to 20% a year? Of course the return is not guaranteed and there is some risk but long term stock market returns are north of 7% dating back to the 1920s.  

 

The more money you can get into equity markets the better when starting off. Especially when looking at a 25 year window till retirement, like OP.

Or go into retirement without a mortgage.  Or a small one for tax purposes...

Edited November 12, 2021 by ExiledInIllinois

[WhoTom]

3 minutes ago, Jauronimo said:

Pay off high interest loans and credit cards first, no question.  But if you have reasonable debt rates, absolutely not.

 

Take today's interest rate environment where you can get a mortgage sub 3% and car financing is next to free. Why on earth would you early pay off a 2.75% loan when the S&P 500 is returning 15% to 20% a year? Of course the return is not guaranteed and there is some risk but long term stock market returns are north of 7% dating back to the 1920s.  

 

Agreed. I stopped my Roth IRA contributions for a couple of years because I wanted to pay off my mortgage. That was a mistake. The mortgage was 4%, but I sacrificed bigger gains that I would have gotten from the Roth IRA.

 

I'm semi-retired now (drawing a pension and doing a little work as a freelancer), but still contributing $7k/year to the Roth IRA as a long-term investment.

 

 

[Draconator]

 

He starts talking about 401K's at the 14 minute mark.

Edited November 12, 2021 by Draconator

[Mark80]

3 hours ago, Jauronimo said:

Pay off high interest loans and credit cards first, no question.  But if you have reasonable debt rates, absolutely not.

 

Take today's interest rate environment where you can get a mortgage sub 3% and car financing is next to free. Why on earth would you early pay off a 2.75% loan when the S&P 500 is returning 15% to 20% a year? Of course the return is not guaranteed and there is some risk but long term stock market returns are north of 7% dating back to the 1920s.  

 

The more money you can get into equity markets the better when starting off. Especially when looking at a 25 year window till retirement, like OP.

While I totally agree with you and practice that philosophy myself, the psychological side of it is basically saying that if you are willing to have debt (again, beyond mortgage) you are more likely to be looser with your spending as a whole because you don't have the mental relation of seeing your cash do down immediately when you borrow.  So, people tend to buy more using credit of some sort then they would if they felt the immediate pain of using cash.  In your example of the car, people would more likely be willing to buy a more expensive car when they take out a loan (especially at these rates) vs paying with cash.  Am I a psychologist and back this up with anything?  No.  But that is my understand of some things I've read on it.

[Draconator]

I couldn't do it because of my weight and (at the time) smoking status, but my wife was able to do this. Cash Flow Banking. Garrett talks about this in the above video. We're just going to sit on that money and utilize it when we're at retirement age for a comfortable life. 

Edited November 12, 2021 by Draconator

[Johnny Hammersticks]

I’m probably going to die in my 50’s, so I’m not too terribly worried about it.  Genetics are a b**ch.  

 

State pension that pays 60% of the avg of my highest 3 years’ salary, 403b with annual $5500 employer contribution plus what’s automatically deducted from my paycheck, and loads of life insurance.  Wife and I currently have about 3 months of salary in savings...working on that.  At least my kids should be in good shape 🤷🏾‍♂️

[ExiledInIllinois]

15 minutes ago, Johnny Hammersticks said:

I’m probably going to die in my 50’s, so I’m not too terribly worried about it.  Genetics are a b**ch.  

 

State pension that pays 60% of the avg of my highest 3 years’ salary, 403b with annual $5500 employer contribution plus what’s automatically deducted from my paycheck, and loads of life insurance.  Wife and I currently have about 3 months of salary in savings...working on that.  At least my kids should be in good shape 🤷🏾‍♂️

Same... Worth more dead now.  BUT I am leaving at the earliest age that I can get maximum benefits. 

[T&C]

Good thread topic. Some of it has differing idea's for sure... one is SS and when to collect. I'm not there yet but it won't be too long... and the (not that I've seen here) debate I've had with a lot of people is this: say you claim SS at 62... $1,500 a month. But, if you wait until 65 it will be $1,800 a month. 

 

The debate is that the money evens itself out because that was 3 years you weren't receiving anything at all. I'm in the camp that will take it at 62.

 

Also there is the fact that none of us know how long we will live.