Stock Market & Retirement Planning

[Guy In Lyon]

Nice try. You might get a short term fixed rate, but you won't get a low, low rate past 7 years.

Okay...
My low interest car loan in a three year loan.
But what part of "I have a friend that has recently secured a twenty year, fixed rate home loan at 1.35 percent." didn't you understand?
That's ten percent down, 1.35 percent, twenty years.

 

[tahoebum]

Okay...
My low interest car loan in a three year loan.
But what part of "I have a friend that has recently secured a twenty year, fixed rate home loan at 1.35 percent." didn't you understand?
That's ten percent down, 1.35 percent, twenty years.

Don't forget that interest is tax deductible which would reduce that interest rate to somewhere around 1%.

 

[Guy In Lyon]

We have a nice Villa in Nice for 4 months. It will be great to be back.

1) How Nice for you
2) When you say "for 4 months" do you mean some sort of time-share arrangement?
3) If so, you don't "have" a villa in Nice.
4) Nice, France of course.

 

[1ironrocks]

1) How Nice for you
2) When you say "for 4 months" do you mean some sort of time-share arrangement?
3) If so, you don't "have" a villa in Nice.
4) Nice, France of course.

Nope I mean my business partner owns a villa in Nice and he's allowed me to use it for 4 months. Of course I'll get him a nice gift for his gracious gift.

 

[Nicegy525]

My Roth IRA has reached the minimum cash balance to start trading stocks ($2,500) I know virtually nothing about stock trading except you buy shares and hope they go up in value lol!

With that said, I took a mostly conservative approach and invested primarily in Vanguard mutual funds. However, I took my high risk/reward percentage and invested in 2 single stocks that I think will do well in the coming year.

Vroom - a mobile based car selling platform. Almost exactly like Carvana. Vroom is expanding aggressively and has big plans for 2021 (including entering the pacific northwest market and using my auction facility for reconditioning)

OKTA - i cant accurately describe this company but it deals with mobile based application use. I can log into my company's okta site and use all our company applications from my laptop at home.

I think both those stocks have potential for aggressive growth next year, especially as this pandemic wears on. i intend to hold through mid next year and evaluate their performance.

I intend to let the vanguard funds sit and grow, and continue to buy more shares as my contributions roll in.

 

[tahoebum]

My Roth IRA has reached the minimum cash balance to start trading stocks ($2,500) I know virtually nothing about stock trading except you buy shares and hope they go up in value lol!

With that said, I took a mostly conservative approach and invested primarily in Vanguard mutual funds. However, I took my high risk/reward percentage and invested in 2 single stocks that I think will do well in the coming year.

Vroom - a mobile-based car selling platform. Almost exactly like Carvana. Vroom is expanding aggressively and has big plans for 2021 (including entering the pacific northwest market and using my auction facility for reconditioning)

OKTA - I can't accurately describe this company but it deals with mobile-based application use. I can log into my company's okta site and use all our company applications from my laptop at home.

I think both those stocks have the potential for aggressive growth next year, especially as this pandemic wears on. I intend to hold through mid next year and evaluate their performance.

I intend to let the vanguard funds sit and grow, and continue to buy more shares as my contributions roll in.

If you're looking for affordable stock advice, I'd consider subscribing to a financial website such as Motley Fool. I still find our financial advisor essential but when I was younger just getting started with investing I had lousy experiences with a few different advisors and would have been better off sticking to the advice of the Motley Fool. I've subscribed to their Stock Advisor service for over a decade and it's been very helpful in me picking winners more often than not. I believe they have a free trial period. Here's a sample from their site:

 

[1ironrocks]

My Roth IRA has reached the minimum cash balance to start trading stocks ($2,500) I know virtually nothing about stock trading except you buy shares and hope they go up in value lol!

With that said, I took a mostly conservative approach and invested primarily in Vanguard mutual funds. However, I took my high risk/reward percentage and invested in 2 single stocks that I think will do well in the coming year.

Vroom - a mobile based car selling platform. Almost exactly like Carvana. Vroom is expanding aggressively and has big plans for 2021 (including entering the pacific northwest market and using my auction facility for reconditioning)

OKTA - i cant accurately describe this company but it deals with mobile based application use. I can log into my company's okta site and use all our company applications from my laptop at home.

I think both those stocks have potential for aggressive growth next year, especially as this pandemic wears on. i intend to hold through mid next year and evaluate their performance.

I intend to let the vanguard funds sit and grow, and continue to buy more shares as my contributions roll in.

Dump the mutual fund(s) unless they have an MER the same or lower than a Vanguard ETF. The being said buy the Vanguard ETF that is the S&P 500 sector and DRIP.

 

[EstebanTornado]

How many besides me find financial advisors worthless?
I’ve been thru 3 since I retired and transferred my balances, and not one has done better than me and my own research and moves.

 

[Reframmellator]

How many besides me find financial advisors worthless?
I’ve been thru 3 since I retired and transferred my balances, and not one has done better than me and my own research and moves.

After years of doing it myself and outperforming my benchmarks - fairly easy to do in good times - I went with a financial advisor about a year ago. Not only have they performed much better than I did against the benchmarks, but I am convinced their management helped me avoid some big mistakes this year had I done it myself, and their guidance has saved me many more times than their fee, which is actually less than the average of the fees of the mutual fund portfolio I picked.

It's one thing I don't want to worry about at my age, and I haven't since I signed on. One other advantage - if I get called for my Great Tee Time in the Sky, my wife just has to call them for continuity and guidance.

 

[EstebanTornado]

After years of doing it myself and outperforming my benchmarks - fairly easy to do in good times - I went with a financial advisor about a year ago. Not only have they performed much better than I did against the benchmarks, but I am convinced their management helped me avoid some big mistakes this year had I done it myself, and their guidance has saved me many more times than their fee, which is actually less than the average of the fees of the mutual fund portfolio I picked.

It's one thing I don't want to worry about at my age, and I haven't since I signed on. One other advantage - if I get called for my Great Tee Time in the Sky, my wife just has to call them for continuity and guidance.

That’s one thing I forgot to mention, fees. My latest was fee happy, until I called them out and they couldn’t refund them fast enough which confirmed to me they were bogus.
I’ve also discovered a pretty easy way to generate income from stocks I already own, which provides a nice weekly income stream and takes very little time to do.

 

[tahoebum]

How many besides me find financial advisors worthless?
I’ve been thru 3 since I retired and transferred my balances, and not one has done better than me and my own research and moves.

We had a couple that were worthless but found an amazing one in 2017. Her advice has paid off 30x what she charges in fees.

 

[EstebanTornado]

We had a couple that were worthless but found an amazing one in 2017. Her advice has paid off 30x what she charges in fees.

Awesome! I’m thinking those are a rare find.

 

[1ironrocks]

How many besides me find financial advisors worthless?
I’ve been thru 3 since I retired and transferred my balances, and not one has done better than me and my own research and moves.

Yup. I find them useless and got rid of ours 15yrs ago. I've done our money management myself since day 1. Just use a discount online trading site and call the shots. With an uptick such as this past week the holding can grow over $100,000 in just a few days.

 

[Duffer Seamus]

How many besides me find financial advisors worthless?

Financial advisors or fund managers? If the latter: Certainly not my wife and I.

I moved the bulk of my 401K over to a managed fund a year before retirement. The market was a bit unsettled, then, so it took it a while to "find its feet," so to say. Ever since then it's averaged better than 13% growth year-to-year, almost regardless of what the economy's been doing.

As of last night it was up nearly 16% over the initial investment, four years ago, and that's with us taking money out each month since my retirement three years ago to supplement our SSI.

Every once-in-a-while we have a phone conference to discuss where things are, where we think things might be headed, and perhaps make minor adjustments. About once-a-year we have a sit-down meeting and do the same in more depth and detail.

 

[tommyhaka]

I am retired now, and if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't have any company manage my funds for a fee. With any financial common sense, it's not difficult to do. For example, I have a portion of my investments in a Vanguard fund (vtsax) and it does just fine. It's not going to rise or fall like a growth stock, as I don't want that at this stage in my life, but it is a low fee mutual fund that sort of takes care of itself. If I were starting over back in the mid-80s, I would probably put as much money as I could and to a mutual fund like the Fidelity Growth Fund (fdgrx) and let it make a fortune for me.

 

[tahoebum]

I am retired now, and if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't have any company manage my funds for a fee. With any financial common sense, it's not difficult to do. For example, I have a portion of my investments in a Vanguard fund (vtsax) and it does just fine. It's not going to rise or fall like a growth stock, as I don't want that at this stage in my life, but it is a low fee mutual fund that sort of takes care of itself. If I were starting over back in the mid-80s, I would probably put as much money as I could and to a mutual fund like the Fidelity Growth Fund (fdgrx) and let it make a fortune for me.

IMO it's not that hard to manage your own investments and beat 90% of financial advisors by arming yourself with a little knowledge. The big problem is many of the top advisors are off limits to most people because they require a seven figure amount to get started with them. I've read over 5 dozen financial/investing books over the last five years and The Little Book of Common Sense Investing is one of the best. I'd recommend any of John Bogle's books.

 

[Gyro25]

So I saw this article that said you should have double your salary saved by the time you're 35, triple by like 40 or 45 etc.. not taking into account my wife's salary, as she'll have a pension, I don't even have my own 1x salary in my TIAA.

Now that we have refinanced and my student loans are done, i kicked up my 401k contribution a point (still only 8%, but after annual raise will go to 10%)

Does anyone else find this unattainable, or at least very difficult?

 

[Rummpd]

Yes and my two planners are both fine golfers so we go out and do part of my planning on or after the course. One of them has a driver from a tour pro and is near scratch himself. I am blessed as will have three retirement pensions as well from military, state and federal sources plus the Federal TSP max each year - so I tend to be pretty aggressive with my other funds and stocks and so far doing ok.

 

[Danimal]

So I saw this article that said you should have double your salary saved by the time you're 35, triple by like 40 or 45 etc.. not taking into account my wife's salary, as she'll have a pension, I don't even have my own 1x salary in my TIAA.

Now that we have refinanced and my student loans are done, i kicked up my 401k contribution a point (still only 8%, but after annual raise will go to 10%)

Does anyone else find this unattainable, or at least very difficult?

It seems daunting for a long time but if you keep doing the “right” things it adds up. I made a move during the financial crisis of 2008-9 where I doubled what I was putting into the market and bought all the way down. When the market rebounded, I surpassed my growth expectations exponentially. I was “lucky” that I was in a position that I could do that (no kids, low overhead). My advice is to keep plugging away and let the compounding interest do it’s work.

 

[Jmk202]

So I saw this article that said you should have double your salary saved by the time you're 35, triple by like 40 or 45 etc.. not taking into account my wife's salary, as she'll have a pension, I don't even have my own 1x salary in my TIAA.

Now that we have refinanced and my student loans are done, i kicked up my 401k contribution a point (still only 8%, but after annual raise will go to 10%)

Does anyone else find this unattainable, or at least very difficult?

Everyone has different circumstances and situations. But your certainly not alone in finding achieving that challenging. I was just educating one of my younger brothers on something similar. But IMO I think one of the biggest hurdles is starting to figure out "What" your situation is and "What" you can do and "What" that may mean for the future. I helped my brother build a simple excel simulator so he could change assumptions about growth rate, withholding rate, retirement age, and retirement income so he could better understand his circumstances and figure out what was acceptable to him.

To me just understanding that picture helps make decisions easier and clears a lot of things up. Of course this is easier the further you are away from retirement, but that way you know if you are on tracks that will likely lead you near your destination.

 

[Vader]

So I saw this article that said you should have double your salary saved by the time you're 35, triple by like 40 or 45 etc.. not taking into account my wife's salary, as she'll have a pension, I don't even have my own 1x salary in my TIAA.

Now that we have refinanced and my student loans are done, i kicked up my 401k contribution a point (still only 8%, but after annual raise will go to 10%)

Does anyone else find this unattainable, or at least very difficult?

I think it depends mostly on when you start saving, how much one is able to save, and, how generous the employer match is.

I didn't start a 401k until I was 27, which is when I finally got a job that even had one. The match was 1:1 to 4.5%. Even though it was hard, I put in that amount because not getting free money would be dumb imo. My current company puts 15% in, whether I contribute or not. So I am very lucky.

It's hard. It was very hard in the beginning, making little money. But like you pointed out above, in theory, ones salary will go up, and even a few % here and there over the years should pay huge dividends for the future. I think it is doable, but one has to prioritize saving for the future, over stuff.

 

[gkeller813]

So I saw this article that said you should have double your salary saved by the time you're 35, triple by like 40 or 45 etc.. not taking into account my wife's salary, as she'll have a pension, I don't even have my own 1x salary in my TIAA.

Now that we have refinanced and my student loans are done, i kicked up my 401k contribution a point (still only 8%, but after annual raise will go to 10%)

Does anyone else find this unattainable, or at least very difficult?

It depends what you see as difficult, and that's not meant to be a smart comment. From the time I had my first job, I contributed to a 401k, even as small %'s, and if I had extra at the end of the year, a traditional or ROTH IRA contribution was made. So that started my next egg right away, and it was right after the market crashed in 2008, so I also got in at a great time. I lived in small apartments, with no frills, and 2 roommates until I got married, and even then my wife and I lived in a small apartment while we paid down student loans. This allowed us to continue to put money into retirement and still aggressively pay down out student loan debt. We are lucky enough to live in a location that has a low cost of living, but still has decent paying jobs. Our house is nice, but it is well within our means. Our mortgage doesn't create a burden on us. And I think that is the biggest piece of the puzzle, especially for younger people. Living within your means, and continue to up your investments.

Little actions can pay off in the long run. Even if you are behind, according to an article, just keep plugging away. Make changes to save where you can, and keep working towards the goals you have set. You can get there!

 

[Bryndom]

So I saw this article that said you should have double your salary saved by the time you're 35, triple by like 40 or 45 etc.. not taking into account my wife's salary, as she'll have a pension, I don't even have my own 1x salary in my TIAA.

Now that we have refinanced and my student loans are done, i kicked up my 401k contribution a point (still only 8%, but after annual raise will go to 10%)

Does anyone else find this unattainable, or at least very difficult?

It's not easy and extremely daunting (especially earlier in your career). Everyone's situation is different, so I wouldn't necessarily fixate on those as hard and fast rules. I've been putting money away in my IRA and 401K since pretty early in my career and we have quite a runway ahead of us still.

 

[Gyro25]

Thanks for all the feedback! I've been contributing since day way, rolled over accounts from jobs into new, etc, and took advantage of employer match (seems to cap at 5% in my industry). Current system i think puts in 1.5% automatically annually, and matches another 1.5%, then 50% from 3-5%. Something like that, but I feel I'm getting what I can out of them.

Bumped up my contributions as well but my goal is to do more of my own investing as well. My apple stocks split and split, I'm up 450% on those, and recently bought into NIO (the Tesla of china), so hoping that takes off. I guess I just need to deposit monthly into that and buy stocks as I can.

According to my tiaa I'm in good shape to meet my goal, at 67, and as long as I keep increasing my contribution ill surely hit it.

Thanks everyone!

 

[tahoebum]

So I saw this article that said you should have double your salary saved by the time you're 35, triple by like 40 or 45, etc.. not taking into account my wife's salary, as she'll have a pension, I don't even have my own 1x salary in my TIAA.

Now that we have refinanced and my student loans are done, I kicked up my 401k contribution a point (still only 8%, but after annual raise will go to 10%)

Does anyone else find this unattainable, or at least very difficult?

It's not an easy thing to do and I have no idea how single-income families save more than 5% a year when they are young parents. My wife and I didn't get married until we were almost 30 and had basically a zero net worth at that age as my wife had about $20k in credit card debt that offset the meager amount we had saved. We bought our first house the next year(1995) for $117k with only $5k down. We were way behind on our retirement savings but both of us bumped our 401k savings to 10% right when we got married plus got a 6% match from our employers. By the time we were 35 we had two kids but we were earning more and able to contribute 15% to our 401k's plus getting the 6% match. The 2008 Financial Crisis hit when we were both 43 years old and was a super scary time as we lost half of our nest egg in just a few months. All we could do was stay the course and stay invested in equities and today both of our 401k's are up 7x since then. Makes sense as if you stayed invested in equities the Dow was at 6,469 in March of 2009 and is at 29,955 this morning, a 460% increase in less than 12 years if you had just left it alone and not contributed any extra dollars.

I wouldn't worry too much if you are 40 or under and haven't saved much because you still have time to be more disciplined and catch up. Here are a couple of links on how much to save at each age but the best advice I can give is to educate yourself a little bit and make sure you aren't paying high fees in your 401k for underperforming funds. For many years I had 50% of my 401k in an S&P fund in my 401k that only charged .04% a year.

IMO it's foolish and expensive not to educate yourself by at least reading a book or two. Some small adjustments to your investments and a little more spending discipline in your 30's can easily add hundreds of thousands of extra dollars to your nest egg at age 65.

The Average Net Worth For The Above Average Person

You've got one life to live. You can have the average net worth in America, which is pretty low. Or, you can shoot to have an average net worth for the above average person. Everything is relative when it comes to money. If we all earn $1 million dollars a year and have $5 million in the bank...

www.financialsamurai.com

Savings by Age: How Much to Save in Your 20s, 30s, 40s & Beyond | Ally

As you grow in age, so should your savings. Whether you're in-between your 20s and 40s (or beyond), we've taken some guesswork out of the process for you. See our savings by age guides for emergencies, retirement, weddings, vacations, and more.

www.ally.com

I highly recommend this book as well.