Mortgage/Retirement question
- Thread starter pfgemployee
- Start date
People keep talking about the usual suspects....e.g...recession. Maybe this will help as I sometime assume people read and follow the same things. Also, the markets are too short term...and often to narrowly focused which causes them to miss things.....and why people get hurt financially. When I mention the political environment, I'm not talking party. I'm talking about the unwillingness for politicians to address real problems and think long term. From Charles Marohn,
"America's cities, towns and neighborhoods are at overwhelming levels of fragility. I see a development pattern that destroys wealth; the more we do, the poorer we become. I see municipal debt levels rising as a consequence, as well as an increased dependence on state and federal assistance. I see property values and consumption rates (property tax and sales tax) artificially manipulated higher by federal monetary and fiscal policy—a lofty perch I don't see as stable. I see local governments overwhelmed with liabilities, from infrastructure maintenance to pensions and rising health care costs.
And I see the people in the system -- politicians, professional staff and residents -- all with powerful short term incentives to simply increase the level of fragility."
^if you pull back the shiney veneer (e.g...4.1% econ growth last quarter), there are a lot of problems that are not being addressed....probably because many people don't understand them in the first place...and they aren't a winning strategy to get a person elected in this day and age.
I realize it is not fun and actually rather depressing reading up on pending pension crisis, the vast amount of above and below ground infrastructure we've built post 1950's....and have no realistic way to pay for its ongoing maintenance, the poor financial state that most of our cities are in (but we don't see it because currently it is masked by growth), etc.
Bottomline: IMO, do everything you can to avoid and get out of debt. It is the one thing you can control. When the time comes and we have no choice but to deal with all these problems that we've hidden in a corner for too long, not having debt will be a huge part of how you'll have protected youselfl and your family.
I realize it is not fun and actually rather depressing reading up on pending pension crisis, the vast amount of above and below ground infrastructure we've built post 1950's....and have no realistic way to pay for its ongoing maintenance, the poor financial state that most of our cities are in (but we don't see it because currently it is masked by growth), etc.
Bottomline: IMO, do everything you can to avoid and get out of debt. It is the one thing you can control. When the time comes and we have no choice but to deal with all these problems that we've hidden in a corner for too long, not having debt will be a huge part of how you'll have protected youselfl and your family.
And make sure to keep plenty of non-perishables, water, and fuel on hand at all times.
Simply suggesting that taking on, or continuing debt (even a mortgage) may not be the wisest financial plan in the future (historically speaking)
= (equals)
being a prepper.
Wow
(hard not to notice you didn’t address even one of the potential economic concerns I mentioned and provide your POV on why they are not a concern someone may want to consider as they evaluate potential uncharted economic times ahead).
I'm very concerned about the market. As of about 2 months ago, I now have 40% in Fixed income, which I hate to do. 10 years ago a 30% decline wasn't as big of a deal since I had 25 + years until retirement. Now I only have 15-20 years and the balance is a LOT higher. There are tons of warning flags about a market crash but there have been for a long time.
And that is why Dave Ramsey doesn't just focus on what the interest rate on the mortgage says. You have to ignore the risk factor to say that investing instead of paying off the mortgage is a good idea. Essentially that is bringing a large amount of leverage to one's investments and that should be left to sophisticated investors in whatever market you are leveraging.
Don't be, we may have a short-term down trend but I'm looking to BUY BUY BUY. I have a feeling we are going to see a Blow-Off Top in the US Markets like Japan in 1999. It may be difficult to sell the top but we could go much higher. After that though, all bets are off. The Bond Market are the markets that I would really worry about, especially government bonds.
Always wondered why more people didn't try to find or post the funds that he talks about. 10% returns over the long term shouldn't be that crazy but a bad year or two really hurts.
I don't think that is one as it seems to mirror the market. The 10-year is only 9.22% versus 9.08 for the category return.
I don't think that is one as it seems to mirror the market. The 10-year is only 9.22% versus 9.08 for the category return.
https://www.kiplinger.com/tool/investing/T041-S001-top-performing-mutual-funds/index.php
That is a link to some of the best returns. The one Vanguard fund looks impressive with a 13.58% 20-yr return. Adding that to my list.
That is a link to some of the best returns. The one Vanguard fund looks impressive with a 13.58% 20-yr return. Adding that to my list.
Are you sure...? That is the worst part of finding / searching for freaking mutual funds. You find some decent ones and they are closed to new investment. I was looking at VHCOX but it notes 3,000 as minimum investment and I don't see closed anywhere.
Actually that Primecap fund is number two on my list but that isn't even the same company.
Actually that Primecap fund is number two on my list but that isn't even the same company.
The biggest problem I have with mutual funds is that they are way too limited by the sector that they are sold in. You are looking to professionals but when they are so narrowly limited I feel like they are leaving far too much opportunity on the table. So i have to figure out when to buy the Large Cap US fund and then switch to Global or Bonds etc. A fund that acts more like a Hedge Fund but run by Vanguard using their huge resources would be fantastic.
No Index funds suit me even less. That is my problem with mutual funds. For active management they need to broaden the horizon and offer something that Index funds cannot.
