2021 Stock Market

[dmclone]

My retirement assets went up 29% in 2020. These numbers include my contribution and then also just the market gain - my contribution)

My Roth +29% (+20% market gain)
Wife Roth +32% (+18% market gain)
Wife pension cash value +17%
My 401k +53% (+16% market gain)
Life insurance cash value +9%



What do you guys do when it comes to buying a new house or car with that much of your assets tied up in retirement?

I got a mortgage for my house 15 years ago.

For my cars, I buy company stock, which I get a 15% discount on and then after I sell it just stick it into a savings account.

On a side note, one thing I like about Ally is that they have "Savings buckets". They don't really do anything except help you organize savings. So for example I have Emergency fund, future car, AC/Furnace, Vacation, etc.

Keep in mind that I'm probably a lot older so this is probably why a lot more of my assets are tied into retirement. I hope to retire in 10 or so years. I also forgot to mention that I have money in an HSA, which I count as retirement money.

 

[brianhos]

My retirement assets went up 29% in 2020. These numbers include my contribution and then also just the market gain - my contribution)

My Roth +29% (+20% market gain)
Wife Roth +32% (+18% market gain)
Wife pension cash value +17%
My 401k +53% (+16% market gain)
Life insurance cash value +9%



What do you guys do when it comes to buying a new house or car with that much of your assets tied up in retirement?

Nice mine is up a total of 31% since Jan 2020. Most of it was just reinvesting, timing, and moving stuff from date based funds to VTSAX/VTI/VGT. Very few individual stocks by the end of the year. If we could do that every year I could retire at 50.

 

[CascadeClone]

83% of my networth (does not include house or non cash assets) is in 401k and ESOP, does that % seem high?

Not at all, imho. Unless 80% is in your ESOP, that would worry me. Don't have too much net worth tied up in the same place that signs your paychecks (see: Enron).

One thing I would note - don't get worried about how much is in your 401k. That's just a box the money is in. It's diversifying the investments inside that box that are important. Most people on this board probably get that, but some (esp younger folks) may not, so just pointing it out.

 

[CascadeClone]

Another thing to bear in mind- be careful comparing how much your 401k is up vs others. Make sure you are looking at apples and apples.

Someone with $15k in their account, who contributes another $5k thru the year, and has a 20% market gain, could say their account is up ~50%. Wow!

Someone older, with $500k in their account, who contributes $5k and and has a 20% market gain, could say their account is up 20%.

Mtown does a good job specifying the differences.

You gotta make sure to use the same ruler when measuring your, uh, growth.

 

[Dopey]

49% in retirement
23% in cash and taxable stock account
15% in hard assets (house and two cars)
10% in kid's 529 plans.

My net worth increased by about 17% last year

I love tracking this stuff.

77.5% retirement
6% savings/CD's
13% home equity
1.5% 529's
2% HSA

Retirement accounts saw 28% market return in 2020 (36% increase when including my contributions).

Net worth increased 29% in 2020.

 

[CascadeClone]

What do you guys do when it comes to buying a new house or car with that much of your assets tied up in retirement?

Same as if you have $0 in your retirement accounts -- save in advance and take your time. If you can save $10k annual in your 401k, you can probably do the same on the side.

Even if you can't just cash flow the savings fast enough, you probably have enough income to get a mortgage or (gasp!) car loan.

I hate taking car loans, so once I get it paid off, I make payments to myself into a "future car" savings account.

My son saved up $50k for a house down payment in about 3-4 years, while still putting some into his work 401k. Meanwhile, he drives a 2006 Pontiac that can best be described as "rapidly disintegrating". It's all about priorities and choices.

 

[chadly82]

There are many more reasons to be pessimistic than optimistic. I won't be entering the market until I see what transpires in the next 3 months. But, I'm betting things won't look good as the backlog of 'optimism' wears out, the economic reality sets in, and the unemployment costs set in. That's not to say there won't be outliers (CBD stuff, remote working, etc), but the traditional stocks will drop.

Im sure glad Ive held onto all the Tesla shares from last April though!

 

[Cyclonepride]

source on inflation rate being 16%?

Is the stock market not based, in large part, on anticipation of future trends? The inflation index has removed most of the things that tend to go up first. The rest is coming. We're starting to see absolutely everything go up significantly in price. Some things just take longer than others.

 

[BCClone]

83% of my networth (does not include house or non cash assets) is in 401k and ESOP, does that % seem high?

Depends on situation. For me, it would mean I’m a mess (self employed). For those who work for someone or did, not necessarily.

 

[Cloneon]

Im sure glad Ive held onto all the Tesla shares from last April though!

Tesla continues to progress, but their yield hasn't met analysts expectations. If you have Tesla, it may be a bit bumpy, but there's no way that stock drops low enough to offset capital gains. Hang on to it.

 

[ricochet]

83% of my networth (does not include house or non cash assets) is in 401k and ESOP, does that % seem high?

As long as not too much is in the ESOP it seems OK. Ours is about 96% in "retirement" accounts - 401k, IRAs, Roth IRAs, and HSA.

 

[CycloneDaddy]

As long as not too much is in the ESOP it seems OK. Ours is about 96% in "retirement" accounts - 401k, IRAs, Roth IRAs, and HSA.

Of the 83% in retirement accounts 16% is the ESOP so feel good with it. Also Im around 20 years from retiring but hope to transition to the a marina or golf course job in 6 to 10 years.

 

[discydisc]

I started doing some amateur investing a couple years ago with Robinhood, but as my account has grown I'm looking to move to a more versatile platform. Anyone have thoughts on E-Trade vs. Fidelity?

 

[SCNCY]

I started doing some armature investing a couple years ago with Robinhood, but as my account has grown I'm looking to move to a more versatile platform. Anyone have thoughts on E-Trade vs. Fidelity?

I use Fidelity, but that's only because one of my old employers used Fidelity for their 401k plan. Even though I no longer work for the employer, I kept all my accounts with them. I am happy with them and their service.

 

[mdk2isu]

I started doing some amateur investing a couple years ago with Robinhood, but as my account has grown I'm looking to move to a more versatile platform. Anyone have thoughts on E-Trade vs. Fidelity?

I use Schwab. Both their website and mobile app are user friendly. Never had any issues with them.

 

[bos]

I use Schwab. Both their website and mobile app are user friendly. Never had any issues with them.

2nd this. Website isn’t pretty but it’s fairly easy to use. Their support is instant and reliable.

 

[snowcraig2.0]

Sold plug power yesterday at $35 after it jumped 6%. Was feeling pretty good about life. Today it has been up to $46. I'm a winner.

 

[bos]

Sold plug power yesterday at $35 after it jumped 6%. Was feeling pretty good about life. Today it has been up to $46. I'm a winner.

I had plug power shares at $2 per pop for almost 2 years. Got sick of the nothing performance and sold it making a small profit. Then this year it exploded to what you have now. I sit with a sad.

 

[pulse]

Fidelity’s desktop interface and app keep getting better and better, they’re nice and like using them. Have another account in TD Ameritrade which has a decent desktop interface.

 

[Cydkar]

source on inflation rate being 16%?