Ha. They aren't actually hiring external candidates. They actually haven't for a couple years now. Not saying the name, but they are a decently sized ag manufacturer based in the mid west.
Retirement thread
- Thread starter CloneGuy8
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Ha. They aren't actually hiring external candidates. They actually haven't for a couple years now. Not saying the name, but they are a decently sized ag manufacturer based in the mid west.
Ostriches were a really "Hot" investment a few years ago. Check and see how that is going now. Their hair is in boutique demand for knitting and such but I've never heard of it being used much for jewelry. Dive in though, somebody will sell you the feed, vet care and shelter.
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I have not read this entire thread but I don't see anything about the "Rule of 72" mentioned. This is also a helpful planning guide. The "Rule of 72" basically states that you should double your money using the combination of years and return. For example, it would take 9 years to double your money with an 8% return (9 X 8 = 72), or 6 years at 12%, etc. This assumes that you don't add another dime to the account, like I have retired and no longer contribute.
Recent market conditions have been pretty good to my investments so I use the rule to project where I would be given current conditions. I might go back four years and combine with the next three to project where I would expect to be in three years. Sort of a moving 7 year period that also considers the recent past.
Recent market conditions have been pretty good to my investments so I use the rule to project where I would be given current conditions. I might go back four years and combine with the next three to project where I would expect to be in three years. Sort of a moving 7 year period that also considers the recent past.
Acorns is an interesting concept, but there are a few caveats to be aware of.
The first being the fee structure. While the $1 a month fee (for balances less than $5000) doesn't look too bad on the surface, percentage-wise it's pretty terrible for small balances. $1 a month in fees is going to eat up most of any gains you might potentially see until you get a decent sized balance built-up.
Another thing to be aware of are the tax implications. Acorns provides investment in ETF's, not IRA's. You're better off maxing out your 401(k) (especially with employer matching) and IRA contributions first. You just need to approach Acorns as way to supplement your savings beyond 401(k) and IRA's.
The spare-change aspect of Acorns is neat and convenient, but you can more-or-less achieve the same effect on your own with fairly minimal effort. It's not hard to quickly determine the average number of transactions you have per month. Take that number of transactions times $0.50 (or more if you want) to simulate what Acorns would be rounding-up for you on average. Then setup a recurring auto-transfer from your checking into a savings account for that amount. Once you get a decent balance saved, invest it where you see fit.
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So much this. Depending on your tax situation, every extra dollar in your 401k will only reduce your take home pay ~$0.75.
This is very understandable in my view. I have noticed that there are several people who have been more open and provided numbers, but this can be a very sensitive subject and it is not really "politically correct" to state your wealth - it can either seem like you're bragging or can be embarrassing if it's not enough.
e.g. how would people react to someone who said, "I'm 55 and have $8M in assets & net worth of $7.5M..."? - I think they might get a lot of flack for bragging. Maybe some would argue that their net worth is really $0 because real estate counts as a liability.
(sorry Dopey)On the other hand, imagine if someone said "I'm 55 and have $150K networth, $120K in retirement savings and $30K of home equity". A lot of people would cringe and some would probably politely tell him - "you're screwed".
Actually, I think this is why a lot of the guidelines use the multiplier vs your current income - it takes an aspect of "who's is bigger" / measuring stick out of the discussion.
i do all our investing and financial planning and the calculators range considerably. on several we come out ahead and on other we are way behind. there seems to be little rhyme or reason to them.
FWIW, I'm in my mid 30s and have about $500k saved for retirement. No debt other than the house. My best financial decision was going to ISU. I was very fortunate to go before tuition costs exploded, and was able to graduate with no debt thanks to scholarships and working summers and couple of winter breaks. I also graduated into a very good job market right before the crash.
I don't really look at the calculators too much at this point, because retirement is a long ways away, and I'm so conservative in the assumptions. I usually assume like 5% ROR and 3% inflation, and then think I'm never going to retire.
Yeah, my company is pretty good for retirement, and I started putting money in at a good time (2007).
vanguard is always good
I don't know if others feel this way, but I constantly feel like we're not saving enough even though I know we are. We put 16.5% in our retirement accounts, plus the other 4% we put in an HSA as stated previously. Being an engineer, I have a good salary base with plenty of upward growth projected.
It could be the pessimistic side of me coming out, but I wonder if we'll have enough in retirement. Probably just fear of the unknown. Anyone else feel this way?
It could be the pessimistic side of me coming out, but I wonder if we'll have enough in retirement. Probably just fear of the unknown. Anyone else feel this way?
I've done it twice with Vanguard and it was fairly painless. When I did it the first time they had to send an actual check through the mail and it was a little nerve wracking to see your balance go to 0 and then wait a few days while you hoped it didn't get lost in the mail. I can't remember the second time if they were able to do an electronic transfer or if I was just used to the check in the mail technique by that time. The most important thing is to have the money go directly from your 401k company to whoever does your IRA. If the money goes to you and then you deposit it, it counts as a distribution and you will owe taxes and penalties.
I would say fear of the unknown is a big part of it. There's a ton of uncertainty about putting money away for decades when you don't know what things will look like in two years, let alone thirty or forty. I bet many of us experience this. What helps me deal with uncertainty is the comfort in knowing that virtually everything I've read or calculation I've run suggests pretty solid outcomes if you can start early and invest a healthy percentage of your income over decades. Doing this increases your margin for error significantly.
Another thing to remember...you're not replacing your entire income in retirement. If you're contributing 16.5% you need at the absolute maximum 83.5% of income in retirement. I'm sure you're well aware of that but for me, I have to remind myself of that constantly, and it always helps ease my mind.
I did this recently myself as well, and for some reason they're still cutting checks rather than wiring the money. So certainly it is a bit nerve-wracking.
I'm a Vanguard guy and can't say enough good things about them. They're very low-cost and very low-drama...and by that I mean you're not under constant siege of marketing pitches or stock market hype. They're boring, and that's a good thing.
I agree with Vanguard as well. When I changed jobs last year, I moved my 401k over to them. It was about as easy as you could possibly make it. They didn't require a bunch of forms or ask me to make a bunch of phone calls to my previous 401k provider. They conferenced in Wells Fargo (my former provider), asked me to give them permission to take charge of the transfer, and I listened while they made it happen. In total it took about 15 minutes.
Their customer service has been great to deal with so far.
I recently did a rollover for myself and my wife. I had a Roth IRA with a previous bank that was just sitting there. My wife had multiple previous 401k's sitting with all different places. We decided to roll then over to fidelity, mainly just for ease because both our current work 401k's are with Fidelity. I rolled mine over to a Roth IRA and rolled my wife's old 401k's into a Traditional IRA. For you, I would see what offerings the place your current work 401k is with and see if it's practical. Otherwise I hear vanguard is really good and cheap. And my dealings with Fidelity have been very positive.
