Let talk $$$

[Caleb]

Wow, that's impressive! I hope that we'll have our home paid off in 10 years, then I can crank up my retirement funding to around 40-50%! I'm over real estate after renting our Fruita home out for several years, we bought low and sold high and made money, but it was a headache dealing with mechanical breakdowns, renters personal issues, late or no rent, evicting someone and cleaning their mess. Yeah, I'll pass.

We have little debt, my Jeep is almost paid off... all other vehicles are paid for.

We've been very fortunate with our jobs and some investments we've made or been "given" over the years. We don't take it for granted to be in the position we currently are.

We helped my mom for a period with her rental and the experience was much the same as yours. When we finally got the last renters out, we had to gut the place (down to the studs) and redo the entire thing. It was absolutely disgusting. I won't ever do a long term rental. My wife and I have thought a lot about doing vacation rentals. We've thought about doing something in Hawaii and something in St. George. Both places we go a couple times a year and almost always end up staying in the same general areas. it would be nice not to have to worry about a place to stay.

I like the idea of the Roth IRA, I know Catherine has one that she started years ago. She's also a teacher paying into PERA and actually needs only one more year of teaching in California to be vested, so she could draw there, too. With my RR retirement, she will also draw 50% of what I'm taking home at retirement. Unfortunately, UP doesn't offer to match or do anything else with 401k's, which sucks.... but this is on top of my RR retirement. I've been paying in for almost 15 years now, need another 15 and then 60 yrs old to draw.

Not sure what you and your wife are making, but you may or may not be eligible for a Roth IRA. (you have to make less than $189K or less between the two of you and you can only contribute $6K a year) You also have to consider when you want to pay taxes (now when you're likely in a higher tax bracket, or later when you're in a lower bracket). Also, if you're not maxing your pre-tax, you should do that first to lower your current tax obligation. There are many scenarios that Roths make sense, just make sure you understand them before jumping in, your money could work harder for you elsewhere if you aren't careful.

 

[UNSTUCK]

This about sums it up for me.

 

[Cody]

I've always harped on the rent vs buy debate and I think in the long run, most people with financial discipline can outperform the growth of a personal real estate. It requires a market where rents are cheaper than mortgages, which historically is the case but isn't exactly the case in SLC right now, and then the discipline to invest the difference into something that will outperform real estate (which, if memory serves, only outpaces inflation by like .3% over any 30 year period). That's discipline is tough for most people.

I cashed out what retirement I had to open a business (more exactly, to live off of while I opened a business). I've recently started putting a little back into a 401k, but I'm late in the game so I don't know how far I'll get. I do have a 30 year life insurance plan on myself to hedge against dying broke and leaving my family to deal with my riskier financial plan if death-by-del-taco becomes my destiny. Beyond that, my "retirement plan" is simply the growth of my business (and it's holdings) as an asset, so I've essentially bet on my ability to grow my business at a rate that outperforms a retirement account...and for the long term.

Obviously not a traditional direction and it currently lacks any semblance of diversity, but I turned 2k into 25k and 25k into a business that does something approaching 7 figures in annual sales. Now I'm leveraging that business to go double or nothing and crossing my fingers I don't blow everything up. Bring this thread back up in a year and see if I'm living in a cardboard box...and if I am, bring me a beer and some Del Taco.

 

[pkrfctr]

I've always harped on the rent vs buy debate and I think in the long run, most people with financial discipline can outperform the growth of a personal real estate. It requires a market where rents are cheaper than mortgages, which historically is the case but isn't exactly the case in SLC right now, and then the discipline to invest the difference into something that will outperform real estate (which, if memory serves, only outpaces inflation by like .3% over any 30 year period). That's discipline is tough for most people.

I cashed out what retirement I had to open a business (more exactly, to live off of while I opened a business). I've recently started putting a little back into a 401k, but I'm late in the game so I don't know how far I'll get. I do have a 30 year life insurance plan on myself to hedge against dying broke and leaving my family to deal with my riskier financial plan if death-by-del-taco becomes my destiny. Beyond that, my "retirement plan" is simply the growth of my business (and it's holdings) as an asset, so I've essentially bet on my ability to grow my business at a rate that outperforms a retirement account...and for the long term.

Obviously not a traditional direction and it currently lacks any semblance of diversity, but I turned 2k into 25k and 25k into a business that does something approaching 7 figures in annual sales. Now I'm leveraging that business to go double or nothing and crossing my fingers I don't blow everything up. Bring this thread back up in a year and see if I'm living in a cardboard box...and if I am, bring me a beer and some Del Taco.

I'm right there with you Cody. We should swap war stories sometime. Im a three-peat entrepreneur with most everything sunk in the current business. Go big or go broke. I do keep some 'liquid' assets (hence the post) for emergencies and those often long stretches between real paychecks.

 

[Greg]

So I made some changes to my company offered 401k from Vanguard, based on further research. Now my 401k isn't my main source of retirement and I have 17 years to go before I can retire, so I'm kind of playing a little harder with this money than most probably would. I will gladly admit that I'm NOT and expert, hell.... I barely know what I'm doing. That said, I'm trying some things out.

I'm now paying 6% of my pay into the 401K (plus 12% from RR retirement) and changed the percentages of what goes where. 3% or half is going into a Roth. My 6% breaks down as follows;
Pre-Tax 2%
After-Tax Post 1986 1%
Roth Basic 3%


Far as the funds I selected, I went pretty aggressive with a lot of diversification with a few more stable options. Most of these have returns of 6-9% over their life, the less risky ones returning 3-4%.

• Target Retirement 2055 Trust I
• Vanguard Mid-Cap Index Fund Institutional Plus Shares
• Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Institutional Plus Shares
• Vanguard Growth Index Fund Institutional Shares
• Vanguard International Growth Fund Admiral Shares
• Vanguard Wellington Fund Admiral Shares
• Vanguard Windsor II Fund Admiral Shares
• Vanguard Total International Bond Index Fund Institutional Shares

Any thoughts?

 

[spaggyroe]

So I made some changes to my company offered 401k from Vanguard, based on further research. Now my 401k isn't my main source of retirement and I have 17 years to go before I can retire, so I'm kind of playing a little harder with this money than most probably would. I will gladly admit that I'm NOT and expert, hell.... I barely know what I'm doing. That said, I'm trying some things out.

I'm now paying 6% of my pay into the 401K (plus 12% from RR retirement) and changed the percentages of what goes where. 3% or half is going into a Roth. My 6% breaks down as follows;
Pre-Tax 2%
After-Tax Post 1986 1%
Roth Basic 3%


Far as the funds I selected, I went pretty aggressive with a lot of diversification with a few more stable options. Most of these have returns of 6-9% over their life, the less risky ones returning 3-4%.

• Target Retirement 2055 Trust I
• Vanguard Mid-Cap Index Fund Institutional Plus Shares
• Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Institutional Plus Shares
• Vanguard Growth Index Fund Institutional Shares
• Vanguard International Growth Fund Admiral Shares
• Vanguard Wellington Fund Admiral Shares
• Vanguard Windsor II Fund Admiral Shares
• Vanguard Total International Bond Index Fund Institutional Shares

Any thoughts?

Just my $.02... so take it for what it's worth...

I am a big fan of the Vanguard total stock market index fund (VTSAX). The fees are ridiculously cheap when compared to other (managed) funds. Most (if not all) managed funds don't out perform the index in the long run, so unless you're periodically checking and re-balancing your portfolio, the index fund is really something to consider. If you want to smooth the ride, you can place a portion of your portfolio (I go with 10-25%) with the total bond index fund (VBTLX).

That's all I've got.

 

[Greg]

Just my $.02... so take it for what it's worth...

I am a big fan of the Vanguard total stock market index fund (VTSAX). The fees are ridiculously cheap when compared to other (managed) funds. Most (if not all) managed funds don't out perform the index in the long run, so unless you're periodically checking and re-balancing your portfolio, the index fund is really something to consider. If you want to smooth the ride, you can place a portion of your portfolio (I go with 10-25%) with the total bond index fund (VBTLX).

That's all I've got.

Good feedback! I'm trying to diversify as much as possible, so I have mine split into all those listed above, plus UP stock, so I'm spread out over 9 options. Most everything is 10-15%, I think the 'Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Institutional Plus Shares' (VSMPX) that I selected is one of the 15%'ers.

VBTLX looks pretty conservative, but still earns a 3.99% return since it's inception!

 

[spaggyroe]

Good feedback! I'm trying to diversify as much as possible, so I have mine split into all those listed above, plus UP stock, so I'm spread out over 9 options. Most everything is 10-15%, I think the 'Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Institutional Plus Shares' (VSMPX) that I selected is one of the 15%'ers.

VBTLX looks pretty conservative, but still earns a 3.99% return since it's inception!

VTSAX is incredibly diverse by nature/design since it's literally everything.
(Domestic that is).

10-15% is great. If it ain't broke... don't fix it.

VBTLX is a bond fund, quite conservative. Less risk and less chance for reward. I currently have none but it can be a good tool to smooth out some of the peaks and valleys.

 

[Noahfecks]

I can't legally comment on an specific fund here but would like to expand on indexed funds. No I am not and adviser but I am in the industry.

An index is a specific group of stocks placed together to tell the general health of a sector or market as a whole. Some of the more well known are Russel, Standard & poor's (S&P), and Dow Jones (DJIA). because the fund is simply tied to the Index in equal proportion based on the economic indicators, the management fees are extremely low. It is my personal opinion that these are great low cost vehicles when considering a mutual fund. The drawback is that they don't have much/any protection in a crash like what happened in 2008.

If you work with one of the bigs you can generally get into a fairly low cost managed portfolio once you have $100K or more under management. Managed portfolios will generally outperform mutual funds and offer some of the highest return averages at a very reasonable price with great downside protections.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

I'm investing in opportunities now, I'll be too old and out of shape to spend the money in a fun way when I'm 60

 

[Greg]

So I made some changes to my company offered 401k from Vanguard, based on further research. Now my 401k isn't my main source of retirement and I have 17 years to go before I can retire, so I'm kind of playing a little harder with this money than most probably would. I will gladly admit that I'm NOT and expert, hell.... I barely know what I'm doing. That said, I'm trying some things out.

I'm now paying 6% of my pay into the 401K (plus 12% from RR retirement) and changed the percentages of what goes where. 3% or half is going into a Roth. My 6% breaks down as follows;
Pre-Tax 2%
After-Tax Post 1986 1%
Roth Basic 3%


Far as the funds I selected, I went pretty aggressive with a lot of diversification with a few more stable options. Most of these have returns of 6-9% over their life, the less risky ones returning 3-4%.

• Target Retirement 2055 Trust I
• Vanguard Mid-Cap Index Fund Institutional Plus Shares
• Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Institutional Plus Shares
• Vanguard Growth Index Fund Institutional Shares
• Vanguard International Growth Fund Admiral Shares
• Vanguard Wellington Fund Admiral Shares
• Vanguard Windsor II Fund Admiral Shares
• Vanguard Total International Bond Index Fund Institutional Shares

Any thoughts?

8.5% ROI since these changes!