401K usually protects your money from creditors, civil lawsuits, and even bankruptcy proceedings.
Since I never thought I would one I did the following..
I have changed employers many times thru my career.
Every time I change jobs, I roll over my 401K to Fidelity/Schwab (Vanguard is another good choice). It's a logical choice.
I have been pondering the following for about 3 decades. I immigrated to the US with my family with just $5K which was gone in 2 months. I didn't know much about investment. After I read the book A Random Walk... I started to invest in 1995 in Vanguard indexes. My goal was one million dollars.
I told anybody I know that if you invest just $1000 per month at 8% annually, you will have 1.4 million since compounding is a huge force.
I got a lot more and retired after 23 years in 2018. It was all based on investing, never options or crazy raises, and we never had pensions or inheritance. Today, $1 million is worth a lot less than 30 years ago, but the % of people who have a $1 million dollar portfolio is still small, maybe 10%. It was one of the easiest decisions I have made in my new country.
I still ponder why many can't do it.
Congrats, we spent an extra $180K (2 new vehicles and home remodeling) in the last 2 years. We also are not going to downsize because we have a big portfolio (it's 50 times our annual expense, not including SS). We were frugal, managed our money well, and made great investment choices. It's time to spend. Many can't do it; we started doing it.
I question all tips. Tips should be given when someone did ABOVE the expected service. I don't see why I should pay a tip for every delivery. Why food delivery deserves a tip where my mailman, Amazon, Walmart, and Target don't. They delivered many more items to my house.
Should I tip my Uber driver? She came to my house; I entered, she drove, and I exited. That is her job; she owns the car, she can work flexible hours. I don't see above the expected service.
Near us there is an excellent local PC, phone repair shop. If you walk in with a small problem, the guys would help you for free. One guy would spend only 5 minutes with you, another 15 minutes. This is a much higher value than the above. Do you pay a $50 tip? Do you know how much knowledge and experience are required for this answer? Without the fix, your laptop or phone may not work at all.
I agree. I never tip when I'm the one who picks it up. I used to go to a restaurant where the lowest tip was 10% when you picked up your order. They refused to add a zero option. I stopped going there.
Everyone now expects a tip; I don't think so.
What about a bad service? I don't tip either, but several servers were rude enough to demand it.
I have been invested based on markets do currently.
1995-2000 = Mostly in US LC
2000-2010 = Mostly US LC VALUE+Small cap+international
Since 2010= Mostly US LC tilting growth. https://fd1000.freeforums.net/thread/58/easy-invest-right-stock-category
I'm a bond fund slow trader. It's beyond the scope of this site. If you want to learn more, just to get a taste of it read
https://fd1000.freeforums.net/thread/25/putting-all
In 2024 I owned mainly HOSIX+CBYYX
https://schrts.co/KiAtxWjg.
Remember, my portfolio is pretty big, I need only about 1% from it annually and why risk control is so important. BTW, the performance beat portfolios with 70-80% stocks and very low volatility. My PPO includes all my MDs + the best I could find + anyone I have ever wanted. As I said before, you must do your homework. Not all Advantage plans are equal, in fact only 3 out of 65 are good IMO.
More than 50% now are on Advantage. There in no way Original would be much better and they will let Advantage be so inferior.
I can see any specialist out of network because it's a PPO, I just pay 40%, but if I start at 5-6K ahead annually, I will be just fine. If I save just $2000 annually for 30 years, I will be $100K richer. I look at everything thru making money.
Most don't realize that risk control or risk-adjusted performance is the most critical of their portfolio in retirement. Indexes and typical funds can't do it.
I'm invested mostly at 99+%, not MM/CD/cash, but in the right funds.
We never had an emergency fund either because you don't need it. Medicare is a local issue. In big cities with many options, advantage could be the right choice. I used to be on Original but after I did the numbers, Advantage PPO made more sense. I can see all MDs and hospitals in the area, and I saved in premiums of about $4500 annually. Then, add benefits such as dental, eye check+glasses, free LA Fitness, over-the-counter spending and more and it's over $6K per year.
It's true that selecting Original is easy vs the more complicated Advantage, but that's exactly where I am today with a lot more money. You got to be an expert in all money matters. Real estate is similar. The numbers never worked for me. Making money in the market is a lot easier, and I never got a phone call from anybody or dealt with tenants, attorneys, taxes and more. BTW, we only owned one house and 2 vehicles, never a pool, a boat, or an RV. If we need one, we just pay for it as we use it.
First, there is a difference between stocks to bonds.
Stocks: when US LC are doing well as they have done since 2010, it's difficult to beat them.
But, during 01/2000 to 02010, the SP500 lost money.
Bonds: not all bonds are equal. There is a huge difference between treasuries with the highest correlation to rates, while bank loans do much better in rising rates and there are special bond funds.
This is my world. I'm a bond fund trader based on markets, special funds with low volatility and use only 2-3 funds. I never invested directly in treasuries. I retired with a portfolio size of 25 times our yearly expenses and doubled it, I don't use stocks anymore for years.
PIMIX was my first bond from 2000 to 2008.
In the last year CLO did great with low volatility.
See CLOZ performance in 2024 vs BND(index), VGIT(treasuries). https://schrts.co/VPsmTQwT
Comments:
401K usually protects your money from creditors, civil lawsuits, and even bankruptcy proceedings. Since I never thought I would one I did the following.. I have changed employers many times thru my career. Every time I change jobs, I roll over my 401K to Fidelity/Schwab (Vanguard is another good choice). It's a logical choice.
Post: Love, Hate and My 401(k)
Link to comment from December 6, 2024
I have been pondering the following for about 3 decades. I immigrated to the US with my family with just $5K which was gone in 2 months. I didn't know much about investment. After I read the book A Random Walk... I started to invest in 1995 in Vanguard indexes. My goal was one million dollars. I told anybody I know that if you invest just $1000 per month at 8% annually, you will have 1.4 million since compounding is a huge force. I got a lot more and retired after 23 years in 2018. It was all based on investing, never options or crazy raises, and we never had pensions or inheritance. Today, $1 million is worth a lot less than 30 years ago, but the % of people who have a $1 million dollar portfolio is still small, maybe 10%. It was one of the easiest decisions I have made in my new country. I still ponder why many can't do it.
Post: Bet on Low Costs
Link to comment from December 4, 2024
Congrats, we spent an extra $180K (2 new vehicles and home remodeling) in the last 2 years. We also are not going to downsize because we have a big portfolio (it's 50 times our annual expense, not including SS). We were frugal, managed our money well, and made great investment choices. It's time to spend. Many can't do it; we started doing it.
Post: Living It Up
Link to comment from November 30, 2024
I question all tips. Tips should be given when someone did ABOVE the expected service. I don't see why I should pay a tip for every delivery. Why food delivery deserves a tip where my mailman, Amazon, Walmart, and Target don't. They delivered many more items to my house. Should I tip my Uber driver? She came to my house; I entered, she drove, and I exited. That is her job; she owns the car, she can work flexible hours. I don't see above the expected service. Near us there is an excellent local PC, phone repair shop. If you walk in with a small problem, the guys would help you for free. One guy would spend only 5 minutes with you, another 15 minutes. This is a much higher value than the above. Do you pay a $50 tip? Do you know how much knowledge and experience are required for this answer? Without the fix, your laptop or phone may not work at all.
Post: There are a few topics that heat up discussions, Quinn says tipping is one of them.
Link to comment from November 24, 2024
Learn from other people's mistakes. Plan years in advance. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.
Post: What life lessons would you like to pass on to the next generation?
Link to comment from November 23, 2024
I agree. I never tip when I'm the one who picks it up. I used to go to a restaurant where the lowest tip was 10% when you picked up your order. They refused to add a zero option. I stopped going there. Everyone now expects a tip; I don't think so. What about a bad service? I don't tip either, but several servers were rude enough to demand it.
Post: There are a few topics that heat up discussions, Quinn says tipping is one of them.
Link to comment from November 23, 2024
I have been invested based on markets do currently. 1995-2000 = Mostly in US LC 2000-2010 = Mostly US LC VALUE+Small cap+international Since 2010= Mostly US LC tilting growth. https://fd1000.freeforums.net/thread/58/easy-invest-right-stock-category
Post: Stuck at Home
Link to comment from November 23, 2024
I'm a bond fund slow trader. It's beyond the scope of this site. If you want to learn more, just to get a taste of it read https://fd1000.freeforums.net/thread/25/putting-all In 2024 I owned mainly HOSIX+CBYYX https://schrts.co/KiAtxWjg. Remember, my portfolio is pretty big, I need only about 1% from it annually and why risk control is so important. BTW, the performance beat portfolios with 70-80% stocks and very low volatility. My PPO includes all my MDs + the best I could find + anyone I have ever wanted. As I said before, you must do your homework. Not all Advantage plans are equal, in fact only 3 out of 65 are good IMO. More than 50% now are on Advantage. There in no way Original would be much better and they will let Advantage be so inferior. I can see any specialist out of network because it's a PPO, I just pay 40%, but if I start at 5-6K ahead annually, I will be just fine. If I save just $2000 annually for 30 years, I will be $100K richer. I look at everything thru making money.
Post: Second Guessing
Link to comment from November 4, 2024
Most don't realize that risk control or risk-adjusted performance is the most critical of their portfolio in retirement. Indexes and typical funds can't do it. I'm invested mostly at 99+%, not MM/CD/cash, but in the right funds. We never had an emergency fund either because you don't need it. Medicare is a local issue. In big cities with many options, advantage could be the right choice. I used to be on Original but after I did the numbers, Advantage PPO made more sense. I can see all MDs and hospitals in the area, and I saved in premiums of about $4500 annually. Then, add benefits such as dental, eye check+glasses, free LA Fitness, over-the-counter spending and more and it's over $6K per year. It's true that selecting Original is easy vs the more complicated Advantage, but that's exactly where I am today with a lot more money. You got to be an expert in all money matters. Real estate is similar. The numbers never worked for me. Making money in the market is a lot easier, and I never got a phone call from anybody or dealt with tenants, attorneys, taxes and more. BTW, we only owned one house and 2 vehicles, never a pool, a boat, or an RV. If we need one, we just pay for it as we use it.
Post: Second Guessing
Link to comment from November 3, 2024
First, there is a difference between stocks to bonds. Stocks: when US LC are doing well as they have done since 2010, it's difficult to beat them. But, during 01/2000 to 02010, the SP500 lost money. Bonds: not all bonds are equal. There is a huge difference between treasuries with the highest correlation to rates, while bank loans do much better in rising rates and there are special bond funds. This is my world. I'm a bond fund trader based on markets, special funds with low volatility and use only 2-3 funds. I never invested directly in treasuries. I retired with a portfolio size of 25 times our yearly expenses and doubled it, I don't use stocks anymore for years. PIMIX was my first bond from 2000 to 2008. In the last year CLO did great with low volatility. See CLOZ performance in 2024 vs BND(index), VGIT(treasuries). https://schrts.co/VPsmTQwT
Post: Dazed and Confused.
Link to comment from October 28, 2024