Just wondering how is everyone doing in this sector. Are you doing anything besides your company's 401k plans...roth, traditional IRA, annuties? Are you starting early or just kind of brushing it off?

1/25/2006 10:42:58 AM

I'm investing in expensive dinners and bar tabs so that when I'm old and poor I have nice memories to keep me company.

1/25/2006 10:52:24 AM

basically we live off of one salary - all bills, vacations, etc. the rest goes to various savings. we both max out pre tax to our 401ks. we add some after tax. we each have a roth ira. i am enrolled in our company stock purchase plan (15% below price). our savings and checking are tower gold at our bank (meaning higher interest receiving) and we have a couple of 9mo. CD's at 4.67% to maintain liquid savings. goal is to retire before 50.

we also have nice dinners, vacations, live in a nice house, etc. but we do save. alot.

1/25/2006 11:07:08 AM

ING IRA is giving me some decent returns currently

1/25/2006 12:15:37 PM

maxing out the 401(k), have a roth IRA, but I'm thinking about rolling it over to a traditional IRA since i'm in the highest tax bracket now, and don't really get any benefit of having the Roth over the traditional.

1/25/2006 12:36:06 PM

^you making over 300k?

1/25/2006 12:54:28 PM

have our 401ks

2 roth IRAs

savings/moneymarket

house little debt

1/25/2006 2:04:02 PM

im putting a lot into my 401(k)

recently bought a house.

getting ready to open a roth ira. once thats taken care of, ill start looking into investing in stocks, funds, etc. ...but one step at a time.

1/25/2006 2:29:16 PM

i just started working full time 7 months ago. i've been saving a lot of money into a money market account and i have a 9 month cd.

once i reach my savings goal i intend to open a roth ira.

does anyone know of a good alternative to a 401k? my firm unfortunately doesn't offer one.

1/25/2006 3:29:30 PM

Quote :

"^you making over 300k?"

aha, whoops, just realized i was looking at the old brackets.

1/25/2006 4:12:09 PM

Quote :

"I'm investing in expensive dinners and bar tabs so that when I'm old and poor I have nice memories to keep me company. "

1/25/2006 4:19:45 PM

I'm maxing out my company's Simple IRA just to get the full benefit of their match. I'm not eligible for a Roth so I've got other retirement $$$ going to a Hartford fund for long term growth. The rest of my money gets split between savings for a downpayment for house and various mutual funds. I generally keep about 3K in liquid savings.

1/25/2006 4:39:01 PM

i'll start once i finish all of my education.

1/25/2006 5:31:37 PM

I'm just putting 6% into 401k and company is putting in 3%. Plan to contribute to mutual funds after the car is paid off. (by the way, don't buy a car unless you can pay cash for it, and buy it used). Roths are great these days because you pay taxes on it now and we're in a low tax time. CD's are pretty much crap, not enough of a return.

Difficult to afford an $1100/month mortgage and $327/month car payment along with other bills when making less than $50000/year while having a 2 month old at home with the wife. My advice, buy a smaller home on a 15 year fixed rate mortgage, drive a used car, sock the cash away and you'll be loaded in 20 years. See our plan was to pay the car off with her income before we had children. Being DINKs was great, we just didn't save a damn dime.

1/25/2006 9:30:22 PM

Club account, fixed amount every week into the account I can't touch til it matures, to save for a house
401k at work, contribute $ to get the full company match
Roth IRA - finally stable enough to set up regular contributions, automatic transfer. Right now I'm putting in for 2005 contributions, but I'll be caught up by 12/31/07, and ready for the $5000 limit in 2008

1/26/2006 1:09:09 AM

^^ better idea: use that college education to get a better paying job so that you can pay for the car, house, woman, kids

1/26/2006 2:09:43 AM

Fully funded IRA... that my parents actually started when I was 18 and could afford ramen noodles and Beast... That was really good of them. My family has a big tradition of passing and maintaining inheritance for the next generation

1/26/2006 3:22:26 PM

Quote :

"does anyone know of a good alternative to a 401k? my firm unfortunately doesn't offer one. "

I put money into a mutual fund... you could look into something like that since you don't have a 401k through your company

1/26/2006 10:03:49 PM

Quote :

"I'm maxing out my company's Simple IRA just to get the full benefit of their match. I'm not eligible for a Roth so I've got other retirement $$$ going to a Hartford fund for long term growth."

I don't understand why you're "not eligible". A Simple IRA isn't really an IRA in the sense of a traditional IRA, it's more like a 401k or 403b. You are allowed to contribute to a Roth at the same time.

Quote :

"The Smiths are able to each contribute $4,000 to their Roth IRAs, as well as another $10,000 to their SIMPLE IRAs as employees of their real estate company."

http://www.trustetc.com/self-directed-ira/sep-vs-simple-ira.html

1/29/2006 9:52:19 AM

I'm guessing his income is too high to contribute to a Roth?

1/29/2006 10:30:51 AM

i fully fund a Roth IRA i've had for several years, since i was about 22 or so

that's it for right now. there's no 401k in the military. i'm working on saving enough money for a house down payment for when i get stationed in one place for several years (it'll be about 2 more years before that happens, though)

i also have a lot of whole and universal life insurance instead of the term SGLI insurance offered in the military (far more insurance than i need for right now, but it'll save me money in the long run).



i'll get promoted to 1st Lt in August, which is about a 20% pay increase...that's when I'll REALLY start putting money away for a house (and a 1/4 share in an airplane). I'm be totally out of debt in another month, minus my car payment, and I'll also be finished with my pilot's license in about a month or two, which is a major financial drain--so I'll probably buy another motorcycle at that point...but I'll still have much more disposable income to put towards savings in another month or two (even before I get promoted this summer).

Basically, I've finally bought pretty much everything I want except for another motorcycle, and I'm all but out of debt (never really had much, though, and it was at like 3% interest, so I took a couple of years to pay it). I'm saving now, but I'm about to start really ramping it up...gonna try to put 20% of my income into savings (in addition to the IRA).

1/29/2006 3:49:54 PM

I've got 12 percent going into the thrift savings plan which is pre-tax dollars, Fully funded a roth IRa for my wife and I, and have been saving $ for a house for a few and got a good down payment for when we move to the next place after flight school.

Did a retirement calculator and with military retirement doing 25 years active duty and retiring as an 0-5 I can reitre at 50....

Course there's kids and all that stuff so who knows what will really happen, not a bad plan though!!

1/29/2006 5:31:24 PM

The TSP isn't a bad idea either. It's basically a Federal Employee 401k, although the gov't doesn't match as much money as other employers, I think.

I also look at three or four levels of investment based on 3-4 "rings of death", I like to call them. You have the immediate term, which I use my savings account for (I'm trying to save up 3-6 months of savings in there). Then you have the short term (5-10 years), which I use my brokerage account for. There's the intermediate term (kids college) which I haven't looked at yet (my father used savings bonds for us kids), and then there's the retirement phase, which I apply my pension, IRA and TSP towards.

1/29/2006 7:06:06 PM

i kinda use my checking acct for my immediate term, and savings for short term

i'm GTG on long term

but i don't have anything going for intermediate term

whatever, though...i'm not having any kids any time soon




and i didn't think the TSP was matched at all...

[Edited on January 29, 2006 at 7:51 PM. Reason : well, i do have a very small amount of stock]

1/29/2006 7:49:37 PM

You know those studies that chide Americans for not saving enough?

401k, IRA, Stocks, Real Estate - all not included as "saving." So maybe its proof that Americans are in fact getting smarter with their money.

401k, ESPP for me so far. Saving up some cash for property in the future.

1/29/2006 10:53:47 PM

^ link?

1/30/2006 2:03:07 PM

not that interested in validating my statement.

1/30/2006 5:28:04 PM

Americans by far have the most options/alternatives when it comes to saving money. No other country has such comprehensive packages for its employees or if you want to do it independently- stock options, 401k, roth, traditional, annuities...etc.

The problem why people don't save as much as they should -- credit cards.

1/30/2006 9:57:54 PM

real estate isn't savings, it's credit -- the same as a credit card. If you lose your job, your savings don't become a liability.

If you lose your job, a mortgage on real estate is a huge liability.

1/30/2006 10:26:55 PM

real estate is an investment.

which is exactly what this thread is about.

1/31/2006 9:02:47 AM

real estate is an investment because you build equity

you don't build equity with a credit card

1/31/2006 12:57:59 PM

Quote :

"real estate isn't savings, it's credit -- the same as a credit card. If you lose your job, your savings don't become a liability."

wow

....




wow

2/1/2006 7:42:26 PM

doing ok

401k
roth account
mutual funds
decent cash savings at interweb bank

luckily the mortgage is the only debt i have, otherwise i'd be hard pressed to save anything - going to be interesting when i more than double up on my mortgage payment come june

luckily my lady friend has saved pretty much every penny since she was 16 we saw good apreciation on the last house, so it should balance out

i just wish my salary looked like bobby"god's gift to cisco"digital's


[Edited on February 2, 2006 at 7:17 AM. Reason : df]

2/2/2006 7:15:43 AM

Quote :

"I'm investing in expensive dinners and bar tabs so that when I'm old and poor I have nice memories to keep me company."

actually i sorta like that plan.

i only have a Roth IRA split between 2 mutual funds at the moment.
i don't yet have a 401K.

-ZiP!-

2/2/2006 9:58:56 AM

^ We did Le Gigot and The Cub Room last week. Highly recommend Le Gigot. The Cub Room was nice, too.

2/2/2006 12:21:26 PM

the nice thing about having a good job is that you can save a lot AND go out for expensive dinners and bar tabs.

2/3/2006 3:25:51 PM

Right now, I've got the following plan in place...

$250K Life Insurance (minimum 4% interest)
Roth IRA
Simple IRA (3% matching)
Money Market Savings
Mutual Fund

I had 401K at my previous employer, but the good part is that it rolled over into my Simple IRA with the same investment group.

2/6/2006 9:48:54 AM

I have a savings account... that's about it.

I really need to start with all this IRA/ING/401k/etc stuff. Where's a good place to start?

2/8/2006 11:49:59 AM

im you PM me your email address, I can send you a referal to ING....you will get $25 for opening an account (no minimum, no fees).

2/8/2006 2:23:59 PM

Any of the Suze Orman books are great for people starting to invest. She also has a show on CNBC that I like to watch.

[Edited on February 8, 2006 at 7:35 PM. Reason : wrong channel]

2/8/2006 7:29:58 PM

Suze Orman gives common sense advice to people who have no idea what they are doing with their money, and then she takes what little they do have. And then she goes home and swims in piles of money like the uncle on Ducktales.

2/9/2006 9:56:21 AM

Linda, no kidding, I started reading one of those "Investments for Dummies" books.

Probably not THE BEST source, but it sure beats a number of "professionals" who hear "I don't know what to do with my money" and see dollar signs.

2/14/2006 8:49:46 PM

401k and a house so far...

2/14/2006 9:00:33 PM

I have an IRA.

2/15/2006 5:23:39 PM

wolfy

1/11/2011 9:54:05 PM

^thxu!

ok the only topic i could find is FIVE years old!

lets talk about retirement

i upped my 401k contribution. i was $500 short of maxing it out in 2010 damn my crappy math but i will hit it in 2011 for sure.

maxing the roth like its mandatory and also whipped my finances into shape. i haven't been saving like i used to and i think i can sock away $1k per month so going to gut it out and make that my goal for 2011. i got a little lazy on the saving last year and my little safety net is now a little thinner, want to beef that up

lets get the conversation going again, what are you guys doing?

[Edited on January 11, 2011 at 9:58 PM. Reason : dfgjfdg]

1/11/2011 9:58:05 PM

max out Roth IRA (various mutual funds. S&P, small/mid-cap, international, and Fidelity Contrafund)

$400/month into taxable brokerage account, mostly in individual stocks, and a few ETFs

$150/month into money market account (MMA)

also have $175k of whole/universal life insurance coverage...pay $135 month into those. Poor investments compared to the stock market, and I would almost always recommend that people get term life insurance if/when they need coverage, but my dad bought these policies on me when I was a kid, and they are just about to reach enough cash value to essentially be self-sustaining by paying their own premiums with their own interest. In light of what I'd receive by cashing them out, and due to the fact that for the foreseeable future, I'll be legally required to maintain about that much life insurance to cover my child support obligations, it's not really worth cashing them out and going to term insurance at this point. I guess it'll be a tax-free way for my daughter to receive a little of her inheritance someday.

...so anyway, I guess that all adds up to almost exactly $1100/month. I've been doing that for about 5 years now, and maxing out the Roth IRA for close to 7 (and contributing a little to it here and there for maybe 10--I got it when I was in college).



I also have another brokerage account that I don't fund monthly...I just put windfalls/extra cash into it and trade it. I call it my "hookers & blow" account, although it's really more my "sports car/motorcycle/boat/gun/guitar/vacation" account. It actually is about the size of both my IRA and retirement brokerage account combined , but I pretty much created that account and then forced myself to put any extra money beyond those aforementioned monthly contributions into it, or I'd drive myself crazy with guilt for making big financial expenditures (instead of socking it away for retirement). I've pretty much gotten to that point now...I keep a nice emergency fund (in the MMA), and I feel like I save all I need for retirement--but I don't feel too bad when I spend money on things that most would consider frivolous, because I have all my investment savings auto-deducted on payday, and consider anything that's left after paying bills fair game to spend on anything I want (although I'm still frugal as hell in the sense that, yeah, I might have 3 guitar amplifiers, or 2 motorcycles, or a damned espresso machine or whatever, but I'm nearly pathologically patient and careful in getting the best bang for my buck in doing so.)

1/11/2011 11:05:33 PM

I've been saving ~65-70%+ of my after-tax income for the last couple of years.

If I do this for another 4-5 years I can buy a house with cash. Or perhaps I'll purchase a house this year and start plowing it into investments. Haven't decided which route to go, probably the latter since there are more income possibilities through that route. Sorta thinking about semi-retiring in mid-40s. But early 50s seems more likely.

A guy I worked with retired two years ago at the ripe old age of 33. His frugality puts mine to shame--he saved 80% of his income for five years (and his peak earning year he made 68k) and now lives on his investment income + whatever odd jobs he picks up.

1/11/2011 11:34:03 PM

wow, that is a HUGE % of your income to save! Good for you as long as you're living pretty much how you want. I'm definitely a saver, not a spender, but I also believe in enjoying yourself. You only live once, and you're only young once.

I would not buy a house with cash. That's crazy. I had enough money put away to pretty easily do a 20% down payment when I bought my house, but I ended up financing 100%. Especially right now when you get get a mortgage at 4-5%, why in the hell would you buy a house with cash?

1/11/2011 11:38:25 PM

yeah no kidding. you could invest and get way more than a 5-6% return

my student loan is on a 4% (might be lower now actually..) interest rate and i pay double what they ask for monthly but im in no hurry to pay it off. the money i could spend the pay it off i put into retirement savings and get way better returns

wintermute, that is amazing-- keep it up!! and on the house thing always remember... you can't borrow money for retirement! if you have a lot of cash make sure you're taking advantage of a roth ira and if you're worried about a house payment, you could always get a 30yr fixed and just make double payments every month effectively giving yourself a 15yr mortgage with the option of scaling back if you need to or you could go full monty on the 15yr for a slightly lower rate. but duke is right, borrow if you can because the interest rate is too low not to.

duke i think we're very close to being money twins. i have the same philosophy--- get paycheck, invest to the max, pay bills and put the rest into the fun shit... and penny pinch the fuck out of getting the best of what you want. sure we spend the "extra" on different things but we have the same habits i think

my most famous recent purchase... a kitchenaid mixer that goes for over $300 i got it for $200 flat and didn't pay tax or shipping on it not to mention its also a kitchen staple i'll use for decades to come

anyway, with the maxing of roth ira & 401k... that puts my monthly retirement "bill" at $1792/mo yowza! that doesn't even include what i put into my money market (aka savings account) my $1,000 per month savings goal is in addition to that

good thing i have that shit on automatic or i would never be able to do that on purpose every month!

and speaking of windfalls, i put 40% of my yearly bonus check automatically into my 401k. i should probably flip flop that and put 60% in but since i'll reach the max anyway i figure the other 60% can go toward my other savings goals and maybe a little treat along the way

1/11/2011 11:52:21 PM