I understand that it's just like cooking on a grill, let it do it's thing and don't poke and prod every 30 seconds but how often do you have to do anything else like reallocate or up your contributions

im not looking for specifics obviously

10/6/2008 8:58:02 PM

when you retire...spend it/live off it?

10/6/2008 9:00:57 PM

put in what you can afford while still living comfortably or whatever. then every time you get a raise, put all of that raise in there. you keep living at the same comfortable level and never even miss the raise money because your bank account doesn't show that you got the raise.

that's my plan anyway. don't wanna get too big for my breeches.

10/6/2008 9:01:48 PM

you guys ignored his questions. he wants to know when he should manage it.

i would say it doesnt hurt to review things every year if you like playing a more hands on role. last year i decided to pull money out of my real estate fund and put it in natural gas.

i wouldnt recommend constantly changing things, but i doubt it hurts to move things around every now and then, so long as you arent changing investments in a huge way yearly.

10/6/2008 9:15:55 PM

when do you actually look at the 50+ page stock market thread?


401k managment is like... half of what that thread is all about.

[Edited on October 6, 2008 at 9:21 PM. Reason : e]

10/6/2008 9:20:54 PM

You put money in it until you're like "Damn I'm rich as hell and I don't ever need to work again." Then you take money out of it.

10/6/2008 9:23:28 PM

mine has plummented; however, I just started it about a year ago so it hasnt plummented as much as say someone who has been in it for 10 years....at least I get it cheaper when it is down.....i try not to think much about it since I wouldnt be putting money in it if I needed it now...plus I have a pretty good size amount in cash reserves.

10/6/2008 9:50:38 PM

it all depends on your knowledge of the market and risk tolerance.

this is probably my favorite piece on 401k strategy:

http://hingefire.blogspot.com/2007/02/portfolio-diversification-401k.html

10/6/2008 9:52:07 PM

you know, skimming that it looks like i didnt do too poorly only doing research right when i got the 401k.

10/6/2008 10:12:35 PM

if target funds are an option w/ your company, pick the approximate date you will retire (ie 2045 or 2050) and just contribute to it on a monthly basis.

you will not have to adjust the asset allocation, the target fund does this automatically for you as you get older. so you will go from mostly stocks and fewer bonds to more bonds and fewer stocks (and sometimes shorter-term term money market assets as you get older).

as for contributions, all depends on your lifestyle and goals, but i would do it as a % of income so it grows proportionately as your income does.

10/6/2008 11:16:58 PM

I quit my job and my 401k froze as a result. I have until mid November to do something with it. I'm hoping to find a job with a 401k option but as it stands the market is slim and I need a plan if that falls through. I haven't checked the amount but I've only had it about 1.5 yrs. and honestly I'm not even sure if it's over 2k. I don't want to cash it in but can I open an IRA with it?

HALP

10/7/2008 12:27:48 AM

you probably should have maxed out your Roth first before contributing to your 401k, unless your company did some type of matching.

[Edited on October 7, 2008 at 1:00 AM. Reason : .]

10/7/2008 1:00:24 AM

http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=11887&title=wu-tang-financial

10/7/2008 1:14:02 AM

if after contributing for a year and a half you only have 2k or less in it - you weren't contributing nearly enough

10/7/2008 10:02:46 AM

wait for when there's an economic collapse so the fat cats can steal all your money and turn your 401k into a 101k

lo motherfucking l

10/7/2008 10:04:05 AM

Mine has definitely hit 101-k status in the last couple of weeks.

10/7/2008 10:09:59 AM

Answer: Look at it quarterly, rebalance it yearly so that you have the proper mix of asset classes.

DO NOT FUCK WITH IT EVERY TIME THE MARKET HICCUPS

10/7/2008 11:39:27 AM

Quote :

"put in what you can afford while still living comfortably or whatever. then every time you get a raise, put all of that raise in there. you keep living at the same comfortable level and never even miss the raise money because your bank account doesn't show that you got the raise."

not the best idea in the world.... umm you're not taking inflation into account at all....

10/7/2008 11:43:06 AM

It's a good idea, but year it doesn't take inflation into account.

I rebalance mine quarterly and stare at the damn thing almost every day. Some sites let you set it up to automatically rebalance.

10/7/2008 11:45:10 AM

^by rebalancing do you mean like the allocation?

10/7/2008 11:48:16 AM

More like reallocating. If you set your allocation to 20-40-40 it can become out of whack after a while so I reallocate existing funds to match my original allocation.

10/7/2008 11:54:58 AM

yea i see what you're saying. I hadnt actually paid attention to my allocation since I set it towards the beginning of this year and its certainly not the same percentages now (though not terribly far off)

10/7/2008 12:04:20 PM

Rebalancing is the industry term for what we're talking about. If you go awhile without doing so your portfolio will not reflect your risk tolerance. You could end up with too much risk if stocks are doing well, or not enough if they're doing poorly.

This is also how you make sure you capitalize from gains and hedge against losses. Should be a key to anyone's 401(k) strategy.

10/7/2008 12:11:52 PM

I didn't make enough to put 10% down. I had enough to survive and was lucky I was even participating in a 401k, k? Get off my nuts and give me some real help.

10/7/2008 12:15:07 PM

How was it luck that you were participating in your 401k?

10/7/2008 12:15:53 PM

Kiwi: Yes.

You can roll that into a Rollover IRA, but the accounts, features, and fees are totally different.

10/7/2008 12:31:33 PM

great.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D93LQAA80&show_article=1

10/7/2008 2:31:51 PM

good thing only a few people are supposed to retire soon

O WAIT

10/7/2008 4:12:58 PM

http://www.clarkhoward.com

also, your mgt company probably offers some sort of porfolio diversification. you should check into it. they'll manage it for you since it's in their best interest as well as yours.

10/7/2008 8:13:46 PM

Quote :

"then every time you get a raise, put all of that raise in there. "

hum then you're effectively never living any better and you're going to hate it..and not to mention the whole inflation thing. theduke posted he does something like half of the increase to savings, half to whatever else he wants it to--that way he gets more savings out of it and actually "feels it" by having more money right then. i think that's about the best way to handle it personally

10/7/2008 8:15:53 PM

i adjust allocations annually

10/7/2008 9:15:02 PM