Retirement/401k advice...

[big in vegas]

Is there anyone on here that's educated when it comes to retirement or 401k packages? I've got mine set up through work and can assign a certain % to go to whichever type of funds I'd like to and can break it down anyway I like, but I don't know very much about this so I was hoping someone could possibly shine some light on the types of funds you'd be better to invest in. I just went off the ROI rates when I set it up and was my best judgement with where to invest the particular %.

 

[mb97]

It can be as complicated as you want to make it. First we need to know age and what age you plan on retiring? If your still relatively young I would go with 50% in a growth fund and 50% in high yield div fund. That's extremely conservative but I just don't think there's going to be a great deal a growth anytime soon and a person can do quite well with good paying div stocks like REITS or even good blue chip stocks like coke, JNJ, and wal mart. I would look to see if you can buy American Funds, they are the oldest, best ran and safest mutual funds out there. If you want I can give you the exact funds that my retirement is set up in. Hope this helps, if you have any other questions just ask. I've been in the market since I was 14 and love it!!!

 

[bigghorn]

Do the full 15% for it .. I had mine in a high risk for 14 yrs .. Lost half of it when market crashed and it rebounded then I got it all back
some but then lost job do to accident and transferred it into a money market . Buy gold.. Tell me where you bury it so I can help you if you can't remember ..

 

[CH3NO2]

Another great thing people tend to forget about a 401K is the money comes out Pre-Tax. Meaning what percentage you put in comes out of your gross pay. If you make 100k a year and put in 15% you will only pay federal income tax on 85K. This could potentially be huge in savings on what you pay to the Feds.

Max out as much as you can, plus it's great of your employer matches anything.

 

[The Dude]

I will be borrowing against all of mine to put into property. It's 0% interest since mine is a 403B since I have a pension. I have no trust in the future of this country. I will have a clear conscience defending property that I know I own when everything goes to crap. Besides, my outlook completely changed when I see companies that I invested in run into the ground and then my tax dollars go to bail them out!! Wait a minute, they already have ALL the money I set aside for retirement... How does that work??? Where did my money go??? Sorry. Off on another tangent.

 

[big in vegas]

Well I guess there's a lot of factors to consider. I can retire after 25 years of service, but will probably wait until I get 30 in so I'll retire from this job and company at age 58. Now I will have a decent pension and depending on what happens between now and then as far as union contracts go, I may work the full 35 to max out my pension.

But as of right now I'm 29, so I've got a long ways to go, but I wanna get this started off right. I can't invest too much right now, but it'll slowly increase as I keep getting raises. With it being a union job you have to work your way through a progression phase on your pay so I am near the bottom on pay right now, but will get a hefty raise in November that'll allow me to pay more to my 401k. And then after that raise I'll get a bi annual raise every February and August 1st. So right now, I'm just investing 2% in one fund and 3% in the other, although I just bumped it to 3% and 4%. Since you have to have a year of service in before you can start investing I've not had a lot of time, but for the small amount that I have put in (and my next to nothing knowledge) I've been able to accumulate $100 more than I've invested and it equates to around a 25% profit give or take at this point. Obviously that can tank at any moment so that's why I wanted to see where the safest place to invest is.

And I'm only referring to 401k because I've got some decent stock that is separate from all of this. I've got some in a utility company that's been around for years and an ever growing bank (not a national level bank, but it's likely to be bought out by a bigger bank at some point).

 

[Buffalo]

Luckily I started real young and didn't realize I even ha a 401k until I was 25 and got married. I have profit sharing which is awesome and 401k with matched contribution from work.

I don't think there is a correct investment, they are all applicable to everyone but it's just mostly what lifestyle you live an expect to live. We got into gold when Cindee left the DAs office years back and glad we did. it really helped with the higher risk funds I'm in.

 

[big in vegas]

Yea, I started when I was 18 when I worked for my dad and he matched up to 3%, but I borrowed against it when times got tough so there's not much left there, but I still do work for him so I am still investing into that one, but it's nothing to brag about. The job I'm at now doesn't match anything, but they do cut a discount on stock purchases. It's only a 5% discount so I've kind of stayed away from it since it's not a big discount. I should probably buy into it because the company isn't going anywhere anytime soon and the stock just keeps climbing.

 

[MMX2]

Do the full 15% for it .. I had mine in a high risk for 14 yrs .. Lost half of it when market crashed and it rebounded then I got it all back
some but then lost job do to accident and transferred it into a money market . Buy gold.. Tell me where you bury it so I can help you if you can't remember ..

So did I--- I lost 120K when the market crashed-- I could not believe it.
I would go all in but I have it split between conservative and money markets now...
I still will not be able to retire for 15 more years- age+yrs of service has to equal 90.

 

[big in vegas]

So did I--- I lost 120K when the market crashed-- I could not believe it.
I would go all in but I have it split between conservative and money markets now...
I still will not be able to retire for 15 more years- age+yrs of service has to equal 90.

That's crazy, I only have to put in 25 years of service, but you start out at part time and a full year of part time only counts as 6 months of service so if you're part time for 4 years then you need 23 as a full time employee. It's some shit, but it's still good if you get in when you're young

 

[Jpotch]

I will be borrowing against all of mine to put into property. It's 0% interest since mine is a 403B since I have a pension. I have no trust in the future of this country. I will have a clear conscience defending property that I know I own when everything goes to crap. Besides, my outlook completely changed when I see companies that I invested in run into the ground and then my tax dollars go to bail them out!! Wait a minute, they already have ALL the money I set aside for retirement... How does that work??? Where did my money go??? Sorry. Off on another tangent.

i agree bro. if you have the cash invest in land...its about the only long term predictable thing you can put $$ into

 

[big in vegas]

Land is also the only thing you can't lose in a lawsuit at least that's what I've heard, but I guess that's not really a concern, just nice to know

 

[The Dude]

Land is also the only thing you can't lose in a lawsuit at least that's what I've heard, but I guess that's not really a concern, just nice to know

If it is your "home" they can put liens against it, but can not take it. Even If a bank tries to foreclose, you can file bankruptcy and it is protected. The only real way to protect everything is to put it in trust. That is what I have done with everything I own. In today's society, owning things is more of a detriment than an asset.

 

[majortguns]

I'm like Dude, I have no trust in this country. I dont have a 401k plan right now because I cant afford too. Then again I dont see me retiring any time soon unless I hit the powerball, then I will be classified as a missing person because I'm disappearing.

 

[big in vegas]

I don't have faith in the economy of this country, but putting money aside in a 401k is an easier way to save at the moment for me. If I were to try to save it on my own in a bank account it'd not be there long.

 

[Buffalo]

I do have faith in our economy. I remember reading in Econ classes in college on recessions when they seemed to have been occurring every few years and pulling out. We're Americans and for that reason was why my parents immigrated here and work out asses off to build a great country.

I don't have faith in the current administration in this class warfare bullshit. Even Republicans wanting to make the middle class more prosperous, screw that. I don't like being in the middle class, I worked my ass off to be better and want more. I may never leave the middle class but I'm not going to settle and just go through life without trying and risking in becoming a successful man.

The economy sucks and in my work we watch it very closely and we don't see any light over the next 4-5 years. Unless things change there will be harder times in the spring of 2013. The only real good thing you can do is pay your debt down or off and you'll be in a better position than half of the country.

 

[big in vegas]

I do have faith in our economy. I remember reading in Econ classes in college on recessions when they seemed to have been occurring every few years and pulling out. We're Americans and for that reason was why my parents immigrated here and work out asses off to build a great country.

I don't have faith in the current administration in this class warfare bullshit. Even Republicans wanting to make the middle class more prosperous, screw that. I don't like being in the middle class, I worked my ass off to be better and want more. I may never leave the middle class but I'm not going to settle and just go through life without trying and risking in becoming a successful man.

The economy sucks and in my work we watch it very closely and we don't see any light over the next 4-5 years. Unless things change there will be harder times in the spring of 2013. The only real good thing you can do is pay your debt down or off and you'll be in a better position than half of the country.

What's supposed to make it worse in the Spring?

 

[CH3NO2]

What's supposed to make it worse in the Spring?

Right now Europe in on a major decline and circling the drain. January 1st EVERYONES taxes go up. Raising taxes will destroy the economy. So Spring could just be the time the SHTF but I think it will hold off a bit longer than that.

I have no faith and just hope the SHTF stays of another couple years. I've been prepping the best I can for the past 3 years. All the writing is on the wall that our country as we know it is destine for civil war or major civil unrest. With the amount of debt we have that can never be paid, 150 trillion of unfunded liabilities, 100 million people in poverty, 1 out of 6 dependent on the Federal Govt for their next meal... Man I just dont feel good about the future of this country. Its all going to collapse, however predicting when or what will trigger it is nearly impossible. It could come from war, social unrest, a dictatorial power grab, or even a natural disaster. But most likely is for economic reasons. We have just too much debt and it can never be paid.

 

[CH3NO2]

Here is one good reason to cash out and get out of the market.
Warning: Get Your Money Out: "All Legal Bank Deposit Protections Are Now Officially Gone"

 

[big in vegas]

Right now Europe in on a major decline and circling the drain. January 1st EVERYONES taxes go up. Raising taxes will destroy the economy. So Spring could just be the time the SHTF but I think it will hold off a bit longer than that.

I have no faith and just hope the SHTF stays of another couple years. I've been prepping the best I can for the past 3 years. All the writing is on the wall that our country as we know it is destine for civil war or major civil unrest. With the amount of debt we have that can never be paid, 150 trillion of unfunded liabilities, 100 million people in poverty, 1 out of 6 dependent on the Federal Govt for their next meal... Man I just dont feel good about the future of this country. Its all going to collapse, however predicting when or what will trigger it is nearly impossible. It could come from war, social unrest, a dictatorial power grab, or even a natural disaster. But most likely is for economic reasons. We have just too much debt and it can never be paid.

I agree that our debt will never be paid, I just feel bad for the people getting screwed into thinking that we could ever repay them. But at the same time, they should've known better