And suddenly, I'm done...

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TimesAWastin
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And suddenly, I'm done...

Post by TimesAWastin »

Not a question or anything, just sharing a fleeting feeling of accomplishment. At the start of the year, and after having gathered feedback from Bogleheads on various financial questions I had, I laid out a plan to restructure our retirement, savings, and other finances. There was a lot to do: pay off student loans, move investments from one fund family to another, calculate then make the right moves tax-wise, transfer accounts, set up automatic investments, etc. It seems almost every single day there was something to do. Watch for a cleared transfer, initiate a transfer somewhere else, make sure enough money was in the right accounts, and so on.

Well, today the last transaction cleared and I asked the question: OK, what's next? I checked my lists once, twice, thrice.. and, it's done. One moment I'm flying down the freeway at 80mph, and today I've shifted into a casual stroll through the park. I can.. relax. There's no need to log into my bank, or into Vanguard, or Schwab, or the loan company's website, or do anything. It's done. All the rest is automated. Once a month the automatic transfers happen, and occasionally I adjust my 401k contribution allocations to keep AA in check. Otherwise, it's miller time!

Thanks Bogleheads, your advice has been indispensable. :sharebeer
Stock goes up, stock goes down. Stock goes up, stock goes down. -- Homer J. Simpson (paraphrased)
livesoft
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Re: And suddenly, I'm done...

Post by livesoft »

Time to walk the dog. Congrats!
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Cut-Throat
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Re: And suddenly, I'm done...

Post by Cut-Throat »

Congrats on your Retirement! :happy

Ours was this year also!
MathWizard
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Re: And suddenly, I'm done...

Post by MathWizard »

Cut-Throat wrote:Congrats on your Retirement! :happy

Ours was this year also!
If he/she was paying off student loans this year, chances are this is not retirement.
Likely it is just that the financial house is in order and automated.

Still a good feeling though.
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TimesAWastin
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Re: And suddenly, I'm done...

Post by TimesAWastin »

Cut-Throat wrote:Congrats on your Retirement! :happy
Well, retirement from stressing about the structure of our savings.. I've still got another 30-35 years of working to go. ;-) But at least now I can focus on that instead.
Cut-Throat wrote:Ours was this year also!
But congratulation on yours nevertheless! :-D
Stock goes up, stock goes down. Stock goes up, stock goes down. -- Homer J. Simpson (paraphrased)
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cfs
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Re: And suddenly, I'm done...

Post by cfs »

Congratulations.

You had a plan. You implemented the plan. You can now relax and sleep well at night, without paying attention to the market taking heads. You are well on your way to The Land of Critical Mass. You feel good about yourself, and that is a good thing. Good luck in your working and investing life. May the Lord be with you and your family.

Thanks for reading this note.
~ Member of the Active Retired Force since 2014 ~
WHL
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Re: And suddenly, I'm done...

Post by WHL »

I've been this way for a few years now, but it got easier ~2 years ago when I moved to a traditional Boglehead philosophy. It's nice, not worrying about silly little things such as market movements, stock prices, bond bubbles, etc.

:sharebeer
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White Coat Investor
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Re: And suddenly, I'm done...

Post by White Coat Investor »

Nice feeling, eh? Especially nice when it happens at the beginning of your career. Then your focus can shift to helping others reach investing Nirvana.
1) Invest you must 2) Time is your friend 3) Impulse is your enemy | 4) Basic arithmetic works 5) Stick to simplicity 6) Stay the course
TSR
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Re: And suddenly, I'm done...

Post by TSR »

Not to rain on your parade, but you might miss it! I tend to want to LOOK at these things, a little like ol' Silas Marner counting his gold every night. I've trained myself not to touch, though -- that's the biggest thing. I hope for you that you can just relax, but even if you're one of the lookers, it's a heck of a lot better knowing you've got a plan that you don't have to do anything with. Congrats!
Jack FFR1846
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Re: And suddenly, I'm done...

Post by Jack FFR1846 »

I'm nearly there (at the complete Boglehead portfolio, not retirement). I'm already feeling more in control and comfortable.

Congrats! Save a seat for me....I'll be there soon.
Bogle: Smart Beta is stupid
nash031
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Re: And suddenly, I'm done...

Post by nash031 »

TimesAWastin wrote:Not a question or anything, just sharing a fleeting feeling of accomplishment. At the start of the year, and after having gathered feedback from Bogleheads on various financial questions I had, I laid out a plan to restructure our retirement, savings, and other finances. There was a lot to do: pay off student loans, move investments from one fund family to another, calculate then make the right moves tax-wise, transfer accounts, set up automatic investments, etc. It seems almost every single day there was something to do. Watch for a cleared transfer, initiate a transfer somewhere else, make sure enough money was in the right accounts, and so on.

Well, today the last transaction cleared and I asked the question: OK, what's next? I checked my lists once, twice, thrice.. and, it's done. One moment I'm flying down the freeway at 80mph, and today I've shifted into a casual stroll through the park. I can.. relax. There's no need to log into my bank, or into Vanguard, or Schwab, or the loan company's website, or do anything. It's done. All the rest is automated. Once a month the automatic transfers happen, and occasionally I adjust my 401k contribution allocations to keep AA in check. Otherwise, it's miller time!

Thanks Bogleheads, your advice has been indispensable. :sharebeer
I find that even though I'm better off now than six months ago, there's still a ways to go. Tweaks like shifting my wife's tIRA to a Roth and going back and converting the non-deductible contributions from the last two years. Adjusting my TSP percentage to make sure I make the maximum contribution in the way I want it done...

With a lot of changes made and probably 90-95% of the way to being completely on investing-auto-pilot, I find that my focus has shifted to learning more about withdrawal-phase and tax implications (since I'd like to be able to retire early in six years), as well as considering whether or not to sell our house or convert it to a rental property if and when we decide to move.

I guess I'm out of the fast lane, but I'm still on the highway... not sure I'll ever stop wanting to learn more! I agree, this and an early retirement forum I joined last summer have been indispensible, though my wife probably hates them by now!
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convert949
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Re: And suddenly, I'm done...

Post by convert949 »

TimesAWastin... Congratulations on your retirement! I know EXACTLY how you feel...

I made the last trade today to bring me to my (65+) IPS Asset Allocation. Even though I have been retired since 2009, I had maintained my "working" AA through 65 to make sure we recovered from 2008. With the market near all time highs, I decided to pull the trigger starting late in 2013.

As of today, our plan is fully executed and I too can relax. I will continue to watch, however, just because... I owe a debt of gratitude to the Bogleheads and our mentor Jack Bogle. Couldn't have done it without you all...

Again, congratulations on a plan well executed :sharebeer

Best regards to all,

Bob
Mrxyz
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Re: And suddenly, I'm done...

Post by Mrxyz »

And now comes a difficult time --- not doing anything - not listening to noise - not following the market - not listening to others asking you to invest in stuff etc....... Fairly boring but difficult to stay on course and follow your ISP.
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Watty
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Re: And suddenly, I'm done...

Post by Watty »

OK, what's next? I checked my lists once, twice, thrice.. and, it's done.
Something that many people find very hard to do which is to do nothing and just stick to your plan for the next few decades with only doing a very rare minor adjustment.
Easy Rhino
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Re: And suddenly, I'm done...

Post by Easy Rhino »

Yes congratulations. When I 'finished' my investments it was sort of with a whimper as well. Fortunately the financial crisis hit and left me a lot of rebalancing to do :confused
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Taylor Larimore
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The joy of Boglehead simplicity.

Post by Taylor Larimore »

Well, today the last transaction cleared and I asked the question: OK, what's next? I checked my lists once, twice, thrice.. and, it's done. One moment I'm flying down the freeway at 80mph, and today I've shifted into a casual stroll through the park. I can.. relax.
TimesAWastin:

Welcome to the joys of Boglehead Simplicity.

Best wishes.
Taylor
"Simplicity is the master key to financial success." -- Jack Bogle
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obgyn65
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Re: And suddenly, I'm done...

Post by obgyn65 »

Congratulations, OP.
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ML 59
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Re: And suddenly, I'm done...

Post by ML 59 »

Give yourself a reward. Accomplishments should always be rewarded even if they are merely a personal accomplishment and the reward is to and from yourself.

I did pretty much the same thing over the past two years - it feels good. I have a plan and my investments have a reason and are no longer random. The journey was, and is, fun!

Congrats!!
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abuss368
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Re: And suddenly, I'm done...

Post by abuss368 »

Congrats to you!

Jack Bogle has often said that simplicity is the master key to financial success.
John C. Bogle: “Simplicity is the master key to financial success."
Call_Me_Op
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Re: And suddenly, I'm done...

Post by Call_Me_Op »

Congratulations! Personally, my plan keeps evolving - but it would be nice to say "I'm done" someday.
Best regards, -Op | | "In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." Einstein
Mike Scott
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Re: And suddenly, I'm done...

Post by Mike Scott »

I recently hit the same milestone and have settled into a set of 4 funds that I expect to hold for approximately 7-10 years before reaching the trigger for the next set of changes. I celebrated by adding a little extra $ to one of the funds.
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kenyan
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Re: And suddenly, I'm done...

Post by kenyan »

"Don't just do something, stand there!"

-Jack Bogle

I got through this a couple of years ago, getting through all of the transactions to Boglefy my portfolio and plan. Things did calm down for a while, but it was a good feeling to have that plan executed. The plan has evolved over time, though, as I have had to accommodate some life changes (kids, house) and shifts in retirement accounts (more invested in pretax, less in Roth). By now, I'm used to it, and it's easy peasy. Now I'm just trying to work on increasing the deposits (trying to increase income and decrease costs) to get those Roths maxed again.

Note that one man's 'evolving plan' is another man's 'endless tinkering.' Try to lay out an acceptable level of tinkering - or conditions that must be fulfilled before a tinkering though experiment gets implemented - in your IPS.
Retirement investing is a marathon.
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Taylor Larimore
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Tinkering ?

Post by Taylor Larimore »

One man's 'evolving plan' is another man's 'endless tinkering.' Try to lay out an acceptable level of tinkering - or conditions that must be fulfilled before a tinkering experiment gets implemented.
I like this quote from Wall Street Journal columnist, Jason Zweig:
"The less you fool with your portfolio, the less often you'll play the fool."
Stay-the-course.

Best wishes.
Taylor
"Simplicity is the master key to financial success." -- Jack Bogle
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abuss368
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Re: And suddenly, I'm done...

Post by abuss368 »

Stay the course has been the best investing advice I ever received. It was invaluable during the 2007 - 2009 financial crisis.
John C. Bogle: “Simplicity is the master key to financial success."
horste
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Re: And suddenly, I'm done...

Post by horste »

Congratulations! That has to feel awesome!
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