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What if someone planned to retired at 50yo, but had almost all of their investments in tax-deferred account (e.g., 401(k)). If they only had a small amount in taxable accounts, could they tap into the 401(k) without taking on extra fees? How would one balance putting money into taxable and tax-defer...

My wife also had a 2009 Fit at about the same mileage. Assuming the car has no noticeable problems, I would recommend following what is is in the owner's manual. Get quotes for only those services from the dealership as well as independent shops.

As Above, So Below.
Red Lights.

I lived in far NW WI for much of my life, so I might be a bit biased. But as others suggested, the Bayfield/Apostle Islands area is great. Also, the Hurley/Manitowish Waters/Rhinelander area is nice. If you have an extra few days, I might suggest heading to Copper Harbor in the UP of MI. My wife and...

I drive a 2012 Toyota Yaris L (manual transmission). I bought it new in August 2012 with cash. I've always liked Toyotas. I've got the cheapest model and trim that Toyota sells in the U.S. market and I'm very pleased. I could find this model and color on the lot, so I had it "special ordered" from t...

I'm 88% stocks, 12% bonds and I'm up 15.0% for the year.

I still use an old, cheap flip phone. I'm on a family plan and get a free phone each year and pay $10/month for the service. So, $120/year.

I watched Texas Chainsaw 3D a few nights ago. I'm a horror movie fan, but this movie wasn't particularly good. It was a far cry from the original 1970s Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

I'm 35yo and don't feel like I'm sacrificing much of anything. I'm married with no kids, and I save about 45% of my gross salary (including employer match). I feel lucky, in a way, that I'm not interested in having "stuff." We don't have cable, I don't care about fancy clothes, I have a super cheap ...

I took a work trip to Germany in Latvia this summer, and my wife was able to join me. So, we tacked on a few extra days and visited family in Switzerland (even hiking in the Alps)! I also went on a solo trip to Vegas in July (love me some blackjack). I'm heading back to Vegas in January as well....m...

Hello. My wife and I prefer to keep our retirement accounts separate. I am very comfortable with my position, but we're trying to get advice on what to do with her investments. We haven't even looked at her situation until a few days ago when we started doing our taxes. We realized that her money ap...

nisiprius, thanks!

Thanks everyone. I think my original question might have been worded poorly. I basically wanted to know if TR2040 and TR2045 had the same allocations to their underlying funds for the next two years or so (at which point TR2040 starts down their glidepath). I got my answer. Thanks to you all! I will...

Thank you!

So, is it a fair assumption that until 2040 starts its glidepath downward in about two years, both 2040 and 2045 will have very similar, if not almost identical, allocation to their underlying funds?

Thanks again. This site is a great resource.

Hello. I have my 401(a) and 403(b) invested in TR2045. I've been thinking of possibly changing that to TR2040. From what I can see, both funds have the same allocation to their underlying funds for the next two years or so. After that TR2040 will start down the glide path while TR2045 stays at the s...

I edited your post to what it probably would have looked like a year ago :D : Hello. I have $5,500 that I plan to invest in my Roth IRA in 2013. My Roth contains only Vangaurd Life Strategy Growth Fund (VASGX, which is 80% stocks/20% bonds). I know prices are up over 15% from last year, and with th...

I edited your post to what it probably would have looked like a year ago :D : Hello. I have $5,500 that I plan to invest in my Roth IRA in 2013. My Roth contains only Vangaurd Life Strategy Growth Fund (VASGX, which is 80% stocks/20% bonds). I know prices are up over 15% from last year, and with th...

matti wrote:Hi all. Thanks for the great feedback. I'm definitely leaning towards investing the money right away. I'm 34yo, so I don't think I'll be retiring for a while

I decided to pull the pin. I just invested the $5,500. I wish you all a great 2014. Thanks.

Hi all. Thanks for the great feedback. I'm definitely leaning towards investing the money right away. I'm 34yo, so I don't think I'll be retiring for a while

Hello. I have $5,500 that I plan to invest in my Roth IRA in 2014. My Roth contains only Vangaurd Life Strategy Growth Fund (VASGX, which is 80% stocks/20% bonds). I know prices are very high now, and it's possible they could drop soon. Or, of course, they could go up. We just don't know. I'm a pret...

Thanks again everyone. I decided to start a taxable account with the $3k, all into the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index (VTSMX). Here's another possibly silly question: if I set up an automatic investment schedule from a bank account (say $100/month), do I have to pay any fees every time I invest t...

What's your tax bracket? If you're in the 15% or lower bracket, the Lifestrategy fund is a fine choice. If you're in the 28% bracket or above, it's suboptimal. Suboptimal doesn't mean it's not worth doing, though, if you REALLY value simplicity. Thing is, you could build your own 3-fund portfolio w...

Matti, They are not the best taxable option because not all the funds contained in them are tax efficient. You generally want to leave your bond funds in tax deferred or advantaged accounts and Life Strategy has two bond funds, International Bonds and Total Bond Market (If I'm not mistaken). You wa...

Help me understand the Life Strategy Growth Fund (VASGX). If I wanted to invest $3k and, perhaps add $100/month or so, would VASGX be a good choice (taxable account)? I wouldn't plan to touch the money for ~20 years. I read that the Life Strategy and Target Retirement Funds aren't really good choice...

Yes, I see how I contradicted myself by saying that VASGX might be better since its more heavy in bonds. As an uneducated investor, for some reason, I felt like having a VTIVX and VASGX sounded like a good idea. Obviously, I don't really know what's going on. Thanks again.

The Target series seems like a no brainer, potentially, for all of my retirement investments. For your tax-advantaged accounts like 401k, IRA, Roth IRA...yes. For taxable...probably not. Again, don't use the 2045 fund if you want more bonds - use 2030 or 2035. Thank you. I've read that a lot of fol...

retiredjg, thank you. I see what you're saying. VASGX is just more heavy in bonds and a bit lighter in stocks, but the underlying funds are the same. The Target series seems like a no brainer, potentially, for all of my retirement investments.

Thanks so much. I will consider increasing my contribution to the 403(b) before thinking about opening a taxable account. I know that the Target Retirement Fund is quite diversified (and it automatically changes allocation, which I really like), but I just felt weird having all of my retirement doll...

Thank you for your quick response. 1. Yes, I have considered putting the Roth into VTIVX as opposed to VASGX. I felt that VASGX is just a bit more conservative, which might suit me a bit better. Is it wrong to have all retirement funds in one fund (VTIVX)? 2. "Are you planning on opening a taxable i...

Good evening. I appreciate the great resource that is Bogleheads. I've got a few basic questions, and any advice is much appreciated. I am a newbie investor and really don't know much about anything. 33male, single 401(a): ~$46k (Vanguard Target Retirement 2045: VTIVX) (contributing the max) 403(b):...