Search found 22 matches

by Romad
Sat Apr 16, 2016 4:01 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: What expected % return should a longterm investor use?
Replies: 73
Views: 13559

What expected % return should a longterm investor use?

When using retirement calculators (such as those in Personal Capital), what would you recommend a young investor (mid 20's) to use as an expected return? I like Dave Ramsey, but I don't believe a 12% return to be accurate at all. I typically use 8%, but I was curious to see what number other Bogleheads use.
by Romad
Sat Apr 02, 2016 11:35 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Switching from dividend growth investing to indexing?
Replies: 18
Views: 2699

Re: Switching from dividend growth investing to indexing?

ChicagoSparty wrote:Thank you for all of the advice. At my age I definitely like the idea of holding a very small amount of bonds, maybe less than 5%. I am also looking to gain some international exposure as well. The two vanguard ETFs I am looking at adding are VT, and VEU. Does anyone have an thoughts about those two? Also below is a breakdown of unrealized gains for my current holdings if that makes any difference in selling/holding.

O - up 25.4%
AAPL - up 7.3%
WFC - down 6%

PG - down .19%
JNJ - up 8.66%
I am 27 and my allocation is 100% stocks. No bonds. I am okay with the volatility. Staying the course and will add bond exposure to my portfolio at a later time.
by Romad
Sat Apr 02, 2016 11:29 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 401K rollover to ROTH IRA
Replies: 4
Views: 553

401K rollover to ROTH IRA

I recently (maybe 2 months ago) rolled my wife's traditional 401k over into her ROTH IRA at Vanguard. The balance of her 401K was about $10k. What are the tax implications of this move? 2015 we were in 15% tax bracket, however, this year 2016 we will be in 25% fed income tax bracket.
by Romad
Sat Apr 02, 2016 9:28 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Changing careers (becoming real estate agent)
Replies: 18
Views: 2927

Re: Changing careers (becoming real estate agent)

I think the OP's initial post was being a bit too optimistic as to what he could expect to earn in his first year in real estate. I have a lot, I'll say this again, I have a lot of friends and family in the real estate biz. Mostly realtors, but also some lenders. They have very flexible schedules, and some of them also are very into music, just like OP. They have more time than anyone else I know to pursue their creative endeavors. However, like others have noted, you are at the whim of your clients. I went on a beach vacation with my friend once and I swear he was on his phone with clients most of the week while we sat on the beach. That can be the reality of your job as a realtor. And guess what? All that time you spend on a client won't ...
by Romad
Thu Mar 31, 2016 10:06 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Implications massive national debt
Replies: 1
Views: 656

Implications massive national debt

Millenial investor here. I am very concerned with our massive $20+ Trillion of debt. What are the implications of this debt on the stock market as we venture into the future? Does this amount of debt make stock investors very susceptible to a huge market crash in the future?
by Romad
Wed Mar 30, 2016 3:16 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Military "Full Time" Reservist Pension
Replies: 11
Views: 1966

Re: Military "Full Time" Reservist Pension

Someone already touched on the retirement you'll get as a traditional guardsman/reservist, but I'll briefly expand upon that. If you do your 20 years, you'll receive your retirement benefits at 60 years old. However, if you deploy, the length of that deployment subtracts from the amount of time you have to wait to get your retirement. So if you deploy for a year, now you'll get your retirement at 59 instead of 60.
by Romad
Tue Mar 29, 2016 8:27 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Transferring money out of Betterment account
Replies: 1
Views: 513

Transferring money out of Betterment account

I put $10,500 in a 90/10 AA at Betterment a few months back in a taxable account which features tax loss harvesting. I now want to take that money out, pay down the little remaining debt my wife and I have, and put the rest in either our emergency fund or my Roth at Vanguard. My question is should I wait until I recoup my losses (currently down $350), or should I wait until I get back to $10,500 or greater? Are there any tax implications of taking all of this money out if I don't make any gains?
by Romad
Mon Mar 28, 2016 12:41 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI
Replies: 7638
Views: 1712706

Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Finished "The Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey a few months back. I am looking for another good book to read on either personal finance or investing, particularly the Boglehead way.
by Romad
Mon Mar 28, 2016 12:37 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Low flow shower head?
Replies: 41
Views: 7796

Re: Low flow shower head?

Low flow? I don't like the sound of that.....
by Romad
Mon Mar 28, 2016 12:36 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Would you pay more for USAA?
Replies: 23
Views: 3946

Re: Would you pay more for USAA?

bayview wrote:
ParkersPaPa wrote:
blinx77 wrote: ...Why would you say YES for USAA for checking?
Perhaps it's the no fee, no minimum protocol?

And if you're direct depositing your paycheck, USAA gives you access to your money 6 hours after the "24 hour notice of deposit". I get paid on Friday's...I can spend the money as of 0600 hrs Thursday.
So that's what it is...

I always wondered why my fed pay (through DFAS) was showing when I got up Thursday mornings. My co-workers don't believe me. :D
Mil pay and VA pay always hits your account 1 day early if you have USAA.
by Romad
Mon Mar 28, 2016 12:32 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Your first $100k
Replies: 52
Views: 12294

Re: Your first $100k

Thank you all for your responses. I have always enjoyed reading other people's stories with how they've accumulated.

I've spent the last few years going to college after spending 4 years in the military (active duty). I've just landed a Federal job, and I have the TSP. My TSP already has a few K in it from what I have been contributing thru the Guard over the past 3 years, but now with a full time gig and a match, I can really start to beef this thing up.

My current TSP allocation is 60% C fund, 20% S fund, and 20% I fund. This is the allocation that Dave Ramsey recommends for the TSP so I went with it. What are the other TSP contributors thoughts on this allocation for a 27 year old?
by Romad
Sat Mar 26, 2016 5:51 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Your first $100k
Replies: 52
Views: 12294

Your first $100k

I have a goal to grow my retirement investment portfolio to $100k by the time I am 30 years old. I am a little more than halfway there at 26, very soon to be 27. My question for my fellow investors is at what age did you grow your retirement portfolio to $100k? And after that, how soon did $200k come along?
by Romad
Fri Mar 25, 2016 5:41 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Financially, how have you done/doing vs. your parents?
Replies: 134
Views: 18428

Re: Financially, how have you done/doing vs. your parents?

I am only 26, so it's a little early to really compare, but I am probably doing better than my father was at 26. However, he started his own business in his early 30's and ever since he's been making a very good living for himself. In a good year, he can net over $400k. In a bad year, he is still well over $150k a year. I see a low six-figure income in my future based on my current career track, but I'll never touch his $400k+. With that said, my father has probably made every mistake in the book with money. He is constantly buying new fancy cars and new big houses. He is very good at making money, but not the best at investing and managing it. I probably won't earn as much as he has in my lifetime, but I know how to invest and be smart wit...
by Romad
Fri Mar 25, 2016 5:33 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Best & Worst Financial Decisions?
Replies: 92
Views: 13603

Re: Best & Worst Financial Decisions?

Best: Starting to max out my Roth IRA every year since I was 21 years old, never having any debt, and finally learning about personal finance and investing on my own. Not paying someone else to do it for me. Oh, and having an awesome wife who can contribute to our wealth building.

Worst: Having my Roth at USAA (for 3-4 years) in expensive funds with too conservative of a portfolio (60/40) because I didn't know any better back then.
by Romad
Thu Mar 24, 2016 4:04 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Personal Capital
Replies: 4
Views: 1092

Personal Capital

What is the sentiment around here about the app/site "Personal Capital"? I don't use them to manage my portfolio, but I do use their app to track all of my assets, net worth, and performance of investments.
by Romad
Thu Mar 24, 2016 3:53 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Large Inheritance...Do I need to worry about retirement?
Replies: 69
Views: 13087

Re: Large Inheritance...Do I need to worry about retirement?

Have you ever thought about starting your own business? You certainly have a lot of capital to do so.
by Romad
Thu Mar 24, 2016 1:18 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Target Retirement Fund
Replies: 22
Views: 3457

Re: Target Retirement Fund

The Vanguard Tgt Retirement Funds that I have looked at are made up for 4 funds. Domestic stock index, domestic bond index, international stock index, and international bond index. I know recently Vanguard has decided to add more international exposure to some of their funds.
by Romad
Thu Mar 24, 2016 7:13 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Critique my Roth IRA
Replies: 6
Views: 852

Re: Critique my Roth IRA

If I am not mistaken the TSP has a very good stable value fund (guaranteed return). I think it is the G fund. That would be an excellent choice for your non equities holdings. My personal opinion regarding diversification is that it is not needed as much when one has only a few thousand dollars invested. The TSP funds you are using duplicate your Roth holdings. While that is not necessarily bad, I would counsel a little more diversification by adding some bonds/nonequities. Those are best held in a tax deferred plan such as TSP. In others words, this is not an emergency, just something to think about as your assets grow. Would bonds be considered Non-Equities? Perhaps you'd recommend 10% of my TSP portfolio be in the G fund when that accou...
by Romad
Thu Mar 24, 2016 7:11 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Target Retirement Fund
Replies: 22
Views: 3457

Re: Target Retirement Fund

Thanks for the feedback, guys. I'll be calling Vanguard today and placing all of her Roth funds into VFFVX.
by Romad
Wed Mar 23, 2016 7:54 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Target Retirement Fund
Replies: 22
Views: 3457

Target Retirement Fund

I am figuring out what to do with my wife's ROTH IRA. It houses about $15k. I am considering dumping it all into Vanguard's 2055 Target Retirement Fund (VFFVX). What is the sentiment around here about Vanguard Target Retirement Funds?
by Romad
Wed Mar 23, 2016 7:51 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Critique my Roth IRA
Replies: 6
Views: 852

Re: Critique my Roth IRA

Peter,

I have a TSP that only houses a few thousand at the moment. 60% of that is in an SP500 index fund, 30% in a small cap index, and 10% in an international fund. Also, I already am in the 25% tax bracket.
by Romad
Wed Mar 23, 2016 4:24 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Critique my Roth IRA
Replies: 6
Views: 852

Critique my Roth IRA

Few questions for you knowledgeable folks on this board specifically about my ROTH IRA.

I am 26 years old and have $30,504 spread across 4 funds in my ROTH IRA with Vanguard:

VTSAX (Total Stock Mkt Index)- $20,623 (68%)
VGTSX (Total International Stock Mkt Index)- $3,921 (13%)
VGSIX (Reit Index) - $3,098 (10%)
VGHCX (Healthcare Sector Fund)- $2,860 (9%)

Essentially, my question is does this portfolio look ok? You'll notice I currently have no bonds, and I am okay going with a 100% stock portfolio at this time. What adjustments should be made here? Am I too heavy in VTSAX? Invest more in international?

I appreciate your feedback.