Search found 26241 matches

by ruralavalon
Sat Mar 02, 2024 8:29 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: [What TV Show Have You Recently Watched?]
Replies: 5973
Views: 690185

Re: [What TV Show Have You Recently Watched?]

I am currently watching season 12 of Death in Paradise and season 13 of Vera. Both are streaming on Amazon Prime with Britbox.

I recommend both.
by ruralavalon
Fri Mar 01, 2024 4:55 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: New portfolio and 401k advice
Replies: 22
Views: 2341

Re: New portfolio and 401k advice

Welcome to the forum :D . It's great to see that you are debt free other than your mortgage note. . . . . . Some additional information may be helpful. Which fund firm or brokerage is your taxable account currently with? Will you be eligible for both a substantial pension and Social Security benefits? Does your employer offer a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) so that you are eligible to contribute to a Health Savings Account (HSA)? Is a HDHP suitable for your health insurance needs? Does your current employer's 401k plan permit Roth contributions? Does your current employer's plan permit, after-tax, non-Roth contributions? Does your current employer's plan permit EITHER (a) in-plan conversion of the after-tax, non-Roth contributions to t...
by ruralavalon
Fri Mar 01, 2024 4:15 pm
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: Post your Financial Milestone Announcements Here
Replies: 3606
Views: 562406

Re: Post your Financial Milestone Announcements Here

mhc wrote: Fri Mar 01, 2024 4:04 pm
ruralavalon wrote: Fri Mar 01, 2024 3:31 pm
mhc wrote: Fri Mar 01, 2024 2:32 pm Today is my 1 year anniversary of my retirement. I just added up the numbers, and we have 14.5% more than we did on March 1, 2023. Not bad considering what we have spent over the last year.
Congratulations, you have dodged the sequence of returns risk so far :D

Its a wonderful feeling when portfolio growth is greater than retirement living expenses.
Thank you everyone.

I'm still debating if I should tell my DW. She might really start blowing the dough. :D
You can blow some of it in something you both enjoy.

Enjoying your retirement was the purpose for saving and investing as you did.
by ruralavalon
Fri Mar 01, 2024 4:06 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Help Learning to day trade on trading platforms
Replies: 40
Views: 6126

Re: Help Learning to day trade on trading platforms

Vanguard User wrote: Sat Sep 16, 2023 2:59 pm What is the success rate of people who day trade? I usually see people bragging on social media on how they are making millions.
About 1%.
by ruralavalon
Fri Mar 01, 2024 4:02 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Help Learning to day trade on trading platforms
Replies: 40
Views: 6126

Re: Help Learning to day trade on trading platforms

Welcome to the forum :D Hello all! Disabled senior who can't move around much due to balance issues, trying to keep my mind active. I'm tired of crossword puzzles, and Sudoku, so I thought I would try my hand at learning Day Trading, and if I can earn a few bucks on top, that would be a bonus!. Disabled senior here who can't get around much due to left hemiparesis. I keep my mind active by reading and learning new things. In my opinion day trading is a very bad idea. The SEC gives a firm message about day trading, with warnings like “Be prepared to suffer severe financial losses”. Investor.gov The Balance SEC.gov Public.com I suggest keeping your mind active with something more productive, study some subject that interests you (but won't ri...
by ruralavalon
Fri Mar 01, 2024 3:31 pm
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: Post your Financial Milestone Announcements Here
Replies: 3606
Views: 562406

Re: Post your Financial Milestone Announcements Here

mhc wrote: Fri Mar 01, 2024 2:32 pm Today is my 1 year anniversary of my retirement. I just added up the numbers, and we have 14.5% more than we did on March 1, 2023. Not bad considering what we have spent over the last year.
Congratulations, you have dodged the sequence of returns risk so far :D

Its a wonderful feeling when portfolio growth is greater than retirement living expenses.
by ruralavalon
Fri Mar 01, 2024 10:55 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What are you up YTD? [Year To Date]
Replies: 5249
Views: 900256

Re: What are you up YTD? [Year To Date]

Age 78 retired,no pension or annuity, my asset allocation is 60/40.

Total return of my portfolio is + 3.36% year to date.

That's about my expected withdrawal rate for the entire year.
by ruralavalon
Fri Mar 01, 2024 10:51 am
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: Post your Financial Milestone Announcements Here
Replies: 3606
Views: 562406

Re: Post your Financial Milestone Announcements Here

crg11 wrote: Fri Mar 01, 2024 9:03 am As of this moment, we crossed $1 million in just cash (checking/savings) and investments (taxable, 401k, IRAs, and 529s) for the first time.

What a good feeling.
Congratulations :D
by ruralavalon
Thu Feb 29, 2024 3:08 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Why am I here? [Portfolio review request]
Replies: 11
Views: 1745

Re: Why am I here?

What are the general terms of the Early Retirement Incentive Plan? I'd suggest adding the full names of each fund -- most here have not memorized all the tickers. You can edit your original post and add this information - it will probably help generate faster, more appropriate replies. + 1. For the taxable brokerage account at Wells Fargo add information on the UNrealized capital gain/loss status and amount for each investment. This is to enable suggestions on how to remedy that account with lesser tax consequences. I also suggest posting in this format ( Asking Portfolio Questions ) to indicate all accounts and investments in each account. Will you be eligible for both a substantial pension and Social Security benefits? What annual amounts...
by ruralavalon
Wed Feb 28, 2024 10:11 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Balance funds - what are the good ones?
Replies: 18
Views: 3068

Re: Balance funds - what are the good ones?

Out of curiousity, what do you think are great balance fund options? Which one has low enough expense? Which one is more tax efficient? The ones I can think of are something like Vanguard Life Strategy funds, then there's Wellington which was started in 1929, and Wesllesley, which was started in the 70's. In the 90's, I remember being interested in Dodge and Cox Balanced, but since I went with indexing soon after, I haven't looked at them for a while. Vanguard Tax-Managed Balanced Adm (VTMFX)ER 0.09% for a good tax-efficiency in a taxable account. In tax-advantaged accounts Vanguard Balanced Index Adm (VBIAX) ER 0.07%. Also Dodge & Cox Balanced I (DODBX) ER 0.52% is a good fund, with higher return and higher volatility. I am in a lower...
by ruralavalon
Tue Feb 27, 2024 10:00 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: I am not seeing how bonds have mitigated losses during downturns
Replies: 27
Views: 4337

Re: I am not seeing how bonds have mitigated losses during downturns

I am hoping someone can clear this up, but I always saw bonds as performing inversely to equities [emphasis added]. . . . . Incorrect. Stocks and bonds are not inversely correlated, they have a low correlation. . . . . . However, if I pull up the annual performance going back to ~2007 for VFIAX and VBTLX, I am not seeing that trend on first take. Example for 2022: VFIAX: -19.49% VBTLX: -15.22% Example 2018: VFIAX: -6.23% VBTLX: -2.77% Granted, we do see a delta between the magnitude of loss, but is that 4-5% delta make sense and even worth it considering all the growth of equities you miss out on every other year? . . . . Recency bias rears its ugly head again. The delta has been around 20%, 30% and 40%. Example for 2000 VFINX - 9.06 VBMFX...
by ruralavalon
Tue Feb 27, 2024 9:40 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Can I simultaneously exchange VFIAX for VOO?
Replies: 5
Views: 937

Re: Can I simultaneously exchange VFIAX for VOO?

In my Roth at VG I have VFIAX and it occurred to me that VOO has a slightly lower ER. While it’s such a tiny difference and unlikely to be noticed decades from now, I still see no reason not to use the lowest ER available for the same fund. But when I tried to exchange my VFIAX for VOO it will not list VOO as a viable exchange option. It appears as if I can only exchange VFIAX for another mutual fund. Has anyone successfully exchanged a fund for an ETF and if so, please explaining how. I don't assume that the ETF share class with just a tiny bit lower expense ratio will have better performance. In the past the mutual fund has had slightly better performance, Portfolio Visualizer, 2011-2024 You don't "exchange", you "convert&...
by ruralavalon
Tue Feb 27, 2024 9:12 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Asset Allocation help
Replies: 16
Views: 2153

Re: Asset Allocation help

My bond fund in my 401k is going to close soon (Fixed Income Index Fund, (Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond, total bond market) ER 0.18%) In its place, are the following I can choose from. U.S Treasuries Index Fund, Benchmark: Bloomberg U.S. Long treasury Bond Index ER 0.10% Credit/Corp Bond Index Fund, Benchmark: Bloomberg U.S. Intermediate Credit Index ER 0.115% Real Return Fund, Benchmark: Bloomberg Barclays TIPS Index ER 0.11% High Yield Bond Index, Benchmark: Vanguard High Yield Corporate Composite Index ER 0.20% If I don't do anything, the plan will split it 70/30 between the U.S. Treasuries Index Fund and the Credit/Corp Bond Index. I would just like to keep it in one if I can. If so, which one should I choose. Thanks "Credi...
by ruralavalon
Tue Feb 27, 2024 8:59 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Asset Allocation help
Replies: 16
Views: 2153

Re: Asset Allocation help

Duplicate post deleted.
by ruralavalon
Tue Feb 27, 2024 8:47 am
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: Post your Financial Milestone Announcements Here
Replies: 3606
Views: 562406

Re: Post your Financial Milestone Announcements Here

ProsperGoalzz wrote: Mon Feb 26, 2024 10:33 pm I was excited to see that my invested assets (minus a small-ish HSA and an "ok" 529) are now above $1,100,000. Add those and the equity in my home, and net worth is nearly $2M.

Being near retirement, I'm suddenly (well, last year or so) sensitive to a sense of impending (markets) doom. For this reason, earlier this year, I moved appropriately 2 years of expenses into cash. Drag? Helps me SWAN.
Congratulations on the two comma portfolio :D
by ruralavalon
Mon Feb 26, 2024 2:37 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Portfolio Review request: I am a fumbling beginner
Replies: 29
Views: 3909

Re: Portfolio Review request: I am a fumbling beginner

Crikey. I won't pretend to understand this chart, Bosely, but I think I do think I understand the gist of it and I appreciate that I'll be able to come back to this chart as I understand more. I do also pay into Social Security. I will try to find out any way to estimate the pension so I can get a better sense of how much more I need. It's great that you will be eligible for both a substantial pension and Social Security benefits. So your investments will not need to fund all of your retirement spending needs. You want to aim for an investing portfolio at retirement which is around 25 times your annual retirement spending (net of annual pension and Social Security benefits). At age 45 it may not be possible to accurately forecast your reti...
by ruralavalon
Mon Feb 26, 2024 2:18 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?
Replies: 11037
Views: 2066889

Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

jjunk wrote: Mon Feb 26, 2024 9:53 am Cat Person on Hulu. Not recommended. Can't figure out if wants to be a horror/shocker film or a piece about the male/female dynamic. It tried to do both and failed at both.
For a classic, try Cat People (1942 film).
by ruralavalon
Sun Feb 25, 2024 2:24 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: converting VTSAX to VTI inside of a traditional IRA at Vanguard
Replies: 43
Views: 5520

Re: converting VTSAX to VTI inside of a traditional IRA at Vanguard

critterdude311 wrote: Fri Feb 23, 2024 11:26 am I was wondering if anyone has converted/exchanged VTSAX to VTI inside of a Traditional or Roth IRA at Vanguard. There used to be a way to do this conversion process via the website, but I believe the option was removed a few years ago.

I know the conversion can be done in a plain old taxable brokerage account by calling Vanguard, but I'm curious if anyone has had this conversion done in a Traditional or Roth account.
Questions
No.

That would not serve any purpose in a tax-advantaged account. So why bother?
by ruralavalon
Sun Feb 25, 2024 2:15 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Portfolio Review request: I am a fumbling beginner
Replies: 29
Views: 3909

Re: Portfolio Review request: I am a fumbling beginner

welcome to the forum :D . It's great to see that you "have no debt, good budgeting practices in place, and live well within my means" You are not too late, and have no need to play "catch up" in my opinion.Just switch to very diversified index funds with low expense ratios in your IRAs, take advantage of any additional retirement plan offered by your employer, and contribute to investing as much as practical for you. After my first post yesterday, I was advised to present for a full portfolio review. I hope this helps provide the necessary context for my questions! Thank you all in advance. Emergency funds: 12 months Debt: none Tax Filing Status: single Tax Rate: 24% Federal, 6% State State of Residence: NY Age: 45 Desir...
by ruralavalon
Sun Feb 25, 2024 1:34 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Finances in retirement
Replies: 30
Views: 5054

Re: Finances in retirement

Thanks for the reply. From what I can gather from work the company stock payouts will be taxed as normal income. If I take SS at 65, when I add in my brokerage dividends and company stock payout I would have a yearly income of roughly $104,000 per year for 5 years. That was the reason I was thinking about delaying taking SS until the company stock payouts were depleted. In the past few years I started pulling out the dividends and put that money in CD's to lower my exposure to stocks. Health wise I don't get around like I used to and am a type 2 diabetic. I don't have a tax accountant but should probably look into getting one. Thanks Hi, Thinking about retiring next year when I turn 65. Not sure what to do with my 401k and Social Security....
by ruralavalon
Sun Feb 25, 2024 1:27 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Portfolio Review Request
Replies: 9
Views: 1509

Re: Portfolio Review Request

What index is used by each of those funds? Can you post a link to the fact sheet for each of those funds?
Large Cap US Equity Index Fund (.015)
Large Cap Growth Index Fund (.016)
Mid Cap US Equity Index Fund (.03)
Small Cap US Equity Index Fund (.04).

As others have noted it may be that simply using just the "Large Cap US Equity Index Fund (.015)" could be good enough by itself for investing in U.S. stocks, without adding the other U.S. stock funds.
by ruralavalon
Fri Feb 23, 2024 4:23 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 401K Fund Selection
Replies: 11
Views: 1695

Re: 401K Fund Selection

Very excited to have found this community this year. I need help picking my 401K funds. Here is some info - I'm 36 and married (wife is 33) with 2 kids (5 and 1) - Filing jointly and are in the 22% tax bracket (5% Oklahoma) I am looking for a simplified and diverse, set-it-and-forget-it with rebalancing solution with the following fund options available to me and my wife: Name (Ticker) ER FOR ME: US Stock Total FID TOTAL MKT IDX (FSKAX) 0.015% US Stock - Small Cap WT SMID CAP RES EQ 1 0.82% International AF EUROPAC GROWTH R6 (RERGX) 0.47% Target Date Funds (only the ones that reflect my supposed retirement age) AF TRGT DATE 2050 R6 (RFITX) 0.38% AF TRGT DATE 2055 R6 (RFKTX) 0.38% AF TRGT DATE 2060 R6 (RFUTX) 0.39% Bonds BAIRD CORE PLUS INS...
by ruralavalon
Fri Feb 23, 2024 4:02 pm
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: Post your Financial Milestone Announcements Here
Replies: 3606
Views: 562406

Re: Post your Financial Milestone Announcements Here

bogleVB wrote: Fri Feb 23, 2024 3:25 pm
bogleVB wrote: Fri Nov 01, 2019 11:46 pm One fourth of my way to the two comma club. Feels Great!
Half way to the two comma club, yayMe
Congratulations :D
by ruralavalon
Fri Feb 23, 2024 3:01 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Where to manage a low touch portfolio
Replies: 41
Views: 3117

Re: Where to manage a low touch portfolio

What assets do you have at MS? Some things may not transfer in kind - don't know if that has anything to do with your current snag. Beyond that, though, with $500k in taxable you might have significant gains, and need to carefully consider the tax implications for anything you have to sell. Regarding a destination, Vanguard is fine, and I use them. But, there are others that offer pretty good bonuses for $500k, and would work fine to buy and hold a couple of index funds. Finally, stick with it and get away from the high fees. More money for you. :dollar Here are the assets I have: American Funds Fundamental Invs F2 , FINFX iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF ,IWS iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF IJF iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF I...
by ruralavalon
Fri Feb 23, 2024 1:55 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Portfolio Review Request
Replies: 9
Views: 1509

Re: Portfolio Review Request

Emergency funds: Yes Income: Him $170k + $20-30k bonus Her $90k + $5-9k bonus Debt: Car Loan - $10k balance @2.99%, 3 years remaining Mortgage - $290k balance @2.99%, 27 years remaining Tax Filing Status: Married Filing Jointly Tax Rate: 24% Federal, 6.25% State State of Residence: New York Age: Him 32, Her 30 Desired Asset allocation: 90% stocks / 10% bonds Desired International allocation: 16% of stocks Portfolio Size: $320k Current retirement assets Taxable 15.3% Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) (0.03) 1.6% Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) (0.2) 1.9% Vanguard 500 index Fund ETF (VOO) (0.03) His 401k - Using self-directed option through fidelity 37.7% Fidelity® Total Market Index (FSKAX) (.015) 12.4% Fidelity® Total International Index (FTIH...
by ruralavalon
Fri Feb 23, 2024 1:33 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Where to manage a low touch portfolio
Replies: 41
Views: 3117

Re: Where to manage a low touch portfolio

fsa317 wrote: Fri Feb 23, 2024 10:18 am
ruralavalon wrote: Fri Feb 23, 2024 10:09 am What type of account do you have at Morgan Stanley (taxable brokerage account, traditional IRA, Roth IRA, trust account, something else)?
Taxable brokerage, they refer to it as "Select UMA Active Assets Account"
What investments do you currently hold in that account?
by ruralavalon
Fri Feb 23, 2024 10:09 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Where to manage a low touch portfolio
Replies: 41
Views: 3117

Re: Where to manage a low touch portfolio

fsa317 wrote: Fri Feb 23, 2024 10:03 am So I attempted to create and move an account into Vanguard. It told me the type of account I have with MS is not eligible for transfer. Looks like this may be more complex than I was hoping.
What type of account do you have at Morgan Stanley (taxable brokerage account, traditional IRA, Roth IRA, trust account, something else)?
by ruralavalon
Thu Feb 22, 2024 6:39 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Question about IRA fund
Replies: 3
Views: 370

Re: Question about IRA fund

Hipospadus wrote: Thu Feb 22, 2024 6:24 pm I have a small position of 25K in my rollover IRA in the VXUS vanguard international index fund which represents 5.62% of my total IRA holdings. i bought it in 2019 andto date it has only grown 30%. i like staying diversified but would rather put that money into something with better growth. any suggestions? I have VOO, some bond funds, stocks and many other positions in my IRA as well. thanks
Diversification always means that something you own will be last in performance.
by ruralavalon
Thu Feb 22, 2024 1:13 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Where to manage a low touch portfolio
Replies: 41
Views: 3117

Re: Where to manage a low touch portfolio

fsa317 wrote: Thu Feb 22, 2024 1:10 pm I currently have about 500k in a managed account with Morgan Stanley. The fees are killing me. I plan on moving that account in small chunks over to a new account where I will manage a few funds. I’m not sure where to open the account. I’ve read about Robinhood, or vanguard but wanted to get some expert advise before creating a new account. Any info is helpful.
In my opinion Vanguard, Fidelity or Schwab would all be good choices for a low cost fund provider. It's largely a matter of personal preference, my personal preference is Vanguard.

I do NOT suggest using Robinhood.
by ruralavalon
Thu Feb 22, 2024 1:04 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Admiral Shares vs Investor Shares mutual fund
Replies: 31
Views: 3637

Re: Admiral Shares vs Investor Shares mutual fund

Hoping OP can comment on the following: Are you investing through a brokerage window (e.g. Fidelity's BrokerageLink) rather than choosing directly from the 401k fund selections? I find it interesting that a 401k plan selection would offer the same fund in different share classes. Certainly different than any 401k plan that I've been involved with. I learned from contributors to this forum topic that Admiral class shares require a higher minimum balance than Investor class shares. I am guessing that the Investor fund is for new employees or for very low savers, until they have accumulated enough for them to move to the Admiral class. I also learned from my plan administrator that exchanging in or out of the Admiral class is not allowed as o...
by ruralavalon
Thu Feb 22, 2024 12:59 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Admiral Shares vs Investor Shares mutual fund
Replies: 31
Views: 3637

Re: Admiral Shares vs Investor Shares mutual fund

What is the difference between a Vanguard ...Index Fund Admiral Shares mutual fund and a Vanguard ...Index Fund Investor Shares mutual fund? They seem to have identical allocations and historical performance. I have access to choose either in my 401k plan. They hold identical investments, and have identical performance the only difference in performance is the impact of the expense ratios, they are just different share classes of the same fund.I Some funds only have Investor Shares. I thought Vanguard stopped selling investor shares to retail investors. I read they are still sometimes (commonly?) offered through 401k plans Investor class shares are used as components of Vanguard target date funds and Vanguard LifeStrategy funds.
by ruralavalon
Thu Feb 22, 2024 11:57 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 401k fund choices (make sure you're sitting down)
Replies: 32
Views: 2847

Re: 401k fund choices (make sure you're sitting down)

My wife's company has just switched from a simple to a 401k. The following fund choices are available. With this, im thinking she should just contribute up to the match (100% of the first 4%) and not bother with anymore. Which of these not so great choices should she go with? There is no plan fee on top of these expense ratios at least. This will be a very small % of our assets, so the rest of our allocation isn't important. Just looking for the best bang for our expense ratio buck. Leaning towards the smallcap world as I feel small caps, especially international, may have some value from active management and it is one of the funds that has outperformed its benchmark over the last 10 years. Thoughts? American Funds 2010 TD R3 .93%ER Ameri...
by ruralavalon
Thu Feb 22, 2024 11:52 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: VBIAX. Why not?
Replies: 70
Views: 11243

Re: VBIAX. Why not?

Really VBIAX is a great single fund in taxable, for lower tax bracket investors. VBIAX does not have X US; but that can be kept in tax sheltered or tax free accounts if desired. And as a single fund in taxable VBIAX is pretty tax efficient in and of itself, and also by eliminating the need to rebalance. Which lower tax brackets would you say it's great for? 40% of VBIAX is Taxable Bonds. From my investment plan (I may have gotten this from Grabiner many years ago) : Taxable or Tax-Exempt Bonds? To determine which alternative is best, calculate the tax equivalent yield (TEY) of an investment. The TEY is about equivalent to the tax-exempt yield (Y) divided by 100 percent minus the tax rate. TEY = Y/(100% - effective federal and state tax rat...
by ruralavalon
Thu Feb 22, 2024 10:55 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Super beginner question about my current work retirement funds
Replies: 16
Views: 1914

Re: Super beginner question about my current work retirement funds

I'll try and do a summary of replies right here. I'm definitely late to this process as I'm in my mid 30's. - The one through T Rowe price is almost certainly a standard 401k whereas I know for certain my one through my last job is a Roth by my own choice at the time it was created. - My current job does not offer a retirement option as I am technically a contractor. Someone asked about how much money I currently make, and it is below $100k. - I'm have plenty of savings right now outside of retirement funds and no debts. I'd like to consider getting a house in the future though b/c I'm living in a cheap shared house situation. . . . . . Mid-30s is NOT too late to make a difference using a well diversified funds with low expense ratios and ...
by ruralavalon
Wed Feb 21, 2024 10:20 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Super beginner question about my current work retirement funds
Replies: 16
Views: 1914

Re: Super beginner question about my current work retirement funds

Welcome to the forum :D I was just introduced to bogleheads and I'm trying to get started with investments. I'm going through the startup kit wiki , but I've also had multiple people tell me that the biggest hurdle to just start. You make for example, a roth ira with something like fidelity, make sure you set it to put in a set amount each month so you don't forget, and start with something simple like the S&P 500. However, I'm a bit confused (and maybe I'm overthinking this) on what that means I should do with my work retirement funds. I have a small amount that a part time job post-college contributed to with Trowe price. I also have a more significant amount that my first actual career job put into until that job went away in 2019. T...
by ruralavalon
Mon Feb 19, 2024 3:10 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: What return should I target to plan for retirement
Replies: 15
Views: 3111

Re: What return should I target to plan for retirement

In my opinion "what RoR I should aim for" and "What return should I target" are the wrong questions.

"Planning for your retirement would be easy if you could depend on earning the same amount year after year from your savings. You'd know exactly how much you could afford to withdraw and would never have to deal with market uncertainties." Vanguard. But it's not that easy, there are many unknown and unknowable variables at play.

Here are calculators you can use to assess the range of possible outcomes at different levels of contributions and different asset allocations:
1) firecalc;
2) i-orp;
3) Vanguard Retirement Nest Egg Calculator; and
4) Otar Retirement Calculator (ORC)
by ruralavalon
Mon Feb 19, 2024 2:52 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Daughters employer 401K vendor is changing
Replies: 19
Views: 1530

Re: Daughters employer 401K vendor is changing

There is no sense in speculating, it all depends on her employer's choices. She must just wait to find out the funds offered and the fees if any to be charged plan participants.
by ruralavalon
Mon Feb 19, 2024 9:18 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Keep funds at 401k or transfer to IRA
Replies: 13
Views: 1209

Re: Keep funds at 401k or transfer to IRA

Welcome to the :D Hi all, First time poster. I just started a job at an MBB consulting firm that has Vanguard administer the 401K plan. Beside the legal shield benefit of the 401K, like many other 401K plans, your investing options are very limited compared to an IRA held at Merrill or Chase etc. The only negligible benefit I see is to access select Admiral shares of several different funds (low expense ratio >10bps). Please tell me why I should not be transferring my contributions directly to my IRA? You probably can't legally do this. What funds are offered in your employer's 401k plan? Please give fund names, tickers and expense ratios. If any good funds with low expense ratios are offered then it's more convenient to stay in the plan. Y...
by ruralavalon
Sun Feb 18, 2024 9:53 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Retirement investments
Replies: 12
Views: 1658

Re: Retirement investments

My father is a CPA/ businessman and has handled my investments in the past. It is all in individual stocks. Overall it has been a diverse portfolio (about 30 stocks) with overall decent return. However, he has turned 72 and dementia does run in the family. Based on what I have read and my financial understandings I would like to start shifting some (and maybe eventually all) of these stocks in our savings to mutual funds. Although I understand some financial principles (I majored in economics) I do not consider it a skill of mine to do market research and know what individual stocks to buy. I would love feedback on what mutual funds or other investments you recommend and how to make the transition. Emergency Funds: I have an individual acc...
by ruralavalon
Sat Feb 17, 2024 11:27 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Advice for 53 year old single female
Replies: 52
Views: 7786

Re: Advice for 53 year old single female

Welcome to the forum :D . Congratulations on "finishing some loan payments (car etc)", and on the new job with greater income. It's good to see that you are making maximum annual employee contributions to your current employer's 401k plan, and plan to have your mortgage paid off by the time of retirement. Hi there, brand new here and have been reading around a ton. So very confused now. With about 12 years left to work and finding myself with some additional income, I have to get serious about investing. I currently have the following: Old TIAA 401-K: Vanguard Federal Money Market Investor VMFXX - 57,000 TCII do you mean TIAA-CREF Lifecycle 2035 Institutional TCIIX??? - 88,000 Old Voya 401-k State Street Target Retirement 2035 K S...
by ruralavalon
Sat Feb 17, 2024 9:56 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Fixing my terrible 401k! (converting to ROTH?, and getting out of crappy, expensive fund)
Replies: 34
Views: 2284

Re: Fixing my terrible 401k! (converting to ROTH?, and getting out of crappy, expensive fund)

More information will be helpful. Does his current employer's plan offer an employer match, if so what is it? Do you have any other accounts? If so what are the other accounts, and what investments are currently in each account? About how much (in dollars) do you believe you may be able to contribute annually to investing (total, all accounts)? Do you have any debt? If so what types, amounts and interest rates? . . . . . 1) Because of the "Admin fees are 0.21% recordkeeping + 0.18% advisor" and the limited fund choices in the current employer's plan I suggest rollover of the old 401k account into a traditional IRA at a low cost provider like Vanguard, Fidelity or Schwab. 2 In the current employer's plan I suggest simply using EITH...
by ruralavalon
Fri Feb 16, 2024 6:22 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Looking for help with what funds to hold in 401k
Replies: 30
Views: 2144

Re: Looking for help with what funds to hold in 401k

Many actively managed funds use an index as a benchmark. Can you post a link to the fact sheet for "Large cap fund 0.02 expense ratio. S&P 500 TR USD is the bench mark." It may not be a mutual fund, it may be a Collective Investment Trust (CIT). It might (or might not) be an index fund/CIT. In my opinion even at your ages (mid-30s), she should also consider a fixed income/bond investment. Can you post a link to the fact sheet for "Bond fund 0.26 expense ratio Bloomberg US AGG TR USD is the bench mark." What interest rate is currently being paid on "FDIC insured savings account". What interest rate is currently being paid on "Stable value 0.25 expense ratio USTREAS T-Bill Cnst Mat Rate 3 Yr is the benc...
by ruralavalon
Fri Feb 16, 2024 3:43 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Looking for help with what funds to hold in 401k
Replies: 30
Views: 2144

Re: Looking for help with what funds to hold in 401k

Many actively managed funds use an index as a benchmark. Can you post a link to the fact sheet for "Large cap fund 0.02 expense ratio. S&P 500 TR USD is the bench mark." It may not be a mutual fund, it may be a Collective Investment Trust (CIT). It might (or might not) be an index fund/CIT. In my opinion even at your ages (mid-30s), she should also consider a fixed income/bond investment. Can you post a link to the fact sheet for "Bond fund 0.26 expense ratio Bloomberg US AGG TR USD is the bench mark." What interest rate is currently being paid on "FDIC insured savings account". What interest rate is currently being paid on "Stable value 0.25 expense ratio USTREAS T-Bill Cnst Mat Rate 3 Yr is the bench...
by ruralavalon
Fri Feb 16, 2024 11:53 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Small Cap Value - US/International
Replies: 25
Views: 2402

Re: Small Cap Value - US/International

Welcome to the forum :D .


masterofcoin wrote: Fri Feb 16, 2024 10:52 am If creating an all SCV portfolio to hold for the next 40+ years, what is your recommended allocation of US and ex-US Developed using AVUV and AVDV? Why?

AVUV
Avantis U.S. Small Cap Value ETF
Number of Holdings: 744
Expense Ratio: .25

AVDV
Avantis International Small Cap Value ETF
Number of Holdings: 1308
Expense Ratio: .36

Risk Parity (Portfolio Visualizer)
AVUV 43.5%
AVDV 56.5%

World All Cap Weighting (Vanguard Total World Stock ETF - VT)
US 61.7%
Ex-US Developed 28.8%
Ex-US Emerging 9.5%

Thank You
I suggest that you not do "an all SCV portfolio".
by ruralavalon
Fri Feb 16, 2024 11:41 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is it Too Late to Invest in VTI?
Replies: 126
Views: 19044

Re: Is it Too Late to Invest in VTI?

arca wrote: Fri Feb 16, 2024 12:07 am Hey bogleheads.. Is it too late to invest in VTI?
No.

arca wrote: Fri Feb 16, 2024 12:07 am It's performed so well that it may have peaked and I feel it may crash if the market crashes.
Or it may not have peaked, and may be headed to another peak. Nobody knows.

What if You Only Invested at Market Peaks?.
by ruralavalon
Fri Feb 16, 2024 11:24 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Fixing my terrible 401k! (converting to ROTH?, and getting out of crappy, expensive fund)
Replies: 34
Views: 2284

Re: Fixing my terrible 401k! (converting to ROTH?, and getting out of crappy, expensive fund)

Welcome to the forum :D First, I’m so happy to have found this forum! I’ve spent weeks reading through articles and even Facebook groups before finding it. Have already read some helpful advice so thanks. My personal situation/questions: 44y.o., started buying stocks in Vanguard cash account out of boredom during covid. Recently had me thinking.. I wonder what my husband’s 401K is in? Come to find out, for as far back as I can tell (10 yrs) it’s all ($100K) in a single fund…JTMIX through John Hancock. Did quick research..total return over 10 years?…NEGATIVE 20%!! Expense ratio?…0.97%!! So ashamed I never thought to check or figure out retirement investing all this time. Keep in mind I know very little still. So my main questions.. 1. He swi...
by ruralavalon
Fri Feb 16, 2024 11:12 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Fidelity Zero Funds
Replies: 64
Views: 6075

Re: Fidelity Zero Funds

Would not call them a gimmick, maybe loss leader is the correct term. Just like their no-fee HSA account. I am comfortable with 50% large cap, 30% international and 20% small/mid cap zero funds in Roth and HSA. All market indexes implementations sample and approximate anyway, so who am I to say one sampling is better than the other, while having fees or no fees is the only constant in the equation. I call the Fidelity ZERO funds a genius marketing strategy, with little or no apparent benefit to the investor. The benefit I see is that - all else being equal - my Zero fund will come out ahead in the long run since nothing (currently) beats a 0% ER. We can talk all day long about tax-drags and portability and number of funds and so on. In the...
by ruralavalon
Fri Feb 16, 2024 10:58 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Fidelity Zero Funds
Replies: 64
Views: 6075

Re: Fidelity Zero Funds

vshun wrote: Fri Feb 16, 2024 10:26 am Would not call them a gimmick, maybe loss leader is the correct term. Just like their no-fee HSA account.
I am comfortable with 50% large cap, 30% international and 20% small/mid cap zero funds in Roth and HSA. All market indexes implementations sample and approximate anyway, so who am I to say one sampling is better than the other, while having fees or no fees is the only constant in the equation.
I call the Fidelity ZERO funds a genius marketing strategy, with little or no apparent benefit to the investor.
by ruralavalon
Thu Feb 15, 2024 3:23 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Best Money Market Fund right now
Replies: 19
Views: 3375

Re: Best Money Market Fund right now

Hi wise Bogleheads, What do you think is the best overall money market fund to hold $200-$300k right now all things considered (fund stability, growth, returns, etc.), given savings account rates at major banks are not that great. We are aware that MM returns/rates can change over time. Once we moved our $ to a MM fund, how often should we look into this and may need to do some research and move the $ again to a hopefully "better" MM account (6 months? a year? Each time the Fed changes rates? war time / peace time? etc). What may affect MM rates and trigger a change in what may dethrone the "overall best MM fund to invest in"? Quick transfer to checking account timing is nice however not critical. Our intent is to hold ...
by ruralavalon
Thu Feb 15, 2024 3:14 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Tax Efficiency - FI in 401k - Technical Issue
Replies: 6
Views: 583

Re: Tax Efficiency - FI in 401k - Technical Issue

Absent an apocalyptic market crash, the asset allocation will not shift enough to matter in an hour.

Find something else to worry about.