Personal Retirement Funds

[de Pez]

I totally disagree but do what you wanna do.

I have heard every excuse in the book for people doing things financially that they wanna do. They make excuses for leases, credit card debt, unsecured loan debt, home equity loan debt, etc etc etc.

A 401k match should only be made when all debt is paid off.

I am not concerned with your opinion...Everyone has an opinion..

If you have the opportunity to receive a guaranteed 50% return on an investment, you do it, then you focus on paying off debt...Do what you as an individual want, just don't ruin the amazing opportunity for compounding interest associated with free (company) money with a simplistic view of economics...Pay yourself first, particularly when you have a 50%return, then do whatever you wish with the money....Anything less is foolish..

 

[typhoonpilot]

Anybody who thinks that investing in 401Ks and IRAs is the way to a comfortable retirement is dreaming. The mutual fund industry suckers people into believing all the hype and fails to perform. I would never put all my eggs in that basket. Don't listen to Suze Orman and the other self-professed gurus out there.

A portion of investments should certainly be in stocks, but don't count on them just like you now know not to count on pensions. The USA could easily have a Japanese style market meltdown and you could stand still in your investment accounts for 10 to 20 years.

Never give your money to someone else to invest for you. Always keep it in your name. That means to keep mutual funds and trading accounts in your name and not to invest in hair-brained get rich quick schemes.

The recent run-up in property prices makes investing in property a bit risky right now, but look to buy after the correction. Your primary residence is your single best investment. Once you have that look for a decent rental property. Your long term returns should certainly be higher than from the stock market.

P.S.

Marry a rich woman, the single best investment a man can make.

 

[redd]

I knew of a guy who invested a sizable amount, about $100,000 in the stock market durring the .com era, and made a 400% return on investment. That takes guts as well as perhaps some inside information to boot.

I've made some great money on well chosen stocks in the past, but I think the market operates in waves too. Like Mar and others, I agree that real estate as an investment, especially in a sellers market area that's growing, is a good idea. By the way Mar, it's good to see you posting again, maybe some of the changes on the board have drawn you out lately?

 

[psysicx]

Typhoon I'm confused. The reason people invest in Mutual Funds is so there eggs are not in one basket.

 

[typhoonpilot]

Typhoon I'm confused. The reason people invest in Mutual Funds is so there eggs are not in one basket.

One basket, as in the stock market.

Redd: For every one guy you find who made a 400% return, I can find ten who lost more than 50%. Putting all you money in one stock issue is just plain stupid. The most you should ever put in one issue is 2.5% of your total investment funds. I've learned that the hard way.


TP

 

[mar]

I do what I can...

By the way Mar, it's good to see you posting again, maybe some of the changes on the board have drawn you out lately?

Yes and no. The frequency of my posting increases to the square of my boredom.

To me real estate is almost always a good investment assuming you don't build on an earthquake fault, a flood plain and no one puts a nuclear waste facility in your backyard.

And personally, I shy away from the stock market because it just looks too much like Vegas to me and I hate Vegas. I've had all of the accounting, finance and economic classes in college and I just can't get away from the feeling that it's a big poker game.

I agree with Dangerkitty it's useless to save while paying off your debt. That's like bailing water out of a sinking boat. First, stop the leak, then bail...or maybe I have my metaphor backwards.

But I confess, I'm one step away from keeping my money in my mattress. I don't trust anyone.

Good luck.

 

[Dangerkitty]

Anybody who thinks that investing in 401Ks and IRAs is the way to a comfortable retirement is dreaming. The mutual fund industry suckers people into believing all the hype and fails to perform. I would never put all my eggs in that basket. Don't listen to Suze Orman and the other self-professed gurus out there.

A portion of investments should certainly be in stocks, but don't count on them just like you now know not to count on pensions. The USA could easily have a Japanese style market meltdown and you could stand still in your investment accounts for 10 to 20 years.

Never give your money to someone else to invest for you. Always keep it in your name. That means to keep mutual funds and trading accounts in your name and not to invest in hair-brained get rich quick schemes.

The recent run-up in property prices makes investing in property a bit risky right now, but look to buy after the correction. Your primary residence is your single best investment. Once you have that look for a decent rental property. Your long term returns should certainly be higher than from the stock market.

P.S.

Marry a rich woman, the single best investment a man can make.

When it comes to managed funds I agree with you 100%. Thats why I invest in unmanaged blue chip growth stock INDEX mutual funds.

 

[JediNein]

I agree with Dangerkitty it's useless to save while paying off your debt.

1. Visit http://www.debthelp.com
2. Read "Richest Man in Babylon"

I pay myself 10% of any money I receive. This is money going towards my future. It's my money, I earned it, and I finally have something to show for it. Right now it's in an airline's credit union savings account, making interest at the rate of inflation. That's a little bit better than the sock under the mattress. It doesn't matter if I find a nickel on the sidewalk or get a check from working, 10% goes to myself. No pensions, social security, or poor folks checks required for me when I retire.

I pay my previous spending, debts, with 20% of whatever I receive. That's all they get, 20%. I didn't have to listen to them whine, complain, groan, and moan about only getting 20% of my income -- I ceased all creditors. That was 6 years ago when I had no income and little possibility of getting one. The credit card numbers doubled and tripled, one even claimed I owed 'em 4x the original amount. Now they're back to just the amount owed when I ceased 'em, claiming 50% of that amount would make 'em happy. In one year, they get deleted from my credit history. Two years ago they lost the right to pursue me in court due to the state's statue of limitations. Of course, the court battle is only fought if they think you have something to give up, like assets. The student loans go away in 20 years if I can't repay all of them, locked in with a fixed 3% interest rate.

Then 30% goes towards an emergency fund. I needed the fund last year. I'm almost set if I need it this year. When the fund is full, the rest will go into short and long-term savings and investments.

I live on 50% of the rest. I deal with roommates :uzi: , no social life, a car with 123,000 miles on it, and no IPOD or other toys.

But I'm not broke. I'm working for something. I'm no longer living paycheck-to-paycheck, unable to get ahead.

My income recently quadrupled. I paid myself a bonus (out of the 30%) and spent it on a toy -- still have 10% coming right to me to not spend on toys today.

Good luck!
Jedi Nein

 

[JohnDoe]

quote:
"In one year, they get deleted from my credit history. Two years ago they lost the right to pursue me in court due to the state's statue of limitations. Of course, the court battle is only fought if they think you have something to give up, like assets. The student loans go away in 20 years if I can't repay all of them, locked in with a fixed 3% interest rate."



Congratulations,
You ran up debt on your own, then weaseled out of paying for it.....how proud you must be.

 

[westwind]

The Roth IRA sounds like a great deal, but what if, in the future, some "crisis" arises and the powers that be, feel they HAVE to tax the withdrawals in order to deal with the "crisis", real or otherwise? I just don't trust 'em to keep up their end of the bargain. Regular IRAs and 401ks for me. "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" YMMV