July 19, 201610 yr Interesting article. For disclosure - 54. Did real well in 401K during Clinton years leveraging internationals. If you have a 3.75% interest mortgage you are almost borrowing for 'nothing'. If you can deduct the mortgage interest (itemizer or AMTer) then there is that break. I do like throwing a bit of extra principle in each month. Not much - but it will accelerate the pay down over time and it helps each month after you do it since they will bill you the fixed amount but the interest will be less each month. I think you need to look at both. If talking 401K - get the company match. That's a given. And manage it actively when young. Like I posted above the Clinton years were good for stocks overall - but they were even better in the internationals during that time frame. The good thing of investing is having that liquid buffer. Lay offs (wife laid off twice since 2010)' date=' unplanned major expenses, etc. Having liquid assets is always good. Dave Ramsey says have 6 months of income at your disposal. Very view really do that. But you should know where you can get cash if needed in a relative hurry. Having the mortgage paid is great. But you can not eat your house if things get tough.[/quote'] Great advice.
July 19, 201610 yr Like I said I have a 401k, but I don't actively manage it. I picked a "semi-aggressive" pre-planned group of stocks to put the money into. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
July 19, 201610 yr Like I said I have a 401k, but I don't actively manage it. I picked a "semi-aggressive" pre-planned group of stocks to put the money into. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Similar boat.
July 19, 201610 yr Author Like I said I have a 401k, but I don't actively manage it. I picked a "semi-aggressive" pre-planned group of stocks to put the money into. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm not aware of 401k plans that allow an individual to pick stocks so you're doing all you can. Make sure the plan you are in is 100% in equities. You're way too young to be in money market funds making no money. Be aggressive while you can. It will pay off in the long run even when we have down markets like we had in 2008.
July 19, 201610 yr I'm not aware of 401k plans that allow an individual to pick stocks so you're doing all you can. Make sure the plan you are in is 100% in equities. You're way too young to be in money market funds making no money. Be aggressive while you can. It will pay off in the long run even when we have down markets like we had in 2008. I know it depends mostly on the market, but at what age should I start considering backing away from a more aggressive approach?
July 19, 201610 yr I'm not aware of 401k plans that allow an individual to pick stocks so you're doing all you can. Make sure the plan you are in is 100% in equities. You're way too young to be in money market funds making no money. Be aggressive while you can. It will pay off in the long run even when we have down markets like we had in 2008. I agree with the no money markets. Most financials institutions will not advise 100% in equities though. You'll want a portion (be it a small one ~10-15%) in some sort of bond funds.
July 19, 201610 yr Author I agree with the no money markets. Most financials institutions will not advise 100% in equities though. You'll want a portion (be it a small one ~10-15%) in some sort of bond funds. We're all different. I wouldn't do bond funds at your age. Hell, I haven't done it yet at my age.
July 19, 201610 yr Author I know it depends mostly on the market, but at what age should I start considering backing away from a more aggressive approach? Call me in 25 years and we can talk about it.
July 19, 201610 yr We're all different. I wouldn't do bond funds at your age. Hell, I haven't done it yet at my age. Absolutely correct, we all are. My point was that if you talk to someone who works for a financial institution like a Fidelity, Prudential, Merrill Lynch, they aren't going to advise anyone to invest 100% in a single type of investment. They always encourage at least a little diversity.
July 19, 201610 yr Author Absolutely correct, we all are. My point was that if you talk to someone who works for a financial institution like a Fidelity, Prudential, Merrill Lynch, they aren't going to advise anyone to invest 100% in a single type of investment. They always encourage at least a little diversity. Agreed that they tell you that. I used to use a broker but found I was doing the work and making the best decisions. Worked out better for me. Most want someone else to do it. I need to remember that when offering up advice.
July 19, 201610 yr Interesting article. For disclosure - 54. Did real well in 401K during Clinton years leveraging internationals. If you have a 3.75% interest mortgage you are almost borrowing for 'nothing'. If you can deduct the mortgage interest (itemizer or AMTer) then there is that break. I do like throwing a bit of extra principle in each month. Not much - but it will accelerate the pay down over time and it helps each month after you do it since they will bill you the fixed amount but the interest will be less each month. I think you need to look at both. If talking 401K - get the company match. That's a given. And manage it actively when young. Like I posted above the Clinton years were good for stocks overall - but they were even better in the internationals during that time frame. The good thing of investing is having that liquid buffer. Lay offs (wife laid off twice since 2010), unplanned major expenses, etc. Having liquid assets is always good. Dave Ramsey says have 6 months of income at your disposal. Very view really do that. But you should know where you can get cash if needed in a relative hurry. Having the mortgage paid is great. But you can not eat your house if things get tough. The day I paid off my mortgage I got a rather large line of equity on my house. If I lost my job and needed cash to get by I had more than a 6 month supply at my disposal.
July 19, 201610 yr Like I said I have a 401k' date=' but I don't actively manage it. I picked a "semi-aggressive" pre-planned group of stocks to put the money into. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.[/quote'] Keep paying into it and let it be for the next 35 years, after the market goes up and down collect your huge check in 35 years.
July 19, 201610 yr We're all different. I wouldn't do bond funds at your age. Hell, I haven't done it yet at my age. As mentioned before, My guy told me to get it out of stable and bonds and get riskier. I only had 5% in there. He said you only go there when you are very very close to retirement. As mentioned, the market should cycle one more time before I retire.
July 19, 201610 yr The day I paid off my mortgage I got a rather large line of equity on my house. If I lost my job and needed cash to get by I had more than a 6 month supply at my disposal. Good point. And you do not need to have it paid off. I have used HELOC for things. Probably one of the best was to buy a used car that was obviously not going to last long at the price and popularity - in fact, another party had run off the bank for loan approval. But we were able to write a HELOC check on the spot and buy the car.
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