any future plans?
Roth IRA mutual funds. Join a credit union and use one of their financial advisors. Start young
I max out my Roth IRA and HSA account every year, and contribute 5% to my 401K just because on this one I can do more with my money now versus the future BUT my employer does match 4% of that. After that, I split my paycheck in half and from there half goes to spending and half goes to further investing.
I have a Robinhood account to have fun investing with and more of a hands-off M1 Finance pie account. These are both just normal stock accounts. This next year I was planning on being more of an aggressive investor by also adding to a Fundrise account, which helps you invest in real estate without having to own any. I love finance and investing overall and recommend everyone to start as soon as they can.
There is a wealth of information on YouTube, but I particularly love to watch Joseph Carlson, Two Cents, and The Plain Bagel.
Not anybody's business around here.
Would love money to invest . Social workers aren't exactly rollin in the dough
I can have fun with my investments, LOL
15% to my 401k. Started nearly 20 years ago. It's up to a quarter million.
Had 401K account at my job, but wasn't doing too good. Rolled it over to a Schwab account and doing so much better. I've quadrupled my money. However, yes, stocks are up and down. So it's a gamble. But I buy and sell stocks at my choosing. Start as young as you can; even $20 a paycheck will grow with compound interest. If your company matches, put in at least that amount. Good luck to everyone.
Out of curiosity I bought $100 of bitcoin 3 weeks ago and it's worth $117 today. js
@Allerdale Very impressive especially at a young age! @Designergirl I have bitcoin as well. In the red at the moment, but some people made killing a couple of years ago before the bottom dropped out. Hoping for a rebound.
@Designergirl I have been investing in bitcoin over the last few years. Stick with it....it will be worth it.
@cuddletime222 Positive thoughts that it will swing in the positive direction. I'm not in the red, but my investment isn't growing as quickly as it once was. I'm staying optimistic though.
Max out your tax advantaged retirement accounts. Based on your time horizon, decide how much risk you are willing to take. Watch out for high cost/high expense ratio funds as they will eat away at your progress— remember the magic of compound interest!
And if you have some money after and a decent time horizon, bitcoin may not be the worst idea for a buy and hold approach. Much more volatile, but a number of large financial institutions are starting to buy it up as a store of value and hedge against inflation, there will only be a limited number, and multiple governments are talking about developing their own electronic currencies... so likely to rise pretty significantly over the course of years (in addition to occasional spikes, like the 25%ish rise the past month or so)
Max out your IRA contributions every year, invest in a diversified mix of mutual funds. start as young as possible. I've earned more from my investments over the last 10 years than I have from my salary. And if you are in the US, pray Trump wins the election because the Democrats will destroy the economy.
Lol ~ What a goose you are!!!
🦆, 🦆, @UKGuy
@MelanieL Thanks, me too!
I’ve been a Nervous Nellie the past few years 65% in cash
Out of curiosity I bought $100 of bitcoin 3 weeks ago
Nice. Just caught the end of the accumulation phase of its cycle. Enjoy the ride over the next 12 months.
It's a good idea to invest in a 401k/Roth 401k if there's a company match. Might as well get the free money. Investing in an IRA or Roth IRA is also great. Places like Fidelity and Vanguard have lower fees which could add up to more money over time. The most important thing is to start as young as you can even if it's just a little bit at a time. Some people may like big banks like Chase, but their fees can add up.
Payroll sent an e-mail out today, with a lot of detailed info I have no clue about how to interpret, including this (slightly edited) bit: "The 403(b), 401(k), and SARSEP plans must be aggregated for the IRC 415(c) limit (this applies to the aggregate of elective deferrals and employer contributions). Note: 457(b) contributions do not need to be aggregated with 403(b) contributions for limit consideration."
Wait...? What?!
Kudos to you all who know how to navigate these types of things! Financial planning/investing strategies is something I've always felt under qualified to deal with. They provided a link to a "Comprehensive Information" page, so hopefully I can figure it out, but dang! It's really intimidating!
I've had a Roth IRA for quite a while. Usually I've tried to max it out every year and trust the team at the investment company to invest it according to their market analysis. Sometimes I worry about losing money when the market is down though. I also had to withdraw a large chunk of it within the last year or 2 for an emergency expense, so I'm down fairly low now.
@quixotic_life Ooo I get to be a nerd 🤓 IRC 415 means you have to make under $230k a year to be able to have one of these investments (those above have different investment options). Also max contribution for Roth IRA is $6000/year and 401K plans cap you at $19,500 a year. 403B is like 401 K but it’s more for federal workers, nonprofit employees, and etc who I believe have different match options or credits, not too sure about that. The note means 403B and 457B have their own limits you can contribute per year, so you don’t have to worry about maxing any out. Limits are super important to remember so you don’t get penalized during tax time.
I read about a couple who contributed $100 too much to their IRA and there was no way to reverse it without being penalized for removing the money too early, so they are stuck with compounding penalties over that $100 😖 In retrospect they should have just paid that one penalty versus the growth of that $100 over-investment.
@Allerdale ~ Yay! Go you and your big nerd brain!!! 🤓🧠~👍
So looks the ones I could be participating in are the 403(b) Tax Sheltered Annuity and 457(b) Deferred Compensation Plans. Do I know what that means or what the differences are? Nope! Lol!
Also the cap rates are hilarious! With what I make (I'm barely above the poverty line making just enough to 'Not qualify' for any low income subsidy programs) I couldn't afford $6000 a year, let alone $19,500 - so I'm not worried about going over. But what a bummer for those who do.
Right now I've only got PERS, the Public Employee's Retirement Savings (?) and SSI going on, so I'm going to make an appointment. Maybe there are some kind of low contribution and/or employer matching options available that would be better than (my current) doing next to nothing. 🤷♀️
I pretty much want a "set it and forget it" type of deal. Where it's just an auto deduction every two weeks, and when I finally retire I'll have a surprise deposit into my bank account each month. I for sure don't want to be moving it around, selecting investment options, or any of the other stuff people have mentioned. I'd be better off at the tables in Vegas!
Thanks for the input! 💰vs💸 I'll be getting on it!! 🙂
For the last three years and the at least the foreseeable future, I invest in the collegiate education of my kids. Hoping they all get good paying jobs so that when I'm old, senile, and dilapidated from all the paint fumes, they can support me.
Besides that, I put all my money into Pet Rocks. I'm sure that's going to make a comeback real soon, and I'm going to have a monopoly on the market!
@UKGuy This is the second thread you've asserted the Dems will destroy the economy. I just checked my 401K.....can you explain we're you're coming from? Please and thank you.
...what money?...😖...
I am still trying to dig my way out of credit card debt but just got hit with another $2000 vet bill last month. Financial gurus say to pay off high interest debt before you can really start saving and investing since the credit card APR is higher than most investment vehicles. I was supposed to be out of credit card debt this past summer but then this little pandemic happened and I had to take months off from cuddling and hardly made anything for while.
@xandriarain - Dave Ramsey suggests the debt snowball where you list all your debts(except the house) in order from smallest to largest(regardless of interest rate) and make minimum payments on all except the smallest debt. You attack the smallest debt until it's paid off then do the same with the next smallest debt.
He suggests this method because everytime a debt is paid off, in your mind you'll think you accomplished something and want to work at it even harder.
I have a condo I bought when I was young that I've kept for 14 years and just rent out now. I also choose individual stocks to purchase and hold long term (much higher risk than mutual funds but higher reward). At this point I save and invest about 50% of my income because I live way below my means. Because I have been putting away money for awhile my investment income is now substantial year to year. My biggest expense is taxes (higher than both my mortgages combined).
@Mike403 I have been doing that for the most part, I have two credit cards completely paid off, and another that is very close to being paid off. After that I have four more to go.