Investing -- For your Future

[stevenl]

As a young man I was reviewing my 401k and discoverd if I add 2% more to my contribution and my rate of return stays above 12% By the time im 65 ill have 8 MILLION in the bank(persay) I was looking for some advice as to help make some other investment options as well, as I dont forsee a constant 12-16% rate of return, (currenlty im investing High Risk) What do you recomend iras? stocks? bonds? Id love to retire early and im sure their are people here with far more economical sense then me Any advice is helpful for a young lad.. Id love to retire early and be able to live life well then, even if I have to sacrifice now.

401k is good for retirement, But id like a good way to invest for now to earn an extra income, Ive dabbled in the day tradeing stuff but its hard to earn a good return when you dont have alot to invest. (because you cant do volume) and even at 7$ a trade thats 14$ total... (scottrade)

 

[damaged]

The best tip I can give you is, don't take financial advice off the internet. Go find a (good, via word of mouth) financial advisor, there are things which we cannot know about you that will be a deciding factor in which financial route suits you best, it can be different for everyone.

 

[stevenl]

The best tip I can give you is, don't take financial advice off the internet. Go find a financial advisor, there are things which we cannot know about you that will be a deciding factor in which financial route suits you best, it can be different for everyone.

Well I dont plan on investing my eggs based on response.. But I do beleive their probley are some smart people on this site (-the pit) who may have some advice to offer and who probley have lived a longer life then me, and probley have made mistakes that I dont want to make

 

[kenny911]

Stay away from the high risk funds. When those things go down, they go down hard. I have had my money in the vanguard windsor fund and then moved them to the vanguard energy fund and now back to the windsor fund. During the past 5 years, I've had a 9.4% average rate of return. Also have a roth ira with a mutual fund that I just started so I'm not going to give any advice on that. I don't think you will have $8 mil, but if you save, you will have enough so you don't have to worry about social security.

 

[stevenl]

Stay away from the high risk funds. When those things go down, they go down hard. I have had my money in the vanguard windsor fund and then moved them to the vanguard energy fund and now back to the windsor fund. During the past 5 years, I've had a 9.4% average rate of return. Also have a roth ira with a mutual fund that I just started so I'm not going to give any advice on that. I don't think you will have $8 mil, but if you save, you will have enough so you don't have to worry about social security.

Well the 8 mill was done by a calculator provided by fidelity on the website, Based on my current preformance.. and (increaseing my contribution by 2%) already its at 6% which is the max the company matches.. Last years return was around 16% or so and this year so far its doing great near 15%, (I did the calculator based on 12% return which is below my current avg) and thats based on 41 YEARS (till im 65)

 

[dfergie]

One thing, when you get a raise, give the 401k a raise (stable of course)

 

[banoonish]

As a young man I was reviewing my 401k and discoverd if I add 2% more to my contribution and my rate of return stays above 12% By the time im 65 ill have 8 MILLION in the bank(persay) I was looking for some advice as to help make some other investment options as well, as I dont forsee a constant 12-16% rate of return, (currenlty im investing High Risk) What do you recomend iras? stocks? bonds? Id love to retire early and im sure their are people here with far more economical sense then me Any advice is helpful for a young lad.. Id love to retire early and be able to live life well then, even if I have to sacrifice now.

401k is good for retirement, But id like a good way to invest for now to earn an extra income, Ive dabbled in the day tradeing stuff but its hard to earn a good return when you dont have alot to invest. (because you cant do volume) and even at 7$ a trade thats 14$ total... (scottrade)

I retired from a company that I have bought stock in for years. I have never gone wrong buying this stock. The symbol is NUE. Just remember, don't put all you eggs in one basket. The key is to diversify. By the way I retired at age 55.

 

[kenny911]

One thing I did was to cut my expenses such as cutting down on eating out, removed premium channels etc... You won't believe how quickly money adds up. I don't want to be in my 50's and have nothing in the bank. I want to take care of myself.

 

[JimMcC]

Money

Steve, a 401k account is the only and best investment you should worry about right now. Slowly raise your contribution and contribute as much as you can. If and when you hit your max. contribution, then you should open a Roth IRA and fund that. Those numbers you stated are very inflated by the way. Stocks average about 10% per year over the long haul. Invest in a quality fund with a quality company(Vanguard is the best mutual fund company out there) and you'll do great. I'm a big fan of Vanguard's index funds. And FORGET about day trading, afternoon trading, or night trading. If you want to throw your money away like that, you can send it to me. And I saved the best for last: Keep those credit cards paid off.

 

[stevenl]

One thing I did was to cut my expenses such as cutting down on eating out, removed premium channels etc... You won't believe how quickly money adds up. I don't want to be in my 50's and have nothing in the bank. I want to take care of myself.

Thanks all for the good advice..


and Kenny id get rid of my pay channels but hmmm Cable is free for me with EVERY service.... (PS: I work for them)

 

[Van]

8million............wow that must be some job.

 

[kenny911]

Van,
I think its best case scenario for like $100 a week. You'd be surprised at how much money you can make when it compounds.

 

[AllieVi]

Most funds have done well since 2002, mainly because the markets tanked after 9/11. Take that fact into account when you evaluate a fund's performance.

Diversify.

This century's economic future is in Asia. Put some money to work there.

 

[stevenl]

Most funds have done well since 2002, mainly because the markets tanked after 9/11. Take that fact into account when you evaluate a fund's performance.

Diversify.

This century's economic future is in Asia. Put some money to work there.

Ya it is based on compound interest I think my investment is like maybe 200k over the life adn a company match of another 150k and wiht the compounding interest it makes it that high (according to the fidelity retirement calculator wiht a 12% return)

and 70% of my assests are in forgien equities, mainly asia and latin america...

 

[navychop]

jimmcc gave good advice.

Figure on maybe 8%, not 12%. Yes, I've heard the spiel.

Index funds. Esp S&P- but compare charges/fees with each. If you can buy thru USAA, do it.

Most of all- leave the money there. Have it automatically invested so you never see it, never need to remember to write a check. Save FIRST. And never borrow against it (seems cheap, but you also lose the earnings). Never cash out for allowed reasons such as mortgage/education. If you can leave it there and let it grow, even when you see the large dollar numbers, you really will come out ahead. And the 401k is a good mechanism.

Having a spouse/partner that is of similar mind is priceless. I've seen too many guys get driven near bankruptcy by demanding wives. And I've seen more guys squander money before their wives can safely put some aside and pay bills.

But enjoy yourself, don't impoverish yourself. Living within one's means is wonderful for peace of mind. However, sacrificing everything for the distant future will lead to a blow up one day. And you never know, Osama might not honor Social Security after he takes over!