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I'm now debt free other than my mortgage, so I'm in a position to start investing.
I'm 32 and wife is 31. Two kids (under 3yrs). Mortgage is 19 years remaining, $215k balance with 4% interest.
We have $22k in IRA accounts from 401ks that we were investing in 5+ years ago. Stopped investing when we moved to CO due to financial issues. If I move these to Vanguard/Fidelity, will I have to pay out the nose? Or just account fees?
We have around $1,500 each month after expenses to save or invest. Maybe a bit more, as we got over $8,000 back on taxes this year, so I probably need to adjust my W4.
My work does not 401k match. They did just switch to a new company which now allows EFTs, but I think I'd rather manage it at my choosing company.
I'm thinking Roth IRA is the way to go for retirement. I understand that I can take out the funds with no tax penalty, but do you get taxed if you with drawl earnings from the Roth?
I don't know to go with Fidelity or Vanguard. Does it matter? Looks like both offer low fees and are popular here and on the Bogleheads forum. I hear Fidelity's website is better and they have better customer service.
I also inherited a $150,000 a couple of weeks ago that I need to put to work. I'm going to keep it separate from our marital assets, as the marriage hasn't been great in the last year or so. We're working on it, but I need to protect myself in worst case scenario. Not sure yet what to do with this yet.
Until you are secure in your marriage, anything you do should be structured as individual and solely owned.
Cash. Stick it away. If your marriage isn't much better soon, it is likely to get worse and then cash will be king if things split up.
If things work out, no big deal, you get happy and can then flush money back into something shared as time and conditions warrant.
Right now, so long as kids are taken care of, take care of number one so that you can work on everything else. What little interest you might otherwise accumulate isn't going to make much difference.
I'm now debt free other than my mortgage, so I'm in a position to start investing.
I'm 32 and wife is 31. Two kids (under 3yrs). Mortgage is 19 years remaining, $215k balance with 4% interest.
We have $22k in IRA accounts from 401ks that we were investing in 5+ years ago. Stopped investing when we moved to CO due to financial issues. If I move these to Vanguard/Fidelity, will I have to pay out the nose? Or just account fees?
We have around $1,500 each month after expenses to save or invest. Maybe a bit more, as we got over $8,000 back on taxes this year, so I probably need to adjust my W4.
My work does not 401k match. They did just switch to a new company which now allows EFTs, but I think I'd rather manage it at my choosing company.
I'm thinking Roth IRA is the way to go for retirement. I understand that I can take out the funds with no tax penalty, but do you get taxed if you with drawl earnings from the Roth?
I don't know to go with Fidelity or Vanguard. Does it matter? Looks like both offer low fees and are popular here and on the Bogleheads forum. I hear Fidelity's website is better and they have better customer service.
I also inherited a $150,000 a couple of weeks ago that I need to put to work. I'm going to keep it separate from our marital assets, as the marriage hasn't been great in the last year or so. We're working on it, but I need to protect myself in worst case scenario. Not sure yet what to do with this yet.
Congrats on having an attitude of wanting to save and invest for the future! As far as the $150k you inherited, I'd put it in a mutual fund and would resolve not to touch it! (Keeping in mind it was for my future)
As far as Fidelity or Vanguard, I've had multiple 401k accounts that were with Fidelity, and opened my ROTH IRA with Vanguard. I like both funds. I also found that the Fidelity website was more user-friendly (for me) but the Vanguard website isn't bad...it is just set up differently. I may prefer the Fidelity website because I've used it much more than the Vanguard site.
I would suggest having a separate "emergency" fund, that you add to monthly or each pay period. I would try to avoid ever "raiding" your IRA or 401k for an emergency. You'd only regret doing that when you got close to retirement. You are correct that your "contributions" to a Roth IRA can be withdrawn without penalty, but any "earnings" you withdraw would be taxed at your age.
Also, when you mentioned your marriage is on shaky ground, that needs to be addressed immediately through counseling or what....first and foremost. Your kids lives depend on it.
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