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I do live rent free with family but I still chip in pay for utilities which isn't a lot. My monthly expenses aren't even $500.
Live like a millionaire in a van, awesome! who would have thunk it, lol.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CAM2
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Here are several options that could work.
You could live rent-free with parents or other relatives. Trade your skills ( home, property maintance, helping with utility bills etc.) for payment of rent if something is required of you.
Find a partner who has a home & live with them (rent free) in exchange for watching their place, doing household chores. or watching their children while they are at work.
Buy a van (used) & use it for housing. Park at various friends/relatives homes or use state or county parks that allow camping.
It seems sad that every discussion about retirement seems totally centered around money. If you retired with enough money to get by in comfort, what else do you find to be important?
It's very important to developing a savings habit as early as possible.
I start out at age 5 when I got 25¢ a week in allowance. My father taught me to save 10% of my money. I rounded it down to a dime. heeheehee.
When I'd accumulate $5 he'd put it in the bank for me. So, I have tried to do that ever since. There were times when I was just starting out after college when I couldn't swing it but I saved as much as I could.
Another thing to take advantage of is any windfall that comes your way. Back in the 80s the government introduced The Thrift Savings Plan to us federal employees. We could invest a certain amoung of our pay check into a fund and Uncle Sam would match it up to a point. The deposits were invested in stocks. We got the choice of 4 kinds of stocks and we could divide up the money in one, two, three or all of the stocks. I invested 75% in slow growth and 25% in risky business. When I retired I had a very healthy FSP amount. I have not touched it.
I'm waiting until I'm 72 and won't have to pay a penalty for early withdrawal.
I consider my tax refunds as a windfall, too, even though it is my money. That money goes by direct deposit into my savings.
I shudder when I read what young families are spending on monster houses and expensive cars. To me that is screwed up prioities but it's hard to tell someone that.
Don't over spend. Make sure you have savings. And, I might add, teach your children well about money and saving it.
Back in the 80s the government introduced The Thrift Savings Plan to us federal employees. We could invest a certain amoung of our pay check into a fund and Uncle Sam would match it up to a point. The deposits were invested in stocks. We got the choice of 4 kinds of stocks and we could divide up the money in one, two, three or all of the stocks. I invested 75% in slow growth and 25% in risky business. When I retired I had a very healthy FSP amount. I have not touched it.
I'm waiting until I'm 72 and won't have to pay a penalty for early withdrawal.
I think you may be confused somewhat about your TSP account. First of all, if you were at least 55 when you retired, you can make withdrawals from your TSP account without penalty now. If not, you can still make withdrawals beginning at age 59 1/2 without penalty. You can also begin Rule 72t withdrawals without penalty at any time.
As for your investments themselves, I have no idea what you're calling "slow growth" and "risky business." From TSP inception in 1987 until 2001 there were only three choices, and only one of them was a stock fund. The C Fund is an S&P 500 index fund, the F fund is a bond fund, and the G fund is solely invested in special issue Government securities (similar to the SS trust fund). These were your only choices for the first 14 years of the TSP.
Two more stock funds were added in 2001: the small cap index S Fund and the international index I Fund. Several lifecycle funds were added in 2005, which are basically a mixture of the G, F, C, S, & I Funds in various percentages based on the decade you plan on accessing the money. So again, I don't know what you're calling slow growth and what you're referring to as risky business, but I hope that the above has clarified what the investment options are.
One final note which doesn't affect you, but may be confusing to some people who read your post. Federal employees who were hired before 1984 are covered under a different retirement system and they do not receive any matching contributions from the government into their TSP accounts. (Nor are they covered by Social Security for that matter.) However, they do have a better defined benefit component for their pension.
Good post. They like to show off I guess. Some of them are able to afford it though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ketabcha
It's very important to developing a savings habit as early as possible.
I start out at age 5 when I got 25¢ a week in allowance. My father taught me to save 10% of my money. I rounded it down to a dime. heeheehee.
When I'd accumulate $5 he'd put it in the bank for me. So, I have tried to do that ever since. There were times when I was just starting out after college when I couldn't swing it but I saved as much as I could.
Another thing to take advantage of is any windfall that comes your way. Back in the 80s the government introduced The Thrift Savings Plan to us federal employees. We could invest a certain amoung of our pay check into a fund and Uncle Sam would match it up to a point. The deposits were invested in stocks. We got the choice of 4 kinds of stocks and we could divide up the money in one, two, three or all of the stocks. I invested 75% in slow growth and 25% in risky business. When I retired I had a very healthy FSP amount. I have not touched it.
I'm waiting until I'm 72 and won't have to pay a penalty for early withdrawal.
I consider my tax refunds as a windfall, too, even though it is my money. That money goes by direct deposit into my savings.
I shudder when I read what young families are spending on monster houses and expensive cars. To me that is screwed up prioities but it's hard to tell someone that.
Don't over spend. Make sure you have savings. And, I might add, teach your children well about money and saving it.
Risky business sounds like Stocks and slow growth maybe referring to Bonds I guess, lol.
Wait for 72? Too long. 401K is at 55.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MadManofBethesda
I think you may be confused somewhat about your TSP account. First of all, if you were at least 55 when you retired, you can make withdrawals from your TSP account without penalty now. If not, you can still make withdrawals beginning at age 59 1/2 without penalty. You can also begin Rule 72t withdrawals without penalty at any time.
As for your investments themselves, I have no idea what you're calling "slow growth" and "risky business." From TSP inception in 1987 until 2001 there were only three choices, and only one of them was a stock fund. The C Fund is an S&P 500 index fund, the F fund is a bond fund, and the G fund is solely invested in special issue Government securities (similar to the SS trust fund). These were your only choices for the first 14 years of the TSP.
Two more stock funds were added in 2001: the small cap index S Fund and the international index I Fund. Several lifecycle funds were added in 2005, which are basically a mixture of the G, F, C, S, & I Funds in various percentages based on the decade you plan on accessing the money. So again, I don't know what you're calling slow growth and what you're referring to as risky business, but I hope that the above has clarified what the investment options are.
One final note which doesn't affect you, but may be confusing to some people who read your post. Federal employees who were hired before 1984 are covered under a different retirement system and they do not receive any matching contributions from the government into their TSP accounts. (Nor are they covered by Social Security for that matter.) However, they do have a better defined benefit component for their pension.
I think you may be confused somewhat about your TSP account. First of all, if you were at least 55 when you retired, you can make withdrawals from your TSP account without penalty now. If not, you can still make withdrawals beginning at age 59 1/2 without penalty. You can also begin Rule 72t withdrawals without penalty at any time.
As for your investments themselves, I have no idea what you're calling "slow growth" and "risky business." From TSP inception in 1987 until 2001 there were only three choices, and only one of them was a stock fund. The C Fund is an S&P 500 index fund, the F fund is a bond fund, and the G fund is solely invested in special issue Government securities (similar to the SS trust fund). These were your only choices for the first 14 years of the TSP.
Two more stock funds were added in 2001: the small cap index S Fund and the international index I Fund. Several lifecycle funds were added in 2005, which are basically a mixture of the G, F, C, S, & I Funds in various percentages based on the decade you plan on accessing the money. So again, I don't know what you're calling slow growth and what you're referring to as risky business, but I hope that the above has clarified what the investment options are.
One final note which doesn't affect you, but may be confusing to some people who read your post. Federal employees who were hired before 1984 are covered under a different retirement system and they do not receive any matching contributions from the government into their TSP accounts. (Nor are they covered by Social Security for that matter.) However, they do have a better defined benefit component for their pension.
I'm sure glad I made that post even if it is full of typos.
Thank you for that information about withdrawals.
I speak English, Spanish, Farsi and a bit of Yiddish but I cannot speak Investments. It's a foreign language to me.
Thank you so much for the information. It was very kind of you to explain things to me.
Thank you so much for the information. It was very kind of you to explain things to me.
My pleasure.
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