Random Topics 3.1

[mudpuppy]

@mudpuppy

He's the investing wizard around here.

I'm on the road without a lot of time to respond right now, but I'm happy to answer any specific questions.  However, I'll say off the top that I know exactly zero about TSP or any other federal programs.  But I will say kudos to you JK for taking things into your own hands.  Investing really isn't that hard, it just takes some time to build your confidence and do some research.  But as engineers, it's nothing we can't handle.  Doesn't make much sense to me to pay someone for a managed account when you can easily replicate it on your own, for a couple hours a month of your time, tops.

Pick some low fee funds or ETFs (stay away from mutual funds with high expense ratios because they eat into your returns) and you'll be fine.  The main thing is you're starting early and have the magic of compounding interest on your side.  Even if you make a few mistakes at first, they'll be more than made up for by the compounding over time.

 

[mudpuppy]

Just one more thing for now--I don't know what investing options are available in the TSP, but rolling your 401ks into an IRA is also an option.  IRAs allow you to invest in pretty much anything you can own--CDs, bonds, stocks, mutual funds, real estate, commodities, options, you name it (excluding collectibles like stamps and coins for some reason).  That gives you a tremendous amount of flexibility that you don't have in a 401k.  I wish I could roll my 401k into an IRA, but you aren't allowed to do that while you're working for the employer.  If the TSP isn't as flexible as an IRA, you might want to consider the IRA option instead since it may increase your flexibility in the future.

 

[JayKay PE]

Just one more thing for now--I don't know what investing options are available in the TSP, but rolling your 401ks into an IRA is also an option.  IRAs allow you to invest in pretty much anything you can own--CDs, bonds, stocks, mutual funds, real estate, commodities, options, you name it (excluding collectibles like stamps and coins for some reason).  That gives you a tremendous amount of flexibility that you don't have in a 401k.  I wish I could roll my 401k into an IRA, but you aren't allowed to do that while you're working for the employer.  If the TSP isn't as flexible as an IRA, you might want to consider the IRA option instead since it may increase your flexibility in the future.

Yeah, I think my Vanguard account is an IRA account (since I transferred over my first company Fidelity stuff into that).  I was thinking of converting my current 401k Fidelity account (different employer that I just left) and just changing it into an IRA/Roth IRA and seeing how Fidelity stacks up to Vanguard for the investments?  I think they're both kinda similar, but wasn't sure if I should have it all in one account or if keeping things in separate accounts makes sense?  Right now I have a bunch of passive CDs I'm using for general Roth savings in my bank that I know I should cash out/move, but it just makes me feel...safer having that money socked away while I attempt 'investing' with old 401k money.  Does that even make sense? 

 

[Supe]

If it weren't for a light mist/rain this morning, it would have been perfect driving weather.  Window/sunroof open, seat heater on.

 

[Road Guy]

I had to put the top on last weekend but this weather is starting to feel nice

 

[Supe]

We had a front come through so it's finally dipped into the 60's for a few nights/dark mornings.  We'll be back around 80 today if the clouds break, and back in the upper 80's by the weekend.

 

[RBHeadge PE]

I have a treaty with the spiders in my house. I allow them to live and set up webs uninterrupted in the corners and dark areas of the house and in exchange they can eat all the bugs they want. The catch is though if they get caught outside those area's by Mrs. Headge then they get the cup or vacuum treatment.

I'd say it's been a pretty successful arrangement for a few years and none of them have violated the terms of the agreement. Recently a few have started making webs in more obvious areas. I've let this pass because their being quite productive in capturing the less desired critters. But Mrs. Headge has spotted them and now I need to get out the vacuum.

 

[ChebyshevII PE PMP]

I have a treaty with the spiders in my house. I allow them to live and set up webs uninterrupted in the corners and dark areas of the house and in exchange they can eat all the bugs they want. The catch is though if they get caught outside those area's by Mrs. Headge then they get the cup or vacuum treatment.

I'd say it's been a pretty successful arrangement for a few years and none of them have violated the terms of the agreement. Recently a few have started making webs in more obvious areas. I've let this pass because their being quite productive in capturing the less desired critters. But Mrs. Headge has spotted them and now I need to get out the vacuum.

 

[txjennah PE]

I don't mind spiders, and as long as their webs don't get large and gross, I'm fine with them being there.

I'm generally not scared of them, but I've met a couple of wolf spiders in my home that tried to test me. I was ready to make them pay for part of my mortgage.

 

[ChebyshevII PE PMP]

We have a lot of black widows around here so we have our property sprayed; don’t want any misunderstandings between them and the kiddos. I had a couple encounters with them this weekend...

 

[Road Guy]

Speaking of spiders, Sunday, while naked in the shower I fought a spider to the death and it was fucking terrifying

 

[RBHeadge PE]

We have a lot of black widows around here so we have our property sprayed; don’t want any misunderstandings between them and the kiddos. I had a couple encounters with them this weekend...

My treaty does not extend to false widows (Steatoda grossa). I had a bad encounter with an overly aggressive bunch about twenty years ago. I go chemical if I find them.

 

[mudpuppy]

Yeah, I think my Vanguard account is an IRA account (since I transferred over my first company Fidelity stuff into that).  I was thinking of converting my current 401k Fidelity account (different employer that I just left) and just changing it into an IRA/Roth IRA and seeing how Fidelity stacks up to Vanguard for the investments?  I think they're both kinda similar, but wasn't sure if I should have it all in one account or if keeping things in separate accounts makes sense?  Right now I have a bunch of passive CDs I'm using for general Roth savings in my bank that I know I should cash out/move, but it just makes me feel...safer having that money socked away while I attempt 'investing' with old 401k money.  Does that even make sense? 

There's no particular reason to consolidate or keep separate accounts, just personal preference.  You could roll your FIdelity 401k into your vanguard account or vice versa if you wanted, or have separate accounts.  All the large brokerages offer pretty much the same services and similar fees (though several brokers recently announced they're lowering their trading fees to $0).  There's the convenience factor of having them all in one place.  But it's also a small hassle to transfer from one brokerage to another.  You could always try both brokerages for a while and decide later if you want to consolidate, too.

As for the CDs. . . IRAs and Roth IRAs are for retirements saving.  CDs earn a very low rate of return and you may even be losing money to inflation.  If you were near retirement it might make sense to have retirement funds in a CD, but at 35 years out, that's very conservative.  On the other hand, if you don't have an emergency fund of 3 to 12 months expenses saved up, you might want to keep the money there since you can always withdraw Roth contributions (but not earnings) without penalty if you got in a bad money situation.

 

[JayKay PE]

There's no particular reason to consolidate or keep separate accounts, just personal preference.  You could roll your FIdelity 401k into your vanguard account or vice versa if you wanted, or have separate accounts.  All the large brokerages offer pretty much the same services and similar fees (though several brokers recently announced they're lowering their trading fees to $0).  There's the convenience factor of having them all in one place.  But it's also a small hassle to transfer from one brokerage to another.  You could always try both brokerages for a while and decide later if you want to consolidate, too.

As for the CDs. . . IRAs and Roth IRAs are for retirements saving.  CDs earn a very low rate of return and you may even be losing money to inflation.  If you were near retirement it might make sense to have retirement funds in a CD, but at 35 years out, that's very conservative.  On the other hand, if you don't have an emergency fund of 3 to 12 months expenses saved up, you might want to keep the money there since you can always withdraw Roth contributions (but not earnings) without penalty if you got in a bad money situation.

Yeah, I know all about the hassle of transferring from one brokerage to another, which is why I think I want to keep my Fidelity and Vanguard separate for the time being (plus I'm still dealing with the whole, 'trying to get out of the managed account'-thing with Vanguard, which is taking way longer than necessary/requiring phone call meetings/etc., so I don't want to make that even more confusing by transferring in funds).

As for the Roth CDs....Yeeeeeeaaaaaaah.  I know I've prob been losing money on that whole deal, but I like having a chunk of money in my account for the exact reason you stated: I don't really have an emergency fund/I was thinking of maybe using this Roth money as a down payment on a house.  I'm only just getting my expenses under control due to student loans/poor choices while in college, and unfortunately I was attempting to do this in the NY/LI area on a single income.  Which meant it was really really slow going with the nation average income not actually making a high COL area livable (who knew?).  I'm hoping now that I've moved, even though I'm making less I'll be able to save more due to the COL actually being...normal?   Also, I didn't have a Roth account set up with a brokerage, since I didn't know what I was doing with the money/didn't know if I was going to attempt home ownership, but once that gets established at Fidelity I might actually transfer my 'big' Roth certificate out but keep the traditional ones in there so I can keep my account perks for having a high balance.  Of course I'm going to have to attempt all this remotely, since this is all at my CU account back in NY.  Might have to bug my dad about this, since he's still joint on my account, so I can just give him a typed out 'please do this on my account' and they shouldn't bother him.

 

[Road Guy]

what are some places to go do some work other than starbucks that some of you use?

were moving office buildings tomorrow (no place to work) and i need to do about 2-3 hours of work in the morning,but will have a house full of people.

Starbucks is such an annoying place to be for more than a few minutes? Even with headphones... 

 

[ChebyshevII PE PMP]

My satellite office is actually a local bar down the street. (Don’t tell my boss)

In all seriousness, I have a secluded office at home I normally use if I need somewhere else to work. Being in locations with large groups of people stresses me out if for an extended period of time.

 

[leggo PE]

Perhaps a library? Especially a college one. Go to an upper floor, it'll probably be quieter. If you don't need a school ID to get in!

Do you absolutely need free wi-fi?

 

[Road Guy]

I normally go to Rock Bottom if its open - but it wont be in the am.

There is a community college close by but I dont know if they have a library? will check.

I can use the hotspot on my company phone - they actually prefer that over using "free wifi" - 

I need to make a better set up at home but elder kid came home from college for the weekend and brought (friends) 

 

[Booo]

I normally go to Rock Bottom if its open - but it wont be in the am.

There is a community college close by but I dont know if they have a library? will check.

I can use the hotspot on my company phone - they actually prefer that over using "free wifi" - 

I need to make a better set up at home but elder kid came home from college for the weekend and brought (friends) 

I usually go to the public library. They have quiet rooms you can reserve. 

 

[LyceeFruit PE]

A deserted friend's house?