401K? Investments? Retirement? What?! FINANCIAL ADVISORS, chime in!

[tee eye ehm]

Ok, so your boy recently got a job with health benefits and retirement benefits. I work at a University so instead of a 401K, its a 403B.

I need help, because I haven't got the slightest clue as what to do. I'm not familiar with any of the jargon or anything and I don't want to end up doing foolish things. 

So I gotta choose between Vanguard or TIAA-CREF.  I searched a little bit, and found that most people lean towards Vanguard.

I am currently only a 50% FTE at my job.  How do I go about putting money towards my retirement and what percentage of my salary should I put away?  I still have rent to pay for as well as some debts, and I plan on saving money for a house.

Anybody got any tips? Advice? Anything will help.

Thanks in advance.

 

[tee eye ehm]

Ok, so your boy recently got a job with health benefits and retirement benefits. I work at a University so instead of a 401K, its a 403B.

I need help, because I haven't got the slightest clue as what to do. I'm not familiar with any of the jargon or anything and I don't want to end up doing foolish things. 

So I gotta choose between Vanguard or TIAA-CREF.  I searched a little bit, and found that most people lean towards Vanguard.

I am currently only a 50% FTE at my job.  How do I go about putting money towards my retirement and what percentage of my salary should I put away?  I still have rent to pay for as well as some debts, and I plan on saving money for a house.

Anybody got any tips? Advice? Anything will help.

Thanks in advance.

 

[2seatport]

I don't know a whole lot either, but from what I know Vanguard funds tend to reflect the stock market as a whole, and thus are pretty steady.  Not too familiar with TIAA-CREF.

A good start is 10-15% of your paychecks.  The way I am going to go is to put my savings in the most liquid mutual funds possible, and buy real estate once i see a good deal.  Once house prices start to go back up on the upswing, hopefully whatever property I have will gain value faster than any type of mutual fund would accrue.

 

[2seatport]

I don't know a whole lot either, but from what I know Vanguard funds tend to reflect the stock market as a whole, and thus are pretty steady.  Not too familiar with TIAA-CREF.

A good start is 10-15% of your paychecks.  The way I am going to go is to put my savings in the most liquid mutual funds possible, and buy real estate once i see a good deal.  Once house prices start to go back up on the upswing, hopefully whatever property I have will gain value faster than any type of mutual fund would accrue.

 

[dathbgboy]

Originally Posted by 2SeatPort

I don't know a whole lot either, but from what I know Vanguard funds tend to reflect the stock market as a whole, and thus are pretty steady.  Not too familiar with TIAA-CREF.

A good start is 10-15% of your paychecks.  The way I am going to go is to put my savings in the most liquid mutual funds possible, and buy real estate once i see a good deal.  Once house prices start to go back up on the upswing, hopefully whatever property I have will gain value faster than any type of mutual fund would accrue.

I was thinking of doin the same thing once I got my debt situated. Once I pay off my two credit cards, I'm goin to start investin in some IRAs and look into some ETAs as well. 

 

[dathbgboy]

Originally Posted by 2SeatPort

I don't know a whole lot either, but from what I know Vanguard funds tend to reflect the stock market as a whole, and thus are pretty steady.  Not too familiar with TIAA-CREF.

A good start is 10-15% of your paychecks.  The way I am going to go is to put my savings in the most liquid mutual funds possible, and buy real estate once i see a good deal.  Once house prices start to go back up on the upswing, hopefully whatever property I have will gain value faster than any type of mutual fund would accrue.

I was thinking of doin the same thing once I got my debt situated. Once I pay off my two credit cards, I'm goin to start investin in some IRAs and look into some ETAs as well. 

 

[i rock jordanz]

Originally Posted by Dathbgboy

Originally Posted by 2SeatPort

I don't know a whole lot either, but from what I know Vanguard funds tend to reflect the stock market as a whole, and thus are pretty steady.  Not too familiar with TIAA-CREF.

A good start is 10-15% of your paychecks.  The way I am going to go is to put my savings in the most liquid mutual funds possible, and buy real estate once i see a good deal.  Once house prices start to go back up on the upswing, hopefully whatever property I have will gain value faster than any type of mutual fund would accrue.

I was thinking of doin the same thing once I got my debt situated. Once I pay off my two credit cards, I'm goin to start investin in some IRAs and look into some ETAs as well. 

If your company does a match. I would contribute the max. The power of compounding interest and time is what makes 401 Ks. I drop 6% and my company matches so that is 12% of my salary going into retirement. If you are in your 20s I wouldn't mess with fixed funds or bonds.  It's go to have a diversified portfolio w/ combination of large, small cap, and real estate stocks. 
Can't go wrong w/ IRAs.  

 

[i rock jordanz]

Originally Posted by Dathbgboy

Originally Posted by 2SeatPort

I don't know a whole lot either, but from what I know Vanguard funds tend to reflect the stock market as a whole, and thus are pretty steady.  Not too familiar with TIAA-CREF.

A good start is 10-15% of your paychecks.  The way I am going to go is to put my savings in the most liquid mutual funds possible, and buy real estate once i see a good deal.  Once house prices start to go back up on the upswing, hopefully whatever property I have will gain value faster than any type of mutual fund would accrue.

I was thinking of doin the same thing once I got my debt situated. Once I pay off my two credit cards, I'm goin to start investin in some IRAs and look into some ETAs as well. 

If your company does a match. I would contribute the max. The power of compounding interest and time is what makes 401 Ks. I drop 6% and my company matches so that is 12% of my salary going into retirement. If you are in your 20s I wouldn't mess with fixed funds or bonds.  It's go to have a diversified portfolio w/ combination of large, small cap, and real estate stocks. 
Can't go wrong w/ IRAs.  

 

[i rock jordanz]

For those that invest in 401ks. How did you guys do on your investments for 2010? I had a Rate of return of 12%. I am hoping I can keep pace for 2011.

 

[i rock jordanz]

For those that invest in 401ks. How did you guys do on your investments for 2010? I had a Rate of return of 12%. I am hoping I can keep pace for 2011.

 

[yanks7384]

Originally Posted by i rock jordanz

For those that invest in 401ks. How did you guys do on your investments for 2010? I had a Rate of return of 12%. I am hoping I can keep pace for 2011.

i had about 16% for the year.  hopefully it continues, but i know that's not the norm.

 

[yanks7384]

Originally Posted by i rock jordanz

For those that invest in 401ks. How did you guys do on your investments for 2010? I had a Rate of return of 12%. I am hoping I can keep pace for 2011.

i had about 16% for the year.  hopefully it continues, but i know that's not the norm.

 

[frankmatthews]

If your employer matches then contribute their max contribution, no more, no less. But be sure and check the stipulations of your plan. And i'd recommend staying away from real estate atm. Every other asset class has seen significant gains in the last couple years except real estate and with interest rates as low as they are there is no other catalyst to change this short of a massive reduction of unemployment, even then....? There is way to much inventory out there. Real estate being the driver of our economy over the past 60-70 years, this doesn't bode well for the US going forward. The recession is not over, I think we will see another massive drop in not only real estate but equities as well. But if you are young you will probablly be able to wait it out. I think it is really F'd up that every single american's retirement is based on the valuation of public companies. Tangible assets are the way to go.

 

[frankmatthews]

If your employer matches then contribute their max contribution, no more, no less. But be sure and check the stipulations of your plan. And i'd recommend staying away from real estate atm. Every other asset class has seen significant gains in the last couple years except real estate and with interest rates as low as they are there is no other catalyst to change this short of a massive reduction of unemployment, even then....? There is way to much inventory out there. Real estate being the driver of our economy over the past 60-70 years, this doesn't bode well for the US going forward. The recession is not over, I think we will see another massive drop in not only real estate but equities as well. But if you are young you will probablly be able to wait it out. I think it is really F'd up that every single american's retirement is based on the valuation of public companies. Tangible assets are the way to go.

 

[crcballer55]

First, pay off your debts.  After that, your money will go much farther with your retirement investing. 

Once you are able to invest, try to contribute up to the max that your employer will match (if they do).  I would then open a Roth IRA and contribute at least 10-15% of my check into that.  If you contribute $100/mo. from 18-65 at historic market averages, you'll have over $1 million for retirement.

 

[crcballer55]

First, pay off your debts.  After that, your money will go much farther with your retirement investing. 

Once you are able to invest, try to contribute up to the max that your employer will match (if they do).  I would then open a Roth IRA and contribute at least 10-15% of my check into that.  If you contribute $100/mo. from 18-65 at historic market averages, you'll have over $1 million for retirement.

 

[kingtre]

contribute max - i missed out on alot of money early on at my new job cause i never did this

but for better advice both companies as well as your HRM dept should have something where you can set up one on one consultations and they will direct it to the best investments for you -

you fill out paperwork with your hrm to get the contributions started then you meet up with whatever firm you choose and allocate that money to different funds

also i suggest just doing it right off the bat...you will never miss the money from your paychecks...if you wait and use the money for this or that instead you will just be missing out on "free $" and will just keep putting it off cause something ALWAYS comes up where you could use a extra $100 or whatever...just do it now and pretend thats not even part of your check

 

[kingtre]

contribute max - i missed out on alot of money early on at my new job cause i never did this

but for better advice both companies as well as your HRM dept should have something where you can set up one on one consultations and they will direct it to the best investments for you -

you fill out paperwork with your hrm to get the contributions started then you meet up with whatever firm you choose and allocate that money to different funds

also i suggest just doing it right off the bat...you will never miss the money from your paychecks...if you wait and use the money for this or that instead you will just be missing out on "free $" and will just keep putting it off cause something ALWAYS comes up where you could use a extra $100 or whatever...just do it now and pretend thats not even part of your check

 

[reigndrop]

put in at least what your employer matches.

vanguard funds suck and the only reason why people invest in them is because they're cheap. that being said, not familiar with other fund provider, so try and do a 50/50 sp500 fund and an international index fund.

for those interested in opening a roth ira, look into Royce funds. they're a small/micro cap boutique with great returns. it may be volatile, but i assume the majority of NT is relatively young, so volatility won't hurt.

 

[reigndrop]

put in at least what your employer matches.

vanguard funds suck and the only reason why people invest in them is because they're cheap. that being said, not familiar with other fund provider, so try and do a 50/50 sp500 fund and an international index fund.

for those interested in opening a roth ira, look into Royce funds. they're a small/micro cap boutique with great returns. it may be volatile, but i assume the majority of NT is relatively young, so volatility won't hurt.

 

[4wrestling]

My company matches 100% for the first 3% and then 50% for the next 3%.  So I contribute 6% and they match 4.5% giving me a total of 10.5%.  I know I should probably contribute more than 6%, but with buying a home and car in the past year, I've had bills I need to pay.

I just checked my 2010 statement, and my rate of return was 18.1%.  Pretty awesome year I guess.

 

[4wrestling]

My company matches 100% for the first 3% and then 50% for the next 3%.  So I contribute 6% and they match 4.5% giving me a total of 10.5%.  I know I should probably contribute more than 6%, but with buying a home and car in the past year, I've had bills I need to pay.

I just checked my 2010 statement, and my rate of return was 18.1%.  Pretty awesome year I guess.

 

[kingtre]

almost forgot the best part, aside from the match, this is coming out of your check PRETAX so your keeping more of your money as well as lowering your tax liability on your salary

so that $100 is being taken out before taxes plus being matched and added onto (in most cases) by your employer - if left in your check youd only see a portion of that $100 depending on your tax bracket and youd be losing out on the match

 

[kingtre]

almost forgot the best part, aside from the match, this is coming out of your check PRETAX so your keeping more of your money as well as lowering your tax liability on your salary

so that $100 is being taken out before taxes plus being matched and added onto (in most cases) by your employer - if left in your check youd only see a portion of that $100 depending on your tax bracket and youd be losing out on the match

 

[letitshine24]

working at a major bank in citibank, i diversified by profolio with stock options as well as 401k. about 4%, which is all they match.