Old folks with experience (retirement stuff)

[rayporter]

for three years before i retired i kept a budget and i knew where every penny was going.

this made it a lot easier when planning my retirement.

 

[AKBC]

I think you are asking if you should continue to pinch pennies for your retirement 25 years from now or can you start spending a bit more on discretionary items/adventures.

It seems to me that between your 401K contributions and your wife's pension/401K you are well-positioned for retirement. My advice would be to continue what you are doing and as you accrue a little extra money - live a little. Have adventures with your family while your kids are young, get a camper, or a boat, take them on trips, or buy recreational property.

We aren't guaranteed to live to retirement and I don't subscribe to the notion that we should be slaves when young so that we don't have to work at all when we turn 60 or 65.

 

[Werty]

Look into self directed roth

 

[roadrunner]

What do you mean by you've maxed out your 401K after 11 years of working? If you're talking about the annual contribution, then anything else the remainder of the year is going to be an unqualified account for tax exemption (somebody mentioned a Roth).

If you're maxing out your contribution with a 9% match on top of that, which depends on whether it's dollar for dollar, or a percentage per dollar (75%, 50%, etc.) and you already have an invested savings account for future college help for the kiddos, and you're fairly young still, you sir, are WAY ahead of the game.

As mentioned, look at what other options are available through your employer, again, a Health Saving Account (HSA) or a Roth 401K program.

The caveat is, however, the money safe is left above ground when you're 6 feet under. Don't get so wrapped up in save, save, save for a (retirement) event you may never get to experience since we're all mortal and have a set number of days. If you're living by the 50/30/20 or 50/20/30 principle(s), there is nothing left to overthink.

 

[SDHNTR]

Why guess? And why ask hunters on an Internet forum for financial advice? A good financial advisor/planner will earn his fee and then some. A formal, written financial plan will eliminate guesswork. Rather than relying on what someone else has done, or some silly “rule of thumb”, you’ll have the peace of mind knowing that you are doing exactly what you need to do for your own unique financial circumstances. No two patients going to the doctor are the same. This is the same concept here. What anyone else is doing or has done, is of zero import to you. You are unique. Find a trusted professional to walk you through the retirement planning process and develop a plan you can refer back to. You will have real quantified figures to work with, instead of just hope. You’ll know exactly how much you need to save, and where and how. You’ll know exactly how much you should spend, and from where and how. Don’t shoot from the hip.

Yes, I do this for a living. And seeing people jeopardize their financial well-being by seeking generic advice on the internet is just asking for trouble. Do it right. It’s a serious matter.

 

[92xj]

What do you mean by you've maxed out your 401K after 11 years of working? If you're talking about the annual contribution, then anything else the remainder of the year is going to be an unqualified account for tax exemption (somebody mentioned a Roth).

If you're maxing out your contribution with a 9% match on top of that, which depends on whether it's dollar for dollar, or a percentage per dollar (75%, 50%, etc.) and you already have an invested savings account for future college help for the kiddos, and you're fairly young still, you sir, are WAY ahead of the game.

As mentioned, look at what other options are available through your employer, again, a Health Saving Account (HSA) or a Roth 401K program.

The caveat is, however, the money safe is left above ground when you're 6 feet under. Don't get so wrapped up in save, save, save for a (retirement) event you may never get to experience since we're all mortal and have a set number of days. If you're living by the 50/30/20 or 50/20/30 principle(s), there is nothing left to overthink.

Maxed out as in the amount an employee can contribute per year; 19.5k
My employer contributes 9% of my salary to my 401k, but that figure is well below the plans employer+employee contribution max of 58k combined,

KIds, ages 3 and 5, had 529s set up the beginning of this year, those accounts get $200 a month into each one.

Each year of my career I have bumped up the amount I contribute as I can. Now, this year, I was able to make it to the max (19.5 per year) amount. With 25 years of working left to go, I was curious if folks would open more accounts to put that 1%-3% of their salary into (like I was doing with the 401K), or can I dump that into savings, saving half of it and blowing the other half on family fun/hunting/etc.

We do have an emergency savings fund to cover months of expenses.
We have no loans besides mortgage.
Refinanced this January into a 15year at 2%, paying an additional 300 making it an 11 year loan. Should be paid off when the oldest is starting her senior year of high school.

We have family plans/dreams of buying a piece of property in the next 5 years to recreate on. I really want to increase the contribution to that savings account each month to hopefully buy it quicker or a larger piece but do not want to sacrifice living the life/dream while in retirement. So, I guess ultimately my question is should I invest the annual, lets say 3%, from here on out in a additional savings/investing for retirement account, or am I good on retirement planning and am able to put that yearly increase into my play fund for hopefully a land purchase one day?

PS - thank you everyone for your responses and PMs.

 

[Jskaanland]

Maxed out as in the amount an employee can contribute per year; 19.5k
My employer contributes 9% of my salary to my 401k, but that figure is well below the plans employer+employee contribution max of 58k combined,

KIds, ages 3 and 5, had 529s set up the beginning of this year, those accounts get $200 a month into each one.

Each year of my career I have bumped up the amount I contribute as I can. Now, this year, I was able to make it to the max (19.5 per year) amount. With 25 years of working left to go, I was curious if folks would open more accounts to put that 1%-3% of their salary into (like I was doing with the 401K), or can I dump that into savings, saving half of it and blowing the other half on family fun/hunting/etc.

We do have an emergency savings fund to cover months of expenses.
We have no loans besides mortgage.
Refinanced this January into a 15year at 2%, paying an additional 300 making it an 11 year loan. Should be paid off when the oldest is starting her senior year of high school.

We have family plans/dreams of buying a piece of property in the next 5 years to recreate on. I really want to increase the contribution to that savings account each month to hopefully buy it quicker or a larger piece but do not want to sacrifice living the life/dream while in retirement. So, I guess ultimately my question is should I invest the annual, lets say 3%, from here on out in a additional savings/investing for retirement account, or am I good on retirement planning and am able to put that yearly increase into my play fund for hopefully a land purchase one day?

PS - thank you everyone for your responses and PMs.

You need to start by buying your own spotter, then more gear that I can come over and borrow.

 

[browning2480]

Is your 401k a traditional? If so, I follow Dave’s advice to use that to my company match, but then put everything else above that in a separate Roth IRA. This helps to gain that tax free growth

 

[92xj]

Is your 401k a traditional? If so, I follow Dave’s advice to use that to my company match, but then put everything else above that in a separate Roth IRA. This helps to gain that tax free growth

Yes, it is a traditional.
Will look into the Roth IRA

 

[92xj]

You need to start by buying your own spotter, then more gear that I can come over and borrow.

With your cash flow I ought to start charging your rental fees.

Also your spotter With @Tanya Avery engraved on it was cute.

I hope I’m not letting the cat of the bag that you have it now and not Ryan.

as the world turns…

 

[roadrunner]

Yes, it is a traditional.
Will look into the Roth IRA

Land is a better investment for a second or even third growth vehicle (you mentioned land to recreate on). Understandingly, a Roth is attractive with its post tax investment and growth. None of us have a crystal ball, be nice if we did. Is the value of your invested dollar 25 years from now going to be worth what it is now? Something to consider...

Don't get wrapped up being invested too much into money bearing accounts that have rules (penalty withdrawals). If you are stable in your employment where you are with no worry about it quitting you, like I said, you are light years ahead of many on this forum.

There is nothing wrong with enjoying life a little...

 

[Jskaanland]

With your cash flow I ought to start charging your rental fees.

Also your spotter With @Tanya Avery engraved on it was cute.

I hope I’m not letting the cat of the bag that you have it now and not Ryan.

as the world turns…

Hey anything for a good deal, stollen or otherwise.

Side note, thanks for the Luekotape. I ordered a 2 pack off Amazon and will give you one.

 

[Tanya Avery]

With your cash flow I ought to start charging your rental fees.

Also your spotter With @Tanya Avery engraved on it was cute.

I hope I’m not letting the cat of the bag that you have it now and not Ryan.

as the world turns…

Is him having ‘The Boss’ spotter supposed to be a secret? I’m confused…But, good idea on the rental fee…

 

[homers]

Max out ROTH 401k invested in low cost S&P 500 mutual fund. Roth has so many advantages over traditional especially for those with many year to go before retirement.

 

[Jskaanland]

Is him having ‘The Boss’ spotter supposed to be a secret? I’m confused…But, good idea on the rental fee…

Not a secret, my friends just ask when I changed my name to Tanya!

Also you know you borrow your friend's stuff too much when you use memes to ask to borrow their stuff, just to make them laugh enough to say yes! Luckily I got a few good friends that put up with it(including @92xj letting me grab his chrono). I'm glad I could come through for him once with "The Boss".


PS, a Roth IRA gives you some flexibility and may be something to look at. We max ours annually. I've seen Roths listed as owners on property on ONX plenty of times.

 

[SDHNTR]

The Roth (be it IRA or 401k) is sure getting tossed around here like it’s the silver bullet for everyone. It may or may not be your best option. You may be better off in a Traditional and getting the tax deduction now. Many may also not qualify to do both a traditional and Roth, or even a Roth IRA at all. Know what you are getting into people. Mistakes that have to get unwound years from now can be incredibly costly.

 

[svivian]

The Roth (be it IRA or 401k) is sure getting tossed around here like it’s the silver bullet for everyone. It may or may not be your best option. You may be better off in a Traditional and getting the tax deduction now. Many may also not qualify to do both a traditional and Roth. Know what you are getting into people. Mistakes that have to get unwound years from now can be incredibly costly.

Yes it depends on your income level at the time of contribution. Its only beneficial if you are in a lower tax bracket to contribute to a Roth as it is pre taxed. But if you are in a high tax bracket it may be better to use a traditional where you will be taxed at time of withdrawal when you might be in a lower bracket. As you said it depends on each individual and nothing can be generalized...

 

[HoneyDew]

I’m a similar age to you. It depends how much you make (more complicated as a married couple). I target 20% “retirement” contributions annually. I exclude social security in that calculation because I expect that to fail by the time we are eligible. Obvious options decrease once you’re making more than $105k jointly (traditional IRA phase out) and $$198K jointly (ROTH IRA phase out). But general priorities:
-credit card debt
-401K to receive employer match
- at least 6 months expenses (I recommend 12)
-ROTH IRA to max annual contribution (if eligible)
-401K to max annual contribution
-general investment account if still haven’t reached target retirement contribution %

If you are contributing 15-20% of your joint income to retirement vehicles then you are way ahead of most people and the remaining income is yours to do with as you please (spend, save, kids college funds, whatever). The two areas I caution you are on the pension and kids college funds. This may be hard but really think about how much you trust that pension to be around in 25 years. Also kids college funds are great but not at the expense of your retirement. Your kids have time on their side you don’t so don’t save for them unless you have your financials in a great place. And by the sound of it you may so great job and don’t be afraid to live a little once you have everything in place.

 

[WDE91]

Three of the biggest unknowns in retirement are taxes, inflation and health.

I'm a fan of tax diversification with a traditional 401K and a Roth IRA.

 

[MikeyJG62]

Eat your desert now.
it sounds like you are in very good financial shape and based on your commitment to investing and saving, you should not have any issues by the time you retire. It is important that you enjoy life now while your children are young. It’s important to make memories now. You never know what the future will hold. My buddy went out duck hunting last year, had a heart attack and died before help could arrive. He was in his mid 50’s. I finally met with a financial planner last year, and he explained the 3 stages you go through when you retire:
the can do stage
the slow down stage
the can’t do stage
Right now you aren’t anywhere near those stages, but it is something to think about. That 1-3%, if it were me now, I would throw it towards enjoying life with your family. Now, I’m don’t know you, you may be doing that already. But I look back on my life, and I wish I would’ve spent more time with my 3 girls instead of constantly worrying about when I’m in my 50’s60’s70’s.

Don‘t let financial planning and saving control your life. Enjoy life now.