F 69, I have a small 401k that only has $87k as of today. Last month it was $94k. I’m no longer contributing, and have not taken any distributions. Im on SS getting $1600/mo after my Medicare is auto paid. I’m thinking that given the financial atmosphere, I may as well take the tax hit, withdraw the entirety and put it all in CDs. Please give me your opinion. Thank you in advance.

I POSTED IN ANOTHER SUB, and kept getting “Don’t sell now; it’ll come” or “ Don’t sell low” but If I am no longer contributing, the losses I may suffer in coming months will never recover, will they? If so, please explain. —Hence my question about taking the tax hit, and putting into cd’s. Thanks for all your help.

Kid #1 has 2 semesters left, and his 529 account is empty.. It hit $0 last semester.

Kid #2 has 5 semesters left, her 529 is over-funded because she went to a very inexpensive community college her first two years. There is probably enough money in her account to cover all expenses for both kid#1 and kid#2.

So with that remaining 529 account, can I switch the beneficiary back and forth and back and forth to cover both kids qualified education costs?

I have put $250 into a ROTH IRA through Schwab where it is currently sitting uninvested. I plan on contributing $50-100 each month. I am wanting to invest in a diversified portfolio, but am not sure what to start with and would love some tips.

My 401(k) gets 5.3% of my income for roughly ~$200 each month invested in my work’s Target Fund for 2065, which has had a rate of return of 19% over all (but is not doing good rn as you can imagine but will hopefully bounce back). Unfortunately my work doesn’t currently do matching.

We inherited a beneficiary IRA with about 180K balance (parent passed away) We have an account with Vanguard for our taxable account (VTSAX) and Roth IRAs (VTSAX). Looks like we have two options open an inherited IRA with VTSAX at vanguard (which we will take out smaller amount each year and transfer to taxable accounts). Or take out a lump Sum. If we do that option we will put the lump sum In our taxable account and purchase more VTSAX immediately or when we think the market is close to done with current hemorrhage.

We will not jump up into another tax bracket taking the lump sum (maybe from 22%-24%) is there any reason not to just take the lump Sum.

We are maxing out some pre tax options we have. We have 403(B) 457(B) solo 401(k). One issue I see with lump sum is that we already contributed to our roths which we would likely need to change to back door roths.

Can anyone offer some guidance on how we should proceed or the benefits to one option or the other.

Have a senior graduating from high school.. her 529 plan is getting a bit beaten up in the market... and while this is going to be used for semi-annual tuition fee payments starting fall this year... I wonder if I should reallocate the funds within the 529 to a one tied to the bond market (like the Vanguard COre Bond Portfolio) https://investor.vanguard.com/accounts-plans/529-plans/profile/w427

At least for the next 12 months until the world figures out each countries response to the new world order...

Thoughts?

I 29M am making $34.52hr and contributing 25% of my gross income to a 401k through my employer. I have no debts, own my car, a low milage Corolla. I currently have about $49,000 in a money market savings account. Try to add at least $500 to that every month.

The money market account contains my emergency savings and I was planning to use a large chunk of it for a down payment on a house. For several reasons I have decided to keep renting for the time being ($1,070/month rent).

I am not impressed by the interest I am gaining on the money market account, only 0.25%/month interest by my calculation. What would be a better interest but still liquid option for my emergency fund? Should I invest some of this money? What is fairly safe but high return investment?

Hi,

I’m 40 and my husband is 37 years old. We are trying to make smart choices and save and invest wisely. We both come from backgrounds with single moms raising children who lived paycheck to paycheck so have done a lot of reading, studying and learning about financial management and budgeting (always open to feedback and helpful suggestions)!

Combined income: $310k annually (net each month, after taxes/insurance/401k contributions- take home is $11,000)

Debt: Mortgage (we owe $590k and our home is worth approximately $900k) - this is the only debt that we have. Our monthly mortgage payment for principal, taxes and interest is $4300. We pay a monthly HOA fee as well and building insurance on top of this.

Emergency Fund: We have $60k saved in a HYSA account that we do not touch and is in tact for emergencies like job loss, etc. This is about 8 months of living expenses for us. We contribute $1000 to this account each month.

Investments: $275k combined in our 401ks (I am currently contributing 12% of my pretax income and my husband is contributing 8% - we each get a modest company match). I am in S&P 500 and VOO. Not planning on logging in to check my account balances anytime soon :)

My husband works at a start up and has been granted equity but my understanding is that this would only matter if the company was to go public.

Car: Paid cash for a modest certified, pre-owned small SUV

We live in an expensive area. We try to budget and manage our lifestyle so we can pay all of our bills, invest and save, but still also can travel and live life. Our monthly net income is $11,000 and we spend about $8-9k a month on mortgage, groceries/food, cell phones, wifi, utilities, transportation, our pets, etc.

My question is - would you do anything differently? If we continue to contribute and invest for the next 20 years, will we be able to comfortably retire in our early 60s?

Thank you for reading!

Long story short- I have a simple savings account for my daughter that I put $200 in a month. Fine and dandy, but I’d like to put the money somewhere that’ll earn more for her, as this money won’t be hers until she’s 21/25.

My hope for this money is to be used to be a down payment on a house for her. Her dad is 100% disabled veteran, so her college will be paid for. I’ve seen a lot of accounts for college funds, but that’s just not needed for us.

I am new to the whole investing scene. I have my own TSP and another retirement fund, but I don’t know much more outside of that. Any advice would be very appreciated!

Hi all, I’m a 30F with about $145k in savings and no debt. I currently make just under $70k/yr and am fortunate to not pay monthly rent. My expenses come out to roughly $600/month. Initially, I had majority of my savings split between 2 HYSAs, however, after the Fed cut interest rates drastically in the last few months, I decided to put majority of my savings into a CD. Below is a breakdown of how I’ve allocated my savings: 

• $115k = CD at 4.5% interest rate (14-month term)
• $20k = HYSA at 3.75% interest rate

The remainder of my savings are split across a few checking accounts for emergencies. I contribute 5% to a 401k account and receive an 8% match by my employer. I can manage to save about $30k with my current salary. Earlier this year, I was interested in learning more about investing but given how volatile the market is right now, I’ve been a bit more hesitant. Any suggestions on how to maximize my current savings? Any source of information and/or tips would be very helpful – thanking you all in advance!

I’m 40, finally earning well after a late start — but now I’m trying to catch up fast. I want to be truly wealthy by 50.

Current situation:

• Income: $210K base + up to 30% bonus . I bring home approximately 10,000 a month after taxes. My fixed expense are at 5300 (and we are working diligently to bring these down).
• Debt: $84K (student loans + car)
• Rent: $2,500/month, no home ownership
• Kid: One child I want to help with college
• Assets:
  • $30K in 401k
  • $30K in IRA (I plan to invest with this amount)
  • $20K in investments
• Savings: Still low — I made $10.50/hr in retail until age 32
• No credit card debt

Based on past jumps, I expect my salary to rise, but I want to plan based on $210K only — anything more is a bonus.

What would you do in my shoes to build real wealth by 50?

I (retired, mid-sixties), like most people, am not very happy with the recent market decline. I'm not panicking, as we have a good amount of fixed assets that will take care of expenses over the next several years. Essentially, our stock portfolio is money that we will need 10+ years out. The question I have is, is this a good time for a Roth conversion? Perhaps make multiple small conversions during the year rather than a large one towards year-end, as I had been planning. Also, any thoughts on the right assets to convert, obviously equities, but should I focus on the biggest losers (S&P, Small stock..)? This would be an in-kind conversion, so I don't plan to liquidate any assets. Appreciate any insight.

I work a 10/hr job working at a smoothie shop I earn 500 every paycheck and I have trouble saving it as a teen my parents are also charging 50 a week for gas 100 for groceries and other utilities. In total it's 290 it's hard for me to save money and I want advice on how to better manage my money

Just like the title states should I convert now? I am planning to convert to Roth then rebuy the same mutual funds. I’m worried about RMDs so if I covert now I pay less taxes when eventually everything goes up.

And yes I don’t need it in 5 years and will only convert some so I won’t go over my current tax bracket.

I appreciate your feedback.

Edited for clarification. It’s actually not 401k. They are 401k already rolled over to traditional IRA to convert to ROTH. I just didn’t want a very long title putting Traditional IRA instead of 401k.

I know cars are not an investment and should be treated as low on the priority list. As a car guy I do want to get my dream car before I’m too old to enjoy it, while also being financially secure. I’m 25 married, and still in school so we haven’t been able to pay off debt, get an emergency fund, or invest yet. However I also want to save for my dream car about 70k. Is putting a large chunk of money aside each month to save up for that ok to do as long as bills are paid and some goes to retirement? After graduation our anticipated combined income will be about 100k

Hello M(25) I need some advice! I am looking to finance a vehicle, I have $3500 saved up for a down payment and my old truck to trade in as well that they should get around $1000. In the end $4500 down. My significant other is going to co-sign for me seeing she has 772 credit, and mine is lower 600s. My issue is I work a tip based job. I make $600 a week in direct deposit, and another $600 on average in tips totaling out to $1200 a week. I will only have proof of the $600/week. Im looking to finance a car around $18,000-20,000, does anyone know if it will be possible. Thank you I’m advance, and any advice will be greatly appreciated!

I (18M) started studying in college and working as soon as I became 18. At the end of each month, I have an excess of about 100 dollars (maybe not much in the US, but is considered a good amount here in my middle eastern country) that I'm ready to invest (or lose). What would be the best use for this small amount. Crypto, S&P 500, gold, stocks or anything else? I want something that wont take more than 1 hour max a day from me as I have to work go to college and also study.

I have an opportunity to move up from my current role from Hourly to Salary, to be making $63,000 no OT pay but still doing an average of 15 hours of OT but my question is should I stay Hourly at $25/hr since I average 15 hours of on call/OT, and if my math is correct on salary I’m looking at $2423 bi weekly and on hourly with OT pay I’m looking at $2562.50 bi weekly, all before taxes. So should I stay hourly or move up to salary?

I just started investing in VOO not long ago. I only put in $50 a month right now since my finances are kinda tight but I want to get started with investing nonetheless. With stocks down, would it be a good idea to put in a bit extra right now with the expectation that it'll eventually go back up?

hi all. my mom is a single mom who works an hourly rate job just a bit over minimum wage. she has been working many years and has a 401k/403b- she’s not retiring for another few years- advice for her for the market right now? please keep in mind she knows nothing about stocks/finances…a lot in her generation grew up very naive to it…TIA just trying to help her out here where I can

I’m 51 and mostly in aggressive and certainly don’t plan on changing that now that the market is down. Im excited to gobble up more shares!! I max it out ever year and my company has an unlimited 50% match. My question is as I do get closer to retirement and I start to be less aggressive what happens to all the shares I’ve purchased in the aggressive funds. Do I sell them and buy less aggressive funds? Is that a taxable event? Or do they just stay in those funds and ride the volatility of the market?

Also how does one spend their 401k in retirement?

Hello everyone.

Recently got a small inheritance, that is at Morgan Stanley. (of course the crazy politics/stock market stuff has been going on.. which has sorta made me focus on learning more about this stuff and potentially making smart moves here)

When I log into account. most of the stuff doesnt even make sense to me?

* Difference between market value vs total costs (what was put in..vs what it is now perhaps?)
* Stock Options have been slightly up/down
* Mutual Funds have been tanking really bad.. like 10% loss every time I logged in (basically losing thousands!)

* What are the fees to cash out these stocks at Morgan Stanely (anyone know?)
* What is better thing to do with these 'mutual funds' in this inherited account?
* Doing (just a little) searching here... doesnt seem like Morgan Stanley is a place many people like? (support? fees??)
* Are there (not sure if correct references) IRA/CD..etc.. where the money sits (untouchable) but has a decent interest rate...... are there any that do 10%? I see most do about '5%' (but was just general searching without any real end point to look for/at)
* Any other default suggestions/recommendations to a newbie with inheritance at Morgan Stanley? (beginner stuff?)

Thanks.. appreciate all positive feedback!

We have around 130k in liquid savings with a goal to pay off our newish mortgage in the next few years, which is 330k and 7% interest.

Our options are to REFINANCE for $3,700 fee at a 6.1% rate, RECAST for $250 with $65,000, or keep it in a HYS to accrue money until we have enough saved to really make a dent in the monthly payment or the interest rates fall more.

We have a blended family with 6 total mouths to feed in this house and a varying income for my fiancé and I. With the current climate I am afraid to lock up too much of our savings in the house due to the possibility of a housing market crash and the tariffs which may greatly effect my partners future income.

Any advice is appreciated!

I've only had a 401k for about 6 years, and have close to $100k across 3 different 401k accounts.

But I don't know if my sole portfolio is enough for both my wife and I.

Earlier a friend and I had a discussion where we had a disagreement of how much money is needed for retirement.

We both agreed that $10k in spendings a month is plenty for a comfortable lifestyle for today’s standards. So that comes out to $120k a year.

This is where the disagreement comes. Retirement is something that is roughly 30 years away for me. So I say that I need to adjust that amount for future inflation based on past inflation and apply the 4% rule for the total retirement account balance.

I recalled that inflation is roughly 4% historically and my friend said to use 10% because that was the high during the pandemic and it could be likely that inflation continues at that rate.

We have two values now for $120k adjusted for 30 year inflation.

4% -> $389,207.70

10% -> $2,093,928.27

Now we apply the 4% rule

To withdraw $389,207.70 from a retirement account you’d need $9,730,192.50 at the time of retirement.

For the high amount of $2,093,928.27 it would be $52,348,206.80.

My friend says that both values are too much for a retirement. Where I believe it is reasonable when considering inflation.

The conflict is that my friend says my math is wrong and that $3 million is plenty for a retirement in the future allowing to withdraw $120k yearly based on the 4% rule.

My argument is that would be based on a retirement of this year and does not factor inflation for 30 years when I anticipate that I will retire.

I would like more input if the math should be corrected.

I’m currently employed at a company where I’ve worked for 15 years, earning $80k/year. With bonuses, my total compensation was $193k in 2024. Recently, I’ve been interviewing with another company offering $160k/year plus bonuses. While my current job is stable, I’m concerned about the company’s direction and recent management changes that have increased my daily stress and hindered my work.

The industry I’m in is evolving rapidly, leading to uncertainties about job security. In the prospective company, there’s a risk of organizational changes affecting personnel. However, they have a policy of retaining employees by finding suitable positions within the organization and emphasize internal promotions and skill utilization.

I’m considering this new position not just for the pay increase, but as a strategic move to advance my career and open more opportunities in the future. Given the potential for an economic downturn, is now a prudent time to make a career change?