HI, 29 and have some ?'s

[iaconelli12]

Hi all, just a few questions..

I have a 401k with Fidelity and 5% company match. I have had it for about 3 years and currently sitting at around $10,500 with a "loan" i took for down payment on a house for $5000 (currently paid back about $1000 of that already) and plan to purchase a house in the spring/summer.

So, My question is as of now it seems my stock asset balance is around 65% Domestic (company stock) 0% International, and 28% Bonds and 7% Short-Term.

I was looking into moving into International with most likely a Fidelity Freedom 2035 plan.

I am hoping I can somehow retire around the age of 55, I know its probably a far stretch but I would like to atleast strive for it.

I was wondering if going into the international market with lets say approx 25% would be a good start?

Also, My first question should really be. how does it all work? Am I supposed to go into the international market and literally leave it there untill I retire or am I supposed to wait for it to go "up" and then "sell it"??

I guess I really dont understand the whole 401k process and would like some guidence and maybe even a good easy read book that you could recommend?

Thank you all in advance for your time and help and sorry if this question is way to noob. Thanks

and if this is not a long shot, what are "average" 401k accounts worth after 25-30years of investing in them? Like mine now is about 3 years old and including my loan It is worth approx $15000. So whats to be expected on an "average" of 25-30 years? Thanks


-Ike

 

[travelover]

Congratulations on starting early. Here is a reading list that is a good start. I particularly like the Boglehead's books. Check your library or buy cheap used online.

Investment Books

Big picture - many of us here set an asset allocation between stock and bonds, with breakdowns within each category (US, foreign, emerging markets, small cap, large cap, TIPs etc). Then we just let it ride with yearly adjustments.

At its simplest, you need about 25 times your yearly expenses invested to retire. You can use an online calculator to figure out how much you need to save yearly, taking into account investment earnings and inflation (projected).

 

[MasterBlaster]

For a quick look at asset allocation models, take a look at Scott Burns "Lazy - couch potato" portfolios. He uses index funds and divides the portfolio into separate designated asset classes.

AssetBuilder Inc. - Registered Investment Advisor- Couch Potato Cook Book

 

[iaconelli12]

Thanks all I actually went to Barnes and Nobles this past weekend and the only copy of "the bogleheads guide to investing" was actually on hold for someone. Just my luck.. So I ended up buying another book to read before I order that boglehead book.

I went with "The Total Money Makeover" from Dave Ramsey.. Has alot of good reviews. Anyone have any opinion on this? Thanks

 

[Coach]

Hi, and welcome to the forum!

I don't know if there's a good answer to your "average 401k" question, but there's a great tool here that will help you get an idea what yours might be worth in 25 or 30 years -- FIRECalc. Be sure to complete the "Not Retired" tab. FIRECalc also does a good job of helping you think through the process of saving for retirement.

I like Dave Ramsey's general money advice, but I think his investment advice is simplistic. You've got plenty of time to educate yourself on that subject and a good reading list to work through.

Coach

 

[iaconelli12]

Thanks Coach, In general If I have 0% into "Foreign market" and approx 67% into Domestic market. In general, in these times would it be smart of me to take 15-20% and place it in a fidelity international market share? Just in general in your opinion? Thanks

 

[Bestwifeever]

Your plans and what you've done so far are a really good start toward saving for retirement. A fund like the Fidelity Freedom 2035 sounds perfect for you--the fund's management people at Fidelity adjust the holdings over time so you don't have to. It has a little more than 20 percent international now, so you already are holding that within this fund. Look here: Fidelity Freedom 2035 Fund (FFTHX) - Mutual Funds from Fidelity Investments for more info on what the fund's holdings are.

I suggest "Personal Finance for Dummies" (I gave it to my kids)--it covers a lot of your questions and is easy to read.

 

[iaconelli12]

Thank you very much for your reply. That helped alot and I will read that book this winter along with those two. I had zero finance books a week ago and now going to have three lol. But i hope its worth it in the end... I need to fish everyday at age 55...work is for the birds...

also I will be moving my current 67% from domestic (company stock) to 45% domestic and 22% Fidelity 2035.. Thanks again

 

[Onward]

I went with "The Total Money Makeover" from Dave Ramsey.. Has alot of good reviews. Anyone have any opinion on this?

Get the Bogleheads book asap.

I need to fish everyday at age 55...work is for the birds...

Go look for another j*b that suits you better. At age 29, you should have a good 10 years of rosy optimism left before you realize that all j*bs are basically the same, and all suck. Early retirees don't just come to that conclusion. We earn it.

 

[old.snake]

Get the Bogleheads book asap.



Go look for another j*b that suits you better. At age 29, you should have a good 10 years of rosy optimism left before you realize that all j*bs are basically the same, and all suck. Early retirees don't just come to that conclusion. We earn it.

Not necessarily. I'm not over 30 yet, and I've already realized this to be true.

 

[Onward]

Not necessarily. I'm not over 30 yet, and I've already realized this to be true.

You only think you hate your j*b. In fact there's a whole world of productivity, advancement, and delightful colleagues awaiting you. Trust me on this one.

 

[old.snake]

You only think you hate your j*b. In fact there's a whole world of productivity, advancement, and delightful colleagues awaiting you. Trust me on this one.

I didn't say I hated my job, just that I agree with your assessment that all jobs basically suck. I don't hate my job... I just don't want to make my entire life revolve around work.

But your response surprises me. You said all jobs sucked, and now you're trying to convince me that mine doesn't. What makes my job better than your own? Why do you hate YOUR job(s)? Why is the word "job" censored in your posts? Will I ever stop typing? Tune in next week, same old.snake time, same old.snake channel. Yes, I have just hijacked this thread.

 

[iaconelli12]

lol. I never said myself that i hated my job, same as old snake, would just rather do other things that interest me.. and i would assume this is how 99.9% of the world feels, But hey maybe not.

 

[Nords]

I didn't say I hated my job, just that I agree with your assessment that all jobs basically suck. I don't hate my job... I just don't want to make my entire life revolve around work.
But your response surprises me. You said all jobs sucked, and now you're trying to convince me that mine doesn't. What makes my job better than your own? Why do you hate YOUR job(s)? Why is the word "job" censored in your posts? Will I ever stop typing? Tune in next week, same old.snake time, same old.snake channel. Yes, I have just hijacked this thread.

Actually Onward is sharing his opinion that you haven't been employed long enough to understand how deeply your job truly can suck.

A few more years of [-]soul-crushing[/-] comprehensive experience with those concepts of productivity, advancement, and delightful colleagues will leave you with a renewed motivation for FI and probably ER...

 

[old.snake]

Actually Onward is sharing his opinion that you haven't been employed long enough to understand how deeply your job truly can suck.

Clearly my sarcasm detector's not working. Time to upgrade to Windows 7.

progress: 01%
progress: 02%
progress: 03%
progress: 02%
error: 3% +1% =/= 2%

BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH

A few more years of [-]soul-crushing[/-] comprehensive experience with those concepts of productivity, advancement, and delightful colleagues will leave you with a renewed motivation for FI and probably ER...

You mean how in order to keep progressing in your career you'll have to pretend to care about unnecessary bullshit you don't care about, throw away hundreds to thousands of hours of your life for something that doesn't matter in the long run, put up with all sorts of forced socializing with people you despise where you have to restrain yourself everyday unless you want to commit career suicide, and are forced to go kiss everybody's ass and suck everybody's-

BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH

lol. I never said myself that i hated my job, same as old snake, would just rather do other things that interest me.. and i would assume this is how 99.9% of the world feels, But hey maybe not.

Some people live to work. I work to-

BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH

 

[Onward]

You mean how in order to keep progressing in your career you'll have to pretend to care about unnecessary bullshit you don't care about, throw away hundreds to thousands of hours of your life for something that doesn't matter in the long run, put up with all sorts of forced socializing with people you despise where you have to restrain yourself everyday unless you want to commit career suicide, and are forced to go kiss everybody's ass and suck everybody's-

By Jove, I think old.snake's got it!

 

[MasterBlaster]

Fun With Compound Interest

what are "average" 401k accounts worth after 25-30years of investing in them? Like mine now is about 3 years old and including my loan It is worth approx $15000. So whats to be expected on an "average" of 25-30 years? Thanks

Well lets pick an average growth rate of your IRA. Lets say you get 7.2% real return over many decades investing in equities. Then using the "rule of 72" compound interest trick I see that your money doubles every 10 years.

So in 10 years that original $15k would be worth maybe $30k (in real inflation-adjusted dollars)

in 20 years that original $15k would be worth maybe $60k

in 30 years that original $15k would be worth maybe $120k

in 30 years that original $15k would be worth maybe $240k

in 80 years that original $15k would be worth maybe $7.68M (that's million and all in real terms).

Pick your own growth rates and make your own projections. Your milage may vary.

But along these lines we can clearly see the benefits of saving early in our working careers. The early money is what really snowballs. If we wait too long to save it just gets harder and harder to grow a nestegg.

 

[iaconelli12]

Master Blaster.

Thank you for that. Just basic info is what I am trying to figure out.

Currently Listening to "A Random walk down wall street" And Reading "A Total Money Makeover"

Going to order soon: Boglehead Guide to investing.,