F4mandolin
Full time employment: Posting here.
This is a bit long, but advice would be appreciated. I have finally talked myself into going it by myself for the rest of my investing future (almost). Planning on retiring in 15 months from teaching and will just be turning 54. This is what I currently have in finances without getting too detailed. Just in the process of trying to sell our house here in the UK, so money from here is a close estimate.
Question 1- I am about to start putting money into Vanguard instead of Edward Jones, the guy who I have dealt with is a good guy and he told me straight up where he would be getting his money from if I invested with them. He even offered to help me if I wanted to go in another direction and invest elsewhere…..little hand holding if you wish. Being a lazy bugger, I just plan on sticking most of the $290,000 in 3-4 of the basic Vanguard Index funds….the usual simple mix of Total Stock, Total Bond, etc. Because I still plan to be fairly aggressive to keep what we have growing (we hope). I was likely to not break it into even 25% sections but to weight it slightly more towards the stocks. Our spending plan is for no more than $48,000 a year…..currently spending in the $30,000 range and plan low $40’s with the $48,000 average in case of the usual things that come up unplanned. I will have a pension that will be mid $16K a year (not inflation adjusted until I hit 62) before taxes at 54. 2 years later the SS supplement should bring me around another $1000 a month until 62. I plan on taking SS at 62 and my wife (UK) will be eligible for 50% of mine 3 years later (estimated $2100 month for both of us). Any suggestions on most of that $290,000 with Vanguard? Likely about $200,000 to start with.
Question 2- I kind of feel like an idiot for asking this….but I haven’t seen any real good (and very simple and short) directions on how and when to keep shuffling the money from stocks down eventually to CD type things and then onwards to cash. Is there a basic…simple explanation for this anywhere? Nice and short timeline of what should be sold first through to last. I should be in a low tax bracket once I retire. After reading 4 Pillars …..Bogleheads……Work less Live more.. etc…. I pick up more each time I look at them, but I guess I am looking for a short simple explanation that will stick in my tiny little brain (and the guy I work with who I have now converted to putting his money into Vanguard (or Fidelity etc) rather than the guy he is paying back in the US). I had been trying to get him to stop giving more to his finance guy…lent him the Boglehead book and he came back ready to go the Vanguard way or similar with Fidelity/Schwab etc.
I am even considering (again) buying a rental for a little under $200k that I could look after…..just not sure I have the rental mentality needed…..
Jeez I wish I had started saving seriously earlier……..
- $300,000 in TSP retirement
- $290,000 from UK house/accounts
- $52,000 Edward Jones various funds (about $18k ROTH)
- $25,000 Janus- Global Tech+Orion ($15k ROTH)
- $15,000 cash
- Govt health into retirement
Question 1- I am about to start putting money into Vanguard instead of Edward Jones, the guy who I have dealt with is a good guy and he told me straight up where he would be getting his money from if I invested with them. He even offered to help me if I wanted to go in another direction and invest elsewhere…..little hand holding if you wish. Being a lazy bugger, I just plan on sticking most of the $290,000 in 3-4 of the basic Vanguard Index funds….the usual simple mix of Total Stock, Total Bond, etc. Because I still plan to be fairly aggressive to keep what we have growing (we hope). I was likely to not break it into even 25% sections but to weight it slightly more towards the stocks. Our spending plan is for no more than $48,000 a year…..currently spending in the $30,000 range and plan low $40’s with the $48,000 average in case of the usual things that come up unplanned. I will have a pension that will be mid $16K a year (not inflation adjusted until I hit 62) before taxes at 54. 2 years later the SS supplement should bring me around another $1000 a month until 62. I plan on taking SS at 62 and my wife (UK) will be eligible for 50% of mine 3 years later (estimated $2100 month for both of us). Any suggestions on most of that $290,000 with Vanguard? Likely about $200,000 to start with.
Question 2- I kind of feel like an idiot for asking this….but I haven’t seen any real good (and very simple and short) directions on how and when to keep shuffling the money from stocks down eventually to CD type things and then onwards to cash. Is there a basic…simple explanation for this anywhere? Nice and short timeline of what should be sold first through to last. I should be in a low tax bracket once I retire. After reading 4 Pillars …..Bogleheads……Work less Live more.. etc…. I pick up more each time I look at them, but I guess I am looking for a short simple explanation that will stick in my tiny little brain (and the guy I work with who I have now converted to putting his money into Vanguard (or Fidelity etc) rather than the guy he is paying back in the US). I had been trying to get him to stop giving more to his finance guy…lent him the Boglehead book and he came back ready to go the Vanguard way or similar with Fidelity/Schwab etc.
I am even considering (again) buying a rental for a little under $200k that I could look after…..just not sure I have the rental mentality needed…..
Jeez I wish I had started saving seriously earlier……..