Lisa99
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2010
- Messages
- 1,440
I can't believe it's been four years this month since you guys helped me see the light on the shill game called Ameriprise.
I did a one year update and haven't done one since, but I think it's time to give you an update since we've basically crossed the finish line.
Since August 2010 we've quadrupled our investable assets. Yes the market had a lot to do with it, and we plowed money in aggressively, but we're 100% in index funds, rebalance on our bands, and our total fees (including 401ks) are a fraction of what they were. I would guess that if we were still with Ameriprise we'd be at about half of where were are now based on our acct performance in 2009/2010.
At our last meeting with the FA in May 2010 I told him I wanted to talk about how much we'd need to retire and what the time frame looked like. He told me that discussion was years away and we were probably looking at no earlier than 60 - 62.
Wow was he wrong. We became financially independent last November. I was 52, DH was 48. And the FI came just in time. DH lost his job last October and was out of work for eight months, but it was by his choice. He's spent 6 of the last 8 months helping his dad while his mom fought and lost her cancer battle.
She passed on June 24 and two weeks later DH was offered a two month contract doing consulting in his field. The timing was perfect and he's enjoying working again but he'll never work full time again... just consulting gigs here and there as he chooses.
I'm still working as well but by my choice. With ACA now in force I don't have to stay until 55 to get 'affordable HC' as a retiree through my company. However I'm planning to stay until 55 to get the ability to tap 401k at 55, but I'm considering going part time next year. I want to coast into retirement rather than stepping off that cliff in one step.
Bottom line - by leaving Ameriprise we've gotten back almost a decade of life that would have been wasted on work.
For those of you who are thinking about leaving a FA but are afraid to because they don't understand investing four years ago I was just like you. My advice, read all you can about index funds, understand exactly how much you're spending each year, learn how to use FireCalc and other retirement tools, and talk to Vanguard (or Fidelity, et al) to understand how to get your money moved. If you'll take those few steps your destiny can be in your hands and you can get a lot of years back so you can go out and play with the other early retirees.
I did a one year update and haven't done one since, but I think it's time to give you an update since we've basically crossed the finish line.
Since August 2010 we've quadrupled our investable assets. Yes the market had a lot to do with it, and we plowed money in aggressively, but we're 100% in index funds, rebalance on our bands, and our total fees (including 401ks) are a fraction of what they were. I would guess that if we were still with Ameriprise we'd be at about half of where were are now based on our acct performance in 2009/2010.
At our last meeting with the FA in May 2010 I told him I wanted to talk about how much we'd need to retire and what the time frame looked like. He told me that discussion was years away and we were probably looking at no earlier than 60 - 62.
Wow was he wrong. We became financially independent last November. I was 52, DH was 48. And the FI came just in time. DH lost his job last October and was out of work for eight months, but it was by his choice. He's spent 6 of the last 8 months helping his dad while his mom fought and lost her cancer battle.
She passed on June 24 and two weeks later DH was offered a two month contract doing consulting in his field. The timing was perfect and he's enjoying working again but he'll never work full time again... just consulting gigs here and there as he chooses.
I'm still working as well but by my choice. With ACA now in force I don't have to stay until 55 to get 'affordable HC' as a retiree through my company. However I'm planning to stay until 55 to get the ability to tap 401k at 55, but I'm considering going part time next year. I want to coast into retirement rather than stepping off that cliff in one step.
Bottom line - by leaving Ameriprise we've gotten back almost a decade of life that would have been wasted on work.
For those of you who are thinking about leaving a FA but are afraid to because they don't understand investing four years ago I was just like you. My advice, read all you can about index funds, understand exactly how much you're spending each year, learn how to use FireCalc and other retirement tools, and talk to Vanguard (or Fidelity, et al) to understand how to get your money moved. If you'll take those few steps your destiny can be in your hands and you can get a lot of years back so you can go out and play with the other early retirees.
