What to do...

[Dash man]

We made a decent recovery in the recent bounce and decided to take some off the table to add to our cash cushion. My Roth IRA and tIRA are back to where they were before the crash thanks to offloading a couple of stocks whose fundamentals weakened and putting it into Amazon, Chipotle and Costco. My taxable account is still down, but fortunately I dumped Boeing and Royal Caribbean early with some dividend ETFs. I still have plenty in equities, but more of a cash cushion for several years. I’m sleeping well.

[stephenson]

CB,

Vanguard is simply a financial company.

You can get help, here, and at bogleheads or a hundred other places ... but, you need to learn quickly.

You’ve got time to study - don’t put it off.

[piccolopat]

I would stay the course with investments but take a look at cutting back on discretionary expenses until things turn around. I do this to avoid or minimize making any withdrawals during major downturns like this.

[Retired Expat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by piccolopat I would stay the course with investments but take a look at cutting back on discretionary expenses until things turn around. I do this to avoid or minimize making any withdrawals during major downturns like this.

What discretionary spending is there to cut back on? Other than online shopping most everything is a fixed expense for me these days. And many of the usual and customary expenses are way down too! Think I spent $5 on gas this month! And that is only because gas is not cheap here like in the US

Sure you could give up some subscriptions like Netflix but.....thought about cutting back on the alarm monitoring as I am always in the house!

[piccolopat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Retired Expat What discretionary spending is there to cut back on? Other than online shopping most everything is a fixed expense for me these days. And many of the usual and customary expenses are way down too! Think I spent $5 on gas this month! And that is only because gas is not cheap here like in the US Sure you could give up some subscriptions like Netflix but.....thought about cutting back on the alarm monitoring as I am always in the house!

Everyone's budget is different. We have discretionary spending like travel, a new car fund and home improvement projects that can easily be delayed. I'd love it if my husband cut down on his Amazon shopping. Other discretionary spending like our cable and cell phone bills can be reduced but for us that is not where we would cut first. I could have retired earlier if I didn't care about funding these kinds of things. Worse case I wouldn't stay in NY with my horrendous property tax bill and a house/property that is really too big for the two of us. Each person has to decide what is needed versus discretionary for them. The point of my original post is that when the market swings this far down, I cut back where I can to minimize realizing the losses that would otherwise be paper losses only right now.

[CindyBlue]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vipertom1970 Still try to find out what funds you have at vanguard and your asset allocation. I bet they got you in a target date fund which is perfect.

Ok, I finally looked it up. This is what I'm in: "Vanguard INSTL Target Ret 2020 Fund." I tried to find the asset allocation but can't.

I know it was farther on when I called them last year...I think it was 2025. I asked them to make it more conservative sooner than 2025, and this is what they did.

Does that sound right?

[targatom2019]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CindyBlue Ok, I finally looked it up. This is what I'm in: "Vanguard INSTL Target Ret 2020 Fund." I tried to find the asset allocation but can't. I know it was farther on when I called them last year...I think it was 2025. I asked them to make it more conservative sooner than 2025, and this is what they did. Does that sound right?

Target 2020 is perfect for current retirees and it's very conservative. No need to look up the AA within the fund. How much you withdraw from your portfolio per year is very important at this point and hopefully not more then 3% per year and be flexible.

Do you have emergency $$$ and SS ?

[CindyBlue]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vipertom1970 Target 2020 is perfect for current retirees and it's very conservative. No need to look up the AA within the fund. How much you withdraw from your portfolio per year is very important at this point and hopefully not more then 3% per year and be flexible. Do you have emergency $$$ and SS ?

So glad to hear you say that about the Vanguard 2020 Fund! I might get more sleep at night!

Not withdrawing yet. Getting a pension now that covers about half my budgeted expenses, and hopefully Soc Sec will cover the other half. Have savings that I designed to cover that other half until I get to FRA Soc Sec in March of next year. Have enough in savings to cover about three years of budgeted expenses.

My "budgeted expenses" are pretty accurate so far in the first 7 months of retirement.

[Helen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vipertom1970 Target 2020 is perfect for current retirees and it's very conservative. No need to look up the AA within the fund. How much you withdraw from your portfolio per year is very important at this point and hopefully not more then 3% per year and be flexible.

Why shouldn't Cindy know what the asset allocation is within the fund? The more she understands the more comfortable she will be with her investments.

Why not more than 3%? The SWR is 4%, did I miss something unusual about Cindy's situation?

[targatom2019]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Helen Why shouldn't Cindy know what the asset allocation is within the fund? The more she understands the more comfortable she will be with her investments. Why not more than 3%? The SWR is 4%, did I miss something unusual about Cindy's situation?

because I did not want to make it more complicated for CindyBlue, the fund is already a balanced fund with 50% bonds but it's good if she knows everything about her Target 2020 fund.

I think the 4% SWR from the Trinity Study is based on a portfolio of 70/30, her portfolio is a balanced fund with less growth less risk so it's much safer to lower SWR to make sure she will not rum out of money specially here SS & pension already enough to cover expenses.

[MRG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Helen Why shouldn't Cindy know what the asset allocation is within the fund? The more she understands the more comfortable she will be with her investments. Why not more than 3%? The SWR is 4%, did I miss something unusual about Cindy's situation?

She should it was 50/50 last I found. Target date funds are great for one stop shopping and ease. They readjust the asset allocation every year until some predefined AA.

The market watch page below lists the AA as of February. I got there by searching the fund name.

https://www.marketwatch.com/investin...vtwnx/holdings

I'm assuming 3% is some personal rule, not related to Cindy's situation. Seems like i remember she has SS to claim in the future.

[CindyBlue]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MRG She should it was 50/50 last I found. Target date funds are great for one stop shopping and ease. They readjust the asset allocation every year until some predefined AA. The market watch page below lists the AA as of February. I got there by searching the fund name. https://www.marketwatch.com/investin...vtwnx/holdings I'm assuming 3% is some personal rule, not related to Cindy's situation. Seems like i remember she has SS to claim in the future.

Yep, I do have Soc Sec, which I will take next March at FRA (see my post above.)
I tried to find the AA of this fund on the Vanguard website, but couldn't find it. I will go and try again. Thank you for the above link - I'll go read it right away!

[targatom2019]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CindyBlue Yep, I do have Soc Sec, which I will take next March at FRA (see my post above.) I tried to find the AA of this fund on the Vanguard website, but couldn't find it. I will go and try again. Thank you for the above link - I'll go read it right away!

here goes

https://investor.vanguard.com/mutual...ortfolio/vtwnx

[Helen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vipertom1970 I think the 4% SWR from the Trinity Study is based on a portfolio of 70/30, her portfolio is a balanced fund with less growth less risk so it's much safer to lower SWR to make sure she will not rum out of money specially here SS & pension already enough to cover expenses.

A 75/25 allocation to stocks results in a 98% success rate. 3% is very conservative.

https://fourpillarfreedom.com/the-tr...ated-for-2018/

[CindyBlue]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vipertom1970 here goes https://investor.vanguard.com/mutual...ortfolio/vtwnx

Wow, I've been looking for a long time and I couldn't find this! I just don't know what language to use to look it up (

This confirms what MRG found in her link, and what I found on Vanguard (but not where you did, vipertom)

"As of September 30, 2019, the Fund’s asset allocation among the underlying funds was as follows:
• Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund 30.9%
• Vanguard Total Bond Market II Index Fund 29.2%
• Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund 20.6%
• Vanguard Total International Bond Index Fund 12.8%
• Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities Index Fund 6.5%"

So...basically, I think I've learned that I'm about even up in stocks and bonds. That, according to what I've read here, is conservative, and as a good place to be right now as any, and I just need to hold on and stop looking at my portfolio for awhile

(Did I get it right?)

[OldShooter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CindyBlue ... hold on and stop looking at my portfolio for awhile. (Did I get it right?)

Yup. We look at ours seriously about once a year.

[Hermit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldShooter Yup. We look at ours seriously about once a year.

I thought about updating my Quicken data with quarterly statements from Vanguard. Then I didn't. I am not planning on doing anything so more trouble than it is worth. I will feel more like looking at it when the markets are looking better.

[Helen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CindyBlue So...basically, I think I've learned that I'm about even up in stocks and bonds. That, according to what I've read here, is conservative, and as a good place to be right now as any, and I just need to hold on and stop looking at my portfolio for awhile (Did I get it right?)

Cindy, I think 50/50 is an excellent AA for you. Not too risky and not too conservative.

I went back through your posts, are these statements correct:

You are 65
You currently draw a pension that pays about 1/2 of your expenses
You will start SS next year which should cover the other 1/2 of expenses
You have 3 years of expenses in cash
You will not start drawing from your investments for 7 years when you are 72.5

The only question I have is if your medical insurance is covered. You easily have enough money to supplement Medicare with a gap policy.

You are golden. You did a fantastic job. Really, the last thing you should worry about is your finances. Relax and enjoy your retirement. You won the game.

I, after saving as much as I could, was very wary of spending when I first retired. As time went on I grew into spending more. I'm so glad I did, we have travelled a lot in the last 6 years and now we can not - at least in the short term. I will never regret blowing that dough. As time goes on, you may grow more comfortable and opportunities to do things will open up. Don't forget it's not just about money it's also about the number of healthy years we have left to enjoy life. Don't waste your time worrying if you have enough $$, you do.

[Bamaman]

I try not to think about my self directed retirement funds when it's doing well, and I ignore it when it's doing bad. When I monitor the account periodically for asset allocation, I'm usually right where I want to be.

And after buying a new home and putting a pool in last week, I'm still good until the guvment makes me take RMD's in a couple of years. I really don't have anything to do with the required withdrawals anyway. But I do try to keep sufficient cash around.

[CindyBlue]

Helen, thank you for the encouragement!

I sure hope I have enough. The pension is not COLA'd, so its value decreases every year. And it's not a lot - we live very simply. We've worked so hard and so long to save what we have so we could retire - watching that two year's worth of money disappear from the 403b (which is not up to the amount of money the "experts" say we need to retire!) in less than two months was very, very scary!

Edited to add: I do have Medicare now, and I pay a small additional fee for Medicare Advantage.

I know there are no guarantees when you invest in the market, but it always seemed a sure thing that the money we saved and invested in our 403bs would be there when we retired - we opened up 403bs because it's just what one does, and because it started up at work, and because it was suggested as the best way to save and maybe grow our money.

I just have to have some faith. And not look at my portfolio for awhile (very big grin!)

But I feel much better after reading the posts here. Thank you so much, everyone!!!!!