Hello from Florida!

[Blaineatk]

Hey everyone, I joined the forum a while back and for some reason I just got back around to being able to look over it again. I wanted to introduce myself to the forum members properly and tell everyone a little about myself. Maybe I can help someone on here, but I'm sure you guys will be helping me much more!

I am a 28 year old guy who has been passively investing for a few years now and I am wanting to get more active into my investment strategies (Once I actually have some idea what I am doing.) so that I can become more financially stable and preserve/create wealth.

I currently work offshore for an international company that is very diversified in many fields. I am a 3rd Mate on the ships and the ship I currently work on is in the oil and gas industry though we have contracts that range from oilfield work, government contracts, research contracts with universities, sub sea construction, etc. I try to be as progressive as possible and advance my knowledge as much as possible in many fields.

Right now, I currently put 14% of my income into a company 401(k) program. We currently get no match, though we use to but with the price of oil at the moment my employer has put a noose on some of our benefits to keep employees. My 401(k) contributions go into a Target Date Fund. I am very unsure of these but I feel that I will learn on here about them.

I also max out a Roth IRA every year and I began contributing about two years ago. This is a monthly contribution and is into the CWGIX fund. Right now it isn't looking the best but I have not lost any large amount of capital at this point. I am looking at it as a long term ride and have a financial adviser who recommended this to me.


I have been dabbling in real estate as well and currently own one property that I intend on having my primary residence built on in the somewhat near future as long as the market holds out here in my area. I have also been considering purchasing a rental unit to obtain a passive income which I would like to lead to more, future passive income streams.

Anyway, this was my introduction and I am here to learn from you guys and am always willing to learn! That's why we are all here anyway, I assume.

Thanks everyone!

 

[2017ish]

Welcome! Always nice to see people looking ahead like you are. 28??!!! Excellent. You are ahead of the curve!

 

[Blaineatk]

2017ish thanks for the encouraging words! Thanks for the welcome as well, I am ecstatic to learn as much as I can through this forum and continue to grow!

 

[Katiek]

Welcome! I think you'll find a lot of useful information on this site. While financial advisors can be reassuring to people just starting investing and can serve some useful purposes, you'll find a lot of information here on low cost index investing. You're still young and your portfolio will grow over the coming decades, even a small sales charge or ongoing fee can have a big impact over time.

It's great that you're saving so much and funding your Roth. Early savings (and living below your means) are huge helps to becoming financially independent. And the money you save now will have a big impact in the future.

 

[38Chevy454]

Welcome to the forum, you are doing good with your start already. The best thing you can do right now is read and educate yourself, so that you can make the best decisions for your situation now and into the future. You are already ahead by your 401k and Roth savings, and with some learning you can invest those how you want, not necessarily how the FA wants. Your biggest asset right now is time and the magic of compounding. That is why fees and rates of return are so important, a small cost of FA fee or other costs, compounded over 25-30 years or more, starts to become real significant.