I've been a member for a while but not very active

[Kayzmum]

I'm a complete newbie and am soooo appreciative of this site. My husband was in an electrical union and they handled all his investing. I have a 401K and 403B and am getting organized to retire by 65. I'm 62. My husband is 71 and retired. I hope to learn a lot and help others in the future. Please don't laugh at my embarrassing questions.

 

[Winemaker]

Welcome. We won't laugh at your "embarrassing questions", if you don't laugh at our "embarrassing answers".

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

Welcome to E-R! Ask away...

 

[MBAustin]

Welcome Kayzmum! Congratulations on taking concrete steps to improve your financial knowledge!

If you haven't found them already, we have a helpful list of things to think about before pulling the plug:

Some Important Questions to Answer

Don't be embarrassed by having questions - lots of people here have lots of answers for you!

 

[O2Bfree]

I always appreciate those "embarrassing" questions! I was able to retire early not so much because of financial savvy on my part but because I'm just naturally frugal and a good saver. Actually, I made a number of really dumb mistakes over the years that I probably wouldn't have made had I been paying more attention and gotten on this forum and started asking "embarrassing" questions years ago. Even now I, and others here no doubt, learn something from such questions.

So please, for your benefit and for others, ask away!

 

[pacergal]

Welcome. The forum is a wonderful place to learn, I know I have!

 

[pb4uski]

I'm a complete newbie and am soooo appreciative of this site. My husband was in an electrical union and they handled all his investing. I have a 401K and 403B and am getting organized to retire by 65. I'm 62. My husband is 71 and retired. I hope to learn a lot and help others in the future. Please don't laugh at my embarrassing questions.

Welcome Kayzmum!

One thing that you might want to consider are balanced funds that are a mix of stocks and bonds or target-retirement fund that are a mix of stocks and bonds and also change that mix as one ages.

Some of the favorites around here are Vanguard Wellesley (~40% stocks and 60% fixed income) and Vanguard Wellington (~65% stocks and 35% fixed income).

 

[kcowan]

Any advice we might give will be impacted by your husbands holdings and share of your wealth. I suspect his is more fixed income and, if so, you might want to focus of equities.