How the hell are we supposed to retire?

[rlb]

I keep getting whacked on my 401k with the shit market. After sitting out 1+years with all of my money in a "stable value fund" I decided to re-distribute and try to gain some ground (this was ~last fall). Then I got whacked (again) in the beginning of 2016. There's gotta be a better way than 401k or market (IRA etc.) bullshit.....what am I missing?

 

[mattybfat]

Long term

Real estate. Actual assest.
Be it
Flipping
Land
Or
Rental

 

[clarkenstein]

I keep getting whacked on my 401k with the shit market. After sitting out 1+years with all of my money in a "stable value fund" I decided to re-distribute and try to gain some ground (this was ~last fall). Then I got whacked (again) in the beginning of 2016. There's gotta be a better way than 401k or market (IRA etc.) bullshit.....what am I missing?

you're never going to retire off your 401k. i have audited dozens of plans, and have prepared 401k financial statements for almost every place i have worked at. since i prep all the stuff and get the plans through the audits, i have had the opportunity to see hundreds of participants balances.

CEOs are the only people with substantial amounts of money in their 401k plans.

regular schmoes have shit. no one (who isn't an executive) breaks the $200k mark. and that's not much of a nest egg.

my theory on these things? wall street dudes looking for tons more cash to play with went to congress with a tax free idea in order to get all our money. no one checks their balances regularly. most people leave their plans on 'set and forget' mode. thats not good. the funds take tons of money out of each participants balances in fees.

i think they are a sham. only reason to invest in one is the free money if there is a match. seriously, that's the only reason to put money in.

anyway, buy low, sell high, and never short a stock with your own money. other than that - my financial advice is win the lottery.

 

[Magic]

Unless I get to pick the stock options myself, I don't let these companies decide for me. I have 5% go to my 401k, because that's what my company matches to, as zero risk savings. I doubt I can retire from what will be in there, but at least it'll keep growing. I also have ~40 years to go.

 

[Patrick]

put it in on a regular schedule, rebalance every 18 months or so, do not try to time it - otherwise you miss the run up before the crash -
just keep plowing it in. keep expensive debt (credit card) to a minimum. don't play individual stocks, you only hear
people talk about their wins, not their losses.

try to ignore the fluctuations, at 50yo, i've been through 3 cycles of "disaster" but it averages up over time.
oh, and of course after getting a decent build-up of funds, these swings look devastating in absolute numbers. but aren't 10% is just 10%...

i don't have the stomach for lending club. couple people i know have averages over 7% the last couple years.

 

[Mountain Bike Mike]

Here is my plan - retire and help make this successful. Fuck money, it's overrated.

 

[RetroGrouch]

You will be lucky if you can work until you die. The unlucky ones will wither and starve in damp cardboard boxes under a bridge down by the river. The concept of retirement is a fantasy perpetuated by anyone who longs for the post WWII era (1945-1970) of massive, seemingly pyramid scheme level economic growth made possible by high taxes, big government spending, incredible volumes of domestic manufacturing, and huge population growth.

Generation X (Douglas Coupland's Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, not MTV's or ESPN's X generation), born in the late 60s through~1980, is the first generation to make less than their parents and it only gets worse from there. Globalization piles on the misery because there is nothing a corporation, city, or state can do to keep $20/hr manufacturing jobs in the US when they can easily be exported to Mexico for $1.50/hr or China for $1.50/day.

 

[rlb]

Thanks for the straight talk @clarkenstein When are the fees taken out? I've moved my $$ around a ton of times over the years and have never seen a fee from leaving any funds.

@mattybfat I like the ideas but those are $2k+ a month commitments, ain't gonna happen.

Guess I should start stuffing my mattress?

 

[stb222]

I am still sticking with stocks are on sale right now, but most likely I will be working until I am 70.

 

[Pearl]

move south asap

 

[clarkenstein]

@RetroGrouch don't get me started on the gen-x stuff. we walked into the game with a short stack, crappy hand, and a stacked deck. great fun financially speaking.

 

[clarkenstein]

Thanks for the straight talk @clarkenstein When are the fees taken out? I've moved my $$ around a ton of times over the years and have never seen a fee from leaving any funds.

the fees are really really slick. some are monthly, some quarterly, some annually. you never see it. good luck trying to reconcile your statement. takes a long time to figure it out if you get into the plan detail to the participant statement.

linky:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/9-things-you-need-to-know-about-401k-fees-2014-07-08

 

[rlb]

I am still sticking with stocks are on sale right now, but most likely I will be working until I am 70.

By then we'll be replaced by self flying lidar drones with ground penetrating radar that auto-QAs everything with AI. Plus, any data that changes on the ground is going to be cloud integrated in real time by robots. There wont even be humans left to use this data.

 

[rlb]

You will be lucky if you can work until you die. The unlucky ones will wither and starve in damp cardboard boxes under a bridge down by the river.

Is the government going to give me the box at least?

 

[rlb]

the fees are really really slick. some are monthly, some quarterly, some annually. you never see it. good luck trying to reconcile your statement. takes a long time to figure it out if you get into the plan detail to the participant statement.

linky:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/9-things-you-need-to-know-about-401k-fees-2014-07-08

And what’s important to note, Bogosian said, is that these investment-related expenses are not disclosed on the annual fee-disclosure notice because they are paid out of the revenue share paid to the record-keeper from some or all of the plan’s funds.

Thanks Bogosian, I've got it now.

 

[stb222]

By then we'll be replaced by self flying lidar drones with ground penetrating radar that auto-QAs everything with AI. Plus, any data that changes on the ground is going to be cloud integrated in real time by robots. There wont even be humans left to use this data.

So if the sales are saying what we have now is really in 5 years, that is a solid 25 years away. Shit, I will still be screwed.

 

[Paul H]

The bright side is that if you keep on riding your bike... Should be healthy enough to work till your death bed.

 

[rick81721]

Agree with others - maximize what you can throw in 401k and diversify as much as possihle. And don't be conservative if you have at least 10 years before you need to tap into it. I was fortunate to stay with the same co. for 31+ years

 

[mattybfat]

You need to pull that 401k take the tax hit and buy vacation rental/ possible retirement place. Your best equity you own now is the house your living in.

Real estate on the grand scheme of things is a steady pattern of up and down with gains over the long haul.

 

[Robin]

I know someone if you are looking for real estate