8 Responses to “Future Years: Retirement Planning”

  1. BeeBZ says:

    Is it too early for retirement planning? 24 years old?
    I am 24 and have absolutely no experiences with investing.
    After payaing off student loan and cost of living/expenses, I will have about 50K earning/saving by Dec 2009.

    So I plan to distrubute them in the following wayL

    401K –> 16.5K (I contribute the max allowed)

    CDK –> 20K (I will use this for future house buying)

    Roth IRA –> 5K (Will open with Vanguard or Fidelity, likely to do with Vanguard Retirement 2050 Fund)

    Scottrade –> 7K (I buy stocks from about 10 companies I like or know GE, Boeing, BOA, Citigroup, Macys, etc)

    Savings –> 2 K for emergency/extra spending

    I plan to buy a house in like 4-6 years.

    Please help me and give me suggestions. I am not sure if I am making the right choices or not
    Thank you.

  2. zeuz says:

    reasonable choices. Every year contribute to your 401k to the maximum, if possible. Choose conservative investments in your 401k — don’t believe the mutual fund salesmen who want to earn commissions — in 45 years you’ll have a substantial nest egg if you stay the course.
    References :

  3. Steve D says:

    The only change I would make would be to take the 5K you are putting into the Roth and keep it in my emergency fund. This is not a fund for combined emergency/spending, but a fund for emergencies only, You should have 6 months or more of income as backup for emergencies only (your car breaks, you get laid off, etc.). Once you get the emergency fund where it needs to be, then switch to investing in the Roth.

    Second, with your investing in stocks directly, when you make your 401(k) investment decision, you need to take these investments into account and be a little heavier then normal on less-risky investments (bonds, t-bills, etc.). If your employer provides some investment advice, remember to tell whomever you consult with about all your investments, not just the stuff going into the 401(k) and Roth.
    References :

  4. Rick says:

    Not a bad list. While contributing to the max on the 401K isn’t bad, always use the max after the Roth — i.e., go 401K up to the amount matched (if any) by your employer, then the Roth, then back to the 401K (no need to lock it into an account with limited choices until the Roth is maxed). If you are single, the emergency fund listed is likely enough; if married, I’d probably push it a bit higher. Good idea starting early, and luck!
    References :

  5. WizKid says:

    It’s never too early to begin to save for retirement.
    Wow, I’m amazed that at 24 you are thinking about your well being during your later years.

    I found this great blog that separates population by "age groups" and demonstrates what is important and how to plan for retirement

    Good Luck and hope you find it interesting

    http://save-for-retirement.blogspot.com/
    References :
    http://save-for-retirement.blogspot.com/

  6. Hello. Great job, if I wasn’t so busy with my school work I read your full site. Thanks!

  7. Good post on %BLOGTITLE% – and great domain by the way!

  8. Andreas Yankopolus says:

    You can likely do a search and replace of “F-35″ with “Future Combat Systems” to quickly write a follow-up article.

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