Retirement-Era |OT| How to Invest For Retirement

[reKon]

I played with this brilliant tool I found off reddit: https://socialsecurity.tools/app.html

You have create your account in order feed some data into the tool.

Anddd holy shit if this ends up being accurate... I used a bunch of assumptions for this. I assumed my average yearly income would be $16,000 lower than what I currently make (it's likely that I would earn at the very least 25%+ more over my career though). I also set it so that I would stop working entirely at the age of 50 (again, this isn't likely, but just wanted to see what numbers would look like since this what I'd be going for ideally).

I've also seen that starting in 2034 if the current law isn't amended, we would see a reduction to 79% of social security benefits (not sure if this applies to all retirees or new ones only). To stay conservative, I took whatever yearly benefit they are estimating and multiplied by 60% (so I took an extra 19% off the estimated 21% reduction). If I layer this on top of my existing retirement plan, I'm actually at an incredible spot. Based on all of these, they are saying that I would receive a social security benefit of 25,000 at the age of 67. 60% of that is 15,000. If I adjust few sliders up to something a little more likely and change the age to 55 for when I stop working, I get to 30,000 yearly benefit, which 60% is 18,000, using my conservative estimate. If the reduction is only ~20%, an extra 24,000 a year would be amazing...

For the whole time I was only putting like 8,000 in the personal capital retirement assumptions, lol...

 

[Chaosblade]

I just assume social security will be gone by the time I retire and plan accordingly. If I do get it, that's just gravy.

 

[Fuhgeddit]

Does anyone have a Transamerica account? I'm unsure what to invest in honestly, but I re-balanced recently. Just unsure about it though.

 

[Euphoria]

The expenses of your 401K are what it costs you to have it. Your funds should have expense ratios listed which is the fee you are paying to hold those funds. Also check for any other fees.

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Thanks, I think I'm seeing what you're referring to which is the different funds I have my my money allocated to.

They vary from 0.31% to 1.15%. That's what it lists under "total inv. expense - gross"

 

[reKon]

I just assume social security will be gone by the time I retire and plan accordingly. If I do get it, that's just gravy.

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You could make that assumption, but I highly doubt that it would be erased entirely as too many people in the US will be fucked and it will be politically very unpopular. Think about the current state millennials are in and the fact that in the future - they will encompass the largest generation. I think most of us here fit in that group and statistically our group aren't having as many children as past generations. We will be the majority and we will be dictating the laws. A 60% reduction is my still my wild guess. As a tax professional, it would seem very strange to just phase out SS tax. If this actually happened, I think it would be just replaced with some alternative worse program that provides some sort of supplemental income.

I guess 20 years from now we'll likely have a better estimate on where things will go, but still intend on enjoying my 30s and 40s once I get my retirement accounts to a certain level. For me, not having social security will just mean less old person flexing :) (and less money to give away).

 

[Chaosblade]

Thanks, I think I'm seeing what you're referring to which is the different funds I have my my money allocated to.

They vary from 0.31% to 1.15%. That's what it lists under "total inv. expense - gross"

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.31 is acceptable but not ideal. 1.15 is goddamn high. You want to use the same approach from the OP for your 401K too. Index funds with diversity and low expense ratios. What your best option is just depends on the funds available.

Reason you were asked about expenses is whether or not it's worth it for you to invest outside your 401K, or just increase your 401K investment. In your case (and many cases in general) it absolutely is. Hit your employer match for the 401K to get that free extra money, then for further retirement investment go with a Vanguard or Fidelity IRA. You can get funds with lower expense rations, and that means less of your investment is getting cut to fees, which means more growth for you. If you max your IRA (6K/year now) you can go back to adding more to your 401K.

 

[Euphoria]

.31 is acceptable but not ideal. 1.15 is goddamn high. You want to use the same approach from the OP for your 401K too. Index funds with diversity and low expense ratios. What your best option is just depends on the funds available.

Reason you were asked about expenses is whether or not it's worth it for you to invest outside your 401K, or just increase your 401K investment. In your case (and many cases in general) it absolutely is. Hit your employer match for the 401K to get that free extra money, then for further retirement investment go with a Vanguard or Fidelity IRA. You can get funds with lower expense rations, and that means less of your investment is getting cut to fees, which means more growth for you. If you max your IRA (6K/year now) you can go back to adding more to your 401K.

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Thanks for the info.

At the moment the fund with 1.15% is the high risk fund and has the smallest amount of money in it. Maybe it's time to move some stuff around.

I've only really began getting more involved in stuff like this over the last year or so don't mess with my 401k too often. My overall return so far this year is around 14% but talking to others it feels like I'm missing out some extra gains so I'm eager to learn.

 

[TheTrinity]

How are Era's millennials doing financially?

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So this means that I have Infinity% higher net worth than my fellow 30 year olds right?

 

[demosthenes]

Thanks for the info.

At the moment the fund with 1.15% is the high risk fund and has the smallest amount of money in it. Maybe it's time to move some stuff around.

I've only really began getting more involved in stuff like this over the last year or so don't mess with my 401k too often. My overall return so far this year is around 14% but talking to others it feels like I'm missing out some extra gains so I'm eager to learn.

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I'll post more later about the questions you answered but the post you quoted is absolutely true. An expense ratio of .15 to 1.15 over 30 years can be hundreds of thousands of dollars.

 

[vypek]

Anyone have an article or something that can give insight on how rates are chosen for funds? I'm specifically interested in why Vanguard had lowered the fees for some of their ETFs but the Admiral Share mutual fund equivalents are slightly higher in terms of expense ratio

 

[reKon]

Man wealthfront giving 2.51% APY and Ally has stuck to it's 2.2% for months. I wonder how this will all play out over the next couple of years.

 

[vypek]

Man wealthfront giving 2.51% APY and Ally has stuck to it's 2.2% for months. I wonder how this will all play out over the next couple of years.

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Is this just a case of Wealthfront just being more generous or is there some kind of catch here? I don't know what exactly people are supposed to look out for in a bank account. I want to say it needs to be insured and be a certain type of account but when I'm looking around at accounts to put money into, idk what to look for.

 

[reKon]

Is this just a case of Wealthfront just being more generous or is there some kind of catch here? I don't know what exactly people are supposed to look out for in a bank account. I want to say it needs to be insured and be a certain type of account but when I'm looking around at accounts to put money into, idk what to look for.

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In terms of being safe, the account just needs to be FDIC insured. There's no catch - they are just being highly competitive. My assumption is that these places can offer such high rates because the cost of running the online bank is a lot less than a traditional bank/credit union.

Things that people generally look out for is options for transferring money (including the speed), ATM access, minimum balance requirements, level of support, transfer limitations (for many banks you're only allowed 6 a month).

 

[vypek]

In terms of being safe, the account just needs to be FDIC insured. There's no catch - they are just being highly competitive. My assumption is that these places can offer such high rates because the cost of running the online bank is a lot less than a traditional bank/credit union.

Things that people generally look out for is options for transferring money (including the speed), ATM access, minimum balance requirements, level of support, transfer limitations (for many banks you're only allowed 6 a month).

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Okay, thanks. I had been thinking that an online bank is what saves them money and lets them operate while giving higher rates to customers. I thought that is what Ally did as well but I also felt like Ally has physical buildings so I doubted that though.

I'll keep those factors in mind. Although I'm not crazy about it, I am aware of the transfer limitation since I have that with my current bank.

 

[reKon]

Okay, thanks. I had been thinking that an online bank is what saves them money and lets them operate while giving higher rates to customers. I thought that is what Ally did as well but I also felt like Ally has physical buildings so I doubted that though.

I'll keep those factors in mind. Although I'm not crazy about it, I am aware of the transfer limitation since I have that with my current bank.

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I was considering getting one of these high interest checking accounts, but I don't want to overdo it - I have my credit union, ally savings account, and T-Mobile Money account (which is a checking/savings hybrid already - I'm only keeping for the 4% interest rate on $3,000).

I've sort of realized that a lot of the time, I've left money in my checking account for the sole purpose of covering my credit card payments each month. Therefore on average I could be making that money that's sitting there work and gain interest in addition along with the emergency savings I have. I didn't know about this until I came across this (kind of obvious too), but Ally gives you overdraft protection using the online savings account. I've opened a checking account there now and will plan on switching direct deposit to to here from my credit union so that the money is at least doing something whether it's in the checking or savings account. With this, I can throw everything into savings for the most part where that money will be earning some interest and overdraft protection will just kick in from automatic bill payments (or I'll transfer money over before the week of credit card payments).

 

[Linkura]

Man wealthfront giving 2.51% APY and Ally has stuck to it's 2.2% for months. I wonder how this will all play out over the next couple of years.

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My local bank offered 2.5% in a short-term deal that only lasted a few weeks before it was gone. Thankfully I got in on it and they've kept it at that rate.

 

[ChrisR]

I just treat Ally as my savings account. I still have my direct deposit going into my credit union, but it's all checking and it's run very lean.

 

[Euphoria]

So I went ahead and due to the comments on my 401k funds sapping a lot of money from me I have moved much of them into funds that are have lower expense costs. Went from a high of 1.15 to a high of 0.31.

Doesn't seem like too many offer lower than that on my Principal 401k plan so maybe I'd have to move it over to something else to find those lower rates?

 

[filkry]

My 401K is also through Principal and yeah, the funds they offer have terrible expense ratios.

 

[demosthenes]

Thank you.

See bolded for responses to your questions.

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Sorry I didn't respond earlier.

On the 401k, most plans don't have a lot of low expense ratio funds. Even if they're low exp ratio you're usually paying more than you would just to invest in them outside of the 401k b/c of other fees. Others answered the question about the expense ratios. Glad to see you moved into some lower exp funds.

I would do something along this:
1) Establish an emergency fund if you haven't already.
2) Work on paying down the car loan as fast as you can. Depending on what your house mortgage is, if low I would just keep making normal payments on it. This varies person to person.
3) Open up and plan on funding a Roth IRA or traditional IRA. This requires more knowledge about your situation. Would be happy to discuss more. Basically it's, do you want to be taxed now, or later.
4) Saving for future items, new car, etc.

 

[Euphoria]

Sorry I didn't respond earlier.

On the 401k, most plans don't have a lot of low expense ratio funds. Even if they're low exp ratio you're usually paying more than you would just to invest in them outside of the 401k b/c of other fees. Others answered the question about the expense ratios. Glad to see you moved into some lower exp funds.

I would do something along this:
1) Establish an emergency fund if you haven't already.

At the moment I have enough in savings to cover 2-3 months of expenses.

2) Work on paying down the car loan as fast as you can. Depending on what your house mortgage is, if low I would just keep making normal payments on it. This varies person to person.

That's actually our #1 priority. Shortly after getting the car we instantly regretted it because of payments. Mortgage is $1500/month including taxes and insurance so when we can we throw extra towards the principal but the priority is to first get rid of the car payment.

3) Open up and plan on funding a Roth IRA or traditional IRA. This requires more knowledge about your situation. Would be happy to discuss more. Basically it's, do you want to be taxed now, or later.

I think this is going to be our next move. Lowering my job 401k contribution to where it needs to be just get the maximum match from my job and anything extra that was going in would go into a Roth instead.

4) Saving for future items, new car, etc.

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Responses are in bold. Again thanks a lot for responding.

 

[Linkura]

So I went ahead and due to the comments on my 401k funds sapping a lot of money from me I have moved much of them into funds that are have lower expense costs. Went from a high of 1.15 to a high of 0.31.

Doesn't seem like too many offer lower than that on my Principal 401k plan so maybe I'd have to move it over to something else to find those lower rates?

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If you have shitty expense ratios on the 401(k), just contribute enough to get your match if you have one, then put the rest into a Roth IRA. Only once that is maxed should you put more into the 401(k).

 

[Euphoria]

Maybe someone here can help. I'm reading in another thread about Bernie Sanders plan to add .5% tax on stock transactions and .1% tax on bond transactions.

For someone in my current position trying to begin building an actual retirement with 401k and some small investments how would this effect me?

My concerns get ignored in that thread and hoping someone in here with actual knowledge could help.


Thank you.

 

[FliX]

Maybe someone here can help. I'm reading in another thread about Bernie Sanders plan to add .5% tax on stock transactions and .1% tax on bond transactions.

For someone in my current position trying to begin building an actual retirement with 401k and some small investments how would this effect me?

My concerns get ignored in that thread and hoping someone in here with actual knowledge could help.


Thank you.

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Ideally if you are in it for the long run you wont be racking up many transactions. I.e. only one buy now and one sell in the far future. My understanding is that this sort of thing is there to target active traders, not retirement savings.

 

[demosthenes]

Ideally if you are in it for the long run you wont be racking up many transactions. I.e. only one buy now and one sell in the far future. My understanding is that this sort of thing is there to target active traders, not retirement savings.

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This is my understanding. It would impact people that are selling frequently as it implies that they are speculating. Buying and holding would not be impacted presumably.

 

[Euphoria]

Thanks. The lack of any responses in that thread were very worrying to me.

If this won't really hurt people building a retirement I feel better.

 

[cubanb]

Ideally if you are in it for the long run you wont be racking up many transactions. I.e. only one buy now and one sell in the far future. My understanding is that this sort of thing is there to target active traders, not retirement savings.

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You might not, but the underlying mutual funds you hold will. Look at the turnover ratio for your funds. Any active funds will probably have plenty of turnover in assets. Any passive funds tracking indexes need to rebalance to track their intended index, but depending on what it tracks they may or may not have a lot of turnover. Target date retirement funds also will be selling/purchasing assets to rebalance. Transaction fees incurred by mutual funds/ETF will ultimately come out of your pocket and will be compounded over the years.

 

[Ether_Snake]

I'm invested in VGRO and VCNS, low fees, low hassle. Not sure if US Vanguard has equivalents yet. It's pretty much a no-brainer, I know people who spend way too much for someone to handle this for them, on top of the fund's fees.

 

[Marz]

I only have about 7k in student loan debt so count me out on that Sanders proposal if it's gonna cost me a chunk of my retirement.

 

[demosthenes]

You might not, but the underlying mutual funds you hold will. Look at the turnover ratio for your funds. Any active funds will probably have plenty of turnover in assets. Any passive funds tracking indexes need to rebalance to track their intended index, but depending on what it tracks they may or may not have a lot of turnover. Target date retirement funds also will be selling/purchasing assets to rebalance. Transaction fees incurred by mutual funds/ETF will ultimately come out of your pocket and will be compounded over the years.

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Didn't think about it from that point of view, ouch.

 

[Deleted member 12833]

Little off topic but looking to buy a house in the next 2 years. Currently have approx 10k to invest/save. What would be my best route to grow this? Index funds or just play it safe with a higher yielding savings account?

 

[Deleted member 4367]

Little off topic but looking to buy a house in the next 2 years. Currently have approx 10k to invest/save. What would be my best route to grow this? Index funds or just play it safe with a higher yielding savings account?

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Compare CD rates to good savings account rates and choose the better option. It feels too risky to invest it in the market when you plan to utilize it in two years.

 

[MrBob]

So i think this is an interesting video on the Bernie Sanders plan. It's from a financial YouTube channel I watch videos from. Doesn't really give a yay or nay overall but discusses how this plan could potentially have bad long term implications for everybody since it could completely disrupt the vanguard or ishares etf/mutual fund model, not to mention unintended consequential effects on the USA economy.

 

[Doom_Bringer]

Do you invest in one ETF or a few?

 

[demosthenes]

Compare CD rates to good savings account rates and choose the better option. It feels too risky to invest it in the market when you plan to utilize it in two years.

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Ditto on this.

 

[Deleted member 12833]

Ditto on this.

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Thanks guys. Currently got it in a 2.1% account.

Would appreciate some other advise as well. I havent really touche dmy 401k since starting and it is all into a American balanced fund with the not so great Expense ratio. I'm 30 years old. Any advise on how I should redistribute my funds/contributions?
edit: formatting issue

 

[Deleted member 12833]

This google sheet has my current options. As I mentioned I am 30 and have only invested in the American target date funds. Pretty novice with this stuff so looking to something hands off. Not really sure how I should split my contributions.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tTDevH75i3-XDVaITcSGP3Pj8S-kxL-v8xR0OpQSX_0/edit?usp=sharing

 

[Dr. Feel Good]

I used to work for a major kitchen and bath company in the US and got word from old colleagues that they are going through a rough down year. I'm afraid a looming recession is about to hit especially with the slowed housing markets in places like Miami, LA, Seattle, NYC, etc. I have $12K sitting in Robinhood right now and feel like I should pull it out as it's had 100% gains. Does anyone have advice on this? I know it's stupid to time the market but having money in individual stocks is kind of stupid anyway (mostly just a play fund account).

 

[reKon]

Alright, SoFi got me. They offered me $100 to open their checking/saving hybrid account (SoFi Money) so of course I did!

I liked them for handling my student loans when I first consolidated them so I have a history with them.

They have really blown up with the service offerings, clearly aiming offer everything an investor would need (primarily targeting millennials just wrapping up student loans with good credit scores).

I did some reading on SoFi and when they say "no fees", they really mean it for the most part. If there are no transfer limits like Ally's 6 (on the saving account), I may shift all my savings to SoFi Money for now because of the slightly better APY. I kind of want to see if Personal Capital ends up offering any interest rate boost to compete with Wealthfront (I currently don't use).

SoFi Invest started offering the ability to purchase fractional shares. So there's now another free investing platform that let's you engage in this (M1 Finance is the other one, but I love M1 Finance's Pie system - most user friendly feature I've seen on any of these platforms). If M1 Finance implemented tax loss harvesting, that would be amazing (I could see them creating a free and non-free tier of accounts though and lock this feature to the non-free one).

 

[FliX]

I used to work for a major kitchen and bath company in the US and got word from old colleagues that they are going through a rough down year. I'm afraid a looming recession is about to hit especially with the slowed housing markets in places like Miami, LA, Seattle, NYC, etc. I have $12K sitting in Robinhood right now and feel like I should pull it out as it's had 100% gains. Does anyone have advice on this? I know it's stupid to time the market but having money in individual stocks is kind of stupid anyway (mostly just a play fund account).

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Sell individual stock, invest proceeds in a diversified ETF, don't think about where the market might go and forget about it.

 

[tokkun]

SoFi Invest started offering the ability to purchase fractional shares. So there's now another free investing platform that let's you engage in this (M1 Finance is the other one, but I love M1 Finance's Pie system - most user friendly feature I've seen on any of these platforms). If M1 Finance implemented tax loss harvesting, that would be amazing (I could see them creating a free and non-free tier of accounts though and lock this feature to the non-free one).

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Be careful about using automated tax loss harvesting if you have any other investment accounts (including retirement accounts). Or if you are married and file jointly and your spouse has any investment accounts.

I think the companies that try to market these services do not adequately explain the limitations for using TLH without running afoul of wash sales in the tax law.

 

[reKon]

Be careful about using automated tax loss harvesting if you have any other investment accounts (including retirement accounts). Or if you are married and file jointly and your spouse has any investment accounts.

I think the companies that try to market these services do not adequately explain the limitations for using TLH without running afoul of wash sales in the tax law.

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I'm single, but this is a good point to bring up. I didn't think about this.

 

[Deleted member 12833]

This google sheet has my current options. As I mentioned I am 30 and have only invested in the American target date funds. Pretty novice with this stuff so looking to something hands off. Not really sure how I should split my contributions.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tTDevH75i3-XDVaITcSGP3Pj8S-kxL-v8xR0OpQSX_0/edit?usp=sharing

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Sorry to be that guy but would love some advise.

 

[Chaosblade]

Sorry to be that guy but would love some advise.

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The target date fund is okay. It's slightly expensive by target date fund standards, but it's entirely hands off for you. Aside from that the Vanguard funds are your preferred alternatives, links that explain what each of them are.

Vanguard 500
Mid-cap
Small-cap
Developed Markets
Intermediate Bond

Vanguard 500 is the large cap fund that should be your core investment. Financially, those companies make up most of the market and even in a multi-fund portfolio or a total market fund, they are going to swing things the most. Some people just invest in large cap/S&P500 funds like this and nothing else.

The Mid-cap and Small-cap funds would increase diversity. Each invests in thousands of additional companies but they are much smaller than the ones in the Vanguard 500.

The Developed Market Index is your international option. It's a bit more conservative than a full, broad international fund because it excludes developing markets, which are extremely volatile.

The intermediate bond fund is your only option for bonds.

Disregard the Vanguard real-estate fund. No sense in bothering with sector bets unless you have specific reason to think that's a better bet than the wider market.


What mix to go with is basically up to you, the main thing is that you would want the 500 index as the meat of your portfolio. If you want to simulate Vanguard's popular total stock market single fund, it would be 76/17/7 between 500/mid cap/small cap. The merits of small cap and international are up for debate. Some people feel they are a drag on their portfolio, some people want the diversity, some people think they might be undervalued, etc. Mid cap is a bit less divisive for increased diversity AFAIK.

And bonds are another thing entirely. They are lower risk, lower reward. Good for "safe money" in case of a recession, not so good for growth. How much you want in bonds just depends on how conservative you are with your investing. I'm about your age and I have no bonds at all. Not worried about market swings because I'm still decades away from retirement. I'll take the greater growth and volatility that comes with it.

Since you don't have broader fund options like a total market fund, you are probably looking at occasional rebalancing with these funds. Again, the target date fund is also an option. The fees are higher than the Vanguard funds which means it eats into your earnings more, but it's 100% hands off, set it and forget it.

Edit: Changed the wording on the target date fund, I looked too quick. .33 isn't awful, but .42 for the date you're looking at is getting a bit high to comfortably give a straight "just do that" recommendation.

 

[Deleted member 12833]

The target date fund is okay. It's slightly expensive by target date fund standards, but it's entirely hands off for you. Aside from that the Vanguard funds are your preferred alternatives, links that explain what each of them are.

Vanguard 500
Mid-cap
Small-cap
Developed Markets
Intermediate Bond

Vanguard 500 is the large cap fund that should be your core investment. Financially, those companies make up most of the market and even in a multi-fund portfolio or a total market fund, they are going to swing things the most. Some people just invest in large cap/S&P500 funds like this and nothing else.

The Mid-cap and Small-cap funds would increase diversity. Each invests in thousands of additional companies but they are much smaller than the ones in the Vanguard 500.

The Developed Market Index is your international option. It's a bit more conservative than a full, broad international fund because it excludes developing markets, which are extremely volatile.

The intermediate bond fund is your only option for bonds.

Disregard the Vanguard real-estate fund. No sense in bothering with sector bets unless you have specific reason to think that's a better bet than the wider market.


What mix to go with is basically up to you, the main thing is that you would want the 500 index as the meat of your portfolio. If you want to simulate Vanguard's popular total stock market single fund, it would be 76/17/7 between 500/mid cap/small cap. The merits of small cap and international are up for debate. Some people feel they are a drag on their portfolio, some people want the diversity, some people think they might be undervalued, etc. Mid cap is a bit less divisive for increased diversity AFAIK.

And bonds are another thing entirely. They are lower risk, lower reward. Good for "safe money" in case of a recession, not so good for growth. How much you want in bonds just depends on how conservative you are with your investing. I'm about your age and I have no bonds at all. Not worried about market swings because I'm still decades away from retirement. I'll take the greater growth and volatility that comes with it.

Since you don't have broader fund options like a total market fund, you are probably looking at occasional rebalancing with these funds. Again, the target date fund is also an option. The fees are higher than the Vanguard funds which means it eats into your earnings more, but it's 100% hands off, set it and forget it.

Edit: Changed the wording on the target date fund, I looked too quick. .33 isn't awful, but .42 for the date you're looking at is getting a bit high to comfortably give a straight "just do that" recommendation.

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Thank you for taking the time to write all that up. It's extremely helpful. I'm going to wait until the weekend to rebalance and may have some more question.

Thanks again🙏

 

[Jason's Ultimatum]

I made a thread about best online banking that has high yields. I have 25k in my savings and want to move it with either a fidelity money market fund or the suggested Ally bank.

I currently bank at MIDFLORIDA Credit Union. I really don't use any of their services or even go into their banks. I just use the debit card and transfer money in and out from checking to savings and Vice versa.

Should I just stick with Ally bank? They have debit cards? and I can quickly transfer money from savings to checking and Vice versa? That's all I'd use it for.

EDIT-ugh a $10 fee for 7th exchange. I get paid bi monthly, and move some of what I get to my savings. So that's two. Sometimes I may need to transfer money from savings to checking. But i don't think I've done any of that many times with my current bank.

 

[reKon]

I made a thread about best online banking that has high yields. I have 25k in my savings and want to move it with either a fidelity money market fund or the suggested Ally bank.

I currently bank at MIDFLORIDA Credit Union. I really don't use any of their services or even go into their banks. I just use the debit card and transfer money in and out from checking to savings and Vice versa.

Should I just stick with Ally bank? They have debit cards? and I can quickly transfer money from savings to checking and Vice versa? That's all I'd use it for.

EDIT-ugh a $10 fee for 7th exchange. I get paid bi monthly, and move some of what I get to my savings. So that's two. Sometimes I may need to transfer money from savings to checking. But i don't think I've done any of that many times with my current bank.

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Ally is a good choice, but I'm wondering if Sofi Money/Personal Capital will be a better option (I think both offer unlimited transfers). SoFi Money has a debit card. Personal Capital will likely be getting one in the future.

 

[Chaosblade]

The 6 transaction limit is a federal regulation that has something to do with how savings accounts are classified and how the money is used within the bank itself. It also only counts withdraws, not deposits, and you can request a mailed check or use an ATM to avoid the penalty too.

Ally has instant transfers between your Ally accounts, so checking to savings for example. External transfers can still take days, apparently you can get expedited transfers after transferring enough money with another account and waiting a certain period. You get a debit card for checking, don't remember one for savings. I use Ally and the only real downside is that there is no cash option at all. Usually not a hassle since I rarely deal with cash, but sometimes I'll give a family member some cash and they'll write me a check so I can deposit it.

 

[demosthenes]

I just assume social security will be gone by the time I retire and plan accordingly. If I do get it, that's just gravy.

Click to shrink...

SS will go to 75% of benefits in 2036 I think (don't quote me on the year) and be fine after that unless Congress does something.
Narrator: Congress will probably do something.

 

[reKon]

So earlier in this thread (probably a few months ago), I asked the question on whether I should switch from my retirement target account (.05% expense ratio) to an alternative fund that was generating better returns (spare me the lecture - I know that past returns don't guarantee future performance!)

Well... I just realized today that my 401K has FXAIX (the Fidelity S&P 500 index) as an option. Now I swear that this was not an option before (or I really just completely missed out on it?).

Any thoughts on selling all of my existing positions and allocating the majority to this fund? I would also need to confirm the int'l funds/US bonds they have available. It's likely I'd be investing this for another 20 to 35+ years (I want early retirement to be an option for me if I decide which my target retirement date fund probably won't align with from an allocation standpoint).