30 years to retirement should i go high risk or low or have 50/50 balance?
444126
If it will be 30 years until you use the money, you ought to have very high risk investments.\n\nI'm a big believer in index funds.  A mix of index funds beats 3/4 of managed mutual funds.  I think it is really advisable to read up on the "couch potato portfolio" and the "coffee house portfolio."  Scott Burns discusses these at his web site (free registration).  You can search Google.  They are simple mixes of index funds that only require rebalancing once a year.\n\nRead "Bogle on Mutual Funds."  It shows why index fund investing is the way to go.\n\nI have a couple articles on the couch potato and coffee house portfolios, including recommended funds.  If you'll e-mail me, I'll send them to you.  My address: 5azssqf02@sneakemail.com
103673
She's right if that is as much as you can invest.  Your best bet is to max out both if you can afford to.\n\nHere's the order:\n\n401K to match:\nROTH IRA max\n401K max
1080953
Your savings should be placed in safe investments (bonds, certified deposits, or deposits protected against inflation) which will yield about 5%.\nYour yearly expenses being Rs.3,60,000 (12 x Rs30,000), the required amount of savings that would produce this income is:\nRs.3,60,000 x 20 = 72,00,000\n(multiplying by 20 is the same as dividing by 5%).\n\nThis assumes that you have a very very long retirement.\nIf you factor in the number of years you expect to live (you did not specify in your question), the amount above is reduced... however the calculation is more complex.\nAs an example, if you expect your savings to last 25 years after your husband retires, the amount becomes approximately 50 lakhs. Sounds like a lot? one thing you can do is reduce your monthly expenses (in retirement people usually spend less) and save, save, save!
510154
thirty years and a mortgage
267235
they need to save 80% if they arent going to work after that and plan on living another 40 years afterward.\n\nIf they plan to work after that then they should just try and save up enough so that when they retire in 30 years they will have enough. This might be simple or diffucult depending on how much they make.
1006265
with corporations no longer funing your retirement and cutting back on medical insurance and everyone talking about privatizing social security. you need to be activly engaged in your investments. no sleeping on the job...\n\nif you are 25 and save $400,000 by the time you are 67, it will generate about $2000/month... can you live on $2000/month?.... but before you answer, remember that in 42 years from now, with 3% inflation it will spend like it's only $573. that will be for your rent, food, bills and medical. BUT... if your rent today is $1100, in 42 years the same place will cost you $4000..... and what's worse, you will probably live for an additional 30 to 40 years... the numbers just get worse...\n\nif you want to sleep on an investment, you'll be sleeping in a cardboard box eating an occasional can of cat food.\n\nwe all need to wake up and learn to invest
678923
My personal opinion is that you'll eventually want to open both.  But at your age, you have a long time to go before retirement, and that makes the Roth much more attractive.  The different is that, with a Roth, all the growth inside the account will eventually come back to you completely tax-free.  Since you've got many years ahead of you, your investments should have grown a great deal by the time you retire, and that will benefit you the most.\n\nLater, when you're in your 40's or 50's and your income is much higher, perhaps you'll get more benefit from putting money into a Traditional IRA and taking the deduction.  Also, it will be nice to have both types of accounts to choose from when you're retired and want to have the ability to decide which account to take money out of.  But, for now, the Roth will provide you much greater opportunity.\n\nThe second question, which you didn't ask, is "How should I invest the money inside the account?"  At your age, I'd lean heavily toward growth stocks.  Best of luck to you.
730019
Barclays LifePath 2040 will be good if you're not sure what you're doing.  The fund will rebalance over time so that it is invested more aggressively while you're young and changes to a more conservative mix as you get closer to retirement.\n\nIf you don't go this option, here are some other ideas:\n\n-The Vanguard 500 Index Inv mimics the S&P500 (so it's a large cap fund, mimics an index, and has low expenses)\n-Get some mid caps & small caps by going with the Dreyfus Mid Cap Value and the Fidelity Advisors Small Cap\n-Get international exposure by investing maybe 5-10% in the Fidelity Adv Diversified Intl fund\n-I wouldn't recommend any fixed income (bonds) at your age since I think they are too conservative.  If you really wanted to you could maybe go with 5%, but I don't think it's necessary.\n-Make sure you put your money somewhere other than HighMark Diversified MM Fid--this is a money market fund and isn't a good option for a 25 year old
1048399
Those two questions have opposite answers.  Expected return on a portfolio is directly related to risk.  You can have a safe portfolio with a small average return or a risky portfolio with a larger average return.\n\nIf you are young, don't worry too much about safety.  There will be lots of good years and a few bad years before you retire.  The returns in the good years will outweigh the returns in the bad years, and in the long run you should outperform the safer portfolio.\n\nYou should probably put your money in a well diversified fund that mimics a broad stock market nidex -- like the S&P 500.  If you want higher returns, put part of it into a growth fund.  If you want more safety, but part of it into a short to medium term bond fund -- but don't expect big returns n that portion of your portfolio.
213700
I don't know if there is a specific percentage that you should have, but it's never too early to start investing and saving for retirement through an account like an IRA or 401k, which are often available through your place of employment.\n\nI think it is important to consider the expense of living for a considerable amount of time with little to no income during retirement.  Other things to figure are inflation rates, longevity, and the quality of life you would like to maintain in retirement.\n\nI suggest you find a financial consultant to discuss your retirement plans.  They deal with planning people's investments day in and day out and may be able to better assist your in your inquiry.
1014399
I have heard that it is best to keep about 30% balance each month, and be sure to keep paying them off.  I went up to about 50% and payed a lot off each month and my credit score skyrocketed
79885
It depends on how long you can leave your money invested. The higher the returns you seek, the more risk of short term losses you are going to need to accept. If you do not have a long time to stay invested you need to pick more conservative investments. Over the long term, the highest returns are earned by stocks, with small company stocks edging out larger company stocks. Bonds will typically give you lower rates of return than stocks, but less unpredictability. CD's and money markets are at the low end return-wise, but have virtually no chance to losing value.\n\nSeek the advice of a financial planner. Have him/her help you complete a Risk Tolerance Analysis. The results of this analysis will guide you to the proper mix of assets for your particular savings goal.
666715
First, it is not always optimal for you to pay off your mortgage. It is one of the few non-recourse loans available to you, and that lets you keep the upside while giving the bank the downside (they get the house, but nothing else if things go bad). \n\nAlthough I do not recommend negative amortizing loans, I would recommend that you change your goal of "paying off your mortgage before retiring" to "maximize my after tax wealth." Depending on your real estate market, and the interest rate on your loan (after tax interest rate of course), etc, it may be optimal to take the equity out, invest it in a way such that you can still draw from it to pay the increased mortgage payments... (i.e. do not use the extracted equity to buy a new Porsche).\n\nAdditionally, make sure that BEFORE you do teh 403b (unless they match in which case do the minimum required to get the match asap!), take advantage of the ROTH IRA. It has many advantages over a traditional IRA (untaxed at retirement, no required distributions at retirement), and the only disadvantage I can think of is the fact that you don't get the tax deduction today (although even this one is not entirely true depending on your income level). However, if you assume that tax rates will be higher at retirement (we all want to retire rich, right?) then the ROTH dominates teh traditional. Also, income tax rates are at historically low levels today, I'm assuming that our trade deficits and national debt levels will require increased taxes in the future... the ROTH is indifferent and protects you from such a development :)\n\nForget Universal Life. Start with Term, if you have a reason for life insurance at all. The rule of thumb would say that disability insurance makes more sense for younger workers than life insurance... Another rule of thumb: trust very few insurance salesmen, and those that you do trust almost always tell you that you need more than actual.\n\nBest of luck, hopefully this bit on personal finance helps.\nAs they say, it's just my $0.02!
838767
It really depends on your goals, financial situation and age.  The older someone is (like your mom), the more conservative you want to be.  However, for someone younger, you need to plan to stay ahead of inflation in retirement and many fixed or indexed annuities will not allow you to do that if that is all you have in your portfolio.  Having a good mix is key.  Many financial planners suggest subtracting your age from 100 and then using that number to decide what percentage of your portfolio should be made up with stocks/mutual funds.  Tell your mom that while she is probably very happy with the way she has invested, you have a different strategy for maximizing growth and staying ahead of inflation.\n\nOne side note - there are some variable annuities that can get you the type of return you like.  So, once again, it just depends on what you choose.  Hope this helps!
1065155
I would buy an investment property or two, then put the rest in some type of money market fund earning an average of 10% or more. The Rule of 72 states that any money invested @ 10% will double every 7 years.\n\nIf you used 100k of that 400k, on down payments on one or two investment properties to create you some month to month cash flow, and build long term equity. Then the other 300k in a fund, in seven years you'll have 600k, 14years 1.2mil, 21years 2.4mil; geez your retired good for you!!
534301
it depends on what pension you are going to get from your employer,i would say think hard and long before you decide weigh up all your outgoings and think if you could afford to retire on your pension alone ,i fell into that trap and now find that i cannot get any help from the dhss because i am above the threshold, they seem keen to hand money over to scroungers who have never worked in their lives and refugees who come over here with there demands to be fed and housed by us and people who think it is neccessary to keep producing children that they cannot support but that is okay but on the other hand if you have worked for 35 years and have to retire on ill health do not expect much support from the dhss, please think carefully before you decide you are better off doing a job that you hate than having the constant worry of when you will reach your limit on your credit card just to live on ,good luck, god bless.
542458
It depends how much you can afford to take out.  If you're married and have some financial support for your spouse that helps.  If you can live with less than 30k, try and contribute as much as possible until you hit the limit where the company stops matching.  As long as they match, that's basically free money and you should try and take advantage of it.