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Cuddlebottom, that is a good expense ratio and it seems like decent diversification; one of the issues I've found with target retirement funds is that they don't carry enough international exposure but this one seems good at 45%. Some people will say you're not being conservative enough with 15% bonds, some will say you're being too conservative, but it's really up to you (I think that's a fine stock:bond ratio for a 21 year old). Double check to make sure you're not paying any additional fees but other than that it looks good. When you change jobs (probably in the next 5 years like most young people), you'll want to be sure to roll it over and you might decide you want to reallocate, but I wouldn't worry about it until then.
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Aug 15, 2010 19:55
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Beatladdius posted:I picked up "The Intelligent Investor" from the library and it seems to be, well, a bit over my head/past the point I'm at. The only Finance experience I have is from an incredibly basic Financial Management course I took in High School. moana fucked around with this message at 16:50 on Aug 18, 2010 |
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Aug 18, 2010 16:47
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You've checked your credit history and there's nothing on there against you like a late payment? Make sure you check all three reports from https://www.annualcreditreport.com. Apart from that, just keep doing what you're doing and you should be just fine.
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Aug 22, 2010 03:34
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SUBFRIES posted:What's the BFC consensus on just how big one's emergency savings should be? The traditional six months' expense emergency fund has recently been called into question, with many people unemployed for over a year at a time. You decide how much you think is right - for me, I wouldn't feel comfortable without a year of bills saved up, but for a lot of people it isn't either feasible or necessary.
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Aug 23, 2010 16:31
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Does mint work on macs? Because if so (and if your banks are supported), mint.com is pretty good and easy to use.
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Sep 23, 2010 02:10
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Ziploc posted:What happens if I try Mint.com and I don't like it? I like being able to access it from anywhere, and it's a nice, painfree way to see where all my money is.
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Sep 23, 2010 03:00
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Hm well then I was wrong, I don't know much about this kind of security though and was just going off of what I thought I remembered someone saying from the thread. I'd be more worried about Chase itself loving up security just based on how stupid they are at internetting.
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Sep 23, 2010 18:17
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Ziggy, what are you saving for? Obviously retirement with your Roth, but what is your end goal for the other money? Down payment for a house? Your time frame for investment will likely determine where you want to park your money. If you are taking out the money within 5 years, it's probably best to put it somewhere safe (like a savings account with SmartyPig or something). For longer timelines, you might be looking at investing into bonds, stocks, or a mix of the two (Vanguard has index funds for just about everything). For your car, I recommend reading through the car thread:http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3213538 Following their advice, I bought a Kia for around $15k, and had to put $3k down. Also got the 0% APR for 60 months, great deal if you can get it!
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Sep 25, 2010 02:49
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Consensus for 5-year savings used to be money market funds, but the interest rates are so low that it might actually be better to stick the money into a savings account like SmartyPig. After that, bonds were considered a "safer" investment than stocks, but in the coming future it's likely that bond prices will drop as the interest rate rises, leaving open the possibility of losing a big chunk of your capital if you put it in bond funds. So it's kind of risky in the short term no matter what, unless you park the cash in a savings account. As for your other question - funds at Vanguard are pretty darn liquid, and tranfers between funds are easy as pie. To be honest, I don't think you'd need to use too many different funds to achieve your goals, especially if you pick one of their index funds. Heck, you could probably pick a "retirement" fund that was set for 5-10 years from now and you'd be at about the right risk level, with the same bond caveat as above. If it were me and it was a house downpayment, I'd put it in SmartyPig and thank goodness for the 1.75% risk-free interest, but I'm pretty conservative when it comes to the short-term.
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Oct 7, 2010 04:42
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pauld posted:Care to explain?
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Oct 11, 2010 22:55
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 Zeta is my favorite Zeta.I wish I were taught earlier how to invest properly, and I don't think people are informed enough about how dangerous CC debt or new car payments (or heck, active investment) can be. I'd love to teach finance mathematics in school just to get people started on the right foot because gosh, it would have been nice to know that instead of getting thrown blindly into the adult world of personal finance.
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Oct 20, 2010 04:43
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Pay off that credit card in full, it's a guaranteed 7.7% investment. Is the money you inherited taxable or not? Find out before you go spending it all. I'd say yeah, stick a bunch in Smarty Pig and try to max out your Roth for this year by next April. I believe you'll need to put $3k in your Roth to start with at Vanguard to avoid paying a $20 annual fee. Start putting that credit card payment in savings and retirement investments. Don't ever get in credit card debt again and you'll be well on your way to being a millionaire!
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Oct 21, 2010 18:31
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No, you should start your Roth right away, and put whatever is left in savings. I'd say start with $3k at Vanguard because I believe that is their minimum if you don't want to get hit with fees, and set up an automatic contribution schedule to max it out ($5k max this year). I recommend Vanguard because they are awesome and have really low expense ratios, and their Target Retirement funds are easy for beginners to understand. Check out a few others and compare them, and come back here if you have any questions about what you find.
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Oct 21, 2010 18:55
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He'll have $11k left after paying off the debt, $3k in a Roth will still leave him with $8k liquid. Yes?
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Oct 22, 2010 00:01
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That is a terrible idea. Gold fluctuates wildly in price, and you need a stable investment that you can pull out in the very near future. I wouldn't gamble at all with a house down payment - savings account or money market account to keep your capital as safe as possible edit: sorry, jewce, I know nothing about exchanges. Hopefully someone else can help!
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Oct 22, 2010 16:32
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Raise that poo poo to the roof, credit is awesome. You might take a small hit in credit in the short term because they usually have to run a hard inquiry to increase your limit, but in the long term more credit is good. Plus, what if you ever need to buy a jet plane on credit?
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Oct 22, 2010 23:20
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Loanarn posted:Now that I think about it will getting a new credit card yesterday effect my score as to prevent me from increasing my limit on my old card?
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Oct 23, 2010 21:57
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BigDave posted:My new employer offers a 401(k) with a 6% match, but only .50 for every dollar, and it's in Company stock, rather then cash. Personally, I don't consider it a very good deal.
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Oct 24, 2010 07:45
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Read the long term investment thread for more info on asset allocation, and pick up The Four Pillars of Investing for some basic introduction. Vanguard comes highly recommended because of their low expense ratios compared to other companies. IRAs can be as stable or unstable as the investments you put in them, so that question isn't really relevant - if you're saving for a home, you could put your entire IRA in a really safe and stable money market account; if you wanted to be more aggressive you could put it all in a broad stock index fund, and anywhere in between. Check out Vanguard's page for more information and browse through their Target Retirement and other funds to see what kind of options you have for investing. They are very helpful even if you decide to go with another company, just to get started. edit: and to answer your questions, yes you can stick $5k in this year and next moana fucked around with this message at 22:50 on Oct 27, 2010 |
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Oct 27, 2010 22:21
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RaoulDuke12 posted:Unfortunately, living out in los angeles, you look like you're loaded when you drop a 3.5k check in the bank, but in reality, 3k of it goes into rent and basic living expenses. it's unreasonable to keep that much reserve on hand.
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Nov 2, 2010 03:22
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Haha, ok. Good on you for being aggressive in paying down your debt. Silly you for characterizing $1500+ in debt payments as "basic living expenses". Keep a little bit more of a buffer in your bank account (maybe just make minimum payments for a month and leave the rest as part of your emergency fund) or switch to a non-lovely bank (I know, options are limited - have you checked out any online banks?). Glad to hear your salary increased, though, and as long as you keep the same path you'll soon be debt free and swimming in your giant vault of coins 
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Nov 2, 2010 16:54
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Cancelling cards is bad for your credit since it lowers the total amount of credit you have. If the one card you use has a limit of $20k and the other two are small limits, cancelling them shouldn't matter all too much. However, if they are all $1k limit for example, cancelling the two cards would wipe out 66% of your available credit, which would be a bit hit. 3 cards is not bad at all, I would just keep them in a drawer and forget about them.
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Nov 4, 2010 01:01
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man thats gross posted:Thank you so much for this.
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Nov 16, 2010 19:00
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There's also a dealing with debt collectors thread that might provide some useful information about how to help with those accounts.
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Nov 17, 2010 18:04
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It's a short term swing, it doesn't matter especially when you're already above 700. Eventually responsible use of credit will lead to an increase. They have to put a reason on there for your score, just so happens that you had a higher utilization ratio the day they pulled your score. Don't sweat it.
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Nov 20, 2010 01:43
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gregday posted:The only thing I'm paying now is eliminating that last credit card, which is also a closed account, and my mortgage which only has about $6000 left. 
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Nov 21, 2010 21:02
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ImPureAwesome posted:Surely its gotta be harder than just self-control. That seems....too simple? - Start finding a job now. That means you should be looking through job postings and seeing what skills employers want. The ones you don't have, get. Network. Find internships that relate to your field and get a foot in the door. Start getting in touch with alumni and ask them about their careers, get advice from them. - Start saving for retirement as soon as you can. You don't have a job now, but if you make any money from summer work or internships, start a Roth IRA immediately. This will put you ahead of like 95% of people your age. Yeah, that's about it. Make sure you keep seeing the doctor/dentist regularly, especially since you probably are on a cheap student plan. Don't let your health insurance lapse. Don't buy a new car on credit. Don't spend all your money on hookers and blow.
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Nov 23, 2010 18:53
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Zeta Taskforce posted:Sorry if I am a wet towel thrown on your dreams. ...But yeah, if you plan on having a kid, that pool of money will be more like a kiddie pool. A kiddie pool of debt 
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Nov 24, 2010 00:27
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ImPureAwesome posted:but when would initial ever be bigger than the final?
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Nov 24, 2010 00:32
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Go read the long term investing thread. A large chunk of your retirement account should be in equities (stocks). It's not playing the stock market if you invest in a large index fund of a lot of stocks. Start reading up on it now and you will be well-informed when it comes time to make decisions on what to choose to invest in for retirement!
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Nov 24, 2010 00:45
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Added, thanks!
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Nov 26, 2010 20:54
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Elemennop posted:What exactly should I be thinking about as I start preparing for adult life? As lovely as it may be to move twice, I'd recommend subletting for a few months before actually signing a year lease on an apartment, unless you already know the Chicago area well or are close enough to travel there beforehand. This will give you time to shop around for apartments, maybe look at neighborhoods close to where you're going to work (or easy to commute from) and will help you decide whether you need to keep your car or not. I loved living without a car in NYC, but I'm not sure how public transportation is in Chicago - maybe try the Chicago goon thread for more info? As far as savings and investing, your basic start should be: 1. Save an emergency fund of about 6-9 months expenses. For me, I keep about 2 months of expenses in a checking account and the rest in an online savings account like SmartyPig to earn some interest. Checking accounts usually give 0% interest. 2. Start figuring out how much you spend in your new life. I love mint.com to track spending since I put everything on credit cards, but whatever works for you. This will help you budget. 3. Invest for retirement. If your company has a 401k plan or something similar, post the details in the Long Term Investment megathread and we can help you decide whether you should be putting your money there or somewhere else. If it's a lovely plan (no matching, crappy fund selection) you should start your own IRA. Again, if you need help with that, just post in the investing megathread. There are lots of companies around (Vanguard is a personal favorite) that make it really easy for you to start saving up for retirement on your own.
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Nov 28, 2010 04:04
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Why do you need a decent interest rate? If you want to build credit, just get a card, any card (a secured CC if you can't get approved for a regular one) and pay it off on time every month. Really, if you're doing it right you should never worry about the interest rate on your credit cards because you're never going to be paying interest anyway. Don't get a credit card with the intention of getting into debt.
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Dec 19, 2010 18:08
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Oh, you mean making interest. I thought you were interested in low interest rates on a CC. You can choose to invest in just about anything, it doesn't matter what your credit score is. The answer will depend on what you want to do with the money. With that little, I imagine you'll want to keep it liquid and safe in case of emergencies, in which case SmartyPig is probably your best bet. When you have $1k saved up, you can start a Roth or something and invest in stocks. Do you have a regular income?
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Dec 20, 2010 02:09
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Chin Strap posted:Stocks aren't a good way to just make money. It is very volatile and highly prone to swings. Are you investing in a retirement account at all? Need to get your 401k (if your company matchers) / IRA in order first.
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Dec 20, 2010 17:07
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Not sure if things are much different in Australia, but check out the house buying megathread for possible places to store the down payment. Usually you'll want to keep it in a lower-risk place. Your retirement is probably mostly in equities, which is very risky if you want to pull the money out within a few years. Other options include bonds, money market accounts, CDs, high-interest savings accounts... I was very conservative with my down payment and just kept it in a mix of a money market fund and CDs.
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Jan 12, 2011 05:05
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Zeta Taskforce posted:That doesn't work now. I just checked ING and a 5 year CD yields 1.25%.
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Jan 16, 2011 19:10
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Yeah, it's probably best to kill the car loan with such a high interest rate. For anybody else out there waiting to start a Roth, know that you can still contribute to your Roth for 2010 (until April 15th, I believe). Then you have the rest of the year to max out your 2011 contribution.
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Feb 1, 2011 23:54
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Busy Bee posted:It is the latter, thank you. I believe you missed a 2.5/(1+x)^3 in your equation. However, during the midterm when we won't have access to excel, how would I solve for X? Could I use a function on my TI-83? Thank you. - Math-> Solver (it's the 0 button) - rewrite your equation to be 0= blah blah blah, type that into the equation section and press enter - enter a guess for x (make it appropriate or it'll give you an error that says "Bad Guess"... seriously, this is the worst solver program) - press 2nd->Enter, and it'll solve after a few seconds of thinking and replace your guess with the correct answer. You have to be on the equation line or on the x= line for this to work. You can't edit your equation without a guess for x entered in. Sometimes the answer will be 7 and it will give you 6.9999999... If there are multiple answers it will usually give you the one closest to the x value you guess, but sometimes not. It's quite buggy but get used to it and you should be fine. You can also just graph it under Y= and use the calc button to find the x-intercepts which will then be the solutions of the equation... this is essentially what the solver program is doing for you.
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Feb 4, 2011 01:04
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The solution is not to try to game the system by paying it off at the exact right day so you can max out your score at one particular instant. The solution is to increase your credit limit so that you can never hit a high used:available credit ratio. Call your card and ask if they'll raise the limit. If you have 5 or 10 times as much credit as you use every month, you will never have to worry about this problem. Also: who cares? Are you applying for a mortgage in the next month? Responsible credit use will increase your score in the long term even if you're not at PEAK MAX CREDIT SCORE this very second.
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Feb 5, 2011 00:12
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