BigJohn's Account Talk

Sort by newest Sort by date
BigJohn said:
I am near going into Hibernation Mode...just waiting in the I fund until I get my 1% over my buy in. I think the last week or so has been a complete manipulation of the market by those that want to see a change at the top. I do not go political in my thread (in the sense of throwing rocks either way), but it is clear to me that the real power players with billions in assets want a different conductor leading the economic band. A darn shame all around.
Click to expand...

Took a 25% hit, how far have you gone?
 
JTH said:
Penny for your thoughts?
Click to expand...

Sorry JTH, I haven't checked the message board in weeks.

I think stripping away the political nonsense, that the overall trend (albeit very slow trend) is up. I think we will see these huge swings until something really solid (a huge increase in employment for example) takes hold...not sure when that will happen. In the meantime, trying hard not to pay too much attention.
 
TSP Loans: I have read up on them but figured I would turn to my colleagues on the board for clarification.

Hypo:

100K in my fund
20K Loan to be paid off in 5 years.

The 20K is paid bi monthly out of my paycheck, in place of the monies that would have gone into the funds.

I pay an interest rate on the 20K, which is much lower than what banks are offering.

End result: 5 years of no contributions in the funds.

Do I have this about right?
 
BigJohn said:
TSP Loans: I have read up on them but figured I would turn to my colleagues on the board for clarification.

Hypo:

100K in my fund
20K Loan to be paid off in 5 years.

The 20K is paid bi monthly out of my paycheck, in place of the monies that would have gone into the funds.

I pay an interest rate on the 20K, which is much lower than what banks are offering.

End result: 5 years of no contributions in the funds.

Do I have this about right?
Click to expand...

BigJohn - You can still contribute to your TSP in addition to your loan payments. You can spread your loan payments to whatever fund(s) you want, same as your regular TSP contributions. The payments and contributions get lumped together. Hope this answers your question.
 
It does help answer my question...how about the agency matching? Would I have to go 5% on top of what my loan payment would be to get full advantage of the matching funds?

I am going to call tsp on Tuesday and ask all these questions, so don't put too much time into it...unless you know off the top of your head.

Thanks.
 
BigJohn said:
It does help answer my question...how about the agency matching? Would I have to go 5% on top of what my loan payment would be to get full advantage of the matching funds?

I am going to call tsp on Tuesday and ask all these questions, so don't put too much time into it...unless you know off the top of your head.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I once took out a loan from my TSP, general purpose. The loan payment is separate from your regular TSP Contributions. You sign a loan agreement and agree to make payments, bi-weekly from your federal salary just like if you took a loan from a bank. So unless you stop contributing to you TSP, your current contributions, and matching amount, will not be effected by any loan you take out, or the payments you agree to. I believe you loan amount is credited to the "G Fund" and you pay yourself the interest rate you agree to, which is about the G fund rate of return?? Or there about.

That's the advantage of taking a loan from your TSP, you pay yourself interest instead of the bank. Of course the flip side is that 20,000 could have made more interest if it was in the F, S, I, or C funds.
 
Taking out a loan during the last bear market was one of the best decisions I ever made, owing and paying yourself money is rather enjoyable. :)
 
Thanks JTH and KevinD...I have a CPA buddy I am going to talk to tomorrow, want to nail down the tax implications.
 
BigJohn said:
Thanks JTH and KevinD...I have a CPA buddy I am going to talk to tomorrow, want to nail down the tax implications.
Click to expand...

Just to clarify, let's say you set your Contribution Allocation to 100% S Fund. If you're making $200 bi-weekly loan payments in addition to your 5% (for example) TSP bi-weekly contribution, both your loan payment and your usual TSP contribution will go into the S Fund. Basically, the loan payment acts as another TSP contribution. None of it goes into the G Fund by default, unless you set your Contribution Allocation to do so.
 
BigJohn said:
It does help answer my question...how about the agency matching? Would I have to go 5% on top of what my loan payment would be to get full advantage of the matching funds?

I am going to call tsp on Tuesday and ask all these questions, so don't put too much time into it...unless you know off the top of your head.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Yes, you would still have to go 5% on top of your loan payment to take full advantage of agency matching funds.
 
Hello all... Just checking in, wanted to check the autotracker and see who is doing what. I see some new names on the leader board, and some old ones...have to have a nice touch to have such high returns in this market.

I hope all is well...I miss being in and more active, but haven't even made back half of what I lost from this summer...so I must be patient. I $%^*(&^% hate being patient, but just can't bring myself to lock in a loss.

Oh well. Best luck to all!!!
 
I don't see any reason 1340 can't be reached (and in my opinion surpassed) this year. I think so much of the market is manipulated, news is so scripted, that what will happen is not necessarily what should happen in terms of market direction. My overall sense for the last 6 months is that the European situation is overblown and the housing bubble is working itself out, albeit slowly. I have been in the I fund for months believing that the I fund will start to recover before the US markets. I sure have been wrong before but take solace in the fact that I am a long term investor and know that eventually the levels I bought in at will be surpassed.
 
BJ

I know you won't move your money until you get back what you lost. However, I and probably others would love to hear WWBJD(What Would Big John Do) if he made some IFTs;)
 
JP,

I have been firmly rooted on my keister, and haven't paid much attention to my totals for the last month or so. If it wasn't for a knucklehead I work with who came into my office and congratulated me for being #138 on the tracker...I wouldn't have even looked.

So what would I do??? I would go back to my old strategy of buying in on mornings that see a big drop pre-deadline and then riding it up. The "riding it up" part may take a while, as is the case with me being married to the I fund for a heck of a lot longer than I had planned. But that buy in strategy has always worked well enough for me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

tsptalk
November 2024 AutoTracker Winners!
Replies
3
Views
497
tsptalk
tsptalk
tsptalk
October 2024 AutoTracker Winners!
Replies
5
Views
267
nasa1974
nasa1974
TommyIV
October Contest In Progress
Replies
1
Views
188
TommyIV
TommyIV
TommyIV
  • Article Article
TSP Talk AutoTracker Insights: The Week of the FOMC Sell-Off
Replies
0
Views
232
TommyIV
TommyIV
TommyIV
  • Article Article
TSP Talk Weekly Wrap Up - Opportunistic Investors
Replies
0
Views
88
TommyIV
TommyIV
Back
Top