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NiteFlyer's Account Talk
- Thread starter NiteFlyer
- Start date
nnuut
Moderator | TSP Legend
That's GREAT, good job, but only in my dreams.
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NiteFlyer
Member
That was just leaving it 50/50 in the S and I for 11 months then joining here around election day and moving between the G, I and S based in part on information here (I love the charts and analysis a few of you all do) and my own intuition. I really wish the market was driven purely by the value of the companies and not by news. I mean, you should not be able to say, oh crap, the fed chairman is going to speak tomorrow at 10, I know stocks are going to tank at 10:00:01 so I'll move to G tonight. So, some of my intuition is based on that. I expected the fiscal cliff to be averted and expected a 3-5% rise in stocks shortly after (I was off by two days but we did get the 5% since opening bell Monday).
PessOptimist
Well-known member
Great job. If you don't mind sharing, when was your TSP account started?
Handballer
Active member
That's great! I only half the 400K when I retired.
NiteFlyer
Member
October 15th, 1985. I mostly did buy and hold and lost big in 2001 and 2008 (or whichever years had the large "corrections"). I think I dropped about 30% each time.
PessOptimist
Well-known member
Thanks for sharing that, wondering based on my total. I hope you make that 400k soon and maybe 1/2 mil before you retire.
NiteFlyer
Member
I hope to make 1/2 mil by next January. By the time I retire in 2023, when I become eligible or later if necessary, I plan to have $1 to $3M. Then between the 38% of my high-three (FERS... damnit I just missed CSRS by about a year) and the investment income off my TSP (minus taxes when I retire), I should be able to travel or stay put and really enjoy retirement doing what I want to do. I just need to avoid any more market crashes! Also, I don't count on social security in my retirement plan. If it is still around when I retire and I get anything out of it, that's just a bonus.
Cactus
Well-known member
That's a smart move, NiteFlyer. I can retire in 2022 but don't count on SS either. I figure with more and more baby boomers retiring every year the pressure will stay on to institute reforms. I figure by the time we get there SS will have turned into a welfare program for the folks who have nothing else. Future politicians will point to our TSP and FERS annuity and say we are better than most and take SS away from us or tax it to the point we won't get anything. They will accuse us of double-dipping and conviently forget that we paid into the system because that is how SS was bailed out last time.
burrocrat
Well-known member
well 2 out of 3 ain't bad. except both your fed salary and retirement are feeding grounds for necessary budget cuts, and your tsp is currently being spent to cover the overlimit fees on the gov credit card.
but you're right, it's the boomers. they voted in and for decades accepted politicians who robbed them blind. now we all will pay. call it the great equalization. it's not fair that you worked and followed the rules your whole life because there's people who didn't and they are hungry. and they vote. share the wealth.
the next battle is not north v south or rich v poor. it's young v old. and we all will lose.
nnuut
Moderator | TSP Legend
So the young are blaming it all on us Boomers? It's the politicians not the Old Farts and everyone knows that if SSA was handled correctly there would be more than enough money to never go broke. Medicare is a monster and is that way because of mis-regulation and fraud that is allowed to fester by the same folks, the Give it Away Free and get reelected.
NiteFlyer
Member
I agree about it being the poilticians. A wize person once said, paraphrasing since I don't remember the exact quote: If you are making decisions based on your employment status, you have already failed.
Our form of government is not a true democracy but a form of representative democracy that is supposed to temper majority rule. As an example, let's say a family has three kids. The kids vote that they should be allowed to eat all the candy they want and to not have a bedtime. If the house is run as a true democracy, the kids get what they want and will likely become fat and do poorly in school. In a representative democracy, the parents take into account what their kids want and will likely let them have some candy and go to bed at a decent hour. Then, if the kids show good judgement, they may be given additional candy or be allowed to stay up later. This is how our country is supposed to run. Our leaders are supposed to make decisions that are best for the country and not worry about giving their voters all the candy they want so they get reelected. Parents can become overbearing and decide their kids should have no candy and should go to bed right after they get home from school and eat dinner. The kids would be very unhappy in most families. In this country, we can replace the politicians that become overbearing. To fix our political situation, we need leaders that will make the right decisions and to help them, the citizens should understand - we should understand - that we can't have everything we want without consequences and we should support our politicians in making these hard decisions.
Note: This is in support of our form of government, not any particular party or platform. Please, remember the *politics forum is the place for discussing those.
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NiteFlyer
Member
The URL is opposite of the page's title. European Stocks Advance...European Stocks Advance as Economic Confidence Climbs - Bloomberg
NiteFlyer
Member
I have been putting the maximum allowed into TSP. I have some credit card debt that is slowly coming down and the interest I am paying on it is less than I have been earning in TSP. I have been considering dropping my TSP withholdings to the bare minimum needed to get the matching 5% and using the rest to pay off debt and/or invest in the regular market so I can move money around as often as I'd like and also be able to use some if necessary. I still have a nice amount in the TSP to keep playing with. I am hoping to make almost as much capital gains with the TSP as my salary this year.
99percent
Member
Well, thats what I'm doing. But I'm somewhat close to retirement so it's a good idea to get rid of debt now. I don't know how much time you have but getting rid of debt is always good.
NiteFlyer
Member
I can't retire until 2023 at the earliest. My wife's debt is worse than mine but I can't talk to her about money. So, while my credit cards could be paid off within two to three years, hers are maxxed out (only way she keeps from going higher) and would take about six years. I've made the mistake of refinancing the house, twice, and paying off all debt, only to have her run hers back up again. One of the good things about having my TSP witholding maxxed, is that if I ever needed to, I could drop it enough to take over her debt payments.
RealMoneyIssues
Well-known member
regular market = post taxes (doesn't adjust your AGI) and you will have to pay taxes on it if it isn't in a retirement account...
If it is post tax, you should put it in a Roth. I understand TSP is our only pre-tax option.
Paying off debt is always a great idea; however, in retirement planning time is always working against you...
Do some calculations and determine which scenario works out better for you in 2,5,10,20 years to see what is best. Only you can make the decision, but use realistic assumptions and you can make an informed decision.
List your assumptions here for the calculations and those who are much smarter than me can provide their insight.
Just my 2 cents
NiteFlyer
Member
I would have more money at retirement if I leave the money in the TSP vs my paycheck. My revolving charges are at an average rate of around 10% and my TSP returns are higher than that. However, I am just barely making more than I spend and the COLA freeze and 2% SS increase isn't helping any. Also, my mortgage is at 5 7/8% with a LTV of near 90% since my house came down in value. If I could refinance to current rates, and not pay mortgage protection insurance, I'd save quite a bit (my current mortgage is $3,596/mo). It is not through Fannie or Freddie. I do have a WIGI coming up this Summer though (in a 3-year waiting period at the wrong time!) that I am hoping will help nicely. I think I can double my current TSP amount twice in the next 10 years. Triple what I have would be enough to retire on very comfortably. I could retire on what I have now if I didn't have to pay taxes on it and lived modestly. The balance increase assumptions include maintaining maximum contributions though.
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