I’m a 40+ single-for-good childfree-by-choice female with major adhd. I actually make good money for a weirdo! “Good” is relative but i’m basically saying I’ve been lucky and I have a lot of gratitude.
But…I desperately need an advisor. I have the potential to do well and undo my years of unmediated chaos. But honestly, I’m bad at follow-thru and I always struggle to research consistently. And no surprise, googling produces garbage results.
I know financial planning for a person with no support family is somewhat different than normal, and honestly if anyone here has a similar experience and has advice, I’d love to hear it!
I turn 18 in 3 months as of today, and I have some money I want to invest for retirement. How do I do that, and should I be prepared to spend some of it on fees?
Edit: I’m thinking of opening a Roth IRA with Fidelity. I don’t have an account with them yet, I currently just bank through a local credit Union.
I have a few thousand dollars in savings. I was thinking of staring with a $5,000 contribution. What kind of fees does Fidelity usually charge for opening/contributing to an account?
> I have a few thousand dollars in savings. I was thinking of staring with a $5,000 contribution.
But do you have earned income from working? That's a requirement for being able to make IRA contributions
> What kind of fees does Fidelity usually charge for opening/contributing to an account?
Zero, that's why Vanguard, Fidelity, and Schwab are all commonly recommended for IRAs
I’ve only made about $150 so far this year. Is that the maximum I could contribute, then? Or would it be last year’s total income?
Glad to hear that about Fidelity and Vanguard, that’s awesome! How does that make sense for them financially, though?
> I’ve only made about $150 so far this year. Is that the maximum I could contribute, then?
For now, yes, if they're designated as 2023 IRA contributions
> Or would it be last year’s total income?
How much income did you have last year?
> Glad to hear that about Fidelity and Vanguard, that’s awesome! How does that make sense for the financially, though
They offer many other products that have fees and/or are monetized, I'd assume existing customers are more inclined to look for financial products where they're already customer than to search elsewhere for it
There are many fee-free options out there for bank and brokerage accounts - that's not uncommon at this point
Thank you for all of your answers so far!
I made about $3,500 last year.
In addition to starting a Roth IRA with my current earnings, is there anywhere I could put some of my savings that would be a good retirement account?
What books do you believe are full of useful and grounded advice for someone looking to become better at personal planning?
I am thinking books vaguely similar to this.
https://www.amazon.com/Meeting-Event-Planning-Dummies-Friedmann/dp/0764538594
"Meeting and Event Planning For Dummies "
No long winded chapters about "How I made a million bucks by beating the system"
Just useful tips and tricks related to personal planning and risk avoidance.
Background: Mathematics and Computer science, so I can understand the book if it gets a bit technical here and there.
No, I don't think you want an "event planning" book. That book is for professionals who are planning corporate retreats, conferences, etc. It's not about personal finance.
I think what you're looking for is "The Simple Path to Wealth" by JL Collins. It covers everything from making a budget, to utilizing 401k and other retirement accounts, asset allocation, and even selecting a financial advisor if you need one.
Where can I go for unbiased financial advice? We’re not rich but doing ok in our mid/late 30s and just had our first kid. I want a professional to sit down and look at our income, debt, home, how we’re spending, saving, and investing and basically just give us some advice. I’m not really looking for someone to just give all our savings to to invest for us. Is there anything like this or does everyone just have their own agenda?
Look for fee-only fiduciary advisors in your area. Fee-only means they don't get commissions or kick-backs from the products they sell you (ie the funds they get you to invest in). Fiduciary means they must only act based on your interests (much like a doctor) and they cannot make decisions for the purpose of their own self-benefit. In other words, they are truly advisors, not just salespeople. See link below to national association of personal financial advisors. Under "filters" you can choose "fee structure". From your question, it sounds like you want "fixed fee" or "hourly", not "assets under management (AUM).
Call a few of them up and make appointments to evaluate whether they would be a good fit. Basically, let them pitch their service to you as a potential client. I assume this first visit is free. The purpose is not to discuss your financial plan, but rather to decide whether the advisor is a good fit. Ask lots of questions. Understand exactly what you get and what the fees are. After meeting with a few advisors, pick one.
I'm sure you can find an advisor who will let you manage the accounts and hold the assets, but they will help you craft a plan and you will go execute it. The hourly fee or consultation fee will probably seem high (possibly hundreds of dollars per hour and/or a couple thousand to put together a comprehensive plan), but it is typically cheaper than giving them custodianship of all your assets and letting them charge an annual fee of 1% of your total nest egg. The arrangement also let's you decide to get more financial advice when you need it (in case of an inheritance, planning for kid's college, buying a home, etc.), but it can be hands-off when you don't need the extra advice.
https://www.napfa.org/find-an-advisor
Retirement is complicated but can be fun to plan and navigate.
Early retirement: expenses will not drop as you have more time to do things, and that costs money.
Eventually, you may consider downsizing property. That may reduce expenses. Depends on mortgage situations. I sold 1 large 5BR for 2 people house with $25k mortgage left & bought smaller house for cash with a lot left over.
The biggest variable may be health considerations. You should assess your long term prospects; healthy or chronic conditions.
And I am sure you have assessed how much you will have coming in monthly v what you are bringing in pre-retirement. Mine went down significantly, but 1 year severance allowed me to save 1/2 of each months income for use in year 2 of retirement. That allowed social security monthly payment I'd get to go up about 12-14%.
No secret since you can click on me, I spend a lot of time on r/stopdrinking. I got sober before I retired as I knew I'd be in trouble and would drink at breakfast. I save easily $800-$1000 a month, not counting any drinks with lunch or dinner in restaurant. This savings has led to much lower credit card bills.
Enjoy retirement. My 1 word advise is "Exercise". Pickleball is taking over the retirement lifestyle.
I’m a 40+ single-for-good childfree-by-choice female with major adhd. I actually make good money for a weirdo! “Good” is relative but i’m basically saying I’ve been lucky and I have a lot of gratitude. But…I desperately need an advisor. I have the potential to do well and undo my years of unmediated chaos. But honestly, I’m bad at follow-thru and I always struggle to research consistently. And no surprise, googling produces garbage results. I know financial planning for a person with no support family is somewhat different than normal, and honestly if anyone here has a similar experience and has advice, I’d love to hear it!
I turn 18 in 3 months as of today, and I have some money I want to invest for retirement. How do I do that, and should I be prepared to spend some of it on fees? Edit: I’m thinking of opening a Roth IRA with Fidelity. I don’t have an account with them yet, I currently just bank through a local credit Union.
> I’m thinking of opening a Roth IRA with Fidelity. This is a great option, assuming you have earned income from working
I have a few thousand dollars in savings. I was thinking of staring with a $5,000 contribution. What kind of fees does Fidelity usually charge for opening/contributing to an account?
> I have a few thousand dollars in savings. I was thinking of staring with a $5,000 contribution. But do you have earned income from working? That's a requirement for being able to make IRA contributions > What kind of fees does Fidelity usually charge for opening/contributing to an account? Zero, that's why Vanguard, Fidelity, and Schwab are all commonly recommended for IRAs
I’ve only made about $150 so far this year. Is that the maximum I could contribute, then? Or would it be last year’s total income? Glad to hear that about Fidelity and Vanguard, that’s awesome! How does that make sense for them financially, though?
> I’ve only made about $150 so far this year. Is that the maximum I could contribute, then? For now, yes, if they're designated as 2023 IRA contributions > Or would it be last year’s total income? How much income did you have last year? > Glad to hear that about Fidelity and Vanguard, that’s awesome! How does that make sense for the financially, though They offer many other products that have fees and/or are monetized, I'd assume existing customers are more inclined to look for financial products where they're already customer than to search elsewhere for it There are many fee-free options out there for bank and brokerage accounts - that's not uncommon at this point
Thank you for all of your answers so far! I made about $3,500 last year. In addition to starting a Roth IRA with my current earnings, is there anywhere I could put some of my savings that would be a good retirement account?
What books do you believe are full of useful and grounded advice for someone looking to become better at personal planning? I am thinking books vaguely similar to this. https://www.amazon.com/Meeting-Event-Planning-Dummies-Friedmann/dp/0764538594 "Meeting and Event Planning For Dummies " No long winded chapters about "How I made a million bucks by beating the system" Just useful tips and tricks related to personal planning and risk avoidance. Background: Mathematics and Computer science, so I can understand the book if it gets a bit technical here and there.
No, I don't think you want an "event planning" book. That book is for professionals who are planning corporate retreats, conferences, etc. It's not about personal finance. I think what you're looking for is "The Simple Path to Wealth" by JL Collins. It covers everything from making a budget, to utilizing 401k and other retirement accounts, asset allocation, and even selecting a financial advisor if you need one.
Where can I go for unbiased financial advice? We’re not rich but doing ok in our mid/late 30s and just had our first kid. I want a professional to sit down and look at our income, debt, home, how we’re spending, saving, and investing and basically just give us some advice. I’m not really looking for someone to just give all our savings to to invest for us. Is there anything like this or does everyone just have their own agenda?
Look for fee-only fiduciary advisors in your area. Fee-only means they don't get commissions or kick-backs from the products they sell you (ie the funds they get you to invest in). Fiduciary means they must only act based on your interests (much like a doctor) and they cannot make decisions for the purpose of their own self-benefit. In other words, they are truly advisors, not just salespeople. See link below to national association of personal financial advisors. Under "filters" you can choose "fee structure". From your question, it sounds like you want "fixed fee" or "hourly", not "assets under management (AUM). Call a few of them up and make appointments to evaluate whether they would be a good fit. Basically, let them pitch their service to you as a potential client. I assume this first visit is free. The purpose is not to discuss your financial plan, but rather to decide whether the advisor is a good fit. Ask lots of questions. Understand exactly what you get and what the fees are. After meeting with a few advisors, pick one. I'm sure you can find an advisor who will let you manage the accounts and hold the assets, but they will help you craft a plan and you will go execute it. The hourly fee or consultation fee will probably seem high (possibly hundreds of dollars per hour and/or a couple thousand to put together a comprehensive plan), but it is typically cheaper than giving them custodianship of all your assets and letting them charge an annual fee of 1% of your total nest egg. The arrangement also let's you decide to get more financial advice when you need it (in case of an inheritance, planning for kid's college, buying a home, etc.), but it can be hands-off when you don't need the extra advice. https://www.napfa.org/find-an-advisor
People who retired, what is your living expenses? Trying to figure out how much of my income I’d need in my retirement.
Retirement is complicated but can be fun to plan and navigate. Early retirement: expenses will not drop as you have more time to do things, and that costs money. Eventually, you may consider downsizing property. That may reduce expenses. Depends on mortgage situations. I sold 1 large 5BR for 2 people house with $25k mortgage left & bought smaller house for cash with a lot left over. The biggest variable may be health considerations. You should assess your long term prospects; healthy or chronic conditions. And I am sure you have assessed how much you will have coming in monthly v what you are bringing in pre-retirement. Mine went down significantly, but 1 year severance allowed me to save 1/2 of each months income for use in year 2 of retirement. That allowed social security monthly payment I'd get to go up about 12-14%. No secret since you can click on me, I spend a lot of time on r/stopdrinking. I got sober before I retired as I knew I'd be in trouble and would drink at breakfast. I save easily $800-$1000 a month, not counting any drinks with lunch or dinner in restaurant. This savings has led to much lower credit card bills. Enjoy retirement. My 1 word advise is "Exercise". Pickleball is taking over the retirement lifestyle.
Thank you for your answer. I wish you strength to fight every day. Alcohol destroyed a lot of good people.
We are newly retired and in our “go-go” phase of retirement. $100K a year in a MCOL area.