How Closely Do You Monitor Your 401k / Retirement

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Just a tick south of the 105.

And west of the 710
Where you can witness the strength of street knowledge.

No. Mobile homes don't count.

I assure you in this particular location, You can find real homes for that price. I imagine bullet proof glass would cost extra, however.

 

[Searc]

In Cali where houses get snapped up quickly, I doubt you'd find a seller that would accept a "seller pays all closing fees" offer. We'd counter and take it out and if they refuse, walk.

 

[mrodgers]

Considering a condemned 1600 sf house on 1/5 acre sold for 1.2 million in the bay area and that is well above the FHA cap, FHA loans probably aren't going to be widespread in some areas of the state.



Do you know how tiny 919 sf is? My bonus room is just 100 sf under that. Even in a place like Sacramento, the only thing I could find resembling such currently available is not in a good part of town. In fact, it was a house that had been changed into a duplex.

That is pretty tiny. I know because our house was 1007 and I wouldn't call it tiny, it was very uncomfortably small. The next step down would be tiny, which is what 919 would be for 3 bedrooms.

 

[Disneypro1]

And west of the 710
Where you can witness the strength of street knowledge.


I assure you in this particular location, You can find real homes for that price. I imagine bullet proof glass would cost extra, however.

Yes Lol

 

[Disneypro1]

In Cali where houses get snapped up quickly, I doubt you'd find a seller that would accept a "seller pays all closing fees" offer. We'd counter and take it out and if they refuse, walk.

They have to if the buyer is using the VA loan route. Yes they can walk away from the sale. But that’s rare. Most wont walk away due to 3/5k in closing cost. VA loans in California is pretty common. Much more in Southern Cali than northern. You get out near say Murietta and they dominate. Sellers commonly pay closing there. Due to the high percentage of Vets. Believe it or not Coachella valley also. And Lancaster Palmdale this is very common.

 

[Moliphino]

She was out of the house for 2 years paying rent while living 200 miles from home and then living in England. She has been working and stashing money for over 10 years. Enough so she could have paid cash for the car and still had the money needed for the house payment but she didn't have the credit history for a mortgage. She had to get and keep the auto loan for 8 months to get the credit history. That is the downside to living within your means and paying your credit card in full every month.
No way for me to know if she could support 2 teenagers etc, because she hasn't done that. But we are all free to make choices, and some of those choices have financial implications. I really think you are making it sound far more difficult to save that it is. It just has to be a priority. We are always amused when the Poshmark ad comes on and the woman at the end says she made enough selling her unwanted used clothing to buy a new car! I can't imagine spending that much on clothing.

That makes more sense. I had read your earlier post as your daughter being able to completely pay off a car and save $25,000 for a house on the $37,000 she made in one year, and that really didn't add up. With 10 years of savings it does.

 

[tvguy]

They have to if the buyer is using the VA loan route. Yes they can walk away from the sale. But that’s rare. Most wont walk away due to 3/5k in closing cost. VA loans in California is pretty common. Much more in Southern Cali than northern. You get out near say Murietta and they dominate. Sellers commonly pay closing there. Due to the high percentage of Vets. Believe it or not Coachella valley also. And Lancaster Palmdale this is very common.

A couple of houses my daughter looked out said "No FHA, no VA" in the listing. Some sellers just don't want to deal with them. DD went with FHA so those houses were out.
I only know a little about VA. My dad was turned down for a VA loan, they said he didn't have the income he needed for the mortgage. My folks ended up paying cash for the house, never understood how someone with the cash on hand to buy a home could be turned down for a mortgage. I found the rejection letter in my mom's papers after she passed away,

 

[tvguy]

That makes more sense. I had read your earlier post as your daughter being able to completely pay off a car and save $25,000 for a house on the $37,000 she made in one year, and that really didn't add up. With 10 years of savings it does.

She can make a penny scream like her dad and Grandmother (my mom). Her issue was, she has been living so frugally, she had to establish credit. Cost her a couple of hundred dollars in interest on the auto loan.....but that was the only way she could get the mortgage. She had the money for both when she bought the car.

 

[NYCgrrl]

A couple of houses my daughter looked out said "No FHA, no VA" in the listing. Some sellers just don't want to deal with them. DD went with FHA so those houses were out.
I only know a little about VA. My dad was turned down for a VA loan, they said he didn't have the income he needed for the mortgage. My folks ended up paying cash for the house, never understood how someone with the cash on hand to buy a home could be turned down for a mortgage. I found the rejection letter in my mom's papers after she passed away,

Common in parts of my region as well. The man is eligible for a VA loan and a property we looked to purchase wouldn't accept; think it was the length of time it took to process.

 

[Disneypro1]

Oh absolutely one can choose not to accept a VA or FHA loan. All depends how bad they want it sold.

 

[RamblingMad]

Which I also asked but very few actually answered. Most seem to just “let it ride” it seems.

It’s getting frothy and starting to remind me of the late 90s. I remember walking around the office in Dec 2018 and seeing and hearing folks look devastated after the market dropped. When the market actually drops and stays down for a while, I expect more panicking.

Read the book called Bull. It covers the bull market that ended with the dotcom bust. It’s a great read. Buffet recommended it in one of his letters to shareholders.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I don't check it regularly. I put my money in a "you want to retire in year X" fund and assume they know what they are doing.

 

[disneychrista]

I don't check it regularly. I put my money in a "you want to retire in year X" fund and assume they know what they are doing.

This has been mentioned by a couple people. This is interesting to me. I assume they decrease the risk the closer you get to retirement.

Our 457 doesn’t offer this. It offers different funds within different categories, of varying risk. I did my best to pick the ones that seemed to be performing the best over the past year. Most of mine are in the low-mid risk categories.

 

[soccerdad72]

This has been mentioned by a couple people. This is interesting to me. I assume they decrease the risk the closer you get to retirement.

Pretty much, yeah. Our funds are referred to as 'Target 20XX' and the closer to that date the fund gets, the more percentage of investments goes into bonds and other stable investments.

 

[RamblingMad]

I don't check it regularly. I put my money in a "you want to retire in year X" fund and assume they know what they are doing.

They don’t. But good luck.

They make their money from the fees. Performance doesn’t really matter to them.

 

[piccolopat]

Before I retired, I checked monthly and rebalanced once or twice a year. Now that I am retired, I track my balance weekly but still only plan to rebalance once or twice a year. Tracking weekly helps me determine when I want to make my withdrawals as I try to only do so when my balance is up.

 

[tvguy]

They don’t. But good luck.

They make their money from the fees. Performance doesn’t really matter to them.

It matters to a good investment manager

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

Well I usually don't check often, but this thread made me go look.
Yippee is all I can say. Its big enough that is it really cooking now.
My husband started his 401k when he was 19 and making $6.50 an hour. He is 46 and dang that compound interest is really something.

 

[RamblingMad]

It matters to a good investment manager

Not really. They get paid regardless.

 

[DisneyKoyote]

Outside of my 401k (which I always try to max out), I'm never sure of how much extra I'm supposed to be saving? I saw a youtube video where a couple retired at age 30-35ish with $2M saved up. The majority of the comments stated that it was not enough money (which I agree with). Putting your kids through college could easily take a big chunk of that! How much do people usually aim to have in their retirement fund, say if youre aiming to retire at 60 years old?