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Stannis wrote:Am I missing out if I'm not investing in cannabis/mj?
Garbagelo wrote:Stannis wrote:Am I missing out if I'm not investing in cannabis/mj?
invest in semiconductor stocks IMO, it's nearing massive breakout state
the next wave of tech is driven by chips (AI, 5 G, robotics, smart vehicles, blockchain etc)
money always follows tech
Stannis wrote:Garbagelo wrote:Stannis wrote:Am I missing out if I'm not investing in cannabis/mj?
invest in semiconductor stocks IMO, it's nearing massive breakout state
the next wave of tech is driven by chips (AI, 5 G, robotics, smart vehicles, blockchain etc)
money always follows tech
What do you recommend? I'm mostly with Nvidia, Square, Microsoft
Stannis wrote:https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/21/bank-of-america-joins-brokerage-wars-with-unlimited-free-trades.html
Great news. I was just about to switch to Ameritrade for the unlimited trades
Phish Tank wrote:Stannis wrote:https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/21/bank-of-america-joins-brokerage-wars-with-unlimited-free-trades.html
Great news. I was just about to switch to Ameritrade for the unlimited trades
interesting. I've already had free trades for some time.
Stannis wrote:What do you guys think of my 401k elections?
I went with the low expense-ratio index funds. Everything else was a little higher. And that's one of the reasons I got out of the automatic "Target Retirement Fund".
We are with Mass Mutual.
S&P 500 Index Fund 70.00%
International Stock Index Fund 15.00%
State St Gbl All Cp Eq ex-US Idx NL Cl A (Benchmark: MSCI ACWI Ex USA IMI NR USD)
Small/Mid Cap Index Fund 10.00%
State St Russell Sm/Mid Cp® Indx NL Cl A (Benchmark: Russell Small Cap Complete TR USD)
Bond Index Fund 5.00%
State St US Bnd Indx NL Cl A (Benchmark: Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index)
I was thinking of maybe ditching my small/mid cap index fund and putting it into International.
Toranaga wrote:Looks good if you have a lot of working years ahead of you. Would bump up your bond allocation if not. I'm a three fund guy myself so I tend to agree with you dumping the small/mid cap but think it's fine either way if you decide to keep it.
My fund options in my plan are straight trash so I'm jealous of your choices. I don't even have index funds in mine and the expense ratios are ridiculous.
Just as a general aside, if you are financially able to, max all your tax advantaged investment space each year if you can. 401k, IRA, HSA. It's so valuable and you'll be so happy that you did. I did not when I was younger due to being young and dumb and it's my greatest regret. I got my act together now, but the gains that I missed out on hurt each time I think about it.
Stannis wrote:Toranaga wrote:Looks good if you have a lot of working years ahead of you. Would bump up your bond allocation if not. I'm a three fund guy myself so I tend to agree with you dumping the small/mid cap but think it's fine either way if you decide to keep it.
My fund options in my plan are straight trash so I'm jealous of your choices. I don't even have index funds in mine and the expense ratios are ridiculous.
Just as a general aside, if you are financially able to, max all your tax advantaged investment space each year if you can. 401k, IRA, HSA. It's so valuable and you'll be so happy that you did. I did not when I was younger due to being young and dumb and it's my greatest regret. I got my act together now, but the gains that I missed out on hurt each time I think about it.
Thanks man. Yea, I'm 28, and just started investing tbh.
Who handles your 401ks if you don't mind my asking? Most plans usually offer popular low index funds. I didn't even put anything into a Stable Value fund and a Real Asset fund because I didn't like the 0.35% and 0.24% expense ratios.
Thanks for the tips. I maxed my Roth IRA this year and plan to do it next year as well. And I enrolled in a HDHP with a HSA for all of 2020. I didn't completely max out my HSA because this was our first year getting it and our HR didn't know how much the employer will contribute exactly. The annual limit is 3550 for me, and I will at least get a contribution of 2800 (2300 of my own, and 500 from my employer).
I debating about putting more into my 401k instead of just what my employer matches.
Toranaga wrote:You're crushing it man, way to go.
Were you covered by that HDHP in December 2019? If so, you can make your 2019 contribution up to the HSA max ($3500) up until April 15, 2020, which I would highly recommend doing so if you anticipate being with the same employer and on the HDHP for 2020. Just remember to take the deduction on your 2019 tax return if you do it. HSA is a triple tax advantaged account, only one of its kind and the best investment vehicle out there.
And who is your HSA custodian? I ask because Fidelity now offers HSA's with all their low cost index funds. What I do is contribute to my HSA via payroll deduction throughout the year to get my employer contribution and to avoid FICA tax. Then at the end of the year, I move it to Fidelity (very easy) and invest in their index funds. If I'm not at the max then I just contribute directly to Fidelity to reach the max for the year.
BTW, I'm not a Fidelity employee lol. They have the best HSA out there and I just like to help ppl.
And yes, bump that 401k contribution up if you can. If you do pre tax contributions, you'll lower your taxable income by doing so and can use those tax savings to fund your Roth IRA. That's how I think about it.
But I'm not getting the tax advantages. Stannis wrote:Toranaga wrote:You're crushing it man, way to go.
Were you covered by that HDHP in December 2019? If so, you can make your 2019 contribution up to the HSA max ($3500) up until April 15, 2020, which I would highly recommend doing so if you anticipate being with the same employer and on the HDHP for 2020. Just remember to take the deduction on your 2019 tax return if you do it. HSA is a triple tax advantaged account, only one of its kind and the best investment vehicle out there.
And who is your HSA custodian? I ask because Fidelity now offers HSA's with all their low cost index funds. What I do is contribute to my HSA via payroll deduction throughout the year to get my employer contribution and to avoid FICA tax. Then at the end of the year, I move it to Fidelity (very easy) and invest in their index funds. If I'm not at the max then I just contribute directly to Fidelity to reach the max for the year.
BTW, I'm not a Fidelity employee lol. They have the best HSA out there and I just like to help ppl.
And yes, bump that 401k contribution up if you can. If you do pre tax contributions, you'll lower your taxable income by doing so and can use those tax savings to fund your Roth IRA. That's how I think about it.
Thanks!
Unfortunately, I was not covered by a HDHP in 2019, it was a PPO (LDHP).
My HSA is through "HSA Bank" and their investment options include Devenir & TD Ameritrade. Between those two, TD seemed like the clear winner to me. Devenir had some insane expensive funds.
I heard about the Fidelity tip as well. I heard they are they best in HSAs and no fees at all. Glad to hear the transfer is easy. I thought of doing it through BoA/Merril because that's where I have my current accounts. And it might help me get to get next perk tier. It requires you to keep 1000 in the account before you invest, which I don't mind just in case of medical emergencies. But Fidelity still looks like the best and I've only heard good things.
Thanks for that tip. Good to know that if I don't get to max the 3550, I can add more at the end of the year. So the money I add at the end of the year, will be post tax, correct?
I might just go ahead and increase my 401k contributions. I just like having that extra cash to invest in my more speculative stock investment account. It's more fun.
Toranaga wrote:I can talk about HSAs for hours so let me know if you want to know my strategy on how I use one, which in my opinion is the best way.
Stannis wrote:Toranaga wrote:I can talk about HSAs for hours so let me know if you want to know my strategy on how I use one, which in my opinion is the best way.
I definitely wouldn't mind that if you have the time. No rush as I won't be getting it until next month.
Toranaga wrote:Stannis wrote:Toranaga wrote:I can talk about HSAs for hours so let me know if you want to know my strategy on how I use one, which in my opinion is the best way.
I definitely wouldn't mind that if you have the time. No rush as I won't be getting it until next month.
So I treat it strictly as an investment account and invest the entire balance.
If I have medical expenses throughout the year, I pay it out of my own pocket and scan the receipts to Google drive or whatever and keep a very simple spreadsheet of my medical expenses through the years to stay organized. The reason i do that is that there is NO time restriction on when I can reimburse myself for those medical expenses from the HSA and the reimbursement will be tax free.
So let's say I go to the doctor and get a $5k bill tomorrow. If I pay it out of pocket, I can reimburse myself 25 years from now if I want the $5k from the HSA and that withdrawal will be tax free.
So... 1) I contribute to the HSA tax free 2) It grows invested tax free and 3) I can withdraw the balance tax free if I have medical expenses covering the amount that I withdraw. I will pay zero taxes on that money and the investment gains, which is crazy and doesn't happen in this country. The reason you keep the receipts is in case the IRS comes knocking about your HSA withdrawals and all you need to do is provide the receipts covering the withdrawal.
And let's say I still have money left in the HSA when I'm 65, it just turns into another traditional IRA account and I'll be able to withdraw the funds for non medical expenses.
I'll always be on a HDHP for as long as I can strictly for the HSA advantages. I'm generally healthy too so that helps.
Toranaga wrote:Stannis wrote:Toranaga wrote:I can talk about HSAs for hours so let me know if you want to know my strategy on how I use one, which in my opinion is the best way.
I definitely wouldn't mind that if you have the time. No rush as I won't be getting it until next month.
So I treat it strictly as an investment account and invest the entire balance.
If I have medical expenses throughout the year, I pay it out of my own pocket and scan the receipts to Google drive or whatever and keep a very simple spreadsheet of my medical expenses through the years to stay organized. The reason i do that is that there is NO time restriction on when I can reimburse myself for those medical expenses from the HSA and the reimbursement will be tax free.
So let's say I go to the doctor and get a $5k bill tomorrow. If I pay it out of pocket, I can reimburse myself 25 years from now if I want the $5k from the HSA and that withdrawal will be tax free.
So... 1) I contribute to the HSA tax free 2) It grows invested tax free and 3) I can withdraw the balance tax free if I have medical expenses covering the amount that I withdraw. I will pay zero taxes on that money and the investment gains, which is crazy and doesn't happen in this country. The reason you keep the receipts is in case the IRS comes knocking about your HSA withdrawals and all you need to do is provide the receipts covering the withdrawal.
And let's say I still have money left in the HSA when I'm 65, it just turns into another traditional IRA account and I'll be able to withdraw the funds for non medical expenses.
I'll always be on a HDHP for as long as I can strictly for the HSA advantages. I'm generally healthy too so that helps.
Jose7 wrote:Love these talks.
29 years myself — probably end do this year max out Roth by April 2020//contributed about ~14K to my 403b.
I just do low cost index funds through fidelity. No bonds or international funds. JL Collins simple
Path to wealth.
Been stacking cash in a HY savings account In prep for my first rental property investment for 2020
Stannis wrote:What do you guys think of my 401k elections?
I went with the low expense-ratio index funds. Everything else was a little higher. And that's one of the reasons I got out of the automatic "Target Retirement Fund".
We are with Mass Mutual.
S&P 500 Index Fund 70.00%
International Stock Index Fund 15.00%
State St Gbl All Cp Eq ex-US Idx NL Cl A (Benchmark: MSCI ACWI Ex USA IMI NR USD)
Small/Mid Cap Index Fund 10.00%
State St Russell Sm/Mid Cp® Indx NL Cl A (Benchmark: Russell Small Cap Complete TR USD)
Bond Index Fund 5.00%
State St US Bnd Indx NL Cl A (Benchmark: Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index)
I was thinking of maybe ditching my small/mid cap index fund and putting it into International.
Garbagelo wrote:
I would not put more than 5% in international markets personally. I also would split any S&P 500 fund with a large market fund that tracks the Nasdaq. 10% small cap is fine (preferably avoid the mid cap allocation). Maybe increase your bond index allocation to 10%. 90/10 is Warren Buffet's suggestion and have followed it for years.
Stannis wrote:Garbagelo wrote:
I would not put more than 5% in international markets personally. I also would split any S&P 500 fund with a large market fund that tracks the Nasdaq. 10% small cap is fine (preferably avoid the mid cap allocation). Maybe increase your bond index allocation to 10%. 90/10 is Warren Buffet's suggestion and have followed it for years.
It doesn't look like I have a Large Market fund that tracks the Nasdaq. The only other large market fund I have is:
US Large Cap Fund:
- Benchmark: S&P 500 Index
- Says "The Fund is actively managed and invests primarily in stocks within the market capitalization of the Russell 1000 Index."
- 96% of its holdings is in the "Mercer Large Cap Stock"
- 0.63% Expense Ratio
imo, this looks like it performs slightly below the S&P 500 index, but has a higher expense ratio. It looks like this fund is mostly pushed on people who use automatic Target Retirement funds and don't pay attention to the fees. I say pass?
As far as the small cap, it looks like I only have small/mid cap options, nothing just in small cap. I am currently 10% in this Small/Mid Cap Index Fund. It's 8% large, 53% mid, 34% small, 5% micro. Then there's this US Small/Mid Cap Stock Fund. It's 41% medium, 50% small, and 8% micro. But it doesn't perform as well and has a 0.63% expense ratio. So I say pass on this one too and stick with the lower expense ratio? It seems like it's another fund with the purpose of collecting more commission.
So what were you thinking?
5% International
10% Bond
15% Small
70% S&P
