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Thread: Any Advice Appreciated

  1. #13

    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Boiled Peanut, Georgia, USA
    Posts
    76,383

    Default Re: Any Advice Appreciated

    Quote Originally Posted by XL-entLady View Post
    oooh-h-h! I'm so jealous!

    I have no debts but my home but I'll have a mortgage until I die. And my FERS annuity is about 40% of my working paycheck, and if I don't get SS disability (still fighting - the common version of what I have is specified as a disability but the rarer kind I have is not specifically mentioned so it's a fight) then I've got seven more years to Social Security $, and my TSP account is not a bad size but this economy and 2 IFTs make it difficult to meet my percentage goals.

    That's the long way around, Norm, to say, "Congratulations! You are definitely prepared for retirement!"

    Lady
    I know where you are coming from Lady, but I'm sure you of all people will work it out. I think you are right on top of and ahead of the curve on most subjects and already have a viable plan.



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  3. #14

    Default Re: Any Advice Appreciated

    Quote Originally Posted by saturneptune View Post
    I do not post very often here, but read a lot. I feel very trapped and do not know what to do with TSP. I passed by retirement date August 4th, but as of yet, have not left. My TSP is around 185K and have been in the G fund since March 08, contributing 20%. As of late, I have noticed, I am sure because of the Treasury rates, that the G fund is gaining about half of what it was. Does anyone have any suggestions, such as a better mix with on time horizon? Does anyone think the G fund will go back to the rate it was putting out daily? I was planning on about 30 years of equal payments based on 4-5%. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I am 56.
    First off - you communicate very well and have made an excellent choice of CAPITAL PRESERVATION over the past year by staying in G Fund.

    20% is Excellent and keep that going as long as you can.

    At 56 - $185K is not going to last very long - so take out the minimum over small increments and wait as long as you can. (Sorry I just re-read and noted 30 years of equal payments). YOU ARE VERY SMART - trust me - you could be teaching us.

    The G Fund will nothing to brag about for awhile - BUT YOU HAVE NOT LOST A PENNY SINCE 3/08 AND HAVE ONLY GAINED MORE AND MORE.

    The main thing you're dealing with is the question "As of late..."

    TRUST ME - what the USA and the whole global economy has been going through is a MAJOR EVENT. This is no typical side show BS Tech bubble pop or something that would blow over fairly fast. It was mainly a 'Political Play' in 2008 designed to keep the Recession from happening and a TRUE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE.

    You have been in safety during the WORST TIMES - but this is far from over so DO NOT LET THE 'FALSE HOPE OF A REAL SUSTAINED RALLY' fool you my friend.

    Your best bet is to wait this out where you are and see how far the Markets drop by 6/09. Changing to high risk will likely result in a 20% Loss if you keep it there hoping for the best - so then when it goes up 20% - you're back to where you started.

    Sorry the read is so long...but obviously you made a good impression and I like to visit.

    Steady

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  5. #15

    Default Re: Any Advice Appreciated

    While typing up my encounter on the computer I thought of something.

    30 years in equal payments - I'd say that's a mistake (no offense)

    Don't draw on the TSP until you need to. So it's possible you won't even take a penny until you're 70.

    Then take it in equal payments for 15 years. After 85 the odds of you 'enjoying your retirement money' will markedly diminish.

    FOCUS ON THE YEARS FROM RETIREMENT TO 85 - AND MAKE THE MOST OF THOSE YEARS. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOUR HEALTH WHILE IT LASTS.

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  7. #16

    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Paradise
    Posts
    324

    Default Re: Any Advice Appreciated

    Don't pass up cheap share prices each payday! Not talking about G and F of course.

    Good luck!
    Pill

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  9. Default Re: Any Advice Appreciated

    Can't agree more with prevoius posts. Been in the TSP since 1991 and have aprox. 144 K. Been in the G fund since March 09 so far - saw a train wreck coming and there is where I've been hiding out since. Do alot of reading and investing on the side. All together have aprox. 200 K but don't plan to retire for another 7 yrs - still not enough - have a milit. ret. coming to help. Right now it's all about capital preservation and getting out of debt. No telling what 09 is going to bring. Be very cautious and be on the defense. Keep in mind when everything else is in a deflationary spiral you'll be making money by doing nothing but preserving your cash. Sure the G fund isn't doing much but by the time everything else has deflated by another 20% you've made 20% by just being patient. You can try and play these bear rallys from a DOW 850 to 1000 but stay disciplined and nimble and don't use your trading allotments up too soon. You may look at on of the L funds also. Right now I just don't have alot of trust in the market. It's mostly a traders market with stock picking going to energy, commodities, infrastructure and transports etc. for obvious reasons with swings either way of 10 - 20%. There's no doubt alot of money is just waiting on the sidelines to get back into this market - once in - there's alot that can leave on just one headline the very next day - it's all about making money. Don't get caught on the short side of this with your TSP - you're still ahead with the carnage you avoided since March of last year - FASTRADER

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  11. #18

    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Rocky Mountains
    Posts
    30

    Smile Re: Any Advice Appreciated

    I retired in Oct of 08 as a Fed with a part CSRS and Part FERs retirement check. I did this (switched in 1989)to create a large pile of cash in my TSP fund and when I pushed about everything into G in Nov 09 there was about $372k in there. There would have been more if I hadn't taken the bath in the dot com bubble. Too slow there.
    I don't yet have a retirement check that is final-I am in that interim stage and still have to buy buy back some long ago federal service from College days(that made a big difference in the calcualted annuity).
    I am hoping to live on that annjuity check for a while. Leave TSP alone.
    But several years ago I began a small construction business that has always generated $8-10K a year and with the help of Schdeule C has provided a pleasant income. Now in retierment I am able to work (I am just 60) more and hope to do so for 3-5 years. That should generate enough to eliminate my mortgage. People would say, how can you have a 2nd job (my business) and still work full time? 1. I kept the jobs small, 2. I converted lots of annual leave and holidays into productive time on small jobs, 3. I understood that tax laws favor business owner over employees. This also allowed me to put all 3 sons through 12 years of private school and college so they have no college loans to pay off and I have no loans either.
    It is not just how you use your money it is how you use your time. If your don't have construction skills get a lawn mower and mow lawns as a "landscaper" in the summer. Using your time wisely is not beneath anyone. I held a (I was told) an important position in the USFS and still worked to outside the Office. And when I left the office they slid into the job someone I considered a dope. So it is important to not let the "status of your position" interfere with your proper thinking about your own financial situation.
    WE do not have to be a victim of the thinking that says the market will turn around and you'll get your TSP balance back up. What if that doesn't happen for 4 or 6 or 10 years. There is a lot you can do in the mean time to create your own financial wealth. Take matters into your own hands.


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