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Thread: Share Your TSP Balance and Your Age Thread

  1. #121

    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Ohio, USA
    Posts
    219

    Default Re: Share Your TSP Balance and Your Age Thread

    My wife (JD) began her Fed career in 1985 and is a GS-14; I (Chris) began my Fed career in 1989 and am a GS-12. She turned 49 and i turned 47 during December of 2015. Here's our short story:

    At the end of 2003, we were invested 100% in G with balances of $7,464.40 and $5,120.29, respectively - only Uncle Sam was contributing to our TSP accounts. All of that changed in early 2004: just prior, my best friend (who worked in commercial banking) kicked me in the derriere when, during a discussion about investing, I told him my wife and I hadn't contributed anything to our Fed "401K accounts". SO ... LOL ... I kick started our contributing to both our TSP accounts and began managing them both, though ignorantly moving $ between funds at first because I lacked any real knowledge. I stumbled across TSPTalk not long after, but didn't become a member for a while - I just stood in the shadows and read a LOT of posts, researched cause and effect between market forces, scrutinized member methodologies, and tried to make some sense of all the chatter and banter - but began actively investing ("trading") the funds in our TSP accounts with my new insights.

    Over the years, we've contributed between 5% and 10% to our accounts - I recall reducing the 10% to 5% to aggressively pay off the mortgage Christmas of 2005 and then again as markets began crashing during the Great Recession (where we lost a little better than 5% - mild compared to others we knew who were buy and hold types. We're still contributing 5% now). I'm honored to be among those notorious day traders who received the TSP board's "ultimatum" letter back in the day, and I don't regret a day of aggressively managing our funds during that time - it helped me to help US catch up some to where our TSP accounts would have been if we had contributed prior to 2004. Our combined balance hit $300K last quarter, and we're OK with that considering our "late bloomer" statuses.

    My TSP slacker status regrets in 2015: 1) not consistently watching the markets, and 2) not consistently applying my own investing rules when I DO. I hope to be more intentional in 2016 and onward.
    If I fail, I'll fail TRYING... TSPCA: G=0% F=100% C=0% S=0% I=0% L Income=0% L2020=0% L2030=0% L2040=0% L2050=0%

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  3. Default Re: Share Your TSP Balance and Your Age Thread

    I expect to retire the beginning of Jan next year. I will be 62.5 years old, with 21 years of Fed Service I am retired USAF officer as well. My TSP balance is 370K. My goal is over 400K by the end of 2016. My wife is also a DoD employee with 34 years in Service. She is 60 and has over 535K in her TSP. She plans on retiring when she is 62. (She wants me to wait for her...which would put me at 63.5 years old) our combined total is 905K....our goal is 1 mil. We recently moved everything into the G fund. Our monthly investments are going into C.

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  5. Default Re: Share Your TSP Balance and Your Age Thread

    I am a soon to be former postal worker and have contributed for 31 years. My balance is $700,000. I always put in the max allowed. As they allowed more, I contributed more. When they lifted the ceiling altogether I raised it to 16% and have contributed that much for years. Early years mostly in C, but when L Funds came around I moved 70% to L and 30% in C. I didn't try to time the markets except once. Had a feeling the market was going to tank and was losing money fast so lost a lot less than those that stayed the course and got back in at the right time. Just dumb luck. Now fully in L Income because I retire in 10 days!

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  7. #124

    Default Re: Share Your TSP Balance and Your Age Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by Kjazzinphx View Post
    I am a soon to be former postal worker and have contributed for 31 years. My balance is $700,000. I always put in the max allowed. As they allowed more, I contributed more. When they lifted the ceiling altogether I raised it to 16% and have contributed that much for years. Early years mostly in C, but when L Funds came around I moved 70% to L and 30% in C. I didn't try to time the markets except once. Had a feeling the market was going to tank and was losing money fast so lost a lot less than those that stayed the course and got back in at the right time. Just dumb luck. Now fully in L Income because I retire in 10 days!
    Congratulations on both your retirement and your balance. That number is something to be proud of and should provide you and your family with a nice income stream for the remainder of your life.

    Frank

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  9. #125

    Default Re: Share Your TSP Balance and Your Age Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by Kjazzinphx View Post
    I am a soon to be former postal worker and have contributed for 31 years. My balance is $700,000. I always put in the max allowed. As they allowed more, I contributed more. When they lifted the ceiling altogether I raised it to 16% and have contributed that much for years. Early years mostly in C, but when L Funds came around I moved 70% to L and 30% in C. I didn't try to time the markets except once. Had a feeling the market was going to tank and was losing money fast so lost a lot less than those that stayed the course and got back in at the right time. Just dumb luck. Now fully in L Income because I retire in 10 days!
    are you single?
    100g

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  11. Default Re: Share Your TSP Balance and Your Age Thread

    Thank you very much Frank! Just one more week to go!


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  13. Default Re: Share Your TSP Balance and Your Age Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by burrocrat View Post
    are you single?
    LOL! Technically I suppose I am, but no, my partner and I met at the post office 31 years ago and have been together 25 years. He has his own TSP also and has 32 years, balance $400,000. He has another 4 years to reach retirement eligibility.
    Guess I was the smarter TSP investor in the family!!

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  15. #128

    Default Re: Share Your TSP Balance and Your Age Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by Kjazzinphx View Post
    LOL! Technically I suppose I am, but no, my partner and I met at the post office 31 years ago and have been together 25 years. He has his own TSP also and has 32 years, balance $400,000. He has another 4 years to reach retirement eligibility.
    Guess I was the smarter TSP investor in the family!!
    well, do you folks think you will be hiring a pool boy anytime soon then?

    congrats on your retirement (both).
    100g

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  17. Default Re: Share Your TSP Balance and Your Age Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by burrocrat View Post
    well, do you folks think you will be hiring a pool boy anytime soon then?

    congrats on your retirement (both).
    Ha! Are you interviewing for the job?
    No. But maybe someone to cut the grass when it's 110 degrees.

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  19. Default Re: Share Your TSP Balance and Your Age Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by Raymann1 View Post
    I expect to retire the beginning of Jan next year. I will be 62.5 years old, with 21 years of Fed Service I am retired USAF officer as well. My TSP balance is 370K. My goal is over 400K by the end of 2016. My wife is also a DoD employee with 34 years in Service. She is 60 and has over 535K in her TSP. She plans on retiring when she is 62. (She wants me to wait for her...which would put me at 63.5 years old) our combined total is 905K....our goal is 1 mil. We recently moved everything into the G fund. Our monthly investments are going into C.
    Congratulations! You have done well! I hope the next two years go by quickly for you.

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  21. #131

    Default Re: Share Your TSP Balance and Your Age Thread

    oh i can make hay alright

    100g

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  23. Default Re: Share Your TSP Balance and Your Age Thread

    I'm 56 and covered under FERS. Next year I'll have 29 years of service. My current TSP balance is $555K and I'm contributing the max $24K. My wife is retired under CSRS at 55, due to health issues caused by work stress and her TSP balance right now is $114K. We haven't had any need to touch her TSP, and might tap into it when our daughter gets married. I'll be eligible to retire in 18 months and I'm just taking a "wait and see" approach as to when I will retire.

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