NEW MEMBER - Need of advice I Fund

[K24434]

New to the board and appreciate all of the insight and information. Quite overwhelming and taking time to sort it all out. I am in need of some advice. I currently have 100% allocation to the I Fund with the maximum yearly contribution. Looking to retire in about five to seven years and hoping to maximize the overall amount. Any comments or advice on a strategy would be appreciated.

[Birchtree]

IMHO it's a great time to be dollar cost averaging into the I fund - nothing wrong in being a lone wolf. The price is right and with the European debt crisis causing a panic sell off in the euro - the currency devaluation could be a major bullish factor for European company earnings. Stay with the large caps. They have the export advantage.

[nnuut]

Best of luck and welcome to the Message Board!! Some say the bottom is in and the Market should go higher from here, but there are no guarantees and it could continue down. As far as the "I" yes it has dropped way down with the problem overseas and the rising dollar. A falling dollar helps the "I" fund and right now it has been going up on the falling EURO, sure buy low and DCA but I wouldn't go with the "I" while the dollar is trending higher. I'm in the CP (Capital Preservation) mode right now but that could change. Watch the Auto Tracker!
Norman

[dannyboy]

New to the board and appreciate all of the insight and information. Quite overwhelming and taking time to sort it all out. I am in need of some advice. I currently have 100% allocation to the I Fund with the maximum yearly contribution. Looking to retire in about five to seven years and hoping to maximize the overall amount. Any comments or advice on a strategy would be appreciated.
:) Welcome,
There's plenty of good advice to be had, here. Beware of those with so much that their play, may not match your strategy. Best advice to read the threads, find those matching your ideals and are doing well? :worried:
DB

[Frixxxx]

Goals,

You need to set them....
1. Ask yourself, how much do I need at retirement?
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2. Ask yourself, How much do I currently have?
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3. Subtract what you need from what you have.
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4. Divide this by number of years to retirement (6-7 your case)
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5. Divide by 26 (pay periods)
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6. You should have your answer!
_______________________________:sick:<~~Hope you don't look like this

[KevinD]

Frixxxx - How does anybody figure what they will need in retirement? :confused: All those Monte Carlo calculators want you to guess at an interest rate too. How does anybody come up with that? :blink:

My answer to #1 is "as much as I can save up." :notrust:

[K24434]

Appreciate the guidance. That is my dilemna. How much does one think they will need at retirement? No matter the amount, does it make sense to diversify out of the 100% allocation to the I fund at this time? Let's say I have $350,000 at present in I fund value and would like to get out in about 5 to 7 years at (hopefully) about $1,000,000. Does it make more sense to hold or diversify at this time, and if so, to what fund.

[Frixxxx]

Frixxxx - How does anybody figure what they will need in retirement? :confused: All those Monte Carlo calculators want you to guess at an interest rate too. How does anybody come up with that? :blink:

My answer to #1 is "as much as I can save up." :notrust:
Ask yourself the question, HOW much CAN you save up?

If you take all your Needs and add them up this is what you will cover:

Will you have a "residence" payment.
_________
Will you need power/gas/water/sewer/trash
_________
Will you eat
_________
Do you have medical expenses now that will go on forever
_________
Will you need transportation
_________
What kind of medical/home/car/other insurance
_________

Estimate your needs. This is a GREAT way to get a reference point.

Then add in your wants
Hobbies
Entertainment
Travel

Now some of us even estimate tithing for church in our calculations (10%)

You cannot be exact and you must be able to be a little flexible.

Remember repairs, needy brother/sister/nephew/niece/son/daughter.

Take my known retirements:
Check from Civil Service at 57
Check from AF Reserve at 60
Withdrawals from TSP to offset at 60
Roth IRA for failover
Municipal bonds for "emergencies"
BUDGET,BUDGET,BUDGET

and on the slim chance that there is even a hint of SS, I'll put it on the Pass Line in Vegas!:suspicious:

[KevinD]

Appreciate the guidance. That is my dilemna. How much does one think they will need at retirement? No matter the amount, does it make sense to diversify out of the 100% allocation to the I fund at this time? Let's say I have $350,000 at present in I fund value and would like to get out in about 5 to 7 years at (hopefully) about $1,000,000. Does it make more sense to hold or diversify at this time, and if so, to what fund.

No one here will or CAN tell you. You're going to have to figure it out for yourself. Read, read and read some more.

Read about the I fund over at the TSP.gov. Whats it have in it? What do you think will happen to those things in the future?

Read about the other funds. What do you think they are going to do in the future? C fund tracks the S&P500. S fund tracks the Wilshire 4500. According to the TSP.gov web site the F fund is a bond fund that tracks the Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Index.

This thread got moved to the I fund sub-forum. Read about the other funds in the other sub-forums.

Good luck and Welcome!

[Bullitt]

The answer lies in the direction of the Euro.