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Thread: Share Your TSP Balance and Your Age Thread

  1. #253

    Join Date
    Nov 2005
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    Ohio, USA
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    219

    Default Re: Share Your TSP Balance and Your Age Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by Christopher View Post
    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.
    Checking in, it’s been a while! I will reach 52 at the end of 2020 and the wife will be 54 a few days prior. Our daughters both married and flew the coop over the 18 month period that ended with the weekend in March that COVID hit hard and full time telework began the norm. We slammed the pedal to the metal on contributions, our combined balance has hit $650K since my last post. Share Your TSP Balance and Your Age Thread


    Sent from my iPhone using TSP Talk Forums
    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. #254

    Default Re: Share Your TSP Balance and Your Age Thread

    Yo, Christopher - check your PM's will ya!

    You were in the top 5 this month!
    Tom
    Market Commentary | My Blog | TSP Talk Plus | |

    I am not a Registered Investment Advisor and this is not investment advice. Please do your own due diligence.

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

    Hello Everyone,

    I figure its time i start to focus far more on my TSP. I am just turned 32, have worked for the government for 9 yrs, and just made GS 14 with $110,000 in tsp.

    Thanks

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  7. #256

    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Rocky Mountain High
    Posts
    6,960

    Default Re: Share Your TSP Balance and Your Age Thread

    Max out your contributions, if you haven't already. As a GS-14, shouldn't be a problem.

    Quote Originally Posted by bbunch View Post
    Hello Everyone,

    I figure its time i start to focus far more on my TSP. I am just turned 32, have worked for the government for 9 yrs, and just made GS 14 with $110,000 in tsp.

    Thanks
    Weatherweenie's Account Talk
    Teddy Roosevelt: Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official. Retired on November 30, 2023 with 30+ years of service.

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

    Yes luckily I maxed out my contributions once I got the 14. All of my contributions have been Roth thus far. I am debating on if that is the best option.

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  11. #258

    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Florida
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    1,840
    Blog Entries
    6

    Default Re: Share Your TSP Balance and Your Age Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by bbunch View Post
    Yes luckily I maxed out my contributions once I got the 14. All of my contributions have been Roth thus far. I am debating on if that is the best option.
    It almost always is. Hard to know if you will be in a higher or lower tax bracket when you are taking the money out, but you do know that the gains on your contributions are tax free, whereas they get taxed if you go with the traditional option.

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  13. #259

    Default Re: Share Your TSP Balance and Your Age Thread

    TSP balance($407K) + Roth IRA(68K) + TSLA stock = $1,570,000

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  15. #260

    Join Date
    May 2011
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    Florida
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    1,840
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    Default Re: Share Your TSP Balance and Your Age Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by Globalpack View Post
    TSP balance($407K) + Roth IRA(68K) + TSLA stock = $1,570,000
    Wow, $1M in TSLA?

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  17. #261

    Default Re: Share Your TSP Balance and Your Age Thread

    @ Christopher. I am a late bloomer as well, and I agree with you, as my TSP contributions started late. I have more invested in the traditional than Roth. My rationale is that I can take the tax break now, and earn as much as I can from our TSP by maxing out each year since I was 48. I started as a gov employee as a GS9, when I was 46 and was contributing 5% to 10%. Currently I'm a GS13 and plan to retire at 62 (2024). I am also invested in a couple annuities that will be tax-free upon withdrawing. But, I figured that based on the amount of funds I will have invested, plus social security, I won't be in the highest tax bracket. So, I should be ok.

    I too was ignorant to the investing thing until a coworker shared the TSP Talk with me. I started reading the daily posts and chats to make sense of it all, and have gained plenty knowledge as to how this works. I recommend this site to a few who are like-minded, and se that aren't, but managing one's own money is not for everyone. TSP Talk made a world of difference to me and I am very thankful for the site and Tom's analysis. I'm very blessed to be an affiliate of TSP Talk.

    I am 58 as of Nov 2020, and have a TSP balance of $408,405, annuities at a combined balance of $48,000, and stocks balance of approximately $20,000 = $476,405.

    Blessings to you during this covid-19 season and beyond!


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  19. #262

    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Boiled Peanut, Georgia, USA
    Posts
    76,396

    Default Re: Share Your TSP Balance and Your Age Thread

    TSPTalk is Great STUFF, Thanks to TOM!!!ok.gif



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  21. #263

    Join Date
    Apr 2005
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    14,685
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    Default Re: Share Your TSP Balance and Your Age Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by bbunch View Post
    Yes luckily I maxed out my contributions once I got the 14. All of my contributions have been Roth thus far. I am debating on if that is the best option.
    I did some of both. I wish that I had done 50/50 Roth/conventional, as the conventional helps with taxes now, and the Roth helps with taxes later. By doing both at least you get flexibility in retirement as to which you want to pull from. If you are in a low bracket, you can take the conventional out, and if you need a big chunk all at once, you can choose from the Roth.

    Flexibility helps.


    Sent from my iPhone using TSP Talk Forums

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  23. #264

    Default Re: Share Your TSP Balance and Your Age Thread

    This year has been such a wild ride and today Tesla up another 7%!

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