tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-316583760554792907.post3592933169707193616..comments2023-06-18T06:03:54.348-07:00Comments on Racing Towards Retirement: 5 Ways to Invest Your Tax RefundRAnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04102249990885174107noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-316583760554792907.post-8766678142104960182016-03-08T19:08:43.006-08:002016-03-08T19:08:43.006-08:00Great ideas. My first thing I always do with my re...Great ideas. My first thing I always do with my refund is to invest it in my Roth IRA - always pay myself first!Kelly @ Brainy Chick Financehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18327970125996423974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-316583760554792907.post-17174190705788198202016-03-07T21:20:42.172-08:002016-03-07T21:20:42.172-08:00I think giving the grands a Loyal3 account where y...I think giving the grands a Loyal3 account where you can buy them a few dollars worth of Disney or some other interesting stock would be a good idea. If you like to play with your money, motif is interesting and lets you buy into various ideas at a relatively low cost. I think P-to-P is a good alternative investment--something to make money when the market is down. It is too new IMO to make it a major portion of your portfolio. They recommend 10% of investible assets and I think that's about right. If you don't want to fool with it--if you just want to fix it and forget it, go with Vanguard index funds. See what they invest the target date funds for your age group in and just buy those funds and rebalance them yourself periodically. Or for that matter, the target date funds aren't that expensive, buy them and go do something else, if this isn't your idea of a good time. Right now I'm enjoying playing with and writing about money. When I move on, I'll take the money out of my toys and put it in Vanguard, unless they are doing a whole lot better than Vanguard. RAnnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04102249990885174107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-316583760554792907.post-52752514149653761212016-03-06T07:42:33.114-08:002016-03-06T07:42:33.114-08:00Thanks for the answers Ruth. I have loads of quest...Thanks for the answers Ruth. I have loads of questions. I have been out of the market for a while and am wondering how to approach investing again.Janettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10054888725603183006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-316583760554792907.post-71956287616046985252016-03-05T20:52:31.263-08:002016-03-05T20:52:31.263-08:00We sold a bunch of mutual funds last year and I &q...We sold a bunch of mutual funds last year and I "enjoyed" doing my taxes today; the forms gave me the basis price and the sale price. Honestly I hadn't thought of the tax nuisance of all those transactions in Loyal3. Lending Club/Prosper aren't bad from a paperwork perspective. They send you forms and you enter the numbers. Unfortunately, the more bad loans, the more numbers to enter.<br /><br />I think asset allocation depends a lot on how much money you have an how much you need. We regularly spend much less per month than we make. We have about six months pay in the bank--not much interest but safe and available. No, I wouldn't invest money I might need next month in any of these things--the bank is really the only place for that kind of money. On the other hand, you are never going to get ahead by putting money in the bank. If you have $2500 you aren't going to need quickly, I think P to P is a good place for it. Long term, for most of your money, index mutual funds. Kickfurther--right now, the platform is too new to know and they don't do tax forms; that's on you. It is "play" money I'm hoping turns out well, not something I am counting on for retirement.RAnnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04102249990885174107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-316583760554792907.post-79663610409516875882016-03-05T20:31:52.110-08:002016-03-05T20:31:52.110-08:00I agree that if your only debt is mortgage, you sh...I agree that if your only debt is mortgage, you should be saving. Would you recommend putting your emergency fund into any of these funds? <br />What percent of your portfolio would you put into these different funds? <br />When you cash out of Loyal 3 do you have to do dollar cost averaging on every transaction? Do they keep those records for you? How about reporting the capital gains on the other investments. How does that work? Do they simply send you a statement at the end of the year for all of your investments? Mutual funds (outside of my IRA) drove me batty because of the paperwork.<br />Janettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10054888725603183006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-316583760554792907.post-38841099132681292772016-03-05T07:28:15.444-08:002016-03-05T07:28:15.444-08:00I really think that depends on your age and the ty...I really think that depends on your age and the type and amount of debt you are carrying. If your debt is only a mortgage on a house, then I think you should have a regular investment program going and that you evaluate investing vs paying off the mortgage by looking at your other assets, at your interest rates and at the likely return on the investments you are considering. Putting $1000 extra on your mortgage and then having to borrow because you have no assets that can be converted to needed cash doesn't really help you. On the other hand, putting that money toward credit card debt absolutely makes sense.RAnnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04102249990885174107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-316583760554792907.post-65592514303454474492016-03-05T04:46:45.599-08:002016-03-05T04:46:45.599-08:00Pay off debt is first! Pay off debt is first! Janettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10054888725603183006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-316583760554792907.post-65797603747737500322016-03-05T01:18:37.739-08:002016-03-05T01:18:37.739-08:00Interesting possibilities!
It's always tempt...Interesting possibilities! <br /><br />It's always tempting to use a windfall to have a little fun without jeopardising your financial plans. It could however function as a flywheel if you would use it wisely, especially when you are still in debt.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16663980152429743234noreply@blogger.com