Notice how this starts..."I am no financial guru." Take that to heart. I am so sick of hearing that about take your age from 100 and that is the percentage of stocks vs. bonds. That is not true. It depends on a lot of factors, but would you as a 20 year old planning for retirement have an average of 20% bonds in your portfolio? Try talking to a real financial guru, that is what they are there for.
I don't get what you mean by adding half of your discretionary income to a fully VESTED 401k/IRA. Are you saying that you shouldn't invest in your 401k/IRA unlesss you are immediately vested or wait until you are fully vestedbefore you start investing? Do you know what vested is?
I still didn't see any specifics...I thought you were going to give us some hot stock tips.
Originally Posted by
Adobo
Ok, now for some specifics. I am no financial guru, but this is the plan.
Invest fully on a company matched 401k/IRA. Then figure out your discretionary income every month, then add half of that on top of your fully vested 401k/IRA and send the other half to a high-interest online savings account. You are going to need an emergency fund just in case anything happens.
How much of a percentage should you invest in stocks/bonds? Take your age and subtract it from 100. That is the percentage your portfolio should have invested in stocks. The rest, bonds.
Once you have saved up 6 months worth of living expenses(MINIMAL 3 months), invest a little more of your discretionary income into your 401k/IRA. Keep saving though, just in case you may want to buy a house one day, but that 6 months you have saved... DON'T touch it!!! Emergencies only!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Don't have a credit card? Get one, but watch your spending. Build up that credit!
Don't have a degree? Get one in a field other than aviation(don't put all of your eggs in one backet) using a student aid program such as a Pell Grant. A Pell Grant is free and will also provide you with extra living expense money provided you keep at least a "C" average in all of your classes.
Did I miss anything? PM me for more details.
Hope this helps as well.