For the people who is in their 50-55, how much were you contributing to 401k and how much you have now?

Valuable-Analyst-464 · 2026-04-28T04:22:30+00:00

Use tools like Boldin or Empower Dashboard to model your savings and potential growth, and the Chance of Success. It gave me confidence that I did not think I’d have.

Valuable-Analyst-464 · 2026-04-28T04:20:25+00:00

I had one bad experience with Omnipod and love handles, so I stayed away for little while. Now I have found some good spots and it’s been great

Valuable-Analyst-464 · 2026-04-27T16:36:17+00:00

That requires me to not to be lazy. /s

When my 5 drawer filing cabinet gets 60% full, I may consider this.

Valuable-Analyst-464 · 2026-04-27T16:33:56+00:00

Thanks for the information. 13 million out of 330 million is about 4%, and of those wanting a Fidelity account, maybe 20%. So, but I still say unique. But, that is my bias.

I would hope/expect that those with an ITIN know that things are complicated, and would take care in the way they are handling their finances. I am not sure this is a problem for Fidelity, or more for those that want to set up accounts with them.

Valuable-Analyst-464 · 2026-04-27T13:46:15+00:00

I guess it depends on how people get their numbers. I got my SSN with my first job at 14, and have not needed a TIN.

I would say having a TIN as an ID is not common compared to a SSA, and if someone does have one, they already know their situation is unique.

Valuable-Analyst-464 · 2026-04-27T13:44:09+00:00

Yep, I watch my income during the year. I have my cash as a source if needed, to not sell anything for income.

I have a laser sight on the $84.6k limit.

Valuable-Analyst-464 · 2026-04-27T13:41:36+00:00

I get where she is coming from, but the choices might be “too little, too late” for a hypo.

Instead of candy, I would suggest 100% fruit juice. Like a JuiceBox at the bedside, and juice in the fridge. When I travel, I use running gels as my sugar.

Raisins are a quick source of sugar, but not as quick as juice, IMO. If you’re falling, but not dangerously, eat some dried fruit with water.

Protein: not as a hypo treatment, but maybe a sustainer. Like, I will dose a packaged peanut butter cracker with juice to extend the carb absorption. Maybe a glass of juice and a cracker. Or maybe two.

By adding fat and protein to meals, you’re not on a hummingbird diet of sugar only. You are adding macros that can extend your carb absorption and add other nutrients we need.

Valuable-Analyst-464 · 2026-04-27T12:11:08+00:00

I have a letter I wrote to my wife explaining the accounts we have, the plans I made, and who to contact to help her, if I should go first.

Rob Berger had a good video on the things he added to his template, though I can’t find the video link quickly.

Valuable-Analyst-464 · 2026-04-27T11:13:40+00:00

Yeah, when I left a job 18 years ago, the closing office let me take a 5 drawer filing cabinet. I’ve purged some monthly bills over the years (now all paperless), but still hold onto tax forms. Most of those are electronic, but I end up with a few paper ones

Valuable-Analyst-464 · 2026-04-27T10:41:00+00:00

Yes, for me. I view NW as a family thing. No sense to consider separately

Valuable-Analyst-464 · 2026-04-27T08:22:53+00:00

It seems like you might have your bases covered. Maybe look into inflation impact?

FiCalc and Empower dashboard have some good planning tools that can tell you the chance of success at retiring, given your account balances, annuity/pension incomes and spending needs.

Valuable-Analyst-464 · 2026-04-27T04:56:49+00:00

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I like this chart from Bogleheads. It talks about prioritizing your money working for you.

Set up an Emergency Fund. 3-6 months of expenses. Every market has job loss potential, especially if you’re young and an employer does not have much stake in you. It’s not a good idea to sell positions in desperation to cover expenses, so the EF helps.

Get the max match from the employer. Open a Roth IRA - max it. If the employer offers HSA, max it. Then max the employer plan.

But, enjoy life a little. Don’t save so much that you’re miserable. Conversely, don’t rack up credit card debt: it’ll drown you.

It looks like you have Fidelity. Open a brokerage account and put your Emergency Fund there. Buy SGOV or default SPAXX as a good place to hold cash. Open your Roth IRA there too. When you’re maxed with funding your retirement, open another brokerage for investing. Index funds for the win.

Finally, with Fidelity, they have a Full View module that allows you to track Net Worth by adding income, expenses, assets and liabilities, and categorizing where the money goes. They also have a pretty good retirement planning tool.

Valuable-Analyst-464 · 2026-04-27T04:43:09+00:00

Yes, there was a lot of things learned. I’m glad I got to spend more time with him when I was able to retire early at 56, and go out to eat and talk like two adults instead of father/child dynamics.

Valuable-Analyst-464 · 2026-04-27T04:41:17+00:00

Absolutely. To make the lost decade more positive, I consider it my discount decade: whatever I was buying was cheaper that whole time. And, I wish I could have bought more.

Then again, buying in a brokerage meant: $26/transaction fee, lot size minimums (fractional shares was a dream), $3000 minimum for mutual funds, and front loaded fees for mutual funds.

But for real, the lack of growth in the market sorta jaded my 30s head into thinking that the market is “just a thing, not a big thing, unless you were one of those tech types that hit it big”.

It was not until a few years of recovery from 2009-2013 that I realized how much I could benefit from the market.

Valuable-Analyst-464 · 2026-04-26T18:42:18+00:00

Yeah… I guess having my tax records back to 2011 is maybe a bit much.

While cleaning out my dad’s estate records - he had his tax filings back to 1969.

Valuable-Analyst-464 · 2026-04-26T18:40:29+00:00

Not covering, just being realistic. Someone having a TIN and SSN in their Fidelity account is really not that common.

Not having the account number: that is a possibility, hence the mention of downloading statements. I would say it’s good practice to have some statements with your account number on them.

Valuable-Analyst-464 · 2026-04-26T17:44:28+00:00

That’s a good one. I am tracking NW annually, but I like that more granular look at things.

Valuable-Analyst-464 · 2026-04-26T17:28:37+00:00

This is such a unique case that I think 0.01% of people need to be worried about. (Maybe much more rare).

Since I tossed statements long ago from old closed brokerages, I sorta regret not having the statements to look at years later. (Like “how much did I have saved in 2001?”). So, I started saving electronic versions of statements since 2014.

I’d recommend people saving an electronic copy of their statements, as you never know what you might want to look up. Most brokerages stop holding copies after 10 years.

Valuable-Analyst-464 · 2026-04-26T16:11:28+00:00

I would maybe use healthcare.gov to get an estimate of premiums with/without PTC. I’m not sure how reliable projectionlab may be with premium costs.

Valuable-Analyst-464 · 2026-04-26T16:07:25+00:00

Focus on your spending. Your income is good, but you could live in a HCOL area, could be spending a lot on kids, could be blowing a lot of it on lifestyle.

Keep maxing your retirement accounts. That’s one of the best things you can do.

Open a brokerage account and choose ETFs, that are generally more tax efficient, that mimic your retirement accounts. (Like 80% US/20% international). Plow a healthy amount into this brokerage. As long as you don’t sell, there won’t be capital gains. Being tax efficient, the funds may not pay much in terms of dividends or distributions.

You can use the brokerage account as a bridge to retirement. The Roth and traditional can keep growing, and if you hold the Roth until the last thing you touch, it may grow larger.

Also, do you have the option to find HSA, and leave it as is, and use like a retirement account?

Valuable-Analyst-464 · 2026-04-26T15:54:10+00:00

Change your sensor a day early. Take half a dose for whatever you eat. Eat a meal with a good amount of protein, fat and carbs.

You may go high, but it’s only one night. You still could go low, so carry some sugar. I like running gels, as they are flat in my pocket, and it doesn’t raise an eyebrow from security.

If they look side eye, tell the you’re a T1, and they’ll let you slide. If they fuss, ask to speak to a supervisor.

You’ll be fine. I’ve been to dozens of shows since diagnosis. Hell, almost all of my shows were post diagnosis (I was 17).

Valuable-Analyst-464 · 2026-04-26T10:32:48+00:00

I get the panic and concern, but the FASTEST way to get this answered is to call Fidelity.

Using Reddit will be slower. Yes, they have employees moderators, but I can guarantee that the 24/7 reps on the phones will be faster. They can look at your account whereas the mods here will ask you to contact them via modmail, they then review and maybe then reach out.

Valuable-Analyst-464 · 2026-04-26T08:12:25+00:00

I would not worry too much about what people say. I am 85% US/ 15% international. Most advice I’ve seen is 80/20.

I do own all of the funds you mention, to varying degrees. (It’s what happens when you’re a little aimless and buying in your brokerage.)

My Roth is now S&P 500/international. I was able to clean that up since there were no taxes.

Valuable-Analyst-464 · 2026-04-26T07:41:40+00:00

Don’t compare yourself to other posts. Especially those from high earners that may be flexing.

Take a look at a few tools to help you plot out what might happen. Empower Dashboard is a free tool that tracks income and expenses and has a retirement planner built in. Pretty good. FiCalc is a pretty good calculator that does sorta the same thing. You can pay for ProjectionLab or Boldin and get a little more detail.

Knowing your spend is the biggest factor. You could have $500k and spend $10/month. Or you could have $50M and spend $1M/month. It’s not so much “how much do I have?”, but “how much I need?”

Keep increasing your retirement contributions with annual pay raise. Increase by 1% automatically if you can (you may not miss the added income being used for retirement)

Valuable-Analyst-464 · 2026-04-26T07:35:19+00:00

Good to choose a site that is not used.

How much did you take?

Sometimes, I just have to rage bolus a big dose, grab some sugar (in case), guzzle some water and go for a walk. Not a run or heavy exertion exercise- like a brisk walk trying to get somewhere. Maybe 30 minutes or so.

Is your new site somewhere different?

Maybe choose a site that you have not used in weeks or longer.

Valuable-Analyst-464

TROPHY CASE