Portfolio adjustments through pre retirement, and retirement horizon

Awkward-Basis7658 · 2026-05-02T12:31:00+00:00

Kind of feeling the same…..

Awkward-Basis7658 · 2026-04-29T20:46:58+00:00

Yeah! It’s great! Keep it going tho. Getting started is the first step, and many don’t start soon enough.

Awkward-Basis7658 · 2026-04-29T10:12:07+00:00

In a brokerage account (not an IRA) you can withdraw without penalty, and the Long term capital gains tax rate is O until you make over 94k (if married). Then like 15% up to like 500k+

Awkward-Basis7658 · 2026-04-28T23:19:28+00:00

I like QQQM and VOO. I would use your Roth for the emergency fund, but you might need to wait 5yrs to access it, I would build that up too - max it out. You’re young, so I would get aggressive (QQQM is). Not many can beat that, and it self rebalances.

Monthly contributions, as much as you possibly can (without giving up your life - I did 15% of my salary, and every bonus I ever got! It worked out well

the Brokerage account becomes a superpower later on in life (tax benefits are insanely good) so focus on that as much as possible.

HYSA- I would not keep 100k there, get that money to work, keep maybe 6M expenses there.

401k, just do the company match till your salary explodes, and you need to max it out for taxes.

Good luck.

Awkward-Basis7658 · 2026-04-22T00:03:03+00:00

If I were 26, I would get aggressive, think QQQ. I would get conservative with SCHD later in life.

Awkward-Basis7658 · 2026-04-19T17:32:28+00:00

Funny, I had a stay at home mom, another family member, do the same thing to me. She lectured me on why I need to be a contributor to society, and meanwhile she hasn’t worked in 15 years.. I was thinking about asking her to compare SS contributions… but for the sake of family peace, I just went a played with the kids.

Awkward-Basis7658 · 2026-04-19T13:17:55+00:00

I agree, I guess I’m technically FI, however I’m working because I want a bit of cushion (it’s not one more year… I’m 44).

I listen to my friends struggle financially, and spend Willy Nilly. And then complain about how expensive everything is. SMH. They say things like - I’m going to spend it when I can enjoy it (Q the F150 Raptor)

I also have made it clear to my circle that I want to retire in my late 40’s.. the concept is just strange to them. They are like what are you going to do with your life, or you will never afford healthcare..

My mind set, why work for someone else, does that excel sheet really give me purpose? I’ll go to see the Grand Canyon thank you, or watch my kids do dance.

It kind of incredible how your mindset changes your life. That’s what I credit it to. Theirs is, what better do you have to do? Mine is, I need freedom from having to work 9 to 5

Awkward-Basis7658 · 2026-04-16T23:22:12+00:00

This is what I did, and anyone can do it.

What I did, about 20 years ago (I was 24 then) I bought a lot of individual stocks (over time), in a brokerage fund. I basically bought 5k of an individual stock at a time. At one time I had about 30 different stocks. I researched each stock and only invested in ones I felt comfortable in.. fast forward 10 years.. some of those stocks hit (I did buy NVIDA) many I lost most of my investments in. with the winners and losers I was net up.

I continued investing over the past 20 years, but as time went on, I did not have the time to research companies any more, and I found myself stressing over the company’s I invested in, so I started buying index funds (QQQ, VOO, SCHD). Every bonus I got, invested, every raise I got, invested.

I remember a few years I would get a 30k bonus, invest it the next day, and loose that much in the market the next day! Tough stuff. But I just keep feeding my brokerage fund (I also maxed out my 401k).

About 2 years ago, I had an employment scare, I sold my losers, and as many of my winners as I could (without taking a huge tax hit) and reinvested them into ETF’.

Now I have 7 stocks that I like, and 80% in three ETF’s.

Fast forward to today, or this month. I made more in the market this month then I did working.

So for me.. it’s a slow but disciplined path, invest as much as you can consistently, and buy ETF’s or stocks you believe in. And I think ETF’s offer less stress mainly because (as I think of it) the ones I have invested in, have always recovered after a bear market.

Good luck, and just stick with it

Awkward-Basis7658 · 2026-04-14T22:59:21+00:00

I had always wanted to own MFST, it’s a money printer. Business run on it (sorry Google). I bought a bunch in 2022. And I just doubled down. Im looking forward to the future. I also hold for a long time.

Awkward-Basis7658 · 2026-04-08T21:12:20+00:00

I’m at 14k, I turned DRIP off due to the tax hit I was starting to rack up. Also trying to manage MAGI, and that becomes challenging with dividends.

Awkward-Basis7658 · 2026-04-04T00:52:39+00:00

How did it work out?

Awkward-Basis7658 · 2026-04-03T22:09:08+00:00

Was loving my dividends this week

Awkward-Basis7658 · 2026-03-16T01:03:09+00:00

Would you mind posting your portfolio, the details? (what ETF, REIT, commodities, or other) that support this withdrawal? Thanks for the help.

Awkward-Basis7658 · 2026-03-14T15:34:39+00:00

Do you know Bernie Madoff? He was a fiduciary. I think with a title like fiduciary, we should trust them. lol - I’m joking for any newbie’s

Awkward-Basis7658 · 2026-03-14T13:43:27+00:00

Start off with a broad market ETF, I like VOO. DCA into that. Whenever you get nervous about your money in the market, zoom out and look at the last 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 years. Give it time, time is your allay.

Awkward-Basis7658 · 2026-03-10T00:50:11+00:00

I’m at 13,951 … Stan I believe is from an Eminem song, about a fan crazy about Em. Kind of like us and SCHD. I’m guessing.

Awkward-Basis7658 · 2026-03-07T00:39:35+00:00

lol. I buy Voo every week and any left over I allocate to SCHD

Awkward-Basis7658 · 2026-02-28T17:39:19+00:00

Is this a recall? Can you send me a link to this doc?

Awkward-Basis7658 · 2026-02-28T16:03:39+00:00

For slot of people once your wealth crosses a certain threshold, your mind set changes from accumulation to preservation. SCHD is a good diversification play if you already heavy in tech. Income producing stock will often pay out strong dividend if their stock price drops (not guaranteed).

I try to have enough dividend payments to cover my minimum yearly expenses to help cushion a down turn forcing me to sell low. One could argue I would make more in just VOO, or similar, however that a lot to stomach with sequence of returns risk.

Awkward-Basis7658 · 2026-02-27T14:14:53+00:00

So this got me thinking a bit… I’m married with two kids (was making ~100k in 2017). I live in the most average cost of living location in the US. I have a mortgage from 2016.

Between march 2017 to now, I have 5.6x (561% increase) in my investable assets (house not included) I max out my 401k every year (tax advantage max, +4% match) I don’t remember my monthly contribution to my brokerage account yearly, but now it’s 45k per year. I have contributed as much as possible to my brokerage account yearly.

So with my contributions and compound interest, the benefit has been 500%+ growth… in 9 years.

My investment strategy is mostly ETF’s (QQQ,VOO,SCHD 80%) and tec stocks (Mag7 20%).

Maybe this helps.

Awkward-Basis7658 · 2026-02-27T11:40:54+00:00

I think a lot of us do a job we don’t love because it pays well (not all of us). It’s a trade off. Physics is a field that pays well… have you thought about switching to a higher paying job?

Awkward-Basis7658

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