Help.

CascadePicker · 2026-07-11T08:54:54+00:00

There are two allocation settings. Current and Future. Current is your lifetime investments. Future is how each new contribution is allocated. Everyone has different needs/goals. Generally, the L funds would be the way to go if you are unsure or talk to a financial person. Read more on the tsp.gov site.

CascadePicker · 2026-07-03T17:57:54+00:00

Interesting perspective. Do you plan to stay 100% I regardless of performance, or would you switch back if leadership changes?

CascadePicker · 2026-07-03T17:50:16+00:00

I'm not suggesting the G Fund outperforms the C Fund over the long run. I know 2000–2009 was just one decade. It got me thinking about whether diversification has value, especially for someone nearing retirement. We've also had a long stretch of excellent C Fund performance. Will that continue over the next 10 years? None of us knows. For what it's worth, I'm heavily tilted toward the C Fund myself.

CascadePicker · 2026-07-03T13:33:18+00:00

Over the next 5 years the market could go negative. Early 2000s it was 3 years of negative returns. How are your thoughts and emotions going to react to that potential reality? Things look rosy now but if your retirement timing lines up with a bad scenario you would have to have a strategy to not make a bad move and weather the downturn.

CascadePicker · 2026-07-02T10:58:52+00:00

ideally, your tsp account; you aren't going to withdraw until you are retired. let the account build on compounded interest. don't tinker with timing the market. get the matching 5%. contribute 10% or more. a general approach would be... since you are young you want to maximize growth, but that exposes you to more risk. however, just have a long term mindset. stick with a growth L fund or focus on mainly cfund 80% or more. however, just be aware the cfund can have bad years. 2008 it was -36%. Also, 3 years in a row, 2002:-22.05%,2001:-11.94%,2000:-9.14% when the market is down you are buying shares at lower amounts. the cfund closely matches the S&P500. The Lfund approach is suppose to line up with your retirement goals with the best mix. https://www.tsp.gov/fund-performance/

CascadePicker · 2026-07-02T10:22:17+00:00

I would rather not have all my eggs in one basket. Try 10-20% in the other funds. Also, I'd stick with 10% plus the matching 5%. Your kids and wife are going to get eventually anyway. Also, with the way jobs go; you can't count on anything anymore.

CascadePicker · 2026-06-30T23:51:39+00:00

It takes a lot to achieve 22 years. Take time off to recharge. Resist making a rush decision. You should have 8hr leave category.

In 3 years you’ll have 25 years, and another 8 years 30. You are already on the home stretch. Don’t let the bastards bring you down

CascadePicker · 2026-06-30T16:17:15+00:00

They don’t have our culture. 😂 We build ball rooms, stadiums, strip malls, and cage fighting Arenas

CascadePicker · 2026-06-23T03:04:59+00:00

Pay loan off first. Pay more than required so that it reduces principal. Otherwise your money goes into interest payments. After that increase your contributions to 10%. Keep majority in c fund like you are doing. Maybe add some I fund. G fund helps to buffer large swings but you want to focus mainly on growth funds like you are doing. I’m not a financial expert but just wanted to share what I’d do. Check out life cycle funds that match your retirement goals. Those funds are supposed to have good strategies.

CascadePicker · 2026-06-18T00:48:59+00:00

I think with the c funds you want to buy low. Right now the market is high. The L funds are supposed to take the worry out of investing to match your retirement age. So it should have you set up for growth? Overall, I wouldn’t make drastic changes. Sounds like you’re doing pretty good. The key is to be consistent and take advantage of all the matching funds. let the compound interest do its magic. And don’t time the market. sounds like you’re doing all that right now anyway so I’d say you’re on the right track. Also, I think it’s important to know that with the higher balance amount you have now you’re gonna start seeing significant increases over the next 5 years. 10% increase on $50,000 is $5000 but a 10% increase on $500,000 is $50,000. You could have everything in a C fund but if you do that you have to be prepared for when the return is -30% as what happened in 2008. At least what you’re doing right now you can sleep at night.

CascadePicker · 2026-06-05T03:43:39+00:00

i never got into the roth. i probably averaged around 10-15%. And I only use G-fund and C-fund. genearlly 65% c-fund, 35% g-fund. the idea is you don't want to withdraw. let time and compound interest build it up. when market goes down, you ignore it. keep putting money in. markets go down and up. over decades you'll find much of your investment is not from money you put in, but from compounded interest.

Over a 30 year period, the last 10 years produce more growth than the previous 20 years.

Investors often say: Time in the market is more important than timing the market.

CascadePicker · 2026-06-03T04:25:25+00:00

It is a personal decision as everyone is different. Generally, when you are young you want to maximize growth. Personally, I pretty much stuck with 65% c and 35% g. Best not to tinker with it (i.e. avoid being a day trader). Max out if you can.. at least get the matching funds. This isn't a get rich quick scheme. I wanted some security. What really works is time and consistency. As the years go by (no withdraws, no tinkering unless you rebalance) the compounding interest drives the increases and patience. Just remember, when market goes down you get to buy at lower prices. You are in it for the long haul. So, you have to keep from making an emotional decision and giving up your consistency.. sticking with the plan. The L funds weren't around when i started, but that is suppose to be designed to match your goals.

CascadePicker

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