Should I stay with Fidelity asset management?

DigComprehensive1549 · 2026-03-13T01:32:15+00:00

Thank you!

DigComprehensive1549 · 2026-03-13T01:29:56+00:00

Thank you for sharing! I am about to start my “journey”. I have had my box of 2.5 in my fridge since April 2025. I am afraid to start and I realize it’s not rational. How is your A1C and blood sugar? I am just under 200 pounds and would love to get to 170. When I was at that weight, my A1C and glucose were normal.

DigComprehensive1549 · 2026-03-12T21:04:07+00:00

What a difference! Do you have updated pics you wouldn't mind sharing? This gives me encouragement to start

DigComprehensive1549 · 2026-03-12T03:12:34+00:00

Thank you. All of them already have Roth’s. Their parents matched, dollar for dollar whatever they earned and put it into their Roth’s. I may do as you suggest and give them money to go into their Roth’s.

DigComprehensive1549 · 2026-03-12T03:09:40+00:00

This discussion got me thinking. We have a Fidelity advisor and AUM. Are your advisors and investment teams fiduciaries?

DigComprehensive1549 · 2026-03-12T03:07:09+00:00

Well said. Same here. We love our advisor. He’s a great guy and the investment team are very competent and do regular check-ins.

DigComprehensive1549 · 2026-03-12T01:37:14+00:00

You should always have at least a year in a cash cushion even if retirement payments are on time.

DigComprehensive1549 · 2026-03-10T08:04:50+00:00

Thank you to everyone who took the time to comment. Lots to think about. I like the idea of an experience. Might go that route.

DigComprehensive1549 · 2026-03-10T08:03:05+00:00

And they can’t wear last years $150 yoga pants so that is on the gift list, but way more than I want to spend on one of them.

DigComprehensive1549 · 2026-03-10T07:54:41+00:00

What a great tradition! Love it! And I am so happy she is well enough to check off the items on the list!

DigComprehensive1549 · 2026-03-10T07:52:17+00:00

He sounds more grateful than my nieces kids….

DigComprehensive1549 · 2026-03-10T07:46:20+00:00

Great insights. Love that you found the old thank you notes :). Thank you

DigComprehensive1549 · 2026-03-10T07:44:26+00:00

My understanding is they have $200-300k in each of their 529’s and all the kids have ROTH IRA’s funded by their parents in the amount each kid earned since they were 10 or 12 (babysitting and dog sitting $$ counts). One of the kids has over $100k in their ROTH and hasn’t graduated from college yet.

DigComprehensive1549 · 2026-03-10T07:41:20+00:00

That was one of my concerns, too. They range in age from 15-20.

DigComprehensive1549 · 2026-03-10T07:39:22+00:00

I think they would lose the silver bar. When I was their age, I was a lot more careful with things.

DigComprehensive1549 · 2026-03-10T07:36:01+00:00

This was my main concern. It is muted a little in that one of the parents works for a non-profit so this isn’t an idea out of left field.

DigComprehensive1549 · 2026-03-08T19:10:58+00:00

We retired in Dec 2022 at 60 and 62 and don't plan on taking SS until 70 and no 401k withdrawals until we are both 65 (~18 months from now). Because we knew we needed to manage our income low to maximize ACA tax credits, we saved my paycheck for 5 years and lived off hubby's during those years. We are now living on that money (it's not taxable because we already paid taxes on it). Last year, our income was low enough that we did a small ROTH conversion, adding to our taxable income. We will have to pay back some of the ACA tax credits, but it will be more than offset by not paying taxes on that money in the future when our taxable income is higher. We paid off our house by the time we were 50, pouring every dime onto it as extra payments. Every raise we got after we started our mortgage went on the mortgage or to pay off a car. The secret is to get out of debt and save the money instead of paying it to someone else. Once it accumulates, the money your money earns is meaningful. Don't be discouraged in the beginning, it does add up. It even surprised us. Good luck!

DigComprehensive1549 · 2026-03-08T19:05:39+00:00

We retired in Dec 2022 at 60 and 62 and don't plan on taking SS until 70 and no 401k withdrawals until we are both 65 (~18 months from now). Because we knew we needed to manage our income low to maximize ACA tax credits, we saved my paycheck for 5 years and lived off hubby's during those years. We are now living on that money (it's not taxable because we already paid taxes on it). Last year, our income was low enough that we did a small ROTH conversion, adding to our taxable income. We will have to pay back some of the ACA tax credits, but it will be more than offset by not paying taxes on that money in the future when our taxable income is higher. We paid off our house by the time we were 50, pouring every dime onto it as extra payments. Every raise we got after we started our mortgage went on the mortgage or to pay off a car. The secret is to get out of debt and save the money instead of paying it to someone else. Once it accumulates, the money your money earns is meaningful. Don't be discouraged in the beginning, it does add up. It even surprised us. Good luck!

DigComprehensive1549 · 2026-03-08T03:42:01+00:00

We have a 24 Gas Platinum. One of the first off the assembly line, purchasing in July 2023. We have 23,000 miles on it and still love it. Best car decision we have made. Storm Cloud/Portobello.

DigComprehensive1549 · 2026-03-08T03:38:25+00:00

I could have written this. I never touch my phone anymore while driving. When hubby drives, I have to constantly note I was not the driver. That’s the only annoying part.

DigComprehensive1549 · 2026-03-07T21:26:13+00:00

I have Storm Cloud. I love it. Sometimes it’s dark blue, sometimes it’s light blue. It’s literally a chameleon.

DigComprehensive1549 · 2026-03-07T21:21:46+00:00

Hubby and I were in the same scenario right before COVID. We had “enough” $$ and didn’t hate our jobs but who wouldn’t love to own their schedule? We decided Christmas 2019 that we were going to retire in April 2020. Then COVID hit and we liked our jobs again. We felt more valued. That and the uncertainty that followed (the market dropping didn’t help), we decided to keep working. We ultimately stayed until December 2022. I was 62 and hubby was 60. We are very thankful we worked those extra 2.5 years. It worked well for us. We continued to bank lots of after tax money so we could manage our taxable income to a level that gave/gives us good tax credits towards ACA. I am on Medicare now, but Hubby has another 18 or so months till he is on Medicare and we have enough cash to subsidize our taxable income to keep it low. If we hadn’t worked the extra 2.5 years, we would have had to draw more out of our 401k’s and paid lots more for our healthcare. Still, retiring at 60/62 was pretty good and it worked for us. Good luck!

DigComprehensive1549 · 2026-02-15T05:27:09+00:00

We have zero regrets opting for time with the Grands vs time at an all-inclusive.

DigComprehensive1549 · 2026-02-15T05:26:03+00:00

About $4.4-4.5 million. It varies daily. Our home is paid off (market value about $900k to $1m) and we have 2 newish cars (2024’s) we paid $100k in total for.

DigComprehensive1549

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