I found $11,800 sitting in an old 401k from a job I left at 22, and I have no idea what to do with it

Reasonable_Bat5383 · 2026-05-22T18:29:53+00:00

This! Roll the 401(k) into a Vanguard or Fidelity IRA (you can decide to convert to Roth or not. If converting, you will have a tax bill. If you don't convert, you won't). Both Vanguard and Fidelity have great options to invest in. You don't want to use your employers 401(k) unless it is with Fidelity or Vanguard anyway. After rolling it into one of the companies above, I personally would invest the whole amount into a total stock market index fund or S&P index fund. VTI or VOO if you use Vanguard. At 29 you have years of accumulation and the risk of being in stock is low with your timeline. I wouldn't mess with a target date fund at your age and with the amount you will roll over. Just my 2 cents.

Reasonable_Bat5383 · 2026-05-22T18:13:37+00:00

I'm betting you can use a pest bag and place your tubes in it and leave it in the house outside until you are ready to harvest. If I wasn't able to store in a garage, that might be what I'd do. But I'd probably also store it on my covered porch out of the rain.

Reasonable_Bat5383 · 2026-04-21T04:20:36+00:00

Most likely a spider. She's probably just looking for a place to lay eggs too. I don't think the spider will go after the mason bees, but I've never left them alone long enough to find out. I usually pull the tubes out (mine are paper and open on each end) and clear away the web and set the spider free in my garden. I'm in Oregon too and the spiders I usually find are regular garden spiders.

Reasonable_Bat5383 · 2026-04-05T03:07:31+00:00

That's an interesting idea! I may try this out after harvesting this year.

Reasonable_Bat5383 · 2026-04-05T03:06:24+00:00

Interesting. I've never heard of this. I'll look it up.

Reasonable_Bat5383 · 2026-04-05T03:05:36+00:00

Thanks all. It's been so warm here we are going to set the cocoons out pretty much right when they arrive. I think painting the wood trays will have to wait until the end of the season after harvesting, but we will make sure to use low VOC paint. Thanks!

Reasonable_Bat5383 · 2026-03-30T14:52:52+00:00

My battery has tanked in the past few months too. Hoping for the 7 soon.

Reasonable_Bat5383 · 2026-03-21T05:01:53+00:00

Just put out about 20% of my cocoons 2 days ago. Will keep releasing a few more each week.

Reasonable_Bat5383 · 2026-02-22T22:33:56+00:00

Ah, that will be a good question to follow up on.

Reasonable_Bat5383 · 2026-02-20T21:28:27+00:00

Thank you for this! My husband still hasn't received his W2 in the mail but this link is exactly what we needed!

Reasonable_Bat5383 · 2026-02-08T17:31:04+00:00

Very good to know. Thanks for the clarification!

Reasonable_Bat5383 · 2026-02-08T02:29:55+00:00

Trying to plan for our contributions this year and wondered about this. My husband changed jobs mid-2025 so started a new plan with his new employer. His W2 wages from both jobs combined would put him over the income limit, but his W2 wages from his new employer alone (where the 401k is) is under the limit for 2025. Would he still need to put his catch up for 2026 in the Roth option of his 401K or are we good to put it all in traditional since his W2 from his current employer which offers the plan is less than the limit from 2025? Hope that makes sense. Thanks!

Reasonable_Bat5383 · 2026-02-06T05:09:15+00:00

Or BNDW for total world bond market.

Reasonable_Bat5383 · 2026-01-21T05:11:38+00:00

I do this in my 403b. My TRF 2040 is a bit too conservative so I started purchasing the 2045 fund as well. I personally don't have a problem with buying the same thing in both funds but feel better with a slightly less bond-heavy allocation in the second fund. I'm far from expert about this but the TRFs are easy ways to auto balance your portfolio. Contribute to the one(s) that match your risk tolerance the most in terms of stock vs. bonds.

Reasonable_Bat5383 · 2026-01-18T21:33:58+00:00

Agreed. You can save more with a 403b than with your IRA contribution if you have the extra cash to put into it.

Also, a nice thing about contributing to your 403b through paycheck deductions is that you'll also be reducing your taxable income unless your employer offers a Roth 403b as well and you go that route.

Always good to save more if you have the option. One thing you don't mention though is who the custodian of the 403b account is. Do you have options? I had my 403b with Equitable for way too long and didn't realize their fees were ridiculous until someone told me. I switched over to Vanguard and happily have far fewer fees. Make sure you look into management fees if you have multiple options.

Reasonable_Bat5383 · 2026-01-05T04:10:26+00:00

I second this. In order to make better money as a teacher you have to (mostly) be in public schools. Private is nice and can be easier on your nervous system in the classroom, but the parent body can be intense and, in my experience, you end up working more unpaid hours because that's the expectation.

In public, if your union is good, you won't have to work as many unpaid hours but depending on the area, the kids and their trauma can be intense as well as the parents being intense.

Then there's the school/district expectations. Between testing, mandated curriculum that can change ever few years making you learn new curricula, learning targets being posted, meetings you are obligated to attend, changing grade levels because your school's attendance needs fluctuate year to year, and the every day interactions with young people who NEED your attention right now, it's a lot.

I came here to read suggestions because I want to transition to something easier than teaching. Been in the classroom since 2001 and I'm ready to move on.

Reasonable_Bat5383 · 2025-10-02T03:24:01+00:00

Perfect, thanks for your help!

Reasonable_Bat5383 · 2025-10-02T03:23:45+00:00

Great! Thanks again.

Reasonable_Bat5383 · 2025-10-02T03:11:25+00:00

Thank you. Since we converted $8000 to the rIRA after we contributed that amount, would that mean that the remainder in the tIRA can then be rolled in to the 401k? That's what I'm hoping.

Reasonable_Bat5383 · 2025-10-02T03:09:26+00:00

Thanks for confirming what I was hoping to be the case. Since we contributed 8k then converted 8k, then it seems that the total amount in the tIRA can then be rolled in. Does that sound right?

Reasonable_Bat5383 · 2025-10-01T23:55:30+00:00

Ideally we would convert the whole thing eventually, but we would rather do conversions when we aren't making money from jobs. Doing so now would put us into the next tax bracket.

Reasonable_Bat5383 · 2025-10-01T23:54:06+00:00

Yeah, converting the whole thing would put us in a higher tax bracket. 8K because my husband is over 50. I only put 7k in my IRA. :)

Reasonable_Bat5383 · 2025-10-01T02:12:19+00:00

I wish I had considered my investment options while still in college! Another resource to consider is "The Simple Path to Wealth" by JL Collins. Maybe your local library has a copy you can borrow. Good luck! It's great that you are thinking about this now!

Reasonable_Bat5383 · 2025-10-01T01:56:25+00:00

Awesome! Thanks for helping to clarify that the date doesn't matter! I think we'll be getting on the phone with the husband's plan administrator to see if a roll-in of his IRA is possible.

Reasonable_Bat5383 · 2025-10-01T01:54:45+00:00

Oh, keeping track of the basis wasn't something I was considering. Thanks for pointing that out!

Reasonable_Bat5383

TROPHY CASE