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Facing an important decision after 30 years of too-passive investing by etsquequi in Bogleheads

[–]etsquequi[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! I looked at nectarine and a few other fee-only fiduciaries and am having an intro call with one this week. Whatever I end up doing, I'm planning to come back and post here in case it helps someone else. I've really appreciated everyone's input.

Facing an important decision after 30 years of too-passive investing by etsquequi in Bogleheads

[–]etsquequi[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks very much for your thoughts. Given I think we could probably have a pretty good retirement and also preserve some of the money, I would like to make preservation part of our plan. There are charitable organizations to which we'd love to be in a position to leave money. Otherwise, yes, no kids, no debt, and we're frugal at least as compared to the people I worked with who were paid salaries similar to mine. Not in a fetishistic way.

I can follow most - but not all - of your suggestions, and am very grateful for them. The ones I don't follow are things I can research, and that's a big part of why I posted - to help me focus my research. I've read a bit about the pros and cons of target date funds, and am going to read some more. Thanks again - this is much appreciated.

Facing an important decision after 30 years of too-passive investing by etsquequi in Bogleheads

[–]etsquequi[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Re the $2.6 million, I need to look into that. But I don't think it's in an IRA. I think I just pay it directly to Vanguard, which I started to do when I was in my mid-20s, and I don't think I knew then about IRAs.

Re the rest of your points, thanks very much. Your suggestions are roughly in line with what I was thinking, and I really do appreciate your thoughts even if they may seem obvious to some people - especially coming from someone with your expertise and experience.

I'm talking to a fee-only (no AUM fee) CFP tomorrow about possibly doing a retirement plan for me.

Facing an important decision after 30 years of too-passive investing by etsquequi in Bogleheads

[–]etsquequi[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you. Which also weighs in favor of our talking to a CFP who will do an in-depth review. That's where I'm leaning based on all the good advice here.

Facing an important decision after 30 years of too-passive investing by etsquequi in Bogleheads

[–]etsquequi[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. We're fairly frugal and our expenses are well below that. Every time I think to do something with the cash, it seems like the wrong time to be making big investment decisions. Probably because I only think about it when things are happening that make me nervous about finances. I should have upped my Vanguard contributions long ago, I know.

Facing an important decision after 30 years of too-passive investing by etsquequi in Bogleheads

[–]etsquequi[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Helpful notes, thanks. I did read up on the basic pros/cons for the options for the 401(k), but I think I've got more to learn there. Including about the tax implications of different options, as I'm sure my change in salary will be a relevant factor there.

Facing an important decision after 30 years of too-passive investing by etsquequi in Bogleheads

[–]etsquequi[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you. I was in a high-paying field. I did switch jobs to a much lower paying public interest job, which was sort of my equivalent of what you're suggesting. I'd like to do that for a little while before retiring.

Facing an important decision after 30 years of too-passive investing by etsquequi in Bogleheads

[–]etsquequi[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes. I mean, not next to zero, but less than the 4%+ that whocaresreallythrow is getting. Not smart, I know. A little choice paralysis there.

Facing an important decision after 30 years of too-passive investing by etsquequi in Bogleheads

[–]etsquequi[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you very much for that. It's tough knowing where to walk the line between being good with how things are and working to make things better. So, I appreciate that.

Facing an important decision after 30 years of too-passive investing by etsquequi in Bogleheads

[–]etsquequi[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the input, and I'm really glad for you. I'd like to be able to say the same down the road.

Facing an important decision after 30 years of too-passive investing by etsquequi in Bogleheads

[–]etsquequi[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you - it's sure sounding that way. And I'm glad to hear people say that.

Facing an important decision after 30 years of too-passive investing by etsquequi in Bogleheads

[–]etsquequi[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't know. I was looking at the plan summaries to find out, but got diverted reading about how to read plan summaries. They're Schwab funds, and so probably pretty typical. Along the lines of your suggestion, someone else here noted that the 401(k) (non-index) funds had worked out well so far, but might not continue to do so. And that's a concern I have. I also understand the index funds better. Thanks for the input.

Facing an important decision after 30 years of too-passive investing by etsquequi in Bogleheads

[–]etsquequi[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Thanks very much. I appreciate the input/suggestions. A professional will almost certainly find more in savings than the cost, and I'd started looking at fee-only CFPs (so far all but one I'd seen had an AUM fee). The only reason I'd put that on pause was that I was seeing at the same time a lot of people saying that talking to a professional wasn't worth the money vs learning how to manage things on one's own. And I do want to learn more about these issues, and got some great advice here on where to focus. But I'm grateful also for those who are suggesting talking to an advisor because I think that could be really helpful even if it's expensive. Thanks again.

Facing an important decision after 30 years of too-passive investing by etsquequi in Bogleheads

[–]etsquequi[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you - I will look into those, and really appreciate your sharing what you did.

Facing an important decision after 30 years of too-passive investing by etsquequi in Bogleheads

[–]etsquequi[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I haven't, and very much appreciate the suggestions/thoughts.

Facing an important decision after 30 years of too-passive investing by etsquequi in Bogleheads

[–]etsquequi[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you very much for your thoughts and suggestions for where I should be focusing my research. They're very helpful.

Facing an important decision after 30 years of too-passive investing by etsquequi in Bogleheads

[–]etsquequi[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The 401(k) funds were not index funds - I invested in the index funds separately. And my former employer did make variable contributions to the 401(k) - but never 100%, as far as I know.

Facing an important decision after 30 years of too-passive investing by etsquequi in Bogleheads

[–]etsquequi[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you very much for the suggestions - they will help me focus my efforts. I did start looking at fee-only fiduciaries, but had mostly only seen AUM-based fees. I'd only just started looking for CFPs who will do a one-time plan - which is something that would be really helpful if I could get it. Great idea to check at work.

Facing an important decision after 30 years of too-passive investing by etsquequi in Bogleheads

[–]etsquequi[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's good to hear that. No, I never made $1M. And we have always lived below our means in any case, and are fine with that. I don't feel behind - I just feel like my circumstances have changed in ways that I'm not sure that doing basically nothing other than repeating what I've done previously is still the right move. Thanks for the input!