OK, so Now What??

[CRFSaver]

Congratulations on getting all of it done. I think the thing I really like about the Roth IRA's is that you can take the principal out without penalty (have to keep the earnings in though). So you also have an emergency fund. NOt sure the time frame but thought it was like 2 years.

I think you went with a good choice on the S&P500 fund. My only advice is to be very careful on the "lifestyle" funds. Depending how they are set up you could be double dipping in fees. Some of those lifestyle funds, you pay them a fee, and they use that money to invest in other vanguard funds, which also charge a fee. Just something to look out for.

[jmjj215]

I'd rather keep the Roth untouched if at all possible. You don't want to eat the seed! Make sure you read and understand the prospectus - don't hesitate to call and ask questions either. It can be very educational.

[CRFSaver]

I agree. I rather not touch it either, but god forbid you have to, at least it is there. Absolutely call and ask questions. Don't understand? Ask again and keep asking till you are comfortable.

[al0061]

Originally Posted by 34saving

Unless your personality is a lot different than mine, watching your Roths daily will drive you crazy. Monthly is probably a better strategy . . . but maybe that's just me Good luck!!

Well, so far, every day has kind of been fun. But that will change if it starts to go down. When the initial excitement of actually Doing It (creating an investment account) dies down, so will my urge to look at it daily.

I've also done the new glasses thing, with a twist from my original intention of getting new lenses for them.
I was suddenly wakened by the phone last Monday. My glasses had fallen on the floor during the night. I leapt up to get the phone and stepped on my glasses, breaking them cleanly in two. Eek. So new glasses.

Haven't done the dentist thing yet.
Haven't done the Long Term Care thing, but I have found a new doctor. (Mine died last winter.)
Need to save for a few more months for a good down payment on our place. I want the payments to be very small.

It is great knowing that I have an emergency fund. I'm not at all tempted to just go shopping. I might need a new cell phone soon (mine keeps getting hot to the touch) but I should be able to get that without digging into the EFund. I've been thinking about upgrading one of my computer video cards, but that's a Want, rather than a Need, so I'll probably ignore That particular impulse. (I'm a bit of a geek. I like computer stuff better than new clothes or shoes.)

I almost applied for a mortgage through USAA the other day. I held off because it's scary. Can anyone tell me the implications of applying for a mortgage? Can you apply at more than one place without hurting the credit rating? If you apply, does that mean you're asking for a mortgage, or asking for pre-approval? Is there a difference??

Any advice??

Thanks for all your encouragement! You guys are all so nice!

Torch

[JBinKC]

Unfortunately, I really have no advice I don't think you will be able to make any substantial gains from 90% of the stock mutual funds over the next decade and I am not necessarily fond of bonds when it appears the government is trying to devalue or currency and inflating prices. What the big problem of the economy is a portion of it is undergoing deflation like wages, technology etc. but the basic need categories are in an extreme inflationary times. In times like this you are better off to own "STUFF" in the basic needs category whatever it may be.

Unless you have the time and energy to research your own stock selections providing you know what to look for I really have few answers.

If you want to take a long view I think you will do better holding commodities or raw forested land but I would be more prone to buy them into corrections.

[CRFSaver]

For a decent bond fund (No Load and No 12b-1) fees check out Managers Intermediate Duration fund or the Managers Short Duration fund. Both are funds that are "Sub-Managed" by a company called Smith Breeden Associates. They are experts in the use of Mortgage Backed Securities and use derivatives to manage the risk even better. The Management fees tend to be higher then some other bond funds but these guys are amazing (I used to deal with them for about 5 years.) Check them out if you want.