How are we doing?

[Bcp1984]

"I am going to max the IRA;s out next year, something we just didnt do this year and should have."

You can contribute to this year's (2010) Roth IRAs until April 15, 2011.

I realize that. Just not going to this year. How this turn into a how are we doing thread into this is what you SHOULD be doing?

By the way, my career in the Air Force is finance, so i know most of this stuff as I am an accounting major.

[ActYourWage]

How this turn into a how are we doing thread into this is what you SHOULD be doing?

By the way, my career in the Air Force is finance, so i know most of this stuff as I am an accounting major.

Because this is a Saving Advice forum. If we see something that stands out, we are going to give our advice.

[Mr Nice Guy]

I realize that. Just not going to this year. How this turn into a how are we doing thread into this is what you SHOULD be doing?

By the way, my career in the Air Force is finance, so i know most of this stuff as I am an accounting major.

Wow...

[littleroc02us]

We save on average around a $1000.00 per month, in addition to 17 percent of my base pay to TSP. Trips are not a nessecity, but being stationed in Germany is part of the luxury. It cost me 60-70percent less to visit a country than it would when I am in the states, so to me this is not a money waster, we enjoy traveling and sightseeing. (last time we went to Paris it cost us 600 dollars for three nights and all mueseums paid for which some people almost spend in eating out in a month alone).

We have zero credit card debt.

We intend on putting approz 75K down on a 110-130K home, which would eave me to carry a mortgage of about 30-50K, and 10-15kin savings when we get back to the states.

I am going to max the IRA;s out next year, something we just didnt do this year and should have.

Our ultimate goal? Own our home (paid for within the next ten years), cars paid for and driven for the next 6-8 years leaving no payments whatsoever while still contributing as much as possible to TSP. I will also recieve my military pension in 12 years if I stay in.

We rarely shop for things we don't need as there are not as many "stores" as there are in the states. We rarely eat out, so not much wasted money there.

So again, what's wrong with paying off the car and having no debt? You still have 25k in EF.

[jpg7n16]

I realize that. Just not going to this year. How this turn into a how are we doing thread into this is what you SHOULD be doing?

By the way, my career in the Air Force is finance, so i know most of this stuff as I am an accounting major.

How else would you know how you're doing, if you don't evaluate what you are doing compared to what you should be doing?

I think they're two parts of the same question.

Now if you just wanted to hear someone say, "good job!" then you're doing fine. You've got a ton of cash built up (too much in fact).

You're doing pretty good on finance, but some of the personal finance stuff wasn't taught in accounting (I was a finance major - working in accounting )

For instance, keeping 2 years of cash in an Emergency fund is an error of subjecting yourself to too much inflation risk. It tested that on my CFP exam.

The max you really ever need in cash is 6 months - now if you wanted to switch from cash to other better yielding investments, that'd be no problem. If you really feel you need a 2 year buffer, only 6 months should be in cash. Find a good mid term bond fund, or some other appropriate investment for the remaining 18 months. But not stocks unless you have at least 5 years to let it grow.

But I think you're overprotecting a bit - and your goal is to pay off the car anyways. You could reach your goal, and not be in a terrible position. You'd still be doing better than most people your age.

[Bcp1984]

Sorry for the frustration in the above post.

I guess the question should have been how am I doing and what should i be doing from this point forward.

I understand that I have an amont most would consider more than nessecary in an emrgency fund. I could put it into CD's, hwoever the interest rate isnt worth locking that money up for an extra .3 percent(I get .70 in my high yield savings right now). It also is at an amount that i am comfortable leaving it at, and I dont worry about money at night. So for me security is reason enough for me to leave it alone.

My goal was to lock up the extra cash when CD rates rise, and when inflation is rising so that i could lock in long term with a much higher rate.

I forgot to mention, I also contribute $200 a month to mutal funds (income fund), although that fund is down considerably right now, it has average 9 percent since inception (1982)

Next years goals look something like this:

Max out IRA
Pay down considerable balance on car
Try to maintain 17% contribution to TSP even when wife quits her job

Not sure where I should go from there. I think I have all the pieces in place, but I will have to buckle down a little harder next year when i am deployed.

Brandon

[jpg7n16]

I could put it into CD's, hwoever the interest rate isnt worth locking that money up for an extra .3 percent

So for me security is reason enough for me to leave it alone.

My goal was to lock up the extra cash when CD rates rise, and when inflation is rising so that i could lock in long term with a much higher rate.

I totally agree. But I was thinking something more along the lines of one of these (or split between the mid and short):

Short term bond funds 5 star and long management tenure: (look closer at the longer managed ones)

http://screen.yahoo.com/a?cc=CS&nm=&proy=&mgrt=10%2F&rtmin=5&rtmax=&retrmin=&retrmax=&risrmin=&risrmax=&trytd=&troy=&trty=&trfy=&mii=&mfl=&er=&namin=&namax=&tomin=&tomax=&mmcmin=&mmcmax=&vw=1&db=funds

Mid term bond funds 5 star and long management tenure:

http://screen.yahoo.com/a?cc=CI&nm=&proy=&mgrt=10%2F&rtmin=5&rtmax=&retrmin=&retrmax=&risrmin=&risrmax=&trytd=&troy=&trty=&trfy=&mii=&mfl=&er=&namin=&namax=&tomin=&tomax=&mmcmin=&mmcmax=&vw=1&db=funds

The short term funds are relatively price stable, and are yielding about 2%. The mid term are slightly more risk, but most are yielding around 5%.

And if inflation is a large concern for you, have you considered I-bonds? Individual - I Savings Bonds

I know your goal is to feel secure. So would you still feel secure if you had $12,000 in cash and $37,000 in one (or two or three) of those investments?

I forgot to mention, I also contribute $200 a month to mutal funds (income fund), although that fund is down considerably right now, it has average 9 percent since inception (1982)

All good businesses buy low and sell high

Next years goals look something like this:

Max out IRA
Pay down considerable balance on car
Try to maintain 17% contribution to TSP even when wife quits her job

Not sure where I should go from there.

well we're here to help you reach your goals. To many of us, being debt free is an important goal, so that'll show up a lot in our advice.

Sometimes it's a necessity in order to win financially. But for you, a 3.5% loan is probably a lower priority.

But we don't have to live with your choices, you do.


Your goals look good to me. If you accomplish them, you'll be doing very well.