[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by JustinHEMI

And that coupled with the above advice I was given in the Navy has done very well for me.

Us too. It's so simple. The best thing I ever did was:

1) Read the short, but redundant book the "Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns."

2) Adopt Buffett's 15 minute retirement plan.

3) Fire my financial advisor in 2015 and take matters into my own hands using Vanguard.

The amount of growth we've had is astounding, especially when you get out of those high fee investments and stop paying all those financial advisor related fees (many of which are intentionally hidden/buried).

Investing is freaking simple if your goal is to retire with $1M-5M. You really don't need much help investing and managing a portfolio of that size. Just follow Buffett's 15 minute retirement plan and learn the basics. Once the portfolio gets to around $1M, then go some other directions to diversify a bit more.

Occasionally hire a fiduciary financial advisor every so often to review your portfolio and work with an attorney to make sure your estate is in good order. For those that don't know, a fiduciary financial advisor is a licensed person legally obligated to put your interests first when making investment decisions. They're not going to sell you anything.

Last August I went from fulltime to 32 hours a week. Our investments allowed me to do that at 47 y/o. I plan to retire by 52 or earlier.

[JustinHEMI]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

Us too. It's so simple. The best thing I ever did was:

1) Read the short, but redundant book the "Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns."

2) Adopt Buffett's 15 minute retirement plan.

3) Fire my financial advisor in 2015 and take matters into my own hands using Vanguard.

The amount of growth we've had is astounding, especially when you get out of those high fee investments and stop paying all those financial advisor related fees (many of which are intentionally hidden/buried).

Investing is freaking simple if your goal is to retire with $1M-5M. You really don't need much help investing and managing a portfolio of that size. Just follow Buffett's 15 minute retirement plan and learn the basics. Once the portfolio gets to around $1M, then go some other directions to diversify a bit more.

Occasionally hire a fiduciary financial advisor every so often to review your portfolio and work with an attorney to make sure your estate is in good order. For those that don't know, a fiduciary financial advisor is a licensed person legally obligated to put your interests first when making investment decisions. They're not going to sell you anything.

Last August I went from fulltime to 32 hours a week. Our investments allowed me to do that at 47 y/o. I plan to retire by 52 or earlier.

Nailed it! All started for me reading that little red book too.

[floridaorange]

book bought

[Tyga11]

The best advise I've ever given is you can get rich by diversifying but wealthy but consolidating. So if there is a company or stock you believe in strongly put the majority of your assets in there if you want a shot at getting wealthy.

*Not financial advice just something I was told

[henrymosley]

Originally Posted by RnmEvo9

Don't get married (if you are man).

Don't get married (for women, if you are from the Z generation)

[UncleWede]

My son graduates with his BA this month, ordered him a copy of the little red book (updated in 2017)

[cmyx6go]

Originally Posted by 3.0L

Years ago, a co-worker told me, "Don't trust anyone whose last name ends in a vowel."

Oh yeah, his last name ended in a vowel.

[hatepotholez]

excellent thread

[BMW F22]

So which index funds/ETF would you guys recommend? I have Vanguard and S&P500 for 401K and some traditional IRA. Would like to put more money in for the long haul/retirement.

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by BMW F22

So which index funds/ETF would you guys recommend? I have Vanguard and S&P500 for 401K and some traditional IRA. Would like to put more money in for the long haul/retirement.

We have a large amount of Vanguard 500 Index Fund Admiral (VFIAX) spread amongst our brokerage, traditional, and Roth IRAs. I'd say in the neighborhood of 70% of our portfolio. We also have about 10% in Berkshire Class B (BRK B) and then the remaining 20% spread across Activision Blizzard (ATVI), a bond index fund, short-term treasury index fund, small-cap index fund, and money market fund. With all of this, we've been beating market performance about 3-4% each year since 2016. This year obviously hasn't been so hot and I'm expecting a pretty big market this year. Too much chaos in the world right now.

I can't say that any S&P 500 index fund is better than the other as they all operate generally the same and have the same funds in their portfolio. The key is you want investments with low fees/expense ratios. Something like 0.04-0.07%. Most S&P 500 index funds are around 0.04%.

If you're just starting out though, just do a well known S&P 500 index fund at 80-90% of your portfolio and the remainder is some sort of bond index fund.

Financial advisors want to make this stuff seem really difficult. It is not. They want you to believe it is difficult so that they can charge you high fees and sell you investment products with high expense ratios (i.e., 1%+). It doesn't seem like a lot, but when you consider that a financial advisor will be taking 1.3-1.7% of your portfolio's value each year to "manage it", it most definitely adds up. Most advisors say their annual management fee is ~1% for a typical sub-$2M portfolio, but when you do the math, it's closer to 1.3-1.7% with everything considered and tallied at the end of the year. It's a racket and many of those fees are somewhat hidden and it takes some digging to see where you're getting hit. On a $500K portfolio, they're taking $5,000 to $8,500 each year to do VERY little. Over the course of a few decades, that's hundreds of thousands of dollars spent in fees and money that could have been invested and grown your portfolio. Over the course of 20 years, you would have likely spent and lost out on well over $500k+ in portfolio growth.

[BMW F22]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

We have a large amount of Vanguard 500 Index Fund Admiral (VFIAX) spread amongst our brokerage, traditional, and Roth IRAs. I'd say in the neighborhood of 70% of our portfolio. We also have about 10% in Berkshire Class B (BRK B) and then the remaining 20% spread across Activision Blizzard (ATVI), a bond index fund, short-term treasury index fund, small-cap index fund, and money market fund. With all of this, we've been beating market performance about 3-4% each year since 2016. This year obviously hasn't been so hot and I'm expecting a pretty big market this year. Too much chaos in the world right now.

I can't say that any S&P 500 index fund is better than the other as they all operate generally the same and have the same funds in their portfolio. The key is you want investments with low fees/expense ratios. Something like 0.04-0.07%. Most S&P 500 index funds are around 0.04%.

If you're just starting out though, just do a well known S&P 500 index fund at 80-90% of your portfolio and the remainder is some sort of bond index fund.

Financial advisors want to make this stuff seem really difficult. It is not. They want you to believe it is difficult so that they can charge you high fees and sell you investment products with high expense ratios (i.e., 1%+). It doesn't seem like a lot, but when you consider that a financial advisor will be taking 1.3-1.7% of your portfolio's value each year to "manage it", it most definitely adds up. Most advisors say their annual management fee is ~1% for a typical sub-$2M portfolio, but when you do the math, it's closer to 1.3-1.7% with everything considered and tallied at the end of the year. It's a racket and many of those fees are somewhat hidden and it takes some digging to see where you're getting hit. On a $500K portfolio, they're taking $5,000 to $8,500 each year to do VERY little. Over the course of a few decades, that's hundreds of thousands of dollars spent in fees and money that could have been invested and grown your portfolio. Over the course of 20 years, you would have likely spent and lost out on well over $500k+ in portfolio growth.

Thank you for the insight! There are a few S&P funds and I’m not sure what the differences are. Is SPY or SPX good?

[Bunnny]

Originally Posted by floridaorange

Many of us came from families with a high level of financial acumen, many of us did not. Regardless, we listen to people outside of our social circles differently, even when it's the same information our family and friends may have already given us.

What financial lessons can you share here that have worked in your life?

My wife and I have 2 kids and one day will be coming into a rather big amount of money. I believe it will start with monthly checks, in the next couple years, and then a lump sum eventually. They've always used money market accounts and have very conservative investments. Other than that, would like to hear from others about mistakes or victories they've made during their lives, when it comes to their finances.

Best financial advice I can give is the importance of learning how to fix things yourself. When my husband decided it was time to reno our house this year, we saved $15,000 at least, thanks to my parents drafting me to help them with their home projects throughout the years. What a pain in the butt, but Im SO not paying $10,000 for some moron to paint walls, and fix the dents.
And, invest!

Also, leave some sentimental stuff & a bit of money, but perhaps not a large sum. From experience, this can change how people think, break up families, and cause fights that will never get settled (or may have to be settled in court). If your kids can count on themselves, they wont count on something you have coming into their possession.

[Patrick303]

OP, since you have kids I'd recommend reading "Die With Zero" by Bill Perkins. He talks about his path to wealth and how the practice of saving up your whole life to leave a larger inheritance to your kids is the wrong approach because if you die at say age 90, your kids are probably in their 60s or 70s and don't really need that sort of financial windfall anymore. He instead recommends giving the kids their "inheritance" during major stages of their life (marriage, first house purchase, etc) when they can really benefit from it. Then spend the rest and enjoy your own life with the goal of "dying with zero".

[JP10]

More so reading for awareness as I too am quite interested here but going to throw in a point for discussion because I am still unsure how to handle it when I get to that stage of life.

Background: Grandparents did well, parents are still doing well from a financial standpoint. I was raised without being handed anything. Job at 13, no financial help on the first vehicle, no financial help with college, wasn't welcomed back home after college (not in a rude manner, my parents are quite nice) and had to find a place and ensure a job was in place prior to fund said place. Through college I worked to pay for my fun during my time there. Wedding, small chunk from both sides - so bulk of our wedding was paid out of pocket. Keep in mind, wife was the same - 4H growing up, sold animals to pay for her first vehicle and horse, paid for her own college, worked through college. We are now doing well for our age, and unless something catastrophic happens, we will continue to do so as our jobs are as stable as can be.

My wife and I have gotten into arguments about this as she is pretty soft, I'm a little more rough around the edges. The goal is to be pretty well off by time we have kids and they become of age where they need assistance (vehicle, college, wedding, etc). Given our upbringing, and how I believe that upbringing shaped us into who we are today, even if I had the opportunity to pay for everything for them (kids), why would I (well aware of the obvious answer here)? I feel we live in an age where everything is handed on a silver plater, and I hate it with a passion.

I am not a greedy person, I wouldn't mind by any means sharing the wealth, but it is more so the message it construes. I'm sure i will find the right answer as I get older, but again wanted to hear some opinions.

[vreihen16]

I can't believe that any financial advice thread here has gone three pages without someone suggesting hookers and blow!

Has BP-OT finally jumped the shark?????

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by Bunnny

Best financial advice I can give is the importance of learning how to fix things yourself. When my husband decided it was time to reno our house this year, we saved $15,000 at least, thanks to my parents drafting me to help them with their home projects throughout the years. What a pain in the butt, but Im SO not paying $10,000 for some moron to paint walls, and fix the dents.

Hell yes to this! I've saved massive amounts of money over the past 20+ years doing a majority of the home repairs and renovation work myself plus maintaining and repairing our cars. Youtube is an amazing thing. Plus I enjoy having a vast assortment of weaponry at my disposal (i.e., tools)

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by JP10

More so reading for awareness as I too am quite interested here but going to throw in a point for discussion because I am still unsure how to handle it when I get to that stage of life.

Background: Grandparents did well, parents are still doing well from a financial standpoint. I was raised without being handed anything. Job at 13, no financial help on the first vehicle, no financial help with college, wasn't welcomed back home after college (not in a rude manner, my parents are quite nice) and had to find a place and ensure a job was in place prior to fund said place. Through college I worked to pay for my fun during my time there. Wedding, small chunk from both sides - so bulk of our wedding was paid out of pocket. Keep in mind, wife was the same - 4H growing up, sold animals to pay for her first vehicle and horse, paid for her own college, worked through college. We are now doing well for our age, and unless something catastrophic happens, we will continue to do so as our jobs are as stable as can be.

My wife and I have gotten into arguments about this as she is pretty soft, I'm a little more rough around the edges. The goal is to be pretty well off by time we have kids and they become of age where they need assistance (vehicle, college, wedding, etc). Given our upbringing, and how I believe that upbringing shaped us into who we are today, even if I had the opportunity to pay for everything for them (kids), why would I (well aware of the obvious answer here)? I feel we live in an age where everything is handed on a silver plater, and I hate it with a passion.

I am not a greedy person, I wouldn't mind by any means sharing the wealth, but it is more so the message it construes. I'm sure i will find the right answer as I get older, but again wanted to hear some opinions.

I agree that there are many kids and young people that haven't had to work or understand the value of a dollar. I fully blame the parents. But, I also see absolutely no point in making someone struggle just because you had to. I think that's total BS. I grew up in a middleclass family. My parents told me I would need to have a job in HS. I typically worked two to three jobs at a time (mowing yards, teaching swim lessons, and working at a grocery store). I also played HS sports and got ok grades. My dad gave me his 4 y/o Honda my sophomore year and I was required to pay the insurance, gas, and $100/mo. I happily did that. I went to college and I didn't pay anything for tuition/rent/utilities/food as my parents had saved up as well as the sale of some stocks my grandfather had gifted me to pay for college. I worked while in college and paid for my clothes, going out money, and car expenses. When my wife and I bought our first home, my grandmother gifted us $20K. That $20K gift morphed into something far more greater because it gave us such a leg up from the start.

My son is 17, has a 4.7 GPA, will graduate next year with 24 hours of college credit, works a 16-18 hr/wk job during school, has a side gig doing video editing, and is involved in extra circular audio/visual work for the school. We gifted him my wife's 2015 Outback and he pays all the expenses on it. We've saved up for college and he will likely not have to pay a dime. We would like him to have a job while in school though and he's fine with that. When he gets his first home, we plan to give him a nice chunk for a down payment.

My daughter is 13, has a 4.0 GPA, and is a stellar volleyball player and is being recruited by some of best clubs in the city. Her goal is to play college volleyball. Maintaining grades while playing a near round sport at the highest club level and having some free time for friends and family leaves no time for work. For better or worse, club sports are way different when they were even 10 years ago. We're fine with that because we see her work ethic. We also have a nice college fund set aside for her as well. If she gets a sports scholarship, then that's gravy. Otherwise, she too will be set. We plan to do the same for her when comes to buying a house. We'll likely give her the Outback when she's 15 and help my son buy a used car. We'll take out the loan and he can pay us back at a lower payment until he graduates college.

We plan to gift our kids money each year once they are out of school. I will also help my kids setup Vanguard accounts once they are 18 and will teach them how to invest.

We don't want our kids to struggle, but we also want them to be independent and successful.

[Darth One]

Originally Posted by JP10

More so reading for awareness as I too am quite interested here but going to throw in a point for discussion because I am still unsure how to handle it when I get to that stage of life.

Background: Grandparents did well, parents are still doing well from a financial standpoint. I was raised without being handed anything. Job at 13, no financial help on the first vehicle, no financial help with college, wasn't welcomed back home after college (not in a rude manner, my parents are quite nice) and had to find a place and ensure a job was in place prior to fund said place. Through college I worked to pay for my fun during my time there. Wedding, small chunk from both sides - so bulk of our wedding was paid out of pocket. Keep in mind, wife was the same - 4H growing up, sold animals to pay for her first vehicle and horse, paid for her own college, worked through college. We are now doing well for our age, and unless something catastrophic happens, we will continue to do so as our jobs are as stable as can be.

My wife and I have gotten into arguments about this as she is pretty soft, I'm a little more rough around the edges. The goal is to be pretty well off by time we have kids and they become of age where they need assistance (vehicle, college, wedding, etc). Given our upbringing, and how I believe that upbringing shaped us into who we are today, even if I had the opportunity to pay for everything for them (kids), why would I (well aware of the obvious answer here)? I feel we live in an age where everything is handed on a silver plater, and I hate it with a passion.

I am not a greedy person, I wouldn't mind by any means sharing the wealth, but it is more so the message it construes. I'm sure i will find the right answer as I get older, but again wanted to hear some opinions.

I kind of had the same thought as you but have softened somewhat as i observed the world changing. My son paid for his college, bought his own vehicle and is now extremely self-sufficient. If i had to do it all again today, i would probably pay for his college just seeing how ridiculously expensive it’s become and how much dead weight student debt will be at a time when you should be starting on your nest egg.

[JP10]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

I agree that there are many kids and young people that haven't had to work or understand the value of a dollar. I fully blame the parents. But, I also see absolutely no point in making someone struggle just because you had to. I think that's total BS. I grew up in a middleclass family. My parents told me I would need to have a job in HS. I typically worked two to three jobs at a time (mowing yards, teaching swim lessons, and working at a grocery store). I also played HS sports and got ok grades. My dad gave me his 4 y/o Honda my sophomore year and I was required to pay the insurance, gas, and $100/mo. I happily did that. I went to college and I didn't pay anything for tuition/rent/utilities/food as my parents had saved up as well as the sale of some stocks my grandfather had gifted me to pay for college. I worked while in college and paid for my clothes, going out money, and car expenses. When my wife and I bought our first home, my grandmother gifted us $20K. That $20K gift morphed into something far more greater because it gave us such a leg up from the start.

My son is 17, has a 4.7 GPA, will graduate next year with 24 hours of college credit, works a 16-18 hr/wk job during school, has a side gig doing video editing, and is involved in extra circular audio/visual work for the school. We gifted him my wife's 2015 Outback and he pays all the expenses on it. We've saved up for college and he will likely not have to pay a dime. We would like him to have a job while in school though and he's fine with that. When he gets his first home, we plan to give him a nice chunk for a down payment.

My daughter is 13, has a 4.0 GPA, and is a stellar volleyball player and is being recruited by some of best clubs in the city. Her goal is to play college volleyball. Maintaining grades while playing a near round sport at the highest club level and having some free time for friends and family leaves no time for work. For better or worse, club sports are way different when they were even 10 years ago. We're fine with that because we see her work ethic. We also have a nice college fund set aside for her as well. If she gets a sports scholarship, then that's gravy. Otherwise, she too will be set. We plan to do the same for her when comes to buying a house. We'll likely give her the Outback when she's 15 and help my son buy a used car. We'll take out the loan and he can pay us back at a lower payment until he graduates college.

We plan to gift our kids money each year once they are out of school. I will also help my kids setup Vanguard accounts once they are 18 and will teach them how to invest.

We don't want our kids to struggle, but we also want them to be independent and successful.

This is basically the message I was hoping to receive with my post. Last thing I want to do would be to make them resent me, but I also, like you mentioned, would like them to understand the value of a dollar and not take things granted - I feel like I see so many young ones spoiled especially in a day and age where technology is at their finger tips. I think I just need to assess/evaluate on the proper way to convey that message when the time comes. I'm still a little torn, but I think you "gave" in the right manner. Especially with the car as they are still responsible for certain payments (insurance, gas, etc) which in turn would push them to need a job.

Seems like you wife and yourself have done a great job guiding your kids in the right direction.

[JP10]

Originally Posted by Darth One

I kind of had the same thought as you but have softened somewhat as i observed the world changing. My son paid for his college, bought his own vehicle and is now extremely self-sufficient. If i had to do it all again today, i would probably pay for his college just seeing how ridiculously expensive it’s become and how much dead weight student debt will be at a time when you should be starting on your nest egg.

Still struggling with the idea of college payments. Probably because I am in Charleston and I see far too many young out of state kids driving their hand me down porsches having their parents pay $50k a year for a damn political science degree. My dad talked until he was blue in the face to my brother about his choice to go to WVU at a rate of $40k/yr and told him it was a bad decision and at 4 years he would be paying it off for 20yrs. Took my brother that whole year to figure it out in which he transferred to local community college afterwards and is now an extra $40k in debt. If they have/are given the funds I feel they have even less "responsibility" when it comes to determining if they will make enough to pay off the debt. When i chose engineering it was for two reasons - I was good at math and it was the quickest means to pay off the debt which I knew I would have.

To me, if they know they have to pay, it "should" lead to further effort in reference to extra curriculars and high school studies. Obviously Jet proved this wrong above, but there a exceptions to everything.

Idk, I go back and forth - glad I don't have to make these decisions yet haha.

[Darth One]

Originally Posted by JP10

Still struggling with the idea of college payments. Probably because I am in Charleston and I see far too many young out of state kids driving their hand me down porsches having their parents pay $50k a year for a damn political science degree. My dad talked until he was blue in the face to my brother about his choice to go to WVU at a rate of $40k/yr and told him it was a bad decision and at 4 years he would be paying it off for 20yrs. Took my brother that whole year to figure it out in which he transferred to local community college afterwards and is now an extra $40k in debt. If they have/are given the funds I feel they have even less "responsibility" when it comes to determining if they will make enough to pay off the debt. When i chose engineering it was for two reasons - I was good at math and it was the quickest means to pay off the debt which I knew I would have.

To me, if they know they have to pay, it "should" lead to further effort in reference to extra curriculars and high school studies. Obviously Jet proved this wrong above, but there a exceptions to everything.

Idk, I go back and forth - glad I don't have to make these decisions yet haha.

I hear you and I’m not talking about sending kids to college in a Porsche either. But the other extreme is saddling the kid with a quarter-to-half million dollar debt (if the stuff i read is to be believed) and forcing them to make trade-offs that could cost them millions later in life (like forgoing their 401k).

There has to be some balance between teaching your kid to be self sufficient/the value of hard work, and standing by while they tie a financial millstone around their necks. Every parent has to figure that out themselves.

I just remembered - i really like what my friend’s parents did with her. They saved up to pay 100% of her college, and then told her that whatever scholarships or financial aid she got for herself, was the value of the car they’d buy to send her off to college in. She drove a new E36 325i convertible in college

[BrawnyCh]

-Live within your means. The person who makes $50k per year and spends 49 is better off than the person who makes $1 million and spends 1.1.

-save money. Cash money. Cash is king.

-invest. But don't jump on investments you don't understand. In todays world that probably means crypto and NFT's. They're poker. If you're at the table and you don't know who the mark is: you're the mark.

-spend less on your house than the bank allows you too. Sorry Californians.

-you may live to 95 and need your money to last. You also might die tomorrow. Find the balance between enjoying your money now and having some for later. Since we're on a BMW car forum, I'm gonna assume everyone here is ok enjoying some money now.