seeing as they're pretty much guaranteeing me a payment of about half of what i'm paying now....and the interest is significantly lower, as i mortgaged the house in 08........i was thinking for the lower payment....but then keep making the same payments i am now, with the balance going to the principle to pay it off faster. i hafta look again to see if it's fixed rate or not, as i don't recall......

Wow that sounds like the deal we got back in 1994. Were paying 9.75%, got it reduced to 6.00 and with extra payments cut down the original 30 year mortgage to just under 17 years total, 13 years from refinance date. Two or three dollar difference in monthly payments! If you can swing it and save the difference you'll do very well. And like I said, that return is GUARRAN-f-ing-TEED. Nothing spectacular, you won't get rich, but no sweating, no worry.

 

Ho ho ho.

 Einstein said that compounding interest was one of the greatest miracles of mathematics. That doesn't mean a damn thing without automatic savings.

 

Tsk tsk it was that pervert Keynes who actually said that. O****a's and H*****y's favorite economist even though neither one has ever read a word he wrote. Or any other word that their speechwriters did not pull out of their pointed smelly poop-stained a******s. 

Wow that sounds like the deal we got back in 1994. Were paying 9.75%, got it reduced to 6.00 and with extra payments cut down the original 30 year mortgage to just under 17 years total, 13 years from refinance date. Two or three dollar difference in monthly payments! If you can swing it and save the difference you'll do very well. And like I said, that return is GUARRAN-f-ing-TEED. Nothing spectacular, you won't get rich, but no sweating, no worry.

 

Ho ho ho.

yea, that was what i was figuring. i wasn't looking to refinance for extra money or anything.....just to lower that rate/payment, then pay the shit out of it till it's gone. in theory i can be out from under that payment before i'm 65, which would be late....but i think it's a case of better late than never......

 

Bullshit. As the poster formerly known as Phosgene has pointed out no risk does not equal no rewards; at age 46 it equals safety.

 

I have been making $1176 a month, guaranteed, socking it away, since I paid off my mortgage 2007. I know that money will be there this January 15, on February 15, March 15 (we used to pay our mortgage on the 15th if you haven't figured that out) come hell or high water, until I croak and beyond. It would not have been there if I'd stuck with my 30-year mortgage, or god forbid had refinanced like that asshole urged me to do 10 years ago so I could buy houses that would now be under water. 

 

Which one of you guys has made $1176 a month, $14,112 a year, after taxes, since 2007, from your portfolios? In other words more like $20,000 per year. Please post here. I will give you my first born son in return for the number of the genius who figured it out for you.

 

Yes inflation is a terrible thing, but you don't have to literally stick your money into a mattress (although the idea intrigues me). But don't you think that stock prices reflect inflation? 

 

Maybe you glossed over the part in my last post where I said, "While such guaranteed / safe investments are not the best place for one's long term money it still beats having having nothing set aside for the future." 

 

If your risk averse then doing what your doing is much better than doing nothing.  But if your willing to assume some risk you can do much better. 

 

And since 2007 you have been pretty much been sticking your money under the mattress as guaranteed returns (bank savings accounts, CDs etc) have been pretty close to zero.

 

Again, nothing wrong with saving money every month but investing over the long term and dollar cost averaging will trump guaranteed savings every time over the long run.

Maybe you glossed over the part in my last post where I said, "While such guaranteed / safe investments are not the best place for one's long term money it still beats having having nothing set aside for the future." 

 

If your risk averse then doing what your doing is much better than doing nothing.  But if your willing to assume some risk you can do much better. 

 

And since 2007 you have been pretty much been sticking your money under the mattress as guaranteed returns (bank savings accounts, CDs etc) have been pretty close to zero.

 

Again, nothing wrong with saving money every month but investing over the long term and dollar cost averaging will trump guaranteed savings every time over the long run.

 

You are correct about historical long run returns. However not everyone has a "long run" timeframe with which to work. With respect to the current climate 1) the market is at record levels therefore possibly over-valued 2) I believe the market and its many satellite industries are significantly less honest than they have been historically 3) not everyone has the stomach for 50% losses, which may occur even with a wonderfully balanced portfolio like mine in 2001 and 2008. 

 

One more doom and gloom point: the risky banking practices that brought us to our knees 6 years ago have resumed with a vengeance. There are now more derivatives floating around than ever. 

OP is 46. If he plans on living into his 80s then thats a prettty long time frame.

 

1) I've been involved with the markets for over 20 years now. During that time I've heard numerous reasons why people don't invest. "The market is at all time highs and it's a bad time", "The market just took a huge hit and it may go down more" or "The market is too volatile right now" are some of the most popular.

 

2) Do you trust yourself? You don't need an advisor. It's not brain surgery.

 

3) Dollar cost average into investments. Don't focus on the very few large negative years but think about how your returns will average out over the long term. Also, the stock market isn't the only market you should invest in. Real estate, bonds, precious metals, commodities, gun collection, etc are all investments and hopefully hedges against inflation.

 

The best time to start saving or investing is NOW. Start slowly and set up an automatic monthly program. Educate yourself and diversify your investments as you learn more and become more comfortable with what you are doing.

 

One of the reason many of us are gun owners is b/c we know that the only one responsible for our personal safety is ourselves. The same thing goes for your financial safety. Start doing some thing now to protect yourself in 20, 30 or 40 years from now.

^^^ This. Stock market typically beats inflation. There are enough greedy Wall St guys to keep it that way for long time to come.  There will be crashes, so dont put all of your eggs there.

 

* Earn - Constantly explore for ways to make more money (legally :-)).

* Save - save every day and at every opportunity

* Automatic Investment  - make it a habit to automatically invest (into S&P Index or whatever)

* Diversify - Dont put all your eggs in one basket

* Rebalance (move things around once a while)  - Every couple of years, review what you own, where and how they are doing

 

 

Look at every day for opportunities to save. Cut down on expenses. Dont skimp on your health. Can you make your own coffee / bfast and save instead of buying ?  Can you live without that $100/200 cell phone bill ? When it comes to some things, unless they are essential to your business (like help make money), you can probably live without them.

 

If you are paying for cable / fios, change them often to get discount rates.

 

I recently learned that you can negotiate and get 10, 20% (may be even more) on health costs just by asking.

 

Then setup automatic investment - certain percentage goes to mutual funds (S&P index ?), certain % goes to real estate / precious metals, gun collection etc.

If you invest in Real Estate like rentals, make sure you reinvest the rental income. It has potential to make you twice the money.

 

I wish I started out with automatic investment early on. I never really got it (even though its simple concept) until few years ago.

 

Every investment (even just keeping it under the mattress) comes with risk of losing what you have.

OP is 46. If he plans on living into his 80s then thats a prettty long time frame.

If he plans on retiring at a normal age no, he doesn't have a long time. He has about 20 years. He may also need to pay for college or urgent home repairs. 

If he plans on retiring at a normal age no, he doesn't have a long time. He has about 20 years. He may also need to pay for college or urgent home repairs.

Just b/c you retire doesn't mean you aren't still investing or have some percentage of your assets invested. I'm also not saying it's wise to be 100% invested. It would be foolish not to have an emergeny fund.

 

I'm not a big fan of paying for all your kids college or being in a rush for them to finish in 4 years.

love this thread.  Will be here. =P   Just saw this in the search, trying to leave the office at 10:50 pm but will reply.

love this thread. Will be here. =P Just saw this in the search, trying to leave the office at 10:50 pm but will reply.

^^^^who is this guy? Lol...

Just b/c you retire doesn't mean you aren't still investing or have some percentage of your assets invested. I'm also not saying it's wise to be 100% invested. It would be foolish not to have an emergeny fund.

 

I'm not a big fan of paying for all your kids college or being in a rush for them to finish in 4 years.

Obviously there are many variables. You would be right 20, 30, 40 years ago. It's not 1995, 1985, or 1975.

 

The most significant factors, for most people, are time and diminishing ability. I'm 60 and have no retirement plans other than to cut back a bit to enjoy my many hobbies more. I will be able to work and earn significant $$ as long as I'm healthy. Not everyone can, however. A person who's worked construction or other heavy labor undoubtedly looks forward to that first social security check. I'd guess that 75% of retirees start dipping into savings the moment they retire. Anyone have any stats on this?

 

Your college suggestions are not very sound IMO. If you only pay half, and if they spend five years, they will be in debt to the tune of about $80,000 even if they go to Rutgers. Ouch. (Aside: my daughter's first year at R.U. cost us < $9,000 for everything). Unless you're talking community college, living at home (like my youngest), a kid cannot work her way through these days. It will take them many years to repay even if they find a job, which they very well may not. They become "problems for life."

 

That is why, although I have more degrees than a thermometer, I think we should cut back on college by at least 75%.

 

The soundest investment advice is to start saving early in life and save regularly. If you do that you can fukc around with investments and not get burned too badly provided you don't listen to the kind of bad advice that I've been given time and again. But if you're 46 and you don't have a nice cushion already you must absolutely be conservative. You can still do it but you have to cut the finance-draining shit from your life. Data plans, smart phones, expensive cable bills, eating out regularly, owning 50 pairs of shoes, $10,000 Christmas spending, a new car lease every three years...Most people say they can't possibly save $20,000 a year, but there's about $20,000 in savings right there available to almost everybody.

 

What if you gave up all that useless shit that two days later makes you no happier than winning $16 in the lottery? How much money could you save every year?

 

We know a professional family. Husband is a psychiatrist; wife is a school administrator. They make much more money than my wife and I. They have the fancy cars, the private colleges, the designer clothes, they buy organic food for 3x the price of ShopRite, every single one has an iPhone. His basement exercise system cost half of what I paid for my Altima. And every year they have to scrape under their fridge to come up with a down payment for a charity trip my wife organizes.

 

Grow the hell up and your finances will take care of themselves.

Very well said Newtonian. Especially the part about the professional couple who are more than likely spending 105% of their income. Don't get caught up in "keeping up with the Joneses". Another book I enjoyed was "The Millionaire Next Door". Theme was live below your means, start investing early and on a regular basis. You don't need to make a lot of money to create wealth. Time, dedication and persistance are all that required. A little luck helps but isn't necessary.

^^^^who is this guy? Lol...

Investment advisor and forum member. LEAVING the office at 10:50pm.....YIKES!

 

He probably conked out the second he got home!

Investment advisor and forum member. LEAVING the office at 10:50pm.....YIKES!

 

He probably conked out the second he got home!

I know, just being a wise ass.

To the OP. It's been over a month since your original post. How ya' doing?