Financial decisions... and regerts.
 

At least I don't have "No Regerts" tattoo'd on my arm :D.

A decision I made 25 years ago regarding a pension when I left a mega-bank... I feel so stoooopid now ;).

Can I learn from this? I'm still "thinking" ... a different mega-bank controls another pension I have (and have been drawing), but I wonder if I have similar options with them.... hmmm???

Live and learn :)

NO REGERTS!

Wait, educate us who are not there yet. What was the less than ideal decision, and what do you think the better decision would have been?

I am guessing that you cashed one out and wish you'd left it alone?

I'm with a mega-bank, and I've got a pension (although, it's not much compared to a 401k). I've been here almost 10 years. When I started, they put it into an account and you got a set interest rate (relatively low, but would be sky high it today's economy). A year ago, they made a change so that now they deposit the pension dough into your 401k at the end of the year. I like that better as I think I'll get a better rate of return, and can direct it myself. It'll be less stable, but that's fine (I say that now...).

So, what advice do you have for your younger self?

Laid off after 30 yrs. @ Boeing in 2010, converted 401K to cash and paid BIG penalty. Took money to a Pro and have since earned back ALL penalty fees and THEN SOME.
Investment rules:
1. I didn't have S*it when I started.
2. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
3. You'll never get rich letting someone else mange your investments or work for them

I deferred my pension back then Steve. Now I'm seriously considering taking a lump sum payout and rolling it into a IRA so I have total control and can manage it myself, though at this point the returns will be similar. Everyone is different... my situation (being single) and now my age has me looking at this stuff more closely. If I croak .... the pensions... poof... gone! I might just take lump sum payouts (now) and get 100% while I can... I dunno.

I rolled my 401k over to IRAs as I left major corporations during my career .... probably should have done similar with pensions I had earned also. I could have (at a much younger age) invested them more wisely for "my" situation ....

In hindsight :D

No real regrets here .... just wish I had a "do over" now.

Nope, no regrets being self employed...thus having to save & invest for my own "pension". I'd have gone bonkers in the corporate world or in a government job.

Tats? None...decided not to way back when I was a kid seeing wanted posters in the post office. Yeah, they actually used to do that. I noted they used tats as a way to ID crooks. Guess I wanted to keep my career options open...;)

Nice, congrats. Good stuff.
Got it. Good info.

Yes, old 401k are in IRA. Most 401k don't have all of the investment options that I'd like, so an IRA is better since the investment options are basically anything you want. My current 401k is the closest that I've ever come to having all of the options that I want in an investment account.

I'm 50, and not doing badly, but way behind where I'd like to be, so I have everything in several different low cost index funds or similar ETFs of various asset classes (large cap, small cap, growth, value, domestic, foreign). I haven't started moving things into bonds yet. I figure I'll need to start doing that in the next 5-10 years.

You would have never made it as a pole dancer anyways Paul :)!

pool dancer? what? :D

If your 401k is with Fidelity, one can open a brokerage account and have unlimited options. I used funds, etc. for a couple of decades way back when... then decided to "do it myself" .... worked for me...

No regerts :)

I've done well so far on my investments but current affairs are making me rethink my stock portfolio and possibly investing the funds elsewhere.

In my biz we have an "Individual Account Plan" which is our version of film residuals. It's an account the producers pay into for each hour worked. Upon retirement if you've done your 30 yrs you can expect a couple hundred "k" in there.

Problem is you don't get to manage it yourself and it's not available until you are 65. During the pandemic they did make an exception and allowed you to pull out 20% up to $20k. No tax penalty if paid back in 18 months beginning Jan 2022. i know a few people who took it and don't plan on paying back in. I think they'll have some "regerts" down the road.

Yep, fidelity, unlimited options.
Right, I can't see that ending well, but it sounds like a pretty decent plan in a world where pension-like accounts are a rarity.

Would have bought and held more air cooled 911's.

And parts! My FIL was into racing his 911 in the late 70s and early 80s. In speaking with him some of the parts he had in those years would command a small fortune today.

It is easy to play Monday morning quarterback about these things. Shoulda coulda didn't. I think there are some fundamentals that one can apply. For instance consult some experts and avoid go it alone opinions. Live within your means. Diversify some. All in the stock market may not be a good thing. Similarly all in real estate is not good either.

An interesting commentary on biz news the other day. Of twenty major corporations existing in the 1980's none of them exist today. Possibly taken over or gone out of business? I believe in being nimble moneywise. Find an honest broker that works for you and not himself.

Just like my indy car repair guy. Just retired after thirty years in business. He sold to a young man who worked for him for seven years. I took my Lexus to him to replace a suspension strut and an alignment. I asked him to show me the leaky struct before he starts working on it. He said no problem and he would. Find good honest people to work with you whether it be investment advice or somebody to work on your car.

Cheers, Guy

Exactly
This guy is good. He's a retired financial advisor and offers lots of advice for free as well as getting a class setup at a college in Seattle, IIRC. His advice used to be via articles on Marketwatch, then he also had a few eBooks that were free and a website with a ton of info. Now I think most of what he does is via podcasts. One of his books was about hiring a financial advisor, and how to find a good one. I believe he does everything not for profit.
https://paulmerriman.com/2016/09/14/select-best-financial-advisor/

I stayed with the same company so far for 22 years, and my pension has been growing the whole time (pension not offered to new employees since 2010).

I have also kept increasing my 401k to 12% tax deferred, AND 12% ROTH (24% total), so it has grown nicely also with the 6% company match.

My wife of 32 years, and I are on the same page about having no debt, so we have paid cash for used cars, and no more mortgage, only a small HEL that will be paid off this year.



No real regrets except not making more income all of these years

Wish I would have listened to my dad about the stock market in 2012

Great advice. PAY a fee-only advisor to tune up your portfolio every few years. I think I short-cycled it in 2009 but otherwise I paid my advisor $500 every 5 years for advice until recently. I'm pretty much coasting now.

The basics of financial health haven't changed since the Silk Road.

The percentages of where your money should go in the average, successful life, unless there is a financial windfall, are so well know I am always surprised when families are surprised at their un-tethered financial decisions and the impacts. I could cut and paste a thousand web sites that outline age related investments, risk, etc. Not knowing how to be financially solvent (assuming a normal economy) is irresponsible.

Debt, unless the risk is understood and the consequences acceptable, crushes most retirement dreams; as does daily spending that prevents investment, spending on non-essentials.

Financial acumen is not taught in this country, nor are the basics of a household budget...all the stuff I learned early.

My Daughter's FJ Cruiser, a 2007 we bought for her in 2008 off lease when she was in HS, finally began to have issues last week. She called and we discussed all her options. She loved the FJ but at 230k miles we did the math, worked the numbers and she decided to sell it with full disclosure and get a used 2019 4Runner. We also ran the life-style numbers.

She has a business degree and background.

The financial guy at the Toyota dealership told her it is very rare that he deals with people her age that are as solvent as she is, have the ability to pivot and get a car like she did. A little tear formed when she relayed the info.

I am not cheap or penurious: you can budget sloth and indiscretion but it takes discipline.

Trust me.

+1 for Fidelity; I had a 401k with them for 27 years and now as a regular account since retiring from Honda back in '19.

Honda had a pension plan when I started in '91, and I took the lump sum option. The jury is still out if that was the best choice, or if I should have gone with the lifetime monthly check. I guess the only way to 'win' for sure is to die pretty soon :p At least the Widow Coats will be able to afford the premium suntan lotion for Juan the Pool Boy to apply. :D