Retirement Nestegg Report – November 2007

Retirement Nestegg Report – November 2007

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I want to apologize for missing last month’s report. I believe that is only the 2nd time since I started blogging 2 years ago that I missed a report. Two kids are more than 2 times the work of 1 kid 🙂

Note the percentage change below is over a 2 month period instead of the normal one month period.

Traditonal Rollover IRA -$12,441.28 (-9.10%)
My Roth IRA – $30,460.08 (+10.69%)
Wife Roth IRA – $14,439.44 (+1.80%) 15,194.20
Current Traditional 401k – $14,097.38 (+26.35%)

Roth/Traditional % = 62.85% (tax free)

Total Retirement Nest Egg $71,438.18 (+6.94%)

Five money saving tips for renting cars.

Five money saving tips for renting cars.

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My family and I are going to be making a cross country trip next week to attend a wedding and due to the fact that we have a 2 year old and a 3 month old we decided it was probably better to rent a van than cram everyone into my wife’s Accord. I spent days calling around, doing searches on the internet, etc. and in the process think I learned a thing or too that I will share with my readers.
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2008 401k contribution limits

2008 401k contribution limits

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The IRS has announced that the contribution limits for 2008 will remain unchanged at $15,500, which sort of sucks. Apparrently the cost of living hasn’t increased for people who contribute to their 401ks 🙂 See details below.

Many of the pension plan limitations will change for 2008 because the increase in the cost-of-living index met the statutory thresholds that trigger their adjustment. However, for others, the limitation will remain unchanged. For example, the limitation under Section 402(g)(1) on the exclusion for elective deferrals described in Section 402(g)(3) remains unchanged at $15,500. This limitation affects elective deferrals to Section 401(k) plans and to the Federal Government’s Thrift Savings Plan, among other plans.

Source (thanks H B)

Retirement NestEgg Report – September 2007

Retirement NestEgg Report – September 2007

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Quite month for the blog but another good month for my retirement nestegg. Every month I am amazed at how much my account grows especially when I look back just a few months earlier and see myself hitting $40,000, $50,000, $60,000 etc. In fact due to the fact that I have some contributions to catch up on before the end of the year I think I might pass $70,000 as early as next month and might even have a legitimate shot at $80,000 before the end of the year depending upon how the market performs.

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Retirement NestEgg Report – August 2007

Retirement NestEgg Report – August 2007

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Quick report this month, despite the fact that “market is crashing” and we should all have our money hidden under the mattress because the end is near, all of my accounts managed positive investment gains this month. 🙂 Bottom line – don’t try to time the market because you do not have a clue where it is going in the short run (long run though my money is on up 🙂 )

Traditonal Rollover IRA – $13,245.15 (+0.32%)
My Roth IRA – $27,067.79 (+3.08%)
Wife Roth IRA – $14,183.87 (+0.38%)
Current Traditional 401k – $9,288.94 (+23.99%)

Roth/Traditional % = 64.67% (tax free)

Total Retirement Nest Egg $63,785.75 (+4.42%)

Why thinking you are smart enough to know where the market is going is so dangerous.

Why thinking you are smart enough to know where the market is going is so dangerous.

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I wrote an article last week that talked about some of what I perceived as over-reaction and irrational thinking by some of the best minds in the personal finance world. Now granted some of the situations I pointed out weren’t exactly off your rocker moments, but I still think at some level they fell into the trap of reacting to the markets recent performance when things started heading south (read the comments and this post to get Dave’s full story). Again I think these guys are financial wizards and a great place for sound financial advice, but just wanted to point out that we are all susceptible to thinking we can time the market or know where it is headed and can make more money by selling or deferring buying when the market is in a little slump. So I’m going to hopefully point out a few things here that show you why if you want the best possible returns you won’t be selling just because the market looks bleak at the current moment.
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The market is going down and some personal finance bloggers have lost their minds

The market is going down and some personal finance bloggers have lost their minds

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I’m sorry I have not been posting as often as I used to but with the new baby, new promotion, and weddings I’ve just not had the time to sit down and write every day. Anyway I’ve been keeping my pulse on most of the personal finance community and one thing that really surprised me is how some of the personal finance bloggers I admire most are reacting to the latest market movements and advocating or adjusting their investing strategies because of short term market fluctuations and the worst part is they are reacting in my opinion counter intuitively.
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