I am worried about retirement.  Truth be told, I am only 25 years old, and I’ve got a long way to go.  The fact of the matter is: with the way things are going now and watching people go back to work after being retired and watching others postpone their retirement, I don’t want to be one of them.  I want to be old and gray and enjoying life on the road or comfortably at home, just like this little old lady in the picture at the top of this post.  I don’t want to be 70 and still working or looking for a new job.

I checked my 410k today and it has lost 40% so far. There isn’t a thing I can do about it. I hate that.  I guess I’m just not a good investor.  I realize I’ve got at least 30 years to make it up, but I hate logging in and seeing that I’ve lost that much.  I don’t think I’m going to look at it until November 15th, when I’ll sell the company stock that is matched by my employer.

I think that I’m going to set up an automatic transfer into an ING account set up specifically for retirement.  I’ll earn a guaranteed 3% and have the peace of mind, which I think is priceless. When things turn around, or when I get the guts to do so, I’ll make a decision to contribute that to our ROTH IRA or do something else with it.  I know that I’m probably worrying too much, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.

Are you worried about your retirement?

Posted under 401k, Retirement

Last time I wrote about my 401k, I wrote about how when the company matches in company stock.  Well, after I received my quarterly bonus on the 15th of this month, I was given even more company stock, which is now 28% of my 401k.  With the way that our stock price has gone (from roughly $36 a year ago to around $5 a share currently), I want to get rid of some of the stock and reallocate it to another fund.  I don’t like being so vulnerable.  I know a few people that have 100% of their 401k in company stock.  I could never do that.

My biggest problem now is that I am afraid to sell it.  It’s not that I am afraid of losing money; well, I am to a certain extent, but moreso that I am afraid of screwing something up in my 401k and then not being able to reverse it or get charged astronomical fees.  I know that once I do it, I will feel better.  My feelings are that if I sell some of the stock, there is a lot that I’ve recently bought or was given at around $5 a share.  If I sell it, I’m not losing any money because it’s right around there.  I may lose a little, but for peace of mind it’s worth it. I think 28% is a high amount to have tied up in company stock.

What do you think- should I sell or should I keep it?

Posted under 401k

Well looks like my 401k is doing a little better this month. It is now down 19.7%, compared to being down 22.9% last month. Although I feel discouraged still, the recent talk of a merger may bring the stock back up once the final decision is made from the company.  I’m crossing my fingers that it will.

Also, something that happened this month was my (and Mr. Money’s) ROTH IRA’s were charged their annual fees.  The fee is supposed to be $15 but he got charged $40.  I’ve called, and hopefully they will get that taken care of.  If not, I’ll be moving those because it makes no sense to be paying $40 a year for an annual fee that doesn’t have that much money in the account.  We’re trying to grow money, not subtract from it!

Things are still slow, but we’re going to remain optimistic that they will only get better! 

Posted under 401k, Jobs