u/europeanuppercut

so let's say i retire at 50 or 55, using the 401k / roth ira savings... and they cover me for the next 10, 15 years... so i have more time to let the brokerage account grow... is this common?

i've been running retirement calculators that estimate my earnings across all three accounts by X age, but then realized i probably wouldn't have to cash out my brokerage account as soon as i retire... i know this is probably a dumb question but just wanted to confirm

i'm opening a brokerage account with fidelity, moving over my roth ira from lpl financial, and moving my money market over from my local bank (currently earning 3.15%, whereas fidelity would be 3.47%). just found out that vanguard would have a 3.53% return, and generally remains higher than fidelity.

customer support has been incredible with fidelity the past few days, and they have a location in town where i can meet with an advisor... plus i can do most of
my banking with fidelity...

should i stick with fidelity, even though they have a lower yield?

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EDIT - nevermind just spent 15 minutes on hold with vanguard, customer service from fidelity blows vanguard out of the water

i'm opening a brokerage account with fidelity, moving over my roth ira from lpl financial, and moving my money market over from my local bank (currently earning 3.15%, whereas fidelity would be 3.47%). just found out that vanguard would have a 3.53% return, and generally remains higher than fidelity.

customer support has been incredible with fidelity the past few days, and they have a location in town where i can meet with an advisor... plus i can do most of
my banking with fidelity...

should i stick with fidelity, even though they have a lower yield?

EDIT - nevermind just spent 15 minutes on hold with vanguard, customer service from fidelity blows vanguard out of the water

just opened up my first accounts with fidelity, and the customer service is insanely good.

but! trying to figure out if there's a catch anywhere.

i spent a few years working with financial advisors at my local bank - until i realized they weren't fiduciaries, and were just trying to sell me their products.

i started shopping around for financial advisors, wealth managers - but i don't want to give up 1% per year, or pay $4500 for a plan that i could probably piece together for free through reddit research, reading, etc.

anyway - i opened up traditional & roth ira accounts, a taxable brokerage, and i'm probably moving most of my money over from my local bank into fidelity (fzdxx), ordering debit/credit cards, checkbook, whole nine. keeping a line open at my local bank, for cash deposits and whatnot, but fidelity just seems obvious for everything else.

they connected me with a financial consultant (cfp) at my local branch. going to meet with him in person soon.

can i expect this to be a better experience than working with local bank advisors? am i really missing anything doing this for free instead of paying a management company thousands of dollars?

just opened up my first accounts with fidelity, and the customer service is insanely good.

but! trying to figure out if there's a catch anywhere.

i spent a few years working with financial advisors at my local bank - until i realized they weren't fiduciaries, and were just trying to sell me their products.

i started shopping around for financial advisors, wealth managers - but i don't want to give up 1% per year, or pay $4500 for a plan that i could probably piece together for free through reddit research, reading, etc.

anyway - i opened up traditional & roth ira accounts, a taxable brokerage, and i'm probably moving most of my money over from my local bank into fidelity (fzdxx), ordering debit/credit cards, checkbook, whole nine. keeping a line open at my local bank, for cash deposits and whatnot, but fidelity just seems obvious for everything else.

they connected me with a financial consultant (cfp) at my local branch. going to meet with him in person soon.

can i expect this to be a better experience than working with local bank advisors? am i really missing anything doing this for free instead of paying a management company thousands of dollars?

i have a money market account with my local bank, earning 3.15% interest... they keep me at .5 below the current rate...

i just started with fidelity, opening a brokerage account, a traditional ira, and a roth ira. i saw where i have the option to keep my money market funds in spaxx.

i'm holding about $250k - emergency fund, and a 20% down payment for a home.

should i move all of that over to fidelity, or keep it local at my bank?

about to move most (or all) of my home savings into my first taxable brokerage, vanguard, s&p 500. no idea when i'll buy, so looking to gain more interest than my current 3.15% money market.

but i don't understand the tax situation on withdrawals, or the language surrounding it.

example - let's say i invest $500k, earns 10%. after one year, it's $550k. i decide to take out $100k. if i'm paying 28% in taxes at the end of year, that means i'm losing $28k of that... right? so the account would go down to $422k, and i have $100k in hand... but i'm still sitting higher than i would've been with the $500k in the money market for the past year, which would be $415,750 after the 3.15% interest and then taking out $100k.

am i running the numbers right on this?

about to move most (or all) of my home savings into my first taxable brokerage, vanguard, s&p 500. no idea when i'll buy, so looking to gain more interest than my current 3.15% money market.

but i don't understand the tax situation on withdrawals, or the language surrounding it.

example - let's say i invest $500k, earns 10%. after one year, it's $550k. i decide to take out $100k. if i'm paying 28% in taxes at the end of year, that means i'm losing $28k of that... right? so the account would go down to $422k, and i have $100k in hand... but i'm still sitting $22k higher than i was a year ago because of interest.

and it's still making more than i was in the 3.15% money market.

am i running the numbers right on this?

i'm trying to figure out how to keep track of new/pending business licenses, liquor licenses, and/or entertainment licenses in various states... ideally getting daily updates, as soon as they're made public... is there a way to do this?

or would it just be a matter of reaching out to local municipalities and seeing what they can direct me to?

$500k saved for a home. money market, makes 3.15%. have been aggressively saving so i could eventually buy in cash. but i'm 34, still single, and have no idea when i'd like to buy, much less know where i'd like to be for 5+ years.

should i split $300k off into a taxable brokerage?

this would leave $200k for a down payment - allows up to a million dollar home purchase, assuming i want 20% down minimum.

maybe $400k, and spend the next year replenishing the down payment fund?

or should i start investing later on, and focus more on putting as much down as possible on a home to avoid interest?

(income is $150k-250k, commission-based, so it depends on the year.)

$500k saved for a home. money market, makes 3.15%. have been aggressively saving so i could eventually buy in cash. but i'm 34, still single, and have no idea when i'd like to buy, much less know where i'd like to be for 5+ years.

should i split $300k off into a taxable brokerage?

this would leave $200k for a down payment - allows up to a million dollar home purchase, assuming i want 20% down minimum.

or should i start investing later on, and focus more on putting as much down as possible on a home to avoid interest?

$500k saved for a home. money market, makes 3.15%. have been aggressively saving so i could eventually buy in cash. but i'm 34, still single, and have no idea when i'd like to buy, much less know where i'd like to be for 5+ years.

should i split $300k off into a taxable brokerage?

this would leave $200k for a down payment - allows up to a million dollar home purchase, assuming i want 20% down minimum.

or should i start investing later on, and focus more on putting as much down as possible on a home to avoid interest?

$500k saved for a home. money market, makes 3.15%. have been aggressively saving so i could eventually buy in cash. but i'm 34, still single, and have no idea when i'd like to buy, much less know where i'd like to be for 5+ years.

should i split $300k off into a taxable brokerage?

this would leave $200k for a down payment - allows up to a million dollar home purchase, assuming i want 20% down minimum.

or should i start investing later on, and focus more on putting as much down as possible on a home to avoid interest?

$500k saved for a home. money market, makes 3.15%. have been aggressively saving so i could eventually buy in cash. but i'm 34, still single, and have no idea when i'd like to buy, much less know where i'd like to be for 5+ years.

should i split $300k off into a taxable brokerage?

this would leave $200k for a down payment - allows up to a million dollar home purchase, assuming i want 20% down minimum.

or should i start investing later on, and focus more on putting as much down as possible on a home to avoid interest?

$500k saved for a home. have been aggressively saving so i could eventually buy in cash. but i'm 34, still single, and have no idea when i'd like to buy, much less know where i'd like to be for 5+ years.

should i split $300k off into a taxable brokerage?

this would leave $200k for a down payment - allows up to a million dollar home purchase, assuming i want 20% down minimum.

or should i start investing later on, and focus more on putting as much down as possible on a home to avoid interest?

34, single. income is $150k-200k, commission-based, so it depends on the year.

saving 25% for retirement through 401k, which is maxed out every year. currently at $415k. roth ira has $18k, but can no longer contribute due to income level. mega backdoor roth is done through the 401k account.

$520k is sitting in a money market, earning 3.15%. this is emergency + savings for a home. but i'm not sure when i want to buy. so i'm considering taking $300k of that, opening a taxable brokerage, investing in the s&p 500, and keeping $200k as a down payment on a home eventually.

but... i could also buy a condo in nashville instead? either put $200k down, or pay $500k, and live in the condo until i get married, decide on a home, etc. and then either sell, or rent out the condo.

would the condo purchase be a smarter decision than shuffling everything into a brokerage, since i already have 25% being saved for retirement in the 401k?

34, single. income is $150k-200k, commission-based, so it depends on the year.

saving 25% for retirement through 401k, which is maxed out every year. currently at $415k. roth ira has $18k, but can no longer contribute due to income level. mega backdoor roth is done through the 401k account.

$520k is sitting in a money market, earning 3.15%. this is emergency + savings for a home. but i'm not sure when i want to buy. so i'm considering taking $300k of that, opening a taxable brokerage, investing in the s&p 500, and keeping $200k as a down payment on a home eventually.

but... i could also buy a condo in nashville instead? either put $200k down, or pay $500k, and live in the condo until i get married, decide on a home, etc. and then either sell, or rent out the condo.

would the condo purchase be a smarter decision than shuffling everything into a brokerage, since i already have 25% being saved for retirement in the 401k?

34, single. income is $150-250k/year, depending on commission. 401k (currently at $415k) is maxed out, no longer qualify for roth ira. mega backdoor roth through 401k. about $520k in money market (3.15%) for emergency/eventual down payment on home.

i love the idea of buying a home in cash, or paying as much as i can up front, but i know i'm losing out on time in the market... so i'm thinking i should open a taxable brokerage and invest in s&p 500... i have no idea when or where i'm going to buy a home.

should i move $300k into a brokerage, keep $20k for emergency, and settle for $200k as a 20% (at least) down payment? or should i do less than $300k?