The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Investor Alley => Topic started by: greenmimama on June 24, 2015, 06:11:24 PM
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I will soon have around 20k to invest (selling a home) and I would like to start a Vanguard account.
What should I look into?
DH and are are 40 and we have a been investing in his 401k mostly just the match but for about 12 years. We have a few Roth iras and have a good amount of equity in our new home.
I know not a lot of details, We are wanting to invest for retirement, thinking that could maybe be in 10 years? It really depends on if my DH stays at his well paying job or if he starts a new business that he is wanting to.
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I guess I should add we only have a mortgage, no other debt. and we have around $130 in IRAs and savings, that doesn't include house or cars or anything like that.
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https://personal.vanguard.com/us/openaccount
Do you have specific questions?
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https://personal.vanguard.com/us/openaccount
Do you have specific questions?
I'm sorry, I was typing that out quickly as the minions were trying to get my attention before bed.
Yes, my question is, which fund should we start with?
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https://personal.vanguard.com/us/openaccount
Do you have specific questions?
I'm sorry, I was typing that out quickly as the minions were trying to get my attention before bed.
Yes, my question is, which fund should we start with?
Since it's a taxable account and for a relatively small amount of money, and not for use for at least 10 years, VTSAX is a good choice. It's nearly 4000 US companies. You own essentially the entire investible US equity market.
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I just opened our first account with vanguard this week (need to post in the Celebrations thread), and I found Vanguard's online fund recommendation tool helpful - it suggested what I'd already been leaning toward based on discussions here (VSMGX).
By the way, don't click away from the signup process online to go research funds one more time. The money goes into a "holdings" money market account right at first until you designate target funds, anyway, and clicking off will cause the identity verification to fail, even if it's passed once before. Then you have to print out the application and mail it in with signatures and a cancelled check from the funding account. Guess how I know. :)
Anyway, here's the online tool:
https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/tools/recommendation (https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/tools/recommendation)
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Yes, my question is, which fund should we start with?
You already have 401(K)s and IRAs, so you should have already figured this out. What are you currently invested in, and why?
You said "it's my first time" in the post title, but it really isn't.
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I used Vanguard's recommendation and ended up with
VTSAX
VTIAX
VTIBX
VBTLX
I used the percentages they recommended based on how I answered questions, but I think it is actually a bit too conservative, so I am not putting monthly more into VTSAX until it rebalances to be heavier in stocks. We decided to go with Vanguard because TIAA-Cref has much higher fees, although my accounts there had been doing well. So far, we've only lost money... but this is a long term venture :) If at the end of the year TIAA-Cref keeps growing and Vanguard is still only down, I might go back to TIAA...
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I used Vanguard's recommendation and ended up with
VTSAX
VTIAX
VTIBX
VBTLX
I used the percentages they recommended based on how I answered questions, but I think it is actually a bit too conservative, so I am not putting monthly more into VTSAX until it rebalances to be heavier in stocks. We decided to go with Vanguard because TIAA-Cref has much higher fees, although my accounts there had been doing well. So far, we've only lost money... but this is a long term venture :) If at the end of the year TIAA-Cref keeps growing and Vanguard is still only down, I might go back to TIAA...
Just be aware of recency bias. Sure we had a great run in stocks the past 6-7 years......but AA should be about how you would sleep at night if your portfolio took a 50% haircut.
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Just be aware of recency bias. Sure we had a great run in stocks the past 6-7 years......but AA should be about how you would sleep at night if your portfolio took a 50% haircut.
I just think that when I answer questions I am more conservative than I really want to be. For my age, it doesn't make sense for me to be as heavily invested in bonds as Vanguard's questionnaire put me in. I should have thought a little more about it when I put the original investment in, but it isn't a big deal to just rebalance as we buy over time.
The main purpose of Vanguard for me was to get some more international exposure- as my other accounts don't really do that.
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Yes, my question is, which fund should we start with?
You already have 401(K)s and IRAs, so you should have already figured this out. What are you currently invested in, and why?
You said "it's my first time" in the post title, but it really isn't.
It's my first time with Vanguard. Picking my own without any help.
I thought this was a place we could ask questions?
If you don't want to help people, move along and don't respond, I'm tired of posters being mean.
To the rest of you, thank you for your responses, I will definitely choose what I want first, then go through the whole application fee. Thank you for your time.
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To the rest of you, thank you for your responses, I will definitely choose what I want first, then go through the whole application fee. Thank you for your time.
We didn't have any sort of fee? Are you talking about individual stock trades? (or just typed the wrong word?)
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To the rest of you, thank you for your responses, I will definitely choose what I want first, then go through the whole application fee. Thank you for your time.
We didn't have any sort of fee? Are you talking about individual stock trades? (or just typed the wrong word?)
Typed the wrong word, I meant process, not sure why I typed fee :)
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Yes, my question is, which fund should we start with?
You already have 401(K)s and IRAs, so you should have already figured this out. What are you currently invested in, and why?
You said "it's my first time" in the post title, but it really isn't.
It's my first time with Vanguard. Picking my own without any help.
I thought this was a place we could ask questions?
If you don't want to help people, move along and don't respond, I'm tired of posters being mean.
To the rest of you, thank you for your responses, I will definitely choose what I want first, then go through the whole application fee. Thank you for your time.
I wasn't trying to be mean, I was trying to point out that you have to make the same decisions for this account as you did for your existing accounts. That means either you have already made those decisions, in which case you know the answer already, or you haven't done so, which means you need to revisit the asset allocation of your other accounts because they're probably wrong.
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Yes, my question is, which fund should we start with?
You already have 401(K)s and IRAs, so you should have already figured this out. What are you currently invested in, and why?
You said "it's my first time" in the post title, but it really isn't.
It's my first time with Vanguard. Picking my own without any help.
I thought this was a place we could ask questions?
If you don't want to help people, move along and don't respond, I'm tired of posters being mean.
To the rest of you, thank you for your responses, I will definitely choose what I want first, then go through the whole application fee. Thank you for your time.
I wasn't trying to be mean, I was trying to point out that you have to make the same decisions for this account as you did for your existing accounts. That means either you have already made those decisions, in which case you know the answer already, or you haven't done so, which means you need to revisit the asset allocation of your other accounts because they're probably wrong.
I am sure we should revisit them all, but we had help to pick those, no help with these.