SittigInvestments
Goal
To make a down payment on a house in California within 5-6 years.
To have a foundation for retirement.
General Strategies
https://retirementplans.vanguard.com/VGApp/pe/PubVgiNews?ArticleName=DilbertGuidetoPersonalFinance
Everything you need to know about financial planning*
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Make a will.
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Pay off your credit cards.
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Get term life insurance if you have a family to support.
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Fund your 401(k) to the maximum.
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Fund your IRA to the maximum.
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Buy a house if you want to live in a house and you can afford it.
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Put six months’ expenses in a money market fund.
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Take whatever money is left over and invest 70% in a stock index fund and 30% in a bond fund through any discount broker and never touch it until retirement.
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Getting started
Plan: total as of today ~$3,000 (keep $1k liquid)
- Open a Roth IRA (3,000); put into an index fund, S&P?
- Invest 500 in an index fund, 500 in stocks. (Can we even? All brokerages want big minimums... Maybe just an IRA through vanguard for a 3k minimum; or look into CHASE)
- In the future, $400 monthly savings — $100 go to IRA, $300 go to stock (savings; buy each 6 months Jan/Jul). Divert some stock money to 401k at start of next schoolyear.
- Goal: have house down payment in 5-6 years.
The school offers a retirement fund at TIAA-CREF, but I don't get that until September.
Talk on 2015-03-09
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If CDs are at 0.5%, any investment with a return above that is risky and you need to understand that risk.
Index Funds
Stocks
Municipal Bonds
Other Resources
Homebuying
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California Housing Finance Agency: Homebuyers Pretty confusing, lots of programs, contact an agent(?) to talk about this stuff.
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USDA Not really clear if we'd qualify.
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Ventura County Community Development Corporation | A New Way Home Lots of good stuff, HUD-recognized classes free, down-payment assistance, Ventura specific.
Based on independent research, started Feb 2015. Also, talk by XXX at OVS on 2015-03-09.