Retirement-Era |OT| How to Invest For Retirement

opticalmace · Jan 31, 2018

Hi finance era. I finally have a real job after a lot of schooling and just have a couple questions (before chewing through the OP in fine detail).

My wife and I are from Canada, and I moved down to the US for work last year. I suspect within the next couple of years (2 +- 1) we will move back to Canada. We both started TFSA and RRSPs in Canada a couple years back.

I'm a bit confused about how saving money here while I'm in the US might translate back to Canada (especially the retirement stuff). At the moment I have a fair amount of money in a "rewards" checking account at a credit union that gives you 2% APY. I just started a 13-month certificate with them as well. If it matters I can get into specific $ amounts.

We're saving up for a downpayment on a house right now (not in the area where I work, as we would move elsewhere). We will probably have that ready by the end of next year (2019). But obviously we want to save for retirement/emergencies.... it's all a bit confusing!

I'm not sure how complicated this gets because of the cross-border aspect. Should I talk to a professional about this? And if so, what kind and how would I find one? Thanks Era.

filkry · Jan 31, 2018

opticalmace said:
Hi finance era. I finally have a real job after a lot of schooling and just have a couple questions (before chewing through the OP in fine detail).

My wife and I are from Canada, and I moved down to the US for work last year. I suspect within the next couple of years (2 +- 1) we will move back to Canada. We both started TFSA and RRSPs in Canada a couple years back.

I'm a bit confused about how saving money here while I'm in the US might translate back to Canada (especially the retirement stuff). At the moment I have a fair amount of money in a "rewards" checking account at a credit union that gives you 2% APY. I just started a 13-month certificate with them as well. If it matters I can get into specific $ amounts.

We're saving up for a downpayment on a house right now (not in the area where I work, as we would move elsewhere). We will probably have that ready by the end of next year (2019). But obviously we want to save for retirement/emergencies.... it's all a bit confusing!

I'm not sure how complicated this gets because of the cross-border aspect. Should I talk to a professional about this? And if so, what kind and how would I find one? Thanks Era.

I am in the exact same situation, 3 years later. Still planning on moving back in the next year or two. :P

First of all, since you have TFSAs and RRSPs and are planning to move back quickly, you may want to consider filing your taxes as a nonresident alien in the US and maintaining official residency in Canada while you work here. This would mean you have to file in both countries, but keeps your US taxes VERY simple and your Canadian taxes the same as they've always been. If you reside in the US for more than 200-some days you will need an excuse to maintain Canadian residency - a house, a family, or something. If you end up filing as a US resident, the TFSAs in particular are treated as foreign trusts and require a TON of extra paperwork. We closed our TFSAs a year after moving when we switched to US residency. I recommend getting someone to help with your taxes that specializes in cross-border issues. Even as US residents now, we still use our US-Canada guy.

As for saving money, I have never gotten professional advice on this but after a ton of research and calling people I determined that it's safe to buy NYSE-traded index fund ETFs. I currently hold a three fund portfolio of VTI, VXUS, and BND with TD Ameritrade. TD Waterhouse in Canada assured me that when we move back I will be able to transfer the holdings to them without issue. As far as I can tell, there are no tax implications when moving back for asset holdings, but US brokerages won't want to hold them for you anymore when you're no longer a resident. The only problem will be that when I eventually sell, there may be a US vs Canadian dollar issue.

The majority of our US holdings are in regular taxable accounts. We also have money in two 401Ks (retirement accounts). The most important thing with these is to make sure the company that manages them will let you continue to hold them when you move to Canada. Our 401Ks are with Vanguard and Principal, and both will hold them internationally provided we maintain a balance of over $5k. When we eventually withdraw from these in our 60s, they will count as US income and we will have to file taxes in both the US and Canada during those years. You can also move money from a 401K to an RRSP by way of a Roth IRA, but it normally involves taking a 20% penalty to the IRS, as it counts as early withdrawal. Early withdrawal may also cost you your company match, depending on their policy. From what I've heard there are very qualified tax advisors who can help you do all of this with less problem.

Finally, our emergency money is in a regular savings account.

*edit* the reason we switched to US residency is because we realized we were staying for more than 2 years, and we had no excuse for maintaining Canadian residency that would fly for that long.

opticalmace · Jan 31, 2018

filkry said:
I am in the exact same situation, 3 years later. Still planning on moving back in the next year or two. :P

First of all, since you have TFSAs and RRSPs and are planning to move back quickly, you may want to consider filing your taxes as a nonresident alien in the US and maintaining official residency in Canada while you work here. This would mean you have to file in both countries, but keeps your US taxes VERY simple and your Canadian taxes the same as they've always been. If you reside in the US for more than 200-some days you will need an excuse to maintain Canadian residency - a house, a family, or something. If you end up filing as a US resident, the TFSAs in particular are treated as foreign trusts and require a TON of extra paperwork. We closed our TFSAs a year after moving when we switched to US residency. I recommend getting someone to help with your taxes that specializes in cross-border issues. Even as US residents now, we still use our US-Canada guy.

As for saving money, I have never gotten professional advice on this but after a ton of research and calling people I determined that it's safe to buy NYSE-traded index fund ETFs. I currently hold a three fund portfolio of VTI, VXUS, and BND with TD Ameritrade. TD Waterhouse in Canada assured me that when we move back I will be able to transfer the holdings to them without issue. As far as I can tell, there are no tax implications when moving back for asset holdings, but US brokerages won't want to hold them for you anymore when you're no longer a resident. The only problem will be that when I eventually sell, there may be a US vs Canadian dollar issue.

The majority of our US holdings are in regular taxable accounts. We also have money in two 401Ks (retirement accounts). The most important thing with these is to make sure the company that manages them will let you continue to hold them when you move to Canada. Our 401Ks are with Vanguard and Principal, and both will hold them internationally provided we maintain a balance of over $5k. When we eventually withdraw from these in our 60s, they will count as US income and we will have to file taxes in both the US and Canada during those years. You can also move money from a 401K to an RRSP by way of a Roth IRA, but it normally involves taking a 20% penalty to the IRS, as it counts as early withdrawal. Early withdrawal may also cost you your company match, depending on their policy. From what I've heard there are very qualified tax advisors who can help you do all of this with less problem.

Finally, our emergency money is in a regular savings account.

*edit* the reason we switched to US residency is because we realized we were staying for more than 2 years, and we had no excuse for maintaining Canadian residency that would fly for that long.

Thanks for the reply. I appreciate it. I am a dual citizen of the US and Canada (mom is from the US, dad from canada), so I have been filing for a while now. Sucks about the TFSAs, but hopefully our tax person can help us out (the person we used when I lived in Canada full time, would handle the US taxes).

I'm going to look into the index funds you suggested and check the OP to try to understand how they work. Since we might be moving back sooner rather than later maybe we will hold off on the 401k (with the assumption that we'll keep going with the RRSP once we're back up in Canada). I'm not sure if we can contribute to the RRSPs while residing in the US.

This is actually really helpful. For taxes I'll talk to the tax professional we've used in the past; I'll look into the index funds and see how that works; and I think I'll hold off on the 401k for now until we know if we might be staying in the US or not. Thanks filkry!

P.S. whereabouts are you located? we are in the bay area (well I am, wife should be here soon -- stupid green cards).

filkry · Jan 31, 2018

opticalmace said:
P.S. whereabouts are you located? we are in the bay area (well I am, wife should be here soon -- stupid green cards).

We are in SoCal. Both Canadian citizens, on TN visas.

*edit* No problem, by the way. This kind of move is so stressful. It destroyed me for literally year. First year here all I could do was work and zone out with games/TV/etc. I'm optimistic the move back to Canada will be easier since we're citizens. Luckily you don't have the visa issues!

opticalmace · Jan 31, 2018

filkry said:
We are in SoCal. Both Canadian citizens, on TN visas.

*edit* No problem, by the way. This kind of move is so stressful. It destroyed me for literally year. First year here all I could do was work and zone out with games/TV/etc. I'm optimistic the move back to Canada will be easier since we're citizens. Luckily you don't have the visa issues!

re: the bolded, are you me?!?! :P

JEKKI · Jan 31, 2018

oh hey a thread about money!! I got a few questions...

I switched jobs late last year, which left me with a modest 5-figure 401K account. So first question... what do I do with this?? Do I jus let it chill out on its own, or roll it up into my new company's plan? And if roll up is the way to go, how do I do that? Do I get in touch with the old account holder, or the new one?

And before that, I have two other less than modest 401K accounts from older jobs I once had, and I've just kinda spent years ignoring them. They aren't much, one is $1000 and the other is $2000, but like can I cash these out into my pocket since their value isnt too great but could provide me with some good spending money?

And somewhat related, mostly not, but the reason why I'm critically thinking about these things is because I want to undertake a more major financial endeavor - I want to buy myself a condo.

actually... I don't want to. I'm comfortable in my apartment, but I wanted a dog which my current place won't allow, and getting a condo is literally the only way I can comfortably be a pet owner apparently

-_-

so how the fkk do I buy myself a condo?!?! Can I do it on my own by just responding to listings on redfin and zillow, or is a real estate agent the right way to go??

Thank you!!!

Mr.Mike · Feb 1, 2018

New ETFs for Canadians

Investing giant Vanguard launches 'one-ticket solution' ETFs

The Vanguard Conservative ETF Portfolio (VCNS-TSX) has a 40/60 mix of stocks and bonds, respectively, the Vanguard Balanced ETF Portfolio (VBAL-TSX) has a 60/40 mix and the Vanguard Growth ETF Portfolio (VGRO-TSX) is 80/20. Each has a management expense ratio that should come in around 0.24 per cent, less than one-quarter the cost of the average comparable balanced mutual fund.

Each of the three Vanguard funds invests in seven of the company's own ETFs covering Canadian, U.S. and international bonds, as well as the shares of large, medium and small companies in Canada, the United States and in both developed and emerging markets around the world (there are no additional costs for the underlying ETFs).

tokkun · Feb 1, 2018

JEKKI said:
oh hey a thread about money!! I got a few questions...

I switched jobs late last year, which left me with a modest 5-figure 401K account. So first question... what do I do with this?? Do I jus let it chill out on its own, or roll it up into my new company's plan? And if roll up is the way to go, how do I do that? Do I get in touch with the old account holder, or the new one?

You have 3 choices. You can leave it be, you can roll it into your current 401K, or you can roll it into an IRA. Of the 3 options, the IRA is what I would suggest for the average person. You will have to go to the company managing the old 401K to initiate the rollover.

And before that, I have two other less than modest 401K accounts from older jobs I once had, and I've just kinda spent years ignoring them. They aren't much, one is $1000 and the other is $2000, but like can I cash these out into my pocket since their value isnt too great but could provide me with some good spending money?

You have the option of cashing out, but you will pay income tax + a 10% penalty on the amount you withdraw. It's up to you whether it's worth it.

Lunchbox- · Feb 1, 2018

so glad i bought some more apple mid day today

eps plus revenue beat by a straight billion after all the bs about the X "underperforming." LMAO. dont ever doubt the most powerful public company in human history

JEKKI · Feb 2, 2018

tokkun said:
You have 3 choices. You can leave it be, you can roll it into your current 401K, or you can roll it into an IRA. Of the 3 options, the IRA is what I would suggest for the average person. You will have to go to the company managing the old 401K to initiate the rollover.

if I roll into an IRA then it's my responsibility to take care of it then, right? none of this let my employer handle it and I can ignore it while it does its own thing?

TBH I've always wanted an IRA, but this month I finally pay off my credit card debt, and any extra cash I have month to month is going into the aforementioned Condo endeavor >_< But do IRAs require a regular contribution if I do open one? Or am I free to contribute any amount at my own leisure whenever I feel like I can spare the cash?

tokkun · Feb 2, 2018

JEKKI said:
if I roll into an IRA then it's my responsibility to take care of it then, right? none of this let my employer handle it and I can ignore it while it does its own thing?

The amount of work isn't really any different between a 401K and an IRA. Once you have set it up, you can safely ignore it. In fact, you ought to ignore it, since research has shown that people who set up their investments once and don't touch them afterwards do better than people who are frequently changing.

The nice thing with an IRA is that they have lots of investment choices, so you can always find a good index fund with low fees, which is the most important thing with retirement investing. With 401Ks, they have a small number of choices, and some 401Ks have nothing but bad investments available.

TBH I've always wanted an IRA, but this month I finally pay off my credit card debt, and any extra cash I have month to month is going into the aforementioned Condo endeavor >_< But do IRAs require a regular contribution if I do open one? Or am I free to contribute any amount at my own leisure whenever I feel like I can spare the cash?

I can't speak about every company, but IRAs from Vanguard are completely free - no contribution requirements and no extra fees.

HammerOfThor · Feb 2, 2018

Hey guys, 401k question.

Have any of you taken a loan out of your 401k? My wife and I are looking to purchase a house, and we found a place we really love a lot early than we expected. I'm working on a project that is due to complete in April which would give us a large payday, and we where going to use this as part of the down payment. However because of the early timing we are thinking to borrow from our 401k and then just pay it back in a lump payment once we finish the project. The "payday" is guaranteed. I'm not worried at all about the reliability of the company. This is an absolute last resort, but it would give us the buffer we need.

I guess my biggest question is; can we repay a 401K loan in a lump payment, or are we required to follow the entire term? Are there any other sneaky fees we should worry about?

ThanksVision · Feb 2, 2018

so every contribution i've made to my 401(k) has been pre-tax by default... I'm thinking I should transition to roth contributions, even if I'm not 100% certain I'll be in a higher tax bracket when I retire.

I *think* I will be, as I plan on starting a family and settling into a house in the next couple years, making more money as my career progresses (only just started my 'career' job), etc. It's just--anything could happen I guess. One thing I like about Roth is that the money you see in the account is the total money available to you no matter what happens, unless I'm mistaken. I have a few questions..

1) the total contribution limit of $18,500--do my roth contributions only add to that AFTER they have been taxed? i.e. the amount put inside my actual 401(k) is the amount that contributes to the 18,500 total. (dumb followup: employer contributions don't count towards this, correct?)

2) I have the option to do an in-plan roth conversion. is this worth doing for the money already in my account, or should I just leave it as is and move on?

3) how do i convince myself to up my contribution amount. lol.

tokkun · Feb 2, 2018

ThanksVision said:
1) the total contribution limit of $18,500--do my roth contributions only add to that AFTER they have been taxed? i.e. the amount put inside my actual 401(k) is the amount that contributes to the 18,500 total. (dumb followup: employer contributions don't count towards this, correct?)

That's correct. A consequence of this is that the future value is higher for Roth than for Traditional if you are contributing the maximum (assuming your tax bracket is unchanged). The 18.5K limit is for your contributions only, not your employer's matching funds. There is a separate combined limit of 55K for your contributions + the employer's. So your employer can contribute up to 36.5K without it impacting your personal contribution limit.

2) I have the option to do an in-plan roth conversion. is this worth doing for the money already in my account, or should I just leave it as is and move on?

You will have to pay taxes on the conversion, so it depends on whether you can afford to pay those taxes now.

3) how do i convince myself to up my contribution amount. lol.

Try plotting the value of a $1K investment in your 401K vs a taxable account over the next 30 years.

Presco · Feb 2, 2018

Mr.Mike said:
New ETFs for Canadians

Investing giant Vanguard launches 'one-ticket solution' ETFs

Sold majority of my kids RESP positions this morning and purchased VGRO. All in one fund that rebalances automatically with a low MER, love it.

HotsauceDragon · Feb 2, 2018

I just learned about the RRSP withholding tax during some research.
On one hand, ouch. On the other hand, it's a good thing I learned about this now than down the line when it could have really bitten me on the ass.

Prax · Feb 2, 2018

UGH I JUST STARTED INVESTING A COUPLA YEARS AGO! I don't reeally wanna be moving everything around because Vanguard is so nice and good and cheap. Dammit. :(

TheTrinity · Feb 4, 2018

HotsauceDragon said:
I just learned about the RRSP withholding tax during some research.
On one hand, ouch. On the other hand, it's a good thing I learned about this now than down the line when it could have really bitten me on the ass.

Yeah, it's a bit annoying. But I kind of think of it only affecting you for one year. After that, you can pretend that the return on your taxes the following year is part of that year's withdrawal.
It does mean a bit of difficulty in planning ahead though.

PantherLotus · Feb 5, 2018

Nobody panic. If you're following directions here, you'll be ok. Your goal is 30 years from now, not next month. Eyes on the prize, people!

FliX · Feb 5, 2018

PantherLotus said:
Nobody panic. If you're following directions here, you'll be ok. Your goal is 30 years from now, not next month. Eyes on the prize, people!

I do not want to work another 30 years thank you very much. :p

Stay the course though of course.

filkry · Feb 5, 2018

This is the first time I've seen this. Goodbye 2017's gains!

AndyD · Feb 5, 2018

Since everyone is freaking out, I have a different question.

First thank you everyone for helping me set up my and my wife's retirement accounts and moving to Vanguard. Now I need to focus on the kids school accounts. They each have a Coverdell account that the grandparents fund into. They are currently with TD Ameritrade, and invested in some crappy mutual funds with near or over 1% fees. The money needs something better, and more akin to Vanguard's low cost choices. Does TD have their own cost free ETFs with low fees? Since the time frame is much shorter (10-15 years) I imagine the strategy is a bit different than our longer term retirement accounts? Than you in advance for all advice.

tokkun · Feb 5, 2018

filkry said:
This is the first time I've seen this. Goodbye 2017's gains!

S&P is still up like 15% YoY.

If you are still working, you ought to welcome a market correction. You get to buy stocks at a discount now.

Linkura · Feb 5, 2018

tokkun said:
S&P is still up like 15% YoY.

If you are still working, you ought to welcome a market correction. You get to buy stocks at a discount now.

Already capped my Roth for the year. Fuck me.

hockeypuck · Feb 5, 2018

Linkura said:
Already capped my Roth for the year. Fuck me.

You don't have a taxable account?

tokkun · Feb 5, 2018

If you bought anything in a taxable account just before the dive you can also use this as an opportunity to do some tax loss harvesting.

Linkura · Feb 5, 2018

hockeypuck said:
You don't have a taxable account?

Nope. Just retirement/savings/checking. Not into the stock market for anything other than retirement tbh.

hockeypuck · Feb 5, 2018

tokkun said:
If you bought anything in a taxable account just before the dive you can also use this as an opportunity to do some tax loss harvesting.

Yep, about 15 minutes ago sold my shares of VTSAX that I had purchased last week and bought market-corrected VLCAX. Harvested a ~$500 loss. Previous to that I last purchased VTSAX back in December, so hopefully I don't get hit by the wash-sale rule. I was hoping the other thread would help confirm my choice but no one answered.

Linkura said:
Nope. Just retirement/savings/checking. Not into the stock market for anything other than retirement tbh.

Taxable accounts are commonly used for retirement, too.

Linkura · Feb 5, 2018

hockeypuck said:
Taxable accounts are commonly used for retirement, too.

Yeah, I'm aware, but we are on track with just nontaxable accounts. I have the Roth I've been maxing since I was 21, my husband has a Roth and a 401(k) with a decent match.

Keyboard · Feb 5, 2018

AndyD said:
Since everyone is freaking out, I have a different question.

First thank you everyone for helping me set up my and my wife's retirement accounts and moving to Vanguard. Now I need to focus on the kids school accounts. They each have a Coverdell account that the grandparents fund into. They are currently with TD Ameritrade, and invested in some crappy mutual funds with near or over 1% fees. The money needs something better, and more akin to Vanguard's low cost choices. Does TD have their own cost free ETFs with low fees? Since the time frame is much shorter (10-15 years) I imagine the strategy is a bit different than our longer term retirement accounts? Than you in advance for all advice.

Who's freaking out?

Here's a list of TD Ameritrade ETFs offered with comparable Vanguard funds:

https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/TD_Ameritrade

TheTrinity · Feb 5, 2018

I assume people who aren't in it for the retirement timeline are freaking out. I doubt anyone here is unduly concerned.
To be realistic, I fancy myself pretty stoic but I'm sure if there was a drop of like 30% or something I wouldn't exactly like it, but even with all the yammering about 'worst 1-day ever' it's not really even that bad. Our portfolio is down like 5% from peak, so whatevs.

Lol, my 'worry' right now is that the market will recover before I can deploy some more cash into it.

FliX · Feb 5, 2018

Wormdundee said:
I assume people who aren't in it for the retirement timeline are freaking out. I doubt anyone here is unduly concerned.
To be realistic, I fancy myself pretty stoic but I'm sure if there was a drop of like 30% or something I wouldn't exactly like it, but even with all the yammering about 'worst 1-day ever' it's not really even that bad. Our portfolio is down like 5% from peak, so whatevs.

Lol, my 'worry' right now is that the market will recover before I can deploy some more cash into it.

We are basically where the market was just 5 weeks ago... it really is not an issue any way you slice it...

Cyan · Feb 5, 2018

hockeypuck said:
Yep, about 15 minutes ago sold my shares of VTSAX that I had purchased last week and bought market-corrected VLCAX. Harvested a ~$500 loss. Previous to that I last purchased VTSAX back in December, so hopefully I don't get hit by the wash-sale rule. I was hoping the other thread would help confirm my choice but no one answered.

Last purchase in December should be fine, wash sales are within 30 days. I'd guess that selling VTSAX and buying VLCAX is probably not going to get you in trouble, since the total market and large caps are not "substantially identical," but no guarantees.

iguanadolphin · Feb 5, 2018

Bah! E-trade just bought capitaloneinvesting(used to be sharebuilder). Capital One bought ING a few years ago which is where I started.

Not sure I want either one of them. There are no branches in my state. It was nice to be able to use my checking or savings account to buy stocks instantly. What's a good bank/online broker combo? Does Chase have an online trading system?

Keyboard · Feb 5, 2018

I would never do business at Bank of America (or with any business heavily televised), but some bogleheads like their Merrill Edge integration.

I would go with Schwab.

You decide.

Bumrush · Feb 5, 2018

Wormdundee said:
I assume people who aren't in it for the retirement timeline are freaking out. I doubt anyone here is unduly concerned.
To be realistic, I fancy myself pretty stoic but I'm sure if there was a drop of like 30% or something I wouldn't exactly like it, but even with all the yammering about 'worst 1-day ever' it's not really even that bad. Our portfolio is down like 5% from peak, so whatevs.

Lol, my 'worry' right now is that the market will recover before I can deploy some more cash into it.

Agreed. I'm 34 and while it is rough to see big drops, I have 30-ish years ahead of me.

Linkura · Feb 5, 2018

iguanadolphin said:
Bah! E-trade just bought capitaloneinvesting(used to be sharebuilder). Capital One bought ING a few years ago which is where I started.

Not sure I want either one of them. There are no branches in my state. It was nice to be able to use my checking or savings account to buy stocks instantly. What's a good bank/online broker combo? Does Chase have an online trading system?

Yeah, I'm in the same boat as you. Oh well.

tokkun · Feb 5, 2018

FliXFantatier said:
We are basically where the market was just 5 weeks ago... it really is not an issue any way you slice it...

Yeah, valuations are actually still really, really high in the US. Today brought the CAPE10 down to 32, which is still double the historic median in the US, and higher than any other point in history, besides the Dotcom bubble. Stocks are a bit cheaper, but not a bargain by any stretch of the imagination.

Even in ex-US developed markets, which also got hammered the past few days, it's only brought them down to about their median valuations.

Link · Feb 5, 2018

Glad I'm nowhere close to retirement, because my Roth took a real beating this last week.

Smiley90 · Feb 5, 2018

-2.67% on the day

get. fucking. rekt. :lol

those reds, good lord

Mr.Mike · Feb 5, 2018

VGRO is up 1.3%

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Fancy Clown · Feb 5, 2018

So I actually opened up a Roth IRA through vanguard a week ago. I put in the max for the 2017 tax year but I haven't done anything with it yet, it's currently sitting in the money market thing. Since I still am not super hip to the investing game, should I be investing that now with the stock dip/crash?

Smiley90 · Feb 5, 2018

Fancy Clown said:
So I actually opened up a Roth IRA through vanguard a week ago. I put in the max for the 2017 tax year but I haven't done anything with it yet, it's currently sitting in the money market thing. Since I still am not super hip to the investing game, should I be investing that now with the stock dip/crash?

You should invest whenever you have the money around to do so. Don't try to time the market since even the pros fail at predicting if it keeps going down or back to going up or sideways. So feel free to go ahead. Just be ready for it to keep sinking - and if you don't go in now, be ready for it to go back up without you on board. either way, think long-term!

FliX · Feb 5, 2018

Fancy Clown said:
So I actually opened up a Roth IRA through vanguard a week ago. I put in the max for the 2017 tax year but I haven't done anything with it yet, it's currently sitting in the money market thing. Since I still am not super hip to the investing game, should I be investing that now with the stock dip/crash?

Invest now and just avoid he news. It's all noise anyway.

Fancy Clown · Feb 5, 2018

Thanks peeps

Prax · Feb 5, 2018

Tried to open questrade account in order to buy vanguard etfs, but it requires min 1k in funding and all my money tied up already.... :D whoops!
i'll figure all this out later I SUPPOSE..

Smiley90 · Feb 6, 2018

Prax said:
Tried to open questrade account in order to buy vanguard etfs, but it requires min 1k in funding and all my money tied up already.... :D whoops!
i'll figure all this out later I SUPPOSE..

Join the Questrade master race Prax, it's glorious.

Prax · Feb 6, 2018

Smiley90 said:
Join the Questrade master race Prax, it's glorious.

I think I was deciding on whether to do it after I hit like.. 100k in investments? something like that since I was a newbie, too lazy to rebalance, and I want to be able to just do PACs instead of manually every month. SIGH.

Smiley90 · Feb 6, 2018

Prax said:
I think I was deciding on whether to do it after I hit like.. 100k in investments? something like that since I was a newbie, too lazy to rebalance, and I want to be able to just do PACs instead of manually every month. SIGH.

I don't have 100k and I don't rebalance, nothing stopping me.

tommy7154 · Feb 6, 2018

HammerOfThor said:
Hey guys, 401k question.

Have any of you taken a loan out of your 401k? My wife and I are looking to purchase a house, and we found a place we really love a lot early than we expected. I'm working on a project that is due to complete in April which would give us a large payday, and we where going to use this as part of the down payment. However because of the early timing we are thinking to borrow from our 401k and then just pay it back in a lump payment once we finish the project. The "payday" is guaranteed. I'm not worried at all about the reliability of the company. This is an absolute last resort, but it would give us the buffer we need.

I guess my biggest question is; can we repay a 401K loan in a lump payment, or are we required to follow the entire term? Are there any other sneaky fees we should worry about?

For my plan at least, I have the option to either pay a set weekly amount, or to pay off the entire amount (or remaining amount) in one single payment, but no option other than those. So I could pay back say $100 per week on a 10K loan, and then say after a year when I've paid off $5200 I could then pay off the remaining $4800 in one payment if I wanted.

I could not however decide to pay say $1,000 toward it at once. I either have to keep paying the $100 weekly, or pay the entire thing off.

I think I also paid an interest fee? I honestly dont remember but it was a decent amount that was added onto my loan amount that I then pay myself back. So I wanted say $10,000 but it cost me $11,000 total and I just pay it all back to myself.

Sorry if that didnt make sense I have about zero knowledge of this stuff. I just know I took out a 401K loan and you had a question lol

Retirement-Era |OT| How to Invest For Retirement

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