Stock Market

Beth Gallagher

Beth Gallagher

Well-known member
I'm not much of a player in the market, but thanks to my years of contributing to a savings plan at the company where I worked I managed to have a tidy little retirement account. I basically bought stock and just let it sit there, starting in 1986 or so. Over the years the stock has split several times, has gone up and gone down, and paid consistent dividends. Some shares had a cost basis of $10-$20 and those shares are worth $160 today. All-in-all, not a bad ROI.

I just sent an email to our financial advisor, asking him to have a look at my account and see what changes I need to make. I will be looking at RMDs (Required Minimum Distribution) in the near future so some planning needs to be done.

Are you in the market? I understand it is a high risk investment but over the long term it has paid off for me.
 
Don Alaska said:
I have some in the market, and I was over 70 1/2 before the last Trump administration changed RMD to 72 1/2 (I think), so I had to begin taking it out earlier. Nothing big.
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Some of this stuff sounds so complicated to me; all the rules and timing and acronyms. I'm glad to have someone to help me navigate all the intricacies to keep from making a financial misstep. A couple of years ago I made a one time transfer of money from a pre-tax account to tax paid, which increased our tax burden and Medicare premium exponentially for the following year. Seems like we get penalized in so many ways for having been financially responsible all of our working lives.
 
Yes. It is much like yours, Beth. Dipped into the stock market a little here and there over the years, also contributing to a 401K early in the 1980's. Although at the time, we lived from paycheck to paycheck and I was worried how we were going to make ends meet by having even the smallest amount money taken out. It was an adjustment in the beginning because I kept thinking about the amount of money I wasn't getting in my paycheck, and what I could use it for. After a while, the saving became a way of life, which now I am so grateful we did.

I think one of the financial talking heads once said, when you are young and working, "if you are willing to live like no one else, later you can live like no one else." Something to that effect anyway.

When you are young, you think you have a long time to worry about saving for retirement. Young is when you need to start! The sooner the better! Retirement and old age comes quicker than one thinks.😬
 
Stock market is risky since people don't use it for investing but as a casino. My dad, Warren Buffet and old timers invested in companies and their wealth grew over time as the companies grew. I think now investments grow because inflated money has nowhere else to go.
Gold? It has been confiscated before.
 
Krystal Shay said:
Yes. It is much like yours, Beth. Dipped into the stock market a little here and there over the years, also contributing to a 401K early in the 1980's. Although at the time, we lived from paycheck to paycheck and I was worried how we were going to make ends meet by having even the smallest amount money taken out. It was an adjustment in the beginning because I kept thinking about the amount of money I wasn't getting in my paycheck, and what I could use it for. After a while, the saving became a way of life, which now I am so grateful we did.

I think one of the financial talking heads once said, when you are young and working, "if you are willing to live like no one else, later you can live like no one else." Something to that effect anyway.

When you are young, you think you have a long time to worry about saving for retirement. Young is when you need to start! The sooner the better! Retirement and old age comes quicker than one thinks.😬
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That sounds exactly like me, Krystal. When I started working I was divorced and didn't think I could afford to save anything. The older guys I worked with convinced me. The company matched contributions up to 7% max which amounted to free money. Anyone not saving at least 7% of their salary was leaving money on the table, so to speak.

So when I got my first raise, I signed up for the plan and put the entire raise into it. I figured I had been living on the "before raise" money so I could continue to do so. Since they took the savings out of my paycheck I never really missed it.
 
Took everything out. Know my banker. She is a tiny young lady with lots of ink and ear lobes grown back hops around in leggings and whatever top. Sharp as a tack! Smells an opportunity like a bloodhound. Her branch has the highest new deposit growth in the whole system. Today it took ten minutes from a call about an odd 401 movement to the person within her system who will call at our designated times, meet if need be.
I spent enough time in banking. An occasional present greases well.
.
 
Mary Stetler said:
Stock market is risky since people don't use it for investing but as a casino. My dad, Warren Buffet and old timers invested in companies and their wealth grew over time as the companies grew. I think now investments grow because inflated money has nowhere else to go.
Gold? It has been confiscated before.
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Ol' Warren Buffet said he finds good companies, buys stock in them and forgets them. He checks them once a year or so perhaps. Buying index funds are not for him as you really own nothing.
 
I don't know much about stocks, but when I have to invest I read everything I can about the stock.

My wife and I started late investing in a 401k. The company my wife worked had a 401k plan that gave her maybe 15 different Investments to put her paycheck deposits into. She wanted no part of deciding she asked me to do it for her to review it and see what I like. My 401k had a similar setup. I remember spending hours researching both our investments to get the most bang for our buck. I was fortunate by the time she retired she earned 28%, I earned about 12% on my 401k.

When we retired we had to roll over that money into a new account. I had an acquaintance who left my industry to go to Arizona and work for Wells Fargo as a financial advisor. I contacted him and we decided to move the money to Wells Fargo for him to manage. Wells Fargo investment plans was to diversify.
We chose to pick a plan that was conservative since we were retired we couldn't afford to take a risk with our our money. I started studying the stocks because the growth was weak, and decided I would prefer stocks that gave larger dividends and didn't worry too much about there growth. Their was a period where the Dow had very little growth so I started researching the dividends and I found one stock (symbol AGNC) that had dividends around 24%, today I believe that stock is around 13%. I needed something with larger gains, because we were withdrawing money from our accounts from day one of retirement. Living on Long Island is very expensive plus we still had a mortgage to pay. I'm retired 20 years my wife 18 without any pensions just SS, our accounts are going down which I expected they would, by my calculations we still have enough to live on Long Island if we wish for about another 8 or 9 years. That's one of the reasons we're looking to move and get my youngest daughter and family set up somewhere else.

Because I like to gamble I try to stay away from our investments and leave it to our financial advisor. Today there's a lot of talk and suggestions about investing in AI. I won't research it like I would have 10 years ago, but I will tell my advisor to check it out to see if there's anything of value there. At 82 I think I'm doing okay.
 
Tony Page said:
I don't know much about stocks, but when I have to invest I read everything I can about the stock.

My wife and I started late investing in a 401k. The company my wife worked had a 401k plan that gave her maybe 15 different Investments to put her paycheck deposits into. She wanted no part of deciding she asked me to do it for her to review it and see what I like. My 401k had a similar setup. I remember spending hours researching both our investments to get the most bang for our buck. I was fortunate by the time she retired she earned 28%, I earned about 12% on my 401k.

When we retired we had to roll over that money into a new account. I had an acquaintance who left my industry to go to Arizona and work for Wells Fargo as a financial advisor. I contacted him and we decided to move the money to Wells Fargo for him to manage. Wells Fargo investment plans was to diversify.
We chose to pick a plan that was conservative since we were retired we couldn't afford to take a risk with our our money. I started studying the stocks because the growth was weak, and decided I would prefer stocks that gave larger dividends and didn't worry too much about there growth. Their was a period where the Dow had very little growth so I started researching the dividends and I found one stock (symbol AGNC) that had dividends around 24%, today I believe that stock is around 13%. I needed something with larger gains, because we were withdrawing money from our accounts from day one of retirement. Living on Long Island is very expensive plus we still had a mortgage to pay. I'm retired 20 years my wife 18 without any pensions just SS, our accounts are going down which I expected they would, by my calculations we still have enough to live on Long Island if we wish for about another 8 or 9 years. That's one of the reasons we're looking to move and get my youngest daughter and family set up somewhere else.

Because I like to gamble I try to stay away from our investments and leave it to our financial advisor. Today there's a lot of talk and suggestions about investing in AI. I won't research it like I would have 10 years ago, but I will tell my advisor to check it out to see if there's anything of value there. At 82 I think I'm doing okay.
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I have invested myself and the last few years with an advisor too. I listen to what he has to say and then decide. About 10 years ago I put my money into solid (not paper) metals funds. He thought I was nuts.
 
My stuff is in mutual funds. Back in the early 90s, a bunch of us at work started an Investment Club. We created a partnership, made monthly contributions, and each of us took an industry to be the expert in and to make Buy recommendations. We did it for a couple of years, sort of flat-lined (neither making money nor losing money) and we disbanded. I'm not interested in worrying about what to buy and when to get out, so I do mutual funds,let it ride, and let someone else manage it.

Things have been brutal since we went to war with Iran (the market hates uncertainty), but everything I read says the economy is well-positioned to grow with all of the investments that have been pouring in...it's just gonna take time.
 
When I talked to our financial guy, I spent some time discussing what will happen when we die and the kids inherit our investments. We have several types of investment accounts, both before tax and after tax. I was curious about capital gains taxes on stocks that have a cost basis of ~$10 and are now worth close to $170 a share.

Turns out, the cost basis for the beneficiaries will reset to the value on the day they inherit the shares. That is fantastic because I was worried about taxes and capital gains taxes wiping out their inheritance. I'm going to sign some paperwork that will also allow the transfer of assets without going through probate, which I didn't realize I could do. This will give the children access to "their" money as soon as I die.
 
Beth Gallagher said:
When I talked to our financial guy, I spent some time discussing what will happen when we die and the kids inherit our investments. We have several types of investment accounts, both before tax and after tax. I was curious about capital gains taxes on stocks that have a cost basis of ~$10 and are now worth close to $170 a share.

Turns out, the cost basis for the beneficiaries will reset to the value on the day they inherit the shares. That is fantastic because I was worried about taxes and capital gains taxes wiping out their inheritance. I'm going to sign some paperwork that will also allow the transfer of assets without going through probate, which I didn't realize I could do. This will give the children access to "their" money as soon as I die.
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Does Texas have "Death Taxes" @Beth Gallagher. I understand California and New York take about half the estate of the deceased over a certain amount. I don't know if trusts avoid that or not.
 
Be careful. There is a lot of dicey advice given out and even then some of it can easily be misinterpreted.

For example most pre-tax investing plans like 401(k), 457, conventional IRAs, etc. are always taxed as income upon distribution. They do not get the preferential Capital Gains Tax rates and there is no cost basis to reset upon inheritance. So ask about this VERY specifically before making such assumptions.

There are other traps in those pre-tax plans. If you are not impoverished the distributions can push you over one or more of the IRMAA cliffs. This jacks up your premiums for Medicare B & D. It is harshest on single retirees, but can REALLY bite the survivor once one member of a couple passes away. Interest on Savings Bonds and bank savings gets added in - for more punishment.

I wish that I had ignored the "advice" and started doing Roth Conversions before SS kicked in for me this year at 70. Now I'm in a box, so to stave off the big hit of RMDs I have begun drawing down my 401(k). Even so, over 1/4 of it is going to Federal and State Income Taxes now.

Most advice given out today is wrong for anybody with a "floor" of income provided by things like pensions and annuities. And gain, singles get screwed the hardest since little attention is ever paid to us in "advice" out there.
 
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