About 2 weeks ago, I met with Ester, my financial planner through Ameriprise. She was a former co-worker from Gymboree and I sought her services shortly after she became a financial planner. I had always wanted a financial planner, but was turned off my the cold calls I used to get at work from places such as Merrill Lynch and Smith Barney. I wanted a planner that I could be comfortable with, and Ester fits the (pardon the pun) bill perfectly.
Ester reviewed the numbers with me as to how much my account has progressed. I was rather surprised to see the amount I gained from the time the account was first established. But what really became the eye opener for me was to compare my balance from last year to this year. As I am now officially "middle-aged", it's comforting to see that my investments are doing well. I hope I can say that when I'm ready to retire.
Last May, I jotted down my current balances in my retirement accounts. I have 2 retirement accounts (regular and Roth IRA) and my 401K from work. I established the regular IRA as the account where I rollover 401K distributions whenever I changed jobs. I could kick myself for cashing out my 401K when I was with Charles Schwab in the late 80's. But being young and poor, I didn't know any better. Many of us at that age think of this as rent money. I ended up having to pay hefty penalty fees for the early cashout. If I knew then what I know now, it would be a big chunk of change on top of what is already there.
Getting back to the last year versus this year comparison, my Ameriprise account balance today is about $1K less than what it was 10 months ago. This is excellent considering I withdrew $5K to pay closing costs for our condo purchase last July. My 401K balance has gained almost $10K, a gain of nearly $1K each month.
To me, enrolling in a 401K is a no-brainer. It's something that goes into an account every pay period. If you budget accordingly, then you won't miss the money. Plus, whatever is leftover in your pay is taxed anyway. I wouldn't have been able to do this without a financial planner. Yes, they're not cheap, but the best ones will make your money work for you.
Ester reviewed the numbers with me as to how much my account has progressed. I was rather surprised to see the amount I gained from the time the account was first established. But what really became the eye opener for me was to compare my balance from last year to this year. As I am now officially "middle-aged", it's comforting to see that my investments are doing well. I hope I can say that when I'm ready to retire.
Last May, I jotted down my current balances in my retirement accounts. I have 2 retirement accounts (regular and Roth IRA) and my 401K from work. I established the regular IRA as the account where I rollover 401K distributions whenever I changed jobs. I could kick myself for cashing out my 401K when I was with Charles Schwab in the late 80's. But being young and poor, I didn't know any better. Many of us at that age think of this as rent money. I ended up having to pay hefty penalty fees for the early cashout. If I knew then what I know now, it would be a big chunk of change on top of what is already there.
Getting back to the last year versus this year comparison, my Ameriprise account balance today is about $1K less than what it was 10 months ago. This is excellent considering I withdrew $5K to pay closing costs for our condo purchase last July. My 401K balance has gained almost $10K, a gain of nearly $1K each month.
To me, enrolling in a 401K is a no-brainer. It's something that goes into an account every pay period. If you budget accordingly, then you won't miss the money. Plus, whatever is leftover in your pay is taxed anyway. I wouldn't have been able to do this without a financial planner. Yes, they're not cheap, but the best ones will make your money work for you.
I will never be Bill Gates or Larry Ellison, nor is this my wish. I just want enough to be comfortable.
--i
image courtesy of buyusa.gov
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