Don't be discouraged if it's taking awhile.

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mmmmmbeer
Posts: 917
Joined: Wed May 11, 2016 11:00 am

Don't be discouraged if it's taking awhile.

Post by mmmmmbeer »

Just some food for thought for ya'll who are feeling discouraged.

I started TSP in the fall of 2003. I was told to leave it in the G and not mess with it. Put in at least 5% and never look at it again. For so long I had no clue what I was doing, and was scared to look at it or mess with it too much.

3rd Quarter of 2003: Started TSP

3rd Quarter of 2009: $50,000

2nd Quarter of 2012: $100,000

4th Quarter of 2014: $150,000

3rd Quarter of 2016: $200,000

3rd Quarter of 2017: $275,000

2nd Quarter of 2018: $300,000

1st Quarter of 2019: $350,000

~ It took me 6 years to get to $50k.

~ It took me 9 years to get to $100k.

~ It took me 13 years to get to $200k.

~ But then.... only 15 years to get to $300k.

It was somewhere in the 3rd or 4th year I think someone told me to do some particular split. So I did... and lost -38% in 2008. :shock: :cry: :D

Then like the uninformed... freaked out back into the G for a year or two.

After that I think I went back to the 60, 20, 20 split...

Also in those 15 odd years I went from a GS 07 to a GS 14 with LEAP.

Usually waffling somewhere between 5-10%... in 2016... I found Seasonal Strategies.

It was in 2016 I really started researching the TSP and found the websites we all use now. Learning what SHOULD have been taught to me at the beginning, but wasn't. I try to help as many folks as I can now just so it won't take you as long as my journey did.

I guess the moral of the story is.... don't feel discouraged if it takes you a bit to get the ball rolling. But realize once it ball gets rolling, it picks up steam pretty quickly!

The base you have now will take off. Quite honestly now... the contributions I put in ever 2 weeks are very paltry in comparison to how much I gain or lose in one day. Get that base under you and you'll be amazed how quickly things progress.
Those who 'abjure' violence can do so only because others are committing violence on their behalf.

greengrass
Posts: 334
Joined: Fri Jan 11, 2013 9:28 am

Re: Don't be discouraged if it's taking awhile.

Post by greengrass »

Great story, thanks for sharing!

anomadtoo
Posts: 61
Joined: Thu Jun 13, 2013 10:23 am

Re: Don't be discouraged if it's taking awhile.

Post by anomadtoo »

thanks for sharing! I'm 14 years in, and although not doing as well your balance, I just started in 2017 to seriously look at this and the seasonals/daily's. I like using the Ballpark Estimator annually to see if I'm still on track.

User avatar
jlozano042
Posts: 836
Joined: Tue Apr 04, 2017 12:37 pm

Re: Don't be discouraged if it's taking awhile.

Post by jlozano042 »

BZ brother - great story.

OkieTSPer
Posts: 119
Joined: Mon Jun 06, 2016 2:44 pm

Re: Don't be discouraged if it's taking awhile.

Post by OkieTSPer »

Thanks for the story mbeer.

User avatar
cswift01
Posts: 819
Joined: Thu Dec 08, 2016 10:46 am

Re: Don't be discouraged if it's taking awhile.

Post by cswift01 »

mmmmmbeer wrote:Just some food for thought for ya'll who are feeling discouraged.

I started TSP in the fall of 2003. I was told to leave it in the G and not mess with it. Put in at least 5% and never look at it again. For so long I had no clue what I was doing, and was scared to look at it or mess with it too much.

3rd Quarter of 2003: Started TSP

3rd Quarter of 2009: $50,000

2nd Quarter of 2012: $100,000

4th Quarter of 2014: $150,000

3rd Quarter of 2016: $200,000

3rd Quarter of 2017: $275,000

2nd Quarter of 2018: $300,000

1st Quarter of 2019: $350,000

~ It took me 6 years to get to $50k.

~ It took me 9 years to get to $100k.

~ It took me 13 years to get to $200k.

~ But then.... only 15 years to get to $300k.

It was somewhere in the 3rd or 4th year I think someone told me to do some particular split. So I did... and lost -38% in 2008. :shock: :cry: :D

Then like the uninformed... freaked out back into the G for a year or two.

After that I think I went back to the 60, 20, 20 split...

Also in those 15 odd years I went from a GS 07 to a GS 14 with LEAP.

Usually waffling somewhere between 5-10%... in 2016... I found Seasonal Strategies.

It was in 2016 I really started researching the TSP and found the websites we all use now. Learning what SHOULD have been taught to me at the beginning, but wasn't. I try to help as many folks as I can now just so it won't take you as long as my journey did.

I guess the moral of the story is.... don't feel discouraged if it takes you a bit to get the ball rolling. But realize once it ball gets rolling, it picks up steam pretty quickly!

The base you have now will take off. Quite honestly now... the contributions I put in ever 2 weeks are very paltry in comparison to how much I gain or lose in one day. Get that base under you and you'll be amazed how quickly things progress.
Looks like we joined pretty much the same time. Kudos on getting a good deal ahead of me. I wasn't really serious until the beginning of 2017, so nice going on that too.

Best,

Me

raym0826
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2008 2:33 pm

Re: Don't be discouraged if it's taking awhile.

Post by raym0826 »

Good job. For your grade you should've had more than 500K tsp balance. I know a gs7 with 15 year service who has the same stated balance.

mmmmmbeer
Posts: 917
Joined: Wed May 11, 2016 11:00 am

Re: Don't be discouraged if it's taking awhile.

Post by mmmmmbeer »

raym0826 wrote:Good job. For your grade you should've had more than 500K tsp balance. I know a gs7 with 15 year service who has the same stated balance.
Thanks Captain Obvious... that was the whole point. What an asinine observation.
Those who 'abjure' violence can do so only because others are committing violence on their behalf.

raym0826
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2008 2:33 pm

Re: Don't be discouraged if it's taking awhile.

Post by raym0826 »

[quote="mmmmmbeer"][quote="raym0826"]Good job. For your grade you should've had more than 500K tsp balance. I know a gs7 with 15 year service who has the same stated balance.[/quote]

Thanks Captain Obvious... that was the whole point. What an asinine observation.[/quote]

Discouraged much?
Or
Bitter much? :D

mmmmmbeer
Posts: 917
Joined: Wed May 11, 2016 11:00 am

Re: Don't be discouraged if it's taking awhile.

Post by mmmmmbeer »

raym0826 wrote:
mmmmmbeer wrote:
raym0826 wrote:Good job. For your grade you should've had more than 500K tsp balance. I know a gs7 with 15 year service who has the same stated balance.
Thanks Captain Obvious... that was the whole point. What an asinine observation.
Discouraged much?
Or
Bitter much? :D
:lol:
Those who 'abjure' violence can do so only because others are committing violence on their behalf.

cosmokrame
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Sep 10, 2013 1:08 pm

Re: Don't be discouraged if it's taking awhile.

Post by cosmokrame »

Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it ... he who doesn't ... pays it.

Compound interest is the most powerful force in the universe.

Compound interest is the greatest mathematical discovery of all time.

Albert Einstein

User avatar
jlozano042
Posts: 836
Joined: Tue Apr 04, 2017 12:37 pm

Re: Don't be discouraged if it's taking awhile.

Post by jlozano042 »

raym0826 wrote: Discouraged much?
Or
Bitter much? :D
Image

User avatar
bamablue
Posts: 246
Joined: Tue Jul 24, 2012 11:40 am

Re: Don't be discouraged if it's taking awhile.

Post by bamablue »

cosmokrame wrote:Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it ... he who doesn't ... pays it.

Compound interest is the most powerful force in the universe.

Compound interest is the greatest mathematical discovery of all time.

Albert Einstein
If you doubt this, consider this question: Would you rather have one penny and double it every day for one month; or would you rather have Three Million Dollars?



(Does the fact that that penny will total to more than $5M change your mind?)

raym0826
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2008 2:33 pm

Re: Don't be discouraged if it's taking awhile.

Post by raym0826 »

[quote="jlozano042"][quote="raym0826"]
Discouraged much?
Or
Bitter much? :D[/quote]

[img]https://media0.giphy.com/media/RGFL2W7ZJvoM8/giphy.gif[/img][/quote]

@ss kisser :lol:

Ericdelee
Posts: 213
Joined: Thu May 30, 2013 7:09 pm

Re: Don't be discouraged if it's taking awhile.

Post by Ericdelee »

Great post.
Are there anymore detailed like this

Post Reply

Fund Prices2024-03-28

FundPriceDayYTD
G $18.15 0.05% 1.05%
F $19.08 -0.06% -0.74%
C $82.21 0.11% 10.55%
S $82.43 0.30% 6.92%
I $42.57 -0.24% 5.95%
L2065 $16.38 0.02% 8.37%
L2060 $16.39 0.02% 8.38%
L2055 $16.39 0.02% 8.38%
L2050 $32.73 0.01% 6.95%
L2045 $14.91 0.02% 6.58%
L2040 $54.38 0.02% 6.22%
L2035 $14.34 0.02% 5.79%
L2030 $47.67 0.02% 5.38%
L2025 $13.15 0.03% 3.43%
Linc $25.61 0.03% 2.82%

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