To be young again!

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VAmanBulls
Posts: 250
Joined: Wed Jul 24, 2019 8:37 am

To be young again!

Post by VAmanBulls »

Wow what an exciting time to be a young investor. Time is one of the best ingredients in the wealth recipe. The potential now is incredible. The chances of you being a millionaire when you retire are exceptional with this current market if you play your cards right. What would I do? I would be contributing heavy in the C and a little in the S. I would contribute enough to max out the matching, then I would open up a Roth stock account and direct deposit every pay in a hand full of great stocks. Examples, not recommendations: Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, AMD and I really like Shopify right now. I would be looking at the 5G and Artificial Intelligence industries, what companies will be driving those? Don't listen to me, you check it out. Don't let fear get a hold of you. I can't overstate the opportunity we all have right now, but especially if you are young and have a lot of time. Stay motivated and don't stress.

Optimus187
Posts: 121
Joined: Fri Jul 07, 2017 12:22 pm

Re: To be young again!

Post by Optimus187 »

This is a great post and words to live by for our younger members. Listen to these words young ones. Sacrifice now and max out. I recall an officer laughing at my take home when I had just gone in but I knew I was doing the right thing contributing as much as I could to my TSP. Now I know I’ll be a millionaire when I retire. If I only knew about dividen stocks when I was younger

jdunn382
Posts: 29
Joined: Tue May 09, 2017 10:58 am

Re: To be young again!

Post by jdunn382 »

You're certainly not too young to think about retirement. It's hard to think about at a young age but investing in your future while you're young (or even if you've gotten a little older) is hands down one of the best financial moves you will make in your lifetime.
I've always been stubborn and hard-headed. Regretfully, I didn't start contributing to my TSP until July 2012 (Age 30). I didn't move out of the preset G fund until April 2014. I didn't find this site until May 2017 and subsequently learned about seasonal strategies. My TSP went from 5K to 8K in the 3 years I started investing outside of the G fund and has gone from 8K to 70K in the nearly 3 years that I have been a member of TSPcenter.

I'm truly fortunate to have found this website and blessed by the immense wisdom and knowledge that has been shared from a great group of people here.
My TSP success is largely in part because of you all the hard work and knowledge that has been passed along on this site.
Thank you everyone for all of the insight, wisdom and dedication that you have shared.
Good luck in your investing and may your retirement be abundant.

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mjedlin66
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Joined: Wed Oct 02, 2013 7:51 pm

Re: To be young again!

Post by mjedlin66 »

My YTD net pay is about $5,000. I'm a full time GS-12 with locality pay.

Obviously an extreme example. But I never thought I'd do 6 months of work and pocket 5k.
Owner/creator of TSPcalc.com - "Know your numbers"

Scorpio70
Posts: 432
Joined: Thu Dec 24, 2015 11:49 am

Re: To be young again!

Post by Scorpio70 »

mjedlin66 wrote:My YTD net pay is about $5,000. I'm a full time GS-12 with locality pay.

Obviously an extreme example. But I never thought I'd do 6 months of work and pocket 5k.
Keep plugging away :D

bosco7
Posts: 28
Joined: Fri Oct 25, 2019 5:58 pm

Re: To be young again!

Post by bosco7 »

These types of posts make me think a top is baked in and a lot of downside will return. Market is near all time highs. I've noticed that futures pump and the market gets sold almost everyday for the last week. It looks like distribution in a tight range. Idk what to make of all the action, but when I see posts like these, I think top. Sorry VAman, no disrespect.

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mjedlin66
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Re: To be young again!

Post by mjedlin66 »

bosco7 wrote:These types of posts make me think a top is baked in and a lot of downside will return. Market is near all time highs. I've noticed that futures pump and the market gets sold almost everyday for the last week. It looks like distribution in a tight range. Idk what to make of all the action, but when I see posts like these, I think top. Sorry VAman, no disrespect.
I'm not picking on you. But I want to focus on one aspect of this- "market is near all time highs".

Then consider this, the stock market, on the whole, is bullish long term. It spends far more time making new all time highs than it does retreating in any meaningful way.
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VAmanBulls
Posts: 250
Joined: Wed Jul 24, 2019 8:37 am

Re: To be young again!

Post by VAmanBulls »

bosco7 wrote:These types of posts make me think a top is baked in and a lot of downside will return. Market is near all time highs. I've noticed that futures pump and the market gets sold almost everyday for the last week. It looks like distribution in a tight range. Idk what to make of all the action, but when I see posts like these, I think top. Sorry VAman, no disrespect.
Hey bosco, no disrespect taken. It's all good. Thanks for taking time out to reply. Just curious, what advise would you have for a young TSP investor with 15, 20 years till retirement? Do you think today's 'all time high' will still be an all time high next year, two years, ten? I guess that was a point I was trying to make, don't worry so much about a top or a bottom. Investing with discipline over time is more important. Don't fear the market. Don't worry about downside, embrace it and buy on sale.

bosco7
Posts: 28
Joined: Fri Oct 25, 2019 5:58 pm

Re: To be young again!

Post by bosco7 »

I fall into the 20 till retirement category. I watched 2000 bubble, indeed got too greedy with nonsense stocks like Nortel and listening to the grandeur of wireless application protocols. Made tons, lost tons. I watched 2008 happen and learned further. I learned not to fight the fed. Big lesson. This time around I watched china and Italy close shop and though this will happen here as well. I abandoned the TSP timing strategy and pulled into the f fund and missed the drop, but also missed part of the recovery. So far this year its a big positive, im a little salty that I wasn't more greedy, but you know once bitten. So yes I think time in the market beats timing the market. However, the confluence of pandemic, economic, and political turmoil makes me think the market is paper thin. I think this was evident during the previous 6% drop. That's a 5-6sigma event. So the market to me, at the moment isn't very healthy. Sure maybe it'll make new highs, but the risk reward for me is way out of wack. I guess I'd feel better buying in at 2200-2400. This euphoria and sense of confidence I've seen twice before, and it just rubs me wrong.

That all said, the fed is monetizing amazing amounts of money, buying corporate debt, etc. So who knows. Its just a feeling I have thar things turn south soon.

Optimus187
Posts: 121
Joined: Fri Jul 07, 2017 12:22 pm

Re: To be young again!

Post by Optimus187 »

bosco7 wrote:I fall into the 20 till retirement category. I watched 2000 bubble, indeed got too greedy with nonsense stocks like Nortel and listening to the grandeur of wireless application protocols. Made tons, lost tons. I watched 2008 happen and learned further. I learned not to fight the fed. Big lesson. This time around I watched china and Italy close shop and though this will happen here as well. I abandoned the TSP timing strategy and pulled into the f fund and missed the drop, but also missed part of the recovery. So far this year its a big positive, im a little salty that I wasn't more greedy, but you know once bitten. So yes I think time in the market beats timing the market. However, the confluence of pandemic, economic, and political turmoil makes me think the market is paper thin. I think this was evident during the previous 6% drop. That's a 5-6sigma event. So the market to me, at the moment isn't very healthy. Sure maybe it'll make new highs, but the risk reward for me is way out of wack. I guess I'd feel better buying in at 2200-2400. This euphoria and sense of confidence I've seen twice before, and it just rubs me wrong.

That all said, the fed is monetizing amazing amounts of money, buying corporate debt, etc. So who knows. Its just a feeling I have thar things turn south soon.
good thing you can just put all your money into a savings account

bosco7
Posts: 28
Joined: Fri Oct 25, 2019 5:58 pm

Re: To be young again!

Post by bosco7 »

Optimus187 wrote:
bosco7 wrote:I fall into the 20 till retirement category. I watched 2000 bubble, indeed got too greedy with nonsense stocks like Nortel and listening to the grandeur of wireless application protocols. Made tons, lost tons. I watched 2008 happen and learned further. I learned not to fight the fed. Big lesson. This time around I watched china and Italy close shop and though this will happen here as well. I abandoned the TSP timing strategy and pulled into the f fund and missed the drop, but also missed part of the recovery. So far this year its a big positive, im a little salty that I wasn't more greedy, but you know once bitten. So yes I think time in the market beats timing the market. However, the confluence of pandemic, economic, and political turmoil makes me think the market is paper thin. I think this was evident during the previous 6% drop. That's a 5-6sigma event. So the market to me, at the moment isn't very healthy. Sure maybe it'll make new highs, but the risk reward for me is way out of wack. I guess I'd feel better buying in at 2200-2400. This euphoria and sense of confidence I've seen twice before, and it just rubs me wrong.

That all said, the fed is monetizing amazing amounts of money, buying corporate debt, etc. So who knows. Its just a feeling I have thar things turn south soon.
good thing you can just put all your money into a savings account
Good thing you can be flexible with your investment strategy. G funds work quite well at the right times.

Scorpio70
Posts: 432
Joined: Thu Dec 24, 2015 11:49 am

Re: To be young again!

Post by Scorpio70 »

fall into the 20 till retirement category. I watched 2000 bubble, indeed got too greedy with nonsense stocks like Nortel and listening to the grandeur of wireless application protocols. Made tons, lost tons.

Yeah, having been in and out of Government I spent time in Telecom, which certain corporations make the Government look well organized. I knew Nortel was headed for the toilet as well as QWest. QWest purchased SPM Modules for ISDN from Nortel, instead of Telcordia, they were written in C++. When we asked them to rewrite them in telcordia, they answered "what's that?" Also, QWest wanted me to sign a work order stating that work between Enron and them, had been completed when it had not. I refused to sign, and that is a decision I never regretted. I saw spurious amounts of money thrown around back at that time. My Ex-wife's firm was renting out huge venues and catering them. Parties that only the GSA could appreciate I guess. I lost a lot on QWest Stock, but they were cooking the books. When I realized it, it was too late. If I look at an individual stock, I ask the basic question....can the customer live without the product? History of the company is a factor. Dividend maybe? Due to that time frame I have been hyper aware of my surroundings. One thing for certain.....if someone is throwing around money....they did not earn it.

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ArrieS
Posts: 1072
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2012 10:56 am

Re: To be young again!

Post by ArrieS »

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” -Chinese proverb
OCTOBER: This is one of the peculiarly dangerous months to speculate in stocks in. The others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August, and February. - Pudd'nhead Wilson's Calendar

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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%
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L2060 $16.39 0.02% 8.38%
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