General

My stocks are all mostly down but I have a few good ones doing decent. I consider my business an investment. I'd love to sell it in 10yrs and buy some rental properties. Or just sit on my ass and wait to die.

As always, @MrBean brings a strong meme game to the table and speaks for myself and the majority of our fellow Americans...and, for that, we salute you, sir.
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...but, yeah, investments ain't too hot right now.

I have several nest eggs still on the + side with the exception of crypto/stocks.

I'm certain, our generation will never be able to retire ... I look forward to dying on my desk at the age of 72. Enjoy my crap kiddos!

MrBean wrote:

Whoa you expect a desk job at 72? The rest of us will be in the mines.

MrBean wrote:
You're pretty committed to still be in after that wild stock ride you took us on not too long ago.

sinnie wrote:

hahaha, fair! or a Wal-Mart greeter.

nonamesleft wrote:

gosh darnit, I wish I could be completely out of that nonsense all together (fudge you DOGE!)

Only invested in mutual funds, lost about 25% of their total value last year, but that was after several years of relatively high gains.

Even factoring in last year's drop I've still averaged a 7.6% annual increase over a five year period, and for the first three months of this year I'm up 6.93%, which is pretty good considering I typically want to see around 10 to 12% average annual increase over time.

I'm fully expecting everyone to lose their jobs to robots and AI and the government having to come up with universal basic income. The world will go to crap and we'll end up leaving the planet in some type of space craft where we won't learn our lesson and still rely on robots and AI to do everything for us and we all become fat and lazy.

SwiftJAB wrote:

Wall-E is real.

We're fersure doomed.

SwiftJAB wrote:

The story line from Detroit Become Human is a lot like that and honestly isn't a bad idea on our future. We are lazy and will use machines for our benefit. Hopefully they don't become self aware like in all these types of stories because if so we're fudgeed.
Honestly, in my industry it feels like they are trying very hard to push electronic options on me to cut staff. (Think self serve checkout but more.)

ued222 wrote:

Doing ok -- my job changed in 2018 and my income has gone up significantly since then -- that does indeed make a huge difference. That being said, during my much-less-income-decades, we did what we could to invest in things -- including rentals.

Right now, we have 13 doors/units (that we share ownership of with another couple -- so I really only own half of everything). All are 2-bedroom. Two 4-plexes and a house in a tiny (no stoplight) town where I live. And then a duplex and two small houses in a college town about 15 miles away (which is where I work every day too). We've slowly been paying them off over the past 20 years. The 4-plexes each have a little bit left and one house -- and then they will be paid in full. I will admit that I'm "getting too old for this crap" in that I don't like dealing with the problems/tenants any more. I've had to drain and replace elements in 3 different units this past winter. Getting real tired of that crap. :) So, we may start selling them soon -- or, at least, list the 4-plexes at a price that I'd be very happy with and then just let them sit that way for a year or two and see if we get any takers. I'm ready to not have to think about them, I guess, but still very happy that we did them over the past 20 years.

As for crypto... I was in a bit early, which helped a lot. Not right at the beginning -- but early enough where I made some rigs and mined about half a Bitcoin. I've bought and sold some since then, but because I got in cheap, I can't complain. If it drops to $10k, I'll live. If it jumps to $100k, I'll celebrate but it still wouldn't be retire-early money or anything!

As for retirement accounts... I'm a Boglehead. I follow the "3-fund portfolio" idea where you own funds for the total US market, developed international market, and total bond market. (Because I use Schwab, I actually need to use 4 funds to get there, but still the same concept.) I used to do different mutual funds, but have moved to this Boglehead philosophy over the past few years. Now all of my retirement is this way.

Aside from that, I have a little bit (like $1000) in "fun money" that I do some stocks with. So far, that has been a bust. Including everything from stuff that @Reed suggested (I think) to Gamestop to AMC to BBBY. I've lost money on it all! Again, this is why fun money is for "day trading" and retirement funds are in mutuals.

The value of the crap I bought during my early 2000s game-collecting addiction has out-paced my traditional investment portfolio the past few years. My house value has gone up more than my stocks/401k have gone down over that timeframe. I've got a modest military pension with medical coverage until I croak. All good here

Just keep chugging along here. Pour into my 401k, a few hundred a month into an investment account, bitcoin from time to time. My goal is to own one LTC, BTC and Eth. Got the LTC and Eth, about 30% of the way to one bitcoin. My company provides a pension that vests after five years, so one more to go. Count my net worth each month, as long as it increases I am happy.

Whenever I decide to retire I am sure selling my house will help.

So, I tend to not include the value of my house for any retirement calculations because, well, I'll be living in it hopefully.

I am curious of your plan when you retire if you are planning to sell your house when you do so?

I live in Northern Virginia - people don't retire here (okay, I suppose the really rich do). It is a "live here only because that's where your job is" area. I just plan to live here and keep paying off my mortgage. In 20 some years my house will be worth a lot more than I paid and nearly paid off. Should help me to retire a year or so earlier.

While no place is recession-proof, because of all the military and government that live/work here, my area is pretty recession-resistant.

John wrote:
Selling and leaving Northern Virginia to go elsewhere hopefully. The prices here are high and the weather isn't the greatest honestly.

There seems to be quite a few of us in Northern Virginia, all with the plan to sell and gtfo before retirement.

The problem with the "get out" thing for places like that is that the cost of living often goes up. You have to plan for that.

We have some friends here in Michigan you just retired and are moving to California to be closer to their new grandchildren. Here, in Michigan, they fully own a beautiful, 4-bedroom home with a full basement on 15 acres of wooded forest with a river running through it. 2-car garage. Balcony. Perfect just-out-of-town-in-the-woods home.

They just sold it and they will need to ADD money in to be able to buy their new 2-bedroom mobile home in a mobile home park in California. It's crazy...

Things are going well. I feel financially secure. Actually to the point I am asking myself if I need to really invest anymore or if I can shift in spend mode finally.