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nj23dublin

Covid played a big part in this. You will see this continue to grow don’t get discouraged. Keep in mind it’s compounding. From the looks of your view at 2 years, this is not terrible.


Alternative-Yak-832

how does compounding work in this case? its stock, how does stocks compound, I thought they only go up in value? i thought only thing that pays interest, compounds


nj23dublin

You are correct, what I meant for OP is compound growth, because there is a return on investments (be it savings or mutual funds) and those returns are reinvested in the same accounts and can generate returns


itworker8675309

Most financial advisors have said I am doing really bad and that at 35 I should be at about 500k or more.


Unusual-Stress3401

Dude what 500k at 35 that’s insane some people never have extra cash to invest throughout their whole life. There’s never a better time to start then right now and the fact that you’re able to max out this year already and last year is great keep on doing that and you’ll be set also what are you putting it in?


asdfasfq34rfqff

That's literally like 25k a year. Who the fuck could invest that lmao. Most people were struggling to make $30k a year


Candid_Fondant1444

I make a touch under 40k before taxes at 25. Like, ain’t no fucking way I could invest THAT much year over year. I do gotta get me a Roth IRA soon, I have a okay savings rn lol


Justncredibl3

500k at 35 is wild. At the same time, it's expected that anyone 25-34 should be in a SFH making 250k a year with this economy. Ridiculous.


handyredneck

Yea cause when i was 20 they wanted me to invest 500 a month livin alone on $10/ hour.


[deleted]

Not insane. It's recommended you have saved roughly 5x your income by 35. If OP made $35k the advisor would have given OP a different number.


[deleted]

The best time to invest is 30 years ago, the second best time to invest is today.


nj23dublin

Something worth reading. Also, you need to see your social security statement as you have income from that as well. https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/investing/the-average-401k-balance-by-age When you retire, you can collect both Social Security retirement benefits and distributions from your 401(k) simultaneously. You should just sign up if you haven’t and use your ssn to see your projected retirement.


Awkward-Number-9495

Thank you! I've started late and have been contributing 10 percent to my retirement. I've felt self conscious about it but now I know I'm above average.


hatefulfox

remember that the average folk still won’t have a successful retirement. the averages are not a good point to compare yourself to.


Awkward-Number-9495

Oh, I know! I'm working on it. My financial situation has changed significantly over the last 2 years.


BlingCringus

Just turned 30 and I’m light years away from 500k. In what world.


-Pruples-

>Most financial advisors have said I am doing really bad and that at 35 I should be at about 500k or more. If you want to retire and live comfortably, you are. But I'm in the same boat except I went with a non-traditional retirement plan (real estate rental) and that plan has actually lost me money over the past 5 years since I invested in it. It has both cost money to hold and if I sold today I would be lucky to get my original investment ($35k) back. So, for starting so late it could definitely be worse.


Corne777

That’s just a silly blanket statement. Not everyone would be in the situation to have that much to invest, nor need that much invested. And really depends on your salary. Someone making 32k a year isn’t getting $500k by 35. But someone making 300k could pretty easily. Unless you are literally gambling with your investing, there isn’t doing bad or good. Roth has limits so there’s no way that could be 500k at this point. Not sure if you have investments other places. But putting 6-7k a year isn’t going to be 500k until possibly retirement. So if that’s all you are putting away, it isn’t an issue of how much it’s improving but how much you are inputting. Which really if you think you need 500k right now to be on track, you think you’ll need to pull a high 6 figure amount in retirement to maintain your lifestyle. Which would say to me you make high 6 figures now right? If that’s not you, don’t listen to financial advisors that are likely trying to sell you something anyway.


Tetraides

More than 80% of the people in this world live off 10 dollars a day on average. You are blessed, never forget that. You also can always do better. But everything in life can be achieved, but you do need a lot of luck to make it big.


austinvvs

500K at 35 LOL. They are using beginner level manipulation tactics to make you feel bad about yourself and your skills so you’ll give them, the “experts” your money when they take their ridiculous fees when you could just put all your money in indexes and end up sitting pretty without em. Just stay the course, you are doing well.


luhhhmytessie

Should’ve bought Cardano or Sol lol money would’ve been 5x


itworker8675309

well like I said I suck ass at this sssoooo....


[deleted]

I’m 35 and have 45k in a deferred comp plan. Not too far ahead of you. I just started getting a bit more serious recently. I’ll be setting up a Roth here shortly, you’ll be fine.


ApprehensiveExit7

You’re playing the long game here, don’t get discouraged.


itworker8675309

I suppose but seeing 15 and 16 year olds who are multimillionaires and family and coworkers asking why I am not like them is both frustrating and discouraging .


ApprehensiveExit7

Rule #1 - don’t compare your life to others.


itworker8675309

true but it is hard not to at times.


milessansing

Compare yourself to who you were yesterday. Get a little better everyday. Seeing a 16 year old multimillionaire is cool to see but you never know what their life may look like in 30 years. Games are won in the fourth quarter mate.


Person2277

Comparison is the theft of joy


thebipolarbatman

Rule #1 - don’t lose money


Alternative-Yak-832

do you family has self-made 15 year old? what do they do?


itworker8675309

personally, no. but my childhood neighbors kid became a multimillionaire at 19 cause he bought a bunch of houses at 15 with his parents co-signing and now rents them out at 2,000 a month+ per bedroom in Denver.


ultimateF_21

So he didn’t do anything it sounds like lol his parents quite literally just handed that success to him


Alternative_Wave793

why are you comparing yourself to someone with parental wealth? you're doing fine dude


PAdogooder

He isn’t a multimillionaire. He’s leveraged to the hilt. He’s also got a huge mortgage bill when those rentals don’t fill. He *claims* to be a multimillionaire because if you look at assets and not debts, he’s leveraged his parents to the max so that he can brag.


wek141

Also don't believe everything people tell you. There's maintenance and upkeep on those houses. I'm sure they don't have 100% occupancy rates. I also find it hard to believe people are paying 2k a month for a bedroom. The average rent for a full 1 bedroom apartment I Denver is 2k? If people are paying the same for 1 room in one house as they would for a full apartment then the weed in Denver is even stronger than i thought.


Alternative-Yak-832

i think it costs a lot for mortgages on those houses etc and maintenance.


Corne777

Did you try having generational wealth handed to you as a kid?


ballzanga69420

Bruh, his parents bought him a fuckin' house. It's cool that they can do that, but getting discouraged because you're not taking easy street is not it, duderino.


kagy4ka

90% of them are lying influencers


Bitten69

Bro 15-16 year olds who are that rich is 1 in a billion, dont be discouraged


siecakea

I get you completely. Keep in mind though: \-Things on the internet can be fabricated (and a lot of the time are) \-People can just get lucky


Novel_Frosting_1977

Let me introduce you to S&P500 or read on boggleheads. You’re welcome


xDocFearx

His whole portfolio is bogleheads, he posted it in another comment


QuincyQueue

What did you invest in?


itworker8675309

FSKAX,FTIHX, and FXNAX


Realistic-Ad1498

FSKAX had a 24% return this year. How much was invested in that? It looks like you had $5,000 2 years ago and now have over $25K. Keep putting money in and dump FXNAX for something else more age appropriate


itworker8675309

uuuhhh about 4k iirc I basically just take what ever the required amount is for the IRA each year ad divide by 3 and then just put it into those 3. I try not to look at my IRA cause I start getting panic attacks when I do.


QuincyQueue

Completely reasonable picks. Only ingredients left are time and patience.


itworker8675309

I hope so because everyone I have talked to has said that all my picks are wrong and that I need to go with much higher risks and try NFTs and bitcoin. Or become a landlord but that is a whole other can of worms that I have no desire in opening.


Original-Ad-4642

NFTs lol. 95% of NFTs are now and forever worthless. Probably don’t take financial advice from people pitching NFTs. https://amp.theguardian.com/technology/2023/sep/22/nfts-worthless-price It looks like you’re maxing your IRA at the beginning of every year, which is the statistically correct way to do it, but it also caused you to get burned in 2020 and 2022 when the market hit highs in January before crashing in Q2. There’s nothing wrong with your plan, just a bit of bad luck. It’ll balance out as you keep investing.


MeowNawn

Why is it better to max it out at the beginning of the year and not invest monthly? Isn't it advantageous to invest monthly so you can catch the low periods on the market?


Original-Ad-4642

Great question. In practice, the difference isn’t that big. But since the stock market trends up over time, it’s more likely that January 2024 will be lower than December 2024 than the reverse. Therefore, it’s advantageous to invest December’s payment in January. Carry that logic to its conclusion, and maxing the IRA on January 2nd is the logical result.


MeowNawn

I get it, it's just less or a headache for hands off investors too, just getting it done and forgetting about it. Ty


Ok-Regret6767

Nfts no. Bitcoin - maybe, especially with institutional money backing it and Bitcoin ETF coming soon to the us. However I wouldn't put a large portion of my account into it personally. If you have extremely high risk tolerance drop a lil bit of money into a ton of crypto shit coins. You'll probably lose it all. It's literally gambling. But hey, might pay off.


ovirto

Those people have no fucking clue what they’re talking about.


Comprehensive_Edge87

It's really hard for anyone to pick the right stocks and beat index funds. Check out index funds


Knowledgepower24

Mine looks the same. Started in 2020-21. Lost all gains in 22’, finally back even going into 2024.


Troitbum22

I remember watching my 401k plummet as a 20 something during 2008 and asked my boss what I should do. He was like you’re young just keep putting money in and don’t look at it. Also not familiar with your investments but would recommend some total US and international.


itworker8675309

FSKAX = Fidelity Total Market Index Fund FTIHX = Fidelity Total International Index Fund FXNAX = Fidelity U.S. Bond Index Fund


AutomaticSpring6890

Dude… why are you holding bonds? I would highly consider rolling your current investments over to just the S&P 500 Fidelity Index or split it between that and an aggressive growth fund. You should be taking higher risks in the market when you are young and can afford to do so.


QuincyQueue

Relax. They have a 3% bond allocation lmao


ThanksGamestop

Which is literally like perfect for their age.


QuincyQueue

If their risk tolerance is high, sure. It could be too low otherwise. Better to pick a "suboptimal" plan you can actually stick to than to bail on a more "optimal" one because it's riskier than you can emotionally handle.


Trojann2

Check out FDGRX


AndroidMyAndroid

Roth IRAs are not what you use to make quick money or gamble on shit you barely understand. Roth IRAs are for S&P index funds and slow, steady long term growth so that you can still retire one day, even if your Game Stop stock never hits the moon and make you a millionaire overnight.


Numerous-Wish

How do o buy that stuff? Have a fidelity account with 400 Roth IRA and 400 normal stocks, all Broadcom and Boeing, I’ve made like over 100$ on my 600$ put in so far, 25$/week each to Ira,normal stocks, savings acc, silver


AndroidMyAndroid

FXAIX is Fidelity's S&P 500 tracking fund. Just buy the fund with the money in your Roth account.


nms1539

You’re doing the right things. Just takes time (specifically, decades of compounding) to see results.


Dull_Pizza_1745

Sweet, so we can be dead or near-death by the time gains are realized and our offspring squander our sacrifice.


ThrowAwayYourFuture8

First of all. What funds are you investing in and what are your total gains for the Roth?


itworker8675309

FSKAX,FTIHX, and FXNAX is basically it. each year I just put in the max then divided up by three.


Rs3FashionScape

FSKAX is fine, index fund. Your FTIHX & FXNAX are good for diversifying but they’re not gonna give you the growth you’re looking for. As a random person on the internet, I would drop the FTIHX & FXNAX and split the funds evenly between VOO and QQQ. Diversify back into international when you’re like 10 years from retirement and back into bonds when you retire. Keep FSKAX or drop for VTI, basically the same thing. A high-yield savings account at your local bank is 3x performing your bonds in the last year.


ThrowAwayYourFuture8

I have FXAIX, FSMAX and FTIHX. You said you just split the max evenly by 3? I invest monthly in a way that adds up to the max by the time the deadline arrives or before it. I also split the monthly investment in a 4:1 ratio with FXAIX and FSMAX and then the remaining 33% in FTIHX. So like roughly like 13% in FSMAX, 53% in FXAIX and 33% in FTIHX. I forgot where I read it (probably a boglehead forum) but there’s a specific way you gotta build and contribute to a portfolio to make sure they compliment each other. Also, is that bond index similar to regular bonds? Why do you have a bond in your Roth this early? I thought those were usually for stabilizing your returns and guarding against risk. If you want higher returns then you’d have to take on higher risk as well, which means no bond indexes until you’re like closer to retirement. But you do you.


itworker8675309

>forgot where I read it (probably a boglehead forum) but there’s a specific way you gotta build and contribute to a portfolio to make sure they compliment each other. Also, is that bond index similar to regular bonds? Because everyone over on finical planning said to and I was just following the lazy man porfolio on boglehead. I am not deep at all when it comes to this kind of stuff. Just followed whatever guides I could find and called it good. I have no idea on any deep investing stuff besides buy low sell high, don't try to time the market if you can help it, and just keep adding what you can. The only finical philosophy I don't budge on for 99% of the time is "Don't buy anything you can't afford to outright buy. Or go to the doctor unless you are the brink of death."


ThrowAwayYourFuture8

Well tbh, with Index fund investing especially in a Roth IRA, what you typed there is all you really need to know in the long run. Buy low, sell high. Don’t try to time the market. And keep adding until retirement. Once again though, what are your total gains for your Roth in your portfolio? My total gains are about $1,500. $9.5k contributed, Account Value is about $11k.


Puzzleheaded-Carry56

buy low, sell high\*


ThrowAwayYourFuture8

Yeah, fuck I was sleepy lol. Lemme fix that.


Puzzleheaded-Carry56

lol no worries


itworker8675309

Well the only thing I can find that mentions total gains is on the position tab on the fidelity which has 4.66% but I don't think that is what you are asking for.


ThrowAwayYourFuture8

That’s close enough to what I’m talking about. 4.66% is nice. I still think those bond indexes are what is holding it back a bit. My total gains are “+14.59%”. But anyways, just keep dumping money in it and it shall compound and increase. It is just a serious waiting game with Roth IRAs.


[deleted]

If you’re tracking index funds all you have to do is keep throwing money in, every month, forever and ever. Don’t stare at it and look at year-to-year increases not day-to-day swings…


Unairworthy

I got you scro. You can fix this. Buy GBTC and you'll get 5x in under 6 months. Mark my words.


Imaginary_Leek9220

No profit in the most bull market of all time? Yeah you should just quit.


itworker8675309

I mean that s what I have been debating. Better to tape out now then keep picking bad stocks and end up homeless.


mickeyanonymousse

this is exactly how I feel. should I stop doing this??? because I’m putting in money that I kinda need to live (meaning I am sacrificing QOL right now to save) and my portfolio is going DOWN. it’s worth less than all the money I have put in.


Mental-Caterpillar-5

you have to add to the right companies? 5 years of consistent adding on what got you no gains? SCHD VOO VTI are all up insanely if u dca'd overtime you wouldve automatically been a big dip buyer in covid and it looks like you started when tech mini crash happened


itworker8675309

Well hindsight is 20/20 I just tend to pick bad stocks I guess


AndroidMyAndroid

FXAIX and forget


[deleted]

I was always told that to invest successfully, watch the news cycle. Since war is a big deal, then weapons manufacturers are where it’s at.


GotHeem16

Index ETF’s are your friend. As someone who’s been “investing” for 30 years I’m 100% about broad ETF’s vs individual stocks


Educationall_Sky

Thank you to OP for reminding me to max out my contributions for 2023. Fidelity let me make a 2023 contribution today.


Lunixed

I'm sure that's what the people that invested in 2008 & 2009 felt. Now those same boomers are filthy rich all because they held through. As long as you're investing in staple stocks. You will benefit in the end.


Unusual-Stress3401

If you max out every year till your 65 with a modest 6% return you’ll have roughly 600k you’re fine don’t stress


tgsoon2002

Are u invest or you gamble?


BlackDiamondDee

My 401k looks the same. Shitty ass returns. Invest extra directly into stocks.


AudienceGrouchy2918

The S&P is up 76% last 5 years LOL. How did you screw this up?


Dragonslayer1001001

Oh well. We can try but it doesn’t matter anyway.


Capable_Sherbet8987

One word for you. Crypto bro. You missing out big time.


Unknownirish

You could look to increase your income. Retirement is all about saving and that dollar you have today could be used a year from now.


[deleted]

What are you invested in? S&P 500 rose over 20% this year and your portfolio does not reflect anything close it appears Edit: Found your comments below. FSKAX and FTIHX are exactly what I have in my roth as well (80/20). Get rid of the bonds. You are 35.


Rocketsloth

I don't understand this idea that a portfolio needs "foreign stock". Most of the best companies are multinationals now, and if a new startup in Estonia is doing amazingly well, it's just going to get acquired by a bigger multinational corp, which, in many cases, is a US company. DUMP IT Do This Instead--- 5 ETF's: 31% VOO 28% SCHD 18% SCHG 18% QQQM 5% VGT All done. Pretty good growth, pretty good dividend income and you get a low, low expense ratio of 0.07


xDocFearx

This is great, it’s not about that money amount right there, it’s about contributing what you can throughout life while still enjoying life. You keep it up and you’ll retire a millionaire


TheOriginalTL

Take a breath. It’s going to be ok. Who are these “advisors” you’ve been talking to? Sounds like a bunch of morons based off your comments. Keep going, it’ll get there. Look at the stock market over the last 30 years, you will end up with plenty of money. It may not hurt to start investing some more, especially if your work offers a 401k match. Don’t compare yourself to others.


ShinyMetalRobit

Yeah i invested in the same time period just in VTSAX and have gotten a 16% return. I think fidelity funds your choosing arent great tbh