Ottakee Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 I have been trying to find a fee for service financial advisor locally but everyone I call says they will call me back and never does, etc.......so maybe a book will help me out. I have the basics of finances down. I don't need budgeting/paying down debt, etc. as I have that part down. I am at the stage where I need to know more about investing. I max out my ROTH IRA yearly but my employer doesn't offer a matching IRA or 401K or 403B, etc. I need to know my best options for saving for retirement, etc. as I currently have no pension/retirement plan, etc. other than the ROTH IRA and Social Security. I need good advice for a single woman nearing 50 on the best ways to invest my money. It isn't a lot but I want to be wise with it as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scholastica Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 I know you asked for a book and this is not one. Check your local community college. Ours has continuing ed classes for women on that type of financial management. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercyA Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 My DH always recommends Investing Made Simple. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted February 12, 2019 Author Share Posted February 12, 2019 25 minutes ago, MercyA said: My DH always recommends Investing Made Simple. Looks good but our library system doesn't own it. I might have to add it to my amazon wish list 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 Or, instead of a book, check out Clark Howard's website. He has advice on tons of stuff but also quite a bit on investments. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsie Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 Suze Orman's Women and Money has some information on investing that is particularly geared to women. How much time and energy do you want to spend on your investments? Is it something you would enjoy learning more about? Or, is it something that you are doing simply because you know you need to do it? If you fall into the later category, regularly putting your money into a broad indexed mutual fund is often the easiest and best solution. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted February 12, 2019 Author Share Posted February 12, 2019 31 minutes ago, Bootsie said: Suze Orman's Women and Money has some information on investing that is particularly geared to women. How much time and energy do you want to spend on your investments? Is it something you would enjoy learning more about? Or, is it something that you are doing simply because you know you need to do it? If you fall into the later category, regularly putting your money into a broad indexed mutual fund is often the easiest and best solution. I need to learn about it but I want simple and hands off. Right now I have just been putting it in a targeted retirement fund through Vanguard but someone said I should look at an annuity or other options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthwestMom Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 Join us Bogleheads: https://www.amazon.com/Little-Book-Common-Sense-Investing/dp/1119404509/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1550007954&sr=8-3&keywords=john+bogle If you google you will probably find a ton of online forums; also tributes to this author; he recently died in his 80s. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barnwife Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 (edited) 46 minutes ago, Ottakee said: I need to learn about it but I want simple and hands off. Right now I have just been putting it in a targeted retirement fund through Vanguard but someone said I should look at an annuity or other options. Purchasing an annuity is usually a bad to terrible idea, did the person who suggested it stand to earn the commission? What did this person think was wrong with a targeted retirement fund from Vanguard? and what were the other options suggested? I couldn't disagree more strongly with that advice regarding annuities and seeking an alternative to Vanguard targeted retirement fund. Another question, are you looking to invest more than the Roth limit? that would change things slightly, but my understanding is you'd still probably wouldn't do much better than the that Vanguard fund outside the roth. Read enough until you can identify the authors "bent" and figure out which you like best, but don't go too far from the targeted retirement fund. Edited February 12, 2019 by barnwife 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted February 12, 2019 Author Share Posted February 12, 2019 1 hour ago, barnwife said: Purchasing an annuity is usually a bad to terrible idea, did the person who suggested it stand to earn the commission? What did this person think was wrong with a targeted retirement fund from Vanguard? and what were the other options suggested? I couldn't disagree more strongly with that advice regarding annuities and seeking an alternative to Vanguard targeted retirement fund. Another question, are you looking to invest more than the Roth limit? that would change things slightly, but my understanding is you'd still probably wouldn't do much better than the that Vanguard fund outside the roth. Read enough until you can identify the authors "bent" and figure out which you like best, but don't go too far from the targeted retirement fund. The person that suggested it was the financial planner from my credit union.....and yes, I think he would have gotten a commission on the sale.....hence the hunt for a fee only advisor. The ROTH was a targeted Black Rock fund. I will be moving that to a vanguard targeted fund soon as the fees are lots lower. I am looking to invest more than the ROTH max. Basically I have a decent size lump sum (at least decent in my life) to invest that is above the ROTH limits. Since my income is low and I have 3 special needs kids I qualify for the Earned Income Credit (EIC) on my taxes......but I can't have investment income greater than $3000 or I lose that deduction and it is big. I just need to know if there is any other way to save for retirement that won't affect that, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livetoread Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing for a book and the Boglehead forums at bogleheads.org for all sorts of personal finance info. Vanguard is great when you want to keep things simple (as I do). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 4 hours ago, Liz CA said: Or, instead of a book, check out Clark Howard's website. He has advice on tons of stuff but also quite a bit on investments. This is what I was going to recommend. I think he also has a couple of books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 I can PM you the name of the guy we use for investments, if you'd like. you don't have to be local to use him - in fact he's in his and we're in Florida. DH's grandmother used him, and she as hugely picky and a great judge of character, so DH stuck with him when he inherited a bit of money when she died. He's been amazing for us - checks in with us now and then but otherwise handles things for us. He's with Edward Jones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsie Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 If you are wanting to keep it simple, I would invest money in a Vanguard index fund or another company's index fund or ETF. That will give you broad exposure to the stock market without worrying about trying to pick the best stocks. You won't do better than the average, but you won't do worse than the average either. You will keep costs relatively low. If you have lump sum of money that you want to put in the market, say $10,000, you could make a commitment to put $1,000 in every two weeks for the next 20 weeks, $2000 each month five months, or some other incremental amount so that you are easing into your position in the market. If you are limited to the amount of investment income you can have, you just want to avoid a dividend or income fund that is structured to provide some current income. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barnwife Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 (edited) Yes, there are "tax advantaged" or "tax efficient" funds that would limit the "income" that gets reported. You'd have to check with the fund to see how much you could invest this way and stay under that investment income limit. A health savings account actually makes a great retirement account, IF you like the idea of a HSA and high deductible insurance. If you can find a way to declare self employment income, then that allows you to set up another account. Another idea, look at your situation and see what would be a good investment at this time. Has your car been nickle and diming you? Is your furnace and drafty house costing too much? (AC if you're in FL) I'm not talking about SS appliances and granite countertops obviously, but something like that could be the best investment you'll make. Edited February 13, 2019 by barnwife Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted February 13, 2019 Author Share Posted February 13, 2019 Barnwife....I do have other money set aside for a new roof, new furnace/AC (all just checked out this year and in good shape yet), etc. Those are good ideas. I want to be wise and look at the big picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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