Campfire

[BirdbyBird]

And count your blessings that you at least have accounts and retirement funds to watch and worry about.....I have such a small account that I laugh when I get a call asking if I want to come in and discuss.....

[Acadianmom]

And count your blessings that you at least have accounts and retirement funds to watch and worry about.....I have such a small account that I laugh when I get a call asking if I want to come in and discuss.....

You are so right Tina. I went to work for a corporation at a time that I was smart enough to put as much as I could in my 401K and they had a company match. If I had kept working for CPA firms it would have been a different story. They weren't giving us anything.

Martha

[Birdie]

I certainly managed my accounts better than than 3 out of 4 of my "Advisors". When I had to roll my 401K I went with Fidelity and it is where I still manage my investments and we fixed a formula for my monthly MRDs (monthly required distribution). I remember in 2008 when the market was tanking. The guys I worked with were baling out and I was upping my contribution to the maximum! I made a bit when the market rebounded! Investing is something of a study of the market and being aware of all the wormy stuff going on. The biggest thing is the old saying "If it's too good to be true, it is!" I love being in it but it takes an awful lot of time for me to watch it close and move money. So I am not as active as I was when I worked. Be careful as there are no guarantees and if your Advisor recommends a losing stock there is no refunds coming your way. Enjoy your retirement!

[Redetotry]

I like Vanguard. They claim to have the lowest expense/fees. Plus they have a great website where you can watch your investments and how they are doing.You can talk to an advisor face to face online and it can be one sided where you only see them and they don't see you. I also really enjoy studying the market but I realized it wasn't something I could do alone and finding the right place to invest with was very confusing. Like Sue said, you need a good balance of funds. Birdie wish I had done what you did in '08!

[monik7]

I learned long ago that whenever I bought a stock, it would go down. If I sold, it would go up. I finally settled on Fidelity and they manage my account for me. I've been happy with them handling everything. I can talk to my advisor at any time and we do frequent reviews of how I'm doing and any changes I need to let them know about. Like others said, you have to be in it for the long run and it's inevitable that things will go down and things will go up. Today was a good day! When the market is in a downturn, I try not to look at my account. It's better for my well-being as I tend to worry too much.
Sandi

[IrishIroamed]

I'm no financial wizard by any means, but you should always ask about how they (Fidelity, Vanguard, etc) get paid. My Dad has never made a direct payment to his advisors (Woodbury Financial) for services. They are paid from the (excuse the wrong word here), fund managers or whoever etc directly based on investments done on Dad's behalf.

[Redetotry]

I'm no financial wizard by any means, but you should always ask about how they (Fidelity, Vanguard, etc) get paid.

I'm definitely not an expert either but Google is our friend!

Here is a link with some good information on how they make money.
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/in ... -money.asp

An example from another site I didn’t copy the link.
For example, the Vanguard 500 (VFINX), which matches the stocks held in the S&P 500, has an expense ratio of 0.18% – over the course of a year, for every $1,000 you have in that fund, Vanguard uses $1.80 for the expense of managing the fund. Many other similar funds to the Vanguard 500 at other houses have expense ratios at 0.5% or above – for every $1,000 in that fund, the company uses $5 for fund management.

[bluepinecones]

I've been fortunate that my retirement investments have done well. However my lack of knowledge ten years ago about transferring funds from traditional IRA or 401 to a Roth have come back to haunt me in taxes associated with Required Minimum Distributions (RMD) after 70.5. I would still have had to pay the taxes but maybe less and spread over time. I have come to hate the RMD rules but as Tina mentioned, grateful to have a decent retirement fund.

[dpf]

Aw, I wish I were sitting around a campfire right now. Just made myself a Moscow mule and I’m calling it a day when it’s finished. Busy day and I accomplished quite a bit, too! Everything in the china cabinet is washed or polished, kitchen cabinets are washed off and the Christmas cards are done.

Decided in the middle of everything that I was going to have a girl’s night on Thursday and will make Indian tacos using Sheila’s fry bread recipe. We always have a good time when we get together. So I sent a group text and it sounds like everyone can show up.

Was kind of bummed out this week. My sister, Missy and I had made plans to go Pierre to see the Christmas trees at the capitol. We had reservations to stay overnight and then go the cultural museum the next morning and then head home. Well the weather turned to crap and we decided to skip it.

Still haven’t sold my Taurus. Lots of calls but then they never show up to look at it.

Night all.

[Bethers]

Moscow mules and Indian Tacos.... Yum.

[snowball]

I've been going to ask how you like the scones...but if you are making it again must do
sheila

[Redetotry]

I've been going to ask how you like the scones...but if you are making it again must do
sheila

Pat, (DPF) said she made Indian tacos using Sheila’s fry bread recipe.

Scones or tacos? I'm confused. If you have a scone recipe that works well I'd love to have it.
When I've been in Ireland scones taste so different than any I can make. I don't know if it is the food, the water or the air. Ah, scones for breakfast, brown bread and Guinness for lunch and dinner yum!! Actually all their food tastes different, and to me better, than ours. Now I'm really hungry and I just finished my 1st breakfast.

[JudyJB]

In England at least, the scones taste wonderful because they put half an inch (at least) of Devon clotted cream on them and a pile of strawberry jam!!

[havingfunnow]

I suspect scones taste different in Ireland because of the excellent growing conditions -- and fewer chemicals on the crops. I love their brown bread and Guiness. Makes you understand how laborers used to live on bread and beer, eh?

[Bethers]

BJ, Indian Tacos are on a scone, or scone-like. Pat made them when I was at her place and they were good, but she didn't like her scones. I suggested she get Sheila's recipe.