We have gone from acquisition mode with money into spend-down mode since we are now officially retired here at Chez Sluggy.
Our Net Worth will no longer be growing(well that's what I thought going into this phase)so I have to stay on top of what we have and where it sits.
I shared where we keep out money and why in the first Post-Retirement Net Worth post HERE.
So here is how the money did in October......
* Checking Account #1 Went up by $3624.52(mostly due to the deposit of the RMSA reimbursement).
* Checking Account #2 Went up .27¢(monthly interest)
* Savings Account Went down .97¢(down $1 for fees, earned .03¢ interest)
* Online Accounts Went up $61.25(monthly interest)
* Certificate of Deposit Went up $245.21(interest)
* US Savings Bonds Went up $11.70(interest)
* Cash on Hand Went down $1,000(mostly due to puppy and related purchases)
* 401K Account Went up $2,064.64(monthly interest) We didn't have to tap it in October so it just grew. 8-)
* HSA Account Went up $1.54(monthly interest) Again we didn't have to tap this account for medical expenses.
* RMSA Account Went down $1463.98. The interest earned on this account offset the healthcare premium reimbursement amount by about $300 so it didn't go down as much as it might have.
Overall we lived within the monthly annuity payment and paid the healthcare premium from the RMSA account. The interest in our accounts basically added $3544.18 to our net worth in October and we ended the month with a bit more money than we started it with.
I am by no means a financial expert but I'll readily share what worked for us on our financial journey if you have questions.
Did you increase your net worth last month?
Do you have a retirement plan in place?
Sluggy
How did you decide the best place to put your money? We have an IRA and a couple of savings accounts, but I'm just not sure what else to do. I know you aren't an "expert" but you sure are knowledgeable!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWe've always been pretty conservative investors. We just made sure to save/invest since Hubs started working so it's been over many years that we've been accumulating what we have saved.
DeleteOur 2 retirement accounts were what was offered at Hubs work. We use to have money in stocks in one of those accounts. After 2008, when the market crashed, we stayed in and actually bought more stocks when the market was low and then the market rebounded.
After everything rebounded we slowly changed out since we are nearing retirement age.
Any $ leftover from the paycheck each month got put into an online savings account(ING which got bought by Capital One eventually)which earned more than a brick and mortar bank we could find. When we saved enough there we sift it into a CD which earns more than the online regular savings. We should but something back into the stock market eventually but being retirement we will severely limit how much exposure we have there.
We have the Cap 360 account as well - at least it earns a little something!!! We went WAY backwards when my husband got laid off 8 years ago and we are still playing catch up!!!! I get nervous being TOO aggressive since we are 63 & 56, but my husband wants to work until he is 70, so hopefully we can make up that difference. Any suggestions? Again, I know you aren't an "expert", but I would love to know what you would do.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to know what I'd do in your situation as I don't know how much you have saved for retirement, what you need/want to spend in retirement and how risk adverse you and you DH are. If you need to play catch-up the only way to do so is to have some $ at risk(in the market)but at your ages I'd be very conservative about playing the market. The other way to "play catch-up" is to downsize what you spend now while working and throw it into your retirement account. Dial back your lifestyle and spending for the next 7 years until retirement time and put that extra into retirement savings. I am sure you can find ways to not spend now if you know it's only going to be for 7 years.
DeleteGood luck getting to whatever magic financial number you need to feel safe in retirement!