I read last night that you can withdraw Roth (but not traditional) IRA money equal to the amount of your contributions without penalty. You can do this before retirement age.
That's not a huge amount of money, but for someone who retires at age 55 or so and can't yet withdraw from the 401(k), it's enough to help bridge the gap.
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Investment Vehicles
Although it's going to be a very long time before I actually start making adult money (graduate school being in my future) I really enjoy trying to figure out how best to save and invest.
An update on STAR: growth has slowed, but it's still on an awesome pace. It's earned about 8.8% over the nine months that I've had it (that's a compound annual growth rate of 16%!)
I've been thinking recently about how, exactly, it would make the most sense to invest money. Let's assume I already have an emergency fund set up in a savings account, and that I'm contributing to a 401(k) and a Roth IRA (although, as I mentioned earlier, I'm not entirely sure that I like the Roth). We'll also assume that I have plenty of investible income (although, of course, that's a very optimistic premise).
First of all, maxing out any employer match is a priority. That's free money.
Chances are, my 401(k) isn't going to be in the exact funds I'd prefer. For this reason, the next place to put money will be the IRA (this would also be a good time to fund the HSA, if I have one).
Once the IRA is maxed out, then it'd be best to go back to the 401(k).
To my knowledge, there aren't any other easily-available tax-advantaged accounts to cover, so anything left will have to go into a regular old brokerage account. I wouldn't mind having some taxable investments, honestly, because then I can withdraw them before retirement age.
I want to spend a moment on IRA types, too. In the beginning, it looks like the Roth is the best option. Two reasons - first, I'm not making enough at the moment to pay much income tax, so deferring the tax advantage until I have actual income will be really beneficial. Second, unlike in a traditional IRA, the dividends in a Roth account aren't taxed. Since these early dollars (once they're compounded, at least) are the most valuable dollars I'll invest in my life, it makes sense to let them, more so than later dollars, earn tax-free.
Later, at the height of my earning years, it may make more sense to be contributing to a traditional IRA to avoid paying income taxes on that money. Being closer to retirement age will also mean that those dollars have fewer years to be impacted negatively by taxes on dividends.
An update on STAR: growth has slowed, but it's still on an awesome pace. It's earned about 8.8% over the nine months that I've had it (that's a compound annual growth rate of 16%!)
I've been thinking recently about how, exactly, it would make the most sense to invest money. Let's assume I already have an emergency fund set up in a savings account, and that I'm contributing to a 401(k) and a Roth IRA (although, as I mentioned earlier, I'm not entirely sure that I like the Roth). We'll also assume that I have plenty of investible income (although, of course, that's a very optimistic premise).
First of all, maxing out any employer match is a priority. That's free money.
Chances are, my 401(k) isn't going to be in the exact funds I'd prefer. For this reason, the next place to put money will be the IRA (this would also be a good time to fund the HSA, if I have one).
Once the IRA is maxed out, then it'd be best to go back to the 401(k).
To my knowledge, there aren't any other easily-available tax-advantaged accounts to cover, so anything left will have to go into a regular old brokerage account. I wouldn't mind having some taxable investments, honestly, because then I can withdraw them before retirement age.
I want to spend a moment on IRA types, too. In the beginning, it looks like the Roth is the best option. Two reasons - first, I'm not making enough at the moment to pay much income tax, so deferring the tax advantage until I have actual income will be really beneficial. Second, unlike in a traditional IRA, the dividends in a Roth account aren't taxed. Since these early dollars (once they're compounded, at least) are the most valuable dollars I'll invest in my life, it makes sense to let them, more so than later dollars, earn tax-free.
Later, at the height of my earning years, it may make more sense to be contributing to a traditional IRA to avoid paying income taxes on that money. Being closer to retirement age will also mean that those dollars have fewer years to be impacted negatively by taxes on dividends.
Monday, January 13, 2014
Mushroom Mini Farm
What I took to be only mildly interesting mycelial growth turned out to be the humble beginnings of fruiting mushrooms!
A more recent picture of them:
And a super-recent picture of them:
There are actually already visible gills running down the stems (oyster mushroom gills being decurrent). It's really cool.
The mycelium growing on the cardboard in the pie tin is spreading nicely (although, again, it's unclear whether it's oyster or mold), so in a week or so I'm going to transfer it to a larger substrate. I'm thinking mostly shredded paper and some spent coffee grounds.
If it seems worth doing, I'll also take some tissue from the mushroom-farm mushrooms and try to clone it, too. Looks like I'll need to come up with more empty pie tins somehow. Darn - no rest for the wicked!
A more recent picture of them:
There are actually already visible gills running down the stems (oyster mushroom gills being decurrent). It's really cool.
The mycelium growing on the cardboard in the pie tin is spreading nicely (although, again, it's unclear whether it's oyster or mold), so in a week or so I'm going to transfer it to a larger substrate. I'm thinking mostly shredded paper and some spent coffee grounds.
If it seems worth doing, I'll also take some tissue from the mushroom-farm mushrooms and try to clone it, too. Looks like I'll need to come up with more empty pie tins somehow. Darn - no rest for the wicked!
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Mycelial Growth
There she is:
.JPG)
There's some interesting growth around the edges, where I didn't scrape any mycelium away. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but it's the only sign of life thus far. It's been there for a few days now, and is slowly getting bigger. I hope that means there'll be more activity soon - we'll find out.
Monday, January 6, 2014
Fuzz
I recently bought a little boxed mini mushroom farm. It cost me fifteen dollars, and if it works and I get to watch oyster mushrooms grow, it'll be well worth it. I'm on day four or five, and I can see mycelium slowly growing beneath the surface of the substrate. I'll be posting pictures when it gets interesting.
Part of preparing the little mushroom farm was scraping a layer of mycelium off of part of the surface of the soil. I'm not sure if this mycelium was still active and capable of spreading, but I figure this is an excellent opportunity to find out.
I'm using cardboard strips (soaked in hot water and sealed in a pie tin) as a starter, and, sure enough, after a few days of warmth and darkness, there are patches of white fuzz sprouting up on the cardboard. It's hard to tell if this is oyster mushroom mycelium or just a common mold (not unlikely, considering the age of our house), but I'd like to try to transfer it to a more substantial substrate and see what happens.
I got a copy of Pontiak's "Echo Ono" for Christmas, and I really like it. Eventually I'll post a review.
Part of preparing the little mushroom farm was scraping a layer of mycelium off of part of the surface of the soil. I'm not sure if this mycelium was still active and capable of spreading, but I figure this is an excellent opportunity to find out.
I'm using cardboard strips (soaked in hot water and sealed in a pie tin) as a starter, and, sure enough, after a few days of warmth and darkness, there are patches of white fuzz sprouting up on the cardboard. It's hard to tell if this is oyster mushroom mycelium or just a common mold (not unlikely, considering the age of our house), but I'd like to try to transfer it to a more substantial substrate and see what happens.
I got a copy of Pontiak's "Echo Ono" for Christmas, and I really like it. Eventually I'll post a review.
Friday, January 3, 2014
Of Transcendence and Index Funds
...or maybe just index funds.
I've just begun dabbling in stock market investing, after having done plenty of reading on the subject. I figure passive index-based investing is the way to go, so here's what I'd like my asset allocation to look like once I've started making some real money.
About a third (or a bit more) in a small-cap index, like NAESX.
About a third in a large-cap index, like VFINX.
About a third in an international stock index, like VEURX or VGTSX.
Since I'm getting a pretty early start on investing, I don't want anything in bonds for a good long while. I figure it would also make sense to have more funds in a small-cap than in a large-cap or international index - since I'm playing the long game, I don't mind some added volatility.
For the time being, I'm only invested in Vanguard's STAR fund (VGTSX). It's actively managed, which I don't like, and it's about 40% bonds, which I definitely don't like. But it was the only halfway decent fund for which I could afford the minimum investment (being a college student and all), so I figured I'd go for it. It's doing phenomenally well, too; it's earned about 6.5% over the last four months. I know it's just been a good four months for the market, but I can't help but be encouraged.
I also really like the idea of paying as little in taxes as possible. My holdings are in a Roth IRA, but the more I think about it the less certain I am that I should stay with the Roth. I hope to be retired when I withdraw most of this money, which means I'll likely be in a lowish tax bracket. So the Roth makes sense right now, when I'm making very little money, but for most of my working life it might make more sense to be contributing to a traditional IRA.
Obviously I'm pretty new to most of this stuff, so if anyone thinks I'm being an idiot, please do let me know where my thinking is wrong.
I've just begun dabbling in stock market investing, after having done plenty of reading on the subject. I figure passive index-based investing is the way to go, so here's what I'd like my asset allocation to look like once I've started making some real money.
About a third (or a bit more) in a small-cap index, like NAESX.
About a third in a large-cap index, like VFINX.
About a third in an international stock index, like VEURX or VGTSX.
Since I'm getting a pretty early start on investing, I don't want anything in bonds for a good long while. I figure it would also make sense to have more funds in a small-cap than in a large-cap or international index - since I'm playing the long game, I don't mind some added volatility.
For the time being, I'm only invested in Vanguard's STAR fund (VGTSX). It's actively managed, which I don't like, and it's about 40% bonds, which I definitely don't like. But it was the only halfway decent fund for which I could afford the minimum investment (being a college student and all), so I figured I'd go for it. It's doing phenomenally well, too; it's earned about 6.5% over the last four months. I know it's just been a good four months for the market, but I can't help but be encouraged.
I also really like the idea of paying as little in taxes as possible. My holdings are in a Roth IRA, but the more I think about it the less certain I am that I should stay with the Roth. I hope to be retired when I withdraw most of this money, which means I'll likely be in a lowish tax bracket. So the Roth makes sense right now, when I'm making very little money, but for most of my working life it might make more sense to be contributing to a traditional IRA.
Obviously I'm pretty new to most of this stuff, so if anyone thinks I'm being an idiot, please do let me know where my thinking is wrong.
Introductions
This post is going to be a little overview - who I am, what I want from this blog, etc.
I'm a college student studying Psychology, Philosophy, and Political Science. I play guitar (not very well) and I do a lot of reading. I also like writing, but I've fallen out of the habit. I'm interested in mycology, investing, and politics (I lean to the right on economic issues and to the left on social issues. I tend to vote libertarian.), among other things.
My plan is to use this space to do some writing for myself. I'll likely be discussing music and investing, maybe occasionally religion and spirituality, and I'll also be keeping track of any mycological experiments I may undergo (I have one in progress now).
This blog is primarily for me. I won't be updating frequently, and I'm going to be as boring as I want - fair warning, there will be pictures of mushrooms.
I'm a college student studying Psychology, Philosophy, and Political Science. I play guitar (not very well) and I do a lot of reading. I also like writing, but I've fallen out of the habit. I'm interested in mycology, investing, and politics (I lean to the right on economic issues and to the left on social issues. I tend to vote libertarian.), among other things.
My plan is to use this space to do some writing for myself. I'll likely be discussing music and investing, maybe occasionally religion and spirituality, and I'll also be keeping track of any mycological experiments I may undergo (I have one in progress now).
This blog is primarily for me. I won't be updating frequently, and I'm going to be as boring as I want - fair warning, there will be pictures of mushrooms.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)