I can't believe where I've come from. I have worked so hard to save and pay off debt. I've done it before but this time seems more difficult. I don't know if it's because I'm older, had more debt, or simply have a better understanding of money. Either way I'm making progress.
I re-worked my budget to include extra payments on the mortgage. I know some will say why pay extra on the mortgage when you have student loan debts? Well because it makes me feel good and keeps me motivated. So today as I prepare for my trip, I paid my May mortgage and an extra $71.11 towards the principal. I absolutely love the amortization table, I use this to round down my debt.
Other news, looking at my side bar you can see that I'm way behind the eight ball as it relates to my retirement account. I also re-worked the budget so that I max out my IRA account this year. I'm self-employed so I have no 401(k). I did a little research and learned that a SEP might work for me. I'm able to double what I'm contributing to an IRA to a SEP, so this might work. I've set up a call upon my return with a member of the Fidelity team.
Also about a week ago, I bought my first stocks, Nike, because I'm a Nike snob. Well it's been exciting to watch how my stocks are doing, following the news on the company and all, not to mention the highs a lows. I'm new to this whole investing thing so I'm nervous as hell, I only bought five shares (I do plan on increasing). I must say that I'm happy with the progress I'm making. I decided to follow a few other companies and every month when I deposit to my IRA, I'll take a little and buy a few shares. By doing this, I have an entire month to research the companies before purchasing.
Friday is pay day for me and I'll be dropping $2100 on my student loan, this will bring my third student loan balance under $10k. I'm so happy I can scream. I still cant believe that in just over a year and a half I've paid off over $40k in student loans. Plus my other credit card debts.
If you're new to this journey, keep pushing it gets better.
April 20th, 2022 at 01:17 pm 1650460646
At Fidelity, you may want to consider the total US stock market fund and the S&P 500 fund. You will get the performance of the market and risk is averaged out over many companies.
Also, don't let your "advisor" at Fidelity talk you into any investments. The advisors work for Fidelity, not for you.
April 20th, 2022 at 03:19 pm 1650467959
April 20th, 2022 at 06:15 pm 1650478557
At Fidelity, the total market fund is FSKAX and the S & P 500 fund is FSAIX. The key is very low expenses and a diverse portfolio. You will get the growth of the overall market. Starting your retirement account with these two funds will give you a solid foundation.
Once you have the foundation and a better understanding of how the stock market works, you can broaden your investments. I would skip intertionational for now (the -XUS ETFs).
I'm curious if your Fidelity rep is giving you any direction. These folks are not fiduciaries, so you need to be cautious about what they recommend.
April 20th, 2022 at 07:35 pm 1650483345
Congrats on everything. That's amazing to pay off $40k in student loans.
April 20th, 2022 at 08:12 pm 1650485551
April 20th, 2022 at 08:31 pm 1650486683
I want to share that my experience with Fidelity over ten years has been all positive. I have had two different representatives, and I feel like both listened to me, worked very hard to understand where I was coming from and my goals, and made and explained suggestions without making me feel pressured. Of course, individual representatives will be different so I hope you get a good Rep. too.
In my job, Fidelity was one on our clients, and they had the very highest standards for timeliness and accuracy of anyone we worked with, which I count as a positive, and were also always very professional while being ‘demanding.’ That is part of why I chose them.
Always trust your own instincts and don’t let anyone push you to do something that you don’t understand. Ask as many questions as you need to, and take the time to think about decisions.
Your investment portfolio is going to build very quickly once you are done with debt. Won’t that be fun!