How Much Should You Really Have in Your 401k (by age)

At IWT, we talk about 401ks – a lot. (See here, here, or here for proof)

And, that’s with good reason. If you want to be rich, the 401k is one of the most powerful investment tools at your disposal, especially for retirement planning. It is also one of the most misunderstood money-maximizing vehicles, starting with how much you should have in your 401k.

That is a solid question, but it doesn’t have a simple answer. To answer that burning question — How much should I have in my 401k? — we need more details. How much to invest in 401k investments will depend on your age and a few other considerations. 

Let’s start at the beginning.

Bonus:If the COVID-19 pandemic has you worried about money, check out my free guide on Coronavirus-Proofing your Finances with the CEO approach

What is a 401k?

A 401k is a powerful type of retirement account that many companies offer to their employees as a perk. With each pay period, you put a portion of your paycheck into the account. It happens automatically so you don’t have to do anything special and there are a ton of benefits.

A 401k is called a “retirement” account because it gives you huge tax advantages if you don’t touch your money until you reach the minimum retirement age of 59 1/2 years. While you will have to pay a penalty if you touch your 401k savings before you reach retirement age, the benefits far outweigh the risk.

Here is a snapshot of the benefits of having a 401k:

Tax benefits

The money you contribute to a 401k isn’t taxed until you withdraw it, which you can’t do without penalty until you reach 59 ½. This means you have much more money to invest for compound growth. In comparison, if that money was invested in a normal investment account instead, a portion of it goes towards income tax. 

Also, you have some control over how much you withdraw. With careful planning (definitely talk to your accountant for this one) you can minimize your tax burden (win-win)

Employer match

Most companies offering a 401k will match you up to a certain percentage of your paycheck. In many cases, they will match their employee contributions 1:1. To put that in perspective, let’s say your company offers 5% matching. Now, if you earn $100,000/year and invest 5% of your annual salary ($5,000), your company would match you $5,000 — That doubles your investment without costing you a cent. It’s free money! Not basically free, “like” free, or practically free. It is FREE MONEY and you are leaving it on the table if you don’t take advantage of the employer match. Plus, if you don’t invest in a 401k with employee matching, you are missing out on all the returns that free money will generate. It adds up.

Bonus: Ready to ditch debt, save money, and build real wealth? Download our FREE Ultimate Guide to Personal Finance.

Automated contribution

With a 401k, your money is taken from your paycheck and invested automatically, which means you don’t have to go into a brokerage account to invest each month. You don’t actually have to do anything. Your 401k contribution is deducted from your paycheck the same way that your federal income tax or health insurance premium is deducted. This is an excellent psychological trick to keep you investing.

Check out the graph below that illustrates why you should always invest in your 401k:

 

Age	Your Contributions	Employer Match	Balance without Employer Match	Balance with Employer Match
25	$5,000	$5,000	$5,214	$10,428
30	$5,000	$5,000	$38,251	$76,501
35	$5,000	$5,000	$86,792	$173,585
40	$5,000	$5,000	$158,116	$316,231
45	$5,000	$5,000	$262,913	$525,826
50	$5,000	$5,000	$416,895	$833,790
55	$5,000	$5,000	$643,145	$1,286,290
60	$5,000	$5,000	$975,581	$1,951,161
65	$5,000	$5,000	$1,350,762	$2,701,525

 

So, one good answer to “How much I should have in my 401k?” is at least enough to get the employer match. And really, there are only two reasons for you NOT to invest in a 401k:

1.    You’re trapped on a desert island, and the employee benefits are lacking.

2.    Your current employer doesn’t offer a 401k.

What is the maximum 401k contribution amount?

Starting in 2020 (and for tax year 2021), you can contribute up to $19,500 each year to your 401k if you are under 50. If you are over the age of 50, you may be able to make catch-up contributions. This provision lets you invest up to an additional $6,500 in your 401k (tax years 2020 and 2021).

PRO TIP: You need to be behind in your 401k contributions to make catchup contributions. 

When compared to a Roth IRA, where you can only contribute up to $6,000/year, this is an amazing opportunity — especially since your pre-tax money is being compounded over time.

How much should you have in your 401k by age?

Now that we have established that you need a 401k in your life and explained how much you can contribute, let’s talk cash. Aside from investing enough to meet your employer match, how much should you have in your 401k, really? 

One way to answer that question is to look at your age. 

While there is no one-size-fits-all answer to the question, “How much should I have in my 401k?” there are some best practices you can keep in mind to guide your efforts. Yes, while you should start investing in a 401k as soon as possible, some people might not get that opportunity right away — and that’s okay. The point is to do it when you can.

When you do finally start investing, there are a few good rules of thumb to help you make a sound decision on how much you should have in your 401k.

Age 30

Ideally, you should have at least one year’s worth of income in your 401k. That means if you make $60,000, you should have at least that much saved in your 401k.

Age 40

Once you hit 40, you should have at least three years’ worth of income in your 401k. That means if you were making $80,000 by the time you turned 40, you should have at least $240,000 saved in your 401k.

Age 50

When you turn 50, you should have at least five years’ worth of income in your 401k. This means if you increased your income to $100,000, you should have $500,000 saved up in your 401k.

By retirement (age 65)

Once you reach 65, you should have at least eight years’ worth of income in your 401k. That means if you increased your income to $150,000, you should have $1,200,000 saved up in your 401k.

Is your 401k savings on track?

Have you met your mark? If you aren’t there yet, don’t panic. These are just rules of thumb. That means they only give you a rough estimate of what you should ideally have by the time you hit these ages. They do not take into account your individual income and experiences — or other investments you might have in play.

In reality, there’s no one hard answer to how much you should have in your 401k — and anyone who tells you otherwise is either lying to you or just doesn’t know much about finance. We could pull up a bunch of figures and show you how much someone in their 20s or 30s is saving — but that would be a complete waste of time for two reasons:

1.    It’s impossible to compare two investors fairly. Everyone has their own unique savings situation. That’s why it’d just be dumb to compare the Ph.D. student saddled with thousands in student loan debt with the trust fund baby who just snagged a cushy six-figure corporate gig the first month out of college. They’re both going to save very differently, so it’s not worth comparing.

2.    Most people aren’t financially prepared for retirement. The American Institute of CPAs recently released a study that found that nearly half of all Americans aren’t sure if they’ll be able to afford retirement. That’s even scarier when you consider the fact that many people underestimate how much they’ll need for a comfortable retirement.

So instead of worrying about minutiae like how much you “should have” saved, focus on the future. What’s important is that you:

•    Do your research. You are already doing that by reading this article, but don’t stop here. Keep reading. We recommend Investing for Beginners and How Much Do I Need to Retire?

•    Be disciplined. This means consistently putting away money and not touching it (except in rare situations — more on that here). Do not treat your 401k as a savings account or an optional expense. Make regular contributions.

•    Start early. The best time to get started investing was yesterday. The second best time is right now. Wherever you are in your financial journey, get started as soon as possible. Investments earn returns, but those returns can compound over time. 

That’s why it’s so important you understand exactly what your 401k is — and why it’s so important to your retirement strategy.

So, how much should you invest in your 401k?

Okay. So, while investing is highly personal and financial goals should be personalized, you are here so we can teach you to be rich. We have some advice to get you started.

How much you should actually be investing each month depends on a system we call the Ladder of Personal Finance. Check out this video, or read about the Ladder below:

1.    Your employer’s 401k match. Each month you should be contributing as much as you need to in order to get the most out of your company’s 401k match. That means if your company offers a 5% match, you should be contributing AT LEAST 5% of your monthly income to your 401k each month. 

We’ve already discussed the importance of this – don’t throw away free money and the returns from that free money.

2.    Whether you’re in debt. Once you’ve committed yourself to contributing at least the employer match for your 401k, you need to make sure you don’t have any debt. Remember, if you have employee matching, you are effectively earning a 100% return on every penny you invest in your 401k — that is significantly more than the interest you would save by paying down your debt.

If you don’t, great! If you do, that’s okay. You can check out my system on eliminating debt fast to help you.

3.    Your Roth IRA contribution. Once you’ve started contributing to your 401k and eliminated your debt, you can start investing in a Roth IRA. Unlike your 401k, this investment account allows you to invest after-tax money and you collect no taxes on the earnings. As of writing this, you can contribute up to $6,000/year ($7,000 if you are 50 or older). 

Once you’ve contributed up to that $6,000 limit on your Roth IRA, go back to your 401k and start contributing beyond the match. Remember, you can contribute up to $19,500/year on your 401k if you’re under 50. So, you should have no issue continuing to invest in your 401k. And if you are able to max it out, please be sure to give us a call. We’re going out for drinks — on you.

“But, why would I max out my Roth IRA before my 401k if it’s so good?”

There’s a lot of nerdy debate in the personal finance sphere about this very question, but our position is based on taxes and policy.

Assuming your career goes well, you’ll be in a higher tax bracket when you retire, meaning that you’d have to pay more taxes with a 401k. Also, tax rates will likely increase in the future.

The Ladder of Personal Finance is pretty handy when considering what to prioritize when it comes to your investments, but it is just a tool. For more about the Ladder of Personal Finance and how to make it work for you, check out THIS video where I explain it. 

PRO TIP: The video is less than three minutes long. It is worth your time.

Start earning more for a better financial future

The answer to “How much should I have in my 401k?” is an important one — but it’s not the only way to ensure your financial future.

We are going to let you in on a little secret. It is one that has helped thousands of people live their Rich Life:

There’s a limit to how much you can save, but there’s no limit to how much money you can earn.

Bonus: Want to know how to make as much money as you want and live life on your terms? Download our FREE Ultimate Guide to Making Money

Many people don’t understand this and because of that, they’re content with contributing very little to their retirement accounts. When they actually retire, they’re surprised when their nest egg is a lot smaller than they thought and they have to get a job as a Walmart greeter to pay for their condo.

If you realize that your earning potential is LIMITLESS, you can truly get started working toward living a Rich Life today.

We recommend three ways to start earning more money:

1.    Negotiate a salary raise. 99% of people are content with not asking for a salary raise. So if you are willing to negotiate, that puts you in the 1% and showcases to your boss that you’re a Top Performer willing to work hard for more money.

2.    Start a side hustle. One of my favorite money-making tactics is starting your own side hustle. We all have skills. Why not leverage those skills to start earning more money in your free time?

3.    Practice conscious spending. If you want to be rich, you have to start spending money like a rich person. No, I don’t mean going out and buying a Corvette. I mean spending money consciously so you know exactly how much you have to spend each month — while earning money passively.

We want to help you get started on one of these tactics today: Starting a side hustle.

We know. We know. The word “side hustle” tends to dredge up images of people working odd jobs and late hours, running errands, or making something to sell — but the reality isn’t like that at all! Freelancing is one of the easiest ways to have a side hustle, and you can get started right now.

Living a passive-income lifestyle with little to no work is a fantasy. If you are serious about earning additional income, you have to take an active role in your side hustle. Eventually, you may be able to earn money passively — but why would you be content with that. More is more, and we can show you how to get there.

That’s why we want to offer you my Ultimate Guide to Making Money.

We created this all-inclusive guide because we were sick of the awful advice that we found masquerading as legitimate money-making tips.

Stuff like:

•    “Earn $100k a year in 4 hours a day.”

•    “You can make money by joining an MLM opportunity.”

•    “You just need to learn to live within your means.”

UGH.

No. You cannot expect to earn that much money with only a few hours of work when you are just getting starting. 

If you can earn $100k per year in 4 hours a week, why would you only 4 hours a week? We want to maximize earns AND have a good quality of life.

MLM opportunities and other ready-made side hustle solutions only make money for the people selling them. You can make more as a freelancer than you would from any of those pre-fab solutions.

Living a good life can mean going outside of your budget. If you are working late hours at a side hustle, you may need to have a sandwich for dinner to get it all in before bedtime or you may opt to order takeaway from a restaurant instead of taking the time to cook. There is nothing wrong with that. Your Chinese delivery or sandwich ingredients cost maybe $10. If you are earning $400 on your side hustle and that convenience means you can work through the evening, it makes cents (see what we did there?)

Enter your info below and get the PDF for free today — and start the extra money you need to make your retirement goals come true.

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How Much Should You Really Have in Your 401k (by age) is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

Via Finance http://www.rssmix.com/

Should I Pay Off My Student Loans Or Invest? Here’s How To Decide

Student loans in America average near the $40,000 mark, and it makes it difficult to decide whether to invest or pay off student loans. Because, let’s face it, getting out of debt and saving for retirement is equally as important. 

Pay down debt or invest? Factors to consider 

There are three elements that determine which route will suit your needs best. These are: 

• The mathematical approach: Using math, you can figure out what will be more beneficial – paying down debt or using extra cash to invest. For example, if you have a higher interest rate than what you’re earning on your investment, you might opt to pay off the debt first. But math isn’t the only important factor at play.
• The emotional approach: Having student loans looming over your head sucks, and it’s only natural to want to get rid of it. The emotional decision might lead you to a decision that makes you feel better, even if it doesn’t make as much sense financially. 
• A hybrid approach: With the hybrid approach, you do both – pay down debt while simultaneously saving for retirement. But this approach deserves some investigation to make sure your split has the best possible result – we’ll get into those nuances in this article.

But before you dive in, it’s important to understand external factors may affect your decision. 

Your personal financial position 

A critical factor in deciding whether to pay down your debt as opposed to boosting your retirement savings is the effect the move will have on your finances. Things to consider, include: 

• Emergency savings: It’s important to have money tucked away for a rainy day. These funds need to be instantly accessible and are used in the event of a financial crisis. While financial pundits may recommend a good three to six months’ worth, our founder Ramit Sethi considers 12 months’ worth of emergency savings a safer option. Your emergency savings need to be topped up first before you can start paying additional funds towards debt or investments. 
• Payments up-to-date: If you happen to be behind on any of your debt, it’s better to get back on track before adding money to an existing installment. This is because those arrears can wreak havoc on your financial standing with your bank and other service providers. It can also wreck your credit score. 
• Your basic needs are met: While long-term plans such as debt repayments and retirement planning benefit from added payments, it’s important that immediate needs are seen to. This includes housing, food, transport, and utilities. 
• You still have fun money: When you’re not able to do any of the things you love, the road to financial freedom becomes a dreadful journey. Choose something that you’re happy to save some guilt-free spending on. This amount can increase as you start ticking financial goals off your list. 

Bonus: Making more money can help you get out of debt faster while still having room to invest. Learn how by downloading our FREE Ultimate Guide to Making Money

The amount of your debt 

The average student loan debt of $40,000 might seem doable, especially if you’re earning a decent paycheck. But let’s consider those specialist degrees where your student loans creep up to the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Suddenly this amount seems like a behemoth and it might not make sense to throw money at anything else until you get this huge number under control. 

The flipside is that with all those years you devote to paying off your student loans, you could have built up your retirement savings. You may want to predetermine a goal that will give you some wiggle room to focus on investments. For instance, you might set the goal that once you reach the halfway mark of your debt, you’ll start contributing to your retirement accounts. 

Remaining years

If you’re right at the beginning of the loan period, for instance, fresh out of college and working that first job, your priorities might be different to someone close to retirement. 

The cost of your finance 

There are only a few instances where the debt interest rates are lower than what you would earn on an investment, but it happens. When it does, you want to make sure that you’re getting the best value for money. A low-interest rate student loan might just be better off with that minimum installment if you haven’t maxed out your 401(k) just yet. 

However, if the interest you’re paying is on the higher end, you might want to consider paying your debt first before increasing your investment contributions. 

Student loan options – which one’s yours?  

Fast-tracking your student loan payments can save you a stack of money in the long term. 

For instance, an extra $100 goes a long way to clearing off the interest portion faster. 

Here’s an example. Let’s say you have a $10,000 student loan at a 6.8% interest rate with a 10-year repayment period. If you go with the standard monthly payment, you’ll pay around $115 a month. But look at how much you’ll save in interest if you just pay $100 more each month:

Monthly payments	Total interest paid	You save
$115	$3,810	$0
$215	$1,640	$2,169
$315	$1,056	$2,754
$415	$728	$3,027

It’s worth knowing that there are a number of options open to those who wish to pay off their student loan debt. 

Understanding the type of loan that you have (or are planning to take on)

There are three student loan types to consider: federal, private, and refinance loans. Each has its own set of rules and carries a few pros and cons. 

A big plus across the board, however, is the fact that you can pay extra or make prepayments into an education loan without penalty charges. How’s that for an incentive? 

Federal student loans 

The government makes provision for loans for students in order to access higher education. Instead of students borrowing from banks and other financial institutions, these loans are entered into with the federal government. 

There are three types: 

• Direct subsidized – suitable for students who need financial assistance.
• Direct unsubsidized – no need to prove financial need, available to all applicants. 
• PLUS loans – these loans are for graduates and professionals to cover the shortfall of tuition not covered by other programs. You will need a good credit score, and these loans have a higher interest rate than other federal student loans.

Positives include that it’s easier to apply for a federal loan and in times of hardship, there are deferral and forbearance options. They also tend to offer lower interest rates as the rates are controlled by the government. 

It’s important to note that these loans carry costs and charge an initiation fee of 1.057% to 1.059% for regular student loans and 4.228% to 4.236% for PLUS loans. 

Private student loans

There are a number of private student loan products offered by banks and other institutions. What’s great about these loans is that they can tailor the loan type to suit the need, for instance, there is a loan for bar exams, another for medical school, and even a product for those with bad credit. 

These loans tend to be a little more costly and while there aren’t initiation costs, the interest rate is not fixed by the government. This means that the rate can be substantially higher than that charged on federal loans. 

Applicants will also need to show a good credit score. It’s also worth knowing that these loans aren’t part of any government forgiveness programs. So why get it at all? Turns out these loans are great for those who have high study costs. 

Student loan refinance 

High-interest rates on a student loan are a real kick in the teeth and what better way to get your own back than by opting for a product with a lower rate? Student loan refinance products are offered to students who have a decent credit score with the aim of reducing their interest rate. This is not a great option for those with federal loans, however, as you will lose the federal protections and benefits should you opt to refinance. 

Bonus: Ready to ditch debt, save money, and build real wealth? Download our FREE Ultimate Guide to Personal Finance.

Your retirement options 

Saving for retirement is an essential component of building wealth. It also happens to have tax and other benefits that you simply can’t get from regular savings or investments. But how do you make the decision to pay your future self when you still have debt? It will be easier to unpack that mule of a question when you understand retirement investment options a little better. 

Roth and Traditional IRA

These retirement plans allow you to contribute to your retirement savings up to a certain threshold per year. In 2020 and 2021, this annual threshold was $6,000. That means that if you’re worried about paying off debt or saving towards retirement, first check that you’re not already maxed out on these contributions. 

It’s worth noting that a Roth IRA also has an earnings limit of $140,000 for individuals. 

401(k) 

There is no cheaper way to fund your retirement than a matched 401(k). Read that again. If you have extra cash lying around and you’re not maxed out on this, you’re losing out. Let’s explain. 

A matched 401(k) means that your employer will match your 401(k) contributions either fully or partly up to a certain percentage. Now just bear in mind, there is a limit of just under $20,000 per year, or 100% of your salary, whichever is the smallest. 

How to pay down debt while investing 

Know what your financial position is 

Okay, we’ll admit it, you’re going to have some work to do. But a little bit of effort now will save you a ton of financial admin in the future. There are a few things you need to know before you can make a decision about whether to pay student loans or invest. 

• What is my outstanding debt? You want to check the installments, when your last installment is due, and what the settlement amount is. This may seem like a no-brainer, but there’s a surprising amount of people who prefer to play ostrich to their debt. They’re either scared that the debt is more than they thought, or they’re embarrassed to admit that they’re probably net negative (which means their debt is more than their assets, yikes!). But here’s the thing, no one cares (or will for too long). Also, it’s not going to go away just because you don’t want to think about it. 
• Which item has the highest interest rate? Who knows, your student loans might be the least of your concern. Check credit card and personal loan details too to make sure you’re focusing on the right debt. If these are off the charts, you might be a good candidate for debt consolidation. 
• What am I paying each month? We want you to be conscious about your spending. You need to know what your fixed expenses are, what you’re spending on savings and investments, all your fun money, and yes, it’s important to own up to those monthly subscriptions that you haven’t used in over a year. 

Bonus: Ready to ditch debt, save money, and build real wealth? Download our FREE Ultimate Guide to Personal Finance.

Use the envelope system 

An envelope system is a budgeting tool that allows you to allocate all your money to payments, savings, and such. It works on the premise that, if you had cash, you would stick your dollar bills into various envelopes and then mail them off to cover the bills. 

An envelope system works well because you decide the categories. While housing and utilities are a given, you can also have an envelope for lattes, entertainment, etc. Sure, you can decide that the biggest chunk of your salary goes to Target, but the point is to cover your expenses and bills, put aside money for saving and investing, and still have some fun money. 

When you’ve used all your entertainment money, the idea is that it’s done. When the envelope is empty, that’s when you stop. Not only will this allow you to allocate more effectively, but it will also stop the frustrating overspending that seems to befall us when we’re low and there’s this great pair of shoes… stop!

Now, here’s the great part. You can have an envelope for additional payments to your student loans AND you can have an envelope for investments. 

Choose investment options that suit your pocket 

When you have to ask the question, “Should I pay off my student loans or invest?” chances are good that you’re not interested in spending a ton of cash on fees and expensive investment products. 

You have two enormous financial goals and the quicker the better. That means you’re going to need options that will allow you to do both. 

So out comes Ramit Sethi’s Ladder or Personal Finance. It’s a gamechanger when it comes to building wealth and vanquishing debt. And here’s how it works: 

• Get that 401(k) going: It’s cheap investing and your future self will thank you.
• Slash the high-interest debt: High-interest debt just sticks around for too long. Boost your repayments to get this down fast.
• Contribute to a Roth IRA: Retirement is cheap investing, oh wait, we said it already. But hey, if it’s true it’s true.
• Max out your 401(k): You want to get the most out of this product! 
• Diversify your portfolio: Start looking at other investment products such as stocks, CDs, and bonds.

The bottom line 

Let’s face it, student loans are a drag. It’s only natural to want to get rid of them ASAP. But here’s the thing, we’re also getting older. Investing shouldn’t be relegated to some future date when things are peachy and the debts are done. 

Do you know your earning potential?

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Should I Pay Off My Student Loans Or Invest? Here’s How To Decide is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

Via Finance http://www.rssmix.com/

What is a diversified portfolio? (with examples)

When it comes to building the best investment portfolio, you’ll often hear that diversification is key. But what does that even mean — and why do you need to bother with it? After all, you already own a wide range of stocks, from that skyrocketing Amazon stock to your Apple and eBay stocks, and you’re raking in the profits. What could go wrong?

If you’re relying on a portfolio filled with big tech stocks or energy stocks to get you through to retirement — or if you’re banking on picking the right stocks forever — you may be in for a surprise during the next market downturn. It’s pretty easy to pick the “right” stocks with the market is overvalued. But, when a market correction happens, you’re probably going to be wishing you’d paid more attention to the advice about diversification.

If you want to build wealth and make the right moves for your investments, you need to build a diversified portfolio. 

What is diversification?

Have you ever heard the saying, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket?” That’s the same principle that drives investors to diversify their investments. 

When you diversify your investments, you spread your money out across different investment options to lower the risk that comes with investing. In other words, investors use diversification to avoid the huge losses that can happen by putting all of their eggs in one basket. 

For example, when you diversify, you allocate a portion of your investments to riskier stock market trading, which you spread out across different types of stocks and companies. When diversifying, you also put money into safer investments, like bonds or mutual funds, to help balance out your portfolio.

The idea behind diversification is that you avoid relying on one type of investment or another. When one of your investments takes a tumble, the others act as a life raft for your money, providing solid returns until the riskier investments stabilize. 

Bonus: Ready to learn more about investing? Download our FREE Ultimate Guide to Personal Finance.

Why is diversification important?

A lack of diversification can cause big trouble for your money. That’s because:

• Investing with the main goal of making money immediately is an easy way to lose. Anything can happen in the future. Stocks tumble, markets crash, and fluctuations and corrections happen. 
• It’s not enough to diversify the types of stocks you invest in, either. You want to focus on different types of stocks, not just tech or energy stocks, but if the whole market takes a downward turn, or if a correction happens, you need other investments to help balance it out.
• Having a variety of investments in your portfolio is the only way to balance out market downturns. If you don’t diversify, you’re banking on the idea that your investments will always pan out the way you want them to. And, if you ask any seasoned investor, that’s not the best plan. 

Let’s say that you think tech stocks are the future. The tech industry is growing at a monumental pace, and you’ve been lucky with your tech stock purchases thus far. So, you take all of your investment money and you dump it into buying stock for large-cap tech company stocks.

Now let’s say that the tech stocks have a steep uphill trajectory, making you tons of money on your investment. A few months later, though, bad news about the tech sector makes headlines, and it causes your cash-machine stocks to plunge, losing you tons of money in the process. What recourse do you have other than to sell at a loss or hold and hope they recover? 

Now, let’s say you invested heavily in large-cap tech stocks, but you also invested in small-cap energy stocks or medium-cap retail stocks, as well as some mutual funds, to balance it out. While the other types of investments have lower returns, they’re also consistent. 

When your sure-thing tech stocks take a nosedive, your safer investments help to protect you with ongoing returns, and you can better afford the losses from the riskier investments you made. That’s why diversification is important. It protects your money while letting you make riskier investments in hopes of bigger rewards.

Diversification breakdown by age

Diversification is important at any age, but there are times when you can and should be riskier with what you invest in. In fact, most money experts encourage younger investors to focus heavily on riskier investments and then shift to less risky investments over time. 

The rule of thumb is that you should subtract your age from 100 to get the percentage of your portfolio that you should keep in stocks. That’s because the closer you get to retirement age, the less time you have to bounce back from stock dips.

For example, when you’re 45, you should keep 65% of your portfolio in stocks. Here’s how that breaks down by decade:

• 20-year-old investor: 80% stocks and 20% “safer” investments, like mutual funds or bonds
• 30-year-old investor: 70% stocks and 30% “safer” investments, like mutual funds or bonds
• 40-year-old investor: 60% stocks and 40% “safer” investments, like mutual funds or bonds
• 50-year-old investor: 50% stocks and 50% “safer” investments, like mutual funds or bonds
• 60-year-old investor: 40% stocks and 60% “safer” investments, like mutual funds or bonds
• 70-year-old investor: 30% stocks and 70% “safer” investments, like mutual funds or bonds

Diversification vs. asset allocation

While asset allocation and diversification are often referred to as the same thing, they aren’t. These two strategies both help investors to avoid huge losses within their portfolios, and they work in a similar fashion, but there is one big difference. Diversification focuses on investing in a number of different ways using the same asset class, while asset allocation focuses on investing across a wide range of asset classes to lessen the risk. 

When you diversify your portfolio, you focus on investing in just one asset class, like stocks, and you go deep within the class with your investments. That could mean investing in a range of stocks that have large-cap stocks, mid-cap stocks, small-cap stocks, and international stocks — and it could mean varying your investments across a range of different types of stocks, whether those are retail, tech, energy, or something else entirely — but the key here is that they’re all the same asset class: stocks.

Asset allocation, on the other hand, means you invest your money across all categories or asset classes. Some money is put in stocks and some of your investment funds are put in bonds and cash — or another type of asset class. There are several types of asset classes, but the more common options include:

• Stocks
• Mutual funds
• Bonds
• Cash

There are also alternative asset classes, which include: 

• Real estate, or REITs
• Commodities
• International stocks
• Emerging markets

When using an asset allocation strategy, the key is to choose the right balance of high- and low-risk asset classes to invest in and allocate the right percentage of your funds to lessen the risk and increase the reward. For example, as a 30-year-old investor, the rule of thumb says to invest 70% in riskier investments and 30% in safer investments to ensure you’re maximizing risk vs. reward.

Well, you could allocate 70% of your investment to a mix of riskier investments, including stocks, REITs, international stocks, and emerging markets, spreading that 70% across all these types of asset classes. The other 30% should go to less risky investments, like bonds or mutual funds, to lessen the risk of losses.

As with diversification, the reason this is done is that certain asset classes will perform differently depending on how they respond to market forces, so investors spread their investments across asset allocations to help protect their money from downturns. 

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Components of a well-diversified portfolio

In order to have a well-diversified portfolio, it’s important to have the right income-producing assets in the mix. The best portfolio diversification examples include:

Stocks

Stocks are an important component of a well-diversified portfolio. When you own stock, you own a part of the company. 

Stocks are considered riskier than other types of investments because they are volatile and can shrink very quickly. If the price of your stock drops, your investment could be worth less money than you paid if and when you decide to sell it. But, that risk can also pay off. Stocks also offer the opportunity for higher growth over the long term, which is why investors like them. 

While stocks are some of the riskiest investments, there are safer alternatives. For example, you can opt for mutual funds as part of your strategy. When you own shares in a mutual fund, you own shares in a company that buys shares in other companies, bonds, or other securities. The entire goal of a mutual fund is to lessen the risk of stock market investing, so these are typically safer than other investment types.

Bonds

Bonds are also used to create a well-diversified portfolio. When you buy a bond, you’re lending money in exchange for interest over a fixed amount of time. Bonds are typically considered safer and less volatile because they offer a fixed rate of return. And, they can act as a cushion against the ups and downs of the stock market. 

The downside is that the returns are lower, and are acquired over a longer-term. That said, there are options, like high-yield bonds and certain international bonds, that offer much higher yields, but they do come with more risk.

Cash

Cash is another component of a solid portfolio, and it includes liquid money and the money that you have in your checking and savings accounts, as well as certificates of deposit, or CDs, and savings and treasury bills. Cash is the least volatile asset class, but you pay for the safety of cash with lower returns.  

Additional components of diversification

There are other components of diversification, too. As with the other asset classes, these alternative assets are used by some investors to further protect their portfolios. These include:

Real estate or REITs

You can also use real estate funds, including real estate investment trusts (REITs), to diversify your portfolio and provide protection against the risks of other types of investments. Real estate funds work similarly to mutual funds, but rather than investing in a company that buys shares in bonds, stocks, and other common securities, you’re investing in a company that owns, operates, or finances income-generating real estate, like multi-unit apartments or rental properties.

Asset allocation funds

An asset allocation fund is a fund that is built to offer investors a diversified portfolio of investments that is spread across various asset classes. In other words, these funds are already diversified for investors, so they’re often the only fund necessary for investors to have a diversified portfolio. 

International stocks

Investors also have the option of investing in international stocks to diversify their portfolios. These stocks, issued by non-U.S. companies, can offer huge potential returns, but as with any other investment that offers the potential for a big payoff, they can also be extremely risky. 

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Diversified portfolio example #1: The Swensen Model

Just for fun, we want to show you David Swensen’s diversified portfolio. David runs Yale’s fabled endowment, and for more than 20 years he generated an astonishing 16.3% annualized return — while most managers can’t even beat 8%. That means he’s DOUBLED Yale’s money every four-and-a-half years from 1985 to today, and his portfolio is above.

David is the Michael Jordan of asset allocation and spends all of his time tweaking 1% here and 1% there. You don’t need to do that. All you need to do is consider asset allocation and diversification in your own portfolio, and you’ll be way ahead of anyone trying to “pick stocks.”

His excellent suggestion for how you can allocate your money:

ASSET CLASS	% BREAKDOWN
Domestic equities	30%
Real estate funds	20%
Government bonds	15%
Developed-world international equities	15%
Treasury inflation-protected securities	15%
Emerging-market equities	5%
TOTAL	100%

What do you notice about this asset allocation?

No single choice represents an overwhelming part of the portfolio.

As illustrated by the tech bubble burst in 2001 and also the housing bubble burst of 2008, any sector can drop at any time. When it does, you don’t want it to drag your entire portfolio down with it. As we know, lower risk generally equals lower reward.

BUT the coolest thing about asset allocation is that you can actually reduce risk while maintaining a solid return. This is why Swensen’s model is a great diversified portfolio example to base your portfolio on.

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Diversified portfolio example #2: Ramit Sethi’s diversified portfolio example

This is our founder, personal finance expert Ramit Sethi’s investment portfolio.

The asset classes are broken down like this:

ASSET CLASS	% BREAKDOWN
Cash	2%
Stocks	83%
Bonds	15%
TOTAL	100%

Here are three pieces of context so you understand the WHY behind the numbers:

Lifecycle funds: The foundation for my portfolio

For most people, Ramit recommend the majority of investments go in lifecycle funds (aka target-date funds). 

Remember: Asset allocation is everything. That’s why Ramit picks mostly target-date funds that automatically do the rebalancing for him. It’s a no-brainer for someone who:

1. Loves automation.
2. Doesn’t want to worry about rebalancing a portfolio all the time.

They work by diversifying your investments for you based on your age. And, as you get older, target-date funds automatically adjust your asset allocation for you.

Let’s look at an example:

If you plan to retire in about 30 years, a good target date fund for you might be the Vanguard Target Retirement 2050 Fund (VFIFX). The 2050 represents the year in which you’ll likely retire.

Since 2050 is still a ways away, this fund will contain more risky investments such as stocks. However, as it gets closer and closer to 2050, the fund will automatically adjust to contain safer investments such as bonds, because you’re getting closer to retirement age.

These funds aren’t for everyone though. You might have a different level of risk or different goals. (At a certain point, you may want to choose individual index funds inside and outside of retirement accounts for tax advantages.)

However, they are designed for people who don’t want to mess around with rebalancing their portfolio at all. For you, the ease of use that comes with lifecycle funds might outweigh the loss of returns.

Conclusion

As an investor, it’s never wise to put all of your eggs in one basket. The key is to find the right strategy, whether that’s focusing on one asset category and going all-in on a wide range of investments within that category or spreading out your investments across all asset classes.

Either type of investment strategy can help reduce the risk while increasing the possibilities of rewards, which is what investing is all about. Make sure you do your research and have the right approach for your needs, and you should be able to reap the benefits that a well-diversified portfolio offers. 

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What is a diversified portfolio? (with examples) is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

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Using a Roth Conversion Ladder to Retire Early

Many of us have dreamed of the potential of early retirement or FIRE, but it can be overwhelming to figure out how you might sustain yourself as you move into this new phase of your life.

Luckily, there are many options. Aside from saving the amount you need to retire, you can also leverage several tax loopholes in order to acquire funds in your tax-advantaged investment accounts.

One loophole: Build a Roth conversion ladder.

A Roth conversion ladder works by converting money from a 401k to a Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, and withdrawing the principal amount after five years without any penalties.

This means you’ll be able to withdraw money from your 401k and Roth IRA earlier — allowing you to use your money faster and retire sooner (if that’s your thing).

There is a bit more to it than that though. To fully understand how it works, we need to take a look at the issues with a Roth IRA on its own.

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Roth IRAs and early retirement

When considering early retirement, traditional IRAs and 401ks can seem to put you in an impossible situation. Don’t get us wrong. We love both of these forms of retirement savings, and they absolutely have their place on the journey of smart investing for retirement.

Both of these accounts enable you to save for retirement in a highly productive way. A traditional IRA leverages your after-tax income to compound interest on your investments over time. You also don’t have to pay any taxes on it until after you withdraw it.

The drawback? You can only withdraw your money once you reach retirement age. That means when you turn 59 1/2, you can finally get access to all that money, likely years after you would like if you are planning to retire early.

Traditional IRA

• Uses after-tax income
• Pay no taxes when you withdraw at age 59 ½
• 10% penalty if you withdraw early

401k

• Uses pre-tax income
• Employer match
• No taxes on it until you withdraw at age 59 ½
• 10% penalty if you withdraw early

A 401k offers you similar gains and drawbacks to an IRA, giving you the chance to contribute pre-tax income this time which an employer can match. You still pay no taxes until you withdraw it at retirement age, but you also incur a penalty of 10% if you withdraw it before that age.

This information can make some people feel like they are stuck between a rock and a hard place. But, luckily for you, this is where the Roth conversion ladder comes into play whether you have an IRA or a 401k.

Bonus: Unsure what the difference between a 401k and a Roth IRA is? Check out my Ultimate Guide to Personal Finance where I explain everything you need to know about retirement accounts.

What is a Roth Conversion Ladder?

Simply put, a Roth conversion ladder is the loophole you have to withdraw a large pool of money from your retirement funds, both tax and penalty-free. Without this technique, anyone in the FIRE community will end up getting an early withdrawal penalty of up to 10%, taking quite a chunk out of those hard-earned savings.

Most of those seeking early retirement do so because they have amassed a large amount of net worth. Their retirement investment accounts, such as a 401k or traditional IRA, will reflect this worth. For most of them, they plan to live on these investments for the rest of their life. The Roth conversion ladder allows them to access the accounts early in order to do that.

The Roth conversion ladder essentially involves moving your money from your restrictive retirement accounts to more of an open system. Keep reading to figure out exactly how we recommend doing this.

Who should use a Roth Conversion Ladder?

A Roth conversion ladder is specifically useful for people who want to retire early. For example, if you plan to retire after you are 59 1/2, you will only lose out by transferring your money into a Roth IRA since it is no longer tax-protected. The positive aspect of the Roth conversion ladder is that it allows you to withdraw money to live in during early retirement. 

You should NOT use this method to supplement your income to achieve a lifestyle you can’t otherwise afford. Instead, the money should realistically stay in your retirement accounts to accrue as much tax-free interest for as many years as possible, or you will find retirement quite a challenge.

How to set up your Roth Conversion Ladder

Utilizing a loophole to the penalty system in place around retirement funds might sound complicated. However, building an effective Roth conversion ladder is simply a matter of moving your money around and patience until it becomes usable. Start your Roth conversion ladder in just four steps.

1. Start by rolling over your 401k into a Traditional IRA. You should do this once you quit your job. From the time you quit any job, you are free to move your 401k money from that job into an IRA. Also, be aware you aren’t obliged to keep it with the same company that was holding your original 401k. Make the choice that is best for you after considering the options.
2. The next step is to transfer some funds from the traditional IRA account into a Roth IRA. Transfer the annual amount you want to access in five years. Do you already have some income from Roth investments you made while working? Then, we suggest only transferring the amount to bring this up to the amount of your annual expenses instead of transferring the entire sum of annual expenses. You will lose less money on taxes doing this in the end.
3. Next comes patience. Wait five years. The “Five Year Rule” applies to any investments in an account like a Roth IRA. It means that the investor can only take out the invested money after a five-year waiting period.
4. Finally, withdraw the money you converted like an old friend you haven’t seen for five years.

The “ladder” part of the strategy comes into it when you use the technique on a recurring annual basis. As you move toward retirement, you continue to use the ladder to supplement your annual funds until you have reached five years before 59 1/2 when the funds become available.

Why not just contribute annually to a Roth IRA?

You take money out of a tax-protected account when you transfer money from a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA. That means you need to be ready to pay taxes on any money you transfer from a 401k or IRA into a Roth IRA. This is because contributions to a Roth IRA don’t lower your adjusted gross income, whereas you can get tax breaks when you make contributions to your 401k or traditional IRA. Instead, the money you transfer becomes taxable income for the year.

Another reason you should avoid contributing to a Roth IRA annually is if you are getting anywhere close to emptying your retirement accounts before retirement age. You need to have enough saved to keep up your preferred lifestyle for as long as you plan to be in retirement.

Additionally, you can only take money out of a Roth IRA five years after initially transferring the money into the account. You need to find some money to live on until then. You might already have this covered from 

There are plenty of ways to do that, though. Here are a few we at IWT love:

• Create a side hustle
• Negotiate your rent 
• Sell stuff online

Don’t forget about standard retirement accounts for early retirement

Since your Roth conversion ladder only provides you money until you reach 59 ½ years old, you need to have a retirement savings plan for the years beyond that. The first step to finding out exactly how much you need for retirement, which you can do following the steps in the next section. However, when it comes to investing the money you save annually, you need to know what kinds of standard retirement accounts you should keep to make the most out of your money for early retirement?

You will likely be saving a significant portion of your income each year for retirement, particularly if your goal is to do this early. However, it would be best to maximize your retirement accounts to make the journey faster. Although it will look different for anyone on the road to financial independence, the common accounts you can build while you are still working include:

• Traditional IRA
• 403b
• 401k

Each of these works slightly differently and has various potentials of effectiveness for your retirement funds. So what do we mean by maxing these accounts out each month or year? 

All three of these accounts are tax-protected. The government caps the amount of investment in these so that those in a higher wage bracket don’t benefit more from tax breaks than most lower earners. 

Reaching these caps is your goal.

From the time you build your net worth to your retirement goal, you are then ready to retire early and reap the rewards of these accounts using the Roth ladder strategy.

Commonly asked questions about a Roth conversion ladder

How much money should I convert each year?

The amount you should convert each year you employ the Roth ladder strategy depends on how much you have saved and how much you intend to spend each year. As long as you have enough saved for retirement, you should be able to send over the intended amount you will spend annually. So the real question is, how much should you save for retirement?

You’ll need to look at three numbers to figure this out:

1. Your income, meaning the amount you make a year after tax.
2. The amount you spend each year, or your expenses. These include absolutely everything you spend money on during the year, including utilities, groceries, rent, clothes, vacations, insurance, gas, etc. 
3. Your intended retirement date. Once you start considering “early” retirement, you get into a pretty subjective area. You need to set out a timeline for your early retirement plans to be truly prepared to be financially independent for the rest of your life.

You might figure all these numbers out and then, six years later, experience a significant life change. Remember to be flexible with all of these, whether they go up or down. You never know what life has in store for you.

Once you have calculated these numbers, you can come up with an annual savings rate for the precise amount you should be saving each month for your retirement.

You can use this convenient calculator to figure it out. It utilizes the 4% Rule of a safe withdrawal rate. Do you not want the calculator to do the work for you? You can figure out your own 4% Rule number by:

1. Figuring out your yearly expenses.
2. Multiply this by the number of years you anticipate being retired. For typical retirees, this will be estimated at 25. For early retirees, add the assumed amount of years.

The estimates below are all based on the expenses being multiplied by the typical 25 years assumed for a retiree.

ANNUAL EXPENSES	HOW MUCH YOU NEED TO SAVE
$20,000	$500,000
$30,000	$750,000
$40,000	$1,000,000
$50,000	$1,250,000
$60,000	$1,500,000
$70,000	$1,750,000
$80,000	$2,000,000

Although the numbers might seem quite large, we are talking about what you need to save across a diversified portfolio of accounts over quite a few years. As long as you are willing to put the effort in and realize that the more you save, the earlier you can reach your retirement goals, you won’t have an issue hitting your goal numbers.

How much should I expect to pay in taxes on a Roth IRA conversion?

The exact number depends on the exact amount you transfer each year, tax percentages the year you transfer and inflation rates as time moves forward. However, the amount isn’t quite as important as the method you will use to pay that amount. Once you have figured out exactly how much you should expect to pay each time you move money from your 401k or IRA to a Roth, you need to be prepared to pay it.

However, you shouldn’t have to worry too much about this since you will likely be living off the Roth contributions you made while working with a supplement of the money from your retirement funds. Moreover, since Roth contributions are already taxed, your tax bracket will only account for the yearly transfers and thus should be very low.

Is there a limit I can convert into a Roth IRA?

There is no limit to how much you can convert from your various retirement accounts into a Roth IRA. However, keep two things in mind. 

First, once that money leaves the tax-protected accounts, you will have to be ready to deal with the annual taxes. 

The second thing to remember is that a Roth ladder strategy only works as it should if you don’t run out of money. Therefore, it is essential to evaluate the long term to ensure you will still have the funds to continue supporting your lifestyle even after turning 59 1/2. 

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What is the best time to start a Roth conversion ladder?

When implementing a Roth conversion ladder, you should start your first Roth conversion the year you plan on retiring. After that, you should continue to make conversions for the annual amount you require to live each year, with conversion continuing up to 5 years before you turn 59 1/2. That way, the only financial “gap” you will have from your Roth conversion will be in the first five years of retirement. Once you reach 59 1/2, you can freely withdraw money from any of your retirement accounts.

You can also do a Roth conversion after you have reached 59 1/2 years old. However, this kind of conversion always comes with a tax bill. While this is acceptable when the alternative is taking a 10% penalty fee that would come from withdrawing from your retirement accounts early, it isn’t necessary after you have reached retirement age.

Additionally, when you move the funds out of your 401k or a traditional IRA, it means you will miss out on any tax-free growth you could have had.

Playing your cards right during your working years can seem worthless if you have to take penalty fee after penalty fee to access your money. However, using a Roth conversion ladder gives you a way to join the FIRE community, enjoying early retirement without a 10% fee for it. If you are wondering how you might jump on this bandwagon of financial independence, check out our Ultimate Guide to Making Money so that you can start your own path to join the FIRE community.

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Using a Roth Conversion Ladder to Retire Early is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

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