Got My end of quarter statments that ended 30 June 2010. Should not have looked.
My Roth went down BUT since I know how much I have put in I looked at it and said to myself oh well $80 profit for 2 years is not bad. Note year 1 was only 1,000 deposited.
Then I looked at my 401K, It is down, it is down about $400 MORE than I put in this quarter. Which means I lost $4,900. Man that hurt to see that. So I am mixed, part of me is glad that I reduced my savings amount, I mean IF I am going to LOSE all I put in and then some for the quarter why put in so much.....But then I think the market is down. I should be buying.
Then to top it off I see a TIP on this website about the child care credit. I start to thinking IF I am not contributing the max to my 401K this year will I get the Child Care Credit this year?
I am thinking maybe I should just increase my 401K back up and just figure out ways to get my other goals accomplished. I have been thinking of taking in a roommate. I saw two ads for rooms/roommates wanted for single mothers and am thinking this might be the way for me to go. I am going to let everything settle for a few more months and if I am still as tight as I am currently I think I will start with a 6 month lease renting out one or two of my basement rooms so that I can get a little more wiggle room.
But in the mean time, I am (to quote Dave Ramsey) going through all my stuff and "selling anything not nailed down until the kid thinks he is next"!
The positive side is my XH comes back to town Monday Night, so we will sit down and discuss his visitation schedule. I figure I will only have to pay for daycare for 4 weekend this coming year. The sad thing is that the 2 week training this summer we both have the work and so I will need to pay for that. BUT this means if he will take his visitation that should save me $600 in daycare costs this year.
Roth and 401K Retirement
July 30th, 2010 at 01:42 pm
July 30th, 2010 at 02:00 pm 1280498443
However, I think it's worth reminding ourselves that the lower it goes, the more our contribution is able to buy off the market. And that, in the long run, will actually get us much further than if our balance steadily goes higher right now.
So, hopefully, that will help un-dampen your day.
July 30th, 2010 at 04:59 pm 1280509160
I suffered a bit - I barely squeaked by with a gain, all due to what I put in. Sound like you are uncomfortable with the amount of risk in your portfolio. I'd take another look at your asset allocation - it all in stocks, or a mix of stock, bond, and cash? Mine is a mix.
July 30th, 2010 at 06:30 pm 1280514619
I have a mix (it is one of those mixes that is created to go along with your retirement timeline). I am really happy overall with the historical return of this fund, I just need to ignore my statement and not look at them.
I need to remind myself I am in it for the long haul. My new reduced payments where suppose to start with my 15th check but I changed it today. The last day to change it was today and well I am back to the full amount I was pulling before so I should come super close to maxing my 401k for the year.
I will find other ways to fund my $$ goals.
July 31st, 2010 at 05:48 pm 1280598484