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Getting back on-topic

January 16th, 2007 at 11:37 am

After all those cross-posts, I decided that my final entry today (and the one that shows up on the blog page) should get back to my main topic. I really do intend this blog to be primarily about building wealth and investing. There are already so many other blogs out there about budgeting and being a SAHM...and I want to add something different to the mix! On the other hand I do love to hear myself talk. Wink

If you are primarily interested in building wealth, scroll down and read my entry about The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Rich. It needs a few edits but the basic info is there. (I went ahead and posted because I wasn't sure I could have multiple drafts open at once. Glad to discover that I can.)

I find it very ironic that my dad is a stockbroker and yet I don't feel I understand enough to pick my own mutual funds. I could title this entry, "The Stockbroker's Daughter Has No Stocks", but it isn't quite true as I do own one stock and a bunch of different mutual funds.

I've made a few attempts to ask my dad to teach me. The first time he sent me a book by Jane Quinn Bryant (not sure if the name is correct) that was exceedingly general about saving for retirement, nothing I haven't read before. Dad left the stockbrokerage firm several years ago and now works for a mutual fund company. Usually he just tells me which funds from that company are currently a good buy compared to their historical performance (I plan to talk about a book that talks a lot about "returning to the mean" in a future post.)

During our last visit I asked him to sit down with me and a list of his company's funds and explain why he would move money in or out of each one. It boiled down to "returning to the mean."

I also asked him for advice on how to split my money between the various catagories of funds. I don't think I should repeat the percentages here as they were very specific to my personal situation and I'd hate for someone else to invest inappropriately based on something I write here. Maybe it would be more appropriate to start a thread asking everyone to comment on their asset allocation strategy and why it is right for them so mine isn't the only one presented? This is the kind of advice you can get from a full-service broker that I have not yet seen much in my reading.

Once a year DH and I sit down with my broker, a full-service broker from the firm Dad used to work for, and get his advice on the mix and where to direct new money. I've been terrible about following up and taking action after the meeting, which I plan to change this year.

2 Responses to “Getting back on-topic”

  1. monkeymama Says:
    1168966741

    Just replying to your comment since it was an old post and you might not see.

    That is ridiculous - you can claim as much as you want - your work should not question it. I would push them to follow your wishes.

    I just filed same for fed and state. I just posted a little bit about this though - I always knew that state always over-withhold (every job I have had). But it was getting so big (since we generally rely on not paying too much tax so we can live on 1 income - forego the big refunds). So I just noticed it was withholding assuming 0 exemptions. My boss said he entered 16 - apparently software glitch - he would do whatever I wanted - so I just swithced to flat $50/check. I am saving $100/month now. & I am still way overpaid- fed is only withholding $40/check. So I Could probably lower it but oh well.

    I did not even want to go there with the Ca withholding and figuring it out - hehe. I have tax planning software - I just throw the numbers in - CA just gets too complicated for me to figure out on my own. Nice my boss let me put a flat amount - I don't think that is generally allowed - LOL - but he knows we know our taxes and are paying enough not to get questioned...

  2. zetta Says:
    1168967633

    Thanks for the info on the DE4 and my AMT question, MonkeyMama! I've started reading some of your blog archives and am struck by some of the similarities between us -- both big savers, both have little kids (although you are a couple years ahead of me), both choosing to have one parent at home, both mathematically inclined and interested in personal finance. This community is really fun!

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