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For you & your family, which balance is higher?

Posted on 7/7/12 at 2:19 pm
Posted by PenguinNinja
Antarctica (and Japan)
Member since Sep 2011
2081 posts
Posted on 7/7/12 at 2:19 pm
The current value of your retirement savings accounts, incl. all 401(k), Roth IRA, Roth 401(k), traditional IRA, etc. accounts

OR

The total equity/savings/etc. that you have OUTSIDE of those accounts presently, minus any liabilities

Another way to say the second one is "If you sold everything you owned of appreciable value (i.e. homes, cars, non-retirement stock, royalties, etc.) and got market value for it, and then paid off all of your debt, the money you'd have left"

I just discovered that I've got more in the second category than the first, which came as a bit of a surprise to me. Not sure what that means...just kind of caught me off guard. I would have thought that my retirement account woudl have had way more money in it than my other assets...
Posted by VABuckeye
Naples, FL
Member since Dec 2007
35528 posts
Posted on 7/7/12 at 2:23 pm to
Second easily but we have a ton of equity in our house.
Posted by NC_Tigah
Carolinas
Member since Sep 2003
123887 posts
Posted on 7/7/12 at 3:16 pm to
quote:

I would have thought that my retirement account woudl have had way more money in it than my other assets...
Very individual thing. Not necessarily a right or wrong answer.

E.g., For union or government workers entitled to fixed income retirement after 20years, having more in a 401k than other assets could be a really poor option. Likewise, at upper income levels, having more in retirement accounts than in nonretirement assets probably means you've done a horrible job managing finances.

If you've maxed-out retirement contributions, and have had decent account performance, and your nonretirement assets exceed retirement savings, it sounds like you're doing the right stuff. Congrats.
Posted by StrangeBrew
Salvation Army-Thanks Obama
Member since May 2009
18183 posts
Posted on 7/7/12 at 3:30 pm to
Mine are about equal
Posted by kaaj24
Dallas
Member since Jan 2010
607 posts
Posted on 7/7/12 at 4:31 pm to
#1 for us
Posted by tigers win2
Baton Rouge
Member since Oct 2009
3837 posts
Posted on 7/7/12 at 7:04 pm to
#1 for us. Opened my first Ira while still in high school. Got on the 401k bandwagon as soon as my employer offered it. Mainly Roth contributions now.
Posted by The Easter Bunny
Minnesota
Member since Jan 2005
45568 posts
Posted on 7/7/12 at 10:05 pm to
Probably more in the second, but I have no retirement options in my current job and my wife and I rent.

I'm surprised about that, too, but they're within $5k of each other
Posted by Chris4x4gill2
North Alabama
Member since Nov 2008
3092 posts
Posted on 7/9/12 at 9:13 am to
#1 by a long shot
Posted by ItNeverRains
37069
Member since Oct 2007
25444 posts
Posted on 7/9/12 at 10:27 am to
2 over 1 by probably 50k including shite like cars and furniture.

Before market crash probably equal, maybe #1 by a nose
Posted by meldawg399
nola
Member since Oct 2008
1168 posts
Posted on 7/9/12 at 10:32 am to
based on historical cost, more in #1 by about $20K.

But if I sold my housing for what I think I could get at market prices, might be even or closer to even.

If you got a really good deal on a house or got a big investment return on stock higher than average market returns, #2 is easy to get to. But the lower your income the #1 is the better option to maximize tax savings.
Posted by saderade
America's City
Member since Jul 2005
25737 posts
Posted on 7/9/12 at 12:30 pm to
#2 times 10 but waiting to put money on a house
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