Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Retirement Accounts (Update) - October 2014


For several years now, our retirement accounts have been growing at a decent pace...this year, however, the performance has been pretty anemic! I am thankful that, overall, we are not losing money. But as our readers probably already know, the anemic growth is one of the reasons why our family has now decided to switch our focus towards building our Dividend Stocks Portfolio and P2P Lending Accounts so as to have optional income streams in retirement. Nevertheless, we will still continue to track these accounts as they are still part of our retirement plan.

EXISTING RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS - OCTOBER UPDATE:

Below is a quick update to show the current values of our retirement accounts as of October 1, 2014.  For a more comprehensive list of values (beginning January 2014) and details of these accounts, please visit the Retirement Accounts page on our blog.
 

October 1, 2014

PENSION
Cash Value of Pension$206,596 ($2,298 increase from August total of $204,298)
 
457K
Total value of 457K: $115,356 ($3,443 decrease from August total of $118,799)
 
Roth IRAs
Total value of Roth IRA accounts: $52,700 ($1,849 decrease from August total of  $54,549)
 
So the month of September was not a good month as we essentially gave back our gains from the previous months.  In all, our accounts decreased a total of $2,994 from the September 1, 2014 totals.  Since we are not near retirement, this paper loss to us only means we get to buy additional shares at discounted prices.  

As it stands, the total amount of our retirement accounts is currently valued at: $374,652. We currently contribute to my 457K (up to my company's match - 3%) and also $200 each to a Roth IRA for both myself and my wife. Although we are not entirely happy with their growth, we still feel that my 457K and our Roth IRAs should remain part of our retirement plan.  
 
Click below to view retirement accounts page 

RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS

8 comments:

  1. Looks like we're in the same boat, our portfolio values decreased in September. But that's expected considering the market dropped by quite a bit.

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    1. Yes...September was actually our worst month this year. But that only means there are some better values out there to help everyone towards FI and beyond! :) AFFJ

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  2. September was a pretty bad month in the market, as October seems to be going. However, like you said, the low prices just means more buying potential for us not near retirement. I actually love seeing the market down, as I can get more for less. Gotta love some clearance prices!

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    1. Special Agent Dividend - Agreed...love sale prices! In fact, we've already initiated 8 buys since 10/1. I'm investing with long-term money so I have no problem buying companies that need a bit longer to turn around. In fact, that is where I feel the best deals are. :) AFFJ

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  3. Can't sweat the month to month figures for a stock portfolio. Everyone on Earth had a decrease last month. You know the reality of monthly portfolio values don't matter when investing for decades. Still, your accounts are looking great. Keep it p and look forward to your next update.

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    1. DivHut - I agree that one shouldn't stress over month to month figures. After all, its a simple snapshot of the whole picture.

      One of the main reasons we also invest in real estate (our home & and REITs), Peer-to-Peer lending notes, bonds, and various mutual funds is to make sure we are well diversified. Although it could happen, it is pretty rare that all of our investment decline in a given month. Diversification is your best hedge in a declining market. :)

      Thanks for stopping by and your support. AFFJ

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  4. We took a hit also but it's happened in other months as well but always came back and beyond. Most of ours is in dividend stocks.

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    1. DebtDebs - It almost always recovers at one point of another. :)

      Our entire portfolio consists of dividend paying stocks so we are happy to know that we'll continue to collect dividends while we wait for our stocks to recover. And to speed up the recovery, we are buying more shares to lower our cost basis. :)

      Thanks for visiting. Cheers to an eventual recovery! AFFJ

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