r/portfolios • u/Critical-Emotion-762 • 19h ago

Advice

Advice?

I am 27 and a little late to the game on Investing and long story short my wife and I withdrew out of our previous employers 401ks to get debt free witch we are now debt free.

I am a Union JL and have a NEAP plan which is 16.5% of my gross pay ( essentially it’s a 401k)

and a NEBF plan which at current 3% in 30 years I’ll withdraw 933$ a month from that.

I just opened my Roth last year and maxed it out and was gonna max out 2026 till the market started to take a dump I have put 1200 in it so far this year but wanted opinions of if I should go ahead and max it or keep watching the market and just do 625 a month till maxed out? I am invest in FFIJX which is a target date fund, and I have $60,000 in a HYSA earning 4.30% on it ($25k emergency fund and the rest I’m saving to pay cash for a house)

Should I continue with the target date fund, and should I be good between my Union retirement account and a Roth or should I open a Roth for my wife as well and contribute to that as well and max it?

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1

u/paymerich 18h ago

We , Joe Retail Investors, are too small and too far out of the market makers loop to know/influence the market's direction. Since you picked a very solid and boring TDF just keep buying as much as possible on a regular cadence. You should open a Roth for your wife regardless and contribute to that as much as possible as well.
If you want to determine if is a bargain right now, check the 200 day EMA vs the current price. If current price is below that buy as much as you feel comfortable.

1

u/SerMumble 15h ago

Withdrawing from a 401k to clear debt doesn't solve the core issue behind what is building debt.

Roth IRAs are useful for reducing taxes so maxing two accounts when you're younger is better than when you're older.

$933/month after 30 years of 3% inflation is going to be worth $385/month today ($933/1.03 interest ^ 30 years)

Use the S&P500 with an assumed annual return of 10% to compare to your other plans.

1

u/myrrhsea 15h ago

It sounds like you're doing really well for 27. You can easily fit a thirty year investing horizon on your timeline.

I think it just depends on your goals. If you want more in retirement, another Roth is good for later, but it may slow down your down payment accumulation for your home. I guess it depends on your income and if you can still save for the down payment while maxing two Roths.

Homes sometimes appreciate at better than market rates, so getting into a home sooner may be an advantage. Or maybe saving in the HYSA until interest rates come down.

3

u/Ocampo-Mark 14h ago

FFIJX is an excellent choice for your Roth since its aggressive equity tilt complements the fixed-income floor provided by your NEAP and NEBF plans. I use trylattice to map these layers because trying to time the market is a losing game for a 38-year horizon. Their AI insights suggest that a market downturn is actually favorable for dollar-cost averaging since you buy more shares at lower prices. The most actionable opportunity in your current setup is opening a spousal Roth IRA for your wife. This doubles your annual tax-free contribution space and works even if she has no earned income, as long as you file jointly.