@nick220 I have this same struggle but with more cash then you. I invest in the market on a monthly basis just fine but I can't stomach putting all my $$$ at once and watching the market take a dive... We are sitting it out and look at property to by as rentals. We don't currently own a personal home because we aren't willing to buy in CA.
@gspfever08 Yeah, that was kind of how I got into the rental property that I had purchased back in 2018. Had cash sitting around, wanted to diversify outside of the stock market, and after reading everything I could for 6 months on real estate I made the leap and bought a property in my home state. Are you looking at single families or multis? Where are you at in the process of acquiring rentals?
@nick220 we are due an adjustment. we have one every decade. last one was 2008. stand strong and wait for it, then jump in. going to drop. the markets' knees are wiggling. probably December when Trumpers refuse increase the budget limit. it will be brutal.
@nick220 Seems like you've saved and invested wisely for years which has led you to this situation. I would continue on the path of rational investing with domestic and international total market ETF's. If you're looking for a higher expected return with a proportional or better proportion of risk, I would take a strong look at factor investing (
). A lot of bad advice on this thread in regards to completely speculative (essentially gambling) crypto investing and options, which generally offer uncompensated risks, be careful. You could also donate a portion of this 125k or your investments to effective charities (https://www.givewell.org/) which could lower your tax bill.
@nick220 Hey Op since you already have a pretty good rate on your mortgage the only thing I can think of is either use it to pay down you mortgage debt to become close to debt free (which is very liberating) or purchase another piece of real estate that provides income like AirBnb. Do you know where you're going to retire already? What about buying now so it's already there when you get out?
@resjudicata Yeah, we'll move back home to the Midwest, all of our family is there. Just don't know exactly where which is why we haven't pulled the trigger on a future primary residence.
@nick220 Personally I’d put it in precious metals right now considering how bubbled the stock market is right now. Once it pops put the money in the market for a fire sale.
@rooneysoccer Putting the rental properties on hold for now. Out of state properties present challenges I didn't want to mess with anymore. Also, i couldn't pass up the valuation on the property, particularly since the property will need $15K to $20K in deferred maintenance within the next 3-5 years. May come back to rentals once I military retire.
@nick220 Depending on where you retire out of and what your plans are to work (or not) upon retirement I would advise staying as liquid as possible. Index funds are an easy set and forget type investment that you mentioned you’ve already considered. I know you don’t want to manage properties out of state, but buying land may be another way to secure your retirement spot in the future. A lot of land has been going up and I kick myself for putting most of my income into retirement accounts vs buying land/property.
I’m around the same age and time to retirement with slightly less in overall retirement accounts, but I’m also banking on a higher retirement income when I hit that mark. My goal from now until retirement is to keep building equity in our current owned home, and all money outside of that needs is going towards retirement home and homestead. I truly don’t want to continue working for the GOV when I’m done, so I’m trying to do anything I can to pay into my “F you” find when I’m done.
Either way - you seem to have the right mindset about saving where you can and really scrutinizing your finances. Nice work
@avram Yeah, that's another idea I've been tossing around. Do I scale back the Roth/retirement contributions to build a better nest egg in my taxable account to bridge from military retirement until I stop working entirely. I'd hate to pass on the tax benefits of contributing to Roth accounts though, with us only being in the 12% federal tax bracket and not paying any state taxes right now. I'm not personally interested in buying land, at least not at this time, but I appreciate the suggestion.
@kaelyne821 PCSing away from somewhere that had a casino within walking distance was probably one of the better things to happen after getting orders, haha.
