Hello,
I am sorry for your loss. I just wanted to share a small glimpse in my situation. I went through a horrible divorce, and when all was said and done, I didn't feel confident managing the investments I was left with. I was confident in my frugality and living below my means, however, investing was terrifying to me. I was a stay at home mom for over 14 years, and I felt out of my league...and quite honestly I felt extremely stupid. I placed all of my money with a financial advisor...they charged around 1.5%.
Over the years, I felt uncomfortable as I saw how much I was paying in fees. There was also and underlying feel of unease as I did not understand what I was invested in and why. I am not a high income earner either, and the money I had invested with my financial advisor is essential for my future since I am not dropping huge amounts into retirement every year.
The thing that really motivated me to make changes was when I ran the numbers. I do believe to most people (not bogleheads of course), a fee of 1.5% seems trivial. However, when I actually ran the numbers, I was shocked how much of a negative impact it had on future earnings. That was it, and I pulled the trigger to leave my financial advisor....as someone who really dislikes conflict or confrontation....it made me sick.
However, I am so happy I left. First, I set up accounts with Fidelity and they did all the work transferring my accounts over. I sent a polite email to my advisor letting them know I was parting ways.
I then spent time educating myself on investing. I am not stupid, I know that now. And if I can do this, so can you![:)]( "Smile")
. This blog has changed my perspective and has helped me so much. It can be somewhat intimidating when you read how much some people make and how much they contribute each year to investments...but there seems to be a genuine interest to help others.
I am extremely happy with Fidelity. Their online interface is extremely easy to use. Every single time I have called in with a question, I have been helped in a timely manner. If someone didn't know the answer to my question, they found someone who did. Fidelity will try to set you up to talk to a local financial advisor. I did talk to my local advisor on the phone because I was curious as to what he had to say. The gist of the conversation was that he would charge me 1%...I politely declined.
Once I had all of my funds transferred...I took a few days to breathe and then took a deep dive into what to do next. I asked a question on here about my portfolio, and I was directed to a helpful links and some great ideas.
I researched what I wanted my AA (asset allocation) to look like. Once I had that, I liquidated everything in my Roth IRA and rollover IRA (no tax event triggered because of the type of accounts) and started from scratch using a low cost total market index fund and bond fund.
I completely understand the feeling of being scared and wanting to hire a financial advisor! No judgment from me. However, I sleep better at night knowing exactly what I'm invested in and why. I do believe no-one cares about my money as much as I do.
Good luck with whatever you chose!!
I am sorry for your loss. I just wanted to share a small glimpse in my situation. I went through a horrible divorce, and when all was said and done, I didn't feel confident managing the investments I was left with. I was confident in my frugality and living below my means, however, investing was terrifying to me. I was a stay at home mom for over 14 years, and I felt out of my league...and quite honestly I felt extremely stupid. I placed all of my money with a financial advisor...they charged around 1.5%.
Over the years, I felt uncomfortable as I saw how much I was paying in fees. There was also and underlying feel of unease as I did not understand what I was invested in and why. I am not a high income earner either, and the money I had invested with my financial advisor is essential for my future since I am not dropping huge amounts into retirement every year.
The thing that really motivated me to make changes was when I ran the numbers. I do believe to most people (not bogleheads of course), a fee of 1.5% seems trivial. However, when I actually ran the numbers, I was shocked how much of a negative impact it had on future earnings. That was it, and I pulled the trigger to leave my financial advisor....as someone who really dislikes conflict or confrontation....it made me sick.
However, I am so happy I left. First, I set up accounts with Fidelity and they did all the work transferring my accounts over. I sent a polite email to my advisor letting them know I was parting ways.
I then spent time educating myself on investing. I am not stupid, I know that now. And if I can do this, so can you
. This blog has changed my perspective and has helped me so much. It can be somewhat intimidating when you read how much some people make and how much they contribute each year to investments...but there seems to be a genuine interest to help others.I am extremely happy with Fidelity. Their online interface is extremely easy to use. Every single time I have called in with a question, I have been helped in a timely manner. If someone didn't know the answer to my question, they found someone who did. Fidelity will try to set you up to talk to a local financial advisor. I did talk to my local advisor on the phone because I was curious as to what he had to say. The gist of the conversation was that he would charge me 1%...I politely declined.
Once I had all of my funds transferred...I took a few days to breathe and then took a deep dive into what to do next. I asked a question on here about my portfolio, and I was directed to a helpful links and some great ideas.
I researched what I wanted my AA (asset allocation) to look like. Once I had that, I liquidated everything in my Roth IRA and rollover IRA (no tax event triggered because of the type of accounts) and started from scratch using a low cost total market index fund and bond fund.
I completely understand the feeling of being scared and wanting to hire a financial advisor! No judgment from me. However, I sleep better at night knowing exactly what I'm invested in and why. I do believe no-one cares about my money as much as I do.
Good luck with whatever you chose!!
Statistics: Posted by HankHillFan — Fri Feb 23, 2024 1:59 pm — Replies 47 — Views 3667