Investing, Stock Market and Retirement Planning Thread

[King Colby]

Plummeting? What are they now, 5%?

7.07% lol

[Troy Loney]

Mortgage rates plummeting. I presume that's what's driving this? Hell we haven't even hit the santa rally yet. Don't get mad ya bear

Sustained evidence of inflation coming back in line, and the fed announcement of 2024 rate cuts.

[NTP66]

Just keep cutting time off that retirement target date.

So you have a retirement target amount and not a date?

I'm planning to be able to retire at 57 but will likely hang around to 62 to pump the numbers up. So it's more of a time window for me. Unless one of my side hustles really takes off then I'm leaving at 57 with a deferred pension.

Yep, I have a target amount instead of a date. The second I'm able to, I'm leaving the workforce. I won't be one of those people that just goes through the motions forever, even if I love my job. I will say that I do have similar feelings about a window. I don't expect to be able to retire at 55 because of the penalties, but 57 is a realistic option depending on what we decide for our retirement. If we stay put, we should have the savings to retire at 53 if the tax penalty wasn't involved. If we leave, it'd have to be closer to 57 or later.

Not sure if you know this… but 99.9% of the time someone says “thanks Biden” on here, it’s a joke.

Is this meta? Clearly I know it's a joke and responded in kind - as we all know that he doesn't control gas prices either, as was a running joke here for a while...

It was a joke, with the SP500 being near an all-time high under Biden.

[dodint]

57 happens to coincide with 30 years of FedGov. The only reason for me to stay around beyond that would be to get my high-three up, and also there is a tiny (.1) multiplier on my pension if I do stay to 62. I'm really hoping either lawyering or flight instructing becomes profitable enough that I can live off of that between 57 and 62. Otherwise we'll have to live off what the wife is making.

Neither of us will stop working but I'd be happy to be out of FedGov so I could smoke a joint every once in a while.

[NTP66]

I'd like to think that being able to earn enough by being an instructor would probably be more enjoyable for you, so good luck there. I should also note that not a single one of my estimates includes social security or our pensions. I have always considered that to be icing on the cake that I didn't want to rely on for obvious reasons.

[mikey]

It was a joke, with the SP500 being near an all-time high under Biden.

I ****** know! haha I was responding to it with the same joke, in kind...

[mikey]

Instructor?

[dodint]

I'd like to think that being able to earn enough by being an instructor would probably be more enjoyable for you, so good luck there. I should also note that not a single one of my estimates includes social security or our pensions. I have always considered that to be icing on the cake that I didn't want to rely on for obvious reasons.

Unfortunately, it's considered part of the triad of our retirement. TSP/401k, pension, SS. But yeah, I'm not counting on it being there. Most people don't get a pension anymore so that's also good. And I have a small amount of VA disability as well. If I carry no debt into retirement we'll be very comfortable.

[dodint]

Instructor?

In about 2-3 years I hope to be a flight instructor as a side gig. I have a plan to build that into a flight school of sorts over the following ten years. With luck that will earn me enough where I can jump on my wife's insurance and invite FedGov to **** off.

It's a niche type of flight training, not just a normal "jump in a 172 and learn to fly" kind of thing. I think I can carve out a piece of the market for myself.

[mikey]

A lawyer.......IN THE SKY?!?! That's such a good idea, you can't be charged with a crime if you're in the air...it's all land laws...

1-800-Air-Law1

That seems like a really quick turnaround for that, but I also don't know **** about flying and instructing other folks to fly...sounds cool af though...

Is the Pittsburgh area any easier or harder for flying than another reasonably populated area...?

[dodint]

Just about every airline pilot has to be a flight instructor to gain hours, so becoming a CFI is just part of the pipeline. You can do it with about 250 hours of flight time. I'm not looking to be an airline pilot, so CFI is the top for me. Finding a career CFI that actually wants to instruct you and isn't just using you as a way to build hours is highly sought after.

I happen to live right next to a fairly large airport with a flight school on the field, so getting a teaching gig through them should be pretty easy. What I want to do is buy my own plane and offer flight training where the student is, so anywhere in the PA/WV/OH area. The flight training I want to provide goes beyond the basic flight training syllabus in that it teaches how to recover from spins and stalls (upset attitudes) which many planes cannot do because of the structural integrity of the aircraft. Students will take the core curriculum with their CFI an then come to me for supplemental training on upset attitude recovery and basic aerobatics. Think of it as one of those summer hockey coaching clinics that teaches only faceoffs or whatever it is you do at those things.

Western PA is a great place to learn to fly because we have a myriad of airspace types thanks to Pittsburgh International, and we also have a lot of terrain to the east and water features to the north. Learning to fly in the Midwest or Texas would be boring af. Only SoCal and the Rockies have a more terrain-diverse locale, IMO.

[mikey]

Re: Where to fly. Burr talks about learning to fly (helicopter) in SoCal, in a way that made me consider terrain/weather patterns/etc. in a way that I really never bothered to before. Appreciate the info, I had already exhausted my knowledge a while ago in this conversation, so I'm forced to leave it with: I promise not to steal your idea/IP.

[dodint]

Helicopter pilots are weirdos. Keep away from them.

[dodint]

For real though, if you enjoyed the discussion about SoCal flying put this on in the background while you're at work:

And if you like it, check out his channel, it's a pretty high production value because that's what he does for a living (principle photography on movies and commercials). The plane he's flying in (Cherokee Six) is the same plane I want to own someday (not for aerobatics, but for getting around).

[count2infinity]

It was a joke, with the SP500 being near an all-time high under Biden.

I don’t think he gets it… he doesn’t get us, man.

[mac5155]

The SP500 also gave up all of the gains experienced under Biden, and then some. But has recovered nicely since.

[NTP66]

The SP500 also gave up all of the gains experienced under Biden, and then some. But has recovered nicely since.

He did it to show the power of Dark Brandon, you non-believer.

[robbiestoupe]

Stonk option price:$1.92
Stonk right now: $3.83

It won’t vest for some time and I have 10 years to take the options, but man is that tempting.

[Dickie Dunn]

Bought some US Steel back when the purchases rumors first started. It was like $32/share. Couple months go by and the stock hasn't really moved so I sell for like $33/share and double up on my PNC investment, which as of today is up like 15%. Good job idiot.

[mac5155]

Someone once told me buy the rumor sell the news

[mac5155]

Stonk option price:$1.92
Stonk right now: $3.83

It won’t vest for some time and I have 10 years to take the options, but man is that tempting.

How many options do you have?

[robbiestoupe]

Stonk option price:$1.92
Stonk right now: $3.83

It won’t vest for some time and I have 10 years to take the options, but man is that tempting.

How many options do you have?

Way more than I have money in the bank. We’re still a startup so still too risky to invest anything now. But if we’re successful, I’ll find money to buy up all my options.

[mac5155]

I cashed half of my options in March of 21. The rest expire in Dec 2026 and it's been tempting to cash the rest now (well not NOW now cause our shares just dipped significantly lol) but I've always been told to hold them as long as possible.

[robbiestoupe]

It also doesn’t make sense for me to buy now since my shares wouldn’t start vesting until next September. If at that point the stock is still high, then I’ll consider.

[NTP66]

Source of the post well not NOW now cause our shares just dipped significantly lol

FedEx is the S&P 500’s worst performer today