Agreed. I stopped my Roth IRA contributions for a couple of years because I wanted to pay off my mortgage. That was a mistake. The mortgage was 4%, but I sacrificed bigger gains that I would have gotten from the Roth IRA.
I'm semi-retired now (drawing a pension and doing a little work as a freelancer), but still contributing $7k/year to the Roth IRA as a long-term investment.
The stock market is booming right now, so it's a great time to invest in a retirement plan.
A Roth IRA is great, as you don't have to pay taxes on any withdrawals, which means your capital gains (i.e. interest earned) are tax-free. The Roth IRA doesn't decrease your current taxable income, and you can only put in $6k/year.
You can also purchase one or more mutual funds, which is essentially what the 401k and Roth IRA company invests in on your behalf.
I have a Valic account because that's who my employer worked with. I have a friend who went with Schwab, since they have online learning resources available that can teach you the basics of investing.
Well we all have a face
That we hide away forever
And we take them out
And show ourselves
When everyone has gone
Some are satin some are steel
Some are silk and some are leather
They're the faces of the stranger
But we love to try them on
Bell Boy!
I got to get running now
Bell Boy!
Keep my lip buttoned down
Bell Boy!
Carry the bloody baggage out
Bell Boy!
Always running at someone's heel
You know how I feel
Always running at someone's heel
You got me where you want me
I ain't nothing but your fool
You treated me mean
Oh, you treated me cruel
Chain, chain, chain
(Chain, chain, chain)
Chain of fools
He's not wrong. Twice he turned the ball over while in FG range. We lost by one FG.
Yeah, the O-line sucked and that put him in a lot of compromising situations, but he's usually good at hiding their flaws. Not in that game.
To his credit, Josh owns his mistakes and, more importantly, learns from them. I'm confident that he'll bounce back.
But was I all right? (was I all right?)
Did I take you to the height of ecstasy?
Was I all right? (was I all right?)
Did a shadow of emotion cross your face
Or was it just another trick of the light?