The Not-So-Nifty Fifty

Most people are pretty familiar with the 401k, a supplemental defined contribution retirement plan offered by many private employers. In the public sector, including public schools, most employers offer the 403b instead, which actually predates the 401k and functions in much the same way. Public employers also have the ability to offer a 457b plan, … Continue reading The Not-So-Nifty Fifty →

Appeared on the Teach and Retire Rich Podcast

Dan and Scott had me back on the Teach and Retire Rich podcast for those who might be interested. Apple Podcasts Direct link to the podcast on their site 403bwise 403bwise state 457 ratings Items mentioned in the podcast. Time to Buy! Buy! Buy! (Service Credit, 2025 Edition) (purchasing service credit) Our Current Portfolio and … Continue reading Appeared on the Teach and Retire Rich Podcast →

Vanguard Increasing 403b Administrative Fee to $80 a Year

I've written previously about fees associated with tax-advantaged accounts like 401ks, 403bs, and 457bs. For those of you in Colorado PERA, you're lucky enough to have access to PERA's 401k (and, if your district has opted in, to PERA's 457b). Unfortunately, many of the 403b vendors that districts also allow you to sign up with … Continue reading Vanguard Increasing 403b Administrative Fee to $80 a Year →

Time to Buy! Buy! Buy! (Service Credit, 2025 Edition)

Just a little over 3 years ago I wrote a post encouraging folks to purchase service credit in their pension system if they were eligible and could afford to do it. While the entire post is worth reading for the full context, I wanted to pull out this quote, The second reason I think purchasing … Continue reading Time to Buy! Buy! Buy! (Service Credit, 2025 Edition) →

Our Current Portfolio and Recent Returns

Each year I'm sharing what our current portfolio looks like. This is what it looks like as of January 1, 2025. (Here is April 2022 and January 2024). Asset Location Like many people, by necessity we have our investments in multiple places due to past employers, HSAs, and different types of taxable accounts. Taxable Investments: … Continue reading Our Current Portfolio and Recent Returns →

Should I Invest in My Traditional, Roth, or Taxable Account?

IT DEPENDS! Okay, I really wanted to just leave this as a two-word blog post, but I decided that probably wasn't all that helpful. The genesis of this post was a discussion on Facebook where people were giving advice about what account someone should invest money in. Often these folks are really big fans of … Continue reading Should I Invest in My Traditional, Roth, or Taxable Account? →