I just closed my 401k out at work...Seriously

[SmashMouth]

I like many of you all have lost my penis in my retirement accounts and I don't see it changing any time soon. I have decided that if I'm going to lose my hard earned cash I'm going to have fun doing it. I have started a a sportsbetting 401k. I'm totally committed to this and have given it alot of thought the last few days. I'm sure this is going to get bashed as a stupid idea, and it probably is at that. I have been betting very recklessly the last year and a half and have really gone away from the solid instincts that I once had. I have been terrible with money management, probably because this has been "fun" money that I have been betting with. That all changes now.
I can't afford to lose my retirement money. Who Can? I'm only 30 and my wife is 29. We live a reasonably comfortable lifestyle, but we have to work very hard for it. I figure that we will be able to retire by age 55 unless something unforseen occurs. I have closed all other sports book accounts and have opened $1000 accounts in the Nfl, College Foots, and Hockey. Later I will start one for baseball, Nba and College hoops, when those seasons start. Every Monday I will fund each account with $100. I think this will make me concentrate more on my capping and money management. Over the last 14 months I have lost almost equal amounts in the stock market and in sports betting.
Will this work? Probably not. Is it for everyone? Definitely not!!
When I get myself going on something, I usually can't stop myself. My wife thinks I'm crazy, but she is behind me. For now.
Stay Tuned
Jeff

 

[SixFive]

When u say close your 401K, u mean u are stopping future contributions, correct? At first I thought u meant u were cashing it out which I think would be a bad idea. I wish u success.

 

[SmashMouth]

6-5. Exactly!!
I'm temporarily stopping future contributions to my WORK 401k!!
I still have other retirement holdings. Thank you for the kind wishes.

 

[wannabe whale]

Hey-no bashing-whatever works for you-go for it!

-Think of this. When I got terminated from my job as a full-time manager-they let me stay on as part-time. Well part-timers are not allowed to contribute to 401k. They told me that if I was still with the company that I could not even withdraw it. So I have had to just sit and watch it rot. Although I think there is something with this-just can't risk going after them. Money a wastin away. :shrug:

 

[thunderdoll]

Smash, I like your idea but with the market low, and you not needing it for 30 or 40 years, this could be the best time to buy stocks. Not bashing because I really like your idea. I hope to someday build my play and winnings up big enough to help out with retirement. But starting slow and small. Good luck to you in whatever you decide.

 

[SmashMouth]

I agree with you thunder. I'm still buying stock. Just not with my work 401 k.

 

[TJBELL]

Best of luck to you!!!!! Hope it makes you big $$$$ and you can retire even earlier.

TOM

 

[redsfann]

WHEW!!

WHEW!!

Had me scared for a minute, Smashmouth.... Thought you had cashed out of your 401(K) completely. Glad to see you didn't do that, rather just stopped funding it for a while.

Also, glad to see you are still buying stock. I have been buying as much as I can the last 2 years or so and increased the wife's 401(K) to the max allowed by law.

No better time to buy than when the market is low like this. History shows that the market has traditionally returned 11% or so per year--- get those stocks while their cheap!

 

[Neemer]

I'd suggest you still contribute to your 401 K, and I would even go so far as to contribute more than you have in year's past. Dollar cost averaging is a good concept to follow. Does your employer contribute a certain % of money to your retirement plan every year? If he/she does, then by not personally contributing to your retirement would essentially mean that you're simply throwing money away that someone is trying to give you. It's painful to buy stocks in a depressed enviroment, but historically, it's the smartest move to make.....

 

[Redfish]

Good luck on your endeavor !!

Another strategy that I would encourage is to invest in a life insurance policy. Take out the largest policy you can comfortably afford and invest the funds into stocks or mutuals...same as a 401. But this is where the difference is.......during the course of the year, you are allowed to dump extra cash into the policy up to a certain % of your premium....this is ok but here's the main attraction...

1) as your investments grow...you do not pay the IRS for your gains

2) if you need cash you can borrow from your policy with no penalty (in some cases they will charge 0.1 to 0.3 % of the loan until you refund it. Once again ... since this is a loan the IRS doesn't get a cut.

3) its is creditor proof....should you ever get sued you could lose your house, car, savings, etc......but nobody can touch your life insurance policy

 

[freelancc]

impressed with all the financial savants..:toast: i completely agree with Redsfann and Redfish..

Sports wagering should be an investment also as long as it is porportionate to ones overall net worth.

good luck guys..!!

 

[Spock]

Smashmouth ..

good luck in this venture .. u were reboundin back in baseball last time i saw one of ur posts ..

From the title i also thought that ur cashin in ur 401K. Glad to know that is not the case. If the market stays like this there wont be much money to withdraw and pay taxes on.

Mebbe u can put in $50 to the 401K account every week and $50 into the sports account.

Good luck
Cheers !!!
Spock

 

[SmashMouth]

Great advice guys. Here is a little of what I have going on financially. I work for At&t, and while the stock sux now, I have a 10 percent payroll deduction going into company stock, which is the max. I get that at a 15 percent discount. Been buying at this rate for 3 years. Wife and I have both had roth Ira's for 6 years and max them both. I'm in three other mutual funds and one bond fund. We both had are selves pretty set financially before we got married.
I had been maxing my 401 k at 16 percent of my income for 3 years, and got sick of throwing the money out the window. My employer matches up to 6 percent, and after some thought I decided rather than throw the 6 percent they are matching, that is what I will knock my contribution down to. Thanks guys

 

[Neemer]

) if you need cash you can borrow from your policy with no penalty (in some cases they will charge 0.1 to 0.3 % of the loan until you refund it. Once again ... since this is a loan the IRS doesn't get a cut.

Always wondered WHY this is appealing to some folks? It's YOUR money and some insurance co. is charging you a predetermined interst rate to use it! Why on earth would this be appealing to someone? Universal is about 1/4th of the cost of a Whole life policy and a person could invest the difference themselves and borrow against with 0.00% interest.

Young families with large financial obligations are usually better off with term life insurance. The substantially lower premiums enable them to purchase sufficient coverage to protect against loss of income. Any discretionary investment funds can be placed in other vehicles (mutual funds, money market accounts, etc.) that are likely to generate returns similar to or better than life insurance contracts. Cash value insurance is sometimes purchased by people for tax and estate planning purposes.

 

[SixFive]

agree with neemer on the ins. I Don't see how whole life insurance could ever be a good deal. I can only see a place for it in some folks who are mega rich in their older years as a way to protect interests.