I’m 40 and just learning financial literacy. I have no retirement. I opened a Roth IRA and have begun putting small amounts into FSKAX and plan to max it out yearly.. From what I could tell all of those index funds are pretty much the same and I can’t figure out if one would really do much better than the other so I went with that.
I work in sales and so far my income has always been under 140k each year, usually closer to the 100-120k mark. Of course it could go up or down I just don’t know.
What happens if I have been putting money into a Roth and all of a sudden my income seems to be going above the threshold for this year or another? How would I handle that?
I also have an individual brokerage acct that I would love to grow as well for money that I could let grow or use early if needed- still learning about the tax liability on any gains.
Just not super sure what I’m doing and people throw around so many different options like qqqm, voo, vti, and more so it’s all so confusing. I barely have money to put in maybe couple hundred bucks a month but if I get bigger chunks throughout the year I’d like to be smarter with it. Obv too- since I’m late I’d like to see anything input in grow as much as possible.
Would love to know what you guys would do in this situation or for direction on where to better learn
New to fidelity and investing
byu/Embarrassed_Lion3439 ininvesting
Posted by Embarrassed_Lion3439
2 Comments
Hey mate first off props for starting at 40 and already opening a Roth IRA while putting money into FSKAX. That’s a really solid beginning. Many people never even get that far.
FSKAX is a great low-cost total market index fund so you made a good choice there. Most broad index funds are very similar long-term. The important thing is consistency and time in the market.
For your Roth IRA income limits if your sales income pushes you over the threshold you can always do a backdoor Roth conversion. It’s a common move and your tax pro or Fidelity can walk you through it easily.
For your individual brokerage account I’d keep adding consistently even if it’s just a couple hundred a month at first. Focus on simple diversified ETFs while you learn.
I’m a regular guy in my mid-30s with a wife and kids. What helped me grow faster and with less stress was working with Stocks and Bonds Capital. They assigned me a personal portfolio manager who handles the research allocations and technical side across stocks bonds forex and some crypto. I just focus on adding capital when I can and the big decisions.
It’s given me real peace of mind while still enjoying life with my family.
You’re not late. You’re right on time. Keep learning stay consistent and you’ll build momentum.
If you want tips on how I set things up or how a managed approach could work for you feel free to shoot me a DM. Happy to share what’s worked for me no pressure at all.
You got this 💪 Keep going.
Keep in mind the Roth IRA income limit is modified adjusted gross income so that’ll be one thing to factor in. A back door Roth conversion would be an option to research if you’re bumping against the income limit. There is also an “oops” mechanism to pull contributions out if you end up over the income limit so you’re not stuck if that happens.