Good Morning!

The Higden Intermediate Plan I have not really been following called for an 8 mile Pace run today.  I guess that's MP, but I have no idea what that is for me right now, and I've been running only slow lately.  I set out aiming at a 9:00 pace and had one of those rare (for me) runs where I had to work to slow myself down(!) and ended up doing much better than I expected.

8.25 miles total, with 7 miles in the middle at 8:47 average pace.  (No way was I going to try to keep pace the last mile uphill home.)

I did stop a few times during this run to go around obstacles on the riverpath - piles of debris from recent floodwaters, including a skeleton of a large animal (dog? wolf?), that stopped me in my tracks for a minute, but still I was very pleased with this run.

Now I'm drinking my kale, spinach, carrot, celery, blueberry, banana and pumpkin seed smoothie...

Thinking of all of you up in the northeast and hoping you are keeping warm and safe.

...yeah, nothing like Finding A Skeleton on a Run.........

========

..32min poolrun,

20's but no wet stuff,

............bikeride tomorrow.....

.....................good running guys............Be Safe to Our EastCoasters.......

Holly that was an EXCELLENT run! That's actually what I was supposed to do yesterday, maybe a mile longer on the pace part, though the way I felt on my long run, I didn't think my legs would ever be able to carry me that fast. So all this slow running that we do does indeed make us stronger and faster.... kinda cool how the science works, isn't it?

Safe travels, Twocat. We got about a foot and a half dumped on us, but it's all done now. Just had a group of three kids ring our doorbell, offering to shovel our driveway. Our snowblower happens to be broken. They asked for $40 total, we gave them $60 (and a cup of hot chocolate each for their efforts), and everyone is happy.

Going out for 4 easy miles in a little while. Stay safe everyone!

again, no run but I am over the hump.  3 more nights, then I have three weeks off.  I haven't really decided what to do with it yet other than run.  I might go to Las Vegas for a few days.  I need to see what shows are playing.

Holly,  sounds like a great run.  Your blender concoctions sound wonderful but if you ever decide to take it to another level,  look into a vitamix.  Haven't checked in a while but I think they cost about $500.  often see them on top chef.  they work real miracle's

Holly:  You said     "Divechief - thanks, I really am interested in hearing about different plans for retirement."

Again, I will try to keep this brief because this is a running forum (but I probably can't) ,first the disclaimer.  I am no expert,  I will probably  make some mistakes or omissions.  free advice is often worth what you pay for it. (sometimes worth much less than you pay for it)

I hope this isn't too basic.  I feel like I am mostly typing stuff everyone knows.  If anyone wants less of this, let me  know.  If by some strange chance anyone wants me to expand on any of this, let me know that too.

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Holly:  You will have no choice what plan you use,  What is available is totally up to your employer.  The plan numbers are IRS code,  with a few exceptions, they  all work the same.  You deposit money before tax is withheld. this way you put more money to work and you lower your end of the year income tax bite since as far as the IRS is concerned, You never earned  the money that is Tax deferred.   these plans are usually are called something more descriptive.

These are all Defined contribution plans.  You tell the plan how much you want taken from your wages each month.   When you retire,  all the money you get back is money you put in plus investment returns.  if you spend too much you could run out of money.

(The other type of retirement plans are Defined Benefit plans.  these used to be common,  not so much any more.  They work kind of like social security.  You work for us for 30 years,  we will give you X dollars/month for the rest of your life)

the main players are:

401K plans (often called deferred contribution)  are mostly available to private sector employees (If your employer chooses to offer it)  In some plans, the employer matches some or all of your  contribution.  If this is offered You really should do everything you can to get the full employer match.  otherwise You are leaving money on the table.   More importantly, If your kids are offered this when they join the work force You should do everything you can to urge them to contribute what is necessary to get the full match.

None of the other plans offer any employee matching contributions other than that they all pretty much work the same.

457 (often called deferred contribution) usually offered to public employes

403B (often called deferred contribution) Usually offered to volunteer organizations.

much less common are

401A  lots of names and rules for these,  maybe called money purchase benefit.  They may use employee or employer contribution depending on how your employer sets it up.

Ok, that's over.  I am almost done.  (I hear a sigh of relief)  With any of the above.  after you decide how much to contribute, You have to decide how to invest it.  All the plans will offer a mix of investment choices inside the plan.  (some plans have much better mixes than others.  unfortunately Washington State kind of sucks) IMHO the biggest mistake I see many of my co-workers making is going 100% cash because they are afraid to loose money.  They are loosing 3-4% every year to inflation.  If you have time on your side to my mind, an easy and no brainier option is the so called target date fund.   these have a set date when they anticipate you needing the money.

You can leave your money in the target date plan for ever, but after the date is reached they should become VERY conservative.  If you want to retire in 2020 for example, You would buy a 2020 fund.  If you still hold the fund in 2030 it might hold mostly cash.

OK, volumes could be written to expand the above but one last note.  (this will be over soon)

there is of course tons of books, web sites, seminars (be afraid of seminars) etc, on how to invest what to invest in etc.  it can quickly be overwhelming.

What follows is what in my IMHO is the most valuable part of this post to anyone not familiar with this.

If you decide you need professional help on any of the following questions, or a million others.

1. When can I afford to retire?
2. What financial changes can I expect after I get married?
3. How much can I help my kids with school finances without derailing my own retirement?
4. What's my net worth?
5. How much house can I afford?
6. How will I be able to pay bills six months from now, six years from now and 16 years from now?
7. Which investment vehicle is right for me?
8. What types of insurance and documents do I need in place to protect my family?
9. What exactly is a diversified portfolio and how can I build one?
10. How did my investments do this past year?
11. Am I taking advantage of all the benefit plans my employer offers?
12. How will inflation impact my retirement goals?

Anyone can call themselves a financial planner.  they are often stock brokers or insurance salesman.

If You want professional help on any of the above, seek out a Financial Planner with the letter CFP after his name.  You should always get a free initial meeting to see if you are a good match.  You will pay more up front then you will with commission based planner, but the CFP will have no potential conflict of interest.

OK,  I am up way too late today.  off to bed now,  I have to work a couple extra hours tomorrow, but I have just one more quick note.

ARF:

first,  I am completely OK with you posting on this forum.  Honestly,  it doesn't matter to me at all what you say to anyone.

BUT

You wrote:    "Dive -!   Hopefully see you at a race this year?"

No,  Hopefully not   Please keep posting in the race calendar so I know what races to avoid.  Thanks.

mari, my thoughts are with the family and friends of your superintendent friend.  enke, continued good vibes going your way.  I hope you have a good weekend at the cabin.  dive, neat that you've got your retirement plans in order.  It sounds like you've got it all figured out.  C-R, great race with your son.  You both are fast.

Nice long runs for OM and stumpy.

This morning, the roads were still in bad shape from yesterday's snow and the temps were in the mid single digits.  I got in 9 miles on the TM at a 10:54 pace.

A good day and good runs for all.

TomS

Good for you on your run, Holly! You always underestimate your abilities.

One of our races (Gold Discovery Run) that has the first half (8 miles) on trails had a moose skeleton at one turn for years. The course directions actually said "turn right at the moose skeleton" but something happened to it and it's gone now. Dang, need to re-write the course description.

Dive, the 457 plans are usually called deferred comp plans, and 403(b) plans are usually called tax-deferred annuity plans (or tax-sheltered). We offer a mix of plans, including a traditional defined benefit plan to employees hired before 2006, and that's the bedrock of my portfolio. We also have 401(a) which is employer-only money in a supplemental account we set up when we opted out of Social Security back in 1982. For new employees, we have an "Optional Retirement Plan" (or ORP) with a 401(a) employer-funded component and a mandatory 403(b) employee-funded component (meaning the employees can't change how much they contribute and can't opt out of it). Then we have the voluntary 403(b) to supplement and the executives can do a 457(b) on top of that. Lots of options, and our default investment is a target-date "life cycle" fund with a "through date" strategy, meaning there's still a managed investment plan after the target date is reached (vs. just all cash). Managing the retirement benefits is just part of what I do for my employer, and the education component can be a challenge!

Wow, this is a running forum right? Oh yeah....  I'll get outside for a run today, but it'll be tough going. We got snow the last couple of days (nothing like the East Coast, but still) and I don't think any plows have made themselves useful yet. But... it's going to get into the low to mid-20's today and I just can't resist! My "mini streak" of shortish runs (nothing over 8) have gotten me to 26 miles already, the most thru Friday in a very long time!

ARF:

first,  I am completely OK with you posting on this forum.  Honestly,  it doesn't matter to me at all what you say to anyone.

BUT

You wrote:    "Dive -!   Hopefully see you at a race this year?"

No,  Hopefully not   Please keep posting in the race calendar so I know what races to avoid.  Thanks.

dave - thanks for the valuable insight into your retirement strategies. I hope it provides you with many years of 50-stating that'll carry you through until the time comes. Next to my late ultra-friend Paul Piplani you're my very best running friend, rides, photo-posting and everything else.  I don't get to meet many gentlemen in my lawyer business so you are even more special.  Therefore, I was so sorry when all the running, etc. you and arf were doing came to an end.  It was her 100K RR in 2007 that got me entering my first one on the spur-of-the-moment just six days after our Boomer reunion at that year's Bellingham Bay Marathon. Nevertheless, I'm glad you'll both be posting again and I look forward to seeing you at an upcoming race when your schedule (and mine too) permits. I just missed my third scheduled event in a row with today's annual Valentine Run around Green Lake that, as the site of my first substantial barefoot run in 1990, has always a favorite opportunity to take of my thongs and run like the wind. Maybe let's try it again at next month's St. Pat's Dash over at the Seattle Center.  Thanks.

Coastal New Hampshire reporting in:

We got about 2 ft. of snow from the storm - it's hard to tell the actual amount because there was a lot of wind and a lot of drifting. Some spots, such as on the downwind side of tree, were bare. Others had drifts 4-5 ft. high. I had a 2 1/2 hour snow blower workout in the wind this morning. I had most of the driveway cleared when the snow blower stopped throwing snow (the manual says maybe a belt broke), so I did the rest and the walks with a shovel. Fortunately, it was cold enough during the storm that the snow that fell was nice and lightweight - there was just a lot of it! We've had a lot more wind gusts during the day, so I'll have some clean-up tomorrow, but it shouldn't be too bad.

On the retirement front, one of our biggest decisions is determining when is the best time for DW and myself to start collecting Social Security. The way we've got it figured now, we'll both wait a few extra years to build up the monthly payment. DW has a pension from a former employer, but we've both been self-employed for 20+ years, so we've built our own retirement portfolios. We're hoping we've done a good enough job of it, since it's a bit late for us to start over.

In addition to the financial aspects of retirement, have you figured out what you are going to do with your new-found free time? We run a small company, and I'll stay with it till DW starts talking about selling it (I could let it go now, but she's still having too much fun with it). Meanwhile, I've got my toes in a variety of volunteer groups, and putting more time in can keep me more than busy enough. And someday, I want to see if my lathe will still start, and get back to the basics of woodturning. But first, I've got to get that snow blower working again!

Jay