Some money to invest

[Gardenarian]

I've always been intimidated by the whole financial/investment world, so I really admire you for considering seeing a planner.

In my case, I'd use it to cover any health stuff not covered by insurance, like dental work, vision, hearing, and so on, and probably see a personal trainer as well. I've been taking care of a lot of stuff like that this year, so it's on my mind.

[Gardnr]

Stick with Vanguard and start another investing account to compliment what you have with them but not tied up in retirement rules thus allowing you to withdraw when needed. Put that cash in a moderate fund. And if you're as risk averse as you say (although I don't think you are), set up 2 accounts for your liquid cash: 1 moderate and 1 low risk.

The fewer fund sources you have, the easier to manage. We have 5 accounts with Ameriprise but I log on to our account and see all 5 on my summary page and can deep dive each one from there.

[Rogar]

I think one of the better investments for people who don't want to deal with any sort of routine management are the retirement funds that Vanguard and Fidelity offer. Basically they have a proportion of equities compared to fixed income investments that is appropriate for a person's age, and then is adjusted to more fixed income as a person gets older.

I have made mistakes in trying to self manage my savings, but have also learned from the mistakes. I am a fan of I-Bonds. I've not bought any in a while and I think the annual limit is now just $5,000. Still, if you buy some each year it can add up. It's very low risk and a way to guarantee at least keeping up with inflation, plus maybe a little more. They are a little complicated but can easily be figured out with a little reading. Like Steve mentioned, if you are getting one or two percent in a CD or money market and inflation is 2% or 3%, you are basically loosing money.

[Tybee]

I think one of the better investments for people who don't want to deal with any sort of routine management are the retirement funds that Vanguard and Fidelity offer. Basically they have a proportion of equities compared to fixed income investments that is appropriate for a person's age, and then is adjusted to more fixed income as a person gets older.
.

I have a small amount in both the Vanguard and the Fidelity retirement funds. The Vanguard 2015 fund has done well this year but the 10 year return rate is only 4.77. The Fidelity 2015 retirement fund averaged 4.41 over past ten years--I just checked them both right now. The Fidelity 2020--these are both choice in my 401k--has a 10 year average return of 4.23.

Expense ratio on Fidelity 2015 is .5. I think that just dropped--I remember it being something insane like 1.46 not long ago. I remember because that is why I bought the Vanguard outside of 401k when I decided to try some of the retirement funds in my own portfolio. The expense ration on the Vanguard 2015 is .14. That right there is reason enough to go with Vanguard.
Expense on Fidelity 2020 is .54, btw, even higher.

But you would not select these because you are only 53-- so let's look at the Vanguard retirement fund for 2035, based on your age-- VTTHX:

year to date return: 18.86
10 year average return: 7.6
expenses: .15--that's good

The return is higher because you have more stocks in it--proportion of bonds goes up as the retirement fund gets closer to your chosen retirement date.

Anyhow, I like Rogar's suggestion a little better with a longer time frame.

[frugalone]

I met with the rep from TIAA-CREF at work today. He said my Vanguard IRAs (one Roth, one traditional, both money market) could be earning more money. So I need to look into that. I fooled around on the Vanguard web site and can't figure out for the life of me how or even if it is possible to change the allocation on my accounts, so I sent them an email.

I also increased what I'm putting into my 403(b) by a small amount. So I guess I should pat myself on the back.

The rep did represent one of the funds like the VTTHX. Those set-it-and-forget-it accounts.

I took a Samuel Case book out of the library, as well as a couple of others. However, they all pre-date the recession. Can anyone recommend a book that is easy for a math-challenged person like me? In simple English...and up-to-date?

[rosarugosa]

Frugalone: This guy's investing advice is highly regarded and easy to understand. I haven't read his book, just most of this online stock series info:

http://jlcollinsnh.com/stock-series/

[frugalone]

Thank you! Looks like an interesting series. Will read through it.

Frugalone: This guy's investing advice is highly regarded and easy to understand. I haven't read his book, just most of this online stock series info:

http://jlcollinsnh.com/stock-series/