On 2008-06-08 09:52:32 -0700, liljacket <eholand[at]charter.net> said:

- quote -

If I were you I would get together with as many of your co-workers as
you can round up and collectively approach management to politely
request a switch to some retirement plan without that $75 ripoff. You
might discuss with them the virtues of Vanguard and Fidelity. Make it
sound like you and your co-worker's morale would greatly improve with a
decent retirement plan, so that the company would also benefit in the
long run.

------ Misc.invest.financial-plan is a moderated newsgroup where Moderators strive
to keep the conversations on-topic for financial planning. Other posting
guidelines include a request for brevity and another for trimming posts to
which we respond. For all of the other tips and suggestions, see "FROM THE
MODERATORS: Posting to misc.invest.financial-plan", a weekly post now on the
Newsgroup.

"liljacket" <eholand[at]charter.net> wrote
- quote -

Attaway. $4+ a gallon alone is enough to warrant buying a
truly economical vehicle.

- quote -

It's in the past but to me it begs the question as to how
likely is it that you could lose your current income. I do
not mean to be presumptuous. More just saying it is
important to consider how stable your income is. Hopefully,
very.

- quote -

Ask Baird. I am not optimistic you can have Vanguard or
other discount house hold your SEP IRA. I can say that $75 a
trade is robbery; total scam. Around $15 a trade is the most
you'd be trading with any of the larger chains like
Fidelity, TRowePrice, or Vanguard. Congress is watching
ripoff fee setups like this for employee retirement plans,
FWIW, though the focus has been more on 401(k).

------ Misc.invest.financial-plan is a moderated newsgroup where Moderators strive
to keep the conversations on-topic for financial planning. Other posting
guidelines include a request for brevity and another for trimming posts to
which we respond. For all of the other tips and suggestions, see "FROM THE
MODERATORS: Posting to misc.invest.financial-plan", a weekly post now on the
Newsgroup.

liljacket wrote:

- quote -

Even keeping a small notebook in your pocket (I mean those tiny 5"x3"
guys) will be a good start. One month is meaningless, mostly.
My home insurance is billed yearly, as are both our term life policies.
Property tax is quarterly in my town.
Electricity in the summer is 2-3X that of spring or fall, and gas
(natural) in winter is 8-10x in the summer.
That first month will really just alert you to the 'latte factor' items,
the spending that adds up over the weeks which we tend to ignore. It
takes longer to get a grip on annual spending.

- quote -

$75 per transaction is unconscionable for a retirement account. They
offer no mutual fund choices?
I'd consider making the purchases less frequent. If we presume a 10%/yr
average growth, then waiting a month costs you less than a percent, but
saves you 5% on the transaction fee. Even quarterly makes sense
depending on how you plan to invest. Not sure what you mean by A shares
vs C shares, what is offered in your account, stock (ETFs are traded as
stocks are) or mutual funds?

Joe

www.blog.joetaxpayer.com

------ Misc.invest.financial-plan is a moderated newsgroup where Moderators strive
to keep the conversations on-topic for financial planning. Other posting
guidelines include a request for brevity and another for trimming posts to
which we respond. For all of the other tips and suggestions, see "FROM THE
MODERATORS: Posting to misc.invest.financial-plan", a weekly post now on the
Newsgroup.

First things first. A big Thank you to all of you folks.
Clearly this is a knowledgeable group.
This is the actions I have taken so far:
Paid off CC debit on Friday.
As for my truck debit: The company I work for has decided to get me a
economical vehicle and will either buy my truck or I can sell it out
right.
So I should be consumer debit free by the end of the month.
Next is budget.
The best budget info that I could find on the web says to start out by
writing down every penny I spend for a month then break that down to
fixed and variable expenses. I tried the quicken and money softwares a
few years ago but after 3 months didn't stay up with all the data
input.
So this time I will keep it Excel simple.
As for how I ended up like this: 2 divorces is one reason and a
business BK after 911. But thats in the past.
Questions:
Investments: My company's SEP is with Baird. Since I am not in the VIP
club($100K+) I have to pay about $75 per purchase of stocks or ETFs.
So unless I buy A shares(I am not sure if it is A or C shares, the
ones you have to hold for a long time) I have to pay $75 bucks. Seems
to be a rip. I let my cash build to about $1500 (once a month) then
make a purchase. Can I just have the company send my money and
contribution to Vanguard or a discount house?
Thanks again...you folks are great!

------ Misc.invest.financial-plan is a moderated newsgroup where Moderators strive
to keep the conversations on-topic for financial planning. Other posting
guidelines include a request for brevity and another for trimming posts to
which we respond. For all of the other tips and suggestions, see "FROM THE
MODERATORS: Posting to misc.invest.financial-plan", a weekly post now on the
Newsgroup.