@doschicos, I know Bogleheads is considered a good source for some financial info., but probably not the specifics you describe.
Yeah. I wish Bogleheads format was more user friendly. I find it cumbersome, at least compared to CC. I know this person wouldnāt have the necessary patience to deal with it. Anyone else here dislike the Bogleheads interface?
That interface is the blight of many message boards. Glad CC keeps it simple and freely flowing.
I agree that Bogleheads is a pain, and the minute I find something better, Iām moving 
You asked a tough question. Itās a tough one to answer briefly, because the value of capital allocation in a free market is so often is obscured by artifacts and greed. A Why Capitalism?
@doschicos I donāt think thereās any one place to look for financial advice. Over the years Iāve found I looked at several different websites/financial gurus. As I learned more, I moved on. Or as I looked for something not available one place, I looked elsewhere.
I must be easy to please - I donāt mind Bogelheads, lol. Donāt go there every day, but itās informative.
I also second The Only Investment Guide Youāll Ever Need by Tobias.
And while I donāt like a lot of what she pushes, Suze Orman is a good first stop for very very basic stuff. I started with her many moons ago, and it got me started thinking about what money is and how to make it do what I want for my life.
Dave Ramsey is more focused on debt-reduction, but he also has some educational things to say.
You could also look at earlyretirementdotorg (not sure the link would pass the CC posting test, even though itās a pretty good message board).
For those of you having issues with the Bogleheads format, maybe youāre not looking at the forum itself. They have post listings here - https://www.bogleheads.org/ and that format would scare anyone away.
But their forum is here - https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/index.php
and I find it easy to navigate. They have a great search function in the forum,too. Just type in the keyword or topic youāre interested in up in the Google box on the upper right and youāll get links to every discussion on that topic.
@patsmom Your forum link is where I go. Thatās why I couldnāt figure out the problems people were talking about.
But then again, my first Internet experience was those old usenet and compushare forums, so ā¦ 
@doschicos , I learned about investing from Jane Bryant Quinnās really thorough and approachable āMaking the Most of Your Money.ā Itās been updated since I read it in the early '90s (pre-internet!) with āMaking the Most of Your Money NOW.ā I havenāt read the second one.
It sounds like you want a defense of capitalism, not a primer on investment. Am I reading this wrong?
Watch CNBC, especially the 2 hours after the market closed.
āIt sounds like you want a defense of capitalism, not a primer on investment. Am I reading this wrong?ā
Maybe a bit. What Iām saying is that anything with a āYou can be/How to be rich!!ā mantra isnāt going to resonate with this audience at all. And a lot of stuff approaches investing with that pitch. I want something basic without wading through a forum full of posts. Like a little primer of sorts. What is a stock? What is a mutual fund? An index fund, how the stock market works, something that defines the basics clearly and succinctly. What @notrichenough posted is the closest to what Iām looking for. Articles, videos and podcasts would all be great.
I have this book https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1861923.Your_Guide_to_Understanding_Investing though mine is an older edition as it has a different cover. Very helpful. Very much an āinvesting for dummiesā and well organized. Was given to me by a now late friend who was an investment advisor.
@colorado_mom - it is a very handy book.
I canāt possibly get through the 857 pages of this thread by retirementā¦
As we all age and send kids off to school, whatās the general consensus among the contributors here? How much money do you need to retire, assuming you work until full retirement age(67+)?
Iām guessing most posters fall somewhere in the 45 - 55 year old range. How much money should you have in your 401k now to give yourself a shot at a stable, but not necessarily ācomfortableā retirement into your mid to late 80ās? Like every NPC, use $99,999+ household income as the standard.
@Time2Shine: Welcome. You were smart not to try to read all 857 pages but, even if you did, the answer would be āit depends.ā Very few posters have given hard numbers to the first question, but many have been open with the age question.
The reason āit depends,ā of course, is because there are a number of assumptions and everyoneās definition of a āstableā or ācomfortableā retirement can differ. A simple example might be wanting $100K annually in retirement (say this amount, in your calculations, would cover all your needs and wants comfortably). If you assume no SS, a life expectancy of 90, and a retirement age of 60, you would need to cover 30 years with your portfolio. With no interest, youād need $3,000,000 to withdraw $100K annually for 30 years, but that isnāt a good figure when SS probably is in the picture at some point, your investments are earning interest, and cost of living adjustments need to be included. You also have to decide if you want to preserve principal or die with a dollar. If you assume the old saw about 4% being a safe withdrawal rate and you want to preserve your principal, $2,500,000 will throw off $100K, but then there are taxes to figure into that, etc. If SS will offset your withdrawals by, say $30K, then your portfolio only needs to support $70K in annual withdrawals, so you can see how many variables begin to appear; there really isnāt a one-size-fits all answer. (And there are pages and pages here about how to figure in healthcare costs which, again, does not have a simple answer.)
We used the logic above as very basic back-of-the-napkin cuts to get us understanding what ballpark we were talking about, but we have used a financial planner to help us with the nitty gritty. Many here do it all themselves. Some, like us, donāt want to manage that money and are comfortable with the fees we pay not to. Again, even this part of the equation differs.
Anyway, there are some very experienced posters here who Iām sure will chime in with lots of things for you to think about. I know I enjoy lurking here and listening to the chatter. I have learned a lot.
And some of us are waaaaaaay over the 45-to-55 age bracket. Iām 69, but Iām probably one of the oldest on CC.
@VeryHappy Haha! No offense intended of course. I hope to make it to 69+ā¦
@ChoatieMom Thanks! That was the type of reply I was hoping for. I totally understand about the variables. Our current plan, though quite distant, includes relocating to a state with advantageous tax laws, which should also help.
Yep, re-location/taxes, those are certainly things to think about, too. I think part of the value of this thread is that, over time, the discussions have wandered into just about every nook and cranny of retirement planning. Even if you just dip in and out of these pages, you will cover a lot of ground. Recently, the discussion covered those things to account for in retirement that maybe arenāt obvious to everyone, like ongoing repairs and maintenance (cost of home ownership), multiple vehicle replacements, etc. Itās easy to come up with āWhat nut do I need to have to throw off $X at 3-or-4% interest,ā but you need to have a pretty good handle on $X, and thatās what a lot of these discussions illuminate.
While waiting at a local restaurant, a couple next to us has two in college (attending our stateās flagship like our DD2). They are putting $500/mo extra towards their mortgage to get that paid off sooner. They are cash flowing DDsā college costs. Definitely planning, and also feeling the economic impact and immediacy of wanting to prepare for āthen next stepā after getting kids through college.
I think a mistake some make is not taking advantage in early work years of putting money into retirement or savings and using the time value of money. Another is not planning enough, learning early on how to manage own personal finances and nest egg savings, and contingency plans (expect the unexpected) for things like reductions in force, plant closing, etc.There are risks all along the path - and coming out of a bad thing and meeting goals while keeping a positive attitude.Also having āthe kids be alrightā.
Resilience with health, jobs, and personal finances.
Quality of life in retirement years which includes enough money and enough good health. It is a good feeling to see quality retirement on the horizon.