NOTES: Restructuring Individual Retirement Account; Rule of 72

I have plenty of spare time now since the house is already empty, 2 kids are already in college and it is just me and my wife for now. My strategy has changed a little bit and I need to reassess my financial strategy.  Me and my wife will be retiring in 10 years or so and would love to do it within 10 years so that I can fulfill my true vocation [it is a secret, don’t ask me].  In order for me to retire from my job, I need to restructure my finances so that I will not have to work hard to fund my retirement projects.

ReadMe:

https://ucfocusonyourfuture.mysecurebenefitsportal.com/financialfitnesslibrary/resource/85
https://www.mysavingsatwork.com/taxexempt/assets/370190_FidelityBrokerageLink.pdf
https://www.fidelity.com/insights/investing-ideas/overview
https://www.fidelity.com/insights/investing-ideas/the-right-way-to-pick-a-mutual-fund
https://www.fidelity.com/insights/investing-ideas/7-stocks-for-the-next-15-years
https://www.fidelity.com/insights/personal-finance/4-key-numbers-in-your-financial-life
https://www.fidelity.com/insights/investing-ideas/how-life-stages-shape-investing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_72
http://www.moneychimp.com/features/rule72.htm
http://www.moneychimp.com/features/rule72_why.htm
https://www.khanacademy.org/economics-finance-domain/core-finance/interest-tutorial/compound-interest-tutorial/v/the-rule-of-72-for-compound-interest
What Are Mutual Funds
Type of Funds
Fidelity Mutual Fund Research
Top Fidelity Funds
Evaluating Investment Rate of Returns
Personal Rate of Return

Picking a Mutual Fund
Step 1: Determine why I want or need a new fund
Step 2: Find the funds or ETFs that meet my needs
Step 3: Learn the story of the fund
Step 4: Compare the fund to its peers, then check returns
Step 5: Choose the finalists, read the prospectuses, check with the analysts
Step 6: Check under the hood

Picking a Stock for Long Term Investments
[Not all stocks, however, are suitable long-term buys. A company you expect to be wedded to for 15 years should have six characteristics:]
1. a product that can endure and aren’t fads
2. a history of leaders who can adapt
3. a strong balance sheet
4. a benign competitive environment
5. a track record of innovation balanced by vigilance against taking on too much risk
6. a strategy that looks beyond the next year and certainly beyond the next quarter.

4 Key Financial Finance Health Index
Credit Score
Retirement Savings
Emergency Savings
Net Worth

My Fidelity Account Health Checklist:
1. Check the current balance.
Go To Your Fidelity Account->Account & Trade Portfolio->Statements->View Online Statements->Selelct YTD->Click Retrieve Statement
2. Check the current Personal Rate of Return. [Do this in December of each year]
3. Understand Rule of 72. [use spreadsheet below to simulate]
4. Create a Brokerage Link Account to have more investing choices.
5. Get Top Performing Mutual Fund List
[Fidelity Fund List By Performance]
[ETrade Fund List Screener] Select-All Groups, Performance-5Year Top20, ShowMe 4-5 Stars, Check-NoLoad/No Transaction Fee, View Matches, Click Export to Excel
6. Exchange low performing funds from your research.
7. Fund Brokerage Account
8. Invest Brokerage Account with Top Performing Funds
9. Repeat Step 1 to Step 7 every 90 Days

Excel – Simulator-PersonalFinance.xlsx
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/80421698/Simulator-PersonalFinance.xlsx

Related Finance Topics:
http://blindcaveman.wordpress.com/tag/finance/ 

Netbenefits Health Check [individual performance]
1. Login to https://netbenefits.fidelity.com/NBLogin
2. Click the Portfolio Position Link [top right area]
3. Click each Ticker Symbol [+] sign to view the performance of each investment.

Netbenefits Health Check [overall performance]
1. Login to https://netbenefits.fidelity.com/NBLogin
2. Click Quick Links–>Transaction History–>Summary-Year to Date Change
3. Click Quick Links–>Transaction History–>Investments–>Performance & Research