We have two exciting announcements that mom would like to share with you about today’s show:

One – We’re answering your letters today, including a BUNCH of them about the Roth IRA, named after a Congressman whose birthday happens to be today. In celebration, we’re cracking open the mailbag with our friend Scott Rieckens from the Playing With Fire documentary. He stopped by the basement while here for a sold-out screening, and while he was here we put him to work.

On the topic of letters…if you’d like to ask us a question, remember now to use the Haven Life line (StackingBenjamins.com/voicemail). We stopped accepting new letters months ago and we are just now seeing the light at the end of the tunnel on letters! Hurrah!

Two – Mom wanted us to remind you to take off your shoes when you walk inside the house. She works hard to keep the rugs clean, and you’ll just mess them up.

That’s all. Enjoy!

Show Notes:

We’re excited to have a special co-host today: Scott Rickens, co-creator and producer of the Playing with FIRE documentary.

You can find more from Scott and the Playing With FIRE film at: PlayingWithFIRE.co

<4:54> Headlines

• The best times to shop for just about anything (MarketWatch)
• Downsizing to one car from two can do wonders for retirees finances (The Globe and Mail)

<22:52> Letters

We’re getting close to FINALLY having an empty mailbag (and plan to keep it that way for the foreseeable future). But we couldn’t just finish out our long-standing letters era without one last show dedicated to letters. Check out the questions below:

Eric:

Once my pre tax 401k is maxed out, what are the risks of contributing to an after tax 401k?

On exiting my company, it can be rolled into a Roth IRA per the 2015 rule, and there’s no risk to financial aid for the kids.

Just want to know if there is tax risk when I leave company.

Samantha:

If I were to open a Roth IRA now by contributing 100.00 to the fund and then roll over $500 from a traditional IRA next year, can I withdraw the $500 in 4 or 5 years?

In other words, I’m not sure if the five year rule begins with the opening of the account or when the funds were deposited in it.
Thank you so much for your help!

Joseph:

I love the show! Just wanted to touch on something from a recent episode.

You answered a question about the S&P 500’s returns and the person asking also mentioned the rule of 72. The rule of 72 can be proven with simple algebra. As far as the returns go, the arithmetic average might be 10 percent, but that’s not real returns.

That is where geometric averages come in. Addressing this may help many listeners understand things a little better.

Rob

You talk about market timing in a lot of responses to questions. Generally speaking we should have our money in the market right away, right? I ask because I heard OG state (3/27/2019 episode) best thing you can do when the market is down 20% “is back up the truck”.

But how do we do that if our money is already in the market?

The implication is you have money sitting on the sideline. Isn’t that just market timing?

<31:08> Doug’s Trivia

• What was the original name of the Roth IRA?

<36:20> Haven Life Line

• All of Josh’s investments are in stocks. He wants to add some real estate to diversify. In Josh’s area property taxes are about equal to rent prices, should he save up for a house before he contributes to REITs?

Join us Wednesday!