Happy Element Money Developments

[sabrinamari]

1. Paying attention is a basic step in making friends with Element Money. Today, I experienced a prime example of this principle.

Late this afternoon I did some quick online and telephone research, digging up the current status of an old retirement account established in 1997, when I knew NOTHING about investing. It was opened and quickly forgotten. The last time I checked, there was a bit over $300 in that account.

Today, it holds almost $3000.00. Thank goodness I finally dug through all the red tape necessary to regain access to it!

Also, it turns out that my new position allows me to put 403b money into that account again, AND there is an option that allows me to invest in inflation-protected bonds, or TIPS.

I have had a big gaping hole in my portfolio where TIPS should have been since I began investing, so this is a very, very good thing. Holding TIPS allows you to hedge your portfolio against rising inflation, something that seems likely in the long term, although it isn't at all an issue now.

2. Today I got an invitation to a free 'dinner seminar' at a nice restaurant here in town. Merrill Lynch has invited an unknown group of potential future customers to a lecture on investing lump sum distributions.

This is a wonderful thing. It suggests that I have come quite far in my home-based investment and personal finance studies. Merrill Lynch is using some kind of screen to try and figure out how to reach potential new customers, and I have stumbled into their catchment area.

I've gone from somebody who could barely spell 'portfolio' to a potentially exploitable customer.

Go me! In only a few short years I've moved from broke and insignificant to monied, perhaps gullible and even possibly credulous. Woo-hoo!

Comments

[citabria]

I'd be curious to know whether Merrill Lynch discusses annuities as a way of working with lump-sum distributions. It's a good way to keep needy relatives and friends from sucking one dry, since you *can't* access the principal.

[sabrinamari.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, I never thought of this. Of course, as a lawyer, you must come across situations like this regularly.

This never even occurred to me as a strategy, since I've rarely faced this problem.

Thanks for the insight.

[jasminewind.livejournal.com]

I have one of those "forgotten" 403Bs. I found a 2 year old statement from it recently that gave it a $300 balance. My latest quarterly update from TIAA-Crap gave a balance of $160. I've been losing money on that thing since I first invested in it. Glad yours was a better return!

[sabrinamari.livejournal.com]

Ouch!

I didn't know this term for TIAA-Cref, but boy, I share in the sentiment.