I put in the maximum contributions to Roth and Traditional IRA accounts. I like the tax advantages, and everyone says to do it. I think it's a good idea in general.
40 years old now, and I want to buy a condo in my favorite city. Not as a financial investment, but as a stable place to live until I’m dead. It's a life investment. It also reduces my monthly expenses in the long term, which is good. I've done the projections which include time frame and other variables about my retirement situation, and I think it's a good idea.
**I want to pay cash, though**. I don't want to buy anything with debt. I have the money saved, so I don’t see why I should pay money for someone else’s money. Some portion of the cash is tied up in the IRA accounts. I would be charged an extra 10% on top of the income tax on whatever I withdraw beyond $10,000 for this purpose.
So an IRA basically locks you into the stock market, I guess? The other main thing Americans do for retirement is buy a home, and you can’t do that with the money. I kinda knew all this when I started contributing at age 20, but didn't think I'd ever buy a home.
So why did I put all this money into IRAs? I think I would have been better off putting everything into regular individual brokerage accounts. I started investing when I was 20. Why shouldn't I be able to update my retirement plans at age 40? Are these rules just a scheme to lock people's money into the stock market?
Why not just tax me like a normal non-tax-advantaged asshole when I pull out early? I imagine some average American getting into some trouble, and then being charged extra taxes and fees when they are forced to dip into their IRA. It seems like regressive tax policy to me.
Alas, a haiku:
Investing Wizards,
tell me something I haven't
thought of already.