Throwaway account, not sure if this is the right place to post due to larger dollar values vs. what is usually posted on this subreddit... anyway...
My wife and I haven't directed any $ specifically for college savings yet. With 3 kids coming up to college age starting in less than four years, how should I be investing moving forward?
Let's assume I have the following:
- Kids are 15, 12, and 9
- Wife and I are in our mid 40's, make $150K+ annually, and have a $161K mortgage w/17 yrs remaining.
- $250K in checking and savings.
- $900K in retirement plans (401k's, IRA's, etc. - 85% in S&P 500 index funds)
- $200K in my company's stock (accrued via ESPP)
- $0 in any other stocks/bonds
What I know I'm going to do for sure:
- Don't touch the retirement funds
- Keep $100K as an emergency fund
- Keep $50K as free cash (regular savings)
Changes my gut says I should do:
- Reduce my investment in my company stock down to less than $100K
- Put the max $140K into the 529 account (lump sum max for 5 years as per 529 tax rules). Initially invest 50-75% S&P 500 index fund, the rest in government bonds, and reduce down the stock exposure as my youngest gets to 18 years old (9 years from now).
- Invest the remaining from company stock into... cash? more index funds?
Thoughts? Again, trying to figure out how much we should throw into a 529 (or a new 529 account) or skip it altogether, what funds we should be investing in (and with what ratios), and how much we should divest from my company stock (and when). Also, should I consider anything else?
Apologies if there's a better place to post this, just let me know where...
Submitted January 24, 2019 at 07:14PM by d123451234512345 http://bit.ly/2Tkky6E
