Hellobee Boards

I’m no expert but I’d try to max out your own retirement through 401k and Roth and then perhaps buy target date index funds through a brokerage account if you want access to some money in the near future for your parents. You should be able to do that with minimal/zero fees and then they take care of the appropriate asset allocation for your timeline and you can access as needed. Like the Vanguard 2025 retirement index fund (or 2030, or whatever) would provide a little more risk/reward than savings but be appropriate to your timeline. Just something to look into.

We were in a similar situation earlier this year - no debt except house and 1 car, savings in just a regular savings account but for the first time in our lives more than what we needed for a regular emergency fund, and not knowing the best place to invest it. We began working with a financial planner that specializes in our age bracket and income level (a lot of planners are geared toward the wealthy). Now we have a diversified mix - a low interest savings account for our emergency fund, a regular savings account for annual travel and such, and a mix of IRAs and mutual funds (both joint and solo - we rolled some old things over), in addition to our regular 401(k)s through work. The best part is that he was able to set everything up for us and run the projections to show us what we'll hopefully have at retirement.

I agree with a lot of what’s been said here, and if you want to set it and forget it a target date fund could be a really good option for you, just pay attention to the fees they’re charging. When we started out we used a three fund portfolio (see: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Three-fund_portfolio) which is a good way to diversify without paying someone else to manage your portfolio. You can choose a bond heavier allocation if you want to go low risk, although if interest rates are about to go up now might not be the best time to buy bonds. Ultimately, though, you can’t time the market and can manage risk by automating buying with timed transfers the same way you are with your employer plans. If you’re willing to take on a little more risk large cap funds are doing really well right now and are the least risky way to go in terms of short to mid term stability.

@Mrs. Carrot: I don't suppose there's any risk in sharing the name of the investment company. It's Facet Wealth. My husband found them online and they had very high ratings. We've been able to do all our meetings via Zoom and have been happy so far.

What are your goals and in what order? I think the first thing would be to max out the 401k. You can't beat that tax advantage. If your own retirement is at the top of the list, max out the Roth too if you are eligible to. (Check out backdoor Roth if you're not eligible). If you need to access this money in 5-10 years, index funds MIGHT not be quite right imo, you need more time in the market to ride out any waves and the market is at an all time high and a correction has just got to be near. High yield municipal bonds or bond funds might be a good spot to look, there are some tax advantaged ones.