Feelings Fade and Target Date Funds

 My mind started composing two different posts this morning so I'm going with it.

I just made some money moves in two of my brokerage accounts. I'd planned at the end of last year to hit my FIRE number and move everything to index funds because that's what people in the FIRE community say to do. When the market started its downward turn, I didn't jump right away. My idea was to lock in my FIRE number and essentially restart the clock with the move to index funds.

Since I never really got to lock in my FIRE number, my money has stayed largely where it is. There were a few periods where I was actively checking share prices for a few days at a time, but quickly lost interest. I just did some more clicking around - I tend to like to compare the 52-week high and low since my time horizon is markedly different than the other community members - and I think I prefer target date funds.

I started in target date funds as just a 401k investor and thought progress meant getting comfortable with index funds. Meh. I did well with my Mass Mutual target date fund so I was in no hurry.  Then my old company switched brokers and my growth kinda stagnated. Target date funds have higher expense ratios but for my time horizon, they are actively managed, and the ones I'm in seem to be outperforming VTSAX. So I'll stick with my monkey that dances. 

And actually when I looked more closely, last year when my company switched brokerage firms they put me in what I thought was a target date fund but it's a dated index fund! Makes sense why after a year I didn't make much progress. 

But the only other option is another index fund, the one I had my eye on when I was making all these big girl money moves (or so I thought). So maybe the next move is to rollover. Do I rollover to an IRA or into my current 401k. TBD. I hadn't thought about it until now. 

I think I like the protection of the 401k to save me from myself. If we know anything, I am one that needs guard rails. So once my 401k from Call Center #1 bounces back up either to the original cost basis or up to the last high, I might roll it over to my current 401k. My only concern is my current 401k seems to charge some very visible fees that I don't seem to notice in my Call Center #1 401k. 

Or honestly, doing nothing works just as well. I may need to take a step back from aggressively optimizing everything. Sheesh! 

Today I'm hoping to take it easy again and enjoy a lazy warm day. I have another deadline for Monday morning though so I might be working this weekend.

I tried to come up with an eating and activity schedule to help manage my angst about my upcoming trip but literally could come up with nothing. Who am I?!

What I wanted to say about Feelings is how they truly are deceitful. I just remember all the STRONG feelings I had about everything (personal, financial, boys, work, life...etc) the last 4 months that now I can hardly recall or feel very reactive too. Now, it's been 40 years of this but boy when they hit you it is as though you will NEVER recover! NEVER feel good again. NEVER feel anything else. NEVER forget all these horrible feelings.

A note I wrote to myself the other day - the rain stops whether or not I know why it started.

I think that was more when I was trying to figure out the why behind the recent series of unfortunate events. 

But there's just a general lack of appreciation on my part of the cyclical nature of things. I know it in hindsight but gosh in the moment I wish I could just know it then. 

What I don't get is where is the thing that causes a chain reaction that pings all my good feelings. Recalls every happy moment and warm fuzzy feeling? 

Not to put any more pressure on my trip, but I'm hoping just being away from daily tasks will be freeing. Even online money tasks or other things I do to needlessly fill up my time. #MoreFun