Perhaps the BEST B1G Forum anywhere, here at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

It's not a matter of not having the money (although I need to do a little to make it liquid), it's a matter of not knowing what the hell I'm doing and how to set it up properly...

I think the ideal thing would be to set up the account, sell some of my holdings in my ETrade account that are long-term capital gains (15% tax, and only on the gain, not on the gross) which is below my marginal income tax bracket anyway (so it's better than using post-tax income to fund it). Put it into a traditional IRA and then immediately move into a Roth (backdoor). And then that helps me diversify my stock from only two companies I hold.

Maybe some of the folks on the board can tell me if I'm completely stupid for thinking that's the optimal idea.

But the question I have is... What do I need to do to make this happen? Can I do this on my own via some online option (I think Vanguard)? Are there simple ways to do the backdoor Roth online without the use of a financial advisor?

My wife worked at schwab.  You can do just about anything you want to do on their website without help.  However help is just a phone call away if you need it.

My wife worked at schwab.  You can do just about anything you want to do on their website without help.  However help is just a phone call away if you need it.

Completely agree with this. I used to trade on OptionsXpress in the mid 2000’s and eventually Schwab bought them out which upgraded their platform from a technology standpoint. Since being with them, they’re honestly incredible from a service level. Service, research and platform are all top notch.

Roth is the way to go. Who knows where taxes will be in the future? We know they are low now.

All the talk about converting traditional to Roth near or in retirement is confusing to me.  I know you can do it, but it'd be a giant tax payment, even if one-time only, and who wants to sign up for that?  

Welp, as I posted about a month ago I made 50. That was my threshold for retirement, the bare minimum. The guy in the office next to mine retired last week, but he’s in his late 50’s, like 57. I actually have more time at our company because he was a contractor here for many years before he was hired as a full time employee. 

Last year, there were three of us doing this job. We split our coverage up into roughly equal thirds. Now, admittedly, last year my workload was very low. I only had a few projects that executed in the field. As an example, in 2023 I executed 27 projects on my own, in ‘24 I did 7, and last year I did a grand total of two.  

My previous post was incomplete. 

One of the guys who was in my group was a contractor. Our boss told him in the Summer if he had an opportunity he should take it. Hint hint. He really wanted to stay and try to get a company job but with a new baby at home and dwindling workload he saw the writing on the wall and found a job with another company doing something similar. 

The other guy retired. He was upset about something he felt they screwed him out of, probably also he needed a change of scenery. 

So now all the workload is 100% on me. It really shouldn’t be too bad, as we still have less work this year than in years past.  But the beginning of this year has been brutal. I’ve got 3-4 projects going in one facility at the end of this month, a couple more going on in February, it’s just been super busy. 

And I really don’t care or want to be there. It’s tough because I know I’m ready to exit, and I have tons of stuff going on inside and outside of work.  

I’m going to tell my boss in our 1:1 I have a 3 year plan and if he needs to cut manpower I’ll be your huckleberry. What I’m not telling him is that I’m probably hanging it up in April. I figure I’ll keep that close until I’m 100% sure.