{"id":4931,"date":"2023-01-26T12:36:26","date_gmt":"2023-01-26T18:36:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.accrediteddebtrelief.com\/blog\/?p=4931"},"modified":"2026-01-12T17:45:32","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T23:45:32","slug":"how-to-have-twice-the-savings-when-you-retire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.accrediteddebtrelief.com\/blog\/how-to-have-twice-the-savings-when-you-retire\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Have Twice The Savings When You Retire"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Investing can be really confusing. That\u2019s why when most of us open a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accrediteddebtrelief.com\/blog\/pensions-and-401ks-know-the-difference\/\">401(k)<\/a>, Roth IRA, or a basic investment account, we often let the \u201cexperts\u201d handle the details. We pick one of the investment plans the company suggests, or we just hire a money manager to invest for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the truth is, more often than not, this can cost us heavily. Read on to learn how you can double your savings when you retire with one simple action \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#at-Are-Mutual-Funds-and-Index-Funds?\">What Are Mutual Funds and Index Funds?<\/a>&nbsp; <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#Well-Kept-Secrets\">Well-Kept Secrets<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#Twice-The-Retirement-Savings:-An-Example\">Twice the Retirement Savings: An Example<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#Which-Index-Fund-to-Invest-In\">Which Low-Cost Index Fund to Invest In<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#Final-Words\">Final Words<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"at-Are-Mutual-Funds-and-Index-Funds?\">What Are Mutual Funds and Index Funds?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"452\" src=\"https:\/\/www.accrediteddebtrelief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/768x432_TopDollar_low-cost_index-fundsImg1.jpg\" alt=\"Sack with &quot;fund&quot; written on it next to hour glass on top of laptop\" class=\"wp-image-4942\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.accrediteddebtrelief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/768x432_TopDollar_low-cost_index-fundsImg1.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.accrediteddebtrelief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/768x432_TopDollar_low-cost_index-fundsImg1-300x177.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>A <strong>mutual fund<\/strong> is a portfolio of investments that pools many individuals\u2019 money together to purchase stocks, bonds, and other kinds of financial instruments in hopes that the value of these assets will increase and produce a profit. In comparison to investing in, for example, one particular stock, a mutual fund allows you to lower your risk because investments are spread out, or diversified, among different securities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mutual funds are run by money managers who, in selling and buying these different securities, attempt to produce gains for the fund\u2019s investors.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An <strong>index fund<\/strong> is a type of mutual fund designed to replicate or track a specific part of the financial market, like tech or even the American market as a whole. While other mutual funds are considered a more \u201cactive\u201d form of investing with money managers moving assets around, index funds are more passive, allowing your investments to follow the movement of the market. Because of this, index funds don\u2019t need to be actively managed by a financial expert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"Well-Kept-Secrets\">Well-Kept Secrets<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"452\" src=\"https:\/\/www.accrediteddebtrelief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/768x432_TopDollarlow-cost_index-fundsImg2.jpg\" alt=\"Business man looking seriously at us and giving the &quot;shush&quot; sign with his index finger\" class=\"wp-image-4941\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.accrediteddebtrelief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/768x432_TopDollarlow-cost_index-fundsImg2.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.accrediteddebtrelief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/768x432_TopDollarlow-cost_index-fundsImg2-300x177.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>There are a few things that everyone should know about investing and mutual funds, but few actually do.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Money Managers Don\u2019t Know Any More Than You Do<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>The first thing to know is that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pionline.com\/investing\/active-funds-reach-decade-high-rate-sp-500-outperformance-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according to the data<\/a>, the vast majority of actively managed mutual funds underperform in comparison to the S&amp;P 500 index, often seen as a gauge of the entire market itself. In fact, only 10% of these funds outperformed the S&amp;P 500 over the past 15 years.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In other words, these people can\u2019t predict the market any better than you can. Nine times out of ten, you\u2019re better off just putting your money in an index fund representing the market as a whole (for example one that tracks the S&amp;P 500), than having someone handpick specific investments for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Many Mutual Funds Charge You <\/strong><strong><em>A Lot<\/em><\/strong><strong> of Money You Don\u2019t Know About<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>There are two very specific charges you\u2019ll likely find associated with your mutual funds, and they\u2019ll often go unnoticed in small print:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Financial advisor fees (could be labeled differently)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Expense ratio fees<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, you may not have directly hired a financial advisor, but if you\u2019ve invested in an actively managed portfolio through your retirement or investment account, you\u2019re paying a team of fund managers to make investing decisions. These fees can range from 0.25 to 3%, but <a href=\"https:\/\/money.usnews.com\/financial-advisors\/articles\/financial-advisor-fees-and-costs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a 1% fee is common<\/a>. This may seem insignificant, but we\u2019ll soon explain why this is not the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Expense ratios<\/strong> cover the operating costs of index and mutual funds \u2014 primarily the costs to buy or sell different securities (these will be much lower with index funds as there\u2019s less trading activity). <a href=\"https:\/\/www.investopedia.com\/ask\/answers\/032715\/when-expense-ratio-considered-high-and-when-it-considered-low.asp#:~:text=A%20reasonable%20expense%20ratio%20for,or%20less%20in%20some%20cases.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">According to Investopedia<\/a>, the average expense ratio for an actively managed mutual fund ranges between 0.5 to 1%, but can go as high as 2.5%. Again, these percentages may seem small, but their effects can be catastrophic to your savings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Implications<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Because 1.) mutual funds managed by \u201cexperts\u201d perform definitively worse than the overall market, and 2.) it costs <em>much <\/em>more to invest in these mutual funds than total market index funds (which generally give you higher returns), it tends to be a good idea to cut out the middleman and invest directly in the market through low-cost index funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"Twice-The-Retirement-Savings:-An-Example\">Twice The Retirement Savings: An Example<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"452\" src=\"https:\/\/www.accrediteddebtrelief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/768x432_TopDollar_low-cost_index-fundsImg3.jpg\" alt=\"stack of coins, canvas with sign saying &quot;x2&quot; and piggy bank indicating the effect of low-cost index funds\" class=\"wp-image-4940\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.accrediteddebtrelief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/768x432_TopDollar_low-cost_index-fundsImg3.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.accrediteddebtrelief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/768x432_TopDollar_low-cost_index-fundsImg3-300x177.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The organization <a href=\"https:\/\/www.choosefi.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ChooseFI<\/a> is a big proponent of the index fund VTSAX because:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It tracks the total U.S. market<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There is no financial advisor fee<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Its expense ratio fee is 0.04%&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>ChooseFI created <a href=\"https:\/\/www.choosefi.com\/financial-basics\/save-for-retirement-low-cost-index-funds\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">an illustrative example<\/a> to show how you could end up with twice the retirement savings if you opt out of mutual fund investing in favor of low-cost index funds (or end up with half the savings if you don\u2019t).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In their example, someone starting with $100,000 plans to invest for 40 years, with no further contributions. ChooseFI assumes a historically-based, conservative 8% gross stock market return.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Low-Cost Index Funds Route<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>In their first scenario, the person decides to invest their money in VTSAX and just let it sit. Assuming that 8% average annual return minus the 0.05% annual fee (since the time of this example, the fee dropped even lower to 0.04%), after 40 years, their investment would be worth:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-vivid-green-cyan-color has-text-color\" style=\"font-size:48px\"><mark class=\"kt-highlight\">$2,132,582<\/mark> <i class=\"far fa-thumbs-up\"><\/i><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Mutual Fund With Financial Advisor Fees Route<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>They also present a scenario in which someone decides to go the mutual fund route. In their example, the financial advisor attached to the fund charges 1% and the mutual fund has an additional expense ratio of 1%, both common rates. Now you\u2019re looking at an annual return of 6% (8% &#8211; 1% &#8211; 1%) rather than 7.95%. Seems minor, right? Well at the end of that 40 years \u2014 assuming that the money manager\u2019s decisions didn\u2019t put them at an active disadvantage relative to the overall market \u2014 this person\u2019s investment would be worth:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-vivid-red-color has-text-color\" style=\"font-size:48px\"><mark class=\"kt-highlight\">$1,028,571<\/mark> <i class=\"far fa-thumbs-down\"><\/i><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>How\u2019s this possible? It\u2019s only 2% per year. The truth is that because of the compounding effect of that fee, it eats away at your investments, year after year. This math works out the same way whether you have $100 to start with, or $100,000. The  mutual fund with net fees of 2% will leave you with half the savings as the low-cost index fund.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Use this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ramseysolutions.com\/retirement\/investment-calculator?snid=tools.investingcalc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">investment calculator<\/a> to see how much you might save with each of the funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"Which-Index-Fund-to-Invest-In\">Which Low-Cost Index Fund to Invest In<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"452\" src=\"https:\/\/www.accrediteddebtrelief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/768x452_TopDollar_low-cost_Index_fundsImg4.jpg\" alt=\"Man at home on couch with laptop, smiling\" class=\"wp-image-4939\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.accrediteddebtrelief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/768x452_TopDollar_low-cost_Index_fundsImg4.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.accrediteddebtrelief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/768x452_TopDollar_low-cost_Index_fundsImg4-300x177.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, your 401(k) or investment account may not give you access to the VTSAX index fund. That\u2019s OK! Most retirement and investment accounts will have low-cost index funds that are close equivalents to VTSAX, also representative of the whole market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fidelity offers FXAIX which has an expense ratio of 0.015% and Schwab offers SWPPX with an expense ratio of 0.02%. If you do your research (and read the fine print about fees), you should be able to find a similarly affordable fund that, in tracking a vast diversity of companies across the U.S. (or world), protects you from the minor movements of the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tommy Gallagher, ex-investment banker and founder of <a href=\"https:\/\/topmobilebanks.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Top Mobile Banks<\/a>, says that low-cost index funds are \u201can ideal choice for those who are risk-averse, as they automatically rebalance the portfolio over time and protect against the risk of individual stock and sector losses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While it may seem scary to put all of your savings into what seems like a highly volatile market without the \u201csupervision\u201d of a financial expert, that volatility is really limited to the short term. Crashes, while terrifying, happen, and then the market rebounds. In the long term, <a href=\"https:\/\/awealthofcommonsense.com\/2022\/05\/why-does-the-stock-market-go-up-over-the-long-term\/#:~:text=The%20stock%20market%20goes%20up%20over%20time%20because%20businesses%20get,down%20in%20the%20short%2Dterm.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the market has always continued to go up<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re a long-term investor like the person in the example above, simply interested in saving up for retirement or for your kids\u2019 inheritance, know that investing in the stock market as a whole through a low-cost index fund has historically been a really smart play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"Final-Words\">Final Words<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Many people have no idea of the devastating effect that those seemingly small mutual fund fees can have on their investments, but it really can mean the difference between $250,000 and $500,000 savings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the end, taking just an hour or so to investigate where your money is currently invested, and making a slight adjustment to move that money into one or more low-cost index funds can make a huge difference to your future retirement and your financial legacy as a whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><sub>The information provided in this article is not intended to constitute specific legal, tax or financial advice. Instead, all information, content and materials available are for general informational purposes only. You should consult a legal, tax or financial professional with respect to your particular situation and circumstance.<\/sub><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn why you might be throwing half your savings away, and how to change that with one simple action &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":4943,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance-planning"],"accredited":{"author":{"name":"Stella Martin","url":"https:\/\/www.accrediteddebtrelief.com\/blog\/author\/smartin\/"},"categories":[{"name":"Financial Planning","slug":"finance-planning","url":"https:\/\/www.accrediteddebtrelief.com\/blog\/category\/finance-planning\/"}],"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.accrediteddebtrelief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/768x432_TopDollarBlogHeader_low-cost_index_funds.png"},"acf":{"edited_by":"","reviewed_by":"","fact_checked_by":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - 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