Setting Your >2026< Personal Finance Strategy

[ptatohed]

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@Aim_High wrote:

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@ptatohed wrote:

Alright Mr. @Aim_High , my 3 kids' Minor Roth IRAs had $129 each in cash built up so I bought them 2 shares of AAAU ($42.44) and 1 share of HODL ($25.53) tonight!  Thanks for all your help!  

Hey, with me wanting to get out of fundrise, I was thinking of moving into more liquid REIT ETFs.  Do you have any suggestions for some good REIT ETFs?

Thanks Aim!   

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What you're doing for your kiddos is awesome, @ptatohed!  Glad to help. 

I don't have REIT recommendations for you.  I've looked into some various REITs in last few years but was never convinced it was where I wanted my money.  Depending on the business model, the type of properties and such, it seems the results can be rather inconsistent, IMO.  While growth is possible, it appears to me that dividend income and diversification of principle are the larger motivations for REITs. Maybe one day I will return and look into them a little bit farther.  Let us know if you find some good ones. 

Is the reason you're wanting out of fundrise due to liquidity issues or were there other disappointments?

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Ok, thanks @Aim_High .  

Yeah, the reason I want out is basically because of liquidity issues.  I don't need this $26k ($26.9 actually) any time soon but I don't like the feeling that my money seems 'trapped'.  If you are on the website, looking at the dashboard, it is super easy to find the 'Invest' button to add more funds.  But try looking for a 'Sell' button - good luck!  I contacted them earlier this year about selling and I almost feel like I was given a guilt trip "You know, most investors who go with us know this is a long term investment and they are prepared to keep their investment for over five years....."  And I'm thinking to myself, I've been with you since 2018!!!   So, to sell, I believe you have to wait for a certain time window that is open 4 times per year and then you have to hope there are other investors willing to buy your shares.  I think she said it could take more than one quarterly window to completely liquidate.  I don't care for that!  And, I will say, from year 2018 to 2023, it zoomed to $27.9k and since 2023, it dropped to $26k by early 2024, and is slowly heading back up.  So, I am actually lower than my peak and the last 2 years have been positive but slow going. 

Here, I'll add a screen shot.  Where you see the several steep jumps, that's me putting in additional funds. 

[ptatohed]

How do I withdraw funds (request a liquidation)?

To liquidate/redeem all or a portion of your shares, you must submit a liquidation request. That said, here are a few items to consider:

Timing: We review liquidation requests for most funds on a quarterly basis. Please note that any liquidation requests must be placed by the last business day of the quarter to be reviewed at the end of that quarter.  

Fees: The shares you own are intended to be held long-term. The Flagship Fund, the Income Fund, and the Innovation Fund do not charge a penalty for liquidation; however, any eREIT and eFund shares you’ve held for less than five years may be subject to a penalty. Please keep in mind this penalty is paid back to the fund to defray the costs other shareholders bear in creating early liquidity. 

Liquidations on our platform are processed on a “First in, first out,” meaning the shares you’ve held for the most amount of time will be liquidated first. 

Note: While we make an effort to process all liquidation requests whenever possible, please keep in mind that liquidation requests for all of our funds are subject to certain limitations. For additional information and details please see the relevant offering document for each fund available at fundrise.com/oc.

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Fundrise Redemption Program

Fundrise investments are private market assets, and therefore inherently less liquid than publicly-traded assets. However, the majority of our funds offer a redemption, or share-buyback, plan to offer greater flexibility to investors.

If you're considering submitting a redemption request, please review the following:

• Processing timeline: The majority of our funds process redemptions on a quarterly basis, while a handful of more sophisticated offerings follow slightly different timelines. This means that, regardless of when you submit your request, redemption requests will not be processed until the end of the quarter.
• Net asset value (NAV): For eREITs, the exact proceeds of your redemption will be calculated based on the NAV per share for the fund you're redeeming from, at the time of request. For all other funds, the proceeds are calculated based on the NAV per share at the end of the quarter.
• Tax implications: Any redemption events will be reported to the Internal Revenue Service, and interest or returns may be taxable. Fundrise does not provide tax advice, so if you have questions about the potential tax consequences of redeeming your shares, please consult your financial advisor or tax professional before you proceed.
• Experience degradation: Requesting a full redemption will delete your current investment goal, disable dividend reinvestment and Auto-Invest, and cancel your Fundrise Pro membership if you are an active member.
• Extraordinary circumstances: While unlikely, in order to protect the Fundrise investor community we may suspend redemptions for certain of our funds during periods of extreme economic uncertainty. Additionally, if redemptions for a particular fund are over subscribed, we will process requests on a pro rata basis.

Expected Timeline

We expect redemption requests submitted by December 31, 2025 will be processed following the end of the current quarter, in January.

As a reminder, we intend to process redemptions quarterly (4x/year) according to the following schedule:

Next redemption processing

Today

December 15, 2025

January '26

Redemption requests submitted by December 31, 2025 will be included for processing.

Future redemption processing dates

April '26

For redemptions requested during Q1 2026.

July '26

For redemptions requested during Q2 2026.

October '26

For redemptions requested during Q3 2026.

[Aim_High]

Wow.    Thanks for all that information about Fundrise, @ptatohed.  They really have your funds locked up, so no wonder you're concerned about liquidity.  I've never looked into this type of investment and while I can see it would have a place for some consumers, I don't think I would ever want to commit to such an arrangement. 

[iced]

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@Aim_High wrote:

As we approach the new year, and with the goal of making credit changes a premeditated and mindful decision, what are the planned changes for your Personal Finance lineup in 2026? (Please discuss credit card changes in that forum unless they are directly related to personal finance.)

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For me, the big goal is that I'm starting to get serious about an exit strategy for retirement. While I'm only in my late 40s, the temptation of retiring earlier than planned has started to creep in. Five years ago, I was convinced I'd work until I was 70, then two years ago I was happy working until 65; fast forward to today and 55 is looking more appealing. A lot of my work in the next year will be toward restructuring real estate assets into trusts and rebalancing existing stock investments to address tax drag and improve diversification.

[dfwxjer]

This year we'll be downsizing our house as our daughter is graduating and moving out of state for college. So we'll be selling our primary home, and moving in to one of our existing rentals. We have significant equity in our primary, and own the rental outright so I'll need to determine where to park the proceeds from the sale to reduce tax liability as much as possible. We're already maxing out retirement contributions so more than likely we'll be looking at beach adjacent properties down in Biloxi while the prices are still low. We're hoping to move to the coast once our sons graduate high school in a few years, and gear up for early 50s retirement. 

[ptatohed]

@Aim_High (and/or anyone else who is "listening" / is interested), I started researching REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) and, while I have A LOT more research to continue, I wanted to stop and quickly present this particular REIT for your consideration (since you asked me to report any good ones I may find).  Obviously, please do your own due diligence / research but let me at least throw this one out there, for consideration.  If interested, I can continue to report my future / ongoing REIT research / findings (up to you guys!).  

MPW.  Medical Properties Trust REIT.  Current price $5.14.  

I recommend looking into MPW for 2 main reasons.  1.)  I think its share price is at a near low, and is on the rise.  Possible good buying opportunity.  Its peak was in the $20s per share.  It bottomed at around $4 this past summer.  The reasons for its depressed share price can be researched and you'll see the reasons have been resolved so I (fingers crossed) believe (hope) the share price, which has been going up, will continue to go up / appreciate.  And 2.) This REIT is one of the highest paying dividend REITs at a very respectable ~6%-7%.  Meaning, if the share price went nowhere, you're still earning 6-7% APY in dividends.  And, if I had to list a 3rd reason, it would be that, in theory, this REIT should be very recession resilient since they invest in medical properties which must continue to operate during economic downturns.  

Anyway, just throwing it out there.  Again, please do your own homework.  Don't just trust some stranger potato schmuck on the internet!  But I do hope this perhaps, maybe, possibly helps someone.   

(FYI:  I pulled the trigger and bought quite a number of shares tonight)

[Aim_High]

In my original reply to this thread (message 7), I focused primarily on my consolidation of deposit accounts as well as how moving funds into investments played a role in needing fewer deposit accounts.   I also alluded briefly to a major home remodel but didn't elaborate further.    Up until now, DW and I have been funding the remodel expenses from savings.  We're reaching a point where I plan to tap into some home equity to carry us over the finish line.  My mortgage lender keeps sending me offers for a Home Equity Loan at the same lower APR of my mortgage from several years ago, so I plan to use that for funding.  My contractor also believes he can convince our insurance company to pay for a roof replacement which will be helpful since are making changes to the roofline.  If I can get those two payouts, I plan to place the funds temporarily into a HYSA and make payments as the work proceeds.

While I didn't want to have to take out a Home Equity Loan, it seems appropriate.  This phase is adding some square footage onto the house which will directly correlate to a bump-up in home valuation since base appraisal calculations are typically $/sf x sf.  In other words, that equity is immediately reinvested into the added value of the home.   

I'm not sure if my lender will pull my credit but I'm in a good position if it happens.  I've been gardening for new credit for almost 24 months!  My plan is to get the home equity loan and then probably apply for a few credit cards.   

[ptatohed]

@Aim_High , I've only had one HELOC in my life and that was with Third Federal.  I did use it to buy a used car in 2018 but the HELOC didn't last long as I shortly thereafter refinanced our house and I was forced to pay off and close the HELOC.  I never did open a new one.  But, at the time, I remember I researched HELOCS hard and ended up on Third Fed.  Obviously, it's been 8 years and my research could point to something different if I were to research HELOCs today but I simply wanted to toss it out there for your consideration.  Looking at their website, I don't see the nice "Prime minus 1.X%" rate that they had "back in my day" (and even up to just a year or two ago when I was telling a co-worker about 3rd Fed).  If I am understanding the rates correctly, it looks like they are equal to Prime?  So, bummer there.  But you will notice the rate and APR are equal.  Meaning, no fees or closing costs!  To me, that is important.  Also, they have a low rate guarantee where, if you find a lower rate, they will give you $1000.  As mentioned above, I saved a co-worker a big chuck of money in closing costs/fees when he (at the last minute) stopped the application with his current lender and switched to 3rd Fed.  I do remember there was a small maintenance annual fee for the HELOC but I found out (after it was too late, for me) that if you open a product with 3rd Fed before applying for the HELOC, the annual fee is waived.  Anyway, again, only bringing up 3rd Fed as something for you to consider (or not).  Good luck my friend!  

[Aim_High]

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@ptatohed wrote:

@Aim_High , I've only had one HELOC in my life and that was with Third Federal ...

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Thanks for the tip, @ptatohed!  I've never done a HELOC so this will be a new experience.  I'm hoping it is a very simple process since it's with my current mortgage lender!   If I decide to look elsewhere, I'll consider Third Federal among other options.  

[Namaste7]

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@Aim_High wrote:

As we approach the new year, and with the goal of making credit changes a premeditated and mindful decision, what are the planned changes for your Personal Finance lineup in 2026? (Please discuss credit card changes in that forum unless they are directly related to personal finance.)

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Thanks for creating this thread.

2026 PF Goals

1. Update my personal finance template  ✅ 

2. Max pre-tax retirement contributions (contributions set) ✅ 

3. Complete estate planning

4. Hit my post-tax savings goal 

I'm in the boring middle. I don't expect major changes in my PF this year. My investment strategy is simple... total market index funds (Boglehead style). My only other focus for the year includes two post-2026 events that require advance prep: taxes on student loan forgiveness & RE purchase. 

Per my recent calculations, I'll hit my financial independence number and retirement goals. I'm so grateful.