My hubsand works for Lowes. He gets paid every other week. 10 percent of his check goes into their employee stock purchase plan. Every 6 months whatever he has paid into the espp lowes matches some of it then buys the stock for him. My hubsand plans on staying with Lowes for the rest of his working career. He has a good job with them and he is moving up in the company. Right now he is just a delivery driver, but he is one of the highest paid. They have already talked with him about moving into management. He has to go through some training and he knows that. He thinks putting money into the stock purchase plan every pay check for the next 30 years till he retires will be what we use to live on after we retire. Is this true? Right now he has roughly 3000 dollars in stock with lowes. And that is just from Nov of last year and May of this year. Do you think he is doing the right thing or should he be taking the money and putting it into a savings account that draws intrest?
2007-10-15 06:35:38 · 10 answers · asked by scmommyof2 3 in Business & Finance ➔ Investing
Generally speaking it's a good thing to do. It would depend on the finer points of the ESPP program to know if there are better ways to invest your money. However, ESPP programs are established to build employee "investment" in the company, once he gets into management they will likely sweeten that with stock options (which cost you nothing unless you pull the trigger to sell them).
I would say that you SHOULD NOT count on ESPP or stock options for your retirement funding. I'm sure Lowes has a 401K program, your husband should be in that and investing the maximum possible amount and be invested in a long term growth fund (via the 401K) such as one based on the S&P500 index.
You never know what will happen with the Lowes stock.
I'll give you an example; I have stock options and espp shares in the company I work for. Back in the late 1990s the company stock was flying. I had enough $ on paper to pay for my kids education and pay off my house. But I was greedy and the stock just kept going up. Then one day the bottom fell out and what was once worth $100Ks is now worth $1Ks. I have no choice now but to ride out the stock and see what happens, hopefully the company will come back, but I'm not betting my retirement on it.
2007-10-15 06:48:13 · answer #1 · answered by Fester Frump 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No he is absolutley doing the right thing by putting that money in company stock. Most companies don't do a stock match with their employees so that is a great benefit for your retirement. I would not only use the company stock for your retirement though because as you know stocks are risky and if you should diversify your retirement portfolio. Maybe try some bonds or diversify stocks, financials, industrials, pharmacuticals. Hope this helps, your doing the right thing by putting the money in stock and not in a bank account. Just don't expect all your retirement spending to be coming from the espp. Good Luck!
2007-10-15 07:04:49 · answer #2 · answered by Greg M 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Absolutely he's doing the right thing! There are all sorts of places where you can get the numbers for how much you can/will earn if you start investing early and keep investing.
Consider the value earned by the stocks themselves as well as the value of the company matched funds and you're more than likely beating what you would in a savings account and maybe even beating the market.
Edward Jones is a good place to go to for advice. They don't charge any fees or anything, and you don't have to buy stocks through them. The two of you should go in and talk to the financial adviser at E.J, explain your situation and see what he thinks.
2007-10-15 06:43:37 · answer #3 · answered by masfonos999 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I can tell you this much: My ex worked for a big company (not Lowes) and they had this same plan. He was only there for about 3 years and the stock "split" once and when he quit he got quite a bit of money--so if I were you and your husband, I'd hang in there for the retirement benefit. As he is there longer and makes more money THEN maybe you might consider investing it in a 401K or something. But the stock option thing is great as far as I'm concerned!
Good luck!
2007-10-15 06:55:42 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Get the matching dollars is a great thing. This is like getting a raise for saving money. However, purchasing only one stock isn't good. Diversification of investments will help lower the risk of a downturn. I would also suggest purchasing mutual funds rather than company stock. There are lots of free online resources where you can get more info. I hope that helps.
2007-10-15 06:54:20 · answer #5 · answered by barbiequedcat 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The question is: does the plan require him to hold all that Lowe's stock indefinitely or can he sell it to reinvest in something else such as mutual funds? Its never a good idea to have most of your money invested in just one stock - any stock can decline no matter how good the company is. You need to make sure your investments are diversified.
2007-10-15 07:18:17 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
only one problem when you plan your retirement around your company stock. if the company he works for goes belly up, then your out of your retirement money too. i would try and invest else where too. its not a good thing to have to much stock in a company you work for. you are better of putting some more into his 401k if the company offers one. remember ENRON!!! people who worked for them had there life savings in there stock. they went belly up!! and they lost everything.
2007-10-15 09:42:16 · answer #7 · answered by bizzbagg 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What he is doing is good. Just to be safe tho I would open up a 401k and get some stocks in there and diversify it. You never know Lowes might lose a lot of money one day so you want to be safe.
2007-10-15 09:23:13 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
With 30 years until retirement you should be invested in stocks. I would recommend investing in a indexed stock mutual fund to get some more diversity. Investing everything in just one stock is dangerous.
2007-10-15 06:53:03 · answer #9 · answered by Dash 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
What do you imply by way of " a lot expected and expected crash... of inventory marketplace". Were you the only anticipating this? Have you ever invested within the markets? If so, have you ever ever won a lot? I don't get the rational in your query! Mr. You have to perform a little study! I suppose that in these days used to be simply a further "down" day within the markets induced by way of a protracted haul by way of the housing and credit score main issue!
2016-09-05 10:10:32 · answer #10 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋