My $25,000 mistake
How I robbed myself of nearly five years of retirement investing.
The letter, from The Oklahoman Media Company, is dated March 26, 2018.
It still sits on the floor under my nightstand, right on top of my Bible. For nearly five years, I foolishly watched both collect dust.
I wish I had that time back. I’d pick up the Good Book more, and I’d get a mulligan on one of the worst money moves I’ve ever made.
“This letter is to notify you that the segregation of your OPUBCO 401(k) has been started following the instruction of the approved QDRO,” the letter read.
At the time, I didn’t know what that meant. And I didn’t care. I had bigger concerns. I was newly divorced. Paperwork from the long, litigious fight had just been signed to make it official only three weeks earlier.
A vivid memory from my divorce proceedings happened inside the courthouse during a side conversation between opposing attorneys. The other side sought all they could get in a settlement. My attorney objected after a certain point, saying I simply didn’t have the funds to pay.
“Well tell him to take it out of his retirement,” the opposing attorney shot back, with no regard that I wasn’t standing right there.
I also didn’t fully grasp what that meant. But I knew it wasn’t a pleasant option and would only inflict additional pain. It never came to that, although the settlement still forced me to fork over $32,000 from my 401(k).
I was 35. That was as much thought as I had given to my retirement account — one insulting comment and one costly payout. It took almost another five years for me to start paying attention.