Yes, I agree, screwed.  

I'm now knocking on 70s door so I've been down the road so to say.  I'll not bore you with "Here's what I did" but to say so far so good.  Other than revolving debt which I can pay off at any time to keep my credit score up just in case, I have no debt.  4 cars, two motorcycles, good size boat that needs work, nice truck camper, and fixing to pay cash for an above average lawn tractor (getting too old for self propelled lawn mower).   I don't do big vacations.  Traveled the world for a living and if I never see in the inside of an airport again, I'll be happy.   I do have a few comments.  

The biggest mistake I see people make is not understanding that they are going to get old.   Almost everyone, including me, when younger has these fantastic retirement plans to only have them go up in smoke as they age.   Hang onto your hats.  I'm going to freak you out.  It doesn't matter what you do, what you eat, what exercise you get, you get old and slow the hell down.   In fact, all my friends who were health nuts have fallen the farthest. They thought themselves immortal.   All of us, pay for the sins of our youth in our old age.  All my friends who were runners have bad knees and most have had to have replacements.   The life long drinkers, well, they're mostly not here now.   I could go on and on.  To sound like a broken record, the secret to a retirement plan is understanding its a plan.  A plan has options and is subject to change.  Otherwise its a decision and decision over time are guaranteed to change whether you like it or not.

Its very common for folks in their 50's to buy those large ticket items they intend to use after retirement.   The problem with that is when working, we're all just pissing off the wrong person or people from being unemployed.  Hell sometimes, like in my case, you don't have to do a thing. It can just be circumstance, a change in economy, company buy out, etc.  Best thing I did in my career was walk in one day and say "Take this job and shove it."  It was wonderful.  You have to be able to adapt and change.  Here's my advice.  The way you get around this pit fall is by age 50 and from then on, don't go in debt for anything you can't pay cash for.  Debt is a tool like any other tool.  It helps you accomplish things but only if you use it right.  A ratchet makes a piss poor hammer.  

The problem with seeing a home/house as an investment is its like any other investment.  Like stock, you don't see that equity until you sell it.  9 out of 10 folks I know who saw their house as an investment had to sell it to retire and old is a hell of a time to have move.   I'm not saying that's bad but you need to know what you are doing. I can't tell you how many folks I've known to retire to only then realize they can't afford the tax and utilities on their homes.  Hell my property tax just went up 30% as my home value doubled in two years.   My county is growing like a weed from all the folks fleeing the blue states.  A good thing when young can be a bad thing when old.   I'm not going "Yippie the county just made me rich".  

Next is you can forget the entire idea Medicare is either good or free.  My monthly outlay on this crap is almost to the penny the same I was paying when self employed and buying my own health insurance and in the case of medications its multiple times worse.   I could write a book on this crap but not today.  

Next is the platitudes we all used are like anything else, they have changed.   Cash is great but right now its losing 20% of its buying power even more depending on what.  There's no such thing as enough.   You need a revenue generator.  Selling off his 401k was the dumbest move that man could take.   I have a personal IRA and the largest annual contributions I made was just before I retired.  

Now another truism.  The entire system is geared towards you working your entire life and then they take it all away from you.   The best investment in life is and always has been family.  That's why they work so hard to destroy it.   They can scream abortion, transgender, whatever but its always about the money/wealth.   You would not believe how much a lot of toys I have bought have gone up in value.   Wealth is not just dollars.   Now you can't always do this and get what you want but best to buy when you can things that will retain value or go up in value.  It may mean more now but can mean more later.

The entire game is based on you predicting your own death or at a minimum when you can't do shit and that can't do shit will come a lot faster then you think.   Its all about contingency, contingency, contingency.  

Last but most important.  Retirement is like life its self.  Its all about getting back up on the horse that bucked you off.  Its a moral imperative.  Giving up is not an option.  Its as simple as you give up you lose.   That's exactly what the man in Colt's story has to do. Get back on the horse.   Adapt.  Hell everyone's big plan changes.  That's why its a plan.  

Good luck you all.  Like it or not luck is a factor a damn big one.  Four more years of these loonies in charge and we'll all be getting back up on the horse.

Tj

Remember guys a plan has options and going down one path is not a plan, it's a decision.  

My pension disappeared not at age 40 but my late 50s.   Short version, an English company bought my corporation out and did all the nasty shit they can't do in the UK here.   IMHO, you can't count on anything except maybe Mr. Murphy is going to screw something up.   My retirement plan must have shifted a dozen times in just the last ten years before retirement.  Heck, its still changing.   I still have a plan and the plan is adapting.  

Some of us actually didn't want to retire.  We had careers not jobs basically a skill set.  That doesn't work either.  Age and health waits on no man.   If we are lucky and I was, we can dabble in our later years but even that you just can't do it anymore.   Discovering your new limitations is and will be an ongoing thing.   The irony of this is what impacts this the most is the decisions we make in the early years in our life when the very last thing on our minds is retirement.   It's education and work ethic.  The Japanese have a saying "Work hard, party hard."  In context to our topic, its work "Work hard so we can retire well."  What is well depends on what you want out of life.   Some people want to see the world while others want to just watch the grass grow.   It starts with an understanding of morality and duty and ends with knowing yourself.  

What worked for me.   First and foremost was going through what today people would think of as living hell early in life.  I was not gifted with an inheritance a boost up so to say.   It was early on work full time, go to school full time, and join the military to pay for my education.   I have little hope the spoiled generations following me will do this.  I can only hope their boost is enough to see them through.   This country is so rich now, its a handicap.  

Next was understanding net worth, not gross, net.   Everyone knows being debt free is a goal but many understand don't, it doesn't mean not having a loan.   A loan is a financial tool to achieve a goal and its only a burden if it has control over you.   I can't even recall how many times I've paid off some loan just because it became a burden.   Its been many years since I took a loan I couldn't have paid cash for something.   Taxes are  a burden as well.  Interest vs tax deduction, now there's a topic for a book.   I have always managed my worth like it was a business.   BIG WARNING, you may have let the company manage your tax burden all you life but when you retire all of us suddenly have to manage our taxes like we are a business.   Another topic for a book. Its great to use someone else's money for free but I can tell you I haven't seen a single one of those it's free's that truly was free and didn't have a got you in their terms.   Not all  but the vast majority of loans I have had to simply write a check and pay off were those "No Interest" loans.   I'll give you a classic example.  Lowes buy it on the card no interest loan.  Sounds great huh.  What they don't tell you is in the fine print is buy anything else on that card, it comes off first then if the principle isn't paid on the initial item at term, you get hit with the full interest.  That doesn't mean you can't use that crap.  It simply means you need to be the exception not the rule and that's right back to getting to the point, you don't buy anything on a loan you can't write a check for.  A step farther, don't pay interest unless you benefit from the interest. A loan is not about getting things sooner.  It should be about managing cash flow.  

Equally important in my planning was not planning to downsize anything/nothing.  I planned on retirement at my then current financial burden.  If you can't do that, your planning is off and Mr. Murphy's going to bang you in the nose.   You are going to need that money you were paying on that house.   A lot of things are totally out of your control like inflation and property values.  

Biggest retirement shocks.  Hands down number 1 is Medicare sucks.   It costs as much as private insurance and the coverage is far worse especially the damn drug plans.   I'm going to make a bold statement here.  If you are not planning on a minimum of $1,000 a month per couple for medical costs, you will receive inferior care.  Next is you will not believe how important that 401K/IRA is.   Even if you plan on making your goals just based on income, it won't be enough.   Mr. Murphy has a target on the back of retired folks.   The unknowns are every year.   This year it was house assessment doubled, insurance doubled and tax burden went up 30%.   One of my dogs is sick that's going to be $1,400 minimum and got to buy a lawn tractor because we can't walk behind the lawn mower anymore.  Another plan bit the dust.  We didn't foresee even the lawn services only want to do easy lawns to mow and finding anybody to do anything these days is impossible.  Not even druggie boy, gotta watch him like a hawk, wants to work.  Fentanyl is cheap. My boat, once a major part of my retirement plan, I retired it.  I just don't have the energy to keep it up now.  

Still all that said, the good outweighs the bad.   Had I known, I would have retired earlier.   I've put 40,000 miles on my Harley.  Not having to be here at this time is pretty darn cool.  We go camping on a whim.  We go visit relatives on a whim.  We don't socialize anymore well because we just don't want to anymore.   Surprise, that's actually a good thing.   When I do take a nip, it's 10-12 year old barrel proof, the really good stuff.  

Keep plugging away guys.  Have a plan, adapt your plan as you go and you'll make it.

Tj

These sorts of threads tend to come up more when the economy is bad versus when it is (at least perceived) that the economy is good.

There is a lesson there- you should expect some "bad" in life and plan for it.

Don't eat all this season's corn, put some of it back. I'm stating that in reference to money.

When the economy is good and someone posts something like this, the replies about getting out of debt are usually of the line of "I won't get 1% cash back if I don't spend spend spend on my CC!" or "my kids will die if we don't do to disneyland every summer!"  

But it's precisely when the economy is good that we need to chucking a little more money to the side. If you regularly save 10%, when it's good, bump it to 12 or 15%. You'll be glad you did later.

Getting completely out of debt is the #1 hands down best prep anyone can make, period full stop end of story. #2 is getting in shape and healthy and a close second.

In the 90's I bought land, slowly built a small house for cash, then put in a small AE system. My original intent was this would be my BOL, not necessarily my main home. Circumstances being what they were, major downturn in our industry and a new baby on the way, we ended up moving here full time. So little income at the time I started a second business but as you know that sort of thing takes time (and money) to develop.

We were thankful that my "preps" were able to keep us alive- plenty of storage food to eat supplemented by fresh fruits and veg from the gardens and orchards, rabbits and chickens we raised, etc. That small AE system kept us from having an electrical bill. When we (rarely) did go to the grocery store back then our average bill was around $16. This went on for several years.

Unfortunately while we had no mortgage or long term debt, I did have some CC debt, later a car loan, etc. After a couple half hearted attempts, we set out to completely get free of that crap. 2 or so years more of struggle and in late 2008/early 2009 we became completely debt free.

During the next year, because of being (and staying) debt free, we were able to do more preparing than we had done in the previous 5. In addition we were able to start saving a helluva lot more, contributing to Roths and 529 plans again heavily, etc. Now our child is in college paid for by our $50. and $100. a month contributions to the 529 plan all those years ago, so he won't have any "college debt" and neither will we.

Over time, you can acquire some of the "fun stuff" you think you want- or actually NEED as a serious survivor- but you don't need to go into debt for it, and truthfully shouldn't.

But in the inverse, good preparations and planning can actually help you when times are tough.

I spent decades in corporate America.  Absolutely, when they decide to reduce cost anyone who quits is considered a bonus.  That's how bean counters think.  A businessman, on the other hand, will look at solving the companies problems by growing the company.   Unfortunately they are quite rare compared to the cutters and slashers.  Cutting and slashing is the easier path.  Unfortunately,  it seldom works, almost never.   Reducing always leads to less productivity, less quality, and that leads to less market share even if you have the best price.   It puts the company into a death spiral and at the very best prolongs the inevitable.   Best to quit.  What it does though is buy you the time to pick and choose how and when you quit.  

He who laughs last, wins.  

Tj Story time "Take this job and shove it."

I spent much of my career with a Fortune 500 company in a $120 million division.   A very long sad story very short, we were bought out by the English and their big plan of moving production to 3rd World countries with lower labor costs.   The stress from that period of my life almost killed me.   Anyway there was a light at the end of the tunnel.  What couldn't be moved, they sold off and my products were sold off to two really great entrepreneurs. Man I like these guys.   They unfortunately financed the buyout through a mezzanine banking group, a bunch of Harvard MBAs which meant they didn't understand shit.   The bankers then promised to finance a competitive buyout, renigged on the loan, and squeezed the two entrepreneurs out. Their great plan was slash and burn to get the profitability up and then sell again.   They  brought in their people, CEO and accountants, with their 80/20 plan.  Here I go again.  Time to prove my worth, but I was used to it and literally the number 1 guy in my field in the world, a big part due to the great guys that came before me.  

After a grueling week on the road with the new CEO over drinks, the guy tells me how great I am, he really likes me, BUT he has this new plan.  Everyone is going to take a 20% cut in pay and a reduction in benefits but I'll still have a job.  In fact, he says, in charge.   I flat out tell the man, "I'm the best in my field in the world and the type person you increase their pay to go through this shit."   He looks at me and says, "Yeah but the Smoky Mountains is a great place to live and you won't want to move."  

I was pissed.  I didn't make a call but started taking those calls I had been avoiding for years.   I lined up a job that not only increased my pay by a good 1/3rd but could stay where I was.   I walk into the CEOs office and tell him I quit and to not bother to counter offer because I'm probably making more than him.   The look on his face was priceless as it dawned on him he just screwed up.   It then turned to anger as he reminded me, "You signed a non-compete agreement."  I just smiled and said "No I didn't.  I started working for this company 30 years ago and we didn't have those damn things  back then."   Second shocked look that turned into anger.   Now he picks up the phone right in front of me, calls up the HR director and tells her what's going on, and demands she pull my file and come to his office.   She comes in and right off says, "No they didn't have those 30 years ago."   Now the butthole is really mad so instead of showing me the door, he holds me to my two week notice so I miss some pay.   As I'm being escorted out the door on my last day I go by his office, stick my head in, and say "Take this job and shove it."  Hands down, best moment of my working career.  

In case you are wondering, the company I went to work for was privately held so no corporate politics, their only business stratagem was grow the company, and the last years of my career were the best of my career.   I worked with great guys that are my friends.  We traveled the world together and I had a ball.  

As for the villains in my story.  The English company once touted as genius for their move to 3rd world plan pretty much destroyed everything they touched and their stock fell to penny stocks.   There's remnants out there but the name once everyone knew nobody does now.   The company I worked for, the mezzanine bankers great strategy bankrupted the company and the assets were sold off by the court.  Once the leader in their product, what's left is a small subdivision of a much larger company.    I'd tell you this was justice or something like that but a hell of a lot of very fine people that put their heart and souls into those products got screwed over royally.   It was literally 1,000s of people and dozens of factories all over the US.  My products, once employing 1,200, the handful that are left actually are the lucky ones.  

After travelling the world and been in more business' than I can remember, I am amazed there's still work in this country.  While the world works to plans and goals over decades, we don't think farther than the length of our peckers.   Where their governments do amazing things to insure they succeed ours is like that mezzanine banker group trying to shut everyone down.  

Tj

I retired on March 20, 2020 at 61.5 when offered a COVID layoff. My bills are $800 / month. Taxes , Insurance's, Utilities. Cars are paid off as well as the homestead.

I wasn't waiting for my  65th BDay to retire, which was Monday