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Posted: 9/10/2023 9:39:33 AM EDT
[Last Edit: ColtRifle]
This is a thread similar to many that @frozenny has posted in the past. It's not my story but is a story of a friend of mine.
Most people ignore financial threads. It's a shame because we may seldom or never use our stored food, ammo, and our endless power generation gadgets but we ALL need money to live. You might get your money from your job, your trust fund, welfare, or handouts from drivers passing by your spot at an intersection holding up a "need help God bless" sign. But regardless of where your income comes from, you gotta have money. And, as you get older, you will likely (most people) have less and less income and less ability to make money (we all age and it sucks). So, having retirement income streams is critical if you want to live comfortably. Also, reducing living costs will make your retirement income go longer...and potentially allow you to have more retirement "play" money. So my friend....he's about 56 yrs old. He recently had issues at work (specifics on that are not relevant but he did get treated very poorly) and he was demoted. As a result, he took about a 25% pay cut. Luckily for him he stayed employed. My friend lives in a new and fairly large and somewhat expensive house in a nice city. It's just him and his wife. They have large utility bills and a fairly large house payment. He has $70k truck he purchased about 2 years ago. He has a large $40k camper he bought last year. Don't know if he has any credit card debt but I'd bet he does because they have done several European vacations over the past few years. His ego naturally took a hit with the demotion and he would like to leave. However, there's part of the problem. At his previous job, when he left it in the mid 2000s, he cashed out all his retirements and used the money to pay bills. So, he has his current retirement but only about 17 years or so of contributions to it. He can retire now based on his age (pension) but his monthly check would only be about $1500 so $18k per year PRE-TAX. He will have social security but the earliest he can collect it as far as I know is 62 yrs old. His wife does make a good living so he's got that going for him. Basically....HE'S FUCKED. He now has to work till he's 65 yrs old in order to boost his work retirement and delay taking SS so he can get more from SS as well as become eligible for Medicare. In talking to him initially, he was stressed to the max and was talking about selling stuff (smart). But, instead of selling stuff, they have decided his wife will pick up extra shifts at her job and he is exploring side income jobs to make up the difference. Between the two of them, they will be able to make up the difference. Despite the 25% income drop, he's still making good money for the area. Between him and his wife, they are well above the median income for the area. So, as far as dollars coming in, they are still in good shape even without working extra hours (if they got rid of some of their frivolous debt). The problem is, they have too many dollars going out. Too much and expensive of a house. Too expensive toys. Too much debt. The sad part is, instead of reducing costs, they have decided to work more hours. They definitely can't retire early and now have decided to work longer hours to pay for their expensive stuff and let's be honest....working long hours was easy when we were young but it's not easier as we get older. Most of us realistically will never be rich and we will not retire into a beach mansion in the FL Keys and do multiple expensive vacation trips per year. But, most of us would like to retire (or at least slow down working) as we get older. My friend mentioned above will most likely be in for a rude awakening as he gets closer to 65 years old if he doesn't change his ways and knowing him, he will probably change nothing. He and his wife have become slaves to their possessions due to excessive debt. |
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"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt |
Originally Posted By DocGP: It has been touched on already, but one of the largest issues I see around here is divorce. So many of the guys fussing about not being able to retire have had 3 or 4 divorces. Even a jug head like me realizes that if you split everything you have in half 3 or 4 times, even if you are Dave Ramsey, you don't have much left. It REALLY hurts when you have no financial IQ. Doc View Quote That’s definitely true as well. Either don’t marry or get to know your future spouse really well before committing. I’m fortunate I have a great wife and we are both committed to staying married. Unfortunately, many men and women today are not and it definitively hurts financial planning most of the time. |
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"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt |
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"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt |
Originally Posted By JHMC79: What kind of BS company doesn’t fire someone, but instead demotes them and slashes their pay by 25%? I don’t see this working anywhere outside of the military. If that happened to me, my new job within the company would be to sabotage them in every way I could. View Quote It happened to one of the guys that I work with. I don't know the chapter and verse, but his position was eliminated, and he was "laterally transferred" to another position that pays less. He's trying to get a better job, but he needs more flight hours to be able to apply for FO positions. |
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"You see? It's like I've always said; You can get more with a kind word and a two-by-four than you can with just a kind word." - Marcus Cole
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Originally Posted By fxntime: The problem is, people will work for ''free'' when companies do stuff like this and they know it. If you pay for 36 hours, you ONLY work 36 hours. If you catch flack, you contact state employment boards, have documentation, and break it off in their ass. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By fxntime: Originally Posted By billclo: Originally Posted By JHMC79: What kind of BS company doesn’t fire someone, but instead demotes them and slashes their pay by 25%? I don’t see this working anywhere outside of the military. If that happened to me, my new job within the company would be to sabotage them in every way I could. Happened to my wife4 years ago. She was working in the pharmacy as a pharmacist, company says that they will be reducing everyone's hours by 10% from 40 to 36. "Salary" goes down by 10% as well. Everyone says yay, more time with the family. Um, except that the workload didn't go down at all. Then Covid happened, and business went up 30%, with fewer techs and hours available. She chooses to come in an hour early just to get caught up enough so her day doesn't totally skull-fuck her. Company says tough shit, keep on working peon. As a rule, pharmacists are of a personality that doesn't complain to the company, doesn't put up a fuss. They just quiet quit and start stealing pills to keep their sanity (or in the case of my wife, drink more wine when she comes home because she is so totally stressed that the usual stuff like meditation/yoga/etc isn't enough). So 30 more work, for 10% less wages, pre-Covid. Now its record profits, yay, company, but the worker gets fucked. And the company doesn't understand why nobody wants to work for them... sadly all the companies are run the same way so leaving doesn't really accomplish much. The problem is, people will work for ''free'' when companies do stuff like this and they know it. If you pay for 36 hours, you ONLY work 36 hours. If you catch flack, you contact state employment boards, have documentation, and break it off in their ass. That's why I work hourly. I had to leave early yesterday for a doctor's appointment. Instead of burning an hour of PTO, I worked an extra hour last Saturday. Saturdays are also voluntary OT at time and a half. Current job is fairly relaxed about time. If we need to leave early, we leave early. If we want to work late to make up for leaving early, we can. "Just let us know when you arent coming in" is the mantra. |
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"You see? It's like I've always said; You can get more with a kind word and a two-by-four than you can with just a kind word." - Marcus Cole
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Originally Posted By ColtRifle: One of the benefits of a military retirement is they tend to get good cost of living increases unlike some private pensions. But, there's more to military pay than the base pay but when you retire with 20 years, you get 1/2 of your base pay ONLY. It's a pretty large cut in income. Even if you go to 30 years, you get 75% of your base pay ONLY. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By ColtRifle: Originally Posted By lumper: I hope for your sake that you choose to start a second career. Relying on a current pension issued in US dollars to cover future expenses without planning on future earned income with consideration of the current and continuing inflation could be hazardous to a enjoyable retirement. One of the benefits of a military retirement is they tend to get good cost of living increases unlike some private pensions. But, there's more to military pay than the base pay but when you retire with 20 years, you get 1/2 of your base pay ONLY. It's a pretty large cut in income. Even if you go to 30 years, you get 75% of your base pay ONLY. But wait, there's more... I retired from the Army at 46 as a SSG at 20 years TIS. My current gross pension is $2168.00/month. That's pre-deductions. I have the following deductions from my retirement pay: 1. Survivor Benefit Plan (fully paid after 360 payments and I reach age 70): $140.92, which allows my spouse to receive 55% of my pension for the rest of her life should I predecease her. 2. Tricare (including dental and vision): $151.19 (Still cheaper than any plans that my employer offers.) 3. Taxes: $7.81. (yes, we get taxed on our retirement pay.) So, my net is $1865.08. Now, you can add my VA comp to that, which is around $2000. So, my total net retirement pay is $3865.08 per month. VA Comp varies from individual to individual so some will have more, some will have less. To put it in hourly pay terms, that's around $24/hr. Could I live on it? Probably, but it would require changes in my lifestyle. My post-army job started me out at $30/hr, which is pretty nice. |
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"You see? It's like I've always said; You can get more with a kind word and a two-by-four than you can with just a kind word." - Marcus Cole
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Originally Posted By Kitulu: Now, you can add my VA comp to that, which is around $2000. So, my total net retirement pay is $3865.08 per month. VA Comp varies from individual to individual so some will have more, some will have less. To put it in hourly pay terms, that's around $24/hr. Could I live on it? Probably, but it would require changes in my lifestyle. View Quote I know retired people who live comfortably on a lot less. |
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Originally Posted By FALARAK: I know retired people who live comfortably on a lot less. View Quote I also know people who live on a lot less per month. But it would be important to define “comfortably”. If you pay all your expenses and have $20 left over before your next check, I would say that’s not being retired comfortably. But, if you spend every retired day watching TV all day, end the month with $20, and that’s the lifestyle you want, then perhaps you are living comfortably. Defining what constitutes comfort in retirement will vary from person to person. |
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"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt |
Originally Posted By ColtRifle: I also know people who live on a lot less per month. But it would be important to define “comfortably”. If you pay all your expenses and have $20 left over before your next check, I would say that’s not being retired comfortably. But, if you spend every retired day watching TV all day, end the month with $20, and that’s the lifestyle you want, then perhaps you are living comfortably. Defining what constitutes comfort in retirement will vary from person to person. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By ColtRifle: Originally Posted By FALARAK: I know retired people who live comfortably on a lot less. I also know people who live on a lot less per month. But it would be important to define “comfortably”. If you pay all your expenses and have $20 left over before your next check, I would say that’s not being retired comfortably. But, if you spend every retired day watching TV all day, end the month with $20, and that’s the lifestyle you want, then perhaps you are living comfortably. Defining what constitutes comfort in retirement will vary from person to person. You also have to look at the future, when you cannot work. Sure, between my retirement, VA comp, and my wife's paycheck, we could live comfortably. However, I am 47, still hale and relatively healthy. Thus, I can work my $30/hr job, continue to contribute to my 401K/Roth IRAs, not have to resort to credit cards for emergencies, etc, etc. |
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"You see? It's like I've always said; You can get more with a kind word and a two-by-four than you can with just a kind word." - Marcus Cole
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Defining comfortably is a good one, however I want to tour Europe and I want to ride my motorcycle are two entirely different things.
Food for thought. If you plan on having your house paid for and no car payments, that income whatever it is goes a lot farther. Comfortable whatever that is to you is a lot more attainable. Personal advice, if you would like to see the world or go up that river whatever best to do that when you are young. You won't be able to when old no matter what your finances looks like. You just can't do as much physically and you won't want to. Its really not "OMG, I'm old. Regret, regret." unless you spent your life in front of the tube and watching the grass grow. If you climbed that mountain in your youth, you won't be pressed to do it again. The very last thing I am retired is bored. In fact, you spend your entire life on the go and climb that mountain, when we retire we're all kind of like the combat vet who was in the shit too long. Its like me, having traveled the world for business, if I never see the inside of an airport again that would suit me just fine. That said a lifetime of gotta be here at that time, I can't get enough motorcycle and camping now. Just stay another day, let's go this way, or let's just change the pace is a hell of a good thing. Its bad enough to make a damn doctors appointment on this day, let alone "It's Thursday so this must be Belgium." In fact, I reschedule those damn doctor appointments all the time. I got a story for you all. Tj Story Time "Uncle Joe" Now I've learned a lot from my mistakes. God knows I made my share. I did, however, learn by observing others and one of my biggest life's influences was my Uncle Joe. My uncle was a Korean War vet and one of those who pretty much felt he had enough excitement in life. A very intelligent man and very motivated, he worked very hard in life. Always thinking of the future, he would forgo vacations and even live in a trailer while he invested heavily in land. By the time he retired he had good sized farms in two states. Hands down he was the wealthiest relative I had. As you can imagine being so ambitious, he retired late in life. He went out and bought himself a top of the line bass boat. Unfortunately, you could count the times he used it on one hand. He not only had gotten old but now was surrounded by A very large family. A family raised right, will keep you busy that's for sure and after what I think of as the Harry Chapin phase, you'll enjoy it too. His great joy turned to being in what I guess you all would call cabin in the woods surrounded by family. He passed just this year. Very old in his 90's, he finally just gave up. Two things I learned from him. The first was his motivation, morality, and financial planning. The second was if you want this toy or this adventure do it while you are young. When you get old if you lived life right, you aren't going to have the physical ability, the time, and most important the inclination. You just won't want to because your priorities are going to change. Uncle Joe was buried next to his small house in the woods where he was the happiest and still surrounded by family. Some people are destined to go through life and die alone. To some of us, that is the worst fate we can think of not he never went to Spain. Tj |
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"We prepare so we don't have to go to the Superdome!"
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Here’s a video that some may find beneficial.
5 State RETIREMENT Tax Considerations You're Likely Not Considering... (State Taxes Explained) |
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"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt |
Originally Posted By TomJefferson: Defining comfortably is a good one, however I want to tour Europe and I want to ride my motorcycle are two entirely different things. Food for thought. If you plan on having your house paid for and no car payments, that income whatever it is goes a lot farther. Comfortable whatever that is to you is a lot more attainable. Personal advice, if you would like to see the world or go up that river whatever best to do that when you are young. You won't be able to when old no matter what your finances looks like. You just can't do as much physically and you won't want to. Its really not "OMG, I'm old. Regret, regret." unless you spent your life in front of the tube and watching the grass grow. If you climbed that mountain in your youth, you won't be pressed to do it again. The very last thing I am retired is bored. In fact, you spend your entire life on the go and climb that mountain, when we retire we're all kind of like the combat vet who was in the shit too long. Its like me, having traveled the world for business, if I never see the inside of an airport again that would suit me just fine. That said a lifetime of gotta be here at that time, I can't get enough motorcycle and camping now. Just stay another day, let's go this way, or let's just change the pace is a hell of a good thing. Its bad enough to make a damn doctors appointment on this day, let alone "It's Thursday so this must be Belgium." In fact, I reschedule those damn doctor appointments all the time. I got a story for you all. Tj Story Time "Uncle Joe" Now I've learned a lot from my mistakes. God knows I made my share. I did, however, learn by observing others and one of my biggest life's influences was my Uncle Joe. My uncle was a Korean War vet and one of those who pretty much felt he had enough excitement in life. A very intelligent man and very motivated, he worked very hard in life. Always thinking of the future, he would forgo vacations and even live in a trailer while he invested heavily in land. By the time he retired he had good sized farms in two states. Hands down he was the wealthiest relative I had. As you can imagine being so ambitious, he retired late in life. He went out and bought himself a top of the line bass boat. Unfortunately, you could count the times he used it on one hand. He not only had gotten old but now was surrounded by A very large family. A family raised right, will keep you busy that's for sure and after what I think of as the Harry Chapin phase, you'll enjoy it too. His great joy turned to being in what I guess you all would call cabin in the woods surrounded by family. He passed just this year. Very old in his 90's, he finally just gave up. Two things I learned from him. The first was his motivation, morality, and financial planning. The second was if you want this toy or this adventure do it while you are young. When you get old if you lived life right, you aren't going to have the physical ability, the time, and most important the inclination. You just won't want to because your priorities are going to change. Uncle Joe was buried next to his small house in the woods where he was the happiest and still surrounded by family. Some people are destined to go through life and die alone. To some of us, that is the worst fate we can think of not he never went to Spain. Tj View Quote You know, that was the main reason why I made my unnecessary purchase of a brand-new, fresh off the showroom floor, 2017 Indian Roadmaster. I had a perfectly good Honda Shadow that hadn't even hit 20K on the odo, but I wanted a big touring bike. I knew that if I kept putting it off, I night never get my Roadmaster. |
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"You see? It's like I've always said; You can get more with a kind word and a two-by-four than you can with just a kind word." - Marcus Cole
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Originally Posted By Kitulu: You know, that was the main reason why I made my unnecessary purchase of a brand-new, fresh off the showroom floor, 2017 Indian Roadmaster. I had a perfectly good Honda Shadow that hadn't even hit 20K on the odo, but I wanted a big touring bike. I knew that if I kept putting it off, I night never get my Roadmaster. View Quote I have a saying. There's two types of people in life. Those who believe in he who dies with the most money wins and those who believe in who dies with the most toys wins. |
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"We prepare so we don't have to go to the Superdome!"
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Originally Posted By TomJefferson: I have a saying. There's two types of people in life. Those who believe in he who dies with the most money wins and those who believe in who dies with the most toys wins. View Quote We have a much older gentleman who works in our building. His career has consumed his life despite it appearing as if his work doesn't fulfil him. He has no one outside of work. He has almost (just a car and a simple apartment) nothing outside of work. We are pretty certain his last day of work will involve a coroner. That said, we know he has several million in savings. If he is a happy person he does a damned good job of hiding it. He could have retired years ago with a good .mil pension, a good .gov pension, TSP and his health to enjoy his remaining years. I have heard of the prepping bug doing similar things to some people. One can become so wrapped up in it that they forget that there is an entire world outside of it. Don't be this man. Life is too short to spend it being miserable and (depending on what you believe) you don't get a do over. |
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Originally Posted By darkpaladin1: We have a much older gentleman who works in our building. His career has consumed his life despite it appearing as if his work doesn't fulfil him. He has no one outside of work. He has almost (just a car and a simple apartment) nothing outside of work. We are pretty certain his last day of work will involve a coroner. That said, we know he has several million in savings. If he is a happy person he does a damned good job of hiding it. He could have retired years ago with a good .mil pension, a good .gov pension, TSP and his health to enjoy his remaining years. I have heard of the prepping bug doing similar things to some people. One can become so wrapped up in it that they forget that there is an entire world outside of it. Don't be this man. Life is too short to spend it being miserable and (depending on what you believe) you don't get a do over. View Quote Some people all they know is work. They aren’t happy unless they are working. Frankly, there is nothing wrong with that if that makes you happy. They might be “miserable” working but they are even more miserable NOT working. I don’t want to be like the guy you mentioned but if he’s happy, I don’t think he’s doing anything “wrong”. I might not agree but it’s his life to live as he sees fit. I also think some preppers get so wrapped up in it they forget to live life. I like guns but have travelled to places where I couldn’t have one. Some people refuse to go anywhere they can’t carry. I just use caution wherever I go and I understand human nature well enough that I typically am able to keep my wife and myself out of trouble wherever we go. While I started this thread and have added what I consider to be bad retirement stories….I also don't think that everyone needs to live austere lives. If you want some toy or trip, save up for it and go enjoy it. I do recommend you avoid debt for recreation but otherwise, enjoy yourself. Enjoy the fruits of your labors. Just don’t forget to plan for the future. I think too many people live for today and forget about the future but that also doesn’t mean I think you should scrimp and save every penny you make. I think we should all find that balance between working, saving, and spending leading up to retirement. If you actually have a retirement plan and stick to it….and modify it as needed….you are ahead of probably 95% of people out there. |
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"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt |
Originally Posted By TomJefferson: Defining comfortably is a good one, however I want to tour Europe and I want to ride my motorcycle are two entirely different things. Food for thought. If you plan on having your house paid for and no car payments, that income whatever it is goes a lot farther. Comfortable whatever that is to you is a lot more attainable. Personal advice, if you would like to see the world or go up that river whatever best to do that when you are young. You won't be able to when old no matter what your finances looks like. You just can't do as much physically and you won't want to. Its really not "OMG, I'm old. Regret, regret." unless you spent your life in front of the tube and watching the grass grow. If you climbed that mountain in your youth, you won't be pressed to do it again. The very last thing I am retired is bored. In fact, you spend your entire life on the go and climb that mountain, when we retire we're all kind of like the combat vet who was in the shit too long. Its like me, having traveled the world for business, if I never see the inside of an airport again that would suit me just fine. That said a lifetime of gotta be here at that time, I can't get enough motorcycle and camping now. Just stay another day, let's go this way, or let's just change the pace is a hell of a good thing. Its bad enough to make a damn doctors appointment on this day, let alone "It's Thursday so this must be Belgium." In fact, I reschedule those damn doctor appointments all the time. I got a story for you all. Tj Story Time "Uncle Joe" Now I've learned a lot from my mistakes. God knows I made my share. I did, however, learn by observing others and one of my biggest life's influences was my Uncle Joe. My uncle was a Korean War vet and one of those who pretty much felt he had enough excitement in life. A very intelligent man and very motivated, he worked very hard in life. Always thinking of the future, he would forgo vacations and even live in a trailer while he invested heavily in land. By the time he retired he had good sized farms in two states. Hands down he was the wealthiest relative I had. As you can imagine being so ambitious, he retired late in life. He went out and bought himself a top of the line bass boat. Unfortunately, you could count the times he used it on one hand. He not only had gotten old but now was surrounded by A very large family. A family raised right, will keep you busy that's for sure and after what I think of as the Harry Chapin phase, you'll enjoy it too. His great joy turned to being in what I guess you all would call cabin in the woods surrounded by family. He passed just this year. Very old in his 90's, he finally just gave up. Two things I learned from him. The first was his motivation, morality, and financial planning. The second was if you want this toy or this adventure do it while you are young. When you get old if you lived life right, you aren't going to have the physical ability, the time, and most important the inclination. You just won't want to because your priorities are going to change. Uncle Joe was buried next to his small house in the woods where he was the happiest and still surrounded by family. Some people are destined to go through life and die alone. To some of us, that is the worst fate we can think of not he never went to Spain. Tj View Quote so true. I remember my father bought a new corvette at around 70 and sold it with around 5k miles on it. He said it's not the same and just enjoyed being around family. I'm 47 and drive my sports car to work every day because of that, but I bought it used for a fraction of the cost thought because I don't want to retire late like he did. I hope to not have to go to work anymore at 55 if things stay on track. Lots of sacrifices that my wife and I take to do this. Even though we both make really good money, We don't take crazy vacations, act like bonus / raises don't happen, both work side hustles, and we build our homestead. We sometimes see family or friends on Facebook having fun taking trips, buying new cars, and racking up dept and wonder if we are doing it wrong. Then we think of what we have and will have at an early age and think it's worth it. I'm shocked at my work how many people driving cars that are close to 100k. I overheard a girl at work saying she has no savings even though se drives a new truck. people eating out for lunch everyday or the market in lunch room ($8-15 sandwiches) I brown bag it (actually a reusable lunch box to save money) and my wife works from home. She cooks a big meal that we eat for lunch and dinner all week. I eat eggs every morning from our chickens. My creamer at work is our freeze dried goat milk. I do splurge at work for coffee. we have an executive lounge that you chip in money and have some really nice coffee at work. I need it to say away. It's cheaper than Starbucks, and even k-cups from the bargain store. I have 3 great cups for less than .75 cents total. I tried instant and couldn't do it. I can do it every once and awhile. What's sad is that I now spend more on cloths than my wife. She works from home and I'm in an office. I do get lucky with nice brands at discount stores in my size. I need to look professional at work. Once I'm don't working it's whatever for cloths or cars. I really don't care. I'm hoping to buy a cab tractor before I retire or work another year to buy it because as I get older the 1/4 driveway in winter sucks to snowplow. I did buy a mini cab tractor with a blower used for now. but we have 4 tractors now and I only want one that will do it all. as I'm typing this I'm also working on one of my side hustles |
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have gun will travel
Well you seen much combat? ......... I've seen a little on TV. We are jolly green giants, walking the Earth with guns. Lifetime NRA member SADLY now GOA and ASA member!!!!! |
Good thread.
I'v got a long way till retirement myself, but I have worked with several people like the OP describes. It's far more common to be unprepared for retirement, than prepared. Boats, campers, new trucks and mini storage and eating out "because they don't have time" is bleeding a large chunk of the 50+ population dry. Baffling and terrifying at the same time. |
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Originally Posted By darkpaladin1: We have a much older gentleman who works in our building. His career has consumed his life despite it appearing as if his work doesn't fulfil him. He has no one outside of work. He has almost (just a car and a simple apartment) nothing outside of work. We are pretty certain his last day of work will involve a coroner. That said, we know he has several million in savings. If he is a happy person he does a damned good job of hiding it. He could have retired years ago with a good .mil pension, a good .gov pension, TSP and his health to enjoy his remaining years. I have heard of the prepping bug doing similar things to some people. One can become so wrapped up in it that they forget that there is an entire world outside of it. Don't be this man. Life is too short to spend it being miserable and (depending on what you believe) you don't get a do over. View Quote That's the way it is with retirement too, two types. Those of us who kick ourselves for not doing it sooner and those of us who go WTH happened? We all at some point in our life have to chose career path or standard of life. Retirement is no different. We either choose it or its chosen for us and the later always sucks. Now take this from a person who was once a VP in a major corporation and owned his own company, when we retire all that crap suddenly matters for nothing, not a damn thing. Our careers are like a used car we turn in for a newer model. Its our choice if its a luxury car or a clunker. If I had known this, I would have retired a good two years sooner. Tj |
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"We prepare so we don't have to go to the Superdome!"
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Originally Posted By dayphotog: so true. I remember my father bought a new corvette at around 70 and sold it with around 5k miles on it. He said it's not the same and just enjoyed being around family. I'm 47 and drive my sports car to work every day because of that, but I bought it used for a fraction of the cost thought because I don't want to retire late like he did. I hope to not have to go to work anymore at 55 if things stay on track. Lots of sacrifices that my wife and I take to do this. Even though we both make really good money, We don't take crazy vacations, act like bonus / raises don't happen, both work side hustles, and we build our homestead. We sometimes see family or friends on Facebook having fun taking trips, buying new cars, and racking up dept and wonder if we are doing it wrong. Then we think of what we have and will have at an early age and think it's worth it. I'm shocked at my work how many people driving cars that are close to 100k. I overheard a girl at work saying she has no savings even though se drives a new truck. people eating out for lunch everyday or the market in lunch room ($8-15 sandwiches) I brown bag it (actually a reusable lunch box to save money) and my wife works from home. She cooks a big meal that we eat for lunch and dinner all week. I eat eggs every morning from our chickens. My creamer at work is our freeze dried goat milk. I do splurge at work for coffee. we have an executive lounge that you chip in money and have some really nice coffee at work. I need it to say away. It's cheaper than Starbucks, and even k-cups from the bargain store. I have 3 great cups for less than .75 cents total. I tried instant and couldn't do it. I can do it every once and awhile. What's sad is that I now spend more on cloths than my wife. She works from home and I'm in an office. I do get lucky with nice brands at discount stores in my size. I need to look professional at work. Once I'm don't working it's whatever for cloths or cars. I really don't care. I'm hoping to buy a cab tractor before I retire or work another year to buy it because as I get older the 1/4 driveway in winter sucks to snowplow. I did buy a mini cab tractor with a blower used for now. but we have 4 tractors now and I only want one that will do it all. as I'm typing this I'm also working on one of my side hustles View Quote Yep, I ended my career with a closet of clothes I seldom ever wear. I've always said, life is like the Army. If we cut our hair, put on the uniform, and shine our shoes, life is easier. A product of the 1960s, my best friend once told me many years ago, he'd never wear a tie or cut his hair. I told him then, that he would die wearing a blue shirt with his name on a patch. Man do I feel guilty about that because he did exactly that and after a very hard life ten years before me despite being the same age. He was a very good man, just a man with a hard job. Now this I can tell you all from just getting old. We all, everyone of us, pay for the sins of our youth in our old age. Runners have bad knees for example and lifters bad backs, so on and so on. None of us escape that truth. Hell, I could write a book on mine. Life is also like a John Wayne quote, "A man does what a man has to do". That one I have on a metal poster on the wall in my office. Things concerning retirement I am happy about: First and foremost, I married well, young and for no reason at all other than love. 50 years, she has followed me in my career and adventures. Had a woman been setting my priorities, I would not have been able to do what I did. Second, is when I did settle down and buy a house, I bought one below my means. Heck, its too big as it is now. Next was I planned for retirement and for every plan there was an alternative plan. My life was not my fathers life. He worked one job, got a pension, retired. Me, one in three things I counted on didn't pan out. Next was I saw the world or as much as I care to in my youth when I could do all that damn walking. I have always seen wilderness as my preferred recreation. It cost way less than some resort on the beach. Last and most important is I've always lived my life with a code of ethics. A deal is a deal and if I said I'd pay for it I did on time. Life really isn't its money in this account or that one. Its all Tolstoy, not what you know but who you know and nobody wants to associate let alone deal with someone without ethics or morals. It's all quite Biblical, the rich man, eye of the needle, and the camel. A crook can get rich but not rich in what really matters in life. The worst thing in life is not being poor. Far from it. I can think of no fate worse than living alone and dying alone. My age, I've seen my share of rest homes. Some of them make Treblinka look like a summer camp. Something I've screwed up myself time to time is best to keep life's priorities straight. Its God, family, country, with work way own on the list. Tj |
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"We prepare so we don't have to go to the Superdome!"
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Another example....guy I know but not someone I consider to be a friend...my true friend list is very short...this guy is just an acquaintance.
He has bounced from job to job over the past 20 years. Always cashes out his retirement when he leaves an employer to pay his bills. He's mid 40s now and has less than 10 years of accumulated retirement benefits. He currently doesn't own a house and I don't think he ever has. He spends the money he makes like water. Over the past year he has purchased 3 Staccato pistols and he owns a fancy car he's making payments on. He's had a series of failed relationships. Anyone with a basic knowledge of humans can see the disaster coming with the women he chooses....but he doesn't see it and doesn't learn. He's with another crazy woman now and it'll crash and burn in the future...it'll be painful to watch but he just refuses to learn. He is a hard working guy but zero financial sense. He's another person who's going to get to retirement age with very little and will have to keep working to make end meet. He'll have to delay taking SS in order to max out his benefit. It's kind of sad to see. Learn a lesson from these people...either the stories of the ones I have posted or people you know. These stories of lack of financial planning for retirement are everywhere. Don't let yourself be one of them. |
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"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt |
We as a society have rightly preached the benefits and freedom. However, at some point we as a society also failed to remind people that with freedom comes risk and responsibility.
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Originally Posted By darkpaladin1: We as a society have rightly preached the benefits and freedom. However, at some point we as a society also failed to remind people that with freedom comes risk and responsibility. View Quote Quite true. That’s the intended point of this thread. I’ve always believed that schools should have a mandatory personal finance type classes for JR and SR years of high school. Teach savings vs spending. The stock market. Investing strategies. Retirement funding. Etc. I think the voting public would be more likely (not guaranteed just more likely) to be opposed to excess government spending and would also be more likely to have more retirement plans other than social security. |
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"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt |
Originally Posted By ColtRifle: Quite true. That’s the intended point of this thread. I’ve always believed that schools should have a mandatory personal finance type classes for JR and SR years of high school. Teach savings vs spending. The stock market. Investing strategies. Retirement funding. Etc. I think the voting public would be more likely (not guaranteed just more likely) to be opposed to excess government spending and would also be more likely to have more retirement plans other than social security. View Quote PFFFFfffft. If you want to fundamentally change this country, get rid of payroll taxes and force everyone to make out a check to the feds every month for an amount similar to a mortgage payment… Think we’d be directly paying pensions to Ukrainians while our own SS will only be funded at 80% in 11 years? Because we are. |
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Never make another person a priority when they merely see you as an option...
"Some People Are Like Slinkies. They're Not Really Good For Anything, But They Bring a Smile To Your Face When Pushed Down The Stairs." |
Originally Posted By TheOtherDave: PFFFFfffft. If you want to fundamentally change this country, get rid of payroll taxes and force everyone to make out a check to the feds every month for an amount similar to a mortgage payment… Think we’d be directly paying pensions to Ukrainians while our own SS will only be funded at 80% in 11 years? Because we are. View Quote Can you please keep the Ukraine hatred stuff in GD? Everyone has opinions on the topic one way or another but that’s not what we are discussing here. We are discussing personal responsibility to prepare for your eventual/potential retirement. Pretty much everyone in this thread are advocating for planning for a retirement without Social Security or at least without depending on Social Security. If it is there, it should be bonus money. If your only retirement funds are Social Security then you have failed at retirement planning. |
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"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt |
I knew a guy who worked as an engineer. He had 53+ years in and was well into his 70s. He'd had a heart attack but kept working. Because of his age and years of service, he was probably making 10 cents an hour working vs. being retired. It wasn't clear to me whether he just liked the job or really didn't have anything else to do. I think his wife passed away and he didn't have hobbies so I suspect it was the latter. And, he would take some time to socialize during the day, too. That was his life. And, for some, what they do for a living is what defines them as a person. That won't be me.
I may work longer than I otherwise would if I still like what I'm doing. I may also keep working to buy a few more toys and/or get a homestead set up going. But as one older co-worker of mine said, "Once it stops being fun anymore, I'm out." |
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Originally Posted By ColtRifle: Can you please keep the Ukraine hatred stuff in GD? Everyone has opinions on the topic one way or another but that’s not what we are discussing here. We are discussing personal responsibility to prepare for your eventual/potential retirement. Pretty much everyone in this thread are advocating for planning for a retirement without Social Security or at least without depending on Social Security. If it is there, it should be bonus money. If your only retirement funds are Social Security then you have failed at retirement planning. View Quote Is expecting your Govenrment to put your direct financial well-being ahead of other who contribute nothing toward it out of line? It doesn’t matter that you’re financially savvy, we were forced into the program and they owe us that money. Even for people who plan to not have it around, it could make for a decent improvement in quality of life for most people if they get what is coming to them. When *IS* it a good time to walk about that? When it’s underfunded? When the stock market collapsed and takes all of those investments you made away? |
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Never make another person a priority when they merely see you as an option...
"Some People Are Like Slinkies. They're Not Really Good For Anything, But They Bring a Smile To Your Face When Pushed Down The Stairs." |
Originally Posted By ColtRifle: Pretty much everyone in this thread are advocating for planning for a retirement without Social Security or at least without depending on Social Security. View Quote I don't know who pretty much everyone is.... but don't lump me in there. That's money I paid in and will never get what I should. I absolutely plan on mine and expect to receive the full amount. All this "don't expect it to be there" is desensitization to more theft by the government, and I won't participate in that nonsense. |
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Originally Posted By TheOtherDave: Is expecting your Govenrment to put your direct financial well-being ahead of other who contribute nothing toward it out of line? It doesn’t matter that you’re financially savvy, we were forced into the program and they owe us that money. Even for people who plan to not have it around, it could make for a decent improvement in quality of life for most people if they get what is coming to them. When *IS* it a good time to walk about that? When it’s underfunded? When the stock market collapsed and takes all of those investments you made away? View Quote Dave, I'm not following what you are trying to say here. Do I expect the government to put the well being of those who have not sacrificed and saved ahead of those who have, Yes I do. Simply because those who had the foresight and determination to delay their gratification will probably not riot if they are not given their basic needs. Why wouldn't they you may ask? Because they have already provided for their own basic needs, and joining in the riots would be a risk they are not willing to take while they still have resources to loose. |
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It's true no matter who you are, the worst thing you can do for someone is give them something for nothing. - 3rdpig
Do not handicap your children by making their lives easy. - Heinlein |
Originally Posted By FALARAK: I don't know who pretty much everyone is.... but don't lump me in there. That's money I paid in and will never get what I should. I absolutely plan on mine and expect to receive the full amount. All this "don't expect it to be there" is desensitization to more theft by the government, and I won't participate in that nonsense. View Quote I do not believe I will receive social security funds, even though my employer and I have paid in to the system for years. I fully expect there to be means testing to determine eligibility of payments. As I live simply, save heavily, and have little debt, I expect to be told I no longer qualify for payments due to not "needing" the money. I understand that this lifestyle in America is rare, and therefor, those of us that live this way can be safely ignored by those that depend on a favorable public opinion for their jobs. In other words, it is not up to me whether or not the government decides to include me in Social Security payments, and it never has been. The pyramid scheme known as Social Security simply has not collapsed - yet. |
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It's true no matter who you are, the worst thing you can do for someone is give them something for nothing. - 3rdpig
Do not handicap your children by making their lives easy. - Heinlein |
Originally Posted By FALARAK: I don't know who pretty much everyone is.... but don't lump me in there. That's money I paid in and will never get what I should. I absolutely plan on mine and expect to receive the full amount. All this "don't expect it to be there" is desensitization to more theft by the government, and I won't participate in that nonsense. View Quote You can lump yourself into whatever category you want or don't want. Doesn't matter to me. The Social Security Administration itself tells everyone who is paying attention not to plan on SS as the only source of retirement income. It's plainly visible on the SS web site. From the main page: "The Social Security Retirement benefit is a monthly check that replaces part of your income when you reduce your hours or stop working altogether. It may not replace all your income so it's best to identify other ways to pay for your monthly expenses as you age." Yes there are plenty of people who live on SS alone currently. I know a few of them and a few of them are related to me. If you have very low expenses and don't want much from retirement life then yes, you too can live on SS alone. We do know that by 2034 with no changes, SS will only pay out approximately 80% of promised payments. If Congress doesn't do something, it's an automatic 80% drop in payments. It'll be interesting to see what Congress does but I suspect they will keep kicking the can down the road till after 2030...and then, who knows? In my case, I personally believe (who knows if I'm right) I will get something from SS. I don't see it going away. But, I don't know how much I'll get. So, I plan for nothing. That way, if I get something it'll be just bonus. My current retirements WITHOUT SS, should give me close to 100% income replacement as long as things continue as they have so far (nothing in life is guaranteed besides death and taxes). If I do get something from SS (and I think I will) that's just bonus money for me to blow as I see fit. But, if I never get anything I can get by without issue. I'll just have a little less disposable income. My wife and I are also working to get the house paid for. We are getting closer to retirement and with the house paid for, our living costs will be quite low. We are on track currently to have the house paid for in about 2 years and once it's paid for, the extra money will go into other retirement funding plans. People have been saying for years that SS "won't be there when I retire". My dad was one of those people and guess what....he's now living on the SS he said would never be there for him. If you want to plan for it as a required portion of your retirement....go right ahead. I think you're making a mistake but that's just my opinion and I'm just a random guy on the internet. If you believe in the SS system, you better believe the SS system when they tell you "it's best to identify other ways to pay for your monthly expenses as you age." Pretty sure there is a reason the SS administration is warning people not to 100% rely on SS. Finally, consider this from SS: "The Trustees project that OASDI annual cost will exceed total income throughout the 75-year projection period. After the projected trust fund reserve depletion in 2034, continuing income would be sufficient to pay 80 percent of program cost, declining to 74 percent for 2097." |
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"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt |
Originally Posted By TheOtherDave: Is expecting your Govenrment to put your direct financial well-being ahead of other who contribute nothing toward it out of line? It doesn’t matter that you’re financially savvy, we were forced into the program and they owe us that money. Even for people who plan to not have it around, it could make for a decent improvement in quality of life for most people if they get what is coming to them. When *IS* it a good time to walk about that? When it’s underfunded? When the stock market collapsed and takes all of those investments you made away? View Quote You and I cannot change the existing system. We can like it. We can hate it. We can push for change. We can do nothing. But, realistically, things are unlikely to change. So, we can either live in the fantasy world we want to live in (hint..it doesn't exist) or we can live in the real world. Living in the real world requires planning for the way things are...not the way we want them to be. Social Security is totally funded from Social Security deductions from our paychecks (most of us at least). It's not funded from regular taxes. They can fix the lack of funding....by increasing the amount of money we contribute. The average person will get more out of SS than they and their employers contribute. What props the system up is people dying after they have put lots in but before they can pull much out of it. That's part of the reason the system is failing. People are living longer than planned when the system was put in place. But, people will raise hell about raising taxes too. If you are planning your retirement well, you will be moving into safer and safer investments the closer you get to retirement. Early in your career you can survive the stock market dips. As you get closer and closer to your retirement date, you should have your investments in safer and safer investments. But, safe investments don't typically give the high returns the riskier investments produce. Some people get addicted to the rapid rise of their investments so they keep them in riskier investments to keep the high returns coming in...and then when the stock market takes a hit right before they planned to retire, they start complaining that now they can't retire when they wanted to. Generally, those of us in this forum like to be self reliant. Unless I misunderstand you, you seem to be advocating for a government solution to people's retirement. My recommendation, also from some random guy on the internet, stop relying on the government to handle your retirement for you. You will probably get something from SS but there is a fair chance it's not going to be what you want it to be(again that's just my opinion). So, build your own retirement independent of the "planning" the government is doing for you. I don't know your age but if you are closing in on retirement age and you don't have anything other than SS planned for your retirement, then good luck. If all you have planned on is SS...then you should probably plan to work till 70 so you can max what you will get from SS. I am not and have never claimed to be any kind of financial advisor so anyone who wants to have the best plan for themselves in retirement should consult a financial advisor to figure out their best plan for themselves in their particular situation. There is no one right answer for everyone but there is one wrong answer...failing to plan for yourself. |
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"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt |
Originally Posted By lumper: I do not believe I will receive social security funds, even though my employer and I have paid in to the system for years. I fully expect there to be means testing to determine eligibility of payments. As I live simply, save heavily, and have little debt, I expect to be told I no longer qualify for payments due to not "needing" the money. I understand that this lifestyle in America is rare, and therefor, those of us that live this way can be safely ignored by those that depend on a favorable public opinion for their jobs. In other words, it is not up to me whether or not the government decides to include me in Social Security payments, and it never has been. The pyramid scheme known as Social Security simply has not collapsed - yet. View Quote Personally, I think means testing is the least likely of the SS “fixes”. But, I also am not convinced you are wrong either. It has been mentioned as a potential “fix”. If you aren’t planning for it and that’s the fix Congress agrees on, then at least you weren’t planning on it. And if you are dependent on SS only and Congress chooses to do means testing….well I guess you’ll get the full promised amount….but you won’t have a comfortable retirement. So, to me it appears better to not rely on SS as a necessity to live in retirement but it will be a nice additional income source if you (and I) get it. Diversified income streams in retirement are always a good thing. Many wealthy people have multiple income sources. When one source isn’t doing so great, another one is doing well. The more income sources we all have in retirement, the better. |
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"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt |
Chatting with a younger coworker today. 30 yr old. Nice guy. Been working there for 6+ years. Started talking about retirement. He has no idea how our retirement works. Not a clue. He got really quiet as we talked and I encouraged him to log into his retirement accounts and take a look for himself. He had no idea he even could. At first he was a little defensive so I did what I could to reassure him I wasn't trying to criticize him but to encourage him to look into it for himself and then start planning for his own good. I gave him some pointers and directed him to another person at work who knows even more than I do about our retirement options. The guy I recommended he talk to is the most money smart guy at work and he knows everything about our retirement plans and options.
I sincerely hope he takes it to heart. |
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"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt |
Originally Posted By ColtRifle: Chatting with a younger coworker today. 30 yr old. Nice guy. Been working there for 6+ years. Started talking about retirement. He has no idea how our retirement works. Not a clue. He got really quiet as we talked and I encouraged him to log into his retirement accounts and take a look for himself. He had no idea he even could. At first he was a little defensive so I did what I could to reassure him I wasn't trying to criticize him but to encourage him to look into it for himself and then start planning for his own good. I gave him some pointers and directed him to another person at work who knows even more than I do about our retirement options. The guy I recommended he talk to is the most money smart guy at work and he knows everything about our retirement plans and options. I sincerely hope he takes it to heart. View Quote Our current public education system is shit at teaching finances (both personal and governmental). Our culture teaches 'spend spend spend!'. A couple generations now have grown this way. Yes there are some who do a good job at teaching their kids financial responsibility and yes there are those who pick it up third hand early and get really smart on it, but it shouldnt be surprising that a lot of people (one may even argue the majority) 40 and below (maybe even older at the top end) have little idea about how to save for emergencies or for retirement. Many people don't know what they don't know. You couldn't do a better job at quietly breeding a population who will become reliant on the govt if you tried. |
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I've been getting rid of bills, simplifying life and cutting expenses like a mofo.
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Originally Posted By darkpaladin1: Our current public education system is shit at teaching finances (both personal and governmental). Our culture teaches 'spend spend spend!'. A couple generations now have grown this way. Yes there are some who do a good job at teaching their kids financial responsibility and yes there are those who pick it up third hand early and get really smart on it, but it shouldnt be surprising that a lot of people (one may even argue the majority) 40 and below (maybe even older at the top end) have little idea about how to save for emergencies or for retirement. Many people don't know what they don't know. You couldn't do a better job at quietly breeding a population who will become reliant on the govt if you tried. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By darkpaladin1: Originally Posted By ColtRifle: Chatting with a younger coworker today. 30 yr old. Nice guy. Been working there for 6+ years. Started talking about retirement. He has no idea how our retirement works. Not a clue. He got really quiet as we talked and I encouraged him to log into his retirement accounts and take a look for himself. He had no idea he even could. At first he was a little defensive so I did what I could to reassure him I wasn't trying to criticize him but to encourage him to look into it for himself and then start planning for his own good. I gave him some pointers and directed him to another person at work who knows even more than I do about our retirement options. The guy I recommended he talk to is the most money smart guy at work and he knows everything about our retirement plans and options. I sincerely hope he takes it to heart. Our current public education system is shit at teaching finances (both personal and governmental). Our culture teaches 'spend spend spend!'. A couple generations now have grown this way. Yes there are some who do a good job at teaching their kids financial responsibility and yes there are those who pick it up third hand early and get really smart on it, but it shouldnt be surprising that a lot of people (one may even argue the majority) 40 and below (maybe even older at the top end) have little idea about how to save for emergencies or for retirement. Many people don't know what they don't know. You couldn't do a better job at quietly breeding a population who will become reliant on the govt if you tried. That's true but then the inverse is also true. Many save all their life, get out of debt, for a comfortable retirement then sit on it like they are going to take it with them while inflation eats it away. The one criteria most failed on is planning for how long we will live followed very closely by not predicting our failing health/getting old. Hell that later one I'm guilty myself. If I had stuck to my plan when I was 40, I'd be in the Bahamas right now on my boat. My boat is simply sitting in storage right now because I can't even maintain it let alone travel in it. Still it was a hell of a 20 years of boating to get to this point. As for the all being on the government tit, its best to point out at this point all that free shit you see on TV is for the bottom feeders only. Those of us who worked all of our lives, kept our words paying off debt on time, and saved we pay through the nose. For example, those Medicare part C plans on TV which is managed healthcare and the only way they manage healthcare is by denying it, if you did everything right in life will cost you $500 a month per person unless you want a $10,000 max out of pocket per event which is catastrophic end of life. Worse many doctors and hospitals won't even take it. The entire system is to take the wealth of the middle class at end of life. The best plan is like the rich. Your annual withdrawal is sustainable and its in a trust. Some use their kids like a trust but good luck with that. They have a crap load of rules on that too and well kids now aren't like kids 50 years ago and that too is by design. Tj |
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"We prepare so we don't have to go to the Superdome!"
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Originally Posted By TomJefferson: That's true but then the inverse is also true. Many save all their life, get out of debt, for a comfortable retirement then sit on it like they are going to take it with them while inflation eats it away. The one criteria most failed on is planning for how long we will live followed very closely by not predicting our failing health/getting old. Hell that later one I'm guilty myself. If I had stuck to my plan when I was 40, I'd be in the Bahamas right now on my boat. My boat is simply sitting in storage right now because I can't even maintain it let alone travel in it. Still it was a hell of a 20 years of boating to get to this point. As for the all being on the government tit, its best to point out at this point all that free shit you see on TV is for the bottom feeders only. Those of us who worked all of our lives, kept our words paying off debt on time, and saved we pay through the nose. For example, those Medicare part C plans on TV which is managed healthcare and the only way they manage healthcare is by denying it, if you did everything right in life will cost you $500 a month per person unless you want a $10,000 max out of pocket per event which is catastrophic end of life. Worse many doctors and hospitals won't even take it. The entire system is to take the wealth of the middle class at end of life. The best plan is like the rich. Your annual withdrawal is sustainable and its in a trust. Some use their kids like a trust but good luck with that. They have a crap load of rules on that too and well kids now aren't like kids 50 years ago and that too is by design. Tj View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By TomJefferson: Originally Posted By darkpaladin1: Originally Posted By ColtRifle: SNIP SNIP That's true but then the inverse is also true. Many save all their life, get out of debt, for a comfortable retirement then sit on it like they are going to take it with them while inflation eats it away. The one criteria most failed on is planning for how long we will live followed very closely by not predicting our failing health/getting old. Hell that later one I'm guilty myself. If I had stuck to my plan when I was 40, I'd be in the Bahamas right now on my boat. My boat is simply sitting in storage right now because I can't even maintain it let alone travel in it. Still it was a hell of a 20 years of boating to get to this point. As for the all being on the government tit, its best to point out at this point all that free shit you see on TV is for the bottom feeders only. Those of us who worked all of our lives, kept our words paying off debt on time, and saved we pay through the nose. For example, those Medicare part C plans on TV which is managed healthcare and the only way they manage healthcare is by denying it, if you did everything right in life will cost you $500 a month per person unless you want a $10,000 max out of pocket per event which is catastrophic end of life. Worse many doctors and hospitals won't even take it. The entire system is to take the wealth of the middle class at end of life. The best plan is like the rich. Your annual withdrawal is sustainable and its in a trust. Some use their kids like a trust but good luck with that. They have a crap load of rules on that too and well kids now aren't like kids 50 years ago and that too is by design. Tj Agreed on all counts. Following the traditional model toward retirement doesnt work like it used should anymore, and people are living longer than they ever expected to. Sprinkle in a massive dose of "The govt likes their money and likes yours even more" and nobody can really count on their retirement planning anymore. Hell, you mention "Your annual withdrawal is sustainable and its in a trust", but how long before the govt finds a way to dip into that as well and torpedo even that type of planning? |
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Originally Posted By fla556guy: I've been getting rid of bills, simplifying life and cutting expenses like a mofo. View Quote Same, but I have to buy a house in the very near future. On the upside, I paid off ALL of my old credit card debt, and now have $10K in a high-yield (4.3%) savings account that is going towards a house. All my spare cash gets dumped into that account. It's amazing how quickly you can accumulate savings when you aren't sending a couple grand a month out the door to pay off CCs. |
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"You see? It's like I've always said; You can get more with a kind word and a two-by-four than you can with just a kind word." - Marcus Cole
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Originally Posted By Kitulu: Same, but I have to buy a house in the very near future. On the upside, I paid off ALL of my old credit card debt, and now have $10K in a high-yield (4.3%) savings account that is going towards a house. All my spare cash gets dumped into that account. It's amazing how quickly you can accumulate savings when you aren't sending a couple grand a month out the door to pay off CCs. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By Kitulu: Originally Posted By fla556guy: I've been getting rid of bills, simplifying life and cutting expenses like a mofo. Same, but I have to buy a house in the very near future. On the upside, I paid off ALL of my old credit card debt, and now have $10K in a high-yield (4.3%) savings account that is going towards a house. All my spare cash gets dumped into that account. It's amazing how quickly you can accumulate savings when you aren't sending a couple grand a month out the door to pay off CCs. Essentially the same as both of you. I went through my expenditures and found where I was spending money needlessly. I still spend a little money here and there on things I like but don't need but if many of us reexamine where we are spending money, most of us will find areas where we can cut needless spending without affecting our standard of living. |
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"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt |
Originally Posted By darkpaladin1: Our current public education system is shit at teaching finances (both personal and governmental). Our culture teaches 'spend spend spend!'. A couple generations now have grown this way. Yes there are some who do a good job at teaching their kids financial responsibility and yes there are those who pick it up third hand early and get really smart on it, but it shouldnt be surprising that a lot of people (one may even argue the majority) 40 and below (maybe even older at the top end) have little idea about how to save for emergencies or for retirement. Many people don't know what they don't know. You couldn't do a better job at quietly breeding a population who will become reliant on the govt if you tried. View Quote Very true. But I'm older than 40 and I was never taught how to plan for retirement either. But, I started getting a little interest myself and then someone I greatly respect told me to carefully plan for my retirement. I respected him a lot and I took that to heart. I'm sure glad I did because I wasn't taught about retirement planning growing up. I'm very thankful to him for caring enough about me to encourage me to start thinking about my retirement. |
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"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt |
Originally Posted By darkpaladin1: Agreed on all counts. Following the traditional model toward retirement doesnt work like it used should anymore, and people are living longer than they ever expected to. Sprinkle in a massive dose of "The govt likes their money and likes yours even more" and nobody can really count on their retirement planning anymore. Hell, you mention "Your annual withdrawal is sustainable and its in a trust", but how long before the govt finds a way to dip into that as well and torpedo even that type of planning? View Quote What do you think people should be doing to prepare for retirement? |
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"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt |
Originally Posted By darkpaladin1: Agreed on all counts. Following the traditional model toward retirement doesnt work like it used should anymore, and people are living longer than they ever expected to. Sprinkle in a massive dose of "The govt likes their money and likes yours even more" and nobody can really count on their retirement planning anymore. Hell, you mention "Your annual withdrawal is sustainable and its in a trust", but how long before the govt finds a way to dip into that as well and torpedo even that type of planning? View Quote Excellent point. When Hilary ran for president when asked what to do about retirement she replied, "Look at all those 401Ks out there. We should just take them." GW Bush's plan was to force a retirement fund, half of your social security. It was only Trump who promised first to not touch social security then to fix it by growing the economy. Like it or not, we have no choice. When we retire or turn 65 whichever comes first, the government becomes a big part of our lives. |
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"We prepare so we don't have to go to the Superdome!"
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Originally Posted By TomJefferson: I have a saying. There's two types of people in life. Those who believe in he who dies with the most money wins and those who believe in who dies with the most toys wins. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By TomJefferson: Originally Posted By Kitulu: You know, that was the main reason why I made my unnecessary purchase of a brand-new, fresh off the showroom floor, 2017 Indian Roadmaster. I had a perfectly good Honda Shadow that hadn't even hit 20K on the odo, but I wanted a big touring bike. I knew that if I kept putting it off, I night never get my Roadmaster. I have a saying. There's two types of people in life. Those who believe in he who dies with the most money wins and those who believe in who dies with the most toys wins. I was on the money side, the midlife crisis I'm hitting right now has me travelling and spending money. Dying rich ain't going to cut it, seems like we are all just waiting to die. |
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Originally Posted By Ascendent: I was on the money side, the midlife crisis I'm hitting right now has me travelling and spending money. Dying rich ain't going to cut it, seems like we are all just waiting to die. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By Ascendent: Originally Posted By TomJefferson: Originally Posted By Kitulu: You know, that was the main reason why I made my unnecessary purchase of a brand-new, fresh off the showroom floor, 2017 Indian Roadmaster. I had a perfectly good Honda Shadow that hadn't even hit 20K on the odo, but I wanted a big touring bike. I knew that if I kept putting it off, I night never get my Roadmaster. I have a saying. There's two types of people in life. Those who believe in he who dies with the most money wins and those who believe in who dies with the most toys wins. I was on the money side, the midlife crisis I'm hitting right now has me travelling and spending money. Dying rich ain't going to cut it, seems like we are all just waiting to die. We are all waiting to die. Gotta hit a balance, save some, spend some and enjoy. There are many things you can't change unfortunately and many things you don't know. I don't expect to live all that old, but saving for my family is a good reason to set aside. |
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Originally Posted By ColtRifle: What do you think people should be doing to prepare for retirement? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By ColtRifle: Originally Posted By darkpaladin1: Agreed on all counts. Following the traditional model toward retirement doesnt work like it used should anymore, and people are living longer than they ever expected to. Sprinkle in a massive dose of "The govt likes their money and likes yours even more" and nobody can really count on their retirement planning anymore. Hell, you mention "Your annual withdrawal is sustainable and its in a trust", but how long before the govt finds a way to dip into that as well and torpedo even that type of planning? What do you think people should be doing to prepare for retirement? To start with, since I could see what I said as being easily seen that way (and if it was, I apologize), I wasn't taking aim at you or your statements so much at my own frustration at how the systems have changed. I do not have all the answers and I very much doubt anyone does. That said, some of my observations: -Have a savings account for emergencies. This exists to hedge against uncertainties and help prevent someone from having to take out unexpected loans or dip into their retirement funds. -Do not plan on your savings account as part of your retirement. It's a bad investment and doesn't keep up with inflation let alone give you anything in return. It's there as a rainy day fund, nothing more or less. -Figure out how much money you can live on at the absolute minimum (cut the luxuries out as well) at your anticipated retirement age. This is not your goal to shoot for; it is to give you an understanding at what you can survive at. -Determine what living standard you will be satisfied with after retirement. This is what you should be aiming for and shouldn't be extravagant. -Anticipate living longer than the average. You don't want to reach 80, run out of money and still be alive but with significant medical expenses. -Speaking of medical expenses, your retirement plan should account for health insurance and rely on govt medical care as little as possible (never know when it may go away). -Your employer's retirement benefit should be a major selling point on if you work for them or not. If its weak, find somewhere else. -Even if you have some incredible 401k plan through your employer, you should have a separate investment strategy elsewhere. Preferably more than one. Once again, you never know when one of them will evaporate due to mismanagement or corruption. -Find something you enjoy doing that can also make you money on the side if you are still able to do it. It gives you a purpose and brings in a little more play money. I've seen so many people retire and then die months later because they had nothing left to really work toward. This at least fills that niche in a rewarding way. -Roth vs traditional? Roth. How often does anyone see taxes going down? Almost never. Better to have your taxes be taken now than hope on some small chance that a miracle happens. -Have as comprehensive of documentation as possible in regard to late life care. This includes powers of attorney, trusts (as you mentioned), a will, etc. Once these are done, do not just forget about them. Things may change over time and these documents need to do so as well. I am no expert, and these are just the things off the top of my head mostly from some of my own research and pitfalls I've seen others step into. Bottom line, getting some form of personal finance education (self-taught or otherwise) is one of the biggest returns on investment one can get in life, do not put all your eggs in one basket, and if the govt is involved anywhere do not assume it will be there when you need it. |
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Originally Posted By darkpaladin1: To start with, since I could see what I said as being easily seen that way (and if it was, I apologize), I wasn't taking aim at you or your statements so much at my own frustration at how the systems have changed. I do not have all the answers and I very much doubt anyone does. That said, some of my observations: -Have a savings account for emergencies. This exists to hedge against uncertainties and help prevent someone from having to take out unexpected loans or dip into their retirement funds. -Do not plan on your savings account as part of your retirement. It's a bad investment and doesn't keep up with inflation let alone give you anything in return. It's there as a rainy day fund, nothing more or less. -Figure out how much money you can live on at the absolute minimum (cut the luxuries out as well) at your anticipated retirement age. This is not your goal to shoot for; it is to give you an understanding at what you can survive at. -Determine what living standard you will be satisfied with after retirement. This is what you should be aiming for and shouldn't be extravagant. -Anticipate living longer than the average. You don't want to reach 80, run out of money and still be alive but with significant medical expenses. -Speaking of medical expenses, your retirement plan should account for health insurance and rely on govt medical care as little as possible (never know when it may go away). -Your employer's retirement benefit should be a major selling point on if you work for them or not. If its weak, find somewhere else. -Even if you have some incredible 401k plan through your employer, you should have a separate investment strategy elsewhere. Preferably more than one. Once again, you never know when one of them will evaporate due to mismanagement or corruption. -Find something you enjoy doing that can also make you money on the side if you are still able to do it. It gives you a purpose and brings in a little more play money. I've seen so many people retire and then die months later because they had nothing left to really work toward. This at least fills that niche in a rewarding way. -Roth vs traditional? Roth. How often does anyone see taxes going down? Almost never. Better to have your taxes be taken now than hope on some small chance that a miracle happens. -Have as comprehensive of documentation as possible in regard to late life care. This includes powers of attorney, trusts (as you mentioned), a will, etc. Once these are done, do not just forget about them. Things may change over time and these documents need to do so as well. I am no expert, and these are just the things off the top of my head mostly from some of my own research and pitfalls I've seen others step into. Bottom line, getting some form of personal finance education (self-taught or otherwise) is one of the biggest returns on investment one can get in life, do not put all your eggs in one basket, and if the govt is involved anywhere do not assume it will be there when you need it. View Quote No offense taken! I have enjoyed your contributions to this thread and was a little confused at that post so was hoping you could elaborate some more! All very good ideas/recommendations. Like it a lot. Thank you! So often people get very personally “offended” when someone suggests they need to plan better for retirement. I think we have seen a little of that in this thread. Occasionally I read comments in the Team forum or see a link to a GD thread talking about retirement and when I read those threads, there is always someone with a defeatist attitude who decides to get angry with posters in the thread. Kind of like how polarizing a guy like Dave Ramsey is on this forum. I’m not a devout Dave Ramsey follower and have no problem saying I don’t think his financial strategies are for everyone….but at the same time I have seen many people I know who didn’t make good financial decisions use his principles to get out of crushing debt and onto far better financial footing. Many people don’t like his religious approach so they discount his financial advice. I like to read a variety of opinions and glean what will benefit me from each one of them. So often, when listening to someone, they say something we disagree with so we discount everything else they have to say. There are a few YouTube channels I like to watch (wide range of topics). Every so often the channel posts a video I either don’t agree with or don’t care for. Instead of throwing out the whole channel, I just shut off that video and go on to something else. There is no one financial plan that works for everyone. But we might be able to put parts of a bunch of plans together and make a great plan for ourselves. Frozenny has posted a lot of good financial posts in this forum in the past and every one of his posts have given me good financial ideas but many of his posts don’t get a lot of responses. But, it’s a lot more fun to talk about buying the latest and greatest gadget than to talk about money or to plan for retirement! I’m actually surprised this thread has as many responses as it has! |
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"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt |
Originally Posted By darkpaladin1: To start with, since I could see what I said as being easily seen that way (and if it was, I apologize), I wasn't taking aim at you or your statements so much at my own frustration at how the systems have changed. I do not have all the answers and I very much doubt anyone does. That said, some of my observations: -Have a savings account for emergencies. This exists to hedge against uncertainties and help prevent someone from having to take out unexpected loans or dip into their retirement funds. -Do not plan on your savings account as part of your retirement. It's a bad investment and doesn't keep up with inflation let alone give you anything in return. It's there as a rainy day fund, nothing more or less. -Figure out how much money you can live on at the absolute minimum (cut the luxuries out as well) at your anticipated retirement age. This is not your goal to shoot for; it is to give you an understanding at what you can survive at. -Determine what living standard you will be satisfied with after retirement. This is what you should be aiming for and shouldn't be extravagant. -Anticipate living longer than the average. You don't want to reach 80, run out of money and still be alive but with significant medical expenses. -Speaking of medical expenses, your retirement plan should account for health insurance and rely on govt medical care as little as possible (never know when it may go away). -Your employer's retirement benefit should be a major selling point on if you work for them or not. If its weak, find somewhere else. -Even if you have some incredible 401k plan through your employer, you should have a separate investment strategy elsewhere. Preferably more than one. Once again, you never know when one of them will evaporate due to mismanagement or corruption. -Find something you enjoy doing that can also make you money on the side if you are still able to do it. It gives you a purpose and brings in a little more play money. I've seen so many people retire and then die months later because they had nothing left to really work toward. This at least fills that niche in a rewarding way. -Roth vs traditional? Roth. How often does anyone see taxes going down? Almost never. Better to have your taxes be taken now than hope on some small chance that a miracle happens. -Have as comprehensive of documentation as possible in regard to late life care. This includes powers of attorney, trusts (as you mentioned), a will, etc. Once these are done, do not just forget about them. Things may change over time and these documents need to do so as well. I am no expert, and these are just the things off the top of my head mostly from some of my own research and pitfalls I've seen others step into. Bottom line, getting some form of personal finance education (self-taught or otherwise) is one of the biggest returns on investment one can get in life, do not put all your eggs in one basket, and if the govt is involved anywhere do not assume it will be there when you need it. View Quote Add a long-term care insurance plan to your list of expected retirement expenses. https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/insurance/long-term-care-insurance |
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Heller II - Challenging DC's bans on semi-automatic rifles, large-capacity ammunition feeding devices, and its onerous and expensive handgun registration process. http://www.HellerFoundation.org/
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Originally Posted By darkpaladin1: To start with, since I could see what I said as being easily seen that way (and if it was, I apologize), I wasn't taking aim at you or your statements so much at my own frustration at how the systems have changed. I do not have all the answers and I very much doubt anyone does. That said, some of my observations: -Have a savings account for emergencies. This exists to hedge against uncertainties and help prevent someone from having to take out unexpected loans or dip into their retirement funds. -Do not plan on your savings account as part of your retirement. It's a bad investment and doesn't keep up with inflation let alone give you anything in return. It's there as a rainy day fund, nothing more or less. -Figure out how much money you can live on at the absolute minimum (cut the luxuries out as well) at your anticipated retirement age. This is not your goal to shoot for; it is to give you an understanding at what you can survive at. -Determine what living standard you will be satisfied with after retirement. This is what you should be aiming for and shouldn't be extravagant. -Anticipate living longer than the average. You don't want to reach 80, run out of money and still be alive but with significant medical expenses. -Speaking of medical expenses, your retirement plan should account for health insurance and rely on govt medical care as little as possible (never know when it may go away). -Your employer's retirement benefit should be a major selling point on if you work for them or not. If its weak, find somewhere else. -Even if you have some incredible 401k plan through your employer, you should have a separate investment strategy elsewhere. Preferably more than one. Once again, you never know when one of them will evaporate due to mismanagement or corruption. -Find something you enjoy doing that can also make you money on the side if you are still able to do it. It gives you a purpose and brings in a little more play money. I've seen so many people retire and then die months later because they had nothing left to really work toward. This at least fills that niche in a rewarding way. -Roth vs traditional? Roth. How often does anyone see taxes going down? Almost never. Better to have your taxes be taken now than hope on some small chance that a miracle happens. -Have as comprehensive of documentation as possible in regard to late life care. This includes powers of attorney, trusts (as you mentioned), a will, etc. Once these are done, do not just forget about them. Things may change over time and these documents need to do so as well. I am no expert, and these are just the things off the top of my head mostly from some of my own research and pitfalls I've seen others step into. Bottom line, getting some form of personal finance education (self-taught or otherwise) is one of the biggest returns on investment one can get in life, do not put all your eggs in one basket, and if the govt is involved anywhere do not assume it will be there when you need it. View Quote To your points, at age 40 I had 3 revenue retirement plans not including something like a reverse mortgage. I needed 2 out of the 3 to work out to maintain current standard of living with no expense reductions. Sure enough age 55, my vested pension went away. Taxes, two years into retirement my property value doubled, not bad when young but disastrous when retired. Houses are like stocks, you don't realized the wealth or loss until you sell them. Unlike stocks, my taxes went up substantially. Note here, once paid for your property tax is due in full not a monthly payment. Likewise my house insurance doubled. To your point, if you don't have a savings, besides "Mr Murphy" "Oh crap I need to fix the car or buy a heat pump, you got the see it comings like tax and insurance. Note here, I also highly recommend a liquid able assets savings, cash, gold, assets that can be easily sold for cash. It would blow peoples minds how easy it is to freeze bank accounts. One slip up on some careless workers desk and boom locked. Note here, beware the government entanglements on this. Budgeting retirement is much like operating a business. What has helped me a lot is two bank accounts separated household and retirement. Income and savings in the retirement account. Outgoing payments from the household account. I simply transfer funds once a month to the household account maintaining a once a month minimum. This gives you a once a month instant look at how your budget is going. Over budget then you can look into the detail is to where and why. Second benefit is then your household account being all the payables is the most exposed to fraud. This limits your fraud exposure to only that account. You can do this electronically so on budget its a few clicks and done and over budget you can see every transaction and trend it. Pretty much these days I only go to the bank to use the ATM or do a special cash withdrawal. We limit how many checks we write to only trusted sources and unlike the kids today, we limit using that ATM card. How we do this is as much as we can, we put payable on Amex Gold. This puts a barrier between our bank and the end recipient, we get Amex points which we can use like cash at certain businesses, and online exposure monthly and annually to where our money went. For example, cell phone bill is on the card, gas, etc. Once a month we do a budget review then once a year at tax time an annual. This helps in budgeting your tax burden and your IRA withdrawals. Just us type of thing, IRA withdrawal we do twice a year January and June and put our tax burden totally out of the IRA. You really don't need the government to be your banker. No interest and no withdrawals is not a good thing. Lastly, we use a CPA who not only figures our taxes but tells us our next years burden. I also, once a year, do a spreadsheet of expenses and annualize it. This saves money on the CPA as well as summarizes for you. It would be nice if we all retired and didn't have to deal with all this crap but that's not how it works unless you are at the very bottom of the economic strata. All that free shit may sound nice but its not. Now this last part we get some frowns and nahs but at my age I know a hell of a lot of retired folks. All my lifelong friends are. One financial outlay, I won't say burden because it actually isn't, is kids. Kids are a lifelong burden but also a lifelong investment. They never stop being your kids. You are never gong to stop helping them even if they don't want it. Being in a position to is a very good thing. They're going to have the very same ups and downs as you and in some cases worse. Easily over half the grandparents today are day care centers. When I was working I use to feel sorry for them but I don't now. Its keeping them wanted and healthy. Some of the kids I see I'd like to knock them upside the head and some grandparents I do too, but mostly its not bad. Anyway, its an expense you won't see coming and almost impossible to plan for. Notr on this, I thank God all the time he gave us a son. Tj |
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"We prepare so we don't have to go to the Superdome!"
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Originally Posted By Bubbles: Add a long-term care insurance plan to your list of expected retirement expenses. https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/insurance/long-term-care-insurance View Quote I had intented to cover that in the health insurance part, but yeah that very much does in fact warrant being called out seperately. I remember when I was much younger (for some reason ive got a much better memory than it seems others do) and I can remember our elementary school taking us to the nearest VA on veterans day. While I was your traditional dumb kid and didnt pay as much attention as I would have when I got older, one thing I look back on is seeing the number of older folk who were grateful just to have someone visit them and to talk to. Most had outlives their spouses and many had outlived their children. Nobody was there because that was their prefered retirement plan. They just didnt have any other choices left, and even at that its not an option available for most people. Many had outlived their own retirement plans or had their plans fall apart. My point there is that no matter how much ones family may care for them, a day may come where you have nobody left and no way to earn your own income or even be able to live independently. That is also something that should be hedged against as part of a retrement plan. Chances are depressingly high that a individual will outlive their own ability to be independent, and nobody wants to spend their remaining years feeling like a burden on those around themselves. |
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Food for thought:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2023/05/28/inflation-government-spending-are-pulling-boomers-out-of-retirement/70254240007/ Reckless spending and inflation are forcing many Americans to 'unretire' Older Americans are increasingly ‘unretiring’ to deal with elevated prices and rocky financial positions. Unfortunately, financial insecurity from inflation may be here to stay. Rising costs have turned grocery staples like eggs into luxuries for many people on a fixed budget. Prices seemed to be coming down, but recent data signal that the end of elevated inflation remains elusive. The consumer price index (CPI) rose 4.9% in April from a year prior. This is below the generational high of 9.1% in June 2022. However, overall CPI was flat from March after months of slowing price increases. Shelter prices are up 0.4% from the last month, with overall housing costs at 8.1% higher in April compared to a year earlier. Shelter, which is responsible for a third of CPI weighting, was a key factor driving CPI higher despite declines in other categories. Unlike other discretionary spending, housing is not optional. Increasingly, Americans are spending more on rent, and this disproportionately impacts low-income people and older adults, especially those on fixed budgets. Nearly 10 million households headed by people aged 65 or older pay more than a third of their income on housing, and half of these pay more than 50%. Renter households tend to have lower incomes than owner households and are more affected by income and rental price changes. Un-retiring to grapple with inflation An average of 10,000 Baby Boomers reach retirement age each day. Unfortunately, the inflation-driven affordability crisis and the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes meant to combat inflation have driven housing costs higher. As a result, retirees are moving back into the labor force. According to a survey by Paychex, 55% of retirees who went back to work said they did so because they needed more money, and 1 in 6 retirees is considering returning to work. Their work ethic is welcomed by employers, and their presence may alleviate worker shortages. However, postponing or ending retirement is a hard choice to make. Savings and investments should be a cushion for retirees even through difficult periods. Many older adults find themselves in deteriorating financial positions due to massive stock market losses in 2022. Some $12.2 trillion in wealth was wiped out as the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq lost 8%, 19.4%, and 33%, respectively. In an AARP survey late last year, more than a third of people 65 and older described their financial situation as worse than a year prior — up from just 13% at the start of the year. While large shares of Americans across age demographics expressed financial struggles, older Americans were more pessimistic about conditions improving for them in the future. Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits increased by 8.7% — more than $140 per month — at the start of the year. While that’s a little extra breathing room, the extra social security dollars are not enough. The cost of bad policy in the Biden administration People have connected the dots between ill-advised government policies and harsh economic outcomes. Spending nearly $2 trillion dollars on government transfers to nearly every household at a time of supply-chain disruptions and exacerbated labor shortages caused inflation to accelerate. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and other production disruptions worsened it. The Biden administration and congressional Democrats passed a climate change bill that they falsely labeled the Inflation Reduction Act in hopes of fooling Americans, especially seniors. The bill never addressed rising food, housing, or energy prices — the most basic and critical needs of households. Any climate savings would take years to come to fruition and could be offset by new costs for households — tens of thousands of dollars — on new electric vehicles. Meanwhile, the green subsidies cost more than three times what the law’s supporters claimed. Reckless federal spending triggered inflation to skyrocket. Anyone promoting an agenda of inaction on government overspending, especially during debt ceiling negotiations, isn’t helping seniors, but contributing to their hardship. |
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"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt |
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