Retirement savings?

[Just Jack]

I'm gonna have my children take care of me. Except I don't have any. So until that happens, hello lottery tickets!

[plenzmd1]

. But the plan is also to move somewhere with a dirt cheap cost of living.

 

hah

I am just the opposite. can't imagine moving somewhere and having to make new friends etc in your sixties or seventies. Our plan is to have a place in DC and one Richmond. We are actively looking now for a DC property that we can rent until we retire. Still have a ton of friends in DC.

 

Now, my plan also calls for a place in BFLO, wife just not aware of that part of the plan yet lol.

Edited April 30, 2015 by plenzmd1

[BillsFanNC]

http://www.firecalc.com/

[rockpile]

 

His children will take care of him. That's their culture that we don't do at all here. Mom and dad are kicked to the curb.

 

I have four grown children who I can count on to help me and the wife as best as they can if needed, but I have medical insurance for a reason.

 

If you have a chronic illness, how do you pay for it? As many of you know, I have multiple sclerosis. Just two pills I take daily would be $84,000 per year if I paid for them out of pocket. Added to those two prescriptions: blood work, GP visits, MRI's, vision and dental expenses. How could anyone cover that without insurance?

 

Read The Millionaire Next Door for some good advice. You can have a great life and save for the future if you do not piss away all or more money than you bring in. If you use common sense, you do not have to be cheap.

 

I worked for a company for 25 years. I contributed the maximum into their 401K, they matched my contribution to either 4% or 6%, and they had a pension plan! I thought I had it made. They sold us to another company, and paid off our 'pension due' in a lump sum. I rolled my 401K and pension check into an independent IRA (not their stock). The unlucky ones who were not laid off or took early retirement, got screwed out of their pensions when the company went belly up.

 

We are a very close family. No BS or drama! When my mother-in-law needs assistance, I will welcome her into our home. She can stay as long as we can care for her. I only wish our other three parents were still here! But seriously, I can provide a home - but who would pay the medical expenses?

 

With any luck, I will be able to retire in less than 18 months, LONG before SSI alone would be enough to support me if that was my only source of income.

 

Save for the future and retire young enough to enjoy it.

Edited April 30, 2015 by rockpile

[Clippers of Nfl]

 

I have four grown children who I can count on to help me and the wife as best as they can if needed, but I have medical insurance for a reason.

 

If you have a chronic illness, how do you pay for it? As many of you know, I have multiple sclerosis. Just two pills I take daily would be $84,000 per year if I paid for them out of pocket. Added to those two prescriptions: blood work, GP visits, MRI's, vision and dental expenses. How could anyone cover that without insurance?

 

Read The Millionaire Next Door for some good advice. You can have a great life and save for the future if you do not piss away all or more money than you bring in, if you have common sense. You do not have to be cheap.

 

I worked for a company for 25 years. I contributed the maximum into my 401K, and they match my contribution to either 4% or 6% and they had a pension plan They sold us to another company, and paid off our 'pension due' in a lump sum, that I rolled into an IRA that was not their stock. The unlucky ones who were not laid off or took early retirement, got screwed out of their pensions when the company went belly up.

 

When my mother-in-law needs assistance, I will welcome her into our home. She can stay as long as we can care for her. I only wish our other three parents were still here! But seriously, I can provide a home - who would pay the medical expenses?

 

With any luck, I will be able to retire in less than 18 months, LONG before SSI would be enough to support me if it was my only source of income.

Im sure you still have to pay something even with insurance. Is it in the $5k range?

[rockpile]

Im sure you still have to pay something even with insurance. Is it in the $5k range?

 

Medical insurance is currently closer to $8K per year out-of-pocket for the wife and me.

That is already planned into the budget when I retire. Some of it will be covered by Medicare, but I will carry insurance to fill the gaps.

 

Her SSI will not be a lot, if she ever retires, because she is self employed. We have maximized her SEP every year to compensate.

Edited April 30, 2015 by rockpile

[Chef Jim]

RETIRE with less than $300k much less $100k??? I have well more than that and have 25 years left minimum and I'm still very panicked.

 

You're not as dumb as most people. I met with people today. She's early 30's him late 30's. They have under $200k but are putting a decent amount away each month. They're on track for $4mil at retirement which will kick out $6k in today's dollars. Not a lot of money for CA standards.

Edited May 4, 2015 by Chef Jim

[Clippers of Nfl]

 

Medical insurance is currently closer to $8K per year out-of-pocket for the wife and me.

That is already planned into the budget when I retire. Some of it will be covered by Medicare, but I will carry insurance to fill the gaps.

 

Her SSI will not be a lot, if she ever retires, because she is self employed. We have maximized her SEP every year to compensate.

I was actually being modest. I knew it would be higher than that. My real guess was 10.

 

What happens to the really really poor?? Health industry sucks.

 

Your not as dumb as most people. I met with people today. She's early 30's him late 30's. They have under $200k but are putting a decent amount away each month. They're on track for $4mil at retirement which will kick out $6k in today's dollars. Not a lot of money for CA standards.

4 mil, home paid, no debt is good Chef.

[Chef Jim]

I was actually being modest. I knew it would be higher than that. My real guess was 10.

 

What happens to the really really poor?? Health industry sucks.

4 mil, home paid, no debt is good Chef.

 

It's good for sure. But not as great as one would think because we're talking 2043 dollars.

[Punching Bag]

My advice is consider debt first, retirement second because if you have a lot of the first thing, there is no way you're going to do the second thing.

 

I have no debt with house paid off, previous house paid off and sold with mortgage payments paid to me and 3 more mortgages held by me for rental houses owned by my brother. I actually applied for a credit card with a bank I had account in and they said no for I had no debt; I cancelled account and took money out of bank with manager sending me letter asking why I cancelled account after many years with firm (not so many, they bought bank).

 

Too many borrow rather than saving first not that government encourages saving with ultra low interest loans to banks.

[rockpile]

The health industry sucks, no doubt.

 

SSI and SSDI suck worse. Add Medicare to the mix and you can just about forget getting through the bureaucracy without legal assistance.

[Gordio]

Such loaded questions.

 

401k's

Roths

Traditiona IRA's

SEP IRA

Stock options

Creative SS planning.

 

How much you need? As has been mentioned here already. More than you're likely to have.

 

 

I agree with this & you certainly know more about this then I do but what is someone suppose to do. You want to give your kids a good life, have them live in a nice house grow up with things you didn't have. It is a different world now then when we were growing up. Everything that kids are into as far as Ipads etc.... are 3-4 hundred bucks minimum. My son needs braces, the dentist just quoted me $3 grand. I know kids are spoiled now a days but that is the way it is. Just in my son's travel sports this year I will drop close to $5 grand. It is different though. If your kid is serious about sports there is noway he/she could compete when they get into highschool unless they are introduced to trale when they are at a young age. I put in 10% for my 401K & my company kicks in 6% & I am set to get $1,000 per month on a pension from my old job(not sure when that kicks in, I believe 65) & hopefully SS won't go down too much. I know it probably won't be enough & I will probably end up working to I am 70 but not much more I could do so I don't really worry about it. Guess some people like me are just going to adjust there lifestyle once retired. I do plan on carrying no debt by the time I am 52(I am 42 now). That is when my house is paid off.

Edited May 1, 2015 by Gordio

[Gordio]

I have a 401k, IRA and several brokerage accounts I fund religiously.

 

I decided I wanted to be able to control my own destiny so I thought having a giant pile of cash, investments and dividends coming in would help me become more independent. So I started educating myself and saving. I did a lot of math on the future, compounded interest and gains and dividends and it really hit me how a penny saved is really two pennies earned. So I went through my whole budget and shaved off every dollar I could. Quit drinking, cut back on fast food, saved here and there and stuff my money into investments.

 

 

I hear ya on this & it is the smart play but your compromising having fun when you are in the prime of your life. Life is short man, you could save all this money & drop dead of a heart attack when your 48 years old like this guy at work just did. Like I said, I put in what I can to my 401K but I am not going to let it compromise my lifestyle now. I enjoy playing golf every weekend, going on vacation with my family, watching my son play travel sports, getting Bills season tickets. I think there is a happy mediam somewhere in how much you save. Who wants to be a millionaire when your 80 years old anyways & too old to enjoy it.

[ExiledInIllinois]

 

I have no debt with house paid off, previous house paid off and sold with mortgage payments paid to me and 3 more mortgages held by me for rental houses owned by my brother. I actually applied for a credit card with a bank I had account in and they said no for I had no debt; I cancelled account and took money out of bank with manager sending me letter asking why I cancelled account after many years with firm (not so many, they bought bank).

 

Too many borrow rather than saving first not that government encourages saving with ultra low interest loans to banks.

"The percentage you're paying is too high priced

while you're living beyond all your means.

And the man in the suit has just bought a new car

from the profit he's made on your dreams.

But today you just swear that the man was shot dead

by a gun that didn't make any noise.

But it wasn't the bullet that laid him to rest

was the low spark of high-heeled boys."

 

Translation (good one plucked from the web):

 

"Verse 2: Back to "real life" or "the rat race" but with a double meaning. Yes, the physical world is a game thats fixed. We do things to wreak our finances, to allow others to take advantage of us. But the implication is that our focus on money and materialism is a superficiality that is like shooting yourself in the foot. Nevertheless, there is justice. In the long run, "the man" gets what he deserves. And it is not the physical reality that does him in, its the fact that there is more to this life than you can ever see on the surface. And working behind the scenes, the "high-heeled boys" are keeping track and "they" do bring about sparks that have heavy consequences, even down on our level."

 

 

 

Which leads me to devil's advocate:

 

How is retail supposed to thrive if noobody spends? They are crying every year around The Holiday's that this could be the worse year yet.

 

Again... I understand the importance of saving and not speading, being frugal, etc.. etc... BUT do they really want everybody doing it (saving @ such a fast pace)?

 

Shop to you drop baby and let 'em fight wars!

[dpberr]

"The percentage you're paying is too high priced

while you're living beyond all your means.

And the man in the suit has just bought a new car

from the profit he's made on your dreams.

But today you just swear that the man was shot dead

by a gun that didn't make any noise.

But it wasn't the bullet that laid him to rest

was the low spark of high-heeled boys."

 

Translation (good one plucked from the web):

 

"Verse 2: Back to "real life" or "the rat race" but with a double meaning. Yes, the physical world is a game thats fixed. We do things to wreak our finances, to allow others to take advantage of us. But the implication is that our focus on money and materialism is a superficiality that is like shooting yourself in the foot. Nevertheless, there is justice. In the long run, "the man" gets what he deserves. And it is not the physical reality that does him in, its the fact that there is more to this life than you can ever see on the surface. And working behind the scenes, the "high-heeled boys" are keeping track and "they" do bring about sparks that have heavy consequences, even down on our level."

 

 

 

Which leads me to devil's advocate:

 

How is retail supposed to thrive if noobody spends? They are crying every year around The Holiday's that this could be the worse year yet.

 

Again... I understand the importance of saving and not speading, being frugal, etc.. etc... BUT do they really want everybody doing it (saving @ such a fast pace)?

 

Shop to you drop baby and let 'em fight wars!

 

That's a macroeconomic and demographic question and answer. The baby boom fueled a lot of the retail spending. Lots of boomers, lots of money, especially in the high times of the early 1970s and 1990s. A lot of it was financed through debt like mortgages, loans, credit cards, etc.

 

Now that boomers are retiring, they aren't (shouldn't be) buying the houses, cars, boats, televisions, vacations, etc. at the clip they used to during their prime earning years. Instead of spend it on retail goodies, it's going towards healthcare. Healthcare is a determined, consistent, hungry little monster of consumption spending and overall portion of GDP. And it only goes up in the future.

 

Another factor to consider - jobs "back in the day" were "better" than they are now. Current generations, already smaller than boomers in number, are faced with stagnant or declining wages....on top of unprecedented amounts of credit card and college debt. Makes it very hard to buy a house and first time homebuyers are incredible generators of retail spending.

 

In short, people aren't spending because they are forced to. They either have to save for other things or simply tapped out due to debt load.

[bbb]

 

Of course! Feel free anytime.

 

Do you do the maintenance yourself? Get calls at all times for plumbing problems and such?

[Captain Caveman]

Our pension is tiny, but our 401k matching is pretty good (they match 6%.) I've been contributing the max pretty much since I was hired in 2008, and I'm hoping to have enough saved in the next 5-10 years to be a stay at home dad for a while before my kids leave for college. My wife will keep working, but she enjoys it.

[DrDawkinstein]

 

Do you do the maintenance yourself? Get calls at all times for plumbing problems and such?

 

Yes, I do (most of) the maintenance myself. But my dad was a general contractor and we've had rentals in the family forever, and I was stuck working on them since I was 12 or 13 years old, so it's not that big of a deal to me at this point. I wouldnt recommend trying do it all yourself to someone who isnt handy and doesnt already have a garage full of tools. But even so, if you plan right, you should be setting a portion of the monthly rents aside for having to hire plumbers/electricians/carpenters/etc. It can definitely be done without being handy, just a bit trickier on the money side.

 

I acquired 2 of the 4 properties within the past year and they got a full refresh, so I dont expect any issues for a while. The other 2 I took over from my dad's collection, and we havent had any issues with either in over 3 years. (And there is the jinx that will guarantee I'll be knee deep in sewage this weekend! hahaha)

 

The real trick is finding good renters, and then the property issues will be cut down drastically. I ask for 1st month, last month, AND a deposit. Usually, anyone who can come up with 3 months rent upfront isnt the kind of person to trash the house or cause problems. Usually...

 

edit: I dont mow lawns or plow driveways. That's all on the tenants and part of the lease. No "regular maintenance", only if there is a problem that needs fixing.

Edited May 1, 2015 by DrDareustein

[mead107]

I think I am going to sell everything and collect money from the government

[Punching Bag]

The health industry sucks, no doubt.

 

SSI and SSDI suck worse. Add Medicare to the mix and you can just about forget getting through the bureaucracy without legal assistance.

Just got it for my daughter and no laywers involved; should have done it 10 years ago when recommended by school psychologist.