Retirement years.... Is bankruptcy in your future?

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Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
My plan is retirement is to work with those who may not have been as lucky as I have.
Personal finance counseling is one way...

Those who are or will be in trouble, well that could be me.
Just my 2 cents.


Just FYI:
A lot of people don't want to think about it, lay the numbers on the table or hear about it...
Even when the words "FREE Financial Education" is said clearly in front of them....

On the other hand, If you talk with 200 people and the one $10-12/hr bank teller is motivated, she could be the next 6 figures next door neighbor.
 
Originally Posted by ZZman
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/010616/whats-average-401k-balance-age.asp


Originally Posted by ZZman
Originally Posted by gfh77665
Originally Posted by ZZman
The median of money saved in retirement accounts is way too low.


Delay gratification. Spend less. Save more. Problem solved.


That is easier for those with dual incomes, 6 figure incomes etc.... Those who have play money to invest.

How to lose weight: exercise more, eat less. Problem solved right?.... Not so easy.


Well...

Which is it?

You claim it's easy for certain people to plan for the future.

And that it's hard for people to lose weight.

In actuality, it takes discipline for success at either.

Sitting around, feeling sorry for yourself, and envying the achievements of others will never, ever make you successful at either losing weight, or investing.

You want to achieve wealth? Try discipline and time.

You want to achieve a better weight? Try discipline and time.

You won't get either through envy, complaining, or inaction.
 
Originally Posted by CKN
Know someone who worked for one of the airlines who went through bankruptcy years ago. He ended up with 50% of his pension amount -instead of the 100% he was counting on when he retired.


Yeah, well, he was actually quite lucky.

I will get less than 10% of my airline pension via the PBGC when I retire.

But here's the key point: I did not sit around complaining, posting on BITOG, or feeling sorry for myself when that blow came.

I worked. I saved. I delayed gratification (I drove a 26 year old Toyota, for example, so that I could pay for college).

My pension was slashed by 90% during my airline bankruptcy 15 years ago.

Hard work, financial discipline, and some more hard work, and time, and now, I am in a good position to retire, at the time of my choosing. I have overcome that setback.
 
Originally Posted by Quattro Pete
Originally Posted by ZZman
True.... Which is the same reason most Americans are overweight.

The obesity issue is even more complex, I think. Obesity in US is dominant in low income families, leading to health issues which further strain a low income family budget.

Obesity truly is a serious issue in this country, and we are all paying for it.


Some of the obesity issues go hand in hand with earn/save money issues. For example, I know families that eat out for every meal (no cooking at home). With the families in my sample, the big house and expensive cars are also part of the dynamic. The families have little to no savings, but, eat out for comfort and convenience. As I said, it's not always the case but this is what I've seen around me.
 
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Originally Posted by NO2
Social security is the problem. If the average person invested that 15.3% over their lifetime at the S&P 500 average, they would receive 3x their social security payouts. Add that on to their retirement funds and they would easily have enough to live out their lives in comfort.





Exactly.
 
Originally Posted by ZZman
Originally Posted by gfh77665


Old timer?? I am still putting my son (above) through college. I am not old. You need to recalculate, Max.


Your son is lucky. Most parents can't afford to do that.


Here we go again with the class envy, whoa is me, everybody has/ had it easier than me. With the requisite links thrown in from those with the same looking-for-a-handout agenda...


Alright, since ZZman wants to rehash this yet again... once more my parents grew up in the depression. Millenial's (not all, thankfully) think they have it hard today? they have no idea...

My parents barely kept a roof over my head. They struggled big time. It wasn't from a lack of effort either. I worked and earned everything I've ever had. No handouts from anyone for me. Nor did I ask for them.

This Country allows us Life, Liberty, and the PURSUIT of happiness. There are no guarantees (except death and taxes).

Someone wants to get ahead in life? Work your butt off, and just maybe you'll succeed. Sitting around and complaining is a surefire way to get nowhere.
 
Originally Posted by 02SE
Alright, since ZZman wants to rehash this yet again... once more my parents grew up in the depression. Millenial's (not all, thankfully) think they have it hard today? they have no idea...

My parents barely kept a roof over my head. They struggled big time. It wasn't from a lack of effort either. I worked and earned everything I've ever had. No handouts from anyone for me. Nor did I ask for them.


Oh yeah, everyone needs the we were so poor stories.
 
And don't you forget it!!

laugh.gif
 
When you have such a wide spread issue of poverty, it's not an individual thing but a systemic issue. I do come across a lot of people on dog food diet and they are from all age groups. The elderly are more likely to be poor, though.
 
Originally Posted by 02SE
Originally Posted by ZZman
Originally Posted by gfh77665


Old timer?? I am still putting my son (above) through college. I am not old. You need to recalculate, Max.


Your son is lucky. Most parents can't afford to do that.


Here we go again with the class envy, whoa is me, everybody has/ had it easier than me. With the requisite links thrown in from those with the same looking-for-a-handout agenda...


Alright, since ZZman wants to rehash this yet again... once more my parents grew up in the depression. Millenial's (not all, thankfully) think they have it hard today? they have no idea...

My parents barely kept a roof over my head. They struggled big time. It wasn't from a lack of effort either. I worked and earned everything I've ever had. No handouts from anyone for me. Nor did I ask for them.

This Country allows us Life, Liberty, and the PURSUIT of happiness. There are no guarantees (except death and taxes).

Someone wants to get ahead in life? Work your butt off, and just maybe you'll succeed. Sitting around and complaining is a surefire way to get nowhere.


These threads usually end up as a boomer bash fest by the younger jealous generations...
 
Originally Posted by grampi

These threads usually end up as a boomer bash fest by the younger jealous generations...


Except I've noticed it started with the older generations bashing the younger ones. Way to lead by example right?
 
Originally Posted by Pew
Originally Posted by grampi

These threads usually end up as a boomer bash fest by the younger jealous generations...


Except I've noticed it started with the older generations bashing the younger ones. Way to lead by example right?


How did you get that from the OP?
 
Originally Posted by Leo99
My lived the oldest of his 4 brothers and died at 63. I'm 56 and doing my best to save for retirement and live life to its fullest while I have my health. It's a tough balancing act. No one gets it perfect. You're either old and feeble and have a lot of money wishing you would have taken that trip or bought that fancy car or moved to a nicer house... or you're healthy and poor and wishing you didn't take that trip, or bought that fancy car or stayed in your modest house....

Wife and I are planning to spend our money now on fun experiences and we'll live more modestly when we're older. I was worried we'd only have a million dollars net worth when we retire but I'm reading that we'll be fine with that.


This, exactly.

Be smart, but enjoy life as much as you can. No guarantee you will even make it to retirement. You could do nothing but work and save millions for retirement, but never get to enjoy that money... Take amazing trips and have your life experiences while you can in good health and can do so. That is how I see it as well. It is about balance.

I do my part with my 401K (6% and company match), put away about 40% of my net paycheck into savings that I use for any big bills that come along to pay cash… New AC for the house, windows being done in the next few weeks, vacations, etc… I have never paid a penny to credit card… I pay off in full each month. No student loans, had it paid off in full when I graduated due to doing a lot of internships/co-ops and spending more time to graduate.

I could put a big chunk more into retirement… But I don't want to. Instead, we use that money for vacations. We just took my bucket list trip to Germany this year (first international trip, as well) and had an incredible two weeks. We already plan to go back next year. We on average do 3 or so vacations per year and wouldn't have it any other way. It's what we work for, honestly. We want those life experiences!

I'm planning on redoing my kitchen this winter and spending a hefty $50,000 to do so. We cook nearly every single meal and it is the "core" of our home. We want it to be an incredible space. We don't need to do our kitchen and can do it much more cheaply… But again, I don't want to look back 20 years from now and say I wish we had done the remodel or done it even better. Do it right the first time.

I'm 31 and will have my home paid off by 40-45. I have a fantastic job making good enough money (engineering), my 401K is where it should be according to "experts", but not really beyond those goals. I could have a lot more in my retirement, but I don't need or want to right now. It's a balancing act. Save enough to be fine in retirement, without putting so much away you sacrifice what you can do today. So I take that surplus money and use it for fun and adventure. Investing and building up retirement won't make me happy on my death bed beyond a comfortable amount... Life experiences will!

Each their own, of course. But this is my preference.
 
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Originally Posted by grampi
Originally Posted by Pew
Originally Posted by grampi

These threads usually end up as a boomer bash fest by the younger jealous generations...


Except I've noticed it started with the older generations bashing the younger ones. Way to lead by example right?


How did you get that from the OP?


I got it from the entire thread.
 
Originally Posted by ZZman
The median of money saved in retirement accounts is way too low. This is easily found. And the median is skewed by those wo have huge retirement accounts.

You need to find the definition of "median"
 
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Originally Posted by Vikas
Originally Posted by ZZman
The median of money saved in retirement accounts is way too low. This is easily found. And the median is skewed by those wo have huge retirement accounts.

You need to find the definition of "median"


Yeah, he's mixing up average and median. Average for those in retirement age could be $358k, but median is $126k. Median is the middle where half the people have more than that number and the other half have less.

https://www.thestreet.com/retirement/average-retirement-savings-14881067
 
What I'm finding interesting is after a life time of saving and living fairly frugally and getting ready to retire I'm having a problem thinking about spending some of that money on fun things. Anyone else notice this?

Lots of people in this thread going to be seeking medical attention for a dislocated shoulder.
 
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