Are you "lucky"if you have a secure retirement?

[murphy1244]

That's too deep for me, care to explain?

Yea about 6 feet too deep. No luck means your dead.

 

[riptides]

Yea about 6 feet too deep. No luck means your dead.

:O

 

[zzvyb6]

I have a friend that took a pension buyout in 2006. He did very well for a couple of years. Nice vacations and a new 45 ft motorhome. 2008 the Great Recession came, and now he works nights as a security guard. His wife complains a lot....

I worked for GM as a salaried employee and took the lump sum instead of the Prudential based annuity pension replacement. My Financial advisor took the money and has doubled it since it was issued in spite of the 4% draw I am taking. We invested the lump sum along with other IRA monies into 4 S.P.I.A.s (funny: including one from Prudential that's doing even better than the GM plan !!). I never thought of blowing it on extravagances. (I did, but never DID it). I know people who bought that $250K motor home and took it to Arizona one time. Now it sits in their yard, probably stuck in the frozen ground and worth 10% of what they paid for it.

So, I'm actually still making a lot of money from 401k funds. My Social Security welfare check pays for food and maybe some heat and electricity.

The nice part about not being dependent on a pension is that I don't need the same amount of money every month. Taxes, insurance, gifts and farm repairs are periodic, but not every month. I just draw it when I need it and of the amount needed. Even for play money (Craigslist, auction and eBay finds). Those who took the easy way out are stuck with their fixed pension amount until they die. Living 'paycheck' to 'paycheck'. After the market recovery, I am so far ahead that the pension replacement offer is out of sight.

Retirement for me means having the time and money to do what we want when we want. I'm 'Lucky' as far as JD's original question, but deserving of my current condition because I saved, lived frugally, educated my kids and kicked them out of the house. Now, I'm living the life of Riley (her maiden name was Riley, too !).

If money leaks out of your wallet like water, you're gonna drown later in life. I don't feel the least bit sorry for you. Now go back to the casino or buy some lottery tickets or just put a match to any paper money in your back pocket. Maybe a minimum wage increase will look good to you but be wary: The Earned Income Tax credit evaporates when you get that minimum wage increase, so you'll actually be farther behind. Makes good sense to naive ground-feeding voters, though.

 

[JDgreen227]

If I needed a prenup, I am with the wrong woman.

I must respectfully disagree with that....I was married almost 21 years to my ex and everybody inclusive of me thought we had a good marriage until my ex began having bipolar mood swings and demanded a divorce. Had I had a prenup in place, she would not have been able to (bleep) me out of over 200 grand in property equity. I went from having zero debt to being in debt for the most money ever in my life....Now, are you going to tell me I was with the wrong woman, or was it bad luck for me she went bipolar?

 

[murphy1244]

bipolar mood swings can be helped with medicine. I can't tell about your situation as I only know you from what you posted. Maybe she married the wrong man? And I don't know her at all. What you have together is split equally. It is half hers.

 

[Capricious]

It might be about time to start discussing tractors again...

 

[murphy1244]

It might be about time to start discussing tractors again...

Yes I think you are right. JD, I did not intend to insult you.

 

[ovrszd]

It might be about time to start discussing tractors again...

True that.

We all tend to get pretty defensive about our past decisions don't we.

 

[JDgreen227]

Yes I think you are right. JD, I did not intend to insult you.

You did not...and as much as I insult others here, I should be prepared to get something in return....:laughing:

Actually,my ex and I simply grew apart....she was the exact opposite of who I should have married...and as the saying goes: "Opposites attract".

 

[300UGUY]

I worked for GM as a salaried employee and took the lump sum instead of the Prudential based annuity pension replacement. My Financial advisor took the money and has doubled it since it was issued in spite of the 4% draw I am taking. We invested the lump sum along with other IRA monies into 4 S.P.I.A.s (funny: including one from Prudential that's doing even better than the GM plan !!). I never thought of blowing it on extravagances. (I did, but never DID it). I know people who bought that $250K motor home and took it to Arizona one time. Now it sits in their yard, probably stuck in the frozen ground and worth 10% of what they paid for it.

So, I'm actually still making a lot of money from 401k funds. My Social Security welfare check pays for food and maybe some heat and electricity.

The nice part about not being dependent on a pension is that I don't need the same amount of money every month. Taxes, insurance, gifts and farm repairs are periodic, but not every month. I just draw it when I need it and of the amount needed. Even for play money (Craigslist, auction and eBay finds). Those who took the easy way out are stuck with their fixed pension amount until they die. Living 'paycheck' to 'paycheck'. After the market recovery, I am so far ahead that the pension replacement offer is out of sight.

Retirement for me means having the time and money to do what we want when we want. I'm 'Lucky' as far as JD's original question, but deserving of my current condition because I saved, lived frugally, educated my kids and kicked them out of the house. Now, I'm living the life of Riley (her maiden name was Riley, too !).

If money leaks out of your wallet like water, you're gonna drown later in life. I don't feel the least bit sorry for you. Now go back to the casino or buy some lottery tickets or just put a match to any paper money in your back pocket. Maybe a minimum wage increase will look good to you but be wary: The Earned Income Tax credit evaporates when you get that minimum wage increase, so you'll actually be farther behind. Makes good sense to naive ground-feeding voters, though.

I thought SPIA's were a fixed sum product? How would the market change how much you have in a SPIA? And, they go away when you die?

 

[300UGUY]

True that.

We all tend to get pretty defensive about our past decisions don't we.

I didn't get married until 30. I made some very bad decisions about women before that, but getting married wasn't one of them. Crazy women are often really hot. Unfortunately their "hotness" will diminish over time. Crazy is forever.....

 

[murphy1244]

I waited till age 38 till I got married and I'm happy I did. I met the most awesomest woman I can think of. And I passed on a quite a few.

 

[ultrarunner]

When I was young, the old guys always said that it was better to be lucky than smart. I thought I was smart..... Later I realized what they were saying: No amount of skill or planning can overcome bad luck.

Pretty much my experience... all the planning in the world may never pan out... not saying planning, diligence and hard work are insignificant... works for many.

Most of my friends are older... been going to a lot of funerals lately... it does add perspective when I see people I know and the situations they are in...

Tomorrow, I will attend the funeral of a good friend in Monterey... she was soon to be 102 and was dancing last week at the retirement home... sharp as could be and then died of a heart attack three days ago... No pension, just saving and a lifetime of work... lived as a widow for 15 years and in her home of 52 years until last December... said the housework was getting to be a chore and she was ready to move...

She really enjoyed the last three months at the retirement home... said it was like being on vacation everyday...

Maybe a good outlook is just as important?

Others have not been so fortunate... another friend passed away and so did his pension... his widow is in kind of dire straits... both had lost their spouses and remarried in their 70's... twenty years of good times and then the money stopped...

Life changes and throws curve balls too.

 

[aczlan]

I waited till age 38 till I got married and I'm happy I did. I met the most awesomest woman I can think of. And I passed on a quite a few.

I got lucky, I found the most awesomest woman I can think of at 22 and we have been happily married since then (now with 3 kids under 6 ).
I wouldn't have it any other way (ok, I would have liked to have found her sooner ).

Aaron Z

 

[murphy1244]

I got lucky, I found the most awesomest woman I can think of at 22 and we have been happily married since then (now with 3 kids under 6 ).
I wouldn't have it any other way (ok, I would have liked to have found her sooner ).

Aaron Z

Thats great! I am very happy for you.

 

[CobyRupert]

I didn't get married until 30. I made some very bad decisions about women before that, but getting married wasn't one of them. Crazy women are often really hot. Unfortunately their "hotness" will diminish over time. Crazy is forever.....

There's a matrix that recommends the different type of women you should tolerate, depending if you just want to have fun, date or marry:

 

[mikehaugen]

I'm getting married next month

I'm 30 and we've been together for 10 years and have 2 kids together, I guess it's about time. We're just doing a courthouse thing and she's fine with that, so I guess it goes along with the being frugal theme here.

Ok, so now all of the Christians can lecture me...

 

[mikehaugen]

There's a matrix that explains it:
<img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=411210"/>

:laughing: