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

[JDgreen227]

well i suggest you go get some and try it to find out for yourself. you only live once after all. and if you are as lucky/smart/wonderful as the OP you can well afford it.

You left out that I am fairly decent looking, have good table manners, am kind to stray cats, and help old ladies across the street.

 

[randy41]

You left out that I am fairly decent looking, have good table manners, am kind to stray cats, and help old ladies across the street.

lol. you have a sense of humor as well.

 

[Capricious]

"..historical average of 8%/year ..."


Time for a math quiz: if you have $10,000.00 and you invest it at an average return of 25% per year, how much money will you have after (2) years?

 

[aczlan]

I get more of a discount for being claim free than credit score. You get a high score by going highly in debt and paying it back.

Or by paying off the balance on your credit cards each month...

Aaron Z

 

[newbury]

If you save $5/day (Starbucks coffee or pack of cigs) and invest the amount in index fund earning historical average of 8%/year you would have $858.716,10 in your investment after 46 years (before taxes). And that $150/month. It seems to me that anybody could do it.

$858.716,10 ? did you swap the decimal point and a comma?

<snip>
He said the sale and a 3 unit paid for apartment left to him means he will be able to spend more time with his wife who has had a bout with cancer that is now in remission... they want to make the best of their time even if it just means time together...

Sometimes the good things happen and this happened to a guy that has worked for everything he has... his luck means taking retirement at 62....

My situation exactly. We also retired a LOT earlier than we wanted to. Had a fun job. SWMBO had 2 strokes and the last one laid her out near death and potential vegetable status. Happily with her determination (I did mention MUST BE OBEYED) she recovered almost fully. But we both would have worked several years more and had a much MORE secure retirement. Still had a kid in college and had not reached our "peak" savings mode. Often it's the last few years with max income and min expenses that one can bank the most. And after the second stroke SWMBO used all of her sick leave, which was about a years or so worth.
Just like I think it was "luck" that I avoided the stock market crash, it was "luck" (bad) that we retired early.

The coffee at Micky D's is the only reason I darken their door.
$1 a cup and free refills, and It's Dam Fine Joe...
45 days and counting, Retirement has been a Looooong time a coming!
Nuff Said.
Back to squabbling, y'all

 

[JDgreen227]

Or by paying off the balance on your credit cards each month...

Aaron Z

Murphy1244 says you get a high score by going highly into debt...well, I have only had one credit card in the last ten years and the most money I ever owed was a home equity loan for $70,000 that was used to remodel and enlarge my primary residence. Other than that, no credit debt, no car loans, signature loans, etc. Not sure if that would qualify as going highly into debt or not.

 

[aczlan]

That don't get you much but yes it does help unless you have a tab

We pay off the credit cards each month, no other debt and we had a credit score in the low to mid 800s last time I looked.

Aaron Z

 

[Egon]

"..historical average of 8%/year ..."


Time for a math quiz: if you have $10,000.00 and you invest it at an average return of 25% per year, how much money will you have after (2) years?

Invested at 25% probably none to less!

 

[vtsnowedin]

Invested at 25% probably none to less!

None to less? Is that the opposite of "To infinity and beyond" :dance1:

 

[Capricious]

Invested at 25% probably none to less!

The answer is $10,000.00, or the same amount you started with.

If you start with $10,000.00 and it gains 100% the first year, at the end of the first year you have $20,000.00
If it loses 50% the second year, your $20,000.00 becomes $10,000.00, leaving you with the same amount you started with.

100% gain and 50% loss is an average gain of 25% over the 2 year period.


"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics."
(Samuel Clemens, AKA Mark Twain)

 

[3930dave]

You left out that I am fairly decent looking, have good table manners, am kind to stray cats, and help old ladies across the street.

Don't be modest.... you left out wearing that form-fitting light blue suit under your clothes, so that you can change instantly !

Where do you do that these days, now that phone boothes are mostly gone ?



Rgds, D.

 

[TomSeller]

I recently heard that about half of all American workers have some sort of savings for retirement.

It would be very interesting to know what the percentage is excluding entry level young workers under say 21 or maybe 25. Very alarming.

Edit
This report breaks it down by age group a little more.
Shocking number of Americans have no retirement savings - CBS News

Very shocking in here is the median savings account balance of 3,000 to 12,000. I wish that was broken out by age group.

 

[riptides]

It would be very interesting to know what the percentage is excluding entry level young workers under say 21 or maybe 25. Very alarming.

Edit
This report breaks it down by age group a little more.
Shocking number of Americans have no retirement savings - CBS News

Very shocking in here is the median savings account balance of 3,000 to 12,000. I wish that was broken out by age group.

America is the largest consumer of most everything in the world.

Now people are yapping about savings?

Good luck with that.

 

[KennyG]

This report breaks it down by age group a little more.
Shocking number of Americans have no retirement savings - CBS News

Very shocking in here is the median savings account balance of 3,000 to 12,000. I wish that was broken out by age group.

It's not so shocking. It is probably logical. If you have a low to moderate income job and don't see much chance of improvement, why suffer today just to have more money in retirement when social security, medicare and welfare will take care of you anyway? I don't think that mindset applies to many people on this message board, but it's not uncommon.

For anyone that's never read the Freakanomics books, you should. It explains a lot about why people behave in ways that a lot of us think is not logical.

 

[texasjohn]

Well....my current credit score is 842...my homeowner's and auto insurance give me a big discount because of that. Ditto that I got a VERY low rate every time I needed to borrow money with a HELOC. The less you pay for those the more money you have for other purchases.

WHAT?? A credit score is used to compute home and car insurance rates? Never heard of that before. I always pay full year cash up front. I get loyalty and multiple vehicle discount.

 

[Parkanzky]

WHAT?? A credit score is used to compute home and car insurance rates? Never heard of that before. I always pay full year cash up front. I get loyalty and multiple vehicle discount.

I think it varies state-to-state, but it is definitely a factor in Michigan and Ohio.

 

[aczlan]

WHAT?? A credit score is used to compute home and car insurance rates? Never heard of that before. I always pay full year cash up front. I get loyalty and multiple vehicle discount.

Yep, its part of the equation your insurance company uses to decide what risk group you fall into.
See https://www.esurance.com/insurance-resources/credit-score-myth for more info

Aaron Z

 

[texasjohn]

Time for a math quiz: if you have $10,000.00 and you invest it at an average return of 25% per year, how much money will you have after (2) years?

Depends on lawyer's fees.

All the $10,000 is lost in the Ponzi scheme since 25% per year is a fantasy. Plus, you are out the anguish and legal fees of dealing with the aftermath of losing it all. Plus, the lost opportunity cost of investing funds of, oh, let's say 8% (unrealistic these days).

 

[Egon]

None to less? Is that the opposite of "To infinity and beyond" :dance1:

It is, just think of negative.

Any know about BRe-X ?

Seems some folk sold early; some sold late. Each experience the joys of +\- !