Retirement Planning - Lessons Learned

[Fuddy1952]

Two bit...oaktree...stepp: I like what you're saying!
In 1976 I was making $3.50/hr after college as an electronic technician. The shop foreman who had been with company many years was making $3.75. He and wife (home maker) lived in a nice brick ranch on couple acres. I started my business shortly after with wife working with me with $145 I had saved.
My grandfather was a physician (D.O., surgeon) I was with him when he passed (heart attack, 1985, he was 86 almost 87 going to work!). He was still charging $5/office visit (five dollars), he never made over $15K/year yet he had a Cessna, Motorhomes, etc., traveled many countries...but he invested money.
So young people not wanting $30/hr, whining, FOOEY!

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Was in Hoquiam Washington the other week and a large sign at the mill saying forget the commute and work here offering up to $37.50

Be hardpressed to offer less than $55 hourly for SF Bay Area RN...

We have a hiring freeze as do many providers but RN with experience can and do work anywhere...

Area minimum wage is often $15...

Everywhere in 4 states I saw help wanted signs... California, Oregon, Nevada and Washington...

Close. Average RN pay in San Francisco is $50.72/hour. Since the pandemic, that is probably a little higher.

Registered Nurse salary in California

The average salary for a Registered Nurse is $47.86 per hour in California. Learn about salaries, benefits, salary satisfaction and where you could earn the most.

www.indeed.com

I'm still astonished that anyone, anywhere in the US, would expect an electrician to work for $30/hour.

 

[RickB]

You'd be astonished to learn what many skilled blue collar workers work for in the Southeast.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Pay for blue collar workers in a lot of places in the SE is definitely lower than the NE and West Coast but I would have to say our cost of living is a lot less.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Two bit...oaktree...stepp: I like what you're saying!
In 1976 I was making $3.50/hr after college as an electronic technician. The shop foreman who had been with company many years was making $3.75. He and wife (home maker) lived in a nice brick ranch on couple acres. I started my business shortly after with wife working with me with $145 I had saved.
My grandfather was a physician (D.O., surgeon) I was with him when he passed (heart attack, 1985, he was 86 almost 87 going to work!). He was still charging $5/office visit (five dollars), he never made over $15K/year yet he had a Cessna, Motorhomes, etc., traveled many countries...but he invested money.
So young people not wanting $30/hr, whining, FOOEY!

In 1976 I was making $13.87/hour as a carpenter foreman on a bridge project. In today's dollars, that's $66.55/hour. I bought 5 acres of view property for $9995 and built my first house cash out of pocket in my spare time. I stick framed the whole thing out of used concrete form lumber that I got at the end of projects for hauling it off.

Twelve years of Reagan and Bush pretty much wrecked it for the working man, so in 1990 I quit being productive and went to work in an office instead. White collar pays 3x as much for 1/3 the work.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

Close. Average RN pay in San Francisco is $50.72/hour. Since the pandemic, that is probably a little higher.

Registered Nurse salary in California

The average salary for a Registered Nurse is $47.86 per hour in California. Learn about salaries, benefits, salary satisfaction and where you could earn the most.

www.indeed.com

I'm still astonished that anyone, anywhere in the US, would expect an electrician to work for $30/hour.

I have union electrician friends in the NE; making right at $100/ hour. Now you happy?

 

[Fuddy1952]

In 1976 I was making $13.87/hour as a carpenter foreman on a bridge project. In today's dollars, that's $66.55/hour. I bought 5 acres of view property for $9995 and built my first house cash out of pocket in my spare time. I stick framed the whole thing out of used concrete form lumber that I got at the end of projects for hauling it off.

Twelve years of Reagan and Bush pretty much wrecked it for the working man, so in 1990 I quit being productive and went to work in an office instead. White collar pays 3x as much for 1/3 the work.

"Twelve years of Reagan and Bush pretty much wrecked it for the working man"
?!?!?!?
That I don't get...at all. (Jimmy Carter, that I understand)...but enough politics!
But getting back to Electrician vs. Electronic Technician the education level is similar, from HS diploma+trade school to Associate degree, pay is similar (national average $20.66-$25.35 depending on the source.
However, as I said 1976 making $3.50...shop foreman $3.75 equals $16.80 & $18/hr. today.
AND mortgages at about 1.8% today. In 1980 buying my place mortgage was 14%!!!!!
I paid 30 year mortgage off in 3 years...then no more debt for anything, cash for new cars, etc.

 

[ultrarunner]

Close. Average RN pay in San Francisco is $50.72/hour. Since the pandemic, that is probably a little higher.

Registered Nurse salary in California

The average salary for a Registered Nurse is $47.86 per hour in California. Learn about salaries, benefits, salary satisfaction and where you could earn the most.

www.indeed.com

I'm still astonished that anyone, anywhere in the US, would expect an electrician to work for $30/hour.

Many doing better at home with enhanced benefits... at least the answer I often heard...

SF Bay Area Kaiser is the benchmark because of benefits in addition to wages...

Average RN wage at my facility is 54.51

remember that RN includes new grads and those working in board and care, etc.

Mom showed me her 1982 paystub as Charge RN... $300 week salary which always more than 40 hour week.

 

[Torvy]

Most importantly, no one expects anyone to work for an amount. The basic law of supply and demand dictates wages. The exception would be when government interferes and tries to set wages.

Mom was an RN, but only worked off and on. They thought it was better for her to stay home with us. Dad was enlisted USAF. They would have been better off financially if she worked and he stayed home, but they landed OK. Daughter just graduated with her BSN in May and is making a lot better money with fewer schedule issues than her grandmother. Mom's last job had the nurses flipping back and forth between nights and days....often in the same week. Supposedly that made it fair. What it really did was drive some out of the hospital and others out of the profession.

The pandemic solution to unemployment was to pay 600 over what someone would normally make. When you are unemployed you don't spend as much, especially in a pandemic. All the extra 600 did was keep people from taking jobs. I would like to have seen the money focused on those who really needed it rather than a blanket solution.

 

[ericm979]

The purpose of the extra payments was to enable low wage workers to stay home and avoid Covid, school their kids who were not in class due to Covid, and take care of family members who had Covid. Not taking jobs (and thus reducing the spread of Covid) was the point.

Setting up a means testing system for this would have taken months, created a new burecracy, and kept a lot of folks who needed them from getting the benefits.

 

[MossRoad]

As far as retirement planning goes, I'd give the following advice to young people.


- Live well below your means.
- Invest at least 15% of your pay before you touch it in a ROTH IRA, 401K, etc. Basically, just pretend you make less money than you actually do.
- Compound interest is your best friend.
- Stay in it for the long haul.
- If you have children, think about a 529 plan or the benefits of a ROTH IRA VS a 529 plan. Start that as soon as the child is born.
- Stay away from shiny toys.

 

[two_bit_score]

As far as retirement planning goes, I'd give the following advice to young people.


- Live well below your means.
- Invest at least 15% of your pay before you touch it in a ROTH IRA, 401K, etc. Basically, just pretend you make less money than you actually do.
- Compound interest is your best friend.
- Stay in it for the long haul.
- If you have children, think about a 529 plan or the benefits of a ROTH IRA VS a 529 plan. Start that as soon as the child is born.
- Stay away from shiny toys.

Learn the rule of 78.

 

[dodge man]

Stay away from shiny toys? Some people don’t want to have fun. It is good advice though. Nothing wrong with some toys if you can afford them but you don’t want to work until your 75 either.

 

[Doofy]

Be frugal during those working years and if you live long enough, you can afford those toys.

Never Co-Sign for anyone and never loan money you expect to be repaid.

Stop buying crap on credit. Save for large purchases and refrain from impulse purchases.

Be kind, help others and support causes you are passionate about.

 

[Torvy]

$135 per month from age 18 - 68. Invested in an S&P indexed fund would end up with about $3MM or $1MM adjusted for inflation. You could make more with more selective investments.

I teach HS Economics. At least the 200 or so kids I teach will know how to save and invest. The trick is like said above, self-denial early leads to a more comfortable future.

 

[goeduck]

Stay away from shiny toys? Some people don’t want to have fun. It is good advice though. Nothing wrong with some toys if you can afford them but you don’t want to work until your 75 either.

When I retire I hope to buy some shiny toys. I have never really done that.

 

[Doofy]

$135 per month from age 18 - 68. Invested in an S&P indexed fund would end up with about $3MM or $1MM adjusted for inflation. You could make more with more selective investments.

I teach HS Economics. At least the 200 or so kids I teach will know how to save and invest. The trick is like said above, self-denial early leads to a more comfortable future.

With the decline of Defined Benefits retirement plans and the transient nature of jobs today, one must take any opportunities to increase personal wealth. I never felt comfortable dabbling in the stock market but I wish I had. I did it the hard way and worked that 30+ years to earn that pension.

 

[beowulf]

As far as retirement planning goes, I'd give the following advice to young people.


- Live well below your means.
- Invest at least 15% of your pay before you touch it in a ROTH IRA, 401K, etc. Basically, just pretend you make less money than you actually do.
- Compound interest is your best friend.
- Stay in it for the long haul.
- If you have children, think about a 529 plan or the benefits of a ROTH IRA VS a 529 plan. Start that as soon as the child is born.
- Stay away from shiny toys.

Agree totally. And regarding your last point, that is why I don't wash my tractor.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

Never have had a penny in stocks or an IRA. Being a builder, I have stuck to what I know; building. I buy a house, restore it to better than new and sell it. Buy a more expensive house, ditto... and sell it. My current project will net me mid six figures profit. When I am done and ready to retire, I will keep my last house (already under contract), be debt free and big $$$ in the bank. Not everyone needs a financial advisor... Just skin in the game.

 

[Semper Paratus]

In 119 calendar days I will be without a paying job for the first time in 48 years. I transitioned a few times but always had something lined up. My first goal in retirement is to be able to regularly sleep to 0600, if I want to. Way too many years of 0dark15 6 and 7 days a week.