Retirement Planning - Lessons Learned

m7040 · Oct 10, 2021

I am 80 and live comfortably in retirement while the invested funds continues to grow in value. I had expected to use the fund down as I get older.
So now I am thinking about what to do with it. Starting to use more money on living is not likely to happen. So back to gifting and charities or leave it to the kids.
So that is a good problem to have and should be a goal for people starting to plan for retirement. You never know how long you will live.

newbury · Oct 11, 2021

RustyA said:
Don't forget the reason you scrimped and saved your money all these years was to enjoy it in your retirement. Take your rmd and spend it on something fun. Someone else will do that after you are gone if you don't.

That may be your reason.
I think my and my wife's problem is is an inherited condition. Both of our lines derive in parts from very stingy Scots and Irish. We both tend to "squeeze two pennies together until Lincoln screams" as my Father used to say, but now the saying is "Squeeze a nickel 'til the buffalo poops".

Spindifferent · Oct 13, 2021

FWIW, this is a recently published and very comprehensive retirement book:

Amazon.com

MoKelly · Oct 13, 2021

Social Security is increasing 5.9% in 2022 - highest rate increase in 40 years. Inflation is real.

MoKelly

riptides · Oct 13, 2021

MoKelly said:
Social Security is increasing 5.9% in 2022 - highest rate increase in 40 years. Inflation is real.

MoKelly

Twenty years of the FED printing money will do that.

But, those SS checks, people will figure it out.

ultrarunner · Oct 13, 2021

It's official... over half the people recently polled are planning on leaving per the SF Chronicle and school enrollment dropping as families with kids leave...

Looks like not retiring in place is gaining in popularity...

Inflation is a real threat to anyone's long range plan...

Larry Caldwell · Oct 14, 2021

MoKelly said:
Social Security is increasing 5.9% in 2022 - highest rate increase in 40 years. Inflation is real.

MoKelly

"If current policy doesn't create inflation, then we have no idea what causes inflation." - John Phipps, US Farm Report

Larry Caldwell · Oct 14, 2021

ultrarunner said:
It's official... over half the people recently polled are planning on leaving per the SF Chronicle and school enrollment dropping as families with kids leave...

Looks like not retiring in place is gaining in popularity...

Inflation is a real threat to anyone's long range plan...

Techies can work remotely, and if you can work remotely, why would you live there?

My old college roomie retired from Lawrence Radiation Labs and moved up near Port Townsend about 20 years ago. He had a duplex in SF, and even then he was an equity king moving to rural Washington.

Torvy · Oct 14, 2021

Jstpssng said:
That's the parent's job. Teachers have enough to do.

Disagree. I am a HS Economics teacher in Texas. Econ is required for graduation. Part of the curriculum is personal finance. I definitely teach this stuff. The bad part is that Econ (and Gov't) are only semester courses. If you are in Texas, please lobby your state reps to increase the requirement to a full year.

I serve an ISD that is about 70% economically disadvantaged. The parents of these kids have no clue about retirement or investment. 90% of the reason I took less pay to teach was to help in some small way to break the cycle of poverty. In my opinion, many, if not most of our working poor are not poor because of low pay or high prices, they are poor because of ignorance. Bad spending habits and the incorrect assumption that SS was intended as a sole source of retirement has left many without the means to provide for themselves. The net result of that is they, or others on their behalf, will expect government (read: the rest of us) to pick up the slack for them. I'd rather they fix the problem up front and be self-reliant. (there will always be some who will not, I am trying to help those who cannot)

newbury · Oct 14, 2021

Torvy said:
The parents of these kids have no clue about retirement or investment.

Then THEIR parents didn't do their job.
I was taught "use it up, wear it out, make do or do without", collecting bottles for the deposit back, and setting aside for the future before I entered school.
The whole point was work for a decent retirement so I could kick back and relax.
Little did I know that after an addiction to "getting things done", "use it up, wear it out, make do or do without", and setting aside for the future I'd end up retired and working on my own private projects with only a little time to kick back and relax.