Lost 22% of our IRA/401Ks/Investments

[ultrarunner]

The receptionists often have the nicest cars not counting the cars Doctors lease.

 

[Torvy]

The receptionists often have the nicest cars not counting the cars Doctors lease.

Never trust an accountant/financial guy that drives a luxury brand.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Our flight attendants drove the nicest cars. They earned about $30k per year. Meanwhile the Captain earning $300k was driving a 15-20 year old car.

People are funny critters. I'm always amused by the things they do and why

 

[ultrarunner]

Still remember receptionist bought then a 50k Expedition with high payments… gas went up and she wanted out but was 15 to 18k upside down.

Her hare brained solution was to park it in the industrial section of Oakland and within 36 hours it was stolen and wrecked and her gap insurance paid it off.

Nothing illegal I suppose legally parking it in the bad part of town overnight…

Insurance gets a bad wrap but I suspect scammers enough on both sides.

 

[Hay Dude]

In regards to equipment investments, the strategy that has worked fairly well for me is to mostly avoid brand names that fetch the highest prices.
Tractors: Agco/Massey/Challenger
Truck: Ram
Excavator: Wacker Neuson

When I do buy a popular, overhyped brand name, I try to buy when its on a sale or 0% financing to lessen the financial hit.

I find lesser marketing-hyped brands not only sell cheaper, but their service people tend to be better and more dedicated because they know their brands aren’t as popular. Parts are usually cheaper, too.

 

[RSKY]

I recently read that the most popular brand of vehicle among billionaires is Toyota. The most popular single vehicle for billionaires is Ford F150. Relatively inexpensive, reliable vehicles with a high resale value. What does that tell you.

Worked with a guy who was going to retire in 2010. Instead he bought a Lincoln pickup truck and was going to work an extra year to pay it off. But the plant closed in 2011. Never got a chance to talk to him and find out what he was going to do.

When I decided to retire I made a simple Excel spreadsheet that took one's 401K investments, other investments, Social Security payments, monthly expenses, etc. and expanded that out for ten-twenty years. You could change variables like the inflation rate and percentage earned on investments. I showed it to my immediate superior and he wanted a copy, within a week every single manager up to the production manager had a copy and was sitting in their office figuring out if they could retire. So I made another spreadsheet for figuring monthly expenses with an explanation on how to figure it out and a place to adjust for inflation. Within a week they were all using that one too.

I was shocked that none of those people had any idea what their financial condition would be if they had to retire. I was called into the 'down the hall' offices a few times to explain the spreadsheet. Usually a call there was a bad sign but all they wanted was explanations on the spreadsheet.

So I decided to retire/quit work and made an appointment with an accountant/financial advisor to see if I could afford to. I printed out all these spreadsheets where I had laid out twenty different scenarios and took them in to him. When I explained what we were there for and what the sheets were he started laughing. Said most people came in not even knowing how much they had in their 401K, what their pensions would be, or what their monthly expenses were. And I had laid out all these different scenarios up to age 92. Said if I had given it that much thought then he was sure we would be okay to retire. He did ask why everything stopped at age 92 and I explained that was the age my oldest male relative lived to. That set off another round of laughter. So I quit work a few days before my 57th birthday and haven't looked back with any regret.

 

[Oaktree]

Kinda, kinda not, since the stock price drops the amount of the dividend, so you really don’t gain, but it certainly looks good seeing it deposited in your account.

One thing not noted here, but I have any dividend-paying stocks set to reinvest the dividends. Don't really need the income at this point, so why not compound earnings?

 

[Oaktree]

Our primary car is the 2005 Focus Wagon we paid cash for new. Second car is the 1999 Subaru Outback, same. Neither has given us any reason to replace it.

Recent car photos at twenty and twenty five years old respectively. I want a new EV but can't justify dumping these. Each runs, and looks, same as it did the first day. California cars don't rust!

You're fortunate in that regard. I'm in New England where rust is a big limiter on how long a vehicle lasts. I will say over the last 25-30 years great strides have been made in rustproofing. Back in the 60s/70s you were lucky to get 5-6 years out of something, Asian vehicles even less.

 

[Oaktree]

Still remember receptionist bought then a 50k Expedition with high payments… gas went up and she wanted out but was 15 to 18k upside down.

Always gets me every time we have a gas price spike, people rush out to trade in perfectly good vehicles for some little sardine can that gets maybe 20% better gas mileage. 6 months later when prices come back down, there's buyers remorse and they're back in the market for something bigger/more comfortable/more practical. Lose money both times.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

I recently read that the most popular brand of vehicle among billionaires is Toyota. The most popular single vehicle for billionaires is Ford F150. Relatively inexpensive, reliable vehicles with a high resale value. What does that tell you.

Worked with a guy who was going to retire in 2010. Instead he bought a Lincoln pickup truck and was going to work an extra year to pay it off. But the plant closed in 2011. Never got a chance to talk to him and find out what he was going to do.

When I decided to retire I made a simple Excel spreadsheet that took one's 401K investments, other investments, Social Security payments, monthly expenses, etc. and expanded that out for ten-twenty years. You could change variables like the inflation rate and percentage earned on investments. I showed it to my immediate superior and he wanted a copy, within a week every single manager up to the production manager had a copy and was sitting in their office figuring out if they could retire. So I made another spreadsheet for figuring monthly expenses with an explanation on how to figure it out and a place to adjust for inflation. Within a week they were all using that one too.

I was shocked that none of those people had any idea what their financial condition would be if they had to retire. I was called into the 'down the hall' offices a few times to explain the spreadsheet. Usually a call there was a bad sign but all they wanted was explanations on the spreadsheet.

So I decided to retire/quit work and made an appointment with an accountant/financial advisor to see if I could afford to. I printed out all these spreadsheets where I had laid out twenty different scenarios and took them in to him. When I explained what we were there for and what the sheets were he started laughing. Said most people came in not even knowing how much they had in their 401K, what their pensions would be, or what their monthly expenses were. And I had laid out all these different scenarios up to age 92. Said if I had given it that much thought then he was sure we would be okay to retire. He did ask why everything stopped at age 92 and I explained that was the age my oldest male relative lived to. That set off another round of laughter. So I quit work a few days before my 57th birthday and haven't looked back with any regret.

There is a book called "The Psychology of Money" by Morgan Housel.

I think many of us would find we agree with the ideas in the book. He made a statement that there are two types of people. Those who don't know how to make money, and those who don't know when to stop.

I had some life circumstances really weigh on me, that caused me to have some deep reflection on my life, career and future. I mean, I left a $300k per year job at 47, at the pinnacle of my career. That isn't something my peers will walk away from.

That life takes a toll however. Also true is that many of my peers lived like they earned 125% of what they did. We lived like we earned 20% of what we did.

It would have been very easy to not know when to stop making money.

He also said, that doing something you love, on a schedule not of your choosing, quickly becomes something you can hate. That was true in my life. A passion, a true joy, became a thorn in my side, because my life was not my own. No part of my life was. Everything I did on my days off, was still structured around the thing I did as a vocation.

Contentment and having "enough", not only leads to financial independence. It's also how you choose to stop being the slave, and grasp the independence you have won. It's possible to have it, and never grasp it and experience it.

 

[MossRoad]

You're fortunate in that regard. I'm in New England where rust is a big limiter on how long a vehicle lasts. I will say over the last 25-30 years great strides have been made in rustproofing. Back in the 60s/70s you were lucky to get 5-6 years out of something, Asian vehicles even less.

I recall the heat pipe from the rear engine to the front vents on our 60s and 70s VW buses rotting out pretty quickly. No heat in winter!

Dad had 2 Mustangs in the 60s. I thought we only had 1. But the first one rotted out so fast he bought another one the exact same color and I never noticed. It rotted out, too, and that's the last Ford he ever bought.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

One thing not noted here, but I have any dividend-paying stocks set to reinvest the dividends. Don't really need the income at this point, so why not compound earnings?

I do the same. Compound, compound, compound

 

[Oaktree]

There were well over 100 questions and it took a couple hours. We had to sit in separate rooms and hand them in to the priest when done.

We came back the next week to discuss the results.
He sat us down and said he'd never seen results like this....
We were 95% compatible in three of the subjects, and 95% incompatible in the other three! We laughed. He just shook his head and said something about half of all marriages end in divorce so you stand just as good a chance as anyone else if you work at it. You've been dating for 6 years so you should know what you're getting yourselves in to. Let's have a wedding.

That was about 40 years ago.

I suppose that's helpful, especially if you're young and inexperienced in life and may have avoided the "tough" discussions while dating.
My wife and I met in our 50s, so we were both pretty much who we were gonna be by then. We were together a bit more than 5 years (and had lived together for almost 4) so we knew each other pretty well. Initially, she didn't even want to get married...her ex had cheated on her and there were major trust issues. I guess she figured out I was OK (she was the one who essentially proposed, though she did want me to "ask" her).
We do have quite different ways of handling money, but given the age we were at when we got together, we've always kept separate finances, and just split household expenses. She has kids from her previous marriage, I don't, so it made estate planning easier too. Works for us.

 

[Oaktree]

Dad had 2 Mustangs in the 60s. I thought we only had 1. But the first one rotted out so fast he bought another one the exact same color and I never noticed. It rotted out, too, and that's the last Ford he ever bought.

My father was pretty much a GM guy, we did have one Ford station wagon...a '58 if I'm not mistaken, and it rusted out pretty quick. It was back to GMs for him after that. My mother had a '64 Fairlane that stood up quite well, especially considering she didn't really take very good care of it. Might've gotten washed twice in the 5-6 years she had it.

 

[MossRoad]

... Works for us.

 

[MossRoad]

My father was pretty much a GM guy, we did have one Ford station wagon...a '58 if I'm not mistaken, and it rusted out pretty quick. It was back to GMs for him after that. My mother had a '64 Fairlane that stood up quite well, especially considering she didn't really take very good care of it. Might've gotten washed twice in the 5-6 years she had it.

For the most part, my folks always had a Chevy and a VW, then later a Chevy and a Toyota. This was the 60's through the 90's. I found it odd that dad would buy German and Japanese cars since he was in WWII. He said the war was over 20 years ago... 30 years ago, 40 years ago... 50 years ago when he passed away.

 

[Hay Dude]

I recently read that the most popular brand of vehicle among billionaires is Toyota. The most popular single vehicle for billionaires is Ford F150. Relatively inexpensive, reliable vehicles with a high resale value. What does that tell you.

Worked with a guy who was going to retire in 2010. Instead he bought a Lincoln pickup truck and was going to work an extra year to pay it off. But the plant closed in 2011. Never got a chance to talk to him and find out what he was going to do.

When I decided to retire I made a simple Excel spreadsheet that took one's 401K investments, other investments, Social Security payments, monthly expenses, etc. and expanded that out for ten-twenty years. You could change variables like the inflation rate and percentage earned on investments. I showed it to my immediate superior and he wanted a copy, within a week every single manager up to the production manager had a copy and was sitting in their office figuring out if they could retire. So I made another spreadsheet for figuring monthly expenses with an explanation on how to figure it out and a place to adjust for inflation. Within a week they were all using that one too.

I was shocked that none of those people had any idea what their financial condition would be if they had to retire. I was called into the 'down the hall' offices a few times to explain the spreadsheet. Usually a call there was a bad sign but all they wanted was explanations on the spreadsheet.

So I decided to retire/quit work and made an appointment with an accountant/financial advisor to see if I could afford to. I printed out all these spreadsheets where I had laid out twenty different scenarios and took them in to him. When I explained what we were there for and what the sheets were he started laughing. Said most people came in not even knowing how much they had in their 401K, what their pensions would be, or what their monthly expenses were. And I had laid out all these different scenarios up to age 92. Said if I had given it that much thought then he was sure we would be okay to retire. He did ask why everything stopped at age 92 and I explained that was the age my oldest male relative lived to. That set off another round of laughter. So I quit work a few days before my 57th birthday and haven't looked back with any regret.

Don’t you mean “millionaires”?
There’s “only” 813 Billionaires in the USA.
Sumptin tell me “billionaires” drive something a little more high end than a Toyota or an F-150.

 

[ultrarunner]

Don’t you mean “millionaires”?
There’s “only” 813 Billionaires in the USA.
Sumptin tell me “billionaires” drive something a little more high end than a Toyota or an F-150.

I’m thinking this also…

Growing up the wealthiest person my family knew was one of the largest ranchers in Nevada… comes from pioneer stock.

No one would even guess he was anything but a ranch hand by dress and work.

He drove a well used Chevrolet pickup with no A/C in the 70’s with a stock rack in the bed… his horses would hop into the pickup bed and he would drive to far corners of the ranch, horses hop out and he saddle up and ride the range.

Heck.. some of the Silicon Valley elite in wealth have jeans and t-shirt business attire…

Often those trying to impress are big hat no cattle.

 

[ponytug]

I’m thinking this also…

Growing up the wealthiest person my family knew was one of the largest ranchers in Nevada… comes from pioneer stock.

No one would even guess he was anything but a ranch hand by dress and work.

He drove a well used Chevrolet pickup with no A/C in the 70’s with a stock rack in the bed… his horses would hop into the pickup bed and he would drive to far corners of the ranch, horses hop out and he saddle up and ride the range.

Heck.. some of the Silicon Valley elite in wealth have jeans and t-shirt business attire…

Often those trying to impress are big hat no cattle.

That pretty well describes one of the local ranchers that grazes a few acres hereabouts in Silicon Valley, something like sixty or eighty thousand acres. You'd never know he wasn't just the ranch hand, but yes, wealthy with the big B, and down to earth. He has bucked hay with his team and myself loading our barn. Great neighbor. I always enjoyed gathering his cattle as his ranches were just gorgeous and cared for properties. Normally we used to ride to help gather and lead herds. I about died the one time he asked us to count calves as they were gathering and sorting a herd. By the end, I was starting to think it was easier to count hooves and divide by four. I was sweating bullets trying to get it right. Clearly not something solidly in my own wheelhouse.

A reminder not to me not to judge a book by its cover...always makes me smile that there are folks doing well raising cattle in Silicon Valley.

All the best,

Peter

 

[RSKY]

Don’t you mean “millionaires”?
There’s “only” 813 Billionaires in the USA.
Sumptin tell me “billionaires” drive something a little more high end than a Toyota or an F-150.

The article said billionaires. I figure if I had the much money I would hire somebody to drive me but that is what the article said.