Retirement thoughts Past Present Future

[California]

"Four Ways to Earn a Living"...

I'll add a fifth, what worked for me: Took us 2 years to save the down payment for a duplex, as soon as we moved in our housing cost dropped to zero. Lady's rent on the other side of the wall covered everything. This let us put 25% of gross wage income, max allowed then, into IRA's that now 50 years later are making retirement comfortable.

Then a realtor offered the opportunity of a lifetime. I was a Carpenter at the time. The realtor had an unsalable listing where a 5-unit had been sold to a speculator then that buyer abandoned it partway through remodel all torn up. Mounds of rotting carpet in the yard next to a removed toilet etc. Way negative 'Curb Appeal'. Nobody looking to operate rentals as a no-hassle side business would want it.

The beauty here was the original seller had already gotten a good down payment from that original buyer so he didn't demand one from me - just "make it work, take over paying the first mortgage that the flake buyer had quit paying on, and I'll sell it to you for what it's worth today as-is". Which wasn't much. A month of working my tail off and a couple thousand $ and I had it looking decent, up and running. Rents on four units that had just needed painting paid for the needed repairs on the trashed unit. I operated it four years through a period of crazy real estate inflation then sold it, inflation and the improvement in curb appeal had raised its price 4x over what I had bought it for. We invested most of that in mutual funds. By that time the rental income had paid for me to go back for a graduate degree that got me into a good career job with a good pension.

My point here is look for something where most people (real estate investors here) are afraid of something they don't understand. If you can take something unknown and make it acceptable to someone conventional and who is afraid of risk, that person will pay you a lot for buying a 'sure thing'. Maybe a more common example is fixing a car with a scary problem that you know won't cost much to fix. I've done a few of those too back when I was poor and just starting out.

Look for opportunities like these examples.

 

[California]

And thinking outside the box:

The four or five ways to earn a living, overlook the path wealthy people have taken to get where they are. Working for wages you will be paid the same as everyone else.

Go find an opportunity to invest $ or your time and labor in a project that will pay off more than wages!

(And live cheap until you are well established, you need the money to do projects.)

 

[bigtiller]

A wise man told me...You'll never get ahead working 40 hours a week for someone else.

 

[California]

A wise man told me...You'll never get ahead working 40 hours a week for someone else.

Elaborating on that, a point I read regarding starting your own business. Lets use welding or owner-operator trucking for simple examples. Its easy to set up self-employment so that you have a job. But if your overall income is no more than working for someone else, you're not doing it right.

You should price your output to pay yourself wages PLUS a healthy return on the assets you put into the business. Even if that is nothing more than the lost opportunity for family vacations or some other non-cash 'opportunity cost'.

A real business will earn overall, the cost of labor (employees) PLUS 100% or more overhead, which includes the cost of health care for everyone, some equivalent to a pension, the liability insurance you never worried about as an employee, and a profit on your investment. If you don't see the chance to cover that necessary 100% margin then you'll never be any wealthier than just working for someone else. When your margin exceeds ALL costs is where you start to gain wealth.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Thinking, planning and acting for future financial needs is the long game as post are indicating. The recent noise about putting up SS and Medicare funding for annual review got my attention again. One of these decades that could become a reality. Means testing talk is not getting less and less.

The article below deals with this risk on steroids in China by 2040.

China has to figure out how to care for 400 million people over the age of 60 by 2040 — and it's off to a rocky start

With life expectancy rising and birthrates sinking to record lows, China's 1.4 billion population isn't just shrinking. It's also aging, fast.

www.businessinsider.com

 

[JethroB]

A wise man told me...You'll never get ahead working 40 hours a week for someone else.

One I remember “Do you want a job where you shower before going to work or afterwards?”

 

[bigtiller]

One I remember “Do you want a job where you shower before going to work or afterwards?”

and this one...Work with your brain, not your back.

 

[goeduck]

I have a pair of Carhartt bib overalls that are about worn out. They have been washed so many times they are faded to a dull yellow. I think they cost me about $60, but would love to find another pair that fit me. Talk about pockets! Hammer loops on both sided, and the shoulder straps make carrying a hammer, vise grip, and a couple wrenches comfortable. Plus, if you are working outside and bend over, you don't get rain on your lower back. When I was a boy, all farmers wore bib overalls. Nowadays, not so much.

I have a pair of hickory blue striped overalls I haven't worn in a while. I forget the brand. All the pockets and hoops are nice as you say and the shoulder straps prevent the tool's weight from pulling your pants down.

 

[lpakiz]

My Dad used to say, " If you don't have it in your head, you have to have it in your heel." (back). I think it was a saying from the " old country" that probably rhymed in the original language....

If you shower in the morning, you have a position.
If you shower at night, you have a job.

 

[California]

If you shower in the morning, you have a position.
If you shower at night, you have a job.

Tried both. Made a far better living where everyone showered before coming to the office. Also there were pensions including lifetime medical insurance.

Working hard outdoors in the heat is fine while you are young. (Carpenter). Later, not as good. Time to move to something else.