Willravel

http://redwoodage.com/content/view/134362/49

I plan on retiring using 100% of my own money. I'm not counting on a government to help me at all, considering how quickly and Social Security was derailed by a stupid administration. I'll probably have to retire at 70, depending on my health (the healthier I am, the longer I have to work). I'll likely live into my late 80s, which means 15 years of change. That means about $4m in the bank and maybe $1.5m in investments (adjusting for projected inflation).

inBOIL

I can't imagine wanting to retire...unless I just give up on life and accept a career I hate.

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And you believe Bush and the liberals and divorced parents and gays and blacks and the Christian right and fossil fuels and Xbox are all to blame, meanwhile you yourselves create an ad where your kid hits you in the head with a baseball and you don't understand the message that the problem is you.

Willravel

What about traveling the world and stuff?

inBOIL

That's not incompatible with a good career.

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And you believe Bush and the liberals and divorced parents and gays and blacks and the Christian right and fossil fuels and Xbox are all to blame, meanwhile you yourselves create an ad where your kid hits you in the head with a baseball and you don't understand the message that the problem is you.

Charlatan

I have no idea when I will be able to retire. I still have at least 25 years to save enough for a retirement at 65. That said, I don't know what I will be doing in two years, let alone 25. It isn't like our generation is a one career for life generation.

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smoore

Not planning on it. Planning FOR it but not planning ON it. I have very little actually saved, I seriously screwed up 2 years ago (I'm no businessman!) and had to start at zero again. Not quite bankruptcy but I might as well have.

I have a little metal in a safety deposit box and that's all. Not counting on any entitlement programs, that's for sure. Want to build a sustainable and secure house somewhere cheap (South Dakota maybe) and winterize it then do the semi-retirement thing in about 10 years, maybe fulltime RV around the continent, maybe get jobs on cruise ships and drop off at ports we want to see, don't know yet.

I'll always do something that will at least be a self sustaining hobby, maybe cars or airplanes, maybe art-ish metalwork to sell to tourists, dunno. Might just sell painted seashells on a beach somewhere.

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smoore

QuasiMondo

I'll be working myself into the grave.

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-From the Collector's Edition DVD of The Terminator

Cynthetiq

no.

I plan on having a passive income where in my job is to go to the mailbox and open envelopes with checks in them, if I even have to do that. The best will just be to look at my online banking and verify that money transfers have been completed and credited.

I alread derive some of my income in this manner. My goal is to grow that more over the next few years.

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Willravel

That's true. So really, no retirement at all?

Dude, you must love your job.

Seaver

Soo... every administration since FDR counts as one?

As for me I'm putting away 10%, with a matching 5% into my 401k. I don't think I'll have too much of a problem... Social Security will be nothing more than cake icing barring any economic collapse.

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"Smite the rocks with the rod of knowledge, and fountains of unstinted wealth will gush forth." - Ashbel Smith as he laid the first cornerstone of the University of Texas

Willravel

Discounting Clinton(1?), every president since and including Grampa Ronald, but I'd really rather not have this thread be about SS. I'm a uniter (in that we all have to deal with this reality eventually)!
I dunno about 10% a year. Assuming one makes $60k a year, that's $60k saved every ten years from now until you're in your mid 60s (let's say 40 years, right?). That's only $240k + $401k + maybe some SS. Is that going to be enough?

inBOIL

I love the job I'm working towards, although I'm not there yet.

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And you believe Bush and the liberals and divorced parents and gays and blacks and the Christian right and fossil fuels and Xbox are all to blame, meanwhile you yourselves create an ad where your kid hits you in the head with a baseball and you don't understand the message that the problem is you.

Willravel

That's awesome. All I can say is best of luck and enjoy it when you get there.

Me? I've gotta go back to school to get my dream job.

loquitur

SS is already a ponzi scheme and it's only going to get worse. I"m already an old fart (I turn 49 tomorrow) but I'm not expecting to get SS. So I'm not retiring. I'll keep fighting until they take me out of my office feet first.

Willravel

Being an old, stubborn attorney.... you could be Denny Crane!

SS isn't dead yet, and both Obama and Clinton are interested in keeping it alive. That'll probably last you at least to 57. If we get a few liberals in office in a row, it might just last you. Still, in the interest of pragmatism it'd certainly be best to have a nest egg.

Me being 24 (the tail end of genx or the beginning of gen y?), though, means the retirement time is slightly farther off, and it's even less certain.

Baraka_Guru

I'm not even thinking what the government will do for me. I'm powerless in that regard, so why fret?

I have a good 30 or 40 years until retirement (I think), but the next 5 to 10 years is debt-repayment/income increasing mode for me.

That gives me 20 to 35 years for wealth building. I have the know-how, just not the resources at the moment. I have basic means. I think I can do it.

Compound interest can either be your best friend or a millstone around your neck. I intend to be a value investor when the time comes. I've edited several books on personal finance and investing, and I'm currently reading Benjamin Graham's Intelligent Investor. I'm learning bucketloads. I'll be ready.

Stocks, bonds, cash. These are your tools; use them wisely.

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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

smoore

This is easily the most scary or most absurd thing I've seen you type. Are you going to unite through force or consensus?

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smoore

ASU2003

I will have no problem retiring at 50 if I continue at my current lifestyle. I have run out of stuff to buy except for necessities. If I do buy something, it will be electric car parts to build an electric truck that could last 50 years. Add in some solar panels to reduce my monthly bills some more and if I own my home outright ($110k left, 29.5 more years to pay). The only thing I will need to pay for in retirement is property taxes and some other normal stuff.

I think the keys to being able to retire is living a manageable lifestyle, being self-sufficient and debt-free. I mean right now, I save around $20k/year probably which will last 3 or 4 years of basic expenses, and I make a lot of the stuff I need. Unless the currency goes to hell, which it probably will it looks like, I will be fine. Even if the currency goes down a lot, I still should be ok.

Willravel

We're all in the same boat. SS is unsure, and the economy is a problem. Retirement for people of my generation is a serious issue right now because of uncertainty. That concern crosses party lines.

Paq

i'm working towards retirement by 34 at this rate. that said, i'll still do the same things then as now as far as 'work' goes...i just hope to not do it so hardcore for the money

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Shauk

I did not receive any sort of education that was relevant to dealing with money, or banking, or stocks, or investments, or the legal system, there are lots of flaws in public educations curriculum. (i think instead of rehashing different kinds of advanced math/making you write extra long essays they should have been pushing these kind of "real world" success items)

I still don't know wtf to do.

in fact the only information I have is that I should be making more money than I am if i want to make enough to retire since i don't make enough over what I spend to put in to savings really.

So I can't say that I plan on it.

aberkok

I'm going to make sure I stay good friends with Baraka, then reap all the benefits. I'm going to be that fun loving, scruffy, wise-cracking, care-free (played by Robert Downey Jr. when they make the movie of my life) friend who sneaks into the exclusive country club where Baraka is a member. We'll muse on the strange coincidences existence brings us on this crazy ride called "life," then I'll ask to borrow money before security chases me across the the golf course to a jump blues soundtrack.

Seriously, though, I am still worried about getting some initial property, let alone retiring. There are really two questions here:

1. Do we think we're secure enough to stop working for income?

2. Do we want to stop our vocation when we hit a certain age?

I want to be making music for the rest of my life, so my answer to question one would be NO, but to question two would be NO.

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Martian

My plans for retirement are going to depend entirely upon where I end up career-wise. If I ever figure out a way to make money off of my music, my answer will be identical to aberkok's (except for the sponging off Baraka_Guru thing). If I end up somewhere else I'll probably want to retire eventually, and will have to start planning for it.

Thinking about retirement is a luxury given to those who have settled on a career and have enough disposable income to save for it. I meet neither criterion.

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I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

filtherton

Does suicide by cop count?

samcol

I find it funny people who support social programs like social security are looking out for their own retirement. 'I find your lack of faith disturbing' :P

Can't we just end the ponzi scheme and let people handle their own money?

I have no plan to retire. Currently the government won't let me keep enough of my own money to pay for what I need to now, let alone the future. Additionally, I have no faith the money I put into social security will ever come back to me. How awesome is this?

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It's time for the president to hand over his nobel peace prize.

dc_dux

I have faith in Social Security. I have no doubt that it will be there when I retire, which could be anywhere from 10-20 years from now.....since its projected to be fully funded through 2040.

I have also contributed to a private personal retirement fund for 25 years, with matching funds from employers, so SS will only be a very small percentage of my retirement income. I also wouldnt be upset if SS became means tested and I got less then I put in.

And after the baby boomers like me go to a better place, SS will be back on track with contributions meeting payouts....and its purpose to serve as a safety net will continue for those who are unwilling or unable to plan for their retirement.

I'm looking forward to retirement.....lots of things I would like to do.

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"The perfect is the enemy of the good."
~ Voltaire

loquitur

Precisely. As I get older, I see that the stuff I want is mainly for experiences and for gratifying other desires, not to get STUFF. I want to give more to charity, I want to spend more time with my family -- more than anything, I want to have time. Not just more time, but better time. Time to read, time to learn, time to write, time to travel. Oh yeah, and time to play golf!

I don't need fancy cars or fancy clothes, though it pleases me to give my wife nice things; thankfully she is a "quality over quantity" person (what Ayn Rand, bless her soul, called the wealth of selection rather than accumulation). I do want to be able to support causes I think are important, and money would help with that.

samcol

That's the general feeling I get from most baby boomers. They are just looking out for themselves and want to ensure they get their cut before it all goes to hell. My parents don't care that Social Security is inept and immoral, they just want their check to be there when they get old. Baby boomers haven't done much to make this country a better place and are leaving quite a mess for gen x and y.

Enjoy your social security check, unfortunately I'll be footing your bill and likely won't ever see a dime of it.

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It's time for the president to hand over his nobel peace prize.

loquitur

Samcol, I have been saying that for years, and I'm quite a bit older than you.

On the other hand, I'm quite happy to see my parents, who are in their 70s, getting regular checks. The system does suck, though. It's a gigantic Ponzi scheme.

dc_dux

If you honestly believe the boomer generation has done nothing to make this country a better place and only care about getting their cut, despite the fact that I said I would not have a problem if SS was to become means tested in my time (many boomers I know feel the same way, but its ignorant to generalize)....then we really have nothing to discuss.

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"The perfect is the enemy of the good."
~ Voltaire

Willravel

I'm serious about this. This is about planning for the future, not "let's dump on social security". There are plenty of threads for that.

samcol

This is a politics forum. I dont see how you can talk about retirement in a politics thread and not bring up social security. They are very related.

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It's time for the president to hand over his nobel peace prize.

Willravel

Bring up ≠ bashing. If one is to bring up SS in the thread, I'd like it to be connected to retirement, and not just dogma based on political philosophy. We know you're a libertarian, samcol.

Cynthetiq

Isn't it connected to retirement? I decide I'd like to keep more money for me to invest than to let the Government take it and decide what to do with it?

How is it not connected?

I don't expect the government to take care of me, I expect that the monies I use to be "helpful" to those that didn't plan or didn't have enough, just like all the other social programs that exist.

But again, I'd rather I take care of it, and pay the taxes and keep ALL the monies that I contributed towards SS.

__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.

loquitur

c'mon Will, you're falling into the "bitter" mindset. Don't write off different opinions as dogma.

What exactly is wrong with having people control their own retirement?

Willravel

SS is connected to retirement, just like a thousand other things. All I'm saying is that shooting off dogma based on political philosophy isn't going to get us anywhere. This thread shouldn't be "Should SS exist based on your libertarian views?". It's more general than that and I'd rather not have it devolve.

If you're going to mention SS, maybe mention 401ks. IRAs. Stocks. Bonds. Retirement locations.

Plan9

I started a Roth IRA at 24 and have been maxing out the contribs ($4k and now up to $5k) ever since.

Can't beat your own money. I'm retiring eventually. Call me Old Man Crompsin.

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Whatever you can carry.

"You should not drink... and bake."

dc_dux

Crompsin....you are wise beyond your youth.


No reason why you cant do both.

Thats how I stared...maxing out my contributions as soon as I started working, particularly since it brought matching contributions from employers.

Along with other investments, thats why I can consider retirement before 65.....and if SS becomes means tested in the next 20 years and I get less than I put in, I wont bitch about it and it wont impact my retirement decision...and I will know that someone else may benefit.

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"The perfect is the enemy of the good."
~ Voltaire

Plan9

Exactimundo. In my opinion, IRAs are what will save my generation (kids from the 80s) from Uncle Sam's broken system of limp-dick dollars. I think young people should invest in them (IRAs) starting as early as possible (college years or immediately after), even if their parents have to help get them the initial boost to max out the first 3 to 5 years. If you start an IRA at 18 you can essentially stop putting money in it at 35, or so I was told by a few financial gurus when setting up my own account.

IRA logic: Start early, max out early, and keep it rolling as much as you can. Roth IRAs seem to be better than traditional IRAs, but I don't know all the nuances.

Having an employer that matches contributions is extremely useful, especially if they'll match up to max.

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Whatever you can carry.

"You should not drink... and bake."

samcol

I guess I do have a savings sytem. With my extra money I buy gold double eagles and silver dollars with. Got about $5k worth now.

Can IRAs and the like even keep up with the rate of inflation and cost of living increases? I mean it used to take .$90 to buy a euro a few years ago now it's like $1.45.

That's a pretty massive loss of dollar value.

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It's time for the president to hand over his nobel peace prize.