Retirement?

[highstandard40]

I have been part of the "other thread" but find this one pertinent to the overall discussion. First let me say I have never made a lot of money and neither has my wife. Jointly we have never had a 6 figure yearly income or anything anywhere near that. We are now approaching our mid 60s and had only one child and she did earn a Bachelors degree in nursing. We have always lived within our means and planned as well as we could for our future knowing full well that the promise of Social Security may be very hollow indeed. We started somewhat late with retirement saving but when my employer first offered a 401K I started at the fully allowed 15% and my wife did as well. When we reached the age when we were allowed to increase that percentage with the "catch up clause" we did that also. We own acreage (not much but it is paid for), two dependable trucks, one almost new, both paid for with cash. We have a comfortable 3 br brick home paid for with cash, a tractor with implements, 2 travel trailers, 4 wheeler, all paid for. In spite of my physical assets, we still were able to put aside investments for retirement. We have Roth IRAs, Bonds, Annuities, and cash savings including an emergency savings account. We took several steps in the first year of our marriage to make this happen. We never, ever pay anyone to do something that we can do ourself including home or car repair. We never buy each other expensive unneeded gifts, even for anniversaries, Christmas, or birthdays. Same goes for a closet full of designer clothes......nope. When I get through with a shirt, it's ready for the rag bin. We waste nothing and don't eat out a lot. We have been able to travel some but always do with the travel trailer to cut costs. (we've visited 25 of the 50 states).
It can be done at almost any income level. You have to be willing to make the sacrifices necessary to make it happen. If we can do it almost anybody can. The advice is good. Plan for your future because you are the only one who will really take that need seriously.

 

[tmlowe]

I didn't really focus much on savings or investments until I joined the Army and had a class on retirement. Every year since I was 20 I have put between 1k-3k into an IRA or roth IRA.

A good beginner way to teach teens the benefits of savings (and hell I am doing it now) is put $1 in a savings jar on week one of the year, $2 on week 2, etc...until you are putting in $52 at the last week.

 

[noob]

So where's a good place to look for financial advice etc? Bc I'm in that group that doesn't earn interest on any outside investments. I do have a 401k which my company matches up to 5% of my salary. Which between me and my wife ends up being about 30k a year. We live by no means paycheck to paycheck. We like to stay fairly liquid just in case something comes up (buy a new car, future investment properties, big remodels etc). But I guess I could do a better job managing my money since I don't do any investing of my own. I want to get into it but feel like it's more of an educated gamble than anything else.

 

[highstandard40]

So where's a good place to look for financial advice etc? Bc I'm in that group that doesn't earn interest on any outside investments. I do have a 401k which my company matches up to 5% of my salary. Which between me and my wife ends up being about 30k a year. We live by no means paycheck to paycheck. We like to stay fairly liquid just in case something comes up (buy a new car, future investment properties, big remodels etc). But I guess I could do a better job managing my money since I don't do any investing of my own. I want to get into it but feel like it's more of an educated gamble than anything else.

I'm no expert but I would say that the approach you take has to take into account your age. Are you young enough to take advantage of long term gain at the cost of possible short term loss........or are you nearing your retirement? In which case you should be focused more on asset protection with predictable gain.

 

[madwabbit]

Staying fairly liquid I'd look into extraneous savings accounts, short term CD's, or begin playing with stocks and bonds on Etrade or provider of your choosing.

I'm not a financial advisor, but if you qualify for USAA you have access to one free of charge.

 

[JadeRaven]

You're right. I told the joke wrong

it was 3 drinks a day for 20 years with compounded daily interest, $119,492.

easily used F430 territory.


JOKE EDITED AND RESTORED!

What bar is this that sells beers for $2 each??

I always seem to go on eight dollar beer night.

Also you can get a nice 308 easily for about 30k, 355 for about 50-60k, 360 for 60-80k, so you could drop the compounded interest or shorten the term Or perhaps change it to "smokes two packs a day." What is this miserly lady doing at a bar, anyway?

But the joke is very true. Most people who analyze spending to that degree would never, ever buy themselves something like a Ferrari. One of my friends makes plenty of money, is very comfortable, and has dreamed about a Corvette for years and years, talks about it all the time. He'll never buy it because he likes looking at his statement too much. He's only getting older. Life's too short.

 

[noob]

I'm no expert but I would say that the approach you take has to take into account your age. Are you young enough to take advantage of long term gain at the cost of possible short term loss........or are you nearing your retirement? In which case you should be focused more on asset protection with predictable gain.

I just turned 30 and both me and my wife make 6 figure salaries since we were 24. Both of us just either save or put into our 401k. A big portion of our saving went to a 6 figure down payment on a house

 

[AustinBR]

So where's a good place to look for financial advice etc? Bc I'm in that group that doesn't earn interest on any outside investments. I do have a 401k which my company matches up to 5% of my salary. Which between me and my wife ends up being about 30k a year. We live by no means paycheck to paycheck. We like to stay fairly liquid just in case something comes up (buy a new car, future investment properties, big remodels etc). But I guess I could do a better job managing my money since I don't do any investing of my own. I want to get into it but feel like it's more of an educated gamble than anything else.

I just turned 30 and both me and my wife make 6 figure salaries since we were 24. Both of us just either save or put into our 401k. A big portion of our saving went to a 6 figure down payment on a house

We could all spit out decent and even good advice for you, but my recommendation is to go talk to your bank. I know that we have Financial Advisors that will talk to you for free about what you can / should do with your money. I would think that most banks offer the same service.

From a starting point though, I would say have at least eight months worth of income saved up before you start investing or whatsoever. Maybe even twelve or more. Having a savings account with a good chunk of liquid money might keep you from getting some interest, but (in my opinion) it is something worth having readily available.

 

[madwabbit]

i felt like 6mos of total living expenses was my "step 1" to financial security.

again, not an expert.... but its an awful comfy blanket to have.

 

[BigNick73]

I see it everywhere, but people have to have that instant gratification. I found you really don't know how much you can save until you start tracking every penny, I used to use MS money then tried mint.com and using YNAB at the moment and really like it the best.

I make 75Kish take home and have no problem saving 36K+ a year, plus reinvesting dividends and interest. While co-workers at the same pay rate or higher are in debt up to their eyeballs and are planning to work until 60 to collect a company pension and SS should they both still be there, just so they can gave ******** new cars and 4-wheelers and other toys right now. It's a real problem for most people and I don't see it getting any better especially with all the entitlement/occupy wallstreet/class warfare crap I see coming down the pipe. Hopefully I'll be able to retire by 40 and go live in the sticks somewhere.

 

[noob]

I didn't realize the banks offered those services. I bank with both chase and capital one so I may have to check them out. Also I've seen some "investment" people, that work at companies that tell you what to do with your money, but the actual brokers though tempting in the way they speak, seem to live just like most other Americans, so how am I to trust them? It's like the commercial with the Dj with a suit on, anyone can sell you a product, but do they really know everything.

 

[Jack]

i felt like 6mos of total living expenses was my "step 1" to financial security.

again, not an expert.... but its an awful comfy blanket to have.

That's what I've always kept and it is good to have that peace of mind.

 

[au01st]

I haven't checked him out, but I do have some friends who are finding their way back to financial responsibility using advice from Dave Ramsey.

 

[AustinBR]

I didn't realize the banks offered those services. I bank with both chase and capital one so I may have to check them out. Also I've seen some "investment" people, that work at companies that tell you what to do with your money, but the actual brokers though tempting in the way they speak, seem to live just like most other Americans, so how am I to trust them? It's like the commercial with the Dj with a suit on, anyone can sell you a product, but do they really know everything.

Don't be afraid to ask them their certifications. If they are a certified Financial Advisor (FA) they should be able to help you. With that in mind, they still have products they are required to try to push on you, but in many cases the products are all very similar. I stress again though, a good start is having 6+ months of your income saved up. Before you can do that, I wouldn't recommend putting much money into mutual funds, stocks, bonds, etc.

 

[noob]

I'm good on the 6 months, I usually try to keep a years salary in savings. That way if me or my wife had to stop working for a while (for instance to start a family) she would be able to stay home for at least a year. I just don't know if I will have enough set aside to keep my current lifestyle or is investing in the stock market the key? Or is real estate a better investment? Can I start up small businesses that will bring in income or can I invest in some to help bring in income? Guess there's too many variables and also like all investments it's always a gamble. I just don't want to end up like those in ~2007-2008 that were ready to retire and all their investments and 401k was cut in half or thirds when the stock market took a dive

 

[PPBart]

...is investing in the stock market the key? Or is real estate a better investment? Can I start up small businesses that will bring in income or can I invest in some to help bring in income?...

Investing in the stock market is generally acknowledged to be one of the best long-term strategies. Real estate can be good, but definitely not as liquid. Most small businesses are doomed to fail.

Talk to at least one professional. I've used the services of a financial planner for about 25 yrs now, been generally pleased with her advice and my results. I'm also a USAA member and have had numerous discussions with financial advisers there about specific issues.

 

[Jack]

Don't be afraid to ask them their certifications. If they are a certified Financial Advisor (FA) they should be able to help you. With that in mind, they still have products they are required to try to push on you, but in many cases the products are all very similar. I stress again though, a good start is having 6+ months of your income saved up. Before you can do that, I wouldn't recommend putting much money into mutual funds, stocks, bonds, etc.

Which is why you should seek a fiduciary broker.

 

[madwabbit]

Dave Ramsey's books are a fantastic start. I'd suggest you speak to a financial advisor that is NOT employed for a bank. His primary goal is to sell you a CD, not to grow your investment.

Call Ameritrade- I've used a dozen investors and their customer service is the stuff of dreams. They'll talk with ya all day and be happy to do it.

Again, if you qualify for USAA- free financial advisors.


If you have NO IDEA what this is all about and just know "you should be doing it" - go buy Rich Dad Poor Dad. It'll have you investing and understanding how it works in no time flat.

 

[cajun_64]

if you look at Dave Ramsey,
They have alot of good info. Also, something I did, they have ELP for insurance, financial advisors, etc. There is a group of financial advisors in Baton Rouge that is an ELP.

When you are ready to start investing, if you are not doing stocks, do your research and the talk to the mutual fund companies themselves. They will assist you and you can save some $ on fund fees.

I read and used alot of Dave Ramsey info when I was digging myself out of a divorce. I need to get back to that. The hard core saving, not the divorce!

 

[AustinBR]

Dave Ramsey's books are a fantastic start. I'd suggest you speak to a financial advisor that is NOT employed for a bank. His primary goal is to sell you a CD, not to grow your investment.

Call Ameritrade- I've used a dozen investors and their customer service is the stuff of dreams. They'll talk with ya all day and be happy to do it.

Again, if you qualify for USAA- free financial advisors.


If you have NO IDEA what this is all about and just know "you should be doing it" - go buy Rich Dad Poor Dad. It'll have you investing and understanding how it works in no time flat.

I think you are getting personal bankers and financial advisors confused....our FA's can't sign people up for CD's...

But, either way, talking to someone qualified is a must. Calling Ameritrade and talking to someone over the phone is a great start.