retirement savings

[Hedgelj]

It is harder for the younger generation to save. It isn't what is taught. Student loans changed the entire spectrum.

Agreed. When their student loans are more than my first house cost me. . . Hard to buy a house or put away money when you're a slave to the student loan payment.

When my wife and I were a young couple we were involved in small groups in the first churches we attended and in those groups we were equal or slightly older than the other young couples. Many of them struggled with the "keeping up with the Jones's" except the Jones's were their parents. They expected (and were of an entitled mindset) that they should be affording the same lifestyle in the ways of housing, vacations, vehicles as their parents who were approaching retirement age with a completely different debt to income ratio and with established careers vs entry level jobs and empty nest versus new families. No joke, multiple ski trips, summer vacations, luxury vehicles (jeep grand Cherokees , SUVs, range rovers) and my wife and I are just shaking our heads at the idea.


Secondly, student loans were affordable and I now consider them predatory. After the .gov got into the student loan business college price skyrocketed. So you have a higher debt for no better paying of an entry level job. Then you look at what interest rates have done in the last 7-15 years (increased dramatically). So you have a whole group of people who were told that student debt was fine to take on (and it was when you could get a 4 year degree for well under 100k with a sub 5% interest rate) but it's no longer the same situation. It's why I feel their is a valid argument behind forgiving the student debt. There are people who have paid on their loans for over 20 years (and have often times paid equal to or more than the principal) but still have large outstanding amounts of loan to pay. We have essentially crippled a portion of a generation or more with lifelong debt that they were told to get and were told wasn't a bad thing but they have no hope to repay it. They have no prospects to retire because they can not accumulate any wealth because they can't get it from the student loan debt, they cannot afford housing with the job market and inflation making everything more expensive and they have a different viewpoint on work life balance than previous generations. Some aren't caring about retirement because they don't see it as an achievable goal so why bother.

 

[P8riot]

$1,000,000 was always what I heard growing up. Retire with $1,000,000 in the bank! What will that get me in 30 years given this inflation rate? A used SUV and a couple years of bills and groceries?! Retirement is not achievable given the state we are in. Having no debt is one thing, but I don't think "sit back and enjoy retirement" is in my future or anyone that doesn't have more than 5-10 years left on earth and don't have some major funds.

 

["J"]

$1,000,000 was always what I heard growing up. Retire with $1,000,000 in the bank! What will that get me in 30 years given this inflation rate? A used SUV and a couple years of bills and groceries?! Retirement is not achievable given the state we are in. Having no debt is one thing, but I don't think "sit back and enjoy retirement" is in my future or anyone that doesn't have more than 5-10 years left on earth and don't have some major funds.

Depending on the lifestyle you want. I definitely don’t have that million dollar nest egg.
I’m comfortable, but I don’t spend a lot until we decide to go do a vacation (which that term seems redundant) which we do every couple years.
Take advantage of every opportunity you can when it comes to retirement income. Be frugal with you money and remember it’s a marathon not a sprint.

 

[Tipmoose]

What @"J" said. It all depends on your lifestyle and expenses.

 

[Dustinb80]

Ive been doing 10% no matter the company match for years. I know Ill never live long enough to retire. I always looked at the 401K I was building as a savings account for my wife when I die. But now that Im divorced, Im wondering if I need to still be setting 10% aside. Something to think on I guess.

 

["J"]

Ive been doing 10% no matter the company match for years. I know Ill never live long enough to retire. I always looked at the 401K I was building as a savings account for my wife when I die. But now that Im divorced, Im wondering if I need to still be setting 10% aside. Something to think on I guess.

But, hear me out. For some miracle of miracles you live to 70. What then?
I somewhat had a point of view you mentioned.
My grandfather and Dad didn’t last past retirement age. So I figured I’d be in the same boat.
As I got older and a little wiser, I realized it was more their lifestyle in their younger years that attributed to their early demise.

 

[Dustinb80]

Ill burn that bridge when I get to it.

 

["J"]

Ill burn that bridge when I get to it.

You can come live with me, but you’ll have to empty my bedpan and change my catheter….. There’s a picture that will haunt you!

 

[Tipmoose]

Ive been doing 10% no matter the company match for years. I know Ill never live long enough to retire. I always looked at the 401K I was building as a savings account for my wife when I die. But now that Im divorced, Im wondering if I need to still be setting 10% aside. Something to think on I guess.

YMMV but I make a point of contributing at least whatever the company match is. No use refusing to take their money.

 

[Jamie]

Ive been doing 10% no matter the company match for years. I know Ill never live long enough to retire. I always looked at the 401K I was building as a savings account for my wife when I die. But now that Im divorced, Im wondering if I need to still be setting 10% aside. Something to think on I guess.

Put your money away now, as much and as fast as you can, grow it more and faster, retire sooner and actually enjoy your golden years. I would say that on average we have invested more than 20% of our annual earnings every year for the last ten years. Part of that includes Nancy's contribution to STRS.

 

[Hedgelj]

You can come live with me, but you’ll have to empty my bedpan and change my catheter….. There’s a picture that will haunt you!

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["J"]

I had some older guys who mentored me when I started at the airbase. They always said pay yourself first (retirement accounts) then every one else…
5% matching. I put in 7% initially. Then it garnered 50% of whatever raise I got each year.
Once the kids got older I had it at 20% and 25% the last 7-8 years.
Military also had a 401 with no matching. Straight 25% in that one.

There were better ways of doing it, there were more riskier funds that would have netted me more. But my tolerance of risk was medium at best.
Election years were sketchy so I got real conservative and the recession era of 08/10 while people were losing monthly and tolerating it, I was making $ but just at a lot slower pace.
What helped my situation was the boom of the 90’s. Making 3-7% a month was not unheard of.

 

[Dannmann801]

Doug is always capable of taking it to the next level, don't ever fuck with him LMAO

 

["J"]

Doug is always capable of taking it to the next level, don't ever fuck with him LMAO

You just have too with morbid curiosity. Just to see what he comes up with!

 

[jagermeister]

It is harder for the younger generation to save. It isn't what is taught. Student loans changed the entire spectrum.

I only partially agree with this.

The problem started (I think) when parents started telling their kids it’s okay to not have a job… that they should “enjoy high school while they can.” This just happened to also coincide with the boom in student loan distribution.

The ones with a work ethic and a good head on their shoulders are getting through payment of their student loans just fine. I was 80K in debt fresh out of college. I worked 2-3 jobs at a time, twice as a janitor in factories… Young adults these days wouldn’t be caught dead working as a janitor after college. I’m not blind to the fact I had plenty of good breaks and the hand of God on my shoulder along the way… but hard work and dedication got me through it. It can be done. It simply requires a plan, and a willingness to sacrifice… things that most kids aren’t taught anymore.

 

[jagermeister]

Faith. To invest is to have faith. If you’re convinced you’re not going to live to “retirement age,” or the world is going to collapse before then, well then spend all your money. But if you have just the slightest bit of faith that neither of those two things happens, you should be investing and preparing for it, especially if you have a family. Sure, I want to enjoy a retirement… I’ve worked very hard for a long time, since I was 12 years old… I long for the day that I get to just sit back and enjoy my time. But more importantly I want to build a legacy for my family, for my kids, and their kids. I grew up living in a stinky trailer, and on food stamps. I want to do everything I can to prevent that from happening to anyone else in my lineage. If the world ends and my saving all goes to waste, then so be it. The money will be the least of our worries. But what if it doesn’t?

 

[Hedgelj]

If the books allow I would highly recommend a financial person. I was investing over the match and similarly to others who have posted on here in amounts. When I moved to 1099 I migrated all my retirements to one person with one of the major chain investment firms.

He meets with me to make sure I'm on target with my goals, etc.

My investments have done well since I started with him over 2 years ago. But I also know for most of that time the markets have been up. Boy the piece of mind to know that I'm on target and we met every stuff months to reevaluate this is great.

Attachments are my returns this year and since inception.

 

[Hortontoter]

Interesting reading. When I started working in 1969 the term IRA and 401K weren't even in existence. Or if they were it wasn't something my company offered. The company did offer a stock option plan, but I never participated. I had my own ideas as to my savings goals. My goal was to have 300K in savings when I retired. I figured that would set me up for a decent living in retirement. In 1995 the company closed down and after 26 years I was unemployed for the first time in my life. I tried to get a job for a year and never even got one interview. All my adult life I had been a hustler, buying and selling anything to make an extra buck. This was from selling hubcaps on the street corner at a busy intersection in Akron, to selling coins and jewelry I found with my metal detector. When I married my wife in 1992 I told her my job was a bit shakey, but she said whatever happened we would get through it together. Today we are both in our mid 70's and doing great financially. We met all our savings goals, with some great investments in mutual funds and squirreling cash away when we could. Today we both recieve SS and I recieve a small retirement check monthly. We sold our home in 2000 and now at the request of our daughter and SIL live with them. We pay a small amount in todays standard for rent to them. We now are able to travel as much as we want and spend our winters in South Carolina out of the cold here in Ohio. We give our four children a fairly hefty "allowance" every quarter to make their lives a bit easier. We figured why wait until we are gone to give them cash we will never spend.

So my advice is even when you are rowing into the wind, never give up the ship. Young adults today have many tools at there disposal for investing that we never had. Use those tools to your benefit to the fullest.