Saving for retirement

[NGIB]

I know there's a lot of young folks on this site so this is a bit of a PSA.

My wife and I began saving for retirement right after we were married and I was 22 years old. It wasn't a lot back then but we always put something away. As the years passed and we made more we also saved more - we always paid ourselves first. The one thing you can't ever get back is time so it's critical to always put something away - even if it's a token amount. I work in financial management and I can't tell you how many folks I've met in their 40's or 50's that haven't even thought about saving for their future.

A word of advice - start now.

I'm 59 now and could retire comfortably if that's what I wanted to do. It's nice to have that option and one morning I'll wake up and decide that's enough. To give you some perspective, I was a lowly enlisted man in the Air Force for 20 years and my wife has always tended bar. We received no windfalls or inheritances - we did it all on our own. Along the way we raised 3 kids - who are all successful adults now. When I retired I went to work in the private sector. After 12 years of that I went back to the government and I'm now an Accountant for the Army. Never made a 6 figure salary - just lived efficiently and didn't spend more than we should. We own both our homes in SC & GA outright and have zero debt. It isn't easy and takes a ton of discipline but it is doable...

 

[07JKX]

This is good information. Financial planning should be a mandatory class from pre-k through undergrad. Too many folks just assume that SS will take care of them. I am 31 and dont honestly factor SS in to my retirement. If it is still around, great... extra retirement income, but I will not be caught off guard.

That being said... there is also the importance of balancing life pleasures now and saving for security and fun in retirement. Take opportunities when they come to you. Might die before you get a chance to spend all that hard earned money later.

 

[NGIB]

We never did without, we just balanced every purchase with what it cost us - then and in the future. I've had a Discover card since 1986 and I'm proud to say we've never paid a penny in interest and got the cashback bonus every year. I used to counsel folks on financial management when I worked in the private sector and it amazed me the number of times I heard how social security was going to support them when they retired. Like you, I never planned on getting a dime from SS...

 

[07JKX]

We never did without, we just balanced every purchase with what it cost us - then and in the future. I've had a Discover card since 1986 and I'm proud to say we've never paid a penny in interest and got the cashback bonus every year. I used to counsel folks on financial management when I worked in the private sector and it amazed me the number of times I heard how social security was going to support them when they retired. Like you, I never planned on getting a dime from SS...

I just wish we could opt out of SS. I could do so much more investing on my own with much greater returns, but dat gubmint wants my money I suppose. lol (not really lol... kinda depressing actually)

 

[chucklenut]

great post

i am looking into investing right now and was about to start a poll on this

 

[chucklenut]

This is good information. Financial planning should be a mandatory class from pre-k through undergrad. Too many folks just assume that SS will take care of them. I am 31 and dont honestly factor SS in to my retirement. If it is still around, great... extra retirement income, but I will not be caught off guard.

That being said... there is also the importance of balancing life pleasures now and saving for security and fun in retirement. Take opportunities when they come to you. Might die before you get a chance to spend all that hard earned money later.

it use to be a class i feel like

today folks cant even balance budget. my father was old school and taught me to live below my means and save 10% of everything i earn.

i feel like our generation now is taught to borrow young and spend with the hopes that a returns to scale will occur based on savings. the grim reality is people borrow and continue to borrow while not saving

 

[chucklenut]

I just wish we could opt out of SS. I could do so much more investing on my own with much greater returns, but dat gubmint wants my money I suppose. lol (not really lol... kinda depressing actually)

social security is the belief that the government knows how to manage your money better than you do

 

[rdogger]

I need to talk with someone about this or at least get a ballpark of what other folks feel is comfortable.

Bettwen 401K and some other stuff, I have around $200k saved for retirement so far and I am about to be 35.

To me that seems low.

 

[sambo77]

Great advice. I'm 21 and have been working a "real job" for a couple years and I put roughly 10% of my check in my retirement accounts and the my past couple tax returns I added part of it to my retirement. I have to say I'm honestly surprised at how much I already have in it. The way it's looking I'm going to be able to retire comfortably at 50. I've looked into starting to invest in more stocks but I haven't been able to shake the fear of a possibility of huge loss.

 

[GeauxLSU]

I know there's a lot of young folks on this site so this is a bit of a PSA.

My wife and I began saving for retirement right after we were married and I was 22 years old. It wasn't a lot back then but we always put something away. As the years passed and we made more we also saved more - we always paid ourselves first. The one thing you can't ever get back is time so it's critical to always put something away - even if it's a token amount. I work in financial management and I can't tell you how many folks I've met in their 40's or 50's that haven't even thought about saving for their future.

A word of advice - start now.

I'm 59 now and could retire comfortably if that's what I wanted to do. It's nice to have that option and one morning I'll wake up and decide that's enough. To give you some perspective, I was a lowly enlisted man in the Air Force for 20 years and my wife has always tended bar. We received no windfalls or inheritances - we did it all on our own. Along the way we raised 3 kids - who are all successful adults now. When I retired I went to work in the private sector. After 12 years of that I went back to the government and I'm now an Accountant for the Army. Never made a 6 figure salary - just lived efficiently and didn't spend more than we should. We own both our homes in SC & GA outright and have zero debt. It isn't easy and takes a ton of discipline but it is doable...

Oh.... if they would ONLY listen.....
Here's something for them to chew on. Save just 10% of your gross income. Sounds like a lot? It's not especially if you start early. Let's pretend that's only $200 a month and it STAYS that way for your entire working career (assume 45 years), you'd have$763,000 to help with retirement. That's with a 7% return. 10% return ? You'd have over TWO MILLION dollars and again that's if you NEVER contribute more than $200. If you simply keep it at 10% as your income grows you could easily have more money for retirement than you could ever spend.
One of my brothers is also retired military and went into financial planning. His son starting saving a modest amount before he was even out of school (went through the corp at A&M so had some income). He's not 40 yet and already has more saved up for retirment than probably 98% of Americans. He could literally retire today if he wanted.

This is good information. Financial planning should be a mandatory class from pre-k through undergrad. Too many folks just assume that SS will take care of them. I am 31 and dont honestly factor SS in to my retirement.

It should be required indeed. But then how would they justify buying the new iPhone?
Heck I'm 49 and don't assume SS will be there for me.