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So, this retirement thing

It's not easy to do, but what worked for me was cutting back on things I don't need. Another was cutting out going out to eat for lunch. I started putting money in 401k when I was 25, and always put enough for company match at the very least. I'm almost 40 now and have 6 figures in the account. When you sit down and start adding up how much you spend on things like going out to lunch 5 days a week at work, you realize you're spending at least $100 a month, probably closer to $200. Same with going out to dinner a few nights a week. I started bringing my lunches, usually leftovers from what I'd cooked for supper. If you smoke, that's probably another $150 a month you spend. Drink a lot of beer? Probably another $100 a month, and so on.

I actually had to sit my brother down and explain this to him because he was always complaining about being broke when he made more money than me. We calculated he was wasting $500-600 a month on crap like that.
 
It's not easy to do, but what worked for me was cutting back on things I don't need. Another was cutting out going out to eat for lunch. I started putting money in 401k when I was 25, and always put enough for company match at the very least. I'm almost 40 now and have 6 figures in the account. When you sit down and start adding up how much you spend on things like going out to lunch 5 days a week at work, you realize you're spending at least $100 a month, probably closer to $200. Same with going out to dinner a few nights a week. I started bringing my lunches, usually leftovers from what I'd cooked for supper. If you smoke, that's probably another $150 a month you spend. Drink a lot of beer? Probably another $100 a month, and so on.

I actually had to sit my brother down and explain this to him because he was always complaining about being broke when he made more money than me. We calculated he was wasting $500-600 a month on crap like that.
good advice. that stuff adds up. it's all about priorities.
 
good advice. that stuff adds up. it's all about priorities.
It took me awhile to figure it out. But best thing I ever did was sit down and add up every single thing I spent money on. Put in in a spreadsheet and figure out what you can cut back on. People would seriously be amazed how much money they waste.
 
not necessarily true for all, especially if
House /property all paid off
Vehicles all paid off
nothing coming in bill wise except utilities/essentials
credit cards paid off when the bill comes in
a nest egg of a min of 200K for occasional fun/unexpected stuff
income of SS/retirement funds/pensions, etc exceeds outgo by 50%
then you don't need 1 or 2 Million to live comfortably, not cruising round the world often, but comfortable
Precisely. Living with your means, not keeping up with the Jones's, staying out of debt, and you don't need millions. Our parents and grandparents did it without millions. They just knew to pay off debt and save better than today's generations.
 
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