How much do you need for retirement

you need lots

You also need a long term care insurance plan in case you get stuck needing more care than you think you'll need

Save as much as you can. take advantage of every employer match to the maximum

regardless of your age have a will, durable power of attorney, and a health care proxy
 
you need lots

You also need a long term care insurance plan in case you get stuck needing more care than you think you'll need

Save as much as you can. take advantage of every employer match to the maximum

regardless of your age have a will, durable power of attorney, and a health care proxy
For a lot of people, a living will is a good idea too.
 
you need lots



regardless of your age have a will, durable power of attorney, and a health care proxy
definitely these! I remember doing these for my dad when he moved in with my sister. All he had was a crazy combined, trust, will, etc that just had an order of succession for trustees.
Whle he was still with most of his faculties, we had a new will, proxy and POA drawn up with a local attorney. The big thing was getting me assigned as an active trustee, not waiting for him to pass. He couldn’t write a check if his life depended on it. That way, my name was on the checking accounts, stock accounts, etc.

we all forget, but I looked at the date of our will this summer and the custody of my kids was my sister. My son is now 35 and daughter is 29!
OOOps!
 
What is this tax free 40% of which you speak?

I was Injured while in the USMC and the VA rated me at 40% disabled. Those payments are non taxable.
That extra VA cheddar helps out a lot. I'm at 60% now, but that's going to probably spike next year if I have to have hip surgery (I'm rated bilaterally on my hips, amongst other things)...

I've gotten our household utilities to about $725 a month, and there a good chunk left over from that monthly payment. That allows me to pack more into tax deferred savings
 
That extra VA cheddar helps out a lot. I'm at 60% now, but that's going to probably spike next year if I have to have hip surgery (I'm rated bilaterally on my hips, amongst other things)...

I've gotten our household utilities to about $725 a month, and there a good chunk left over from that monthly payment. That allows me to pack more into tax deferred savings
A bit off topic, but go for the anterior approach if your surgeon recommends it and, if (s)he doesn't, ask if they are qualified and experienced with that approach when appropriate. You should avoid an MD making that particular decision on the basis of "I don't know how to do it so I don't recommend it". I had the anterior approach and it worked great.
 
One of the important things that a lot of people forget is that by retirement age they often already own a lot of the things that younger people spend money on. Need a floor jack? I got one. Need a miter saw? Got it. Tools, TVs , clothing, linens, cookware, boats, furniture, truck, golf clubs, skis, guns (well some of them), ammo, etc. I got 'em all, which cuts down need for a lot of expenses.
If anyone has any questions that I can answer confidentially, DM me. If I don't know, I'll tell you.
 
One of the important things that a lot of people forget is that by retirement age they often already own a lot of the things that younger people spend money on. Need a floor jack? I got one. Need a miter saw? Got it. Tools, TVs , clothing, linens, cookware, boats, furniture, truck, golf clubs, skis, guns (well some of them), ammo, etc. I got 'em all, which cuts down need for a lot of expenses.
If anyone has any questions that I can answer confidentially, DM me. If I don't know, I'll tell you.

And how about a young hot wife or girlfriend, and not much of the other stuff 🤔 (except for a stiff fishing pole)

Fishing.jpg
 
That extra VA cheddar helps out a lot. I'm at 60% now, but that's going to probably spike next year if I have to have hip surgery (I'm rated bilaterally on my hips, amongst other things)...

I've gotten our household utilities to about $725 a month, and there a good chunk left over from that monthly payment. That allows me to pack more into tax deferred savings
Not only does the cash help out, but having the option for free medical is great also. I use a combo of social security, VA, and private insurance.
 
declare yourself bankrupt, get rid of all assets, get a public housing sponsored apartment - and then you may need nothing at all.
there are only 2 modes left to prosper in this country - you can either be broke with nothing at all, or be a multi-millionaire.

all in between will be screwed no matter what.
Unfortunately this is increasingly true.

People complain about lazy kids, but every graying generation says that when they hit a certain age.

Every year there’s more and more people making the simple economic calculation that their time is worth more than the going rate for jobs. We see this as 15-20m working age people dropping out of the labor force since 2008.

And if you have a problem with that, you have to admit that you don’t like free markets! It’s just a bid-ask spread on the price of labor.
 
For someone without much family knowledge or references to go from, I was curious how y’all go about finding a fiduciary? Picking at random doesn’t seem prudent, and I’m past the point of trusting internet reviews so I’m looking for some recommendations or a direction to go in. I have been investing on my own for a bit now, but I’m getting to the point where I’m considering paying for advice. Some questions are as simple as does it make sense to roll my traditional IRA into my Roth and pay those taxes now, or wait? Anyway, thanks in advance.
 
For someone without much family knowledge or references to go from, I was curious how y’all go about finding a fiduciary? Picking at random doesn’t seem prudent, and I’m past the point of trusting internet reviews so I’m looking for some recommendations or a direction to go in. I have been investing on my own for a bit now, but I’m getting to the point where I’m considering paying for advice. Some questions are as simple as does it make sense to roll my traditional IRA into my Roth and pay those taxes now, or wait? Anyway, thanks in advance.
If you employ any pros, lawyer, accountant, tax prep etc, ask them for a recommendation.
 
I am distressed to see so many people in these threads talking about paying for their children's college. As I stated in the other thread, i did financial work for about 5 years and have read/learned quite a bit on my time on this earth. Granted, not as much as Mr. Boudrie but that guy is a savant.

One thing that I have always stressed to people (clients or just friends) is YOU DO NOT PAY FOR CHILDREN'S COLLEGE UNTIL YOUR RETIREMENT IS 100% FUNDED!
Once that is taken care of, fine.

I am the last of 9 children from a working class family. My dad was a boilermaker and my mom was a nurse. She worked 3rd shift to be home with the kids during the day and he was gone most weeks building power plants all over the northeast. I'd see him mostly on weekends. They could/did mot pay for college yet all of my siblings are well off and productive members of society. not one of them has a mortgage and a couple own 2 homes.

When I was a kid we had a YUGE garden and my mom canned everything from pickles to yellow beans. We had a root cellar and dad would get 100 lb bags of potatoes and 50 lb bags of onions for cold storage each fall.

I have always said that the greatest gifts my parents bestowed upon me was a solid work ethic and knowing the value of a dollar. I went to tech school and payed my loans for that education myself.

Read "The millionaire next door" to learn how to achieve financial freedom.
I am not disagreeing your point, but when you and i went to college, it was much, much cheaper, by any measure. Then the government went crazy with student loans and distorted the market, as they tend to do.
 
For someone without much family knowledge or references to go from, I was curious how y’all go about finding a fiduciary? Picking at random doesn’t seem prudent, and I’m past the point of trusting internet reviews so I’m looking for some recommendations or a direction to go in. I have been investing on my own for a bit now, but I’m getting to the point where I’m considering paying for advice. Some questions are as simple as does it make sense to roll my traditional IRA into my Roth and pay those taxes now, or wait? Anyway, thanks in advance.
As a CPA, though not in private practice, your example of a simple question really isn't. I mean like, not at all.
 
If you employ any pros, lawyer, accountant, tax prep etc, ask them for a recommendation.
Thanks, I can start with my accountant.
As a CPA, though not in private practice, your example of a simple question really isn't. I mean like, not at all.
I guess that’s a good example of why I want a professional.
 
Its still money I lose in every pay check that I know I'll most likely never see. Its a bit angering
Barring a complete collapse of the US Government, SS will still be around when you retire, in some, reduced form. For example, I could see the government eliminating benefits for people who actually saved money aside from SS.
While it will be around, the governments deflation of the dollar by printing money will outstrip any cost of living adjustments and the purchasing power of that money will be greatly reduced.
The US Government's "solution" to its debt problem was always going to be deflation of the dollar by printing money, but instead of doing it over 20 or thirty years they decided to do it in two.
 
A nice thing about CPAs is you can pay them hourly for advice particular to your situation, without them hooking into your assets. With financial planners its "That advise will cost you $5000 per year if you have $1M invested, but if you have $2M you'll pay me $10,000 for the exact same amount of time and effort".

I have always said that the greatest gifts my parents bestowed upon me was a solid work ethic and knowing the value of a dollar.
My mother's best words of wisdom are "the greatest gift you can give your children is to not become a burden to them".
 
Last edited:
I am distressed to see so many people in these threads talking about paying for their children's college. As I stated in the other thread, i did financial work for about 5 years and have read/learned quite a bit on my time on this earth. Granted, not as much as Mr. Boudrie but that guy is a savant.

One thing that I have always stressed to people (clients or just friends) is YOU DO NOT PAY FOR CHILDREN'S COLLEGE UNTIL YOUR RETIREMENT IS 100% FUNDED!
Once that is taken care of, fine.

I am the last of 9 children from a working class family. My dad was a boilermaker and my mom was a nurse. She worked 3rd shift to be home with the kids during the day and he was gone most weeks building power plants all over the northeast. I'd see him mostly on weekends. They could/did mot pay for college yet all of my siblings are well off and productive members of society. not one of them has a mortgage and a couple own 2 homes.

When I was a kid we had a YUGE garden and my mom canned everything from pickles to yellow beans. We had a root cellar and dad would get 100 lb bags of potatoes and 50 lb bags of onions for cold storage each fall.

I have always said that the greatest gifts my parents bestowed upon me was a solid work ethic and knowing the value of a dollar. I went to tech school and payed my loans for that education myself.

Read "The millionaire next door" to learn how to achieve financial freedom.
Best way to pay for your kids college is to tell them they can go where ever they want but you are only providing X amount. Make sure it is an amount that does not require you to remortgage your home. That's what we did. Colleges know that you will probably have most of your mortgage debt paid down, and parents are suckers. Next thing you know, you signed up for another thirty years of debt. My kids became very smart about where they went to school once they realized that it could put them into some serious debt. Two kids through college, none have college loans and I retired at age 54.
 
Back
Top Bottom