Posted on 09/03/2018 5:55:10 AM PDT by proxy_user
You do mean bull market here?
I’m all for saving and investing for retirement.
The reality is that few people make $100k before their 50s or 60s, if ever.
At $100k, take a good portion right off the top (25%?) for fed/state/local income tax, and not spending any money on food, housing, etc. still only nets 3/4 of $1million over 10 years.
I guess my point is, the more you make, the easier it is to save, all other things being equal.
I have a similar story.
I like to say I wasn’t smart enough to know I couldn’t do it. ;)
That’s why Mick was a Thatcher supporter.
Might be a little slower than by the end of one’s 30’s, but using index funds, which are generally tax efficient, would give someone the growth needed to build a solid nest egg.
Offense might win the game, defense wins the championship. I’ve never made close to that and plan to retire from the career at 55. I have two or three things I want to try and done right will make at least bubble gum money.
My place is small with mostly free ( but beautiful antiques) furniture. One of my friends calls it minimalist:). I have developed mad cooking and gardening skills to keep food costs down. I can go up to 19 days on the same tank of gas (usually about 13-14 days) by staying in my area as much as possible and not going out for lunch. I have a couple of luxuries to sustain me and take tickets for entertainment people can’t use. Most people who give me tickets are repeaters because they receive a hand written thank you note for the tickets. Every time.
I could easily spend my salary three times over with solid rationale. I’ve always put something away and work to spend as little as possible. The accumulative effort is starting to become really exciting.
And people looked at me and said, “What did you do for three years?”
Whatever I wanted.
Now I sit at my job and see all of the politics and I tell people I don’t care. They still think I am nuts.
I have my own small business. I always wanted to get out of the corporate world, but finally decided to take the plunge from my Fortune 500 job after being assigned to a new boss who was both cheating on his own wife with his best friends wife, and at the same time would search out prostitutes when I had the unfortunate task of traveling internationally with him.
Because I control my own destiny now, I want to work until I drop dead.
My FRiend, image if it was 1988 again! Or in my case, 1984 and my young self!
Don't get me all teary-eyed....
I kept leaving all those really smart people, with fantastic credentials, behind in the dust. I can't say that I enjoyed doing that, but it happened, and time after time, when I glanced back I saw only bewilderment.
One thing that some people can never understand is that high intelligence comes from spirituality. The old cliché that we are spiritual beings having a human experience is true (most old clichés are). The answers to prayers and "channelling" are, in a funny sort of way, the same thing. Have I lost you there?
$1.2M for a couple not that much—unless they’re about to decamp to Honduras or some kind of cheap place.
"They still think I am nuts."
Some of them still think I am, but most now are just stretching their heads. I must add that, though some people disagree with me on certain points, and I concede that I might be wrong, I do not get negative feedback; what I receive from other people is love, respect, and admiration, and that's what I have to give to other people in return.
Erratum: scratching their heads
There are many countries where you can retire on your SS alone and live well.
Most people never consider this at all, because they think their life experience here is all that exists.
Most people only think about stocks or bonds when they invest. This is eliminates other great investments that can provide solid returns.
My best advice is:
know what you want
focus on buying assets with cash flow - or create them
start to think about things outside your own limited life experience
control your expenses
plan as if SS doesn’t exist
as your income increases, don’t let your expenses grow
Don’t let your wife watch HGTV!
Yet also a lot of Americans historically have made a killing out of buying a good house early, etc., and having it appreciate for a few decades.
Not spending on other stuff, yes, a good idea.
But sticking at a job that makes you sick for 15 years often not a good idea.
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