Saving for retirement

[hurleyjd]

https://finance.yahoo.com/m/8ad87b14-74b8-385b-86c7-e2e32555dce6/when-it%E2%80%99s-time-to-stop-saving.html

How do you know if you have saved enough. I do not know the answer to that. I still save every chance I get, I buy what I need. I really do not see spending on a lot of things other people do. I drive an old pickup and the tractors are old also. I really like them because they have been with me for a long time. Also there are not any places we would like to go see. So I do not know what every one else has plans for retirement. I am close to 79 years old and I still like doing everything by myself.

 

[TexasBred]

I'm pretty much with you Hurley. If we have anything left I guess that's considered "saving". We relax, do what we want to do when we decide to do it and have no debt. So far not using any retirement funds but forced to liquidate them over a period of time but they are not spent. Haven't gone on an extended vacation in a number of years but we enjoy taking "day trips". We can go about 200 miles in any direction and be back home by dark so can do quite a bit, walking, relaxing, eating good food and spending time together.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Hurley i'm not sure what "enough" is. Utilities, taxes, and insurance add up to a lot. Health is important.

Some folks live like nothing is ever enough. Other folks are happy and comfortable with less.

A car wreck or tornado or other unforeseen tragedy could wipe out your best laid plans.

I'm striving to build some residual income. Rental property etc. hat results in more property tax and insurance too.

I enjoy fishing, scrounging around with the metal detector, growing berries, bees , and other hobbies that aren't expensive endeavors.

 

[shaz]

My neighbor started taking 401k distributions and said you can draw 500/month per every 100K you have saved and never run out of money. That assumes that the stock market goes up 6-7% on avg. I'm sure someone told him that. He never said what his allocations were, probably didn't know.

 

[herofan]

Some folks live like nothing is ever enough. Other folks are happy and comfortable with less.

.

I've noticed that too. I fall into the category of happy and comfortable with less, but then again, what is less? I've realized In life that the things that make me happiest is being able to spend stress free time with my family, peace, lack of drama, a few cows and some land, some creature comforts like heat and air, and an adequate roof and bed. I also need a tv to watch things like Ken Burn's History of Country Music, which I have been enjoying for several nights now on PBS.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Some folks live like nothing is ever enough. Other folks are happy and comfortable with less.

.

I've noticed that too. I fall into the category of happy and comfortable with less, but then again, what is less? I've realized In life that the things that make me happiest is being able to spend stress free time with my family, peace, lack of drama, a few cows and some land, some creature comforts like heat and air, and an adequate roof and bed. I also need a tv to watch things like Ken Burn's History of Country Music, which I have been enjoying for several nights now on PBS.

My maternal granddaddy had a bum knee from a sawmill accident. He still had the garden going on well into his 90's. He'd sit in a folding chair with a hoe and reach all he could. Then he'd fold that chair up and use it sort of like a crutch to move along. Sit back down and hoe again. Every day. Straw hat on and snuff in his lip. They were happy. They had purpose. If you killed a deer you damn well better skin it out at his place. He had everything you needed. He could sugar or salt cure ham.

Home made jelly. Canned vegetables. There was always more on the table than anyone could eat.

I hope my grand kids have as fond of memories of me as I had of all my grandparents.

 

[DCA farm]

I put 10% of my income into 401k plan to increase every year by at least 1% or every promotion by 1% till I get to my max pretax amount right now I put $700 a month I'm 27 so I figure I'm off to a good start not great start but good start

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

I put 10% of my income into 401k plan to increase every year by at least 1% or every promotion by 1% till I get to my max pretax amount right now I put $700 a month I'm 27 so I figure I'm off to a good start not great start but good start

You're doing the right thing, congrats!

 

[Ryder]

My neighbor started taking 401k distributions and said you can draw 500/month per every 100K you have saved and never run out of money. That assumes that the stock market goes up 6-7% on avg. I'm sure someone told him that. He never said what his allocations were, probably didn't know.

He is probably right "if" the market goes up 6-7%.
But he has no way of knowing what the market will do.
IMHO the market is way overextended now. Nobody knows how long it will go up and nobody knows when it will crash.

 

[herofan]

Some folks live like nothing is ever enough. Other folks are happy and comfortable with less.

.

I've noticed that too. I fall into the category of happy and comfortable with less, but then again, what is less? I've realized In life that the things that make me happiest is being able to spend stress free time with my family, peace, lack of drama, a few cows and some land, some creature comforts like heat and air, and an adequate roof and bed. I also need a tv to watch things like Ken Burn's History of Country Music, which I have been enjoying for several nights now on PBS.

My maternal granddaddy had a bum knee from a sawmill accident. He still had the garden going on well into his 90's. He'd sit in a folding chair with a hoe and reach all he could. Then he'd fold that chair up and use it sort of like a crutch to move along. Sit back down and hoe again. Every day. Straw hat on and snuff in his lip. They were happy. They had purpose. If you killed a deer you be nice well better skin it out at his place. He had everything you needed. He could sugar or salt cure ham.

Home made jelly. Canned vegetables. There was always more on the table than anyone could eat.

I hope my grand kids have as fond of memories of me as I had of all my grandparents.

Sounds great! I recall how my grandparents led a much simpler life than people do today, and they seemed very content and happy. Even though they worked from sun-up to sundown, it still didn't seem to have the stress factor and on-the-go mentality that people have today. Even when they were working at times just to survive and wondering where the next pot of beans would come from, I still don't think they led as stressful of a life as people do today trying to keep new toys and trips on the agenda.

 

[jltrent]

Some around here are so tight they think they are going to take it with them. My wife had an aunt and her husband that were to point of tight they wouldn't even buy a TV. He passed pretty quickly, but she laid in a nursing home for almost 6 years with dementia before passing. It cost 7k a month plus extra bills. She had enough in savings to cover this, but there was not a lot left when she passed. She got no better care than the rest in the nursing home and probably around 95% had very little or nothing.

 

[bird dog]

My neighbor started taking 401k distributions and said you can draw 500/month per every 100K you have saved and never run out of money. That assumes that the stock market goes up 6-7% on avg. I'm sure someone told him that. He never said what his allocations were, probably didn't know.

Thats the enhanced frame of thought from the old take 4% rule. They bumped it up to 5% for reasons unknown. It should have gone the other way because the market going up 6 to 7% a year is much more difficult in a low interest rate environment.
These bump ups in what they hope the market will return is why their is so many pension funds not having enough money to pay out as promised.

Health care for the elderly is the big problem.

 

[hurleyjd]

My Dad and Mother were savers but they did spend money along the way. Dad always had money aside for land deals. A lot of the land he bought was from people that kids got caught and they needed money to defend the kids. My Dad always had the money when they come to him and he would say let me change clothes and we will go to town and transfer the deeds to me and I will pay you. He did not have to wait for a loan officer to approve the loan. There was one banker that if you went in with a good deal then the banker would turn you down and go buy the land for himself.

 

[hurleyjd]

My neighbor started taking 401k distributions and said you can draw 500/month per every 100K you have saved and never run out of money. That assumes that the stock market goes up 6-7% on avg. I'm sure someone told him that. He never said what his allocations were, probably didn't know.

Thats the enhanced frame of thought from the old take 4% rule. They bumped it up to 5% for reasons unknown. It should have gone the other way because the market going up 6 to 7% a year is much more difficult in a low interest rate environment.
These bump ups in what they hope the market will return is why their is so many pension funds not having enough money to pay out as promised.

Health care for the elderly is the big problem.

Nursing home care is about the same price as a nice Hotel. The Hotel does not feed you three meals a day and is there 24/ 7 for you if you need help. Yes it is costly to be kept at either place.

 

[hurleyjd]

My neighbor started taking 401k distributions and said you can draw 500/month per every 100K you have saved and never run out of money. That assumes that the stock market goes up 6-7% on avg. I'm sure someone told him that. He never said what his allocations were, probably didn't know.

He is probably right "if" the market goes up 6-7%.
But he has no way of knowing what the market will do.
IMHO the market is way overextended now. Nobody knows how long it will go up and nobody knows when it will crash.
[/q

 

[hurleyjd]

My neighbor started taking 401k distributions and said you can draw 500/month per every 100K you have saved and never run out of money. That assumes that the stock market goes up 6-7% on avg. I'm sure someone told him that. He never said what his allocations were, probably didn't know.

He is probably right "if" the market goes up 6-7%.
But he has no way of knowing what the market will do.
IMHO the market is way overextended now. Nobody knows how long it will go up and nobody knows when it will crash.

There are always losers and winners in the market. The indices that are quoted such as the Dow Jones do not reflect the entire market. When a stock starts the losing trend on the Dow it is removed and replaced by another such as GE which was replaced with Walgreens to make the average look better.

 

[backhoeboogie]

My neighbor started taking 401k distributions and said you can draw 500/month per every 100K you have saved and never run out of money. That assumes that the stock market goes up 6-7% on avg. I'm sure someone told him that. He never said what his allocations were, probably didn't know.

He is probably right "if" the market goes up 6-7%.
But he has no way of knowing what the market will do.
IMHO the market is way overextended now. Nobody knows how long it will go up and nobody knows when it will crash.

There are always losers and winners in the market. The indices that are quoted such as the Dow Jones do not reflect the entire market. When a stock starts the losing trend on the Dow it is removed and replaced by another such as GE which was replaced with Walgreens to make the average look better.

Spread it. Never put all of your eggs in one basket. Gold hasn't done much. But if there is a major crash you can roll your gold into the market. The challenge then is getting in when it's on bottom.

 

[shaz]

My neighbor started taking 401k distributions and said you can draw 500/month per every 100K you have saved and never run out of money. That assumes that the stock market goes up 6-7% on avg. I'm sure someone told him that. He never said what his allocations were, probably didn't know.

He is probably right "if" the market goes up 6-7%.
But he has no way of knowing what the market will do.
IMHO the market is way overextended now. Nobody knows how long it will go up and nobody knows when it will crash.

Some sectors are over valued but some others look better. One thing that's driving the market is yield starvation. You may as well buy JNJ instead of 10yr notes.

 

[Brute 23]

My neighbor started taking 401k distributions and said you can draw 500/month per every 100K you have saved and never run out of money. That assumes that the stock market goes up 6-7% on avg. I'm sure someone told him that. He never said what his allocations were, probably didn't know.

He is probably right "if" the market goes up 6-7%.
But he has no way of knowing what the market will do.
IMHO the market is way overextended now. Nobody knows how long it will go up and nobody knows when it will crash.

Some sectors are over valued but some others look better. One thing that's driving the market is yield starvation. You may as well buy JNJ instead of 10yr notes.

An average of 6-7% is very realistic. A person should having no problem averaging that.