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Seems like many people severely underestimate what they'll need for retirement.

Old Jul 9, 2016 | 05:32 PM
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Default Seems like many people severely underestimate what they'll need for retirement.

http://www.investopedia.com/articles...s-age-2016.asp



Now is when you begin to reap the rewards of decades of saving. At some point, you’ll be using this money to support your lifestyle. By the time you reach 60, you should have six times your salary saved – that’s $360,000 if you make $60,000 per year.



Unfortunately, the average sixty-something has an estimated median of $172,000 in the bank. Not nearly enough. At this point it’s hard to save enough to make up for the shortfall. Instead, look at your assets. What can be monetized at some point to help sustain you?




I had a talk with this guy and we got on the subject of retirement. Now, this guy is in his mid-late 40's. He told me that he has $200k put away and that he could leave work for good. I don't know if he realizes that if he leaved the workforce at 50, he could possible live for the next 30-40 years. How the hell do you live for the next 30 years on $200k? That's $6,666 a year! Even with social security it's not enough.



Even the link I posted has it all wrong. They claim that if you're able to save $360k by the time you're 60, you are doing awesome. But, if you were to live for another 30 years (60-90), you're going to be living on $12k a year! Even with social security you're going to be eating dog food.



What About:



1) The high cost of living.

2) Illnesses like Parkinson's disease

3) Major Events.



1) The cost of living continues to creep upward. Now, imagine drawing on a savings account with no more money coming in. Imagine the cost of milk, eggs, and other daily products skyrocketing when you have no more income. For 30 years? That's not a good scenario.



2) I received a valuable lesson when I took care of my uncle during the last few years of his life. When I cared for my uncle, he was just beginning to develop Parkinson's disease. It robbed him of his independence. As the years progressed, he became dependent on his caregivers. He was lucky though because he was a multi-millionaire. He had the money for care around the clock. He always had someone at the house 24/7. He had a maid. He had someone to cook meals for him. The quality of his life was much more improved because he had the financial resources. You can't do that if you only have $100k in savings. That's when you become totally dependent on the state and/or family and that's never good.



3) Major events could be in the form of hurricanes, tornadoes, etc. Maybe even a house fire. You're going to be able to absorb these disasters and move on if you have a nice money cushion to fall back on. For most people, their life savings could easily be wiped out with one major event.



What are you doing to make sure that you don't become a burden on your family when you get older. For me, that's saving money and investing in real estate. IMO, the magic number that people should strive for before they retire is $1 million. That's in-addition to some form of passive income. I like multi-family apartments. I'd love to have 30-50 doors all cranking out paychecks for me per month. That's with my property already paid in full.
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Old Jul 10, 2016 | 08:12 PM
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Originally Posted by 05Sonata
What are you doing to make sure that you don't become a burden on your family when you get older


This begs the question. One of the reasons to have a family is to "be a burden on them" late in life. Be independent as long as possible, then allow your adult children to return the favor you did them when they were young. This isn't the way modern Americans tend to think, but that doesn't make it wrong.
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Old Jul 11, 2016 | 02:42 AM
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I'm already helping my parents. I'm buying my mom's house for $40k more than she owes on it even though she was going to leave it to me in her will and even though I'm already paying the mortgage. Now, she'll have an extra $40k to spend. I'm gonna be royally screwed though. It's kind of good I have a short life expectancy with my renal failure. No kids to take care of me and I doubt my savings, SS and pension will keep me at the quality of life level I'm used to.
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Old Jul 11, 2016 | 06:06 AM
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I dump a ton into my 401K every month, reaching my max every year between what I contribute and the company I work for doing 100% match. While I can easily say I have lost a ton of money because of all the issues with wall street, I also have made a lot as well. My goal for retirement is 55, and to have a couple million in savings, investments, 401K, and pension with zero debt. I also plan to get the hell out of NY where the cost of living and taxes rape the hell out of you and live somewhere that's a bit easier on the wallet.
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Old Jul 11, 2016 | 02:21 PM
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The figures for retirement are figuring that you at least make enough interest to cover inflation. Most of the time you can do that without any significant risk but lately it's been a bit more difficult than it has been historically.



I had a good amount of savings then the last 10 years haven't been very kind to me and they have evaporated. I'm at a turning point right now though, 100% debt free but unfortunately renting. I plan on buying some property with cash by the end of my 12 month lease and building.
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Old Jul 12, 2016 | 12:32 AM
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When I am reading this I think that we doesn’t leave od the same planet…



100k 200k or 300k USD is unthinkable money to save by regular work in my country. My father is going in retirement next year and he will have 60 years of age and 42 years of work.

He will receive 236 USD / month (2832 USD per year) from the country retirement fond.



With 12.000USD per year you can leave like a God in retirement in my country…
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Old Jul 12, 2016 | 05:50 AM
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^ What country is that?
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Old Jul 12, 2016 | 06:05 AM
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The key is to have your home and cars paid off by then. You don't want either payment to deal with.
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Old Jul 12, 2016 | 03:20 PM
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Originally Posted by MaverickLC
When I am reading this I think that we doesn't leave od the same planet…



100k 200k or 300k USD is unthinkable money to save by regular work in my country. My father is going in retirement next year and he will have 60 years of age and 42 years of work.

He will receive 236 USD / month (2832 USD per year) from the country retirement fond.



With 12.000USD per year you can leave like a God in retirement in my country…
Croatia? That's on my list of places to visit for possible retirement, although immigration laws make that difficult.
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Old Jul 12, 2016 | 11:37 PM
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Yes it is Croatia in Europe…



It is beautiful country with relatively low life costs, great food etc. but politicians are worst ever and that is the only thing that is holding country’s progress.



Perfect way would be if I would work in some foreign country like Germany and live and spend in Croatia
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