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Since I do have a well paying job it's not as if I can't save more- I am saving almost 50% of my take-home pay- it's just depressing because I had hoped to be able to leave my stressful and unfulfilling job and hoped to be able to move out of an area that I don't like. It's not that I expect I will love going to work every day and that everything will be perfect, but I'd like to have some happiness in the job/living situation in the next 20 years. It seems like I have to keep this job to make it work.
Every post you make gets more confusng.....the first one I interpreted as someone who had no money in a dead end job.....
Now you are an attorney making 6 figures and saving 50% of what you make.....don't understand the problem, $50k for 20 years = $1M
And its not like you can't work as an attorney anywhere....pack up the moving van.
Buy a house with a 15 year mortgage and pay it off. That leaves you free and clear by the time you are 57, with 13 years to make the mortgage payments into savings. If you work to 70, you will have a quarter of a million in savings, a paid-off mortgage, and extra SS income. You will do fine.
Who in hell wants to work till 70? Cracks me up so many of you EXPECT to live into your 90's. Retire at 65 at the latest ..enjoy your retirement years while you have some health..if you make 90 so be it.
This! And even your math is off. At traditional retirement age (65), OP would be 105 years old after 40 years of retirement. My philosophy has always been that you need $$ to get to &0. After that, most people's lifestyle (and financial need) slows down considerably.
No..I quoted a separate issue...the fact that person said 40 years was a separate point on its own...40 years after retirement?? lol
Imagine that you were 42, married with 3 teenagers who will be starting college within a few years and a stay at home wife.
For somebody in that situation I have just a few words: You can't get there from here.
The middle class is done. To save enough money for college costs of about $35K per year per kid ($420K), retirement funds of $1M and be able to buy the requisite house ($350K) cars ($30K each), and medical co-pays and premiums you need to make about $200K per year.
Your best bet is to live frugally and invest well.
So make $200K per year
Teacher with 20 years of seniority + Cop or fireman with 20 years of seniority = 200K in any large metro area.
God doesn't hand out paychecks at birth. You have some influence over them. Go for it.
Live your life now while you are still mobile and able to enjoy things. When you reach 70+ you won't be that active and most likely sitting around watching reruns of the rockford files and the golden girls Why save more money for the years you can barely do anything? Other then housing and medical expenses all the other money will be just sitting there like you will be in a rocking chair.
All this talk about working until your 70 or 80 to have more money for retirement? Again what are you going be doing at age 80 with money?
Whoa, teachers do not make six figures, let alone 200,000 a year. Dream on. I have been teaching for many years at a FL university and don't make six figures. Get real.
Double income families can coast on a second income until increases arrive. Single people do not do this and cannot.
I think the OP will be all right, not because of his war-chest but because he is already saving half his income. Frugality is 75% of the battle. I do think he should move to a nicer area NOW, even if it depletes his savings, and then continue to work toward retirement with a (by then) pd off home in a more congenial area. Best idea I have seen on here is the suggestion of a 15-year mortgage.
It can be a small house and be just fine. I am single, live in one now, and love it. I don't like my area, either, and it's hard to move when it's so much cheaper to stay. Move before that is an issue. It won't be cheaper to move in 20 years.
Well, yes, I'm absolutely freaking out about retirement planning. I have a ROTH IRA and an Individual IRA. My SS will be based on my ex husbands income because we were married for 13 years. I have two part time jobs. One is for the local govt, so I get a contribution equal to 6% of my income to the state pension fund. I don't have to contribute anything! I also contribute 3% percent of my income to a 401K. I am hoping to go full time very soon so I will boost those contributions to equal 12%. Once my kids are grown and on their own, I'll probably boost that even higher.
I'm doing the best I can with my current income. I just try not to think about it. I also have the equity in my house. I plan to work until I'm dead. I'm a librarian so I can get away with that.
No, you shouldn't be freaking out. We had very little money saved in our mid-40's. For us, with moving around for job changes, kids, buying and selling houses, we just never had money. I've talked to other guys my age and they agree. Raising kids is expensive. It was after the kids grew up, and we both worked that we were really able to sock money away for retirement. So don't panic. There's plenty of time.
Yep. I'm 45, wife is 43. I suppose I stress over it more than my wife. We have our 401k accounts growing. But how much will we have in 20 years. I suppose less than I would like, but more than a lot of people.
Every post you make gets more confusng.....the first one I interpreted as someone who had no money in a dead end job.....
Now you are an attorney making 6 figures and saving 50% of what you make.....don't understand the problem, $50k for 20 years = $1M
And its not like you can't work as an attorney anywhere....pack up the moving van.
I don't see how every post is more confusing. In my second post I clarified a few points brought up by some replies - one of which was that there is some uncertainty in my job and another was that I would like some flexibility in being able to take a different job that is more satisfying but that might pay less. So I am not terribly interested in doing the same job somewhere else, but yes, I realize that we have to do what we have to do in order to survive. I am not looking for a handout. It is also not that easy to work as an attorney anywhere - yes, I can get admitted in many states without having to take the bar exam, but that is a process that is somewhat cumbersome and logistically it is not that simple. I am only admitted in one state, so it is difficult to apply for jobs where I do not have a license. The legal market is very competitive, so it is not that easy to get a job.
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Why save more money for the years you can barely do anything? Other then housing and medical expenses all the other money will be just sitting there like you will be in a rocking chair.
