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I have savings, but I always joke that piano teaching is my retirement plan. With the way I seem to be able to time the market against me, I may not be joking. Significant other keeps me from putting my money into the market because he thinks it's ripe for another tumble. Has been saying that all the while as the DOW gained another 20% in value.
My late aunt, who grew up during the depression, worked full time from age 13 until her late 60s. Yes, over 50 years. Unfortunately, all of her jobs were minimum wage or barely above minimum wage so her SS was minimum. So she started working for an agency that helped elderly low income people with jobs. She worked 20 hours a week until just before her 80th birthday (the agency could not offer job placements to people over 80).
Without the income from working 20 hours a week she could not make ends meet so her nieces and nephews started helping her with her bills (actually we had been doing that for years). In her late 80s she moved into low income senior housing and qualified for Medicaid and she passed away about 5 years later.
So all of your posters who are excited about early retirement remember that everyone is not as lucky as you are. My aunt was an extremely hard working woman. She was never unemployed from age 13 to 80. In fact, she wanted to continue working at age 80 as she needed the money but couldn't find work.
Just another point of view.
Quote:
Originally Posted by reneeh63
A very touching story. I'll be surprised if someone doesn't chime in that she'd have been able to make more than minimum wage if she'd sucked it up and gotten an education! ....but hopefully not, for your aunt's sake - and you all were great to step in and help her out.
She actually did get an education. When my parents & aunts & uncles were growing up, if you lived in the country your education ended when you graduated from 8th grade. To go to a city high school you needed to provide your own transportation, pay various fees/expenses/tuition and virtually no one could afford that.
When my aunt was in her 20s & 30s (1940s/1950s) she took numerous classes and eventually earned her GED (the only one of her six siblings to do that). So, she did get an education and still earned minimum wage.
Funny thing, I was in service to my country during the private sector boom times. I struggled financially but stuck with it. Now, the script has flipped and I'm vilified for my service and the benefits that came with it because apparently, the private sector is supposed to be more lucrative than the public sector in good times and bad. It amuses me a bit.
I can't say that I know any Vet vilified and I live in the SF Bay Area.
Vets with pensions earned them and most are modest... also, just about anyone so inclined could follow in the same path... so it is not exclusive.
Public Safety is a mixed bag... the consent decree changed a lot of things especially recruiting... the local Chief spoke at a community organization sometime back and said they are actively looking for minority and women to join the force... even sending teams out of state.
One man raised his hand and asked the Chief what are the chances if you are a non-minority male and the Chief laid it out...
He said pay your own way through the academy and graduate at the top of your class... not exactly a level playing field when the department was not only paying for the academy for minorities but also providing a pay check...
Always struck me as odd at a time when I thought it was all about finding the best person for the job.
I can't say that I know any Vet vilified and I live in the SF Bay Area.
Vets with pensions earned them and most are modest... also, just about anyone so inclined could follow in the same path... so it is not exclusive.
I have lived mostly in the south with some time in the west and also have not seen/heard this villification over their pensions. I have seen outrage over the problems the VA has had even among those with no military connection. IME, those who serve are held in high regard even among those who disagree with decisions about how and where we use the military.
Always struck me as odd at a time when I thought it was all about finding the best person for the job.
You're kidding, right? You live in the Bay Area and you think public servants are selected on the basis of merit? Have you read a newspaper in the last 30 years? They are selected to pay off political debts and buy votes.
You're kidding, right? You live in the Bay Area and you think public servants are selected on the basis of merit? Have you read a newspaper in the last 30 years? They are selected to pay off political debts and buy votes.
Yes... I honestly did... what can I say... work hard, study and you will succeed... right?
It certainly was eye opening to hear it straight from a local Chief of Police...
Have noticed that the officers now come in all shapes and sizes... one of my dad's friends wanted to be a cop in the worst way... he didn't meet the height requirement at the time by just a hair... he put a knot on his head and it swelled just enough to pass...
Today I doubt there is a height requirement because I have seen some very petite officers...
In all fairness... one of my friends has a slender build and most wouldn't think she could do much of anything as far as hand to hand... she is nationally ranked in martial arts... all about technique... so looks can be deceiving.
I thank the stars I have good health, and a good job. Unfortunately, my wife has never been able to work, so we have always been a one-income family, and have never had much to save with. Even as an electrical engineer, I have made OK money, but nobody (until my current employer) has ever offered a 401K or other savings plan. That plus a LOT of bad luck with the technology sector shifting, had made saving impossible.
Early days of employment were rough. First job out of college, Xerox, there for three months before the switched over their computers to IBM, and nobody but IBM was to work on them. So...Xerox lays off all their computer engineering staff. Next job, two years, get stock, growing like crazy, bad management...everybody fired, company goes down in flames. Offered a job in another state, so an expensive move.
5 years later, that company bought by competitor, everybody canned, company shut down. Got sick of the crap, started my own design company, grew it 15 years, good growth year over year, finally landed a potentially large contract with two large companies. Invested heavily in my growth, diversified technology to two tech sectors, then 2007 hits, four major clients all go belly up. My company goes down in flames, with me holding 70K in partially completed, customized equipment for companies that no longer exist. Cool. Didn't see that one coming. Also didn't file bankruptcy due to stupidity and pride, so want to pay it off with a stable job.
Silly, silly, man. Here we go again. Landed a job as a designer at a growing company, 5 years later, the company fired everybody over a certain salary level, including management, sales, engineering. I was the oldest engineer, and the only one making money above the $60K line, so was fired. Got my last job 4 years ago, it has a 401K (yea!), will work until FRA, then be done with the industry. Let's add more crap to the mix. A couple of years ago, my 90 yo mother-in-law who also didn't have any money ($400mo SS), needed help, so I bought a fixer upper big enough for the three of us. Started remodeling part of the house for her, and almost finished my in-law re-design...then she suddenly got sick, had no insurance, so we started to help out financially- then she died. Lots of money spent for nothing. As of now, I have paid off my old debt, but DW and I will only have SS and maybe 90K in a 401K at retirement.
Looking forward to fishing. Hopefully they won't be belly up when we get there.
I hear you. As an engineer, the money can be good, but there is no security. And most of those I know who tried the self employment route ended up even worse off, with less Social Security and clients who never paid.
I have savings, but I always joke that piano teaching is my retirement plan. With the way I seem to be able to time the market against me, I may not be joking. Significant other keeps me from putting my money into the market because he thinks it's ripe for another tumble. Has been saying that all the while as the DOW gained another 20% in value.
Significant other doesnt keep you from investing, its your decision.
I have a female cousin, a life-long loser, now age 71, who lives off a combined Social Security and supplemental SSI of about $700 a month. No particular bad luck in her case, unless it would be her childhood in a dysfunctional family; never married, she had spotty employment and then only very low paid jobs. She refused to work under anyone's direct supervision, which limited her employment possibilities. In addition she just cannot manage money in a rational way. She is articulate and writes pretty well, so an office job would have worked if she had been able to function normally.
It is likely I'll be slammed for calling her a loser, but that is simply an objective description of her life course. There really are some people who are losers, and to say so is not being judgmental except in the sense that a conclusion has been arrived at. It is no more judgmental that "judging" whom we trust to babysit our children. Judgments (conclusions) are necessary and required as we go through life, otherwise we can't make decisions.
Significant other doesnt keep you from investing, its your decision.
My Dw encouraged our investing. I would have never invested so much, nor done as well with my investments, if it had not been for her.
With every transfer to a new duty station, we bought a new apartment building. When I deployed she managed each property. I deployed an average of 7 months of every year, I would have never been able to do all of that without her support.
It was that portfolio that allowed us to buy our current home with cash.
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