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Old 03-23-2010, 06:49 AM
 
512 posts, read 1,431,336 times
Reputation: 276

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So, we've all heard it before.....start working when you're 20, put away money....more and more..............etc. etc.......work till you're 64.........then IF YOU'RE LUCKY, you'll get to retire and live...what? another 20 years?
that's IF you've got the 1 or 2 million saved up!!! which is becoming more and more impossible to do!


well, i say that may not be the 'only way' to go about it!

I'll use my case as an example:

28 years old here...

2300 mortgage
1500 mortgage rental
75 car ins.
35 phone
150 utilities avg monthly
55 internet/cable
150 food
75 gasoline
-1400 rent

I plan on paying off the mortgage in about 5-7 years and get rid of the rental property (let's say no loss and no profit)..............which means no more mortgage and the other costs stay the same (pretty much).

now, if i was to retire when i'm 50, my monthly expenses would be about:

~500 property tax
~100 maintenance monthly
~100 car ins.
~35 phone
~200 utilities avg monthly
~55 internet/cable
~200 food
~100 gasoline
~200 emergency monthly
~200 health insurance until Medicare kicks in

that's about 1700 a month cash or about 20k a year. if i lived to be 80, that'd be about 600k.

of course, this doesn't take into account the vacations i'd want to go on or expenses of having kids, but i figure that after the mortgage is gone in a few years, that all should be fairly easy to take care of.

my point is that we are forced into believing that we need millions and millions to be happy and comfy.....and we forget that maybe it shouldn't be this difficult and maybe we don't 'have' to wait until 64 to retire!
by 64 you'd be an old man with no energy left in you!!! (typically)


what do you all think about this subject?
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Old 03-23-2010, 10:31 AM
 
48,505 posts, read 96,675,147 times
Reputation: 18304
At 28 hopefuly you already have some retirement ;savings started. I remember that the same things were said when I was that age. IMO the best thing you can do is start with a plan and do it. I retired at 50 ; am now 62 and confortably retired.Set yur goal and keep at it;because you still will be better off ;no matter what happens.But forget the exact cost right now as that is hard to do;the idea is do have as much as possible;then see when your 50.Good Luck
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Old 03-23-2010, 10:45 AM
GLS
 
1,985 posts, read 5,371,732 times
Reputation: 2472
Quote:
Originally Posted by sharpie1234 View Post
.....by 64 you'd be an old man with no energy left in you!!! (typically)....
With statements such as these you may not live until retirement age.
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Old 03-23-2010, 10:46 AM
 
512 posts, read 1,431,336 times
Reputation: 276
Quote:
Originally Posted by texdav View Post
At 28 hopefuly you already have some retirement ;savings started. I remember that the same things were said when I was that age. IMO the best thing you can do is start with a plan and do it. I retired at 50 ; am now 62 and confortably retired.Set yur goal and keep at it;because you still will be better off ;no matter what happens.But forget the exact cost right now as that is hard to do;the idea is do have as much as possible;then see when your 50.Good Luck
thanks.
i appreciate the response.
i have about 55k in 401k. 20k company stocks. 20k emergency. 130k equity in primary home. and unfortunately an underwater condo that's fortunately paying its own mortgage through rent. zero debt otherwise.

i'm trying to save as much as possible. we travel often but try to live as frugally as possible.

how much did you have at 50 when you retired? what area? what was your situation?
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Old 03-23-2010, 12:41 PM
 
Location: zippidy doo dah
915 posts, read 1,621,358 times
Reputation: 1992
some agreement with what you say - i tend to think one can live far cheaper than the "experts" predict. However, you are likely a bit too optimistic projecting the costs of your expenses 22 years from now. A tad low, I would think. If you're spending 2300 a month on mortgage payments now, I'd figure your standard of living expectations are not minimal. I doubt you'll get health insurance for 200.00 a month/retired at 50 but maybe...................and even at 64, you t'aint gonna get Medicare.

you already got "smacked" for the "64 and old" comments............but that had to be bait/force the decrepit out of their rockers to teeter over to the keyboard and try to type on one of these new-fangled , gosh-dern inveshuns..... growing older is such a .............(psst - don't tell anyone but it's actually kind of cool to not be 28 anymore)

not 64 ....yet
but not 28.....anymore
AND LOVING IT!



Quote:
Originally Posted by sharpie1234 View Post
So, we've all heard it before.....start working when you're 20, put away money....more and more..............etc. etc.......work till you're 64.........then IF YOU'RE LUCKY, you'll get to retire and live...what? another 20 years?
that's IF you've got the 1 or 2 million saved up!!! which is becoming more and more impossible to do!


well, i say that may not be the 'only way' to go about it!

I'll use my case as an example:

28 years old here...

2300 mortgage
1500 mortgage rental
75 car ins.
35 phone
150 utilities avg monthly
55 internet/cable
150 food
75 gasoline
-1400 rent

I plan on paying off the mortgage in about 5-7 years and get rid of the rental property (let's say no loss and no profit)..............which means no more mortgage and the other costs stay the same (pretty much).

now, if i was to retire when i'm 50, my monthly expenses would be about:

~500 property tax
~100 maintenance monthly
~100 car ins.
~35 phone
~200 utilities avg monthly
~55 internet/cable
~200 food
~100 gasoline
~200 emergency monthly
~200 health insurance until Medicare kicks in

that's about 1700 a month cash or about 20k a year. if i lived to be 80, that'd be about 600k.

of course, this doesn't take into account the vacations i'd want to go on or expenses of having kids, but i figure that after the mortgage is gone in a few years, that all should be fairly easy to take care of.

my point is that we are forced into believing that we need millions and millions to be happy and comfy.....and we forget that maybe it shouldn't be this difficult and maybe we don't 'have' to wait until 64 to retire!
by 64 you'd be an old man with no energy left in you!!! (typically)


what do you all think about this subject?
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Old 03-23-2010, 12:46 PM
 
13,498 posts, read 18,138,198 times
Reputation: 37885
I retired at 50 with an income stream of about 4,000/mo. - about 40% tax free, and $70,000...less, I think, in mutual funds. Didn't own anything, but had zero debts.
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Old 03-23-2010, 07:01 PM
 
31,680 posts, read 40,970,152 times
Reputation: 14424
Why your retirement won't be so bad - MSN Money

What if you have less? The rule says your standard of living will decline. Prepare to buy a copy of the "Cat Food Diet Cookbook," large-print edition.

This is nonsense. In fact, if you are married, had and educated children, financed the purchase of a home or paid off student loans, odds are the 70% to 85% rule doesn't apply to you.

That's a lot of people.
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Old 03-23-2010, 07:44 PM
 
3,759 posts, read 5,296,763 times
Reputation: 6188
Quote:
Originally Posted by sharpie1234 View Post
28 years old here...

now, if i was to retire when i'm 50, my monthly expenses would be about:

~500 property tax
~100 maintenance monthly

what do you all think about this subject?
Here is what I think.

At 28, how in the world can you know what your expenses will be at the age of 50??! Have you heard of inflation? Who can accurately predict prices 22 years in the future??

At your age, it is commendable that you are thinking longterm. A lot of 28 year olds are still wondering what they want to be when they grow up.

In your longterm thinking, however, do not focus so much upon the details but rather develop a Saving Lifestyle; Living Frugally.

If you can save 20-30% of each paycheck, and put that money into longterm investments that make use of the compounding principle, then you will be well on the way to having sufficient dough for retirement.

Learn some simple rules. E.g., spend BIG money only on items that are true investments: i.e., assets that grow in value over time.

A car is not an investment. Buy and maintain cheap cars.
A house can be an investment IF you can trade down when you get older. But, better to buy a small house when young, pay it off, and then live in it without a mortgage.

Buy dividend-paying stocks, blue chips, reinvest the dividends and then let them ride. Avoid hot technology stocks, because technology can and does change. Remember the Olivetti Typewriter Company?? (Didn't think so.) Great company, in the 1950s and 60s. But, Coca-Cola, beer, cigarettes, and diapers do not go out of style.
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Old 03-23-2010, 08:13 PM
 
9,803 posts, read 16,147,960 times
Reputation: 8266
Quote:
Originally Posted by sharpie1234 View Post
So, we've all heard it before.....start working when you're 20, put away money....more and more..............etc. etc.......work till you're 64.........then IF YOU'RE LUCKY, you'll get to retire and live...what? another 20 years?
that's IF you've got the 1 or 2 million saved up!!! which is becoming more and more impossible to do!


well, i say that may not be the 'only way' to go about it!

I'll use my case as an example:

28 years old here...

2300 mortgage
1500 mortgage rental
75 car ins.
35 phone
150 utilities avg monthly
55 internet/cable
150 food
75 gasoline
-1400 rent

I plan on paying off the mortgage in about 5-7 years and get rid of the rental property (let's say no loss and no profit)..............which means no more mortgage and the other costs stay the same (pretty much).

now, if i was to retire when i'm 50, my monthly expenses would be about:

~500 property tax
~100 maintenance monthly
~100 car ins.
~35 phone
~200 utilities avg monthly
~55 internet/cable
~200 food
~100 gasoline
~200 emergency monthly
~200 health insurance until Medicare kicks in

that's about 1700 a month cash or about 20k a year. if i lived to be 80, that'd be about 600k.

of course, this doesn't take into account the vacations i'd want to go on or expenses of having kids, but i figure that after the mortgage is gone in a few years, that all should be fairly easy to take care of.

my point is that we are forced into believing that we need millions and millions to be happy and comfy.....and we forget that maybe it shouldn't be this difficult and maybe we don't 'have' to wait until 64 to retire!
by 64 you'd be an old man with no energy left in you!!! (typically)


what do you all think about this subject?
That..... $200.... a month health insurance premium on a policy you will be taking out at age .....50.... sounds unrealistic.

( I doubt Obama's new health care bill is that generous)
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Old 03-23-2010, 08:44 PM
 
Location: Central Ohio
10,823 posts, read 14,898,817 times
Reputation: 16537
Quote:
Originally Posted by triciajeanne View Post
some agreement with what you say - i tend to think one can live far cheaper than the "experts" predict. However, you are likely a bit too optimistic projecting the costs of your expenses 22 years from now.
It is all on how and where you want to retire.

If you want to retire in Boston, NYC or SF you better have some serious bucks saved up but in a rural area of just about anywhere in the southeast two people can live very comfortably on $2,000 a month assuming no outstanding debts and a paid up mortgage but I did not include any medical expenses in that figure. I figure you should budget $600 a month for medical not covered by medicare.

I live in a backwards, rural area and if it wasn't for my flying (I did downgrade from an Arrow to a C-150 to toodle around in) my wife and I can live very comfortably on 60% of what we are planning to receive on social security and pensions without any digging into any retirement savings.

As far as planning 20 years from now who knows? I could die next week so while I might worry about two years from now I'm not going to worry about when I hit 90.
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