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When I was in my 20s and 30s Mom and Dad were always talking to me and my siblings about how important it was to save for retirement. They bugged us endlessly about how important it was to save when we were young for both a rainy day and for retirement. I and my brothers ignored them constantly.
Now all of us are old and retired and living mostly on our Social Security checks. We had to work until we were in our late 60s so we could get bigger Social Security Checks.
It is the same with my kids. The live for the day and don't save for either a rainy day or for retirement. In 30 years they will be poor just like my wife and myself.
Is there a magic message you have found to convince your kids to save money and not live for the day? Tell us more!
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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I set my kids up with self directed Roth IRA's when they were ago 12. (One traded stocks, the other mutual funds). farm kids +(earned income) they helped with our investment props and had their own jobs / earned income, and each had a small business (homeschooled).
I contributed / matched their earned income 100% into their ROTHs (until age 18, but not including age 18... they were GONE by then)
1) the ROTHs were not considered against them during college FAFSA ()
2) they each had $20k+ in their ROTHs by age 18 (college was age 16 for them... WA state offers FREE FT college instead of HS)
3) ten yrs post college both still fund their ROTHs and are off to a good start on other retirement savings
next time... (there will be no NEXT time...) I would form a LLC Corporation for each kid and help them establish a self supporting business (probably a franchise of some type).
REPLACE your income with an inflation adjusted income, and no need to save(?) for retirement. The sooner the better!
Some of their Homeschooled friends were 'retired' by the time the graduated HS. (Had self supporting businesses, with great / competent Homeschooled employees) Good thing, because a couple kids became caregivers for their disabled parents (as I did at age 18).
Never too soon to PLAN for retirement.
Always too soon to SKIMP for potential future retirement which you may never live to see)
Last edited by StealthRabbit; 05-22-2017 at 10:56 AM..
Didn't have to. Modeling, coming sense, education and peer pressure was enough. Divorce screwed one up but he is on the mends. The other was a self disciplined saver who married a CPA who is now a CFO
When I was in my 20s and 30s Mom and Dad were always talking to me and my siblings about how important it was to save for retirement. They bugged us endlessly about how important it was to save when we were young for both a rainy day and for retirement. I and my brothers ignored them constantly.
Now all of us are old and retired and living mostly on our Social Security checks. We had to work until we were in our late 60s so we could get bigger Social Security Checks.
It is the same with my kids. The live for the day and don't save for either a rainy day or for retirement. In 30 years they will be poor just like my wife and myself.
Is there a magic message you have found to convince your kids to save money and not live for the day? Tell us more!
I think the best education as a younger person is trying to learn from others' mistakes to ensure you don't make the same ones.
My parents will be 60 this year and have been working to bordering on middle class at various times. Very little savings and sometimes significant unsecured debt. They aren't extravagant spenders or anything but never really saved. They do have some small pensions from various employers that will come in, as well as SS. I think dad will probably have to continue working. The house isn't paid off, mom's health isn't good., and I don't see how they can subsist on SS and the small pensions.
Most of my aunts and uncles are worse off, being working poor. It's going to be a hard go of it for them, and the best a younger person can do is learn from their errors.
Set up a ROTH IRA for them as soon as they have earned income - babysitting, cutting grass etc. Either have them put in a few dollars or you put in what ever they earned and they keep their money. This starts the idea and when they get full time jobs encourage then to start saving 15% of their pay.
Note for lower income earners the ROTH is the way to go. Not a regular IRA.
I do not lead the lives of my adult children. I don't try to "get them" to do anything.
Putting aside my certainty that the OP is yet one more sock puppet for Retired Now, I agree.
My father went went awol, my mom made too many mistakes to list here. To my dying breath, I'll love them both for staying out of my business when I became an adult. Thanks mom, thanks pop, I try to give my grown kids the same breathing room you gave me, i.e., to make and learn from their own mistakes.
Like TuborgP, we modeled good spending and saving habits. My son has been a savor since he was young and his wife is also careful with money.
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