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I see one big problem with this article in the last paragraph where the author states:
"The math really doesn’t lie, no matter how our emotions make us feel. If you can survive off poverty wages until Social Security kicks in, you’re golden! At the end of the day, it’s up to each of you to figure out what works best for you and your family."
The problem is he is talking about retiring early and living in poverty "until SS kicks in". If you retire too early, there really won't be much SS to kick in. All those years of zero wages may present a problem. He may get a salary for doing this website, and thus pay his SS taxes, but he is recommending totally passive income from RE or other investments, and there are no SS taxes paid by those with that sort of passive income.
I interpreted it as a person who works low wage jobs all their life, has the full 35 years of SS credits, and retires on SS alone. Their SS check is roughly equal to their take home pay when they were working. Lot's of people do this. Doesn't necessarily have to be minimum or poverty wages they were earning either.
A thousand a month, no problem, ten years in a small city in flyover country on SS. Safe decent apartment, no car, cell or cable. Cooked my own meals. Thrift shop clothes and furniture. Eligible for social bennies, but never applied for them, except medicare premiums.
I never thought of it as poverty -- it was the way my folks lived when I was growing up,
How kind of you. Yes, I think we should take the pone AND EVERYTHING from the homeless. That'll show 'em, won't it.
You do know how expensive these people are on our wallets, no? On a national average, it costs taxpayers $42.5K a year to have one homeless man on our streets, and in some areas, it's even higher than that! Compare that to prison costs of $40-$50k a year. So pick your poison!
Where do most of the major expenses come from? Hospitalizations! Rehab! I worked in a LTC/Rehab facility for 17 years and we'd occasionally get a homeless man sent over to us from a hospital for Rehab. And, when rehabbed, just show him the door? Nope! State and Federal laws state that we can't release one of these people unless they have a secure place to live! Yes, there were rehabbed people hanging around the facility for months, Social Services trying hard to find them a place to live and line them up with Food Stamps and Medicaid!
This guy did. He retired early. Gets free food, free medical. Lives at the Rescue Mission Estates. Has plenty of friends. Gets in his daily cardio by collecting aluminum cans so as to afford cocktail hour. Nice weather in Southern California. No stress. No phones. No nagging wife. No bills. No worries. The Good Life.
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Of course there is also a more traditional way to approach life. So much more socially acceptable.
I interpreted it as a person who works low wage jobs all their life, has the full 35 years of SS credits, and retires on SS alone. Their SS check is roughly equal to their take home pay when they were working. Lot's of people do this. Doesn't necessarily have to be minimum or poverty wages they were earning either.
Someone forgot to tell them they need 1.7 million in order to do that, LOL.
You do know how expensive these people are on our wallets, no? On a national average, it costs taxpayers $42.5K a year to have one homeless man on our streets, and in some areas, it's even higher than that! Compare that to prison costs of $40-$50k a year. So pick your poison!
Where do most of the major expenses come from? Hospitalizations! Rehab! I worked in a LTC/Rehab facility for 17 years and we'd occasionally get a homeless man sent over to us from a hospital for Rehab. And, when rehabbed, just show him the door? Nope! State and Federal laws state that we can't release one of these people unless they have a secure place to live! Yes, there were rehabbed people hanging around the facility for months, Social Services trying hard to find them a place to live and line them up with Food Stamps and Medicaid!
So it's not the homeless guy who is expensive. It is the regulatory/industrial complex. Full employment guaranteed by the bloat of needlesss workers to comply with government regulations. More Americans in the labor force now than in the 50s, despite automation, computerization and outsourcing. And more paper consumption despite digital data and the extinction of print media..
Someone forgot to tell them they need 1.7 million in order to do that, LOL.
darn it, you beat me to it...
Anyway, my cousin actually did it and she and her family are slap happy. she was a lawyer in NYC, burnt out , evil and miserable. kids in all kinds of trouble. I forget what her husband did. anyhoo, maybe 10 years ago she had a breakdown and that was it.
Quit her job, sold the house in NYC, took the family and moved to tybee island ga. totally different life and I think right above the poverty line but you know what, total 1000% different people.
They live simply, kids are happy, last one just got scholarship to college, she has a pt job in some type of legal aid, he works in a bait shop.
It's silly...most people have something besides investments...like SS. And why he throws in all the family sizes I have no idea. Few retired "families" are of more than 2 people...and then they'd likely have two SS's even if one is small. The logic is very shaky...I'm not buyin'.
Because some early retirees still have minor children.
I'm 72, retired two years ago, and have no investment portfolio. However, I have zero debts, enough savings for an emergency, and live on maxed-out social security and a small pension. I live a simple life, and moved to an area with a lower COL post retirement. It's hard therefore for me to identify with an article about the desire for early retirement.
I'm working on starting up a small business because (as a financial advisor told me) I don't have enough of a buffer. My goal is to grow my savings account, and have more disposable income so I can get to the point where an occasional weekend trip to the beach or a new piece of furniture isn't something I have to spend half a year paying off and a medical emergency won't wipe me out financially.
My advice to younger people who want to retire early? So what are you going to do, after the novelty of not working wears off? Those of us who are older will tell you -- life will throw things at you that you didn't see coming. How will you deal with disaster and loss - because believe me, they will come even if you're well off? If you retire early, how will you get back into the job market if you've been out of it for a decade or more? If not not sure what you're doing and you don't have a rock-solid plan and budget, don't do it. Not being happy with your job is not a good reason to screw up the rest of your life.
So it's not the homeless guy who is expensive. It is the regulatory/industrial complex. Full employment guaranteed by the bloat of needlesss workers to comply with government regulations. More Americans in the labor force now than in the 50s, despite automation, computerization and outsourcing. And more paper consumption despite digital data and the extinction of print media..
Why so many homeless, besides those that want to be homeless?
Back in the early 70's, in my stupid years, I became homeless in Denver. Back then it was a cinch to go from homelessness to employment. It simply can't be done today, too many insurmountable obstacles.
In 1972, homeless, I applied for the lowliest job I could find, a nursing assistant at a nursing home. Short staffed I went to work the next day. I worked with a CNA for a week, and then I had my own hall to service.
Today, unlike in 1972, I didn't need to go to school to become a CNA (3-4 weeks of classes), I didn't need a CPR card ($50), I didn't need to be fingerprinted, there was no background check, no TB test prior to employment, and no drug test. And, even if a homeless person gets through the first obstacle, a CNA class, most facilities are looking for experience, 6 months to a year.
In Las Vegas just to work in a restaurant you need a health card, $350.
Can you see why there's so many homeless today?
When working at a LTC/Rehab facility recently I was shocked to learn, in NV, a nurse could lose her license just over getting a DUI!
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