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I am in good health, and I will have three separate pensions when I retire. They wont be much money, except for from my current job. I currently have 1.5 million in my retirement account, and plan on working for another 20 years or so. Ha ha....I am a "millionaire"...why don't I have a fancy house or fancy car? 20 percent of my check goes into my 401k, pre tax dollars. I figure that I would just lose the money in taxes anyway.
Not a very logical question because if it is IN the account, it isn't being spent and enjoyed. The account would have to be bottomless and spending constant to be 'enough'.
I am in good health, and I will have three separate pensions when I retire. They wont be much money, except for from my current job. I currently have 1.5 million in my retirement account, and plan on working for another 20 years or so. Ha ha....I am a "millionaire"...why don't I have a fancy house or fancy car? 20 percent of my check goes into my 401k, pre tax dollars. I figure that I would just lose the money in taxes anyway.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LivingDeadGirl
Not a very logical question because if it is IN the account, it isn't being spent and enjoyed. The account would have to be bottomless and spending constant to be 'enough'.
LivingDeadGirl - What makes you think Jasper doesn't have plenty of money that can be "spent and enjoyed" now if he wishes, as well as being able to sock 20% away every year for retirement...so he can continue to spend and enjoy it in retirement? Or that Jasper isn't totally satisfied with how he is living his life from a 'material' (stuff) standpoint?
You may be surprised to know that a large percentage of moderate high-earners to high-earners, that understand economics/finances, do this same thing (save/invest for retirement) from an early age in their career. And yes, the amount of money that can be accumulated over the years can be [literally] bottomless and far, far more than 'enough'...as the money often continues to grow throughout retirement, instead of diminishing. On the other hand, most retirees see their savings diminish and their buying power decrease.
If Jasper earns 3.5% annually on his current tax-deferred retirement savings/investmets his current $1.5 million will double to $3 million if he never adds another penny to the amount. I strongly suspect that as Jasper continues to add 20% each year over the next 20 years (that he plans to work) that Jasper's retirement account will be 8-digits in size. That's $10,000,000+ It's really not that uncommon to do.
Special note to Jasper: Keep doing what you're doing. That's how it's done. Nice work! Enjoy!!!
Last edited by highcotton; 11-25-2012 at 11:00 AM..
No one knows how much is in my retirement account. It secretly "scares" me. Am I rich? Hmm...I don't know. I have an old car, old clothes, own nothing, have no house. I can't take the money out. So...it just keeps getting more. I feel like I live in poverty. Strange...but, I guess I don't have to worry about retirement. I will work till they kick me to the curb. I have just always saved 20% of my check, straight into the 401k. Never missed the money.
No one knows how much is in my retirement account. It secretly "scares" me. Am I rich? Hmm...I don't know. I have an old car, old clothes, own nothing, have no house. I can't take the money out. So...it just keeps getting more. I feel like I live in poverty. Strange...but, I guess I don't have to worry about retirement. I will work till they kick me to the curb. I have just always saved 20% of my check, straight into the 401k. Never missed the money.
Well, you are indeed going over-and-beyond what most any person should be doing. I had no idea you were a total miser and tightwad. I stand corrected in my praise for what you are doing to save for retirement.
I was totally wrong in thinking that you were living [at least] a reasonably good life and treating yourself well as you enjoyed the trip toward retirement. Man, I was wrong 'bout that...
How is dumpster-diving in the winter time? I guess the cold weather keeps the stench down...
Hardly! I just live very simple. I don't need anything. I live a good life. I make plenty of money. I don't want a house. I wear scrubs to work, provided to me by my job, heck, they even wash them! I drive to work, what do I need a fancy new car for? I am vegetarian, and really don't like to travel, been there, done that.
My kids are grown, one still in college, that costs me, but I don't want her to have any loans.
I live a simple life. Off the grid. Perfectly happy. When I retire, I will take money out of my 401, and buy a small condo in a retirment community. Cash.
The problem I see is that being happy, at least to me, requires having a sense of being safe -- not just from harm but also from privation.
Of course, social networks and safety-nets provided by government and employers render that fear baseless as a general rule. Nevertheless, as my father use to say all the time, "There ain't no insurance policy as good as money in the bank."
There is no finite answer, since everyone has a different notion of "life with an acceptable degree of comfort, and whatever else one needs or wants to fund in retirement' (eg; travel, new vehicles, tithes, gifts, help for kids and grandkids, etc.)
On a 'relative basis', we cut our pre-retirement spending to about sixty-percent of our total combined income - for about 1-2-years, prior to early retirement (to test out whether we could live comfortably on that). With what we saved, we finished paying-off our house and other long-term obligations. We also made provisions for some potential 'bumps' that could derail our long-term retirement plans (eg; Long Term Care Insurance, Life insurance to back-up pension plan, Annuity to offset future inflation and tax increases). We then retired on a combined pension/dual SS income that was slightly higher than our previously reduced sixty-percent rate.
Since retiring 4-years ago, we've lived comfortably, traveled and done whatever we wanted and maintained savings and investment accounts plus insurances, etc. The preparation strategy seems to be working with no foreseeable need for any major adjustments (actually, we are ahead of plan and spending less than we expected).
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I had no idea you were a total miser and tightwad. 
I stand corrected in my praise for what you are doing to save for retirement. 
