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I say $1 million in retirement funds is a very reachable goal for the middle class worker, making regular contributions over a 30- or 40-year career.
unfortunately not... if you started out 20 years ago investing $1,000 a month, which is a substantial sum for most people, especially 20 years ago that was quite a hefty amount, and you invested in Fidelity Target Date 2040 consistently ALL through 2 DECADES... you would still not be anywhere close to $1M (you would be at $665K now).
And, that is through the biggest, most epic bull markets in history. God forbid the market drops 50% like everyone is saying it will and does not recover for another 13 years like it did in 2000-2013, then your million dollar dream will be on hold for a VERY VERY long time!!!
People say yeah, $1M isn't much, but to actually accumulate that is exceptionally difficult, it isn't easy.
unfortunately not... if you started out 20 years ago investing $1,000 a month, which is a substantial sum for most people, especially 20 years ago that was quite a hefty amount, and you invested in Fidelity Target Date 2040 consistently ALL through 2 DECADES... you would still not be anywhere close to $1M (you would be at $665K now).
And, that is through the biggest, most epic bull markets in history. God forbid the market drops 50% like everyone is saying it will and does not recover for another 13 years like it did in 2000-2013, then your million dollar dream will be on hold for a VERY VERY long time!!!
People say yeah, $1M isn't much, but to actually accumulate that is exceptionally difficult, it isn't easy.
30 plus years was no problem for me .. but a 20 year period containing a lost decade would be a problem if that is when you started
I just love when people try to tell others how much is enough based on their own locations , and life styles
Just curious when did you start spending money and enjoying life? I know you are one of those investors who actually lives life and doesn't hoard their wealth. Did you go thru a period where all you did was save and invest and decided to start spending when you retired? Or did you do it even before then?
Well, we really should figure this out. I mean, if UBI comes into play at $1000/month and someone lives to 85 which is right around the mean....then the government will have given that person over $1M over their lifetime.
Don't worry, the math works. That $346.8 Trillion dollar perk can be paid for by the rich....oh except we'll all be "rich" once inflation kicks in. I'm sure with open borders nobody else would simply come for a piece of the pie.
Funny, when I type in UBI in Google translate to ancient Hebrew it comes up with Jubilee.
Just curious when did you start spending money and enjoying life? I know you are one of those investors who actually lives life and doesn't hoard their wealth. Did you go thru a period where all you did was save and invest and decided to start spending when you retired? Or did you do it even before then?
Well I always enjoyed life but while raising our kids everything was a trade off with something else so we could stay within limits .
Once the kids were out we kicked investing into high gear and eventually retired and now life is pretty good for us but living in nyc and having 6 grand kids is quite costly.
We like to do a lot with them and everything you do is costly here even if it is just going for lunch ….we have about 30 bucks in tolls alone just to see them with one set in New Jersey and one in westchester and sometimes we see multiple sets in a week.
Plus being into photography we are at the Bronx zoo often and the New York botanical gardens so that is the same bridges and tolls
So tolls alone run well over 1k a year
I am in the studio two days a week with my drumming and that can be costly as well . I likely spend 250-300 a month on studio time . Plus until covid I had a famous drumming coach so that ran another 200 a month .
So the money tends to seek its own level and lots of things are still a trade off where if we do x we don’t do y
Last edited by mathjak107; 05-31-2021 at 04:54 PM..
If a person invested $1 million in the S&P 500 10 years ago, then they would be sitting on $3.2 million now, not counting dividends.
Not a bad chunk of change for investing with relatively low risk and doing nothing else.
The tricky part is leaving the money in the S&P 500 index fund, rather than moving it around and ending up selling low & buying high, as most people do. It takes faith in the long-term gain of the stock market.
I’m not saying it’s a bad idea, I was joking that it wouldn’t make for a very fun commercial for a casino.
I followed this thread for a few days before it occurred to me that my sister & I had both acquired a million dollars when mom died last year. It made no real difference in my life, other than keeping score. It made a big difference in my sister's life. I have been so intent on the duties of successor trustee that I never gave the additional money much thought.
My story of a lifetime of hard work, perseverance, and saving & investing would be the last thing a casino would want to talk about. I find it interesting that the vast majority of lottery winners take a much smaller lump sum rather than a 26-year annuity. No ability to delay gratification, I guess.
I followed this thread for a few days before it occurred to me that my sister & I had both acquired a million dollars when mom died last year. It made no real difference in my life, other than keeping score. It made a big difference in my sister's life. I have been so intent on the duties of successor trustee that I never gave the additional money much thought.
My story of a lifetime of hard work, perseverance, and saving & investing would be the last thing a casino would want to talk about. I find it interesting that the vast majority of lottery winners take a much smaller lump sum rather than a 26-year annuity. No ability to delay gratification, I guess.
I would guess that the great majority of folks that win the lottery are in not-so-good a place, financially. A lump sum gives them some hope of resolving that and a lot more. Maybe people just want it all now, in case they don't survive the full payout schedule.
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