Retirement savings ....Yikes !

[murphy1244]

Every company exists to make money off someone else's "problems". I have a problem in that I don't want to walk every I need to go. Many companies exist to fix that problem for me - bicycle manufacturers, car manufacturers, taxi service, etc. And they all exist to make a profit for their owners, whether its the one guy sitting in the big office at company HQ or the 29 million people who have invested in the mutual fund that owns shares of that companies stock.

If someone can buy an item for cheap, then do something to make it worth more money and resell it (as a whole or in pieces), how is that evil? Chances are, the original owner wasn't interested in taking the time or didn't have the resources or expertise to do it, so that's why they sold out. Does it matter if that item is a run down car or a run down company? If the company was bought for pennies on the dollar, it was a bad investment *before* it was bought out.

Keith

If you are talking about KK&R you are mistaken about them. Too much to post, they even made a movie and books about them. Barbarians at the gate.

 

[KTurner]

If you are talking about KK&R you are mistaken about them. Too much to post, they even made a movie and books about them. Barbarians at the gate.

Was commenting on the KK&R comment and a couple others at the same time. I'm not familiar with KK&R specifically, but I'll look em up.

Keith

 

[farmgirl19]

There is a difference in making a profit, a good profit, and raping your employees, and the public. There is also a difference in banking, autos, gov't, etc. in living within your means, doing what is right, and living without a care and not caring about anyone other than self and stock holders, because someone will either bail you out, or you have a rediculous safety net of severance pay to fall onto, that you don't have to earn.

 

[mjarrels]

I guess that folks without retirement savings are looking at other means. Almost every day, on the news is non-proffit vetern funds being plundered, girl scout cookie money being plundered, local PTA mom helped herself to about $10,000, local volunteer fire fighter used company gas card to fuel his truck, so many emblezzment cases locally that I lost count.

mark

 

[BuzzardA91]

Rule of 72. Take 72 and divide it by the number of percentage you expect to earn and that will give you the number of years it will take to double your investment. On a 5% return, divide 72 by 5 and you get 14 and change. For a 7% return, it's 72/7 or just over 10 years. Little bit of algebra to change the formula around and you can figure out what rate of return it would take to double your money in a specific number of years. Divide 72 by the desired number of years and it'll tell you what return you need to accomplish that. If you want to double your money in 7 years, 72 divided by 7 shows you'd need a bit over 10% to do that. Double your money in 3 years? 72/3 shows you'd need a 24% return.

This is a rule of thumb sort of thing and is not precise, but gets you within a few months. It assumes no taxes, no additions, no withdrawals, etc. And it doesn't matter how much money you're talking about - $5 or $5 billion.

And there's something about financial advisors that has always bugged me. If they're so darn smart about investing, why do they have a day job (financial advisor)? If I were as good as these guys claim to be, I'd be doing a bit of investing each day and enjoying early retirement, working in the yard/garden, playing with my son, etc.

Keith

Good simple formula. I guess I was doing it right. MossRoad I think wrote he was getting 5% return and doubling his money every 7-8 years. Didn't make sense. I thought I was doing it wrong, I guess not.

Thanks

 

[300UGUY]

Good simple formula. I guess I was doing it right. MossRoad I think wrote he was getting 5% return and doubling his money every 7-8 years. Didn't make sense. I thought I was doing it wrong, I guess not.

Thanks

A lot of retirement success is luck, IMHO. Timing is everything. Folks that bought homes and invested in the 60's and 70's could cash out by Y2K. Everything was going up, and they rode the tide. With little growth in our economy, that kind of success is going to be hard to duplicate.

 

[aczlan]

People should stop giving to churches that can't manage it and aren't accountable. Look at all the corruption that is funded by contributions like this. I say give to responsible charities directly and be involved with the outcome

Or give to a church that has audits, strict controls on where money goes and doesn't have a paid lay ministry...

Aaron Z

 

[300UGUY]

Or give to a church that has audits, strict controls on where money goes and doesn't have a paid lay ministry...

Aaron Z

I am amazed at what some folks support. Does your pastor really need a million dollar house? A private plane? I can understand that a educated, professional minister making enough to live very comfortably, but a rockstar lifestyle ?

 

[Turbys_1700]

People should stop giving to churches that can't manage it and aren't accountable. Look at all the corruption that is funded by contributions like this. I say give to responsible charities directly and be involved with the outcome

Our pastor is bi-vocational...
I produce monthly reports on every cent that is spent and where it goes...
If folks have issues as to where it is spent they can address those issues to the pastor or deacons...
Not all churches are corrupt and none are perfect...
We try to serve the needs of our members and community giving a lot of benevolence to folk in need and our widows...
The only paid staff are the pastor, lawn keeper, and custodian...

 

[two_bit_score]

Well, we could always commit a minor crime, go to the crowbar hotel for a couple of years, live totally free of the government, and repeat cycle again once your out. Anything 2 years minus 1 day is equal to an all expenses paid, 5 star hotel, including getting a day pass, to go play golf, if you choose. And they even get to choose their meals from a menu.
I don,t get choices like that, at home, even when I,m paying for it.

You may soon have a new option for that. Just be unable to buy health insurance and be unable to pay the penalty and Obama may get to put you in prison.