Are you "lucky"if you have a secure retirement?

Parkanzky · Feb 13, 2015

Ridgewalker said:
Interesting thread to say the least. I turn 53 next week and wishing I could call it a career now but it will be 62 for me.

My question, how do you know when you have enough? What was the tipping point that made you say I am out of here?

I've been a good saver and on paper am worth over a million with over half of that in 401Ks. I own 50 acres near my hometown,
a rental house in the same town. A little more land that Mom lives on near town. I have 7 acres here, have a tractor, a muscle car
and a four wheeler, guns to shoot. What more does a man need?

I have been in technical sales most of my career and have made good cash. I was lucky!

A popular rule of thumb is 8x your final gross income, but obviously it's a lot more complicated than that:

https://www.fidelity.com/viewpoints/retirement/8X-retirement-savings

riptides · Feb 13, 2015

Parkanzky said:
A popular rule of thumb is 8x your final gross income, but obviously it's a lot more complicated than that:

https://www.fidelity.com/viewpoints/retirement/8X-retirement-savings

So I have to make 8 million a year out of my investments than the million I pull in now.

Not gonna happen.

riptides · Feb 13, 2015

riptides said:
So I have to make 8 million a year out of my investments than the million I pull in now.

Not gonna happen.

On second thought....

How a frugal janitor saved, invested and ultimately amassed $8 million - The Washington Post

Parkanzky · Feb 13, 2015

riptides said:
So I have to make 8 million a year out of my investments than the million I pull in now.

Not gonna happen.

I assume that you're joking, but I don't know why it would be a big stretch. My wife and I are on track to put away about 16x our combined annual income before we retire and we make way, way less than a million a year.

ovrszd · Feb 13, 2015

Parkanzky said:
I assume that you're joking, but I don't know why it would be a big stretch. My wife and I are on track to put away about 16x our combined annual income before we retire and we make way, way less than a million a year.

Yeah, not sure riptides got the point of that one. He got consumed by his income.

Ridgewalker · Feb 13, 2015

Parkanzky said:
A popular rule of thumb is 8x your final gross income, but obviously it's a lot more complicated than that:

https://www.fidelity.com/viewpoints/retirement/8X-retirement-savings

Using this I am very close! I don't have a lot of debt other than a small mortgage that is at 3.75%. I am pre-paying it but sometimes doubt the wisdom of that since the money is so cheap.

riptides · Feb 13, 2015

ovrszd said:
Yeah, not sure riptides got the point of that one. He got consumed by his income.

FINAL gross income.

I get it.

Parkanzky · Feb 13, 2015

riptides said:
On second thought....

How a frugal janitor saved, invested and ultimately amassed $8 million - The Washington Post

I think this was written as an inspirational story, but I consider it a cautionary tale. One of the questions I continually ask myself is whether we might be saving too much. It's important to remember that life is for living and that tomorrow could be too late.

ovrszd · Feb 13, 2015

Ridgewalker said:
Using this I am very close! I don't have a lot of debt other than a small mortgage that is at 3.75%. I am pre-paying it but sometimes doubt the wisdom of that since the money is so cheap.

I know this isn't conventional wisdom. But I use it to energize myself to minimize debt. If you are paying interest on any debt, then you are paying interest on every dollar you spend on non-essentials. If you take the wife out for dinner, you just paid 3.75% interest on that meal for example.

From what you've disclosed so far, I think you will be able to comfortably retire when the time comes. Remember my Dad's favorite saying, "It's not what you make, it's what you spend".

ovrszd · Feb 13, 2015

Parkanzky said:
I think this was written as an inspirational story, but I consider it a cautionary tale. One of the questions I continually ask myself is whether we might be saving too much. It's important to remember that life is for living and that tomorrow could be too late.

I totally agree with that. Retired just over 3 years now. I have no concern or desire to increase my net worth. My only concern is to maintain it. My older Brother on the other hand is consumed by it. He'll readily cheat his own family out of a dollar to increase his bottom line. He has one guideline of financial success. How much am I worth when I take my last breath. Pretty sad since he's got terminal COPD and couldn't outlive his wealth living 5 times better than he does now.....