Retirement savings ....Yikes !

[keegs]

My father's retirement was an early death like many of his generation. That's why I left at 54.

Yeah...both my parents died very young.. But I'm the youngest of 6 and with one exception, all my brothers and sisters are still in good health.

Well I already missed 54 .. making the jump into retired life...that's something to consider. I'm not the most outgoing of chaps ...work provides that daily dose of human/social interaction we all need. I guess that's one more thing to plan for ...

 

[riptides]

Yeah...both my parents died very young.. But I'm the youngest of 6 and with one exception, all my brothers and sisters are still in good health.

Well I already missed 54 .. making the jump into retired life...that's something to consider. I'm not the most outgoing of chaps ...work provides that daily dose of human/social interaction we all need. I guess that's one more thing to plan for ...

Hmm, just don't work till you die. I am fortunate enough to be in one position that affords me observation of people with many, many years of service. They plan their retirement date, it gets announced, the organization bids them farewell. A short period of time goes by, not years, and we hear of their passing. Odd, sad, maybe by design, but not for me.

 

[dmccarty]

Hmm, just don't work till you die. I am fortunate enough to be in one position that affords me observation of people with many, many years of service. They plan their retirement date, it gets announced, the organization bids them farewell. A short period of time goes by, not years, and we hear of their passing. Odd, sad, maybe by design, but not for me.

I worked through college and my first job was doing retirement calculations for people considering retirement. When I got the job offer, I was disappointed to say the least but it was a good job so I took it. Turned out to be THE BEST job I could have had at the time since I got a very good look at retirement and how large organizations work. I don't remember the exact number but most of the retirees would die within a few years of leaving the company. I think this was because the company was family, it was a great place to work, provided many people a sense of belonging and identification. Once they retired, a big part of their life was left behind. This is NOT true anymore which is good and bad. Tis good in that I don't hear of many retirees dying right after leaving which I think is because they are so happy TOO retire and be able to retire. Course there are not that many retirees anymore either...

Later,
Dan

 

[Travelover]

....... I'm not the most outgoing of chaps ...work provides that daily dose of human/social interaction we all need. I guess that's one more thing to plan for ...

Nothing wrong with that, at all.

I see retirement as two stages.

First is financial independence. At this stage you don't have to work and it is your choice to stay or to go on to something more enjoyable with out having to worry about paying the rent. Once I knew that I could leave at any time, it made the crappy parts of work a lot easier to take.

The second stage is actually quitting working. Some people thrive spending their days playing golf, working on tractors, or puttering around the house. Some love the structure and social stimulation that work provides. For others, their self worth is based on their work. There is no right answer, only you know if you are happy. The key is that financial independence gives you opportunity to make a choice.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Cyprus bail-out: savers will be raided to save euro in future crises, says eurozone chief - Telegraph

Talk about leveling the playing field between haves and have not's. This really drives people to save for retirement I guess?

This is one reason investing in farmland could be appealing at least until they can figure out how to tax it away from you. This wealth grab seems to know no limits.

 

[daugen]

Putting part of your retirement into real estate is an excellent idea. But you do have to buy right,
and now is a good time in many places to buy. But only if your plans allow that amount of your assets to basically
be illiquid for many years. Still there, still slowly growing, but short of borrowing against the equity in the property, hard to get money out
of in an emergency. Real estate makes a great diversifier. Some folk like gold, which I think is awfully high right now.
And don't we all wish we had kept that 1966 GTO or the Porsche 914. It's all about appreciation, and if you aren't really sure what you
are doing, suggest you get some help.

There is an asset class called alternatives. It can be the Wild West in investing so only the knowledgeable
hopefully purchase them. But an "alternative" to the market is a core question for retirement, how do you not
put all your eggs in one basket? Particularly a basket that has been known to break.

The Holy Grail is finding an asset type that consistently increases in value, is relatively unaffected by
stock market conditions globally, is tax advantaged, and is, of course, legal...
Now I think old tractors would surely qualify. :thumbsup:

 

[dave1949]

Putting part of your retirement into real estate is an excellent idea. But you do have to buy right,
and now is a good time in many places to buy. But only if your plans allow that amount of your assets to basically
be illiquid for many years. Still there, still slowly growing, but short of borrowing against the equity in the property, hard to get money out
of in an emergency. Real estate makes a great diversifier. Some folk like gold, which I think is awfully high right now.
And don't we all wish we had kept that 1966 GTO or the Porsche 914. It's all about appreciation, and if you aren't really sure what you
are doing, suggest you get some help.

There is an asset class called alternatives. It can be the Wild West in investing so only the knowledgeable
hopefully purchase them. But an "alternative" to the market is a core question for retirement, how do you not
put all your eggs in one basket? Particularly a basket that has been known to break.

The Holy Grail is finding an asset type that consistently increases in value, is relatively unaffected by
stock market conditions globally, is tax advantaged, and is, of course, legal...
Now I think old tractors would surely qualify. :thumbsup:

Water rights?
Stock in the Bunny Ranch? :laughing:

That's a real problem for investors, to find something with actual intrinsic value, is liquid, and hard to mess with politically.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

I think old tractors can qualify.

We have $11K in our working 1983 JD 310B backhoe, 1989 Ford 700 two ton truck with 16' twin hoist flat dump and a tri-axle equipment trailer. We use them to clear/clean up the place, make a major fill so we can build a good size shop and do many other things around the place. We have good to new rubber on the ground and the JD and Ford have been worked hard the last couple years from time to time and seem to be solid machines. Short of a blown engine, etc I expect 5 or 10 years down the road they will bring as much if not more plus they will be worth their upkeep by they usage around the place.

 

[dmccarty]

That's a real problem for investors, to find something with actual intrinsic value, is liquid, and hard to mess with politically.

Anything and everything can be messed with politically.

The Supreme Court heard arguments this week about a case over raisins. :confused3: For almost 80 years raisin farmers have had to give a portion of their crop to the Raisin Administrative Committee for little or no compensation. In 2002-2003 raisin farmers had to give the Raisin Administrative Committee *** 47% *** of their crop for less than the cost of production. In 2003-2004 the farmers had to give the Federal Government 30% of their crop for NOTHING.

If you make raisins YOU WILL obey the Raisin Administrative Committee or you will be fined. Unless the Supreme Court says other wise.

How this can happen in the US is mind boggling but there it is.

The case is Horne vs USDA.

In the meantime, I would not invest for retirement in raisins.

Later,
Dan

 

[daugen]

I love raisins on my cereal...hmmm.
Raisin Administrative Committee
no sane person would read all of the Order 989 referenced,
but after power-reading part of it, it reminded me of the feudal lords extracting their
tithe from the serfs. Remarkable
Raisins, just a weight challenged grape...