How much money do you need in retirement?

[Queen Titania]

We have zero savings, and zero hope of saving... you need income in order to save.

But we do hope to get our son through high school and college... he will be living at home... I'm hoping his older bro helps with the tuition challenge... I hate to see my kid go into debt for education that may or may not get him a high paying job.

retirement is out of the question. My wife's Social Security disability (SSDI) already pays the rent... I have to cover the rest... we wouldn't eat without food stamps, the family car was repossessed two and a half years ago... we look to Jesus for our lives; today and tomorrow.

Some of us are not only ,of the people, some of us are the people, Days

 

[MaryAnne]

Yep. I've had a 529 plan for my daughter's education, and I've been putting $1000/month into it since before she was even born. I've already got around $30k in there and she's not yet 2. If I don't have another kid and I can stick with the plan, and it performs reasonably well, then by the time she's 17 there will be enough money there to cover 4 years at a great private school, even after factoring in the incredibly pace of rising education costs. If I have another kid, things will be much tougher.

Now,that you have that taken care of you seem to be well on the way. Some good stocks along the way will help too.I once bought some that went right down. While they were down I bought more. Now,all have gone way up, divided and divided again. Long term bonds are good. Young ,you take more risk, older you go safer. DOW is now up around 500 points this week.

 

[Days]

that's exactly how I would live if Jesus had me living some other place and earning some other way. We live in a condo on the 2nd floor. The neighbor downstairs has a garden, but this area is thick with rabbits... heh, heh.

early settlers lived completely off the land... that was self reliance. But they looked to jesus to keep them alive doing it.

 

[MaryAnne]

I may "semi-retire," but I envision is being more of a hobby -- making custom furniture or something that I could enjoy. So, I need to plan for that not to be a significant source of income, so that I don't have to treat it like a real job.

Arkady,that is my Son's hobby, I envision him going into something like that. He builds Antique ,look alike pieces. His wife inherited a great deal of antique furniture and they did not have a bed side table. He built one. A neighbor who was in the business for years said,"You really got ripped off on that one.They did not have bed side tables back then! " )

Has refurnished many pieces that I picked up for a song. Two I love are a three mirror vanity and a red mahogany Lawyers book case with glass doors. Of course they live in the Antique city of the world.

 

[MaryAnne]

I find that amazing, given how little SS pays. I wonder with how many of those it's because they're older and tapped out their savings when they went into assisted living. For example, if you get Alzheimers and get to the point where you need constant nursing, the cost of a private facility that will do that is ruinous, and will quickly deplete even a well-stocked 401K and any home equity you had. At that point you can basically become a ward of the state, with your SS and Medicare/Medicaid covering the cost of a public nursing facility. With the astronomical cost of medical care in this country, only the very rich are really safe from that.

In my own case, short of that kind of ailment, I'm in reasonably good shape for staying comfortable in retirement. I have already vested into a pension that is worth something like $30k per year (it'll be more by the time I retire, if I stay at this employer). That'll only be worth the equivalent of maybe $10k-$15k per year, by the time I get there, because of inflation, but if SS covers the basics of life, that's enough for me to have a few little luxuries on top of that (and occasional trip to see the grandkids, etc.), so that's nice to have locked up.

I would tell anyone not to depend on SS for their living. That is not even close to a decent living.Provides a cushion,that is it.

 

[Days]

We the people suffer mightily while our rulers are totally out of touch.

Even the upper middle class have no idea that we the poor are poor for a reason... and that reason is not because we chose to be poor.

 

[happyatheist]

I would tell anyone not to depend on SS for their living. That is not even close to a decent living.Provides a cushion,that is it.

I agree. The last time I got a SS statement, it said I was going to get something like $1500-1700/month in SS - not anywhere near enough to live on.

That, and the fact that there will undoubtedly be cuts in SS by the time I am eligible, is the reason why I don't even include SS in any retirement calculations I do. I figure, by the time I am ready to retire, I'll be doing it on my own.

If I get any SS, and that's a big "if", it'll be a little bit of gravy on top of my own savings.

 

[lupehernandezdepedajack]

I would tell anyone not to depend on SS for their living. That is not even close to a decent living.Provides a cushion,that is it.

If and when I can retire I have a plan, We have already bought the lot next to my sister in laws house in Chiapas. They are biiiiig lots Hope to start building the cinder block cottage within the next 3 years. If situations remain the same I could retire quite large in Chiapas with 1700 a mo. in the only North American Tropical Rainforest 40 minutes from the Pacific and 40 minutes from Guatemala.

Well thats my backup plan if the trust fund deal with the Nigerian Pastor falls through

 

[Woolleybugger]

That is what my good friends are doing but in Panama. They live on less than 500 a month and qualify for local medical too...I think your plan is good but Chiapas is a dangerous place unless you are a local..might not work for a typical gringo...

 

[Woolleybugger]

I smell a huge rat myself. I have not seen the fine print but in order to make a bargain like this, the value of the house has to be a fixed number or the bank will end up charging you a premium to take on the risk. If they make the house a fixed value, then you lose any upside but may not risk the downside. Either way, the banks have likely got it figured out so that you get screwed. Say you have 750 grand in equity in your house and sign up for the reverse mortgage. The house is worth a million now. The market is iffy. You owe 250k on first and seconds meaning that the bank will have to cover the mortgages if you die or default. So, they then start giving you a monthly stipend based upon your equity but for how many years? When do you think you will die? No one knows. There are just too many variables for me to believe the deal can be structured to my benefit...Its better to just sell and clean up the books IMHO>

 

[Woolleybugger]

And that is why you fail macro econ every time you discuss it buddy. Micro is a subset of macro. Micro is what you do when you run a house or a business. Macro is when you try to understand how millions of houses and thousands of businesses interact together...they are vastly different problems. Do you have any education in econ? I was a TA in it in college, its not an intuitive topic at the macro level. Most folks get the micro level, it fits with your own personal experiences but macro...totally different beast.

 

[Woolleybugger]

This is why many retire to rural areas but most of them go back to urban centers before long. Life is too different in rural america for most urbanites to enjoy it. Your points are valid though and you have it figured out for you but does this scale to a hundred million people? nope.

 

[happyatheist]

We the people suffer mightily while our rulers are totally out of touch.

Even the upper middle class have no idea that we the poor are poor for a reason... and that reason is not because we chose to be poor.

I don't think that's true. There are plenty of middle class and even upper middle class people who know full well that one small change in their lives - an illness, a job loss, an accident - and they too could be poor.

 

[MaryAnne]

A Pastor in Nigeria just emailed me about a trust fund his church has tied up and he needs about 10K to get an early withdrawl he said if I send him the 10K he will allocate about 100K to me for the assistance in getting his withdrawl. I am headed to the Bank this afternoon

I caught it the first time,Lupe.) I do wish you luck with that Nigerian Pastor. He is right up there with the folks who have been calling Grandma's to get their Grandson's out of Mexican jails. One was in my morning paper and the clerk stopped her. Had her call her daughter and son of a gun the Grandson was home. He must have made bail.

Could I interest you in all these foreign Lotteries I have won? You only have to send a thousand dollars and you will collect Millions.

Perhaps I can interest you in the woman who inherited millions and poor soul does not have anyone to leave it to. She chose me because I am nice. Never met her but am sure my personality shines through the computer. That one only costs 500.I am just sorry I do not have that much lying loose or I would be the richest old Dame in America. I could look down my nose at Trump!

 

[Days]

I think that's more middle, middle class... the upper middle class folks don't figure it will happen to them.

It's like getting old sounds to a child... they know it happens, but they can't fathom it.

 

[lupehernandezdepedajack]

That is what my good friends are doing but in Panama. They live on less than 500 a month and qualify for local medical too...I think your plan is good but Chiapas is a dangerous place unless you are a local..might not work for a typical gringo...

Thats the thing my granny was from there I am much more Mayan than fauxcahontas up in Mass. is Indian. My wife and her sister were stranded there in their early teens with no parents and very nice but very big lady took them in I met my wife down there on a visit to see family her husband had just died and she had 5 yr old little girl . well its a long story but I think an interesting one and if I ever do retire I will try develop the literary skills to put her life in writing.. but the point is I almost look like them we have family down there I speak their language (they laugh at me sometimes) and I have not felt any danger visiting of course its been about 4 or 5 years since our last visit.

I almost forgot the last time we were down there in Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital city of Chiapas, was crawling with gringos

 

[RedCloud]

A Pastor in Nigeria just emailed me about a trust fund his church has tied up and he needs about 10K to get an early withdrawl he said if I send him the 10K he will allocate about 100K to me for the assistance in getting his withdrawl. I am headed to the Bank this afternoon

Slow down, Lupe. I've got a real deal for you!

 

[RedCloud]

I caught it the first time,Lupe.) I do wish you luck with that Nigerian Pastor. He is right up there with the folks who have been calling Grandma's to get their Grandson's out of Mexican jails. One was in my morning paper and the clerk stopped her. Had her call her daughter and son of a gun the Grandson was home. He must have made bail.

Could I interest you in all these foreign Lotteries I have won? You only have to send a thousand dollars and you will collect Millions.

Perhaps I can interest you in the woman who inherited millions and poor soul does not have anyone to leave it to. She chose me because I am nice. Never met her but am sure my personality shines through the computer. That one only costs 500.I am just sorry I do not have that much lying loose or I would be the richest old Dame in America. I could look down my nose at Trump!

Hell, MaryAnne, you should look down your nose at Trump anyway!

 

[happyatheist]

I think that's more middle, middle class... the upper middle class folks don't figure it will happen to them.

It's like getting old sounds to a child... they know it happens, but they can't fathom it.

The upper middle class are holding a lot of debt that funds their lifestyle. In real terms, a lot of them or worse off than the middle and lower middle class folks.

 

[Zoar]

Interesting.... I have observed that those doing things at 70 and 75 that "most" people think they should NOT be doing at THAT age are the ones who are really living healthy lives (skiing, hiking, kayaking, running triathlons, etc).

People who think 20 year olds are the only ones who can or should run marathons, triathlons are part of the problem.

My younger brother believes exercising "uses your body up" so I go out an run and he sits and gets fat and has high blood pressure and was just operated on for a neck/vertebrae problem that he insists has nothing to do with lifestyle. I just completed a Triathlon at 55 years old and am in far better shape than my brother who does not want to use himself up.