jrs1871
Kansas
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Joined: 11/22/2007
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There is a lot of good information and some misconception in this thread. But there are things that really stood out for me. One, you are far better prepared for retirement if you started investing early on (even in small amounts) and continued to invest through the ups and downs of the markets. Two, every one has different risk tolerances so what is acceptable for one may make someone else uncomfortable. The 4% rule is a general guide but is not for everybody.
We started investing in 1971 with $25 per month which in some months was very hard to come by. But we did it through automatic withdrawal so that we would not be tempted to skip it some months. We gradually upped the amounts as our financial situation improved. We have weathered some very significant down turns (1994, 2002, 2008) and have seen our investments recoup the losses and grow to greater amounts. Our portfolio is comprised of several different types of investments and we consult with our advisor at least a couple of times of years to rebalance as necessary. We have both pre tax and after tax accounts and will now be taking RMD's from the pre tax accounts.
We never took a withdrawal from our investments to buy the car, boat, etc like I had so many of my clients do over the years. It is our retirement money, not just another savings account.
We have been blessed but the older we get, the more concern we have about outliving our money. Do we think that we have a workable plan for our retirement finances. Yes but that could all go out the window in short order. We will just take care of the stuff we can control and deal with the rest of it if we have to, when we have to.
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4x4ord
Alberta
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Joined: 12/23/2010
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We have always lived well beneath our means. Our cars were always bought used as was our furniture. My father gave me a $30k interest free loan to buy my first house (it was about an 80 year old house) which I paid back within 5 years. Today that house is a rental property. We have never had a mortgage. Most of our income has been invested back into our business so we have a very small % of our wealth invested in markets. For me the 4% rule is interesting but not really all that applicable. It looks as though none of our kids are interested in the business so we will likely rent the property out and live very comfortably on the rental income. We have no debt so the business capital could be used for helping the kids or whatever else might come alomg. Even though money is not an issue, retiring does not really appeal to me yet..maybe I need a rewiring.
2022 F350 SRW Platinum short box 4x4.
B&W Companion
2008 Citation Platinum XL 34.5
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pnichols
The Other California
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Joined: 04/26/2005
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Just as a point of reference, we've been married around 44 years and never bought a living room couch. We have two living room couches ... both given to us.
We did buy a microwave oven once ... a big mistake ... our current one was given to us. We buy almost all of our clothing at second-hand stores. Do we absolutely have to ... no ... but we do in retirement so that we can afford plenty of gas for the RV. ![[emoticon]](https://forums.goodsamclub.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/cool.gif "cool")
2005 E450 Itasca 24V Class C
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Skid Row Joe
Texas
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Joined: 04/26/2006
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4x4ord wrote:I think I better get after my teenagers to start saving for their retirement. This is actually a good idea. The more a young adultputs away earlier for their future retirement needs, the less that funding will be dependent on future deposits, as the compounding effect will produce more over the years, than the later years deposits.
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liamricci
Texas
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Joined: 09/26/2021
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4% rule is a good one. Definitely will follow that.
I discussed that rule and many other important things with the Experian customer service https://experian.pissedconsumer.com/customer-service.html . I am not very good in managing my own finances and that's the reason i involve professionals to this process.
* This post was
edited 07/20/22 01:57pm by liamricci *
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