I was able to retire at 63 because I went on my wife's insurance and I had invested in the stock market over the last 15 years fairly heavy and it was a strong time for the market. I could not have retired without investing in my 401k etc. I will say take into consideration you will be paying Medicare and taxes on your social security so the number that you are presented with when calculating needs to take into consideration those factors factors. it kind of caught me by surprise. Overall social security was much easier to deal with than one of my pensions who were just a pain in the butt. Once everything is taken care of it's a great time for life!
Social Security Benefits/Retirement Lesson
- Thread starter middleagecrisis
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I have always said, if a person has NO debt, life is easy enough no matter. But my standard of living I require, desise..is not that high on the hog.
Bad part so inflation will eat away at a fixed income.
Bad part so inflation will eat away at a fixed income.
middleagecrisis
Well-Known Member
So much good information is being shared in this thread!I know this situation is niche specific, but even younger folks who aren’t going to be taking retirement anytime soon are getting a good idea of what’s involved to actually get to that point. One of the “wins” in my life was to convince my son to become knowledgeable in his TSP (401k plan) and invest enough to maximize employer matching when he was in his early 20’s. Thanks everybody for contributing your experiences to this post!
I had to get the ID thing a few months ago. Same stupid stuff. It would not recognize my drivers license, concealed/carry or the other photo id I had. Ended up with face time phone call and it was done in 15 minutes. Most of those people are gems. Just hang in there for a little longer.
That employer matching in a 401K etc. We used to have an 6% limit with the employer matching up to 3% of our pay as contribution. Instant 50% return. Don't turn that down.
The other thing I say. If someone is under 35, do not invest in anything but higher risk investments like the QQQ/Nasdaq. No bonds/mutual funds (high fees on MF) and stay away from those guaranteed growth things that limit upside (Annuity type garbage in a different wrapper). As much as I dislike Jim Cramer, the idea that the first 10K invested should go in the SP500/SPY isn't a bad approach. Then start grabbing individual stuff and learn how to work with options, especially if the funds are in a self directed IRA. Most money managers don't beat the market after fees. Do it yourself, stick with the big etfs SPY QQQ IWM to start and save that 1+% you lose every year for under performance!
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JDMopar
Well-Known Member
I was 20 years old in 1978, when I went to work for Carolina Power & Light. I had to wait 6 months to participate in the 401K. When it came time for my first raise at 6 months, my boss brought me in for the sit down. He told me the most important thing I need to do for 65 year old me, 45 years from now is to first, continue to work safe, and second, to put at the very least into my 401K as the company would match, which was 6%. I trusted that old man (he was 58!) and did as he said. I never missed the money I never saw and after CP&L morphed itself into Progress Energy, we had to ability to manage our 401K ourselves thru Vanguard. I got pretty good at monkeying with mine, and for several years in the early 2000's I made more money on my 401K than I did with salary and OT. When 65 year old me was retiring in 2023, I wished Mr. Batt H. Davis was still around so I could thank him for the sound advice.
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