Ezekiel 25:17
Veteran
Y'all make excuses for everything.
While people can have bad luck, the truth is a lot of people also make bad financial decisions.
At 65: A House Paid for and low bills > 401k Retirement Fund
- Thread starter Stuntone
- Start date
Y'all make excuses for everything.
While people can have bad luck, the truth is a lot of people also make bad financial decisions.
Laidbackman
All Star
Most of these are White people.
The sad thing is, a lot of late Boomers are getting obliterated out here, and are threatened with homelessness like you've never seen. They got in the job market not long before they replaced pensions with 401Ks...when they were first introduced. They had very little financial knowledge, compared to the younger generations today. Only around 1% to 2% become 401K millionaires at retirement.
Most of these are White boomer. You want the stats for Black boomers?
Ezekiel 25:17
Veteran
You have a defeatist attitude. Look how many millions of whites are living on food stamps then get back with me.
My current white coworker has no retirement plan and he's 52.
Older black man I used to work with had 4 checks coming in. He only worked part time to keep himself busy.
My Aunt did 30 years in the Navy. She's living plush.
Laidbackman
All Star
.
Laidbackman
All Star
What are you talking about. These are real 401K stats. I just told you these people probably had other savings.
Do your own research on some food stamps.
Btw, I went to high school with these 65 year-olds. So how you gonna tell me something.
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Laidbackman
All Star
The good news is, a lot of you Gen Zs are projected to be the riches retirees ever because of better financial knowledge than previous generations. But most of it will be through inheritance...that's the report I heard recently. I think there was a thread here on this several months ago.
I know one thing. The generations before me didn't prepare us for jack, as far as retirement. Maybe it had something to do with that Viagra
I know one thing. The generations before me didn't prepare us for jack, as far as retirement. Maybe it had something to do with that Viagra
Laidbackman
All Star
I gotta agree with the OP, as far as the title to this thread.
Although I never lived off only a 401K, I did have to live off only the proceeds from selling my house for a minute. And it felt like I was rich, until all that money ran out. With that said, I would never again want to live off only a lump sum of money, without nothing coming in, especially if I have a mortgage. I don't care if I had a 3 million dollar 401K...yes I said it. And after what happened last week with the stock market, I wouldn't even feel comfortable applying the 4% rule on that 401K. Plus I'm not down with being afraid of out living my money. How was that ever allowed to become an option in the first place.
But first, that house paid for and low bills deal, would definitely have to come with a pension and social security, or at least one or the other, whichever one is higher. Second, it would have to be enough to save up for emergencies, plus enough to splurge here and there, after paying off those low bills. In other words, I wouldn't wanna be stuck with having the mortgage paid off, while only affording to keep the lights on, and have to go back in debt if the furnace break down, etc... I lived like that before because I failed to budget, and I didn't know how to invest.
So yes, I'd rather be in a position to watch my money grow to 3 millions (which it probably never will), than be in a position to watch my money shrink from 3 million. I guess it's psychological. And what's the chances of the average person having a 1, 2, or 3 million dollar 401K anyway, when the median 401K is only $70,000.
Another thing. A lot of people stress themselves out so they can have these huge 401Ks, without placing that same emphasis on their health. The other day, I listened to this Black male nurse that works in an ICU. He said the riches people are dead people, for being more worried about wealth over health. Like who wants to be the richest man in the cemetery.
Although I never lived off only a 401K, I did have to live off only the proceeds from selling my house for a minute. And it felt like I was rich, until all that money ran out. With that said, I would never again want to live off only a lump sum of money, without nothing coming in, especially if I have a mortgage. I don't care if I had a 3 million dollar 401K...yes I said it. And after what happened last week with the stock market, I wouldn't even feel comfortable applying the 4% rule on that 401K. Plus I'm not down with being afraid of out living my money. How was that ever allowed to become an option in the first place.
But first, that house paid for and low bills deal, would definitely have to come with a pension and social security, or at least one or the other, whichever one is higher. Second, it would have to be enough to save up for emergencies, plus enough to splurge here and there, after paying off those low bills. In other words, I wouldn't wanna be stuck with having the mortgage paid off, while only affording to keep the lights on, and have to go back in debt if the furnace break down, etc... I lived like that before because I failed to budget, and I didn't know how to invest.
So yes, I'd rather be in a position to watch my money grow to 3 millions (which it probably never will), than be in a position to watch my money shrink from 3 million. I guess it's psychological. And what's the chances of the average person having a 1, 2, or 3 million dollar 401K anyway, when the median 401K is only $70,000.
Another thing. A lot of people stress themselves out so they can have these huge 401Ks, without placing that same emphasis on their health. The other day, I listened to this Black male nurse that works in an ICU. He said the riches people are dead people, for being more worried about wealth over health. Like who wants to be the richest man in the cemetery.
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Laidbackman
All Star
What hurts your retirement just as much as not having enough in your 401K or TSP, if not worst, is divorce! "The Odd Couple" put that right in our faces. That will make an Oscar Madison and a Felix Unger outta you in a minute...or have you living in the ghetto. The ones I saw recover the quickest, were the ones who got back with their wives, or the ones who remarried...if they remarried to someone who had good finances.
In reality, no single brothers around my age had houses before they were 30. And a larger percentage never had a house at all. You hit the jackpot if you were just able to have your own apartment. We were never taught how much easier owning a home early, or owning a home at all, made retirement. First, if affording your own apartment was like hitting the jackpot, then affording a home on your home was pretty much off the table...not to mention the average brother didn't qualify anyway. So people decided to look at owning a home as a thing to have if you were married, with children. In fact, the average person tried to ridicule a single brother if he had a house by himself...ask me how I know.
Like I said, nobody told me the importance of getting a home early, but nobody told me the downfalls of getting one too late either, especially the latter. I got my 1st home when I was almost 37, and all I recieved was jealousy. Nobody told me this would push my retirement to 67. Being naive about how much I'd be getting in retirement, I thought I'd be able to retire at my ERA, and still afford to pay my mortgage, since I'd be retiring on a higher salary than the average person. I didn't realize just how bad they robbed us federal workers, by switching us from CSRS to FERS, which took place six months after I started federal service. Plus, I didn't think those older brothers on the job would let me run into that brick wall I was heading to, without warning me. I don't know if they were jealous because they were old, and still couldn't afford to retire, or they didn't want to hurt my feelings, or both. Then again, what could they have done for me, especially since they were pretty much in the same boat, if not worst. I sure didn't want to keep paying rent, which kept rising.
What made it worst was, my neighborhood had regained it's bad reputation by the time I was 44, and I was desperate to sell my house, and move to a more expensive area, which would have brought my new mortgage up three hundred dollars. I also felt this would make me a better catch for the class of woman I liked, especially those high paid women I worked around. This would have meant I had to work until I was 74, after taking out a new 30 year mortgage. But still nobody warned me. I guess most cats doing what I was tryna do during this time, had wives, and planned to have 15-year mortgages. This goes back to what I was saying. Divorce is just as bad as not having enough in your 401K or TSP, if not worst. Imaging losing your house, and half your retirement.
Where ever I was gonna wound up living, I was planning to start paying down my mortgage sooner too eventually, but not that much sooner. Then again, the deal on the house when I was 44 fell through, which meant I would have eventually tried to buy another house even later, probably several years after the 2008 collapse, meaning any new house after that, wouldn't have been paid off until I was probably in my 80's...not to mention all the money I would have lost on my house when home equities started declining in 2006. This got me thinking about this girl I was talking to on my job around 2005, who wanted me to eventually move outta my neighborhood, and get a house together with her, so I could probably be her third divorce. Anyway, FF to today, I would have been the first they let go at my agency because of Project 2025. Although I would have qualified for an early retirement, I would have still had a mortgage until I was at least 67; worst case scenarios, until I was in my 80's.
Til this day, I still don't know why more wasn't taught to us when we were younger. But again, I did join Primerica, formally A.L. Williams, way back when I was 23. And they warned us about how many 65 year-olds retire in poverty. But I was just a security guard, making just above minimum wage, with not enough money to do anything about it. As a matter of fact, I got fired from that security guard job a few months later, which caused me to quit A.L. Williams, which was making me no money. But I guess I always had my antennas up a little about retirement, after being with A.L. Williams that short period of time.
In reality, no single brothers around my age had houses before they were 30. And a larger percentage never had a house at all. You hit the jackpot if you were just able to have your own apartment. We were never taught how much easier owning a home early, or owning a home at all, made retirement. First, if affording your own apartment was like hitting the jackpot, then affording a home on your home was pretty much off the table...not to mention the average brother didn't qualify anyway. So people decided to look at owning a home as a thing to have if you were married, with children. In fact, the average person tried to ridicule a single brother if he had a house by himself...ask me how I know.
Like I said, nobody told me the importance of getting a home early, but nobody told me the downfalls of getting one too late either, especially the latter. I got my 1st home when I was almost 37, and all I recieved was jealousy. Nobody told me this would push my retirement to 67. Being naive about how much I'd be getting in retirement, I thought I'd be able to retire at my ERA, and still afford to pay my mortgage, since I'd be retiring on a higher salary than the average person. I didn't realize just how bad they robbed us federal workers, by switching us from CSRS to FERS, which took place six months after I started federal service. Plus, I didn't think those older brothers on the job would let me run into that brick wall I was heading to, without warning me. I don't know if they were jealous because they were old, and still couldn't afford to retire, or they didn't want to hurt my feelings, or both. Then again, what could they have done for me, especially since they were pretty much in the same boat, if not worst. I sure didn't want to keep paying rent, which kept rising.
What made it worst was, my neighborhood had regained it's bad reputation by the time I was 44, and I was desperate to sell my house, and move to a more expensive area, which would have brought my new mortgage up three hundred dollars. I also felt this would make me a better catch for the class of woman I liked, especially those high paid women I worked around. This would have meant I had to work until I was 74, after taking out a new 30 year mortgage. But still nobody warned me. I guess most cats doing what I was tryna do during this time, had wives, and planned to have 15-year mortgages. This goes back to what I was saying. Divorce is just as bad as not having enough in your 401K or TSP, if not worst. Imaging losing your house, and half your retirement.
Where ever I was gonna wound up living, I was planning to start paying down my mortgage sooner too eventually, but not that much sooner. Then again, the deal on the house when I was 44 fell through, which meant I would have eventually tried to buy another house even later, probably several years after the 2008 collapse, meaning any new house after that, wouldn't have been paid off until I was probably in my 80's...not to mention all the money I would have lost on my house when home equities started declining in 2006. This got me thinking about this girl I was talking to on my job around 2005, who wanted me to eventually move outta my neighborhood, and get a house together with her, so I could probably be her third divorce. Anyway, FF to today, I would have been the first they let go at my agency because of Project 2025. Although I would have qualified for an early retirement, I would have still had a mortgage until I was at least 67; worst case scenarios, until I was in my 80's.
Til this day, I still don't know why more wasn't taught to us when we were younger. But again, I did join Primerica, formally A.L. Williams, way back when I was 23. And they warned us about how many 65 year-olds retire in poverty. But I was just a security guard, making just above minimum wage, with not enough money to do anything about it. As a matter of fact, I got fired from that security guard job a few months later, which caused me to quit A.L. Williams, which was making me no money. But I guess I always had my antennas up a little about retirement, after being with A.L. Williams that short period of time.
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