Quote:
Originally Posted by Exhibitman
You Boomers are going to be the last generation that can really plan a retirement. Us Gen Xers, not so much. By the time we came up, traditional pensions and defined retirement benefits were all but extinct. We've been forced into the equities markets and they've crapped the bed several times since I started working, which has really messed with planning. Most of us cannot afford to retire on any sort of schedule. If things fall out just right for me, I might be able to quit when I am able to get on Medicare and Social Security. If not, I will have to work until the end of whatever boom-bust cycle we are in at the time.
I intend to unwind my collection when I retire as a way of generating cash flow and having some fun.
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I've got no pension or defined benefits except $1500 in social security. Also, my 401k has been in a money market the past 10 years drawing close to zero interest, because I was burned badly in the 2008-9 meltdown and that reserve is something I cannot risk. So I don't agree with your thesis.
The key is to make more than you spend, and save for the sake of saving. Develop side revenue streams, like buying/selling cards, maybe get an inexpensive house, cabin, or boat or two and rent them out, or get a few wooded acres in a rural area and spend your weekends having fun cutting and splitting firewood to sell.
A side business or two not only adds to your savings, and provides tax benefits, but it also means your retirement can also include having that extra income rolling in. My retirement, for example, includes rental income from a couple properties I've been able to pick up over the past 20 years, some modest hobby income, and some assorted small, safe ventures.
It's easier to save a dollar than to make one, so if you're looking forward to your retirement, keep in mind, if you can figure out a way to save just one dollar a day (simple, right?) that's $365 dollars a year, or $3,650 per decade. Get a cheaper phone service, cancel TV cable or streaming services you can live without, buy used cars and furniture instead of new, and so on.
If I was suddenly 35 years old again, I assure you, I could count on being retired at 60. But you have to want long-term fiscal security more than current gratification.