Retirement

[Mojo]

My wife and I were talking over dinner the other night about our life and how it has taken so many twists and turns.........some of those changeds we never planned on. :)

The majority of you know that I was diagnosed with a Leukemia type disease and had to retire. This happened in 1999 when I was 41.  I had no choice. My oncologist demanded I retire and the fact of the matter is they never expected me to live much past 45 ( I fooled their sorry butts ). In my previous life I was a marketing and Public Relations analyst and worked for a government owned corporation. I was extremely lucky and blessed that I had a pension along with lifelong benefits such as Blue Cross, Dental etc. Trust me when I say I know how lucky I am and I never take it for granted.

But it got me thinking, have any of you have prepared for retirement ? Do any of you have 401 K's or some other retirement vehicle besides Social Security ?

I was just wondering how self employed tradespeople such as ourselves plan for retirement and if you set aside funds for a retirement plan.

Chris

[Peppy]

I'm 33 and started my retirement plan a couple years ago, so I feel I'm in good shape.

I take a little bite of cat food every day so that it's not such a shock when I retire. 

[mike802]

I was into stocks, I found a real good plan that worked by watching trends, I mean trends that go back 15 years, not just 3 years like many use.  I did well, started with a few hundred bucks and ended up with enough to buy a mid quality new car.  Then the charts showed me it was time to bail and I did, just before the economy went to H$%.  Lucky, yea real lucky, I ended up using that money to buy a kubota and started growing vegetables on a three acre plot thinking if things get real bad, I can sell, or triad food for necessities.  What I have learned is I am a real poor farmer.  I feel bad for people who think they can put aside some seeds and grow a survival garden if things get bad, it is a huge learning curve.  My garden gets better every year, but the real problem is trying to run a business and grow a large garden.  I am using organic methods and usually get to busy in the shop to keep ahead of the weeds, not to mention the abundant wild life that is thriving in my area.   Its has been three years now and I still cant grow all my own vegetables, never mind having enough extra to sell.  As far as retirement goes, I just don't see it happening for me, also many people who have saved all their life for a nice nest egg are going to see it disappear as the value of the dollar continues to drop.  I see the dollar going the way of the peso in the not to distance future.  I don't mean to be so pessimistic, I think things will get better, but first we have to get through the collapse of this corrupt cabal that has taken over our federal government and get back to sound constitutional money that is printed or minted buy our government, not a private central bank lent to us with interest.  

[SHHR]

 I am a fortunate one too. I was employed by the state and when my job was terminated I took out my retirement for a shop investment. I know it sound like a stupid thing to do, but the fortunate part is my wife's grandfather owned property on Indian Rocks beach in Florida years ago and sold it to developers. he dispersed the money among grandkids in his will wich many blew through quick. My wife was a minor when he passed so it was set in a trust fund for her. Her brother who still lives in florida and a money manager set part of it up into an IRA for us after we were married 13 years ago. Each year we pull a set amount out of her trust and instead of cashing it in we roll it into our IRA. Sure we've taken hits on it and the trust, but it's already rebounded plus additional. Since we're still in our mid thirties we have plenty of time to ride it then be more conservative with the investments as we age.

kyle

[sofadoc]

And you wonder why  I'm a communist.

Sometimes I think that the only reason we don't live in a communist society, is because we don't call it that.
Our government decides which companies to bail out, and which ones to cull from the herd.
As a kid, I used to ask my grandfather why we couldn't just print more money, then we would all have enough. He tried to explain to me why our money system doesm't work that way. Guess he was wrong.

No joke now, I'm planning to rob banks. That way I will either get the money if successful or go to prison and get free room and board if not.

All in all Win/win.

There's only one thing wrong with that plan. You'll need a big supply of Preparation H.
As for retirement, like a lot of small businesses, I bring home the bacon, my wife's job takes care of insurance, savings, 401K,etc.
As long as she doesn't dump me, I'll be OK.

[byhammerandhand]

There is an story about twin brothers, say Fred and Ted.  

Fred started a job right out of high school and maxed out his IRA for 10 years.  At that point, married with family and house, and he stopped contributing, but let the balance invested.


Ted went to college, then to med school, and at age 28 became a Dr. and could finally fund his IRA.  So he maxed his out every year from there on.

Upon retirement both Fred and Ted had the same balance.

Compound interest, the eighth wonder of the world - Albert Einstein

[mike802]

Yes this country is fascist.  When the gov. and corporations work together to make profits privet, but the looses public this is fascism.  Does the word bailout ring any bells?  The trouble is, the way our monetary system works has been keep a dark secret since 1913.  No body really new how it worked because we were all lied to in school.  How many people today still believe the Federal Reserve is a government department? Many, but less do now because of the internet.   The Fed is no more federal then Federal Express.  It is a private bank owned by its board of directors,  this bank lends our government money at interest, money that it creates out of thin air, money that we must pay back with our labor.

I will explain it in a real simple way.  Lets say our gov needs 100 bucks, it goes to the fed and asks for 100 bucks.  The fed says ok, but it will cost you 10% payable in one year.  Our gov thinks this is a good deal so it says ok.  Well, one year passes and the gov returns to the fed and says we were able to get the 100 bucks back, but we do not have the extra 10%, or the extra 10 bucks.  The fed says that's ok we know you are good for it, lets say we loan you an additional 100 bucks plus the 10 bucks you owe with the same terms and next year you can make good on it.   Such a deal huh!  Trouble is next year the gov will be in the same boat only deeper because the interest, that little 10% was never made, it does not exist, so it can never be paid back.  Of course the gov is us, we the people and we are the ones who are enslaved because the dept can never be paid.  Einstein was right compounded interest is the most powerful force in the universe, he just failed to mention it is working against us as long as our gov continues to barrow money from those money changers over at the fed.  

Our gov has the constitutional ability to print, or coin its own money and spend it into the economy without interest. That is a fact, and we did this from about 1776, or before, because King George was upset that the colonist were using their own money,  until 1913 when the fed came into being.  There were central banks in existence before the fed, but they were always defeated, in fact Pres. Jackson survived an assassination attempt because he opposed a central bank.  Just think, if the gov. can print and spend its own money as needed without interest,  there is no need for taxes.  We the people do not have to be enslaved to a central bank working as tenant farmers to pay back a debt which can never be paid.

[JuneC]

I paid my dues and did my time in corporate America so I have a pension waiting for me to get old but I have no intention of retiring.  I'd just like to be able to cut this down from full-time to part-time and be able to cherry pick my jobs.  Hopefully I won't have died by then from lack of medical insurance. 

June

[mike802]

So what are you doing to make it work for you?

pm sent

[Rich]

Well, as long as we're talking about securing our futures (or at least trying to) what has anyone done about preparing for not being able to work, say in the very near future? I'm talking about disability insurance. I have looked into this on several occasions and always come away with the same conclusion: With all my other commitments, I can't afford to pay the premiums. But, since I am the only one who is doing the production work in my business, I am taking a big risk. Someone had, in a previous post, mentioned Aflac. I called them, but they told me I had to have a certain number of employees and offer it to them.
Anyone?
Rich

[bobbin]

Wow, what you guys know about fascism couldn't fill a thimble.  Read some history before you start spouting nonsense just because you don't happen to agree with the present administration or the direction of the country.  For what it's worth, I don't like the direction, either.  But we didn't get where we are overnight and we sure aren't going to get out the present situation overnight, either.

I have no illusions about retirement in the traditional sense, gold watch 'n' all.  And we've been maxing out IRA contributions for years now.  We converted both our's to ROTHs taking full advantage of the opportunity to do so over the course of 4-5 yrs. (I've forgotten how long that period was).  We have both contributed as much as we've been able to our "straight job" retirement funds over the years, thereby reducing our taxable income. 

No disability insurance.  No Long Term Care Insurance.  We contribute to our Health Savings Account weekly and any out of pocket routine exams are funded via the HSA account.  Our pathetic insurance policy is through the husband's work, I live in fear of losing it, he's long since stopped worrying about it.  Health care insurance is a constant worry, so much so that we've actually considered moving out of the country. 

We worked our tails off to pay off the house, have always driven used cars and maintained them well.  We grow our own produce, live frugally, and hope for the best.  We will likely have to sell our home as we age, but when the time is right to do so we will know it (I hope).   We have been fortunate in that aspect, we built at the bottom of the recession in '90-'91 (plywood was $8/sheet) and have done much of the finish work and landscaping ourselves, forgoing expensive "necessities" in favor of monthly payments to the principal of the note.  We will realize a solid gain when it's time to sell, even today we would do just fine. 


Life's a crap shoot, I don't like to sound fatalistic, but none of us really know what will become of us. 

[poppy79424]

When I was 15 my dad told me. "Marc, i'm gonna give you all the motorcycle seats I take in and give you the matrial to do them and let you keep the money." Back then 40 yrs ago it cost about $10-$15 to cover a motorcycle seat. I was making 10-30 a day after school sometimes. It was fantastic money for a 9th grader.
Now the cheapest m/c seat we do is $85. When I retire and hand my buainess down to my son, I am gonna get all the motorcycle seats he takes in and hes gonna give me the material to cover them and Im gonna keep all the money, plus tractor seats and easy stuff, plus he will pay me rent on the building until I die. I will also get SS I hope if its still there plus i have a bit of cash saved in the bank.

[Mojo]

Bobbin:

I can tell you first hand we would be bankrupt right now and I would more then likely be 6 ft under if we didn't have blue chip health insurance. My monthly prescription costs alone ( including my chemo drug ) is $ 4,000. Every consult I have at the Hutch in Seattle is $ 15,000. When I get to the point of needing a stem cell transplant the cost will be $ 250,000.

It still boggles my mind that we live in the richest nation in the world yet we have people losing their homes, their life savings and are stuck paying medical bills for the rest of their life because they got sick and had no insurance coverage. The last I knew my medical insurance was costing my employer $ 1,000 per month. Who in the heck can afford that ?

We have some serious problems in this country and you are right. They didn't all just happen in the last two years. It has been brewing for a decade or more.

Chris

[baileyuph]

Preparing for the future, retirement namely, can actually depend on a lot of luck in every dimension of your life; work, health, investments, and so on.  But, very much in your health.  It would take a ton of insurance to cover everything that could possibly happen in a life span.

But, on the financial side, retirement planning needs to start early and should be followed over the length of the plan.  It will require living poorer than you might think while working but that is the price you have to pay.  Can't drive new this and live in new that and spend, spend.  It takes dedication, to say the least plus that luck factor mentioned above.

During times like this, it takes a good head to ride through the waves.  Many talk about their investments going down and I hope they haven't sold, the moral of investing is you don't loose until you sell nor do you make a dime for that matter, excluding the dividend category.  Money can be made by buying and selling I know but the style I am referencing is avoid selling lower than you buy.  So, maybe if one has a good plan, sticks with it through the down cycles, and with a little luck, they can survive.  If I sold about two years ago, it would have been a wash, but most have come back and some have weathered quite well. 

The encouragement is to keep everything in perspective, life is a "shot" and all we can do is our best.

I don't even want to retire, I enjoy doing my thing, but having started long ago, it is doable now.  For now, I just am just thankful for the opportunity to work long weeks, I particularly like the fact that there is always new challenges and new things to learn.  The investments, retirement if you will is just a way of keeping score. ;)

Good luck to all with respect to their plan and I especially hope we all the health to see it to the end.

Doyle

[Rich]

Wow, what you guys know about fascism couldn't fill a thimble.

I don't know too much about facism either, but I think it has something to do with the way liberals will shout down anyone who dares to say anything to challenge their widely held beliefs on issues like gay marriage, global warming and gun control.

We have both contributed as much as we've been able to our "straight job" retirement funds over the years, thereby reducing our taxable income. 

Could you elaborate on that?

Thanks,
Rich