Skip to main content

Message to my Kids

Dear Kids, 

Experts recommend you save 10% of your income each year for retirement. Do you? This is just the beginning.  Make sure you put the money into a 401K plan, the only way you can build a substantial nest egg.  For me, I would need $500,000 in savings just to pay my property tax with the 1% interest, if I invested in a bank savings account.  Put your money where you can't get at it.  Not banks. "Banks shaft you in two ways, high interest when you borrow and minuscule interest when you save."

Only 39% of Americans can meet a $1000 emergency.  Can you?  If you cannot, you are in dire straits. About 80% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck.  Is you, then ditto.  Have a two month minimum, hopefully eight month financial cushion. Actually, much more if you're in your forties.

About 38% of Millennials believe $200,000 is enough for retirement.  Do you?  Of course, this is ridiculous.  You need at least $1,000,000 just to begin thinking about retirement.  At this rate, taking the required distribution, you will have about $50,000 per year for about 20 years - including taxes*. This plus Social Security will give you a reasonable retirement, but nothing close to comfortable. (Never a new car, little travel, and really no extras.) Also, the one million is in today's dollars. 

* Yes, even your social security incurs taxes, plus tax-deferred investments.  Also, you pay for medicare from your social security.  You also need a supplementary plan, ~$500/mo. 

Save baby, save. 

Life is like a Polaroid picture.  When I was must younger, we were all impressed with the Polaroid camera. They produced a picture in about one minute.  Miraculous. Compared with a week using the traditional photo processing methods, this was light speed.  When you reach retirement, you will think your entire life happened in one about minute. It will seem to have happened that fast.  Keep track of your achievements, as these are the records you even lived. 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Please Comment.

Popular posts from this blog

Behavioral Science and Problem-Solving

I.                                       I.                 Introduction.                Concerning our general behavior, it’s high about time we all had some understanding of how we operate on ourselves, and it is just as important how we are operated on by others. This is the wheelhouse of behavioral sciences. It is a vast subject. It touches our lives constantly. It’s influence is pervasive and can be so subtle we never notice it. Behavioral sciences profoundly affect our ability and success at problem-solving, from the elementary level to highly complex wicked problems. This is discussed in Section IV. We begin with the basics of behavioral sciences, Section II, and then through the lens of multiple categories and examples, Section III. II.     ...
Post a Comment
Read more

UNCERTAINTY IS CERTAIN

  Uncertainty is Certain G. Donald Allen 12/12/2024 1.       Introduction . This short essay is about uncertainty in people from both secular and nonsecular viewpoints. One point that will emerge is that randomly based uncertainty can be a driver for religious structure. Many groups facing uncertainty about their future are deeply religious or rely on faith as a source of comfort, resilience, and guidance. The intersection of uncertainty and religiosity often stems from the human need to find meaning, hope, and stability in the face of unpredictable or challenging circumstances. We first take up the connections of uncertainty to religion for the first real profession, farming, noting that hunting has many similar uncertainties. Below are groups that commonly lean on religious beliefs amidst uncertainty.   This short essay is a follow-up to a previous piece on certainty (https://used-ideas.blogspot.com/2024/12/certainty-is-also-emotion.html). U...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mediocrity

 Once of the worst things that can happen to a young person is to be told their mediocre performance is good. For me, I was told the opposite, that my efforts would end me in failure. That was a spur that dug in deep. I would prove him wrong.  And I did.  Do not praise mediocrity, no matter how much it makes you feel good or your target. 
Post a Comment
Read more